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POETRY.
Mr. Boudinott:—The following extract
from tho writing ofCowper may lie famil
iar to some of your readers, and new to oth-
er<5. I suggest it for insertion in your po
etical corner for the sake of its moral. It
is not only slave tradersand their advocates,
( r the slave trade has not ceased to have
advocates,) who resort to the argument
which the poet so happily exhih’ts; hut all,
as far as my observation extends, who are
en jaged in any species oftraffic profitable
toth a nselves, but injurious to the commu-
i*St/. A •norig others, I cannot but venture
to propose to all whiskev-dealers, in this
nation especially, the consideration of the
story of little Tom.
y>?.
PITY FOR POOR AFRIC \NS.
I -ee the good, an 11 approve,
But still the bad pursue.
I own I am shock’ 1 at the purchase of slaves,
And fear.those who buy them and sell them
are knaves;
What I hear of their hardships, their tor
tures, and groans,
Is almost enough to draw pity from stones.
I nitv them greatly—but I must be mum—
For how could we do without sugar and
• rum? .
Especially sugar, so needful we see?
What, give up our desserts, our coffee, and
teal
Besides, if we do, the French, Dutch, and
Danes,
WiH heartily thank us, no doubt, for our
- pa : ns:
If we do not buy the poor creatures, they
will,
And tortures and groans will be multiplied
still.
If forc'gners likewise would give up the
trade,
Much more in behalf of your wish might be
sa ; d;
But, while they get riches by purchasing
blacks,
Pray tell me why we may not go snacks?
Your scruples and arguments bring to" my
mind
A story so pat, you may think it. is coin’d
On purpose to answer you out of my mint:
But I can assure you I saw it in print:
A youngster at school, more sedate than the
rest,
Had once his integrity put to the test:
H s comrades had plotted an orchard to
rob,
And ask’d him to go and assist in the job.
He was shock’d, sir, like you, and answer-
’ •—“fJh, no!
What! rob our good neighbor! I pray you
don’t go,
Besides, the man’s poor, his orchard’s his
bread,
T!i mi think of his children, for they must
be fed.”
“ You speak very fine, and you look very
grave,
But apples we want, and apples we’ll have;
If you will go with us, you shall have a
share,
If not, you shall have neither apple nor
pear.”
They spoke, and Tom ponder’d—“I see
they will go;
Poor man! what a pity to injure him so!
Poor man! I would save him his fruit if I
could, i
But staying behind will do him no goo 1,
“ If the matter depended alone upon ipe,
H < app'es might hang till they dropp’d
from the tree;
B it, since they will take them, I think I’ll
go too,
He will lose none by me, though I get a
few.”
His scruples thus silenc’d, Tom felt more at
ease,
Ana wen; with his comrades the apples to
seize;
He b’am’.i and protested, but join’d in the
plan:
He shai ’J iu the plunder, but pitied the
mau.
INDIAN EMIGRATION.
Speech ok M.t. Woods,
[continued.]
I will now, Mr. Chairman, examine
into the situation of the Country which
the Indians now possess within the
limns of the several States; and into
the advantages which they enjoy in
their present homes. The Indian
lands lying vvijliin our borders is that
portion of their original possessions,
which they have never sold or trans
fixed to us. or to any other Govern
ment. We are told by one of our
sovereign States, while urging upon us
her claims to the Indian Country with
in her limits, “ it belongs to her, and
“ that she must and she will have
“it ; that we are bound, at all hazards,
“and without regard to terms, to pro-
“ ure it.” (See doe. 102, page 12.)
S r, the samo argument may be
urged, or rather the same language
may be used by all the other States,
within the limits of which there is any
Indian territory. It was by virtue of
the same sovereign right, that the
Pope, in the name of St. Peter, gave
to Soain all the Countries which Co
lumbus discovered. It is the right
which power gives, and not justice.
Shall we be told that Congress is to ‘
disregard the right of the Indians.
