Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-06-04
SAN EYE FOR AN EYE. Al TOOTH
FOR A TOOTH


ed them by the United STATES. on the Arkan
sas, few years since. am sorry that ii hap
pened undermy own eyes, or even in my time
for il materially lessened the good opinion pre
viously entertained Of my counlrymen. Fol
this emigration. or rather foTcihle expulsion
various and good excuses We're assigned, the
chief Of which was the preservation ofthe In
dian from the inroais Of the whites; its reason
however, was the cupidity of;heir Anglo Saxon
neighbors TO become possessed Of Their rich
fields and fruitful orchards, and the gold mines
recently discovered al Dahlanoga which pro
missed boundleSs wealth. Sure il IS, had the
Cherokees inhabited barren. sterile region,
they would now have remained undistuibed,
but they had made their Wales to bloom like
happy valleys ofAbyssinia. and had progressed
in the arts Of civilization far beyond the people
Of Georgia who were nearest them.
One of the most piteous sights ever wi;nes-
sed was their march; cid and young, male
and female Of every age and condition Were
mingled together tone end Of the villages
on the Tennessee river was particularly struck
with this ] saw the astute face OF their chief
tain Ross. one Of the tall and handsome drews
standing By the same campfire, al which an
aged woman, a full booded Indian sat appa
rently lost int the study THAT Bible their Chris
tan prosecutors seemed to have forgotten.
The early part Of then journey they made
without much difficulty. As they moved fur
Their from their old houses, it seemed the atten-
ton oithe people, and general kindness incrca-
sed. but at length they passed the Misslssippi,
and were IN the least thIckiy settled part Of Ar
kansas. need not describe 10 you the diff
culties of camping out. The country however.
was desolate, the season unusually nclement,
and provisions not always TO be had for love or
money. After they had progressed somewhat
into Arkansas, crossed their line of march
again, and was a witness of a catastrophe.
which, especially showed how nations old
characteristics will adhere through all the
changes and attriton Of progressive clYiza-
ton. A party composed exclusively Of fani-
lies Of the wilder bands, who had dwell IN the
mountains Of North Carolina, had reached a
little town on the White River, and encamped
almost IN the town square. | had come By 4
cross road TO the same spot, and IN the morn
ing was 10 continue my journey in the direc
ton they Were travelling. Having made eve
ry thing as comfortable as possible in their
camp. some Of the young men strayed into a
ten pin alley, where, with a chance acquain-
lance / made, was playing. They seemed
familiar with the game, and before long eom-
menced themselves 10 play. One or two of
the party rolled Tely well, occasionally getting
a spare ball they seemed all mirth and enjoy
ment, and were loud and boisterous in their
laughter.
A quarrel at length ensucd. 10 which pay
ed no attention, but sat with my new acquain-
lance talking quietly, until ! saw one Of the
Young Chefokees suddenly strike another with
an extra pm, which CHANGED to be near the
bowler's end of the alley. The stricken man
fell Immediately to the ground, and when we
reached him, was dead.
Awful as the occurrence seemed TO u.s.
though we both had Witnessed some strange
and awful scenes in our daYs--and all who
live long on the frontier must,--it seemed TO
make but little impression on the bystandcrs Of
kindred blood 10 the criminal and his unhappy
victim. At our bidding, however. they seized
him and carried him before the Squire, who
committed him to jail
On the next day, il rained necessarily, so
that | renamed in the common room OF the
only mn, and unused over the condition of the
unhappy man. The next day was Monday.
and the day Of the session Of the county court.
The people from the wide country, about noon
began to flock in. and with the summary JUS
tee Of that far-oH land, the prisoner was ar
raigned for examination. The Judge Of the
Court--a man seemingly Of great good sense,
but with little knowledge Of law-heard the
evidence and quietly dismissed the prisoner /;
declarlng-what was very eYident-that there
was no malice or intent TO kill proven, and that
the death OF the unfortunate man was pure ac-
cident
As looked at the fine. athletic form Of the
prisoner, could not but feel rejoiced that he
had escaped, not the hangman, but the linger-
ing torture OF Imprisonment, which TO the In
dian, il is well known, is worse than DEATH
He heard OF his release without exhibiting
more feeling than he had done when he had
seen at his feet the victim Of his violent tenn
per; returned to the camp, and resumed his
usual avocations quietly as II this whole TRACE
dy had been dream.
The young man went to his lodge, where
he had an only sister and aged mother, with
out any other person than himself Tor TO pro
vide for them, and busled himself in little mat
ters which, during his imprisonment, had been
neglected, and when he had got through with
them, quietly laid down and slept. The old
chief, SrrHvAGA, however collected around
him the old men Of the party, and proceeded
10 discuss the recent occurrences. The lea Ia
Gollis, the old Hebrew law, ian eye for an eye,
NNteil III NpAtAs BiNhtlilo III IAt 3ttttt-
est rigor among the North American Indians,
and they determined in obedience 70 it, that
though the pale. face laws took no cognizanca
Of the killing OF their companion, still the old
Indian custom must be satisfied, and the relea
sed prisoner must DIE Quietly he was called
from has camp,auaigned before his judges, and
their determination announced to him. The
justice Of The sentence he did not impeach; he
expressed his willingness that it should he en-
forced, but asked as favor, not 70 himself,
but 70 his mother and sister, that he might be
allowed to accompany them through the most
difficult part OF their Journey, which now be
gan TO open on them, after which he would be
willing 10 die. They acquiesced IN his request,
and he returned to his sleep. The next day
was fair, and al an early hour the emigrants
moved their camp and resumed their Journey.
Some hours afterwards passed them on the
route, and was not a little surprised TO diseoy-
err my inend Of the bowling saloon among
young men of bis own age, apparently occu-
pied only with the events OF our journey.
This part Of the march was Of peculiar difficult
ty, spur Of the Ozark mountain crosses near
~ the whole State, and renders the road rug
ged and almost impossible from torrents and
preeipices It struck me as peculiarly true.
that fragile women, Indians though they might
be, never could have passed this country UNI
assisted But know not by what iascina-
tons. determined 20 accompany them as iaras
could and sec how this affair would be de-