The Colonization herald and general register

              Colonisation
tmlh
AND GENERAL REGISTER.
CONDUCTED BY   THE   PENNSYLVANIA  COLONIZATION   SOCIETY
WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM.
Vol. I.—NEW SERIES.
PHIL.ADET.PniA,  WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER  7,   I BS8.
IVO. 4 3.
LETTERS ON PARAGUAY.
Letters on  Paraguay:   comprising an  Account of
The following is a general modern view. j water.    It was brought to me in an earthen jug by the
"To attempt to define the nature and extent of the  master of the house, who stood in the most respectful
Ftmr   Years' Residence in' that Republic, and the  **?** * *j* executive in these countries, would not j attitude, with his hat in his band, while I drank.    It
Government of the Dictator Francia.    By J. P.  «nly be difficult, but impossible.    One day you find the   was ,n vam that I requested hun to be covered: he
1 W  P  I. hart*       2 ' 1 • 12mo   London 183^   »overnor shooting a man upon his own responsibility,; would not listen to my remonstrance; and I saw, in the
55 o er son.      vo s. . ,       -.  an(j t,he next, applying to congress for leave tocelebrate ' course of the evening, that hie male children were all
urray- ! high mass, or increase the salary of a clerk in the go- \ trained to a similar observance.   The female ones re-
We hasten to apprise our readers and the public of vernment offices. A few days after this, he perhaps | spectfully crossed their arms over their bosoms, as they
a very clever work; one in which the intelligence of dissolves the congress altogether. The extent of naval j waited on either their parents or strangers while they
the merchant tends a charm to the spirit of the.travel-  and military force at the disposal of the different go-  ate and drank. * * * *
ler, nnd the observation of practical sense is unusually vernments of South America varies, according to a va-1 " I had been struck, as I approached the house, by a
graced by the vivacity and talent which has been riety of circumstances. Peru may keep under arms, j singular erection immediately near it. The trunks of
thought more peculiarly to belong to the professional jn ordinary times, five or six thousand men. Chile - four palm-trees, about fifteen feet in height, were driven
author. Not only have our countrymen seen much may maintain about three or four thousand; and Buenos j as stakes into the ground, at intervals which constitut-
with acute vision, but they have described what they Ayres, four or five. Paraguay keeps about three thou- jed a square of about twenty feet. Between each palm-
saw in a manner which would do credit to any literary sand ; and the east side of the river Plate, or Banda ] tree was an intermediate po6t of equal height, support-
reputation. There are in these pages characters and Ortental, will support a similar number. The force of j jng rafters which formed the frame-work of the roof,
scenes which the author of "Gil Bias" might have. Mexico is about eight thousand men, and of Columbia, I Over this were spread coarse straw mats, of Indian
owned without a sciuple; and yet the staple is as ; six or seven. These troops are partly cavalry, partly manufacture. The place had the appearance of a high
sound and accurate as if the dry details of business | infantry. There are large trains of artillery in the stage, and there was connected with it a long ladder,
had been consulted in the statements. To say that we , country, though not many practised artillery-men. ! reaching from the ground to the roof. VVe supped
are extremely pleased wilh these volumes is saying j They have abundance of arms and ammunition of all , plentifully upon milk, yucca-ioot, honey, and a full-
little: wo had no idea, previously, that South America ; kinds: and could, in each of the provincps, in case ofjgrown lamb, roasted entire. Immediately after supper,
could furnish auL'ht to amuse us so much in its most! emergency, call into the field a large body of militia i the numerous family of oar host came up to him, and,
known features, whilst many new and curious particu- ai1d guerilla troops, chiefly mounted. * * *! raising their closed hands, in the attitude of prayer,
lars were related of parts of which our knowledge was ; The natives (we rejoice to be told, for there is much j gajd jn Guarani, 4 Your blessing, my father.' The old
limited. of future hope in it,) are a frank and  warm-hearted : man moved his hand, so asto describe wilh it the figure
We ought to fly at once to Paraguay ; but hove been : people; and the blunt manners and honest principles [ 0f a cross, and said to eath of his offspring in succes-
so much entertained by the way, thai we cannot forego of John Bull have always had charms for them. They j 8jori) 'God bless you, my son,' or 'my daughter,' as the
some notice. A portrait of Dr. Francia. and one ofthe ' commingle as if of one nation. The English haveicase might be. He had a family of nine children, of
best maps of the country which we have seen, though ^ never tuken any further part in the political dissensions | whom the oldest, a fine young woman, as fair as a Eu-
on a small scale, ushers in the Opening of the Seal, j0f the country than that of affording, indiscriminately, ropean, might be twenty-two; and the youngest, a
which has so long excluded this country from external i8n asylum to the chiefs and adherents of all sides,
notice. The authors set out with an able introductory j when in personal danger; and this even-handed huma-
sketch of the South American Republics; nnd give us „ity has won much upon the inhabitants at large. The
a clear comprehension of their former condition, the { English have been longest in the country; their num-
meansby which it was changed, and the results. One bers preponderate over those of other foreigners; and
feature may illustiato this:— ■ their trade is by far the most extenstve and advanta-
" In Chile and Peru, where the estates are large and ; ggoos which the natives enjoy."