That the lands on which they now re
side shall be taken from them “with- ‘
out regard to terms?” That it is the ‘
interest—the determination—the set- ‘
tied policy of the United States. ‘
“at all hazards,” to drive them from '
their Country and homes? 1 hope not, '
sir; for the honor of my country, I
hope not. 1 may he told that I am
unacquainted with the true interests
of the Indians, and that they arc in the
most wretched and miserable 6itua- '
tion where they now reside. I will, '
Mr. Chairman refer you to the infor '
motion given to us by the Indian De- '
purtment, and by the Agents of our 1
Government. The facts stated by 1
those Agents, and in the documents to
which I will vefer, have been fre- 1
queutly reiterated, & if untrue, would
long since have been fully disproved. \
The whole number of the four largest I
nations within the limits of the States, i
is stated at more than fifty-four thou- 1
sand. The Creeks, 20.000; the 1
Cherokees, 9,000; Choctaws, 21,000; I
and the Chiekasaws, 3,625. t
It appears, from more recent infor- i
mat ion, that the number is probably r
much greater, and is rapidly increas- s
ing. These Indians enjoy all the ad- t
vantages which our own citizens in t
our new States and settlements pos- <
sess, except the political rights and ‘
privileges of which we deprive them. *
If they are degraded and wretched, I ‘
believe it is occasioned by our injustice ‘
and oppression. Let us, by extend- 1
ing to them political rights and privil- 1
eges, and by the influence of educa- 1
tion, remove the cause of their morak 1
degredation, and they will soon stand '
on as high an elevation as occupied by '
ourselves. To prove that these In- '
dians are not in the wretched and de- '
graded situation which is stated by '
many, I will turn the attention of the '
committee to the document which ac- <
companied the bill formerly reported I
by the committee on Indian affairs— I
In this document the Secretary ofWnr i
informs us, that “schools have been
“established, by the aid of private as i
“well as public donations, for the in- 1
“struction of their youths. They J
“have been persuaded to abandon the I
“chase—to locate themselves, and he- <
“come cultivators of the soil. Im- i
“plements of husbandry and domestic 1
“animals have been presented to i
“them, and all of these things have
“been done, accompanied with pro
fessions of disinterested solicitude
“for their happiness. Yielding to
“these temptations, some of them
“have reclaimed the forest', planted
“orchards, and erected houses, not
“only for their abode, but for the ad-
“miuistration of justice, and for reli-
“gious worship. And when they have
“so done, you send your agent to tell
“them they must surrender their
“country to the white man, and re
commit themselves to some new des
ert, and substitute, as the means of
“their subsistence,’ the precarious
“chase for the certainty of cultiva
tion.” “I will add” continues the
Secretary of War, in another part of
this communication, that “the end
“proposed is the happiness of the Iu-
“dians; the means of its accomplish
ment their progressive, and, finally,
“their complete civilization. The
“obstacles to success are their igno-
“rance, their prejudices, their repug
nance to labor, their wandering pro
pensities, aud the uncertainties of
“the future. I would endeaver to o-
“vercorae these by schools, by a dis
tribution of land in the individual
“right, by a permanent social estab
lishment which should require the
“performance of social duties.”
(See Ex. Docs. ofl825-6, Doc. 102.)
This, sir, is the language of the Sec
retary of War, (Mr. Barbour,) a lan
guage which does equal honor to the
head and heart of that distinguished
statesman.
Let me now, Mr. Chairman, turn
the attention of the comWtce more
directly to the present situation of the
several tribes or nations to which I
have before referred. What, sir, is
the situation of the Cherokee Indians?
We are told, in the same document to
which I last referred, that, in the
Cherokee country, “horses are plen-
“ty, and are used for servile purpos
es. *Numerous flocks of sheep,
“goats, and swine, cover the valleys
“and hills. On Tennessee and U-
“st anal la rivers, Cherokee commerce
“floats. The climate is delicious
“and healthy. In the plains and val-
“leys the soil is rkh, producing In-
“dian corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat
*‘oat8, indigo, sweet and Irish pota
toes. Apple and peach orchards
are quite common. Butter and
• cheese are seen on Cherokee tables.
