^s^^^v BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1S91 mi2 iS.ljJlJA. The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029347097 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE MISSIOJfS OF THE UNITED BRETHREN FOR PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL AMONG THE MEATHJEN", FROM TItEIR COMMENCEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY JOHN holm:bs. Minister of the Brethren's Congregation in Viiblin* '^v^^'Wk «'««%««^««'vm;>« t)UBLrtJ: Printed by S. Napper, 140, Capel-Street i AND SOLD BY DUGDALE, KEENE, MILLIKEN, ARCHER, &C. ALSO BY SEELY, 169, FLEET-STREET, LONDON; AND ROBERTSON, 7, PARLIAMENT-SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 1818. Price 7s. 6d. 5 PREFACE. THE Narrative of the Missions of the United Bre- thren, contained in the following sheets, was undertaken in consequence of many and repeated inquiries for such a work ; and in consideration, that the cordial and active interest in the missionary labours of the Brethren, ex- cited, of late years, among many sincere friends, who are not members of their church, seemed to require the publication of a work, which should supply a concise his- tory of all the attempts, made by them, at different times, and in various countriies, for the propagation of Chris- tianity among the Heathen. Influenced by these considerations, and encouraged by many of his friends, the author entered upon the compi- lation of his work; and, after previous correspondence with several of his brethren in the ministry, and having obtained their approbation, and the assurance of rfieir assistance and prayers for its success, prepared it for pub- lication. Whatever shall be its ultimate reception from the public, he feels the sincerest pleasure in ascribing much of the success, which has attended his -labours in compiling it, under God, to the countenance and faithful prayers of his brethren and friends. Aware of many imperfections in his performance, the author must entreat indulgence, particularly with regard to the style, which, in many places, especially where his IV PREFACE. information has been derived fi-om German works, may appear harsh, and defective in ease and harmony, to ait Jb-nglish reader. For one thing, however, he can vouch, — and on this he would jrest- his principal claim to the at- tention of the Public,' — the facts, he *has related, are all derived from the most authentic sources. Some of these are already before the Public ; e. gr. the Histories of the Missions in Greenland and North America. Others, though published several years ago in Gerina;iiy, have not yet'beentr^nsl^ted into English. On the' arrangement of the several parts of the work, he deems it unnfecessary to say much. His object has been, to give a faithful relation of events in each mission, in chronological order. While but cursorily npticing general occurrences, which were nearly the same in every period and place, he has narrated, at greater length i those facts, which more st;rikingly exhibit the benign effects of the gos|)eI' in the converts, or exemplify the piety and fortitude of the missionaries. An apology may be. required for occasional repetition, and even identity of .expression, when occurrences, in every respect, similar, formed the subject of the relation, not only in different Missions, but at separate periods in Ae s^me missioii, . In some parts tlfxe narrative may perhaps appear re- dundant ; a defect, which the a,utbor felt himself unable, wholly. to avoid, without makiiig his performance a mere register of names and dates,; and thus depriving the reader; of a knowledge of those facts, which, eyen in their minuter circumstances, display the operations of a (Jiyiife hand. The addition of a few prefatory remarks to each chap- ter, on the geographical situqtion, the climate, and. other particulars of the country, and its inhabitants, to which the subsequent missionary history relates, as well as the pheface. V Concluding Observations, appeared necessary to render the narrative more intelligible to the less informed reader. This addition has unavoidably increased the size of the book, and enhanced its price, beyond. tjie author's ori- ginal intention. He, however, hopes, that he is still offering it at a price, sufficiently moderate, to suit the convenience of most purchasers, who feel an interest in the subject. If by the Divine blessing, the work shall, even in the remotest degree, subserve the cause of Missions among the Heathen, the author's utmost wish will be' granted. His fervent prayer is, that the exertions, made in the present age, , by^ christians of every denomination, for the propagation of the gospel, both at home and abroad, may be abundantly bl^ed by ihe gi-eat Head of his iiniversal church, till every part of the habitable globe shall see the salvation of God^ and ali the kindreds of the earth join in one harraaonious song of praise to Him, who loveiujs, AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD. June ,5tb, 1&1&. Introdurtion ?;:i. •;-«:■ \. * • ». - >; j-' Chap. I. Mission in Greenland , ; . - - 5 II. — »— ' — in Mbradta- ' Hj.i - ■- 66. ■ III. -—ig North America— \,.i^~~ . 1;12_ IV. in South America, - - 234 Sect. I. Pilgerhut on the Rio de Berbice . ■» 236- il. Sharon on the Saraifleca - \ .£250— III. Hope on the CoreoJ;yfl:;T' i ■* iu\ > - " 2.56- — ^IV. Batabejtpn th«,Ssraini6ca;, - ., - -■'iS72_ V.Paramaribo .-.j -. .i\c- -.lir - - 29 L_ VI. Sommelsdyke.: -, • • v - ■,; ; ; -, - 297_ Chap. V. Mission in the West Indies ■ / - 30 1_ Sect. I. Danish West India Islands; J- ., -, .302.. • II. Jamaica -.£5'' - -. ,. -7- : 342.^ —— III. Antigua -.' ji; - -. ,-, . .3r50„ IV. Barbadoes ^ . h...- .• - - 366 _ - — V. St. Kitt's.s^v - , . sj,.- J,. ,- -_ 373 Chap. VI. Mission in South Africa - - 380 ■ VIL in Russian Asia - - 436 VIII. Unsuccessful Missions - - 453 Concluding Observations - < • 466 INTRODUCTION* •••X-ae - JL HE declaration of* our blessed Saviour, the kingdom of God Cometh not with observation ,- may with great propriety be applied to the Missions of the United Brethren. Their aftempts to bring the Heathen to the knowledge of God and our Saviour commenced in, a manner so obscure and unostentatiotts, as generally to elude the notice of all, but their own immediate connexions and particular friend^ ; and they had exerted themselves, for several years, in this labour of Ibve, before the attention of their fellow-chrisr tians, in other denominations, was attracted to this great object. But while the wo^ld at large, either remained to- tally ignorant of these exertions,- or treated the scheme with silent contepipt or open ridicule ; the Brethren, un- appalled by contempt and calumny and a thousand diili- culties, which impeded their progi'ess, pursued with una- bating zeal what to them appeared the path of.duty* The love of Christ constrained them to obey his command : Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- ture, and the gracious promises of his holy word animated them in their arduous work. The ofi^h of their Missions wds attended with circum- stances, singularly interesting* Count Zinzendorf*, hav- * This pious young Aotilelnan avowed'4beir diesia^e and resolu- laon to go to St. Thomas, and even to seil themselves bibles and other religious books burnt. Those few, who survived the perse- cution aqd fiutbfuUy adhered to thdr,i>rincjples, were forced -toxonceaj Ihem- selves in cellars and other, obscur* places, in the caves^f rocks and'ihe aln^ost impervious thickets Of -the 'forests, where they held their -rdSgious sireetingsin private, and chiefly in the night, for. fear of their enemies. Being informed ttHatlha-e was greater libertyof conscieiifie,tO(S8jqo»y and Silesia, maaay sought an a^limi ■ in iJiese countries. Seme . of these ■timgmWs arrived in 1,722 at Berflwlsiterf,'iB upper Imsatia, an estate Jielongijig to Count Ziniendorf, vrho, when he Jiad learned the cause of 'their ifiwigrfrtion, reeeivied aem M Ae kindest manner, .and encOUi^ged and assisted ihem in farming a cobmy «n a iiaghbouring hill, .called Huiberg. TbistculeHy afterwards received the name of Hkbrnhui, and became the first congiiegatioa of fte renewed church .of the Brethren. ' , iNTRODU^CrrON. $ AS SLAVES, in order that they might have an opportunity of firriBftehiWg '^■e gospel io the Negroes, should they finS «o other way of «ict}ampiisking their iHrt-pose; Tobias iiea^old r^eMed hife desire in writihg, and ftfhile his let- ter Mras read 'to the ulse to missionary labours Kras tka» impart- ed to the cftngregation at Hermhut by the great head of fai^ tiniiv«lrsal -church', who, in the unerring counsels of his wi^om and love, designed the Birethren to bebonle the lionofflred iHstraments of publishing the saving name of Jesus to many SaVage tribes, and sowing the gospel-seed oft soils the most barren atid umpromising. The impulse, thus granted, o^per-sfted most poiwerfally, for though the colony at Herrnhut, at the time of commencing this great work, consistM of onbjr six-hundred persons, and lliese anostly poor exiles^ yet neither their externa;! poverty nor the smafflness of their number could danip their zeal or ^ax their avddur- having given tihemselv^s unto ^ke l«>rd, they were 'disposed to oirer to Jiim aflso their talents and their substatnce, fi^lly persuaded that it is nothing with the Loi^'d', whedier to help with many, ot with them that, have no poWer, and that with his blessing upon their 'Cxertiems, a litnle one woold become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. Supported by this conviction they cheesrfully encountered «very difficulty, ttnd endured tiie severest hardships in distant countries and among IsarbarouS tribds, with a ^- nt of sel&denial) patience and fortitwJie, ^hi^ clearly manifested, that they were willing even to hazard t^ir lives for the name of the Lord Jesus. Within the short period of ten years missionaries went to St. Thomas, to St. Croix, to Greenland, to Su- rinam, to the Rio de Berbice,. to several Indian tribes in North America, to the Negroes in South Carolina, to Lapland, to Tartary, to Algiers, to Guinea, to the Cape • Brethren's Hist. Vol. i. p. 149. Risler, Part 2, Sec.i.p. 19. B 2 r- 4 INTRODUCTIOIT. df Good Hope and to Ceylon : and since that time mis- sionaries have been sent to the islatids of St. John, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbadoes, St. Kitt's and Tobago in the Wpst Indies ; to Paramaribo and other places in South Ame^ rica; to Persia, to Egypt, to Labrador, to Tranquebar atid the Nicobai* Islands. In several of these places, their attempts have jiroved unsuccessful. In some instances the ihissiodaries, sent out, niever reached the place of their destination ; in others the p6litical state of the cbuntry, to which they went^ rendered their immediate return ain imperious duty ; and in one or two cases they were compelled to relinquish their benevolent design, after years of patient perseverance and heroic fortitude, spent m fruitless: endeavours to impress the^ importance of the gospel upon the wretched natives. These partial. failures, however, did hot paralise their' exertions j for while the want of success, in some cases, had a tendency to humble and preserve them from vain glory in their ovrtfi' strei}gth^ thes divine , blessing, which attended their labours^in other places, quickened their de- ligence, maintained their confidence in the, Lord, and disposed them to ascribe all the glory unto Htm. And the experience of more than eighty years, dqring which they have been engaged in this noble work, has, furnished them with abundant proofs, that the cause is the Lord's, and that he is able to carry it on even by the weakest in- strurtients. To Him they desiire to express their wai-mest gratitude for the present flourishing state of most of their Missions, where the word of God is evidently glorified ip turning the Gentiles from darkness into light, and from tlie -pomr of Satan unto God. HISTORICAL SKETCHES, &c. &c. CHAP. I. MISSION IN GREENL4ND. vlB,EENLAND is the remotest tract of land in the north, lying between Europe and America, and is divided into east arid west Greenland. The eastern coast is wholly inaccessible, but the western coast has been known to Europeans for above two hundred years, though no colo-/; nies were formed there till within the last century, when the Danes erected several factories for tjie purpose of car- rying on the whale-fishery, The western coast, as far as it has been explored and occupied by the Danes, extends from the 59th to the "ZSrd degree of north latitude. It is very thinly peopled, the number of inhabitants probably not exceeding seven thou- sand. The whole coast is surrounded with steep and lofty cliflfe, the summits of which a]Qe covered with perennial snow and ice, intersected by many bays and defended by innumerable larger and, smaller islands. In some of the latter and also in the valleys on the main land, there is a little vegetation, consistirig of grass, a few^hardy flowers, various kinds of berry-bearing shrubs and low brush-wdody . \)^t in general the soil is barren and unproductive, 6 Mission in Greenland. The '.vant of large timber i« in sonie measure cmnpen.- eated by the Drifi-iBood, which floats in great quantities into the bays and islands, and serves the Europeans for fuel, aiid the natives for building their houses, tents and boats. The el&Mate-itt this country is inteaselly ooM, sometimes so severe that beer and even brandy freeze in a _ room heated by a stove; but the air is generally serene and pure, and bracing to Eur,opean constitutions. The bays and the water between the islands are seldom frozen for " any length of time, and some winters they remain open Ihe whole season. This is of great advantage to the Greenlanders, s& their principal subsistance is derived &om fishing. In very severe winters therefore they mostly experience a famine. The summer seldom lasts above four months, and even then it frequently snows, and the frost never leaves the ground entirely, as the ra3's of the 6un seldom penetrate above a foot below the surface. Yet the heat i^^ summer is some d:^ys as great as. in any part of England or Germany. In summer there is sparce jguay nigbU as th^.sup d.o^ nPt feniain ^biure t^wo or tl^.^ ])Plii;s,belqw. the lyjji^on, and from, the tops of' the mpun- t9JQ9 his be^ms a/ce reflected even, at inJ4i^igh^i. ^o that a person, n;ay read and AVTIte in a room vrithout the aid of a CSO^l^ And thoygh the wintey ni^ts are proportionally Ipngj yet, the darkness is qoBsid^erably lessened by the ^rqng^r light, of the moon, the 'prevalence of' the aurora _ iorealis, (ot northern lights,) ajld b^ reflection? from the ice and snow. The natives aue- of g, tawny hue and low stature, with very dari; 4nd black, eyes,, and Loja^, and strpng hair. They are clad, the whole yeai? round in fur- dresses, made of; the s|5;in$ Qi, se^ls and. reindeer, very, neatly sewed by tjie womeij. 'Their dwellings are of two kihdsi Avst, tePts,. which jn;e CflveJCed with seal-skins, and constitute l:^«ir smnnier habitations; secondly, winter-houses con- gt'ructedl of large saofle^s,, the walls beip£ a ya.rdii} thickness and, the crevices filled up with ewth and spds/ The roof ig.jqiade mt^.af few-uprjgl>ts,. qro.ssbeajns ajid laths^ every opening being stpppe^ up with hfiath. 0,v,er. this are Mission in Greenland, 1. spread sods aild earth, »nd the whole covered with old skins. The inside-breadth of such a house is. generally twelve feet^ but its length varies from twenty four to seventy two feet, according to the number of its inojato^ The cieling is so low that it. barely admits' of a man stand- ing upright in it* The entrance is by a long, low pas- sage, through which you must rather creep than walk ; hut this is well calculated to keep out the ccdd. Four, or even ten families live together in such a house, each hav- vlng ite own apartments, separated from the rest by a. ^reen made of skins. In every apartment a lamp is> %p£ constantljf buia^ing, which h'ghts and hea.tsit, and «erves the purpose of cooking their victuals. Great cleanr linfes indeed must nof be looked for in their houses ; and the constant smell of the train-oil is vei'y disagreeable to Europeans. Yet the contentment of the Greenlanders, amidst this: poverty, and the order and. stillness, observed among them, where so many dwell tc^ther,, cannot.but excite admiration. They have two sorts of boats,; the one called nsomaxis or vJcin-boat, and the other ka^ak. The latter i& eigl^een. feet long, terminating ire a point at each end,, in the. middle eighteen inches broad,, and but one foot in de^h. It is covered on all sides, above and. belo.w with seaJ-skin, leaving an aperture, in tahe middle, in which the Green- lander seats himsaii^ lacing, the skiil of the boat so tightij^ round his waists tha;t no water can penetrate. Such is their dextei-ily in managing the kajak, that, if it even upset, they can right it again by a single stroke of the ' paddle, which they use for rowing. In this manneh they scud over the waves, even in tempestuous weather, with a^onishing celerity^ and not unfrequently make a voyage of twenty feagties. in a day. Seated in. his ka^ah,, equip- ped with his bow and arrow, hi& harpoon and other, im- plements for catching seals, the Greenlander feels not a little proud of his skjll> and looks down upon the arts of Europeans with supercilious contempt. The skin-boat is much larger, being from forty to ^fty feet long, and pl'oportionally broad and deep. The ske- leton is made of thin laths, tightly fixed together and 8 Mission in Greenlaftdi covered with soft leather of seal-skins, so that no water can penetrate. It is entirely managed and rowed by wo- men, and capable of containing ten or twelve persons, together with their luggage and proviaohs. In these boats the natives travel from- one place to another, and often perform voyages of several hundred leagues. The skele- tons both of the skin-boat and the'kajak are constructed by the men, but the covering of them is the' work of the women. These have likewise the management of alhdo- mestic concerns, and very early accustqm their daughters to industry. The'men and boys spend most of their time in acquiring the Art of managing the kajak and catching seals, which exppse them to frequent dangers and many perils at sea. Nothing like a regular government, or organized sys- tem of laws, exists among the natives ; they however ad- here to certain traditiohiai'y. usages, and exhibit more of ^ moral and peacealile phaf acter than most other savage nations. Their notions of God ^nd religion are likewise extremely limited, being confined to some general but very indistinct ideas of two great spirits: the one good and , benevolent ; the other evil and wicked. In their pagan state they evince but little desire to obtain any knowledge of teither the good or the evil spirit, except their angekoks oi sorcerers. ' These are a set of deceivers who pi-eterid to have intercourse with the great spirit, by means of ^ tom^ak or inferior spirit,' - and who by their tricks play upon the ignorance and superstition of the cre» dulous. . ' ■• To a foreigner the acquisition of the Greenland lan- guage is riot ah easy task.: For though very regular in its "Construction, it has no affinity to any other known lan- guage. It. is very Copious in words and phrases, relating to things about which they are conversant, but for reli- gious and scientific subjects it affords scarce any termsj which rendered it, exceedingly difficult for the missionaries to discourse with them pn these topics till after the conver- sion of some of thein, who soon found app«)piate phrase? by which to express tlje new ideas, awakened in their ^^ds. ■ ' > Mission in Greenland. 9 Notwithstanding the rigours of the climate and the ste- rility of the soil, the missionaries have succeeded in laiying out gardens, in which they grow lettuce, cabbages, radishes, turnips and a few other early vegetables. However, ias they cannot be sown before June, and killing frosts commence again in September, they remain gmall, but have a fine flavour. All their attempts to cultivate oats and barley have hitherto proved ineffectual, for though they spring up very fast they never come to maturity. The missionaries have also introduced the bl'eeding of sheep and goats, though it is attended with much trouble, and labour to procure hay for them for the long winter, as it must be sought for in the valleys. In Lichtenau, which is the most southern settlement, they generally keep a flock of ninety or a hun- dred sheep, as more grass grows there than either in New Herrnhut or Lichtenfels, where they seldom have more than twenty. The dilFerent classes of animated nature furnish both the natives and Europeans with several sorts of wild animals, serviceable either for the table or for traffic ; such as rein- deer, hares, fqxes, white bears, several kinds of winged game, a great variety of fishes, especially herrings, which in the beginning of summer come into the bays in such shoals, that whole boats can be filled with them in a few hours. But of all animals, peculiar to this country, none are of greater importance to the Greenlanders, than seals, of which there , are five kinds. These not only constitute their principal food, but they furnish them also with cloth- ing and bedding, with covering to their boats, tents, and houses, with oil for their lamps, and with various imple- ments used by them in catching seals, &c. and even serve them as a medium of traffic, instead of money. Europeans, however, must derive their chief support from Denmark, as not only their health, but their very life is endangered, if necessitated to live upon the food of the natives for any length of time. Our first missiona- ries experienced all the horrors of being driven to this ne- cessity, of which the reader will find affecting proofs in the subsequent narration. But their successors have for many years been happily relieved from this distress, as an 10 .Mission in, Greenland. ample supply of provisions can now be regul^sly: sent out to them by the ships which annually arrive from Copen?-- hagen; and for nearly eighty years they h^ve only met with one serious and alarming disappointment in this; re^ spect. IN the year lYS,^, during a discussion of the. Brethren in Herrnhut* respecting the duty of Christians to send missionaries to Hieathea nations,, two young men, Fre- deric Boenish and MaJtthew Stach, offered tliemselves to go to Greenland^ After minute inquiry iijto their motives and qualifications for such an tindertaluiig, their offer was accepted. But nothing could be done that year with re- gard to the Greenlanders, as the mission to St. Thomas required all the attention and resources of the congrega- tion. The following year, however, it was resolved no longer to defer the commenceHient of a mission to Green- land. In order to effect this benevolent purpose, MattJiew Stach, and bis cousin Christ. Stach *, proceeded to Copen- hagen early in the spring of 1733, conducted by Christian Davidf . Nothing can more strikingly exhibit the zeal of these devoted servants of Christy thaii the truly apostcilic spirit, in which they entered upon their arduous labour in his vineyard. They literally obeyed the injunction of Christ to his (Jisciple^, when, he sent them out to preach the gospel : Take nothing far ypm journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither hread, neither maney,^ neither hcaie two coats apiece. " There was no need of much time," says one of them, " or expense for our equipment. The con- gregation consisted chiefly of poor exiles, who had not much to give, and we ourselves had nothing bat the * Fr. Bo^ni^, being absent from Herrnhut on a long journey, could not then accompany his friends, but foUpwed them the next spring, and laboured in that mission upwards of twenty-eight years. •|- Christian David, was a native of Moravia, Mid the person, by whose in- terposition Count Zio.zendoi;f was induced to receive the Moravian emigrants on his estate. God afterwards employed him as a blessed instrument of lead- in^JBisay of his persecuted countrymen to a saving knoiVledge of the gospel, and of promoting their emigration to Herrnhut, Mission in. Greenland. 1 1 qlothea on owe backs. We had been used to make shift with, little, ^d.did not trouble our heads how we should get tQ Gree(il9.Qd, or how we should live theite. The day before OHi? departwe. a.fiiiend in Venice sent a donation, asul. partof ^ia we rec^ved&r our journey to Copenhagen.- Now we con»deEed.«>ui!serwes, richly provided for, and tber^lpFe would takp nothing of any one on the roadj biJieying, that he» who had procured us sometliing for our journey at the very critical moment, would also sup- ply us with Bvary thing i^quisite for accomplishing our purpose, whenever it should be needed *•" On th^ir arrival in Copenhagen, they were kindly re- ceived by many friendly and met with partiny, and relinquish the mis- [^pn altogether. Tbus, though our brethren might pro- ceed to Greenland with, the ship, which must be sent out to bring home the colonists, their settling on that inhos- pitable shpre would be rendered extremely unsafe and dangerous, as they would not only be left without a regu- lar supply of provisions from Europe, but tre exposed to the cruelty of the savages, who might even murder them. This unfavourable prospect, however, did not dispirit our missionaries. They committed their cause to kim who orders all things according to the counsel of his own will, fully persuaded that if their intentions were pleasing in his sigbt»^e could be at no loss for ways and means of bring- ing them to Greenland,, md. of supporting and protiecting them wben landed there. In this conjfident hope they were not disappointed, Ai&jrs soon took.a different tyrn ; the king consented that, one wore ship sbpuld go tp the colony at Good-bppje,, wbeie the IMnish, missionary, Hans Egecie, resided. • (Sante, Vol; i. p. 322. 12 Mission in' Gieenldnd. The way being thus opened," our brethren waited on Count Pless, first lord of the bed-chamber, entreating;, his interest' jn their behalf. At first then- proposal did not meet with much approbation. To a person of his rank- and education, who was not ignorant of the little success which had attended the labours of thfe learned, indefatiga- ble and zealous Mr. Egede, it must have appeared a wild scheme indeed, in young illiterate persons to engage in so difficult, and seemingly hopeless an undertaking. He therefore raised many objections, and sent them to some divines to be examined^ but being once convinced of .the soundness of their faith, and the uprightness of their in- tentions, he conceived a great regard for them, readily condescended to present their petition to the king, and seconded it to the utmost of his power. Ampng other arguments, he made use of the following, v/hich deserves to be recorded: " God has in all ages," said he, "em- ployed the meanest, and in the eyes of the 'world, the most unlikely and even despicable instruments,, for accom- plishing the grand designs of hisrkingdom, to shew that the. honour belongs to Him, and teach mankind not tQ rely on their own penetration or power, but on his ben&f diction*." His exertions had the efFect of inducing the king t0 resolve on promoting with renewed vigour the imprpve-? ment of the country and the conversion of its inh^bitants^- and accordingly he accepted the voluntary overture of the brethren- in 'the most grlacious manner; and desired that others might soon follow those now about to sail. His majesty even condescended to recommend them to Mr. Egede, in a letter written with his own hand. While our missionaries were preparing for their voy- age, they- formed pleasing acquaintances with many wor- thy' characters ai\d persons of distinction in Copenhagen, who not only commended their zeal, but, without their solicitation, provided them with the needful expenses for their voyage, and various necessary articles for their fifst settlement in Greenland f. * Crantzf Vol. i. p. 325. t In one of his conversations with them, count Pless asked : " How tliev intended to maintain themselves in Greenland ?" Unacquainted with the Mission in Greenland. 1,3 They sailed from Copenhagen ■ on the 10th of April, and after a safe and speedy voyage reached the place of their destination on the 20th of May. Immediately on their arrival they repaired to the Rev. Mr. Egede, who received them with ^ much cordiality, expressed his joy at their undertaking, and promissed them all the assis- tance in his power, especially in learning the language. As soon as their first interview with Mr. Egede w^s closed, they frent to the sea-coast to search for a habitable spot. Having fixed on a place near Ball's river, to which they afterwards gave the name of New Heurnhut, they kneeled d.Qwn and invoked the blessing of God on them- selves and their undertaking. Their first labour was to erect a small hut, to- afford a shelter for themselves and what they brought with them, against the incleinency of the climate. A few days after they laid' the foundation for their proper dwelling, for which they had brought the timber with them from Copenhagen. The season was remarkably in their favftur, the ice and snow having melted a month sooner than uSual. Besides their own house, they built one after the Greenland manner, for the accomodation of such of the natives as might be in- duced to come to them for instruction. This first difficulty sili'mounted, others of a far heavier kind daily pressed upon them. It became needful to think of some method of maintaining themselves, and this was no easy task in a country like Greenland, and among savages, whose mode of living was filthy and dis- gusting in the extreme, and with whose language they were unacquainted. Our brethren,- however, did/not despond : they bought an old boat from the captain,' who had brought them over ; but the very first time they put atuation, and climate of the country; pur missionaries answered i " By the labour of our hands and God's blessing ;" adding, " that they would build a house and cultivate a jiieee of land, that the/ might not be burdensome to any/' He objected that there was no timber fit for building in that country. " If this is the case," said our brethren, " th^n we will dig'a hole in the earth and lodge there." Astonished at their ardour in the cause in which they had embarked, the count replied : " No ; you shall ifot be driven to that extre- mity ; take timber with you and build a house; accept of these fiffy dollars for that purpose." Crantx. I. 3J6. 14^ Mission in Greenland. to sea in her, to search for drift-AvOod among the islaiicls, they were overtaken by a ^torm, and tlrongh they Cached home with much diificulty, yet in the ta^t, ^^eir boat with her whole cargo t>f Ivood, was carried 'oi!F by 1?hie wind.^ Some Greenlandei's indeefd brdi^ht her back in a few days, hfut she was greatly damaged. They dbtaiaed little by fishing and huntmg, not being^ accustomed t*> tsese ocetipations, and unable to adopt the method prac- jftsed by the iiatites, as they could trot manage their kajak. Considering these adverse tarcifmslaflces, as a vrartiin^, not "to enter too deeply into the cai-es and pursuits of this life ; they came to a resolution. When other wbA failed them, to earn Something by spinning. The acqtrisitio"n of the Greenland langnagfe,'Wasiintft!w* difficulty tliey had to encounter. Mf.^ E-g«^de, ind«ea, afforded them all the assi^ance in 'his power, ^«it to men like our missionaries, whose education had lieen confined to thrft of a common school, it proved no leasy task. Un- acquainted with the very terms of grammar, the applica- tion of them to a "barbarous l^guage, becamts doub^jr diificutt, especially as that language contains s, Variety of declensions and conjugations, diversilred by irew inodd«, and perplexed by suffixes, both active and passive. The^ had besides to commit to memory a large vocabulary of words, as the Greenlanders liave often ten different wtords to express the same thing. And if to this be added, that before they could understand their in^tructCTs, they had to learn the Banish kngt^age^ tfreir patience and perseve- rance will appear t*uly great. As yet, they had few opportunities to engage in their proper calling. They wisely resolved not to enter into conversation on r^igious siAjects with tlie natives for the present, lest their deficiency in the language should lead them to einploy pTirases, wlucli might convey erroneous ideas of diviiM things. The Greenlawa«rsi indeed^ shewed but little disposition to hold much intereoiHrse with thefn, for though nearly two thousand lived at that time on Ball's river, they s,pent most of the summer among th^ islands and hills, for the purpose of catching seals and hunting reindeer j and during the winter, they were Mission in Greenland. 15 accustomed to go -sixty and even two hundred leagues to the north or south to visit their acquaintances. Few df them therefore called upon our brethren ; and if any did come, it was chiefly to see their buildings, or to beg nails, fish-hooks, knives, and other articles, or even to steal them. If our missionaries visited them, they seldom found any one willing to lodge and entertain them, even though offered a recompense for it ; and instead of enter- ing into discourse with them, they were continually ask- ing, whether they would not soon go away again ? A trial, severer tban any of these, was permitted to exercise' their faith and fortitude, at the very beginning of their labours. A few months after their arival, the small- pox broke out among the natives. As this disease was unusual in tbe country, it was not understood at first, neidier could the savages be prevailed upon to apply pro- per remedies, or use any kind of precaution to prevent tTie progress of the' infection. The contagion, therefore, spread rapidly, and made such ravages as threatened the total depopulation of the country. It continued from September, 1733, to the following June, and spread forty leagues north of the Danish colony, and probably as many south. In the district of Ball's river only eight jecovei'ed, and, Mr. Egede computed that the number of the natives, carried off by this distemper, amounted, pror bably, to two or three thousand. The misery Midured by the Greenlanders at this period. Is inconceivable. Tormented by excruciating pain, a rag- ing fever and burning thirst, their patience entirely for- sook them, they would neither take medicine, nor use any regimen. The consequence was, few survived the third day. Some stabbed themselves or plunged into the sea to terminate their sufferings, and others fled to desert islands. In one of these our mLssvonaries found only one little girl, with the small pox upon her, and her three little brothers. The father, having first buried all the people in that place, laid himself and his youngest sick child in a tomb, erected of stones, and ordered his daughter to cover them with skins and stones, that they might not be devoured by foxes and ravens j and then gave her and her brothers two seals 16 Mission in Greenland. , nnd some dried herrings to live, upon, till they, could get to the Europeans. During this dreadful period our missionaries faithfully assisted Mr. Egede in visiting and taking care of the sick. The j ^rm er lodged all that fled to him, and the latter ac- commodated as many, in their house, as they had room for. But they were grieved, to perceive that this severe afflicr tion, generally spea^king, made no sajlutary impression upon the natives, and excited ho, concern in them for the future and everlasting state of their souls. In a few in- stances, however, their kindness touched the savages, as it exceeded what they could have expected from their bwji counti-ymen. One man, in particular, who had alwayjs derided them iti the days of health, made this confes- sion before his end to Mr. Egede : " You have done for us what our own people would not dp, for you have fed us when we had nothing to eat ; you have buried our dead, who would else have been devoured by the dogs, foxes and ravens ; ydd have also instructed us in the knowledge of God, and have told us of a better life." In some chil- dren also, whom he had baptized; he perceived resigna- tion to death and a comfortable hope of a resurrection to life eternal. No sooner, had our missionaries finished their labour of love to the^bor, sick and dying Greenlanders, than they were themselves attacked by a violent eruptive disorder, which so increased m the Winter, that they nearly lost the use of their limbs. Povidentially, however, they were not' both confined at the same tinie. .Mr. Egede behaved towards them like a father and friend, and his excellent wife never omitted sending them some refreshment or cor- dial, when she had any herself; indeed so great was her kindness, that they were often scrupulous of accepting her presents. Amidst such accumulated trials did our missionaries commence their career in Greenland; yet, though their ardour might at times be damped, fiieir zeail was not ex- tinguished. This is evident from their own declarations. Iri letters addressed to their brethren in Europe, they ex- Mission in Greenland. 17 pressf themselves to the following effect: "The present circumstances (referring to the contagion) appear myste- rious. We know not what to pray t)r, whether for the life or death of these poor creatures. Perhaps God in- tends ila.pi'es&i've a holy seed in a few personsr,- as he did at the deluge. May the Lord teach us to believe and ve- nerate the secret purposes of his will.. At present we are, inthe school of faith, and the prospect before us is clouded and almost dark. We perceive no traces of any good work begun among the heathen ; no, not so much as a sigh, and the poor creatures find death where they should find life. As far as respects ourselves, appearances are equally discouraging. , We have not the^streiigth and vi- gour of bodyi requisite for enduring the hardships of this country,' and at present we suiFer much from sickness ; yet we have a persuasion that this may eventually tend to ■enure our constitutions to the climate, and qualify us for the Lord's service in this country. ' We are conscious of our total insufficiency in ourselves ; every good of mere natural growth, even our alacrity in learning the lan- guage seems to droop, and nothing remaihs but what grace hath wrought. The Lord best knows, why he called to this station the most feeble and ineKperifeilced of his servants. However we will remain oh our post, and vie with each other in the exercise of faith, though the pros- pect presents us with nothing but apparent impossibilities : yes, here we will Stay till Jesus our Lord helps us; an^ our only concern shall bfe to please Him. We have one un- failing source of hope and comfort, that God often suffers his children to pass, through straits to attain the object in view, and that we are retSembered in prayer by many chil- dren of God in Europe *." Thus passed the first year of their abode in these pojar regions, and for the five succ6edi&g years their circum- stances, both as to externals and their principal aim in coming to the country, were not materially altered for the better. It is not surprising, therefore, that they shoul<| at times be ready to lose courage and even consider it more advisable to return to Europe. But when in the year • Crantz, Vol. i. p. 339. C 1 8 Mission in Greenland. ITS* two new assistants-, Fr^rick Boeiiijsh and Jqha Beck arrived and brought thetn the joyful inteUigerice, that it wje the intention of the brethren at Herrnhut to support the Rtission to die utmost of theii; power, their droopii^ faith was revived,- and the flaipe of holy zeal ia their arduous seirvice xekitidled.^ They now redoubled their diUgepce m learning the lan- guage, and hf indefatigable perseverance conquered thet principal difficulties.; and so far became masters of it, as^ to understand the natives, and converse with them on com- mon topies ; but when they wished to speak with them on relffiiooS; soli^ects, they were greatly embarrassed ; nor could they in tbi» respect obtain much assistance from their instructerS) who. told them that k would not be possible to translate any, but historical pieces from scripture ; as the Greenlanders had no terms for expressing spiritual and di- vine subjects, and could not even form the least idea of them. In some time,, however, by; the help of God and frequent intercourse with the natives, they overcame ih]^ last and most formidable obstacle to their ..usefulness. Our missionaries continued, to make fi-equent visits, among the natives; and as thpy were still defective in the> bngu age, they read to them some pieces, translated by Mr, Egede, such as the Ten Comn^andmen,tSj, the Lord's Frayer and the Creed : remiiw^ed them of what he had formerly told them of the creation of tfie world, apd the re- demption of man, and tried to rectify what they had mis- apprehended. They readily gave their assent to these things, but as; yet attained no saving knowledge of divine truth. Once, when Matthew Stach read a short prayer to them, they observed that the- language indeed was very good and intelligible, but they could not comprehend the meaning of the words, JismChristf. oi beit^g redeemed iy kis^ blood, and of' knowing^ laving Und, receiving him. By these visits, however, they .gained one point of no small importance. Their free and affable, but yet -prudent and serious deportment, equally removed from unbecoming le- vity and austere rtioroseness, won the esteem and confi- dence of the natives, so that they sought their company, constrained them to come into their houses, requested Mission in Greenland.^ 19 frequeht visits and promised to call upon them in return. The latter our missionaries gladly encouraged, though, as yet, it seemed to be attended with little benefit, and often proved very troublesome. Their number having been now increased to five per- sons, our brethren formed some i-egulatioris ainong them- selves, tending to their mutual edification, and the fur- therance of the work in which they were engaged. They more especially agreed maturely to weigh, as in the sight ofGfod, whether they felt a divine conviction, that he had called them to labour among the Greenlanders. Aflet some weeks* consideration, they frankly disclosed to each other their sentiments on this, important subject. The result was, that Christ. David, having only been appointed to conduct the first missionaries to the country, and being already in years and not able to learn the language, con- sidered himself at liberty to return to Europe, but pledged himself to snppoi't the mission, wherever he might be, to the utmost of his ability. Christ. Stach, though he did Hot feel himself bound to devote his whole life fo the ser-? vice of the heathen, yet was willing to hold out ten yeari or longep^ even if no fruit should arise from his labours. The three remaining missionaries declared, that they would bind themselves in the strictest manner to this work, to believe without seeing, to hope against hope, and even sacrifice their vesfy lives to the service of the heathen. Not long ailer this^ the faith of these devoted Servant^ of God was put to a new and yejry severe trial. Owing to some untoward circiimstanqes the ships, which arrived in 1735, brought them no supplies from, Europe. The whole stock of provisions they had in store, consisted only of a barrel and a half of oatmeal, part of which they bar- tered foir malt, dried pease and ship-biscuits, and from thiS; scanty portion they had to provide Christ. David with the needful sea-store for his voyage home; and as there was a scarcity of provisions in «ie Danish colonj^, they could receive little assistance froin that quarter. Add to this, that they obtained far less by hunting and fishjng, this season, thasi any preceding year ; thus famine stared C 2" 20 ■ Mission in Greenland. them in the face. In this, extremity of distress, they had no resource left them, but to buy seals of the Greenlan- ders, as they themselves could not catch them. But these barbarians, observing the want of the rtiissionaries, not ojily rated their .seals very high, but even refused to sell them at all. Frequently after rowing round among them for two or three . days, their utmost entreaties could pro- cure .but a scanty portion, and when that was consumed, they were obliged td pacify the cravings of nature with shell- fish and sea-weed. ' While they could procure a suflSciency pftbe former, they retained their health and strength, but wheii obliged to live chiefly upon the latter,' they became greatly debilitated.- ' , . During their excursions, pur missionaries were often exposed to the most imminent perils. Dire necessity forced them to venture oiit to sea in their old leaky boat, sometimes in very unsettled and stormy weather. Once having almost reached the land, they were driven back two leagues' by a sudden squall, drenched in wet by the Jareakers, and obliged Jo remain fill the fourth day on ah island without any shelter. Another time, having quite ex- hausted their strength at the oars, they stopped over night in a desert place, arid satisfied the calls of hunger svilh some seal's-flesh they had procured from a Greenlander," though they had nearly lost their appetite through fatigue and cold. Having no tent, they dug a hole in the snow and lay down, but were soon compelled to leave this retreat,, as fresh snow drifted and stopped up the entrance j thus no expedient was left them, but to run up and down to ;keep themselves warm. Even in fair weather these excursions were not without danger. One of their number, having embarked in a kajak, to angle for fish j was upset by a sudden gust of wind and rolling v/aves, and must inevitably have perished, if two Greehland'ers ;who were near at hand had not conie to his assistance, and after tying hirn between their ksyaks, towed him to land. They, therefore, relinquished this hazardous way 6t fishing. God did net forsake his faithful- servants in these trying circumstances. He strengthened their faith iji his all sut- Mission in Greenland. 21 ficient providence, when meditating on the examples of his people, recorded in, the bible, who were sustained in famirie^nd^ dearth r in weakness mad« strong, and rescued out of a thousand dangers. They proved that the same all-sufficient God, still takes care of his children, and knqws how to deliver them from all their fears. Help was often at hand when least expected. Thus when they were brought to.the last extremity. He, who sent a raven to feed his prophet, disposed a strange Greenlander, cal- led Ippagan, to come forty leagues from the south, and frotai time to time sell them all be could spare. This hea- then was the inst;;ument in God's hand, to preserve our missionaries from actual famine, till his own resources, were exhausted. What rendered this occurrence peculi- arly remarkable was, that in, one of their summer excur- -sion^ tliey accidentally met with this Greenlander, who received them with much kindness, took notice of ■theii: behaviour and conversation, and entered into serious dis- course with them. Yet, in their distress they did not recollect him, and would hardjy have found him out, if they even had made the seai-ph. He came to them of his own apcordj towards ^the end of tlie year, and pitying thejr deplorable condition, invited them to pay hi™ a visit. Our brethren now and then earned a little by writing for the\Danish missionaries, till the stock of provision at the colony began to fail. By this time, however, they had not only learned to be satisfied with very mean and scanty fare, but had also enured themselves, to the eating of seals'-flesh, mixing up a little oatmeal with , train- oil. Those who know the nature of train-oil, may form some idea of the hardships endured by them. Yet even this was a delicacy, compared to the old tallow candles^ they were frequently compelled to use. Almost worn out with fetigue and hardshif)s, and riol wkhout anxious apprehensions as to their future prospects, our missionaries entered into the fourth year of their rcr «idence in Greenland. Now, at length, the Lord appeared for their effectual relief, as to their teinporal support. In May 1 236, they received intelligence from the captain of a Putch ship, lying thirty leagues to the south, that he had 22 Mission in Greenland. some goods on board his vessel, consigned to theni, and which he was ordered to deliver into their own hands. C)ne of them immediately repaired t6 the ship, where he was informed, that Mr. Lelong in Amsterdam, had sent them several articles of provisions, and that he and some generous friends intended to furnish them with a fresh sup- ply the following year, if they duly received the present stores. This reasonable help was the more welcome as neither they, nor the congregation in Herrnhut, had in any way solicited the aid of their friends in Holland. They gratefully accepted this generous oflfer, and particularly requested, that in, case nothing else could be forwarded, they might be furnished with a strong, durable boat, an article they needed more than any thing else for procuring the necessaries of life, and Which would render them less dependant upon assistance from abroad . They ijow anxiously waited for the atti^al of the Danish ships. At length the third of these ships reached their shore on the 7th of July ; and though they did -not bring them above half the supplies' they wanted, they were greatly revived and strengthened by many letters and ac- counts from their brethren, and by the accession of new assistants. These were, Matthew Stach's mother, a widow of forty five years of age, with her two daughters, Rosina and Anna*, t^e former twenty two, and the latter but twelve years oldi Their conductor, George Wiesner re- turned the next year to Europe. Their family being thus increased to seven persons, they were enabled to make a more regular arrangement in their housekeeping. The management of their domestic concerns was allotted to the jsisters, and as it was the intention that the two younger Ishould be trained for missionary sei'vice among' theii* own sex, they received instruction in the Greenland language, in which they acquired great proficiency f. • Both of them were In the sequel married : the elder to the missionaiy John Seek, and the younger to Frederic Boenish. - .:. f As I have had i!e{)eated ocuasion to speak of Mr. Egede, and of hb and his wife's kind attention to our brethren, I shall here mention, that having requested his dismission, it was granted him in the inost gracious tSrms, and Tie returned to Cbpefths^en this sekson, after %a Mission in Greenland. the missionaries perceived that some person was endeavour- ing to draw aside the cuirtains of their tent, which were fas- tened with a couple of pins. Going out to see who it was^ they beheld, to their amazement, anumberof Greenlanders with knives in their handsj nor could they -drive them away, till they threatened them with their fire-arms. Our mis- sionaries supposed their only intention was to take away the skins, which covered the tent : but some years after they learned that the savages had conspired against their lives, expecting that the other Europeans would not deem it worth their while to revenge the death of such poor des- pised people. . And as it appeared in. the sequel, that they were instigated to this wicked attempt by some malicious persons in the colony, our brethren sent a strong remon- strance to the Danish missionaries and factor, which was duly attended to, and had the desired effect. Nptwithstanding these overwhelming discouragements, they still persevered in the path of d'Uty. They continued their visits to the heathen, ^.though without any visible success. Those that lived at a distance were'stupid,- ig- norant and void of reflection; and those in the vicinity, who had long been instructed, were not grown bettef, but rather worse ; .they appeared disgusted with religibus discourse, and hardened against the truth. Sometimes they urged their want of understanding as an excuse, and would say : " Shew us the«God you describe, then will we believe in him and serve him. You represent him too sublime and incomprehensible, how shall we come to him ? Neither wijl he trouble himself about- us." At other times they exerted their wit in shocking and profane jests at the most sacred mysteries of religion. At one time Matthew Stach stayed a whole month with some of them. He describes their behaviour towards hinx as very changeable. In the beginning, they now and then suffered him to read to them out of the New Testament but they soon lost their relish for this. One day, while it was raining very hard, they desired him to pray to the Son' of God, whom he described as an almighty being, that he would give them good weather, and not let thd rain penetrate into their houses. The missionary replied' Mission m Greenlandi 25 there was no necessity for prayer in this case, as they need only spread their tent-skins upon the roof, and then the wet could not soak through; they pught rather to pray to God to have mercy on their souls. But for this they had no ears. Their conduct often became almost insufferable. Once they kept up a dance, for two whole nights successively, accompanied with the most hideous howling and drumming *. The children, however, showed' much fondness for him, and used to run after him where- ver he went. He conversed familiarly with them, asked them a few questions, and for a while engaged their atten- tion J but this was soon diverted, when any new thing attracted their notice, and thus the little they had learned was speedily fofgotten. In, the beginning of 1738, many Greenlanders visited the missionaries. Their chief inducement was to get pi-o- visions, with which they were supplied as far as possible. Our brethren did not neglect this opportunity of exciting in them a hunger-after that meat, which endureth unto life everlasting; But, as in former cases, their admoni- tions still failed of the desired effect. One solitary instance however occurred, ^hich served to revive their drooping spirits. Among their hungry guests, was a young heathen, of the name of Mangek, who offered "to take up his residence with them, if they would maintain him, promising that he would deliver to them whatever he caught. Though they dia not believe that he would remain longer with them than while the present scarcity lasted, yet they willingly admitted him, looking upon him as an instrument sent them frdm above, for the purpose of acquiring greater proficiency in the language. They insti'ucted him daily, and endea- voured more particularly to make him attentive to the state of his soul. At first, their instructions seemed unavailing, but by degrees they discovered some relentings of heart, and convictions of sin ; and when they prayed with him tears generally started into his eyes. On this accouht his countrymen began to persecute him ; and when they * The missionaty judged the number of those present to fall little shbrt of" •ne hundred and fifty. ' ' 26 Mission in Greenland, could not entice him to leave the missionaries, and join in their heathenish practices, they tried by various artifices to induce the brethren to put hitn away, falsely accusing him of having purloined several articles. In the sequel, he indeed left our missionaries, yet this occurrence ani- mated their hope to persevere in sowing die seed of the gospel, looking to God for the increase. Five years had now elapsed since their arrival in Green- land, and except the case just now related, which was but like the first 'dawn of the morning spread upon the molratain,' they had seen no abiding, fruit from their la- bours. They had tilled a soil apparently unfit for culture, and in tears, had sown the seed on hearts, seemingly^ as cold and barren as the coast where they had. pitched their tents. But, now the Lord heard their prayers, and made it appear that their "judgment was with him, and their work with their God." "June the 2nd.'' (write the missionaries) " many South" landers visited us. Brother Beck at the time, was copy- ing a translation of a poi'tion of the gospels, ^he heathen being very carious to know the contents of the book, he read a few sentences, and after some conversation with them, asked, whether they had an immortal soul, and whither that soul would go after death ? Some said : j' Up yonder;" and others: "down to the abbyss." Having rectified their notions on this point, heinquired, who had made heaven and earth, man and all other things ? They replied, they did not know, nor had they ever heard, but it must certainly be some great a!nd mighty Being. He then gave them an account of the creation of the world, the fall of man, and his recovery by Christ. In speaking on the redemption of man, the Spii-it of God enabled him to enlarge with more than usual energy on the sufferings and death of our Saviour, and in the most pathetic manner to exhort his hearers, seriously to consi- der the vast expense, at which Jesus had ransomed their souls, and no longer reject the mercy offered them in the gospel. He then read to them out of the New Testament, the.history of our Saviour's agony in the garden. Upon "this the Lord opened the heart of one of the company. Mission in Greenland. 27 ■whose name was Kayarnak ; who stepping up to the table, in an earnest manner, exclaimed:- "How was that? tell me that once more ; for I too desire to be saved." These '-words, the like of which had never bfefore been nttered by a Gfeenlander, so penetrated the soul of bro- ther Beck, that with great emotion and enlargement of heart, he gave them a general account of the life and death of our Saviour, and of the scheme of salvation through him." In the mean time, the other missionaries, who had been abroad on business, returned, and with delight joined their fellow- labourer in testifying of the grace of God in the blood of Jesus. Sorne of the pagans laid their hands on their mouths, which is their usual custom when struck with amazement. Others, who did not relish the subject, slunk away secretly ; but several requested to be taugjit to pray, and frequently repeated the expressions used by the missionaries when praying with them, in order to fix them in fheir memories. In short, thej' manifested such an earnest and serious concern for their salvation, as the mis- sionaries, had never witnessed before ; and at going away, they promised soon to return, and hear more of this sub- ject, and also to tell it to their countrymen. The impression made on Kayarnak was not transient, but had taken deep root in his heart. He frequently visited our brethren, and at length took up his residence with them. He told them, that he often felt a monition in his heart to pray, and " when we speak to him," say they, " he is often so affected, that the tears roll down his cheeks." Considering the general stupidity of the Greenlanders, the missionaries were not a little surprised at the quickness with which he comprehended every thing they told him, and retained it in his memory. At the same time he manifested very strong attachment to them, and a constant desire for further instruction. By means of his conversatipn, his family (or those who lived in the same tent with him,) were brought under con- viction ; and before the end of the month, three large families came with all their property, and pitched their SS ' Mission in Greenland. tents near the dwelling, of our brethren, "in order," a« they said, " to hear the jqyful news of man's redemption." They all appeared much afFected, and even some, who had formerly opposed the word, declared that thi^ woyld now believe, and winter with the missionaries. Most of them, however, soon went away to hunt reindeer ; but Kayar- nak refused to. accompany them, fearing to suffer harm in his soul. Hereby he was brought into great straits, as he had nolent of his own. This was the third time l»e had been abandoned by his friends, who had taken the skin-boat and the tent, which. in part at least, were his property. Our brethren were not without fear lest his friends should entice him away, by exaggerating the difficulties of his new mode of life, and the restrictions he would her under, compared with the unbounded liberty, or rather licenti- ousness, in which the heathen live. But he remained firm to his purpose, and instead of long vindications, would reply to their mockeries and remonstrances, by a short remark like this : " Yes, I will stay with my teachers, and hear the words of God, which I have once found sweet to my taste." If they were disposed to hear him, he discoursed with them ; if they railed at him, he held his peace, after he had borne his testimony to the truth, in a few serious words At length he prevailed so far with some of his nearest relatives, that theji^ resolved to return ; and even some other families desired leave to set- tle near our missionaries. Thus in the beginning of .October 1738, when the Green- landers leavie their tents and move into their winter houses, above twenty persons took up their abode near the breth- ren. This induced them to commence regular morning and evening devotions with the two families of Kayarnak and his relation, Simek, every day, besides the reading and expounding of the holy Scriptures on the Lord's day. Five of these persons, whd appeared most serious, they selected as suitable candidates for baptism, and gave them more frequent instruction in the truths of salvation. They also began a school with the children ; but this they found a most difficult and troublesome undertaking, for their scholars were so entirely unaccustomed to any kind of discipline, that it was nearly impossible to keep them to 'Mission in Greenland. 29 their lessons, and the parents themselves did not compre- hend the use of reading and writing. They, however, sue-' ceeded so far, that some of them were able to read easy passages. Among other evidences of a real work of grace, having been begun in the hearts of some of the inhabitants in their little settlement, our missionai-ies notice particularly, 'their desire to be instrucited in prayer, and the remarka- ble 'change wrought in them in the prospect of death. Many of them fell sick during this period, but manifested comparatively little of that horror, which generally seizes the natives when diingerously ill. Kayarnak, in a severe fit of sickness, declared, that he felt nbfreedom nor incli- nation to pray for his recovery, but was resigned to the HvillofGod. ■ ' ■ i The year 1739 was distinguished in the mission by the baptism of the first Greenland converts. This interesting and solemn transaction was performed on Easter-sunday, March 29th. The candidates having, before the whole assembly, given a full account of the ground of their hope, and promised 'to renounce all heathenish customs and superstitions, to remain with their teachers, and walk wor- thily of the gospel, were in fervent prayer, with imposition of hands, commended to the grace of God, and baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and ot the Holy Ghost. The presence of the great Head of his church was felt in-the most powerful mariner during this transac- tion ; the tears flowed in streams from the eyes of those just baptized, and the spectators were so overcome, that they earnestly desired to be made partakers of the same grace. The first fruits of the Greenland nation, who by this sacred rite were publicly ingrafted into the christian church, consisted of Kayarnak, his ^ife, his son, and his daughter. A month had scarce elapsed, before the hope, excited by this propitious event, rfeceiv^ed a very severe shock. A banditti, of murdererfei, corning ffoni the north, killed Kayarnak's brother-in-law, who also lived with the mis- sionaries, under the pretence, that he had by sorcery, 80 .Hussion in Greenland. caused the death of the rin^-Ieader's son. They decoyed him out to sea, and most perfidiously thrust a harpoon into his body ; and though he drew it out and fled on shore, they pursued him, stabbed him in thirteen places, and threw him over the rocks, where, after diligent search, his body was found in "a pit, and burled. This occur- rence spread a dreadful panic through the whole little settlement, especially, as the murderers had threatened to kill Kayarnak's pther brother-in-law. Our missionaries did iall in their power to allay the fears of the Greenland- ers J and the gentlemen of the Danish colony, likewise, interested themselves in the affair, and so far succeeded, as to take the ring-leader and several of the gang prison- ers, in the presence of above ^ hundred of their country^ men. On his examination he confessed, that beside? Kayarnak's brother-in-lav^, he had killed thrge person^ with his own hands, and had been accessary in commit- ting three other murders. But as he was subject to^ no human judicature, and ignorant of the divine law, they only read to him the ten commandments, threatened him severely, and let him gP» This did not dispel the fegirs of iCayarnak, but rather increased them j and after spending some tim^e in great disquietude, he declared, that he con- sidered himself bound to conduct the brother of the de- ceased, whose life the ruffians chiefly sought, to a place of safety in the south. All the exhortations, remonstran- ces and entreaties of our missionaries proved ineffectual to dissuade him from his purpose ; for though he wept bit- terly at leaving them, his fears prevailed, and he went to the south. Thus in the course of two weeks they beheld with deep sorrow, their territory forsaken by most of its inhabitants, and had to endure the additional reproach, that they could indeed baptize heathen, but were not able to make them real christians^ and wean them from their roving manner of life. They were little aware, that this occurrence, which appeared so destructive to their hopes j would, by the over-ruling hand of God, become the means of diffusing the knowledge of the gospel in distant places, and incre^e the number of believing Greenlajader^ beyond their most sanguine expectations. / Mhsion in Greenland. 31 It was not long before they experienced some allevia-? tion to the sorrow which these disastrous events had occa- sioned. Twenty one boats, of Southlanders passed by their settlement, and brought them the pleasing intelli- gence, that they had met the fugitives, who had told tliem many wonderful things about God, of which they wished to be , better informed. After some time Simek and his family, who had accompanied Kaynrnak on his flight, returned, and before winter nine families resided with them. Thus they had again full scope for their ex- ertions ; and though in their labours among these people, they met with much to exercise their faith and patience, yet they had upon the whole more cause to rqoice than to mourn, as their instructions were evidently not without a blessing. The young people, in particular, six of whom attended the school, anorded them the most pleasing hopes. Various circumstances concurred, to rendei- the year 1740 memorable in the annals of the Greenland mission. A great change took place in the mode adopted by our brethren, in their endeavours to instruct the natives. The method hitherto pursued by them, consisted principally In speaking to the heathen of the existence, the attributes and perfection of God, and enforcing obedience to the di- vine law, hoping by this means gradually to prepare their minds for the reception of the sublimer and more myste- rious truths of the gospel: and it must be allowed that, abstractedly considered, this method appears the most rational; but when reduced to practice,. it was found wholly ineffectual. For five years our missionaries had laboured in this way, and could scarce obtain . a patient hearing from the savages. Now, therefore, they deter- mined, in the literal sense of the words, to preach Christ AND HIM CRUCIFIED, without first " laying the founda- tion of repentance from dead works, and, faith towards God." No sooner did they declare unto the Greenlanders *J the word of reconciliation," in its native simplicity, than they beheld its converting and saving power. This reach- ed the hearts of their audience and produced the most astonishing effects. An impression was made, which opened a way to their consciences, and illuminated their 82 Mission in Greenland. understandings. They remained no longer the Stupid and brutish creatures, they had once been : they felt they were sinners, and trembled at their danger ; they rejoiced in the offer of a Saviour, and were rendered capable of relishing sublimer pleasures than plenty of seslls and the low gratifi cation !5 of sensual appetites. A sure foundaticiii bejng thus laidin the knowledge of a Crucified Redeemer, bur missionaries soon found that this supplied their young converts with a powerful motive to the atbhorrence of sin atid the performance of every moral duty towards God and their neighbour; taught them to live soberlyj and 1-ighteously, and godly in this present world ; animated them jvith the glorious hope of life and immortality, ■ and gave them the light of the knowledge of'the glory of Gbd, as the Creator, Preserver, and moral Govternor of the world, in a manner far more correct aild influential, than they could ever have attained, had they persevered in their first mode of instruction. The missionaries, iheni- selves, derived benefit from this new niethod of preaching. The doctrines of the cross of Christ v^armed and enlivened their own souls in so powerful a manner, that they bould address the heathen with uncommon liberty and fervour ; and were often astonished iat each other's powers of utter- ance. In short, the happiest results have attended this practice, not only at first, arid in Greenland,' but in every other country, where our missionaries have since laboured' for the conversion of the heathen. / In this year likewise, their external circumstances took a more favourable turn* Their supplies of provisions from Europe became more regular, and were in the sequel, sub- ject to but few disappointments ; and some restrictions, linder^which the mission had hitherto laboured, were abro- gated by a royal rescript. The bright prospect of our missionaries, in conseqiietce of Kayarnak's conversion had been very much dlquded by his sudden flight, and the very slender hopes th«^y enter.