Newspaper Page Text
, crwy JcTjauo^.
CIIEH0K1BE AID INDIANS’ ADVOCATE*
Half
PRINTED UNDER T1IE PATRONAGE, AND FOR THE RENEITT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, AND DEVOTED TO HIE CAUSE OF INDIANS.—E. ECUUINCTT, EDiTOH.
VOL. If.
NEW EC1IOTA, WEDNESDAY JCNE 21,1829.
iVO. 12.
PRINTED WEEKLY BY
John f. wheeler,
At $2 50 if paid in advance, $3 in six
manlh?, or $S 50 if paid at the end of the
year.
To subscribers who can rea l only the
Cherokee language the price will be #2,00
in advance, or $2,50 to be paid within the
.year.
livery subscription will be considered a~
Continued unless subscribers give notice to
the contrary before the commencement of a
hew year,and all arrearages paid.
Any person procuring six subscribers,
fend becoming responsible for the payment,
.fihail receive a seventh gratis.
Advertisements will b® inserted at seven
ty-five cents per square for the first inser
tion, and thirty-seven and a half cents for
eaeh continuance; longer ones in propor
tion. , _
jc3f» ill letters addressed to the Editor,
post paid, will receive due attention.
Q W y T tf .9 V 0- A ad h S I 8 E <V 5 A.
PSAVEA.1 TAAT* U-V* ShtfBAA Jy-iAlA.
B9.1E AUdShAaty KT./1 D.pP Ce.TBJ
TGTZ TEA50 ,, J > ’ DO
TCTZ ffeP TcSOA TB D8T/3>*>I*oi>..t, KT
DtH (ye.lIUl I*4«!.I. D?~I.S><»F.Z TB yiV
DOJ.SitKdtl.I, 0-yjlT D.£P (POJBa P4c»^.
cwyz cpc.it anc5hJ:<»y, wp*v» d?-g
'PS^Bir», TCTZ TEAS0-T 5 1)6’
JAdfriiA. KTAZ D&P eay>V* O’SJB*
Tiait Dej^jtP'cSi.i.
AGENTS FOlt 1 HE CHEROKEE
PIICENIX.
The following persons are authorized to
receive subscriptions and payments tor the
Cherokee Phoenix.
Messrs. Peirce &. Williams, No. 20
Market St. Boston, Mass.
Georoe M. Tracy, Agent oftlie A. B:
C. F. M. New York.
Rev. A. D. Eddy, Canandaigua, N. Y.
Thomas Hastings, Utica, N. Y.
Pollard St Converse, Richmond, Va.
Rev. J-&mes Campbell, Beaufort, S. C,
William Moultrie Reid, Charleston,
s. c.
Col", Georoe Smith, Statesville, W. T.
William M. Combs, Nashville, Ten.
Rev. Bennet Roberts, Powal Me.
Mr. Thos. R. Gold, (an itinerant Gen
tleman.)
Jeremiah Austil, Mobile, /Via.
Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury, May hew, Choc
taw Nation.'
Capt. William Robertson, Augusta,
Georgia.
Cot James Turk, Bellfonte, Ala.
mTBMPEKANCD.
An Atidress on Ardent Spirit, *■ . .
fore the New Hampshire ^ edic ‘ al Soeie .
f827. By R. V. Musgey M at
that time Presi of the Society, and
jiartinov' ' Jlnalom y md Sur e erin
JJartmov h Uollege<
than nine hundred years ago,
a l 1 Arabian Chemist discovered by
distillation, a pungent anil warning li-
rttior, to which was given the name of
•Alcohol, & which we call ardent spirit.
This, a modern writer asserts, is the
aqua, divian, or water of the Elysian
'fields, invented by Democritus, and
lie maintains that the term alkohol
lias nearly the same import with gold*
hen liquor,‘ applied by some of his
countrymen to the precious invention
of the Greek philosopher* This li
quor was brought into Europe at the
time of the Moorish conquest, soon
came into general favour, and now
exerts an important influence over a
great part of the civilized world.
It is the object of the following re
marks to examine th* claims of this
article to the extensive patronage and
confidence it has acquired.
