Mission were convening in this city, the subject of forming our Missionar y Churches was brought distinctly before the Board. After mature consideration, it was unanimously decided that the Missions which should be sent forth under the patronage of this Society, should be instructed to select their own form of Church Government after their arrival at their respective stations. This subject, therefore, occupied the early attention of our Missionaries. Having agreed upon the general principles, and appointed a committee to draw up a covenant, they set apart a day for fasting and prayer. On that day, the covenant was ratified; and on the ensuing Sabbath, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered for the first time to the infant Missionary Church. Notwithstanding the enfeebled state of the family during the summer, they instituted a Sabbath school for their hired men. Some of these men had never been taught to read; and all, there is reason to hope, were benefited by the instruction they received. In closing our annual account of this Mission, we have the pleasure to express our entire approbation of the perseverance and fidelity with which its concerns have been managed. From the arrival of the family, to the close of the season, the various and progressive improvements were carried forward, amidst hinderances and discouragements, which would have unnerved any other spirits than those exclusively devoted to the Missionary cause. Neither the severe and protracted sickness of the family, nor "the confused noise of the battle of the warrior," appears to have arrested their zeal, or impeded their progress. Under all their trials and adversities, they have put their trust in their covenant God, and have, thus far, been sustained by his Omnipotent Arm. THE GREAT OSAGE MISSION. Missionary exertion was Providentially opened to the Board; the favourable circumstances under which a numerous and interesting family were collected and sent forward to occupy the field; their pleasant and prosperous journey to Pittsburgh; their arrangements in that city, and their embarkation in keel-boats on the 10th of April; were mentioned in our last Report. On their passage down the Ohio, they touched at almost every village, and were every where received with kindness and affection. At each village, they took on board provisions and other necessary articles, which had been generously contributed and stored for their use. On the 3d of May, while gliding down the rapid current, John W. Patterson, one of their boatmen, who had endeared himself to the family by his unaffected piety, obliging disposition, and faithful services, fell from the boat, and sunk to rise no more. On the same day, Mrs. Newton and her infant of the age of four days, were seized with symptoms which excited apprehension and alarm. At 3 o'clock, on the succeeding morning, the infant was released from its struggles; and the mother, having survived about twenty-four hours -cheerfully resigned to her situation, strong in faith, and rejoicing in the hope of a glorious immortality, surrendered her spirit into the hands of her Redeemer. The former was entombed at Mount Vernon, and the latter at Shawneetown, in the state of Indiana. To the Family, thus called within two days to weep over the unexpected departure of three of their number, the trial was not more sudden than severe. It was mingled, however, with the richest consolation. They were called to mourn, but not as those who mourn without hope. Their companions had been taken from their presence, but they had been transferred from the Missionary service on earth, to the Missionary's reward in Heaven. It was the hand of their Covenant God, which had directed the afflictive blow, but it was their pri vilege, as well as their duty, to hear the rod and Him who had appointed it. Having committed the remains of their deceased Sister to the earth, and devoted a day to humiliation, fasting, and prayer, the Family left Shawneetown on the 7th of May. They entered the Mississippi on the 9th of the same month, and arrived at St. Louis on the 5th of June. From this place, the children and females, some of whom were seriously indisposed, were conveyed in wagons to St. Charles on the Missouri-a distance of twenty miles by land, and of fifty by water. Here they enjoyed a few days of rest, while waiting for the boats. They were kindly entertained, both at St. Louis, and at St. Charles, and were favoured with donations in money, clothing, and provisions. The attention paid to them, by his excellency governor Mc Nair, and many other citizens, is mentioned in the journal of the Mission with expressions of affection and gratitude. The boats having arrived, the family again embarked on the 13th of June. They entered the Osage river on the 30th of the same month, and reached the foot of the Great Rapids about the middle of July. On the evening of their arrival here, they found the water too low to permit them to proceed. During the night, however, they were favoured with a heavy rain, which raised the river, and enabled them, on the ensuing morning, to ascend the Rapids without difficulty; and on the 2d of August, they arrived at an Osage encampment, in the vicinity of their destined station. Their safe arrival, and the friendly manner in which they were received by the natives of the forest, were calculated to excite emotions of no ordinary kind. They had performed their long and arduous journey in less than five months; they had ascended the rapid and dangerous currents of the Mississippi, of the Missouri, and of the Osage, without severe indisposition or fatal accident: they had witnessed the special interposition of Providence, in rescuing their lives in the hour of hazard, and in furnishing a sudden rise of the river at the very moment required to preserve them from an expensive and painful detention; they had been enabled to surmount every difficulty, and were about to enter the field of their future labours; and with feelings elevated with joy and with gratitude, they consecrated the first evening of their arrival to the worship of God-returning their devout acknowledgments for the mercies they had received, and imploring a continued blessing upon their Missionary enterprise. On their first interview with the Indian families, they were