SHAKER MISSION TO THE SHAWNEE INDIANS.
BY J. P. MACLEAN, A. B., PH. D.
INTRODUCTION.
It is but a slight exaggeration to state
that the aborigines
of this country have been made the
objects of conversion from
all the religious sects that have found
a domicile within our bor-
ders. Under the civilizing influence of
the dominant exotic race
the American savage has constantly gone
down. It is not the
fault of Christianity, nor of the
civilization of the nineteenth
century, but in the application. The
missionary in his zeal
has mistaken both ethnology and his
calling. It required Chris-
tianity five hundred years to civilize
the Norsemen. Wandering
tribes neither jump into civilization
nor Christianity. Both re-
quire generations of constant
instruction. It is exceedingly
difficult to overcome that hereditary
disposition to revert to an
original savage condition. The Jesuits,
who had a peculiar
faculty of adapting themselves to the
manners, conditions, and
habits of thought of the American
savages, made but a slight
impression on their dusky subjects.
Whatever failure made by
one sect, has been of little result to
another. The same old
methods constantly applied which
previous failures experienced.
It may be affirmed that the methods
applied have been more
in the nature of a persecution than in
an elevation. The study
of ethnology would have been of greater
benefit and the chagrin
of disappointment might have been
avoided by utilizing this
science.
The history of the various types of
mankind demonstrates
that the various conditions operate
differently. The Esquimo
has discovered that the kyack is the
proper boat for his pursuit
of food and raiment. The conditions
force out that which is
necessary to maintain the struggle for
existence. The habits
of life more or less govern mental
acquirements. These and
(215)
216 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
other considerations must enter into the
conclusions that form
intelligent conception of advancing the
status of any tribe or type.
The American savage is a debased
creature, prone to take
up the vices of the white man, and, in
his original condition,
incapable of penetrating the exalted
conception of life as ex-
pounded by Jesus Christ. He is a being
requiring many gener-
ations of culture before fully
comprehending the ethical quali-
ties propounded in the New Testament.
If the large or powerful sects spend a
part of their energy
in missions to degraded tribes, it is
not to be wondered at that
the weaker denominations should imitate
the example. That the
Shakers, always noted for the paucity of
their number, should
waste their energy in such a fruitless
enterprise as a mission to
the savages, commands a different view
than that necessarily
accorded to other isms. Shaker theology
and sociology radically
differ from all other types of
Christinaity. It may be affirmed
that Shakerism contains no phase but may
be elsewhere found
among Christians; yet it must be noticed
that it combines more
peculiar features than can elsewhere be
discovered. The Shakers
have more perfectly approached the
teachings of Jesus and his
Apostles than any other of the organized
bodies of believers. On
the other hand the nature of the Indian
is largely animal. He
is where the ancestors of the white man
were many thousands
of years ago. To expect an Indian to lay
aside his brutal nature
and take upon himself the life of a
Shaker, requires a credulity
too vast even to contemplate.
Shakerism in 1807 was practically in its
infancy. In the
west it was only in the third year of
its existence. It was five
years later before it was organized into
church relationship. The
people, for the most part, lived at
Union Village, in log houses.
The first frame dwelling-house was not
completed until October,
1806, and that was built for the Elders.
However, the leaders
of Shakerism at Union Village were alive
to what they appre-
hended were the needs of humanity, and
were ever ready to drop
seed on whatever appeared to be good
soil. They were not far
removed from the Indians, and any
religious commotion among
the latter would necessarily attract
their attention. In the sim-
plicity of their hearts they believed
that the subtle, treacherous,
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 217
ferocious and diabolical savage could be
transformed into a gentle,
non-resistent, God-fearing and
man-loving celibate.
KENTUCKY REVIVAL AND INDIANS.
During the "Great Kentucky
Revival" of 1800 and 1801, the
Indians received the attention of the
awakened and zealous. Fer-
vent prayers were offered up that the
Indians might also share in
the blessed hope and joyful anticipation
of the future state; and
missionaries were repeatedly sent out
from among the subjects of
the revival, to convert them to the
Christian faith, but with little
success. In the fall of the year 1804, a great
number of savages,
belonging to different tribes, assembled
together and held a feast
of love and union, and during their
conclave danced and rejoiced
before the Great Spirit, with the
purpose of reviving the religion
of their ancestors. The fame of the
meeting was wafted to the
whites, among whom were those who
queried whether God would
convert them in some way different from
what had hitherto been
employed.
