The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18

At WAkrtown MIL were Dougnt, duu mere ths
frst experiment. In the new plan OF indian dvfi
ration was made Euoi's ultimate purpose was
To raise up native Missionaries To this end he
thought II needful not only 10 evangelife . Ger.
tain number Of tho natives, but also to train them
In the ways Of civilized life Hence he conceived
the Idea Of a community formed wholly Of Chris
tlan Indians, and. In q measure, SELF governing,
where educational, industrial ana religious priv
ilegss might he assured. This was precisely
the idea upon which Samson Occom bull, NOR"
than a century afterward Eliotfound the natives
anxiou, to initiate the civilization Of the whites
The men began to fence their fields and cultivate
them after tho English manner The women
took up spinning. Trade between the natives
and the whites was encouraged Schools were
established, and the children were regularly
catechi,ed All these measures wrought tr
gether Ia assist Eliot In converting them
The experiment at Nonantum had not been
long under way before Eliot discovered that an
enlargement OF his plan was necessary. The
grant Of and al Watertown Mil was not large
enough and II was too near the English. So
early In 1919. Eliots original design had ex-
panded into a hope Of founding a community
where all the Christian Indians should be gov
erned after the theocratic ideal Of tho Scriptures
A tract Of about 5000 acres was eventually "a
cured, and, in 1851. an Indian town named Natick
was laid out When the Indians met In August
Of that year, Eliot eSpounded TO them the sigh
teenth chapter OF Exodus upon which his the
ocraiio government was based. and they pro
oeeded u elect their rulers, one over a hundred,
tvo over n!tiss. and ten "tithing men" Thus
Eli Is IDEAL scheme OF government was tempo
ra1ly realized He soon discovered, however,
that the form Of II was impracticable. was not
adapted 20 Indian lie 4 ruler in dvil Affairs.
which their tribal instincts approved, and the
General Court had authorized In l647, was all
that IN. Indian town needed When. after some
opposition. Eliot was permitted In 1880 to form
= church among the Indians, the civil ruler and
the religious teacher or pastor be came the two
sources Of authority in the ChriStiaui1"d com
muri,y After the model furnished by Na,ick,
other Indian towns were organized Industry
and education advanced The earlier social
problems were lost TO Wow in he religious success
which had always been Eiiot's main purpose,
and which won for him the title of Apostle Of the
Indians Wa have seen that Eliot preached to
the natives In their own tongue " early as
1910, he felt that they should be taught to read
the Hible In their native language His indian
cateclism was printed in 1858 ur 1854; parts
OF the Scripture. followed, and the famous Ma
MUSE wunneetupanatamwec UpBiblum God"
appeared IN 1868 Eliot found that children and
even adults were very quick to learn In Indian.
Three years before the " hole Bib. was printed,
about a hundred Of his Christian Indians had
been taught H. read. Eliot found that the sdu-
Gated native accomplished more than the mex
p-rienced Englishman. The assertion, indeed,
has been made that the Indian Bible was ~ no
service b. the natives because IL was notint-lligiblc.
One q EliOt's blographers says IT failed %
answer the pious purpose for which the trans.
lator labOred In preparing H." DR. Trumbrll,
on the ether hand, declares There Is abundant
]evidenc" that many Of III" PRAYING Indians did
acquire the art Of reading with facility books
printed in their language" Our author, for his
own part, holds that Eliots Bible was not only
int ll,gible % the readers, but q valuable means
Of spreading his missionary works. He admits.
AZ the same time. that more good would have been
accom- plished BY this agency had ii not been for
King Philips War, which was an oyerw hslmirS
disaster to the Indian missions Of New England.
The census Of 1874 computed the Indians who
were nomnally adhersnts Of Christianity AZ
about 1000 in Massachusetts Bay and the Ply
mouth Colony including those under Mayhem
IN Nartha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Toward
the end If the seventeenth century, a careful
estimate based upon the history ~ individual con
grgations makes the number Of Christian Indians
in New England about 1000. Comparatively
few n these, however, became church member.
and the tyne Of Christian living was AZ no time
very high; but they werc reduced u law and order,
and dvelt together in peace. Some families
maintained a respectable character for genera
tons, As the years went by, however, the Chris
tan Inl.ans decreased, owing g. an eStraordirar v
death rata, or, in the words Of Cotton Mather,
by q s,rang' blast from heaven confusing them"
During the nrst half q the eighteenth century,
they melted away like snow In the spring time.