USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > History of Newton, Massachusetts : town and city, from its earliest settlement to the present time, 1630-1880 > Part 17
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A remark of Rev. Mr. Wilson, that "a few words from the preacher were more regarded than many from the Indian in- terpreter," seems to imply that Mr. Eliot spoke in the Indian dia- lect when the words he wished to employ were easy and familiar to him, and when he was at a loss for words to express his mean- ing, that he called in the aid of his native teacher. This was Job Nesutan, a Long Island Indian, a Mohegan, who had been taken prisoner in war a little while before, and was now living in Dor- chester. He had been taught by Mr. Eliot to write, and is said to have been "ingenious and quick to learn."
After the sermon, the ministers proposed questions to the Indians, as Mr. Wilson quaintly expresses it, "that so we might screw, by variety of means, something or other of God into them."
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The Indians were then invited to ask their visitors such questions as they chose. The six questions they proposed were: 1. How they could learn to know Jesus Christ? 2. Did God understand Indian prayers? 3. Were the English ever so ignorant as the Indians were at that time? 4. What is the image of God, which, in the second commandment, is forbidden to be worshipped? 5. If a father be bad and the child good, will God be offended with the child for the father's sake? 6. If all the world had once been drowned, how came it to be now so full of people? In answer to a question on the omnipresence of God, being asked by a visitor if they did not feel tempted to believe there was no God, because he was nowhere to be seen, they replied that though they could not see him with their eyes, "they believed he was to be seen by their soul within." The question was then asked them whether it did not seem strange that there should be but one God, and yet he should be here in Massachusetts, there in Connecticut, over the great waters in old England, in this wigwam, in the next, every- where? They answered, it was indeed strange. Everything else they had heard was strange also. All were wonderful things, which they never heard of before. But they thought it might be true, and "that God was so big everywhere." They were then asked, whether they were troubled, when they had done wrong, by a consciousness of guilt and ill-desert ; and whether, at such times, they found any source of comfort. They answered that they were thus troubled, but they had no knowledge what should comfort them.
At the close of the meeting, which lasted three hours, when asked if they were weary, the Indians replied, " No," and they wished to hear more. But the autumn day was short and the night drawing on. Prayer was offered in English. Another meeting was appointed a fortnight afterwards, a few apples were given to the children and some tobacco to the men, and the visitors left them. The first Protestant missionary sermon to the heathen had been preached in North America. Says the Rev. Mr. Mckenzie :
Let it be remembered to the honor of our fathers, that the first Protest- ant mission to the heathen in modern times began in Cambridge [Newton]; the first Protestant sermon in a heathen tongue was preached here; the first translation of the Bible by an Englishman into a heathen tongue was printed here; the first Protestant tract in a heathen language was written and printed here.
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This service was the beginning of an extensive work of grace among the red men, which spread through eastern and southern Massachusetts, till, it is said, there were at one time half a dozen or more native churches, nearly forty native preachers, and a pop- ulation of Christian Indians amounting to nearly four thousand.
Waban was not a sachem, but " a man of gravity and counsel," and highly respected among his people. He was the first Indian convert,* and adorned his Christian profession to old age. His last words were, " I give my soul to thee, O my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Pardon all my sins and deliver me from hell. Help me against death, and then I am willing to die. And when I die, O help me and relieve me." He died in 1674, aged seventy.
The second meeting was held November 11th. A great many more Indians were present. The news had spread that the Englishman had learned their language, and had a message to them from the Great Spirit. At this meeting the visitors found that seats had been prepared for them. A prayer was first offered in English. Then, with that care for children which was charac-
*The confession of Waban has been preserved.
"Before I heard of God, and before the English came into this country, many evil things my heart did work, many thoughts I had in my heart. I wished for riches, I wished to be a witch, I wished to be a sachem; then, when the English came, still my heart did the same things; when the English taught me of God, (I coming to their houses), I would go out of their doors and many years I knew nothing; and when the English taught me I was angry with them. But a little while ago, after the great sickness, Į considered what the English do, and I had some desire to do as they do, and after that I began to work as they work; and then I wondered how the English came to be so strong to labor; then I thought, I shall quickly die, and I feared lest I should die before I prayed to God; then I thought, if I prayed to God in our language, whether could God understand my prayers in our language; therefore I did ask Mr. Jackson and Mr. Mayhew if God understood prayers in our language. They answered me, God doth understand all languages in the world. But I do not know how to con- fess, and little do I know of Christ. I fear that I shall not believe a great while, and very slowly.
