Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1845-03-06
The Cherokee Alphabet.


okees visited the city of Washington, in order to
make treaty with the United States, and among
them was See quah-yah, the inventor of the Cher
okee alphabet. His English name was George
Guess; he was half-blood; but had never, from
his own account, spoken a single word of English
up to the time of his invention nor since
Prompted by my own curiosity, and urged by Sc
veral literary friends, applied to see-quah-yah,
through the medium of two interpreters, one half
blood, Capt Rogers, and the other full-blood
chief, whose assumed English name was John
Nav, to relate to me- as minutely as possible, the
mental operations and all the facts in his dscove-
ry. He cheerfully complied with my request, and
gave very deliberate and satisfactory answers to
every question; and was at the same time careful
to know from the interpreters if distinctly under
derstood his answers. No stoick could have been
more grave in his demeanour than was See -quah-
yah; he pondered, according to the Indian custom,
for considerable time after each qustion was
put, before he made his reply, and often took
Whit of his calumet, while rejecting on an an
swer. The details of the examination are too
long for the closing paragraph of this lecture; but
the substance of it was this,-that he (See-quah-
yah) was now abort sixty-five years old, but could
not precisely say; that in early life he was gay
and talkative; and although he never attempted to
speak in Council but once, yet was often, from
the strength of his memory, his easy colloquial
powers, and ready command Of his vernaculal,
sory-teller of the convivial party. His reputation
for talents gave him some distinction when he
was quite young, so long ago as St Clair's defeat
In this campaign or some one that soon followed
it, letter was found on the person Of prisoner,
which was wrongly read by him to the Indians.
In some of their deliberations on this subject the
question arose among them, whether this mystic
rous power of the talking leaf was the gift of the
Great Spirit to the white man, or discovery of
the white man himself. Most of his companions
were of the former opinion, while he strenu-
ously maintained the latter. This frequently be-
came subject of contemplation with him after
wards, 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
subject, until swelling his knee confined him
to his cabin, and which at length made him Grip
pie for life, by shortening the diseased leg. De-
prived of the excitements of war, and the pleas
ures of the chase, in The long nights of his con-
fnement, his mind was again directed TO the mys-
terry of the power of speaking by letters-the very
name of which, of course, was not to be found in
his language From the cries OF wild beasts, from
the talents of the mocking-brd from the voices of
his children and his companions, he knew that
feelings and passions were conveyed by different
sounds, from one intelligent being to another
The thought struck him to try to ascertain all the
sounds in the Cherokee language. His own ear
was not remarkably discriminating, and he called
to his aid the more acute of his wife and
children. He found great assistance from them.
When he thought that he had distinguished all the
different sounds in their language, he attempted
to use pictorial signs, images of birds and beasts
to convey these sounds to others, or to mark them
in his own mind. He soon dropped this method
as difficult or impossible and tried arbitrary signs
without any regard to appearances, except such
as might assist him in recollecting them, and dis
tinguishing them from each other. At first, these
signs were very numerous; and when he got sc
| far as TO think his invention nearly accom-
plished, he had about twO hundred characters in
his alphabet. BY the aid of his daughter, who
seemed TO enter in the genius of his labours, he
reduced them, at least to etghty-sta, the number
he how uses He then set to work TO make these
characters more comely to the eye, and succeeded
As vet he had no, the knowledge of the pen as ar
instrument, but made his characters on piece o
bark, with knife or nail. At this time he sen
to the Indian agent, or some trader IN tbC nation
for paper and pen. His ink was easily luade from
some of the bark of the forest trees, whose color
ing properties he had. previously known; and afte
seeing the construction of the pen he soon learn
10 make one; but at first he made Il without sill
this inconvenience was, however quickly remove
by his sagacity, His next difficulty was to max
his invention knownt to his countrymen; for by thi
time he lad become so abstracted from his trlb
and .neir usual pursuits, that he was viewed VII
an eye Of suspicion. His former companion
passed his wigwam without entering 1t, and mer
toned his name as one who was practising lmprope
SMELLS. for no,orety or mischievous purposes; an
he seems 10 think that he should have been hardl
Il deal, with if his docile and unambiiiGus dTsPos