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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,