During the year 1805 fresh reports broke
out concerning the
Indians, which affirmed that a large
body of them was moving
down the western border of Ohio, and
were about to form a
settlement. The rumors caused much
agitation concerning them.
Some proclaimed that the movement
presaged war, while others
affirmed that they were in pursuit of
religion and the means of
an honest livelihood; that they intended
to labor, and in their
present circumstances the neighboring
whites were supporting
them by charitable donations.
SHAKER PROPAGANDA.
The continuance of the various reports,
concerning the move-
ments and condition of the Indians,
created much anxiety among
the Shakers at Union Village (then
called Turtle Creek). It
was determined to direct a missionary
body to proceed to the
Shawnee Indians, then living at
Greenville, in order to find
out the real situation, both in respect
to things temporal and
spiritual. The persons selected were
David Darrow, Benjamin
Seth Youngs and Richard McNemar.
218 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
David Darrow, who was born June 21, 1750, and died June
27, 1825, has been sketched in my
article on the Shakers of Union
Village in the QUARTERLY for June, 1902, and need not
here be
repeated.
Benjamin Seth Youngs was born September
17, 1774. He
was a member of the propaganda that set
out from New Lebanon,
N. Y., on January 1, 1805, and was one
of the first three Shakers
in the west, and the ablest of the trio,
and, in all probability, the
most indefatigable missionary ever
belonging to the sect. So far
as I have been able to learn no account
of his life or missionary
labors has been preserved. His
itinerary, as preserved in the
church record, was as follows: On
January 16, 1809, accom-
panied by two of the brethren, he set
out on foot for Buserow
(West Union, Ind. A society was here
established, but after many
vicissitudes was abandoned), and
returned on March 29; April
25, accompanied by Elder Matthew
Houston, he set out for Gas-
per (now South Union), Kentucky, by way
of Eagle Creek, Cane-
ridge and Shawnee Run; he was present
and took a very active
part in resisting the mob at Union
Village on August 27, 1810,
although the record is silent, but for
September 13, records that in
company with two others, he started on
that day for Buserow,
on the Wabash, in Indiana, and returned
on December 4th; Feb-
ruary 20, 1811, accompanied by Ruth
Darrow, Edith Dennis and
Peter Pease, he set out for Buserow
(West Union), and at Cin-
cinnati, on the 22nd, met the boats
containing the believers from
Eagle Creek, who were destined for the
same place; he must soon
after have returned for on April 9th he
set out for Kentucky and
returned on August 2d; September 25 he
went to Kentucky and
returned on September 11, 1812, and on the 29th
started for
Gasper, where he probably staid until
September 30, 1814, at which
date he arrived at Union Village; on
July 16, 1818, he passed
through Union Village on his return from
New Lebanon to Gas-
per; March 27, 1820, he was again in Union Village and returned
to Gasper on April 1st; November 8,
1829, he was on a visit to
Union Village, but departed from there
on the 24th; May 27, 1833,
he arrived in Union Village but after
ten days set out for home;
on May 14, 1835, he was on his way to
New Lebanon, and on
September 22, arrived at Union Village on his return, and on the
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 219
30th set out for Gasper. The last record
of him is for October
16, 1836, and is as follows: "Elder
Benjamin S. Youngs arrives
here from South Union," and
"is now leaving the west to return
no more. He goes to his old home at
Watervleit, New York, after
a residence of more than thirty years in
the west. He gave us his
valedictory address in meeting today. We
bless him and pray
that heaven may. He proceeds on the 20, same."
During his
long stay at Gasper he was an elder, but
whether in the min-
istry - which he probably was -the
record is silent.
Richard McNemar, born November 20, 1770, was a
Presby-
terian clergyman, who had a commanding
influence during the
Great Kentucky Revival. He was one of
the six witnesses that
met at Caneridge, Bourbon county,
Kentucky, June 28, 1804, and
on that day dissolved the Springfield
Presbytery. While in charge
of the church at Turtle Creek, he was
converted to Shakerism,
and united with that sect on April 24,
1805, followed by his entire
family. During the rest of his life he
was an elder in the order.