^ tained of his return. But these clouds were quickly disi persed. In about a year Kayarnak returned, bringing his brother and his family along with him, whose itistruction had been one principal, object of his journey. It gave the Mission in Greenland. 33 brethren inexpressible joy, that he had not lost ground in the knowledge and experience of the gospel, and that dur- ing his residence. among the heathen, he had diligently de- clared to them the way of salvation, and had daily engaged in religious exercises with his own family. Several other Greenlanders settled at New-Herrnhut about this time, and evinced a serious concern for their salvation, which drew upon them oppositjion from some of their neighbours. This however did not deter them from extolling the grace of God, and their exhortations, joined to a consistent conduct, had very considerable influence on their countrymen, who often expressed their astonish- ment at what they heard. Sometimes the missionaries took the yoitng converts with them on their visits to the heathen, which proved of material benefit. In their ab- sence, Kayarnak held meetings for prayer with those Greenlanders who remained at home ; and a young woman, who had been baptized about this time and called Sarah, was very useful among her own sex. ' Their new converts were likewise of use to them in ac- quiring greater proficiency in the language. In hearing the native pray, they often acquired expressions, which they would not have a;ttained in any other way, and thus they learned from their converts to speak, after these had been taught by them to think. Now, therefore, they began to translate the harmony of the four Evangelists.. A new trial soon after befel our missionaries. In Fe- bruary IT*! the first fruits of their labours, Kayarnak, was seized with a pleuris^y, by means of which he finished his earthly pilgrimage. He bore his sufferings with true christian patience and fortitude, being filled with the hope of life and immortality. When any of his friends began to talk with him about worldly affairs, he begged them not to encumber him with such things now, for his thoughts and afi'ections were wholly engaged with our Saviour. Seeing some of them weep he said : " Don't be grieved for me ; have you not often heard that believers, when they die, go to our Saviour and partake of eternal joy ? You know, I was the first of our nation, who was converted to D 34- Mission in Greenland. the Saviour, and now it is his -will that 1 shoiiM be the, first to go to him. If you remain faithful to the end, we shall meet again before the throne of God and the Lamb,, and rejoice for ever at the grace conferred upon us. H& will know how to provide tbod for you and especially fo» my wife." Contrary to the custom of the Greenlanders,. both his wife and his brother shewed UMich resignation, at his death, and requested our brethren to bury his corpse- sficor^ng to the -tnanner of believers. The gentlemen and othdi: persons belonging to the colony of Good-hope at- tended the funeral. After singing some verses, one of our missionaries delivered a short discourse in the bou^e. Four Greenland youths then carried the coffin to the burying* place. At the grave one of the Danish missionaries gave a short exhortation ; and the whole was concluded with prayer. This solemn scene made a wonderful im- pression on the natives, who were present. His death was a severe stroke to our brethren i they lost in him a bright example of the efficacy of divine grace in renovating the heart, a lively and active witness or^Christ among his coun» trymcn, and a very useful assistant in translating the New Testament. Our missionaries still proceeded with their usual activity in visiting and instructing the heathen, and were faithfully assisted by their converts. Wherever these went, in quest of food, they diffused the khowldge of the gospel, both by their words, and by their conduct, which the pagans them> selves acknowledged to be consistent with their profession. Thus, when bur brethren followed them to these places, they generally found th6 way prepared^ which greatly facilitated their labooi's among the savages.^ Indeed it appeared that a general inquiry about the way of truth had been excited among tfte natives inhabiting this part of the coast, which brought mMiy visiters to New-herrnhut, and annually increased the congregation of believing Greenlanders.' Our missionaries, however, observed the utmost caution before they admitted any to the sacred rite of baptism, not only because the impressions made on the Greenlanders, by the gospel, -often proved transitory and evanescent, but because •they were ever ready to grow proud and self-conceited Mission in Greenland. 35 when they had attained the least knowledge of diviii© things. As a proof of the inquiry excited among the savages, re- specting the gospet, the ibilowing may suffice. In 17 4)^^ when the beheving Greenlanders returned from the islands, they reported that they found many heathen, who gladly h'stened to them, when speaking of the Saviour, and de- sired to hear more ; and those who were disposed to mock were generally silenced by the more sober-minded, /^nc of the baptized found a number sitting together and con- versing with much earnestness about the concerns of their souls. They constrained him to sit down by them and join in the discourse. The awakening -extended to a greater distance, than the missionaries could conveniently visit. Of this they were informed by one of their baptized Greenlanders, who had found the savages, livipg many , leagues to the north, very eager to b^ instructed. A com- pany of them urged him to sit down and talk with them for a whole night j and when he stole away the second nighty to get some rest, they followed and compelled him to gra- tify their desire of further conversation. Even a noted an- g^ok, or necromancer, in that place, was much impressed. He wept pro whole days, and told the people he had dreamed that he was in hell, where he saw and heard things, not possible to utter, adding, that he would no longer deceive^them by bis diabolical delusions. In process of time, this general stir among the heathen subsided ; but the believing Greenlanders increased both in number and grace. At the close of 1 7*8, no less than, two hundred and thirty resided at New Herrnhut, thirty-five of whom had been ba,ptized during that year. And though they were not without their imperle(;tions, yet it was evident, that they progressively attained to greater stability, and gave many pleasing proofs of the influence of the gospel on their hearts, both in their intercourse with one another, which became more and more charac- terised by brotherly love, in theip faithful improvement of all the means of grace, and in the composure, and not nnfrequently triumphant hope, with which they met death and looked forward to a glorious immortality. Impedi- D 2 36 Mission in Greenland. ' ments of one kind or other, were indeed thrown in the , way by Satan and his emisaries, the angekoks, who fear- ing entii-ely to lose their reputation and profits, invented all sorts of stories to deter their countrymen from believing the gospel; but their eiForts were feeble and could not withstand the power of divine truth. In 1747, they erected their first church, a wooden building, the frame and boai-ds of which had been sent from Europe. This proved a very great convenience, as the auditory frequently amounted to three hundred per- sons. Store-houses were at the same time erected, both for the missionaries and their converts, which to the latter were peculiarly useful, as they could now keep their dwd meat, fish, capelins and other articles for winter consump- tion in a place of safety, where they were neither injured by the cold, nor devoured by beasts of prey. In conse- quence of this and the good regulations introduced among them, above three hundred persons could be maintained at New-herrnhut, a place, where it was formerly deemed impossible for two families to subsist. They had it feven in their power to assist their poor neighbours in times of scarcity, and they were never deficient in this act of charity. The year 1752 and the two following were marked by circumstances of a most calamitous nature. The winters of 1752 and 1753 exceeded in severity any in the memory of the natives. The cold was perfectly horrible, and all the inlets were frozen over and blocked up with ice, so that no kajak could stir for many days ; and even when, any of the Greenlanders went abroad, they were not sure of their lives, and returned with their hands and faces frozen, and mostly without having caught as much as a single bird. Notwithstanding the many, perils to which they were exposed, when going out in quest of food, only one of the inhabitants of New-herrnhut perished at sea. Tempests, resembling hurricanes were not unfrequent. On one occasion the storm nearly threw down the mission- house and chapel; and the violence of the waves com- pletely shattered their new and largest boat, although drawn on shore. Famine succeeded this intense cold. Mission in Greenland. 37 snd plunged the savages into the utmost distress, many being starved to death. Great as were the sufferings of the christian Greenlanders, they were <;onsiderably miti?- gated by the solicitude of the milsionaries for their welfare, and the more pi'ovident habits they Iwd acquired. A dreadful contagion followed in the train of tjiese calami- ties^ which carried off great multitudes, both natives and Europeans; our missionaries, however, escaped.' It raged with great fiiry at New-herrnhut, for three months. Besides those members of the congregation, who died in other places, thirty five iinished their earthly race in the settlement. Many of these evidenced, in the most strik- ing manner, the powerful and elevating influence of reli- gion on the soul, not only leaving this world without re- gret, but even rejoicing at the bright prospect beyond the grave ; which is the more remarkable as the Greenlanders Jhave naturally an excessive horror of death. During these disasters our brethren had almost daily proofs of the astonishing power of true religion in melio- rating the condition of men even in this life, when com- paring the situation of th« christian Greenlanders with that of their pagan neighbours. In an ^ccoiint of one of their visits to the heathen in 1757, they ivrjte, "We passed on to a house, which for want of blubber, th? people bad Jong since forsaken*, and sold the timber to us. Near the hoiise we found fifteeii persons half starved, lying in such a small and low provisioa-house, that we could not stand upright, but were forced to creep in on our bellies. They lay one upon another, in order to keep themselves warm. They had no fire, npr the least morsel to eat, and were so emaciated, that they did not ^ven care to raise themselves and speak to us. At length a man brought a couple of fishes. A girl took one, raw as it was, tore it in pieces with her teeth and devoured it with aridity. She looked as pale as death, and her whole countenance was truly ghastly. Four children had already perished with hunger. We distributed among them a por- tion of our own scanty pittance, and advised them to go * When the Greenlanders have burnt all their oil, or as their phrase is, ■when the lamps must go out, they move Into a close hole, vrhich requires fewer lamps to warm it. 38 Misiion in Greenland. to our land, which however they Seemed rather reluctant to do, as they never showed any inclination to hear the gdsptel, and carefully avoided all intercourse with our Greenlandera *." Indeed so little did these external dis- tresses lead the heathen to a due sense of their spiritual . need, and the benefits arising from religion, that though many of them came to the settlement and were hospitably entertained, and even acknowledged the superioi" excel- lency of their way of life ; yet they manifested no real de- sire to becdme christians, and most of them went away again as soon as the famine subsided. The great mortality at -New-hekknhot deprived the congregation of some of its best providers, and increased the number of widows and orphans. This rendered it necessary for the missionaries to make proper arrange" ments for the support of the destitute. In those families where there was stili a son left, the maintenance of the survivors was assigned to him. When there was no pro- vider, the children were distributed iim.ong the rest of the families, to be trained to such kinds of manual labour as are required in Greenland. Orphans of a still younger age were confided to the care of some of the sisters ; and infants at the breast were committed to those mothers who were still nursing f. It was pleasing to observe that the christian Greenlanders yielded the most cheerful obedience to these regulations, and that many, who were less able, put to shame their ri6her neighbours. Our missionaries did not lighten the burden on themselves. They had to clothe several destitute children, and to provide boats and other necessary jndiplements for many of the boys, that they might be able in time to support themselves and their poorer relatives. For it was their constant aim to educate * Cnmtz, Vol. ii. p. 258. . f There is nothing from which the Greenland women are more averse than to nurse th* child of a stranger, lest it should beco|np a rival in their affections to the prejudice of their own children. In this case the Green- landers are totally devoid of feeling and compassion, and there is no alter- native left for the unfortunate father, who cannot bear to vritness the lingering death of his motherless infant, but to bury it alive with its mother. It afibrds, therefore, no small proof of the influence of (livioie grace, ^hen a Greenland wom^Ui. proffering Christianity, cqnquers ^his savage disposition jsn^becranes a kiad foster-parent to an orphan-child. Mission if I GreenUtnd. S9 their youug pe6ple in habits of industry, and not to col- lect together a company of idle and poor people, who must be burthensome to their friends in Europe. In their endeavours to bring the heathen to a saving knowledge of the gospel, they met with many instances of its transforming and ennobling influertce. Amcmg several instances of this kind, related by CranJ:z in his history of the Greenland mission, the following two, which occurred about this time, are remarkable. "One of iheir earliest acquaintances was a South Green- lander, of the name of Kaiiiack, whose intercourse with them commenced in the year 1739, and their discourse seemed even then to make some iinpressibn upon^his mind. This he endeavoured to shake off, for being of a gofod fa- mily * and making a great figure, he was regarded as a prince by his countrymen, and feared to lose his fancied dignity and reputation, by joining hiniself to the believers, for in Greenland as well as elsewhere, decided adherence to the Lord and his people, is connected with reproach from worldly men. His conscience, however, was dis- quiejted ; and with a view to get rid of this uneasiness of mind, he led a roving life. In this state he committed se- veral outirages. One man he beat so severely that he crippled him; at another time he lay in wait for some of the christian Greenlanders, and threatened to set the house of the missionaries on fire, because they took a woman binder their protection whom he wished to marry .against her will. In the sequel indeed he accomplished his pur- pose, and this very woman proved the means of his ge- nuine conversion. She brought him more frequently nu- d^r the sound of the gospel, and thus his early impres- sions, which, like a smothered spark, had lain dormant in his breast, were rekindled. Having given sufficient evi- dence of his sincerity, he was baptized together with his •wife, at New-herrnhut, in 1753. As soon as they could leave their wipter-honses, he and most of his domes- tics, upwards of twenty in number, removed to the settle- * In Greenland a man is reckoned of noble family, if he is descended from a father, grand&ther and great grand father, who were Kinowped «eal- ^catchers. 40 Mission in Greenland. ment, and the greater part of them, in the sequel, were likewise baptized. As his conversion excited a good deal of observation in the country, our missionaries -had for a while a large number of hearers, many of whom prepared to follow him. As for Kainack himself, hie became' as quiet and peaceable after his baptism, as he had been wild and ungovernable before. He died rather suddenly three years aftei*, while he was among the islands with his fa- mily, who lost in him an industrious and faithful father, and the congregation a respectable member and sincere follower of Christ." While this instance beautifully illustrates the care of the good Shepherd, in going after his sheep, which was lost, until he found and brought it to his fold ; the other case, to which I have alluded, presents us with an example of true christian charity. ^' An ?iccount ■ being read to the congregation at Net^ HerRnhut, of the destruction of the Brethren's settle- ment among the Indians at Guadenhutten f, in North America, our Greenlanders were so affected, that they burst into loud weeping, and spontaneous! j- made a pro- posal to raise some contributions among themselves for their poor brethren, '* I have a fine reindeer skin, which I will give," said one } and another, ?? I have a new pair of reindeer boots, which I will send." A third added: ^'I will send them a seal that they may have something to eat and burn." Now, although their contributions, when turned into money, were of no great value, yet our mis- sionaries did not choose to reject them, but ^ordered the amount of the whole to be remitted to the sufferers in America, as an evidence of the benevolent influence of the gospel on the Greehl^nders f . ip Besides near two hundred Gi;eenlanders, who had ' been baptized by our missionaries, and who had finished their earthly caTeer, their congregation consisted now of four hundred persons. Since the. yeajr 1742, when the • See Chapter- III. • oee vnapter m, t Crantz, yol.ii. p. ISO, 255, 5:65. Mission in Greenland^ 41 first general awakening of the natives commenced, the increase had been considerable, at least in proportion to the population of the country. The same rapid increase was no longer to be expected ; for as several new colonies had been established and provided with missionaries by the Danes, most of the heathen, living in the North and near Ball's river,' attended the preaching at Good Hope. Our brethren had had regular stations for preaching the' gospel in the islands of Kook and Kangek, to which the Greenlanders from the South generally resort, and where they sometimes take up their abode for a year or two, on their journeys to and from the North ; and it was chiefly from these people they had received their converts. By them, also, our missionaries had been often inyi;ted to establish a settlement somewhere in the South, as many in that part of the country were disposed to receive the gospel, but did not incline to move to New Herrnhut, being apprehensive that they would not be able to sup- port themselves there. For although the country about Ball's' river is one of the finest districts in Greenland, the natives cannot easily resolve to leave the place of their nativity and settle elsewhere, since the mode of procuring a livelihood differs more or less in every place, and a,year or two are generally spent in acqurring the necessary new habits and practices, during which time ■they mostly suffer great want of provisions. Indeed our missionaries them-- selves did not wish the settlement at New Hekknhut to become too numerous ; for though the experience of sub- sequent years has shewn, that the place is capable of supporting a considerable number of inhabitants, yet they found it difficult to maintain proper regularity and disci- pline in a congregation, whose number rendered , attea- tion to the individual members almost impossible, a cir- cumstance peculiarly necessary among heathen converts. For these reasons, and in. the hope of extending their usefulness, they had for some years frequently deliberated onthe practicability of forming a second settlement, and several places had been under consideration in this view,- but none of them appeared eligible. Meanwhile the Danes established a factory at Fishers' bay, about 'one hundred miles to*" the south of New-hekknhut. This induced 42 Mission in Greeniand, our bi-ethren to Iransmit a memorial to'the pjfesidcnt of the Greenland Trading Company in Copenhagen, offer- ing to form a settlement in that neighbourhood. Their t^et was readily accepted ; but its execution was impeded for some time. Every needful arrangement being at length made, Ma- ihew Stach * and two other brethren, set sail for Green- land in 1758. Having rested a few weeks at New Herbnhvt, and concerted the needful measures with the missionaries there, they proceeded to Fisher's bay, on the I9th July, accompanied by four Greenland families, con- sisting in all of thirty two persons, destined to make the beginning of the new congregation. It was the wish of the tradii^ company that they should settle as near to , the colony as they deemed most convenient for the Mis- sion. After diligently exploring that part of the country, thej fixed on A/conamek, where an old Greenland house wa» stilt standing, as the most eligible spot. It is situate on an island, about three miles from the main ocean, and n^rly at an equal distance from the factory, and though it afibrds no prospect to the sun, which is peculiarly desir-, able in Greenland, and his beams are entirely intercepted, by a high mountain for three months in the year } yet they chose this; spot, as it -possessed the following three advantages; fresh water, which is never entirely frozen j a secure harbour for their boats ; and a strand which re-^ mains open the whole year, and is not at too great a disi- tance from the ocean. In erecting their house they had to encounter various diffi- eultifes, as they had not been able to bring the necessary materials for building with them, arid the place itself sup- plied them with veiy few; they could not even derive much assistance from the Greenlanders, as they had to build their own houses. They were obliged to roll the * He was one of the first ^ssionaries who came to this country, but had retired to Germany to spend his latter years anKmg bis friends therp. Still however be felt the most lively interest in the mission. No sooner therefore was it proposed to hint to undertake this liew expedition, than he was ready to go, especially as he hud always felt a strong inclination to carry the gospel farther to the Sooth, though he w^s well aware, that new dangers and toils awaited him. Mission in Greenland. a stones to the spot, carry the earth in bags, and fetch the sods by water from another place. At first the Greenlanders found it difficult to maintain themselves at Lichtenfels, which was the name given to the new settlement : but discovering at no great dis- tance a strait through which the seals ran into a narroi^ bay, they found it practicable to prevent their escape, and thus could often kill several at a time. This not ofaly procured them a ^providential supply, but was the more remarkable, as the natives declared they had never before seen seals in that inlet. Yet, though it alleviated the difficulty, it did not entirely remove it. A scarcity, little short of famine, prevailed in that district, for two or three years, and many of the heathen died of absolute want. The inhabitants of Lichtenfels indeed suffered less, yet they were often driven to great shifts, having frequently nothing to eat, but a few crow-berries left on the ground during winter, and some small meager fishes. At other times they lived upon muscles and sea-weeds, which they gathered on the strand at low water. Yet amidst all their poverty they were content, and never complained, but helped each other as far as they could, and when one caught a seal, all the inmates of the house received a share. Our missionaries could not relieve them to the extent of their wishes, being themselves reduced to great straits, especially as they had not yet been able to erect a store-house, in which to secure their provisicMis during the bad weather. Till this defect was removed, our Greenlanders did not reap the full benefit of their industry during the summer months. Yet, by means of their diligence they were even then able to dispose of a. greater quantity of blubber to the factor at the colony, than he received from the whole district besides. During the frequent voyages, which our missionaries as well as tlieir converts were obliged to make, they often encountered most imminent perils, biit likewise experienced the most wonderful preservation of their lives. The fol- lowing instances may serve as examples. 4t Mission in GreenlarM. In March 1759, four of the brethren of LiCHTENFEts, in one of their voyages, were overtaken by a dreadful snow-storm, and obstructed by the drift-ice, so that they could neither proceed nor return. After long and severe toiling, however, they reached the shore, but the sea ran so high, that they were afraid to land, lest they should be dashed to pieces against the rocks. They only wished that one of them might escape, to tell what was become of the rest. At length the tide made a sufficient opening between the masses of floating ice, and thus they could proceed and land, with safety. Two Greenlanders being despatched with letters to Frederick's Hope, were obliged to sit two nights in their kajaks upon the ice, which at first was constantly breaking in with them, till they reached a firm piece. It was the third night before they came to a house, and had they not been so fortunate, they would in all probability have perished, as their thirst was intolerable^ having had no water for tvvo days and nights. The sweat, occasioned by their severe and incessant labour, oozed through their clothes, and by the intense cold, was instantly congealed to ice. One of them had his hands frozen, and their ka- jaks were also much damaged. In November the weather was uncommonly tempestuous, At one timejthe storm .shook the mission-house as violently as if there had been an earthquake. Many Greenland houses and boats were damaged, and eight persons were lost at sea. Such was the violence of the wind, that it even split and tore open the ice, but the holes were immediately filled by drifted snow. Before and after the storm balls of fire were observed in the air, in differ- ent places. . One of them fell near a house and began t© burn. A similar phenomenon was seen about christmas, at mid-day, while th6 sun was shjning in full splendour. , Our brethren had not been long settled at Lichtenfels, before many of the natives visited them, especially those who lived near the factory, and on the other side of the island, though the way by land to both places, is At least six miles across rugged valleys and steep cliffs. Besides Mission in Greenland. 4; 3 some widows and their children and some single women, two families took up t4ieir abode with them, and diligent- ly attended the preaching of the gospel. Considerable impression was also made on the minds of many of the neighbouring heathen, and they obtained by degrees a general knowledge of the truths of religion, but as yet, could not fully resolve to relinquish their pagan customs, and embrace the gospel. When the necessity of conver- sion was urged upon them, they had always some excuse or other to make for deferring it to a more convenient season. However the seed of the Word sown by the mission- aries, though it lay for a while buried in the earth, did not remain unfruitful. Those who resided near the facto- ry, were for the most part very desirous to hear the gos- pel, and when the missionary had preached in one house, they followed him into another, in order to hear. some- thing more. One of the sailors once remarked, that these Greenlanders acted much more like christians than the Europeans, since some of them joined together every evening, with great devotion, in praying and singing the hymns they had learned. The visits to the heatlien, liv- ing on the east side of the island, in particular, seemed to promise the richest harvest. In January 1760, the first heathen family was baptized at Lichtenfels. There was some resemblance between it and that of Kayarnak, the first fruits of the mission at New-herrnhut. Like the latter it consisted of fathei', mother, son, and daugh- ter, and like it, they came from the south, and had but lately settled with our brethren The increase of this new congregation now was such, that in a. few years two hun- dred and ninety persons resided at Lichtenfels. To return to New-herrnhut. The work of the Lord prospered. Many heathen, especially from the South, visited the placer . Some were quite savage and indisposed to listen to the gospel *. Others were not quite insensible • . * " It shocked me," saith Grant?, who was then on a visit in Greenland, " to see many of them pierced to the heart, so that thfey trembled, snuffed and blew Jike a frighted deer, and sometimes, like a man in strong convulsions, lugged their coat, or boots,, in order to stifle their convictions, and as soon as 46 Mission in Greenland. to its importance, yet were unwilling to make a profession, and even forbade their relations to hear the gospel, alleg-* ing, that they had seen but too many examples of people, especially of young persons, who after paying serious atten- tion to the doctrine of Christ's sufferings and death, only once or twice, were so captivated, that they could never rest till they lived with the believers, often to the great grief of their nearest relatives. . If any one, there-i fore, took the Fesolution to live with the believers, he might be considered as gained over to the faith, and in- stances of leaving the brethren after residing with them, became more and more rare. In general they had weighed the subject for years together; their final determination in favour of Christianity might, therefore, in most cases, be considered as the effect of the operation of the Holy Ghost on their hearts. Pleasing instances of this kind were not unfrequent.^ The number annually added to the church by baptism was between thirty and forty, and some years it exceeded fifty. The inhabitants of this set- tlement, in 1769, amounted to five hundred and forty. About this time our missionaries lost their most useful native assistant, Daniel. He received his first impres- sions of divine truth, under a sermon of the Danish mis- sionary, Mr. Drachart, in the year 1745, and proving; by his walk, that he had sincerely embraced the gospel, he was baptized by that gentleman in 1747, at Good Hope, and the following year moved to New-herrnhut. Our missionaries soon discovered that he was possessed of talents, far superior to the generality of his countrymen, and as his conduct was consistent with his profession, they ajjpointed him to assist them in preaching the gospel and instructing the natives. In this he was indefatigable, and never omitted an opportunity, when any heathen visited the settlement, to speak to them, and est^lain all the re- gulations of the place. Yet his zeal was tempered ■ with prudence, and when he met with people, who were disin- clined to hear, or even turned the subject into ridicule, he did noi obtrude the gospel upon them, but left them, after giving them a gentle, yet serious, reproof. In genie- the preaching was over, ran off in haste, lest the subject should be more cipsely applied to them." Mission in Gieenland. 47 ral, however, tlie heathen heard him gladly. His man- ner when addressing them was lively, engaging and intre- pid, but when speaking to his fellow-believers, his dis- courses were simple, • atfectionate and impressive. He made frequent use of striking similies, and knew how to apply them with good effect to the hearts and c<-at a con- siderable height, however, we found a small spot covered with short grass- We now endeavoured to land the provisions, saved from the wreck, but the waves beat frightfully against the rock, an(J tossed the boat up and down with such violence, that the rope broke and she was driven out to sea. In order to bring her back eight men immediately leaped into the small boat; but though they came up with the large boat, the fury of the tenjpest baf- fled all their efforts to regain the landing place ; they were driven to the other side among the ice, by which both our , boats were cruched to pieces; nor did we entertain the smallest doubt, that the eight sailors had perished, as it seemfed impossible for them to get over the ice to the shore, the waves rising so exceedingly f. All our hopes of being saved, now vanished, and the whole coppany gave vent to their , feelings in general and loud cries and lamenta- tions. In the evening we lay down to rest, close together, without tent or covering. As it continued to rain heavily the whole of this and the following day and night, the water rushed down upon us in torrents from the summit of the rock. We were completely soaked in wet, and lay in a pool of water. But this was in reality a benefit to us, as .we wefe thus supplied with fresh water. " August 27th, the two captains and most of the sailors got ready to try to gain the shore by walking across the ice ; and with great difficulty succeeded in their attempt. We would willingly have gone with them, but having now been two days without tasting any food, we felt our- but belonged to one, which had been stranded near Staattenhuck and was now returning to Europe. ' f: Their fears were fortunately unfounded, as all the sailwfi, excepting one, succeeded in their efforts to get to land. 5* Mission in Greenland. selves too Jimeh enfeebled for suoh an entea^rise. Thus we were left alOne on the rock, with the ship's cook, who likewise was unable to follow his comrades. In this dread- ful situation we had no hope, but what we derived fFom the Lord our almighty Saviour. We now saw no other prospect before us, but that of ending our days on this barren rock. The tliqughts af lying here unburied, as food for ravens and other birds of prey, which were always hoff&ring aroqnd us,' troubled us for ashort, tiine; but the consolations bf our Saviour preponderated, and we soon felt entirely resigned to ^s will." ; r; . r . ■.),..-., ^ ^ Thie captain^ and sailors having meanwhile Te^cjied the land» immediately'diepatehed^6me-Greenlandersin sieaa'ch of brother Bludolph and his wife. These. Greenlanders, after towing ' about thfe 'whole day of Septeinber the 2nd, without seeing aiiy person oa the^ock, were on the point of returning^ concluding that they had perished. FortU" nately, hoviffiver, sister Rudolph, llappening to r8ise.,her.t self, discovered the 'Greenlanders. , From ih^m, our mis- sionaries igot a little seals'-fat and a few herrings, having been without food'for nine days. As they came in their tajaks, and had no other boat with them, brother Rttr dolph and his wife were obliged to speod another, night on the iiocfc, and wait till the, evening of the next day, when a skin-boat arrived.' Irt her they embarked, and after enduring several hardships, reached the .colony of Jiilianenhaab, in the evening of the 8th, and proceeded to LicHTENAU on the 11th, where they were. aiFectionate- ly wdcomed byrtheir fellovv-missidnaries and the whole eongr^ation, who joined them in grateful praises to God for this wonderful preservation of 'their lives. Here they rem§,ined till the following May, when they again prepared for their voyage to Europe. After a very tedious and difficult passage in a Greenland boat, from LicHTENAU to LiCHTENFELs, they left the latter place, on the -13th of September, in one of the .Danish ships, and being favoured with a very expeditious and pleasant Toyage, arrived in Copenhagen on the 3rd of October. Little did our brethren hi Greenland imagine, that Mission in Greenland. 59 the war, which during this period was raging with such violence on the continent of Europe, wotald extend its ravages to the remote corner of the. earth, which they inhabited. But, though they were happily out of the reach of contendiiig armies, they experienced some of the fatal effects of the contest. The rupture between Great Britain and IJenmarH, occasioned a temporary suspen- sion of the accustomed intercourse between the lattey country and her colonies^ which are wholly dependant upon Europe'for siupport. This awakiiied many gloomy apprehensions, both among our brethren and the other colonists; and this fear' was cOnsidei'ably increased, as one of -the two ships, sent out by the English government in 1808,1 was lost in the ice,' and the provisions, prepared for them in Londoh in 1809, could not be sent, as it was found inconvenient to fit out Ships- frofti Great Britain to Greenland. Another misfdrtunte they eJip^rieiieed, was the capture of a 'Danish provision-ship by the British, and thus, only' one siiidU vessel- arrived that year, the cargo of which was by no means sufficient to supply the many fac^ tories on the coast. Our missionaries in New-hekenhut, and LiCHTENFELs" observe ; "though we 'have not yet felt absolute want of the necessaries of life, yet we are jobliged to- measure (as it were) every mouth-ful we eat, to make o-nr provisions last as long as possible." T^heir stock of wine was -so reduced,' that they (iould but very seldom celebrate the Lbrd's Supper, which was a great grief to their cbri^ei-ls. Another very serious inconve- nience^ was the want of sufficient change of cloathing, especially lin,en, and of tobacco, which is the principal medium of traffic in thisrcountry. This distress j-was felt most severely. at Lichtenau, as appears from thie following extract of a letter, written by the missionary Beck in 18 13. ■ " In T g07 we received the Tas£ regular supplies ; which were sufficient, in addition to what we had spared in for- mer years, to maintain us for a cqnsiderable time ; and as we hoped, that the interruption occasioned by the war would not last long, we felt no anxxety, but, when both the colonists and our brethren at New-hebbnhut and 60 Mission an, Greenland. LicHENFELs began to suffer want, we even helped them out of; our store> to various necessary, articles, of which, howe- ver, ^e ourselves aftervi^ar^s felt the want. In the north there was yet some trade, by which partial relief was ob- tained, but here nothing could be had from that source. Yet we thanked God, that there still existed the means of svipporting life, though we S4iFered many privations, such as of beer, coffee, sugar, and wine, and afterwards of butter and salt : we made the latter last as long as possi- ble, by boiling fish in salt-water ; and though whatever was sent to us in 1810, ^d not arrive here till 1812, we have to thank our Heavenly Father for having given us our daily bread. At last we were the only people that had any tobacco. By this we were enabled to purchase birds and fishes from the Green landers, as also furs for our boats and clothing. We had likewise some seed left, and got a small-supply, of garden-stuff. The Greenlan- d(?rs brought us scurvy-grass in barter for tobacco. The latter article, however, became at last so scarce that a pound cost 7s. 6d. *." In this distressful situation the colonies continued till the year 1811, whep the British government generously afforded every facility to the Danes, to supply their Green- land factories, by permitting Danish provisiori-ships, fur- nished with a proper license to sail thither. By this hu- mane measure, on the partof England, they were relieved from immediate distress, and all anxiety respecting the future. While this regulation continued in forCe, one of our missionaries, John Conrad Kleinschmidt, whose wife had entered into the joy of her Lord, after a residence- of nearly nineteen years in Grebnland, resolved to bring his five children to Europe, and for this purpose set sail in the ship Freden, bound for Leith in Scotland. They" left New-herrnhut on September 2nd, 1812, but owing to unfavourable weather, did not lose sight of the coast till * Per. Acct.Vol. vi. p, 1 96. In some of the colonies the distress was still grea- ter. The colonists were reduced to the necessity of eating small herrings, muscles, aodeven sea- weeds; many of them ^erefore left the country, Pw. Acct. Vol. V. p. 1 95. Mission ill Greenland. 61 the 25th. The wind was fair, and they had* the ptdspect of a speedy and pleasant voyage, when suddenly there arosefrom the north-west a most tremendous storm, which raged with unabating fury for about three days and two nights. In the evening of the 29th, when it was at its height, accompanied with thunder and lightning, a flash struck the ship. Two sailors were thrown down ; one of ■whom instantly expired. The captain and all on board were filled with the utmost consternation, and the for-mer exclaimed : " We are all lost, and there is no other ship near to save us." Fortunately, however, it was soon dis- covered, that the ship had not taken fire, nor sustained any very serious damage. In the sequel they encoun- tered several severe gales and contrary winds, which jso prolonged the voyage, that they were put on short allow- ance of water, which was peculiarly trying to the chil- dren. This privation, however, lasted only five days, as they came in sight of the Scottish coast on the 8th of October, and two days after cast anchor in Leith Roads. During their stay there, one of brother Kleinschmidt's daughters, a child only three years old, died after a short illness. On this, as well as on every other occasion, he and his company experienced the most affectionate atten- tion from many worthy gentlemen in this place and in Edinburgh, who are sincere and generous friends to our missions *. During his absence a most tragical event occurred in the congregation, which he had hitherto served in the gospel. A party of christian Greenlanders, having cele- brated Christmas at the settlement^ were returning to one of the out-places, where" they resided by an order of government, intended to promote the interests of trade. They set out in their skin-boat, in January 1813, when the cold was so intense, thait the thermometer stood twelve degrees beldw Reaumur's freezing point. They had soon to encounter the floating ice, by which their boat was crushed to pieces. They however escaped upon a largfe field of ice, and drove aboiit for twenty four hours, when during the night a violent storm arose from the north, • For a circumstantial account of this voyage, see Per. Acct.Vol,v. p.S34 — 341. 62- Mission in Greenland. which cari-ied them out to. sea. r. Here they mqst aH; have perished, a,s nothing more was heard of them. They were seventeen in niimber, old and young, and all ba,p- ti?ed members of the congregation at, Lichtenau. i .■ ■ • •'- 1 ■' ' i:. . ■ . , • i^fter. spending the winter at our settiemeilt of Ftilneck in Yprkshirej and having again married, brother Klein-, Schmidt and his wife, in con^pany of the missionary Gorke* and bis wife and their infant daughterj and of brothet Mueller: and sister GoH, sailed from Leith in the Danish stup Hmlfi^m for Greenland. They leftn Scotland on May ?4th, 1813, and after a safe and expedi^tious voy^g^ of five weeks, [arrived 'at Godhaven in Diskobay, tfe^ captain, contrary to his engagement, refusing to la,nd them near any of the missiori-settlenients. This ungfii^fR rous conduct on his part, was the more repi'ehensiye, ,p there was every facility of landing them either at Lich-; TENFELS or New-herknhut. Even the matg and sailors remonstrated with him on the cruelty of his behaviour ; but to no purpose, for he continued his course day and night,; and the only reply he made was : " never min^, they have the summer before them." The consequence was, that they had to ti'avel back in a boat, coasting it all the way, six hundred miles to New-herrnhut,. and ninety more to Liohtenfels; and brother Kleinsphmj^ and his wife, after reaching New-herrnhut, had stiU to perform a voyage of five hundred miles, before they ar- rived at LicHTEKAU, their place .of residence. But, through the Lord's mercy they all gpt home before winter set in, though brother Kleinschniidt's party were four months in completing their voyage along this rocky and dangerous coast f. AH the toils and perils, of their jour^ ney were qnickly forgotten, when they found themselves, again in the midst of their brethren and sisters, and be- held the grace of God, which prevailed in the Greenland- congregation. * Brother Gorke had lived in Greenland before, but left it seven years ago to pay a, visit to Europe, where he had been thus long detained in cpnse-. quence of the war. The rest were new missionaries, f Per. Acct. Vol. vi. p. 1 99, Mission in Greenland. fes The affairs o£, the, mission had now again been brought into their, regulai" course. Each /of ;the three sattle^ients had been provided with the requisite number of missiona- ries, and eyei'jr anxious apprehension .rejecting thelf support had been removed, in consequence of the regular intercourse.re-opened with Europe- j Hereby our brethren were animated to renewed exertions in promoting the cause of God, and the best interests of their fellow-mfin, in these di-eary regions. ,: . ; r ■ ' .' Their time and attention were, particularly occupied in devising means for enlarging the acquaintance of the ha- lives with the. doctrines of the Bihle-^ : A version of aHar- mbny.of the^four Qospe^, together withiselect portions of the prophecies ~of Isaiah had been in use among them for several' years^ To add to their sources xif information on scripture-truths, brother Gorke, about this time, trans- lated a small duodecimo work, entitled, Jesus, the Friend ofChil^ren^ being a short compendium of the Bible, dnd redoriUnended.by a society of pious, ministers in Denmark, for distribution among^ the Greenlanders. But their chief concern was to furnish them with a good and correct trans- lation. of the New Testament; to which they were greatly encouraged, bjf, of Christianity. These settlements, therefore, may be considered as forming two christian congregations, the children and youths of which are bap- tized in infancy, and from their earliest years instructed in the doctrines of the gospel, and upon giving sufficient evidence of the sincerity of .their profession, admitted to all the ordinances and privileges of the church. And our missionaries have had the pleasure of finding that hardly any of their young people, have entirely forsaken the fel- lowship of the faithful ; for, though they might for a sea- son remain spjiritually dead, they have sooner or later befeni awakened by the Spirit of God, to a sense of their lost condition by nature and. their need of a Saviour, and by his grace been taught to deny ungpdlijiess arid worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world.. Thus has God's promise to his church bfeen yerified also in this country : " Instead of thy fathers shall he thy children'." Mission in Gt'eenland. 65 In LicHTENAU the case is in some c1egi*ee different. Here there is still a large field for missionary labours, as a very considerable number of heathen reside in that neighbourhood. To them our brethren are daily proclaim- ing the unsearchable riches of Christ. Many pagahs visit them, and behave with divility. For the'mbst part indeed they come only to be supplied with the necessai-ies of life ; here and there, however, a desire is excited for the bread of life, and the seed of the g^ospel falls tiow and then on good ground, where it produces the fruits of " repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus some heathen are annually embodied into the church by baptism. The long intercourse of the natives with Europeans, added to the more potent influence of the gospel, has produced the most pleasing and striking change in their manners and general jleportrtient. Along the whole ex- tent of the western coastj the barbarities of savage life, and the enortnities ever attending paganism, where it is dominant, are now rarely to be met with ; and compared with the state of this country^ eightyj or but fifty years ago, it may be called civilized. The nature and climate of this dreary region, no less than the methods by which the natives must procure their subsistence, necessarily preclude the introduction of most of the useful arts of civilized society. They can neither till the land, nor engage in manufac- tures. The former is denied them by the sterility of the rocks they inhabit, and the rigours of a polaf sky ; and the latter, with very few exceptions, are for the same reasons rendered useless. A Greenlander can neither live in the European manner, nor wear European cloath- ing. But it may be said with truthj (of which several proofs are to be found in thfe preceding history,) that the converted Greenlanders, by the habits of industry, which they have acquired since the introduction of the gospel among them, by their contentment amidst many priva- tions and hardships, and by the charity displayed by the more afiluent to their needy brethreuj strikingly exem- plify the doctrine of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, that in every circumstance, and in every nation^ godliness is great gain, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. F CHAP. II. idlSSION m LABRADOB. LABRADOR lies on the east side of Hudson's bay, extending from latitude 57° to 60° north. Although this latitude is not as high by several degrees as that of Green- land, yet the cold- here is far more intense *. During the winter Fahrenheit's thermometer often falls thirty or more degrees below the O ; and though the houses of the mis- sionaries are heated by large cast-iron stoves, the windows and walls are all the winter covered with ice, and the bed- clothes freeze to the walls. Rum freezes in the air like water, and rectified spirits soon become thick like oil. Fi'om December to* June the sea is so completely frozen over, that no open water is to be seen. Some of the mis- sionaries venturing once, during the month of February, to make a journey from Nain to some Esquimaux, living at the distance of forty miles,, endured extreme hardships from the cold. Though wrapped in furs, yet their eye- lids froze together in such a manner that they were conti- nually obliged to pull them asunder, and by constant rub- bing prevent them from closing. One of them returned with a pain in his side ; another with his hands frozen and swelled like a bladder; and it was a mercy of God, that their lives were preserved. It is no uncommon case for some of the natives to be found frozen to death in win- ter. The few summer months, on the other hand, are so much the hotter, the thermometer sometimes rising to the eighty sixth degree of Farenheit. Swarms of mus- ketoes infest the air, whose sting frequently causes swelled faces. • The reason assigned for (his is, that the north-west wind, which is the severest, comes over an arm of the sea to our settlements in Greenland, by which means the cold,is lessened: on the contrary this severe wind which prevails the greater part of winter in Labrador, comes to that coast over an immense frozen continent. Brief Account of Mission among Esquimaim In- dians. Mission in Labrador. 67 The coast is but thinly inhabited ; and the Esquimaux dii'- fer little in their general manners and mode of living from the Greenlanders, of whose language theirs is only a dialect. In summer, they live in tents like the Greenlanders, but their winter houses are differently formed. For this purpose they choose a large drift of snow, dig an oval -hole in it, in size corresponding with the dimensions of the intended house. They then cut pieces of snow, three feet long, two in breadth, and one foot . thick. These they place in the form of an arch over the hole. Instead of a win- dow, they cut an aperture in the arch, in which they fix a slab of ice, and which gives tolerable light. The en- trance into the dwelling is long, winding and very low, and a slab of frozen snow answers the purpose of a daor. In the middle of the house thqy leave an elevation of about twenty inches high, which they cover with skins, and this serves them for a place to rest aiid sleep on. Since our brethren have settled in the, country they have by degrees built winteNhouses for themselves, constructed after the manner of those in Greenland, described in page 6, For the purposes of travelling they make use of a sledge drawn by a species of dogs, resembling a wolf in shape. They never bark, but howl very disagreeably. They are kept by the Esquimaux, in greater or smaller packs, ac- cording to the wealth of the proprietor. They qftietly submit to be harnessed, and are treated with no great mercy by the heathen, who make tbem do hard duty for but a scanty allowance of food. This consists chiefly of offals, old skins, entrails, &c. ; or should their owner not be provided with these articles, they must shift for them- selves, and seek dead fishes or muscles on the beach. When pinched with hunger they devour almost any thing; and on a journey it is necessary to secure the harness during the night, for otherwise; the dogs will eat it, and thus ren- der it impossible to proceed. In the evening, after being unharnessed, they are left to burrow in the snow wher- ever they please ; and in the morning they are sure to re- turn at the call of the driver, as they then receive some food. In putting them to the sledge, they are never suf- fered to go abreast, but tied by separate thongs of un- equsl lengths to a horizontal bar on the forepart of the F 2 68 Mission in Labrador. siedge ; an old dog leads the way, running ten or twenty paces a-head, directed by the driver's whip, which is of- ten twehiy-foUr feet long, ancl'can be well managed only by an expert Esquimaux, The other dogs' follow like a flock of sheep; if one of them receives a lash, he gene- rally bites his iieighbour, and the bite goes round. Their strength and speed, even without food, are astonishing. The Esquimaux, however, find it more convenient to go from place to place in their boats, when the sea is open, than in their sledges over the ice, as they are thus less ex- posed to the cold. Their journeys therefore are more fre- quent in summer than in winter. Their ideas relative to God, and religious and moral subjects, are as confined as those of their brethren in Greenland ; and in thejr superstitidtis notions and prac- tices there is no discernible difference between the two na- tions. In their pagan state the Esquimaux appear rather more depraved. Their kajaks, skin-boats and other implements ai:e of the same construction with those of the Greenlanders. The missionary settlements lie on the eastern coast. Tttfe disposition on the part of the Brethi-en, to at- tempt the conversion of the Esquittiaux, originated with our missionaries in Greenlsaid, who wisre led to coMJecturej that the Esquimaux were a branch of the Greenland na- tion. Matthew Stach, in particular, entered with great ardour into this scheme, and fof thst purpose applied, in the year 1752, to the Hudson's bay Company for permis- sion to preach the gospel to the Indians belonging to their factories : but no attention was at that time paid to his ap- plication. In consequence of this failure some of our Bre- thren in London, joined- by several well disposed mer- chants, fitted out a vessel to trade on the coast of Labra- dor. Christian Erhard, whoj in the capacity of mate on board a Dutch ship, had been several voyages to Davis's Straits on the whale fishery, and had visited at New- Mission in Labrador. 69 herrnhut, where he had learned a little Greenlandish, and was now residing in the Brethren's settlement at Zeist in Holland, offered himself to go with the vessel ; and four other brethren expressed their willingness to settle on that coast, in order to learn the language and preach the gospel to the natives. This company sailed from London on the 1 7th of May 1752, and on the last day of July entered a fine bay on the coast of Labrador, which in honour to one of the owners of the ship, is still called Nisbet's Haven. Here they resolved to settle, and for this purpose erected a house, the frame and materials of which they had brought with them. T'l^y called the place Hopedale. A few weeks after Erhard sailed farther to the north, for the purposes of trade. He could make himself tolerably un- derstood by the Esquimaux; and, as they were afraid to come on board, on account of the gunsj he and five of the crew went, in an unarmed boat, into a bay between the islands. Here they were probably all murdered by the savages. As the captain had not another boat, no search could be made for them at that time ; but on the return of the ship the next season, some of their remains were found, with evident marks upon them of haying been inurdered. This melancholy event obliged tlie captain to represent to those four brethren, who had come out as missionaries, that having lost six of his men, he could not return to Europe, unless they would consent to go with him, and assist in working the ship. Though they deeply regretted the necessity, yet under existing circumstances, they could not refuse his request. The ship sailed again to the coast the following year ; and the house was found still standing, but it was not deeoied expedient to renew the mission at that time. The undertaking, however, though relinquished for a few years, was never lost sight of. Jens Haven, a mis- sionaiy in Greenland, who even before he went to that country in 1758, had cherished an ardent desire for the conversion of the Esquimaux, was induced agdn to offer his services for this enterprise, after having learned the Greenland language. His offer being accepted by the 70 Mission in IjahradoK directors of the missions, he came to England in 1Y64, Aftei' many fruitless attemps to attain his object, he was at length recommended to the governor of Newfoundland, Sir Hugh Palliser, who received him with great kindness and offered him a passage on board his own ship; This, however, was decUned by Haven who only requested a let- ter of recommendation to the governor of St. John's, which being readily complied with, he went with the first ship sailing for that station. The governor, immediately on his arrival, issued a proclamation in favour of our mis- sionary, stating the object of his voyage to Labrador, and ordering that every assistance should be given him.* Af- ter various delays and vexations, he at last landed on the coast of Labrador, at Quirpont, where he arrived just in time to prevent a murderous plot. Some people had col- lected there, and were holding a council for the purpose of destroying the Esquimaux. ^ He went boldly up to them, shewed the governor's proclamation, and succeeded, though not without difficulty, to. divert them from their barbarous design. ^ His first interview with the natives excited the liveliest joy in our missionary, I shall relate it nearly in his own words: *' September 4th 1764," saith he, " was the welcome day, ^hen I saw an Esquimaux arrive in the har-bour. I ran to meethim, addressed him in the mostMendly manner in the Greenland language; and to my inexpressible joy found he understood me. I desired him to return, and bring four of the chiefs of his tribe , with liim, to which he readily consented. Meanwhile I put on my Greenland dress, and met them on the beach, inviting them to come on shorie. They cried, '* Here is an Itinuit (a countryman of ours."| I answered, " I am your countryman and fi'iend." They seemed astonished, behaved very quietly^ and I continued the conversation for a long time. At length they desired * This proclamation pontaiHs the following sentence, " Hitherto the Esqui- mau* have been considered in no other light than as thieves and murderers, but as Mr. Haven has formed the laudable plan, hot only of liniting these people with the English natioii, but of instructipg them in Bie christian reli- ipons I require, by vurtiie of the powir delegated to me, that all men, whom- soever it may concern, lend him all the assistance in their po*er," Srief Ac- emmt cf Mission arnmg Esquimaux Indians. . ' , Mission in Labrador. 71 me to accompany them to an island, about an hour's row from the shore, adding that there I should find their wives and children, who would receive me as a frien and expressed profound awe and reverence for the name of Jesus ; but it was difficult to convince them of the evil of sin, and the innate depravity of the heart. Their moral , habits, however, were considerably ameliorated. Former- ly no Eiiropean would have ventured to be alone with the Esquimaux, or spend a Bight with them on any consider- ation ; but now our brethren often passed several dajrfe and nights successively with them, preached' the gospel, boldly reproved them, and even silenced the Angehoks^ or sorcerers, while performing their superstitious rites and incatitations. These of course employed all their diaboli- cal arts to prevent their countrymen from receiving the gospel. , This rendered the following ofccur^ence, the more i^e* markable. A man, whose name was Anauke, departed this life, calling on the name of Jesus. The first-time our missionaries saw him at Chateau-bay, four years before, he had all the appearance df a thief and milrderer; but after hearing the gospel several times, so striking a change took place in him, that his very features lost their ferocity. In 1772 he pitched his tent in Nain, and stayed there till November, when he removed to his winter house j but some time after returned on foot,* with no other view than to hear the gospel. As it is impossible to travel during the first months of winterj they heard nothing of Anaiike till his wife came to the set- tlement in February, and related, " that when her hus- band fell sick in December, he prayed earnestly to the Saviour, and not only shewed no fear of death, but even declared, that he had no wish to live any longer in this worldi but would rather go to his Saviour." When his wife, observing his end to be approaching, began to howl and cry, according to the custom of the heathen, exclaiming, " O my dear husband, wilt thou leave me and thy two children?" he calmly replied, " Weep not, I go to the Saviour, vrho loves men so much." He would not suffer - • This is a strong evidence of his eagemess to hear the gospel, as the Esi quimaux are not accustomed to travel on foot ; in summer they go in their boats, and in winter on sledges, f 8 Mission in Labrador. an angekok * to come near him during his sickness. This is the more striking, as he had no christian friend at hand to instruct him, and none were present,' whom he might wish to please by speaking of Je^|is. The ange.- kok himself related it to the missionary with considerate displeasure. The deceased was ever after known among the natives by the appellation of The man, wkom the Sft- viour took to himself ft ■ ■ . This occurrence encouraged our miss^onar jes to select from among their hearers such as appeared tbp most seri- ously impressed with divine truths, a?*d to form them into a class, of Catechumens, in orde? to give them more parr ticular instruction, and prepare them for holy baptism. They also resolved to erect a proper chapel, spacious enough to accommodate some hundred hearers, as the room ii^ their house, hitherto used for that purpose, was not sufficiei|(Jy large. They likewise began to build boats, and make various implements and utensils for the Esquimaux, hoping therp- by to introduce a degree pf civilij^a^o^ among them, . to prevent their going to the-south to s^al boats, and alspjin a small measure to lessen the expenses of the mission, jby bairtering these articles to the natives for whalebonp, £^?d blubber. , , , j In the year 1774, four of the missionaries undertopi^^ a voyage for the purpose of exploring the xoast tojth^north , of Nain. This expedition wg« ^ttgiided ^ith most mejsp- choly consequences. . After enduring incredible disast^;-s and escaping many imminent dangers, tbey^ suffered ship- wreck on their return, the vessel being driven on a rock, where she remained fixed, and finally broke. After spending, a most anxious night, they betook themsely^^ early toe next morning to the boat. This was likewise dashed against the rocks. Two of them, the brethren, Brasen and Lehman lost their lives j the other two, Haven and Lister, together with the sailors, saved them- selves by swimming, and reached a barren rock. Here ^ • These sorcerers are also the physicians of the Esquimaux, and make use of certain spells and incantations for the recovery of their patients, f Brief Account^ &c. Mission in Labrador. 