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CHEROKEE
NEW ECU OTA, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6, 1828.
NO,
23.
EDITED BY ELIAS B0UD1N0TT.
PRINTED WEEKLY BY
ISAAC H. HARRIS,
FOR THE CHEROKEE NATION.
At $2 50 if paid in advance, $3 in six
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Ri-IR
AGENTS FOR THE CHEROKEE
PHCENIX.
The following persons are authorized to
receive subscriptions and payments for the
Cherokee Phoenix.
Henry Hii.l, Esq. Treasurer of the A.
B. C. F. M. Boston, Mass.
George M. Tracy, Agent ofthe A. B.
G. F. M. New York.
Rev. A. D. Eddy, Canandaigua, N. Y.
Thomas Hastings, Utica, N. Y.
Pollard & Converse, Richmond, Va.
Rev. James Campbell, Beaufort, S. C.
William Moultrie Reid, Charleston,
S. C.
Col. George Smith, Statesville, W. T.
William M; Combs, Nashville Ten.
Rev. Bennet Roberts—Powal Me.
Mr. Titos. R k Gold, (an itinerant Gen
tleman.)
MOURNING.
“ Black is the sign of mourtiing,”
nays Rabelais, “because it is the color
of darkness, which is melancholy, and
the opposite to white, which is the
color of light, of joy, and of happi
ness.”
The early poets asserted that souls,
after death, went into a dark and
gloomy empire. Probably it is in
consonance with this idea that they
imagined black was the most congen
ial color for mourning. The Chinese
and the Siamese choose white, con
ceiving that the dead become benefi
cent genii.
In Turkey, mourning is composed
of blue or violet; in Ethiopia, of gray;
and at the time of the invasion of Pe
ru by the Spaniards, the, inhabitants
of that country wore it" of mouse co
lor. Amongst the Japanese, white is
the sign of mourning and black of re
joicing. In Castile, mourning vest
ments were formerly of white serge.
The Persians clothed themselves in
brown, and they, their whole family,
and all their animals, were shaved.-—
InLycia, the men wore female habili
ments during the whole time of their
mourning.
At Argos people dressed themselves
in white, and prepared large feasts
and entertainments. At Delos they
cut off their hair, which was deposit
ed upon the sepulchre of the dead.—
The Egyptians tore their bosoms, and
covered their faces with mud, wear
ing clothes of the color of yellow, or
of dead leaves.
Amongst the Romans, the wives
were obliged to weep the death of
their husbands, and children that of
their father, during a whole year.—
Husbands did not mourn for their
wives, nor fathers for their children
unless they were upwards of three
years old.
The full mourning of the Jews con
tinues for a year, and takes place up
on the death of parents. The chil
dren do not put on black, but are
obliged to wear, during the whole
year, the clothes which they had on
at the death of their father, without
being allowed to change them, let
them be ever so tattered. They fast
on the anniversary of bis death, every
year. Second mourning lasts a month,
and takes place on the demise of chil
dren, uncles, aunts. During that pe
riod they dare neither wash them
selves, shave, nor perfume them
selves, nor even cut their nails. They
do not eat in common in the family,
and the husband and wife live sepa
rately. Slight mourning continues on
ly for a week, and is worn on the de
cease of a husband or of a wife. On
returning from the funeral obsequies,
tlio huoband, wearing Vue mourning
habits, washes his hands, uncovers his
feet, and seats himself on the ground,
remains in the same posture, and con
tinues to groan and weep, without pay
ing attention to any occupation, until
the seventh day.
The Chinese, when they are in
mourning, wear coarse white cloth,
and weep three years for the loss of
the departed. The magistrate no long
er exercises his functions, the coun
sellor suspends his suits, and husbands
and wives, as with the Jews, live a-
part from each other, Young people
live in seclusion, and cannot marry
till the end of the three years.
The mourning of the Caribbees con
sists in cutting off their hair, and in
fasting rigorously yntil the body putri-
fy; after which they indulge in de
bauches, to drive all sadness away
from their minds.