In the Church Record his name occurs but
sixteen times. April
22, 1807,
he set out for Gasper, and returned December 4; January
16, 1809, he set out for Buserow on
foot, and returned March 29,
accompanied by Youngs and Issacher
Bates; with the latter and
John Hancock, on the 5th December, 1809,
he again set out for
Buserow, but failing to reach his
destiny, on account of the high
waters, he returned on the 10th; March
27, 1810, with Archibald
Meacham, he set out for Buserow and
returned May 1st; in com-
pany with David Moseley, Ruth Darrow and
Peggy Houston, on
October 15, he set out on a visit to
Eagle Creek to visit the colony
of believers at that place, returning on
the 27th; April 9, 1811, he
"set out for Kentucky" and
returned August 2; June 1st, 1812,
he started for Dayton to see the
Governor respecting military
matters which concerned believers; March
8, 1813, he went to
Watervleit (near Dayton), where he was
taken sick, and Nathan
Sharp, on the 15th, started to bring him
home; September 5, 1817,
he was indicted at Lebanon, for assault
and battery, on a false
oath given by John Davis; February 14,
1830,
he was released
from his eldership at the Centre House, pro
tempore; December
28, 1835, he was "released from his
care as an Elder at Water-
vleit; but does not remove from
Watervleit till 13th January,
220
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
1836." The last record is made for
September 15, 1839: "This
evening, Richard McNemar, Sen.,
deceased; after a protracted
illness of chronic bowel complaint. He
was among the first who
received the gospel in the west, - being
previously a Presby-
terian minister in this place. One of
the most zealous and loyal
believers who ever embraced the gospel
in this western land.
Altogether more than ordinary
intelligent."
Issacher Bates, born January 29, 1758,
was one of the
original propaganda that set out from
New Lebanon, on Jan-
uary 1st, 1805. He is mentioned thirty-four times in the
Church
Record. April 22, 1807, he set out
for Gasper and returned
December 4; May 2, 1808, he
"set out on a visit to Kentucky"
and returned home June 12 following; July
27, he returned from
a tour to the Wabash; he started for the
Wabash September
18 and returned November 7; January 16,
1809, he set out for
Buserow on foot and returned March 29;
August 29, he set out
on a visit to Buserow and arrived home
on Sunday, September
24; December 5, he started for the
Wabash, but returned the
1oth, on account of high waters; on the
14th, he again set out
for the Wabash and returned February 19, 1810, via Cane-
ridge, Kentucky; March 15 he started for
Shawnee Run (now
Pleasant Hill), Kentucky, and arrived
home March 28, 1811;
November 11, he arrived from Buserow, and returned there
December 19; he arrived from
Buserow September 10, 1812;
June 1, 1814, with Solomon King, he set
out to visit the Har-
mony Society of Dutch people, returning
the 21st; December
14, 1816, he arrived from West Union
(Buserow), Ind., and
returned the 17th; January 7, 1819, he
arrived from West Union;
April 21, 1820, he again came from West
Union, and on June 22
returned; January 24, 1822, he arrived
from, and on the 29th
returned to West Union; January 8, 1823,
he went to Darby
Plains, Ohio, and returned the 24th;
January 29, 1824, he
removed from West Union to Union
Village; March 30, he
started for Zoar, a communistic society
of Dutch people, where
he was taken very sick, and on May 10, Calvin Morrell and
Charles D. Hampton (both formerly
physicians) started for
Zoar to take care of him, and returned
with him on the 27th;
September 2, he set off to visit the
Society at North Union,
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 221
near Cleveland, and returned October 9,
and on the 21st, re-
moved to Watervleit; June 27, 1825, he came to Union
Vil-
lage in order to attend the funeral of
Elder David Darrow;
July 29, 1826, he set out for West
Union, and returned home,
via Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, on
September 16; June I, 1830,
he started for New Lebanon and returned
September 2; May
27, 1833, he arrives at Union Village,
and "expects to take a
long visiting tour in Kentucky."