79 they suffered incredibly from hunger and excessive cold, and must inevitably have perished, had they not found it practicable to draw the boat on the rock, and so far to repair the damage she had sustained, as to venture themselves into her, on the fourth day after their ship- wreck. The yrind was in their favour ;_and they had the good fortune to be observed by an Esquimaux in bis ka- jak, who towed them into the harbour of Nain. Unappalled by this calamity, Haven and Lister, accom- panied by brother Beck, the following spring, ventured on another reconHoitering voyage along the south coast, penetrated as far as Old Hopedale, (mentioned page 69) and after some search- found a place near Avertok, more eligible for a missionary settlement than any yet disco- vered. But, before the directors of our missions could consider the expediency of occupying this station, they had com- miissioned brother Haven to begin, a new settlement at Okkak, about one hundred and fifty miles to the north of Nain. Accompanied by brother Stephen Jensen, he pro- ceeded thither in the summer of 1775. They purchased the land from the Esquimaux, fixed the boundaries of it, and the following year established themselves in this place. They immediately tjegan to preach the gospel to the hea- then in the neighbourhood, and though the progress of conversion Here as \^11 as at Nain, was but slow, yet it was sufBciertt to preserve the zeal and animate the hope of our missionaries. In 1781 there belonged to the congre- gation at Okkak thirty eight baptized Esquimaux, and about ten catechumens. In the year 1782, two of the missionaries experienced a very striking preservation of their lives. Early on March the nth, the brethren Liebisch and Turner left Nain to go to Okkak, a journey of one hun- dred and fifty miles. They travelled in a sledge drawn by dogs, and another sledge with Esquimaux joined them, the whole party consisting of five men, one woman and a child. Every thing seemed to favour the undertaking;, 8& Mission' in Ijdbradoh the weather was fine and remarkably serene, and thfe track over the frozen sea was in the best order, so that they travelled at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. Alt therefore were in good spirits, hoping to reach Okkak in two or three days. Having passed the islands in the bay, they kept at a considerable distance from the shore, both to gain the smoothest part of the ice, and to avoid the high and rocky promontory of Kiglapeit, About eight o'clock they met a sledge with Esquimaux driving tovrards the land; who obscurely intimated that it might be well not to proceed. But as our mission- aries' saw no reason for it, they paid no regard to these hints, and went on. In a while, . howeyer, their own Esquimaux remarked, that there was a swell under the ice. It was thenhardly perceptible, except on applying the ear close to the ice, when a hollow, grating and rparing noise was heard, as if ascending from the abyss. The weather' remained clear, except towards the east, where a bank of light clouds appeared, interspersed with some dark streaks. But as the wind blew hard from, the north- west, no sudden change of weather was expected. The sun had now reached his height, and there was as yet little or no alteration in the appearance of the sky. But the motion of the sea under the ice had grown so perceptible as rather to alarm our travellers, and they began to think it prudent to keep closer to the shore- The ice in ma- ny places, had fissures and cracks some of, which formed chasms of one or two feet wide, but as they are not un- common even in the best state, and the dogs easily leap over them, the sledge following without dangler, they are terrible only to new comers. As soon as the sun declined, the wind increased and rose to a storm, the bank of clouds from the east began to ascend, and the dark streakes put themselves in motion against the v(ind. The snow was driven about by partial whirlwinds, both on the ice and fi;om off the peaks of the high mountains, and filled the air. At the same time the swell had increased so much, that its effects upon the ice became very extraordinary and ^larming. The sledges, instead of gliding along smoothly upon an even surface, sometimes ran with violence after the dogs, and shortly after seemed with difficulty to ascend the rising hill, for Mission in LabradoS', 8 1 the elasticity of so vast a body of ice, of mafly leagues square, supported by a troubled sea, though in some pla- ces three or four yards in thickness, would, in some de- gree, occasion an undulatory motion, not unlike that of a sheet of paper accomodating itself to the surface of a rippling'stream. Noises were now likewise heard in many directions, like the report of cannon, owing to the burst- ing of the ice at some distance. The Esquimaux, therefore, drove with all haste towards the shore, intending to take up their night-quarters on the south side of the Nirak. But, as it plainly appeared the ice would break and disperse in the open sea, Mark, (who drove the sledge of the missionaries) advised to push forward to the north of the Nirak, from v/hence he hoped the track to Okkak might still remain entire. To this pi*oposal the company 'agreed, but when the sledges ap- proached the cdast, the prospect before them was truly terrific. The ice, having broken loose from the rocks, was forced up and down, grinding and breaking into a thousand pieces against the precipices, with a tremendous noise, which added to the raging of the wind, and the snow driving about in the air, nearly deprived the tra- vellers of the power of hearing and seeing any thing dis- tinctly. To raake the land at any risk, was now the only hope left, but it was with the utmost difficulty the affrighted dogs could be forced forward, the whole body of the ice sinking frequently below the rocks, then rising above them. As: the only moment to land was that when the ice gained the level of the coast, the attempt was extremely nice and hazardous. However, by God's mercy, it suc- ceeded j both sledges gained the shore, and were drawn lip the beach, though with much difficulty. The travellers had hardly time to reflect with gratitude to God on their safety, when that part of the ice, from which they had just now made good their landing, burst asunder, and the water forcing itself from below, covered and precipitated it into the sea. In an instant, as if by a signal given, the whole mass of i«e, extending G SS Mission in Labrador. for several miles frpni the coast, apt} as far as the eye could reach, burst, and was overwhelmed by the rolling waves. The sight was tremendous and awfully graOd^ the large fields of ice, raising themselves out of the water, striking against each other,, and plunging into t;lie deep, with a violence not to be described, and a noise like the discharge of innumerable batteries of heavy guns. The darkness of the night, the roariflg of the wind and sea, and the dashing of the waves and ice against the rocks, filled the travellers with sensations of awe and horror, so as almost to deprive theiji of the power of utterance. They stood overwhelmed with astonishment at tl^eir ipira- culous escape, and even the heathen Esquimaux expres- sed gratitude to God for their deliverance. The Esquimaux now began to build ft snow-house, about thirty paces from the beach, b«t before they l^ad finished their work, the waves reached the place yi^here the sledges were secured, and they were with difficulty saved from being washed into the sea. About nine o'clock all of them crept into the snow- house, thanking God for this place of refuge; for the wind was piercingly cold, and so violent, tjxaj it requii;ed great strength to stand against it. Before they entered this habita,tion, they could not help once more turning their eyes to the sea, \ivhicl)| was now free from ice. They beheld with, horror, mipgled with gratitude for their safety, the enormous waves driving furiously before the wind, lilse huge castles, ^pd approach- ing the shore, where, with dreadful npise, they dashed against the rocks, foaming and filling, the air with spray. The whple company now got their supper, and hftving sung an evening hymn in the Esquimaux language, lay down to rest about ten o'clock. The Esquimaux were soon fast asleep, but brother Liebisch could nQt get any rest, partly on account of the dreadful roaring of the wind, and partly owing to a sore throat, which gave \\m mwch pain. The wakefulness of the missionary prpyed the deliver- ance of the whole party from sudden destruptipn. About Mission in Lahradm-i 83 tw,0 o'clock in the morning, brother Liehisch perceived some salt water droppii^ from the roof of the snow-house upon his lips. On a sudden a tremendous surf broke close to the house, discharging a quantity of water into it ; a second soon followed, and carried away the slab of snow placed as a door before the entrance. The missionaries having roused the sleeping Esquimaux, they instantly set to work' One of them with a knife cut a passage thl'ough the side of the house, and each seizing some part of the baggie, threw it out on a higher pa^t of the beach ; brother Turner assisting them. Brothet Liebisch and the woman and child fled to a neighbouring eminence. The latter were wrapped up by the Esquimaux in alai'ge skin, and the former took shelter behind a rock, for it was impossible to stand against the windj snow and sleet. Scarcely had the company retreated, when an enormous wave carried away the whole house. Thejy now found themselves a second time delivered from the most imminent danger of death ^ but the remain- ing part of the night, before the Esquimaux could seek and find another and safer place for a snow-house, were hours of great distress, and very pajnful reflections. Before the day dawned, the Esquimaux cut a hole in a large drift of snow, to serve as a shelter to the woman and child and the two missionaries. Brother Liebisch, however^ owing to the pain in his throat; could not bear the closeness of the air, and was obliged to sit d6wn at the entrance^ being covered with skins, to guard him against the cold. As soon as it was light, they built another snow-house, and miserable as such an accommodation must be,, they were glad and thankful to creep into it. The missionaries had taken but a small stock of provi- sions with thenl, merely sufiicient for the short journey to Okkak. 3oe\, his wife and child, and Kassigiak the sorcerer had nothing. They were obliged therefore, to divide the small stock into daily portions, especially as there appeared no hopes' of soon quitting this place and reaching any dwellings. Only two ways were left fot this purpose, either to attempt the land passage across G 2 84 Mission in Labrador. the wild and unfrequented mountain of Kiglapeit, ' or wait for a new ice-track over tiie sea, which it niight require much time to form. They therefore feeolved, to serve out no more than a biscuit and a half per day to each. The miBsionaries remained in the snow-house,' and every day endeavoured to boil so much water over their lamps, as might supply them with two cups of cofiFee a piece. Through mercy they were preserved in good health, arid quite unexpectedlyi brother Liebisch recovered on the first day of his sore throat. The Esquimaux also kept up their spirits, and even Kassigiak, though a wild heatheta, declared, that it was proper to be thankful thsrt; they were still alive j adding, that if they had remained a little lon- ger on the ice yesterday, all their bones would have been broken in a short time. Towards noon of the 13th. the weather cleared up, and the sea was seen as far as the eye could reach, quite clear and fre6 from ice. Mark and Joel went up the hill to reconnoitre, and returned with the disagreeable new^s, that not a single piece of ice was to be seen in any direc- tion, and that it had been forced away even froni the coast at Nuasornak. They were therefore of opinion, that they corild do nothing but force their way across the mountain of Kiglapfeit. Towards evening some flakes of ice were observed driv- ing towards the coast, and on the 1 4th, in the morning, the sea was covered with them. But the weather being very stormy, the Esquimaux could not quit the snow- house, which mad6 them very low-spirited and melan- choly. Kassigiak suggested, that it would be well to at- tempt to make good weather, by which he meant to prat?- tisehisart, as a sorcerer. This the missionaries opposed, telling him that his heatheriifeh -practices were of 'no lise, but that the weather would become favourable as soon as' it should please God. The weather confiinuing extremely boisterous, the Esquimaux were ready to sink under their disappointment. They, however, possess one advantage, namely, the power of going to sleep when they please, and, if need be, they will sleep foT days and riights to- gether.. Mission in Labrador. 85 In the evening of the 1 Sth the slsy became clear, and their hopes revived. Mark and Joel went out to recon- ^ noitre, and, reported that the ice had acquired a consider- able degree pf solidity, and might soon afford a safe pas- sage. The poor dogs had now nearly fasted four days, but in the prospect of a speedy release, the missionaries allowed to each a few morsels of food. The temperature of the air having b^jen rather mild, it occasioned a new source of distress, for by the warm exhalations of the inhabitants, the roof of the snow-house began to melt, which occasioned- a continual dropping, and by degrees made every thing soaking wet. The missionaries consi- dered this the greatest hardship they had to endure, for they had not a dry thread about them, iior a di-y place to lie in. On the 1 6th early the sky cleared, but the fine particles 'of snow were driven about like clouds. Joel and Kassi- giak resolved to pursue their journey to Okkak, by the way of Nuasornak, and set out with the wind and snow full in their faces. Mark could not resolve to proceed further north, because in his opinion the violence of the wind must have driven the ice off the coast at Tikkerarsuk, so as to render it impossibleto land ; but thought he might find a track to the south, and get round Kiglapeit. The missionaries endeavoured to persuade him to follow the aJjove-mentioned company to Okkak, but it was in vain j and they uid not feel at liberty to insist upon it, not being sufficiently acquainted with the circumstances. Their pre- sent distress dictated the necessity of venturing something to reach, the habitations of men, and yet they were rather afraid of passing over the newly frozen sea, under Kig- lapeit, and could not determine what to do. Brother Turner went again with Mark to examine the ice, and both seemed satisfied that it had acquired suffi- cient strength. They therefore came to a final resolution to return to Nain, committing themselves to the protec- tion of the Lord. Notwithstanding the wind had considerably increased accompanied with heavy showers of snow and sleet, they ventured to set off at half-past ten o'clock in the forenoon 86 Mission in Labrador, of the 19th. Mark ran all the way round Kiglapeit before the sledge to find a, good track, and about one o'clock, through God's mercy, they were out of danger, and reached the Bay. Here they found a good track upon smooth ice, and made a meal upon the remnant of their provisions. Thus refreshed, they resolved to proceed without stopping till they reached Nain, where they arrived at twelve o'clock at night. It may easily bo conceived with what gratitude to Gpd the whole family at Nain bade them welcome. During the storm, they had considered with some dread, what might be the fate of their brethren, . though its violence was not felt as much there as on a coast unprotected by any islands. Added to this, the hints of the Esquimaux had considerably increased their apprehensions for their safe- ty, and their fears began to get the better of their hopes. All, therefore, joined most fervently in praise and thanks- giving to God, fqr this signal deliverance. The ensuing summer the brethren began a third mis- sionary estabhshment on the coast to the south of Nain, which they called HopedalE. For this purpose they pur- chased from the Esquimaux, that tract of lahd, which had been formerly reconnoitred and deemed peculiarly eligi- ble for a settlement *. They were encouraged to this ex- tension of their labours, in consequence of the eagem^ then manifested by the heathen in that vicinity to hear the gospel, and in the fond hope, that by this means a commu- nication might be opened between them and the so-cal- led Red-Indians, who-live in the interior, and now and then approach the coast in small parties. This latter object, however, has hitherto remained unattainable. And even with respect to the Esquimaux theraselve?, our mis- sionaries had for several years to deplore their rejection of the gospel, so that in 1790 it" even appeared as if they had entirely withdrawn from these parts. This unpromis- ing state of things.led both the missionaries and the socie- ty, (in London) for the furtherance .of the gospel among the heathen, to consider the expediency of relinquishing this * See page 79. Mission in Labraaor. 87 settlement altogether. The Lord, however, directed other- wise ; and in the sequel Hopedxle was the very place, where the new awakening aihong the Esquimaux commenc- ed, and from thence spread to the other two settlements. In 1790 many horrid murders were committed in the North. The natives fell upon each other in their tents by night, and numbers were massacred in the most barbarous manner. Amidsit the alarm, which this event spread through the country, our missionaries were not a little encouraged by the remarks made by the Esquimaux, who resided on their land. They expressed their gratitude, that the brethren had settled in the country, adding: "As many murders would certainly have been committed here if you had not come and brought us the good news of our Creator and Redeemer, of his love to ns, and our duty to love him and our neighbour." About six years after, our brethren had a very trying period. An epidemical disease broke out among the na- tives, snd raged through the whole country for some months. All the settlements were visited by it, and it attacked not only the Esquimaux, but also the Europeans; in their case, hwwever,- its violence was considerably miti- gated. They were obligfed for several weeks almost total- ly to suspend their usual meetings for divine service as the Esquimaux could not leave their dwellings. It proved a source of great grief to them, to find that some of -their people, when the mediteine administered did not immediately pi-oduce the desired effect, had recourse to their old heathenish and superstitious practices for reco^ very. With few exceptions, hdweve^, they afterwards confessed their sinful deviations, and with every mark of true penitehcy, begged to be reconciled to the congrega- tion. In our settlements the disorder was hot generally fatal, only three or four dying in consequaice of it ; but among the heathen its violence was greater and the deaths more frequent. Notwithstanding their excessive dread of death, the gospel as yet found no entrance among them* They indeed acknowledged the necessity of conversion if they would have any solid hope of happiness beyond the ^rave ; but the impression was soon effaced, and they seldom came near the missionaries. 88 Mission in Labrador. During this period the Esquimaux, William Tuglavina, and his wife Mikak died at Nain, the latter in 1794 and the former in 1799. They had been noted characters, both among their couritrymen, and' at the mission. .. Mi- kak, who during her visit in London, was instrumental in promoting the establishment of the mission*, continued to render essential services to the missionaries on their arrival in Labrador in 1771, and for some time was an attentive hearer of the gospel. Expressing an apparently sincere desire to obtain true conversion of heart; she was admitted to the class of candidates for baptism. But re- moving soon after to the South, she lost her good impres- sions, relapsed into heathenism and seldom came near our brethren. The last ten days of her life she spent in , Nain, where she was faithfully attended by one of the mission- aries. Her declaration and conduct were such as to en- courage the hope, that she had found mercy with God our Saviour f . Of her husband the missionaries give the following account : " Tuglavina, now called William, was, from the beginning well acquainted with the missionaries. He was a man of great note among the Esquimaux, and acquired extraordinary influence and power,, not only by his activi- ty, dexterity and success in hunting, his courage, bodily strength and hardiness, which are considered the most essential qualifications of a great man among the In- dians ; but also by a remarkable strength of mind, and quickness of understanding, far superior to that of most of his countrymen. He took advantage of their credulity, and general mental inferiority, to gain ^n astonishing ascendency over them ; and his word was absolute, la^. As a sorcerer, he was believed to have extraordinary powers given him "by the Torngak, or familiar spirit, whom he pretended to consult pn all occasions ; and so little did the poor deluded ^^Vag^s mistrust his inspira- tion§, that it h^s often happened* that if he declared on the word of his Torngak, that such an one ought not to live, the wretched object of his vengeance was instantly murdered by the company. Thus he not only became * Seep. 72. - t I""- Aec. Vol.ii.p. 170," Mission in Labrador. 89 guilty of the murder of several persons by his own hands ; 'l>u|: of many more, through his influence and insinuations. Our missionaries would have fallen an ea§y prey to his murderous disposition, had God permitted him to disap- prove of their settling in the country, But, though, a tyrant among his own nation, and in various ways a great disturber of the peace of the mission, and seducer of ma- ny converts, he always respected and even loved the mis- sionaries. He would submit, and even tremble in their presence, whenever reproved for his bad conduct ; always confessing, that he ought to be converted, and to forsake the ways of sin* As an instance of his submission to the missionaries, brother Haven mentions in one of his- reports, that when Tuglavina, at the head of a party of Esquimaux, returned the.first time from Chateau Bay, having furnished himself with a sloop of two masts, European arms, and many other accoutrements; he stepped unexpectedly into the Mission- House, and into brother Haven's room, dressed in. an old officer's uniform, with a bob-wig and a huge laced hat, a sword to his side, and altogether in the habit of a European officer, uttering several threats, and boast- ing of his valiant: deeds in the South* Brother Haven looking sternly at him, exclaimed, " What, are you Tuglavina ! depart this minute ; I have nothing to say to you in this dress ; put on your old Esquimaux furs, and then return ; behave like a sober Esquimaux, and I'll answer your speech." Tuglavina instantly left the room, as if thunderstruck ; and without reflecting on the degrad- ing appearance he must make before his countrymen, in putting off his boasted ornaments, returned to the mis- sionaries, dressed in the plain Esquimaux fashion ; who then most earnestly reproved him for the wicked practices and murders of which he had been guilty, and for inveig- ling so many of the baptized to follow him to the South, where he had seduced them into all manner of heathenish abominations. During this address, Tuglavina grew pale, trembled • exceedingly, confessed himself an abominable sinner ; but said that he mmi sin, for the devil forced him to it, and he could not help himself. This gave the mis- sionary a desirable. opportunity of preaching Jesus unto 90 Mission in Labrador. him, as the only Saviour. Such opportunities became more frequent in the foUowifig years ; and he often shed tears when confessing his wicked deeds, which he nevet denied, accofding to the general practice of the Esqui- maux. In the sequel he became more attentive to the gospel, did every thing iii his power to serve the mission- aries, and though often hurried into the commission of sin, and -by his great reputation among his countrymen, beguiled into conceit, and prevented from humbling him- self under the mighty hand of God, yet it was apparent that the Lord followed him, to make him a monument of infinite mercy. At length he gave such proofs of his sin- cerity and firm resolution to turn with his whole heart unto the Lord, and forsake the ways and even the conver- sation of the heathen ; that our brethren could not but consider this 'sm-ner, though so heavily laden with the ?nost enormous crimes, as an object of God's mercy and pardon, and a candidate for eternal life: and after the usual time of trial, as an inhairbifant of the settlement, and many serious conversations, and previous instruction, he was received into the fellowship of the believers, on Christmas day 1793 ; renouncing the devil and all his works, and promising,- with heart and hand, to devote himself unto that God, who made and bought him with his precious blood. He had been baptized in Chateau Bay by a Presbyterian minister, during a dafigerous ill- ness *. " After his adtoission to the Lord's Supper, his con- duct and expressions of gratitude for all the mercies be- stowed upon him, proved very pleasing and encouraging to the missionaries. He evinced a cordial interest in the conversion of his countrymen, and frequently addressed them on the concerns of their souls with such earnestness as no Esquimaux had ever done before. The following year,'however, he relapsed, and his conduct was so grossly offensive, that it became necessary to exclude him from the Lord's table for some time, till he shewed, not only by his words but by his whole behaviour, that he sincerely repented of his deviation. In his last illness, he declared. Per. Acct Vol, i. p.. 254. Mission in Labrador. 9i « that he was Yeady to go to Jesus, and hoped that the Sariotar would not reject him.' He repeatedly testified, • that he was 'hbppy and put his trust alone in God our Saviour.' As his bodily pain increased, he frequently call- ed on the Lord to release him and take him to himsel£ He was abput sixty years of age when he died *," Towards the close of 1 800 an event occurred at Hope- dale of the most melancholy nature. The missionary J. W. Reiman, having gone out on the 2nd of Decembet to procure some fresh provisions by shooting, returned no more, and as no one was with hitii, his brethren could only conjecture, that he mijst have lost his life by the ice breaking under him. This conjecture received additional probability from the account given by four Esquimaux, who, when he did not return in the evening, went in seai-ch of him, and continued the search the whole night. They reported that by the light of the moon, they could discern the marks of his feet in several places, but lost them again when they came to the ice. As soon as it was light the next morning, the missionai-ies, accompanied by all the Esqiiimaiix, set off to make a general search, and were favoured "With the continuance of fine weather ; but their search was as fruitless as that of the preceding night. They keenly felt their loss of him ; nor could any thing assuage their grief but the divine consolations they expe- rienced. In the diary of Hopedale, of 1803, a pleasing instance is related of the mild and forgiving spirit of the gospel. In a conversation which took' place among some of the converts, in the presence of a missionary, many disputes were amicably settled, and quarrels prevented. They showed a readiness to confess their grievances and faults to each other, and a sincere disposition mutually to forgive and forget them, and begin anew in the spirit of brotherly love, to bear with each other. " This circumstance was the more striking," say the missionaries, " as the custom of the Esquimaux is, to suppress their displeasure, and even to feign indifference on receiving injuries, but to watch an op- Per. Acct. Vol. ii-. p, 436. 92 Mission, in Lcjilirfldor. portunity for revenge, which bre?iks put in the most dia- bolical and murderous retaliation, perhaps ten or twelve years after the offence has been given, if no earlier oppor-- tunity presents itself. The following hor.rible incident forms a melancholy con- trast to the benign influence of religion just related. Jn- telligence was brought to our missionaries at Okkae, in January 1 806, from Kivalek, that the old sorcerer, Uiv.e- runna,, had spent the winter there, he, and his. family be- ing the only residents. Here his wife died ; upon which the old monster seized a poor orphan-child, whon^he had formerly adopted. Having murdered it, he cut it across all the joints of the fingers and toes, ripped open the belly and threw the body naked into the sea. " Though we are not acquainted with his motives for so atrocious an act," w];ite our missionaries^' " yet we ,know, that it belongs to ihat system of diabolical incantations, by which he eSt- pects to. appease the devil, by whom he pretends to do great wonders, but who- now, according to his. notions, required a greater sacrifice thap usual, as he had not .saved the life of his wife." He did not long escape the punishment he so amply deserved. Having of late endea- voured to render. himself formidable among the heathen, by making them believe he had power to kill whomsoever he pleased, as he never failed, when any died, to have it reported, that he had sent them out of the world by his torngak, or familiar spirit ; and being also known as an old murderer, many had resolved to kill him as soon as a fit opportunity should offer. Among other lies he- sometime ago pretended, that. by his sorceries he had killed Kuga- lek's two wives, who died on one day. Ever since Kuga- lek sought for revenge ; and being joined by another man, they succeeded in despatching the old sorcerer, shortly af- ter he had murdered the infant as above stated *. Hitherto the conversion of -the heathen in I^abrador had not only proceeded very slowly, but been attended with many discouraging circumstances, Our missionaries had patiently persevered in preaching to the na,tives, and * Per, Acct. Vol. iv. p- 258. Mission in Labrador. 9S watching every opportunity to make them attentive to the best interests of their souls ; but had reaped little fruit from their labours. Visits were frequent, and 'there was in general no want of hearers to addtess, but they showed no disposition to be instrudted. If even a salutary impres- sion was occasionally made on their minds, it was not abiding. Sortie families were indeed collected in the dif- ferenl' settlements, but after staying there during the win- ter, they mostly movied away again in summer, and appa- rently forgot att they had heto'd. A few had been bap- tized and admitted to the Lord's table, yet even these caused the mssionaries more grief than pleasure. They had rio power to resist the temptations, placed in their way, when associating with the heathen dui'ing their sum- mer excursions. This often obliged the missionaries to exclude them from fellowship with the believer?. In case of sickness, they were but too ready to have recourse to the superstitious tricks of sorcerers. Even those who re- frained from superstitious practices, and were moral in their general deportment, had no true life of God in their souls. They might in some degree observe the form of godliness, but were destitute of its power. One principal impediment to the progress of the mission was the practice of the Esquimaux, especially 'those at HoPEDALE,' to go to the south, to purchase fire-arms and other articles from the Europeans. Here they asso- ciated with the heathen and soon relapsed into their for- mer impious practices; However, as a scarcity began to prevail in that' quarter, in consequence of which many perished of hunger, a stop was at l«ngth pUt to these rovings'. Such Was the'^tate of the mission at the beginning of ISO* ; but before the close of that year a nfew period com- menced. A fire from the Lord was kindled among the Esquimaux, accompanied with the clearest evidence of being the effect of the operations of the divine Spirit on their hearts. It commenced at Hopedalk, the very place which, asliefore mentioned, presented'the most discourag- ' ing prospect. 941 Mission in Ldiradot'. When the Esquimaux of that place returijted from threir summer exeursioos, our missionaries were delighted to find, that they not only hg,d been preserved from syiful practices, but had greatly increased in the knowledge of divine truth. They had obtained an huBOiWing insight into tl)e corruption and deCeitfulness of their hearts, and the wretched state of a person void of fajth in Christ. This constrained them to cry for mercy and gladly to accept salvation on the terms of the gospe).: and some afforded encouraging hopes, that they had found forgiveness of sins in the blood of Christ, by which their souls were fil- led with peace in believing. Out of the abundance of the heart their mouths spake of the love apd power of Je- sus. Their artless, hut energetic, declaratious impressed the rest of the inhabitants. They began to feel the neces- sity of true conversion ; and iji a short time all the adults appeared earnestly to seek peace with God. Even several of the children were awakened. Our missionaries were daily visited by people, who either inquired, " what they must do to be saved," or testified of the grace of Qod ma- nifested to their souls. The work of conversion thus begiin at Hopedale, soon spread to JJain ; and was promoted by a rather* singular occurrence. Two young men, Siksigak and Kapifc, whpse parents were members of this congregation, went to Hope- dale, where the mother-in-law of the former resided. His intention was to (jonvey hiyere doing. The whole company earnestly entreatedhim, not to part from his wife, but pray for true conversion of heart. To these entreaties the missionaries added their exhorta- tions ; but all to no purpose ; he persisted in hjs detjeruii- nation. Hi$ relations, finding that advice audi persuasions^ had no effect, resorted to prayer. The following day they all assembled in his^ mother's honse^ and, in his presence, Mission in LabradoTi 95 |oined in, fervent supplications for his conversion. His mother, among the rest, uttered this petition ; " O Lord Jesus ! behold this my child ; I now give him up to Thee ; O, accept him? and suffer him not to be lost for ever !" A scene, so unprecedented and unejcpected, had an in- stantaneous effect on the young, man ; he evidenced a real concern for his salvation, and his whole heart appeared changed : he desisted from his wicked purpose, teoJt back J;^is wife, and became an humble inquirer after divine tryth ; to whom the I^ord afterwards showed great mercy. His companion, Kapik, also was powerfully awakened, by the instrumentality of his relations. On their return to Nain, these two men with ener- gy and boldness preached Jesus to their countrymen.- Some of their friends heard them with astonishment, others mocked and hated them ; but the impression made on the inhabitants of the settlement was pleasing and permarieiit. " We saw several of our people," say the missionaries, " by degrees yielding to conviction, and be- ginning to doubt, whether their chrisitianity were of the right kindj ^nd whether they had not been deceiving them- sdb'es and others. They came voluntarily and confesed their sins, some with many tears, and in a manner of which we had had no instances before. The more se- riously they reflected on their former life, the more deeply were they cpnvineed of the treachery of their hearts j they wept on account of the deceit they had so often practised, and confessed to hs things, of which we could have formed no CQMc^ption. Though we could not but feel pain on ac- count of their former hypocrisy, our grief was, counter- balanced by the joy we felt at the amazing power of our Savip^ii^s grace, by which their hearts were thus broken ^nd soft^ened. Our faith, which in some cases, was indeed very weak, revived, ^nd we saw clearly that with God ©oUang is impossible." The news of these pleasing events at HopedaIiE and N>ni SQQU spread to Okkak, accompanied with similar effects. The work of conviction and conversion here was greatly promoted by visits of christian Esquimaux from J^AiN. These visiters showed such an ardent desire to 96 Mission in Labrador; describe to their countrymen the love and mercy of God, which they had so savingly experienced themselves, that they went from tent to tent, testifying of the love of Jesus' to sinners in so impressive and affecting a manner, that their hearers could resist no longer, but came to the mis-' sionaries and confessed the dangerous state of their souls, earnestly inquiring what they must do to be saved. Even the heathen visiters from the north, who passed- through the settlement, were struck. They frequently calfed on the missionaries, and of their own accord came to the chapel and listened to the gospel with silence and much apparent devotion. They expressed their regret that they lived at, such a great distance, and could ndt conveniently remove from their native country, fcut said, if the mis- sionaries could come to them, they would gladly receive instruction. Many of the heathen also, living in the» neighbourhood of our brethren, were so astonished at the occurrences among their believing countrymen, that they resolved to move to one or other of the settlements. The progress of the mission in the sequel supplies sufS- cient proof, that the effect of the gospel just related, was not a wild fire, or the mere consequence of a momentary impression, bub a divine work, wrought in the -hearts, of the natives by the Spirit of God himself. The missiona- ries frequently mention the attention and diligence shown in the schools, both by adults and children, and the-#e» light and fervour, with which they engage in their family devotions and in conversations with each other respecting- the influence of the gospel on their own souls. -Their be- haviour at public worship likewise very strikingly differed from that of former years, with regard to the eagerness with which they now attended the house of God, and their deportment during the performance of divine service. ■. On one -occasion the missionaries remark, *' We no longer see bold, undaunted heathen sitting before us, with defiance , or ridicule in their looks; but'people expecting a blessing, desirous to experience the power of the word of life, shed- ding tears of repentance, and their whole appearance evinc- ing devotion and earnest inquiry," Whenever any heathen Esquimax obtained permission to live on the land belonging to ouy brethren, their chris- Mission in Labrhdoi-':- 97 ■ ttari' countrymen manifested the purest joy. The follow- ing occurrence, related in the report from Hopedale of 1805, will serve to confirm this assertion. " As soon as it was known, that some heathen had obtained leave to stay, there arose among our Esquimaux such a spirit of joy and gladness, that it was truly affecting to witness it. Since their arrival here,' our people had not failed to speak of the mercy the Lord had shewn in their own conversion, and to preach Jesus to them as the only Saviour, who alone could make them happy both h^re and hereafter; and now, on perceiving that they wer6 to be inhabitant? of the plaeef they hardly knew how to contain themselves for i joy. Young and old ran to help them with their baggage, and to settle their little affairs. It happened also, that in the morning early, a party of heathen Esquimaux, who had declared that they would not live with the believers, on departing^ had left a man with his wife and child be- hind', who refused to follow the heathen any longer, and. begged to be permitted to lire here. He had pitched his - tent at some distance, but our people, filled with love and ardour to serve all those who wished to be converted, went ilnmediatelyj took it down, and set it up in the midst of their own dwellings. The new comers were quite humbled and amazed by such proofs of love and attention on the- part of their christian countrymen, and declared,, that for the first lime in their lives they had found people,^ who loved them with disinterested sincerity *." A proof, no less striking, of the transforming influence of the gospel appeared in the readiness of the believing Esquimaux to abandon those superstitious habits and practices^ to which they are apt to cling to the very last. A woman, who had been called Magdalene at her bap- tism, resisted many temptations,' put' in her w'ay by her husband. Having jjbrmerly been very ailing,' the hea- then used to give her a variety of charms and amulets which she wore about her clothes, whenever she went to sea. In %he summer of 1806, being ready to set out on a voyage with her husband, she threw them into the wateti saying to the whole company: " iSfow we will see, whe- • Per. AccL Vol. iv. p . 1 1 S. H 9^8 Misiim: inIialwe^Y'. ther there is a Jesus» wbo can save aod preserve us in heahh without this tf umpery." She enjoyed remarkably good health during the whoie voyage ; which greatly coa- firmed her piievious convictions of the siiifiilH£s& of hev past life, and her cesolution to devote herself entirely to the Lord. Noc was this a solitary instance j the cases were now hecoiniag less frequent every yeari, is wiiich Oior. missioiHiries found themsdiYes. compelled ta exclude any uf the converts front churchTfellow^bip, in canseqi^eoice.of having been seduced to heathen SinpeiisAitioiiis duniiigi their, summer residence at a distance from the settlement a cir- cumstance which in i^e early » period of the missum caused them so much sorrow and perplexiity. In 1 8:1 1 the setdements. at HofisdaI'I: su&red considerai- hle diminution. ' A very unusual ^s^rder bitoke out among the natives, of which cmr missionaisies give the foMomng account : " Qur Esquimaux had been ias a long time: preserved from any partLculiar iUnesBes^ except beiiig ^ils^pt to a kind of eruption and boils, whidi however^ though ^n£ul and unpleasant, were ratbeo beneficial to their general health. But on the 24;th of •bily'^ as a boat filled with our people was leaving Tikkerarsuk^ one of theiir pc(»i ' vkioD'-places, ta return to Hoii«£nAi.E, several of tkeii% one after the ol^er, were seized with a nervous aiul para- lytic diaoirder of a most daDgeEOU8>.and deadly naturei, in-i- somuch that, during jJie. next eight days, thirteen of them departed this life, of whom seven were communicants. Three of them were fishing in perfect health in the n^om- ing, and in the evening lay^as corpses in f^he boat. Above thirty were taken ill, ^nd some biaught nigh unto deaj^h, but now, thank God, the greater number have reco^ v^ed, though a &w are still very weak. As late as the 12th of September^ we buried an old comniunicant, calilcd Luke. Terror and idisiaay seized the people, -b«iit we confidently believe, that those who departed this^ life m^ now in the presence of Hint) whom they had known here as their Saviour, and to whose hotywiU they (Expressed' full lesignation at the approach of death. ♦' By this afHicting dispensation we have now got a con- siderable number of widows and orphans, depending en- Missiom, in LahradoTi 90 tirely wpeii charity, and we cannot withhold from them otseasional asBistance. We often coflnmend them in prayer to the Father of the fatherless, who will in mercy regard their wants *<" Otir miesionaries had not Ibeeti long settled in Ldbsa-- dop, before they discovered that the coast was very thinly inhabited- They consequently eonceifed that the aim of the mission would be better attainedj if access could be had to- the main body of the nation, from which the rov- ing Es^imaux on the coast appear to be mere stragglers. In this opinion they were confirmed by those heathen who annually visited iSne settlements, and whoi reported that thebo nourable to the character of a convert to Christianity. Besides the missionaries and the. captain, our travellers were joined by the family of the latter and three other Esquimaux families from Hopedale, and a £fth from Okkak, who attended the shallop in a skin-boat. The whole company, therefore, consisted of nineteen persons, among whom were several young ehildren.v They all met, at Okkak, and waited there tiU the bay was cleared of ice. Having freighted the v^sel with thejiecessary things for the voyage, and prepared her for the accommodation of the travellers, they met the congregation of Okkak in the chapel, on the evening of the 23rd of June 1811, and were commended to the gi;ace and protection of God. Mission in Labrador. 101 At two o'clock the following afternoon they weighed anchor, and proceeded for several days without any re- markable occurrence. At night they generally approached the shore and cast anchorj as there was still much drift- ice, which it required constant vigilance to avoid. They frequently met with companies of Esquimaux from Okkak and other places, who had, their summer'-station along the coast. With these the missionaries kept meetings for worship, whenever circumstances permitted, especially on Sundays. Proceeding in a northerly direction, our travellers found their passage completely occupied with floating ice, driv- ing towards them and forcing them to return. This brought them into great distress, so that the captain him- self repeatedly exclaimed in a plaintive tone : " Alas, alas, we shall soah be without boat !" With the utmost diffi- culty they sailed along the shore, some being obliged to land and haul the boat with ropes round the points, and others with hook^ and spars to keep her off the rocks. Two or three times she stuck fast on sunken rocks, but by God's mercy was got off again without being damaged. At length they got into NuUatartok bay, in the S9th de- gree of North latitude, surrounded by high mountains, and so shallow at the upper end, that no large ice-fields can float in it. Here they pitched their tents and were detained twelve days ; during which time they explored the country as far as they were able. They found the mountains covered with moss, alder, birch and various shrubs and plants, and the vallies green and full of flow- ers. They discovered three rivers abounding in salmon ; and the rocks were slaty, easily splitting into plates of from four to eight feet square. The sea being at length cleared of icej they left this station on July the 15th, and steered tovtaxdisNachvak bay, the magnificent mountains of which aflbrded them a most enchanting prospect, especially at sun-rise. A par- ty of heathen Esquimaux, about fi^ in number, had fixed their suriimer residence on this bay. As soon as our tra- vellers approached, loud shouts of joy resounded from all quarters and muskets were fired in every direction. They 102 MimdH ^ £,iabmibs^. Itad scarce {rafnence to wait ibr their Uoiding, and Aere all eager to assist tiieni in pitching their tfeBtB. Thek behaviour was modest and rather hashful, and ow travel^ l#rs hftd no reason to Complain either of feeggars or swa- pof tunate intruders ; nor were atiy thefts committed. They rested hei-e two ddysj and did not heglect tp ae* quaint the be&then with the design of their voyage, and to preach the gosqpel to tbeisik They were evidlently 'much imp^&ssedi and one of their t^tef men said: ^? I am dieter'- mined to be converted tp Jesus." The christian Esujaa* maux, in the travelling company, likewise were "very zea- lous in exhorting their E®u&tryiffl6Ii to ibeiieve in Jesjis, and on every occasion exhibit£4 t^^ character of true be- lievers. On the 25th of July they arrived at Qj^ermaoiki, lying between the 60th and 61st degree of north latitude, not far from Cape Ckudkigki Here they found Uttakiyok, with his tiyo wives and ycnuigest - ries received the firet distinct infefmation respecting the Ungava country and its infaabit^uits. ■Ha'Ving learned^ that it was the initentidn of our brethren to make a voyage to thaJt eoantr^ in the present' year, he had waited for their arrival in O^BperaartsfAwduriftg the whole spriijg, iand had breoted signals on allthe heigh tgciited ^eir admiration and gra- titude. After enduring mndi fear and difficulty on the istof August, from 'large-^hoals of ice surrounding them on all $ides» they VaMy passed the whirlpade -and eddies m tke Jffisjwn in LcAynditf. 103 straite, and doub)(ed cape €MwdMgk without tafeeting witli 4tty disaster, except that the skin-boat, 'which they had in tow, with an Esquiriiaux in her, was seiiied by the voitex and received a rapid twist j but a« the toNving-rope did not break, she was immediately rescued from danger by the swiftness of thdr course. Having thus (Hrt«red the oceall on the western side of Cape Chudleigh, they found themselves as it were, trans- ported into a new wdrWi The coast, which had hitherto taken a northerly vith the day and year of their arriyal. Qur trayellfers, aftep leaving this place, had proceeded but a short i^ay, ^yhen they were qbliged to cast anchor in an exposed situation, where they were detained several days by contrary winds ; and when the wind became more favourable, it blew so hard a gale, that they were in immi- nent danger of suffering shipwreck. Their situation now became critical and rather alarming. The season was far advanced, and the Esquimaux expressed their fears, that if they proceeded much farther, they might not find it practicable to return to Okkak before winter, whic^ must be attended with most distressing consequences. These circumstances threw the missionaries into a very perplexing dilemma. They were only seventy or eighty miles distant from the western extremity of the Ungava country, which they had fixed upon as the final object of their voyage, and yet difficulties now presented them- selves, wjiiph segmed to render it nearly iinpossible to reach this point. In this perplexity they retired to their Qwn tent, and having maturely \yeighed all circumstances, entreated, the Lord's direction in fervent prayer. They rose from their knees with a firm conviction in their minds, that t^ey, ought , to proceed in His napp, relying pn his help. And when they mentioned their deteripipation to the Esquimaux, they found them c]ieerfully disposed to prosecute the voyage. Two days after |;he wipd yperfed to the north-east, and became favourable, so that after a sail of six days, they airrived at the mouth of the river Kochaak (Sand-river,) the very place they wished to reach. Here they remained from August the 25th to the 1 st of September, exploring the circumjacent country, and entering into conversation SEssion irt Labmjior. lOS with the inhabitants respecting the object of this expedi- tion. 7he diuei^QGe betwrc/en these .E?quinjaux and their countrymen living in the vicinity of our settlements was very straking. The former are very poor and miserabjy equipped, wrheFeag the latter, by , their, intercourse with our brethren and other; Europeans, haye acquired many conveniencies, and even comparative affluence. As many of these .people had never before seen a European, they appeared rather shy, but after receiving a few trifling presents, they became more free and communicative,, sur- veying the missionaries from head to foot as if they were a new. species pf animals. They listened with attention to their discourses, repeatedly expressing their wish, that they would come and settle in the country, that they niight hear mpre of the gospel and; be concerted. TThe estuary of the Koksoak, lies in 58°, S6' N. latitude, at the distance of six or seven hundred miles from Okkak, and is about as broad as the Thames at Gravesend. They gave it , the name .of South-river. Having proceeded fur- ther-up this river, in the skin-boat, they arrived at a bay, surrounded on all sides by gently rising ground, well wooded with trees of moderate size; which they called Unity's hay. They cqpsidered this a. very convenient place for & missionary settlement. A fine slope extends for about half an English mile, bounded on each extre- Hiity by a hill, on which they erected high signals. The land js jpyel and dry, well watered by several rivulets issu- ing from tlie wood, in which they found various European plants an4 flowers, and besides grass and trees in abun- dance, different kinds of shrubs, such as junipers, cur- rants, &c. V Our travellers now deemed it unnecessary to prosecute their voyage any further, as from all the intelligence they could gain from the natives, they were satisfied, that be- sides the. places already .mentioned, no other could be found suitable for a missionary establishment. Further west no vrood grows along the coast, and there is no place where a ship could with safety approach the land, except the two rivers namied before; and at this season oFthe year they would probably meet with no inhabitants, as they IM Miisim in L&B*ia£^. weffe «ll gdrtft krtO tlie iiifttititt* to httttt ♦^liafeeSfi - ^ti oi^t lof ibdr teitftedftiOil h^Ag b6e» thus f3^'^tai!l^; thQr ^pai-eia for tbeir *mitrt. Tht^ pfes^ttfed' thteif ft,»M>pil6tj Uttakijdkj •li?ith: tfeeit 'sMtl-'boa^ with ^rhitih he iitas kSgfefy gtatffied. iSeptfeittbei' 'th« 2ftd th^y ««Mh- toWieted tfceir Voyagfr h6toi&, fend^Mfhottt tteetteg' "t^fth atty retnavkaVledftca^Jieftcfr, ftfriiwed ift Safety St ©Kit Alt '6n tlte l*bfaf O&Mfeet, after «n i«bS6ft(5fe*0f fetiM^eii yefeks, MMiii^ perforftied -a Vog^ige tsf • fteifli • tw^e Xo tMrteieJn IrtiM^fei* miles*. " Dumg the foUa»#l*^ f^tk^na'ifefy i-ewatkabte e^mts octeurred iD the thr*e"S«tten4eiit^'at Hdt-EDALEi ^AlN'aVi^ OkRak. The misswMi^^jiicrtreded /with a «!ow Inlit steady pace, and thou^ the acceis«ibn -df ne^ eoftverts was not great, yet our brethren had the pleasure to find, that these t^o came to reside with thens,' reriiaitied, with but few *xeepliotts, faithM to their ptoHiiise ott adttiissfdn, to fiaraake their pagan customs, a,»d iifiptwfle a!l th'e means of g«ice for true <;onVersion of heart. They Wefe cheered im thdr betoevol'ent exeflatm^'by dbstetViiig dearelvidfenees eS a divhre work in the chiMrfeii aftd ybuhg people, born and eduti^ted in the settlemehts. They ivefe ^imtiiated to increasiiig difigenCte at school by obtaining a new eptet' ling aitd reading^btoofe in the Esquimaux tefigflage. Tbfe pttjgrteSS irf bdth yotrtig and old in sCriptui^i khOwrlcdge was ffreatly protetoted by the trbtisl^tibii land pririting tsf the rl&ttndny of the four gospels, the Summary t)f chris- tian doctrine for the use of the ichiMi-eh, and the isnbse- quent version df each of the gospels separately fj and the^ devotibn of the tongregation was mtrch enlivened by the publication of a Hymn Book in their native tongti«. The early commencement atid extraordinary severity of * Ste, ^ns tetei-tstkig and detailed account of fhis espeSitioh iA A little work plubliAed li|r the Rev. C. i. IiatrabE, and entitled Journal of tz voyage from Ohkcik in Lahradiyr to Ujigava bay, ^c. ^c. f The four gospels were generously published at the expense of the feritish atifl Fo^'eign Blbts Society. The same escellent ^dtibly hkviilg UA^red to ■ptitit any otlier integral parts of the Bible, in the EbquiiRauk ibngnage, our nussionsries bave sent the AdtB of the Apostles to LbndanJ^r this purpose, and are diligently copied in translating and preparing for the press the remain- itig trooKs' of Bie wew Testament. - ' . •'• Missiem in L^imdsr, It)? the wifitwcf 1€1S, prevented the Esqitthfi«Bx ifrom ■^bi curing a. sufficient stock -ttf pi>s ; tilier^ wme, Im'iir'- ^veti preserve 'from absolute faOvin^, as the tnisgionuieji r^da-ed tb«a -all the assistance whidi Jl^eir own From UieiqtelilageBiee, biroi^alit % l^ship onrheir i%turn to, ^nginmM, the author i& able to lay. be&fite his readers the f^lliomngi concise aQcduBitt of occm^erices in ^is misstep dovin to the autumn of 1S17. The non-arrival of the sh^ at Hoi'Bmi.s, in the pye^ ^ ceding year had, as might be anticipated, caused much anSUSty to the missionaries in that pUaiee. Tkc^ had, hdw- ey^, Stuffered no want p£ proyi^ionsi as tiiey wiere sufii" cientjy supplied from the stores at Nain. TTie most distressing consequence of the eveot, Just alluded to, was the obstaele^ thereby, thrown in the wajf of our buFethren in Okkai^ to proceed during! the smm~ mer of 1817 to the Ungaira country, and spend the. fol- lowing winter there. But the unexpected reraoviil ©f the inls^pi»sries to Europe, 4a« mentioned hAve^) so reduced' the n>u4nber of those remaining in the country, that they were obliged, though very reluctantly, to relinquish that intentipn. This was the more to be regretted, as they had received previous ia£3Fma«tioii, that the inbaMiants of the< Ungavtt country were anxiously waiting for their arrivial.' But time, and seasons are in the hands of the Lord j •* He does all things well," and the duty of his serviants is, •'under every trial to be resigned to his will *« The peaceful and hopeful course of the djjristiain Esquif maax had been unhappily disturbed by some pagan visitenp from the south, who had inveigled eighteen of the inhaibi- tant&of Hoi-EDAUK, ajud fifty of Okkak to leave the sett^ loents, a»d remove with them to the residence of the Europeans, in the south. Discouraging as this was to, our brethren, they were animated in the pjosecutjon p| * £ei;.-4cet, \a\^-A, pi 2? 2. Mission IS tjobMdor. 1 1 1 their work, by observing, that the major part of their converts were progressively attaining more of the christian character, both in knowl^ge and: practice. A few general observations will very properly close this chapter. The mission in Labradox, iti maiiy. respects, bears a strong resemblance to that in Greenland. Most of the converts pass the winter in the settlements, dwel- ling- in winter houses ; but the greater part of summer they spendi in their provision-places on the islands, or atlaine the coast, catching seals, or in the interior hunting reincteef ; and when during this season they come, for a week or tW(^ to the settlements, they pitch their tents. During winter* the meetings for religious worship, not only, on Sundays, but every day in the week, and likewise thje schools^ both fov adults and children, are held in re- gular wrder. Our brethren have laid out gardeiits, wbich^ however, do not {traduce- much exoeptlettuce, ^innach and a few early turnips and cabbages. The country supplies tbemr with some g^me, such as hares^ wild geese, piittridges, &C. and the b»ys furnish plenty of fish; in some years they have- even caught above six thousand lavge salmon troutsat Nain, which toge^er with cod, are prepiared ibr winter's use. Biitj after all, their main sufesisteriee must dependottjhe provisions- annually sent from Europe. It is no won that he will make you happy, and deliver you from the. misery, in which you lie at present. For this end, he became a man, gave his life a ransom and shed his blood for sin- ners, &c.' When he had finished his discourse, he lay down, fatigued -with' his journey, and fell into a sound sleep. I thought : What kind of man is this ? There he lies and sleeps; I might kill him and throw him into the wood, and who would l-egard it .-' But this gives him no concern. However, I could not forget his words. They constantly recurred to my mind. Even when asleep I dreamt of the blood Christ shed for us. I found, this to be widely different from any thing I had heard before ; and I interpreted Rauch's words to the other Indiians. Thus, through the gi'ace of God,' an awaken-- ing commenced among us. 1 say, therefore, brethren, preach Christ oUr Savipur and his sufferitigs and death, if you would wjsh your words to gain entrance among the heathen *." , * Xoskiel, Part ii. p. 14, By comparing Ifcis relation with that of the Mission in If or th America i 129 Count Zinzendorf,. having come to America to inspect the various colonies and settlements of the brethren in that quarter of the world, also visited this infant mission. On this occasion Tschoop, Shabash and two other Indians were admitted to the church of Christ by baptism, as the first fruits of that nation. The Count also made several journeys into the interior, wherebj' a friendly intercourse was established with some other Indian tribes. In one place he met with a numerous embassy of Sachems, or beads of the Iroquois, to whom he declared the purport of his visit. After, about an hour's consultation, two of 'A the ambassadors returned the following answer to the Count: "Brother, you have made a long voyage over the seas to preach to the white people and the Indians. You did not know that we were here, and we knew no- thing of yoH. This proceeds from above. Coihe, there- fore to us, both you and your brethren j we bid you welcome, and take this fathom of wampom in confirma- tion of the truth of our-words." A kind of leagu* was thus made between the brethren and the Iroquois, which was at that time of great importance, as they might have considerably obstructed the labours of our missionaries, had> they been enemies, « Shekomeko now became a flourishing little town. More missionaries joined brother Ranch, endowed with the same patient fortitude and ardent zeal, tempered with prudence, for the conversion of the heathen. The young converts were filled with joy and gratitude for the grace conferred upon them, testifying with a warm, heart, . both to; white people and to Indians^ of the- love of God in Christ Jesus ; and their christian deportment evidenced the reality of their profession. The gospel not only found attentive hearers in the neighbouring villages, but, many savages came from a distance of twenty miles to hear the great word, as they- termed it, and were often so much affected during the sermon, that they wept all the time, and some even fell on their faces, and by other expressive attitudes signified, how deeply the wotds had penetrated and humbled their hearts. conversion of the first Greenlander, the nesemblance will be found truly striking. See. p. 27 & SI. K 130 Mission in North America. Meanwhile the other Indian nations were not wholly neglected by the brethren. Besides the endeavours of Count Zinzendorf and the persons in his company, our brethren at Bethlehem * frequently sent some of their number to preach in the Indian towns in their vicinity, M^hich were chiefly inhabited by Delawai'es. No imme- diate success attended these endeavours, except that the kind and affable behavioiar of the brethren prepossessed the savages in their favour, and thus paved the way for better thing^ at a future p«^riod. These journeys were fi-e- quently attended with miich fatigue and danger. On one occasion two of our brethren were obligedto pass through a forest, which had been set on fire, and 'to cross a large broofcj' wMch had overflowed its banks. But the God, whom they served, t delivered them, and in this case also verified his promise : " When 'thou p«ssestihroug& the wa- tersy I will he •with thee ; and throi^h the rivers, the^ shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire y thou shalt not be burned, ^neither- shall thej^me kindle upon thee" Isa. xllii. 2. In externals the missionaries had to endure many diffi- culties and trials. The enmity of many so called chris- tians against the work of God among the heathen had not wholly subsidddi They met with much opposition j and Satan was continually instigating his emissaries to harass atod distress Ihem, They lived and dressed in the Indi^i manner, so that in travelling they were often taken for Indians. As far as they, could, they maintained themselves by the labour tif' their hands, beinig only assisted by our brethren in Bethlehem, when their own resources proved insuffifeient. As most of the christian Indians, who visited at She- KOMEko, lived in Paghgatgoch in Connecticut, at a dis- ta,nee of about twenty miles, they requested the magis- trates to provide them with a preacher.- Their petition , ,*■ Sfeetjileheitt lies in Pennsylvania, and forms a regular settlement pf tiie brethren, such as Fairfield and Fulncck in England^ and Gracefaill in Ire- land, and was originally built by colonists from Germany, 'being members of theJbrefliren's church. To the minister, elders and wardens of this settlement, qalled, the Elder's Conference, the superintendeocy. of the Indian mission w^s committed. Mission in North America. 131 being rejected, they applied to the brethren in Bethle- hem, who sent brother Mack and his wife thither. They were received with great joy even by the heathen, who remarked that they must love them very much, to under- take so long a journey in wihter. Mack-likewise made a journey to Potatik, about seventy miles further into the country. • _In both places the Lord evidently blessed hia labomr. Many were awakened to a sense of their lost con- dition and their need of a Saviour ; and six Indians were baptized at the latter place. The congregation at Shekomeko continued to increase not only in number but also in grace and knowledge ; but hitherto our missionaries had been scrupulous of admitting any to the Lord's Snpper. Now, however, they thought it wrong to debar them any longer from this holy ordi- nance. Having therefore given their converts the needful instruction respecting its. institution and the blessings thereby conveyed; to true believers, they admitted ten of the christian Indians to partake with them of this sacred repast, in March 1743 ; and their number was augmented each succeeding month. In July, the same year, a new chapel was opened at Shekomeko. It was thirty feet long and twenty broad, and entirely covered with smooth bark. This enabled them better to regulate their meetings for worship. On Sundays and other festival occasions, Shekomeko seemed all alive, and it might be said with truth that the believers shewed forth the death of the Lord, both early and late. M^^ny heathen visited the place ; and once, when above a hundred were there the missionaries observed, that where- ver two or three were standing together, the love of God and the sufferings of Christ formed the subject of their conveirfetion ; and such was the zeal of the christian In- dians, that they often testified of Jesus to their country- men, till after midnight*. At the request of the inhabi- * Mr. Weiser, a justice of the peace in Pennsylvania, bears a pleasing tes- timony of the grace prevailing at Shekomeko, in a letter, written to one of the missionaries after he had' visited that place. He writes among the rest : "The faith of the Indians in Our Lord Jesus Christ, their simplicity and unaffected deportment, thfeit eiperience of the grace procvired for us by the sufferings of K2 132 Missiofi in North America. tants our missionaries drew up some roles for the regula- tion of their civil and social intercourse with each other ^t a'nd for the observance of good order in the settlement; and they had the pleasure of finding, that wheneyer any of their converts had been guilty of transgressing these rules, they were ready to acknowledge their miscondHct, and toiisten to advice and instruction. Thus every thing seemed to flourish at Shekomeko ; the number of bap- tized Indian*, at the clo.se of the year, amounted to sixty three, exclusive of those residing in Pachgatgoch. Besides these, they had a great many constant hearers, some of Vvhom were under serious impressions of divine truth. Bl-other Mack and his wife now took up their residence at Pachgatgoch, and built themselves a hut of barky after the Indian manner. The wonderful effects, produced by the preaching of the gospel in thispiace, soon roused the attention of the whole neighbourhood. Some white people, who had been accustomed to ma,ke the dissolute lives of the Indians subservient to their own advantage, were exceedingly enraged, when they found them unwil- ling any longer to abet their wicked practices. Theyy therefore, resorted to every base artifice to seduce them, propagating the grossest calumnies against the missiona- ries 5 and as this did not succeed, they persuaded a clergyman of the church of Englaad to join in their mea- sures. He ordered the Indians to send to New England for a minister and schoolmaster ; but they replied, that they were perfectly satisfied with the teacher they already had, and requested to enjoy the same religious liberty as all other denominations of christians in the statedid. This answer exasperated the adversaries still more. They publicly stigmatized the brethren as papists and traitors, Jesusj have impressed my mind with a firm beKef, that 0od is with yoii. I Ij^ought myself seatcid in, a company of primitive christian^. They attended with great gravity and devotion; their eyes were.steacfily fixed Upon ittipir teacher, as' if th^y would eat bis words. Johti [rsthoop'J was Ae intertiretei: and ' acquitted himself in the best manner. I esteem, him, as a manianeinted with grace and spirit. — The text of scripture, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, to day, and for e»^, , appeared to me as an etj^rnal, tr^th, .whe!v,I;beh^ld^the venerable patriarclis of the American Indian churclisitting'aroiuidirie, as living witnesses of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ ahd'his atoniiig sacri- fice. Their prayers are had in remembrance in the si^ht pf God; and may 1 God fight .agi^nst their, enemies- May the Almighty give to yqii and your assistants an open door to the fieartsof ^U tfie heathen. ■iosfe'/j'.Pnrtii^p. S3. MissioA in Nbrtk America. 