"I do not know what grace is in my heart; there is but little in me; but this I know, that Christ hath kept all God's commandments for us, and that Christ doth know all hearts; and now I desire to repent of all my sins. I neither have done, nor can do, the commandments of the Lord; but I am ashamed of all I do, and I do repent of all my sins, even of all that I do know of. I desire that I may be converted from all my sins, and that I might believe in Christ, and I desire Him. I dislike my sins, yet I do not truly pray to God in my heart; no matter for good words, all is the true heart; and this day I do not so much desire good words, as thoroughly to open my heart. I confess I can do nothing, but deserve damnation; only Christ can keep me and do for me. But I have nothing to say for myself that is good; I judge that I am a sinner, and cannot repent, but Christ hath deserved pardon for us."
There is much of simple trust mingled with the expression of his own unworthi- ness, in this confession of Waban. But it required earnest argument and advocacy, on the part of Eliot, to satisfy the elders that he was thoroughly converted.
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teristic of Mr. Eliot's ministry, and which was his " ruling passion, strong in death," he catechized the little ones. The sermon was in Indian, and lasted for an hour; but none of the congregation seemed weary. One of the hearers was much overcome, and wept freely. After the sermon was ended, an old man asked if it was not too late for such an old man as he, who was near death, to repent and seek after God? Another asked how the English dif- fered so much from the Indians, if all men had one father at first? Another asked, if a man had committed some great sin, as steal- ing goods, and had not been punished by the sachem, but had restored the goods, is all well now? After the subject of atone- ment and reconciliation had been explained to him, the Indian drew back with an appearance of sorrow and shame, and said, "Me little know Jesus Christ, or me should seek him better."
During the closing prayer, the Indians were much affected. One of the men wept abundantly, so that his tears dropped down on the ground, and the English people, seeing his tears, could not refrain from weeping with him. The next day one of the hearers visited Mr. Eliot at his house in Roxbury, and told him his feelings with tears, and how all night at Waban's the Indians could not sleep, partly from trouble of mind, and partly from wonder at the things they had heard. Doubtless the Spirit had spoken with his " still, small voice," and this was the first revival of religion among the Indians.
The success attending these visits of Eliot was noised abroad, and there came as witnesses of his work Wilson, minister of Boston, Shepard, of Cambridge, Allen, of Dedham, and Dunster, Presi- dent of Harvard College. It must have been very cheering to Eliot to enjoy the presence and countenance of such men. For their weight of character assured him of the interest and approval of the best and wisest of New England's citizens.
The third visit was a fortnight later, November 26th. Some of the Indians absented themselves through fear of their powaws or priests, who had threatened them with their secret power of inflict- ing the penalty of death upon those who should attend. One of these priests was, however, immediately and solemnly addressed by the intrepid missionary, who silenced and convinced him. An account of this visit was recorded in a book by the Rev. Mr. Wilson, which was printed in London in 1647, entitled, " The Day- Breaking, if not the Sun-Rising, of the Gospel with the Indians.
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in New England." In order to hear more readily the wonderful tidings, many Indians removed from Concord and places even more distant, and erected their wigwams on Waban's hill. An increased seriousness was manifest. When the usual catechizing and sermon were ended, many questions were asked by the Indians, as, "What is a spirit?" " Why do the English call them Indians, since they did not so call themselves previous to the arrival of the English?" "Is it lawful to pray to the devil, as some Indians say, or must we pray to God only?" "Are dreams to be believed?" The great desire of the natives was to have a place for a town, and to learn to spin.
