Indian missionary reminiscences, principally of the Wyandot nation. In which is exhibited the efficacy of the gospel in elevating ignorant and savage men

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INDMtN

MISSIONARY REMINISCENCES,

PRINCIPALLY OF THE

WYANDOT NATION.

IN WHICH IS EXHIBITED THE EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL
IN ELEVATING IGSOKANT AND SAVAGE MEN.

BY THE REV. CHARLES ELLIOTT,

SOME TIMJE MISSIONAUr AMONG THE W VANDOTS.

" Where there is neither Greeii nor Jew, circumcision nor uu-
eircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free : but Christ w
all, and in all," Col. iii, 11. ......

PUBLISHED BY LANE & SCOTT,

fOE THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION OF THE METHODIST EPTgCOPAL
CHURCH, 200 MULEEERY-STREET.

JOSEPH LONGKING, PRINTER.

1850.

F?7

PREFACE.

The following is the history of these Remi-
niscences. While missionary at Upper Sandus-
ky, in 1822, the author kept a brief journal of
passing events, for the first three months of his
stay there. The keeping of the journal was
interrupted by the increased duties of an exten-
sive revival, in the first place ; and subsequent-
ly, by his spending the latter half of the year in
obtaining supplies for the increasing wants of
the mission school and family. The Reminis-
cences took their origin as follows : — About
the end of February, 1834, shortly after the
writer commenced editing the Pittsburg Con-
ference Journal, he was relating one day the
substance of what is contained in Reminiscence
XVI., to some friends in the printing office.
They requested that it would be written and
published. This was done, and after the pub-
lication of this, several others followed. Short-
ly after this, some thought that the incidents
contained in these unadorned and unpretending
narratives might be interesting to the public as
a Sunday school book. This led the writer to

6 PREFACE.

add the above-named journal and some other
incidents not published in the Conference Jour-
nal. He judges that the life of Between-the-
Logs will be acceptable to most. He also sup-
poses that the concluding observations on the
efficacy of the Gospel, both in civilizing and
Christianizing man, will not be unacceptable
to those who may have patience to read what
precedes ; or who feel interested in the con-
version of the world. No one who peruses this
humble production will expect any literary em-
bellishment. This is beyond the reach, and,
in this work, foreign to, the design of the writ-
er of the Reminiscences.

Charles Elliott.
Pittsburg, Feh.^ 1835.

INDIAN
MISSIONARY REMINISCENCES.

REMINISCENCE I.

John Steward the coloured man, the apostle of the
Wyandots — His conversion — Licensed to exhort — Re-
markable dream — Sets out from Marietta toward the
north-west — Arrives at Goshen among the Moravian
Delawares — Journey to Pipetown — Incidents there.

John Steward was born and raised in Pow-
hattan county, Va. He was a free mulatto, and
claimed kindred with the Indians. In the early
part of his life, he lived without an experimental
knowledge of religion. He could read and write
but imperfectly, yet, after he became religious,
he improved much in reading, so that he could
read, with tolerable fluency and precision, his
Bible and hymn book. Through the instrumen-
tality of Methodist preaching, he was convinced
of his sinfulness by nature and practice. He
sought God earnestly, and found the pearl of
great price, accompanied with the direct wit-
ness of his sonship, by the agency of the Holy
Spirit ; a clear sense of which he afterward re-
tained. In his Christian experience he was
very clear. This I learned from hearing him
preach, pray, and exhort, frequently, as well as
from frequent private conversations with him.
He prayed much, and lived near to God.

8 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church
at Marietta, where he obtained the reputation
of a consistent Christian. After some time, in
consideration of his gifts, graces, and prospec-
tive usefulness, he was regularly licensed to ex-
liort ; and as an exhorter he laboured, especially
among the people of his own colour, with ac-
ceptance and usefulness. Shortly after he was
thus licensed, he esteemed it his duty to call
sinners to repentance, in a more extended way
than what falls ordinarily to the lot of exhort-
ers. But as there is something altogether ex-
traordinary connected with this man, a minute
history of his early movements may not be un-
acceptable. With him I had frequent conver-
sations respecting the first steps by which he
was led to attempt to preach among the Indians.

About the time, or shortly after he commenc-
ed exhorting, he had a remarkable dream. And
although dreams are uncertain directories, and
are never to be followed, unless they have the
authority of the revealed word to sanction what
they teach, yet when they teach us what the
Bible and common sense teach us, it is wise
and safe to follow them. The only reason why
we ascribe Steward's dream to a good cause,
was, that the subsequent steps by which he was
conducted lead us to the certainty of facts,
which testify that his cause was one that was
under the direction of the Almighty.

He dreamed that he was in a certain house,
about to commence a religious meeting, and that
an Indian man and woman, while he was sitting.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 9

came into the house, clothed in particular gar-
ments— -they came into the house in a peculiar
manner — accosted him, and shook hands with
him — retired and took their seats — and seemed
to manifest peculiar earnestness and interest in
respect to his message. He also gathered from
them, that they invited him to go and preach for
their people, who lived in a direction north-west
from Marietta. This dream made an uncom-
mon impression on his mind. And though he
used many means to argue away its force, it still
clung to him by day and by night. When he
resisted the impression on his mind, he was af-
terward in a state of mental misery. But when
he was determined to follow the indented im-
pression of his mind, his peace and joy returned.
He would frequently go into the woods and fields,
to pray, and ask God for direction. It seemed
to him as if he heard the voice of these two In-
dians continually, saw them always before his
eyes, and heard their invitation to him, to come
and preach to them, as well as their warning to
preach the truth faithfully. He would sometimes
seem to hear them praise God with sweetest
voices. They still seemed to come from the
north-west, and invited him to proceed in that
direction. He would sometimes find himself
standing on his feet, and addressing a congre-
gation. A sense of his weakness and ignorance
prevented him from attempting the contemplated
journey, though his mind was continually drawn
to travel toward the source from whence the
voices came. Th« impression made daily on his

10 INDIAN REMINISCENCES,

mind became stronger and stronger. And in
consequence of having resisted this call, from a
sense of his own insufficiency, the agitations of
his mind so affected his body, that he was thrown
into a severe fit of sickness. During his illness,
and as he was recovering, he resolved, with
God's help, that, should the Lord restore him,
he would attempt the work which he believed it
his duty to perform. When he thoroughly re-
covered, he firmly resolved to go, provided he
would be enabled to pay some debts he had con-
tracted before he experienced religion. This he
was soon enabled to do, and commenced prepar-
ing to take his journey. He opened his mind on
the subject to several members of the Church,
but they generally viewed his impressions as
merely imaginary. From this source he there-
fore either met with no encouragement, or with
repulse. Here his difficulties again increased.
And though he was convinced he must go, yet
he had no person or Church authority to send
him. The quarterly meeting conference justly
enough supposed that the hazard was too great
for them to venture any particular interference.
At length he conversed with a certain class
leader, one of his confidents, on the subject,
and the leader gave him the following wise ad-
vice : — "Your impressions and sense of duty are
so peculiar, that no Church authority can act just
now in your case. But as you verily believe it
is your duty to go somewhere north-west, and
preach to the Indians, obey what you esteem to
be the command of God. And probably you

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. It

may not be able to decide the question or ease
your mind in any other way, than to attempt the
work by commencing your journey." The
leader and he prayed together, and being thus
recommended to the grace of God by this pious
man, he came to the determination to make the
attempt.

Accordingly he commenced his journey. He
had no purse, nor money to put in it, and had no
clothes but those on his back, and these were of
coarse material and somewhat worn. He had
no license, permit or recommendation from any
Church authority. He had no one to wish him
God speed but the class leader. No large as-
semblies convened to hear speeches, make col-
lections, or to join in prayer for him. The whole
Methodist Episcopal Church was in a profound
midnight sleep in regard to Indian missions,
when John Steward, the coloured man, with his
staff on his shoulder, to the end of which was
tied the little coarse handkerchief or knapsack,
which contained a couple of halfworn shirts,
and a couple of thread-bare socks, none of which
were ever after washed, except when, on his
journey, or at Sandusky, he washed them with
his own hands, without soap or smoothing, nor
were they repaired by new ones — with his Tes-
tament, also, in one pocket, and his hymn book
in the other — a small supply of bread and meat
too made a part of his outfit. John Steward,
the coloured man, thus set out from Marietta, not
knowing whither he was going, except toward,
the north-west. Methinks I still see the picture

12 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

which he gave of his departure, when we con-
versed on this subject, in the fall of 1822. He
proceeded from the town toward the north-west,
leaving Zanesville on the left, sometimes follow-
ing a road, when he thought it was in the right
direction ; at other times travelling in the path-
less woods. When he supposed he was too far
to the east, he inclined toward the west, and
when he thought he was too far toward the
west, he inclined more toward the east. Some-
times he would stop in the woods, pray to his
heavenly Father, sing a hymn or two, or seat
himself on a log, and read in his Testament.
Thus he proceeded until he came to the Dela-
ware Indians on the Tuscarawas River, at Go-
shen. These were the shattered remains of those
who were so inhumanly butchered during the
last war. They were murdered in cool blood,
in the most barbarous manner, while at their de-
votions. They were Moravians. They received
him kindly. He preached for them and remained
several days among them. He told the minister
of his call, who exhorted him to obey it. Stew-
ard thought, at first, that he had arrived at the
end of his journey, but after he was there a few
days, he believed that he must still proceed
farther ; that this was not the place where he
was called to labour, and that there was yet
some place north-west where he must go.

While at Goshen, Steward learned that there
were Indians north-west of that place. He there-
fore determined to set out to find them. He had
already travelled about 80 or 100 miles. The

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 13

distance still before him was about one hundred
miles, and for the most part uninhabited, or at
least very thinly. He proceeded on his journey
as before. When he thought he was too far to
the east, he took a more westwardly course, and
when he found he was too far to the west, he
changed his course more to the east. He lay
several nights in the woods. Toward the head
waters of the Mohican or Killbuck creek, he
providentially found a welcome lodging with a
pious class leader, who encouraged him much,
and replenished his knapsack with a fresh sup-
ply of bread and meat. They spent a good part
of the night in prayer, and Steward left his
roof much encouraged to fill his mission. Some,
whom he met, endeavoured to dissuade him from
his undertaking, by informing him that the In-
dians could not be converted, and if they could,
he could never be the instrument of their con-
version. But these things did not move him : he
still pursued his journey as before, until he ar-
rived at Pipetown, on the Sandusky River, where
a part of the Delaware Indians reside. It should
also be remarked that during this journey he
never omitted any opportunity of preaching,
conversing with people on the subject of reli-
gion, or praying with them in the families where
he stopped. When he entered a cabin in the
wilderness, he had no money to offer them for
entertainment : his only resource was, to declare
the errand on which he was going, which, by
the way, was not a popular one among the early
settlers of Ohio. Yet his candid tone of sin-

"1:4 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

cerity, as well as the good hand of God over
him, generally obtained for him a kind reception.
They who go on God's errands will find some
way to enable them to prosecute them.

When he arrived at Pipetown, he was con-
ducted to one of the Indian cabins, and was cor-
dially received. This was in October, and on
the day in which they were gathering in, and
husking their corn ; after the completion of
which they must have a great dance. He told
them he was sent by the Great Spirit to teach
them. This they rather called in question, but
promised to give him a hearing when they would
finish their dance. They commenced by setting
up the war whoop, and then they proceeded to the
dance, which they performed with great agility,
Steward being seated in the midst. They danced
and frisked around him, sometimes brandishing
their tomahawks close to his head and face, as
if to cleave his skull, yet dexterously missing
him, and touching or grazing only the hair of
his head, or skin of his face; at other times
they would point their butcher knives at him,
and make a thrust at him, as if to kill him ; yet,
carefully missing their mark ; at first he became
somewhat afraid, but immediately recalling him-
self, he composedly kept his seat, felt no fear,
and after a little took his hymn book from his
bosom, selected a hymn, for the purpose of sing-
ing it when they were done dancing. This cir-
cumstance called a halt in their movements, so
that in a short time they got through their
dance, and all became perfectly composed. He

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 15

immediately commenced singing his hymn. All
were silent while he sung ; and when he got
through that hymn, one said in English, Sing
more. He complied, and then inquired for an
interpreter : an old Delaware, named Lyons, in-
terpreted for him while he preached, or, as he
said himself, talked to them about religion, out of
his New Testament. The Indians listened atten-
tively, and when he had finished, they gave him
the best entertainment they had, and he occu-
pied such a bed as they use themselves, i. e. the
floor, with a blanket wrapped around him.

REMINISCENCE II.

Steward continued — Departure from Pipetown and
arrival at Sandusky — His reception at Mr. Walker's —
Journey to Jonathan's — First preaching among the
Wyandots — Fulfilment of his dream.

We have already seen that the Delawares
listened attentively to Steward's sermon, at the
close of which they gave him the best entertain-
ment, as to victuals and lodging, of which they
were possessed. He now supposed he had filled
up his mission, and accordingly determined to
return to Marietta, and from thence proceed to
Tennessee, to visit his relations. In the morn-
ing his impression of going northwest returned
with renewed force ; and though the Delawares
urged him to continue longer with them, and
though he was also strongly inclined to visit his
friends in Tennessee, yet the more powerful im-

16 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

pression of duty urging him to go farther had the
dominancy. Accordingly he proceeded on his
journey, and soon arrived at Upper Sandusky,
at the house of Mr. William Walker, the United
States' sub-agent, and interpreter for the nation.
At first he was suspected to be a runaway slave,
and was on that account narrowly questioned.
Steward declared to them he was a free man,
and that he was sent of God to preach the Gos-
pel to Indians somewhere northwest of Marietta,
from whence he came ; that he had visited the
Indians on the Tuscarawas river, and those at
Pipetown ; but these were not the Indians to
whom he was sent, and he came to Sandusky
for the purpose of finding them, as he thought
the Wyandots were those to whom his mission
called him to go. He also informed Mr. Walker
that he had been a very wicked man, but that he

was brouorht from darkness to light. He de-
cs o

Glared to him what God had done for his soul.
He sung hymns, prayed with them, and read in
the Testament, which he took out of his pocket.
The family, as Isaac Walker informed me, en-
tertained a favourable opinion of his sincerity ;
but they supposed, though a good man, that he
was a mistaken man ; and though they declined
interpreting for him, they treated him kindly,
and directed him to go to Jonathan Pointer, the
coloured man, who, they said, would interpret for
him. Jonathan lived about eight miles from Mr.
Walker's, in an out-of-the-way place, to which
there was no direct road or trail, only that it was
still northwest. He proceeded to Jonathan's,

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 17

and though it would appear impossible for a
stranger to find it, yet he went toward the
direction in which it was, and exactly hit upon
the house, which was situated in a hollow place,
at a distance of several miles from any other.
When Jonathan ascertained his errand, he en-
deavoured to dissuade him from the undertaking,
telling him that many wise and learned men had
already, to no purpose, preached to the Indians.
Still Steward persisted in declaring that he had
a message from God to them, and that he must
deliver it.

" Finding that Jonathan was preparing to
attend a feast which was appointed to be cele-
brated on that day. Steward asked liberty to
accompany him, to which Jonathan quite re-
luctantly consented. A large number of Indians
being collected together, the feast and dance
were conducted as usual on such occasions, with
great mirth and hilarity. Permission being
granted, at the close of the amusement, Steward,
through the agency of Jonathan, delivered to
the Wyandots a discourse on the subject of
Christianity, dwelling principally on its experi-
mental and practical effects upon the heart and
life. They listened with profound attention to
what he delivered, and then gave him their
hands, in token of hospitality to a stranger.

" He made an appointment for meeting the
next day at the house of Jonathan, the inter-
preter ; but how surprised and disappointed was
he to find, instead of a large assembly, only one
old woman. Not disheartened at this, Steward,
2

18 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

imitating his Lord and Master, who preached to
the woman of Samaria, preached the Gospel to
her as faithfully as if there had been hundreds
present to hear him. The next day his congre-
gation was increased by the addition of one old
man. To these two he preached with such suc-
cess, that they both became sincere and genu-
ine converts to the Christian faith.

*' The next day, being Sunday, eight or ten
assembled in the council house, who seemed
much affected under his sermon, and a work of
reformation commenced, which terminated in
the conversion of many. This was in the month
of November, 1816. Steward continued his
labours, visiting the families from cabin to cabin,
talking, singing, and praying with them, and
preaching to them on Sabbaths in the council
house. Very soon large crowds flocked to the
meetings, and such was the deep concern mani-
fested for the salvation of their souls, that for a
season they almost entirely neglected their secu-
lar affairs. This gave occasion for the merce-
nary traders residing among them to speak re-
proachfully of Steward, and to accuse him of
being instrumental of starving the Indians, by
preventing them from hunting, &c. ; but it was
very manifest that the true reason of their op-
position was, ' that their craft was in danger.'
But although they threatened him with impris-
onment if he did not desist, he gave them prac-
tical evidence of a determination to persevere in
his labours, regardless of all consequences." —
Bangs' History of Missions.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 19

A principal difficulty arose to Steward from
the hardened state of Jonathan, his interpreter,
who, though he interpreted faithfully whatever
the other uttered, yet would sometimes add,
" So he says, but I do not know whether it is so
or not, nor do I care. All I mind is to interpret
faithfully what he says. You must not think
that I care whether you believe it or not." Yet
interpreting was made the means of his con-
viction. He soon became much alarmed in the
act of interpreting. While Steward would be
uttering his sentence, he would be meditating his
escape before it would be his turn to speak ; yet
the idea of leaving the preacher, and by this
means disappointing the hearers, who were now
numerous and much affected, pre vented him from
running away from the word of the Lord. Jo-
nathan became a convert to Christianity, and
was afterward, apparently, hearty in the work.
He was certainly an excellent interpreter, of
whom, as such, a few words may be said at a
future time.

One other circumstance that occurred in one
of the first meetings held by Steward among the
Wyandots, is worthy of notice. While Steward
and Pointer were seated together, and the con-
gregation were assembling, an Indian man and
woman came in, approached Steward, shook
hands very cordially with him, and then took
their seats in an orderly manner. When they
had taken their seats Steward observed to Point-
er, I saw that man and woman before. No,
said the other, you certainly never saw them

20 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

before this evening. I am sure, said Steward, I
saw them before, for their countenances are fami-
liar to me, as well as their manner of walking,
sitting, and acting. It is impossible, said Point-
er, for you to know them, as you were never in
any place where they were, and therefore you
are certainly mistaken. Then Steward observed
to him, This is the man and woman whom I saw
in my dream before I left Marietta ; and I
know, from the deep impression made on my
mind, that these two persons are just like those
I saw in my dream. I give this narrative pre-
cisely as Steward gave it to me. The thing is
somewhat strange and curious, and would not be
worth mentioning were it not that it is connected
with matters of importance. This circumstance
was an encouragement to this devoted man,
when opening the door of faith to the Wyandot
nation. One cannot, in this place, avoid think-
ing of the following passage of Scripture : —
Acts xvi, 6-12, '* Now, when they had gone
throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia,
and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach
the word in Asia ; after they were come to My-
sia, they assayed to go into Bithynia : but the
Spirit suffered them not. And they, passing by
Mysia, came down to Troas. And a vision ap-
peared to Paul in the night : there stood a man
of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying. Come
over into Macedonia and help us. And after he
had seen the vision, immediately we endeav-
oured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering,
that the Lord had called us for to preach the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 21

Gospel unto them. Therefore, loosing from
Troas, we came with a straight course to Sa-
mothracia, and the next day to Neapolis, and
from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city
of that part of Macedonia, and a colony ; and
we were in that city abiding certain days." —
This man and woman were among the first con-
verts to Christianity in the nation. Both of them
became stable Christians, and, I think, have
finished their course with joy.

REMINISCENCE 111

Licensing of John Steward to preach.

Perhaps the partiality of the author for the
Wyandot Indians may lead him to bestow too
much attention to their history. If in this he
errs, the error is an honest one. The fact
that John Steward was licensed to preach was
formerly mentioned. Brother Brockunier, in
the following letter, gives the circumstances that
were connected with it. These are perfectly
novel. He was recommended by the chiefs, the
interpreter y and some white brethren, who had
visited Sandusky. The Indians, of course, ad-
dressed the conference by an interpreter —
which, though new, must have been uncom-
monly interesting and striking.

Dear Brother : — As the rise and progress
of Christianity among the aborigines of our
country, and especially among the Wyandots,

22 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

has been a subject of much interest to the re-
ligious world, it may not be amiss to give your
numerous readers a short account of the inter-
esting scene which I witnessed in the winter
of eighteen hundred and eighteen, in the town
of Urbana, Ohio ; which was the time that
John Steward, a man of colour, received license
as a preacher of the Gospel in the Methodist
Episcopal Church. If my memory serves me,
Steward was accompanied by two Indian chiefs,
and Mr. Walker, an interpreter, from Upper
Sandusky, a distance of forty miles, to attend a
quarterly meeting for Mad River circuit. Rev.
Moses Crume was presiding elder ; Rev. John
Strange, preacher in charge ; with a number
of local preachers, stewards, and leaders, who
composed the quarterly conference. Steward
was presented as a proper person to receive li-
cense among us. Being invited forward by the
presiding elder, to answer to those important
questions generally proposed to candidates, he
gave us a relation of his religious experience,
and the exercises of his mind on the important
work of the ministry.

He told us that, through the instrumentality
of the Methodist ministry, he was awakened
and converted to God, and joined the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Marietta ; where he also
had obtained a regular license, as an exhorter,
(producing, at the same time, his license, and a
certificate of his former standing.) He also in-
formed us that he had a remarkable dream, in
which he dreamed he was about to commence a

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 23

meeting, and at which time there came in an
Indian man and woman, who shook hands with
him in a friendly manner, and invited him to
go and preach to their people who lived north-
west from Marietta. This dream made such an
impression on his mind, that he had no rest, by
night or day, until he consented to go in search
of the red men of the forest. He finally started
on his journey, called at several Indian villages,
but their inhabitants not answering the descrip-
tion of those Indians whom he saw in his dream,
he continued his journey north-westward, un-
til he came to Upper Sandusky. At this time
there was a general meeting of the Wyandots,
at one of their festivities or dances. As soon as
he saw them, he felt satisfied that these were
the people to whom the Lord had sent him.
He also gave us an account of the success he
had among them, in the conversion of some of
the chiefs and others of the Wyandots.

After having given sufficient satisfaction, he
retired : Between-the-Logs, one of the chiefs,
was then called on to represent his brother
Steward. He commenced telling us how and
when Steward came among them ; that their
nation was engaged in one of those feasts or
dances, and that Steward proposed to preach or
talk to them about religion ; to which they had
some objection, but finally consented. He then
spoke to them, (through Jonathan Pointer, the
interpreter,) on the subject of Christianity, as
to its experimental and practical influence on
the hearts and lives of men. At the close of his

34 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

address he appointed a meeting the next day at
Jonathan's house. When the time came only
one woman attended, and he preached or talked
to her on the subject of religion. The next day
he held another meeting, when an additional old
man attended. The third day being the Sab-
bath, a number came out to hear Steward about
this new religion. Thus he continued, from
time to time, to hold meetings, &lc.

Between-the-Logs also told us, that he and
his nation were much opposed to this new re-
ligion, and that they liked the religion of their
fathers much the best. But he finally told us,
that the Great Spirit had given him to see and
feel that their old religion was not a good one.
Laying his hand on his breast, and lifting his
eyes toward heaven, while tears flowed copi-
ously down his red face, he said, I sought and
found this new religion, which makes my soul
happy. This circumstance so deeply affected
a large and intelligent quarterly conference,
that we felt more like praising God for his
wonderful goodness to the red men of the for-
est, than to proceed in business.

Mononcue next arose, and gave us a repre-
sentation of Steward and the work of religion
among them, nearly the same as was given by
Between-the-Logs, with this difference, he was
more eloquent, and introduced several striking
figures to illustrate the great moral change
among them.

Mr. Walker, the sub-agent and interpreter
of the Wyandots, next arose, and confirmed the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 25

Statements made by the chiefs; and added, that
he believed Steward was a good man, and if
licensed and encouraged would be a blessing to
the nation.

There were also several of our local brethren
present, who had been at Sandusky, who spoke
in high terms of Steward. I think there was
not one present but was of opinion, that God, in
the order of his providence, had called this man
of colour to minister in holy things to these be-
nighted people of Sandusky.

His future success and happy death gave
abundant evidence that his brethren were not
mistaken in their unanimous vote, at the time
he received his license. S. R. Brockunier,

Allegheny toiv?iy Sept. 17, 1834.

REMINISCENCE IV.

Steward continued — Opposition from Catholic pre-
judices— Another objection raised — Opposition from
the chiefs Hicks and Mononcue — Their speeches —
Several chiefs converted — Speech of Between-the-Logs
— Low state of Steward's health — His death — Vindi-
cation of his character.

It may be proper to notice that the greater
part of the Wyandots had been instructed in
the Roman Catholic religion. This proved a
particular hindrance in the way of Steward ;
but, through the blessing of God, he was enabled
to overcome it. The following extract from
Bangs' History of Missions will show both the

26 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

difficulties and the triumph of the Wyandot
apostle : —

" The following circumstance contributed not
a little, in its result, to confirm the wavering faith
of such as doubted of Steward's sincerity; as
well as to confound many of his open enemies.
When he also boldly denounced the peculiari-
ties of the Church of Rome, and taught doc-
trines so different from what they had been
taught by the Romish priest, they concluded that
there must be a discrepancy between his Bible
and that used by the priests. To decide this
question, it was, by mutual agreement, submit-
ted to Mr. Walker, the sub-agent. He accord-
ingly appointed a day for the examination.
Steward and the chiefs appeared before him.
Many being present of both parties, and all
deeply interested in the issue, a profound silence
reigned in the assembly. Mr. Walker careful-
ly examined the Bible and hymn book used by
Steward, while all eyes were fixed on him : the
Christian party gazing with intense interest,
hoping for a result favourable to their desires,
and the others no less anxious to be confirmed
in their opposition to Steward and his party.
At length the examination closed. Mr. Walker
informed the assembly that the only difference
between the Bible used by Steward and the one
used by the Roman priests was, that the former
was in the English language, and the latter in
Latin ; and as to the hymn book, he informed
them that the hymns it contained were all good,
the subjects having been taken from the Bible.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 27

and that they breathed the spirit of religion.
His decision, therefore, was that the Bible was
genuine, and the hymns good. On hearing this
decision, the countenances of the Christian
party instantly lighted up with joy, and their
very souls exulted in God their Saviour, while
their opposers stood abashed. During the
whole transaction. Steward sat calm and tran-
quil, fixing his eyes upon the assembly with an
affectionate regard, as if fully conscious that
truth and innocence would triumph.

" Being foiled in this unrighteous attempt to
interrupt the progress of the work of reforma-
tion, they next objected to Steward that he had
no authority from any body of Christians to
preach. To this Mr. Walker replied by asking
them whether he had ever performed the rite
of matrimony or of baptism. Being answered
in the negative, he told them that there was no
law, either of God or man, violated, as anyone
had a right to talk about religion, and try to
persuade others to embrace it. He then dis-
missed the assembly, who * had great reasoning
among themselves' concerning these things.
Steward, however, Avas permitted to prosecute
his labours with but little opposition for about
three months, when he proposed leaving them
for a season. Accordingly he gave them a fare-
well discourse in the council house. At this time
there was a universal weeping, such was their
ardent attachment to the man who had been in-
strumental in leading them to the knowledge of
the true God, and Jesus Christ whom he had sent.

28 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Promising them to come back ' when the corn
should shoot,' he made a journey to Marietta.
During his absence they continued their meet-
ings for singing, prayer, and exhortation, and
religion prospered ; so that, on his return, at
the appointed time, he was hailed by the Chris-
tian party with great joy and cordiality."

Steward was also much opposed by two or
three of the chiefs of the nation. As speci-
mens of this opposition, we give the following
speeches of John Hicks and Mononcue, which
they made in the public congregation, after
Steward had preached. To the speeches he
replied in a triumphant refutation, which he
could not furnish from any other source, except
such as is spoken of in the following passage
of Holy Scripture : — " Settle it therefore in your
hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall
answer ; for I will give you a mouth and wis-
dom, which all your adversaries shall not be
able to gainsay nor resist," — Luke xxi, 14, 15.

John Hicks said, in substance, " I feel my-
self called upon to defend the religion of my
fathers, which the Great Spirit has given to his
red children to regulate their faith, and which
we shall not abandon as soon as you might
wish, because we are contented with it, as suit-
ed to our condition, and adapted to our capaci-
ties. Cast your eyes abroad over the \vorld,
and see how many different systems of religion
there are in it, almost as many as there are na-
tions— and is not this the work of the Lord ?
No, my friend, your declaiming so violently

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 29

against our modes of worshipping the Great
Spirit, in my opinion, is not calculated to ben-
efit us as a nation. We are willing to receive
good advice from you ; but we are not willing
to have the customs and institutions which have
been kept sacred by our fathers, and handed
down to us, thus assailed and abused."

After this, Mononcue, another chief, arose
and said, " I also have a few words to add to
what my friend, who has just taken his seat,
has said, I. doubt not but that you state faith-
fully what your book says ; but let me correct
an error into which you appear to have run,
which is, your belief that the Great Spirit de-
signed that his red children should be instructed
out of it. This is a mistake; as He never in-
tended that we should be instructed from a
book which properly belongs only to those who
made it, and can understand what it says. It is
a plant that cannot grow and flourish among
red people. Let me call your attention to an-
other fact : Where did the Son of God first
make his appearance ? According to your book,
he first made his appearance away in the east,
.among the white people, and we never heard
of his name until white people themselves told
us. And what if we had never seen a white
man 1 We never should have heard this new
doctrine. The Son of God came among white
people, and preached to them, and left his
words written in a book, that when he was
gone they might read and learn his will respect-
ing them ; but he left no book for Indians ; and

30 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

why should he, seeing we red people know noth-
ing about books? If it had been the will of
the Great Spirit that we should be instructed
from this book, he would have provided some
way for us to understand the art of making and
reading the books that contain the words.
Ours is a religion that suits us red people, and
we intend to preserve it sacred among us, be-
lieving that the Great Spirit gave it to our
grandfathers in ancient days."

However, by the patience and perseverance
of Steward, Between-the-Logs, Mononcue,
Hicks, and others, were converted in senti-
ment, heart, and life, to the Christian religion,
and they became powerful assistants to our
missionary. The Christian fortitude and per-
severance of Steward will appear to advantage
from the following extract of a speech of Be-
tween-the-Logs, at a quarterly meeting, held
Nov. 13th and 14th, in the year 1819, for Mad
River circuit, about forty miles from Sandusky.
The chief details the progress of religion among
the Wyandots. He shows how they were de-
ceived by the Roman priest, the Shawnee
prophet and the Seneca prophet : he then pro-
ceeds to describe how they were brought to a
knowledge of experimental religion, through
the instrumentality of Steward : —

" By this time we began to think that our own
religion was a great deal the best, and we made
another trial to establish ourselves in it, and had
made some progress. Then the war broke out
between our father, the president, and King

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 31

George, and our nation was for war, and every
man wanted to be big man. Then we drink
whisky and fight, and when the war was ended
we were all scattered, and many killed. The
chiefs then thought that they would try to gath-
er the nation once more, and we had got a great
many together — then a black man. Steward,
our brother here, came to us, and said he was
sent by our Great Father to tell us the good
way ; but we thought he was like all the rest,
and wanted to cheat us, and get out money and
land. He told us of all our sins, and showed
us what was ruining us, drinking whisky, and
that the Great Spirit was angry with us, and
that we must quit all these things. But we
treated him ill, and gave him little to eat, and
trampled on him, (so now we are sure if the
Great Spirit had not sent him he could not
have withstood our treatment,) and were still
jealous of him until we had tried him a whole
year. About this time our father (the presi-
dent) counselled us to buy our land, and we had
to go to the great city to see him ; and when
we came home, our old preacher was still with
us, and he told us the same things, and we could
find no alteration in him. About this time he
talked of going away to leave us, to see his
friends ; and our squaws told us that we were
fools to let him go, for the great God had sent
him, and that we ought to adopt him. But still
we wanted to wait longer. But they told us
what God had done for them by this man ; so
we attended his meeting in the council house,

32 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

and the Great Spirit came upon us, so that some
cried aloud, some clapped their hands, and some
ran, and some were mad. Now we held our
meetings sometimes all night, singing and pray-
ing. By this time we knew that God had sent
our brother unto us ; so we adopted him, and
gave him mothers and children. Then we went
to the great camp meeting, at Lebanon, and
were very happy. Then as soon as this work
was among us at Sandusky, almost every week
or two, more preachers came, and told us that
they loved us, and would take us and our
preacher under their care, and give us schools,
and do all for us we wanted. But we thought
if they love Indians so, why not go to the Sene-
cas and Mohawks ? We have got our preacher.
Some told us, now we believed, we must be
baptized all over in the water ;* and now great
anxiety for them : but before our brother came,
care nothing about us. Now we are many of
us trying to do good, and are happy. We have
found no change in our brother Steward ; but
the others that come, some of them, when our
young Indians will not hear and mind them, get
mad and scold, so that we still think our brother
is the best man, though we have many oppose
us, and this night I mean to tell it all out. Some
whites that live among us, and can talk our lan-
guage, say the Methodists bewitch us, and that
it is all nothing but the work of the devil, and all

* I was told that one of the Indians answered and
said, " God made water to drink, not to drown people
in."

