chooses a man or a woman to be his servant, he chooses all their children to be so also: which doctrin was exceeding gratefull unto them. Another great question was this, when I preached out of 1 Cor. 6. 9, 10, 11. old Mr. Brown, being present, observed them to be much affected, and one especially did weep very much, though covered it what hee could; and after that there was a generall question, which they sent unto mee about, by my inan, as the question of them all, Whether any of them should goe to Heaven, seeing they found their hearts full of sinne, and especially full of the sinne of lust, which they call nanwunwudsquas, that is, mad after women; and the next meeting, being at Dorchester mill, Mr. Mather and Mr. [p. 25.] Wareham, with divers others being present, they did there propound it, expressing their feares, that none of them should bee saved; which question did draw forth my heart to preach and presse the promise of pardon to all that were weary and sick of sinne, if they did beleeve in Christ who had died for us, and satisfied the justice of God for all our sinnes, and through whom God is well pleased with all such repenting sinners that come to Christ, and beleeve in him; and the next day I took that Text, Matth. 11. 28, 29. and this doctrin some of them in a speciall manner did receive in a very reverent manner. There is another great question that hath been severall times propounded, and much sticks with such as begin to pray, namely, f they leave off Powwawing, and pray to God, what shall they do when they are sick? for they have no skill in physick, though some of them understand the vertues of sundry things, yet. the state of mans body, and skill to apply them they have not: but all the refuge they have and relie upon in time of sicknesse is their Powwaus, who by antick, foolish and irrationall conceits delude the poore people; so that it is a very needfull thing to informe them in the use of Physick, and a most effectuall meanes to take them off from their Powwawing. Some of the wiser sort I have stirred up to get this skill; I have shewed them the anatomy of man's body, and some generall principles of Physick, which is very acceptable to them, but they are so extreamely ignorant, that these things must rather be taught by sight, sense, and experience then by precepts, and rules of art; and therefore I have had many thoughts in my heart, that it were a singular good work, if the Lord would stirre up the hearts of some or other of his people in England to give some maintenance toward some Schoole or Collegiate exercise this way, wherein there should be Anatomies and other instructions that way, and where there might be some recompence given to any that should bring in any vegetable or other thing that is vertuous in the way of Physick; by this means we should soon have all these things which they know, and others of our Countreymen that are skilfull that way, and now their skill lies buried for want of incouragement, would be a searching and trying to find out the vertues of things in this countrey, which doubtlesse are many, and would not a [p. 26.] little conduce to the benefit of the people of this Countrey, and it may bee of our native Countrey also by this meanes wee should traine up these poore Indians in that skill which would confound and root out their Powwaws, and then would they be farre more easily inclined to leave those wayes, and pray unto God, whose gift Physick is, and whose blessing must make it effectuall. There is also another reason which moves my thought and desires this way, namely that our young Students in Physick may be trained up better then yet they bee, who have onely theoreticall knowledge, and are forced to fall to practise before ever they saw an Anatomy made, or duely trained up in making experiments, for we never had but one Anatomy in the Countrey, which Mr. Giles Firman (now in England) did make and read upon very well, but no more of that now. This very day that I wrote these things unto you, I have been with the Indians to teach them, as I was wont to doe, and one of their questions among many other was to know what to say to such Indians as oppose their praying to God, and beleeving in Jesus. Christ, and for their own information also, What get you, say they, by praying to God, and beleeving in Jesus Christ? you goe naked still, and you are as poore as wee, and our Corne is as good as yours, and wee take more pleasure then you; did we see that you got any thing by it, wee would pray to God and beleeve in Jesus Christ also as you doe? Unto which question I then answered them. First, God giveth unto us two sorts of good things, one sort are little ones, which I shewed by my little finger; the other sort are great ones, which I shewed by my thumbe, (for you know they use and delight in demonstrations :) the little mercies are riches, as