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S TO RIES
ELIOT AND THE INDIANS.
BY WILLIAM A. ALCOTT.
Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and re

vised by the Committee of Publication.
$ 2 c 0 m. b. 35 0 ft [ 0 m. .
B OST ON :
MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY,
Depository No. 13 Cornhill.
1839.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838,
BY CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN,
In the Clerks Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
C O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER. I.
Page.
Eliots Birth and EducationBecomes a Teacher
Afterwards becomes a MinisterMinisters per

secutedResolves to go to America, . . . . . . . . . . 9
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Eliot comes to AmericaPreaches in BostonIs
settled in RoxburyHis labors there,. . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER III.
Preaching to the IndiansFour Meetings held at No

nantumThe Indians ask for schools, . . . . . . . . . 22
iv C O NT E N TS.
CHAPTER IV.
Page.
Establishment at NonantumAt NeponsetTrouble
with the Indian chief, CutshamakinCurious anec
dotes, illustrating Indian character,. . . . . . . . . . . . 32
CHAPTER V.
Mr. Eliots labors with the Indians abroadat Paw
tucketNashawayQuaboagYarmouth,. . . . . . 55
CHAPTER VI.
Civilization at NonantumSchools among the Indians

Mr. Eliots encouragement and aid from Europe
How he applied itOpposition to his efforts
AnecdotesTrouble with the powaws and sachems
Mr. Eliots bravery, . . . . . . . a s - e. e. e. e. e. * * * 63
CHAPTER VII.
Indian town at NatickThe Foot-BridgeShape of

the townForm of the governmentTrouble with
CutshamakinKeeping a FastAn Indian Sermon
The Indian SchoolmasterIndian Missionaries
New town of Punkapog,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

C O N T E N T S. V
CHAPTER VIII.
Page.
Attempts to form the church at NatickAnecdote
of a good childStory of the drunken Indians
Their punishmentThe church finally organized
Anecdotes of Indian kindness to the sick,... . . . 97
CHAPTER IX.
The Indian BibleMr. Eliot's other writingsTrans

lationsHis Indian GrammarHis Harmony of the
GospelsThe Indian CollegeLectures at Natick
The Indian townsNumber of praying Indians
in Massachusetts and Plymouth coloniesThe In
dian preacherRuins of NatickSufferings of the
praying Indians during Philips War,. . . . . . . . . 108
CHAPTER X.
Some of Mr. Eliot's opinionsHis contempt for wigs

His hatred of tobaccoHis temperance in eat
ing and drinkingEarly risingSabbath-keeping
His benevolenceAnecdotes of himHis igno
rance of domestic concernsLoss of his wifeHe
ceases to preachTeaches the blacksInstructs a
blind boyHis death,. . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - * * * 127
15 OC 61
P R. E. F. A C E .
t
THE following is not designed as a full

account of the life and conduct of that great
and good man, JoHN ELIOT. It is rather a
selection of such interesting events of his
life, especially as connected with the Indi
ans, as are happily adapted to strike the
minds of the young, and lead them, if
possible, to walk in the steps, or at least
possess the spirit, which actuated that
modern apostle. The readers of this little
volume will never be situated precisely as
Eliot was; but they may always be in a
situation, which will require and demand
the same zeal to do good, and the same
untiring self-denial and perseverance.
viii P R. E. F. A C E .
In preparing this little volume, the

writer has derived his information from
various sources. But the best and most
authentic accountthat from which he
has drawn most largelyis volume five of

Sparks's American Biography, entitled
Life of John Eliot, the Apostle to the
Indians, by CoNVERS FRANCIs. If I have
found it necessary to differ from the author
of that work in religious belief, still I am
greatly indebted to him for facts. I trust
the following work will reach a class of
our community for which that volume,
however excellent, was never intended;
and in this view it is presented to the
public. #5 OC 64
Boston, February, 1838.
S TO R. I E S
OF
ELIOT AND THE INDIANS.
C H A P T E R I.
Eliots Birth and EducationBecomes a TeacherAfter

wards becomes a MinisterMinisters persecuted
Resolves to go to America.
EveRY one who knows any thing of

the history of New England, has heard
of John ELIOT, the Apostle, as he was
called, to the Indians. And every one,
I suppose, who has heard a little about
such a great and good man, will be glad
to hear more. I have, therefore, collect
ed the following facts and anecdotes re
2 -
10 S TO RI E S OF E L IOT
specting him; and especially respecting

his efforts among the Indians.
He was born at Nasing, Essex coun
ty, England, in 1604. His parents
were excellent and pious persons, and
they endeavored to bring him up in the
way which the Bible directs. It ap
pears that they were, in some degree,
successful; for Mr. Eliot himself used
often to say, that his first years were
seasoned with the fear of God, with the
word, and with prayer.
But how little did the parents of
young Eliot know what they were
doing! How little did they dream
that they were sowing seed which
should spring up half a century after
ward in this then western wilderness,
and bring forth such glorious fruit!
Besides what Mr. Eliot's parents did
for him, he had also the privilege of
going through with a course of study
AND T H E IN D I A N S. 11
at one of the English universities. He

was an excellent scholar in almost every
thing he undertook; but he was partic
ularly fond of what is called theological
learning. He was also very skilful in
the study of languages.
When he had finished his course of
studies at the university, he became a
school-teacher. This was not, in those
days, considered so honorable an em
ployment as it now is; nor is it even
now regarded as it ought to be. It is
really one of the noblest professions in
the world. If any of you find your
selves inclined to become teachers, do
not try to shake off the feeling, but
cherish it. You can do great good by
teaching.
Mr. Eliot, however, was only an as
sistant or usher, in a grammar school.
The principal master of the school was
Mr. Hooker, who afterward, like Eliot,
12 ST OR I. ES OF E L I OT
removed to America; and who became

the first minister at Hartford, in Con
necticut.
Mr. Hooker was one of the best men
in the world; and it was very fortunate
for Mr. Eliot, as he himself afterwards
owned, that he fell in with him, and
became his assistant. It was this,
probably, more than any thing else,
that under God made Mr. Eliot what
he afterwards became. It appears, that
he was not only with Mr. Hooker in
his school, but boarded with him in his
family. He calls it a blessed family,
and says that, till he went there, he
never saw the full power of true good
ness, or godliness.
Notwithstanding Mr. Eliot was very
useful here, in the school, yet it appears
that he was not quite satisfied with his
employment. He was a very patient
man, but I am afraid he had not patience
AN D T H E IND I A N S. 13
enough for a schoolmaster. A school

master must have very long patience,
indeed. He must wait, and wait, many
very manyyears to see the fruit of
his labors.
But in quitting school-teaching, Mr.
Eliot devoted himself to another calling
not less useful. It was the Christian
ministry. This, however, was not a very
promising profession for him. He was
a non-conformist; that is, a person who
would not conform to all the doctrines
and duties of the Church of England;
and non-conformists were not only very
unpopular at that time in England, but
they were actually persecuted, and in
danger of imprisonment. Even the
venerable Mr. Hooker, who was also a
non-conformist, was obliged to fly from
his native country to Holland.
Mr. Eliot was not, however, discour
aged. America, the new world, was
2%
14 S TO R. I ES OF E L IO T
open to him, and many good people

were going thither. Preach he must,
he thought; and preach he would,
somewhere. So at last he made up
his mind to come to America, and labor
in this
ing great but at that time howl
wilderness. l
He was now twenty-seven years of

age, and in the enjoyment of excellent
health. His education, in the common
sense of the term, was now fairly com
pleted. I say in the common sense of
the term, because really a persons ed
ucation, especially a religious persons,
is never completed till life is over, and
he has reached heaven. This world is
a great school, or should be, to fit peo
ple for heaven.
Mr. Eliot had, as yet, no family, to
take along with him to America. But
he had agreed to marry a young lady
before he went; and he accordingly did
marry her a year or two afterwards;

and she proved a most excellent friend
and companion.
It is said by some writers that Mr.
Eliot not only found it difficult to preach
in England, but they would not let him
teach school there. I do not know
how this was. At any rate he quitted
the country; and a happy thing it prov
ed to our western world that he did.
16 S TO R. I ES OF E L IOT
C H A P T E R II.
Mr. Eliot comes to AmericaPreaches in BostonIs set

tled in RoxburyHis labors there.
MR. ELIot bade farewell to the

shores of Great Britain on the 3d of
November, 1631, and, in a ship with
about sixty other passengers, among
whom was the famous Gov. Winthrop
and his family, came to America, and
landed at Boston. The Boston people
were exceedingly glad to see him, and
every thing was done which they could
think of to testify their joy, and to
make him happy.
He had scarcely set foot on shore
when the people of Boston besought
him to become, for a time, their preach
er. There was but one church then in
A ND T HE IND I A N S. 17
Boston, and that was Mr. Wilson's;

but Mr. Wilson himself, was now gone
to England. Mr. Eliot very willingly
agreed to supply the pulpit, till the
return of Mr. Wilson.
When Mr. Wilson returned, they had
become so much attached to Mr. Eliot,
that they wanted to settle him along
with Mr. Wilson. You know, per
haps, that in the early history of New
England, it was very common to have
two ministers over one church. Or, to
speak more correctly, it was customary
to have a minister,a mere teacher or
sermonizer,-and a pastor, or person
to go about among the people of the
parish.
It wasan excellent plan. If something
of the kind were done now, it would
save the health and life of many valua
ble men. Ministers have too much to
do. They must either have smaller
18 S TO R. I E S OF E L IOT
parishes, or be furnished with col

leagues or assistants.
But Mr. Eliot was under an engage
ment, which would not permit of his
settling in Boston, in any way. Before
he left England, a considerable number
of his Christian brethren, who loved
him tenderly, talked of following him
to America. Mr. Eliot promised them,
that if they would, and if on their
arrival, he had not already formed a
pastoral connection with any other
church, he would become their minister.
While Mr Eliot was preaching in Bos
ton, these people had actually arrived
and settled in Roxbury, and wanted
him to be their minister; and would
not willingly give him up.
On the 5th of November, 1632, he
was, therefore, settled as the minister
of the first church in Roxbury. Here,
with the assistance at different times of
AN D T H E IN D I A N S. 19
different gentlemen as colleagues, he

continued till his death.
Mr. Eliot was an excellent minister,
and greatly beloved by his people.
Whatever he did, he did it with all his
might; and this was peculiarly true of
whatever he did in the ministry. He
was, in every respect, a very hard
working man.
I have said he was minister in Rox
bury till his death. This was during a
period of about sixty years; for more
than twenty of which he was without
a colleague. When we consider, as
we shall in future chapters, how much
else he performed besides the labors
of a faithful minister, we can scarcely
avoid wondering.
But he was not only an excellent
minister, he was a good husband and
father, and friend and neighbor. He
was the tried friend and counsellor of
*
20 S TO RIES OF E L IOT
every body who sought his friendship.

