Heroes of missionary enterprise : true stories of the intrepid bravery and stirring adventures of missionaries with uncivilised man, wild beasts, and the forces of nature in all parts of the world

Front matter

: | oa & iliee

| 2

SRN

Preface

N the mysterious Greek legend of Prometheus, the | hero who sacrificed his place among the Olympians, and incurred the anger of Zeus, that he might bring to the primeval cave-dwellers the gift of fire, from which all arts were to spring, we have a striking figure of the Christian missionary. He has ever in his ears the saying of his Master, “ I am come to cast fire on the earth,” and he carries a spark of it in his breast to the darkest regions of the world, where he has to guard it sedulously from all the powers of evil that are leagued for its Z extinction. Like Prometheus, he has often to be the victim of brute force, and, as Shelley says of the Firebringer, “To love and bear; to hope till Hope creates From its own wreck the thing it contemplates.”

For this he must be willing to sever the tenderest ties, to mortify ambition, to forego opportunities of culture, and to live misunderstood in deadly climates. What others undergo for gain or glory, he must brave for a wholly spiritual object, the kindling of new life in the grossest and earthliest types of humanity.

But, however much our missionaries may resemble the ideal Greek hero, the revolutions they have wrought are real. ‘These who have turned the world upside down,” was the earliest and perhaps the best description of them.

PREFACE

Like the Hebrew prophet, they confront idolatry and Islam with the challenge, “The God that answereth by fire, let Him be God,” and the fire has often descended.

These spiritual revolutions are all the more striking when they come as the climax and crown to long years of monotonous and disheartening toil, as was the case in Greenland, Tahiti, and Burmah. “What! God so love the world, and the world not love Him!” With these words a Tahitian broke in upon the missionary Nott’s preaching one day, and burst into tears. This was the sudden flash of recognition for which the train had been laid during fifteen years. And what takes place in the individual takes place in the nation. Blood-stained and foul idolaters are found sitting at worship, clothed and in their right mind. “Those who deblaterate against missions should come here,” said R. L. Stevenson of what he had witnessed in the South Seas, and Darwin has recorded his surprise at the transformed Fuegians.

Some scenes and episodes from this great drama, on which the curtain never falls, are described in the following pages. The heroic figures, which are seen against a background of darkness and horror, belonged to various nations, and to different Churches, and their acts are found in records extending over nearly three hundred years. Some of the more recent are quoted by permission, and the author’s best thanks are due to the Church Missionary Society for leave to use materials from their publications for the sketches of Bishop Crowther, Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Clark; and to the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, for permission to borrow from the book entitled ‘Stranger than Fiction.”

I—IN REGIONS OF SNOW

Chapter I John Eliot, The Apostle Of The Red Indians Page

Difficulties of the language—Pow-wows—Lonefellow’s description— Founding of Noonatomen—Perils in the wilderness—A covetous chief—Founding of Natick—Governor Endicott’s visit—The first Bible printed in America—War with Philip—Destruction of mission ibs meg Sa eg OS) of Eliot—Death of Philip— Baxter’s encomium : ° A : 17-26

Chapter II The Captive Of The Iroquois

Saute Sainte Marie—Jesuit explorations—Life in the wigwams— Capture of Father Jogues—Horrible tortures—Cruelty of Indian children—Murder of Father Goupil—A blood-stained oratory— Instruction of Indians—Baptized at the stake—A timely warning—A hairbreadth escape—English wreckers—Home at last— Back to martyrdom ; A : : : : : : 27-38

Chapter III David Brainerd Among The Redskins

The Yale student—First settlement at Kanaumeek—“ Plain living and high thinking ”—Dutch colonists—Perils of the frontier— Life in a wigwam—Forest solitudes—Building his own house —Indian sorcerers—Itineration hardships—Gratitude of the savages—Visit to Jonathan Edwards—Brainerd and Martyn 39-49

Chapter IV Hans Egede In Greenland

Early colonists in Greenland—Egede’s reception by the Esquimaux— Heroism of his wife—The annual store-ship — Greenland sorcerers—Exploring the east coast—Outbreak of pestilence— Settlement of ‘‘Good Hope”—An Esquimaux suicide—Arrival of new missionaries— Gluttony of Greenlanders—A conspiracy—-Saved by stupidity—Death of Frau Egede : 50-61

g

Chapter V

SIXTY YEARS AMONG THE RED INDIANS PAGE Early adventures—The attack on Gnadenhiitten—Reprisals by the colonists—Deportation of Christian Indians—Attempt on Zeisberger’s life—The divided town—An Indian orgy—Troublesome guests—Zeisberger taken prisoner—The scalp-whoop—An anxious night—The massacre at Gnadenhiitten . ; : 62-74