138 and the missionaries, Mack, Shaw arid Pyrleus, (the -two latter being on a visit in Pachgatgoch,) were taken prisoners, dragged up and down the country for three days, till the governor of Connecticut, after fully investi- gating the allegations brought against them, honourably dismissed them. However, as their enemies still conti- nued to harass them, they thought it most prudent to retire for a while to Shekomeko. I forbear making particular mention of several visits, paid by our brethren, about this time to other Indian tribes, and shall only observe, that while, on the one hand, they had to suifer many hardships and much opposition, they met, on the other, with many proofs of the power of the. gospel xa " turning the gentiles from darknes unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God." In one place, a most savage Indian publicly burned his idols, and in a speech, delivered to his countrymen, lamented his former blindness and ignorance, with great energy exhc>rtii}g them to turn to the Lord Jesus. Hitherto, though exposed to various vexations, they had not met with any serious interruption to thejr labours; but in the spring of 1744 a violent and unmerited perse- cution was raised against them. Some white people con- tinued to employ every artful means to alienate the affec- tion of the Indians from the brethren, and to seduce theni to drunkenness and other vices. They circulated the basest insinuations against the missionaries, representing them as dangerous to the state, pretending that they were in league "with the French, and intended to supply the savages with arms to fight against the English, This report, false as it was, spread such terror through the country, that the inhabitants of the neighbouring town of Sharon, remained under arms, for a wholes week, and some even forsook their plantations. The missionaries were now called upon to serve in the militia ; but this they refused on the ground that as ministers of religion, they ought not to be compelled to bear arms. A second appli- cation tp the same eifect being likewise resisted by them, they were for several months dragged from one court to an other, to be examined and answer to the allegation brought against tliem. They punctually obeyed every 134 Mission in North America. summons, though with very great inconvenience to them- selves and their work, and were enabled to disprove by unimpeachable evidence, every charge brought against them, at the same time protesting against the restriction laid upon them, and avowing their firm resolution rather to suffer any thing for conscience' sake, than d-isdbey God and the lawful authority of the state. The magistrates were satisfied, dismissed them with eVery mark of respect, and gave them an honourable acquittal in writing, to protect them against the machinations of their enemies on their return to Shekomeko. Their adversaries, finding their scheme in this respect frustrated, resorted to other measures. Knowing the con- scientiotis scruples of some of them against taking an oath, they exerted all their influence to obtain two acts of as- sembly in New York, which were passed in October j the one enjoining all suspicious persons to take the oaths of allegiance, and in case of refusal, to be expelled the country ; the other positively prohibiting the brethren from instructing the Indians. December the 15th, the sheriff and three justices of the peace arri^^ed at Sheko- meko, and in the name of the governor and council of New York, prohibited all meetings of the brethren, com- manding the missionaries to appear before the court in PicMpsion, on the 17th of that month. On their appearance, the act was read to them, by which they were expelled the country, under the old pretence of being in league with the French. The injustice of this act was acknowledged by every candid and unprejudiced person. Bishop Spangenberg, who visited this settlement towards the close of the year, makes the following remarks in his journal: " The neai'er we approached to Shekomeko, .the more veneration we found among all ranks of people, for the great work of God in that place. The justice of the peace at Milsy accompanied us, and declared that he would rather suffer his right hand to be cut off, than treat the brethren con- formably to the act passed against them, for he was tho- roughly convinced, that the grace of God had, by their means, wrought miracles in that place, &t. *." • Losklel, Part ii. p. 6i^ Mission in North America, 135 Oar missionaries, however, deemed it not only prudent, but their duty, to obey the lawful authprity of the state, and therefore retired to Bethlehem which lies in Pennsyl- vania, indeed with a heavy heart, but unshaken confidence in the Lord, that he would himself defend their cause and arise for the help of his oppressed people. After their removal from Shekomeko, the christian Indians continued their religious meetings as usual, and were occasionally, visited by brethren from Bpthlehem, though at the risk of persecution. Once, when a large company was returning to Bethlehem, the circumstance of the wife of one of the missionaries being an Indian woman, furnished some ill*-disposed justices at Sopus, with a pre- text for detaining them. They were insulted by the mob, and had to suiFer much in the open street from cold and violent rain, and when at lengh permitted to proceed, were loaden with curses and reproaches. On another oc- casion two brethren were arrested at Albany, and after enduring many indignities^ carried to New York and con- fined in prison for seven weeks. Amidst the grief experienced in consequence of these disastrous events, they were greatly comforted by perceiv- ing that their labour was not in vain in the Lord. Soon after their expulsion from' Shekomeko, they had the joy to baptize the first fruits of the gospel among the Dela- ware nation, a man and his wife. This solemn transac- tion was performed at Bethlehem. Being both of the family of the chief, their relations were highly displeased, considering the step they had taken as a digrace to their rank, and in order to dissuade them from it invited them to visit them ; but the two baptized persons, fearing their souls might sufFer harm, declined going. Upon this their relations resolved to take them by force, and thirty six, among whom were several young warriors, came to Beth- lehem with this intention. At first they behaved in a very turbulent manner, but being kindly treated, their anger abated, their countenances softened, and they entered freely into conversation with their two baptized friends and other christian Indians. Gottlieb, (such was the name of their baptized relative,) gave them a plain account of his 136 Mission in North America, reasons for joining the christians, exhprting them also- to believe in the Lord Jesus. During this conversation the' savages seemed extremeljr uneasy, and early the next morning set off on their return. After some time they sent a message to Gottlieb, desiring him to come and instruct them. With this he complied, and had the sq,tis' faction to see his own brother become a believer? and joined to the church by baptism, ■ Although the state of things at Shekomeko was such as to afford our brethren sincere pleasure, yet the suspension of the regular services of the missionaries could not but eventually prove injm'ious to. the congregation. It was therefore proposed to the christian Indians to remove- from the province of New York, and settle near Bethlehem till a more eligible spot could be procured for their future estab-r lishment. But, contrary to expectation, the inhabitants of Shekomeko shewed themselves averse from this measure, and among other reasons, alleged, that the governor of New York had expressly commanded them to stay in their own town, promising them his protection ; and that, were they even to remove, some of their relations, especially the young, would still remain there and be easily seduced to their former sinful practices. An event, however, soon after occurred, which induced them gladly to accede to the proposal of our brethren. Some white people came tp a resolution to expel the christian Indians by main force, under pretence that the ground on which Sheko- meko stood, belonged to other people. The governor of New York not attending to their petition for his inter- ference; the white people seized upon the land and ap- pointed a watch to prevent all visits from Bethlehem. The old accusations of disloyalty were renewed, and gained so many supporters, that the inhabitants of Rein- beck demanded a warrant of the justice to kill all the In- dians at Shekomeko. The warrant indeed was not granted, yet the situation of the people there became so very distressing, that they were glad to eioigrate. Ten families of these emigrants, consisting of forty-four persons arrived at Bethlehem in April 174'6. They im- mediately built some huts near the settlement, as a mere Mission in North America. 137 temporary residence, to which they gave the name of FBI£DEN^»HUETTEN. But as an Indian town could not be supported so near to Bethlehem^ our brethren purchased two hundred acres of land, lying at the junction of the ri- vers Mahony and Lecha, about thirty miles distant. This situation pleased the Indians much, and they immediately^ began to plant, apd lay out a town, calling it Gnaden- HUETTEN. The building of this place v/as not only attended with expense, but also with much trouble. The land, being overgrown with wood, had first to be cleared, and the Indians, having neither knowledge nor skill in agri- culture, the heaviest part of the labour fell upon our bre- thren ; but they cheerfully endured every fatigue, consi- dering it as done in the service of the Lord. When intelligence of this new settlement reached She- KOMEKO and Pachgatgoch, many Indians in those places were induced to remove to it, so that, in a short time, it contained more inhabitants than the two former ; and soon became a very regular town. The church stood in a valley ; on one side, upon rising ground, were the Indian bouses, forming a crescent, and on the other the mission- . house and burying-grouhd. The missionaries and every Indian family had plantations. The road to Wayomick and other Indian towns lay through the settlement. In Shekomeko the prospect appeared daily more pre- carious. The French Indians, havings made inroads into the country, had advanced within a day's journey of that town, on their way setting fire to houses and murdering the inhabitants. By these circumstances, and being called upon to joiii in the war, the christian Indians, still re- maining in that settlement, were kept in constant fear and anxiety. The brethren could not come to their assistance till in July 174-6, when Hagan and Post went thither from Bethlehem. It was now found necessary to give up every idea of keeping meetings for divine worship in that place,, but the chapel was, by a written deed of gift, secured to the Indians, as their property. Thus our brethren con- cluded their labours in Shekomeko, with sorrowful hearth, yet praising God, who had first caused the light of the 1 3S Mission in North America. gospel to shine to the heathen in this place. Within the space of two years sixty-one adults had been made par* takers of holy baptism, exclusive of those baptized in Bethlehem, Daring the troubles in Shekomeko various disorders had occurred among the converts. Some had been se- duced to join in sinful practices, and Others, through the calumnies of adversaries had imbibed prejudices against the missionaries. The brethren, however, had the joy to find, that most of them became sensible of their errors, and with sincere penitence confessed their deviations. Such penitents were received with open arms at Bethle- hem and Gnadenhuetten. As an example of the figura- tive manner in which the Indians generally express them- selves, the language of one of these penitents may be quoted: "I am like a child," said he "whose father loves him dearly, clothes him well, and gives him all he stands in need of; afterwards the child becomes refractory, de- serts his parent and despises his counsel. At length, the child, through his folly loses all the good things he pos- -sessed, his clothes become ragged, and nakedness and want follow. Then, remembering how well he fared, he repents and weeps day and night, scarcely presuming to return. This is precisely my case." The Indian congregation at Gnadenhuetten continued for several years in a pleasing course, and increased to about five hundred persons. Besides other useful regula- tions, schools Were established. The place was often vi- sited by heathen, who were treated with hospitality and kindness, and no means were neglected for directing their attention to the gospel. Nothing, in general, made a deeper impression upon the savages, than the peace and harmony prevailing among the christian Indians, and their contentment amidst all difficulties. The sincerity of their profession evinced itself in many ways. They dili- gently attended to their work and the cultivation of their fields, and when necessary for their support went out to Sunt. Their firm confidence in our Saviour, shewed it- self in many trying circumstances. Thus when the small pox broke out among them, they bore the sickness with Mission in North Ameriea. 139 patience*" manifesting but littk fear of death j and the cheerful and happy disposition of those who departed this life, was truly edifying. Their solicitude for the christian education of their children, was another proof of the change wrought on their minds. Such is the excessive fondness of the' Indians, that they hardly ever suffer their children to be out of sight; but now many of them, see- ing the temptations to which they would be exposed at home, entreated the brethren, even with tears, to receive them into the schools at Bethlehem j a request which, if possible, was always acceded to. The labours of our brethren for the conversion of the Indians at this period, were not confined to Gnaden- HUETTEN. They improved every opportunity that offered foi' prftpagating the gospel, and undef took many difficult and perilous journeys. The Iroquois more particularly engaged their attention, and on this account they made several visits to Shortiokin and other towns on the Susque- hanhah, and by degrees established themselves in that place. The inhabitants of this town being noted for fero- city and licentiousness, our missionaries witnessed many barbaToiis and profligate scenes, and were more than once in danger of being murdered by them when intoxicated; and no permanent advantages were gained by their exer- tions. During a journey to Onondago, the chief town of the Iroquois and the seat of the great council, a solemn league, executed with due Indian formalities, was made between the council and our brethren, by which the latter obtained permission for two of them to reside in that coun- try for thie purpose of learning the language. Their endeavours in other places were more successfiil especially ajPACHGATGOCH and Wechquatnach, in the neigh^ bourhood of Shekomeko, where a few christian Indians, who had not emigrated with the rest, were still residing. The missionary David Bruce was appointed to this station in 174'8; and the year after had the pleasure of Seeing twenty Indians added to the church by baptism. But that v6ry year he finished his earthly pilgrimage, being suc- ceeded by brother Abr. Biininger. The believers there continued for several years to enjoy rest and peace, and increased to upwards of a hundred. 140 Mission in North. America. Meniolagomehah,. situate at no great dissance from Beth- lehem, was another promising station, occupied during this period, where many of the inhabitants became obedient to the gospel. In a few years, however, the white people «eized upon their plantations; and as our brethren could not succseed in making a purchase of the land, their con- verts were obliged to remove to Gnapenhuktten in 1754. In the summer of 1752 an embassy of Nantikoks and iShawanose, consisting in all of one hundred and seven persons, arrived at Gnadenhuetten, and established a so- lemn league of friendship between themselves and the bre- thren. Another embassy of these tribes, attended by three Iroquois Indians and consisting of twenty-two per-^ isons, came to Gnadenhuetten the following spring, and to the no small astonishment of our brethren, proposed to them to quit that settlement and remove to Wayotnik, a town belonging to the Shawanose. They assigned no par- ticular reason for this unexpected proiposal ; in the sequel, however, it appeared that it was in reality an act of friend- ship. For as the savages were secretly determined to join the French in hostilities against the English, they wished to furnish a safe retreat to their countrymen of Gnaden- huetten, that they might the more easily faill upon the white people in those parts. In this view the Iroquois had' called the Nantikoks from Wayomik into their neighbour- hood, to make room for the christian, Indians. . However unpleasant the projected removal was^ our brethren would not interfere in the business, lest the old calumny of intending to enslave the Indians, should be revived, but left their converts entirely to act as they pleased. After evincing considerable reluctance at quit- ting their pleasant settlement, and real sorrow of being thus separated from their teachers, upwards of eighty fir nally determined to remove to Wayomik 2.uA Neskepeko. After their arrival in these places, they were occasionally visited by some of the missionaries, who found these poor exiles still walking in the fear of God, and even of use to their heathen countrymn, by their zealons testimony of Christ and his atonement. But their, external situation was by no means desirable. All the people, residing on Missioii in -North Americd. 141 the -Susquehftntoah were in constant fear and terror 'both of the C^tawaS) then at war with the Iroquois, who made frequent incursions into the country, and of the French, who threatened the Indians with fire and sword, unless they acted in concert with them against the English. Be< sides this, the people of New England, who laid claim to Wdyomik, were advancing with an intention of seizing the laud by force. These circumstances obliged the Indians to forsake that town in 1756. Our misionaries were still lamenting the emigratiou of 50 many of their converts from Gnadejihuetten, when their sorrow was unexpectedly turned into joy, by the ar? rival of the Indians from Meniolagomekah. This enlivened the congregation at Gnadenhuetten, and animated the native assistants with new zeal and fidelity in the discharge of their duties. Their external troubles^: however, did not yet terminate. They had not only a kind of tax imposed upon them,, to show their dependence on the Iroquois; but the following very singular message was sent them, " The great head, i. e. the council in Onoiidago^ speak the truth and lie not j they rejoice that some of the believ- ing Indians have moved to Wai/omik, but now they lift up the remaining Mahikans and Delawares *, and set them down also in Wayomik; for there a fire is kindled for them, and there they may plant and think on God : but if they will not hear, the great head will come and clean their ears with a ted^hot:iron ; (meaning they would set their houses on £re) as\di shoot them thrqugh the head with musquetrballs." The chief of the Shawanose, who deli- vered this message, then turned to the missionaries, ear- nestly demanding of them not to hinder their converts from removing to Wiiyomik. This message spread general consternation through Gnadenhuetten, especially the concluding address to the missionaries. It was soon discovered, that this proposal did . not originate in the great council at Onondago, but with th0 Oneida tribe and the warlike M^hjkans aand De- lawares,^ aided by some persons 1 of consequence in Phila- *. The iiihitbitaats of Gn^denhuetten belonged to these nsi^iops. li^ Mission in^North Ameriea. delplua, who hoped thereby to attain their own ends. Our bi-ethren left the inhjibkants &f Gnadenhuetten to their free choice, whether to go ■ or stay, only warning them, in an affectionate manner, of the dangers they might incur for their souls by their removal. This had the desired effect. Several, whose fconduct had been bla- toable, ingenuously owned their transgressions, begging forgiveness' of the rest : which was granted with joy. The grace of God was, perhaps, never more evident, than in seeing an Indian, naturally obstinate and inflexible to a high degreej appear before a whole body of people as an humbled sinner, ■ and ask pavden of God and those whom- he had offended. Thus, most of them, resolved to stay, and they remained firmi When, shortly after, the message was repeated in a more stern tone,' an Indian' brother- said : " What can the head chief of the six nations give me in exchange for my soul ? He never considers, how that will fare at last*" Another rettiairked: "God, whomadeajft^ ■saved me, can protect me, if he' please; I am not afraid of the wrath of man ; for not one hair of my head Gdn fall to the ground without His willJ" And a third observed, " If even one of them should^lift up his hatchet against me and say, 'depatt from the Lord and the brethren,' I would not do it." The congregation at Gnadenhujstten had now a short iseason of rest, and 'walking in the fear of the Lord, and the comforts of the holy Ghost, Was edifidd; The'brethren improved this interval' of repose by sending missionaries to preach and administer the saci'am^nts to the christian Iridiahs residing in other places, and' propagating the gos- pel 'atWOng the heathen. These journeys were attended with many dangers j but they thought themselves richly compensated, by finding their converts in most places walking worthily of the gospel, and having the satisfaction to add others to the church by baptism. - 1 . ; atSA The repose at GNADENHUETXEtr was of short durationi A cruel Indian war, o'ccasioned by- the contest bbtween the English and the French, brdke out, spretading terror and confusion through the whole country. The first outrage was committed hear Shomokin, iffhere three of our mis- Mission in North America. HS sionaries resided, but through the mercy of God they were all preserved, though exposed to continual danger. Our bi'ethren in Gnadenhuetten were not so fortunate. Be- ing considered as friends to the British government, they were in the most imminent danger of being attacked by the Indians in league with the French, and as the most dreadful reports reached them from all quarters, some were so much intimidated, that they fled into the woods. The greater part, however, staid in the settlement, re- signed to the will of God, and gave the most encouraging assurances, that they would not forsake each other, but remain united in life and death. But God had otherwise ordained. Late in the evening of the 24th of November, 1755, while the missionaries were at supper, their attention was suddenly roused by the continual barking of dogs, which was followed by the report of a gun. On opening the door of the mission-house, they observed a party of hostile Indians standing before the . house with their pjeces pointed towards the door. On its being opened they immediately fired, and Martin Nitsch- Hian was killed on the spot. His wife and some others were wounded, but ran ijip-stairs into the garret and bar- ricaded the door with bedsteads. Hither the savages pursued them ; but not being able to force open the door, they set fire to the house, which was soon enveloped in flames. Two of the brethren had previously made their escape by jumping out of a back window ; and now a boy leaped down from the flaming roof, though not till one of his cheeks had been grazed by a ball and his hand much burned* Sister Partsch, • whose husband had escaped out of the window, likewise ventured to leap down from the burning roof, and unobserved by the enemies, hid herself behind a tree on rising ground, from whence she had a full view of the tragical scene. Brother Fabricius, iri attempting to make his escape in the same manner, was perceived by the Indians, and instantly wounded bji two balls. They then seized him, and having dispatched him with their hatchets, took his scalp and left him dead on the ground. Eleven persons, belonging to the mission were burned alive, among whom was a child only fifteen months old. Sister Senseman, already surrounded by the flames, was IM Mission in North America. heard to exclaim : "T?^ all thdl, dear Saviour ! I expected nothing else." The murdfefers now set fire to the barns and stables, by which all the com,- hay .and cattle Vvfere consumed; andhSjaving made a h arty meal, departed. This melancholy occurrence -proved the deliverance of the Indian congregation at GnadenhuetTen j for, upon hearing the report of the gmis, seeing theflames and learn- ing the dreadful cause from those who escaped, the In- dian brethren offered to attack the enemy without delay ; but being advised to the contrary, they all fled into the woods, and the settlement was cleared of its inhabitants in a few minutes. By the exertions and persuasions of the missionary, Shebosh, who remained alone iri GmadEn- HUETTEN, most of the fugitive converts I'etarneSd the next day. And in consequence of a petition, presented by our brethren in Bethlehem, the governor of Pennsylvania sent a party of soldiers into these parts, for the protection of the christian Indians and the country in general. Biit on new year's day 1756 the'savag-es attacked these troops,; set fire to the siettlement and the mill, and laid vv^aste all; the plantations; by which both the congregation and the missionaries were reduced to the greatest poverty. Disastrous as were thefee events, they served to avert a far greater calamity. The adversaries of the brethren, about this time, had secretly formed a design of overr throwing their whole establishment in North America. The most unfounded reports of being in league with the French were industriously disseminated, and a base fabri- cation, purporting to be a letter written by a French officer, was inserted in the Newspaper, in which he' was represented as saying, that " the Moravians were their good friends and would give them every assistance in their power against the English." A general suspicion was thus excited against the brethren throughout the country, which went so far, that in the Jersey^ proclamation was made, with beat of drum, that Bethlehem shoul(Jf be destroyed; and the most dreadful threats were added, that In Bethlehem, Gnadi^nhuetten and other places, a carnage should be made, such as had never before been heard of;in North America. It was afterwards ascertain- Mission in North America. 145 ed, that a party of a hundred men who came to Bethle- hem, was sent for the express purpose of raishig. a itiob : but the kind and hospitable manner in which they were treated'by the brethren, who were ignorant of their design, overcame their malice and softened their rage. It was not, however, till after the destruction of Gnadenhuetten, that the public sentiment respectiixg the brethren under- went a complete revolution", and opened the eyes of their adversaries to the falsehood of the charge, that they were in league with the French, wheft they saw that . they were the first su£Ferers from that very quarter. Many exclaimed even with tears : " How greatly have we sinned against an innocent people ! What should we have had to answer for, had we followed our design of exterminating the brethren, and , murdering their men, women and children, upon the vague supposition that they were our enemies," After the attack on Gnadenhuetten, a few of the In- dian converts fled, to Wayomik, whicl;^ place they reached in safety; but the greater part flocked to. Bethlehem/ where they were lodged, clothed and. fed w,ith brotherly kindness. But this very circumstance rendered the situa- tion of our brethren there peculiarly critical. The sava-. ges, on the one hand, insisted upon their taking up arms against the English, threatening to murder them in case of refusal. On the other hand, a set of fanatics arose, who demanded the total extirpation of (fU the Iridians, lest God's vengeance should fall upon the christians for not destroying the Indians, as the Israelites were com- manded to do in the case of the Canaanites. These people^ were greatly incensed against Bethlehem, on account of the protection and assistance, granted to a race of beings, whom they considered accursed. The inhabitants of Bethlehem, therefore, looked upon themselves as sheep ready for the slaughter ; and never \neyr, when going to bed at night, \yhether they would rise the next morning. In this critical and alarming situation they preserved unshaken confidence in God. Their courage, in main- taining their station, proved a comfort and protectiop to 146 Mission in North America. , their neighbours ; for if they had fled, nothing could have obstructed the inroads of the savagU. But, while firmly relying on the help of the Lord'," they neglected iiothrrig that might tend to their safety. The settlftrient was'^Af- rounded by pallisades, and guarded both night and day, Europeans and Indians taking their tut-h ivifti gr^^i willingness. This precaution 'proved the nltealnS-of^residrv- ing the settlement, while many adjacent villdges were laid in ashes. < - I--. >' '' ■■; ■-■•-■■ The firmness of the brethren and their good political regulations, induced great nuttibeffe" of' their' distressed ndigbbours to take refuge with 'them. Sidvetal h'iindi'^d wonien and children came from' a distance, 'and "with iedrs begged for shelter. All were admitted' as long as th^i'fe was any room; and thus not only Bethleheit, bujt th6 four contiguous settlements of Nazare'th',' CnRis'ciAiJ&i- BUUNN, Friedensthai- and the Rose, were crowded with fugitives. Though, in consequence of the war, their own resources were greatly eXhatisted, our trefhreh exerted theinselves to this utmost of thdi'poiVer'td' ' provide? foi? their numerous gUestsiThiis wonderfdliy did the wisdoiti of God overrule pkssing events. The Ver/pebplej wnS werfe but lately suspected of a secret cdrrespoiideiitje' witIS the enemy, now became thfe protecftirs' ah'd dyfehd*^ of those, who through' ignorance 'had a^er^ed' theii' cKa- racter and meditated t'helrdefstt'acti'oM'.' ' >■ '- Under the wings of Bethlehem, the Indian crnigrega- tion-now enjoyed' a seasoh of repose. Sdih^ addrtibnaP," temporary dwellings' were erected ftJr theihj the schools commenced anew and \Vere diiigehtly attferiddd, 'and^threc! jnlssionarie& were appointed for their immfediateser^iijei' l*ortions of the scripture, ' the lita'rty and severial hyihril' were translated, dnd'the childten oft me*t tbgether atxd sang the praises of their 0od ahd Skvioih-, 'id (Serbian,' Mahikan and Delaware hymns. ' Thii^ 'Bi.TiiiiEiiv.ii dk- strmed the sippearance of a missionary settltoiAil. 'Amidst much external poverty and distress, the grace of*" God ruled in their hearts ; and both the Indian converts and the original European colonists^ shewed Jtfrik the praises' of Him, wko called then out df, darkness into his'nidtbtUdtis' Hghty ■ '■' ' ■■■■ " " ■"■"'' iWfss/e^ in North Atnetibi. 147 The resideittie^ of the Indians in BETHEfiHEM^ Irowfever^ •^as attended with various diffisdulties j bcjth dur brefhren, therefore, and the Indians themselves wished to hare' a settlemertt of their own. Application being made to thfe ^vea^nor, he readily acceded Co ^\s measure ; and in Juite 1757 a piece of land was aligned tliem, a'b6ut > mile froift Bethlkhei^, on \(>hich they erected a town, and oalied it MAii^. Most of th^ christian' Indians^ whoy dur- ing, the laite troubled, had moved to Wa^j^oiiiitt or.fKd t6 ika^ Sustpehdftnahyi now sought pfermissibn to Hve in Naih j and tiius' this new settlenient rapidly inbreasSdL Nurabersi of aavages visited both TH&rs and BiTnt'EiiEM-, and tbfe tes^Hiony of Christ altld his atonement', ^eeondied bj» tha pious cornrersdtion of their christian cotintrymeii', pifoved in lAbny ini^ances' the^ means of their conversion. This pemod of trouble* and diHiculty was sftcce^ed^d' ^ four or five years of peace and tranquillity. After the burning of Fort' Dii^uesne! by* the Frehchj the scen^ of thff contest was chfantge^' and from the beginning of th^ feak 17 5&r neither Fe«n»jxlvani^, nor the neighbouring proiritices^ were disturbed by the^ Indian^. Thus' all th^ setd.em«itsits, Tneir close confiqejnent became insupportable and revolting to their notions of independence and liberty. This wa's dspecialjy the case with, the young, people ; some grew low-spLrited, othears dissatisfiied and even refractory ; and' many, suffered" harm by their intercourse with the un- cdnvertetflhdians, quart.ered'inv th€ same barracks,, This caiis.ed the missionaries, much grief and perplexity, being, on the one hand o'?ljgf:pai)?% through th^ of the Senneka Indians. Oo. reaching I thes first; town* inhabited by the latter, the appesjcance^of a, white, nian was so unusual a sights that Missioif, if Narth America. 159 one of the inhabitants imn;iediately rofle ofiF to announce liis arrival to the Chief* oF th^e next tqw^i, a distanpe of nearly' thirty miles Having arrived a| this place, the TChief at first treated Zeisberger rather roughly, taking him for a spy, but won by his conciliatory and affable manner and the disinterestedness of his views, he became vei-y friehclly, Conducting him to his house. Zeisberger seized this favourable opportunity to pr^3cl^ thegQsg^l to him ; but the Chief declared \yith great warmth^ tha,t this word of God was not intended for tt^e. Injiians., "He however granted them permission to pjroceed to Gpshgos- kuenk ; adding a serious caution against trusting the peo^ pie of that place, who had hot their equals in wickedness and cruelty. Not intimidated by tljis apcl simila,r reports,^ but r^thjeif considering the profligacy of the place, l^p 'TH'^ti cogent reason for visiting^ it, t|?ey' prosecuted theii^ route an4 safely reached it. i^hey soon found, tha,jt tlifi i;epor,ts thjBjr Had heard were, but too tKue. Zeisberger, remarks, ^e.haS. no Where seen the' abominations pf hea,thenisin practised in such a hiprrld anjj sh^rpelggs manner a^ iij this, place ; it seemed to be the very spat of Satan,, >Iotwitl^s|;anc}ing tTie crying wickedness of tlip inhabitants, the brethren were, well received, arid their doctrine, by its novelty, sf| engaged'the attention of the inhabitants, that tjiey cpuld riot hear enoi^li of^ it, and requested the Indian |brJethren to* repef t and e'xp^^jnjit t^ them more fully. Before their departure, the Indians.assemblg^,^ council, an^^ejisjber- ger* asked. tiiep, whether they would permit a tejacher to reside among them ? To tl^is they gave their u,p9.n^nious coiisent, and eveii requested him to promote the attainment of'so desirable an object. Ris journey prpvingthuSif^ encouraging^ th^jbrptbreiii resolved to attempt the establishmer^t oj a regulaf njissiqn; in Goshgoshuenk, In order to effect this, the brethren Zeisberger axid, Spnsenian, togethe}- w;ith,. some I^dli^ii fkmilies, 'iPiOyed thither tbg following, spj;ing. Immediatcr, ly on t^eir arrival, Zeisberger sent information of it tOi the Chiefs, who exhorted tifi^ir people to li?ten wil^h, at- tention to ti^ie word of God. H^ prejiched everyday. 160 Mission in Notth America. and held regular morning-and evening-devotions. These meetings were attended by great numbersj whose beha- viour was silent and deeorous, and manifested an eager- ness t(^hear. Soon, however, a violent opposition, originating in the jealousy of the Chiefs, was raised against the missionaries. It was augmented by the most ridiculous and unfounded accusations being propagated against the brethren ; and it at last rose to such a pitch, that they threatened to kill both them^ and their converts. This intimidated even those who had hitherto been their friends. Notwithstanding these alarming appearances, our breth- ren resolved not to, quit their post; but built, a small winter house, as a place of retirement, where they might celebrate the Lord's Supper and keep other meetings with the christian Indians, their present habitation being sel- dom • free from visiters. , Their labour was not vyholly in vain. Not a few attended their meetings, and some heard the gospel with saving effFect. Several indeed came only by night, fearing the reproach of men; for those, who went boldly to the meetings, were abused and ' persecuted in various, ways ; and in some instance* the words of our Saviour were literally fulfilled: a maris foes shall _be fhey of his own household. Matt. x. 36. At length, the inhabitants of the town were divided into two parties; one of which opposed the gospel with all their might, and the other became so much attached to it, that they declared, they would rather emigrate, than be deprived of it. These dismissed their fears and went bold- ly and diligently to the meetings, although it exposed them to the hatred of the opposite party, who branded them with the napies of Sunday Indians, and Shwannatsy \. e. white people, the lattei* being the most opprobrious epithet they could apply. However, as the opposition did not abate but rather increased, our missionaries thought it prudent to retire to a place on the opposite bank of the^river, called Lavmn-^ dkhanndCf about fifteen miles distant from Goshgoshuenk. Here they formed a temporary settlement, being followed Mission in North America. 1 G I "by all those Indians, who had ilncerely embraced the gos- pel. In process of time they had the pleasure of admit- ting several to holy baptism, among whom was ?in aged Chief, who had loat his sight. By degrees the hostility against them subsided, and in a council held at GosAgos- kuenfc a great majority declared in favoui* of the gospel. This rendered their situation more tranquil and easy, a different spirit prevailed, and the desire of the Indians to "know the grace of God in truth" increased. Among the places, which were visited by the missiona- ries from Friedenshuetten, was a town about thirty miles higher up on the banks of the Susquehannah, called Tshechshequannink, in which a great awakehijig took piace, occasioned by the relations of those who had visited Frie- DENSHUETTEX. At the request of the inhabitants, the missionary Rothe went to reside among them. His tes- timony of Jesus was accompanied with great power,, the audience being freqtiently melted into tears, which is very unusual among: the. Indians, as they consider it un- manly to shed tears. One of them remarked : " I would not have wept, if my enemies had cut the flesh from my bones: that I now weep is of God, who has softened the hardness of my heart." For some time it appeared as if the whole town would turn to the Lord and be con- verted. The trarEquillity, enjoyed for a season by our brethren, was agai^ interrupted in 1770. The Senneka Indians having broken the treaty, but lately made with the Che- Tokees, hostilities commenced in the neighbourhood of Lawunakhannak. This rendered the christian Indians desirous of removing, and they therefore resolved to accept the kind offers repeatedly made them, by some Chiefs, to settle near the T)elaware town of Kaskaskunk. ' In .April the missionaries and their whole flock embark- ed in sixteen canoes, passing down the river Ohio by Pittsburg to the mouth of tlie Beaver Creek, which they entered, proceeding up the falls, where they had several times to unload, iand titianspoFt their goods and canoes by land. One pf these candying places detained them two M 162 Mission in North America. days. After a tedious and troublesome journey o'f a foxt- nigbt, they reached the place allotted to them by thp Chiefs. No spot could "have been" better chosen, as there was good land, sufficient to support a hundred families. They immediately began to build and plant, and called the place Fkiedenstadt. The Indians in the neighbourhood were astonished to see a people settle among them, differitig so much in their manners and customs from the other natives, and to hear them propagate a doctrine so contrary to any thing ihey had ever heard' before. In some this astonishment soon changed into animosity and opposition, espeoiaHy wlien the Chief of Kaskaskunk moved 'to the settlement. This so enraged' the adversaries) that they annoyed the bre- thren in every possible way, dissemin'ating unfounded ca- lumnies. They even forged messages'in 'the- names of the Chiefs,' ordering them to quit the country. These im- postures being detected, some of their own teachers vio- lently opposed J;he doctrine taught by the mlssionarie&i asserting, that emetics were the only infallible I'emedy- 1& cleanse a man from sin; The missionary endeavoured to convince them, that- though an emetic might benefit their stomachs, it' could never 'cleanse thei¥' hearts. Some ma- licious savages came late one evening to Friebenstadt, tempting the inhabitants to get drunk. Finding all their eiforts inefl'ectual, they' threatened to murder first the missionaries and then the whole cohgregatido*,' and made such a hideous noise, that the Women 9ed -into the woods, and the men were forced to keep^ strict' watch rouiid the mission-bouse. While harassed by these external troublesj oar bre^- thren had abundant cause to praiSe God for the diVfne power which rested on their ministry in- the gospels - The number of hearers a,t FRiEnENSTADT rapidly increased. Among these was a man, belonging'to the party,- who had (Jestroyed the mission-house on the Kfahony in' 175^,^ and who vvas often so much impressed by what he 'had"neard, that he shied floods of tears. In ari9ther 6f their' hearers the effect produced by the word, *was stili'more striking. This was the chief, Pakanke, hitherto an enen:iy' and bp- Missiotiin North America'. 163 poser, but whose sentitnents, during' a visit in Frie- DENSTADT, were ^o completely chaflged, that hp listened to the gospel with great attention ; which prodiiced-such ft change in him, that he became a believer himself, and even exhorted his children to go to the brethren, and be- lieve in the Lord Jesus. Among the baptized membefs of the c6ngreghtion, the peace of God, brotherly loVe and a' real desire to love the Saviour and cleave to hii^with pui'pose of heart, prevailed; Their walk atid conversation became more and more conformable to their christian proi- fession^ alld they greatly valued their high and heavenly calling. In the children likewise the missionaries observed many astonishing evidences of tlie work of the holy Spirit, in " perfecting praise out of the mouths of babes and suck- lings." Ah-d the awakening aniong the catechumens was genieral and solid, manifesting a' sincere desire to obtain grace and the remission of sins in the blood of Christ. In the mean time they received certain information, that the Iroquois had clahdestinely sold the land, .on which Friedenshuetten stood," to the English, though they had fdirmklly ceded it to the christian Indies in 1765. This involved that settlement in new troubles. They therefore resolved to quit that place> and se^k ano- ther resideltee. Early in June 1772 the whole cohgrega,tioB, consisting of two hundred and forty-one persons, left Fkiedens- kuetten; some of them travelling by' land, but the greMer part by water. The difficulties attending.the emi- gration of so many peoj^iei with all- their goods and cattjb, in a country like America, is almost incredible. The party, who went by land, had to care for seventy oxen and a still greater nuhiber'orhorses, arid sustained incon- ceivable hardships in forcing their way through very thick woods and'swamps, directed only by a small path, in somfe places iiardly discernible. They had; to' ford many riyers, being in one part of the country obliged to wade thirty- six times through the windings of" the Munsy. The' diffi- culties of those who went by water were not less. They were every night obliged to seek a lodging: on shore. In some places they were mblested by inquisitive, and in M2 w 164 Mission in North America, others by drnnken people. The many falls and, dan- gerous rapids in the Susquehannah occasioned much trou- ble and frequent delays. To add to their difficulties, the toea&les broke out among them soon after their departure T>f which many, especially children, fell sick, and some died. Both companies having at length met, they pur- sued their joariiey by land. " Arrived on tlie banks of the Ohio, they built canoes, for conveying the aged and in- firm with the baggage down the river; and in a few days the whole party reached Friedenstadt, and were most cordially welcomed by the christian Indians there,, who united with them in solemn praises to God for' their safe arrival, after a tedious journey of eight weeks- It was not, however, the design of the Indians to,take •up their residence here, but to proceed to the banks of the Muskingum, and occupy a piece of . ground, which had been allotted to them by the council of the Delawares, '^Vho had entered into a formal resolution, that this tract of land, which was of considerable extent, should exclu- sively belong to the christian Indians, and no others be permitted to settle upon it ; and that all Indians dwelling ■on its borders, should be directed to behave peaceably towards the missionaries and theii" converts, and neither disturb their worship nor prevent any from attending the preaching of the gospel. Zeisberger had visited this place early in-Spriiig, and found it in all respects. an. eligible si- tuation ibr an Indian town, haying an excellent spring, a small lake, a firre soil, plenty of game and every other coiivenience. It lies about seventy-five miles west of FaiE^BENSTADT, and nearly at the same- distance south of lake Erie. Five families of christian Indians had, in May, removed ;to'this place and begun the erection of a settlement, giv- ing it the name of Schoenbrunn, and were now joined by those who had eihigrated from Feiedenshuettbn. About this period the prospect at Fkiedjenstadt Ire- came more and more alarming. The repeated encroach- ments of /the savages, occasioned much, perplexity, and the pernicious consequences of the rum-trade, becairje at leogth Mission in North. America. 165 insupportable. The savages frequently brought a quan- tity of spirits close to the town, got intoxicated and be- haved like madmen, committing various acts of mischief, and outrage, even threaiening to kill the missionary. It was solely owing to the restraining hand of Providence, that, they did not execute their barbarous purpose. At one time a ruffian furiously rushed into the house where the missionary lay sick, but on seeing the fellow come in, he raised himself and looked at him with undaunted compo- sure. This completely disconcerted the savage, he stop- ped short, and the Indian brethren, hastening to the as- sistance of their teacher, easily secured him. These un- pleasant occurrences seeming to admit of no alleviation, the inhabitants resolved, though much against their in cli-. nation, to forsake the place, and move into the neigh- bourhood of their brethren on the Muskingum, where they arrived after a journey of three weeks. Here they established a colony, about ten miles below Schoen- brIjnn:, which they called Gnadenhuetten^ During the building of these two settlements, Zeisber- ger, accompanied by two Indian brethren, made a jour- ney into the country of the Shawanose, who were ger nerally considered the most savage of. ail the Indian tribes. Our travellers, however, were kindly received by the Chief, and lodged in the house of one of the hea- then teachers. This man, being informed by the missio- nary of the object of their journey, namely to preach the words of eternal life, i-eplied : " This is what we want, and we will hear you with pleasure." Having for several days attentively listened to the discourses and conversation of the missionary and his companions, the heathen teacher made the following remarkable declaration : "I have not been able to sleep all night, for I am continually ^meditat- ing upon yojir words, and will now open to you ray whole heart : I believe that all you preach is truth. A year ago I became convinced, that we are altogether sinful crea- tures ; and that none of our good works will save us : but we did not know what to do to gain eternal salvation. I have, therefore, always comforted my people, that some- body would come and show us the true, way to happiness, for we are not in the right way ; and even the (day before l'S6 Mission. in Nbrih Am^ica. your ^arrival, I desired t^hem to have but a little patience, and a teacher would certainly come. Now you are com«i and I verily believe that ^Goid hath sent you, tojoiake his Word known to us." The iCouncil having formally de- clared their vvish, that the brethren wjould come and reside among them, pur travellecs returned .to Schoenbiiunn, filled with gratitude to God for this hopeful prospect. The more poignant was their, sorrow, when, on I'epeating their visit tlie next year, they met with so much opposi.. tion and hostility, as fully jconvinced them, that as yet no missionary establishment could be forined here. About tjiis time new troubles interrupted Ihe tranquil- lity ©f the congregations at Schoenbrunn and Gnadijn- HLFETTEN. -Besides the continuance of .petty wars among the Jndian tribes, the white settlers lin Virginia were obliged to fly to arras, to defend themselves against the savages. This rendered the. year 1774! a period of great perplexity and confusion to our two settlements^ so that for many months they had hardly a single day of rest. Numerous troops of warriors passed through, some upon murdering expeditions, others with scalps and prisoners, uttering frequeni menaces that both places should be ^urr piased' and laid waste. Owing to their jenmity against the white people, our missionaries in particular were in the most imminent danger. One terrifying report after tke other was flying thr-ough the country ; in consequence of which canoes Were always kept in readiness, to serve in toy case of emergency, being frequently so much alarmed in the night, that all were on the point of taking flight. The women were more than once driven from their plan- tations at noon-day ; and all the inhabitants were, for days and weeks, confined to .their houses, ■ spveral parties strol- ling about the neighbourhood, lyjth a yieW to seize strag- glet-s. At length the Indians were compelled to submit and make peace, and thus tranquillity was restored. Our missionaries found great reason to r4oice, that amidst all these troubles, the two congregations continued to flourish. They had not once been obliged to omit the stated preaching of the gospel, and the nu.mber of their hearers was often so large, that the chapel at Schoent Mission in North jimerich. 167 'BR»1JN, though capable of -accotntnodating five hundred, p'Tdted too small. Among the strangers, who attended, there were many warriors, and the impression, made on some was such, : that, though'they returned home for a time, they could not rest till they obtained leave to reside with the christian Indians. Even one of the heathen teachers was so struck with conviction of the truth of the gospel, that he took up his abode in the settlement. One of the Chiefs likewise embraced Christianity, was baptized, and became a zealous witness of the doctrines of grace among the very people, whose Chief he had been. And the Indian appointed his successor in that office, declined the OfFsr, choosing rather 'to be; an humble follower, of Christ, than to occupy the highest and most honourable rank among his" countrymen. ©uring the war, there was a striking contrast between the -conduct of the christian Indians and the savages. The former, though exposed to many interruptions, con- tinued to plant their fields, boil sugar and follow their va- rious avocations with thdr usual -diligence; -while the lat- ter rt^lected ' every thing. God blessed the labour of their hands,'sothat they could assist those that were needy, and even providetn&toy of the warriors, who marched throughj with "food 'and oWher necessaries. This led a captain to temdri: ''^4 have fownd your people very different from what I had 'heatd. It was reported in our town, that when a strange Indian arrives with you, he is sent to make his fire in the 'wood, and gets nothing to eat. I now hear the contrary from all who have visited you, for they have all been lodged and fed. In other places they make wry faces at us, here men, women, and even children bid us welcome." By this time, the christian Indians had in a very great degree gdned the confidence and estieem of their pagan neighbours ; so that even some of the Captains and Chiefs Interested themselves in their behalf, demanding that they Should enjoy perfect liberty of conscience, and be pro- tected ill their possessions against every intruder. This was formally ratified by an act of the council in the name bf the whole DelaVvare nation j in which they gave full 168 Mission in North America. permission to any of their people, who were so disposed, to go and hear the gospel. This act was shortly after re- newed and accompanied with an urgent request on their part, that the brethren would form a third settlement. This proposal was readily agreed to, and they fixed on a spot on the east side of the Muskingum io which they gave the name of Lichtenau. In April 1776 the missio- naries Zeisberger and Heckewaelder, with eight families of christian Indians from ScHOEiraauNX, moved to this new settlement. It soon increased in number and extent, by the accession of many heathen, who became obedient to the gospel. The number of inhabitants in the three set- tlements on the Muskingum amounted now to four hun- dred and fourteen persons, and as they lay at no great distance from each other, a pleasing intercourse was con- stantly kept up between them, which contributed not a little to the encouragement of the niission^rjes, and the edification of their converts, This prosperity of the mission received a sudden check, in consequence of the rupture between Great Britain and her colonies. By this time the contest had risen so high, that the disturbances it occasioned, reached to the Ohio and the Muskingum. Our brethren indeed determined to take no part in the war, yet they were placed in the most critical situation, as their, very neutrality would serve to render them suspicious in the eyes of each of the belli- gerent powers, and throw a general odium upon their character and conduct, During the consecutive commotions the Chiefe of the Delawares firmly adhered to their resolution not to in- terfere with the war. But a tribe of that nation, the Monsys, secretly separated from the main body and formed an alliance with the Mingoes, a set of idle, thieves and murderers. They endeavoured to gain a party among the enemies of the mission, and even ventured into the settlement in order to decoy some of the inhabitants to join them, in which they were but too successful. They found a party of apostates, who seemed intent upon overthrqwing Christianity and replacing paganism op the Mission in North America. 169 riirone. This was the severest stroke our missionaries had yet met with^ and occasioned them fa* more poignant grief, than all their former sufferings. They spared no pains, which love could dictate, to recover these poor backsliders from this snare of the devil j but all in vain. It afterwards appeared, that the Monsys and the iipostate ' party had nothing less in view, than either to murder the missionaries, or convey them to Fort Detroit j the firm- ness of the Delawares in maintaining peace being ascribed to the iniiuence of our brethren on their council. And when tliis attempt did not succeed, they spread the false, 1;hough probable report, that the missionaries and their congregations were daily in danger of being surprised and murdered by the Huron warriors. Rather, therefore, than enter into a dispute with so dangerous an enemyj they resolved to abandon Schoen- BRUNN, and move to Lichtenau. They now found the contiguity of this settlement to the Indian town of Gosh- achguenik of essential advantage, as they could not have defended themselves against ithe insults of the warriors, had they, not met with constant support from the > Chiefs and council of that place. A part of the fugitive congre- gation settled at Cnadenhuetten. , In August 1777 intelligence reached Lichtenau, that two hundred Huron warriors, headed by one of. their Chiefs, called by way of distinction the Half-king, were on their march to that place. This caused considerable alarm ; but after mature consideration our brethren resolv- ed, to betray no symptoms of fear, but rather seek to conciliate their favour by kind treatment. No time was lost to prepare provisions for them ; and the liberality. of the christian dndians, on this occasion, was the more remarkable,, as they considered it the only means of sav- ing the lives of- their beloved teachers. The warriors expressed, no little surprise and pleasure on being met by a party ■from Lichtenau, bringing provisions for them. This put them into very good humour ; and the christian Indians did not neglect to improve this favourable oppor- tunity ; but sent a formal embassy to the half-king and the other Chiefs of .the Hurons, informing them that they 170 Mission in H^orth. America. bad negooiations were pending, -our brethren at LicHrENAO .were not without serious apprehensions, being uncertain what turn affeirs would take. The depu- ties had, therefore, agreed, that should the half-king speakiin an angry tone, they would immediately despatefe a messenger to the settlement, thereby affording time to the congregation to take flight before he had concluded his speech. The greater, consequently, was their joy, when tl»e embassy terminated so favourably. The same day' the half- king, attended by the chief cap- tain and eighty-two warriors -visited Lichtenact. They were so amply supplied with provisions, that they were able to carry a Jcoiifsiderable quantity home with them. Similar visits were repeated in the sequel: and sometimes more than two hundred warriors of different nations took up their night-quarters close to the settlement, and behav- ed so quietly, that their presence was liardlifs perceived. For the .'balfrking maintained strict ordep, and took evev^ precaixtion taa-prevent drunkenness, being well aware that this would terminate in -bloodshed and murder. He was -&0 (pleased with the reception he and his retinue had met with, that he took our missionaries by the hand and Ci^ii them father, desiring thatthi^ wcwild consider him and his people ias »AzW»rffl. He even ^rait messengers to die (English goveiauHient in Detroit and to the Chiefs in the Huron country, informing them of the alliance made with the christian Indians, adding, that he and his war- riors had acknowledged the wlwte i brethren to be their £>ther, and would ever own them •as such. The mainte- nance of so many warriors, however, was attended with considerable expense and trouble ; our brethren therefore were glad, when towards the end of August they finally rpmoved from that part of the country. Mission in. North Ameriea. i71 Tke ■situation of Lichtenau and Gnadenhuetten now became every <3 ay more dangerous. It was there- tbi;e deemed expedient to lessen the number -of 'mission- aries, leaving only one in each of the settlements. As the di&tance -between 'the two -places was oijly twenty miles, they kept up, as far as possible, a regular inter- course, and in travelling throu^ the country found the friendship made with the Hurons of great a:dvantage. Vet they saw little before them but perplexity and distress. Various terrifying .reports were in circulation, which ren- dered it 'necessary for the two congregations to hold them- selves in constant readiness for a precipitate flight. Ca- noes were provided ly declined it. . Upon this be ap^ttbe two other, missionaries were immediately seized and declar- ed prisoners of war. As they were dragged into the camp a Huron Indian aimed a push ,at brother , Senspmari's bead with a kind of lancp^ hut fortunately.. misled his aim. A JMonsy then stepped forward, seized them by the hair, and shaking them, tauntingly exclaimed .1" Welcome among us, my friends I" Upon this they were led into the camp of the Delawares, M;h<', sang the death-spng, stripped them of,a,ll their clothes except their shirts, and led them into the tent of tjie. English qfficQr^ who, .seeing their pitiable condition, declared that this treatment was coht^iary to his intentions, though the goyernor of Detroit had given positive orders to secure them, ijaving received a few rags to cover them, they were confiQed in. tvvo huts, belonging to the camp of the, Hurons, and joined by the missionai;y. Ed- wards, who, though he might have escaped, preferred sharing the fate of his brethren. However, they, were not bound like other prisoners; but a stritt watch; was set over them. Here they were obljlged to sit on the bare ground, and suffered severely from the cold, having scarce ^ny covering. Soon after their confinement, they saw a number of armed warriors march off for SALEJMTand Schoenbrunn. The apprehension of what their families might suffer, was far more distressing to them, than. all the indignities offered to their own persons. When the savages arrived at the settlements, they plundered the mission-houses and cha- pels, wantonly destroying the furniture, and took the remaniing missionaries, and their wives and children p.risonei-s,, singing the deaih-song, as they led them away Mission in North Ameriia. 177 None was more to be pitied than sister Senseman. Shp had been delivered of a child only three days ago, and now she was hurried away, by these merciless barba- rians, in a dark and rainy night. By the mercy of God, however, neither she nor her infant received the least injury. It was indeed a providential circumstance, that she was able to walk, otherwise the savages, according to their usual practice, would instantly have murdered both mother and child. Early in the morning of September 4th this conJpany arrived at Gnadenhuetten. The feelings of the brethren Senseman and Zeisberger on seeing their wives brought prisoners into the camp, where they were confined themselves, may more easily be con- ceived than described. Thus six missionaries, three of their wives and two children were at once dragged away from their pleasant and peaceful habitations, exposed to all the horrors of captivity in a camp of Indian warriors, and in constant dread, lest these savages should gratify their thirst for blood, by torturing and murdering them. But that God, who respued Peter and Paul and Silas from the hands of their persecutors, preserved also the lives of these his devoted servants, and sent them deliver- ance. The very next day the prisoners obtained permis- sion to 866 and speak with each other. The scene now exhibited wds so affecting, that it struck the very savages with remorse and astonishment. The sisters, who showed wonderful composure and resignation, were soon set at liberty, together with the missionary Jungman. The mission-house being nearly destroyed, they went to the house of brother Shebosh, who had pot been taken prisonerj being considered a native, as he had completely adopted the Indian manner of living, and married one of their countrywomen, Mutual visits were now all6iyed to those who had been liberated, and thpir friends wljo, were still in confinement. At the beginning of these troubles the behaviour of the christian Indians nearly resembled the conduct of the dis- ciples of Jesus, when he was betrayed : they forsook their teachers and iled. However, when they met together in the woods, they wept so .loud, that the air resounded with- N 178 Mission in North Amerida. their lamentations ; and soon recovering from their paiu(f, they returned ; and having retaken, or bought several ar- ticles, stolen by the savages, restored them to the owners. Late in the evening they carried blankets to the iriissiona- fies, who were still in prison, and fetched them away early in the morning, lest the savages should steal them in the course of the day.. After-the lapse of four days, during which our five im- prisoned missionaries had experienced all the horrors.of being at the mercy of a set of robbers and murderers, the Indian assistants took courage and applied to the half-king and the other captains, for the liberation of their teachers^ The savages, being by this time convinced that the chris'-. tian Indians would never remove from the settlements^ unless they were conducted by the missionaries, summon- ed them before the council, set them at liberty and advised them to encourage their converts to emigrate. Filled with thanks and praises to God, they now re- furned to their beloved people, and having directed them all to meet at Salem, they once more celebrated the Lord's Supper with them, during a remarkable perception of the presence of God and the influence of his Spirit. Here they spent some days in peace and comfort, preached the gospel with boldness^ baptized one of the catieohu- mens, and exhorted the believers to evince the sincerity of their faith, by acting with firmness and resignation, in this season of trial. The christian Indiana acquiesced in the proposed measure, convinced that there was no alter- native left them but to emigrate ; for about a hundredi oE the savages, who had constantly watched their motions^ and surrounded them at a distance, now entered tlie set- tlement, and behaved like madmen, committing the most' daring outrages. But never did pur brethren leave any country with greater regret. They had already lost above two hun- dred horned cattle, and four hundred hogs; and now they were obliged to lea.ve a great quantity of corn in their stores, besides three hundred acres, just ready to be reaped, together with potatos and other vegetables and rt Mission in North America. 179 garden fruits. According to a moderate calculation their loss was computed at two thousand pounds j no trifling sum to be the property of Indians, and which strikingly shows the tendency of true religion to promote industry and improvement. But what gave our missionaries most pain was the total loss of all their books and manuscripts, which they had translated and compiled with great labour for the instruction of the Indian youth, all of which •were now burned by the savages. Add to this, they saw nothing before them, but distress^ misery and danger. But there was no alternative j they could only possess their souls in patience, and go even whither they would not, relying on the help of God. TK^y were escorted by a troop of savages, commanded by English officers, who inclosed them on all sides, at the distance, of some miles. In a few days the half-king of the Hurons and his warriors overtook them, and proceed- ed along with the rest. One party went by water,, and another by land* By the sinking of some of the canoes, those who were in them lost all their property, but fortu- nately saved their lives. Those, who went by land, drove the cattle. The journey was exceedingly tedious and troublesome, and for the greater part of the way lay through a swamp. The savages frequently, drove them forward like a herd of cattlel The missionaries and their wives usually travelled in the middle, surrounded by the christian Indians. But one morning, when the latter could not set out as expeditiously as their conductors wanted, they forced' the missionaries away alone, whip- ped their horses till they became unmanageable, and would not even allow time to the mothers to suckle their infants. The christian Indians followed as fast as possible, but with all their exertions, did riot come up with them till night ; and thus it was morning before they were rescued from the hands of the savages. Notwithstanding these and many other difficulties, they pursued their journey with the utmost patience. Not one left the congregatioii, not one laid the blame on others; no dissatisfaction or dissen- tion arose among them, but they were united in the spirit of true brotherly love, rejoici'ng in God their Saviour ; and even held their daily meetings. N 2 180 Mission in l^orth Ameribh. After a journey of about four weeks' they arritfeil at Sandusky Creek, about one hundred and twenty-five miles distant from the settlements on the Muskingum. Here the half-king and his warriors left them, marching into,! their own country, without giving them any further directions; Thus abandoned in a country, where there was neither game nor any other kind of provisions, though it had been represented to them by these barbarians as a perfect paradise, they roved to and fro for sometime, and at last resolved to spend the winter in Up^er Sakdusky. Having pitched upon the best spot they could find ill this dreary wilderness, they erected small huts of logs and bark, to shelter themselves from the wet and cold, as their savage conductors had stolen all their blankets and other articles, only leaving them the needful utensils for making maple sugar. Their want of provisions at length became so great, that the missionary Shebosh and some Indian brethren returned to the forsaken settlements on the Muskingum^ to fetch the Indian corn, which had been left standing in the fields. This was a hazardous enterprise. Shebosh and five of the Indians were actually taken prisoners and carried to Pittsburg; bht the. rest returned safe to Sandusky, with four hundred bushels of corft. Though many heathen visited this neighbourhood, they shewed no disposition to hear the gospel, but rather scoffed at it. Captain Pipe boasted, that he had taken the brethren prisoners, and considered them now as his slaves. The half-king informed them, that being now under his dominion,, they were bound to obey aU his mandates, and even to go to war at his command. The less prospect there appeared, under these circumstances, of being instrumental in the conversion of the heathen, the more joy the missionaries felt at seeing several^ who ajt the commencement of the troublesj had wandered frOm the congregation, return to the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, and; to his persecuted flock. , . Scarce had the christian Indians begun to establish themselves in Sanijusky, when the missionaries and the chiefs of their people received an order from the governor at Fort Detroit, to repair thither. , Glad of this oppor- tunity to speak for themselves and refute the many lies Mission in North America, i 81 propagated respecting them, four of the missionariesj accompanied by as many of the assistants, set out for that place on the 25th of October. Some days elapsed before the' investigation of the Various accusations, brought against them, could take place, as their principal accuser, Captain Pipe, had not yet arrived. /Without entering into a minute detail of the trial, suf- fice it to say, that Pipe, after some fruitless evasions, was obliged to confess, that the brethren were innocent, and to take all the blame to himself and the Chiefs. Thus won- derfully was their bitterest enemy compelled to become their advocate and friend. After making some further inquiries, the governor declared publicly, that the bre- thren were innocent of all the charges brought against them, that he viewed their endeavours to civilize and christianize the Indians with great satisfaction, and wbiild permit them to return to their congregations without de- lay. He then addressed the Indian assistants in a very condescending manner, admonished them to obey their teachers, and supplied them gratis with all they wanted. He offered the use of his own house to the mis^ionariesi and as they had been plundered contrary to his express orders, he provided them with clothes and every other necessary, aud even repurchased four watches of which they had been robbed when made prisoners. Thankful for the gracious interposition of God in their behalf, they arrived again at San'dusky on November 22nd, to the ineKpressible joy of their families and the whole congre- gation, who had entertained serious apprehensions, that they would be kept prisoners in Detroit. Our Indians at Sandusky now enjoyed a temporary rest. They erected a chapel, assembled for daily wor- ship, and great grace prevailed among| them. Some new people were baptized, and others, who had gone astray, were again restored to the fellowship of the believer^. But with regard to externals their situation was distres- sing in the extreme. Often they knew not to-day what they should eat to-morrow, and absolute famine stared them in the face. Provisions were scarce to be bought, and only at a most exorbitant price. The unusual seve- 182 Mission in- North America, rity of the winter increased the distress. They had con- siderable herds of cattle, but there was no forage for them in this dreary region, in consequence of which num- bers perished. Many of the poor lived entirely on wild potatos ; and the famine at last rose to such a pitch, that they greedily ate the carcasses of horses and cows, that were starved to death. Compelled by the horrors of famine, several parties returned to the forsaken settlements on the Muskingum, where the corn was still standing unreaped in the fields, and was even then better in quality, than what was offered for sale, at an enormous price, in Sandusky. A report, liliewise prevailed, that the danger in those parts had ceased ; but in crediting this, they found themselves, most fatally deceived. A scene of treachery and bloodshed was exhibitjed in this very quarter, to which it would be difliT cult to find a parallel in the history of the greatest barba- rians of any age or nation. About this time the governor of Pittsburg released those christian Indiiins vfho together with the missionarj' Shebosh had bee^ taken prisoners by the Americans. This act of com- mon justice Ijincensed those white people, who represented the Indians as a set of Canaanites, th,at ought to be extir- pated from the face of the earth.