Detailed reports on the Salzburger emigrants who settled in America ... Volume 1, 1733-1734 / edited by Samuel Urlsperger ; edited with an introduction by George Fenwick Jones ; translated by Hermann J. Lacher ; with a new foreword by Ben Marsh

Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America … Edited by Samuel Urslperger Volume One, 1733-1734
Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America Edited by Samuel Urslperger


From a mezzotint in the De Renne Collection, University of Georgia Library

Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America Edited by Samuel Urlsperger

VOLUME ONE, 1733-1734

Edited with an Introduction byGEORGE FENWICK JONES

Translated byHermann J. Lacher

WORMSLOE FOUNDATION PUBLICATIONSNUMBER NINE




UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESSATHENS

Copyright 1968

University of Georgia Press

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-27137

Reissue published in 2021

Most University Press titles are available from popular e-book vendors.

Printed digitally

ISBN 9780820361147 (Hardcover)ISBN 9780820361130 (Paperback)ISBN 9780820361123 (Ebook)

Contents

Foreword to the Reissue

Foreword by E. Merton Coulter

Introduction by George Fenwick Jones

Preface by Samuel Urlsperger

PART ONE

Detailed Introduction of What Occurred During the Reception and Dispatch of Some Saltzburger Emigrants to Georgia in America

PART TWO

The Travel Diary of the Two Pastors Messrs. Boltzius and Gronau Which the Two Have Kept from Halle to Georgia and for Some Time After Their Arrival in That Land

The Travel Diary of Pastor Boltzius from Ebenezer to Charleston and Back

PART THREE

Travel Diary of Commissioner von Reck, When He Went from Ebenezer in Georgia to the Northern Regions of America and from There Back Again to England, Holland, and Germany

PART FOUR

From the Commissioner Baron von Reck: A Short Report on Georgia and the Indians There

PART FIVE

Some Remarkable Letters. Pertinent Here

Notes

Index


A Detailed Report

on the

Saltzburger

EMIGRANTS

Who settled in America

Wherein

in addition to an

Historical Introduction

concerning the first and second transports are contained

the

Travel Diaries

of the Royal British Commissioner

and

of the two Saltzburger Pastors

as well as

a description of Georgia and several pertinent letters.

Edited by

Samuel Urlsperger

Senior of the Protestant Ministry in Augsburg

and Pastor of the Main-Church of St. Annes.



HALLE, published by the Orphanage Press, MDCCXXXV


From an original in the De Renne Collection, University of Georgia Library. It is supposed to have been drawn during the period 1741-1743. It has been reproduced in several publications; including Urlspergers Ausfhrliche Nachrichten, 13te Continuation, Erster Theil (Halle and Augsburg, 1747).

Foreword to the Reissue

The Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America offer an extraordinary window into the day-to-day lives of colonists establishing new settlements in North America. A unique mix of Protestant propaganda, social history, community study, spiritual biography, and environmental and economic reportage, the reports were originally edited by Lutheran theologian Samuel Urlsperger (16851772) in the imperial city of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the eighteenth century and published in Halle under the title Ausfhrliche Nachricht von den saltzburgischen Emigranten, die sich in America niedergelassen haben (173551). His reports were carefully crafted from a patchwork of rich colonial sources, by far the most important of which were the intimate observations of the German religious pastors who assumed responsibility for the communitys evolution. It was in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1733 that Rev. Johann Martin Boltzius and Rev. Israel Christian Gronau first encountered numerous families of Protestant exiles from Salzburg, Austria. Thanks to the financial and political support of German Protestant networks (especially the Francke Foundation at Halle), the Georgia Trustees, and the English Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, the exiles became transatlantic settlers, relocating to a new township that they established upstream from Georgias new capital, Savannah.

In the space of twenty years, Urlsperger amassed the reports from the pastors travel diaries, letters, lists, grievances, and requests, while further information was parsed from settlers, colonial authorities, and correspondents. Gronau died in 1745, but he was succeeded by Hermann Lemke as an assistant pastor to Boltzius, the latter offering real continuity within the Ebenezer settlement until his death in 1765, well beyond the lifespan of the Detailed Reports. The end products were by no means neutral publications, for comparison with surviving original documents in Halle indicate that multiple filters were in place to ensure the published messages were in step with what the editors wished to convey. The selection of events and the voices expressed by the pastors were with one eye on eventual publication, while Urlsperger happily omitted elements he thought best unsaidmeaning that readers of the Detailed Reports have to penetrate their overarching intent to demonstrate a story akin to wider tropes in the American creed: Cities on a Hill and Manifest Destiny.1 News of these Pietists successfully overcoming the trials and tribulations of Atlantic colonialism was intended to shore up German Protestantism, to support Anglo-German diplomatic networks, and to bring patronage for the future support of European religious refugees.

In spite of these editorial dangers and the relentless sermonizing, the sheer volume of material and the extraordinary depth of insight into the personal lives of a host of Georgia settlers present real opportunity for historical reconstruction through the eyes of participants in colonial encounters, conflicts, and community building. Indeed, one of the ironies of a curated archive intended to show a singular power at work is that the Detailed Reports clearly reveal the multiplicity of peoples, interests, languages, and ambitions at play in the eighteenth-century Low Country. Pioneer settlersthemselves a heterodox bunch not just from Salzburg but from the Rhineland, England, Scotland, Ireland, French-Swiss cantons, the Piedmont, South Carolina, and the Caribbeanwere sandwiched between European imperial powers, in the shadow of powerful Indigenous peoples and the growing presence of racial slavery and people of African origin in neighboring British colonies. Though at first resistant, by the early 1750s the leaders of the Ebenezer settlement had publicly reconciled themselves to what they described in the Detailed Reports as the need and the opportunity to invest in the purchase of enslaved Africans to labor on their estates.2 As in other areas, this was a reflection of how several of the settlements idiosyncrasies faded as the townships economy and society became integrated into wider regional patterns and markets.

There is no question that since the Detailed Reports translation and publication, scholars of German-speaking peoples in the Atlantic world haveto use a Salzburg occupationmined extensively and innovatively among these sources for fresh insights into processes of diaspora, worship, exchange, and cultural creolization. At first, the Detailed Reports provided texture for groundbreaking works in the late twentieth century that traced Georgias early social and cultural history, including George Fenwick Joness own syntheses and Harold E. Daviss rich exploration of colonial life.3 Later generations drilled into particular facets of the Salzburgers experiences and their relationship to wider trends in the German Atlantic, including Renate Wilsons exploration of charitable and medical networks, A. G. Roebers assessment of ideas of liberty and property among German Lutherans in British America, and other works comparing the development of Moravian immigrant streams, with whom relations were sometimes strained in Georgia.4 More recently, scholars have used the volumes in pursuit of microhistories, genealogical and biographic snapshots, and contingent works that address how questions of gender, agriculture, slavery, and migration intersected in the disjointed world of the mid-eighteenth-century Low Country.5 Far from the simple story of conquering the wilderness that they originally purported to chart, the Detailed Reports retain huge potential. Renewed attention to the commentary they offer will complicate and nuance ongoing research into how Georgias earliest Europeans misunderstood, adapted, competed, influenced, and transformed not only their immediate locale but also the larger Atlantic world.

BEN MARSH

Notes

1. George Fenwick Jones, ed., Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America Edited by Samuel Urlsperger (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1968), 1:xii

2. Jones, Detailed Reports, 16:99.

3. George Fenwick Jones, The Salzburger Saga: Religious Exiles and Other Germans Along the Savannah (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984); George Fenwick Jones, The Georgia Dutch: From the Rhine and Danube to the Savannah, 17331783 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992); Harold E. Davis, The Fledgling Province: Social and Cultural Life in Colonial Georgia, 17331776 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1976).

4. Renate Wilson, Pious Traders in Medicine: A German Pharmaceutical Network in Eighteenth-Century North America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000); A. G. Roeber, Palatines, Liberty, and Property: German Lutherans in Colonial British America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993); Hartmut Lehmann, Hermann Wellenreuther, and Renate Wilson, eds., In Search of Peace and Prosperity: New German Settlements in Eighteenth-Century Europe and America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000).

5. Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Two Troubled Souls: An Eighteenth-Century Couples Spiritual Journey in the Atlantic World (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013); Paul M. Pressly, On the Rim of the Caribbean: Colonial Georgia and the British Atlantic World (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2013); Susanne Lachenicht, ed., Europeans Engaging the Atlantic: Knowledge and Trade, 15001800 (Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2014); James Van Horn Melton, Religion, Community, and Slavery on the Colonial Southern Frontier (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015); Ben Marsh, Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World 15001830 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Foreword

THE Wormsloe Foundation is a non-profit organization chartered on December 18, 1951, by the Superior Court of Chatham County, Georgia. In the words of its charter, The objects and purposes of this Foundation are the promotion of historical research and the publication of the results thereof; the restoration, preservation, and maintenance of historical sites and documents and the conduct of an educational program in the study of history in the State of Georgia, and in states adjoining thereto.

As its first important activity, the Foundation has begun the publication of a series of historical works and documents under the title of Wormsloe Foundation Publications. They will consist of important manuscripts, reprints of rare publications, and historical narrative relative to Georgia and the South. The first volume appeared in 1955, written by E. Merton Coulter, the General Editor of the series, and entitled Wormsloe: Two Centuries of a Georgia Family. This volume gives the historical background of the Wormsloe Estate and a history of the family which has owned it for more than two and a quarter centuries. It is now out of print.

The second publication of the Foundation was The Journal of William Stephens, 1741-1743, and the third volume was The Journal of William Stephens, 1743-1745, which is a continuation of the journal as far as any known copy is extant. However, there is evidence that Stephens kept his journal for some years after 1745. These volumes were edited by the General Editor of the Wormsloe Foundation series and were published in 1958 and 1959, respectively. Both are now out of print.

The fourth volume of the series was the re-publication of the unique copy of Pat. Tailfer et al., A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia With Comments by the Earl of Egmont. This volume is in the John Carter Brown Library of Brown University. In this present publication there appears for the first time in print the comments of Egmont. With the permission of Brown University, this volume was edited by Clarence L. Ver Steeg of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. The volume is now out of print.

The fifth volume in the series of Wormsloe Foundation Publications was the long-missing first part of Egmonts three manuscript volumes of his journal. It was edited by Robert G. McPherson of the University of Georgia. This volume contains the journal from 1732 to 1738, inclusive, and is owned by the Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, which gave permission for its publication.

In 1963 the Foundation published its sixth volume, The Journal of Peter Gordon, 1732-1735, which was edited by the General Editor of the Wormsloe Foundation Publication series. Gordon came to Georgia with Oglethorpe on the first voyage; he began his journal on leaving England. The original manuscript was acquired by the Wormsloe Foundation in 1957, which presented it to the General Library of the University of Georgia.

The seventh volume in the series is Joseph Vallence Bevan, Georgias First Official Historian. It is a departure from the nature of the five volumes directly preceding, which are documentary. It was written by the General Editor, who brings to light a historiographer who was appointed Georgias first official historian by the state legislature.

The eighth volume, Henry Newman Salzburger Letterbooks, begins a series within the general series, for it is to be followed by several volumes of translations of the Urlsperger Reports (Ausfhrliche Nachrichten , edited by Samuel Urlsperger, Halle, 1735, and dealing with the Georgia Salzburgers). This volume was transcribed and edited by George Fenwick Jones of the University of Maryland, who, also, will edit future volumes of the Salzburger translations.

The ninth volume, the first of the Urlsperger Reports, is the present and latest of the Wormsloe Foundation Publications. Edited by George Fenwick Jones, its title is Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America

E. MERTON COULTERGeneral Editor

Introduction

THE Urlsperger Reports contain the diaries and letters of the Lutheran pastors who ministered to the Salzburger exiles and other German settlers in the colony of Georgia, to which are added certain reports and letters written by various members of their congregations. These reports were collected, collated, edited, and published periodically by Samuel Urlsperger, the minister of St. Annes Church in Augsburg and senior Lutheran minister of that city, who, himself the descendant of Protestants expelled from Austria, was the spiritual father of the Georgia Lutherans for most of his life. Urlspergers Reports, with the quaint baroque title given in literal translation on the title-page of this volume, were published from 1735 to 1751 at the Orphanage (Waysenhaus) of the Francke Foundation (Franckesche Stiftungen) in Halle. They were followed by a more compact series, Ackerwerk Gottes, which was published from 1751 to 1767, also at the Orphanage, first by Samuel Urlsperger and later by his son and successor, Johann August Urlsperger.

Samuel Urlsperger, who had once sojourned in England, was a corresponding member of the SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), a missionary society in London, and was therefore able to interest the members of that organization in the plight of the Protestants expelled from Salzburg in 1731 by the archbishop, Leopold Anton, Freiherr von Firmian. (For more details about this infamous expulsion, the reader may consult the preface of George Fenwick Jones, etc., Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks.) The SPCK not only sent generous contributions to help the distressed Protestants but also brought them to the attention of the Trustees for Establishing a Colony in Georgia, who were then making grandiose plans for creating a haven in America for the relief of the poor, and, incidentally, for procuring raw materials and defending the English colonies to the northward from the Spaniards in Florida. Whereas the SPCK paid the salaries of the pastors and transported the Georgia Salzburgers from Augsburg to Rotterdam, the Trustees paid their passage to America and supported them there until they should become self-sustaining. This explains why Urlsperger dedicated his Reports to the Trustees.

This first volume in the series relates the experiences of the first transport, or group, of Georgia Salzburgers from their recruitment at Augsburg in August 1733 to their settlement at Ebenezer, near Savannah, Georgia; and it breaks off abruptly on July 16, 1734, just as death and disillusionment were beginning to set in. Urlspergers preface also relates the recruitment of the second transport and their journey from Augsburg to London and from there to Savannah; but it leaves their experiences in Georgia for the second volume. While most of the entries in the journal were written by Johann Martin Boltzius, the senior pastor at Ebenezer, a few were written by Israel Christian Gronau, his assistant pastor and catechist, for example, those made between 14 May and 4 June during Boltzius journey to Charleston.

As the reports tell, these two young clergymen had been called from the famous Orphanage at Halle, where they had previously studied and were then serving as instructors in its Latin school. The influence of Halle Pietism, particularly that of Prof. August Hermann Francke, is everywhere evident in the reports and letters sent by the two pastors from Georgia. Typical of their Pietistic outlook is Gronaus remark of June 9th: No matter how many good qualities a man may show, he cannot be saved unless he is reborn and experiences a change of heart. Living as we do in a secular age, we may well regret that Boltzius and Gronau were more concerned with spiritual than worldly matters; for we are more interested in their physical experiences in the Georgia wilderness than in the condition of their parishioners souls. Most annoying is their practice of replacing peoples names with N. or N.N.

A spot-check of some of the original documents in the Francke Foundation in Halle has shown that not all the blame belonged to Boltzius and Gronau, for Urlsperger took the liberty of deleting whatever he thought best unsaid. The reports were published for the Salzburgers benefactors in Germany, who were to be edified, inspired, and encouraged to donate more; and the last of these purposes might well have been nullified by too much bad news. This explains, for example, why Urlsperger removed all mention of the barbarous treatment the Salzburgers received from Capt. Tobias Fry during their voyage, which is mentioned in the more confidential letters of Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks.

The unadulterated optimism of the Reports resulted not only from policy, but also from an ingrained philosophy of life then widespread, an attitude best exemplified in the Theodicy of Boltzius compatriot Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, which was later so mercilessly lampooned in Voltaires Candide. Optimism is the only logical conclusion for those who accept the tenets that God is all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful. What appears to be evil must be a blessing in disguise, because a loving father chastizes his child for its own good. We should praise the Lord for the favorable wind that speeds us on our way to Georgia, yet we should also thank Him for the calm or adverse wind that gives us pause to reflect upon His goodness. We should praise the Lord for good health, but we should also thank Him for a salutory sickness that enables us to prepare for death. Boltzius survived the Lisbon Quake and the tragic death of two of his four children, yet he seems never to have questioned Gods infinite goodness. Such optimism was not limited to the two Halle-trained pastors, for it is equally typical of Baron Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck, the handsome young nobleman from Hanover who accompanied the first Salzburger transport to Georgia and then wrote vivid observations on his return to Europe via the northern colonies.

In addition to von Recks travelogue, this volume also includes his description of Georgia and of the Indians there, who so fascinated the subscribers of the Reports that Urlsperger saw fit to grace his first volume with an engraving of the Indian chief Tomochichi and his nephew, who returned to Georgia on the ship carrying the second transport after a royal visit in England. Von Reck seems to have received his information about the Indians directly from Oglethorpe, who preceded Rousseau by some years in his admiration for the still-uncorrupted Noble Savage. Following von Recks report on Georgia and the Indians, this volume presents a collection of letters written by various Salzburgers, some of whom, like the Hubers, died wretchedly even before their happy letters reached their kinsmen in Germany. Since most of these letters were dictated to Boltzius and Gronau, it is not surprising that they appear, in both form and content, much like those of the two worthy divines. The letters from Boltzius and Gronau to their superiors and former teachers in Halle seem to serve as articles of faith, by which they wish to assure their mentors that they have remembered their wise instruction. For the professors in Halle, theology was an exact science through which one can achieve sure salvation, provided the Old Adam is ready to die and be reborn in Jesus.

This edition is based on a translation made in 1951-1952 by Hermann J. Lacher, a young German student, who attended the University of Georgia and subsequently for a time was a member of the History Department. A careful comparison with the original text has revealed great accuracy on his part despite his limited knowledge of the general background and his lack of access to the Salzburger Letterbooks, which have clarified various obscure points. All experienced translators know that texts must lose something in translation. Such loss becomes particularly evident if the translation is subsequently translated back into its original language, as is illustrated by the story of the translating-machine that rendered the proverb Out of sightout of mind into Russian, and then translated it back into English as Invisible Idiot. Fortunately our translation seems to have lost relatively little, even in the case of back-translations. This is indicated, for example, by Oglethorpes letter of June 16, 1734, on p. 19, which, although translated from English into German and then back again, still retains the exact meaning, and even most of the wording, of Oglethorpes original letter as it was recorded by Henry Newman (Letterbooks, p. 459). The same is true, by and large, of Urlspergers voluminous footnote no. 3 on p. 190, which was based on Newmans letter of Dec. 29, 1732 (Letterbooks, pp. 35-36) together with a few other stipulations received in later letters. The translation of the letters in Part V of this volume is partly the work of the late Mrs. Florence Janson Sheriff Fisher.

The present editor has taken the liberty of re-arranging Urlspergers footnotes, which, for typographical reasons, could not possibly be reproduced as they are. Urlsperger sometimes allowed his footnotes, and the footnotes to those footnotes, to cover successive pages, leaving only the top line for the text itself; but in this translation they have been collected and interspersed with the annotations of the present editor, while remaining distinct by being marked with asterisks. The brief and generally uninformative marginal summaries of the original foreword have been omitted to save space, as have, also, the marginal dates of the journals and the pagination of the original text. Whereas Boltzius wrote his name sometimes with and sometimes without a t, the t is used here consistently to remind the reader that a t sound was always pronounced. For the same reason the name Saltzburgers retains its older spelling with a t.

The Wormsloe Foundation is to be commended for its resolve to proceed with the long-delayed publication of these records of the courageous Salzburgers, who, for the sake of their faith, forsook their beautiful mountain homeland, braved the perils of the deep, and submitted with such Christian resignation to the trials and tribulations of the Georgia wilderness. Their suffering will confirm an ancient proverb handed down by German emigrants to undeveloped lands:

Dem Ersten, Toddem Zweiten, Notdem Dritten, Brot

(Death for the first, hardship for the second, bread for the third)

GEORGE FENWICK JONESUniversity of Maryland

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I take this opportunity to thank the American Philosophical Society and the General Research Board of the University of Maryland for supporting the research required to edit these reports. I am also indebted to Miss Marie Hahn of the University of Maryland for helping correct the galley proofs.

G F J

TO

the most honorable

LORD TRUSTEES

or

COMMISSIONERS

Charged by

His Royal Majesty of Great Britain

With the establishment of the new colony of Georgia

in America

as well as

to all the most honorable

MEMBERS

of the very praiseworthy SOCIETY

FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

Most Gracious Gentlemen,

Although written in an Apocryphal Book, namely in the 8th verse of the 12th chapter of Tobias, it is a canonical truth which the German translation gives thus: YOU SHALL CONCEAL THE COUNSEL AND THE SECRETS OF KINGS AND PRINCES; BUT THE WORKS OF GOD YOU SHALL PRAISE AND REVEAL. Concerning this our Dr. Zeltner says in his commentary on the entire Holy Writ: The late Luther translated it from the Latin. In Greek it read thus: FOR IT IS LAUDABLE TO HIDE THE SECRETS OF A KING, BUT HONORABLE TO REVEAL AND CONFESS THE WORKS OF GOD.

Since without a doubt there belongs among the works of God which He has done in our times, and is still doing, the guidance of a Protestant community of Saltzburger emigrants from Augsburg to England and from there across the great ocean to Georgia in America, we are convinced that such a work which has characterized itself as divine should not be concealed but should be set in print for all to see, in honor of Him who wrought it, with all the particulars, so that they who know nothing about it will learn, and they who have insufficient knowledge of the matter will receive such through this, and that both will use their knowledge to praise GOD with heart and mouth, as in Romans 11:36; For of Him and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory forever. Amen.

My reason for dedicating these printed pages to you, most gracious gentlemen, is that you, the most honorable Trustees of Georgia, and you, the above-named very praiseworthy Society, including those of you who have been especially selected as Trustees for the poor Saltzburger Emigrants, have been the blessed, wise, and untiring tools with which the Lord decided to carry out His plan, and who, at the same time, have put so much undeserved trust in my humble person. You have not only turned over to me the generous charities for emigrant Protestants from Saltzburg, but have also commissioned me on several occasions with the reception and care of those emigrant Saltzburgers who resolved to go to Georgia.

Therefore I humbly thank you for your very kind disposition toward myself as well as for the great and frequent benefactions granted to all the Saltzburger emigrants in Germany, England, and Georgia.

In GODs name I continue to commend them (especially the small flock at Ebenezer) to your true love and benevolence. And I wish that the Lord in His grace may recompense you one and all, and may grant the True Gospel one victory after another among Christians, Jews and Heathens, and may grant you, most gracious gentlemen, success wherever you may be.

I hereby offer you in public print, as I have done several times before in letters, all possible further services of which you may find me capable, and assure you, most gracious gentlemen, that I will always remain yours, in prayer and humble service.





Samuel Urlsperger


Augsburg, September 1, 1735


Senior of the Protestant Ministry





and Pastor of St. Annes

Preface

There is no doubt that all those who have received sufficient information about the Saltzburger Emigration, as it occurred from the end of 1731 until 1733, and also about the emigration of single persons, which is continuing unto this day, and do not willfully refuse to recognize the Finger of God, will readily admit that this is surely one of the greatest revelations of the power and grace of God in the Church Militant. The purpose of our preface does not permit elaboration of this. We will not cite the numerous and elsewhere available testimonials which even Roman Catholic persons and Jews have given concerning this work, because that has been adequately done in the History of Saltzburger Emigants,1* by Pastor Goeking, as well as by many others.

At this time we will add only something by a man of a Catholic Order, taken from an original letter of rebuttal which, to our knowledge, has never been printed. The letter goes as follows: In the beginning the gentleman has written rather sensibly about the activities of the peasantry (this is of those living in the mountains). I must confess that I can never conceive of the things that have been spread around about them. Tales have been spread among the populace in the name of a member of a religious order, who is not unknown to me, about which, I firmly believe he has never had a thought. O How they blacken the reputation of Lutheranism everywhere around here! The spirit of ridicule rules the whole district, and silly peasant songs have been fabricated to ridicule and malign the people living in the Saltzburg mountains.

And again: While I am writing this, a paper is handed to me in which I read that indeed a thousand persons have left the archbishopric of Saltzburg and that several hundred of them have arrived in Augsburg and have been joyfully received with a welcoming sermon. He continues: This has been the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt. My sighs have accompanied these people who have migrated from the abandoned wells of idle human teachings to the life-giving springs of divine knowledge on Mount Zion. I feel like Prometheus, bound to Mount Caucasus. I cannot travel with them, and I am no Samson, who, by destroying his bonds and chains can free himself from the bosom of the falsely caressing Delilah and flee from Babylon. So much for the unnamed man of the religious order.

During these most marvelous happenings, some places in Germany were more privileged to behold the Magnalia Dei and the great deeds of God connected with these remarkable happenings; and we can truthfully say that our Augsburg had preference over many if not all of the other Protestant cities. We will not record all of the many evidences of divine providence which could be seen as the transports passed through, and of which a short yet thorough sketch could be published for the good of posterity. We shall mention only the praecipuum and remarkable happenings which God allowed our dear Augsburg to see when, in less than a year, two transports of Saltzburgers were assembled here to become colonists of Great Britain and departed from this city for Georgia in America under very hazardous conditions in order to become, with divine guidance, a shining light and the good salt of the earth after having been called savourless salt and having been cast out from their homeland because of their faith in the Protestant Religion.

We hope that many, and especially those who are ready and willing to see the hand of God, will be rendered a valuable service when we give them a somewhat more detailed account of the origin and occasion of this work and of its progress up to this time. It is our view that it is well worth while to preserve for the remembrance of posterity the wise and benevolent guidance of our Lord, which he has bestowed on this small flock.

In order to give the gentle reader some preliminary information regarding the arrangement of our narrative, I have found it necessary to have this work preceded by a brief chronological account giving the causes which brought about the sending of these two transports of Saltzburger Emigrants as well as all noteworthy incidents that occurred until their actual departure for Georgia, so that the reader may have an orderly conception of the whole matter from the very beginning, and so that he may more easily use the other parts, which form the real body of the work. These are the diaries of the Saltzburger pastors, Mr. Boltzius and Mr. Gronau, who departed with the first transport for Georgia, which show, among other things, how they themselves, as well as the entire group, fared on the voyage and also include what happened spiritually and materially during the first three months after their arrival in Georgia, as well as noteworthy daily happenings. To this are added, at suitable points, items from the daily reports that Commissioner von Reck submitted to the Society in the French language, and also the journal of his trip from Ebenezer to the northern part of America and from there back to England, Holland, and Germany.

Next appears a brief report made by Commissioner von Reck on Georgia and the Indians living there. It is to be noted in this connection that Commissioner von Reck received most of his information on the conditions in the land and the Indians living therein from his talks with Mr. Oglethorpe. Therefore, we found it wise to omit the material from the diaries of the two pastors which was received from the same source and to incorporate it into this report in the proper places. This will save the gentle reader from being delayed by needless repetition and from being tired out by trying to keep different sections of the book properly related. The last part finally consists of a number of remarkable, enlightening, and pertinent letters, such as from His Excellency the Governor of New England, residing in Boston, Mr. Belcher; also from the commissioner, Mr. von Reck, and from the two pastors, Messrs. Boltzius and Gronau; further, from the druggist, Mr. Zwifler, and finally from several of the Saltzburgers in Georgia themselves. Some were written to Professor Francke in Halle and to other good friends and benefactors, others to me, the editor.

Whoever takes the trouble to read this work with attention and in the right spirit will find ample material and opportunity to praise and glorify God with abundant thanks for His wise and benevolent guidance which He has gloriously shown in the affairs of the Georgia colonists. But he must not forget his Christian duty to continue unceasingly his prayers for the loyal and wise Lord Trustees of the Colony of Georgia and for the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. And he must implore God to keep watch over the new little flock in Georgia and to preserve them and always confirm them in the purity of His Word and in the earnestness of a righteous zeal in Jesus Christ and, for this purpose, to strengthen exceedingly the righteous and proven Protestant teachers in Ebenezer and to bless their service in furthering the good that has been begun and in preventing all evil and, finally, to recompense with abundant grace the love shown by their benefactors in Europe. We hope that no one who believes in the Kingdom of Christ and is mindful of the second supplication of the Lords Prayer will look askance when others, who have the call to do so and who are willing to act according to their best knowledge, ask that a few crumbs from our table, which God has so richly provided, be made to fall in the most distant places.

The Lord said in Isaiah 43: 13 (which was our Georgia watchword two years ago), I will work and who shall let it? He has helped through storm and high seas and all other difficulties, envy, blasphemy, and evil suspicion; and He will help again. May He bless the Saltzburger branch of emigrants which has begun to establish its rights in Georgia and allow it to become a tree so large that many thousands of Indians may dwell under its shadow, moved by their love for Jesus in Whom they have come to believe. May Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd himself, watch over His sheep in that distant land, and may He grant that they increasingly enjoy the precious and sweet words: But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Malachi 4:2. And may the Holy Ghost, who began His good work in them, further it through His grace until it is completed.

Samuel Urlsperger

Written at Augsburg, September 1, 1735

PART ONE

Detailed Introduction

of What Occurred During the Reception and Dispatch of Some Saltzburger Emigrants to Georgia in America

THE matter of the Saltzburger Emigration attracted the attention of almost all Europe as soon as it began; and everyone, especially in the Protestant Church, was eager to receive more specific knowledge about it. Therefore, as a corresponding member of the English Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,1 I took the opportunity at the beginning of 1732 to report to London the particular circumstances of these happenings which are so unusual in our day. This news was printed in London without the authors knowledge and was disseminated throughout the English nation; and it was soon followed upon request by other credible accounts about the emigrants. This had hardly occurred before a number of sizable checks were sent from England during a period of several months for the free and conscientious disposition of the above-mentioned author for the benefit of the emigrant Saltzburgers.2

The particular zeal of this nation for propagating the Christian Religion and the active charity which it has shown in general as well as by individual voluntary contributions, which were necessary for the furtherance of such a glorious work and for the assistance of many sufferers, are well known on the whole from various important instances. This has been proved again, especially in the case of the individual contributions, by the fact that the above-named sums of money were not gathered by public collection. Neither His Majesty, the King, nor Parliament has ever authorized such for the Saltzburgers. On the contrary, only individual persons from all classes have contributed these gifts voluntarily and have turned them over to selected members of the above mentioned praiseworthy Society, by whom they were forwarded.

(2.) This was not all, for what these individual persons had started with their charitable care for the Protestant Saltzburgers was later gloriously continued by the praiseworthy Society. After His Royal Majesty of Great Britain had most graciously resolved to establish a new colony in America, namely in a part of the province of Carolina which has been given the name of Georgia, the oft-praised Society made an agreement with the Georgian Company to share expenses for the maintenance of three-hundred Saltzburgers and other emigrants devoted to the Protestant religion, until they could earn their daily bread. For this reason it caused its Secretary, Mr. Henry Newman, to send to the editor, together with a brief account of the present condition of the province of Georgia, an inquiry as to whether a number of Saltzburger emigrants might resolve to journey to the aforementioned province under the very favorable conditions appended here.3*

The Society was informed of many difficulties to be expected in such a matter, and I corresponded with it for several months. After most of the problems had been eliminated, the Lord Trustees or commissioners of Georgia4* finally issued to the editor under royal authority a patent5* authorizing the acceptance of a certain number of emigrants. Likewise the praiseworthy Society authorized him to supply the new colonists with an upright pastor and catechist, as well as to send a pastor of integrity, and a catechist, besides a commissioner to lead them to Georgia.

(3.) In this and all of the events connected with it Gods good hand was so obvious that no one could withdraw from this happy opportunity to further the cause of God. The hope that this might spread the gospel of Jesus Christ among the heathens of this distant region should easily move us to far more uncertain undertakings, all the more as so-called Christians, partly Deists and Worldlings, shrink away from the Word of the Cross, which they consider foolish. Thus there was cause humbly to adore Gods gracious care of the emigrants, which has opened for them everywhere, and even in the New World, the gate to plenteous provision, both spiritual and material.

Thus, for instance, the Trustees of Georgia, as well as the praiseworthy Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, continued with their most unusual charity and eagerness to serve these poor exiles; even His Royal Majesty of Great Britain supported very strongly the memorial sent by the former to Parliament so that it grants ten thousand pounds sterling to the Trustees for the better establishment of the colony. The Saltzburger Emigrants were to share in these rich provisions, as they were specially mentioned in the memorandum. And finally His Royal Majesty instructed his embassy in Regensburg to give every possible assistance in the matter of receiving and transporting the emigrants in Germany.

(4.) There was, however, no lack of obstacles and difficulties. Many were worried about the long voyage which the emigrants had to make, especially because it was across water and was thereupon said to be more dangerous; and it was to be feared that some people might die on the ship before they could reach the coast of Carolina. The example of the people from the Palatinate,6 who had gone there some twenty years before, was still remembered well, and everybody was warned against similar precarious undertakings, and the latest reports from Pennsylvania did not encourage those in a doubtful state of mind. The Tirnbergers, who had gone to Cadzand in Zeeland, were now said to regret their rashness, too late,7 and besides there was little reliable news regarding the status of the Saltzburgers in Prussia. The Saltzburgers destined for Georgia were to be brought to a land where they would have to live among Englishmen whose language they could not understand. The pastors sent with them might die soon. And finally it was said that the land might not be as good as it was made out to be, as it was considered punishment in England if anyone was sent there, and under the circumstances it seemed unnecessary to leave Germany if one had to work over there as much as here.

Thank God all these doubts and objections have been eliminated, for the most part, by the outcome of the undertaking, and even at the time they were not of such importance as to deter anyone from an enterprise that was dared for reasons of faith. For, not to mention that the distance to Georgia is not too great to complete the voyage in six to seven weeks, there was really no cause to consider it so difficult and terrible, in view of the many examples of distinguished persons of rank who had traveled to the East and West Indies, and because special care had been taken to make the voyage as comfortable as possible for the Saltzburgers. The danger of the voyage by water could not be made to look so great by inexperienced and ignorant people as to deny it certain special advantages and comforts or to confuse the minds of Christians resolved to follow the call of God. Their faith had cause neither to look upon anything else nor to fear death at sea more than death on land, for both are the Lords, and the emigrants had to be prepared for their last journey here as well as there, according to Gods will. If they feared God they could count on the help of his Grace even aboard ship, as well as on the help of good captains and conscientious pastors. Furthermore, they were assured of sufficient victuals and medicines.

The comparison with those who went to America from the Palatinate is still less appropriate because they went on their voyage in order to escape the tribunals of this world, instead of eliminating them through true humility. Furthermore, they went on their way without being called, and many thousand strong, so that no advance preparations could be made for them, so that most of them arrived in America as beggars and had to work off the costs of their passage as slaves, not to mention the bad care which they received on shipboard.

The Saltzburgers, on the other hand, had been graciously called and invited to go to Georgia after having emigrated from their homeland in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Westphalia8 where they were no longer tolerated because of their religion. Their number was very small and arrangements for their transportation had been made for the entire trip. All their expenses were to be paid and they were to be received in Georgia as British colonists and free people and were to be maintained until they could support themselves.

The Lords who had been appointed commissioners for the Georgia Colony, and who had proved themselves to be very much concerned with the welfare of the emigrants, had made available such good ships for their transportation that, with Gods help, there could be no doubt of a happy and comfortable crossing. And in Georgia proper, the upright Mr. Oglethorpe had made advance preparations for them in a most fatherly way. This at once eliminated the objections created by the very doubtful news from Pennsylvania; for the lesson of those who went to America without necessity or calling, but only with the hope of leisure, could not possibly apply to our emigrants.

Even the circumstances of those Saltzburgers who settled in Cadzand differed in many respects from that which was offered to our colonists, for there was no reason to doubt in any way the promises of the Commissioners who were extremely concerned with furnishing the best for the emigrants they were receiving, without seeking the least benefit for themselves. Besides, much of the news spread about the Tirnbergers was very uncertain. Perhaps one or the other of those who had authority over them did not treat them according to the wishes of the authorities, or perhaps the emigrants had acquired some of the impatient and surly attitude of the Israelites.9

The news from Prussia was much more reliable and of such a nature that, considering the good provisions made for the Saltzburgers that migrated there, one could only be strengthened in his resolve. The question about the difference between the English and Saltzburg languages could be answered all the more easily, partly because the emigrants were to live together and the pastors traveling with them could serve as interpreters by learning the English language, and partly because some Germans were already living in the land and thus knew the English tongue. Furthermore, in the course of time, the Saltzburger children and younger people would learn it quickly and introduce it imperceptably among the rest of their fellow countrymen. In case of the death of the pastors there were sufficient assurances that the honorable Commissioners as well as the Society would not delay, in such an event, to provide the congregation again with capable and conscientious teachers, just as it had been decided to send a competent catechist with them in addition to the pastor.

Concerning the last question, it was not the purpose of the trip to Georgia that they might find a life of ease there, yet they could be assured that God would provide their daily bread in Georgia as elsewhere, in accordance with His will, to be earned by the sweat of their brow. To compare our emigrants with the criminals sent to America is utterly out of reason because the ships captains sell these unhappy people for a number of years, that is, as long as they have been condemned to stay in America, to be servants, so that it is reasonable to look upon their transportation as punishment. Besides, such people are rarely sent to Carolina, where Georgia is located, but mostly to New England, New York, Barbados, Jamaica, etc.

On the whole, the matter of settling the British colonists had been built on a firm and God-pleasing foundation. It had been started in that faith which does not require everything to be predetermined and visible, but has trust in the gracious providence of God and His Word and which will neither be deterred by the length of the way nor let itself imagine that these words will not be as meaningful in Georgia as in other places: SHALL WE RECEIVE GOOD AT THE HAND OF GOD AND SHALL WE NOT RECEIVE EVIL? Job 2:10; likewise: IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME. Matthew 16:24. The emigrants received in faith the words which God had spoken to Joshua when he led his people across the Jordan, in Canaan, among the heathens, namely: I WILL NOT FAIL THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE. BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE; and again: BE NOT AFRAID, NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED: FOR THE LORD THY GOD IS WITH THEE WHITHERSOEVER THOU GOEST. Joshua 1:5,6,9. Thus they could joyfully answer all well or evilly intended rumors with: HE HATH SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE NOR FORSAKE THEE, so that we, the emigrants, may boldly say: THE LORD IS MY HELPER AND I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME. What could the long voyage do to me? What could the sea do to me? Hebrews 13:5,6.

5. We here in Augsburg resolved, therefore, in Gods name, to accept this oft-repeated calling and let ourselves be used in this matter without the least thought of personal gain. Soon thereafter, namely in August 1733, a number of emigrants from Saltzburg arrived in the vicinity of Augsburg. When they were made the offer to be taken to Georgia under the above mentioned conditions, some of them decided to accept this proposition. Their number was 42 persons, who were cared for here in Augsburg for several weeks, until the time of their departure. Each person received nine, and later ten to thirteen kreutzers daily for his subsistence, and those who could read were supplied with Bibles, hymn books, catechisms, Arndts True Christianity,10 and other edifying materials.

There was no little concern with the thorough instruction of the emigrants in the fundamental teachings of Christian belief and the Protestant religion. For this purpose special sermons were preached for them on Sundays, holidays, and weekdays; for those, however, who could not attend public worship, special hours of devotion were arranged. For this, one hour daily was set aside, and the children of the emigrants were provided with special schoolmasters. For those emigrants who wished to partake of Holy Communion before their departure special preparations were made so that they could attend communion together on the day of Simon and Jude in St. Annes Church, after a general confession, and after they had promised publicly to remain faithful to Protestant doctrine and to lead a righteous life. The thirty-first of October was set as the day of departure for our new Georgia colonists. A little earlier, Mr. Georg Philipp Friedrich von Reck,11 who had been appointed Royal British Commissioner for them, was presented to them in a public ceremony. And because the two pastors,12 who had been called for the new congregation from Halle, in the land of Magdeburg, could not arrive in Augsburg in so short a time, a candidate for the ministry, Schumacher by name, was delegated to accompany them to Rotterdam.

6. On said 31st of October the colonists actually departed from Augsburg. The Hon. Mayor of the Protestant part of the city, Mr. [Johann Georg] Morrell, being one of those gentlemen charged with the emigration affairs, and one who had given many valuable services to these as well as other Protestant emigrants, had arranged all the necessary details in cooperation with the Commissioner von Reck. The baggage was dispatched by wagon to Marksteft, near Wertheim, from where it was to go by boat down the Main River. For the emigrants themselves, and especially for their children, two covered wagons were hired on which they happily set out on their trip, in Gods name. They had previously received passports from the Royal British and Hanoverian embassy in Regensburg, as well as from the praiseworthy council of the Protestant part of the city of Augsburg.

The Editor, as authorized agent, supplied them with necessary instructions and gave them a short speech of exhortation, prayer, and blessing. To pay the costs of the trip, there were distributed among them not only the 500 Rhenish gulden that had been sent over from England, but also 173 gulden from a locked box to which the Protestant inhabitants of our city contributed during their visits to the colonists, and also 142 gulden from the Protestant Emigrant Fund in Regensburg. In addition the Protestant ministry of Augsburg gave one gulden to each person, and some people of means added a half gulden to that. We cannot list all of the other numerous presents of linen and other necessities donated by individuals, which equipped them well for their trip in the coming winter season.

7. Their way led through Donauwerth, Ebermergen, and Harburg to Dinkelsbhl. At the latter place they were greeted and given Christian blessings by the city pastors. When they arrived in the free city of Rothenburg on the 4th of November, they entered two by two, singing hymns. A member of the city council assigned them to private homes, where they were feasted appropriately, and at the city hall each was given a present of one-half gulden. The Roman Catholic governor at Markbreit, in the principality of Schwartzenberg, did not want to give free passage to them or to the emigrants going to Hanover; but, because nearly the entire population of the place was Protestant and made it known in every way that they wanted to see the emigrants, Commissioner von Reck did not delay his trip. He and his colonists passed through the town on November sixth without further objections.

After embarking at Marksteft and going via Wrzburg to Wertheim, they were received there with great kindness, even though the inhabitants of this worthy town had been placed in great need by the flood of the previous year and thus were in no position to do anything further for them. Her Highness, the ruling countess, received the children of the Saltzburgers and treated them most graciously. The prayer meetings of the colonists, that were held mornings and evenings, had the beneficial effect of deeply moving a Roman Catholic person, who tearfully thanked the accompanying pastor before leaving.

On Nov. 11th the journey was continued to Frankfurt, where the Commissioner had gone in advance by boat from Hanau in order to announce the arrival of the colonists. When they arrived there on the 13th, they were led in double column and singing hymns to the Nrnberger Hof in the city, where, besides free maintenance, they received much in the way of spiritual and material benefits. On behalf of the praiseworthy city council each man received one and one-half gulden, each women one gulden, and each child one half gulden. An anonymous benefactor had two gulden given to each of them, another twenty kreutzer, and the rest of the inhabitants contributed according to their ability. The very charitable attitude towards our colonists that was shown here by Mr. von Mnch and the Royal British resident, Mr. Gullmann, deserves special praise. On November 14th an edifying sermon was given in the Franciscan Church by Pastor Walther, on the text Colossians 1:9, et cetera, and on Sunday 15th another in the Catharines Church by the Senior of the Ministry, Dr. Munden.

At that time the Tirnbergers who had returned from Holland were staying in Frankfurt. Upon inquiry, the Commissioner declared that he had orders to accept all those who were able to identify themselves as Saltzburger emigrants and that they could go with him on the trip to Georgia if they voluntarily accepted the proposed conditions. Some of them showed themselves not averse to accepting this offer, especially since one of the Saltzburger emigrants, named Thomas Geschwandner, had praised highly the good treatment they had received so far. However, since most of them were sick and weak and could not undertake such an offer at this time, the praiseworthy city council made the kind offer to support and care for the spiritual and physical well-being of the Tirnbergers until they recovered and were in a position to make so long a trip.

Towards evening on November 15th, our colonists boarded their ship again at Frankfurt. On the way to Rotterdam the chaplain assigned to them [Schumacher] tried conscientiously to improve their knowledge of the Word of God, with particular stress on the Article of Justification from the epistle to the Galatians, as well as the doctrine of sanctification from the epistle of John and the letters to the Thessalonians. And he exhorted them to be steadfast and righteous in their conduct as Christians. They always paid close attention and, from time to time, sought to cheer and strengthen themselves with prayer and the singing of hymns.

8. Their happy arrival in Rotterdam took place on Nov. 27th. Here, after representations had been made by the Commissioner, the praiseworthy city council most kindly permitted the billeting of the colonists, which certain people had at first made difficult. The two pastors assigned to them, Mr. John Martin Boltzius, until recently deputy inspector of the Latin School of the orphanage at Glaucha, near Halle, and Mr. Israel Christian Gronau, who had been a praeceptor at the same orphanage, had arrived in Rotterdam in the meantime. They had left Halle on November 7, after receiving their appointment and instructions, and they were ordained on the 11th in the counts chapel at Wernigerode.

They took over the duties of their office with their new congregation, in the name of God, on the 29th of November, which was the first Sunday of Advent, by giving sermons on the ship, the former in the morning and the latter in the afternoon, which they repeated for them in the evening. Candidate Schuhmacher, who had accompanied the emigrants as their chaplain, took leave from them on the following day by giving a farewell address for their trip, based on 2 Corinthians 13:11, after which they set sail for England on Dec. 3. In the following sections of this report the gentle reader will find a detailed account of what happened there and on the whole trip to Georgia, as well as of their establishment there.

9. And now to give the gentle reader a bit of information about the second transport, which followed on the 23rd of September, 1734. There was little hope for this one at first, since it was reported from England that no new contingent could be accepted this year because of the large sums that had been spent for the colony as a whole and particularly for the abovementioned emigrants who had gone there. Nevertheless, another resolution followed soon which stated that, for ample reasons, they were willing to accept another 40 to 50 persons. Singled out for this was especially that family of Saltzburgers of five persons which had been unable to travel a year ago because one of the children had broken a leg.13 This family had been kept at the Protestant poorhouse here in Augsburg at English expense.

In addition to these, a number of relatives of those Saltzburgers who had already gone to Georgia were to be accepted. They had stayed in the Free Cities of the neighborhood, along with fellow countrymen of theirs who had not yet been able to get further and would benefit from their admission to Georgia. After this resolution had been made public by a pamphlet printed here, so many new colonists from Memmingen, Lindau, Leutkirch, and Leipheim arrived on the 16th and 18th of September that, on September 20th, a number of more than 50 heads [of families] had assembled. The recommendations regarding their former conduct which they had with them14* gave hope that the desired purpose would be happily achieved by them, and that they would, be a credit to the Gospel even in the remotest regions and among the heathens.

10. These people were willing to follow the call to go to Georgia without causing any difficulties, but in spite of that there were others who tried to sow all manner of doubt into their path. It is hard to believe that anyone who had received sufficient information on the state of affairs and who did not intend to influence others according to his own selfish heart could think up the objection that the new colonists should not leave the occasional jobs which they had got in Germany, because they could never know whether promises would be kept and whether they would not find themselves cheated in the end. Such unreasonable judgment would not be so surprising from persons who are ignorant of the matter. But since so many testimonials were available and the faithfulness and eagerness of those whom God had chosen as His tools for this work were not unknown, it was quite unreasonable to cause further doubts. To be sure, the emigrants had taken service at different places, but they had not let themselves become serfs. Instead they had reserved their right to quit such service freely if circumstances demanded it. When they received the call to Georgia they were advised to pray to God so that He might make them certain in their hearts to make the resolution according to His will. Morever, they made their decision to go to Georgia with the consent of their superiors and employers, and considered beforehand with their confessors. One cannot blame the emigrants for their desire to join their countrymen so that they might live with them and have their own land as free British subjects. Some of them have let it be known that in Georgia they would not be subject to so many trials and temptations to lead a sinful life, such as many of the other emigrants amongst us have experienced to their sorrow.15*

11. Under these circumstances there was no reason to help expedite the second transport with any less delight than the first one. Since everything proceeded as desired, there was really nothing to do except to follow Gods guidance in simple obedience. Among other things, it ought to be specially noted that, because of representations made by the Royal British ambassador to Vienna, it was finally arranged that the Roman Catholics here in Augsburg would not hinder the lodging of the emigrants in the city this time as they had hindered that of the first group the year previously. The colonists, however, stayed here for only a few days.

During this time we spared no effort to provide for their spiritual and material welfare to the best of our ability; and on several occasions we roused them with prayer and endeavored to urge the Word of God on each one according to his particular need. To gain the same end they also attended public worship daily. Special services, with exhortation and blessings, were held for them on the day of St. Matthew in the Protestant church of St. Ulrich by acting Senior Weidner, and on the following Wednesday by me in the main church of St. Annes. The same had been done before on the 13th Sunday after Trinity in an evening sermon by my special colleague, Deacon Hildebrand. At that time a good portion of the emigrants went to communion in the church last mentioned. On the first two occasions they received a material gift in both churches, consisting of I gulden for each person, which came partly from the Protestant city council of Augsburg, and partly from the local Protestant ministry, the latter being able to do so because a certain sum of money had been entrusted to it by an out-of-town source.

Since the pastors who had gone to Georgia on the first transport had written for a number of books, and since the departing colonists had asked for some for themselves, a large box was sent along containing large and small Bibles, New Testaments, books of holy verse, catechisms with and without pictures, Arndts True Christianity and Garden of Paradise, Briegish and other hymn books, books for the sick, teachings of the cross, history of the Passion with and without copper plates, and Schaitbergers16 letter, in addition to other small tracts and ABC books. May God bestow His rich blessings on this seed that was taken across the ocean at that time. A few days before the emigrants departure some newly engaged couples among them were married, properly and in Christian fashion, after having been previously admonished. This took place for 5 couples on the day of St. Matthew, Sept. 21st., and for another couple, with permission from the Protestant council, on the following day.