By his words of advice and instruction
he cheered and encouraged, and, it is
believed, saved many souls. The peo
ple regarded him as truly a father, and
loved him as such ; and their children
hung around to share the good mans
smile.
And Mr. Eliot loved the children as
heartily as they loved him. He strove
to do them good in every possible way.
He was ever ready to take them in his
arms, like his divine Master, and bless
them. No wonder, then, they loved
him !
He was particularly fond of cate
chizing them ; a mode of religious
instruction, which was once much
more popular, as you know, than now.
The care of the lambs, he used to
say, is one third of the charge over
the church of God. This notion he
A N D T H E IN D I A N S. 21
drew from the last chapter of John's

Gospel, where the Saviour, while he
says to Peter twice, Feed my sheep,
says once also, Feed my lambs.
He was a great friend of common
schools. He also had a considerable
agency in getting up a school of a high
er character, at Roxbury, and when he
died, left part of his property to sustain
it. He not only did something for
schools; but he remembered them at
the throne of grace, in his public and
family prayers.
I have more to tell you about the
character of this venerable man, after
I have mentioned his labors among the
Indians. What I have mentioned here,
was necessary in order to make you
acquainted with him. We will now
proceed to other and more striking
parts of his history, involving a great
many curious Indian stories.
3
C H A P T E R I I I.
Preaching to the IndiansFour Meetings held at Nonan

tumThe Indians ask for Schools.
MR. ELIOT, living, as he did, among

the American Indians, soon became
quite interested in this curious people.
He believed, as some other people have
done, that they were descendants of the
ten lost tribes of Israel. But, besides
his regard for them as ancient Israelites,
he had a love for them as men, and he
wished to devise means to save their
souls. While he was puzzling himself,
from time to time, and probably asking
counsel of God in prayer, the General
Court of Massachusetts passed an act
to encourage the diffusion of Christian
ity among the native Indians; and the
AND T H E IND I A N S. 23
elders of the churches were requested

to consider how this could best be
accomplished. This was exactly what
Mr. Eliot needed to rouse him to exer
tion.
I should also observe, that he had
already been for some time learning
the Indian language. It was a slow
and painful task, and would have dis
couraged many persons. But Mr. Eliot
was not so easily discouraged. He
pursued his course till he was able both
to converse well with the Indians, and
to translate the Bible into their lan
guage. It is said to have cost him
something like two years of labor.
In learning the Indian language, Mr.
Eliot was greatly assisted by a young
Indian who was taken in the Pequot
war, and who lived with a Mr. Calicott,
of Dorchester. Mr. Eliot took this
young man into his own family, and by
constant intercourse with him, at length

accomplished his long-wished-for ob
ject.
At this time, Mr Eliot was about
forty-one or forty-two years of age.
This is a striking example of the late
learning of languages, and of persever
ance under difficulties. There are very
few people in the world who would, at
such an age, have surmounted such a
task.
In his forty-second year, Mr. Eliot was
thus prepared to preach the gospel to
the Indians. He had, in the first place,
taken great pains to become acquainted
with them, and to this end, had con
versed much with them on common
topics, and especially in regard to im
provement. He had already more than
half persuaded some of them that they
would be happier to forsake their sav
age life, and live like the English. A
AN D TH E IN D I A N S. 25
few of them had even asserted the

belief that, in forty years many of the
red men would be all one * with the
English; and that, in a hundred years,
they would all be so.
They strongly expressed one wish,
which, when we consider their unhappy
fate, was truly striking. They wished
to unite withbe blended withthe
white man, and not to vanish before
him. How little did they know,-how
little could they have foreseen, that two
centuries would almost extinguish them
and all their brethren from the face of
this wide empire ?
Mr. Eliot was much affected by what
they told him. He promised to visit
- them at their wigwams, and see their
wives and children; and instruct them
all in the truths of religion. Never
were poor people more gratified than
they, at the intelligence.
3*
The time appointed for his visit was

the 28th of November, 1646. On that
day, Mr. Eliot, in company with three
other white men, repaired to a place
which was afterwards called Nonantum.
It was in the north-east part of Newton
near the bounds of Watertown; only
seven or eight miles from Roxbury.
This was the spot which had the honor
of being the first civilized and chris
tianized settlement in North America.
The place at which they were to as
semble to meet the Indians with their
wives and children, was the house of a
leading Indian by the name of Waban.
This man had long shown himself very
friendly to the English, and had even
consented to place his oldest son at one
of the schools at Dedham. This son
had now come home to be present at
the meeting.
When Mr. Eliot and his three friends
approached Waban's wigwam, they

were met by Waban and others, and
many salutations were exchanged.
They were then conducted into the
wigwam, where they found quite a large
and quiet company collected, eager to
hear what the good man should say.
The exercises were commenced by a
prayer in English, and followed by a
plain, pithy sermon, in the Indian
tongue. The Indians were pleased
with the discourse; and after the ser
mon was over, asked a great many
questions, some of which were truly
curious. But Mr. Eliot and his com
pany answered them as well as they
could; and generally to their satisfac
tion.
It was a singular meeting, and lasted
more than three hours. One would
think this was a great mistake, and
that an hour would have been long
enough for a people so unaccustomed

to such things. But they did not seem
to be weary. They not only requested
their visiters to come again, but said
they should like to join the English and
build a town, and all live together.
Mr. Eliot promised to do every thing he
could for them; and at least to attend
another meeting. He and his friends
then gave the men some tobacco, and
the children some apples, and left them.
It does not appear that he had yet be
come so mortal an enemy to tobacco as
he became a few years afterwards.
A similar meeting was held a fort
night afterward, as agreed on, at Wa
bans wigwam. The number of people
that attended was however much great
er than before; and the questions pro
posed by the Indians still more curious.
Among the rest, one very old man
asked whether it was not too late for
AND TH E IN D I A N S. 29
him to repent and seek God. They

also asked how it came to pass that
sea-water was salt, and land-water
fresh; and if the water were higher
than the earth, why it did not overflow
the earth;with a multitude of ques
tions not unlike them in their general
character. These questions were all
answered as well as they could be.
A third meeting was held about a
fortnight still later, but we are not in
formed of the results, except that they
asked, as before, many singular ques
tions.
Perhaps I ought to say, here, that
Waban, at whose house the meet
ings were held, was afterwards con
verted, and did much to awaken and
enlighten his fellow-Indians. During
the evening after the third meeting,
Waban instructed some youths in
Christianity, and during the whole
night, whenever he awoke, he would

be heard praying and exhorting.
On the Saturday night after the
third meeting, an Indian by the name
of Wampas, was sent as a messenger
from Nonantum, to Mr. Eliots house
in Roxbury. He took with him,so
says Mr. Sparks, in his Life of Eliot,
his own son and three other children.
They were of the ages of four, five,
eight and nine years. He begged to be
allowed to leave them with the English,
that they might be brought up to know
God; for he said, if they remained at
home, they would grow up in rudeness
and wickedness. Mr. Eliot promised to
do all he could, but it is not known, in
particular, what became of them.
Along with Wampas came, however,
two adult Indians, healthy and strong
men, who wished to be employed as
servants in English families, that they,
A ND T H E IN D I A N S. 31
too, might learn about God. They

were successful in finding places, but
how good they proved as servants is
not stated.
A fourth meeting was held among
the Indians at Nonantum, at which,
history says, the Indians offered all
their children to the English, to be
educated by them, and only lamented
that they were not able to pay the ex
pense. Some of the adults, too, who
were called powaws, agreed to abandon
their sorceries, and seek Christian in
struction. -
C H A PTER IV.
Establishment at NonantumAt NeponsetTrouble with

the Indian chief, CutshamakinCurious anecdotes, il
lustrating Indian character.
MR. ELIOTs care for the Indians was

not confined to religious teaching. He
aimed to soften and gradually to break
up their savage mode of life, by bringing
them together under some better and
more social arrangement.
The Indians at Nonantum now be
gan to work very industriously, being
encouraged and aided by Mr. Eliot,
who promised to furnish them with
spades, shovels, mattocks, iron crows,
&c., and to give them sixpence a rod
for their work on the ditches and walls.
So zealous were they in their new
enterprise, that he says they called for
tools faster than he could supply them.

The wigwams they built were in a
better style than formerly. Before this
time they had used mats; but now they
used the bark of trees in constructing
their humble dwellings, and in them
distinct rooms.
By Mr. Eliot's direction, they now
fenced their grounds with ditches and
stone walls, some vestiges of which
were remembered by persons in the
latter part of the last century. Their
women partook of the spirit of improve
ment, and became skilful spinners, their
good teacher himself taking pains to
procure wheels for them.
They began also to experience the
stimulating advantages of traffic, and
found something to carry to market in
the neighboring towns. In the win
ter, they sold brooms, staves, eel-pots,
baskets and turkeys; in the summer,
4
whortleberries, grapes and fish; in the

spring and autumn, strawberries, cran
berries and venison. In the season for
hay and harvest, they sometimes worked
on wages for their English neighbors,
but were not found to be hardy and
persevering laborers.
The impulse of improvement, how
ever imperfect, was strongly felt. The
poorest wigwams among them were
equal to those of princes or sachems
in other places. Their infant settle
ment, rude and poor as it must neces
sarily have been, already began to show
that man, amidst the regulations of a
community, in some degree orderly,
working with his own hands for himself
and his family, is a being far superior to
man roaming through the forest, in
reckless vagrancy, with no excitement
to industry in any form, and dividing
his time between hunting and sleep.
The interest which Mr. Eliot took

in founding and promoting this little es
tablishment, is scarcely less honorable
to his memory than his labors of piety.
When we thus see one, whose talents
and attainments fitted him to stand
with the highest in the land, busying
himself in the minute details of such
an enterprise, procuring tools for the
men, and spinning-wheels for the wo
men, advising and assisting them, with
the kindness of paternal wisdom, in
their new attempt at social order, we
cannot but feel, that in the humblest
work of benevolence which man per
forms for his fellow-man, there are the
elements of true moral greatness. We
are reminded of the excellent Oberlin,
the pastor of Waldbach, whose life is
one of the most delightful narratives in
the history of the lowly but important
labors of devoted piety.
36 STOR I. E S OF E L IOT
The native converts, here and else

where, were called praying Indians.
This was the first establishment or
society of them which was formed in
New England.
There was also another place of in
struction established about this time,
at Neponset, within the present limits
of Dorchester. Here Mr. Eliot preach
ed in the wigwam of a sachem, whose
name was Cutshamakin. It is said
that he was the first sachem to whom
Mr. Eliot ever preached.
This Cutshamakin professed to be a
Christian, and not only allowed Mr.
Eliot to preach in his wigwam, but to
catechize and even admonish his family.
One day, when Mr. Eliot was cate
chizing in the family, one of the sa
chems sons, a lad of about fifteen, was
observed to omit the word mother, in
the fifth commandment; and he was
AN D T H E IN D M A. N. S. 37
very reluctant to say Honor thy fa

ther. As he was known to be not
only intemperate, but disobedient to his
parents, Mr. Eliot and another minister
who was present, reproved him. He
confessed his guilt, but laid the blame,
in part, to his father, who, he said, treat
ed him angrily, and also compelled him
to drink sack.
Aware that the young mans accusa
tions were not groundless, Mr. Eliot
and Mr. Wilson, at the next season
of catechizing, exhorted Cutshamakin
to prepare the way for his sons re
formation by confessing, first, his own
faults. The sachem was much affect
ed, and at once acknowledged and la
mented his offences. This example
had an excellent effect. The young
man, beholding the bitterness of his
father's grief, was melted into tears,
and, taking him by the hand, he entreat
4%
ed his forgiveness. Now it was that

the parents, in their turn were affected,
and wept; and the board on which the
naturally stern sachem stood, was wet
with his tears?
If such are the effects of the gospel
aud of the labors of gospel ministers,
on the half civilized and half converted
savage, what ought to be its effects,
what penitence ought it to produce,
in families at once civilized and chris
tianized? If this Indian boy, stern
and proud as his heart was, became
humble and penitent, how much more
ought the children of Christian families
to lament, before both God and their
parents, every act, even the smallest,
which savors of disobedience
I have spoken of Cutshamakin as
only half converted, and he was so.
He could never be taught to govern
himself long at a time, and therefore
could not be trusted. He would sin

