Samson Occom, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1771 July 24
Date24 July, 1771
Call Number771424
abstractOccom notes his disinclination to go into the wilderness, and complains bitterly of having been used as an agent and a curiosity in England to collect money for the college. He points out that there are no Indians at the school at present (except "two or three Mollatoes") and that this confirms his suspicion that Wheelock was scheming all along to use the charity for whites.
paperLarge sheet is folded into four pages. There is repair tape along all the outside edges of paper; otherwise the paper is in good condition.
inkInk is very light, yet bleeds heavily through the paper.
noteworthyThe trailer and text added to the left margin of one verso are in Wheelock’s hand.
signatureLetter is signed twice, once in full, once with initials.
EventsFundraising Tour of Great Britain
a few Days ago, wherein You Speak of much
Sorrow on my account, I am obliged to you
So far as it is agreable to god, You Seem to think
that it is a sort of Reproof from God, that I was
Left to Stray, for my Staying at Home so much,
But I don’t think with You, — God woud Certain
ly gave me Strenght Sufficient to go Such Long
Journeis, but I han’t been able to Ride far
Now two whole Years, and I have been Con‐
fin’d to my Houſe good Deal this Spring, I am
greatly Exerciſ’d with my old Pains — As to my Pre‐
ſent Standing with the Indians, I need not Say
more than this, I am as well, if not better receivd
by them than ever, if I woud only Comply with
their Deſire, the Indians at Mohegan, groton,
Nahanteck, Stonington, and even at Charles
town in general woud put themſelves un‐
der my Inſtructions — as to my
under a Miſtake about my and Davids going
into the wilderneſs I am not, I woud have gone
up and David too, the Spring after I got Home
from England, but you Said, you had no
money to AſSiſt me with, and You yourſelf Diſ‐
couragd David from going, — Indeed I have
always Declin’d to remove my Family into
the wilderneſs, but David woud have gone up
to Settle there — had he a proper Encourage‐
ment he woud go now — but he will not go
for what you offer — he has Some thoughts of
offering his Service to the Comiſsrs of Boſton to go
into the wilderneſs, if they woud give him £30 Lawf
to Settle — I am very Jealous that inſtead of Your Seme‐
nary Becoming alma Mater, She will be too alba
mater to Suckle the Tawnees, for She is already a
Dorn’d up too much like the Popiſh Virgin Mary
She’ll be Naturally aſham’d to Suckle the Tawnees
for She is already equal in Power Honor and Autho
rity to
College has too much wordly Grandure for the Poor
Indians they’ll never have much benefet of it, — In
So Saying I Speak the general Sentiment of Indians
and Engliſh too in theſe parts; a. so many of your Miſsi
onaries and School maſters and Indian Scholars
Leaving You and Your Service Confirms me in this
opinion, — b Your having So many white Scholars
and So few or no Indian Scholars, gives me great
Diſcouragement — I verily thought once that your
Inſtitution was In
with this thought I Chearfully Ventur’d my Body &
Soul, left my Country my poor Young Family
all my Friends and Relations, to Sail over the
Boiſterous Seas to England, to help forward your
School, Hoping, that it may be a laſting Bene‐
fet to my poor Tawnee Brethren, with this View
I went a Volunteer — I was quite willing to
become a Gazing stock, Yea Even a Laughing
Stock, in Strange Countries to Promote your
Cauſe — we Loudly Proclaimd before Multitudes
of People from Place to Place, that there was a
moſt glorious Proſpect of Spreading the goſpel
of the Lord Jeſus to the furthereſt Savage Nations
in the wilderneſs, thro’ your Inſtitution, we told
them that there were So many Miſsionaries &
So many Schoolmaſters already Sent out, and
a greater Number woud Soon follow
and now I am afr’aid, we Shall be Deem’d as Liars and
Deceivers in Europe, unleſs you gather Indians
quickly to your College, in great Numbers and
not to have So many Whites in the Charity, — I under
ſtand you have no Indians at Preſent except two or
three Mollatoes — — this I think is quite Contrary to
the Minds of the Donors, we told them, that we were
Beging for poor Miſerable Indians, — as for my part
I went, purely for the poor Indians, and I Should be as
ready as ever to promote your School according to my
poor Abilities if I coud be Convinc’d by ocular Demon‐
ſtration, that your pure Intention is to help, the poor
helpleſs Indians, but as long as you have no Indians,
I am full of Doubts, — Your writing to Esqr Thornton
to my Diſadvantage and not one word in my favour,
gave me to think, that your Indian Scholars had
reaſon to with Draw from You, and Your Miſsio
naries and Schol, Maſters too, the opinion of many
white People about here is that You have been
Scheeming altogather, and that it was a Po
Send me over to England, for (Say they) now
they don’t Care anything about you, You have anſwerd
their Ends, now you may Sink or Swim it is all
one to them, this makes me think of what that
great man of god Said to me, Mr Whitefield, juſt
before I left England in the hearing of Some gentlemen —
ah, Says he,
Money for them, but when you get home, they
won’t Regard you the’ll S[illegible][guess: e]t you a Drift, —
I am ready to believe it Now — I am going to Say
Some thing further, which is very Diſagreeable
Modiſty woud forbid me, but I am Conſtraind
So to write, — Many Gentlemen in England
Indian Bait, you woud not Collected a quarter
of the Money you did, one gentleman in Parti
cular in England Said to me, if he hadn’t Seen
my face he woudn’t have given [illegible][guess: ye] happence
but now I have £50 freely — This one Conſideration
gives me great Quietneſs, I think I went to En‐
gland with Honeſt Heart, I think I have dont
that which I think was my Duty to Do — I might
write more but I have no time, — I wiſh I
coud give you one viſit, to have a ful talk
but you got so far up, I Shall never be able —
if I am under any Miſtake, Pleaſe to enlight
en me, — I am better in Health than I’ve been
and my Family is well thro’ Divine Favour
Pleaſe to give my Compts to all under your Care
and Accept Duty from
Servt
Samſon Occom