“There are many public roads in the
“nation; and houses of entertainment
“are kept l^y the natives. Numer
ous and flourishing villages are seen
“in every part of the country. In
dustry and commercial enterprise
“are extending themselves in every
“part of the country. Nearly all the
‘ merchants in the country ate native
“Cherokees. Agricultural pmsuits
“engage the chief attention of the Peo
ple. The population is rapidly in
creasing.” “The census taken this
“year,(1325) shows that there are 13,-
“563 native citizens; 147 white men
“and 73 white women are married in-
“to tip nation; and they have 1,277
“Afrjban slaves.” Are not these
People, sir, in the possession of all
that vve propose to give them—of all
the/r warmest friends promise them,
in /he new home in which they wish
to place the Indians? I ask gentlumen,
why we should remove them from
this situation? It is our interest and
not theirs which prompts us to this
measure, and warms our unasked be
nevolence into action. What is the
situation of the Chickasaw tribe? I
will turn gentlemen to the report of
the Special Agent who has just visit
ed this nation. He informs us, that
“the population of the Chiekasaws
“may be put down at four thousand.
“They have increased about four hun
dred within the last five or six
“years.” lie says, “I will suppose
“the families to average five souls,
“which will give eight hundred hous-
“es. The number of mills, it is be
lieved, does not exceed ten. The
“workshops, I do not think, exceed
“fifty. Their orchards are few and
“limited in extent. Their fences are
“estimated to cost fifty thousand dol
lars.” Their stock of all kinds, av
eraging two horses, two cows, and
five hogs and a dozen poultry, to each
family, this agent estimates at eighty-
four thousand eight hundred dollars,
(see Doc. 2, page 179.) It is to re
move these People, who are thus in
creasing, in a ratio as rapid as the
most flourishing of the United States,
from the homes in which they already
enjoy so many comforts and advanta
ges, to some happy Elysian fields,
that gentlemen have seen their imagi
nation, but which exist no where else,
that we are so earnestly solicited to
make this appropriation.
The present situation of the Indians,
as proved by the documents to which
I have referred, is not worse, in re
gard to the means which they possess
of obtaining subsistence, and the or
dinary comforts of domestic life, than
that of thousands of our hardy and in
dependent yeomen, who are the pion
eers of a more dense population.
Among our citizens in the new States,
we will not find in a population of four
thousand; more than eight hundred
houses, ten mills, and fifty workshops.
Yet, Sir, with all this evidence be
fore us, gentlemen insist that these
Indians are a wretched and miserable
People, who can be preserved in no
other way, than by removing them in
to the wilderness, to seek their sub
sistence by pursuing the game of the
forest. In my opinion, sir, nothing
more is necessary to make them pros
perous and happy, than to extend to
them the rights of a free People
Make them a portion of the great A-
merican family.
Sir, I am in favor of the policy pro
posed and pursued by the late Secre
tary of War, [Mr. Calhoun.) The
system which he first proposed to
Congress, and to the nation, and which
had long before been sanctioned by
the recommendation of several of our
wisest and greastest statesmen, was
to extend to them the advantages of
civilization, not by driving them from
theirland into the wilds of the untrod
den forest, but by a 6ysiem of educa
tion, which would teach the Indian, &
particularly his children, the pursuits
and the habits of civilized man, and
thus make his present home more val
uable to him. In urging this subject
upon the consideration of Congress,
Mr. Calhoun says, “it will require
“the enlightened co-operation of the
“General Government, and of the
“States within Which the Indians may
“reside. With zealous and enlight
ened co-operation, it is, however,
“believed, that all difficulties may be
“surmounted, and this wretched, but,
“in many respects, noble race, be
“ultimately brought within the pale
“of civilization. Preparatory to so
“radical a change in our relations to
wards them, the system of educa
tion which has been adopted ought
vto be put into extensive atid active
“operation. This is the foundation
“of all our improvements. It ought
“gradually to be followed by a plain
“and simple form of government, such
“as have been adopted by the Cher-
“okees. A proper compression of
“their settlements, and a division of
“their landed property. By introdu
cing gradually and judiciously these
“improvements, they will ultimately
“attain such a. state of intelligence,
“industry, and civilization, as to pre
pare the way for a complete exten
sion of our laws and authority over
“them.” (Ex. Docs, of 1821—’2
vol 4, Doc. 59.)