12. The emigrants actually departed on the following September 23rd. Their baggage was packed on two wagons hired to go to Wertheim, on which the women and children could also ride. Then I called all the colonists together before their departure in order to exhort and bless them most cordially once again and to introduce to them their chaplain for the trip, Mr. Matthew Friedrich Degmair, a worthy candidate for the ministry, who had been chosen to accompany them to England to further the welfare of their souls. Mr. John von Vat had been appointed as commissioner to lead them to England. He had been introduced to the colonists earlier and had stayed here in Augsburg for some time on express orders from the praise-worthy Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, as a man well known to it for years as upright and well qualified for such tasks.

Both the commissioner and Candidate Degmair addressed the colonists, and the official physician of the city, Dr. Octaviano Ploss, spoke to them regarding their health and handed instructions to the commissioner showing how and in which cases the medicines sent along should be used. After this they were finally dismissed in the name of God, who created and still maintaineth heaven and earth and sea, and everything that in them is; and they started on their trip with many good wishes from those present as well as from those persons who accompanied them on part of their trip. Again there was no lack of manifold signs of love and charitable gifts from the local inhabitants, who aided them with money, clothing, and also food and drink. The latter was done especially at Meutingen, on the gracious order of a prominent Protestant councilman patricii ordinis.

It was a particularly fortunate disposition of Divine Providence that, on the day following the departure of said colonists, the first commissioner, Georg Philipp Friedrich von Reck, who, as mentioned above, had departed from here on October 31 of the previous year with the first group, came back to us in Augsburg from Georgia in good health and spirits. He gave new grounds for joy and for the praise and the glorification of the Grace of our God through his oral reports on his blessed expedition.17 He brought at the same time for himself and Mr. von Vat, Royal Passes to accompany the emigrants to Georgia now and in the future, if more of them should be accepted.18*

Our colonists took the same route to Rotterdam as the one taken by the first group. They arrived there hale and hearty on Oct. 17th but had to remain there until the 27th of the same month because of adverse winds. On that day they set sail at three oclock in the afternoon and reached Helvoet Sluys on the 31st, about twelve oclock. Here the captain took a new pilot on board. In the afternoon at three oclock they came to the open sea and on the following first of November reached the English coast under favorable winds but had to lie at anchor overnight because the sea was too high. On the following Tuesday, Nov. 2nd., they had to go back into the Channel. Finally, with favorable winds, they landed happily at Gravesend at five oclock in the evening. There they made it their first concern to praise and glorify God, in accordance with the first nine verses of the 107th Psalm, for His merciful and mighty guidance.

13. At Gravesend they found orders from the praiseworthy Society asking them to come on to the Red-House at London so that, according to the wording of the letter, an additional several thousand persons might have the pleasure of seeing the dear Saltzburgers who preferred to suffer and leave everything rather than compromise their conscience. They reached London the following Wednesday, November 3rd, toward nightfall. There, on the 4th., Dr. Heinrich Walther Gerdes,19 pastor of the German but so-called Swedish Church, joined them on the ship and brought along a resolution from the Society asking that they go ashore on the following day and spend the day at a house prepared for them, but stay overnight on board ship. On Friday the court minister Heinrich Alard Butienter,20 delivered an address to the new colonists on Matth. 2:28-29 and afterwards gave them an examination, which all of them passed very well.

A number of members of the frequently lauded Society as well as many other persons had joined them, and these were so pleased with their fine understanding of Christianity, their devoted singing, their excellent deportment, and the general circumstances connected with the Saltzburgers as a whole, that they were frequently moved to tears of joy. After this the emigrants ate together, making the best of dinner music by singing hymns. They obviously understood that nothing but the best in spiritual and material things was wished for them; and they could not glorify and praise God enough for these benefactions.

On the following day, Nov. 7th., the Saltzburgers were to take Holy Communion publicly, for which they were prepared by Mr. Degmair, the ministerial candidate assigned to them. Early Sunday morning, after having prayed to God together, they were taken ashore to Billingsgate in 6 boats sent by the Lord Mayor of the City of London from their ship which was called the Two Brothers. Their commissioner, Mr. Vat, and Mr. Degmair, their own chaplain, as well as several city officials such as the City Marshall, whom the Lord Mayor had sent for this purpose, accompanied them from here to the above-mentioned Swedish Church in Trinity Lane. There Holy Communion was served by Messrs. Dr. Gerdes and the court minister Butienter.

The former followed this with a rousing sermon on the regular Gospel of the Last Supper in which he gave them many good admonitions and much comfort for their intended voyage. He also urged the rest of his listeners to make a contribution for these strangers, about whom he testified, among other things, that during the examination held on the previous Thursday, in which the entire Christian Doctrine had been covered briefly, he had not received a single incorrect answer. Furthermore, they had put many others to shame by living according to the Gospel and had shown themselves true Christians in spite of all the difficulties of their travels. All of this made such an impression on the listeners that, even though this time the collection had not been announced 8 days in advance as usual, 47 pounds sterling was gathered, which is approximately 407 florins in our currency. This money, together with that contributed by the Society and other persons, was distributed so that each adult received 38 English shillings, of which 20 make one pound sterling.

After the service was over they were led through a large gathering of people to the nearby inn in the following order: in front marched several constables sent by the Lord Mayor of London to clear the way. These were followed by several gentlemen from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and by several Trustees who marched in pairs. Then followed, in good order, Commissioner Vat and the pastor for the trip, Mr. Degmair, with the Saltzburgers. At the inn they were feasted in a large hall. There the good conduct of the emigrants caused all of those present, both of the upper and lower classes, to be greatly moved, so that they could not listen to the pious praying and singing without shedding tears, and all the noble gentlemen present, both the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia and the members of the Society, were eager to be the first to serve them at the table. As might be expected, the Saltzburgers for their part acknowledged these extraordinary signs of kindness with much humility, and among other things one of them was heard to say that: he was put to shame in his heart that these rich and noble gentlemen were thus serving them who were mere beggars. Another one said: Oh, if only the Catholics in Saltzburg and in other places could see how well off we are, how surprised they would be!

After the emigrants had eaten and had sung the hymn O Jesus, My Joy, they were led back to church by the gentlemen of the Society, in their former order. Here, after having sung several hymns, they were given a very impressive and edifying sermon on the words of Mark 10:29-30 by the minister of the court, Mr. Butienter. After the sermon four new couples from their midst were joined in marriage and, accompanied by the organ, the four couples sang I am a poor exile Then the entire congregation sang May God give us His Grace, which ended the services. The City Marshall and the constables then led the emigrants to the Tower, from where they were taken back to their ship in six boats.

During evening prayers they again gave humble thanks to the Allhighest for all the spiritual and material good which they had experienced during the day; also Mr. Degmair, who had been their chaplain up until now, took leave from them with much shedding of tears on all sides. On the following day, November 8th, Dr. Gerdes joined them on board ship and gave Holy Communion to an emigrant by the name of Ruprecht Schoppacher and to his wife Maria, who had not been able to go to church on the previous Sunday because she was pregnant. Also, 7 shillings were given each person by the court minister, Mr. Butienter, and by an English pastor, Mr. Thomas Wilson, from the money which had been received from the Emigrant Fund at Regensburg. After that everyone was assigned his place on the ship Prince Frederick21 on which they were to go to Georgia. For their voyage they were provided with all necessities, and the Society gave to every man an overcoat and special box with shoes, stockings, shirts, and linen.

At 12 oclock the ship left for Gravesend, where it lay at anchor at the mouth of the river to await favorable winds. There, the first Royal German Chaplain to His Majesty, Mr. [Friedrich Michael] Ziegenhagen, who had been unable to come earlier because of his duties at the chapel, visited the emigrants on the ship at Gravesend and addressed them with a very edifying speech based on the 45th Psalm. He also christened the young daughter [Margaretta] of which Mrs. Schoppacher had been delivered on the evening of the 8th of November, and he had food and drink brought to the ship for all of the Saltzburgers. Besides, he gave one crown to each person over twenty, and one half crown to each under twenty, so that each adult Saltzburger had 38 English shillings in currency, which is about 16 gulden in our money. Through the efforts of the honorable Mr. Oglethorpe, who had brought the royal Indian family22 with him from Georgia to England and who had now accompanied them to Gravesend in the royal carriage for their return voyage to their fatherland, better arrangements were made on the ship, with the assistance of Commissioner Vat and the ships captain [George] Dunbar, for the dear Saltzburgers and especially for the better care of the above mentioned woman in childbed. After that a very moving farewell took place.

It is to be remembered that the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, having faith in the frequently experienced providence of God, had undertaken to pay all expenses that had been incurred for the voyage to Georgia, the acquisition of necessary provisions, both present and future, as well as complete maintenance for one year after the arrival in Georgia of the 57 colonists and their commissioner. This, according to an accounting given by the Trustees of the Society amounted to 1174 pounds sterling, 1 shilling, and six pence; or, figuring one pound sterling equal to 8 gulden 40 cr., about 10175 gulden in our currency. This includes neither the expenses of the group from the time of its stay in Augsburg until its actual departure from Gravesend nor the laboratory equipment, the medicines for the colonists, and the presents which were sent along this time to the apothecary [Andreas Zwifler] who had gone with the first transport.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Vat had resolved in Gods name to accompany the emigrants all the way to Georgia. Another intelligent man, Mr. Weisiger23 was assigned to accompany the emigrants to Georgia. He had already lived for several years in Pennsylvania, where he had a family; and he had just spent a year in Germany, Holland, and England, where he had been sent by his Lutheran brethren to collect funds for building churches and schools. He was travelling at the expense of the praiseworthy Society to lend the commissioner a helping hand with the care of the emigrants. He was also to hold prayer meetings on board ship in line with the instructions given him by the two court ministers.

14. Great success could be expected in advance because of all the well made preparations and the faithfulness of the ships captain, Mr. Dunbar (who was highly praised for his friendliness and love for the emigrants); and especially because of the gracious care God had shown until then to the emigrants during their safe trip and happy crossing. It was looked upon as a special disposition of God and a good opportunity for the furthering of Gods works in general and particularly for the reception of the Georgia colony and the Saltzburgers that had settled there that, as mentioned before, the king or chief [Tomochichi] of a certain Indian nation bordering Georgia had come to England with his family and the oft-praised Mr. Oglethorpe. They were on the same ship on which the Saltzburgers were, in order to return to their country. Thus it was not unreasonable to hope that the exemplary conduct of our dear Saltzburgers would bring no little spiritual benefit to these heathens who were, of course, upright by nature.24 It is to be hoped that further news about this matter will be received in the future.

In the meantime it might be desirable to add a few items regarding this royal family and the praiseworthy conduct of its members during their stay in England. Their desire for greater knowledge had caused them to make the trip to Europe in the previous year. A good account of this is given in a letter of June 27th of last year, which Mr. Oglethorpe sent from St. Helens near the Isle of Wight to Sir John Philipps, Bart, in London, after his return from Georgia. Therefore we undertake to print it here word for word, especially as it bears good testimony for the Saltzburgers who had gone to Georgia first. It reads as follows:

I gladly report that, on departing from Georgia, I left Baron von Reck, the two pastors, and the entire community of Saltzburgers in excellent health. They are a very modest, industrious, cheerful and devout people. God Almighty was obviously pleased to protect them on their voyage, as has been reported in detail by Baron von Reck in his letters to Mr. Newman. It was their pleasure to settle on a river which they called Ebenezer. There they intend to erect a stone monument to commemorate Gods having delivered them and led them to the ends of the earth, where they may glorify and praise the name of the Lord in complete freedom, and also may be a light to the heathens. These are the pastors own words which, I hope, I translated correctly. And certainly it appears as though a door has been opened for the conversion of the Indians; because a superior or chief of the Indians, Tomocha-chi,25 the Mecko of Yammacraw, a man with an excellent mind, is so desirous of having his young people instructed in the science and wisdom of the English, and consequently in the Christian religion, that he came over with me in spite of his advanced age in order to find ways and means for instructing his people. He is staying with me now, and he has brought with him a young boy whom he calls his nephew and immediate heir. This child has already learned the Lords Prayer in the Indian and English languages. I shall leave the Indians on my estate in the country until I go to the city, where I shall have the pleasure of calling on you and of reporting on further happenings which may please and amaze you.

I remain, etc.James Oglethorpe.

The copper plate26 of the two persons named here, namely King Tomo Chachi and his grandson or nephew, Tooanahowi, can be found by the kind reader at the beginning of our report. The rest of his family and entourage are called by the following names in a report from London; Scnauki, wife of Tomo Chachi, Hillispylli, a war chief, Apokowski and Umpychi, a chief of Pallachocolas. During his stay in England Tomo Chachi had this to say, at an official function, regarding the reasons for his voyage. I thank Him who made me that He brought me across the great water in good health. When I was young, I followed war, and I was fortunate. Subsequently, the wisest men of my nation wished me to go to England, for which I was ready. But I did not want to entrust myself and my children to the people of Carolina. However, when I saw that the beloved people of the Trustees brought their children with them to live with my children, I was no longer afraid, as old as I am, to go to England; and I am happy now to see this come true. Many wise men of my nation are able to express this desire better than I can; yet I hope that, if I fail and do not satisfy them, it will be attributed to my weakness.

The said persons, in addition to three Indian chieftains and one interpreter, went to Kensington on August 4, 1734, after having arrived in England in the company of Mr. Oglethorpe, and there were received in audience by Their Majesties the King and Queen, as well as by the entire royal household, in the following manner. The master of ceremonies, Mr. Clement Cotterell, fetched them in three royal carriages, with six horses each. Their faces were painted very beautifully, after their custom, but their bodies were covered with new clothes, in moorish fashion. When they came to Kensington they were received below, with their battle axes, by the guards, and on the staircase by the most distinguished body-guard which customarily marches directly in front of His Majesty. After that, led by the said Mr. Clement Cotterell, they were presented to His Majesty the King by the Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Graffton, Tomo Chachi addressed the king as follows: This day I see His Majesty face to face, I see the greatness of his house, the multitude of his people. I have come for the best of the whole nation called the Creeks, to renew the peace which it has kept for some time with the English. I have come in my old age and even though I will not live long enough to derive any personal gain from it. I have come in the best interest of the children of all nations of the Upper and Lower Creeks so that they may be instructed in the knowledge of the English.27* These are the feathers of the eagle,28* which is the swiftest of the birds that fly in our regions. They are a sign of peace in our land and have been carried from place to place, and we have brought them here, on great king, to leave them with you as a sign of everlasting peace. Oh great king, whatever words you will say to me I will faithfully report to all the kings of the nations of the Creeks.

To this His Majesty was pleased to give the following very gracious answer. I am happy to have the opportunity to assure you of my high regard for the peoples from which you come, and no less am I happy with the assurances which you brought me from them. I also accept the present as a sign of their sincere devotion to me and my people with most sincere thanks. I shall always be prepared to maintain good relations between them and my own subjects and to give you proof, on every occasion, of my special friendship and esteem.

When they were later introduced to Her Majesty the Queen, who received them seated in the gallery, Tomo Chachi addressed her in the following manner: I am happy to see this day and to have the opportunity to see the mother of such a great people. And since our people have now mingled with those of your majesty, we live in the humble hope that you will become the common mother and protector of us and our children. To this Her Majesty likewise gave a very gracious answer. Later they were introduced to his royal highness the Prince of Wales, his royal highness the Duke of Cumberland, the royal Princess of Orange, and the Princesses Amalia, Caroline, Marie, and Louise and were taken back to their quarters by Mr. Clement Cotterell in three royal carriages.

When one of their group died of small pox on the 3rd of August, the rest of them were moved with great sadness. Efforts were made to console them, but in vain. When finally Tomo Chachi was asked why he mourned so, he answered that he well knew that one must obey the higher being and that he was not weeping because this one had died but because he had not lived to see the day they were waiting for, on which a greater light of knowledge would appear to them. In order to give them better opportunity to mourn their dead in their own fashion and to recover from their great sadness, Mr. Oglethorpe took them to his country estate; yet, even upon their return on the 8th they were very downcast and shed many tears together for the deceased.

On August 17th the Archbishop of Canterbury caused Tomo Chachi, mico or king of Yamacraw, and the rest of the Indians to be brought in his boat to Putney, where they dined with Madame Dutress and were entertained in a very agreeable fashion. When Tomo Chachi took his leave he paid a compliment to Madame Dutress by saying that if only he knew English, he would open his hearts thoughts to her and tell her how deeply he was moved by the magnificent reception and treatment and how he was even more pleased to see her, and also how he would like to thank her for the efforts and assistance she had given in sending white people to Georgia.

The following day they visited His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lambeth, who received Tomo Chachi with the greatest tenderness and love. He assured the Indians of his fatherly concern for their ignorance of Christianity and assurred them that he wished with all his heart that they and their countrymen could obtain better instruction and that he was very delighted now that an opportunity for that seemed to be at hand. After this, when the archbishop attempted to rise in spite of his sickness, Tomo Chachi Mico noticed that it caused him difficulty and insisted that he should seat himself again. When His Grace refused, the Mico did not continue saying what he had intended to say but asked for the Archbishops blessing, intending to disclose what he still wanted to say to his Reverence Dr. Lynck, the Archbishops son-in-law. Hereupon he retired.

Later he was feasted with an excellent repast, and the Archbishops whole family paid him their respects in the great gallery. In his conference with Dr. Lynck he expressed, among other things, his joy over the venerable appearance of the Archbishop and the tender love which he had shown. When Mico returned from there he showed great happiness because now he believed that some good men would be sent to instruct his young people. All this greatly increases the hope that God will open the way for His Gospel in these regions and should encourage to more diligent and solemn prayer for the furthering of this work all those who take seriously the glorification of their Saviour and the salvation of the heathens who are so poor and ignorant yet so eager for truth.

15. We now continue with the story of the departure of our emigrants. On Friday, the 12th of November of last year, at three oclock in the afternoon, they and the above-mentioned royal family set sail at Gravesend on the ship Prince Frederick. Reports in the latest letters indicate that they landed together at Savannah on December 1729 and that the Saltzburgers, with their commissioner Mr. Vat, arrived happily at Ebenezer on the 13th of January of this year. They had been at sea only six weeks and one day and had only one very small storm during their voyage. After their arrival at the place last mentioned, they celebrated a thanksgiving on the next day, January 14th, together with the other Saltzburgers who had settled there before them. Now they are busy getting settled on the land as was done by the others who, meanwhile, have gladly taken them into their huts until they can build some for themselves.

They happily related how they had not only been treated very well by their ships captain but also, as noted above, had been so well provided with all necessities at their departure from England that they could bring a considerable portion of their provisions ashore. Therefore they have sent, through the commissioner and others, several letters of thanks to England, and to Germany, and especially here to Augsburg, in order to express their appreciation for all the benefits received. In a letter to the Trustees of Georgia said Captain Dunbar likewise reported a number of happenings on their voyage and upon their arrival in Savannah. In closing, we want to pass this on to our kind reader. It reads as follows: All of us, Tomo Chachi the Mico, Scnauki, his wife, Tooanahowi, his brothers son, the rest of the Indians, and all of the Saltzburgers arrived at Savannah, happy and in good health, on December 27th. During the entire voyage the Indians showed their well-known modesty in every respect. The same is true of the Saltzburgers, who are indeed a pious, frugal, and industrious people and who caused me much less trouble on the ship than I had expected. I hope no one is dissatisfied with the treatment he has received on the ship. I have purposely delayed this letter long enough to be able to give a report on the condition of the colonists who settled this land earlier.

We had an opportunity to visit them when we heard that some strange Indians had crossed the Ogeechee River to reconnoiter the new land. We set out on January 8. Tomo Chachi had assured us that he would have accompanied us in person if his own business had not required his presence at home. If, on our march through the neighborhood, we should encounter any hostility, we were to send him immediate word, for in that case nothing would keep him from joining us with his men. Meanwhile, three of the Indians who had been to England, Hillispylli, Umpychi, and Stimolichi were not to be held back but joined us, with a servant of Mr. Musgrove30 as interpreter. On the entire march they showed the greatest precaution, modesty, and courage. Toward noon we reached Thunderbolt, where the people who had settled there had already cleared and fenced so much land that they will be in a position to sell a considerable amount of grain, etc., after the next harvest. They have made good progress with their potash production,31 they have already built three well fortified houses and, during my stay, were loading a small sea-going vessel with barrel staves for Madeira. We spent both nights at Skidoway, where they had advanced with building and agriculture much further than I had thought it possible. They are so careful and orderly with their watch that no boat may pass by day or night without stopping. Of this I had proof myself on my return trip. Their battery of four pieces is well placed. The aviso-boat is located two English miles south of Skidoway32 where, when it is there, the crew has a clear view for a great distance and can put out to sea at will. We reconnoitered the various islands to Jekyl Island and to the mouth of the Altamaha river and found no one except the friendly Indians of the neighborhood, so that we could happily return to Savannah on January 19th.

Tomo Chachi, Tooanahowi, Hillispylli, and Umpychi were polite enough to come to the ship this morning in order to inquire about my health. They retain very grateful memories of the great courtesies they enjoyed in England and asked me to report to the honorable Trustees that Santeechi has already gone to the nations of the Upper and Middle Creeks, which at present are favored by British interest, and whose emissaries are expected within two months.

PART TWO

The Travel Diary

of the Two Pastors Messrs. Boltzius and Gronau Which the Two Have Kept from Halle to Georgia and for Some Time After Their Arrival in That Land.

ON November 7, 1733, we started out on our trip, in Jesus name, from Halle to Wernigerode. With much pleasure we remembered the good admonitions, farewell wishes, and verses from the Holy Gospel which had been given us for our journey by our faithful teachers and other Godfearing persons, such as Joshua 1: Iff. and 24:14ff; Isaiah 43:Iff and 49:10ff; Exodus 4:10-11; Jeremiah 1:6ff; Psalms 68:36, 62:9; Hebrews 1:14. We found particularly inspiring what had been read to us before our departure from the late Mr. Speners1 introduction to the booklet on nature and grace. The content of this dealt with the importance of the office of a shepherd of souls. When, on this occasion, we inquired about the best methods of teaching, it was recommended to us, first of all, that we should (1) endeavor, above all things, to reach a real and living understanding of Jesus Christ for ourselves, (2) be eager to obtain a thorough understanding of the state of mind of our listeners, and (3) strive to show charitable love to them and their material and spiritual misery. (4) We should take care not to comfort them without making individual distinctions, because through that many would become too self-assured and corrupted.

We spent part of the time on our trip in prayer and in singing a few hymns, and we also resolved to read diligently, from now on, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles to the Thessalonians and also to Timothy and Titus, and to make good use of them. At this time we made our beginning with the 6th and 20th chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. On reading the former we recalled what had happened once at a prayer meeting in Halle which dealt with the divine election of Stephen, namely, how the apostles at that time looked for pious and enlightened people to take care of worldly affairs, and how this is so much more necessary when spiritual offices are to be filled. May God give to others what He has granted to Stephen, namely, that they might be imbued with the right spirit and faith if they pray for it.

On November 8th, which was a Sunday, we held a short review after prayers of that which we had found edifying when reading the two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, and we determined to undertake similar reviews in the future. During this review God gave us much comfort and pleasure, so that we spent nearly the entire morning with it and were inspired to many edifying discourses. Among other things, we were also led into a discussion of the 49th chapter of Isaiah, for our hearts were deeply moved by the unique love and affection of our Saviour which is described therein. At noon we arrived at an inn in Quedlinburg. Everything went well there so that we enjoyed our noon meal with much pleasure for body and soul, finding also an opportunity for agreeable conversation with parents and children. In the afternoon we entertained ourselves on the trip with an edifying discourse and, for our enlightenment, we read the 1st chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. On account of what is said therein about Judas we recalled the important hymn: What a sorrow and fear shall not dwell with Christians, etc., which we recited word for word, and then devoted our attention to the last verses of the hymn: Enlighten me, O Lord, my light, etc. While doing this we also recalled the inspiring life of the late Mr. Clauder, pastor in Halberstadt, and the hymn he wrote: My God, thou knowest best of all, etc., which was of great benefit to us.

As we approached the city of Wernigerode, we placed before God in humble prayer not only what we had been talking about but also the important purpose for which we had made our way here. When considering the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and its 12th verse, for which we drew on Luke 4:52, we derived the following truth and conclusion: If our separation from our dearest friends is done according to Gods will and for His glory, we should rejoice in it instead of bitterly complaining. At the same time we took this from the 26th verse of said first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles for our strengthening: That Matthew became an Apostle because God had chosen him for it, and that he did not refrain from it because of his unworthiness, which, surely, he must have felt. In Wernigerode we were received with much graciousness and love; and we were particularly pleased when a room was assigned to us in the counts castle, which was very comfortable and provided the solitude necessary for communication with our dear Saviour.

In the morning hours of the 9th of November we refreshed ourselves with prayer and an inspiring morning hymn in which God vividly recalled to us the benefactions we had enjoyed in Halle and awakened us to praise His name for them and to pray devotedly for our benefactors. When, hereafter, we received permission to pay our humble respects to His Highness the Count, we were again refreshed with many spiritual and material comforts. Then we began to sing the hymn: Sing to the Lord near and far, etc. The noon meal also was taken to the accompaniment of edifying discourses. At night we attended a pastors conference and prayer meeting and here again God gave us His blessing. After the evening meal we were strengthened once more by praying with others and in conclusion we sang the hymn: Glory be sung to Jesus with Joy, and also the hymn: All men must die, etc., which was sung to the Saltzburger tune.

On the 10th of November we enlightened ourselves by reading the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And when we later heard the story of the reception and of the conduct of the Saltzburger emigrants who had been in Wernigerode the previous year,2 we were much inspired by it, and we hope to make good use of it in the future with our Saltzburgers. Today we were also examined, at a meeting of several pastors, during which special attention was given to the article on the free will of man.

The 11th of November was set for our ordination. We prepared ourselves with prayer and were then led into the Counts chapel, where, first of all, we made confession. The ordination sermon was given by the court chaplain, Mr. [Samuel] Laue, on the text Isaiah 44:3-5. In his application he made mention of the Saltzburgers and reminded his listeners of what they themselves had seen and heard of them some time ago. Then he turned to us because, by the will of God we were to go with a number of them to a strange land. Thereupon he prayed (1) that all the promises made in the text might be granted to us fully; (2) that God might give us many Christians and Heathens for a fruitful harvest so that, through our labors, they might grow like grass and willows by the water courses; (3) that our courage might not sink under adverse conditions, but that we might cling to the wonderful pledges of our Father; and (4) that we might prove ourselves brave and untiring against internal and external foes.

After the ordination the several pastors asked divine blessings for us and enlightened, encouraged, and strengthened us with Exodus 33, Luke 10, Romans 8:31-34, and Micha 5:3. May the Lord confirm all these wishes in His Grace, and may He not let us forget what He has done for our souls and how we felt when it happened! In the evening we attended the prayer meeting, which is held in the orphanage here. A rather large number of people attended, all of whom eagerly listened to the Word. God be praised for all the blessings which He has bestowed on us this day.

On the 12th of November, His Highness the Count had us taken, with his horses, to Osterwieck, where we were received with great kindness and refreshed with many a good deed. There a number of Godfearing persons assembled who wanted to join with us in prayer.

On the morning of the 13th we left Osterwieck, and on the way the insolent talk of a certain person gave us occasion to testify to the truth and to show him as well as others how good it is to be with Christ, and what bliss it is to know for sure that one is in Gods grace.

On the 14th we likewise made efforts to awaken our traveling companions to goodness. But because people, whenever they are urged to exercise serious care for their salvation, usually bring forth all manner of excuses, we resolved, when the occasion arises, to give them only a few important verses from the Holy Gospel, together with a brief explanation, and to leave them to their own conscience, since one rarely achieves anything with much talk. On the other hand they may well remember a widely known verse, and with it everything that has been said on such an occasion. Meanwhile, our heart was strengthened in God during the trip, and we found further opportunities to talk with our traveling companions about stimulating matters, e.g. how miserable they are, and how dangerous it is for people to wait until the end before being converted. We also talked about the great corruption of mankind and, on the other hand, about the great grace and compassion of God.

When one of our traveling companions made it known that he would like to have such good company on all of his travels, we showed how beneficial it is to spend ones time in good company, and how many will regret, on their deathbed and in eternity, that they have insulted God by wasting their time in dissolute company. Yet we ourselves were forced to experience on this trip how you must feel if you find yourself in the company of people who spend their time in godless and idle chatter. This made us see the unspeakably great corruption of the human heart and also how great is Gods patience and forebearance which He shows to wicked mankind, and how highly it must be appreciated, on the other hand, if you are saved from such a state of corruption through Gods grace. On this day we passed through the city of Minden, and on the following, the 15th of November, the cities of Herford, Bielefeld, and Lippstadt.

On the 16th we passed through Hamm and Lhnen. Since we had received better company in the meantime, we tried to use more of our time for our own edification.

On the 17th we reached Wesel, where we were taken in with great love by the pastor there.

When, on the 18th, we continued on the stage coach, we received for companions two commissioned officers who conducted themselves very reasonably and modestly. We enlightened ourselves by reading from the 8th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, especially from its 34th verse, with which we compared the Acts of the Apostles 5:31 and Hebrews 7:25. In doing this, we were impressed with the fact that our Saviour Jesus Christ is sitting on the right Hand of God and speaks for us there. Thus we drew the conclusion that we could find comfort in our circumstances, for we were assured not only that some children of God were praying for us, but that, above all, the glorious and only begotten Son of God is representing us before His Father. We also rejoiced in the 2nd verse of the hymn My Solomon, etc., and especially with the words: I am enveloped in your Grace, your Mercy is my blood of life, etc. This reminded us of the verse Isaiah 49:10: He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, etc. The same evening we reached Cleve, where we remained through the following day, which was

The 19th of November. There we visited a number of persons who had been recommended to us. We were especially pleased with a certain friend who once had stopped going to church and taking Communion, but had been convinced for the better by the word of Christ: Let both grow together, etc. At the same time he realized how much damage was done him because of his refusal to listen to the divine Word and his failure to make use of Holy Communion. No less were we refreshed and strengthened by the inspiring conduct of others.

On the 20th of November we continued our trip to Nimwegen where we arrived on the same day. On the 21st we went from there on board a ship, on which we were somewhat delayed en route by a storm. On this occasion we had to put up with some inconvenience, but God made everything easy and agreeable for us. We recognized how good it is to become disaccustomed in time to too much comfort; at the same time this trip prepared us for our future sea-voyage. We took the opportunity to hold edifying conversations with the ships crew during off hours, and we also had an intelligent seaman read to us from the Dutch Bible. We finally arrived in Rotterdam, with Gods help, on the 25th of November. On November 27th, the Saltzburgers, for whose sake we had come here, finally arrived with their Commissioner von Reck. As soon as we had talked things over with them, we began

On November 29th, which was a Sunday, to proclaim the Word of God on board ship. Afterwards we catechized the old and the young and started to teach them how to find the various verses of the Holy Scripture for themselves. Because

On the 30th the Saltzburgers were assigned quarters in two houses, we made arrangements to separate in order to provide them with the Word of God3* in both houses. On December 2nd the Saltzburgers were again brought aboard a ship, which, however, did not leave the harbor until the night of December 3rd. During evening prayers we made use of the inspiring description which had been printed in Wernigerode about the conduct of the Saltzburgers when they passed through there. Our congregation was particularly pleased with this.

On the 7th our ship ran aground on a sandbar, and consequently we had to remain in the same place for several days. But we tried to put even these circumstances to use for ourselves and our listeners and looked upon them as preparation for that which might happen to us in the future. We made it serve to help us penetrate the fatherly heart of God more closely and to prepare ourselves, through His Grace, for anything that might happen to us. Meanwhile, we did not fail to take our distress before God, both together and individually. In His Grace He heard us and led our ship from the sand back into deep water, so that we did not even need the rescue vessel which, in the meantime, had been ordered to meet us.

On that day we nourished ourselves and our listeners with a good discourse on John 12:26, since we had chosen this Evangelist for our edification during morning prayer. On this day we were also delighted by a number of letters from Halle which had a very beneficial effect on us and our listeners. For our part, the reading of these letters encouraged us anew to be very faithful and useful to the Lord, who had chosen and honored us to be His servants and emissaries. Because these letters also told about the Saltzburgers in Prussia, we read them during evening prayer to our congregation, who received them with great pleasure. In addition we presented to them the example of the faithful Romans from Romans 1:8 and 16:19, as well as that of the Thessalonians, as shown in the first chapter of the first Epistle, v. 8.

On Friday, Dec. 11th, the day of the Suffering and Death of Christ, the story of the bitter suffering and death of our Saviour was again particularly impressive to us. During morning prayers we reminded ourselves and our listeners of it and, in accordance with the teachings in the second half of the 6th chapter of the Gospel of St. John, dealt with the nature and symbols of true and saving faith as is found especially in verse 40. God gave us much inspiration during this discussion, which was held in conversational style according to our custom. We have arranged our discourse for these prayer meetings in such a way (and shall continue to do so) that we do not speak without interruption, but ask questions in the course of it, sometimes of the children and sometimes of the adults. Also, we always find the quoted verses and read them aloud; and we let our listeners contribute something. If they make an error, we help them in true Evangelical spirit, and we find that this is not without benefit.

Furthermore, at each prayer meeting we remember to give them several meaningful verses which they can ponder alone until the next prayer meeting; and when we meet again we have a short review, in the form of questions, of the main ideas and verses which have been impressed upon them the previous time. Among other reasons for making them look up and read aloud the verses which are used for proof, explanation, and application are the following: (1) they gradually learn how to locate the books and chapters of the Bible better, (2) they get practice in reading, (3) we get more used to their pronunciation, and (4) in this manner those who cannot read become acquainted with the verses in their own dialect.

Our dear Saltzburgers also attempt to teach their children the most meaningful verses that are quoted in the prayer meetings. We gave one woman, for her children, the little Order of Salvation so that she might teach them the questions and answers therein, because this would be of great benefit to the children. She told us that it was just as necessary for herself and other old people as for the children and that she would make good use of the little book for herself. As very slow progress is made by ships on the Maass River, we did not reach the sea until the 19th of November.

December 20th, the following day, which was a Sunday, could not be used for the edification of all according to our wish and desire because we and our congregation were overtaken by seasickness caused by the violent movement of the ship. But we did discuss with a few of them 2 Peter 3 and Revelations 21 and sang the hymn: A droplet from the vine etc. We also edified ourselves, together with some of the Saltzburgers, with the Gospel and other verses that applied to us.

On the 21st we arrived near Dover but could not enter the harbor for lack of a pilot who was supposed to come from Dover to meet us and guide our ship through the dangerous waters.

On the 22nd we could do so, with Gods help, which caused great joy among all, although we had to do so in a great storm and with much cruising. As soon as the praiseworthy Society had learned that we had boarded a ship in Rotterdam, one of the Trustees [Capt. Thomas Coram] and the court chaplain Butienter were sent to Dover with instructions to make the best of accommodations for us and to make the imminent voyage across the ocean as comfortable as possible. In their company there is also a German by the name of [Junner] Matthiesen, a good and pious man, who serves as interpreter and regular foster father for us. These worthy friends had been waiting for us for nearly three weeks, with great eagerness; and when we finally arrived they received us with special joy. The Saltzburgers were at once refreshed with good treatment, after the many discomforts which they had had to undergo on the ship. At the same time we received from said emissaries letters patent, issued by the Trustees of the Georgia Company on November 21st, authorizing us to arrange our public worship according to the content of our dogma.4* We were no less pleased with an inspiring message from the court chaplain, Mr. Ziegenhagen, in which he had added some instructions regarding our future church establishment.

On December 22nd some of the Saltzburgers, particularly women who had become somewhat discouraged by the difficulties of the boat trip, let it be known that they would prefer to stay here in this country; but they were encouraged again and acquiesced. Afterwards, the Saltzburgers were taken off the ship by us and Commissioner von Reck and were led in pairs to a certain house where a meal had been prepared for them. Before the meal they sang a few songs which not only pleased those present very much, but also moved them almost to tears of sympathy and joy because the Saltzburgers showed themselves so very religious and unassuming during and after the meal.5*

Because the meal was started with prayer and song and was closed in the same way, some astonishment was caused among those Englishmen who were eating at another table and who were also to go to Georgia as colonists. After this we all went to the house that had been rented for the Saltzburgers and sang there: Come, Holy Ghost, etc. Hereafter the court chaplain Butienter gave the Saltzburgers a short sermon on 2 Corinthians 6:17-18. When he had finished, he gave to each person over 20 years old one pound sterling, and to those of lesser age a little less. Besides that each person received one half crown. This generosity was accepted by them with great humility and heartfelt thanks.

On December 24, during morning prayer, we brought to our hearers attention the special watch which God was keeping over them and told them how the Trustees of Georgia had not only bought in abundance all the necessary victuals for our imminent voyage but had also provided us with the vestments of our office and with an altarcloth, a chalice, and other things that we need for our service. After the prayer hour we retired with the court chaplain Butienter, who went over the church agenda of the Royal German Court Chapel in London with us and showed us how we might arrange our services to best advantage.6 For our noon meal we were invited by a French merchant, Mr. [Isaac] Minnet, who showed us great kindness. Here God fairly showers us with benefactions. Besides the fact that we unworthy ones enjoy here all the good that anyone could wish, we have also been given, for our voyage and our household in Georgia, a considerable stock of various goods, and, to be sure, everything in double portions. Thus God does infinitely more than we pray for or understand, Hallelujah.

On December 25th the court chaplain, Mr. Butienter, returned to London because his own affairs did not permit him to stay with us any longer and because he had completed his mission to us very well, to our great pleasure and to the Glory of God. Meanwhile, the above mentioned emissary of the Trustees [Coram] has stayed with us and will remain here until everything on the ship has been put in order. We had a very great storm for several days, and one ship was wrecked in this neighborhood. Thus God did us a very special favor by bringing us into the harbor in time and mercifully protecting us from damage. This we called to the attention of our congregation. During these days we remembered that Christmas was being celebrated in Germany at this time,7 which moved us to heartfelt prayer. On the 26th we received a letter from Halle, which gave us great pleasure.

On the 27th we explained to our congregation why we had not celebrated Christmas last week, as was done in Germany. In general, we find it very useful and necessary to explain to our listeners common expressions, such as watchfulness, struggle, etc., because we noticed that some of them understand the words but not their true meaning;8 and our question-and-answer lectures show us a great deal in which our listeners are still lacking. For our own enlightenment we read the late Abbot Breithaupts Ordination Speeches and the late John Arndts Commentary.

Regarding our congregation, we find it, on the whole, very good and useful to explain the theological truths to them with simple parables and examples that are well known to them, which we take from the Bible or from other sources. This not only makes everything easier to remember but also makes a great impression on the mind and makes it easier to recall it later. There arrived here recently a Mr. Purry, a native of Switzerland,9 who has already led many people to America, and for whom a newly built city there has been named Purisburg. He was very happy to see our Saltzburgers and he predicted much benefit for the land to which they were going. He and his people will be our closest neighbors and he let it be known that they would attend our services in Georgia because they had no pastors so far. He said that Mr. Oglethorpe loved the Germans very much and, since he had no children of his own, had taken them on, in a manner of speaking, as his children. During these days we also recalled the many spiritual and material benefits and the prayer and revival meetings we had enjoyed in Halle; we especially recalled the services in which we were consecrated for our office and voyage with prayer and many good wishes. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not the good He has done unto you. Hallelujah!

Because now, with respect to the calendar, we have to adjust ourselves to the English way, we are starting to arrange our diary according to it, and therefore, make the beginning

On December 21st, on which day our Saltzburgers were bound by oath and had to promise with hand and mouth to be subject to the English government, their present authority, and, as subjects, to show obedience in their enjoyment of the rights and freedoms of the land. On this occasion the following ceremony took place: There appeared before us Captain Coram, deputy for the Trustees, and also the captain of our ship [Tobias Fry] and an English merchant [William Sale]. In their presence Commissioner von Reck gave a brief address in which he praised the good deeds done for the Saltzburgers and urged upon them gratitude to God and to their benefactors. After they had promised obedience with a loud yes, a proclamation, written in German, was read to them in the name of the Trustees, which told them about the freedoms and privileges they were to enjoy in this land and also about their duties. Hereafter the names of the Saltzburgers were written on the bottom of the proclamation. Then the Saltzburgers had to touch the paper and were asked whether they meant to honor all of this. They confirmed it with a yes and then shook the deputys [Corams] hand.

In every respect, the dear Saltzburgers give us much pleasure. They are most attentive during the discussions of the Word of God and they are eager for the pure milk of the Gospel and give evidence of its power by their conduct. Among themselves, they remind each other of it, and they pray and sing. In their brotherly love for each other they are very devoted, and they have asked us to tell them always whenever we see or notice anything in them that needs correction. They seek to lead their children to our Lord Jesus through simple instruction and good examples, and these little lambs are so patient, obedient, and well behaved that our heart is overjoyed with them and we have reason to hope for much good in the future.

Our wondrous God has tried this His people in many ways on the short trip from Rotterdam to their landing in Dover, yet they have been able to adjust themselves and have not grumbled, just as we have not failed to instruct and cheer them up with the Word of God and especially with the example of Christ and of the Jewish people in the wilderness. They love us dearly and cannot give enough evidence of their love for us unworthy ones. They often praise the Lord in our presence, thanking Him for allowing them to leave their fatherland and their friends for the right to confess freely the doctrine of the Protestant Church, and for choosing them above many others to hear and to read His Word in abundance. To be sure, a number of them cannot yet read, but some of these are practicing now and others are happy that we have promised to help them with it in the future. OUR BENEVOLENT SAVIOUR HAS MADE OUR HEART SO FOND OF THESE UPSTANDING PEOPLE THAT WE CONSIDER IT A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO LIVE AND DIE WITH THEM. And even though there are some differences between them, God will grant His grace that they will eagerly follow each other in their good examples. Contrariness and meanness we cannot find in a single Saltzburger.

On December 22nd, the secretary of the English Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Mr. Newman, wrote us a friendly letter and sent us an English dictionary [Ludowigs Grammar]. He told us, in the name of the praiseworthy Society, how pleased they were by our decision, which we had made in the Name of God, to go to Georgia with the Saltzburgers, and that he wished us great success there.

On the 23rd we gave our listeners instruction on how to prepare for the imminent celebration of holy Christmas. And

On the 24th we had a preparatory service with them and read them a passage from the little booklet Christs Christmas Gifts, which gave rise to many good discussions, so that finally, closing with prayer, we left each other in good spirits and with the sincere resolve to be very grateful indeed to God for the great love which He had bestowed upon us.

On the 25th, the first day of Christmas, we and several others awakened ourselves with the singing of some Christmas songs and with prayer, which made us quite happy and cheerful. By making us see His incomparable love for mankind God gave us and our listeners much blessing and refreshment. No less did our dear God,

On the 26th and 27th, bless the preaching of His Word, which was attended by several distinguished Englishmen. Although they understood nothing, these were moved to show the same through the attention and deference that the Saltzburgers had for the word of God. Since the little book Christs Christmas Gifts had meant much to us during the celebration, we started

On December 28 to read through it with our congregation during prayer meeting, and God gave our listeners much pleasure and joy through the simple presentation of His Word. When, during evening prayer, we encouraged our listeners with the Word of God so that they would not be afraid of the wild seas, one of them, who is usually poor in spirit and of great honesty in his Christian devotion, confessed that he had a very doubtful heart. But another gave him comfort, urging him not to be downcast because God has patience with us and because our dear Saviour will not break the bruised reed, nor will He quench the smoking flax.

On the 30th God again gave us and our congregation much nourishment from His Word, and we all had the heartfelt desire to end the old year with His blessing and to start the new one in the same way. We received a letter today from Mr. James Vernon, a member of the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In it he wished us Gods grace and blessings for our office and our undertaking and assured us of his friendship with very kind words.

On the 31st all of us were busy preparing ourselves for the Christian celebration of New Years Day; and

On the 1st of January, 1734, God gave us much pleasure and satisfaction in the consideration of Jesus sweet Name. Thus this year had a blessed beginning.

On the 4th some of our congregation showed great desire to receive Holy Communion before boarding the ship. We were very much pleased with that and arranged for a preparatory service with them. But only about one ninth of them appeared. When we asked whether the rest of them would not come this time, we received the following answer: they would like to, but they still lacked the right understanding or the right experience of the Order of Salvation and the strengthening truth of our religion. But we asked these to come to us too, and they soon came with great eagerness and confessed that they considered Holy Communion to be of the greatest importance and that they would fulfill all requirements very gladly. How would it help them, they asked, if they went and were not better afterwards but remained the same persons; therefore they would be very pleased if we would help them with our instruction. Hereupon we talked with them in simple language, within their grasp, about the importance and the benefits of Holy Communion, and about who should take it. For this we used the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th verses of the hymn Jesus Christ Our Saviour, etc., and compared with it Luke 15:1, where the Lord Jesus showed himself so full of love for the poor sinners who are eager for penance that it angered the devil and all the fiends of hell. At the same time we again showed them the right Order of Salvation and made them see how they could prepare themselves with prayer, individually and in groups, for such an important undertaking. Next we presented the doctrine of Holy Communion through questions and answers in our prayer hour, and we especially instructed those who still lacked in understanding. Because we lowered ourselves to their level in simple fashion, they gained great confidence in us and revealed their doubts openly before us. Many of them have experienced more than they are able to express in words, which usually is quite the opposite with many other people.

On the 5th of January Captain Coram asked us to report to London how we had been accommodated here by him so that the Trustees and the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge would know whether he had satisfied the requirements of his commission. This we did with pleasure as we could give such testimony in full truth.

On the 6th, as the wind became favorable, we had to spend our time in Dover preparing for our departure.

The 7th. We were not able to leave yesterday because the wind again turned toward the west. And it seems that nothing will come of it today. The ships crew does not want to start with a half-wind because they could not get through the Channel with it. Everything has been thrown into some confusion so that we will not be able to take Holy Communion as we had intended; but we are continuing with the preparation.

The 8th of Jan. After the north wind started blowing we experienced a hard freeze here, having had sunny weather and rain until now. With this wind we left Dover today in Gods name, and we praised the Lord for all the kindness that was bestowed upon our bodies and souls in the English harbor.

The 9th. Just as most of the people became very sick at the beginning of the voyage, we too have become stricken by seasickness. But it is not as violent as it was on the trip from Rotterdam to Dover. Our true God has sent the most beautiful south-easterly wind which, it is hoped, will bring us through the English Channel in a few days. We are praising Him diligently for this kind deed.

The 10th. Today our bodies were strengthened again. With the favorable wind we passed this morning out of the English Channel, which is 300 English miles long. On the great ocean we considered the wonders of God, His omnipotence, and great wisdom. Our hearts were full of joy, and on the topdeck of the ship we all joined in the song: Wondrous King, etc. We also edified ourselves with a good discourse which once again moved one of those present very much, so much that he definitely resolved to give himself over completely to our dear Saviour, for he can see what bliss it is to have a gracious God and a clear conscience.

The water of the ocean is quite black. The cause for this is said to lie in its unfathomable depth, while the other seas are said to take their color from the bottom.

On the 11th, in the evening, the wind blew so hard that a large rope, which holds the mizzenmast, was snapped. This brought us into danger but also closer to God.

The 13th. During the hour of prayer we and our traveling companions found edification in the Gospel. We showed that for us and for them the voyage and the circumstances connected with it could become bearable and sweet if we considered 1) that we set out on this road in accordance with the Will of God; 2) that we have our Lord Jesus with us; 3) that at the place to which we are going we shall be able to achieve something for the Glory of God and the good of our neighbors, as did those in Jerusalem. God maintained a favorable east northeast wind for us today.

The 14th. Last night and today we had a calm, and the weather was very pleasant. As the wind had been somewhat cold during the last few days, we now felt a refreshing warmth. The setting sun presented such a magnificent view on the water and in the sky that one could only admire but not describe it. We reflected that if the creation is this beautiful, how beautiful must be its Creator!

The 15th. Today the wind changed to southwest and almost completely west against us so that we could not maintain our course. Whenever something on our voyage goes contrary to our wishes, we diligently remind our congregation of the 27th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. This we now not only understand better than before, but also consider it a great comfort that it is written in the Bible, as otherwise one might think of its as useless and superfluous. In the evening hour God heard our common prayer and again gave us a strong and rather favorable wind. During the day some of our company had remembered and had been very much impressed by the last words of James 5:17-18: Elijah was a man, etc. When the favorable wind had come, each of them revealed his thoughts to the others, and great joy and praise of God arose.

The 16th. Today we had a warm rain; it was accompanied by a strong northwesterly wind which hurried us along at a speed of eight and one half miles per hour.

The 18th. Today we have had a very weak but otherwise favorable north-north-east wind with which we traveled at about 2 to 3 English miles per hour. The sun shone so beautifully that body and soul were quickened by the grace of God which rises with the sun above mankind.