informed, that most of the Chiefs and Warriors of the tribe had gone on a hunting expedition to the west. On the following morning, one of the Indians was employed to go in pursuit of them, and to invite them to a Council. In the mean time, the Brethren explored the country in various directions, and selected a site for their establishment. As they understood that the site they had chosen was the one which had previously been designated for their use, by the Chiefs of the nation, they deemed it proper to commence their operations, without waiting for the expected Council, or for the return of their messenger. They' accordingly proceeded to the ground on the morning of the 8th of August, and began their preparations for the erection of a ware-house. On Saturday evening, the 11th of August, about seventy of the Chiefs and Warriors arrived, and encamped on the bank of the river, within a few feet of the Mission boats. They were present at the morning and evening worship on the Sabbath; and, although they understood not the language uttered by the preacher, yet their conduct, during the whole of the services, was decorous and respectful. On Monday morning, the Brethren and the Indians repaired to the station, about six or eight miles from the boats. After an appropriate prayer, by one of the Missionaries, the papers from the Board of Managers and the Secretary of War were read and interpreted. The Chiefs were entirely satisfied with the documents. They approved the selection of ground which had been made for the establishment; pointed out the boundaries of a tract, embracing, as was supposed, about fifteen thousand acres; presented this tract for the exclusive use of the Mission; and pledged themselves to execute a deed for the whole, as soon as it should be surveyed. The Station thus located, is situated on the north bank of the Marias de Cein, a branch of the Osage river, about six miles above its mouth, one mile from the United States' Factory which was built during the last summer, and fifteen or twenty miles from the largest of the great Osage Villages. The permanent buildings will be erected on an eminence in view of the river, but sufficiently remote to furnish a spacious green in front. In the rear, there is an extensive and rich prairie, equally adapted for meadow or ploughland. There are also, on the premises, and within a convenient distance, a good mill seat, a spring of excellent water, and a sufficient supply of mineral coal, clay, limestone, and timber. The cheapness and convenience with which provisions of almost every kind can be procured from the banks of the Missouri, is an advantage, not more important than unexpected to the Mission. Indeed, all the accounts we have received, concur in representing the Station as peculiarly pleasant, and as combining incomparably greater facilities for such an establishment, than could have been reasonably anticipated by the Board. Having satisfactorily finished their contract with the Indian Chiefs, the Brethren proceeded to their various duties. Two were despatched to the settlements on the Missouri, for the purchase of stock. Others were occupied in preparing to erect their buildings; in cutting and stacking hay; and in unloading the boats, and conveying their goods to the Station. On the 21st of August, several of the family were seized with the ague and fever. On the 25th most of the goods, and the last of the family, were removed from the boats. The whole of the family were now lodged in tents; but their food was cooked, and their breakfast and dining table set in the open air. On the 5th of September, several more of the Brothers and Sisters, and most of their hired men were taken down with the disease of the season; and from that day to the beginning of December, every tent was a hospital. As some recovered their strength, others were taken down; and, for weeks, not more than two or three of sixteen hired men, nor a greater proportion of the family, were able, at any one time, to administer to the comfort of the sick. At one period, twelve of the Sisters and eight of the Brethren were confined to their tents. For several weeks all improvements were relinquished, and from the 20th of September to the 10th of October, none were able to continue the daily Journal of the Mission. Not an individual of the company escaped the disease. Many were reduced to a state of great weakness and severe suffering, and two adults and four children were cut down and consigned to the tombMrs. Montgomery and her infant, and the infant of Mrs. Seeley, in Octoberand Mr. Seeley, an infant of Mrs. Belcher, and the youngest son of the Superintendent, in the succeeding month. Neither the general sickness of the family, nor the number of deaths which occurred, is to be considered as an indication of the general unhealthfulness of the climate. Soon after their arrival, and before a single building was finished, they were visited for a season with heavy and almost incessant rains. Their tents were insufficient to prevent them from being continually wet, and frequently drenched. Under such circumstances, it is to be ascribed to the kind interposition of Providence, that so many have been preserved to carry on the operations of the Mission. In the month of October, the pros. pects of the Family were dark and gloomy beyond description. Half of the Autumn had passed away; disease was raging; the destroying angel had already commenced his conquests; and not a solitary but was erected to protect the survivors from the frosts and tempests of the approaching winter. Such was the portentous cloud which hung around our Mission, when three strangers, directed by an unseen hand, arrived at the Station, on their way from the Arkansaw to St. Louis. On finding the Family in so afflicted a state, they volunteered their services for a week in attending to the sick, and in preparing the materials for building. On the 19th of October, three days after the departure of the benevolent travellers, a number of workmen arrived from the settlements below. The first Cabin was rendered tenantable on the 24th of that month, and the whole, ten in number, each sixteen feet square, built of hewn logs, well floored, and with a good chimney, were finished and occupied before the close of November. Having been thus comfortably housed, and having received from Franklin, on the Missouri, a supply of suitable medicine, the sick soon began to recover their health; and, in the course of December, the whole Family, through the blessing of God, were enabled again to engage in their respective duties. They had indeed been cast down, but not destroyed. They were again called to sing of mercy, as well as of judgment; and the 25th of December was set apart as a day of special thanksgiving and prayer. With the returning health and cheerfulness of the Family, their various improvements were pushed forward with activity and diligence. A spacious kitchen and dining hall, twenty-eight feet by twenty-four, was finished on the 22d, and a large blacksmith shop June, 1822. 