and then repent, and then sin again as
bad as ever. He even acknowledged
to Mr. Eliot, that he was very far from
being what he ought to be. My
heart, said he, is but very little bet
ter than it was, and I am afraid it will
be as bad as it was before.
The trouble with Cutshamakin, as I
have already hinted, was, that he was
never governed; and never, therefore,
knew how to govern himself. Alas,
for those boys and girls who have come
to the age of twelve or fifteen years,
and yet have never been taught to gov
ern themselves! If any such should cast
their eyes over these pages, let me ad
monish them to set themselves about
the work of self-government immedi
ately. The work must be done, or
they can never be happy; and the
longer they defer it, the more difficult
40 S TO R. I E S OF ELIOT
it will be. The fact that your parents

have not taught you to command your
passions and feelings, and govern
yourselves, is no excuse at all for
neglecting to do so. On the contrary,
it only increases the necessity of your
attending to the subject, and in good
earneSt. -
But whether the fault be that of your

parents, or partly theirs and partly your
own, let me entreat you to begin at
once the work of reform. Keep down
your pride, your envy, your jealousy,
your anger, your revenge. Keep not
only your hands from wrong things,
but set a guard over your lips and your
tongue. And last of all, and above all,
guard well your thoughts. It is out of
the abundance of the heart, that is the
thoughts of the heart, that the mouth
speaketh.
I will relate a short anecdote, illus
A ND THE IN D I A N S. 41
trative of the difficulties Mr. Eliot had

with that chief Cutshamakin.
When Mr. Eliot was afterwards
about establishing the Indian town of
Natick, Cutshamakin opposed him, and
with so much violence of speech, that
the other Indians friendly to Mr Eliot
were frightened, and gradually left
him.
Seeing himself obliged to defend his
cause alone, he boldly told Cutshama
kin he was about Gods work; that he
feared not him or any of the other
sachems; and that let them do what
they might, he should go on with
his undertaking. This determination,
joined to a steadfast look, made the
haughty sachem yield.
How much will firmness do, in this
world ! The most fierce animals, it is
often said, cannot stand before the firm
and steady eye of man. This is even
told of the tiger. Be that as it may,

it will go very far.
Cutshamakin at length honestly told
Mr. Eliot that the reason why he was
so unwilling to have him build settle
ments and towns was, that it diminish
ed his yearly revenue. The praying In
dians, he said, did not pay him so much
tribute as they used to do before they
became such. He admitted that Mr.
Eliot's teaching was good; yet he said
it was of little service, for the Indians
would not do as they were taught; but
that above all they would not pay the
tribute.
On inquiry, however, Mr. Eliot found
that Cutshamakin had not told him the
truth. For examining the chiefs round
about, and setting down in writing the
various items of tribute they paid, he
found they amounted to a much larger
sum than he had expected. He saw
clearly that the sachems complaints

were groundless. But it was quite
another thing to make Cutshamakin
think so. He did not hesitate, how
ever, to attempt it. The method he
took was curious. It was as follows:
One day he went, with another gen
tleman, to preach at the house of Cut
shamakin. They found him very sour
and sullen, but took no notice of it, and
proceeded to open the meeting as usual.
After prayer, Mr. Eliot explained the
account of the temptation of Christ, in
the fourth chapter of Matthew. When
he came to the eighth and ninth verses,
he applied what is there said to the
case of Cutshamakin, telling him that
he was under the influence of a bad
spirit, who had made him ambitious;
or, in other words, that Satan was try
ing to tempt him to leave off praying
to God, for the sake of becoming a more
44 S TO RI ES OF E L IOT
powerful chief. He treated him with

so much plainness, made such power
ful appeals to him, and begged him so
strongly to resist the endeavors of Sa
tan to draw him away from God, that
the old sachem was at last considerably
affected, and made promises of amend
ment, and for some time behaved much
better. But as I have already told
you, he never became a very good man,
after all. He went through life doing
wrong in moments of temptation and
passion, repenting of it, and then go
ing again and doing precisely the same
thing. -
The anecdote is not only curious, as

showing out much of the Indian charac
ter; but also as exhibiting in a most
striking manner the great wisdom of
Mr. Eliot; and his ingenuity in secur
ing and maintaining his influence over
the Indians. Few men, in all proba
AN D T HE IN D I A N S. 45
bility, ever understood the true Indian

character better than he.
I should like, in this place, to relate
an anecdote. At one of the meetings
among the Indians, after the service
was over, they were allowed to ask
questions. Among other questions was
the following:
What do you (the English) get by
praying to God, and believing in Jesus
Christ? You are poor, as well as we;
your clothes and your corn are no better
than ours; and, in the meantime, we
take more pleasure than you do. If
we could see that you gain any thing
by being Christians, we would be so
too.
Mr. Eliot, in reply, told them there
were two sorts of blessings which God
gave to people, little ones and great
ones. The little blessings, he said,
at the same time holding up his little
5
fingerwere riches, good clothes, hous

es, pleasant food, and so on; the great
ones,which he compared with the
little ones by holding up his thumb,
were wisdom and the knowledge of
God and Christ, of truth and eternal
life. Now, continued he, whether God
gives you many of these little blessings
or not, he is very ready to give you the
great ones, if you only desire them most
heartily, and ask him for them. But he
did not forget to tell them, at the same
time, that, in proportion as they prayed
to God, and received from him the
great blessings beforementioned, just
in the same proportion would they
have an increase of the small blessings,
too; such as corn, clothes and houses.
There was an Indian sachem at
Concord, who became a convert under
Mr. Eliot's preaching, who was a truly
noble man. He was convinced the re
ligion Mr. Eliot taught was good for

them, and that those who opposed it
were bad at heart. So he called to
gether, one day, his principal men, and
made quite a long speech to them in
favor of Mr. Eliot and the English.
In the conclusion of his speech, he
made the following very just observa
tions:
What have you gained, while you
have been living so long in the Indian
fashion, under the power of the higher
sachems? They only sought to get
what they could from you, and exacted,
at their pleasure, your kettles, your
skins, and wanpum. But the English,
you see, do no such things; they seek
only your welfare; and, instead of tak
ing from you, they give to you.
This speech was of great service.
The Indians at Concord were convinc
ed that it was true. They consented
48 s To R IEs oF E L Io T'
to follow his advice, and learn to live

like the English. About this time, a
code of rules was drawn up, to regulate
the behaviour of the Indians, forbidding
lying, stealing, drunkenness, idleness,
quarreling and Sabbath-breaking; and
encouraging neatness, order, and a re
spectful treatment of each other. Some
of them observed these rules with great
exactness and faithfulness; and it is
even said, that the most of them set up
prayer in their families. Mr. Eliot
used to visit the Concord Indians as
often as he could.
In regard to Sabbath-keeping, how
ever, it was very hard work to persuade
those rude sons of the forest of the pro
priety of this duty. Nor is it so much
to be wondered at, after all; since we
find hundreds and thousands, now-a
days, who seem to say, Who has re
quired this strict Sabbath-keeping at
AN D T H E IN DIAN S. 49
our hands, and what profit will it be to

us, to pray and observe the Sabbath?
Many of them, however, did observe
the day with considerable strictness;
especially the really converted, or
praying ones. They held meetings
among themselves, even when they
had no English preacher with them.
On these occasions, some of their own
people became their teachers, and used
to instruct them and pray with them.
There are a number of curious anec
dotes related in the Life of Eliot, which
go to show how some of them regarded
this subject.
One Sabbath, as Nabanton, a pray
ing Indian, was teaching the people in
what manner they ought to observe
holy time, he took occasion to rebuke
an Indian woman for fetching water on
the Sabbath. It was the wife of Cut
shamakin, of whom he thus complained.
5%
50 S TO RIES OF E L 1 OT
When the meeting was over, she told

Nabanton he had done more harm by
talking about such a small matter in a
public assembly, than she had by ac
tually doing the crime. This led to
quite a long dispute; and at last they
concluded to leave the question to Mr.
Eliot. I do not know how Mr. Eliot
settled the matter; but the anecdote
shows how scrupulous some of the
Indians were on this subject.
On another occasion, two Indians
came one Sabbath, towards evening, to
the house of Waban, at Nonantum, and
told him that they had chased a racoon
into a hollow tree, about a mile from
his house, and wanted help to cut down
the tree and catch the racoon. So
Waban sent two men with them to
help them catch the racoon. The rest
of the praying Indians were greatly sur
prised at this conduct, in so good a man
AND T HE IN D I A N S. 51
as Waban professed to be, and this

matter too, was, at the next meeting,
brought before Mr. Eliot.
I will relate another of these anec
dotes: One Sabbath, the meeting of
the Indians having been held rather
late, one of them, on returning to his
wigwam, found his fire nearly gone out.
He took his hatchet, as he sat by the
fire, and split a small piece of dry wood,
which was kept for kindling, and so
lighted up his fire. This was thought
by some of the rest of the Indians to be
very wrong; and at the next meeting
it was brought up and discussed; but
we are told nothing in regard to their
decision.
It was not far from this period, that
an attempt was made by the Concord
Indians to form a town. After some
time they succeeded, and built a town,
which they called Nashoba. The set
tlement lay in what now constitutes the

towns of Acton and Littleton. They
had a place of worship, and an Indian
teacher; supposed to have been train
ed and prepared for the work by Mr.
Eliot.
I have two more anecdotes to relate,
showing Mr. Eliot's methods of manag
ing the Indians, and illustrating Indian
character; with which I shall conclude
this long chapter.
Savages, as you know, regard females
as an inferior sort of beings compared
with males, and sometimes, in all coun
tries, actually beat them. So it was,
originally, with the Indians of North
America, and with those about Boston,
among the rest.
A chief, of the name of Wampas, on
a certain occasion, got into a passion
and beat his wife cruelly. He was
made to stand up, in a very large meet
ing, at which even the governor of the

colony was present, and answer for his
crime. He confessed the wrong, in a
most humble manner, and when Mr.
Eliot set before him, in its true light,
the nature and consequences of such
conduct, he turned his face to the wall,
and wept like a child. The Indians
were all ready to forgive him, and only
required that he should pay the small
fine to which such transgressors were
at that time exposed.
The other anecdote to which I refer
red, is the following:
In the year 1647, an Indian child
died at Nonantum, of consumption,
upon which its friends went to the
English to learn their modes of burial.
Having obtained the information they
desired, they went home and proceeded
to discharge the last sad offices for the
child in the following manner.
54 STOR I. ES OF E L IOT
Having procured, says Mr. Sparks,

a few boards and nails, they made a
meat coffin, and about forty of them, in
a solemn manner, accompanied the body
of the little one to its resting-place in
the dust. They then withdrew, a
short distance, to the shade of a large
tree, and requested one of their num
ber to pray with them. Their devo
tional exercise, which lasted nearly
half an hour, was extremely fervent,
and accompanied with many tears. An
Englishman, who observed these pro
ceedings at a distance, and reported
them, said, that the woods rang again
with their sighs and prayers.
C H A PTER V.
Mr Eliots labor with the Indians abroadat Pawtucket
NashawayQuaboagYarmouth.
THUs far, Mr. Eliots labor among

the Indians had been confined to the
neighborhood of Roxbury and Boston.
He had never thought of going among
the natives very far from home. But
at length, having gained a familiar ac
quaintance with their character and
habits, he began to think of extending
his field of labor, and doing good on a
broader scale.
There lived at this time, at a place
called by the Indians Pawtucket, a
little northward of where Lowell now
stands, an aged Indian chief, who pro
fessed to be very friendly to the Eng
lish. His name was Passaconaway.