The 19th of Jan. Today it was even lovelier than yesterday, although we covered only a few miles because of the very weak southeasterly wind. During the week just finished our merciful God has shown us and our congregation much mercy. To the joy of our heart he has given us much insight into the treasures of salvation, gained through Christ, and has made us see the fruit of our labors in many a person. Hallelujah!

The 20th. Among other things we read to our listeners about the covenant of God with the faithful, from B. Arndts Informatorium Biblicum. Hereupon God, as we were to learn later, bestowed no little blessing. Whenever something from the Word of God strikes close to the heart, some of our listeners come to us and thank us in humble words; sometimes they even do this right after the prayer hour and in everyones presence, which moves us deeply. The wind grew stronger last night. God assured our hearts more and more that it was His good and gracious wish that we should accept the call to America.

The 21st. Today, in Gods name, we have made the beginning of going through the Psalms of David during our prayer hour, in simple fashion and according to our usual method, especially since it is noticeable that some of our listeners have high esteem for the Psalms. May God bestow His Divine Blessings on this also. Last night and today the southeasterly wind has been even better and stronger than before.

The 22nd. Today God permitted us to see a rainbow at sea for the first time and we made use of it to strengthen our faith. An east-southeast wind furthered our voyage by 133 English miles in 24 hours. At Dover we were given a considerable supply of brandy, moderate use of which has often been of great benefit to our congregation. Thanks to our Heavenly Father for this comfort.

The 23rd. The favorable wind still continues. We realize that our kind Father is hurrying us in order to take us out of danger and soon to America. May He be praised!

The 24th of Jan. This day again was as lovely as a summer day in Germany. With a southeasterly wind we came 141 miles closer to our Georgia in 24 hours. Until now we have pursued a course south-west and south-south-west according to the compass or magnet.

The 25th. Today our true God has once again granted us great inspiration from the 8th Psalm, and we have resolved anew to bring it about, with His assistance and grace, that the name of our glorious Saviour shall be glorified in us and through us, so that it may also be said in America: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name! The sailors informed us that we had passed the longitude of the Canary Islands last night and had reached the trade winds, which blow steadily for six months from an easterly direction and will take us directly to our destination. Whether that is so, time will tell. We hope to succeed better if we ask for favorable winds from Him who commands the wind and the sea. The first quarter of the moon appears in this region other than in Germany, for here the curve is on the bottom and the two points are turned straight up.

The 26th. We noticed that when the dear Saltzburgers buy cheese from the helmsman they show themselves as grateful as if it were being given to them. One of the Saltzburgers had fallen seriously ill and had lost all of his strength, but God has so strengthened him again that he could come on deck today. Whenever he was refreshed with wine and other things, he and his wife could not show enough gratitude to God and to those who were charitable to him. It is characteristic of most of the Saltzburgers that they accept even the least good deed with great humility and gratitude.

The 27th. Using the Gospel of St. Matthew (8:1 ff), we not only praised our Lord Jesus as an all-powerful and loving Jesus but also showed our congregation what a grave sin it is to have and to hear the gospel but, like the Jews, to lack its fruit, namely faith and Christian conduct. Compare Matthew 20 to 24. Through Gods grace we gave special emphasis to the last point because we have learned that there is no lack on the ship of those who disgrace the name of the Lord with ungodly conduct. Toward noon we learned that one of our pious hearers had applied this to himself, alleging he now had recognized quite clearly that (in his own words) he was still an unconverted man and that he was so disheartened that he wished he had never been born. He gave two reasons for considering himself an unconverted man: 1) because he did not arrange his life completely in accordance with the Word of God; 2) because he often showed impatience on the ship. We set him straight with the verses I John 1, and Isaiah 66:2 and with the examples of the disciples of Christ whom the Lord did not cast away because of their faults. We also let him read the beautiful Christmas song; O Jesus Christ, etc., which cheered him up again. The Saltzburgers were told to place all their clothing and bedding in the sun, since it was shining so warmly, but they answered that it was Sunday today and they would prefer doing it some other day.

The 28th of Jan. This afternoon at two oclock all of us aboard the ship had a great scare which impressed our hearts and our congregations hearts very much (may God grant it to all aboard the ship!) and effected much good through Gods grace. When the captains dinner was cooking, the cabin boy who had to prepare it spilled the broth from the meat into the fire so that the steam penetrated throughout the ship and into the cabins. Since some sailors were in the powder magazine at that time, someone got the idea that the powder had caught on fire. He immediately called for water and came running on deck in great fear. Thereupon the captain and everybody ran to the bow of the ship and everyone thought his last hour had come. It is impossible to describe what a wretched sight this was and how miserably the old and the young were screaming. After the panic had passed, we called our congregation together and sang the hymn; I shall, as long as I live here, etc. We praised God in prayer and reminded them briefly of the verse from the 13th Psalm which we had considered in this mornings prayer hour: I have trusted in Thy mercy. We closed with the verse: Let us come before His presence, etc. and reminded them briefly of the words contained therein: Fulfill your promised duty, etc.10

The 30th of Jan. The old Saltzburger who had hardly regained some of his strength in the past few days fainted again today and is now lying almost without strength and life. As soon as he has somewhat recovered they will bleed him. Also, one of the Saltzburgers wives is in very miserable physical condition and she is getting worse because she has a nursing baby. Both are very dear people who know how to bear their cross. Among other edifying remarks, the woman said that she was still better off than her Saviour, because He had to suffer on the cross while she could lie in bed, etc. She wished nothing more than to have her children learn quickly how to read. She would like to take advantage of that now as she cannot hold a book herself because of her weakness. We covered nearly 6 to 7 miles per hour.

The 31st. Today the Saltzburger was bled. May God give His blessing for this. A certain person11 on the ship is no longer as difficult for us to handle as before. She shows herself respectful toward the Word of God, likes to be corrected, and asks for good books for her edification. With Gods help we hope that the labor done for her will not be in vain, for she now has no lack of good intentions. Today we had a very warm day and little wind.

The 1st of Feb. There are several sick and two nursing babies among the Saltzburgers for whom a soup of water and flour has to be made from time to time because they cannot eat ordinary food. Since last night the wind has been not only very weak but also quite adverse; thus there is little foundation to the sailors observation that the wind in this region blows for six months straight from the east, northeast, or southeast. In the evening after 8 oclock, we were furtively overhauled by a ship which we had not noticed during the whole day. Our captain hurried on deck at once with his speaking-tube and called out to the ship, but he received in answer a shot from a cannon, which caused great commotion and brought everybody on deck. The captain ordered all sails to be hoisted. But God changed everything for the best. Our innocent mobilization and preparations and perhaps also the many people that were to be seen frightened the pirate ship, for which we took it, so much that it left us and gave the appearance of wanting to escape us. God be praised for having saved us from this danger too!

The 2nd of Feb. Last night and this entire day the ship has remained almost in the same spot, because we have had no wind. Because of the warm sunshine and the fertile rain, most of the little trees on the ship that are to be taken to Georgia are budding and growing leaves.12

The 3rd. This day again has been extremely calm so that we can not follow our course at all. We accept this quiet day as a gift from God, the better and calmer to celebrate the Sabbath of the Lord with our congregation. We found that one of our Saltzburgers had the catechism-sermons of the late Brent (in German), which we do not recall having seen before. They are full of strength and sustenance, and the true God has given us so much inspiration from them that we cannot express it. Through Gods grace we intend to make further use of them. If they were better known they would, without doubt, be of great value. The passage on page 5 should be specially noted by all teachers in churches and schools.

The 4th. The southwind today was still so weak that we could not quite make two English miles in an hour. We and our congregation are diligently praying to God about this and we hope He will soon send us a favorable wind again, although the crew members contend that, in this region, ships often lie still for many weeks. Some of the Saltzburgers are very weak. For these the quiet and lovely weather is very helpful.

The 5th of Feb. Last night our dear Father gave us a good southeasterly wind which increased in strength during the day; for this we have already sung a song of praise to Him and shall do so again. He arranges it wisely to withdraw the favorable winds from us from time to time, for otherwise we would take them for granted and would give Him little prayer and thanks. Toward noon, one of us mingled with the congregation, pointed out the favorable wind to them, and asked whether they had prayed to God for it constantly. All of them not only confirmed this with a joyous YES, but one of them pulled from his pocket a prayer book in which he had a bookmark at a prayer for good wind. This he had dedicated diligently to the Lord whom wind and sea obey. Hereupon we roused them to give thanks for the favor received.

The 6th. Our hearts long more and more for quick arrival at our destination because we notice much ungodly conduct with which our dear Father is being offended. This drives us and our congregation all the more seriously to prayer and attentive study of the Divine Word. Under these circumstances the Psalms of David which we are considering in simple fashion during our morning and evening hours of prayer appear sweet as honey to us; and, through Gods Grace, we understand them better than before. God gladened us with a southeasterly wind which advanced us on our way by 5 to 6 miles an hour.

The 8th. The time had come to consider the 34th Psalm. From this we learned that, although God let David, a man after His own heart, fall into great physical and spiritual distress, He did not leave him there. We also realized that this is still His way, and why such still occurs. Most of the Saltzburgers know well how to submit to Gods guidance. Today one of them said, among other things that he was glad to go so far and still have Gods word in abundance and that, if he and his countrymen were to lead a life pleasing to God (which was his intention), then perhaps others would be converted to the Lord Jesus through their conduct. They were not nearly as bad off as Paul on his voyage, who had to go hungry for fourteen days, since they had something every day. We were amazed to hear how powerfully and impressively they spoke to one of their number about his faintheartedness.

The 9th of Feb. Since yesterday the wind has become so excellent that we cannot wish it better and cannot praise our heavenly Father enough for it. When studying the 35th Psalm, verses 13 and 14, we gave our listeners some good advice regarding their future behavior toward friend and foe, according to Davids example. We also recalled what a good friend had told us in Rotterdam about the heartless behavior of most Christians towards the poor Indians. It happened on occasion that said Indians would seek shelter with Christians during their travels because they could not reach their dwelling place after nightfall; but, instead of taking them in and showing them Christian love, the Christians pushed them out like dogs and did not even offer them the least bite of bread. Thus it happened that they could be found lying dead on the road the next morning because, as they are largely naked, they had not been able to protect themselves against the cold of the night. But if one accepted them and gave them a piece of bread, that would give them the greatest pleasure and they would even give their lives for such a benefactor. Toward the others, however, they feel a great abhorrence. Noticing that our traveling companions had not been able to understand the 9th and 10th verses of the 36th Psalm, which we had discussed during the evening hour of prayer, we read them the last part of the biography of the late Provost Porst, which made such an impression that one of them asked to copy this biography. Until now we had set our course southwest, west-southwest, and westeast-south,13 but now we changed it to west-northwest and west by north.

The 10th. Our dear God graciously granted that today, Sunday, was spent by everybody on the ship, more so than usual, with the reading of the Bible and other useful books, even by the sailors. In this the Saltzburgers always led them with their good example. They are glad that God has heard their prayer and has made a certain individual much kinder and more friendly toward them.14 They have resolved to continue setting a good example and praying for him. We reminded them of the words of Solomon: When a mans ways please the Lord, he maketh even, etc.

The 11th of Feb. The French baker [Gilbert Beque], who joined the Saltzburgers in Rotterdam as a colonist, attends our prayer meetings regularly and makes use of what he can understand of the German language. The Saltzburgers speak well of him and are working on him to the best of their ability. He himself enjoys being among them because (as he says himself) he finds more good and honesty among them than among others. These dear people pray much for others, they set them a good example, and they wish for the salvation of all. Almost all the time we have had a good easterly wind.

The 14th. Some of our congregation (with whom we usually converse in simple fashion) told one of us today that before we joined them they had been worried about not being able to understand our pronunciation, as it had happened to them in the case of several sermons on their trip; but now they had experienced the contrary. They pointed out that two features pleased them above all others in our explanation of the Psalms: 1) that we strive diligently to show them the Lord Jesus with all the good that he has gained for us, etc.; 2) that we explain Scripture with Scripture, which not only introduces them to Holy Writ but also gives them a clear understanding of it. God be praised for His infinite Grace which He has bestowed upon us for the teaching of His word, especially the Psalms.

The 15th. So far we have had the most favorable wind, but this morning it became somewhat weak and towards noon we had a calm. Be it as God will! The hymn: My soul sinks down, etc. has been particularly impressive for us under our circumstances. We have clear evidence that our dear Saviour has blessed our efforts with another person. She15 formerly had great aversion against true Christian conduct and once in a while showed signs of great emotional upset over this or that. Because we noticed that she could not bear to be told about her defects under these circumstances, we found it advisable to take up her various excuses in our prayer meetings and to show the inevitable necessity of rebirth. We also did this in private and applied it directly to her. By and by this served to convince her and to make her resolve to become not only a mere hearer but also an active doer of the word, through the Grace of the Holy Ghost, as she acknowledged today with tearfilled eyes. May God continue to have mercy upon us and help us to grace the teachings of Christ with a holy and steadfast life, which brings great blessings and impresses particularly those whose minds are clouded with prejudice. In the evening a west-north-west wind arose which, however, soon died away. At night God gave us an excellent south wind, with which we traveled from five to six and one half miles per hour.

The 16th of Feb. On this trip we have constantly observed that, whenever an adverse wind came up, it was quite weak or it turned into a calm. Thus, even though we could not continue travelling, we were at least not driven back, which would have happened if the adverse wind had blown strongly. This also shows Gods kindness.

The 17th. Even though the wind switched again yesterday and finally turned into a calm this morning before sunrise, God gave us such a beautiful north-east wind that we could not wish it any better. In the evening prayer hour, when reading the 50th Psalm (with which we inspired our listeners to be grateful for the many divine kindnesses enjoyed at sea) we recalled the words from Genesis 35:1-5, in which Jacob is reminded by God of his vow in Genesis 28:20-22; and all of us made a covenant, just like Jacob, not to take with us to the new land the strange gods and all those things to which our hearts have been clinging, but to cast them into the depths of the sea with the help of our Lord Jesus. This notion made a great impression.

The 18th of Feb. This morning, through circumstances beyond our control, we were prevented from holding our prayer meeting, which pleased neither us nor our congregation. The place where our meetings have to be held is small and uncomfortable, yet this has not prevented us or our congregation from gathering mornings and evenings for praying and studying the Word of God. Towards noon a strong south and southwest wind arose, which developed into a violent storm about four oclock and caused great consternation everywhere, especially since the wind sheared the one big sail from the main mast, under which one must huddle during a storm for the safety of the ship.16 Hereupon all of the yardarms were taken down and the ships crew made every possible effort to save the ship. But we took refuge in the Lord Jesus, whom wind and sea must obey. Our congregation also sang and prayed together during the storm while others howled and screamed.

In her great fear a certain person made solemn vows, and after we had pointed out to her the unfaithfulness and sin to which she was still subject in her heart, she promised with hand and mouth to work for her salvation with fear and trembling if the Lord would save us from this mortal danger. After six oclock the storm quieted down somewhat, but our ship continued to be tossed about all night long by wind and waves. In this peril we learned what a comfort it is to know the Lord Jesus and to cleave to His brotherly heart in faith. Nothing else, no matter how good it seems, will stand the test. Learning this lesson properly shall henceforth be the task of ourselves and of our congregation. May God help us! The external and internal confusion on the ship did not permit us to hold our evening prayer hour; but we briefly urged our congregation to continue praying and imploring, which they did.

The 19th. All day long the wind continued to blow so violently against us from west-north-west and the waves were so high that we could spread only two sails in the wind while the ship continued to be tossed from side to side. When the Saltzburgers came on deck they were asked how it was with their confidence in God and to which verses of the Bible they had clung. Thereupon all the men and women not only quoted strength-giving verses but also showed happy confidence, which gave us much encouragement. At the evening prayer hour we sang: Put your ways (in the hands of God), etc.; and we reminded them of a few verses and led but one prayer, as the circumstances did not permit anything more.

The 20th of Feb. Last night the wind died down completely and, because there was a calm, we had to remain in one spot. In the afternoon God gladdened us with an excellent south-east wind. Because we could not hold our prayer hour again in the old manner, we sang at first: Praise and Honor to the Highest, etc., considered the 51st Psalm, which was next in order, and closed after prayer with the hymn: Thou art praised in silence, etc. These hymns seemed to have been made for the circumstances from which our Lord had saved us and were most impressive. Also, many verses of the Bible became much clearer and more meaningful to us than before. Vexation teaches us to follow the Word. After the noon meal someone gave us a sum of money with the request that we distribute it among the Saltzburgers after our arrival in Georgia. This, it would seem, he must have promised to God during his peril. In this way the danger was destined to serve the Saltzburgers for their spiritual as well as their material benefit. So it is quite correct that all things work together for good to them that love God.

The 21st. Yesterday during the evening prayer hour a weak southeast wind came up, which grew stronger during the night so that today we covered a good stretch of the way. Two Saltzburger men have fallen sick, probably because of the great shaking of the ship. Mr. Zwifler is a very useful man in the practice of medicine who cares earnestly for all the sick on the ship; and so far his medicines have also been blessed by God.

The 22nd of Feb. Today the wind has been of such nature that we have cause to praise God. Toward evening the southwest wind drove the waves so high that there was some fear of danger, but our heavenly Father heard our sighs and gave us calm weather all night.

The 23rd of Feb. The ships crew are making such preparations that it appears that we are near land. On the entire ocean we have observed nothing extraordinary, even though we had previously imagined that peculiar and wondrous things would come into view. Occasionally some large and small fish would jump into the air, but the crew could not catch any of them although they cast hook and line out for them. Besides the fish some large white birds came into view now and then, also flying fish.

We have met only very few ships. With those that came close the captain talked through a speaking tube and inquired about things he needed to know. For more than half of the way we have seen in the sea that which is called herbas flottantes on the chart of America. This seaweed looks like moss and is yellow like straw, it has no real leaves, but contains in its center a few berries similar in size to unripe grapes. These berries sprout when their time comes, separate themselves from the old weed, and gradually grow as large as a hat. On the map this grass is marked for only a certain distance, but half of the ocean is covered with it. It does not grow very densely but in patches. The ships do not have to worry about it. An adverse wind rose in the morning hours, but we were not driven back because a calm followed it immediately.

The 24th. This was Sunday. In the evening one of us chanced to think about the doxology in the Lords Prayer, especially the words: THINE IS THE POWER, which we presented to God in prayer. He heard us, for the sake of His son, by sending a little east wind in the evening hours which started to move our ship and grew so beautiful and strong during the night that the next morning we could not praise the Lord enough for this benefit, which greatly strengthened us in our faith. Our congregation also were so delighted that we could hear many a God be praised! come from their mouths. Some said with Christian simplicity that, if they knew which hymn the Heavenly Father liked best, they would sing it with a thousand joys.

The 25th of Feb. In yesterdays evening hour we read our listeners the late Brents explanation of the fourth petition of the Lords Prayer. The last part of this applies particularly well to their present and future circumstances. On pages 197 and 198 this reads as follows: When Elijah had fled from Jezebel and grew hungry in the desert, God sent him by an angel a loaf of bread and a jug of water. He could just as easily have sent him fancy food and drink; but He wanted to send him ordinary bread and water so that He might train His people not to want superfluity, abundance, and excess in material things, but only what is necessary for their lives. Indeed we must contemplate here the wondrous creation and rule of all things. For God could have created us and given us such food which, once taken, could have maintained us forever or for many days. He has shown some of His power in Elijah who, after having eaten the bread and drunk the water which the angel had brought him, was able to go for forty days and forty nights by the strength derived from this food. God could easily maintain our life in this world without food or drink; but in His great wisdom it has pleased Him to give us food which is soon used up after having been eaten, making us soon hungry again, so that, being hungry every day, we must pray to God every day and expect our food from Him at the proper time. And so that we should have no doubt about His kindness, His Son has given us this form of prayer: Give us this day our daily bread. With this He has made us understand that His heavenly Father is so kind toward us that He will nourish us not only one day but every day; and, even though not a grain might grow in the fields and not an apple on the trees, He could still give us bread from heaven and will do so if we remain in our calling, as He has shown with examples in the case of the children of Israel. Therefore, even though we do not have sufficient food and supplies for several years, we still have the Lords Prayer, in which are included not only the heavenly treasures but also all things necessary for our worldly existence.

Likewise, page 200: God will not permit him who follows Him to die of hunger. Man, he says, shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God; that is to say, we must always obey Gods word and call. For, although God may at times send us to places where it appears that we cannot get bread, He will, nevertheless, send it. Rather than let those whom He has called and who have followed His call suffer, He would change the order of nature so that bread would rain from the sky, a rock turn into a spring, and clothes would neither tear nor get old. And in Matthew 6:33, He says: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. This is a very precious book, and we cannot express how much blessing God has already sent us through it. There are others among those with us who like to hear it; and this gives rise to much profitable conversation and eliminates much useless chatter.

The 26th of Feb. This morning we heard our first thunder, and all day we had a soft, warm rain. Our voyage proceeded rather slowly but it is said that we are not far from land. In the evening we saw some severe lightning, after which we had a strong westerly wind against us.

The 27th. All day we had such a strong west-south-west wind that it resembled a storm. The ship was thrown violently from side to side and the passengers were in great fear. This peril again drove us to prayer and to the Word of God. Thus, through divine blessing, all of this has again done much good for our souls. The sun shone bright and lovely all day. The words from John 14:13-14 and Micah 7:18-19 were especially welcome to us. O how dear the Word of God has become to us, including the Psalms. Under the distressing circumstances we also found consolation in the Christmas song: O JESUS CHRIST, YOUR MANGER IS etc. God be praised for all of these purifying trials.

The 28th of Feb. Last night the strong westwind died down. Although the wind was not entirely favorable, we were able to make some progress. During the prayer hour we praised God for protecting us and averting all danger. We used the next Psalm on our schedule, the 61st, which suited our circumstances very well. In the afternoon several of our Saltzburgers spotted a ship in the distance. This was reported to the captain, who observed it through his telescope. And since it neither went further away nor came any nearer and at times was even lost from sight completely, he assumed that it was a ship that had run aground. Because the sea was almost completely calm, he sent out five sailors in a boat to inspect everything carefully and take aboard any survivors. After more than an hour they brought the news that it was a capsized ship which must have come to grief during the last strong wind and that it was lying on its side full of water. They assumed that the crew had escaped, for the lifeboats were nowhere to be seen. They had not dared go too close to the ship because it was surrounded by many large fish which might well have bitten even living people who came too close. Our Father in Heaven be praised for having saved us wretches from all plight and peril!

The 1st of March. Last night God again gave us a very favorable wind which, we hope, will bring us to land with His guidance and in accordance with His will. May He do what pleases Him, for His will is the best. One of the passengers was truely awakened today by the Word of God. Previously he had decided many times to give his whole heart to God without being afraid of disgrace and suffering. This he assured us again today in moving words; he embraced one of us and thanked God who had led him to us and had shown him on the high seas the way to everlasting life. Only eternity will clearly show how much mercy our Heavenly Father has shown on most of us through His Gospel. May God give all of us faith and steadfastness.

The 2nd. Last night another very strong wind arose which was very contrary and which shook the ship considerably. But God has averted all danger. May He continue to help us for Christs sake. The words from Isaiah 41:14 provided us with much blessing in this peril.

The 3rd. This morning at 4 oclock the wind changed and became so favorable that we covered many miles. But it was so strong that we could use only two sails, which made the ship look rather fearful and disquieting. Despite that, God provided us on this day with much edification from His Word and gave us superabundant consolation in our distressing situation. Holy Writ and the comforting verses therein are so blessed for us by our Father in Heaven that we often derive a heavenly pleasure from them and become strengthened in all of our trials of body and soul. For the edification of others and for our own memory we will record them. Psalms 62:12, 65:3; Jeremiah 17:5, 7ff. Isaiah 31:5; I Samuel 7:12; Exodus 10:26; Ezekiel 33:11; Micah 7:18-19; I John 2:1-2; Isaiah 16:14; Psalms 13:6; Luke 18:7-8; John 14.

In the evening, when we had assembled for our prayer hour, it was said that land had been sighted. This brought great joy to the Saltzburgers, and together we praised God with the song: Lord God We Praise Thee. And we vowed to have a yearly thanksgiving in His honor, on which we would use our diary to bring back to their memories the trials of the wondrous divine guidance.17 The expressions which some of them used were remarkable and bore witness of both the recognition of their misery and the infinite Grace of God. Among these dear souls we have almost a heaven on earth. Shortly before going to bed we were told again that people in Augsburg were diligently praying for our ship and that they would continue to do so until they had reliable news of our arrival in America. We remembered with pleasure what had been told us in Halle when we were given our vocation, namely: We could be assured that many right thinking Christians and Children of God, who would learn of our intention, would pray for us and our flock. This did much to strengthen our faith.

The 4th of March. In this mornings prayer hour we had our listeners recite those verses to which they had clung most often until now. They brought up many edifying verses, particularly from the second chapter of Sirach, which we read to them and which gave us much strength. Last nights rumor about seeing land was without foundation. A ship had been seen in place of it. It passed us today on its way from Carolina to Pennsylvania. But we know that we are not far from land and that we could reach it easily with the favorable northeast wind we are having if the captain were not making the ship proceed slowly. He takes this precaution because the water is not very high. One of the husbands among the Saltzburgers told one of us that his wife was grieving very much over her sins and over the wrath of God which was to be expected for them. We found her wailing and crying. But God granted the opening of her heart through the Gospel. (Compare Isaiah 40:1.) Another Saltzburger close by heard the consoling verses and afterwards thanked us in very friendly terms for the consolation and good instruction which he had overheard and which he himself had also needed badly. It is easy to preach the Gospel if you have such hungry and faithful listeners. The Gospel shall be given to the poor.

The 5th of March. This morning about 9 oclock our Father in Heaven let the sun rise. We had prayed for this since yesterday when we thought we had come close to land. After sunrise one of the sailors called from the mast that he had sighted land and not long afterwards we could recognize it clearly from the deck below. Hereupon we assembled and made good our vow to God with the hymn: LORD GOD WE PRAISE THEE. The 66th Psalm, which came next in order of our readings, brought us great pleasure because it fitted our circumstances exceedingly well. At last we read from the 5th chapter of Joshua, with the admonition that those who needed it should use the last few days at sea to open their hearts.

The 6th. Although we had seen the land, we were unable to reach it yesterday or today. Rather, we were driven further out to sea by contrary winds. Gods ways with us are wondrous indeed. As soon as we sighted land an adverse wind arose, while until then we had had a calm. God is giving us time to drive out the false gods and to truly purify our hearts before landing. This we impressed upon ourselves and our listeners with diligence. During the prayer hour we also recalled what is written in the books of Moses about the Jews, who occasionally could see their land from a distance, but had to remain in one spot or wander from one place to another, in accordance with the orders God had given from the column of fire and smoke. A few days ago it was rather cold in this region but today we had a very lovely and warm day. God has heard our prayer and has again given us a favorable wind which, we hope, will bring us to Charleston soon.

The 7th. Although we have a favorable wind the ship will not proceed to Charleston but will anchor in a safe place and remain there until we get a pilot who can lead us to our destination. We got leave to go to Charleston with the captain in a sloop, as we wanted to have our vestments made there. But since no tailor there knows what to do, we will have to see if and how we can get them from somewhere else. This city of Charleston not only looks good from the sea but is also well built, though not expensively, and has no walls. We have especially noted the following:

(1) That everything here, with the exception of some foods, is very expensive.

(2) That there is money made of paper on which the denomination is printed with letters. If you give the people a gold or silver coin they wont give back anything but paper. This money is valid in all of Carolina.

(3) That all those who wish to work can have bread, even though it is expensive.

(4) That there are here many more black than white people, all of whom are very much urged to work but never urged to become Christians. Very few, perhaps not any, have been baptized. The rest live like animals, with respect to the Sixth Commandment18 and in other ways. Whole boatloads are brought here from Africa and offered for sale.

(5) That it is already very hot even though spring has just begun. The trees are already blossoming at this time, and the gardens are filled with cabbage, turnips, radishes, lettuce, and other garden produce.

(6) That we have met here also a few Germans who were very happy at our arrival and who will visit us for Holy Communion. The printer, named Timotheus, is also a German.19 He is the publisher of the local newspaper.

(7) That three weeks ago a ship with a rich cargo was burned completely right in front of the city due to the negligence of a cabin boy.

(8) That it is a great convenience to have many slaves to do the work; but this convenience is coupled with great danger, for the blacks, who are said to number thirty thousand in Carolina alone, are not faithful to the Christians and are very malicious.

(9) That we were received by Mr. Oglethorpe with great kindness, and that we had dinner with him at the governors [Robert Johnson], who is a very affable and good gentleman. Mr. Oglethorpe had many good things to say about the heathens who are to be our neighbors. We will include this in our report on the Indians.20* Mr. Oglethorpe also took care of the people aboard. He sent a whole steer, a barrel of wine, fresh water and vegetables aboard ship. He also sent a gentleman with us to the ship, who was to make arrangements for the people and, as he knew the land, was to take us to Georgia.

As we had brought our diary in order, and since a ship was sailing for London just now, we sent it to the court chaplain, Mr. Ziegenhagen. Time did not permit us to write much.21*

The 8th of March. Adverse winds did not permit us to return to our ship in the sloop, although we had left the harbor. A shoemaker from Nrnberg, who had come to America a few months earlier, told us that not only had they been at sea for fifteen weeks but also a great storm had broken all of their water barrels save one. And, when all of the sixty persons aboard were near death for lack of water, God had taken mercy on them and had sent an unusually hard rain so that they could fill many barrels and thus escape death. As there are opportunities in Charleston to reach Pennsylvania, we wrote a letter to Mr. Siron. We hope he will visit us, since we will need him for a number of reasons.

The 9th. Today our dear Father brought us back to our flock [on shipboard], which caused great rejoicing. God had kept all of them in good health, and they had provided edification for each other from the Word of God, as they told us to our great pleasure during evening prayers. They were also very much pleased with the latest benefactions received from Mr. Oglethorpe. One of them said God had sent wine, as He did to the Children of Israel, as a sample from the Promised Land. With this he alluded to the wine which had been sent them and of which all of them got a goodly share.

The 10th. Praise be to God who has let us spend this Reminiscere Sunday on the water. Again He has done great things for us. He refreshed our bodies with sound food and drink; and everyone on the ship was in good spirits because we were lying off the shores of our dear Georgia on a beautifully calm sea listening to the birds singing sweetly. It was very edifying for us to come to the border of Georgia on this day, as the Gospel teaches us that Jesus went to the border of the heathen lands after having suffered much discomfort and persecution from His own countrymen. Among other things, we compared with the Gospel the 32nd chapter of Genesis, in which we find that, while traveling, Jacob (1) thankfully recalls the many good deeds of God (2), is afraid of his fierce brother, yet finally (3) under prayer and tears (Compare Hosea 12:5) is freed from all fear and wins the blessing of Christ (Compare Ephesians 1, entire). The second point received special stress because some were worried that, as they had been told, they might be none too safe from attack by the enemy in their land. See Genesis 31:24 and compare v. 29. Likewise: When a mans ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

The 11th of March. Our ship has struck a sandbar; and for this reason the drinking water, which will no longer be needed, will be let out of the barrels in order to lighten the ship.

The 12th. Last night, about ten oclock, God helped us off the sandbar. Thus it was possible to anchor the ship for the rest of the night at a better place. If God had not sent an unusually high tide we would have been stuck much longer and would have had to work the ship loose with much labor. This was told us by some strangers who had come to see us from Georgia. All things of this sort strengthen our faith: for God answers prayers. Since Sunday we have been in the Savannah River, which presents a very gay view on both banks where a great many birds can be seen and heard. The river itself is three times as wide as the Saale at its widest point and is even wider than the Rhine. It is 16 to 25 feet deep and has many fish and oysters.

In Charleston a German carpenter [Rheinlnder] came aboard, who wanted to go to Georgia with us. The captain urged him to go ahead of us in a small boat to Savannah, which he reached yesterday evening, since it is only two hours from our ship. He announced that our ship had struck a sandbar and that our people did not know much about the land. This caused an experienced seaman to come to our aid who quickly brought our ship to its destination at high tide. This happened about 12 oclock noon. Nearly all of the inhabitants of the city of Savannah, which has been built up considerably in one year, had assembled at the place where our ship was to land. They fired several cannon and shouted with joy, and they were answered in the same manner by the sailors and the rest of the Englishmen on our ship.

Some of us were immediately taken ashore in a small boat and were conducted through the town, the forest, and the newly established garden. In the meantime, an excellent meal was prepared for us. The Saltzburgers, who were feasted with fresh meat while still aboard ship received some very good and healthful English strong-beer afterwards on land. And because much love and friendliness was shown them by the inhabitants, and because the beautiful country was much to their liking, they were all very happy and praised God for it. We, the Commissioner, and Mr. Zwifler were put up in the house of pastor [Samuel] Quincy,22* who had gone for several months to visit his parents in New England and whom we had met recently in Charleston.

The 13th of March. A tent was put up for our Saltzburgers, in which they are to live until Mr. Oglethorpe can come down from Charleston to see them. A Jew [Benjamin Sheftal], who had also received some land here, took the Saltzburgers in and treated them to breakfast with a good rice-soup. God has awakened some people here so that they are very friendly toward us and show great kindness. At times there are many large and small vermin here, among others some very small black flies which fly in swarms around peoples heads and hands and sting them. So that they wont interfere with the work of the laborers, large fires are made upwind so that the smoke is blown over them and drives the vermin away. According to the inhabitants, the land is very fertile. There grows here a certain plant called myrtle, which has green berries. These are boiled and from the extract, which floats on top, people make candles which look very pretty and green but do not burn as well as the white candles.23*

The 14th of March. Last night we held our first prayer hour on shore in the local church where we have permission to continue as long as we are here. The inhabitants of the town join us and prove themselves very devout. Also Jews,24 of which there are said to be twelve families, attend and listen attentively. They understand some German. The church is merely made of a few boards nailed together and has neither windows nor choir but only a roof and walls. Yet it suits us very well and the Saltzburgers like it. Also, instead of glass windows the houses have only paper, linen, or just the open window frame. This afternoon someone led us to the Indians who live in this neighborhood. We found them in circumstances which made our hearts bleed. The members of our congregation had been there shortly before, and the pitiful sight had filled them likewise with compassion and sorrow.

In this sad mood we assembled for prayers, and God led us to the verse: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, etc., John 3:16. We were aroused to thankfulness toward God for the Holy Gospel, especially since we had seen among the Indians what a great pity it is not to have it. At the same time we gained hope that God will continue to show clearly that He loved the world, and still loves it. We were strengthened in the high hope of the 72nd Psalm, which followed in order, that God would show mercy to these poor heathens as He had done to others. We shall pray for them diligently. The counsel of man is very dear in this case, and it will not be easy to help them because their language is said to be extremely difficult to learn.

Mr. Oglethorpe arrived here today and received us and our Saltzburgers in very friendly fashion. He will now make arrangements to take our people to their destination. We had our midday meal with him.25*

The 15th, of March. Mr. Oglethorpe is a man of exceptionally fine qualities. Since it means a great deal to him to bring true knowledge of God to the poor Indians as well, he urged us today to learn their language which has only about one thousand primitive words.26 Our Saltzburgers have been cautioned very much to refrain from drinking a certain sweet-tasting brandy, called rum, which is made in Jamaica from a sugar base, because this drink has already brought death to many. Intelligent people who have visited them these days were favorably impressed with their devotion and general deportment. Consequently they predict much good for the land.27*

The 16th of March. Today an English army chaplain from Port Royal attended our service and afterwards accompanied us to our house. He was very much pleased with us and our listeners, assured us of his lasting friendship and assistance, and took it upon himself to have our vestments made after purchasing the necessary materials in Charleston. God be praised for this kind deed too! It is our plan to have Holy Communion together here in Georgia, and we are preparing ourselves and our people diligently during the prayer meetings. The dear people have been longing for it for some time, and we hope that God will give us much blessing. Through the fatherly care of Mr. Oglethorpe, the Saltzburgers have received two weeks provisions in bread, white flour, meat, rice, beans, sugar, etc. Later they will get their share for a quarter of a year so that they will be able to apportion and prepare it according to their own thriftiness and pleasure. In addition, Mr. Oglethorpe has given each of them six pounds of bread for a present and has assured them of his continued affection and care. The dear people are very much pleased with this goodness and they are praising God for it. Arrangements for our maintenance also were to be made; but we made it known that we had received our salary and that we did not desire anything but would leave such benefits to others.28*

The 17th of March. Last night a woman of our group gave birth to a son. As she says, God has done something extraordinary for her when He did not let her get to this point on the crowded ship, although her time had been passed four weeks ago, and even now God had saved her and her child from apparent danger of death.29 We made use of all this to exhort the couple in an Evangelical manner to a fear of the Lord, which in view of their situation, is the best gratitude to God for His kindness. Although spring has just begun, it has been so hot here for several days that the hottest dog-days in Germany could hardly compare with it. But at night, in the morning, and toward evening it is that much lovelier.

It is said that the heat does no harm to the field and garden crops because everything is refreshed nightly by very heavy dew which, however, is said to be very harmful for people. With each house goes a fairly large piece of land where the people keep their gardens and plant various vegetables and fruit. At present there is little green to be seen in the gardens because they have just been started. The houses and gardens are arranged in mathematical regularity, which will look very pretty after everything has been put in order. The people do not lack for horses, cows, chickens, etc. But milk, eggs, and other victuals (with the exception of pork) are five to six times more expensive than in Germany, partly because people do not yet understand animal husbandry and partly because said animals are not slaughtered but kept for breeding stock. Cows run around the woods day and night with bells around their necks and hardly anybody takes the trouble to look for them in order to milk them. The greatest trouble the people have here, which prevents them from sowing and planting, comes from the fact that there are so very many trees which stand crowded together. These they must first clear out, which is a very slow job.

Through Gods grace, this Sunday has again been a very happy and blessed one. Our listeners came to our lodging and announced that they would like to celebrate their Memorial Day this week and go to Holy Communion. We prayed with them and provided edification with a simple talk. We are trying, to the best of our ability, to be quite simple; for we have learned that our dear Saviour, who dealt in very simple fashion with His disciples and other people, gives His greatest blessing to simple conversation and dealing with souls. The dear people love us very much, and from this cordial love springs an unwonted respect which prevents them from being completely free, simple, and intimate in their dealings with us; and this we wish to prevent to the best of our ability. God will answer our prayers for this with increasing grace. God is very true as long as He sees that His servants seek only to save themselves and those who listen to them.30*

The 18th of March. One of us and the English pastor from Port Royal went to dinner today at a local merchants. There one could hear how, among themselves, they had many nice things to say about the Saltzburgers, such as that they not only give a good example to the local inhabitants with their industry and willingness to work (for today and last week they have helped with the work on the waterfront), but also with matters of religion. Twice a day they go from their tents to the local church, where we preach the Word of God to them for an hour and pray with them. Some Englishmen are always present and it is easy to notice their surprise when they see how readily the old and the young can answer our questions and can find places in the Bible. We wish with all our heart that we could put Bibles into the hands of all of our listeners; then God would bless our prayer-meetings even more.

The 19th. Mr. Oglethorpe, together with the Commissioner, Mr. Zwifler, Mr. Gronau, and one Saltzburger, had gone last Friday to the place where our dear Saltzburgers are to settle and to show them the place where they are to build their houses. Today they returned and related many good things about the fertile and beautiful land. Among other things, they also brought good reports on the Indians.

We had planned to have our Memorial Day here and go to Holy Communion together, but today we received news that tomorrow morning eight single Saltzburgers are to be conducted to our chosen location in order to build small houses for the women and children and the rest of the Saltzburgers. For this reason we will have Holy Communion with those few very early tomorrow morning. We arranged our preparation and confession largely after the agenda of the German Lutheran court chapel in London. Three Indians joined us who were very devout. Today we also had our first holy baptism, for the child that was born on March 17th. This was very edifying. All of our Saltzburgers marched to church in a procession; and, after a hymn had been sung and prayers offered, the child was christened according to the above mentioned agenda. At the end we concentrated on the children, showed them, by catechizing, what had been done to the child, and confirmed them in their bond of baptism. There were many people present, all of them very attentive.

Back in Dover we had learned from Mr. Purry that there were many Germans in Purrysburg who longed for a Lutheran minister. Since the opportunity presented itself, one of us went there and found there three families belonging to our Evangelical Lutheran denomination. The judge [Holzendorf], who is from Berlin, reads them a passage from a book of family prayers every Sunday. At the request of Mr. Oglethorpe, who was present, a sermon based on Galatians 2:20 was preached to these people. They were very pleased and resolved to make frequent visits to our place, which is only a few miles from Purrysburg, for the sake of Gods Word and the Holy Sacraments. They consider the Saltzburgers very lucky to have their own ministers. A short time ago they and the members of the Reformed church had a French student of theology for their preacher. But, as they accuse him, he led a shameful life and was mixed up in scandalous affairs; so they chased him away and, consequently, are now without a preacher.

The 20th of March. Very early this morning Mr. Zwifler and eight Saltzburgers, who are to leave today in order to build houses, came to Holy Communion, and some others of our congregation were present. After the hymn and prayer they were shown, in Matthew 22: Iff, something of the infinite grace of God toward poor mankind, and something of the means of gaining and retaining it. Next we celebrated Holy Communion according to the above-mentioned agenda and made it as impressive as God enabled us to. The English pastor from Port Royal, who was waitting here for the return of Mr. Oglethorpe, attended our Communion service as he had attended yesterdays christening. He professed great pleasure and joy over our communicants and the general arrangement of our services. At the mayors [Thomas Causton], where he and one of us had been invited for breakfast, he spoke in a fine Christian manner about todays Communion service. Next Sunday, the rest of the Saltzburgers will take Communion. They are all looking forward to it. Mr. Oglethorpe himself requested one of us to accompany the eight Saltzburgers to our settlement to instruct them in the Word of God before and after work so that they may not be led astray by the others who are to help them at the start with the building of the houses. Since I, Boltzius, have much letter writing to do and also have to celebrate Holy Communion with the rest of the Saltzburgers, the trip was undertaken by Mr. Gronau. Besides the victuals, the Saltzburgers, like the other colonists, have been given much household equipment, kettles, pots, pans, saws, shovels, guns, and whatever else they need for keeping house and tilling the soil.

The previously mentioned Jew and his wife are proving very eager to be of service to us and to the Saltzburgers; and he shows an honesty and righteousness the like of which one might seek in vain in others of his race and even in many Christians. This is illustrated by the following example, among others. By mistake, and while it was dark, the Jews wife had taken from a Saltzburger woman a whole crown instead of a half crown because, in her ignorance, the Saltzburger woman gave it to her for a half crown. When the Jew saw the money the next day and learned that it had been taken for something worth only half as much, he came to the Saltzburgers tent and asked for the woman who had not received enough change and gave her back a half crown with the words that God should keep him from having unjust property in his house since it could not bring any blessing. His wife had not taken it knowingly and deliberately, etc. This made a deep impression on the Saltzburgers. Since these two Jews love us very much and promise to visit us often at our settlement, we hope we will be able to preach the Gospel of Christ to these people also with good results. They are both from Germany and speak good German.31 What we have told them so far has been well received.

The 22nd of March. To the pleasure of everyone, Mr. Oglethorpe returned here today. Since he will go from here to Charleston tonight, and from there immediately to London, we have given him the continuation of our diary and some letters. Mr. Oglethorpe is strict in regard to law and justice, as was demonstrated to us today.32

The 23rd. Although Mr. Oglethorpe had planned to leave here yesterday evening, he delayed his departure until this morning because several important matters had come up. As far as we can tell from our short association with him, he is a gentleman who has great respect for God, His holy word and the Holy Sacraments. And he has great love for the servants and children of God and wishes to see the name of Christ glorified everywhere. God has so blessed his presence and his work in this country that he has accomplished in one year what others could not do in many years. And because the people have learned to know his fatherly spirit, his untiring work for their well-being, and all of his other excellent qualities, they were deeply moved when he had to leave. May God give him His blessing and guide him to his destination, and may He answer all our prayers for him. He has also taken care of us to the best of his ability.

This afternoon we had our preparation for Holy Communion with the rest of the Saltzburgers, based on the words from Joel 3:5: Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.33 Since we were convinced, as far as it is possible to judge people, that all those who attended this preparation were truly penitent, we preached them the pure Gospel, in accordance with said verse, and showed them not only that the road to forgiveness of sins and bliss is an easy one, but also that this bliss, which can be gained by all true penitents on this straight and narrow path, is important and glorious beyond measure. For explanation and further inculcation we read them the thoughtful parable on page 250 of the late Bugenhagens book, which was published by Mr. Lange in Bautzen and tells of the life and letters of this theologian. This was done with Gods blessing. After this they received general absolution in accordance with the above mentioned agenda, and also special absolution.

The 24th of March. God laid great blessing on this day and on our Holy Communion, as well as on our congregation in general and on one individual in particular. Yesterday her heart had already been exceedingly moved and contrite, but today the Lord has further convinced her that all of her sins have been forgiven and that she is a child of the living God. She is proving her faith with her deeds. God be praised for His infinite grace.

The 25th. Today an execution of judgment was held here in Savannah. A man from this place had been accused and convicted of inciting others, and of several other vices, for which he was to receive three hundred lashes under the gallows. He received the first hundred today. People here are very serious about punishing infractions. If this were not the case there would be little safety and quiet. There is much talk about red dysentery, of which many people are sick and dying. It is to be assumed that it comes from the great heat and from the disorderly way of life of the people in this region. So far the Lord has protected us and ours.

The 26th. We are all very much pleased to know that Mr. Oglethorpe has decided to name the river and the place where our houses are to be built Ebenezer. This name has already become known to many of the people living hereabouts. This little word brought us much joy and praise of the Lord at the end of our voyage, when we were still on the ship; and it will do the same for us in the future whenever we hear or say the name of our town or river.

The 27th. The previously mentioned malefactor was to get his second 100 lashes, and more than 50 of them had been given to him. But when an Indian saw this he felt pity for him, ran around the malefactor in a circle and cried: No Christian, no Christian!, that is, This is not Christian. And since the lashing did not cease, he embraced the poor sinner and offered his own back to the lash. This caused the judges to end the affair and to remit the rest of the rascals punishment. This afternoon an Indian husband cut both ears and all the hair off his Indian wife,34* because she had been sitting with a white man and was said to have been quite familiar in her conduct with him. The fellow had drunk too much, otherwise such cruelty might not have occurred. He hung around town for several hours with the ears and the hair and showed them to the people. Jealousy is said to make these people frequently very cruel.35*

The 28th. Mr. Oglethorpe had left orders to take our Saltzburgers to their place of settlement as quickly as possible. Because the Englishmen seem to be very slow about this, the Commissioner decided to leave last night with several able-bodied men to clear the trees out of Ebenezer Creek so that all of our belongings could be transported there by boat, it being impossible to get them there on land because of the deep swamps. Meanwhile, the Saltzburgers here are not idle. With their diligent work in the forests and on the ships they give excellent service to the people of this town and that is why they want to keep them here for a long time.36*

The 29th of March. Yesterday and today it has been cold here, which seems strange because earlier the heat had been so great. This cold weather must be considered a special favor of God, for it reduces the vermin and small flies which are very troublesome.37*

The 30th. Since God has brought us a calmer and more orderly life, we can now give more serious attention to the Saltzburgers children. They come to our room several times a day, where we instruct and catechize them in the important verses of the Bible and in Luthers catechism. During prayer hour and at other times everything is reviewed in the presence of the adults, which serves not only to edify them but also to make them more and more familiar with the catechism and the verses of Holy Writ. As soon as we reach our destination, we will also start with reading, writing, etc. We only lack ABC books and catechisms, etc. May God give us an opportunity to work also with the English children who go about like lost sheep! Our desire for their salvation is very great. There are only eight Saltzburger children altogether, and two of them are not much over a year old.38*

The 31st of March. Today the Commissioner returned from our Ebenezer with several workmen. He had found so much danger and difficulty connected with clearing the river that he accomplished nothing. Although they cleared out a river with much hard and dangerous work, they had missed the right one because they did not know the country and had gone too far north. Thus they are forced to prepare a way over land, through the deep swamps. May God, who has helped us overcome all obstacles until now, also help us with this important and seemingly impossible task.

When I (Boltzius) returned home from the Saltzburgers after sundown, I was followed by a badly dressed fellow who begged me to help him overcome certain scruples that had weighed on his conscience for some time. He said he had been born and brought up in the Popish religion which forbids the eating of meat on Friday, especially during this time of Lent. But St. Paul teaches that one can eat anything that is offered for sale at the market. And since this rule of the Popists is contrary to the Holy Writ, he thought that it must be wrong. Did I approve of his conclusion?, etc. I cut him off very short and told him that it is a much more necessary and salutary thing to know what one must do to be saved. And I showed him briefly the order of salvation. In this manner, and through diligent study of the Holy Writ, he could easily learn to see the difference between the true and the false religion. His intentions may not have been very good. He seemed to be a fellow who had been a malefactor in England and had been sent here to work. There are a number of such people here.

The 1st of April. The Saltzburgers have again been given provisions for three months, and everything is so plentiful that we must marvel and praise God greatly. In addition to provisions they have received many tools that they will need for keeping house, constructing houses, and tilling the soil, and for their defense. And even though we had let Mr. Oglethorpe know that we were in a position to buy the necessary victuals for ourselves with our salary and would gladly leave the gifts to our congregation, we have been given, without our knowledge, as many provisions as the Saltzburgers. This good deed comes at an opportune time, since we have spent the biggest part of our salary for some very necessary things, clothes, some household equipment, and other items.

