MISSIONARY 
 EXPLORERS 
 
 AMONG THE AMERICAN 
 INDIAN 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 M.G.HUMPHREYS 
 
IN THE SAME SERIES 
 
 Published by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
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MISSIONARY EXPLORERS 
 
 AMONG THE 
 
 AMERICAN INDIANS 
 
MARCUS WHITMAN 
 FROM THE STATUE ON THE WITHERSPOON BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA 
 
MISSIONARY EXPLORERS 
 
 AMONG THE 
 
 AMERICAN INDIANS 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 MARY GAY HUMPHREYS 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1913 
 
E5\ 
 
 Copyright, 1913, by 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Published May, 1913 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In sketching the Hves of these missionary explorers, wher- 
 ever it has been possible to use their own narratives this 
 has been done. In the cases of Father Dyer and Stephen 
 Riggs this was easy, with their autobiographies within reach. 
 
 Concerning Samson Occum I have depended on his biog- 
 raphy by Mr. William De Loss Love, and to him my grate- 
 ful thanks are due. This material has been supplemented 
 by other extracts from Occum's diary, secured through the 
 courtesy of Dartmouth College, in whose library this diary 
 is held as one of its most valued possessions. 
 
 The bibliography relating to Marcus Whitman is exten- 
 sive and varied, divided, as it is, into two camps. After 
 considering these with some care, the weight of evidence is 
 in favor of those who wrote at the time and on the scene, 
 and on the rare letters from Whitman's own hand. On 
 these statements I have relied rather than on those who 
 have had a theory to defend. References to this contro- 
 versy, and the sources from which it sprang, can be found 
 in the recent biographies of Marcus Whitman by the Rev- 
 erend Doctor Myron Eells, and the earlier works of Mr. 
 W. A. Mowry and Mr. Oliver Nixon, which have been lib- 
 erally used, and to whom thanks are due, and to Bancroft's 
 History of the Pacific Coast. M. G. H. 
 
 267410 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 A Soldier of the Cross is not a mere phrase, as this book 
 illustrates. There are few careers that demand more mili- 
 tant qualities than that of the missionary. If he takes his 
 Bible in one hand he takes his life in the other, and must be 
 prepared to maintain and defend it. 
 
 If he strives to conquer he must also, like the soldier, 
 submit, endure, suffer. Cold, hunger, fatigue, danger are 
 part of his portion. Whether it is China in our day or the 
 frontier in days past, he must be as ready for defence as to 
 march on. Whatever vicissitudes that befall him, he must 
 not surrender. 
 
 This is but one phase of his calling. There are few that 
 demand more varied sorts of ability. He must be an all- 
 around man, preacher, teacher, diplomatist, business man, 
 tradesman, laborer with his hands, ready to turn his wit 
 and skill of whatever sort to the exigencies of the moment. 
 Samson Occum at the table of the Countess of Huntingdon, 
 or making wooden pails to support his family and evolving 
 the far-reaching views of a statesman; Father Dyer carry- 
 ing the mails over the snow-covered passes of the Rockies, 
 and preaching by the flaiing lights of mining-camps; Mar- 
 cus Whitman, dauntless messenger of danger to his coun- 
 try, leading his companions through the perils of the desert, 
 teaching the savage to sow and reap, mending the body as 
 well as the soul; and Stephen Riggs, with the army in its 
 
 vii 
 
viii Introduction 
 
 work of rescue — these are all men whose qualities would dis- 
 tinguish them in any walk of life. 
 
 As students of folk-lore, language, unwritten history, of 
 customs and beliefs reaching far down into the roots of hu- 
 man nature, they have enriched literature. It was into the 
 hands of Doctor Martin, a missionary, that the Emperor of 
 China, Kwang Su, placed the founding of his university for 
 Western learning. 
 
 Nor behind these are those faithful women, their wives. 
 Delicately reared, yet making light of their hardships, at- 
 tending to their household duties, bringing up their chil- 
 dren, taking part in all the activities of their missions, they, 
 too, have braved danger with courage and sometimes met 
 untoward fate with heroism. Such are the missionaries' 
 wives. All honor to these soldiers of the Cross. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians .... i 
 
 Samson Occum, Mohegan 29 
 
 David Brainerd, Missionary to the Forests . 93 
 
 Marcus Whitman, Pathfinder and Patriot . . 119 
 
 Stephen Riggs, Forty Years with the Sioux . 185 
 
 John Lewis Dyer, Snow-Shoe Itinerant . . . 229 
 
 Index 299 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Marcus Whitman Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 John Eliot 4 
 
 John Eliot Among the Indians 12 
 
 The Tree Under which John Eliot Preached in 
 
 South Natick, Mass 20 
 
 Samson Occum 32 
 
 The Home of Samson Occum, Mohegan .... 62 
 
 The Mohegan Chapel, 1831 62 
 
 David and His Interpreter on the Way to Phila- 
 delphia no 
 
 Fort Walla Walla, Washington 158 
 
 The Whitman Mission (Waiilatpu) in 1843 . . . 180 
 
 Mr. Moore Cocked His Revolver and Said He 
 Would Shoot Down the Man Who Attempted 
 
 to Leave 222 
 
 John L. Dyer 232 
 
 Cabin at Mosquito 270 
 
JOHN ELIOT 
 APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS 
 
JOHN ELIOT 
 APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS 
 
 THAT the settlers male wyne and Incite the 
 Natives of the Country to the Knowledg and 
 Obedience of the onhe true God and Saviour 
 of Mankinde, and in the Christian Faythe, which is 
 our Royall Intencion and the Adventurers free Pro- 
 fession, is the principall Ende of this Plantacion." 
 
 This is an extract from the first royal charter granted 
 by Charles I to the Massachusetts Colony. It shows 
 that the welfare of the Indians was to be one of the 
 colonists' first concerns. This these, too, recognized, 
 and the first seal of the colony had for its design an 
 Indian with the legend "Come over and help us" 
 proceeding from his mouth. 
 
 We can scarcely understand the curiosity, the in- 
 terest, and the theories our forefathers brought to this 
 task. To some the Indian was a simple, innocent 
 child of nature; to others he was a savage steeped in 
 iniquity. The most ingenious theory was that the 
 Indians were the descendants of the Lost Tribes of 
 the Children of Israel. Learned treatises were writ- 
 ten on this subject; and this seems to have been the 
 
 3 
 
Missionary Explorers 
 
 iitst opiiiicn af John Eliot, and to have inspired, to a 
 certain extent, his method of dealing with them — a 
 method for which his trained mind was especially 
 fitted. 
 
 John Eliot was a Puritan of Puritans. He was born 
 at Nasing, in the county of Essex, England, and was 
 educated at Cambridge, says his biographer, where he 
 was an "acute grammarian'' and keen in tracing words 
 to their original sources. After leaving the univer- 
 sity he became a school-master in the school of Thomas 
 Hooker, at Little Baddow. Hooker was a non-con- 
 formist, and, owing to the persecutions of Archbishop 
 Laud, fled to Holland. John EUot, realizing that 
 there could be no opportunity in England for a non- 
 conformist school-teacher, determined to go to the 
 ''wilderness in the west," as our forefathers were ac- 
 customed to speak of the New World. > 
 
 He accordingly set sail in the "Lyon," with a com- 
 pany of sixty persons, among whom were the wife and 
 children of Governor Winthrop. The "Lyon" ar- 
 rived amid great rejoicings at the port of Boston, 
 November 3, 163 1. John Eliot was at this time 
 twenty-seven years old. The pastor of the Boston 
 church having gone to England, leaving Governor Win- 
 throp and two laymen in charge of "the exercise of 
 prophecy," as the pastor's duties were quaintly phrased, 
 these were now turned over to John Eliot. Meanwhile, 
 there arrived on a later ship at Boston, a young lady 
 named "Anne, and gracious was her nature," to whom 
 
JOHN ELIOT 
 
John Eliot 
 
 Eliot was married. When Pastor Wilson returned 
 from England, John EHot gave him back his church 
 and removed to Roxbury, and it was here he first came 
 into contact with the Indians. 
 
 This was in rather an incidental manner. For a 
 Puritan John Eliot had a somewhat impulsive and 
 fiery nature. Curiously enough his first act was against 
 the Indians. The Pequots were at war with the Dutch 
 and the Narragansetts, and were anxious to secure 
 the friendly offices of the English. Accordingly they 
 sent two Pequots as ambassadors to the governor with 
 the usual present of wampum. As was the custom, 
 the governor consulted the clergy, and the result of 
 these deHberations was that the governor, on behalf of 
 the colony, agreed to a treaty of peace with the Pe- 
 quots on condition that the tribe would give up the 
 murderers of some Englishmen. This they agreed to 
 do. They agreed also to favor the settlement of an 
 English colony in Connecticut and to furnish four 
 hundred fathoms of wampum, besides forty beaver 
 and thirty otter skins. Wampum, it should be under- 
 stood, had been made legal tender by the whites. It 
 was white and black; the white was formed of peri- 
 winkle shells, and the black of quahaug or clam shells. 
 It was reckoned by fathoms and parts of a fathom, 
 and valued at from five to ten shillings a fathom. 
 
 All this proceeding displeased John Eliot, and he 
 preached a sermon at his Roxbury church, attacking 
 the governor and his advisers on the ground that the 
 
Missionary Explorers 
 
 people of the colony were not consulted — plehe incon- 
 sulta, he learnedly expresses it. The charter did not 
 grant to the governor treaty-making powers, said John 
 Eliot, with that jealousy for the rights of the people 
 which is "characteristic of American communities." 
 Three men were appointed "to deal with him." The 
 result was that, after much discussion, John Eliot 
 withdrew his opposition on the ground that the treaty 
 was for peace; if it had been for war, he would have 
 stood his ground. 
 
 For some time he had been studying the Indian 
 language, which, as we know, fell in with his tastes 
 and training. He writes: "There is an indian living 
 with Mr. Richard Calicott of Dorchester, who was 
 taken in the Pequott Warres, though belonging to 
 Long Island; this Indian is ingenious, can read; and 
 I taught him to write, which he quickly learnt, though 
 I know not what use he now maketh of it; he was the 
 first I made use of to teach me wordes and to be my 
 interpreter." He took this Indian into his own family, 
 and from him learned to say the Ten Commandments, 
 the Lord's Prayer, and various passages from the Bible 
 in the Indian tongue. With this slender equipment 
 Eliot set out on his work. 
 
 Like all other Indians, the New England tribes when 
 not at war spent their time in hunting, fishing, idle- 
 ness, and sleep. Their knowledge was confined to 
 their material wants. They knew nothing of metals, 
 and the Englishman was called by them "knife-man," 
 
John Eliot 
 
 that being the most admired thing about him. To the 
 Indian each manifestation of nature was the work of 
 a god. There were the sun-god, the moon-god, the 
 god of the thunder and the hghtning. Over all these 
 was a supreme Manitou, who Hved in the far West. 
 There was also another great being, who was the source 
 of all mischief. There was also a priesthood of both 
 men and women, who were called powwows. These 
 were also the doctors and magicians. "If we pray to 
 God, we shall have to give up our powwows; then 
 who will cure us when we are wounded and sick?'* they 
 asked! One of the few converts as early as 1622 was 
 an Indian at Plymouth, by reason of rain falling after 
 a prayer in the Puritan church. If the white man's 
 God was thus complaisant, the matter was worth con- 
 sideration. 
 
 John Eliot now felt able to visit the wigwams and 
 talk with the women and children. His first visit was 
 made on the 28th of October, 1646, to a village which 
 was afterward called Nonantum. This was near what 
 is now Newton, and has the distinction of being the 
 first civilized settlement of Indians in the country. 
 Eliot and three friends were met by Waban, who is 
 described as "the chief minister of Justice among 
 them." Waban received them in the English manner, 
 and invited them to his wigwam and collected the 
 Indians to hear him. This service was in English and 
 interpreted. A curious thing happened. In his text 
 there was the phrase "say to the wind." Now in 
 
8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Indian Waban's name means wind; so when the inter- 
 preter translated it as "say to Waban/* the Indians 
 understood by this their host Waban, and this greatly 
 increased Waban's influence among them. 
 
 When EKot had finished, he asked if they had any 
 questions to propose. Then occurred what we have 
 come to know as ** heckling." The Indians had many 
 questions, and these disclosed the working of the 
 Indian mind, and what we may call his casuistry, in a 
 manner nowhere else to be found. One of the Indians 
 had tried to pray in his own language, when he was 
 told to sit down, for God did not understand Indian. 
 This led to one question. Another was how could 
 man be in the image of God since it was expressly for- 
 bidden to make an image of God. A third asked, if 
 a father is bad and his child good, will God be offended 
 with the child ^ thus referring to the Second Command- 
 ment. Again, how came there to be so many people 
 in the world, since they were once all drowned .? These 
 questions show that the Indian is capable of more 
 reflection than his early teachers thought possible. 
 That God could be in every place they thought quite 
 possible, since the sun could shine in many places, even 
 across the great water. This first conference lasted 
 three hours, and the Indians showed no fatigue, but 
 on the contrary proposed that they should build a town 
 and live together. After Eliot had given the men 
 tobacco and the children apples, they separated. 
 
 A fortnight afterward, Eliot went again to Waban's 
 
John Eliot 
 
 wigwam, where he talked also to the children. This 
 sermon was also followed by questions. Why was it, 
 since they had a common father, that white men dif- 
 fered so much from the Indians, particularly in their 
 knowledge of their father? How did it happen that 
 the sea was salt and the land water fresh ? Why does 
 the sea not overflow the earth? Then a difficult 
 question for even the university man, John Eliot. If 
 an Indian should steal goods, and not be punished by 
 the sachem or by any law, and then should restore the 
 goods, would God still punish him for his theft? This 
 interview was continued the entire afternoon. 
 
 The powwows by this time interfered, and when 
 Eliot went for the third time he found the Indians in 
 a diflFerent mood. Understanding the reason of this, 
 he began to warn them of the devil and his tempta- 
 tions. This made the Indians serious, and they 
 wanted to know if it would be wrong to pray to the 
 devil? Whether dreams should be believed? What 
 is a spirit? And finally why did the EngUsh call them 
 Indians? To these questions John Eliot merely says 
 he gave them fit answers. 
 
 After this meeting an Indian named Wampas came 
 to Roxbury with two other Indians, his son, and sev- 
 eral children. The children he wanted to leave with 
 the EngUsh that they might be well brought up. The 
 two Indians wanted to be servants in some English 
 family that they might be in the true way. Mean- 
 while Waban, his Indian host, began to tell other 
 
lo Missionary Explorers 
 
 Indians all the strange new things he had heard. Fi- 
 nally one of the powwows determined to have nothing 
 more to do with Chepian, the devil, and explained to 
 EHot the way powwows are created. First you have 
 a dream in which Chepian comes in the form of a ser- 
 pent. The next day you tell your dream to your com- 
 panions, and they agree that this must be an intima- 
 tion from the other world that you are to be a powwow. 
 Then the Indians get together and dance around you 
 for two days. Henceforth you are a priest, and can 
 cure the sick by incantations and strange gestures. 
 If the patient dies, you are reviled and perhaps killed. 
 In any case, you first get your fee. 
 
 In December there was a fourth meeting at Nonan- 
 tum, when the Indians offered all their children for a 
 school; but for this they had no money to pay. One 
 of the first evidences of their new zeal was shown by 
 cutting off their hair and wearing it English fashion. 
 As the Indian's vanity largely lies in his hair, to cut 
 it off was very significant, and for this act they suffered 
 not only ridicule but persecution from the other In- 
 dians. The result of these four meetings was that the 
 Indians with Waban at their head formed a settle- 
 ment and made a number of laws, which chiefly re- 
 lated to cleanliness, industry, and good order. Here 
 are some of the laws: 
 
 There shall be no more powwows among the In- 
 dians. 
 
 Whoever steals shall restore fourfold. 
 
John Eliot II 
 
 That the Indians may be brought to a sense of the 
 sin of lying, for the first He, five shilHngs, the second 
 He ten shilHngs, the third, twenty shilHngs. 
 
 They must pay their debts to the EngHsh. 
 
 No Indian must enter an Englishman's house with- 
 out knocking. 
 
 No one must take an EngHshman's canoe; the pen- 
 alty five shillings. 
 
 That they shall wear their hair covering like the 
 English, penalty five shillings. 
 
 VThere shall be no allowance to pick lice and eat 
 them, as formerly; penalty, a penny a louse. 
 
 No man shall have more than one wife. 
 
 Whoever shall beat his wife shall pay two shillings. 
 
 Thus began the first settlement, which was called 
 Nonantum, the name being chosen by their English 
 friends. John Eliot gave them spades, shovels, mat- 
 tocks, and hoes to work with, and a sixpence a rod for 
 their work on ditches and walls. *'So zealous they 
 were that they called for tools faster than he could 
 supply them. The wigwams were now much better 
 built, the poorest surpassing the former homes of the 
 sachems. They used the bark of trees, and divided 
 them into different rooms. They fenced their grounds 
 with ditches and stone walls, and began to practise 
 agriculture. The women were not behind; John 
 Eliot had secured them spinning wheels, and they be- 
 came very skillful spinners. In the winter they car- 
 ried brooms, baskets, turkey, and eel-pots to the near- 
 
12 Missionary Explorers 
 
 by towns and sold them. In the summer they took 
 berries, grapes, and fish to the English, in the autumn 
 and spring they sold venison, cranberries, and straw- 
 berries. Thus in time the Indian instead of roaming 
 worked with his hands for himself and family." 
 
 It may be imagined that the example of the com- 
 munity at Nonantum was not lost on the neighbor- 
 ing Indians. At Neponset was a sachem named Cut- 
 shamokin, who in turn became John Eliot's host, and 
 meetings took place in his wigwam. One of the first 
 things that happened concerned Cutshamokin's son, 
 a boy of fifteen, who got drunk and behaved badly to 
 his father and mother. Vainly John Eliot tried to 
 teach him the Fifth Commandment. The boy reluc- 
 tantly was got to say ** honor thy father," but refused 
 to add "mother," and moreover said that his father 
 had given him sack to drink. This Cutshamokin ad- 
 mitted. At length Eliot advised Cutshamokin to con- 
 fess publicly some of his sins, which were neither few 
 nor light, and that would influence his son. This he 
 did before all the Indians in the wigwam, and the boy 
 was so impressed that he made a humble confession, 
 and he and his father and mother, with their arms 
 around one another, wept until "the board on which 
 they stood was wet with their tears." 
 
 But this did not end their troubles with Cutsha- 
 mokin, "whose wild passions were never well tamed." 
 As he himself said, "My heart is but very Httle better 
 than it was; I am afraid it will be as bad again as it 
 
John Eliot 13 
 
 was before.'* The Indians wanted to form a town at 
 Natick Hke that of Nonantum. This Cutshamokin 
 opposed so violently that he frightened the Indians, 
 who stole away. Eliot saw that he must meet violence 
 by firmness, and, gazing steadily into Cutshamokin's 
 eye, told him that he was about God's business, that 
 he feared neither him nor any other sachem and he 
 would go on with the undertaking. This silenced 
 Cutshamokin and strengthened EHot with the other 
 Indians. 
 
 Shortly after, the sachem confided to Eliot that the 
 reason he opposed the town was lest he should lose his 
 income as sachem. The teaching was all right, but 
 the Indians would refuse to pay him tribute, and that 
 was the reason the sachems were jealous and objected 
 to the towns. John EHot went to Boston and consulted 
 the magistrates and elders concerning this objection. 
 The Indians, hearing of this statement of Cutsha- 
 mokin, went to Boston and told the magistrates that 
 they had not refused to pay tribute to Cutshamokin. 
 On the contrary, they had given him twenty bushels 
 of corn at one time, six at another; they had spent 
 several days hunting for him; they had killed him 
 fifteen deer; they had built him a large wigwam and 
 had broken up two acres of land for him. On estimat- 
 ing this the magistrates found it amounted to thirty 
 pounds. Cutshamokin was very sullen over this re- 
 sult of his complaints, the real reason being his loss 
 of power over the Indians. Being still intractable, 
 
14 Missionary Explorers 
 
 John Eliot, after the fashion of his time, preached a 
 sermon at him, and at length "brought him to a fair 
 and orderly course of conduct." 
 
 II 
 
 Since the Indians were persuaded to give up their 
 powwows, it became necessary to provide some sub- 
 stitute in which they would have confidence, in case 
 of illness. Eliot then appUed to his English friends 
 for some one to instruct them in suitable medical 
 remedies, believing also that with the help of the 
 Indian's knowledge of plants many new remedies might 
 be discovered of value to both races. 
 
 In their efforts to adopt the customs, religion, and 
 ethics of the palefaces, the Indians were confronted 
 with many new problems. Gambling was one of their 
 great passions. Now they wanted to know if they 
 should pay the gambling debts made before they be- 
 came "praying Indians." This was the sort of ques- 
 tion that had never before been asked of the Puritan, 
 John EUot. He confesses to being embarrassed by it, 
 involving as it did both questions of honor and a 
 countenance of gambling. He advised them to take 
 the matter before a magistrate. This did not satisfy 
 them. Then after giving them a lecture both on the 
 sin of gambling and the propriety of keeping their 
 promises, he advised each side to concede half of the 
 debt. This compromise was accepted. 
 
John Eliot 15 
 
 Another difficult question was presented. The re- 
 ligious movement had brought the women into a prom- 
 inence they had never before had. Many of these had 
 been active and influential. Nevertheless John Eliot 
 believed that women should keep silence in the churches, 
 and the Indian women were told that if they had any 
 questions to ask these must be intrusted to their hus- 
 bands. One of these women was the wife of Wampas, 
 who asked through her husband: "When my hus- 
 band prays, if I say nothing, yet my heart goes along 
 with what he says, do I pray?" Another woman 
 very subtly put the question: "If my husband prays, 
 can he with a good conscience beat me?" This, how- 
 ever, she made in the form of a statement. "Before 
 my husband prayed," she said, "he was very angry 
 and frowned; but since he began to pray, he has not 
 been so much angry, only a little." This the preacher 
 understood; and that while to a certain extent the 
 husband had overcome his anger, he still needed further 
 reformation. 
 
 The work among the Indians grew. Tahattawan, 
 the sachem at Concord, came personally to hear John 
 Eliot, and summoning his chief men advised them 
 that the English were doing a good work, and that 
 they should imitate it. "For what have you gained," 
 he said, "while you have lived under the power of the 
 higher sachems, Indian fashion? They only sought to 
 get what they could from you, and took at their pleas- 
 ure your kettles, your skins, and your wampum. But 
 
1 6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 the English, you see, do no such thing; instead of 
 taking from you, they give it you." 
 
 The effect of the sachem's speech was to win them 
 over, and they drew up a body of twenty-nine con- 
 clusions and orders, "relating to drunkenness, lying, 
 stealing, powwowing, neatness, order, cleanliness, and 
 had morning and evening prayer in their wigwams." 
 
 The magistrates now set up a court specially for 
 the Indians, and all fines were to be devoted to build- 
 ing their churches. The Indians began to wear the 
 clothes of civilization, and duly cut their hair, in con- 
 formance to one of John EHot's most cherished preju- 
 dices. Hair was, in fact, a burning question in the 
 colony, and a long-haired man was subject to arrest. 
 Now and then the English ministers would come out 
 in a body to meet the Indians and their questions, 
 which had become no less numerous nor acute. We 
 can imagine these learned theologians and the red 
 men confronting one another, and trying their wits. 
 One of the questions asked was "whether the devil or 
 man was made first?" "Why, since God was all-power- 
 ful, he did not kill the devil and have done with him?" 
 "If a man should be enclosed in iron a foot thick and 
 thrown into the fire, what would become of his soul?" 
 
 It will be seen that the learned men had their task 
 before them. The Indians were also very curious con- 
 cerning all natural phenomena, and started inquiries 
 about the causes of thunder, Hghtning, earthquakes, 
 sun, moon, stars, and sea. On one occasion a drunken 
 
John Eliot 17 
 
 Indian startled the clergy by asking: "Who made 
 sack, Mr. Eliot? Who made sack?" The other In- 
 dians rebuked him for asking "a pappoose question." 
 They asked also what would become of their children 
 after death when they had not sinned. Another curi- 
 ous query, and which illustrates the acuteness of the 
 Indian mind, was, "Suppose two men sin, of whom 
 one knows he has sinned, and the other does not know 
 it; will God punish them both aUke?" 
 
 What we know as the Blue Laws of the colony were 
 made to apply equally to these Indian communities. 
 One Sunday Cutshamokin*s wife went to fetch water 
 from the spring, and on the way talked with other 
 women on "worldly matters." For this she was pub- 
 Hcly rebuked by Nobantum, the Indian teacher for 
 that day. She was evidently able to hold her own, for 
 she observed that he had done more harm by making 
 talk about it in the assembly than she had done by 
 getting the water. Another time Waban, who was 
 very hospitable, had two Indians come to visit him on 
 Sunday, and wishing to give them a good meal, and 
 knowing just where a coon might be treed, sent two 
 of his men to get it. These cut down the tree and 
 caught the coon. The other Indians were much 
 shocked at this, and Mr. Eliot was called on to take 
 public notice of the offence. Again, an Indian who 
 had returned to his wigwam on Sunday found that the 
 fire had gone out. He took a piece of wood, cut it, 
 and, by rubbing the pieces together Indian fashion. 
 
1 8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 lighted the fire. This transgression was the occasion 
 of another public lecture. For beating his wife Wam- 
 pas was made to stand up before a large assembly, 
 including the governor, and confess his fault, meanwhile 
 weeping copiously. 
 
 John Eliot now carried his mission farther and far- 
 ther into the woods. On the Merrimac River was a fa- 
 mous "bashaba," or great sachem, extending his power 
 over a wide extent of territory. His name was Passa- 
 conaway. Once before, John Eliot had endeavored to 
 meet him, but the chief fled, pretending that he thought 
 they were trying to kill him. The next spring Eliot 
 tried again, and visited Pawtucket, where a great num- 
 ber of the Indians had gathered for the fishing. This 
 gathering Eliot compared to an English fair. Here he 
 had a large congregation and among the number the 
 old chief, who rose and spoke in meeting, and begged 
 John Ehot to come and Hve among his people, and 
 offering the best of his land for the purpose. To his 
 people he said: "Never quarrel with the English, for 
 if you do they will root you out of your land. I was 
 once as much of an enemy to them as I could be; but 
 it was all in vain. I counsel you never to contend or 
 make war with them." So there was much wisdom 
 as well as religion in Passaconaway's change of mind. 
 He begged EHot also to found a central town to which 
 the Christian Indians might go. 
 
 These journeys into the forest were very weari- 
 some. As he could not Hve Indian fashion, Eliot had 
 
John Eliot 19 
 
 not only to take his own food and drink but to carry 
 presents to the Indians. Going South to visit some 
 tribes he was exposed to violent storms and floods, 
 without finding any shelter. From Tuesday to Satur- 
 day he was drenched with rain, making his way through 
 the swollen rivers on his horse, which eventually be- 
 came so exhausted that Eliot had to dismount and lead 
 him. Meanwhile there being a war on between the 
 Narragansetts and Mohegans, he was subject to some 
 danger. When the Nashaway sachem heard of his 
 peril, he sent some of his own Indians to guard him. 
 Eliot travelled also to Cape Cod, where he found not 
 only a strange dialect, but a fierce sachem, whom the 
 English called Jehu, who had promised his tribe should 
 listen to the preacher, but at the appointed hour sent 
 his men out fishing. Jehu himself came in late and 
 sat sullenly through the sermon. Another sachem, 
 however, rose and said that much of what he heard 
 he had heard from his fathers, and they through a wise 
 man cast on the shores. This seemed to confirm a 
 rumor that, three years before the Plymouth settlers 
 arrived, a French ship had been wrecked on the coast, 
 and all on board were murdered by the Indians but 
 two or three, one being a French priest. He had told 
 the Indians that God would destroy them for their 
 wickedness. They laughed at him; the Indians were 
 too many for any God to kill. Shortly after, a pesti- 
 lence swept multitudes away. This had made a great 
 impression, for they were very superstitious. As the 
 
20 Missionary Explorers 
 
 sachem now expressed it, his "forefathers knew God, 
 but fell into a deep sleep and when they awoke God 
 had forgotten them." 
 
 Eliot had still to contend with the great sachems 
 and the powwows. Uncas, the great chief, had pro- 
 tested to the assembly at Hartford against the efforts 
 to convert his followers, and Massasoit and young 
 Massasoit had set their faces against EHot. The cause 
 in each case was the loss of despotic power. In many 
 instances Eliot's Hfe was in danger, nothing but the 
 fear of the English restraining the sachems, who took 
 their revenge by expelling the praying Indians from 
 their villages. It had long been John EHot's desire 
 to found a central town for his Indians a little re- 
 mote from the British towns. He now secured six 
 thousand acres near Natick from John Speene, a grant 
 which was confirmed by the General Court. This 
 settlement occupied both sides of the Charles River, 
 which in summer could be easily forded, but in the 
 spring was very deep. The first thing the Indians 
 did through the persuasion of John Eliot was to build 
 a foot-bridge, eighty feet long and nine feet high in the 
 middle. This, it may be said, was the first piece of 
 modern construction ever undertaken by the Indians, 
 and although rude enough, was the object of general 
 admiration. Their town was laid out in three streets, 
 two on one side, and one on the other side of the river. 
 Lots were laid out, trees were planted, the fields were 
 sowed with grain, and in building the houses it is said 
 
John Eliot 21 
 
 with pride that even cellars were dug. In the centre 
 was a circular fort surrounded by trees as a palisade, 
 and a large house, English style, for pubHc meetings 
 and a school. "The prophet's chamber," as it was 
 called, was for John Ehot's especial use. This house, 
 with but a day or two's assistance from an English 
 carpenter, was built entirely by the Indians. For their 
 own use the Indians still preferred their wigwams. 
 
 For the town government John Eliot went to Moses 
 and divided the community into hundreds, and ap- 
 pointed rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifty, and rulers 
 of ten. Every man chose his own ruler of ten, who 
 was called the tithing man, and looked after their good 
 conduct and general welfare. The Indians were so 
 pleased with their new town and form of government 
 that they asked John Eliot why they could not have 
 a fast day, as they observed the English had. He 
 explained to them the occasion of such a solemnity, 
 and as it happened such an occasion came around. 
 Cutshamokin, one of the first sachems to follow John 
 Eliot, in a visit to a neighboring tribe, the Narragan- 
 setts, to settle a quarrel, "purchased much strong 
 water" and, briefly, got drunk. A meeting and day of 
 fasting and humiliation was now appointed over Cut- 
 shamokin's misconduct, and he was not permitted to 
 take part until he had made public confession. Thus 
 "the blessed day was finished," says John EHot, and 
 it was considered the first formal act of civil polity 
 among the North American Indians. 
 
22 Missionary Explorers 
 
 The fame of the settlement went abroad. Where 
 the war-whoop once rang out and the wolves howled 
 was now the home of "praying Indians" practising 
 the peaceful arts of civilization. Governor Endicott 
 and the leading men of Boston came out to visit them, 
 heard the school-master read a psalm from the trans- 
 lation of John Eliot, listened to the men and women 
 sing English hymns in their own tongue, admired the 
 foot-bridge and the ingenious manufactures of the 
 Indians, and went home greatly edified by this work 
 in the wilderness. 
 
 However, matters were not always so harmonious. 
 Some of "the loose and unsound part of the praying 
 Indians" brought in several quarts of fire-water, which 
 the English were only too ready to sell to them. One 
 of the rulers named Toteswamp sent his boy of nine 
 for some corn and fish to the place where these Indians 
 were holding a drunken revel. One of them gave the 
 boy two spoonfuls of rum; another put the bottle to 
 his lips and made him drink until he was intoxicated. 
 Then they said: "Now we will see if your father will 
 punish us for drunkenness, since you are drunk as well 
 as we." The Indians now began to fight, and the 
 boy lay in this condition all night. When the news 
 was reported to the Indian rulers of the town, they 
 formed a court. Toteswamp was one of its members, 
 and, to prove his loyalty to his religion, said that God 
 required him to punish his child, who was guilty in not 
 having avoided evil company. Although the other 
 
John Eliot 23 
 
 Indians pleaded for the boy, he insisted, and when the 
 three Indians who were drunk were taken to the whip- 
 ping-post and given each twenty lashes, the little boy 
 was compelled to sit in the stocks for a short while, 
 and then be publicly whipped by his father in the pres- 
 ence of the school-children. This incident John Eliot 
 declared to be **the greatest frown of God he had ever 
 met in his work/' 
 
 During all these crowded years of teaching, preach- 
 ing, and building a new civihzation among these In- 
 dians, John Eliot was carrying on his translation of 
 the Bible for the Indians. The length of the Indian 
 words, the absence of the verbs "to have" and **to 
 be," and the peculiarities of gender made this task 
 almost impossible. The title, for example, of the New 
 Testament in Indian is "Wusku Wuttestamentum 
 Nul-Lordumun Jesus Christ Nuppoquohwussuaoneu- 
 mun." In endeavoring to state that Sisera looked 
 through a lattice, he found that he had written that 
 Sisera looked through an eel-pot. In Indian, the 
 genders refer to things as either animate or inanimate, 
 and not as male or female. An Indian says "horse 
 mine," "rifle good," "I hungry" without the inter- 
 position of any auxiliary. John EHot's Bible was 
 the first Bible printed in the western world. A fine 
 copy was sent to Charles II, who had come to the 
 throne, and curiously enough it was to the merry mon- 
 arch it was dedicated. Two hundred copies strongly 
 bound in leather were for the Indians. It should be 
 
24 Missionary Explorers 
 
 added that the Bible was set up by an Indian whose 
 name was James Printer, doubtless from his calHng, 
 and it was six years in the press. The Indian Bible was 
 followed by an Indian grammar, a Psalter, and Bax- 
 ter's Call to the Unconverted and The Practice of Piety, 
 which proved to be popular books among the Indians; 
 also an Indian primer. By all this the friends of the 
 education of the Indian were so encouraged that a 
 brick building was put up at Cambridge, called the 
 Indian College. 
 
 Just as John Eliot's work had reached its most 
 prosperous stage. King Philip's war broke out. Thir- 
 teen stockaded towns had been added to that of Na- 
 tick. Massasoit, the great sachem, had two sons, 
 Wamsutta and Metacum, and being very friendly with 
 the English asked them for EngHsh names for his boys. 
 In answer they were called Alexander and PhiHp. 
 Alexander died of fever, and PhiHp at the age of twenty- 
 three became chief of the Wampanoags. The attitude 
 of the Pilgrims to the Indians is expressed in Cotton 
 Mather's statement: "The heathen people whose land 
 the Lord God has given to us for a rightful possession." 
 The Indian placed little value on his land, but when 
 he saw it become of value in EngHsh hands he was dis- 
 contented, and troubles over land were frequent. 
 
 The colonists beHeved also in their authority over 
 the Indians and tried to exert it. But Philip proudly 
 said: "Your governor is a subject himself. I will not 
 treat except with my brother Charles of England." 
 
John Eliot 25 
 
 At length, after several years of making and breaking 
 of treaties, war broke out in all its fury, extending 
 from tribe to tribe. It is not necessary to go into the 
 horrors of that period. The terrified whites saw evil 
 portents in comets shooting burning arrows across the 
 sky, in the northern lights taking on strange shapes, 
 in the thunder of hoofs of invisible horsemen, and 
 unearthly bullets whistling through the air. Imagi- 
 nation added all its terrors to reality. 
 
 PhiHp beUeved that the "praying Indians" would 
 side with the EngUsh; and to the whites, frenzied by 
 massacres and untold horrors, an Indian was merely 
 an Indian. Thus between these two the Natick and 
 other Christian Indians suffered terribly. John Eliot, 
 who counselled humane treatment, was assailed, angry 
 mobs threatened his life, and as a traitor he was warned 
 to prepare for death. One Rie Scott called him "an 
 Irish dog, never faithful to his king or country, the 
 devil's interpreter." Notwithstanding that the Chris- 
 tian Indians did good service frequently as scouts, 
 they were shown so little mercy that at last some did 
 join PhiHp's party. At length an order from the Gen- 
 eral Court required that they should all be taken to 
 Deer Island, and their towns broken up. They were 
 removed and there suffered great hardships. The 
 slightest incident served to rouse the Enghsh. A barn 
 full of hay burned down. This was attributed to the 
 Christian Indians. Fourteen men went to their wig- 
 wams and called them out. When they came, two of 
 
26 Missionary Explorers 
 
 the men fired upon them, and a number of the women 
 and children were wounded. The other Indians fled 
 to the forest, where they were exposed to cold and 
 hunger. 
 
 Wherever these Indians were found they were con- 
 sidered the prey of the English soldiers, and were 
 plundered of all they had, even of their pewter com- 
 munion cups. But during the summer a number of 
 Christian Indians were employed against Philip, popu- 
 lar feeling against them having somewhat abated. 
 These proved to be good soldiers. For one thing, they 
 taught the whites something of Indian warfare. **The 
 whites always kept together, and were as easy to hit 
 as a house." The Indians scattered and held green 
 boughs in front of their bodies so that they could not 
 be distinguished from the bushes; for this reason the 
 whites were at a disadvantage. These Christian In- 
 dians, said Judge Gookin, were "brave, adroit, and 
 adventurous, and in the summer of 1676 have taken 
 and slain not less than four hundred of the enemy." 
 
 After the death of Philip his wife and son were taken, 
 and with other Indians were sent to the West Indies 
 and sold as slaves. John EHot was bitter in his remon- 
 strance at this inhuman treatment of the captives, 
 but, unable to effect anything with the colonists, wrote 
 to England to his friend Robert Boyle, prominent 
 among Charles IFs councillors, begging that he search 
 for and redeem these Indians, some of whom were 
 carried as far as Tangiers. An effort was now made to 
 
John Eliot 27 
 
 again collect the praying Indians into their towns. 
 Some were settled at Nonantum, some at Natick and 
 at other places. But these were so poor and many 
 of them widows that they had to be supported by 
 charity. On one occasion a court was held and John 
 EHot's old friend Waban made a speech, thanking his 
 English friends in the name of the other Indians. 
 
 The rupture, however, was too deep; there were 
 too many unhappy memories; the bond was broken, 
 and the Christian Indians could never again recover 
 their friendly sympathies with and trust in the whites. 
 Moreover, John Eliot was now an old man, and with 
 the rest of the colonists fell into discouragement over 
 the accession of James II. 
 
 "There is a cloud," he said, "a dark cloud upon the 
 work of the Gospel among the poor Indians." The 
 light he had kindled was destined to go out, but as his 
 biographer says, "Nonantum and Natick will be ever 
 names of beautiful moral meaning in New England." 
 
 Of the single-mindedness and generosity of John 
 Eliot, the following anecdote is told: When he once 
 went to get his modest salary, the parish treasurer, 
 knowing his propensity for giving, tied the money in 
 his handkerchief with several hard knots. As John 
 Eliot was on his way home he stopped to see a family 
 both poor and sick. He blessed them and told them 
 he had brought them relief. Endeavoring to untie his 
 handkerchief he found the knots too hard. In his im- 
 patience at the difficulty and the delay, he thrust the 
 
28 Missionary Explorers 
 
 handkerchief into the mother's hand, saying: "Here, 
 dear, take it, I beUeve the Lord intends it all for you." 
 When too old to preach, and unable to leave the house 
 he had, the slaves of his neighbors came to his house 
 for instruction, and his constant companion was a 
 blind boy whom he taught to repeat chapters in the 
 Bible. 
 
 John EHot died May 20, 1690, at the age of ninety- 
 three. His last words were: "Welcome joy.'* 
 
 Thus peacefully passed away after a stormy life the 
 first and greatest apostle to the North American Indi- 
 ans. At the time of his death Cotton Mather wrote : 
 "We had a tradition that the country could never per- 
 ish so long as John Eliot lived." Since that day his 
 memory has been steadily cherished. "Show me where 
 John Eliot preached to the Indians," was Dean Stan- 
 ley's first request on visiting this country. 
 
 The Bible John Eliot sent to England is now one 
 of the treasures of Jesus College, his Alma Mater, at 
 Cambridge; and the latest tribute to the memory of 
 John Eliot took place on the 204th anniversary of his 
 death, when a memorial window was dedicated at 
 Widford in the church where as an infant he was 
 baptized. 
 
SAMSON OCCUM, MOHEGAN 
 PREACHER 
 
SAMSON OCCUM, MOHEGAN 
 PREACHER 
 
 ON some unknown day in the latter part of the 
 seventeenth century, an Indian of the Mo- 
 hegan tribe, who had dwelt in the region 
 between the Shetucket and Quinebaug Rivers, moved 
 southward and set up his wigwam west of the river 
 Thames in the vicinity of Uncas Hill, the ancient 
 home of his sachem." 
 
 This sachem was Uncas, known of all the readers 
 of Leatherstocking; the Indian's name was Tomock- 
 ham. Here in the territory of which Lyme, Stoning- 
 ton, Bolton, and Pomfret were the four corners, were 
 the tribal lands and the village of the Mohegans, now 
 known as Ben's Town, in distinction to John's Town, a 
 half mile south, Ben and John being sons of Uncas and 
 rival chieftains. Tomockham and his sons belonged to 
 the party of Ben Uncas. The eldest of Uncas's sons, 
 Joshua, lived about a mile from Uncas Hill, and in his 
 wigwam, in the year 1723, Samson Occum was born, 
 his mother being Sarah, a descendant of the great 
 Uncas. Sarah had two other children, Jonathan, who 
 was a soldier in the Revolution, and Lucy, wife of John 
 
 31 
 
32 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Tantaquidgeon. Tomockham, we are told, was a 
 mighty hunter, wandering in search of game through- 
 out the hunting season. To Sarah fell the care of the 
 wigwam and the children. As an Indian mother, she 
 proved to be a woman of intelligence and force of 
 character. 
 
 Of his childhood Samson Occum writes in the brief 
 pages of the autobiography which in later years he 
 began to prepare: 
 
 "I was Born a Heathen and Brought up in Heathen- 
 ism till I was between i6 and 17 years of age, at a Place 
 Called Mohegan, in New London, Connecticut in New 
 England. My Parents lived a wandering life as did 
 all the Indians at Mohegan. They Chiefly Depended 
 upon Hunting, Fishing and Fowling for their Living 
 and had no connection with the English, excepting to 
 Traffic with them in their small trifles and they strictly 
 maintained and followed their Heathenish ways, cus- 
 toms and ReHgion. Neither did we cultivate our land 
 nor keep any Sort of Creatures, except Dogs which we 
 used in Hunting, and we Dwelt in Wigwams. These 
 are a sort of Tent, covered with Matts made of Flags. 
 And to this Time we were unacquainted with the 
 English Tongue in general, though there were a few 
 who understood a little of it." 
 
 The first school established among the Mohegans 
 was in the year Samson Occum was born. This was 
 by Captain John Mason, the official "guardian" of the 
 tribe, under the protection of the Society for the Prop- 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 33 
 
 agation of the Gospel. It was the custom of the neigh- 
 boring ministers to drop in now and then and examine 
 the children. On the report of the Reverend EHphalet 
 Adams of New London and the Reverend Benjamin 
 Love of Norwich, we learn that "while some read in 
 their primers and others in their Psalters, they all 
 spelt well, and some were able to read ofF a Psalter 
 roundly without spelHng"; also that they could "say 
 the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and a 
 pretty deal in Mr. Cotton's Catechism Milk for Babes. ^^ 
 
 Young Ben Uncas 3d was one of the star pupils; he 
 was indeed so promising that Mr. Adams took him in 
 his own home, and after five years "he was put upon 
 grammar learning," with the intention of making him 
 a preacher. Subsequently he did become a school- 
 teacher until he succeeded his father as sachem. Sam- 
 son Occum was not one of these promising pupils. 
 He says of himself: 
 
 "Once a Fortnight in ye Summer Season a Minister 
 from New London [Rev. Eliphalet Adams] used to 
 come up and the Indians to attend; not that they re- 
 garded the Christian ReHgion, but they had Blankets 
 given to them every Fall of the year and for these 
 things they would attend. And there was a Sort of 
 a School Kept, when I was quite young, but I believe 
 there never was one that ever Learnt to read anything. 
 And when I was about ten years of age there was a 
 man [Jonathan Barber] who went about among the 
 Indian Wigwams, and wherever he could find the In- 
 
34 Missionary Explorers 
 
 dian Children would make them read, but the Chil- 
 dren used to take Care to keep out of his Way: and he 
 used to Catch me some times and make me Say over 
 my Letters and I beheve I learnt some of them. But 
 this was Soon over too, and all this Time there was not 
 one amongst us that made a Profession of Christianity." 
 
 Imagination pictures these good Puritans laying hold 
 of the little Indians of the woods and endeavoring to 
 entice them within four walls to learn the Psalter and 
 Mr. Cotton's Milk for Babes, and it is a scene not with- 
 out humor. They were helped, however, by the con- 
 version of Sachem Ben Uncas 2d, young Ben, and his 
 wife, who **on profession of faith" were regularly re- 
 ceived as members of the First Church of New Lon- 
 don. It was an important event as recorded in the 
 Connecticut archives. 
 
 "Whereas Sachem Ben Uncas of the Moheag In- 
 dians hath declared that he doth embrace the Christian 
 religion, which is the only instance of any of the chiefs 
 of the Indian natives in the Colony becoming Chris- 
 tians, tho' much pains has been taken with them. The 
 Assembly being willing to encourage so good a begin- 
 ning, do desire his Honour, the Governor to procure 
 for said Sachem a coat made in the English fashion, 
 and a hat, and also a gown for the said Sachem's wife, 
 and His Honour is desired to draw from the publick 
 treasury sufficient Money to purchase said Coat and 
 Hat and Gown." 
 
 "This on more than one occasion was the attire in 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 35 
 
 which the fathers arrayed their Indian converts for 
 the Heavenly course," says Occum's biographer. 
 
 Shortly afterward arose what is known as the "Great 
 Awakening," among not only the whites but the In- 
 dians of this region, chiefly through the efforts of the 
 Reverend George Whitefield, the English evangelist. 
 Among the converts was the "Widow Sarah Occum," 
 her husband Joshua having died. The young Samson 
 also fell under these influences, of which he gives the 
 following account: 
 
 "When I was 16 years of age, we heard a strange 
 Rumor among the English that there were extraordi- 
 nary Ministers Preaching from Place to Place and a 
 Strange Concern among the White People. This was 
 in the Spring of the Year. But we saw nothing of 
 these things till Some Time in the Summer, when Some 
 ministers began to visit us and Preach the Word of 
 God; and the Common People also came frequently 
 and exhorted us to the things of God which it pleased 
 the Lord, as I humbly hope, to Bless and accompany 
 with Divine Influences to the Conviction and Saving 
 Conversion of a Number of us, amongst whom I was 
 one that was Impresst with the things we had heard. 
 These Preachers did not only come to us, but we fre- 
 quently went to their meetings and Churches. After 
 I was convicted I went to all the meetings I could 
 come at, & continued under Trouble of Mind about 
 6 months, at which time I began to Learn the English 
 Letters, got me a Primer and used to go to my English 
 
36 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Neighbours frequently for Assistance in Reading, but 
 went to no school. And when I was 17 years of age 
 I had, as I trust, a Discovery of the way of Salvation 
 through Jesus Christ and was enabled to put my trust 
 in him alone for Life & Salvation. From this Time 
 the Distress and Burden of my mind was removed, 
 and I found Serenity and Pleasure of Soul in Serving 
 God. By this time I just began to Read in the New 
 Testament without Spelling, and I had a Stronger 
 Desire Still to Learn to read the Word of God, and at 
 the Same Time had an uncommon Pity & Compassion 
 to my Poor Brethren According to the Flesh. I used 
 to wish I was Capable of Instructing my poor Kin- 
 dred. I used to think if I could once Learn to Read I 
 would Instruct the poor Children in Reading and used 
 frequently to talk with our Indians Concerning Re- 
 ligion. Thus I continued till I was in my 19th year, 
 and by this Time I could Read a little in the Bible." 
 
 It was young Cecum's good fortune at this time to 
 meet the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, and their sub- 
 sequent friendship and mutual relationship, which 
 continued through life, take their place among similar 
 rare and important relations among men so differently 
 circumstanced by race and condition. "My Black 
 Son," Doctor Wheelock calls him in his correspondence, 
 while Samson paid his tutor the homage rendered at 
 that time. Doctor Wheelock was a graduate of Yale 
 College and a Congregational minister. In addition 
 to his pastoral duties at Lebanon, he took a few young 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 37 
 
 men into his house as students. Of these young Occum 
 heard, but he shall relate his own story: 
 
 "At this time my Poor Mother was going to Leba- 
 non, and having had some knowledge of Mr. Wheelock 
 and Learning that he had a number of EngHsh Youth 
 under his Tuition I had a great Inclination to go to him 
 and to be with him a week or a Fortnight, and Desired 
 my Mother to Ask Mr. Wheelock whether he would 
 take me a little while to Instruct me in Reading. 
 Mother did so, and when she came Back, she said Mr. 
 Wheelock wanted to see me as soon as possible. So I 
 went up thinking I should be back again in a few Days. 
 When I got up there, he received me with kindness 
 & compassion, & instead of staying a Fortnight or 
 3 weeks, I spent 4 years with him." 
 
 That Samson does not seem to have had any doubts 
 but that he would be received among these youths of 
 different race and color, is an evidence of his courage 
 and determination. He was rightly assured. Doctor 
 Wheelock received him warmly, and we find him inter- 
 esting himself among his friends to procure his ward 
 "some old and some new clothes." The Indian boy 
 is said to have first lived in a hut near by, but he soon 
 became an inmate of the doctor's home. For this 
 Doctor Wheelock received no payment other than per- 
 haps the Indian mother's services, for in his diary in 
 1744, a year after, Samson writes: "Mater mea et Duo 
 Libri Ejus venierunt ad Dominum Wheelock manere 
 ibi Tempore." Pretty good for an Indian boy after one 
 
38 Missionary Explorers 
 
 year's schooling; for Samson entered December 6, 1743. 
 In those days the study of the classics was begun very 
 early, and continued until the end of school life. At 
 Dartmouth College is preserved a copy of the Lord's 
 Prayer in Latin, Greek, and French on a sheet of paper 
 inscribed "Samson Occum, the Indian of Mohegan, 
 Ejus Manus." 
 