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 33

that they want is to get you tamed, and then
kill you, as they have done the Moravian In-
dians on the Tuscarawas river. I told them,
if we were to be killed, it was time for us to be
praying. Some white people put bad things in
the minds of our wicked young Indians, and
thereby make our way rough."

In the fall and winter of 1822-23, when I
was acquainted with this devoted man, his health
was much impaired, and he showed every symp-
tom of a man whose race was nearly finished.
We will quote, from Dr. Bangs' History of
Missions, an account of his latter end ; after
which we will attempt to give a character of him
as a Christian, a man, and a missionary : —

" In the autumn of this year, 1823, Steward,
to whom this mission had been so much indebt-
ed for its present prosperity, appeared to be fast
declining in health, and it soon became mani-
fest to his friends that he would not long con-
tinue with them. Worn down by excessive la-
bours, and enfeebled by disease, in the month
of September his sufferings were quite severe ;
but he endured them patiently, as ' seeing Him
who is invisible,' and looking for the ' recom-
pense of reward,' He continued, however, to
linger along the shore of mortality until De-
cember 17th, 1823, when, in the 37th year of
his age, and the seventh of his labours in this
missionary field, after exhorting his affectionate
wife to faithfulness, he fell asleep in Jesus, and
no doubt rested from his labours.

" In the life and labours of this man we have
3

34 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

another striking illustration of that declaration
of the apostle, that God chooses ' the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise' — and
the weak things of the world to confound the
things that are mighty. That this coloured man,
uneducated, almost alone and friendless, should
be called to ' come out from his kindred,' to go
to a people that he knew not, ' of a strange lan-
guage,' in the manner before described ; that he
should succeed in awakening such attention to
the things of Christianity among a people so
.strongly wedded to their heathenish customs, or
attached to the mummeries of a fallen Church ;
and finally bring so many of them to the ' knowl-
edge of the truth as it is in Jesus ;' cannot I
think be accounted for, otherwise than by ac-
knowledging the Divine hand guiding him in
all these things, and giving sanction to his la-
bours. It would seem, therefore, as if God de-
signed by this method of procedure to give such
a stamp to the work that ' no one should glory
in man,' but that the ' excellency of the power
miaht be of God.' "*

* It having been reported by some who wish to tar-
nish the reputation of those to whom the charge of this
mission was committed, that Steward was treated with
neglect, and was left to provide for himself, the follow-
ing facts have been furnished the writer from an au-
thentic source. When the charge of the mission was
committed to Mr. Finley, he was instructed to provide
for the temporal wants of Steward, which he faithfully
did as far as practicable, furnishing him with food and
money, even offering more than Steward thought it
expedient to accept '-^st he might excite the jealousy

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 35

REMINISCENCE V.

Character of Steward.

He was a mulatto, of a tall and slender, yet
comely form. He was without ostentation or
display, yet courteous in his manners.

illspiet?/ was of that deep and solid character
as to have a controlling effect upon himself, and
always made a powerful impression in his favour,
not only on his acquaintances, but also on those
who saw or observed him for the first time.
Being thoroughly awakened to a sense of his
lost state, by the Spirit of God, he was prepar-
ed to receive the grace of remission, and the
witness of it, as the pearl of inestimable value,
to be prized and preserved above all things.

Patience ^nd fortitude were striking features
of his character. Consider the fortitude that

of others. In addition to seventy dollars paid him by
Mr. Finley, Bishop M'Kendree collected one hundred
dollars for his use, and about fifty acres of land were
secured to him, on which a cabin was built for his ac-
commodation, and here he lived until his death, and it
was then inherited by his brothers, who have since sold
it for two hundred dollars. Those things are mention-
ed only with a view to correct the erroneous statements
which have been circulated. Steward, indeed, justly
deserved, and has received the gratitude of the Wyan-
dots, and of all the friends of the aboriginal missions.
There is no necessity, therefore, to detract from the
well-earned fame of others in order to exalt liis. His
name will ever be associated, however humble and ob-
scure his origin, with the benefactors of mankind, and
more especially with the pioneers of Indian missions.

36 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

was necessary for him, in order to muster cour-
age enough to leave Marietta, and set out on
the perilous undertaking of a missionary to sav-
ages, unauthorized by the Church of which he
was a member, discouraged by almost all, and
encouraged by none except an obscure class-
leader. How much patience was required to
go moneyless among strangers, and unprotected
among savages ! And after he was actually en-
gaged in his missionary work, he had many
difficulties to encounter. Some of the most
influential chiefs opposed him in form. His
interpreter, at first, informed his hearers, that
he did not believe what Steward said, although
he interpreted faithfully for him. When ab-
sent on a visit to Marietta, he was grossly slan-
dered. The national prejudices of the Indians
were in the way. They think their God is
distinguished from the God of white men by
his colour and dress; they made feasts for the
sick, and offered sacrifices for them ; their be-
lief in witches cost many valuable lives, and to
oppose it was attended with danger ; drunken-
ness predominated ; marriage was disregarded,
or had no existence. These and a great many
other hinderances were in the way, and against
them our missionary had to contend, which he
did on all occasions without the least compro-
mise.

But his patience and fortitude were equalled
only by the perseverance which he manifested
in exercising these virtues. It may justly be
said of him that he continued in well doing.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 37

Hear what Between-the-Logs says of him : " He
told us of all our sins, and showed us what was
ruining us, drinking whisky, and that the Great
Spirit was angry with us, and that we must quit
all these things. But we treated liim ill, and
gave him little to eat, and trampled on him, (so
now we are sure that if the Great Spirit had not
sent him he could not have withstood our treat-
ment,) and were still jealous of him until we had
tried him a whole year. About this time our
father, the president, counselled us to buy our
land, and we had to go to the great city to see
him , and when we came home, our old preach-
er was still with us, and he told us the same
things, and we could find no alteration in him."
His labour and self-denial were great. For
two whole years he taught the Wyandots from
house to house, and from camp to camp, without
any human assistance either in temporals or
spirituals, except now and then a temporary
visit from some white preachers. By frequent
watchings and fastings, and continued exertions
in preaching, his health became impaired. The
missionary who goes out equipped, and builds
his house, and then occupies it furnished and
supplied with all or most of the comforts of life,
knows little of the privations or labours of
Steward. He eat and drank, and slept as they
did. He went in and out among them, follow-
ed them in their hunting excursions, preached
and taught, sung and prayed, comforted, ex-
horted, and rebuked, as he went with them in
their wanderings. No one, except an eye-wit-

38 INDIAN REMINISCENCES,

ness, can tell what he did and suffered during
the two first years of his ministry.

Although Steward was a man of good natural
parts, his attainments were moderate. He
could read and write intelligibly, he had read a
few books, was as well acquainted with the
world as the best informed of his colour. This
is the amount of his attainments. He knew
nothing of grammar, geography, or science;
although he could speak readily, clearly, and
forcibly, and in a better general style and man-
ner than many a man who had all the advantages
of the college and theological school. While
the world lasts such men as he will be useful.

But the most striking trait in his history is,
that he was peculiarly owned and blessed of
God. The presence and power of God were
with him ; and as one sent of God he succeed-
ed in the work whereunto he was called. From
his native talent, and the grace of God which
was with him, he spoke in a style and manner
suitable to the ideas of Indians, which many
men of high literary and theological attainments
would attempt in vain, unless by a long and
painful experience in adapting their discourses
to the understanding of untutored men.

He was therefore well qualified to plant in
the field to which he was called to labour. His
strong faith in God, his patience and persever-
ance qualified him eminently to sow the seed
among the red men.

But though he was qualified to plant and
sow, and, to a degree, assist afterward as a

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 39

deacon or helper in the work of the ministry,
he was not fitted to water, to build up the Church
which himself had planted. Accordingly, dur-
ing his ministry, before he was assisted by more
experienced persons, there was no proper church
organization, no regular church discipline ex-
ercised, no plans of improvement for his new
converts, other than the public exercises of re-
ligion, with some inadequate attempts to reprove
and exhort those that were becoming weary of
well doing. In our opinion, then, the church
which Steward planted needed the experience
and superior knowledge of an abler minister to
organize it more thoroughly, and regulate it by
a wholesome discipline. The inference from
this is clear, that a man may be called of God
and qualified to plant churches, who may, at the
same time, be unfit for governing and regulat-
ing them to advantage ; but he may continue to
be employed by the church as an important
assistant to others ; or he may afterward arrive
at the knowledge, experience, and prudence
necessary to have rule in the church. Others
may be qualified to take charge of churches,
whose gifts are not well adapted to plant new
ones. Much, however, depends on the field of
labour, as well as upon the gifts of the labour-
ers. Steward had the enviable honour of
planting a church in a soil where few had the
proper talents to succeed. But he was taught
humility by seeing that same church placed
under the watch-care of others ; although he
was always after, in consideration of his quali-

40 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

fications, employed as an assistant in the work
of the ministry.

He was no enthusiast. It is true, his friends
and the church at Marietta could not venture,
and very properly too, to sanction his professed
call to the Indians toward the northwest ; yet
they threw no impediments in his way. In this
matter, however, Steward differed from all en-
thusiasts. They, under the supposed influence
of inspiration, look for the end without using
the means. He used the means in order to
obtain the end ; although he knew well, that
it was God alone who could bless even the
means to secure the end.

He had a proper respect for church order
and authority. Some, favoured of God as he
was, would have set up a new church among
those who had been brought to a knowledge
of the truth through their instrumentality. Not
so with him. He went to the nearest quarterly
meeting conference, a distance of forty miles
and more, and there, after being duly recom-
mended and examined, was licensed to preach.
Afterward, he cordially assisted the regularly
appointed missionary, and his services were
acceptable and useful.

REMINISCENCE VI.

The Marietta conference in August 1822, and the
Wyandot delegation.

At the Ohio conference, held in Marietta, in
1822, three Wyandot chiefs, viz. Between-the-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 41

Logs, Mononcue, and John Hicks, together with
William Walker, Jr., as interpreter, attended,
Bishops M'Kendree and George presided. The
year previous Bro. Finley was missionary among
the Wyandots ; but in consequence of ill health
he could not return. The chiefs addressed the
conference in an affecting and dignified manner,
and were responded to by a very appropriate
address, by the senior bishop. The addresses
themselves will best show the state of things in
the Wyandot nation at this time. They are as
follow : —

Between-the-Logs. — " Brothers, we have met
here all in peaceful times, and feel happy to see
you all well ; and your business seems to go on
in good order and peace. This being the day
appointed to hear us speak on the subject of our
school and mission, which you have established
among us, we think it proper to let you know
that when our father, the president, sent to us to
buy our land, and we all met at Fort Meigs, that
it was proposed that we should have a school
among us, to teach our children to read ; and
many of the chiefs of our nation agreed that it
was right, and it was a subject on which we
ought to think : to this, after consulting, we all
consented. But government has not yet sent us
a teacher. Brothers, you have ; and we are
glad and thankful the mission and school are in
a prosperous way, and we think will do us much
good to come. Many ministers of the Gospel
have come to us in our land, who seemed to
love us dearly, and offered to send us ministers

42 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

and teachers to establish missions and schools
among us ; but we always refused, expecting
government would send us some, which they
promised to do, and which was most consistent
with the wishes of our chiefs : but when you
sent our first brother to preach, we were pleased,
and listened with attention. Then when you
sent our good brother Finley, we rejoiced, for
we all thought he was a good man, and loved
our nation and children, and was always ready
to do us good : and when he moved out, all our
chiefs received him with joy, and our people
were all very glad. Brothers, we are sorry to tell
you that this is not so now. Since that time some
of the chiefs have withdrawn their warm love,
and this influences others to do so too. Brothers,
they have not done as well as we expected, and
we feel astonished at the conduct of our chiefs;
they have backslidden. But there are some of
us yet in favour of this mission, if the rest have
gone backward ; and we wish to have the mis-
sion and school also. Though the chiefs have
mostly left us, yet there are four faithful ones
among us," (viz. Between-the-Logs, Hicks, Mo-
noncue. Peacock.) '' Brothers, we know the
cause why they have withdrawn ; it was the
words of the Gospel. Brothers, it is too sharp
for them ; it cuts too close ; it cuts all the limbs
of sin from the body, and they don't like it, but
vve, (meaning the other four,) are all willing
to have all the limbs of sin cut from our bodies,
and live holy. We want the mission and school
to go on, and we believe the Great God will not

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 43

suffer them to fall through ; for, brothers, he is
very strong, and this, brothers, is our great joy.
The wicked, that do not like Jesus, raise up
their hands, and do all they can to discourage
and destroy the love of the little handful ; and
with their lands they cover over the roots of
wickedness. But, brothers, they may do all they
can to stop it, the work will go on and prosper,
for the Great God Almighty holds it up with his
hands. When you placed brother Finley among
us in our own country, we rejoiced ; and we have
been much pleased with his living among us ever
since. He is a plain man; he does not flatter
our people; he preaches plain truth. He says
to them, This is the way of life, and this is the
way of damnation. Brothers, we suppose this is
the reason why some have turned enemies to
our brother ; but he pleases all those who are
willing to serve God, and love his ways ; there-
fore we have nothing to fear concerning the
mission and school. They are built on a solid
rock, and look like prospering. For our parts,
we have no learning, and we are now getting
old, and it is hardly worth our while to trouble
ourselves about learning now ; but we want our
children learned, and we hope our school and
mission will do great good for them."

Here Between-the-Logs stopped, and John
Hicks arose and said, — " Brothers, I feel great
thanks to our heavenly Father for keeping us
and bringing us here. Not long ago one of my
brethren asked me my opinion on the school :
I told him I would send all my children, for the

44 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

reason I stood in darkness and knew but little of
God, and all I did know was dark ; so that I could
not see clear. But I heard our brethren preach
out of the good book of God, and the word
waked up my mind, and cut my heart. Brothers,
it brought me to pray, and seek, and love the
Great God of heaven, and his ways. This is
the reason I want my children to learn to read
the great book of God, and understand it, and
get religion, that they may be happy in this
world, and the next. Brothers, I don't want to
be long on the subject, but will let you know
that I am of the same opinion with my brother
that spake before me, with respect to our brother
Finley. I hope he will still continue with us ;
he has done us much good ; he has been the
means of conv.erting souls ; so that many bad
men became good men ; and very wicked sin-
ners have turned to the Lord, and now keep his
good word. May the Great Spirit keep him
among us, and bless his labours." Then he took
his seat, and brother Mononcue spoke as follows :
'' Brothers, I have not much to say. You see
us all here in good health and peace, for which
we are thankful to God. You will not expect
much from me on the subject of the mission and
school, as my brothers have spoken before me
all that is necessary. I wish just to say, we
want our brother Finley still to live among us.
For my part, last year I expected he would come
among us, and it turned out so, and I was very
glad, and I am still much pleased with him.
The conference made a good choice ; it was our

INDIAN REMINISCENCES- 45

choice ; and the Good Spirit was pleased to give
it us. He has a particular manner of teaching
and preaching to us, different from other teach-
ers who have been among us ; and God owns
and blesses his labours. May he still go on and
prosper. We want him among us still. I
know that the words he spake are of God. —
When he preaches I feel his truth in my heart,
in my soul. O brothers I it makes my soul happy ;
all of us want him with us ; his life among us is
very useful, because it is straight. He was very
industrious all the time he has been with us, and
learns our people to work, and since he has
left us, we have been lost, though it has been
but a few days. We have felt as if our oldest
brother was taken from us, and the place where
he lived looked sorry. But what feelings of
joy did we feel in our hearts when we met our
brother at this place, and took him by the
hand ! We thank the Almighty God who has
spared our brother. The great objections our
chiefs have against our brother Finley are : a
coloured man that preached to us used to feed
them on milk ; but our brother Finley fed them
on meat : this was too strong for them, and so
they will not eat. But those that want to love
God and his ways could eat both milk and meat ;
it does well with us, and we feel always hungry
for more." After requesting the conference to
employ a steady interpreter for the use of the
school and Gospel, he sat down.

Bishop 3!r Kendree replied in substance as fol-
lows:— "We are glad — we are exceedingly joy-

4G INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ful — to see this day ; for we have long been
anxious to see the time when our brethren in the
west would embrace religion. Our joy is abun-
dantly increased when we see you face to face,
and hear the Gospel from your own mouths. —
We are well disposed toward you. In us you
have real friends ; and you may be well assured
that our kindness will be continued. We will
make every exertion possible to educate and in-
struct your children. These men (alluding to
the conference) are not your only friends. You
have many throughout the country, in general.
In the great cities, the white people feel for the
red brethren, and are forming societies to send
them help. The Great Spirit has come, not
only on the old men, but on the little children.
In Baltimore there is a society formed for the
purpose of sending help to educate your chil-
dren. If you will stand by us, we will stand by
you. We will unite with you in prayer for your
success, and for the conversion of your breth-
ren who have backslidden and left you ; and if
you continue faithful, God will convince them,
and they will return to you again. But in all
this let us look up to God for success."

REMINISCENCE VII.

Journal — My appointment as missionary to Sandusky—
Journey, and incidents on the way — Arrival.

At the time of the meeting of the Marietta
conference, in 1822, Indian missions in the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 47

Methodist Episcopal Church were just com-
mencinn-, and it was somewhat doubtful whether
they would be crowned with success. Brother
Finley's health prevented his return to the mis-
sion. It was thought best, after consultation,
that I should be the missionary for the ensuing
year. When I came to conference, I had no
expectation of going among the Indians. But,
as it appeared proper for me to go, I did not
think it right to confer with flesh and blood, but
to go and preach the Gospel to these outcasts of
men. Here I formed an acquaintance with the
Wyandot chiefs, Between-the-Logs, Mononcue,
and John Hicks. They exhorted and prayed in
the congregation with excellent effect. When
conference was over, I set out for Mercer coun-
ty, by way of Pittsburg, in order to proceed im-
mediately for Upper Sandusky. Arriving in
Pittsburg after dark on Saturday evening, I
spent the Sabbath here, very agreeably to my-
self, (whether with profit to the people or not,
God knoweth,) and then proceeded to Salem,
Mercer county, where my family resided.

Sept. 26, i8-22.— To-day, after a couple of
days' preparation, we set out for Upper San-
dusky, a distance of about two hundred miles.
The feelings of the occasion were various, and
the circumstances such as are common. There
might, however, be this exception. There were
no displays either of meetings, speeches, outfits,
or the like. The individuals concerned were
too humble in life and station to elicit these
things. An Indian missionary, too, at that time,

48 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

was not so honourable an appointment as it is
now. Accompanied by one brother, who carried
our little baggage in a small one-horse wagon,
and ourselves mounted on two horses, the jour-
ney was undertaken. Having travelled about
four miles, our little vehicle upset. We set it
upright immediately, fixed it somewhat better,
drove more cautiously, and kept on our way,
and spent the night at an old resting place for
pilgrims, brother William Parish's. The next
day brought us to Canfield.

Sept. 28. — The morning and latter part of
the night were wet ; but being anxious to get
on our journey, we set out about eleven o'clock
for Deerfield, seventeen miles distant, in order
there to spend the Sabbath day. The reason
of our haste was this : — The Rev. James B.
Finley, presiding elder of the mission, and the
Rev. Jacob Young, presiding elder of Lebanon
district, were to be present at a quarterly meet-
ing at the Indian station, to be held on the fifth
and sixth of October, thus leaving us only six
days to travel one hundred and sixty miles, most
of the road being bad. As we travelled the rain
increased. We proceeded, however, until we
and our baggage were thoroughly drenched with
rain, and stopped at a small cabin about eight
miles from Deerfield. The man and woman of
the house received us kindly ; we dried our-
selves at the fire, got supper, slept soundly, rose
early in the morning, got to Deerfield before
meeting time, and there spent the remainder
of the Sabbath.

INDIAxN REMINISCENCES. 49

Sept. 30. — To-day and yesterday, from the
well-meant and undesigning observations of
some very respectable friends, we had some tri-
als. They were apprehensive that I and my
wife would certainly be sick in that unhealthy
country ; that our labours among the Indians
would certainly be lost ; that, notwithstanding
all the pains taken for them, they would still
be Indians, and that their reformation was only
possible, but very improbable. This was a cause
of trouble to me, as I was for a moment led to
think these things might be so ; but especially
because it seemed almost entirely to deject my
wife. We here found it necessary to encour-
age ourselves by Gospel arguments. I observed,
" that it appeared to me we were called to go
there by the good providence of God ; we are
in the way of duty ; the state of things, in my
opinion, is not so unfavourable as it is repre-
sented ; we will go and see how things are at
Sandusky; every situation and every place has
its advantages, trials, 6lc. ; God will take care
of us, and clear the way before us." Thus we
encouraged ourselves in our God. So we pro-
ceeded on in the name of the Lord, who prom-
ised to be with us. Through God even we
shall be enabled to do valiantly.

Oct. 1. — Travelled thirty miles from Canton
to Wooster.

Oct. 2 — Travelled thirty-two miles : the road

being partly bad, we were forced to travel after

dark till we arrived in Mansfield. We stopped

at a tavern, and sat down in the bar-room be-

4

50 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

cause there was no other, among a company of
swearers and drunkards. With difficulty we
got supper at ten o'clock,

Oct. 3. — To-day we travelled the worst road
I ever saw. Five miles of it, called the black
swamp, was indescribably bad. It was with
the greatest difficulty we got through the deep
mud and beech roots. After toiling all day, we
made a journey of eighteen miles. In the eve-
ning we came to a little cabin, where we were
hospitably received by the inhabitants. We
slept soundly on the floor all night.

Oct. 4. — This morning we were within thir-
ty miles of our journey's end, and were very
desirous to get there. After travelling three
miles, we came to a very dirty cabin, in which
a large family, twice as dirty as the cabin itself,
dwelt. We asked for breakfast, on which a
neighbouring woman was sent for, in order to
cook it for us. This family put me in mind of
Horace's fancied description of the human race
in their first and progressive stagey of maturity
and improvement, from their first crawling out
of the earth, '' mute ct turpc pecus,^^ a mute and
vile flock. The old man strove to frighten us,
by informing us that " the wolves would break
into our houses and devour us, unless we had
a dog to keep them off"," and confirmed the
same by two or three oaths, having in view the
sale of a young pup of the first-rate breed, as
he said, for which he expected to obtain a large
price from us. After this, we departed, and iu
a short time got into the extensive plains of

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 51

Sandusky. These are large extents of level
ground, skirted with woods, interspersed with a
tree here and there. The trees become more
dense as the traveller approaches the woods,
until he finally enters the close forest. There is a
species of wild grass which grows in some places
on these plains, which the inhabitants in the
end of summer cut down for hay. Of this coarse
provender, horses and cattle, unaccustomed to
it, will scarcely eat ; but those which are rais-
ed on these plains, and are used to such fare,
feed greedily upon it in the severe part of the
winter season. At other times, the range is
so excellent in the new country, that the beasts
leave their hay, corn, fodder, &c., to feed on
the more delicious fare found in these plains,
and in the neighbouring woods. These plains
are divided from one another by narrow strips
of woods, in which there are sometimes several
gaps, which serve as so many doors to open
between these vast fields of nature. While you
are entering into one of these woody partitions,
you think you have perhaps gone through the
last plain, or prairie, as they are sometimes
called, but in a short time you will abruptly
break through into almost a new world of plain,
as you will gradually discover through the
opening between the trees another place void
of woods, and in a little while you will see
yourself in the midst of an extensive tract of
country, bringing to your mind the patriarch's
view of the plains of Jordan : " And Lot lifted
up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan,

52 INOIAN REMlxMSCENCES.

that it was well watered every where," Gen.
xiii, 10 ; but with the exception of its being
'' well watered ;" for you might travel till your
tongue would cleave to the roof of your mouth
before you could get a drink, even of bad water,
for of good there is none. Before we entered
these Jordan plains, we heard of two towns
built on them. The first of these consisted of
a few paltry cabins, perhaps five or six, one
half inhabited, and the remainder about half
built. The other notable town contained three
or four worse cabins, inhabited by the same
number of German families, from whom this
great village received the name of Germantown.
It is now, or shortly will be, abandoned to the
Delaware Indians, in whose reserve it is con-
tained. After various other adventures, we ar-
rived at a tavern, in a portion of land between
the Delaware and Wyandot reserves, within
seven and a half miles of our destined place.

When we came partly in sight of the inn, its
showy sign gave us a high idea of it ; but when
it came properly into view, its excellency all
vanished. At this house we were informed that
the Delaware Indians were in the habit of eating
snakes, ground hogs, opossums, raccoons, pole-
cats, and land tortoises. Their manner of cooking
and eating the latter is this: They try to get
the animal to put out its head, in order to cut it
off, but if they fail in this, they take an effectual
method : they place them upon a fire, and roast
them until the shell will come off tolerably easy ;
they then eat them up, entrails and all, while the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 63

blood of the half-roasted reptile streams down
their dirty cheeks and hands.

Oct. 5. — This morning we set out, at six
o'clock, for our appointed station. How great
was our surprise, when we found neither bro-
thers Young nor Finley before us ; the latter of
whom was taken sick, but heard nothing of the
former. With what anxious eyes did we look
toward the mission house ! We expected every
moment to see one or both of them coming out
to meet us ; but in this we were disappointed.
However, we put our trust in the Lord, and left
the result to him. The Indian brethren post-
poned their quarterly meeting until James B.
Finley should come, though they assembled on
this day for that purpose, and an appointment
was made for me to preach the next day, which
is the Sabbath.

There are two reserves made for the Indians ;
one for the Wyandots, which is nineteen miles
long from east to west, and twelve from north to
south. There is also a reserve of three quarter
sections in this, one for a school and missiona-
ry establishment, another for mechanics, and a
third for the Indians' agent. The Delaware
reserve includes only nine sections of land, and
is situated south of the Wyandot, between both
of which there is a fraction of land, mostly in-
habited by white people. We entered upon the
Wyandot territory with much interest, and look-
ed on all sides to spy out some of our new neigh-
bours. Neither Mrs. Elliott nor myself had ever
seen a squaw, though we had frequently seen

54 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Indian men. The first Indian we saw at this
time was a man riding on a good horse, dressed
in the Indian fashion, driving on at full gallop.
We viewed attentively both him and his manoeu-
vres. In a little time we came to a wigwam
where we saw a squaw and three or four pap-
pooses. The woman made a very good appear-
ance ; so did the children. They were all
dressed after the manner of the white people.

REMINISCENCE VIII.

Journal continued — First Sabbath at Sandusky-
Interview with the chiefs and Steward — Preaching —
An Indian marriage — Questions by Warpole — A child
baptized — Visit from Steward.

Sujiday, Oct. 6. — Last night we reposed com-
fortably in our new mission house, being kindly
received by the mission family. It consists of
three young men, whose names are Riley, John
Johnson, and Barnabas Boys, and a young wo-
man named Jane Parker. I will describe the
adventures of to-day wilh as much minuteness
as I can, which are as follow : —

The distance to the meeting house is six miles,
through a vast plain. The meeting house is a
log building, with filling between the logs, with-
out doors, floor, seats or windows. Mrs. Elliott,
Mr. Leech, and I rode in our one-horse wagon.
The mission family and some other friends
rode in the mission wagon, being seven in all.
We set out about half past eight. As we rode

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 55

through the plains we soon saw the Indians go-
ing to meeting, coming from both sides of the
road, through their respective narrow paths,
going at full gallop ; each drove on, without re-
garding us or one another, as fast as their horses
could go. Their running puts me in remem-
brance of Homer's description of Apollo's
fierce and speedy movements —

" Fierce as he moved the silver shafts resound."

They *' moved fiercely " and speedily indeed,
and though they had no silver arrows or shafts
to resound, the lack was amply made up by the
gingling of bunches of ear rings and nose trin-
kets, the dangling of the tassels that hung from
their bonnets or turbans, the motions and clat-
ter of their knives and tomahawks hung to their
belts ; and as they went, their feet moved hastily
to and from the horses' sides, keeping time with
the movements of the horses.

We hitched our horses within a few rods of
the meeting house, and came toward it our-
selves. We heard the singing of these chil-
dren of the forest before we came in sight of
the house, which was elevating to our minds.
As we advanced, we saw some stretched at full
length on the ground, others standing, some
smoking, and others in the meeting house,
sitting seriously and composed. There were
perhaps about thirty whites, some coloured per-
sons, and more than both of Indians. Here I
saw and recognized the three chiefs I saw at
Marietta, at conference, viz. Between-the-Logs,

56 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Mononcue, and John Hicks, all of whom shook
hands with us, and heartily welcomed us. The
same did the other pious chiefs, Jonathan Point-
er, the black interpreter, and brother Steward,
who may be called the apostle of this nation.
It was thought best that I should preach first to
the white people without an interpreter, and
then address the red people by one, as they
were not all yet come. This I did, from Luke
xviii,22, "Follow me." My mind was strange-
ly affected in addressing, for the first time, a
congregation of red, black, and white men.

After a few moments of intermission, I
preached by the interpreter to the Indians.
My text was Matt, xi, 28, " Come unto me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest." From which I took occasion
to show them, first, the wretched state of man
without Christ, they labour and are heavy laden ;
Secondly, the ability and suitableness and wil"
lingness of Christ to save them ; Thirdly, their
duty to come to Christ; Lastly, the blessings
those will obtain who come to Him, viz. rest, i. e.
they shall be delivered from the burden of sin,
i. e. they shall be pardoned ; from the labour
of sin, i. e. they shall be enabled to forsake sin :
they shall have inward rest from all these, and
shall enjoy peace, happiness, and rest in their
own souls ; and shall finally rest with Christ in
heaven. While I dwelt on these things, all were
attentive and apparently serious. There is a
remarkable gravity among the Indians ; they
listen and attend with the most serious regard.

INDIAN RExMINISCENCES. 67

When I had done it was agreed that I should
preach again to the red people after an hour's
intermission. This I did from Isa. Iv, 9, " Seek
the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near." As this was to be a
quarterly meeting occasion, the Indians were
desirous of holding the meeting all night. When
I had done preaching, it was observed to me
that a couple of the Indians wanted to get mar-
ried, on which I told them to come forward.
On this occasion the war chief, Warpole, whose

Indian name is , spoke out, and said

he had a few questions to ask me ; I gave him
liberty. He inquired " why was it that we were
in the habit of holding meeting all night? that
he thought it was not right, was contrary to
former custom among them, and that the Great
Spirit did not command or approve of it." To
this I replied, that there was no command against
it, provided it was done decently and in order ;
that Jesus continued all night in prayer ; Jacob
wrestled all night with the angel. And to his
asking " if we were in the habit of doing so in
other places?" I answered that there was no
rule among us respecting it, any more than in
Scripture. As we were about to proceed, ap-
parently pretty lengthy, some observed, it
would be better to postpone our conversation :
accordingly we appointed to meet on Tuesday
at 12 o'clock, at the mission house. I proceeded
then to solemnize the marriage between the
waiting and impatient couple, who appeared to
advantage on the occasion. I performed the

58 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ceremony as in the discipline of the M. E.
Church, making use of the interpreter to inform
them of its meaning, sentence by sentence, as I
spake it. After this I baptized a child two months
old, belonging to members of the Church. It
was tied on a board about the child's length and
breadth. After this, I and the mission family
went home ; they continued their meeting until
evening, and then dismissed. Thus ended our
first Sabbath meeting. Upon the whole, it ap«
peared to me interesting. I am content to live
here, if the Lord will be with me : without this
I cannot be happy in any place.

