Lebanon
Oct.r 18. 1768
In purſuance of a Commiſs
n
& orders rec.
d from the Rev
d
Doctr Wheelock I Sat out with M.
r
Allen Mather on a
Tour to wait upon
^ye
honble^
Sir William Johnſon Baronet Superintendant of
Indian
^affairs^ in
North America, and their Excellencies the Governers of the
Several Provinces concernd in
^the Buſineſs of^ the Congreſs of the Several Tribes
and
^[below]here^
[illegible]Convened by
Sir
Williams Order at
Fort Stanwix,
with a Memorial to the
S
d Governors
^&c^ from
Doct.r Wheelock in favour of th
ise Deſign of Introdu‐
‐cing Miſsionaries
& School
^maſters^ among their Remote Tribes. &c.
We arrived at
Fort Stanwix
Octr 25. and found the
Six Nations; Some
Delawares,
Shawaneſe, and Some from
Cognawaga
& others to the Number of
more than three Thouſand
^3120^. Condolation of their Loſs of a Number of their Chief men,
and mutual Speaches and Belts of Peace to Strengthen & brighten the chain of Friendſhip,
which was the Buſineſs of two Days, being paſt. I Soon found the Attention of the
Cheifs to the Buſineſs of the Congreſs, was Such, as forbid any treaty with them
^publickly on mattrs of Religion,^
till
[illegible] that was finiſhed. I continued eleven days and converſed with Numbers and
ma
[illegible][guess: k]de Several obſervations on the great difficulties &
Embarraſsments in the
way to
^ye^
chriſtianizing them. 1. Such a long Cuſtom
to
^in^ their Savage
s
Practiſes — as
has made them even a 2.
d Nature and Such atachment to them as nothing but
the Power of Divine Grace can altar. — 2. their Manner of living
^being^ Such as
Naturally creates and promotes
^in ym^ an inſatiable
thirſt for Strong Drink. So that
the Nearer
^they live to^
their almoſt Heathen Uropean
Neighbours
come to them and the more
of their Traders deal among them the Worſe and more Wretched they are made
and unleſs this evil can be remidied they muſt continue to Waſt away as the
Dew before the riſing Sun.
3.
^The Generality of^ Their Neareſt
Uropean
Neighbours appearing to be far from any deſire to promote
true Religion
and
^or So much as^ civilization among them, their Traders continually
preying upon
them, and
^some^ Gentlemen
[illegible]of Character who treat with them upon important Secular
affairs, and whoſe Examples are moſt likely to influence them, being Irreligious
&
debauchd, taking their females into their Laſciveous
^impure^ Embraces
&c
&c gives them
a bad Idea of the people who profeſs the knowledge of the True God, and naturally
Settles them in
^a^ better opinion of their Paganiſm which has not So much Debauchery
in it — and
^in^ an abhorrance of the chriſtian Religion.
4. The Tribes who live Neareſt
^&
moſt
exposd^ to Europeans being
moſt
Exposd,
and much the
moſt corrupted thereby
much
^greatly^
increaſes the Prejudices of remoter
Nations
^Tribes^ who
[illegible]have not
able
^understg enough and Scarſely opportunity if they had.^ to diſtinguiſh between those who are truly religious & Such
as may hardly
^deſerve^
[illegible][guess: bear] the chriſtian Name.—
Sir William Johnſon told me that
me that Some of the cheifs with Whom he converſed
^on y.e Head^ objected
that [illegible][guess: Badneſs of]
^that^ the
Mohocks
^who are Surrounded by Such white ppll^ who have had the Gospel preached to them more than Others were made
worſe by it, and that they themſelves were waiting to See a better Effect before
they would
Embrace
^receive^ the Gospel.
But on the Other hand there were Some things
that
^which^ appeared not a little
Incouraging. 1. that the
Onoidas to Whom the Gospel has been Succeſsfully
preachd
encamped by themſelves and looked behaved &
talkd like Chriſtians, excepting a few of them
their air, and Temper was modeſt, kind, humble &c
inſomuch that Strangers took notice
of it, a Number of them appeard much grieved & their
^Souls vexed^
Hearts depreſsd on acco
t of the
wickedneſs
y.
t was committed round about them. I diſcourſed with a Number of them
of the things of Religion, & they Seemd glad of the Opportunity, and Appeard to be
truly & genuinely Affected with the Same. Which
appeared to me
^I tho't^ abundantly
to
com
‐penſated all
Charge
^the Labr^
&
Expence
for them we therto
beſtowed for them.—
2.