After the third meeting, when many were gathered in the tent where they had listened earnestly to Eliot, Waban arose and began to instruct all the company out of the things he had heard, with the wild and impressive eloquence of a son of the forest. Soon after, other chiefs came for teaching, and begged that their children might be educated in the Christian faith. The example spread, and the missionary was surprised at the success which had already attended his labors. He had found a people prepared for the Lord.
Wrapped in a robe of marten-skins a chief stood up and said :
My heart laughs for joy on seeing myself before thee; we have all of us heard the word which thou hast sent us. Come with us to the forests ; come to our homes by the great river ; there we shall plant the Tree of Life of which thou speakest, and our warriors shall rest beneath its leaves; and thou shalt tell us more of that land where there is no storm nor death, and where the sun is always bright. Will not that be good? What dost thou say to it, my father?
Shortly afterwards three men and four children visited the house of Mr. Eliot. The leader, Waban, was a man of wisdom. Of the boys, the eldest was nine years, and the youngest four. These children Waban wished to have trained up among those who feared God, dreading lest, if they were brought up among their own people, they would grow to be rude and wicked. No suitable arrangement could be made for the education of the children, and Mr. Eliot was obliged to send them back to their native forests. Thus the first call for a mission school for heathen children came from the heathen themselves. Mission schools for heathen children were to be the growth of the coming centuries, but the time was not yet. The two youths were afterwards placed in the families of elders of the church in Roxbury.
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Soon after the third meeting steps were taken towards the settle- ment of the Indians in a fixed habitation, that they might enjoy the benefits of a Christian civilization, and that their children might be trained up to become useful members of society. One of the early historians says the General Court purchased of the English settlers a tract of high land, which the Indians fancied, and made it over to them. Mr. Shattuck, in his history of Concord, expresses doubt whether there was any grant of land to the Indians at Nonantum. He thinks they lived by sufferance on lands claimed by the English. Mr. Jackson says,-
We have never seen any record of a grant of lands by the General Court to the Nonantum Indians, and do not believe there was ever any such grant. Nor does there appear to be any conveyance by the Indians on record, of the lands they occupied at Nonantum. Those lands were, no doubt, considered part and parcel of the common lands of the Cambridge proprietors, and were disposed of by them, like other common lands, by sale or division among the proprietors. By the colony law of 1633, it was declared that "what land the Indians possessed and improved by subduing the same, they have just right unto." At Nonantum, they not only subdued and cultivated, but fenced much of it by walls and ditches, set out trees, etc. Their title was therefore law- ful as well as just ; and as they had Eliot and many other staunch friends, we may be assured they did not surrender their rights without an equivalent.
On Nonantum Hill was made the first attempt to bind the Indians together under a civil contract, with the countenance of a few good men and in spite of much discouragement from many others.
Mr. Eliot wrote to Mr. Shepard,-
We have much cause to be very thankful to God, who hath moved the hearts of the General Court to purchase so much land for them to make their town, which the Indians are much taken with; and it is somewhat observa- ble that while the Court were considering where to lay out their town, they (not knowing of anything) were about that time consulting about laws for themselves, and their company, who sit down with Waban. There were ten (laws) two of them are lost. The Indians desired to know what name this town should have, and it was told them it should be called Noonatomen, which signifies in English, rejoicing, because they, hearing the word and seeking to know God, the English did rejoice at it, which pleased them much ; and therefore that is to be the name of their town.
Then they desired that they might have a court among them for govern- ment, at which motion we rejoiced, seeing it came from themselves, and tended so much to civilize them; since which time, I moved the General Court in it, and they have pleased to order a way for exercising government among them. The good Lord prosper and bless it.
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Among the first results of civilization attending upon religion were the adoption of many customs of the English; their clothes were more seemly, their reliance upon the crops more secure.
Eliot seems to have understood that civilization and religion go hand in hand ; he further writes :
You know likewise, that we exhorted them to fence their ground, with ditches and stone walls upon the banks, and promised to help them with shovels, spades, mattocks, crows of iron; and they are very desirous of fol- lowing that counsel and call upon me to help them with tools faster than I can get them, though I have now bought a pretty store, and they (I hope) are at work.
