Mr. Jones was appointed to supply the vacancy of the School, and entered upon his labours on the 30th of January. In consequence of the lamented death of Mr. Seeley, Mrs. Newton, and Mrs. Montgomery, and the removal of Miss Howell, now Mrs. Fuller, to Union, the Missionaries urgently request, that others, equally qualified for usefulness, may be sent to their assistance. They are particularly in want of females and mechanics. TUSCARORA MISSION. It was mentioned in the last Report, that the Managers had at this station a regularly organized Church, comprising seventeen Indian members; all of whom, with the exception of one female, were walking circumspectly, and adorning their Christian profession. We have now the happiness to record the goodness of God, as signally manifested, during the past year, to our Missionary and his little flock. In the months of April, May, and June, of the last year, a more than ordinary solicitude, in relation to their spiritual concerns, was evinced by many of the people, and especially of the youth. Their meetings for religious improvement became more frequent, and better attended; and at all their public exercises, whether stated or special, an unusual solemnity pervaded the assembly. Several of the youth were brought under a deep conviction of their sinful state, and of the necessity of a personal interest in the Redeemer. Of the number, two young women, having given satisfactory evidence of a work of Grace in their hearts, were baptized, and admitted to the communion of the Church on the 10th of June. Three young men and one woman, sensible of their sinfulness, and anxious to obtain an interest in Christ, were also placed, at their own request, under the special care of the Church, that they might receive regu lar instruction, and be encouraged to persevere. In the course of the summer, the general attention to religious subjects appeared in some measure to subside. In the month of November it was unexpectedly renewed. Four of the most thoughtless and dissolute young men in the Tribe were suddenly arrested in their wayward course, and brought under deep and pungent conviction. The effect upon the Church and Congregation was instant and powerful. Prayer-meetings and conferences were again thronged, and an aspect of thoughtfulness and solemnity was impressed upon almost every countenance in the village. Early in January, another youth, a companion of the former, yielded to the power of Divine Grace, and became an anxious inquirer after the truth. On the first Sabbath of February, four of these youth were admitted to the sealing ordinances of the Church. The fifth had been summoned to the eternal world; but he had left behind him satisfactory evidence of having been prepared for his great and last change. On the same Sabbath, the suspended member, who had given strong and satisfactory manifestations of her penitence, was restored to the immunities of the Church. While the Managers were rejoicing in the blessings which had been bestowed upon their Indian Church, they received the unwelcome tidings that one of its aged members, the pious and venerable WILLIAM HENRY had been removed by death. A letter, of the 6th of April, announces four additional deaths in the tribe, and a number of cases of dangerous sickness. The appointment of Miss ELIZABETH L. BROWN, as an additional Teacher for the Tuscarora Station, was mentioned in the last Report. Miss Brown arrived at the Mission-house, and entered upon the duties of her office in the month of June. In addition to her daily School for children, she has occupied a part of two days in the week, in teaching the women in sewing, knitting, spinning, and other branches of household economy. A number have attended, and have already received benefit from her instruction. In the course of the last year, Mr. Crane removed from the Missionary farm to the centre of the Indian Village, where he had erected a comfortable frame building for the accommodation of his family, and of the School. The ground which he now occupies, comprising about four acres, was presented by the Tribe; and the expense of the house, exclusive of the labour which he bestowed upon it himself, was defrayed by the liberality of his personal friends, and of other friends of the Mission, without drawing upon the funds of the Society. More than one hundred dollars were raised by a benevolent female, whose name and residence are not disclosed to the Board, and upwards of eighty dollars, by the Rev. J. Patterson, of Philadelphia. Mr. Crane's removal to the Village was an object which he had long been solicitous to accomplish, and which the Managers were induced to authorize, under the impression, that His residence there would greatly facilitate his labours, and promote his usefulness among the people of his charge. The correctness of this view of the subject, the result has already evinced. Early in the last spring, preparations were made by the people of Tuscarora, for the erection of a new Church. In the course of the season, the building was raised, covered, glazed, and floored; and the plastering and permanent seats will probably be added, and the Church finished, in the ensuing summer. It affords much satisfaction to the Board, that this people, in addition to the moral and religious improvement already mentioned, are progressively acquiring the good order, industry, and thriftiness of civilized life. Should they continue to be united among themselves, and pay a suitable regard to the counsel of their present faithful Pastor, there is no reason to doubt, that they will soon become, under the ordinary blessings of Providence, as prosperous and happy a Congregation, as can be found in any Village of white people; and furnish a noble example of the effect which civilization and christianity are calculated to produce upon the conduct, character, and destiny, of the red men of our country. SENECA MISSION. Miss VAN PATTEN and Miss REEVE, whose appointment was mentioned in our last Report, arrived at this Station in the month of June. This accession to the Mission gave much satisfaction, not only to