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CHEROKEE PHOENIX AND INDIANS 1 ADVOCATE.
-=Ss*
U:ges. If an Indian can have any
right on earth, he can claim his own
soil, by a right not to be disputed.
Our government have therefore
claimed no right cither by purchase
or conquest. All their treaties im
ply tliis. Here stanch tlieir ground of
right. The Indians are a small peo
ple. They.^are red in-their colqr.
They speak another, though a beauti
ful language. They arc hunters.
jFhcy are ignorant and poor, and we
call them savages—Indians—wild In
dians—drunken savages. Thus some
men may describe them. But there
are Choctaws, Chickasaws, Chcro-
kees, and Creeks, of whom a white
man might be proud to say, “lie is
my brother.” And as a people,
these nations arc now well colonized
and are doing well. They are fast
"rising. For years they have been
listening with patience and confidence
to the advice of the United States
government, and have adopted many
measures for their own improvement.
Thousands and tens of thousands have
they expended for schools, to give
their own offspring an education.
'Ar.l now, after all this, aic they a-
Lout to be told, you live loo near to
wv.te folks, and must go over the
Mississippi? Who is it that is crow-
.K.,
The Chiefs feel much distressed
at", the prospect ot being removed.
'One of them told me lately, that lie
did wish thoii friends among the
whites to do all they could to contin-
ue the Indians here a little longer.—
Cannot some lawyer address the pub
lic in an argumentative nay, relative
to the Cherokee treaties.
INDIAN BIBLE AND TRACTS.
An officer m the United States ar-
niv residing at the Sank do St. Marie,
w'm is saiij to be distinguished for his
kr Hedge of Indian languages.’ has
fo some tinic past, employed himself
i-j ranslating the Bible into ihe lan-
gv'ge of the Indians (Ghippcwnys wo
presume,) of that country. In a let-
tee to a gentleman in Piladolphia, dat
ed September 12th, he says:
The fourth and last of the evangel
ists I have in hand: Matthew, Mark,
and John, Genesis and Jonah, are fin
ished; and some detached passages in
other 1 books. It is about a month
since I commenced reading mv ver
sion publicly to the Indians on the
S :V> ith. They understand without
difficulty, ns 1 am assured by them
selves, ami by intelligent interpreters
among them. It is to be rcuiember-
e I however, that I have confined my
readings hitherto, to passages in Gen
esis, containing principally the plain
est and most interesMng oarratio s,
and such as have, if possible, greater
interest to them, in consequence of
according, in many particulars, with
their own most cherished traditions.
It. appears to me that missionary
associations, and persons who feel an
interest in the efforts that are making
to communicate a knowledge of the ,
Christian religion to the Indians, would
d vfive essential advantage from small
T ’acts published in the languages of
f ■;■> people addressed, and accompan
ied with pictures. There is at this
p! ,.f t», ri very old French edition of
t'< > Bible with pieturcs; and it is man
ifest. that among those persons speak-
}p<t <bc Indian only, and who know
gr.-nio'M ig of the Scripture history,
tim e passages which are illlustrated
|)>. engravings, have mado by far the
most deep and lasting impressions.”
W TO TO ■* s l3 1 $) ^ g
WEDNESDAY, DECEMIlEIt 3, 1829.
will. The day will generally, if not uni- j The Cherokees have been driven
versally, be observed by the religious pro- front time \o titne, further and stijl
pie of the nation.
