and the water was falling fast, through a hole in the tent, upon my face. By a little movement of the head, it fell directly into my mouth; and never did water taste so sweet to me before. This merciful Providence supplied us all with what we would drink, and enabled us to pursue our journey with vigour in the morning.

Seneca Mission- House, 11th Oct. 1821. FATHERS AND Brothers,

THIS day being met in council on business that concerns the future welfare of ourselves and our children, we address you:

Brothers,-We informed you that our brothers of the same language, on the Tonawonta Reservation have sent to us to ask our advice respecting a schoolmaster.

Brothers,-Two'years since, this spring, our brothers of Tonawonta, and on all the other Seneca Reservations who were in favour of the gospel, agreed with us, to be of one mind, in following after the gospel and civilization, and to receive, as far as might be, assistance from Christians of one denomination. Brothers,-Our Tonawonta brethren Nov. 1821.

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have been for some time past, anxious to receive a schoolmaster. They thought to have put up a house last spring for a school; but, being opposed by the paAt the general gans, they desisted. council this fall, at our fire-place, after much severe debating, it was solemnly agreed, in full council, in presence of the agent, captain Parrish, that each party should pursue, unmolested, their own way: now, our brothers at Tonawonta being free, and anxious to receive a teacher among them, such as may be for the good of themselves and all the Senecas, have sent to us for advice. The Christian people of the Baptist denomination have, for some time past, offered to give them instruction on the Sabbath, and they propose to send them a schoolmaster; but, for want of light, they are ignorant what course to take: they do not wish to do that which may not be right, and for the good of all the Senecas. Our voice is one. We dare not give them advice that may not be for the good of all the Senecas, and their children hereafter.

Brothers,-We dare not, (when we reflect on our agreement two years ago,) advise them to do, what may perhaps divide us and our children hereafter in seeking the good way.--We need your advice in this matter-we earnestly entreat it, and this is the object of our present talk to you. Now we have thought that our good Christian friends, to whom we all at first covenanted to look, should be consulted first, and that they should advise us in this important matter, and if they can send us a schoolmaster and other teachers for our To

nawonta brothers, they should be consulted first. On this matter, we feel very anxious; we have been so long distracted and divided, we should be glad if our Fathers, the Board, from whom we expect much, could do something to assist us in this important case. On this we add no more. You know our feelings-and our wants you know better than we do ourselves. Our Tonawonta brethren are looking to us, and we are looking to you, and hope we shall not look in vain. We would venture one opinion that if all the interpreters, schoolmasters, and ministers of the Senecas were of one mind, and employed by one body, we might have more peace and prosperity. We shall not return any answer to our Tonawonta brethren until we receive an answer from you. Could the Board send on a Schoolmaster to them this winter, they have a house engaged for the accommodation of a school, and they are destitute of instruction on the Sabbath.

Brothers, We received your last letter respecting the minister coming on soon, and we are looking for him hourly.

Expecting an answer from you soon We remain

Your Friends and Brothers. Signed by Young King, and sixteen other Chiefs.

Great Indian Council.

The result of a general Council, (held at the Seneca Reservation in the last week of September,) so far as relates to the contention between the Christian and Pagan parties, is mentioned in the communication above. For the following brief outline of two of the speeches delivered on the occasion, we are indebted to the postscript of a letter from Mr. Hyde, of Buffalo, to a gentleman in this city :

September 27-As I have not lodged my letter in the Post Office, I break the seal to give you some account of the Council now sitting in the Indian village near Buffalo. It is said, that there

are nearly 400 Indians present. The subject of the Christian religion has been, and still is, debated with much warmth. I will sketch a faint outline of two speeches made yesterday and the day before, that you may see a little how they reason on both sides.

The day before yesterday, Strong, of Cattaraugus, made a speech of several hours, abounding with ingenuity and eloquence, and containing a narrative of many facts. Among other things, he endeavoured to show, that the white men, from the time of their first settlement in this country, had been pursuing a course inimical to the Indians, and tending to their ruin. He contended, that all the pretended plans for their benefit were only covered schemes to divide, distract, and destroy them. He also urged, that it was not the design of the Great Spirit that Indians should adopt the manners, or learn the religion, of white men. This, he said, was evident from the fact, that the attempt had not, in one instance, been prospered. Not one youth who had been educated, had turned out other than a vagabond, and a scourge to his people. Not one tribe which had listened to the instructions of white men, but was more debased, than those which had not been taught. He remarked, with much severity, on the conduct of the Christian party at Allegany, in drawing up a petition, soliciting the interference of the President of the United States in putting down all who would not relinquish paganism, and embrace the habits and the religion of the Christian.* He earnestly admonished the Christian party to abandon their ruinous course, and to return to the people and the God of their Fathers; and concluded with the fearful prediction, that, if they would not thus return, their village would become the seat of desolation and of slaughter.

* Such a petition was prepared by the Christian party at Allegany, and brought to the Council for the approbation of the Christian Chiefs at Seneca. The petition, however, was arrested by the latter, who manifested, that, in their contest with the pagan party, the weapons of their wa fare were not carnal.

