Cherokee phoenix. (New Echota [Ga.]) 1828-1829, February 21, 1828, Image 4

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Cherokee phoenix., February 21, 1828, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPOETHT. FOR THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX, TRANSLATION OF THE LORD 1 * PRAYER. !H,AFo9A.l h-U fCJl(P» J*hO *y.u« J4w.i pa, #-a<v*acr £-4<aa sg“ AIT. ©r,®Gr./» l*R «X»eqAT. ©IiSPtSJL •FRO-WET RSA S4W4 Jih-SFoiUoF. #sr<»T.!UI LAFTPRT fty&A'Haib'oiJ. 7. Cr.^SO-T-AT wiyd0APy, h>9*lrAPA Ay<*)«0“' 7 9. Lo5.l D«T ®-I<»y.®.*0-(»V 0»y, bAfoCa^cXyh D(fc»h. GTP 4? .: GE9CTA I-RT, ©PhyJt D«T I-RT, R©4” •V-IGT D<f I-RT hAA^T. erfey^V ®h«P’ At. THE LOHD’8 PRATER VERSIFIED. Tune, Dalston. ad yiszy®®^ Oof'V* o»va. 1. s^iwa pa, *yAT> FiA, R©-a*v».i p-4c«a; DIiZ R«A ®seqAT ©E®GTA t-RT. ? Dh ®FiSPc*T# optO-toCET, IilrSPoSlAA'. *sp<£1»b.i IAVPRT jdb <*yceji-4<itP'o^i. 3. (»yja/iwo~^, aoey^sApy h»j° *ybeso'«:; DB £Z ecitT* AlrAPAT Ay<*SOT hS(T. 4. Dif Lc*a I> C p O orVl ®.Ioiy<®AO v o5t»0*j iiv^-^oeyii IiSi Dt*SF» «yii<>eAii^ifo?rA4**. 5. ©TP»^Z GE9CT PR, ©puyaz pr, RC-a*WFZ pr RAA-a; Drf 6X4 P4c^A. Literal Translation of the Lord's Pray er from Cherokee into English. Our Father, who dwellest above, honored be thy name. Let thy em pire spring to light. Let thy will be done on earth as it is done above.— Our food day by day bestow upon us. Pity us in regard to our having sinned against thee, as we pity those who sin against us. And lead us not into any place of straying, but, on the other nand, restrain us from sin. For thine is the empire, and the strength, and the honor forever. So let it be. The above is perhaps as literal a translation, as can well be given in English of the Lord’s prayer in Cher okee, as it stands at the head this of co lumn. As, however, the Cherokee cannot be said to be a strictly literal translation from the original, so neith er is the English from the Cherokee. The idiom of the one language is so widely different from that of the oth er, that literal translations appear to be an impossibility. W. From the “ Marus iipt.” GEN. WASHINGTON’S ESCAPE. When the American army w as sta tioned at West Point, during the revo lutionary w r ar, the British head quar ters were not many miles distant, on the Hudson; and each were waiting, like the figures on a chess board, for some favorable movement, to discon cert and thwart the operations of the other. Scouting parties would engage n frequent skirmishes; and waggons of provisions, ammunition and clothing would fall into, the power of those su perior in number and address. On one of these occasions a quantity of Eng lish uniform was seized by an Ameri can detachment; and several notable advantages, obtained by the latter, in spired the enemy with a desire to se- taliate. About this time, while at West Point, General Washington had an intimate acquaintance, not far resi dent from the army, in whose family he enjoyed the kindest hospitality, as well as relief from many of those ster ner engagements which harassed h : s weary mind. As every circumstance was food to either army, a visit like this not many miles from their camp, could not long escape the cognizance of the English; and to possess a pris oner like Gen. Washington, would tend, in their opinion, to shorten the period of the war. But the underta king was difficult: there were always advanced guards to cover the Ameri can commander, an l there was no mode of discovering his viaitsj except by winning over some one of the family. The friend whom the general visited was once thought to l»ave espoused the interests of the British, but he had ta ken a decided stand in favor of Amer ica, and though a brave man, he pro fessed the strictest neutrality alleging*'forbid!” said his friend, become less re- as his reason—his years, and depend ent family. During the intimacy of the. Gene ral, it was rumored in the American army, that his friend had been seen of ten running from the British cainp.— Washington seemed to disregard the account; for he never ceased to visit the family, and, apparently, min gled as cordially with the host, as if no suspicion had crossed his mind.—At length, one day, as the General was taking his leave, his friend earnestly requested him to dine with him the fol lowing afternoon, emphatically nam ing the hour of two, as the moment of expecting him. He reminded him of the uncommon delight which his inti macy conferred, begged him lo lay a. side every formality & i eg. rd his nouse as his home; & hinted that he feared the general did not consider it in that light, as the guard that always accompanied him seemed to indicate he was not vis iting a friend. “By no means, dear sir!” exclaimed the worthy patriot; "•there is no man 1 esteem more than yourself; and as a proof of the con fidence which 1 repose in you, I will visit you alone to-morrow, and i pledge my sacred word of honor, that not a soldier shall accompany me.”