The 2nd. As a house has been completed at our place for the women and children, all of our belongings were loaded on a boat today in order to be shipped there. But there were so many things that the boatman could not take another except the Negroes, who had been given us as helpers for six months by a benefactor. Thus I (Boltzius), the medico [Zwifler], and the Saltzburgers have to remain here for several more days. Some of the Saltzburgers did not like to be separated from their belongings and became angry over it; but they were soon pacified. Mayor Causton, who is in charge of the local storehouse, has offered to give the Saltzburgers provisions for another 14 days, for those they received yesterday have already been loaded on the boat. Thus another benefaction has been provided. Another attempt was made to find the mouth of Ebenezer Creek. To do this, a boat was hewn out at Ebenezer and someone was sent down the river in it. But he came back one and one half days later and discouraged us from this enterprise by reporting many difficulties.

The 3rd of April. The oft-mentioned Jew [Benjamin Sheftal] has shown so much love and rendered so many services to us and the Saltzburgers that no one could ask any more. And whenever he was offered some money for his troubles he refused to accept it. For this reason the Saltzburger men who are still here have decided to cultivate his fields and to help clear out the trees in them so that he can regain what he has lost on their account. We have had several good discussions with him concerning Judaism and have given him several important points and notations from the Bible which surprise him somewhat. He and his wife are especially pleased with the brotherly relationship and the Christian conduct of the Saltzburgers; and since he has expressed himself to this effect we have made him see that our Christian teachings are holy teachings and that those Jews who are blasphemous are committing grave sins against God, from which we wish to keep him with all our heart.

We advised him to pray to God constantly and he would soon learn to recognize the truth. Both of them are greatly in awe of God and long very much to be saved. Thus we leave it to His eternal mercy to lead these people to acknowledgment of His Son. Among other things, he was very much pleased when we told him that we frequently read from the Psalms of David that, to be sure, the Jews were now being punished for their sins by Gods judgment, but that we hoped the time would soon come when God, according to His promise, would lift this people from the dust of contempt and plague and make it great again for the sake of the Messiah. He agreed with this, and when I asked him, from Hosea 3:5, who King David was, he replied that he was the Lord Saviour whom they would seek in the last days.

The 4th of April. The Indians are coming to see us often because now and then they are given some food and drink. They give us many Indian words when we show them the objects which we want to know in their language. Their king made it known in sign language that he was not pleased with the cruelty committed a few days ago by an Indian who had cut off the ears of his wife. It is good for our Saltzburgers that they remained here a few more days, for their work has earned them a good deal of linen, shoes, and other things.39*

The 5th. The boat which had taken our belongings and the Negroes returned last night so that now we can leave with the rest of our things. Praise be to God who has let us experience in this place so many good things for body and soul!

The 6th. One of our congregation, [Tobias] Lackner by name, has become so dangerously sick that we cannot see, with our human understanding, how he can get well again. He is stricken hard with diarrhea, is very short of breath, and extremely tired. Mr. Zwifler is doing everything in his power. We and the Saltzburgers would be extremely sorry if this man were to die, for he not only has true Fear of God, but also an excellent mind which makes him useful in various fields and kinds of work.

The 7th. Today we arrived at a place on the Savannah River called Abercorn. As the trip is impossible by water we will stay here until an overland route to our Ebenezer has been prepared through several swamps. Some people had tried to convince our Saltzburgers not only that it is well nigh impossible to prepare a road to the place where they were to settle, but also that the land itself is sandy and barren besides being very much exposed to enemy raids. Thus, during the afternoon service, we took the opportunity to show them, from todays Palm Sunday Gospel in Matthew 21, how the true disciples of Christ should conduct themselves. They must go wherever the Lord sends them even though it may be difficult or seem absurd and contrary to good judgment. It is Gods way to lead His children through crooked and strange paths and still bring them to a blessed end, for He is a mysterious God. To this meditation we added the necessary application and read them nearly all of the 26th chapter of Deuteronomy and showed them what we would have to do if we wanted fertile lands, security from enemies, etc. That is, we should all awaken ourselves to the true fear of God and live in it constantly. On the other hand, the cause for barrenness and fear of the enemy is to be found in a contemptuous attitude toward God and His Word, etc.

Since God has let us come so close to our fatherland in this world [Ebenezer] at the beginning of Passion-week, we reminded them that the intentions of God, who does everything well and at the right time, were undoubtedly these: 1) That Christ and His suffering should be kept before their eyes during their entire lives and that therein only could they find the foundation for wisdom, justice, sanctification, and redemption. 2) That, with Christ and as Christians, they must continue to crucify the flesh with its lusts and desires, that the world must be crucified for them, and they for the world. 3) That they must prepare themselves in time for a period of suffering and a passionweek, because the children of God in this world must not and cannot be without bodily and spiritual fear and distress. This makes them resemble their suffering Saviour, which is a great honor (compare Revelations 7:14ff). God gave His blessing to this simple sermon, and the dear people decided to continue on their way in the name of God, no matter where He might send them; for they felt that God could have no evil intentions and that He would personally eliminate all difficulties and worries.

The 8th of April. Although we have had heavy intermittant rains in this region all day, the Saltzburgers have made a good start at repairing the road, after first asking God for His assistance at the place of their first labors. Since this work is for the common good and all Carolina and Georgia will benefit from it, the Commissioner has decided to request the authorities to give the Saltzburgers more than one years provisions, particularly since the dear people must now work on things of secondary importance and cannot get to their agricultural work for some time. Everybody who is able is working with great enthusiasm.

The 9th. A northeast wind brought a considerable cold spell today, which seems quite strange because it is usually very warm. Day and night we make out as best we can. Since no houses have been built so far, we are living for the present in a small and uncomfortable hut. But, thanks to Gods fatherly providence, this does not impair our health, although it prevents us from accomplishing as much as we would like to do. The peoples greatest trouble in all of Georgia stems from the fact that, before beginning to till the soil, they must clear out the woods which cover the entire country. At this place there are mostly oak trees, but at others there are pines, nut trees, etc. There are also many wild grapes, incense trees, sassafras, good herbs, etc.

The 10th. The Commissioner is very much concerned with the hard work which the Saltzburgers must do to prepare the way to Ebenezer, and it brings him much discomfort. Everything he does shows his earnest application and honesty. May God keep him in this Christian spirit!

The 11th. Today the Saltzburgers were busy with the distribution of their provisions. This was done in good order and in a Christian manner, even though the dear people have been subjected to much trouble and distraction. Mr. Gronau has been staying at Ebenezer with a few Saltzburgers, but he came to see us today for several reasons. He went back shortly because the Negroes, who are working for us there, must not be left unsupervised, and because the few Saltzburgers must have someone to edify them with the Word of God.

The 12th of April. All of this day we have spent as an important holiday in honor of our suffering and dying Saviour. We have based several public services on the passion story, for which God has once again granted much Grace.

The 13th. Last night Lackner, whose body had been sick and miserable, passed quietly and peacefully away to the Lord. Thus he will celebrate our joyous Easter in heaven with his dear Saviour, whom he loved sincerely during all of his life and sickness; and he will be in the company of all the angels and chosen souls. His parting was so quiet and calm that the others in the tent, who were near him, did not even notice it. He has long wished for this rest and departure from this life, and for this purpose had recently taken Holy Communion in Savannah with uncommon devotion and eagerness. He was a man with a good understanding, which he used to good purpose. He busied himself with the Bible, which he could read himself; and he prayed unceasingly and set a good example for everyone with his Christian and charitable conduct. His sickness seemed to be a consuming fever.

Since the late Lackners example had been very edifying for all the Saltzburgers, and since they loved him very much because of it, we considered it profitable to speak about his pious life and blessed departure from this world during morning prayers and to use it for the edification of everyone. For this purpose we chose, not without special guidance from God, the beautiful words from Hebrews 11:8-10: Through faith, etc. We pointed out how the content of this text shows a resemblance between Abraham and the late Lackner in four different ways: 1) in obedience to divine call; the former left idolatrous Chaldaea and the latter left Popery, etc., 2) in willing acceptance of much unrest and discomfort: v. 9: He was a stranger, etc., dwelling in tabernacles, 3) in patience and contentment! Just as nothing is to be read about impatience in Abraham, no one among us has found the least trace of impatience or discontent in the deceased mans deeds or words, not even during his last terrible sickness. After his death it was found that he needed shirts and other things; but he had let no one know about it. Instead, he carried on in great need, patient as a lamb. 4) In his unusual longing for eternal salvation and his constant hope to obtain it, etc.

In our application we held up these four points as unfailing characteristics of true Christians and we gave them to our listeners for examination. We also eliminated the incorrect idea, which many have of Abraham and the other faithful men of the Old Testament, that these had been people in whom no sin was to be found but who were filled with such holiness and justice as is to be found in no one today. We showed how, with the help of Christ, we can become equally as holy, just, and pleasing to God as Abraham, David, etc., and we pointed out the road we must take to accomplish this. Because it is very hot, and since there are other circumstances which do not permit us to leave the body for any length of time, we made preparations for burial at todays sunset. It was proposed to nail some boards together for a coffin, but this was thought to be unnecessary and superflous by the Saltzburgers, whose custom it is to bury no one in coffins except lying-in women. Therefore, after washing the deceased, they dressed him in his own clothes and placed him on a board.

After having been accompanied to the grave by an orderly procession of the entire congregation, the deceased was wrapped in a cloth and lowered into the ground. Before carrying the body out we sang the song: As nothing is commoner than death, etc., which was followed by a short prayer. This Sunday reminded us of Gods rest after the completion of His creation, also of the rest of our Saviour after His passion. We took the opportunity to show, from Hebrews 6:9-11, the rest which the Children of God may expect. And, to those present at the grave, we gave a few short precepts besides consoling and exhorting them, all of which our true God did not leave without blessing.

The 14th of April. Our dear God has used yesterdays death, and the explanation of His Word which was given in connection with it, to prepare our listeners especially well for this Easter. Thus, just as God commands in His Word, this first day was celebrated with much praise of God and true awakening by young and old. The gifts God makes us with our listeners are to be wished for all worthy teachers. They pray for us diligently so that Grace and wisdom may be given us for the preaching of the Gospel in its true form. During sermons they are so attentive that it seems they want to seize the words from our lips. After the sermon we see with pleasure how one goes here and one there to ask, in sincere prayer, that his life be guided by what he has heard. And it is easy to see in their conduct that they are not mere hearers, but doers, of the Word. They consider it the greatest benefaction that the true Word of God is being preached to them. And they often say they would consider it a severe punishment from God if this were taken away from them, or if one of us unworthy servants of the Gospel should die. May our faithful Saviour keep and strengthen them in this spirit!

The 15th. Through the influence of others it would have been easy for some of our congregation to introduce into the solemn celebration of this Easter some of the shameful libertinism and free thinking which are, alas, so common throughout Christendom. But we made a special effort to fight this vigorously and openly during our presentation of the Word of God. The dear people have seen and continue to see many examples of people who think little or nothing of Sundays or holy days. If, as it happens, they are also being talked to and shown seeming advantages of such an attitude, it is easy to see how corruption could set in.

The 16th of April. The late Lackner had left a little money, which, in the name of God and with the consent of Saltzburgers, was used to start a relief fund. In the future, if God sends more, this will be used in times of need to help the poor and the pilgrims. May this simple institution please God and may He support it with His blessing. We have been promised horses, harnesses, and wagons with which to move our belongings to Ebenezer. But, since nothing has been sent and we have received no answers to the letters that have been written to Savannah, the Commissioner has decided to go there himself in order to press and expedite the matter in person. Meanwhile, some of the Saltzburger men have taken some provisions and cooking utensils and have left for our settlement where, with Gods help, they will continue to work on the road in all seriousness.

The 17th. Today Mr. Gronau came back to Abercorn again. He will stay with us from now on because he is no longer needed in Ebenezer, also because he might risk his health. In the afternoon, between 1 and 2 oclock, we again had two terrible thunderstorms with lightning and heavy rain; but, thank God, they passed without damage or mishap. During this storm one of us was especially impressed by the hymn: O God, thou depth unfathomed, etc. Some benefactor has lent us a number of Negro slaves for a while. They are to cut boards for six houses, and they have made a good beginning at it. But since four of them have escaped already and it is feared that the others will do likewise, the Commissioner and their overseer have agreed to send them here so that they can help the Saltzburgers with the building of the road. And since they are supervised during the day and guarded by night, they will be prevented from running away and stealing, which they are apt to do because of the bad treatment they receive.

The 18th of April. This afternoon we both intended to visit the Saltzburger men where they are working. However, we discovered that, with Gods help, they had made so much progress with their work that we did not dare to go all the way to them to speak with them about the Word of God, because we would not have been able to return to Abercorn. In this country you must take great care not to lose your way in the forest. The paths are not yet well made, and you see nothing all around but forests, many swampy places, cane, etc. If you lose sight of the blazed trees, which let you recognize the way after a fashion, you risk the danger of getting completely lost.

The 19th. This day has been a very remarkable and refreshing one for us. God has not only provided much edification from His Word for adults and children, but He also has given varied and distinct proof of His fatherly care. For (1) we have learned from our Saltzburgers that, with Gods help, they have finished the road which had been considered nearly impossible to build. They have built seven bridges over swamps and rivers and, on this day, have gone to Ebenezer, partly to thank God for His help and partly to begin their work at said place. (2) The escaped Negroes have been caught and delivered here in Abercorn. After they have received their regular punishment (they are tied to a tree half-naked and are badly beaten with long switches while having to suffer from hunger and thirst most of the day), they must continue to help our Saltzburgers build their houses. (3) A certain captain, Mackpherson [Macpherson] by name, whose job it is to keep a watchful eye on the Spanish Indians with the men in his command, has written a letter to the Commissioner asking that a pasture be found for a number of oxen which he intends to send soon for the use of the Saltzburgers. It appears that this is a present form a benefactor whom we have not met.40* (4) Now that the road was finished we lacked horses to transport our belongings and provisions to our place. God, who knew our need, not only sent us four horses41* from Palachocolas42* but also caused a strong young horse, which has no owner, to come to Ebenezer, from where it has been brought to us. (5) A certain gentleman43* who lives among the Indians, not far from Ebenezer, has sent a gift of seed grain even though he does not know us but has only heard of us.44*

The 20th of April. Since there is no beer to be had in this country, the Saltzburgers have learned from the Englishmen how to cook a half-beer which they prepare from time to time for themselves. They take a few pieces of sassafras, a little syrup, and, instead of hops, some green pine-tops, which are boiled in a kettle of water. Those who want to make it better add a little Indian corn to it too. The inhabitants of this land praise this beer as being very good for the health; conversely, they consider water harmful, implying that it is responsible for dysentery.45 For ourselves, we prefer water and feel quite well drinking it, although occasionally we mix it with a little wine. Toward evening we again had a thunderstorm with heavy rains which lasted about an hour. Meanwhile, after singing a few hymns, we edified ourselves by using the 30th Psalm and I Samuel 12 to show the great goodness and grace of God.

The 21st of April. An Englishman in our shelter is dangerously sick. Since there is no preacher here and we are not yet able to preach the Gospel in the English language, we sent the schoolmaster Ortmann to him after first giving him instructions as to what he should impress upon this man and which chapter he should read him in English from Arndts True Christianity. The man was overjoyed with this. There is a great need here for ministers and teachers, for parents and children go along in a manner which grieves your soul. Toward evening another storm arose with much rain. It became very violent about ten oclock and stayed that way. But, because of Gods blessing, it did no damage.

The 22nd. Because the weather is clear again, the people have begun to unpack their things in order to take them little by little to Ebenezer. We are all very happy that God will soon get us out of these restless circumstances and lead us into solitude where we will be able to serve Him and do our work without interference. The name of our earthly fatherland [Ebenezer] reminds us of the good deeds of God nearly every time we hear it, and it encourages us to glorify Him. Because there are no garden plants, we search the forest for good herbs. There are many healthful and useful plants to be found, such as spinach, young onions, hyssop, and leaves which we cannot name but which can be used very successfully in place of lettuce. During our hours of exercise we shall apply ourselves diligently to the study of plants with our apothecary, Mr. Zwifler, who knows this subject well. Perhaps we can then impart some knowledge to the others.

Today three men from Purrysburg came to see us at Abercorn. They asked if we could take the trouble to come to their place because the Germans of our religion who live there have long been desirous to take Holy Communion. We were very happy at this request but asked to stay there more than 1 or 2 days so that we could properly prepare the people for this important undertaking. To be sure, one of them said that the people would have to be worthy and well prepared, otherwise they would not have the desire for it. We easily proved this opinion to be wrong and they accepted with pleasure our resolution to visit them as soon as they would send a boat. These people also have many children whom they would like to send to school with us in the future if their poverty and the amount of work to be done will permit them to let them go, or if they can undergo the necessary expense for them. God, who loves all people in Christ, will show the ways and means. It cannot be in vain that both of us have a very great desire to work with children. Among the youth as well as the adults there exists a surprising ignorance of spiritual things, which can be recognized even in superficial dealings with one or the other. The ways of the flesh are deeply ingrained in them, and keeps them from prayer and from the Word of God. In addition, the poor people have no pastors or schoolmasters.

About 5 oclock in the afternoon we again had a violent thunderstorm with rain. This roused all of us and drove us to prayer. Every day God gives His blessing to a certain person for the growth of her Christian spirit, for she uses the Means of Salvation, the Word of God, and prayer in all seriousness. She has already begun to increase the talents entrusted to her, especially with some French people;46* and this afternoon, to our surprise, she again gave beautiful testimony. It hurts her soul very much to see that so many bad people are being sent to the New World, people who insult God in the worst manner.47*

The 23rd of April. The Negroes who have to cut boards for our houses have shown several Saltzburgers some honey and some bees in the forest. They have given them a large quantity of the honey, which is said to taste as sweet and delicious as that which is raised in Germany. There are said to be many bees in the forests, and the Saltzburgers can be expected to make good use of them in due time. Likewise, there is an abundance of fish, birds, and game, especially in places that are not frequented by the Indians who shoot all of it.

The 24th. Our dear God has awakened some rich people in Carolina, who wish to make a gift to our Saltzburgers and send to them 30 head of cattle, twelve of which arrived last night. God be praised for this gift and good deed. Because of the recent heavy rains the road to Ebenezer is very soft and wet. This makes it rather hard for our dear people to transport their many belongings and provisions there. Wagons are not to be had in this region, so our people are using a sledge until they can build a wagon.

The 25th. This afternoon we again had two thunderstorms and rain; but they did not present as frightful a spectacle as on previous days. Among other things, we made good use of Exodus 19 and 20 and also the 18th Psalm. Today an Englishman died in the very hut in which we are staying with the Commissioner and Mr. Zwifler. He left his wife and two very small children in great poverty. Except for the one in Savannah, they have no minister able to give them instruction from the Gospel in the proper preparation for death. The people at this place have been here barely four months, and already death has claimed 4 men and 2 women. O, what special blessings our Saltzburgers are receiving! We remind them of this frequently and not without good effect.

The 27th of April. A man from this place showed us two unusually large snakes he had shot. They are called rattlesnakes,48 because they have many rattles on their tail that make a noise like peas in a hollow and dry nutshell. These snakes are dangerous above all others but, because of the kind care of the Creator, they must give people warning with their rattling so that they wont come too close to them. There is a root here that looks like a black hellebore, which is said to be very good for snakebite if some of it is eaten and a piece put on the bite at the same time.

The 28th. Some of the Saltzburgers are in Ebenezer and others in Abercorn because their provisions and belongings have been only partly transferred. For this reason the two of us have separated so that one can hold services and prayer hour in Ebenezer and the other in Abercorn.

The 29th. Several Englishmen have offered to come to Ebenezer to visit the Saltzburgers and to look over the land. Time will tell what this means.

The 30th. All afternoon and into the night we had thunderstorms and warm, soaking, and fruitful rains.

The 1st of May. Because of the accumulation of water and the the softness of the road the transportation of our belongings and provisions is proceeding very slowly and with much difficulty. But the Saltzburgers are bearing everything patiently and they thank God for everything.

The 2nd. A few days ago an Indian came to the neighborhood of Abercorn in a small boat, with his wife and two children. Because we had done several things for him, this morning he brought us a whole deer so that we could give large pieces to the Saltzburgers that are still here, and also to some of the other people. Because we gave him, in return for this gift, some rice, bread, brown sugar, and syrup, he came back in the evening with another half of a deer. We offered him some brandy but he would not take it; and we could see from the expressions of the wife and children that they too thought brandy to be repulsive. A young Saltzburger man got into a heated argument with a carpenter who had spoiled one of his axe heads. Since this caused some bad feeling among the Englishmen present, we went to see the man, impressed upon him how wrong his anger had been, according to the Gospel, and brought him to the point where he went to the carpenter and apologized for the trouble he had given him. We continue diligently to show the people what it means to follow Christ, and God is giving His blessings for it.

The 3rd of May. Today a sloop arrived from Savannah which brought our Saltzburgers ten large barrels of various seeds to be used in the fields and gardens. God be praised for this blessing.

The 4th. Today we received the recently promised cows, with some young calves, which had been given to the Saltzburgers by some benefactors. The animals are very wild and it is difficult to take them to Ebenezer. This is explained thus: In this country, partly because of lack of feed, partly for the sake of convenience and from lack of knowledge, livestock is permitted to run loose in the forests day and night. If you want the animals for milking, they are chased home by dogs. Mrs. [Maria] Huber, an old49 woman with four children, caught dysentery very unexpectedly and is suffering greatly.

The 6th. Mrs. Huber continues to get worse and she seems to come closer and closer to death. Earlier, especially on the ship, she was very much concerned and anxious about the forgiveness of her sins; but now she is very calm and prepared to die happily in her faith in the Redeemer, even though she must leave behind many still uneducated children and an old husband whom she loves with all her heart. We attempted to console the man with yesterdays Gospel for the third Sunday after Easter and spoke to him about the cross of all true Christians, and of its glorious end. To this he gave us the answer that the cross which he was bearing according to Gods will, for sake of his wife and children, was very small and beneficial compared to the misery of the Popery from which God had saved him. He had to praise God, he said, for having saved his wife from it as well. At first she had not wanted to follow him because the priests had fooled her into thinking that their religion was the true one and ours false. He continued that he was unable to convince his simple-minded wife until he fell dangerously sick. He told her that, if he were able to leave his sick-bed in time for the departure, she would have to conclude that the Evangelical religion was the true one. Thereupon he prayed to God with all his heart, asking that He grant mercy to him for the sake of his poor wife, and give divine proof through him. God heard him and made him strong again, which had a wonderful effect on her; and she continues to praise God for it to this day. O, How the Lord provides in accordance with the weakness of His children!

These two people are living together in a simple, Christian manner, and they love each other dearly. When the sick woman was able to get up for a little while in the afternoon, the old man took her on his lap and sang her several songs; one of which was: Christ is my life. He also spoke about this and that for her edification. He held her in his arms for about two hours. But since he could not go on any longer, because of his age and his tendency to faint, she went to bed again. In the evening we held prayer meeting and sang the song; My soul is calm, which ends with at the end the best will come. We could see by her expression and the manner in which she folded her hands that this made a particularly deep impression on her.

The 7th of May. Mr. Oglethorpe, whose departure has been delayed by important affairs, has written a letter to the Commissioner assuring him of his continued good will and care for the Saltzburgers. He also promised to send, in addition to the cattle already received, small farm animals such as pigs, chickens, ducks, etc. In addition he has sent orders to Savannah to do everything for us and the Saltzburgers that we may ask. God be praised for all of his gifts. Today the Lord deigned to let me see Ebenezer. Until now I have had to stay in Abercorn for the sake of three sick peopie and for other important reasons, while Mr. Gronau stayed with the congregation at Ebenezer. The dear people have made good progress in cultivating their land. In order to make things easier they have paired off in twos so that they can help each other. The site they have chosen for their houses and fields looks very attractive and appears to be fertile. They are free to choose land for their fields wherever they wish. This is impossible in other places where more people have settled by this time. The city of Ebenezer may be regarded as a key to Carolina and Georgia because all the commerce of the two provinces that is carried by land must pass through this place.

The 8th of May. It had been intended to make preparations for digging a well and to present the matter to God. But, through Gods fatherly care, we found a fresh spring coming from a hill so that, if the water is pure, we will be relieved of this care and trouble. We recalled the words from Isaiah 65:24: Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

The 9th. Because we must have a place where we can hold prayer-hours and services until the church is built, a roomy shed of boards will be built for this purpose at a healthy place. It will also serve as our living quarters until our two houses have been completed. Building is going along rather slowly because we have been assigned only one carpenter. At present the Saltzburgers cannot help him because of their own work, for it is high time to get the seed into the ground if they expect to have a harvest this year.

The 10th. The many spiritual and material benefits which we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy oblige us to praise the Lord, our God and highest benefactor, on a special day and to dedicate one and all of us anew to His service and glory. Next Monday has been chosen for this, and several people will have Holy Communion with us two then. We would have waited until the patients were well again were it not that the Commissioner has to hurry back to Germany but wishes first to praise God in public with our congregation, to which he has been looking forward for a long time. In the Contribution to the Building of the Kingdom of God we discovered today the letter which a man from Pennsylvania had written to Germany reporting on the conditions there. We recall having seen it once before in the Leipzig paper. We put it to good use for the Saltzburgers so that they could see from it how graciously God had guided them on the high seas and what advantages they had now over many thousands of Germans. The reports on the miserable circumstances of so many people in that region have increased the Commissioners determination to journey there. He had previously decided to do so, but now he is more anxious, for he wants to see for himself the extent to which the letter is correct. May God have mercy on all the miserable people in the land. There are many of them.

The 11th of May. Today God gave us an unusually fruitful rain; and thus He moistened the fields of the Saltzburgers, who have worked diligently. This strengthened their faith, since their hopes for rain had not been in vain. They had clung to this hope even though the Englishmen had told them that the rainy season was over at this time and that they had done wrong to put their seeds into the somewhat sandy soil.

The 12th. One of us called on a woman, who had registered for Holy Communion but is not a Saltzburger, and sought to awaken her conscience. However, nothing could be done with her and she tried to hide behind the evasions of the Old Adam and other empty excuses; and we therefore invited her husband to supper. He seems to have honestly given his heart over to God, so we asked him to assist his wretched wife vigorously. This has been done with good results.

The 13th of May. By common consent this day had been set aside as Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. Our congregation gathered twice to recall the benefits they have enjoyed and to praise the kind Giver for them in public. Our morning sermon was based on the words of the wandering Jacob, in Genesis 32:10, which had impressed us on several occasions both on our voyage and here in Ebenezer. In simple fashion we impressed upon their minds the divine benefits received so far, and also our duty according to Jacobs example. In place of the introduction we gave them the 107th Psalm, in which our former circumstances and our present duties are impressively described. God has not let it be without blessing. In the afternoon we intended to impress upon them the words from 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. This, however, could not be done because the Commissioner, who is to leave tomorrow, wanted to take leave of the Saltzburgers and wanted to tell them this and that for the glory of God and for their salvation. This farewell speech brought deep emotion and tears on all sides. May God bless this dear man and grant that he may enjoy at sea and on land the fruits of our sincere prayers and of his great devotion to his task.

The 14th. Today the Commissioner departed from us. He was so overcome with heartfelt emotion that he could scarcely speak. We have commended him to God and the promise of His grace. He has the power to strengthen him further and to give His inheritance to all who are sanctified. Since Mr. Boltzius has decided to accompany him to Charleston, I, Gronau, will continue with the diary. In the evening I visited 2 sick Saltzburgers. One of them, Mrs. [Margaretha] Schweighofer, was very calm because she knew that she had been bought dearly with the blood of Christ. She surrendered herself to the Will of God to do with as He wished and only asked that we let her children be commended to us. The other one was Hanns Gruber. I spoke to him about our dear Saviour and His beautiful name Jesus. This pleased him very much, as I could perceive from the circumstances.

The 15th of May. In the morning I again visited the sick and found Mrs. Schweighofer a little better. She has resigned herself peacefully to the will of God and is concerned only with her children, whom she wants to see brought up in true Christian knowledge. It would have been her greatest grief, she said, if she had been obliged to leave her children in Saltzburg. She had feared this, but God had prevented it. On her journey a Catholic priest had tried to take one of the children away from her, but she had seen this and grabbed it away from him. She still remembers this with great pleasure.

Since I now have some tranquility, I have started, in the name of God, to hold school for the Saltzburger children in Ebenezer. First I pray with them, then I recite some verses for them for our mutual awakening; afterwards I have them read and I finish up with more prayer. I also showed them how Jesus instructs them: Come with me to my school. Sirach 51:31.50 And I told them that although our dear Saviour was not visible in the flesh, He was actually present, nevertheless, and was using my poor self to show them in school the way to Him. Therefore they must pray to Him diligently, whenever they go to school, so that He will bless everything. The grown people also want very much to learn how to read, but we dont know how they can find the time for it because they have so much work to do.

The 16th. Our dear God be praised for having given us the sense to seek nothing except the glorification of Jesus in us and through us. As we see that God has not left our poor and meager service without blessing, we are happy to thank God and to let it serve us for further encouragement. On this very day one of the Saltzburgers came and said that nothing concerned him more than getting to know Christ well and that he also wished to learn how to read. So I told him to begin in Gods name, that he would succeed somehow.

The 17th. Various happenings tend to bring discouragement at times. But when we see how God helps to conquer everything we are strengthened in our faith and we learn that everything must be achieved through hard struggle. Other servants of God have had the same experience.

To one certain person I showed the wickedness of her heart and told her she must know how she has lived until now. She replied she did not know how it happened, but she had more love for the Word of God in Augsburg than she has now. I told her I knew that she used to have greater love for the Word of God and that, on the ship, she had once recited the 91st Psalm to me, providing much edification for me at the time. That she no longer had this love came from the fact that she would not accept and use for her true conversion the work which the dear God had done on her heart through His word because she was being obstinate. She would now get angry, as she once confessed, whenever God touched her heart with the preaching of His word. We told her that she must consider how much our dear God loves her and that He does not wish her death; she must consider the dear price paid for her salvation; she must become truly penitent and struggle with herself until God should have mercy on her and she might truly say that all of her sins had been forgiven and that she had become a true child of God. This would bring her great happiness and she would again learn to love the word of God. These words were so blessed by God that she was moved to the bottom of her heart. She asked forgiveness for everything and promised to struggle toward that end. O Lord, all praise for this belongs to Thee.

Another person was quite angry that he had been accused by an Englishman of a theft of which he was completely innocent. When I attempted to inquire of him how matters stood, he immediately spoke in very harsh terms. When I showed him in all kindness how this was not fitting for followers of Christ and how one must show the spirit of love, gentleness, etc, he at first contended that this could not always be. But he must have given it some thought, for after I had had another talk with him he recognized the truth and promised to do his best. Thus our mighty God helps us. Praise be to Him; He will continue to help in the future.

The last words which Hermann Gudens wife spoke to her daughter have been very inspiring for me. They are to be found in the Household Conversations of the late Dr. [Paul] Anton, p. 14 ff. Since, through the grace of God, I do not seek anything except a better understanding of my Saviour and the directing of my dear congregation toward that end, I have read them the last words during the evening prayer hour.

The 18th of May. Thinking about Sunday this morning I recalled the example of Solomon who, for his reign, asked nothing but an obedient and wise heart. This I also asked of our dear God. He heard my prayer and gave proof of it on this very day. For it has been Mr. Oglethorpes pleasure to give me and my colleague, after the departure of the Commissioner, supervision over temporal affairs. We have accepted this but, in order not to let it interfere with our important office, we have asked for the help of Mr. Zwifler. Problems are reported to him first and, if they do not amount to much, he handles them. Today the Negroes did not work well and claimed that we had ordered them not to work any more. For this the carpenter took them to task and one of them threatened him, the carpenter, with an axe. Hereupon Mr. Zwifler was sent for immediately so that he could bring the Negroes in with a musket. This was done, but they were brought to me. I did not know what to do with the poor people and I begged God for guidance. After the affair had been investigated long enough I called the carpenter and asked him what was to be done so that the people would not get too much or too little punishment. I suspected various answers, but he immediately told the people to go back to work, and he whipped the one that had threatened him. I thanked God for having arranged it in this manner for the poor people could easily have been given too much punishment, which might have made them run away.

Schwendel [Thomas Geschwandl] visited me this afternoon. I read him the above-mentioned account for his great inspiration, and I was much refreshed by his visit. He said, among other things, that he wished to go to heaven soon. But if God intended for him to struggle longer he would ask for nothing except steadfastness. I visited Hanns Gruber today and told him how much Christ loved him, that He wanted to forgive him all of his sins, and that He had died for that purpose. He began to cry. But I guided his thoughts toward the Saviour and prayed with him. He seems to come nearer and nearer to his end.

Now that I am alone I see more and more what it means to be responsible for others, as problems frequently arise which take some time to solve. When my colleague is here I leave most of them to him and I am satisfied with the way he handles them. But now I see that if one presents all of his misery and worry to our dear God and begs Him for wisdom, He will so arrange everything that His name is glorified. God refreshed us greatly with todays study of the Gospel, in that He made us see how much blessing it will bring to pray in the name of Christ. At noon a large herd of oxen, cows, and calves arrived from Carolina. By order of Mr. Oglethorpe, six oxen were given us for slaughtering. This is renewed proof that God will not abandon us in this land. Praise be to Him!

The 20th of May. Yesterday and today God gave us a very fruitful rain which very much refreshed our land and its produce. When I first came to this place there were a number of circumstances which made me to have to struggle against lack of faith. But I have finally become convinced that God has done everything to lead us to this place and none other. And if I still had doubts about this I would commit a grave sin against my Father in heaven. The Lord be praised for this, and may He strengthen me in this faith! May He strengthen others as well. If we will only serve Him and seek to please Him in Christ, we will see that He will continue to be with us as He has been with us in the past.

This evening we have started preparing ourselves for the imminent Holy Pentecost, using the preparation which the late professor Francke wrote on Revelations 22:17. Our dear God has given His blessing with this preparation to many a soul in Germany, including my poor self, and He will do the same in America. The beginning has been blessed already.

The 21st of May. God accompanies us through many a trial; He has brought us through them safely in the past and will surely do the same in the future. Until now I have had to prepare my own food at this place, and even though we hired one of the Saltzburger girls she was not able to get much done. But now God has helped her so that she can take care of the food and also watch the house. Now when I have things to do, such as visiting the sick, I do not have to worry about having things stolen. The house cannot be locked and the Negroes are very bad, always happy when they can steal this or that in the way of meat or other things. Our dear congregation has many trials too. But we must understand this: Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In the past our dear God has given us many benefits, and today He has again given us 5 cows and 1 ox. From this we must learn that He will not abandon us. And when He sends us adverse conditions He tests us with them to see whether we are as willing to accept the bad as we accept the good. We can do no more than beg God to make the people see this and thus awaken them to serious prayer and, above all, make them search out Christ; for then the Father must give us everything with His son, since He cannot possibly leave His children. They must leave all worry to Him, the Creator.

In the evening hour we read them what my colleague, Mr. Boltzius, has written from Savannah. After heartfelt greetings to his dear congregation he reports that, thanks to God, he is well and that, if they wish him to return in good health and to remain with them in Ebenezer, they must pray for him with diligence and continue to love God and each other with all their heart. If they were to quarrel or cause other disorders he would be much hurt upon his return. I should urge them to careful conduct. If they angered the Englishmen who are watching them, it would amount to a great desecration of Gods and Christs name. I explained all of this and added some advice, which, as I have found already, was blessed by God.

It is not surprising to find an occasional mistake among people who have had as little instruction in true Christianity during their lifetime as these people have had. However, this makes it all the more beautiful that, whenever one of them makes a mistake and is told about it in the name of God, he acknowledges it and promises improvement with hand and mouth. We will continue with our prayers and not tire of our work; and, as long as there is hope for improvement, our faith will be strengthened. Many a sinner has been saved so that he can say with St. Paul: I obtained mercy. Some among us have good intentions and try to live in Christ; but, because they are not on solid foundations and because various circumstances tend to interfere, it happens easily that they continue to show some of the Old Adam. However, when this is pointed out to them they readily see that they have done wrong. These, says Christ in John 15:2, must be purged by His Father so that they can bear more and better fruit. Ones judgment of them is quite different if one is constantly with them and can see the whole picture.

The 22nd of May. This morning our dear God has laid to rest a Saltzburger by the name of [Balthasar] Fleiss. He was really a babe as described in Matthew 11 and Luke 10, to whom the Father revealed what the wise and the clever do not know. He was simplicity itself. As I have often been alone with him in Ebenezer while the rest of them were at Abercorn, I have known him that much better. Nothing mattered to him more than the Lord Jesus, and he was like a patient lamb, even in sickness. [Georg] Schweiger, who brought me the money Fleiss had left for the relief fund, was very much moved because he had known him especially well. He would have liked to use this money for the purchase of a special penance bell. I prayed with him.

The above mentioned places in Matthew and Luke are remarkable in their application to the deceaseds life and conduct, especially because our dear Saviour says to His disciples in the latter: Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. These words would have been very fitting for a funeral sermon. But at the grave I recalled the words from John 17:24: Father, I will that they also, etc. I preferred these words because they have a direct bearing on tomorrows celebration. Thus I first applied them to the late Fleiss and then showed all those present that true believers can always have solace in this world, in spite of all crosses and suffering, if they carry in their souls the living hope that some day they will be where their Jesus is.

The 23rd of May. Today we edified ourselves by considering the Ascension of Christ. We resolved to have Christ for our only treasure on this earth so that our hearts will be with Him always and He may finally take us to Him as His members.

One of our flock has been considering some teachings of Christianity to be impossible, for example to love your enemy, etc. But he sees that he is getting nowhere with that, that the Word of God teaches him otherwise and also offers the power and strength to carry out what it advocates, and that nothing can be accomplished without Christ and without true conversion. So he said that everything would turn out all right, that we should have patience, and that all could not be accomplished at once. We showed him that one must not miss the period of grace.

The 24th. Matters are getting steadily worse with Hanns Gruber. He sent for me this morning. I spoke with him about our dear Saviour, how He had come to save the sinners, including him, how He would cleanse his unclean heart with His blood and take him unto Himself. This he accepted willingly. Everything shows that he has true love and esteem for the Lord Jesus, and that he clings to Him. This gives us hope that in His great love He will look after this little sheep. After having spoken with him and learned of his condition as best I could, I prayed with him briefly, which pleased him very much. Today a great deal of seed was distributed among the Saltzburgers. They do not cease to marvel at the many benefits which they receive even though they are strangers. We use this to urge them on to thankfulness toward God and we pray even more for our benefactors.

The 25th of May. Toward evening I visited the said Hanns Gruber. Things looked very bad. God lets him live on only to make him even stronger in his faith in the Saviour.

Some time ago the Negroes found a beehive which the Saltzburgers placed close to their shelter so that they could better tend the bees. But so malicious are the Negroes that, late at night after the Saltzburgers had gone to sleep, they stuck some burning lightwood into the tree. Fortunately our dear God made someone get up and see the fire; and he immediately called another person who removed the lightwood. If this had not been done, great misfortune could have befallen us, for the shelter of the Saltzburgers could easily have caught on fire in which case few things would have been saved. Some of them, particularly the sick, might have burned up. Praise be to God who prevented such misfortune!

The 26th. After divine service I went to see the sick [Paul] Schweighofer, who, with his wife, has had to bear much misery during our voyage. They have been made very humble. Although they have three small children, one of them still nursing, they are very calm and satisfied with Gods dispensation. The man said: Our dear Saviour had it otherwise. He did not even have a place to rest His head, while we have that and much, much more. When, at his request, I read him todays Gospel, he said that the Gospel had given him much comfort when he left Saltzburg. During the application of the Gospel we especially pointed out to our dear listeners that it was not enough for them merely to leave Saltzburg, for Christ says: Whosover he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. At the end we read them the hymn: Struggle righteously, etc. May God grant us His blessing for everything! And may He be praised a thousand times for having kindled the strong desire to wish and ask for nothing except that Christ shall illuminate all thoughts, desires, words, and deeds, and that the truths which look small in the eyes of the world, such as: that for my sake Christ died, was buried, arose, ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, will fill our hearts through the testimony of the Holy Ghost; and that our dear congregation will struggle toward the same end.

The 27th of May. As our dear God has given us three additional carpenters, the work of building is making good progress. The Lord be praised! In addition, things have been more comfortable for the Saltzburgers. The houses are to be covered with boards instead of shingles, thus relieving them of much work. Always our Father in Heaven does things to make us feel ashamed of our great lack of faith. Today Mr. Zwifler and several Saltzburgers went out in search of clay for making an oven.

The 28th. Today I rode to Abercorn to visit the sick there and to strengthen them with the Gospel, and this pleased them very much. May the Lord Jesus give it His own blessing! Since I have to take care of the preparation for Holy Pentecost in two places, I took along a printed one which [Johannes] Moshammer will read to the rest. The mail, which goes from Charleston to Savannah every 14 days, passing through our place, brought news today that the Commissioner and Mr. Boltzius arrived safely in Charleston. We thanked God for this during evening prayers. We, especially I, desire very much for Mr. Boltzius to return to us soon with renewed strength of body and soul, and we pray to God for it.

The 29th of May. All day long our dear God has refreshed our soil and its fruit with a very fruitful rain. Just as He is giving us earthly rain at this time, He will soon refresh our souls even more with the heavenly rain of the Holy Ghost, which we have learned in good measure from the beautiful preparation for the celebration of Holy Pentecost. This gives me solace for the poor physical condition in which I find myself at this time. Toward evening I visited the sick among the Saltzburgers and spoke with them. When one of them thought I was about to leave, he asked me to pray with them first. This shows how much these people like us to visit them, talk with them about the Word of God, and pray with them. God be praised! As the Saltzburgers have put into the ground all the seed that they could plant this year, they have begun to build small houses for themselves. Up to the present they have been living together in one shelter, which gives them little comfort. But everything cannot be done at once.

The 30th. The beautiful rain has kept on all of last night and until this morning. The Lord be praised! Toward evening an Indian came to see me and I asked him in and gave him something to eat. He carried his household goods with him, a skin and a blanket on which he slept, a small hatchet, a pot, a bottle, etc.

The 31st. Early in the morning the Indian rose from his bed, which he had made under a tree, and went into the forest to shoot some game. He returned about one oclock carrying a whole deer on his back. He cut it into pieces and insisted that I take the one I wanted. This I did, but left the rest to the Saltzburgers who gave him rice for it. It is good to get some fresh meat here, especially for the sickly persons with whom the salt meat does not agree. Praise be to our Heavenly Father who thus cares for us. On the occasion of some trial or other which God may impose upon us, I may say to the dear people: Our dear God imposes this upon us to give us time to think about the many promises we gave God at sea, and how many we have kept. We must try to make up for what we have missed.

The 1st of June. Since we finished the preparation for Holy Pentecost last night with Revelations 22:17 (The Lord be praised for the awakening He has given us with it!), I used today to read to the dear people about the great revival that has been going on for some years in a certain place in Pomerania. They finished work early today, hence they were all in time for the prayer hour. First we sang: Come, o come you breath of life, etc. Then we read them about the revival. At last we implored God to give His blessing to Pentecost, which we were to celebrate for the first time in this land. We ended the hour with the hymn: Honor be sung to Jesus with joy, etc.

The 2nd. Today I showed the dear listeners how God wishes to fill their hearts with the most wonderful gift of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost, how the triune God would find a lasting dwelling place in their souls if only they would let their hearts be filled, if they would go to the right well and draw from it. Toward evening we had a very heavy thunderstorm, and with it such terrible lightning that our eyes were quite blinded. Praise be to God who averted all mishaps. With the Saltzburger who stays with me at night I sang the song: Where shall I flee, etc., which moved him greatly.

The 3rd. This noon we again had a strong thunderstorm, but it did not last long. One of the Saltzburgers came to see me at noon. We were mutually inspired, and together we prayed to God for the blessing of Pentecost. It gives us the greatest pleasure to see how one person after another gives proof of his seriousness and devotion to Christianity. God be praised for having checked all the evil which the arch-enemy tries continuously to plant on holy days. Although I have been very weak, God has given me sufficient strength for the preaching of His word during the last two days. May He be praised for that, and may He grant that the word which I have been trying to impress upon the hearts of the dear listeners will bear the fruit of eternal life!

The 4th of June. This afternoon our dear Lord refreshed me very much with the late Dr. Antons Household Conversations on salvation. I quoted them in the evening prayer hour and showed the great happiness that comes if we not only know from books that Christ has saved us from all sins, from death and the power of the devil, but if we also experience the same in our own souls and can say with the conviction given by the Holy Ghost: I am one of those saved by the Lord. It was good news for me to learn that Pastor Boltzius is in Abercorn. I thanked God for this privately and again publicly during the evening prayer hour. Today, particularly this afternoon, our dear Lord has so strengthened my body that it looks as though my strength will gradually return. Thanks be to our Father in Heaven for all His Grace.

The 5th. Today my esteemed colleague, Mr. Boltzius, returned to Ebenezer in good health and strengthened in body and soul as we prayed to God that he would. The Lord be praised for His kindness and faithfulness and may He help us further. This evening the best four Negroes were taken away from us although our benefactors had promised the Commissioner and Mr. Boltzius in Charleston to leave all of them with us as long as we needed them. These four could work as much as the other ten who are still here, and the latter have said that they will run away at the first opportunity because the four of them have been taken away. It is such trials as these, sent by God, which are to urge us to greater seriousness of purpose with our Christian religion.

The 7th. This evening Gruber received Holy Communion. He had a great desire for it and was very much refreshed and strengthened by it.

The 8th. Today Mr. Boltzius was sent for from Purrysburg where he is to baptize a child and to give Holy Communion to those who have longed for it for some time.

The 9th. This afternoon, while reviewing this mornings Gospel with our Congregation in a short question and answer period, I read them a passage from a little tract entitled: The End of a Righteous Person who was drawn still Closer to God on his Sickbed and Death. From this we saw what we learned from Nicodemus, namely, no matter how many good qualities a man may show, he cannot be saved unless he is reborn and experiences a change of heart; even if he hopes to be saved, his hope is dead and not alive. When the man described in the little book was disabused of his false ideas by the Holy Gospel, he gladly bared his soul and acknowledged that all was not well with him. Then he prayed and struggled with himself without letup until God had mercy on him and he could say at last: Now I have won, all of my sins have been forgiven, etc. It went on to say: They that sow in tears shall reap with joy. And since he had shed many tears, his joy afterwards was that much greater. We will read the rest at evening prayer.

On the 5th of this month, last Wednesday, a man left Abercorn in a boat in an effort to find our river so that we can bring our belongings in by water. At noon today the man arrived at Ebenezer. He says his boat is about 2 English miles from here. Thats how far he has been able to come up the river. He brought along a man he met in a canebrake, who had run away from Mr. Causton because he had to work off some debts. We were obliged to arrest this man. Tomorrow he is to be taken to Abercorn and from there they will take him to Savannah and deliver him to Mr. Causton.

Last night we heard a terrible screaming when one Negro cut another ones leg seven times with a knife. These poor people lead a miserable life, know nothing about God, and exist like animals. May God have mercy on them. When I visited Gruber this morning, he talked to me more cheerfully than he had done in a long time. Mr. Boltzius had brought a little wine with him, and we gave some of it to Gruber, who was much strengthened by it. In our last letter to Mr. Causton we made a special request for some wine for the sick. It came today. God be praised!

The 11th of June. During this evenings prayer hour we finished the tract End of a Righteous Person; and we saw how the man won so magnificent a victory after the long struggle that he was not afraid of the devil, death, hell, or anything else. He said, among other things, I am in the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus is in me. And because I am His sheep, Satan may as well refrain from trying to tear me away from Christ. We used this to show our dear listeners that it is a great bliss to have such joy at the time of death and to have such a firm foundation in Christianity that even the gates of hell cannot shake it. May God bless all this!

The 12th. Today God brought Mr. Boltzius back to us from Purrysburg in good health. He related, among others, 1) that, before letting the people take Communion, he had two preparations daily to instruct and awaken the people, which they attended regularly. 2) That they took Holy Communion with great reverence and eagerness and praised God from their hearts for having honored them with this good deed quite unexpectedly, for they are not to receive a pastor until they have a hundred families of our denomination living in Purrysburg. 3) That he baptized a child on Sunday, after the sermon, and that all showed orderly and Christian behaviour during and after the ceremony. 4) That, although most of the people had very little, they showed him every conceivable kindness and would have shared their hearts with him. 5) That some of them wanted to send their children with him to Ebenezer so that they might be instructed in the Christian religion, reading, and writing, and that the older ones might be prepared for Holy Communion. But, since there is no way of caring for them day and night, he was not able to grant their wish at this time.

The 13th of June. God has heard the prayer we gave recently when sending a letter to Mr. Causton, who has not only sent what we requested for the sick but has also given us sugar, ginger, and spice, which is a kind of pepper. God be praised for guiding the hearts of men like the water courses.

