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hearts of all are in the hands of God, and he accomplishes his designs in ways most conducive to his own glory. I cannot but entertain some hopes, till I hear that from you or Gen. Lyman, which shall discourage them. And I should be glad to hear as soon as may be, whether or no there is any prospect worth waiting for. I do not at all doubt of your care and zeal in the affair. The Lord reward a thousand fold all your labors of love, &c.

I am, with sincerest duty and esteem,

Yours, in our common Lord,

ELEAZAR WHEELOCK.

P. S. Not long since I wrote Dr. Gifford a letter of thanks for the excellent collection of books he sent this school.

From the Rev. John Erskine.

Edinburgh, October 20th, 1764.

Dear Sir,

Your letter to me of the 10th July and the packet for the society, containing the sequel of your narrative and the sermons at Mr. Jeffrey Smith's ordination, &c. came to my hand about six weeks ago. My father's sudden and dangerous illness, from which he is now mercifully recovered, obliged me about that time to go into the country, which prevented my endeavoring to get some of those papers printed, in order to encourage the friends of Zion to lend a helping hand to this good work. When a ship casts up for Boston, I shall endeavor to procure you the pamphlets you mention.

On the receipt of this, you will draw on Mr. W

D

in Edinburgh, for a donation of £20 sterling from himself, and a legacy of £5 sterling from Mr. W

S

burgh, for your Indian School; in all £25 sterling.

in Edin

The hurry I am, in obliges me to conclude with subscribing. myself, dear Sir.

Your affectionate brother,

JOHN ERSKINE.

To the Hon. Sir William Johnson.

Lebanon, March 23, 1765,

SIR,

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Your Excellency's favor of February 19, by Pand D—, came safe to hand. I thank your Excellency most heartily for all your condescension, and repeated favors shewn me, and particularly your care for, and kindness to my dear Mr. Kirkland. I pray you to continue your paternal kindness towards him; and whatever supplies he shall stand in need of, please to provide him with the same, and charge them to my account. I have enclosed to him an address to the chiefs of the nations, to be convened by your orders this month, and have desired him to submit the same to your Excellency's censures, which I hope you will not at all spare, out of favor to me. I am well pleased with P— and D, they both seem honestly desirous to be instructed.

We expect to have opportunity to recommend to your Excellency's favorable notice, two likely young gentlemen, in the capacity of missionaries, this spring, and three young Indians of this school, in the capacity of school masters. I purpose also, that all your five first boys shall come home this spring, or by some time in June, to visit their friends, and return to me in the fall. It is proposed that they shall keep schools, under the conduct of the missionaries. W will likely make a fine boy: he behaves very well. A specimen of his writing I enclose.

Please to let the parents of these boys know that they are all well, and also inform them of their proposed visit to them. I hope your Excellency will be able to obtain the grandson of the Onondaga Sachem, which you mentioned to me, and send him with Mr. Kirkland, whom I have advised to visit us this spring.

I am, with great respect, Sir,

Your much obliged, and

Most obedient humble servant,

ELEAZAR WHEELOCK.

To the Sachems and Chiefs of the Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora, and other nations and tribes of Indians.

My Brethren and Friends,

I have had you upon my heart ever since I was a boy. I have pitied you on account of your worldly poverty; but much more on account of the perishing case your precious souls are in, without the knowledge of the only true God and Saviour of sinners. I have prayed for you daily for more than thirty years, that a way might be opened to send the gospel among you, and you be made willing to receive it. And I hope God is now answering the prayers that have long been made for you, and that the time of his mercy to your perishing nation is near at hand.

Some years ago, I educated Mr. Occum (who has been a little while with some of you) with hopes that God would make him an instrument of great good to my poor brethren, the Indians. He labored a number of years with the Indians at Montauk, and was a mean of much good to that tribe, and also an instrument of good to some in New England, and I hope, did a little good to you in the short time he was with you.

After I had educated Mr. Occum, and saw no other way to help the perishing Indians, there being no door open to send missionaries among them, I determined on setting up an Indian school, to teach their children, that when they had got their learning, they might return home, and in their own language teach their brothers, sisters, and friends, the way of salvation by Jesus Christ.

And accordingly I began this School more than ten years ago. I first took two boys of the Delawares, but one of them died when he was almost fit for college, the other went to college, and when he was almost through, was overcome by strong drink, and by this he grieved my very heart. I hoped he would have been good, and I hope yet that God will have mercy on him and make him good before he dies.

I am now sending you eight of your sons, whom I have learned to read and write well. The ministers who have joined with me to help forward the great design of christianizing the Indians, have examined them, and recommend two of them with Joseph Woolly, to be school masters, where they can find the Indians willing to have their children taught: the other six, though they can read and write well enough to teach a school, yet we think they are too young to be masters. We are afraid your children will not mind them; and therefore have ordered them to teach your children, under the direction of the missionaries, till next fall; and then they are to return to this school to get more learning; and I hope some of them will be fit in time to preach Christ to you, if God shall please to give them good hearts.

Now I assure you, my brethren, in what I have done and am doing, I have no interest of my own in view; but I have compassion upon your precious souls, for whom Christ died; and which must be lost and miserable for ever unless you be made to know him, and the way of life by him, and so to partake of the great salvation, which he has purchased for us.

Two ministers are coming to you from my school, who are sent to you by the commissioners, and they are men of learning, have had a liberal education, and are able to teach you the way of salvation by Christ. And they love you much; they do not come to get money, nor to get away your lands, nor to cheat or wrong you in any thing, but only to do you good. And you may depend upon it, I will never willingly send one to preach the gospel to you, who has any higher view than to save your souls. That is the errand these men come upon, and as such you must receive them, and treat them kindly.

David Fowler, who has been educated at my school, and is one of the school masters before mentioned, I now send to keep school among you, to teach your children, if you will receive

him. He is a rational, sprightly, active young man; and I believe you will find him to be very honest and faithful. He comes only to do you good. His friends at Montauk have sent to me, earnestly desiring that he might come there and teach their children; but I have often heard that you desired greatly to be taught, and I hope he will do more good among you: and therefore I send him to you, and I hope you will be kind to him as one of your own people, and help him to live among you. I hope you will help him to get a house, and let him have some of your land to plant and sow; and he will, besides teaching your children, help and instruct you in managing husbandry; which you must learn, if you expect God will increase your number, and build you up, and make you his people.

I hear that some of the Indians think it to be a mean thing, and below men to work in the field, that it belongs only to woThis thought is not right nor pleasing to God.

men.

The first work he sat man about, and that before ever he had sinned, when he was more honorable than any mere man has ever been since, was to till the ground to get his living by it. And after man had sinned, God told him he should get his living by the sweat of his face, and he has commanded us in the fourth commandment to work six days in the week. And often in his word testified his displeasure against those, who will not work for a living. This earth is all God's land, and he will have it all cultivated. So long as there are not people enough to inhabit the earth, God lets the wild beasts have it for their dwelling place; and a few lazy savage people he suffers to live a hungry miserable life by hunting. But when the children. earth to cultivate for

of men grow numerous, and want the a living, the wild beasts must give place to them, and men must improve the land for God; if they do not they are bad. tenants, and must be turned off as such. If you will not cultivate God's land, you cannot expect that God will greatly

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