up in that dark and gloomy habitation of filthiness and unclean spirits." The visitors "asked them if they understood all that which was already spoken, and whether all of them in the wigwam did understand, or only some few; and they answered to this question with multitude of voices, that they all of them did understand all that which was then spoken to them." A number of questions were put and answered on both sides; and "after three hours thus spent with them," and another prayer, Eliot and his friends, "having given the children some apples, and the men some tobacco, and what else they then had at hand, . . . departed with many welcomes." Before the end of the year, three other visits, Nov. 11, 25, with intervals of a fortnight, were made to the Dec. 9. same place. The attendance of natives was continually on the increase; they received instruction and counsel with respectful attention; and on the whole it was thought that there had been "hopeful beginnings."1 March. The interest in the undertaking increased and spread. "As soon as ever the fierceness of the winter was past," the missionary labors were resumed with zeal. 1647. Shepard, of Cambridge, relates that he "went out to the Indian lecture, where Mr. Wilson, Mr. Allin, of Dedham, Mr. Dunster [President of Harvard College], beside many other Christians, were present."2 Great encouragement was derived from the belief that this 1 A circumstantial account of the four meetings mentioned above is given in "The Day-Breaking, if not the SunRising of the Gospel, with the Indians in New England," published in London in 1647. The author was probably John Wilson, Pastor of Boston. In a short Preface, Nathaniel Ward (formerly of Ipswich, now in London) says: "He that penned these following relations is a minister of Christ in New England, so eminently godly and faithful, that what he here reports, as an eye or an ear witness, is not to be questioned." Comp. Winthrop, II. 303, 304. Clear Sunshine, &c., 6. (This tract, published in 1648, had been sent by Shepard in the preceding year to Winslow, then in London; comp. "Clear Sunshine," 1, with "Glorious Progress," 2.) Dunster, it seems, had had this business at heart six years and more : "Master Henry Dunster, schoolmaster of Cambridge, deserves commendations above many; he hath "forlorn generation," "these poor natives, the dregs of mankind, and the saddest spectacles of misery of mere men upon earth," alien "from common civility, almost humanity itself," were still not an originally incapable, but a "degenerate race," the barbarized remains of the ten Israelitish tribes who were scattered at the time of the Assyrian conquest. It was understood to be the Divine purpose to have those children of Israel conducted back to the fold before "the fulness of the Gentiles" should be brought in ;" and the hope that, by the strange concurrence of recent circumstances, this dawn of the millennial golden age was to be made to brighten in the West, was full of excitement to the devout imagination of the laborers in this uncouth vineyard. But Eliot and his associates were no visionaries, to trust entirely to their interpretation of prophecy, or to a supernatural power to attend upon preaching. They the platform and way of conversion of the natives indifferent right, and much studies the same; . . . . . he will, without doubt, prove an instrument of much good in the country, being a good schol ar, and having skill in the tongues; he will make it good, that the way to instruct the Indians must be in their own language, not English." (Lechford, 52, 53.) In Bishop Hall's "Diverse Practical Cases of Conscience Resolved" (323), is the following passage: "O that we could approve to God and our consciences, that this ['the propagation of Christian religion'] is our main motive and principal drift in our Western plantations. But how little appearance there is of this holy care and endeavor, the plain dealer upon knowledge hath sufficiently informed us; although I now hear of one industrious spirit that hath both learned the language of our new islanders, and printed some part of the Scripture in it, and trained up some of their children in the principles of Christianity." By "the plain dealer," the reader naturally understands Thomas Lechford, who entitled his work "Plaine Dealing." But Bishop Hall's book was published in 1649, when no part of the Scripture had been printed in a translation into the Indian language; and his preface is dated Sept. 12, 1648. I think it likely that his memory confounded what he may have heard concerning Eliot's plan of translating the Bible with what he had read in Lechford's book respecting Dunster. Lechford, while in America, had expressed, in a letter, his approbation of an earlier work of Bishop Hall, and when he afterwards published this letter in England (Plaine Dealing, 69), would naturally make court to the Bishop by placing it in his way. 1 True Relation, &c., 1. * Day-Breaking, &c., 14, 15, 19. Glorious Progress, &c., Epistle Dedicatory, 73, 93, 95; Appendix to do., 22 24; Light Appearing, &c., 14, 16; comp. Thorowgood, Jewes in America. believed that that Divine blessing which was hoped for would follow the use of means such as it belonged to a benevolent human wisdom to devise. From the first period of Eliot's attention to the subject, he perceived that some degree of civilization of the Indians must precede any development among them of the Christian character. He lost no time in respect to "preparations for the schooling" of the children.2 As the conditions of the undertaking disclosed themselves, he saw the importance of endeavoring to train his converts to industrious habits in agriculture and some easy mechanical arts, and of bringing them together in compact settlements of their own, where, withdrawn from unpropitious influences, they might be favorably influenced by their Christian neighbors and by one another, and where they might have the profitable mental and moral discipline incident to an administration of their own affairs.