'_£
productive, with a slave or vnss.l population to farm )     But we inusT not be delayed too long on the road;
them,—sometimes, too, with a title of nobility annexed j and though the travel from Buenos Ayres to Assump-1 ments.^lying down to repose for the night.    Gomez
to them,—the possession of landed property, before the j tion (1811) is so entertaining that we must, if possible, | told me thafioe were to steep up there loo, 'para evilar
little Paraguay Gaucho, about eight. They did the
same afterwards to their inother, and received from her
a similar benediction. Great wa6 my delight in seeing
realized, by the children of modern days, this patri¬
archal homage to their parents: and not less was my
surprise when, immediately afterwards, I saw them
mounting, one by one, up the steep ladder to the top of
the stage, and there, after unloosing their slender gar
revolution, was deemed an enviable privilege, and the
management of it a desirable occupation. In those
countries,  lhe large landed  proprietors looked down
return to it, we will now, leaving Santa Fe and Cor-
rientes, cro.-s the noble river Parana, and enter Para¬
guay with our merchant-countryman, to whom a vessel
upon the merchants as on men of a distinctly inferior i ]u.len with merchandise ascended the stream.*
grade to their own in society.    In Buenos Ayres and.      rfhe first halt in Paraguay is very primitive and in-
Paraguay it was otherwise.    The only landed posses- i terestin»:
sions considered of any value in lhe former place were I .< j cr0ssed the Parana (says the writer) at the Paso
the large estancias, or cattle farms. Many of these J de] Key; slept at Curupaiii, and, early next morning,
contained eighty nnd a hundred square miles of land, I entered the village of Neembucu. Here I was received
and some of thorn vastly more.* On this whole extent! by the commandant and curate with the usual hospita-
of lerritory, there was not perhaps to be found more I ]jty# Both became subsequently my intimate friends;
than three or four mud huts, which served as habita- and some specimens of the correspondence of the
tions for the ten or fifteen herds who tended the cattle, former, which we preserve, are such rare models of
withwme hut of somewhat better construction for the | epistolary style, in their way, as well to merit a place
owner of the estate. Each estate of this kind had ge¬
nerally upon it from five to twelve or fifteen thousand
head of horned cattle; of which it is calculated that the
owner may sell, or kill, yearly, one-fourth, and yet in¬
crease his stock. The proprietors of the estancias,
however, though men of solid property, did not, pre¬
viously tothe revolution, attain lo much importance in
ihe community, for the following reasons. In the first
place, a limited and restricted commerce kept hides,
the produce of thoir estate.., at a very low valup. An
ox was seldom, before the revolution, worth more than
in print. You shall have a translation of one or two of
the commandant's letters, if we can find room for them.
Neembucu is the first establishment or comandancia
to which, on the line of road ihat-I travelled, y< u come
in Paraguay. I was now in the country, properly so
called ; hemmed in by the river Paraguay on one hand,
and by the Parana on the other. As I proceeded on¬
wards to Assumption, just skirling the territory of lhe
Missiones, till I crossed the river Tibiquari, in lat
2Co "'), I soon recognised a striking difference between
the character of the country in which I now was, and
four shillings: so that even if one of the most wealthy | that of any part over which I had hitherto travelled.
of them, with lo.OOO head of cattle on his estate, killed,
or sold, the fourth part, annually, his income did not
exceed 800.. a year. In the second place, small as
their incomes were, they did not spend the half of them.
