Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume], May 27, 1829, Image 1

About Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume] (New Echota [Ga.]) 1829-1834

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
jPtilESlX, ANB IjS'I&IAJVS' ADVOCATjE*
!. Jimm in ott, Editor
PRHS TED WEEKLY BY
JNO. F. WHSSSLEII,
At ijfSJ 50 ;f paid iii advance, $3 in s'x
months, or $3 50 if paid at the end of the
year.
To subscribers who can read only the
Cherokee language the price- will be 5j!2,00
in advance, or £2,50 to be paid within the
year,
Every subscription will be considered as
■continued unnless subscribers give nnticeto
the contrarj- before the commencement ofa
new ) r ear,and all arearages paid.
Any person procuring six subscribers,
an;i becoming responsible for the payment,
thai! receive a seventh gratis.
Advertisements will be inserted at seven
ty-five cents per square for the first inser
tion, and thirty-seven and a half cents for
eac ; coatinuancej longer ones in propor.
tion.
letters addressed to the Editor,
post p.u l, will receive due attention.
AGENTS FOR 'I HE CHEROKEE
PHCENIX
The following persons are authorized to
receive subscriptions and payments for the
Cherokee Phccnix. "
Messr?. Pf.irce &, Williams, No. 20
Market St. Boston, Mass.
„ T.m. :v , Agent of the A. B.
C. t. JVI. Wrvr Yorlc.
Rev. A. D. Edojt, Canandaigua, N. Y.
injMAS •! ASTROS, Utica, N. Y.
><':!, ,t inks Campbell-, Bsaufort, S. C
Will'am Moultrie ReiDi Charleston,
S. C
ft • Gal, Gnace StatesviHe, W. T.
V'iti.iam M. CdMBSi Nashville Ten."
" R?v. Bekkbt Roberts—Povval Me.
j|i Mr. Tims. R. Gold, (an itinerant Gen
tleman.)
J* vJhre'mia% AusTit, Mobil" Ala.
Rev. Cvsus Kingsbury, Mayhew, Choc
. taw Nation.
Capf. William Robei-.tsom, Augusta,
G ■ irgia.
SX&fe&gOUS*
From the Western .Luminary
DEATH BED SCENE OF A MOR
AL MAN.
Mr- .Skilhiicmi —0;> the—day of
this inst, I witnessed the death-bed
scene of Mr. , my neighbor for
-y.) years. Me was what is usu
ally termed a Moral Man. He lived
4 res;i.ect«(f in ins neighborhood; was
t ■ :ne, affectionate and honest.—
His word was as good as his bond to
j all who knew him. He was indus
trious and economical, and his circum
stances comfortable; his family cred
| liable. He was temperate and char
itable; h- was friendly to religion;
j; las wilt and daughter were-professors,
'i d he frequently bad preaching at
his house. He was naturally a irran
of benevolent feelings, and bis conduct
tvas in union with his feelings, 110
hian more willing than he was, either
with his personal attention or his
purse. (And (he writer of this essay
is free to acknowledge himself his
debtor, in both these respects.) He
loaned his money at legal interest,
tvhen 10, 12 or 25 per cent, was giv
en in his neighborhood.
He tvas in friendship with all who
knew him,' he discharged the duties
Of father, brother, husband and neigh
bor, with uniformity; and his conduct
was of such a character ns to put ma
rt?; professors of religion in the back
ground. He never made a profession
of religion: hut gave his assent and
consent to all the leading truths of
Christianity. He was, in fact,, "Al
most a Christian.," I was with him
during his last days; and although I
h-ve witnessed many death-bed
s'-enes, this was of a different charac- ■
ter froto any I ever witnessed before.
PRINTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, AND DEVOTED TO THE CAUSE OF INDIANS
[ have thrown the prominent occur
rences of that day into a narrative.-
On the—day of , Mr. de
parted this life. On the morning of
that day I visited him. He was in
the possession of his senses, but evid
ently near eternity. He knew
and when I asked him 'how he did
this morning,' he answered, '8 I
shall die, and I am not prepared to
die.' This declaration excited my
Mings, and a pause ensued. In a
fevv moments the subject was a
| gain mentioned by him in the same
words, 'I am not prepared to die.'