 After a time, however, we find the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel contributing sixty pounds a 
 year for Samson's support, and this they continued while 
 Samson was with Doctor Wheelock. Concerning this 
 school, which subsequently became known as "Whee- 
 lock's Charity Indian School," after the plain-speaking 
 manner of the fathers, we learn something of the man- 
 ner of life and course of study from Mr. John Smith, 
 a Boston merchant: 
 
 "I reached his house a little before the evening sac- 
 rifice, and was movingly touched on giving out the 
 psalm to hear an Indian youth set the time, and the 
 others following him and singing the tenor and bass 
 with remarkable gravity and seriousness; and though 
 Mr. Wheelock, the schoolmaster and a minister from 
 our Province (called, as I was, by curiosity) joined in 
 Praise, yet they, unmoved, seemed to have nothing to 
 do but to sing to the Glory of God. I omit Mr. Whee- 
 lock's prayer, and pass to the Indians; in the morning 
 when on ringing the school-house bell they assemble at 
 Mr. Wheelock's house about five o'clock with their 
 master, who named the chapter in course for the day. 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 39 
 
 and called upon the near Indian, who read three or four 
 verses, till the master said 'Proximus,' and then the 
 next Indian read some verses, and so on till all the In- 
 dians had read the whole chapter. After this, Mr. 
 Wheelock prays, and then each Indian parses a verse 
 or two of the chapter they had read. After this they 
 entered successively on Prosodia, and then on Dispu- 
 tations on some questions propounded by themselves 
 in some of the arts and sciences. And it is really charm- 
 ing to see Indian youths of different tribes and lan- 
 guages in pure English reading the word of God and 
 speaking with exactness and accuracy on points (either 
 chosen by themselves or given out to them) in the 
 several arts and sciences; and especially to see this 
 done with at least a seeming mixture of obedience to 
 God, a filial love and reverence to Mr. Wheelock, and 
 yet with great ambition to excel each other. And in- 
 deed in this morning's exercises I saw a youth degraded 
 one lower in the class who before the exercises were fin- 
 ished not only recovered his own place, but was ad- 
 vanced two higher. I learnt that my surprise was com- 
 mon to ministers and other persons of Hterature who 
 before me had been to visit this school, or rather Col- 
 lege, for I doubt whether in colleges in general a better 
 education is to be expected; and in mentioning this to 
 a gentleman in this town who had visited this Seminary, 
 he acquainted me that he intended at his own charge 
 to send his son to obtain his education in mixture with 
 these Indians. There were 4 or 5 of these Indians, 
 
40 Missionary Explorers 
 
 from 21 to 24 years of age, who did not mix with the 
 youth in these exercises; these I learnt were perfected 
 in their literature, and stand ready to be sent among the 
 Indians to keep schools and occasionally to preach as 
 doors open. On my return, Mr. Wheelock accompanied 
 me a few miles; and on passing by one house, he said, 
 here lives one of my Indian girls, who was, I hope con- 
 verted last week; and calling to the farmer, he, unper- 
 ceived, brought the young girl into our sight; and the 
 pleasure was exquisite to see the savageness of an In- 
 dian moulded into the sweetness of a follower of the 
 Lamb.'' 
 
 David McClure, one of the Indian boys, who arrived 
 later, says: **We reposed on straw beds in bunks, and 
 generally dined on a boiled dish and Indian pudding." 
 Samson Cecum's biographer further pictures the scene: 
 
 "Here, then, was a Httle group of buildings — the 
 center of a country parish — in which Doctor Wheelock 
 could conveniently carry on his work. The meeting- 
 house stood on the green where the two main roads 
 crossed, one leading from Hartford to Norwich and the 
 other from Middletown to Windham and Providence. 
 It was a simple structure, forty-six feet by sixty- four, 
 built in 1748, and at this time it was covered with a 
 coat of sky-blue paint. As an encouragement to the 
 school, the parish voted in 1755 to set apart for the 
 boys 'the pew in the gallery over the west stairs,' and 
 in 1761 it gave the 'Indian girls liberty to sit in the hind 
 seat on the woman's side below.' At times these pews 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 41 
 
 must have been filled to overflowing. Some of the 
 pupils, both boys and girls, became members of this 
 church. On several occasions the congregation gath- 
 ered here on the Sabbath was honored with the pres- 
 ence of Indian chiefs from distant tribes bedecked in 
 royal attire." 
 
 There were two acres around the school-house, where 
 the Indian boys were taught to farm. George White- 
 field presented them with a bell, which was "decently 
 hung," and they were also called to prayers and lessons 
 by a blast from a conch shell. 
 
 Here Samson Occum stayed four years, studying also 
 Hebrew, as he hoped to become a minister, and music, 
 which served him well in later years; and acquiring, 
 meanwhile, the refinements and amenities of social life, 
 which were also important in his after career. It was 
 first intended that he should go to Yale College, and 
 the Reverend Samuel Buell says that he made such 
 "Progress in learning that he was well fitted for Ad- 
 mission into College that he would have entered on 
 his Second year." 
 
 But this was not to be. Overstudy had strained his 
 eyes, forbidding further use. His thoughts were now 
 turned in another direction; he would immediately set 
 out to help his race. While at school he had now and 
 then gone with his tribe to Montauk for the fishing. 
 Here he varied fishing with wandering among the wig- 
 wams holding meetings. In this way he had become 
 acquainted with the Montauk and Shinnecock tribes 
 
42 Missionary Explorers 
 
 and learned something of their language. The Indians 
 had long begged Occum to settle among them and teach 
 their children. He now applied to the society which 
 was supporting him for permission, and it was "voted 
 that inasmuch as Samson Occum is taken off his studies 
 by a pain in his eyes, that Mr. Williams of Lebanon be 
 asked to advise in the affair as to his keeping school or 
 engaging in manual labor and in the meantime they 
 would be wiUing to keep him and allow what is neces- 
 sary toward effecting a cure." 
 
 It was then settled that Samson should go to Mon- 
 tauk for six months as an experiment. He remained 
 twelve years as "school-teacher, minister, and judge." 
 The first winter he had thirty pupils, teaching in the 
 evening those who could not come in the day. Occum 
 had never heard of a kindergarten, but he had kinder- 
 garten methods of his own. 
 
 "Finding that the children could distinguish the 
 letters by ear, but could not so well by sight, he cut 
 letters out of paper, pasted them on cedar chips, and 
 at his word the one named would be brought to him out 
 of the pile. Such ingenuity was characteristic of him 
 in his teaching." 
 
 Having Hved amid the comforts of the home of 
 Doctor Wheelock, he now lived in a wigwam, following 
 the tribe now to the planting grounds, and now to the 
 forest. On Sunday he preached three times, he visited 
 the sick, wrote their wills, and decided disputes. Among 
 the influential Indians of the Montauk tribe was James 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 43 
 
 Fowler, who, although like most of the Indians living 
 near the whites he had taken an English name, was 
 living in a wigwam, and an Indian by custom as by 
 inheritance. His children went to school, and among 
 them was Mary, "intelligent, virtuous, and comely," 
 with whom Occum now fell in love. We are told that 
 in his diary his "attention was very much divided 
 between the Epistle to the Thessalonians and this In- 
 dian Maiden." He consulted his adviser, Mr. Wil- 
 liams, on this matter, and despite Mr. WiUiams's advice 
 "to be cautious," Occum married Mary. 
 
 Notwithstanding the society's agreement to aid him, 
 Occum remained very poor. In addition to all his 
 duties, he hunted and fished for food; he cut out of 
 wood spoons, ladles, gun-stocks, pails, piggins, and 
 churns. More worthy of note is that he bound old 
 books for the EngHsh of East Hampton. Meanwhile 
 he had other troubles than working by night to keep 
 the wolf from the door of his wigwam. He bought a 
 mare and she fell into a quicksand. He bought an- 
 other and she was stolen. A third died of distemper; 
 the fourth had a colt and broke her leg; soon after the 
 colt died. After that Occum walked. 
 
 After he had been at Montauk a year and a half, the 
 Reverend Aaron Burr, of Princeton, N. J., hearing of 
 his good work, invited him to come to New Jersey, 
 having secured his support from a rich Philadelphian. 
 Occum, however, felt that his health required an out- 
 door Hfe; moreover, the Montauks, now desiring to live 
 
44 Missionary Explorers 
 
 more civilized lives, needed him. It is significant of 
 the place that Samson Occum had so achieved that he 
 became a bone of contention among the different Chris- 
 tian societies. The Scottish Society desired to send him 
 on a mission to the Cherokees. The Boston Society 
 offered him thirty pounds more to be ordained and 
 become a Congregational minister. Doctor Wheelock, 
 however, interposed and recommended that this cere- 
 mony be performed by the Long Island Presbytery. 
 Thus Occum became a Presbyterian minister, preaching 
 his trial sermon from the text, "They that dwell in the 
 wilderness shall bow down before him, and his enemies 
 shall lick the dust." The sermon was successful. 
 Doctor Samuel Buell exclaims: "He is an ornament to 
 the Christian religion and the Glory of the Indian 
 Nation." Occum, in writing the details of the occasion, 
 says: "Laus te Deum. Thus the Solemnity ended." 
 The Cherokee Indians having gone on the war-path, 
 it was determined to send him on a mission to the 
 Oneidas. Shortly after, Occum received a letter from 
 the Reverend WiUiam Kirkpatrick, in which is the fol- 
 lowing extract: 
 
 "New York, Novr 25*^ 1760 
 "RevdSir. 
 
 "Having been called, in this last Summers Campaign, 
 to act in the Capacity of Chaplain to the N. Jersey 
 Regim*. commanded by Col. Peter Schuyler, I think 
 it my Duty to inform you — ^That, in our March from 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 45 
 
 Fort Stanwix to the Oneida Lake, we happened to meet 
 with a Number of the Oneida Indians, who seemed to 
 pay a great Respect to that sacred Character, which, 
 from my Apparel, they easily imagined I sustained — 
 and upon entering into Conversation with them, they 
 agreably surpriz'd me by discovering an earnest Desire 
 of having a Minister setled among them — They in- 
 formed me that they had collected together (I think) 
 300 Dollars for erecting an House of Worship, which 
 would be applied to that Purpose as soon as they cou'd 
 get a Minister — ^They likewise informed me that they 
 had their Children baptized by Ministers in their oc- 
 casional Visits — and desired me to marry a Couple 
 which I complied with — ^They appear to have consider- 
 able Notions of a Supreme Being, and of Revealed Re- 
 ligion — and there are two Indians of their Nation who 
 attempt something like Preaching on the Sabbath Days. 
 I was further informed by them that not only their own 
 Nation of the Oneidas, But also their Cousins, the Tus- 
 caroras were willing to join in this Affair — and they 
 pressed it upon me to endeavor to send them a Minister, 
 and promised, if I did, they would be Kind to him." 
 
 This letter refers to two Indians who had been preach- 
 ing among the Oneidas. One was distinguished by 
 the name of Gwedelhes Agwerondong, fortunately 
 known under the name of "Good Peter," of the Eel 
 clan of Oneidas, living on the Susquehanna, and the 
 greatest orator of the Six Nations. The Scotch So- 
 ciety now voted, "That the Reverend Mr. Wheelock of 
 
46 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Lebanon be desired to fit out David Fowler, an Indian 
 Youth, to accompany Mr. Sampson Occum, going on a 
 Mission to the Oneidas, that said David be supported 
 on said Mission for a Term not exceeding 4 Months, and 
 that he endeavour on his Return to bring with him a 
 Number of Indian Boys, not exceeding three, to be put 
 under Mr. Wheelock's Care and Instruction." 
 
 David Fowler, who has been called the "Mercury of 
 the Indian Missions,'' was the young brother of Ce- 
 cum's wife, Mary. He was a lad of both spirit and 
 humor as well as of devotion. His pen was much more 
 alert than that of Occum, and we are indebted to it for 
 much that happened among the Oneidas. It is re- 
 corded that on June 10, before Doctor Wheelock's 
 house and in front of the sky-blue meeting-house was 
 an interested group, consisting of the doctor and his 
 wife, young Samuel Kirkland, and some Indian boys. 
 Two horses were led out, and on their backs sprang a 
 Mohegan in his prime and a spirited young Montauk. 
 It was thus that Samson Occum and David Fowler 
 set out to make their way through the trackless forest 
 for hundreds of miles as the first missionaries to the 
 Oneidas. Their journey was by way of New York City, 
 where Samson was to take counsel of his society. A 
 part of this journey Samson sets down in quaint Eng- 
 lish and with shrewd observation of the ways of the 
 white man: 
 
 " Wedensday, June y^ 10 about 3 p. M. Brother David 
 and I took leave of Mr. Wheelock and his Family and 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 47 
 
 Sot out on our Journey for Onoyda by way of New 
 York — Reached Heartford about 9 at night — Lodged 
 at Captain Bulls, and were kindly treated — the man 
 seemed to be Truly Religious, keep very good order in 
 his House. 
 
 "Thirsday, June y^ 11 about 9 in the Morning We 
 Sot out on our Journey and got about 6 Miles West- 
 ward of N. Haven and Lodged at one WoodrofFs. 
 
 "Fryday, June y® 12 — Sot out Early in the Morn- 
 ing, got to Stanford at Night Lodged at a Certain 
 Tavern. 
 
 "Saturday, June y^ 14. Went on our way, got 
 within 5 mile of the City of New York, and turnd in 
 at one Mr. Goldsmiths. 
 
 "Sabbath, June y^ 15. Taried at Goldsmiths, we did 
 not go to the City for Pubhck Worship for fear of Small 
 Pox being informed very brief (sic) right there — But 
 I never saw a Sabbath Spent so by any Christians Peo- 
 ple in my Life as some Spent it here. Some were Riding 
 in Chairs, Some upon Horse-back, orthers traveling 
 foot. Passing and Repassing all day Long, and all Sorts 
 of Evil Noises Caried by our Door. Drunkards were 
 Realing and Stagaring in the Streets, others tumbling 
 ofF their Horses, there were others at Work on their 
 Farms, and (if) any people ever under the Heavens 
 Spoke Hell's Language, these People did, for their 
 Mouths were full of Cursings, Prophanings God's Holy 
 Name — I greatly Mistake if These were not the Sons 
 and Daughters of BeHal. 
 
48 Missionary Explorers 
 
 **0 thou God of Heaven, thou yt Hast all the Hearts 
 of the Children of Men in thy Hands, Leave me not to 
 Practice the Works of these People, but help me, O 
 Lord, to take warning and to take heed of myself 
 according to thy Holy Word, and have mercy upon 
 the Wicked, Convince and Convert them to thy Self, 
 for thine own glory. 
 
 "I have thought there was no Heathen but the Wild 
 Indians, but I think now there is some EngHsh Heathen, 
 where they Enjoy the Gospel of Jesus Christ too. Yea, 
 I beHeve they are worse than y® Savage Heathens of the 
 wilderness, — I have thought that I had rather go with 
 the meanest and most Dispis'd creature on Earth to 
 Heaven, than to Go with the greatest Monarch Down 
 to Hell, after a Short Enjoyment of Sinful Pleasures 
 with them in this World — I am glad there is one defect 
 in the Indian Language, and I believe in all their Lan- 
 guages they Can't Curse or sware or take god's Name 
 in Vain in their own Tongue. 
 
 "Monday, June y^ 15, to the City, and were Con- 
 ducted to M'^ Well's at fresh waters and were Very 
 Kindly receiv'd by him and by all his Family. I be- 
 lieve the fear of God [is] in their House and this was 
 our Home as long as we Stay'd in the place. The Peo- 
 ple of the City were Extreamely kind to us there was 
 not a Day Scarsly, but that I was invited to Dine with 
 one Gentleman or other. The Ministers of all Sects 
 and Denominations were uncommonly kind to me — my 
 Friends Increased Daily while at New York." 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 49 
 
 At New York Occum found his society halting over 
 the dangers they feared he would encounter, and the 
 money was not raised. He, however, informed the 
 commissioners that he had but one Hfe, and he pro- 
 posed to go at all hazards. This determination over- 
 came their fears, and the money was raised. He was 
 also provided with a letter to General Amherst. Thus 
 equipped, the two again set forth. 
 
 "Thirdsday, June y® 25 we left New York and went 
 on our Journey, Reach'd Peekskills at Night — 
 
 ** Fryday, June 26 Sot out very Early in the Morning 
 and we made it Night at Rynbeck. 
 
 "Saturday, June y® 27 Sot out very Early, and made 
 it Night between Claverack and Kinderhook — 
 
 "Sabbath, June y® 28. Went to Kinderhook about 
 five Miles, and there Stopt all Day, — but did not go to 
 Publick Worship, Because the People were Barbarians 
 to us and we to them, in our Toungs, they were Dutch. 
 
 "Monday, June y^29 left the Place very Early, and 
 got to Albany about 12 o'c and were Conducted to one 
 M'' Hants Vn Santvoord & taried there and the People 
 in Albany were very kind to us, I went to wait upon his 
 Excellency, Gen". Amherst the After Noon after we 
 got to Albany, but he was busy and I Coud not see 
 him, one of his waiters Came out to me, and told me I 
 should have the Generals Assistance and I should make 
 my Appearance about 10 in the Morning. 
 
 "Tuesday, June y* 30. I made my Appearance be- 
 fore his Excellency at the Time Apointed according to 
 
50 Missionary Explorers 
 
 orders, his Excellence Met me at the Door and told me 
 he had wrote a Pass for me, and he unfolded it and Read 
 it to me, and when he had Read it, he DeHvered it 
 to me, and gave me good Advice and Counsel and 
 wished me success in my undertaking & I return"^ un- 
 feigned Thanks to him and then took my leave of him 
 &c — ^The Pass which he gave me was very good one 
 indeed, which I will coppy Down here. 
 
 " 'By his Excellency JefFery Amherst & Esq^ Major 
 General, and Commander in Chief of all His Majestys 
 Forces in North America &c &c &c — To All Whom 
 it may Concern 
 
 " * Whereas the Correspondents of the Society in 
 Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, have 
 Acquainted me that the Bearer hereof, the Revd M"" 
 Occom, is sent by them, as a Missionary to Reside 
 amongst the Indians about the Onoyda Lake, These 
 are to order and direct the officers Commanding at the 
 Several Posts, to give him any Aid or Assistance he 
 may Stand in need of to forward him on his Journey, 
 and on his Arival at y® Onoyda Lake, the officer Com- 
 manding there will grant him all the Protection and 
 Countenance he may want, in the Execution of his 
 Duty &c 
 
 " 'Given under my Hand & Seal at Head Quarters in 
 Albany, this 29*^ Day of June 1761 
 
 ** * By his Excellencys 
 Command Jeff. Amherst.' 
 
 " 'Arthur Muir. 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 51 
 
 "Wednesday, July y® i left Albany about 10 in the 
 Morning, got to Scenectady about 3 in the after Noon. 
 Stayed there one Night. 
 
 "Thirdsday, July 2 Went from Senectady In Com- 
 pany with Colo^ Whiting and D^ Rodman, they Seemed 
 to be Quite Friendly gentlemen to us, we got about 
 Seven miles westward of Sir William Johnsons. 
 
 "Fryday, July y® 3 went to See Sir William at his 
 Farm Seven Miles out off the Road, in the Wilderness, 
 got there about 9 in the Morning, and were very Kindly 
 Entertained by his Honor. I Showed him my Recom- 
 mendatory Letters, and a Pass from Gen^ Amherst, he 
 Promised me his Assistance as Need Should Require, 
 he was exceeding free with me in conversation — But we 
 stayd there but about two Hours, for he was geting in 
 Readines to go on our way on the Next Day towards 
 Detroit with five Battows Laden with Presents for the 
 Indians, he said he wou'd overtake us on the Morrow 
 before Night — We took Leave of his Honor and went 
 our way, after we had got to the Main Road, we Call'd 
 in at Certain House, and there we were Detained one 
 Night by a Storm. 
 
 ** Saturday, July y® 4. Went on our Journey and 
 Reached the German flats at Night, and we Turn'd in 
 at one M^ Frank's, a Tavern Keeper — 
 
 "Sabbath, July y« 5 we stay^ at M^ Franks, but did 
 not go to Publick Worship with the People, because they 
 Spoke unknown Toungue to us. But it did Seem like 
 Sabbath by the appearance of the People — 
 
52 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "July the 6 — Sir William came to us at M^ Franks 
 
 "Tuesday, July y® 7. Sir William and the Chiefs of 
 the Onoyda Indians Met at this Place, to make up a 
 Breach, which one of the Indians made lately, by Kill- 
 ing a Dutchman, they talked about an Hour at this 
 Time, and then Brok up. Towards Night they Met 
 together again, and talk'd together about 3 quarters 
 of an Hour, then finally Brock up without being fully 
 Satisfied, on both sides for, the Indians Insisted upon 
 an old agreement that was Settled between them and the 
 English formerly, that if Any Such Accident Should 
 ever happen between them in Peaceable Times, they 
 Shou'd make it up in an Amicable manner without shed- 
 ing of Blood. But Sir William told them it was the 
 Comand of General Amherst, that the murderer sho'd 
 be delivered up to Justice — but the Indians said that 
 the murderer was gone off nobody knows where.'' 
 
 They now joined Sir WiUiam on his journey to De- 
 troit, and Sir William in his diary, curiously enough, re- 
 lates that they went in a whale-boat as far as Oneida 
 Old Castle. It was an age of grandiloquent names. 
 The chief of a tribe was very likely called a king, and 
 any kind of a stockade a castle. Here Sir William, 
 whose influence over the Indians was great, commended 
 Occum to their care and friendship. 
 
 Meanwhile, in answer to Doctor Wheelock's request 
 for Indian pupils. Sir WilUam sent three boys, one of 
 whom was Joseph Brant, the brother of Molly Brant, 
 both of whom became known in Revolutionary history. 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 53 
 
 Joseph could speak some English and was well clothed. 
 The others were Httle savages whose clothes ** except- 
 ing 2 Indian blankets and Indian Stockings was not 
 worth a sixpence, and they were very lousy." Later 
 William Johnson, a son of Sir WiUiam, was sent to 
 Doctor Wheelock — a youth by no means insensible of 
 his dignity. Ralph Wheelock, a son of the doctor, who 
 does not seem to have been a person of discretion, 
 asked WiUiam to saddle his horse. William refused on 
 the ground that he was a gentleman, and gentlemen 
 did not perform menial duties. 
 
 "Do you know what is a gentleman?" Ralph asked. 
 
 "I do. A gentleman is a person who keeps race- 
 horses and drinks Madeira wine. That is what neither 
 you nor your father do. Therefore saddle your horse 
 yourself." 
 
 William was afterward sent home, being "too litig- 
 ious." 
 
 Samson and David remained with the Oneidas nine 
 weeks, Occum preaching through an interpreter, and 
 both studying the language. Occum did not continue 
 his diary, doubtless on account of his eyes, which again 
 were paining him. However, he did write to Doctor 
 Wheelock, from whose letter to George Whitefield we 
 learn of his success. 
 
 "My black Son M^ Occom has lately returned from 
 his Mission to the Onoyadas, and the last week I had 
 the Pleasure to see him with one of that nation (who 
 designs to winter with him and learn the English Lan- 
 
54 Missionary Explorers 
 
 guage & teach M^ Occom Mohawke) and I was agree- 
 ably entertained with M^ Occom's Journal. I can 
 only suggest to you a few things most material in it. 
 And to begin where I left off in my Last. When he 
 first came among them they seemed shy of him thro' 
 a Jealosie that something was designed by the English 
 against them, but when Gen^ Johnson had read his 
 Letters Recommendatory, they appeared well satisfied 
 & much pleased, and as a Testimony of it the Kings 
 of the Onoydas and Tuscaroras, & many others of 
 their Chiefs came & shook hands with him and bid 
 him Wellcome among them. Their Chiefs then held a 
 Council to fix upon the best methods to accomodate him 
 with that which was necessary for his comfortable sub- 
 sistance among them, and you would not wonder that 
 their Chiefs held a councel upon this Head if you knew 
 how extreamly poor they are, having scarce anything 
 that may be called Bread or anything else except what 
 they get by hunting to subsist upon. They proposed to 
 M^ Occom to Chuse where to Live, and whether to live 
 in a house already Built. He chose the Place and let 
 them know y* he chose to live with David (my Indian 
 Schollar) and to live by themselves. They immediately 
 built him a House the structure of which, could the 
 Form & Workmanship thereof be truly represented, 
 might gratify not a little the curiosity of a Brittain, 
 though there was nothing in it y* resembled the Temple 
 of old save that there was not the noise of axes or Ham- 
 mers in the Building of it. The Materials were the 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 55 
 
 simple Product of nature, the Remains of the Oakes & 
 chestnuts fell many years ago by the violence of wind. 
 Many of them attended his Ministry & appeared at- 
 tentive. Numbers from distant Nations came to hear 
 him, and some seemed really desirous to understand 
 and know the truths which most nearly concerned them. 
 And when he was about to leave them their chiefs held 
 another council. The consequence of which was that 
 Old Connoquies (who had been King among the Onoya- 
 das but had now resigned by Reason of Age) the King 
 of the Tuscaroras and other Chiefs, presented him a 
 Belt of Wampum to these Instructions which he re- 
 ceived from old Connoquies, viz. 
 
 " I — We are glad from the inside of our Hearts that 
 you are come hear to teach the right way of God. We 
 are also thankful to those who sent you, and above all 
 to God. 
 
 "2 — We intend by the help of God to repent of all 
 our sins and all our heathenish ways & customs. We 
 will put them all behind our Backs, and will never look 
 on them again but will look strait forward and run after 
 Christianity. 
 
 "3 — If we shall try to set up a School we beg the 
 Assistance of the English if they see fit. 
 
 "4 — We desire that strong Drink may be prohibited, 
 that it may not be brought among us for we find it kills 
 our Bodies and Souls; and we will try to hinder it here. 
 
 "5 — We desire to be protected on our Lands, that 
 none may molest or encroach upon us. 
 
S6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "6 — ^This Belt of Wampum shall bind us fast to- 
 gether in perpetual Love and Friendship. 
 
 **M^ Occom delivered it to those Gentlemen to whom 
 it was directed, but obtained their Leave to bring it 
 hither to gratify my Curiosity, and a curious Girdle it 
 is. M^ Occom says it could not be made for less than 
 £15 sterling." 
 
 Of this wampum belt we shall hear more in the future. 
 Returning trouble with his eyes and attacks of rheu- 
 matism hastened Occum's return to Montauk and his 
 duties there. In the following June he resumed his 
 mission among the Oneidas. How discouraging was his 
 task and how great its perils we are told in a letter from 
 Doctor Wheelock to George Whitefield in New York: 
 
 "Lebanon 16 S^^^ 1762. 
 "My very dear and Hon"* Sir. 
 
 "David, my Indian Scholar returned July 18 from 
 the Mohawk Country, where I informed you in my last 
 I sent him, and bro* with him 4 Indian Boys, three 
 Mohawks and one of the Farmington Tribe. The Boys 
 and Girls which I expected from Onoyada were detained 
 by their Parents on acco* of a Rumour, & Suspicion of 
 a War just comencing between them and the Nations 
 back of them and in such a case they s^ they did not 
 chuse to have their Children at such a distance from 
 them, but perhaps they were Suspicious y* they should 
 be obliged to Joyn those Nations against the English. 
 The English youth of which I informed you, who has 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 57 
 
 been a Captive with the Senecas till he is Master of 
 their Language, and which I sent for with a view to fit 
 him for the Interpreter to that Nation, was under such 
 ingagements to a Trader at Block Fort as that he could 
 not get released for the present. I have again wrote to 
 Gen^ Johnson who was not at Home when David was 
 there till the Night before David came away, to pro- 
 cure and send y® youth if he esteems him likely to 
 answer the Design. 
 
 "M'' Occom writes me a very meloncholly Letter, viz, 
 that by an untimely Frost last fall their Indian Corn 
 was all cut off — y* the Onoyadas are almost starved 
 hav« nothing to live upon but what they get by Hunt- 
 ing — that they had then just come in from their Pigeon 
 Hunt — and were going a fishing — as soon as they return 
 from that they will go after Deer — that he followed 
 them, but found it very Difficult to get a number of 
 them together to preach to them — that by hard living 
 (tho' they were as kind as they could be) and especially 
 lying upon the wet ground his old Disorder, (viz 
 Rhumatic) returnd, and he was apprehensive he must 
 return before the Time appointed — that he lived in 
 fear of being killd, tho' the Indians had promised him 
 in case a war should break out, they would send him 
 under a Sufficient Guard, down as far as the English 
 Settlements. But there was Something good in his 
 Letter, viz. that there were visible good Effects of his 
 Labours among them last year & especially a Reforma- 
 tion among them as to their Drinking. . . . 
 
 "Eleazar Wheelock." 
 
S8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "On account of ye present ruffle which ye Oneidas 
 are in, being engaged in a war with some natives back 
 of them," Occum was obliged to come home. The next 
 season the Pontiac war took place and again he was 
 compelled to return. It is from David Fowler, who 
 later became school-master among the Oneidas, that 
 we learn more of the difficulties which beset these early 
 missionaries. David is a lively correspondent, as these 
 letters attest: 
 
 "They are suspicious People. They '11 soon get 
 something another against them if they don't tarry 
 in one Place that will strike ofF all their Affections from 
 them. If they lose the Affections of these People it is 
 over with them. — I can't express myself by writing as 
 I could by talking. — I live Hke a Dog here, my Folks 
 are poor and nasty. I eat with Dogs, for they eat & 
 drink out of the same as I do. — I shall need ten Dollars 
 more. It would best for Calvin to come here, here is 
 one pretty Town just by me and good many Children. 
 I must go down to German Flats to get Provision, 
 after that I shall set down to my School. Here are 
 great Number of Children, but I cant tell how many 
 Scholars I shall have. I believe my singing School will 
 exceed the other in Number. I cant get but one Boy 
 here. — You will know why I could get no more by the 
 Speach I send you. Joseph Wooley is almost nacked. 
 I am obHg'd to let him have one of my Shirts. 
 
 "I shall be glad [if] you would send me another. 
 Sir, I hope you won't let this Letter be seen. I have 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 59 
 
 no Table to write upon, besides I have not writ so 
 long my Hand is out of order. — Please to give my kind 
 Respects to Madam, Master and Ministers. Please 
 to accept much Love & Duty from 
 * Your affectionate 
 
 " though unworthy Pupil 
 
 ''David Fowler." 
 
 "Oneida, June 24, 1765.* 
 ''HoN^ AND Rev^ Sir. 
 
 "I now write you a few Lines just to inform you that 
 I am well at present, and have been so ever since I left 
 your house. Blessed be God for his Goodness to me. 
 I am well contented here as long as I am in such great 
 Business. My Scholars learn very well. I have put 
 eleven into a, b, ab, &c. I have three more that will 
 advance to that place this Week, & some have got to 
 the sixth page. It is ten thousand pities they can't 
 keep together. They are often going about to get 
 their Provision. One of the Chiefs in whose House 
 I keep told me he believed some of the Indians would 
 starve to Death this Summer. Some of them have 
 almost consumed all their Corn already. 
 
 "I came too late this Spring. I could not put any 
 Thing into the Ground. I hope I shall next year. I 
 believe I shall persuade all the Men in this Castle, at 
 least the most of them to labour next Year. They 
 begin to see now that they would live better if they 
 cultivated their Lands than they do now by Hunting & 
 
6o Missionary Explorers 
 
 Fishing. These Men are the laziest Crew I ever saw in 
 all my Days. Their Women will get up early in the 
 Morning, and be pounding Corn for Breakfast, and 
 they (the men) be sleeping till the Victuals is almost 
 ready, and as soon as the Breakfast is over, the 
 Women take up their axes & Hoes & away to the 
 Fields, and leave their Children with the Men to tend. 
 You may see half a dozen walking about with Children 
 upon their Backs — lazy and sordid Wretches — but 
 they are to be pitied. 
 
 "I have been miserably ofF for an Interpreter — I can 
 say but very little to them. I hope by next spring I 
 shall be my own Interpreter. 
 
 "It is very hard to live here without the other Bone. 
 I must be obHged to wash & mend my Clothes & cook 
 all my Victuals, & wash all the Things I use, which is 
 exceeding hard. I shan't be able to employ my Vacant 
 hours in improving their Lands as I should do if I had 
 a Cook here." 
 
 ..__ _ '' OiiOYD A September I'^y iy6^. 
 
 Honoured Sir. 
 
 "I arrived here on the fourth instant and immedi- 
 ately began my School; but it is very small at present, 
 occasioned by gathering Corn and building Houses. I 
 believe I shall have thirty after the hurry is over — My 
 Scholars learn very fast, some have got to the eighth 
 Page. I am yet teaching both Old and Young to sing, 
 they can carry three Parts of several Tunes neatly. 
 
 "I made it a long time before I got up here because I 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 6i 
 
 had such [a] heavy Pack. — I bought me Plow Irons 
 and several other Things which I could not do without 
 very well. I have got the Httle Horse: the Man ask'd 
 a Dollar for keeping him and half a Dollar for going 
 with me ten Miles before he would deliver the Horse to 
 me. — My coming up so slow, buying so many things, 
 giving Money to those Women and bringing two Horses 
 almost took all my Money before I got up; I think I 
 was very prudent with my Money. — I shall want 
 twenty Dollars more, also I shall be exceeding glad 
 [if] you would send me a Compleat Letter Writer and 
 Guide to Prayer." 
 
 David had previously confided to Doctor Wheelock 
 that he meant to marry Amy Johnson, the sister of the 
 litigious William, and had bought her a gold ring worth 
 two dollars. The Rib, however, was not so easily se- 
 cured. His success was no greater with Hannah 
 Pokquiantup. But Hannah Garret, a Pequot maiden, 
 proved more amenable, and Doctor Wheelock not only 
 married them, but set them up with furniture, two 
 horses, two cows, a swine, and some husbandry tools 
 when they set forth for Oneida. 
 
 II 
 
 Now occurred an interesting interlude in Cecum's 
 life. His adventure was now into high civilization, and 
 as an explorer required qualities of an even higher de- 
 
62 Missionary Explorers 
 
 gree than those essential to the forest and the stream. 
 He had removed his family from Montauk to his 
 old tribal lands at Mohegan. Here he had built him 
 a two-storied house, "clapboarded with cedar." A 
 visitor tells us that it "had a Chamber painted and 
 papered and a good Feather Bed." He was now an 
 itinerant preacher to the Niantics, and his "Assembhes 
 were as crowded with English as with Indians." 
 
 It was decided, however, that Occum and David 
 should go back to the Six Nations, if money could be 
 raised for their support. For this purpose the two 
 again set out by boat from Norwich for New York to 
 see if the money could be secured. "It looks like Pre- 
 sumption for us to go on a long Journey through Chris- 
 tians without Money; if it was altogether among Indian 
 Heathen we could go well enough," he shrewdly ob- 
 serves. The money could not be raised and the two 
 Indians returned to Mohegan. His return was timely. 
 The Great Mohegan Land Case, which had been a mat- 
 ter of dispute for sixty years between the Indians and 
 the colony, had been decided in favor of the colony. 
 The Indians were greatly aggrieved, and Occum took 
 the part of his race. 
 
 "I am afraid the poor Indians will never stand a good 
 chance with the English in land controversies, because 
 they are poor and have no money. Money is almighty, 
 and the Indians have no learning, no wit, no cunning." 
 
 The Indians now refused to send their children to 
 school or to attend church. In this Occum upheld 
 

 
 
 M 
 
 P^ 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
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 HPHHRRIi 
 
 
 
 ife 
 
 BBB^T Cpp '•r'»^HHfl 
 
 p'"='f? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 11 
 
 
 
 ^S^' ''■""' 
 
 ••. 
 
 
 
 ^? 
 
 : 1 
 
 ' 
 
 
 In 
 
 iHii 
 
 iM^ 
 
 P^^ 
 
 THE HOME OF SAMSON OCCUM, MOHEGAN 
 
 THE MOHEGAN CHAPEL, 183I 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 63 
 
 them. The Reverend Mr. Jewett, the preacher, ac- 
 cordingly called Occum a "Serpent," and Occum re- 
 taliated, but with great humility afterward apologized. 
 At this moment, the finances of Doctor Wheelock's 
 school being at the lowest ebb, it was determined to 
 see if money could not be raised in England. George 
 Whitefield had said that if he could find a converted 
 Indian who could preach and pray in English some- 
 thing might be done. This was the occasion of mak- 
 ing Occum^s eloquence and education of service. "An 
 Indian Missionary might get a Bushel of Money," 
 wrote one minister, and John Smith, the merchant and 
 an old friend of the school, wrote from London: ^*He 
 must not stay to put on his Wigg, but come in his 
 Night-cap. All that's wanted is to have Mr. Occum 
 here. I know an influential Nobleman that expects 
 him." 
 
 In company with the Reverend Nathaniel Whitta- 
 ker Occum set sail November 21, 1765, in the packet 
 "Boston," John Marshall, captain, and arrived at 
 Brixton February 3. The two men were sent to the 
 home of Mr. Dennis de Berdt, near London. George 
 Whitefield was then in London and shrewdly planned a 
 dramatic entrance for the Indian preacher, concerning 
 whom curiosity was now alert. Occum was kept in 
 strict seclusion until February 16, when he preached 
 his first sermon in George Whitefield's tabernacle, where 
 an immense audience crowded to hear him. Occum was 
 now forty-three years old, a fine type of the Mohegan, 
 
64 Missionary Explorers 
 
 dignified in appearance, calm in manner. His flowing 
 hair touched his shoulders; he wore black with a vest 
 of colonial cut and knee-breeches, and, through Doctor 
 Wheelock, he was accustomed to the refinements and 
 customs of civilized life. Whitefield's management of 
 Cecum's appearance was successful. Occum became 
 the talk of the town. He was taken to call on Lord 
 Dartmouth, and soon had met all the "rehgious no- 
 bility," including Salina, the Countess of Huntingdon, 
 of whom Occum writes: "She is the most Heavenly 
 Woman, I believe in all the World." 
 
 Through the Earl of Dartmouth he met King George, 
 who gave him for the school two hundred pounds, and 
 presented him with some books. He also saw King 
 George HI putting on his diamond-studded crown as 
 he went to Parliament to sign the repeal of the Stamp 
 Act. He dined with Lord Dartmouth and others of the 
 nobility, and in his soft tones entertained the company 
 with tales of Indian life. Meanwhile he was inocu- 
 lated for small-pox, when two of the most distinguished 
 physicians in London attended him, and ladies and 
 gentlemen crowded to visit him during his convales- 
 cence. In the only letter known that he wrote from 
 England, which was to two of his daughters, he play- 
 fully says: 
 
 "My dear Mary and Esther — 
 
 "Perhaps you may query whether I am well: I came 
 from home well, was by the way well, got over well, am 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 65 
 
 received at London well, and am treated extremely well, 
 — ^yea, I am caressed too well. And do you pray that I 
 may be well; and that I may do well, and in Time re- 
 turn Home well. And I hope you are well, and wish 
 you well, and as I think you begun well, so keep on 
 well, that you may end well and then all will be well. 
 
 ''And So Farewell, 
 
 "Samson Occom." 
 
 Meanwhile he saw all the sights, and preached to 
 crowded houses from the most distinguished pulpits in 
 London. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York 
 took an interest in him. The Archbishop of Glouces- 
 ter proposed that he take "Holier Orders," a proposition 
 Occum declined, when the interest of the archbishops 
 grew cold. Occum subsequently expressed himself con- 
 cerning the archbishops in the following letter: 
 
 "Now I am in my own country, I may freely inform 
 you of what I honestly and soberly think of the Bishops, 
 Lord Bishops, and Archbishops of England. In my 
 view, they don't look like Gospel Bishops or ministers 
 of Christ. I Can't find them in the Bible. I think they 
 a good deal resemble the Anti-christian Popes. I find 
 the Gospel Bishops resemble, in some good measure 
 their good Master; and they follow him in the example 
 he has left them. They discover meekness and hu- 
 mility; are gentle and kind unto all men — ready to 
 do good unto all — they are compassionate and merciful 
 
66 Missionary Explorers 
 
 unto the miserable, and charitable to the poor. But I 
 did not find the Bishops of England so. Upon my 
 word, if I never spoke the truth before I do now. I 
 waited on a number of Bishops, and represented to them 
 the miserable and wretched situation of the poor In- 
 dians, who are perishing for lack of spiritual knowledge, 
 and begged their assistance in evangelizing these poor 
 heathen. But if you can believe me, they never gave 
 us one single brass farthing. It seems to me that they 
 are very indifferent whether the poor Indians go to 
 Heaven or Hell. I can't help my thoughts: and I am 
 apt to think they don't want the Indians to go to 
 Heaven with them." 
 
 Nothing, however, disturbed his popularity. Even 
 the theatres took him up in mimicry. "I little thought 
 I should come to that honour," he says. Afterward he 
 went through England, preaching everywhere to im- 
 mense audiences. The successful result of this visit 
 was contributions amounting to nine thousand five 
 hundred pounds. In the spring the two men went to 
 Scotland. Here, in the presence of the General As- 
 sembly, Occum produced the wampum belt that had 
 been given to him on his first mission to the Oneidas. 
 This, amid great enthusiasm, was carried from church 
 to church, and assisted in raising two thousand five 
 hundred and twenty-nine pounds. Occum remained 
 away a little over two years, preaching more than four 
 hundred sermons and winning many friends. "Some 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 67 
 
 Gentleman offered to obtain a Doctorate of Divinity 
 for him in the University of Edinburgh, but Occum 
 modestly declined the honour." Altogether he had 
 raised twelve thousand pounds. For his own services 
 he received one hundred pounds and his expenses. The 
 greater sum was put into the hands of trustees, Lord 
 Dartmouth being the president. Before returning, the 
 portrait of Occum was painted twice, and mezzotints 
 of these were sold by subscription. One of these por- 
 traits remained in England. The other came to this 
 country and is now lost, but a repHca belongs to Dart- 
 mouth College. 
 
 In March, 1767, Occum sailed for home in Captain 
 Robert Calefs sloop "London Packet," and arrived at 
 Boston on May 20, whence he immediately started on 
 horseback for Mohegan. From being the feted guest 
 of London, Occum now confronted many trials. His 
 family had suffered from poverty during his absence, 
 his children had become unruly. Accustomed now to 
 living in a civilized manner, his wife Mary, although a 
 good woman, remained an Indian squaw. 
 
 David McClure writes in his diary: 
 
 "He appeared to preside in his family with dignity & 
 to have his children in subjection. In these, however, 
 & in his wife, he was not happy. He wished to live in 
 English style; but his Wife who was of the Montauk 
 Tribe retained a fondness for her indian customs. She 
 declined, evening & morning setting at table. Her 
 dress was mostly indian, & when he spake to her in 
 
68 Missionary Explorers 
 
 english, she answered in her native language, al- 
 though she could speak good english. His children 
 when they left him, adopted the wild & roving life 
 of Savages." 
 
 To these troubles were added even greater disap- 
 pointments concerning the Indian school. Against 
 Cecum's hopes Doctor Wheelock had determined to 
 remove it from Lebanon and the Connecticut tribes, 
 and had secured a tract of land in New Hampshire; 
 thither the school was taken. An even greater change 
 took place in its policy. Instead of teaching Indian 
 boys, it was now determined to educate white youth as 
 missionaries to the Indians. It was not for this pur- 
 pose Occum had collected money in England. Occum 
 had agreed to write back to his English friends concern- 
 ing the progress of the school. He was now embar- 
 rassed concerning what he should say. 
 
 "If he wrote he must not be silent concerning the 
 state of the school as friends there w*d expect that from 
 him if he wrote, and as the school is at present consti- 
 tuted he imagined an account of it would not be agree- 
 able to gentlemen at home nor answer their expecta- 
 tions. He complained, but in a friendly manner, that 
 the Indian was converted into an English School and 
 that the English had crowded out the Indian youth. 
 He instanced one Symons a likely Indian who came to 
 get admittance but could not be admitted because the 
 school was full. He supposed that the gentlemen in 
 England thought the School at present was made up 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 69 
 
 chiefly of Indian youth, and that should he write and 
 inform them to the contrary, as he must if he wrote, 
 it would give them a disgust and jealousy that the 
 charities were not applied in a way agreeable to the 
 intention of the donors and benefactors, which was to 
 educate Indians chiefly/' 
 
 Doctor Wheelock, to assure him, says that he "hoped 
 many of his tawny brethren would be nourished in the 
 Alma Mater," and Occum repUes: "I am very jealous 
 that instead of your institution becoming Alma Mater 
 to my brethren, she will be too Alba Mater to nourish 
 the tawnies.'* Dartmouth College, for such now is 
 Doctor Wheelock's Indian charity school, certainly lost 
 its distinction as a school for Indian youth, but it 
 acknowledges its indebtedness to the Mohegan Indian, 
 to whose personal efforts it owes its existence, having 
 secured for it "the largest contributions ever sent from 
 the Mother Country tp the Colonies." 
 
 Discouraged, disheartened, now in failing health, 
 without any means of support, Occum continued to 
 preach to the Indians, when temptation assailed him. 
 On one occasion he fell into the Indian's besetting sin, 
 and was found drunk. He accused himself to his Pres- 
 bytery at Bridge Hampton in humble words, and after 
 considering these, "from a gloomy and desponding 
 frame of mind, the Presbytery are fully of Opinion that 
 all the Sensations of Intoxication, which he condemned 
 himself for arose, not from any Degree of intemperate 
 drinking, but from having Drank a small Quantity of 
 
70 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Spirituous Liquor after having been all day without 
 food." 
 
 No one was more sensible of the evils of drink than 
 Occum. Although so poor that often he went all day 
 without food, he never drank but once again. Not 
 long after he was called upon to preach the sermon, as 
 was the custom before the execution of a condemned 
 man. This was an Indian, Moses Paul, who while 
 drunk had killed a man, and we are told behaved "with 
 Decency and Steadiness during the sermon.'' This is 
 the only sermon by Occum of which we have any knowl- 
 edge, and an extract from it shows the simplicity and 
 practical character of his preaching: 
 
 "And it is for our sins, and especially for that ac- 
 cursed, that most hateful sin of drunkenness that we 
 suffer every day. For the love of strong drink we spend 
 all that we have, and every thing we can get. By this 
 sin we cannot have comfortable houses, nor any thing 
 comfortable in our houses; neither food nor raiment, 
 nor decent utensils. We are obliged to put up any 
 sort of shelter just to screen us from the severity of the 
 weather; and we go about with very mean, ragged and 
 dirty clothes, almost naked. And we are half starved, 
 for most of the time obliged to pick up any thing to 
 eat. And our poor children are suffering every day for 
 want of the necessaries of Hfe; they are very often cry- 
 ing for want of food, and we have nothing to give them; 
 and in the cold weather they are shivering and crying, 
 being pinched with the cold — All this is for the love of 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 71 
 
 strong drink. And this is not all the misery and evil 
 we bring on ourselves in this world; but when we are 
 intoxicated with strong drink, we drown our rational 
 powers, by which we are distinguished from the brutal 
 creation; we unman ourselves, and bring ourselves not 
 only level with the beasts of the field, but seven degrees 
 beneath them; yea, we bring ourselves level with the 
 devils; I do not know but we make ourselves worse 
 than the devils, for I never heard of drunken devils." 
 
 This sermon was subsequently published and went 
 through nineteen editions, one of which was in London. 
 From this time forth Occum was an enemy of drink, and 
 more notably preached against slavery, which then ex- 
 isted in New England, even Doctor Wheelock having 
 paid fifty pounds for a slave named Ishmael. In one 
 of the manuscript sermons still preserved, referring to 
 slaveholders, Occum says: 
 
 "I will tell who they are, they are the Preachers or 
 ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been 
 very fashionable for them to keep Negroe Slaves, which 
 I think is inconsistent with their character and func- 
 tion. If I understand the Gospel aright, I think it is a 
 Dispensation of Freedom and Liberty, both Temporal 
 and Spiritual, and [if] the Preachers of the Holy Gospel 
 of Jesus do preach it according to the mind of God, they 
 Preach True Liberty and how can such keep Negroes 
 in Slavery? And if Ministers are True Liberty men, 
 let them preach Liberty for the poor Negroes fervently 
 and with great zeal, and those Ministers who have 
 
72 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Negroes set an Example before their People by free- 
 ing their Negroes, let them show their Faith by their 
 Works." 
 
 John Smith, the Boston merchant, in his visit to the 
 Indian school, mentioned the attention given to music. 
 Occum was one of those who profited thereby. He 
 was said to have a good voice himself, and believed in 
 music as a spiritual help to his race. While in England 
 he had made the acquaintance of a number of writers of 
 hymns. Now he set about making a collection of these 
 for the benefit of the Christian Indians. What was 
 more extraordinary, he added to these a number of 
 hymns written by himself, it is supposed, during that 
 period of despondency following his return from Eng- 
 land, and which are an expression of his state of mind. 
 One of these, "Now the Shades of Night are Gone," is 
 familiar to many to-day. But the most famous is that 
 beginning in its present form, "Awak'd by Sinai's 
 awful sound," impressive in the swing of its lines and 
 the picturesqueness of its imagery. This hymn was a 
 favorite of the Indians, and as 
 
 "Neh' ogyet' he ni yut gaih' nih 
 No ya nes hah' Na wen ni' yuh'; 
 
 Agi' wa neh' a goh : 
 Deh'agega ha ga deh' gwat, 
 Neh' dyu' i wah ha jo' na glad 
 
 Neh goi' wa neh' a goh." 
 
 was sung in many a wigwam of the Iroquois. 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 73 
 
 III 
 
 The last chapter of Occum's life was the most impor- 
 tant and farthest reaching in its foresight and results. 
 In his relation to the whites, standing, as he did, be- 
 tween them and his own race, his observation taught 
 him that for the Indian to hold his own he must for- 
 sake his wandering Hfe, till the ground, and unite for 
 mutual interests. To further these mutual considera- 
 tions they must practise such individual virtues as so- 
 briety, morality, thrift. Briefly, to speak in the lan- 
 guage of the day, the Indian tribes must organize. 
 The onrush of the whites had tended to loosen the 
 allegiance of the Indians to their sachems. Something 
 larger and more practical must replace the old tribal 
 government. 
 
 There arose, in consequence, a movement among the 
 seven Connecticut tribes that deserves much wider 
 recognition than it has ever received. This was due 
 chiefly to four Indians — to Occum primarily, and to 
 his son-in-law, Joseph Johnson, and his brothers-in-law, 
 David and Jacob Fowler. Joseph Johnson had been 
 at Doctor Wheelock's school, but ran away and went to 
 sea, to Cecum's grief. He returned, however, like the 
 prodigal and applied his natural vigor to carrying out 
 Occum's plans. These were for a general emigration 
 of the tribes into the Oneida country, in order, as 
 Joseph says in his circular to the tribes, "to live in 
 
74 Missionary Explorers 
 
 peace & to have things Convenient. If we cant have 
 land enough we cant have things Convenient. We all 
 have little land in New England, but it is very poor 
 the greatest part. So there we cant have things con- 
 venient, that is many of us, and Some are obliged to 
 turn their hands this way & that way to get a Liveli- 
 hood." In New York they could secure cheaper lands, 
 and there they could form a community with laws and 
 limitations for their mutual advantage. At a council 
 of the Indians at Mohegan, at which even the women 
 and children were present, it was decided to send out 
 a circular letter among the tribes, from which is the 
 following curious extract: 
 
 "If Money is scarce, let us try to carry little provi- 
 sions in our Packs, which will be of considerable help, 
 let the men that go try to get the good will of the 
 Women and let the kind women make little Yoke- 
 hegg. We will try to help them with Httle Provisions 
 when they go from here, our kind Women send a 
 word of Encouragement and say that they will make 
 little yoke hegg to give to the travellers." 
 
 And the nature of this preparation, presumably of 
 GggSj it would be interesting to know. It was deter- 
 mined to ask from the Oneidas a tract of land ten 
 miles square. The Oneidas at the time were even more 
 generous, and their delegation answered: 
 
 "Brethren, since we have received you as Brothers, 
 we shall not confine you or pen you up to Ten Miles 
 square: We have much Land at our disposal, and you 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 
 
 75 
 
 need not fear that you shall not have Land sufficient 
 for you, and for your Children after you." 
 
 The matter was finally concluded by a formal agree- 
 ment to which the Oneida chiefs put their signature: 
 
 "We the Chiefs Do in Testimony of the foregoing 
 Affix the Character of our Tribes unto the Day and 
 Year above Mentioned — 
 
 The mark 
 Turtle 
 
 The mark 
 Wolf 
 
 
 Confh- 
 queifoh 
 
 Ughmyonge 
 
 The mark 
 
 of 
 
 Bear 
 
 ^r» Canade- 
 gowus 
 
 "Recv'^ 4*^ Feb^y A D. 1785 and here Recorded 
 
 "Teste 
 "George Wyllys, Secret." 
 
 In every respect this was to be a new departure. 
 The Indians were to live together like brothers. Ac- 
 cordingly the name chosen for the new town was 
 Brothertown, and its laws and government were 
 founded on that of the New England town meeting, 
 and to its privilege no whites or mixed breeds were to 
 be admitted. There were to be "Keepers of the 
 Peace," "fence viewers," town marshals, town clerks. 
 
76 Missionary Explorers 
 
 road commissioners, town meetings, a school, and a 
 church. All this subsequently developed, but for the 
 moment the enterprise was rudely halted. 
 