In most cases, unfortunately, a large proportion was
absorbed by gambling.' In town they lived in obscu
The open Pampa was exchanged for the shady grove;
the pastures, protected by the trees, and irrigated by
abundant streams, were in most places beautifully
green; the palm-tree was a frequent occupant of the
plain; hills, and more gently sloping eminences, con¬
trasted   beautifully   with  the   valley   and  the  lake.
rity, while, in the country, like the peons, or herds, by Wooded from the base to the top, those hills and slopes
whom they were surrounded, they had a mud hut for exhibited now the stately forest-lree, and anon the
their dwelling,—b. ef, and little more than beef, for less-aspiring shrub, the lime, and the orange, each
their diet. In lhe teird place, they were aim. st all | bearing, at the same time, both blossom and fruit. The
natives of the country, rustic in manners, and rude in I ng.tree spread its broad dark leaf, and offered its deli-
scholarship and address,—being possessed ofthe merest | cious fruit t0 the traveller without money and without
los mosquitos? 'in order lo avoid the mosquitos;'and
no sooner had he informed me that they never rose so
high as the roof of the stage, than I mounted with an
alacrity not easily conceivable but by those who have
been martyrs to the blistering attacks and tormenting
hum of those insatiable insects. While we sat at the
cottage-door, we had suffered not a little from their
bites, and been annoyed by their constant and teazing
buzz about our ears. AUrabile diclu .' No sooner had
I attained the enviable eminence, where now, out¬
stretched in sound repose, lay the good man's family,
than not a single mosquito or inspct of any other kind
was to be felt. Up came Gomez; up came the host
and his wife; up came three peons; and, finally, up
came the ladder. The horses wanted for the morning
were fastened to stakes, and eating their pasture near
the house ; the cattle wtre in the corral, the sheep too;
the cocks and hens wen all at roost; the dogs lay out¬
stretched, like so many watchmen, asleep, but, unlike
them, on the alert; lhe doors of the house were all left
open for the admissio. of the cool air of the night;
there were no thieves ateoad, but one or two of the ya-
guars, not bold enough u approach this family colony;
and just is the ..".f'i.._- wa. beginning to shed hpr
faint but soft beams upon the trees, and the stars to
shine forth, the whole family,—wife, children, stran¬
gers, servants, cattle, dogs, and fowls of the rural and
really patriarchal Paraguty swain,—sank into repose
under the canopy of heaven. The good company thus
outstretched beneath the pale moon, consisted of
The Paraguayan's children, in number 9
of their father and morber 2
of Gomez, myself, servant, _nd postilion 4
aud of peons    ..--.-.--•----      3
in all, eighteen ; accommodated, without the aid of
either bed or bedding, on twelve yards' square ol
wicker-work, covered with a mat, and at an elevation
of fifteen feet above the level of the ground.    Only
cattle proprietor, feeling his inferiority, ant! .akin? his
station in socie'y accordingly, had his solace, and his
recreation in his own solitary avocations, and in the oc¬
casional society of those of his own class, with whom
gu ca   ayo   ratu     ma(]e at lnxs t,me: that was managed at the
or cockatoo,   and  mnuraerab e others described by  ,      ,  c      ■ e,    ....._.     r_-.__™. _"_.- _-.i_.-_
. ____________•     it __. ■ i • .     i-   i brook five hours afterwards.    Down went tne ladder,
Azara, inhabited, in all their gaudy variety of p urn-   , ,   . ,  _., _.  « - ,.