Among certain nations in America,
the nature of the mourning depended
upon the age of the deceased. At the
death of children, the relations were
inconsolable; while scarcely a tear
was given to the aged. Mourning for
children, in addition to its longer du
ration, was common, and they were
regretted by the whole town in which
they drew their first breath. On the
day of their demise, persons dared not
approach their parents, who made a
frightful noise in their house, yielded
to the most violent fils of despair,
bonded like demons, tore their hair,
bit themselves, and scratched them
selves over the whole body. The fol
lowing day they threw themselves up
on a bed, which they watered with
their tears. The third day they com
menced their groaning for the loss of
their child; this lasted a whole year,
during which neither father nor moth
er ever washed themselves. The rest
of the inhabitants of the place, in or
der to evince their sympathy for the
affliction of the parents, wept three
times a day until the body was borne
to the grave.
RICHARD BAXTER.
The following striking interposition
of Providence, is said to have taken
place during Mr. Baxter’s residence
in Coventry. Several ministers e-
jected by the act of uniformity, who
resided in that city, united with Mr.
Baxter in establishing a lecture in a
private house on a neighboring com
mon. The time of worship was gen
erally a very early hour. Mr. Bax
ter left Coventry in the evening, in
tending to preach the lecture the fol
lowing morning. The night being
dark, he lost his Way, and wandering
about a considerable time, he came to
a gentleman’s house, where he asked
for direction. The gentleman think
ing it would bo unsafe for such a per
son to be wandeiing on the common
at so late an hour, requested the ser
vant to invite him in. Mr. Baxter
readily accepted the kind proposal,
and met with a very hospitable recep
tion. His conversation was such as
to give his host an exalted idea of his
good sense and extensive information.’
The gentleman wishing to know the
quality of his guest, said after supper,
“As most porsons have some employ
ment or profession in life, I have no
doubt, sir, that you have yours.’
“Yes, sir, I am a man catcher.”—“A
man catcher, (said the gentleman,
are you? i am glad to hear you say
so, for you are the very person I want.
I am it justice of flic peace in this
district, and am commissioned to seize
the p(*-son of Dick Baxter, who is
expected to preach at a conventicle
in this neighborhood early to-morrow
morning; you shall go with me, and I
doubt not we shall easily apprehend
the rogue.” Mr. B. agreed to ac
company him. Accordingly, the next
morning, the gentleman took Mr. Bax
ter in his carriage to the place where
the meeting was to be held. When
they arrived at the spot, they saw a
considerable number of people hover
ing about, for seeing the carriage of
the justice, and suspecting his inten
tion!!, they were afraid to enter the
house. The justice observing this,
said, to Mr. Baxter, “I am afraid
they have obtained information of my
design; Baxter has probably been ap
prised of it, and will not fulfil his
engagements; foi you see the people
will not enter into (he house. 1 think
if we extend our ride a little farther,
our departure may encourage them
to assemble, and on our return we
may fulfil our commission.” When
they returned, they found their efforts
useless, for the people still appeared
unwilling to assemble. The magis
trate, thinking he should he disappoint
ed of the object he had in view, ob
served to his companion—“That as
the people were very much disaffected
to government, he would be much o-
bliged to him to address them on the
subject of good behaviour.” Mr.
Baxter replied “that perhaps this
would not be deemed sufficient; for
as the religious service was the object
for which they met together, they
would not be satisfied with advice of
that nature, hut if the magistrate
would begin with prayer, he would
then endeavor to say something to
them.” The gentleman replied, put
ting his hand into his pocket, “Indeed,
sir, I have not got my prayer hook
with me, or I would readily comply
With your proposal. However, lam
persuaded that a person of your ap
pearance and respectability, would
be able to pray with them, as well as
to talk to them. I beg, therefore,
that you will be so good as to begin
with prayer.” This being agreed to,
they alighted from the carriage and
entered the house, & the people, hes
itating no longer, followed them. Mr.
