The Following is an account of the Exercise & Experience of an Indian
Man as Related by him self to a Number of Friends, says I Dont often open
my mind to any, but I now feel the way is open. and more than a freedom to
Do it some years Past it was laid upon me to Encourage others to Do well;
I thought I was a Poore ignorant Indian, I could not Encourage others to Do
well, so I shoved it away (Puting his hand out as tho he had Put it from him,
then fetching his hand back again & laying it on his breast, says it was brought back
again & laid upon me, I then shoved it away again, & so he Did a number of times
Implying the reasoning state of his Mind It was then opened to my view, that
the truth was a Very precious thing, very precious Indeed. Oh how Precious it Doth look
to me. He can say it is innocent, we can say it is Innocent, thats all we can say.
words cannot say half. I then said with Peter Depart from me O Lord, I am
a sinful man but it was brought back & laid upon me again some
morning as I was going to a Prespeterian meeting I saw a flock of sheep along
before me Puting his hand to his Eyes, says I Did not see them with these Eyes.
they appeard to be traveling a long before me. the foremost ones was half grown
large, & I heard them talking to one another. Puting his hand to his Ears says but
not with those Ears saying to one another God speed help you on the way, the
hindmost looked Poore, small, their heads hund Down seemed allmost ready to
give out I wondered what it should mean Then something come & talked
with me Puting his hand to his Breast, says it talked to me here, and told
me, these are my sheep & this Day you shall see them lift up their heads in
hope, & feed on the bread of Life Then it said to me, them that are before are
the Priest & Deacons, they are grown fat & full, they can Encourage one an
others but they forget the Poore of the flock. I went on to the meeting, the
Priest Preached, Prayed, & sung & used the Very words, I heard the fat sheep
use one to another, And after he had Done, I thought it my Duty to tell them
what I see on the way; so I Did & thought I saw my Vision fulfilled, the Poore
of the flock, lifted up their heads in hope & fed on the bread of Life, the
Priest acknowledged in the Presence of the People, that what I said was True
and that the Truth, had been Declared among them by a Poore Ignorant
an; Then I went home Very comfortable, Oh, how comfortable I Did feel
Then sometimes I feel my mind Drawn in to simpathy with some, I want to
go & see them, I was yet would think it other to Do well,
I Did not want folks to think so I feel such a simpathy for one poore family
I want to go see them, at I Did not no how to Do, so I thought I would take a
grist on my back & go beyond where they Live, so I Did, & when I come
back I stop in, It was just night, there was a rich man lived on the other side
of the road, I suppose I would let me have bed to sleep in, but I thought I
had rather lay by the mans fire, I felt their worth, I wanted to be with them,
In the morning when I going away I asked the women to hand me a bowle
she was unarilling I the most, she got one for I took out Part of my
meal & left it with her, felt the wants of the Poore Children, so that are not
carry all my meal away then I took leave of them & went home Quietly.