 In March the first company of Indians set out for 
 their new homes. They had only begun building their 
 log houses and planting their corn, when the first shot 
 at Lexington, heard round the world, echoed through 
 the wilderness. On which side, tory or patriot, the 
 Six Nations would range themselves was a matter of 
 great interest. Sir William Johnson, whose influence 
 over the Indians was great, was a tory. Nevertheless 
 the Oneida Indians issued a declaration of neutrality, 
 which doubtless was brought about by a letter from 
 Samson Occum, in which he says: 
 
 "I will now give you a little insight into the Nature 
 of the EngHsh Quarrils over the great Waters. They 
 got to be rich, I mean the Nobles and the great, and 
 they are very Proud and they keep the rest of their 
 Brethren under their Feet, they make Slaves of them. 
 The great ones have got all the Land and the rest are 
 poor Tenants — and the People in this Country live 
 more upon a leavel and they live happy, and the former 
 Kings of England use to let the People in this Country 
 have their Freedom and Liberty; but the present 
 King of England wants to make them Slaves to him- 
 self, and the People in this Country don't want to be 
 Slaves, — and so they are come over to kill them, and 
 the People here are obliged to Defend themselves, they 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 77 
 
 dont go over the great Lake to kill them. And now 
 I think you must see who is the oppresser and who are 
 the oppressed and now I think, if you must join on 
 one way or other you cant join the oppresser, but will 
 help the oppressed. But let me conclude with one 
 word of Advice, use all your Influence to your Brethren, 
 so far as you have any Connections to keep them in 
 Peace and quietness, and not to intermeddle in these 
 Quarrils among the White People. The Lord Jesus 
 Christ says, Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they 
 shall be called the Children of God. 
 
 "This with great Love is from 
 "Your True Brother 
 
 "Samson Occom." 
 
 To the declaration of neutraHty Washington re- 
 sponds handsomely: 
 
 "You can tell our friends that they may always look 
 upon me, whom the Whole United Colonies have chosen 
 to be their Chief Warrior, as their brother; whilst they 
 continue in Friendship with us, they may depend upon 
 mine and the protection of those under my command. 
 
 "Tell them that we dont want them to take up the 
 hatchet for us except they chuse it; we only desire 
 that they will not fight against us, we want that the 
 chain of friendship should always remain bright be- 
 tween our friends of the Nations and us. Their atten- 
 tion to you will be a proof to us that they wish the 
 same. We recommend you to them, and hope by 
 
yS Missionary Explorers 
 
 your spreading the truths of the Holy Gospel amongst 
 them, it will contribute to keep the chain so bright, 
 that the malicious insinuations or practices of our 
 Enemies will never be able to break this Union, so 
 much for the benefit of our Brothers of the Six Nations 
 and of us — And to prove to them that this is my de- 
 sire and of the Warriors under me, I hereto Subscribe 
 my name at Cambridge this 20*^ day of February 
 
 1776. 
 
 "G°. Washington. 
 "Mr. Joseph Johnson." 
 
 Many of the Indians did "chuse." The records of 
 the patriot army disclose the deaths of eighteen Mohe- 
 gans in its service. The little community at Brother- 
 town suffered greatly, and at length was driven away 
 and broken up by the enemy under General St. Leger 
 on his way to besiege Fort Schuyler. The Brother- 
 town Indians now took refuge with the Housatonic 
 tribe. Jacob Fowler, who had been Indian tutor at 
 Dartmouth College, entered the government service, 
 and carried despatches for Governor John Trumbull. 
 Occum and David Fowler remained with the refugees 
 among the friendly Stockbridge tribes. 
 
 As soon as peace was declared, Occum again began 
 collecting Indians for Oneida, and carrying out his 
 emigration scheme. The Indians had no money, but 
 he collected some by preaching, and for the rest gave 
 his personal note. With this he and David Fowler set 
 sail from New London with a company of Indians for 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 79 
 
 Albany, by way of New York City. Here he gave 
 them over to Jacob Fowler to conduct to Brothertown, 
 while he went back for further work. In September 
 he went to get his people on the Housatonic and take 
 them back to Brothertown. Of this journey he says 
 in his diary: 
 
 "Monday Oct' 24 [1785]: Some Time after Break- 
 fast Brother David Fowler and I sot of to go thro' the 
 Woods to our Indians new Settlements, and presently 
 after we sot out it began to Rain and it Rain'd all the 
 way not very hard, — and it was extreemly bad muddy 
 riding, and the Creeks were very high, and some Places 
 were Mirely, and we were over taken with Night 
 before we got in, and some places were very Dark 
 where Hamlock Trees were, our Eyes did us but little 
 good, we travild about a mile in the Dark and then 
 we arriv'd at Davids House, as [we] approach'd the 
 House I hear"^ a Melodious Singing, a number were 
 together Singing Psalms hymns and Spiritual Songs. 
 We went in amongst them and they all took hold of 
 my Hand one by one with Joy and Gladness from the 
 greatest to the least, and we sot down awhile, and then 
 they began to sing again, and Some Time after I gave 
 them a few words of Exhortation, and then Concluded 
 with Prayer, — and then went to Sleep Quietly, the 
 Lord be praised for his great goodness to us. 
 
 "Tuesday Ocf 25. Was a Snowy Day, was very 
 uncomfortable weather. I kept still all Day at Davids 
 House and it was crowded all Day, some of Onoydas 
 
8o Missionary Explorers 
 
 came in — In the evening Singers came in again, and 
 they Sang till near ten o.c. and then I gave them a 
 Word of Exhortation and concluded with prayer, so 
 we ended another Day — 
 
 "Saturday Ocf 29: David gathered his corn, he had 
 a number of Hands tho it was cloudy in the morning, 
 and little Rain, and in the after noon he husked his 
 corn, and the Huskers Sung Hymns Psalms and Spir- 
 itual Songs the bigest part of the Time, finish'd in the 
 evening — and after supper the Singers Sung a while, 
 and then dispersed." 
 
 Occum was now called upon to celebrate the first 
 wedding in the new community, and under civilized 
 forms. He relates that the young people and guests 
 in a neighboring wigwam formed "a Regular Proces- 
 sion according to their age and were seated accordingly 
 — and the old People also seated themselves Regularly, 
 and A great Number of Stockbridgers came from their 
 Town to attend the Wedding, but many of them were 
 too late — 
 
 "When I got up, I spoke to them Some Time upon 
 the nature of Marriage, the Honourableness and Law- 
 fulness of it, whereby we are distinguished from the 
 Brutal Creation: Said Some of the first marrage in 
 Eden & of the Marrage where Christ and his Disciples 
 were invited and the Honour he did to it by working 
 the first mericle he wrought in the World in turning 
 water into Wine and then we prayed, after Prayer I 
 orderd them to take each other by the Right Hand alter- 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 8i 
 
 nately and then I declared them in the Face of the As- 
 sembly to be a Lawful Husband and Wife, according 
 to the Law of god — and then pray'd. prayer being 
 ended Marriage salutations went round Regularly, and 
 concluded by Singing a Marriage Hymn — and then the 
 People sat down, and Jacob Fowler who was appointed 
 Master of Serimonies at this Marriage, gave out some 
 Drink a Round the Company and then Supper was 
 brought, sot in order on a long Board, and we sot down 
 to eat, and had Totty well sweeten'd with wild Sugar 
 made of Sugar Trees in the Wilderness: and after sup- 
 per we Spent the Evening in Singing Psalms Hymns 
 and Spiritual Songs, — and after that every [one] went 
 home Peaceably without any Carausing or Frollicking. 
 
 "Fryday Nov' 4: The Young People put on their 
 best Clouths, and went to a Neighbours House, all on 
 Horse back, and they appeared agreeable and Decent, 
 and they had no carousing, they had some Pleasant 
 chat and agreable conduct, some Singing of Psalms 
 Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Some Time in the after 
 Noon they dined together, and after Dinner every one 
 went Home Quietly. — so the Weding ended, and it 
 was conducted, caried on and finished with Honour and 
 great Decency — and the Lord help this People to go 
 on Regularly in all their concerns — 
 
 ''Monday Nov. 7: Some Time after Sun rise I sot 
 out with Brother Roger and his wife to our Place; and 
 stopt at Rogers and I took Breakfast with them, they 
 live near three miles from the rest of the People, and 
 
82 Missionary Explorers 
 
 after eating I went on to Town, got there about 12 
 and found them all well — In the Evening met on our 
 Temporal and Religious Concerns — we met once be- 
 fore but did not come to any business — but now we 
 proceeded to form a Body PoHtick — ^we named our 
 Town by the Name of Brothertown, in Indian Eeyam- 
 quittoowayconnuck — J. Fowler was chosen clarke of 
 the Town, for a year, and for the future, the Com- 
 mittee is to be chosen Annually. Andrew Accorro- 
 combe and Thomas Putchauker were chose to be Fence 
 Viewers to continue a year. Concluded to have a 
 Centre near David Fowler's house, the Main Street is 
 to run North and South & East and West and cross at 
 the Centre. Concluded to live in Peace, and in Friend- 
 ship and to go on with in all their PubUc Concerns 
 in Harmony, both in their Religious and Temporal 
 Concerns, and every one to bear his part in the Pub- 
 lick Charges of the Town. They desired me to be a 
 Teacher amongst them. I consented to spend some 
 of my remaining Days with them and make this Town 
 my Home and centre." 
 
 Here is recorded the formal founding of the Indian 
 town of Brothertown, whose Indian name only an 
 Indian could pronounce. The efforts of these Indians 
 to accept only the best of that civilization that sur- 
 rounded them is touching. No one could have been 
 more alive to the vices of the white civilization and 
 the Indian's ready response to these than Occum. For 
 that reason he made every effort to keep his race 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 83 
 
 apart. One clause of their agreement forbade any 
 alienation of their land, in order to guard against the 
 temptation of the shiftless, and more especially the 
 drunken Indian to sell to the whites. 
 
 "Wednesday Nov'' 9: Breakfasted with Cap* Hin- 
 dreck & soon after Eating I sot off for Home, got to 
 our Place about 12 and found our Folks well — 
 
 "Thirdsday Fry day and Saturday look about a little 
 to see the land and it is the best land I ever did see in 
 all my Travils. John Tuhy Planted Just about one 
 acre of ground, which he cleared last may, and this 
 Fall he took of 20 Bushels of good Corn, 56 Bushels of 
 Potatoes, about 200 Heads of Cabage, and about 3 
 Bushels of Beans, and about 2 Bushels of Pusnips and 
 Beats together, besides Cucumbers and Watermelons, 
 of the Same ground, and it was not Plowd nor dug up 
 with a Hoe, only leaves and Small Bushes were burnt 
 on it and great many Logs lay on it now — and I was 
 told last week among the Stockbridge Indians that in 
 their clearing some spots of land where it has been 
 improved in years past, they Plowed up and dug up 
 good many Potatoes, where they had been Planted 
 perhaps 10 or 12 years ago. One man got 3 skipples 
 and he planted them, and he has raised a fine passel of 
 them, and Brother David Fowler told me, and his wife 
 and others confirmed it, that he had one Cabage Stomp 
 stood three summers and it headed every year, the 
 last it stood, it [had] three Heads. — " 
 
 Occum now resumed his missionary work, minister- 
 
84 Missionary Explorers 
 
 ing to the "Stockbridgers" as to the new community, 
 and visiting Mohegan from time to time, where his 
 own family still remained. His diary is full of the hap- 
 penings among the tribes — funerals, weddings, preach- 
 ing and praying and, above all, singing. He carried 
 his Spiritual Songs in his pocket and led the singing. 
 We may imagine his noble presence, the manners he 
 acquired in the formal society of England, as these now 
 appeared on his errands of mercy and encouragement 
 in the humble homes of his nation. He had invented 
 for the young people a game that he called Christian 
 Cards. These were pieces of card-board on which were 
 passages of Scripture in verse. There was a New Testa- 
 ment pack and an Old Testament pack, which he used 
 variously as the occasion seemed to need. 
 
 "Sabb. July 30 About 9 I went to Brother David's 
 and there I preached and many of the Stockbridgers 
 were there and four young Onoyda men were there, 
 and were drest compleat in Indian way. they shined 
 with Silver, they had large Clasps about their arms, 
 one had two Jewels in his Nose, and had a large Silver 
 half moon on his Breast; and Bells about their Legs, 
 & their heads were powderd up quite stiff with red 
 paint, and one of them was white as any white man 
 and gray eyes, his appearance made me think of the 
 old Britains in their Heathenism. I spoke from 
 Hosea xiii : 9 : & Eclesi xii. i and there was great at- 
 tention among the people, after meeting the singers 
 sung some Time and then we ail dispersd — 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 85 
 
 "Wednesday Aug* 23 Towards Night the Young 
 People came to Jacob Fowlers to receive instruction; 
 and I spoke to them from Prover^ [blank] a little 
 whi[le] and then we Prayd, and after Prayer I Exer- 
 cised with my Christian Cards with them, and they 
 were agreable to them, and they [were] Awd with the 
 Various Texts of Scripture, and I believe they will not 
 forget the evening very soon, there was one Stock- 
 bridge Girl came on purpose, and there was one Eng- 
 lish Girl, and they also chose each of 'em a Text; and 
 they concluded with singing several Tunes, and the 
 whole was caried on with Decency, & Solemnity — 
 
 "Wednesday Aug* 30 Soon after Breakfast thirteen 
 of us sot out into the Woods, they went after Ginshang 
 Roots, and I was going to M'" James Dean's, we travild 
 together about 3 Miles, and there they incamped made 
 up great Fire, and soon after I went on. sister Hannah 
 Fowler went with me, and then we went thro' a Hedi- 
 ous Wilderness for three or four miles, we had only 
 markd Trees to go by, and there was but very poor 
 Track — ^we arrivd to M"" Deans Some time in the after- 
 noon, found them all well, and we were receivd with 
 all kindness, and at sundown Brother David came 
 runing in pufing and Blowing and all of a fome with 
 sweat, he had treed a couple of Racoons and he 
 [came] for a gun, and went right back and one young 
 man; and some Time in the [evening] he came in with 
 one Racoon — 
 
 "Thirdsday Aug* 31 about 11, we took leave of the 
 
86 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Fa[mily] and went to New Stockbridge — got there 
 some Time in the afternoon, we calld on Sir Peter 
 Pankquunnupeat & I put up there, — 
 
 ** Saturday Oct'' 21: soon after Breakfast, sot of for 
 old Town. Sally Skesuck and I went together, got 
 there before Noon. I sot a while in Widow Quinne's 
 and then went to Sir Peters — and was there a while, 
 and there came a man, and brought a Maloncholy 
 word concerning Sally as she was returning and had 
 Just got out of the Town the Mare got a fit of kicking 
 up her heels, and crowded up against a fence, and she 
 fell Backward, and broak her right Arm; I went 
 directly to see her and found her in great Misery, 
 we Splinted up her arm and so left, in the evening 
 went again to see her, and she was in great Pains, and 
 I tryd to bleed her. but I coud not make out." 
 
 The following entry in Cecum's diary is the first in- 
 timation we have of the subsequent trouble with the 
 Oneidas that disturbed the close of his life: 
 
 "Monday Octo'" 16: a number of us, I think sixteen, 
 all men went to New-Town to have a Treaty with the 
 Oneidas. We had calld them to our Town but they 
 chuse to have us come to their Town, and we drove 
 one creature to them to kill, we got there after sun 
 sit went directly to the Councell House, David and I 
 Lodgd there, and there rest were ordered elsewhere. 
 I had but poor rest all Night, they have too many 
 Vermine for me — 
 
 "Tuesday Octo' 17: Some Time in the after noon, 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 87 
 
 were calld to appear before the Councell and we were 
 permitted to speak for ourselves, — and we related the 
 whole of our transactions with them about the Land 
 they gave us — for they had a notion to take it back 
 again last summer, and only allow one mile square 
 which we utterly refused, and we had not got thro 
 that Day, and we were dismisst. in the evening we all 
 went together in a certain House to sing and Pray to- 
 gether & after prayers David and I [went] Back to the 
 Councell House to Lodge — 
 
 "Wednesday Octo"" 18 : Near mid Day we were 
 calld again to the Councell, and we resumed our re- 
 lation and soon finishd and then we went out, and 
 were calld again soon, and they begun to rehearse 
 [what] we had deliverd, and they said it was all good 
 and True, and then they made a New offer to us, to 
 live in the same spot of Ground, but [not] to be bound 
 by any Bound, but live at large with them on theer 
 Land, which we refused, and we told them we chuse 
 to [be] bounded, and they had bounded us allready, 
 all most all round, and we wanted only to be bound 
 alround where we were, and they took it under con- 
 sideration. — 
 
 "Thirdsday Octo' 18: Went to Stockbridge to a 
 wedding Just before SunSet, attended upon Marriage, 
 the Young man was one the Sachem's son and the 
 Young woman was of noted Family, and there was a 
 vast concourse of People of many Nations, it was 
 Said there were ten different Languages among the 
 
88 Missionary Explorers 
 
 People and the People behaved decently, but the 
 Onoydas began to behave unseamly and in the Night 
 they had a terrible froleck even all Night — 
 
 "Thirdsday Octo' 25th : we were calld suddenly to ap- 
 pear before the chiefs of the Onoyd, that had Just come 
 to our Place — and we eat our Breakfast in hast, and 
 went direcly to Widow Fowlers and there the chiefs meet 
 with us, and it was about our Lands. But there was 
 such confusion I woud not say a word about it. it was 
 a party Scheme, contrivd by a few of our People, 
 they [have] been agreing with the Onoydas for a Piece 
 of Land without the knowledge of the Headmen of the 
 Place. Some of the contrivers of this mischief were 
 much intoxicated and they drove on the Business with 
 all fury in no order, it was like Whirlwind. Some Time 
 towards Night we broke up and every one went his 
 way: in great confusion of mind. — I went to Brother 
 Davids and there Lodgd with a sorrowful mind. — " 
 
 This entry opens the last days of Cecum's life. He 
 had moved his family from Mohegan to Brothertown 
 with the last company of emigrating Indians. In 
 doing this he was unable to take through the wilder- 
 ness his library, including the books presented him in 
 England, and the portrait of himself, which had been 
 presented him, and has since disappeared beyond re- 
 covery. The company followed the course of the 
 Mohawk River in bateaux, until they took the trail 
 through the wilderness to Brothertown. Here he built 
 a log house for his family. 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 89 
 
 But before he returned the whites were pressing the 
 Indians on all sides. Two thousand acres had been 
 taken from them, including "a fine grove of pine and 
 a cedar swamp which had been set aside for the use of 
 the town.'' Occum protested. The Oneidas, at the 
 original instigation of the whites, it is said, claimed that 
 the deed of gift was void. Occum protested and ap- 
 pealed to the General Assembly, which ordered the 
 ejectment of the whites. But Samson Occum had 
 fought his last fight. He was now sixty-nine years old, 
 and spent in long and vahant service for his race. For 
 peace he moved to Tuscarora among his old friends, the 
 "Stock-bridgers.'' 
 
 The Connecticut Gazette of New London, August 2d, 
 1792, has the following announcement: 
 
 "Died at New Stockb ridge, in the vicinity of Oneida, 
 in the 69th year of his age, the Rev. Samson Occom, 
 in a very sudden and unexpected manner. About a 
 week before he died he complained to his wife of a very 
 uncommon and distressing pain in his vitals, which 
 occasioned a faintness, but it was soon over. A few 
 hours before his death the same disorder came on again, 
 but as before soon left him — after which he eat as 
 hearty a dinner as usual, told his wife he would ride to 
 one of his neighbors and get him to accompany him 
 to a cedar swamp in search of some timber he was 
 wanting. His wife in vain remonstrated against it; 
 he went, and just before they came to the swamp he 
 told the man he must rest, asked for water, desired the 
 
^6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 man to call for help, which he did, he then took ofF his 
 coat and as the man returned, he said, I have done — 
 and appeared inclined to sleep — asked his friend to 
 ease him down, which done, he folded his hands across 
 his breast and expired in a few minutes. On Sunday 
 the 15th inst. his remains were decently interred — pre- 
 vious to which the Rev. Mr. Kirkland preached his 
 funeral sermon from Matt. xxiv:44. Upwards of 300 
 Indians, from different tribes, attended. Mr. Occom 
 was of the Mohegan tribe of Indians and removed 
 with a number of that tribe a few years since to Oneida." 
 
 Samuel Kirkland, who preached the funeral sermon, 
 adds to this in his journal: 
 
 "The Indians were so alarmed at the sudden death 
 of Mr. Occum that they began to collect at Tuscarora 
 from the various settlements very early in the morn- 
 ing. By a mistake of the messenger they were led to 
 conceive that the first meeting would be held there in- 
 stead of at Kanonwalohale; as many of the Indians 
 came the distance of ten miles. After an exhortation 
 and prayer at the house of the deceased, we moved 
 about a mile to a bower near the center of the town, 
 for the sake of convenience, there being no house 
 sufficiently large to contain one half of the Indians 
 who were assembled on the occasion." 
 
 No mention is made of Occum's burial-place, but it is 
 assumed that it was on the farm of his brother-in-law 
 and life-long friend, David Fowler, where a stone marks 
 the grave of David and his wife, and which was the 
 
Samson Occum, Mohegan 91 
 
 burial-ground of other Christian Indians. Although 
 Occum passed away, and there is no trace of the 
 resting-place of the most famous Christian Indian, his 
 work lived. 
 
 By a decision of the Assembly of the State of New 
 York in 1798 the Brothertown Indians were confirmed 
 in their rights to their land. Their ultimate history it 
 is interesting to follow. That mysterious man, the 
 Reverend EleazarWiUiams, whose resemblance to Louis 
 XVI gave rise to the belief that he was the Dauphin, 
 falsely reported to have died in the Temple, appeared 
 among them, hoping to enUst the New York tribes in 
 an emigration scheme to the West. The Brothertown 
 Indians contributed nearly a thousand dollars for the 
 purchase of land in Wisconsin, among the Winnebagoes. 
 The efFort fell through; and the war of 181 2 intervened, 
 in which a number of the Indians took part. However, 
 in 183 1 the venture was resumed, and a number of the 
 Brothertown Indians secured by treaty a tract of land 
 on Winnebago Lake, where they founded a town 
 named in honor of their old home, Brothertown. Here 
 they gradually became absorbed in the population, 
 several having held public offices and served in the 
 Wisconsin Legislature. 
 
DAVID BRAINERD 
 MISSIONARY TO THE FORESTS 
 
DAVID BRAINERD 
 MISSIONARY TO THE FORESTS 
 
 YOU are to conceive of a little boy, delicate in 
 health, brought up under the overshadowing 
 sense of sin and guilt peculiar to the Puritans. 
 "Sometimes I feel that my heart is not so bad as the 
 books say,*' he pathetically writes in his diary. 
 
 Yet, breaking through the bonds of ill health and 
 spiritual discouragement, this youth became the spirit- 
 ual descendant of John Eliot, spent his hfe on horse- 
 back travelling through the trackless woods, fording 
 streams, and literally gave up his life in the service 
 of the Indians. 
 
 Such was David Brainerd, born at Haddam, Conn., 
 April 20, 1718, of Hezekiah Brainerd, a member of his 
 Majesty's Council for the Colony, and the great- 
 grandson of the Reverend Peter Hobart, who came over 
 in the "Mayflower." His father died when David 
 was nine years old, and he was an orphan at thirteen. 
 
 "I was from a youth somewhat sober and do not 
 remember any conviction of sin till I was seven or 
 eight years of age." So anxious did he then become 
 lest he should die and go to hell — for our forefathers 
 were very direct of speech — that he could not play 
 with the other children, but would go off to the woods 
 
 95 
 
96 Missionary Explorers 
 
 and pray by himself for mercy. The death of his 
 mother increased this melancholy and these terrors. 
 He writes of walking out one winter morning when he 
 became so terrified over his own wickedness that he 
 feared the vengeance of God was about to overtake 
 him, and he envied the unconsciousness of the birds 
 and beasts. 
 
 **One night I remember particularly when I was 
 walking solitarily abroad, when I had opened to me 
 such a view of my sin that I feared the ground would 
 cleave asunder at my feet and become my grave, and 
 would send my soul quick to hell before I could get 
 home. Though I was forced to go to bed, lest my dis- 
 tress be discovered by others, which I much feared, 
 yet I scarcely durst sleep at all, for I thought it would 
 be a great wonder if I should be out of hell in the 
 morning." 
 
 It is difficult for us in our day, who find so much in 
 the affairs of the good brown earth and our duties to 
 the world in general to occupy us, to understand the 
 fears and self-communings of this poor lonely boy. 
 Something must be set against the advice of his teach- 
 ers, such as the Reverend Mr. Fiske, who advised David 
 to have nothing to do with the young, but to seek 
 the company of older people. 
 
 "I was not much addicted to the company and 
 amusements of the young," David writes, *'but this I 
 know, that when I did go into such company, I never 
 returned with so good a conscience as when I went." 
 
David Brainerd 97 
 
 At nineteen he thought to become a farmer, but after 
 working on a farm a little over a year, he determined 
 to go to college that he might become a preacher, al- 
 though he was still in torment over the condition of 
 his soul. Then happened one of those spiritual crises 
 which he often underwent, but with a difference. He 
 was, as was his custom, walking in great distress of 
 mind "in a dark, thick grove, when unspeakable glory- 
 seemed to open to the view and apprehension of my 
 soul. I do not mean any external brightness, for I 
 saw no such thing; nor do I intend any imagination of 
 a body of light, somewhere in the third heavens, or 
 anything of that nature; but it was a new inward ap- 
 prehension or view that I had of God, such as I never 
 had before, nor anything which had the least resem- 
 blance of it. I stood still, wondered, and admired. 
 . . . My soul was so captivated and delighted with the 
 excellency, loveHness, greatness, and other perfections 
 of God, that even I was swallowed up in him; at least 
 to that degree that I had no thought (as I remember) 
 at first about my own salvation, and scarcely reflected 
 that there was such a creature as myself." 
 
 That this vision made David forget himself is a large 
 part of its importance. Henceforth, although he has 
 frequent returns of his old unhappy state of mind and 
 soul, he now finds, as he expresses it, "unspeakable 
 sweetness and delight in God," and we, his readers, 
 rejoice in this as we would in any relief for the poor 
 boy from physical pain. 
 
98 Missionary Explorers 
 
 In September he entered Yale College. Shortly 
 after, he was taken down with measles and obliged to 
 go home. He lost so much time that he notes in his 
 diary that he had to study very hard to make this up, 
 and, "being very much exposed on account of my 
 freshmanship," had not much opportunity to think of 
 his spiritual condition, alluding thus to the tempta- 
 tions a young collegian is exposed to. 
 
 It can scarcely be believed that so conscientious a 
 youth came into collision with the college authorities 
 and was expelled. It is almost equally difficult for us to 
 understand the circumstances and the manner in which 
 this was done. The Reverend George Whitefield, an 
 English evangelist and a Methodist, had brought about 
 a rehgious revival, which has come down to us under 
 the name of the Great Awakening. So intense a spirit- 
 ual nature as that of David Brainerd was inevitably 
 drawn to Whitefield and his teachings. On the other 
 hand, Whitefield's fervent methods were coldly re- 
 garded by the faculty at Yale. David and a few 
 young men of his class grouped themselves together 
 for rehgious conversation. At one of these meetings a 
 tutor named Whittlesey met with them and made the 
 final prayer. After he had gone one of the group 
 asked David what he thought of it. 
 
 "He has no more grace than that chair," David 
 promptly replied. A classman passing heard David's 
 remark, told it to a woman friend, who conceived that 
 David referred to some one of the college faculty, and 
 
David Bralnerd 99 
 
 as promptly told it to the rector. The young men 
 were called before the rector and compelled to tell of 
 whom this was said. David was accordingly required 
 to make a public confession in hall. This he refused 
 to do on the ground that because of a remark made in 
 a private conversation he was being treated as one 
 who had committed a crime. He was accordingly, in 
 his third year in college, summarily expelled. David's 
 sense of the injury done him was heightened by the 
 fact that he stood at the head of his class, and would 
 have received its chief honor as a senior. However, 
 he was not to be deterred from his great desire to be a 
 preacher, but continued his studies privately, and was 
 at length licensed at Danbury, and went as a preacher 
 among the wasted community of Indians at Kent, on 
 the Housatonic River. 
 
 In the course of his preaching he was again obliged 
 to go to New Haven, and here he still found the feel- 
 ing against him so strong that he was not able to meet 
 his classmates at commencement, but was obliged to 
 hide at the home of a friend out of town lest he be ar- 
 rested and imprisoned. Commencement day he spent 
 in the depths of the woods in prayer, he who would 
 otherwise have been at the head of his class. 
 
 In the evening he cautiously ventured out into the 
 town, and conferred with some friends, who advised 
 him to write an apology to the rector. This he did 
 very humbly, and asked to be relieved from "their 
 academical censure." The Reverend Aaron Burr came 
 
loo Missionary Explorers 
 
 all the way from New Jersey with letters from New 
 York, asking that David be given his degree. His re- 
 quest was refused unless David would remain there 
 another year. As this was now impossible, David left 
 New Haven with a sad heart, and his diary records: 
 
 "Sept. 14. This day I ought to have taken my de- 
 gree, but God sees fit to deny it to me." 
 
 This painful situation made for David, however, two 
 stanch and important friends. These were Jonathan 
 Edwards, the great theologian, and the Reverend Aaron 
 Burr, afterward president of Princeton College. More- 
 over, honors now fell upon him. A messenger was sent 
 from East Hampton, one of the most prosperous and 
 fairest of the colonial towns, asking David to settle 
 there as its minister. At the same time came a request 
 that he should come to New York and meet the Scotch 
 Commissioners about going on a mission to the Dela- 
 ware Indians. This decided his destiny. He would 
 give up the comfortable life with the English and cast 
 his lot with the Indians. He had ridden on his horse 
 to New York. This was the first time the farmer boy 
 and youth of the woods had ever been to a city. But 
 the only thing he notes in his diary is its confusion, and 
 he longs again for his wilderness. 
 
 Owing to troubles between the settlers and Indians 
 on the Delaware, it was decided that he should go to 
 Kaunaumeck, an Indian village half-way between 
 Albany and Stockbridge. The first night he slept on a 
 heap of straw in a "lonely, melancholy desert." He 
 
David Brainerd loi 
 
 then found a Scotchman and his wife Uving in a one- 
 roomed log hut. He could scarcely understand the 
 Highland dialect of the man, and his wife not at all. 
 The only person with whom he could talk was a young 
 Indian, whom he engaged as an interpreter. But at 
 least he had shelter, and food — mush, boiled corn, and 
 ash cake. Nothing could exceed the loneliness of his 
 life. Here is an extract from his diary: 
 
 "Spent most of the day in labor to procure something 
 to keep my horse on in the winter; was very weak in 
 body through the day, and thought this frail body 
 would soon sink in the dust; had some realizing ap- 
 prehensions of a speedy entrance into another world. 
 In this weak state of body, was not a Httle distressed 
 for want of suitable food. Had no bread, nor could I 
 get any. I am forced to go ten or fifteen miles for all 
 the bread I eat; sometimes it is mouldy and sour be- 
 fore I eat it, if I get any considerable quantity; and 
 then again I have none for days together, not being 
 able to find my horse in the woods to go for it. But 
 through divine goodness I had some Indian meal of 
 which I made some cakes and fried them. I felt con- 
 tented with my circumstances, and blessed God as 
 much as if I had been a king." 
 
 Notwithstanding his feeble body, and his frequent suf- 
 fering from cold and hunger, and from being often lost 
 in the woods and obHged to spend the night in the open 
 air — once he notes falling from his horse into the 
 stream— he never thinks of giving up or regrets the 
 
I02 Missionary Explorers 
 
 comforts of civilized life. There were sterner perils. 
 While trying to teach the Indians to sing, a messenger 
 came warning him that war had been declared between 
 France and England, and he must be prepared against 
 attacks from the French Indians, for the savages took 
 sides in these foreign quarrels. 
 
 David had a little property left him by his father, 
 for his salary as a preacher was scarcely more than 
 nominal. He writes in his diary that "God hav- 
 ing provided for me bountifully, so that I have been 
 enabled in about fifteen months past to bestow to char- 
 itable uses about an hundred pounds New England 
 money, that I can now remember." He had built him- 
 self a Httle hut of logs, of which he speaks aflFectionately 
 as indeed his home. From this he was now to part. 
 The Commissioners sent for him again to go on his 
 mission to the Indians on the Delaware and Susque- 
 hanna Rivers, the Indians at Kaunaumeck having been 
 transferred to Stockbridge. 
 
 "I this day took all my books, clothes &c and dis- 
 posed of them, and set out for the Delaware river. 
 Rode several hours in the rain through the howling 
 wilderness, although I was so disordered in body, that 
 little or nothing but blood came from me." 
 
 In May he began his journey southward, crossing 
 "Hudson's river" at Fishkill, and making for Goshen 
 in the Highlands. We can hardly realize to-day the 
 desolate and barren region through which he rode, 
 finding scarcely any settlements, and suffering much 
 
David Brainerd 103 
 
 fatigue and many hardships. "He was fond of soli- 
 tude, but the ghastly desolation of the wilderness went 
 to his soul." About twelve miles from the Forks of 
 the Delaware he came across a settlement of Dutch and 
 Irish, for whom he preached, but where he saw to his 
 grief children playing on Sunday. He was at his new 
 station but two weeks, when again he mounted his 
 horse and rode to Newark, where he was to receive the 
 formal authority for his mission, and then "broken in 
 body" he set out again for the Delaware. 
 
 "His difficulties were very great," says one of his 
 biographers. "His inexperience with the language, 
 especially as it was split up into so many dialects, and 
 the ignorance of the Indians was rendered still more an 
 obstacle by their familiarity with the white men, who 
 treated them with brutality, deceived them and left 
 them with an impression that the God of the pale 
 faces was no friend to the poor red man." 
 
 David had now to gain their confidence, and trying 
 to show them how to live more comfortably would travel 
 miles on horseback to treat with the whites for land 
 that they might dwell in peace. The Indians came to 
 trust in him, and to beUeve him when he told them the 
 whites did not mean to make them slaves, or to kid- 
 nap them and take them away to fight the Spaniards, 
 as many of them beHeved. Once he came upon the 
 Indians having a powwow. They were dancing, leap- 
 ing, and shouting wildly around the medicine man. 
 But David rode into the midst of them, and though so 
 
104 Missionary Explorers 
 
 weak he could scarcely sit on his horse, succeeded in 
 gaining their attention and finally led them to forsake 
 the medicine man. 
 
 After spending some time on the Delaware, David 
 with a friend and an interpreter went to visit the In- 
 dians on the Susquehanna. They travelled over the 
 rocks, valleys, and mountains of what he calls a "hide- 
 ous and howHng wilderness," and one dark night his 
 horse fell and broke its legs and had to be shot. Then 
 they stopped, built a fire, and slept in the open all 
 night. At the Indian encampment they were received 
 cordially, and David, after paying his respects to the 
 '"king," as he always styles the chief, was allowed to 
 preach to the braves and squaws. 
 
 Here he learned much of their beliefs and customs. 
 All birds, beasts, and snakes were to be worshipped, 
 because these had the power to do both good and evil. 
 If an Indian killed a snake he must burn fine tobacco 
 as incense to the power that presides over snakes. 
 Before the coming of the whites they believed in four 
 deities coming from the four corners of the earth. 
 Now they had concluded there were but three. One 
 made the palefaces, another the negroes, and a third 
 made the Indians. 
 
 On Juncauta Island in the Susquehanna, David de- 
 scribes a powwow. "In the evening they met together, 
 nearly a hundred of them, and danced around a large 
 fire, having prepared ten fat deer for the sacrifice. 
 The fat of the inwards they burnt while they were 
 
David Brainerd 105 
 
 dancing, and sometimes raised the flame to a prodigious 
 height; at the same time yeUing and shouting in such 
 a manner, that they might easily be heard two miles 
 or more. They continued their sacred dance nearly 
 all night, after which they ate the flesh of the sacrifice, 
 and so each retired to his own lodging." 
 
 The next day David thought he might preach to 
 them, but the Indians "had something else to do, for 
 near noon they gathered together all their powwows, 
 or conjurers, and set about a dozen of them playing 
 their juggHng tricks and acting their frantic distracted 
 postures, in order to find out why they were all so 
 sickly on the island, numbers of them being at that 
 time disordered with a fever and bloody flux. In this 
 exercise they were engaged for several hours, making 
 all the wild distracted motions imaginable, sometimes 
 singing, sometimes howling, sometimes extending their 
 hands to the utmost stretch, and spreading all their 
 fingers — they seemed to push with them as if to push 
 something away, or at least keep it off at arms-end; 
 sometimes stroking their faces with their hands, then 
 spirting water as fine as mist; sometimes sitting flat 
 on the earth, then bowing their faces down to the 
 ground; then wringing their sides as if in pain and 
 anguish, twisting their faces, turning up their eyes, 
 grunting, pufiing &c. 
 
 "Many of the Indians of this island understand the 
 EngKsh considerably well; having formerly lived in 
 some part of Maryland among or near white people; 
 
io6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 but are very drunken, wicked, and profane although 
 not so savage as those who have less acquaintance with 
 the English. Their customs, in various respects, differ 
 from those of other Indians on the river. They do 
 not bury their dead in common form, but let their 
 flesh consume above ground, in close cribs made for 
 that purpose. At the end of the year, or sometime a 
 longer space of time, they take the bones when the flesh 
 is all consumed, and wash and scrape them, and after- 
 wards scrape and bury them with some ceremony.'* 
 
 Writing to the Scotch Commissioners, David con- 
 tinues his story: "I traveled more than a hundred and 
 thirty miles on the river, above the English settlements; 
 and in that journey met with individuals of seven or 
 eight tribes, speaking as many diff'erent languages. 
 But of all the sights I saw among them, or indeed any- 
 where else, none appeared so frightful, or so near akin 
 to what is usually imagined of infernal powers, none 
 ever excited such images of terror in my mind, as the 
 appearance of one who was a devout and zealous re- 
 former, or rather restorer of what he supposed was the 
 ancient religion of the Indians. 
 
 "He made his appearance in pontifical garb, which 
 was a coat of pig skins, dressed with the hair on, and 
 hanging down to his toes; a pair of bearskin stockings; 
 and a great wooden face painted, the one half black, 
 the other half tawny, about the color of an Indian's 
 skin, with an extravagant mouth cut very much awry; 
 the face fastened to a bearskin cap which was drawn 
 
David Brainerd 107 
 
 over his head. He advanced toward me with the in- 
 strument in his hand, which he used for music in his 
 idolotrous worship; which was a dry tortoise shell 
 with some corn in it, and the neck of it drawn on to a 
 piece of wood, which made a convenient handle. As 
 he came forward, he beat his tune with a rattle, and 
 danced with all his might, but did not suffer any part 
 of his body, not so much as his fingers to be seen. No 
 one could have imagined from his appearance or actions, 
 that he could have been a human creature, if they had 
 not some intimation of it otherwise. When he came 
 near me I could not but shrink away from him although 
 it was then noon day and I knew who it was; his ap- 
 pearance and gestures were so frightful. He had a 
 house consecrated to his religious uses, with divers 
 images cut on several parts of it. I went in and found 
 the ground almost as hard as a rock with their frequent 
 dancing upon it. 
 
 "I discoursed with him about Christianity. Some 
 of my discourse he seemed to like, but some of it he 
 disliked extremely. He told me God had taught him 
 his rehgion and that he would never turn from it; but 
 wanted to find some one who would join heartily with 
 him in it; for the Indians he said had grown very de- 
 generate and corrupt. He had thoughts, he said of 
 leaving all his friends and travehng abroad, in order 
 to find some who would join him; for he beUeved that 
 God had some good people somewhere who felt as he 
 did. 
 
io8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "He treated me with common courtesy, and seemed 
 to be hearty in it. I was told by the Indians that he 
 opposed drinking strong liquor with all his power; and 
 that if at any time he could not dissuade them from it 
 by all he could say, he would leave them and go crying 
 to the woods. It was manifest that he had a set of 
 religious notions which he had examined for himself 
 and had not taken for granted upon bare tradition; 
 and he relished or disrelished whatever was spoken of 
 a religious nature, as it either agreed or disagreed with 
 his standard. While I was discoursing, he would some- 
 times say *Now that I Hke; so God has taught me'; 
 some of his sentiments seemed very just. Yet he 
 utterly denied the existence of a devil, and declared 
 there was no such creature known among the Indians 
 of old times, whose rehgion he was attempting to re- 
 vive. He Hkewise told me that departed souls all went 
 southward; and that the difference between the good 
 and bad was this; that the former were admitted into 
 a beautiful city with spiritual walls; and that the latter 
 would forever hover around these walls in the vain 
 endeavor to get in. He seemed to be sincere, honest, 
 and conscientious in his own way, and according to his 
 own religious notions; which was more than I ever saw 
 in any other pagan. I perceived he was looked upon 
 and derided among most of the Indians, as a precise 
 zealot, who made a needless noise about religious 
 matters; but I must say there was something in his 
 temper and disposition, which looked more like true 
 
David Brainerd IC9 
 
 religion, than anything I ever observed amongst other 
 heathen." 
 
 David now determined to cast in his lot for Hfe with 
 the Susquehanna Indians. The land belonged to the 
 Six Nations, and it was necessary to get the consent of 
 their Mohawk chief. David accordingly mounted his 
 horse and, with his interpreter, went to Philadelphia 
 to gain the good offices of the governor, who was on 
 agreeable terms with the Six Nations. The first night 
 on his return journey he was compelled to sleep in the 
 woods; the next day a violent northeasterly storm 
 overtook them and he almost perished with cold, 
 since they could find no shelter, and it was so wet they 
 could not make a fire. To increase their miseries, their 
 horses were poisoned with some herb, and they had to 
 dismount and drive them. At night, however, they 
 came across a deserted wigwam, "which was more to 
 them than the palace of a king." 
 
 Apparently the chiefs consent was gained, for David 
 now built himself a house and began his plans for 
 civilizing the Indians. In addition to his spiritual 
 work, he had all their worldly afFairs on his hands. 
 He was expected to settle their quarrels, to provide 
 for their wants, and to act like the guardian of so many 
 children. The manners of the Indians distressed him. 
 He had to visit their wigwams filled with smoke and 
 cinders and filth which gave him the headache and 
 injured his health. The children cried and interrupted 
 him when talking, and their mothers took no notice; 
 
no Missionary Explorers 
 
 some of these played with the dogs and went on about 
 their household duties while he was speaking to them, 
 not out of disrespect, but because they knew no better. 
 At times he became greatly depressed, and above all 
 wanted a colleague to share not only his labors but his 
 loneliness. 
 
 In the midst of all these discouragements he wrote a 
 letter to an old friend among the Stockbridge Indians 
 explaining why he could not give him any aid : 
 
 "Whether I shall be able to give anything, or whether 
 it will be my duty under present circumstances, I know 
 not. I have met with sundry losses lately to the value 
 of sixty or seventy pounds, New England money. In 
 particular I broke my mare's leg last fall in my journey 
 to Susquehanna, and was obliged to kill her on the 
 road, and prosecute my journey on foot, and I cant 
 get her place supplied for fifty pounds. And I have 
 lately moved to have a colleague or companion with 
 me, for my spirits sink with my solitary circumstances. 
 And I expect to contribute something to his mainte- 
 nance, seeing his salary must be raised entirely in this 
 country and cant be expected from Scotland. 
 
 "I sold my tea kettle to Mr. Jo. Woodbridge, and 
 an iron kettle to Mr. Timothy Woodbridge, both 
 which amounted to something more than four pounds, 
 which I ordered them to pay you for the school. I 
 hope you will use the money in that way; if not you 
 are welcome to it for yourself. I desire that my bed 
 ticking and tea-pot be improved to the same purpose.*' 
 
DAVID AND HIS INTERPRETER ON THE WAY TO PHILADELPHIA 
 
David Brainerd ill 
 
 His own patrimony, when coming to the southern 
 tribes, he had made over for the education of a young 
 friend at Yale College, which, indeed, shows his for- 
 giving spirit, and this letter is evidence of his ready 
 interest in the affairs of others notwithstanding the 
 pressing demands on his own life. 
 
 Crossweeksung was a scattered Indian village eighty 
 miles from the forks of the Delaware. Here occurred 
 the most cheering event in David^s life. When he 
 went to visit them he found only a few women and 
 children to listen to him. Telling them he would 
 preach the next day, the women ran ten and fifteen 
 miles to tell the news to the widely separated wigwams. 
 From this humble beginning David in time had a large 
 assembly. Unlike most of the Indian tribes, they did 
 not importune him with questions, but Hstened seri- 
 ously. This was a new experience, for the children of 
 the forest can ask .as many questions as the children of 
 the pale faces. In time there broke out among these 
 Indians a religious excitement such as is called revival 
 among the whites. David writes of this: 
 
 "I stood amazed at its influence which seized the 
 audience almost universally and could compare it to 
 nothing more aptly than the irresistible force of a 
 mighty torrent or swelling deluge, that with its insup- 
 portable weight and pressure bears down and sweeps 
 before it whatever is in its way. Almost all persons of 
 all ages were bowed down with concern together, and 
 scarce one was able to withstand the shock of this sur- 
 
112 Missionary Explorers 
 
 prising operation. Old men and women who had been 
 drunken wretches for many years, and some little chil- 
 dren not more than six or seven years, as well as per- 
 sons of middle age. Among these was a conjuror or 
 powwow man, and a murderer. 
 
 "A young Indian woman, who I beheve never knew 
 she had a soul, nor ever thought of any such thing, 
 came, it seems, to find out what was the matter. On 
 her way to the Indians she called at my lodgings, and 
 when I told her I designed presently to preach to the 
 Indians, laughed and seemed to mock, but went, how- 
 ever, to them. I had not proceeded very far in my dis- 
 course before she felt effectually she had a soul, and be- 
 fore I had concluded my discourse, she was so convinced 
 of her sin and misery that she seemed like one pierced 
 through with a dart, and cried out incessantly. She 
 could neither go nor stand, nor sit on her seat without 
 being held up. After pubKc service she lay flat on the 
 ground praying earnestly and would take no notice, 
 nor give any answer to those who spoke to her. I 
 hearkened to know what she said, and perceived the 
 burden of her prayer to be 'Guttumaaukalummeh 
 weehaumeh Kineleh Ndah,' which is to say 'Have 
 mercy on me and help me to give you my heart.'" 
 
 Another of these converts was a squaw, who wept 
 bitterly because she had spoken angrily to her pappoose 
 the day before. The most remarkable was David's 
 own interpreter, Moses Tinda Tantamy, a man fifty 
 years old, who relates his vision of a high mountain, 
 
David Brainerd 113 
 
 its path upward being hedged with thorns. One poor 
 woman came to tell him in her broken Enghsh of her 
 release from her sins. David thus relates the con- 
 versation : 
 
 ** *Me try, me try save myself, but my strength be 
 all gone, could not let me stir bit further. Den last 
 night me forced let Jesus Christ alone, send me hell if 
 he please.' 
 
 " 'But you were not willing to go to hell, were you?' 
 
 " 'Could not me help it. My heart becomd wicked 
 for all. Could not me make her good.' 
 
 "I asked her how she got out of this case. 
 
 " * By-by my heart be grad desperately.' 
 
 "I asked her why her heart was glad. 
 
 " *Grad my heart Jesus Christ do what he pleases 
 with me. Den me tink grad my heart Jesus Christ 
 send me to hell. Did not care where he put me, me 
 to be Him for all.' " 
 
 '*The ceremony of baptizing these converts was sim- 
 ple and striking," says David's biographer. "It was 
 performed under the open sky, in the presence of their 
 native woods and waters; himself, the young apostle, 
 intellectual, deHcate, with the red seal of consumption 
 on his cheek, standing in the midst of these wild and 
 hardy forms, which looked up to him as a superior 
 being. Many came from far and near to behold the 
 scene, which certainly was as impressive as any that 
 was ever witnessed in the land." 
 
 David became very much attached to the Indians of 
 
114 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Crossweeksung, and built himself a third home here, 
 but dividing his time with the Delaware and Susque- 
 hanna Indians, and now and then riding his horse back 
 to New York and Connecticut to raise money for his 
 various projects. "I have now rode more than three 
 thousand miles, of which I have kept an exact account, 
 since the beginning of March last," he writes, "and 
 almost all of it has been on my own proper business 
 as missionary, either immediately or remotely, of prop- 
 agating Christian knowledge among the Indians. I 
 have taken pains to look out for a colleague or com- 
 panion to travel with me; and have likewise used en- 
 deavors to procure something for his support, among 
 religious persons in New England, which cost me a 
 journey of several hundred miles in length." 
 
 As yet he had found no such suitable person, but he 
 had succeeded in interesting several English friends in 
 estabUshing a school among these Indians, and had 
 secured a school-teacher. "He has generally thirty- 
 five children in his school; and when he kept an even- 
 ing school, as he did while the length of the evenings 
 would admit of it, he had fifteen or twenty people 
 married or single. 
 
 "The children learn with surprising readiness; so 
 that their master tells me, he never had an EngHsh 
 school which learned, in general, comparably so fast. 
 There were not above two in the thirty, although there 
 were some very small, but that learned to know all the 
 letters in the alphabet distinctly within three days 
 
David Brainerd 115 
 
 after his entrance on the business, and several in that 
 space of time learned to spell considerable." Speedily 
 these little savages were put upon their Psalters and 
 Shorter Catechisms, and we are told ** attained pro- 
 ficency." 
 
 David was now to undertake his longest and last 
 journey to the tribes of the Susquehannas. He took 
 with him six Christian Indians, for these were now 
 capable of preaching to the other Indians, and David's 
 health was more perilous than ever. "Sometimes I felt 
 that I must fall from my horse and lie in the open.'* 
 It is a piteous tale. 
 
 "Sept I. Set out on a journey towards a place 
 called The Great Island, about fifty miles distant from 
 Shaumoking, on the Northwestern branch of the Sus- 
 quehanna. Traveled some part of the way. Lodged 
 in the woods. Was exceedingly feeble this day, and 
 sweat much the night following. 
 
 "Sept 2. Rode forward; but no faster than my 
 people went on foot. Was very weak, on this as well 
 as on preceding days. I was so feeble and faint that I 
 feared it would kill me to He out in the open air; and 
 some of our company parted from us, so that we now 
 had no axe with us, I had no way but to cHmb a young 
 pine tree, and with my knife to lop the branches, and 
 so made a shelter from the dew. But the evening be- 
 ing cloudy, and very likely for rain, I was still under 
 fears of being extremely exposed; sweat much in the 
 night, so that my linen was almost wringing wet all 
 
Ii6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 night. I scarcely ever was more weak and weary than 
 this evening when I was not able to sit up at all. This 
 was a melancholy situation I was in; but I endeavored 
 to quiet myself with considerations of the possibility 
 of my being in much worse circumstances, among en- 
 emies &c." 
 
 It was a discouraging visit, inasmuch as he found 
 much drunkenness, powwows, and "ungodly swearing," 
 and he was only cheered when he got back to his little 
 home and his '^ people," as he calls them, at Cross- 
 weeksung. Here he continued to preach and look af- 
 ter his Indians, and mending the fences around their 
 wheat. At length the moment arrived when David 
 realized that his life work was over. He describes his 
 parting from his people in simple but characteristic 
 words: 
 
 "On Friday morning I rose early, walked out about 
 among my people, and inquired into their state and 
 concerns. . . . About ten o'clock I called my people 
 together, and after having explained and sung a psalm, 
 I prayed with them. There was a considerable deal of 
 affection among them; I doubt not that in some in- 
 stances, that which was more than merely natural." 
 