Baxter then commenced the service
by prayer, and prayed with that se
riousness and fervor for which he was
eminent. The magistrate standing
by, was soon melted into tears. The
good divine then preached in his ac
customed, lively, and zealous manner.
When he had concluded he turned to
the magistrate, and said, “I am the
very Dick Baxter of whom you are in
pursuit—I am entirely at your dispo
sal.” The justice,"' however, had
felt so much during the service, and
saw things in so different a light, that
he laid aside entirely all his enmity to
the non-conformists,& ever afterwards
became their sincere friend and advo
cate, and it is believed also a decided
Christian.
EARTHQUAKE.
At twenty-one minutes past eight of
the morning of the twenty-third of
February last, the shock of an earth
quake was felt simultaneously at
Liege, Maestrecht, and Tongres, in
the Netherlands; which lasted about
ten seconds at those places. The
previous night and the earlier part of
the morning portended, from the ap
pearance of the sky, a high wind
from the south-west; but the weather
became suddenly calm a few moments
before the earthquake was felt.—
What renders this visitation the more
remarkable, is its having been appa
rently confined to the low countries,
which have been peculiarly exempted
from such occurrences; and none has
been remarked since that of 1755,
when Lisbon was destroyed, and near
ly the whole of Europe experienced,
in some degree, the earth’s commo
tion. • The cities wc have alluded to
above, were those where the shock
w*s the severest. Liege being under-
mired in its whole extent by coal pits,
its inhabitants were greatly as justly
teniiied. At Maestrecht, a catholic
priest was in the act of performing
the birial service in the public ceme
tery, flacecl, as it would seem, on the
very liie the earthquake most forcibly
evinced itself. Alarmed at the unac
countable phenomenon, he, with the
mourner!, most unceremoniously left
‘the dead to bury the dead,’ and took
to his heels, none of the party pausing
to take breath until they had attained
the town. At Tongres, the mass lor
the dead was saying in the ancient and
remarkable church of that oldest of
the cities of the Netb orI ""' 1e ; nnr!
corpse of a young woman was lying
before the altar, when the coffin was
observed to move upon the tressels
that supported it, and a strange moan
ing sound was heard to fill the church:
unprepared for these unusual events,
fear got the better of devotion. With
out the ‘let us start fair’ formality of
the Cornish Curate, the Priest headed
his flodk in the attempt to escape from
the church, but the doors opening in
ward, were at once closed by the rush
of the affrighted congregation; and
long and fearful was the struggle, and
the cries and shrieks of the candidates
for Catholic Emancipation most, alarm
ing, ere a sortie could be effected.
FLOOD AT ST. PETERSBURGH.
The following account of the flood
of St. Petersburgh, in 1824, is given
by Mr. Wilson in his “Travels in
Russia,”&c:—“On the night of the
24th of November the signal lamps
were hung round the top of the stee
ple, in consequence of a strong west
erly wind impeding the rapid current
from Ladago, and thereby causing a
tremendous swell in the Feva and all
the canals. By 12 o’clock the follow
ing day, nearly the whole city was
laid under water, and a scene of hor
ror ensued that absolutely baffles de
scription; for sentry boxes, timber,
furniture, and all kinds of provision
might be seen floating in enormous
masses along the streets, while dark
rolling clouds added to the frightful
spectacle, and the water dashed over
the roofs of the highest houses. In
one quarter of the town, that is called
the Smolensley, the very mansions of
tile dead were invaded, graves torn o-
pdn, and the coffins every where float
ed about. The water was now 7
feet above the pavement in all parts
of the city. Many persons never sup
posing it would attain such a height,
had left their houses to witness the
increase of the Neva; but alas! on at
tempting to return to them, per
ished in the flood. All the bridges
were swept away, and the broken
barges, rafts of wood, galliots, and
vessels of various descriptions carried
along with them the lamp-posts,
smashed the windows, where hurling
to and fro, and some of the streets
were choked up by them. In another
quarter, th3 Vissilli Ostov, where
most of the houses are of wood, the
destruction was tremendous; for these
buildings were torn up from their 1 *
very foundations, and entirely swept
away, with the dead bodies of their in
mates. Amidst these scenes of hor
ror, many instances truly wonderful,
and almost providential rescue from
destruction occurred, among which
the following deserves to be noticed:
In one house that was surrounded with
water: there were several children,
who as the flood increased, first had
recourse to a chair, and when it reach
ed top of that, they mounted a table.