Oct. 7 . — To-day brother Steward came to
see me, and related to me his religious experi-
ence, his leaving Marietta to come to this place,
his introduction to, commencement with, and
success among the Indians. It appears he was
the first instrument used by God to bring these
ignorant creatures to the knowledge of the
truth ; and though he may not be as well quali-
fied to carry it on as others, yet he is entitled
to the respect of all Christians for what he has
done.

REMINISCENCE IX.

Journal continued — Conversation with Warpole —
His three questions answered — His account of Indian
doctrines — Anotlier objection of liis answered.

Tuesday, Oct. 8.— To-day Warpole, the In-
dian war-chief, came to visit me, for the purpose
of having some conversation with me, and asking

INDIAN REMINISCExNCES. 59

me some questions, accompanied by Mr. Walker,
the interpreter, according to Sunday's agree-
ment. After some desultory conversation before
dinner, we all dined together, and then opened
our conference. He commenced by asking me
the following questions : —

Question 1. *' How is it that you hold meet-
ing at different places? why do you sometimes
pray and hold meeting all night ? I think the
Great Spirit does not approve of praying so."

Answer. The reason why we do not always
hold meeting in the same place is this; the peo-
ple live scattered, and cannot all attend at the
same place : it is therefore proper to move the
meeting from place to place, so that all may
have an opportunity to hear. As to our pray-
ing and holding meeting all night, and that, as
you think the Great Spirit does not approve of
it, and that it is not customary among you, I
would answer that God no where in his word
forbids it ; we have an example of Jesus Christ's
continuing all night in prayer ; Jacob wrestled
all night with the angel ; both of these were
extraordinary occasions ; so, among us, when
sinners are struggling for pardon, or when saints
need peculiar blessings, as on quarterly meeting
occasions, we think it proper to pray all night
and all day also. And we are convinced the
Great Spirit approves of it, because he blesses
us in this way.

Quest. 2. *' I have been at three camp meet-
ings, and observed, that after the preachers had
preached, exhorted, and prayed, they very fre-

60 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

quently went into their tent, and left the meet-
ing to be carried on by the common people ;
beside, the black people exceeded all the others
in shouting and various exercises : these things
I want to know about.''

Answ. The preachers are frequently tired out
by having so much to do, and are not therefore
able to endure the fatigue of sitting up all night ;
beside, when the preachers do their parts, which
is particularly to preach and exhort, it is very
proper for awakened sinners to pray all night
for pardon, and for believers to pray both for
them and for themselves. In regard to the black
people, they are generally ignorant, and have
peculiar ways of expressing themselves : it is
therefore very proper to give them the permis-
sion of using their own mode ; furthermore, if,
while spectators are marking every thing that
they may see amiss in others, they would con-
sider for a moment themselves, it would be of
far greater use to them, than in making ill-na-
tured remarks on others. Do not those who do
so, act a worse part in thus condemning them
and neglecting themselves, than the persons
whom they thus charge ? In short, I have al-
ways found that those persons who find the
most fault with their neighbours are generally
of the worst characters themselves.

Quest. 3. " Why is it that your people are
always finding fault with us for our dress ?
Wherein is it wrong for us to wear such things
as we do, and paint ourselves?"

Answ. Respecting this I would note, that I

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 61

think wearing gaudy dress is contrary to the
Gospel ; and I think it would be enough for our
people to tell you plainly and faithfully their
opinion in a loving manner, without anger or
ill will, and then leave you to God : that it is
criminal in you to wear such things, if you
take pride in them, and do it for show ; but if
you wear them without thinking them to be
evil, according to your best information, in a
conscientious manner, I have reason to think
the more favourably of you, for to your own
Master you will stand or fall.

After these answers he appeared considera-
bly pleased, and voluntarily gave me the follow-
ing account of the doctrines professed by them,
as he thought : —

" As to the doctrine of future rewards and pun-
ishments, I would inform you. When I was a
little boy, the old persons taught me as follows :
when you are invited to go to a dance and feast,
don't go there ; stay at home by the fireside ;
and when you grow up, and have a house of
your own, stay in it, and go not to such places
as these ; for God does not require any of these
things, nor does he delight in them, but will bring
us into judgment for them. For after death we
will be brought before him, and he will open a
book in which all things ever done by us shall
be written. He shall then go over all our doings,
one by one, whether good or bad, beginning at
the first and going on to the last, in the order
they have been done in ; to every single one of
which we must answer yes or no. And if our

62 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

evil doings exceed the good, he will send us
into a place where we shall be punished for all
our bad doings, every one, and we can never
come out of that place until we are pure and
clean. But when we are made holy, we will
be brought to a place of happiness and enjoy-
ment, where no evil thing shall come,

"2. As to the crime of murder, our doctrine
is this : — If you kill one man you may be par-
doned, and if you even kill a second you may yet
be pardoned ; but if you kill a third person, you
can never be pardoned. Because, such is the
government of God over his creatures, that to
kill a third goes to the end of his law, and the
person thus guilty must be punished for ever.

" 3. In regard to our common dancing and
feasting, I would inform you, that it is not of old
standing, but is of recent origin, and instituted
by our fathers not many generations back, for
the purpose of giving efficacy to a certain med-
icine, by the power of which it is said we ob-
tain strength and vigour to enable us to be pros-
perous in hunting. But in these we put little
confidence. But there are very ancient cus-
toms among us, which we think of great im-
portance, and lawful, and by no means like the
former : these are the war dance, the new-crop
dance and feast, which is held when we obtain
the first ripe fruit, which is generally in Au-
gust, and the national ball-play, the design of
which is to make us strong and vigorous.

" 4. Many generations back, more than can be
now ascertained, among my own progenitors, a

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 63

certain man of them obtained a leather coat from
the thunder, by virtue of which he became so
famous in war as to excel al! others in his na-
tion, and to be the ruin and terror of his ene-
mies. But in times of peace he became so vio-
lent and outrageous, and so injurious to our na-
tion, as to commit many and atrocious murders.
He was told and warned of his crimes, and re-
quired to desist, but still he continued on. They
then told him that unless he left off such things
they would kill him; but he still pursued his old
practices, notwithstanding their threats. They
then determined to put him to death, and ac-
quainted him of it. To this he assented, and ad-
vised them to do so ; but, said he, I will ascend
to the thunder, and strive to do you all the good
in my power. Shortly after, as he and two more
were walking over a log that crossed a creek,
the one being behind and the other before him,
the one that was behind pierced him with a kind
of spear so that he fell down ; he then pierced
himi again with the spear, and killed him. They
next carried him to the other side of the creek,
built a log heap, placed him on it, and set it on
fire. Just as his body was almost consumed, it
made a great crack, and a curling smoke as-
cended toward heaven, out of which they heard
a voice which said, * I am ascending to the thun-
der from whence I came : appoint in the family
to which I belong a feast of a certain sort of
provision, to be held annually, to be celebrated
by the chief person in our family ; let tobacco
be thrown into the fire to make a pleasant per-

64 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

fume, and you will hear my voice in the spring
of the year.' This ceremony was accordingly
observed in our family, and which was their
exclusive right, down to the present generation.
Now I am the chief of the family, whose right
it is to regulate the ceremony, but as the in-
junction was the command of man, and not the
command of God, I thought it of no use to at-
tend to it, and have therefore omitted it.

** 5. There was a custom among them in old
times, that boys should undergo a long fast,
and go through certain ceremonies, which are
now entirely unknown, in order to obtain from
the wild beasts a certain supernatural power,
strength, or excellency, whereby they would be
enabled to excel in war, hunting, or otherwise.
Shortly after this, the wild beasts became very
troublesome, and assaulted persons in the woods,
but especially the women ; the serpents and all
venomous creatures seemed to attack them on
all sides, and in every manner. By reason of
this, there was a universal fear excited among
them, which produced general consternation.
About this time the Roman priest came among
us, and told us if we were to get all our chil-
dren baptized, we would be delivered from the
ravages of the wild beasts and snakes. We ac-
cordingly did, and the wild beasts ceased to at-
tack us as they had done before. At this time
we lived in Canada."

Here the interpreter, Mr. Walker, sen., who
had been taken prisoner from Virginia when
twelve years of age, and is now more than fifty

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 65

years old, and had ever since lived among them,
and married one of their nation, observed that
he remembers when the remains of this fear was
among them ; that it was only a few.years since
it was done away, which appeared to him to
have something strange and curious ii\ it.

After this he was anxious to have another ob-
jection answered, which was to this amount : —
" Why does your religion produce contention
among us, not only between your side and ours,
at large, but even among families, when some of
them leave the old religion and go over to you ?
The Roman priest did not say that those who
were not baptized, and still followed their own
ways, would be lost for ever." To this I re-
plied : — Truth and righteousness are directly op-
posite and different from error and sin ; and those
that will pursue the right way will always walk
in a way different from those that pursue sin and
their own ways. Hence will arise opposition ; yet
the good way is not to be blamed, though it may
have given occasion to the others to be enraged
and angry. And this is agreeable to what our
Lord Jesus Christ says, when he declares, '' I
am come to send fire on the earth, and what
will I if it be already kindled ? Suppose ye that
I am come to give peace on the earth ? I tell
you nay, but rather division : for from henceforth
there shall be five in one house divided, three
against two, and two against three. The father
shall be divided against the son, and the son
against the father; the mother against the
daughter, and the daughter against the mother ;
5

66 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-
law," Luke xii, 49-53. Thus the dissension,
divisions, and strife that are the result of our
religion among you, is a proof that it came from
Jesus Christ ; though itself is not in the fault,
but those who oppose it are in a wrong way. —
And as to the priest's not molesting you in your
security, or reproving you for your sins, it is a
plain proof of his religion's being wrong, since
he taught you in order to please you, and not to
reform you. When we had gone so far, Mr.
Walker, the interpreter, was called away, which
interrupted our conversation. I then exhorted
him to pray to God, and forsake every sin, and
he would bless him. He confessed he was a
great sinner and drunkard, and was unfit to say
any thing good to any person. I invited him to
accept of a few turnips. He said he would call
upon me some other time for them. We shook
hands in good humour ; I said I was ready any
time to converse with him, and thus ended our
conversation for the present.

REMINISCENCE X.

Journal — Exhortations of Between-the-Logs and
Armstrong — Arrival of brother Finley — Incidents
during his stay — Prayers of the chiefs' for the re-
covery of his health.

Oct. 13, 1822. — I went to meeting, and
preached to my red brethren, by the interpreter,

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 67

from Matt, xxvi, 26. After I had done preaching,
Between-the-Logs gave us an exhortation, the
purport of which was as follows, as near as I
could gather from the interpreter : — " My dear
brethren and sisters, you cannot leave off drink-
ing strong liquor without the help of God, be-
cause God has all power, and we must be aided by
him before we are able to overcome strong liquor.
The Lord knows whether we are seeking him in
earnest or not. We must have patience in this
great work, for this is necessary ; I found it ne-
cessary to be patient, and to continue to wait upon
the Lord, and after 1 had prayed to continue ex-
pecting until God would bless me. We shall
have many temptations and trials, but they shall
be the means of our growing more in righteous-
ness ; they shall help us ; they shall be wings
to us by which we shall fly up from this world."
Then brother Armstrong, a white man, who was
taken a prisoner when about ten years old, who
spoke their language very fluently, and happily
experienced religion in this nation, exhorted to
the following amount : — "Brothers and sisters, I
have been raised among you, and want to tell
you the truth as near as I can. This is the
truth that the minister tells you ; there is no
other way that leads truly to heaven, but the way
that is through Jesus Christ, and salvation by
him. In this way I mean to live and die, by the
grace of God helping me." We then concluded
our meeting with singing and prayer. God
was in our midst to bless us. I felt encouraged

68 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

to proceed in the work of the mission, by the
assistance of the Lord.

Oct. 20. — In the course of the last week
brother Finley arrived, to the no small joy of
the mission family and of the Indians. Al-
though yesterday and to-day it rained almost
without intermission, yet a good number of our
red friends attended. The proceedings of the
day were nearly as follows : — Brother Finley
commenced meeting with singing and prayer,
and then preached from the following text :
*' For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God." The subject of
which is nearly as follows : " Every man is led
by some spirit. Some are led by the spirit of
pride, and think too highly of themselves, and
sometimes deck themselves out with needless
ornaments. Others are led by the spirit of the
world, and love the things of this perishing earth,
so as to neglect their souls. Others are led by
drunkenness, into a number of other wicked
deeds. All these are led by the spirit of the
devil, and must finally, if they repent not, be
sent into hell with him. But, we rejoice to tell
you, that Jesus Christ gave himself for us, and
sent down his Holy Spirit to show us the right
way. Now I will show you in what way the
good book teaches us respecting God's Spirit.
It is compared to Jire. Fire gives light, and so
does the Spirit. You remember when you were
walking in your old traditions, but when the
Spirit came upon you, you saw yourselves lost,
and by his light you took the back track, and

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. b9

came right to God. Fires give heat, so the
Spirit quickened your dead souls, and wrought
mightily in you. The Spirit is compared to
water; water cleanses and makes yow fruitful,
BO with many of you, you have been cleansed
and purified from your sins by his cleansing
power, while you have been also rendered fruit-
ful unto every good word and work. Thus the
Spirit of God leads such as are submissive to
him in the good way, and leads them from their
dances, frolicking, hunting, and old traditions.
And such obedient persons, who are thus led,
are privileged with being the sons of God, which
is the greatest blessing that can be ; for God
will preserve, protect, supply, and comfort all
his children. Suppose his (turning round and
pointing to Mononcue) child were in danger, he
would surely deliver him if he could ; if he
were sick, he would endeavour to cure him ;
if he were in want, the father would supply his
want. So God will also, in an especial manner,
deliver, comfort, and supply the wants of his
children. Be encouraged, therefore, to serve
your God." After this, leave of speaking being
given to any of the chiefs who felt free to it,
Mononcue rose up and spoke as follows, after
an appropriate introduction : — " My fellow sin-
ners, you had better give it up, for this is a way
which will not stand. Look at me, and see
what I was. I was once in darkness as you
are. I was very strong in my old traditions,
and in my old forms of religion, and often said
I would never follow the way I am now in.

70 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

But when the light of Christ came upon me, I
saw that I was in darkness ; you are also now
in darkness. Seek the Lord with all your heart,
for the day is coming when we shall be all
judged." He burst into a flood of tears in the
midst of his discourse, and spoke with a pathos
and energy which affected not only those who
understood his language, but those also who
did not. We then, all together, red, white, and
black, partook of the sacrament, at which we
had a gracious season of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord.

In the evening we had a marriage ; it was
between brother John Hicks, one of the chiefs
of the nation and an exhorter in our Church,
and Catharine Warpole. Seven of the brethren
and five of the sisters were present in the mis-
sion house on the occasion, all of whom stayed
all night. Brother Finley performed the so-
lemnity. It was a very serious time. All be-
haved with a decorum and decency, which, I
think, are seldom witnessed at marriages among
white people.

After this, brother Finley and the chiefs en-
tered into a conference respecting the regula-
tion of our school, the appointment of meetings,
and the choice and employment of an inter-
preter. Respecting the school, it was mutually
agreed, 1st. That five brethren, viz. Between-
the-Logs, John Hicks, Mononcue, Peacock, and
Squire Grey-Eyes, should be a committee to
inspect the school. 2. That no children would
be received for the space of a few weeks or

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 71

days, unless they designed to continue at school
until they would have time to receive an edu-
cation. 3d. That no scholar would have per-
mission to go home without leave from the mis-
sionary. 4th. No complaint will be listened to
respecting the treatment of the children, nor
will parents, guardians or others, regard the
stories of children, until the matter is inquired
into by the above committee.

It was agreed, ** that there should be meeting
two Sundays out of three at the mission house,
and every third one at the Big Springs, which
is twelve miles distant ; there shall also be
prayer meetings every Wednesday evening, to
be holden circularly at the mission house, Mo-
noncue's, Between-the-Logs', and Hicks'."

It was ordained by the conference, that an
interpreter should be clioscn by the chiefs, and
employed by brother Finley. There was a diffi-
culty in coming to a determination on this point,
as there were three or four who were in the
habit of interpreting, and the choice of any one
might lead to murmuring on the oart of the
others. On this occasion, the chiefs manifested
a penetration and caution which show them to
be men of sound minds and good hearts.

After this, we had a very interesting and
friendly conversation, in which each spoke his
sentiments with the utmost freedom, and with-
out the least reserve. The chiefs anticipated and
looked forward to the time when the children
of their nation should be taught to read, and
thereby be informed of the great and sublime

72 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

truths of Christianity ; when the rising genera-
tion would be able to read the Bible to their pa-
rents at their firesides, and interpret to them its
contents ; when, from among themselves, there
would be raised up ministers who would preach
Jesus unto them : in short, they not only imag-
ined they saw, but they were confident it was
written in the word of God, that the heathen
were given to Christ, and that, therefore, the
several Indian nations would submit to him.
While they were thus gladdening their hearts
with this pleasing conversation, brother Finley
and I introduced the prospect of the Scriptures
being translated into the Wyandot language,
and dispersed among the different branches of
the nation, as the Seminoles in the south, and
those divisions of it that were at Detroit and
Canada. Here, I think, I saw plain marks of
the Saviour's love in our Indian Christians.
All our hearts seemed to glow as we were thus
employed. At a late hour we all retired to
sleep, the men to one end of the house and the
women to fi\e other. Brother Finley and his
old bed-fellow, Mononcue, slept together, and
for want of beds seven or eight slept on the
floor before the fire ; thus, with joyful hearts, we
committed our bodies to sleep, under the pro-
tection of Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Monday, Oct. '21. — This morning the chiefs,
being informed of two children, an Indian boy
and girl of the Wyandot nation, that the Balti-
more Finleyan Society designed to make some
provisions for, whose names were to be called

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 73

Francis Asbury and Mary Fletcher, selected
them, being assisted by Brother Fin'ey. The
one was a daughter of Mononcue, and the other
a son of John Hicks.

The chiefs took leave this morning of brother
Finley in a very affectionate manner, being
heartily glad and thankful to God for his re-
covery from his sickness, which was a severe
attack of the fever and ague. Peacock told him,
" I am glad that God permitted you to visit us
once more in health ; I feel determined to serve
God as long as I live, and hope to see you
again in health ; I trust God will preserve us
all while we will be separated from one another
in the woods." Mononcue said, '' Brother, I
have prayed for you while you were sick ; I be-
lieve God has answered my prayers in preserv-
ing you alive to preach the Gospel to us again.
Farewell." Between-the-Logs observed, '* Bro-
ther, when you and sister Finley were sick I
prayed for you, and committed both of you into
the hands of God, whether in life or in death.
I feel strong in God ; he has answered my pray-
ers in sending the Gospel to us. I have now
two staffs to support me when I walk, both you
and the other missionary, and trust I shall, with
the help of God, walk firmly. Brother, fare-
well." Thus our very interesting meeting
ended.

74 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

REMINISCENCE XI.

Journal — Meeting at the Big Springs — Description
of the wigwam — Supper — Evening's devotions — Man
ner of sleeping.

Nov. 2. — To-day I set out, about 12 o'clock,
P. M., for the Big Springs, which is twelve or
fourteen miles from the mission house, accom-
panied by brothers Armstrong and Pointer, our
interpreters. These people are very much civ-
ilized, and still more advanced in religion.
Their piety appears to me to be genuine, very
unaffected and deep. We stopped where two
families had built their little cabins, both of
which were in the same enclosure, being only a
few yards distant, and surrounded by a low
fence. The good people received us with the
greatest cordiality and friendship, unaccompa-
nied with those artificial compliments, so gen-
eral in what is termed the polite world. Where
we stopped, was a cabin of thirteen or fourteen
feet square. On the north side was the door,
hung on iron hinges. On the right side, as you
go in, were three shelves, which served as a
dresser, on which stood a coffee pot, a few pint
tin cups, some delph plates, and several other
utensils. On the west side was the fireplace.
Opposite the door stood a table, under a window
or square hole, with a wooden shutter, which
served in the place of glass. On the east side
were two beds, or rather bedsteads. Their form
was this, thin puncheons placed upon narrow
benches, about twenty inches high. On them

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 75

were no bed ticks ; a few skins served in the
place of feathers and straw, while the blankets
lay unspread on this platform. There is a very
great contrast between this and the commodious
habitations in which I was accustomed to lodge
in the towns, villages, and country places, among
respectable white people. This place put me in
mind of the humiliation of Christ, who did not
make his appearance among the rich and great,
but was born in a stable, a manger serving him
as a cradle, while it taught me humility and con-
tentment. The good woman, shortly after our
arrival, commenced to cook supper. Eating
among these people had formerly been consid-
ered by me as a cross, for fear of dirty victuals.
A racoon I saw hanging up in the house, when
I arrived, was, in my opinion, to be part of my
supper : but I was happily disappointed, when,
in a short time, I saw a supper prepared, cleaner
than I sometimes saw among some whites. The
repast was made up of venison, mountain tea,
and corn bread : the meal of which it was com-
posed was made by pounding corn in a hom-
mony trough. After supper the interpreters
translated the first three verses of John's Gospel,
and I from their mouth wrote it down. I hope
this first trial will not end here. I trust we shall
be enabled to give to these poor people at least
some of the word of God. After this I gave an
exhortation to the two families, who by this time
had assembled. The Spirit of God bore witness
to our hearts while I spoke to them. O ! the
rich grace of God, through Jesus Christ, which

76 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

has visited these poor people in the forest, mak-
ing them partakers of like precious faith with
us. While I am now writing, they are singing
in animated strains,

* Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone," &c.

the meaning of which they understand, from its
being so frequently sung and explained to them
by the interpreters. This seems like seeing his
track andpursuing it also, even the narrow road.
It looks like the way the holi/ prophets went.
They had doubtlessly their hopes Jixed on Jesus
Christ. How the little cabin did resound while
they were singing about having nothing but sin
to give, and that nothing but love would they
receive. I saw the tears drop down their faces,
while the name of Jesus was praised, as plainly
indicative of the grace of God in their hearts, of
which I heard them speak last Sabbath in class
meeting, and which they manifest in their life,
obedience to God. This little wigwam is none
other than the house of God and the gate of
heaven to our souls. My pen catches the sacred
fire which has already reached my heart from
the live coal from the altar which has touched
our lips. I am inclined to proclaim aloud the
praises of the Redeemer. Carry the sounds,
ye fleet winds of God, even to the uttermost
tribes of the Indians ; and then announce it with
speed to all Christendom ! Ye plains of San-
dusky, what voices are these I hear echoing
through you, and reaching the neighbouring
woods 1 It is the voice of Indians, that a few

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. Tt

years ago were singing the war song, but who
now sing the song of the hundred and forty and
four thousand. Where we now are is near the
place where Crawford was put to death. Hal-
lelujah to Him that sitteth on the throne, and
to the Lamb, for he has redeemed us out of
every nation and tongue and people ; — for I see
here black Jonathan Pointer, the red brethren
and myself, all joining in the same song, all
equally indebted to the same Saviour, and re-
joicing in him.

AVe next joined in prayer, after I had given
them a little lecture on its nature and advan-
tages, during which the Lord continued to bless
us. It was now about eleven o'clock. Our
kind host spread a cloth before the fire ; on this
I spread a blanket to lie on, put another over
me, both of which I brought from home for that
purpose; put my surtout under my head for a
pillow, threw my great coat over all, and thus
committed my body to rest. Brother Arm-
strong lay next me, and next to him our colour-
ed friend.

Nov. 3. — To-day we had a glorious time of
refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

78 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

REMINISCENCE Xll.

Organization and progress of the school — General
character of the children — Two anecdotes— Contem-
plated good results of the school — Different lights in
which it is viewed by the Indians — Two anecdotes of
Mrs. Hill — Behaviour of the children at prayer.

Nov. 15. — I shall here write down some par-
ticulars concerning the commencement, pro-
gress, and present state of the school, together
with some anecdotes respecting the children, as
well as some other circumstances which do not
come in a regular way, or which might have
eluded my observation at a former time.

Brother Finley and I proposed that the school
should be opened on Monday, 22d of October,
and he took his departure the day following.
The first week, we had only four or five chil-
dren ; one of these was a profligate, as we found
out afterward. She found way to my wife's
chest, and that of the servant maid's, and pil-
fered them of some trifling articles ; after a few
days she went away. I thought that if many of
the children were like her, we could not live
with them, and my acquaintance was so little
with Indians, that I thought a majority of them
might be of that caste. My discouragements,
this week, were many, but I thought that pre-
cipitancy in judging or acting in my critical
situation might be accompanied, or at any rate
followed, with serious consequences. Amidst
these embarrassments, patience and faith were
called into exereite.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 79

The next week we had eight children under
our care, one or two of whom appeared to be a
little refractory, but by some attention to them,
I found it was possible to regulate them. Not
knowing that it was customary with Indians to
correct their children, I was peculiarly careful
not to take any measure that might give umbrage
to the nation in our first commencement ; for
this might raise such a prejudice against us as
to render us entirely useless to them ; nay, it
might altogether destroy the school establish-
ment among- this people.

The next week, which ended October and
began November, our school increased to eigh-
teen. The children appear to be doing better,
and more submissive than at first. On the 11th
inst., we had twenty-two children, and we have
now, Nov. 15th, thirty-seven ; before Christmas
we expect to have between forty and fifty, and
a considerable increase beyond this in spring.
The greater part of the nation are now out hunt-
ing, which prevents the increase of our school :
they will return about the end of December, or
beginning of January, when we expect a con-
siderable augmentation of scholars.

Little had been done before my arrival here,
in teaching the children to read ; though as much
as could be done under the circumstances.
Brother Steward taught between two or three
months last winter at the Big Springs, but so
short a time could effect little. My worthy pre-
decessor, the Rev. James B. Finley, did all he
could by way of preparation.^ He employed a

80 INDIAN EEMINISCENCES,

young woman last year, but for want of a school
house little could be done, as the school was
taught in a shed ; the mission house then being
a small cabin, could not furnish room for the
children. Only two of the twenty-seven chil-
dren here now can read, only six can spell a
little on the book in easy monosyllables, seven
know their letters, and twelve of them knew
nothing of their letters when they came here.

The children by assiduous care, are learning
fast, notwithstanding the obstacles in their way.
It is very difficult for them to pronounce some
English words, especially those in which h,p, and
some other letters are to be found, as there are
no sounds corresponding to these letters in the
Wyandot language. I must also speak to them
by an interpreter ; but in merely learning to spell
and read, after learning the elementary sounds,
their progress is not so much retarded as one
would suppose. Here I found the great disad-
vantage in teaching English, compared to Ger-
man or even French, in consequence of the
various sounds given to the same letters and
combination of letters in our language. During
the first six weeks of the school's existence I
taught it myself Only consider the picture
which between thirty and forty children entirely
untutored, mostly beginning, and all in a strange
language, presents to the observer. No six
weeks of my life were ever spent more busily
than in teaching these children their alphabets
and other elementary lessons. Every mode
which invention could devise was resorted to ;

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 81

and it is believed they learned as much as any
children ever did in the same time, and under
the same or similar circumstances.

As to the general character of the children, I
would remark, that they are very sober, all things
considered : are very agreeable among them-
selves, and of a very obliging and good-natured
disposition, and perhaps in these respects excel
white children in general. They are, for the
most part, willing to do what they are told ; they
do not proceed immediately to do a thing when
bid, which at a first or slight view would appear
like unwillingness to obey ; but upon consider-
ation, it appears to me to be owing either to the
general character of this nation, which is the
direct opposite of precipitancy, for they seem
to diliberate, reflect, and consider, and even in
some cases to delay and suspend, both in speak-
ing and acting, before they will decide ; or rather
it may be owing to their not understanding us.
An instance of the latter happened a few days
ago, which is as follows : — The maid told one
of the Indian girls to put the tea-kettle on the
fire, full of water ; she went away and filled the
coffee pot and put it on. The girl it appears
did not understand her, or not knowing the dis-
tinction between tea kettles and coffee pots, &c
and thinking them all of nearly the same kind.
Into this error she was led by the meaning of
the Indian word hveestah, which is a name com-
mon to any metal, as tin, copper, brass, &lc. and
to most vessels made of them. It is similar in
meaning to our word metal, but more general.
6

S3 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

The instances of contention and disagreement
among them are very rare. Yet fallen nature
manifests itself sufficiently among them even in
this. We had an example of this also a few-
nights ago, between two little boys of eight or
nine years of age, one of whom had been put
out of bed by the other boy, and forced to lie on
the bare floor. When this was known to us,
we made him a bed by himself At the time
referred to, he went early to bed. The other,
who a few days before had come, and was ac-
customed to do as he wished, endeavoured to put
him out of his bed by getting on the top of him,
and endeavouring to take the clothes off him,
and get in himself P. being incensed that he
should be deprived of his only asylum, with his
teeth laid hold of J.'s ear, and made the blood
come freely. They both engaged in combat —
the other boys called for me, and I was under
the necessity of reproving sharply both of the
boys, but since that they have lived in the
greatest unity.

While I was administering reproof, one of the
large boys who was standing by said in Wyan-
dot, as I afterward learned, " Now the boy who
is in the wrong will certainly cry, but he that
is not will cry none." Whether each of them
thought himself innocent, or not being willing
to own their guilt, I cannot tell, but neither of
them cried, but on the contrary bore their re-
proof with the greatest firmness.

The greatest good may result from this school.
The female children, it is expected, will be

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 83

taught to read, write, spin, sew, knit, weave,
cook, and do all sorts of house work necessary for
comfortable living, and thus will become indus-
trious and economical wives, submissive to their
husbands, and affectionate parents. Beside,
they will be taught the great principles of the
Gospel, which will lead them into the ways of
piety, and will preserve them from Indian super-
stition and tradition. The boys will be taught in
like manner the Christian religion, in its theory,
experience, and practice ; they will be instruct-
ed, practically, to farm, so that when they leave
school they may be qualified to become indus-
trious farmers, good citizens, intelligent men,
tender parents, affectionate husbands, and obe-
dient children, and thus people their nation with
a generation equal, as men, citizens, or Chris-
tians, to any perhaps in the United States. More
still : from these boys, part of whom are pious,
and others of them inclined to piety, while most
are moral, will be raised up Christian preachers,
to prfeach to their fellow men, and to carry the
word of life to other Indian nations. They shall
be qualified to instruct their parents and the
other members of their respective families in the
great doctrines of the Gospel. At the fireside
they will be able to interpret to them the word
of God, and recite to them the truths they have
learned. They shall here unavoidably be taught
English, and thus can be more perfectly in-
structed in the mysteries of the kingdom of hea-
ven, for they can hear more sermons, and those
they do hear will not be through the tedious and

S4 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

imperfect means of an interpreter. Beside,
they shall, by early imbibhig Gospel truths, be
preserved from the superstitions of heathenism,
and the practice resulting from them. The
Indian god shall be neglected, the war dance
shall be no more celebrated, and the idolatrous
feasts shall be entirely done away and neglected.
At present some of the Indians are in favour
of the school, and others are opposed to it.
They say that Indians who have been learned
are worse than others ; that the Great Spirit nev-
er designeJ that Indians should learn. While
others seem to take a middle way, and wait in
suspense to see what shall be the fruit of our
doings. The religious part are very much in
favour of the children's instruction. They say
themselves are too old to learn, lament they
cannot read the word of God, but hope their
children will learn, and not labour under the
disadvantages they are irrecoverably involved in.
A little circumstance will show how much some
are in favour of our establishment, and will afford
an example of the anxiety and zeal of others.
Sister Hill, a very pious and sensible woman,
came last Saturday with her little son of nine
years of age, to leave him at school, and to stay
all night with us, to see how we came on. After
she had seen all she could, and we showed her
all things, and told her of our regulations, she
was very much pleased ; but she expressed her
sorrow that she was not now a little girl, so that
she might also come here and learn to read the
Bible, &c ; for these people think more of read-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 85

ing the Bible than any other acquisition in the
world, which should be a lesson to many who
can read, but seldom peruse that holy book.
So zealous was she that others should learn,
that in a few days she brought to school a broth-
er of hers, a young man of eighteen years of
age ; and she has, as I am told, persuaded two
other persons to come to the school.

