But, luckily, the Moravian missionaries preserved a
faithful translation of it, and this, some years ago, I brought to the
notice of students of these matters.[19]
Its authenticity is beyond question, and to this day the chiefs of the
Creeks recollect many of the points it contains, and have repeated it to
the eminent linguist, Mr. A.S. Gatschet, who has taken it down afresh
from their lips, and is preparing it for publication. Collateral
evidence is also furnished by "General" Milfort, a French adventurer,
who lived among the Creeks several years, toward the close of the last
century, and testifies that they preserved, "by beads and belts," the
memory of the adventures of their ancestors, and recited to him a long
account of them, which he repeats with that negligence which everywhere
marks his carelessly prepared volume.[20]
Their northern neighbors, the Cherokees, use an alphabet invented by
Sequoyah, one of themselves, in 1824. It is syllabic, of eighty-five
characters, and is used for printing. Sequoyah had no intention of
aiding the missionaries; he preferred the "old religion," and when he
saw the New Testament printed in his characters, he expressed regret
that he had ever invented them. What he wanted was to teach his people
useful arts, and to preserve the national traditions.
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