*Lord’s-day, September 21. I spent the day with the Indians on the island. As soon as they were up, I attempted to instruct them, and laboured to get them together, but quickly found they had something else to do; for they gathered together all their _powwows_, (or conjurers,) and set about half a dozen of them to playing their tricks, and acting their frantic postures, in order to find out why they were so sickly, numbers of them being at that time disordered with a _fever_, and bloody _flux_. In this they were engaged for several hours, making all the wild distracted motions imaginable: sometimes singing; sometimes howling; sometimes extending their hands to the utmost stretch, spreading all their fingers, and seemed to push with them, as if they designed to fright something away, or at least keep it off at arms-end; sometimes stroking their faces with their hands, then spurting water as fine as mist; sometimes sitting flat on the earth, then bowing down their faces to the ground; wringing their sides, as if in pain and anguish: twisting their faces, turning up their eyes, grunting, or puffing. *Their monstrous actions seemed to have something in them peculiarly suited to raise the devil, if he could be raised by any thing odd and frightful. Some of them were much more fervent in the business than others, and seemed to _chant_, _peep_, and _mutter_ with a great degree of warmth and vigour. I sat about thirty feet from them, (though undiscovered) with my bible in my hand, resolving, if possible, to spoil their sport, and prevent their receiving any answers from the _infernal_ world. They continued their hideous charms for more than three hours, until they had all wearied themselves out, although they had taken sundry intervals of rest: and at length broke up, I apprehended, without receiving any answer. After they had done powwowing, I attempted to discourse with them about Christianity; but they soon scattered, and gave no opportunity. A view of these things, while I was destitute of the society of any one that so much as “named the name of Christ,” greatly sunk my spirits, so that I had no heart nor power to make any further attempts among them. The Indians of this island many of them understand English, having formerly lived in Maryland near the white people, but are very vicious, drunken, and profane, although not so _savage_ as those who have less acquaintance with the English. Their method of _charming_ over the sick, seems somewhat different from that of other Indians: and the whole of it perhaps is an imitation of what seems, by Naaman’s expression, 2 Kings v. 11. to have been the custom of the ancient Heathens. For it seems chiefly to consist in their “striking their hands over the diseased,” repeatedly stroking of them, “and calling upon their gods,” excepting the spurting of water, and some other frantic ceremonies common to the other _conjurations_.