I cannot avoid, in this place, making mention
of another little anecdote about this good wo-
man, which places her piety in a very conspic-
uous point of view, while it will also put to the
blush the half-hearted devotion of many pro-
fessors. The story is this : her husband, who is
a wicked man, determined to go to hunt in
company with a number of very profligate and
profane persons of the same nation. She endea-
voured to persuade him not to go with them,
but to seek for better company, but all in vain,
go he would with these same persons. She
doubted whether it was her duty to go, even
with her husband, in company with such aban-
doned wretches. Her conscience could not be
easy in this matter, till she acquainted Mr. Fin-
ley of the affair, and asked his pastoral advice.
He advised her to go, but not to forget to pray
to God and serve him. Every night she prayed
with her family in her husband's camp, while
it was frequent with the above persons to make
much disturbance outside the camp in time of
prayer. But God in this did not leave her pious
labour without its acknowledgment. For after
hunting was over, and all had returned, a cer-

86 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

tain woman, who was one of her greatest op
posers, came to Mr. Finley and told him that if
it had not been for the prayers of that woman,
God would have punished them all, and the
devil would have got them. So sister HilFs
fidelity proved to be the instrument of conver-
sion to others.

Their behaviour at prayer is very good. The
mission family assemble for prayer in the kitch-
en, morning and evening, the boys and girls
sitting apart. They sit during the reading of the
Scriptures with the most becoming reverence,
stand in singing, and most of them join in the
tune, though they do not know the words, and
kneel when we pray. I never saw better beha-
viour, or more solemnity among any people in
the time of prayer. This is a most interesting
season. It supplies the place of meetings to a
great degree, as the number of the mission
family, including the Indian children, at this
date is about thirty persons.

REMINISCENCE XIIl.

The school continued — Description of the mission
house — Employ of the boys and girls — Number and
employ of the mission family — Dress of the Indian
children — Religious state of the Indians — Skill of the
children in singing — Their manner of sleeping.

A DESCRIPTION of our housc will be necessa-
ry, in order to give a proper idea of our regula-
tions respecting the government of the children.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 87

considered as a part of our family. Our liouse
consists of four large rooms, two above, and two
below stairs, with a fireplace in each, the upper
and lower rooms communicating, with each
other by stairs, there being no door in the par-
tition wall which divides the house into two
equal parts. The upper is a half story. Be-
low stairs, south, is the room for the missiona-
ry and the female part of the mission family,
and above it the Indian girls' room ; below
stairs, north, is the kitchen, which serves also
for a dining room, and above it the boys' room.
The school house is about four rods from the
mission house, or rather we have converted the
old mission house into a school house. All
rise in the morning so as to have prayer over
before it is properly light.

After prayer the girls are required to stay in
the kitchen until bed time, unless in school hours,
where they are taught to spin, sew, knit, assist
in cooking, &c. ; and they must all sleep in their
own room at night, to which there is no en-
trance but through my room ; they are not gen-
erally permitted to stay in my room, or go into
the boys' room on any pretext, unless to make
the beds, sweep it, &c. As to the boys, when
prayer is over in the morning, they go to the
school house, put on a fire, and stay there till
night, unless they choose, when school does not
hold, to play innocently, and are not to come
into the kitchen until night, unless when called
to eat, or are employed otherwise : but the most
of their spare hours they are engaged in chop-

88 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ping, taking care of cattle, husking corn, &c.
In the evening they are to put on a fire in their
own room, where they are to stay till bed time.
These regulations I found necessary to make,
for the purpose of preserving such order as that
one part may not prevent the other from pursu-
ing their several employs.

Our mission family consists of myself and
wife, one young woman and two young men,
one of whom is a good part of his time employed
in hauling from a distance provisions and other
things needed by the mission ; and the other
young man is employed on the farm. Two
young women, as an addition to our family, were
employed by brothers Young and Finley to
come here, one to do house work, and the other
to teach school ; but by reason of sickness they
could not come ; and we expect none sooner
than Christmas. All the children board with
us, which gives us a great deal of trouble, and
makes much work for us all to do.

As to myself, I am closely employed at school
hours in teaching, which is a difficult job, seeing
they are almost all beginners, or nearly so ; and
in the intervals of time not employed in teach-
ing, it is as much as I can do to keep so large
a family in order, especially since they have
every thing to learn. You must, in short, teach
them every thing.

Mrs. Elliott and the young women have three
times as much to do as any women ought to do,
yet there is no remedy but to work the harder,
and continue longer and closer at it. As the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. Oil

mission family and the Indian school, being in
all between thirty and forty, board in the mis-
sion house, it is no small job to cook and wash
for them, to say nothing of making. and mend-
ing clothes for all the Indian children, as well
as cleaning them, both of which must be done.
It is true, our cooking is very simple. Our
supplies consist of bread, hommony, meat, no
milk or butter, and sometimes tea and coffee.
As the family increased so much before we had
time to prepare for them, we laboured under no
small inconveniences in baking for our large
family, with one Dutch oven, as it is called, and
a skillet. After a while Mr. Shaw, the United
States' agent, and myself, built an oven, made
of brickbats, small stones and clay, which an-
swered an excellent purpose, and in which
eighteen loaves were baked at a time, and we
baked four times each week. The women sit
up usually to ten, eleven, and sometimes to
twelve o'clock at night, and even later, in order
to furnish clothing for our half-naked children,
as they came in rags. To clean and comb
them, so as to rid them of vermin, was a most
loathsome and difficult undertaking, as they
greased their heads with bears' oil, and never
combed them ; to comb their hair was an un-
pleasant yet necessary work. They could not
do this themselves, being never accustomed to
it : we found it necessary to do it for them first,
and then instruct them how to do it themselves.
The cincture too which they wore around their
loins, for the purpose of tying their legging

90 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

strings to it, was a fruitful reservoir of living
creatures. Although clean clothes were furn-
ished, all was unavailing toward producing
cleanliness, until we prevailed on them to cease
wearing them, which they did with considera-
ble unwillingness.

The children are very poorly clothed in gen-
eral when they come. They wear moccasons
in the place of shoes, both males and females.
The boys have leggings instead of overalls,
which go down as far as their ankles or upper
part of the foot, and reach up as high as mid-
thigh : these are kept up by two straps, fastened
to a cincture which surrounds the loins. Their
shirts are not concealed as ours are, but hang
down as far as their knees, in fashion of the old
sort of bed gowns ; their shirts are mostly ruf-
fled in the most ludicrous manner, and generally
with as coarse stuff as the shirts themselves, and
of the same colour, which varies to every hue,
for some are white, some cotton, some muslin,
&LC. ; beside, the ruffles are about as dirty as
they can be. They generally wear jackets
similar to ours, which are rarely kept buttoned.
Over these is worn the hunting shirt, some of
deer skin, as are sometimes the leggings also,
but mostly of linsey, and always well fringed off.
Some, in the place of the hunting shirt, wear
surtouts, made, for the most, very well, and
generally of fine cloth. Around the waist, and
to complete the body dress, is worn the belt,
made of thick leather about three inches broad,
buckled tight with a strong buckle, and having

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 91

the knife scabbard hung to it, which is made of
a thick piece of leather, mostly made with tacks,
riveted at the point end, after passing through
the two folds of the leather. They have long
knives, like those used by butchers, which they
wear at all times and in all places, and use on
all occasions. Their head dress is a large
handkerchief, folded like a neck handkerchief,
but twice as broad, and tied round the upper
part of the head so as to leave the lower half of
the hair bare, and going about two inches above
the crown of the head, and with it forming a
sort of crater.

The females wear moccasons and leggings in
common with the boys. They wear what is
generally called a shroud or icrapper in English.
It is about a yard long, and is nothing more
than a piece of plain cloth, without any other
making than two straps on the upper side, which
are fastened to a belt tied round the body a little
under the breast, and which keeps the shroud
from falling down. It is thus suspended, after
being wrapped round the lower part of the body,
and overlapped about one foot. It goes down
almost as far as the ankle, and ascends as high
as to reach above the loins, so that when it is
tied to the belt, the weight of the cloth makes
the belt rest upon the haunches, by which the
belt is preserved from falling down. They wear
a sort of frock, loose gown, or bed gown, with
a long waist, which reaches down as far as the
middle of the leg. Sometimes they wear a
handkerchief on their heads, but mostly nothing

92 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

at all. The hair is generally plaited or braided,
and the long plaits dangle on their backs and
shoulders.

They have something of dislike to change
their dress, and the change sometimes affords
very ludicrous circumstances. They are very
choice in their clothes, for they always buy,
when they can, the very best. We saw an in-
stance of this lately : we made a shirt of coarse
linen for one of the boys, who had only one;
after he put it on he seemed to dislike it very
much, and threw it off in a short time, saying
it hurted his back. It was with difficulty we
prevailed on them to wear hats. At first they
would wear them a few minutes and then throw
them away, but after a little they seemed to
wear them like others.

Nov. 20. — After Joeing here about six weeks,
and having become acquainted with the Indians,
I had some opportunities to form something of
a tolerable opinion of their religious character.
Between sixty and seventy of them belong to
meeting, most of whom are sincere Christians,
and walk worthy of the Christian name. The
most of them have continued these five years
firmly attached to the truth, both in their hearts,
as far as we can judge, and in their lives. —
There are as few instances of backsliding
among them as I ever saw among white people.
They are very simple and honest-hearted in
their profession.

It is surprising with what facility and accura-
cy the boys and girls learned to sing. Two or

INDIAN REJVIINISCENCES. 93

three of the Canadian Wyandots came to the
school, who had been somewhat acquainted with
singing by note. They brought with them their
note book. In the course of a few days several
learned to sound the notes, and learned com-
pletely the gamut. And although scarcely any
of them could read or recite the words, within a
few weeks almost all the boys could sing nearly
every tune in the book. They spent the long
winter evenings in this exercise, and so great was
their proficiency in vocal music, that they joined
as one, in congregational singing, and their im-
provement tended much to improve the singing
of the congregation.

Their manner of sleeping in their rooms is
worthy of a passing notice. We had no beds
for them. Indeed they were not accustomed to
beds, for every Indian carries his bed with him
in his blanket, in which he wraps himself at
night, and lies on the floor or ground. Every
boy brought his blanket with him as a matter of
course. In this he lay at night on the floor. —
The room in which about twenty-five boys lay
was about twenty by eighteen feet. It is a cu-
rious sight to see the floor as closely spread over
with Indian boys as they can well find place.
The blankets, in the morning, are hung on a rope
stretched across the room at the farther end from
the fire, where they remain till each at bedtime
seeks for his own, unless the inclemency of the
weather urges them to wear them around their
shoulders during the day.

94 INDIAN REMINISCENCES*

REMINISCENCE XIV.

Naming the children — Strong passion of the boy«
for hunting — Manner of sitting at meals — An interest-
ing meeting — The Little Chief— Prayer meeting at
Jolin Hicks' — Prayer meeting at the school house —
Confession of the Little Chief — The school — Second
quarterly meeting — School examination — School com-
mittee— Rules to govern the school.

When they came to school, they were without
English names, and their native names sounded
so strange and so harsh, and were withal so long,
that we found it necessaay to give them names
in our own language, with which distinction
they seemed considerably pleased. The India*
names seemed to be given them as a description
of character, or as referring to some historical
event of their lives. So, Between-tke-Logs,
Bloody-Eyes, Lump-on-the-Head, &c., are no-
thing else than a literal translation into English
of the Wyandot words applied to these persons
as names. Accordingly, when giving names to
us in their language, they follow the same rule.
They called me by a name that signified priest ;
they called my wife by a name that signifies in
English, The young woman, the priest's wife ; a
young woman who lived at the mission house,
and who wore about her neck a small red cape,
they named Red-bird, in reference to the colour
of her cape. Indeed this seems to be the cus-
tom of all nations in their early days. So Adam
means earthy or red earth, or in the likeness.
Eve means life ; Cain, acquisition ; Abel, van-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 95

ity ; Moses, drawn out. The same evidently
obtained among the Romans, Greeks, and in-
deed every nation. We named the Indian boys
after persons of piety, or after those who were
patrons of the mission. Among others we men-
tion the following names, Wm. M'Kendree,
Enoch George, Joshua Soule, James Finley,
David Young, John M'Lean, &:c.

The passion of the boys for hunting was
strong and unconquerable. All of them came
equipped with bows and arrows, in the use of
which they were very dexterous. The bows
were made of the toughest hickory, the strings
of which were of the sinews of deer. It was
rarely any would miss the mark. Their exer-
cises for practice, when shooting at a mark, at
an hour's leisure, were quite amusing. The
attempt to excel, and the pride arising from
excellence,were strikingly manifest. The rabbit
hunt was an amusing sight. He who first saw
the rabbit uttered the well known war whoop; at
which every one in the company joined in the
pursuit : and unless the animal was near his hole,
nothing was more certain than that an arrow
soon laid him on the ground. Squirrels and
birds of every description were killed by their
arrows. Whenever any one killed any thing in
hunting, the first trophy of his victory was to
tinge with the warm blood of the victim some
prominent parts of the face, as the cheeks, chin
and forehead. Thus from their childhood they
are assiduously trained for the chase.

Their behaviour at meals, and their manner

96 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

of sitting, may be mentioned as a family regu-
lation. There were, when the school collected,
two tables that sat in succession. The older
half of the boys and girls took the first table,then
the younger succeeded them. The boys sat
on one side, and the girls on the other side of
the table. The oldest also sat at the head of
the table, and so on, according to their age, to
the youngest, who occupied the foot. The mis-
sion family and the oldest children took the first
table.

Dec. 1, 1822. — To-day attended meeting at
our meeting house. It is without any loft, and
the two doors and three windows are open, with-
out doors or shutters : beside the gable ends
from the square upward are open. It snowed
hard and blew hard also, and drove the smoke
of the fire, which was in the middle of the
house, on a place left without any floor for that
purpose, through the house, while the cold freez-
ing wind penetrated on all sides. The Indians,
wrapping their blankets round them, sat down
in a circle about the fire, seated mostly on the
ground ; and when the wind would blow the
smoke to any one side, as it frequently did, for
the wind whirled round in all directions, they
wrapped their heads in their blankets, and stood
it out with the greatest firmness. About thirty at-
tended, some being prevented by the stormy day,
and others being absent hunting. I stood in a
corner, shivering, and somewhat disheartened,
and strove to preach to them. We had no per-
son present but those of the Wyandot nation

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 97

and myself. But on the whole God was with
us, and perhaps we had the most profitable
meeting we yet held. A circumstance took
place which boded well to our Zion in this
place, which is as follows : — A young chief,
called The Little Chief, son to John Hicks, had
formerly, in the commencement of our religion
among them, been a zealous Christian. But by
the influence of the head chief, with whom he
was somehow connected by marriage, he was
drawn away from the Gospel, and turned back
to his old superstitions. In this way he travelled
for some time. But he never could be persuaded
in his mind that he was right, and turned back
rather through respect to his head chief He
could not, as he afterward acknowledged, find
any happiness in this way ; and his guilty con-
science was continually harassing him, as he
was going contrary to its plainest duties, and to
his better judgment. He therefore resolved, a
few weeks, or rather a few days ago, to return
to the Gospel way. At a prayer meeting last
Wednesday, while brother Mononcue was ex-
horting zealously, and perhaps pointedly to his
case, he determined to forsake the old religion,
informed the head chief of it when he came
home from hunting, got married publicly, and
openly joined again the Church. He went home
to his house with these determinations riveted in
his soul, and accordingly requested the privilege
of me of speaking a few words. This I readily
granted. He got up and told us that he was
determined to serve God; that he could find no
7

98 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

rest to his soul in the way he was then going ;
that the old religion was dying away among
them ; and that he was determined to leave it
and follow Christ. This was really refreshing
to my soul : I took fresh courage, and, through
grace, determined to pursue the good and right
way myself, and gladly preach the Gospel to
these dying fellow mortals, suffering all the
privations of a missionary life. Oar Christian
Indians rejoiced, while those of the old religion
were astonished, confounded, and disheartened.
After several exhortations and prayers by the
chiefs, our meeting ended, having lasted be-
tween three and four hours, which is the usual
length ; for after preaching is over, then the
exhorters give several long exhortations.

Dec. 4. — Went to prayer meeting to John
Hicks', accompanied by most of the school
children, amounting in all to thirty-seven per-
sons. With those that were already there, we
more than filled the house. The house merits
the notice of a description. It was about sixteen
feet square, with round poles for joists, covered
with bark, which formed the loft. There was
also a covered porch at the end, about half the
breadth of the house, and extending along the
end. I commenced with singing and prayer, and
then delivered an exhortation. Some of the chiefs
exhorted also. The house was filled and wedged
so close that few had room to kneel. Those
who came last filled up the porch and even
more. The door got completely filled, so that
those outside could neither see nor hear us who

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 99

were within. Our exercises were partly in
English and partly in Wyandot. Those outside,
finding themselves excluded, commenced a
prayer meeting. This was conducted by Be-
tween-the-Logs, who was late on this occasion.
He commenced praying himself. His pathetic
and melting strains of deep engagedness reached
the inside of the house. The prayer was unusu-
ally fervent and powerful, and had an uncom-
mon effect on all. A number of persons, among
whom were many of the school children, were
cut to the heart at this meeting, and there is
already every symptom of a powerful revival.
Indeed the work is already begun ; how far it
will extend is impossible to say, but there is
every mark of a plentiful shower.

Dec. 18. — This evening we had prayer meet-
ing at our school house, at which a good num-
ber attended, making with the school children
a congregation of between seventy and ninety
persons. I preached to the children on obe-
dience to parents. Some of the chiefs exhorted
and prayed. One sister, the Q,ueen of the Bears,
prayed. The Little Chief, whom I mentioned
on the first of December, spoke also, and said
several very interesting things. After rising up
he, with a good deal of deliberation, humility
and feeling, made the following remarks, as near
as I can now (two days after) remember. " I
am glad (said he) that God has preserved us, and
that I have the privilege of speaking to you.
I was once doing well and following the Gospel,
but through complaisance to the head chief I

L.sfC...

100 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

joined him in the old religion. I then knew I
was doing wrong. All the time I was convinced
that the Gospel way was the only true one.
I attended meetings with the head chief, but I
never could find any good in them. When I
saw the people going to Christian meeting, it
always brought to my mind my own duty, and
what a bad part I was then acting. I looked at
my father, (John Hicks,) and saw him walking
according to the Gospel. How often did he
exhort me, and tell me of my duty 1 How
anxious was he that I should do right ? His
words stuck fast in my soul. I saw him walking
to heaven. I saw myself going in the contrary
way. (Here tears interrupted his words, and
perhaps he stood for more than a minute in an
erect posture, with his hands covering his face,
while the tears flowed plentifully down his
cheeks. He then proceeded.) But by the help
of the Great Spirit I have turned from my evil
ways in part, and hope he will enable me to do
it entirely. I went to the head chief to-day,
and told him that I must leave him ; that I am
determined to follow the Gospel, and turn from
all my old superstitions. He told me that I
might do as I pleased, and that if others also
would follow the Gospel, he would not hinder
them ; that they might choose for themselves.
I intend for the time to come to leave off every
wrong thing, and serve God. I intend to get
lawfully married, and join myself to the Church
of God." This man's testimony will be of
considerable use, and perhaps may have a ten-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 101

dency to break up superstition. Several of the
Snake tribe were present, and it appeared that
his words made some impression on them.

Dec. 20. — The school for three weeks past
consisted of thirty-seven persons. It requires
the greatest attention to keep them in order.
The care of this establishment affords me a
multitude of cares. For there is the farming
business, the school, the regulation of the fam-
ily and the Church in this place ; every one of
them affording its due quota of employ. It is
a matter of much concern to regulate the fam-
ily, viz. to get all up in the morning by day
light, after first putting on a fire in my own
room, attending prayer, setting the boys to their
business, teaching them to put on fires, of which
they are in a good degree ignorant, attending
to them frequently while they are eating, to pre-
vent disorder, sending them to school, after
school hours regulating them, and frequently,
about every fifteen minutes, going to the boys'
room and keeping them in order. Beside a
thousand other things impossible to describe.

I find it necessary to pay attention to the
school also, and inspect them sometimes a great
number of times in a day. Beside frequently
teaching either parts or whole days.

The farming business is also to be attended
to, so as to get the work done in due time and
form.

Together with these, it requires some atten-
tion to the Church, consisting of about sixty-
six members.

102 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Dec. 28 and 29 were the days in which our
second quarterly meeting was held. Brother
Finley, who was to be present, was prevented
by sickness. I repaired to the meeting house,
which was six miles off, and found no person
there, and after waiting till toward sundown,
some began to come, and in a short while about
two hundred were present. On such occasions
it was customary among them to hold meeting
two days and two nights, and encamp round the
place where the meeting was held. According-
ly, in a few minutes, several fires were made
round the meeting house, around each of which
a little company was convened, wrapped in their
blankets, and expecting a great meeting. I open-
ed the meeting by singing, praying, and preach-
ing, at which God was present in a very gracious
manner : a Divine unction rested on the whole
assembly. Brother Between-the-Logs exhorted
with uncommon zeal and effect. After this all
turned in to singing, praying, and exhorting in
English and Wyandot, and God was with us of
a truth. The meeting continued till about mid-
night, and then almost all went to rest, wrapping
themselves in their blankets, and stretching
themselves, some on the ground,round their fires
in the open air, and others in the meeting house.

On Sunday God was truly with us. It was
proposed to those who were present, that if
any were anxious of joining meeting they would
come forward. Seven gave me their hands,
among whom was the chief before referred to,
son to brother Hicks ; another was the son of

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 103

Mononcue. Surely this was a good time among
the Indians and whites. Every face was wet
with tears. The followers of the old super-
stition were confounded and disheartened. Our
meeting continued till midnight. Some shouted
Oramelij orameh ! glory, glory ! and the meet-
ing was carried on with singing, praying, re-
joicing, exhorting, &c., some in English and
some in Wyandot.

The prospect of religion now in this nation is
very favourable. There is every reason to ex-
pect that all will embrace the Christian system ;
and the whole of the old religion will perish
with this generation, and that only a very few
of them will continue in it till the end of their
lives.

Dec. 30. — To-day our school examination
commenced, which was a day of much interest
to us, and I hope what was done will finally tend
to the establishment of the school. I invited
the chiefs all to attend, and several other respect-
able and influential persons in the nation. The
head chief had formerly acted neutral in regard
to the school, but seemed very well pleased with
our rules and regulations. I found it very
necessary to have the chiefs give the weight of
their authority to our general rules for governing
the children ; because, first, their having a voice
in making them, they would come to the chil-
dren with the greater force ; and, secondly, be-
cause these regulations made by their concur-
rence, would show them that we wanted to
govern no otherwise than what would be for their

104

INDIAN REailNISCENCES.

interest. The committee being assembled, we
proceeded to examine the following rules, one
by one, and after discussion adopted them.

1. The following persons, viz. Between-the-
Logs, John Hicks, Mononcue, Peacock, and
Squire Grey-Eyes, shall be a school committee,
to assist the missionary to govern the school.

2. The missionary and committee shall have
power to make such general rules and regu-
lations for the government and employment of
the school children, as they, from time to time,
may think proper to adopt.

3. No person shall be admitted into the
school unless both they and their parents or
guardians will engage that they will continue
so long as to learn to read at least ; and so far
beyond that as the person or persons having the
oversight of the school shall think fit.

4. No scholar shall be permitted to go home,
or to any other place without leave from the mis-
sionary, nor to stay any longer than he shall
think proper to allow.

5. The complaints of parents, guardians or
others, respecting the treatment of the children,
shall not be thought worthy of notice, unless
complaint be made to one of the above com-
mittee ; and if in his judgment it is worthy of
attention, he shall convene the other members
of the committee at the mission house, and have
the accuser and accused face to face ; and after
due examination, the judgment of the majority
shall fully determine the matter.

6. The missionary, and under his direction

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 105

the school teachers, shall have authority to use
such corrections as he may think proper for
the purpose of punishing offenders and of
preserving order.

7. The missionary has not only power, but
he is also required to see that all the boys and
girls will be employed, both in school hours at
their books, and in other parts of the day at
such work as they can do, or can be taught to
do. And he will also have power to cause them
to be employed any part of a day, a whole day,
or more, at a time, if he thinks proper.

8. Any person refusing to comply with the
order of the school shall be brought before the
missionary and committee, who shall have
power to reprove, suspend, or expel, such from
the school.

9. The missionary shall have power to make
such particular rules and regulations for the
conducting of the school, the government of
the children as a family, their employment,
&.C., as he from time to time may think proper
to adopt.

After these received the sanction of the com-
mittee, the opinion of the chiefs, and particu-
larly the head chief, was asked concerning
them, all of whom acknowledged their fitness
and utility for conducting the school. Between-
the-Logs was selected to make an appropriate
speech to the children, after the reading and
interpreting the above rules.

We then all went to the school house, and
heard several classes say their lessons. Their

106 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

progress in learning far excelled the expecta-
tions of any one present. The rules of gov-
ernment were then read and explained to the
children. Between-the-Logs then rose up and
spoke a very appropriate speech on the occa-
sion, which I got interpreted to me as he spoke
it, by an interpreter who stood beside me and
whispered it into my ear, only some parts of
which I remember.

REMINISCENCE XV.

Interpreting — Good behaviour of the Indians at
meeting — Shaldng of hands — The Amen — Number of
dogs — of horses — Marriage — Witchcraft — Painting
their faces — The Wyandot language.

The journal stops abruptly at the close of
the last section. It was intended to continue it,
so as to include the passing occurrences, and
whatever of ancient tradition could be collect-
ed. But at the time where it stops, an extensive
and deep revival of religion broke out, and the
labours that accumulated left no time for writing
for several weeks. Beside, the writer left the
mission at Sandusky, in February, and employ-
ed the remainder of the conference year in
making collections of clothes and clothing ma-
terial for the mission. During the few weeks
transpiring between the first of January and the
middle of February, about 150 persons profess-
ed to experience religion. The school also
increased. These things demanded additional
labours. Accordingly Rev James B. Finley

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 107

took charge of the mission, and the writer spent
his time as mentioned above. There are, how-
ever, several things which still linger on his
memory, tliat may be worth mentioning.

Interpreting. — The mission from the begin-
ning was blessed with excellent interpreters.
This remark is peculiarly applicable to Jona-
than and Armstrong. Jonathan could copy the
preacher with the utmost precision. He was, by
nature, an adept at imitation, so as to copy pre-
cisely the voice or gesture of any person. So
also in interpreting for preaching. Whether the
preacher spoke in a low tone, and whatever ges-
ticulations of hands, feet, or any part of the body
were used, Jonathan would exactly follow the
copy, and at the same word where there was a
high or low tone of voice by the preacher, there
precisely Jonathan would use a similar tone of
voice or gesture, so as to form a complete imi-
tation of his model. Armstrong was next to Jon-
athan in the art of imitation. All the Walkers,
too, were men of good sense and information,
and faithful interpreters. And though they far
excelled Jonathan and Armstrong in intelli-
gence, they fell far short of them as interpreters
for preaching, especially pathetic preaching.
The mode of interpreting was as follows : The
^ preacher first uttered a sentence. The interpre-
ter, standing beside him, uttered the same in Wy-
andot. The preacher then uttered another sen-
tence, and this was given by the interpreter in
like manner. Thus both proceeded till the ser-
mon was finished. As Steward by preaching, so

lOS INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Jonathan by interpreting,had the honour of open-
ing the door of faith to the Wyandot Indians.
Interpreting was made the means of conversion
both to Jonathan and Armstrong. The same was
probably the case with the Walkers and others.
Prayer was never interpreted. Each prayed
in his own language without any interpreta-
tion.

Good behaviour at meeting. — It seems to be
a trait of Indian character to behave with due
decorum at any public meeting, whether reli-
gious or civil : a speaker is never interrupted,
nor any marks of inattention manifested by those
who hear. It is strikingly so at religious meet-
ings. Every person, whether religious or not,
conducts himself with Indian propriety. It is
true, most of the men smoke during preaching,
but never in the time of singing or prayer. But
this causes no disturbance. It is a matter of
course, an old established custom, to smoke
while a discourse or talk is being delivered.
The Indian will rise up, go to the fire, and
light his pipe, then take his seat, smoke on,
and all this so as to attract no attention what-
ever. In short, his smoking is a mark of se-
dateness, and he never takes his pipe out of his
mouth during meeting, except for the purpose
of singing, praying, saying Yattuyeh, or Amen;
or in order to deliver an exhortation.

Shaking of hands. — This is always used as a
mark of friendship. And as every Indian is
friendly to every person except his enemies, he
shakes hands with him whenever he meets him.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 109

Among the religious this custom seems to obtain
to greater extent than even in common Indian
society. When they meet for religious worship,
there is a general shaking of hands. It is more
striking when a congregation is nearly collected
for worship, or even after the services begin.
Before the services begin, those who come in,
generally shake hands with all in the house. —
And very often this is done with the preacher
while he is preaching. If one comes in late,
while the preacher is preaching, he goes for-
ward to him, shakes hands, and retires to his
seat, or sits down on the floor ; and all this is
done without interruption or observation. But
there is no shaking of hands in the time of
singing or prayer.

The Amen. — This custom seems to prevail
among the Wyandots, according to the primitive
Christian usage. If the preacher utters any
striking truth, or any thing properly pathetic
and important, then the well-timed Amen will be
heard simultaneously from every man in the
house, but especially from the aged and the
chiefs. The word answering to our Amen is
the Indian word Yattuyeh, It is true. At the
close of the weighty sentence, each takes his
pipe out of his mouth, and utters in an audible
and solemn tone the significant Yattuyeh. In
this there is no vociferation. Nor is it ever
uttered except at the end of the sentence, so as
to come in connection with it, to make good
sense.

Number of dogs. — Each family possessed

no INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

from four to ten dogs. The breed had a large
portion of the wolf incorporated with it. Dogs
were necessary for them in hunting. They fol-
lowed their masters wherever they went. At
meeting, the number of dogs present was very
great. Sometimes from ten to fifty got into a
fight ; and when this occurred in the meeting
house, as it sometimes did, there was no small
stir till the battle was over, or until they were all
expelled out of the house. The exclamation
steeli, get out, uttered with an impressive tone,
and well known to every dog, seemed generally
to clear them out of the meeting house. When
this had not the desired effect, the weight of
John Hicks' crutch (as he was lame, he always
had one) soon accomplished what words could
not effect. He had a mortal hatred against the
entrance of dogs into a meeting house, but espe-
cially during meeting ; and when he was present
we had very little annoyance from them.

Number of horses. — Every person able to
ride had a horse, saddle, and bridle. Some In-
dians had a large number ; and all had one or
more young horses, as well as a saddle horse.
The horses ran in the prairies summer and win-
ter, and they rarely needed any other food than
the prairie grass, except when the snow was
very deep. They were a small and hardy race.
Their saddles were of the most costly kind, with
plated stirrups and bits, and many trappings.
The women used men's saddles, and preferred
them. There were, however, a few who rode
on women's saddles ; but then these were made

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. Ill

SO as to require them to sit on the side opposite
to that which women usually ride on. The rea-
sons of this we cannot give. Their gait was
sometimes a trot, but mostly a gallop, rarely a
walk or rack.

Marriage. — In the pagan state, marriage
among the Wyandots could scarcely be said to
exist. Their custom was, for a man and a wo-
man to live together as long as one or both were
agreed. But when either party was displeased
with the other, or when a more desirable connec-
tion could be formed, then they parted. In such
cases the children belonged mostly to the mother.
As they were divided into seven tribes, and as
a man and his wife never belonged to the same
tribe, there seems to have been some restriction
on marriage. When any of them embraced
religion, they became married according to the
Gospel, and the man and wife lived together till
death separated them. Considering the advan-
tages of Christian marriage, in providing for the
education of children, or preventing family
broils, the sober part of those who did not pro-
fess religion fell in with it.

Witchcraft. — This reigned with uncontrolla-
ble and deadly sway, until it was exterminated
by the light of the Gospel. The infatuation
common to every form of heathenism arms
witchcraft with destruction. It appears that per-
sons pretending to commerce with evil spirits
were considered by the body of the nation as
exercising malignant and destructive power over
others. It is true that some in former times.