cloths, food, sack, houses, cattle, and pleasures, these are little things which serve but for our bodies a little while in this life; the great mercies are wisdome, the knowledge of God, Christ, eternall life, repentance, faith, these are mercies for the soule, and for eternall life now though God do not yet give you the little mercies, he giveth you that which is a great deale better, which the wicked Indians cannot see. And this I proved to them by this example; when Foxun the Mohegan Counseller, who is counted the wisest Indian in the Country, [p. 27.] was in the Bay, I did on purpose bring him unto you; and when he was here, you saw he was a foole in comparison of you, for you could speak of God and Christ, and heaven and repentance and faith, but he sate and had not one word to say, unlesse you talked of such poor things as hunting, wars, &c. Secondly, you have some more cloths then they, and the reason why you have no more is because you have but a little wisdome, if you were more wise to know God, and obey his Commands, you would work more then you do, for so God commandeth, Six dayes thou shalt work, &c. and thus the English do: and if you would bee so wise as to worke as they do, you should have cloths, houses, cattle, riches as they have, God would give you them. This day they told me this news, that some of them having been abroad in the Country at Titacut, divers of those Indians would be glad to know God, and to pray unto God, and would be glad if I would come and teach them, but some of them opposed and would not. They askt me this day, why God made the Rainbow. These things are now fresh in my mind, that makes me so large in them, but I'le forbeare any more of their questions of this nature. There do sundry times fall out differences among them, and they usually bring their cases to me, and sometime such, as it's need full for me to decline; where I may, I advise them to some issue. One great case that hath come severall times to mee, is about such debts as they owe by gaming, for they have been great gamesters, but have moved questions about it, and are informed of the unlawfulnesse of it, and have thereupon wholly given over gaming for any wagers, and all games wherein is a lot, onely use lawfull recreations, and have a Law against unlawfull gaming; but other Indians that are of another mind, come and challenge their old debts, and now they refuse to pay, because it was a sinne so to game, and they now pray to God, and therefore must not pay such sinfull debts. Now the case being serious, and such as I saw a snare underneath, the first counsaile they had was, who ever would challenge such a debt should come to our Governor, and he would take order to rectifie the matter. But the Creditors liked not that way, and therefore soon after there came another case of the same kinde, and an issue was very necessary; [p. 28.] therefore I first dealt with the creditor, and shewed him the sinfulnesse of such games, and how angry God was at them; and therefore perswaded him to be content to take half his debt, unto which he very willingly condescended; then I dealt with the debtor, and askt him if he did not promise to pay him all that debt? and he answered yea, he did so; then I shewed him that God commands us to performe our promises, and though he sinned in gaming, he must repent of that, but seeing he hath promised payment, he should sin to break his promise: at which he was utterly silenced; but then I asked him, if hee would willingly pay half, if I should perswade the other to accept it; yea said hee very willingly, and so the matter ended: and in this way they usually end such cases since that time. Their young men, who of all the rest, live most idlely and dissolutely, now begin to goe to service, some to Indians, some to English; and some of them growing weary, broak out of their services, and they had no help among them for it; so that some propounded what they should doe to remedy that evill; they were answered, that the English bring such servants to the Court, and our Magistrates rectifie those evills; then they desired that they might have a Court among them for government, at which motion wee rejoyced, seeing it came from themselves, and tended so much to civilize them, since which time I moved the Generall Court in it, and they have pleased to order a way for exercising government among them the good Lord prosper and blesse it. They moved also as you know for a School, and through Gods mercy a course is now taken that there be Schooles at both places where their children are taught. You know likewise that wee exhorted them to fence their ground with ditches, stone walls, upon the banks, and promised to helpe them with Shovels, Spades, Mattocks, Crows of Iron; and they are very desirous to follow that counsell, and call upon me to help them with tooles faster then I can