Lebanon
Sept.r 15.1761.
Much Reſpected and Hon.d Sir.
My Affairs have ſo crowded
me that I han't
found Leiſure to write you of the State of
this Indian
School, as
^you deſired
&
^ I deſign'd when I had the Pleaſure you gave me at your House
laſt Spring. nor can I now more than gratify you with a few
Hints; in Hopes I
may have More Leiſure by & by
[gap: tear] or perhaps
the opportunity to wait upon you at your
own House
[gap: tear][guess: a]gain
be
fore winter.
M.r Occom, in Conſequence of the Appointment which I in
form'd you of, ſat out on his long journey to the
ſix Nations, on
the
10th of June
laſt, (accompanied by
David the youth
who
was with me at your House laſt Spring) by the way of
New
York, where he tarried ſeveral Days, &
preach'd in
M.r
Boſtwic^k^ Meeting House to an Aſsembly
vaſtly Numerous; at which
was collected £ 70. for his use. And the Evening
following at the
Baptiſt's Meeting House £ 13. their Currancy: And received
the fulleſt Recommendations from the principle Gentlemen
in the City. I have ſince received a Letter from him Dated
German Flatts.
July
7. Informing y.
t he had met with un
common Kindneſs, &
Reſpect every where. And that
Genl
Amherſt had given him the Strongeſt
Paſs, &
Recom̅endati
on to all his Officers, &c. And also that
Gen.l
Johnſson, who
was there on his way to
the Detroit, with Preſents to the Indians
had promiſed him his Aſsiſtance, and design'd the next Day
to introduce him to the
Oneida
Nation. I have also of
the Same Date and from the Same Place, a Letter from
Genl
Johnſon, which came by the Hands of Three
Mohawke Lads two of
[illegible] which were
Sent by the
Gen.l to
this School in
Complyance
illegible with my deſire by Letter to him that he would
ſend me ſix
promiſing Youth of those Nations. Three to
be ſupported by the
Hon.le
Scotiſh
Com̅iſs.rs, And the
other Three I venture to take in Addition to the ſix which
I had before to be the Subjects of Such Charities, as God
ſhall
diſpose the Hearts of his People to beſtow upon this
occaſion. And
the Gen.l informs me, he hopes, as he paſses
thro' the Other Nations on his Way, he ſhall be able to ſend
me 3. or 4. more ſo as to compleat the Number which I wrote
for. And I am now daily Expecting them here.
When these came I was much at a loſs what might be his
End in coming, who was not recommended by
the Gen.l; but
ſince we have learnt to underſtand them a little better, I am
fully perſuaded the Caſe was thus. After
the Gen.l had ſent away
those two, the Other underſtanding their Deſign, and being deſi
rous of Learning as well as they, went after
the Gen.l, but he
now got too far on his way to be overtaken, where upon
he con
cluded to run the venture of coming without Recommendation
They all behave very well hitherto. And it is quite agreable
to ſee them with the reſt Generally ſo well ingaged in their ſtudies.
tho'
Tho' one without Experience can well conceive the Difficulty there is in
Educating them.
David is not yet return'd nor do I expect him 'till those other
Ladds come, if before
M.r Occom returns from his Miſsion.
But one of the Girls which I have been ſo long expecting is yet
come.
M.r Brainerd wrote me in the Spring that those expected
from
Delaware, had been detained by Sickneſs, and one was then
not likely to recover, however that I might expect two by the
Firſt
Veſsel.
M.r Kirtland's
Son, a CharitySchollar, and promiſing Youth,
who is now at
this School
fitting for a Miſsion, is learning the
Mohawke Language of the Boys, as fast as he can under the
Diſadvantage of having no Books, nor Interpreter to help
him. And So are also ſeveral of the Indian Boys.
I here ſend you incloſed a Speciman of the writing of my two
Delawares, and I doubt not you would be much pleaſed to
hear them read Lattin
& Greek.