 This was his last interview with his people. Still 
 on his horse, David rode northward, stopping at New- 
 ark, Elizabeth, New York, stopping to rest among old 
 scenes in New England, until he at last reached the 
 home of President Jonathan Edwards at Northampton, 
 to whose daughter Jerusha he had become engaged. 
 
David Brainerd 117 
 
 Recovering somewhat, David, still on his horse, rode 
 to Boston, the girl of eighteen accompanying him, 
 where the Scotch Commissioners wished to advise with 
 him concerning the Six Nations. In Boston all the 
 prominent ministers and notable people visited David, 
 who at times lay at the point of death. His indomi- 
 table spirit, however, triumphed, and he was able to 
 ride back to Northampton, a journey of five days. 
 
 At length the end came. David died October 6, 
 1747, at the early age of twenty-nine years. "His life 
 is chiefly valuable," writes his biographer, "as a rec- 
 ord of what may be done by a man of feeble frame 
 and melancholy temperament, when animated in his 
 labor by a prevailing sense of duty. His object seemed 
 the most hopeless that could be imagined; even to 
 undertake it seemed to require the full strength of a 
 hardy frame, and the powerful impulse of sanguine 
 expectation of success. He had neither of these to 
 sustain him; his frame was dying daily from the time 
 he first went forth to his enterprise, and weariness, 
 exposure, and exhaustion combined to press him down 
 to the grave. . . . But he persevered under every dis- 
 couragement and against all resistance, and produced 
 results, which no one can reflect upon without surprise." 
 
MARCUS WHITMAN 
 PATHFINDER AND PATRIOT 
 
MARCUS WHITMAN 
 PATHFINDER AND PATRIOT 
 
 I 
 
 I CAME to you over a trail of many moons from 
 the setting sun. You were the friend of my 
 fathers, who have all gone the long way. I came 
 with one eye partly opened, for more light for my 
 people who sit in darkness. I go back with both eyes 
 closed. How can I go back blind to my blind people? 
 I made my way to you with strong arms, through many 
 enemies and strange lands, that I might carry much 
 back to them. I go back with both arms broken and 
 empty. The two fathers who came with me — the 
 braves of many winters and wars — ^we leave asleep here 
 by your great water. They were tired in many moons 
 and their moccasins wore out. My people sent me to 
 get the white man Book of Heaven. You took me 
 where you allow your women to dance, as we do not 
 ours, and the Book was not there. You took me 
 where they worship the Great Spirit with candles, and 
 the Book was not there. You showed me images of 
 the good spirits and pictures of the good land beyond, 
 but the Book was not among them. I am going back 
 the long, sad trail to my people of the dark land. You 
 
122 Missionary Explorers 
 
 make my feet heavy with burdens of gifts, and my 
 moccasins will grow old in carrying them, but the 
 Book is not among them. When I tell my poor bhnd 
 people, after one more snow, in the Council, that I did 
 not bring the Book, no word will be spoken by our old 
 men, and our young braves. One by one they will 
 rise and go out in silence. My people will die in dark- 
 ness, and they will go on the long path to other hunt- 
 ing grounds. No white man will go with them and no 
 white man's Book to make the way plain. I have no 
 more words." 
 
 In this manner began the romance of the conquest 
 of Oregon for the United States, which ended in the 
 tragedy of Wai-i-lat-pu. This was the speech of a Flat- 
 head Indian taken down by a clerk in the office of Gen- 
 eral George Clarke, then commander of the military 
 post at St. Louis. In 1832 there appeared on the 
 streets of St. Louis, then a frontier town, four Indians, 
 wan and haggard from a long journey. They explained 
 that they had heard of the white man's Book of Life 
 and had come in search of it. General Clarke was a 
 kindly man and took charge of them as his guests. 
 They were shown everything of interest, the churches 
 and theatres, and allowed, what they particularly liked, 
 to "ride on wheels," alluding to carriages, which they 
 had never seen before. This hospitality and the changes 
 in their manner of Hving brought about the death of 
 two of the Indians. Before returning to their homes. 
 General Clarke gave the two remaining. Rabbit Skin 
 
Marcus Whitman 123 
 
 Leggings and No Horns on His Head, a banquet. It 
 was at this feast the speech quoted was made. 
 
 When translated and pubhshed it was hke a trumpet- 
 call to the missionary societies of the East. Among 
 those stirred by it was a young physician, Marcus 
 Whitman, of Rushville, N. Y., then thirty-three years 
 old. He was a bold, sturdy, companionable young 
 man, fond of adventure, and at the same time fer- 
 vently religious. Answering the call of the American 
 Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, he and 
 the Reverend Samuel Parker, a man twenty years his 
 senior, agreed to go into the unknown land beyond 
 the Rockies and discover the best means of respond- 
 ing to what became known as the " Macedonian Cry " 
 — Come over and help us. The two men met at St. 
 Louis, and going up the Missouri joined the annual cara- 
 van of fur traders going to their meet with the Indians 
 on Green River, in Wyoming. Here they met the chiefs 
 of the Nez-Perces and Flat-heads and explained their 
 mission. The first speaker was Tai-quin-sa-walish, 
 chief of the Nez-Perces, who said that he had heard 
 about the white man's God, but it had only gone into 
 his ears. He would like to know enough to have it 
 enter his heart. The other Indians agreed with him, 
 and, thus encouraged, it was decided that Mr. Parker 
 should accompany the Indians to Vancouver and that 
 Doctor Whitman should go back for helpers. The 
 confidence of the Indians was shown in permitting 
 two Indian boys, Tac-i-tu-tas and I-tes, afterward 
 
124 Missionary Explorers 
 
 known as Richard and John, to go East with him. 
 During the nine days spent here Doctor Whitman's 
 professional skill served him in extracting old arrow- 
 heads and in looking after cases of cholera. This rec- 
 ommended him among the old trappers, hunters, and 
 soldiers, who looked doubtfully on men who did not 
 drink and gamble, and who observed the seventh day. 
 
 Doctor Whitman, returning with the fur convoy, 
 arrived at Rushville one Saturday evening. He did 
 not make himself known, but the following Sunday 
 he walked down the aisle of the church with his two 
 Indian boys and sat down by his mother. 
 
 "Well, well!" the good lady exclaimed aloud. ''Here 
 is Marcus Whitman," having beUeved him to be two 
 thousand miles away. The Mission Board now author- 
 ized Doctor Whitman to engage proper associates for 
 his return. This order he fulfilled by marrying Nar- 
 cissa, the daughter of Judge Prentiss, of Prattsburg, 
 N. Y., and enHsting the Reverend H. H. Spalding, who 
 had just married Miss Hart. These four young people 
 then started on their honeymoon trip of three thou- 
 sand miles, accompanied by the two Indian boys, and 
 Mr. W. H. Gray, of Utica, N. Y. By sleigh and canal, 
 through mud and slush, they reached the Ohio River. 
 After an uneventful journey down the Ohio and up 
 the Mississippi, the party left St. Louis March 31 on 
 the steam-boat "Chariton" for the journey up the 
 Missouri, to join the fur convoy at Council Bluffs. 
 The mountaineers, however, hearing there were women 
 
Marcus Whitman 125 
 
 in the party, refused to wait. FeeUng it was unsafe 
 to go on without their protection, Mr. Spalding 
 wanted to go back; but Mrs. Spalding said: "I have 
 started for the Rocky Mountains and I am going." 
 There were reasons for her husband's reluctance. Al- 
 ready he had been kicked by a cow from the ferry- 
 boat into the river, a Kansas cyclone had lifted his 
 tent and blanket and left him prone and uncovered, 
 and his bones were now rent with ague. 
 
 Nevertheless the six now started out alone. Doctor 
 Whitman drove the four-horse wagon, Mr. Spalding 
 took charge of the light two-horse wagon, and the 
 Indian boys drove the mules and cows. They made a 
 desperate race and in four days caught up with the con- 
 voy. From the journals and letters of Mrs. Whitman, 
 Mr. Spalding, and Mr. Gray, we get a vivid account 
 of this journey, on which the first white women and the 
 first wagon crossed the Rocky Mountains — a journey 
 full of significance in the future history of Oregon. 
 
 "Since we have been here/' writes Mrs. Whitman to 
 her family, ''we have made our tent. It is made of bed 
 ticking. Is conical in form, and large enough for us all 
 to sleep under, viz.: Mr. Spalding and his wife. Dr. 
 Whitman and wife, Mr. Gray, Richard Tac-i-tu-tas, 
 and John I-tes; quite a Httle family; raised with a cen- 
 ter pole, and fastened down with pegs, making a large 
 circle. Here we shall live, eat and sleep all summer to 
 come, at least, perhaps longer. We spread our India 
 rubber cloth on the ground, then our blankets and en- 
 
126 Missionary Explorers 
 
 camp for the night. We take plenty of Mackinaw 
 blankets, which answer for our bed and bedding and 
 when we journey place them over our saddles and ride 
 on them. I wish you could see our outfit. 
 
 "I had made for me in brother Augustus's shoe- 
 store in Rushville a pair of gentleman's boots. We 
 have, each of us, a life preserver, so that if we fall into 
 the water we shall not drown. They are made of 
 India rubber cloth, air tight, and when filled with air 
 and placed under the arm, will prevent one from sink- 
 ing. Each of us takes a plate, knife, fork, and tin cup. 
 Husband has got me an excellent side saddle and a 
 very easy horse. He made me a present of a mule to 
 ride the other day. I do not know which I shall like 
 best. Richard says 'That's a very bad mule — cant 
 catch buffaloes.' That is the test with him. 
 
 **Alas my husband does not come tonight. The 
 wind blows so hard that I expect he cannot cross the 
 river. Brother Gray is with him; I shall not feel so 
 anxious about him on that account, so adieu for tonight. 
 It is most ten o'clock and all the family have gone to 
 rest. I should like to tell you how the western people 
 talk if I had room. Their language is so singular, I 
 hardly understand them. In speaking of a quantity 
 they say 'heap of man' 'heap of water,' 'she is a heap 
 sick.' If you ask 'How is your wife to day?' 'Oh, she 
 is smartly better, I reckon, but she is powerful weak; 
 she has been mighty bad; what's the matter with your 
 eye?' 
 
Marcus Whitman 127 
 
 ''Platte River, just above the Forks. June 3rd 1836. 
 We have just encamped for the night, near the bluffs, 
 over against the river. The bottoms are a soft, wet 
 plain, and we were obliged to leave the river for the 
 bluffs. The face of the country yesterday afternoon 
 and today has been rolling sand bluffs, mostly barren, 
 quite unUke what our eyes have been satiated with for 
 weeks past. No timber nearer than the Platte, and 
 the water tonight is very bad, got from a small ravine. 
 We have usually got good water previous to this. 
 
 "Our fuel for cooking since we left the timber has 
 been dried buffalo dung, and it answers to very good 
 purpose, similar to the kind of coal used in Pennsyl- 
 vania. The present time in our journey is a very im- 
 portant one. The hunter brought us buffalo meat 
 yesterday for the first time. Buffalo have been seen 
 today but none taken. We have some for supper 
 tonight. Husband is cooking it. No one of the com- 
 pany professes the art but himself. I expect it will be 
 very good. 
 
 ''Saturday \th. The fur company is large this year; 
 we are really a moving village; nearly four hundred 
 animals, with ours, mostly mules, and seventy men. 
 The Fur Company have seven wagons, drawn by six 
 mules each, heavily loaded, and one cart drawn by 
 two mules, which carries a lame man, one of the pro- 
 prietors of the Company. We have two wagons in 
 our Company. Mr. and Mrs. S., husband and myself 
 ride in one. Mr. Gray and the baggage, in the other. 
 
128 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Our Indian boys drive the cows, and Dulin the horses. 
 Young Miles leads the forward horses four in each 
 team. Now E. if you want to see our camp in motion, 
 look away ahead and see the pilot and the Captain, 
 Fitzpatrick, just before him; next the pack animals, all 
 mules loaded with great packs. Soon you will see all 
 the wagons, and in the rear our Company. We all 
 cover quite a space. The pack mules always string 
 along, one after the other just Uke Indians. There are 
 several gentlemen in the Company, who are going over 
 the mountains for pleasure. Captain Stewart, an Eng- 
 Hshman (Sir WilHam Drummond) and Mr. Celam. 
 We had a few of them to tea with us last Monday even- 
 ing. Captains Fitzpatrick, Stewart, Major Harris and 
 Celam. I wish I could describe to you how we live so 
 that you can realize it. Our manner of living is far 
 preferable to any in the States. I never was so con- 
 tented and happy before, neither have I enjoyed such 
 health in years. In the morning as soon as the day 
 breaks, the first that we hear is the words, 'Arise, 
 Arise.' Then the mules set up such a noise as you 
 never heard, which puts the whole camp in motion. 
 We encamp in a large ring, baggage and men, tents and 
 wagons on the outside, and all the animals except the 
 cows, which are fastened to pickets within the circle. 
 This arrangement is to accommodate the guard, who 
 stand regularly every night and day, also when we are 
 in motion, to protect our animals from the approach 
 of Indians, who would steal them,. As I said the mule's 
 
Marcus Whitman 129 
 
 noise brings every man on his feet to loose them and 
 turn them out to feed. Now H. and E. you must 
 think it very hard to get up so early after sleeping on 
 the soft ground, when you find it hard work to open 
 your eyes at seven o'clock. Just think of me; every 
 morning at the word 'Arise' we all spring. While the 
 horses are feeding, we get breakfast in a hurry and eat 
 it. By this time the words, 'Catch up. Catch up.' 
 ring through the camp for moving. We are ready 
 usually to start at six, travel till eleven, encamp, rest 
 and feed, start again about two, travel until six or 
 before, if we come to a good tavern, then encamp for 
 the night. 
 
 "Since we have been on the prarie we have done our 
 own cooking. When we left Liberty we expected to 
 take bread to last us part of the way, but could not get 
 enough to last us any distance. We found it awkward 
 work to bake out of doors at first, but we have become 
 so accustomed to it now that we do it very easily. 
 Tell mother I am a very good housekeeper on the 
 prarie. I wish she could just take a peep at us while 
 we are sitting at our meals. Our table is in the ground, 
 our table cloth is an India rubber cloth used as a cloak 
 when it rains. Our dishes are made of tin, basins for 
 tea cups, iron spoons and plates for each of us, several 
 pans for milk, and to put our meat in when we wish to 
 put it on the table. Each one carries his own knife in 
 his scabbard and it is always ready for use. After the 
 table is spread, making our own forks with sticks, and 
 
130 Missionary Explorers 
 
 helping ourselves to chairs, we gather around the table. 
 It is the fashion in this Country to imitate the Turks 
 Messrs. Dunbar and Allis supped with us, and they do 
 the same. We take a blanket and lay down by the 
 table, and those whose joints will let them follow the 
 fashion; others take out some of the baggage. I sup- 
 pose you know there are no stones in this country; not 
 a stone have I seen of any size on the prarie. Let me 
 assure you we reUsh our food none the less for sitting 
 on the ground while we are eating. We have tea and 
 plenty of milk which is a luxury in this country Our 
 milk has assisted us very much in making our bread 
 while we have been journeying. It was considerable 
 work to supply ten persons with bread three times a 
 day. We are done using it now. What little flour we 
 have left we shall preserve for thickening our broth, 
 which is excellent. I never saw anything Hke buffalo 
 meat to satisfy hunger. We do not want anything 
 else with it. 
 
 *' Platte River, south side, six days above the Fort Lar- 
 amie Fork, near the foot of the Rocky Mountains, June 
 2jth 1R36: Dear Brother and sister Whitman. We 
 were in perplexity when we left Liberty, but it has been 
 overruled for good. We were still in great perplexity 
 there, while crossing with our baggage Husband be- 
 came so completely exhausted with swimming the 
 river on thursday that it was with difficulty he made 
 the shore the last time. Mr. Spalding was sick; our 
 two hired men were good for nothing; we could not 
 
Marcus Whitman 131 
 
 obtain much assistance from the Ottoes, for they were 
 away from the village. We had but one canoe made 
 of skins, and that partly eaten by dogs the night be- 
 fore. We got everything over by Friday night. We 
 didn't get ready to start until Saturday morning. By 
 this time the Company had four and a half days the 
 advance of us. It seemed scarcely possible to over- 
 take them, we having two more difficult streams to 
 cross before they would pass the Pawnee villages. 
 Beyond there we did not dare venture more than one 
 day." 
 
 After much consultation the party decided to vent- 
 ure on alone, a Mr. Dunbar consenting to pilot them, 
 for Mrs. Whitman is relating some of their vicissitudes 
 before joining the Fur Company at the Loup Forks. 
 The next day they met a large company of Pawnees 
 going to Fort Laramie to receive their annuities. Many 
 of them had never seen white women before, and the 
 whites and Indians separated mutually pleased with 
 one another. Hard drives were made to reach the 
 company in order to go with it through the Pawnee 
 village. The Indian boys were not able to bring their 
 wearied cattle up with the wagons, so Doctor and 
 Mrs. Whitman remained with them. Doctor Whitman 
 had a tin cup tied to his saddle, and their supper con- 
 sisted of the milk they took from the cows by the way. 
 Camping out with only blankets and rubber coats in 
 the open air, they mounted refreshed, and succeeded 
 in joining the convoy at one o'clock that night. 
 
132 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "The next day we passed all their villages. We 
 especially were visited by them, both at noon and night; 
 we ladies were such a curiosity to them. They would 
 come and stand around our tent, peep in, and grin in 
 their astonishment to see such looking objects. 
 
 "Since we came up with the camp I rode in the 
 wagons most of the way to the Black Hills. It is as- 
 tonishing how well we get along with our wagons where 
 there are no roads. I think I may say it is easier riding 
 than on any turnpike in the States. June found us 
 ready to receive our first taste of buffalo. Since that 
 time I have had but Httle to do with the cooking. No 
 one in our number relishes buffalo meat as my husband 
 and I. He has a different way of cooking every piece 
 of meat. All our variety consists in different ways of 
 cooking. Mrs. Spalding who had been ill a greater 
 part of the journey was not so fortunate. The bread 
 had given out and the buffalo meat gave her the 
 greatest agony. *0h,' she exclaimed, 'for a piece of 
 bread from my mother's swill pail.' She seemed to 
 exist, said one of her companions, on the odors of cam- 
 phor, spirits of turpentine and of the sage brush filling 
 the air." 
 
 At Fort Laramie it was the habit of the Fur Company 
 to leave their wagons. Here the goods were repacked 
 on horses and mules to be taken over the Rocky Moun- 
 tains through the Great South Pass. Doctor Whitman, 
 on the contrary, insisted on taking one of his wagons. 
 After much discussion the Fur Company unwillingly 
 
Marcus Whitman 133 
 
 consented, adding a cart of the company and putting 
 Doctor Whitman in charge of this wagon train. It was 
 his task to find the most feasible route for his wagons. 
 "He came into camp one night puffing and blowing, 
 we are told, but in good spirits, right side up, with only 
 one turn over for the wagon, and two for the cart." 
 But he succeeded. He had demonstrated that a wagon 
 road over the Rocky Mountains was practicable, and 
 this fact not only made his wagon historic, but played 
 an important part in the political history of Oregon. 
 
 On the Fourth of July the caravan entered the Great 
 South Pass. Mr. Spalding, writing of this moment, 
 says that the missionaries with the two Indian boys 
 moving over to the Pacific side of the slope, with the 
 Bible in one hand and the American flag in the other, 
 fell on their knees and took possession of it as the home 
 of American mothers and the Church of Christ. The 
 scene, moral and physical, was thrilling. Mrs. Spalding 
 exclaimed: *'Is it a reaHty or a dream that after 
 four months of painful journeying I am alive, and 
 actually standing on the summit of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains where the foot of a white woman has never before 
 trod?'' The advent of the women was as significant 
 as that of the passage of the wagon. The moun- 
 taineers and trappers, many of whom had not seen 
 a white woman since childhood, wept as they took 
 them by the hand. One old mountaineer saw in their 
 presence a deeper significance. 
 
 "There is something which the Honorable Hudson's 
 
134 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Bay Company cannot get rid of. They cannot send 
 these women out of the country. They have come to 
 stay." 
 
 Just beyond the Divide the Fur Company stopped. 
 This was to be the rendezvous for the trappers, hunters, 
 and Indians, who would bring in furs to exchange for 
 goods. There were about four hundred of the whites 
 and fifteen tribes of Indians. On the third day a 
 grand review of the Indians was held, of which Mr. 
 Spalding gives a spirited account. 
 
 "A national salute was given to the whites by the 
 several nations. The Blackfeet tribe led ofF, and 
 fairly won the admiration of the whites by their war 
 equipment and fearfully painted horses, black or 
 yellow, red or white, according to the natural color of 
 the horse. Next followed the Nez Perces and Flat- 
 head tribes, who received equal applause for their mas- 
 terly horsemanship, very natural sham fights, and their 
 national airs consisting of a few striking words oft re- 
 peated, but sung in a plaintive tone, in which they 
 were joined by a large band of young women, riding in 
 an extended column behind, their wonderfully sweet 
 voices keeping most excellent time, floating far through 
 the air, their dresses profuse with heavy bands of blue 
 and white cut beads, alternated with bands of mother- 
 of-pearl and haiqua shells, brilliant in the sunbeams, 
 their saddles rising in front and behind — natural and 
 important supports — and their heavy cruppers and 
 breast bands of the finest blue or scarlet red, elabo- 
 
Marcus Whitman 135 
 
 rately decorated with hawk bells and steel-top thimbles 
 and fine bead work, hung with phylacteries of elk 
 teeth and tin coils producing a regular, loud, but not 
 harsh jingle as their fiery steeds pranced slowly along, 
 seemingly unconscious, not only of their fiery disposi- 
 tions but of their female riders. 
 
 "Several days were taken up with the review of one 
 tribe after another. By general consent each tribe was 
 given time and opportunity for display. There was 
 some difference among the different tribes, the more 
 hostile presenting the more furious spectacle, yet the 
 general order was the same. After silence had settled 
 down for a few moments, the attention would be sud- 
 denly called to a cavalcade of horsemen coming in 
 sight around a point of timber or a hill and sweeping 
 out upon the plains, moving forward in a slow trot or 
 prance, presenting an extended and unbroken breast 
 many columns deep, every horseman, except the women, 
 without saddles, and riding upon a mountain panther 
 or medicine wolf skin, thrown loosely over the horse, 
 twenty or thirty of the war-chiefs, or warriors, upon 
 the best horses, painted fearfully, and some wearing 
 buffalo horns and bear claws, sweeping up and down in 
 front of the column, harangueing in a loud and distinct 
 voice, and some of the tribe nearly naked with buffalo 
 horns on their heads and silver fox skins at their heels. 
 Most of them had fine buckskin shirts and moccasins 
 elaborately decorated with beads and porcupine quills, 
 and with full-grown white wolf or panther skins stream- 
 
136 Missionary Explorers 
 
 ing in full length behind them, and with wild war caps 
 of eagle feathers, black with red tips, extending far 
 behind — all streaming and gleaming fearfully in the 
 air, as these Jehus would sweep up and down, now 
 brandishing their spears or muskets and bows, and 
 now balancing them high over their heads; now wheel- 
 ing and cross riding; now throwing themselves on one 
 side of the horse, and wheeling and throwing themselves 
 on the other side, and darting the spear under and be- 
 fore the horse's breast. All this accompanied by the 
 constant pounding of a number of Rocky Mountain 
 gongs, or Indian drums, the terrific screams of whistles 
 made of the leg bone of the gray eagle and swan, the 
 constant jingle of the medicine rattle box, tin coil, bear 
 claws, and human bones trimmed with human scalps 
 hanging upon every horse — interrupted now and then 
 by a terrific battle yell, rounding off* in a vibrating war- 
 whoop, enough to curdle the blood in one's veins. In 
 the center and a little in advance, is seen the patriarchal 
 one, wearing an American coat and hat, and bearing in 
 one hand the American flag, and in the other an enor- 
 mous calumet, or the great pipe of peace. 
 
 "At a sufficient distance the white men and the 
 friendly tribes are gathered around, while the hostile 
 tribes in close squads, each under their own strong 
 guard, form the other side. As the flag reaches within 
 twenty rods of the great stone house, the old man stops; 
 the young women close up and continue their singing, 
 while the warriors and young men engage in a sham 
 
Marcus Whitman 137 
 
 battle, the American leaders standing in the door of 
 the store, also holding the American flag. Suddenly 
 the horsemen collect near the flag, and in an instant 
 this great throng of horses, thickly crowded together, 
 stands empty and quiet, their riders gone for the in- 
 stant; but, as if by magic, and before the eye can fol- 
 low them, they are seen already collected in a thick 
 group near by, bounding up and down in the scalp 
 dance, all being first upon one leg and then the other, 
 taking three steps, keeping perfect time with the beat 
 of the drum and the voice of the singers. 
 
 "Suddenly the flag drops and all is still. The old 
 man approaches the white captain, the hand of friend- 
 ship is extended, the pipe of peace passed around, and 
 in a few moments the beaver belonging to that tribe 
 begins to come in from the rear, and pack after pack 
 is thrown at the feet of the old man who does the 
 trading for the tribe. The price of each skin and the 
 goods are fixed, and the articles are handed to the patri- 
 arch as fast as four or five clerks can attend to them, 
 and he hands the articles back into the crowd, to whom 
 they may belong." 
 
 The caravan had now travelled two days on the 
 Pacific slope of the pass, reaching Green River, where 
 the appointed rendezvous was to take place. Here the 
 trappers and Indians had been waiting twelve days for 
 the appearance of the Fur Company and missionaries. 
 Of the trappers Mr. Spalding gives as picturesque a 
 description as of the Indians: 
 
138 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "The mountaineers adopt very readily the manners, 
 dress, habits even the gestures and walk of the Indian. 
 A greater compliment could not be paid to a free trap- 
 per than to persuade him he had been mistaken for 
 an Indian brave. His hair, suffered to attain its full 
 length, is carefully combed out, and suffered to fall 
 over his shoulders, or plaited and tied up with otter or 
 weasel skin. A hunting shirt of buckskin, with heavy 
 philacteries and circles of porcupine quills, falls to his 
 knees, below which, leggings of the same, closely fitted 
 to his calves, and beautifully ornamented with fine 
 beads and heavy fringes, reaches to a pair of moccasins 
 wrought with scarlet beads and porcupine quills. His 
 blanket is girt about him with a red sash or otter skin, 
 in which is bestowed his pipe, knife and tobacco pouch, 
 the latter wrought with beads. His gun is lavishly 
 decorated with brass tacks, vermillion and eagle's 
 feathers. His horse, the noble minister to the pride, 
 profit, pleasure, and often safety of the mountaineer, 
 is often caparisoned in the most dashing and fantastic 
 style. His Indian wife with her horse, selected for his 
 prancing, and her saddle and baby cradle, are still more 
 elaborately and expensively decorated, with pounds of 
 black and white beads, haiqua shells, tin coil, elk teeth 
 and hawk bells, finger rings, heavy bracelets, steel-top 
 thimbles and cut glass beads, all glistening in the sun- 
 beams and producing a cheering jingle, as she gallops 
 alongside of her American *hama' (man); their babe 
 lashed to its cradle and swung on the fore horn of her 
 
Marcus Whitman 139 
 
 saddle, while two white parflesh portfolios, beautifully 
 decorated with painted figures and heavy philacteries, 
 containing her fire stick, sinews, awl, kimp and other 
 necessaries are hung to the hind one. 
 
 "The yearly rendezvous was a hey-dey for these 
 modern Nimrods. They collect together at the place 
 appointed, and await the arrival of the traders caravan 
 with anxiety, and greet the newcomers pork eaters 
 with hearty cheer. They would entertain each other 
 for hours with prodigious tales of wonders seen and 
 wonders endured; of Indian fights, narrow escapes, 
 and comrades scalped; of decoys, by means of In- 
 dians dressed in elk skins and apparently feeding 
 about; of starvations, of buffalo hunts and buffalo 
 feasts; of cUmbing snow mountains and carrying sweet 
 Cottonwood back to keep their animals from perishing; 
 of swimming ice-floating rivers with packs on their 
 backs to hunt for beaver skins; of Baalaam-ite mules; 
 of Indians in ambush; of the beaver to trap; and of 
 the luck stream, where he is brought to medecine. 
 The eventful hours were also relieved by a display of 
 horsemanship, in all their gay and fluttering attire; by 
 horse races and foot races; by wrestling, jumping and 
 pounding of noses; by boasting and counter boasting. 
 
 "In the mean time a brisk trade is kept up; the log 
 stores of the Company are thronged late and early 
 until beaver are gone, credit is gone, whiskey gone, 
 grass gone, stores emptied, and the appointed day to 
 break camp dawns, when suddenly the narrow valley 
 
140 Missionary Explorers 
 
 of Green river for ten miles is alive with horses, mules 
 and human beings. The thousands, perhaps tens of 
 thousands of horses are driven into their several camps 
 and horse pens, lodge poles taken down, lodges rolled 
 up and packed, and pack saddles on the mules, and the 
 long cavalcade for St. Louis impatient to be in motion; 
 the hearty hand shake and soul-invigorating 'God bless 
 you' goes around. The home bound partner gives the 
 signal by firing ofF his piece, followed instantly by a 
 thousand volleys. The Canadians lead ofF in that 
 soul-vivifying boat song, followed by the Mexican, the 
 English, and the many Indian tongues, as these many 
 natives and languages start off in all directions, the 
 home-bound caravan for the rising sun; the Indian 
 tribes for their distant mountain homes; the moun- 
 tain trappers moving with them, or collecting in small 
 bands, move ofF to choice trapping fields in the secluded 
 glens of the distant dark mountains, to Hve over again 
 their Hfe of peril, danger, starvation and feasting, and 
 to come together again with their number reduced by 
 other sleepless foes. And the romantic valley relapses 
 into pristine stillness and soHtude." 
 
 II 
 
 The remainder and the most difficult part of the 
 journey was yet to be made. This led through "the 
 great and terrible wilderness," through the deep glens 
 and precipices of the Bear River country and over the 
 
Marcus Whitman 141 
 
 burning volcanic wastes of the Snake River. The 
 caravan had gone back, and the trappers separated. 
 Fortunately some members of the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany bound east arrived, and to two of their returning 
 men, Thomas McKay and John McLeod, the httle band 
 was intrusted, by Captain Wyeth, their chief. The 
 question of the wagon again came up. Their guides 
 said it was impossible to take it. Doctor Whitman's 
 helper refused to accompany them if the wagon went. 
 Miles abandoned the party; however, the wagon went, 
 but as a cart, two wheels and the axle-tree packed 
 inside. Mrs. Whitman now resumes her diary: 
 
 ''July iSth. Under the protection of Mr. McLeod 
 and his company we left the Rendezvous and came ten 
 miles in a southwesterly direction. The Flat-heads 
 and some of the Snake Indians accompanied us part of 
 the way. We make but one camp a day. We had a 
 tedious ride, as we traveled until half past four. I 
 thought of mother's bread as a child would but did not 
 find it on the table; have been Hving on buffalo meat 
 until I am cloyed with it. 
 
 " 2^th. Came fifteen miles today; encamped on 
 Smith creek, a small branch of Bear River. The ride 
 has been very mountainous — paths winding on the 
 sides of steep mountains. In some places the path is 
 so narrow as scarcely to afford room for the animal to 
 put his foot. One after another we pass along with 
 cautious step. Passed a creek on which was a fine 
 bunch of gooseberries nearly ripe. 
 
142 Missionary Explorers 
 
 ** Husband has had a tedious time with the wagon 
 today. It got stuck in the creek this morning when 
 crossing, and he was obliged to wade considerably in 
 getting it out. After that in going between the moun- 
 tains, on the side of one so steep that it was difficult to 
 get the horses to pass, the wagon was upset twice. It 
 was a greater wonder it was not turning somersaults 
 constantly. It is not very grateful to my feelings to 
 see him wearing himself out with such excessive fatigue, 
 as I am obliged to. All the most difficult part of the 
 way he has walked, in laborious attempts to take the 
 wagon. 
 
 '*26ih. Did not move camp today. Mr. McKay 
 has been preparing to send out trappers from this 
 place. Husband has been sick today, and so lame 
 with rheumatism as to be scarcely able to move. It is 
 a great privilege to be still today, on his account, for 
 he needs rest. 
 
 "2jth. Had quite a level route today — came down 
 near Bear River. Mr. McKay sent off about thirty of 
 his men as trappers. Several lodges of Indians also 
 left us to go in another direction, and we expect more 
 to leave tomorrow. They wish to go a different route 
 from Mr. McLeod. We are still in a dangerous coun- 
 try; but our company is large enough for safety. The 
 cattle endure the journey marvellously well. They 
 supply us with enough milk for our tea and coffee, 
 which is indeed a luxury. We are obliged to shoe some 
 of them because of sore feet. Have seen no buffalo 
 
Marcus Whitman 143 
 
 since we left the Rendezvous. Have had no game of 
 any kind except a few messes of antelope, which an 
 Indian gave us. We have plenty of buffalo meat which 
 we purchased from the Indians — and dry it is for me. 
 It appears so filthy. I can scarcely eat it; but it 
 keeps us alive and we ought to be thankful for it. We 
 have had a few meals of fresh fish also, which we relish 
 well, and we have the prospect of obtaining plenty in 
 two or three weeks more. Have found no more berries; 
 neither have I found any of Ma's bread. Have six 
 weeks steady journeying before us. Feel sometimes as 
 if it were a long time traveling. Long for rest, but must 
 not murmur. 
 
 "Feel to pity the poor Indian women, who are con- 
 tinually traveling in this manner, and know no other 
 comfort. They do all the work and are the complete 
 slaves of their husbands. 
 
 '^iSth. Very mountainous all the way today; came 
 over another ridge; rode from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. We 
 thought yesterday the Indians were all going to leave 
 us; but not one has. They fear to on account of the 
 Blackfeet tribe, who would destroy them all if they 
 could. One of the axle trees of the wagon broke today; 
 was a little rejoiced; for we hoped they would leave it 
 and have no more trouble with it. Our rejoicing was 
 in vain, for they are making a cart of the back wheels 
 this afternoon and lashing the fore wheels to it — intend- 
 ing to take it through in some shape or another. They 
 are so resolute and untiring in their efforts they will 
 
144 Missionary Explorers 
 
 doubtless succeed. Had some fresh fish for breakfast 
 and some antelope for supper sent by Mr. McLeod and 
 other friends in camp. Thus the Lord provides and 
 smooths all our ways for us, giving us strength. 
 
 *^ July igth. Mr. Gray was quite sick this morning, 
 and inclined to fall behind. Husband and I rode with 
 him about two hours and a half, soon after which he 
 gave out entirely. I was sent on, and soon after hus- 
 band left him to come and get the cart; but I overtook 
 an Indian, who went back and soon met husband, and 
 both returned to Mr. Gray. The Indian helped him 
 on his horse, got on behind him, supported him in his 
 arms, and in this manner came slowly into camp. . . . 
 This was welcome relief. 
 
 "We were hospitably entertained by Captain Thing, 
 who keeps the fort," Mrs. Whitman continues, as one 
 page of her diary noting their arrival at Fort Hall is 
 missing here. "It was built by Captain Wyeth, a 
 gentleman from Boston, whom we saw at the Rendez- 
 vous on his way East. Our dinner consisted of dry 
 buffalo meat, turnips, and fried bread which was a 
 luxury. Mountain bread is simply coarse flour and 
 water mixed and roasted or fried in buffalo grease. To 
 one who has had nothing but meat in a long time this 
 relishes well. For tea we had the same, with the ad- 
 dition of some stewed service berries. 
 
 "The buildings of the fort are made of hewed logs, 
 with roofs covered with mud bricks, chimneys and fire- 
 places being made of the same; no windows except 
 
Marcus Whitman 145 
 
 square holes in the roof, and in the bastion a few port 
 holes large enough for guns only. The buildings are 
 all enclosed in a strong log wall. This affords them a 
 place of safety when attacked by hostile tribes, as they 
 frequently are, this being in the Blackfoot country. 
 Since dinner we visited the garden and cornfields. The 
 buildings at Fort WiUiam on Laramie Fork of the 
 Platte are made the same, but are larger and more 
 finished than here. 
 
 "Here we have stools to sit on — there we had very 
 comfortable chairs bottomed with buffalo skin. Thus 
 you see we have a house of entertainment almost or 
 quite as often as Christian in the Pilgrim's Progress 
 did. We expect one more before we get to Walla Walla; 
 that is Snake Fort belonging to Mr. McKay who is 
 with us. 
 
 " From this on our company will be small. The In- 
 dians all leave us today, except one or two who will 
 go with us to assist in driving the cattle — Kentuck, who 
 went with Mr. Parker last year, and the chief, Rotten 
 belly. The whole tribe are exceedingly anxious to have 
 us go with them. They use every argument they can 
 invent to prevail on us to do so — and not only argu- 
 ment but strategy. We all think it not best; we are 
 very much fatigued and wish to get through as soon as 
 possible. To go with them would take us two months 
 or more, when we now expect to get to Walla Walla in 
 twenty five days. 
 
 '* August ^th. Morn. Came all of ten miles last 
 
146 Missionary Explorers 
 
 evening and did not arrive here until after dark. Mr. 
 McLeod and his company started earlier than we did, 
 intending to come but a little way. We could not get 
 ready to come with him, and the man who piloted us 
 led us wrong — much out of the way. Those we de- 
 pended on to drive the cattle disappointed us. Hus- 
 band and myself fell in behind them to assist John I-tes, 
 who was alone with them. This made us later into 
 camp than the rest of the company. We came through 
 several swamps, and all the last part of the way we 
 were so swarmed with musquitoes as to be scarcely 
 able to see — especially while crossing the Port Neuf, 
 which we did just before coming into camp. It is the 
 widest river I have forded on horseback. 
 
 " It seemed as if the cows would run mad for musqui- 
 toes; we could scarcely get them along. 
 
 "Mr. McLeod met us and invited us to tea which 
 was a great favor. Thus blessings gather thick around 
 us. We have been in the mountains so long we find 
 the scenery of this valley very grateful to the eye — a 
 large stream on my right hand and one on my left, 
 skirted with timber. At Fort Hall was our first sight of 
 Snake River. We shall follow the south of it for many 
 days. We have passed many places where the soil is 
 good, and would be fertile if there were frequent rains; 
 but usually the country is barren, and would be a 
 sandy desert were it not for the sage brush. 
 
 ''Eve. We passed the American Falls on Snake River 
 just after dinner. The roar of the water is heard at a 
 
Marcus Whitman 147 
 
 considerable distance. We stopped during the great- 
 est heat for rest and dinner. Now that the Indians 
 have left us, we shall expect to make two camps. I ex- 
 pect this to be a great mercy to us two weak females, 
 for it was more than we could well endure to travel 
 during the heat of the day without some refreshment. 
 
 ^^ August 6th. Route very bad and difficult today. 
 We crossed a small stream full of falls. The only pass 
 we could cross was just on the edge of rocks above one 
 of the falls. While the pack animals were crossing, 
 both ours and the Company's, there was such a rush 
 as to crowd two of our horses over the falls, both packed 
 with dried meat. It was with great difficulty they 
 were got out, one of them having been in nearly an 
 hour, much to his injury. 
 
 ^'August yth. Sabbath. Came fifteen miles and 
 camped on a fine place, with plenty of good grass for 
 our weary animals. Thus are blessings so mingled, 
 that it seems there was nothing else but mercy and 
 blessing all the way. 
 
 "August Sth, Snake River. We have an excellent 
 camp tonight; plenty of feed for cattle and horses. 
 We think it remarkable that our cattle should endure 
 the journey as well as they do. We have two sucking 
 calves that appear to be in very good spirits; they 
 suffer some from sore feet, otherwise they have come 
 on well and will go through. Have come eighteen 
 miles today, and have taken it so deliberately that it 
 has been easy for us. The hunters came in last night 
 
148 Missionary Explorers 
 
 well loaded; they had been in the mountains two days 
 after game, and had killed three elk and two antelope. 
 This is the first elk meat we have had, and it is the 
 last opportunity we have of taking any more game. 
 We are told that many have traveled the whole dis- 
 tance from Rendezvous to Walla Walla without any 
 fresh meat. We think ours will last us until we reach 
 the salmon fishing at Snake Falls. Thus we are well 
 provided for, contrary to our expectations. Mr. 
 McLeod has excellent hunters; this is the reason we 
 live so well. There is but little game, and this is found 
 at a great distance from the route. 
 
 '^iith. Tuesday and Wednesday have been tedious 
 days, both for man and beast — lengthy marches with- 
 out water; rocky and sandy. Had a present tonight 
 of a fresh salmon; also a plate of fried cakes from Mr. 
 McLeod. (Girls if you wish to know how they taste, 
 you can have the pleasure by taking a little flour and 
 water, make some dough and roll it thin, then take 
 some beef fat and fry them. You need not put salt or 
 pearl-ash in your dough. Believe me I relish them as 
 well as I ever did any made at home.) 
 
 "iph. Saturday. We have come fifteen miles and 
 have the worst route of all for the cart. We might 
 have had a better one, but were misled by the Company, 
 who started out before the leaders. It was two o'clock 
 before we came into camp. They were preparing to 
 cross Snake River. The river is divided by two islands 
 into three branches, and it is fordable. The packs are 
 
Marcus Whitman 149 
 
 placed upon the tops of the highest horses, and in this 
 way crossed without wetting. Two of the tallest horses 
 were selected to carry Mrs. Spalding and myself over. 
 Mr. McLeod gave his and rode mine. The last half 
 we rode as much as a half a mile in crossing and against 
 the current, too, which made it hard for the horses, the 
 water being up to their sides. Husband had consider- 
 able difficulty in crossing the cart. Both cart and mules 
 were turned upside down in the river and entangled in 
 the harness. The mules would have been drowned, 
 but for a desperate struggle to get them ashore. Then 
 after putting two of the strongest horses before the 
 cart, and two men swimming behind to steady it, they 
 succeeded in getting it across. I once thought crossing 
 the streams would be the most dreaded part of the 
 journey. I can now cross the most difficult stream 
 without fear. There is one manner of crossing which 
 husband has tried, but I have not, neither do I wish to. 
 Take an elk skin and stretch it over you, spreading 
 yourself out as much as possible, then let the Indian 
 women carefully put you on the water, and with a cord 
 in the mouth they will swim and draw you over." 
 
 On Friday, August 19, the missionaries reached Fort 
 Boise, the home of Mr. McLeod, to whose kindness 
 they owed so much during the journey, and where 
 they were now to leave him. Here they rested over 
 Sunday and examined their clothes. Mrs. Spalding 
 had been ill the greater part of the journey, and her 
 husband suffered various mishaps. In the Bear River 
 
150 Missionary Explorers 
 
 valley the Indians had started some antelope, after 
 their usual manner, with yells and feathers and flags 
 flying. This started the two mules of the cart, which 
 ran down her horse, the cart passing over both horse 
 and rider. Another day her horse stepped in a wasps' 
 nest, and she was thrown with her feet hanging in the 
 stirrup. Again in crossing the Snake River she grew 
 dizzy, and was about to fall when her husband called : 
 "Look at the deer coming down the mountain; we 
 will have fresh meat for supper." Mrs. Spalding 
 righted herself. "Keep your eye on the mountain!" 
 he continued. She understood and crossed safely. It 
 will have been noted how constantly the question of 
 food occurs in the letters at the sacrifice of what 
 might have been more interesting matter. But ex- 
 plorers and adventurers, like an army, move on the 
 belly. 
 
 "22wJ. Left the Fort yesterday, came a short 
 distance to the crossing of the Snake River, crossed 
 and encamped. The river has three branches, divided 
 by islands as before. The first and second places 
 were very deep, but we had no diflaculty in crossing 
 on horseback. The third was deeper still; we dare 
 not venture on horseback. This being a fishing post 
 of the Indians, we easily found a canoe made of rushes 
 and willows on which we placed ourselves and saddles 
 (the two women), when two Indians on horseback, 
 each with a rope tied to the canoe, towed us over. 
 O, if father, mother and the girls could have seen us 
 
Marcus Whitman 151 
 
 in our snug little canoe floating on the water. We 
 were favorites of the company. No one else was priv- 
 ileged to ride on it. I wish I could give a correct idea 
 of this little bark. It is simply bunches of rushes 
 tied together and attached to a frame made of a few 
 sticks of small willows. It was just large enough to 
 hold us and our saddles. 
 
 *'As for the wagon it is left at the Fort, and I have 
 nothing to say about crossing it this time. Five of 
 our cattle were left there also, to be exchanged for 
 others at Walla Walla. Perhaps you will wonder 
 why we have left the wagon, after having taken it so 
 nearly through. Our animals were faihng and the 
 route in crossing the Blue Mountain is said to be im- 
 passible for it. We have the prospect of exchanging 
 it for one at Vancouver. 
 
 "Now for Edward's amusement, and that he may 
 know how to do it when he comes over the Rocky 
 Mountains I will tell how we got the cattle over the 
 rivers. Our two Indian boys, Richard and John have 
 had the chief management of driving them all the way 
 and are commendable for the patience they have 
 shown. They have had some one or two to help them, 
 but none are such steady drivers as themselves. When 
 a stream is to be crossed, where it is necessary for the 
 animal to swim, Richard comes to my husband and 
 asks if he may go over with his horse and clothes and 
 then come back after the cows. Having obtained con- 
 sent, he rides over accompanied by his fellow drivers, 
 
IS2 Missionary Explorers 
 
 all stripped to the shirt. Then they return with their 
 horses if the stream is wide and difficult. If not, they 
 leave their horses, tie their shirts over their heads, 
 and swim back, collect the cows and drive them 
 through, all swimming after them. If the stream is 
 very wide, and they return with their horses, they 
 drive them swimming on their horses behind them. 
 This saves them from the too great fatigue of swimming 
 the river twice. They love to swim as they love to 
 eat. ... In this case all the horses and mules were 
 driven across. Usually, the best Indian swimmer was 
 selected, and mounted on a horse that was good for 
 leading to go before the animals as a guide, while many 
 others swam after them to drive them over. When 
 once under way such a snorting and bellowing you 
 never heard. At the same time you can see nothing but 
 so many heads floating on the water. Soon they gain 
 the opposite shore, triumphantly ascend its banks, shake 
 themselves and retire to their accustomed employment.'* 
 At Lone Tree, a beautiful valley in the Powder 
 River country, which takes its name from a solitary 
 tree in this barren country, it was considered wise to 
 divide the party, owing to the worn-out animals and the 
 necessity of Doctor Whitman hurrying to Vancouver 
 to see his former comrade, Mr. Parker. Accordingly 
 Mr. Spalding and his wife remained behind with the 
 baggage, animals, and the Nez-Perce chief for a guide. 
 The weather was scorching, and at noon the advance 
 party rested, and as usual made a shelter with blankets 
 
Marcus Whitman 153 
 
 stretched on willows or sticks and blankets beneath 
 to lie on. 
 
 "28/A. This morning lingered with my husband on 
 the top of the hill that overlooks the Grand Ronde, at 
 the foot of which is a beautiful cluster of pitch and 
 spruce trees, but no white pine like that I have been 
 accustomed to see at home. It is a circular plain, 
 surrounded by lofty mountains, and has a beautiful 
 river coursing through it skirted with quite large tim- 
 ber. The scenery while passing through it is quite 
 delightful in some places, and the soil rich; in other 
 places we find the white sand and sedge, as usual, so 
 common to this country. We nooned upon the Grand 
 Ronde River. 
 
 "The camas grow in abundance, and it is the prin- 
 cipal resort of the Cayuses and many other tribes to 
 obtain it. It resembles an onion in shape and color; 
 when cooked it is very sweet and tastes like a fig. 
 Their manner of cooking it is curious; they dig a hole 
 in the ground, throw in a heap of stones, heat them to a 
 red heat, cover them with green grass, upon which they 
 put the camas, and cover the whole with earth. When 
 taken out it is black. This is the chief food of many 
 tribes during the winter. After dinner we left the 
 plain and ascended the Blue Mountains. Here a new 
 and pleasing scene presented itself — mountains cov- 
 ered with timber, through which we rode all afternoon; 
 a very agreeable change. The hills reminded me of 
 my native county of Steuben. 
 
154 Missionary Explorers 
 
 **2gth. Had a continuation of the same scenery as 
 yesterday afternoon. Rode over many logs and ob- 
 structions that we had not found since we had left 
 the states. Here I met frequently old acquaintances 
 in trees and flowers, and was not a little delighted; 
 indeed I do not know as I was ever so much affected 
 with any scenery in my Hfe. The singing of birds, 
 the echo of voices of my fellow travelers, as they were 
 scattered through the woods, all had a strong resem- 
 blance to by-gone days. But this scenery was of short 
 duration; only one day. Before noon we began to 
 descend one of the most terrible mountains for steep- 
 ness and length I have yet seen. It was Hke winding 
 stairs in its descent, and in some places almost per- 
 pendicular. The horses appeared to dread the hill as 
 much as we did. They would turn and wind around 
 in a zigzag manner all the way down. The men usually 
 walked, but I could not get permission to, neither did 
 I desire it much. We had no sooner gained the foot 
 of the mountain, when another more steep and terrible 
 was before us. After dinner and rest we descended it. 
 Our ride this afternoon exceeded anything we have 
 had yet, and what made it the more aggravating was 
 the fact that the path all the way was very stony, re- 
 sembling a new macadamized road. Our horses feet 
 were very tender, all unshod, so that we could not 
 make the progress we wished. The mountain in many 
 places was covered with black basalt. We were very 
 late in making camp tonight. After ascending the 
 
Marcus Whitman 155- 
 
 mountain we kept upon the main divide until sunset, 
 looking in vain for water and a camping place. While 
 upon this elevation we had a view of the Columbia 
 river. It was beautiful. Just as we gained the highest 
 elevation, the sun was dipping his disk behind the 
 western horizon. Beyond we could see two mountains. 
 Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. These lofty 
 peaks were of a conical form, separated from one an- 
 other by a considerable distance. Behind the former 
 the sun was hiding his rays which gave us a more dis- 
 tinct view of this gigantic cone. By this time our 
 horses were in haste to be in camp, as well as ourselves, 
 and mine made such lengthy strides in descending 
 that it shook my sides surprisingly." 
 
 They were now approaching Fort Walla Walla, 
 and animals as well as the travellers began to realize 
 their impatience. The lengthy camp of the day before 
 and the necessity of leaving two wearied horses with 
 their packs delayed them. Meanwhile, following the 
 course of the stream, they found an abundance of 
 cherries such as they had left behind them in the East. 
 According to the custom, runners were sent to the 
 Fort announcing their arrival, and to prepare for their 
 reception. 
 
 *' September 1st, 1836. You can better imagine our 
 feehngs this morning than we can describe them. I 
 could not realize that the end of our long journey was 
 so near. We arose as soon as it was light, took a cup 
 of cojfFee, ate of the duck we had given us last night. 
 
156 Missionary Explorers 
 
 and dressed for Walla Walla. We started while it 
 was yet early, for all were in haste to reach the desired 
 haven. If you could have seen us you would have 
 been surprised, for both man and beast seemed to be 
 impelled by the same force. The whole company 
 galloped almost the whole of the way to the Fort. 
 The first appearance of civiHsation we saw was the gar- 
 den, two miles this side of the Fort. The fatigues of 
 the long journey seemed to be forgotten in the excite- 
 ment of being so near the close. Soon the Fort ap- 
 peared in sight, and when it was announced that we 
 were near, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Pambrun, the gentle- 
 man of the house and Mr. Townsend (a traveling 
 naturaUst) sallied forth to meet us. After the usual 
 introduction and salutation, we entered the Fort and 
 were comfortably seated in cushioned chairs. They 
 were just eating breakfast as we rode up, and soon we 
 were seated at the table. . . . You cannot imagine 
 what an appetite these rides over the mountains give 
 a person. I wish some of the feeble ones of the States 
 could have rode over the mountains; they would have 
 said, like me, that victuals, even the plainest kinds, 
 never relished so well before. After breakfast we were 
 shown the novelties of the place. While at breakfast 
 a young rooster placed himself upon the sill of the door 
 and crowed. Now whether it was the first white 
 woman, or out of compliment to the company I know 
 not, but this much for him, I was pleased with his ap- 
 pearance. You may think me simple for speaking of 
 
Marcus Whitman 157 
 
 such a small circumstance. No one knows the feeling 
 occasioned by objects once familiar, when it is height- 
 ened by no expectation of meeting with them. The 
 door yard was filled with hens, turkeys and pigeons. 
 In another place we saw cows and goats in abundance, 
 and I think the largest and fattest cattle and swine I 
 ever saw. 
 