He was thought, by some, to be 120
years old. Be this as it may, his age
was, at least, very great. On account
of his great age, services, wisdom,
cunning, &c., he was looked up to by
his superstitious countrymen as a great
sorcerer or powaw; and it was believed
that he had the power of making green
leaves grow in winter, of setting water
on fire, &c.
It was about this time, that is, in
1647, that Mr. Eliot, in company with
a few English friends and praying In
dians, went as far as Pawtucket to see,
as it is supposed, the aged Passacona
way. For some reason or other now
unknown, the old chief would not see
them, but, with his sons, fled away
from them. Some of his men, how
ever, remained to hear what they had
to say, and the visit was on the whole

quite gratifying.
In the spring of the next year, Mr.
Eliot visited Pawtucket again. On
this occasion, Passaconaway ventured
to remain. He pretended to have been
in fear for his life, on Mr. Eliot's first
approach; but it is difficult to believe
that this was the real cause. However
this may be, he now appeared to listen
to the preaching of the gospel with
great pleasure, and the following year
he invited Mr. Eliot to come and live
among his people and be their teacher.
He did not content himself with merely
sending for Mr. Eliot, but gave him a
personal invitation and strongly urged
him. His people, he said, were not
much benefited by visits of only once
a year, but required constant and
patient instruction. The following is
6
one part of the ingenious argument

used by this chief:
You do just as if one should come
and throw a fine thing among us, and
we should catch at it earnestly because
it appears so beautiful, but cannot look
at it to see what is in it. There may
be in it something or nothing; a stock,
a stone, or a precious treasure;but if
it be opened and we find something
valuable therein, then we think much
of it.
So you tell us about religion; and
we like it very well at first sight, but
we know not what is within; it may
be excellent, or it may be nothing, we
cannot tell; but if you will stay with
us and open it to us and show us all
within, we shall believe it to be as good
as you say it is.
Mr. Eliot's heart inclined him strong
ly to accept of old Passaconaways
proposal; but there were many difficul

ties in the way; and the conclusion
was, that it must be deferred. He
hoped, however, to be able to do some
thing for him at a future period.
About this time, Mr. Eliot also visited
Nashaway, now Lancaster. Of his
success among the Indians there, we
know very little. We only know that
he preached there, and that the princi
pal chief was much pleased with him.
Among the rest, an old sachem living
at Quaboag, now Brookfield, had heard
of the fame of Mr. Eliot, and wished
to have him come and see him and
even reside with him. Mr. Eliot con
sented to go; but as there had been
some late disturbances among the In
dians in that region, and several had
been murdered, his Roxbury friends
were afraid to have him undertake the
journey. -
When the chief at Nashaway heard

of these fears, he raised twenty men,
and, putting himself at their head, ac
companied him to Quaboag. It was
about 60 miles from Roxbury, and was
quite a journey for those early days
through the woods. The weather, too,
happened to be bad just at that time,
and they were for two days drenched
in water.
Mr. Eliot afterwards observed that he
was never dry during the journey,
either night or day. At night, he would
pull off his boots, wring the water from
his stockings and put them on again.
The rivers were greatly swelled by the
rains, and as they had, in those days,
no bridges, and were obliged to pass
them on horseback, this made their
condition still worse. He returned,
however, in safety; and without injury,
that we know of, to his health.
Not long after this, Mr. Eliot was

also at Yarmouth or Cape Cod. Here,
among other things which he did,
he visited the Indians, and undertook
to preach to them. But their dialect
differed so greatly from that of the In
dians about Boston and westward of
it, that he found great difficulty in
making himself understood.
Another difficulty, too, arose, as he
proceeded. There was a very fierce
and furious Indian sachem living in
that neighborhood, whom the English
people called Jehu. He would pretend
friendship for Mr. Eliot, but when the
appointed time arrived for a meeting,
he would send his people away after
fish or something else, in order to have
them, if he could, out of the way.
Sometimes, indeed, he would permit
them to attend ; and it is even said that
he once attended a meeting himself;
6%
but he pretended not to understand any

thing that was said. The truth is, he
was obstinate, and did not wish to
hear; besides, he had, most evidently,
a fondness for being singular.
Some of the other sachems were
more docile and heard him with great
pleasure; and encouraged their people
to do so. On the whole, his visit
proved, in the end, a pleasant one; but
I do not learn whether it was attended
with much success.
C H A P T E R V I.
Civilization at NonantumSchools among the Indians

Mr. Eliots encouragement and aid from EuropeHow
he applied itOpposition to his effortsAnecdotes
Trouble with the powaws and sachemsMr. Eliot's
bravery.
AMONG the objects of Mr. Eliot's be

nevolent efforts, he was most interested
with his little establishment at Nonan
tum. He had made quite an impres
sion on their native habits already.
Some of them were so far advanced in
civilization, that they began to fence
their corn-fields as the English did.
They had also finished several hundred
rods of ditching, and were beginning
to think of planting orchards and culti
vating gardens, and Mr. Eliot had
promised them several hundred trees.
Mr Eliot was also doing a great

deal in the way of establishing schools
among them. He even paid consider
able sums of money to various individ
uals for teaching their children. He
paid above twenty dollars, in particular,
to a teacher in Dorchester, and twenty
more to another in Cambridge. A
considerable sum of money was also
sent him from England, to be applied
to the same purpose, though he never
knew the name of the donor. He also
spent a great deal of time in cate
chizing the Indian children,-of which
method of instruction he was very fond.
He had also made considerable
efforts to stir up in his brethren in the
ministry the same feeling which per
vaded his own bosom. He besought
them with this view, to learn the In
dian language. Some of them had done
much already. Among those who
A ND T H E IN DIAN S. 65
sympathized most with him was Mr.

Shepard, the minister at Cambridge.
But the latter did not live to aid him
long. He died in 1649. It turned out,
however, that besides encouraging him
by their kind and encouraging words,
most of the ministers aided him very
little after all.
Almost every minister has work
enough to do in his own parish; and it
is very seldom indeed, that one can be
found who will undertake to do more.
They have always one encouragement
to extend their labors, which is that
the more they do, the more, if they are
prudent and do not overwork or commit
other improprieties, they can do. This
is a curious trait in human nature; but
it should not be overlooked. As thy
day is, so shall thy strength be, the
Bible somewhere says, and it is really
often so. The more a person does, at
66 s To R1Es of E L I ot
any healthy business, the more, as a

general rule he can do. This is es
wpecially true of the out-of-door labors
of ministers. -
Mr. Eliot was better sustained by

the efforts of the good Indians, than by
his own countrymen. Perhaps this
was, on the whole, as it should be.
What we want ministers for, not only
among the Indians, but elsewhere, is,
to a very considerable extent, to set
others to work. Cutshamakin, the
chief of whom I spoke, in a former
chapter, had a few subjects, at the place
called, at the present time, Marthas
Vineyard. There, by the advice and
especially the example of their sachem,
they had adopted the religion of the
English, and already began to be
known as belonging to the praying
Indians.
One circumstance occurred, just now,
which was happily calculated to cheer

and gladden his heart. The news of
his labors among the Indians had reach
ed Great Britain, and excited much
inquiry. He had, moreover, written a
small book, which had been read there
with much interest, and which awak
ened considerable attention. It was
called The Day-Breaking, if not the
Sun-Rising of the Gospel. Mr. Shep
ard of Cambridge had written another,
which was called Clear Sunshine of
the Gospel. Both these books em
braced accounts of the experiments
going on among the natives about Bos
ton, and had no small influence in
rousing the sympathies of many British
Christians in their behalf.
The result was an appeal, by some
of the clergymen about London, to
Parliament; and an order was passed
in that body in July, 1649, for the ad
68 i S TO R. I E S OF E L IOT
*
vancement of civilization and Chris
tianity among the Indians of New
England. Indeed a society was soon
after formed for this purpose, and a
general contribution was directed to be
made throughout England and Wales.
But though many liked the plan, many
greatly disliked it, and the contribution
went on slowly. Considerable sums,
however, were at length raised.
This money was applied to pay the
salaries of preachers among the Indians,
in supporting schools, in buying tools,
instruments of labor, wool, &c., for
them, in attempting to erect an Indian
college, and in printing Eliot's transla
tion of the Bible into the Indian tongue.
Mr. Eliot, himself, only received for
his own use, a yearly sum of about fifty
pounds sterling. -
Mr. Eliot, as I have already inti

mated, had it in view to establish an
A N D. T H E IN D I A N S. 69
Indian college. But there were so

many difficulties in the way of carrying
out his plan, that it was not until the
year 1665, that he brought it into
operation. Nor even then did it meet
with success. I will say something
more about this hereafter.
How often it happens that the con
duct of the best men is misrepresented!
Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was
on one occasion, at least, thought to be
crazy, or mad, as the people called
it. Even the Saviour of mankind, mild
as he was, in his going about to do
good, was thought to be mad or crazy,
and to be possessed with the devil!
What wonder then, if people had wrong
ideas about Mr. Eliot?
Some persons who went back from
America to England, told the people
there that Mr. Eliot was doing the In
dians no good by his instructions, but
7
rather much harm. They said that the

Indians were naturally bad and reck
less; that they would loiter about the
English settlements, watching an op
portunity to steal or do mischief; and
some said, that Mr. Eliot's instructions
only enabled them to be the more
vicious.
I suppose these persons felt then
just as many people do now-a-days.
The Indians, they say, are an entirely
different race of men from ourselves
(and the same thing is said of the Afri
cans), and there is no use in trying to
make them live like ourselves. The
Creator, probably, intended that they
should not be like ourselves; he did not,
probably, intend that they should ever
be civilized.
Yet these persons forget that our
ancestors, -yes, ours, -were once sav
ages, roaming over the island of Great
AND THE INDIAN S. 71
Britain, and sacrificing their own chil

dren to appease the supposed anger of
their imaginary deities. Suppose peo
ple had said of these, our ancestors, as
some people do of the savages, now,
that it was of no use to attempt to
civilize them, where should we have
been now *
The truth is, that all savages may be
civilized. With some, it takes more
time, with others, less. Some of our
American Indians, in various parts of
the United States are already nearly as
far advanced in civilization as the
whites; and this, too, by the efforts of
only 200 years. Had every white man,
from the time of Eliot to the present
day, felt and acted on the principles he
did, there might have been, at this
time, many prosperous and compara
tively happy tribes of Indians living
within our borders.
It is true, that some individuals

among them are lazy and worthless,
whether civilized or uncivilized, espe
cially of the first generation. But
after a few generations of Indian chil
dren have been brought up in the true
English style, and taught the principles
and practice of Christianity, the pro
portion of idle and indolent among them
would rapidly diminish.
As to the propensity in the Indians
to steal, I believe this is often taught
them by bad people among ourselves.
These first cheat the Indians, which
greatly vexes them; and they soon
seek an opportunity to be revenged in
some way or other. If there were bad
people among the Indians to whom
Mr. Eliot preached, it is probable they
were made bad, not by the labors of
Mr. Eliot, but by the dishonesty of
AN D T HE IN DIAN S. 73
some of our own people in their trading

with them.
However, Mr. Eliot was not to be
moved by false stories circulated about
him. He knew what he was doing;
and trusted that he who is the God of
the red man as well as of the white
man, would approve and bless his ex
ertions.
About the year 1650, a man by the
name of Gorta, whose religious views
were rather singular, traveled about
and preached in New England, and
made considerable disturbance by his
doctrines. Among others who attend
ed his preaching were two of the pray
ing Indians. They were much per
plexed, and came to Mr. Eliot to ask
an explanation. How is it, said they,
that Mr. Gorta, who has the same Bible
with you, teaches such different things?
On inquiry what it was that Mr. G.
7%
taught differently from him; Why, said

they, you teach us there is a heaven
and a hell; but according to Mr. G.'s
notions it is not so. He says, there is
no heaven except in the hearts of the
good, and no hell except in the hearts
of the wicked. We are not fully told,
in history, how Mr. Eliot contrived to
clear up the difficulties they felt in
their minds. Probably he referred
them to the Bible, which teaches that
though heaven must begin in the hearts
of men before they die or they can
never enter it, and in like manner,
though hell commences in bad men
here in this world, yet there is also
both a heaven and a hell beyond the
grave.
Mr Eliot was a man of prayer. Of
this, the following will serve as an
illustration:
I have already told you that he in
tended to build a town for the praying

