Being assembled, Zeisberger witnessed an evangelical testimony to the truth, before them, which made such an impression upon them, that they passed the resolution in their great council, to request the brethren to send a stated preacher among them. With this petition Zeisberger returned to Friedenshûtten.

The expectation being thus raised, that something might be effected in the Saviour's cause in this part of the country, the Directors at Bethlehem resolved, that the brethren, Zeisberger and Gottlob Senseman, together with some Indian families, should move from Friedenshûtten to Goshgoshûnk, in order to begin a missionary establishment there. In pursuance of this resolution, the two above mentioned brethren entered upon the journey in April, 1768, and the brethren Ettwein, Heckwelder and a third anonymous person travelled in their company, and partly for their assistance, to Wajomick, where the Indian families were to join them. This company were in great danger of losing their lives, together with their landlord, in a shocking manner, the first night of their stay at Wajomick. This event is related by the afore-mentioned brother Heck welder,* as follows:-" The only white man at Wajomick, a trader by the name of Ogden, entertained us hospitably, and did what he could to make our stay with him as agreeable as possible, particularly so, as the Indians who were expected from Friedenshûtten had not yet arrived. The dwelling of this man consisted of two small buildings adjoining each other. In the one his goods were stored for sale; in the other several kegs of powder were deposited. He slept in the storeroom, from which a door opened into the powder magazine; another opened into it from the outside. A change of weather threatening to come on, he prepared a couch of dry straw, or hay, for us in his powder magazine, requesting us, in the most friendly terms, on no account to smoke tobacco in the apartment, not only because some grains of powder might lie scattered upon the floor, but chiefly because some of the kegs were opened. It being bed time, Mr. Ogden placed a lighted candle in his store, in such a direction that it could throw sufficient light through the middle door, left open for that purpose, till we should have retired to rest. The above-mentioned anonymous person, however, wished to have the candle placed nearer to him, in order to inspect and bind up his lacerated feet. The landlord, and the rest of us, represented to him the danger to which he would expose himself and us; but he ceased not to plead for it, promising neither to bring the candle in contact with the straw nor to blow it out, but to leave it standing on the doorsill, and then to extinguish it on the outside of the house.

Mr.

*Rev. John Heckwelder, of Bethlehem, who has published "A Narrative of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Delaware and Mohigan Indians, &c." to which is prefixed a striking likeness of the venerable missionary David Zeisberger, and to whom the Translator is indebted for the greater part of this biography.

Ogden at last gave way to his request, and then shut the middle. door. We now lay down, after having once more earnestly charged this brother to be careful with the light. We soon fell asleep, and he too was overpowered by sleep, before he had extinguished the light.

Next morning brother Zeisberger awaked me, and took me alone with him into the woods. He there drew the candle out of his pocket, and imparted to me, in confidence, what he would reveal to no soul besides, saying-'If in the preceding night we had not had an invisible watchman with us, we should all have been blown to atoms, and no soul could have known how it happened! I was fast asleep, for I was tired, and in my first doze: suddenly I felt a shock, as though somebody was forcibly rousing me. I jumped up, and lo! the candle was burnt down on one side, and just on the point of dropping in a blaze on the straw. To prevent which accident there was but one moment left. From that instant I could sleep no longer; for one chill after the other thrilled through my veins! Thanks be to our Lord for this extraordinary preservation of our lives!""

Although their journey lasted almost 5 weeks, still it terminated successfully. At Goshgoshûnk the new comers were received with almost universal joy. Zeisberger preached often, instituted daily morning and evening worship, and sang such hymns with them as had been translated into the Delaware language, and were a novelty to his hearers there. Soon, however, a spirit inimical to the gospel, began to manifest itself among some of them; and the brethren at that time (according to their expression) felt as though they had to breathe a dense and oppressive air; for they saw themselves surrounded by men who obviously plotted their ruin. One evening they had a very unwelcome visit frem some savages, whom a murderous spirit had propelled thither, but who yet did not venture to execute their evil design. The brethren would not quit their post on account of these commotions; nor did they discontinue the preaching of the gospel: Zeisberger, in particular, remained resolutely determined boldly to preach the word of life, notwithstanding the excessive rage of the enemy, and leave the preservation of his life to that Lord whose servant he was.