 "We were soon shown to a room which Mr. Pam- 
 brun said he had prepared for us, by making two 
 bedsteads or bunks on hearing of our approach. It 
 was the west bastion of the Fort, full of port holes on 
 the sides, but no windows, and filled with firearms. A 
 large cannon, always loaded, stood behind the door by 
 one of the holes. These things did not disturb me. I 
 am so well pleased with a room to shelter me from the 
 scorching sun that I scarcely notice them." 
 
 After a short rest at Fort Walla Walla the party 
 descended the Columbia River in canoes, making the 
 portage at The Dalles, where Mrs. Whitman gives a 
 spirited account of her adventure with fleas, which at- 
 tacked her with the ferocity of more formidable creat- 
 ures. At Fort Vancouver they were hospitably re- 
 ceived by the chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 Doctor McLaughlin, who, for his kindness to the Amer- 
 ican missionaries, subsequently fell into disrepute with 
 the company, and attached himself to the new ter- 
 ritory. By agreement Doctor Whitman and Mr. Gray 
 were assigned to a mission among the Cayuse In- 
 dians at Waiilatpu, twenty-five miles from Fort Walla 
 
158 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Walla, and Mr. and Mrs. Spalding were sent one hun- 
 dred and twenty miles eastward, to Clearwater River, 
 among the Nez-Perces. Doctor Whitman and Mr. 
 Gray accordingly left immediately for their new station, 
 to prepare some sort of habitation, for which every 
 board was sawed by hand. In December the house was 
 ready, and the group left Fort Walla Walla on horse- 
 back for their new home. 
 
 "We found a house reared," writes Mrs. Whitman, 
 "and the lean-to enclosed, a good chimney and fire- 
 place, and the floor laid. No windows or doors except 
 blankets. My heart truly leapt for joy as I ahghted 
 from my horse, entered, and seated myself before a 
 blazing fire, (for it was now night.) 
 
 "We had neither drawer, bedstead, nor table, nor 
 anything to make them of but green cotton wood. All 
 our boards were sawed by hand. Here my husband and 
 his two laborers — (two Owyhees from Vancouver — 
 and a man who crossed the mountains with us), and 
 Mr. Gray had been encamped in a tent since the 19th 
 of October, toiling excessively hard to accomplish this 
 much for our comfortable residence during the remain- 
 der of the winter. 
 
 "It is indeed a lovely situation. We are on a level 
 peninsula formed by the branches of the Walla Walla 
 River, on the base of which our house stands, upon 
 the northeast corner near the shore of the main river. 
 To run a fence across to the opposite river on the 
 north from our house — this with the river, would en- 
 
Marcus Whitman 159 
 
 close three hundred acres of good land for cultivation 
 all directly under the eye." 
 
 Later Mrs. Ells, another of the intrepid missionary 
 brides, who so soon followed the first adventurers, adds 
 to the description of this home: **It is of adobe, mud 
 dried in the form of brick, only larger. I cannot de- 
 scribe its appearance as I cannot compare it with any- 
 thing I ever saw. There are doors and windows, but 
 they are of the roughest material, the boards being 
 sawed by hand and put together by no carpenter, but 
 by one who knows nothing about the work. There 
 are a number of wheat, corn, and potato fields about 
 the house, besides a garden of melons and all kinds of 
 vegetables common to a garden. There are no fences, 
 there being no timber of which to make them. The 
 furniture is very primitive: the bedsteads are of boards 
 nailed to the side of the house sink-fashion; then some 
 blankets and husks make the bed; but it is good com- 
 pared with traveling accompHshments." 
 
 Later she mentions that Mrs. Whitman had secured 
 some earthen dishes. However humble, here Mrs. 
 Whitman dispensed a generous hospitality. Later she 
 entertained Lieutenant Fremont, and she writes of the 
 delicious pony steaks she was able to serve, finding 
 wild horse a good substitute for beef. Doctor Whit- 
 man, who had the instincts of a home builder, in time 
 added a blacksmith shop and a grist-mill. In 1839 
 another visitor to Waiilatpu, Mr. Thomas J. Farnham, 
 says: 
 
l6o Missionary Explorers 
 
 "It appeared to me quite remarkable that the 
 doctor could have made so many improvements since 
 the year 1836; but the industry which crowded every 
 hour of the day, his untiring energy of character and 
 the very efficient aid of his wife in relieving him in a 
 great degree from the labors of the school, are perhaps 
 circumstances which render possibility probable, that 
 in three years one man, without funds for such purposes, 
 without other aid for that business than that of a fel- 
 low missionary for short intervals, should fence, plow, 
 build, plant an orchard, and do all the other laborious 
 acts of opening a plantation on the face of that dis- 
 tant wilderness, learn the Indian language, and do 
 the duties, meanwhile, of a physician to the associate 
 stations on the Clearwater and Spokane." 
 
 Such testimony is valuable in disclosing the all-round 
 characters of the missionaries of that day. They could 
 preach and they could pray; equally they could build, 
 plant, and work with their hands. To the Indian believ- 
 ing that the hunt only was worthy of his dignity, the ex- 
 ample was not lost. Seeds were given to those Indians 
 who would plant and cultivate. The Spaldings had 
 brought with them a quart of wheat; a decade later 
 the Nez-Perces had reaped "between twenty and thirty 
 thousand bushels of grain." The cows that had strug- 
 gled and suffered in the crossing of the Rockies had be- 
 come herds, and Commodore Wilkes, who visited the 
 Whitmans in 1841, tells of "the wheat in the fields 
 seven feet high, and the corn nine feet in the tassel." 
 
Marcus Whitman i6i 
 
 The wives were indeed helpmeets. Women delicately 
 nurtured, they accepted their lot not only without a 
 murmur, but with enthusiasm. One of these women 
 had but one chair in ten years. Four sticks in the 
 ground and a board across was a chair; three boards 
 made a table. The food was cooked before an open fire. 
 The greatest hardship was the lack of privacy. The In- 
 dians entered at all hours, and never knew when to take 
 leave. Practically life was lived in the presence of 
 curious, alien eyes. But Mr. Farnham writes that Mrs. 
 Whitman was an indefatigable teacher, her school at 
 that time containing fifty Indian children. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Unable to settle the boundary Hne between our new 
 purchase beyond the Rocky Mountains and the Brit- 
 ish possessions, by agreement the country was held in 
 joint occupancy. Practically the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany was in control, and its interest lay in keeping 
 Oregon as a fur country and the Indian in his wild 
 state as a hunter and trapper. Before this domination 
 of the Hudson Bay Company each successive Ameri- 
 can fur company had been obHged to give way. The 
 American settler, however, largely represented by the 
 missionaries, wished to civilize the Indian, to teach 
 him to farm the lands, to raise cattle, and to win him 
 from the war-path. This the settlers who followed in 
 their wake also wished to do for themselves. Accord- 
 
i62 Missionary Explorers 
 
 ingly, the number and increase of immigrants from 
 each country was a matter of importance. At one time 
 where the inhabitants came together for mutual pro- 
 tection against wolves, it was found there were fifty- 
 two Americans against fifty of the British. This was 
 regarded as a test case, and both parties realized the 
 necessity of increasing their numbers. 
 
 At Fort Hall Captain Grant, the company's agent, 
 was constant in his efforts at discouraging settlers from 
 crossing the Rocky Mountains, by warning them of 
 the obstacles they would encounter and the worthless- 
 ness of the country. Meanwhile, every effort by the 
 same agencies to discredit Oregon as the home of the 
 white man was unwearying in the States. The views 
 of our statesmen concerning the country west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, in the Hght of the present, is almost 
 unbelievable. 
 
 "It is the mere riddlings of creation. It is almost 
 as barren as the Desert of Sahara, and quite as un- 
 healthy as the Campania of Italy," was quoted in 
 Congress. 
 
 "I would not for that purpose [of agriculture] give 
 a pinch of snuff for the whole territory. If there were 
 an embankment of five feet to be removed, I would 
 not consent to give five dollars to remove it," were the 
 words of Senator McDuffie, of South Carolina. 
 
 The dangers of prophecy could not be better illus- 
 trated than at this period in Congress. 
 
 "What just man would sacrifice a single human life 
 
Marcus Whitman 163 
 
 to bring under our rule both Texas and Oregon?" said 
 Charles Sumner. 
 
 "Are our Western brethren straightened for elbow- 
 room, or likely to be for a thousand years?'* asked 
 Senator Winthrop. 
 
 **A railroad across twenty-five hundred miles of 
 desert and mountains! The smoke of an engine across 
 the terrible fissures of that rocky ledge, where the 
 smoke of the volcano has only rolled before! . . . 
 Nothing short of the lamp of Aladdin will suffice for 
 such an expenditure," quoted Senator Dayton. 
 
 More significant was the opinion of Daniel Webster, 
 who was negotiating the treaty with England concern- 
 ing the boundary hne, that "the Government is very 
 likely to be endangered by a further enlargement of 
 the territorial surface, already so vast, over which it is 
 extended." In his opinion the valley of the St. John's 
 River, on the boundary line of Maine, was worth as 
 much as the Columbia ever would be. Meanwhile Sir 
 George Simpson, Governor General of the Hudson Bay 
 Company, said of this worthless country that they were 
 "resolved, even at the cost of a hundred thousand 
 pounds, to expel the Americans from traffic on the 
 Pacific coast." 
 
 Picture to yourselves against this formidable array 
 of power, influence, and money at home and abroad, 
 a handful of missionaries, free trappers, and settlers, 
 separated from civilization by almost impassable moun- 
 tain barriers, yet equally determined to retain the 
 
164 Missionary Explorers 
 
 homes they had gone through so much to win, and at 
 the same time their nationahty. It is necessary to un- 
 derstand this in order to reaHze how unequal was the 
 struggle and how great was the success. 
 
 Circumstances conspired to bring about a crisis. A 
 short time before, a company of eighty immigrants had 
 arrived from the Red River of the North, thus increas- 
 ing the number of British settlers. Later came a small 
 company of settlers from the States. Among the num- 
 ber was a young man named Amos Lawrence Lovejoy 
 from Boston. These camped near Doctor Whitman's 
 mission, and among the items of news they brought to 
 the eager Hsteners was word of Mr. Webster's desire 
 to exchange Oregon for the St. John's River country, 
 in what is known as the Ashburton treaty. Meanwhile 
 a council of the missionaries had been called with refer- 
 ence to missionary matters. While this was in session 
 Doctor Whitman was sent for to attend a sick man at 
 Fort Walla Walla. While there he learned that an- 
 other large company of immigrants from the Red 
 River country was on its way, causing great rejoic- 
 ing at the Fort. Instantly realizing what the result of 
 this large outnumbering of the Americans would mean, 
 he hastily excused himself, jumped on his little cayuse, 
 and in two hours was at his mission. 
 
 He had already determined to go East to lay certain 
 matters before his Mission Board. Now he determined, 
 although winter was approaching, to go immediately. 
 His colleagues listened coldly and advised him to at- 
 
Marcus Whitman 165; 
 
 tend to his missionary business and let politics alone. 
 He rose from his seat and faced them. 
 
 "I was a man before I became a missionary; and when 
 I became a missionary I did not expatriate myself.'* 
 
 It was useless to try to detain him, and the mission- 
 aries left to prepare letters to send home by him. 
 Meanwhile Doctor Whitman sought out young Love- 
 joy, whom he asked to accompany him. After some re- 
 flection Lovejoy said he would. Doctor Whitman's im- 
 patience to be off led him to start two days earlier than 
 he had intended and before the arrival of the letters he 
 was to carry. Leaving a young physician in charge of 
 the mission, the two set off on October 3, a bright, clear 
 morning. Doctor Whitman on his faithful cayuse, with 
 horses for Mr. Lovejoy and the guide, and mules for the 
 supplies. Of this ride, which must be numbered among 
 the famous rides of history, we depend on the narratives 
 of Mr. Lovejoy, for Doctor Whitman was too busy a 
 man for retrospect with the pen. In eleven days they 
 had reached Fort Hall, where Captain Grant, warning 
 them against mountain snows and Indians on the war- 
 path, endeavored to delay their return until spring. 
 Doctor Whitman was not the man to turn back, but 
 he did change his route from the South Pass to the 
 Spanish country, byway of Taos and Santa Fe, adding 
 a thousand miles to the distance he was to traverse. 
 
 "On our way from Fort Hall to Fort Winte (Uintah), 
 we had terribly severe weather. The snows were deep 
 and blinding and we lost much time. After arriving 
 
i66 Missionary Explorers 
 
 at Fort Winte, and making a few purchases we changed 
 guides and started for Fort Uncompahgre. After being 
 out some four or five days we encountered a terrific 
 storm, which forced us to seek shelter in a deep ravine 
 where we remained snowed in for four days, at which 
 time the snow had somewhat abated, and we attempted 
 to make our way to the highlands, but the snow was 
 so deep and the winds so piercing cold, we were com- 
 pelled to return to camp and wait a few days for change 
 of weather. Our next effort to reach the highlands 
 was successful; but after spending several days wander- 
 ing around in the snow, without making much headway, 
 our guide told us that the deep snow had so changed 
 the face of the country that he was completely lost and 
 could take us no further. This was a terrible blow to 
 the doctor, but he was determined not to give it up 
 without another effort. 
 
 "We at once agreed that the doctor should take the 
 guide and return to Fort Uncompahgre and get a new 
 guide, and I remain in camp with the animals until he 
 should return, which he did in seven days with a new 
 guide and we were on our route again." 
 
 It is impossible here not to be struck with young 
 Lovejoy's omission to tell anything of his own loneHness, 
 uncertainty, and sufferings, shut up in the fastnesses 
 of his ravine during these seven days, his only com- 
 panions a faithful dog that had followed them, and the 
 animals under his care. In this omission is a touch of 
 unconscious heroism we must not overlook. 
 
Marcus Whitman 167 
 
 "Nothing of much import occurred but hard and 
 slow travehng until we reached Grand River, which 
 was frozen on either side about one third across. 
 Although so intensely cold the current was so rapid 
 that about one third of the river in the center was not 
 frozen. Our guide thought it would be dangerous to 
 attempt to cross the river in its present condition, but 
 the doctor, nothing daunted, was the first to take the 
 water. He mounted his horse; the guide and myself 
 shoved the doctor and his horse ofF the ice into the 
 foaming stream. Away he went completely under the 
 water, horse and all, but came directly up, and after 
 buffeting the rapid foaming current he reached the ice 
 on the opposite shore a long way down the stream. 
 He leaped from his horse on the ice and soon had the 
 noble animal by his side. The guide and myself forced 
 the pack animals in, and following the doctor's example 
 were soon on the opposite shore, drying our clothes by 
 a comfortable fire. 
 
 "We reached Taos in about thirty days having suf- 
 fered greatly from cold and scarcity of provisions. We 
 were compelled to use mule meet, dogs and other such 
 animals as came in our reach. We remained at Taos 
 a few days only, and started for Bent's and Savery's 
 Fort, on the head-waters of the Arkansas River. When 
 we had been out some fifteen or twenty days we 
 met George Bent, a brother of Governor Bent on his 
 way to Taos. He told us that a party of mountain 
 men would leave Bent's Fort in a few days for St. 
 
i68 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Louis, but said we could not reach the fort with our 
 pack animals in time to join the party. The doctor 
 being very anxious to join the party so as he could push 
 on as rapidly as possible to Washington, concluded to 
 leave myself and guide with the animals, and he him- 
 self taking the best animal, with some bedding, and a 
 small allowance of provisions, started alone, hoping by 
 rapid travel to reach the fort in time to join the St. 
 Louis party, but to do so he would have to travel on 
 the Sabbath, something we had not done before. 
 
 "Myself and guide traveled on slowly and reached 
 the fort in four days, but imagine our astonishment, 
 when on making inquiry about the doctor we learned 
 he had not arrived, nor had he been heard of. I 
 learned that the party for St. Louis was in camp at the 
 Big Cottonwood, forty miles from the fort, and at my 
 request, Mr. Savery sent an express, telling the party 
 not to proceed any further until we learned something 
 of Doctor Whitman's whereabouts, as he wished to 
 accompany them to St. Louis. Being furnished by the 
 gentlemen of the fort with a suitable guide, I started in 
 search of the doctor, and traveled up the river about a 
 hundred miles. I learned from the Indians that a man 
 had been there who was lost and was trying to find 
 Bent*s Fort. They said they had directed him down 
 the river and how to find the fort. I knew from their 
 description that it was the doctor. I returned to the 
 fort as rapidly as possible but the doctor had not 
 arrived. We had all become very anxious about him. 
 
Marcus Whitman 169 
 
 "Late in the afternoon he came in very much fatigued 
 and despondent; he said he knew that God had bewil- 
 dered him to punish him for traveling on the Sabbath. 
 During the whole trip he was regular in his morning 
 and evening devotions, and that was the only time I 
 knew him to travel on the Sabbath. The doctor re- 
 mained all night at the fort, starting early the follow- 
 ing morning to join the St. Louis party. The doctor 
 proceeded to Washington. I remained at Bent's Fort 
 until Spring and joined the doctor the following July on 
 his way to Oregon in company with a train of emigrants." 
 
 This concludes Mr. Lovejoy's narrative. There re- 
 mained, however, a distance of four hundred miles to 
 be traversed until Doctor Whitman reached St. Louis. 
 It was now early in January and the winter at the 
 height of its severity. Concerning the journey until 
 Doctor Whitman joined the caravan on its way to St. 
 Louis, we gain some details from Senate Document No. 
 37 of the Forty-first Congress relating the perils of the 
 expedition. 
 
 "On that terrible 13th of January 1843, when so 
 many in all parts of the country froze to death. Dr. 
 Whitman, against the advice of his Mexican guide, left 
 his camp in a deep gorge of the mountains of New 
 Mexico, in the morning to pursue his journey. But on 
 reaching the divide, the cold became so intense, and 
 the animals actually becoming maddened by the driv- 
 ing snows, the doctor saw his peril and attempted to 
 retrace his steps, and if possible to find his camp as 
 
I70 Missionary Explorers 
 
 the only hope of saving their Hves. But the drifting 
 snow had totally obliterated every trace, and the air 
 becoming almost as dark as night by the maddening 
 storm, the doctor saw it would be impossible for any 
 human being to find camp, and commending himself 
 and his distant wife to his covenant-keeping God, he 
 gave himself, his faithful guide, and animals up to their 
 snowy grave, which was fast closing about them, when 
 the guide, observing the ears of one of the mules in- 
 tently bent forward, sprang upon him, giving him the 
 reins exclaiming: *This mule will find camp if he can 
 live to reach it/ The doctor mounted another and 
 followed it. The faithful animal kept down the divide 
 a short distance, and then turned square down the 
 steep mountain. Through deep snow drifts, over 
 frightful precipices, down, down, he pushed, unguided, 
 unurged — as if he knew the lives of the two men and the 
 fate of the great expedition depended upon his endur- 
 ance and faithfulness — and into the thick timber, and 
 stopped suddenly over a bare spot, and as the doctor 
 dismounted — the Mexican was too far gone — behold 
 the very fireplace of their morning camp. Two brands 
 of fire were yet alive and smoking; plenty of timber 
 within reach. The buffalo hides had done much to 
 protect the doctor, and providentially he could move 
 about and collect dry limbs, and soon had a rousing 
 fire. The guide revived, but both were badly frozen. 
 They remained in this secluded hole in the mountains 
 several days, until the cold and the storm abated. 
 
Marcus Whitman 171 
 
 "At another time with another guide on the head- 
 waters of the Arkansas, after travehng all day in a ter- 
 rible storm, they reached a small river for camp, but 
 without a stick of wood anywhere to be had except on 
 the other side of the river, which was covered with ice, 
 but too thin to support a man erect. The storm cleared 
 away and the night bid fair to be intensely cold; be- 
 sides they must have a fire to prepare bread and food. 
 The doctor took his axe in one hand and a willow stick 
 in the other, laid himself upon the thin ice, and spread- 
 ing his arms and legs he worked himself over on his 
 breast, cut his wood, slid it over and returned in the 
 same way. 
 
 "This was the last time the doctor enjoyed the lux- 
 ury of his axe — so indispensable at that season of the 
 year in that country. That night a wolf poked his 
 nose under the foot of the bed where the axe had 
 been placed for safe-keeping, and took it ofF for a 
 leather string that had been wrapped around the spht 
 helve." 
 
 Making a brief stop at Westport, Mo., where he 
 occupied himself in arranging for a company of immi- 
 grants to go to Oregon in the spring, he hastened on to 
 St. Louis, where he was a guest of Doctor Edward 
 Hale. Here also as a guest was a young man named 
 WiUiam Barrows, who supplements young Lovejoy's 
 narrative. 
 
 "The announcement of his arrival in a little city of 
 twenty thousand inhabitants was a novelty and a 
 
172 Missionary Explorers 
 
 surprise. In those times it was a rare possibility for 
 one to come up in mid-winter from Bent's Fort or 
 Santa Fe, much more from Fort Hall and Columbia. 
 The Rocky Mountain trappers and traders, the ad- 
 venturers in New Mexico, and the contractors for our 
 military posts, the Indian men laying up vast fortunes, 
 half from the Government, half from the Indians, gath- 
 ered about Doctor Whitman for fresh news from their 
 places of interest. . . . But the doctor was in great 
 haste, and could not delay to talk of beaver, and In- 
 dian goods, and wars and reservations and treaties. 
 He had questions and not answers. Was the Ash- 
 burton treaty concluded ? Did it cover North America ? 
 Where, whose and what did it leave Oregon ? 
 
 "Marcus Whitman once seen in our family circle, 
 telling of his business, he had but one — was not a man 
 to be forgotten by the writer. With all the warmth, 
 and almost the burden of skin and fur clothing he bore 
 the irresistible marks of cold and merciless storms of 
 his journey. His fingers and nose had been frost-bitten, 
 and were giving him much trouble. Doctor Whit- 
 man was mid-way between Oregon and Washington, 
 and carried business of weighty import, that must not 
 be delayed by private interests and courtesies. In 
 the wilds and storms of the mountains he had fed on 
 mules and dogs, yet now sumptuous and complimentary 
 dinners had no attraction for him. He was happy to 
 meet men of the army, commerce and fur, but he must 
 hasten on to meet Daniel Webster. Exchanging saddle 
 
Marcus Whitman 173 
 
 for stage — for the river was closed by ice — he pressed 
 on and arrived at Washington March 3rd." 
 
 Behold a man, sturdy, compact in build, of medium 
 size, with a four months' growth of hair on his face and 
 head; dressed in buckskin breeches, with fur leggins 
 and boot moccasins, a long coat of "duffle" with a 
 blue border, overtopped by an overcoat with a hood 
 of buffalo skin, the blue border showing beneath. We 
 are told that at Cincinnati a friend insisted on his buy- 
 ing a proper suit of clothes. In these he went to Wash- 
 ington. The Ashburton treaty had been signed, but 
 did not touch on Oregon. Thus much he had learned 
 at St. Louis. There was yet time to save Oregon. 
 Immediately on arriving Doctor Whitman sought an 
 interview with Mr. Webster, which on both sides was 
 sharp and decisive. Mr. Webster, through Sir George 
 Simpson, believed the journey over the Rocky Moun- 
 tains impracticable for wagons, and consequently for 
 settlers, and the Oregon country not worth having. 
 Doctor Whitman's task was to dispel this belief. He 
 had taken a wagon over the road. He knew the coun- 
 try and its value. Mr. Webster was not convinced, 
 and Doctor Whitman secured an appointment with 
 President Tyler, who proved a sympathetic listener. 
 Here was a man who asked nothing for himself and 
 everything for his country. 
 
 "Doctor Whitman, your long ride and frozen hmbs 
 speak for your courage, and patriotism; your mission- 
 ary credentials are good vouchers for your character." 
 
174 Missionary Explorers 
 
 The possibilities of immigration were presented not 
 only to the President and the secretary of war, but 
 before various members of Congress. On this every- 
 thing seemed to hang, and Doctor Whitman promised 
 to demonstrate its success. A wagon-road over the 
 Rockies! He had done it once; he could do it again. 
 This was the turning-point. The secretary of war, 
 Porter, who had Hstened eagerly, promised to do all he 
 could to aid the scheme, even to send, if necessary, 
 Captain Fremont and a company of troops. In con- 
 firmation much later the son of President Tyler says, 
 in the history of his father's administration: "To Mr. 
 Tyler's sensible encouragement of Whitman the mis- 
 sionary in hastening over emigrants and his selection 
 of John C. Fremont to explore the Rocky Mountains 
 was due the success of the United States in preventing 
 Great Britain from getting possession of Oregon and 
 the California coast." 
 
 Straightway in a pamphlet and in newspapers Doc- 
 tor Whitman set about making known throughout the 
 country the advantages of Oregon, its climate and fer- 
 tiHty as a home for settlers. Meanwhile he went to 
 Boston about the affairs of the mission. Here he was 
 received coldly. Had he not left his station without 
 permission and with only the unwilling consent of his 
 colleagues? Evidently in explanation he made known 
 his further views for Oregon, inasmuch as the Board 
 gave grudgingly their permission "to take back a small 
 company of intelligent and pious laymen to settle near 
 
Marcus Whitman 175 
 
 the mission, but without expense to the Board, or any 
 connection with it." 
 
 Oregon, however, was in the air. A number of pro- 
 posed immigrants held a rendezvous at Independence, 
 Mo., and sent for Doctor's Whitman's advice. Various 
 bands of settlers were starting up here and there. 
 From his own rare testimony we have the following 
 letter to his brother-in-law: 
 
 "May iSth St. Louis, You will be surprised to learn 
 that I am here yet. I have been waiting for three 
 weeks. ... I shall start tomorrow or next day. Some 
 of the emigrants have been gone over a week and others 
 are just going. The number of men will be over two 
 hundred besides women and children. This tells for 
 the occupation of Oregon. A great many cattle are 
 going but no sheep from a mistake of what I said in 
 passing. ... As now decided in my mind, this Oregon 
 will be occupied by American citizens. Those who go 
 will open the way for more another year. Wagons will 
 go all the way." 
 
 A rendezvous was appointed at Weston, Mo., near 
 where Kansas City now stands, but it was not until the 
 middle of June that the company with Doctor Whitman 
 caught up with the advance column on the Platte 
 River. The caravan had its pilot, but Doctor Whit- 
 man's services were in constant demand. It being 
 necessary to ford the South Fork, boats were made of 
 the wagons, sewed up in green buffalo hides, the flesh 
 inside. In these the baggage was laid and ferried 
 
176 Missionary Explorers 
 
 across, four days being required for the passage. They 
 had now travelled four hundred miles in about forty 
 days, and on July 14 Fort Laramie, in Wyoming, was 
 reached, and here Doctor Whitman was again joined 
 by young Lovejoy. Two days were spent in making 
 good the wagons, and the caravan took up its march. 
 
 "The Laramie River was so high from melting snow 
 it could not be forded. Boats were made out of the 
 wagon beds to use as a ferry, but no one could be found 
 to risk himself in swimming over the river to carry a 
 line but Doctor Whitman, which he did successfully. 
 With the Hne made fast around his waist, he plunged 
 in and soon landed safe on the other shore, thus form- 
 ing a complete ferry," writes Mr. Waldo, one of the 
 company. On the North Fork of the Platte they met 
 with another difficulty. Here it was possible to ford, 
 but the river was full of quicksands. Three days 
 Doctor Whitman crossed and recrossed the river, try- 
 ing to find a proper ford. At last one was found, but 
 the drivers were unwilling to risk it. Picking out the 
 strongest team, he placed that in front; but let Doctor 
 Atkinson, who was present, relate the crossing: 
 
 "Those who heard Doctor Whitman at the North 
 Platte River bid the emigrants throw away their skin 
 boats prepared for crossing, and saw him for three days 
 crossing and recrossing that wide stream, swimming his 
 horse to find the best ford, and at last heard him order 
 the teams and wagons to be chained together and driven 
 in one long Hne across the ford for two miles (that river 
 
Marcus Whitman 177 
 
 swollen by spring floods) cheering the drivers, permit- 
 ting not a moment's halt, lest they should sink in the 
 quicksands, will never forget the man or the deed." 
 
 *'An emigrant's wife was sick," writes Jesse Apper- 
 gale. **The doctor had the wagon driven aside, a tent 
 pitched, and a fire kindled. As the sun went down 
 the wagon rolled into camp, with a cheery look on the 
 doctor's face. 'Mother and child are doing well.' 
 His experience and indomitable energy. His constant 
 advice was 'travel, travel, travel. Nothing else will 
 take you to the end of your journey. Nothing is wise 
 that causes you delay.' " Such were among the many 
 and various duties of Doctor Whitman, as guide, phi- 
 losopher, and friend to the wearied but hopeful band. 
 
 On the 3d of August the Rocky Mountains came 
 in sight; two days later they entered the Great South 
 Pass, and in three days they were looking toward the 
 Pacific Ocean. Having learned that the Catholic mis- 
 sionaries had discovered a shorter route through Fort 
 Bridger, they decided to take it, and arrived at the 
 fort on the Black Fork of Green River by the middle of 
 August. In thirteen days they had reached Fort Hall, 
 the Hudson Bay Company trading post on the Snake 
 River, set in a wide, fertile, well-watered valley cov- 
 ered with luxuriant grass on which the company's herds 
 of horses and cattle grazed. To the eyes of the wearied 
 immigrants it was indeed the promised land. 
 
 "When we arrived at Fort Hall, I heard the Com- 
 mandant tell the immigrants that Doctor Whitman 
 
178 Missionary Explorers 
 
 would starve them all to death if he got them down in 
 the Snake River country. He said they never could get 
 their wagons to the Columbia in their lives," writes 
 Percy B. Whitman, his nephew. "I went and told 
 Doctor Whitman about it, and he got the immigrants 
 together, and gave them a harangue. He told them he 
 could get them to the Columbia River, if he lived; that 
 they had just to stick to their wagons, and follow him, 
 and he would get them through. There had been other 
 small immigrations with wagons, and they had all come 
 that far and left their wagons, and got rid of their cat- 
 tle, by driving them off, and giving them away. I 
 heard Doctor Whitman urge his followers to hold their 
 cattle, as they were the ones that would make their liv- 
 ing when they got to the Willamette. He also told 
 them they could not break the soil properly with In- 
 dian ponies. They all stuck to their wagons." 
 
 '*We had now arrived at the most critical part," 
 says Peter Burnett, in his Recollections , "in our most 
 adventurous journey; and we had many misgivings as 
 to our ultimate success in making our way with our 
 wagons, teams, and families. We had yet to accom- 
 plish the untried and most difficult portion of our long 
 and exhausting journey. We could not anticipate at 
 what moment we might be compelled to abandon our 
 wagons, pack our scant supplies on our poor oxen, and 
 make our way on foot through this terrible rough 
 country, as best we could. We fully comprehended 
 the situation; but we never faltered in our inflexible 
 
Marcus Whitman 179 
 
 determination to accomplish the trip, if within the 
 Hmits of possibiHty, with the resources at our com- 
 mand. Doctor Whitman assured us we could succeed, 
 and encouraged and aided us with every means in his 
 power. I consulted Mr. Grant as to his opinion of the 
 practicability of taking our wagons through. He re- 
 pKed that while he would not say it was impossible for 
 us Americans to make the trip with our wagons, he 
 could not himself see how it could be done. He had 
 only traveled the pack-trail, and certainly no wagons 
 could follow that route; but there might be a practical 
 road found by leaving the trail at certain points." 
 
 The caravan left Fort Hall August 30, under Doctor 
 Whitman's guidance, and proceeded several hundred 
 miles down the Snake River, which had to be crossed 
 and recrossed. 
 
 "In crossing Snake River Doctor Whitman hitched 
 all the wagons together. I had a stout team of oxen 
 and I thought I could make it without hitching on. I 
 drove in behind the last caravan. The wagons and 
 team formed a dam, and raised the water and threw it 
 back on me until it was beating my team down to a 
 precipice and whirlpool not more than thirty yards 
 below. I turned their heads up stream or tried to to 
 see if they could hold up, but they could not move. 
 Stood there until the whole train went out safely and left 
 me in the river. Doctor Whitman rode in with a rope 
 and told me to hitch it on my lead oxen; he tied it on 
 to the horn of his saddle and towed me out. As to the 
 
i8o Missionary Explorers 
 
 caravan he tied the rope on his wrist. They swung 
 down stream, but as soon as he touched bottom on the 
 other side, they were safe.*' 
 
 The caravan reached Fort Boise November 20, mak- 
 ing nearly three hundred miles in twenty-one days, 
 over a most difficult road. 
 
 On October i they reached Grande Ronde, the beau- 
 tiful valley in the Blue Mountains described by Mrs. 
 Whitman; but from here the worst part of their journey 
 over the Blue Mountains was to be encountered. Here 
 they were overtaken by a severe snow-storm; their 
 cattle got astray in the forests, and many were lost, and 
 the roads were almost impassable. Still, at the cost of 
 much suffering, they overcame all obstacles, and Octo- 
 ber 10 arrived at the Whitman mission at Waiilatpu, 
 where they went into camp, *'and were regaled with 
 Indian corn, peas, and Irish potatoes. We had been 
 so long time without fresh vegetables that we were al- 
 most famished and consequently feasted exceedingly," 
 writes one of the number. 
 
 A new difficulty met Doctor Whitman. His grist- 
 mill had been burned down by the Indians. 
 
 "After a severe journey of four days we reached 
 Waiilatpu, Dr. Whitman's station, where he had many 
 most unpleasant matters to settle." Doctor Elijah 
 White, Indian sub-agent, writes to the government: 
 " Feather Cap commenced weeping. Tauatwai said the 
 whites were more to blame than the Indians; that three 
 fourths of them, though they taught the purest doc- 
 
Marcus Whitman i8i 
 
 trines, practised the greatest abominations, referring 
 to the base conduct of many in the Rocky Mountains; 
 acknowledged that in his opinion that the mill was 
 burned purposely by some persons disaffected to Dr. 
 Whitman." 
 
 With characteristic energy Doctor Whitman soon 
 had the mill rebuilt and was grinding flour to supply 
 the caravan, which as soon as humans and animals were 
 rested started for Fort Walla Walla with a guide Doctor 
 Whitman provided. This guide conducted them to 
 The Dalles. There they took boats for Fort Vancouver, 
 where they arrived on November 7. 
 
 Thus ended that eventful journey which began on 
 October 3, thirteen months before. **This was the 
 turning point. This immigration determined the right 
 of settlement. * Whitman and Oregon' became the 
 watchword of the immigration of 1844." The man 
 whose deeds we celebrate, but who seldom spoke for 
 himself, wrote home to his Board : 
 
 "Two things, and it is true those which were the 
 most important, were accomplished by my return to 
 the States. By means of the estabhshment of the 
 wagon road, which is due to that eff*ort alone, the em- 
 igration was secured and saved from disaster in the fall 
 of 1843. Upon that event the present acquired rights 
 of the United States by her citizens hung." 
 
 To the secretary of war he says in a letter: "The 
 government will now doubtless for the first time be ap- 
 prised through you, by means of this communication, 
 
1 82 Missionary Explorers 
 
 of the immense migration of families to Oregon which 
 has taken place this year. I have, since our interview, 
 been instrumental in piloting across the route de- 
 scribed in the accompanying Bill, and which is the only 
 eligible wagon road, no less than three hundred fam- 
 ilies, consisting of one thousand persons of both sexes, 
 with their wagons amounting in all to more than one 
 hundred and twenty, six hundred and ninety four oxen, 
 and seven hundred and seventy three loose cattle." 
 
 During the absence of Doctor Whitman a provisional 
 government had been formed. The arrival now of this 
 caravan estabUshed beyond all question that the 
 American settlers outnumbered and would outvote 
 the British. The news went further. It was carried 
 to England. Mr. Webster had proposed the 49th par- 
 allel as the boundary Hne between the United States 
 and the British possessions. This England had re- 
 jected. England now proposed the 49th parallel as 
 the boundary Hne, and the United States accepted. 
 The treaty was signed August 6, 1846. 
 
 One year later Marcus Whitman and his wife were 
 murdered by Indians at their station, Waiilatpu. Vari- 
 ous disturbing elements had stirred up the Indians. 
 To these was added an epidemic of measles from which 
 many died. Their deaths were attributed to Doctor 
 Whitman, whose days were spent in attending them. 
 A half-grown Indian boy told the Indians that he had 
 overheard Doctor Whitman planning to poison them 
 in order that the whites could take their lands. This 
 
Marcus Whitman 183 
 
 tale was followed by a massacre in which fourteen 
 whites were killed and fifty men, women, and children 
 were taken captive. Among the killed were Marcus 
 Whitman and his wife. But his work still lives. 
 
STEPHEN RIGGS 
 FORTY YEARS WITH THE SIOUX 
 
STEPHEN RIGGS 
 FORTY YEARS WITH THE SIOUX 
 
 ** 1^ yi" Y first school house was a log cabin, with a 
 I Y I large open fire place, a window with four 
 Hghts of glass where the master's seat was, 
 while on the other two sides a log was cut out and old 
 newspapers pasted over the hole through which the 
 light was supposed to come, and the seats were benches 
 made from slabs. One of my first teachers was a 
 drunken Irishman, who often visited the tavern near 
 by and came back to sleep the greater part of the after- 
 noon. This gave us a long play spell. But he was a 
 terrible master for the remainder of the day. Notwith- 
 standing these difficulties in the way of an education 
 we managed to learn a good deal.'* 
 
 This school-house was near Steubenville, 0., where 
 early in the century Stephen Riggs was born. His 
 parents, of Scotch-Irish descent, had emigrated from 
 the wilderness in Pennsylvania. Of these days he re- 
 lates that, living in an unfinished cabin, the mother was 
 left alone with three young children, when a big bear, 
 pushing aside the quilt that served for a door, sat down 
 on his haunches and calmly stared at the frightened 
 family and the fire roaring in the big chimney, and then 
 respectfully retired. 
 
 187 
 
1 88 Missionary Explorers 
 
 The boy Stephen expected to learn a trade, but a 
 younger brother who was to be educated having died, 
 he fell heir to his privileges. Studying at the Latin 
 school at Ripley, 0., he finished his course at Jefferson 
 College, and then studied theology at Allegheny. 
 
 Mary Longley, who has a large part in this narrative, 
 was the daughter of General Thomas Longley, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, who fought in the War of 1812. She was 
 educated as a teacher by Mary Lyon, the founder of 
 Mount Holyoke Seminary. For her first teaching at 
 WiUiamstown, Mass., she received a dollar a week, and 
 felt herself passing rich at twelve dollars a quarter. 
 A teacher being needed for a school estabHshed by a 
 philanthropic merchant of New York in southern In- 
 diana, she was chosen, and was sent west in the care 
 of the Reverend Dyer Burgess, at whose house young 
 Riggs was then stopping. In this manner these two 
 young people were brought together, and determined to 
 unite their lives in the service of the Indians of the 
 Northwest. 
 
 Railroads were almost unknown in those days. Peo- 
 ple travelled by steamboat and stage. From New 
 York the young couple travelled over the Alleghenies 
 by stage and then took passage down the Ohio, and 
 thence into the Mississippi, of which voyage they write 
 as of exploration over unknown waters in an unknown 
 land. After nearly three months of almost continuous 
 journey, and having reached the impressive scenery of 
 the upper Mississippi, Mr. Riggs writes: 
 
Stephen Riggs 189 
 
 "We were in the wilds of the West, beyond the cabins 
 of the pioneer. We were passing the battle fields of 
 Indian story. Nay more, we were already in the lands 
 of the Dakotas, and passing by the teepees and villages 
 of the red man, for whose enlightenment we had left 
 friends and home. Was it strange that this was a week 
 of intense enjoyment, of education, of growth in the 
 life of faith and hope ? And so as I said in the begin- 
 ning, on the first day of June 1837, Mary and I reached 
 in safety, the mouth of the Minnesota in the land of the 
 Dakotas." 
 
 Mary writes in her first letter home: 
 
 ** Lake Harriet June 22nd. We are now on mission- 
 ary ground, and are surrounded by those dark people 
 of whom we often talked at your fireside last winter. 
 I doubt you will still think and talk about them, and 
 pray for them also. And surely your grandchildren 
 will not be forgotten. 
 
 "The situation of the mission houses is very beauti- 
 ful — on a little eminence, just upon the shore of a lovely 
 lake skirted with trees. About a mile North of us is 
 Lake Calhoun, on the margin of which is an Indian vil- 
 lage of but twenty lodges. Most of these are bark 
 houses, some of which are twenty feet square, and 
 others are of tents of skin or cloth. Several days ago I 
 walked over to the village, and called at the house of 
 one of the chiefs. He was not at home but his daughters 
 smiled very good naturedly upon us. We seated our- 
 selves on a frame extending on three sides of the house, 
 
190 Missionary Explorers 
 
 covered with skins, which was all the bed, sofa and 
 chairs they had. 
 
 "Since our visit to the village, two old chiefs have 
 called upon us. One said this was a very bad country 
 — ours was a good country — ^we had left a good country 
 and had come to live in a bad country and he was glad. 
 The other called on Sabbath evening, when Mr. Riggs 
 was at the Fort, where he preaches occasionally. He 
 inquired how I Hked the country, and said it was bad. 
 What could a courtier say more? 
 
 "The Indians come here at all hours of the day, and 
 without ceremony sometimes dressed and painted very 
 fantastically, and again with scarcely any clothing. 
 One came in yesterday dressed in a coat, a calico 
 shirt, and cloth leggins, the only one I have seen with 
 a coat, excepting two boys who were in the family 
 when we came. The most singular ornament I have 
 seen was a large striped snake, fastened among the 
 painted hair, ribbons and feathers of an Indian's head- 
 dress in such a manner that it would coil around in 
 front and dart out its snake head, or creep down upon 
 the back at pleasure. During this the Indian sat per- 
 fectly at ease, apparently much pleased at the aston- 
 ishment and fear manifested by some of the family. 
 
 ''Home July Sth, 1837. Would that you could look 
 in upon us; but as you cannot I will try to give you 
 some idea of our home. The building fronts the lake, 
 but our part opens upon the woodland back of its west- 
 ern shore. The lower room has a small cooking stove, 
 
Stephen Riggs 191 
 
 given us by Mrs. Burgess, a few chairs and a small 
 table, a box and barrel containing dishes and a small 
 will-be pantry, when completed under the stairs, filled 
 with flour, corn-meal, beans, and stove furniture. Our 
 chamber is low and almost filled with a bed, a small 
 bureau and stand, a table for writing made from a box, 
 and the rest of our half dozen chairs and one rocking 
 chair cushioned by mother's forethought. 
 
 *'The rough loose boards in the chamber are covered 
 with a coarse hair-and-tow carpeting to save labor. 
 The floor below will need some cleaning, but I shall not 
 try to keep it very white. I have succeeded very well, 
 according to my judgement in household affairs, that is, 
 very well for me. 
 
 "Some Indian women came in yesterday bringing 
 in strawberries, which I purchased with beans. Poor 
 creatures, they have very little food at this season of 
 the year, and we feel it difficult to know how much it 
 is our duty to give them. 
 
 "We are not troubled with all the insects which used 
 to annoy me in Indiana, but the musquitoes are much 
 more abundant. At dark swarms fill our rooms, deafen 
 our ears, and irritate our skins. For the last two even- 
 ings we have filled our rooms with smoke, almost to 
 suflFocation to disperse these our officious visitors." 
 
 The young couple remained at Lake Harriet three 
 months, after a brief stay at Fort Snelling, trying to 
 learn the language of the Dakotas, and laughing at 
 their blunders. Some time after, this mission was the 
 
192 Missionary Explorers 
 
 scene of a battle between the Ojibwas and the Sioux, 
 and was given up. They were now to set forth for 
 their permanent home at Lac qui Parle by way of the 
 picturesque St. Peter's River. Mary writes: 
 
 ** Perhaps you may feel some curiosity respecting our 
 appearance and our barge. Fancy a large boat of forty 
 feet in length, and perhaps eight in width in the middle, 
 capable of carrying five tons, and manned by five men, 
 four at the oars, and a steersman at the stern. Near 
 the center are our sleeping accommodations, neatly 
 rolled up, on which we sit, and dine and breakfast on 
 bread and cold ham, wild fowl, etc. We have tea and 
 coffee for breakfast and supper. Mrs. Prescott does 
 not pitch and strike the tent as the Indian women 
 usually do; because the boatmen do it, and her hus- 
 band does not require as much of her as an Indian man. 
 They accommodate us in their tent which is large 
 enough for two beds. Here we take our supper, sit- 
 ting on or by the matting made by some of these western 
 Indians, and then, after worship, lie down to rest. 
 
 *^ Monday Sept. ^th. Again we are on our way up 
 the crooked St. Peters, having passed our Sabbath in 
 the tent in the wilderness, far more pleasantly than we 
 spent in St. Louis. Last Saturday I became quite 
 fatigued sympathizing with those who drew the boat 
 on the Rapids, and with following my Indian guide, 
 Mrs. Prescott, through the woods to take the boat 
 above them. The fall at this stage of the water, was, 
 I should think, two feet, and nearly perpendicular, ex- 
 
Stephen Riggs 193 
 
 cepting a very narrow channel where it was slanting. 
 The boat being lightened, all the men attempted to 
 force it up, some by the rope attached to the boat, and 
 others by pulHng and pushing it as they stood by it on 
 the rocks and in the water. Both the first and the sec- 
 ond attempts were fruitless. The second time the rope 
 was lengthened and slipped around a tree on the high 
 bank, where the traders wife and I were standing. Her 
 husband called her to hold the end of the rope, and as 
 I could not stand idle, though I knew I could do no 
 good, I joined her, watching the slowly ascending boat 
 with the deepest interest. A moment more and the toil 
 would have been over, when the rope snapped and the 
 boat slid back in a twinkHng. It was further Hghtened 
 and the rope doubled, and then it was drawn safely 
 up and re-packed in about two hours and a half from 
 the time we reached the Rapids. 
 
 " Tuesday Sept. ^th. In good health and spirits we 
 are again on our way. As the river is shallow and the 
 bottom hard poles have been substituted for oars; 
 boards placed along the boat's sides serve as a pathway 
 for the boatmen, who propel the boat by fixing the pole 
 in the earth and at the prow, and pushing until they 
 reach the stern. 
 
 "At Traverse des Sioux our land journey of one hun- 
 dred and twenty five miles to Lac-qui-Parle commenced. 
 Here we made the acquaintance of a somewhat remark- 
 able French trader, by name Louis Provencalle, but 
 commonly called Le Bland. The Indians called him 
 
194 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Skadan, Little White. He was an old voyageur, but 
 could neither read nor write, but, by a certain force of 
 character, he had risen to the honorable position of 
 trader. He kept his accounts with his Indian debtors 
 by a system of hieroglyphics. 
 
 **For the next week we were under the convoy of 
 Dr. Thomas S. WilUamson and Mr. Gideon H. Pond, 
 who met us with teams from Lac-qui-Parle. The first 
 night of our camping on the prairie Dr. Williamson 
 taught me a lesson I shall never forget. We were pre- 
 paring the tent for the night, and I was disposed to let 
 the roughness of the surface remain, and not even 
 gather grass for a bed, which the Indians do, on the 
 ground, as I said that it was for only one night. ' But,' 
 the Doctor said, 'there will be a great many one nights.' 
 And so I have found it is best to make the tent com- 
 fortable for one night." 
 
 "This was our first introduction, Mary's and mine," 
 Mr. Riggs writes, "to the broad prairie of the West. 
 At first we kept in sight of the woods of the Minnesota, 
 and our road lay among little groves of timber. By 
 and by we emerged into the broad savannahs — thou- 
 sands of acres of meadow unmowed, and broad rolling 
 country covered, at this season of the year, with yellow 
 and blue flowers. Everything was full of interest to us, 
 even the Bad Swamp, 'Wewe Shecwa/ which so bent 
 and shook under the tramp of our teams, that we almost 
 believed that it would break through and let us into 
 the earth's centre. For years after this was our great 
 
Stephen Riggs 195 
 
 fear of prairie travelling, always reminding us very for- 
 cibly of Bunyan's description of the Slough of Despond." 
 With two ox teams and wagon the travellers spent 
 thirteen days on the journey. Mary notes getting a 
 dozen eggs from a httle Indian girl, the first she had 
 had since leaving the States. At Lac qui Parle they 
 shared the home of Doctor WilHamson, the upper part 
 being assigned them. A bedstead was made by boring 
 holes and driving slabs into the logs across which boards 
 were laid, and quilts nailed to the rafters gave further 
 protection from the weather. Here their cooking stove 
 was set up, but as they had no cooking utensils the 
 other women contributed a kettle and a pan. Mary 
 could make no light bread, having been a school-teacher, 
 and neither she nor her husband could milk the cow. 
 She grew up in New England, where only men do the 
 milking, and her husband in Ohio where the women 
 alone milked in those days. At first it "took us both 
 to milk the cow, and it was poorly done," Mary's hus- 
 band writes. In this room they lived five years, and 
 here three children were born. Here they received their 
 Indian visitors, and here the New Testament in the 
 language of the Dakotas and the Dakota dictionary was 
 prepared. "It was a consecrated room." The village 
 of Lac qui Parle numbered four hundred of the Wahpe- 
 ton, or Leaf-village band of the Dakotas, a band very 
 poor and very proud. One of the noted things that 
 occurred during the autumn was a marriage between 
 two of the missionaries, Miss Poague and Mr. Pond. 
 
196 Missionary Explorers 
 
 ''Nov. 2. Yesterday the marriage referred to was 
 solemnized. Could I paint the assembly, you would 
 agree with me that It was deeply and singularly inter- 
 esting. Fancy, for the moment, the audience who wit- 
 nessed the scene. The rest of our missionary band sat 
 near those of our number who were about to enter Into 
 the new and sacred relationship, while most of the 
 room was filled with our dark-faced guests, a blanket 
 or a buffalo robe their chief wedding garments, and 
 coarse and tawdry beads, brooches, and paint and 
 feathers their wedding ornaments. Here and there sat 
 a Frenchman or half-breed, whose garb bespoke their 
 different origin. No turkey or eagle feathers adorned 
 the hair, or parti-colored paint the face, though even 
 their appearance and attire reminded us of our location 
 In this wilderness. 
 
 "Mr. Riggs performed the wedding ceremony, and 
 Dr. WIHIamson made the concluding prayer, and, 
 through Mr. Rienville, briefly explained to the Dakotas 
 the ordinance and its institution. After the ceremony 
 Mr. Rienville and family partook with us of our frugal 
 meal, leaving the Indians to enjoy the feast of potatoes, 
 turnips, and bacon, to which the poor, the lame and 
 the blind had been Invited. As they were not aware of 
 the supper provided, they did not bring their dishes, as 
 is the Indian custom, so that they were scantily sup- 
 plied with milk-pans, etc. This deficiency they sup- 
 plied very readily by emptying the first course, which 
 was of potatoes, into their blankets, and passing their 
 dishes for a supply of turnips and bacon. 
 