■ :o:o:o:o:o:o:o:-
The New York Journal of Commerce thus,
notices the Principal Chief’s Message:
Cherokee Legislature.—We publish
in another column ,a singular docu-
• * ‘ 7 f* ,'V
further back into their forests, by the
insatiable desires and persecutions of
some of the.--whites. They could
once retire befoieAhe advancing step
of the ‘pale facet! warrior,’ bilt now
they have no place left them, "of in
111 dllUlllCl CVIUIIIII — 1/ , j » ' . .
men t the Message of an Indian, view, to Which they can flee with a
Chief, or President” to an Indian Leg \ reasonable prospect of safety. They
Mature. It is as correctly written as j were once the proprietors Of a coun-
many of the public documents of our j try vastpn extent, but cession after ces-
tnvn’ government, anil is character- j sion have left them barely a sufficiency
iscd by sound sense and pure patriot- for their comfortable support. They
'ism. We should like to sec an argil- are surrounded on all sides by those,
ment, drawn up by “G. M. Troup,” j who were but few and weak, when
in reply to that part of it which re- j they were strong&to whom they gave a
lates to the lands recently seized by'j port of their territory fortheir support,
the Georgians, under pretence of I Little did they then imagine that they
their having once belonged to the were nourishing a colony that iVould
Creeks’. cause their ruin and dispersion, and
‘ that too through motives of friendship
to preserve them. It' might indeed
Mr. Boudisott.—The present I be reasonably thought under the pves-
indeed seems to be a time of ‘deep j ent peculiarly interesting and pres-
discoveries’ and fearful events; at i perous situation of these people, that
least, as regards the rights and happi- i they would not bd urged and harrnss-
ness of our people. For the last i ed to part with the little remnant of
FOR THE CHEROKEE FHCCNIX .
few months, our friends have, in the
plenitude of their zeal, to promote
our welfare, discovered, suddenly, that
the only hope for our' future prosper
ity is to remove westward. Were
their ancient territory anil with it
lose thtfse rights and prospects so in
separably connected with their well
being. But such is ncit their hap
lot. Their political
py
existence is
this all, they would not enjoy their ( threatened with extinguishment, be-
present merit, for the depth of their I fore the (lowers' of another
pure end disinterested motives, must
legislate over us! Yea more, as Sec
retary Eaton has discovered, because
we are “incapable of self-govern
ment by a'liy of those rules of righf
which civilization teaches!” she will
in true Christian style govern us by
the rules of civilization, that is, place
us upon the same level with her ne
gro population; and \ve must abide by
her civilized rulqs, good or bad, with
out n murmur, or being heard as free
men! But what if we should complain?
“We have murmured at this injustice;
blit what avail the murmurs of the
weak?”
Now if we are to’be treated as chil
dren, let our Father be kind and
good. If we are to be viewed as
freemen, and as such possessed df
rights aud privileges, be it so, and all
will be well. We do not thirst after
Sovereignty as such, or greatness, but
we wish to live in peace and comfort.
If we arc to be viewed and treated
as aliens, untit to reside among the
States, and to enjoy Christian instruc
tion, let the proper tribunal declare it
so. We stand for judgment.
RRUCE.
Our correspondent, Gah-wo-hc»lo-ske, j
has our thanks for his communications on 1
Cherokee vert)?. ,We hope he will con
tinue to favor us.
We published, in our 31st number, a
Communication in Cherokee, which we
qi ght to have noticed ore this. It is ad
dressed by Ge.orge Lowrey.Esq. assistant
principal Chi"f,in behalf of some of the cti-
izens, to the Christian people of the nation,
recommending the. 1st day of January,to tie
observed as a day of fasting and prayer.—
The peculiar situation of toe nation ren
ders the observance of such a day necessa
ry and highly important. The opportune
tv,no doubt,will he eagerly seized by those
who feel that help in this interesting cri
sis must come from above. Wc have be
fore taken occasion to lay the subject be
fore our readers atja distance, & w e would
now at this tinv* ask, will not our Chris
tian friends ah. id vew t at‘he time appoint
Sipray for the Cherokees? We hope they
disclosures; but they have even dis
covered, that the Cherokees have no
legal right to their lands; and in short,
rio right to pursue agriculture, or any
thing conducive to their happiness,
until by a removal they shall find a
home where the foot of the white-
man treadeth not! All this, it serins,
havejbcen reserved,for the wise menjof
presentjjihc day. Washington, Jefferson
Madison, and a host of illustrious wor
thies, who have figured in days gone
by, and were famed for their wisdom
and virtues, it seems, were ignorant
of many valuable events which trans
pired previous to, and during the
days of their actions, and which are
now familiar to minds more ordinary.