1 'down went the no-longer recumbent members ot the
family; and strangers too; lowing from the corral
went forth tbe cattle, and bleating from their fold the
sheep; the cocks crowed; the dogs frisked; the young
women went to milk the cows, the young men to saddle
the horses; and Gomez and myself, with our servant
and postilion, to see our travelling equipments put in
order, ln one moment, a scene of the deepest repose
was converted into one of the most stirring bustle and
rural activity.   We took our mate, a jar of warm milk,
age, the woods through which I rode.    There is one
noble bird which tenants them, that I never elsewhere
ho could expatiate upon fat herds of cattle,—hue years savV) except on the lakc or on its bank- Thal bj_d jg
for pasture—horses more fleet than the ostrich or the , the pat0 rea]) or royal -j^ near]y the sjze 0f a goose,
deer,-the dexterity of those who could best, from the ; but „f plumage rich and varied. The lakes are covered
saddle, throw their noose, or laso, oyer the horns of a ■ wiUl Wl]d fowl( the marsbes with water-hpns and
wild bull,—or of him who could amice the nicest pair jsnipeA 0n the pasture-grounds you have the large
ot boots from the skin stripped oil the tegs of a pa.ro, or i partridge, and on the cultivated enclosures, in great
wild colt.    A good, substantial, roughly finished house ! abundance, the small one, or quail.    As I pursued my
in town, very little furniture in it: a large, sleek, fat  j()Umey through a counttry bo substantially  favoured,''"V .       ,       „ ,        ,        „      .
horse, on which to ride; a poncho, or loose amplitude Q so highly ado..ted by nature, I was glad to meet and a e\&r; and' m lees ,han an hoUr from,the **** ot
of camlet stuff, with a hole in the centre ot it tor his ) wilb m|M| .£oro fJt traCPg of cultiv£tion and in_ our waking, we were once more en route tor Assump-
head, and falling from h.s shoulders over his body ; large j dugl than * ere to be found in the solitary tracts over j *** ,We fir?t' h™e™T> ***** ***** a»d &aief"]
silver spurs, and the head-piece of h.s bridle heavily , whic|l , had heretofore sped my monotonous way. ! adieu to our exemplary host VVe had never seen the
overlaid with the same metal; a coarse hat fastened Whitewashed collages often peeped from among the ! !nnn _*?** He, knew "othing of me, but lhat I be-
with black leather thongs under his chin; a tinderbox, i tr and aroun(1 th^In were inferable fields of the ! "T to, a,h"s,,le nat,on that; not ™nV years be/ore'
steel, and flint, with which to light his cigar; a knife  cotto and tobacco    |anU    The Im]ian corn i had invaded his country; and yet he entertained me
in his girdle, and a swarthy page behind hun, with the and 6UgaVcane were al.o frequently to be seen in the I and ****}*■ **** P"™iples of open-handed hosp.tn-
unroasted ribs ot a fat cow, for provision, under his vicinitj: of firm-houses of a better character than the hW*ft fcorn,r,8 *• ***** ot r^w"d' ****. on]y
saddle; constituted the most solid comfort, nnd met the cotta ,s and there was abundance of wood, and of the ! 8allsfied b? *he glv,n? ol hls own and of hw children s
most luxurious aspirations ot the estanciero, or Buenos orickly pear. With the latter, the cultivated country,! Pfrsonal and resPec)tful attendance upon h.s guests.
Ayres country gentleman. When thus equipped and as wef, ^s the potreros or paddocks, were invariably i JNotr,waS ? Pa,rl,al Ca£C = * f°Und ll the 6ame thr°Ugh"
provided, he could take te the plains, and see I large   well ,enced.    t was much £tt_dl_bs the amazing sim- { out the country-      ,*_.       ,.     .,
he first! .--A.™.,.,,,...-/,
was of
his own—his joy was full, his ambition satisfied ; and'"'" " ~~ " " """""' ""  a       •
he was willing at once to forget and to forego the taste-j—— "        .• . \     « In the winter of 1828, ^- delegation of the Chero-
less enjoyments and cumbrous distinctions ot artificial i t " Of this immense tract of water, fifteen hundred miles : ]-eeg vi_jted tne city of Washington in order to make
society. Thus lived, and thus was the country gentle- are navigable bg vessels drawing ten feet. The river ; a treat witf, the Uniled states, and'among them was
man ofthe river Plate educated, before the revolution abounds with fish from its mouth to Us source. The pexe- See-quah-yah, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet.