Yesterday Billy and Robison, of Buffalo, rose in reply. Robison, in the course of his speech, spoke substantially as follows:

We are told, that the whole conduct of the white men toward the Indians has been a course of enmity, designed for our destruction. In many things, I cannot discover enmity to the Indians, nor planning their destruction, in the conduct of white men. If this is the fact, they take a very strange and expensive way to effect it, which I, a poor blind man, cannot see through.

The four thousand five hundred dollars, which we are now met to receive, is a free gift from the Government. It never cost us a cent. It is given to clothe our naked and destitute. It may be, that the Government is planning the destruction of the Indians, in this; but I am such a poor blind man, I cannot see it.

At the beginning of the war which separated this country from Great Britain. the United States counselled the

Six Nations to sit still, and not to meddle in a quarrel which they knew ncthing about. They would only get broken heads if they meddled with it. This may have been bad advice. Our fathers and grandfathers thought it bad advice, and took up the hatchet. Our king was conquered, and we with him. Our king skulked out, and left us to settle a peace as we could. He thought we were not only conquered, but had lost our lands; and he gave us land in Canada to flee to. But the United States said, "Sit still on your lands. We will be your friends." It may be that in all this the United States were planning the destruction of the Indians, and, through my blindness, I cannot see it.

Of late years, the Government of the United States is giving ten thousand dollars a year, and Missionary Societies are bestowing much money and labour, to enlighten Indians, and to teach them good things. It may be, that all this is to undermine and root out the Indians; but I must say, I am so blind, I cannot see it.

(Sierra Leone.)

Mr. Morgan's Testimony to the Churacter of the Christian Negroes. Of his means of knowing their condition, Mr. Morgan says:

No day passed, when I was capable of taking exercise, without my entering some of the huts around us. Visiting unexpectedly, as I often did, the families of all classes of the Communicants, I could not be deceived as to their actual condition.

From Mr. Morgan's statements we select some testimonies to the Piety, Integrity, Industry, and Docility, of the Christian Negroes.

Of their PIETY, Mr. Morgan says

Scarcely an event occurs but what they notice as springing from the overruling providence of God. Taught of God, they mark the painful events of His Providence, as children would mark the dealings of a father. After the death of Mr. Cates, I have frequently heard their expressions of sorrow for sin, and acknowledgments of God's justice in punishing them. They have used such language as this:-"We have done something very bad-God is very angry: He is removing all our teachers-by and bye nobody will be left to tell us good. We must pray, my dear brothers

and sisters: we must look into our own hearts-some bad live there." Similar

occurrences in England would have passed, perhaps, unheeded by the greater part of professing Christians.

I was struck, during a fire which broke out in our house, with the sudden disappearance of the women, who, at the commencement, almost filled the house. On inquiry, I found that they had retired to the church, to offer up their prayers unto God. What but a Divine influence could draw them to God in this trial, to ask His blessing on the exertions of those employed?

The Christian Negroes show a strong attachment to the simplest views of religion. I began some explanation, as plain as possible, in successive evenings, of the Lord's Prayer. It pleased God graciously to bless these words to the people. They made the most practical use of them. A display of an unholy femper would receive a reproof-" If God your Father, that no be like his child." Some said that they needed, indeed, such a father-others, such daily bread. Some thought God could not be their father, because they did not feel sufficient desires that His Kingdom should come among their country-people; and others felt that they were rebellious children, for not doing His will on earth more, as it was done in Heaven. Some wept, to think how He delivered them from temptation and evil and all, I believe, burned with love, to ascribe to Him the Kingdom of His Love, the power of His Spirit, and the glory of their salvation. I was obliged, by the pressing requests of the people, to repeat these explanations four or five times; and resolved in future to know nothing and to speak of nothing among the Negroes, but the plainest words of the Redeemer. How much better calculated His language is than any other to reach the heart, may be judged of by this instance, out of

In the anxiety to save as much as possible, almost every article was removed. In the confusion, many things were scattered about the yard : not one article, however, even the most trifling, was lost; but all were brought again to the house, and fixed in their proper places. A boy, who had got possession of the box which contained the money for paying the mechanics and labourers, was found in the garden; parading with the box under his arm, and guarding it, though unnecessarily, with a drawn cutlass in his hand.

The INDUSTRY of these Christian Negroes is thus attested by Mr. Morgan:

Many of the gardens are kept in very neat order, though most of the owners have but little leisure to devote to this employment. I have frequently known the whole of the time allowed for dinner, spent, by both husband and wife, in fencing, digging, or planting the little spot of ground attached to each dwelling.

Decency and cleanliness manifest the diligence of those who live under the power of religion. Their time is, indeed, so well occupied, that, in cases where they can read, they may be frequently seen, at leisure moments, with some friends around them, searching the Word of Life: and these little respites from labour are often made a blessing to the whole town; as the sick, the careless, the backsliding, and the profane, are not seldom visited, instructed, warned, comforted, and relieved, at these seasons, by their zealous brethren.

Of the DOCILITY of the pious Negroes, Mr. Morgan gives the following striking instance :

On the disbanding of the West-India regiments sent to the colony for that purpose, a natural degree of affectionate feeling was excited in the breasts of the Negroes to see them. These regiments had been, several years before, formed of liberated Negroes: and many