60 on the 29th of December. Four other buildings-a smoke-house, a slaughterhouse, a boiling-house, and an Indianhouse-were commenced, and an extensive garden was ploughed, in January. In February, a well was dug about thirty-five feet in depth, and preparations were made for fencing à cornfield of forty acres. On the 18th of February, the date of our latest intelligence, the stock of the Mission consisted of three horses, two yoke of oxen, six cows, four or five young cattle, and upwards of fifty swine. At that date, the Rev. Mr. Pixley and Mr. Newton had gone to the settlements on the Missouri, for the purpose of purchasing additional stock. Early in the month of January, a school was opened for Indian children of both sexes, under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Montgomery and Miss Compstock. They commenced with two; and, in the course of a few days, fifteen others were formally surrendered to their government and instruction. Of this number, eleven, at our latest dates, remained in the school. Six had been taken home by their mothers, who, yielding to that parental fondness for which the Osage Tribe is distinguished, could not, at once, endure the separation. The children, who continued in school, were sprightly, obedient, and prising proficiency in speaking English, easily managed. They had made surand in understanding it when spoken. They had learned the Alphabet with facility, and were spelling in words of three or four letters. They were fond of the school, and exceedingly attached to the family. Those who were taken away by their parents, left the Station with reluctance; and it was expected that several, if not all, would soon be permitted to return. One of the youth is eighteen or twenty years of age. He has a wife and a mother, who have exerted their influence to withdraw him from the school. In opposition, however, to their urgent entreaties, he has determined to continue his studies until he shall have acquired a respectable English education, and a competent knowledge of the Medical profession. Two of the children were brought to the school by Sans Nerf, and one by Moneypushee, two of the Chiefs who were at Washington in the summer of 1820, and who signed the Covenant under which the establishment at Harmony has been formed. The two brought by Sans Nerf are the children of his daughter. The one is about thirteen, and the other about seven years of age. The elder of these lads is the legitimate heir to the throne of the Osage nation. His father is dead, and, during his minority, the office of principal Chief is held by his uncle. These lads are grandchildren, in the male line, of WHITE HAIR, the venerable Osage Chief, who, with ten or twelve of his Counsellors and Warriors, visited this city eighteen or twenty years ago, and who, while here, received from the New-York Missionary Society the present of a Bible. This aged Chief has long since descended to the tomb of his fathers. The Bible, to him, was probably a sealed book. Still, he preserved it, while he lived, as a highly valued treasure; and when he died, his Bible and his tomahawk accompanied his body into the grave. Soon after these children were left at the Mission-house, the mother, in company with her second husband, made them a visit, and requested permission to take the youngest home, alleging that he was yet too young to learn, and promising to return him when his age would admit. She was heedless of the opinion and advice of the Family; and the boy was accordingly stript of his comfortable suit, wrapped in a tattered blanket, and taken from the school. The older brother remained a few days, when he left the Family without permission, and returned to his mother. Sans Nerf, the grandfather, was much displeased with the conduct of the boy, and immediately disrobed him of his school clothes, and sent them back to the Station. Both of the children were apparently contented and happy, until they were visited by their mother, and it is probable, that, through the influence of the grandfather, one or both will soon return to the school. White Hair, the present reigning Chief, and Sans Nerf, have both frequently visited the school, and expressed much satisfaction at seeing so many of the children of the Tribe already there. They state, that their people have determined to abandon their old, and to form new Villages, and are much divided as to the ground they shall occupy. When that point shall have been settled, as many children, they have no doubt, will be offered for the school, as the Mission can accommodate. They have also manifested a strong desire, that their people may learn to make wagons and ploughs, cultivate the soil, raise cattle, and live like the white men. The success which has thus early attended the efforts of the Missionaries to gather an Indian School, and the extent to which they have already acquired the confidence and friendship of the principal men of the Tribe, exceed their most sanguine anticipations. These circumstances, for which they feel themselves indebted to a superintending Providence, appear to have heightened their Missionary ardour, and to have afforded a satisfactory reward for the privations and sufferings which they have been called to endure. Since the School commenced, it has been thought expedient that Mr. Montgomery should retire from the office of Teacher, and unite with Mr. Pixley, in acquiring a knowledge of the Osage language. This measure was adopted in the hope that he might be the more useful to the adult Indians by preaching and conversing in their own tongue. |