Stephen RIggs 197 
 
 "I know not when I have seen a group so novel as 
 when on repairing to the room where these poor creat- 
 ures were promiscuously seated. On my left sat an 
 old man nearly blind; before me the woman who 
 dipped out the potatoes from a five-pail boiler sat on 
 the floor; and near her was an old man dividing the 
 bacon, clenching it firmly in his hand, and looking up 
 occasionally to see how many there were requiring a 
 share. In the corner sat a lame man eagerly devouring 
 his potatoes, and around him were scattered women 
 and children. When the last ladle was filled up from 
 the large pot of turnips, one by one they hastily de- 
 parted, borrowing dishes to carry home the supper to 
 divide with the children who had remained in charge 
 of the tents." 
 
 These exiles led a busy, useful life. The men were 
 translating the New Testament into Dakota. They 
 met at Fort Rienville, so called because the house was 
 enclosed in a stockade for fear of the warlike Ojibwas. 
 This was common meeting ground. Around the big 
 wood fire the chief Indian men of the village gathered to 
 talk and smoke, while the white men worked, aided by 
 Mr. Rienville, who had long been interpreter between 
 the French and Dakotas. Mary and the white women 
 taught school, the lessons being painted with a brush on 
 old newspapers and hung on the walls of the school- 
 house. According to Indian custom, the whites were 
 given Indian names. The first-born baby boy was 
 called Zitkadan Washtay, meaning Snow Bird. To 
 Mary they gave the name Fa-yu-ha, which means 
 
198 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Curly Head; the father became Ta-ma-ko-che or His 
 Country. 
 
 "The winter," Mr. Riggs writes, "as it passed had 
 other lessons for us. For me it was quite a chore to 
 cut and carry up enough wood to keep our somewhat 
 open upper room cosey and comfortable. Mary had 
 more ambition than I to get native help. She had not 
 been accustomed to do a day's washing. It came hard 
 to her. The other women of the mission preferred to 
 wash for themselves rather than train natives to do it. 
 And indeed, in the beginning, that was found to be no 
 easy task. For, in the first place the Dakota women did 
 not wash. Usually they put on a garment and wore 
 it until it rotted off. No good decent women were 
 found wiUing to do for white women what they would 
 not do for themselves. We could hire all the first 
 women of the village to hoe corn or dig potatoes, but 
 not one would take hold of the wash-tub. So it was 
 that Mary's first washer-women were of the lowest 
 class, and not very reputable characters. But she per- 
 severed and conquered. Only a few years passed when 
 the wash-women of the mission were of the best women 
 of the village. And the effort proved a great public 
 benefaction. The gospel of soap was indeed a neces- 
 sary adjunct and outgrowth of the Gospel of Sal- 
 vation. 
 
 *' Jan. 10. The Dakota tent is formed of buffalo 
 skins, stretched on long poles placed on the ground in 
 a circle, and meeting at the top, where a hole is left from 
 
Stephen Riggs 199 
 
 which the smoke of the fire in the centre issues. Others 
 are made of bark tied to the poles in a similar manner. 
 A small place is left for a door of skin stretched on 
 sticks, and hinged with strings at the top, so that the 
 person entering raises it from the ground and crawls in. 
 At this season of the year the door is protected by a 
 covered passage formed by stakes driven into the ground 
 several feet apart, and thatched with grass. Here they 
 keep their wood, which the women cut this cold weather, 
 the thermometer at eighteen to twenty degrees below 
 zero. And should you lift the little door, you would 
 find a cold, smoky lodge about twelve feet in diameter, 
 a mother and her child, a blanket or two, or a skin, a 
 kettle, and possibly in some of them a sack of corn. 
 
 '^Thursday eve., Jan. nth. Quite unexpectedly this 
 afternoon we received an invitation to a wedding at 
 Mr. Rienville's, one of his daughters marrying a French- 
 man. We gladly availed ourselves of an ox-sled, the 
 only vehicle we could command, and a little before 
 three o'clock we were in the guest-chamber. Mr. Rien- 
 ville who is part Dakota received us with French polite- 
 ness, and soon after the rest of the family entered. 
 These with several men and women of the Dakotas, 
 seated on benches formed not an uninteresting group. 
 The marriage ceremony was in French and Dakota, 
 and was soon over. Then the bridegroom rose, and 
 shook hands with his wife's relations and kissed her 
 mother, and the bride also kissed all her father's family. 
 
 "When supper was ready we repaired to a table amply 
 
200 Missionary Explorers 
 
 supplied with beef and mutton, potatoes, bread and tea. 
 Though some of them were not prepared as they would 
 have been in the States, they did not seem so singular as 
 a dish that I was unable to determine what it could be, 
 until an additional supply of blood was offered me. I 
 do not know how it was cooked, though it might have 
 been fried with pepper and onions, and I am told it is 
 esteemed very good. The poor Indians throw noth- 
 ing away, whether beast or bird, but consider both in- 
 side and outside delicious broiled on the coals." 
 
 ''April 5. Yesterday afternoon Mrs. Pond and my- 
 self walked to 'the lodges,"* Mary writes. "As the St. 
 Peters now covers a large part of the bottom, we 
 wound our way in the narrow Indian path on the side 
 of the hill. An Indian woman with her babe fastened 
 upon its board at her back, walked before us, and as 
 the grass on each side of the path made it uncomfort- 
 able walking side by side, we conformed to Dakota 
 custom, one following the other. For a few moments 
 we kept pace with our guide, but she soon outstripping 
 us, turned a corner and was out of sight. 
 
 "After counting thirty lodges stretched along below 
 us, we descended and entered one where we found a 
 sick woman, who said she had not sat up for a long 
 time, lying on a little bundle of hay. Another lodge 
 we found full of corn, the owners having subsisted on 
 deer and other game while absent during the winter. 
 
 "When we called at Mr. Rienville's which was a 
 little beyond, we returned through the heart of the 
 
Stephen Riggs 201 
 
 village, attended by such a retinue as I have never 
 before seen, and such strange intermingling of laughing 
 and shouting of children and barking of dogs as I have 
 never heard. Amazed and almost deafened by the 
 clamor, I turned to gaze upon the unique group. Some 
 of the older girls were close upon our heels, but as we 
 stopped, they also halted, and those behind slackened 
 their pace. Boys and girls from four to twelve years 
 of age, some wrapped in blankets, more without, and 
 quite a number of boys almost or entirely without 
 clothing, with a large number of dogs of various sizes 
 and colours presented themselves in an irregular line. 
 As all of the Indians here have pitched their lodges to- 
 gether, I suppose there may have been thirty or forty 
 children in our train. 
 
 "This evening two Indian women came and sat 
 awhile in our happy home. One of them had a babe 
 about the age of Alfred. You would have smiled to 
 see the plump undressed child peeping out from its 
 warm blanket like a Httle unfledged bird from its mossy 
 nest. 
 
 "The ducks had now come northward, and one of 
 the missionaries wishing to see the Indians more inti- 
 mately went out with a hunting party. As there had 
 been rumors of peace between the Dakotas and Ojibwas 
 it was thought not unlikely they would meet messengers 
 from the Ojibwas. As was expected Hole-in-the-day 
 and ten Ojibwas came to their teepees. Although the 
 weather having turned cold, and there was very Httle 
 
202 Missionary Explorers 
 
 to eat, the Dakotas killed two dogs and gave them a 
 feast. That night, notwithstanding the Ojibwa chief 
 had said he had come to smoke the pipe of peace, he 
 and his warriors got up after midnight and killed the 
 sleepers in three teepees. Out of fourteen in the morn- 
 ing only one woman and a badly wounded boy survived. 
 The missionary, Mr. Pond, Hound Wind, and the other 
 members of the party in the three other teepees buried 
 the dead and returned sorrowfully back to Lac-qui- 
 Parle. The entire village gave itself up to mourning 
 and the women with dishevelled heads and ragged 
 clothes surrounded the mission house with cries and 
 songs, begging in the name of the first born, knowing 
 the way to the parentis sympathies. 
 
 "The first man to learn to read and write his language 
 was Eagle Help, a war prophet and war leader. Not- 
 withstanding he had been helping in the translation of 
 the New Testament, he determined to go on the war- 
 path against the Ojibwas. He accordingly went into 
 communication with the Spirit world, for he claimed 
 that after fasting, praying and dancing he could see in 
 a trance the whole panorama, lake, prairie or wood in 
 which were his enemies, the Ojibwas, in canoe or on 
 the land, when the Spirit would say to him 'Up Eagle 
 Help, and kill.' So now he made his 'yoomne wachepe,' 
 or circle dance in which all the village took part. The 
 young men painted themselves for war; they feasted 
 and fasted and danced the no-flight dance and made 
 their hearts brave by reciting the past deeds of their 
 
Stephen Riggs 203 
 
 warriors. Vainly the missionaries argued and en- 
 treated, knowing what fate would befal the Ojibwa 
 women and children. Finally they said they would 
 pray that the war party should not be successful. This 
 greatly enraged the Indians, who slaughtered two of 
 their cattle before starting out. As it happened after 
 a long tramp the war party returned, not having seen 
 an Ojibwa. This they attributed to the prayers of the 
 missionaries, and promptly killed another of their un- 
 offending animals. After this it was some months be- 
 fore Eagle Help again became their friend and helper. 
 Meanwhile the school suffered through the suspicions 
 of the Indians, and the children stopped learning their 
 'wancha, nonpa, yamne,' — their one, two, three, up 
 to ten. This was done by bending the fingers. When 
 all were bent and gathered into two bunches, these 
 were let loose like geese flying away. Eleven was ten 
 more one; twenty was two tens. For each ten a finger 
 was kept bent; when all were bent it was 'opawinge,' 
 one hundred." 
 
 Lac qui Parle was two hundred miles from Fort Snell- 
 ing, the nearest post-office. The mail came about 
 every three months through the fur traders. The 
 preacher and his wife used to pray it would not come 
 in the evening. If it did, "then good-by sleep." 
 Once a year some one of the mission would go to Fort 
 Snelling for the annual supphes. Mary had been at 
 Lac qui Parle three years, and a httle Isabella had also 
 been added to the family. Now feeUng well, she de- 
 
204 Missionary Explorers 
 
 cided to accompany her husband on his trip to the 
 Fort, going with Mr. Rienville's annual caravan of 
 furs. 
 
 "The prairie journey was pleasant and enjoyable," 
 says her husband, " though somewhat fatiguing. We 
 had our own team and could easily keep company with 
 the long line of wooden carts, carrying bufFalo robes and 
 other furs. It was indeed rather romantic. But when 
 we reached the Traverse des Sioux we were at our wit's 
 end how to proceed further. That was the terminus of 
 the wagon road. It was then regarded as impossible to 
 take any wheeled vehicle by land to Fort SnelHng. Mr. 
 Sibley's fur boat, it was expected to have been at the 
 Traverse, but it was not. And a large canoe which 
 was kept there had floated away. Only a crazy httle 
 canoe, carrying two persons, was found to cross the 
 stream with. Nothing remained but to abandon the 
 journey or to try it on horseback. And for that not a 
 saddle could be obtained. But Mary was a plucky 
 Httle woman. She did not mean to use the word *fair 
 if she could help it. And so we tied a bufFalo robe and 
 blanket on one of the horses, and she mounted it with 
 a rope for a stirrup. Many a young woman would 
 have been at home there, but Mary had not grown up 
 on horseback. And so at the end of a dozen miles, 
 when we came to the river where Le Sueur now is she 
 was very glad to know that a large canoe had been 
 found. In that she and baby Isabella, Mr. Rienville's 
 girls took passage with an Indian woman or two to 
 
Stephen Riggs 205 
 
 paddle. The rest of the company went on by land, 
 managing to meet the boat at night and camp together. 
 This we did for the next four nights. The current was 
 not swift. The canoe was heavy and required hard 
 paddHng. The Dakota young women did not care to 
 work, and their helm's woman was not in a condition 
 to do it. On the fourth day they ran ashore somewhat 
 hurriedly and put up a tent, where the woman pilot 
 gave birth to a baby girl. They named it * By the way M 
 They remained on shore three quarters of an hour, on 
 account of the rain, says Mary, when the woman and 
 her child got back into the canoe ready to continue 
 rowing." 
 
 After two weeks they started on their voyage home 
 in a birch-bark canoe with a couple of French voyageurs 
 as paddlers. The journey was a series of accidents, 
 and finally a snag tore so large a hole in the canoe that 
 they were obliged to walk to Traverse des Sioux, carry- 
 ing the baby. After this experience Mary concludes 
 that sleeping on the prairie in a tent drenched with 
 rain, and walking through the wet grass with water 
 gushing from the shoes at every step, is no more dan- 
 gerous to the health than the exposures of fashionable 
 Hfe. 
 
 II 
 
 The Dakotas had a curious custom of being under the 
 law, and being above the law. It was always competent 
 for a Dakota soldier to punish another man for a mis- 
 
2o6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 demeanor, if the other man did not rank above him in 
 savage prowess. For example, if a Dakota man had 
 braved an Ojibwa with a loaded gun pointed at him, 
 and had gone up and killed him, he ranked above all 
 men who had not done a like brave deed. And if no 
 other man in the community had done such an act of 
 bravery, then this man could not be punished for any- 
 thing, according to Dakota custom. 
 
 This law was curiously practised with reference to 
 Anawangamane (walks galloping on). He was the first 
 full-blooded man to accept the new religion. "Your 
 church is made up of women. If you had gotten us in 
 first, it would have amounted to something. But now 
 there are only women. Who would follow after women .? " 
 It was this taunt that made the conversion of this 
 Dakota warrior of importance, for he had been "a very 
 dare-devil on the war-path." Anawangamane was 
 now above the law. So now when he put on white 
 man's clothes, and planted a field of corn and potatoes, 
 no Indian dared to cut his tent, kill his dog, or break 
 his gun, as they would otherwise have done in their 
 scorn. Thus by reason of this custom the Dakota's 
 success as a warrior protected him in this act of moral 
 courage. 
 
 *' Lac-qui-parle March 27 1841. Until this the 
 seasons for sugar making have been unfavorable since 
 we have been here. But this spring the Indian women 
 have been very successful, and several of them after 
 melting and straining proved excellent and reminded 
 
Stephen Riggs 207 
 
 us of home sugar. However, it does not always need 
 purifying, as some are much more cleanly than others, 
 here as well as in civiHzed lands. Sugar is a luxury for 
 which these women are wiUing to toil hard, and often 
 with but small recompense. Their camps are fre- 
 quently two or three miles from their lodges. If they 
 move to the latter, they must pack corn for their fam- 
 ilies; and if not, with kettle in hand they go to their 
 camps, toil all day, and often at night return with their 
 syrup or sugar and a back-load of wood for their hus- 
 band's use next day. Thus their sugar is a hard earned 
 luxury. But they have others, which they sometimes 
 offer us, such as musk-rats, beavers' tails and tortoises. 
 I have never tried musk-rats, but husband says they 
 are as good as pole-cats — another delicacy." 
 
 The most agreeable and successful days of this camp 
 of voluntary exiles were drawing to a close. Every- 
 thing contributed to the aHenation of the Indians. 
 The principal cause was the increasing drunkenness, 
 by reason of the whiskey of the traders. Three young 
 Dakota boys had been taken by them to Ohio. When 
 the missionary party were returning home and near- 
 ing the Chippewa River, they met a party of Ojibwas 
 carrying two fresh scalps. One proved to be that of 
 the brother of one of the boys who had been coming to 
 meet him. A woman ran back with the news, and when 
 the mission party arrived they were met by the whole 
 village of maddened Dakotas, who insisted that they 
 were the cause, and one enraged Indian shot one of the 
 
2o8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 horses of the team, which obhged the women to walk 
 the rest of the way under the broiHng sun. Mary's 
 brother Thomas had accompanied them back from their 
 visit to the States. Shortly after, he was drowned, and 
 this to the Indians was a sign that their water-god was 
 ofFended because of the missionaries living at Traverse 
 des Sioux, to which they had removed. Their sorrow 
 was too great for tears. Old Black Eagle chided them 
 for this. "The ducks, the geese, and the deer,'' he said, 
 "when one is killed, make an outcry about it, and the 
 sorrow passes by. The Dakotas too, Hke these wild 
 animals, make a great wailing over a dead friend — they 
 wail out their sorrow and it becomes Hghter; but you 
 keep your sorrow and it becomes heavier." 
 
 Everything that could be was stolen. An axe or hoe 
 could not be left out-of-doors; a towel would be taken 
 from its nail; scissors or any small article could not 
 be left unguarded for a moment. The men said they 
 did not steal but the women were all "wamanonsa." 
 The men, however, killed the mission oxen, and shot 
 arrows into the horses of their guests. After a few 
 years of these troubles, they moved back to Lac qui 
 Parle and built a cabin. But troubles did not cease. 
 For failures in crops, the absence of deer or buffalo, the 
 missionaries were blamed. The children who came to 
 school, the parents insisted, should be paid for coming; 
 threats were made to cut the blankets of those who 
 could read. Mary and the baby, going down the Min- 
 nesota in a canoe, received a volley of buckshot, but 
 
Stephen Riggs 209 
 
 fortunately were not touched. The time had come 
 when their relations with the Indians had to be placed 
 on some satisfactory basis. Accordingly the principal 
 men of the village were asked to a conference. 
 
 "The Indians said we were trespassers in their 
 country, and they had a right to make reprisals. We 
 used their wood and their water, and pastured our 
 animals on their grass, and gave them no adequate 
 pay. We had helped them get larger corn patches by 
 ploughing for them, we had furnished food and medi- 
 cines for their sick ones, we had often clothed their 
 naked ones, we had spent and been spent in their ser- 
 vice, but all this was, in their estimation, no compensa- 
 tion for the field we planted, the fuel we used, the grass 
 we cut, and the water we drank. 
 
 "My wife and I had been sent back to Lac-qui- 
 Parle," said Mr. Riggs, "but we would stay only on 
 certain conditions. We knew them and they knew us. 
 If we could stay with them as friends and be treated 
 as friends, we would stay. We came to teach them and 
 their children. But if then, or any time afterwards, 
 we learned that the whole village did not want us to 
 stay, we would go home to our friends. For the help 
 we gave them the water must be free, the wood to keep 
 us warm must be free, the grass our cattle ate must be 
 free, and the field we planted must be free; but when 
 we wanted the best timber to build houses with, which 
 we would do, I would pay them liberally for it. This 
 arrangement was satisfactory, and soon afterwards we 
 
2IO Missionary Explorers 
 
 bought from them the timber we used in building two 
 frame houses. A respite came with better crops, and 
 the return of the buffalo which put the Indians in a 
 better humor. An addition to the mission force, of 
 which one. Miss Jane Williamson, who will always be 
 remembered by the Dakotas as *Dowan Dootawin,' 
 or Red Song Woman, for her tender interest in their 
 children, gave them renewed hope. Moreover, the 
 dictionary and grammar of the Dakota language was 
 now ready for publication. 
 
 ''During these two buffalo winters, almost the whole 
 village removed up to the Pomme de Terre, or Owob- 
 aptay River, as the Dakotas called it. That was a 
 better point to hunt from, and to prevent the buffalo 
 from being driven off, and for the regulation of the hunt 
 they organized a Soldier's Lodge. This was a large tent 
 pitched in the centre of the camp, where the symbols 
 of power were kept in two bundles of red and black 
 sticks. These represented the soldiers — those who had 
 killed enemies and those who had not. To this tent 
 the women brought offerings of wood and meat; and 
 here the old and young men often gathered to feast, 
 and from these headquarters went forth through an 
 Eyanpaha, or cryer, the edicts of the wise men." 
 
 Calamity again beset the mission in the accidental 
 burning of their new home and its contents, which set 
 fire to the second house, and the family took refuge in 
 the Httle adobe church. It was then decided to move 
 the mission nearer the Yellow Medicine Agency, and 
 
Stephen Riggs 211 
 
 out of this arose that interesting experiment, the Hazel- 
 wood RepubUc. There was now a respectable num- 
 ber of young men, bloods and half-breeds, who had cut 
 their hair, put on white clothes, and tilled the fields. 
 The constitution of Minnesota provided that Indians 
 might become citizens by satisfying the authorities of 
 their progress in civilization. The President, who was 
 to be elected every two years, was Paul Mazakootamane. 
 The Hazelwood Republic prospered, a boarding-school 
 for Indian children was established, and Mr. Riggs 
 presented them with the first reading-book in their 
 own tongue, which was the first part of the Pilgrim's 
 Progress. 
 
 On the Minnesota and Iowa line is a beautiful lake, in 
 Indian "Mysterious Water," but known to us as ''Spirit 
 Lake." Here was a white settlement of fifty people. 
 In the winter of 1857 a roving band of Leaf Shooters 
 under Inkpadoota, "Scarlet End," in a bad humor be- 
 cause the hunting was bad, and also hungry, descended 
 on the settlement, killing forty people and carrying off 
 four women captive. Word was sent to Fort Ridgeley 
 and a party of soldiers sent out to rescue them. But in 
 the deep snows the Indians escaped with their captives. 
 In the spring word came to Yellow Medicine that Sound- 
 ing Heavens and Gray Foot had brought one of the 
 women to Lac qui Parle. 
 
 "We lost no time in going up to Lac-qui-Parle. At 
 the trader establishment, then in the keeping of Wee- 
 yooha, the father of Nawangmanewin, the wife of 
 
212 Missionary Explorers 
 
 Sounding Heavens, we found Mrs. Marble, rather a 
 small, but good-looking white woman, apparently not 
 more than twenty five years old. She was busily en- 
 gaged with Mrs. Sounding Heavens in making a calico 
 dress for herself. When I spoke to her in English she 
 was quite reserved. I asked her if she wanted to re- 
 turn to her friends. She replied *I am among my 
 friends.' She had indeed found friends in the two 
 young men who had purchased her from her captors. 
 They took her to their mother's tent, who had many 
 years before become a member of the Lac-qui-Parle 
 church, and been baptized by the Christian name of 
 Rebekah. They clothed her in the best style of the 
 Dakota women. They gave her the best they had to 
 eat. They brought her to their planting place, and 
 furnished her with materials to dress again Hke a white 
 woman. It was no wonder she said *I am among my 
 friends.' But after talking awhile she concluded it 
 would be best for her to find her white friends. 
 
 "Mrs. Marble's husband had been killed at Spirit 
 Lake. Her story was that four white women were re- 
 served as captives. They were made to carry burdens, 
 and walk through the melting snow and water. When 
 they came to the Big Sioux it was very full. The In- 
 dians cut down a tree, and the white women were ex- 
 pected to walk across that. One of the women fell off, 
 and her captor shot her in the water. Her fellow cap- 
 tives thought she was better off dead than alive. When 
 Mrs. Marble was rescued from her captors two others 
 
Stephen Riggs 213 
 
 still lived, Mrs. Nobles and Miss Abby Gardner. The 
 Indians were then west of the Big Sioux, in the valley 
 of the James or the Dakota River. We took Mrs. 
 Marble down, accompanied by Sounding Heavens and 
 Gray Foot, and their father, Wakanmane. She re- 
 mained a few days at our mission home at Hazelwood, 
 and in the meantime. Major Flandreau, who was In- 
 dian agent, paid the young men ^500 in gold, and gave 
 them a promissory note for the same amount. This 
 was a very creditable reward. 
 
 "But what was more important to be done was to 
 rescue the other women, if possible. We had Dakota 
 men whom we could trust on such a mission better than 
 we could trust ourselves. There was Paul Maza- 
 kootamane, the President of the Hazelwood Republic. 
 White people said he was lazy. There was truth in 
 that. He did not like to work. But he was a real 
 diplomatist. He could talk well, and he was skillful 
 in managing the Indians. For such a work there was 
 no better man than he. Then there was John Other- 
 day, the white man's friend. He could not talk Hke 
 Paul; but he had rare executive ability, and he was a 
 fearless fellow. There was no better second than he. 
 For the third man we secured Mr. Grass. These three 
 we selected, and the agent sent them to treat for Mrs. 
 Nobles and Miss Gardner. They took with them an 
 extra horse and a lot of goods. In about three weeks 
 they returned, and brought Miss Gardner. Mrs. 
 Nobles had been killed before they reached Scarlet 
 End's camp. 
 
214 Missionary Explorers 
 
 " This was the beginning of the end. One of Ink- 
 padoota's sons ventured into the Yellow Medicine set- 
 tlement, where he was killed by the soldiers and his 
 wife taken prisoner. Then came Major W. T. Sher- 
 man, whom we were later to know as General Sherman, 
 with his battery and orders from Washington that the 
 Spirit Lake murders must be punished, and the Indians 
 must do it on condition of receiving their annuities. 
 After much parleying and several war scares. Little 
 Crow and a hundred Dakota braves set out to hunt 
 Scarlet End and his band. They came upon them at 
 a lake, and a night battle took place in the reeds and 
 water. They then returned and received their annu- 
 ities. As the murders were never properly punished, 
 the Indians held the government in contempt, and the 
 seeds were sown for the later and more serious out- 
 break. Unhappily the Republican administration that 
 had just come into power decided to give the Indians 
 their annuities in goods rather than in money. The 
 Indians were greatly disappointed, and the result was 
 that the agency had to feed the Indians all winter. 
 This policy was afterward changed, but it was neces- 
 sary to await a new appropriation. 
 
 "The whole four thousand Indians were now gath- 
 ered at Yellow Medicine. The Sissetons of Lake Trav- 
 erse had hoed their corn and come down. It was the 
 regular time for receiving their annuities before the 
 corn needed watching. But the annuity money had 
 not come and the agent did not know when it would 
 come. He had not sent for them and he could not feed 
 
Stephen Riggs 215 
 
 them — he had barely enough provisions to keep them 
 while the payment was being made. The truth was he 
 had used up all the provisions on them in the previous 
 winter. So he told them he would give them some 
 flour and pork and they must go home and wait until 
 he called them. They took the provisions, but about 
 going home they could not see it in that way. It was 
 a hundred miles up to their planting place, and to 
 trudge there and back with little or nothing to eat, 
 and carry their tents and baggage and children on horse- 
 back and on dog-back, and on women-back, was more 
 than they cared to do. Besides there was nothing to 
 eat at home. They must go out on the buffalo hunt, 
 and then they might miss their money. And so they 
 preferred to stay, beg and steal or starve. 
 
 "But steahng and begging furnished but a very 
 scanty fare, and starving was not pleasant. The young 
 men talked the matter over and concluded that the 
 flour and pork in the warehouse belonged to them, and 
 there could not be much wrong in taking it. And so 
 one day they marched up to the storehouse with axes 
 in hand and battered the door down. They had com- 
 menced to carry out the flour when the Lieutenant and 
 ten men turned the howitzer upon them. This led 
 the Dakotas to desist, for they were unarmed. But 
 they were greatly enraged and threatened to bring their 
 guns and kill the little squad of white soldiers. And 
 to make this seem more likely, the Sioux tents were at 
 once struck and removed several miles. Agent Gal- 
 
2i6 Missionary Explorers 
 
 breath sent word that he wanted help. And when Mr. 
 Moore and I drove down, he said * If there is anything 
 between the Hds of the Bible that will meet this case, I 
 wish you would use it.' I told him I thought there was; 
 and advised him to call a council of the principal men 
 and talk the thing over. Whereupon I went to the 
 camp of Standing Buffalo, the chief of the Sissetons, 
 and arranged for a council that afternoon. 
 
 *'The chiefs and braves gathered. The young men 
 who had broken the doors down were there. The In- 
 dians argued that they were starving, and that the 
 flour and pork had been purchased with their money. 
 It was wrong to break in the door, but now they would 
 authorize the agent to take their money and repair the 
 door. Whereupon the agent agreed to give them some 
 provisions, and insisted on their going home; which 
 they agreed to do. The Sissetons left on the morrow, 
 and so far as they were concerned the difficulty was 
 over. Peace and quiet now reigned at Yellow Medi- 
 cine. Mr. Moore occupied himself in shooting pigeons, 
 and we all became quite attached to Mrs. Moore and 
 himself." 
 
 The Mr. and Mrs. Moore alluded to were a young 
 married couple from Philadelphia on a wedding tour, 
 which proved much more eventful than they had an- 
 ticipated. Peace was of short duration. On Sunday, 
 August 17, the outbreak began in a saloon in one of the 
 border settlements. It was thought at first to be but 
 a drunken quarrel. At the same time, shortly before, 
 
Stephen Riggs 217 
 
 a Tee-yo-tee-pe, or Soldier's Lodge, had been organ- 
 ized, which is never done except for a hunt or for war. 
 Against his wish Little Crow joined it, for, as the In- 
 dians said, "Your hands are now bloody/' The news 
 that the Indians were killing the whites was carried to 
 Fort Ridgeley, and Captain Marsh and fifty men were 
 sent out against them. Of these half were killed, the 
 rest barely escaping. While this was going on the in- 
 habitants of Hazelwood were peacefully at church. It 
 was not until Monday evening that the news reached 
 them; strange Indians were already there stealing their 
 horses, and friendly Dakotas warned them of their 
 danger. 
 
 "It was after midnight before we thought of leaving. 
 The young folks had lain down and slept awhile. By 
 and by Paul came and asked me to give him some blue 
 cloth I had — he must dress like an Indian to be safe. 
 They evidently felt that we might not be safe, and our 
 staying would endanger them. This was made more 
 serious by reason of Mrs. Moore and our three daugh- 
 ters. Indian men would kill us to get possession of 
 them. Thus the case was stated by our neighbors. 
 ; Afterwards we had reason to know that they had argued 
 rightly. 
 
 "And so we waked up the children and made prepa- 
 rations to depart. But it was only to be tempo- 
 rary. The plan was to go down to an island in the 
 Minnesota River, and remain until the danger was 
 overpast. Mr. Moore looked to his revolver, the only 
 
2i8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 reliable weapon among us. Thomas and Henry [the 
 writer's sons] got their double barrelled shot-gun, 
 Mary put up a bag of provisions, but unfortunately 
 we forgot it when we departed. Fortunately again it 
 was brought to us in the morning by Zoe, a Dakota 
 woman. Each one had a little baggage, but there was 
 not enough extra clothing in the company to make us 
 comfortable at night. When daylight came we were 
 all over on the island, but our team was left, and was 
 stolen, with the exception of one horse." 
 
 How soon their hiding-place might be discovered by 
 unfriendly Indians no one knew; so it was determined 
 to get away. Fortunately they were joined by another 
 party having a team of horses and an ox team. Into 
 these were placed the baggage, and the women and 
 children unable to walk. They had gone but a short 
 distance when they met a wounded man, his comrades 
 having been killed near the mouth of the Chippewa. 
 Although the wagons were full, they made a place for 
 him. Now and then they were joined by other fleeing 
 whites until their company numbered forty. Their de- 
 sire was to go across country, hoping to strike some 
 town. 
 
 "The evening came with a slow continued rain. The 
 first night we were out the younger children cried for 
 home. The second night some of the older children 
 would have cried if it had been any use. We had no 
 shelter. The wagons were no protection against the 
 continued rain, but it was natural to crawl under them. 
 
Stephen Riggs 219 
 
 The drop, drop, drop all night long from the wagon 
 beds, on the women and children, who had not more 
 than half covering in that cold August rain, was not 
 promotive of cheerfulness. 
 
 "Thursday morning found us cold and wet and en- 
 tirely out of cooked food. Since the first night we had 
 not been where we could obtain wood. And then and 
 since we should have been afraid to kindle a fire, lest 
 the smoke should betray us. But now it was necessary 
 we should find wood as speedily as possible. So our 
 course was taken toward a clump of trees in sight. 
 When we came upon them we found them entirely sur- 
 rounded by water. But the men waded in and brought 
 wood enough for camping. There we spent the after- 
 noon and night. There we killed one of the cows. 
 And there we baked bread and roasted meat on the 
 coals, having neither pot nor pan to do it in." 
 
 Elsewhere one of his daughters says that the dough 
 was mixed in a bag — flour, salt, and water being the in- 
 gredients — moulded on a box into cakes a hand's- 
 breadth in size, and baked on forked sticks. While 
 thus engaged they were met by a travelling photog- 
 rapher, a Mr. Ebell, who made a stereographic view of 
 the party. Finding they were making such slow 
 progress, the defenceless party concluded to turn 
 southward to Fort Ridgeley, sixteen miles distant, and 
 get in there under cover of the night. 
 
 "The darkness came upon us when we were still 
 seven or eight miles away; and then in the gloaming 
 
220 Missionary Explorers 
 
 appeared on a little hill-top two Indians on horse-back. 
 They might bring a war-party upon us. So we put 
 ourselves in the best position for defence. Martha and 
 Anna had generally walked with the boys. Now they 
 piled on the wagons, and the men and boys with such 
 weapons as they had marched by their side. As the 
 night came on we began to observe lights as of burning 
 buildings, and rockets thrown up from the garrison. 
 What could the latter mean? We afterwards learned 
 they were signals of distress. 
 
 "In our one horse buggy, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter 
 drove ahead of the party, and he crawled into the gar- 
 rison. He found that the Indians had beleaguered 
 them, had set fire to all the out-buildings of the fort, 
 appropriated all their stock, had been fighting all day, 
 and now had retired to the ravine as the night came 
 on. The fort was already crowded with women and 
 children, and scantily manned by soldiers. We could 
 come in they said, but our teams would be taken by 
 the Indians. They expected the attack would be re- 
 newed the next day. 
 
 "When Mr. Hunter returned we stopped in the road 
 and held a hasty consultation, as we feared we were 
 already followed. We had just passed a house where 
 the dogs alone remained to bark which they did furi- 
 ously. Just then some of our party stumbled over the 
 dead body of a man. There was no time to lose. We 
 decided not to go in, but to turn out and go around the 
 fort and its beleaguering forces, if possible. The four 
 
Stephen Riggs 221 
 
 men who had fallen to our company — three Germans 
 and an Irishman — dissented. But we told them no 
 one should leave us until we were past the danger. 
 And to prevent any desertion in this hour of trial Mr. 
 Moore cocked his revolver and said he would shoot 
 down the man who attempted to leave. 
 
 "It was ten o'clock and the night was dark. We 
 turned square off the road, and went up northward to 
 seek an old ford over the little stream that ran by the 
 fort. The Lord guided us to the right place, but while 
 we were hunting among the willows, there was a cry 
 heard so much like a human cry that we were all quite 
 startled. We thought it was the signal of an attack 
 by the Indians. Probably it was only the cry of a fox. 
 Just then Dr. WilHamson came to me and said that 
 perhaps he had counselled wrongly, and that if it was 
 thought best, he was quite willing to go back to the 
 fort. But I replied that we were almost around it, 
 and it would be unwise to go back. And so we traveled 
 on over the ravine and on up on the broad prairie be- 
 yond and received no harm. Our pulses began to beat 
 less furiously as we traveled on toward three o'clock in 
 the morning and felt that we were out of sight and 
 hearing of the Sioux warriors. So we stopped to rest, 
 our weary cattle. Some slept for an hour, but the 
 greater part kept watch. 
 
 "As we were around the fort, and around the danger 
 as far as we knew, it was understood that the four men 
 who wanted to leave in the night might leave us in the 
 
222 Missionary Explorers 
 
 morning. And, as it was possible they might have an 
 opportunity to send a letter to Governor Ramsay be- 
 fore we should, Dr. Williamson and I attempted to 
 write something by starlight. But nothing came of 
 that letter. When the light began to dawn in the east, 
 our party was aroused and moving forward. We had 
 been guided aright in our travel, for here we were at 
 the old Lac-qui-Parle crossing of Mud River. Here 
 the four men left us, and as the sun arose we saw the 
 sheen of their guns as they were entering the wood a 
 few miles away. Only a little while after that, we 
 heard the report of guns; the poor fellows had fallen 
 in with the Sioux army, which in the early morning 
 were on their way to attack New Ulm. We did not 
 know their fate until afterwards. 
 
 ''Our party now fell into the road that leads to Hen- 
 derson, and traveled all that day in safety. But on 
 the St. Peter's road, five or six miles to the right, we 
 saw the burning stacks and houses, and afterwards 
 knew that the Sioux were on that road killing white 
 people all that day. It was the middle of the after- 
 noon when we came to a deserted house. The dishes 
 were on the table. We found cream and butter in the 
 cellar and potatoes and corn in the garden. We 
 stopped, cooked and ate a good square meal, of which 
 we were greatly in need. Then we pushed on and 
 came to another house some time after nightfall, which 
 was deserted by the humans, but the cattle were there. 
 Here we spent the night and would have been glad to 
 
^: V 
 
 •^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 MR. MOORE COCKED HIS REVOLVER AND SAID HE WOULD SHOOT 
 DOWN THE MAN WHO ATTEMPTED TO LEAVE 
 
Stephen Riggs 223 
 
 rest the Sabbath, but as yet there was too much un- 
 certainty. Three or four hours' travel brought us to 
 the cross roads, where the whole settlement seemed to 
 have gathered. We there learned that a company of 
 troops had passed up, and had turned across to St. 
 Peter. This seemed to be a guarantee of safety and 
 so we rested the remainder of the day, gathering in the 
 afternoon to worship Him who had been our deliverer 
 and our guide." 
 
 Mary and the children now found friends and civili- 
 zation at Shakapoe, but her husband joined General 
 Sibley's command as chaplain, for the Sioux were still 
 on the war-path. Many had been killed and their 
 wives and children taken captive. A detachment of 
 soldiers had been sent out to gather in the dead, but 
 were surrounded by the Indians, and sent messengers 
 back for reinforcements. General Sibley then sent 
 his whole force against the Indians. 
 
 "When our camp was in motion, the Indians came 
 against us and surrounded us; but soon perceiving the 
 force was not what they had seen the night before, they 
 commenced making their escape, and we marched on 
 to the original camp. It was a sad sight — dead men 
 and dead horses lying in the hastily dug breast-works. 
 Twelve men were found dead and we buried them in one 
 grave. Thirty or forty were wounded and nearly the 
 whole of the ninety horses were lying dead. They had 
 suffered greatly for want of water, as the Indians had 
 cut them off entirely from the stream." 
 
224 Missionary Explorers 
 
 The northern country was now fully aroused, and 
 this defeat showed the necessity of being thoroughly 
 prepared. A few weeks were given over to this prepara- 
 tion, and on the 21st of September the little army again 
 took up its march northward, finding here and there 
 a dead body and the ruins of buildings on every side. 
 At Yellow Medicine the troops had stopped to gather 
 food from the fields of potatoes and corn, when some of 
 the soldiers were fired on. Immediately Indians ap- 
 peared on every side. The battle lasted several hours, 
 and resulted in the final defeat of the Indians, who fled 
 and sought refuge in the British possessions. As Gen- 
 eral Sibley had sent them word that what he desired 
 were the captives. Little Crow now left these in the 
 possession of the friendly Indians at what came to be 
 known as Camp Release. 
 
 "Now they came into our hands, nearly a hundred, 
 besides half-breeds, many of whom had been in a kind 
 of captivity. The white women had dressed up as 
 well as they could for the occasion, but many of them 
 only showed their relationship by their faces, hands 
 and hair — they were dressed like Indians. It was a 
 time of gladness for us. White men stood and cried 
 for joy. We took them all to our camp, and wrapped 
 them all up as well as we could. Some of the women 
 complained because we did not furnish women's 
 clothes; but that was unreasonable. This was Camp 
 Release. 
 
 "No sooner had the white captives been brought 
 
Stephen Riggs 225 
 
 over to our camp than from various sources we began 
 to hear of Indian men who had mahreated these white 
 women, or had been in some way engaged in the mas- 
 sacres of the border. On the morrow General Sibley 
 requested me to act as the medium of communication 
 between these women and himself, inviting them to 
 make known any acts of cruelty or wrong they had 
 suffered at the hands of the Dakota men during their 
 captivity. The result of this inquiry was the appre- 
 hension of several men who were still in the Sioux 
 camp, and the organization of a military commission 
 to try such cases. Naturally we had supposed that the 
 men who knew themselves guilty would have fled with 
 Little Crow to Manitoba. The greater number of such 
 men had undoubtedly gone, but some were found re- 
 maining who had participated in individual murders, 
 and some who had abused white women, and more who 
 had been mixed up in the various raids on the white 
 settlements." 
 
 The result of this inquiry was the trial of four hun- 
 dred Indians, of whom only fifty were cleared. Sub- 
 sequently thirty-eight were hanged. 
 
 "As the time of their death approached, they mani- 
 fested a desire to say something to their Dakota friends, 
 and also to the white people. I acceded to their re- 
 quest, and spent a whole day with them, writing down 
 such things as they wanted to say. Many of them, 
 the most of them, took occasion to affirm their inno- 
 cence of the charges against them of killing individuals. 
 
226 Missionary Explorers 
 
 But they admitted and said of their own accord that 
 so many white people had been killed by the Dakotas 
 that public and general justice required the death of 
 some in return. This admission was in the line of their 
 education. Perhaps it is not too much to call it an in- 
 stinct of humanity.'* 
 
 For the security of the frontier, General Sibley or- 
 ganized a military expedition which Mr. Riggs accom- 
 panied as interpreter to the corps of Dakota scouts. 
 The families of these were maintained at Scouts Camp 
 as it was called, and here the missionary work was con- 
 tinued. The prisoners and their families, numbering 
 over fifteen hundred, were confined in a stockade at 
 Fort Snelling, and subsequently at Davenport, Iowa. 
 During this time, a period over two years, he stayed by 
 them. The prisoners asked for books. Slates and pen- 
 cils were given to them and prison came to be a school. 
 They began to sing and pray morning and evening of 
 their own accord. Hundreds of men who refused to 
 listen to the missionaries before now wanted to hear 
 them, just as scores of men who had refused to learn 
 to read now were the most eager. Their own gods had 
 failed them, as was manifested. The conjurers and 
 medicine men were speechless. Even the women 
 taunted them saying: "You boasted great power as 
 'wakan' men; where is it now?" The result was a 
 great revival among the prisoners. 
 
 "The first communion in prison made a deep im- 
 pression upon myself. It began to throw light upon per- 
 
Stephen Riggs 227 
 
 plexing questions that had started in my own mind as 
 to the moral meaning of the outbreak. God's thought 
 of it was not my thought. As the heavens were higher 
 than the earth, so his thoughts were higher than mine. 
 I accepted the present interpretation of events, and 
 thanked God and took courage.'' 
 
 After peace was restored it took some time to repair 
 the ravages of the Indians on the mission stations. 
 Meanwhile, Stephen Riggs, with Mary, made his winter 
 residence at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he continued his 
 translation of the New Testament into the language 
 of the Dakotas. Their summers were spent among the 
 mission stations of Minnesota and Nebraska. 
 
 It was at Beloit where Mr. Riggs lost his faithful 
 helper, Mary, and then, some years later, Mr. Riggs 
 passed away, but not until the entire Bible had been 
 rendered into the Sioux tongue. 
 
JOHN LEWIS DYER 
 
 SNOW-SHOE ITINERANT 
 
JOHN LEWIS DYER 
 SNOW-SHOE ITINERANT 
 
 IT requires an effort of mind for us to think of Ken- 
 tucky and Illinois as the frontier. But to-day 
 there is no part of the United States that presents 
 such opportunities for adventure as did the land lying 
 west of the Alleghanies and east of the Mississippi after 
 the War of the Revolution. The storm and stress of 
 that period left the people sensitive, impressionable, 
 keenly ahve both to the extremes of dissipation and to 
 the ecstasies of religious fervor, both being forms of 
 action constantly coming to close quarters with one 
 another, and furnishing a conflict that played an im- 
 portant part of the life and struggle toward the civili- 
 zation of the Middle West. 
 
 One of the chief of these combatants was Father 
 Dyer, as he was known in the familiar language of the 
 day. Adventure was in his blood. His great-grand- 
 father was a stowaway from England who, captured on 
 board ship, was sold to work out his passage money. 
 This done he went to Pendleton County, Virginia, where 
 he became a comfortable land-owner. Here he married 
 and his children were born. One of these was John 
 Dyer, the grandfather of the "Snow-Shoe Itinerant," 
 who took up the family spirit for adventure, and moved 
 
 231 
 
232 Missionary Explorers 
 
 with his wife and young family to Kentucky, where he 
 remained for ten years, and thence to Ohio, seeking a 
 stronghold against the Indians, near Chillicothe. Here 
 he established the first grist-mill in central Ohio, known 
 as Dyer's Mills. He was something of a character. 
 He had also a saw-mill, and, seeing a fine cherry log 
 brought in, he saved enough of it to make for himself 
 a handsome coffin. This he had stored in his loft until 
 it was required for use. 
 
 Here Samuel Dyer, his son, was married to Cas- 
 sandra Foster, the daughter of Lewis Foster, a local 
 preacher, who with his family had blazed his way from 
 Pennsylvania to Chillicothe. These two were the par- 
 ents of John Lewis Dyer, who was born March 16, 
 18 1 2, near the old mill, and in whom both religious 
 fervor and a love of adventure were harmoniously 
 united toward the same ends. The Indian in his na- 
 tive state had been steadily crowded westward by the 
 impetuous frontiersmen. With the Indian John Dyer 
 never caught up. He was to deal with the turbulent 
 settlers, triumphant in their contest with the Indian, 
 and now battling with the virgin forests, the malarious 
 swamps, and the hidden wealth of the rocks. No 
 Indian was ever more in need of the preacher's 
 counsel and warning than the settlers in this strife. 
 He was brought up in a community in which both camp- 
 meetings and whiskey were alike common. Of these 
 he relates his own early impressions and their effect: 
 
 "My father was justice of the peace. Among the 
 
JOHN L. DYER 
 
John Lewis Dyer 233 
 
 men that frequented his primitive court was a Mr. T. 
 who was generally half-drunk, and would persist, when 
 in that condition, in shaking hands with me, although 
 I was scarcely four years old. On one occasion seeing 
 him coming, I hid behind mother, who was spinning 
 flax on her little wheel, and said: 'He is drunk, and I 
 will not shake hands.' But he saw me, and when I 
 drew back, he said: 'What is the matter with that 
 child?' She told him what I said. That raised his 
 Irish. He stamped his foot, and said: 'That child will 
 make a drunkard as sure as he lives. I have never seen 
 a child that hated a drunken man but would surely be 
 a drunkard.' I was badly frightened, but never for- 
 got his angry prophecy. I was born with a love for 
 whiskey. I cannot remember when, at the smell of 
 it water did not gather on my tongue. But when ever 
 I tasted it the thought of old T. came In my mind. 
 
 "Not long after another event came to save me. 
 Father was laid up with rheumatism, and the young 
 people of the neighborhood gathered to help pull his 
 flax. As the custom was, he provided a quart of whis- 
 key and a bucket of water, which I sat In the shade to 
 dispense. Never did anything look so tempting. I 
 thought I could mix the whiskey with water, so that it 
 would not strangle me, and drink all I wanted and 
 nobody know anything about it. So mixing up a half 
 tin cup full, I drank it until it did not taste good any 
 more. The next thing I remember was looking toward 
 the house over a small field of wheat. The stalks 
 
234 Missionary Explorers 
 
 seemed to be about seven feet high, and the heads 
 nearly a foot long, and they all appeared to be pitch- 
 ing over one another. So I thought it impossible to 
 get home, lay down, and was carried to the house. 
 This was my first and last 'drunk.'" 
 
 His experience of the religious ecstasies of the day 
 took place at an equally early age. The rude pulpit, 
 the embowered tents in the heart of the forests, fur- 
 nished the scene. The gatherings of wagons, ox-teams, 
 horsemen and women, of old friends and neighbors, 
 were eagerly looked forward to, in the language of the 
 day, as periods of refreshment. "The preachers were 
 known almost as far as they could be seen by their 
 saddle bags, in which most of their valuables were car- 
 ried." They travelled large circuits, often swimming 
 swollen streams and enduring all manner of hardships, 
 preaching daily, receiving only food and clothing. 
 Father Dyer describes his childish impression of the 
 presence of eight converted Indians singing in their 
 own tongue the old hymn 
 
 How happy are they, who their Saviour obey, 
 
 and the crowd, stricken by the Holy Ghost, faUing on 
 the ground like dead men to awake shouting; and that 
 curious phenomenon known as "the jerks" connected 
 with this religious excitement. He describes one 
 woman, who "as two women held her jerked her head 
 so violently that her long hair became loosened and 
 snapped like whip-crackers." 
 
John Lewis Dyer 235 
 
 But the boy had also his duties and his pleasures. 
 "Almost as soon as I could reach the plow handles I 
 was set to plowing. If I had not gone at least two 
 rounds across a ten-acre field before sunrise, it was 
 thought a late start. 
 
 "We had plenty of hard work; but mixed with it 
 were the amusements peculiar to pioneer life. Among 
 these was hunting. The forests abounded in rac- 
 coons, wild turkeys, and deer. Every boy was familiar 
 with the use of the rifle — old fashioned muzzle-load- 
 ers, powder horn and charger, and patch and ball, and 
 flint lock. 
 
 "When acorns failed, the raccoons ravished our corn- 
 fields. That made sport for us boys. It was night 
 work and all the more interesting on that account. 
 My brother Robert and I would take a horse and our 
 coon dog, and seldom return empty handed. We used 
 no gun, but would tree the coon, climb after him and 
 shake him off*, and leave the dog to make the finish, 
 which was not always an easy task, as the coon was 
 capable of making an obstinate fight. On one occasion 
 we treed two on the same tree. As I climbed up the 
 tree, one jumped off", but the dog chased him up after 
 me; so that I had one above, and one below me. I 
 succeeded in shaking them off" more easily than I have 
 shaken oflF book agents since then, and the dog quickly 
 despatched them. The same time we treed another 
 on a large honey locust too full of thorns to climb. 
 But there was a hackberry-tree by its side, by which I 
 
236 Missionary Explorers 
 
 climbed above the worst of the thorns, and then got 
 over on to the locust. The coon was at least sixty feet 
 from the ground; but I followed him to the top and 
 shook him ofF. He proved to be the largest one we 
 ever caught. Never did I look at the top of that tree 
 in the day-time but the blood tingled to the end of my 
 toes. I could not have climbed there in daylight. 
 Money was scarce in those times, and coon skins were 
 almost currency at twenty-five cents apiece. So when 
 we counted seven as the result of a single hunt, Robert 
 and I felt 'passing rich.' 
 
 "Deer hunting was more to my notion, although my 
 first experience was not calculated to inflate my pride. 
 I espied a noble animal at a short distance, and was 
 undiscovered. Never had boy a better chance; but 
 a strange sensation possessed me. I was not fright- 
 ened, but shook as in ague. I could not aim my rifle, 
 or hold on the broad side of the deer, or pull my trigger. 
 The last I finally managed somehow to do, and at the 
 crack of the gun the deer looked around to see what 
 was up. I fell to loading again, but was unable for 
 my shaking to bring the powder horn and charges to- 
 gether. This brought me to my senses and settled my 
 nerves; but the deer, tired of waiting, made ofF. 
 
 "In a little while there was another opportunity. 
 This time it was a large buck. The fever did not come 
 back. My nerves were steady. I took good aim and 
 fired. The buck fell. I ran with knife in hand to cut 
 his throat; but when within about twenty feet of him. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 237 
 
 he raised up his head, snufFed and shook his big horns 
 defiantly at me. Some blood on his back gave me the 
 idea that the bullet had just creased him, and that he 
 would be up and fight in a minute. Running to a big 
 tree near by, I loaded again and shot him in the head. 
 He was a splendid fellow and made me forget my dis- 
 graceful * buck-fever.' 
 
 "My father was fond of hunting the deer at night 
 on the water. The deer Hked the moss that grew in 
 the water, and was always attracted by a light. Plac- 
 ing a candle in the bow of the canoe, and setting up a 
 screen behind it to conceal them, the hunters would 
 paddle noiselessly down the stream until they discov- 
 ered their game. This was the Indian way of hunting. 
 Father once met Jonathan Alder and his Indian wife 
 — ^well known in the early history of Ohio — in their 
 bark canoe, engaged in this sport. When I was about 
 fourteen he took me on such an expedition. We 
 chopped down an elm tree, made a canoe of its bark, 
 and, just after dark put out. Father sat in front and 
 I behind, guiding the canoe with a smooth little pole, 
 which I dared not Hft out of the water lest I scare the 
 game. We pushed along that way until we espied a 
 deer. It raised its head; but the light blinded it, and 
 we poled nearer until we could see it wink, when father 
 shot it. The night, the water, the shadows of the 
 forest, and the breathless stillness of the hunt gave a 
 certain charm to this mode; but somehow it never 
 seemed quite so fair to the deer as the other way. 
 