Chapter VI William Duncan At Metlahkatlah

Captain Prevost’s appeal—Cannibalism at Fort Simpson—Duncan’s encouraging reception—Opposition of medicine-men—Threats of Legaic—First baptisms—Migration to Metlahkatlah—Conversion of Legaic—His temporary relapse—Self-surrender of a murderer—Duncan’s visit to HEngland—Learning trades— Admiral Cochrane’s surprise—Lord Dufferin’s testimony-—Ex-cannibal as churchwarden . : : ‘ - 5 5 75-82

Chapter VII In The Highlands Of Tibet

Arrival at Lhassa—Suspected as spies—Interview with Chinese Ambassador — Inquisitive Tibetans — Hopeful inquirers — Expulsion from Lhassa—A dangerous march—Martyrs to discipline —Oxen as road-makers—lIllness of M. Gabet—Startling a town— Death of Ly-Kouo- oh cree occas the — tribunal—Chinese justice—Safe at Canton 5 . 83-96

II—IN LANDS OF THE SUN CHAPTER VIII

Praying for a revelation—Chosen by lot—A slender capital—Opposition of the planters—Breaking up a prayer-meeting—Legalised tyranny—‘‘ Taking the blows”—Wounded missionaries—A century of progress . : : : : 5 : : i206

Chapter IX In The Forests Of Dutch Guiana

Forest journeys—Attacked by bush negroes—Daehne threatened with death—Struggle with a snake—Stalked by a jaguar— Repentant Caribs—An embarrassing host—Baptism of a chief —Palgrave’s testimony—Solidity of Moravian work . ~ = LO=115

Chapter X

THE CHAMPION OF THE HOTTENTOTS PAGE A narrow escape—Lions and snow—First interview with Geika— Propitiated by buttons—Kaffir gluttons—Nervous savages— ‘“‘ From the university to the hut ””—Unnatural parents—A lion’s bonne-bouche—Fastidious Boers—The attack on Graaff-Reinet— Shooting a peace-maker-—A truculent farmer—The wilderness settlement—Redeeming slaves. 5; ; : : . 116-126

Chapter XI Robert Moffat And The Bechuanas

A dismal prospect—Africaner the terrible—Sheep scared by a hyena—Between a tiger and a serpent—A frail shelter—Short commons—A happy transformation—Moffat poisoned—The frightened Boer—Further afield—Mischievous natives—A Bechuana virago—A stone for dinner—Cunning rain-makers —Facing death—A timely warning—Savage warfare—‘‘ Moving houses”. 5 : : : ; : , ; : . 127-138

Chapter XII From Slave To Bishop

Captured by slave-dealers—On an English man-of-war—Exploring the Niger—Murders of twins—Training in London—Journey to Abeokuta—Mother and son—Persecution of converts—The surrendered idol—Queen Victoria’s gift—Human sacrifices—Abeokuta attacked by the King of Dahomey—Second voyage up the Niger—The black bishop—A negro martyr—Generous native contributions . : ; : : - . : : . 139-149

Chapter XIII The Martyrs Of Madagascar

The usurping Queen—Expulsion of missionaries—A fanatical reformer—First mutterings of the storm—The poison ordeal— Proscription lists—Destruction of books—Rasalama the proto-martyr—The martyrs’ rock—Hiding for life—In the slave-quarries—Conversion of Prince Rakoto—End of the persecution —Proclamation of liberty . ; ‘ ; - : - 150-160

Chapter XIV Livingstone’s Early Explorations

The happy warrior—Advyenture with a lion—Marked for life—The alarmed chieftain—Sechelé and his whip—Obstructive Boers— Discovery of Lake Ngami—The waterless desert—Death of Sebituane—From Linyanti to Loanda—Petticoat government—

An athletic princess—Terrors of the magic-lantern—Mice for supper—Swimming for life—First sight of the sea. - 161-173 ll