In this situation, perilous as it was,
they fell asleep, and on awaking,
found that their floated couch nearly
touched the ceiling; by this means,
however, they were miraculously
saved. The second instance is that
of a cradle being carried away by the
flood with a male child in it, who like
another Moses, was wonderfully pre
served. A wooden bouse having been
lifted from its foundation, was alloat
and washed into the Admiralty yard,
and on searching this, it was found to
contain much property. On the wa
ter subsiding, the dead body of a fe
male was found kneeling, in the act of
supplicating to the image of a saint af
fixed to the wall. Throughout the
city all was terrour, despair and dis
may; for the terrified inhabitants im
agined a general deluge was about to
take place.”
From the N. Y. Journal of Commerce.
Some things cun he done as well as
others.—On Friday last, at half past
4 P. M. agreeable to appointment, a
hair-brained fellow in Patterson, whose
name we do not recollect, leaped from
the Passiad Falls just to gratify an.
Gil©'uhim of h!s own. This is the
third time he lias done it—the first
time lie did it privately oy way of ex
periment—he then gave out that he
would do it publicly for the gratifica
tion of any who pleased to attend.—
The authorities in Patterson were
justly alarmed, & put him under keep
ing till they supposed he had abandon
ed the purpose, hut he watched the
opportunity after lie was freed from
restraint, and when a number of per
sons were present, in a favourable po
sition, he carried it into execution.—
Since that time, the authorities have
allowed him to consult for liis own
safety, and he leaps from a precipice
of a hundred feet whenever it takes
his fancy. It does not appear that he
receives or expects any compensation
for performing this daring feat. He
says he ‘■'■merely wants to show that some
things can be done as well as ethers.'”—
The position from which he leaped on
Friday is a few rods below the bridge
on the side towards the village, and,
if the falls are 70 feet (as commonly
estimated,) about 85 or 90 above the
water. The giddy precipices around
the chasm were covered with a pro
miscuous multitude of both sexes,
whose curiosity had brought them to
gether to see this singular feat of te
merity. The universal anxiety of the
multitude was manifest in their coun
tenance, and still more perfectly in
the silence that prevailed. When
the man made his appearance a dark
cloud had come over the spot, adding
to the sublimity of the cataract that
of an approaching storm. As he walk
ed deliberately forward to his position
you might have heard the beating of
their hearts had it not been for the
mingled thunders, from the chasm be
neath and the clouds above. When
he had divested himself of his coat,
vest and shoes, and laid them careful
ly by, as if debating the question
whether he should want them again,
he commenced a short speech to the
spectators which hut few of course
could hear. He then stepped for
ward to the edge of the rock and look
ed down, and the spectators on that
side supposing that he was going off,
came forward as their curiosity, or
their fears moved them, and seemed
to those opposite as if all were about
to make the fatal leap; indeed there
was great danger of a whole line of
those in front being crowded off. Af
ter he had looked down a moment, he
stepped back a few feet, ran forward,
and leaped into the abyss. He went
down with his feet foremost, though
drawn up somewhat. For this reason,
or some other past comprehension, he
did but just go under the water, for
he was immediately seen swimming
off as quietly as if he had done nothing,
and nothing had befallen him. The
maniac, (for what else can he be call
ed?) was greeted with a shout from
the spectators when-they saw that ho
was still safe; and when lie had reach
ed the shore, he marched round to
his clothes with a look of composure
and satisfaction, and they to their
homes, some admiring his courage, but
more pitying his temerity.
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