* The government were disposed cordially to second these efforts. They "appointed a committee to treat ..... about such parcels of land which they, Further acwith Mr. Shepard, Mr. Allin, and Mr. Eliot, should tion of the conceive meet to purchase for the encouragement of the Indians to live in an orderly way."5 Ten pounds were voted to Mr. Eliot, " as a gratuity from 1 "I confess I think no great good will be done till they be more civilized." (Day-Breaking, &c., 16.) "I find it absolutely necessary to carry on civility with religion." (Glorious Progress, &c., 16) Day-Breaking, &c., 24; Clear Sunshine, &c., 38; Further Discovery, &c., 18 66 government. 1646. Nov. 4. and others about it, and this I propound as my general rule through the help of the Lord:-They shall be wholly governed by the Scriptures in all things both in Church and State; they shall have no other lawgiver; 'The Lord shall be their Lawgiver, the Lord shall be their Judge; the Lord shall be their King, and he will save them.'" (Fur 3 Clear Sunshine, &c., 28; Glorious ther Discovery, &c., 23; comp. 28.) Progress, &c., 15. The last sentence in this quotation was the motto attached to Cotton's scheme of Laws for Massachusetts. (See above, p 25, note.) 5 Mass. Rec., II. 166; comp. DayBreaking, &c., 22. 1647. June 8. 66 the Court, in respect of his great pains and charge in instructing the Indians in the knowledge of May 26. God." The Magistrates were directed to take care to have a Court held "once every quarter, at such place or places where the Indians did ordinarily assemble to hear the word of God," with permission to the Indian chiefs to bring any of their own people to the said Courts, and to keep a Court of themselves once every month."2 Eliot availed himself of the meeting of the Synod to secure for his object the essential aid of the clergy. "There was a great confluence of Indians from all parts;" and he delivered "an Indian Lecture." It was conceived to be not unseasonable at such a time, "partly that the reports of God's work begun among them might be seen and believed of the chief who were then sent and met from all the churches of Christ in the country, who could hardly believe the reports they had received concerning these new stirs among the Indians; and partly hereby to raise up a greater spirit of prayer for the carrying on of the work begun upon the Indians, among all the churches and servants of the Lord Jesus." The scene "did marvellously affect all the wise and godly ministers, magistrates, and people, and did raise their hearts up to great thankfulness to God." 3 Trophies of the assault upon Indian godlessness were presently gathered from various places. On the Neponset, by Dorchester, was a cluster of wigwams, which owned the sway of Cutchamaquin. Eliot had visited them six weeks before his more encouraging attempt at the place which engaged his Preaching at Dorchester and other places. 1 Mass. Rec., II. 189. * Ibid., 188. This scheme, Eliot says, originated with themselves. "They desired that they might have a Court among them for government, at which motion we rejoiced, seeing it came from themselves, and tended so much to civilize them; since which time I moved the General Court in it," &c. (Clear Sunshine, &c., 28.) 3 Clear Sunshine, &c., 11; comp. Winthrop, II. 308. principal attention.1 Cutchamaquin never became a satisfactory convert, but some of his subjects manifested a more docile spirit. "The awakening of these Indians raised a great noise among all the rest round about." A message came to Eliot from the Indians about Concord, desiring him " to preach, as he could find time, among them;" and they adopted a rude code of rules, drawn up for them by Simon Willard of that place.2 A visit to Yarmouth, for a different purpose, afforded Eliot opportunity for "speaking with, and preaching to, the poor Indians in the remote places about Cape Cod;"3 but this was followed by no important success. With the savages who met every year at "a great fishing-place upon one of the falls of the Merrimack," and especially with the family and subjects of "old Papassaconaway, who was a great sagamore, and had been a great witch in all men's esteem," he flattered himself that he labored to better effect. "Some of Sudbury Indians, some of Concord Indians, some of Mystic Indians, and some of Dedham Indians were ingenious, and prayed unto God, and sometimes came to the place where he taught, to hear the word." From Lynn, where all the rest were "naught," "one sometimes came to hear the word, and tell him that he prayed to God." At Quaboag (Brookfield), whither the sachem of the place conducted him with a guard of twenty men, Eliot "found sundry hungry after instruction." 5 1 Day-Breaking, &c., 3. 3 Clear Sunshine, &c., 8. 5 Further Discovery, &c., 21.- Eliot asked a Narragansett sachem, "why they did not learn of Mr. Williams, who had lived among them divers years. And he soberly answered, that they did not care to learn of him, because he was no good man, but went out and worked upon the Sabbath-day." (Clear Sunshine, &c., 31.) "In Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," wrote Daniel Gookin so late as 1674, "there are sundry English live, that are skilful in the Indian tongue, especially Mr. Williams of Providence, of whose endeavors I have heard something that way. But God hath not yet honored |