But thro' a kind Providence Things now appear w
h another aspect,— somewhat
encouraging.— I have lately spoke
to the Chiefs & head Warriours
of this, & several other small adjacent Castles.— The substance of w
ch, & their
Answer shall only mention to save
[illegible] you needleſs trouble.—
I a'cquainted them more fully w
t my Design, Disposition, &c— requiring of 'em
w
t was their real inclination w
h regard to my settling among them.— whether they
were desirous, wou
d
reci
ve
& embracing Christianity.— offer'd them several Argu‐
ments to enforce y
e Matter, ſhew its Consequence, &
desir'd'em to give it due conside‐
ration.— In Their Answer,
said. They had considerd the whole.
of my Speech,— were intirely satisfied w
h my Design, & was certainly well disposd,—
had their real good at heart.— y
t they believ'd
y
e Ministers in
N– England were very
good men, tho't of nothing but God & heavenly Things.— wou
d have me proceed in
learning y
e Language,— y
t they wou'd
rec
ve
^me^
& embrace y
e Word of God.— When I shou
d
[illegible] think myself sufficiently acquainted w
h
y
r Tongue to speak in public, they wou
d be ready to hear me.— They desir'd me to cleave fast to this Town (call'd
Kaunan‐dausagea) & keep as good Orders as poſsible, by private advice & admonitions, 'till
I shou'd be able to ſpeak in public. — This was deliverd to me in presence of
eight persons (Chief & head‐warriours) who said y
e greatest part were thus minded,—
&
y
t they wou
d use their Influence y
t
every one
shou
d give me good treatment &
listen to w
t I might say.—
Houever Notwithstanding these Discouragements, the Gospel of Jesus X
shoud be offerd them.— The work is Gods— poor feeble Man can only be found in
ye
Uſe[illegible] of Appointed Means,— must leave ye
Bleſsing
wh him, who has ye Sole wright
& prerogative to give it,— who orders all Things, according to his own
divine Counsel. — May the ever bleſsed God grant his holy Spirit to accompany ye means
& endeavours his People are now using for this purpose,— whout
wch all will be in vain.—
I have not enlarged Things, lest your Expectations shoud be to high. you will doubtleſs acquaint ye
Revd, &
hon.ble Gentlemen Correſpon.d[illegible][guess: es]
wh my Situation. & please to present them my most dutiful Rgards.— Tho' I'm not immediately under their Care, I trust I'm not whout their Remembrances Their pious Zeal & unfeigned Sincerity in this great Affair, shou'd
shurely be taken as an argument of encouragement & Comfort to the poor
Miſs.[illegible]
twa's said of Old ye Prayers of the Rightous avail.— may they live to see
ye fruits of their Labour ^& answer of their prayers^
[illegible] their abundant Satisfaction.—
P.S. I wrote y
e above in such hast, have
omitted several Things,— as y
e Opportunity delays
will now mention'em.— I purpose to visit Rev
d
Mr Chamberlain sometime in y
e Spring, & inform him of my Situation,
advising w
t him respecting my Return &c— Shall—
^[right]doutbleſs_^
^[right]Verte^
doubtleſs go as far as
Capt Butlers— I beleive I must run you in deb
[gap: tear][guess: t] for a few neceſsaries. I have scarcely linen to cover my back, & to make i
[gap: tear][guess: t]
last as long as poſsible, I have not slept in a shirt for Nine Months past.
As to Provisions, I
hope w
h
y
e
Bleſsing of health, shall be able to endure y
e ensuing Summer. I have afew
Bisquet
& a little flower yet left,
I have actually learnt to be content w
h
leſs Victuals, Than ever I was
wont to before.— we very often here
postpone Breakfast & Dinner 'till four 'o
^[right]Clock^ in y
e
After Noon. & sometimes until y
e next Day.— This new faſhion was
very disagreeable to me for a long time. nor am I yet perfectly
reconciled
to it.— Thro' a kind Providence I enjoy a very comfortable state
of health. I have
during y
e Winter, excepting a bad cold, catched last fall
by going w.
hout shoes—
I have wrote a few Letters in these several Days past,— You
will
please to forward them.— If I shant have time, I humbly beg y
e Favour of your writing my kind Friends in
Boston, former Benefactors
I hope I have not given em occasion of offence by not writing for so long
a time.— I have scarcely wrote
my own Father,— & all my letters to you
were wrote in such hast, &
w
h so much inconsideration, imprudence, & ten‐
Thousand Blunders, y
t I trust you can easily excuse me.—
I'm conscious to my self
y
t I feel some small Emotions of Gratitude towards them
as well as towards
my Rev
d Pat
tron.— 'Tis my Sincere & constant Prayer that
I may be enabled so to conduct & behave myself as y
t each shal
yl have occasion
to rejoice, in having open'd their Hearts & hands for my releif.—
The Hon
bl
S.
r
W.m Johnson is a very Kind Patron to me in these distant
Parts,— The hopeful prospects of succeſs here I must subscribe chiefly to
[gap: worn_edge]
[guess: underſed].