The last record is for April
16, and 30, and May 14: "It is now
concluded for our good
old veteran pioneer, Elder Issachar, who
has done so much, and
spent all his latter days, nearly, in
planting and building up the
gospel in the West, to return to the
East, and retire from these
labors. He will visit among us till the
30th inst., when he will
return to Watervleit." April 30:
"Elder Issachar returns to
Watervleit (Ohio) to-day, preparatory to
starting to New Leb-
anon; we therefore have taken our final
change of salutations
and farewell, with many well wishes for
each others welfare."
May 14: Elder Issachar starts from
Watervleit to join his com-
pany at Circleville to go East to return
no more."
NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION TO THE INDIANS.
For a full account of the Shaker mission
to the Shawnee
Indians we are indebted to the report
given by Richard Mc-
Nemar, who based his narrative upon the
Journal kept by the
missionaries. On March 17, 1807, the
three brethren, David
Darrow, Richard McNemar and Benjamin S.
Youngs set out in
search of the Indians, and on the 23rd
arrived at their village,
now Greenville, Ohio. "When we came
in sight of the village,
the first object that attracted our view
was a large frame house,
about 150 by 34 feet in size, surrounded
with 50 or 60 smoking
cottages. We rode up and saluted some
men who were stand-
ing before the door of a tent, and by a
motion of the hand were
directed to another wigwam where we found
one who could
talk English. We asked him if their
feelings were friendly.
A. O yes, we are all brothers.
Q. Where are your chiefs--we wish to
have a talk with
them?
222 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
A. They are about 4 miles off making
sugar.
Q. What are their names?
A. Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka, and Te-kum-tha.*
Q. Can any of them talk English?
A. No; but there is a good interpreter
there, George Blue-
Jacket. He has gone to school, and can
read and talk well.
Q. What is that big house for?
A. To worship the Great Spirit.
Q. How do you
worship?
A. Mostly in speaking.
Q. Who is your chief speaker?
A. Our prophet, Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka. He
converses with the
Great Spirit, and tells us how to be
good.
Q. Do all that live here, believe in
him?
A. Yes; we all believe-he can dream to
God.
Conducted by a pilot, we repaired to the
sugar-camp, where
30 or 40 were assembled with the
prophet, who was very sick
and confined to his tent. We expressed
our desire of having a
talk with him. But George informed us
that he could not talk to
us, that ministers of the white people
would not believe what
he said, but counted it foolish and
laughed at it, therefore he
could not talk; besides, he had a pain
in his head, and was very
sick. After informing him we were not
such ministers, he asked:
Do you believe a person can have true
knowledge of the
Great Spirit, in the heart, without
going to school and learning
to read?
A. We believe they can; and that is the
best kind of knowl-
edge.
After some talk of this kind with
George, he went into the
prophet's tent, where several chiefs
were collected, and after con-
tinuing their council there about an
hour, Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka came
out and took his seat in a circle of
about 30 persons who sat
round the fire. All were silent--every
countenance grave and
solemn, when he began to speak. His
discourse continued about
half an hour, in which the most pungent
eloquence expressed his
* Where Tecumseh lived at Greenville is
still called Tecumseh's
Point. It is now owned by Herschel
Morningstar.
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 223
deep and heart-felt sense of what he
spoke, but in language which
George said, he could not correctly
translate into English. How-
ever, the general sense he occasionally
communicated during our
stay.
In the first place, that he (the
prophet) had formerly lived
on White river; had been a doctor and a
very wicked man.
About two years ago, while attending on
sick people at Attawa,
in a time of general sickness, he was
struck with a deep and
awful sense of his sins- cried mightily
to the Good Spirit to
show him some way of escape, and in his
great distress, fell
into a vision, in which he appeared to
be travelling along a road,
and came to where it forked -the right
hand way he was in-
formed led to happiness and the left to
misery.
