lawson's history 91 



'No man living will ever be able to make these 

 heathens sensible of the happiness of a future 

 state, except he now and then mentions some lively 

 carnal representation, which may quicken their ap- 

 prehensions and make them thirst after such a 

 gainful exchange ; for, were the best lecture that 

 ever was preached by man, given to an ignorant 

 sort of people in a more learned style than their 

 mean capacities are able to understand, the in- 

 tent would prove ineffectual, and the hearers would 

 be left in a greater labyrinth than their teacher 

 found them in. But dispense the precepts of our 

 faith according to the pupil's capacity, and there 

 is nothing in our religion but what an indifferent 

 reason is, in some measure, able to comprehend ; 

 though a Ne^Y England minister blames the 

 French Jesuits for this way of proceeding, as be- 

 ing quite contrary to a true christian practice, and 

 affirms it to be no ready or true method to estab- 

 lish a lively representation of our christian belief 

 amongst these infidels. 



All the Indians hereabouts carefully preserve 

 the bones of the flesh they eat and burn them, as 

 being of opinion that if they omitted that custom 

 the game would leave their country, and they should 

 not be able to maintain themselves by their hunt- 

 ing. Most of these Indians wear mustaches or 

 whiskers, which is rare ; by reason the Indians 

 are a people that commonly pull the hair of their 

 faces and other parts, up by the roots and suffer 

 none to grow. 