He is now greatly improved in manners, fortune, aud   rey (king ■ fish,) the dorado, mullet, pacu (a sort of lur-   1Jjs E    ligh nime WM Gf,or(_e G ^        «J ha„._
mode of life; and he is rising gradually, but surely, to  bot,) and many others   are found ,n it; its banks are for  b|ood  but had neve    f       ^ acc fe
that influence to winch a greatly increased and increas-  tee most part richly studded with wood ; its various islands    ■    , .   f R    ,   , ,      •        f , .  '.  •,    t •
in2 value of property natn^lj leads. His cattle, which   - adoined with beautiful shrubs, evergreens, creepers,   KrC^ own cunO-i.'and uJgeci
pplied to See-quah-yah,
terpreters, one a half
 , ...... — coiiages; una mere was aounuance oi wooo, ana oi me
estanciero, or Buenos |nic].]y poar   W;,h t|ie latter, the cultivated country,! C;
in thus equipped and as well as the potreros or paddocks, were invariably iiN(
lams, and see a large ,vell ,enced     I was much struck-by the amazinir sim-! OU
herd of cattle grazing in one place, and in another hear ; piicit    and urbanity of the inhabitants.    At th
them lowing in tne distance; and when he could look cottage al w|lich i stopped for lhe ni ht (and it
round for uninterrupted mites upon rich pastures, all lhc bctter cla    } j asked   as , aylguiea   }or a
1.1- -..-.. l.i_ ii.1t   viTii   lo        Ins monition sntiKhorl •   nm ' ■
THE AMERICAN CADMUS.
before the revolution were worth only four shillings
ahead, are now worth twenty; and for these twenty
he can buy double lhe quantity, both of the necessaries
and luxuries of life (his own commodity of cattle always
excepted,) which he could procure for them before.
Comfort and convenience in his town residence are
now as necessary to him and his family as to the other
classes of the community. He mixes more freely in
general society, takes a share in the affairs and offices
of state,  educates his children more liberally; and
<tru auorneu wim  neauuiui  sihuds, evergreens, creepers,   __„•„„_      o .   i _.
»_„    ,. ,    .       .... j .i?    i-       _ nor since.    Prompted by mv owi
&c.; the woods abound with game, and the adjacent coun- .. ,  ,-,        '  _. -    J,    { w   '
try teems with cattle.    The waterl are highly salubrious ;' g ^vera 1 literary friends, I app
the soil all along tbe banks of the river, with the exception \ "EJC thte »iedlUf» * two ml
' .be Great Chaco, is rich and fertile il the highest de- ! b]?°i]> Cal)t- ^en, and the other a full-blood chief,
gree; but notwithstanding all these advantages—notwith-! .wh0iie assumed English name was John Maw, to re-
standing that tbe country has been for three hundred years ilate to me;.as m,niltely as possible, the mental opera¬
te the possession of a civilized European nation—after I', |,ons u,,d a l ** fac,s ,n hls discovery. He cheerful-
had galloped two hundred and eighty leagues, I did not' ,v coinP'ie(i with my request, and gave very deliberate
see above four or five small towns. Not more than a like j and satisfactory answers to every question ; and was
number of vessels were to be descried on my route, while at the same time careful to know from the interpreters
at every fifteen miles distance a miserable hut, with its " L distinctly understood his answers. No stoic could
though the estanciero himself may still adhere to many baif.dozen inhabitants, was alone interposed lo relieve the' have been more grave in his demeanor than was See-
of his primitive and-taJ°^Jf Jj*^18;^ ***?*: u™   monotony of the scene.   From this charge you may ex-! quah-yah ; he pondered, according to the Indian cus-
cept, as you would the oasis in the desert, the relaxation i torn, for a considerable time after each question was
afforded by fny residence at Santa Fe, and by my day's1 put, before he made his reply, and often took a whiff
good living and rural revelry at Candioti's estancia.   The! of his calumet while reflecting on an answer.    The
  secret of all the silence, solitude, and abandonment of na-1 details of the examination are too long for the closing
• " The Anchorena family is said to be possessed of  ture to herself which I saw and lamented, is of course to [ paragraph of this lecture; but the substance of it was
four hundred square leagues  (ecmed to twelve hundred ; be traced to the inadequate means which have hitherto| this: That he, See-quah-yah, was now about sixty-five
square miles) of land, in the province of Buenos Ayres;' been used to provide even a semblance of the population j years old, but could not precisely say ; that in early
and they derive an annual income of 20,000/. from the ( necessary to cover a country of Buch vast fertility and ex-1 life he was gay and a talkative; and although he never
ale of their surplus cattle." | tent." ) attempted to speak in council but once, yet was often,
of
estanciero's wife and daughters are to be seen driving
about in handsome and modern built carriages of their
own."
