couraging incidents, and obtained four boys and two little girls for the mission school. Most of the tribe were again absent on a hunt, so that he could not fulfil all his desires, but he returned cheered with the hope that ere long he should be able to establish a branch of the mission among them with very little expense. The Rev. Mr. Vaill, also, made a number of interesting visits to different Indian villages, and some among white people, who were as ignorant of religion as the heathen.

It is supposed there are as many as one thousand American, French, and Spanish hunters in the territory of Arkansas, who are as ignorant as the Indians of every thing connected with civilized life, their dress, manners, and customs being precisely like the natives.

The year closed with about twenty boarding scholars at Union, besides the children belonging to the missionaries. The whooping cough entered the family and school, and occasioned the death of several children, among them Theodocia, the poor little outcast orphan. At Harmony the school contained nineteen white, and thirty-six Indian children.

I will close this letter with a short account of Mr. Dodge's journey home from

the Delaware nation, with his scholars. He set out for home on the ninth of November, with his six children, from six to fourteen years of age, some riding, and some running on foot. On the fourth day they ate the last morsel of food and were more than twenty miles from the station. The weather was cold and rainy, and their progress very slow, as they had but two horses to carry eight persons, and all the luggage. When the night overtook them they pitched their tent, and lay down supperless to sleep. They rose early and pursued their way as fast as possible, for they had no hope of finding anything to eat, till they reached Harmony; the rain fell fast, and all the little creeks were filling rapidly. In a few hours they came to places where it was difficult for the horses to move along, for the depth of mud and water; through all these Mr. Dodge waded with the little ones in his arms.

At length they came to the Osage river, and found it as Mr. Dodge had feared, utterly impassable; it was almost dark, and none of them had tasted any food afterbreakfast the day before; however, they were obliged to encamp for the night in the best place they could find. In the morning, one of the little boys was so hungry

that he could not help crying; the cold had increased, and the snow was three or four inches deep. The largest boy, whose name was Calvin, said he was not afraid to swim over and ask the people to come down and help them; so Mr. Dodge gave him leave, and he mounted one of the horses, and fearlessly plunged into the river and soon reached the other side in safety; he could speak some English, and made the family acquainted with the circumstances of their beloved minister, who felt surprised to see the missionaries hastening to his relief in so short a time. The children were put into a skiff, (a little boat) and the whole party were shortly seated around a good fire, and had warm comfortable food set before them. When some children go home from school, they are fretful and impatient if they do not find the dinner upon the table; I hope those children who hear you read this story, will think how little cause they have ever had to complain of hunger or cold; and how much reason they have for thankfulness to God, for having made them to differ from these poor little suffering creatures. And is it unreasonable to expect that grown people will feel constained to do more for the heathen Indians, when they distinctly see how much some good ministers and private

Christians are willing to endure for the sake of guiding them to heaven? Only think of the pleasant situation which the Rev. Mr. Dodge, Mr. Vaill, and Mr. Pixley left, to go and preach Christ to the dark-minded Osages. All settled in the ministry over kind and affectionate societies in New England, and Mr. Montgomery, a promising candidate for an agreeable situation, and those young physicians, Dr. Palmer and Dr Belcher, with talents and skill to make themselves conspicuous any where in cultivated life, with all those young ladies, who at the call of duty turned away from the pleasant scenes and associates of their native land, and looked towards the desolate wilderness with longing desires to carry the news of salvation to those who had never heard a Saviour's name.

O my cousins, shall all these beloved missionaries take their lives, in their hands and go to the distant Gentiles, while we sit idle at home, enjoying Sabbaths and sanctuary privileges, till we become almost insensible to their value, and riot upon the bounties of Providence, forgetful of the sufferings and hardships of our missionary brethren and sisters, and the dreadful doom which awaits the impenitent Osages? Ono, we will begin this year with new resolutions to do

more for the heathen than we have ever done in any year before. That the Holy Spirit may enable us to keep our resolutions is the prayer of your affectionate. CORNELIA.

LETTER XVI.

My dear Cousins,—I must commence my narrative of missionary events for the year 1825, with a most melancholy topic. The Rev. Mr. Chapman's health had failed considerably before the middle of December, and he made a journey to Neosho, hoping the ride would prove beneficial; but the weather was stormy and his illness rather increased, so that when he reached Mr. Pixley's he was hardly able to sit up; after resting a few days, finding himself sinking, he felt anxious to hasten home, but it was with the utmost difficulty he performed the journey; his mind evidently began to wander, and the evening he arrived at Hopefield he was scarcely able to stand alone. However, the next day he was so urgent to visit Union, that Mrs. Chapman accompanied him. He expressed much pleasure at meeting the family, told them his head was very