The efforts of Eliot were not confined to Newton ; he journeyed through the wilderness in all directions, and his influence was felt upon the extreme borders of civilization.
It is not to be supposed that Eliot met with no opposition. The Prince of the power of the air never relinquishes his reign over his subjects without resistance. Accordingly, we read how the Indi- ans in some instances encountered him, and how bravely he met their opposition. A writer in the " Massachusetts Historical Col- lections " says,-
The sachems did every thing in their power to obstruct the work ; for they thought that they should lose their power and influence, if men had any other law to govern them than the authority in their hands ; and Mr. Eliot has been met in the wilderness by these men so inimical to religion, and threatened with every evil, ifhe made any more conversions. But he told them, "I am about the work of the Great God, and he is with me, so that I fear not all the sachems of the country. I'll go on, and do you touch me, if you dare."
Mr. Eliot must have been essentially strengthened in his cour- ageous efforts by the knowledge that the support of the govern- ment was on his side. The Indians were in some sense the wards of the government ; and, as such, they were bound to respect the magistrates, and Mr. Eliot, also, whose work was favored by the magistrates. The laws of the Province likewise were made, so far as the Indians were concerned, in the interest of civilization, jus- tice and religion. Thus an Act of the General Court was passed, dated May 26, 1647, as follows :
Upon the information that the Indians dwelling among us are brought to some kind of civility by the ministry of the word, and are desirous to have a court of ordinary judicature set up among them,-it is therefore ordered by the authority of this Court, that one or more of the magistrates shall once every quarter keep a court where the Indians ordinarily assemble to hear
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the word of God, to hear and determine all causes, both civil and criminal, not being capital, concerning the Indians only ; and that the Indian sachems shall have liberty to take orders in the nature of summons or attachments, to bring any of their people to these courts; and to keep a court of them- selves every month, if they see occasion, to determine small causes of a civil nature, and such smaller criminal causes as the magistrates shall refer to · them. And the said sachems shall appoint officers, to serve warrants, and to execute the orders and judgments of either of the said courts ; which officers shall be allowed from time to time by the said magistrates in the quarter courts or by the governor. And that all fines imposed upon any of the Indians in said courts shall go and be bestowed towards the building of some meeting-houses, for the education of their poorer children in learning, or other public uses by the advice of said magistrates or of Mr. Eliot, or some other elder, who shall ordinarily instruct them in true religion. And it is the desire of this Court that these magistrates, or Mr. Eliot, or such other elders as shall attend the keeping of said courts, will carefully endeavor to make the Indians understand our most useful laws, and the principles of reason, justice and equity, whereon they are grounded; and it is desired that some care may be taken of the Indians on the Lord's day.
The report of the success of the early efforts in behalf of the Aborigines excited a strong sensation in England. The British Parliament, then under the Protectorate, passed an act July 27, 1649, for the advancement of the work. The preamble of the act runs as follows :
Whereas the Commons of England, assembled in Parliament, have received certain intelligence from divers godly ministers and others in New England, that divers of the heathen natives, through the pious care of some godly English, who preach the gospel to them in their own Indian language, not only of barbarous have become civil, but many of them forsake their accus- tomed charms and sorceries and other satanical delusions, do now call upon the name of the Lord, and give great testimony to the power of God, draw- ing them from death and darkness to the life and light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, which appeareth by their lamenting with tears their mis- spent lives, teaching their children what they are instructed themselves, being careful to place them in godly families and English schools, betaking themselves to one wife, putting away the rest, and by their constant prayers to Almighty God, morning and evening, in their families, prayers expressed, in all appearance, with much devotion and zeal of heart ;- All which con- sidered, we cannot but, in behalf of the nation we represent, rejoice and give glory to God for the beginning of so glorious a propagation of the gospel among those poor heathen, which cannot be prosecuted with that expedition as is desired unless fit instruments be encouraged and maintained to pursue it, schools and clothing be provided, and many other necessaries.