Should it he found out in six months
hem e, and proof exhibited, that the
true line between the Cherokees end*
Chickasaws would include a million
of acres of land now in our possession;
and tin t we have givssly violated
treaty stipulations, atkl thereby, for
feited the protection of the United
Slates, by following the advice of
Washington onJ JcfiUi SOU 10 plOtni tC
our prosperity, it will not. to me, be
a matter of any surprise: and that
such discoveries can be made, or r-
ven one mere profoundly deep, is no
longer a fit matter for conjecture.
The letter of friendly advice to
you, from Cof. M'Kenney I have read,
perhaps oftcnci than its author. Has
it at last come to this, that we are
to believe, and do, every thing said
by those, who may chance to wield
ihe allairs of the Government, wheth
er in direct violence of our feelings
and safety, or not, without a word of
remonstrance? Shall wc be told
that we w’ish to emigrate, when wc
have declared that it is not the case?
and shall we for not believing our
selves guilty of falsehood, meet with
the frowns and indignation of those
who advise us to abandon our hemes
and firesides' to gratify the avaricious
designs'of our neighbors? If tliis is
justice, and if the voice of oppressed
innocence is to be thus stifled, then
indeed must I he an ignorant savage.
But Sir, “I notice, and not without
regret, a spirit pdiVading” that let
ter, “which, if not checked, cannot do
else than prove extremely injurious,”
hut not to us. nor tho cause of justice
to the poor Indians. “It is a spirit
of personal and ill-natured remarks,”
a vindictiveness hv no means qualified
to prove to these people that he is
either a “real friend,” or a “wise
counsellor.”
'Hie letter from the Secretary of
War to the Governor of Georgia, (a
copy of which was inclosed to our
chief, and published in your paper)
breathes forth sentiments perfect
ly consistent with former com
munications of the author, and like
the other,boldly asserts things, regard
ing us, to which I am an entire stran
ger, though horn «$• brought up in these
“wilds.” I have often thought it
strange, passing It range, that men who
reside hundreds of miles from us,
and who never saw the nation, should
possess a more correct knowledge ol
our acts and dispositions than we do
ourselves, and can point to deeds of
recent date, that wc have not heard
or dreamed of for these last forty
r years!
sprint
shall fade away, and the arm of pow
er is already raised, at ouc deadly
blow to wither their vernal prospects
of hppinesss! And for what are
they doomed to suffer? Have they
not been faithful to their engagements
■tvith the United Stales, and preserv
ed the utmost harmony and peace?—
Can it l‘e because they have been too
successful in exertions to become
civilized & enlightened, andtlieir at
tainments unparrellcd in the history
of Indian improvement! Who would
have thought ten years ago, that these
people were to enjoy for so short a
length of time the inestimable advan
tages of a regular government, and
the cheering prospects science has o-
pened before them? Did the great
Washington and Jefferson think, that
hi this enlightened ago, we should be
abused, threatened, and our acknowl
edged rights attempted to he wrested
from us by Republicans, for pursuing
their advice and adopting “habits o'" in
dustry” and a “government', of regu
lar law?”—So fibng as the Cherokees
continued in ignorance and degrada
tion; exercised arbitiary power in the
management of their affairs, and the
word of the reigning chief was an
indisputable authority and law; so
long as they practised deeds of
cruelty and revenge, as the only and
surest means to redress their wrongs,
real or supposed; and considered iro 4
men anil children as fit subjects for the
tomahawk and scalping knife;” so long
as filthy lucre and promises could he
made to"predominate over their lose
of country, and better interests—and
in short, so long as they could be
propci ly viewed and treated as sa\ ri
ages, they were pitied and sympa
thized with as a wretched people—-
Some there were w ho kindly offered
aid to relieve their situation, and sa
cred be their memory The special
agent of our first American Father
yet lives. He lives 1 too in the fond
remembrance of the Cherokees for
tho many useful lessons he taught, and
for the purity of his friendship. But
what was the policy of Georgia? Did
she step forward and throw around
them the mantle of her Christian
laws? Did sire, truely, in the spirit
of her “forbearance” and anxiety to
save theni from “ruin and annihila
tion,” guide them ill the path of po
litical and moral rectitude? No!
