Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1838-10-30
From tie National Intsliigeaeer.
/ INVENTION OF LETTERS.

s INVENTION OF LETTERS.
MEssRs. EDlToRs: ~ sa
~ -9r Az wen as i remember. the follow
inc article was never inserted IN the In.
telligencer. AS it givesthe history of one
Of the most remarkable occurrences Of
this remarkable age, I beg that you will
give it place in your columns, rather for.
the purpose Of preservation than from any
expectation that it will be new to many of
your readers. ! wish you were able to
insertalong with It a specimen ofthe Cher.
okec alphabet, 10 which ii refers, and
which have often seen In this newspaper
called the Phenir, published in the Cher.
okee Nation, at Echota, but that, sup
pose, IS out Of your power.
The article send you is from a work
published at Washington some years ago
by the late talented Samuel Z. Knapp.
In the winter 1923, a delegation of the
Cherokees visited the city of Washington,
in order to make treaty with the, United
States, and among them was ee-quah-yah
the inventor Of the Cherokee alphabet. His
English name was George Guess; he was
half blood, but had never, from his own
account, spoken a word of English up to
the time Of Ills invention, nor since.
Prompted by my OWL curiosity and urged
by several literary friends, ! applied
to See-quah-yah, through the medium
of two Interpreters, one of them a half
blood, Captain Rogers, and the other a
full-blood chief, whose assumed English
name was John Nav, to relate me as min
utely as possible, the mental operations
and all the facts in his discovery. He
cheerfully complied with my request, and
gave very deliberate and satisfactory an.
swers to every question; and was careful,
at the same time to know from the inter-
prefers if | distinctly understood his an-
swers. No stole could have been more
grave in his demcanor than was See
quah-yah; he paused according TO the
Indian custom, for a considerable time of.
ter each question was put, before he, made
his reply, and often took a Whit ofh cal
umet while rejecting on an answer. .-
The details Of the examination are too
long for the closing paragraph ofthis lee.
ture; but the substance oft was this; 81
That he (See- quah-yah) was now about
sixty-fye years old, but could not precisely
say; that in early life he was gay and talk.
alive; and although he never attempted 10
speak In council but once, yet was, often,
from the strength Of bis, memory, his, easy
colloquial powers, and ready command of
his Vernacular, story teller Of the copyiYial
party. His reputation Of talents Of every
kind gave him some distinction when he
was quite young SO long ago as St. Glars
defeat In this campaign, or some one
that soon followed it, a letter was, found
on the person Of a prisoner, which was
wrong ly readily him to the Indians. In
some of their deliberations on this subject
the question arose among them, whether
this mysterious power of the taking Leaf
was the gift of the Great Spirit to the
white man, or the discovery Of the white
man himself. h,ost of his companions
were of the former opinion, while he as
strenuously maintained the latter. This
frequently became a subject Of contempla-
ton with him afterwards, as well as many
other things which he knew, or had heard,
that the white man could do; but he never
sat down seriously to reflect on the sub
iect, until swelling on his knee confined
him to his cabin, and which at length
made him a cripple for life, by shortening
the deceased leg. llf M
Deprived of the excitements of war, and
the pleasures ofthe chase, in the nights 81
his confinement, his mind was again di.
rected to the mystery of the power Of
speaking By letters the very name o.
which, of course, was. not to be found il
his language. From the cries of wic
beasts, from the notes Of birds, from the
voices of his children and his companions
he knew that feelings and passions were
conveyed by different sounds, from one in
telligent being to another. The though
struck him to try TO ascertain all sounds
in the Cherokee language. Ills own cal
was not remarkably discriminating, anC
he called to bis aid the more acute ears o
his wife and children. He found grea
assistance from them. When he though
that be had distinguished all tue different
sounds in their language, he attempted tc
use pictorial sounds, images Of birds anC
beasts to convey these sounds TO Others
or to mark them in his own mind. He
soon dropped this method, as difficult q
impossible, and tried arbitrary signs, with
out any regard TO appearance. except such
as might assist MIN. in recollecting them
and distinguishing them hom each other,
| At FIRST, these signs were very numerous
and when be got so farsas {. think. bis in
yeutien was nearly accompI she'd be haC
about two hundred characters u bis alpha
bet. BY the aid ofhis labors be REDUCES
them, Of last, 10 eighty tho npn1beF, rs
now uses. Hesthen set 10 work 10 make
these characters more connely 70 the eyc
and succeeded. AS yet he had nof tPS
knowledge Of tho pen as az lnslFllIl1e1s
but made his characters on piece 81 parF
Witaa knife or NAH. At tbs tllles ne sen
to tho Indian agent or some trader " tps
nation, for paper and pen. rs lilk !. va I,
easily made from some ct the PARK q tps
forest trees whose colorins pFopeflles Ps
had preViouslx known. anq alter Seems
the construction Of ine pen. be soon earn
ed % make one; but.ag first he nlpQe 4
without slits This - qngenlenee va
i0sssel quick! aF llls 81 gaelly
EIis next Ciifiicn as e zee llo nls aIYeE
ron lh0llnl 70 lis cou mem tor oY "a \
tine s had become s. as,Facleg lFail
lis tribe and Their npFspis thai q
ss;.,sa.s1l =, 80 49, - cons ii|