[illegible]By private converſation with the Cheifs of Several Tribes they appeard willing to
have Miſsionaries
&
School Maſters come among them. And choſe that they
Should come
^upon their Ground^ in order
to Settle the Affair of their Receiving them, as the
Buſineſs of y
e
congreſs would not allow them
then to conſult
& deliberat
[gap: tear][guess: e]
[gap: tear] it at that Time. Towards the close of y
e
congreſs
M.r Kir[gap: tear][guess: tland]
[gap: tear][guess: Chr]iſtian Indians received him with all poſsible
Expreſsions of Joy. his
[gap: tear]
The
Seneca General who had behaved himſelf well in the congreſs, Seemd much animated by
^his coming^ and Solicited him, as did others of
the Senecas to viſit that Tribe again. —
I also Saw one from
[illegible][guess: Cochnawaga] near
Montreal,
who deſired to know if he could
get his Son into
D.r Wheelocks School, and manifeſted a great deſire to Send him
I told him there was talk of
the
School's going to
cowas. he Said if it ſhod
be fixd there he beleived that many of that Tribe wo
d Send y.
r children to it.
— while the Buſineſs of The Congreſs
laſted Rum was withheld, and
[illegible]modderation
harmony & decency was maintaind through the whole. y.
e whole was conducted
with great Deliberation and great care taken
to
^y.t all parties ſhod^ be mutually underſtood
when the Buſineſs of the Congreſs was Ended before the
Treat
^Rum^ was given out to them
Sir William Johnſon
^&^ his Family
and removed in the Night and adviſed that it was
Safeſt for all y
e
Engliſh to remove as Soon as they could which they accordingly
did. I tarried till about 10' oClock in y
e morning
^it being Sabath Day^ when the Rum had been
delivered out
about
^not more than^ two hours, in conſequence of which I beheld a Scene too
awfull
& horrid to deſcribe. the Whole Streat
& place of Parade was filld with
Drunkeneſs nothing to be heard or Seen but hollaring Yelling and fighting as tho'
hell itſelf had broke looſe, in which we heard that four were killd before we came
away
^& in this the Mohocks were not behind any of their Brethren^ — here the Behaviour of the few Sober and godly perſons among them did
in the Strangeſt Light exemplify those metaphors
^used for Such a purpoſe viz.^ as the Apple Tree among the
Trees of the wood &c: as the lilly among Thorns — as Sheep Among Wolves. &c
and they Separated
^themſelves^ from among them as faſt as they could. — this Scene as it
was no more than
was
^is^ common upon Such occaſions. led me to the pleaſing
con‐
‐ſideration
3. that they had in this Congreſs alienated Such a large Body of their Lands that
they would not likely have
the like Occaſion
^for a Congreſs^ for many Years to come, and
the
Mohocks who were the worſt of the Tribes, will likely never have another
^occasion^
as
all the
[illegible][guess: [se] Lands
^they can Spare^ are now
[illegible][guess: abt] gone. The Lands they Sold (as I was informd) was abo
t 800 miles in Length & 100 in Bredth.
The Religious Indians of
Kanawarohare
Seemd much afraid that great miſcheif
would be done
^to them^ by the Tribes who were to
return thro' that Town.—
and Upon the whole it fully
^as^
appeard that Whoever ingages in the Work of chriſt
‐ianizing them have
not only to encounter
^not only^
perils from y.
e heathen but perils
from falſe Brethren, and Such obſtinate prejudices, and mountanous Difficulties
as that the Remnant that are Saved will commonly appear to be
Brands pluckd
out of the Burning.
ſir
Wm
Johnſon renewed
the
^his^
Teſtimonials of
his
Friendſhip to the Deſign
and his promiſe to countenance and Suitably encourage
^all^ Such Miſsionaries and
School Maſters as
^D.r Wheelock^ Shall See fit to Send among them.
The foregoing is a faithfull
Repreſentation of matters there^in^ Related, according
to My underſtanding and Apprehenſions of the Same in Teſtimony Whereof I have here unto Set my Hand this 21 Day of Novemb.r 1768.