— “Pardon me, general,” cried the host; “but why so serious on so trilling a subject? I merely jested.” “I am aware of it,” said the hero, smiling; but what of that? 1 have long consid ered the planting of these outposts un necessary, inasmuch as they may ex cite the suspicion of the enemy; and al though it be a trifle shall not sport with the friendship you indulge for me.”— “But then—the hour, general?”—“Oh yes, two o’clock you said.” “Pre cisely!” returned the other. At one o’clock on the following day, the general mounted his favorite horse and proceeded alone, upon a bye-road which conducted him to the hospitable mansion. It was about half an hour before the time, and the bustling host received him with open arms, in addi tion to the greetings of the delighted family. “How punctual, kind sir,” exclaimed his warm hearted friend. “Punctuality,” replied Washington, ;s an angel virtue, embracing minor as well as important concerns. He that is unpunctual with a friend, may doubt his integrity.” The host started: but recovering himself, he added—“then yours is a proof that we enjoy your full est confidence.” Washington propos ed a promenade upon the piazza, pre vious to the dinner. It overlooked a rough country several miles in extent; fields of grain, here and there sweep ing beneath the sides of bleak hills pro ducing nothing but rocks and grass— shallow rivulets of the uneven waste— then hidden by woodlands intercepting a prospect of the country beyond—spot ted now and then with silver glimpses of the Hudson, stealing through the sloping grounds below, and chequered on both sides by the dim,purple High lands, frowning sometimes into hoaty battlements, and tapering again into gentle valleys, hardly illuminated by the sun. “This is fine, bold scenery!” exclaimed the general, apparenty ab sorbed in the beauty of the prospect. “Yes, sir,” replied his friend, looking wishfully around, as if expecting some one’s approach; but catching the pierc ing glance of Washington, his eyes were fastened confusedly on the floor. “I must rally you, my friend,” ob served the General; “doyou perceive yonder point, that rises from the water and suddenly is lost behind that hill which obstinately checks the view?” u I do,” replied the absent listener, engaged apparently in something else than the subject of inquiry. “There,” continued the hero, “my enemy lies encamped; and were it not for a slight mist, I could almost fancy that I perc- nivA Yiig ratrolrv mnvlnnf Kul lio J, C9ts that swelled along the bosom of the landscape. “Would it not be strange, observed the general, apparently un conscious of the movements behind him, “ that after all my toils fc America should forfeit her liberty ?” “Heaven eive his cavalry moving; but hark, that cannon! do you think it proceeds from the head-quarters of the ene my While pointing out to his friend the profile of the country, the face of the latter was often turned the opposite way, seemingly engrossed in another object immediately behind the house. He was not mistaken, it was a troop seemingly, of British horse, that were descending a distant hill, winding thro’ a labyrinth of numerous projections and trees, until they were seen gallop ing through the valley below—and then again they were hidden by a field of for- nd entering more warmly into the feelfhgs of the other.—“But*” re sumed Washington, “I have heard of treachery in the heart of one's own camp: and, doubtless, you know that it is possible ‘to be wounded even in the house of one’s friend.” “Sir,” de manded the downcast host, unable to meet the searching glance of his com-' pamion, “who can possibly intend so daring a crime?” “I only meant,” re plied the other, “that treachery was the most hideous of crimes: for, Judas like, it will even sell its Lord for mo ney!” “ V T eiy true, dear sir,” respon ded the anxious host, as he gazed up on a troop of British horse, winding round the hill, and riding with post haste towards the hospitable mansion. “Is it not two o’clock yet?” demand ed Washington; “ for 1 have an en gagement this afternoon at the army and I regret that my visit must therefore be short er than I intended.” “It lacks a full quarter yet!” said his friend, seming doubtful of his watch, from the arrival ol the horsemen. “But, bless me, sir! what cavalry are those that are so ra pidly approaching the house!” “Oh, they may possibly be a party of British light horse,” returned his companion coolly, “whioh mean no harm; and, if l mistake not, they have been sent for the purpose of protecting me.” As he said this, the captain of the troop was seen dismounting from his horse: and his example was. followed by the rest of the party. “General,” return ed the false friend, walking to him ve ry familiarly, and tapping him on the shoulder, “General, you are my pris oner!” “I believe not,” said Wash ington. looking calmly at the men who were approaching the steps; “but, friend,” exclaimed he, slapping him in return on the arm, "‘I know that you are mine! Here, officer, carry this treacherous hypocrite to the camp, and I will make him an example to the enemies of America.” The British General had secretly offered an immense sum to this man, to make an appointment with the hero, at two o’clock, at which time he