113 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

pretending to be prophets, commanded some
respect, But in consequence of the deception
of some, and the pretended injurious powers of
others, witchcraft, whether real or supposed, was
deemed a capital offence, and punished with
death. That there were real witches and wizards,
or persons pretending to supernatural powers
which they did not possess, but employed their
assumption in injuring others, there is not the
least room to doubt. Hence such persons, as de-
ceivers, were under the immediate influence of
Satan. Many were put to death for being real
or supposed witches or wizards. Some did pre-
tend to be endowed with supernatural powers.
Others who did not were suspected. In either
case a horrible death ensued. Every year, before
the introduction of Christianity destroyed this
dreadful superstition, several were put to death.
The last that were killed on this account were
two women. This happened two years before I
was there, or the year previous to the coming of
brother Finley as resident missionary. The
details of one of these cases are as follow : —
The woman suspected of witchcraft was con-
demned to death by the head chief, Deunquat,
the Cherokee Boy, and other heathen chiefs.
The woman professed to be a witch, and would
not give up her pretensions. The head chief
was, by usage, to be the executioner himself, or
to obtain some other person to discharge the

duty. He commanded J B , a

young Indian, and another of the same tribe with
the woman J to put her to death. They obeyed

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 113

his commands. They proceeded to the cabin
where the woman was. She went to the door,
and saw them coming. She returned and ex-
claimed, with a horrid shriek, to another woman
in the house, that two persons (naming them)

were coming to kill her. J B entered

the house and accosted her, saying, " Sister, I
come, by the authority of our father, to kill you.
Come out of the house before I accomplish this
deed." She instantly obeyed. He then seized
her with his left hand by the long hair, and with
his right hand sunk his tomahawk into her skull.
The other, with his butcher knife, mangled her
in so shocking a manner that we forbear to
describe it. They then dragged her lifeless
and mangled body to a hollow place, and covered
it slightly with earth, leaves, and rubbish. The
hogs immediately devoured part of her, and
would have devoured her entire, had not John
Steward and some Christians interposed, and
buried what remained. Whatever modern unbe-
lievers may say, witchcraft, in some form, exists
in every place, except where the light of the
Gospel has done away those works of darkness
which produce it. The Christian party always
opposed every thing of this description. But at
the time that this tragic scene occurred, their
injfluence was too feeble to counteract the effect
of along-established heathen custom, which was
supported by the more powerful part of the na-
tion. Steward always exposed witchcraft, and
denounced the wickedness of [)utting persons to
death for pretending to it. Brother Finley o[y-
8

114 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

posed it with masterly success, and gave it an
incurable wound. When I was there little of it
was to be found. The young man, who put to
death the woman, came to school, and became
a sound convert to Christianity.

Painting the face. — This was a general cus-
tom among the heathen Indians ; but it was op-
posed by those who embraced Christianity.
The most striking kind of painting was that of
the face, with the appearance of rattlesnakes.
By a reddish kind of paint, the snakes, with
their scales, head, tails, and hissing tongues,
were drawn always to the life, in bunches on
their faces, writhing and folding in each other,
and emitting their poisonous venom, so as to
present to a beholder at first sight a most shock-
ing spectacle. A few of these painted faces in a
congregation made a singular and frightful ap-
pearance. And when, in a time of revival, an
Indian with his painted face became convinced
of sin, and wept in consequence, the streaks
made by the tears, across the heads, tails, and
folds of the snakes, made a sufficiently odd ap-
pearance.

The Wyandot language. — This and the oth-
er Indian languages have scarcely any trace of
European origin ; while it appears pretty evident,
that there are to be found in their construction
at least some traces of oriental origin. As
the Wyandot language was never committed
to writing, there were several difficulties to be
encountered in learning it so as to commit it
to paper. The writer of these remarks found

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 115

it necessary to learn some of the language, in
order to fix upon the elementary sounds of its
vowels and consonants. He soon found that
there were several consonants employed in the
English, which had no place in the Wyandot
language, and that there were several vowel
sounds for which there were no exact similars
to be found in any of the European languages,
nor in the Hebrew or its derivatives, the Chal-
dee, Syriac, or Arabic. After examining the
alphabets of these languages, he found it neces-
sary to make one to suit the Wyandot language,
adopting those letters in our own alphabet whose
sounds were found in the Wyandot, and then
using certain marks attached to other letters, so
that there might be a character to represent
every sound in the Wyandot language. Our
consonants, 6, f, I, p, v, had no place in Wy-
andot; and the strong guttural vowel sounds
which prevail in this and every other Indian
tongue had no similar sounds in any European,
or probably in any oriental tongue. After hav-
ing, with great care and much labour, formed a
suitable alphabet, between six and eight hundred
words were collected, and formed into a vocab-
ulary. The imperfect outlines of a grammar
were also drawn up. The Lord's prayer was
translated, and carefully written down, for the
purpose of using it at the conclusion of each
prayer. The work of translating the Scriptures
was begun ; and although only eighteen verses
of the first chapter of John's Gospel were trans-
lated, it might soon have been extended so far

116 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

that a chapter or portion of Scripture could be
read on the Sabbathj^ and thus, after some time,
the reading of the Scriptures would have become
a part of each Sabbath's exercises. It was
moreover intended to translate hymns, and
write some practical discourses, and to read
them in the congregation for general instruction.
It was also in design to collect a polyglot dic-
tionary, and a polyglot version of parts of the
New Testament, in Wyandot, Delaware, Mo-
hawk, Seneca, Chippewa, and some other Indian
languages; but the short time the writer was
at Sandusky admitted of nothing more than to
form the plan, which he had not the opportunity
to accomplish, and does not now expect ever to
have the opportunity. He is not only convinced
that it could be done, but he also thinks it is no
argument in favour of the skill and industry of
the missionaries who have had such opportuni-
ties, that the Scriptures have not been transla-
ted, and grammars and vocabularies formed,
though the work might never proceed so far as
to make polyglot dictionaries and versions of
Scripture. One manuscript copy of principal
portions of Scripture would be of incalculable
value to a missionary, as out of it he could read
in the public congregation the Divine truths of
our holy religion.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 117

REMINISCENCE XVI.

The Big Springs meeting — Journey there — Supper
— Meeting on Saturday evening — Mode of sleeping —
Between-the-Logs' account of his brother Bloody-
Eyes' attempt to kill him— Meeting on Sabbath.

It was on a Saturday morning, late in the fall
of 1822, while missionary at Upper Sandusky,
that I set out, in company with Between-the
Logs, Jonathan Pointer, and some others, for the
Big Springs, a distance of fourteen miles from
the mission house, in order to have meeting that
evening and the ensuing Sabbath at that place.
As we passed along the plain, John Hicks joined
us, and so did Mononcue and the Little Chief,
who had lately left his own and the old head
chief's (Deunquat's) heathen party, and em-
braced the Christian religion, although he was
to have succeeded to the head chiefship. The
queen of the Bear tribe also, at full gallop, over-
took us, with several others, making a consider-
able company, in expectation of having a great
meeting at the Big Springs ; for the Lord was
then beginning to revive the work of religion
among the Wyandots — every believer was look-
ing for the overturning of heathenism, and a
wider extension of Christianity. Several had
lately abandoned the heathen cause and come
over to Christ. We talked of our prospects and
the progress of the work. We spoke of such
things as the following : — One had come to
meeting careless, and got under deep conviction
for sin — another had obtained rich mercy in

118 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Christ, and rejoiced in his salvation — another
was on the hinge of turning to God. The head
chief, Deunqiiat, and his chief man, the Chero-
kee Boy, were said to be trembling for their old
religion, for this neiv religion was about to take
every body — the Little Chief was gone, and
Bloody-Eyes was on the eve of going.

We proceeded on our journey till we came to
the Big Springs, by sunset, and, dividing our
company among the wigwams of the village,
we took the weeds out of our horse bells, and
turned them into the woods to browse for the
night. Black Jonathan and I stopped at Broth-
er 's. (I do not remember his long Indi-
an name, but it was something like Squaw-in-
de-yu-rah.) When I entered I saw a fat ra-
coon, skinned and well-dressed, hanging on a
pin in the wall to my right hand. To the left,
(the cabin was a large one,) was a bedstead
made of clapboards, laid on two rough support-
ers, about two feet from the ground. They
received us with the well-known salutation, Tee-
sha-meh — You are welcome. We felt ourselves
entirely welcome. The good man and his wife
were glad, very glad, to see the white priest, and
black, jet-black Jonathan, his speaker. Very
soon the hommony kettle was placed on the floor
— the blessing of the Great Spirit was asked
before any one tasted — then ihejerk was handed
round — and the big round icooden spoon put in-
to my hand, to take the first sup out of the full
kettle — then it was handed to Jonathan — then
Jonathan took the spoon and his sup — then the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 119

father — then the mother — then the others — and
then again I commenced another round — and
thus it proceeded till all were satisfied. But
He that gave corn, and the flesh of the deer for
jerk, and the game, must be thanked, and his
name blessed, and Jesus praise*^ for his grace
and mercy to men. I thought on Homer's
guests, and the patriarchs.

A little after dark we commenced our meet-
ing, at the house of Squirf^^'ey-Eyes, who has
commenced this year as -" itmerant missionary
among the scattered ^ttlements of the Wyan-
dots, and some o^^ Indian nations. Grey-
Eyes's house -^"'^^ ^^at Christianity was
there • there '^^® ^^ hewed Jogs, the brick
chimney, -'^f ^^' f ^^ ^^^a»''s. a teapot, cups
and say ''^' *^^- ' ^"* "^ ^^^ ^^'^s as yet found
amor "^^ furniture. Each of us, according to
^^^ ^m, had our blanket with us, for the pur-
-/se of wrapping ourselves in it at night, when
makmg the floor our bed, with our feet extend-
ed toward and near the fire. After singing and
prayer, m which all joined fervently, I preach-
ed to them in the squire's full house. A pow-
erful breach had been already made, within a
few weeks past, on Satan's kingdom, by the
Holy Spirit. It was a time of awakening:
much inquiry, several conversions, and omens
indicating that a time of much power was at
hand. After preaching we had several exhort-
ations and prayers. John Hicks exhorted;
Mononcue exhorted ; the Little Chief exhort-
ed, confessed his sins, expressed his determina-

120 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

tion to abandon the head chief's heathen reli-
gion, and shun the familiar company of Deun-
quat and the Cherokee Boy. The meeting was
concluded by exhortation, singing, and prayer,
by Between-the-Logs.

Between tt^ and eleven o'clock we were
ready to take some sleep. Black Jonathan,
Between-the-Logs, and myself, agreed to dis-
tribute our blankets so as to have one spread on
the floor under us, ^nd the other two over us,
and thus sleep all thr^^ together— I in the mid-
dle, Jonathan on my rig^^^ ^^^ j ^^^ ^^^^^ q,^ ^y
left hand. Just as we tu^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^j..
selves on the spread blani^^ ^^-^j^ ^^^ ^^^^
stretched toward the fire, and 1 ^^^ ^^.^^^ ^^^^^^
to recline, and draw the other two i^^^^j^g^g ^^^^^
us, Between-the-Logs observed to . ^ , ^^^^
interpreter, *' I will tell you a piece ol ^^ j^.^^
tory, if you are not too sleepy to hear L, j
replied, " I will cordially hear what you h.^
to say." He then gave me the following narra
tion, the interpreter interpreting it, sentence by
sentence, as the distinguished chief gave it to

him : —

'* When I first," said Between-the-Logs, em-
braced Christ's religion, my brother Bloody-
Eyes was exceedingly mad against me for leav-
ing the old religion, and for taking up with this
neio religion. He often endeavoured to per-
suade me to quit this new religion, by all the
arguments in his power, as he loved me much,
and was anxious for my welfare. I argued with
him in this way : — * Brotherjou know that before

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 121

I embraced Christ's religion I was a very wick-
ed man, as we all were then. I used then to get
drunk, and in a drunken fit I killed my first wife.
I also was guilty, like others, of a great many
other sins. Brother, you know these things
were so. But you also know, brother, that
since I became a Christian, Jesus saved me from
these and all my other sins — and now, brother, I
find great peace in my soul. My burden of sin
was taken away. The Great Spirit came down
into my heart. I feel very happy in being a
Christian. I would recommend this religion to
you, brother — I would recommend it to every
one of our nation — it would do us all good.'

" When my brother bloody-Eyes could not
persuade me to leave this new religion, as he
called it, he began to be very mad at me. He
forgot all the good feeling that a brother should
have to a brother. He came to the full deter-
mination to kill me. He came to me, and said,
* Brother, unless you will give up this new reli-
gion, I will kill you.' I said, * Brother, the Gos-
pel is the power of God to my salvation ; and
Christ himself said. He that loveth life more
than me is not worthy of me. If you kill me, I
cannot help it. I cannot deny Christ. He
loved me so well as to die for me, (and for you
too, brother,) therefore I cannot forsake his
religion.' This made him madder yet. He
often repeated his threats, and I always gave
'"ffi the same answer ; for God made me very
jj^ng, and I found it easier to die than to deny
^iour, who died for me.

122 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

*'One day, while I was in my cabin, and
standing on the floor, I saw a man at a distance
across the plain, coming toward me. After a
little I knew it was Bloody-Eyes — a little after
I saw he was armed as a warrior, just as when
he and I fought in the wars, side by side. When
he came a little nearer I knew, from his walk,
then his actions, and lastly his looks, that he
was determined to kill me. I then thought,
Will I deny Christ? My heart said, No, for
the Gospel is the power of God to my salvation ;
and, unless I am willing to give up life for
Christ's sake, I am not worthy to be his fol-
lower. If I die, let me die. Bloody-Eyes en-
tered. He seized this long hair, (catching his
hair in his hand,) with his left hand, and wrap-
ped it round his hand. He took hold of his
tomahawk in his right hand, and raised it up,
as prepared to strike. He then furiously cried
out, * Brother, unless you give up this new re-
ligion, and come back to our old religion, I
will kill you now.' I said to him, mildly, (for
I felt very happy, and had no fear,) ' Brother, I
have found the Gospel to be the power of God
to my salvation ; and Christ tells me, that un-
less I am willing to give up life for his sake, I
am not worthy of him. Brother, if you kill me,
you may kill me — but I cannot give up Christ's
religion.' I went on to exhort him. His coun-
tenance fell — his hand, that had my hair wrap
ped round it, fell — his hand with the tomah? j
fell down also, as if powerless, by his si^^Qjj,
still exhorted — he began to appear m*-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 123

fused — he did not say one word more to me —
he stood a while longer, looked at me, and then
went out of the house, and proceeded home.
He has never molested me since. I hope and
pray he may get religion. I have prayed much
for him." When Between-the-Logs had con-
cluded we laid ourselves down, and slept sound-
ly until morning.

After breakfast, at the squire's, the congre-
gation began to assemble. Several persons
who had some difficulties in the way respecting
our Bible, asked me several questions ; among
others, that they heard that I and the Protest-
ants had not the right Bible. I replied, that
our Bible was the same, in every thing material,
with the Bible of the Catholics. I told them I
was willing to use the Catholic Bible, and would
preach out of it that day. I had in my hand
Bagster's Polyglot Vulgate Latin Bible, just ob-
tained from Mr. Loomis of Pittsburg. I ob-
served that the differences among the Bibles
were just like so many different interpreters, all
of whom would give the sense generally, but
they would use different ways of expression in
telling the same story. Or the difference be-
tween a translation and the original Scripture
was just like saying a thing in English, and then
Baying the same thing in Wyandot. I preached
from this Bible, taking the beatitudes for a text.
The Lord was with us indeed ; and after preach-
ing, and exhortations by the exhorters, and
other exerci§es, our inquirers, with several
others, joined the Church.

124 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Thus ended the Big Springs meeting at that
time. There are many interesting narrations
still fresh in my memory, which might not be
unacceptable to my readers. I will examine my
journal kept at that time, consisting of sixty or
seventy manuscript pages. I have also a vocab-
ulary of about eight hundred Wyandot words,
some outlines of a grammar, an original alpha-
bet of the language, with some specimens of
translations. But perhaps none of these may
be of great interest to the most of readers.
There are also many adventures deeply indented
in my memory, but not committed to paper, as
was the case with that here given, several of
which I think would be interesting. There
might be mention made of the quarterly meet-
ing at which Bloody-Eyes cried to God for mer-
cy, as a penitent, when Between-the-Logs pray-
ed for him, and where Deunquat and the Chero-
kee Boy trembled like Belshazzar — also an ac-
account of a sermon preached to a Mohawk
woman, by the aid of two interpreters, when
she sat with her baby in her arms, and wiped
her teary face with her rough blanket. But I
must stop for the present.

REMINISCENCE XVII.

The Mohawk Woman.

The following occurrence transpired in the
fall of 1822, on one of those pleasant sunshiny
days that sometimes we are blessed with in that

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 125

season of the year. It was on Sabbath day, at
the rough log meeting house, then without door,
window, stove or fireplace, except a hearth in
the middle of the house, where the large fire
was usually made on cold days, the smoke
hovering all around, or frequently blown toward
one side by the rush of wind through the door,
(without a leaf,) or through the window holes;
on which occasions I stood on the windward
side, thus taking advantages of the circumstan-
ces ; or, when this could not be done, to keep
the eyes shut answered a good purpose. The
meeting house was about six miles northward
from the mission house, on the edge of the great
plain, where it was skirted by a sparse wood.
When we approached the house of worship, we
heard these words fervently sung, with sweet
Wyandot voices, " By the grace of God, I'll
meet you on Canaan's happy shore." As we
approached it sounded like heaven ; when we
went in, the feeling was heavenly — it was all
heaven. We might that day have called the
rough smoky house Bethel, i. e. God's house —
for it was his house. The meeting was opened
with singing in English the following hymn, in
which more than two hundred red men, with a
few black and white men, heartily joined —

" Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone.
He whom 1 fix my hopes upon ;
His track I see, and I'll pursue
The narrow way till hira I view," &c.

Then the prayer was offered up to God through
Jesus Christ, in English ; but the Indians prayed

126 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

in their hearts, and God was well pleased.
Prayer over, the Indians sung another of Zion's
songs in their own language, and we who did not
understand sung in our hearts. The text was
then read out in English, and black Jonathan
interpreted it ; then another sentence was given,
and he gave them that — then another was given
— and thus we proceeded ; and frequently, when
a weighty truth was attered, the utterance Yat-
tuyeh, it is true, was heard from many voices, in
a grave and solemn tone. When we had pro-
ceeded thus about one-third way through our ser-
mon, I noticed an Indian woman coming into
the congregation, who appeared to be a stranger.
She had a coarse, rough blanket in the customa-
ry Indian mode around her. She carried a babe
in her arms, fastened upon a board. She sat
down on the floor with the other women. She
looked sorrowful, earnest, inquisitive — not with-
out much interest — she was tremblingly, though
in sadness, alive to the whole exercises. After
a while the sermon was ended ; then Hicks ex-
horted ; then Mononcue ; then, last, Between-
the-Logs exhorted, sung and prayed — I dismiss-
ed with the customary benediction. The wo-
man, I perceived, began to make inquiries ; one
did not understand her, another did not under-
stand her ; at last she and the last-named chief
got into serious conversation. She wept, the
tears fell on her baby's face, and she carefully
wiped them off with the corner of her rough
hairy blanket. After some conversation between
Between-the-Logs and her, the chief and she

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 127

and Jonathan the interpreter approached me.
She spoke to Between-the-Logs, then Between-
the-Logs to Jonathan, and Jonathan to me.
This was the narrative and inquiry : "I am a
Mohawk woman ; I heard that the Good Spirit
was among the Wyandots. I felt very bad about
my sins — I could not tell what to do — I cannot
now tell how my heart will get relief. But I
determined to come to the Christian's meeting,
that I might learn the right way. I walked
nine miles this morning, carrying this baby on
my back, that I might hear and see for myself.
My heart is heavy ; I did not understand any
thing that was said ; but if you would talk to me
as you do to the Wyandots, and pray with me
to the Great Spirit, 1 think it would do me good.
Will you make a talk for me?" The emotion
of the occasion was too much to be gotten over.
I dare scarcely now permit myself to dwell on
these feelings. When I could speak — Yes, yes,
I will preach Christ Jesus to you. But we were
in a difficulty. She could not understand Wy-
andot or English. Between-the-Logs did not
know English, but he could speak Mohawk.
The chief then proposed this plan to me :
*'You preach in English, Jonathan will interpret
into Wyandot, and 1 will then give the talk over
to the woman in Mohawk." All were agreed.
The Mohawk woman took her seat with her
baby in her arms. I stood before her, Jonathan
to my left, and Between-the-Logs to his left.
The Wyandots stood all around. The fol-
lowing passage of Scripture was pronounced,

128 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

" Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners." A sermon something like the fol-
lowing, was spoken: — "Christ loved us so
well, as to come down from heaven to save us.
He was born of a woman, grew up to be a
man ; he was like all other men, only he was
no sinner, either in his heart or in his doings.
He lived holy, and taught men the way to live
well and do good. But the wicked took him
and killed him ; but on the third day he arose
from the dead by his own power, for he was
God as well as man. The man could die, God
could not die. When he went up to heaven, he
sent down the Spirit to teach men, and to change
their hearts. He also commanded his ministers
to tell all kinds of sinners, that if they will
forsake their sins, believe on Christ as their
Saviour, he will save them from sin, he will
give them a new heart, he will take the dark-
ness from their minds, he will send his Spirit
into their hearts, and they will then feel very
glad. Jesus will keep them, and give them
grace to keep away from all sin here, and, if
they serve God, he will take them, when they
die, up to heaven, where they will never have
any sorrow, but be happy for ever." When an
expression was uttered by me, it was then in-
terpreted by Jonathan into Wyandot, and then
by Between-the-Logs into Mohawk. When a
declaration respecting Christ, his love and par-
don, would reach her, by this circuitous route,
then would the big tears run down her face, and
besprinkle her infant's face, while it lay on her

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 129

knees, or hung on her breast. When the emo-
tions of her mind would admit it, she would
wipe her baby's face with the corner of her
blanket, while the word of the Gospel was go-
ing through its slow progress of communica-
tion. She drank the word with greediness. As
we three were striving to unfold to her pardon-
ing mercy through Christ, her agitated mind
w^ould sometimes get so smoothed down as to
indicate an earnest mental grasp after some ob-
ject almost near enough to seize on. When the
open door of faith was presented, and the urg^
ing of Gospel invitation bade her a hearty wel-
come to Christ, she appeared as if she would
throw away her blanket, and cast off every en-
cumbrance, and enter in. Whether some one
of the Indian sisters who were standing close
to her in the crowd, and praying and rejoicing
too, took her baby from her arms, and thus re-
lieved her temporarily of its care, I cannot now
tell exactly. However, something like this took
place. From the expressions of her face, and
the other expressions of silent language, mani-
fested by her, we could perceive the sure indi-
cations of fear and hope, and then joy, with
some interruption. When the preaching was
over I prayed in English for this poor woman's
soul. The heavens were already open, but a
larger blessing was invoked — the witnessing
Spirit was asked for, and the joy in the Holy
Ghost which is unspeakable and full of glory.
Surely the Lord heard. Then Between-the-
Logs was requested to pray in Mohawk, all still
9

130 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

kneeling. O how he prayed ! — with what earn-
estness ! Though no tongue there could pray
with him, except that of the Mohawk woman,
every ]ica7^t joined. The unutterable groan was
heard through the dense crowd of believing
Wyandots kneeling around.

Prayer being over, by the same circuitous
manner as before, I inquired of her respecting
her views, feelings, and hopes. The following
is the reply in substance, as near as twelve
years' recollection can be relied on. But the
impressions of this scene are indented in my
mind. Till memory be lost by old age, deliri-
um, or some other cause, the recollection of
this event will be recorded in my memory. She
replied, " I feel light in my mind ; I can carry
my baby home without being tired ; I feel glad,
very glad in my heart : I believe in Jesus ; I
love him ; I will serve him ; I will be a Chris-
tian ; I got more than I came for."

Such another privilege of preaching would be
full pay for crossing the Rocky Mountains. Per-
haps our brethren who are now on their way to
the Oregon Territory may find it necessary to
preach by two interpreters. This need not dis-
courage them or their brethren, or be much of
an obstacle in their way. God can make his
word as powerful in the mouth of one or two
interpreters, as if it were spoken in the lan-
guage in which it is understood. I have no
doubt this Mohawk woman obtained mercy on
that dav

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 131

REMINISCENCE XVIII.

The Delaware camp meeting — Rev. Mr. Hughes —
The Urbana conference — Conversion of Lump-on-the-
Head — Administration of the sacrament.

Mr. Editor, — Having seen, in the fifth num-
ber of the Conference Journal, an account of the
" Big Spring meeting," it brought to my recol-
lection a camp meeting, which I had the pleas-
ure of attending, near the town of Delaware, in
the state of Ohio, in the summer of 1823, and
perhaps a short account of that meeting, and
the circumstances connected with it, might be
interesting to some of your readers.

At this m.eeting, for the first time in my life, I
had the pleasure of uniting in the worship of
God with a congregation composed of Indians
and white men. The scene, to me being new,
had a tendency to impress the circumstances
connected with it more deeply upon my mind.
There were about two hundred Indians in attend-
ance, with your old friend Jonathan as their in-
terpreter. As this camp meeting was held but
a few days before the sitting of the Ohio annual
conference, at Urbana, many of the preachers
attended on their way to conference ; and among
others. Bishop Roberts and the Rev. John P.
Durbin. The Indian encampment was in the
rear of the preachers' stand, while that of the
whites, according to their usual order, was in
front. In the congregation the Indians were
generally seated by themselves ; and a more
solemn and devout congregation I never before

132 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

or since have seen : no circumstance that might
occur could even appear to divert their attention
from the great object for which they had met.
The big tears that rolled down their red faces,
and moistened their prominent cheeks, together
with the hearty and solemn responses they gave
to the important truths they heard, evinced the
devotional feelings of their heart, and the deep
interest they felt in the plan of salvation, as un-
folded to them in the Gospel of Christ. Their
prayer meetings, in the intervals of preaching,
were conducted with the greatest order, and
with a spirit of devotion seldom witnessed in a
white congregation. The Indians are good
singers, and their voices appear to be peculiarly
adapted to sacred music ; and the deep and
solemn tone in which they sung the high praises
of God their Saviour, produced a most thrilling
sensation on the minds of all that heard them.
There was another pleasing circumstance
connected with this meeting, which I cannot
forbear to mention, as it goes to show that
Christian spirit and feeling that ought ever to
prevail among differentChristian denominations.
The Presbyterian minister of that place, the Rev.
Mr. Hughes, attended the meeting from the
commencement until the close. He had at first
intended to preach on Sabbath to his own con-
gregation, as usual ; but having attended the
meeting, together with many of his people, until
Sabbath morning, his feelings became so much
interested in the exercises, that both himself and
his people determined to remain upon the ground

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 133

until the close. Accordingly, after the close
of the first sermon on Sabbath morning, he as-
cended the stand, and addressed the congrega-
tion, for a short time, in a very feeling and
powerful strain of sacred eloquence. I yet re-
member the concluding remarks of that ad-
dress i—" My brethren," said he, (addressing
himself to the members of his own Church,)
" God is here : his presence is felt in this place :
we cannot be employed in worshipping him in
a better ; I will therefore recall the appointment
for this afternoon, and we will continue upon
the ground, that both you and myself may get
good, and do good." With these remarks he
sat down, with his face bathed in tears, which
evinced that his whole soul was engaged in the
work of God. When evening came, he was
unwilling to leave the ground, but kindly invit-
ed Bishop Roberts and Rev. D. Young to lodge
at his house, (about half a mile from the en-
campment;) and after having conducted these
two aged ministers to his house, he left them,
and returned himself to the ground, and there
laboured, the greater part of the night, with
those who were seeking redemption in the
blood of Christ. A few weeks after the camp
meeting, this devoted man -of God was called
from the walls of Zion to that rest that remains
for the people of God. He died in the triumphs
of faith, much beloved and lamented by the
people among whom he laboured.

From the camp meeting we proceeded on to
conference, accompanied by the Indian chiefs

134 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

and several of their brethren. At this confer-
ence, several gentlemen from a distance attend-
ed; among others, Mr. M'Lean, (brother to
Judge M'Lean,) then a member of Congress
from one of the lower districts of Ohio. He had
previously been skeptical with regard to the
conversion of the Indians. One afternoon,
during the sitting of the conference, Bishops
M'Kendree and Roberts, and several of the
preachers were assembled at Judge Reynolds',
together with the Indian chiefs and the gentle-
man referred to : after some time spent in con-
versation on religious subjects, they engaged
in religious exercises. While thus engaged in
worshipping God, our Indian brethren became
exceedingly happy, and appeared to be filled
with joy unspeakable and full of glory, for it
was indeed a time of refreshing from the pres-
ence of the Lord. The venerable old chief,
Between-the-Logs, embraced every one in the
room in his arms, and, with a heart overflowing
with love to God and man, he hung upon their
necks and wept. This Christian interview had
a happy effect upon Mr, M'Lean. While the
Christian Indian held him in his arms, all his
prejudices gave way ; the statesman wept and
rejoiced in the arms of a Christian Indian ; then
he felt and acknowledged that God was no re-
specter of persons, but that in every nation he
that feareth God and worketh righteousness
shall be accepted of him. What a delightful
scene was there witnessed ; the statesman, the
lawyer, the learned divine, and the simple, un-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 135

taught Indian, folded in each other's" arms, and
mingling their tears and voices together in
praising him who had bought them with his
blood. At this scene I have no doubt the Sav-
iour smiled, well pleased, and angels rejoiced.
Some of these Indians have since died in
peace, and gone home to heaven. Many of the
white brethren, too, have gone to unite with
them on the other shore, and when a few short
months or years are passed, I hope to join them,
where we shall be for ever with the Lord.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS BY THE AUTHOR.

The above communication brings to my recol-
lection the occurrences of the last night of the
camp meeting, especially i\ie Indian prayer meet'
ing, and the conversion of Lump-on-the Head.
This Indian was a very grave and sober man.
From the introduction of the Gospel into his
nation he was convinced of its truth, and of the
importance of religion. He entirely abandoned
the heathen superstitions, and was a regular at-
tendant upon the preaching of the Gospel and
the prayer meetings. He reformed his life, built
himself a comfortable house, with a brick chim-
ney and glass windows, with a sufficient supply
of household furniture. But he built himself
up on the foundation of morality, and made this
his strong hold. He found it difficult to come
to the foot of the cross. He was not favourable
to the warm expressions of ardent, experienced
Christians. He thought it would do fully as

idb INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

well to be religious without talking much about
it. In short, he supposed, like many white per-
sons, that to be telling of it was unnecessary ;
but to praise God aloud, or shout his praise,
was very unbecoming. During the camp meet-
ing, Lump-on-the-Head appeared very serious,
and indeed more than usually excited. On the
last night of the meeting, the Indians, as usual,
held their prayer meeting by themselves. I as-
sisted in conducting it. After a little exhorta-
tion, I invited all that were seeking religion to
kneel at the mourners' bench. Among a number
of others, Lump-on-the-Head, with a broken
heart, came forward and kneeled down. We
sung, in English and in Wyandot, " Come, sin-
ners, to the Gospel feast," &c. Between-the-
Logs prayed, Q,ueen-of-the-Bears prayed like an
apostle, Mononcue prayed, so did John Hicks
and many more — all prayed. Many white peo-
ple mingled with us. Several white penitents,
struck with the power of God, cried to God for
mercy. There you could see white and red
men praying on their knees at the same bench.
Some prayed in Wyandot, some in English.
Sister Finley was in ecstasy. But the greatest
struggle among all seemed to be in the case of
Lump-on-the-Head. At last, about eleven
o'clock, he entered into the liberty of God's
children. He shouted loud and long, so that the
whole camp and its vicinity resounded again.
Then he told Between-the-Logs of the amazing
mercy of God through Christ to his soul. The
news ran through the encampment, and the effect

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 137

was like electricity. How the Indians rejoiced !
Several of them, who had previously stood at a
distance from Christianity, yielded when Lump-
oii-the-Head obtained the sense of pardoning
mercy. How many, I cannot tell, but the num-
ber was considerable. Among the white people
the effect was nothing less. This Indian still, as
far as I can learn, adorns the doctrine of Christ
our Saviour.

Another circumstance may be mentioned.
On the administration of the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, the scene was truly heavenly.
There white, red, and black men promiscuously
surrounded the table of the Lord. I noticed,
particularly, that Bishop Roberts and the Pres-
byterian brother mentioned in brother L.'s com-
munication, together with Between-the-Logs,
Mononcue, Hicks, and several other white
preachers and Indian chiefs, partook, at the
same table, of the symbols of the broken body
and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These were scenes of the most interesting
character.

REMINISCENCE XIX.

The second quarterly meeting.