In October of the same year, (1768) he took a journey of three weeks with brother Senseman to Zoneshio, to the hostile Seneca chief, in order to give him and his council a correct idea concerning their living, and their labours among the Indians on the Ohio. But the council at Zoneshio only replying to the message, and the hostile chief, upon whose verdict in this case the business mostly depended, not being at home, the affair was still left undecided, and the journey of the brethren, connected with so many hardships, proved fruitless.

In 1769 the powers of darkness rose up against them with re

newed rage, and, notwithstanding their own, and the national assistants remonstrances, the traffic in rum and other distilled liquors, ruinous in a high degree to the morals of the Indians, was declared to be lawful. The brethren and the Christian Indians regarded this as an intimation from the Lord, that they should no longer reside there, and began to build boats for their departure. But while they were thus engaged, a Seneca chief, with two others, came to Goshgoshûnk, and forbid the missionary, in the most positive terms, by a black string of wampum, (which always has an evil signification) to decamp, till he should receive further injunctions from Onondago. But Zeisberger awarded this unreasonable demand with great frankness, and boldly declared that the Christian Indians would not suffer themselves to be detained at Goshgoshûnk, but would remove to the other side of the Ohio. This accordingly, took place soon after. The brethren there selected a suitable though dreary spot, where they built a town in which they might preach the gospel unmolested, and live secluded, with the believing Indians and others who would forsake paganism. Their testimony concerning Jesus, proved effectual in this place, but as for the necessaries of life, the inhabitants of Lawunakhannek (the name of the place,) had for a time to labour under the most trying difficulties. They lived yet in expectation of reaping their first crop from their new plantation, and their old corn was almost unfit for use. At last this also failed them, and not even for money could they purchase any in the surrounding country. The brethren Zeisberger and Senseman, therefore, went with several Indians to Pittsburg, and were fortunate enough to procure a supply there. Here it was that Zeisberger had an opportunity of rendering an important service to the whole country, by advising the British government at Pittsburg to appoint an agent for the Indians, who should hear their complaints against the white people, see the grievances of the latter against the Indians redressed, and have all differences amicably adjusted. This advice was thankfully accepted at Pittsburg; government acted up to it, and it had the desired effect. On his way home, Zeisberger made it his business to admonish the inhabitants of the different Indian villages to maintain the peace; and God blessed his endeavours in such a manner, that the principal chiefs of these towns sent delegates to Pittsburg, who manifested their good intentions to the English government.

In 1770 the Indian congregation were so much harassed at their new place, by the frequent visits of warriors, that they were compelled to resolve upon another pilgrimage. They sailed up the Ohio past Pittsburg to the mouth of Beaver Creek, which empties into the former, and after a perilous voyage, of a fortnight's duration, they reached a spot apparently chosen for their purpose. The town which they laid out there was called Friedenstadt.

In 1771 Zeisberger was called to Bethlehem, that he might have an interview with the brethren, Christian Gregor and John Loretz, who had been deputed from Europe by the Directors of the Brethren's Unity, on a visitation to the society's congregations in North America, in order to confer with them on the existing state of the mission, and to take their advice about various concerns. At that time there were three missionary stations among the Indians; two of them, however, were exposed to disturbances from the white people, and the third, where Zeisberger laboured, to the baneful influence of the savages. These circumstances occasioned a removal of all the Indian congregations from the different places where they had hitherto resided, to the river Muskingum, whither they had been invited to come by the chiefs living thereabout. Accordingly, in the spring of 1772, Zeisberger began the building of Schonbrunn, on the Muskingum, with several Indian families. He exerted himself to such a degree, while labouring at this wild uncultivated spot, that he felt very much indisposed for a considerable time, the more so from having suffered already many hardships on the journey thither. On his recovery he paid a visit to the Shawanese in those parts, and it seemed as though the preaching of the gospel would take effect with numbers of them. He therefore repeated the visit in the year following; but at this time their ears were not open to the message.