Mr. Young and his family, but also to the Nation for whose benefit it is their happiness to labour. As the Board has pledged themselves to send to this Station two female Teachers, and a Minister of the Gospel, it became necessary to enlarge the Mission-house. Mr. Young was, therefore authorized to add to his establishment a two story frame building, thirty-two feet in length. The building was finished in December. The Managers, early in September, received a tender of services, as a Missionary for the Seneca Station, from Mr. THOMSON S. HARRIS, a licentiate of the Presbytery of New-Brunswick, who had just finished his professional education at the Theological Seminary at Princeton. The application was accompanied with the most satisfactory recommendations; and at a meeting of the Board on the 10th of that month, Mr. Harris was unanimously appointed. He was requested to apply for ordination to the Presbytery with which he was connected, and to prepare himself for his journey with as little delay as practicable. Having completed his preparations, and arrived in this city, he attended a special Meeting of the Board, on Friday, the 19th of October, and received his letter of Instructions, a Talk to the Indian Chiefs, and other necessary documents. On the following Tuesday, he and his wife took their departure for the field of their Missionary labours. They arrived in safety at the Seneca Mission-house, after a pleasant journey of six days, and were cordially welcomed by the family, and by the Chiefs of the Tribe. Mr. Harris, in his jourual, gives the following account of the manner in which he and his documents were received by the Chiefs. [See 2d. Vol. Am. Miss. Register, p. 278.] In addition to his public labours, the Missionary has sought repeated opportunities for private conversation with the Chiefs and others, some of whom appear to be impressed with the importance of religion to their present and eternal welfare. The following, among other conferences of the same interesting character, is recorded in the Journal:-[See A. M R. p. 280.] By the following extract from the Journal, it appears, that the spirit of friendly and convivial intercourse on the first day of the year, so prevalent in this city and other parts of the state, has found its way to the Seneca Tribe. Should it always be conducted in the manner here described, there is reason to hope that its influence may prove beneficial to the nation:-[See A. M. R. p. 358.] A singular ceremony has lately been introduced among the Seneca Indians, in relation to the naming of their children. The following account of it is copied from the Journal:-[See A. M. R. p. 260.] Some of the Chiefs have expressed to their Minister a strong desire, that he would proceed at once to organize a Church, and admit to its communion some of their young people, whom they consider as pious, and entitled to the privilege. Mr. Harris thought proper to defer it for the present, and managed the matter with so much discretion and tenderness, that he not only avoided giving offence to the Chiefs, but obtained their entire satisfaction. The Managers cannot but view the present situation of this Mission, as peculiarly interesting and auspicious. They have been gratified with the spirit of inquiry which has happily been awakened, and the ardent desire so frequently manifested by the Chiefs, for the spiritual welfare of their people; and they cherish the hope, that the day is not distant, when their Missionary and his Associates, under the influence of the Spirit of Grace, shall reap the fruits of their fidelity and their toil. MISSION AT CATARAUGUS. The Board have the pleasure to announce the recent appointment of a Mission for the Indians residing on the Cataraugus Reservation, in this State. This Reservation is situated on the shore of Lake Erie, about thirty miles southwest of Buffalo. It comprises about 26,000 acres of land, and nearly 700 souls. To this promising field of labour, your managers have been directed by circumstances which strongly mark the overruling Providence of God. In the month of October, the Board received a Talk, signed by seventeen of the Seneca Chiefs, stating that their Brethren on the Tonewanta Reservation were desirous that Christian Teachers should be sent to their village; and adding that a house, for the temporary accommodation of a school, was already prepared. The Board took the subject under consideration, and determined to Occupy the ground thus presented to their view. This determination was communicated to the Chiefs at Seneca on the 8th of November. They expressed the highest gratification that the Board had so readily acceded to their request. The same feelings were also manifested by Little Beard, the principal Chief of Tonewanta, in an interview with Mr. Harris, on the 10th of December. In the mean time, measures were taken by the Managers to procure a Teach er duly qualified for the Station It was not, however, until nearly the close of January, that they were able to succeed in their efforts. On the 28th of that month, they received and accepted a tender of services from Mr. WILLIAM A. THAYER, an experienced Teacher of this city, who had long been desirous of devoting himself and his family to a Missionary life. Mr Thayer had relinquished his school, and was making the necessary preparations for his journey, when the unpleasant information was received, that the people of Tonewanta had agreed to accept a Teacher from another Society, and that the Seneca Chiefs had reluctantly yielded their assent to the arrangement. This intelligence was soon followed by a communication of a more cheering character. The Seneca Chiefs, on further reflection, were greatly dissatisfied with the course pursued by their brethren of Tonewanta. They felt unwilling that the efforts of the Board, and the preparations of the Teacher should thus be defeated; and a deputation of three of their leading men waited on their Minister to express their feelings on the subject. They rejoiced that so good a Teacher had been found, and they hoped the Board would still hold him fast." They thought