she stood aloof. Her forbearance
was such that she forbore to act.—
The spirit of philanthropy yet slum
bered in the bosoms of those who arc
now loudest in thundering forth ap
peals to the Government for Our re
moval as the only hope to preserve us.
Preserve us from what? Ah! from
•those our friends.’ When we were
truly wretched and fast wasting a-
way, they were cold and indifferent.
Noiv that wc are prospering and mul
tiplying, and by the special Provid
ence of the Great Spirit above, the
nation stands as a monument of his mer
cies, and the Gospel of Christianity
has spread its marvellous light where
heathenish darkness prevailed for
ages, proving its power and
influence to change, not only the most
stubborn habits of lile, but the dispo-
I sit ions of the heart—now that wc
competent to net for ourselves, Geor
gian out of pity for us, and the most
Mr'. Boudinott, Sir—I have no
ticed a statement going the rounds of
Newspapers, taken from the Georgia
Columbus Enquirer, the Editor of
which is well known to lie the author of
“the Indian War,” which took place,
in his own knowledge and not the al
leged belligerents, last summer. Tlie
said Editor, has stated, tha{ the
Creek Delegation on their way to
Washington returned from my house,
and no doubt that I had induced tlie
to return and submit to the recommen
dations of President Jackson’s Indian
Talk; and on Lis undoubted informa
tion, I was in favor of the immediate
emigration or removal of the Indians.
Now lie it known, that the said
statement, is an unfounded and as base
a falsehood as ever was uttered, and
the Columbus Enquirer has, if not
told it, published the same. Those
who knoiv me best, know very well
that Major Ridge, and his dcscendents,
of which I am one, arc very clear ol
the charge.
JOHN RIDGE.
To (he Editor of ihe chorokeo Plioenix
Dear Sir—In looking over die
(Lliai lesion Observer this day received,
l observed the following Extract
from the Athenian of the 3d. ie.st.
“We have becit informod from good
authority that some time in the month
of September last, the Cherokee In
dians thirteen in number arrested a
citizen of Habersham County by the
name of Jesse St ansa 1, under the pre
tence of a violation of their laws,
lid was detained in custody nearly
two days, and then was ordered lobe
bound, suspended by the w rists to a
tree, and there to receive Fifiy lash
es upon his bare back, wi ich w as in
flicted by four Indians with hickories
almost equal to clubs, in a most bar
barous manner. Under the operation
of which the Individual was near ex
piring. We understand that for this
conduct Judge Clayton has issued a
warrant against these Indians, to have
them hound over to answer for the
oiYcnce at the next Supreme Court in
Hull county the same having been
committed in that part of the Chero
kee nation attached to that Country
for the purpose of criminal jurisdic
tion.” In regard to the ahove extract,
permit mo Sir,through tho medium of
your paper, to state the following
particulars. The reader will natur
ally receive froM it the impression,
that a party of Indians “thirteen in
number arrested a citizen of Georgia
with no other authority than a mere
“presence” that lie had violated
their laws, and detained him nearly
two days, and then without a fair trial,
bound and suspended him by tlie wrists
to a tree, and to complete the bar
barous transaction, laid upon his bare
back Fifty lashes with enormous
hickories which nearly terminated his
earthly existence. And as it is not
acknowledged by the Athenian that a
crime was proved against him, he
would seem to the reader to he, of
course, an innocent sufferer. Wheth
er designed or not, we affirm that this
account of the transaction to which
it alludes is a gross misrepresentation
of facts. In the first place, tho said