Indians. But as he was waiting for
tools, &c., from England, he advised
the Indians to delay their work a little
till the tools should arrive; which he
hoped would be by the next ship.
But ship after ship kept arriving, and
no tools being received, nor any infor
mation respecting them, the Indians
grew impatient. This greatly grieved
Mr. Eliot. He began to think the
matter over; and at last concluded that
he had fallen into the bad habit of de
pending more on mere human means
than he ought, and too little on God.
So he resolved more than before to re
sort to prayer. At last, with the con
sent of his people, he held a church
fast, in Roxbury. Just at the time,
and before they left the meeting, news
came that a ship had arrived with let
ters from England, and promises of

immediate aid. Mr. Eliot was con
firmed, by this event, in his determina
tion to pray more than formerly; for he
verily believed, and probably with jus
tice, that God had so ordered the mat
ter, that the welcome intelligence he
had just received should be the effect
of fasting and prayer. Some call such
a concurrence of circumstances a mere
accident, but I do not so regard it.
It should not be forgotten, that
though Mr. Eliot was greatly in favor
with the Indians, he did not wholly es
cape their opposition. It may be doubt
ed whether there ever was a good man,
one I mean, who was very active,
who passed through the world without
awakening the enmity of somebody. I
know it is sometimes said in praise of
a man, after he dies, that he was not
AND TH E IN D I A N S. 77
known ever to have an enemy. But

our Saviour and his apostles had ene
mies; and so, it seems to me, all mod
ern true apostles do.
I have said that Mr. Eliot met with
trouble from some of the Indians.
The opposition arose chiefly from their
powaws, or sorcerers, whom I have be
fore mentioned; but whom I believe I
have not sufficiently described.
The powaws, it was supposed, had
communications with the world of
spirits; and it was thought that they
sometimes procured aid from thence.
By some, it was supposed they had the
ability to bewitch their enemies, or
even to put them to death by an invis
ible or unseen influence. Their howl
ings, and dances, and charms, and in
cantations would overawe those whom
no fear of bodily pain would move in
the least. Even the Christian converts

from among the Indians still stood in
fear of these powaws.
Mr. Eliot labored much, however, to
rid them of these idle and superstitious
fears. Such a course greatly offended
the powaws; and these, by their influ
ence with the sachems, contrived to set
some of them also against Mr. Eliot.
In this situation of things, the praying
Indians became hated, both by the
sachems and powaws, and a persecu
tion arose. Some of the praying Indi
ans were banished, and others, it is
said, were even put to death.
The life of the apostle Eliot was, in
some instances, in great danger from
their violence. They would drive him
away, and with loud threats tell him
not to come among them again, if he
valued his life. It is supposed, that
A ND T H E IN D I A N S. 79
had it not been for fear of the English,

they would have actually put him to
death. Nor would the new converts,
the praying Indians,have fared much
better.
As for Mr. Eliot, he had too much of
the spirit of a martyr to be frightened
greatly by the threats of the powaws
and sachems. I am engaged, he would
say to them, in the work of God, and
God is with me. I fear not all the
sachems in the country. I shall go on
in my work, and do you touch me if
you dare.
This showed him to be a man of
true Christian bravery. When there
was no occasion for any other conduct,
he was full of mildness, gentleness and
love; and could enter the wigwams of
the Indians, and interest himself in the
wants and concerns of the smallest
-
80 S TO RIES OF E L 1 OT
-
children, and talk with and catechize
them; but when it became necessary,
he could also face the boldest and most
savage of the chiefs in a manner which
would at once put them to silence and
fill them with dismay.
A ND THE IND I A N S. 81
C H A P T E R V II.
Indian town at NatickThe Foot BridgeShape of the

townForm of the governmentTrouble with Cutsha
makinKeeping a FastAn Indian SermonThe In
dian Schoolmaster-Indian MissionariesNew town of
Punkapog.
INSTEAD of having the new town for

the praying Indians as near Boston as
Nonantum, it was thought best to go
farther to the south-west. In 1651,
therefore, the Indians at Nonantum re
moved to a pleasant spot on the banks
of Charles river, about seventeen miles
from Boston. Here they built their
town and called it Natick, which means
a place of hills. *
The town was built on both sides of

the river. The stream was not large
here, in the summer, and could easily
8
be waded; but on account of the floods

in the spring, which sometimes raised
it very high, it was found necessary to
build a bridge across it. It was, how
ever, a mere foot-bridge; but it was
eighty feet long, and nine high; and, for
an Indian work, quite respectable in its
appearance.
When the bridge was completed, Mr.
Eliot told the laborers, that as they had
worked hard, in the water, if any of
them desired wages, he would pay
them; but as the bridge was for their
own use, if they would consider it so,
and make no charges for their labor, he
should be glad. They at once refused
to accept any thing, and even thanked
him for the kind and valuable assistance
he had rendered them. Before they
separated, at the finishing of the bridge,
Mr. Eliot also called them together, and
held a sort of meeting, which consisted

of prayer and religious instruction.
The town was laid out into three
streets, two on one side of the river,
and one on the other. Lots of land
were measured and divided, apple-trees
were planted, and the business of the
sowing season was begun. A house
lot was assigned to each family; and
it is said, that some of the cellars of these
dwellings may be seen at the present
day.
They built a circular fort, palisaded
with trees, and a large house in the
English style, the lower part of which
was to be used for public worship, on
the Sabbath, and for a school-room on
other days; while the upper apartment
was used as a wardrobe, and, as a de
pository for valuable commodities. A
part of this room was divided from the
rest, by a partition, for Mr. Eliot's
84 s To RI E's oF ELIoT
peculiar use, in which he had a bed.

This house, fifty feet long, twenty feet
wide, and twelve feet high between
the joists, was built entirely by the In
dians, except the assistance they had
from an English carpenter, for a day or
two, who gave them directions about
raising the frame and some other par
ticulars. *
There were also erected a kind of
canopies, one for Mr. Eliot and his at
tendants, and the other for the Indians
themselves. They were made, it is
said, of mats fixed upon poles, and are
supposed to have been for the hearers
of discourses, in pleasant weather.
Several small houses, in the English
style, were also erected; but many
of the inhabitants still preferred wig
Wann S.
* Sparks's Life of Eliot,

The next thing was to establish for

the Indians a form of government.
They would, indeed, be under the gen
eral direction of the governor of the
province of Massachusetts, but they
would need some particular plan for
that town. The matter was referred
to the consideration of Mr. Eliot, as a
sort of father.
He advised the Indians to adopt the
plan which Jethro, the father-in-law of
Moses, proposed for the Israelites, when
on their march through the wilderness.
This was to divide their community into
hundreds, fifties, and tens; and to ap
point rulers or chiefs over hundreds,
over fifties, and over tens. The rulers
of tens, Mr. Eliot proposed, after the
English fashion, to call tithing-men.
This plan, it seems, was adopted by
the Indians; for I find from history, that
on the 6th of August, 1651, a great
meeting of the praying Indians was

held in the new building, at which Mr.
Eliot, after opening it with prayer, read
and explained to them the eighteenth .
chapter of Exodus, as containing the
model of their government; immediate
ly after which they proceeded to elect
officers, according to Mr. Eliot's plan.
Mr. Eliot was much elated by the pros
pects before him, and much gratified
with the past.
Some of the Indians suggested the
plan of having a day of humiliation,
fasting and prayer, on the plan of the
English. Mr. Eliot was pleased with
the proposal. He thought its necessity
was greatly increased by an accident
and loss which had occurred about this
time. A ship, which had been sent
on from England with supplies for the
new Indian settlement, had just been
wrecked at Cohasset, and though most
A ND T HE IN D I A N S. 87
of the property was saved, it was much

damaged.
A little before this period, Mr. Eliot
had trouble again with the sachem Cut
shamakin. He had been to the Narra
ganset country to assist in settling a
quarrel among his brother sachems.
On their return, he and his companions
had purchased some strong water, as
they called it, and become intoxicated;
and though Cutshamakin himself was
not so much intoxicated as some of the
rest, yet, as a religious man, his conduct w
merited and received a severe rebuke

from Mr. Eliot.
His punishment consisted in being
forbidden to take any part as a teacher,
in the fast of which I have just spoken.
He was apparently greatly humbled by
this privation; for no sooner had the
hour arrived for opening the meeting,
than he came forward of his own ac
cord, and to the surprise of them all,

made a most humble confession of his
fault, and concluded with a short prayer.
Thus ended, for that time, the trouble
with this fickle-minded chief. How
long he remembered his repentance and
promises of amendment of life, we are
not informed.
During the intermission of this meet
ing, at noon, the question came up, so
history says, whether it was lawful and
proper on a day of public fasting and
prayer to take a pipe of tobacco. It
would be curious to know to what con
clusions they came on this subject. For
Mr. Eliot, as I ought to have before
told you, had become so thorough-go
ing a temperance man, even in those
early days, that he mortally hated to
bacco, while the Indians were equally
fond of it. But we can only guess at
results. The probability is, that so
AND T H E IND I A N S. 89.
strong was the attachment of the In

dians to this filthy herb, that even the
bold and fearless Eliot did not dare to
attack it with violence, and that they
came to the conclusion, that it was law
ful to use it.
The new Indian town, Indian meet
ing, and Indian government soon began
to excite much attention from abroad.
The great men in Boston, especially,
were very curious to visit it. So about
a fortnight after the fast I have men
tioned, the governor of the colony, -
Gov. Endicott,-and many others, at
tended a meeting at Natick. On this
day, one of the Indians took the lead in
the meeting. Though the governor
could not understand him, he was much
pleased with his solemn manner, and
with the solemn and devout attention
of the people; and begged Mr. Eliot to
write down, in English, the substance

of his remarks.
As a specimen of what a native In
dian could do, without much instruc
tion in the Bible, the sermon was quite
curious. The following will give you
something of an idea of it.
The text consisted of two parables:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto treasure hid in a field; the which,
when a man hath found, he hideth, and
for joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that
he hath, and buyeth that field. Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchantman seeking goodly pearls;
who, when he had found one pearl
of great price, went and sold all that
he had, and bought it. Matt. 13:
4446.
These parables the Indian teacher
explained thus: The hidden treasure,
he said, was the knowledge of Jesus
AN D T HE IND I A N S. 91
Christ; including repentance, and the

pardon of sin, with the means of grace,
such as baptism, union with Gods peo
ple, and prayer and praise, public and
private. The field in which the treas
ure was found, was the Christian church.
The things they must part with, in
order to gain it, were their old practices
and vicesevery thing which was in
the way of their receiving, with the
right spirit, the blessed gospel of Jesus
Christ.
The merchantman spoken of, he said,
was the person who was truly anxious
to know about God and the truth; such
were all good, praying Indians. His
riches meant his former evil habits and
conduct. These were sold; that is,
these sins must be cast away, for the
sake of the more valuable pearl.
This must have been a singular scene.
To hear a person, who but a few years
92 S TO RIES OF : E L IOT
before was himself a savage, stand up

