ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGES. 



349 



Mayhew (E. ; — Continued. 



Mayhew's letter is dated from Chilmark, 

 March 20th, 1721-1722, and addressed "To the 

 Honorable Paul Dudley, Esq""." It occupies 

 pp. 12-17, and, besides a general discussion of 

 the Indian language, contains the Lord's prayer 

 jn the dialect (Niantic?) of the Indians of 

 Connecticut Colony. 



Eepriiited as follows : 



Observations | on | the Indian lan- 

 guage, I by I Experience Mayhew, A. M. 

 I Preacher of the Gospel to the Indians 

 of Martha's 1 Vineyard in New England, 

 in 17^2. I Now published from the orig- 

 inal ms. by I John S. H. Fogg, A. M., 

 M. D. I Member of [&c. two lines.] | 



Boston: | MDCCCLXXXIV [1884]. 



Printed cover with half-title, title verso print- 

 ers etc. 1 1. text pp. 3-12, sm. 4°. One hundred 

 copies printed. 



Copies seen : Eames, Pilling. 



The manuscript of this letter is in the pos- 

 session of Dr. Fogg who procured it from the 

 late J. Wingate Thornton of Boston. 



The Lord's prayer from this manuscript was 

 first printed in Trumbull (.J. H.), Notes on 

 Forty versions of the Lord's prayer in Algon- 

 kin languages. Dr. Trumbull there says it is 

 certainly not in the Pequot dialect, but proba- 

 bly that of the Niantics. 



See Indiane primer. 



Experience Mayhew, minister to the Indians 

 on Martha's Vineyard, was born on that island 

 January 27, 1673, and died there November 29, 

 1758. His grandfather was Thomas Mayhew 

 the younger, a sketch of whose life is given 

 under the next following title. His father, 

 John Mayhew (born 1652, died 1689), was well 

 acquainted from his youth with the Indian lan- 

 guage, and began to preach in it about the year 

 1673. 



Mr. Mayhew, in his own account, says: "I 

 learnt the Indian Language by Rote, as I did 

 my mother Tongue, and not by Studying the 

 Rules of it as the Lattin Tongue is coraonly 

 Learned." In March, 1694, about five years 

 after his father's death, he began to preach to 

 the Indians. The field of his labors is describ- 

 ed in an account of "the present condition of 

 the Indians on Martha's Vineyard, ' dated June 

 2, 1720, which he prepared as an appendix to 

 one of his sermons printed at Boston in that 

 year. The following extracts are taken from 

 this account as reprinted in Cotton Mather's 

 India Christiana (Boston, 1721) : 



"The Number of Indians on these Islands is 

 very much diminished, since the English first 

 settled on Martha's- Vineyard, which was in the 

 Tear 1G42. there being then, as was supposed 

 on that Island about 1500 Souls. At present 

 there are in the Vineyard six small Villages, 

 containing in all of them, about 155 Families, 

 and the Number of Souls may be about eight 

 hundred. 



Mayhew (E.) — Continued. 



" Each of these Villages is provided with an 

 Indian Preacher to dispence the Word to them 

 on the Lord's Days, when I am not with them. 

 They meet for the Worship of God twice a Day 

 on the Sabbath, and after Prayer, sing a Psalm ; 

 then there is a Sermon Preached on some Por- 

 tion of Scripture, which being ended, they sing 

 again, while the Days be of a sufficient length ; 

 and then conclude with Prayer. 



"There has, from time to time, been much 

 care taken that the several Villages might be 

 provided with School Masters to teach the 

 Children to Read and Write ; yet some of them 

 have not been so constantly supplied, as is 

 to be desired ; and generally when the Spring of 

 the Tear comes on, the Indians take their Chil- 

 dren from School, alleging they want them for 

 Tillage of the Land ; and so the Schools fail till 

 the Fall ; and this has much hindred their Pro- 

 gress in Learning: Nevertheless, I think the 

 greatest number can Read, either in the En- 

 glish or in the Indian Tongue ; and some in 

 both. 



"There is also care taken to Catechise the 

 Youth : For besides what is done in this kind, 

 by the Indian School- Masters & Preachers, I 

 frequently examine the Young People my self, 

 and have determined to attend this Service 

 once a Fortnight, in some or other of the fore- 

 mentioned Villages ; and this Method will, I 

 hope, prove very advantageous : many grown 

 People as well as Children, attending these Ex- 

 ercises." 



"Having now Preached to the Indians up- 

 ward of 25 Years, I have never yet had any- 

 special charge of any one single Congregation 

 committed to me ; but have visited the several 

 fore-mentioned Assemblies alternately, as I 

 have thought most necessary ; Preaching ordi- 

 narily, unto some or other of them every Lord's 

 Day, and on working days once a Fortnight ; 

 constantly also attending their Church-Meet- 

 ings, to assist & direct them." 



"The Rev. Mr. Josiah Torrey, Pastor of the 

 English Church in Tisbury on the Vineyard, 

 has also for many Years past Preached as a 

 Lecturer unto the Indians on that Island, hav- 

 ing for that End learned their Language. He 

 Preacheth in some or other of their Assemblies 

 once a Fortnight, and goes frequently to their 

 ^Church-Meetings, to advise & assist them ; 

 so that the Indians have a Sermon every Thurs- 

 day Preached to them, either by Mr. Torrey, 

 or myself: And we strengthen the hands of 

 one another, by going together to these Weekly 

 Exercises. 



"The Rev. Mr. Samuel Wis wall Pastor of 

 the Church in Edgartown, has also now almost 

 learned the Indian Tongue, Avith a design to do 

 what Service he can among that People. 



"The Indians on Martha's- Vineyard & the 

 adjacent Islands, do hitherto understand the 

 Indian Tongue much better than that of the 

 English ; and therefore complain much for want 

 of Indian Bibles, having now but very few 



