USA > Missouri > Bates County > History of Bates County, Missouri > Part 4
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The trials of an unexplored and unknown wilderness inhabited by heathen races and wild beasts, far from the supports of civilization, with sickness and death meeting them on the way and continuing with them at their point of destination, they met every obstacle, endured every sorrow and disappointment, suffered untold hardships of every kind, in the spirit of the Master whose Gospel they sought to preach and teach to a degraded and Godless people. They murmured not. They praised God for his mercies and constant care without ceasing. On the banks of the rivers they followed, amidst the great primeval forests, they rested every Sabbath morning during their long, tedious and difficult journey of about five months, and held divine worship at least twice each Sunday. There were usually two sermons and a "con- ference" each Sabbath; and a daily hour of prayer and praise, morning and evening on their boats. Thus they toiled from Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania, to Harmony beyond the head of the Osage river in the land of the Big and the Little Osages.
The origin of this mission we gather from the fourth annual report
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of the United Foreign Missionary Society, held in the Presbyterian church in Cedar street, New York City, May 9, 1821, which meeting was held while this Mission Family was on its way to their destination in the Osage country, where they arrived on August 2, 1821-not exactly at the site afterward chosen, but within a few miles of it. where they were obliged to stop on account of low water in the Osage river, about two miles east of the confluence of the Marais des Cygnes river. We quote from the American Missionary Register, 1821-22, the society report :
Great Osage Mission.
In the early part of July, 1820, a new field for missionary exertion was providentially opened to the board. An important communication, dated at the seat of government on the 5th of that month, was received from Col. M'Kenney, the superintendent of Indian trade. In this com- munication Col. M'Kenney thus remarks :-
"I have had this moment a most interesting interview with the chief counsellor, and the principal warrior of the Osages of the Mis- souri. The object of their deputation is, to solicit the introduction of the school system among their people, and to pray for the means of civilization. I wish I could send you the old chief's talk; but, to do so, I should have to paint as well as write. He is a most eloquent and able man.
"I felt authorized, considering the great anxiety under which I perceived them to labour, and relying on the benevolence of the society set on foot for this laudable work, to give assurance, that they might expect the same attention that had been shown to their brothers on the Arkansas (Union Mission, near Ft. Gipson, Oklahoma). I find that these Osages are jealous of their Arkansas brethren. They claim to have merited, by holding fast their promises to the government, the first care of this generous sort. 'Our hands,' said the old chief, 'are white, and their hands are bloody.'
"I cannot but think that much good would result, could they be assured that an agency would be established amongst them immedi- ately."-"As you are under way with the Osages, it would be best for you to occupy that ground." "The tide is now at its flood; and if taken, you will be borne on to a realization of all your generous hopes."
On receiving this communication, the board resolved to occupy the ground thus unexpectedly presented to their view. The Rev. Dr. Milledoler was appointed a commissioner, with full powers to proceed
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to Washington, and to form a covenant with the Indian chiefs. He left this city on the 17th of July; and on his arrival at Washington, was introduced to the chiefs by the honorable Secretary of War and the Superintendent of Indian trade. In the course of the interview, a covenant was formed, binding the board to send out a missionary fam- ily in the ensuing spring, for the purposes of teaching to the nation the principles of Christianity, and the arts of civilized life, and of establish- ing a school for their children; and binding the chiefs to receive the family with kindness, to treat them with hospitality and friendship, to protect them from injury, and to mark out, and secure to them, land, sufficient for the missionary establishment. On signing the instrument. the old chief observed-"So soon as the family arrive at my nation I will go out to meet them at the head of my warriors, and will receive them as my friends. You want a piece of land. You may point it out, and it shall be yours, wherever you choose. It shall be for your use. I will mark it out with my finger. It shall be as much as you want for the family. Come soon." The counsellor said-"I shall be at home when your family come out, I will help the chief to mark out the land, and will be your friend." The warrior also said-"I am a warrior. It is my business to be about in the nation. I will defend your people. when they come to us."