that an opening for his services might soon be made on the Cataraugus Reservation. The Christian party in that village had been anxious for the instruction of their children. In the course of the last summer, they began to prepare timber for the erection of a school-house, but the opposition of the pagan party had caused a temporary suspension of the work. They suggested, that, under the blessing of the Good Spirit, the opposition might now be surmounted; and that the disappointment of the teacher in relation to Tone wanta, might be over. ruled for the benefit of their more numerous brethren at Cataraugus. They promised to send messengers to that place, who should explain the whole matter, and request that a Council might be called to take the subject under serious consideration. The promise of the Chiefs was promptly fulfilled. The explanations, made by the messengers, were kindly received. After two or three preparatory Councils, it was agreed, that the subject should be submitted to a general Council, comprising the Chiefs of the Cataraugus, Buffalo, and Allegany Reservations, which should convene at Cataraugus on the 27th of February, and at which the presence of Mr. Harris should be particularly requested. The general Council was held, according to appointment; and the interesting circumstances with which it was attended, together with its propitious result, are communicated in Mr. Harris's journal. as follows: “Tuesday, March 5th.—I have just returned from attending a joint Council at Cataraugus. I started on Wednesday last, in company with two of the principal Chiefs from this place, expecting to return on Friday; but events of so very pleasing and portentous a nature have occurred during the Council, in relation to the future spiritual welfare of this people, that I could not return sooner, without violating both my own feelings and theirs, "The Christian party met for Coun. cil, on Thursday, at the house of the Chief Warrior; but the Chiefs from Allegany not arriving as soon as was expected, they did not meet with the Pagan party until the following day. As they were not ready for Council, I excused myself to the Chiefs, and rode about six miles, to preach in a destitute settlement adjoining the Reservation. "On my return the next day, I found the Chiefs from Allegany, Buffalo, and Cataraugus, all waiting for the other party to commence business. Owing to the tardiness with which they proceeded, I had an opportunity of en gaging in some very interesting conversation. After the customary salutations, I was made acquainted with the plan which they proposed to adopt in the general Council. They said, among other things, that, in their struggles with the opposite party, they had much of derision and insult to bear; and, although their minds were strongly fixed, 46 even as the mind of one man," in their adherence to the Gospel and its precious privileges, still they found themselves surrounded with such an overwhelming majority as sometimes almost to induce them to consider their cause as desperate. They had, therefore, requested their brothers at Buffalo, together with the Minister, to be present at the Council: As we had all safely arrived, we were bound to thank the Great Spirit for our kind and merciful preservation. They also said, that, since the minister had been so good as to hear their cry, and come to their assistance, they should request him, when met in Council with the opposition party, to read the following documents: "1st, A statement from the Attorney-General, contradicting a report which had been issued by their enemies; the purport of which was, that this officer had publicly said, that' all Indians who should receive the Gospel, and adopt the customs of white men, would, in a short time, be compelled to pay taxes, and become amenable to all the laws of the land.' The effect of this intelligence on a number of persons, was such as to induce them to desert the Christian cause for Pagan superstition. This certificate, they wisely judged of so much importance, as to stand first on the docket, in order to reclaim their brethren, and to convince the people that they were imposed on by a set of unprincipled men. 2dly, They wished the Minister to read from the good book, in the presence of their opponents, such a part of the Gospel as he should think best calculated to acquaint them with its true nature. This,' they said, 'would be likely to prick them so in their hearts as to make them cautious how they trifled with these solemn things.' 3dly, Next to this, they requested that I would read the Circular of the Government, thereby testifying that the voice of their Great Father, the President, was with the Ministers in their attempts to christianize and civilize bis red children. "4thly, And, finally, they wished me to read the covenant which had been ratified between their brethren of Buffalo and the good Society at NewYork. "Their wishes, in all these, were realized, excepting the reading of the covenant, for which there was no time, as the Pagans were so tardy in meeting. I read to the Council, which consisted of about three hundred persons, the 19th, 20th, and 21st chapters of St. John's Gospel, as exhibiting the Saviour's death and sufferings, in the most simple language. It is not for us to say, that the prediction of the Chiefs was not fulfilled. One would suppose, judging merely from the eagerness with which they swallowed this touching passage of Scripture, and the perfect silence which was observed throughout the whole assembly, which was before a scene of great confusion, that it could not be otherwise than that there were some who were pricked in their hearts.' "A te: Council, one of the principal Chiefs came to me, leading a young man, and said, ' Brother, you are now in the midst of your Indian brothers, so far from white settlements, that it is in vain for you to think of going to lodge with them. You will go with this man. He will take good care of your horse, and furnish you with a good bed to rest on; and he is able to give you a good supper.' I thanked him for his offer; and said, I should |