Jesse Stansal was arrested by a pro
per Officer, and brought before an au
thorised magistrate and a bench of
jurors appointed for the purpose
Moreover, evidence was exhibited to
the CouVt that the prisoner had hired |
a horse to ride about two miles, and'
that after riding that distant he had
taken the liberty without permission
from the owner to ride the horse 10
or 18 miles, and that he had declared \
his intention to ride the hoyse out oj
this nhticn and thus make him his own
property. In view of the above evi
dence the jury deelaretpthe said Jes
se Starisal to be Guilty of Horse steaU
ing, which according to the laws of
-this nation subjected him to a punish
ment not exceeding One hundred
lashes on the bare back. Out of pi
ty to the unhappy horse thief the
Judge gave a sentence of only Fifty
lashes. Had he been an Indian, he-
would have probably received onfe
hundred. The facts here mentioned
occurred,at a very large meeting of thd
citizens of the Cherokee nation where
were assembled Several of llifi Chief#
of the nation with hundreds of the
people. And if thirteen Indians were
concerned in arresting and punishing
Stansal, they were the Judge,Sheriff,
and six jurors together with five men
appointed to inflict the sentence of t he
Judge. And as to Sinusal's being
“suspended by bis wrists to" a tree,”
if bf being suspended is meant that he
was raised above a standing position,
the assertion is false. lie was indeed’
lied to a tree by the wrists whwh is
done in all cases where similar pun
ishment is inflicted by legal authority
in this nation. With these facts be-
foro them the public can judge as to
the nature and magnitude of the of
fence alleged in the Athenian against
“Thirteen Cherokee Indians.” Had
not the Said Stansal been arrested, and
punished by the authorities of this na
tion, ho would, rn all probability have
escaped detection altogether. Judg
ing from the past we have little rea
son to believe that any other authori
ty would have interfered. The con
sequence would have been, that the
offender would have been encouraged
to proceed in his career of guilt. If
the proceedings against Stansal be
considered an offence, it was no other
than that of regularly executing the
/cites of our country in punishing a
crime, which, it the laws of Georgia
were executed against it, would havd
subjected the. unhappy Stansal to"
treatment no lose severe.
One of the jurors in the trial of said
Stansal.
1 & 3.
2.
1 & 2.
1 & 3.
1.
October 25, 1829.
Mr. Editor—-With this l forward
a continuation of the Cherokee verb
ir.is. I have not inserted the twa
fer ms of tlie third person singular, but^
ifyou think it better to add the other
you will please to do so.
I am Dear sir, your obedient sc car
vant,
s<iM<?*xy Ga-wo-hee-lo-skee.
ACTIVE VOICE
of the Cherokee Verb h./is I speak,,
[Continued.']
Subjunctive Mood.
Primary present tense..
SINGULA Hi J
Person
1. if I speak,
2. .vm* if thou speakestf
3. .se>.is if he speaks.
DUAL.
I & 2. zih/is if thou &. I speak,
l & 3. if he gnd 1 speak,
2. A^.i/is if you (2) t speak.
PLURAL.
i & 2. if you (all) & I speak
1 & 3. awl* if they and I speak,
2. .5IpA» if you (all) speak,
3. ceiuis if they speak.
N. B. The 3d person Dual is ia
all cases the same as the plural.
Primary perfect tense*
singular.
1. &yACz if I have spoken 4
2. /5G.ic= if thou hast &c..
3. gmcs if ho has &c.
UUAt.
1 & 2. ^,yiwitr. if thou and I havff
[spoken,
nyhAft if lie & I have &cf
os ifyou (2) have &c,r
PLURAL.
^,y/ics ifyou (all) & I have'
[spoken,
Jiyyits if they &. I haw &.c,
2. rSh-^ics if you (all) have &c
3. (vii/ics if they have &c. /
Primary approximate tense.
SINGULAR.
csy.iir.i if 1 am about to speak,
2. ^oyiir.i if thou art &o.
3. cr-iir-i if he is &c.
DUAL.
1 & 2. ^yii.iir.i if thou & I arc a-
[boul to speak,