44 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Indignant at such treachery, the Delawares and the Mengwe united their forces 

 and declared war against the Allegewi. The enemy fortified their large towns, and 

 raised entrenchments on large rivers and near lakes, which were attacked and 

 sometimes stormed by the allies. No quarter was given ; and after the war had 

 lasted many years, the Allegewi at last abandoned the country to the victors, and 

 fled down the Mississippi river, from whence they never returned. 



The Delawares charged the Mengwe with hanging back always and leaving them 

 to face the enemy. But in the end they divided the conquered land between them, 

 tbe Mengwe choosing the vicinity of the Great Lakes, and the Delawares taking 

 possession of the country further south. 



The tradition continues, giving an account of subsequent wars with the Mengwe, 

 (better known as the Iroquois), and the ultimate confederacy of the Five Nations. 



This is a simple story, viewed by itself, containing nothing marvellous or incredi- 

 ble. Yet the traditions recorded by Heckewelder, taken together, have not been 

 regarded as entitled to confidence. Lie has been charged with credulity, and even 

 suspected of a desire to embellish his narrative. It is also declared that no reliance 

 can ever be placed on the legends of the Indians, as they are usually invented to 

 amuse or mystify the inquirer. 



Admitting this to be the case as a general rule, still the statements of the Mora- 

 vians should be fairly considered in connection with the circumstances under which 

 their information was obtained. 



These " United Brethren," as they best liked to be called, who sought, in their 

 system of organization, to combine the simple social habits and the apostolic office 

 of the primitive Christians, came to Pennsylvania about the year 1740. 



Their communities had been driven from Bohemia to Moravia, and were every- 

 where persecuted. Under the guidance of Count Zinzendorf, at once their pro- 

 tector and their leader, they found a partial security at home, just enough to enable 

 them to become the nurseries of missionary enterprise abroad. Seeking opportu- 

 nities to spread the gospel among the heathen wherever they might be found, their 

 first mission in this country was with the Indians of Georgia, The hostilities of 

 the English and Spanish claimants of jurisdiction, between whom they were not 

 permitted to retain a position of neutrality, compelled them, after a few years' 

 residence, to remove from that section of the United States. 



Their efforts were then directed to the conversion and civilization of the Delawares, 

 the Iroquois, and the Mohegans, among whom they labored with great perseverance 

 for many years. Their influence over the natives even exceeded that of the Jesuits 

 and Franciscans of an earlier period ; and communities of converts grew up around 

 the solitary posts of the preachers far in the wilderness. Constantly pressing towards 

 the interior, in 1772 they had villages beyond the Ohio, where the savage assumed 

 the habits and adopted the worship of civilized men. Living in the midst of their 

 pupils, directing their agricultural labors, and working with them, the missionaries 

 gained their affections while they studied their habits and mental peculiarities, and 

 prepared dictionaries and grammars of their language. To Zeisberger, Pyrlaeus, 

 Schultz, and Heckewelder, philologists have been indebted for some of the most 

 important materials used in their investigations. 