The proceedings of the commissioner, on his return from Washing- ton, received the sanction of the board; and the committee of missions were instructed to look out for a mission family, and the committee of ways and means, to adopt measures for furnishing the necessary supplies.
A statement of these transactions was immediately laid before the public and in the course of a few weeks, applications for appointment in the Great Osage Mission, were transmitted by more than one hun- dred individuals, including both sexes, and embracing various occupa- tions. Most of the persons furnished satisfactory testimonials of their character, and their qualifications for some kinds of service required in the mission. From this list of applicants a family was selected, con- sisting of ten adult males, fifteen adult females, and sixteen children- residents of the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. This. numerous and interesting family is composed of the following persons : -The Rev. Nathaniel B. Dodge, and wife and seven children, of Under- hill, Vermont ; the Rev. Benton Pixley, and wife and one child, of East Williamstown, Vermont : the Rev. William B. Montgomery, and wife,.
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of Danville, Pennsylvania; Doctor William N. Belcher, and wife, of Greenwich, Connecticut: Mr. Daniel H. Austin, and wife and five chil- dren, of Waterbury, Vermont; Mr. Samuel Newton, and wife and two children, of Woodbridge, Connecticut; Mr. Samuel B. Bright, and wife and one child, of Bloomsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mr. Otis Sprague, and wife, of Leicester, Massachusetts; Mr. Amasa Jones, and wife, of Rindge, New Hampshire; Mr. John Seeley, and wife, of Rockaway, New Jersey; Miss Susan Comstock, of Wilton, Connecticut; Miss Har- riett Woolley, of the city of New York: Miss Mary Weller, of Bloom- field. New Jersey; Miss Mary Etris, of the city of Philadelphia; Miss Eliza Howell, of the city of Baltimore.
Besides the superintendent and assistant, there are, among the males of the family, a minister of the Gospel, who goes out as a teacher, with the privilege of preaching whenever his health will permit, and the circumstances of the mission require; a regularly educated phy- sician and surgeon; a person capable of manufacturing machinery, per- forming most kinds of blacksmith work, and teaching music; a car- penter and millwright ; a shoemaker, a wagon-maker, and two farmers. The females, collectively, are qualified to teach all the branches of indus- try pursued by that sex in this country; most of them have had con- siderable experience in teaching common schools; and two or three have taught in seminaries of a higher order. It is distinctly understood by the whole family, that each member is bound to perform, so far as practicable. any branch of duty which the general interests of the mis- sion may require.
To the churches of the three denominations combined in this insti- tution an appeal was made for money, and for the various supplies neces- sary for the outfit of so numerous and important a mission. The appeal. agreeably to the expectation of the board, was received with cordiality and answered with efficiency and promptitude. By churches, auxiliary societies, individuals, and associations of ladies formed for the pur- pose, money was contributed to the amount of more than nine thousand dollars, and garments and goods of various descriptions, to the estimated value of eight thousand-an amount of both, which demands of the managers undissembled thanks to the generous contributors, and unmingled gratitude to Him, who rules alike in the armies of Heaven. and amongst the inhabitants of the earth.
The whole of the mission family, with the exception of the two females from Philadelphia and Baltimore, had arrived in this city on Saturday evening the 3d of March, 1821. On Monday evening, the 5th.
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they were set apart to their missionary labours, and on Tuesday eve- ning, the 6th, a farewell meeting was held in the Reformed Dutch church on Nassau street. The exercises on both evenings were similar in kind to those preparatory to the departure of the Union Mission, which were detailed at length in the last annual report. On the present occa- sion, therefore, it is sufficient to remark that never were churches in this city more crowded, not any religious exercises more solemn, appro- priate, or impressive.
