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Brothers! you will perceive by the letter which has just been read to you, that we are a deputation from the Society of Friends to visit you and take you by the hand in their behalf; and for the purpose of examining into your situation and consulting with you upon the best means of being useful to you. "Brothers! your brethren the society of Friends who hold their general council at Baltimore, and those who reside in the state of Ohio, are united together as the same people ;and you will consider whatever we say to you as coming from both.

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"Brothers! your brothers have long viewed with sincere compassion the continued and rapid decrease of their red brethren; and they have been fully eonvinced, that the mode of life which you and your fathers have pursued must, if continued in, perpetuate your sufferings, and finally lead to your total extermination in this country.

Brothers! We are firmly convinced that nothing can save you from this destruction but an entire change in your manner of living, and a steady and industrious attention to your farins.

"Brothers! We fully believe that the Great and Good Spirit is the common Father of all the people upon this great island, and indeed upon the whole earth; and that He views with disapprobation every disposition in the minds of his children to do each other harm: He is constantly disposed to do them good, and He approves of every effort which they use to do each

other good. It is this opinion which has led your brothers from their homes and families to visit you at this time, with a view of endeavouring to communicate to you the knowledge which the Great Spirit has given to them, and which they have found so beneficial."

"Brothers! We have been very much gratified to find as we passed through your village, that you have so considerable a quantity of corn planted, and that it has been carefully cultivated and kept clean :— :-For your encouragement we can inform you that your crops generally look as well as any of your white neighbours-and your gar dens are also as promising as any we have met with amongst the white people on the fron tiers.

"Brothers! We are but few in number, and our means of assisting you, in changing your mode of living, are not extensive. The utmost we can do for you, after we shall have completed the mill now erecting, will be to put into your hands the tools and implements of husbandry which will be necessary to enable you to culti vate your lands, and keep a person at your village for the purpose of instructing you in the use of these implements. You will of course at once perceive, that all our good disposition to assist you cannot be extensively useful to you unless you fully determine to take fast hold of the tools which we offer you, and with steady and persevering industry direct yourselves to the cultivation of your lands.

"Brothers! It is therefore

for yourselves to decide whether or not our exertions will be useful to you.

"Brothers! We cannot conelude without reminding you of the advice we gave you some years ago, to beware of the use of spirituous liquors this poison has destroyed thousands of our red brethren, and it has also carried many thousands of the white people to destruction, and never fails to overwhelm with ruin and misery all those who become slaves to the use of it, unless they totally withdraw from it. To this subject we therefore entreat your particular attention, because we are fully convinced that no efforts of ours, nor good intentions on your part, can be useful to you, whilst you indulge yourselves in the use of it: we shall therefore expect you to banish this destructive article from your town, and shall rejoice when we hear that you have determin ed to do it."

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We have given the substance of the speech to the Indians, and shall now give the substance of the answer of Black Hoof in behalf of all the chiefs.

"Brothers! Your communication shall have our most serious consideration: we know it contains the truth. The same things have been told us before by good people.

Brothers! We know very well that what you have said is intended for our good; but there are some of our people who seem as if they have no ears to hear, nor hearts to understand: but as our friends have not yet given us up, we will make a nother effort to convince these ;

for we clearly see that what you propose to us is for our benefit.

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"Brothers! We believe with you that the Great Spirit has made all men, both white and red; and we return our thanks Him for preserving you through your journey, and bringing you safe amongst us, and for giving us once more the satisfaction of seeing our friends the Quakers of Baltimore, and taking you by the hand, and sitting down together with you.

"Brothers! We also return our thanks to the Great Spirit for having put it into your hearts to make us this visit, and tell us the things which we have just heard; for it convinces us that He has not given us up.

"Brothers! Since you have not forgotten us, and the Great Spirit has preserved you to come and visit us, and give us this advice, we will therefore make one more great effort, because we are fully convinced that as He still regards us, He will assist us; and it therefore remains with ourselves whether we are to be preserved from ruin or not.

"Brothers! We speak to you the sincere language of our hearts. We will indeed try once more to go in the path you advise us; and we are encouraged with a hope that we shall succeed, since it is the unanimous wish of all the chiefs here assembled, and most of our people, to adopt the plan you have recommended; and we will use every exertion in our power to prevail on those of our people who do not now see it right to join us to do it; and we hope to succeed with them; but our

determination is firmly taken, that if these people will not unite with us, we will go on with out them, and turn our backs upon them, leaving them where they are; for our resolution is fixed to pursue farming, and try to raise plenty.

"Brothers! our wishes are good, but we cannot at once go on as the white people do we are a poor helpless people; but we hope when a few of us step forward and do well, that oth ers will follow our example.

"Brothers! Tell your old men that we are glad in our hearts to hear your words, and that it is a great comfort to us to see our friends so kindly disposed towards us; assure them that we will do all in our power to follow the counsel you have given us, and that with a sincere heart we take thee by the hand, and return our thanks to them and likewise to the Master of all things.

"Brothers! Your brethren now here in council will pray the Great Spirit, the Author of all things, that he will keep the road open and clear, and preserve you safe on your journey back to your friends and families again."

