Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-04-09
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 Generous
Scientist, the Giant Trees Bear.
In CALIFORNIA; wonderland nothing is
more interesting or wonderful than the
Sequoia gigantea, which grows along
Sierra Nevada's slopes, and it's lesser
| cousin Sequoia sempervirens. inhabit-
ing the lands near the coast around
Santa Cruz. what is the meaning of
| sequoia? p I asked a Judge ct is I'm
| doubtedly of Latin derivation, but !
fail to remember its significance" was
the judicial reply. The physician de
clared it 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 l came to the conclusion that
but few know, and yet the story is in
teresting.
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 q
hundred has ever heard. Joseph Guess,
or Sequoia, a half breed Cherokee In
dian, was born in 17G0 and possessed
qualities which would have made him
great at any period or among any PEG
pie in the worlds history. Combined
indOmitaDle energy, application, per-
sistence, that no Encouragement could
affect, and a firm confidence in his own
ability to overcome Obstacles In his
youth he acquired distinction in his
tribe as q craftsman in silver, his
handiwork showing not only technical
skill in execution, but unusual ingenu-
ity and originality of design.
It was not, however, until 1909 that
he began the work that was to entitle
him to q place among the earth's truly
great. In that year Sequoia's ambition
was fired by the knowledge that the
whites had a method of communication
by means of writing and books and set
out to devise a written language for
that Sequoia was iIIiterate, 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
we'll be imagined. He began his great
work without a doubt of his ultimate
success, with the superb faith that be-
only To oil
English spelling book he copied all the
letters, giving to each q sound, mOdi-
fed some of the letters he found, in
vented others until he had eighty-fye
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 a week or two learn to read and
write it. There are not lacking learned
and distinguished philOlOgists who I'M
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 ridicUIe 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 his invention. Soon printing
press was established, and quite a
large and varied literature was it's
fruit, while even a newspaper was
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, I 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 a rem
nant remains, and in a few more gen
erations they will be but a memory,
and his achievement will be known
ONLY tn tbe cTTriOuS
The old chiefs life work was not in
vain. No life of unselfish devotion
ever is. A great American scientist
with a soul attuned to the fitness of
things Latinized the Indian name TO
Sequoia and gave it 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
elders, and so is it beyond the range of
probability that a dozen centuries
hence some broken and discouraged
traveller resting under the gracious
oh ha rnncno M