This fork in the road, he was told,
represented that stage of
life in which people were convicted of
sin; and those who took
the right hand way quit everything that
was wicked and became
good. But the left hand road was for
such as would go on and
be bad, after they were shown the right
way. They all move
slow, till they come here, but when they
pass the fork to the left,
then they go swift. On the left hand way
he saw three houses -
from the first and second were pathways
that led into the right
hand road, but no way leading from the
third. This, said he, is
eternity. He saw vast crowds going swift
along the left hand
road, and great multitudes in each of
the houses, under differ-
ent degrees of judgment and misery. He
mentioned particularly
the punishment of the drunkard. One
presented him a cup of
liquor resembling melted lead; if he
refused to drink it he would
urge him, saying: Come, drink - you used
to love whiskey.
And upon drinking it, his bowels were
seized with an exquisite
burning. This draught he had often to
repeat. At the last house
their torment appeared inexpressible;
under which he heard them
scream, cry pitiful, and roar like the
falls of a river. He was
afterwards (said the interpreter) taken
along the right hand way,
which was all interspersed with flowers
of delicious smell, and
showed a house at the end of it where
was everything beautiful,
sweet and pleasant; and still went on
learning more and more;
but in his first vision he saw nothing
but the state of the wicked;
from which the Great Spirit told him to
go and warn his people
224
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
of their danger, and call upon them to
put away their sins, and
be good. Whereupon he began to speak to
them in great dis-
tress, and would weep and tremble, while
addressing them. Some
believed- were greatly alarmed- began to
confess their sins -
forsake them, and set out to be good.
This spread the alarm,
and brought many others from different
tribes to see and hear,
who were affected in like manner. But
some of the chiefs who
were very wicked, would not believe, and
tried to keep the people
from believing, and encouraged them on
in their former wicked
ways. Whereupon the Great Spirit told
him to separate from
these wicked chiefs and their people,
and showed him particularly
where to come, towards the big ford
where the peace was con-
cluded with the Americans; and there
make provision to receive
and instruct all from the different
tribes that were willing to be
good.
Accordingly all that believed had come
and settled there,
and a great many Indians had come to
hear, and many more
were expected. That some white people
were afraid, but they
were foolish; for they would not hurt
any one.
We asked a number of questions:
Q. Do you believe that all mankind are
going away from
the Good Spirit by wicked works?
A. Yes; that is what we believe. And the
prophet feels
great pity for all.
Q. Do you believe that the Great Spirit
once made him-
self known to the world, by a man that
was called Christ?
A. Yes, we believe it, and the Good Spirit
has showed our
prophet what has been in many
generations, and he says he
wants to talk with some white people
about these things.
Q. What sins does your prophet speak now
against?
A. Witchcraft, poisoning people, fighting, murdering,
drinking whisky, and beating their wives
because they will not
have children. All such as will not
leave off there, go to Eternity
-he knows all bad people that commit
fornication, and can tell
it all from seven years old.
Q. What do those do who have been
wicked, when they
believe the prophet?
A. They confess all.
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 225
Q. To whom do they confess?
A. To the prophet and four chiefs.
Q. Do they confess all the bad things
they ever did?
A. All from seven years old. And cry and
tremble when
they come to confess.
Q. How did you learn this? The Roman
Catholics con-
fess their sins.
A. Some Wyandots joined the Roman
Catholics at Detroit,
who now believe in our prophet. Roman
Catholics confess their
sins, but go and do bad again. Our
people forsake their bad
way when they have confessed.
They asked us several questions
concerning our people, and
particularly whether they drank whisky;
and appeared not a
little rejoiced, to learn that there
were some among the whites,
so far reclaimed, as to lay aside the
use of that pernicious liquor.
We inquired how they made out for
provisions. They answered
they had none. So many people came
there-eat up all they
had raised.
The only meal we saw them eat was a
turkey divided among
thirty or forty. And the only relief we
could afford them, was
ten dollars for the purpose of buying
corn.
After the evening conversation closed we
concluded to
return to the village, with George and
several others; and
mounted our horses. It was now in the
dusk of the evening, and
the full moon just rising above the
horizon, when one of their
speakers stood up in an alley, between
the camps, and spoke for
about fifteen minutes, with great
solemnity, which was heightened
at every pause, with a loud Seguoy from
the surrounding as-
sembly. On this occasion our feelings
were like Jacob's when
he cried out, "How dreadful is this
place! Surely the Lord is
in this place!" And the world knew
it not. With these im-
pressions we returned to the village,
and spent the night.