* Having heard that par- lies of christian Indians from Sandusky came occasionally to the Muskingum, to fetch provisions, about one hundred and sixty of these ruffians formed a plot to surprise ^hera, destroy the settlements, and then proceed tp Sandusky and murder the rest of the congregation. As soon as Colonel Gibson at Pittsburg received intelligence of this infernal plot, he sent information of it to the Muskingum, to warn the Indians of their danger : but the messengers arrived too late. Our Indians indeed had received timely notice of danger from another quarter, but contrary to their usual caution and timidity, paid no regard to the information, supposing that now they had nothing to fear from the Americans. In this instance their confidence was fatally misplaced. • See p. 145. Mission in North America. IS'S' Early in March. 17 82 the murderers approached Gna- DENHUETTEN. About a itiilc from the settlement they met young Shebosh, the son of the missionary, fired at- him and wounded- him so severely, that he was unable to escape. He then, according to their , own account, begged -for his life, representing that he was the son pf a white man. Kegardless of his entreaties, they cut him in pieces with their hatchets. Proceeding onward they reachetl the plantations, where many Indians were at worjf. They accosted them in friendly terms, desiring them to go home, and promising that no one should molest, them. They even pretended to pity them on account of their past; sufferings, and assured them of the protection . atid friendship of the Americans. The christian Indians, ignorant of the murder of young Sh^ bosh, believed all they said, and treated them in. the most hospitable manner. And when ordered by these mur- derers, not to return to Sandsuky, but go to Pittsburg, they submitted with resignation, hoping that God, in his providence, would by this means piit a stop to their siifferings. Prepossessed with this idea they, cheerfully delivered their guns, hatchets and other weapons* .and even shewed them where they had secreted their property in the woods. .^ Meanwhile, John Martin, one of the Indian assistants-, went to Salem to inform the inhabitants of the arrival of the Americans, assuring them they were come as friends in;, order to conduct the christian Indians to a place of safety. Those at Salem received this intelligence without regret, persuading themselves that God, by the instruiuen- tality of the Americans, would release them from their present disagreeable situation,; and fondly hoping th^t, being once arrived at Pittsburg, they would not find it difficult to form a settlement in some convenient spot,: and procure advice and assistance from Bethlehem. Bro- ther John Martin returned to Gnadenhuetten, acquaint- ing both the christian Indians and the Americans with their resolution. The latter having expressed a desire to see Salem, a party of them was conducted thither, and most hospitably entertained. Here they feigned the same friendship as at Gnadenhoetten, and eyen affected great 1S4 Mission in North America, piety, entering into much religibiis discourse with the Itidians. ■ Having by these hypocritical arts completely succeeded in deceiving otir unsuspecting Indians, they at once threw off the mask, and displayed all the hideous deformity of their real character. They suddeiily attacked the poor defenceless inhabitants of GnadenhUetten, seized and bound them. Those coming from Salem shared a similar fate. Before they entered Gnadenhuetten, they were surprised by their conductors, robbed of their guns and even of their pocket-knives, and brought bound into the settlement. The miscreants now held a council, and by a plurality of votes resolved to murder them all the next day. The few, who opposed this inhuman resolu- tioii, wrung their hands, calling God to witness that they were innocent of the blood of these harmless Indians. But the majority remained inflexible, only diifering as to the mode of execution. Some proposed burning them alive; others scalping them ; and the lattfer mode was finally fixed upon. They then despatched a messenger to thte prisoners, to tell them, that as they were christians, they might prepare themselves for death in a christian manner, for they must all die on the morrow. It may easily be conceived, that this dreadful intelli- gence overwhelmed the prisoners with horror. But, soon recollecting theniselyes, they patiently submitted to these blood-.thirsty tyrants. Bsing allowed one night's respite, they spent it in prayer, and in exhorting one another to remain faithful unto death : and as the morning dawned they united in solemn hymns of praise, in the joyful hope, that they should soon enter into the glorious presence of their Gdd and Saviour and join the Song of the ransomed before the throne of the Latnb. ' When the day of execution (March 8th) arrived, tire murderers fixed npon two houses, one for the men, the other foi; the women and clvildren, to which they gave the name of Slaughter-houses. The carnage immediately commenced, and these poor innocent people, men, wo- men and children, being bound with ropes, two and two Mimo7i in North Amerka. 1 85 together, were led into the houses, and there scalped .and mordered. By this act of most wanton- barbarity, ninety i^ix persons finished their earthly existence, among whom were five valuable assistants in the, mission, and thirty four children. According to the testiiiiony of the mur- derers them&elyes, they displayed uncommon patience, and met death with cheerful resignation, assured of a glo- rious resurrection to life eternal. It appears from all the circumstances attending this bloody catastrophe, that they were not murdered because they were christian&, but merely because they were Indiansi We cannot therefore compare them with the martyrs of the primitive church, who died for their confession of Christ}, but this we may. confidently affirm, that they met deathj even in the most formidable shape, with all the meekness and fortitude of Christ's true disciples, and to the end of their lives bore witness to the truth and efficacy «>f the gospel. Their very murderers acknowledged, that they were good Indians, "for," said they, "they sang and prayed to their latest breath." Only two youths escaped this dreadful massacre, and that in a manner almost miraculous., The one fortunately disengaged himself from his bonds, and unobserved crept through a narrow window into the cellar of one of. the slaughter-houses. Here he soon observed the blood drop through the floor and run in streams into the. cellar, which makes it probable, that, the murderers not only scalped their victims, but cut them in pieces. Kemaining concealed in the cellar during the night, he with -much difficulty made his wa.y out the next' morning, -and fled into an adjacent thicket. The escape of the other . youth was equally remarkable. His murderers gave him only one blow on the head, took his sealp and then left him. In a while he recovered his. senses and saw himself sur- rounded ^^ith bleeding corpses, among whom he observed one, called Abel, still moving and endeavouring to raise himself. But he lay quite still, as though he had been dead; and this caution proved the means of his deli- verance; for one of the murderers coming in, andobserv-< ing Abel move, gave him two or three blows, which killed 18'6 Mission in North America. him. The other,. thoHgJi sufFeiring excruciating pain from hjs wounds,, remained quiet. A while afterhe ventured to creep towards the door, and not seeing any- person near, escaped into the woods, where he concealed himself dur- ing the night. Here he met his companion,: and they pursued their journey to Sandusky. Though they pur- posely took a circuitous route, on which they encountered great dangers, and suffered many hardships-; yet- they were graciously preserved. Before they kft their place of con- cealment, they observed the wretches making merry, con- gratulating themselves on the success of tlieir enterprize, and setting fire to the slaughter-houses. The christian Indians at Schoenbrunn fortunately es-« taped the destruction, equally . meditated against them. Having despatched a messenger, on some business to Gnad-enhuetten, he found young Shebosh lying deaid and scaljaed, by the way, and looking forward, saw a num- ber of Americans'in and about the settlement. .Alarmed at this, he returned to Schoenbrunn with the utmost pre- cipitation, informing the inhabitants of what he had seen. Upon this they all fled into the woods. From their lurk- ing-places they: observed the murderers approach the town, who finding no one at home, set fire to the houses, (as they had also- doae .at Gnadenhuetten and Salem ;) and, taking the scalps of their innocent victims, about fifty horses, sorae blankets and other things with them, pro- ceeded to Pittsburg, with a view to murder the colony of Indians, lately settled on the north side of the Ohio; which diabolical design they partially effected. While iribis tragical scene was acting on the banks of the Muskingum, our missionaries, in Sandusky were not without their troubles. Some members of the congrega- tion had apostatized from the faith, and excited no small distfirbance and uneasiness by their endeavours to seduce others, as well as by their own obstinacy, bidding defiance to all remonstrances, and treating even the kindest re- proof with contempt and ridicule. But a heavier trial than this was preparing for them. The enemies of the brethren were- still plotting the destruction of the mission. The governor of Detroit, uHwilling to break his promise Mi;s$hn in North America. 187 thafno one sljoiuld njolest them in their labours, resisted every b^e msiuuation against them as far as lay in his power. At length, however, all his measures of firmness and prudence proved ineffectual ; and he was in a manner forced, though very reluctantly, to give the half-king of the Hurons land. an English officer in his company, an oi^er to bring all the missionaries and their families to Fort Detroit j adding, however, a strict charge neilJier to j)lunder nor abuse them. Our missionaries were panic-struck at this order : to be ^orn from their beloved flock was a far severer blow to them, than death itself. But no choice was allowed them, and submission to the inscrutable ways of divine Provi- dence became their imperious duty ; for the slightest re- monstrance might have subjected them to ill treatment and plunder, and could not have been of the smallest ser- vice.. . When this order was made known to the congre- gatisn, . a most affecting and overwhelming scene was ex- hibited. The whole assembly burst into loud lamenta- tions and almost crushed the spirit of the missionaries, al- ready sufficiently oppressed by their own weight of sor- row. The Indians, who are wont to endure the most cruel tortures without a tear or a groan, . now wept like ehildren bereaved of their parents, and in broken accents, as their half-stifled emotions would give them utterance, exclaimed, *' We are left as sheep without a shepherd !" " Ah 1" said one, " it gives me no concern, that I am poor and hungry and have lost all my substance. Gladly would I suffer all this and much more ; but that our ene- mies are taking our teachers from us, and intend to rob our souls of nourishment and deprive us of salvation; this is more than I can bear. But they shall never entice me to adopt their heathenish practices, or force me to do things abominable in the sight of God my Saviour. No ; I will rather run into the thickest wood, fly'from all hu- man society^ and spend the remainder of my days in pe- nury and wretchedness." Heart-rending as this scene was to tliem, their sorrow had not yet reached its height. They were still ignorant of the tragical events on the Muskingum j and it was not 188 Mission in North America. till the day before their departure, that they received the first appaling tidings of that bloody catastrophe, by an Inc^an warrior who came from those parts. And as his information was not in every respect correct, they were left to figure things to themselves even more dreadful than they were. By what they could collect from his relation, one part of the christian Indians had been murdered, and another carried prisoners to Pitts.burg. In this state of mind, overpowered with grief for the past, and agitated by fears for the future, they toot leave of their congregation at Sandusky. Brother Zeisberger, after exhorting them, with the affection of a father, to femain faithful to Jfisus unto death, and apply to Him in all their need and tlistress, as the only permanent source of comfort, salvation and life, kneeled down with- the whole assembly, offered grateful praises to the Lord for all the spiritual blessings he had bestowed upon them in the midst of great temporal misery, and fervently com- mended them to the. protection and preservation of the triune God. In March 178? they left Sanduskv, and were accom- panied a con^derable part of the way by a great number of their wee|4ing fiock ; and by «6me even as .far as Lower Sandusky. Here they were detained for some time, wait- ing for vessels to carry them across lake Erie to Detroit. ilhe vessels, at length, arrived witii a written order to treat the. missionaries with all possible kindness, and in case of stormy weather not to endanger their lives by cros- sing the lake. Having arrived at Detroit on the 1 1th of AprijI, they were lt>dged in a part of the barracks, which bad Just been fitted up for oflBcers' dwellings. The gover- nor soon called to see them, assuring them, that though many new accusations had been brought against them, yet he was fully convinced of their innocence, and had not sent for them on that account, but merely for their own safety, having received the most authentic intelligence, that they were exposed to imminent danger while they Re- mained at Sandusky. He also left it to their own option, whether they would remain at Detroit, or go to Bethle- hem- With his consent they.removed ffom the barcaclts to a private house, at a short distance ffonj the town. Mission' in North America. 189 The Indian congi-egation, meanwhile, was placed irt the most precarious situation. The assistants indeed con- tinued the daily meetirigs, and faithfully exhorted their brethren to remain stedfast. An English trader, who vi- sited Sandusky, bore a pleasing testimony to thi«i He related, that he heard them sing hymns and exhort each other, till they wept together liice children. But, en- couraging as this was, some false brethren now manifested the per&dy of their hearts. They ascribed all their mis- fortunes, and even the mnrder on the Muskingum j to the' missionaries. Besides the half-king of the Hurons being incessantly tormented with the pangs of a guilty conscience, had no rest as long as any christian Indians reinained in his neighbourhood. He, therefore, sent them a peremp- toiy order to quit the country altogether. Indeed it ap- jleared, as ' if no place were left, where our poor, perse- cuted Indians might find rest for the soles of their feet. They could expect no protection from the white people, and the heathen proscribed them as outlaws. As their dis- persion seemed unavoidable, they resolved to make no re- sistance. One party went into the country of the Shawa- nose, and another settled in the vicinity of Pipestown, with a view to proceed further to the banks of the Miami. Thus a temporary stop was put to the, once flourishing miaeion among the Indians. The various afflictive and dreadful occurrences, just re- lated, bore every mark of a mysterious and inscrutable Providence, impenetrable to the view of short-sighted man, and only calculated to elicit in his servants the bold effort of faith, to hope even against hope. By degrees, howeverj the dark clouds dispersed, the veil, y^hich had concealed the secret operations of the divine hand, was at least partially withdrawn, and they were enabled to discern rays of almighty Ibwe, power and wisdom in this darkest of dispensations, constraining them gratefully to exclaim: The Lord God Omnipotent teigrteth! He' mil restrain the power of the enimy and the fury of the oppressor , and cause all things toiaOrk together for good to them that iove Htm, Though the removal of the christian Indians from their settliements on the Muskingum caused great distress at the 190: Mission in Korfk America. ^ time, yet it was, in fact, a most gracious interposition of divine Providence } for had not this measare been rendered absolutely necessdryj it is more than probable that the whole congiiegation wowld have been involved in the mas- sacre at Gnadenhuetten, but in consequence of their emigration to Sandusky more thah two thirds escaped. Had not our missionaries received orders to repair to De- troit, they would not then have thought of sending a mes-, sengei' to the Muskingum, to call the Indians away, and; thus the inhabitants of Schoenbrunn would have shared the same fate with their mm'dered brethren at Gnaden- huetten. For the arrival of the messenger from San-. DUSKY, at the former place required that the message hei had brought should be also carried to the, other settle- ments; and the Indian entrusted with this was the person who, as mentioned before, saw young Shebosh lying dead by the road, and spread the alarm at Schoenbrunn, thereby aflfording time to the inhabitants to save them- selves by flight. But the good resulting from the removal of the missio- naries to Detroit did not terminate here. The same gang of murderers, who had committed the massacre on the Muskingum, did not abandon their bloody design against the rest of the congregation, though they deferred its ex-, ecution for a while. A few weeks after the dispersion from Sanduskv, these miscreants came thither, but finditig the place deserted, their cruel purpose was providentially ' defeated. Soon after this disappointment divine justice overtook them, for being attacked by a party of English and Indian warriors, the greater part of them were cut to pieces. Thus the Lord made the very •wrath of men to praise . Mm, We now resume the history of the mission. Our missionaries in Detroit did not, as we have seen, svail themselves of the governor's permission to go to Beth- lehem.: a sense of duty and affection inducing them to seek the welfare of their poor, dispersed Indian flock. To pro- mote this they resolved to build a new settlement and invite their converts to retuirn to them. Through the interest of Mission in North Amerkoj, 191 the gqvecnor, wIiq highly sjjproved tihis measure, tbey obtain,ed , from the Chippeyyays. a grant of Isind, about thirty males, north of Detroit, on the banks of the Huron^ The governor continued his kind assistance in various ways; he, furnished them with provisions, boats, planks and other, necessary articles from the royal stores, iind gave them some horses and. cows j stnd his lady presented them with a valuable assortment of seeds and roots. , He even sent a message with a string of wampom to all the dispersed, christian Indians, inviting, them to return to their teachers- Several families soon collected, so that in the month of July 1782 they had the pleasure of beginning the erection of the new settlement, which they called New Gnadenhuetten. During their residence at Deti'oit, they had had fv-e- quent opportunities, of preaching the gospel both, in the English and Qerman languages ; they were often applied, to, to baptize children and. bury the dead,; and brotheu Zeisberger delivered several discourses to, the prisoners,, which were attended by many inhabitants of the town. The industry of our brethren, aided by a favourable soil and other advantages, soon changed the new settle- ment, which before had been a perfect wilderness, into a> fruitful and pleasant spot; but its colonization by thei christian Indians proceeded rather slowly. The greater part of 'them still remained scattered, among, the heathen, chiefly in the country of the.Twichtwees, about two hun- dred and: fifty miles south of New GNADBNpuETXENi The missionaries omitted no opportunity of sending, them verbal messages; but these, were frequently perverted. byr the bearers from interested motives, and the adversaries en- deavoured to keep alive their imaginary fears of the white people, especially of the English government. Some of. the native. Chiefs also terrified them, by commanding them to be resigned to their fate, and resume the manners oflthe, heathen, adding; " that not a single word of the gospel should any more be heard in the Indian, country." , Notwithstanding the wily arts of the pagans to hindei^ the cbristiaa. Indians from returning to, tliqir teachers. l&S Mission tii North America. manyibj? degrees collected together on the river Huron. The new settl^nlent was. freiquently visited, both by white people and heathen, who admired the regulations and im- provements of the place. The missionaries exerted their accustomed zeal in preaching the gospel and instructing their flock. A few yielded to the converting influence of the gospel and were baptized, and the internal course of the congregation was encouraging and edifying. In May 1783, they joined their neighbours in thanks- giving to God for the restoration of peace between' Eng- land and the United States of America. The ensuing winter was marked by a very intense frost continuing late into spring. Being wholly unexpected, it cccasioried great scarcity and obliged our Indians to dis- perse through the country. T^^y were often reduced to extreme want, and forced to live on wild roots, till God was pleased to relieve their necessities by a large herd of deer, which strayed into the neighbourhood. During this time of scarcity they unavoidably contracted considerable debt with the traders in Detroit, but these were now so well convinced of their industry and honesty, that they gave them credit without hesitation. And as the next harvest proved very productive, they were enabled punc- tually to discharge all their debts. , But now new troubles arose. The Chippe\vays, who had given the tract of land on which New Gnadenhuet- TEN stood, claimed it back again, assigning as a reason, that by the erection of the settlement, they had lost one of their principal hunting-districts. They even threateaed to murder some of them, and thus compel the rest to quit the country. As it was not likely that these complaints atid vexations would speedilj' terminate, the brethren re- solved to seek for an eligible residence near the river Wal- halding-.^ While preparing for their removal they received intel-- ligence, that the Congress of the United States, after the conclusion of the war with Great Britain, had given ex- press orders, that the territory on the Muskingum, for- MissioA in North America. lys mefly inhabited by the christian Indians, should be iS' served for them. Tliis was welcome news at New Gna- DENHUETTEN ; for though an Indian feels a strong aver- sion to dwell' ih a place where any o'f his relatives hkve beeii killed> yet, on embracing the gospel, they had laid aside this superstitious notion. Various impediments, how- ever, as yet prevented their return. The sa;vages were stilt determined to carry on the war against the United States, and a great part of the Delawares and Shawanose declared their intention to oppose the return of the chris- tian Indiarts. Oar Brethren, however, resolved at all events to leave the bants of the Huron, and if they could not immedi- ately remove to the Muskingum, to seek a temporary re- sidence in some other convenient spot. The governor of Fort Detroit approved of this determination, and sent formal messages to the Indians not to molest their christian countrymen. By his kind interposition they received a compensation of two hundred dollars for their houses and plantations in New Gnadenhuetten, which were after- wards occupied by white settlers. He most generously offered them vessels, to carry .them across lake Exie to Cayahaga, and on their arrival supplied them with pro- visions; , In April 1786 the missionaries apd their people left New Gnadenhuetten and went in twenty-two canoes to Detroit, the inhabitants of which expressed deep regret at their removal, having always found them industrious and honest neighbours., The governor treated them with great kindness aftd hospitality. In a few days, they em- barked on board two, trading vessels,; the Beaver and Ma- kinaj belonging to the North- West Company, ithich one of the owners had kindly offered for the use of the congre- gation, and given strict orders to the captains to snew them all possible kinditess,* and not run any ;risks in case of danger. Their' voyage was pleasaAt and prosperous till they arrived at an island in the lake,, where they Were obliged to encamp for four weeks, owing to Contrary winds. At length a brisk, gale sprung up,: and in a, short time brought them within sight of the Cayahaga coast, when 194 Mission in North America. the wind suddenly veered round and drove them back to their former anchorage. In consequence of this long delay, one of the vessels was ordered back to Detroit, and the captains agreed to land the congregation in two divisions in Sandusky, and then return with the vessels and bring the baggage to Caya- haga. The first division being unable to reach Sandusky, disembarked at Rocky Pdint, about eighty miles distant from the bay. Their journey by land was Very difficult, as it lay through a pathless desert. After some days the second division overtook them, in slight canoes hastily made of bark. They now travelled together, one party on foot along the border of lake Erie, the other in Canoes, keeping close to the shore ; and arrived in safety at Caya- haga on the 7th of June. Want of provisions made them hasten their departure, and proceed up the river till they came to an old town, formerly inhabited by Ottawas, about one hundred miles distant from Pittsburg. Here they resolved to spend the summer, and thotigh the season was already far advanced," they still cleared the ground for planting and even sowed some Indian corn. They callsd this'place Pilgerruh. The difficulties always attending the erection of a new settleftient, were considerably lessened in this instance. For soon after their arrival they received a. large supply of various necessary articles from Our brethren at Beth- lehem, and some traders, residiiig^in the vicinity, readily furnished them with provisions,^* giving them credit for great part of the payment. The Congress of the United States likevvise ordered a quantity of Indian corn and blankets to be given them, and in a written message in- formed them, that their return into the United Sfetes gave them great satisfaction, and they might always de- pend on the friendship and protection of government; promising to give them five hundred bushels of Indian coj-n, a hundred blankets and other necessaries from the public magazines, whenever they should remove to the Muskingum. This promise was scrupulously ftjlfilled, though their removal could not be immediately effected. ' PitGERBUH was often visited by Chippeways, Ottaw'as Mission in Norih America. 193 and DelawareSj expressing a desire to hear the gospel. But while this circumstance afforded sincere pleasure to the missionaries, they met with troubles to which, they had been unaccustomed on the Huron. Several heathen In- dians, who had relations in the settlement, endeavoured to sedpce them to return to paganism, and on some their attempts were but too successful. Upon the ;whole, how- ever, the state of things was pleasing and warranted the hc^e, that after a temporary rest in this place, they might proceed to the Muskingum. The joy this prospect diflFused through the congregation was soon interrupted. > Various reports of new hostilities between the Americans and Indians reached Pilgeuruh, and though they, were soon discovered to be false, yet they excited no small consternation, as their; recollectiooi of the dreadful tragedy on the Muskingum was still too strong to be easily forgotten. Besides^ the savages were as much against their remaining in their present situation as against their returning to their former settlements, and insisted on their removal to some others part of the cpun- try. This caused them much perplexity. After mature deliberation they determined to relinquish every idesi of returning to the Muskingum at that time, but seek for a peacefiil and safe retreat on some convenient spot betweeji Cayahaga and Pettquotting, In April 178Y they broke up from Pilgerruh, arid, pro- ceeding partly by land and partly by water, in less than a week arrived at the place they had fixed upon for their resi- dence. This was very unlike any of their former places of abode. The soil was good and fertile, producing wild pota« tos in great abundance : it appeared hke. a, fruitfiir orchard,, several apple and plumb trees growing here and there; and the lake, which was only a league distant, abounded with fish. They, therefore, rejoiced at the thought of establish-. ing a regular settlement in so pleasant a country, especiall:^. as it was not- frequented by any of those- savages, .who had. hitherto proved such troublesome, neighbours. But their joy was of short duration. Not more than tliree or four days after their arrival, a Delaware captain 02 196 Mission in North America. came into the camp, and gave them positive orders to quit that place and remove to Sandusky, adding the most so- lemn promises' of protection and safety j and assuring them that the place appointed for their residence was not in the vicinity of the savages, the nearest Indian town being ten miles distant. Disagi'eeable as this message was, they considered submission as the path of duty. Nothing agr- peared so dreadful, as the prospect of being again subjeeb to a heathen government. Yet they could not deny, that their calling seemed to require, that they should live in the very midst of those heathen, to whom they' were to preach ' the gospel. In the beginning of May they set forward, but had not proceeded far, when they discovered that great part of the message was false, for the places intended for their residenccj was not above two miles from the villages of the heathen. They determined, thferefore, to go no further but settle near Pettquotting. Of this they informed the Chiefs, and obtained their permission to stay, at least en year, in that place without molestation. They fixed on a situation near a river, called Huron, which empties itself into lake Erie at Pettquotting. Oa its western batik they laid out plantations, choosing the eastern, which was high land, for their dwellings j. and called this settlement New Salemj Many heathen In- dians attended their public worship, and scarce a day passed without visits from strangers ; ahd they had the sa- tisfaction to find that the blessing of God accompanied their labours; Among those savages, who at this time were converted from the error of their way, were two per- sons formerly noted for profligacy. The one had some years ago formed a plan against the lives of the missiona- ries, and often lain in ambush to surprise them, but for- tunately without success. Coming . accidentally to PiL- GERUUH, the gospel made so deep and salutary an impres-. sion upon his mind, that he cried day and night to the Lord to be delivered from the slavery of sin. The other. Was a Huron Indian, who declined the offer made him by his nation, to be their chief, and came to New Salem, declaring that he had been long seeking for something Missimi in North America. 197 better than worldly honours. He intended to visit his heathen relations, but when hearing of Jesus and his love to sinners, he relinquished that design, and remained faithfully attached to the congregation, finding there that peace and rest, which he had so long sought in vain elsewhepeL Many of those christian Indians also, who during the iate troubles had been scattered through the country, hy degrees returned to New SaleiIi, and were affectionately received. Yet with regard to suqh, as during their ab- sence had relapsed into heathenism, our missionaries used proper discretion, and did not admit- them to the privi- leges of the church, till they gave satisfactory proofs of repentance and change of heart. The prosperity of the young people afforded them much pleasure, Many of these, by a strict conformity to the precepts of tlie gospel, shewed that it had taken deep root in their .underst|inding and affections. The assistants incres^sed in grace and knowledge of the truth, and attended to their office with zeal and diligence. The good order maintained iii thq settlement, the peaceable conduct of its inhabitants, and their cheerful behaviour excited the admiration of all w^o visited the place, not excepting the very savages them- selves. One of their Chiefs addressed our Indians thus : " You are in truth a happy people, you live cheerfully and peaceably together ; and this is to be found no wheye but among you *." Their residpnce near Pettquotting appeared. very pro- vidential as it afforded them an opportunity of becoming acquainted with many Indians. They had more visiters here than in any of their former places of abode,, who were always treated with the kindest hospitality* thpugh this was ofiten attended with no small inconvpnience and ex- pense ; for it was no uncommon case fpr one family to lodge and entertain ten or more persons for a whole week and even longer. The assistants displayed great zeal and activity in pointing out to their guests, their need of a Saviour and in commending the love of God in Christ * Here ends the history of Loskiel. 198 Mission in North America. Jesus. Their endeavours were not fruitless. Several heathen embraced the gospel and received holy baptism. Among theSe was Gelelemiiid, formerly a Delaware Chief^ and some other persons of distinction. Gegeshumind, a son of the assistant Abraham, was another instance of the power of divine grace. He had been a notorious profligate, as he freely acknowledgeir to brother Zeisberger, when driven by the pangs of a guilty conscience to disclose, his true character. In order not to forget any of the, evil deeds he had committed, he brought fifty-eight small pieces of wood with him, which were designed to remind him of the crimes of which he had been guilty. Deep-rooted superstition and long- con- tracted habits of vice, drove him almost to despair and impeded his conversion ; but the grace of God finally gained the viietory, and liberated this slave of Satan. After his baptism he became a zealous confessor of the truth as it is in Jesus, especially when visiti^the Indians. In this employment his knowledge of five bf their langua* ges, or dialects, was of great use to him. Several apostates also returned, and some young men, acquainted with several , languages, forsook . paganism, joined the congregation, and became useful and active members pf it, and the young people, born and educated in it, afforded the most pleasing hopes. Those christian Indians, who after their dispersion from ^e Muskingum had retired Ao the Miami,' contiriuied. to edify each other as well as circumstances would permit, and many of them remained true to their christian pro- fessiob. Some departed this life in peace and in assured hope of a better inheritance. The decrease in number, occasioned by their removal, was made up by others who found their way to New Salem. Among these was a girl, only eleven years old, who, as soon as she heard of the new settlement, undertook the journey by herself, and ar- rived in safety, being a distance of more than three hun- dred miles. Thus the settlement was gradually increas- ing, and at the close of 1790 contained upwards of two hundred inhabitants *. ' *,Bretlrren's History, Vol. iii. p. 22S — 227. and Vol. iv. p 480. Mission in North America. 199 After a tranquil residence of four years in New Salem, they were obliged to quit that settlement. For some tiMe past they had been frequently annoyed by the white deal- ers in rum, residing in their neighbourhood, and now they were alarmed by reports pf hostilities having com- menced between the United States and the Indians, Tbey therefore endeavoured to find a temporary asylum in the English territory. - For this purpose they fixed on a place lying about eighteen miles from Detroit. The governor of tl^at town kindly afforded them every assis- tance in his power. The whole congregatiouj upwards of two hundred in number, crossed lake Erie in thirty ca- noes, and reached their new residfence on the ^th of May 1791, the missionaries and the heavy baggage being con- veyed in a ship, hir^d for that purpose by a gentleman in Detroit *. ^ , Among other heathen, who during their abode in this place', sought the fellowship of the christian Indians, was a man of the tribfe of the Wiondats. For some years he had mianifested an inclination to live with theui, and labour^-, ing now under a serious illness,' he renewed his applica- tion. Some Indian brethren visited him and spent-nearly the whole night in disdoursing with him of the Jove of Jesus to sinners. This greatly enlivened him, and he regretted-, that he, was not able to go with them, declaring that he would wish to die among them. In a day or two he waS brought to the settlenlent. The Roman Csltholic priests f, in whose communion he had been baptized, asking him, why he had changed his religion, he replied : " I have been long among yOu, and repeatedly heard your dis^ courses ; but it was all hay and stubble, and I have found nothing among you, that could tranquilize my ' mind j but this I have found with the Indian -congregation ^, Their stay in this place, however, did not last above a * This place, being only a temporary residence, received no particular name. ' . ^ ■f A number of Roman Catholic priests reside among the Wiondats, who baptize them, but in other respects suffer them to live like other savages. j: The congregation being on the point of breaking up from their abode near Detroit, this Indian was not able to go withthem ; and it is ni>t mentioned what becam* of him in the sequel. Brethren's History, Vol. iV. p. 527. ' SOO Mission in North America. year. . Some of their white neighbours, not being amica- bly disposed towards the mission, molested them in vari- ous ways; and war having now broken out between the Americans and savages, the latter sent repeated messages to our Indians to take up -the hatchet against the white people, and in case of reftisal, threatened to treat them as they had done their brethren on the Muskingum, or force them to return to paganism. Besides^ their present residence, from its low situation, was rendered very un- healthy ; many of the- Indians died, and the missionaries themselves \yere frequently indisposed. No other resource being left them, than to abandon their present place of. abode, they directed their thoughts to Upper Canada, where the English government had assigned twenty five thousand acres of land, for the use of our mission, lying on the river Retrench, or Thames, which falls into the east side of lake St Clair. In April 1792 the whole congregation moved thither, going partly by land and partly by water. Having fixed on a proper spot, they immediately began to build and divide the farms. ■ The district allotted to them consisted of three large dales; the high grounds being sandy, but the low lands uncommonly fertile and well watered. The gresatest difficulty was, that they were obliged to fetch all the stones, required: for building, from the bed of the riv«r.. To this settlement they ; gave the name of Fairfield. It was afterwards declared to be a regular township, containing twelve miles in length and six iii breadth ; and our Indians in a short time' iniproved it so much, that 1 the wilderness was lite\-ally changed into ». fruitful field. In 9 few years. Fairfield became a very flourishing settlement. In 1797 it contained fifty' houses, some of them Jarge and convenient, inhabited by about one hun- dred and fifty Indians, besides the missionaries. By their industry in aigrietilture and various manufactures, the inhabitants ^ould nqt only supply their own immediate necessities, but advantageously dispose of many articles to their neighboui's. Oh aii average they annually fur- nished the Jjforth-vyest fur-company with two thousand Mission in North America. 201 tushels of Indian corn. In winter they made about five thousand pounds of maple-sugar *; and tliough they consumed a great part of it themselves, yet what they brought to market was still considerable, and of superior quality to any manufactured in Canada. They also raised a great number of cattle for sale ; for be- ing accustomed to deer's flesh, beef is unpalatable to Indians,: and they seldom eat it. Their canoes, coopery, baskets, mals, &c., also commanded a ready sale. The whole country was benefitted by their industry, as it serv- ed to reduce the price of many of the principal necessaries of life. The establishment of our brethren bere was of public latUity in another point of view. When they first came to the^e parts, ,the nearest settlers to them, resided at a distance of thirty leagues ; but no sooner was it known, that our Indians would form a colony on this river,- than the adjacent lands were eagerly taken by white people^ and in a few years above a hundred families settled in their neighbourhood. Having themselves opened roads in various directions through the country, travellers were continually passing to and fro, both by land and water,, and FAiRyiELD might be considered as lying on the great road to Niagara. Thus this settlement appeared to be admirably suited for a missionary station, from whence the gospel might be proclaimed to the different and nume^ rous tribes of the Chippeways. Soon, after their arrival in Fairfield the IndiaitESiiQ the vicinity frequently visited them and attended their worship, especially the Monsys, who had a village at no great distance; and the native assistants from Faiufield, yisijed them in their turn, preaching the gospel to them. In fi tevf instances it displayed its converting power ; but most 207 for that very purpose, and most of them expressed an ardent desire to be useful to their heathen countrymen by leading them to a knowledge of the Saviour of sinners. They entered into an agreement among themselves, to renew the ancient hospitality and treat all visitei's in the most friendly manner. Thus after the lapse of more than seventeen years, since the christian Indians were forcibly expelled from this part of the country, a few of the survivers, in reliance on the help of God, ventured to re-occupy that station. They erected their first settlement near theformer site of Schoen- BRUNN and called it Goshen. A few heathen families in the sequel moved thither -and embraced the gospel. At the beginning of the year ISOl, the number of inhar bitants amounted to seventy one persons. The love and christian simplicity prevailing among them, were noticed with great pleasure and much edification by all visiters. Their number, however, was considerably diminished the following year, as several families removed to the river Wabash, to commence a mission among the Che- rokees. November the I7th 1808, the venerable brother Zeis- berger finished his earthly pilgrimage, in the eighty eighth year of his age. Of this long lite he had spent above sixty years as a missionary among the Indians, suffering numberless hardships and privations, and enduring many dangers. He had acquired an extensive knowledge of the Delaware language and several other Indian tongues. But most of his translations, vocabularies and other books for the instruction of the Indians, being only in manuscript, were burned on the Muskingum ; and the unsettled state of the mission for a long period after, his iHultifarious other avocations, and his advancing age, did not allow him sufficient leisure or strength completely to make up this loss. His zeal for the conversion of the heathen never abated, and no consideration could prevail on him to leave his beloved Indian flock. The younger missionaries revered him as a father, and generally spent some time at Goshen, before they entered upon their labours, to profit by his counsel and instruction. Within 20S Miision in North America. a few months of his 3eath he Became nearly blind,' yet he did not lose his usual. cheerfulness, being perfectly resigned to the *ill of God ; and though his body was alifrost worn to a skeletbny his judgment i-emained sound. Thus " he came to the graive ini a full age, like a shock of com cometh in its season ; and entered into the joy of his Lord;" Meanwhile our brethren continued their labours in Goshen, and enjoyed rest and quietness, and even dur- ing the war in 1813, when Fairfield was destroyed, they! experienced no serious m^olestation ox interruption. The . vicinity of the two colonies of Bersaba and Gnadenhnet- ten, inhabited by English and Germans^ who are mem- bers of the brethren's chiirch,, likewise profited by the visits and services of the missionaries, especially while there was no resident minister at Gnadenhuetten, which is only seven miles distant from Goshen ; and thus a constant friendly intercourse was maintained between these two colonies and the missionary settlement. Opc^-; sionally also our. brethren made intinerant tours through the country, in order to visit those Indians, who formea^ly. belonged to the congregation at Pettquotting, and now were scattered in the vwilderness, like sheep without a shepherd, and to preach the gospsl to the heathen.. On, these cireuits they, often travelled three hundred miles, mostly on foot. . ' The Indians belpnging to this congregation j though but fewin number, walked worthilyof their christian profession, which the more strongly excited the gratitude of, their teachers, as th^ were daily exposed to the most alluring, temptations. Within a'.distance of only three miles from them, lay a town, which might be compared to a very. Sodom, on account of the wickedness of its inhabitants, , who though they were white people and called themselv.es christians, lived in the practice of every abomination, and tried every base art to seduce onr Indians. Hitherto, however, even the weakest among them, have shown too much reverence for the word of God, to yield to these temptations ; and our missionaries continue to observe, also among the young people, encouraging evidences, Mission in North AiHeritai 209 that they are often powerfully impressed with divine truthj and show an abhorrence of paganism arid its concomitant vices and misery.' Yet the ungodly lives of the white set* tiers have an injurious tendency in keeping the savages from attending to the preaching of the gospel : conse- quently few conversions frorti heathenism occur at Goshen. The most recent intelligence from that quarter, dated in July 1817, mentions, that art Indian girl had been bap- tized on the 6th of Januafy preceding, and that brother Luckenbach was particularly attentive to the schobli Several of the children shewed a good capacity and were able to read the English Testament. Among other exer- cises they translate portions of scripture into their own language, Which gives the missionaries ap opportunity of knowing, Whether they understand what they read. The present number of inhabitants at Goshen does probably hot ext:eed fifty. As edrly as the year IT id attempts were ihade by our Brethren to propagate the gospel among the Cherokeesj but these and seVerdl succeeding endeavours were frustrated by repeated wars among the different Indian tribes, as w«ll as by subsequent hostilities between the English and Ame- ricans. Nothing therefore was effected by the journeys iriade by them iilto this territory; eixdept that a friendly intercourse was thereby established with that liatioh. In 1799 the Brethren's Society (in North America) for pro- pagating the gospel among the heathen, received intelli- gence, that the Cherokees wished to have teachers residing among them. 'In consequence of this information, the brethren Abrahaln iSteirier sind F. d von Schweinitz were commrssioned to visit that part of the country and inquire into the diSpositidn of its Indian inhabitants; But the season beiiig alrekdy far afdvanced, the object of their journey Was not fully sittsiined. Meaiiwhile a cor- respondence was kept up with some gentlemen j residing in those parts. Who favoured the undertaking; By their advice the two bi'ethren, mentioned beforej left Salem in North Carolina a second time tov^ards the end of August following; In about three weeks they arrived at Tellico on the, river Tenessee, being the frontier-town of the United States towards the territory of the Cherokees. P 210 Mission in North America.- Some days after the Chiefs of the two tribes, the Upper; and Lower Cherokees, assembled to hold a great council, at which between three and four thousand Indians were present. To this assembly our brethren were introduced, and the object of. their journey lajd before it. After spending several days in consultation, all the Upper Chiefs, declaimed their approbation of the proposal, and in token of friendship gave them the right hand ; but the Lower Chiefs would not agree to it, and appeared rather indifferent.: - Every thing having been finally determined upon by . the directors of the mission, and the needful permission obtained from the government, the brethren A. Steiner and Gottlieb Byhan went thither in April 1801, and took up their abode with a Mr. Vann, who treated them with great kindness, and lent them his negroes to assist in building a cottage for their dwelling on the land, ap- propriated for the use of the mission, which they after- wards called SpMNG-i'LACE. Mr. Vann's friendship was of essential service to them, for, as the Indians ge- nerally respected him, and the worst stood in awe of him, none ventured to molest them, , They preached every Sunday at his hpjuse to whitesj negroes and half- Indians. SomQ of the latter attended very regularly. As to the Cherokees they could as yet converse with but few, finding the acquisition of their language a very arduous task, especially as they found it difficult to procure a good interpreter. On their arrival in the country the Indians, gave them a very cordial reception, and expressed great satisfaction at their coming ; but when they found it impracticable directly to open a. school for their children, the great Council at Estemally came to a resolution to order them to quit the country, alleging as a reason for this unex-; pected resolution, that the missionaries had not kepC their promise, no ischool having yet been begun. But as the Chiefs allowed them half a .year for deliberating on this business, every thing was amicably adjusted, and arranged to the satisikction of both parties. Mission in North America. 2 1 1, Having finished the necessary buildings at Spring- place, they commenced their school with four Indian boys, whom they lodged, boarded and instructed. _ Their num- ber was gradually increased, and Mr. Vann kindly took some into his own house, as ouf missionaries had not room to accommodate them all. Several of them were sons of Chiefs, who appeared very desirous that their chil- dren should be instructed. The young people rewarded the labours of th«;ir teachers by making a good progress in reading (both- English and Cherokeesi) writing and arithmetic, and by the pleasure they took in learning scripture-texts and hymns. They frequently seemed much impressed when the missionaries spoke to them of the love of God in Christ Jesus. "After leaving the school they kept up an epistolary correspondence with their former teachers, adverting with delight to their residence at Spring-place. The endeavours of our Brethren were greatly facilitated by the kind exertions of colonel Meig^ agent for the Cherokee nation, who procured them some assistance for their school from government. With regard to the principal aim of their residence in this country, they as yet reaped little fruit from their labours. The good disposition of the Cherokees towards them did indeed not abate, but the work of conversion proceeded very slowly. The public preaching, however, was sometimes attended by thirty or forty, and those In- dians, who occasionally visited them, appeared in some measure convinced of the importance of the gospel. Their worship was also frequently attended by Negroes, many of whom are kept by the white settlers in these parts, instead of servants. Towards the close of 1 8 14 they had the plea- sure to see three Half-Indians commemorate with thera the death of the Lord at his table. One of their former scholars, Dazizi, had settled in their immediate neigh- bourhood, and seemed truly concerned for his salvation. He faithfully assisted them in their domestic affairs. With respect to some others of their scholars, the pros- pect was encouraging. In externals, God has blessed the labour of their hands ; they have introduced several useful trades, cultivated the P2 212 Mission in North America. land with advantage, improved their habitations, and Si'RiNG.-PLACE is now Considered one of the healthiest missionary stations in North America. About ayeai* after the mission to the Cherokees had beerf begiin, a formal message was' sent by the Chiefs and great Council of the Delawares on. the river Woapikami- kunki a branch of the Wabash, to our brethren at Goshen, requesting, that some teachers might be sent to them. Cbnsidiering this as a new door opened for the diffusion of the gospel, the christian Indians at Goshen in return sent a solemn massage to those on the Wabash, inforiping them that several families of their believing countrymen, with some missionaries, would come and instruct them in the word of God. Pursuant to this proposal, the brethren Kluge arid Luckenbach, and twelve christian Indians, (including three children,) left Goshen towards the end of February 1801, and in 'a few weeks arrived in safety on the Woa- pjkamikunk, and were received with every token of plea- sure and friendship by the people there. They chose an elevated spot for thfeir dwelling, situated between ■ nine populous Indian towns, inhabited by different tribes. Severarindians, formerly baptised by the Brethfefi,' had settled here after the general dispersion of the congrega- tion at the close of the American war. These our mis- sionaries hoped to collect together, for hitherto they had been forcibly prevented by their pagan relatives from re- turning to their teachers. They had not been long in this quarter before a few lieathen came to reside with them and were baptized. The preaching of the gospel was frequeritly attended by a considerable number of attentive hearers, and the Chiefs treated them, with respect and apparent friendship. Their settlement also was improved : at the end of the year 1 802 it consisted, besides the church, of ten houses, and con- tained twenty three inhabitants. But this quiet and com- parative prosperity was soon interrupted. For some time past our ipissipnaries had resolved to change their present place of abode j but as their endeavours to find a Mission in North America^ 2 1 3 convenient, spot, had not succeeded, they deferred their removal ; till the danger, which they considered still dis-. tant, burst upon them at once, attended with all the hor- rors,, which bijt too awfully distinguished the ruthless attacks of the savages on their innocent christian country- men, on former occasions. In the: autumn- of 1805, one of the Chiefs, who had been their friend and protector,, died, and another, who" likewise respected and befriended them, was deposed. The savages now , became ungovernable, threatened to murder the missionaries, and even killed their cattle bef fore their eyes. This however was only the pi-eljide to a transaction as atrocious as' any that ever disgraced human nature : as will appear by the followipg extract from the journal of the missionaries. •^ In February. 1806 all the Indians in this district were summoned by their teachers, or lying prophets, to assemble on the Woapikamikunk, to hear the' foolish storips, fabri- cated by the emissaries of Satan, of pretended visions and revelations received from. God ; and to be instructed how to act in conformity to them. Among these t:eachers was a Shawariose, an arch impostor. He was cqnsidered a? the principal among them, pretending that he was able to know and discover hidden mysteries. The Delaware tribe received* him with great cordiality, and resolved to hold a grand council, in order to root out all witchcraft and poison-mixing (which, according to their supersti- . tious notions, existed- among them,) and by fire to ex- tort confession from all such, as the Shawanose should accuse; and whoever would not confess, should be hewn in pieces with their war-hatchets, and burned. With a view to execute their horrid purpose, the young Indians got together, chose the most ferocious to be their leade^rs, deposed all the old Chiefs, and guarded the whole Indian assembly, as if they were prisoners of war, especially the aged of both sexes. The venerable old Chief Tette- pachsit was the first whom , they accused of possessing; poison, and having destroyed many Indians by his art. When the poor old man would iiot confers, they fastened him with cords to two posts, and began to roast him at a 214 Mission in North .America. slow fire. During the torture, he said, that he kept poL- son in the house of our Indian brother Joshua. Nothing was more welcome to the savages than this accusation, for they wished to deprive us of the assistance of this man, who was the only christian Indian residing with us at that time. They had frequently sent him invitations to attend their heathenish fi^stivities, but he would never accept them. His answer was : ' You know that I am a believer in the true God, whose word we made known to you ; I therefore can have no fellowship with you in your wicked works. Do you as you please, but leave me to serve the living God.' This answer displeased them much, and on March 13th, they sent seven wild Indians, with painted faces, to our settlement, and took Joshua iaway by main force. They pretended, that he only need tell Tettepachsit to his face, that he had no poison in his. house, and might then return home. All excuses were vain, and Joshua was compelled to accompany them to the assembly at Woapikamikunk. " When he was presented to Tettepachsit he frankly confessed, that he had accused him, merely to pacify the enraged multitude, and escape from the torture. Joshua was now pronounced not guilty, yet they would not per- mit him to return, but insisted on his remaining with them till the Shawanose should arrive. This son of Be- lial arriving the same day, all the Indians, of both sexes, were ordered by him to sit down in a large circle, when he would declare who had poison in his possession. The two old Chiefs, Tettepachsit and Hackinpotnska, were both accused of poison -mixing, and the former was more par- ticularly charged with the untimely death of many Indians. When the Shawanose was asked about Joshua, he indeed declared, that he had no poison, but that he was posses- sed of an evil spirit, by which he was able to destroy, other Indians: Pleased with this verdict, they seized these poor innocent men, and wa(tched them strictly, like condemned criminals. We knew nothing of these horrible events, until the evening of the 16th, when a message was brought, that the savages had burned an old woman to death, who had been baptized by the Brethren in former times, and also that our poor Joshua was kept close prisoner. Mission in North America. 2 15 *' On the 17th, our distress and fear concerning the fate of Joshua rose still higher. We were stunned with horror, on seeing ten of the most savage Indians, with faces painted black, arrive in our settlement, conducting old Tettepachsit. Soon after, these murderous wretches kindled a large fire close to our place, and, having given the aged Chief a blow on the head 'with a War-hatchet, threw him alive into the flames, diverting themselves with the miserable cries, and convulsions of the poor dying man. The flames communicated to thp grass and wood near the settlement, by which all our dwellings weire filled with smoke. ;" After cohunitting this horrid miirder, the savages came boldly into our house, boasting of their atrocious deed, and, assuming a hypocritical mien, demanded bread and tobacco, which we were obliged to give them. We took courage to ask them, what would be the fate of Joshua. They immediately began to accuse him, saying, there was good reason for detaining him a prisonei*, for they well knew that he understood the black-art, and could destroy the Indians, his faith in our doctrines being a mere pretence. We endeavoured, indeed, to convince them of the untruth of these assertions but all in vain. They, however, pretended to set our minds at ease, by saying, that they would not kill liim. We charged them to tell their ! captains, that they ought well to consider what they were doing ; that Joshua had long been a be- liever, and never had had any concern with the things of which they accused him, as he was a servant of God, and had renounced the devil and all his works, that he was also of the Mahikan tribe, and no Delaware, and had accompanied us as interpreter. We therefore re- quested, that they would immediately release him, foF we should consider all they did unto him, as done unto ourselves, &c. On this occasion they manifested the most diabolical hypocrisy; for though they knew, that Joshua was to be murdered " that very , day, they promised to deliver our words to the captains- We perceived, how- ever, that our defence of Joshua had displeased them, and they left our place in a riotous mtinner. 218 Mission in North Americet, <' Now though we had been informed, that the savages Suspected us of keeping poisort, for the purpose of vaakmgf tho^e Indians sick, who would not do as we had directed, thein ; and though we did not know to what length the devil might instigate them to carry theiij fury, nor what our fate might be ; yet we felt ourselves con^trained to go to their assembly, and try what we could do for the pre^ servation of Joshua, or' at least to give him.conifor-t and advice, should we even suffer for it. But as my wife and children (writes brotK€r Klnge) coiild not be left alone in so dreadful a situation, brother Luqkenbach took courage to so alone. '• l^e had hardly proceeded half way, before he met an Indian, who infprmed him, that Joshua had become a victim to their ci'uelty on the foregoing day. They gave him two cuts in his head with a hatchet, and then threw him into the fire. " With these dreadful tidings brother Luckenbach returned to us in the afternoon. ' This was the heaviest stroke we had yet met with. Dread and terror took from us all power of speech and reflection, and we could do nothing but iitter cries of lamentation and ytoe, " Having, in some degree, recovered ourselves, our first thought' was to sell all our goods,' and fly as expedi- tiously as possible towards Gosh^i}. We. were making preparations for this, when the sudden change of the weattiep to severe cold, prevented us from' departing so soon as we intended. * ' i =; •' Some days after we were informed, that Jpshua hadl spoken a great dealj at the placb where he was murdered^ in a language not understood by the. Indians; which led us to suppose, that he had directed his prayers to the Xrord in the Gei'man language, which he spoke welL When the ravages forced him from us, he was in a very eomfor.table state' of mind, :and seemed well.'prepared to leave the world and meet his. Saviour as a reconciled sinr ner. In the following days, more Indians were accused, and shared the same fate *." • Per. Ace. Vol. iv. 1—7. Mission in Noi'th America. 