TI.—IN INDIA AND THE EAST

Chapter XVIII Dr. Wolef In Central Asia

Wolff's early wanderings—First journey to Bokhara—Attacked by brigands—Outwitting the robbers—Preaching in rags—Half-starved in prison—The Khan’s rapacity—Defying a bully—Discussions with Jews and Mohammedans—Threatened by fanatics —A last resource—A welcome present—First evangelist in Cabul —Second journey to Bokhara—Welcomed by the populace—A remorseful despot—In ae of life—A blood- ene Afghan—

Home again . : é . 210-221

Chapter XIX Dr. Grant Among The Nestorians And Kurds

The Nestorian Church—Its ancient triumphs—Its decadence—Help from America—Encountering a rufian—The threatened missionaries—‘t Onward to the mountains’—A Kurdish stronghold—Flight of Nestorians—On the precipice edge—The Emir’s castle—The massacre—A premature death— The Good Doctor” . : . - :

. : ‘ : ' « 222-233

Chapter XX

DR. KRAPF IN EAST AFRICA PAGE Expulsion from Abyssinia—A wife’s grave—Discovery of Mount Kilimanjaro—The unknown lake—Attacked by robbers—A breathless flight—The pinch of hunger—Breakfast on ants— Churlish hospitality—Escape from the village—Welcome at Yata—Value of Krapf’s journey—His hope for Africa . 234-244

Chapter XXI Robert Clark In The Punjab

Sikhs and Afghans—“I am your cow”’—Assassination of Colonel Mackeson—The blood-stained pillar—Frontier fanatics—Nearly a martyr—A baptized brigand—A brave confessor—Kafiristan the mysterious—Virst experiences in Kashmir—A ruffianly mob — Persecuted converts — Founding a medical mission —The Prince of Wales in Amritsar—Clarkabad, the Christian village . : . : c : : . 245-255

IV.—IN THE ISLES OF THE SEA

Chapter XXII

Deadly climate of Nicobar Islands—The problem of evil—Native confidence in the missionaries—Snake in a lock—Catching snakes—Frightening a tiger—Watched by a crocodile—Raids of the Malays—Facing poisoned eee birds’-nests —Mortality of missionaries . - : : . 256-266

(CHAPTER XXIII

The ship Duf—Thievery of Tahitians—Outrage on missionaries— Testing gunpowder—The missionaries between two fires—Departure from Tahiti—Pomare defying superstition—A priest destroys idols—A militant Church—Clemency of Pomare— Hagerness for books—Promulgation of new laws. : » 267-278

Chapter XXIV Samuel Marsden In New Zealand

A head for an axe!—TFirst voyage to New Zealand—The Bay of Islands—Alarmed by a cow—Evils of the ‘‘ taboo” system— Death of Duaterra—A widow’s suicide—A defender of cannibalism—Blood-thirstiness of Hongi—Marsden as _peace-maker—The last look—A missionary a ee Selwyn’s testimony ‘ : j ; : : . 279-290

Chapter XXV John Williams, The Martyr Of Erromanga

PAGE Launching a ship at Eimeo—The Moloch of the South Seas—Moral degradation of natives—‘‘ Roasting stones’—Infanticide— Williams as ship-builder—The idols dethroned—A would-be assassin—The talking chip—From island to island—A narrow escape—Fetching religion in a canoe—The last scene—“ Alas |

Chapter XXVI Bingham In The Sandwich Islands

Native sanctuaries in the Sandwich Islands—The tyranny of ‘‘Taboo”’ —A royal iconoclast—Cards versus spelling-books—Native dances—‘‘ Video meliora”—Breakfasting on a cuttle-fish—A poetical farewell—Queen Kaahumanu as evangelist—Attack - on Mr. Bingham by American seamen—The false prophetess —Abraham Lincoln’s present to a native preacher. . 3804-313

Chapter XXVII David Cargill In The Fiji Islands

Ferocity of Fijians—Loveliness of scenery—The missionaries’ first night on shore—Inconvenient curiosity—Natives’ contempt for their gods—Murder of four sailors—Fiji hooligans—Attempt to shoot Mr. Cargill—Skull as a drinking-cup—Transformation of Fiji—Miss Cumming’s account in 1875 . ° é . 314-324

Chapter XXVIII George Turner In The New Hebrides

Fallen among thieves—Mischievous English visitors—Internecine warfare—Disease-makers—Facing a murderer—A council of death—Opportune storm—Foiled attempt to escape—Rescued by an English brig—Second visit to Tanna—Martyrdom of a native preacher—Third visit to Tanna—Meeting with John Paton . ; : : : : : . : : - 325-335

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A CRITICAL MOMENT IN TANNA (see p. 330) . " A CowARDLY MURDER : ; - 3 ; i DAVID BRAINERD AND THE RED INDIAN SORCERER EGEDE CARRIED THE ORPHANS HOME WITH Him .