The committee say in their Report whilst at this village we visited a number of families in their cabins, and were every where received with great kindness and affection." They also inform that the Indians of this village are about 800 persons; "that it is computed that they have 250 acres planted with corn, which from present ap

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pearances we think will yield 7000, or 8000 buskels.-From the best information we could get it appeared that a considerable portion of them are becoming industrious T'he Agent has purchased from the Indians the adjacent premises for the accommodation of the persons who may be placed by Friends for the general superintendance and management of the establishment."

We shall reserve for the next Number an interesting account of a visit to another settlement of Indians at Stony Creek, and shall close this article with one reflection: How much better and cheaper it would be—and how much more certain to preserve peace with the Indians, if Our government would employ five intelligent and genuine Quakers to reside with each tribe, than to employ military force to destroy them, or to keep them from doing injury to the white people! It is firmly believed that if our government would allow the Quakers a fiftieth part of the cost of the regular troops employed on the frontiers, to be expended among the Indians, they would do a hundred fold more good, and a thousand fold less mischief than the soldiers. Were I a settler on the frontiers, near to a tribe of the natives, I should think myself more safe in having one good Quaker or Moravian to reside with them, than in having five thousand regular troops stationed between me and the Indian villages,

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66

PRAYING MACHINES.

PERHAPS no better use can be made of the follies, extravagancies and delusions of the people of other nations and other religions, than to employ them for the discovery and correction of similar inconsistences among ourselves. I was lately reading an Edinburgh Review of Travels" among the Calmucks in which an extraordinary and Judicrous account is given of praying machines. it is stated that prayer is one of the prinsipal duties enjoined by Lamaism; and after remarking on the inventions of this age, particularly of steam engines, as a substitute for human labour, the Reviewer says " The followers of the Grand Lama have done more they have invented praying-jennies, which do the work to perfection. It is a doctrine amongst them, that as of ten as the paper, or other substance upon which the prayer is written, is set in motion, this movement of the written prayer is as meritorious as its oral repetition. The Kurada, or praying machine is therefore constructed upon this principle; it consists of two cylinders, or drums, filled withinside with rolls of paper covered with prayers and ejaculations, written in Tangotian, or sacred language. The drums are hung in a neat frame and are kept on the whirl with great facility by the simple connivance of a string and crank; and every turn of the cylinder is perfectly equivalent to the repetition of all the prayers contained in it. The turning of the Kurada is an agreeable

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pastime in the long evenings of the winter; but the Tartar ingenuity has discovered a method of dispensing even with the slight degree of exertion which the compendious substitute requires. We make swift trochais' roast our meat-they employ the smoke-jack to say their prayers for them and the Kurada which spins over the fire in the midst of their hut, transfers all its devotional merit to the owner. The Monguls are yet more wisely economical of individual responsibility. Amongst them, the inhabitants of a district construct a Kurada at

their joint expense, which is placed in a mill-house by the side of a running stream, and this subscription Kurada is made so large, that it holds prayers enough to serve for all the parish; and consequently, except in seasons of uncommon drought, when the water is too low to turn the mill which grinds prayers for the parishioners, they are completely exonerated from the obligations of wasting their time in the Churule, or temple."

Much of the amusement of this account is probably to be attributed to the Reviewer, who tells the story; but the facts may be as he has stated them.

our business is not to amuse our readers with the follies and delusions of other people, but to lead them to consider whether as great inconsistences are not to be found among professed Christians, as those which are reported of the Calmucks and Monguls.

Christians have the gospel in their hands which solemnly enjoins and graciously encourages the duty of prayer. It also teaches us, that God is a spirit, and that those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth -implying that such worship God requires, and that such only he accepts. Yet are there not multitudes even in this country, and some in every parish who invent methods to satisfy their consciences in the neglect of a duty which is enjoined by Him who is called their Saviour? Or do they not invent methods of performing prayer which are as unacceptable to God as that of employing machines ?

Are there not too many whe are fond of having a minister, and pretty regular in attending public worship, who refer the whole duty of prayer to him? and who are as heedless and indevout in time of prayer, as the Calmuck is while his forms of prayer are moved by a machine? Are there not many in this Christian land who never pray, except it be by a substitute?

So far as this is the case, it is of very little consequence to them, whether the substitute be a machine or a minister of religion.

It is a great privilege indeed to have a good minister, who possesses the spirit of prayer, and who has gifts to lead in public or social worship. But, like all other privileges, this may be abused; and it is ever abused when it is made a substitute for personal devotion. In regard to prayer, ministers can perform no more than their own duty; others must do their

own praying or it will never be done. They may be assisted by his gifts, if their hearts are truly engaged; otherwise no part of their duty is performed by his praying with them or for them. They may as reasonably rely on their ministers to perform for them all the duties of justice and benevolence, as to perform for them their duty of calling upon God.

Let Christians then be careful, that while they censure the Calmucks for employing a machine to save the labour of devotion, they do not leave room for God to say," Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou slothful

servant."

But the neglect of prayer and praying by proxy, are not the only exceptionable things in relation to this duty. The gospel does more than merely to enjoin the duty of prayer; it requires us to pray with a benevolent, forgiving spirit towards our fellow creatures; and it assures us that this temper is essential to our obtaining the approbation and forgiveness of God. What then shall be said of those prayers in which Christians of different sects have indulged towards each other a spirit of censure, reproach and reviling--and in which people of different nations, in time of war, have prayed for the destruction of one another! If such things must be continued in our churches, will it not be less offensive to God and less injurious to men, to have prayers performed by a Calmuck machine, than by the ministers of the Christian religion?

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