and explain with so much good sense
the holy Scriptures, in a place where,
till but just now, no other voices had
been heard than those of savage beasts
and savage men; what heart could have
remained unmoved or unmelted ?
Gov. Endicott and those who were
with him were indeed much affected.
They wrote to their friends in England,
describing, with great delight, the scenes
they had witnessed. They described
the town of Natick also, with its arched
bridge.
They also described, on one occasion,
in writing to their English friends, a
visit to Natick, at which Mr. Eliot
prayed with the Indians, and preached
about an hour to them about coming to
Christ and bearing his yoke; which ex
ercises were followed by an opportunity
for the Indians to ask questions. After
numerous questions had been asked

and answered, the Indian schoolmaster,
whose name was Monequassun, read,
in the old-fashioned New England man
ner, line by line, a psalm which Mr.
Eliot had translated for them into the
Indian tongue, while the Indian men
and women sung it; and many of them
sung very well indeed.
These Indians, at this period, partly
for want of a bell to their meeting
house, and partly perhaps to imitate
their English neighbors, who at that
time were, in some places, accustomed
to the same thing, were in the habit of
collecting their people together on the
Sabbath, fast-days and lecture-days by
means of drums. These drums were
of their own invention and construc
tion; and were some of them quite
ingenious.
Monequassun, the Indian schoolmas
9
ter, could read, spell and write very

correctly; and his school for some time
appeared quite flourishing. Mr. Eliot's
object was to make it a kind of teach
ers seminary, from which young na
tives, well taught and well disciplined,
should go forth as missionaries to dis
tant places. He believed the best
way to improve the Indians, so as to
have their improvement valuable and
permanent, was to teach them to teach
themselves.
He was right in this, without doubt.
The modern American missionaries, in
foreign countries, are acting more and
more on this same plan. They do not
rely wholly on new recruits of mission
aries from this country to evangelize
the heathem. They hope and expect
most from the labors of missionaries
whom they can raise up in the schools
A ND T HE IN D I A N S. 95
which they establish among these na

tives.
Some of these young Indian mission
aries sent out by Mr. Eliot, are believed
to have done much good; though
others of them found the prejudices of
their red brethren so strong, that they
were obliged to return without success.
Sometimes the Indian tribes scattered
through New England used to send to
Natick and beg for instructors.
Mr. Eliot had, at first, intended to
bring all the praying Indians about
Boston together in one town at Natick.
But this plan was at length found so
impracticable, that it was given up.
Another society becoming necessary, a
town was established at Stoughton; at
that time called Punkapog.
It was about this period that Mr.
Eliot began to think of forming his
friends, the praying Indians, into a
church. Had it been his object to

make a show of doing a great work
among the Indians, or had he bribed
them by giving them coats and shirts,
to persuade them to become Christians,
he could have collected many large
churches long before this period. But
Mr. Eliot knew better than to do this ;
and therefore we find the work defer
red until the year 1652.
C H A PT E R V III.
Attempts to form the church at NatickAnecdote of a

good childStory of the drunken IndiansTheir pun
ishmentThe church finally organizedAnecdotes of
Indian kindness to the sick.
IN October, 1652, after much prepa

ration for the event, a day of fasting
and prayer was held by the Indians at
their new town of Natick. The morn
ing, until nearly noon, was spent in
prayer, and in discourses by Mr. Eliot
and two of the Indians, who were ac
customed to act as teachers.
After this, they proceeded to hear
the confessions of the Indians, some
of which were curious and interesting.
They were, however, in general very
long; and as Mr. Eliot wrote them
down, it took up a great deal of time.
9%
98 s To R1E s of ELIo T
The confession, or experience as it is

sometimes called, of the schoolmaster,
of whom I have before spoken, was
particularly long, and before he had
finished, the day was so far spent, that
they were obliged to adjourn the
meeting.
The business, thus broken off, was
not resumed again for a year and a half.
One cause of delay was the breaking
out of a war between the Dutch about
New York and the mother country, in
which war it was strongly suspected
the Dutch had bribed many of the
tribes of Indians to engage, and among
the rest some of the praying Indians.
Although the last suspicion was ground
less, yet since it was abroad, Mr. Eliot
thought best to let the Indians at Na
tick manage their affairs in their own
way, for a time.
It would be curious to see some of
Mr. Eliot's notes of the confessions of

the Indians at the meeting of which
I have spoken. I suppose they are
preserved, but they have never come
under my eye. One of these Indians,
it seems, very honestly confessed, that
he first became a praying Indian, not
because he cared any thing about re
ligion, but because he loved the Eng:
lish, and wished them to love him.
This, however, brought him into a
state, which ended in deep and . . ..
convictions of sin. *
-
Connected with Mr. Eliot's account

of these confessions, there is a story of
two Indian children who died at about
three years of age, exhibiting many
evidences, as he thought, of love to
God. One of them is quite affecting.
The mother of the child had taken
great pains to furnish it, during its life
time, with playthings: and among the
100 S To R. I E S OF E L IOT
rest, with a little basket, a spoon and

a tray. The child had become very
much attached to these last, but while
he was sick, and especially a little while
before his death, whenever his mother
offered them to him to divert him, he
would push them away, saying, I will
leave my basket behind me, for I am
going to God; I will leave my spoon and
tray behind me, for I am going to God!
At last, in July, 1654, arrangements
were made for finishing the organiza
tion of the Indian church at Natick,
which had been commenced the year
but one before. The meeting was to
be held July 13. But a few days be
fore this time, an event took place,
which caused much trouble, and had
well nigh frustrated the whole plan.
The circumstances were as follows:
There were among the praying In
dians, as there are among praying
white people, some who did not live so

closely to their principles as they ought
to have done. Three of these had
procured some spirit from the English,
and had become intoxicated with it.
Now there was at Natick, at this .
time, says Mr. Sparks, a ruler by
the name of Toteswamp, a man of
gravity and authority. It happened
that he had sent his child, a boy eleven
years old, to get some corn and fish, at
the place where the three drunken In
dians were holding their revel. One
of them gave the boy two spoons-full
of the rum, which turned his head.
Another put a bottle to his mouth, and
made him drink till he was entirely in
toxicated. When they had done this,
they cried out jeeringly, Now we shall
see whether your father will punish us
for drunkenness, since you are drunk as
well as we. The Indians soon began
to fight, and the boy, in this situation,

lay abroad all night.
When this was reported at Natick,
Toteswamp and the rest were deeply
grieved. He called the other rulers
together to determine what should be
done in consequence of this scandal.
They sat as a court of judgment on the
case, and found that four transgressions
had been committed, viz., drunkenness,
making the child drunk, reproachful
contempt of rulers, and fighting.
These circumstances also greatly dis
tressed Mr. Eliot. As soon as he
heard of the shameful affair, he took
his horse and rode at once to Natick.
When he arrived, he found the court
which was to try the case, then in ses
sion. They told him their sad story
with great sorrow, and begged his ad
vice. Toteswamp was especially af
fected. He knew that his feelings
were now to be put to a hard trial.

If he loved the cause of Christ best, he
would be expected to punish the child
among the rest; but if he neglected to
punish his child, it might be thought
that he was an unjust ruler, and that,
he loved himself and his family more
than he loved Christ and the public
good.
After much conversation and discus
sion, the rulers retired to deliberate
what they should do. They finally
concluded to give sentence as follows:
The three Indians, for their crimes,
were to sit in the stocks a long time;
thence they were to be taken to the
public whipping-post, where they were
to receive twenty lashes on the bare
back. The punishment was faithfully
executed by the constables.
The sentence of the boy was, that
he, too, should sit in the stocks a little
104 S TO R i ES OF E L IOT
while, and then be whipped by his

father, at the school, before all the
children. This punishment was also
faithfully inflicted.
Some may wonder why the boy, who
was enticed into sin by those who were
older, should have suffered so severely.
But I suppose the Indians considered
him a free agent, and as having the
power to refuse poison when it was
offered him. And on the whole, I think
we should be surprised, that they came
so near truth and justice in the inflic
tion of their punishments, rather than
that they did not come exactly to our
modern standard.
The proposed meeting was finally
held at Roxbury, in the meeting-house,
instead of Natick. It was a very sin
gular meeting; but the story of the pro
ceedings is too long for us; and a part
AN D T H E IN DIAN S. 105
of it would not, I fear, prove very in

teresting.
But notwithstanding many of the In
dians, both at this meeting and at the
former were found worthy, as it was
thought, of admission to the church,
the matter was still deferred; for what
reasons, we do not now know, in full;
nor was it until the year 1660, that the
Indian church at Natick was completely
formed and organized. It was the first
Christian church ever formed among
the Indians in North America.
I have an anecdote to relate here, in
the close of this chapter, that shows in
a striking manner, what a powerful in
fluence Mr. Eliot had over the minds
of the Indians, as well as the feelings
and sentiments which he wrought into
the hearts of some of these sons of the
forest.
10
The small-pox, in the winter of

165051, raged among the Indians and
made very great havock among them.
The Indians about Boston of course
suffered among the rest. But such was
the good feeling of some of Mr. Eliot's
converts, that they did not hesitate to
go around among the sick and take care
of them, even at the hazard of their own
lives.
Among the Indians was also, at this
time, a very old man, that had the pal
sy. He was so old and so loathsome,
that he had become quite a burden to
their community; and even his own
children had forsaken him. But Mr.
Eliot, unwilling to see him suffer,
offered a reasonable compensation,
in money, to any one who would take
care of him. Several of the Christian
converts, as soon as they knew his wish
A ND THE IN DIAN S. 107
es, immediately volunteered their ser

vices; and by turns, took care of the
poor old man, for a long time. But
they refused, in every instance, to re
ceive any compensation for their ser
vices.
C H A P T E R IX.
The Indian BibleMr. Eliot's other writingsTranslations

His Indian GrammarHis Harmony of the Gospels
The Indian CollegeLectures at NatickThe In
dian townsNumber of praying Indians in Massachu
setts and Plymouth coloniesThe Indian preacher
Ruins of NatickSufferings of the praying In
dians during Philips war.
I BELIEVE I have already said some

thing of an Indian Bible, that Mr. Eliot
translated from the English. He labor
ed upon it, in translating, for many a
weary hour, by night and day. But so
many were the difficulties attending it,
and so great was the delay, in one way
or another, that it was not until the year
1663, that it was finished. Indeed it
was three years in the press!
* A long time, indeed, when it is considered, that the Messrs.
Harpers, of New York, sometimes carry a book half as large as
the Bible quite through the press in a week.
AN D THE IN D I A N S. 109
What the cost of this work was, we

do not know. Mention is somewhere
made in the Life of Eliot, of the pay
ment of four hundred and thirty-seven
pounds, five shillings, or not far from
#1,950 towards it; but how much
more than this it cost, cannot now be
ascertained. The edition, I believe,
was not large; not over fifteen hundred
copies.
It has been said, that Mr. Eliot per
formed the whole of this immense work
with only one pen. But this story is
doubted by many; and I think with
good reason.
A second edition, of two thousand
copies of this Bible, was printed about
the year 1685. This cost, it appears,
about one thousand pounds, or $4,444.
I cannot learn that there is but one
of these Bibles, of the first edition, now
in existence; and that was saved from
10%
destruction in a most remarkable man

ner. It was in a barber's shop, and the
barber was about to use it as waste
paper, when Dr. Harris, of Dorchester
happening to be there, discovered and
procured and preserved it.
One of the persons concerned in
printing Mr. Eliot's Indian Bible was
an Indian, born near Grafton. He was
called James the printer. He had been
instructed in an Indian charity-school
at Cambridge, and could read and write
English with much correctness. He
afterwards became an apprentice in a
printing-office; and assisted, as I have
said before, in printing the Indian
Bible.
It is not a little curious, that this man
James the printer though so much
enlightened, still retained such a sense
of the wrongs done to his nation, that
when the war broke out in New Eng
land, commonly called Philip's war, he

ran away from his employer in Boston,
and joined the army of Philip, against
the English. It appears, however, that
he returned again, and was employed
in printing the second edition of Eliot's
Bible, and various other works. He
appears to have been a good and faith
ful workman.
It is a singular circumstance, that
though only about a century and half
has elapsed since the printing of the last
portion of the second edition of the In
dian Bible, not a person can be found
now, either among the white men or
the red men, who can read it. The
very language in which it was written
does not probably now exist. Copies
of it, even of the second edition, are
very scarce, and can only be seen in a
few public libraries.
Mr. Eliot also wrote other books;
and translated several more into the