THE RED INDIAN ATTACK ON THE MISSIONARY

STATION . ‘ % - . A ? : ;

A REDSKIN MURDERER GIVES HIMSELF UP TO THE

CAPTAIN OF H.M.S. ‘ DEVASTATION” : ; A YAK TOBOGGANING . ; 4 “ : : i

THE MISSIONARIES DEFENDED THE NEGROES FROM

THE PLANTERS : ; ; ; ; j

A ‘TERRIBLE FIGHT WITH A SERPENT ; : F THE MISSIONARY MEETS GHIKA THE KAFFIR CHIEF Two AGAINST ONE : ;

A TIMELY RESCUE E ; ; ; ; * ; THE MARTYRS OF MADAGASCAR é

THE MISSIONARY WAS CRUELLY BASTINADOED F Dr. JuDSON IN A BURMESE PRISON . ; : ;

JOSEPH WOLFF <A PRISONER OF TURKOMAN

BRIGANDS c

A NARROW HSCAPE . c ‘ , : ‘

To face page

Frontispiece

32 46

78 88

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE MISSIONARY AND THE Two NATIVES CAME

UPON THREE RHINOCEROSES 5 : : . To face page 240 A DANGEROUS MOB IN SIRINAGAR . ; ; : + a ene BoTH MAN AND TIGER WERE ALARMED , : > 3 » 260 THt N@&W ZEALANDERS CAME INTO THE MiIs-

SIONARY’S HOUSE WHENEVER THEY PLEASED

AND DEMANDED Foop. : 5 » 286 THE NATIVES BROUGHT THEIR GODS AND THREW

THEM DOWN AT THE FEET OF THE MIs-

SIONARIES ‘ ‘ ; : : : 5 ; 2 Sapna: THE PROPHETESS OF THE PELE VOLCANO : ‘ » a anOkO) Bow AND ARROW PRACTICE AT HUMAN TARGETS. res ho A

HEROES OF MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE

I IN REGIONS OF SNOW

Chapter I John Eliot, The Apostle Of The Red Indians

Difficulties of the language—Pow-wows—Longfellow’s description— Founding of Noonatomen—Perils in the wilderness—A covetous chief—Founding of Natick—Governor Endicott’s visit—The first Bible printed in America—War with Philip—Destruction of mission settlements—Unpopularity of Eliot—Death of Philip—Baxter’s encomium,

OHN ELIOT enjoys the distinction of having been the first Protestant missionary to preach to the aborigines of North America. Driven from England,

like so many other non-conforming ministers under the rule

of Laud, he settled as a pastor at Roxbury in Massachusetts.

Here his spirit was stirred by witnessing the ignorance and

degradation of the Red Indians, who for the most part

were regarded by the early Puritan colonists as the inhabitants of Canaan were by the Israelites.

With incredible industry Eliot applied himself to the task of learning the Indian language. What sort of a feat this was, we may gather from the fact that the word for “loves” is “ Noowomantammooonkanunonnash,”

JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE and for “question,” “ Kummogkodonattoottummoootiteaongannunnonash.”

The Indians of New England, like all savages, were averse to regular labour of any sort. Their time was spent alternately in war, hunting, and fishing, or in idleness and sleep. ‘Their knowledge was limited within the narrow circle of animal wants, and their ignorance of the use of metals was shown by their habit of calling an Englishman “a knife man,” the knife being an implement wholly new to them, and one which they greatly admired.

