A Dutch clergyman in the then province of New York, 1745, asked an
Indian, whom he had baptized, whether he had been in Shekomeko, and had
heard the Moravian missionary preach, and how he liked him? The Indian
answered, ‘That he had been there, and had attended to the missionary’s
words, and liked to hear them; that he would rather hear the missionary
than him, for when the former spoke, it was as though his words laid hold
of his heart, and a voice within said, ‘that is truth;’ but that _he_ was
always playing about the truth, and never came to the point. That he had
no love for their souls, for when he had once baptized them, he let them
run wild, never troubling himself any further about them. That he acted
much worse than one who planted Indian corn; for, added he, ‘the planter
sometimes goes to see whether his corn grows or not.’
“INDIAN, WHO IS YOUR CAPTAIN?”
An English captain, in the year 1759, who was beating up for recruits in
the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, met one day a Moravian Indian, and asked
him whether ‘he had a mind to be a soldier.’ ‘No,’ answered he, ‘I am
already engaged.’ ‘Who is your captain?’ asked the officer. ‘I have a
very brave and excellent captain,’ replied the Indian, ‘his name is Jesus
Christ; Him will I serve as long as I live: my life is at his disposal;’
upon which the British officer suffered him to pass unmolested.