Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1856-04-03
THE AMERICAN CADMUs.

The invention of the Cherokee alphabet
is one of the most remarkable events in the
history of the aborigines. The best account
we have seen of it is by Samuel L. Knapp.
who became acquainted with See-quah-yah
its author, in 1928. The English name ot
this celebrated Indian was George Guess
He is said to have been half-breed but
whether he was so or not, he never associa.
ted with the whites, or spoke any language
but that of the Cherokees. Prompted by
his own curiosity, and urged by several lit
erary friends, Mr.. Knapp applied to See
quah-yah, through the medium Of two in
terpreters, to relate to him, as minutely as
possible, the mental operations, and all the
facts, in his discovery.
The substance of his communications to
Mr. Knapp was as follows: That he, See-
quah-yah, was now about sixty-fve years
old; that in early life he was gay and talk
ative; 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 vernacular, story teller Of the convivial
party. His reputation for talents Of every
kind, gave him some distinction when he
was quite young, so long ago as st. Clairs
defeat. In this campaign, or some one
that soon followed it, letter was found on
the persons of prisoner, which was wrong
ly read by him to the Indians. In some Of
their deliberations on this subject, the ques-
tion arose among them, whether this mys-
terious power of the talking leaf was the
gift of the Great Spirit to the white man, or
a discovery of the white man himself?-
Most of his companions were of the former
opinion, while he as strenuously maintained
the latter. This frequently became sub
ject of contemplation with him afterwards,
as we'll 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, till swelling on his knee
confined him to his cabin, and which at
length made him cripple for life, by short
ening the diseased leg. Deprived of the
excitements of war and pleasures of the
chase, in the long nights of his confinement,
his mind was again directed to the mystery
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 beast, from the talents of the mock
F ing bird, 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 anoth-
er. The thought struck him to try to as
certain all the sounds in the Cherokee Ian
guage. His own ear was not remarkably
discriminating, and he called to his aid the
more acute ears of his wife and Children
He found great assistance from them.
When he thought that hehad distinguish
ed 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
lie 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 distinguishing them from each
other. At first, these signs were very nu-
merous; and when he got so far as to think
his invention was nearly accomplished, he
had about two hundred characters in his al
phabet. BY the aid of his daughter, who
seemed to enter into the genius of his labors,
he reduced them, at last, to eighty six, the
number he now used. He then undertook
to make these characters more comely to
the eye, and succeeded. AS yet, he had
not the knowledge of the pen as an instru-
ment, but made his letters on piece of bark
with knife or nail. At this time he sent