The last I have receiv’d from the honourable
Truſt was of
July 30th in answer to which I have wrote two Letters, the laſt
was of
Nov.r
27th and am aſsurd by one from
M.r Savage that one
(and I hope both) arriv’d safe —
I send this to the Care of
M.r Patton
inof
Hartford in
Connecticut,
with orders to incloſe a short Narrative which I latly sent to (and hear
has got thro’) the Preſs there; by which I flatter myself if my hon’d Pa‐
trons will give thimselves the Trouble to compare my Plan propoſ’d in
my former Letters with my Procedure since, you will find I have
inva‐
riably kept the Same object in view, and that there has been
as cloſe
&
exact Conformity to it as could be expected amidst Scenes so
various shifting
and difficult as I have been called to paſs through, and I am confident
had you been upon the Spot you would have approvd every Step I have taken
unleſs it was my attempt to effect so great an affair, as settling here
in this Willderneſs in so short a time, which the Event has Justified tho’)
my Trials
have been
^were^ very great —
As to an Incorporation every Body here knows the Neceſsity of it
unleſs the Grants and Donations
^to this
School^ had been made to me perſonally; and
even then I and my Succeſsors should have been expoſ’d to a Thouſand Slan‐
ders and evil surmiſings: Witneſs the Loads of Reproach which dear
Mr Whitefield
sufferd in all theſe
Collonies
not withstanding his great Popularity
extenſive acquaintance, and his having collected the moſt that was given by a
personal application, and that only or chiefly in Money commited to his Truſt,
and his Character at the same time supported by so many Persons of
Repu‐
tation and Distinction throughout the Kingdom. Had there
been 40000 Acres of
Land given for that Purpoſe instead of Money and that
, by Gentlemen sc
^a^tt
le
^r^d
thro’
the Country, none can reaſonably think that his Deſign could have surviv’d
the Standers and Reproaches of his Enemies, or that any thing short of an In‐
corporation could have inspird sufficient Confidence, that the pious De‐
sign should
never be perverted
^either^ by him or his Succeſsors —
some
^[left]The Honourabe Trust^
Some of you my hon’
d Sirs, have had a small specimen of the fruit
of this Temper towards this Deſign, and that too from a reputable
Board in
Scotland Boston — and what abuſive Slanders and falſhoods they pri‐
vatly and with solemn Profeſsion of Conſcience towards God, transmited to
their Constituents and this profeſsedly with a view to prevent the Succeſs of
Doctor Whitakers Miſsion to
England; Theſe Men are not alter’d
beſure not
for the better; I have repeatedly heard of the Boaſts of one of the chief of the
[illegible]m
“That they have now done the Buſineſs for
Doctor Wheelock, in
England, and
that he knew it was done —
I have repeatedly wrote to
Scotland respecting the Collection in the
the Hands of the
Society there, but have receivd no Anſwer — by the Favour,
of a Friend I latly
obtaind an Abſtract of a Letter from the Clerk of that
Society, to one of their
Board of Corrispondents in Boſton, wherein he writes
them in the Name of the
Society, in theſ
[illegible]e words, “I am authorizd to in form
you that they at present give
M.r Kirtland
[illegible]£50
[illegible]Sterling, and
Mr
Occum the other Miſsionary £20 Sterling — This the
Society
continue to
allow and deſire it may
[illegible][guess: continue to] be under the Management of your
Board.” signed
James Forrest Clerk of Soc.” — —
If they deſign this to be the Improvment of that Money agreeable
to the Deſign of the Donors, you may judge as well as I whether it be under‐
standingly and wiſly
bestow’d.— And to be quite plain I know of no other
Reaſon; and in my heart believe there is no other Reaſon of their Enmity,
and oppoſition to me and this Cauſe, than their Apprehenſion (and that
not without some Reaſons)
[illegible]that our Colleges are generally reputed
to be corr‐
upt, and on that Account are fallen into general Disasteem, by the more
religious Part of our Land, and that therefore
the
[illegible]ir
[illegible]
Eyes are (or like to be)
generally turnd upon
this Seminary for the Supply of the
Ministry am‐
ong Engliſh as well as Indians — It is not my hon’d Sirs a Mote in
the Eye
that (Matt, 7.3) which they are offended
at, but at the Eye itſelf,
and nothing will content them ‘till that be put out as well as the mote, — Before
I got a Charter the
grand Objection was “He is alone and tis too much to
trust any one man so far:
if he should be honest his Succeſsors will not &c
&c
this Objection was too plauſible to be well refuted; but now that is removd
by a Charter, yet their Enmity and Oppoſition still continues the same
though that Weapon be taken away, and continue it
will till God
give them an other view of things — nor have I any hope of Reconciliation with them till then — And if the Servants of the Lord should imbibe the Prejudice
and turn against me, what a Caſe should I be in? But
my Hope is in God alone. and I cannot be afraid,— I have
seen a great sight the Buſh burning but not conſumed, the leaves all green and flou‐ riſhing while incir[illegible]cled with fire; and I dont believe their fire ever will or can conſume it — I have greatly rejoiceed in the Goodneſs of God, in honouring you to be emminently Instruments^al^, to honour Encourage & further this deſign, — and I would not be instrumental to dishonour you by for
any worldly Conſideration what^so^ever, — and I pray God you may yet
have the Satisfaction of and honour of seeing this Cauſe of the Re‐ deemer prosper in your Hands —
I have about 30 Labourers some finishing theſe Buildings in the plainest and cheapeſt Manner, — others clearing and seeding these Lands — others
building a Saw mill, and grist Mill — my Expenſe is neceſsarily very great at preſent,— I have made it my Rule not to exceed what my little personal Estate
will pay, in Caſe all my Friends should forsake me — that I may not have the Uneaſineſs and Reproach of wrong‐ ing my Labourers —
It is a time of great Scarcity of Proviſions in this new Country, occaſioned by the Worms and Drouth the last Summer,— all or the cheapeſt of my Bread and Meat for my numerous Family, is transported above an
hundred Miles The preſent Crop looks very promiſing. I hope for plenty when that is ripe; I shall accompliſh the whole in the cheapeſt Manner I can —
M.r
Occum was left last Summer to fall a second time into the Sin of
Drunkenneſs in a public and very agravated Manner — In his Drunken fit
he got into an affray, and fought with a
Man of the Company, and got much
bruiſed and wounded, in so much that he was confin’d &
conceald in his Houſe for
some time — The Report of this spread far and wide, the wound
given to the Cauſe
iswas great and it is yet bleeding — It is said that he humbles himself
and walks
softly — He sent to me laſt Winter deſiring I would put him into Buſineſs —
I return’d him anſwer that if his moral Character was such that it might be
done without
Dishonour to the Cauſe, I would indeavour to introduce and support
him on a Miſsion among the
Onondagugas, which I had before repeatedly
deſird him to accept, as the
London Board in Boſton have the Care
Care of
his Tribe, and all others on the Sea shore
[illegible][guess: s], and had done what they
suppoſ’d to be a supply for them,— He has yet made no Return, perhaps he may
think that the Proviſion made for his Support by the
Scotiſh Society, may
suffice for his Support without the Fatigues of a Miſsion abroad —
I am impatient to hear from you and know whether my Doings are
approv’d or not— as I am with greateſt Duty & Esteem Right Honourable, honorable, & worthy Sir’s