Indian language. I have already
mentioned, in another place, one of
his books. Another was called the
Christian Commonwealth ; another
still, was the Communion of the
Churches.
Among the books which he trans
lated into the Indian language, were
Baxters Call to the Unconverted,
The Practice of Piety, The Sin
cere Convert, and the Sound Be
liever.
In 1664, he published an Indian
Psalter. Some of my readers may
hardly know what a Psalter is. It is
an old-fashioned name for the Psalms
of David, published separately from the
* It may be interesting to some of our young readers to know
the Indian title of the book here mentioned. The language
seems very strange to us. It was, JManitoewompae Pomantamoonk
sampushanau Christianoh uttoh woh an Pomatog wussikkitteahonat
God.
AND T HE IN D I A N S. 113
Bible. In the Indian language it was

a volume of about one hundred and fifty
pages.
Next he wrote an Indian Primer.
This passed through several editions,
and proved a very useful book.
Lastly, he prepared for the Indians
a Grammar. It contained about sixty
large pages, and appeared about the
year 1666. Though Mr. Eliot pre
pared it with great pains, it does not
appear to have been extensively or per
manently useful.
In 1678, Mr. Eliot publishednot in
Indian, but in Englisha Harmony
of the Gospels. It was a volume of
one hundred and thirty-one pages. It
was an interesting book; though it ap
pears to have been what we should call
a Life of the Saviour, rather than a
Harmony of the Gospels.
I have said, elsewhere, something
about an Indian college. The project of

establishing one had never been given
up by Mr. Eliot and his friends; and in
1665, a brick building, large enough to
accommodate twenty students, was
erected at Cambridge for this purpose,
and called the Indian College. But
the plan did not succeed; and the very
building itself was afterwards changed
into a printing-office.
Of the cause of this failure, we are
not so well informed. One historian
says, it was by reason of the death
and failing of the Indian scholars.
But all the particulars of the death or
failure of Indian scholars are the fol
lowing.
A few years before any college build
ing had been erected, two Indians from
Martha's Vineyard, by the names of
Joel and Caleb, had been sent to the
college at Cambridge. Joel died be
fore his education was completed; it is

supposed at sea. Caleb went through
the usual course of study at college,
and took his degree; but died not long
afterward of consumption.
But Mr. Eliot was not the man to
\be disheartened by these discouraging
circumstances. Determined to raise
up teachers of the Indians among the
Indians themselves, we find him, in
1670, giving them a regular course of
theological lectures at Natick; and the
course appears to have been pretty well
attended. In 1672, he published, for
their use, as an aid to his instructions,
an Indian Logic Primer.
At this period, there are said to have
been, within the Commonwealth, seven
old and well established towns of pray
ing Indians. I know not where they
were situated, except the three I have
already mentioned at Natick, Punkapog
and Nashoba. Seven others existed,

which had been more recently erected,
and were called new towns. They
were on the territory of country at
present comprised in the towns of Au
burn, Oxford, Uxbridge and Dudley,
in Massachusetts, and Woodstock, in
Connecticut.
It is computed, that the whole num
ber of Christian or praying Indians un
der the general oversight of Mr. Eliot,
was, at this time, about eleven hundred.
Besides these, there were reckoned in
other parts of Massachusetts and Ply
mouth colonies and on the islands of
Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, not
less than twenty-five hundred more. In
1673, Mr. Eliot states, that six churches
had been gathered among them; one
at Natick, one at Hassanamesit, now
Grafton, one at Marshpee, two at Mar
thas Vineyard, and one at Nantucket.
About the year 1680, or a little later,

an Indian teacher or preacher was or
dained in the church at Natick. His
name was Daniel Takawombpait. He
remained some time in the pastoral of
fice there, and died in 1716. A hum
ble grave-stone standing at the present
time as one of the stones of a wall near
the meeting-house in South Natick,
marks the spot where he was buried.
Mr. Eliot was also considerably aid
ed by a young minister of the name of
Gookin. He preached at Sherburne,
near Natick; but consented, once a
month, to give lectures to the Indians,
through an interpreter. Though al
ready thirty-three years of age, he be
came so much interested in the work of
teaching the Indians, that he proceeded
to study and learn their language.
As for Mr. Eliot himself, he continu
ed to preach to his disciples at Natick,
11
*
as often as once in six months, till he

was at least eighty-three years of age.
Such an instance of longevity in one
whose labors had been so severe through
life, is uncommon, but will be partly
accounted for when I come to tell you
how temperate he was.
One word more in regard to the In
dians at Natick. Numerous as they
once were, at that place, they have all
now disappeared. A single hut or
wigwam, inhabited by three or four
persons, of mingled Indian and negro
blood, is all that remains of this once
comparatively flourishing settlement.
But I have not yet done with my
stories about the praying Indians. A
sad account remains to be related.
You have heard of king Philip, the
sachem who so resolutely set himself
against our fathers of New England;
who would neither receive the Chris
A N D. THE IN D I A N S. 119
tian religion himself, nor allow his sub

jects to do so. Perhaps, too, you may
have heard the anecdote of him, that
when Mr. Eliot once offered to preach
the gospel to him and his people, he
rejected the offer with disdain, and
taking hold of a button on the apostle's
coat, told him he cared no more for the
gospel than for that button.
When the long, severe Indian war
broke out in New England, so well
known in history by the name of Phil
ip's war, the poor praying Indians fell
into sore difficulties. It was their hard
lot to have the good-will of neither
party in the war; for Philip, as might
have been expected, treated them as
the friends of the English, while the
English as strongly suspected them of
leaning to the side of king Philip.
It was, no doubt, thought by the
English, that should they go over to
the side of Philip, they would be

the most formidable of their enemies.
They had been among the English so
much, and knew so well their habits
and the strength of their forces, that
they would be able to do them twice
as much mischief as any of the rest of
his men. -
Probably, too, the suspicions of the

English were excited against them,
from the fact, that here and there
an individual among them did actually
desert and join Philip, but the number
of such persons was very small. Of
one, who did this, namely, James the
printer, I have already spoken.
But let the suspicions to which I
refer have arisen as they may, they
were exceedingly strong, and there was
a general feeling of indignation against
all Indians, good or bad. The praying
Indians were, in some instances, treated
with great severity; and, in a few in

stances, reduced to slavery. Mr. Eliot
did all he could to set the public mind
right in regard to them, but all to no
purpose. They were Indians; and the
Indians were all bad men! So they
seemed to reason on the subject.
Nay, Mr. Eliot, for attempting to
defend them, became, too, an object
of their dislike, and sometimes of their
abuse.
How strong are the feelings of human
nature on such occasions! It is related,
that, as Mr. Eliot and some friends were
sailing on the bay, in a boat, a vessel
ran against them, and came very near
drowning them all. Upon hearing the
story of Mr. Eliot's narrow escape, one
man did not hesitate to wish that he
had been drowned. But the hatred
against his friends was almost equally
violent. Mr. Gookin, a magistrate,
1.1%
who had taken the part of Mr. Eliot,

in favor of the Indians, became at length
afraid to walk the streets.
Finally, such was the excitement
against the Indians about Boston, es
pecially the Natick Indians, that the
General Court of the Commonwealth
resolved to remove the whole of them
to Deer Island, a small island in Boston
harbor, six or seven miles from the city.
A party of cavalry, with some carts,
were therefore sent out to Natick, and
the people of the town, amounting in
all, men, women and children, to about
two hundred, were ordered to go to a
place called the Pines, on Charles
river, where vessels would be ready to
take them over to the island.
It must have been a trying time to
these poor people. Mr. Eliot, however,
was on the spot, and did all he could to
console them. He not only prayed
with them and exhorted them, but, like

the apostle Paul, when he met the
elders of Ephesus at Miletus, he mingled
his tears with theirs. -
It was on the 30th of October, 1675,

about midnight, that this little company
of unoffending people embarked on
board three vessels, and were conveyed,
with such of their effects as five or
six carts could bring to the place, to
their appointed residence upon Deer
Island.
It was not long after this, that the
settlement at Punkapog (Stoughton)
was broken up in the same manner,
and the inhabitants transported to Deer
Island. Others, from various places
and at various times, were also sent
there and to Long Island, near the
same place, till at last the whole num
ber of them in the islands appears to
have amounted to above five hundred.
Here Mr. Eliot, and other friends of

theirs, several times visited them to
preach to and encourage them. They
found them very patient in their af
flictions; and many of them seemed
to possess the true spirit of Chris
tianity.
Perhaps it was very well for them,
as things were, that they were sent to
the islands. Perhaps we ought to con
sider their retreat as an asylum from
the fury of their foes. For the truth is,
that many who were not transported
were shot down, almost like wild
beasts. The English, in their cruelty,
appeared to regard every Indian, and
the praying Indians among the rest, as
a fair mark. So strangely does war
change the feelings and character of
men, and turn the civilized man into a
monster as bad as the savages he op
poses, if not worse! \
AND THE IND I A N s. 125
Some time after this, as the war

went on, the public feeling of hostility
towards the praying Indians began to
subside, and the General Court permit
ted them to return. This was in the
autumn. Some went to one place,
some to another. During the following
summer, most of them returned to
their old places of residence, and the
Natick Indians to theirs among the
TeSt. -
It is worthy of remark, that an Indian

feacher, by the name of Anthony, kept
a school for the Indian children, at
Nonantum, during the winter which
immediately followed their return, in
a large wigwam built for the purpose.
He also delivered weekly lectures.
Mr. Eliot preached to them once a
fortnight. This good man did not
confine his labors to Nonantum and
Natick, however. He preached to the
Indians at various places; especially

at Brush Hill, in Milton.
But although the Indians had re
turned to their towns, and villages, and
wigwams, they had not returned to
the same state of things as formerly.
They, ever after, seemed broken up,
and discouraged. The friendship be
tween them and the white men was
also in part destroyed; though they
still loved Mr. Eliot as a father, and a
few others. We cannot wonder, I am
sure, at their feelings when we consider
their wrongs. Surely, as Mr. Jefferson
once said in relation to our ill treatment
of another race of men,the blacks,
a day of retribution will come. Surely
the blood of the red men will be, sooner
or later, required at our hands.
C H A PT E R X.
Some of Mr. Eliot's opinionsHis contempt for wigs

His hatred of tobaccoHis temperance in eating
and drinkingEarly risingSabbath-keepingHis be
nevolenceanecdotes of himHis ignorance of do
mestic concernsLoss of his wifeHe ceases to preach
Teaches the blacksInstructs a blind boy His
death.
I HAVE already told you, that Mr.