238 Missionary Explorers 
 
 "Scarcely second to hunting was our three months 
 school. I think we appreciated the advantages, and 
 improved them. But the three months of good times 
 we had together brightened the whole year. Our 
 games were rugged, and our tricks not always the gen- 
 tlest. One of the latter was to bar out the teacher 
 on Christmas, and dictate terms of admission, which 
 usually were two days' vacation, time to be made up 
 by him, and a treat at his expense of a quart or two of 
 whiskey. Some of the boys would take too much; so 
 this treat fell into disrepute and apples were substi- 
 tuted for it. Barring out, however, was continued, 
 until about 1825, when some of the parents who op- 
 posed it joined forces with the teachers from New Eng- 
 land, who were indignant at what they styled 'a West- 
 ern outrage,' and put an end to the practice. 
 
 "Spelling matches between neighboring schools ex- 
 cited great interest. The school on Glade Run and ours 
 once met half-way. Each side put up its picked ten. 
 We were gaining rapidly, when the man who gave out 
 words was found cheating us. This raised quite a dis- 
 turbance; but we chose a man who lived on their side, 
 in whose honesty we had confidence, and the contest 
 went on, our side winning, and my brother Robert 
 bearing off the honors. 
 
 "Our course of study included the 'Three Rs' and 
 orthography. One of my teachers I recall with great 
 pleasure. This was Edwin Cone. He was a good man, 
 and inspired his scholars to do good work. When about 
 
John Lewis Dyer 239 
 
 eighteen, I was sent thirty miles to Marysville, Union 
 County, in the 'Big Woods' to study mathematics with 
 a Mr. Phelps, the county surveyor. In the four months 
 I was with him, I went as a hand occasionally, and 
 thus secured practice as well as theory. This was of 
 advantage to me in early days in IlHnois." 
 
 When young Dyer was in his twentieth year, in the 
 autumn of 183 1, the family moved to Illinois. Of the 
 journey he writes: "We had one large wagon, of the 
 kind later called 'prairie schooners,' with four horses — 
 which, as being the eldest of the eight children I drove 
 — and one two horse wagon, both well stocked with 
 camp equipage, provisions, utensils, etc. On the 6th of 
 October we started on the journey. We went to the 
 west line of the Ohio, thence to Greenville, White 
 river near Strawtown, Ind.; through the 'Wilderness,' 
 and Wabash prairies to Danville, 111., then a hamlet of 
 about twenty five houses; reached Pekin, November 
 6th, just one month out, where I saw my first steam- 
 boat; thence crossed over to the neighborhood of 
 Canton, Fulton County, and settled where Fairview 
 now stands. 
 
 "The journey was uneventful. The summer had 
 been unusually wet, and the roads were very muddy. 
 It was not uncommon to spend a week going forty five 
 miles. The Wilderness was a flat beech forest, forty 
 miles with but one house and no bottom to the roads; 
 that is it was mud down as far as we knew. Teams 
 with famihes camped looked like a small camp meeting. 
 
240 Missionary Explorers 
 
 One evening after supper I strolled out among the 
 groups of men around the camp fires. The general 
 topic of conversation was the depth of the mud, each 
 claiming that he had seen the worst. But one fellow 
 said: All that you have seen is nothing. I was look- 
 ing ahead and I saw a plug hat on the mud and thought 
 I had a prize. As I got nearer, it seemed to have a 
 man's head in it, which said 'Let me alone, I have a 
 good horse under me.' That closed the conversation 
 on that subject. I do not remember any bridges, but 
 plenty of poles to pry out with." 
 
 There being no railroads, the great object was to 
 settle on some navigable strearn, so father and son 
 started out to walk and find some suitable place, as 
 the ice was too treacherous to risk their teams. Fol- 
 lowing the course of the Mississippi, they found in 
 Mercer County two young couples eight miles east of 
 the river. Meanwhile eight inches of snow had fallen, 
 and it had turned "desperately cold." 
 
 ''The newly married men had cut hay and hauled 
 some logs for their houses before they took their wives 
 up in time for the thaw. They had raised their house 
 up one story and had cut out a place for the chimney, 
 built a fire and made clapboards as fast as they could, 
 putting poles across inside. The roof was made of 
 four courses of three feet clapboards. On each side of 
 the fire-place was what we called a Jackson bed stead, 
 made of hickory poles, which answered a good purpose, 
 and was fashionable in those days. A blanket served 
 
John Lewis Dyer 241 
 
 for a door. It was stormy and we asked to stay. 
 They said 'You see we are caught in the storm, just as 
 you are; but we will do the best we can for you.' 
 They made us a bed on the ground floor. After we 
 had got into a sound sleep, one of the oxen pushed 
 away the blanket and walked in and put his nose on 
 my father's face, which aroused him. He threw up 
 his hands, and the ox threw up his horns against the 
 clapboard roof, which we thought was all coming down 
 on us. But nobody was hurt, and after driving out 
 the ox and securing the door with a pole, we managed 
 to get some rest and sleep, notwithstanding the night 
 was severely cold. 
 
 "In the morning we had for breakfast fried pork, corn 
 bread, potatoes and coffee made out of burnt corn- 
 bread. Before night we longed for more of it, for we 
 traveled all day till after dar,k without a bit to eat. 
 We held a council of war that morning and decided 
 that we would make for Pence's Fork, by the old lead 
 mine road, and then go back the way we came. I have 
 thought it was thirty miles through the grass and eight 
 inches of snow. But there was no house and we deter- 
 mined to go through. My father had been afflicted 
 with sciatic rheumatism in one limb; and after tramp- 
 ing about eight miles, he began to suff'er and fall be- 
 hind, Mr. Day pushing on and I about half-way be- 
 tween them, with feelings which, though fresh, I have 
 no words to express. 
 
 "We reached Pope River and stopped to rest awhile. 
 
242 Missionary Explorers 
 
 We had no means of building a fire, or we would have 
 stayed there. The frost was flying with a hard west 
 wind. Father was compelled to rest a little, and said, 
 'You and Day go on, and you get a horse and meet 
 me.' All I said to him was to keep in the road, which 
 could be seen on the bottom, the grass being tall on 
 either side. It was quite late in the afternoon, and a 
 hard snowy road twelve miles or more. Mr. Day and 
 I started side by side. It was for life, as I hardly ex- 
 pected to see my father alive again. Before we got 
 half-way Mr. Day proposed to slacken his pace and 
 let me go on. I reached the fort at dusk, and young 
 Mr. Pence saddled a horse and was off on a lope as 
 quick as possible. I could not have gone as I was all 
 over-done, sweating, shivering with the cold; but my 
 anxiety was not abated until I saw my father. He 
 was met about five miles back. He said that after 
 we left he felt a little rested, and walked on and felt 
 better but he was so cold that he grew sleepy; and when 
 he got on the horse, he had to hold to the mane to 
 keep from falling. Mr. Day only got in a short time 
 before him. Father was shaking so with cold we had 
 to help him off. Mrs. Pence brought him a good cup 
 of coffee, but he shook so with cold and fatigue that 
 it had to be put to his mouth. He was soon warmed, 
 and found that he was not frozen except his nose and 
 one cheek which were frost bitten. I had never been 
 so cold and tired before, never had such a burden rolled 
 off, and never experienced such thankfulness. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 243 
 
 "In the spring of 1832 the renowned Black Hawk 
 war broke out, about the time grass was so that stock 
 could live on it. Almost all the young men and some 
 of the old ones volunteered as rangers to fight the 
 Indians. I was anxious to go, but we were new- 
 comers, and much depended on raising a crop. Rails 
 were to be made and hauled, and father thought he 
 could spare neither a man nor a horse; but promised 
 that as soon as the spring work was done I could go. 
 He thought there was not much danger, and stayed 
 all alone on his place. There was not a man within 
 six miles, who did not leave at times. He said that 
 when he saw a man running, and crying and saying 
 the Indians had killed all but him, then it would be 
 time enough to run. 
 
 "Some time in June, Major Foster, a recruiting 
 officer, with a number of men that had come in on 
 furlough, was to start up to Gum's Fort, on the waters 
 of Henderson River. I took up a gun and ammunition, 
 and a good horse, and joined them at Canton. About 
 a dozen of us set out for the seat of war. Mr. Wester- 
 field, a man of good repute, came an hour behind, and 
 concluded to overtake us, but had only ridden about 
 one mile north of Canton, near the house of Captain 
 Barnes, when he heard a man, who proved afterward 
 to be one known familiarly as Father Thurman, chas- 
 ing a coyote wolf with his horse and dogs, hallooing at 
 the top of his voice every jump. Mr. Westerfield 
 heard it, but could not see for a skirt of timber; and as 
 
244 Missionary Explorers 
 
 big Indian was in his mind, he turned his horse back 
 for town, and cried at the top of his voice 'The Indians 
 are killing Barnes's family,' and everybody believed it. 
 In a few minutes a fort was commenced, and word sent 
 to every family near but Mr. Barnes. Of course every- 
 body ran to Canton. Creeks were out of their banks. 
 One horse was drowned, and some members of families, 
 who were in delicate health were injured. 
 
 "It is strange how scared men will act. The first 
 man Mr. Westerfield met was a Mr. Coleman, who had 
 a store and horse-mill, a lame boy attending the mill 
 just across the road. He did not even call his boy; 
 turned the key on his store, mounted a horse which a 
 customer had hitched to the rack, put his plug hat 
 under him as there was no saddle, and gallopped down 
 the road with Westerfield, crying the alarm. About 
 three miles down the road they met a Mr. F., who, on 
 hearing the news, was so scared that he ran in the 
 house, took what change he had, left his wife and family, 
 and never stopped until he got to Ross's Ferry on the 
 Illinois River, and actually rode into the river to meet 
 the ferry-boat, such was his fright. It is plain to be 
 seen that men ought to know the facts before they give 
 any alarm in times of excitement. As my father and 
 his family lived eight miles out, and Barnes's place 
 was on the road, they heard nothing of it until they 
 heard both sides, and kept quietly at work. I was out 
 fifteen or twenty days with the rangers and country, 
 and was well persuaded that the Indians would rather 
 
John Lewis Dyer 245 
 
 be west of the Mississippi River, and concluded not to 
 volunteer, but returned to hear of Westerfield's defeat 
 as it was called. 
 
 "Several times during the summer it was reported 
 that Indians were within a few miles of us. I will 
 mention one more scene. There was what was called 
 Babbitt's Settlement, north-west of Canton about 
 twenty-five miles. Five or six famiHes had quietly 
 stuck to their farms. One of their number, Mr. Cox, 
 went out to hunt a colt that was not bridle-wise, and 
 got back with it just at dusk. In his absence two or 
 three soldiers on a furlough from the army called to 
 stay over night. As he came near the house he heard 
 strange voices, and at once thought it was Indians, and 
 was sure they had killed his wife and family. In his 
 grief and alarm he struck out for Canton on the colt. 
 About half-way with a man he had met, he passed Mr. 
 Zebulon Foster's, waked them up, and told them that 
 the Indians had killed his family. When asked for 
 particulars, swore it was true, and started at half- 
 speed. Well, the family got up a yoke of oxen, noti- 
 fied a widow and family and started the same way at 
 mid-night. Mr. Cox alarmed with his cries and tears 
 as far as he could, and by nine o'clock they had sixty 
 men with arms to go out to war. In the meantime, 
 after she had given the soldiers — the innocent cause of 
 this alarm — their supper, Mrs. Cox became very un- 
 easy, fearing that her husband had been thrown from 
 the colt and killed or crippled. She induced her guests 
 
246 Missionary Explorers 
 
 to go in search of him in the night. They soon got 
 tired and rode on to Canton, and hearing of Mr. Cox's 
 trouble, found him and told him that his wife was very 
 uneasy about him, and that he had better go home. 
 This was the end of another Indian scare. 
 
 "This was a summer of almost constant excitement. 
 Black Hawk and his band were whipped, and fifty 
 miles of territory ceded to the United States on the 
 west side of the Mississippi River, all that we thought 
 we ever should want. Illinois having proved to be 
 very rich in soil and natural advantages, about this 
 time experienced a great influx of population, and a 
 wonderful rise in property. We read in the papers of 
 the first railroad in New York. I asked my father 
 what he thought of such a project — flat iron rails for 
 steam-cars. He thought a moment, and said it might 
 pay between large cities, but the expense would be too 
 great to build through the country. The old gentle- 
 man lived to ride on such a road from lUinois to the 
 Rocky Mountains. 
 
 "From 1834 to 1837 times were good, and specula- 
 tion ran high. But the awful crash, financially, in 
 1837 broke up thousands. Only men that had a large 
 surplus, and were free from debt, stood the shock. 
 No money could be had on credit for less than twelve 
 per cent, and property and produce were not worth 
 anything to speak of. I hauled one load of good wheat 
 thirty-five miles to Peoria, and could only get twenty 
 five cents a bushel. Pork was sold from ^1.25 to ^1.50 
 
John Lewis Dyer 247 
 
 cents a hundred pounds. The farmer had to run all 
 over a village to sell a few pounds of butter, and take 
 it in calico. Eggs were three cents a dozen." 
 
 II 
 
 Before leaving Ohio, young Dyer had become "con- 
 verted" at a camp-meeting. His peace, however, was 
 of short duration. Riding in the woods after dark one 
 night, as he expresses it, the tempter came to him and 
 presented various reasons why he should not forsake 
 the amusements of his young companions. He was 
 about to yield, when the "spirit forsook" him and he 
 became so frightened that, in his own words, "my hair 
 seemed to rise, and I felt to see if my hat was not going 
 ofF my head." In Illinois, although constant in his at- 
 tendance at church, his temptations were so frequent, 
 so varied, that to be delivered from them he prayed 
 that he might die. Once kneeling at the foot of a tree 
 in the forest, wrestHng Hke Jacob of old, he heard a 
 voice behind him saying: "Your work is not done. 
 Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
 creature." Looking around to see who was there, he 
 found himself alone. Beheving he had listened to a 
 voice from heaven, his life was thus turned toward the 
 ministry, and perhaps confirmed that taste for wander- 
 ing which afterward developed and gave occasion to 
 his later title, "A Snow-Shoe Itinerant." As a Hcensed 
 exhorter from the hands of Peter Cartwright his work 
 
248 Missionary Explorers 
 
 began, hindered, however, by lack of education and 
 those clouds of spiritual darkness in which he frequently 
 walked. 
 
 Meanwhile he married Miss Hariett Foster, and the 
 poverty of the times and the pressing needs of a young 
 family led to his removal to Potosi, Wis., where he 
 prospected for lead and worked with his hands in the 
 mines. Still the gift of speech was denied him, and 
 after many failures he was almost despairing, when he 
 had another of those strange religious experiences that 
 so influenced his career, following upon an escape from 
 being killed by a horse. 
 
 "I had been gloomy all day, and after the above 
 escape, felt worse, and slept but little during the night. 
 Next day with a hired man I was helping to sink a 
 prospect shaft. I was in the ground about thirty 
 feet, but was exceedingly sad, and grew worse, until I 
 had no power to work. My feelings were awful. 
 Panting for breath I sat down in the shaft, and said 
 *0, Lord, what ails me ? ' Just then a hundred promises 
 I had made that I would go and preach the gospel 
 rushed to my mind, and now although the way was 
 open I had refused. Two things were in the way. 
 The first was that divorced woman'' — it should be ex- 
 plained that his wife having died, he had married a 
 woman who proved to have another husband living; 
 the shame he imputed to himself — *'and the belief that 
 if I went the cause would be injured and myself dis- 
 graced. Then came this text: 'If you eat any deadly 
 
John Lewis Dyer 249 
 
 thing it shall not hurt you.' The other was the fact 
 that I had one son at Lawrence University and wanted 
 to educate the other children, and my prospects bid 
 fair to do so. Then came the words : 'Every one that 
 hath forsaken houses or brethren, or sisters, or father, 
 or mother, or children for my name's sake, shall re- 
 ceive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.' 
 The response was: *If deadly poison will not kill, I 
 will leave the children to God's care and go. The best 
 of the bargain on my side — eternal life.' 
 
 "It was now all settled. I put pick and shovel into 
 the tub, stepped in and said 'Hoist,' and my man took 
 me out of the pit. He asked me what it meant. I 
 told him I was going to quit work for awhile. When 
 we got to the cabin for dinner, I said to my brother, 
 *I am going to try to preach the gospel.' He said after 
 a moment's reflection, quoting Davy Crockett, 'Be 
 sure you're right, and go ahead,' and go I did, report- 
 ing to the Presiding Elder." 
 
 With a fellow-worker his labors began. There were 
 no churches. The first meetings were held in a near- 
 by town in the court-house. His second effort was 
 in a school-house in Franklin, a mining town, turbu- 
 lent and requiring strong arms as well as stout hearts. 
 In those days a religious meeting not infrequently 
 ended in a fight. The preacher must be muscular as 
 well as fervent. 
 
 "After a week's time, some difficulties arose in the 
 place, and Brother Walter said we had better quit: but 
 
250 Missionary Explorers 
 
 I was to stay another day. The school house had been 
 crowded, and a certain young man took a chair to have 
 a seat. A rowdy fellow said *What are you going to 
 do with that chair?' He replied, *I am going to the 
 mourner's bench.' The other said: 'I bet you a 
 quarter.' Jim as readily replied: *I will stand you,' 
 and they put up the money. Sure enough when the 
 call was made, up he came with the others; but we 
 were none the wiser of his object. The next day the 
 saloon keepers had their fun. A friend told me of the 
 situation. We had the appointment given out for the 
 evening, and I was prepared as well as possible, and 
 did not think he could hurt me while I was in the line 
 of duty. When the time came to call those who 
 sought to be converted, I spoke of the meanness 
 of any man that would come on the bet of a quar- 
 ter; such a creature would sell his soul for a six- 
 pence, spend it for whiskey and go to the devil at 
 last. But several came, and the same fellow again, of 
 course, for he had money at stake. I said 'Sing a 
 verse.' At the close, the preacher stepped up to Jim, 
 slipped his hand in his collar and said 'Last night you 
 came here on the bet of a quarter.' He replied : ' But 
 I did not spend it for whiskey.' 'Well,' said the 
 preacher, 'I believe that is your business. You put 
 for the door, or I'll put you out of the window.' The 
 fellow said: 'You asked me here for prayers, and I 
 want you to pray for me.' The preacher said: 'You 
 must pray for yourself.' 'I cant pray.' 'But you 
 
John Lewis Dyer 251 
 
 must. I will teach you; say God have mercy on me, 
 a sinner/ By a httle squeezing of his neck, he was 
 induced to say the prayer, but spoke very low. He was 
 asked to pray louder, and said his prayer so that all in 
 the house could hear. He did not cease until we closed. 
 The house was crowded; but while the above scene 
 was passing, you might have heard a pin drop. That 
 fellow never troubled us again, and a talk was given 
 on the principle of such a course. The man who bet 
 with him came and apologized to the preacher and 
 promised to do so no more." 
 
 From village to village the revivalists moved, some- 
 times with great success, again with discouragement. 
 It was in keeping with the times and the temperament 
 of Father Dyer to be encouraged by visions and dreams. 
 In one of his visions he saw a school of fish, and had 
 them in close quarters. At first he could not catch 
 any, but finally he succeeded in making a large haul. 
 This was followed by a meeting in the stone school- 
 house at Newman's Mills. After two weeks' preach- 
 ing he could not rouse his audience, although the school- 
 house was crowded every night. Finally he established 
 the stove in the centre as a dividing line. All who 
 wished to be saved were to come forward; those who 
 were careless or wicked were to go to the other end. 
 Both sides started passing one another to their re- 
 spective places as if at the day of judgment to heaven 
 or hell. This stirred the people, and a successful re- 
 vival was started. In the meantime came an epidemic 
 
252 Missionary Explorers 
 
 of small-pox, followed by an epidemic of cholera. The 
 little communities were terror-stricken, and to the 
 faithful preachers came the duty of attending not only 
 to the sick, but to burying the dead. 
 
 "About the first of December 1854, while committing 
 myself to God for success, I dreamed I was fishing with 
 a seine in the company of others. We caught fish and 
 divided them into piles. I thought I got a good string 
 of them; but when I got the last one, it was so large 
 that it reached down and covered all the rest. A 
 Baptist preached every other Sunday, and a Primitive 
 Methodist preached occasionally, and I in the evening. 
 But the Baptist preacher made fun of a Methodist re- 
 vival, and the other engaged elsewhere; so I went it 
 alone the first week, and was having some stir among 
 the dry bones. The Baptist preacher came and seemed 
 pleased, but was evidently uneasy, for we had two 
 converts of Baptist families. He helped and the meet- 
 ing resulted in thirty conversions; and when we came 
 to divide the converts, I took in nearly eighteen at the 
 close, the others got seven. Still there were three that 
 had not come in. They were beset in every way to 
 join the Baptists; but, on the eve of closing. Brother 
 Chapman asked me if I was not going to give another 
 chance to join the Church. *Yes,' I replied, 'if I 
 thought any one wanted to come in.' He said there 
 had been quite a desire to have him join one of the 
 other churches, but he had made up his mind to join 
 the Methodist, but had put it ofF for fear that it might 
 
John Lewis Dyer 253 
 
 check the progress of the meeting. But now he and 
 his family would join if I would take them. When I 
 got him on the string, I thought of my dream.'* 
 
 This same Brother Chapman had objected to the 
 Methodists because they prayed too loud. "Let your 
 Sister Rachel pray," he besought the preacher, "she 
 don't pray quite so loud as you do." After his con- 
 version, however, said Mr. Dyer, his "Hallelujah was 
 like rumbling thunder." 
 
 "In September we had a camp meeting I have not 
 forgotten. Some good was done. Many of the baser 
 sort came to mock and make disturbance. While I 
 was holding a prayer-meeting, and some seekers were 
 at the altar, a brother pulled me by the shoulders, and 
 told me that the rowdies were breaking the lumber 
 that we had for seats. Among them I saw a large man 
 at the root of a tree, crowing like a rooster. I took a 
 candle in my right hand and held it above my head, 
 and made for the mocker. He walked back of the 
 tents, and as he walked pulled ofF his coat. I said: 
 *My honey, I see you.' 
 
 "By this time he was crossing a hollow, and by the 
 time I was at the bottom of it, and starting up, the 
 first thing I knew he wheeled and struck at me, grazing 
 my arm and sending the candle spinning. But with- 
 out thought my fist struck on the left arm, and he was 
 at once down, and I had him at the throat. Just then 
 Brother Moore, a local preacher, said: 'Don't hurt 
 him.' I said: 'God have mercy on him; for it is hard 
 
254 Missionary Explorers 
 
 for me to.' He was making loud cries for help. He 
 went off and swore that I assaulted him, and sent an 
 officer, who took me before a justice. I had plenty of 
 friends, and we beat him on the papers, and I got out 
 of the affair easily; and the general verdict was that 
 he deserved all he got, and that I was the man to ad- 
 minister it." 
 
 However many were the difficulties of the itinerant 
 preacher of those days, he obtained a familiarity with 
 and knowledge of the country as could not otherwise 
 have been done. John Dyer was not a man to neglect 
 such opportunities. He writes: "As we traveled over 
 this country for four years, we could but think it the 
 most beautiful part of the world — its high prairies, deep 
 gorges, with diggings on the rough parts, and good 
 farming land on the smooth parts. Such grand views. 
 The Platte mounds near the center, the Blue Mounds, 
 and the good soil were calculated to inspire the mind 
 of the traveler." To his adventurous spirit, holding 
 communion on the wide prairie and travelling over 
 snow-incrusted roads were all in the day's work. 
 
 The conference to which he had recently been at- 
 tached now transferred him to Minnesota, two hun- 
 dred and fifty miles away. With mule and buggy he 
 reached the Mississippi River at Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 from there he took steam-boat up the river, at last 
 reaching Lenora, a small settlement, during one of the 
 coldest winters this country has ever experienced. 
 The state was filling up fast, and the circuit preach- 
 
John Lewis Dyer 255 
 
 er*s knowledge of surveying made him very useful to 
 the new settlers in plotting their property and laying 
 off town lots. He had bought himself two hundred 
 acres of land. Forty of these he gave to be sold in 
 order to build a church, but the financial crash of 1857 
 came upon them, and the young settlement was re- 
 duced to poverty. Having gone security for a man to 
 enable him to build a much-needed saw-mill, he was 
 now obliged to mortgage more acres to meet his note, 
 and the mortgage being foreclosed, he was ruined, and 
 obliged to sell his mule to pay a debt. "Nothing was 
 at par but the salvation of souls," he writes, and cheer- 
 fully took up the duties of his circuit on foot. 
 
 The warfare with the devil in the shape of the saloon 
 was never more picturesquely or vigorously waged, 
 being compHcated with the fiddle. At Sheldon the 
 preacher succeeded in capturing the fiddle the night 
 of a ball at the saloon. It spoiled the ball, but "by 
 midnight we had ten conversions — almost a clean 
 sweep. An old sister got very happy and had a good 
 shout. She was in so great an ecstasy of joy that she 
 made for her husband, who was a member, and he got 
 out of her way very quick; he almost ran. I went 
 home with them and asked him why he ran from his 
 happy wife. *Why,' he said, 'I am just as afraid of 
 her when she shouts as I am of any other woman.' 
 
 "One of the hard cases was a man of family. He 
 loved company and spent his money. His wife grieved 
 as he was wasting his living. She went to a neighbor 
 
256 Missionary Explorers 
 
 woman whose husband was in the same row, and they 
 agreed to take axes and knock in the door and windows 
 on the west side of the house, as the wind was blowing 
 from that way. The courage of one failed her; but 
 the other, firm in her determination, knocked the win- 
 dow in the first lick, and struck the door down next. 
 The wind blew the lights out and everything ofF the 
 table. The whole crew thought it a mob and jumped 
 out of the window on the other side and ran away. At 
 another time a saloon keeper bought six barrels of 
 whiskey and laid them on their sides, with the ends 
 against the weather boarding. Somebody, so the same 
 lady told me, bored holes through the boards and into 
 the heads of the barrels at the lower edge so that there 
 was but very little whiskey left in them. The above 
 shows how women and children suffer by drink and 
 cards. This woman was a perfect hater of these things ; 
 and to hear her abuse both one would think she had 
 tongue enough for two sets of teeth." 
 
 The conference now transferred Mr. Dyer to Austin, 
 its farthest southwest station. It was the last of May 
 and very wet. He had traded for an old horse which 
 was not worth much, but better than travelling on 
 foot. At length he came to a branch of Root River: 
 "The stream was out of banks and all over the low 
 grounds. I concluded to try to cross. I went up so 
 as to take advantage of the current. I started in 
 water knee deep; all at once horse and rider were 
 under, except my head and neck. I supposed my 
 
John Lewis Dyer 257 
 
 horse would rise and swim; but either he did not 
 know how, or would not, for his head would come up, 
 make a plunge and go clear under again. This he 
 did three times, when fortunately we reached where 
 he could stand, the water over his back, but his head 
 out. There he rested a little and waded out with me. 
 Once out of sight, I took ofF my clothes, and made a 
 wringer of my hands, and got all the water out that 
 was possible. I had an appointment but two miles 
 distant. The man said he would have had a dozen to 
 hear me, but the flood prevented; so he had seven. I 
 was all wet and had taken my boots off and was drying 
 my socks. The time came and the poor Irishman said: 
 'Can*t we have a little preaching?' I said: 'I cant 
 put my boots on; would it do barefooted?' 'Just as 
 well.' And it came to my mind that I had not seen 
 so great faith in all the country. I gave out a hymn 
 and kneeled in prayer. I learned afterward that it 
 would have been better to have stood to pray, as my 
 pants stuck to my legs, and I had to pull them loose, 
 or they would have reached only down belo\7 my 
 knees. When everything was adjusted, I took the 
 text: *In those days came John the Baptist saying 
 Repent,' did the best I could barefooted. 
 
 "The after noon was fair and warm, and by evening 
 I was well dried. I stopped at the first house beyond 
 the Wet prairie, crossing a bridge, the water all over it. 
 Three other men were with us, and we led or pulled 
 our horses over, and hauled a wagon over by hand. 
 
2S8 Missionary Explorers 
 
 One tall man got in up to his neck. He was walking 
 on the log that held the poles on the bridge, and had 
 hold of the fore-wheel of the wagon. The tongue took 
 a lunge, and the wheel pressed him ofF. He went end- 
 ways until he was all under except his head. He soon 
 extricated himself, and said he was not afraid of getting 
 wet now. The next day when within less than a half 
 mile of Brownsdale, I came to a broad slough, over two 
 feet deep. About midway my old horse went down 
 to his body in mud. I got ofF and took the bridle reins, 
 and pulled, and he made a lunge right toward me. I 
 made for the shore and he after me, and by the time I 
 got to terra firma I was covered with black mud. I 
 pulled the dry grass and wiped my clothes as well as 
 I could, and also the bridle and horse, all in the sight of 
 town. While I was in this predicament, I thought this 
 was too much for anybody but a Methodist preacher, 
 who had made his vows to take things as they come, and 
 that nothing could compensate me but a good revival." 
 The compensation was not so easily obtained. Al- 
 though "God could thrash the world with a worm," as 
 he said, the preacher's discouragements were great. 
 Among others was a dream during his travail of soul. 
 "I thought I saw a man up in the air. He was of a 
 dark complexion and riding a black horse; had a whip 
 in his hand, and I thought he made in his descent right 
 for me. As I watched him closely I saw he was miss- 
 ing his aim; but the feet of the horse seemed close, 
 and I dodged my head but I was not touched. So it 
 
John Lewis Dyer 259 
 
 appeared to me there was war ahead, but all would be 
 right with me. 
 
 "On my return I found a good congregation and all 
 the indications. But on Saturday a man brought four 
 Campbellites, all preachers, and, it was said, linguists 
 but one. Of course I had the house pre-empted at 
 night, but they had a meeting at one o'clock. With 
 about thirty others, I went to hear them, and who 
 should speak but the man I had seen on the black 
 horse with a whip in his hand. His talk was almost all 
 in opposition to the different churches, and especially 
 against the Methodists. He said he would throw all 
 the mourner's benches out of the window, and he gave 
 it to us generally. When he quit and sat down, he 
 said, if there was any gentleman in the house who had 
 any objections to what he said, he hoped he would 
 reply. I arose and said if I had given such a harangue 
 as he had, it would have been ungentlemanly in me. 
 He jumped up and said: 'I am branded with not being 
 a gentleman,' and repeated it two or three times. I 
 replied, 'You may wear the brand,' and we were dis- 
 missed." 
 
 The conflicts between sect and sect were almost as 
 heated and constant as with the saloons in those early 
 days. Converts were checked up scrupulously and 
 spoils divided. After this altercation the meetings 
 were crowded. "It was too hot for my Christian 
 brethren. They went out and looked in the windows." 
 After the revival which followed, the baptizing of the 
 
26o Missionary Explorers 
 
 converts took place. Some of these preferred immer- 
 sion. In this method the Christian brethren were ex- 
 perts. When the day arrived these took their places 
 on the opposite side of the creek, where they could see. 
 Father Dyer, who performed the ceremony, relates 
 with satisfaction that these experts admitted "it was 
 done, only one man's nose was not covered/' 
 
 "I had no place on this circuit to call home, paid no 
 board, and was welcome all over the work. This was in 
 1858. People were new settlers; there was hardly any 
 money, and it was a remarkably wet year. Crops were 
 poor. Along Cedar River, where they were usually 
 the best, the floods destroyed about all. The river rose 
 twenty feet in eight or ten hours, and took all the 
 bridges, stacks of grain, and so flooded the houses that 
 the inmates were taken out at the upper windows. 
 One man was awakened, and the water was knee deep. 
 He had a trap door to go into his cellar, and it floated 
 off, and in the dark he stepped in, but caught with his 
 hands, or he might have drowned. I had to have a 
 canoe to get my old horse over, for he would not or 
 could not swim. I dont know what we would have 
 done, if it had not been that the lakes ran over and car- 
 ried millions of fishes into the streams. The farmers 
 would fill their wagons in a few hours with the best 
 kinds that the fish rolled off as they drove along. 
 Their tables groaned under fishes fried, baked and 
 stuffed. I received about fifty dollars in money and 
 clothing in the year. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 261 
 
 "I remember of a temptation presented to me as I 
 was going to commence my meeting in Austin. My 
 coat was not much but Hning from the elbow to the 
 wrist on the under side. It came Hke this: 'Now you 
 are going up to town, and your coat sleeves are worn 
 to the lining/ But I went and had a good old Meth- 
 odist preach for me and I exhorted. I thought I would 
 tell the devil the first thing, and try to stop him; so I 
 told how it was, and raised up my arm and said: 'I am 
 ready to shake the last rag over you.' The next day 
 to my surprise Mrs. Holt and others took the matter 
 in hand and made me a present of a new coat for 
 which I was very thankful, and I have never forgotten 
 their kindness." 
 
 The approaching conference was at St. Anthony. A 
 hundred and fifty miles had to be travelled to reach 
 the Mississippi. Every man that reached the confer- 
 ence by land was covered with mud. The floods con- 
 tinued, but nothing daunted our itinerant. To meet 
 an appointment he reached the edge of the Zimbro 
 River, which had overflowed its banks. The bridge 
 was swept away. Making a raft of some planks with 
 a long pole, he shoved off. Presently he was in deep 
 water and drifting. Hoping the current would carry 
 him to an island, his progress was stopped by a tall 
 tree. The raft went under it; the preacher jumped 
 over it, and met his raft. Drifting a mile farther, he 
 was met by some boys in a skifF, who rescued him just 
 in time from entering the Mississippi. "I was about 
 
262 Missionary Explorers 
 
 twenty minutes late for my appointment," he writes. 
 "But the congregation was waiting and we had a 
 good time." 
 
 In the summer of i860 he went to Rice Lake, where 
 he found twenty Chippewa Indians. Here they came 
 to his rescue from green-headed flies and mosquitoes, 
 which set his horse nearly crazy, and beset its rider. 
 He writes: "The squaws paddled me down to the 
 outlet of the lake. The water was about half covered 
 with wild rice, which was quite an item of sustenance 
 for the Indians. I was told that in gathering it, they 
 ran their canoes right among it. It stood two feet 
 above the water, and was easily thrashed ofF into the 
 canoe. It was a Godsend to them in this wilderness 
 country. But the squaws did not allow me to get into 
 the canoe until they got the money, and when the 
 fare was paid, they quickly rowed me down to the out- 
 let. Here were about twenty Indians, including squaws 
 and pappooses, all dressed in Indian costume, so far as 
 they were dressed at all. Two or three men were the 
 oddest-looking human beings I have ever seen — hardly 
 looked like men. Their appearance made an impres- 
 sion that has never been effaced. 
 
 "Now my horse was at Grover's logging camp at 
 least one and a half miles below, on Hay river, and the 
 fallen timber impossible to cross, and I could see no 
 way to get there but to have some Indians take me in 
 a canoe. There was a half breed Frenchman who 
 could speak an English word or two. He and two oth- 
 
John Lewis Dyer 263 
 
 ers undertook the trip. While they were launching 
 the boat, I looked out westerly, and through the heavy 
 timber saw an unusually black cloud, accompanied by 
 heavy thunder coming fast. I watched the Indians and 
 the cloud, and made motions for them to row faster; 
 but about half way they began to talk, and stopped 
 rowing. I tried to urge them on, but one said in 
 broken English: *One dollar and a quarter,' over and 
 over. I was in a close place; an awful storm coming, 
 and the boat standing stilL So of course I paid the 
 bill, and they started, and soon we met another In- 
 dian, and they stopped and traded me off, and made 
 me get in his canoe. The terrible storm kept coming, 
 and he got near Grover's cabin, and stopped, and gave 
 signs of wanting his pay, and I gave him twenty five 
 cents, and he barely made out to row me into camp, 
 just as the rain began to fall in torrents. Such thun- 
 der was seldom heard; but there was enough dry ground 
 for me to sleep on, with some old hay for a bed. I 
 had only a piece of bread and butter for my supper, 
 nothing for breakfast, and about twenty miles to the 
 old Hay settlement, which was left to the west of me 
 as I went out. Here was the battle field between the 
 Chippewas and Sioux Indians some time before. I 
 saw where the bullets had lodged in trees and stumps. 
 There was a settlement of old loggers, who when the 
 logging camps were moved farther up, stayed and 
 farmed. I went around, got them all out, and preached 
 to them the best I could — thirty five in all." One of 
 
264 Missionary Explorers 
 
 these told him it was the only preaching he had heard 
 in twenty-two years. 
 
 This expedition was full of incident, among logging 
 camps, saw-mills — where a preacher was a novelty — 
 and in other places where preachers of rival sects were 
 to be encountered. At one place a young man came 
 with his bride to be married against the wishes of his 
 father. "After the ceremony, he said he wanted me to 
 do all I could for him; for he must take his wife home, 
 as he had no other place to take her. I went to the 
 schoolhouse and gave out a prayer-meeting at his 
 fathers, and went in advance to see the old folks. 
 how mad they were. I gave them all the consolation 
 I could, and told the girls that we must kill some 
 chickens, and make a big supper. We caught some, 
 and soon the bridal party came. The old gentleman 
 would not speak to them; but we all ate at the same 
 table, and after this came the prayer-meeting. Quite 
 a number came and all prayed around; and at last I 
 called on the mad father, an Irishman, and he prayed 
 for us all, and said: 'Lord, have mercy on this new mar- 
 ried couple. 0, Lord, thou knowest I had nothing in 
 the world to do with it.' The next morning we found 
 him so far blessed that he spoke to them, and soon 
 ordered lumber to build a house for them, and gave 
 eighty acres of land to build it on.'* 
 
 After six years in Minnesota such as he has described, 
 Mr. Dyer takes stock of himself and his work. His 
 eyes have almost entirely failed him, and he is deeply 
 
John Lewis Dyer 265 
 
 in debt. In one place he has lost five hundred dollars, 
 in another he owes two hundred. He has a horse, 
 saddle, and bridle, a few Httle things in a carpet-sack 
 — Bible, hymn-book. Church Discipline, and a copy 
 of Lorain's Sea Sermons, a change of linen, and four- 
 teen dollars and seventy-five cents in silver and gold. 
 Twenty paper dollars that he could not pass in any 
 way he traded for seven dollars in the form of a coat. 
 He had gone security on two notes, and for these he 
 gave his house and some lots, four hundred dollars in 
 money, and yet owed seven hundred dollars, and his 
 creditor wanted also his horse. This on one side. 
 On the other, he had brought sixteen hundred dollars 
 to Minnesota, had seven appointments, and attended 
 to them the best he could. He concludes: **No man 
 can realize just how I felt, unless he has been at some 
 time in the same situation. There was no extrava- 
 gance either, except in going security." 
 
 HI 
 
 "I HAD made up my mind to see Pike's Peak; that 
 was if I could see at all, as I had to wet my eyes to get 
 them open every morning." With less than fifteen 
 dollars in his pocket and a cranky horse, the intrepid 
 preacher set out for Omaha. The first day he made 
 fifty miles, stopping over Sunday at Newton, la. 
 Here he had a serious misfortune, which he relates: 
 "Before eating I fed and took care of my horse; but 
 
266 Missionary Explorers 
 
 while at breakfast the landlord saw my mare was about 
 to disturb a sitting hen, and took her into another 
 stall where there was a peck of corn. As the result 
 she was foundered almost to death. I mention this 
 because the hen worth six cents, the eggs four cents and 
 his saving of ten cents, cost me one hundred and fifty 
 dollars. I led her a few miles, and sold her for a gun, 
 an old watch, and fifteen dollars, a little more than the 
 saddle and bridle were worth." 
 
 At Omaha he found a wagon train starting for Pike's 
 Peak, a journey of six hundred miles over what was 
 called the American Desert. One of the drivers agreed 
 to board him and carry his bag and gun for fifteen 
 dollars. Preaching by the way, and then overtaking 
 the ox teams, he made the journey on foot, arriving 
 at Denver June 20, 1861, having been a little over a 
 month on the way. Denver was then but little more 
 than a village, which he calls, in admiration of its size, 
 "the metropolis of Pike's Peak." 
 
 Here he exchanged his watch for provisions; and his 
 second son, whom he met there, gave him a buffalo 
 skin and a quilt for bedding, and he started again on 
 foot another hundred miles, beginning the ascent on 
 the Fourth of July. The wagon train to which he was 
 attached was bound for Buckskin Joe camp at South 
 Park, the bonanza of that day. Entranced by the 
 magnificence of the view, he notes that "the Signers of 
 the Declaration of Independence little conceived the 
 half they were doing." Living in a hut made of poles 
 
John Lewis Dyer 267 
 
 and pine boughs, according to his custom, he began 
 preaching among the mining camps on Sunday and 
 working with his hands on week days for his Hving; 
 but, as he exultantly exclaims, in good health, with im- 
 proved eyesight, after a tramp of seven hundred miles. 
 He has also discovered with satisfaction that a man at 
 forty-seven, getting fat, could work, walk, and preach 
 off all the fat, since he had lost thirty pounds. 
 
 With an outfit of a buffalo skin and a quilt, some 
 crackers, a piece of bacon, coffee and sugar, with some 
 dried apples, a tin cup, and an oyster can — in all, thirty- 
 seven pounds to pack on his back — Mr. Dyer started 
 for CaHfornia Gulch to take charge of a mission by 
 way of Musquito Pass, the highest range he had yet 
 crossed. "As I took a view of those gigantic moun- 
 tains and deep gorges, the thought came to me, if 
 Heaven is above, I am nearer Caanan's shores than 
 ever before. After prayer for our country on both 
 sides, and for myself, alone on the dividing range of 
 our great continent, I partook of my frugal stores, and 
 that night preached at California Gulch, now Lead- 
 yille. The next day I started alone for the Gunnison 
 Country, following an Indian trail. Had to wade the 
 Arkansas. Took off my boots, and thought the top 
 of the cold water would take my legs off, and that 
 day saw for the first time the beautiful Twin Lakes. 
 Had not heard of them before. My surprise may be 
 imagined. My path was up Lake Creek, a perfect 
 mountain wilderness, snowy ranges towering on either 
 
268 Missionary Explorers 
 
 side. I had not seen a human being for several miles, 
 and I began to look for a camping place. I heard just 
 as the sun was sinking behind the snow-capped moun- 
 tains the sound of a bell, and soon found five men. 
 They had one burro to pack their food and blankets. 
 I asked for lodging. They said *If you can furnish 
 your own accommodations, you can stay.' I accepted. 
 I had a paper with me with a sermon preached by Dr. 
 Elliott in St. Louis on the Rights of God and Caesar. 
 It was in war time, and by the fire made of pine roots 
 it was read, and you would better believe it was a 
 grand treat." 
 
 At Kent's Gulch nearly every man in the diggings 
 came to hear the preacher. The only two benches 
 were filled, and the men ranged themselves around the 
 wall on the ground, row by row, until the space was 
 filled. This was the first sermon ever preached in the 
 Gunnison country. One man took up a collection, and 
 twenty dollars in gold dust, the currency of the coun- 
 try, was raised. The next day the preacher resumed 
 his solitary journey, which led through Dead Man's 
 Gulch, where five men two years before had been 
 killed by Indians, and their bones, unearthed by wolves, 
 lay bleaching among the mountains. At Washington 
 Gulch a man was dressing some gVouse. 
 
 "Did you not expect a Methodist preacher to be on 
 hand as soon as you had chicken to eat.?" 
 
 "Well," he said, "I have heard they were fond of 
 chickens," and invited the preacher to dine with him. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 269 
 
 That night a camp-meeting was announced with pine 
 knots for Hghts, and extra fires kindled, and miners 
 gathered for the audience. Many of these had not 
 heard preaching in years. Returning he came upon 
 a man preparing to camp and joined him. The stran- 
 ger asked how he stood toward the Rebellion. The 
 preacher told him he was a Union man, but remarked 
 it would not be worth while to fight on the spot, as 
 there was no reporter present. The Southerner said 
 they could discuss it in a friendly manner, and this they 
 did until they fell asleep under the same tree, and the 
 next morning parted as friends. At Cask Creek he 
 preached in a saloon with Bible and hymn-book on 
 the end of the bar, and never had a more attentive 
 audience, which leads to his observation that scarcely 
 a man had crossed the plains who would not behave at 
 divine service. 
 
 At one place he was called upon to marry a runaway 
 couple and at another to preach a funeral sermon. As 
 the presiding elder at Denver had become a major in 
 the army of the Civil War, the itinerant preacher had 
 no guarantee for salary as a missionary, and his liveli- 
 hood depended entirely on the chance contributions of 
 gold-dust from his audiences of miners. Meeting a 
 Mr. Noah Armstrong, the two men determined to do 
 a little prospecting in their own behalf. This they had 
 done without success, when, seventy miles from any 
 winter quarters, and the main range to cross, snow fell 
 from three to five feet deep. As they were making 
 
270 Missionary Explorers 
 
 their way, his partner proposed the first Sunday that 
 his companion should preach to him. Accordingly he 
 preached among the mountain snows to his audience 
 of one, on the Prodigal Son, as an appropriate text for 
 his hearer. With scarcely anything to eat they shov- 
 elled snow three days and a half to get that many 
 miles, and at length reached Leadville, or California 
 Gulch, again. 
 
 '*I stayed at the above place again until the 7th of 
 January; held meetings for ten nights; some rose for 
 prayers, but they must have the school house to dance 
 in, and we had to yield; and then started alone for 
 Buckskin Joe, by the Weston Pass. At timber height 
 I was met by a severe snow storm. Had a box of 
 matches but not one would burn. The prospect was 
 frightful. I prayed and dedicated myself to God, and 
 thought by his grace I would pull through. For five 
 or six hours I waded the snow waist-deep, until almost 
 exhausted I leaned up against a tree for rest. I never 
 saw death and eternity so near as then. My Hfe seemed 
 to be at an end; but I resolved to keep moving, and 
 when I could go no more, hang up my carpet-sack, 
 and write on a smooth pine tree my own epitaph 'Look 
 for me in Heaven.* But through the goodness of God 
 I reached the toll-gate one hour after dark, and I shall 
 never forget the kindness of the Swede, who took me 
 in and cared for me. 
 
 "In about four months I had traveled near five hun- 
 dred miles on foot, by Indian trails, crossing logs, 
 
o = 
 
 p— ( K 
 
 i "■• 
 
 o < 
 
John Lewis Dyer 271 
 
 carrying my pack, and preaching about three times 
 a week. Received forty three dollars in collection at 
 different places. Nothing that we ate cost less than 
 twenty five cents a pound. Spent about fifty dollars 
 of my own resources, as I had worked by the day and 
 job through the week, and preached nights and Sun- 
 days. My clothes were worn out; my hat rim patched 
 with dressed antelope skin; my boots half-soled with 
 raw-hide. This is a sample of my first year's experi- 
 ence in Colorado. 
 
 *' About the ist of February I started on foot for 
 Denver. We had a stage once a week for Denver. 
 Fare ten dollars each way. I could walk a hundred 
 miles in two days and a half. If I could not make 
 money I could save some. On Saturday evening I 
 reached the city of Denver, dressed, as far as it went 
 in miner's clothes, minus a vest. I thought it would 
 be all right to sit back and hear the preacher; but who 
 should it be but Colonel Chivington, in his military 
 suit, with belt, bowie knife and revolver. I had taken 
 my seat about half way back. As he passed he took 
 hold of my collar and pulled me out into the aisle; and 
 said: 'Come, preach for me.' Of course, by this every 
 one had seen me, as well as my clothes. I walked up 
 and told him to give out a hymn, and afterwards I led 
 in prayer. It was always best for me to whet my own 
 scythe. I will say nothing about the effort, only that 
 I forgot all about my poor clothes." 
 
 Shortly after, the conference sent Mr. Dyer to take 
 
272 Missionary Explorers 
 
 charge of the Blue River Mission, and again he took 
 up his journey with a purse containing a little gold- 
 dust, and depending on preaching and collections by 
 the way. One was taken up by a friendly Jew at 
 Georgia Gulch. The custom was to pass the hat after 
 the sermon, and for each miner to contribute a dollar 
 in currency or gold-dust, generally the latter. The 
 preacher testifies to their liberality, and that although 
 they might take exceptions to a "plug hat," they were 
 always ready to divide. At French Gulch he set up 
 his humble roof-tree, as he could not afford to board. 
 His bed was of pine poles, even to the springs. The 
 mattress was of hay, with blankets for a covering. The 
 furniture consisted of a table, a couple of boards on the 
 wall for a cupboard, six tin plates, a half set of knives 
 and forks, a cofFee-pot, a tin cup, an iron pot, and a 
 frying-pan. One chair was made out of crooked pine 
 limbs with a rope seat. The dirt floor he covered with 
 gunny sacks for a carpet, and now rejoices that he may 
 preach to people in his own house, and not in a hired 
 house, as the Apostle Paul was obliged to do. Here 
 he added to his duties by becoming county assessor, 
 for which he was paid the welcome addition to his in- 
 come of fifty dollars. The Blue River Mission in- 
 cluded a two weeks' circuit among the various mining 
 camps of the different gulches. 
 
 "I made me a pair of snow shoes, and, of course, was 
 not expert. Sometimes I would fall; and, on one occa- 
 sion, as I was going down the mountains to Gold Run 
 
John Lewis Dyer 273 
 
 my shoes got crossed in front as I was going very fast. 
 A little pine tree was right in my course and I could not 
 turn, and dared not encounter the tree with my feet 
 crossed; so threw myself in the snow and went in out 
 of sight. This was my regular round on the circuit. 
 We had a new field, one that gave a good chance to 
 read human nature, in the fastnesses of the Rocky 
 Mountains, where moral and religious restraints were 
 absent. The most of the men would go to the bar and 
 drink and play cards, and the Sabbath was a high day 
 for wickedness. Balls were the common amusement, 
 especially in winter. The women were as fond of 
 these as the men. Although they were in the mi- 
 nority, they were accosted Hke this: 'Now Miss, or 
 Mistress, you must surely come, as we can't have a set 
 or cotillion without you.' Often the father was left 
 with the children at home; at other times both went 
 and took the children; then the old bachelors would 
 hold the baby so the mothers could dance every set. 
 
 "I will give an instance at Lincoln City. They 
 must give a Christmas dinner, and, of course, a dance 
 at night. I concluded to take dinner with them. 
 The host made no charge, as it would be what we old 
 bachelors call a square meal. As I was about to leave, 
 the ladies pleasantly invited me to stay to the dance. 
 Of course, I could not accept the invitation. But they 
 said: 'You visit at our houses, and you ought to show 
 us respect and stay.' At last the lady of the house 
 came, and said: 'This is an extra occasion, and it will 
 
274 Missionary Explorers 
 
 be no harm for you to dance with me; why can't you 
 accept my offer?' The reply was: 'You're a lady, but 
 not quite handsome enough to dance with me.' She was 
 taken back at that; the others laughed, and I escaped 
 as my cabin was only two hundred feet away. They 
 soon fiddled me to sleep. But they danced till day- 
 light, and often drank at the bar. Being full, and 
 having no place to sleep, they went up to Walker's 
 saloon. He made some hot sling, and set them off. 
 They declared that every man in town should get up, 
 and the preacher should treat the company or make 
 a temperance speech. It was just dayhght, when I 
 heard them on the street, and as they had always passed 
 me before, I turned the key and hoped they would 
 again. But when they found the door fast they said: 
 *If you don't open it we will break it in.' I threw it 
 open and invited them in; but they said: *We have 
 come to take you to Walker's, and you can either treat 
 or make a temperance speech.' I requested them to 
 let me eat my breakfast first; but they said: *You 
 must go now.' I slipped out leaving the door open 
 and went ahead of the company. 
 