Next morning, as soon as it was day, one
of their speakers
mounted a log, near the southeast corner
of the village, and
began the morning service with a loud
voice, in thanksgiving
o the Great Spirit. He continued his
address for near an hour.
The people were all in their tents, some
at the distance of fifteen
or twenty rods; yet they could all
distinctly hear, and gave a
15-Vol. XI.
226 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
solemn and loud assent, which sounded
from tent to tent, at
every pause. While we stood in his view,
at the end of the
meeting-house, on rising ground, from
which we had a prospect
of the surrounding wigwams, and the vast
open plain or prairie,
to the south and east, and which looks
over the big fort, toward
the north, for the distance of two
miles, we felt as if we were
among the tribes of Israel, on their
march to Canaan. Their
simplicity and unaffected zeal for the
increase of the work of
the Good Spirit-their ardent desires for
the salvation of their
unbelieving kindred, with that of all
mankind-their willingness
to undergo hunger, fatigue, hard labor
and sufferings, for the
sake of those who came to learn the way
of righteousness-
and the high expectations they had, of
multitudes flocking down
to hear the prophet the ensuing summer,
etc., were considera-
tions truly affecting;-while Ske-law-wa
hailed the opening day
with loud aspirations of gratitude to
the Good Spirit; and en-
couraged the obedient followers of
Divine light to persevere.
They showed us several letters of
friendship from the Gov-
ernor of Ohio, Gen. Whiteman and others,
from which they ap-
peared that the Americans believed their
dispositions to be peace-
able and brotherly. Their marks of
industry were considerable,
not only in preparing ground for
cultivation, but also in hewing
and preparing timber for more commodious
buildings. From all
we could gather, from their account of
the work, and of their
faith and practice - what we heard and
felt in their evening and
morning worship - their peaceable
dispositions, and attention to
industry, we were induced to believe
that God, in very deed, was
mightily at work among them. And under
this impression, we
invited three or four of them to come
down and see us, as soon
as they found it convenient."
The stay of the deputation was short,
for on March 27 they
returned. The time actually at
Greenville is no where stated,
but in all probability it was not more
than five days.
To the foregoing account Mr. McNemar
adds the following:
"Near the middle of June upwards of
twenty appeared at
Turtle Creek, encamped in the woods at a
small distance from the
church, and tarried four days. They had
worship every evening
at the encampment; and several on the
Sabbath attended the
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 227
meeting of the Believers, and behaved
with order and de-
corum. During their stay they
conducted with peace and civility,
and received no contrary treatment from
any in the place. And
to relieve, in some degree, the pressing
wants of hungry fama-
lies at home, 27 horses were loaded each
with provisions, from
among the Believers. Yet this act of
charity, however small,
did not long escape the censorious
reflections of some hard-
hearted mortals; but even furnished a
pretext for implications the
most monstrous and unreasonable.
However, in this, as in all
other cases of the kind, those who
busied themselves about what
did not concern them, were much divided
in their opinion. Some
had it, that a number of the Indians had
joined the Shakers, and
many more were coming on. Others, that
an Indian had offered
to confess his sins, but that the
Shakers could not understand
him; and therefore the Indians were
convinced too, that the
Shakers were deceivers. Others tried to
make believe that the
Shakers were encouraging them to war-or
at least to contend
for the land on which they had settled.
And some were foolish
enough to go all the way to the village,
and put on a mask of
hypocrisy, to find out whether this was
not the case. Of all
this trouble, both of mind and body,
such might have been saved,
had they accustomed themselves, at an
earlier period, to believe
those who tell the truth and nothing but
the truth.
About the 12th of August (1807) they
were visited again
by two of the brethren from Turtle
Creek, who found them in
possession of the same peaceable and
brotherly spirit. They had
but little conversation with them, yet
obtained abundant satis-
faction by attending their meeting,
which continued from a little
after dark till the sun was an hour high
the next morning.
The meeting was opened with a lengthy
discourse, delivered
by the prophet; after which they
assembled in a close crowd, and
continued their worship by singing and
shouting, that might have
been heard at least to the distance of
two miles.