I THiNK it was about three or four weeks

after the Big Spring meeting, that our second

quarterly meeting was held. Brother James

B. Finley was the presiding elder. We looked

138 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

earnestly for him on Friday, but he did not
arrive, on Saturday morning we were still look-
ing out for him, but he was providentially hin-
dered, as we afterward learned, and did not
come 'at all. Preaching was to commence at
twelve o'clock, at the old log meeting house, six
miles distant from the mission house. I set out,
in order to be there in time, with rather low
feelings, and a little discouraged. I rode through
the plain, frequently looking in diiferent direc-
tions, in order to see if any were going to meet-
ing. No one appeared in any of the Indian
trails or narrow paths that led to the meeting
house. When I arrived no person was to be
seen of any colour. I hitched my horse, step-
ped into the meeting house, and laid by my bun-
dle of candles, (intended for light during the two
nights of the quarterly meeting.) I also laid
up in a secure place, out of the reach of dogs,
my portion of provisions of bread and jerk, that
was necessary for two day's sustenance. After
praying to God, and mustering up all the faith I
could, I stepped out, and walked a little distance,
and saw brother Steward, a mulatto, the apostle
of the Wyandots, riding toward me. He took
the grass out of his horse's bell, for the purpose
of allowing it to toll, took the saddle and bridle
off his horse, and turned him into the woods.
We gave to each other a Christian salutation,
sat down on a log, and there he told me how he
was led by God's Spirit from Marietta to San-
dusky— how Jonathan interpreted — how Be-
tween-the-Logs experienced religion — how a

INDIAN REMINISCENCES, 139

large number of others were also converted —
how the word of God grew — how the heathen
party opposed, and how they killed witches.

Between-the-Logs had now conie, Jonathan
came, John Hicks and Mononcue arrived, In-
dians were seen coming rapidly from all direc-
tions. What is the reason, said I to Steward,
they did not assemble sooner 1 O, said he, they
always encamp around the meeting house at
time of quarterly meeting, and when they come,
they stick it out two days and two nights with-
out intermission, very much like camp meeting ;
therefore they are delayed in making their
preparations. They were now coming in rap-
idly. The bells had fall play on the horses'
necks. The horses themselves were turned out
into the long prairie grass on the Sandusky plain,
or ran browzing into the thin woods skirting
the plain. In a short time the fires were kindled,
the temporary encampments were formed, and
all seemed activity and preparation. But, said I,
it is late now in the afternoon — our meeting
should begin. Our apostle responded, The In-
dians are accustomed to provide supper in the
first place, and the necessary supply of wood for
Sabbath ; but the meeting is not to commence
till night, for when it begins there will scarcely
be any intermission. I agreed to submit cor-
dially to their custom in this respect. So the
preparations went on with new and increasing
life. The partially boiled hommony was put
into the kettles, brisk fires soon prepared it suffi-
ciently for use. In companies here and there,

140 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

all around the meeting house, they went to sup-
per ; yet none touched till the patriarch of each
little company had blessed the Giver of corn for
hommony, and of deer for jerk. Then the big
wooden spoons were used by the circle around
the hommony kettle. I and the Wyandot apos-
tle, and black Jonathan, and the chief Between-
the-Logs, ate, with thankful hearts, the provi-
sions supplied by Heaven. There were, howev-
er, no distinctions of rank there ; all were equal-
ly supplied, and all seemed thankful to God,
whose name every red man blessed the second
time, after he had partaken of his bounty. All
things were in readiness on the approach of night,
for the commencement of meeting. There were
no tables to be removed, nor cups and saucers,
or such things to be washed or laid aside. No
table courses delayed us. The only delay was
to pause solemnly, and bless and thank the Great
Spirit for his goodness. I left my own provisions
neglected ; the Indians supplied my wants, and
I partook with them altogether.

As night began to approach, the candles were
lighted, and the house was nearly filled. I and
black Jonathan took our stand together. We
all first sung a hymn of praise to God. I then
prayed in English, for we never interpreted
prayer ; each prayed in his own language, but
prayer was never interpreted. After preaching
by the slow mode of interpretation, there were
several exhortations. John Hicks followed me,
with a grave, serious, moral lecture, yet fully
Christian ; but, as to style and manner, such as

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 141

Cato or Seneca would have delivered, had they
been Christians. Then Mononcue, with strong,
highly figurative language, such as Isaiah pro-
phesied in, or such as Demosthenes^ used when
pleading the oration concerning the crown.
With all the vehemence and thunder of a Chris-
tian orator, he would plead for Christ. After
him, Between-the-Logs arose. His style was
Ciceronian ; but the pathetic was peculiarly his
own, for of it he was complete master. His
gestures, as well as speech, and his subject, were
all melting — all pathetic : under his eloquence
hardness of heart always melted. His speech
was not the utterance of thunder, like Monon-
cue's ; but it first caught the attention ; then it
got possession of the heart ; then it conducted
his audience as with the spell of enchantment,
to Calvary — to Gethsemane — and to the return-
ed prodigal — to heaven itself But I forget
myself now : at another time we will take oc-
casion to describe them as orators, and com-
pare them with one another.

After the exhortations were all over, the prayer
meeting commenced, and this was to last during
the whole night, which accordingly took place.
Many were seeking religion, and some had re-
ceived the pearl of great price. The little
cloud was enlarged ; indeed it had already burst.
The prayer meeting went on. After midnight,
some got sleepy, and wrapped themselves in
their blankets, and went to sleep toward the
corners of the house, and around the fires, while
others continued the prayer meeting. After

142 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

some time, those who had been asleep awoke,
and commenced anew their devotions, while
those who had slept none retired to rest, as the
others had done. After midnight I wrapped
myself up in my blankets, and slept in a corner
of the meeting house, being lulled to sleep with
the soft and sweet melody of the Wyandot sing-
ing, as well as the plaintive and devotional tone
of their prayers. A while before day I awoke,
and in my turn joined in the devotions of the
night. Toward daybreak all exercises ceased.
When it was sufficiently clear to distinguish
objects, I surveyed all around. The females had
their separate places of rest, preserved inviola-
bly from any intrusion. I especially noticed
the men. In one place, near the fire, some
were stretched in profound sleep. In another
place, a little farther off, was one at his private
devotion, anticipating the rising sun by his pray-
ers. A little after sunrise, all were roused from
their beds, by the general voice of prayer and
praise that was heard from every camp. Then
they prepared breakfast, as on the evening before
they prepared supper, with this difference, that
it was now Sabbath, and therefore the shortest
method was taken to prepare the morning meal.
About 10 o'clock a large congregation con-
vened, among whom were many white persons.
It was agreed that I should first preach to the
white people in English, and then, by the inter-
preter, preach to the Indians. This was done.
After both sermons, I administered the sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper to about seventy In

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 143

dians, and thirty white persons. This was a
striking and solemn time indeed. To see In-
dians, white persons, and Africans surround
promiscuously the table of the Lord, was a sight
worth seeing indeed. Here was nothing like
war or scalping. Brotherly love reigned in
every heart. The power of God was eminent-
ly among the people. Sinners of every descrip-
tion were cut to the heart. Many of the heathen
were among the professed penitents ; and the
balance of them, if not entirely penitent, were
struck with awe, and wonder, and downright
consternation. But I must reserve for another
number the calling up of the mourners — the
conversion of Bloody-Eyes — the trembling of
Deunquat and the Cherokee Boy — the exulta-
tion of the Christian party — and a variety of
other particulars, sufficiently interesting to write
and read.

The old log meeting house, at which we held
our second quarterly meeting, I suppose by this
time is in ruins. Deunquat was the head chief
of the nation ; the Cherokee Boy was a native
Cherokee, who lived among the Wyandots from
his youth, but at this time he was an old man,
at least past middle life. Both of these were
familiar — both were heathens — both were a sort
of priests in the heathen religion, and adminis-
tered its rites — but both at that time were pow-
erfully confounded, and almost persuaded to be
Christians — in short, both shook to the centre
at this powerful, tremendous meeting, and after
that day, as far as I can learn, they never tried

144 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

to hold another heathen meeting. A word, too,
about the meeting house. The west end had a
door, without a leaf. The north side had two
open windows, on which we hung blankets to
stop the fierce blasts of the wind. As was said
already, I administered the sacrament to Indians
and white people. We stretched two rough
benches within about six feet of the north side
of the house, and parallel to it, for the purpose
of administering the sacrament. We had not,
and we needed not any other table. The power
and glory of the Lord were there. When the
sacrament was administered, I proceeded to call
up the mourners, inviting them to kneel and seek
God's mercy. Duenquat and the Cherokee
Boy were seated close in the corner to my left
hand, opposite me, or the northeast corner of
the house, trembling — weeping — confounded —
perfectly astonished. I stood with my back to
the north wall ; Jonathan, my interpreter, was
at my left — Between-the-Logs at my right — Mo-
noncue. Hicks, Squire Grey-Eyes, the Little
Chief, lately deserted from old Deunquat,formed
a part of the same line. Sister Q,ueen-of-the-
Bears, with several other pious sisters, stood
toward the door, praying and rejoicing. Many
sinners were cut to the heart. I commenced
then to call up the mourners. The invitation
was brief, but something like the following : —
"■ My red brethren, we are all, by nature and by
doings, sinners. Jesus Christ came to seek and
save us. Turn from all your sins, and seek
mercy through Christ, and he will bless you.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 145

Come and kneel down here, and we will pray
with you and for you. Thank God, here is
one ! — here is another ! — you are welcome to
the Lord Jesus Christ ! Here are two more !
Blessed be God ! Here are three more ! — here
are twelve more ! Now the benches are full,
but there is room enough in God's mercy for
you — room enough in heaven for all. Now the
others may kneel down and pray where they
are — no matter where — God is near — Jesus
Christ is near. Behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world." Bloody-
Eyes came among others, and kneeled down
just before me, with the bench between us, and
lifted up his eyes to heaven, crying, Jesus
semcntera, Jesus, have mercy ! Just a little be-
fore this time, Between-the-Logs, Mononcue,
and Hicks went to the corner of the house
where Deunquat and the Cherokee Boy^ sat
trembling. Between-the-Logs stood over the
head chief, with his arm around his neck, en-
treating him to turn to Christ. Mononcue
kneeled before him, and prayed aloud for God
to save Deunquat, who trembled like Belshaz-
zar. John Hicks was equally engaged with the
Cherokee. Between-the-Logs did not yet no-
tice his brother. We commenced singing,
*' Come, ye sinners, poor and needy," in Wy-
andot and English. I kneeled down beside
Bloody-Eyes, who was crying to God for mer-
cy. He seized me fast round the neck, in his
earnestness and agony of soul. I then remem-
bered what his brother told me three or four
10

146 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

weeks before. But the hands that held his
brother's hair and the tomahawk were then
clasped round my neck, and the bench between
us : the mouth and tongue that threatened death
to a brother were employed now in seeking
mercy. I prayed in English for the murderer
especially, and in general for all the weary sin-
ners then seeking for God's mercy. But it is
impossible to write these things — my talk about
these scenes cannot approach a description.
We prayed on. I entirely forgot what the chiefs
were about, but 1 lifted my head after prayer,
and glanced toward Deunquat. Between-the-
Logs then turned his face toward me, and
caught a sight of me — he also saw his brother
beside me. In the twinkling of an eye he was
with us — his arms around both our necks — all
suffused in tears — all praying. After a mo-
ment's recollection, I said. Let all the congrega-
tion pray. Brother Between-the-Logs, pray for
these penitents, but especially for Bloody-Eyes.
Such a prayer ! — What intercession ! — There
was glory there that could be touched and seen.
What melting accents were uttered then ! —
Between-the-Logs was directly before the mercy
seat — then he seized on the horns of the altar —
then he employed such wrestling as Jacob had
with the angel of the covenant, and cried, I will
not let thee go till thou bless my brother Bloody-
Eyes. Surely God heard prayer that very mo-
ment. If the sacrifice consumed with God's
own fire, or the temple filled with the glory of
the Lord, or the utterance of tongues at pente-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 147

cost, declared that God was present and heard
prayer ; surely it was equally certain to us all
then, (and the conviction is now as strongly
engraven on the tablet of my very soul as it was
then,) that God manifested his glory, and con-
verted the murderer's soul. The following
verses, from Charles Wesley's unmatched hymn
of Wrestling Jacob, come nearer than any
other composition, to describe the struggle and
the victory of that prevailing prayer of Be-
tween-the-Logs for his brother : —

In vain thou struffglest to get free,

I never will unloose my hold ;
Art thou the man that died for me :

The secret of thy love unfold:
Wrestling, I will not let thee go.
Till I thy name, thy nature know.
Yield to me now, for I am weak.

But confident in self despair ;
Speak to my heart, in blessing speak ;

Be conquered by my instant prayer :
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move.
And tell me if thy name be Love.
'Tis love ! 'tis love ! thou diedst for me ;

I hear thy whisper in my heart ;
The morning breaks, the shadows flee,

Pure, universal love thou art;
To me, to all, thy bowels move.
Thy nature and thy name is Love.

Among others also, who that day cried for mercy,
was George Punch, chief of the Snake tribe.
His face was painted over with rattle snakes,
writhing and twisting in each other's folds ; for
snakes were the insignia of his tribe. His head
also was caparisoned off with feathers and other
gaudy ornaments. When he kneeled before

148 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

God in deep penitence, the turban fell from his
head, and the feathers flew around and lay
neglected. The tears rushed from his eyes.

0 what a sight ! When he lifted up his hands
and snaky face, the tears cut tracks, and made
channels across the heads, bodies, tails, and folds
of the snakes on his painted face. I exhorted
him to trust in Jesus Christ, who bruised the
big snake^s head. I belonged to the same tribe
with this chief With him I wrestled with God
in prayer ; and George Punch obtained mercy
through the blood of the cross.

But it is impossible for me to describe the
scenes of that afternoon. God knoweth how
many obtained mercy, and how many were led
to seek him. The glory too is all his. To me
belongs not even the instrumentality. In it I
had neither part nor lot, except to see it with
my eyes, and feel God's grace in my unworthy
soul. Brother Finley laboured hard there the
preceding year. And Steward, the coloured
man, without money, outfit, learning, or human
authority, was the apostle of this nation. The
scenes of the afternoon cannot be written. I
myself was then ignorant of nine-tenths of what
transpired around and beside me. Some were
exulting, and others in the depth of penitence.

1 remember, however, of approaching Deun-
quat and the Cherokee in the corner, but the
particulars are fled. At any rate, a decisive
breach was made that day in the ranks of hea-
thenism. The wound inflicted was deadly, and
from it there never was a recovery.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 149

It is a cause of great exultation, that the way
is opening to preach the Gospel to the Indians,
and many have cordially received it. At that
time there were very few Indians who professed
religion ; but now there are several thousands.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Ghost ! Amen !

REMINISCENCE XX.

Big-Tree.

When I was at Sandusky, Big-Tree was an
old man, and much afflicted with rheumatic
pains, so as to be compelled to use crutches.
If my memory is correct, he embraced religion
when Steward first preached among the Wyan-
dots ; but he was even then an old man. His
children, also, then grown to maturity, were
zealous and active Christians, and indeed some
of them occupied the useful stations of class
leaders and exhorters. In the advanced age of
their patriarchal father, they provided for him
with much care. They took him from the
little bark-roofed cabin in the bottom below the
mission house, and built for him, on the other
side of the river, just opposite the mission house,
a comfortable, warm cabin, about fourteen feet
square. They piled up wood for him at his
door, ready to put on the fire. They furnished
him with jerk and other game, as Providence
favoured them. His corn for hommony was

150 INDIAN REMINISCENCES,

hung up in bunches, fastened to the round rough
joists that were overlaid with rough clapboards.
When the corn was husked, some of the husk
was left on the ear, by which means the husks
were braided together, and the corn hung down
from the braids, and thus it was preserved in
fine order. In the fall Big-Tree's cabin joists
were closely strung over with blue hommony
corn. He had a patch cleared beside his old
cabin, which furnished him with his annual sup-
ply. Now the brush and pole fence needed
repair ; but his sons made rails in the fall, in
order to fence anew their father's little field.

While brother Finley was their missionary,
he used to visit the old man frequently. On one
occasion he gave brother Finley a noble treat.
He broke fine the jerk, and put it in his old bark
dish, mixed up with it also a good share of his
best home-made sugar, and then poured on these
a due proportion of his best bear's oil, and mixed
up the whole by stirring the compound with his
finger. Such was the mess prepared for brother
Finley. Of this he tnust partake, or seem to
partake. He shut his eyes, and with his fingers
took some of the preparation — eat some — and
made out to convey the greater part to some
other place than his mouth or stomach. But
Big-Tree ate. Yet neither touched till the mis-
sionary blessed the Great Spirit for the jerk, the
sugar, and the bear for oil. When the repast was
over they devoutly prayed together, and parted
with hearts glowing with the best Christian feel-
ing ; although the meal would be viewed, by

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 151

some, as not very desirable. The pastoral visits
to this old man were always interesting. There
was at every meeting a cordial Christian greet-
ing— there was religious conversation : frequent-
ly questions respecting experimental religion
were introduced, as well as questions respecting
almost every point of divinity — prayer must
never be omitted on any occasion, on parting,
whether the meeting was in his cabin, or beside
a fallen tree, or at the root of a standing one, or
any place where the missionary and the now
decrepit Big-Tree would happen to meet. But
these meetings were in or about the old man's
little tenement. But when he ventured occa-
sionally to ride to meeting, (being carefully put
on horseback by his children, and watched on
his journey by them,) he w:ould never require
the formality above referred to, for then he was
in public — but his cabin, the root of the tree, or
the seat on the log, or on the soft grass on the
bank of the Sandusky, was his private chamber^
where he attended to his private devotions, and
received the visits of his religious friends. One
cannot help associating with these visits the
meeting and preaching of Philip to the eunuch,
of our Lord to the woman at the well ; but still
more particularly of Abraham entertaining his
guests under the shade of the tree, or of Moses
aiding Jethro's daughter to water the flocks.

As I said, when I lived at Sandusky brother
Big-Tree lived about three quarters of a mile
from the mission-house, on the opposite side, and
iust above his little corn patch and former cabin,

152 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

but on the other side of the river. I set out one
Saturday afternoon, after the school had been
dismissed, for the purpose of visiting the old
patriarch. One of brother Armstrong's sons
accompanied me. We went down the river
about one mile, and crossed it by scrabbling over
a fallen tree whose tops reached driftwood ; and
thus by cautiously choosing our steps we crossed
safely, and approached toward the cabin of Big-
Tree.

As we approached the cabin we noticed the
little porch was well filled with dry wood, pre-
pared by the old man's children, an-d ready for
the fire. The door was toward the north, the
fireplace to the west, and his bedstead, made of
rough clapboards, placed on two rough benches,
and overspread with deer skins, was in the north-
west corner, and came up to the fireplace, so
that when the old man sat on the bedside, he
was just beside the fire. We entered the house.
He was seated on his bedside, with a tin pan of
hommony on the floor between his feet, he had
a piece of jerk in his left hand, and his large
wooden spoon in the other. He cordially wel-
comed us with the well-known salutation, Tee-
shmneh. He laid down his spoon hastily in the
pan, and gave us a hearty shake hands. He
then, with equal speed, reached to me the piece
of jerk which he had in his left hand, and reach-
ed back his other hand, raised up the edge of a
deer skin which lay on his bedstead, and from
the deposite of jerk, there safely kept, he soon
supplied the boy and himself, and placed several

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 153

handfuls on the bed beside him, in order to draw
upon them when we had eaten what we had in
our hands. He then reached me the big wooden
spoon, and invited me to partake of his hommo-
ny, which I did with great cordiality. I then
reached the spoon to the little boy, my inter-
preter, who took his sup, and handed the spoon
to Big-Tree, who took another and reached the
spoon to me. I took another sup, and reached
the spoon again to the boy, and thus we pro-
ceeded, being abundantly supplied with the jerk.
Both the hommony and jerk were quite palata-
ble, especially as I and the boy were sufficiently
hungry to relish well whatever kind of food was
calculated to appease our hunger. As a mat-
ter of course, I must return thanks to the Great
Spirit, through Jesus Christ, for having so richly
supplied our wants.

Then we must have our talk about religion,
which was considerably lengthy. The old man
was much afflicted with rheumatic pains. He
said, *' I can now very rarely go to meeting, to
hear any thing out of the good book, or to join
in prayer with my brothers and sisters. But I
pray here alone, and God hears me. It is true
I cannot bend these knees and kneel, for my
knees are all pains ; but I strive to hend low my
heart, and try to get humble inhere, (laying his
hand on his breast,) and then my Saviour bles-
ses me, and I feel very happy in my mind. I
often think, too, of the time and circumstances,
when brother Steward first preached for us. It
was then that the Spirit broke small, like these

154 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

little crumbs of jerk, my heart, and then the same
Spirit healed it up, and made it anew, and put
a voice in my inside, just here, (with his hand
on his breast,) and this voice reached my ear,
and I heard it say, All thy sins are forgiven
thee. Then I just felt as a little child, and I
called God my Father. I know I might have
been more faithful ; but God still was good to
me. And when the devil tempted me, I would
pray to God, and he would deliver me. I ought
always to be very thankful for the many bless-
ings which I enjoy. Look up there ; do you see
what hommony corn I have got? What I
have hanging there will be sufficient for me till
the new corn comes. My children also supply
me with plenty of deer meat, and bear meat,
and racoons, and sometimes they catch a fish
or a rabbit, and give it to me. Brother, I ought
to be very thankful because I have so many
good things. A great many people have not
such things as I have. Beside, you know my
little corn field will yield me a sufficient supply
for next year ; and my children have made rails
to fence it. And it is very likely I will not want
any corn after one or two years more ; as I
think I will get home to the Great Spirit before
two years. And in that place there will be no
want of any thtng. Brother, I ought to be
thankful to God for his grace to me. Brother,
I am thankful, but I want to be more so. I am
often very glad to think that I will soon be de-
livered from my present weakness, and then I
will not need these crutches."

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 155

Much conversation, beside this, took place
between Big-Tree and me. After our talk was
over we prayed together, and truly it was a glad
season to us both. If I have been correctly in-
formed, brother Big-Tree died before his con-
templated two years were expired. At any rate,
I was assured he died in the triumphs of Chris-
tianity. God wonderfully blessed his soul to-
ward the close of life, so that he left the world
in the possession of perfect love.

Just as the above was penned, I cast my eyes
on a paper, and found a petition presented to
congress, praying for an appropriation to be
made, in order to purchase the Wyandot reser-
vation. It seems a hard matter that this small
remnant of a once powerful nation cannot be per-
mitted to occupy their little reservation, without
being compelled to sell it. Why should they be
driven from their homes, and the little residue
of their former extensive territory, to gratify the
accursed cupidity of white men ? Is there not
land enough for us on this and the other side
of the Rocky Mountains, without violently seiz-
ing on their little spot ? Must this most interest-
ing and Christian nation be driven forcibly from
the lands of their fathers — from the ashes of
Crane and Deunquat, of Between-the-Logs and
Big-Tree ? If they are driven away, their ex-
pulsion will bring a curse upon their oppressors.
Such an outrage upon the principles of truth and
righteousness is enough to endow the stupid with
the gift of satire. If eloquence be wanting here,
indignation, beyond that of Juvenal, will find

156 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

words to express itself: for, Si natura neget,
indignatio facit versus. God be merciful to
our guilty land !

REMINISCENCE XXI.

Council of Indian chiefs. — An account of it.

What shall I do without a God ? I will inquire for
the Gkeat God of John Sunday. — Skingwangkoonse.

The following is from the pen of the Rev. G.
Marsden, in a communication of December,
1833, in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine for
January, 1834. Mr. Marsden was delegate
from the British to the Canadian conference.
The design of these reminiscences is, to show
the power and necessity of religion, as well as
to call forth assistance in behalf of Indian mis-
sions in particular, and of the great mission-
ary cause in general : —

There appears, at present, a peculiar provi-
dence in the openings which present themselves
for preaching the Gospel of Christ to the various
tribes of Indians on the immense continent of
North America. While I was in Canada, I
heard that a meeting of Indian chiefs, of a very
singular nature, had been held in the month of
July last : and that one of the converted Indians
of the Chippewa tribe, resident at the Credit, was
present at the meeting. Having an opportunity
of seeing him during our conference at York, I
desired him to give me an account of the meet-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 157

ing; and the following is the purport of his
statement : —

The council of the Indian chiefs was held at
the Narrows, by Lake Simcoe. There were
present Christian Indians from Credit Mission,
Grape-Island Mission, Rue-Lake Mission, Sah-
geeng Mission, and Mud-Lake Mission. The
Pagan Indian chiefs were from various tribes,
scattered abroad between that place and the
Rocky Mountains, some of whom must have tra-
velled from fifteen hundred to nearly two thou-
sand miles. The names of the Christian chiefs
were, Joseph Sawyer, John Crane, George Pah-
tans, John Crane, Jun., George Yellowhead,
Thomas Shilling, Joseph Nainingkishkungk, and
John Big-Canoe, with two Christian Indians
who are not chiefs. There were six pagan
chiefs. The council was opened with singing
and prayer by one of the Christian chiefs. After
prayer, the first pagan chief who arose to ad-
dress the meeting was Shingwangkoonse, which
signifies a young pine tree. He held in his hand
a string of white wampum, (a bed of pearls,)
which colour signified his present object, viz.
searching after a clean white heart. He inquired
first of the Christian chiefs, " Are you truly more
happy now in your hearts than when you had
our father's religion ? If you are so, I wish you
to tell me. You see me this day, with this string
of white wampum, come to inquire whether you
are now more happy in the white man's religion
than you were before." He then said, " I had a
child, an only child, whom I loved much. This

158 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

child was taken sick. I took all the munnetoogTc,
(meaning his gods,) out of my maJishkemoodt,
(his bag,) and placed them around the child, to
see if they could cure it. I told them to leave
none of their power behind, but to bring all their
power with them ; but the child died. I then
gathered them up for the last time, and I said,
kewabcnenim, I throw you away. I then began
to think, What shall I do without a God ? I re-
membered John Sunday* speaking about a great
God ; and I thought that I would come to this
country, to see who knew about John Sunday's
God. I have heard of many stars shining over
my head,'"' (meaning the different denominations
of Christians :) "I wish very much that some
of you would give me information which is the
true star. Just before I left home, I received a
string of black and white wampum, and a toma-
hawk, the blade of which was painted red.
When I considered that although my arms were
very long, and my body very large, should I enter
into this war, I should be the means of spilling
much blood, I determined to decline it, and there-
fore made this answer : — ' I am now unable to
render you any assistance in this warfare, having
just commenced to seek after a Great Spirit,
(KecJie 3Iunnetoo,) and feeling very poor in my
heart.' " He then delivered the string of white
wampum which he held in his hand, to Joseph
Sawyer, the head chief present, as a token of

* John Sunday is a pious and zealous Indian, now a
preacher of the Gospel.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 160

peace and union between the tribe of Sawyer
and Shincrwangkoonse.

Here it may be necessary to explain some of
the terms which were used by the chief. A
string of white wampum is a token of peace ;
of black and white — of peace, but at the same
time of distress, and requesting assistance. A
tomahawk painted red denotes that the assistance
requested is for war. The having long arms de-
notes the possession of a large country. A large
body signifies that he has many people in his tribe.

The chief, Joseph Sawyer, then arose to re-
ply. He said, *' I can inform you, that since I
got this good religion in my heart, I have had
more true happiness in one day, than I ever
enjoyed before in all my life. I wish you to
look for yourself which star is best. You see
this village built since we got this religion ; you
see this school house ; and the change from
drunkenness to sobriety. And could you visit
our village at the Credit River, you would see
a great many good houses, a chapel, a school
house, a work shop, a saw mill, and many other
improvements." After Joseph Sawyer, the other
Christian chiefs spoke equally in favour of the
Christian religion.

Before the council closed, all the pagan chiefs
said, " Send us teachers and missionaries, and
we will worship as you worship." They farther
said, " Be sure to send us books, missionaries,
and teachers, next year, and our people will
listen to them."

This highly pleasing and important statement

jr>0 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

was given to me by Pahtahsegaih, or, according
to his baptismal name, Peter Jacobs. In addi-
tion to this interesting account, I heard, while in
America, of several other remarkable proofs
that God is influencing the hearts of the Indians,
and leading them to inquire after the salvation
of the Gospel. Surely the time, yea, the set
time, is come, for the savage tribes of America
to be gathered into the fold and family of God.

REMINISCENCE XXII.

Between-the-Logs.

His name is a literal translation of his Wy-
andot name, which is the word used to signify
a hear in that language, and means in its radical
import, to crouch bctiveeri the logs, because this
animal sometimes lies down between the logs.
Hence, as this chief belonged to the Bear tribe,
the name given him is the distinctive name of
his tribe, the Bear tribe, which is one of the
seven tribes into which the nation is divided.

He is said to have been born about 1780, in
the neighbourhood of liOwer Sa,ndusky. His
father was a Seneca, but his mother was a Wy-
andot of the Bear tribe. And as the line of
descent, among the Indians, is by the mother,
independent of the father, Between-the-Logs
was both by birth and natural civil right a
JVyandot and a member of the Bear tribe.
When he was eight or nine years old, his father
and mother parted. This was very often done ;

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 161

for marriage among them continues no longer
than while both are agreed ; and when misun-
derstandings arise, separation ensues. Then, for
the most part, the mother takes all the children.
But in this case, the young Between-the-Logs
was taken by the father, with whom he lived
till the old man's death. At this time he had
nearly arrived at maturity. From his father
and the Senecas he obtained a perfect knowl-
edge of the Seneca language. He afterward
added a knowledge of the Mohawk, Shawnee,
Delaware, and several other Indian languages;
on account of which he became interpreter gen-
eral of councils and embassies.

After the death of his father, he returned to
live with his mother, among the Wyandots.
Of the particulars of his life previous to this
time, little is known. Shortly after his return
to his mother, he joined the Indian warriors, and
with them suffered a defeat with Gen. Wayne.
At this time his residence was at Lower San-
dusky. His enterprising and persevering dis-
position, his prompt obedience to the commands
of the chief, his known talents and eloquence,
his knowledge of so many languages, his faith-
ful discharge of whatever was assigned him, in
brief, his acknowledged superior abilities every
way, called him into public notice in his own
nation, and gave him celebrity among the most
distinguished chiefs of other Indian nations.
These qualifications, connected with a sound
judgment, soon procured for him the chiefship
of the Bear tribe. And in consequence of hia
U

162 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

eloquence and uncommon memory, he became
chief speaker of his nation, and the intimate
friend and counsellor of the head chief.

When he was about twenty-five years of age
he was sent to ascertain the preteilsions and
doctrines of the Shawnee prophet, whose im-
posture he soon detected, and whose religion
and deceit he describes as follows. After
speaking of the fallacy of the Roman Catholic
religion, he says : — " Then the Shawnee prophet
arose, and pretended he had conversed with our
Great Father, and that he had told him what
Indians ought to do ; and we heard and followed
him. To be sure he told us many good things
with the bad : he told us it was wrong to drink
whisky ; but after awhile we saw he was like
the Roman priest ; he would tell us we must
not do things, and he would do them himself"
Concerning the Seneca prophet, Between-the-
Logs speaks as follows, after stating how they
were deceived by former false teachers : — '' Af-
ter some time, then the Seneca prophet arose,
and we all heard, and followed him a little
while : but by this time we were very jealous,
and watched him very close, and found him
like our former teachers ; so we left him, and
were again misled. By this time we began to
think that our own religion was a great deal
the best, and we made another trial to establish
ourselves in it, and had made some progress.
Then the war broke out between our father, the
president, and King George, and our nation
was for war, and every man wanted to be big

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 163

man. Then we drink whisky, and fight, and
when the war was ended, we were all scattered,
and many killed."