As to those Signatures & Traces of Judaiſm which have in
clin'd me to believe our American Indians to be the 10 Tribes
of the House of
Israel,
^I am not in a Capacity to ſet
ym in ſuch a Light as I hope I may be^. ſeveral of
which them we diſcourſd of,
ſuch as Their Languages being generally Guttural, & Abounding in prefixes
& Suffixes agreable to the Hebrew. Their use of y.
e word Higgai
nan in their Singing, which I ſuſpect to be the Same with Higgaion
used by the Sweet Singer of Israel Their
Sacrifices, eſpecially
of the pascal Lamb. (for want of which they use a Faun) ſo
agrea
ble to the Mosaic Rites. Their cutting out the Hollow of the Thigh
when they
can give no Reaſon for it but Tradition, and ſay that
all good Indians have done ſo, which I had from an old man
of good credit who was in his youth a Mighty
Hunter among
them. Their Avenging Murther by the neareſt of kin. Their Se
paration of
their Women for uncleaneſs. & their Purification &c
There Is, beſides These, and many Such like, one which I dont rem
ember to
have diſcourſed with you of, and which is with me as
weighty as almoſt any I have heard,
and which I ſhould be glad of your Thoughts upon. I had it from that dear man of God the
Rev.
d
David Brainerd a little before his Death. and
perhaps the
Diſcovery never was So fully made by any other. He gave it me
a little before his Death, as he had it from one of their Powows, then
lately converted to chriſtianity under his Minſtry among them.
He told me that the ſpirit which their Powows are at certain Times
under the Influence
Inſpired with, & under the Influence of, and which
makes them So much the fear & Dread of the Indians, was as exact
an Imitation of a Spirit of Propheſy as he could conceive the
Devil capable of. that they were
Seers and could See the Hearts
Thoughts, Purposes, & Intentions of others they were concerned with, as
plain as one could ſee an opaque Body in a tranſparent
Glaſs, they
would charge men with what they had done in Secret & make
them own it. and pretend to 'tell Fatuities, viz. what ſucceſs the
Enquirers would have in Hunting or War, in which Caſe they
[illegible] are
were much used. (and
[illegible]
^perhaps^ could 'tell as much as the Devil
Knew in these Caſes) and when the Spirit was gone from them they
were but as other men.
Now when I conſider how y.e false Spirit has all along imitated y.e Time and the great advantage he has thereby made to get ye
ſubjects of it fast in his Snare. and what advantage he may be Supposd to have got of ye 10 Tribes in this way, after ye Time ſince of Prophiſie
was.
was wholly Loſt among them, and not only a Sp.t of Prophiſie but humane Literature with it. I cant but think there is weight in
it.
as to what has been ſaid by Some y.
t the Names of Several
Animals
^in their Language^ are y
e very Same with the Hebrew: perhaps when we are
able to Send Miſsionaries among them who are well inſtructed in the
Hebrew Tongue we may be furniſhed with y
e
fulleſt Evidence from
that Quarter. I hope my dear Little
Jacob, who is now just
out of his 2.
d Year at
New Jerſie College, and is one of y.
e
Delaware Tribe, may be the very man to oblige us
with ſome new Diſcove
ries of the Nature.
The getting exact Information of these things, and Setting them in a
true and proper Light will require Time and Pains.
I have lately been (I cant Say diſagreably) amaſed with a Letter
from
M.r Emrie to M.
r
John Erſkine in
Scotland, in manuſcript
wherein he Supposes he has fully proved from the word of God y
t The Indians in
North America are the 10 Tribes of the House
of
Israel,
were
baniſshed
^hither^ into the Wilderneſs of the Peoples, and their
origional
conceald under enigmatical Propheſies, that they
might not be recond among the Nations, 'till Now the Time
of their Deliverance is at Hand. I have only had y.
e Favour.
of a curſory reading of it, I apprehend there is a great deal of
Insenuity in what he has wrote if nothing more. —
I was much encouraged in the Proſecution of this grand
Affair by what I met with at
Boſton
laſt Spring, perticular
ly the generous and Seaſonable
Bequeſt, of that truly noble
Lord the
Marquess of Lothain
, and others. which I look'd
upon as an Answer to Prayer, and was encouragd thereby
to enlarge the Number of My Schollars, And hope I ſhall
find what has been done to have been but an Earniſt of
greater Supplies as they Shall be needed.
I doubt not, my dear Sir, Your are ready to do any thing in
Your Power to promote it. And I truſt among the many Expreſsions of ^your^ unmerited Kindneſs you will not fail to remember in your devoutest Hours. him, who is
with moſt
ſincere
Reſpect, Sir.