was to send a troop of horse, to secure him in their possession. Suspecting his in tentions, Washington had directed his own troop to habit themselves as En glish cavalry, and arrive half an hour precisely before the time he was ex pected. They pursued their way to the camp triumphing at the sagacity of their commander, who had so astonishingly defeated the machinations of the Bri tish General. But the humanity of Washington prevailed over his sense of justice. Overcome by the prayers and tears of the family, he pardoned his treacherous friend, on conditon of his leaving the country forever, which he accordingly did; and his name was ever afterwards sunk in oblivion. FOR THE CHEltOKEE PHffiNIX. CHEROKEE ALPHABET. Mr. Boudinott—As your paper is about to make its appearance before the public, and is to be printed as your Prospectus informs us, partly in the Cherokee language, and in the new and singular character invented by Mr. Guess, I presume that some re marks on that character will not be unacceptable to some of your English readers. I submit the following to your disposal with the simple remark, that, if any mistakes should occur in representing the sounds of the several letters you \Vill be able to make the necessary corrections. The following is the Cherokee Al phabet in the order in which it. was arranged by its inventor. R * M * y VV If C 5, d) P op W V W B * C tO V X E 6 T )l i a e s l © i a, a h> t, is •A *§ y >& b ■9 a (® ii r Z S (S R [i <T a .1 K *V“ q 0- 1 r f A* A CH S. The number of characters is 85.— The original number was 86, one of which has since been omitted, as be ing too little distinct in the sound rep resented by it from the character The arrangement, like that of all other alphabets of which I have any knowledge, is entirely without system. The characters' appear to have been placed in the order in which they pre- sented.themselves to the mind or to the eye of the inventor, when he was putting the finishing stroke to his work, s, after t for m by embodying his signs ofs having found his-number s writing all the words of tVi A systematic arrangeme? characters, with the sounds e by means of the Roman lett be attempted below. But it sary first lo explain the ma which some of the Roman letters used. The vowels have the following sound a as a m father, or short as a in rival-, e as a in hate, or short as e in net; i as i in pique, or short as t in pit", o as aw in law, or short as o in not; u as oo in Jool, or short as u in full. To these add v as ti in hut, made nasal, nearly as if followed by. the French nasal n. This sound is not found in the'English lan guage. I have used the letter v as a vowel, because it is necessary to have some repre sentative of the sound, &. this letter, when the use of it is explained, will answer the design as well as another. The consonants are. used as follows. d represents nearly the same sound as in pr< English, but approximating to that of t. g nearly the same, as its hard sound in. English, but approxiiriatnig to Jc. h, k, 1, m, n, g, s, t, w, y, as in Eng lish. The letter q, as iti English, is inva riably followed by u, with the same power, 'oft' The sounds of the other Roman conso nants never occur.* t* > > bft-cs W 3 cp ^ ^ -392 S S 3 « 3 3 o ° o s. fe5J2g§5-goo —I A ^ *0 N A rS .« S s o»'<« '-3 ~ >> ^ e. a a g, a 1 o x © *9 To « & g £ I s O* § « £ S •r (sAo.'os'lQ* -a 03 a 4) <U to *- ■j fr ig <0- <a ^ o3 -a ^2 05 bD K P * ^ O 03 a ,a 4> ffl ‘2-3 * ^ ce-2 Iti 3 _ ... — S gj cr co -q ^ ^ <b a < <3 <3 <8 Those syllables which are written with the consonant g, except s ga, sometimes have the sound of k. a do s du, <r» dv, are sometimes sounded to, tu, tv. Those written with tl, except c tla, sometimes vary to dl. Instead of ts, might be written ds, but the dis tinction is not very perceptible. A German would write with sufficient accuracy za,za, &c. Each character expresses a sylla ble by itself, with the exception of «, which has precisely the power of the Roman s, and is never used but as a prefix to a syllable beginning with the sound of g, q, or d, unless, occasion ally, before © ka, \v ta, t te, and a till. To dispense with this character, and substitute in its stead a separate char acter for each of its combinations, would require the addition of 17 new characters. This would make the whole number amount to 102, and would render the alphabet entirely syl labic. This circumstance of the alphabet being syllabic, and the number of syl lables so small, is the greatest reason why the task of learning to read the Cherokee language is so vastly easier than that of learning to read English. •Those persons who are acquainted with the Alphabet used by the Hon. Mr. Pick ering of Boston, in his Cherokee Gram mar, [yet unfinished,] will perceive the fol lowing differences between it and the one given above. 1. The sound is here represented by the vowel o which, in his alphabet, is express ed by means of a new character; and the sound of o in tone or short as in intonate is omitted. 