At three o'clock on Wednesday, the 7th of March. the family and their friends met the board at the consistory room in Garden street, where the general commission, the general instructions, and talk to the Indian chiefs, the whole enclosed in a box prepared for the occasion, were formally presented to the superintendent and assistants. Having then united in a parting hymn, and an appropriate and fervent prayer, the assembly moved, in procession, to the steam-boat "Atlanta," at the foot of the Battery. At four o'clock the steam-boat departed from the wharf, while the family on board were singing a farewell hymn, and receiving the last affectionate salutation of many thousands of citizens and strangers, who had crowded to the docks and the Battery to wit- ness their departure.
On their way through the state of New Jersey, they were invited to attend missionary exercises in the churches of Elizabethtown, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton ; and to the liberality of our friends in those towns, and of the proprietors of the steam-boats "Atlanta" and "Pennsylvania," are we indebted, for the conveyance of the family. from this city to Philadelphia, without expense to the board.
At Philadelphia they arrived on the 10th of March, and were received with attention and kindness. Public meetings were held, and collections taken up in several of the Presbyterian and Reformed Dutch churches. Time would fail us to acknowledge the many tokens of respect to the family, and of regard to the missionary cause, with which they were favoured in Philadelphia, and on their journey westward. Suffice it to state, that they left that city on the 15th of March, and notwithstanding the bad state of the roads at that season of the year. arrived on the 10th, at Pittsburgh ; and were everywhere received with affection, and honoured with benefactions important to the missions. We cannot however, omit to mention, that, at Harrisburgh, they found articles of value amounting in weight to more than a ton, much of which had been sent in for their acceptance, from various congrega-
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tions in the county of Columbia and other parts of the surrounding country.
At Pittsburgh, boats, for the conveyance of the family, were pre- viously purchased, by order of the board. Having experienced much of the hospitality of the friends of missions in that city, and having received, by mail, a number of important documents from the secretary of war, and the superintendent of Indian trade, they embarked on their long and hazardous voyage on the 19th of April, under circumstances the most pleasant and propitious. In descending the Ohio, they are, in relation to the season, about six weeks in advance of the Union Mission (which went out the year before-1820) ; and when they enter the Missouri they will be borne, to the close of their journey, on waters which are generally navigated with safety in the severest heat of sum- mer. What will be the issue is known only to that God, under whose banner they have enlisted. They have gone forth in this glorious enterprise, accompanied with the prayers and benedictions of their fel- low Christians throughout our country, and, thus far, under the smiles of an overruling Providence; and whether they live to reach their destined station, or sink into an early grave-whether they be rendered the honoured instruments of converting a savage tribe, or doomed to labour in vain, and spend their strength for naught-yet, they have the consolation to know, that, if they are faithful unto death they shall receive a crown of glory in the kingdom of Immanuel.
Commission to Washington.
In this stage of their operations, the managers deemed it important to send a commissioner to the seat of government, with instructions to solicit of the secretary of war, and of the superintendent of Indian trade, the necessary letters and documents for the Great Osage Mission; to exhibit a view of the present and projected transactions of the board; to obtain, if practicable, immediate pecuniary assistance; to ascertain to what extent the managers may calculate on the aid of government in their future labours among the Indian tribes; and to adopt other measures to promote the views and subserve the interests of the insti- tution. The Rev. Dr. Milledoler was appointed to perform the duties of this commission. On his arrival at Washington, he procured. under the hand of the secretary of war and the seal of the war department. a talk to the chiefs and warriors of the Great Osage nation, and letters to Governor Clarke and other agents of government in the mission
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territory. He was also furnished with similar papers, under the hand and seal of the superintendent of Indian trade. These documents were immediately transmitted by mail to Pittsburgh, and were received by the superintendent and assistant of the mission, before they left that city.
Besides furnishing these documents, the government agreed to make advances, to the Great Osage Mission, of one thousand dollars, on account of their buildings; and to allow, for the support of the schools at the Tuscarora and Seneca stations, the annual sum of nine hundred dollars. For the former sum, the board were permitted to draw at pleasure, and for the latter, quarterly, from the first day of January last. Assurances were also given, that further assistance should be granted to the managers, whenever schools shall have been com- menced at Union and at Harmony ..