During the great revival which took place in 1774 at Schônbrunn, as well as at Gnadenhûtten, the second missionary establishment on the Muskingum, our late brother was fully engaged. His heart leaped for joy when he was an eye witness to the powerful effect which the word preached by himself and his fellow-labourers had upon the hearts of the hearers. No strange Indian came into the town (and almost daily one or more were there on a visit,) but heard the gospel; numbers did not as much as leave the place again, but immediately asked permission to remain a spark had fallen into the hearts of others, which afterwards brought them thither likewise. These happy times he ever after had in grateful remembrance. When, in later years he would grieve about the state of the Indian congregation, it was still his comfort that our Saviour might, in his own due time, cause a fresh revival to take place, and he trusted also that such a thing would happen. During the period of this gracious visitation, he was diligent in translating a number of hymns from the brethrens' hymn book, revised those, in part, that had been translated, and besides composed a school book for children.

At the building of Lichtenau, the third missionary establishment on the Muskingum, in 1776, which was chiefly undertaken at the desire of Netawatwees, a Delaware chief, he was likewise busily engaged, and our Saviour did not suffer his expectations of seeing another revival among the Indians at this place, to be

frustrated. In the same year, however, the Indian congregation was involved in very critical circumstances, during the progress of the revolutionary war, in which most of the Indian nations took an active part. A melancholy schism arose at Schônbrunn, which induced the faithful part of the congregation to move from thence to Gnadenhûtten and Lichtenau. The year following the prospects wore a still more dismal aspect-the total subversion of the missionary cause appeared unavoidable; but none could decide which was most to be dreaded, the white people or the savage Indians.

When, in April 1778, (says brother Heckwelder,) after a considerable lapse of time, I saw brother Zeisberger again at Lichtenau, it immediately struck me that he must be in great trouble; indeed his bodily constitution appeared quite worn out with grief and care. About this time a large sealed letter had been handed to him by a Wyondat Indian, signed by the governor of Detroit. It contained a positive injunction, with formidable threats annexed to it, to wit: "The teachers of the Christian Indians shall, without delay, go on an expedi tion with us against the rebels on the other side of the Ohio, kill them and deliver up their scalps." The menace sounded just as terrible as the order itself. "There we have their seal and signature for it," said brother Zeisberger, "that they are determined to destroy the mission, and whenever I think of it I feel as though I should die." The injunction was left unheeded, and the threat was never executed; but still we lived in great anxiety, and the indications were plain, that the British, several times, contemplated the suspension or the death of the mission

aries.

In 1779 he removed, with a part of the congregation, which for a time had lived together at Lichtenau, into the neighbourhood of Schônbrunn, where a new town was built. Acting at the same time the part of an overseer and that of a workman, ne undertook the task with delight, and never was he heard to complain of having too much work to do. At the same time the inhabitants of Gnadenhûtten returned again, and an agreeable intercourse was kept up between the three stations. Zeisberger being once on the point of returning from Lichtenau, whither he had been on a visit, to Schônbrunn, a faithful friend from Sandusky brought him the intelligence that a party of murderers had been deputed by the governor of Detroit, and were already in the vicinity, being commissioned to take the missionary either alive or bring away his scalp. They therefore tried all in their power to prevail on him to stay at Lichtenau-the more so, as he had but one Indian to accompany him. But he calmly replied, My destiny is in the hand of God; how often already has Satan attempted to cast me down; but he is not permitted to effect his purpose. I go!" Seeing him so resolute, they determined that a

66