Believing, from his manner, that he
wished to converse with me on the
subject of religion. I endeavored tr
comfort him, by presenting some of
the gracious promises and doctrines
of the gospel to him in my feeble and :
plain manner. lie appeared to ob
tain no comfort. His wife fa pious
woman) requested prayer. He lis
tened with profound attention, after
the conclusion of prayer he remark
ed, 'I cannot pray: my Saviour has
lelt me, and 1 cannot pray.' After a
solemn pause, his affectionate wife,
leaning on the side of his bed—com
menced a conversation with him on
the subject of religion. Her language
and manner was impressive. She
dwelt in the gracious promises and
doctrines of salvation by Jesus Christ
and feelingly and affectionately ur°ed
the necessity of his immediately
bracing the proffered mercy. He
'istencd to her with the most solemn
attention. To myself, and I believe
to all the company, it was loud
preaching. After a short pause, he
threw his arm around her neck, in the
most affectionate manner, and in a
clear voire utterred the following
sentence; "Ah! my dear, for nearly
thirty years have you thus affection
ately urged me to attend to this mat
ter, but I Slave put it off, and still
ri ; T it off; and now I have sinned a
way my day of grace, and I am given
up." Turning his face to the wall,
h .e ad ied, "my Saviour has given me
up.' Mute with astonishment, the
company gazed on each other, until a
j groan of anguish burst from the heart
of his wife, and was re-echoed f>y all
present. I remained with him; and
after some time renewed my endeav
ors to comfort )iinj. 1 told him that Sa
tan, the grand enemy, would endeav
or to persuade us' that our Saviour
had left us. But the Saviour was al
ways present, and that the sly sug
gestions of Satan ought not to be be
lieved. His reply was, "my Saviour
has loft me."
His Physicians came, and all that
friendship and medical skill could ad
vise, was tried to save him. He
grew worse. About 12 o'clock the
physicians heft him. Between 2 and
3 o'clock he had an interval of com
posure, when his wife urged him to
pray. He calmly replied, "I can
not pray." She asked him if singing
would discompose him. He replied,
"not at all," & twice repeated "Fare
well vain world," "Farewell vain
world," without concluding the liner
His wife added, ."I am going home:"
(the hymn beginning with that line
ivas sung.) His wife then asked him
if he could not pray now. He said
he would. Every breath was sus
pended, and in his usual tone of voice
(when in health) he uttered the fol
lowing words: "God Almighty, have
mercy on a poor sinner, just about to
plunge headlong into Hell. - ' He
paused. His wife, kneeling by his
bed-side, asked him if he could pray
110 more. He answered "I cannot
say another word." Another hymn
was sung, in which the words occur
red, "f hope to praise him after
death." His wife then asked him if
he did not hope to praise his gracious
Saviour after death? He Shook his
head, at?d looking his wife affection
ately in the face, answered, "I cannot
say f do." Tn a little time, a violent
spasm seized him, which evinced the
rapid approach of his disssoliition.-'-
NEW ECJIOTA, WEDNESDAY MAY >27,1829,
I After perhaps an hour's struggle with
the grim monster, he revived a little
and bid his family and neighbors fare
well. A weeping relative begged me
to converse once more with him a-
Ijout his eternal prospects. I did so,
but still got answers all agreeing to one
point; he had no hope & was unwilling
to die. A pious neighbor came in a
ew moments after I had ceased to
converse with him, and asked him
some questions on the same subject,
and he gave similar answers. Alter
sun-set I left him, and about 12 o'-
clock at night he died.
• IV
he Some months ago, the Rev. James
lr Armstrong preached at Harmony,
0 f near the Wabash. When a Doctor,
es at that place, a professed de.st or in-
K l Sdel, called on his associates to ac
t,. ompany him, while he attacked the
lsr Methodist, as he said.—At first he
s _ asked Mr Armstrong if he followed
> r preaching to save souls? He answered
[. in the affirmative. He then asked
lS Mr Armstrong if he ever saw a soul?
a No. If he'ever heard a soul? No. If
he ever tasted a soul? No. If he
ever smelt a soul? No. If he ever
n felt a soul? Yes, thank God, said
e Mr Armstrong. Well said the doc-
B tor, there are four of the five senses
j against one to evidence that there is
I no soul. Mr Armstrong then asked
j the gentleman if he was a doctor of
. medicine? and he also answerd in
; the affirmative. He tljen risked the
1 doctor if lie ever saw a pain? No.
, Iflie ever heard a pain? No. If he
) ever tasted a pain? No. If he ever
; smelt a pain?— No. If he ever felt
, a pnin? Yes. Mr Armstrong then
, said (here are olao fon»* aenp^s
one to evidence that there is no pain,
and yet, Sir, you know there is pain,
and I know there is a soul; The Dr.
appeared confounded, and walked
off.