As tending to show the spirit of the times, the missionary enthus- iasm, and the consideration of this society to the great work-not alone at Harmony, but at other points in the wide Osage country, we quote the conclusion of the report :
Conclusion.
"On a review of the facts now presented, your managers discover much to excite their gratitude, and to stimulate to further exertion. In every stage of their progress through the last year, they recognize the guidance of a superintending and omnipotent Hand. To no other cause can they ascribe the unexpected extension of their operations, of the correspondent augmentation of their resources. To no other source can they trace the circumstance, that a number of heathen chiefs should have wandered two thousand miles from the Western wilder- ness, to obtain for their tribe the benefits of religious instruction; or. that when Christian teachers were thus required, more than one hun- dred should have promptly solicited the privilege of conveying 'the Message of Mercy' to those benighted and perishing pagans.
"The heart of man is in the hand of the Lord; as the rivers of water, He turneth it whithersoever He will. The silver and the gold are His; and when His designs are to be accomplished, the instruments, and the means, are alike obedient to His control.
"'Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost ends of the earth for thy possession .- It shall come that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see:
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my glory .- From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me .- The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.' The pledge shall be redeemed. The work is begun. The Lord hath made bare His holy arms in the eyes of many nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Through the instrumentality of missionary efforts this delight- ful change in the moral condition of the world shall be achieved. Be it our ambition to bear a distinguished part in the glorious and heavenly enterprise.
"For our exertion. Christian brethren, a wide field is spread before us. On this Western continent, perhaps a hundred nations, sitting in the shadow of death, are yet to be raised to life, and gathered into the spiritual kingdom of our Redeemer. Let us, then, press forward to the work with renewed vigor: rejoicing, that our lot has been cast in an age so eventful as the present; cherishing the warmest feelings of gratitude, that we are permitted to be the humble instruments of redeeming power : and ascribing the success, and the glory, to Him who sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever.
"By order of the Board of Managers.
"Z. LEWIS, "Secretary for Domestic Correspondence."
This devoted band-dedicated and set apart by solemn church ceremonies-embarked at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 19, 1821. and the daily report kept by them and printed in the "Missionary Reg- ister" from month to month, shows that the trip down the Ohio river on a good tide was practically a picnic until sickness and death came to mar their happiness. They met with a most cordial and beneficent reception at all the principal towns and cities on either bank of the Ohio: and they received donations of goods and money as they pro- gressed. They preached and prayed and sang with the people who came to their Sabbath services. It is an interesting story, but too long for these pages. Soon after they had passed Louisville, Kentucky, Sunday, April 29, "a fine daughter" was born to Mr. and Mrs. Newton. The next day they ran seventy miles on a swift current and Sister Newton "was remarkably comfortable." On May 3, John W. Patter- son fell over-board and was lost. Both the skiffs were gone. He was a hired boatman and nothing further is said of him. Sister Newton was worse and the "babe was dedicated to God in baptism." May
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
4, the babe died at three o'clock in the morning. The funeral was preached the next day by Rev. Dodge, and the infant buried at Mt. Vernon cemetery, Indiana. Sister Newton grew worse and died on May 6, at Shawneetown, where her body was buried. The daily record is sad and touching, but shows deep humiliation and unwaver- ing dependence on God.