Shortly after his return from this prophet,
the late war between the United States and
Great Britain, in 1812, commenced. There are
several historical incidents connected with the
actions of our chief, that will be necessary to
describe briefly in order that we may have a
correct view of his talents and character. At
this time the great body of the Wyandots lived
at Upper Sandusky ; about sixty of them lived
near Maiden in Canada; and about two hundred
and fifty on the American shore, nearly opposite
the British post at the mouth of the Detroit river.
Tarhe, or the Crane, an aged and venerable
man, of the Porcupine tribe, was then the head
chief of the nation. He lived at Upper San-
dusky, about one hundred miles from the mouth
of the Detroit river. When the Crane became
{satisfied that a war was inevitable, he convened
a general council at Brownstown ; and, alarmed
at the situation of his own people, he attended
in person with his confidential friend Between-
the-Logs, and with the principal Shawnese chief,
Black-Hoof At this council, the Potawato-
mies, the Chippewas, and Ottawas, solicited the
Wyandots to take hold of the British hatchet.
Walk-in-the-Water, who was at the head of the
Wyandots on the American side at Detroit, and
was the chief speaker of the nation at that
time, answered ; — *' No, we will not take up
ihe hatchet against our father the Long-Knife,

164 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

Our two fathers are about to fight, but we red
men have no concern in their quarrel, and it is
best for us to sit still and remain neutral."
This advice was approved by the Indians, but
it was violently opposed by the British. At a
council convened at Maiden, Elliott, the British
Indian agent, and the British commanding offi-
cer, demanded of the Wyandots whether they
had advised the other tribes to remain neutral.
To this, Walk-in-the Water answered : — " We
have, and we believe it is best for us and for our
brethren. We have no wish to be involved in
a war with our father, the Long-Knife, for we
know by experience that we have nothing to
gain by it, and we beg our father, the British,
not to force us to war. We remember, in the
former war between our fathers, the British and
the Long-Knife, we were both defeated, and we,
the red men, lost our country ; and you, our
father, the British, made peace with the Long-
Knife without our knowledge, and you gave our
country to him. You still said to us, my chil-
dren, you must fight for your country, for the
Long-Knife will take it from you. We did as
you advised us, and we were defeated with the
loss of our best chiefs and warriors, and of our
land. And we still remember your conduct
toward us when we were defeated at the foot of
the rapids of the Miami. We sought safety for
our wounded in your fort. But what was your
conduct ? You closed your gates against us,
and we had to retreat the best way we could.
And then we made peace with the Americans,

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 165

and have enjoyed peace with them ever since.
And now you wish us, your red children, again
to take up the hatchet against our father, the
Long-Knife. We say again, we do ntDt wish to
have any thing to do with the war. Fight your
own battles, but let us, your red children, enjoy
peace."

This speech so enraged the British that they
shortly after sent a strong detachment of armed
men, surrounded and took prisoners the Browns-
town Wyandots, compelled them to embark in
their boats, and then carried them to Maiden
on the Canada side.

About a year after this, the Crane proposed
to general Harrison, who was then encamped
with his army at Seneca, that an embassy should
be sent by the Wyandots, to their brethren in
the British camp, and to all the Indians who
adhered to the British cause, advising them to
consult their true interest, and retire to their
country. This was approved by the general,
and the Crane was requested to take such steps
as appeared most proper to give effect to the
undertaking.

The Crane took immediate measures to ac-
complish the design. He appointed Between-
the-Logs the ambassador, and a small escort of
eight warriors, commanded by Skaoteash, the
principal war chief of the nation, was selected
to accompany him. Two speeches were sent
by the Crane, one to be delivered privately to
his own people, and the other publicly to the
British Indians. Hazardous as this undertaking

J66 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

was, Betvveen-the-Logs entered upon it with un-
daunted courage, determined to accomplish the
embassy or perish in the attempt. Indeed he
always risked his life on every proper occasion,
for the benefit of his nation, or for the sake of
religion, after he became Christian.

The Wyandot embassy arrived at Browns-
town in safety, and the following morning a
general council was assembled to hear the mes-
sage from their uncle the Wyandot ; for the ti-
tle uncle was given from time immemorial to the
Wyandots, as a mark of peculiar respect, and a
proof of the acknowledged superiority of their
nation. The multitude assembled was very
large. Elliott and M'Kee, the British agents,
were present. In the midst of this host of ene-
mies, and with unshaken firmness, Between-
the-Logs arose, and delivered without a falter
or variation the following speech from the Crane,
which had been entrusted to him : —

*' Brothers, the red men, who are engaged in
fighting for the British king, listen ! These
words are from me, Tarhe, and they are also
the words of the Wyandots, Delawares, Shaw-
nese, and Senecas. *•

" Our American father has raised his war
pole, and collected a large army of his warriors.
They will soon march to attack the British.
He does not wish to destroy his red children,
their wives, and families. He wishes you to
separate yourselves from the British, and bury
the hatcJiet you have raised. He will be mer-
ciful to you. You can then return to your own

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 167

lauds, and hunt the game, as you formerly did.
1 request you to consider your situation, and act
wisely in this important matter ; and not wan-
tonly destroy your own people. Brothers, who-
ever feels disposed to accept this advice will
come forward and take hold of this belt of wam-
pum, which I have in my hand and offer to you.
I hope you will not refuse to accept it in the
presence of your British father, for you are in-
dependent of him. Brothers, we have done, and
we hope you will decide wisely."

Not a hand moved to accept the offered
pledge of peace. The spell was too potent to
be broken by charms like these ; but Round-
Head arose, and addressed the embassy.

'' Brothers,the Wyandots from the Americans,
we have heard your talk, and will not listen to
it. We will not forsake the standard of our
British father, nor lay down the hatchet we
have raised. I speak the sentiments of all now
present, and I charge you, that you faithfully
deliver our talk to the American commander,
and tell him it is our wish he would send more
men against us, for all that has passed between
us, I do not call fighting. We are not satisfied
with the number of men he sends to contend
against us. We want to fight in good earnest."

Elliott then spoke. " My children, as you
now see that my children here are determined
not to forsake the cause of their British father,
I wish you to carry a message back with you.
Tell my wife, your American father, that I want
her to cook the provisions for me, and my red

16S INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

children, more faithfully than she has done.
She has not done her duty. And if she receives
this as an insult, and feels disposed to fight, tell
her to bring more men than she ever brought
before, as our former skirmishes I do not call
fighting. If she wishes to fight with me and
jTiy children, she must not burrow in the earth
like a ground hog, where she is inaccessible.
She must come out and fight fairly,"

To this, Between-the-Logs replied, " Broth-
ers, I am directed by my American father to
inform you, that if you reject the advice given
you, he will march here with a large army, and
if he should find any of the red people opposing
him in his passage through this country, he
will trample them under his feet. You cannot
stand before him.

" And now for myself, I earnestly entreat you
to consider the good talk I have brought, and
listen to it. Why would you devote yourselves,
your women, and your children, to destruction ?
Let me tell you, if you should defeat the Amer-
ican army this time, you have not done. An-
other will come on, and if you defeat that, still
another will appear, that you cannot withstand ;
one that will come like the waves of the great
water, and overwhelm you, and sweep you
from the face of the earth. If you doubt the
account I give of the force of the Americans,
you can send some of your people, in whom
you have confidence, to examine their army
and navy. They shall be permitted to return
in safety. The truth is, your British father de-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 169

ceives you. He boasts of the few victories he
gains, but he never tells you of his defeats, of
his armies, being slaughtered and his vessels
taken on the big water. He keeps- all these
things to himself

" And now, father, let me address a few words
to you. Your request shall be granted. I will
bear your message to my American father. It
is true, none of your children appear willing to
forsake your standard, and it will be the worse
for them. You compare the Americans to
ground hogs, and complain of their mode of
fighting. I must confess, that a ground hog is
a very difficult animal to contend with. He has
such sharp teeth, such an inflexible temper, and
such an unconquerable spirit, that he is truly a
dangerous enemy, especially when he is in his
own hole. But, father, let me tell you, you can
have your wish. Before many days you will
see the ground hog come floating on yonder
lake, paddling his canoe toward your hole ; and
then, father, you will have an opportunity of
attacking your formidable enemy in any way
you may think best."

This speech terminated the proceedings of
the council. All the Indians, except the Wy-
andots, dispersed ; but they secretly assembled
to hear the message sent to them by their own
chief By this speech the Wyandots were
directed to quit the British. This message was
faithfully delivered to the Wyandots, and pro-
duced its full effect. They requested Between-
the-Logs to inform the Crane, that they were

170 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

in fact prisoners, but that they had taken firm
hold of his belt of wampum, and would not fire
another gun. They promised, that on the ad-
vance of the American army, they would quit
the British troops, as soon as it was safe to
take that decisive measure. Shortly after they
did so a few miles from the river Tranch, and
retired into the forest. Thence they sent a mes-
sage to General Harrison, informing him of their
design. After this, the Wyandots assisted the
Americans.

The facts connected with this embassy we
received from Mr. Walker, a white man of in-
telligence, and from his wife, a respectable and
intelligent half Wyandot woman, and their two
sons, Isaac and William, The former, now
dead, was public interpreter at Upper Sandusky,
the latter was teacher of the missionary school
at that place, and is now post-master. Both
are well educated, intelligent, and men of un-
doubted integrity. They and their father and
mother were with the Wyandots of Brownstown,
and were taken across the Detroit River. And
they were all present at the great council where
Between-the-Logs delivered his speech. Mr.
Stickney, then United States agent for the Wy-
andots, bears witness to the same facts. And a
writer in the North American Review, to whom
we are indebted for an interesting narrative of
this nation, says he was present when the am-
bassador received his instructions, and heard the
Crane, when he made his report to General
Harrison of the result.

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 171

When General Harrison invaded Canada,
Betvveen-the-Logs, accompanied with a party of
"Wyandot chiefs and warriors, attended him ;
but his attention was directed principally toward
bringing over the scattered Wyandots, yet in
Canada, to the American interests, which he
successfully accomplished.

After the war he became permanently settled
in the neighbourhood of Upper Sandusky. He
now sometimes indulged to excess in drinking
spirits ; on such occasions the wicked principle
entirely got the better of his good sense. In
one of these excesses he killed his first wife.
A survey of this act, on the return of soberness,
made such a deep impression on his mind that
he almost entirely abandoned the use of ardent
spirits ever after. From strong impressions of
the necessity of a preparation for another world,
he was led, even before he embraced Chris-
tianity, to exhort his fellow creatures to right-
eousness.

In 1817 a new field opened for the display
of his talents. The United States having made
arrangements to extinguish the Indian titles to
the lands in Ohio, commissioners were sent to
treat with the Indians on this subject. The
Wyandots refused to sell their land ; but the
Chippewas, Potawatomies, and lowas, without
any just title, claimed a great part of their
land, and Gabriel Godfrey, and Whitmore
Knaggs, Indian agents for the three nations,
proposed in open council, in behalf of the Chip-
pewas, &/C. to sell the lands claimed by the Wy-

172 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

andots ; and the commissioners declared, that if
the Wyandots did not sell, they would buy the
land from the others. Between-the-Logs firmly
opposed all these measures ; but however just
his cause, and conclusive his arguments, they
were in vain, with men determined to pursue
their course, right or wrong. The Wyandots,
finding themselves so circumstanced, and being
unable to help themselves, concluded to do the
best they could, and sign the treaty ; yet with an
expectation of obtaining redress from govern-
ment, by representing the state of things to the
president, before the treaty would be ratified.
In resorting to this course, Between-the-Logs
acted a principal part. Accordingly he, with the
Wyandot chief, and a delegation from the Dela-
wares, and Senecas, immediately proceeded to
Washington, without consulting the Indian
agent, or any other officer of government. Their
appearance, therefore, at Washington was unex-
pected by the president and the secretary of war,
and their arrival was considered informal. Ac-
cordingly when they were introduced to the
secretary, he expressed his surprise that they
had come without his having any notice from
the government agents or officers, and that their
arrival was out of order, and their embassy irre-
gular. Between-the-Logs answered with the
true spirit of a great and independent mind.
"We got up and came of ourselves — we believed
the great road was free to us." This retort
made such an impression on the secretary, that
he used all his influence with the president to

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 173

obtain a hearing for our chief and his company,
which he accomplished with difficuhy. When
Between-the-Logs obtained the wished-for au-
dience, the president rather abruptly and angri-
ly asked Between-the-Logs, " why he came to
trouble him, what was his business, and who
sent him ?" Between-the-Logs was roused ; he
was all dignity and acuteness, and with a ma-
jesty and air of independence which struck the
president with awe and respect, made the fol-
lowing brief and cutting speech : — " Father,
when we first came to your city, we saw roads
leading from every part of the United States,
and all of them ended at your house. Father,
we thought these roads were intended for all to
walk on who had any grievance to complain of,
that they might have access to you at all times,
and have their wrongs redressed. Father, we
your red children have been wronged, we have
therefore walked on this free road — we have
come to yourself, that we might receive justice
from you, and have our wrongs adjusted. Fa-
ther, we want you to listen to our talk on this
business." The president immediately request-
ed him to stop his apology, and relate his griev-
ances. Indeed, the abrupt and surly reception
of the Indian ambassador was instantly con-
verted into a patient and good-natured hearing
of all he had to say. And so ably and faithful-
ly did he plead the cause of his nation, and that
of the Delawares and Senecas, before the pres-
ident and secretary, that he obtained, if not all,
nearly all he claimed, and returned with the

174 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

highest regards of the heads of department at
Washington, and related to his dejected people
the success with which his labours were crown-
ed. Thus, through his instrumentality, his
nation obtained an enlargement of territory,
and an increase of annuities. The above speech
too was altogether unpremeditated, and was
produced at the spur of the moment. Mr.
Isaac Walker, who interpreted on the occasion,
gave us the account of this affair.

When the Gospel was first introduced among
the Wyandots, by John Steward, the coloured
man, Between-the-Logs was decidedly in its
favour, and in the national council did all he
could to encourage and promote religion among
his people. At the time that Steward was about
to visit Marietta, after his first arrival at San-
dusky, Between-the-Logs and others, at the sug-
gestion of some pious Indian women, attended
a meeting of Stev/ard's, at the council house,
which proved a great blessing to those who
attended it. There the Divine presence was
peculiarly present to enlighten and renovate.
Between-the-Logs at this time became a subject
of converting power. And when the Rev. James
B. Finley formed the first church among them,
he was the first who openly joined it, and turn-
ed his back on the old superstitions.

His Christian experience and character, too,
were such as to entitle him to the respect and
esteem of all good men. The following narra-
tive of his Christian experience at a love feast,
held on Mad River, on November 13th, 1819,

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 175

will show the temper and feelings by which he
was actuated. He first rose and spoke as fol-
lows : " My dear brethren, I am happy this morn-
ing that the Great Spirit has permitted us to
assemble here for so good a purpose as to wor-
ship him, and strengthen the cords of love and
friendship. This is the first meeting of this
kind held for us, and now, my dear brethren, I
am happy that we who have been so long time
apart, and have been enemies to one another,
are come together as brothers, at which our
Great Father is well pleased. For my part I
have been a very wicked man, and have com-
mitted many great sins against the Good Spirit,
and was addicted to drinking whisky, and many
evils ; but I thank my good God that I am yet
alive, and that he has more perfectly opened my
eyes to see those evils by his ministers, and the
good book, and has given me help to forsake
those sins, and turn away from them. Now I
feel peace in my heart to God, and all men ;
but I feel just like a little child beginning to
walk — sometimes very weak and almost give up ;
then I pray, and my Great Father hears me, and
gives me the blessing : then I feel strong and
happy — then I walk again : so sometimes up,
and sometimes down. I want you all to pray
for me that I may never sin any more; but
always live happy, and die happy ; then I shall
meet you all in our Great Father's house above,
and be happy for ever."

The following extract from his speech, before
the Marietta conference, will show his admira-

176 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ble Christian temper. This was in August,
1822 :— " Though the chiefs have mostly left
us, yet there are four faithful ones among us."
(viz. Between-the-Logs, Hicks, Mononcue, and
Peacock.) " Brothers, we know the cause why
they have withdrawn ; it was the words of the
Gospel. Brothers, it is too sharp for them ; it
cuts too close ; it cuts all the limbs of sin from
the body, and they don't like it ; but we, (mean-
ing the other four,) are willing to have all the
limbs of sin cut from our bodies, and live holy.
We want the mission and school to go on, and
we believe that the Great God will not suffer
them to fall through ; for, brothers, he is very
strong; and this, brothers, is our great joy.
The wicked that do not like Jesus, raise up their
hands and do all they can to discourage and de-
stroy the love of the little handful ; and with their
lands they cover over the roots of wickedness.
But, brothers, they may do all they can to stop
it, the work will go on and prosper, for the
Great God Almighty holds it up with his hand."
To some evil-disposed white persons who
spoke disrespectfully of religion, the following
answer of Between-the-Logs will serve as an
excellent specimen of good sense and Christian
fortitude : — " Some whites that live among us,
and can talk our language, say the Methodists
bewitch us, and that it is all nothing but the
work of the devil, and all that they want is to get
you tamed, and then kill you as they have done
the Marawan Indians on the Tuskarawas River.
I told them if we were to be killed, it was time

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 177

for US to be praying." As an additional proof
of his Christian fortitude, we refer to the man-
ner in which he faced death when his brother,
Bloody-Eyes, stood over him, with uplifted
tomahawk, ready to strike the deadly blow,
unless he would recant. But he knew not to
swerve or recant. The religion of love, of
power, of freedom from slavish fear, had tho-
roughly seized on his whole soul ; therefore, on
this trying occasion he chose death rather than
deny his Lord and Master. As his Redeemer
foiled Satan by quoting Scripture, so Between-
the-Logs, his follower, subdued his murderous
brother by quoting, '' Unless a man is willing
to lay down his life for the sake of Christ and
his religion, he is unworthy to be called the fol-
lower of Christ."

As a public speaker and preacher he may be
ranked among the very foremost. After he
embraced religion, and his understanding be-
came enlightened and matured by experience,
he was regularly appointed an exhorter in the
Church ; and after some time was licensed to
preach among his Indian brethren. As a class
leader, he carefully attended to its duties, and
faithfully led his little band in the way of holi-
ness, reproving, exhorting, and comforting them
as each stood in need. As an exhorter, he
was always ready, and always appropriate in
his addresses, and it may be said his exhortations
were delivered with such pathos and force of
argument and Scripture quotation, as always to
render them efficient. Almost every sermon
12

178 INDIAN RIEMINISCENCES.

delivered at Sandusky to the Indians was fol
lowed by an exhortation from this influential
and pious chief. And it is difficult to give an
adequate idea of the effect of these addresses to
any one except an eye and ear witness. Nay,
more, when he prayed in public, a person even
who did not understand his language, would
feel, and be convinced in his judgment, that
this holy man prayed by the help of the Divine
Spirit ; for there was an unction, a force, a
feeling, an energy, in his prayer, which spoke
out in a manner that no one could misunder-
stand. But when he entered upon that part of
prayer called intercession or supplication, and
when, with a voice interrupted with sobs, and
softened down to almost stillness by the gush-
ing of his tears, and when there would be heard
the expression Yasus Lementera, Jesus have
mercy J and especially if it were in behalf of
some sinner groaning for redemption ; under
such circumstances who could help feeling that
the prevailing wrestling with God was then in
immediate and successful progress? Farther
yet ; or if you will have a specimen of the de-
scended spirit, and the firm, unstaggering faith,
and the undenying supplication, look at Be-
tween-the-Logs when he was praying for his
murderous brother, Bloody-Eyes, on that day
when the latter bowed at the mercy seat, and
agonized for pardoning mercy.

And as a preacher he was neither last nor
least. It is true, he could neither read nor write,
nor understand English. But then his memory

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 179

was so tenacious, that every passage of Scrip-
ture which he ever heard quoted in preaching or
otherwise, and every argument which he ever
heard, were all stored up in his memory, and
were perfectly at his command on all occasions.
Add to thiSjhis uncommon eloquence, his mature
judgment, his lively imagination, his almost un-
limited influence among his people. All these
united, and much more might be added, ren-
dered him a preacher of no common standing.

As a public speaker, in forensic or diploma-
tic affairs, he may be equalled with the best In-
dian orators. His speeches before the Ohio
conference for a number of years, will equal
the speeches of Logan, Red Jacket and others.
His speeches before the president, to the Wy-
andots in Canada, to the general council held at
Upper Sandusky, will compare with any which
the annals of Indian history can furnish. Many
specimens of his oratory could be produced,
were it necessary.

But it may be asked. Among what class of
orators may he be properly ranked ? To this we
answer, he is to be classed among the pathetic
orators. His style was plain, in general, and
when figurative it was embued with all that could
touch, gain attention, and convince. Mononcue
employed the highest and most forcible figures
which nature afforded : his very style, too, em-
braced every lofty figure, and his manner and
gestures were vehement and overwhelming,
Between-the-Logs would insinuate and steal
upon the feelings, would also convince the judg-

180 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ment, and lead his hearers after him with the
music of his voice, the beauties of his figures,
the loveliness of truth, and, as a preacher of
Christ, he would present the cross, and Calvary,
Gethsemane, and the dying, melting sighs and
last prayer of the Redeemer, and heaven too;
and all the graces of the Spirit in this earth he
would deal out with unsparing hand. Who,
then, could resist him and his message ? But
Mononcue would open his discourse with a
thunder storm. The red lightning, and the
endless burning were at his entire command ;
but then he would preach Christ — and when he
did, you would hear the dying groan on the cross
uttered in your very hearing. You would see
the rent rocks and veil of the temple, the dead ris-
ing, the mighty angel rolling away the stone, he
would show you the broken chain, the conquer-
ed tomb, the prison thrown open, hell conquer-
ed, and the captive walking in full liberty. Be-
tween-the-Logs would speak in true Ciceronian
style; while Mononcue would ask with stern
boldness, " Is Philip dead ? To what purpose ?
Yourselves will raise up another Philip 1 The
one was a son of consolation ; the other was a
Boanerges. When both were together, then
the supply was complete. Indeed no one, ex-
cept eye and ear witnesses, could be duly sen-
sible of the happy effects which the addresses
of these two Christian preachers produced on
the hearts and lives of those who heard them.

His mental powers can only be equalled by
his ardent piety. We have already observed

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 181

that he remembered every thing which he heard,
and no distance of time could erase a jot or tittle
of it from his memory. Take the following as
a specimen : — On a certain occasion, when a
general council for several nations, as the Wy-
andots, Senecas, Delawares, Shawnese, was held
at the council house, and Red Jacket was the
chief for the Senecas, Between-the-Logs was
speaker for his own nation, and general inter-
preter for the whole council. The first day was
entirely occupied by Red Jacket in delivering
his speech, in which " he claimed kindred for
his nation with their uncle, the Wyandots ; that
both nations were in habits of intimacy in for-
mer times; that the Wyandots had received
many favours from the Senecas ; that the other
nations were unworthy of their confidence ; and
that the Wyandots would do well to grant a
portion of their lands to the Senecas, who were
desirous of becoming their neighbours, and sell
out in York state." This speech occupied the
whole day. On the next day Between-the-Logs
rose up, and interpreted Red Jacket's speech
into Wyandot, without missing a single word or
idea of the whole. On the third day he delivered
his speech, which also lasted during the day, in
which he showed the incorrectness of Red Jack-
et's statements, and the sophistry of his reason-
ing, and showed conclusively that the Senecas
had no just claims to their lands. It was ac-
knowledged on all hands that he exceeded Red
Jacket. Other proofs could be given of the
extent of his memory. As an interpreter into

182 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

all the Northern Indian languages he was an
adept. An instance of this may also be given
in the facility with which he conversed with a
Mohawk woman, and interpreted a sermon from
the Wyandot at the close of his conversation.
Of this we were an eye and ear witness. Mr.
Isaac Walker gave us the information respecting
the part he acted in the above-named council,
and we have no doubt of its correctness, as he
was present on the occasion, and heard all the
speeches delivered. Every mental power of
the man was of the first order. Had he pos-
sessed an education, few men of any age would
excel him.

As a chief of his nation, he was always faith-
ful to their interests. He served his people
without fee or reward. His time and t-alents
were always devoted to their best interests.
More than once he risked his life for the sake of
his nation. He was also a constant prop to the
mission and school. For their souls as well as
their bodies he laboured incessantly.

From Dr. Bangs' History of Missions, we.
give the following account of his visit to the
eastern cities : —

" In the year 1826, he and Mononcue accom-
panied Mr. Finley on a visit from Sandusky to
New-York, where they attended several meet-
ings, and, among others, the anniversary of the
Female Missionary Society of New-York. Here
Between-the-Logs spoke with great fire and ani-
mation, relating his own experience of Divine
things, and gave a brief narrative of the work of

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 183

Gud among his people. Though he addressed
ii\c audience through an interpreter who spoke
the English language but imperfectly, yet his
speech had a powerful effect upon those who
heard him. His voice was musical, his gestures
graceful, significant, and dignified, and his whole
demeanour bespoke a soul full of lofty ideas and
full of God. On one occasion he remarked,
that when at home, he had been accustomed to
be addressed by his brethren, but that since he
had cor»e here, he had heard nothing that he
understood, and added, ' I wonder if the people
understapd one another, for I see but little eflTect
produced by what is said.' After a few words
spoken m reply to this remark, by way of expla-
nation and apology, he kneeled down and offered
a most fervent prayer to almighty God. In
this journey, as they passed through the country,
they visited Philadelphia, Baltimore, and several
of the intervening villages, and held meetings,
and took up collections for the benefit of th«
mission. This tended to excite a missionary
spirit amv^ng the people, and every where Be-
tween-the Logs" was hailed as a monument of
Divine meicy and grace, and as a powerful advo-
cate for the cause of Christianity ; and he, to-
gether with those who accompanied him, left a
most favourable impression behind them of the
good effects of the Gospel on the savage mind
and heart."

His journey to New-York, no doubt, hastened
the progress of the consumption, which had pre-
viously commenced its inroads on his constitu-

184 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

tion. Indeed his various labours for the good
of his fellow creatures contributed to undermine
his bodily frame, which was by no means robust.
Shortly after his return to his nation he was con-
fined to his bed. A letter, dated Dec. 22,1826,
states that he was then lying very low with the
consumption, and that his recovery was entirely
hopeless. A letter from the Rev. James Gil-
ruth, the missionary at Sandusky, dated Jan. 20,
1827, gives the information of his death. Mr.
Gilruth visited him, and in conversation ques-
tioned him closely. He asked him of his hope.
He said, *' It is the mercy of God in Christ."
He asked him of his evidence. He said, " It is
the comfort of the Spirit." The missionary
asked him if he was afraid to die. He said " 1
am not." The missionary farther asked him, it
he was resigned to go. The dying chief said,
" I have felt some desires of the world, but they
are all gone. I now feel willing to die or live,
as God sees best." The day before his death,
brother Finley visited him ; when he expressed
his confidence in God, and a firm hope of eter-
nal life, through Jesus Christ, so as to give satis-
faction to all that heard him. He finally died
in peace, leaving his nation to mourn the loss
of a chief and a preacher of righteousness, to
whom they felt themselves much indebted for
his many exertions, both for their temporal and
spiritual prosperity.

His form was tall and manly. His counte-
nance was open, friendly, sincere, with a strik-
ing expression of sober thinking. His voice

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 185

was musical, and when under the influence of
pathetic feeling, was tremulous, plaintive, and
deeply affecting. His gestures were graceful,
significant, and dignified ; surpassing those of
the most finished orator trained at the schools;
and the simple reason was, he, like every other
Indian, copied nature, in this respect. From
known truth he never swerved on any occasion.
His fortitude was such as to enable him to brave
any danger. His Christian patience arrived to
a degree of firmness as to imbue him deeply
with the martyr's resolution, as was manifest
from his conduct toward his brother when he
came to murder him. Nor was he without
failings. He showed he was human, and that
he needed, with all the rest of God's children,
the application of the blood of sprinkling ; to
which, however, he constantly applied, and by
which he was not only pardoned, but ''washed
from his sins." Those of his own nation, who
lived without God, could never resist the spirit
and wisdom with which he spake. No Wyan-
dot, or Indian of any nation, or even white man,
would become the opponent of Between-the-
Logs on the subject of the Christian religion.
No man could hate him. All reverenced him.
When he rebuked sin and sinners, which he
never failed to do, he so much copied after his
Master Christ, as rarely to offend persons of the
most abandoned character. The profane spoke
reverently in his hearing ; and transgressors
shunned his presence, when determined to do
evil. Statesmen admired his talents and integ-

186 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

rity. He loved and served his people, and was
a faithful ally of the United States.

REMINISCENCE XXIII.

Efficacy of the Gospel in commencing and completing
civilization.

It has been asserted, that the best way to
Christianize the Indians, is first to civilize them
and then to teach them the doctrines and pre-
cepts of Christianity. In accordance with this
sentiment it has been said, that missionaries,
when commencing with instructing the savage
tribes in Christian doctrines, begin in the wrong
place. Some Christians have been of this opin-
ion ; but the proper source of the doctrine is
infidelity. We maintain that Christianity is suit-
ed to every nation of every description, whether
barbarous or civil. That it is suitable to sav-
age life, innumerable proofs may be adduced.
The Wyandot nation itself shows the efficien-
cy of Christianity toward civilizing barbariarfS.
As proofs of our doctrine we adduce the follow-
ing.

1. The attempts to civilize men without the
aid of religion have entirely failed of success.

As evidence of this, we may adduce the va-
rious and expensive measures employed by the
government of the United States, in attempting
to civilize the Indian tribes. What has been
accomplished by these means, in meliorating
their condition, and Christianizing them 1 Very

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 187

little, ill my opinion. Every eifort, except di-
rect Christian effort, has been employed for this
purpose, and yet the Indians are far from being
civilized, much less Christianized. The civil
agents employed to diffuse the blessings of civ-
ilized life, have frequently, by example, which is
the most successful mode of instruction, taught
them the worst of vices.

2. The effects of Christianity on the JVi/an-
dots, show its efficiency both to civilize and mor-
alize.

The change for the better which religion has
effected in this people is manifest in various ways.
Drunkenness, so common and destructive among
them, has been entirely abandoned by the reli-
gious part of them, and to a considerable degree
by the whole nation. Witchcraft, or pretence
to supernatural agency, and which annually was
the cause of death to numbers, has been entirely
overturned, by the light and influence of the
Gospel. Marriage has been introduced, so that
the crimes which reigned where it had been dis-
regarded have disappeared. Barbarous customs,
too, such as dancing, feasting, &/C., have been
discontinued. The arts of civilized life have
been introduced, such as husbandry, the me-
chanical arts. The chase has been, to a great
degree, abandoned, and manual labour resorted
to for the purpose of obtaining a living. The
female sex has been raised to a condition far
superior to what it was while they lived in a
savage state. The younger part of the nation
have learned to read, write, and the other parts

188 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

of common education. The younger part of the
females have learned to spin, sew, knit, and the
most important parts of house work. Of all this
we have been an eye and ear witness ; but as
additional testimony, we present the following,
which proves incontestably all we say in regard
to the blessed effects of Christianity on the
hearts, lives, and civilization of this people.

3. The testimony of the missionaries who la-
boured among them.

The Rev. James Gilruth, under date of May
31st, 1826, writes as follows : — " During the last
war circumstances led me, by personal observa-
tion, to form some acquaintance with the situa-
tion of this people. I visited some of the prin-
cipal families of the nation. Their habitations
were truly miserable retreats from the inclemen-
cy of the weather. A few poles tied together
and covered with bark ; or small logs, forming
a little cabin, over which was laid some bark, —
about and in which hung parts of the slaughtered
game, often in a state more fit for the dunghill
than the dwelling of any human creature, — was
the best and only habitation I discovered. Nor
was agriculture in a better state among them.
A few rods of ground, enclosed with some poles
and brush, formed the principal farms which
fell under my observation, one or two cases
excepted. But things now assume an appear-
ance of improvement scarcely paralleled in the
history of uncivilized men, in any period of the
world. There are now many excellent hewed
log houses, with shingle roofs and brick chim-

INDIAN REMINISCENCES, 189

neys; on entering which the visiter is often
delighted with the cleanliness of the house and
furniture. There are many farms of several
acres each, handsomely enclosed with excellent
rail fence, and well cultivated. The face of
things in general wears an appearance of in-
creasing industry, and attention to the business
of civilized life. This spirit of improvement is
not confined to the Christian party ; the whole
nation may be said to have caught the fire of
emulation in some degree. Many of the females
appear, both at home and abroad, and with a
neatness and cleanliness that would not disgrace
either town or country ladies. Many, both of
the men and women, have laid by the Indian
dress, and assumed that of the whites. I may
safely say, the most abject condition now found
on the reservation may be compared, in many
respects, with the best in 1813, without suffering
by the comparison. It remains to inquire for
the causes of this rapid movement toward the
excellencies of civilization. What the general
government may have contributed toward this
happy improvement, I am not now prepared to
say ; but certain it is, that the government of
Ohio, nor the inhabitants who surround them as
neighbours, have much reason to look for the
honour of this blessed work. No ; we are in-
debted, under God, to some poor Methodist
missionaries, who, regardless of their personal
ease, have braved the difliculties, and brought
forth an incontestible evidence to the world, that
the Gospel of Jesus will overcome, not only the

190 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

dispositions of the soul, but the most stubborn
habits of life. Yes, I say, we are indebted to
these men for this reformation ; who not only
taught the poor bewildered Indians the way to
God, but by their example taught them the way
to live. To these men, under God, the praise
is due : a praise more imperishable than the
blood-won battles of Napoleon. A nation may
be said to be born in a day : a nation rescued
from the most degrading thraldom, by men only
armed by the Spirit of truth and righteousness.
These men will soon go to their God ; but they
will live in the hearts of the good, while San-
dusky waters a foot of Indian land. They are,
and feel indebted to the benevolence of many
they have never seen, for the timely support af-
forded them in this great work."