When taken in small quantity into
the stomach, it diffuses its influence
over tile whole body; a fresh impulse
is given to the living powers, the coun
tenance light s up with pleasure, and
'the mind acts* with new interest and
vivacity.
lender the influence of a larger dose
at the exhilarating fluid, sensibility
and sympatl ly unfold themselves.—
Tears fall, us a pensive association
crosses the miiul, or a tale of common
suffering is tbill, the benevolent af
fection flow <»Ut upon all surrounding
objocts, and the whole world is not
too large a sphere for the exercise of
■ ’is generous senti cents which swell
t le bosom. The mini disburlhened
if care, and disregarding the past and
the future, sees no impediment to the
boldest and most extravagant enter
prise's, and rioting in the luxury of
present existence, scarcely acknowl-
e Iges a superior in the universe.—-
Here the distinctions of society begin
to disappear. The idle and halt
starved vagrant is trauslo. metl into a
lord, rind surrounded with pomp and
plenty; and the miserable outcast,
who has'tenanted a prison for his
crimes, imagines himself on a throne,
clothed with power sufficient to di
rect the destinies of a nation or of the
world.
* The lover of alkohol sometimes re
sorts to poetry and song in the ex
pression of his ecstacies, but as the
effjot of the ethereal liquor deepens,
hb sings or shouts inarticulate re
sponses to music or voices which
seem to come to him fioru a distance,
but which are occasioned by a violent
beating of the arteries of his own
brain.
If the corpofdl part of man, in this
happy condition, be inspected, it pre
sents phenomena which. correspond
with those oftlie mind. The whole
face is swollen, the torehead and tem
ples patched with red and white, the
cheeks of a deep crimson, the nose
tipped with ruby, the corners of the
mouth drawn down, and the under lip
inclining to drop, the eyes blood shot
and glassy, roll upwards under their
lids, and the body and limbs, no longer
subjected to the arbitrary contiol of
the will, assume that position which is
dictated by the power ot gi avitairo i;
ina word, the whole rnan, declining
with farther intercourse with exter
nal nature, retires within himself, &,
heedless of the material eretlinn a-
round him, remains for hours, as if in
a trane^. If such be some of the
effects of alkohol, who can wonder
that it has been called the golden drink}
or that poets have chanted its )y,aUe.
This, however, is not till, | t pos
sesses, more than any olher invention
ot man, the POw^,. 0 f transforming
character; lout ^\hat is worthy of par
ticular '^etice, is, that its good trans-
nations are transitory, and nearly
ty. You have seen him betake him
self to the bottle; soon the relish for
study or business is lost; industry,
ambition, character, and family rep
utation, virtuous society, are all un
meaning things; the high considera
tions they present, he regards not, but
iva.iders about, the associate of idlers
and thieves, the bull of vulgar inso
lence, and the abhorrence of his for
mer virtuous and intellectual compan
ions. llis parents weep for him in
secret places.
You have seen the man of talents,
industry and extensive usefulness, who
in the exercise of his vocation, had
acquired high public confidence,
thrown down by the magic powei of
alkohol, from the pinnacle of his ele
vation, to become the object of popu
lar derision and abuse. Was be a
physician or a lawyer, had he sat in
the high seat of public justice, or had
his voice been heard in the council of
the nation, or had he borne messages
of grace to guilty men; you have seen
him barter the luxury of doing good,
or grow regardless oftlie law and of
justice, or despise the insignia of office
and public conlidence, or voluntarily
tear off his priestly vestments, and ex
tinguish with his own hand the flame
of that altar, before which he had
ministered year after year; and all
this for what? for distilled spirit: for
the privilege ol being the companion
of fools and drunkards.
What is the secret of this witche
ry which strong drink exerts over the
whole man? 1 will try to tell you.
After being received into the stomach,
it is sucked up by absorbent vessels,
is carried into the blood, and circu
lates through the alimentary organs,
through, the lungs,.mqjelcs, and brain
and doubtless through every organ of
the body, Not a blood vessel how
ever minute, not a thread of nerve in
the uhole animal machine escapes its
influence'. What is the nature of
this hiflnonce? It disturbs the func
tions of life; it increases for a time,
the action of living organs, but lessens
the power of that action; hence the
deep depression and collapse which
lollow preternatural excitement. By
habitual use it renders the living fibres
less and less susceptible to the heal
thy operation of unstimulating food
all its had ones, permanent. Does it J and drink, Us exciting influences scon
give momentary strength to the fee- . become incorporated with all the
hie, its habitual use makes the strong I living actions ol the body, and the di
man weak. Does it inspire the cow- j urnal sensations of hunger, thirst, and
ard with despe ration,U can break down exhaustion, are strongly associated
the heart oi courage, and reduce the with the recollection of its exlnlaia-
manly spirit to the imbecility of child- ting effects, and thus bring along with
hood. Does it make the poor man them, the rensllcss desire for it:* iipi*
rich in imagination, it make* the rich tition-
man poor in reality. If it occasion- Is evidence
poor in reality
ally excite a flood of sympathetic
tears, afld unclench the list of avarice,
it relaxes benevolent exertion, and
reinders the mind habitually less sen
sible to the sufferings of others.