They were much under the influence of male and female y)

wizards called “ pow-wows,” in whose connection with invisible powers they had great faith. These persons claimed to cure diseases by means of herbs, roots, exorcisms, and magical incantations. A “pow-wow,” in short, was at once priest, physician, and juggler. Their power was a formidable obstacle to the spread of Christianity; “for,” said the Indians, “if we once pray to God we must abandon our pow-wows, and then, when we are sick or wounded, who shall heal our maladies ? ”

Such were the people among whom John Eliot was preparing to labour. His zeal on their behalf was increased by the fact that he believed them to be descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel. Though arrived at middle life, he studied their language for two years before he began preaching among them. He paid his first visit to the Indians on 28th October 1646, at a place afterwards called Nonantum. At a short distance from the wigwams he and his friends were met by Waban, a leading man among the Indians at that place, who assembled the natives in his wigwam, where Eliot conducted a religious

OF THE RED INDIANS

_ service for them, which Longfellow has graphically described in “ Hiawatha” :— “ All the old men of the village, All the warriors of the nation, All the Jossakeeds the prophets, The magicians, the Wabenos, And the medicine men, the medas, ~ Came to bid the strangers welcome.

‘It is well,’ they said, ‘O brother , That you come so far to see us.’

In a circle round the doorway With their pipes they sat in silence, Waiting to behold the strangers, Waiting to receive their message, Till the Black Robe chief the pale face From the wigwam came to greet them, Stammering in his speech a little, Speaking words yet unfamiliar.”

The service lasted three hours, and the Indians listened with the utmost attention, some of them being moved to tears. When Eliot had finished they asked many questions showing an intelligent appreciation of what he had said.

Encouraged by their behaviour on this and subsequent occasions, Eliot applied to the General Court of Massachusetts for a grant of land where the Indians might settle and learn the arts of civilised life. The land being granted, the site of a town named Noonatomen, or “ Rejoicing,” was marked out by the Indians. Eliot advised them to surround it with ditches and a stone wall, promising to furnish them with spades, shovels, mattocks, and iron crows. Healso gave money to those who worked hardest. The wigwams they erected were in a considerably improved style; they were built not with mats as formerly, but with the bark of trees, and were divided into several apartments,

The women began to learn to spin, to make various

JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE little articles, and to carry the natural productions of the country to market for sale.

The Indians also consented to conform to a code of simple laws drawn upon the basis of the Ten Commandments. One of these aimed at the suppression of the drink traffic, which had already begun to ruin and degrade the character of the natives. After establishing this settlement Eliot took frequent journeys through the different parts of Massachusetts as far as Cape Cod, preaching to as many Indians as would hear him. During these tours he endured much personal hardship. In a letter to a friend, he says, “I have not been dry night or day from the third day of the week to the sixth, but have travelled from place to place in that condition; and at night I pull off my boots, wring my stockings and on with them again, and so continue.”

When travelling through the wilderness without a friend or companion, he was sometimes treated very harshly by the Indians, and in some instances they even threatened his life. Both the “sachems” (chiefs) and the pow-wows were greatly opposed to the introduction of Christianity; the chiefs were alarmed lest they should lose their authority, and the priests lest they should be deprived of their gains.

On one of these occasions, when one of the sachems, named Cutshamakin, was storming against him, and the friendly Indians were cowed by his words, Eliot with calm courage told him that as he was about God’s work he feared neither him nor the other sachems, and that, let them do what they would, he would go on with his undertaking. The storm of words died down, and _ this victory over the violence of the chief contributed not a little to strengthen Eliot’s influence with the other Indians.

OF THE RED INDIANS

The matter did not rest here. When Eliot left the meeting Cutshamakin accompanied him a short distance and unburdened his heart by stating honestly the ground of his opposition. He alleged that the “ praying Indians ” did not pay him tribute as they used to do. On inquiry, however, Eliot found that this accusation was false, and rebuked the chief severely for his covetousness.

The Indians were so extremely poor that Eliot had to take his own food and drink with him on his journeys, besides presents to distribute among them. Nor were they altogether wanting in gratitude. He relates with satisfaction on one occasion that as he was taking his horse to depart, ““a poor creature” seized his hand and thrust something into it, which he found to be a pennyworth of wampum! on the end of a straw. He accepted the humble present with thanks, “seeing so much hearty affection in so small a thing.”