To the Editors of the Georgia Journal.
Gentlemen—The Literary Cadet
and Statesman, published in Provi
dence, Rhode Island, has the following
article:
"The Georgians, not content with
the grip which they have put upon the
land of the exiled Creeks, are now a
bout seizing the possessions of the
Gherokees. Georgia now claims all
lands south of a line drawn from Su
awana Old Town to Six's, on the
High-tower, and down that River to
the chartered line of Georgia and Ala
bama, under the pretence that it was
once the boundary betwoen the Chero
kees and Greeks, and that the netv
boundary has never been acknowledg
ed by the United States. On thfe oth
er hand, the Gherokees allege that the
line claimed by Georgia, was never
agreed upon or acknowledged by the
two nations of Indians. The Greeks
at one ti.ne claimed to that line, but
the also claimed to a line
far south of it; and the only boundary
ever agreed upon between them, was
fixed, in a spirit of compromise, half
way betweep the two claims."
''lt would be policy in the Georgi
ans to rest contented with what they
have. Justice may not be further out
raged with impunity, even in the case
of the poor Indian, and they who have
trafftpled upon Indians rights and Indi
an hospitality, may at last find an end
to their encroachments."
Now all the material allegations in
the above extract, are nothing more or
less than downright misrepresentations
and false assertions. The line never
lias been in dispute between the
Creeks and Chprokees within the
memory of the oldest inhabitants of the
country, white or red, nor has there
ever been a compromise. But the
line has always baen known to run as
Georgia now contends, from the Su
awana Old Town, on the Chattahoo
chee, by the Hightoweltrail, to Six's,
until the Creek Chief Mcintosh, hav
ing married a Cherokee wife, influenc-
iHBZAETS.
Lh ed his tribe to permit the Cherokees
le to run a line further south. And such
B" is the notoriety of these facts, that
e even the Cherokees do not pretend to
i- deny them; and so sensible are they ol
), the right of Georgia, that they have
e not the faintest hope of holding the
g land in question, and are quietly mov
a ing off them. Indeed Ido not Lelieve
0 even the officious intermeddliug of our
ii eastern step brothers can inspire them
, to a contention. But such is the spir
c it of jealousy with which the mass of
■ the New England people look on any
prospect of our acquiring strength,
and such the unblushing effrontery with
1 which they disseminate misrepresenta
tions, tnat they never lose an opportu
nity of reviling us, and detracting from
our just claims, without regarding
whether they effect their object
through the medium of fact or fiction.
One word for their warning. We
know our rights, and we wilTprotect
them; and should Rhode Island be so
foolishly quixotic as to volunteer her
self in resisting them, we will make
her feel her own intrusion in matters
which concern her not. She may
know we give as little heed to her
threat as we know she should receive
credence for her slanders.
HENRY.
'•Now all the material allegation*" of
Hsnry, "are nothing more or less than
downright misrepresentations and false as
sertions." The line has been in dispute be_
hveen the Cherokees and Creeks, within
the mrmon of hundreds ofthe inhabitants of
this country. This fact is known not onlv
by th • Cherokees, but by many whites, —
1 he arrangement was made precisely a s
Wg Stat, - in a fnr.ivr I mrtn
surprising that no honest and libera! man
can speak in favour of oppressed Indians,
w.thout arousing the war-Hie spirit of •
Georgia? without being charged with ,
representations and falsehood? If an edi- j
tor of a nevvspauer undertakes to defend the j
rights of the Indians, "he is ignorant of the (
nature of ind.ans," is the cry, as though it ;
was their nature to be scandalized, luisre. I
presented, and abused. Is it agreeable to 1
their nature to have' their rights trampled i
upon by a horde 0 f robbers and vagabonds, t
(we m-;an our intruders) and to have every
avenue of justice clos?d against them? We
can give Hekry a very sat!'factory answer
why some cf the Cherokees have moved
from the frontier into the interior of the r.a.
tior—it is because they wish to avoid per
sonal collisions with their neighbours, and
to save what little property they possess.—
It is a notorious fact, that many, who, pre.
vious to the settlement of Carrol county,
were in decent circun, dances, have lately
moved in with shattered possessions. One
of these, we will mention his name, Rich
ard Scott, declares, that he has lost not less
than 150 head ol cattle, which were forci
bly taken away by some ofthe citizens cf
the aforesaid count}'. He was'unable to
recover them on personal application. This
is not a solitary instance.