In their report for 1828, the managers of the
Missionary Society of the M. E. Church employ
the following language : — " The Wyandot mis-
sion, situated on the Sandusky River, in the state
of Ohio, continues greatly to prosper, and fully
merits the patronage and support it has received
from the Christian public. Agriculture, and
the arts, and habits of domestic life, are taking
the place of their former manner of living.
These are blessed effects of Christianity upon
their hearts and lives."

Much more might be added from this source
were it necessary. We refer, however, to the
various communications from the Rev, James
B. Finley, and the other missionaries stationed
at Sandusky, published from time to time in the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 191

Methodist Magazine and Christian Advocate
and Journal. We will add,

4. The testimony of the Indians themselves.
Those who wish to consult the speeches of a

number of chiefs, as given by Bishop Soule, in
the Methodist Magazine for 1825, at page 32,
will find that the views given above are abun-
dantly confirmed by the Indians themselves.

5. The testimony of distinguished clergymen
who visited the Wyandots.

From a communication of Bishop M'Kendree
to the editors of the Methodist Magazine, dated
Aug. 12, 1823, we give the following extracts :

" In the afternoon we commenced visiting the
schools, and repeated our visits frequently during
the five days which we stayed with them. —
These visits were highly gratifying to us, and
they afforded us an opportunity of observing
the behaviour of the children, both in and out
of the school, their improvement in learning, and
the whole order and management of the school ;
together with the proficiency of the boys in
agriculture, and of the girls in the various do-
mestic arts. They are sewing and spinning
handsomely, and would be weaving if they had
looms. The children are cleanly, chaste in
their manners, kind to each other, peaceable,
and friendly to all. They promptly obey orders,
and do their work cheerfully without any objec-
tion or murmur, they are regular in their at-
tendance on family devotion and the public
worship of God, and sing delightfully. Their
proficiency in learning was gratifying to us,

192 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

and is well spoken of by visiters. If they do
not sufficiently understand what they read, it is
for the want of suitable books, especially a
translation of English words, lessons, hymns,
&c. into their own tongue.

" But the change which has been wrought
among the adult Indians, is wonderful ! This
people, ' that walked in darkness, have seen a
great light, — they that dwelt in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.' And they have been ' called from
darkness into the marvellous light' of the
Gospel."

" The first successful missionary that appeared
among them, was Mr. Steward, a coloured man,
and a member of our Church. The state of
these Indians is thus described by him, in a
letter to a friend, dated in June last.

"'The situation of the Wyandot nation of
Indians, when I first arrived among them, near
six years ago, may be judged of from their
manner of living. Some of their houses were
made of small poles and covered with bark ;
others of bark altogether. Their farms con-
tained from about two acres to less than half
an acre. The women did nearly all the work
that was done. They had as many as two
ploughs in the nation, but these were seldom
used. In a word, they were really in a savage
state.'

" But now they are building hewed log houses,
with brick chimneys, cultivating their lands, and
successfully adopting the various agricultural

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 193

arts. They now manifest a relish for, and begin
to enjoy the benefits of, civilization; and it is
probable that some of them will, this year, raise
an ample support for their families, from the
produce of their farms,"

The following extract from Bishop Soule's
letter, to the editor of the xMethodist Magazine,
dated Nov. 13, 1824, will show the state of
things, when he, in company with Bishop
M'Kendree, paid the Wyandots a visit on the
preceding August : —

'' The change which has been produced, both
in the temporal and spiritual condition of this
people, is matter of praise to Him, ' who has
made of one blood all nations of men to dwell
upon the face of the whole earth ;' and cannot
be viewed but with the most lively pleasure by
every true philanthropist. Prior to the opening
of the mission among them, their condition was
truly deplorable. Their religion consisted of
paganism, improved, as they conceived, by the
introduction of some of the ceremonies of the
Roman Catholic Church. Hence, although
they were baptized, they kept up their heathen
worship, their feasts, their songs, and their dan-
ces ; sad proofs of their deep ignorance of God,
and of that worship which he requires. In this
state the belief in witchcraft was so strong and
prevalent as to produce the most melancholy
consequences. Numbers have been put to death
as witches under the influence of this belief.
Their morals were of the most degraded kind.
Drunkenness, with all its concomitant train of
13

194 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

vitfes, had overrun the nation. Poverty, and
nakedness and misery, followed in their deso-
jating course. In this condition the chase was
their chief, if not their only resource. The
cultivation of their lands, although among the
most fertile and beautiful in the western coun-
try, was almost entirely neglected. To the
comfort of domestic life they were consequently
strangers. Such were the Wyandot Indians,
when the missionary labours were commenced
among them. Their present situation presents
a most pleasing contrast. A large majority of
the nation have renounced their old religion, and
embraced the Protestant faith, and they gener-
ally gave ample proof of the sincerity of their
profession by the change of their manner of
life. Those especially who have joined the
society, and put themselves under the discipline
of the Church, are strictly attentive to all the
means of grace, so far as they understand them,
in order to obtain the spiritual and eternal
blessings proposed in the Gospel : and the regu-
larity of their lives, and the solemnity and
fervency of their devotions may well serve as a
reproof to many nominal Christian congrega-
tions and Churches. As individuals, they speak
humbly but confidently of the efficacy of Divine
grace in changing their hearts, and of the wit-
ness of the Spirit, by which they have the
knowledge of the forgiveness of their sins, and
of peace with God, referring others to the out-
loard and visible change which has taken place,
as the evidence of the great and blessed work

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 195

which God has wrought among them. The
happy effects of the Gospel are becoming more
and more obvious. Their former superstitions
have almost entirely yielded to the force and
simplicity of truth. The wandering manner
of life is greatly changed, and the chase is
rapidly giving place to agriculture, and the vari-
ous necessary employments of civilized life.
The tomahawk, and the scalping knife, and the
rifle, and the destructive bow, are yielding the
palm to the axe, the plough, the hoe, and the
sickle.

" It is delightful to notice their manifest incli-
nation to the habits of domestic and social life.
If we may depend on the correctness of our
information, and we received it from sources
which we had no reason to dispute, those of the
Indians who have embraced the Protestant reli-
gion are generally, if not unanimously, in favour
of cultivating the soil, and of acquiring and
possessing property on the principles of civili-
zation. This, with suitable encouragement and
instruction, will lead to a division of their lands,
personal possession of real estate, and laws to
secure their property. The national govern-
ment, in its wisdom and benevolence, has adopted
measures for the instruction and civilization, not
only of the Wyandots, but also of many of the
Indian nations on our vast frontiers ; and the
Christian missionary, animated with the love of
souls, whose great object is to do good on the
most extensive plan within his power, will re-
pice to contribute his influence to promote

196 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

the success of these measures. Such is the
relative condition, the education, and the hahits
of the Indians, that much depends upon the
character of the government agents, the mis-
sionaries, and the teachers employed among
them. They must be instructed and encouraged
both by precept and example. Happy will it be
for the Indians when the efforts of their civil,
literary, and religious agents are thus harmo-
niously united. With such a joint exertion,
there can be little doubt but the Wyandot na-
tion will at no very distant period, be a civilized,
religious, and happy people. It is to be feared
that a number of traders, near the boundary
lines of the Indian lands, have, by supplying
them with whisky and other articles, con-
tributed, in no small degree, to prevent the
progress of religious influence and civilization
among them. This destructive traffic calls the
Indian to his hunting ground to obtain skins to
pay his* debts, and at the same time it affords
the means of intemperance and intoxication,
from whence arise quarrels, and sometimes
blood shedding. Will not this be required in
the great day of righteous retribution, at the
hand of the white man ? The reformed among
the Indians see and deplore the evil, but have
not the means of removing it."

6. Tei^timony of distinguished politicians.

Mr. John Johnston, agent for Indian affairs,
under date of Aug. 23, 1823, writes as follows
to Bishop M'Kendree : —

INDIAN REMINtSCENCJES. 197

" Sir, — I have just closed a visit of several
days, in attending to the state of the Indians at
this place, and have had frequent opportunities
of examining the progress and condition of the
school and mission, under the management of
Ihe Rev. James B. Finley. The buildings and
improvements of the establishment are substan-
tial and extensive ; and do this gentleman great
credit. The farm is under excellent fence, and
in fine order ; comprising about one hundred
and forty acres, in pasture, corn, and vegeta-
bles. There are about fifty acres in corn, which,
from present appearances, will yield three thou-
sand bushels. It is by much the finest crop I
have seen this year — has been well worked, and
is clear of grass and weeds. There are twelve
acres in potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and gar-
den. Sixty children belong to the school, of
which number fifty-one are Indians. These
children are boarded and lodged at the mission
house. They are orderly and attentive ; com-
prising every class, from the alphabet to readers
in the Bible. I am told by the teacher, that
they are apt in learning, and that he is entirely
satisfied with the progress they have made.
They attend with the family regularly to the
duties of religion. The meeting house, on the
Sabbath, is numerously and devoutly attended.
A better congregation in behaviour I have not
beheld : and I believe there can be no doubt,
that there are very many persons, of both sexes,
in the Wyandot nation, who have experienced
the saving effects of the Gospel upon their

198 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

minds. Many of the Indians are now settling
on farms, and have comfortable houses and
large fields. A spirit of order, industry, and
improvement, appears to prevail with that part
of the nation which has embraced Christianity ;
and this constitutes a full half of the whole pop-
ulation.

" I do not pretend to offer any opinion here
on the practicability of civilizing the Indians
under the present arrangements of the govern-
ment ; — but, having spent a considerable por-
tion of my life, in managing this description of
people, I am free to declare, that the prospect of
success here is greater than I have ever before
witnessed — that this mission is ably and faith-
fully conducted, and has the strongest claims
upon the countenance and support of the Meth-
odist Church, as well as the Christian public at
large."

The following extract from Judge Leib's re-
port to the department of war, gives an interest-
ing account of his visit to Sandusky, on the 12th
Nov., 1826. From this report, by an intelligent
official gentleman, in no way, that we know of,
connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
the influence of religion, in civilizing savage
man, will appear in every respect efficient : —

" On Tuesday, the 10th of November last, I
left Detroit for Upper Sandusky, where I ar-
rived on the 12th, and found this establishment
in the most flourishing state. All was harmo-
ny, order, and regularity, under the superin-
tending care of the Rev. Mr. Finley. Too

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 199

much praise cannot be bestowed on this gentle-
man. His great good sense, his unaffected zeal
in the reformation of the Indians, his gracious
manners, and conciliating disposition, fit him
in a peculiar manner for the accomplishment of
his purpose ; and the fruits of his labours are
every where visible : they are to be found in
every Indian and Indian habitation. By Indian
habitation here is meant a good comfortable
dwelling, built in the modern country style, with
neat and well finished apartments, and furnish-
ed with chairs, tables, bedsteads, and beds,
equal, at least, in all respects to the generality
of whites around them. The Wyandots are a
fine race, and I consider their civilization ac-
complished, and little short in their general im-
provement to an equal number of whites in our
frontier settlements. They are charmingly sit-
uated in a most fruitful country. They hunt
more for sport than subsistence, for cattle seem
to abound among them, and their good condi-
tion gives assurance of the fertility of their soil
and the rich herbage which it produces, for the
land is every where covered with the richest
blue grass. They mostly dress like their white
neighbours, and seem as contented and happy
as any other portion of people I ever saw. A
stranger would believe he was passing through
a white population, if the inhabitants were not
seen ; for beside the neatness of their houses
with chimneys and glazed windows, you see
horses, cows, sheep, and hogs grazing every
where, and wagons, harness, ploughs, and other

200 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

implements of husbandry, in their proper places.
In short, they are the only Indians within the
circle of my visits, whom I consider as entirely
reclaimed, and whom I should consider it a
cruelty to attempt to remove. They ought to be
cherished and preserved as the model of a col-
ony, should any be planted and nurtured in re-
mote places from our frontier settlements.
They are so far advanced, in my opinion, as
to be beyond the reach of deterioration. The
whole settlement may now be looked upon as a
school. Two acres of the missionary farm have
been cleared and enclosed since last year, and
sown with timothy seed, and about eighteen
acres cleared which were before enclosed and
sown with wheat. There is but one male teach-
er, who instructs the children in spelling, read-
ing, writing, arithmetic, and grammar. There
are seventy children from four to twenty years
of age — thirty-four boys and thirty-six girls.
The wife of the school master assists her hus-
band, and instructs the girls in knitting, spin-
ning, &,c. The children are contented and
happy. There are two men regularly hired,
who work on the farm under the direction of the
Rev. Mr. James Gilruth, who appears to be an
able and experienced husbandman. The boys
assist in the farming operations. A good and
handsome stone meeting house, forty feet in
length by thirty in breadth, has been erected
since last year. It is handsomely and neatly
finished inside. There are of the Wyandots
two hundred and sixty who have become mem

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. SW

bers of the Church. They are divided into ten
classes, in which there are thirteen leaders, five
exhorters, and five stewards. Some of the
largest boys belonging to the school are about
learning trades. Forty-three acres of ground
have been sown in corn, ten laid down in grass,
and three appropriated for a garden, since my
last visit. The farm is well supplied with horses,
oxen, cows, and swine, and all the necessary
farming utensils. I cannot forbear mentioning
a plan adopted by this tribe under the auspices
of the superintendent, which promises the most
salutary effects. A considerable store has been
fitted up on their reserve, and furnished with
every species of goods suited to their wants, and
purchased with their annuities. An account is
opened with each individual who deals thereat,
and a very small profit required. Mr. William
Walker, a quadroon, one of the tribe, a trust-
tvorthy man, and well qualified by his habits
and education to conduct the business, is their
agent. The benefits resulting from this estab-
lishment are obvious. The Indian can at home
procure every necessary article at a cheap rate,
and avoid not only every temptation which as-
sails him when he goes abroad, but also great
imposition. What he has to sell is here pur-
chased at a fair price. The profits of the store
are appropriated to the general benefit. This
plan it seems to me promises many advantages.
The merchandise with which this store is fur-
nished, was bought in New York, on good
terms."

202 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

7. Testimonies concerning other nations of
pagans.

We will make some extracts from Kay's
Caffrarian Researches, as exhibiting important
evidence in favour of the efficiency of religion
in reclaiming and civilizing man, as well as the
entire failure of plans of government, in doing
the one or the other. The Caffer, too, may be
considered as furnishing one of the most difficult
problems, and if Christ's religion spreads among
this people, its success cannot be despaired of
among any other on the face of the earth.
The following is a comment on the failure of an
attempt to civilize a clan in Natal, Caffi-aria, by
sending some Englishmen, under the command
of a British Lieutenant, who, without ministers
of religion, attempted the work of civilization,
by introducing agriculture and the arts : —

*' Here then we have a party of settlers, such
we may suppose as Captain Stout, of the Her-
cules, and others of his way of thinking, would,
in all probability, recommend as the civilizers
of Africa ! men of science, men of enterprise ;
men of general information, accompanied by
labouring men ; men who professedly went to
trade and to cultivate, to introduce the plough,
and European manufactures, &c ; and among
whom there were no ' order of missionaries or
clergy,' nor even a single individual that seem-
ed to have the most distant idea of introducing
* any system of religion whatever.' We may
now, therefore, fairly ask, how far this religion-
less scheme tended to civilize, or to make the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 203

wretched barbarians * useful members of a reg-
ular community.' Did their precepts or conduct
tend to rescue their swarthy neighbour from the
degraded state in which they found him, to raise
him above habits that are disgraceful to human
nature, to show him that heathenish customs are
decidedly injurious, and that his manners, in
many respects, reduce him, literally, to a level
with the brute. Were their enterprising plans
such as actually elevated either his mind or his
character, making him ashamed of a state of
nudity ; exciting willingness to adopt industri-
ous habits, in the place of predatory ones ;
convincing him that * honesty is the best policy,'
that truth is excellent, and falsehood abomina-
ble; and that peace is essentially necessary to
the happiness and well-being of society ? Alas !
instead of doing this, our adventurers had not
been many weeks in the land before dissension
and strife arose among them ; and, so far from
constituting exemplars of ' peace and good
will,' they soon constrained even the savage to
remark, ' See how these white men disagree 1'
Pride began to work ; disputes were the result ;
divisions presently followed; and the whole
company, instead of strengthening each other's
hands, in the course of a very short time be-
came completely scattered. The greater part
of them immediately left the country ; and sev-
eral were never more heard of, being lost, as
was supposed, at sea, on their passage back to
the colony.

** It is easy for our civilizing theorizers, in the

204 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

comfortable enjoyment of all the benefits of
civilization, gravely to philosophize, and tell us
what they would do, and what might be done by
instructing the rude children of nature in this
art and in that. Speculation, however, is one
thing, and practice another. In our own en-
lightened land, the tide of corrupt passion is
stemmed, and great moral achievements facili-
tated by established laws, by ancient institu-
tions, and by universal usages ; by the force of
Christian education, national examples, a Gos-
pel ministry, and the power of faithful prayer.
But not so in the regions of paganism. There
public example is heathenism, and heathenism
only : lust and vice are almost wholly uncon-
trolled ; virtue has no support ; the very atmos-
phere itself seems as if dense with moral evil,
and the powers of darkness hold undisturbed do-
minion. In such a situation, therefore, without
the counsel of Christian friends, the warnings
of a Christian minister, or the salutary influence
of Christian ordinances, men soon become
deaf to the checks of better principles. Fan-
cied insult arouses revengeful feelings ; unre-
strained passions speedily generate incredible
licentiousness; while avarice and self interest
prompt to acts the most iniquitous.

" Beside such a force, bare morality, upright
intentions, and the gentleman's high toned
'principles of honour,' rank, and whatnot, are
borne down like so many straws in the stream ;
and, instead of civilizing others, he gradually
slides from one degree of corruption to another,

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 205

until he at length becomes himself a savage, a
perfect sensualist, a polygamist, and that of the
most depraved cast ! ' There is a significant
phrase,' says the pious Newton, a clergyman of
the Church of England, who spent several
years in Africa, ' frequently used on the coast
of Guinea, that such a man is "grown black."
It does not mean an alteration of complexion,
but of disposition. I have known several who,
settled in Africa after the age of thirty or forty,
have at that time of life been gradually assimi-
lated to the tempers, customs, and ceremonies
of the natives so far as to prefer that country to
England. They have even become dupes to all
the pretended charms, necromancies, amulets,
and divinations of the blinded negroes.' And,
incredible as it may appear, there are now in
Caffraria also Englishmen whose daily garb
differs little from the beast-hide covering of their
neighbours ; whose proper colour can scarcely
be identified for the filth that covers them ; and
whose domestic circles, like those of the native
chieftains themselves, embrace from eight to
ten black wives or concubines !"

The above is not different from what has oc-
curred among our own Indians, and under the
auspices of our own government. And though
the success of missions among our aborigines
has been far from what could be desired ; yet
we have reason to believe that the want of suc-
cess has been owing principally to these two
causes. 1. The deteriorating influence of the
example of white persons among them. 2. Mis-

206 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

sionaries themselves have followed too far the
infidel plan of first civilizing, and then Chris-
tianizing. Or in other words, they have not
fully sanctified the Lord, in making religion the
axe to cut down the tree of barbarity and irre-
ligion. They have introduced civilized arts
first, and put them in the place of religion. —
Instead of first erecting houses and other build-
ings, and then introducing schools, and, last^
religion ; were religion made first and principal,
we have reason to believe the Almighty would
send down his large blessing, and the work
would be done. The plan then most proper to
be pursued, especially toward our Indians,
seems to be this. Let the missionary go among
them, let him eat, and sleep and live as they do,
except following their sinful courses ; and let
him preach Christ, and the savages will hear
and will be converted to the religion of the Bi-
ble. Then, when he is become a new man, he
will readily give up savage habits, will cultivate
the fields for his subsistence, will encourage
schools and the arts, and will become in short
a civilized man.

Speaking of the progress and blessings of the
Gospel, as eflTecting a glorious change for the
better, the author of the Researches remarks, —
*' On our return to the colony, reflection led me,
while passing along, to remark on the change
that is manifest in all places where the Gospel
has been established. A mere traveller, or stran-
ger visiting these parts, might perhaps be ready,
from general appearances, to conclude that little

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 207

or nothing had been effected ; that because he
found not villages in complete European style,
communities of well-dressed persons, and houses
furnished according to his own views and taste,
no change whatever had been wrought. But a
contrast of the present with the past furnishes
satisfactory and abundant evidence to the con-
trary : the simple testimony of the native him-
self will fully show that much has been done ;
that the condition of the female sex has even
already been ameliorated ; that the state of so-
ciety is considerably improved ; and that the
doctrines of Divine truth are gradually expelling
from their darkened understandings the delusive
phantoms of sorcery, and witchcraft, &.c.

''Although numbers of soothsayers, wizards,
and sorceresses dwelt in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of almost every station at its com-
mencement, there is scarcely one of these
characters now to be found near any of them.
They are confessedly unable to maintain their
ground or sustain their reputation, where the
people learn to pray, saying, ' Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,'
&LC. There, instead of the sanguinary orgies
of their ancestors, or the pagan ceremonies of
their still benighted neighbours, who have no
other help in time of trouble, nor hope of relief
amid the parching droughts of summer, we find
whole congregations solemnly acknowledging
the hand of Divine Providence, and with our
poet singing, —

208 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

* He makes the grass the hills adorn,
And clothes the smiling fields with corn ,
The beasts -with food his hands supply,
And the young ravens when they cry '

" On every station the mission plough is
busily engaged, and bids fair for ultimately
putting down the field labour of the woman al-
together. Having planted a few twigs of the
mulberry, together with various other fruit trees,
at Mount Coke, in 1825, I now found them
flourishing luxuriantly ; as also at Wesleyville,
where both soil and climate seem to suit them
very well. I trust, therefore, that in course of
time the silkworm will be introduced, and con-
stitute a profitable source of employment for the
natives. Schools have been every where estab-
lished ; and notwithstanding the numerous dif-
ficulties arising out of a total want of books,
from manuscript lessons alone many of the
children have acquired a knowledge of letters,
so as to be now able to read, in their own tongue,
* the wonderful works of God.' Their barba-
rous and hitherto unorganized language is at
length brought into form, and consecrated to
purposes the most sacred. Grammars, diction-
aries, and translations of different parts of
Scripture will soon be ready for the press."

After stating that the general increase of re-
ligious knowledge was considerably beyond
what might have been expected for the time,
the author of the Researches observes, "As to
morality, neither the theory nor the practice of
it was discernible among them in their native

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 209

State. There was no justice, no mercy, no ho-
liness, no truth ; there was none that did good,
no, not one. On the contrary, wickedness
overspread the whole land, which was full of
thefts, covetousness, lasciviousness, and almost
every species of crime. Iniquity thus reigned
unto death, uncontrolled and unchecked, so
far as the eye of man could discern ; for the
people seemed to be without any law which
condemned the vicious propensities, or any fear
of the righteous indignation of God. Sin
abounded to such an alarming extent, that
they appeared to be without law ; and unless
grace had much more abounded, sending unto
them the Gospel, none would have been re-
deemed from his iniquity, or turned from dark-
ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God. But by the word of salvation this change
has been effected ; and there are now Caffers
to be found, who may be truly denominated
moral men."

We will conclude our quotations from Mr.
Kay by giving part of the closing paragraph of
his interesting and instructive volume : —

" Government, indeed, may do much in pro-
tecting them from foes without ; but theirs is
not the province to put down or subjugate the
enemy within. Ignorance and superstition will
still bear down into eternal darkness whole na-
tions of men, unless Christians unweariedly
exert themselves in sending forth the light of
truth. Much has been done toward checking
the horrid rites and sanguinary orgies connect-
14

210 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

ed with idolatry in India, by appeals to the
British legislature ; and much, we trust, will
ere long be done for the enslaved African in
the west, by similar measures; but these, alas!
ca/i do little or nothing for the pagan nations
of Africa itself, inasmuch as they are wholly
independent of our jurisdiction. With a coun-
try of their own, and governments of their own
framing, they are placed beyond the reach of
every thing, save Christ and his Gospel.
Hence, if the friends of religion come not forth
to their help, millions of poor children must
remain for ever untaught; entire regions be
left altogether destitute of schools and churches,
as well as of teachers ; and generation must
continue to follow generation into eternity
without so much as ever seeing a book ! Nay,
thousands of miserable females must still be
tortured ; multitudes of innocent individuals
annually sacrificed ; and tens of thousands
dragged, while struggling with death, into
glens and jungles, as food for beasts of prey !"
8. For the purpose of establishing more fully
our position, if need be, we might adduce evi-
dence from the missions established by various
denominations of evangelical Christians. The
Moravian missions alone would establish the
truth that the Gospel is not only the more direct
way to civilize man ; but it is the only way to
moralize him. The Wesleyan Methodist mis-
sions can be appealed to as triumphantly estab-
lishing our proposition. The Baptist and other
missions in India and the West Indies, and the

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 211

various missionary establishments under the
board of commissioners for foreign missions,
furnish a large mass of evidence in favour of
commencing the work of civilization, by preach-
ing the doctrines of the cross. Indeed it may
be said of Protestant missions, in general, that
they are admirably calculated to raise from bar-
barity, to civilize and Christianize; while it may
be said of Roman Catholic missions, in general,
that they exert very little moral influence. This
seems to arise from the very genius and spirit
of Romanism. Where they have had the pop-
ulation under their control for centuries, the
common people are unlettered, are untaught as
it regards the principles of general knowledge.
A Latin mass service, no course of Biblical in-
struction, few sermons except harangues against
heretics, prohibition against reading the Bible,
and of thinking or reasoning concerning Scrip-
ture, are poor means of inculcating knowledge.
In Italy, Spain, Ireland, South America, Can-
ada, 6lc., the PEOPLE are still ignorant. And
while they are zealous in America to establish
colleges and seminaries for the purpose of pros-
elyting Protestant children to the faith of Rome,
the children of their own people, to a great ex-
tent, are growing up in gross ignorance and
immorality. If there was no other proof of the
corruption of Romanism than this, it would and
does suffice to sink its pretensions in the esti-
mation of all who reason on the subject. And,
as a proof in favour of the religion of Protest-
ants, or the religion of the Bible, their efforts

212 INDIAN REMINISCENCES.

and success in promoting knowledge, civiliza-
tion, and general good will among men, ought
to entitle them to the respect of all, and to the
general reception of their religion.

9. A concluding remark may be offered re-
specting the Wyandot nation. From the proofs
adduced, it must appear clear, that religion has,
to a great degree, civilized them. Yet, in con-
sequence of a species of persecution raised
against them under plausible pretexts, it is pos-
sible that religion and civilization may become
extinct, and the nation itself entirely extermi-
nated. As they possess a rich, beautiful, and
extensive tract of land, surrounded by white
settlers; such a fertile spot is an object of desire
to avaricious white men. Hence the whites
ardently desire to see the Wyandot reservation
exposed to sale ; which can be done only by its
being first purchased by the United States. Con-
sequently the surrounding settlers have importu-
nately petitioned the Ohio legislature to use their
influence with the general government, to cause
a purchase to be made of the Wyandot lands.
Accordingly an agent has been sent from Wash-
ington city in order to make the purchase.
The governor of Ohio has used all his official
and personal influence to induce them to sell.
Agents and officers of every description press
the subject by every means in their power. The
white people have impoverished them much by
stealing almost all their horses. Thus they are
beset by importunate and interested persons, so
as to produce divisions among themselves. If they

INDIAN REMINISCENCES. 213

stay where they are they are robbed and haras-
sed. If they sell out, and go west of the Mis-
sissippi, they are compelled to live a savage life,
at least for a while, in consequence of the new-
ness of the country ; or they are thrown among,
or along side of barbarous, uncivilized Indian
nations, or vicious, ignorant, and cruel white
settlers, the dregs of our population. These
are the prospects which have recently been pre-
sented in the state of this once powerful nation ;
though now reduced to a handful. Surround-
ed with such enemies, and placed in such cir-
cumstances, is it marvellous if civilization and
the whole nation should perish together ? Would
white men have any courage to improve farms,
and pursue the useful arts under such circum-
stances as these ? Do the squatters, who settle
on congress lands, or on the lands of others,
make permanent improvements, or dwell in
comfortable houses 1 And what encourage-
ment have the Wyandots to pursue the arts of
civilized life, who are in hourly expectation of
an expulsion from their homes, and of being
immured in the dense forest west of the Mis-
sissippi ? This is a terrible state of things ;
and the Judge of all the earth will recompense
their oppressors. But the principle maintained
above, that we are to introduce religion among
all men, whether civil or barbarous, and thus
extend the blessings of the Gospel to every na-
tion under heaven, stands fully established.

CONTENTS

REMINISCENCE I.— John Steward the coloured
man, the apostle of the Wyandots — His conversion
— Licensed to exhort — Remarkable dream — Sets
out from Marietta toward the north-west — Arrives
at Goshen among the Moravian Delawares — Jour-
ney to Pipe town — Incidents there . . P. 7

II. — Steward continued — Departure from Pipetown and
arrival at Sandusky — His reception at Mr. Walker's
— Journey to Jonathan's — First preaching among
the Wyandots — Fulfilment of his dream . 15

III — Licensing of John Steward to preach . 21

IV. — Steward continued — Opposition from Catholic
prejudices — Another objection raised — Opposition
from the chiefs Hicks and Mononcue — Their
speeches — Several chiefs converted — Speech of
Between-the-Logs — Low state of Steward's health
— His death — Vindication of his character 25

v.— Character of Steward .... 35

VI. — The Marietta conference in August 1822, and the
Wyandot delegation . . . • . 40

VII. — Journal — My appointment as missionary to San-
dusky— Journey, and incidents on the way — Ar-
rival 46

VIII. — Journal continued — First Sabbath at Sandusky
— Interview with the chiefs and Steward — Preach-
ing— An Indian marriage — Questions by Warpole
— A child baptized — Visit from Steward . 54

CONTENTS.! 215

REMINISCENCE IX.— Journal continued— Conver-
sation with Warpole — His three questions answer-
ed— His account of Indian doctrines — Another ob-
jection of his answered . . - . . 58

X. — Journal — Exhortations of Between-the-Logs and
Armstrong — Arrival of brother Finley — Incidents
during his stay — Prayers of the chiefs for the re-
covery of his health 6^

XI. — Journal — Meeting at the Big Springs — Descrip
tion of the wigwam — Supper — Evening's devo-
tions— Manner of sleeping ... 74

XII. — Organization and progress of the school — Gen-
eral character of the children — Two anecdotes —
Contemplated good results of the school — Different
lights in which it is viewed by the Indians — Two
anecdotes of Mrs. Hill — Behaviour of the children
at prayer ....... 78

XIII. — The school continued — Description of the mis-
sion house — Employ of the boys and girls — Num-
ber and employ of the mission family — Dress of
the Indian children — Religious state of the Indians
— Skill of the children in singing — Their manner
of sleeping ....... 86

XIV. — Naming the children — Strong passion of the boys
for hunting — Manner of sitting at meals — An in-
teresting meeting — The Little Chief — Prayer meet-
ing at John Hicks' — Prayer meeting at the school
house — Confession of the Little Chief — The school
— Second quarterly meeting — School examination,
School committee — Rules to govern the school 94

XV. — Interpreting — Good behaviour of the Indians at
meeting — Shaking of hands — The Amen — Num-
ber of dogs — of horses — Marriage — Witchcraft —
Painting their faces — The Wyandot language 106

XVI. — The Big Springs meeting — Journey there — Sup-
per— Meeting on Saturday evening — Mode of
sleeping — Between-the-Logs' account of his broth-
er Bloody-Eyes' attempt to kill him — Meeting on
Sabbath 117

216 CONTENTS.

REMINISCENCE XVII.-The Mohawk Woman 134

^VI"— -The Delaware camp meeting — Rev. Mr

llughes— The Urbana conference— Conversion of

Lump-on-the-Head— Administration of the sacra-

"^^^^ 131

XIX. — The second quarterly meeting . 137

XX.-BigTree •....! 149
XXI.— Council of Indian chiefs— An account of it 156
XXII. — Between-the-Logs .... 160

XXIII.— Efficacy of the Gospel in commencing and
completing civilization . ^ jg^.

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OCT 30 1902

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