from the strength of his memory, his easy colloquial and would be worth bein_r known to our painters. For
powers, and tbe ready command of his vernacular, his drawings he had no model but what nature furnish-
story teller of the convivial party. His reputation for ed, and he oflen copied them with astonishing faithful-
talents of every kind gave him some distinction when ness. His resemblances of the human form, it is trup,
he was quite young, so long as St. Clair's defeat. In are coarse, but often spirited and correct; and he gave
this campaign, or some one that soon followed it, a let- action, and sometimes {.'race, to his representation of
ter was found on the person of a prisoner, which was animals. He had never seen a camel hair pencil, when
wrongly read by him to the Indians. In some of their he made use of the hair of wild animals for his brushes,
deliberations on this subject, thp question arose among Some of his productions discover a considerable practi-
them, whether this mysterious power of the talking cs\ knowledge of perspective; but he could not have
leaf, was the gift ofthe Great Spirit to the white man, formed rules for this. The painters in the early ages
or a discovery of the white man himself! Most of his were many years coming to a knowledge of this part
companions were of the former opinion, while he as of their art; and even now they are more successful
strenulously maintained the latter. This frequently | in the art than perfect in the rules of if. The man-
became a subject of contemplation with him after- ners of the American Cadmus are the most easy, and
wards, as well as many other things which he knew, his habits those of the most assiduous scholar, and his
or had heard, that the white man could do; but he disposition is more lively than that of any Indian I ever
never sat down seriously to reflect on the subject, until I saw. He understood and felt the advantages the white
a swelling on his knee confined him to his cabin, and j man had long enjoyed, of having the accumulations of
which at length made him a cripple for life, by shorten- every branch of knowledge, from generation to grne-
ing the diseased teg. Deprived of the excitement of ration, by means of written language, while the red
war, and the pleasures of the chase, in the lonjr nights man conld inly commit bis thoughts to uncertain tra-
of his confinement his mind was again directed to the dition. He reasoned correctly, when he urged this to
mystery of the power of speaking by letters, the very j his friends as the cause why the red man had made so
name of" which, of course, was not be found in his Ian- j few advances in knowledge in comparison with us ;
guage. From the cries of wild beasts, from the talents j and to remedy this was one of his great aims, and one
of the mocking bird, from the voices of his children I which he has accomplished beyond that of any other
and companions, he knew that feelings and passions ' man living, or perhaps any other who ever existed in
were conveyed  by different sounds, from one intelli-   a rude state of nature.
gent being to another. The thought struck him to tiy j It perhaps may rot be known that the government
to ascertain all tbe sounds in the Cherokee language, j of the United States had a fount of types cast for his
His own ear was not remarkably discriminating, and | alphabet; and that a newspaper, printed partly in the
he called to bis aid the more acute ears of his wife and j Cherokee language, and partly in the English, has been
children.    He found great assistance from them. established at New Echota, and is characterized by de-
When he thought that he had distinguished all the ! cency and good sensp; and thus many of the Cnero-
different sounds in their language, he attempted to use j kees are able to read both languages. After putting
pictorial signs, images of birds and beasts, to convey i these remarks to paper, I had the pleasure of seeing
these sounds to others, or lo mark them in his own [the head chief of the Cherokees, who confirmed the
mind.    He soon dropped this method, as difficult or im- j statement of See-quah-yah, and added, that he was an
possible, and tried arbitrary signs, without any regard
lo appearances, except such as might assist him in re¬
collecting them, and distinguishing them from each
other. At first, these signs were very numerous; nnd
when he got eo far as to think his invention nearly ac¬
complished, he had about two hundred characters in his
Alphabet. By the aid of his daughter, who seemed to
enter into the genius of his labours, he reduced them,
at last, to eighty-six, the number he now uses. lie
then set to work to make these characters more come¬
ly to the eye, and succeeded. As yet he had not the
knowledge of the pen as an instrument, but made his
characters on a piece of bark, with a knife or nail At
this time he sent to the Indian agent, or some trader
in the nation, for paper and pen. His ink was easily
made from some of the bark of the forest trees, whose
colouring properties he had previously known ; and
after seeing the construction of the pen, he soon learn¬
ed to make one ; but at first he made it without a slit;
this inconvenience was, however, quickly removed by
his sagacity. His next difficulty was to make his in¬
vention known to his countrymen ; for by this time he
had become so abstracted from his tribe and their usual
pursuits, that he was viewed with an eye of suspicion.