Sii, this is the language and the
recommendations of the statesman
who lately presided over the War
Department with so much distinction. .
He did not dream of proposing the
scheme which is now urged with so
much zeal. He wished to provoke
no angry collisions in this work of hu
manity, of justice. Let us banish
from our councils the narrow feelings
of self-interest, and give to the Indians
a right to the soil which they possess— I
or rather, let us have the magnanim
ity to acknowledge that they have
now that right. Let the Indians be
the owners of the soil in fee—let the
right of individual property be ex- [
tended to them—let the strong >
passion awakened in the human bosom
by self-interest, be called into ac
tion. and they will no longer be a de
graded People. They will stand up
on the proud eminence of Americans.
They will feel no shame on account
of their origin. No, Sir, it will be
to them a source of conscious pride.
I might support these views by the o-
pinion of many gentlemen well ac
quainted with the subject. I will re
fer to one. Mr. Merriwether, of
Georgia, formerly a member of this
House, remarked to me, that “the on-
“ly way to elevate the Indian, is to
“give him property.” He said,
“give an Indian a slave, and he at once
“becomes a man.” I say give him
property much more valuable—give
him the rights of a freeholder and a
citizen.
But, sir, we are told that the Indians
are oppressed by the encroachments
of the white population which sur
rounds them; that they are trampled
on and oppressed by our own citizens.
This, sir, is a poor encomium on our
People—a wretched compliment to
the nation. While we are talking a-
bout our justice, our generosity—our
feelings of humanity for Indians—m
the same breath we say, that our cit
izens—that the American People—
with ruthless violence and injustice,
are trampling the weak remnant of
these once powerful nations into the
dust. If, we cannot protect them
within the limits of our State Govern
ments, in sight of our courts of justice,
and within reach of the arm of the
laws, we cannot protect them when
placed beyond the reach of our laws,
and out of the limits of any organized
civil government. Sir, this system,
spun of wild theories, is all a dream—
it is an Utopian scheme. If you can
not here stay the oppressing hand of
avarice, where will you remove them
to be beyond its grasp? Where you
propose to plant them, will not oar
soldiers be placed over them? will
not our People surround them there?
Those who now prey upon them as
vultures, will follow them to their new
abode. There is no place fit lor the
residence of any civilized People,
East ol the Rocky Mountains, which
has not been visited by the American
citizens. A few years ago, had thejpro-
position been made to plant the Indian
tribes in a remote colony, the spot
most likely to have been selected
would have been Northwest of Ohio
River, or, perhaps, just West of the
Allegany Mountains. I ask gentle
men to reflect on the consequences
of this measure. It appears to me
to be a scheme by which the exten
sion of our settlements and States is
to be limited and restrained, unless
you leave the Indians exposed to all
the uncertainty, to all the evils, of
which you now complain. Their sit
uation will be worse than it now is. In
proportion to the distance to which
you remove your territorial Govern
ment from the seat of the Gener .l
Government, and from the supervising
care, you necessarily increase the a-
buses to which it will be liable.—
You may hide the oppression of these
People from the nation by this meas
ure, but you will not thereby relieve
the poor Indians from its weight and
consequences..