What permanent influence does it
exert on the social affections and the
moral feelings? Was it ever known
to increase conjugal attachment and
__ , required of its being
absorbed, and pervading the different
organs of the body? Approach with
in a few feet oftlie rum or brandy
drinker, and the.odour of his breath
jvill quickly demonstrate, that the
lungs, loaded with the foul liquor, are
discharging it with all the energy in
their power.
When taken by the nursing mother,
lo increase conjugal mwyiimiw** i
kindness, parental tendeme.., nr filial | it enters into tins delicate food pre-
. . * . » it •. _ ireiMwi ntr rtr*t ll rife f nr 111^ non Plsih Iill'm
love and obedience? Has it ever
given a spur to industry, in the farm
er, the tradesman, the merchant, or
professional maii, by urging upon him
the claims of a dependent Jfarnily, or
a suffering friend? Who was ever
inspired by alkohol with lofly moral
sentiments? Who has felt its influ
ences directing his thoughts reverent
ly upwards towards the Author of bis
being, am) prompting him to sincere
confession of departure from duty, tp
submission to his will, and obedience
to his commands? On the contrary,
who has not seen its effects in poison
ing the fountains of social and moral
feeling, and in transforming the affec
tionate, kind, and hopefully devout
man,- into a savage or a brute?
You have seen a youth of fine tal
ents and promise, coming into life en
circled with the highest parental
hopes ami expectations, and making
regular and rapid progress towards a
sphere of usefulness cud rcspectubili-
pared by nature for the nourishment
and growth of helpless infancy, and in
this way, as may most rationally be
supposed, produces a relish for an ar
ticle naturally disgusting, and lays
thus early, in some instances, a foun
dation for intemperance in alter lile.
What physician has not known a nurs
ing mother give a fretful child a good
night's sleep, by taking, herself, a dose
of brandy at bed time?
Other organs than those destined for
the formation of milk, manifest the
presence of this article when it is
combined with peculiar odours; those
organs especially, which are set as
waste gates to the system, soon show
how foreign it is, and ill adapted to
the real wants of the animal economy,
by separating it from the klood and
taking it out of the general circula
tion as fast as possible.
The brain, that most dedicate and
wonderful organ, which forms the
mysterious link between the other
forms of matter and mind, the healthy
functions of which are essential to
vigorous intellectual operation* is ca
pable of imbibing alkohol, and having
all its jetions suddenly arrested. In
point, is the case of the man who was
picked up in London, soon after hav
ing drank a quart of gin upon a wager.
He tvas carried to the Westminster
hospital and there dissected. “In the
ventricles of the brain was found a
considerable quantity of limpid fluid,
distinctly impregnated with gin, both
to the sbnse of smell and taste, and
even to the test of inflammability.—
The liquid appeared, to the senses
oftlie examining students, as strong
as one third gin to two thirds water.”
We knew that alkohol, even when
diluted, by long contact after death,
hardens the brain, as well as the other
soft textures oftlie body which contain
albumen; &. although the vital principle
may enable the brain to resist in a great
measure, and for a long lime, this ef
fect of alkohol, when brought into it
from the stomach by the general cir
culation, the fact, as alleged by many
and as I am strongly induced to be
lieve from the limited means I have
had of observing, viz. that the brains
of drunkards are literally harder at
death, than those of the temperate,
may be considered in strict accord
ance with the effects of intemperance
upon the intellectual functions. If
this organ be in any degree hardened
by the circulation of diluted alkohol
through its minute and most delicate
ly organised parts, it might well be
supposed to be less susceptible of
those exqiisitively balanced actions,
which we can hardly help believing
do exist in the impressions made by
external ohjycts, and the variety of
Combinations of them, produced by
the more abstract, and retired opera
tions oftlie mind. That a large pro
portion of tipplers early discover an
unnatural obtuseness of intellect, and
thu{ frequently a mind originally
quick and vigorous, becomes slugglish
and imbecile, need not be told to an
assembly of physicians who have had
the common opportunities of observing
the effects of intemperance.