His former companions passed his wigwam without en¬
tering it, and mentioned his name as one who was
practising improper spells, for notoriety or mischievous
purposes; and he seems to think that he should have
been hardly dealt with, if his docile and unambitious
disposition had not been so generally acknowl* dged
by his tribe. At length he summoned some of the
most distinguished of his nation, in order to make his
communication to them—and after giving thein the
best explanation of his discovery that be could, strip¬
ping it of all supernatural influence, he proceeded to
demonstrate to them, in good earnest, that he had
made a discovery. His daughter, who was now his
only pupil, was ordered to go out of hearing, while he
requested his friends to name a word or sentiment,
which he put down, and then she was called in and
read it to them; then the father retired, and the daugh¬
ter wrote ; the Indians were wonder-struek, but not
entirely satisfied. See-quah-yah then proposed that
the tribe should select several youths from among
their brightest young men, that he might communicate
the mystery to them. This was at length agreed to,
although thi re were some lurking suspicions of necio-
mancy in the whole business. John Maw, (his Indian
name I have forgotten,) a full-blood, with several others,
were selected for this purpose. The tribe watched
the youths for several months wilh anxiety ; and when
they offered themselves for examination, the feelings
of all  were wrought up to the highest pitch.    The
Indian of the strictest veracity and sobriety. The
western wilderness is not only to blossom like the roee,
but there man has started up, and proved that he has
not degenerated since the primitive days of Cecrop*,
and the romantic ages of wonderful effort and godlike
renown.
FAMINE AND SLAVERY IN INDIA.
A public meeting was lately held in Dr. Wardlaw's
church, at Glasgow, in connection with tbe u Abori¬
gines Protection Society," "for the purpose of having
laid before them a statement of tbe condition of one
hundred millions of British Fubjects in India, and the
present imperative duty of the country in leference to
that vast portion ofthe empire." After some prefatory
remarks, Mr. George Thompson introduced Mr. Mont¬
gomery Martin, from India. He described the famine
in that country.    He asked :—
** Was this a new scene! No; it was a state of things
which had been going on for years in India. He had
himself lived on the banksof the Ganges; he had been
accustomed tothe labors of the dissecting room, and
had witnessed the carnage of a battle field : but he was
obliged to give up living on the Ganges, from the num¬
ber of bodies he saw floating past him on the stream,
and the sharks fighting for the carcasses."
•• The Mahomedans, as he had already stated, con¬
quered India, and possessed it for seven centuries. The
Koran gave them aulhority to take the lives of those
whom they subdued, but they found that this was not
so easy to be done; and in the exercise of what they
called clemency, they permitted them to live, and toil,
nnd cultivate the soil, claiming fifty per cent, of the
fruits of lhat toil. They found, however, that this was
a most onerous thing for the country, and produced de¬
solation and ruin. Wise in their generation, as the
children of this world always are, they constructed
public works, made roads, and other vast improvements,
and erected reservoirs for water, so necessary in a
country where the floods are periodical. When we
succeeded the Mahomedans, we did not become Maho¬
medans in name, but we became worse than them in
practice. We assumed the whole country, and a few
merchants in Leaden-hali street became the proprietors
of a whole continent. The fifty per cent, formerly
paid in produce, was converted into filty pPr cent, in
money. Any merchant knew how much this tended
to increase the burdsn, raising it to 70 or 80 instead of
50 per cent. The people then brought into cultivation
waste lands, as the means by which they might be
better able to pay the per centage on other lands- but
it was impossible they could proceed—the very means
youths were separated from their master, and from of irrigation were placed beyond their reach, and fa
each other, and watched with great care. The unini- I m»e after famine followed. Earl CornwaHis, a man
tiatcd directed what the master and the pupil should I who honored himself by the government of India, pro-
write to each other, and these tests were varied in j cured an Act of Parliament declaring that the land tax
such a manner, as n-t only to destroy their infidelity, Uliould be fixed. This, however, only extended to
but most firmly to fix their faith.    The Indians, on (Bengal and the neighboring districts.    The land tax
this, ordered a great feast, and made See-quah-yah con¬
spicuous at it. How nearly is man alike in every age !