The 14th. Last week two single persons, Georg Schweiger and Anna Hofer, told us of their intention of entering the state of holy matrimony, not only because God had caused them to like each other, but also because living conditions made it highly necessary. We used the Word of God to urge them to enter this holy state, established by God Himself, as is becoming to Christians, not according to the ways of this world but with much prayer and Christian thought. We read them several passages from the Bible that deal with this matter, and they were much impressed with them. The following Sunday we made public announcement of their intention to our congregation, and together we presented it to the Lord God in prayer. Today had been chosen to join them in Christian fashion. Before noon the bride and groom came to our house, accompanied by some of the Saltzburgers that had been invited. We sang the hymn: O Holy Ghost, Come Visit Us, etc. and gave them a few points regarding the corrupt features of married life existing even among Christians, also some rules governing the Christian aspects of marriage. Finally we pronounced them man and wife. Afterwards we invited the bride and groom and two Saltzburgers to dinner and used this to show them how they should in the future enjoy their food with thanksgiving, and spice it, so to speak, with Christian conversation.

We have intended for a long time to hold conferences with our congregation as the occasion demands; but so far we have been prevented from executing this good plan by necessary trips, the duties of our office, or other things. Today we had the opportunity to start with it in the Name of God. We chose the hour after the noon meal for it, as they cannot work at that time because of the extreme heat but have to sit still in a airy spot until 3 or 4 oclock. Upon receiving word, all those who were not sick came to our room. They showed with their presence, also with words, that our plan pleased them very much, since it would provide the means, with Gods help, for the maintenance of our good relations, for the prevention of misunderstandings, suspicion, and disorder, and for the consideration of steps to be taken for the common good. Our conference started and ended with heartfelt prayer. And since there were so many problems to think and talk about we spent two whole hours, yet everyone was pleased. On this first occasion God gave us His blessing and we could distinctly feel His gracious presence. We hope that this work, begun in His name, will contribute to the physical and spiritual well being of our congregation, and we shall continue to pray for it. From now on we shall keep a separate book for the conference.

The 15th of June. Because there are still three sick persons in Abercorn, we make trips there as often as possible in order to strengthen them with the Word of God. Today Mr. Gronau made the trip, accompanied by Mr. Zwifler. These patients have Moshammer and his wife52 to tend them, two Christian and very pious people. Said Moshammer knows much about true Christianity, and thus he is very useful to the sick not only in their physical but also in their spiritual needs. It represents great self-denial on his part that he is willing to tend the sick and thus is being kept from working his land in Ebenezer. We talked about him during yesterdays conference and the Saltzburgers have decided to repay his efforts, and the faithfulness he is showing also by guarding the provisions still at Abercorn, by helping him with the preparation of his land and the building of his house.

Todays mail, which passes through here on its way from Charleston to Savannah, brought an inspiring letter from the Commissioner in which he tells us that God continues to open his heart to better understanding, that he is diligently practicing prayer and wakefulness, and that he intends to remain true to the Lord who has accepted him. He asks us to pray for him. He also reported that he had experienced further proof of Gods fatherly care, for when he was about to board the ship a rich merchant who had learned about his voyage came to him and offered him a present of 100 pounds sterling. He has also been offered several thousand acres on which to settle if he should decide to return to Carolina, but his heart is set on Ebenezer.

The 18th of June. Sunday a week ago, that is to say on the day of Holy Trinity, we announced to our congregation that we would celebrate Holy Communion on the second Sunday after Trinity and would take Holy Communion ourselves. All those who wanted to partake of the holy sacrament came to see us today and we gave them some instruction in the proper preparation. It is our intention to gather all of this week in this manner and to prepare ourselves with prayer and the study of the Word of God. May God help us!

Again we have received from Savannah provisions for a quarter of a year consisting of salted meat, herring, cheese, butter, flour, rice, and Indian corn. We thanked God for it, finding ourselves quite unworthy of such benefactions, especially because, through Gods blessing, we had not used up all that had been sent before.

The 20th of June. As Huber and his wife are very weak and near death, one of us has again gone to Abercorn to strengthen them with the Word of God and also to contribute something to their physical care. God must have put it into Mr. Oglethorpes heart to make us a present of a young horse. With it we can comfortably take such necessary and useful trips as these. They would be quite difficult otherwise. God be praised!

The 21st. The Commissioner had given permission to some people to move to Ebenezer with us. But Mr. Causton would not agree to this because all those who want to settle in Georgia, and that includes our place, must first obtain permission from the Trustees in England.

As we can truthfully praise the fear of God and the skill of the German glazier [Rheinlnder] from Charleston, Mr. Causton has agreed to recommend him to the Trustees. In the meantime his belongings are to be transported here free of charge and he will receive provisions for one year for himself and his family, provided that he obligates himself to remain with us or the Saltzburgers for one year.

The 22nd. The great weakness of Huber and his wife required that one of us make another trip to Abercorn. Because of their condition we prayed briefly with them and left them several short verses which they could use as supplications. Their desire for deliverance is very great. This afternoon the Saltzburgers assembled at our house to further prepare themselves for Holy Communion and to receive absolution. God again put His blessing on this hour for which He is due all the honor.

The 23rd. This afternoon we received news from Abercorn that God had delivered the good Huber from his unrest and had given him eternal rest through temporal death. He had been longing for this with all his heart. At the very last he said that the dear Saviour would accept him and take him in even though he was a great sinner, because He was a Saviour for all the poor penitent sinners. The very night of his death he said, among other things, that he knew the Saltzburgers would soon take Holy Communion in Ebenezer but that he hoped to take it soon in heaven with his dear Lord Jesus. His entire body had been in great pain caused by gout and swollen feet; yet, by the Grace of God, his patience was even greater. Although he was a simple soul he knew how to make good use of the Holy Gospel and how to strengthen himself with verses from Holy Writ. He was poor, and he left four still uneducated children. But he lived happily with the things God gave him and let it be known that the Heavenly Father had not left him wanting.

When he left Saltzburg, he said, he had had a small sum of money but, through Gods blessing, he now had twice as much, and the Lord in whom he and his wife trusted would not forsake him. He made good use of the Sundays, going into the forest, either alone or with his wife, in order to meditate and pray over the Word of God that he had heard. And he urged his children to do the same, thanking God that they were learning and hearing more truth than he had learned in his youth and in his old age. He was not worried about his children when he was on his deathbed, for he knew that God is the father of all orphans. Of these two devout married people and true Israelites who had no falsehood within their souls it can truthfully be said what is written in Luke 1:6 about Zacharias and Elizabeth: They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. It took very little to make their example useful to our listeners in this afternoons lesson. God be praised for all the spiritual and worldly good deeds He has done for them since the beginning!

The 24th of June. This morning one of us and a few Saltzburgers went to Abercorn to bury the late Huber. The sick widow and the orphaned children conducted themselves like good Christians during the burial. They are resigned to the will of God.

Mayor Causton is proving himself to be very friendly and favorably disposed toward our Saltzburgers. In addition to what the sick received recently we were sent a barrel of bread for them today. They need this very much since we still have no baking oven here. For the two of us he sent a little wine in order to make up for some of the damage that had been done to the things we had bought in Charleston.

The 25th of June. Today we received the good news that Mr. Causton had sent a boat with some men to Abercorn, who are to bring some of our provisions closer to our settlement by water. Our dear listeners were overjoyed to hear this, and some of them set out immediately for the place where the things have to be unloaded in order to build a small shed there. Everything will have to be carried to Ebenezer overland for 2 or 3 English miles because reeds, bushes, and fallen trees in the river prevent boats from coming all the way to us. But this route is not as far and difficult as the one from Abercorn. God be praised for this provision!

The 26th. This afternoon the two men who had found the waterway to our settlement came to see us and asked that a few Saltzburgers come with them to get acquainted with the right way. They offered to talk to Mr. Causton so that a good boat would be sent to us soon in which we could carry enough provisions to last all of our people for a quarter of a year. In time, they said, as the number of our people increased, the river could be cleaned out and made navigable all the way to Ebenezer, but it would be difficult to do so. At present the things must be put ashore a good hour from here and must be brought in with horses.

The 27th. All of the Saltzburgers that are not sick have started to clear the way and to prepare it so that our provisions can be brought up on horses and sledges. The preparation of this road is very troublesome since they have to build bridges over the river and over several swamps. But they do not care because they expect to make good use of it. Most of them have completely ruined their socks, shoes, and trousers. For this reason we have written to Mr. Causton and asked him for such garments.

The 29th of June. Until now we have retained twelve Negroes who had to cut boards and timbers for the public buildings. But today they were recalled. Mr. Causton sent word that he hated to do this and that he would do everything in his power to prevent an interruption or stoppage of our construction.

The 30th. Our morning service today was attended by two Englishmen who proved themselves to be very devout. We did everything we could to treat them well, hoping it will make them realize that we and our congregation are not the kind of people that we have sometimes been made out to be. One must wonder how it is possible for people to make up and spread such stories about us as we frequently hear. May our dear Saviour continue to hold His hands over us so that distress at home and abroad will not harm us but drive us to more prayer and wakefulness.

The 1st of July. An adult single woman has fallen dangerously sick. But, thank God, she is the kind who, should she die, would surely join the Saltzburgers who preceded her from our congregation to eternal rest and salvation. Even when she was well she had a strong desire to leave this vale of tears, and she continues to wish for the same.

The 2nd. One of us had intended to go to Abercorn today to visit the sick Mrs. Huber who is said to be very near death. However, our congregation and others who had recently traveled between here and Abercorn advised strongly against it. For nearly three months we have had frequent rains by day and by night, so much so that the rivers are very high. The road and the bridges which the Saltzburgers had built earlier by the sweat of their brows are mostly ruined. To go on foot now is very difficult and traveling on horseback is very risky as the bridges have holes in them which cannot be seen because the water running over them is several feet deep. Thus it must be considered a special favor of God when He showed us recently a nearer and better way on which we can bring in our provisions.

There are blue berries in this region like those in certain areas of Germany, but these are two or three times bigger and tastier. Some of the Saltzburgers have cooked them and found that they do not harm ones health.

The 3rd of July. We find it very necessary and salutary to help and strengthen our people in their trust in God, on whose blessing everything depends. In the evening prayer hour we had occasion to say a few things about the land of Canaan, such as how significant it is that the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom God had given the promise of the land of Canaan, had to suffer death and crop failures in the Promised Land. Because many bad people lived in their land and there were great rocks, wild, bloodthirsty animals, lack of water, and other inconveniences, they must have begun to question whether or not they and their descendants were well provided for in this land and whether it might not have been better if God had given them this or that, etc. But they left no room for such thoughts. Instead, they trusted in the almighty Lord, knowing that He would neither forsake nor neglect them.

The 4th. This afternoon an Englishman came from Savannah to see me in Ebenezer and asked me to go to Savannah with him to marry him to a widow. He had brought a boat to Abercorn for this purpose, and he hoped that I would comply with his request because he could not get an English pastor to perform the ceremony. I told him that our vocation covered only the Saltzburgers and others of the same religion. If I were to perform the marriage as requested, his countrymen might not be pleased, but it was my hearts desire to serve everyone to the best of my ability. I added that I had already written to London to get this point cleared up, but that no answer had been received so far. As he was very insistent I agreed to perform the ceremony if he would 1) bring an order and permission from Mr. Causton, vice-governor of this province; 2) get me the marriage book from Savannah, which I needed because the ceremony would have to be conducted in English. He was satisfied with this and left after having eaten with us.

The 5th of July. One of the two Negroes that had been left behind died today, and he was himself responsible for his death. Many of them have the foolish idea that they will return to their own land after death, something for which they have no hope during their lifetime. Therefore many of them kill themselves by hanging, stabbing, drowning, etc. For this reason their owners must treat them very carefully, especially during the first year. Those who are born in this country are much more intelligent in this and in other respects. They are also much more useful and faithful, but, for that very reason, also much more expensive. Some of our people have helped to bury the Negro.

Mrs. Huber, who has been lying sick in Abercorn until now, all the while longing for early deliverance, passed away this morning very quietly and peacefully in the Lord. We knew of her great weakness and would have liked to visit her more often, but it was impossible because of the swollen streams and the ruined bridges. The pious Saltzburger Moshammer, a man of great experience in Christian matters, helped her spirit greatly. This evening a single woman, Maria Reuter, died quite unexpectedly. She had had a bad swelling in her feet and the lower parts of her body. Good medicine was administered to her, but it must have been too late. When she suddenly became weak, we were called but could not reach the Saltzburgers shelter in time, since our little house, as stated, is a good distance away. The two women who died today loved the Lord Jesus very much. Like other pious women, they followed Him throughout their lives and suffering, and we have no doubt that they entered into the Rest of the Lord. Mrs. Huber was buried tonight and some of the Saltzburgers went to Abercorn for the burial. God willing, the deceased Reuter woman will be buried tomorrow morning, as early as possible. The third person whom we seem to have lost is our apothecary, Mr. Zwifler. He went into the forest early yesterday morning but has not been seen since, even though others went to look for him and shot muskets frequently. This loss hurts us all the more because he was a very useful and experienced man. May God have mercy upon him and cause him to use what little time he has (if he is still alive) to prepare himself for blessed eternity.

The 6th of July. Since Mr. Zwifler is no longer with us, we have to take on additional affairs that are not really part of our office. These cause us much distraction and trouble. Today we have been busy with the distribution of some of the provisions. May God keep our people in the spirit which they have now; it makes the performances of such worldly chores easy for us.

The 7th. A rumor was spread to Savannah that I, Boltzius, had been lost in the forest. By order of Mr. Causton a captain and five Indians set out immediately, together with an Englishman who knows how to speak with the Indians. They arrived here this evening. These people have provisions for three days and at the break of day tomorrow they intend to go into the forest and start searching. They will continue until they have found Mr. Zwifler, dead or alive. At noon today four more Indians arrived, who went into the forest for the same purpose.

The 8th of July. We have ordered the shooting of one of the cows that escaped into the woods; and we intend to do the same with the other four as there is no hope of bringing them back alive. The meat will be brought up from Abercorn today and will be distributed among the people at once. We have no lack of food, thank God; and Mr. Causton has offered to send everything necessary for the maintenance of life and good health.

The 10th. In todays evening prayer hour we started reading the little tract, printed in Wernigerode, which is entitled: Edifying Remembrance of the Saltzburger Emigrants, etc., for we know that it did a lot of good on a previous occasion. Perhaps it is the pleasure of the Lord to use the present circumstances of our listeners to awaken and strengthen the good in them. We humbly ask the Giver of all good gifts for this.

The 11th. The Indians who had been sent here to look for Mr. Zwifler have departed again because they could find no trace of him. It is assumed that he intended to shoot a tiger or some other evil beast, that he did not hit it well and was devoured by it (Genesis 37:33). Those who were sent to look for him report that the region to which he went is such that a person with a little sense cannot get lost very easily.

The 12th. One of the Negroes who cut the boards for us had been badly wounded and cut by the Negro that died recently. Mr. Zwifler had been treating him, but today he was taken by a surgeon from Abercorn. The departure of the Negroes has deprived us of some advantages but it has also freed us of much disquietude and worry.

The 13th. Toward evening Br. [Matthias Braunberger], who is not a Saltzburger,53 had someone tell us of his great weakness and ask us for something to strengthen and refresh him. We not only sent him that, to the best of our ability, but one of us went to see him and found his body very weak but his spirit in such condition that there is good reason to hope God will accept his soul. He is truly repentant of all of his sins which, he says, are very great, and he is shedding many tears over them. His greatest grief comes from the fact that he cannot quite accept with assurance the service of Christ and the forgiveness of sins: But he believes that God will finally look upon him with favor, for Christs sake, because it cannot have been in vain that He saved him from many dangers of death and gave him this protracted sickness. He will never again let anything prevent him from preparing himself for eternity, he said. Hereupon we gave him consolation from the Gospel but we also found it necessary to warn him about the guile and wickedness of the heart, for which purpose we used the 32nd Psalm. Then we earnestly urged him to give his heart over to God completely; and he agreed to this willingly, prayed with us, and tearfully asked for forgiveness of the sins which he had committed earlier and which had grieved us.

The 14th of July. A week ago and again today we were hoping that surely the mayor of Savannah, Mr. Causton, would keep his promise and come to see us here in Ebenezer to inspect the houses that have been built at the expense of the Trustees, and to make arrangements for those yet to be built. However, we waited in vain because, as we learned toward evening, he had to go to Charleston. We are looking forward to his early arrival because we have to take up a number of important matters with him besides wanting to ask for several things for the Saltzburgers. We cannot do much with letters, for his many important affairs would easily let him overlook a number of things.

The 15th. One of our Saltzburgers, [Jerg] Schweiger by name, was moved to go into the nearby woods today in order to pray. There he came upon Mr. Zwifler, whom we had considered lost. However, he could not persuade him to come with him, and consequently he came running to us full of joy. One of us went immediately and found him in a miserable state caused by lack of proper bodily care. Most of his clothes were torn to shreds or lost, and what he had to say was very confused. He insisted he had been close by for eight days but had not been able to get his bearings and come to our settlement. Meanwhile he had stilled his hunger and maintained his life with blueberries. He was so weak, emaciated, and miserable that he could hardly stand on his feet. God be praised for this new proof of His care!

The 16th of July. Having rested and refreshed himself with decent food and drink, Mr. Zwifler is gradually regaining his strength of body and mind. Today he spoke quite coherently, saying he is sorry he spoke in such a confused way yesterday, as he well remembers having done. On the first day he had pursued a deer which he had shot and had become so completely lost that he could not find his way out of the wilderness even though he used the sun and other means of trying to find his directions. He said he had also met an Indian who offered to lead him out but that they had lost each other during the night. Early yesterday it seemed to him as though he could see Senior Urlsperger and two pastors well known to him, who showed him the way to some recently built houses. He followed this way and saw our houses; but the sight of them did not make him happy, for everything seemed like a dream to him and he was under the impression that he had always remained in Ebenezer and had only just left to go shooting. Thus it is another good deed of God that a Saltzburger found him and told us about it, for he might have gone back into the woods again.

THE TRAVEL DIARYof Pastor Boltzius from Ebenezer to Charleston and Back.

THE 14th of May. Very important reasons compelled me to accompany the Commissioner to Charleston. Before starting his seavoyage he wanted to take Holy Communion in said town, together with some other people of our confession who are longing for it because he had been prevented from taking it with us when the wine had failed to arrive. In addition I wanted to carry the thanks of the Saltzburgers to their benefactors who have sent them cattle and other farm animals, and I wanted to arrange other things for them and make some purchases. Our dear God has given me good physical and spiritual preparation for this trip. Today we traveled as far as Purrysburg, where I became acquainted with some of the souls who were very much pleased at our arrival in America. I also was able to buy a little wine to be used in giving Holy Communion to two sick Saltzburgers in Abercorn. This town of Purrysburg is built up high on the bank of the river. Since a good many people of means are living here, it is to be hoped that it will become a fine city in a short time. The people here tend to their fields and gardens with much diligence, and you can already buy meat, eggs, and garden vegetables here more easily than in Savannah. People here were very friendly toward us, and some of them asked one of us to come back soon in order to serve them Holy Communion.

The 15th. This morning we returned to Abercorn. The sick married couple [Huber] were very happy to know that they were to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ on this day. We had a short preparation for them and discussed with them the words: Whosoever cometh unto me, etc., explaining the great love of the Lord Jesus for even the most miserable of sinners. God blessed this presentation of the Gospel as well as the celebration of Holy Communion for both of them, especially for the woman. She had previously been very troubled, but now she testified joyfully and with shedding of tears to her firm belief that the Saviour had accepted her and had forgiven all of her sins. She would die gladly now and would not worry any more about the many children whom she must leave uncared for, especially as I had promised her with hand and mouth to take care of their bodily and spiritual needs after her death, to the best of my ability. One of those present who observed her happy certainty over the forgiveness of her sins was worried because he was not yet able to sing and speak of such certainty so joyfully. We set him straight in a short time from the Word of God and told him of the signs assuring us of grace; but he must remain true to God, continue on the path on which He is leading him through the Holy Ghost, and He will send the hour in which his heart will taste the sweetness of His Grace.

At three oclock in the afternoon we departed for Savannah and arrived there after dark. We could hear the Indians playing their drums and singing when we were still some distance away. They do this when those who have been off hunting for several weeks return to them safely. They build a big bonfire and sing and dance around it while one of them beats on a small toy-sized drum. Mr. Causton received us most cordially and provided us with food and lodging.

The 16th of May. We were told about two slaves that had been brought in as prisoners. They had strangled and drowned their sick master even though he had always been very kind to them. Their misdeed had remained unknown for some weeks but God, in His wondrous ways, had finally revealed it. We learned that some people here have had terrible things to say about our Saltzburgers and have accused them of many bad things, but they have been defended by Mr. Causton and others. Many are vexed that the Saltzburgers have been given so much livestock, seeds, etc., which they did not get themselves; so, in their jealousy, they invent all sorts of calumnies. I have written a summary of the accusations to Mr. Gronau, asking him to exhort and counsel the congregation to show Christian and careful conduct so that the name of Christ will not be blasphemed by the enemies of His name.

It happened that we met the two benefactors from Carolina here in Savannah and were able to give them our thanks for the thirty head of cattle they had sent us. Their actions and words were such as to give the impression that they are constantly in awe of the omni-presence of God. When I let someone know my thoughts on the matter and stated that the very looks of these men had been edifying for me, I was told that I had not erred in my thoughts about them, etc. We received news here that Mr. Oglethorpe had left for England on a warship. Thus we will not be able to see him again in Charleston as we had wished and hoped.

The 17th of May. Last night we learned that a big skiff was here which would soon leave empty for Charleston. This opportunity suited us much better than taking a large periager54 (this is the name for some long and deep boats that can carry more goods than an ordinary boat, and are usually propelled more by two sails than by oars) because on the latter you must often remain on the water for three or four weeks while it is possible to reach Charleston in five or six days in one of the skiffs which also carry a few small sails.

The 18th. On our boat we had a Jew from Savannah who did not look like a Jew but was full of malice, which he showed with words and deeds. Because he had dysentery he was made to disembark at Port Royal so that others would not be contaminated from sheer disgust. When we landed here the two boatmen who have to sit at the oars also disembarked to gather some mulberries which grow here in large numbers. In their negligence they had failed to tie up the skiff and pull in its sails, so the wind blew it far away from land and into the river. Nobody wanted to swim after it and bring it back to land and therefore we could easily have lost all of our belongings if divine providence had not made us see a small boat with three Negroes in it who did us the favor of bringing the skiff back to land for a small tip.

The 19th of May. Very late last night the skipper brought us to a plantation he knew within the limits of Port Royal. The people here were very kind to us, provided us with food and drink to the best of their ability, fixed a good bed for us, but refused to accept any pay whatsoever. It is a very good thing to find, during a trip, a few good people in whose house you can rest up, for (except for a very few places) there are no inns anywhere. We left with the tide, as early as possible; but we could not get far because heavy rains, strong winds, and a thunderstorm forced us to land. The bad weather passed quickly but the skipper did not dare go any further because he feared more rain and wind, so we stopped at a house in which some Negroes were living.

We must pass through a dangerous place called the Sound, where we have to go out into the sea a little way. The Commissioner urged the skipper to go on, but he would not agree. Not long afterwards we had rain and a storm that was so great and of such long duration that we would surely have perished in the water had we continued with our trip. At the same time there were loud claps of thunder, and one of those present was very much afraid. We took this opportunity to tell this person about the wrath of God and His anger over the sins of the people and their unwillingness to do penance. He was a man who had felt the Word of God on his conscience and had made many good resolutions but had constantly rejected them again. We told him at the same time about the happiness of truely converted Christians. In the evening we told the Negroes some stories from the Bible, such as the creation, the fall of man, the birth and suffering of Christ. Some of them were very attentive and filled with wonder and showed themselves eager to learn about the Christian religion.

The 20th of May. Today God gave us a very favorable wind which advanced our boat much faster than had been done by the wicked and lazy oarsmen. After sundown we had a sudden shower and thunderstorm that were terrible to behold. But God be praised! Shortly before the rain He brought us to a high bank, which is called a bluff here, on which was a house in which we found shelter from the weather for ourselves and our things.

The 21st. In the afternoon we had another heavy rain and thunderstorm but it did not last more than half an hour. We could not land anywhere and had to protect ourselves as best we could. Our captain does not know the way very well and we made a small detour. People who have not traveled this way often can easily get into the wrong river because there are very many of them, which people here call creeks. They dont always stay in the regular rivers but choose such creeks, which are also called cutoffs and which frequently bring you a good deal closer.

The 22nd. Today God sent us the most wonderful wind which could have taken us to Charleston in good time. But, since the skipper slept too long and the hands spent a great deal of time preparing breakfast, we arrived too late at a small creek which we could not pass because the water had run out and therefore we had to wait until the water ran in again. Meanwhile the skipper caught some sea crabs which frequently hide in the mud but are easy to get out when the water has run out. When we came out of the narrow creek at high tide we had the current against us and our beautiful wind had died down. Thus it cost us much labor and some danger to reach Charleston late in the evening.

The 23rd. In Savannah we had been told about the best place to find lodgings in Charleston; and at the inn we found some very fine and friendly people and got every comfort at a moderate price.

The 24th. of May. As it was my desire to go home soon, I busied myself these days with the procurement of a number of things for myself and for the Saltzburgers. Several Germans of our Evangelical faith called to tell me that they wanted to go to Holy Communion with the Commissioner. They had been wanting it for a long time, and therefore I had to agree to remain here until Sunday so that I could properly prepare these people with the Word of God for their important undertaking.

The 25th. Many distinguished people here are very polite to us and urge us to come to dinner at this place or that, but we had rather be spared because these things subject us to many distractions. Today all those who wanted to go to Holy Communion came to see me so that I could speak with them about the Word of God. As much as time and place would permit, I told them about the importance and the glorious value of Holy Communion and showed them briefly what pertains to true Christianity. We arrange it so that those who can hear us only once or twice will learn the most necessary truths and take to their hearts the order of salvation and a few major verses of scripture.

The 26th. Today I found a very welcome opportunity to get back to Ebenezer in a few days; and for this reason I had to decide to depart on this very day. Therefore I asked the communicants to come at five oclock in the morning to my quarters, where we sang a few hymns together and I then impressed upon their hearts a few practical truths from todays Gospel. After the sermon we all knelt down and the Commissioner offered a moving prayer to God for all of us. After giving absolution and serving Holy Communion I made ready for the trip. I thought it remarkable that a German cobbler had registered for Holy Communion but did not come to my room until after Communion because, as he claimed, the house in which I lived had been locked up. Afterwards I learned that this man is given to drunkenness and wanton company. I had not seen that in him but rather had presumed him to be good, judging from his words and actions. Thus I was very happy that he had been prevented from coming to the Table of, the Lord. A glazier and his wife (who came from the Palatinate) attended Holy Communion and showed much devotion. Their love for the Word of God and the Holy Sacraments is so great that they do not wish to remain in Charleston but want to move to Ebenezer. They have many children who will be added to our small school.55 These two people will also be of great help with our household chores.

The 27th of May. The strong wind that had been so favorable for us blew us on a sand bank very unexpectedly and with the greatest of violence. If God had not been holding His hand over us we would have fallen into the water with all our belongings. We had to remain here until the water rose again and lifted us off the sand. My traveling companions were very ill mannered; but I paid no attention to them. Instead I sang, prayed, and read the Bible. Whenever I sang a hymn they kept quiet and were very polite. Nevertheless, the truth was not kept from them.

The 28th. As our skipper knows the way very well he went the shortest distance through several creeks so that we covered a large part of the trip today. In this country one sees more water than land, and in most places the land is so low that the water often floods it. If people want to settle here they must look for bluffs or high banks.

The 29th. We had rain all day long. It became particularly strong as we were passing through a dangerous sound which is called Bloody Point. The passengers continue to be wild and insolent, paying no heed to admonitions. In the evening we reached Port Royal, where we stayed in order to get dry since the rain was continuing. The innkeeper with whom I stayed was very nice and spoke very highly of our Saltzburgers. He told us he had heard that many Saltzburgers were at sea and on their way to join us. I had heard this report on several occasions.

The 30th of May. The reader, or schoolmaster, lead me to the local church, which is of cedar, well built and very pretty. He also took me to the local pastor [Jones] and introduced me to him. He is a very friendly man of whom it is said that he preaches well and leads an exemplary life. He likes our Saltzburgers and has a good opinion of their devotion and industriousness, about which he had heard. As the rain continued all morning, we could not depart until the evening tide. We continued into the night because we had bright moonlight.

The 31st. Since God sent us a most beautiful wind we arrived in Savannah toward noon, as I had wished. Mayor Causton received me most cordially and provided me with lodging in the house of the pastor, who is still away.

The 1st of June. There was a boat here from Abercorn in which I could have left yesterday, but the people with it cannot be persuaded to leave once they get to Savannah. The town is still small but is already provided with three inns. Since I could not leave this evening as I had hoped, I had to remain in the pastors house. A certain judge came to see me to announce that they were having an important meeting tonight for which many gentlemen from the country around Savannah had come into town because they had to discuss many important matters. They did not know a better place for it than the parsonage, he said, and he had just come to tell me about it so that I would not be upset over it. Nothing bad would transpire, he assured me. I asked him briefly whether he thought it right to choose the Saturday before Holy Pentecost for this, etc. I also gave him a verse to think about: The Grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men. But God so disposed that they stayed away and left me alone and in peace.

It remains to be reported that a number of persons who behaved very badly last night are very much ashamed and humble today. One of them came to apologize with troubled countenance and, because he had been drawn into bad company for the first time and had drunk his fill, his head was buzzing so that be became very melancholy and was quite, beside himself. He was bled, we gave him words of encouragement, and put him to bed. His friends remained with him and watched him, but nothing would do any good. As I learned later from his nurse, he thought of me often. And when he saw me he offered me his hand, apologized, and asked that I pray for him. He repeated this as often as he saw me. But there is no evidence that this example had made an impression on others.

The 2nd of June. The men who were to take me to my destination finally took my things to the boat and proceeded for a few miles.

The 3rd. Last night a thunderstorm rose and this morning we had a heavy rain which drenched us. But at last, in the afternoon, we came to Abercorn where I found the three Saltzburgers as sick as I had left them. I had wished with all my heart to be in Abercorn or even in Ebenezer for Pentecost. This would have been easily possible if wicked people had not prevented it. It hurt me even more when I was told that a number of people had come from Purrysburg to Abercorn on the first day of Pentecost in order to hear the Word of God. The way to Ebenezer had been too long for them.

The 5th. Today I returned to Ebenezer in good health and strengthened in body and soul, as I had asked of God. The Lord be praised for His goodness and loving kindness, and may He continue to help!

PART THREE

Travel Diary

OF COMMISSIONER VON RECK,When He Went from Ebenezer in Georgia to the Northern Regions of America and from There Back Again to England, Holland, and Germany.

The 14th of May, 1734, I went, in Gods name, from Ebenezer to Abercorn and, on the same day, continued to Purrysburg, accompanied by good Mr. Boltzius. We spent the night there and,

On the 15th, went by boat to Savannah. Mr. Boltzius accompanied me partly because of his tender and fatherly love for me and partly because of his love for the Germans in Carolina, and also because he had to purchase some household equipment in Charleston. We arrived in Savannah this evening after a good trip and praised God for having provided for the continuance of our trip when we learned that a boat was ready to depart.

On the 17th we left Savannah. As we were traveling past desolate and unsettled land and were unable to reach Port Royal by evening, we had to spend the night in the small open boat.

On the 18th we passed Port Royal and toward evening we landed at a place where are found many mulberry trees. The boatmen also went ashore but failed to fasten the boat, which the tide carried away from the land and down the river. No one was able to swim after it; and we had no hope of finding help here as it was late evening, and the tide was strong and the ocean not far away. I gave all of my belongings up for lost and I grieved that I had not used them to do good to my neighbors. God gave me on this occasion some valuable experience regarding the treasures of this world which we all must leave some day, something which many others do not learn until they are on their deathbed; yet the difference was that I got back what had been lost. By a wonderful disposition of God it happened that a sloop arrived which brought back the boat and my belongings.

The 19th of May. A storm forced us to land where we found a colony of blacks with whom we had to spend the night. Since nearly all of them understood the English language, we took the occasion to talk with them. They complained a great deal about their master as, to be sure, most Negroes have good cause to.1 For (1) the master forces them to work for him all week without giving them anything to eat. He then permits them to work on Sunday for wages, and they must earn enough then so that they can eat the rest of the week. (2) Another master requires his Negroes to earn for him a certain amount every day. If, as is often the case, they are unable to earn anything on one day, they must bring in double the amount on the next day, or triple on the third.2 As this is frequently impossible they are led to steal, but this seems to satisfy the master as long as he gets the required amount. (3) He permits them to breed like animals so that he will get many slaves. (4) He whips them nearly to death but will not punish even the greatest misdeed with death because that would make him lose a slave. The Negroes know this, of course, and for that reason are easily given to knavish tricks. All of them were very attentive. They gathered around us and we spoke with them nearly all night long about God, about the creation of the world, about human life, and about the purpose for which man had been created. They assured us that they would gladly work as slaves if they could only receive instruction. But (5) their master would beat them even more if they were to let him know that they desired to become Christians.3

On the 20th of May we passed through the sound, alone and without a pilot. It is a dangerous place in the sea in which many have perished. We did it without knowing about the danger. Afterwards we were frightened no little, and we praised God, when we were told how easily one can founder there.

The 22nd. We arrived in Charleston at night. I had only a star to steer by but it brought us to our destination at the very moment that a violent storm came up with much thunder, lightning, and rain. If this had come while we were still traveling across the bay it would have delivered us to deaths door or at least into grave danger.

On the 26th good Mr. Boltzius went back to Georgia. This afternoon a rich merchant came to see me and offered me a bill of exchange for 100 pounds sterling. I refused at first but accepted because he continued to urge it upon me.

On the 27th I left for Pennsylvania in a sloop, in Gods name. God be praised eternally for helping us across the Bay of Charleston! With a favorable wind we made progress at the rate of 5 to 6 miles per hour.

The 28th. God maintained the favorable wind and the good weather. When I left Ebenezer I was very sick. My weakness increased and I would have perished in my misery if Your Word, O God, had not given me comfort. One of the passengers on the boat is a lay preacher of the Quakers. At the beginning this man acted very serious and expressed extreme distaste for the wicked life of the ships crew; but all the while he did not notice the beam in his own eye. He bragged that he had never had a button on his hat or a pleat in his coat, and that he had never committed a deliberate sin. But he used filthy and shameful language and, in spite of his age, was as lascivious a man as I have ever seen.

The 29th. My weakness, coupled with bad diarrhea, has nearly consumed me.4

The 30th of May. Yesterday and today we have hurried along, with favorable winds, at the rate of five, six, and seven miles per hour. This afternoon we had a calm which remained through

The 31st.

The 1st of June. At 8 oclock this evening God gladdened us with a favorable wind. But my sickness had so weakened me that I wished to be delivered and accepted by my Saviour.

The 2nd was the first day of Pentecost. This evening we dropped a sounding-lead into the sea and struck bottom at 21 fathoms and later at 17, yet we could not sight land. This puzzled us very much.

The 3rd we sighted Maryland. Its coast is very low, is often flooded and, therefore, uninhabited. Shortly thereafter we discovered the headland of Pennsylvania, Cape Delaware.5

The 4th. The tide had carried us somewhat further and into sight of Cape May, which is the headland of New Jersey. The wind was against us so that we were unable to enter the Delaware River in spite of great efforts. In the afternoon God gave us a southwest wind which took us to Lewistown, a city on the headland of Delaware, where a pilot came aboard. In this region one can see many wrecked and grounded vessels which now serve the seafarers in place of pilots.

The 5th. In the morning at 7 oclock we came into a narrow channel in the bay in which the water was only one and one half fathoms deep. But God, our God, helped us through it and at noon we entered the Delaware River. Both banks of the river look very pleasant. The land you see on the right when going up the river belongs to New Jersey, that on the left to Pennsylvania. Forty miles this side of Philadelphia we passed New Castle, which is inhabited by Irish and Germans, and soon after that Christiani Creek, where Swedes and Danes have settled.6 Toward evening we anchored because the sky had become overcast and a storm was feared.

The 6th. At three oclock in the morning we raised anchor and passed by Chester, a small town about 10 miles from Philadelphia, and at 11 oclock we arrived in Philadelphia, well and happy by the grace of God. There a merchant unknown to me, Mr. Peter Baynton, graciously invited me to his house and entertained me there. I called on the Lord Proprietor, Thomas Penn, and His Excellency, Governor Gordon. Both received me with great cordiality and friendship, and Mr. Penn even made a present to our colony of a sloop loaded with ships bread, flour, butter, and cheese. He assured me that it was to depart immediately.7 God be praised for guiding generous hearts to our unworthy selves in this land too!

This city of Philadelphia is flourishing very much. Agriculture and commerce are being pursued with equal vigor, and the city can already offer everything that is needed for peoples existence, comfort, and worldly pleasure. Food is very reasonable in price. The city itself is very neat and gay looking and is built in a healthy location on the Delaware River. The streets are straight as an arrow and most of them are paved. Some houses are made of stone and some of wood, very well built according to the latest architectural style. And everything that is so beautifully built up now was still a wilderness 50 years ago. Considering the small and difficult start made by the Quakers under William Penn, it seems unlikely that any other city could grow as prosperous and strong in so short a time. Complete freedom encourages trade; and I have seen nearly twenty ships at the docks. All religions and sects are represented here, Lutherans, Reformed, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Catholics, Quakers, Dunkers, Mennonites, Sabbatherians, Seventh Day Adventists, Separatists, Bohemian Schwenkfelders, Tuchtfelders, Wellwishers, Jews, Heathens, etc.

Good arrangements have been made for the poor and the aged who are placed in homes and cared for there. The streets are very nice, graced with parks, gardens, and teahouses. Where the land is not too rocky and hilly it is well cultivated. And in many places the forest has been well thinned out so that the atmosphere here is healthy. It gets very cold here in the wintertime and very hot in the summer, hotter even than in the southern regions. The numerous hills and rocks contain many minerals, but they remain unused for lack of miners. Rivers and streams come from the hills in abundance and their water is very cold and clear. In them you can catch trout, eels, etc.

Stock farming is not as advantageous here as in South Carolina and Georgia, for in those warm regions people do not have to worry about maintaining the animals in winter, while in these cold areas they must prepare for winter in the summertime. The grapes that are found in the woods here are like ours, sour, thick skinned, and with large seeds. Mr. Thomas Penn is the proprietor of the entire province; next to him comes the governor who is proposed by him, but appointed by the king. Neither of the gentlemen abuses his power, and love is the guiding spirit of their government.

The 9th of June. This Sunday God gave me an opportunity to call the Germans in Philadelphia together. I used the occasion, in Gods Name and by His Grace, for our mutual edification. May God give His blessing for it!

On the 10th I went to Germantown, a very gay, clean city built of stone, which is 1 English mile long and situated 6 English miles from Philadelphia. Nearly all of its inhabitants are good German people who received me with much joy. They left all of their work and were happy to give me the entire day. God put His blessing upon all our hearts and we made a covenant, before the countenance of Jesus Christ, to further the cause of Heaven with the strength of His spirit.

The 12th. As previously stated, I had brought from Charleston a bill of exchange for 100 pounds sterling which I was to cash in Philadelphia. I had made certain plans for the money and therefore went to get it; but I learned that the man was not at home but at sea, although he was expected any day. The mounted mail left

On the 13th of June. Since the man had not returned, I decided to travel on with what little money I had. I took leave from the Proprietor, who told me something very remarkable; namely that he had learned from some Indian traders that there is an Indian nation a few hundred miles from us in Georgia, which is called the Welsh Indians. It is believed that their early ancestors came to America from Cornwall, a province of England, and that in the course of time their children and descendants had completely degenerated into Indians in color, manners, customs, and their general way of life. Yet they had retained their Welsh language, and they even carefully preserved among themselves a book from which one of them reads to them once a week. It was his intention, he said, to send some people there who speak the Welsh language for the purpose of telling them about the unknown God.

When I was ready to depart, good Peter Baynton gave me his horse to ride on to New York. A large group of upright people from Germantown came to see me and accompanied me a good part of the way. Along the road I found an abundance of beautiful peachtrees. Their fruit is said to be much larger, juicier, and more delicious than in Germany. There is to be found here a kind of snake that is called horned snail [snake!] It is said that when they stick their stinger into a tree the tree will wither within 24 hours. We passed through a small settlement named Frankford, and, through the gracious love of our Saviour, we reached Bristol this evening. It is small but well built and situated on a navigable river.8 On the other side of the river is Burlington. Both places are about 20 English miles from Philadelphia.

The 14th. We rose very early this morning and I continued on my way alone, accompanied only by Caspar Wistar.9 He told me in elaborate terms how difficult it is to get ahead in this country because servants are not to be had and it is not Christian to buy Negroes. The land is very fertile, he said, and grain grows well, but peas do not do very well because worms eat them when they dry and most of them can not be used for seed. People here have a superabundance of horses; there does not seem to be a lack of them in any place in America, for one hardly ever sees anybody walk, be it man, woman, or child.

The 15th of June. In the morning at 10 oclock we reached Trenton, which is the first city in New York.10 We crossed a river here which divides the two provinces of Pennsylvania and New York. Here my escort turned back, who had accompanied me to the border at the governors orders. God be praised for this benefaction also! In Gods name I continued on my way with the mounted mail and toward evening I reached Brunswick, which is about 40 miles from New York, and passed through Piscataqua and spent the night in Perth-Amboy. This and Brunswick are nice little towns.

The 16th. At 10 oclock in the morning I reached Elizabeth, where many Germans live. The town is several miles long, but the houses are often a good distance apart and most country towns have only one street. From Elizabeth-Point you have to go across the bay to New York. I boarded a sloop at 2 oclock in the afternoon; but, since we had a calm in addition to an ebb tide, we were not able to reach New York this evening. Instead, we anchored off Long Island.

On the 17th, which was a Sunday, we arrived in New York at 6 oclock in the morning. Long Island, Staten Island, and Albany come under the government of New York. This province first belonged to the Dutch but was traded to the English for Surinam. Most of the inhabitants are still Dutch and they have the two best churches in town. This city is the oldest one in the northern provinces of America. It is built in Dutch style, and the streets and houses are kept as clean here as in Holland. People complain that the place now has far less commerce than formerly. They blame it on too much government, too many taxes, and on the fact that the rich exploit the poor. But, it seems to me, there is enough commerce to support libertinism. Unfailing proof is given by the fact that the place swarms with Negroes who were introduced by laziness, too many riches, and debauchery. And although the people fear, as they do in Carolina, that the Negroes will cut their throats some day, they let this fear be outweighed by their great convenience.

The governor of New York is not elected by the parliament of the province, as is the case in the other provinces of North America, but is appointed by the king. Thus it happens that this is the only province which must pay a yearly tribute to the King of England. Long Island is very fertile and not as rocky as New York. The province of Albany stretches out into the country, about 140 miles from New York, and is settled mostly by Germans and Dutch. A Dutchman, Jeremias von Rensler, has it as a fief from the government.

The 18th of June. I visited Governor [William] Cosby and inspected the fort under which flows the Hudson River, which is navigable for a distance of 140 miles from its mouth. At this fort is the only regular militia of the English type (Georgia excepted).

I left here in the afternoon, accompanied by many of my dear friends. At four oclock we passed through Harlem, then Kingsbridge, and in the evening reached New Rochelle, where we spent the night. This place was built by the Frenchmen that fled Rochelle. They have fertile soil here and are doing well.

The 19th. This morning I took leave from my company again, bought a horse for four pistoles, and continued on my way, in Gods name, with the mounted post. We passed through Rye, a very widely spaced place. Here a river forms the boundary between New York and New England. The province of New England has three governments: 1) that of Connecticut; 2) that of Rhode Island, and 3) that of Boston. Coming from New York you reach Connecticut first. The country on the other side of said river is called Christians Ground, or the land of the Christians.

We passed Horseneck where I was shown a plain on which the Indians once gave battle to English but came out on the short end and had to leave. We fed our horses at Stamford, a small town 50 miles from New York. At noon we reached Norwalk, where one of my horses went lame and I had to leave it. God be praised for having moved the people here to help me out without delay! In the afternoon we passed through Fairfield, a pretty town. It has wide streets and the houses are built closer together. The governor of Connecticut lives here. Streetfield is a widely spaced place. We spent the night in Stratford. Here and there God awakens good people who tried to show me every kindness. Soul, do not forget, etc.

On the 20th of June I went via Milford to New Haven, where they have an academy or college [Yale] which I also visited. The building is very large and about 80 students and three professors live in it. They live two to a room, and it costs them 6 shillings each in English money, or approximately 12 groschen, for a weeks meals at noon and in the evening. The subjects taught are languages, especially Greek and Hebrew, mathematics, history, geography, Latin, etc. The library which I was shown was donated to the college by an English bishop and has enough books for a start.

The 21st. I arrived at New London in the afternoon. This little city is situated on a river, surrounded by pleasant and gay looking country. It is located advantageously for commerce, since the sea is only 7 leagues away from the harbor, yet only a few people stop here. The reason probably is that the local merchants are not yet rich enough and the land itself does not produce anything for overseas trade. Most of the people here are Quakers and Presbyterians.

I rode on until 11 oclock at night and spent the night at Stonington. This place is well named, for the country is very hilly and rocky and the land is covered with stones and, therefore, nearly useless. But when the fields are cleared of stones and properly plowed, they are very fertile and produce the most beautiful grain.

On the 22nd of June we crossed the river Pakatok, which forms the boundary between the government of Connecticut and that of Rhode Island. Westerly is the first town in Rhode Island. Not far from there is South Kingston, situated on a hill and located in a very pretty and fertile region. Three miles from South Kingston I had to go across the sound on the ferry, which lands at New Providence. In the evening I arrived at Newport, the capital of Rhode Island. This city is on the sound. The open sea is only one hour away; and thus it is favorably located for the commerce which flourishes here. Almost daily one can see ships or sloops enter and leave. Many a merchant has 16 to 20 ships at sea which belong to no one but himself. Most of the trade is with Guinea, the West Indies, Jamaica, Barbados, Portugal, Spain and England. This has made the city grow rapidly.

The city is a mile long and the houses are built of brick and wood and are very comfortable. Some of them are expensive, having been built beautifully according to all rules of good architecture. Although the streets are paved, they are too narrow, thus diminishing the good looks of the city. The city is built up on a hillside and gives a beautiful view of the sea, the bay, and the land. The entire island is only 12 miles long, yet it may be considered a garden spot of America because of its beauty. The local timber is considered much more durable and better for shipbuilding than that of Carolina and Pennsylvania; consequently, many of the merchants there have their ships built here. Cattle and oxen here are of a size and strength that I have never seen before. The sheep rival those of England in wool production, and people here manufacture a duck and a camlet which is much more durable than any I have seen in Germany.

Most of the inhabitants are Quakers, but there are also Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Seventh Day Adventists here. The Governnor, who is elected by the province, is a Quaker. Because I arrived in Newport very late, I did not want to disturb the merchant whose address I had been given. Instead, I looked for an inn where I could spend the night. But no one would take me in. At last I found someone who was willing to put up my horse, but he was unwilling to accommodate me until I pulled out my letters and asked for my merchant. I had hardly mentioned the name when he begged me to stay at his house, and I accepted gladly. But the merchant arrived that same night and took me with him. He showed me many courtesies during my entire stay.

On the 23rd of June I visited the fort of Newport, which is situated on a small island not far from the city. It has two batteries of 40 cannons each and can fire at all ships.

On the 27th I left Newport in the company of a merchant from Boston and one from Jamaica. We did not go any further than Seekonk, where we spent the night. Our traveling companion from Jamaica told me many things about this Island, to wit: The island of Jamaica is one of the richest and most productive islands in Englands possession. Thus all who want to get rich go there. Even the smallest silver coin there, called a bit, is worth as much as 5 groschen. But because the manner of life and the great heat of Jamaica combine to undermine the health of body and soul, those who have good sense leave there in time, after they have accumulated something; but many others get caught are delivered to both temporal and eternal death. He said that he had left because he did not want to live in constant fear of death and that he intended to lengthen his life by living happily in a place with a healthful climate.

People in Jamaica live in the greatest abundance, debauchery, and all other vices. The island produces mainly spices, sugar, and cotton. Several kinds of pepper grow there, he related. Pimento pepper grows in the northern parts of Jamaica on large trees, with the peppercorns hanging on tender shoots. If you expect to collect peppercorns again in the same year, you must break these off, and then you can see a new branch grow out almost immediately. This particular pepper, he said, has the smell and flavor of a number of spices, mainly cloves, and pepper, thats why the English call it simply spice.