The act, of which this is the preamble, then proceeds to estab- lish a corporation of sixteen persons to superintend the disburse-
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ment of moneys, which should be given to aid in instructing, clothing, civilizing and Christianizing the Indians. A general col- lection was ordered to be made for these purposes through all the churches of England and Wales. The ministers were required to read this act in the churches, and to exhort the people to a cheer- ful contribution to so pious a work. Circular letters were pub- lished at the same time by the Universities of Oxford and Cam- bridge, recommending the same object. A fund, which in Charles II.'s time produced six hundred pounds sterling per annum, was . thus provided, the benefit of which endured till the period of the separation of the colonies from the mother country.
Oliver Cromwell interested himself in missions to the heathen, and formed a gigantic scheme of uniting all the Protestant churches in the world into one great Missionary Society. The "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," founded in 1698, the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts," founded in 1701, and the " Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowl- edge," founded in 1709, with all their benign fruits, had their roots in the work of John Eliot among the Indians in Newton.
An interesting incident is that the first petition presented to the General Court of Massachusetts for the regulation of the sale of intoxicating liquors, is the petition of Rev. John Eliot, in 1648 :
The petition of John Eliot to the General Court concerning the Indians sheweth : That whereas the Indians have frequent recourse to the English Tounes and especially to Boston, where they too often see evil examples of excessive drinking in the English, who are too often disguised with that beastly sin of drunkenness, and themselves (many of them) greatly delighting in strong liquors, not considering the strength and evil of them, also too well knowing the liberty of the law, which prohibiteth above half a pint of wine to a man ; that they may without offence to the law, have their half pint, and when they have had it in one place, they go to another and have the like, till they be drunken, and sometime find too much entertainment that way by such who keep no ordinary, only pursue their trade, though it be to the hurt and perdition of their souls. Therefore my humble request unto this honorable court is this, that there may be but one ordinary in all Boston who may have liberty to sell wine, strong drink or any strong liquors unto the Indians, and whoever shall further them in their vicious drinking, for their own base ends, who keep no ordinary, may not be suffered in such a sinne without due pun- ishment; and that at what ordinary so ever in any other town as well as Bos- ton any Indian shall be found drunk, having had any considerable quantity of drink, they should come under severe censure. These things I am bold . to represent unto you for the preventing of those scandalous evils which greatly blemish and interrupt their entertainment of the gospel through the
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pollycy of Satan who counterworketh swift that way with not a little uncom- fortable success. And thus with my hearty desire of the gracious and blessed presence of God among you in all your mighty affairs, I humbly take leave and rest. Your servant to command in our Saviour Christ,
JOHN ELIOT.
This 23d of the 8th, 1648.
In 1649, Mr. Eliot wrote to a friend in England, by whom he had been advised to encourage the Christian Indians to plant gar- dens and set out orchards, and who had promised them several hundred trees, which he kept in nurseries, ready for them. Some of them learned trades, and several worked with the settlers around them in haying time and harvest. The women, too, learned to spin, and in various ways created means of support, which added to the comfort of their households.
The fourth visit to Nonantum was made December 9th. The children were catechized as usual, and the sermon followed. The sermon was again founded upon the dry bones of Ezekiel's vision, a portion of Scripture which impressed Mr. Eliot, in connection with his work, from the first. The Indians offered all their chil- dren to be educated. Questions were asked and answered on both sides, as in previous interviews.
The Indians were not idolaters, strictly speaking. They had no image worship, but, like our own ancestors, adored the sun, the moon, the earth and fire. They acknowledged a Great Benefac- tor, the author of all good, and another invisible being, the author of all mischief. Every wind had its spirit, every swamp its lurk- ing evil. They saw spirits in the rain and snow. They placed the hunting-grounds of their departed friends in the bright western sky, where the sun nightly goes down in glory. Their worship consisted in songs, dances and feasts, and prayers to the sun and moon for such things as they desired. They asked Mr. Eliot the home- question, " Why, since you English have been in the land twenty- seven years, have you never taught us before? We might have known much of God by this time, and much sin might have been prevented ; but now some of us are grown old in sin." Mr. Eliot answered that the English did repent of their neglect, but reminded them that they were never willing to hear till now.
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