In 1651 Eliot founded another settlement for “the praying Indians” at Natick on the Charles River. Though the stream was so shallow in the summer that the Indians could generally wade through it with ease, yet, as the water was deep in winter, it became necessary to throw a bridge over it. Eliot persuaded them to undertake this work, and they built a foot-bridge over the river 80 feet long and 9 feet high. The town was laid out in three streets, two on one side, and one on the other side of the river. Lots of land were measured and divided, apple trees were planted, and the business of the sowing season was begun. They built a circular fort, palisaded with trees, and a large house in the English style, containing a small room set apart for the missionary, while

1 A kind uf shell-fish used among the Indians for money,

JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE the rest of it was used as a schoolhouse and depot. Wolves and bears still roamed in the woods at no great distance, and at night their howling was distinctly heard.

The next year the settlement was visited by Governor Endicott, who expressed himself highly gratified with the progress made by the Indians, and requested Eliot to write down the substance of a sermon preached by one of the converts. Their religion was more than lip-deep, for when the smallpox raged fatally in the winter of 1650-51, many of them hazarded their lives in unwearied attention to the sick. There was an aged paralytic in a loathsome condition which rendered him extremely troublesome. His own children became tired of the burden and forsook him. Eliot offered six shillings a week to any one who would take care of him. None would undertake the office for hire; but some of the families of the Christian Indians offered their services gratuitously, and took care of him for a long time.

The report of Eliot’s work had led in England to the foundation of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. ‘This society assisted him in the production of the Indian Bible, his magnwm opus, which occupied him for many years. It is now only a literary curiosity, though eagerly sought after by collectors, as the Indians who spoke the Mohican language, in which it was made, are all extinct. It enjoys the distinction of being the first Bible ever printed on the continent of America, no English Bible being printed there till about the middle of the next century. Eliot’s literary labours and care of his settlement did not, however, prevent his itinerating as opportunity offered. The chief of one village whom he had often visited, at last signified his change of mind in a quaint

OF THE RED INDIANS and characteristic speech : “I acknowledge that I have been used all my life to pass up and down in an old canoe; and now you wish me to make a change, to leave my old canoe and embark in a new one, for which I have been unwilling, but now I give up myself to your advice, enter into a new canoe, and do engage to pray to God hereafter.”

One haughty chief, however, named Philip, rejected Christianity with disdain, and would not allow it to be introduced into his tribe. When Eliot went to visit him he took hold of one of his buttons, and told him he cared no more for his message than he did for that button. Between this chief and the English colonists a war broke out that was to wreck Eliot’s work, and cast a shadow over his declining years.

Philip had been summoned to appear before the Governor to answer for some offence committed by his tribe. The man who had given information of the offence was murdered by the savages, and the murderers were hanged by the English. The Indians retaliated by massacring eight or nine of the colonists at Swansey. Philip wept when he heard that the blood of a white man had been shed, but other atrocities soon followed. ‘The colonists began to arm, and a universal panic prevailed. Signs in the heavens were reported to have been seen; a scalp appeared on the disc of the moon; an Indian bow was imprinted on the sky; troops of horses were heard rushing through the air. The various outrages perpetrated by the Indians roused the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to an exterminating war. Eliot’s community of praying Indians did not escape the effects of the general resentment against the Indians. Some of them were accused of favouring the designs of the enemy. The 23

JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE colonists were afraid that the instinctive love of war and carnage in them would break through the restraints of religion. On the other hand, the chief Philip was jealous of the praying Indians, and used every means of intimidation and persuasion to enlist them on his side. The upshot was that some enlisted with the English and did good service, and some deserted to Philip. The order and harmony of Eliot’s mission-stations were now utterly destroyed; on the hills around Natick watch-fires were blazing, and war-whoops were heard in the night; at intervals musketshots and cries rang out from the neighbouring woods. After several encounters Philip retired to the forests, swamps, and fastnesses of the interior, in the dominion of the great tribe of the Naraganset Indians, who for his sake had now broken treaty with the English. It was the depth of winter, yet the colonists resolved to follow him to his retreat, and an army of fifteen hundred men under the command of the Hon. J. Winslow marched to the fastness of the Indians. This was on an island of five or six acres, the only entrance to which was upon a long tree trunk laid over the water, so that but one man could pass at a time; the trees and thickets were white with snow, as was the surface of the earth, so that the smallest movement of the Indians could be seen. Within the isle were gathered the Pequot and Naraganset tribes, with their wives, families, and valuables; there were no leaves and thick foliage to make an ambush possible, and the savages had to fight in the open. It was the close of day when the colonists came up to the place. A fort, a blockhouse, and a wall that passed round the isle showed the skill as well as the resolution of the natives; but they were no match for the white men. The frozen shores and 24

OF THE RED INDIANS water were quickly covered with the slain, and then the Indians fought at the doors of their wigwams till all was lost. A thousand of them fell, and Philip fled with his surviving forces to a distant retreat where it was impossible to follow him.