1 have not used the new char acter for want of type: and have tak,en the letter o in its stead, as not being necessary for the expression of the other sound, which appears never to occur, unless in the single syllable qvo, w. 2. The sound of u in dumb, also ex pressed in Mr. Pickering’s Grammar by a new character, is here omitted. It does in deed at first hearing appear to he of fre quent recurrence; but critical observation, especially when the words are sung, or ' ” ' 11 ' when, by a change of location, the syllable in question becomes accented, will discover the sound to be that of a in father, only shortened. Indeed an English ear will find it hard to discriminate between the sound of u in dumb, and that of a in rival, or in the second syllabic cf .fidam. 3. The letterr is used instead of anoth er new character of Mr. Picke»ing’s for .want of his type. 4. The combb -tion qu is used instead of lew, as being more familiar. When an English scholar Recollects the tedious months occupied in his spellmg-book, he regards it as a I matter of astonishment, and nearly in- /j credib'hj, .that an active Cherokee boy | may learn to read his own language in a day, and that not more than two or three days is ordinarily requisite^-, let such is believed to be theiAcW^* Nor is it so great a mystery to one fjpio has learned to read both langua- and who reflects a little on the ct. When ?n English child has leafflfed the names of his letters, he has bur just begun learning to read.— The ma^ thing is to learn the combinar- tions of soufids; unless, indeed, it be a still more difficult task, to divest him self of the idea that he must pronounce the name of each successive letter in order to read. If, for illustration, ha y were to be pronounced be-a, he would soon learn. But after^ifice learning to irondunce the letter to detach i om the consonant sound, that of the vowel e, and at f ach to it that of a in one instance, i in another, and so on, and in the same manner to learn a thousand other, and some of them ex tremely complicated combinations, is d. But the Cherokee boy a task indee has not a single combination to learn except that of s with a succedingcon sonant; & the name of each character is the syllable which it represents. To read is only to repeat successively the names of the several letters. When, therefore, he has learned two charac ters, he can read a word composed of those two; when he has leartied three, he can read any word written with those three, and when he has learned his alphabet, he can read his language. I say he can read, not perfectly, hut he can spell out the meaning, and, by . practice, may become perfect. JJj But another very important advan tage which this alphabet has over the Roma’i, as applied to the writing of the English language, is that, excepting the variations of longer or shelter, harder or softer, as from (d to t,) and more or less aspirated sounds each cnaracter is the invariable representative of the same sounrhwhile in English the same sound may flive half a dozen different signs, or the same sign'may represent, as many different sou dg. The alphabet used by Mr. Pickering in his Cherokee Grammar, and some other modi fications of the Roman alphabet, as applied to languages till lately unwrit ten, possess the samd*^ advantage.— Hence it Iff that a San^viqh Islander, though, as I suppose, hie cannot equal the Cherokee with his syllabic alpha bet, will yet, in the Vapidity with which he acquires the a$t of reading, leave* every English schwar far behind. Another source of wonder in regard to the Cherokee alphabet is, that s© few syllabic characters are suflu ient t© write a language. Certainly they are sufficient to write it, and thal, for the reason implied in the last paragraph, in a manner Vastly more perfect thanj the English language is written byl means of the Roman alphabet of let ters. Two things account for the few* ne§s of the requisite syllabic charac> ters. First the fewness of consonani sounds in the language^; Secondly 1 and chiefly, the circum^ance that et ery syllable in the language ends with vowel sound. A little cfficulation wili I shew what a vast circumstance make, possible syllables ample, the^numbe pound consonant languages to be of vowel sounds, guage a vowel stitute a sylla syllable ends in Cherokee, glish,) a syll end, or both, though the n of vowels is t yet, if my number of po! ter is 1536, only 96. On bic method of applicable totl Sea Jslands, v dian languages, example, its ap to on iinpossibi been made in mentioned residing ce the lattei the number of ippose, for e*(j imple and comf: in each of twl and the numbt ble ^tx: in either Ian le; but in one ever a vowel sound, (a the other, (as in Eli may either begin < i a consonant. NoV f er of.-fcbnsonants ai ameineiifch languag metic is correct, t! \ syllables in the la le, in the former it f account the syllj g would be reat ages of flic Sot some of Cbocta; would bej attemp to the a gentle* , who, hat is eharact ieve, than 600, was ether his task was acc^ To the Cherokee Irnguj the fWstem is proved to he opplic and f earnestly hope that the its application will he such as^ I the just oceason of many thankss' jto God. of!