the perpetual controversy which still engages, the learned, whether alphabetical writing be of human or divine origin, the matter receives considerable light from the details published by Mr. Knapp, in his Lectures on American Literature, who records one of the most extraordinary events which has occurred since the original invention of letters. It appears that an Indian, of the name of See-quah-yah, is the inventor of a Cherokee alphabet, under such disadvantageous circumstances, as render him one of the most extraordinary men that the world has produced.
Mr. Knapp has given to the public the history of this invention nearly in the words of See-quah-yah, the inventor himself, then (1828) about sixty-five years of age. At the termination of a campaign, towards the dose of the war, it appears a letter was found on the person of a prisoner, which was wrongly read by him to the Indians. In some of their deliberations on this subject, the questions arose among them whether the mysterious 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 a subject of contemplation with him afterwards, but he never sat down seriously to reflect on it, until a swelling in his knee confined him to his cabin, and at length made him a cripple for life. In the long night of his confinement, his mind was again directed to the mystery of speaking by letters, the very name of which, of course, was not to be found in his language. From the cries of wild beasts, from the sounds of the mocking-bird, from the voices of his children and his companions, he knew that feelings and passions were conveyed by direct sound, from one intelligent being, to another. The thought struck him to try to ascertain all the sounds, in the Cherokee language. His own ear was not particularly discriminating, and he called to his aid the more acute ears of his wife and children. When he thought that he had distinguished all the different sounds in their languages, 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. He soon dropped this method as difficult or impossible, and tried arbitrary signs, without any regard to appearances, except such as might assist in recollecting them, and distinguishing them from each other. At first these signs were very numerous; and when he had got so &r as to think his invention was nearly accomplished, he had about 200 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. He then set to work to make these characters more comely 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 made one. His next difficulty was to make his invention known. At length he summoned some of the most distinguished of his nation, in order to make his communication to them—and after giving the best explanation of his discovery that he could, stripping it of all supernatural influence, he proceeded to demonstrate to them in good earnest that he had a discovery. His daughter, who was 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