All His Honrs Letters to me are wrote wrote in ye most freindly manner imagenable, &
wh uncommon Condesention,— giving ye strongest Evidence of His Approbation, & good will towards my design. which adds much to my comfort & encouragement in ye Gloomy Wilderneſs. I know not how to requite such unmerited Kindneſs.— I hope I may have suitable acknow‐ledgements of
Gratitude, & above all be thankful to the Father of Mercies for His special Friendſhip to ye Design.—
I shoud be glad to hear if
Mr
J.h Smith of
Boston be returnd from
England.— w
t he may bring in favour of your Design.— No more at present
Tuus ut ante—
K
^[left]Rec.d
April. 29. 1766.^
if otherwise, I beleive I shall visit you notwithstanding y
e many difficulties w
ch attend y
e journey. you may expect me by y
e
14 or
16 of May
extraordinaries excepted.
His Honour
Sr William, thinks it best &
necaſsary
y
t I return, unleſs by way of writing
I can give you sufficient Knowledge &
accquaintance
w
h
y
e present state & Disposition
of y
e Indians w
h regard to rece
ng
y
e Gospel. tho'
y
t
woud be difficult, & not so well as if I were present.
Time woud fail me, shoud I attempt a plain & full acct of Affairs, & nothing else will answer in a Case of such importance.— if Things
are represented in a superficial in‐explicit manner, 'twill be of no service to you.—
In case of Sickneſs, or any thing
y
t may fall out w
ch shall prevent my return,
at y
e time mention'd, you will proceed to execute y
e plan you have laid out, but not in
its full extent.— As to
Schoolmasters among y
e
Senecas
&
Onondages—
w
t I've wrote in y
e fore part of this Letter must answer for y
e present, having not
time to enlarge— I find it exactly agreeable
to
His Honrs Opinion
[illegible]
[illegible] of y
e Matter.— therefore need say no more.— perhaps it may be thought
well for
a young Miſs
ry to go there in order to learn their Language, open y
e way & lay some
foundation for future improvement. of w
ch I can likely give you sufficient informa‐
tion when I
return.— 'Twill be neceſsary
y
t you sapply
y
e
Mohawks,
Onidas
&
Ohquages
w
h
Miſsi
rys
& Schoolmasters as before Mentioned. &
shoud be constan‐
tly if you really expect & hope
[gap: blotted_out][guess: to]
see any fruits of your unwearied Labour
& pains.— if these small beginings at these several places are
fnot perfec‐
ted, I
imag
eine there is little hope of succeſs,— but if suitably improved, I can't but
think & do really beleive a Bleſsing may be hoped for w
hout presumption.—
I hope you may be able to find Such Miſsrys who shall be willing to tarry
wh
ye Indians long enough for a proper trial, notwithſtanding
ye Many discourag‐ments, hardſhip, &
enconveniencies of Life yt
[illegible] must at present accompany ye
Busineſs.
If I have any right View of y
e Case, I think y
e
very
Life
&
progreſs of y
e Design depends upon y
e
Miſs
rs— Tho gettings Indian Boys to your
School
is encouraging & opens a door for future improvment.—
The often changing of Miſs
rs will do more hurt than good. & their
tarrying but a little while among them (or just looking upon them
as they call it)
does not forward y
e
[illegible]Design, but discourages y
e Indians & gives occasion of
umbrage to such as are not well dispos'd.— which unfortunately happin‐
ing w
h
y
e
Mohawks
&
Onida's has given y
e
Onondages,
Cayugwa's
&
Seneca's a mean opinion of y
e Desig
gn, &
a
^some^ suspicion of iNs Sincerity.— Neither
do I apprehend Things are now so forward w
h
y
e
[gap: blotted_out][guess: for] former, as they
were
last spring
of or fall, excepting
Davids
fall School, w
ch
thro' a kind providence
has been preserved thro' many discouragments, & now appears very hopefull,
& promises great succeſs, if other
^proper^ Means are
[illegible] seasonably applied for its
support & future improvments. Viz, A Miſs
ry constantly residing there, for in‐
structing y
e old people & encouraging y
e Young. No one can reasonably expect
any great Succeſs from such a School, under such
[illegible]
Circumstances, w
hout a
Miſs
ry to accompany y
e Schoolmaster.— I dont Mention this as if I
thought
Mr Chamberlain worthy of blame, far from it,— for I
suppose
he acted from principles of conscience & sound Judgment in leaving
Onida.
the Neceſsity of his continuing there
[illegible][guess: ought] not appear so great as it really
was
fwas, for want of farther Knole
gdge of their Situation &
[illegible]
diſposition.—
his long delay in coming to them & sudden leaving them, has given some disgust
& greatly discouraged em.— from my small acquaintance & view of Affairs,
their Situation, was such last fall, &
y
e
Neceſsity so great for y
e general
interest of y
e Cause, as required y
e utmost endeavours to improve & embrace
so favourable an Opportunity.— a
proper or
improper Support in such
a case I
suppose
if is quite out of
[illegible][guess: ye] question,— if it be true w
t old experienced
Divines say, y
t in a like case if a person shoud give a year or two' service
to y
e Lord, without any immediate pay, he will be no looser, find a good pay master
& large interest,— at least a hundred persent.— I wish I might be able to take
this for my present portion, twoud
doubtleſs give me much ease, & prevent many
bitter complaints.— I'm very sorry
Mr Chamberlain has concluded
it not worth his while to learn an
Indian Langu
gage. I much fear he will
give up his Commiſsion.— his faith, or rathr
Expecta
ns were so very high
last Summer when I first saw him, as made me fear they shoud soon come as low.
