IROQUOIAN LANGUAGES. 



45 



Claesse (L.) — Continued. 



seraggwas Eghtjecagh uo oug wehoonwe, neoni 

 ne I siyoiloghwhenjooktaunighhoegb etho aha- 

 dyeandougli. I 



English title verso of first 1. recto blank, 

 Mohawk title recto second 1. verso blank, text 

 pp. 1-115, verso of p. 115 blank, am. 4° ; en- 

 tirely in the Mohawk language, except the 

 headings to the prayers, which are in English 

 and Mohawk. The church catechism, a morn- 

 iuj; prayer for masters and scholars, evening 

 prayers, &c. occupy pp. 1-21. 



"In the year 1704 the Society for the Prop- 

 agation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts sent 

 the Rev. Thoroughgood Moor as missionary to 

 the Mohawks, but his stay was too brief to be 

 productive of any benefit. After his departure 

 the Rev. Mr. Freeman, minister of the Re- 

 formed Dutch Church at Schenectady, admin- 

 istered to those Indians, and translated for 

 them the Morning and Evening Prayers, the 

 whole of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the first 

 three chapters of Gene.sis, several chapters of 

 Exodus, a few of the Psalms, many portions of 

 the Scriptures relating to the Birth, Passion, 

 Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord, and 

 several chapters of the Ist Epistle to the 

 Corinthians, particularly the 15th chapter, 

 proving the Restirrection of the Dead. But 

 his work was not printed. In the year 1709 

 some Mohawk Indians visited England with 

 Col. Schuyler, when applications were made 

 for some missionaries. The Reverend "William 

 Andrews was accordingly sent out in the year 

 1712, by the Society; and the Reverend Mr. 

 Freeman having given the Propagation Society 

 :i copy of his translations, they were sent to 

 Mr. Andrews for his use, with instructions to 

 print a part in Indian and distribute them 

 among his flock. Accordingly the Morning 

 and Evening Prayers, the Litany, the Church 

 Catechism, Family Prayers, and several chap- 

 ters of the Old and New Testament were printed 

 in New York about the year 1714.''— O'Calla- 

 (jhan. 



"After the American Revolution the work of 

 this society [for the propagation of the faith in 

 New England] was continued in the British 

 Korth American provinces, and one of the later 

 editions of the Mohawk Prayer Book was 

 printed by it in Canada. In New England, un- 

 der its auspices. Rev. Johu Eliot translated the 

 Bible and some religious books into an aborig- 

 inal language, now otherwise lost. Next to 

 this early work, as far as the English are con- 

 corned, may be placed the tran.slation of por- 

 tions of tire Prayer Book into Mohawk, by the 

 Rev. Mr. Freeman, probably between 17C0 and 

 1705. 



"The French Jesuits did something at an 

 earlier day, but probably gave more oral than 

 written instruction. Father Cliaumonot, how- 

 ever, wrote some works in the Onondaga Ian- 

 guago, Carheil in Cayuga, and Bruyas in Mo- 

 hawk. Father Bruyas preached among the 

 Mohawks at intervals from 1007 to 1701, wrote 



Claesse (L. ) — Contiuiied. 



several books, and left us a grammar and lexi- 

 con of radical Mohawk words, whicli are of 

 great value. 



"Passing over these, and the preaching of 

 Mr. Dellius, who seems to have written and 

 translated nothing, though understanding Mo- 

 hawk well, Mr. Freeman's was the first at- 

 tempt, in the New York colony, to tran.slato 

 auythinginto the Iroquois tongue. He selected 

 the principal parts of the English Liturgy, as 

 the Morning and Evening Prayer, the Litany, 

 and the Creed of St. Athanasias. In regard to 

 the latter, 6no might wonder what the work 

 was like, or what ideas such deep metaphysics 

 awakened amoiuj the simple-miuded Indians. 

 He also translated soore portions of the Old and 

 New Testament. 



11* X * Mr. Freeman promised liis manu- 

 scripts to the Rev. Thomas Barclay, in 1710, 

 never having iiublished them himself, and they 

 afterward came into the possession of the so- 

 ciety for propagating the Gospel. AVhen a 

 fre.sli impulse was given to Imliau missions, 

 and the Rev. Mr. Andrews was appointed to 

 minister among the Mohawks, this translation 

 was sent to him for his use, and he was told to 

 print suitable parts in New York, and distrib- 

 ute copies among hi.s people. The result was, 

 that, about 1714, this was done; the Morning 

 and Evening Prayer, Litany, Catechism, Fam- 

 ily Prayers, and some parts of the Bible being 

 selected. This book was printed in New York 

 as directed. 



" This first edition is wholly in Mohawk, as 

 are the two whi:h followed it. The book is a 

 small quarto, and is said to have been trans- 

 lated by Lawrence Claesse, under the direction 

 of William Andrews, missionary. Claesse was 

 a good interpreter, not only commonly attend- 

 ing when the council fire was blazing at Al- 

 bany, but also fi'equently visiting the Onondaga 

 Castle and council-fire. Ho probably revised 

 and added to the original translation. The title 

 shows a considerable ditt'erence in tlie spelling 

 and pronunciation of many Mohawk words be- 

 tween that day and this, much liiio the changes 

 in our own language." — Bemtehainp. 



Copies seen : British Museum, Lenox, New 

 York Historical Society, the latter copy minus 

 English title-page. 



A morocco copy. No. 1575, sold at the Field 

 .sale for $G0. The Murphy copy, No. 1098, 

 "old calf, gilt, a tall coi)y," brought $112. A 

 copy with "titles mended and a few words ro- 

 .stored in fac-simile, crimson morocco extra, 

 gilt edges," was priced by Quaritch, No. :i0U82, 

 4Sl. 

 Clans : 



Cherokee. See Bringier (L.). . 



Cherokee. Buttrick (D. S.). 



Clark (.Jcshna V. II.). Onondaoa ; | or j 

 reLuiiii.scciice.s | of | earlier uud later 

 tinie.s ; | Ixsiug a series of liistorical 

 sketelie.s relative to Otioiidaga ; with 



