PAPERS RELATING TO THE SIX NATIONS.
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He is a rational, sprightly, active young man ; and I believe you will find him to be very honestand faithful. He comes only to do you good. His friends at Montauk have sent to me, earnestlydesiring that he might come there and teach their children; but I have often heard that you desiredgreatly to be taught, and I hope he will do more good among you, and therefore I send him to you.I hope you will be kind to him as one of your own people, and help him to live among you. I hopeyou will help him to get a house, and let him have some of your land to plant and sow; and he will,besides teaching your children, help and instruct you in managing husbandry ; which you must learnif you expect God will increase your number, and build you up, and make you his people.
I hear that some of the Indians think it to be a mean thing, and below' men to w'ork in the field,that it belongs only to w'omen. This thought is not right nor pleasing to God .
The first work he sat man about, and that before he ever had sinned, when he was more honorable than any mere man has ever been since, was to till the ground to get his living by it. Andafter man had sinned, God told him he should get his living by the sweat of his face, and he hascommanded us in the fourth commandment to work six days in the week. And often in his wordtestified his displeasure against those who w r ill not w'ork for a living. This earth is all God ’s land,and he will have it all cultivated. So long as there are not people enough to inhabit the earth, God lets the wild beasts have it for their dwelling place ; and a few lazy savage people he suffers to livea hungry miserable life by hunting. But when the children of men grow numerous, and want theearth to cultivate for a living, the wild beasts must give place to them, and men must improve theland for God ; if they do not they are bad tenants and must be turned off as such. If you will notcultivate God’s land, you cannot expect that God will greatly multiply you. I speak this only foryour good : I propose no advantage to myself nor to any other, but you and your posterity by it.
When you improve your land, and provide a living for yourselves and families in that way, youwill live much easier and better than you now r do or can do by hunting. And w r hen your game isgone, you will not have occasion to remove to another place, or to go a great way to catch wildcreatures to live upon as .Indians have been forced to do ; but you will live as w 7 ell without them as■with them, by the produce of your own farms. And then you will be under circumstances to haveministers and school masters settled among you ; and will be able to support them according to thelaw's of Christ, to teach you and your children the great things that concern your peace with God ,and the eternal salvation of your precious souls; and so you may soon become a learned andknowing people. And then you will be in no danger of being imposed upon and cheated, as youhave been by bad men, who care not what becomes of Indians, if they can only get your lands, andcheat and wrong you in other things. I pity you greatly on these accounts ; and I wish you wouldmind what I say to you. I greatly desire you may become a great, and good, and very happy people.
David Fowler can tell you how God has dealt with Indians in New' England, and how they now'begin to see their error, and amend their doings.
I thank you for the kindness, which some ot you have shewn to my dear M r Kirkland, whom Isent into your country last fall. His heart is bent to do good to the Indians. He denies himself
tile most of them, to labour next year. They begin now to see, that they could live better if they cultivated their landstiian they do now by hunting and fishing.
“ I ask the continuance of your prayers, that God would give me grace, and fill my heart with love of God and compassionto perishing souls : and that God would make me an instrument of winning many souls to Christ, before I leave this world.
“ Please to accept much love and respect, from your affectionate and unworthypupil, “ David Powder.”
The famine which visited western N. York this year obliged the Oneidas to remove in search of food to another quarter,6 ad David Fowler returned to N. England for further aid. We have no means of following up the remainder of his careerhut he is stated to have been alive in 1811 at Onei la, an industrious farmer and useful man.—E d.
Vox., iv. 29