he told me, he tho't hardly worth his while to learn any Language of y
e
confederateNations, but proceed to those more
remote, for he sometimes thought he shoud live
to see y
e west fear he really beleived God was going to bring all y
e Indians to y
e
Knowled
g of y
e Gospel, &
y
t in a
Natural way, by y
e use of appointed Means.
he alſo came fortified against all discouragments, he expected nothing but y
e most vile
iungrateful, inhuman & unkind treatment from y
e Savages, he knew
Indians &
w
t he must rece
ve from em.— he never so much as asked me w
t I tho't
or Indians
or Indians or indian Affairs in one single particular. & I had so
much damnable cursed pride if heart, y
t I did not open my self so freely to him as
I ought to have done, (The Lord forgive me for my
iniquity). tho' I gave him y
e Charac‐
ters of several persons at
onida, whose influence was great,— y
r favour & esteem
might be well to procure. for w
ch he Thank'd me kindly.— not y
t I blame him So
much as my self. for a proud haughty Miſs
ry is little Better than y
e Devil.—
Oh, y
tI may obtain Mercy of God thro' Jesus Christ, for my insincerity & pride of
heart. perhaps it may be well y
t you use some care in seeking Miſs
rs for so important
a Busineſs.(or poſsibly they may cause you sorrow & trouble as I have done.)
for I sincerely beleive you nothing but y
e interest of y
e Redeemers Kingdom at heart.
If a persons Eye be single (y
e Scriptures say) his whole Body shall be full of light
If they are true,
one may know whether y
e Glory of God,
[illegible] self his upermost.
But wt Im [illegible][guess: Isaying]! Revd
S.r forgive me this rong. surely such things are quite improper, unbecoming a youth.— discouver too much Arrogancy
&
Aſsurance. would to God I might know my self. & act accordingly. I want your Instruction & Discipline. bear wh my folly, I mean will.— I really fel your indian Cause [illegible][guess: ly]
[illegible][guess: near] my heart. I'm greeved to think how matters have gon on here, when your daily Labour &
travel of soul is so great for its succeſs. but this again discou‐vers dambnable pride of heart, wt can I say! May ye Lord be mercefully to me: but surely I have no Reasion to boost, [illegible]
[illegible][guess: rathr] to lie in ye
[illegible]dust of humiliation. for you know as well
as my self, yt I'm under infinite obligation, both from within & without, to give my life & service to promote this Indian Cause, while it shall appear agreeable to
his will. but alas, how far short have I fell.
yt I dont deserve even so much praise as is due to a Man for attempting to
do his duty.— oh, yt I may be kept in ye fear & love of God. from Pride & in‐gratitude on ye one hand, & Despair on ye
[illegible][guess: latter]
other.—
[gap: blotted_out][guess: dont]
I pray you wont expose this page to my hurt.
The Bearer is now waiting to go, quite unexpected to me.—
must omit many things.— please God to spare my Life & health you
may expect me about y
e time mentioned before.—
I can only say this
[illegible], y
t several Thing have happened lately which may
delay y
e
progreſs of your Design. Yesterday heard at
S.r Williams
y
e
Ohquage Sachem, deliver an acc
t
& complaint of an Indian Man
being killd near
Minisinks or in y
e County. belonging to
Onida.
y
e Indian was butcherd in y
e most cruel i
hnhuman Manner.—
Also five of y
e
Senecas
[illegible] killed in some parts of
pensilvania,
w
ch came in a Letter from
Gover.r
Pen to His Hon
r
S.r Williams.
tis said one of y
e
Onondages have also shared y
e Same fate.—
S.r
Willm is much afraid w
t
y
e Consequences will be.—
four of y
e
Seneca's, I suppose belong'd to y
e Castle where I reside.
who went last summer to war
^[illegible]^against y
e
Cherokeess. & have
been gone two Months longer than y
e time they set.—
I have been these three Days past w
h His Hon.
r
Sr Williams for advice In my affairs &c.
&c.— had many things of Consequence
to inform you, since y
e last page was wrote.— The Bearer
is impatient to go must leave
all, till I see you God Willing
earnestly beg a near Remembrance in you Prayer
Rev
d
S.
r in hast
Your ever obe
d
&
tho unworthy Serv
t
S
Kirtland
PS. as I have wrote in great hast
I have no Coppy nor time for any Correction.
if any Thing shall appear dark unintelligible
thro' too Great Brevity, I beg your Candour till
I return, when I will endeavour to clear such thing
as shall be
superficial & inexplicit..
Capt Butler
&
Lady give Compliment.— I set off
immediately for y
e
Senecas.
shall return as quick as poſsible
[illegible]
[illegible][guess: in]
suitabl prudence & Moderation in such
fatiguing Journeys.
tuus ut ante,
SK.