There is to be found there an abundance of lemons, limes, and pineapples, the latter being one of the juiciest and best tasting fruits in the world. It grows like an artichoke and resembles that plant somewhat. It is a pity that this fruit cannot be taken to other lands and stay as beautiful as it is in Jamaica and Barbados. If it is picked too soon, it wont ripen; if picked when ripe and shipped across the ocean it will either rot or loose its sweet juice. That is why it is nowhere as good as it is in America. The cotton that is widely grown there seldom succeeds and has frequent crop failures because there is a kind of worm that often does damage. Sugar cultivation fares much better. They plant the head or upper part of the sugar cane which does not ripen for twelve to 18 months. After that the cane can be cut for the first time. That applies only to first year plants, for afterwards they can be cut every year for 20 years. As soon as it is cut, another strong and healthy shoot will grow. The cane that is cut off is boiled, the liquor is cooled in a wooden container, then it is strained and the sirup is separated from the brown sugar. They use the sirup to distill a kind of brandy, called rum, and brown sugar is turned into white sugar through various processes in the refineries.

The riches of the island are matched by its burden of sin, and although God has punished it on numerous occasions, the people pay very little attention to it. The many earthquakes, the terrible hurricanes that have nearly destroyed entire cities and buried a large number of people, the constantly recurring epidemics, and the current rebellion of the Negroes are unmistakable signs of the wrath and the judgment of God.

The 28th of June. In the afternoon I arrived happily in Boston. The merchant in whose company I had come here vacated a room for me in his house. This was especially remarkable; for, when I wanted to go see the merchant whose address I had, I found that he was the very one who had traveled with me and who had taken me into his house even before he knew me. May God reward him in eternity for the love and hospitality I enjoyed when staying with him. It was also very remarkable that, having been unable to cash the bill of exchange in Pennsylvania, I was led by God on my entire trip through North America with only a few gulden on me, and was guided from place to place without ever suffering from want. On the contrary, I had an abundance of everything. It shall also serve me to strengthen my childlike trust in God that I did not accept the money which a local merchant tried to urge upon me; yet, as will be related, God led me across the sea to Dartmouth and from Dartmouth to London so comfortably and quickly that I still had something left over from the few gulden when I was ready to leave London. NEVER FORGET THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY WHO LOVES YOU.

The city of Boston is the largest and most imposing commercial city in all of English America. Located on Massachusetts Bay, it is as favorably situated for commerce as any city in the world. Various measures have been taken for both the safety and the comfort of navigation. A lighthouse built of stone on one of the islands shines with 18 lights for the incoming and outgoing vessels. A fort, built on another island, covers with its 180 cannon a narrow channel through which all ships must pass. It is of special advantage here that no 2 ships can pass through the channel at the same time. And even if, under very favorable conditions, it should happen that a ship did get through without being badly damaged, it would run into the warship usually stationed before Boston. And there is an additional fort to be put back into condition on Fort Hill, which can command the bay as well as a large part of the city. A long wharf extending into the sea is very advantageous for commerce, for even the largest ships of 500 tons or more can land here and unload for a small fee.

But it is to be regretted that everybody here concentrates on trade, for this causes agriculture to be sadly neglected. In addition, everybody, especially the artisans connected with shipping, is bent on getting rich quick and tries to deceive the seafarers in all sorts of ways, and many people in England have therefore decided to stop their trade with Boston. Articles of export consist mainly of pitch, tar, turpentine, rice, furs, oil, spermaceti, whalebone, dried and salted fish, rum, sugar, etc. The city is nearly three English miles long and has a few hills around it. It is almost entirely surrounded by water, being connected with the mainland only by a narrow strip of land. Most of the houses are of stone and are beautifully built. Although the streets are paved they are not laid out, thus diminishing the beauty of this great city. Hanover Street, so named by the governor, is one of the prettiest.

From one of the hills you get a view so beautiful that I have never seen its equal. All of the things that nature creates here and there in perfect beauty can be seen here at one glance; the city of Boston, Charlestown, the sea, the bay, a large number of small islands, mountains, valleys, plains, rocks, rivers, tilled fields, summer houses, pleasure gardens, parks, incoming and outgoing vessels, a large number of fishing boats, etc., all of this praises the wisdom God shows in His many creations, and should awaken us to glorify Him who gave us everything when He gave His son. On this same hill a tall structure has been erected on which a large torch is lit when danger is feared or present. It can mobilize the entire region, from place to place, in a short time.

Through Gods blessings this city has grown to its present size in 104 years. Most of the inhabitants are Presbyterians11 whose worldly conduct is serious and good. The government is currently headed by Governor Belcher, who can be put before all people in America as an example of honesty, good conduct, and love. May God keep him! The revenue of the government consists of approximately 60,000 pounds in New England money, counting 4 pounds for one pound sterling. Many Christian provisions have been made here for the poor and the orphans. There is, for example, a corn house in which a large quantity of corn is stored every year when prices are lowest and where, when food gets expensive in the winter and people begin to starve, they can buy the corn they need for the price at which it was bought. There are, likewise, a hospital,12 four schools for poor orphans, etc. Four English miles from Boston is the University of Cambridge [Harvard] where 200 students are enrolled.

Across from Boston, on the mainland, is Charlestown, a very beautiful town that is older than Boston. The first fundatores or founders did not dare settle too close to the water because it would have been too easy for enemy ships to surprise them. But in time this fear vanished, and later they founded the new place because it was more favorably located for commerce.

The 2nd of July. Governor Belcher, who has been so gracious to me, promised our Saltzburgers a large number of boards for the building of a church, schools, and houses.13 They are to be sent there in two sloops. May God reward this dear and esteemed gentleman for his great kindness here on earth, but especially in eternity. Everybody in America realizes that God never blessed a colony as much as ours in Georgia. May He give us the right understanding so that we will look upon Him as the source of all the good and that we will continue to partake of His abundance of grace.

The 3rd. When I arrived in Boston a ship was ready to sail for London; but, although I wanted very much to take this opportunity for a quick departure, my baggage, which I had sent by boat from New York, had not arrived. As a special favor the captain waited 24 hours to see if it would not come in that time, but when it failed to arrive he took leave from me and sailed from Boston today. When he had gone about 9 miles, the wind became unfavorable for him, coming from the east, and favorable for an English ship which entered the harbor today. This caused him to return to Boston in a small boat to see if he should make any special arrangements because of the war. In the meantime my baggage arrived and the captain of the warship did many kind favors for me. He found the captain of the other ship, the Priscilla, who was called Hammerden, and offered to have my things sent out to it by some of his men. He himself and a merchant attempted to get my things from the sloop and load them into a boat, but the captain of the sloop would not surrender them to him or to the merchant, not even for security. When I arrived he not only surrendered them but would not let me pay him for the freight. Shortly before my departure several merchants came to see me who made the following proposition for the care of Saltzburgers or others driven from their lands for the sake of Jesus Christ: 1) They would pay all the costs of transportation, 2) furnish the necessary provisions as well as tools for 2 to 3 years. 3) When the colonists were self-supporting they were to make yearly payments to reimburse them until all expenses were paid back. 4) Afterwards all the land and everything else would belong to them and their male and female heirs, without encumbrance or assessment. In addition they 5) would permit them to choose the land they liked best, 6) they would enjoy complete freedom of conscience; and 7) they could choose their government from their midst among their own people.

At 11 oclock at night I left Boston in a small boat and

On the 4th of July, at three in the morning, I reached the ship Priscilla. My great hurry had not let me buy any provisions for use on the ship, but when I came aboard, I found that God had provided for me in a most fatherly way. The governor had sent some provisions, refreshments, and preserves to the ship for me, and an English merchant on his way to London had taken along so many smoked chickens, geese, ducks, sheep, and pigs, and had such an abundant supply of beef, beer, various wines, sugar, etc., that it was a pleasure for him to share it with me; yet we were hardly able to consume half of it.

I had hardly boarded the ship when God gave us a desirable west wind.

The 6th of July. We had several calms but none of them lasted very long. A heavy fog which darkened the sky all day prevented us from making any observations.

The 8th. With favorable winds from west-south-west and west we covered eight and one half miles per hour. Today I saw a sea wonder, called a seahorse, which is about 14 feet long, thick-skinned, and covered with short, reddish-white hairs. Its eyes are large, its nose looks like the nose of a horse; above the mouth one can see many white bristles and some long black hairs; its jaws are full of holes that look like sweat holes. It has two large teeth, nearly a foot long. The rest of its teeth are like those of a foal. It has two feet which end in fins. At the rear it looks like a fish. This animal lives in the water but goes on land occasionally and grazes like an ox.

This evening we had a calm which continued until

The 9th. God gladdened us again with a northeast-by-east wind which speeded us on our way southeast-by-south.

The 13th. Every day God has given us a westerly wind which pushed us east and northeast at the rate of six and one half to seven miles per hour. It became colder every day, the closer we came to the coast of Newfoundland.

The 15th of July. Today we again had a calm.

The 16th. Today God gave us a south-by-east wind. There are icebergs in this region which are often very large, go to a depth of 20 fathoms, and can be very dangerous if a ship collides with them. But you can see them even at night because they glow and cause a brightness in the air. Occasionally you can also see a light rise from the sea, which is nothing but a greasy, sulphur-like substance which ignites in the air. Seafarers think it shows that a storm is coming.

The 20th. Because our faithful Father gave us a steady south, southwest, and west-southwest wind we passed the length of the Western Isles and took a course east by south. All of the crew members, some of whom have been at sea for 28 years, admitted that they had never had such a quick and comfortable voyage. God be praised eternally for it!

The 22nd. The wind changed from south to north bringing heavy rains. It did so with such speed and force that we suffered no little danger before we could change the sails according to the wind.

The 25th. We saw a great whale lying on top of the water, which noisily blew water from its mouth like a great fountain. We did not have enough ropes, for the sea is several hundred fathoms deep here; otherwise we could have caught it.

The 27th. A beautiful northwest wind moved us along at a speed of seven to eight and one half miles per hour. At 6 oclock in the evening we lowered a sounding-lead which struck bottom at 143 fathoms. We estimated that we were about 25 miles from the Scilly Isles. A watch was posted all night at the bow of the ship to look out for rocks or the noise of water dashing against rocks. God be praised forever for giving us favorable wind and bright moonlight at this dangerous place!

The 29th of July. At 2 oclock in the morning we sounded again and found a depth of 53 fathoms. At 4 oclock in the morning we sighted the Scilly Isles. There are very dangerous places in the sea here and many rocks and cliffs, some of which stick out of the water. Many have come to grief here and a certain admiral ran aground here with his fleet and drowned. Seafarers never go as close to the isles as we did. The reason we stayed so close to the English shores is that the captain was afraid of French warships. Ordinarily many hundreds of ships pass through the Channel and never see the Scilly Isles. At 8 oclock we saw Landsend, the headland of Cornwall. At night we had a calm which continued

On the 30th and forced us to go very close to the coast of Devonshire.

On the 31st the wind was against us again, coming from the northeast. The captain advised me to land here and to travel to London by land. This suited me and I landed at Dartmouth, in the province of Devonshire; and on the same evening I traveled on to Exeter on horseback. After having passed Shersbury, Salisbury, and Kensington, I arrived

On the 3rd of August, at 12 oclock noon, in London, thanks to the merciful love of the Saviour. I immediately went to see Secretary Newman, and God arranged it so that I met him at his door as he was leaving to mail a package of letters to me in Georgia.

On the 15th I sailed, in Gods name, from London to Rotterdam aboard a sloop and sighted

On the 20th, at 8 oclock in the morning, Helvoet Sluys and Briel. Since the sloop was not heavily loaded, the ships crew decided to go across the dangerous sandbank near Briel, which is much nearer than the route via Helvoet Sluys. God helped us across safely. Had the bottom of the ship even so much as touched the sand the ship would have been lost. At 7 oclock in the evening we arrived at Rotterdam. Praise and honor be to the Highest, the Father of all Goodness!

On August 22nd I left Rotterdam by boat to go on the Schyt to Sluys in Flanders in order to go to Cadzand to see for myself the conditions of the Saltzburgers there.14 Although we had unfavorable winds and storm from the very beginning, our dear Father in Heaven helped us to arrive,

On the 25th, at Sluys in Flanders. I immediately took a ferry to Cadzand and went to Groede without delay. This is a fairly large village where pastor [J. G.] Fischer lives.

The peninsula of Cadzand is seven hours long. The soil is very productive of various grains and especially flax, the latter being considered the best in all of Holland. People also plant many beans which are commonly used for horsefeed. Wood is very expensive and the only trees to be seen are the willows and elms which are planted along the canals and around the fields. These they top every three or four years and use them for fuel. They also use straw, peat, and coal. Feed and pasture for animals is very expensive and a cow can hardly earn as much as it costs. Food also is very expensive and excises heavy.

Although this land is on the sea, fish are not to be had in Cadzand. The water is poor, sometimes even scarce. The wells contain half salty seawater which is not very useful. Thus all fresh water to be used is collected in cisterns. In the beginning that is very pure and good but whenever there is no rain for some time it gets wormy, stinking, and rotten and sometimes even gives out. The air is considered to be unhealthy because it changes as often as there is a change in the wind and the sea air. The many marshes and the stagnant water in the canals contribute most to that, and they also consider the season of the bean blossoms as unhealthy, since it fills the air with their aroma. Diseases that are caused by this are fevers, with which most of the Saltzburgers, of whom there are 210 here, are sick. Both in summer and winter it is easy to get work here that is well paid.

The 210 Tirnbergers that are still in Cadzand live in three places, Groede, Ysendyk, and Schoendyk. They are very well satisfied. The Evangelical gentlemen from Amsterdam and Rotterdam show them many kindnesses and send them everything they need or ask for.

On the 26th of August I went back to Sluys and from there, in Gods hands, to Rotterdam, where I left

On the 29th and continued on my way to Augsburg via Utrecht, Nimwegen, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Regensburg.

O that I had a thousand tongues and a thousand mouths; then I would sing one song of praise after the other, from the very bottom of my heart, about the kindness God has shown me.

PART FOUR

From theCOMMISSIONER BARON VON RECKA

Short Report

on Georgia and the Indians There.

As there are many nowadays who want to go either to Pennsylvania or to Georgia in America, I want to give them a conscientious report on these countries and tell them what they may encounter in the New World, based on my own experience there. I consider this a matter of duty and of Christian love.

The report below will be divided into three parts:

I. It will deal with the resolve and purpose of those who want to go to the New World.

II. It will tell about the nature of the land, especially Georgia and the accommodations there.

III. It will tell about the inhabitants of this land, particularly the Indians or so-called Savages.

Regarding the first point, anyone wanting to go to America must weigh the reasons for his decisions. Is he driven by avarice and the desire for greater enjoyment of this worldly life, or has he heard the call of God? Since there are so few in Christendom that deserve to be called Christians, he would do well, if he has not been converted to God, to turn to God in all sincerity, to tell Him with prayer of his intention and to beg, in the name of Jesus, that He may let him see His Will.

Thus, if someone gives himself over to the Will of God in this manner and in addition has good reason for wanting to go to America, he may put his life and his death into Gods hands. If he lives, he will live in the Lord; if he dies, he will die in the Lord; he will be with the Lord always. If he encounters distress and danger he will not be afraid, for he is strengthened by the Word of God, and by divine pledges which, together with his divine calling and the omnipresence of his Saviour, the Creator of the whole world who maintains everything with His word, give him a rod and staff; His countenance will be before him and prepare a way for him in the midst of fear; even in danger of death it will lead him to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the multitude of many thousand angels and to the flock of the firstborn whose names are recorded in heaven.

But him who has the idle thought and the assurance of the flesh that he is good enough, that he needs nothing, that he will be saved as well as others, that many thousands have gone to America without paying heed, and that he too will dare to go there, as I have heard it said, not to sing psalms but to work and to accumulate riches, him I want to assure that he will be subject to great distress. Fear and terror, an ever present death, and the obvious danger which he will frequently meet will awaken his sleeping conscience and gnaw on him like a worm. Not to mention other things such as famine, thirst, windstorms, sickness, etc.

One should ask those who went to America for material gain what they had to suffer at sea and in that country. Often more than half of those who boarded a ship have died, some from hunger, some from thirst. Many became sick, some ships were on the way 17 weeks and some 24 weeks. Those who managed to land half dead have been sold in order to pay the ships captain. Those who had some means did not have enough left to get established, build houses, acquire stock, seed, tools, and the servants necessary to cultivate the wild, tree-covered soil, or to maintain themselves until their land could feed them; thus they too had to go into servitude. And one is surprised to hear that these people curse the day they boarded the ship because they had been misled by reports and letters from America in which people told about their happy circumstances and which made them decide to go. This always happens when the bestial desire for a life of pleasure governs man. These are judgments of God being executed in our days.

On the other hand, the dear Saltzburgers with whom I traveled were en route no longer than 8 weeks; and, although distress and sadness were not lacking, everything turned out for the best; and because of the kind love of our Saviour all of us, large and small, old and young, landed in good health and good spirits. God, through the Trustees of Georgia and the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, gave us abundant and fatherly care on the voyage and after we landed.1* In addition, experience has already shown in Ebenezer, where the Saltzburgers have settled, that a devout singer of Psalms is also a good worker and that everything he does succeeds well.

So much for point one. I have purposely gone into detail because such is required by the importance of the matter and because on it will depend the future well-being and suffering of those who decide to go to America.

Thus I will proceed to point two, in Gods name. In general I shall rely on the description of Georgia which came out last year,2* but will add some brief comments here and there.

Georgia is situated on the 32nd parallel. The great Ocean touches the shores of Georgia. The boundary between South Carolina and Georgia is formed by the Savannah River, which is filled with oysters, sturgeon and other fish. On both sides of it are great forests in which some of the trees have reached such age that they represent, so to speak, the first days of creation. The river Altamaha separates Georgia from the Spanish colonies. Thus this province is situated on the mainland. The air is healthy but it can be improved by draining the swamps and clearing the forests so that the wind can go through them. The climate is warm and it is hot in June, July, and August, but the nights are very cold. On the whole, one finds there, so to speak, everlasting spring. Even though a frost comes in the morning in winter, it is melted away by the sun in a few hours so that it is possible to work in the fields in winter and summer.

The shores of the sea and the riverbanks are very low, but higher ground and hills are found further inland. The soil is very fertile in spots but it varies greatly. There is sandy soil, clay soil, a heavy, black and rich soil, and swampland which is very wet. Each serves a useful purpose. The sand soil is used best in the winter, when it is wettest, and it does well with various root and garden crops as well as tobacco. The loam is good for general agriculture, also for making brick. The heavy soil is good for Indian corn and other grain, also for hemp and flax. The swamps and watery places are best for the growing of rice, which is the most profitable and useful crop here.

The forests consist mostly of fir or pine, oak, of which there are many varieties, bay-wood, which has a beautiful grain and is very heavy; also cedar, cypress, walnut, mulberry with juicy and very good berries, wild orange trees that bear no fruit, laurel, white cinnamon, cabitch trees or cabbage trees that have leaves like aloe that are cooked and taste like white cabbage, alder, etc. The trees are extraordinarily thick and have a height of 60 to 100 feet. The firs yield some excellent mast trees and it is from these trees that pitch and turpentine are collected in large quantities. The woods are full of wild grapes that climb up to the treetops and some of which are several times thicker than the trees. The grapes are sour, but experience has taught already that they will become sweet if the plants are put into fresh soil and tended in a place where there is no shade.

In the woods there are many sassafras trees, the roots of which are very useful. There are also China root and Indian figs, from which the cochineal worms are collected and made into a fine pigment. There are herbs from which indigo is extracted, also a kind of shrub called myrtle which grows green berries. People collect these, boil them, skim off the wax which floats on top and make candles from it. Two bushels will make about 25 pounds. There is also a grass called silk grass, which is so tall and tough that it can be used in place of rope; and an Indian pepper which is very strong and hot. There is sufficient game in the forests, especially deer, roe, and wild goats, but also hares, squirrels, buffaloes that are not as large as oxen, have two horns, and wool like a sheep; there are bears, wolves, as well as Indian roosters and hens, quail, parrots, eagles, and many other kinds of birds, some known and some unknown.

Those rivers that are connected with the sea contain sea-crayfish, crabs, lobsters, and oysters that are sweeter than the seaoysters, also dolphins, which the English call porpoises. Further inland people take from the rivers sturgeon, eel, and catfish, an extremely good tasting fish that has no scales and has a large and broad head, also bass, etc., turtles, and crocodiles which some of the Indians like to eat. When a crocodile is killed, people cut from the thick flesh under its mouth two sacks that smell like musk. No crocodile has ever been reported to have hurt a man, yet it must be admitted that they are fearful to behold and that they often make frightful noises. The shield or armor on their backs is so thick that a bullet cannot penetrate it. But the Indians know very well how to handle them. The shoot them under or in the head. Otters are also to be found here.

The rattle snakes are very dangerous if you go too close to them and arouse them. If they strike a vein a person will die in a few minutes. They are very big and strong and carry at the end of their tail 12, 17, 20 and sometimes even more rattles with which they make a noise when moving. To counteract their deathdealing bite Gods kindness has provided a certain root in this country which is known to nearly everyone. If placed on the wound in time it will heal it. It has been observed that rattlesnakes disappear from places where there are many pigs. The pigs fight them and, since the bites cannot penetrate their fat and thus cannot hurt the pigs, the latter always kill and eat the snakes.

A small kind of fly discomforts strangers very much by biting them so painfully that they swell up quite a bit at first. However, you get used to it with time and they dont do you any more harm, or at least you dont feel it any more.

On the whole, the province has such a good climate that you can grow everything that is grown in the West Indies, Jamaica, and Barbados, such as sugar, lemons, limes, pepper, cotton, tea, coffee, pineapple, etc., and in addition nature provides the opportunity for growing olives, wine, and silk. In some places you can find large quantities of oyster shells which make a white and very useful building lime.

At present all of the houses here are built of wood, for building stones are not to be found in Georgia and there has not been time to make bricks. Because of the great hurricanes that blow with great force the houses are built no higher than one story and an attic.

People here make a beer, well liked by the Englishmen, which is called spruce-beer; they take the tops of young trees that look very much like firs, a little sassafras, and Indian corn and boil all of it together. Then they add a little sirup and everything is finished.3*

On the Savannah River the English have laid out a large city which they named Savannah. Already sixty to seventy houses have been put up in good order, with pretty gardens around them. The city is situated on the river of the same name and is planned regularly and divided into 4 parts. In each of these a large square was left open to be used for market days or other community affairs. The region is pleasant, the streets are wide and laid in straight lines; all the houses follow the same plan, symmetrically and in proportion, and they are well laid out to suit the country. Considering the short time that it has been here, the city is well populated. All of the inhabitants are white, and so far Gods blessing has been given to all of their undertakings. Industriousness is in high regard and justice is being meted out irrespective of rank; on the other hand, debauchery and loafing are being eliminated as much as possible. Dissension and quarrels are counteracted with good order, and there is a night watch providing safe rest in the wilderness to the tired workers.

Mr. Oglethorpe has had an avenue cut through the forest which leads to a large garden near the city. This was established by order of the Trustees, and experiments are being conducted in it to determine whether various plants, trees, and other agricultural crops will grow here. It covers 10 acres of land, is situated on the river; it has been cleared and put into such good shape that there is already a nice nursery of orange, olive, white mulberry, fig, and peach trees in addition to a large number of strange and curious plants and herbs, not to mention the European fruits and plants such as cabbage, peas, etc., all of which do well here. In the middle of the garden is an artificial hill which the Indians say was built over the body of one of their earliest emperors.

The city of Savannah is about 18 miles distant from the sea, yet the largest ships come all the way up to it on the river. It is remarkable that the Jews in Savannah enjoy all of the freedoms enjoyed by the other inhabitants. They get land free, they work hard. When their turn comes they do guard duty with shoulder and side arms, and they do their military exercises as well as the English. May God also give them the freedom of the Children of God through His beloved Son Jesus Christ! Amen.

Fourteen miles inland from Savannah is the city of Josephs Town. It is also on the Savannah River, a colony of Scots who work hard.

Seven miles from Josephs Town is Abercorn, a small village settled by English colonists on the Abercorn River.5

Twelve miles by land from Abercorn is Ebenezer, to where God has led our Saltzburgers. There a city has been laid out on Ebenezer Creek. May God let the recently begun building and agriculture there progress with His blessing! To give a brief description of the region, it is bordered by two rivers both of which flow into the Savannah. The town of the Saltzburgers is laid out on the larger one which is also named Ebenezer to remind us forever that God has helped us to reach this place. It is twelve feet deep and navigable.6 A small stream with water as clear as crystal passes with gentle murmurs on one side of the town; another bigger one goes through it and both of them flow into Ebenezer Creek.

The forest here is not as dense as in other places. Comfortable westerly winds bring cool refreshment in spite of the great heat of the sun. There are several beautiful meadows which could yield large quantities of hay without much trouble. And there are hills well suited for vineyards. Cedars, walnuts, firs, cypress, and oak trees make up most of the forest. The myrtle bushes, which are very common, bear green berries. As previously mentioned, these yield a green wax when boiled, which is very useful for making candles. Large quantities of sassafras, china root, and the plant from which indigo is made are to be found here. There are also many wild grapes, and the countryside is so nice and open that it is possible to ride for many miles at full gallop and without stopping.

As far as hunting is concerned, there are eagles, wild Indian roosters, roebucks, deer, small deer, chamois, wild goats, wild cows, horses, hares, quail, buffaloes, etc. The nearest neighbors to Ebenezer are the Spaniards and Frenchmen; but they are separated by great wildernesses, swamps, and rivers so that there is no communication with them. At present the Indians are the friends and allies of the English and 100 of them could easily destroy an enemy corps of 2,000 to 3,000 men. They can do so partly because, knowing the country, they can cut off their provisions, and partly because they wage their wars from behind trees, they hide in cane as big as trees, and in swamps, and suddenly attack the enemy with great cunning.8

The arrangements made for Georgia by the Trustees are very praiseworthy and Christian. They are designed so that even a poor man who cannot enjoy the same benefits as the Saltzburgers but has to go across at his own expense can still make a fair living if he is willing to work. For 1) they give him 50 acres of land. So, if someone can pay for his passage, which amounts to 10 to 12 pounds, he can get along there. And since 2) the slave trade is prohibited in Georgia,9* a white person can find steady daily work there which is highly paid, 3, 4, 5 shillings per day, which is 2 gulden 30 creutzer. But those who go to other parts of America where slave trading has been introduced must work like the slaves even though they wish to live otherwise. A master who has many blacks permits them to learn a trade, and those that are not fitted for it must work in the fields. Everyone goes into debt in order to purchase a slave, for you cannot live without one. And as there are Negroes everywhere who must work hard day and night, as well as on Sundays, which is terrible, all of it for bare sustenance, a white person wanting to settle there who does not have enough money to buy a slave must become a slave himself and work like one. Thus Georgia has a great advantage in this respect, that a good worker can earn his daily bread here with Gods blessing, and can soon get into the position to set up his own household.

Concerning point III, you can compare the Indians in many ways with the old Germans that were described by Tacitus.10 They are of medium height, robust, and strong. Their skin is blackish yellow. It is made that way not only by the sun but also by their disorderly way of life. They paint their faces with various colors, especially black shaded with red. When they go to war against their enemies they plaster their entire face with different paints and color it in a way which, in their opinion, makes them appear frightful to the enemies. They always go bareheaded, and all of them have short, black hair which they trim somewhat at the crown. To dress up they put small white feathers in their hair and behind their ears, which they consider a symbol of bravery, and they also tie up their short hair with a red band. The people of each tribe have a different way of cutting their hair and they distinguish one from the other by it. In war they cut off the top part of the hair of the defeated in order to learn from which people or tribe they come.11

Most men and women have stripes painted on their necks, faces, and bodies. Around their necks they wear coral, and on their ears they have rings or, as stated, colored feathers. To get such finery, also to obtain knives, etc., they trade game which they have killed. They have no beards, and if any should grow they pull it out. Instead of trousers, which they consider indecent, they cover themselves with a short cloth. Occasionally they cover their body with a deerskin or a woolen blanket. When they go to hunt they wear very loose woolen gaiters which reach from their feet up to the loin. These protect them against the rattlesnakes, which cannot bite through thick woolen cloth. Their shoes are cut from deerskin and are laced on the foot.

The women are fully clothed, almost like the peasant women in Germany. Those who have no clothes cover themselves completely with a woolen blanket, and in this respect they show more modesty than the English ladies. They also go bareheaded and braid their hair, which only the widows let fly about their faces.

The Indians believe that all peoples have descended from two fathers: they from a red one and other people from a white one; and since the former was a hunter and the latter a farmer and city dweller, they consider it right for themselves to dwell in the woods and live from hunting. Others may live in the cities and tend their business there, and in all of this they seem to allude to the story of Esau and Jacob. They believe that we have a great hero for our benefactor and, although they do not know him, they sing songs in his honor.

They further believe that they are all of noble blood and therefore they are very careful not to do anything that may be unbecoming to a nobleman. At the same time they have an idea that nothing is better suited for them than hunting, fishing, swimming, and fighting; and they practice all of these from childhood on with great diligence. Consequently they are so skilled in shooting and tracking of game that they never miss a shot. They do not work and do not till the soil, both of which they consider slavish and not in keeping with their noble blood. They consider it an even greater shame to work for wages; thus anyone who urges them to work is not their friend. They live only by hunting and fishing. They frequently wage wars solely to win glory and not because they want to extend their boundaries or gain additional land. They like to be praised although they will divert praise from themselves to others. At various times and under different circumstances they give each other certain names of honor which are considered prizes and rewards that are to spur on the young people to bravery, industriousness, faithfulness, and other virtues. Anyone insulting their honor is subject to their undying hatred. Old people are held in high esteem by them; one must always address them first and make them presents before turning to the young people. They immediately divide the presents among themselves.

Their living quarters consist of small huts covered with bark or skins, in which they sleep around a good fire. They change locations frequently and they consider human life much too short to be wasted with the building of houses which would be of more use to the descendants than to the builders. At the same time they dont want to be robbed of the freedom to leave a place which they do not like any more.

Their trade items consist of skins and furs which they swap to the English merchants for rice, rum, which is a kind of brandy, and for woolen cloth. Money or gold they will not take and it is completely unknown to them.

They divide all the Indians into four peoples. Among them the Creeks are said to be the most civilized and strongest nation which speaks a single language. This is the nation comprising the neighbors of Ebenezer. Its people are honest, open minded, truthful, not interested in personal gain, and appreciative, which can be seen in part from various examples that will follow. Conversely, among the other tribes, there is much robbery, thievery, lying, lack of chastity, etc. The nation of the Creeks is ruled by several kings who must gain their position or title through particularly brave deeds. Except for that the king is no different from his subjects; he eats, drinks, sleeps, and lives with them. He reigns only by giving good advice, which is nevertheless always followed very faithfully.

When they have a council, the king always presents the problem to the old people, the old ones present it to the young, and then it is carried out. They do not contradict each other. Rather, they follow orders and, if it cannot be carried out, the older ones do not get angry with the young ones. It is the job of the kings to apportion the time for various enterprises. They announce when it is time to go hunting, to gather food, etc. They also take care of the sick, give out medicine, and care for the widows. If one of them is not capable of filling his office, they choose another one. The wisest among them is their king. The ones who are in command in times of war are different persons. The king is given one tenth of everything. If he receives presents he does not keep them but distributes them amongst the rest so that nothing is left over for himself. Then he gets one tenth of them. They enforce justice, observe the right of reprisal, and punish vice. For example, adultery is punished with cutting off nose and ears, whoring with cutting off ears and hair; and lying by not letting anyone eat, drink, or shake hands with the liar.

They are very compassionate, which can be seen from this example: The Indian king Tomo-Chachi had learned that in one of the English colonies many people were sick and also suffered from lack of fresh provisions. So he went on a hunt with 10 Indians, shot a great deal of game and sent it there. When he heard shortly thereafter that the poor had benefited very little from it, he went hunting again; and this time he distributed his game in person to the sick and the poor. When he was asked about this, he replied that the first gift had not been put to proper use and that this time he wanted to make the distribution himself.

They do not talk much, answer briefly, observe everything, and think all the more. They think highly of community life and they will find much pleasure in our Saltzburgers communal living, eating, and working. They love each other very much and will give their lives for each other. They observe peoples attitudes very closely, and they despise selfish persons. They never deny any requests, yet they do not make a promise lightly because they fear that they may not be able to keep it and will thus have lied. But once they make a promise they will keep it even if it should cause their death. For example, if you should ask one of them to go along to England or to travel to some other place, he will agree immediately. The most important thing that sometimes holds them back is having an old father who cannot take care of himself.

They are very easily satisfied. No one has more than one blanket, one pot, one hut, and one gun. If one of them has more he gladly gives to one who needs it more. At earlier times they probably grew to be very old but now, through the influence of European commerce and particularly the drinking of rum, they die in large numbers. Just a small amount of strong drink makes them drunk because they have never been used to anything but water. Heretofore they did not know anything about drunkenness, but now they have acquired this vice as well as others from the neighboring Christians.

Polygamy is unknown to them. Their poor, widows, orphans, etc., are taken care of first of all. Their entire language contains no words that express obscene things or oaths or curses, but they are learning them from their neighbors. Among all the Indian women that are married to Christians there is just one Christian wife12* who teaches the other Indians useful things from the Holy Writ. You might well wish that the rest of them did not know the Indian language, because they spread nothing but shame and vice among their people. If an Indian is beaten or insulted he suffers it in silence; but he never forgets, and he waits for an opportunity to make his revenge that much more impressive. If they are treated well they dont forget that either but continue to love their benefactor. Thus they look upon Mr. Oglethorpe as their father and turn to him when the need arises, and as a result he has learned something of their language.

They like strangers very much and if they are in need they will take care of them before taking care of themselves and their families. Mr. Oglethorpe relates that, in the beginning, he forbade the English to carry on trade with the Indians because at that time they needed their provisions for themselves and could not afford to let others have them. Thereupon the Indians came to him and complained about it greatly. He attempted to show them his reason with a parable, a favorite form of conversation with them. A father could not give to strangers what his own children need, he told them. He must first take care of his children, then of the strangers. They replied that this was not the case with them, that they took care of strangers before taking care of their children and that they loved and esteemed strangers more than their own children.

With painted symbols, circles, and figures their doctors try to give themselves the appearance of magicians, but they risk their lives in doing so. For, if they offer to heal a sick person and that person dies, the Indians believe that the doctor is responsible for the death and they seek to kill him; but he is out of danger if he is asked to heal.

Whenever they do anything wrong they go through a certain kind of penance. On the first day they eat herbs that grow in the ocean and which have the effect of a laxative; on the next day they fast; on the third they build a fire, dance around it and make merry, singing songs about the great deeds of their old heroes: the one who brought fire to the world and the one who introduced agriculture. Then they eat and drink and afterwards take some of the fire home with them, believing that their sins have thus been extinguished.

They do not have any letters at all. But their language is said to have only about one thousand primitive words. Supposedly these can be written most conveniently in Greek letters because their language contains some Greek words and some of the sounds cannot be expressed with any letters other than Greek. The two pastors have let them pronounce some of the words from their language and have written them down with Greek letters as follows: tutkathe fire, ssethe sun, tsukkothe house, tillipaikathe shoe, hapsalikathe socks, ipsekathe dog.

Ceremonial services or open worship are not to be found among them. They do not worship idols and they are reluctant to speak with profane people about matters of religion. Nor do they have any priests. They believe in a Superior Being that is everywhere and which has made them. They call it Sotolycate, that is the one who sitteth above. They pray to it and thank it for having made them. They show with hand and mouth, as well as with their actions, a great love for the Saltzburgers. And they express their heartfelt desire to be taught a better understanding of the Superior Being. They also want to be taught their language. They consider themselves crude and uneducated; and for that reason wish all the more to be taught and to become better informed. They tell us of their belief that the Superior Being has led us to them in order to teach them. They report that an old man, who had been the wisest amongst them, believed and told them often that the Superior Being would soon send them someone who could show them the way to Wisdom (that is what they call religion), although he himself might not live to see it. Since that time they have held some food in readiness every week in order to present it to the long awaited teachers. Some of them have the intention of sending their children to the school which the pastors will establish in Ebenezer. And to make them come more willingly Mr. Oglethorpe has given the pastors some golden letters and other charming things, and at the same time the pastors will have an opportunity to learn gradually some words from the childrens language.

PART FIVE

Some Remarkable Letters, Pertinent Here

I.

Letter from Mr. Boltzius and Mr. Gronau to the Editor Urlsperger from Rotterdam, 26th of November, 1733.

It has pleased the dear Lord to use you as an instrument in the name of the Honorable Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, to give us miserable persons a very important calling. We are certain that we, along with other sincere servants of Christ, will zealously perform this most important matter for the great Lord of the Harvest and will prove all things well. Therefore we have accepted, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the Sheep, this unexpected assignment, to go with the dear Saltzburgers to America in spite of the fact that many public and private concerns threatened to hinder us in this resolution, but especially our great incompetence. We are emboldened not only because many true servants and righteous children of God pray for us and our important cause, but also that we have Jesus Christ as our intercessor with the Father. And if Emmanuel is always for and with us, what will fail or harm us? The Father has helped us to Rotterdam, and has not let us lack any good throughout our journey. May He be praised! Our sheep, the dear Saltzburgers, we await now with the greatest expectation. May the guardian angel of the Lord lead His little flock to us, sound in soul and body, and may much good be done by their example both on their way and here. And when we are permitted to continue with this short letter, we will take it as a certain sign of paternal favor and relate what progress has been made in the poor accomplishment of our vocation. May our heavenly Father give His rich blessings to your official functions, may you never lack the rich flow of physical and spiritual strength, which is the wish of our hearts, etc.

Johann Martin BoltziusIsrael Christian Gronau.

II.

A Letter from the Same Writers to Professor [Gotthilf August] Francke in Halle, of the same date.

Since our dear God let us arrive at Rotterdam yesterday, the 25th of November, with much satisfaction of body and spirit, our filial duty requires us to report to you immediately and relate to you obediently about the gracious assistance of our Father in Heaven. On our journey we have felt that the servants and children of God have accompanied us with their prayers and sighs, since not only have goodness and mercy in both spiritual and material matters followed us on all our ways, but also in enjoying Gods special favors we have been often reminded to look upon each and every one of them as the fruit of the heartfelt intercessions of our dear fathers and friends. Praise be to God, who has so far fulfilled in us that which has so often been wished for us, for example in the letter we received from you in Wesel, that the face of God may go before us and that our Redeemer may lead us. He has done so, to Him be praise to eternity! God has so comforted us that we cannot think of the journey ahead as either dangerous or annoying. We have Jehovah for a friend. With this mighty Lord we shall jump over the sea and all difficulties. If He only strengthen our belief, we shall continue to see His glory and have daily more reasons for His praise and be able to share it with others. Even though we are sometimes worried about our helpers and the dear children of the Orphanage1 and our hearts long for them and we desire to be with them, we nevertheless remember that we have set out according to the Will of God and are not entirely cut off from participating in the good things at Halle and the dear Orphanage. Rather, just as we have earned the sincere prayers of the many upright children of God there, we hope in the future to receive, for the joy of our hearts, written reports of the great deeds of God and how He is continuing His work. May God continue to shower His blessings, so that many of the students and children will not only be awakened to a righteous life, but will also be brought to it and well-grounded in it. When one leaves Halle, one should immediately attest what he has learned. One certainly does not come very far if one shows his conviction only for applause and, at best, becomes only a weak beginner in Christianity. It is not only from our own experience that we know the devil can soon overcome you on a journey through his many well-conceived plans, if you do not stand fast in renunciation and in communion with Jesus. Rather in our travels we have seen many examples of students who have brought much good from Halle and Jena, and have passed both oral and written examinations yet have from time to time forgotten the things of God and have been won by the love of the world because their foundation in Christianity has not been laid deeply enough and because they have not, through prayer, continued in watchfulness and struggle; yes, they have been diverted into many dangerous and shocking by-ways. It has given us sorrow in the innermost part of our hearts when sincere servants and children of God have told us that many of the ministers have looked out for themselves and did not bother themselves with their flock, except on Saturday evening at the confessional and on Sunday at the official religious services, and also at baptism and marriage, but otherwise acted in an unfriendly way towards righteous behavior and the children of God. May God dispel such horrow and un-Christian behavior and give us and all servants of God who sigh to Him the great joy of experiencing that even in our dear Halle the students may rightly learn to see the importance of their calling and their future responsibility, and that they will turn themselves to the living God, which is the best preparation. We wish that all who would like to be helped would industriously read the late Abbots Meditations, which can be found early in the Salt of the Earth, p. 1 and following.2 Since the Saltzburgers have not arrived yet and, according to the assumptions of some people, may not arrive for fourteen days, we have decided to make use of the above-mentioned book with the assistance of God. As much as possible, we shall seek an opportunity to become acquainted with those who have distinguished themselves either from the common rabble through an upright life or through outward practice and who can advise us as far as possible how to achieve their principles and the foundation of their hopes. May He Himself, the Giver of all good and perfect gifts, fill the spring richly again, from which many water courses of benefactions flow to our souls and bodies and may He never let them lack the means to refreshen many poor sinners. We remain moreover, etc.

Johann Martin BoltziusIsrael Christian Gronau

III.

The Letter of Pastor Gronau to Mr. [Johann August] Majer, Deacon of the Church of St. Ulrich in Halle and Pastor at Diemitz, of the same date [Rotterdam, 26th of November, 1733]. P.P

What you have shown us in true fatherly love and sincerity remains fresh in my memory and that of Brother Boltzius. Your blessings and those of other true servants of God, together with the laying on of hands [ordination], are still upon us so strongly that we detect great power from them on our souls during our voyage. As often as we think of what we have experienced in Halle and Wernigerode, our spirits are renewed and strengthened. May our dear God richly reward it all, as we daily implore Him. The more we think about our calling, the more certain we recognize from all circumstances that God has called us, and this again gives us much comfort and encouragement. As you will see from the Diary that has been sent to Professor Francke, our dear Lord has so guided us on our whole journey to Rotterdam that we have not been able to praise Him enough. I have had to struggle frequently with disbelief, often worrying what will happen in this and that case, how can I accomplish this or that. At times I have been in real need, and afterwards I have seen how the dear Lord has helped me, and have therefore been right confounded by my disbelief. This all serves to make me trust the dear Lord more through the grace of the Holy Ghost. When we took our oath to God in Wernigerode to be diligent and true to our vocation, we would have lost courage at promising such great things to God, if it had not been stated: Through the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit. And this it was that has always given us new courage. It is also through this that we try to awaken ourselves by daily consideration of Gods Word. The Holy Ghost, as the true advocate, represents us and seeks to make the grace of God in Jesus Christ greater and more glorious in us. Just as we can be sure that you have daily thought of us before God, we humbly beg you to continue; for the Lord will not let it go unheard. Even though we are poor and miserable creatures, God can still glorify His name through us; may He give us belief, wisdom, and all that we need. He has given us the will; He will also give us the accomplishment, as we believe in our dear Father in heaven. May the Lord be praised for all the goodness He has shown us so far. Let Him make us so thankful that we will offer our whole lives to His glory. May the dear Lord, through your toil and work, let the name of the Lord Jesus be always more and more glorified so that many may experience and taste that there is no place better than with our dear Saviour. May He press them more and more into His living breast, and let the good which is in Him ever more come into your soul, which is the wish of, etc.

Israel Christian Gronau.

IV.

Mr. Boltzius letter to Professor Francke in Halle, written at Dover, the 29th of December, new style, 1733.

That the true God has brought us to Dover after a number of vexing circumstances, and what many good things that we experienced through the arrangements of the Trustees you will have heard in more detail, partly in letter and partly through the accompanying Diary. God be praised for His ineffable grace, which has not yet ceased to show us so many spiritual and material benefactions. Among other benefaction He has let us celebrate Christmas on land, and has given us and our congregation so much joy for the Holy Gospel that it could hardly be greater. At the time Christmas was being celebrated in Germany,3 we often thought of Halle and of the many revivals that we had on this occasion and wished to be back there for a short time. But our true dear Father in heaven let us, to our shame, realize that He was also at Dover, and that He can let manna fall here as in the desert. How strengthened our heart is in the recognition of our dearest Emmanuel! How willing and happy He has made us to live and suffer for His sake. May He strengthen us in faith, and let us not forget what He has done for us miserable ones; even at this place, especially lately. Today we go to sea, in the name of Jesus, since He has given us a good wind because of our constant prayer. And since we take with us this Redeemer, who has led us so well so far, we are not afraid, but hope to end this important journey through His beneficience in health and in the glorification of His miracles. There are, to be sure, quite a few people who are sailing on our ship along with our Saltzburgers to be colonists in America, yet since we have been very well provisioned, we hope to have no scarcity of food, even though our people will have to endure some inconveniences on shipboard. Yet our congregation knows to sing truthfully with us: Then also the bitter is sweet, when Thou, O God, art in our heart. They will accommodate themselves like patient lambs to all situations, as we, God be praised!, have so far richly experienced. May God be heartily praised for everything, even for the innumerable benefactions that I, poor worm, received at Halle, both materially and spiritually, of which I cannot think without emotion in my inmost heart. May my heavenly Father for Christs sake be your rewarder, and bless you for all your fatherly love; and may His streams of eternal mercy pour abundantly on the dear Orphanage in which I was countless times quickened in body and soul! Amen. So it be. We think of you often, and are frequently encouraged and edified through such memory. May the true Emmanuel bless your salutory efforts in the rescue of many souls: with which heartfelt wish, I shall permit during my whole life, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

V.

Pastor Boltzius letter to his Earthly Mother, written at Dover, the 6th of January, 1734.

I can well believe that it will be sad for you that I have gone on such a long journey and could not even come and say good bye.4 Please dont think that I do not have filial love for you, for then I would not have accepted this calling, nor have asked your advice. I could not possibly refuse the calling, for then I would have been disobedient to my heavenly Father, who has assured me well enough of His will. Time did not allow me to take farewell of you in person. I had to hurry with my colleague to my dear congregation, which was already under way. Perhaps you think that the journey is dangerous and will injure my health. But you well know that Almighty God is everywhere, and in Him I believe. So far He has never let me be confounded by my faith, but has made me well and happy, even to my own astonishment, as I never was at either Berlin or Halle. Besides these benefactions, about which I cannot marvel enough, our dear God has given me so much physical and spiritual pleasure, that I could weep for joy. My congregation, to whom our wonderful God has led me, is still only small, but consists mostly of such people who have already suffered for the sake of Christ, who have their Christianity not only in their mouths but also in their hearts, and show it in their deeds. For this reason, not only do I love these upright people in my heart and wish to live and die joyfully for them in America, but they love me even more than I deserve and would share their hearts with mine if they could. As I associate with them daily and instruct them in the Word of God, I find much joy and satisfaction in my soul. The dear Lord has also provided in material ways. Not only have my colleague and I received free travel costs and traveling clothes, but books, bedding, and much household furnishings have been bought for us at the expense of benefactors in England. On the ship I enjoy such comforts as food, lodging, etc. that I could not wish any better. Nor have I been allowed to lack a ministers frock, nor all the things that a minister needs in his church; for it has all been supplied. To put it briefly, I enjoy so many spiritual and material benefactions that I can not praise our Heavenly Father enough for it nor can I express my gratitude. My dear colleague [Gronau] loves me like a brother and helps to lighten the burdens of my vocation through his faithfulness and love. We have already put one sea behind us, God be praised; and now the longest part, between England and America is still before us. Since the wind is favorable we will sail today. And if the wind remains good, we shall, with Gods help, arrive at our destination in about 5 or 6 weeks, in the land that we long for, because it is said to be a good land. Many hundreds of Christians are praying for us, that I know, and therefore we do not fear the raging sea. Do you not know that the Lord Jesus still lives, whom the wind and sea obey? We have faith in Him, and He will not fail us. Read only what Isaiah 43:12 and John 14:13, 14 state. Should not our true and almighty Gods promises, which are made to me too, not give me comfort and joy? Therefore, dear mother, join me in thanking the Lord for the marvelous ways in which He has accompanied me so far and continues to accompany me. And do not be dissatisfied with Gods guidance, for it does not please Him when one complains about His ways and His government. And when you see what good our dear God has shown me in these circumstances, then it would seem that you begrudged it of me if you and my sisters are dissatisfied. Perhaps you thought that I should be a comfort in your old age, but who am I, poor worm, that I should be your comfort? Look on the living God, and call to Him with your children. He will give you comfort and will neither leave you nor neglect you. In whatever I may do, I will not neglect my filial responsibility. Jesus be with you in life and death, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

VI.

Extract from the Letter of Commissioner von Reck to the Editor [Urlsperger in Augsburg], written from Dover, the 8th of January, new style, 1734.