Pythagoras did the same on the discovery of an impor¬
tant principle in geometry. See-quah-yah became at
once schoolmaster, professor, philosopher, and a chief.
His countrymen were proud of his talents, and held
him in reverence as ene favoured by the Great Spirit.
The inventions of early times were shrouded in mys¬
tery. See-quah-yah disdained all quackery. He did
not stop here, but carried his discoveries to numbers.
He of course knew nothing of the Arabic digits, nor
of the power of Roman letters in the science.
The Cherokees had mental numerals to one hundred,
and had words for all numbers up to that; but they
had no signs or characters to assist them in enumerat¬
ing, adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing. He
reflected upon this until he had created their elemen¬
tary principle in his mind; but he was at first obliged
to make words to express his meaning, and then signs
to explain it.    By this process he soon had a clear con-1
was accordingly fixed, and though heavy, was paid by
the natives taking into cultivation waste lands- but
eventually tbe burden was found to be so great'that
the people were forced to give up the land entirely.
Nevertheless, 6ome good results had followed- no fa¬
mine had occurred in these districts, and wages had
risen, in some cases, as high as 2 l-2d a day, and land
had risen to twenty years' purchase. The Government
at the same time, promised that the system should be'
extended te the rest of India. These promises were
made by Teignmouth, Wellesley, Minto, and Hast¬
ings: but, notwithstanding this, it was never done, and
the benefit was never extended to the other districts
where it was more necessary than in Beagal."
"There was one other point on which he felt it his
duty to touch. There were still five or six millions of
slaves in British India; and so imperfectly was their
existence known, that Mr. T. B. Macaulay, who had
£10,000 a year for assisting in making out a code of
laws for India, was not able to procure information un-
ception of numbers up to a million. His great difficul-j der what laws these slaves existed. In Malabar he
ty was at the threshold, to fix the powers of his signs knew that the masters conceived themselves to have
according to their places. When this was overcome, | the power of life and death over them, and «rovern-
his next .-tep was in adding to his different numbers in ; ment documents had described them as scarcefy bear-
order to put down the fraction of the decimal, and give 1 ing the appearance of humanity. It was stated that
the whole number to his next place. But when I knew ' a grown man costs from 15 to 20rs.; a lad of sixteen
him, he had overcome all these difficulties, and was j years of age, from 12 to 20rs.; and a girl at eight or
quite a ready arithmetician in the fundamental rules. • ten years old from 5 to 15rs. Thus it would be per-
This was the result of my interview ; and 1 can safely j ceived that the value of a slave in British India was
say, that I have seldom met a man of more shrewdness | 20r?„ or 40s. Why, in the West Indies, before eman-
than See-quah-yah. He adhered to all the customs of j cipation, 40/. would have neen but a poor price. Even
his country ; and when his associate chiefs on the mis- j human flesh and blood has little comparative worth ir
sion assumed our costume, he was dressed in all re-j the eastern empire, over which England professes te
spects like an Indian. See-quah-yah isa man of diver-, hold a mild and paternal sway! During the recent
sified talents; he passes from metaphysical and philo- j discussions on the character given to the East India
sophical investigation to mechanical occupations, with j Company, a clause was put put in that slavery should
the greatest ease. The only practical mechanics he i be abolished—it passed through the Commons—but ul
was acquainted with, v-
who could make a rou
of a rifle;  yet he become a white and silve
was acquainted with, were a few bungling blacksmiths, I timately was struck out, and he was satisfied that thi"
.ugh tomahawk, or tinker the lock ' gross system of oppression would never be done aw *
rsmith,; with till the moral force of public opinion was brought
without any instruction, and made spurs and silver  to bear upon it, as in tbe case of West India sln,._f...
spoons with neatness and skill, to the great admiration  He would leave other topics to be disposed of hi l_^"
of people of the Cherokee nation.    See-quah-yah has . friend Mr. Thompson. It was to him a source   f d 1   h
also a great taste for painting.    He mixes his colours; that he was now about to devote his energies    'd
with skill, taking all the art and science of his tribe j manding that that slavery which disgraced Indi    'h    u
upon the subject, he added to it many chemical expeii- j be abolished for ever." * enould
meets of his own, and some of them very successful, |    "Mr. Thompson said he looked forward to th    i