Honourd Sir
When I was At
Boſton
^ye
laſt Fall^ I informed
Mr Oliver
&
the
Revd
Dr Sewal of y
e
Circumſtances of
Samſon Occom an Indian youth Educated principally at
the Charge
of the
Honbl
Commiſsioners whom
they had been pleaſed to Deſire me to direct ſince
his Incapacity to purſue his ſtudies any farther
By Reaſon of the weakneſs of his Eies.
^[illegible] Accordingly I [illegible] directed to keep an Indn Scholol at Montauk^. D
r
Sewal told me he S
puppoſed
the Commiſsioners
w
d allow
him a Proper Sallery
for teaching School He
was with Me Early in the Spring, &
Informd
Me that he had not Rec
d anything, & that
Mr Maltbie by direction from the
^Revd
Mr Burr^ had
wrote to him to Come to
New York
^in order [illegible][guess: to
his] going^ to Aſsiſt
in teaching.
M r
Brinerds
Indians, & that
Mr
Burr had
^directed him ſo
[illegible] by^ Encouragement from
the Commiſsioners that He ſhould be orderd there. Upon which I
wrote an ac
t of the Matter & the State of the
Indians at
Montauk, &
y
e
Circumſtances of
Samſon but have Rec
d No Anſwer, & before I went down
to Commencement I head
Samſon was gone to
Mr
Braynerd, & therefore Concluding
the Commiſsioners had diſchargd Me from any further Concern
ab
t him I Said nothing to any of the Gen
n
when I was at
Boſton. but He is now Come o‐
ver again & is as much at aloſs as Ever
he
was
&
deſires Me to End
r to
[illegible]be Informd of
^wt
^ the
Commiſsioners
wt they
w
d have him do —
^underſtang
Honrd
ſir that you are one of Them^ I take leave therefore to inform you
Sir that there are 31 Families of Indians at
Montauk
on Long Iſland where
ſamſon has
been keeping School a year & half & has Ne
ver Rec
d
Any thing
[illegible] but Ab
t 40 ſhil
in york
Mony
beſide
w
t the Indians Themſelves have
given him who have been & are ſo
deſirous of
his teaching School among them they they have
to their Power
[illegible] beyond their Power
[illegible][illegible][guess: ]Contri‐
^buted
towards^for his Support He has had about 30 Schollers
& More w
d have come but their Parents were
ſo poor as not to be able to do any thing for the
Support of Schoolmaſters.
the Indians He tells
Me they are
ſtill Exceeding
^very^
deſirous of his Continiance
there but Complain they are ſo Poor they
dont know how to pay him, & think
the
Commiſsioners are not So Kind to them as to
other Indians. The young Man is
willing to
Stay there Still if he c
d have a Support He
has been very Serviceable among them
^in [illegible][guess: promotg
Learng
]
& Religion as^ I am In‐
formd by others as well as from the Ac
t he gives
of
[illegible]
^of his Schollers
&
ye
[illegible] of ye Indians^ Particularly by a L
r from the
Rvd
Mr Horton their Miniſter which I left with
Mr Oliver the laſt
[illegible][guess: year]Fall.
Samſon Informs me
He is very much Sollicited by the
[illegible]Naraganſet Indians to keep School There & that there is
great need of a School & is willing to be Entir‐
ly directed by
the Commiſsioners. As he comes to
Me from time to time for direction & I have no
order to give him any, I thought it My duty
to let you know
this
^[illegible][guess: ſhort]^ State of the Affair,
&
doubtleſs
the Honbl
Comiſsioners may find ſome
more ſuitable
Perſon to have the Care of direct
ing him.
[illegible]I ſhall
^be glad to be^
Eaſed
Me of The Fruitleſs trouble
of hearing ſo often of his Circumſtances
& being
neither able to direct him nor do any thing for
him. wiſh
g
y
e
Div.
n
Bleſsing upon y
e Pious & Noble
Deſign of Promot
g
X
tn Knowledge &
Relig
n among y
e
Ind
ns I am S
r with great Reſpect your Moſt
ob
t
Humb
e
Serv
t
S W
[bottom]aſkd by the Counsel in order [illegible] a Reſult Agreeable to him. but wch have a Tendency to Render Eccleſiastical Councils Ridiculous & the
Reſult, Contimptible
& Mankind will be apt to
[illegible]
yt if a [illegible]
Sallery Stands in ye way or
c.d be found & his [illegible]
[illegible] In Nomeni Domini is
— Muſt be done.