The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-04-15
WHY NAMED SEQUO|A
Origin Of the Title Given to Cali
fornia's Big Trees.
HONOR TO A FAMOUS INDIAN.
The Wonderful Work of Joseph Guess,
Half Breed Cherokee, Whose Lat
inized Name, Thanks to a Generous
Scientist, the Giant Trees Bear.

IHizeu Nnme, InankS TO 1eneTouS
Scientist, the Giant Trees Bear.
In Caiifornia's wonderland nothing is
more interesting or wonderful than the
Sequola glgantea, which grows along
Sierra Neyada's slopes, ana its lesser
cousin Sequoia sempervirens. lnhabit-
ing the lands near the coast around
Santa Cruz. what is the meaning OF
sequoia?' | asked n judge. at is IN
doubtedly of Latin derivation, but
fail TO remember its significance" was
the judicial reply. The physician de-
clared II well chosen scientific nomen-
clature" and stopped. A man on the
street said he guessed it was the
name of the fellow that discovered the
trees" so I came to the conclusion that
but few know, and yet the story is in
terestlng.
A long time ago, as the story books
say, there lived near famous old Fort
London, In east Tennessee, not far
from the Georgia line, a very great
man OF whom not one American In
hundred has ever heard. Joseph Guess,
or Sequoia, half breed Cherokee In
dian, was born in 1760 and possessed
qualities which would have made him
great Mt any period or among any peo-
pie in the worlds history. Combined
with powerful creative intellect were
indomltable energy, application, per-
sistence, that no discouragement could
affect, and firm confidence in his own
ability TO overcome obstacles. In his
youth he acquired distinction In his
tribe as Il craftsman In silver, his
handiwork showing not only technical
skill In execution, but unusual ingenu-
tty and originality of design.
1t was not, however until 1909 that
he began the work that was to entltle
him TO a place among the earth's truly
great. In that year Sequoia's ambition
was fired by the knowledge that the
whites had method of communication
by means of writing and books and set
out to devise written language for
his own people. When il Is realized
that Sequoia was illiterate, knew not
a single letter of the English alphabet,
had no basis in his own language to
build upon, the stupendous difficulties
of the task he set for himself may
well be imagined. He began his great
work without n doubt of his ultimate
success, with the superb faith that be-
longs only to the great From an old
English spelling book he copied all the
letters, giving to each a sound modi
fed some of the letters he found, IN
vented others until he had eighty-1ve
characters, by means of which might
be expressed every sound in the Chero
kee language. Not only would this
have been impossible with our alpha
bet, but so simple was the system that
any one speaking Cherokee might with
In n week or two learn to read and
write it. There are not lacking learned
and distinguished philologists who un-
hesitatingly declare that Sequoia's al
phabet is the most perfect ever devils
ed for any language.
He had at first the usual experience
of inventors. Shafts of ridicule were
aimed at him, and he even received
violent abuse from many Of his tribes
men for his attempts to introduce this
remarkable innovation, but his triumph
came in 1921 in California. He was
then sixty-one years of age, when a
council of Cherokee chiefs formally
adopted hfs invention. Soon a printing
press was established, and quite a
large and varied literature was Its
fx~r,ff IA ln
printed in Cherokee by the aid of Sc
quotas alphabet.
The desire for learning among the
Cherokees was remarkable, so much so
that in a very few months after the
invention was given to the nation thou
sands of its members could read and
write. Considering the difficulties of
his undertaking, | think we are safe in
writing the old chief who died full Of
honors far from home in Mexico one of
the greatest of Americans.
Tennessee has given to the world
many great men, Presidents Jackson,
Polk and johnson standing in the fore.
front. The nation they served has be-
come one Of the first of the earth, and
so their names are known of all men.
The people toward whose uplifting Sc
quota spent his life are scattered to
the four winds Of heaven, Only rem
nant remains, and in a few more gen.
erations they will be but a memory.
and his achievement will be known
only to the curious.
The old chiefs life work was not in
vain. No life of unselfish devotion
ever is. A great American scientist
with q soul attuned to the fitness of
things Latinized the Indian name to
Sequoia and gave 1t to CALIFORNIA;
great trees. And what name for the
greatest Of American growths could
be more appropriate than that Of one
Of the greatest of Americas early race?
Scientists tell us some of these trees
are thousands Of years old. Everything
that lived in all the earth when they
were young has long since passed
away. But there are young ones COM
ing ON under the shadow of their
oldorc or6 CO ic ~ bauopJ @bo m =, ra of