During these troubles Eliot was subjected to much contempt and reproach. His efforts to protect his people and watch over their interests were incessant, but so strong was the suspicion against them that the colonists inflicted on them many sufferings. The General Court passed an order that the Natick Indians should be removed to Deer Island, in Boston harbour, between four and five miles from the shore. They sadly but quietly submitted. Eliot met them on the shore and endeavoured to soothe and cheer them, and about midnight, when the tide served, they embarked in three vessels and were transported to their destined confinement on Deer Island. The state of feeling among the colonists against Eliot is vividly illustrated by an incident that occurred about that time. He happened to be in a boat which was run down and upset by a larger vessel. Eliot was in great danger of drowning, but was rescued by strenuous efforts. One at least of the colonists, hearing how narrowly he had escaped, said openly that he wished he had been drowned.

A party of Christian Indians who had fled from an unprovoked attack by the colonists, in which some of their women and children were wounded, had taken refuge in the woods. ‘They sent a pathetic message: ‘“ We are not sorry,” they said, “for what we leave behind, but we are sorry that the English have driven us from our praying to God and from our teacher. We did begin to understand a little of praying to God.” Attempts were made to induce them to

JOHN ELIOT, THE INDIAN APOSTLE return, but the remembrance of the day when their wives and children were shot down was still fresh, and they refused. At length winter and hunger drove them back to their wigwams. When their return was made known at Boston, a committee, consisting of Eliot and two others, was appointed to visit them with a message of encouragement and friendship, and to persuade the neighbouring colonists to better treatment of them.

Philip at last was tracked down and killed. Peace was restored, but the mission settlements had received a blow from which it was impossible entirely to recover. Eliot retired to Natick, the only settlement which had partly escaped destruction, and sought to gather his scattered people together and to restore their habits of industry. During the few succeeding years he had the satisfaction of seeing some of his churches restored, and the congregations partially gathered together.

But his life was now approaching its close. ‘I am drawing home,” he wrote to the celebrated Robert Boyle, who had been a steadfast supporter of his mission; “the shadows are lengthening around me. I beseech you to suppress the title of ‘Indian Evangelist’; give not any glory to me for what is done.” T'wenty years before this Baxter had written to him, “There is no man on earth whose work I think more honourable than yours. The industry of the Jesuits and friars, and their successes in Congo, Japan, China, shame us all, save you.” “Since the death of the Apostle Paul,” says the eloquent American orator Everett, “a nobler, truer, and warmer spirit than John Eliot never lived.”

He died in 1690, at the advanced age of eighty-six.

Chapter II The Captive Of The Iroquois

Saute Saint Marie—Jesuit explorations—Life in the wigwams—Capture of Father Jogues—Horrible tortures—Cruelty of Indian children— Murder of Father Goupil—A blood-stained oratory—Instruction of Indians—Baptized at the stake—A timely warning—A hairbreadth escape—English wreckers—Home at last—Back to martyrdom.

N the long gallery of missionary heroes few figures more

| strikingly rivet the attention than those of the Jesuit

martyr-missionaries in Canada. The most uncompro-

mising Protestant cannot contemplate them without feeling moved at the spectacle of their unparalleled sufferings.

Not long after the French had entered Canada in 1634, the Jesuits established a mission at Saute Sainte Marie, between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. ‘The difficulties of the journey thither from Quebec are thus graphically described by Bancroft, the historian of the United States: “The journey by way of the Ottawa and the rivers that interlock with it was one of more than nine hundred miles through a region horrible with forests. All day long the missionaries had to wade or handle the oar. At night there was no food for them but a scanty measure of Indian corn mixed with water ; their couch was the earth or the rocks. At five-and-thirty waterfalls the canoe had to be carried on their shoulders for leagues through thick woods or over roughest regions : fifty times it was dragged by hand through shallows and rapids over sharp stones; and thus—swimming, wading, a7 se paddling, or bearing the canoe across the portages with garments torn, with feet mangled—the consecrated envoys made their way by rivers, lakes, and forests from Quebec to the heart of the Huron wilderness.”