Cherokee Phoenix

From the Republican and Banner

Published December, 7, 1833

Page 3 Column 4b

From the Republican and Banner

JACK DOWNING'S LETTER

To my old Friend Mr. Dwight, of the New York Daily Advertiser.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2:- The Congressmen are just beginnin (sic) to arrive, and I suppose in a short time we shall have them here as thick as huckleberries; and the Gineral(sic) is brushin(sic) round now, and says the message must be finished and printed off hand,and we are all as busy as bees in gettin(sic) dovetailed together; and after next week, the Gineral (sic) says, there can't be anymore alterations. It is the first Message I ever had hand in-and tho' I say it, I guess you say it is about as complete a thing as ever was sent express any where. I have been to work on it ever since we was at the Rip Raps; and tho' it has been sometimes all pulled to bits, to git (sic) in some notions we didn't think on, yet it will look pretty slick, I tell you, when it's done; and we will lay on paint enuf (sic) to kiver (sic) up all the cracks and seams.

We shall give a pretty good lick at the bank, and won't leave as much on't standing as would make a good sized oven. It is curious now to see how easy it is to build up or nook all in bits anything on paper. Now just see about the bank. There it stands in Chesnut Street, with its hundred cord of specie, and its cart load of books and its branches here and there all busy, and full of clarks (sic) and directors; and folks in Europe and all about creation nealin(si) with it; and the brokers in Wall Street all busy about it; and Biddle's bills goin about and most folks thinkin they are better than the hard dollars; and the old men and women holdin stock, suposin(sic) it will go up again so high as they paid for it-and I and the General, and Amos Kimble, and Van Buren, talkin over it-and one line in the Message nocks it all into kindlin wood; For you see, when the Government says a thing must be jest so, there is no help for it. We can't stand to chat about trifles. The Gineral has smashed three pipes the last time we talked about it. Biddle and the bank must be smashed, says he, Major, and so smash they go, Congress or no Congress.

The next think was the Ingins (sic).- Here the Gineral is at home; and I don't like an Ingin, and never can.- The Cherokees give us a good deal of trouble in Georgia last year, but the Gineral took sides with Georgia because he has a good many friends there, and Mr. Van Buren had two for that state was the only one that nominated him Vice President a spell ago. And if he had got in there, and Mr. Crawford President, who was allin (sic) all over with some plagy apoplexy- I and the Gineral would never been heavn(sic) on arterwards(sic). But no matter, the Gineral says he didn't make that treaty with the Cherokees-and it was made so long ago he has anymost(sic) forgot it; and treaties ough'nt to last forever.- But this treaty with the Creeks in Alabama he did make; and he knows all about it; and he means to stand by it, and turn all the squatters off the land in Alabama, jest as they wanted him to do in Georgia, but he wouldn't.- There is trouble enuf about it, I tell you, and you don't no(sic) nothin about it in York. But the Gineral is tickled to death about it, and as soon as he saw the Proclamation of the Governor of Alabama, you never see a crittur(sic) so spruced up as the Gineral was. Major, says he, by the eternal we shall have another Nullification this Congress arter(sic) all. You need'nt(sic) say much about it, says he, in the Message-we'll keep that for a Proclamation. Well, said I Gineral, you are a master hand at gittin into trouble. But, said he, Major, ain't I a master one at gittin out of one?

We've got an old trunk up chamber, full of troubles, old laws, and treaties, and contracts and state claims, and whenever we want any powder, all we've got to do is to open that, and snook (sic) among old papers, and we get up a row in no time. The Gineral likes this a leetle (sic) better than I do, for the most of the labor fall on me-and the ony (sic) way I can git rid of it, is to make our folks down stairs do it, if I see it give ony of'em aa boost with his party-for I don't care nothin about anything here but the Gineral; and if I can git him threw (sic) this Congress, its pretty much all I care about, and he too: for arter (sic) that I'm going with him to the Hermitage, for I expect by that time there won't be much more left on us than our beards and shoe strings.

Your friend.

J. Downing.