21" Nat long after this tragical event, the missionaries were forced to relinquish the station on the Wabash alto- gether. When our Brethren erected the settlement of Faikfielo^ ii> Canada, they were peculiarly pleased with the facility, which its local "situation promised for extending their missionary labours to the Chippeway Indians, who inhar; bitetl several towns only a short distance from Faiufielh. jjn order to carry this benevolent design into effect, the missionary C. F< Dtencke, who possessed the happy talent of acqnii^ng a new language with ease, and was already weU versed in the Delaware tongue, paid several visits to the Chippeways in 1801 ; and the following year took up his abode among them on a piece of groundj formally allotted to him by- the Chiefs. |ts situation was very con- venient lying on the river lonquakamik, and being sur- rounded by eight Indian villages. Here he lived in a manner separated from all human sociel^r, for, excepting some Indian; hunting huts, the neaitegt habitation, to him was Mr. Harsen's dwelling, about a mile di^tant^ on the opposU& side of the river. In a short time, however, two or three Indian families put up their tents near his house ; and he ^ was frequently, visited by others, some of whom occasionally lodged with him for a night. He omitted no opportunity of com- mfending to 'them, ^s well as he was able, the gospel of- salvation ; and in some instances his words appeared to, gain entrance into their hearts, for they repeated their visits, and declared, that they coukl not forget hi? dis- coui'se, saying, "it had made > them sick at heart." A school, he had- commenced with Mr. Harsen's boys, he was ol3liged to give up again, as the mother found it inconvenient tp send them. He therefore applied himself with more diligence, to learn th^ Chippeway dialect, into which he translated several portions of the Bible. These he read to the Indians, vfho visited him, and they all, declared, that they understood hjm very well. In the sequel, however, the savages began to express dissatisfaction ^t the residence of the Brethren ajnong 218 Mission in North jtmericcn-^ ihem, fostering a suspicion,. that they were come t6 pos- sess th«Baselves of their countryt Some even uttered threats against the life of the missionary, and he was finally obliged to abandon his station and return to Faikfield. Not discouraged by these repeated failures, our Bre- thren in North America persevered in their philantro- pic endeavours to convey the blessings of Christianity to the heathen nations around them. During a visitation^ held by bishop Loskiel at Goshen in the year 1803, it was resolved to begin a new settlement at Pettquot- ting on lake Erie. Agreeably to this resolution, the missionaries Haven and Oppelt, together with thirty-six Indian brethren and sisters from Faikfield, moved thither in spring ISO^j and formed a colony about three miles beyond the towns, belonging to the Mbnsys. At the end of the year this small congregation consisted of sixty seven persons. Amidst various hardships the courage, of our missionaries was strengthened by the experience of the Lord's gracious help, and by clear evidences of the work of bis holy Spirit on the hearts of our Indian bre- thren and sisters. Their worship was sometimes attehded' by a considerable number of heathen, though as yet apparently without any salutary efiect. A few years after their arrival they found it would be necessary for them to quit this plade, being informed that government had sold this district to some white settlers, which exposed them to the danger of being driven away at a short warning. Besides, the proximity of the Monsy town and the introduction of the rum-trade, which the missionaries could not prevent, were circumstances very pernicious to the moral* of their yoting people. They therefore deemed it expedient to emigrate from Pettquot- ting. and took up their residence on Sani>usky Creek. On Its western bank they ei?ected> a temporary building on 3 piece of ground allotted to them by the Monsy tribe. The two missionaries,. Luckenbach and Hagen^ S^sited two Monsy towns, lying higher fup the river, generally twice a week, and pireached as often as circumstances would permit. They were likewise invited by the Chief Mission in North Amei-ied, 219^ of the Wyondats to come to Upper Sandusky. Most of those Indians, residing in these parts, who had been bap- tized in former years, regularly , attended divine worship, bringing their children with them. Butj though they seemed often much impressed with the truths of the gospel, no material change was wrought on their conduct, as th«y too easily yielded to the solicitations of the heathen to at- tend their idolatrous festivities. Very few of the latter ever attended their meetings ; and only ten Indian children, most of whom had been formerly baptized, came -to the- school. In the year 1812, however, the Monsy tribe, with a view to whose instruction our missionaries resided in that country, very unexpectedly resolved to leave the banks of the Sandusky and form a settlement on the Huron in the province of Michigan. Forty families in consequence emigrated, and among these were all those formerly bap- tized by the Brethren, some of whom intended to go to Fairfield, if they could obtain permission to pass over to the English territory. After their departure our missio- naries deemed it expedient to forsake their present resit •d6nce, and occupy a house, on the reserved land, for- merly built by a Presbyterian minister for a school-house, and which was offered them, being unoccupied at the time. They were chiefly induced to accept this ofler in the hope, that they inight from thence visit the Wyondats and Min- goes, and diffuse the knowledge of the gospel among them. This station, however, was afterwards abandoned. In the year 1803 tile Brethren's society (in N. America) for propagating the gospel among the healhen, directed their attention to the Creek Indians, a very populous na- tion, computed at seventy or eighty thousand souls, and among whom, through the laudable exertions of the Ame- rican government, a greater degree of improvement and civilization had been introduced, than was to be met with among the other native tribes. In order to carry their design into effect, they first deputed brother A. Steiner, on his return from Spring-place, to make a journey into the country of the Creeks. This commission he executed towards the end of summer in the above mentioned year. 220 Mission,: in North Americeu H^ proceeded to Fort Wilkitison, on the river Oconii, in Georgia, and was treated with great kindness and hos- pitality by Colonel Hawkins, at whose house he lodged, during his stay of seven days. The colonelentered warmly into the proposal for establishing a mission in this part of the country, pointing out the mode most likely to be at- tended with success, and promising to assist them with his advice, protection and friendship ih every possible way. ■ Animated by these encouraging prospects, two missiona- ries went, after some time,~ to this country, and occupied a house, kindly provided for them by Col Hawkins, si- tuate on the river Flint, about sixty miles from Milledge- ville, the seat of government in Georgia. Here they di- ligently applied themselves to learn the language, and vi- sited the Indians in their own villages. ■ The latter also frequently came to them, chiefly indeed for the purpose of purchasing their manufactured goods, for. as yet they evinced but little disposition to hear and believe the gos^r pel. The unsettled statei of the country, during the en- suing war, rendereid it necessary, to abandon this station. . It appeared the most convenient, in detailing these mi- nor attempts of our Brethren to propagate the gospel among the Indians, not to Jinterrupt the relation by too nice a regard to the order of time ; I have therefore r^fei"- red to them all here, as they respectively succeeded each other, and shall now resume the thread of the general narrative. , ^ After the emigration of several families from Fairfield, in 1798, for the purpose of commencing the mission at Goshen ; the former settlement, though considerably di- minished in point of numbers, continued in a flourishing state, both as to its temporal prosperity, and the progres.^ sive advance of the major part of its inhabitants in those pious and moral habits,r which adorn the character of the true christian; Perplexities and trials of various kinds were indeed not wanting : but their grea,test trouble arose from the white people in their vicinity, who by the intro- duction of the rum-trade, occasioned many evils in the country, among which a spirit of insubordination was not Mission in North America. 221 the least,' arid filled 'the missionaries' with many anxious apprehensions for the morals of their young people. But^ whenever their faith and hope wer£ ready to droop, the Lord rekindled their zeal in his service; by. giving them fresh proofs of the power of his grace to conquer the most corrupt passions of the human, mind, and elicit from the most stubborn heart the tear of repentance. -Although few of the nerghbouriiig heathen were savingly affected by the gospel, many of the children, born and baptized in the settlement, as they matured in age and und.erstand- ing, experienced the converting influences of the holy Spirit; and some, who had strayed from the congrega-r tion and relapsed into sin, now and then returned, and with true compunction of heart, sougiht the forgiveness of the Lord and his people. Thus in the year 1812,. twentj'- two persons of the above description were added to the church; and at the close of that year the wholemumber amounted to one hundred and twenty-six persons. Fairfield, after enjoying tranquillity for more than twenty years, was on a sudden involved in all the troubles of war," in consequence of the contest between England and the United States. On the 2nd of October 1818, seventy sick English sol- diers arrived at the settlement, and were accommodated in the chapel and the school-house. The dwellings, both of the missionaries and Indians, had been for some time occupied by fugitives, whose number was daily increasing. The following day, however, the surgeon ordered the chapel to.be cleared,, that the usual Sunday's service might be performed. ..... ' On the 4th, the British General Proctor informed the missionaries, that he was willing, to purchase their .houses, Indian corn, .garden-fruits, furniture, and any thing else they could spare, for the use of the army ; and pronjised that another tract of land should be, given to the christian Indians for a temporary residence during the war, and that they should be provided from the Icing's stores with prdvisibri arid clothing. The Indians being convinced, that it would be dangerous to delay their departure any ■ longer, left the settlement. 222 Mission in North America.. On the same day an engagement took place between the American army and the English detachment, about a mile and a half from Fairfield, in which the latter were overpowered. General Proctor escaped with 15 soldiers, the other regulars were either killed or taken piisoners, and the Jndian auxiliaries escaped into the wdods. In the evening, a great number of Americans entered the settle- ment, chiefly on horseback.. At first, they pretended to be fi'iendly, and promised to do no harm to the missiona-< ries, nor take any of their private effects, and likewise expressed their regret, that the christian Indians had left the place, as they had intended them no injury *. The same night, however, they began to treat the mis^ sionaries with great severity, accused them of secreting kin^!s. stores and English officers, and, with fierce impor- tunity, demanded that they should be delivered up. The assurances given, that the accusation was not founded in truth, were of no avail. Every room and corner were searched; and particularly the roofs of the chapel and school-house. John Dolson, who had fled hither with his family, and two other men, were made prisoners, but liberated on the following day. They told brother Schnall, that he, being a missionary, was not to be considered as a prisoner of war, but that he must not consider it as an insult, that his. house was guarded during the- night. They were now ordered to open all their trunks and boxes for examination, and no. person was permitted to go out of the house without a guard. Of course they could take no rest, but ^ent the night in silent prayer to the Lord, commending themselves, and the white people, who had sought refuge with them, to his almighty protection. Very early the next morning, the Americans began to plunder the settlement, and seized on all kinds of provi* sions. The missionaries were even obliged to surrender their last morsel of bread: 50 bushels of potatos, 12 of apples, all kinds of garden-stuff, and 600 pounds of floui', which they had just purchased for winter's consumption^ * The fears ot the christen In^Uans vrere, . however, well founded, and die remembrance pf the eYsnts of 1783, justified their flight. [See p. IS3] Missioivin North America'. ^9S were tstken from them, ahd ten bee-hives emptied of all the honey, without destroying the bees. During the plunderrng, the American general^- Harri- son, and several officers arrived. Brother Schnall imme- diately waited upon him, and recommended the settleraent to his prtrtection, request! fig also, that some compensatioi* might be made for what had beea taken. His request was refused, but he was told, that the missionaries had liberty to quit the place. Commodore Perry, who was one -of theparty, meeting bi-other Schnall in the street, behaved to him with kindness, said, he knew our society and re- spected our missions, and promised to procure a passport, that they might depart without being molested ; which he likewise effected. After this interview he came several times to their house, by which their anxiety was in some measure relieved ; some of the officers and privates also expressed pity for their hard fate. Some even used force to keep off the wild and lawless soldiery, who loaded the missionaries with the most bitter curses and mockeries. By this interposition, they gained time to pack up their property. Cottimodore Perry now informed them, diat he should soon leave the settlement, and advised them to make haste and get away, for if they staid after his de- parture, he would not answer for their being able to pro- ceed. General Harrison likewise ordered them to hasten their flight. But as they were going to load the waggon, they were once more obliged to submit their baggage to 3 thorough search. Not the smallest article, however, was found, which could tend to impeach their character. They were obliged to leave all their furniture behind them. They had no sooner quitted the place, than part of it was set on fire, and on the following day, the rest of the. build- ings were wholly consumed; not even the smallest out- house was spared. On the 15th the missionaries arrived at Detroit, where General Cass, the commandant, furnished them with a paiSsport to go to Bethlehem. In prosecuting their journey they experienced various and great hardships, but also many signal proofs of the protection of the Lord. When the news of the approach of an American de- 224 Mission in ^orth- America. taichmentj and the defeat of the English, first reached Fairfjeld, our brethren there resolved, that the missio- nary Schnall and his wife, together with Michael Young, who was aged and infirm, should go to Bethlehem; and brother Deiicke and bis wife remain with the Indians and shar« in their fate, whatever it might be. They cheer- fully acceded to this proposal, determined even to devote their lives to this service. The Indians, on leaving the settlement, had encamped about six miles higher up the river, but being alarmed by reports brought by other fugitives, they had all fled into the woods ; so that when the missionary arrived . at the camp, he found it deserted, and for some time both he and the Indians' remained ignorant of each other's situation. In this uncertainty, not knowing which way to di^"ecf their steps, they providentially met with a man, who offered to take them in his wa.ggon to Delawares-town. ; On their way thither, besides other hardships, they had the morti- fication to be attacked by a gang of Kikkapoo and Sha- wanose robbers, who : plundered them of the few -arti- cles of clothing, which ~they had saved in their flight from Fairfteld, and of the greater part of their other goodsy together with their books and manuscripts, hot even leav- ing them a bible or testament *. "a . But they soon forgot the sorrow occasioned by these dis- asters, when they reached Delaware-town on the 12th of October. They had scarcely arrived, before a number of the Fairfield Indians came running to meet them,aiuJwith tears in their eyes offered thanks to God, for having thus brought them together again. Messengers were quickly despatched into the woods to search for those who were still absent: for in their . sudden flight parents were sepa- rated from children, and' children from parents. They were soon collected together, and only one sister was miss- ing, who had been murdered below Fairfield. HaviDg at length arrived near lake Ontario, the In- idians built huts for themselves in the woods, a iho\ise for • Per. Ace, Vol. t. p. '437— 441. Mission in North America. 223 the missionary and a chapel, which latter was opened for divine worship at christmas 1813. At the close of that year the cortgregation consisted of one hundretl and sixty members, besides twenty-three persons, not yet baptized, but who had come to winter with them and regularly at- tended divine service: This situation being deemed rather unsafe, on account of its nearness to the lake and the su- periority of the American fleet, they removed the follow*- ing spring farther towards the mountains, about ten miles fi'om Burlington Heights, One of their heaviest trials arose from the total stoppage of all communication with our congregations in America, and even several letters and parcels, sent from England, did not arrive. They v/kre the more thankful, therefore, to the loyal and pat- riotic Society at York, who without being solicited remit- ted a hundred dollars to the missionary, with an intima- tion that it would give them pleasure to render hini fur- ther assistance, should he need it, till he could command his own resources. After the termination of the war, they returned to Fair- FiEiiD," and for some time dwelt in huts on the site of thfe former buildings, till they had erected" a new settlement, rsfther higher up on the opposite bank of the river, at a little distance from it. This place they began to inhabit toward the end of the summer of 1815, calling it New Fairfield ; the number of inhabitants then amounted to one hundred and nine. Here they continued to enjoy rest arid peace; the missionaries, (whose number had been in- creased by the arrival of J. R. Schmidt from Bethrlehem,) prosecuting their calling with alacrity,' and not without iencouraging proofs that the Lord blessed their endeavours Tor tl^e conversion of the heathen. A very striking instance of this they were favoured to witness in 1816, in the case of an Indian, called Onim, whom the Lord was pleased to make a rni^iicle of grace in the fullest sense of the phrase. This Indian had given evidence of his hostility against the mission from his early jouth. He was one of those who calumniated John Papunhank at Fkiedenshuet- Q 226 Mission in North r- TEN *. At that time he usecj to wear a tomahawk in |!U girdle, and when questioned what he intended to do with it, replied, " cleave the missionaries' skulls for deceiving the Indians." This enmity he manifested, on all occa- sions, against the missionaries and christian Indians gene- rally, till within a. few years, when the infirmities of a^ put a stop to his activity. The first sign of a change of sentiment in him, was observed when he entertained th,e brethren Luckenbach and Zacharias in his cabin at th^e Monsey-town, on their way to Grand-river. Till then, he had always been lurking in tl^e neighbourhood of oi^r settlements, trying to create disturbances. And. being a preacher among his countryipen, he. used itp dissuade them, by all the means in his power, from, embracing the doc- trines of the w,hites, "For," said he, " their, skin is white and ours is brown J and our whole manner of life is eii* tirely different from theirs : of course they must also Haxe a different way of happiness; and those Indians, who. em- brace their doctrine are altogether deceived." Hje taught the existence of three gods j a brown, a white, and a black god ; and that each nation should Uv^. cpnforniably to the directions received from the god of their colour.. The.In- dians, of course, were to preserve their own religious cere- monies, their feasts, dances, sorceries^ &p. * Ete oppose^, in particular, the gospel doctrine of the remission, of sin^; teaching his cpuntrymen, that those, who lived accqrdiiig to the will of the Great Gpod Spirit, ^ould, after this life, go to him 5 but those, who acted differently, would be ba- nished to the haunts of the Evil Spirit. He believed npt only in the inimortality of the; human soul, but even as- serted, that all creatures, ancj alsp trees and her.^s^, a^e inhabited by a living spul ; accounting fpp the wit^ering^f the latter, when cut down, or plucked up, by sayiiig^j tlj^t. their indwelling spirit then left them. From whg^t he said during his last illness^ it shpuM^ ap- pear that he was led to reflect on his lost state by a rejiiar|c, addressed to him by an Indian sister, Anna Paulraa;,; who met him in December 1815 at the house of a sick wo- man, whom hevras endeavouring to cure by hig sorceries, * See Loskiel, Part iii. f, 65. Mission in Korth America. 227 for he bad always pretended to great skill in this art. The following, spring he was taken ill, when on his way to a Monsy-town, for the purpose of assisting at a feast to be held there. Unable to proceed further than NeW F^iBFiEL^x, he returned to his friends, jiyhohad a camp near the settlement. On. the 10th of March: he sent for brother Jacob, one of the native , assistants and, among other remarks ob- served : " A wocd, lately spoken by one of your christian Indiajta, has laid hold of my soul. 1 begin to be troubled in my mind, and to grow doubtful concerning ipy spiri- tual state. My constant cry is : Oh for some one to show me the right way." Having said more to the same effect, Jacob addressed him nearly in the following words:" Thou hast now told me a great deal ; I wilt tell thee something too. Listen, to mo, QnimI I well remembejr tfaat ever since I was a little child, thop, hast often been with the con- grega^on of christian Indians, always going from and Gomiggj again to us. For many years ihou hast heard the gospel which we believe.. But till now, thou hast de- spised and ridiculed it,, say-in^; '1 haveani^tfier way to be saved, according. to my crei^ion*.' But now» when thou art here in a miserable situation, lying on hard boards, un- able to help thyself; thy little property spent in drinking j n in the sequel, extended to other parts of the coast, a brief relation of each of these' shall now be given in separate sections. SECTION I. Pilgerhid on the Rio de Berbice. IN consequence of the offer before stated, two of our brethren L. C. Daehne and J. -Guettner, left Holland in June 1738, and arrived the following September in Ber.- bice. As they brought strong recommendations with them from Holland, the stewards and managers of the estates suspected that they had been sent for the purpose of se- cretly inspecting their conduct; and on this account ren- dered their situation as unpleasant and difficult as pos^ble. But God endowed them with faith and patience, and blessed the labour of their hands, so that they could sup- port themselves without depending on the favor of the stewards, being content with very frugal fare. Their greatest grievance was, that their situation precluded the possibility of obtaining the principal object of their resi- dence in the country. Unacquainted with the language of the slaves, they had not even a prospect of learning it, as the rigour with, which these poor creatures were treated, rendered it extrerhely difficult to have any intercourse with them. In the midst of this perplexity God himself provided for them. A gentleman of the Surinam Trading Com- pany, without their solicitation, offered them a retired and tranquil residence on his estate. Thankful fpr this providential direction they moved to the place pointed out, where they took possession of a small tenement, and tilled a piece of ground, lying in the midst of the forest, at a distance of about a hundred miles from the sea-coast, and called it Pilgerhut. This gentleman likewise pro- cured from the President of the Surinam Company in Holland a recommendation of our brethren of so favourable Mission in Soitth America. 237 a tenor, that the ffovernor, who had hitherto been rather inimicallj disposedj foiind himself compelled to give them no further molestation. Having thus obtained rest from without, they began to visit the Indians in that neighbourhood, some of ^vhont understood a little Dutch. They soon gained the love and confidence ofthesegood natured savages, who listened with apparent pleasure to the instructions, they endea- voured to give them concerning God, the Creator and Redeemer of man. But, as their ideas of God and divine things were exceedingly few and obscure, our brethren saw clearly that very little could be effected, till they had learned the language, and for the acquisition of this the necessary, labour for their own support left them but little leisure. They, therefore, requested the directors of the mission, to send out a married couple, to manage the tem- poral concerns of their little settlement. Meanwhile, our Brethren in Europe having gained a moi'e correct knowledge of the Surinam Mission, and obtained a formal concession from the Surinam Company to establish a regular settlement on that river, five bre- thren were sent thither in the year 1739, and this conipariy was further augmented the following-year by the arrival ofFr. Regnier, M.D. and his wife. As they could not iminediately purchase a piece of ground in an eligible situ- ation, they endeavoured to rent a lodging in the town of Paramaribo. Here they became acquainted with a pidiis citizen, Abraham Boemper, who built a small house for them. Their whole establishment was very poor ; but they lived together in peace and brotherly love j God blessed, the labour of their hands, and notwithstanding their mean fare and the inconvenience of their dwelling, they did not suffer in their health, which they remarked as a particular providence, for in general the climate of Suri- nam is so injurious to the constitution of Europeans, that more than one half die almost immediately on their avi-i- val. Their family devotions, were frequented by great numbers, among whom were many Jews. This excited observation, and through the maichinations of their ene^ mies they were strictly forbidden by the ecclesiastipal and 23S Mission in South America, civil authoHti^3,, to grant any strangers admission to thfiif religious meetings. After some tame they succeeded iil purchasing a plantation, about a mile from, the town, which they cultivated with their own hands and the assistance of three Negroes, whom Mr. Boemper lent tHera* Many white i>eople again attended their family devotions and became convinced of the purity, of their doctrine and th« probity of their intentions. BuJtj finding it impossible to attain the .proper object of thei^r calling in this places they sold their land and, pre^nises and bought a> smsaU plantation on the river Coiti/ea, where they lived in the immediate neighbourhood orthe Indians. No permanent advantage,, iipwever, was gained by this removal. They could have very little intercourse with; the Indians, their l^ijowledge of the Arawafc language was still extremely defective, thein harmony was interrupted and dissensious arose among theni. These circumstances led to the final relinquishment of this station in 174:5. After this digres- sion we now return to the settleinent on -the JRio de Berbiee. "With a view, to assist the. missionaries in Pilgerhut, Heory B^utel and his wife went thither in 1739 j and two years after, their number was further increased by the arrival, of John^ Grabenstein and. his wife. The brotherly love prevailing among themj sweetened all their external hatrdships and porertyj andrendered them cheerfnlamidst their incessant manual, labours (*. . This circumstance, however, greatly retarded thepro>- gress of the mission with regard to its most importamt object, though PiLGEEHUT posgessed many local advan- tages for attaining it. It was situate at some distance fi'om other European settlements, many Indians resided in its neighbourhood, and the savages were continually travelling th«Qugh the place, so that hardly a day passed, on which our missionaries were not visited by individuals or whole companies. But these favourable circumstances * M that ,60% period the- directors of our missions were not able to make as comfortable a provision for the missionsries aa at present, when not only, onr own congregations but many christians in other denominations take a liberal share in meeting the necessary expense attending this impcb^ant work: Missiqn (if South Jmeriea, ^39 could be but little improved by t,hem. Their nijinibpF was too small to attend both to the tpniporal cpijcerns of t}^ colony, and the preaching of the gospel, which required not only a more perfect knowledge of the language of the heathen, but also frequent visitg to thenj in theiv* own babitations, and demanded their undivided time and at- tention. Both these difficulties were shortly; aftei" re- moved; For, when the establishment on t}ie Cottika * was abandoned in 1745, two of the mis^ion^ies moved to PiLGEEHUT, and two brethren and their wives arrived with them from Europel This accession of number^ ena- bled them more regularly to distribute the necessary labour in the, mission, some attending chiefly to its temporal concerns, while others devoted thenise^Yesi more especially to the worl? of the ministry, ^' About tjie same time a gentleman presented them with a mulatto boy, who assisted them, in acquiring, a more correct knowledge of the Arawak langnagp ; ^nd b^ing in. the sequel converted to God, they found, him of great use in their attempts to pr^acb to -the, heathen, in which he served them as interpreter. They now made > frequent visits amofig the savages, .travelling g, circuit, of .three Jiiyidired; fpips through a vast wildernes^. These journeys wei^e att^pqed with g^eat d^ifficultjes, and dajjgers. They W.ere obliged to carry theip provisions wj^h them, wadje through bfoad and deep rivers, or hastily construct a raft to cross them, and often tp spend the, night in their hamimpcks, suspended front tree$, in the midst of the foresj;. And^ what w,^s still more disti;^?^g, if they came to an Indian hut, and the men were npt.atjhflme, the women, who were always terrified at the approach of white people, set vm a great^hpeJt and ran intpthei^ppd; andlhus the missionary h?^ i" vain encountered all his past tpils an^J fatigues. Not' deterred by thi^, they persevered in their behevpleni; exerfipns, and their kind and, affaljle deport- ment, by degrees,^ conciliated th^.^ijEecf^ions an^ won the confidenqe pf tb.e savages. Tl^ei;^. mulst.tP boy npw rep,dered tjbein essential service. •* See page 238. 240 Mission in South America. Assisted by him, they compiled a concise narrative of th;e life and sufFefings of Christ, in the Arawak language, subjoining a brief summary of the fundamental doctrines of the gospel. This tract they took with them when visit- ing the Indians, reiad it to them and expatiated on its contents, adcompanying their exhortations with feyvent prayer. The mulatto youth himself now became a preach- er>6f righteousness, and addressed,tKe savages in so strik- ing a manner, that they were powerfully affected, and circulated the news of the great woid they had heard, among their countryrnen.~ Tlius, after a residence in this country of nearly nine years, amidst 'maiiy heavy trials, and without.seeingany fruit from their labours, thd time arrived, when, after having sov^n in tears, they were favoured to reap in joy. Towards the close of 1747 they had the satisfactioif, so long and ardently prayed for, to perceive, that the divine Spirit was exciting a real hunger after the word' of Ggfl among' the Arawaks. They frequently visited them', ' burning with desire to hear more of Christ crucified. This inflamed the zeal of the missionaries to retiirn their vikits ; and the veiy women, who \iad formerly fled dn their approach, now became their guides through the wood, conducting them to those dwellings of the Indiansj T\fhere they knew they would find eager .hearers, passing by the huts of such as were disposed to moqk and ridiciiR their endeavours. Wherever they came they inet with a warm reception; all the inhabitarits seated themselves around them, and listened to their discourse with, the greatest silpnce suid eagfernelss. i , . i Tn March 1 748 the first Ariawak Indian obtained ' ad- mission to the church of Christ by holy baptism. It was an did woman, decrepid vyithage and scarce kble to walk. About forty of the savageg were preseiit at this solemrt transaction, and it itiade such a deep impression upott them, that they were suffused in tears, and several meti came the. next day, apd with importunity begged tp be admitted to the sartie privilege. The change Wrought in the baptized, which was visible ip their very countenan- ces and appeared in their whole conduct, no less than- Mission in South America. 2*1 their discourses with their friends had such an effect, that hardly a week passed, in which this sacred rita was not administered to one, or more, on their profession of faith in Jesus. Thus by the end of June the converts amounted already to thirty-nine, among whom were seve- ral venerable old people. Many of those, who had been baptized, could' not en- dure the thoilghts of leaving the Brethren, and agaiii returning to theii' former places of abode, and therefore requested permission to erect soine huts on the land of the settlement, promising to cultivate a piece of ground in the neighbourhood for their_support. Our missionaries the more joyfully acceded to this proposal, as by having their converts thus constantly near them, they would be better able to teach them to observe all things whatsoever Jesus hath commanded. This outvireigbed every consi- deration of the additional trouble and expense, iinavoida- bly connected with this arrangement, as they must main- tain all these people till the cassabi, sown on the new ground, was ready to reap ; for the produce of their for- iner fields had been, for the most part, stolen by the sa- vages. By the end of the year, eighty Indians, including children, lived in the settlement. Before our Brethren in Europe could' receive any intel- ligence of this awakening, the directors of the missions had come to a resolution, to appoint a man of learning to superintend the establishment at Pilgerhut, conceiving that he would more easily' acquire a knowledge of the language and other local circumstances. They found a person, well qualified and willing to undertake it, in Th'eoph. Sol. Schuman, late a tutor in the protestant cloister of Bergen in Saxony. He arrived in the country in the autumn of 1748, and in one year acquired such pro- ficiency in the languagCj that he could speak with the natives without an interpreter, and translate several por- tions of the holy scriptures. He ended his useful and active life here, October 6th, 1760, after serving this and the other missionary institutions of the Brethren- in Gui- ana, for twelve years; with indefatigable zeal and faithful- mess, during which: period he made two visits to Europe in concerns of the mission. R 242 Mission in South Arnerks- While our missionaries were filled with joy an4 gra-- titude for the success, attending their endeavours, and counted no difficulties and labours too hard, which might in any degree tend to further the noble- cause in whjch thgy had embarked ; the adversaries, were not remiss in their attempts to oppose this growing wpijk. Some white people, displeased with the conversion ■ of the Indians, tried to make them jealous of the misi^ion- aries. And when this did not succeed, they insinuated that the numerous assemblies at Pilgerhut might tend to excite a rebellion, and that it would be wise in govern- ment positively to prohibit, these ; meetings for the future. However the governor, Mr. Loesner, paid no attention to these representations, but testified, on every occasion , the pleasui;e he felt in contemplating the blessing of God, which, so evidently rested on the labours of our br;ethren. But it was not long befpije an ,unfavoj4i::able change took, place in the government. Mi^. Loesner received his dis- mission, and though he most warmly recommended thp niisgiori to his successor, it soon appeaietj that .this, geur tletnag, was not very favourably dispo5fid.j Shortly after his arrival he summoned the missionaries, to appear before the council. On their appearance h^ read to them thq orders of the directors in Amsterdam, requiring their taking a formal OEithj adding, tljiat, in, case of refusal, he would .^end them back to Europe with the fij,-st ship. Brother Schupian answered, that as sqme of tt^em had scruples of conscience agalns^ taking an oath, they would abide by the declaration ni^d^ ofi th^eir arrival in the country, and, in case of a t)reach of their simple affirma-; tion,, would consider themselves liable to.th.e same penalty, as if the^ had been guilly of peijury. Having replied to some pthfir questions, and renionstrated, wijh modesty and, firmness, against Several restrijctjpns, intended to be im- posed on their labours: their adversaries were silenced, and it was finally resolvied, that their simple; affirmation, should be accepted instead of an oath. The enemies of the mission, who for, some time had rather too loudly expressed their joy at its approachingi destruction, finding themselves thus unexpectedly disapi. Mission in South ArUerica. 243 pointed, again resorted to their former contrivance, and endeavoured to render the Indians suspicious of the mis- sionaries, by insinuating that they would make them slaves. But though the idea of slavery was more formi- dable to these people than de&th itself, they were so firmly persuaded of the love and aifection of their teachers, that the white people effected n'othing by these base insinua- tions *. Thus the missionaries enjoyed a season of rest and tranquillity, and the number of the congregation was gradU^iy increased. In the beginriing of the yeat 17^0' a disputation of eleveii savages arrived at Pilgerhut from the Spanish possession on the river Oronoco. TbeSe'pebple had been visited by one of the christian Indians, and his discourse had made such an impression upon their minds, that they now came to hear the gr^at word front the missionaries themselves. Their embassy led tO the result, that in the sequel several pagans from that territory (a distance of about eight or ten days' journey) settled at Pilgerhut and embraced the gospel. A visit, made by some of the converts to their relatives on the river' Corentyn, was fol- lowed by consequences equsilly pleasing. Their testiimohy of the grace they had experienced, excited the astonish- ment of their friends, who sent a deputiation of seven men to PiLGERHUT to inquire what the good' news was, which the missionaries announced to the Indians' in the! name of their Creator. Before the end of the year several compa- nies, consisting of fifteen or tweiity persbnsj came from those parts to settle at I'ltGERHUT. Our Brethren re- mark : "It is impossible to behold these people without deep emotion. There are some very aged' persons aiilong them, who have come hither on crutchfes', a journey of four or five days. Thefy have left a district, where they had abundance of provisions, and now are satisfied with a very small pittance, that they may daily hear of Jesus. Withoiit reckoning those, who occasionally visit us, there * A clergyioati, whom Scbuman visited some time after, candidly pjrned, that he had' written' several things to the council and to Holland against the Brethren, but having now gained a more accurate knowledge of them, he was resolved to take Gamaliel's advice. Acts v. 38. He ever after kept his tirotniGe. R 2 244 Mission'in South America^ are now three hundred belonging to our congregation^, of whom two hundred, live in the settlement." Scarce had they, been enlivened by this pleasing progress of the mission, wheff new troubles broke out. , Their ene- , miesat home and a-broad, were still secretly plotting the ruin of their establishment. One of the directors of the company, arrived from Holland, with unlimited powers- to regulate every thing agreeably to the supposed advan-, tage of the trade. This gentleman lent a willing ear to . the complaints, which were made, that the endeavours of the missionaries for the conversion of the Indians were in- jurious to. the interests of the company. In Novenibetr brother Schuman was summoned before him and the goi- vernor. The former in an imperipiis tojje demanded, that the missionaries should not driiw the Indians to itheic settlement, but let them live dispersed in the wop^a, ,that they should, clothe their converts, and pay a personal tax for them,, equivalent to that charged on-tne \7hite peoplp* He more particularly insisted, that the Indians should be , required to lend, their services to the Dutch ;Cplony, and that the missionaries should be compelled to take the oath prescribed, perform, military duty, and appear on the parade. To every one of these demands, Schuman replied, in so satisfactory and convincing a manner, that the con- science of the director was touched, and he remarked, not without considerable emotion : " that he knew the Brethren were quiet, peaceable, and regular people,, but that he was not authorized to exempt them from bearing arms .and taking oaths. If his superiors in Holland would grant them a dispensation from these duties, he would not only make no objections, but assist them as far as he cquld, and allow them eight months in order to refer their peti- tion to the mother-country." He dismissed Schuman with, expressions of kindness : and a few days after was audr denly removed by death. The vexations of the missionaries, however, did not terminate here. Once the governor sent some soldiers to PiLGEBHU-p, who forcibly compelled two of the chris- tian Indians to serve in the colony. This so terrified the rest, that many of them fled into the wilderness : by de- Mission in South America. 245 jfrees, however, they all returned. When new missiona- Ti^s arrived in 17.51, -they were again cdminanded to take an oath, and those who had scruples of conscience on this pttint, were obliged to return with the ship to Europe. This greatly increaseid the labours of those who remained, especially as one of theiii, after six years faithful service, ■departed this life much about the same time. i For several' years' no further impediments were-thrown in the way of their operations. Their plain, but zealous, testimony of the death and' resurrection of Jesus had a mighty influence in convincing the^heathen of sin, and es- tablishing their converts in the obedience of faith. The 'visits of savages fixjm distant regions still continued, and through them the knowledge of the gospel was widely dif- -fused. Many came and took up their residence at PiL- ■GEKHUT ; among' whom were some of the rudest and most ■ferocious ■ tribe,' considered even by the Arawaks as the -greatest .barbarians,, for they feast upon^the'flesh of those whom they have taken and killed in war. But the word of the cross tamed these tigers in human shape, and <^anged their ferocity into the meekness of the lamb. The congregation increased both in number and grace. This its members evidenced both by a walk and conver- sation consistent with their christian profession, and by the ample utterances of their hearts, when feelingly de- scribing the change wrought in them by divine grace, and their desire to press forward to the mark set before them. Thus one of them, desirous of writing to our Brethren in Europe, dictated the following : " ;Hft*ing arrived at man- hood, I spent many years without any knowledge of my Saviour. When I after'wards became desirous to experi- ence what I heard, it was granted me. Jesus has cleansed me in his blood, and delivered me from my disobedience*. This truth, that he died and shed his blood for me, hath conquered' and captivated my heart:- this I can never for- get; and therefore will 1 love him with all my soul, and daily give my whole heart to 'faiih. Ijfervently pray, that ,'* In the Arawak language there is no other term for sin, but diiottiience, ^tnd {^'9 perfectly. acconb >vith scripture, .^ora. v.- 1,^ 246 Mission in South Jmerica. he may keep me, and, never suffer me to. stray from iiim, or lose the impression pf his deaith and sufferings. ?His love to me is astonishingly great, tfierefore hath he'di>aAi!n jne to himself." Another expressed himself thus : " I love my Creator jvith my whole heart, and I rejoice ^hat when I leav,e this earth, I shall go to him, and worship at his feet, who hath washed me from my sins in his own blood. He gives me eternal life. He knows my heart. I had gone astray from lunl; but he appeared and tiook jjtway py polluted, evil and flinty heart, and gave me a he#rt of flesh: for his blood hath puri6.ed and softened i<^ It remains indelibly impressed on my mind that be has shed his blood for me. He hath granted me the graic^ that I can leave this world, in assured hope, and full of joy go to him and behold him as he is." In this con- fident expectation of eternal glory the : missionaries saw several of their converts quit this stagevi(ii the savages, and likewise in accompanying their christian Cj^intrymen, when ^gpiji^ out to h;unt or fish or till their fields, vvbich lay at some distance in the woods. On th^se otccasipns pretty large parti^es; used to go together and be several days, or even weeks, away from the settlement. The assistant, who accompanied them, i kept daily^ meet- ings for^prayer afld exhortation, endeavoured toi preserve g09d.teiad to iiyure the cause of ithte g(jspeL ,\ They had now within the spacg of eight years, sincet God: began visibly to bjbssi their la- bours, baptized three hundred and sixty-seven persons, of jyhote forty-eight bad' died. At the clo.se of the year 1 7,56 there lived at PrtGERHUT two -hundred and • thirty-three Mission in South Am&rica. 247 persons, besides some children not yef baptized, and reck- oning those, who resided in the neighbourhood, the whole number amounted to upwards of three hundred. This hopeful progress of the work was slightlj' threaten- ed about this time, by a request made by the new gover- nor, M. Van Ryswyk, that they should send all those chris- tian Indians away, who belonged to the Berbice territory. But upon proper representation, that not one in ten of those, who lived in the settlement, had come from that territory, and that they never wished to interfere with the affairs of the Dutch colony, he withdrew this demand, commended their benevolent exertions, and ever after acted towards them as a friend. Under these favourable auspices they and their flock of converted Indians began the year 1757 with joy and thanksgiving, happily unconscious of the heavy sufferings, which a God, infinitely wise arid righteous in all his works, in the sequel permitted to assail them, doubtless to try their faith and constancy. The wife of brother Schuman having unexpectedly departed this life, while he was at Pa- ramaribo on concerns of the mission, he found it necessary to visit Europe in 1758. Thus Pilgerhut was left withdiit an ordained minister, and the two missionaries, who resided there, and had hitherto assisted in the ministry, did not think themselves authorized to baptize or dispense the Lord's Supper. And an ordained minister, who was expected frdni North America, did not arrive, as he could find' no ship bound for Surinam, This of necessity proved injurious to the spiritual course of the congrega- tion. To add to their discouragements, a contagious dis- ease broke out the following year, and raged for many inoriths> spreading consternation and death through the whole country. Not less than foi-ty of the christian Iri- dians died within one year, and as numbers had left the settlement, and many of those who remained were con- fined by illness, divine service was often attended by no more than ten or twelve. This distress was further aug- mented by a dearth of provisions in the Berbice territory. When brother Schuman returned in the spring of 1760, 248 Mission- in South America. he found the congregation greatly diminished, and the whole country in the most deplorable situation. Nearly one half of the JDutch colonists, and also the governor had been carried off by ,the prevailing epidemic. His ar- rival, however, revived the faith and zeal of the missiona- ries, and diffused newr life through the congregation. But their joy was of short duration ; for in less than six mppths after his return, it pleased the Great Head of his church to call this his faithful servant into eternal rest. His re- moval appeared an irreparable loss to the mission; and the wound, inflicted by this event, was opened afresh, a few weeks after, when two active young brethren who had come with him from Europe, likewise finished their earthly pilgrimage. The contagion still raged with uriabating violence, and the famine became so general, and rose to such a pitch, that the Indians for months had nothing to sustain life but wild roots and fruits. The missionaries indeed obtained a scanty supply from Paramaribo ; but their fare was exceedingly frugal, and no doubt occasioned the frequent; attacks of illness, from which they suffered. In conse- quence of these calamities, Pilgerhut was almost de- serted, and this settlement, which a couple of years be- fore, contained nearly four hundred inhabitants, was at the end of 1762 reduced to twenty-two. Still our brethren were determined not to abandon their post, but, in hope of better times, patiently to persevere in their labours. Towards the end of February 1763, however, an event occurred, which would have rendered it the height of presumption to remain any longer in Pil- GERHUT, In the night preceding the first of March and the following day they were alarmed by the discharge of xiannon, and in the evening they received authentic intel- ligence, that all the Negroes had risen in rebellion, mur- dered several white people, and obliged the rest to fly. The insurgents had already cut off" all communication with the Fort by land and water. The next day, hearing that the rebels were within a few miles of the settlement, they resolved to proceed without loss of time to Demarary. Mission in South Amenta. 249 They effected their escape by water in two companies j the missionaries Beutel and his wife, and Climan, together with the widow Bambay, still remaining at Pixgejihut, in order, if possible, to retain possession of it. But for the sake of safety, they spent the night in the wood- The fugitives encamped in a thick forest on the banks of a small river, about nine miles from Pilgerhut. Of the subsequent events, Beutel, one of those who had remained in the settlement, gives the following relation : " March 5th I •wevAXo Matare to learn the disposition of the Negroes towards us. They told me, that they would not harm us, well knowing that the Brethren had not done them any hurt; but they could not be answer- able for the more emljittered Negroes, who threatened to TCixaAet all the white people, and intended to come to Pilgerhut that day. On receiving this intelligence we penetrated farther into the wood, and encamped there. Here we were visited by seven Negroes, whose looks were rather savage: but they departed in peace, after taking pur two best guns, promising not to injure us, as we were gdqd, people. We, however, thought it most prudent now to join the rest of our brethren. Upon this some of us immediately proceeded toDemarary, where they met with a kind 9Jid hospitable reception from the inhabitants I antl Climan and Vester went, once more to the settlement to fetch away such of pur things, as had not been taken by the Negroes, and on the 2nd of April commenced our final emigration. Having, at length, arrived at Demarary, Mr. Finnet yery kindly provided us with the necessary accommoda- tions on his estate : and the christian Indians, who came with us, likewise found here the needful means of support." During this insurrection the Fort had been burnt, and tlie whole country laid waste. Our Brethren lost pro- perty to a very considerable amount ; but they regretted npthing so much as the loss of the Arawak Grammar and Dictionary, which had been compiled with immense la- bour by the late brother Schuman. 25d Mission in Soalh Ameriea. Thus terminated the once flourishing mission on die Rio de Berbiee. Most Of the missionaries retorned to Europe ; and Climan and Vester, who still remained in Demarary, shortly after finisJied their earthly career. The few In- dian converts, who had corae with them from PrLGERHfT went in the sequel to the settlement, which had been be- gun a few years before, in the territory of Surinam *. SECTION II. Sharon on the Sarameca, THE reader will recollect that tlie establishment, be- gun by our Brethren in the territory of Surinam on th& river Gottika, was abandoned in 174.5. However, the idea of commencing a mission in this district was npt en- tirely relinquished, and events soon occurred^ which ren- dered it' very -desirable to make new efforts in these parts. The land beioBging to Pilgerhut was fonnd insuffici^it for the -maintenance' of the many christian Indians H^ho re- sided there. This led to their frequent dispersion, which proved detrimental to their progress in christian know- ledge and practice. The directors df our missions, being desirous to remove these -impediments, sent two brethren, C. Daehne, (who had been in the country before but had returned to EuBope) and Mark Ralfs to Paramaribo, for the purpose of inquiring into the practicabUity of form- ing one or more missionary settlements in the territory of Surinam. They arrived on the last day of the yfear 1754, hired a privfite lodging, and workfed at their tFad6s> witli a view to watch a favourable opportunity for effecting their purpose. Throagh the friendly interference of Mr. Loes- ner, they found in the present governor, Van der Meer, a kind friend and benefactor, who Was willing to promote their design. They had, however, to wait till the year - 1756, before they could obtain the consent of the govern- ment in Holland, together with a renewal of those privir- ^ leges, which had- been conceded to the Brethren in 1740. * For a mor^ detailed account of the events related in tMs Section, see, Risler's Select Narratives, Part il. Sec. S. p. 15—96'. JSdissian in South Amerkm. 251 Eto^ needfal preparation being thus made, two mar- ried piissionaries, who had formerly resided in the country and understood the language, together with five unmar- ried brethren, left Holland and arrived in Surinam in November, t '(They were accompanied by Nicholas Garri- son, .formerly, a sea^ioaptain, who had volunteered his:ser<- vioes, to Jiwrigate the rivers and assist in surveying the land -granted to Hama. They entered upon this business before the end of: who could speak Spanish, answered their fjuestions with great free- dom, adding- " you must take none of these things J they belong to the Bretbreo on the Sarameca, who teach us the way of galvatjon; they want these things, and our Creator knows and sees al} you are doing." These remiarks, Bowing Crom the Jips of an Indian, reached the ooiisci^ ences of these rude people, and they returned to their ship without taking any- thijig, ' Our missionaries considered themselves more than com- pensated for all their external trials, by the hopeful pros- pect, that a numerous congregation of believing Indians would be collected in this settlement. Among its first inhabitants, who had coine from PiLaERHUx and other places, grace, simplicity fwjd brotherly love ■ prevailed, and the work of the Spirit of God evidenced '. itself in young and old ; even the children not excepted. Visits; from the neighbouring heathen likewise became very fre- quent, among whom were many of the Carribbee tribe.- Mission in South America, 2SS These came in companies of from.ten to twenty at a time, and listened witli eagerness to the conversation of the missionaries and their assistants. Several, after a short time returned, took up their abode at Sharon, and re- ceived the seed of. the word in a good and honest heart, bringing forth . the fruits of righteousness ; and others, who could not be admitted into the settlement, formed small colonies in the vicinity. Suddenly, however, this bright. prospect was darkened by a gathering storm. The establishment of the Brethren on the Sararaseca was exceedingly disliked by the Bush- Negroes, who lived, in the adjacent woods, and whose habitations were safe asylums for run-away Negroe- slaves. But the flight of the latter was rendered very difficult by the many villages, now building by the Car^ ribbeesi on the Sarameca, and who lay in wait for the fugitives, as government allowed them fifty florins for every slave they seized. The Bush-Negroes, there- fore, resolved to destroy Sharon, hoping thus to com- pigl the Indians to leave, the country. Some of these marauders were occasionally seen lurking about the settle- ment, but they precipitately retreated into the woods on discovering any Carribbees, of whom they stood greatly in awe. They however watched their opportunity, and having received certain information that all the Carrib- bees had emigrated, an. consequence of a scarcity of pro- visions, a number of them advanced < towards Sjeiaron, lying for some days concealed in the woods. On Sunday, January the 25th, 1761, as the congregation was return- irig from divine service, the Negroes sallied forth, and with a hideous noise commenced an attack, using both fire-arms, and bows and arrows. , They killed three aged Indians in their huts anjl took eleven prisoners, but were afraid to approach the mission-house, as they observed persons with guns stationed in the inside- They therefore placed themselves behind trees, from whence they fired at the house, whereby one of the missionaries was wound- ed in the arm. Our brethren, however, maintained their post, till the enemies succeeded in setting fire to the pre- mises. In making their escape, one had his forehead slightly grazed by an arrow. The Negroes did not pur- 2S4 Missiott in South AmericiK sue them, hut baring plundei'ed the settlement, retrea*e3' with pFecipitancy, afraid* of an attacfr from the Carrlb- bees, some of whom were now returning.' Our fugitive' missionaries went first to the plantations on the Coropina, and then proceeded to Paramaribo.^ Thither they werft' accompanied by some of their converts, the rest took refiige m Efhraim and other places. ' The missionaries, Schirmer aiid Clive, with a compa- ny of Iiidians, soon returned to Sharox, and,' as ho immediate danger was to be apprehended from the Bueh-- Negrcffis, others followed in a short time. For^the sake- of greater security, the governor sent an officer with foiflv' teen men to the settlement ; but their prepuce proved- no edification to the Indians, and was attended with many- inconvenienoiesi In oth^ respects too the' situation of our bnethren was extremely distressing. The housej th'eyf inhabited, was in a most ruinous state: frogs and toads^ crawled on the floor, and bats. and other creatures tpoik:^ possession'^ of the roofj which was but imperfectly covered. Theywere frequently in want of the! necessaries > of life; and the few Indiansj living with themi being often sick, were' consequently unable to hunt, or fish, or fetch provisions; and the soldiers took the fruits of their plantations with- ' out ceremonyi For several weeks both missionaries werft. so ill, thatthey could not leave their hammocks, and' had' nothing to live upon: but bread: aud water. Towards the " end of the year, howjewer, their courage was considerably- strengtijened by the arrival of three missionaries from Eik-' rope; but how inscrutable are the counsels of God !■ Tvfb' of thenii departed this; life a few dajss' after their anivstiy- and in less thanstwdye months two of the survivers like-' wise entered into the rest, which remains for the people of God. lEtherto thechristian» Indians, alarmed by false reports'' o£ meditated attacks from the Negroesj had ofben fled inta^' the forests, and, being- thus deprived of the instructiofl; of the missionaiaes,- were rather declining in their reli- gious prbf^sion. But by*, the grace of God Mieyi were; brought: to serious reflectionV and intheyear 1762 most of them ret«iiB«5iV and with penitent tears besou^t. their' Mission in South America, €55 teachers to take th^m anew inta their care. This request^ which was most readily^ granted, served to animate the zeal of our brethren, and revive their faiuting hopes. Thus Sharon once more assumed the appearance of a promising station, and its Indian inhabitants, about sixty in number, enjoyed peace and rest, and walking in the comforts of the Holy Ghost,^ were edified. And, peace being established between the government and the Bush- Negroes, our missionaries indulged dxe pleasing hope, that many of the Arawaks, who had' formerly been bap- tized, but scattered in the wilderness duringjthe late trou- bles, would now return. In this hope, however, diey were disappointed ; for the fear entertained, by the Indians of the Negroes rather increased after peace bad been made. For, in spite of their professions of friendship, their conduct, when vbiting .Shakpn, was not the most conci- liatory. Besides, sqme secret enemies tried bj: false re- ports to terrify the Arawaks still more, hoping thus to accelerate the ruin of the mission. Many of the inhabi- tajats left the settlement and fled into the woods. But aa theif dwellings were soon occupied by cohere, the mis- sipijtaries did xkQt relax in their exertions, and. both by their instructions at home, and by frequent visits through the country, endeavoured to diffuse the glad tidings of grace and redemptiop through the blood of Christ* It was not l(»)gv however, before they were threatened with new dangers from the Negroes, which seemed to ren-< der the occupancy of Sharon, as a missionary settlement, very precarious.. Besidestfais, vast swarms of large. ants had almost totally destr,oyed their plantations^ and thu« dep^iy^d them; of the principal means of subsistence. These and other circumstances led to the final relinquish- ment of this station in 1579- A few-years before brother Schirmer had departed thi£ life and entered into the joys of his Lord, after having for. the space of fourteen years endured hardness as a good soldieeof Christ on this difficult post. In October, 1776, brother Christopher Lewis Schuman, son of the late mis- sionary of. that name, arrived at Sharon, principally 256 Mission in South America. with a view of devoting himself to the service of the Car- ribbees. His attempts in this respect, however, proved unsuccessful ; but he zealously served the mission in many' other ways ** SECTION III. Hope on the Corentyn. IN order to take possession of the land surveyed on the river Corentyn, as mentioned in the preceding sec- tion. Brother Daehne went thither in April 1757, ac-' companied by a few Indians, who assisted him in clearing a piece of ground and building a hut, but in a short time they all went away except one, called Christopher, , and even he, falling sick a few months after, was obliged to return to his friends. Thus our missionary was left alone in this horrid wilderness, the haunt of tigers, serpents of enor- mous size, and various reptiles, whose bite or sting is venomous. He had not been long here, before he was seized with a fever ; but by the timely assistance of bro- ther Schumafl, who had a slight knowledge of medicine, and who immediately hastened to his relief, he recovered.* An account of the hardships and dangers he encountered in this solitary abode, as well as of the almost miraculous preservation of his life, will be read with the greatest interest in his own words. ** The Indians," says he, " who were continually pas- sang by, often inqiiired into the reason of my building a hut in this lonesome placfe ; tvhether 1 did it by my own, • For a more extensive account of Sliaron, see Risler, Part ii. Sec. 3. p. 97—108, & 127—135, & 148—160. f Schuman remarks concerning him : » Daehne reminds me of the old pa- triarchs, d«relling in tents, e.. g. Abraham living at the oak in Mamre,. and he experiences tlie protection and care of the Angel, who visited Abraham in his tent. I have never seen him so cheerful aiid happy, as he is in this solitude." [Risler, Pa«; ii. Sec^ 3, p. 110.] — Another of his brethren says . of him : |' Daehne can endure every h^dship, like an Indian. ^le.is inde- fatigable in the cause of our Saviour j' and has a perfect knowledge of every thing r«(iuisite for the improvement «md cultivation of land." Ibid. p. 1 1 8. ' Mission in South America. 257 or the governor's authority ? I told them, I did it for their sakes, to make them acquainted with the true God, and oilly Saviour, They answered, 'the Indians have determined to kill you.' At length, the soldiers at the Fort sent me word that I was not safe, and invited me to come and live near them. I thankefl them for their care; but determined to stay where I might be favoured to gain, if it were but one soul for Christ. "One evening, being unwell and going to lie down in my hammock, upon entering the door of my hut, I per- ceived a large sei'pent descending upon me from a shelf near the roof. In the scuffle,- the creature stung, or bit liie two or three times in the head, and pursuing me very closely, twined herself several times round my head and neck *. Supposing, that this would be the occasion of my departing this life, I, for the satisfaction of my brethj:en, wrote the 'cause of my death in a few words with chalk upon the tabie: 'a serpent has kilted me;' lest they should charge the Indians with the deed-. But, on a sud- den, that promise of our Saviour to his disciples was im- pressed iipon my mind, 'They shall take up serpents, and it shall not hurt them,' (Markxvi. 18 ;) and, seizing the creature with great force, I tore her loose, and flung her out of the hut. I then laid down to rest in the peace of God. " There was also a tiger, who for a long time kept near my hut, watching, perhaps an opportunity to seize upon its inhabitant. He roared dreadfully every even- ing ; but J made a large fire near the Kut, before I went to bed ; however, as my fire often went out, it would have been but a poor defence, if the Lord had not pro- tected me. *' In November, the Caribbee Indians resolved to put their threats against hie into execution. One day, as I sat at dinner, about fifty of them arrived in canoes,, and surrounded ray hut. This was indeed a frightful sight. • Probably one of those serpents, which, diough their bite is iiol poison- ous, by twisting themselves tightly round the body of their prey, break its- bones, and thus quicUy extinguish life. S 23& Mission in South America. Some were armed with swords, others with tomahawks, I ihimediately went out to them, and bid them welcome in the Arawak language. They answered in a surly tone, saying, I should speak the Ca^ibbee language. 1 toMthem I could not speak it. Upon this they began to speak with each other, every now and then addressing me, ta find out whether I understood them or Wot. Perceiving that I did not even guess their meaning, they called their Arawak interpreter, and asked me, who had given me leave to build on their land. I answered, ' the governor ; and that I had a writing under his own hand to prove what I said.' They then asked, what views I had in coming hither ? Upon this, I went up to their Chief, and said, with great fteedom, * I have brethren on the other side of the great ocean, who, having heard that many Indians li^fe on this yifer, who are ignorant of their Cfeator, out of love to the Indians, have sent me bither, to tell you of your Cre- ator's lovp to you, and what he has done to save you ; and more of my brethren will come hither for the same ptirpose.' He asked, 'whether I was a clergyman, a Frenchlhan, or a Dutchman ?* I answered, 'Icameffom Holland, but was sent by my brethren, who loved them, and wished to do them good.' He then said, ' Have you? liever heard, that the Indians inteiid to kill you ?' I ati- sivered, 'yes; but I cannot believe it. You have ^mong^ your Indians some, who have lived with me, and they" can tell you that I am a real friend of the Indians.' ' Yes,' replied he, ' I have heard so ; and they Say, ' that you are another sort of christian, than the white people in general are.' I then said, 'I am your friend ; how is it that you are come to kill me ?' He answered, 'We have done wrong.'" Upon this every countenance seemed altered, and the party dispersed. The Chief remained with me, and inquired whether other people would come to live here ; andj when I assured him that none but my brethren would come, he Was pleased, and behaved very kindly. When be was going away, I perceived that he had some cassabi in his pouch. I asked him for it, as his people could get more, and I was here alone, and in wantj adding, * If yau should at any time pass by, and be hun- gry, I will also give you something to eat.' He imme- diately gave orders to give me some cassabi, some fish,. ^Mission m Smith America. S'SS and drink, and then took leave, saying Re wonld ofteft come -to see me. Thus our Saviour delivered me from them, and preserved me amidst daily nnd great dangers ^ so that at the close of the year, I had cause to thank and adore him in the dust. •• I entered into the year 1758 with a confident h'eart, and felt the presence and peace of God in all my walk and ways. I was busily employed in clearing the ground, and felling trees ; and when 1 was weary, frequently de- sired the Indians, who were passing by, to lend a helping hand, which they did with pleasure. Once, while -gatheF- ing wood for fuel, some large black ant& fixed upon my hand, and by their stings gave me such excruciating paiit that I was almost senseless for some time. These creature* are nearly two inches long, and quite black. The Indians are as much afraid of them as of serpents." As to exter- nals, this was for me a year of great want. I frequently rose in the morning, without knowing whether I should taste a morsel all day y but God ordered it so, that some- times when I could scarce bear the excess of hunger, some Indians arrived, who were willing to divide their mouths ful of cassabi with me *." I>aring the following year he \ra« occasionally vi»ite J by Warau Indians, which afforded-liim an opportunity of preaching the gospel to them j " and this always animated him afresh to labour in hopes of better times. Some of them also promised to come and live with him. In con- sequence of his incessant bodily labours, which were often beyond his strength, he was attacked with sickness, which was increased by tha insalubrity of the climate and hid mean and scanty fare. His fellow missionaries, in Para- m:aribo being informed of it^ imaiediatly ^lispatched bro- ther Boemper to his assistance. He set out by way of Mepennay but for a considerable tjttie could not get an Indian to take him in his- boat, as they are in g^eral afraid of going near a sick person, and especially because a report had been circulated, that the devil lived with Daehne. They therefore did all they could to dissuade * Per. Acct. Vol, i. p. 52T— 331. &2 260 Mission in South Avierica. brother. Boeniper from venturing to go to so da:ngerous a person. However he prevailed at length and arrived with hitn to his great comfoTt, and his health was soon restored. Having spent nearly two years in this solitary abode, he was in 1759 relieved by three .missionaries. These built a church and dwelling-house^ and laid oat planta- tions, giving the name of Ephraim to the new settlement. They diligently visited those Indians, who, after leaving PiLGERHUT, had become residents in this part of the country ; and some of them came to live in the settlements Many Caribbees and Waraus also visited them j , and they haid the ple^iSure to observe, that their testimony of Christ and his salvation evidenced its divine power on the Indians, whose, tears manifested the emotion of their hearts. This encouraged them, amidst many external difficulties and hardships, to labour in hope. But their faith 'and patience were put to a fresh trial. The rebellion of the Negro-slaves in Berbice, in 1763, rendered the whole country along the banks of the Coren- tyn unsafe, and forced their conyerts to retire into the interior. After awaiting the issue for some time, the fnissionai'ies riemoved to Paramaribo, and their hoqse was occupied by soldiers. The rebellion of the Negroes being suppressed in 1764, they, returned to their post. They found their former dwelling nearly in ruins j and as the situatioft of Epsraim was very unhealthy, being fre- quently exposed' to Inundations, they abandoned that place, and moved about twelve miles higher up the river. ' Here they found a piece of land well suited for plantations, and a good house, which had been built for a magazine. This they purchased of gpvernmeB*, and after making some needful alterations, moved into ,it in 1765. Its situation at no. great distance from the river Mepenna, whither most of the Indian converts had fifed during the disturbances, induced the hope that many of their scat- tered, sheep would again be collected, and restored to jthe fold of the good shepherd, and in tliis expectation they gave it the name of Hope *. * In HxxUii Hoope, by which name it is often motioned in the reports of the nussionari«6. Mission in South America, 261 In process of time many of those Indians, who had been baptized by the Brethren, found their way to this new settlement. They erected huts for themselves, ^nd laid out their fields, at a convenient distance. Somie of them indeed had grown rather wild, yet the remem- brance of the grace they had formerly enjoyed, was not totally obliterated, and being now i-evived by the instruc- tion of the missionaries, a pleasing change was soon effected. The brethren also neglected no opportunity of informing the other Indians of' their residence in the countrj', and inviting them to come and hear the word of God. They likewise paid occasional visits to the. hea- then, some of whom embraced the gospel and were added to the church. Thus the congregation at Hope conti- nued, for several years, in a pleasing course ; anji though the increase in point of number was not considerable* yet the grace of God was often strikingly experienced. At the close of the year 1783 the number of christian Indians, belonging to the settlement, amounted to one hundred and sixty seven persons *. Di^^ing subsequent years the prospect, became rather discRjiraging. The naturally roving disposition of the Indians, which had always been a great impediment to tbp mission, gained fresh ascendancy. At one time no less than twenty men of the. baptized left HopE, and removed to a considerable distance, and those, who still remained, spent most of their time in their planting-grounds, and were often four, eight, and even twelve weeks absent from church; nor was it always possible to visit them> This was of necessity injurious to their progress in chris- tian knowledge, and practice ; many in fact seemed, to lose the little they had obtained, and sunk into a state of supineness and indifference to the gospel. Few of the savages paid any regard to the instructions of the mis- sionaries, and the" Arawak nation was rapidly depre^^ins in number j many being carried off by the small-pox, ana other epidemical diseases. ^his was the state of things at Hope in 1789, wheo * See Risler's Select NjUTatives. 