New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-05-02

inc on boldly into tho wilderness, Ranch met
two chiefs. one Of whom, Tschoop, or
Wasamapah, is said TO have been the original
of Cooper's savage, "the Last OF the Mohcans,'
who walks superbly through all boyish
imagination. Tschoop. the ideal Oncas, was
noted for his bravery and his fiery eioquence;
but Tschoop, the real Uncas, when Rauch met
him, was beastly drunk. He promised to lead
the teacher to his tribe, but, beng drunk
SUNK Off at night without him. The Morayian
Brother followed, found the Indian hamlet,
and remained there.
We are apt to think (haying learned our
history from Cooper that tho Aforesaid
superb savage offered quite other ma
terial to the refOrmer OF those times
than does the blanketed, thicying Cheyenne
Of O-day Uncas, whom Cooper has painted az
perpetually bounding through tho forest prime
val, like a yellow Apollo twanging miracu-
lous bow or gushing into equally miraculous
eloauence, chanting the fire OF love or tho
death song of the Lenni Lenape, was then, as
now, a savage, stretched most OF tho day
lazlly asleep in filthy hut infested with feas-
drinking. gambling, and bowling brutishly
through the night; thief sorcerer, ana
liar; unclean in both body and soul. The1.
rs now, it was the verdict OF the majority
among the whites to let him die and unhin-
dered go to his own place. Earnest CHRIS
"tians,n says Bishop de Schweintz, regarded
"the Indians as british savages, whose SALIVA
"tion was hopeless" Andrews, after years or
toll, said, "There is no hope. Heather they
care and heather they will be-" Now, the
Moravian was deaf to all this warning. Ito
simply obeyed his Master and preached tho
real gospel to this unpoetic savage. Not for
year did he make any converts. Then " the hro
began to burn.n Tschoop was one OF the hrst
converts, and for nearly century ana hait
the zeal and integrity of this poor Indian have
made themselves felt in the history OF the
Church. His eloquence was HresisuDie'
savs Snangenberg. He had the cOuntenance
"of a Luther" Tho Moravians devoted
themselves thencef0rward to the work oil CIVIL
ling the red men, and it is to their unpar-
alleled success and to one popularity IN their
svstem that we wish to call attention now.
As soon "a two or three converted families
conld be gathered together they formed them
into so-called "Christian village" ruled ab-
solutely by strict religious principles In theSe
towns while their heather nelgh0ors were
welcomed as guests. not one was permiI'eu 10
remain as an inhabitant the rule being en-
forced rigidly for tho double purpose or re-
moving the converts as far as possible from
temptation, and rendering their different moue
| Of life more marked and imitable.
each family in these villages had COM
Portable house. garden, and orchard. The
town was inclosed and kept scrupulousy
"clean. The converts had large herds of cat
" tie and hogs and poultry Of all kinds. They
| LODI m
and pork. and manufactured canoes. These
towns were the wonder of all who saw
"them,n says de Schweinitz, the careful yet
most vivid historian of this long-ago work OF
faith "The Indian was constrained to give
"up bis wild habits and cruel ways; to
auench all the instincts Of his savage nature;
TO acknowledge woman as his equal; to re-
main with his family in one town, and to
submit to municipal enactments so stringent
that nothing could be moro CALLING to tho
"natiye pride of American aborigines.'
All this he did. We urge once again upon
| white men the simple fact that the Ind an.
whether Mohican, Dakota, or YanktOn Sioux,
| is a savage proved to be ready to accept the Cos
pei and civilization to learn to pillow, plant, and
reap, as well as to scalp or torture. Ieisberger
proved it in these MOravian towns, just as Bishop
Whpple, Bishop Hare and William Welsh are
proving it now in the West. 1t may be said that
their efforts at improvement are short lived.
The Moravian Christian villages did come to
an untimely end, because white Christian
soldiers, under Capt. Williamson, without
cause, imprisoned the inhabitants, men, women
and children, and then butchered them in cold
blood. That was his summary way of solving
| the Indian problem. The question yet remains
unsettled whether the policy of the MOravians
or of Williamson shall be adopted as most
| fitting for the present time.
| Richard Wagner after nearly quarter of GEN.