The stomach and liver of drunkards
are generally found lo be disordered,
the stomach frequently contracted,
and the liver much .harder than nat
ural, exhibiting an unnatural colour
both upon its surface, and throughout
its interior texture. This, perhaps,
is what might be expected. The
stomach receives the liquor, in the
most concentrated and active form, in
which it is taken into the body. From
the stomach and the alimentary canal
below, most, if not all of it, is prob
ably carried through the liver in a
state less dilute than when distributed
among the remaining organs of the
body. The texture of the liver too,
which consists merely ol vessels and
nerves with enough cellular mem
brane to hold them together, may
show why it. is more obviously affect
ed than the alimentary canal, inasmuch
as this canal has a distinct, and in
some places, a thick muscular coat,
independently of its vessels. The
skin oftlie inebriate is always more or
less affected. Its fair colour soon
fades under the withering influence
of ardent spirit: and from being
smooth, soft and elastic, it becomes
uneven, wrinkled and flaLby, if the
subject be somewhat advanced in
life; or if young, the skin ol the face
is bloated, uneven, and frequently
purple, and very often in middle
life ami after, a large crop of red
pimples is the only ornament the face
exhibits.
The eye, that window of the mind,
loses its pearly whiteness, its trans
parency, its quick and significant mo
tions, and becomes dim, slugglish and
unmeaning.
The various phenomena exhibited
in the different stages of alkoholic in
fluence, including its immediate and
more permanent effects, and modified
'by age and ^pustituiional tempera
ment, would occupy more time in th&
enumeration, than can bo spared on
the present uccusion. The case of
him who has made free with his cups,
till they have produced lire following
train of symptoms, is not unfrequent-'
ly submitted to the consideration ofa-
physician. The forehead and cheeks
are swollen, pale and lightly tinged
with yellow, the lips leaden coloured
or pale, the eye yellow, dim and va^
caul, the lower eydid loose and hang*
ing, the upper lid several times Un
natural thickness, disaphanous and
drooping, the body twice its natural
circumference, the limbs tottering
and swollen, the breath insuppoitabl/
fetid, respiration difficult and wheez*
ing, accompanied with a short dry
cough. “Throw medicine to the
dogs” in such a ease.
The bodies of some few urinkerir
have been so thoroughly steeped in
spirit, as literally to consume lo ash*
es. It is said that no ease of sponta-’
ueous combustion has ever occurred,
except among bard drinkers, and it is
altogether probable that in every such
case, an inflammable air has exhaled
from the lungs or skin, or both, and'
has been kindled by the loo near ap
proach of a lighted taper, or some ig®
nated substance. A French Chemist,
it is said, after drinking a pint of ether'
during the day, use lo amuse himself*
in the evening, by lighting up his
breath, directed in a very small stream
upon the flame of a lamp. Alkohol
taken in large quantities, would proU
ably in seine constitutions at least, oc-»
ccsion a similar vapour to be thrown
from the lungs; and there is doubtless
more danger.than has been imagined,
in a deep drinker's bringing his mouth
or nose close to a lighted taper at eve*
„i„ s .
The numerous and weighty consit>
erations, some of which have been
hinted at, and which a reflecting man
must surmount, before he can make
up his mind to be regarded as a drum*
hard, place in a striking view the
strength oftlie appetite, which is ere*
ated by a long and habitual use of
spirit. Instances might be referred
to, which set this in a painfully strong
light.
A few years Sgo, a tippler was put
into the alms house ina populous town
in Massachusetts. Withinja few days
he had devised various expedients te
precure rum, but failed. At length,
however, he hit upon one which prov*
ed successful. He went into the
wood yard of the establishment, plac*
cd his hand upon a block, and with an
axe in the other, struck it off at a sin*
glfe blow. With the stump raised and
streaming, he ran into the house, ciy*
ing, “get some rum, get some ruin,
my hand is off.” In the confusion, and
bustle of llie occasion, a bowl of rum
w'as brought, into which lie plunged
the bleeding member of his body, then
raising the howl lo his inOuth, drank;
freely, and exultingly exclaimed,“now
I am satisfied.”
'In another populous town in I he
same state there lived an habitual
^l inker, who in an interval of reflec*
tion, made a vow that be would drink
no more spirit for forty years, not
doubting at the time, that forty years
would place him in his grave. Htf
faithfully kept his vow, and at the ex-*
piration of the stipulated period, ven^
tured.to take a little liquor, as it
seemed no more than a friendly sal*
u tat ion given to an old acquaintance,
and in no very long time died a sot.
I once knew a man, who had been-
for some time in Hie habit of intern*
perate drinking,and who had, at times,
strong remonstrances of conscience.—-
These admonitions, together with the
motives and encouragements held up
to liirnby his kind and good wife, in*
duceiPhiin to make a solemn row*
“tlu*t by the help of God, he would nev*
er again drink any thing stronger than
bec.r, unless prescribed for him as a
medicine by a physician. * He re#
cr ar ded the vow, bccufne sober and sp»
