The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-07-23 00:00:00

AN INDIAN TEMPERANCE ORATOR.—The Arkansas
Intelligencer. an American paper, published a speech of
sterline eloquence. as having been recently delivered by
Ily M' Intoeh, a Creek Indian, at a recent council meet-
ing of his tribe. The fellowing passages are admirable—
the genuine oratory of nature :
" The strength of our people is like the oak in the
forest ; the limbs, the leaves, and the fruit, are green and
rich ; its branches are heavy and fine, and under its shade
the wild animals rest, and the birds sit upon its boughs.
So with our young men : their limbs are strong ; they are
swift, arid their hearts are very brave and wise; they are
a shelter arid protection to their wives, and their children
sit in their arms.
" But the lightning of the storm, when it opens a
bright path through tee black cloud, can strike the oak,
and lay its beauty in the dust—bring low its strength and
grandeur.
" S,r the lightning from the evil fire-water strikes my
people ; then they reel, stagger, and fall ; they stab their
friends, and are no longer a protection to their lodges;
they cannot stand in the might of metal ead, but they
wallow in the mud like a beast.
" Warriors ! who of you is not brave ?—who of you is
not wise ?—who of you is not swift?—who of you would
fear to strike a foe? Your arm is long—you may reach
your enemy ; your cunning is great, and can hide you
from him; but the evil spirit is strong, and eats the heart.
Who can stand, arid the fire-water burning his veins?
Can the warrior touch him, and not fear ?—can he take
him into his bosom, and not fall? The warrior has love
for his home, his people, and his honour—the evil spirit
has none, and seeks to destroy the warrior's. Who will
suffer it? Who will be tamed by the hot liquor till he is
like a kicked dog ? aho will rot Ifc his arm and say.
This enemy—this fire-water—shall be gone, and shall
destroy no more ? ' Warriors! your strength, your wis-
dom, your conning, say, ' Touch no whisky.' Husbands,
fathers, and brothers ! your love, your happiness, your
homes, cry against the evil spirit, and your young chil-
dren are fearful. Who shell teach them bravery, wisdom,
and love, if the father be dead in liquor ?
" Brothers ! our brave and great brethren, the Chero-
kees and Choctaws, have passed laws prohibiting the
traffic in fire-water. They ate wise; their chiefs are cun-
ning, and they scent the, enemy. The law is doing them
good ; I heir lodee hearths and their fields are green ; they
sit down in peace, and rise refreshed. Let us follow their
example. If we make a good law on this subject, and
carry it into effect, our people will also smite, our chil-
dren will laugh, our women be strong, and our nation
will be happy."
CLEVER EXPLOIT OF MEXICAN TDIEVES.—The fol-
lowing instance of prigging is worthy the particular atten-
tion of the London swell mob ; and I euestion if it has
been surpassed in adroitness, for some time past, in that
notorious city, where boys are regularly tau.iht the sci-
ence of thieving, from the simple pilfer of a handkerchief,
to the compound abstraetijn of a gold watch and guard-
chain .—As a certain learned judge in Mexico, some time
since, wilked one morning into court, he thought he would
examine whether he was in time for business ; and, feel-
ing for his repeater—found it was not in his pocket. "As
usual," said he to a friend who accompanied him, as he
Passed throngt the crowd near the door—" As usual,
have again left my watch at home under my pillow." He
went on the bench and thought no more of it. The court
adjourned, aed he returned home. As soon as he was
quietly seated in his parlour, he bethought him of his
timepiece, and turning to his wife, reque-ted her to send
for it to their chamber. " But, my dear judge," said
she, " I sent it to you three hours ago !" " Sent it to me,
my dear ? Certainly not." " Unquestionably," replied
the lady, " and by the person you sent for it .1" The
person I sent for it 1" echoed the judge. " Precisely, my
(leer, the very person you sent for it ! You had not left
home more than an hour, when a well-dressed man
knocked at the door and asked to see me. He brought
one of the finest turkies I ever saw ; and said, that on
your way to court, you met an Indian with a number of
fowls, and having bought this one, quite a bargain, you
had given him a couple of reals to bring it home; with
the request that I would have it killed, picked. and pat to
cool, as you intended to invite your brother judges to a
dish of moll 6 with you to-morrow. And, Oh ! by the
way, senorita," said he, ' his excellency, the judge, re-
quested me to ask you to give yourself the trouble to go
to your chamber and take his watch from under the pillow,
where he says he left it, as usual, this morning, and send
it to him by me.' And, of course, mi querido, I did so."
" You did ?" said the judge. " Certainly," said the lady.
" Well," replied his honour, " all 1 can say to you, my
dear, is, that you are as great a goose, as the bird is a
turkey. You've been robbed, madam ; the man was a
thief ;—I never sent for my watch ;—you've been imposed
on ;—and, as a necessary consequence, the confounded
watch is lost for ever ! The trick was a cunning one ; and,
after a laugh, and the restoration of the judge's good hu-
mour by a good dinner, it was resolved actually to have
the turkey for to-morrow's dinner, and his honour's
brothers of the bench to enjoy so dear a morsel. Ac-
cordingly, after the adjournment of the court next day,
they all repaired to his dwelling, with appetites sharpened
by the expectation of a raee repast. Scarcely had they
entered the sala and exchanged the ordinary salutations,
when the lady broke forth with congratulations to his
honour upon the recovery of his stolen watch. " How
happy am I," exclaimed she, " that the villain was ap-
prehended." " Apprehended !" said the judge with sur-
prise. "Yea ; and doubtless convicted, too, by this
time," said his wife. " You are always talking riddles,"
replied he. " Explain yourself, my dear. I know nothing
of thief, watch, or conviction." "It can't be possible
that I have been again deceived." quon the lady ; " but
this is the story :—About one o'clock to-day, a pale and
rather interesting young gentleman, dressed in a seedy
suit of black, came to the house in great haste—almost
out of breath. tie said that he was just from court ; that
he was one of the clerks ; that the great villain who had
had the audacity to steal your honour's watch had just
been arrested, that the evidence was nearly perfect to
convict him, and all that was required to complete it was
the turkey,' which must be brought into court, and for
that he had been sent with a porter by your express
orders." " And you gave it to him ;" "Of course I did ;
who could have doubted him, or resisted the orders of a
judge 7" Watch and turkey—both gone ! pray, what
the devil, madam, are we to do for a d nner ?" But the
lady had taken care of her guests, notwithstanding her
simplivity, and the party enjoyed both the joke and their
viands.—Mover's Mexico.