Notes on the Iroquois: or, Contributions to the Statistics, Aboriginal History, Antiquities and General Ethnology of Western New-YorkSchoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
Notes on the Iroquois: or, Contributions to the Statistics, Aboriginal History, Antiquities and General Ethnology of Western New-York
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Indians of North America -- New York (State); Iroquois Indians
DEAR SIR—Agreeably to your request I forward you some facts
in regard to the establishment and progress of the gospel among the
natives of this reservation. The Cattaraugus Mission Church was
organized July 8th, 1827, (which is a little more than 18 years.) It
consisted of Mr. Wm. A. Thayer, the teacher, his wife, and 12 native
members. There have been additions to it from time to time, until
the whole number who have held a connection with this church is one
hundred and eighteen. Thirteen of these have been white persons and
most of them connected with the mission family. Of the one hundred
and five native members seven or eight have come by letter from other
reservations, so that the number who have united on profession of
faith is a little short of one hundred. Twenty-five of these have
gone to their final account. Some have died in the triumphs of faith,
and we humbly hope and trust that they are among the blessed, in the
kingdom of our common Father. A number (as it was natural to expect
from converts out of heathenish darkness) have apostatized from
Christianity, and returned to their former courses. The proportion of
these is not probably more than one in ten. Between sixty and seventy
are now connected with some of the mission churches. A few only have
removed to Allegany, Tuscarora, while the remainder still live on this
reservation.
The effect of the gospel in promoting morality and civilization, may be
learned in part from the fact that the public worship of God has been
steadily maintained ever since the organization of the church, with
members ranging from fifty to one hundred, and sometimes one hundred
and fifty and two hundred as regular hearers of the word. A Sabbath
school has been sustained a considerable share of the time. Many copies
of the Holy Scriptures, and the New Testament, together with tracts,
Sabbath school books, temperance papers, and religious periodicals,
have been circulated among the children and youth. Temperance societies
have been patronized by nearly all the chiefs and leading men on the
reservation. Pledges have been circulated and received the signatures
of a large majority of the population, of all parties, on the
Washingtonian plan.
Day schools for teaching the English language have been kept in
operation almost without interruption for more than twenty years, under
the patronage of the A. B. C. F. M.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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