After leaving Shawneetown nothing of importance happened and the boats reached the Mississippi river at noon on May 9. An item of the chronicle of that day says: "We have now as we calculate, between six and seven hundred miles up-stream to perform, which will be laborious indeed, unless favored with wind." Their picnic was over. From now on they had hard work and many difficulties ; but they never fainted nor faltered. But every Sabbath they rested and held religious services in a primeval grove. If there were any inhabitants about they were invited to the services: if not the services were conducted just the same, usually both Reverend Dodge and Reverend Pixley would preach, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The best they could do upstream was from seven to ten miles a day-sometimes only four or five-pulling by ropes along the banks. They complained much of the enormous flood trees coming down on the rise-as thick as ice in winter. A short distance below St. Louis while tied to the shore at night "a tremendous raft of trees came driving in upon us. Some of the family were greatly affrighted, but we were mercifully preserved." They could not proceed. So Brothers Dodge and Pixley took the opportunity to "walk forward to St. Louis, about twelve miles, to make arrangements that the family might not be detained there." Here they met Governor Clarke, the younger and elder Chouteau. In discussing the location of the Missouri with the Chouteaus, the younger having just arrived from the Osage village, "in seven days," said, "It is their opinion that the junction of the Little with the Big Osage river, near the old village, will be the best place. They say there is there high prairie ground, plenty of wood, good millseats, excellent soil, and limestone for all the purposes of building." This statement will become important when we come to discuss the location of the village and of Harmony. The boats finally arrived at St. Louis, June 5. and on the 8th they entered the mouth of the turbid Missouri river. where they stopped at a small settlement "entirely destitute of the privileges of the Gospel" and at the earnest request of the people Brother Dodge preached. The 10th was Sunday and they held public worship on the
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bank near their boats. Monday, June 11 .- "The current this day very strong and with difficulty we make five miles." On the twelfth they arrived at St. Charles. "We here saw an Indian woman from the Osage nation." This was an interesting fact to them. The other people they saw were French to some of whom they gave Bibles.
They had much hard luck and hard labor up the Missouri from St. Charles, but arrived at the mouth of the Gasconade river June 25. They met quite a lot of French people from time to time to whom they gave Bibles and tracts; and arrived at the mouth of the Osage on June 29. All were well. Sister Weller and others who had been sick had recovered and they were rejoicing with "gratitude to God for the blessings received at His hands." The next day they made about four- teen miles, and the second day was Sunday or Lord's day, as they put it. July 1 .- "Spent this day in the wilderness. One house not far distant. Attended public worship under the shadow of a great rock. The rock for several rods projects over about ten feet, and is capable of sheltering from the storms as well as from the rays of the sun. Brother Dodge preached this morning and Brother Pixley in the after- noon. A conference was held in the evening." This rock was probably near Wardsville in Cole county, though the chronicle does not say on which side of the river it was-about fourteen miles from the mouth of the river. The record makes frequent mention of this beautiful river, and the next Lord's day, July 8, was spent on a gravel bar or island and Brother Montgomery preached under a large tent erected on poles, made of one of their sails. The river got low and increased their diffi- culties, but a big rain came and "raised the river about six inches. We passed on this day (July 13) to the Great Rapids, and ascended the first ripple." That night the waters rose about three feet so they were able to pass the Great Rapids, providentially, as they believed. July 15 was Sunday and the chronicler says: "We are now emphatically in the wilderness, but our God is here; Christian society is here; and the Sabbath of the Lord is here; and what privileges more can we ask for?" They preached and prayed and worshipped as usual. On Mon- day "our boys went out and cut a bee tree from which they brought a pail of honey." The water had fallen about two feet that day, but the next day "it was very high, insomuch that we find it very difficult to push our boats upstream." They had some difficulty with the hired men. "The whiskey which had been provided for their use, having all been drank, they demanded brandy, and threatened to leave us in
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the wilderness unless they were supplied." To the glory of God and the honor of His missionaries, it was refused and the hired men went on a strike all day. But they finally capitulated and consented to pull on. The river continued high and difficult of navigation, but by the twentieth they had arrived at the mouth of Grand river, now known as the Sac river. It continued to rain, and the 22nd, was Lord's day again and they "are now three week's journey from civilized society." All the next week they moved slowly, but safely-the water going down from ten to twelve feet in that time. Tuesday, July 21- "This evening we met for business, and resolved to pass on to the mouth of the Little Osage river; and at the nearest convenient place, to take our stand until we can hold a counsel with the Osage chief, and learn where we are to fix our permanent establishment. We are now drawing near our destination. Oh! may the God of Israel go with us; and may He assist us in the discharge of the duties devolving upon us, that we may instrumentally save the people now sitting in darkness."
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