OF LANCASTER COUNTY. 19 



have first arisen from tlie divine intelligence, tLongii communicated in 

 different degree to different parts of tlie human race, and though much 

 of such tradition may be mixed with imagination and absurdity. 



"The following letter of Conrad Weise)-^ to a friend, respecting the In- 

 dians^ on this subject, is informing. The author was born in Germany^ 

 and was many years Indian interpreter for the province ; and consequently 

 was well acquainted with these people : he was highly esteemed by both 

 the English and Indians, as a person of integrity, skill and ability, in the 

 discharge of divers important trusts which had been committed to him 

 by both parties, for a long series of years : the letter translated from the 

 German language, is thus expressed, viz: 



" ' Esteemed Friend : I write this, in compliance with thy request, to 

 give thee an account of what I have observed among the Indians, in re- 

 lation to their belief and confidence in a Divine Being, according to the 

 observations I have made, from 1714, in the time of my youth, to this 

 day, (about the year 1746). 



" ' If by the word religion people mean an assent to certain creeds, or 

 the observance of a set of religious duties; as, appointed prayers, singings, 

 preaching, baptism, &c., or even Heathenish loorship, then it may be said 

 the Five Nations, and their neighbors, have no religion. But if bv re- 

 figion we mean an attraction of the soul to God, whence proceeds a confi- 

 dence in, and hunger after, the knowledge of him, then this people must 

 be allowed to have some religion among them, notwithstanding their 

 sometimes savage deportment. For we find among them some tracts of 

 a confidence in God alone; and, even, sometimes, though but seldom, a 

 vocal calling upon him : I shall give one or two instances of this, that 

 fell under my own observation. 



'"In the 3'ear 1737, 1 was sent the first time to Oaoiidago, at the desire 

 of the Governor of Virginia. I departed in the latter end of February, 

 very unexpectedly, for a journey of five hundred English miles, through; 

 a wilderness where tliere was neither road nor path, and at such a time 

 of the year when creatures (animals) could not be met with for food. 

 There were with me a Dutchman and three Indians. After we had gone 

 one hundred and fifty miles on our journey, we came to a narrow valley, 

 about half a mile broad and thirty long; both sides of which were 

 encompassed Avith high mountains, on which the snow lay about three 

 feet deep : in it ran a stream of water also about three feet deep ; which 

 was so crooked that it kept a continued winding course from one side of 

 the valley to the other. In order to avoid wading so often through the 

 water, Ave endeavored to pass along on the slope of the mountain ; the 

 t^DOw being three feet deep, and so hard frozen on the top that Ave could 

 walk upon it : but we Avere obliged to make holes in the snoAV with our 

 1 For his biography see Division III. s. v. Wei^er. 