get them, though I have now bought pretty store, and they (I hope) are at work. The women are desirous to learn to spin, and I have procured Wheels for sundry of them, and they can spin pretty well. They begin to grow industrious, and find something to sell at Market all the yeer long: all winter they sell Brooms, Staves, Elepots, [p. 29.] Baskets, Turkies. In the Spring, Craneberies, Fish, Stawberies; in the Summer Hurtleberries, Grapes, Fish: in the Autumn they sell Craneberries, Fish, Venison, &c. and they find a good benefit by the Market, and grow more and more to make use thereof; besides sundry of them work with the English in Hay time, and Harvest, but yet it's not comparable to what they might do, if they were industrious, and old boughs must be bent a little at once; if we can set the young twiggs in a better bent, it will bee Gods mercy. Deare brother I can go no further, a weary body, and sleepy eyes command me to conclude, if I have not satisfied your desire in this little I have wrote, let me understand it from you, and I shall be willing to do my indeavour: and thus with my deare love remembred to your self and your beloved yoakfellow, and desiring your prayers for Gods grace and blessing upon my spirit and poor indeavours, I take leave at this time and rest Roxbury this 24. of 1647. Your loving brother in our Saviour Christ, JOHN ELIOT. Let me adde this Postscript, that there be two reasons that make me beleeve the Lords time is come to make a preparative at least for the comming of his grace, and kingdome among them. First, that he hath bowed their hearts, who were as averse, and as farre off from God, as any heathen in the world; and their hearts begin to bow more and more. Secondly, because the Lord hath raised a mighty spirit of prayer in this behalfe in all the Churches. This Relation of Mr. Eliots I know many things therein to be true, & all the rest I have heard confirmed by credible persons, eye & eare witnesses of these things, and they are familiarly known in these parts. I know also that Mr. Eliot writes (as his spirit is) modestly and sparingly, and speaks the least in sundry particulars; for in his story of the repentance and publike admonition of his own man, page 23. hee saith he manifested many teares in publike, but I heard it from many then present that there were so many, as that the dry place of the Wigwam where hee stood [p. 30.] was bedirtied with them, powring them out so abundantly. Indians are well known not to bee much subject to teares, no not when they come to feele the sorest torture, or are solemnly brought forth to die; and if the Word workes these teares, surely there is some conquering power of Christ Jesus stirring among them, which what it will end in at last, the Lord best knows. If Mr. Brightmans interpretation of Daniels prophesie be true, that Anno 1650. Europe will hear some of the best tidings that ever came into the world, viz. rumors from the Easterne Jews, which shall trouble the Turkish tyrant and shake his Pillars when they are comming to repossesse their own land, for which they will be wrastling (if my memory failes not, according to his notion) about 40. yeers; I shall hope then that these Westerne Indians will soon come in, and that these beginnings are but preparatives for a brighter day then we yet see among them, wherein East & West shall sing the song of the Lambe: but I have no skill in prophesies, nor do I beleeve every mans interpretation of such Scripture; but this is certain, God is at work among these; and it is not usual for the Sun to set as soon as it begins to rise, nor for the Lord Jesus to lose an inch of ground in the recovering times of his Churches peace and his own eclipsed and forgotten glory, (if these bee such times) untill hee hath won the whole field, and driven the Prince of darknesse out of it, who is but a bold usurper of the Lord Jesus inheritance, to whom are given the utmost ends of the earth. When Charles the Great had broken the chief power of the barbarous and fierce Saxons in Germany, he made this the onely article of peace, that they should entertain such a Gospel as good then as the degenerate Christian world could affoord, and for that end admit of a Monastery among them of such men as might inlib. 1. ch. 1, 2. struct them, and this course prevailed, if wee may beleeve Crantzius the Historian of those times; and shall wee think that when the Lord Jesus hath set up not a Monastery of workes but Churches of Saints in these coasts to encourage the ministry and this work of Christ, that his blessed Gospel cannot or shall not in these dayes take some effect since it hath broke so far? I dare conclude nothing, onely it will be our comfort in the day of our accounts, that wee have endeavored something this way; and it may be this very indeavour [p. 31.] shall be our peace. Gildas our * Crantzius |