Their various songs, and perfect harmony
in singing, shout-
ing, etc., rendered the meeting very
solemn. But all this appeared
far inferior to that solemn fear of God,
hatred of sin, and that
peace, love and harmony which they
manifested among each other,
They needed no invitation to pay another
visit to Turtle Creek,
228
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
nor were they forbidden. Therefore,
pursuant to their own choice,
a number of them appeared again at the
church, August 29th, and
were received with usual kindness and
charity. On this occasion,
some in the neighborhood expressed their
uneasiness lest there
was some mischievous plot carrying on.
But amidst the threats
of the ignorant or misinformed, the
Shawnees testified that they
were wholly for peace, and abundantly
proved it by their meek-
ness, gentleness and forbearance. The
only expression like re-
sentment that I heard from them on the
occasion, was from Nancy,
the interpreter, while a bold advocate
for the New Christian doc-
trine, was boasting how the white people
could cut them off. She
said they were for nothing but peace;
but if white people would
go to war, they would be destroyed by a
day of judgment, that
not one soul would be left on the face
of the earth.
Although these poor Shawnees have had no
particular in-
struction but what they received by the
outpouring of the Spirit,
yet in point of real light and
understanding, as well as behavior,
they shame the Christian world.
Therefore, of that Spirit which
hath wrought so great a change, the
believers at Turtle Creek
are not ashamed; yet they are far from
wishing them to turn to
the right hand or to the left, to form
an external union with them
or any other people. But they are
willing that God should carry
on His work among them without
interruption, as He thinks
proper."
CHURCH RECORD AND THE INDIANS.
The Church Record book, on the Shakers'
relation to the
Indians, is brief and unsatisfactory, as
upon almost every other
point. A fair illustration is afforded
in the fact that the manu-
script record book extending from
January 1, 1805, to April 30,
1861, contains but 480 pages. None of it
is closely written and
innumerable lines are skipped.
Such records as the Church Book gives
are here reproduced:
1807. Mar. 17. "Elder David
D.-B. S. Youngs and
Richard McNemar set out for Greenville,
to pay a visit to the
Shawnee Indians, and witness the
Reported revival of religion
among them: (for an account of which see
pamphlet entitled Ky.
Revival) They return home on 27 of
same."
May 30. "James Patterson and wife
arrive here from Beaulah,
Shaker Mission to the Shawnee
Indians. 229
and in company with them were 21 Indians
and 2 squaws, being a
party of the aforesaid religious
Indians."
"Sab. 31. Part of the Indians attend meeting, and also a great
multitude of spectators. Indians set out
for their homes June
4." "Aug. 10. Issachar Bates
and Richard McNemar set out this
morning to visit the religious Shawnee
Indians."
"29. About 50 Indians arrive here last evening; we are
threatened with being put to the sword's
point, for showing charity
to the poor Indians. This threat is from
one Saml. Trousdale, a
militia officer."
"Sep. 3. Indians return to
Greenville."
CONCLUSION.
The records show that the Shakers
desisted from any real
efforts to promulgate their doctrines
among the Indians. While
they were well received, the evidence
conveys the idea that the
missionaries saw no opening for
instructions after their manner.
On the other hand, all things
considered, they made encouraging
strides among the civilized. Besides
Union Village, permanent
lodgment was effected at North Union,
Watervleit, and White-
water, in Ohio; South Union and Pleasant
Hill, in Kentucky, and
West Union in Indiana. Many additions
and much encourage-
ment were received at Beaver, Eagle
Creek, Straight Creek and
Darby Plains, all of which I presume
were in Ohio. If the same
persistency had been continued by the
later Shakers as was mani-
fested by the original leaders of this
sect would not have been on
the wane as so clearly demonstrated at
this time. Shakerism de-
pends on no large church for its moral
support and increase. It re-
ceives from the world and is its own
magnetic center. At this day
it is wholly wanting in missionary
enterprise. At Union Village
there are but two men under fifty years
of age. The Society has
all the appearance of being doomed to
extinction when the present
members pass away. Still, we do not
know. No man knoweth
what another hour may bring forth.
Franklin, Ohio, February 23, 1902.