262 Mission in South America. brother John Jacob Gottlob Fischer arrived there. He appeared -remarkably qualified to labour among a people like the Indians. Endowed with a vigorous constitution and an active and enterprising mind, improved by study, he was capable of enduring much bodily fatigue, and of > devising and executing plans for the mental improvement t)f the converts. With astonishing facility, he acquired, in a few months, suflScienl knowledge of the Arawak language, ^to preach in public; and even earlier than this, he had commenced a school with the children, in which he taught reiading aud writing ; and in a short tijne one of the boys made such progress, that he could be''employ- ed in copying, and could assist in teaching the rest. In a few weeks he had thirty scholars, who were eager to learn ; and those parents, wh'o lived at a distance, per- mitted their children to remain in the settlement, that they might obtain instruction. The /eal, with which he engaged in this and other schemes, animated the sinking courage of the other missionaries. He hoped by these means to infuse more steadiness and activity into the cha- racter of the Arawaks, thereby rendering them more susceptible of moral and intellectual improvement, and thus to facilitate their advancement in spiritual know^ 4edge*. In order to induce the christian Indians to forsake their roving disposition, which they always excused by alleg- ing the infertility of the soil on the Corentyn, Fischer went to a neighbouring Chief on the Aulibissi Creek, where there was good planting-ground, to inquire whether he would permit the Indians of Hope to plant in his territo- ry. He immediately consented and, pointing to a consi- derable tract of forest-land, said : '♦ This land God has given to me, as he gave that at Hope to thee, and thus I am the rightful possessor of it.« -Now, as I have not cre- ated it, and thou canst use it, I freely deliver it over to thee; and thy people may come and clear it as soon as they please." He then in very kind terms, addressed the Indians in brother Fischer's company, assuring them that no devil, or evil spirit, haunted the landf In conse- • Brethren's History, Vcrl. iii. p. 313. .f Per. "Acct. Vol, i. p. 100. Mission in South America. 263 tjuence of these arrangements, several families built huts in the settlement, so that in 1793 it contained one hun- dred and fifty-one inhabitants j besides whom about one hundred baptized Arawaks lived scattered in the vicinity. New life from God was also visible in the congregation. As this appears to have been the most flourishing period in the mission at Hope^ some remarks, may very proper- ly be introduced in this place, on the settlement and the improvement of its Indian inhabitants in the arts of civi- lized society. The superintendent of the South American mission, at that time, brother Hans Wied, gives the followr- iHg description of the settlement in the year 179*. " Hope is situated on the left bank of the Corentyni as ycu ascend from the sea. The opposite bank is high and sandy; but on this side the soil is loamy and not very fruitful. The woods are rendered almost impenetra- ble by an immense quantity of Busch-Tau, except where paths have been cut by the natives. In the neighbour- hood of the settlement the wood is cut down and rooted up; and plantations of coffee, bananas, and cotton, as likewise a considerable portion of pasture-ground, dpiply reward the industry of the christian Indians. " The house of the missionaries stands about forty feet dis- tant from the river, and.the ascent to it is by a range of nineteen steps. It is built, partly in the Indian, and part- ly in the colonial style. Its front is of weather-boairding^ and the two sides and back are cbnstructed with a double row of pallisades, close together. The partitions inside • are made in the same manner, and every part covered ' with a plaister, made of chalk and charcoal, of a blueish hue. AH the floors are made of clay, mixed with chalk. Brother Fischer's and brother Loesche's rooms have ceilings of strong laths, lying horizontally, but the hall, which is . spacious and serves for a dining room, as also the church, -which is comprised in the same building, have no cover- ing except the roof. This is inade, in the Indian manner, of large leaves fastened upon laths, and all the beams and rafters are secured by Busch-Tau. Behind the dwellings are the Negro-ho.use, kitchen, s,tor€-house, and stables, 26* Missimi in South America. so constracted that in the rainy season, each may be ap- proaebed under cover. Next to the mission-house, to the right down the river, stands brother Voegtle's house, built by his own hands in the Indian manner, extremely neat and furnished with a gallery. About one hundred yards from the houses of the missionaries, on each side, most of the houses of the Indian brethren and sisters are ranged in regular rows, along the bank, so that the mission-house and church, which stand nearlyin the middle, divide the settlement into two parts. Close to the houses is a well made footpath, leading to the woods on either side. Some of the Indian houses are -not built in the, row, but in the gardens, and nearly hid among the fruit- trees. At the back of the settlement runs a fence, to pre- vent the cattle from entering the garden-grounds. How- ever, the most considerable gardens belonging to the In- dians, namely, their cassabi plantations, which afford them thechiefpartof their sustenance, are at Aulibissi, on the opposite side of the Corentyn, about an hour and an h^lPs walk from Hope. The school-house is situated behind themission-house, and is an airy Indian building. ," The employment of the christian Indians at Hope con- sis^ chiefly in cultivating their fields and gardens, In weaving mats, and in cutting and preparing timber. One or two of the missionaries accompany them into the wood, where they fell trees, cut planks, and make shin- gles. A large quantity of the latter, as likewise many bundles of hammocks, made by them, are sold at Berbice, 9.nd the produce applied towards the purchase of necessa- ries for themselves, and their famnies. They are thus- Ji^ept in a constant state of tiseful industry *." Goods cannot be conveyed to Berbice in any other way • than by water, and as our brethren, for a long time, could not afford to have a large. vessel, they frequently ran great i^isks with their small canoes or coryars. At length they purchased- a large boat, with which the missionaries, Fis- cher and Kluge, witbfour Indians, set out for Berbice in August 179.5, but the voyage proved' very unsuccessful. Having proceeded a considerable way, the boat, all on a * Per. Acct. Vol. i. p. 419. Mission in Soutli America. 265 sudden, became leaky, and the water gained upon tTiem so fast, -that she sank before they could run her aground, to save their lives. First they clang to a cask fastened to the boat, and then to the mast, part of which was above water ; and thus remained eight hours exposed tq the most imminent danger in the open sea, till after midnight they succeeded in getting on shore, by means of a small coryar ; and afterwards reached Hope in safety. JVIean- while the Indians continued their exertions with undimi- nished diligence and prepared other articles to send to Berbice, in which they were assisted by a German called Vogt, whom the brethren engaged for that purpose, and with whose conduct and diligence they had every reason to be satisfied *. Besides the daily schools for the children they began a Sunday school for adults in 1796. On opening it sixty men and womei^ attended, and shewed great diligence and eagerness to learn. Hope, being situated on the frontiers between Surinam and Berbice, was exposed to many difficulties, in conse- quence of the war between Holland and Great Britain, the latter having taken possession of Berbice in 179^. Brother Kluge, returning from Paramaribo in their own vessel, laden with provisions, was captured by an Eng- lish Privateer, and plundered^of all the stores. The Pri- vateer carried him and his Indians to Berbice, where he was taken very ill ; but by the kind attention of some friends, with whom he lodged, he soon recovered ; and af- ter paying a considerable sum to ransom the vessel re- turned to Hope. In the sequel the English treated . our brethren with great civility, permitting them to continue their voyages without interruption from one colony to the other. ^ Shortly before the British had possessed themselves of Demarary a circumstance occurred peculiarly trying to the Indian congregation. A gang of run-away Negroes commenced a rebellion in that province, and committed the most horrid murders and outrages. The Dutch go- * Per. Acet. VoLii. p. 260, 21)6 Mission in South America. vernment having resolved, to quell this insurrection by means of Indian auxiliaries^ the governor verote a letter to the missionaries at Hope, desiring them to exhort their Indians to join the rest of their nation and the military, in the, e^cpedition agajnst the Negroes. They convened the congregation and communicated the governor's letter, but left them to their own free will as to the steps they would choose to take, being acknowledged an independent people. Tlie Indians hereupon held a council, the result of which was, that they declared they had no mind to join in the war against the Negroes, especially as their own country would be left exposed, if they were all to march off into a distant province ; but if Berbice were attacked, they should then think themselves bound to oppose the incursion of the enemy. This resolution they sent to the post at Anbara ; but were answered, that it could not be considiered as their own act and deed, because they depended on the will of their teachers, and would surely go, if the latter advised them to it. Indeed the Indians were wajtching itlie, missio- naries and expected to have a decisive opinion from them ; but they carefully avoided any interference, and daily of- fered up prayer and . supplication] that the Lord would avert the storm. Upwards of twenty of the men, havir^ returned from their work in the wood, another council was held, during which the women stood without and wepf. The result wasj that three of them agreed to go to the war. As the Eux-opean officers had reckoned upon fifty warriors from Hop,e, they were greatly disap- poirited at serang only three arrive ; and *ev«ral of them, and also some parties of Indians came to Hope and made some disturbance. However they did not succeed in their endeavours, for not one more would join them. On the 23rd of July the, warriors passed by in two canoes j one carrying twenty, and the other thjrty-four men. The missionaries then reported the whole transaction to the governor, and he expressed himself perfectly satisfied with their conduct. In about two months the Indians re- tui'ned, having stormed a camp of 400 rebel Negroes, and either killed or dispersed them. Many Demarary Indians ftftd soldiers, were killed, but not one of this country*. * Per. Acct. Vol. ii, p. 26ff. Mhsidn in South Amerktu 267 Amidst lliese perplexities from without, our missionaries had cause to rejoice at tlie success, which attended their labours in tlie gospel. The congregation at Hope, which hitherto had been chiefly collected froin the Ar»wa;ks, now began to obtain an increase from another tribe called Waratis. The character of this tribe is marked by a greater de- gree of levity, than that -of the othef Indians in Guiana. Their habits are mcwe depraved and dissolute. They are more addicted to stealing, excessively superstitious and indolent j and appai-ently possessed of less mental capaci- ties than others ; and though, by living among tho Ara- waks and understanding their language, they had had fre- quent opportunities of hearing the gospel, and yet pai^ little attention to it, they seemed almost less fit for the kingdom of God than the former. The greater, there- fore, did the power of the gospel appear in the awakening and conversion of some of this tribe. No less than thirty^ six became inhabitants of Hope in the year 1796. An epidemical disease prevailing about this time, many heathen came to Hope to consult the missionaries. These gladly gave them the best advice and assistance in their power^ and improved these visits for commending the gos- pel to them, as the most effectual antidote against the fear of death. It was gratifying to them to observe the beneficial influence of religion on their converts in this season of afiliction, not only as it appeared in the tran- quil state of their minds, but as it meliorated their tem- poral condition j, for they enjoyed much better care and attendance in sickness than the savages ; and it was ascer- tained by indubitable facts, that in epidemical diseases eight heathen died for one christian Indian. During the years 1797 and 1798 they had to encounter various difficulties. A scarcity, litf;le short of real famine, afflicted the country. The missioViaries were obliged every day to seek, and almost beg, their morsel of ca«sabi and after all to pay an enormous price for it, a pro- digious swarm of large ants, having nearly destroyed their plantations. They were in total want both of bread 268 Mission in South Ameriea. and meal, as well as of meat and butter, and no game could be obtained. This distress, however, was lessened in the sequel, as government permitted them to travel to Berbice on concerns of the mission. While this scarcity continued, several alarming reports were cii'culated of hostilities having commenced among some of the Indian tribes. In consequence of these ru- mours many Arawaks and Waraus left therr habitations, and fled for safety to the settlement at Hope, hrmging their goods with them. All the Indians on the other side of tlie Corentyn fled, and mostly took refuge with our brethren. Even those at the post, who were stationed there for the defence of the country, came to the settle- ment. To inspire the people with some degree of courage, the missionaries dispersed all the men, who had arms, in re- gular bands, to keep watch, and had all the coryars, or boats, brought on land, to pfevetitany one from escaping. Thus, at the beginning of 17&7,' there were upwards of two hundred fugitives with our brethren. Many of them cleared ground, for building and planting, in the vicinity of the settlement. In a feW months, however, tranquillity having been restored, they again quitted that part of the country, without having received any apparent benefit from their intercourse with the christian Indians. But now a disaster of a far more distressing nature be- fel the mission. In March 1798 a ship was wrecked near the mouth of the Corentyn. The captain and another gentleman, who gave themselves out to be Americans, came to Hope. Our missionaries immediately sent intel- ligence of this to the postmaster at Auleara, who, after examining into the business, permitted them to convoy these gentlemen to Berbice, whither they were bound. The day after, therefore, brother Fischer set out with them, and the next inorning came up with the crew, be- longing to the wrecked vessel. Fischer, having taken an inventory of the goods, saved from the ship, returned to Hope; and the unfortunate company, consisting of twenty- four persons, pursued their voyage to Berbice in one of their own sloops and inthe barge, belonging to the mis- ' sion, being accompanied by seven Indians. It was now Mission in SoiaA Amiri&a., 269 xJrscovered, that they were not Americans but English* In consequence of this the postmaster of Nieukeur was . obliged to go to Paramaribo, whither brother Kluge ac- companied him, to lay a circumstantial account of the whole occurrence before government. A fortnight after Adjutant General Roux arrived at the settlement, to^x- amine into the affair. After his return to Paramaribo an order was sent from government, requiring that Fischer and his family should immediately leave the country* This was a.most afflictive dispensation, both to the missio- naries and their converts, who came in crowds to lament the removal of this usefal man from the mission. How- ever, as suspicions were entertained, that, on discovering that the pretended Americans were British subjects, Fis- cher had assisted in secreting part of the cargo of the ■stranded ship, which according 'to the laws of war be- longed to the government, our brethren viewed it as a special favour, that this occurrence did not lessen the benevolence of the governor for them and their estab- lishment, and that he continued to them the permission, formerly granted, of carrying their goods for sale to Berbice*. , , The number of inhabitants at Hope was in the mean time considerably increased. At the close of 1799 it amounted to near three hundi'ed persons; and besides them, there were many others, who were benefitted by the ministry of our brethren, though they still lived scattered in the woods. But in the following years the number was greatly diminished, many being carried off by the small pox, and others, yielding to their naturally roving dispo- sition, retreated to Aporro-creek, so that at the end of 1804 only one bundrpd and forty- six persons resided; at HoP^s ^nd one hundred and seventeen b^pti^ed Indians were living dispersed in the country. In August 1806 Hope was visited by a dreadful cala- ' ipity. One afternoon, while the missionaries were sitting together taking some refreshment, a fire broke out, which ran with such rapidity along the thatched roofs of the • Per. Acct. Vol. li. p. 494, 495 JBrethren's Hist. Vol. iv, p, 138. 270 Mission in Sputh America^ houses, that in a short timfe every buiMin^ in' the settle- ment, not excepting the church and the misBioji-hotvse, be- came a prey to the flames. Only the walls of the churchy which were made of planks, remained in part standing, but all their tools, and implements of gardening and hus- bandry, together with the tackk and rigging of their boat, the stores of the Indians, and various , other articles and provisions were consumed. Fortunately, however, they saved their books and manuscripts^ most of their clothes, some gun-powder, and two barrels- of flouir. And no one received any personal injury. This calamity was rendered still more distressing, as tlrere was reason to suspect that the fire had been kindled by incendiaries. Several attempts of the same kind had been made the preceding days, but> being timely discovered^ the design had been frustrated. About two years after, our brethren were under the ne- eessity of quitting Hope. Most, if not all, of those Indians belonging to that congregation, who were truly converted ifx heart, and walked worthily of. the gospel, were . in a short period of time, called intoeternjty'by an epidemical disorder, and departed this life rejoicing in their Re- deemer. None, therefore, were left, who by their exam- ple led the rest to serious reflection,- or, at least, to or- derly behaviour j but a spirit of resistance and enmity to the gospel became predominant. This suspension of the mission on the Corentyn hav- ing occasioned deep regret in all our congregations in Europe, the brethren in Paramaribo were commissioned to avail themselves of the first opportunity, that might offer, to collect the scattered reniains of the Arawak congregation, and to endeavour to renew the mission. Several of the Indians thepaselves, who occasionally came to Paramaribo, expressed a wish, that.the labours of the Brethren among their nation mi^t be renewed; and declared, that many of those, who, by their dissolute and refractory conduct, had contributed to the dispersion ctf the congregation, repented of what they had done, and would now put a'higher value upon the. instructions given them, if the mission were re-establish ed» Mission in South America, ■ 271 As soon, therefore, as it was practicable brother Lang- balle and his wife paid a visit to the Indians in those parts. They found the former settlement at Hope, quite forsa- ken, and overgrown with bushes. About three miles high- er up, on the Berbiee side of the river, th«y met with a bonsiderable number of baptized Indians, who formerly lived at Hope, and had made a settlement there. Bro- ther Langballe was received by them with great cordiali- ty, and staid with them three weeks. Every day he held a meeting ; and spoke with them on the necessity of true conversion, and faith in Christ. They listened with great attention and apparent devotion to his discourses ; several of them expressed their sorrow at having no teacher now residing amongst them, and their earnest desire, not only to be favoured again with opportunities of hearing the word of God, but to live in conformity to it. Brother Langballe at that time could do no more, than make a regulation among them to. meet together and read the New Testament. He encouraged them to turn anew with their whole heart to JesBS,. and to forsake all hea- thenish practices, and help to build each other up in the faith. He then set out with his wife, and visited the other baptized, who lived dispersed on the Ziporotu and Mepen- na rivers. Many of these poor people bewailed the loss of their teachers, and expressed their sincere wish that mis- sionaries might ag^n como and dwell among them. Ac- cording to the best information brother Langballe could procui'e from those whom he visited, he found that of the former inhabitants of Hope, one hundred and ninety-severa persons were still living. He himself had spoken with seventy-seven of the baptized. Encouraged by these promising apj^earances, two mis- sionaries, William Christian Genth, and John Hafa, who had lately arrived in Surinam, proceeded in June 1812 to the Corentyn, where tTiey found a house ready for them, having been built by one of the christian In- dians, i» expectation of their arrival. It was about three miles distant from the site of the old settlement. With the assistance of some Negisr«es, they had brought with diem from Paramarijbfo, they soon cleared a piece of ground for plantings and enlarged their dwelling, so as to accommo- 5fT2 Mission in Soicth America: da,te the Indians with a meeting room. Thirty of the baptized resided about a mile from them, and diligently attended divine worship. In process of time two or three Indian families came to settle with them, and others pro- mised to follow ; bbt that awakening and true conversion of heart,, which the Spirit of God alone can effect, were still wanting. From the most recent intelligence received from that quarter, and dated in April 1817, it appears, that the missionaries had left the station on the Corentyn, and re- moved to thte river Neukeer, there to preach the gospel to the J^egroes on the neighbouring plantations. Five Ara- wak Indians had accompanied them. Brother Genth had fixed his residence on an estate, called Good Intent, about four miles from the mouth of the river. The pro- prietor had ^iven him a dwelling-house with sufficient garden-ground, and a building to serve for a meeting- house. This- place lies in the centre of eight cotton plan- tationsj from which the Negi'oes were allowed to attend divine service without molestation.' Brother Hafa had settled on another estate near^ tfie coast, on the river Cojpename. SECTION IV.: Bambey on, the Sarameca, THE government at Surinam having in the year IVS*, made peace with the Free-negroes, living on the river Sa- rameca, and wisely judging, that their conversion to Christianity would, more than any thing else, tend to make them peaceable, and put a stop to those depreda- tions and cruelties, which they had formerly committed, made application to the Brethren to send missionaries to instruct them. In consequence of this application, the Brethren, in the year 1765, sent the missionaries Lewis Christopher Daehne, Rudolph Sjoll, and Thomas .Jon^$ to Paramaribo ; who set out from thence for Sara Creekj on December 7th. Their goods had been previously con- Mission in South America. 273 vej'ed up the rivei- by a boat carrying soldiers, and they themselves arrived there on the 12tb. About the same time, Mr Doehring had been sent by government, as agent to the Free-nc^roes, to distribute presents among them, and do every thing in his power to engage their friendship. He was likewise commissioned to introduce the missionaries to the Chiefs, and to recom- mend them to their favpur. In this view, he invited all the Chiefs to a conversation in his tent. A good many Fxee-n^roes came with them, to whom Mr. Doehring presented the above mentioned brethren, informing them of the purport of their coming, namely to make them acquainted with God, their Creator and Saviour ; and added " Whatever you do to these men, whether good or bad, I sliall consider as done to myself." The Ne- groes unanimously promised to treat them in the best manner. The missionaries intended to travel further into the country, but as the Negroes had not room in their boat& for the accommodation of all, brother StoU was obliged to return, with part of the baggage, to Victoria, and wait for another opportunity. This separation gave them much concern. However, as no other plan could be de- vised, the brethren Daehne and Jones went' with the Negroes, and arrived December 24th ; the former on the Sinthea Creek, with Abini, (father to John Arabini, who became a worthy member of the congregation at Bamb6y) and th« latter with Samsam on Doose Creek. It was by lio means their wish to reside at two different places, but Samsam, who was a Chief, and with whom brother Jones had travelled, kept him by foree. This did not arise from particular regard or attachment to the mis- sionary, but soliely from ambition, that he might likewise have an European residing with him, which the Negroes esteem an honour. January 1, 1766, however, brother Jones found an oppertanity of di^engagijig himself fronx his ungracious lidst, and rejoining his fellqw missionary, X)aehne, on the Sinthea Creek. Sainsam continued fo»^ some time to be very troublesome, by insisting on having one of them as a- resident in his hous^ ; and when he found T 274; Mission in South America. tthem resolute in, their determination of dwelling together^, kept back their goods, and either applied them to his G,wn use, or suffered them to spoil. They felt their loss very sevel'ely. However, on February 2, brother Stoll arriVed. from4 Victoria, with the remainder of their baggage. The meeting of all appointed to the same work gave them great joy; but,, it was soon turned' into grie^ bjr the unexpectefd departure of brother Jones into eternal rest, on the 7th of the same month. The two remaining brethren, at first suffered great hardships and poverty^ and lived in a small miserable hut, near the dwelling of two old Negroes, till Abini, becomitig sensible of thei* distress, built a small honse for them. In a short time, how- everj they lost likewise this friend andbeneifactoi'. H^ was shot in a battle between the combined foriee of the Sara* meca Negraes, and the white people and Matuari Ne- groes. Before he went to the battle, he is said to have presented his son, John Arabini, to the missionaries, with ■words to the fbllbwing effect': *''that he did not kflbw what sort of people the Brethren were, nor the cause of their abodte in the country, but believed God had sent them.*' • • In August the same year, Cojo, afterwards called JosfeMa, brought his son Sdpi© to brother Stoll, and requeued him to teath him to read and write. WitlT this boy the bre* thrgn began a school, which was afterwards increased by some other young "people ; but only the two first stayedj and at their- pressing request went in the sequel t^ reside with the missionaries, and having received a real sense of the love of God in their souls, were baptized an^ admit- ted to the holy sacrament % ■ " Arabini, who was chosen Chief in the place of his. father, proved areal friend and protector to the missionaries. Hiaving in the course of a year acquired sufficient know- ledge of the language f, to render themselves intelligible * Per. Acct. Vftl. ii. p. 414.. f Thte ha^vntgi of the Free-negroes^ thdugli diffei-Jiig con^derably from t^it spoken by the Kegroes on t)ie plantations, is not - di^cult of attainment t3 any one who understands EnglisB, or any Unguage derived' frjom th^ Latin. .. Mission in South America, "275 to the inhabitants "of the village ^ they informed them of their reason for coming to the country, namely, to make tliem acquainted with the true God, the Creator and Re- deemer of man. This excited the jealousy and opposition of the idol^priests, and especially of the old women, who terrified their superstitious countrymen by representing to them that their gados (or gods) were angry with them for turning to the Gran-gado (the great God) of the white peo^ pie *. Not satisfied with thus deterring the Negroes from Aavitig any intercourse, with the missionaries, they even plotted their destruction. But, as our brethren were igi- norant of their murderous design, they continued to hold their family devotions with -their doors open, hoping-that some of the savages might be attracted by curiosity to at- tend. They were, however, warned against going out of the house at night, and they themselves make ^e follow- ing remark in their r^ort of 1767, •* Our situation is * Tire njimber of their gadoj is almost iofcalculahlB, every person choosing one according to bis own fancjr. Some fis on a J^ge tree, a heap of san^ stones, a tiger, a crocodile, a serpent, &c. tor their gado; and otiiers make "use c^ an image, or a stick, decorated -riatn the te^ of some fet'odous ani- nlal. Before these idols they petforni fheir d^vdfidiis n'ith great fevereM:^. However they are not scrupulous in reproving fh^r gado, if they think he hs^ done thejb a mischief. A water-serpent, called Soma,, whom a Negrq,- Woman had chosen for her idol, having' one day killed the only duck* she possessed, she raii in great fury to the riVer ahd exchiimcd ; " O gado f thou hast not done right in that thou hast killed my tmlir duck, though I havir very fai&fully served thee, and thou hast done no hata to these people whp have many ducks, and who seek to destroy thee, [meaijing the tais^^opad^] this is not right." Such fboleries, liWever, are not tlie *hole, or ihe Worst p'att," of their superstition. Some persuade themselves, in so lively a manner, .that the spirit of their gado is upon them, that,, while vnder this ,delusi«H, their bodies are subject to the most yiqlfint and frightful citations,; and thp more ghastly and horrid the contortions of such a person are, in thejereator veneration is he held by the people, who re})0sc uAUniited cdrtfid^nce in llis pretensions. When the Negroes observe any thin^ ttnoohifnjm, either in the bodily form, or in the intellectual powers, be will bring with him into eternal joy, but all the rest he will consign to the tor- ments of everlasting fire." Some replied, that as so many would share in the punishment, it would not be so severe to each individual. Arabini shrewdly answered : " Try the experiment, and all of you put your fingers together into the fire, let us see, whether each individual wUl not feel, the same degree of pain, as if he were alone." Struck dumb by this remark, the whole assembly broke up with a heavy sigh *- In 1785 the Negroes again changed their place of abode, ^nd moved further down the riy^r to. the;rnoutJj of the Wana- Creek f; whither the missionaries followed them the next year, and called this place Ne^ Bambey. On this new station they continued their labours for the instruction and conversion of the.Negroes, with pei'seyering zeal, amidst many difficulties. They made many occasional visits to the neighbouring villages, sowing the sped of ihe word in faith, and in hope that- God would give the de- sired increase at some future period ; for as yet they reap- ed but little fruit from their labours. The progress of their few converts in evangelical Jsnpjy ledge and christian prac- tice was slow, and often impeded by the many tempta- tions, which, were daily thrown in their way. Though tlje missionaries succeeded in a considerable degree te wean them from the lying vanities of tbeir/former lives, yet the,se were often so deeply i;potej(^ in their hearts, that it .required constant care and vigilance wholly to era- dica,te them. IJere again Arabinrs firm and decided * Risler, tart ii. Sec' 3f p. 204. -)■ These fraque^t removals, ^tbough unpl^asa^yt and trodblesonie, are not -attended wi"* any great expense. .Tl^e erecfion pf , a. flewjhpjjse '4s the work of a few days, *nd requires comparatively little labour. BSne pbsis are driven into the groiind, and the spaces betwixt them filled up with a kind Of palm leaves, very large and thick; and these also serve for, the .door. . .."These leaves are plaited and {^ied together by meaps of a plant called iusi^Cau [or woodrope,] which twines itself round large trees, frequently attaining the length of twenty or llhiity feet, ' kind is easily split so as to* become as fine as a thread. The roof is covered with leaves of another tree, called Tassi, Thus the whole edifice is conoipleted without lime, or mortaar, or a single nail ; and yet such a building will stand several years without needing any repairs. 282 Mission in South America^ opposition to every thing of a superstitious nature, was of great use., On the death of one of his relations, who had been a zealous idol-priestess, he gave strict orders, that no pagan rites should be performed ather funeral. The heathen, however, availing themselves of his absence, pretended, that the decease^ was unwilling to be remov- ed, and it was necessary first to inquire, Who had been the cause of her death. T'hFywere proceeding to instil tute this inquiry,- when Arabirii arrived aitlrfi^'by laying hold of the bier himself, convinced the heathen thai the corpse could be removed, and thus confounded the sorcer- ers. This was a most Tortiingte circumstance, for their custom on such occasions is shodking^ to hubliariity. The sorcerers " pretend th^f have i^istiov^re;d the mirrderef ,' and, fixing on SOttie miserable wrdtch, ^J)pl;^ thif most cruel tortures to extort confession fj-om him of the alleg- ed crime, and then put him 'to' deatH' in the ' most barba- rous manner*. '^'' 1 ' By degi-eeS,' however, th^saVaa'es themselves beqanie ashamed of this superstitious and cj-iiel J)r£tctice. Ih iVSl a woman pretended, that she had repeatedly dreamec^', that a man came ib hw with a fire-brand in 'h!s hand, which she interpreted as, a sute' indication, that he Was a' sorcerer and poisdn'^mixer, and conseqttently ought to be burned.' . A' council ' Was cdtivferied tof deeide ' the fate ' of this unfortunate niaii. Aribini> (whq, sis csptnia 6f ^e village presided at this congultotion,) with the urianimbtiS approbation ' of all tlie cbunseltorsj decliitfe'd r " Thfey coyld pay no attetjiion to such hbs'dtdities, and if'pb^othiar' evidence df the^ilt 6f the accused persdft c6uld'b6'a'ddA^cea than foolish dreamSj no one, should dare to, do him the leaist injury." Upon the whofe, the pagaii iiifiabitants of the vil- lage, though they showed no'dispo'sitibn tobe eonVierted, lay no further iinpediitientsih"lbeway'of their believiHg coun- trymen, but evinced a spirit of toleration and liberality, and were even ready to 'assist them, when preparing for arty: religious solemhrty.;'^^ They, however, expcicted the Same liberality from the christiaii Negroes, and expressed * Brethren's History, Vol. iii. p. 329. • Mission in. South AmerUa, 283 displeasure when they ]refused to assist thera ira their ido- latrous festivities *." In «ubseiG(ue»rt years the prosped bfecame more exhilarat- ing. The missionary Wiez, in a letter, dated May 17&3, writes : " We edjoy many happy days with our small congregation of beliering Free-negroes. Our Saviour grants them a more solid foundation iii his p'reciotisi atonement, and a gradual increase in the knowledge of themselves and of A?s great love to sinners. In the upper country, or highlands, the gospel spreads more and more, by means of the conversations of the christian Free- negroes^ who are stirred up to declare the truth to their coujitrymen. Two heathen from those patts have been baptized." 4 man, who at his baptism was called Paul, evinced particular aeal. He had formerly been a zealous idolater, and had never resided with the missionaries. Yet, it was chiefly by his means, that the awakening In- the highlands commenced; and it was ^t his housd that those, who desired instruction, used to meet for religious exercise and edification. The missionaries also made frequent excuaraons to tlip highlands, and found mafiy attentive hearers in every village, where they preached. They remarked it as a singular fact, that in those villages, where the heathen sorcerers had foi'meriy had the greatest influence, the fospel now appeared to make the deepest impression. 4any of the highlanders e!xpressed a wish, that some of the brethren would settle among them,, and a spot of ground was chosen for the building of a house and chapel* This, however, could not be executed. Frequently Chere was only one missionary at New Bambey, who conse- quently could not be absent: and the roving dispositioa of the Free-Negroes, who are never long' stationai threaten the ^din^tit^ of the li^t ®f the gbspel The missionaries remark: "If ever the power of Satan was anywhere raainfest, it is amotig the Frejvnegroes at Bam- BS7. He exekts it by a host of diabolical feitiissaries, by soreefers Emd old witches, with thieir lying feblefe and pre- dictions, and by other heathen, who, having been eicciteil to enmity against- the goverumenti scfem determined, to fexpel tire misaidna*'ies from th« country, because they ar^ appointed te transact affairs between the Negro^ *'Per. Acet. Vol.ii, p. 66. Mission in SoUth America, 287 and governmeht. If it thereby becomes nfec^ssary to five up this agency, by which the station has hitherto een maintained, we cannot much longer support a mis- sion in this wild country. The rebellious spirit now prevailing among the Free-negx'oes, has also more or less influence upbn our smaM flock of christian N^roes, and we can iind but few^ and those chiefly among the old peof^ pie, who are to be depended upon as sincere and. faithful to their convictions. John Arabini is their leader, but even as captain, finds his power and influence un^o|(iM'to Fcisist the overwhelming torrent of wickedness a*id rage of the enemy; Nothing but. Almighty power can. do this, aind overcome and cast oiit Satan *." In the sequel, however, this wild and ungovernable spirit ibegan gradually toabdite, and the baptized became sensible dr the los» they would have sustained, if things had proceeded so far as to oblige their teachers to leave them. Severdi came and with contrition owned their def&ctioa^' exptiessing a sincere wi^ to be: again restored to truje spiritual life. The missionairies,' therefore, took fresh coiitagtjj resolved to hold out at their difficult post,, ttustingnn the grace and supportof our Almighty Saviour. Brother Maehr and his wife being left alone .at Bambey, our brethren resigned the office of agent for the govern- raent among the Free- Negroes. Hereby! the liiainteiiabce of tJiat station beciune more difficult,! and greatly added to thejgeneral expeiiees of t^e iiaissions, without the pros-< pect of nmcfa feventudl success j and as brother. Maehr's wife suifered much fi:om iUn«s6, and no assistance could j under esjistiiig circamstan(b6s, be speedily expected from En^Dj^e^ it became necessai'y to suspend the mission iii 1£S to work on Sunday. t Ibid. p. 3 19— 321. ^ This distemper, which, had not been known in the country for twenty- four years, was brought thither in September 1789 by a slave ship. It raged with great violence, especially in the town of J'aramaribo, wheye it proved far more fatal than on the plantations,- upwards of seventy dying sometimes in one day. The whole number of deaths to the end of the year, was com- puted to exceed three thousand. SOO, Mission in South America. still met with occasional obstructions to their benevolent ie^ertions from the stewards on some of the estates ; but on the other hand they had many dear proofs that the Lord smiled on their labours, and that lihe is pleased to pi'osper the work of his servants, no human opposition can prevent its progress; According to the latest intel- ligence, the congregation at Sommelsdyke consisted in ISI'6 of one hundred kad four' baptized Negroes, besides a nufnberof catechumehs. Many circumstances, related in the priecedirig section, might be repeated here, as they affected the missionary cause at this station no less than in Paramaribo. On February 25th 1816 the British ceded the colony to the Dutch. The new governor promised his protec- tion to our missionaries, agreeably to the express instruc- tidns he had received from the king' of the Netherlands. It is orily paying a just tribute of gratitude to the late English governor,' general Bonham, to acknowledge the very kind attention he uniformly evinced towards oui" brethren, and the lively .and generous interest he took in the mission. ' Before concluding the history of the missionary labours of the United Brethren in South America, I shall present the reader with a list of the number of missionaries em- ployed, and of the heathen converted by their means, from the beginning of the mission in this couhtn^,, to the com- mencement of the present century, comprising a term of sixty-five years. During this period 159 brethrien and sister's had served the mission, 75 of whom had departed this life in the country, 63 had returned to Europe and 21 were still actively engaged in the Lord's service on the different sta- tions in Guiana. During the same period there have been baptized by them 855 Indians, 59 Free-negroes and 731 Negroe slaves and Mulattos, making a total of 1645 per- ■ sons. Of this number 658 have died in the faith of the gos- pel, 594 were still living and enjoying the instruction of !the missionaries, and the remaining 393 had forsaken the fellowship of the laelievers *. • Risl^r, Partii. Sec. 3. p. 221. [ 301 j CHAP. V. MISSION IN THE WEST INDIES. ' THE West Indies comprehend a number of larger and smaller islands, lying, nearly in the form of a crescent, betv(reen North and South America, extending across the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico, from the north-west extremity of the Bahama islands, off the coast of Florida, to the island of Tobago, 120 miles from the coast of Ter- ra Firma. • These islands nave for a long series of years been in the possession of different European states. Those islands, iti which the United Brethren have established missions, are either subject to the dominion of England,, or belong- ing to the crown of Denmark. The population, besides the. European settlers, consists chiefly of Negroes and Mulattos. , The Negroes, having been imported 'from Africa for the purpose of cultivating the soil, were held in a state of the most' degrading and cruel slavery, till after the passing of the Abolition act, by which their con- dition was considerably meliorated, at least in those islands, which are under British dominion. It is presumed, that the reader is sufficiently ac- quainted with the situation, the cliniate and other cir- cumstances, peculiar to the West Indies, so as to render further details on these subjects unnecessary. We may, therefore, without any additional remarks, proceed to the history of the missionary exertions of the Brethren narrating them in the order of time, in which they respec- tively commenced. S02 Mission in the West Indies^ SECTION L Danish West India Islands." IN the order of time the mission among the Negroeslaves in these islands, was the first of all the missionary exer^ tions of the United Brefhreu, It .comineiiced in the year 1732, when brother Leonard Dober*, accompanied by brother David Nitschman, left Herrnhut and proceeded to' the island of St. Thomas. Many pious people, with whom they became acquainted on their journey, raised very strong objections against their undertaking f . Simi- lar objections were repeated in Copenhagen, and the most appaling representations made to them of the difficul- ties and dangers, to which they would expose themselves. But they were hot ip^midatpd ; and the unshaken trust, which they reposed in the help of the Lord, whp they believed had called them to this work, at length induced several persons of distinction to interest themselves in their behalf. Some ccmnsellors of state bade them farewell in these words: "Go, then, in the' name of God; our Sa- viour chose fishermen to prekch his gospel ; and he him- self was a carpenter and -was called tlie son of a- car- penter. X* They arrived in St. Thomas on the 13th of December, ignorant jn what manner and place they might obtain a Mvelihood ; but God had provided for them. A friend in Copenhagen had* without their knowledge, written to a well disposed planter in the island, who received theiri into his house; and brother Nitschman, soon earned a sufficiency, to maintain them, at his trade as a carpenter. Immediately after their arrival, they made inquiry for Anthony's -sister Anna, and her brpther Abraham |]. They received the testimony of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus, with demonstrations of heartfelt joy. It ' See p. 4. f The only-person, who encouraged them in their work, was the countess of Stolbe'rg in 'Wcrnigerod'e, who femaarked, " that our Saviour was worthy, that his servants should be willing even to sacrifice their lives in his cause." 4 gisler, Part ii! Sec; 2. p, 20. || See p. 2. Mission in the fFest Indies 303 was hot loiig before other Negroes visited th^, and- ear- nestly begged for instruction. , This greatly animated our missionaries, who gladly endured reproach find poverty, when observing the eagerness, with which the poor slaves listened to the word of reconciliation*. Many months had not elapsed, before the missionaries were obliged to separate^ as brother Nitschman, who had only accompanied his friend, i-eturned to Europe in April 1 73 3. The faith of the latter was put to a. very severe trial, being now left without any visible means of support, as he could not follow his occupation as a potter, owing to the want of clay df a proper quality. Yet he did not lose his courage ; and in a few weeks, governor Gar- delin, who was a pious man, made him the offer of being steward of his household. Dober accepted it on condition, that he should be permitted to instruct the Negroes, whenever his master did not require his.services; But he soon found, th9.tthis situation left him too little leisure for the prosecution of his missionary calling, and therefore re- quested his dismission in 1734. He now hired a small room in the village of Tappus, and by watching on the plantations and bther services, earned a scanty livelihood, which enabled him to pay his rentj and procure bread and water j for he seldom had any thing better f. His sereni- ty of mind, however, did not forsake him, having it now in his power to devote all his time to the instruction of the Negroes. The year 1733 was signalized by v*ry distressing occurrences in the Danish West Indies. Famine and contagious diseases carried off many people in St. Tho- mas. About the same time the Negroes in the island of St. Jan revolted, took possession of the Fort, and cru- elly murdered all the Europeans, who had not time to- escape. The rebellion continued above half a year, and the atrocities, committed by the insurgents, spread con- * The laiiguage, spoken by the Negl-oes in the Danish Islands, is a mixture of Dutch and a low dialect of the G^man, which renders it very easy of ac^isition to a native of Germany. f Se« the Kote on pdge 238, S04 Mission in the West Iniiis. sternation- through the other islands, and both the white population and the. Negroes were kept in constant terror of each other *. • These events rendered the labdtir* of brother Dobei- doubly difficult ; but while he was thus struggling with poverty and oppressed with raax\^ anxious iiares, fourteen bfethren and four sisters were on their way, partly des- tined for missionary service in St. Thomas, and partly ^esjgiiied to begin a colony in the island of St. Croix. This voyage was one of the most perilous, made by any. of our missionaries . to these islands. They sailed from, Stettin on the 12th of November 1733. As the crew and passengers amounted to nearly a hundred persons^ they were exceedingly crowded. Our brethren were confined to a room, below the second deck, only ten feet square, and so low that they could not even sit' upright, but were obliged/ mostly to lie on the floor. The hardships of their situation were greatly in- creased, as the stormy weather sometimes prevented their going on deck^fer several days. Stress of weather forced the captain to. run .into the harbour of Tremmesand in Norway, .and to winter there. Not expecting to be so long detained in this place, they stayed on board for some time; but afterwards hired a room in the village, and •by spinning, cutting wood, &c. earned enough to pay the rent. At the end of three months they once more set sail ; but had again to encounter many hard gales, and when they reached the torrid zone they suffered extreme distress from the smallness of the appartment and want of water, which- greatly debilitated them. After spending/ more than half a year on their journey and voyiage they landed at St. Thomas on the 1 1th of June. Two months after the arrival of this company, brother * The rebelKon was not suppressed till the governor sejit a strong force of mulattos to- the island. , The rebelr, finding Tesistanee vain, resorted tothe following horrid expedient, in order to avoid being. made prisoners. One after the other suffered himself to be shot by the ringleaders, and when they had coippleted their murderous work, they shot tliemsclves. Hisler, Part ii. Sec 2. p. 14. 4 Missioii in the West Indies. 305 Dober returned to Europe, having beenehosen elder of the congregation at Merrnhut, in the place of brother Linnet, who had entered into the joy of his Lord. After his removal the mission in St. Thomas suffered a tempo- rary suspension. Those brethren, who had come out to succeed him in his labours, in a short time fell victims to the climate. With a view to renew thiff mission, brother Frederic Martin and another brother ^arrived in St. Thomas in March, 1736. The former was in an eminent manner qualified for the work of a njissionary, and endowed with peculiar talents for instructing the Negroes. The cate- , chumens, left by brother Dober, greatly rejoiced at his arrival. Their number was daily increasing, so that in a few ]!ldoilths, upwards of two hundred attended his instruc- tions. On several of these the gospel displayed its con- verting power ; and on the ,30th of September three men were added to the church by holy baptism, as the first fruits of the Negroe sla,ves in this island* The benign influenQe of the gospel began to evidence itselfj in a very striking manner, in the altered behaviour of many of those Kegroes, who attended the meetings. This was acknow- ledged by several ptoprietors, and mdiiced them to favour the mission. One of them assisted our brethren, who still lodgeH in the village of Tappus, to purchase a small plantation, of which they took possession in August 1737, and gave it the name of fosAU^ENBEas. On the other hand adversaries were npf wanting, who opposed the work in every possible way, and rigorously forbade their slaves all intercourse with our brethren, thereby aiming at the total ruin of the mission. 6y false accusations they at length succeeded so far, that, to- wards the endi of October, the missionaries were thrown into prison. But the word of God was not bound ; the awakened Negroes continued to meet together for edifica- . tion, and sometimes assembled in great numbers under the windows of the prison, where they joined in singing and prayer. These meetings likewise afforded their teachers an opportunity of testifying to them of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Concerning this period brother Martin 3C S06 Mission in the West Indies. writes: "Since our arrest the Negroe-congregatioil is daily increasing, and our Saviour strikingly mahifests the pbwer of his grace among them.. Some whitie people alsb are brought to serious reflection, hy our confinement. I believe the Lord will make it a blessing to the whole coun- try. Even in the fort some good has been done. Ther6 is scarce a soldier now, who ventui'es to defame us, thought at first they were wicked enonghn in this respect also. I cannot describe what the* Lord. is doing. M4y he enable, us to be a light to our "fellow men ; and may hie make Ms more faithful, more active and useful in his service,- whe- ther we remain in prison, or are set at liberty. I am deter- mined, through the grace of God, to perseverej, waiting on him to overrule all for hrs own glory. iBe of good cou* rage ; many hundred persons in St. Thomas are praying- to the LoM for our deliverance *." While the missionaries wei'e ih cOnfinefment, and before they could transmit any intelligeAte of it to Europe, Count Zinzendorf resolved to visit St. Thomas. He tp®fc two brethren and their wives with him, to serve in thei mission, and arrived in the island by the end of January 1739; He immediately waited on the governor, request- ing flie liberation of the missionaries. This was granted the next day, accompanied by an apology on the part of the governor for what had happeiied. He also made certain proposals, relative to the continuance of the mis- sion ; but they were of such a nature, that the Brethren could not accede to th«Ba, and therefore resolved to ap- peal to the king himself. Count Zinzendorf was fiHed *ilh astonishment at thft extent of the work, in which the brethren were eng&ged. Eor by this time the number of the NegfO'es, who regttlarly attended the preaching of the gospel, amounted to eiglit hundred. They assembled every evening,, as soon as their daily labour was done, and the Count frequeiitly addt-es- sed them himself. Having in a solemn mahher delivered a ferewell-charge to them, the baptized followed hihi into tTie village. On their way they were attacked by some • Risler, Part ii. Sec. 2. p. 31, Mission in ihe West tndiei. SOt w'hite I'Xsople with sticks ahd drawff swords, attd dispei'Sed. Mereilprori the white people proceeded to' the Brethren's plantatioin, beait and wounded tlie Negroes, who wefe there, a^id during the absence of the missionaries, forced their w'ay into the house, breaking and destroying all the fiirnitufe. The govertior indeed, much to his honour, expressed his strong disapprobation of this outrage, and pi'omised restitution of the damage they h'^ sustained. T*he Cotint declared, that he desired no restitution, but brily pli-olection for his breihren, and lioerty to preach to the Neigroes. Notwithstandirijg the iriterfereiice of th^ go'vethol:, sji^ilar acts of violence were eommitted sooft after, aiid even the missionaries themsetyes' \yere mal- treated. Fbr a while, therefore, it became necessary to Keep the meetingis in the wood, arid appoint \Vatc*h-men, to guard the congregation ' against "aiiy sudden attack. In a few weeks, however, these outrages were suppressed. Before the Count's return to Europe,, the Negiroe-men gave hifai a petition to^be pi'esented to the king of Pen- mark, praying for liberty to be instructed in religion; the Negroe- women ajso.gave him- a similar petition to the ^peen. These documents, seconded by a written repre- Sentatibrt from the Count hithself, had' the effectj that an order was passed at the Danish Coufrt, dated August 7th, 1739, securing liberty and piHatcGtion to the Brethren;, in preachifig to the Negroes *. * It #[11 doilbtlesS' grdfify ibcfst read-ers, to se6' tfie t\eiit!on p< 65. )■ Risler, Part ii. Sec. 2^ p. 49. Misii this way^ un- dertook the translation of the Sundays' gospels and epistles. sap Mission in the West Indies, of |he harmony of the four evangejkts, and the catechism, entitled " Summary of the doctrine of Christ and his Apos- tles/' A severe attack of fever so debilitated brother Loretz, that he ftfund himself unable to visit the isli^nd of St. Jan. He hcrwever obtained every necessary information from the missionaries, which enabled him, on bis return, to give a full and satisfactory account of this interesting mission to the directors *. During this year oul* Brethren eKpetienced another encouraging proof of the benevolence of goyei-npaeiU. Inconsequence of a rumour, that the slaves at the. west end of the island of St. Croix w'ere plotting another; rebellion, many were put into confinement, ana.a procla-;; mation was issued prohibiting the Negroes frcmi being^ seen, in the streets after six o'clock .in the evening;, but a clause- was at the same time inserted in this order, by which all those Negroes, who were going to the. mission' church in Fribdensberg, were exempt from this restriction. , In 1784( the mission Jn the^e islands sustained. a very, serious loss, in consequence of the departure of brother, Martin Mack. He had joined the church of the Brethren in 1731. A few years after he \yent to America, assisted / the late Rev. George Whitefield in the erectioii of Naza- reth, and took an active part in the building .of Bethle- hem. Afteuwards he was employed for almost twenty years in the mission among the North American Indians, during a period of persecution and many -dangers f. In 1762 he came -to the Danish West Indies,, as, sur; perintendent of all the missionary establishments of the Brethren in these islands ; and during the , space of twenty-two years, spent all the .energies of hi& bodj and mind in the zealous discharge of the important duties of his office. His fellow-labourers loved and esteemed him: as a man of tried integrity and unabating ardour in the noble cause in which he was engaged, and who had grown grey in the service of his -Lord. The governor-rgeneral, besides many private gentjemen, honoured his funeral with their presence, as the last testimony of respect they •■ Brethren's History, Vol. iii. p. 21—34. flbid. Vol. L p! 339. See also p. 131 of this work. Mission in the West Indies. 321 could give to one, whose memory will be held in deserved veneration as long as thie inhabitants of these islands shall feel the value of the gospel themselves, and know how to appreciate the services of those, who spend health and strength, yea life itself, in its propagation*. After the decease of this faithful servant of Christ, it was found more expedient to commit the general superin- tendency of the mission, not to one individual, but to a committee, consisting of one, or more missionaries from each settlement. The advantages of this regulation were soon apparent. New zeal and activity on the part of tlie missionaries, and new attention to the gospel on the part of their converts and hearers, became manifest. Many were baptized ; those, who had been of long standing in the church, were excited to increasing diligence in making their calling and election sure; even such, as had been excluded on accouut of misconduct, were led to serious, self-examination, and, on giving evidence of sincere r«pen- tance, restored to the fellowship of the believers. At the same time difficulties were not wanting, . which pccasionafly impeded the pleasing progress of the mission. In one instance, the increasing number of Roman Catho- lic proprietors diminished the auditories of our brethren. For these gentlemen, not only employed their slaves till a late hour on Saturday evening, but even obliged them to work on the Lord's-day, and thus deprived them of the bare possibility of attending the church. Some of these masters required their slaves to bring them a stipulated sum of money every week, .which they must earn in the best manner they could. Money being scarce at that time, they had but a poor chance of earning much: and this tempted many Negroes to resort to dishonest and fraudulent practices, in order to avoid punishment, which was most rigorously inflicted, if they failed in their pay ment. A difficulty oif a new kind was experienced by our mis- sionaries in St. Croix. As the number of proprietors, who * Brethren's History,. Vol. iii. p. 35-— 36. Y 322 Mission in the West Indies. Spoke the English "language increased, that torigiie by degrees predominated and nea;rly superseded the Creol. In consequence, of this, few of the missionaries could ren- der themselves sufficiently intelligible to the . slaVes, As many of the latter understood neither Creol nor Engl'shi Brother Schaukirk, however, commenced regular preach- ing in the English language. " An uncommon drought, and consequently unproductive harvest in 1789, dccasidnled distresfe& of various kindls'. Many proprietors were not able to maintain their slaVes j number's, therefore, perished frota absolute wantj and others were by the pinchtngs of huifgei? driveh to acts orf dishonesty. Even some, who w6re mfembfers of the Bre^ thren's church, yielded to the power of temptation and thus caiiSied their teiachers much sorrow; the major part? however, were enabled by divine grace,' rather to suffer evei'y extremity and even death it?elf, than resort to unlawful means of supplying their wants. The rectitude of their conduct was so *eTl knoWri, that theiy were con- stantly employed as overseers and watchmen on the plan- tations. Notwithstanding this decisive proof of the bene- ficial influence of the gospel, there were still some pro- prietors and stewards, who made use 'of every artificer, and even resorted to severe punishment, to pi-event their Negroes from attending the church. Tlife riatfve assist- ants were^ in patticulari exposed tbperseiutidns of this kind. On the part bfgo,vernnlent> howeVer, the mission con- tinued to ienjdy respect and protection. In consequence 6f some new rejgulations in the post-office, oUr Brethren obtained, with the consent of the king, the* privilege, of carrying on theii: cprrfespbndertce free of postage. The governor-general. Count Schinimelman, before Kis r6tUrn to Copenhagen J assured them that he .would, at alltintes, serve them to the utmost of his power. The commattdiant in St. Thomas, colpnel M^Uevjlle, also shewed him- seld their sincere friend. He was a rfegular atteUdant on their worship, a;nd was not ashamed publicly tb avow his connection with the Brethren. A gentleman of distinc- tion once speaking, in Vei-y disrespectfur and slanderous Mission in ike West Indies 323 terms, of tl^e missionaries, , the ^colanel replied: "tliat he would avow .'before God and man, that Jie acknowledged them for his brethren, and' deemed it a favor, to have fellowship with them *. Theimustialdi-ought, mentioned before, lasted betvyeen three and four years, and brought many evils in its train. Sickness and famine prevailed in every quarter; and water b&came so scarce, that it was sold at a considerable price.^ Many slaves were obliged to work hard, Mrithout' getting any thing to eat ; great numbers consequently died from want. The missionaries, did all .in their power to relieve the necessitous members of their church, and in this act of chaiaty. thesy .were assisted by donations from our cpn- gi'figations in Denmark and Germany. , The want of mo- ney induced' several piropnetorsto^eU their slaves to other islands, chiefly; those belonging to F^'ance ^nd Spain; whereby many christian Negroes were separated; from their teachers and the fellowship of the believers. Though these distresses threw various obstacles in the ufay, yet the progress of the mission was not inter- rupted. M^ny new people attended the.preaching of the gospel, and manifested a realhupger after the nieal; which endureth unto everlasting life; jand in one year two hun- dred and. forty Negroes were baptized by our missipna* ries in the three islands. A violent hurricane raged in the islands of St. Thomas and St.. Jan on the 12th, and 13th of August 1793. The damage done onthe, plantations, in some of which scarce a house remained standing, to the sugar- fields, and also to the shipping, was very great. Many people -lost their lives. Of the missionary settlements that at Bethany in St. Jan suffered most severely. Qn the morning of Augijst- the 12th, the church fell with a tremendous crash, the broken pieces of timber being carried a considerable distance into the fields. By the mercy of God the family of bur brethren and sisters were preserved from all personal harm, though ihey were in * Brethren's History, Vol. iii, p. 275. • Y 2" • 3 ?4 Mission in the West Indies. constant apprehension of being buried under the ruins of their house, which shook and trembled in an alarming manner. In the year 1797 thie mission was again visited by one of the directors from Europe, brother Jolih Renatus Ver- beek. During his stay at New-hernhut in St. Thomas he made the observation, that the increase of this- congre- gation, within the last years, had not been so great 'as formerly. This apparent declension was the natural consequence of the long period, during which the gospel had been preached in this island, whereby almost every plantation was supplied with a number of christian Ne- groes. The island of St Croix, which is the largest and most popalous of the three*, still presented the widest field for missionary exertions. St Jan., the least in naitu- ral extent, contained also a comparatively small aumber of converts f . ' Brother Leupold and his wife, together with a single sister, destined for the service of this mission, and 'who were sailing for St. Thomas in 1798, had the mipfortune ■ to be captured by an English privateer, on the -llth of October, and carried to the island of Tortola. Here they suffered much distress, being kept nearly five days without food, except once when they found an opportu- nity of buying some fish. They were ; left whole" days without a drop of water. Their ignorance of the English •lainguage increased their difficulty, till, through the kind ■ interference. of a Germaii captain, they obtained permis- sion to go with another vessel to St. Thomas %, > In the performance of their often ardueus duties our missionaries made daily experience, that "the joy of the Lord was their strength." The power of the gospel evi- denced itself in their converts by enabling them to '* adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour" by a walk generally • According to a rough cotuputation, mode in 1 783, there were in St. Tho- mas six thousand, in- St. Jan two thotisand and in St. Crofx tliirty tliousaiid Negroes. [ Brethren's History, Vol. iii. p. 28.]' . And' their riunib'efs were probal^ly rather diminished than increased during the late years of drought, f Eretliren's History, Vol; iv p. 373. \ Ibid. p. 403. Mission in the West Indies. 