f TO THE COAST OF AMERICA. 11 



by any means be made to conceive, and therefore held 

 it to be an inexplicable effect of magic. 

 * At length, however, I was able to give them fome 

 faint idea of books, and promifed to teach their chil- 

 dren to read, if they were defirous of it. A fpecies 

 of wifdom in their opinion fo extraordinary found fome 

 admirers, who actually fent their children to me. Here 

 I mufl do juftice to the good capacities of thefe people j 

 their children conftantly very foon comprehended the 

 talk I fci them ; and fome of them, at my departure 

 had learnt to fpeak Ruffian fo well, as to be underftood 

 without difficulty. I left 25 boys that were able to 

 read a little, and fhewed a far greater inclination to 

 live with us than with the favages their parents. By all 

 thefe means I endeavoured to bring them to the con- 

 fcioufnefs of their ignorance. I was obliged to be al- 

 ways reproving my people for their difpofition to 

 wrangle with the favages, till I at length convinced 

 them of the utility of my behaviour towards th .m. 

 The natives had even now found out that my letters 

 were of confequence ; and, whenever they were obliged 

 to travel to fome diftance on their own affairs in traf- 

 fic, they always took a fort of pafs-port from me, in 

 order, if they fhould meet with any of the people fent 

 out by me, they might fhew it to them as a certificate 

 of their actually belonging to the Konseges in peace 

 and amity with us. By thus protecting them from the 

 attacks of favages in other places, I furniflied them 

 with an example how much it behoved them to live in 

 peace; for according as they did fo their enemies 

 would never venture to moleft them. As they faw 

 immediately by this, that the obedience they (hewed 



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