 "Soon there were over forty men, and they called a 
 chairman or moderator; but they were too drunk to 
 be moderated. I got upon a box and stated my arrest, 
 and proposed to make the speech. They said: 'Go 
 on.' I said: 'Gentlemen, I will tell you what I think. 
 There is not a man here but would be ashamed for his 
 father or mother, his sister or brother to know just our 
 
John Lewis Dyer 275 
 
 condition here this morning.' They stamped and 
 roared: 'Thats so/ all over the house. 'And next,' I 
 continued, *if we were not so drunk we would not be 
 here.' (Cheers, /Thats so too,' all over the house), 
 'and if we were a little drunker, we could not do what 
 we are doing.' (Cheers, and 'Thats so,' all over the 
 house) I wound up and was about to leave, when the 
 judge said: 'I move that we vote that everything Mr. 
 Dyer said is true,' and they gave a rousing vote. He 
 said: 'The ayes have it,' but that I must not go yet, 
 and made and put a motion that they all give Mr. 
 Dyer one dollar a piece; and that was also carried. 
 They took the hat, got twenty dollars, and I thanked 
 them and went home to breakfast." 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Dyer was appointed to South Park, 
 among the Rockies, now one of our national pleasure- 
 grounds, a circuit which embraced two counties. He 
 walked one hundred miles to his new charge, where a 
 cabin was given him, and again, as he expressed it, 
 kept bachelor's hall. Gold-mining excitement was 
 now transferred to Idaho and Montana, and those 
 who were left were too poor to get away. Prices were 
 high. The preacher bought three sacks of flour at 
 fifteen dollars a sack. By midwinter he had neither 
 means nor food. Still preaching four times a week, 
 he could get no work. Relief came in a proposition 
 to carry the mail on snow-shoes from Buckskin Joe to 
 Cache Creek, a distance of thirty-seven miles, by way 
 of the Musquito range, once a week, for which he was 
 
276 Missionary Explorers 
 
 to receive eighteen dollars. This offer he gladly ac- 
 cepted, notwithstanding the perils and privation it 
 implied. 
 
 "Right here let me tell how I came out. This was 
 war times, and the currency was in greenbacks. In 
 California Gulch and Cache Creek they were drifting 
 out gold dust all winter. Gold was on the rise, so that 
 an ounce of dust brought forty dollars in greenbacks, 
 and so I added exchange to my business and became 
 expressman, and got the per cent, agreed upon. One 
 man gave me five dollars each time and I carried all 
 he had to send. One time I had enough dust to bring 
 in Denver thirty seven hundred dollars in currency. 
 Suffice it to say I made over three times my wages for 
 mail carrying." 
 
 At the end of five months he had made twelve hun- 
 dred dollars, which was the first time during his itin- 
 erancy he had made any money. Of the life and 
 perils of the mail-carrier in that region of snows his 
 narrative abounds: 
 
 "The mails weight was from twenty three to twenty 
 six pounds, with from five to seven pounds of express 
 matter. The carriage was on snow shoes, over an 
 Indian trail that was covered with from three to twenty 
 feet of snow. My snow shoes were of Norway style, 
 from nine to eleven feet in length, and ran well when the 
 snow was just right, but very heavy when they gath- 
 ered snow. I carried a pole to jar the sticking snow off. 
 Suffice it to say that the winter of '63 and '64 was a 
 
John Lewis Dyer 277 
 
 remarkably hard one, and the spring held on until June 
 with terrible snow-storms. I was the first to cross the 
 Musquito range with a horse. That was the third day 
 of July. The mail bags went the trip across and back 
 every week. There was no cabin from Musquito to 
 CaHfornia Gulch, and no one Hving between the Gulch 
 and Cache Creek. At first I had no company, say the 
 first month. After that I often went in the night, as 
 it thawed in the day so it was impossible to travel and 
 passengers sought to go with me. A man came up 
 from Denver and we had a hard trip. He begged me 
 to stop. On top of the range he lay down to sleep, and 
 it was with difficulty that I could get him up. I knew 
 that if he went to sleep, chilled as we were, he would 
 never wake until the judgment. We finally reached 
 Oro City at breakfast-time. That man was one of the 
 leaders of the mob that caused the death of a number of 
 better men than he was. One of his victims was my 
 son." 
 
 The writer here alludes to the assassination of his 
 son Elias, who had preceded him to that country, 
 where, becoming probate judge, he was shot down in 
 his own court-room in one of the lawless feuds that 
 were a part of the history of Colorado at that period. 
 Two sons, the eldest and the youngest, were soldiers 
 in the Civil War. The youngest returned home with 
 the loss of one foot. The eldest, after having been a 
 prisoner at Andersonville, was lost by the explosion 
 of the ** General Lyon" oflF Hatteras, on the way north. 
 
278 Missionary Explorers 
 
 To add to his misfortunes, on going to New York to 
 learn something of his missing son, a confidence man 
 at the ferry asked him to change five dollars, seized his 
 pocket-book containing two hundred and sixty dollars, 
 and made off with the contents. Remarking that there 
 were more thieves in the city of New York than in the 
 Rocky Mountains, the preacher went back to his duty 
 in the snow. 
 
 ''Again, I was coming over, and at the foot of the 
 pass, at the head of Evans Gulch, I overtook two men. 
 One, an old man, had given out. I saw at once that it 
 was death with him without a desperate effort. It 
 was seven miles back, and farther ahead to a house, 
 and the wind piercingly cold. It seemed impossible 
 to make him believe he could walk either way. The 
 snow and wind were blowing so a man could hardly 
 stand. I determined to get him over the range, and 
 down as far as the timber, and build a fire and keep 
 him from freezing. We told him what could be done, 
 and he would not even try to get on his feet. I took 
 hold of him and when he was half way up, his hat blew 
 off, and the last I saw of it was thirty feet up, and the 
 wind making sport of it. He had on a soldier's over- 
 coat, and as the hat went off the cape blew over his 
 head. We tied it fast with a handkerchief. He had 
 taken off one of his gloves and it was so frozen he could 
 not get it on. I gave him a mitten, and took his arm, 
 and got him about three hundred feet up the mountain, 
 and he sat down. I went back and got the mail sack. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 279 
 
 and his and my snow shoes/' In this manner, three 
 hundred feet at a time, the old man was carried a mile 
 and a quarter to the top of the range, and they reached 
 Musquito at nine o'clock. The writer's conclusion of the 
 narrative is that the old man was going to Montana, 
 and said that "if he struck it big," he would remember 
 his friend in need. "As I have never heard from him 
 again, I suppose he had poor luck." This was but one 
 of a number of similar incidents. 
 
 "We will close our account of the mail service by 
 mentioning two or three lonely trips. Once leaving 
 Musquito at two o'clock in the morning in a snow 
 storm, when near timber height, plodding our way on 
 deep snow, all of a sudden I felt a jar, and the snow 
 gave way under me, and a noise struck my ear like a 
 death knell. I thought it was a snow slide, and turned 
 as quickly as possible up the mountain-side. About a 
 hundred and fifty feet ahead, I came to a crack six 
 inches wide, and the snow settled about six inches. 
 It will be easily believed that I felt better on the upper 
 side of that break. A week after there was a snow 
 slide from that break that filled the gorge below. 
 
 "At sunrise I was near the summit of the range, very 
 weary, and sat down under a large rock. I looked 
 through the snow storm to the east. The sun rose 
 clear, but across the South Park the wind was furious 
 and full of snow. The sun penetrated the storm so the 
 wonders could be fully seen. While the wind was 
 blowing the snow from the northwest, there would be 
 
28o Missionary Explorers 
 
 small whirls start low down, and rising, grow larger, 
 until they would be of enormous size. The main storm 
 passed between them as though they were not con- 
 nected, even as the mighty current flows past the whirl- 
 pool in the water. Although my situation was very 
 disagreeable, I could stop a few moments and gaze at 
 this astonishing Rocky Mountain scene, sitting in the 
 storm to watch its wondrous ways. 
 
 "Soon after this I started earher; but it proved to 
 be much too soon, for, when I reached the other side 
 of the range, there was snow for two miles, and it 
 would not quite bear me. Sometimes I would go three 
 steps, and sink to the waist, and then three steps before 
 I could get on top again. It made the situation very 
 serious. About midnight, after reflection, not fearing 
 human hands, and believing that the wild beasts would 
 have more good manners than to touch it, I set up the 
 mail-sack on end in the snow, and made for the nearest 
 timber off to the North, as I had seen a small spot of 
 bare ground there when I had passed there before. 
 But how to get there. Well I rolled and crawled until 
 I reached the timber, where I pushed over a dry stump, 
 and soon had a fire to warm by. I had time for thanks- 
 giving and prayer, even if I had no supper. Cutting 
 some pine boughs I made a bed and took a sleep, and 
 it was daylight when I awoke. My first thought, 
 after thanking God that I was safe there as anywhere 
 in his hands, was whether it was frozen so that I 
 could walk. I started and had not gone more than three 
 
John Lewis Dyer 281 
 
 steps when I went down to the waist. I knew it was 
 softer near the edge. I crawled up and tried again, 
 and it bore me. It was hardly light when I reached 
 the mail-sack, found it just as I left it; the wolves had 
 discovered it and had gone within ten feet of it, and had 
 walked around it until they had beaten a hard path in 
 the snow, but never touched it. It is worthy of note 
 that the mail carrier had an appetite when he reached 
 Oro City. 
 
 "We come now to the last incident. I left California 
 Gulch about the middle of March. It was thawing 
 with alternate snow and sunshine until about one 
 o'clock. The snow stuck to my shoes and the walking 
 was very heavy. None but those who have tried snow- 
 shoes when the snow sticks can understand how soon 
 it will tire a man down, knocking the snow off at every 
 step. It was so this time. When within a few feet of 
 the pass at the head of Evans Gulch, I looked to the 
 North, and saw a black cloud just coming over. The 
 wind that preceded it gave evidence of its terror. No 
 pen or tongue can describe its awful appearance. I 
 fastened and tied up my neck and ears, and took its 
 bearings with reference to my course up the mountain, 
 about how it would strike me, so that I could keep my 
 course through the snow. But when the storm struck 
 me, I could not have stood up had I not braced my 
 snow-shoes, which I had taken ofF and held in position 
 for that purpose. I had thought I could keep my bear- 
 ings of the storm, but when it struck me, it was in a 
 
282 Missionary Explorers 
 
 perfect whirl, and I had nothing left but the shape of 
 the mountains, and by this time the snow was so dense 
 that it appeared to be a white wall within ten feet in 
 any direction. 
 
 "I found myself unable to make more than fifty 
 yards before resting, and had to hold my hand over 
 my mouth so that I could breathe, bracing with my 
 snow-shoes so that I could stand. On the west side 
 all the snow blew ofF, so that I had to carry my shoes. 
 About the third stop, I came to a large rock, and 
 braced against it; and in the midst of the awful sur- 
 roundings, poured out my soul to God for help, and 
 felt encouraged to try, in his name, to make the trip. I 
 could not travel against the wind, so I had to bear to 
 the right, which brought me on the range south of the 
 old Indian trail, where there was no way to get down 
 without going over a precipice. I hoped that the wind 
 would abate so that I could make the trail. But I 
 could not see anything in the whirHng snow. It took 
 my breath, and I concluded to retrace my steps; for 
 I felt that to stay there, or to go forward was equally 
 to perish. I made a desperate effort, but started east 
 instead of west. I had scarcely gone three steps when 
 my foot slipped off the precipice. I threw myself back 
 on the snow. The air was so thick that I could not 
 see how it was. I could not tell whether the pitch was 
 ten feet or fifty. The cold wind seemed to be feeHng for 
 my heart-strings, and my only chance for Hfe was to 
 let myself go over. I took my long snow-shoes, one 
 
John Lewis Dyer 283 
 
 under each arm, holding on to the crooked end in each 
 hand for rudders, and beHeved that if I could thus 
 keep my feet foremost I could go down alive. I said: 
 '0, God, into thy hands I commit my soul, my life, my 
 all; my faith looks up to thee,' and then with compos-* 
 ure I let go; and, as might be suspected, there was a 
 great body of new snow for me to fall in. I have 
 never been certain how far it was. It was soon over 
 and I was buried in six or eight feet of new snow that 
 had just blown over. My feet struck the old snow, 
 which must have pitched at an angle of more than 
 forty-five degrees, and my weight carried me, accord- 
 ing to my desires, my feet were foremost, and I went 
 at railroad speed. My snow-shoes must keep me 
 straight. I was covered with snow from the start. I 
 raised my head so that I could breathe, and when I 
 had got near a half mile, I began to slacken up, as I 
 had passed the steepest part, and soon stopped. 
 
 "I now discovered that I was on the horse-shoe flat 
 between the range and the timber on Musquito Creek. 
 I got up but I could not see ten feet the snow was so 
 thick. But I knew that if I kept down the mountain I 
 would come out all right. Putting on snow-shoes I 
 soon came to timber. The first tree was the top of 
 a large pine, standing at the foot of a precipice. It 
 was well that I saw it in time to turn my course. I 
 took down Musquito Creek. The snow covered almost 
 all the willows and brush, and the wind pressed me so 
 that for rods there was no need of my taking a step. 
 
284 Missionary Explorers 
 
 My shoes ran like skates. The snow began to abate, 
 but darkness was closing in on me. 
 
 "When I was within one mile of my cabin I saw a 
 pool of water in the creek; as I had been fearful for 
 some time that my feet were frozen I thought of Job, 
 when his sons had been out frolicking; he sacrificed 
 them, for fear they had sinned. But it looked rather 
 rough to go in over my boots in order to draw the frost 
 out when I still had hopes that my feet were not frozen. 
 I reached my lonely cabin, started a fire and my feet 
 began to hurt. I soon had them in the spring, and held 
 them awhile, but it was too late to cure. I got my 
 supper, but did not sleep much. Next morning an 
 old brother, whom everybody called Uncle Tommy 
 Cummings, brought a little balsam sapling, and we 
 shaved off the bark, and poulticed both my feet. The 
 third week I was able to carry the mail. Half my toe 
 nails sloughed off with considerable of the skin. 
 
 "Our provisions were all drawn over the plains with 
 teams of cattle, mules or horses. We had some sharp 
 fellows that made a corner on flour, and the price was 
 forty dollars a sack. Fortunately I had one sack on 
 hand at Buckskin Joe. My friends in California Gulch 
 were out, and wished me to supply them. I tried to 
 buy a pack-pony, but could only find a pack-cow, which 
 I purchased, and packed, and tied to a post while I ate 
 breakfast. My old friend M. Moody volunteered to 
 help me to start. We tied a long rope around her horns 
 about the middle and he took the lead and I drove. 
 
John Lewis Dyer 285 
 
 The cow got on the war-path, and bawling took after 
 him on a down grade. He ran as fast as he could, and 
 I held on as fast as I could; and the cow jumped as 
 high and as far as she could. The old man did the 
 best he could but the old cow would Hght right at him 
 every jump. Finally he took around the corner, and 
 she after him. Just then the cingle broke, and the 
 pack-saddle with the flour went right down behind her. 
 Then, lack-a-day, she stopped and did just as cows do 
 when they are about played out." 
 
 IV 
 
 The carrying of the mails was soon after stopped by 
 the depredations of Texan roughs, who held up the 
 expressman for gold-dust and ravaged the mails. These 
 were the distressing days of the Rebellion, and no sol- 
 diers could be spared for the protection of the miners. 
 These organized themselves and armed, succeeded in 
 capturing some of the desperadoes. The preacher 
 writes of walking eighty miles in two days in pursuit, 
 and preaching the next day. To these troubles suc- 
 ceeded Indian raids. The Utes were on the war-path. 
 It was impossible to travel without a guard; the city of 
 Denver had fortified. From first to last it had been a 
 hard year. Yet in taking stock of it financially Mr. 
 Dyer notes with satisfaction that, although he had re- 
 ceived but fifty dollars from his church, he had saved by 
 his own labors a thousand dollars, eight hundred of 
 
^ 286 Missionary Explorers 
 
 which he was now able to send back to Minnesota to pay 
 those old debts he had left behind when he came to 
 Colorado. With the money remaining he bought cows, 
 but he naively remarks that if a minister has anything 
 it is a detriment to him, since it not only excuses giving 
 him a poor appointment, but his congregation from 
 paying his salary. His district was now enlarged to 
 include New Mexico, and this again enabled him to 
 gratify his love of adventure. 
 
 Although the mountains were almost impassable, he 
 started in March, 1865, for his new field, accepting the 
 hospitality of the ranches on the way, having over- 
 come the perils between. On the famous Maxwell Land 
 Grant he held the first Protestant service to an audi- 
 ence of Mexicans and Indians, and on the road stopped 
 and married a runaway Mexican couple, nothing com- 
 ing amiss to the wanderer. At Santa Fe he visited the 
 Pueblo Indians, and he describes the Penitentes, with 
 whom he spent two days on his way to Taos. "Some 
 carried a joist sixteen feet long, two inches thick and 
 twelve broad with a piece of scantHng nailed across, 
 the hind end dragging on the ground. They were heavy 
 laden and one boy fell under the weight of his cross. 
 He was helped up and staggered to the church door 
 where all laid down their crosses. 
 
 "Coming near a church I saw three men standing in 
 the road. One had a large cross on his shoulder, and 
 was naked except a rag round his hips and a green veil 
 over his face. As he walked with his heavy cross, he 
 
John Lewis Dyer 287 
 
 lashed his back with a long-tailed cactus. The other 
 two men had a book, and one would suppose it might 
 have been a ten-cent revival hymn-book. At any rate 
 it looked as if they were singing some kind of a dirge 
 for the poor fellow carrying the cross. I rode along 
 side of them, saw blood on his back, and running down 
 on the cloth around his hips. I wondered if this took 
 the place of a revival, as it was taking up the cross, and 
 giving blood for their sins, and his two brethren singing 
 a penitential song. There must have been a hundred 
 crosses laid up against the side of the cross, and as 
 many people as there were crosses. When the three 
 whom I had left came in sight these began to shout. 
 One man had a large horse-fiddle. He ran up on the 
 church by means of a ladder, and began to tune his 
 fiddle. My horse was so badly scared, and jumped so 
 much farther than I thought he could, that he came 
 wellnigh landing me in the church-yard. But I gathered 
 as he ran and went on. It was the first horse-fiddle I 
 had heard in forty years, and I trust will be the last. 
 
 "Next came preparations for sleeping which were in 
 the same room. Their cochones were piled around the 
 wall, and were made ready on the floor, which was the 
 ground, covered with blankets instead of carpet. The 
 cochone is what we would call a mattress. It is a foot 
 through of pure wool and well stitched. Although it 
 was on the floor it was a grand relish to a weary traveler, 
 and I slept well with an old man whose looks indicated 
 a hundred years. I thought of what some had said of 
 
288 Missionary Explorers 
 
 a country where the people never died, just dried up 
 and blew away. I saw several that looked as if they 
 never would get away unless they blew away. I never 
 slept with a man who seemed so near eternity as this 
 man. There were three other beds in this room. I 
 awoke early and found my bedfellow still alive. After 
 that the first sensation was brought about by rubbing 
 my eyes with the same fingers that had been used at 
 supper to dip bread in the chilicolorow, which was red 
 pepper boiled with a piece of meat. It seemed that 
 sparks were coming out thick. I thought it a good 
 joke on me for not washing my hands. I called for a 
 fire to be made, and the man told his wife to make it, 
 which she did at once. 
 
 **We had much the same for breakfast as for supper; 
 and I rode twenty miles to Red River, where I found an 
 American. He had boiled pork and potatoes; and if 
 he did have a Mexican wife, I called it a square meal. 
 I overtook an old Mexican with a blanket tied around 
 his neck and his bosom full of lambs, illustrating how 
 lambs were carried in patriarchal times. The Mexicans 
 were kind and in the settlements — as a rule — made no 
 charge. They expected something however. A few 
 were half educated or half Americanized, and they would 
 charge three or four dollars a night. It made me think 
 half an education was worse than none. I called on 
 one family, and they seemed to take great pains and 
 soon had supper. It consisted of good coffee, bread, a 
 little tolay; which was parched corn ground up and wet 
 
John Lewis Dyer 289 
 
 and chilicolorow. The provisions were set on a stool in 
 the middle of the room. There were no chairs as they 
 sit down flat when they eat. I looked around and the 
 man noticed it, and folded up a blanket for me to sit on. 
 I sopped the bread in the chilicolorow and it was very 
 hot. The coffee was good. I had to use my fingers as 
 there was neither knife, spoon, fork nor plate. Being 
 hungry I took to the bread and soup, not being aware of 
 the meat in the bottom of the dish. When I quit the 
 woman came up and put her fingers into the soup and 
 took up the meat, and offered it to me. I thanked her. 
 I might have taken it, but she stood up above me, and 
 it looked comical that I should take it from between 
 her fingers with mine. But fingers were made before 
 forks." 
 
 The mission here proved a failure, and the preacher 
 went back to his old charge among the mountains and 
 the miners. It was a hard year. The grasshoppers 
 ate up the crops; there were destructive hail-storms 
 and cloud-bursts, and it seemed that the preacher 
 should contribute to his people's support rather than 
 that they should give to him, so poor they were. Going 
 into the mining camps, he would say: "Boys, can't you 
 get through with your game in twenty minutes, stack 
 your chips and give us a hearing?" Frequently they 
 would all come and behave with perfect propriety. 
 The winter was spent on snow-shoes preaching three 
 times a week. 
 
 "I had a cabin, which I called home, at Musquito. 
 
290 Missionary Explorers 
 
 The post office was called Sterling. I cut my own wood, 
 and had an old fashioned fireplace to sit by; a few 
 books to read, and a bed made of the tops of fir trees, 
 and finished out with a hay tick — a very comfortable 
 outfit. There was one window containing six panes of 
 glass, ten by twelve inches, affording plenty of light, 
 except on stormy days, when it was necessary to keep 
 the door open if the wind would allow. I could enjoy 
 the hospitality of friends at my various appointments, 
 but when I got around I wanted some place that I could 
 call home. The above was my home or answered that 
 purpose. How glad I was to get back, stand my snow- 
 shoes up against the house, strike up a fire, sit down, 
 and warm up a little; and then if there was not any 
 bread to warm up, and satisfy my hunger, to take flour 
 and baking powder, and make a deUcious cake. I gen- 
 erally baked it in a frying pan before the fire. By the 
 time it was baked, the meat was fried, the coffee boiled, 
 and with a can of fruit, or some dried apple-sauce, the 
 table was set, and I was ready to thank God and eat." 
 
 This picture of the happy, contented man is full of 
 charm. We must contrast it with the hardships of his 
 life, its perils and privations. During the summer he 
 went to a camp-meeting under the shadow of Pike's 
 Peak accompanied by Bishop Ames and a company of 
 farmers, all armed against the Arapahoes and Chey- 
 ennes, then on the war-path. 
 
 "These and other hardy frontiersmen ought to be 
 
John Lewis Dyer 291 
 
 ever remembered for their integrity and perseverance, 
 contending against drought, grasshoppers, Indians, and 
 the devil, six hundred miles distant from the eastern 
 settlements. They had been a year or two in the 
 gorges of the mountains in search of gold, and had 
 spent all they had brought across the Plains from their 
 homes. Now they had set themselves to making 
 farms, which so far as could be positively known was 
 as uncertain as prospecting. Four-fifths of all were 
 broken up or were badly in debt. Such was the case 
 with myself. Surely the energy of these early settlers 
 made it possible for this to become a State, with all its 
 wonders of wealth, its telegraphs, railroads, telephones, 
 splendid cities and the boundless prospects of its future 
 development." 
 
 His practical knowledge of mining made Mr. Dyer 
 useful to prospectors in locating mines. These ser- 
 vices helped out his precarious income, and also ena- 
 bled him to be of use to young men who had been un- 
 fortunate in this respect. He had also staked some 
 claims for himself, and realizing that age was coming 
 upon him had become interested in the Haydon ranch, 
 on which he expected to make his future home and 
 liveUhood. He had also in his travels discovered some 
 remarkable hot springs, on which, according to the 
 custom of the country, he had estabHshed the first 
 claim. At this juncture he was again appointed by 
 his conference to New Mexico. He pleaded that his 
 
292 Missionary Explorers 
 
 age and lack of education were both against his useful- 
 ness. This was not conceded, and abandoning his 
 worldly possessions, with a few books, bedding, and 
 cabin comforts, he once more set out on his solitary 
 travels. 
 
 "The first time going over to San Luis, I met a num- 
 ber of Indians. I saw that they were all mad; and 
 as I did not care to camp near them — they were strung 
 along all the afternoon — I traveled until after dark 
 and camped without any fire; took my lunch, lariated 
 the ponies on good grass, and slept comfortably. In 
 the morning I got my breakfast, as I had in my pack 
 bread, crackers, coffee, sugar, cheese, dried fruit, and 
 ham and prepared to Hve anywhere. I met a man who 
 said that the Indians were so mad they would not talk; 
 that there had been a quarrel between them and the 
 whites at Saguache, and a company of soldiers had gone 
 up to settle the fuss. The Indians had left mad. 
 
 "On the second day I camped a short distance from 
 Camp Garland. This was the last place in Colorado 
 on my trail. They announced me to preach and about 
 ten Americans, and — it being a new thing to hear a 
 strange padre — about thirty Mexicans gathered in the 
 courthouse, fifteen feet square, and a dirt floor. Two 
 or three prominent men helped to sing, and one kneeled 
 in prayer. There was good attention, and toward the 
 close the preacher waxed warm, and several of the 
 Mexican women wept, one so that it was noticed all 
 
John Lewis Dyer 293 
 
 over the house. A young man who could speak both 
 languages went home with her, and asked why she 
 cried so. She said she thought the strange preacher 
 had some friends that were lost, and he was pleading 
 for help, and she thought the man that kneeled in 
 prayer was engaged to help him, and she felt so sorry 
 that she could not help crying." 
 
 Still keeping to the Indian trail, he pursued his 
 lonely way. At times there was not a house in ninety 
 miles. "Just at dark," he writes, "I got on the top of 
 a timbered mountain, and the shades of night, with the 
 timber, compelled me to light off my pony, and lead 
 and feel the path. The big owls began to hoo, hoo, 
 and the wolves to howl as if there might be a score of 
 them near by. It was lonely. I felt they might be 
 scared; but as a howl coming in contact with a howl 
 would lose its force, I started the old long metre tune to 
 
 "*Show pity Lord; O Lord forgive; 
 Let a repenting sinner live.' 
 
 I happened to strike the key just right, and the hymn 
 echoed from mountain to mountain, and seemed to 
 fill the woods. The owls stopped and the wolves shut 
 their mouths. Daniel did but little when he looked the 
 lions out of countenance. 
 
 "The Apache Indians were frequently out on scout. 
 If sighted by them it was necessary to out-run them. 
 
294 Missionary Explorers 
 
 kill them, or get scalped. There was a reach of ninety 
 miles with but one house, and that guarded by fifteen 
 soldiers. Our boys kept guard at night. At the Lone 
 Rocks twenty miles above Fort Seldon, the company 
 spread tent cloths over the two wagons, and I tried to 
 preach to them in that desert place, the very spot 
 where the Indians at various times had leaped out 
 from behind the rocks and scalped the weary traveler. 
 This was a farewell to my hearers, as I have never seen 
 one of them since." 
 
 In this manner, preaching by the way-side, getting 
 his audiences wherever they were to be found, the 
 preacher made his way to Santa Fe. From this point 
 he journeyed to Albuquerque, and as far east as El 
 Paso, preaching and praying, accepting hospitality, 
 and noting curious customs by the way. He came 
 upon a "wine factory." There he found an old Mexi- 
 can with "his pants rolled up and his toe-nails long 
 enough to scratch the contents to pieces treading a 
 trough full of grapes." This he turns into a lesson on 
 temperance. "How many would take a gulp of that 
 wine, and boast of its purity, and lick their lips for 
 more, if they could see how it is made.^" Returning 
 to Santa Fe, he travelled westward to Fort Stanton, 
 and for over one hundred miles without seeing a house, 
 and forty-five miles without finding water. A com- 
 pany of Mexican campers showed him a spring, and 
 wished him to camp with them. He suspected them 
 to be dangerous men, and went on, fortunately, since 
 
John Lewis Dyer 295 
 
 they proved to be cattle-thieves, who were afterward 
 brought into Fort Stanton. At that time, in that 
 country, it might be safe to kill a man, but not to steal 
 his cattle. A year was spent in preaching and perils, 
 when Mr. Dyer was again called home to conference, 
 riding his pony a distance of four hundred and fifty 
 miles. 
 
 "On the seventh day of November 1870 I was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Lucinda P. Rankin of Cherry Creek, Doug- 
 las County, Colorado. I had been a widower over 
 twenty years, and had never seen the time when I 
 thought I could live and support a family without lo- 
 cating. But since I could almost keep myself, I thought 
 it was a poor woman who could not help a little. So 
 we were married, and by God's blessing, Hved happily 
 together until she was called to her reward." Accord- 
 ingly he took up a homestead claim, but contrary to 
 his hopes was again sent on his wandering life among 
 the mines and ranches. It was another period of dan- 
 gers from snows, floods, and Indians, for during this 
 time occurred the Greeley massacre by the Utes, which 
 thrilled the entire country. 
 
 "The excitement crossed the range, for, somehow 
 people will get more excited and run quicker in an 
 Indian scare than they would if Lucifer was right in 
 sight. For instance at Alma, when the people were 
 badly perplexed what to do, a man got some whiskey 
 in him and concluded to give the people a scare. So 
 he shot a hole in his coat, and tore through the town 
 
296 Missionary Explorers 
 
 crying at the top of his voice: 'The Indians are coming, 
 two or three hundred strong. Everybody will be 
 killed.' 
 
 "The men were frightened, and began to gather 
 teams to carry passengers; every horse, mule, and jack 
 was saddled. Pack saddles were in demand. Women 
 frantic with fear, used every sort of conveyance; 
 scarcely bonneted, they rode sometimes two on a pony, 
 not particular if both feet were not on one side. The 
 motley crowd whipped past one another, their eyes al- 
 most popping out with fear, all bound for Fair Play. 
 Before they got there the people of Fair Play had heard 
 the news, and fled to the big stone court house. And 
 now the women wanted a fort made of cordwood, and 
 some of the men to go and see if the Indians were near. 
 Before the volunteers could start, see husband and wife 
 embracing one another as they supposed for the last 
 time on earth; and some on their knees praying as they 
 had never prayed before. The reason of this was that 
 they believed that the Indians were just behind with 
 tomyhawk and scalping knife." 
 
 Such was life in Colorado at that day. Among these 
 calamities his son, a probate judge, was murdered in 
 one of the feuds among the settlers; the conference sup- 
 plied no money, so that when not preaching the preacher 
 worked by the day to support himself and wife. Yet 
 he writes: "I went back to Summit County Circuit, 
 and having managed to live throughout the year, keep 
 out of debt, and able to work, I was quite happy at an 
 
John Lewis Dyer 297 
 
 altitude of ten thousand feet. I never enjoyed myself 
 better at any place. 
 
 "The following December we moved to Douglas 
 County to our ranche, and tried hard to make a living, 
 but found it rather hard at my age, over seventy. I 
 milked seven cows and had a garden. I raised corn, oats 
 and buckwheat, and by dint of hard work made a living 
 for two years, but it disagreed with me. I became such 
 an invahd I could not ride horseback. Of course, there- 
 fore I could not make much of a cow-boy. Some time in 
 June we had a terrific hail-storm. Our garden and corn 
 looked nice, and all at once the storm came — hail and 
 a Httle rain. My better half ran out with old pans and 
 rags to save the garden. The lightning was frightful 
 and the cracking thunder so alarmed the old lady that 
 she ran into the house, pelted all the way with big hail- 
 stones. I was doing my best to make the same shelter, 
 but her tragic flight was more than I could stand. I 
 laughed the thunder down. Yet it was well that she 
 got in, for the hail-stones fell with sufficient force to 
 split shingles and break windows. The ground was 
 covered to the depth of four inches. All our crop was 
 cut down even with the ground. After all was clear we 
 heard a noise up the creek, and saw the hail and water 
 coming about four feet up abreast, almost a perpen- 
 dicular front, and another wave on top of that, till it 
 filled the banks full seven feet high, and it plowed the 
 creek bank much wider than it was before." 
 
 It is a reUef after all this unremitting storm and 
 
298 Missionary Explorers 
 
 stress of an active useful life, yet accepted with such 
 unfailing cheerfulness and content, that now, old and 
 infirm, Father Dyer — for such had become his title — 
 applied for and received the chaplaincy of the Senate 
 at Denver, where we may now leave him. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adams, Reverend Ellphalet, 33. 
 Alder, Jonathan, 237. 
 Alexander. See Wamsutta. 
 Alma, 295. 
 Ames, Bishop, 290. 
 Amherst, General, 49, 51. 
 Anawangamane, warrior, 206. 
 Apache, tribe, 293. 
 Appergale, Jesse, 177. 
 Archbishops, English, 65. 
 Arkansas River, 167. 
 Armstrong, Noah, 269. 
 Ashburton treaty, 164, 173. 
 Atkinson, Doctor, 176. 
 
 Babbitt's Settlement, 245. 
 
 Baddow, Little, 4. 
 
 Baptists, contests with, 252. 
 
 Barber, Jonathan, 33. 
 
 Barnes, Captain, 243, 244. 
 
 "Barring out," 238. 
 
 Bear River country, 140. 
 
 Beloit, Wis., 227. 
 
 Ben's Town, 3 1 . 
 
 Bent, George, 167. 
 
 Bent and Savery's Fort, 167. 
 
 Ben Uncas, 3d, 33. 
 
 Ben Uncas, 34. 
 
 Berdt, Dennis de, 63. 
 
 Bible, Eliot's, 23, 28; Sioux, 227. 
 
 Big Cottonwood camp, 168. 
 
 Black Eagle, 208. 
 
 Blackfeet tribe, 134. 
 
 Black Hawk war, 243. 
 
 Blue Mountains, 151, 153, 180. 
 
 Blue River Mission, 272. 
 
 Boise, Fort, 180. 
 
 "Boston," packet, 63. 
 
 Boyle, Robert, 26. 
 
 Brainerd, David, birth, 95; conver- 
 sion, 97; missionary, lOO; goes to 
 Delawares, 102; life with Dela- 
 wares, 104-109; revival, 111-113; 
 to Susquehannas, 115; illness, 
 116; death, 117. 
 
 Brainerd, Hezekiah, 95. 
 
 Brant, Joseph, 52. 
 
 Brant, Molly, 52. 
 
 Bridgehampton, 69. 
 
 Brothertown, 75; reorganized, 79; 
 first wedding at, 80; choosing 
 town officers, 82; in Wisconsin, 91. 
 
 Buckskin Joe camp, 266, 270. 
 
 Buell, Reverend Samuel, 41, 44. 
 
 Burgess, Reverend Dyer, 188. 
 
 Burnett, Peter B., 178, 179. 
 
 Burr, Reverend Aaron, 43, 99. 
 
 Calef, Captain Robert, 67. 
 Calhoun, Lake, 159. 
 Calicott, R., 6. 
 California Gulch, 267, 270. 
 Cama, fruit of, 153. 
 Cambridge, England, 28. 
 Campbellites, 259. 
 Camp-meeting, 234, 253. 
 Canton, 111., 243. 
 Carret, Hannah, 61. 
 Cask Creek, 269. 
 Cayuse, tribe, 153. 
 Cedar River, flood in, 260. 
 Celam, Major, 128. 
 
 301 
 
302 
 
 Index 
 
 Chapman, revivalist, 253. 
 "Chariton," boat, 124. 
 Charity Indian School, 38, 68. 
 Charles I, 3. 
 Charles II, 23. 
 Chepian, devil, 10. 
 Cherry Creek, Colo., 295. 
 Chippewa Indians, 262, 263. 
 Chivington, Colonel, 271. 
 Christian card game, 84. 
 Clarke, General George, 122. 
 Clearwater River mission, 158. 
 Coleman, Mr., 244. 
 Columbia River, 157. 
 Cone, Edwin, 238. 
 Connecticut tribes, 73. 
 Coon-hunting, 235. 
 Cow, pack, 284. 
 Cox, Mrs., 246. 
 
 Crossweeksung, ill, 112, I14, I16. 
 Cutshamokin, 12, 17. 
 
 Dakota, tribe, 189; tents of, 199; visit 
 to, 201; customs of, 206; troubles 
 with, 215; prisoners, 226-228. 
 
 Dalles, The, 157, 181. 
 
 Danville, 111., 239. 
 
 Dartmouth, Earl of, College, 64, 
 67,69. 
 
 Day, Mr., 241. 
 
 Dead Man's Gulch, 268. 
 
 Dean, James, 85. 
 
 Deer-hunting, 237. 
 
 Delaware, tribe, 100, 104-108. 
 
 Denver, Colo., 266, 271. 
 
 Drummond, Sir William, 128. 
 
 Dubuque, Iowa, 254. 
 
 Dunbar, Mr., 130, 131. 
 
 Dyer, John, 231; Samuel, 232; 
 Robert, 235. 
 
 Dyer, John Lewis, descent, 231; 
 boyhood, 232-239; removal, 239, 
 242; Black Hawk war, 243; In- 
 dian scares, 245; conversion, 247; 
 marriage, 248; miner, 249; Minne- 
 
 sota, 251-253; on circuit, 253-258; 
 conflict of sects, 259; among the 
 Rockies, 260-270; evangelist, 264; 
 Pike's Peak, 265; home, 272; 
 South Park, 275; mail-carrier, 
 276-281; New Mexico, 286; at 
 Sterling, 290; prospector, 291; 
 adventures, 293; marries, 295; 
 rancher, 297; chaplain, 298. 
 Dyer's Mills, 232. 
 
 Eagle Help, 203. 
 East Hampton, 43. 
 Ebell, photographer, 219. 
 Edwards, Reverend Jonathan, lOO; 
 
 Jerusha, 114. 
 Eel clan, 45. 
 Ells, Mrs., 159. 
 Eliot, John, birth, 4; emigrates, 4; 
 
 Pequots, 5; "heckled," 8, 9; 
 
 founds Nonantum, 10; goes to 
 
 Merrimacs, 18; as carpenter, 20; 
 
 translates Bible, 23; Philip's 
 
 friend, 26; death, 28. 
 Elliott, Doctor, sermon of, 268. 
 El Paso, 294. 
 Endicott, Governor, 22. 
 Evans Gulch, 278. 
 
 Fair Play, 296. 
 
 Farnham, Thomas J., 160, 161. 
 
 Feather Cap, 180. 
 
 Fiske, Reverend Mr., 96. 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Captain, 128. 
 
 Flandreau, Major, 213. 
 
 Flathead, tribe, 122, 134. 
 
 Foster, Cassandra, 232; Majors 
 
 243; Zebulon, 245; Hariett, 248. 
 Fowler, James, 43 ; Mary, 43 ; David, 
 
 46,58,61,78,83,85,90. 
 Frank, tavern-keeper, 51. 
 Franklin, trouble in, 249. 
 Fremont, John C, 159, 174. 
 French Gulch, 272. 
 Fur Company, 131. 
 
Index 
 
 303 
 
 Galbreath, Indian agent, 215. 
 Garland, Camp, 292. 
 Gardner, Abby, 213. 
 Gazette^ Connecticut, 89. 
 "General Lyon," The, 277. 
 George III, 64. 
 Georgia Gulch, 272. 
 Gold-mining excitement, 276. 
 "Good Peter," 45. 
 Gookin, Judge, 26. 
 Goshen, 102. 
 Grand River, 167. 
 Grande Ronde, 153, 178. 
 Grant, Captain, 162, 165. 
 Grass, Mr., Indian, 213. 
 Gray Foot, 158. 
 Gray, W. H., 124, 158. 
 "Great Awakening," 35, 98. 
 Great South Pass, 132, 133, 177. 
 Greeley massacre, 295. 
 Grover's logging camp, 262. 
 Gum's Fort, 243. 
 Gunnison country, 267. 
 
 Hale, Doctor Edward, 172, 173. 
 
 Hall, Fort, 144, 165, 178. 
 
 Hard times, 246. 
 
 Hariett, Lake, 189. 
 
 Harris, Major, 128. 
 
 Hart, Miss. See Spalding. 
 
 Hay River, 263. 
 
 Hazelwood Republic, 211, 213, 217. 
 
 Hob art, Reverend Peter, 95. 
 
 Holt, Mrs., 261. 
 
 Home building, 240. 
 
 Housatonic tribes, 99. 
 
 Hudson Bay Company, 161. 
 
 Hudson's River, 102. 
 
 Hunter, Mr. and Mrs., 220. 
 
 Hymns by Occum, 72. 
 
 Indian College, 24; woman, 113. 
 Inkpadoota, warrior, 211. 
 I-tis, John, 123, 125, 146, 151. 
 
 Jefferson College, 188. 
 "Jehu," sachem, 19. 
 "Jerks," the, 234. 
 Jewett, Reverend Mr., 63. 
 Johnson, Joseph, 73. 
 Johnson, Sir William, 51, 52. 
 Juncauta, island, 104. 
 
 Kaunaumeck, village of, 100. 
 Kent's Gulch, 268. 
 Kentuck, Indian, 145. 
 Kirkland, Samuel, 46, 90. 
 Kirkpatrick, Reverend William, 44. 
 
 Lac qui Parle, 192, 203, 222. 
 Lake Creek, 267. 
 Laramie, Fort, 131, 176. 
 Lawrence University, 249. 
 Leadville. See California Gulch. 
 Leaf Shooter's band, 211. 
 Lenora, village, 254. 
 Lincoln City, 273-275. 
 Little Crow, 214, 216, 225. 
 "London Packet," 67. 
 Lone Rocks, 294. 
 Lone Tree valley, 152. 
 Longley, Mary, 188; Thomas, 208. 
 Love, Reverend Benjamin, 33. 
 Lovejoy, Amos Lawrence, 164, 165- 
 169. 
 
 "Macedonian Cry," 123. 
 Mail-carrying, 275-277. 
 Manitou, 7. 
 Marble, Mrs., 212. 
 Marshall, Captain John, 63. 
 Marysville, Ohio, 239. 
 Mason, Captain John, 32. 
 Massasoit, sachem, 20; boys of, 24. 
 Mather, Cotton, 24. 
 Maxwell Land Grant, 286. 
 Mazakootamane, Paul, 213, 286. 
 McClure, David, 40, 67. 
 McDufiie, Senator, 162. 
 McKay, Thomas, 141. 
 McLaughlin, Doctor, 157. 
 
304 
 
 Index 
 
 McLeod, John, 141, 144, 146, 148, 
 149. 
 
 Metacum, 24. 
 
 Mexican hospitality, 288, 289. 
 
 Mining prospector, 291. 
 
 Mohawk River, 88. 
 
 Mohegan, tribe, 19, 31, 32; Land 
 
 Case, 62. 
 Montauk tribes, 41. 
 Moody, Mr., 284. 
 Moore, Mr. and Mrs., 216. 
 Moore, local preacher, 253. 
 Moses, Paul, 70. 
 Mount Hood, 155. 
 Musquito Pass, 267-277, 28 1. 
 
 Natick, Indian town, 20. 
 
 Newman's Mills, 251. 
 
 New Mexico, 286. 
 
 New Testament, Eliot's, 23; Sioux, 
 
 227. 
 New York, 48, 278. 
 Nez Perces, 158, 160. 
 Nobles, Mrs., 213. 
 Nonantum, 7, 12, 27. 
 
 Occum, Jonathan, 31; Joshua, 31; 
 Sarah, 3 2, 3 5 ; Esther, 64; Mary, 64. 
 
 Occum, Samson, birth, 31; child- 
 hood, 32; at school, 33; converted 
 36; Charity School, 36; at Mon- 
 tauk, 42; marries, 43; ordained, 
 44; at New York, 46; diary, 46- 
 52; with Oneidas, 53, 62; returns, 
 56; quarrel, 63; at London, 63, 
 64; falls, 69; preaches, 71; emi- 
 grates, 73; founds Brothertown, 
 76; diary, 81-88; death, 87. 
 
 Ojibwas, tribe of, 201-203, 207. 
 
 Omaha, 265. 
 
 Oneida, tribe, 75, 76, 77, 84, 86, 88, 89. 
 
 Oneida Old Castle, 52. 
 
 Oregon, in Congress, 162, 163. 
 
 Oro City, 277. 
 
 Otherday, John, 213. 
 
 Pambrum, Mr., 156, 157. 
 Parker, Reverend Samuel, 123. 
 Pawnees, 131. 
 Pa-yuha, Indian, 197. 
 Pekin, 111., 239. 
 Pence's Fork, 241, 242. 
 Penitentes, 286, 287. 
 Phelps, county surveyor, 239. 
 Philip, King, 24, 26. 
 Pike's Peak, 265, 266. 
 Platte River, 127, 130, 175. 
 Poague, Miss, 195. 
 Pond, Gideon H., 194. 
 Porter, Secretary of War, 174. 
 Portraits of Occum, 67. 
 Powder River, 152. 
 Powwows, 104-105. 
 Prairie schooners, 239. 
 Praying Indians, 14, 25. 
 Prentiss, Judge, 124. 
 Prentiss, Narcissa, 124. 
 Prescott, Mrs., 192. 
 Printer, James, 24. 
 "Prophet's chamber," 21. 
 
 Ranche, Dyer's, 298. 
 
 Rankin, Lucinda P., 295. 
 
 Red River, 288; of the North, 164. 
 
 Release, Camp, 224. 
 
 Rendezvous, the, 134-137, 138, 140. 
 
 Rice Lake, 262. 
 
 Richard, 151. 
 
 Ridgeley, Fort, 21 1, 219. 
 
 Rienville, Joseph, 196, 197, 204. 
 
 Riggs, Alfred, 201, 203; Isabella, 
 204; Mary, diary, 189-194; 
 Stephen, childhood, 187; marries, 
 188; mission, 190, 195-196; trans- 
 lating, 197; to Fort Snelling, 204; 
 returns, 209; founds Hazelwood, 
 211; Indian troubles, 215; escape, 
 217-223; chaplain, 223; death, 
 227. 
 
 Ripley, Ohio, 188. 
 
 Rodman, Doctor, 51. 
 
Index 
 
 30s 
 
 Root River, 256. 
 Ross's Ferry, 244. 
 Rotten Belly, chief, 145. 
 Roxbury Church, 5. 
 
 St. Anthony, 261. 
 
 St. Leger, General, 78. 
 
 St. Peter's River, 192. 
 
 Saguache, quarrel at, 292. 
 
 Salina, Countess of Huntingdon, 64. 
 
 San Luis Indians, 292. 
 
 Santa Fe, 286. 
 
 Savery, Mr., 168. 
 
 Scarlet End, 214. 
 
 Schuyler, Fort, 78. 
 
 Scotch Commissioners, lOO, 106, 117. 
 
 Scotch Society, 46. 
 
 Scott, Rie, 25. 
 
 Scout's Camp, 226. 
 
 Secretary of War, letter to, 181. 
 
 Senate Document, 169-171. 
 
 Shakapoe, 223. 
 
 Sheldon, ball at, 255. 
 
 Sherman, Major T. W., 214. 
 
 Shinnecock tribes, 41. 
 
 Ship, French, 19. 
 
 Sibley, General, 204, 223, 225, 226. 
 
 Simpson, Sir George, 163. 
 
 Sioux. See Dakotas. 
 
 Sissetons, tribe, 214, 216. 
 
 Six Nations, 109. 
 
 Skesuck, Sally, 86. 
 
 Sky Blue meeting-house, 40, 46. 
 
 Smith, John, 38-40. 
 
 Snake River, 146-150. 
 
 Snelling, Fort, 191, 203. 
 
 Snow-shoes, 273, 276, 281-284. 
 
 Soldier's Lodge, 210, 217. 
 
 Sounding Heavens, 211, 212. 
 
 South Park, 275. 
 
 Spalding, Reverend H. H., 124, 152; 
 
 Mrs., 125, 132, 149, ISO, 152. 
 Speene, John, 20. 
 Spelling-matches, 238. 
 Spirit Lake, 211. 
 
 Standing Buffalo, 216. 
 Stanton, Fort, 295. 
 Sterling, 295. 
 Steubenville, Ohio, 187. 
 Stewart, Captain, 128. 
 "Stockbridgers," 84. 
 Sugar-making, 207. 
 Sumner, Charles, 163. 
 Susquehannas, 115. 
 Symons, Indian boy, 68. 
 
 Tacitutas, also Richard, 123, 125, 
 
 146, 151. 
 Tahattawan, sachem, 15. 
 Tahey, John, crops, 83. 
 Tai-quin-sa-walish, at St. Louis, 123. 
 Tamakoche, 198. 
 Tantamy, Moses Tinda, 112. 
 Tantaquidgeon, Lucy, 32. 
 Taos, 167, 286. 
 Texan roughs, 285. 
 Thing, Captain, 144. 
 Thurman, Father, 244. 
 Tomockham, 31. 
 Toteswamp punishes son, 22. 
 Townsend, naturalist, 156. 
 Traverse des Sioux, 193, 204. 
 Trumbull, John, 78. 
 Twin Lakes, 267. 
 Tyler, President, 173. 
 
 Uintah, Fort, 165. 
 Uncas, sachem, 20, 31. 
 Uncompahgre, Fort, 166. 
 Utes, tribe of, 166. 
 
 Vancouver, Fort, 157, 181. 
 Van Santvoord, Hants, 49. 
 
 Waban, 7, 10, 27, 28. 
 Wagon, historic, 125, 141, 149. 
 Waiilatpu mission, 157, 180. 
 Waldo, Mr., 176. 
 
3o6 
 
 Index 
 
 Walla Walla, Fort, 158, 181. 
 
 Wampanoag, tribe, 24. 
 
 Wampum belt, 55, 56. 
 
 Wamsutta, Alexander, 24. 
 
 Washington, George, 77. 
 
 Washington Gulch, 268. 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 164, 173, 182. 
 
 Wedding in camp, 264. 
 
 Westerfield, Mr., 243. 
 
 Weston, Mrs., 175. 
 
 Wheelock, Eleazar, 36, 52, 53, 56, 
 63. 
 
 Wheelock, Ralph, 54. 
 
 White, Dr. Elijah, 180. 
 
 Whitefield, Reverend George, 35, 
 63, 64, 98. 
 
 Whiting, Colonel, 51. 
 
 Whitman, Marcus, 123; journey to 
 St. Louis, 123; with fur convoy, 
 126-13 1 ; Fourth of July, 136; 
 at rendezvous, 137; at Snake 
 River, 149; at Fort Walla Walla, 
 156; farmer, 160; mountain ride, 
 166-179; at Denver, 173; at 
 
 Washington, 173; returns, 175; 
 
 adventures, 179; home, 180; 
 
 death, 182. 
 Whitman, Narcissa, diary, 125-13 1, 
 
 141-149, 150-157, 158-160; 
 
 teacher, 161; death, 182. 
 Whittaker, Reverend Nathaniel, 63. 
 Whittlesey, tutor, 98. 
 "Wilderness, The," 239. 
 Wilkes, Commodore, 160. 
 William, Fort, 145. 
 Williams, Reverend Eleazar, 91. 
 Williamson, Reverend Thomas, 195, 
 
 221; Jane, 210. 
 Woodbridge, Joseph, no; Timothy, 
 
 no. 
 Wyeth, Captain, 141, 144. 
 
 Yale College, 41, 98. 
 
 Yellow Medicine, 210, 214, 224. 
 
 Zimbro River, 261. 
 Zitkadan Washtay, 197. 
 Zoe, Dakota, 218. 
 
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