178 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE 



Eliot (J.) — Continued. 



times come to the place where I teach to heare 

 the word. Linn Indiana are all naught save 

 one, . . . principally because their Sachim 

 is naught, and careth not to pray unto Grod." 

 Mr. Eliot also mentions the discouragements 

 which attended the work of fencing and wall- 

 ing the new settlement at Nonantum, in order 

 to protect the gardens and cornfields of the 

 Indians from the cattle of the English, which 

 did much damage. "A place must be found," 

 he writes, "(both for this aod sundry other 

 reasons I can give) some what remote from the 

 English, where they must have the word con- 

 stantly taught, and government constantly ex- 

 ercised . . . Such a project in a fit place, 

 would draw many that are well minded together : 

 but I feare it will be too chargeable. . . . 

 The Indians about us which I constantly teach, 

 do still diligently and desirously attend, and in 

 a good measure practice (for the outward part 

 of Religion, both in their families and Sab- 

 baths) according to their knowledge; and by 

 degrees come on to labour." A particular ac- 

 count of these matters was given by Mr. Eliot 

 in Winslow's publication entitled, The Qlorious 

 Progress of the Gospel, amongst the Indians in 

 New England, London, 1649. 



The account of Mr. Eliot's work during the 

 year 1649, in bis own words, is as follows: " I 

 had, and still have, a great desire to go to a 

 great fishing place, !N"amaske upon Meri- 1 

 niak ; and because the Indians way lyeth be- 

 yond the great Eiver which we cannot passe 

 with our horses, nor can we well go to it on 

 this side the river, unlesse we go by Nasha- 

 way, which is about, and bad way, unbeaten, 

 the Indians not using that way.; I therefore 

 hired a hardy man of Nashaway to beat out a 

 way and to mark trees, so that he may Pilot me 

 thither in the spring, and he hired Indians with 

 him and did it ; and in the way passed through 

 a great people called Sowahagen Indians, some 

 of which bad heard me at Pautuket and at 

 ISTashaway, and had carried home such tydings, 

 that they were generally stirred with a desire 

 that I would come and teach them ; and when 

 they saw a man come to cut out a way for me 

 that way, they were very glad ; and when he 

 told them C intended to come that way the 

 next spring, they seemed to him full of joy, and 

 made him very welcome. But in the Spring, 

 when I should have gone, I was not well, 

 it being a very sickly time, so that I saw the 

 Lord prevented me of that journey ; yet when 

 I went to Pautuket another fishing place, where 

 from all parts about they met together, thither 

 came divers of these Sowahegen Indians, and 

 heard me teach, and I had conference with 

 them ; and among other things, I asked whether 

 Sowahegen Indians were desirous to pray to 

 Crod ; they answered ; yea, I asked how many 

 •desired it ; they answered watnu, that is All, 

 and with such affection as did much affect 

 those Christian men that I had with me in 

 company." In the summer of the same year 



Eliot (J,) — Continued. 



he visited the "aged Sachem at Quabagud three . 

 score miles Westward." He also wrote, in a 

 letter dated December 29th, that ' ' a Nipnet 

 Sachem hath submitted himself to pray unto 

 the Lord, and much desireth one of our chief 

 ones to live with him and teach him and those 

 that are with him." This year Mr. Eliot lost 

 one of his chief friends and advisers in this 

 work, the Rev. Thomas Shepard, who died on 

 the 25th of August, 1649. 



In the meantime, the interest excited in Eng- 

 land by the published accounts of the labors 

 among the Indians by Mr. Eliot in Massachu- 

 setts and Thomas Mayhew on Martha's Vine- 

 yard, resulted in the institution, by act of par- 

 liament, July 27th, 1649, of a missionary soci- 

 ety called the "Corporation for the Propaga- 

 tion of the Gospel among the* Indians in New 

 England." Contributions were soon raised and 

 forwarded to the Commissioners of the United 

 Colonies for the furtherance of the work. 



The progress of the mission among the In- 

 dians in the following year (1650) is related by 

 Mr. Eliot himself in several letters. On the 

 18th of February, he wrote : " The work of the 

 Lord through his grace doth still go on as form- 

 erly, and they are still full of questions, and 

 mostly they now be, to know the meaning of 

 such Scriptures as I have translated and read, 

 and in a poor measure expounded to them, they 

 long for to proceed in that work which I have 

 in former Letters mentioned; i\amely to co- 

 habit in a Towne, to be under the government 

 of the Lord, and to have a Church and the Or- 

 dinances of Christ among them." In another 

 letter he gives some additional particulars : 

 ' ' But I declared unto them how necessary it was, 

 that they should first be Civilized, by being 

 brought from their scattered and wild course 

 of life, unto civill Cohabitation and Govern- 

 ment. . , . And therefore I propounded unto 

 them, that they should look out some fit place 

 to begin a Towne, unto which they might re- 

 sort, and there dwell together, enjoy Govern- 

 ment, and be made ready and prepared to be a 

 People among whom the Lord might delight to 

 dwell and Rule. . . . We accordingly attended 

 thereunto, to search for a fit place, and finally, 

 after sundry journey es and travells to severall 

 places, the Lord did by his speciall providence, 

 and answer of prayers, pitch us upon the place 

 where we are at Natick," 



This was in the summer of 1650. Mr. Eliot 

 was encouraged to commence the long delayed 

 and expensive undertaking by the expectation 

 of help from the new Corporation in England. 

 The site chosen for the Indian town was about 

 eighteen miles southwest of Boston, on the 

 banks of the Charles river. The territory was 

 granted to the "praying Indians," according to 

 Dr. Francis, by the inhabitants of Dedham, at 

 the intercession of Mr. Eliot. The Indians gave 

 the people of Dedham, in exchange, the town- 

 ship which is now called Deerfield. In this 

 place the grass was cut, and timber felled and 