We arrived here safely on the 22nd of December and were received by the Honorable Society [SPCK] and Lord Trustees with many kindnesses and were supplied with many rich and abundant supplies through the fatherly provisions of the praiseworthy Society and the Lord Trustees. You have probably learned of this in detail from my last report from Dover. The Society gave every person 1 sterling, and another benefactor gave a half crown through the Royal Court-chaplain Butienter. The Lord Trustees distributed shirts, shoes, stockings, and clothing to the Saltzburgers through Captain [Thomas] Coram. Besides what the Society presented me, I received today a very lovely present from the Trustees as well as a very courteous letter from Sir James Vernon. I experienced very much the same feeling as the Saltzburgers, that the footsteps of God drip with fat. I recognize that I am much too small and insignificant for all the grace and benefactions that my Heavenly Father has shown me. I praise, laud, and thank Him therefore very ardently. I sigh to Him daily that He will constantly keep you in the best of health, that He crown the coming year with many blessings, and repay you for all your goodness. The complete satisfaction of the Saltzburgers will be expressed in a letter from [Thomas] Gschwandel which accompanies this report. He wishes that [Bartholomeus] Rieser, who was left behind, may soon follow with another transport according to Gods will.5 On the 1st of January, new style, the English, French, and Saltzburgers of our transport swore allegiance to Captain Coram, as a member of the Trustees.6 At that time I gave a speech, reminding them of the wonderful guidance of God, the many benefactions that they had received, their faithfulness and indebtedness to God and their benefactors, the need of obedience and faithfulness to the authorities which they had promised in their oath. At the present time the number of colonists and the crew, which are 8, make a total of 90. On the 25th past Colonel [Jean] Purry arrived here from Carolina via London. He paid me his respects, congratulated me as his future neighbor, and stated that he had come in 50 days from Purrysburg down the Savannah river and across the ocean to London. He could not heap enough praise on the arrangements made by Oglethorpe, the fertility of the land, and the happiness of the future inhabitants; and he stated that Georgia can soon become like a kingdom in Europe if God continues to give His blessings. He showed me much respect; and the next day he visited our ship, which is named the Purrysburg, in his honor, and was very pleased with the good attitude of the colonists, their strength and health. He dined on board with us and left here on the 30th for Calais in order to go to Switzerland where he will meet the 300 before-mentioned Vaudois,7 whom he will accompany to Carolina next summer. The Society has given our church in Georgia a baptismal font, a cloth for the altar, and a large silver chalice, in addition to the one I received from you.8 This afternoon at 2 oclock, God willing, we will set sail again with a very favorable east wind. Place me and the whole transport in your thoughtful and surely effective prayers, and I remain, etc.

George Philipp Friedrich von Reck.

VII.

A Letter sent from the Saltzburger Thomas Gschwandel in Dover to the Editor, the 8th of January, 1734.

I can not fail to write to you how well we have been cared for during this journey in both a material and spiritual way and that we are very satisfied because God sent us two pastors in Rotterdam, so that we are richly provided with Gods Word. We have no lack in material things like clothes and such. We were held up for a time at sea and some were sea-sick, but, God be praised, we are all happy and well now. The Trustees for Georgia and the Gentlemen of the Society have distributed money and clothes very generously among us. We also pray that God will let Bartholmeus Rieser follow after us soon. You are greeted from us a thousand times, and we commend you to the dear God.

Thomas Gschwandel,9in the name of all the company.

VIII.

A Letter from Pastor Gronau to the Inspector of the German School10 at the Orphanage in Halle, the now Deceased Pastor Mischke, from Georgia, the 20th of March, 1734.Galatians 2:20

The Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

My Redeemer has brought me, my worthy colleague, and all our beloved congregation to our destination in good health, for which may His name be praised from the bottom of my heart. It has therefore come to pass, what you told me as encouragement before we left; we were often placed in this and that troubled situation on the sea, but it did not harm us, but was rather of great use. For all things must benefit those who love God. Necessity teaches one to pray, as we have well experienced. It drives us all the more to Christ, and makes us hold to them in faith, and in this order we learn how loving the Lord is. Then one sees the father-heart of God, and knows for certain that He means no evil for His children. Then one realizes how sweet and gratifying His Bible verses are, especially those about His redemption. We have also realize how our Father has always wanted to prepare us better for our important calling in America, for here we will not lack suffering; since this verse will be fulfilled in both of us: ALL THAT WISH TO LIVE HAPPY IN THE LORD, ETC. Yet we are comforted, for we know that they go to heaven who suffer with Christ. Suffering in this world is nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed to us. If we taste so many good things here under our cross, what will it not be when we are freed from all evil? Our dear Saltzburgers are also comforted and happy. When our dear God permitted us to come in great danger on the sea, one woman, who until now had endured much, said: THERE IS NO CROSS FOR WHICH THERE IS NO COMFORT. Another said: INSTEAD OF BITTER WATER WE HAVE THE SWEET WORD OF GOD. Still another said: TWO HEAVENS DO NOT FOLLOW, ONE AFTER THE OTHER, which is an old Saltzburger saying. With these and similar proverbs they comforted themselves, and they served to revive our faith. We consider it a great benefaction, of which we are really not worthy, that our Abba [Father] has brought us to these dear people. As He revived us on the sea with them, He will do so on land; and He has already made the beginning. In that time of great danger, the husband of the woman mentioned above showed me a small prayer-book and in it a prayer about the wounds of Christ. With it he said that he had been reassured in time of danger. All in all we must say about the dear people that they consider Christ very important and like to hear us talk about Him and always want to know Him better. It is also my and my dear colleagues wish, longing, and earnest resolution, which God awakened in us during our last experiences on the sea, that we wish to strive to know God, so that we can teach our dear congregation and others in this land about Him. Our dear God has opened for us a great door. These are unusual times: I can only wonder and praise God. I write this especially because I hope that it may encourage you, my dear pastor, to pray all the more for us, poor souls. What we have heard about the heathens [Indians] you may read in more detail in the Diary. If you in Halle pray for us frequently, then you will enjoy much happiness with us poor wretches. May the dear Father in Heaven reward you for all the faithfulness and love which you have constantly shown me, poor sinner, etc.

Israel Christian Gronau.

IX.

Letter from Pastor Boltzius to Mr. Neumann [Newman], Secretary of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, written at Savannah, the 22nd of March, 1734, and translated from the English [into German and here retranslated].11

The contents of the letters that we received at Dover from you were a wonderful evidence of the great favor you still show us, and therefore I live in the hope that you will receive these few lines as a sign of our thankfulness for your esteemed acts of kindness, and will overlook the mistakes of this letter, which I might make since this is the first time that I have written in the English language. Through the grace of God, we reached the coast off Charleston on the 7th of March, where our ship lay at anchor until we could get a pilot to bring us to Georgia. Since I, with the captain of the ship, and several other persons went on shore in Charleston in a small boat, we had the honor of meeting Mr. Oglethorpe and dining in the Governors [Robert Johnsons] house. Mr. Oglethorpe received us very kindly, and sent the passengers on board our ship fresh water, food, good wine, and vegetables, so that they might, through this kind deed, have a change from the hard and salty sea fare. What happiness this made, can not be expressed. We left there [Charleston] on the 9th of March, and arrived on the 11th at Savannah in Georgia. Here a tent was put up for us. Also many good deeds were done for us here because of the care of Mr. Oglethorpe. We traveled to the land that we had for such a long time longed for and were to possess. All our fellow travelers were very happy about the green, fertile stretch of land on both sides of a river. Especially the Saltzburgers show a desire to get to work, with the hope, with Gods blessing, for success. Although our journey was not without many difficulties, still it was nevertheless of great advantage, and we have reason to praise God for His many benefactions that He has shown us in body and soul. A few of the people were sick, because they were not used to the movement of the ship, nor the ships food, but they were well again in a short time and no one died. They are all in good health now. Just as we have given these people a testimony of a true fear of God and Christian virtue so far, I assure you that we can still do so, for they have a great desire to hear the Holy Word of God and to do with their whole heart what God demands of man in the Holy Scriptures. They made the good resolution that they wish to prove themselves not only as good workers, but also as good Christians, as long as they live. In such a way they will adorn the teachings of Christ and set a good example for the inhabitants there and in neighboring places. Many of them can not read, because they lacked good instruction in Saltzburg.12 But for the love of the Word of God, they are very industriously learning, and we spare no possible effort to give them a helping hand. Only a few have Bibles and song-books, for which they have however a great desire. And insofar as our congregation succeeds (as we surely hope) to walk before God; He will fulfill His dear promises to them in His Word, especially what we find in Leviticus 26; and all their benefactors will have reason to glorify our merciful God and to receive the reward for the good they have done for us. I close this with heartfelt and best wishes, and remain with the greatest respect, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

X.

A Letter from Pastors Boltzius and Gronau to the Editor [Urlsperger in Augsburg], written at Savannah, Georgia, on the same date [22nd of March, 1734].

We have taken the liberty of writing to you about our situation and the wonderful guidance of God from Rotterdam and again from Dover, which letters we hope have reached you properly. May the Heavenly Father strengthen you in body and soul. We hope through your fatherly communications, which we often long for, to be gladdened in the future, and from which we hope to receive encouragement and instruction. The true God has kept us well during our long journey (with the exception of a few Saltzburgers), and has strengthened us all in body and soul, and has let us arrive here in Georgia on the 12th of March, old style, after we had had to remain for a few days before Charleston, since we did not dare proceed farther without a pilot. How our dear congregation fared during our past voyage on the sea is stated in more detail in my Diary, which was sent to you on the 7th of March. Praise be to God, who let no one die or perish, although some were not so well on the sea. We can not stop wondering at this goodness of God, who did more than we hoped for. What God has often given and still gives us pastors in joy and real heavenly satisfaction among our Saltzburgers, no pen can describe. We sigh many times: Lord, we are too insignificant for all the mercy that Thou hast given us, that Thou has made us miserable ones worthy to go to America with such upright people. We definitely believe that our Redeemer will continue to be with us and keep these His children in His mercy, and will rescue more Christians and heathens from the snares of Satan. May He keep you in health and give you a long life, so that we may ever be instructed through your edifying and fatherly letters how we should walk in the house of God. With this heartfelt wish we remain, etc.

Johann Martin BoltziusIsrael Christian Gronau.

XI.

Pastor Boltzius Letter to Professor [Siegmund Jacob] Baumgarten in Halle, written in Savannah, the 22nd of March, 1734.

Your love has formerly been so great for me, that I can remember it with only the greatest of pleasure. Therefore I hope that you will take no offense, if I take the freedom at the present time to write a few lines in English, of which I have now learned a little. Nor will I fail to ask you in your kindness in these poor lines, since the movement of the ship and other inconveniences have prevented me from acquiring more skills in this useful language. Moreover, I saw the necessity of not undertaking too much writing because of my health, which the salty ships fare and other things have given me some trouble. Yet, in spite of this I have through divine Blessing and without too much effort, attained an (although still slight) ability to read and discuss English books and pamphlets to some degree. However, to speak with Englishmen and to understand all the words in conversation, is still too difficult. The best that I learned from experience on our sea voyage was the salutory knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord; for all our danger has driven me to pray as never before. I lack the words to thank God for His kindness in assuring me through the Holy Ghost of His fatherly grace and love and in making me come to the decision to effect my salvation through the Holy Scriptures, with fear and trembling, and to spend the rest of my days in the glorification of His name among men. At the present time I like, with great pleasure and emotion in my heart, to sing the song: HOW CAN I THANK, ETC. God has also done much good for my body. For even if, from Dover to Carolina, I lacked the care that a weak and sick body needed, yet I must acknowledge with praise and honor to my Heavenly Father that, after a spell of sea-sickness, I was much healthier at sea than formerly at Halle. And the Almighty God has shown this great grace not only to me and my beloved colleague, but also to the Saltzburgers and their children, for their children were as healthy as fish, even though they, like the adults, had to endure many inconveniences. God also let our prayers help other people on the ship so that not one was unfortunate. I count this among the the greatest benefactions that God has let me experience in my life-time, that He has given me a calling to accompany a company of Saltzburgers on ship-board, so that I could learn in the school of my Saviour such things as had been unknown to me in all of my previous life. If only I had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy your companionship now, then I would use my time for the best in Halle and strive with Gods grace to prove myself true in all things. I believe that I shall never have the pleasure of seeing your face again in this world. God grant that we may be true unto death, so that it will happen that we together will come into the realm of eternal glory and remain there forever. May He reward all your love and good deeds with His grace. May He crown you with grace as with a shield, and may the same be true with you in your important office as is stated in Psalm I: IN ALL THAT HE DOES, HE PROSPERS, ETC.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

XII.

The Letter of the Apothecary, Mr. Zwifler, to the Editor, written from Savannah, the 22nd of March, 1734.

Praise be to God! As you will see, our journey has come to a fortunate ending. May the Most High be thanked for all His kindness to us. Even though we have been subjected to many dangers, God has in His mercy rescued us from them all and not let us drown in the deep sea. Because of the sudden departure of His Excellency, Mr. Oglethorpe, I am prevented from writing more, only asking that you will continue your fervent and thoughtful prayers for me. Yet let me say briefly that it is a beautiful and fruitful land that Oglethorpe has allotted to us. He has himself ridden over the land with the Commissioner. I and Thomas Gschwndel had to accompany them. We began the division of the land after praying on our knees, and singing the song: WHOSOEVER LETS THE DEAR LORD REIGN, ETC., and after the distribution ended we prayed again and sang the verses: AMEN, IT IS, MAY IT BE TRUE, ETC. Then the land and stream were named Ebenezer, as will be told in more detail by our worthy pastor in his reports. Yesterday Master Gronau left with 9 single Saltzburgers [for our land] and the others will follow as soon as some houses have been built, as is the custom here. God stand by us, and may the true Word of God keep us so that we can really appreciate what good we have from it by seeing the great misery not only of the Indians (who often come to our prayer-meetings), but also of others. From Commissioner von Reck you will hear more. I commend myself to your kind affection, and remain, with divine protection, etc.

Johann Andreas Zwifler.

XIII.

Pastor Boltzius Letter to Professor [Gotthilf August] Francke, written from Savannah, the 23rd of March [old style) 1734. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11

You have, I hope, received my letters of the 6th of January, which contained the news of our experiences and departure from Dover. The dear Father in Heaven be humbly thanked that He deigns to let tell about our arrival in America according to our desire and duty. O what a good God we have, who not only reveals that He is good, true, and merciful to men through His word but also proves Himself as such to all those who fear Him and call upon Him. It has been 20 weeks since we departed from Halle, and at that time, God particularly impressed upon our minds the words in Isaiah, 49:10: YOUR REDEEMER WILL LEAD YOU. Similarly, we can now say in a loud voice from America to those we left behind in Europe: OUR REDEEMER HAS LED US, at the same time He has filled our hearts with faith and reliance. May He lead us even farther in this foreign land among Christians and heathens. Help us now to praise the wonderful and merciful God, all of you who (as we have often found) have formerly helped us. For God has done much for us and our congregation. Not only the two of us, but also all the members of our congregation arrived in America in good physical health. And if everything was not as comfortable as Flesh and Blood desires and as necessity would have required, the external shortages have led to the advancement of much good, for what the physical man has endured in the lack of care and comfort, the true Father has made abundantly good in our souls. He could have done for us in this life (as we think) no greater benefaction than to order us to go on this ship, for on it He has taken us into His school, and through the grace of His Holy Spirit has shown us the nature of our hearts and those of others and has given us, through His superabundant mercy in Christ, such instruction and insight that such lessons will be useful to us for our entire life, yes, into eternity, and will give us the means to praise the only good and gracious Lord. We have now come to our land with the needed resolution to devote all our time and powers to praising our glorious Emmanuel and to saving poor souls. He has begun to draw us to Him with the bowels of His mercy in that we are unable to express the sorrow of our hearts at the miserable condition of many wretched Christians and heathens in these regions. May He give us strength, wisdom, and the occasion to contribute something toward their salvation, and may He grant us more sympathy and concern for the salvation of all of them. And since our Saviour has already given us the desire to save other people, and specially the Indians, so that it will be our greatest joy if we might carry them to His bosom on our hands, we hope firmly that He will help us to overcome all difficulties in learning the Indian language.13 We are at present in the recently erected town of Savannah with our congregation, and do not yet know how many or which Indians we shall have as neighbors. But much we know from the mouth of Oglethorpe, that in all the lands subject to the crown there live an almost uncountable number of Indians, and that much good could be done for many of them. God help us and lead us. Our congregation is very small and, God be praised, is in very good condition. May the Father give us a glimpse of how we, in time that is not needed for them may use it in the best way, namely to increase this white European flock with a few swarthy Indians (who have, however, been washed in the blood of Christ) and to prepare ourselves carefully, both spiritually and physically, for this very, very important matter. May Jesus Christ fulfill His Words: I HAVE STILL OTHER SHEEP, THESE MUST I ALSO CARE FOR, and thus we hope that, through our future reports, we will awaken much praise of God.14 That the Lord will make known the ground of His knowledge and praise, we have been assured and made confident in the Psalms, which we have so far been reading in our prayer hour both morning and evening. To learn the language from the Indians seems impossible. We have, however, learned that in this vicinity there are a number of Christians who have taken Indian women as their wives and have learned the language from them and their associates; and from these men we could perhaps reach our goal. We will leave it to the care of the Father, to whom all souls belong; He will surely provide a way, for which we can thank Him. What we experienced during the journey and how matters are with us here, you will learn partly from the Diary, which we sent to London in haste at the beginning of March, and partly from what accompanies this mail, and is more detailed. We would appreciate it very much if some Jewish-German books by Professor Callenberg could be sent to us.15 There are some Jews here who do not follow the Jewish customs in eating, in celebrating the Sabbath, etc.;16 there are also some very fine persons among them. I remain, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

XIV.

A Letter from Pastors Boltzius and Gronau to the Editor, written at Ebenezer, on the 6th of May, 1734.

That our dear God has brought us and our congregation on the 7th of March, old style, after many well-intended tribulations to the vicinity of Carolina, you have adequately learned from the Diary that was sent to you on March 8th, and also from the letters that followed soon after, and from those of other dear servants and children of God who have praised His wonderful grace. It has pleased the wonderful ruler of heaven and earth to detain us here and there and let us experience many things before He wished to lead us to the borders of our beloved Ebenezer. We have all experienced to our great profit not only that God did many wonderful things for His people in the desert, often in ways apparently contrary to reason, but that it is still His way in His wise regime, to lead per aspera ad astra, and to try those who wish to be His chosen people and live in His priestly empire, but then to reveal His love and friendship all the more abundantly after they stood the test. We have often learned from experience that the travelogue of the Jewish people is no unfruitful history, but that one can learn very much of trust, warning, and comfort, which have certainly been of incomparable value to our congregation, which has often been reminded of it. Among many others, one of the greatest benefactions that God has shown us on our journey, that He let the Holy Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ convert the heart of one of our fellow travelers, and that this has served us and our Saltzburgers for much physical and spiritual good.17 We find it unnecessary to relate the historical facts of our journey and the establishment of Ebenezer, since Commissioner von Reck will relate them orally better and also because all the necessary and important facts have been recorded in the accompanying diary. We live at present in great isolation and, as beginnings are always difficult, it is the case here. Yet God, who has helped us so far, will continue to help and strengthen the dear people physically. May He keep them not only in the fear of Himself but in unity of spirit, so that the one can make the others life sweeter, and his burden lighter. Through the help of your intercession, which we again most sincerely ask you to continue, God will remain our sun and shield nor will He abandon us or neglect us. Mr. Zwifler proves very true in his profession and helps us and the Saltzburgers as best he can with medication and other necessities. May God give you health and a long life, and then we will enjoy much assistance, advice and aid and will have much cause to praise the Lord. This is wished and petitioned from God by

Johann Martin BoltziusIsrael Christian Gronau.

XV.

Pastor Boltzius Letter to a Christian Friend in Europe, from Ebenezer, the same date as above [6th of May, 1734], Hebrews 4:9,11.

Since my friendly Saviour gives me time and opportunity to write you a few lines from America, I wish from the bottom of my heart to be able to reveal to you, to the honor of our great Emmanuel and for awakening your soul, what great things the Lord has done so far for me and my congregation. I do not find it necessary to relate the particular circumstances, since you have probably learned the important points from Halle. Of so much you may be certain, that the Lord has shown so much mercy to all of us, and especially to me, poor worm, on the whole journey and here in this land that I can take with me to eternity rich material for the eternal praise of our Saviour. Therefore, I do not regret that I have chosen so important a calling to go into such a distant land and through so many difficult circumstances. I hope also that I shall never regret it, for my Saviour is with me and has, during my pilgrimage, assured me more than ever of His tender Jesus-love and friendship. O, what a blessing it is to have a good conscience in you and a dear Abba in Christ over you and to rest in His love-filled Father-heart like a child in his mothers womb! It anyone has been truly assured of that by the Holy Ghost, he commits no lie when he says with Assaph: LORD, WHEN I HAVE YOU, I ASK FOR NOTHING OF HEAVEN OR EARTH, etc. But how much it costs our dear God, who wishes to share the abundance of His grace with poor men even before He can bring his soul out of the uncertainty in which it has been since the Fall and in which it prefers to remain. The Enemy of our salvation is busily occupied in leading men from true tranquility to a false serenity. I will not even consider the unconverted persons of whom the Holy Ghost has often shown: they have no peace, even if they often dream of peace, rest, and security; rather I shall speak only about those that are anxious to escape from the coming wrath and try to enter into the eternal peace of the chosen in Heaven; yes, into that of our Holy God Himself. O, how often I have experienced to my detriment that one seeks peace for the poor soul and its awakening awareness through means and ways through which one can never find them. For example, one depends on his many and earnest prayers and his many good sentiments, one relies on his love of Gods Word and trusts the judgment of other children of God who consider him converted. One reminds himself that he has cast off much evil and is therefore much better than before. Through much reading and listening he comes to a good understanding so that he can give others good instruction. And when he is scorned and ridiculed because of his piety, his diligent prayer, and his reprimanding of others and because of his good works, then he is fully certain that he is converted and has come to the rest and peace of the children of God. And when any one speaks to such souls and disputes their imagined certainty and sureness, they look upon him as one who has had little experience in Christianity and does not know how to estimate the Grace of God in others. What a mercy of God it is when He does not let us find any peace in the aforesaid works, no matter how glorious they are in themselves or with what care they are practiced, but rather shows through His Word and Spirit that all these acts are partly the means and partly the fruit of true conversion and the peace found in God. Only through the article of justification does one come to the article of spiritual union with God and of rest for the soul. But an arrogant man does not wish to prostrate himself in the dust before the infinitely glorious and praiseworthy God and try to discover how deep he has fallen and how pitifully he has been attacked by sin in all the forces of his soul and body, how he hates God and all that is divine and is an enemy to his own salvation, etc. But if the Father of all mercies realizes His purpose with a person and makes him wretched, over burdened and, in a word, into a man who sighs at the magnitude and abomination of his misery, then He will take him to His Son, in His loving and shepherd-like arms to His heart and His wounds, where one who has labored under the law and the burden of sin is made equal, yea, better in spirit than the dove which, after it had found no place to rest its foot on the water of the flood, was taken into the ark and revived by Noah (the peaceful man). You will know through our own experience, God be praised!, whether this belongs to the forces of the future world and is the blessed beginning of eternal rest, when one says with heart and mouth: THUS I REST THEN, MY SAVIOUR, IN THINE ARMS. THOU SHALL BE MY ETERNAL PEACE; I WRAP MYSELF ALONE IN THY MERCY. The example of the late Dr. [Paul] Anton has been especially important for me in this point. Whoever has known this dear and God-fearing teacher could easily gather from his words, acts, and complete behaviour that nothing concerned him as much as to preserve the peace of God in his soul and to place himself safely and deeply in the wounds of Christ. This is attested in his splendid little book, Haus-Gesprch von der Erlsung [Postiles on Redemption], To you the example of the deceased is even better known and therefore more impressive. As far as I remember, I saw him only twice, once in a bookstore and the other time in church; and both times I received a very remarkable impression of the blessed and peaceful nature of his spirit. After his death I discovered, from the pulpit, the reason for it; namely, that he never separated justification from sanctification but, in his recognition of his sins had always kept his faith in the free and open well against sin and uncleanness in belief. And this is the way, as you know, if we wish the peace of our hearts to be preserved and strengthened. I made the resolution, and often renewed it on ship-board and renew it now once again, that, in the short life that is before me, I will work toward learning more and more about the Crucified Christ, in His bloody wounds and, without cessation in belief, to consider Him in my wisdom, justification, sanctification, and redemption, for which purpose God made Him for us, and to let Him be the chief content of my sermons. That holds true also of all temporal deficiencies in which one can easily be disturbed, especially in the direct suffering and temptation. If a person bases the peace of his soul on things other than Christ, no matter how good it may appear, such a foundation can easily be torn from him in severe suffering, and then where is his peace? Neither Satan, nor the world and sin can rob us of our Lord Jesus and His wounds. For poor sinners troubled by their sins the wounds of Christ as like sanctuaries in which they can hide from the blood-avenger are they used to sing in the beautiful song of atonement: HOW LONG WILL YOU STRIKE ME, YOU THOUGHTS? and THERE IS STILL ROOM IN YOUR WOUNDS FOR ME, WHO AM BURDENED, etc. There are also impressive words in the song: O GOD AND MASTER, from the 7th verse on, etc. And if God gives so much on earth, Oh, what will heaven be? Just hear what a sweet message there is in the previously cited words: THERE IS YET PEACE AT HAND FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. We have in this life many enemies who begrudge us the peace we get from Christ and even more our glorious peace to come. Therefore, as long as we wander in the desert of this world according to Gods will, we have external strife and internal fear. But even that comes to an end, and we finally come out of our many troubles like other chosen children of God to the place where God will dry all our tears and eternal joy and peace will hover over our heads. A DAY OF PEACE IS AT HAND, WHEN GOD WILL REDEEM US; HE WILL TEAR US FROM ALL BONDS OF THIS BODY AND FROM ALL EVIL. ONE DAY DEATH WILL HASTEN TO US AND BRING US ALL TO REST. BE CONTENT WITH THAT. But there is one thing to remember in the cited words in verse 2: SO LET US BE DILIGENT, etc. If we wish to have the crown of life, we must have faith to the end in battle, in suffering, and in flight according the example of our dear Apostle Paul: I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH, HENCEFORTH IS, ETC., etc. 2 Timothy 4: 7,8: AND EVEN IF A BATTLE HAS BEEN WON, THAT MEANS NOTHING. IT WAS VERY TIRING, YET GRACE KEEPS YOU FROM NOTICING IT. AND HOW GOOD IT WILL BE TO REST AFTER THE TRAVAIL, HOW GOOD IT WILL FEEL. Oh, if all the people in the world only knew how easily we fallen sinners may be pardoned by God in Christ and if they would believe in their hearts the Gospel of Christ the happy message, that they can come from trial and tribulation to rest and revival. If it looks bad in Germany concerning this important matter, then it is unfortunately much worse and miserable here in America. After all, in Germany there are many messengers of peace, righteous teachers and good schools to teach the old and young about the redeeming knowledge of Christ. Also there is no absence of children of God who adorn the Gospel of our Saviour with their pious conduct. Here everything is lacking. Our marvelous God alone knows what He is intending to do with us two, His wretched servants. Our dearest ambition is to glorify our dearest and most meritorious Saviour by preaching the Gospel not only in our little community but also to all the people living near and far from us. Here we are, may He do with us as He wishes! If you will continue to pray for us, then you will be able to continue to praise the Lord with us for His ineffable mercy. Praised be the Lord, who has awakened you and other children of God to make hearty intercessions for us (of which we are well assured) and who has also heard you. Especially present to our dear Saviour the plea that, if more laborers are sent after us, none will be chosen but students who are truly converted and practiced in the ways of Christianity. I could still write about this and that, but, since this letter is tending to be too long, I must end it here and commend you and your whole house to the Lord Jesus and His inestimable love! The Lord strengthen you in your health, and may I receive many happy reports from you and your dear ones, whom I beg you to greet from me. Greet all the children of God who know and love me with the words of I Corinthians 15:58: MAY OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND GOD OUR FATHER, WHO LOVES US AND HAS GIVEN US ETERNAL CONSOLATION AND GOOD HOPE THROUGH HIS GRACE, ADMONISH YOU AND ALL BELIEVING HEARTS, AND STRENGTHEN YOU IN ALL GOOD WORKS, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius,Pastor of the Saltzburger Congregationin American Georgia.

XVI.

A Letter from the Same Person (Boltzius) to His Mother, the same date (May 6, 1734).

My heartfelt love for you and my brother and sisters makes me enclose a letter to you whenever I write to Germany. May God so bless you that you will go in His way and learn to praise His inestimable grace along with us. Just as I told you in my last letter much about the goodness of God that has ruled over me and my dear congregation in America so I must now write the following that the mercy of God in this strange land is new to me every morning and His truth is great. So far I have remained in constant health and have not suffered any want as far as my personal life is concerned. And if you only knew what joy I have in my dear congregation and how much I am loved by all of them, you would rejoice with me and praise God with me that He has chosen me from all others to be the teacher of these upright people. I hope that you resigned yourself to my absence and to this long journey, especially now that you have heard for a second time that our dear God has let me finish this important journey from Europe to America healthy and safe, and that He has let me come to such good people. To be sure, this is a land where there are still no cultivated fields, vineyards, or gardens, but only forests. But through the blessing of God it will not be long before the land will be cleared of trees and bushes and brought to fruitful production. What is lacking in seed, cattle, and household goods is being given them in abundance. The soil is very light and easy to work, so that they need neither plow, horses nor oxen as in Germany. There are no stones or mountains here, but a flat fine land. Yet these pious people do not put their faith in all these matters but consider themselves Pilgrims who must go and hurry to a blessed eternity and eternal rest. In this world there is only anxiety, and even if it is sweet, it has been trouble and toil, which even you, my beloved mother, have experienced enough and still do in your daily life. Your time goes ever towards its end, and death and eternity come ever closer. How good it would be if you and your children sacrificed the short time that remains of your life entirely to the Lord Jesus, and sought to penetrate into His wounds through prayer and struggle against sin and the love of the world. If you are protected by faith, then the sin and worries of this life will not disquiet you; yea, even death and all evil will not harm you. It has so far been my practice to learn to know my dear Saviour rightly through the illumination of the Holy Ghost and to hold myself in true faith to His merits and His bloody wounds, like a child at its mothers breast. Do the same, too, and pray with much earnestness or you will not come to Christ. The eternal ineffable salvation is well worth our being very earnest in prayer and in all Christianity and giving up all else, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

XVII.

Another Letter from the Same [Boltzius] to One of His Relatives, [from Ebenezer] of the Same Date [May 6, 1734].

I do not doubt that you know partly from the letter I wrote you from Halle, and partly from the letter of your dear son, about my God-based resolution to go with the Saltzburgers to America. God has given you discerning eyes and has ever trained you in His wonderful paths since your youth. Therefore, I truly believe that you will rejoice more than sorrow at my unexpected departure and will, with me and other children of God, praise the wonderful God who has considered me, poor worm (which I in truth acknowledge), worthy of such an important calling, and has granted me courage and happiness for the undertaking. And you should know what our dear heavenly Father has done for my body and soul with His mercy on my whole, in itself very difficult, journey and how wonderfully and gloriously He has led me and my dear congregation. You must realize with me that I have not chosen this calling from my own choice nor for worldly opportunity, but according to the will of God and for His glory. I will not now mention the various trials of the divine providence that ruled over me because I hope Professor [Gotthilf August] Francke has sent you via your son, according to my request, the most noteworthy points. Rather I shall report only that this calling has been exceedingly advantageous for both body and soul. At Halle, because of the difficult mental work and the many vexations that you daily find among so many young boys, I found myself almost constantly dragging a sick body around and being a burden to others as well, even though, because of the fatherly care of the Directors, I suffered no lack of necessary care. Just the opposite, God has so strengthened my health from the very beginning of the journey that I have been able to perform my office both on the sea voyage and since without hinderance, even though we failed at times to get rest for body and mind as well as wholesome food and drink. He has accepted my soul in a hearty and fatherly way and has assured me poor sinner, in difficult situations on ship-board, of His grace and fatherly love for the poor sinners, and He has given me much insight into His Word and wonderful government. He has impressed my calling with many seals of His manifest blessings and has given me such joy in my very worthy colleague and the whole congregation that I feel wholly unworthy of it all. They all love me so much that I must be ashamed of my unworthiness, which teaches me to love them more ardently and not to spare my efforts for their good. My Heavenly Father has now brought me here per varios casus to America. What He wishes to do further with me and my dear colleague must be left up to His wisdom and beneficial care alone. We have both obligated ourselves to the Lord, to spend the short time that remains of our lives for the glory of our Emmanuel and for the salvation of men, be they who they may! He, the great House-Father and Lord of the Harvest, will show the opportunity for this. We do not believe that He has called us to this distant land only for the Saltzburgers, of which there are as yet only 40. Rather, as it has always been His way to begin with small and insignificant things and to execute His work splendidly through very wretched instruments, we believe that He will also work in our day and with us so that we and others may thank Him. The harvest is great in this New World too, and the true workers few. Many hundreds of Lutherans are supposed to be here, according to the statements of others, some in communities, others scattered here and there, who have no one to provide them with Gods Word or the Holy Sacraments. To date I have not been able to associate much with the Germans of our confession, not only because we have been in constant unrest and distraction for more than half a year, but also because our Ebenezer is several hundred English miles from Pennsylvania where many Germans live. For the Lord it is an easy thing to break a road where none exists and to give us poor servants the opportunity to proclaim His Gospel near and far, now that He has already kindled an ardent desire in us for this. At our settlement the people are now busy building houses and rooting out the trees, which is very necessary for preparing the fields but it is also very difficult, because one sees nothing but trees everywhere in this country. Yet in our congregation, neither the men nor the women are afraid of work, and the Lord, whom they serve in all truth, stands by them with His blessing so that we and others, who see and hear it, are placed in great wonder. Even though the food, which they receive free of charge for a whole year from the storehouse established by the colony of Georgia, is of such a nature that it does not give them so much strength and power to do this hard work as they got from the food they formerly had in Saltzburg, yet God blesses all this food and drink that they remain well and can do their work. Perhaps, among other needed varieties of food, our wonderful God will give us the opportunity and means of making the people some good beer which would give them more strength for their labor than plain water does. Grapes grow here in the woods in large quantities, but they are as yet wild and of not much use. The usual wine that is drunk here in Georgia and Carolina comes from the island of Madeira and costs very much even though it is hardly as good in quality and taste as good Franconian wine. The usual food of our people and others is salted beef and pork, rice, small beans, and a kind of long earth-apples called potatoes [yams], which taste sweet and are very satisfying. For baking bread they receive flour made of European wheat, but in small quantities, and also Indian corn or the so-called Turkish wheat. Sometimes they can also buy Zweiback of white and mixed flour. Likewise in Charlestown [which city lies in Carolina and is about 130 English miles from Ebenezer] they can buy white bread, fresh meat, chickens, eggs, and all kinds of food at a moderate price, but at least two or three times as high as in Germany. Except for Charlestown there is no city in Carolina or Georgia where there is any commerce. In Georgia the best town is Savannah, which gets its name from the large river that flows past it, but it is still poorly built and not in much order. Besides this town you find in the above-mentioned colony only here and there a few houses or rather huts The dear Father in Heaven keep you in both body and soul, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

XVIII.

Pastor Gronaus Letter to a Friend in Halle, also of the same date, namely the 6th of May (1734).

Praised be God, who has rescued us from the authority of darkness, and has placed us in the kingdom of His Son, through whom we have been redeemed by His blood, namely the forgiveness of sins. Praise be to God, who is good and pious and has always shown us sinners a better path that will bring us nearer to an understanding of His Son and of His Sons great service, so that we may learn to know Him better and better as our Abba and our hearts will be filled with His sweet love so that we may be quickened inwardly and thus receive a foretaste of eternal life already in this restless world. Praise be to God, who has deemed both of us worthy to proclaim to others how good He is! Dear brother, you will agree with me in this, that our God, who has shown us such love, should be worshipped and praised. Even though we have been separated in body, my heart often sighs for you and I think of the tears that you shed when we parted. I remember especially the love and sincerity that you showed me and our whole association when we were together. Among other things I remember how you, dear brother, often talked about the late Abbot [Joachim Justus] Breithaupt, whose example you proposed to follow. The dear God in these last days has especially blessed me through the first Meditation from the Saltz der Erden [Salt of the Earth], from which I have recognized even more the importance of my office in which I have been placed by my Arch-Shepherd and thus has already awakened me to more earnestness and will awaken me even more through the grace of God. My wish is that you and I may be real Timothies. God has given the same outlook to my beloved colleague, Pastor Boltzius, who sends you friendly greetings. How things went with us on the journey, you will learn from the Diary. The peril that we suffered at times only drove us to much prayer and established a resolution in us not to seek anything in the new land but to learn to know Christ better, and to prepare our and other souls for salvation and grace. What I promised the dear God then, He has already made me remember many times in Ebenezer, which is the name of our new settlement. I have already tried to practice this resolution, and will continue to do so through the power of the Holy Ghost. You should not imagine our whole country except as a land of trees, bushes, water, and wild beasts, etc. The town, which was built about a year ago or was rather started then, is named after the river Savannah. Near it live heathens [Indians], about which you will learn more from the Diary which we have sent and from which I hope you will get information about many things. Several more places are established on the way up the river. The last place is called Abercorn. From this place we go by land through the woods and can reach Ebenezer in three good hours if we walk briskly. Past our village flows a stream, which we have also named the Ebenezer (I Samuel 7:12). Here it was all wasteland at first, but now a few huts have been built in which we shall remain until other more regular houses are built. I with 8 Saltzburgers came here first; the Saltzburgers had to erect a pair of huts so that the others would have a covering over their heads when they arrived. Our things are brought here from Abercorn on a sledge or sleigh. All this costs much effort, but it serves us for the best. Others, who live on the water, will have everything much easier, but the Father wishes to lead us in this way; may He be praised! ONLY REMAIN, JESUS, MY TREASURE, MY SAVIOUR, LORD AND SHIELD, AND LEAD ME AS YOU WISH; I AM YOURS, TAKE ME TO YOURSELF AS I AM. This is my study. The dear God has already given me much encouragement in these troubled circumstances. When the dear Saltzburgers come back from their work and have eaten their meal, then we hold a devotional service with them. It is our great joy when we hear one Saltzburger after another establish a good foundation in Christianity; and when we ask, How does it go?, they answer: I had great distress in my heart, but God has helped me and has saved me. They are overjoyed by it, and we with them. Now we hope that God will let us experience much joy here with the Saltzburgers as well as with others. Pray often for us, dear brother, so that we may glorify our Jesus who loves us and all people and loves the heathen so much, and who has said: I MUST GATHER THEM TO ME, etc. Concerning my house-keeping that you wanted to know about, while I was in Ebenezer, I had to take care of myself all by myself, even though I could not do it properly; but necessity has taught me many things. From now on I shall not give very much time to it, for I have something more important to do, which I have learned, along with many things, from the Holy Bible and the Saltz der Erden [Salt of the Earth]. It will not be possible any more, once we are all together and my official work gets started. How I shall make out with Pastor Boltzius, I do not know; we will lay it before the dear Lord. The people here in this country are so few that it is impossible to get any one that can give a hand. There are not many of the Saltzburgers and they have enough work for themselves. Yet the Father on high has counsel for all things. The person who brings this letter is our Commissioner [von Reck], who conducted the Saltzburgers from Augsburg to this place. Since God has shown him mercy on this journey and he has great love for the children of God, he has decided that, if God will lead him back to Germany, he will visit Halle among other places. This is the second letter that I have sent to you; I hope that I may soon see one from your hand. Another time I shall write in more detail, if God permits me to live; if not, we will relate the rest in heaven with even greater joy. Send my greetings to Pastor Mischken,18 as my dear father in Christ, to whom I also wrote last time. Greet my many dear brothers, who are still there, and also the preceptors of the orphanage. I can wish them nothing more than that the grace of our Jesus Christ be with them. Amen, may that be, Amen. Now my dear Brother, may Jesus draw you to Him so that you overflow and melt with love, and place on Him all the troubles that still oppress you. May He take you and me to Himself; may He strengthen you so that you may pray for me, for my colleague, and the whole congregation; I remain yours, etc.

Israel Christian Gronau.

XIX.

Pastor Gronaus Letter to the Boys in the Orphanage at Halle, of the Same Date [May 6, 1734, from Ebenezer]. In Christ Jesus Who loves us, and who has given Himself for us, My Beloved Children.

Even though I am physically separated from you, yet my soul longs for you and the love which I formerly had for you has not ceased but will continue with the grace of God, and will be more ardent and sincere. You may perhaps remember in what my love for you consisted. You could easily know this if you would only go back to the time when I was with you and remember that I wished nothing more than that you would give your hearts to the Lord Jesus in atonement and faith and experience and see in your study how friendly He is and learn that there is nothing better than to be with Him; for those who once experience this can more and more attain such a blessed and glorious knowledge. What I could not attain when I was with you, I hope will be achieved in my absence and that the dear God will bless the service of your dear preceptors. Oh, believe me, my dear children, whom I love heartily, your Jesus, as the good Shepherd, does not want a single lamb among you to go astray and to remain in error. Oh, no, He has thirsted for you on the Cross too and He does not want His precious Blood-of-God to be shed in vain for any one of you. He has taken charge of you as orphans and has brought you to this blessed orphanage, where He is working on your souls especially through His Word and calls constantly to you: Come to me and I shall give you rest. Turn now back from the road of error; remain no longer in evil. Hear My Voice and follow Me; I will gather you into My Arms, and care for you, as is right. What has been lost, I shall seek; who has been wounded, I shall bandage, if anyone is sick and weak, him will I tend; those who are fat and strong, I shall protect. Now read the wonderful song: WHERE IS MY LAMB THAT I LOVE, ETC.: then you will learn to know His Shepherd-heart rightly. Oh, how good you will have it, if you follow Him. Experience will show how He will press you to His bosom, and let you taste His love. In a word, He will give you life and in abundance. This His love will be a fore-taste of Heaven, and will cause you to seek not what the world can give you, but what is above. You will consider the world with all its temptations as nothing, and you will seek to follow your Shepherd like obedient sheep. So you will see that even if the whole world should desert you, Jesus will not leave you as orphans. You will have nothing to fear, for it is the Fathers pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Yes, dear children, the Father with His Son will give you all, Romans 8:32, both the material and the spiritual. He will give you atonement, faith, and forgiveness for all your sins, His grace, noble peace, the Holy Ghost as the pledge of your Heavenly heritage, yes, and finally the enjoyment of the Heavenly treasures themselves. What more could you want when all this is given to you? Now it is only necessary that you accept, that you bow simply in prayer and do not rest until you have attained this blessing from the Father. After this, try to keep good care of this treasure through industriously watching, battling, struggling, and continuous prayer. Nor will you lack on the material side either. To you shall be given as much as the Father sees that you need. Your studies will be blessed; God will also be with you in the future. Consider, dear children, how the dear God has loved you above many thousands of people, in that He has brought you to this blessed institution. If you apply all this well, you will have happiness and bliss from it; if not, you will have to answer for much more. At the last I beg of you sincerely that you will pray to God for me and my colleague, Pastor Boltzius, and our important task. Help us with struggle and with prayer; it appears that God has not sent us here in vain. Pray for us that the Word of God may be spread and be praised, as with you at the Orphanage. May the words of Jesus also be fulfilled in America, for He said in John 10:16: AND I HAVE OTHER SHEEP, THAT ARE NOT IN THE FOLD; I MUST BRING THEM ALSO, AND THEY WILL HEED MY VOICE. SO THERE WILL BE ONE FLOCK, ONE SHEPHERD. With this I close; I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, and remain, etc.

Israel Christian Gronau.

XX.

The Letter of Lorentz Hueber, a Saltzburger, to the Editor, written from Ebenezer, the 7th of May 1734.

Reverend Pastor, you are greeted a thousand times by me, my wife, and my four children. They say a thousand times thanks for all the good deeds that you did for us in both spiritual and material ways and for the way that you so sincerely cared for us on our journey. In spiritual ways you have given us pastors and teachers and in material ways you have provided the Commissioner, who has conducted us well and has cared for me most loyally when I was sick and very weak on ship-board by often sending me food and drink from his own table. I can not repay the Commissioner, so I will ask the dear God, who rewards all good deeds, to repay him. I also beg you to greet all the other pastors of Augsburg in my name and to thank them for all their benefactions to us, both spiriutal and material. I also ask you if you will thank all the Evangelical congregations from the pulpit for their benefactions. I especially ask you to greet Mr. Schauer, by whom we were given lodging,19 and we wish them all spiritual blessings both here and in eternity. And I thank Almighty God, who has led us so wonderfully and so truly, and has awakened many benefactors on our journey who have helped us. In Dover much was given to us, and in the new land where God has led us we are provided with food and drink. I can wish all these benefactors no more than divine blessings here and eternal life there. Finally, I wish you the mercy and grace of God, and remain together with my wife and children, etc.

Lorenz Hueber,2055 years of ageand my wife Maria Manleiter44 years of age

XXI.

A Letter from Hanns Moshammer, His Wife, and Barbara Kruer21 to the Editor, 8th of May, 1734 [from Abercorn].

Since I, along with my wife and Barbara Kruer and her two daughters, have experienced much good from God through you, not only in material but even more in spiritual benefactions, we want to thank you from our hearts through this letter. The greatest benefaction of all that has come to us is that God has sent us two clergymen, who instruct us in the Word both clearly and purely about saving atonement and the forgiveness of sins. To this belongs the fact that we have had such a true Commissioner who has also cared for us in material matters. We also ask you to give friendly greetings to Pastor Hildebrand and all other pastors for so sincerely caring for us in Augsburg. Will you also greet the mayor [Morell] and Mr. Schauer, who showed us so much kindness, for which we thank them many times and wish them happiness and blessings from God both now and in eternity. With us, God be praised, it goes quite well, and we are in health except Barbara has become quite weak, but we hope through the mercy of God that she will soon regain her health.22 God be praised that we have no scarcity of food and drink and we hope that the good God will continue to care for us. May you be so good as to greet Hanns and Peter Pfeffer, one of whom lives with Leopold, the copper plate engraver. And if they could get to Saltzburg or send a messenger there they should report to our friends that things are not bad for us here so far. To be sure, we have had both trial and tribulation, but God has always saved us from it and we hope that He will not forsake us in the future. We hope that they will do us this favor for God and our salvation; turn from darkness, follow Christ, and not to shun any trouble or danger. For the Word of truth states: HE WHO DENIES ME BEFORE MEN, HIM WILL I ALSO DENY BEFORE GOD AND HIS ANGELS; BUT HE WHO ACKNOWLEDGES ME BEFORE MEN, HIM WILL I ACKNOWLEDGE BEFORE GOD AND HIS ANGELS. Oh, life in these times is short and uncertain; therefore we do wisely if we do not miss the time of grace, but return to our Father like the lost son. Finally, we thank you again and wish that God may give you His blessing, health, and a long life, and that through His work many may be brought from unrighteousness to divine bliss and that he may fight a good fight to maintain the crown of righteousness, which will be granted to him by the real ruler, Jesus Christ, not to him alone but to all who hold his vision dear. We hope that it may be fulfilled in him as Daniel says in Chapter 12, that: THOSE WHO TURN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL SHINE LIKE THE STARS FOREVER AND EVER. We still think constantly of your benefactions and pray for you. Please think of us in your prayers. With this, we remain, etc.

Hanns MoshammerMaria MoshammerBarbara KruerAnd her two daughters.

XXII.

Pastor Boltzius Letter to His Former Colleague [Mischke], the Inspector of the Latin School of the Orphanage in Halle, written from Ebenezer, the 9th of May, 1734.

I am going to trouble you again in your important work with a letter, which is due to my sincere love to you which, through the grace of God, is just as great and sincere now in America, as it was when our Heavenly Father deemed me worthy to live in your brotherly community and receive much good. Your great labor, which I know so well, will not let me hope for an answer from your hands; but I should be happy if I might learn, even from some one else, if you are well in body and soul. But I will not doubt of that, for the Lord, whom you serve with all your power in all important matters, is your shield and great reward and, as He has promised all His sons and children, you will lack nothing that is good. Let us only work comforted in the name of Jesus Christ and consume our strength for the kingdom of God. Eternity will repay us gloriously. Now we are widely separated from each other, and neither knows about the others work or conditions; in the future we will come together again through our Saviour, and our works will follow after us. The devil will not be able to cause either of us to be missing in blessed eternity, rather we will continue to apply all effort to attain the blessed rest of chosen souls, into which the Bridegroom of our soul has already entered. How I shall rejoice when I hear that the Lord Jesus has called you, a pious and true son, and has led you into His eternal happiness. And I hope to share this blessedness also, because I cling to my Saviour in faith and will never leave Him. I am, to be sure, not afraid of death, because I am reconciled to my Heavenly Father through Christ, and I have found rest for my soul in the wounds of Jesus, even in this present unrest. Yet, I wish, according to Gods will, to live a few more years so that I may still experience in this life what God plans to do in these later times with the dear Saltzburgers and the poor heathen in America. Yet let Gods will be done. So far I have, God be praised, been in good health, even though I have sometimes had spells of sickness, which our merciful God has soon let pass by. My dear colleague, who is a true Israelite,23 also experiences much weakness, and has had many predictions of his death. God forbid such a loss for the sake of His Sons intercession! He preaches the Gospel of Christ with much clearness and power, and is very careful and edifying in his conduct. The Lord has bound us very close together. We both have some material wants, but the Lord has said: I WILL NEITHER FORSAKE YOU NOR NEGLECT YOU. This good and Almighty Father will complete this glorious promise in us too. The Saltzburgers received many gifts from the benefactors in England, not only victuals for a whole year but also many barrels of very good seed, oxen, cows, swine, chickens, and ducks, as well as all kinds of household goods and agricultural tools. Yet, because they are not yet accustomed to the land and this kind of life, and also because they are not used to such heavy work, it is very hard for them. But we do not notice that any one is sorry that he has left his fatherland, but rather they thank God for their rescue from their spiritual Egypt. Some have been tempted to be dejected, impatient, etc., but they have quickly overcome it. I consider it not accidental that Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, gave me a fine young horse, which I shall use not only for exercise but also to visit the poor people of our Confession who have no minister. I hope that you will continue to remember me and my colleague, who heartily greets you, in your prayers. I for my little part will not neglect to pray for you and the dear Orphanage. With which true assurance, I close, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius.