Queries. —Why have the politicians and
writers in Georgia, of late become .(we will
not say "foolishly") "Quixotic ?*' Have
they ever evinced themselves a brave peo
ple? How did Georgia distinguish herself
in the late war, particularly in the Creek
war? Is it becoming for a great, magnani
mons, and brave to evince such a war
lite spirit as is manifested by Georgia ?
From the Missionary Herald.
CHOCTAWS.
Extracts from a letter of Mr. Kingsbviry,
dated January 28, 1829.
In the last number of this work, p.
121, some paragraph* from a com
munication of Mr. Kingsbury were in
serted, shewing that the attention of
the Choctaws had been arrested by
(he preaching of the Gospel, arid giv
, ing ground to hope that tpany had ex
perienced ita converting influences.—
Additional extracts ffom the same
communication will be insereted here,
showing what advances the Choctaws
have made in nroVals, and in acquiring
the comforts arid conforming to the
practices of civilized society. A feiv
brief statements on this subject were
I #
given in the number i'or February,
p. 61. ''
-iiie introductory remarks, upoi?
the manner in which both the friend*
i.nd opposers ot missions are inclined
iu regard what is said concerning ln«
dian improvement, are deservin/
special citlention. *
Improiemcnt in morals.
1 here is a propensity botfi amomf
the friends and tlie opposeis of mis-'
sicns, to judge the effects of the Gos
pel and of the prog:ess of improve
ment among the Indians by a fela*
standard, Instead of comparing those
who have been instructed and whose
condition has been meliorated, with
what Hity formerly were, they are
compared with what is found in civil*
lzed and Christian lands. Hence if
Is, that the ardent friends of missions,
while reading missionary journalg
»iltten with perfect accuracy, form
ideas of an enlightened and improve#
state of society far bey end what is re»
alized by the missionaries. Hence if is,
also, that opposeis of missions, judging
altogether from external appearances*
are quite disgusted with the uncouth
manners and unseemly costume of'
those natives-of the forest, whose pie-'
ty of heart, and whose propriety of
yeportment, under all the circum
stances of their situation, would coin*
mand the respect oI every ttisci'iuiin-'
atrng and unprejudiced mind.
To foi m a correct estimate of w!iof
the Gospel with rt.s meliorating sn<?
civilizing attendants, has acccmj tishr
ed for the Indians, we must comparer"
the present state of those wlitj have irf
some degree l;etn ticrvuuLf
influence-with tlieir f„rviir condition.
| Judging by this standard, it may be
fairly doubted whether the past
years hcjve witnessed, in any portion*
of the civilized world, a greater im
provement than has been realized
ii the civil, moral, and religious state'
oi Iho Choi taws. I would not jntim
.ite that all tlie happy changes 'hat
have taken place in- this nation have
oecn the uirrcl result cf missiona
ry labors. Enlightened* chiefs have
taken the lead in the work of reform
ation, and it is through their
• some oi the most important
changes have been made. But we
believe those chiefs esteem it no less
a privilege than a duty", to lay theij'
honors at the foot of the cress, and to
ascribe whatever of good they have
: done for their people,' to the cniighlo
' etiftrg- and sanctifying influence of the
Gospel.
I will now give a few particulars,
m proof of what is stated above,
spotting the progress of improvement
among the Chbctaws. Eight years
ago habitual intemperance prevailed,
from one end of the land to the other.
In the space of two months, ten In
dians in this district alone, lost their
lives by whiskey.. At this time in
temperance within the nation is hard
ly known. In July last I attended the
distribution of the annuity to two dis*
tricts, ort which occasion there were
from 4,000 to 5,000 Indians—menj
women, and children. They were to
gether four days, and not an intoxicat
ed one was seen, until after fhe bu
siness was closed. Some whiskcy had
been tfeereted at a distance from the
place, and.as the law prohibiting the
introduction of it into that part of the
nation was not to -go into effect until
15 days from that time, some, after
leaving the place, obtained it. and
became intoxicated. The Choctaw*
have not all lost their appetite for
whjskey, nor is it to he supposed that
a majority of them are restrained front
intemperance by fhe force of moral
principle: but so sensible hrd they be
come of the destructive effects of this
vice, that a law, prohibing entirely
the introduction of whiskey into the
nation as an article of traffic, was
proposed by the chiefs, and obtained
ffa alaiost universal support in a <ren»
eral council of the warriors. In thi#
»»rt of the nation, (his law has beer*
| sustained for more than ttvo years,
VOl,. IH.--AO, B<f