Eliot entertained some very singular
opinions. One was, that the Indians
were descended from the ten tribes of
Israel. Another was, that all human
governments should be like that sug
gested by Jethro, Moses father-in-law,
of which a practical example had been
given at Natick. Another was, that
the Hebrew language is the language
of heaven?
He had also a mortal hatred of every

thing like extravagance in dress. Wigs,
in particular, were objects of his sove
reign contempt. This, you know, was
at a period when, in Great Britain, es
pecially, this article of head-dress was
at the height of the fashion, and almost
every body admired it.
I have already observed, that Mr.
Eliot was a mortal enemy of tobacco.
He hated its use even worse than the
use of wigs. But he could not prevail
against it. People would use it; and
many foolishly and wickedly use it to
the present day. I cannot but hope,
however, that for the last ten years, it
has been going out of fashion.
Some of Mr. Eliots other habits
were as strictly in accordance with the
great laws of temperance in all things
as his views in relation to tobacco.
His food was exceeding plain and sim
ple. Rich and highly-seasoned dishes

he would not eat, if he could get any
thing else. He seldom partook of more
than one dish at a meal, even when he
dined abroad. He not only practised
thus himself, but enjoined the same
practice on others. Indeed, he some
times indulged himself in considerable
severity against what he called the
pleasures of the table.
He was also a water-drinker, and
seldom drank any other liquor. Wine
he did not exactly denounce, but rarely
tasted it. He held, that Christian
temperance required great care and
abstinence in the matter of eating as
well as in that of drinking; and thought,
that if ministers would preach more
upon these subjects, their labors would
be more beneficial.
Mr. Eliot believed, that when men
12
should come to be trained with suf

ficient regard to temperance in all
things, and when physicians should
better understand both the laws of
health and disease, the length of hu
man life would be greatly increased.
Doth not such a thing, he used to
say, seem prophesied in the sixty-fifth
chapter of Isaiah P But if the child
is to die an hundred years old, of
what age shall old men be when they
die?
I have spoken of his contempt for
wigs. He was also opposed to every
species of extravagance or finery in
dress. His own garments were not
only plain, and without the least orna
ment, but frequently quite homely.
Some have said that, like John the
Baptist and Elijah, he wore a leathern
girdle; but it is most likely that he
only wore it during some of his longer

missionary tours.
He was in the practice of early
rising, always beginning his business
in the freshness of the day. He also
retired early. These habits, especially
that of rising early, he was very fond
of recommending to others. He was
often heard to say to young students,
I pray you, look to it, that you be
morning birds.
Perhaps few men have been more
strict in the observance of the Sabbath
than Mr. Eliot was. It is true, that
he regarded every day as devoted to
God. Still he thought the Sabbath
had peculiar claims, and endeavored
to enforce them by example and pre
cept.
But of all things else, Mr. Eliot was
most remarkable for his works of be
nevolence. So far as I can learn, he

had no property except what he pro
cured by his labors in Roxbury, and a
few small sums sent over from Eng
land for specific purposes. And his
salary was by no means large. Yet no
minister, perhaps, ever gave more than
he, not only of time but of money.
The amount of his charities is not
indeed known, but we are told it was
very great indeed. To the poor
he gave with a most bountiful hand, as
long as he had any thing to give. He
did not wait till objects of charity came
under his notice, as if by accident, but
he sought them out. He was as eager
to find opportunities of spending money
usefully, when he had any, as most
men are to get it. And when his own
stock was exhausted in his charities,
he would beg of others, for the same
purposes. Thus it was, that he was

beloved by every body; and every
body, especially the poor, looked up
to him as a father and a friend.
There is one anecdote of him, which,
though it shows this part of his charac
ter in a very strong light, is worthy of
being recorded.
When the parish treasurer was
about to pay him a portion of his
yearly salary, one day, knowing what
sort of a man he was, he put it into a
handkerchief, which he tied in several
hard knots, so that he might not give
it away before he got home. In pass
ing along, however, he came to a house
where the people were poor and sick,
went in, and told them at once that
Providence had sent him there with
the means of their relief. But on at
tempting to untie the handkerchief, he
12%
found the knots so close, that it was

almost impossible to untie them. After
trying a long time to effect his object,
he grew tired of it, and gave the whole
to the lady of the family, saying;
Here, my dear, take it; I believe the
Lord designs it all for you.
There is another curious anecdote
related of him, showing how he treated
those who were unfriendly to him.
One of his hearers had become very
much offended at him for something
which he had said in the pulpit; and had
openly and severely reviled him. Not
long afterward, this person happened to
be severely hurt in some way, upon
hearing of which, Mr. Eliot sent his
wife, who made very considerable pre
tensions to medical and surgical knowl
edge, to dress his wounds and take
care of him. She succeeded so well
A ND T H E IND I A N S. 135
in her efforts, that the man soon recov

ered; and went to Mr. Eliot's to thank
Mrs. Eliot, and to offer her a compen
sation, which, however, she refused.
Dinner being nearly ready, Mr. Eliot
asked him to stay and dine with him,
and he accepted the invitation. But
during the whole conversation not a
word was said about the past; and so
pleased was the man, that he went
away quite softened, by Mr. Eliot's
kindness, into friendship. What an
excellent way of making friends!
Mr. Eliot was entirely ignorant of
many of the common concerns of do
mestic life, even of those that were
constantly taking place around him.
He was especially negligent about
property; so much so, that it is said
he could hardly tell a domestic animal
of his own from those of his neighbors.
One day, as several of his cows stood

before the door, Mrs. Eliot asked him
if he knew whose cows they were.
To her surprise and amusement, the
good man, after casting his eyes to
wards them, observed, that he did not
know.
Mr. Eliot was a kind husband and
a most affectionate father. No fam
ily could be happier than was his.
He had one daughter and five sons,
but they all died either in youth or
middle age, except two, a son and a
daughter.
It was his most earnest desire, that
his sons should become ministers of the
gospel. One of them, the youngest,
did indeed assist his father in the min
istry at Roxbury, for a time. Of the
other four, nothing, I believe, is said,
except that they were all men of
piety.
Three years before his death he was

called to mourn the loss of his wife,
who died at that time in her eighty
fourth year. This was a most severe
affliction and trial to him. But he bore
the loss like a Christian; and in the
language of David in reference to his
child, he observed at the side of the
grave; l shall go to her, but she shall
not return to me.
When he was eighty-four years of
age, he became unable to preach any
longer, and nearly the whole care of
the church devolved on his colleague.
But though he could no longer speak
from the pulpit to those whom he
loved, he was not the man to be idle.
Very far, indeed, from that. To relieve
the poor, comfort the afflicted, and in
struct the ignorant, was still his delight,
and an object very near his heart.
Among other things, he became

greatly interested in the moral welfare
of the colored people around him. He
saw how grossly and unaccountably
they were neglected, and he resolved to
make an effort, though a feeble one,
in their behalf. He proposed to those
families who had negro servants, that
they should send them to him once a
week, to be instructed in the way of
virtue and religion. In this humble,
but benevolent work, says a distin
guished writer, he rejoiced to occupy
some of his last hours; but death
intervened before much could be accom
plished.
Another work of charity, which this
venerable man undertook, in his last
days, and after he could no longer leave
his house, was the instruction of a blind
boy, who lived in the neighborhood,
and who had lost his sight by falling
AN D T HE I N D I A NS, 139
into the fire. With the consent of the

boy's friends, he took him to his own.
room, and taught him to repeat hymns,
chapters, &c. So successful was he in
his efforts, that the boy could repeat
with the utmost accuracy, whole chap
ters from the Bible. He continued
this labor of love, as long as he
lived. -
But the hour of his dissolution was

at hand. He perceived the grim mes
senger approaching him; though he
was not by any means daunted. He
retained his mental faculties, in a good
degree, to the last. One of the last
subjects he spoke of was the preaching
of the gospel to the Indians. A dark
cloud, he said, hung over these poor
people, but it was his earnest prayer,
that the Lord would dispel it; and
that the work, which he had been
140 E L I o T AND THE IN DIAN s.
enabled to begin, might go on and

prosper. . . .
The last words which Mr. Eliot was
heard to utter, were welcomE JOY!
And there can be little doubt, that a
joy, truly welcome, awaited him; and
that he now exults in the mansions of
bliss. Mr. Eliot expired May 20, 1690,
in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
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The Infant Series. Part I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6+
gg gg 66Part II,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Sketches of Mount Carmel, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Benjamite King, or the History of Saul, the first
King of Israel, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * 30
The Voice of a Friend; or Youth instructed in the
Word of God, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Asleep in Christ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Always do Right; or the Story of Shadrach, Me
shach and Abednego, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Religion at Court; or Daniel in the King's Gate,.... 18
The Protestants,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Alfred Montrose; or the Way I should go, . . . . . . . . 25
A Doctrinal Text-Book: designed to aid Bible classes,
families and churches in the systematic study of
the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. Part I..... 10
Memoir of Jane Judson,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Wm. Abbott Douglass,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Memoir of Felix Neff, Pastor of the High Alps, . . . . 21
The False Prophet, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Letters from China, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Lottery Prize, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Little Lamb,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Ceylon Mission,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
15 OC 61
"r------
)
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This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the

ELIOT AND THE INDIANS.

Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and re

Afterwards becomes a MinisterMinisters per

Mr. Eliot comes to AmericaPreaches in BostonIs

settled in RoxburyHis labors there,. . . . . . . . . . 16

Preaching to the IndiansFour Meetings held at No

Mr. Eliots labors with the Indians abroadat Paw

Civilization at NonantumSchools among the Indians

Indian town at NatickThe Foot-BridgeShape of

New town of Punkapog,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

The Indian BibleMr. Eliot's other writingsTrans

Some of Mr. Eliot's opinionsHis contempt for wigs

THE following is not designed as a full

In preparing this little volume, the

has drawn most largelyis volume five of

ELIOT AND THE INDIANS.

Eliots Birth and EducationBecomes a TeacherAfter

EveRY one who knows any thing of

specting him; and especially respecting

at one of the English universities. He

removed to America; and who became

enough for a schoolmaster. A school

open to him, and many good people

He was now twenty-seven years of

marry her a year or two afterwards;

Mr. Eliot comes to AmericaPreaches in BostonIs set

MR. ELIot bade farewell to the

Boston, and that was Mr. Wilson's;

parishes, or be furnished with col

different gentlemen as colleagues, he

every body who sought his friendship.

drew from the last chapter of John's

Preaching to the IndiansFour Meetings held at Nonan

MR. ELIOT, living, as he did, among

elders of the churches were requested

constant intercourse with him, at length

few of them had even asserted the

The time appointed for his visit was

approached Waban's wigwam, they

enough for a people so unaccustomed

him to repent and seek God. They

night, whenever he awoke, he would

too, might learn about God. They

Establishment at NonantumAt NeponsetTrouble with

MR. ELIOTs care for the Indians was

tools faster than he could supply them.

whortleberries, grapes and fish; in the

The interest which Mr. Eliot took

The native converts, here and else

very reluctant to say Honor thy fa

ed his forgiveness. Now it was that

could not be trusted. He would sin

it will be. The fact that your parents

But whether the fault be that of your

trative of the difficulties Mr. Eliot had

told of the tiger. Be that as it may,

clearly that the sachems complaints

powerful chief. He treated him with

The anecdote is not only curious, as

bility, ever understood the true Indian

fingerwere riches, good clothes, hous