323 consistent with their profession. This the more strongly attested the rfeality of their faith, as attempts were not wanting to Seduce them from their steadfastness. Some impious masters even resorted to acts of cruelty, to tempt them to the commission of sin. Instances also occurred, in which the poor creatures were most severely punished for the islightest feiilt *. But the grace of God enabled them to bear the one with christian meekness and patience, and resist the other by " taking the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation." Influenced by the precepts of the word of God thpy meekly submitted to the galling yoke of slavery, and not ' unfrequently recognized a gracious providence overraling it for the salvation of their souls. Thus an old Negroe once remarked: " Though I was kidnapped in my native country, and thievishly sold, yet I feel no resentment against those who did it ; fori believe I was brought hither by the will of God? and I cannot be sufficiently thankful to our Saviour, that he lias deemed me worthy, in preference to many others, to hear his word, by which I hive learned to know the way «f salvation f . , M. von Malleville, hitherto commandant of St. Thomas, being appointed governor-general in 1796, took up his re- sidence in" St. Croix, being the seat of the government. But the pleasure of our brethren in having this sincere friend in the island, was of very short duratioa. October 11th- he was seized with an apoplexy, and on the 22d departed this life in confident reliance on the atonement of Jisus. Agreeably to his request, his remains were interred in the burying-ground of the mission at Frie- BENSTHAI-, a funei-al oration having been previously deli- vered, in the Dutch Calvinist church, (in which he had been educated) by the incumbent. All the inhabitants of these islands lost in him a man of the greatest probity, * A Negroe-woman,. -having lost one of the gullets, committed to her care, her mistress w^s so exasperated, that she prdered her to be most severely beaten. |Jot satisfied with this, the master ordered the house of" her husband to be set on fire, nor vpould he permit 'him to save any of their things. Conscience how- ever smote him, and the next day he sent the Negroe 75. rixdoUers (about: • £18.) to repair the damage. Brethren's History, Vol. iy. p. 408. It would be well if this had been the only instance of such barbarity, f Brethrpn's History, Vol. iv. p. 40S. 326 Mission in the West Indies. ' who made it his constant and zealous care to promotp their true welfare. The missionaries, in particular, were deprived of a sincere and active friend, -who, in ' close fellowship of spirit with them, grounded all his hopes fot time and eternity on the merit of Christ *. It must hete be added, that -our brethren have continued to enjoy the benevoleitice of succeeding governors, and in general, of all the proprietors ; and, if different sentiments were enter- tained by any, they were too much ashamed openly to avovv them. Of the growing respect for our brethren and their labours , two gratifying instances occurred about this time. In 1795 th^ were requested to supply the vacancj'j which had oc- curred in the Dutch ckurch at Chrjstianstadt in St. Croix, by performing divine service in the same, till the arrival of the new minister in 1796. Two years later the heirs of Count Schimmelman made some regulations on their esta,tes, by means of which our brethren could commence a regUilar school with all the Negroe children on those plantations. In St; Jail likewise the children were sent to the missionaries at Emmaus for instruction. Their eagerness and progress in learning were highly Satisfactdry to their teaehers f. Among those of the christian Negroes, who during this period finished their race of sorrrow and suffering here belowr, and entejred into the joy of their Lord^ the aged man Benjamin deserve* to be particularly mentioned. He belonged to. the Mandingo tribe, his father being a Mahoraedan teacher ; and in this religion, he had edu- cated his son, who remained in his native country till lie was more than twenty years old. On his ariivalin the West Indies hejnstrttcted his countrymen in the religion of his forefathers, usjng every effort to propagate and maintain the Mahomedan faith. At length, however, he, yielded to the testimony and influence of the gospel, was baptized in 1779, and in. 1796 closed his earthly pilgrim- age in a joyful hope, of entering, not into a heaven of sens Brother Lehman immediately repaired to the prison and had an interview with the criminal, whose name was^ Lancaster. He found him one of the most ignorant and stupid Negroes he had ever seeni He had not even an idea of God, much less of salvation by Jesus. He 'showed no remorse of conscience, seemjed perfectly indifferent about liis soul, and evaded eviery charge of criminality, by, alleging that he Was intoxicated when committing the niurder. This state of insensibility on the part of the culprit deeply distressed brother Lehman, the more so, as the shortness of the time previouf to his execution, appeared to render it a hopeless, and almost impossible case to be "of any real service to him. On represeillang to the by- voight these ufifevotiTable circumstances, he procured an order fi,om the governor-general, by which the -^execu- tion was deferred, in order to afford more frequent op- portunities for instructing the crirhiinal. The missiona- ries now resolved, that one of tl>em should visit him evefjr forenoon, and fwo of the assistants every afternoon. During the second visit Lancaster appeai'efd pensive and rather uneasy"; still he could not be convinced that his inebriety, when perpetrating ' the horrid deed, did not render him exim»EibIe; mneh less couldhe be made sen- sible, that he was by nature a corrupt creature,, and must be' -eternaily lost, unless Jesus Christ had merey upon him, and delivered him from the power and curse of sin. This visit, however, seemed to pave the way for that grate- ful and^astOnisb{ogcbainge,'whiCh was afterwards wrought upon 1dm by- divine powen At the next visit brdther Lehtoan spoke to him in a. • A girl about twelve years of (ige, -vrhom l^e^ad cut and mangled in the most shocking manner. Mission in the West Indies. 335 Very close and serious manner, telling him, that he was a slave of sin an^l of thfe devil, tliat by his works, be hid not only well "deserved the punishment, wliich the offended laws of God and man would shortly execute upo^ him, by depriving him of his natural life; but that his sins against Almighty God were so heinous and atrocious, that after this life he must be doomed to eternal misery, jf he died in hi^ present state. But, that Jesiis Christ, the Son of God, had come into the world, aild become man, that by his innocent sufferings and death, he might take upon himself the punishment, which the sins of the most guilty liad-'des^rvedi thei'eby to reconcile us to God. During the prayer all present were deeply affected and shed many tears ; and even poor Lancaster, began to weep bitterly- On the 16th being asked how He had slept, he replied, he had got but little sleep, adding, " I am a miserable sitiner ; 1 have acted wickedly : I have done a great deal of evil, and now I must soon die ! G what is to become of me !" The comforts of the ^spel were then set before him, 'and he was directed to Jesus, who came to save sin- ners, even the chief, and will receive all who accept of his mercy as a free and undeserved gift- At a subsequent interview the missionary observed such a changie in the criminal, as efttioilraged the hope, that he would be plucked like a brand from everlasting fire. Btsing asked, whether he was now willing, cheerfully to leave this world .and appear before 'the throne of God ? He replied : "Yes f I am indeed frequently terrified at the thought of deallii when I reflect how mtich etil I have" done, biit I immediately turn in prayer to our Saviour, aiid then all rriy d'espdndiAg thoughts vartish ,' therefore I will pray continually to hini who died for me. He will not suffer me to be lost." ' A portion of the New Testament was daily read to hitn, especially the history of our Saviour'ssunerings, This proved a rich comfort to him and wonderfully enlarged his ideas on divine subjects, ■ The missionaries, having consulted together on the, S36 Mmion in the West Indies. propriety of, granting his repeated application for bap- tism, came to the resolation, that as it was evident the Lord had heard their prayers, and opened his heart to un- derstand and receive the gospel, they might now administer this holy ordinance to him, conformably to the com- mand of God our Saviour. When the poor penitent was informed of this, he expressed his joy in the liveliest manner, and said : " Though I am such a bad man, yet I perceive that my Saviour will not reject me, but show mercy even unto me. Thanks be to him to all etei;nity." df this solemn transaction and the closing scene, the missionaries give the following account. "On the 21st in the afternoon, brother Lehman went to the prison. Many were already assembled, some belonging to the prison, both whites and blacks, and others who had obtained, permission to be present at the solemn transaction, people from town, and many of pur Negroe-congregation. Lancaster's , irons bad been taken oiF, and he was sitting on a stool, perfectly clean, and dressed in white. After the singing of an hymn, brother Lehman spoke on the eleventh, verse of 33d chapter of Eze- kiel ; " yls I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of ih,e- wicked " combined with the words of our Sayiour, Matthew xi. 28. Gome unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." During the discourse, great silence and devout attention prerailed in the whole assembjiy, and when, at the conclusion, the subject was treated of in application to the state of the criminal, silent tears flowed plentifully down his cheeks. He answered the questions put to him, according to the ritual of the Brethren's chui'ch *, with humility and dis- • The questions here referred to, are the following : Q. Dost thou believe that thou art a sinful creature, and hast by thy sins deserved the wrath of God, and eternal punishment ? A. I do believe it. , Q. Dost tliou believe, that Jesus Christ became man for us, and by his innocent life, blood'Shedding, and death, reconciled us poor sinful creatures to God? A. I verily believe it. Q, Dost thou believe that He purchased for thee, by bis blood and death, letpission of sins, life, and happiness eternal ? Mission in the West Indiesi, 38^ iinctness, , after which a fervent pjayer was offered up, that the Lord would pardon and absolve this penitent sinner, give him an assurance of the remission of< his sins by the blood of atonement j and cleanse him from unrighteousness in that precious fountain. Brother Leh- man then baptized hitti 'in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy GhdM, : and called him Thomas. The^ conclu- sion of the service was made by singing a hymn. . " Brother Lehman bad now a most difficult and distreSJ sing task to perform, being commissioned to inform poor Lancaster, that the next morning he should suffer the punishment due to his crime. When informed of this, he said > " I am ready 5 for my Lord Jesus Christ has '•forgiven me all; my sins. My sins are no more there " to condemn me J He has taken them away; 'He will f not buffer me to be lost, but receiveme in mercy." -He pronounced tbfis'e words with such an humble voice and cheerful Goimtenance, that all who heard him were fille4 ^ith astonish merit. At taking leave he eilrnestly besought the missionaries; not to forsake him, but return to hinji ill the morning. '■■-'■'■ . " ,',-'" . . *' Early on the 22d, the missionary Repaired to the pri- son, to comfort. poor Thomas in his last moments, and accompany him to the place of execution. The officer on duty met him at the door, and declared, that he had never in his life been witness to such a scene ; that the poor criminal had spent the whale night; in prayer; and fsxhorted other criminals, who were confined for similar oiFences, to repent, and confess the whole truth, as God knew their hearts^ and all their evil deeds, and to cry to Him for mercy. > A. I,verily believe it. . Q. iffiXt thoii in this faith be bap(ti:ied into the death of Jesus and be wash- ed in His blood ? A. This is my sincere desire. Q. Dost thou also, desire to be delivered from the power of sin and Satan, and to be received into the fellowship of Jesus Christ, and of thos^ Who be- lieve in him ? ,. • 1 A. This is my sincere desire, and I renounce the devil and all his works Midvrays. z 838 Mission in the West Indiesl " As soon as brother Lehman entered'the room Thomas,; who was alreaidybtought thither, came up to him, and ex-: pressed his thanks for the favour conferred U|Jon him on the preceding dayj adding, that he hfid not slept at all dur-i ihg the night. Being asked the cause of this; he replied: ' This is tny dying day, and I shafll soon see my Saviour * face to fabe. He waits to receive me.' After some conversation and prayer, .they were informed that the military were drawn up and in readiness ; upon which brother Lehitiart aiid Thbmasleft the prison, and efiyf^^ed a ciircle formed by the soldiers'. The delinquent ffsis without ffetters, and dfjessed in" whitej ' Thb processitMl now mbved forward through the whole length of the townj the streets being crowded with people, and the tclndows arid roofs' filled witH spectator.' During their ,5»^hble -walk, the missionary spoke coitafortably t* the ^uffertef"J ind exhorted him to look sfeadfastly to JeauS his'Kedeemfei"J who went for hini to the cross, and Would not foi'Sake hittl in his last extremity. Thomas tvas Still, arid silently re^ pesited every word. When they had got out bf the ttsM^n^ and could see the place of executibh kt some di^tSne^J he seemed to shudder, and stopped for a moment;' biit on being encouraged not to lose his confidence, but to keep the eyes of hi's faith fixed oh his Saviour, who went willingly to death fot him, he said, With trembling lipis^ f O Lord Jesus ! I. will likewise cotne ! O strengthea ' thou me !' " Having arrived at the gajUows, and the rtasteifof the police having again read to him the seritenete of' the lavv, he mounted the cart. When His hand§ and feet were tied^ brother Lehman addressed him : * Thomas', for whom' wai Jesus bound?' He answered, ' For me.' ^ Forwhom wais Jesus crucified ?' He replied, « For me ; for my sins.' This he did with such distinctness, tjjatit excited great asto- nishment. jJis last words were, •LoTd Jesus ! be merci- ful unto me !' Brother Lehman added, « Remember Jesus _Christ,' who died and rose again for you !' Duriflg these words, he was launched into eternity: " The great resignation with which Thomas went to execution, exceedingly sui^rised many both whites and Mission in the West Indies. 339 Negroes, who had formerly been acquainted with him. One of the clerks of the , court called afterwards upon us, and could not sufficiently express his wonder at the change wrought in the deportment of this Negroe. He related, that when he was brought into court, he behaved in the most aiidaeious and brutal manner, and his conversation was the. most scandalous and wicked ever heard. He added: *But how did he afterwards pray to God for mercy J and how patiently, like a sheep to the slaughter, did he go to his death ! Many, besides myself, never expected, that that would be the case with him 1 O how great is the benefit derived &am the christian reli^on *V" The royage of a company of missionaries, in 1813 and 1814, was attended widi peculiar hardships and dangers. They were partly destined for the mission in Greenland, and partly for that in the Danish West India islands, and all sailed from Gapenhagen, in March 1813, on board the Hualfisken, bound for IJeith. in. Scotland. In the channel between Scotland and Norway they, were discovered by captain Cathcart of the Alexandria frigate, who sent an officer on board demanding the ship's papers, and order- ing the Danish captain to attend on board the frigate. To the no small consternation of himself and the passen- gers, the licence was declared to have expired f, and all the crew were piit on board the frigate, and an English lieutenant, a midshipman and twelve sailors took posses- sion of the Danish vessel. The captain, however, was suiFered to remain, an explanation having ^ been given that the ship was certainly bound for Leith. The ship was ordered to Gothenburg, but unfavourable weather ren- dered all their attempts to reach that harbour ine£&ctual; and after encountering several perils, they were obliged to cast anchor at Marstrand, where they were detailed till the 10th oiF Aprili Their situation was rendered peculiarly distressing?, as they could not even send a letter to tbe Brethren's minis- * Per. Acct. Vol. v. p. 419 — 426. . -f The missionaries could not account for this, as the licence was dated Ati- Kust 1812, to remua valid till October 1815, Per. Acct. Vol. v. p. 370.^ Z2 • ■ 340 Misiion in the West Indies. ter at Gothenburg, or to any of their friends ; all intier- coarse with the land being strictly forbidden. In other respects their detention on board was, rendered as comfort- able as possible. Brother Ramsch (one of the missiona- ries going to the West Indies) remarks, " We should not do justice, ' if we did not bear testimony to the kind and generous conduct of all the English officers we had to do with 5 i might quote a variety of instances, in which they showed every readiness, to make our situation as little irk- some as possible *. While lying off Marstrand some of them were ordered to Gothenburg to undergo an examination. They were treated with much kindness, and only such questions put to them, as. tended to prove the triith of the captain's re- port. This -unexpected occurrence so protracted the voyage to Leithj that the missionaries, destined for the West In- dies, could not Sail with the spriiig convoy. They there- fore spent the summer in the Brethren's settltment at Fulneck in Yorkshirci' In November 1813 they set s^il from Portsmouth $ their company consisting of the brethren ' Ramsch and Schaerf with their wives and two other sisters. On this voyage like- wise they were exposed to imminent danger. January the >10th, 1814, they were chased by an American privateei:. Captain Lennon informed them, thatheconsid'ered it his du- ty to defend himself, and immediately prepared for action j assigning a place of safety for them in the hold. A fierce engagement now commenced. The English ship mounted only six guns, with twenty-two men and boys ; the Ame- irican had fourteen guns and one hundred and twenty-five men. Thrice he attempted to board ; but met with such , steady and determined resistance from Captain Lennon, that, after a contiest of more than four hours, hei was obliged to sheer off with considerable damage, and the loss of several killed and wounded. The English ship had * It is of importance to metijtion this circumstance, a report having been cir- culiited totbe contrary efifect By the Danish sailors. Per. Acct. Vol, v. p. sea. Mission in the West Indies. 341 one killed and eleven wounded j the captain had his b^ shot through and received several contusions. The terror of the missionaries^ during the fight, i|nay more easily be conceived thart described: Their gratitude and jo^ were so much the greater, when they not oiily^ found theniselyes graciously delivered froth the threaten- ing danger, biif saw themselyes, before the close of ano- ther day, in the tnidst of their brethren and listers at St. Croix*. ' A month had scarce elapsed after the, arrival of this company, when brother J. G. Haensel of Jgt. Thomas en- t«red into rest. He was sixty-four years of age; and it may be trqly said of him, that he had gro\Yn grey and ex- hausted his strength in his endeavbiirs to bring the h?^- th6n to the fold of the good Shepherd. He had served the missionary cause in Tranqilebar and IJicpbar, in the Ea^t Indies, for eighteen years, and afjer a short rest in Ger- many, the same number oT ypars in the West Indies; sp that thirty-six years of his valqable life had been devoted to t}jis glorious workf. After the departure of this faithful servant of God, th« missionaries continued to preach the ui^earchable riches of Christ to the Negroes in St. "Thomas, St. Croix, and St. Jan, and to teach their converts to observe all things whatsoever Jesus hath commanded. And the Lorc^ hl^s- sed their labours for the conversion of the Negroes, many of whom we^e ^n subsequent years added to the church by baptism. While thus zealously attending on their ministry among the Negroes, their divine Master was pleased to exercise their faith by a severe trial. Towards the end of the sum- mer of 1817, a contagious fever prevailed iii these islands, which was peculiarly fetal to Europeans, carrying* off" great * Per. Acct. Vol. v. p. 466. f Some idea of the difficuldes-and dangers, he had to encounter in the East Indie?, till tliat mission was suspended, may be formed by reading his Lettert an the Nicobar Id'ands, addressed to the Rev. C. J. Latrobe, and published in |812. 342 Mmidn *» tike West Indies. great numbers, and likewise extending 'itsrarages ito the missionary seCtl^ents. Most of our brethren and sistera suffered from it ; and in less than five weeks three bre- tbi*6n ind twb sisters, finished their earthly pilgrhaage, and entered into the joy of their Lord. This distressing intelligence was Teceived by ithe last letters, which have arrived from the missionaries in these islands. The conclu^Jing remark of the directors of the missions in notifying this painful event, will very suitably form the closing paragraph of this section : " What shall we say ? we bow withdee^lrtl^iiiityimder the. .chastening hand of the I.brd, ' that i hand 'wliich • wounds and which heals,' and we entreat hhn, that he -would bless, our bre- thren and sisters there witli 'his divine comfort, and sup- port them with his mij^ty power, that th^ toay serve the great missionary work there with the needful grace, till w-e are enabled to said fresh laibourers to supply the places of those, who are now resltitig in the presence of their Lord." SECTION IL Jamaica. SEVERAL resectable gentlemen in London, who possessed considerable estates in Jamaica, had with mueh zeal and expense supported Various measures for the in- struction of their Negroes in Christianity, but without any apparent success. Becoming in the sequel acquainted with the Brethren and their siicoessfitl labours in St. Thomas, they requested them to send some missionaries to instruct their slaves, adding, that it would be particularly gra- tifying to them if the Rev. Zacharias George Caries, whose sermons they had themselves attended with ac- ceptance and profit, should be found willing to engage in this service. ' Bi-o6 312ssion in the West Indies. -of lihesedisturiaances. They were likewise pres^TOdr fjwwn (those>eleprigdaJtioiis and inurders,:.whicfa wete cpmmihed by the run-away Negroes in 1798. \ And, what more ])arti- GuJarly excited itneir gcatitude, was. that they observed a greater attention to the gospel; in many of the slaives*. About this) time some gentlemen itiLondon, who had con- siderable possessiensin this island^ apjilted^to-the Brethren for one or more missionaries, to bie sent out for the special purpose of instructing the Negroes, belonging to their plan- liatii^Sy taking' upon themselves the^eiitire' maintenance of these missionaries, so as not totrench upon the general fund, the resources of which were barely; sufficient to meet the exJger^Gies of the more promising fields, hitherto culti- vated by the Brethren. In 6rder to meet the wishes of these gentlemen, the brethren Joseph Jackson, (who was iioi'n in this island, his father having formerly; labodred in this mission) and Thos. Ellis, and their wivcs^ went to Jamaica in the spring of 1800. On their arrival -they found : most of the resident missionaries ailinig. Brotber -Howel and his wife were gone to North -America for the recpvery of their h^th, and brother Brown, a^r. the decease of his wife, had returned to Pennsylvama. The service of the new ntissionaries, 4:herefore, were imme- vliately needed in: the old settlements ; and in this they ac- i^pinesoed the more readily as the requisite arrangements, fortbeir accommodation, had not yet been Jtnade iili those places, for which they were properly destined f. In subsequent' years appeai-ances became rather more hopeful, and the attendance of the Negroes, especially at ^Jnion and EuM (two new^ places) was encouraiging. 3Sdticing- our Wethren remark : "Though' 'We cantiot exult Over a very abundant harvest of souls,' whiich'these ^ty years .have produced, or even over present pi-oSpects, yet wfe find sat ficient cause of gratitude to the Lord,' for %iaving pre- served a seed in Jamaica also, which in his own good time may grow up into a rich harvest. It appears from the * Brethren's Histoiy, Vol. iv. p. 611—616. + Ibid, p, 61^—619. Mission in the West Indies. Sil ehurch-pegisterj that from the commencem^it of this rais- iSion to the present .date nine hundred and thirty-eight Ntegrofes have "been laa^tized *." A few years after the mission «usta:ined a reiy serious loss by the departure of brother Joseph Jackson, who fell asleep in Jesus on "Dec. 9th 1808, in the fortieth year of Ms age. The loss of such a nian was the more to be de- plored,, as his natural and acquired endowments (having studied at the Brethren's college in Saxony) joined to great urbanity of manners, and fervent zeal in the Lord's service, qualified him for more extensive usefulness in the church of the Brethien f. The time for which our brethren had long waited, and fervently prayed, seemed now to have arrived, ■ when the gospel would run and be glorified in Jamica also. A greater desire was evidently excited among the Negroes to "become savingly acquainted with the truths of Chris- tianity. They attended the preaching in greater num- bers, and evinced more earnestness inieekiiig to attain a right understanding of what they heard. For the attain- ment of this end, our missionaries found a regulation, which they made in 1812j very useful, in meeting their ptople in classes, especially the catechumens. Concerning this they remark: " It is pleasing to see the eagerness, with which the Negroes come to this meeting. We are chiiefly occur pied with asking questions, and explaining texts of scrip- ture. They are all anxious that they majr not cotne be- hind in proper answers, and therefore never stay away but from urgent necessity. We find that this niode of instruction makes a more lasting impression upon their jnainds, than a regular discourse J. Aniohg the new people, who about this time s6ught for instruction in christian doctrine, was a 'Mahomedan, who • had come twelve miles to visit the missionary. He intro- duced himself by saying: "Massa, I would have you know that I want to come to you to be baptized. I am a Ma- homedan, and in my country we also believe in Mosest * Per. Aect. Vol. iU. p. 44h f Ibid. Vol. iv.p, 3T3. J IbuJ. Vol. v. p. 329. 348 Mission in the W^st Indies. But I think my faith is now old and not ihe right onej I wish to come ^o Jesjjs Christ, I have one wife, , and she is of the same mind. We have prayers tpgether; arid al- ways ptity to Jegus Christ. Did we not live so far off, we should have come befoye now ^nd laegged you ta baptize Oetober 4th 1812 a violent hurricane, followed in a few da^s by a smart shock of an earthquake, which continued half a minute, did vjery considerale damage in the island, and .plunged the Negroes into very great distress, as all their provision-grounds were destroyed. Brother Lang, in a letter dated Caumel, March 15th 1 813 f, writes:. "Whenever we visit them in their huts they cry out: ' Massa, hunger kill we ;' aiid indeed they look so lean and ^ emaciated, that we cannot behold them without pity. It will be two months before the plantain and Indian corn become fit for use. Were it not for our coffee planters who, when coffee f^U so much in price, pi anted, plenty of a certain fruit, growing ^n x\\^ ground, which the ^torm cannot carry, away, the poor people would absolutely be in danger of ^tjirying." In June, 18 15 brother .Ward and his wife arrived from England, haying been appointed for the service of this mis- sion. Soon after their arrival they took the charge of the instruction . of the Negroes on Island and Windsor es- tates, and £xed on Williamsfield, as the most conve- nient :p]ace for their residence. Qn Island there were some baptized Negroes, the gospel having been occa- sionally preached there for many years, but those belong- ing to Windsor were ignorant heathen. The difference between them was striking, and appeared even in their manners and customs. The missionary soon found that his labour in these places was attended with the^. divine blessing, His auditories y^ere, in general, large and very attentive, and many desired mo*fe special instruction, that they might be prepared for receiving holy baptism ij:, . The endeavours of our brethren at Cakmel were equally • Per. Ace. Vol. V. p. 436. f Ibid.'p, 436. J Ibid. Vol. iv. p. 327. Mission in. the West Indies. 349 successful." Brother Lang writes: "The number of our hearers is on the increase, and, the preaching of the gos- pel evinces its power on the hearts of the Negroes, which also appears in their moral conduct. Some walk in true fellowship with our Saviour* and have received the assur- ance of the forgiveness of their sins ; others are mourning on account of sin, and seeking salvation in Jesus. Of the latter class there are, about two hundred. Last sabbath a Negroe from an estate, about fifteen miles from Carmel, brought me a stick, marked with seven notches, each notch denoting ten Negroes, informing me that there 'were so many N^roes oh that estate engaged in praying to the Lordr About twerity of- them attend divine wor- ship . at Peru : they are all unbaptized, but desirous of re- ceiving holy baptism. The awakening, spreads more and more, and we entertain hopes 1:hat our Saviour will nosy gather a rich harvest in Jamaica *," Of the new stations Elim and Peru were the most flou- rishing. The attornies and overseers on .these estates, no less than the proprietors in England, promoted the endea- vours of our missionaries by every. means in thempower. This indeed was now. the case on all the plantations. In the spring of 18 16, however, some gentlemen endea- voured to obstruct the work, and for a short :time intimi- dated, the Negroes, so that the preachings were less nu- merously attended;' Complaints were even lodged against -the missionaries before the governor, but being- unsup- ported by evidence, he was too jiist to condemn them without proof. And as an application on their part to be heard in their defence was not attended to, they ileter- mined to :be quiet and commit their cause to God., In a little while the storm subsided and they could undisturbr edly continue their labours f . • ; . Thus it appears that the Brethren's missionaries o<:u:ppy four settlements or stations in this island^ viz.i Bogue |^ , > ^ , " • Per. Acct. Vol. iv. p. 41 1. j- Ibid.- Vol vi. p. 367- ^ It seems, that they removed from this station in 1816, having, erected ji •new mission-house ai s little distance, and called it, Ed^S, Ibid, p; 5^9, S50 Mission in the West Indies. Mesopotamja, Carmei/, and Willi AMS-Ftii-p, and have besides r^ular preachmg-places on several .plantations, the principal of which are, Elirri^ Peru, Uriion, IhcMnilc- vmidf Islandi and Windsor. SECTION in. Antigua, THE missionaries, residing in St. Thomas, had long directed their attention to those islands in the West In- dies^ which belonged to thecrown of England, hoping io find means of preaching the gospel also in them. The paucity of;their number, however, and the frequent deaths^ which occurred amoAg them, rendered this benevolent design abortive for a considerable time. At length, in 1756, brotJier Samuel Isles, who had; spent eight years in Stv. Thomak, went to Antigua. On his arrival he waited ot) the govi^rnor, and shewed him the act which had passed in favour of the Brethren in 1749. Some gentlemen patronised him, giving jbim permission to preach on their plantations. The following year he had the plea- sure of performing the first baptismal transaction in this island on a Negroe Woman. In the sequel, proposals were^made to him of buildii^ a place of worship for the Negroes. This was effected in 176 1 , on a piece of ground, in the town of St. John's, bought for the purpose of formv ing a missionary establishment. For severed years the progress of the work was rathef •low. Brother Isles, and his two assistants John Bennet and Wm. Lister j continued to preach the gospel wherever a door was opened. On the one hand they met with no remarkable opposition, and on the other they saw no very 'Striking effects attend tlneir labours. Samuel isles finished his race in i 76*, having spent eight years in the service of this mission, during which period only thirty-six Ne- groes had been baptized.; His successors did not relax in their endeavours,: but sowed the seed of the gospel, in hopes of a frnitful harvest at some future period, for as Mi^im m the West Indiesi SSI yet t!i^ prospect was Vfery discouraging, thetrjcongregatioft in St.- John's having beefte reduced to fourteen membei-s, and few of the heathen shewing any inclination to attend the church *. This was the anprolhising state of things, when brother Brown arrived there fi'om Nbrth America in May 1769, It pleased the SoveTeigri' Lord of his vineyard tb crown the zealous exertidiis of this missionary with sigrtal success. Imbibing a measure of the spirit of his divine Masteff Brown was not content with addressing th^= Negroes in public, but followed them into their huts, and in private conversation earnestly and affectionately entreated them to attend to the tliiiigs"b<^loHging to their peabei. Besides performing thfe regular services in the town, he preached dn two plantations in'the country. The dudit<»44es increased; niany heathen ^Vere converted, arid in less thian two years the baptized athotlnted ttt upwards of eighty. These in* Vited their fiiehds arid acquaintances to go with therii to church, and many, who canie at first ffoni mere eiariosity, were by idiigreeS so powerfiilly awakehed, that they ne* Ver abseiited thfeteitelves but in case of the most urgent ne- cessity. This inci"eas6 of their congregation rendered the en- largemdht of the chapel necessary. On this occasioti the christian Negroes, in a very pleasing manner, evidenced the influence of the gospel on their iriinds. When they came to the nleetinlgs, on week day evenings, eaCh bfoUght a few stones or other iriatbrlal^ with him. A baptized Ne- groe'> who was a mason, with the help of a few- others, did all the iriajsonry, and others did the eai-penter's vtfork, and Completed the "^hole building in their fi-ete hbUrs, after their (fcily tasks were done. And th^se^ who coiiM hot as" sist in the labour, provided victuals for the workftien. Difficulties and trials were not wanting. The brethten, ^ho had hitherto assisted brother Brown, Were obliged to leave the island on account of ill health, and brother Bettu Brookshaw, who arrived there in 177 1, arid whose quali- • Brethren's featory, Vol. I. p. 48i?, S43, (JOi, aira Vol. ii. p. 105. 352' Mission in the Weii Indies., fications Ibir.the *ork were of the most promising kind, was called home By the Lc>rd the following March j and as sister Brown likewise departed this life, her husband was for several months left quite alone. In 1772 they suiFered from a calamity of a more pxiblic nature. The island was visited by a violent. hurricane,- which did great damage, ,threw down one of the houses on the mission-settlement and considerably injured the rest. By the mercy of God the chapel, in which the missiona- ries and many Negroes had taken refuge, remained stand- ing. - . This cajamity, however, appeared to toake^ ar salutary impression on the Negroes,, teaching them the iniportance of knowing that. Lord vyho.is ." a hiding place from r the wind sind a covert from the tempest." A new awakening arose among, the slaves, which, like a fire from the Lord, spi'eadjn every direction. The auditories of our brethren increased every year.; so that in 177^ the number of ^heir stated hearers amounted to two thousand ; and never a month elapsed without an addition to the church of ten or twenty by baptism. The; missionaries therefore found it necessary, not only t6 erect a new. and more spacious place of worship in St. John's, but also to endeavour to obtain a,.second establish- ment, in some other part, of the island, i^ order, more es- pecially, to accommodate those Negroes, who lived at, a distance from the town. The building of .the new chapel was completed in 1773, and the following year they pm*- chased a piece of ground called Bailey-hill, at no great distance from the towiji of Falniouth, and in the neigh- bourhood of several plantations, on which many of their converts resided *. In 1778 a severe famine prevailed, w^ic^ plunged the JJegroeS; into the greatest distress; many w«re found lying quite exhausted in the fields, and not a few; perished with hunger. Some managers, were so cruel, that they gave * Sretbrea's History, Vol. ii. p. 105 — 1 12. Missibn in tKe West IndieL th^ to the cattle the food^ which the proprietors had ordered for their slaves. Contagious diseases followed, and thefts and robberies became frequent, whereby many indiistrious Negroes lost all their little property. Under the^e heavy circumstances the power of divirJe grace was strikingly ex- ,hibited in the conduct of the christian Negroes. They not only refrained from all unlawful means of helping them- selves, but K)re their sufferings with exeftiplafy patience^ never resenting the injuries done them, nor taking revenge oir tbosei who robbed them. Orte of therti, when return- ing from his work in the evening, and findirig that thieve* had been in his house, said, with a very placid miens •' Well, they "have not been able to rob me of my greatest treasure, the grace of my Saviour^ They are more to be pitied than I am *." The situation of BAiLfiY-HlLt having been found very inconvenient, on account of the gVeat acclivity of the hillj our brethren were glad to meet with a more convenient place, at no great distance. Thither they removed in 1782, and caTled. it Gkacehill. Their congregationis here and^n St. John's now amounted to two thousand and six|ty-nine' baptized Negroes, sfnd with the catechu- mens add regular hea;rers nearly to double that niimber. The external circumstances of the mission continued rather di£S.cuIt. Hard labour, sickness, famine and de- predations were trials, which the Christian Negroes shared in common with others; Frequent apprehensions of a hostile attack f , and the necessary prepai'ations of defence had an injurious influence. The baptized Negroes were exposed to persecution- and oppressive treatment, both from their heathen fellow-slaves and from some of the ma- nagers. A Negroe, who accompanied hi« master on a voyage, was captured by the' French a!nd carried to Guada'- ioupe, where he suffered severe imprisonment. His chris- tian behaviour drew the attention of the jailor } who, ort learning that the prisoner Wa& baptized, gave him more liberty, and even promoted his return to Antigua $. * brethren's History, Vol. ii. p. 272. f The island was tak^n by the French in 1782, but restorsl to BHtaiW in 1783. t Brethren's History, Vol. ii. p. ?S1— 28S. A at 354 Mission in the West Indies. One of the greatest trials to our misrfonaries was the oqcaHonal removal of some of their converts to other is- lands, wljere they had no opportunity of hearing the gos^ pei Jn such cases,, however, they had, frequently the pleasure to hear that th& christian Negroes kept together^ and, by prayer and mutual edification, enopuraged each other to remain faithful to their baptismal engagements^ By these means .they often proved a blessing to their, lin* converted countrymen, and it occurred more than once that some of the latter, .when transported to Antignaj im- mediately sought fellowship with our brethren. AfteB the r estoriation of peace i» 1 7 8 3 , theiNegroes eviiMr- ed a growing: desire to hear the gospel* Baptismal* trans^ actions were frequent and numerous. In St. John's sixty adults were in one day embodied in the church hy this sa- cred rite J and that congregation received, in one year» an accession of upwards of four hundred new membersj and the congregation at Gracehill was, within the same .pe»- riod, increased by more than three hundred persons. The number of apostates was comparatively very smalL These very large additions rendered it necessary to ce- lebrate the Lord's Supper in two divisions at St. John's. For as yet our brethren had been unsuccessful in their en- deavours-to obtain a piece of ground, in a convenient sittia- tioa, to form a third settlement. To obviate, in some de- gree, the difficulty experienced by many of the Negroe^ who lived at a^ considerable distance, in;attending the re- gular service in the settlements, our missioiiaries preached at stated times on several adjacent plantations. This mea- sure was in general approved by the proprietors and ma- nagers. In one place a NegEoe, one of the native as- sistants, builtia chapel at his own expense,, sufficiently large to accommodate four hundred hearers. Most proprietors and managers were favourably dis- posed, and acknowledged the beneficial effects, resultiiig from the labours of . the missionaries. The elevation of the moral character of the slaves, redounded to the advantage of their masters, and that in a manner too obvious to be altogether overlooked. The example of the Mission in fhe- West Indies S$$ christian Jsfegroes was productive of good, even in.suct as. did not attend the preaching. They became ashamed of criminal excesses,. and even exhorted each other to refrain! from them. If any of the baptized Negroes had been guilty of a fault, the teproof of their teachers had far more effect -than any corpo>al chastisement. This was well known to some of the managers, who, therefore,- instead of resorting;to the whip, sent the offetider to the missiona- ries. One gentleman observed; "he wis'hed all his slaves might.be truly converted, for this would render them far more honest and punctual in their work, than any punish- ment he could inflict/' Yet persons were not wanting,, who treated the missiori with disrespiect, and even opposed and impeded the labour of our brethreh,^ wherever .they could. On these occa- sions the poor slaV'es were the greatest" sufferers. Once' a partyi of white people most- cruelly maltreated a Negroe ror no other allegedl reason, than because he attended the preaching; andi afterwards even forced him to give his wife. fifty lashes^, because she had lodged a! complaint with a justice. Some proprietors and managers positively pro- hibitei} their slaves to go to chnrch; arid, fn case of diso- hedience, inflicted severe punishment On them> and put them into the stocks. A certain gentleman used to beat his Servant whenever he met her. Venturing once to ask him why he did it, his olily answer was: " because you persist in going to the meetings.'' The slave replied : " If this is the reason, then may God bless you, sn-; our Sa- Tiour hath endured far heavier sufferings for my sijis than yoii can inflict on me." An. aged Negroe.woman was put in irons and miost unmercifully flogged, under pretence that one of her family, had been guilty of committing. a iheft; but the true, cause was enmity to the gospel. Un- able to walk, she was the ne3i;t: day chained to two Ne- groes and, dragged -to the field; but-expired by the way. The manager on a certain plahtation, had for ten years* taken all possible pains to seduce the slaves to sin, and not succeeding, he was so enraged, that he one day cruelly flogged a Negroe'brother, because bis wife would not yield to his iniquitous solicitations. Notwithstanding these oppressions and many similar Aa2 356 Mission in the West tniies. hardships, the work of the Lord prospered in an astonish^ ing degree. The congregation at Gracehill increased so rapidly, that it' became necessary to adopt the, same measure here as in St. John's with regard to the adminis- tration of the Lord's Supper. In 1788 the two congre- gations consisted of more than six thousand members. Many new doors fbr preiaching the gospel were opened to 6ur missionaries, who could never have done the work, had they not found useful assistants among their converts. On several occasions, when repairs of the houses and cha- pels became needful, the Negroes manifested their willing^ ness and liberality in the most gratifying manner. The building of the chapel in Gracehill was nearly altogether the voluntary work of the Negroes, and they even raised among themselves two thirds of the sum, which was re- quired for covering the actual expenses *. In 1790 the mission sustained a very heavy loss by the removal of brother Brown. This missionary, who for twenty-^Wo years had laboured^ with indefatigable zeal in this part of the Lord's vineyard, and hreen instrumental in the conversion of many hundred Negroes, began to feel a decle'nsion, not only of his bodily health, but also of his mental faculties. His wifef likewise, besides general debi- lity, had entirely lost her sight, and thus was incapacitated .from attending to the female Negroes, and from rendering any other assistance to the mission. ' They, thereforej^ re- tired to Bethleheth in North America. Brothef Samuel Watson succeeded Brown in the superintendence of' the inission; but was removed to a better world in 1792 in his 47th year ; haying, with exemplary faithfulness, served the cause of God in this island upwards of sixtieen yfears. More than two thousand Europeans and Negroes joined the solemnities of his funeral, as the last proof they could give, of the esteein which all ranks attached to his me- mory. His place was supplied by brother Henry Chris- tian Tschirpe, hitherto minister of the Brethren's congre- gation in Berlin. In the night between the 1 8th and 19th of August 1795, * Brethren's History, Yol. iii. p. 273—287, Mission in the West Indies. 357 a. violent hurricane, accompanied with tremendous thun- der and a severe shock of an earthquake, raged and did very considerable damage in the island. The fences and oJHce-houses in the two missionary settlements were totally "idestroyed, and the houses much injured ; but our brethren gratefully acknowledged the goodness of God in protect- ing them from all personal hurt. The following year, they succeeded in accomplishing the long projected measure of forming a third settlfc- ment. They made a purchase of a small piece of ground in Old Road Town, lying near the coast, and at an equal distance from ,the two other settlements, namely, thirteen miles from each. An old house, standing up- on it, after some repairs, served them both for a dwel- ling-house and a meeting-room, till a regular chapel could be built. This place received the name of Grace- bay, and brother J, F. Reichel and his wife remov- ed thither early in 1797. This establishment proved ^ great convenience to many Negroes, especially the aged and infirm. A congregation was immediately collected, consisting of six hundred christian Negroes, who had for- merly belonged to St. John's or Guacehill, but whose places of abode lay much nearer to the new settlement. Many who had never been at church before, now began to attend the preaching of the gospel at this station *, were solidly awakened by .the Spirit of God, and. joined the fellowship of the believers f . Many instances continued to occur, evidencing the be- nign influence of the gospel on the sentiments and con- duct of the christian Negrpes, and of the increasing es- teem, entertained for the Brethren's labours by most planters. The following, selected from a number of others, wiU serve to corroborate this assertion. Richard, one of the native assistants, closed his earthly pilgrimage in his ninety-ninth year. Even in that ad- vanced- age he was very lively and active, and much re- • Brethren's Hutory, Vol, iv. p. 182. f ter. Acct, Vel. j, p. 40<. and V*l. ii. p. 140. T33S Mission iti (he' Wesl -Indies. spected by his proprietor. A rather sfngrfar circtiMtfstance paved the way for his coiiversion. He and andthef slave pjice etjdeavoured" to promote a dance, in xjrder to" keep the Negroes ffoin going to church. But this stiheme "was defeated, for they atl declared " thef preferred going to phurch." This irritated Richard and his' comrade. They, however, resolved to go to the mBetipgtosee and hear JFor themselves. Here the Lord .opened both their hearts, so that they senoiisly attended to the things, 'which were spokeii by the missionary. ' Joseph, another ^egfoft, who died about this time, had been baptized in the churfch of' England, but afterwards joined the Brethren. Having obtained his freedom, hp pngaged as valet to a gentleman. His master often en- tered into familiar conversation with him, and once ad- dressed hitij thiis: "Joseph, you are a fool to be always {roing to GuACEHiLt, for you were baptized in the Eiig- ish church." The Negroe replied: <«I was a fool when \- gave the clergyman money to baptize me," though he never instructed me in the doctrine of salivation j this' I have been taiilght in Gracehill. You; sir, are a great gentleman and a christian, and yet you never go to ichurch; but I will tell you, I would nOt change with you, though I am but a poqr Negroe. Me you cannot hinder from going to Gracehellj but I entreat you, sir, do ngt hinder yotir slaves." , The happy .de{Darture of another slave terminated his sufiFerings in this life. Being lame, and consequently use- less, he had to endure extreme miseiy. His black bre- thren esteemed him liighly on account of his faith aod loVe tp JjBsus, and would gladly have helped him, but h-is un- merciful master would not permit it. He was' found lying dead on a rock, and the Negroes were lipt al'lovif^d to make a coffin for him, even at their own expense.- Inhuman behaviour of this kind, hov^ever, became more and more rare; on the contrary the planters, in gffneral, Jjaew bow to j^ppreciate the worth of their christian slaves. Mission in the West Indies, 359 A gentlemaa having lost a Negroe of this description, re- quested the missionary to keep a funeral discourse for him, and said with tears in his eyes : "His equal for fidelity, and every other virtue, is scarce to be found in the whole island j and if Almighty God does open the gates of hea- ven to any man, it will surely be to this old and venerable Negroe." Another gentleman once declared *' I esteem and love the Brethren, beoause they preach the gospel in its;purity, and a truly apostolical manner. My regard for them is founded on the «3tperience of thirty- six years. I well re- member the time, when not only white people were afraid of the INpgroes, Ijut when even the latter could not trust each other, for murders »vere quite common. But, when the missionaries began to preach the gospel, it displayed ^ts power, and changed the hearts of the slaves." To the same effeot another planter expressed himself, remarliiiJg, " Forjmerly we could hardly procure ropes enpvigh on a Monday, for thepurpose of punishing those slaves, who had committed crimes on Sunday; twenty^ thicty, ajjd even more were frequently hung: but since the gospel has been preached to theip, scarcely two are hung in a whole year, and th^se for the most- part are strange Negroes, who have not been long in the island *." In process of -time the- missionaries observed, with griefj that the eagerness to hear and obey the gospel was rather declining among the Negroes; yet they still found abun- dant cause' of acknowledging thegoodness of God 'in mak- ing them the happy in^truments of removing from the heart of many a poor slave the galling fetters of sin. A,nd, though in their attendance on the means of grace, they did not always exhibit that earnestness, which their teachers so much desired ; yet on Sundays and festival seasons the auditories were crowded. Thus the congre- gation at St. John's, on Easter Monday 1804, consisted of nearly three thousand people ; and during the preced- ing week they had kept meetings on thirty-fous- estates in • Brethren'* History, Vol. lY.p. 592^-397; SffO Mission in the West Indies. tibe neigbourhood of that settlement, for contemplating the passion scenes of our Saviour, besides their regular eyening services at the chapel *. Towards the close of 1802,. the island was visited by & very dangerous epidemic, which chiefly affected the white inhabitants, and carried off several hundred persons. , At that time, however, death did not enter the dwellings of the missionaries.- But a few months before they had lost one of their number, brother Luke Turner, who entered into the joy of his Lord on the 18th of JanuaTy., His de- pjarture was the more afflictive to his fellow-labourers, as lie was still in the prime of life, and had been only two years in the island. Bui in that short period he had given sufficient' proofs of his zeal in the Lord's service, and by his niodest and unassuming character gained the esteem and love of all who knew hipii The physician," with tears in his eyes, bore testimony to this. Addressing oiie of the brethren he said : " For these many months, sir, we have not lost one white patient; However, your friend is best prepared for it, though he cannot speak. His very flpuntenance shews the peace of his heart and the rest of his soul. He will be rewarded in heaven. Look ^t his christian composure, his end will be as his life, easy and mild. I pity you, that you should lose a ipan to be present at a place, where they might hear the. mar- vellous history, how Jesus, the Son of God, gave himself a sacrifice for siriners. " When 1 considered that many, if not all, of these poor see Mission- in the' West Indieii people, had just thrown down their hbesj: left- their noon's morselj and foregone their little rest in the middk and heat of the day, of which they stdoiso much; in heed for thesupport of their bodies under hard labour, I broke out almost involuntarily in this ejaculation : ' O Lord Jesus ! feed these popr hungry «6uls, with the precious word of thy sufferings and death. G:enable thy poor, unworthy servant to give thefn thdr meat in due season P *' Reflecting.on thissubject, which I did With humble gratitude to our gracious Lord and Saviour, I thoHght^ •vhati is ifctha^ mEwes. i^iesetppor Negroes^/ who by nature are lazy, sensual, devilish, andiwho^bj^ being long accustpni!- ed to wallow in sin without controulf are far aKenateA from God, so es^er tO' hear the simple testimony ©f Jesus^sufr ferings and deaths that they readily for^o someof the first and most powerful' calls of natoe,. such. as rest and the satisfying of htmger, while the" same subject is, to one part of the civilized world, fotSlishness,- and to another, a rock of offence. I was not long, left in, suspense, how to solve this question. It is the Lord and his Spirit, that hath opened: their hearts ; and: therefore as it was in the Says of His flesh, while the proud and self-righteous Pha- risee hated and despised' Jesus and his doctrine, and the worldlihg; could spare no time from his earthly pursuits^ to attend to himii who came from heaven to give us ever- lasting rifcbes; we are repeatedly told, ihstt the commoTi pee^le heard him'gladlif. Thus it iS' in> our day */' SECTION. IV. Barbadoesi • THE island to which, in the order of time,. theBnet- thren next directed their attention was Barbadoes. Two brethren went thither in 1765 ; but one of Uiem departed this life almost immediately, and the other withdrew from their cohnesioti. A third, who was sent: to supply the • Per. Aoot. Vol, V. p. 4S4, Mission in tke West Indies- ^S7 place of the fiTst, in a short time, followed him into eter- nity. Thus the undertaking was suspended till 1767, when brother Benjamin Brukshaw, a native of Ghe^ir^e^ resolved to go thithei: by himselfj and renew the inis^an. He arrived in the island in May, and immediateiby waited on the President of the council, and the resident clergy, all of whom approved of his design, and wished hiva. God's blessing for his labours. These he began at Bridge- town, pteacbing the gospel to the Negiv)es and visifing them on their plantations. Many proprietors favoured the undertaking,; encouraged their slaves to hear the gospelj and attended themseiKres. , In August brother J. Bennet came from N Hisiicijy, Vol, i. p. 602, S6S Mission in the West indieii without, and dissensions among the missionaries tHenI:i- Selves disturbed its internal peace, and injured the work in which they were engaged. At length only one mis- sionary was left on the island ; and thus, neither the pub- lic j^reaching of the gospel, nor the instruction of the few baptized and the catechumens, could be properly attended to. The following year brother John Angerman arrived and renewed the work with zeal and courage, and not wholly without success; but he finished his earthly career in 1775. His fellow-labourer conltinuedj amidst many diffi- culties, to sow the seed of the word, in hopes of a plenti- ful harvest at some future period, fer as yet the prospect was far from encouraging *« About this time the brethren occupied two stations. Brother Meder and his wife lived in a hired house near Bridgetown, and another missionary and his wife, to- gether with an unmarried brother, resided in the mission- house in the parish of St. Thomas. In both these places .they suffered severely fi-om the hurricane, which raged in October 1780, Theiir houses and offices in both pl^ces^ were thrown down. In vain did they seek an asylum in other houses, for they shared the same fete. With the utmost difficulty they escaped being buried under the ruins, and were obliged to weather the storm in the open air, without shelter of any kind. They lost nearly all their provisions and property, and the mission was thus thrown into new difficulties f. No very promising cliange took place for several subse- quent years. Few Negroes, except those who had formerly been baptized, and who did not exceed twenty in number^ attended the preaching. TTiey were indeed ready enough to assent to the truth of what the missionaries told them ; but secret enmity to the gospeFlurked in their hearts, and they appeared to be in an awful manner under the in- • Bi-ethren's History, Vol. ii. p. H7 and 273. ' f The hurricane lasted twenty-four hours. Trfees and plantations were destroyed: churches and many houses thrown down^; and several thou- s-ind persons lost their lives. Brethren's History, Vol, ii. p. 280. Mission in the West Indies. 309 fluence of tlip power of darkness. The planters also, with few exceptions, were rather averse to their slaves becoming- christians *. In the year 1790 the prospect became more cheering. The auditories increased, and sometimes amounted po a hundred and fifty: a small number indeed, Ivhen com- pared with the crowded congregations in Antigua and the Danish West India islands ; but in Barbadoes even this increase was hailed with feelings of joy. and gratitude. Their zeal and hope were still more enlivened by observing the saving power of the gospel in several heathen Negroes, who were admitted to baptism, and the consistent walk of those who had long been members of the church. By degrees more of the planters became favoui'ably disposed towards the mission, and it was treated with respect by the government f. Tlie situation of the mission-house in the parish of Sf* Thomas had long been considered as an obstacle to the prosperity of the mission. For some years the dwellings of our brethren had been in a ruinous condition, and the situation both unhealthy and inconvenient, as there was no proper _road leading to it, and the members of the con- gregation resided mostly at a considerable distance. Mea- sures were, therefore, taken in 1794- to obtain a new place for their residence. This was happily accomplished by the purchase of a small estate, containing four acres of ground, with a largfe house upon it. In July brother Hofeman and his wife moved thither, and the other nai^- sionaries followed in some time. They found it a very eligible situation, being much nearer to the town than their former residence, and in the midst of populous estates. They called it Shabon %. Brother Hodgson and his wife, who had for some time served the mission in St. Kitt's, but had received an ap- pointment to Barbadoes, on their way to that island from Antigua in 1797, must have been lost at sea, as no intel- « Brethren's History, Vol. jii. p. 392. t Ibid. Vol. iv. p, 385. \ Per. Acct. Vol. i. p. 260. Ibid. Vol. lii. p. 3S0. Bb 370 Mission in the West Indies. ligence Vas received, either from them, or any of the passengers on board the packet with which they sailed*. The following year brother Waller and his wife, toge- ther with the single sister Mary Grant, on their passage from Bristol to Barbadoes, suffered shipwreck off Kinsale in Ireland,' the vessel striking on a rock, about two hun- dred yards from the shore. During four hours they were in constant fear of being swallowed up by the waves ; tillj by the ebbing of the tide, they found it practicable to reach the land. Scarcely, however, had they escaped the fury of the waves, when a company of robbers rushed upon them with knives and hatchets, and plundered the wreck, threatening the lives of the crew and passengers. Fortunately a party of soldiers at that instant made their appeal^ance, and fired upon the depredators, by which five of them were killed. During this horrid scene tb^ passengers effected their escape, but could save nothing of their property, except the clothes they had on. The ship was entirely lost. The Methodist minister in Kinsale, and several members of his congregation, shewed them much kindness, and supplied them with the needful ar- ticles of clothing. In January 1799 they sailed in a vessel from Cork, and had a very pleasant and expeditious voyage to Barbadoes f. Since the building of the new chapel at Sharon the missiotiaries had in general pretty large and attentive auditories, and a grad'iial increase to the number of the baptized, which in 1800 amounted to upwards of one hundred and sixty. In succeeding years' no change of any moment occurred in this mission. Compai'ed with the la- bours of our brethren in the other islands, their exertions here were crowned with little success j but, they were en- couraged to proceed in the path of duty, when consider- ing the value of one human soul, if gained for Christ by the preaching of the gospel j knowing that * their judg- ment was with the Lord, and their reward with their God' • Brethren's History, Vol. iv. p. 389. f Per. Aci*. Vol.ii, p. 248. Brethren's History, Vol. iv. p. S89.~ Mission in the West Indiei. SYl Iri 1812 dn event occurred, which threw all the inhabi- tants into the utmost consternation, and which was occa-' tioned hy the eruption of mount Souftiere. The readet will find an interesting account of this awful phenomenon, as far as its effects were felt in BarbadoeS, in the follow- ing letter,' written by brother Ganson, one of the mis* sionaries : " Having had no rain for a long time, April 30th ill the evening, about ten o'clock, the sky looked extremely dark'j arid we expected heavy rain in the night, which be-i ing much wanted, created great joy. Howevef, on May Ist, early in the morning, a most ektraordinary "and awful phenomenon presented itself, to the great alarm .of all the inhabitants. At day*break about five o'clock, the horizon to thie south, appeared remarkably light. , At six, thick clouds had Covered the whole sky, from whence issued^ not indeed the long expected fruitful rain, but showers of a substance resembling dust, or ashes, ' but which were particles of volcanic tnatter. It now greiv sO excessively dark, that the like had never been seen nor heard of be* fore. It reminded me of that awful darkness, when all nature seemed to shudderj and the sun hid his face at the expiration of the Son of God upon the cross. In this state of awful uncertainty, we looked up to our Almighty Father and Preserver, and' he filled our hearts with peace. At seven o'clock oUr whole family, was called together, and during a solemn feeling of our helplessness^ we ex- horted each other to faith and trust in God cur Re* deemer, offered up fervent prayer for ourselves and our fel— low men, and were richly comforted by a sense of his divine presence. This inexplicable and utter darkness continued till about half past twelve o'clock. About one, a little light from thci sun's raj's appeared, to the great comfort of every human being in the island. About three o'clock many Negroes froni far and near, assembled together in our church, forming a large congregation, to whom a discourse was delivered on the text, " The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his Commandments are sure." Psalm cxi. 7. concluded with fervent prayer* " The great church of Bridgetown was, on this awful B b 2 372 Mission in the West Inii'ei. day so much crowded, that it could hardly, contain tfte people, who, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, with lan- terns in their hands, took refuge in the house of prayer j so great was the consternation of all the inhabitants. The above mentioned diist fell to the depth of about three or four inches on even ground, a:nd we have been troubled, with plouds of it, raised by the high winds, which have prevailed siBce that day, yet without rain, insomiich that every thing' is dried up, the poor .cattle hsiv© nothing' to eat, and to all appearance both man and beast will hayfe^ much to suffer. All kinds of provisions are extremely dear. V May 6th a member of assembly from St. Vincent ar- rived here, applying for succour. Our legislature met, and resolved'to send a vessel with pi'ovisions, to the amouut of 2000Z. which indeed was a noble' proof of their huma- nity and fellow feeling, considering the lamentable stsite. in which this- island is now left. May the Lord grant, these remarkable events to be productive of good, fruit, in the hearts of all of us, that we may not only bc; alarmed at his judgments, but be converted in truth unto him, in whom, though earth and heaven be dissolved, his childr^Pi shall have eternal rest and peace *." , ,( , During the insurrection of the slaves, which broke out in April 1816, but was suppressed; by a' strong; military force, our brethren were preserved from harm by, the pro- tecting haiid of God, and had the satisf^ctjpn to find, that; none of the Negroes, belonging to their oh tirch, had join- ed the rebels in their excesses and violence. Another merciful preservation they experienced during the hurricane, which raged with great violence in St. Lucia and other adjacent islands ja October 1817; for though several: sliips were stranded in the road of Barbadoes, no damage was done in the island. , v In general the conversion of the Negroes continued in the samefgradual and less striking rnanner, which has {lU along characterized the progress of this mission. ♦ Per. Acet. Vol', v, p. 240. Mission in the West Indies. S73 SECTION. V. St. Kitf^ THE missionaries of the Brethren in Antigua had re- eeived; repeated invitations to extend their labours to the adjacent island of St. Kitt's. Mr. Gardiner, who had a great number of. Negroes on his estates, in a very urgent manner expressed his desire for their instruction in the truths of Christianity. In compliance with these wishes, the, directors of our missions in 1777 despatched the bre- thren Birkby and Gottwald, with their wives, to St. Kitt's, On their arrival they hired a house in the town of Bas- SETEhjiE, Here, and on one of Mr. Gardiner's estates, they .regularly preached to the Negroes, who attended in Consi