It is said, sir, that the India
while in >ur vicinity, learn only o
vices, and that tney cannot be civiii
ed here, i ask gentlemen what th
will gain by removing them, when t
evil is not in the Territory which th
inhabit—not in their local situation
but in the relation in which they sta
to us? Their condition cannot be i
proved by the establishment of a mil’
tary despotism over them. If ma
can rise to a high slate of improvemc
under these circumstances, where he
is taken from half cultivated fields and
where he had become partially civi
ized, and placed in a wilderness, I coi
fess, sir, that I do not understand the
human character. Instead of rising
in civilization, he will sink beneath the
despotism which makes him little lesj
than your slave, or he will return a-
gain to the chase, and take refuse,
from your power and oppression in the
more remote depths of the forest.
I do not, sir, wish to preserve the Ii
dian race iu distinct tribes, or as a s
parate People. I would as soon pro.
pose to plant in our country a colony
from the Highlands of Scotland, and
to provide that they should always
continue to wear the Tartan plaid,
and to speak the Highland dialect, as
to preserve the Indians among us a
distinct People.
Mr. Chairman, this is the only step
necessary for the consummation of
that system of fraud and insincerity—
of treachery and baseness—which has
characterized our treaties and inter
course with the Indians. I speak
fearlessly, sir: this is the consum*
•nation of the vile policy which we
have hitherto pursued. Whatever
faithless promises we have made—
whatever guaranties we have given—
they haVe been, for the promotion of
our interest, all broken and disregard
ed. I will not trespass upon the feel
ings of this committee by travelling
into the evidence contained in this vol
ume of treaties, to prove the truth of
my assertions. We may talk with all
the sympathies of humanity about pro
viding a home—“a permanent home”—
for the poor wandering Indian. Yes,
sir, it will be “a last home”—and one
from which, when he shall reach its
bourne, we will no longer be troubled!
with his complaints. The sensibility
of gentlemen will be no more wounded
by the tales of Indian suffering and mi»
sery, or their benevolence taxed by
the claims of justice and humanity
urged in behalf of these People.
* The two sentences which immediately
follow, and the one which declares, that
“numerous and flourishing villages are
seen in every part of the Country,” cannot
be considered strictly correct. They wej-e
written by a young Cherokee who had been
absent from nis Country for a few years.-—
On his return, the astonishing progress of
his C untrymon in the arts of civilized life
made such an impression on his mind, as to
lead him to the commission of extravagant
expressions. Ed.
NEGRO PUN.
The following short but pithy dia
logue passed between two negroes it
Northampton county, Virginia, soot
after the surrender of Lord Cornwal
lis, at the siege of Little York.
Mingo.—Halloo, brudder Sam-*
how you do?
Sam.—0, don’t no brudder Mingt
—mighty poorly.
Mingo.—Poorly! indeed! you nc
hear de news?
Sam.—No. What sorter news?
Mingo.—Why, don’t you know dal
are great man dey call Cornwallis?
Sam.—Yes, Iheranuff ’bout bin
shooting after whitefolke all over d<
country.
Mingo.—Well I spose you kuovi
Gin’ral Washington?
Sam.—0 yes—I know ole masser
Mingo.—Well I tell.you what; hi
no Cornwallis now; he Cob-wallis—
Gin’ral Washington shell all de cori
off him too slick.
TWO LAWYERS.
An opulent farmer applied about a
lawsuit to an attorney, who told him
he could not undertake it, being alrea»
dy engaged on the other side; at the
same time he said, that he would give
him a letter of recommendation to a
rofessional friend, which he did.—
le farmer, out of curiosity, opened
it, and read as follows:
“Here are two fat wethers fallen out tOf
gether.
If you fleece one. I’ll fleece the other,
And make ’em agree like brother and
brother.”
The farmer carried this epistle to the
person with whom he was at variance.
Its perusal cured both parties, and
terminated the dispute.
CHEROKEE ALPHABET, ~~
Neatly printed and for tale at this