XXIII.

A Letter from Pastor Boltzius to One of His Relatives, written from Charlestown, the 24th of May, 1734.

I hope you have received the few lines from Halle, in which I gave the tardy news of my decision to go with a number of Saltzburgers, in Gods name, to America. The Heavenly Father be praised for having deemed me worthy to live for 2 months already in this New World with my congregation. Others who first came here have been sick and some have died, but in spite of my weak constitution my eternal Saviour has kept me in health, both on the journey and here in this country. And so I believe that our good God will continue to care for my bodily and spiritual condition and give me the strength required for my vocation. All that is in me and about me, I shall dedicate to Him alone. What others seek in this new land, I do not seek, but rather I practice constantly so that I may have a pure conscience and better prepare myself, and all that hear me, for the heavenly Canaan and the New World. God help me! In this life we will probably not see each other again, since my present occupation and the dangerous conditions on ship-board, in which I lived for 9 weeks, makes it difficult, in fact impossible, for me to make the journey back again. Yet in heaven we will meet in eternity, if we continue to the end to hold fast to the right way that we have begun. The place where I live with my congregation lies in the colony of Georgia, near South Carolina, and has received the beautiful name of Ebenezer, as a reminder of the heavenly benefactions which have been so richly granted so far. I am writing this letter in the capital of Carolina, Charles-town, which lies about 150 miles from our community, and to which one must travel by water with many difficulties. This journey could not have been avoided partly because our present Commissioner von Reck, with his servant [Christian Schweikert], wishes to partake once more of Holy Communion in companionship with other Evangelical residents of this city, and partly because it was necessary for me and my congregation. God has awakened several people here, who have done much good for our Saltzburgers and have promised more, so that it was necessary to thank them for it, and we also had to attend to a few other matters. The dear Father in Heaven is taking very good care of my congregation and will help them to overcome all difficulties to which they are subjected because of farm work, food and drink, and other things. There is not time now to write any more. I hope to do so another time, as often as there is an opportunity to send letters and journals to England and Germany, etc.

Johann Martin Boltzius,Saltzburger Minister in the American Georgia.

XXIV

A Letter from Mr. Zwifler, the Apothecary, to Some Friends in Augsburg, written from Ebenezer, the 14th of May (new style), 1734.

It states in I Samuel 7:12: HITHERTO THE LORD HAS HELPED US. To Him be praise and thanks for it! For the first time, yesterday, on the 13th of May by the old calendar, we took our thanksgiving service in Ebenezer from the 107th Psalm for the great mercy He has shown to us; and we remembered His mercy, power and might, which He let us feel on the stormy sea. My dear friends, I am writing these few lines to you together so that you may see that God is with me and has shown His power in me not only by leading me here fresh and sound and without any stumbling block, but also by showing me a place for my lifes occupation where His honor is advanced and His name glorified. That everything goes well with me here, you can see from my yet facile hand. I am ready to admit that I am as well off here as I have been anywhere. Again and again I see here the blessing of God richly flowing over me, and perhaps much of it was due to the many thousands of God thank yous uttered by our dear Saltzburgers, who had many hardships on our journey, which lasted 8 weeks on the sea. But God blessed my limited medicine so that I cured them all and not one, either large or small, died, but all came to shore well. I learned more on this journey than I ever had before: I leared by myself Balbiren, and also to bleed people, for which God so led my hand that I was fortunate and made no mistakes. I have opened the veins of more than 20 people, including both of the pastors, who willingly placed themselves in my hands. We live here in a good land, for which God be praised. There is no scarcity of wild game, Indian chickens [turkeys], and partridges; and good fish are abundant. We can not give enough thanks to God, who has provided us with all kinds of victuals, and continues to do so. We have received beef and pork, peas, beans, rice, flour, salt, butter, cheese, pepper, all kinds of roots, beside 60 kinds of seeds, also more than 20 cows, 7 horses, also oxen, and await still more gifts. We can not marvel enough at all the many benefactions that have come to us from the Trustees in England, and we are given even more than the other inhabitants. In this country we find honey and turpentine. This is enough for this time. I hope that God will keep you well for many years, so that I can send you more good news in the future. Moreover I commend you all to the care of the Most High and thank you for all the benefactions you have shown. May God let you fare well so that we can together praise the Giver of all good from now on and into all eternity, etc.

Johann Andreas Zwifler

XXV.

Letter of his Excellency, Mr. [Jonathan] Belcher, Governor of New England in America, from Boston, to the Editor, the 3rd of July 1734.

I am sure that you are astonished, just as I would be, by the liberty taken by a person who is entirely unknown to you, even though your character is not so strange or unknown to me. We live in a time that can well be called the time of a dreadful falling away from God. However, because I have read the pleasant report of your care and endeavors to observe the cause and interest of our most blessed and glorious Jesus in this world, I discovered that God has not yet ceased to pour out His spirit and that He has awakened you to be an instrument for the glory of His great Name, for Whose Name alone may there be always honor and praise. This letter has the honor of being handed to you by the Baron von Reck, who has come here on his way back from Georgia to Germany. May God Almighty bless him abundantly for all that he has so kindly undertaken for the good of the poor Emigrants and reward him there in His glorious presence. But I wish that you, as a good steward of the Lords many blessings, will hear the blessed Euge on the great day that your Lord and Master shall appear: YEA, THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, GO IN THE JOY OF THY LORD! This is and remains the prayer, etc.

J. V. Belcher

Notes

Items marked with an asterisk were contributed by Urlsperger, the remainder by the present editor.

Preface

1.*The complete title of the book is this: Complete History of the Emigration of those Lutherans who were expelled from the Archbishopric of Saltzburg, most of whom went to Prussia. It contains an exact description of the Archbishopric of Saltzburg as well as of the Kingdom of Prussia, pertinent earlier and contemporary history, accurate maps, and a preface by his Honor Johann Lorentz Mosheim, Abbot of Marienthal and Michaelstein, published by Gerhard Gottlieb Guenther Goecking. Printed in Frankfurt and Leipzig by Christian Ulrich Wagener, 1734.

Part I

1.Whereas the regular members of the S.P.C.K. were members of the Anglican Church, certain prominent Protestant ministers on the Continent, particularly Lutherans, were invited to be corresponding members.

2.These are listed in Jones, ed., Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks, 17-28.

3.*These conditions contained the following points;

1. The Honorable Royal Commissioners charged with the establishment of the new colony of Georgia shall bear all costs covering passage and every other need of the Protestant emigrants from the starting point to the port of embarkation and from there to Georgia in America.

2. Upon their arrival in Georgia these Protestant emigrants shall receive free maintenance until they have harvested their first crop, or until they are able to maintain themselves from their own land. Futhermore, they shall be given sufficient seeds of various kinds to plant the land which they prepare during the first year, as well as livestock and various tools and equipment necessary for farming and building houses.

3. At the beginning each head of a household shall be assigned as much land as is required for the comfortable support of his family, which is at least fifty acres, which land shall be given to him to be his own, and hereditary, without being subject to servitude. When his children grow up and marry they likewise receive a tract of land. For the first ten years he shall not have to pay any taxes at all. After expiration of the same he shall make a small token payment for one hundred acres, namely ten shillings (which is four gulden twenty kreuzer). In everything else he shall enjoy all of the privileges, rights, and freedom which are enjoyed by the subjects of His Royal Majesty of England. Those born in Georgia shall be regarded the same as if born in Great Britain, in which kingdom the laws of the land grant everyone for his person complete protection from persecution and violence as well as from disturbance by military and civil servants.

4. On their part, the Protestant emigrants who have decided to go to Georgia shall comply with the orders and instructions which the honorable commissioners may find it necessary to issue from time to time, partly to assure that everyone may keep his possessions undisturbed, and partly for the peace and prosperity of the whole community. Upon their arrival in Georgia, they shall assist each other with the preparation of the land, the building of their houses, and other things which may be necessary for their mutual protection.

5. The oft-mentioned commissioners shall provide for the hiring and payment of one or more pious and skilled pastors who shall preach the word of God to the emigrants according to their own belief and in their own language and shall give them the holy sacraments as instituted by Christ. They shall also provide for one or more catechists or schoolmasters who can teach the children all that is necessary. And they shall be protected in the free exercise of their religion, according to the Augsburg Confession and other official books of the Lutheran church in which they believe, and also in the complete enjoyment of all the secular and spiritual rights which the free subjects of the king of England possess.

6. This is by no means intended to incite or proselyte foreign subjects in a manner forbidden by the Peace of Westphalia; rather, its charitable provisions apply only to those who have emigrated already because of their religion or those who will emigrate in accordance with the peace terms, thus showing their desire for temporal and eternal well-being.

7. Although it had been decided in the beginning to put the three hundred emigrants who wanted to go to Georgia on two ships in Rotterdam so that each would carry one hundred and fifty persons, it was found better later on to limit the first transport to seventy persons and to count three children between two and fifteen as two adults and a mother with her child under two as one adult.

8. As soon as it is definitely known in London that such a transport has been assembled, preparations shall be made there to have a ship ready for their embarkation at Rotterdam. Futhermore, emigrants who register as colonists singly or in groups shall be maintained at the expense of the honorable commissioners until a transport has been assembled.

9. Also, on their journey to Rotterdam they shall not only be accompanied by a competent and conscientious commissioner but also receive expense money such as was received by the emigrants from Drnberg and Berchtesgaden.

10. At last, care shall be taken that at the time of the transport there shall be no lack of well qualified pastors and catechists who are to leave with the transport, or of all that is necessary for free passage through the countries which they have to travel.

4.*Footnote: Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America is the name of a new company in London which, in June 1732, received a charter or solemn letter, more than just a patent, from His Majesty the King of Great Britain, which was later confirmed by parliament, in which it was charged with helping not only the poor in England, but also those Protestants expelled and persecuted for religious reasons in other countries if they wanted to go to Georgia in America in order to settle there. In order to achieve this end his Royal Majesty of Great Britain assigned to the Company, which at this time consists of the following persons; John Lord Percival, George Lord Carpenter, Edward Digby, Esquire, James Oglethorpe, Esquire, George Heathcote, Esquire, Thomas Towet, Esquire, Robert More, Esquire, Robert Hucks, Esquire, Roger Holland, Esquire, William Soper, Esquire, Francis Eyles, Esquire, John Laroche, Esquire, James Vernon, Esquire, William Belitha, Esquire, further, from the Clergy of the English Church, the Mssrs. Stephan Hales, John Burton, Richard Bundy, at present Lord Bishop of Gloucester, Arthur Bedford, Smith, and the Mssrs. Adam Anderson and Captain Thomas Corama certain tract of land in America, situated between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, about seventy English miles wide, and extending in depth far beyond the mountains. This land, taken from South Carolina, shall be given the name of Georgia and shall be made into a province to which Protestant inhabitants shall be sent, and it shall be governed, according to their own discretion, by specially appointed officials who have been found to be faithful and competent.

As councilors of the Company, the fifteen gentlemen named above were empowered to do anything necessary until March 1733. They accepted many substantial persons as members of this Company, from whose ranks nine more were selected as councilors who met at least once a week to tend to its affairs. They did so without realizing the least benefit from it, but did everything for the good of the poor and the expelled who wanted to settle in this province. Therefore, they were named Trustees, meaning Fidei Commissarii, to whom the land was entrusted for the sole benefit of the poor. The royal charter gives the above-mentioned Trustees permission to gather voluntary collections for their project in all England, which sums are to be expended solely for the benefit of this colony. As can be seen from the above-mentioned names, this company of the Trustees of Georgia consists of many Peers of Great Britain as well as bishops of the English Church and members of the lower house of parliament, all of them rich people of the kingdom and highly regarded in spiritual, worldly, and other respects. Their credit was so good that parliament gave the Company last year ten thousand pounds sterling in order to put the colony in good order.

5.*Footnote: The entire PATENT reads as follows:

Omnibus, ad quos hae praesentes litterae peruenrint, curatores coloniae Georgianae in America salutem plurimam dicunt. Cum Serenissimo & Potentissimo Magnae Brittanniae Regi, Georgio II, nihil magis in votis sit, quam ut inopiae & miseriis pauperum succurrat, tam inter subditos suos, quam inter extraneos, qui e patria sua religionis causa exsulare coguntur; Maiestas sua Britannica eum in finem coloniam instituit, sub ipsius auspiciis in terras suae ditionis in America sitas deducendam, eiusque curam & administrationem nobis per litteras suas Patentes, Regio suo Magnae Britanniae sigillo munitas, commisit. Nos itaque Regia hac auctoritate instructi & communiti dictae coloniae curatores, de humanitate & pietatis vere christianae zelo reverendi admodum, doctique Viri Samuelis Urlspergeri, Ecclesiae Sanctae Annae apud Augustanos Rectoris dignissimi, certiores facti, ipsum plena potestate muniendum esse iudicavimus, sicut per praesentes hasce litteras rite munimus, ut exsules quoscumque, sive emigrantes e patria sua professionis evangelicae causa, qui sese coloniae supra dictae aggregare voluerint, & in Americam proficisci, tamquam colonos admittat, & cum illis de conditionibus, quae aptae & consentaneae fuerint, transigat secundum formam, quam super hac re praescribere aequum esse duximus, quaequae hisce nostris litteris adiunctae sunt; promittentes, quidquid per dictum Dominum Urlspergerum cum praefatis exsulibus sive emigrantibus transactum & conuentum fuerit, id nobis ratum, gratum acceptumque fore. In cuius rei fidem his litteris nostris, per mandatum nostrum a Secretario nostro subscriptis, sigillum nostrum commune affigi curavimus, quae dabantur duodecimo die mensis Septembris anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo tricesimo tertio, Regnique Maiestatis Britannicae suae septimo.

By order of the said Trustees(L.S.)Beni. Martyn, Secretarius

To all those who read this the Trustees (Commissioners) of the Georgian Colony in America extend their greetings. As his Royal Majesty of Great Britain George II wishes nothing more than to be of aid in the distress and the misery of the poor among his own subjects as well as among foreigners who are being expelled from their fatherland because of their religion; His Majesty of Great Britain has ordered a colony to be established in his name in the lands belonging to his empire in America, and has commissioned us, by means of a patent, under his Royal Great Britannic seal, with its care and administration. Therefore, having been empowered by royal decree as commissioners for the above-mentioned colony, and having received reliable reports on the kindness, zeal, and the true Christian faith of the very reverend and learned Mr. Samuel Urlsperger, Senior of the Church of St. Anne in Augsburg, we have found it wise to give the same full power to act; thus we empower him by means of this letter to accept as colonists each and every refugee, or those who must leave their homeland because of their belief in the Protestant Religion and would like to join the said colony and leave for America. He shall inform them of all the conditions connected with the enterprise, in accordance with everything that we have found it wise to decree, which is enclosed in this letter. We also promise that everything which may be decided and agreed upon between Mr. Urlsperger and the above-mentioned refugees or Emigrants will be acceptable and binding for us. To attest this, we have ordered our Secretary to sign this letter of ours and to affix thereto our common seal. Given on the twelfth of September, Anno Domini 1733, and in the Seventh Year of the Reign of His Great Britannic Majesty.

By order of the said Trustees Benjamin Martin, Secretary

6.A reference to the settlement of New Berne, N.C.

7.Some three hundred Saltzburgers from Drnberg were settled in Cadzand in the Netherlands, where they were exploited by the inhabitants. Many died, others returned to Germany. This is well documented in Jones, ed., Newmans Saltzburger Letterbooks.

8.The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) permitted religious non-conformists to emigrate if their religion was not tolerated.

9.Who complained to Moses during their forty years in the wilderness.

10.Johann Arndt: Vom wahren Christentum was the most popular Pietistic tract of the time.

11.Elsewhere, von Reck gave his name as Philipp Georg Friedrich.

12.Johann Martin Boltzius and Israel Christian Gronau.

13.Bartholomeus Rieser and his family.

14.* It is hoped that the kind reader will not object if, for better proof, we present a few items. For instance, those coming from Lindau were equipped with the following recommendations:

The Grace and the Peace of God, our Father, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Power of the Holy Ghost be with the Christian reader now and in eternity. Amen. As our very blessed Saviour has commanded us in Math. 16; 3, to discern the signs of the times with great care and to judge them with religious prudence, thus we have good reason to consider the present times as the true spring of the approaching summer and the approaching time of the harvest. The thornbushes are growing mightily but the figtrees are also sprouting with strength. And especially when we observe with enlightened eyes the great upheaval of minds in the Archbishopric of Saltzburg, we must confess: God has marked out times with very wondrous miracles and shows us that everything which our disbelief considers impossible is possible to Him. Our own place was privileged by the Lord to see His miracles with our own eyes; and, right from the beginning, to give shelter to more than one hundred of the chosen strangers who left there for the sake of Jesus and in true denial of themselves and of everything they possessed. In the course of time, nearly half of them moved, partly to Prussia and partly to Holland and the remainder received a gracious invitation from England from the praiseworthy Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to settle in the blessed land of New Georgia in America. Since there is no doubt that said Society will bring this precious and important undertaking to its desired end with fulfillment of the promised and highly favorable conditions and moved only by true love for God and their expelled Christian brethren, a number of the Saltzburger emigants still remaining with us decided to follow this path, fully trusting in the omnipresent care of God and having recognized and felt Gods finger through fervent appeals to His name. They were:

From the Saltzburger jurisdiction of Werffen: Simon Steiner, until recently a bleacher-assistant here, 36 years old.

From the jurisdiction of Ratstatt: George Kogler, journeyman carpenters apprentice, 26 years old. Ruprecht Steiner, farmhand, 27 years old. Gabriel Maurer, masons apprentice, 26 years old.

From the jurisdiction of Lichtenstein-Salfeld: Stephan Rothenberger, masons apprentice, 23 years 6 months old. Nicolaus Riedelsperger, dairyman at the hospital farm here, 45 years old.

Matthias Burgsteiner, daylaborer, 39 years old.

Adam Riedelsperger, farmhand, 33 years old.

Hanns Madreuter, daylaborer, 38 years old.

Maria Hierlin, servant, 23 years old.

Catharina Piederlin, servant, 23 years old.

Maria Riedelsperger, who has been in my own service, 32 years old.

I can give all of these the sincere recommendation (having known and tested them in daily contact, and having frequently joined with them before God in prayer and other holy exercises and especially during my Sunday home services) that they not only brought with them from their land a good foundation of the knowledge and righteous thinking that is in Jesus Christ, but also have increased therein during the three half years they have been with us by eagerly seeking the pure milk of the Holy Gospel, and have made a good beginning toward reaching manhood in the Christian sense. During all this time nothing disagreeable was seen or heard of them. Instead, the fruit of a living faith showed itself in them, as it did with their remaining brethren, for the edification of all and for the shame of the unfaithful. Their devotion, patience, moderation, frugality, industriousness, and other Christian virtues, especially their rather uncommon and exemplary brotherly love and peacefulness which they showed among each other, as they lived partly in common households and partly scattered among different employers, caused the high and the low to bid them farewell from here with many tears and good wishes. Therefore I gladly recommend them to the love and kind acceptance of all Protestant brethren and especially to the faithful servants of the Gospel. Foremost, I commend them to God and the Grace of His Word, who hath the power to edify them still further and to give His heritage to all who are blessed. May the Lord, who holdeth in His hand the earth and the sea, accompany them with His angels on all their journeys over water and land. May He rule and keep them in all goodness, through His spirit, and let them be a light for the poor heathens in the midst of an ignorant and uncivilized race. May He guard and care for their body and soul. May He bless their going out and coming in from now unto eternity. Amen.

Lindau on Lake Constance, Sept. 15, 1734T. M. Bonaventura ReschProtestant minister and consistorial assessor.

Concerning the same, the said minister further wrote to me:

There are especially some among them whom I hate to see leaving because of their daily growth in the knowledge and fear of the Lord and who, because of their fine example, were considered the salt of the earth among their countrymen and in part even by the local residents. But I believe that God has a holy purpose for which He is sending them to other parts. (Would it not be such a holy purpose, which God saw in advance, that they should go with a heathen king and his people to India where they will make their light to shine among them?) They are worthy of the recommendation which I have given them, especially S.St., who has passed through many serious stages in his struggle for pennance and faith. R.St. is a most pious and well grounded Christian. A.R. also has good knowledge and is very able in worldly matters and has an excellent mind. S.R., the mason, and G.K., the carpenter, are both excellent workers. G.M. is a very honest soul. N.R. is an exceptionally skillful man in husbandry. All of the others have left good reputations behind them. May the Lord now help His flock everywhere, and bless His inheritance; may He tend and uplift them eternally, etc. Additional recommendations may be omitted.

15* A certain pastor who had helped two good Saltzburgers on their way when they passed through his home hurrying after the transport, reported, among other things, the following circumstances connected therewith: I have noticed with sadness, especially in the person of N., that ever since they arrived among our people they have been surprised and disgusted with their un-Christian behavior. They are traveling a long way because, as they say, they want to be together with their countrymen. But some, as was especially noticeable in the case of N., are very happy because, at the same time, they hope to be subject to fewer temptations.

16.Josef Schaitberger, a Saltzburger exile living at Nrnberg since 1685, who exhorted his co-religionists with religious tracts. Author of the Exiles Song (Exulantenlied).

17.Von Reck seems to have been unaware of the hardships and sickness suffered by the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer after his departure.

18* Georgius secundus, Dei gratia, Magnae Britanniae, Franciae & Hiberniae Rex, fidei Defensor, Dux Brunsuicensis & Luneburgensis, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi-Thesaurarius & Princeps Elector, etc. Omnibus & singulis, ad quos prsentes hae litterae pervenerint, salutem. Quum Nobis significatum sit, Dominum Joannem de Vat quinquaginta aut plures Archi-Episcopatus Salisburgensis olim incolas, viros, feminas, infantesque, ab Augusta Vindelicorum in Angliam brevi deducturum; quumque a Nobis humillime petitum fuerit, ut dicto Joanni de Vat, cum comitatu supra memorato, litteras Nostras salvi conductus concedere velimus: idcirco Nos omnes & Singulos, Reges ac Principes, cuiuscumque dignitatis aut ordinis, status Ordinesque, Amicos Nostros & Foederatos, Classium Exerci tuumque Ductores, urbium ac arcium Praefectos, reliquosque in universum Officiales & Ministros Eorum quoscumque (Id quod subditis Nostris, quorum ullo modo intererit, firmiter iniungimus) rogandos duximus, ut praefato Ioanni de Vat cum comitatu supra dicto & sarcinis eorum quibuscumque non solum liberam & securam eundi, transeundi, commorandique potestatem faciant, verum & omnibus humanitatis officiis eosdem excipiant, adiuuentque, & eisdem, si opus fuerit, novas insuper vaivi conductus litteras concedant. Id quod Nos pari vel alio officioum genere, servata cuiuscumque status & dignitatis ratione grate agnoscemus. Daban tur in Palatio Nostro apud Kensington 12 mo die mensis Augusti, anno Domini 1734, Regnique Nostri octavo.

Ad mandatumSereniss. Domini Regis

Pass for Mr. de Vat & a number of Saltzburgers.

Harrington.

We, George the second, by Gods Grace king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, First Chancellor of the Exchequer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, etc., extend our greetings to all and everyone who is handed this, our writ. Whereas we have been informed that Herr Johann von Vat will soon lead fifty or more former residents of the archbishopric of Saltzburg, men, women, and children, from Augsburg to England; and whereas we have been requested most humbly to issue a pass for the said Johann von Vat and said Transport: We have decided to ask each and every king, princes and states, our friends and allies, the commanders of fleet and armies, as well as the commandants of cities and castles, whatever rank or office they may hold, and on the whole each and every official and servant, (and our subjects who may be concerned with this in any way we have explicitly ordered) to grant said Johann von Vat and said transport not only free passage and a safe stay for themselves and their entire baggage, but also to receive them gladly and without reluctance, to give them further assistance, and to provide them with new passes if necessary. Such we shall grant, willingly and with thanks, in similar and other cases, to everyone according to his rank and office. Executed at our castle in Kensington on the 12th of August Anno Domini 1734, and the eighth year of our reign.

By orderof his Royal Majesty

Pass for Mr. de Vat and a number of Saltzburgers.

Harrington.

19.Heinrich Walther Gerdes, who anglicized his name as Henry Walter Guerdes.

20.Butjenter. He anglicized his name to Henry Alard Butienter.

21.The name of this ship was soon changed to the Prince of Wales.

22.Now remembered as Tomochichi.

23.Daniel Weisiger (Wisiger, Weisinger). He later bought lands in western Virginia with allegedly misappropriated funds.

24.Oglethorpe (and because of him, von Reck) had written extravagantly of the natural virtus of the noble savage.

25.Urlsperger consistently uses this spelling, as did Oglethorpe.

26.This excellent engraving, based on an English original, was etched by Johann Jacob Kleinschmidt.

27* I.e. Christian Religion (Oglethorpe had used the term English Learning).

28* Which he handed to His Majesty as a present together with other curios.

29.Apparently an error for Dec. 27. See following letter by Capt. Dunbar.

30.Mary Musgrove, an Indian princess, married at this time to John Musgrove, a South Carolina trader.

31.Both agriculture and potash production soon failed at Thunderbolt.

32.This must have been stationed at the head of Green Island Sound, perhaps at Beaulieu.

PART II

1.Phillip Jacob Spener, a leading Pietist.

2.Probably some of those en route to Prussia, but possibly some en route to Hanover.

3*In another report the two pastors make mention of the following event, namely, that in Rotterdam they met a certain learned man by the name of Costerus who had been in America many years ago, who was an excellent linguist and of great experience and insight. He told them how, not long ago, a Greek priest had visited him who reported that most of the Jews in the Orient were fairly well convinced of the truth of the Christian religion; that many had applied to Greek teachers in order to accept it. This caused the Turkish Emperor to start a great persecution; and it appears that, if God would give the Turkish Empire another blow, the conversion of the Jews there would make great progress.

4*This reads as follows: The Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America extend their greetings to all those who may be presented with this. Whereas the most reverend Mr. John Martin Boltzius, a minister of the gospel devoted to the Augsburg Confession, has decided to go to the land of Georgia after having received official call, in order to perform to the best of his ability the duties of the office of Lutheran Pastor, in the German language for the instruction and benefit of the Protestant Saltzburgers and other Germans who are now going, or will go in the future, to settle in said province of Georgia and who subscribe to the Augsburg Confession: Be it known herewith that we, the Trustees, have authorized and empowered said Mr. John Martin Boltzius in due form, and do continue to authorize and empower him to carry on, in the German language, all those religious and ecclesiastical affairs which are necessary for the better establishment and propagation of the Christian religion in said colony and for the execution of all the other good purposes connected therewith, to be done in the German language and in accordance with the Augsburg Confession and the content of our Royal charter. In witness whereof said Trustees have attached hereto their common seal. Executed on November 21st, in the seventh year of the reign of our most gracious Sovereign and Lord, George II, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and Defender of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord and Saviour one thousand seven hundred and thirty-three.

5*The following extract of a letter from Dover, which has already been made public through print in London, gives several examples of this. During the time when I and my traveling companions were delayed here by adverse winds, we were pleased no little to find in the harbour a ship loaded with Saltzburgers which had arrived from Rotterdam on her way to Georgia. They came ashore here last week and were immediately invited to a good meal by one of the Trustees from London. I believe that everyone, including myself, was greatly pleased to observe the good conduct of these people. The ship lay at the pier, and after they all had stepped ashore they went on foot, two by two, to the place of their repast. They were led by their commissioner, and the two pastors, who were going to Georgia with them, brought up the rear. On their way they sang German hymns. These were heard, and their noon meal was watched, by a great number of persons of rank. The contentedness and calmness of the Saltzburgers in the face of their trials, and the joyful gratitude which they showed for what they received was to be seen so clearly that everyone present was deeply moved by them. I must confess that it is a special honor for Protestant countries, and particularly for Great Britain, that their territories and lands have become a refuge for those people of whom it can be said in all truth that they have left everything for the right of free confession of the pure Gospel.

Moreover, we hear that the Saltzburger emigrants hold public prayers every morning and evening and conduct themselves in a very pious and commendable way. They always pray to God for their benefactors, and they show the greatest gratitude for the good deeds that are being done for them, etc. Concerning the expenses for the maintenance of these people in Augsburg and for their trip from there to Rotterdam, which are not small, we have been assured that the Society pays them from funds which it receives for the Saltzburgers. In addition, from such collections it has established a permanent fund of two thousand pounds sterling in South Sea Annuities, which is more than 17000 gulden, the interest of which is paid yearly by the Bank of England, to provide salaries for two pastors for these people until the colony will be in a position to care for them without difficulty. Their present pastors, Mr. Boltzius and Mr. Gronau, are reported to be Godfearing and intelligent men; and their commissioner or leader, Baron von Reck, a young nobleman from Germany, shows virtuous conduct in his stay with them here. It is evident that he has good qualities and feels very much concern for the welfare of these people. That is why he is going to Georgia with them, in order to see how they will be established there.

6.By adapting the Lutheran services in the colonies to conform more closely to those of the English Church, the authorities were, perhaps unintentionally, making it easier for the Lutheran colonists to be proselytized into the Anglican and later Episcopal Church.

7.As soon as they reached England, the Saltzburgers adopted the old (Julian) calendar used by the British, instead of the newer Gregorian calendar already in use on the Continent.

8.Being educated in Pietistic schools, Boltzius understood such words primarily in their transferred and spiritual sense. For his Alpine congregation, a word like erbauen would have the concrete meaning of to construct, but for him it would mean to edify.

9.Jean Pur[r]y of Neuchtel. He died soon after establishing the town of Purysburg[h], which lingered until the Revolution.

10.Boltzius memory seems to have failed him here. He seems to be quoting from Psalm 100, yet the words: Bezahlet die gelobte Pflicht are not found therein. Possibly he was thinking of the verse: danket ihm, lobet seinen Namen!

11.The German word Person, although feminine, may refer to a male. Nevertheless, since more women than men came to Boltzius for such guidance, we will use feminine pronouns in such cases.

12.These were for the Trustees Garden, or experimental stations.

13.Probably an error for south-southwest.

14.Probably Captain Fry, against whom were many complaints in the unexpurgated reports sent by the pastors.

15.See note 11 above.

16.Boltzius does not make himself clear here. Perhaps he means that one sail must be kept hoisted during the storm to keep the ship headed the right way.

17.This helps explain why Boltzius wrote his journal so edifyingly as he did!

18.He is referring to the Seventh Commandment, according to the English Bible.

19.Like many other Germans in South Carolina, Timothy was mistakenly called a French Huguenot.

20* Footnote: In his diary Baron von Reck gives the following account of this town and of the province of Carolina: Charleston is a nice city and seaport, it has flourishing trade, is built on flat land, has wide streets and good houses, some of which are built of brick but most of them of wood. White bread is very expensive here since there is no white flour available except that which the upper classes have on their plantations for their own use and which is very good, or that which is brought here from the northern colonies or from England. The rice here is very good and inexpensive. It is easier to see five Negroes here than one white person. In addition, nearly 3000 new ones are brought here annually, so that there are some 30,000 Negroes in this province who, with their children, childrens children, and all descendants are slaves forever. And since they are being treated very badly they are nursing a secret hatred and are waiting only for an opportune moment to revolt against their masters, as they have done recently on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Jonas, which belong to the Danes and Swedes.

21* From the diary of Herr von Reck which was transmitted to the Society in the French langauge: The 7th of March, 1734. Mr. Oglethorpe showed me a map of Georgia and gave me freedom to choose a region for the Saltzburgers, either close to the sea or further inland. I accepted this favor and chose a location 21 miles from the city of Savannah, and 30 miles from the sea, where there are rivers, small hills, clear streams, cold springs, and much grass.

22* Mr. Quincy was sent to Savannah at the expense of the great Society de propaganda fide.

23* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 13th of March. Today I visited the Indians and their king Tomo Chachi. I got some raisins, which they like so much, and had them distributed. Upon our return from the Indians, who have pitched their tents only a hundred paces from the town, we held our prayer meeting. When we asked what had been especially noteworthy on this day, one of the Saltzburgers answered that the verse from John 3:16, For God so loved the world, has become alive and understandable for him only today after he had seen the Indians.

24.Most of these were Sephardim from Portugal, but the Sheftals and Minis families were Ashkenazim.

25* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 14th of March. Mr. Oglethorpe had given orders to get three horses ready for my service so that I could survey the land and inspect the place where the Saltzburgers were to settle. Thus I rode off this morning at 9 oclock with a constable and an escort. But, after having covered one or two miles, we came to a very dense forest in which we found many deep streams and swamps, some of which we could cross only under great difficulty and danger. When we encountered more and more of them that were even more dangerous and more difficult to cross, we returned to the city today.

26.Such condescending views toward primitive languages, which held until the twentieth century, help explain why it was so difficult for the missionaries to learn the Indian languages.

27* From the diary of Herr von Reck: The 15th of March. Today I received the list of provisions and tools for the Saltzburgers. Mr. Oglethorpe and Mr. Jenys, speaker of the Assembly of Carolina, arrived yesterday in Savannah, from Charleston. Because of his love for our Saltzburgers, the former had postponed his trip to England and was determined to see them well established before his departure. When I told him that flood and rain had prevented me from crossing the forest by land, he declared himself willing to go with me himself, to show me the region, and to see which place I would choose. Mr. Jenys asked to accompany him and I considered it an honor to be a member of this party. Mr. Oglethorpe sent a message to the Indian king, asking him to give us two Indians who could hunt for us on the way. Not only did the king grant this, but his highest warchief, Tuskenovi, came himself with other Indians to keep us company because of his special fondness and love for Mr. Oglethorpe. We got into a boat, and after having gone six miles up the Savannah river, we came to a place where a man by the name of Musgrove was building a house.

28* From the diary of Herr von Reck: The 16th of March. After having had a good rest in a tent which we had pitched last night in the shade of a tree on the riverbank, I accompanied Mr. Oglethorpe on horseback; but the Mr. Speaker and the rest traveled by water. If one should ask how it is possible to travel through a land covered with forests in which there are to be found many rivers and swamps everywhere, let it be known that, since the colonists settled in Georgia, paths have been marked by peeling some bark off certain trees which show where to go and where to cross the rivers. We had hardly waded through a swamp covered with cane when we arrived at a river which had very high banks and no ford. The Indians jumped in and led our horses across swimming; but we crawled over on a tree that had been felled and put across the river in place of a bridge. After riding a few miles and crossing another river in the process, we were overtaken by nightfall. We camped on a little hill, built a fire around us, and all of us ate an Indian rooster [turkey] that the Indian hunters had brought to us for supper.

29.Like nearly all babies born in the first few years at Ebenezer, this one soon died.

30* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 17th of March. We continued our journey at the break of day and, at 9 oclock, arrived at the place where the Saltzburgers were to settle.

31.I.e. not Yiddish or Jewish-German.

32.This appears to be one of the many cases in which Urlsperger bowdlerized his text by omitting an unpleasant detail so as not to offend or frighten his readers. He failed to do this in the entry for March 25 for fear of losing the story of the Indians compassion.

33.In the King James version, this is Joel 2:32.

34* This is the common punishment for adultery among the Indians. After having been thoroughly examined about his misdeed, and having been found guilty, the white man was punished very severely. The Indians showed great satisfaction over this.

35* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 27th of March. This evening I went with Mr. [Noble] Jones, a chief overseer, from Savannah to Abercorn in a small boat, in order to clean out the river Ebenezer. There was thunder and lightning and the wind blew so strongly against us that we could get no further than Musgroves land. There we bedded down on the bare ground, under the open sky, and warmed our stiff limbs by an open fire. For it is just as cold at night as it is hot during the day.

36* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 28th of March. After breakfast we continued our journey and arrived at Abercorn in the afternoon. At five oclock we came upon a small river which we followed upstream until nine oclock, when we found at last that it lost itself in the trees and swamps. Because all the surroundings were swampy we had to turn back. The moon was bright, and in the same night we came to another river which flowed more toward the west, was broad, and a strong current, and was lined with forests on both banks. Finally we reached a small rise of dry land where we disembarked, cut down some cane, made a fire, and bedded down around it. God gave us a pleasant rest.

37* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 29th of March. Today we continued to go up the river, although not without great difficulty and hard work.

38* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 30th of March. Toward evening we came out of this river which empties into the Savannah about 8 English miles above Purrysburg. Thus our work had been in vain; and, since we had missed Ebenezer Creek, we had failed to reach our objective. We returned the same night to Abercorn, where we had previously had our camp.

39* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 4th of April. When I reached Ebenezer I could not help but praise the industriousness and the untiring and constant labor of the nine Saltzburgers who had preceded us there and whose enterprise had been blessed by God. They had built two good shelters, covered with treebark, one of which is 40 feet long. And they had cut down a great many trees so that the air could circulate more freely in the forest.

40* The oxen were sent by Captain Mackpherson on orders from the Trustees to provide fresh meat for the Saltzburgers.

41* Mr. Oglethorpe sent the horses by land from Charleston, as a gift to the Trustees from His Excellency, Governor Johnson.

42* Palachocolas is the name of a small fort or fortress which was built about twenty miles above Ebenezer, on the Savannah River.

43* His name is Mr. Augustine, a nobleman from Wales who settled at Westbrook after Mr. Oglethorpes arrival in Georgia. He has built a house approximately 8 miles from Ebenezer.

44* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 19th of April. Today the Saltzburgers completed the important and necessary work of building a road for vehicles. The Englishmen were very much surprised at the fact that they had accomplished it in such a short time, and had built seven bridges over various rivers and cleared bushes and trees out of the way from Abercorn to Ebenezer, which are twelve miles apart.

We found a strong white horse in front of my tent. Since we needed it and did not know where it came from or to whom it belonged, we took it for our use and thanked God for this gift.

45.The beer, which was boiled, was more healthy than the water, which was not.

46* Several French families have settled in Abercorn.

47* From the diary of Baron von Reck: The 22nd of April. Today we found another horse in the forest which helped us a great deal. We also found some good sweet honey in a hollow tree, which refreshed us very much. Parrots and quail often furnish excellent meals for us.

48.Because Boltzius wrote this word as Rattelsnaiks, we may be sure he learned the word from a Cockney speaker, who pronounced it snikes.

49.45 years old!

50.This apocryphal work is not in the King James version. In the Standard Revised version the passage is rendered as Draw near to me and lodge in my school.

51.August Hermann Francke, pietist professor at the University of Halle and founder of the Orphanage at which Boltzius and Gronau studied and taught. He was the father of Gotthilf August Francke, one of the three Reverend Fathers of the Georgia Saltzburgers.

52.Moshammer had married Maria Kroeer, the aunt of Catherine and Gertrude Kroeer, who later married Gronau and Boltzius.

53.He was a Bavarian.

54.Corruption of the Spanish word piragua, of Cariban and Arawakan origin.

55.Four of these died during the week before the Rheinlnders left Charleston.

Part III.

1.The following sociological observations were very astute for a 23-year-old German aristocrat.

2.This is an early illustration of the practice of letting slaves hire themselves out.

3.Since slavery had no basis in English law, in the West Indies the institution was adapting itself to Spanish attitudes, one of which was the ancient Roman Catholic view that enslavement of heathens was permissable. If it is wrong to keep Christians in slavery, then it is inexpedient to allow slaves to be converted.

4.As it probably would have, had he remained in Ebenezer. Notwithstanding this warning, von Reck returned home with enthusiastic reports of the salubrious climate of Georgia.

5.Von Recks phonetic spelling Delloway gives a clue as to the way that Delaware was then pronounced.

6.The city of Wilmington.

7.But apparently it never arrived.

8.Von Reck appears not to have observed that this was still the Delaware.

9.As a true aristocrat, von Reck fails to mention his footman, Christian Schweikert, who joined him at Wrzburg and accompanied him to Georgia and then to Boston.

10.Von Reck made several such errors.

11.Von Reck drew no distinction between the various Calvinistic creeds.

12.The German word Hospital can mean either hospital or old peoples home.

13.These never arrived.

14.Some Saltzburgers from Tirnberg (Drnberg) had been invited by the States General to settle in Cadzand, but conditions there were so unhealthy and their treatment so harsh that many died and others fled back to Germany.

Part IV

1*Above all, the uncommon faith and zeal which the good Mr. John Oglethorpe has shown for the good of the whole colony and particularly for our dear Saltzburgers deserves to be recorded for the memory of future generations. As is well known and as it has been stated above on page 00 note 00, this gentleman is an honorable member of the English Parliament and is one of the Commissioners appointed to administer the Colony of Georgia. On the 21st of November 1732 he voluntarily went to Georgia on a ship laden with many artisans and a large quantity of building materials and all the tools necessary to build, according to his instructions, cities and villages, churches and schools and everything else that was necessary so that arriving colonists, especially Protestant Emigrants, might find better accommodations there.

His ship made the voyage safely in seven weeks and would have arrived even sooner if they had not chosen a longer route in order to avoid the cold north wind. Of the families that went along only two small children died during the entire voyage. One of these was only one and one half years old, and both of them had been very sick when they were taken aboard; others, however, who had been feeling just as weak at the beginning of the voyage, recovered completely as a result of the treatment they received. From our preliminary report, from page 00, and from the diaries our kind reader must have learned already of the Christian love and zeal and of the efforts which Mr. Oglethorpe made in behalf of our colonists. These amply justify the charter given to this gentleman by the governor of South Carolina, Robert Johnston [Johnson], who wrote about Mr. Oglethorpe as follows in a letter of the 10th of February, 1733: He is a man who always makes every effort in a very noble manner, to serve the poor and to free them from their misery. In this he has been so successful that one must be fully convinced that this enterprise under his direction will succeed also.

The surrounding provinces which have been settled already, and particularly their most distinguished inhabitants, have shown themselves eager to further Mr. Oglethorpes cause as much as possible. This is shown in a letter which the said Governor Johnston wrote from Charleston on the 12th of February 1733, to the secretary of the Georgia Company in London. It states: the general assembly of the council has decided to give Mr. Oglethorpe, at the expense of the province, a large number of animals and a goodly quantity of rice as well as other things for his newly arrived colonists; they will provide boats to transport the people, their goods and provisions from Port Royal to the place where the colonists wish to settle; they further put at his service and under his command 5 aviso boats and 25 men who are permanently employed to keep watchful eye on the movement of the Indians in the land. The governor added that he had also asked Colonel Bull to give his compliments to Mr. Oglethorpe and to offer him his assistance and help, the former being a gentleman of great character and no little experience in the affairs of the province and the nature of the land; a man who is very useful in a new colony and one who also has a good knowledge of the life and customs of the Indians.

2*The part of the description which we have specifically in mind goes as follows: Of the many means which can be used to help people in distress the best are those which not only take care of their immediate need but also provide for their future happiness. With this in mind, His Royal Majesty of Great Britain, George the Second, has given a large tract of land situated in Carolina in America, which is to be called Georgia in the future, for the use and livelihood of the poor of the royal British Empire, and also for those foreign Protestants who have had to leave their country because of their religion, or who have permission to emigrate. The administration of this land has been given over to certain persons of rank and other noblemen. They will give their time and effort to the execution of this good project without any recompense.

Carolina (of which the land of Georgia is a part) produces various food items, such as deer, hares, and domestic animals, different kinds of fowl, the best of fruit, Indian corn, rice, and various European grains. The climate in that district or region is known to be very good, and people are living there who can teach the new arrivals the best time and manner in which the very fertile land should be worked. It is situated approximately 32 degrees north. The air is always clear, mild, and healthy. In relation to the colonies which we now have in Carolina, Georgia lies toward the south. It is separated from them by the Savannah River, which forms the northern boundary of Georgia. Toward the south, the Altamaha River forms the boundary. Both rivers are large and navigable and they flow into the sea about 70 miles apart. From the coast this territory extends inland to the Appalachian Mountains, about 300 miles. It widens as it approaches said mountains from which the rivers come. At present the country is grown up in oaks, firs, cypresses, beeches, poplars, cedars, chestnuts, walnuts, laurel, apple, peach, mulberry, and many other fruit-bearing trees; in addition it has grapevines which grow exceedingly well there. As it is a very pleasant as well as a fertile land, it could be converted into one of the best foreign colonies in a very short time if a sufficient number of workers were employed etc.

In order that the inhabitants of Georgia may be of greater assistance and use to each other, arrangements will be made that they will not have to live far apart but rather in towns. Each town will have one hundred families. Each persons land will be divided into three parts, one to be for a house and courtyard in the city, one close to the city for use as a garden, and the third one a little further away for farming and stock raising. The colonists shall give each other assistance and help with the building of the houses and the clearing of the land.

At present the inhabitants of this land do not have to worry about enemies, for there are very few Indian families within 400 miles and these live in complete peace with the English nation. Port Royal, where His Majestys warships are stationed, is only 30 English miles away, and Charleston, a great market-city, only 120 English miles. If, contrary to every expectation, the land should be invaded by an enemy, it could always receive support from Port Royal, or from the Bahamas where a strong garrison and several warships are permanently stationed. On land it could be supported by the militia from South Carolina.

Whereas the very praiseworthy Lord Trustees have made the well-being of the colony, the support and protection of the inhabitants of Georgia, and particularly their freedom of conscience and freedom of worship their foremost aim; and whereas they will encourage the furtherance of virtue and the fear of God but will restrain mischief, vice, and godlessness: they will become in a few years and remain at all times a flourishing, happy, and free people, etc.

3*The readers who understand French may read about additional advantages of this land in Mr. Purys little tract: Short Description of the Present Status of South Carolina, which was published in 1733 in Neuchtel. Said Mr. Pury was in the country himself in 1730 and 1731. After having investigated everything he came back, wrote said tract, and then went there again with a number of families.

4.It is to be remembered that, at this time, the Jews of Central Europe still had no right to own land, bear arms, or participate in government.

5.Both Josephs Town and Abercorn were soon depopulated through death and desertion.

6.As the Diary so sadly reveals, it was deep only in spots and almost dry during late summer.

7.The roebucks, small dear, chamois, and wild goats probably refer to the Virginia deer of both sexes at their various stages of growth. The wild cows are probably those that the settlers released to roam in the swamps.

8.As was so well proved in the case of General Braddock some twenty years later.

9*In Carolina, which borders our province, people buy Negroes who are frequently brought from Africa to Charleston and offered for sale there. They must do all the work. But that is not the case in our province. Not only are all the people there too poor to buy slaves, but no one is allowed to do it because they live too close to the Spaniards with whom the Africans, who are unfaithful and malicious by nature, could easily come to a secret understanding and cause much damage.

10.The close similarities between the barbarians of Georgia and those of the Germania may have been due in part to the fact that they lived in similar cultural states. Or else von Reck may have interpreted Oglethorpes accounts in the light of his previous study of Tacitus, or possibly Oglethorpe himself had been influenced by the Roman historian.

11.Von Reck does not seem to have understood the practice of scalping. The first Saltzburger to be scalped was Gabriel Bach, who was killed by the Spanish Indians.

12* This is the wife of Mr. Musgrove, who went to England last year as interpreter for the Indian king. But Mrs. Musgrove is the daughter of an Englishman and an Indian woman.

Part V

1.Both Boltzius and Gronau had studied as well as taught at the Waysenhaus.

2.Abbot Joachim Justus Breithaupt. See Gronaus letter of 6 May 1734, below.

3.Upon reaching Dover, the Saltzburgers adopted the old (Julian) calendar, which differed twelve days from the new (Gregorian) calendar then in use in Germany.

4.Boltzius home-town, Forst, lay in precisely the opposite direction from his westward route.

5.Rieser had dropped out of the 1st transport in Augsburg when his son broke his leg, but he and his family joined the 2nd transport.

6.Capt. Coram was much impressed by this ceremony and by von Recks behavior during it (see Letterbooks, pp 408-409).

7.Waldensian refugees from Piedmont.

8.The first chalice had been bequeathed by a dying youth in Germany. Pastor Boltzius decided to accept both chalices, knowing that his congregation would eventually establish separate churches.

9.Geschwandel (also called Geschwndel, Geschwandtner, Schwandel) seems to have been the natural leader of the first transport.

10.German, in the sense that its classes were in the vernacular, as opposed to the Latin School.

11.This letter, the English original of which appears in the Henry Newman Letterbooks (pp. 461-62), shows how quickly Boltzius mastered the English language. It also shows how carefully it was translated into German, and then back again into English.

12.Whereas everyone, even the peasants, were encouraged to learn to read in Lutheran countries so that they could read and defend the Gospels, reading was discouraged in Catholic countries. This was particularly true in Salzburg, where the archbishop wished to protect his people from the heretical and subversive ideas being disseminated in Protestant writings. The Letterbooks attest his great efforts to prohibit the importation of foreign books into Salzburg.

13.This wish was never granted, partly because, after the first few months, Indians seldom visited Ebenezer.

14.This shows that Boltzius was aware that his reports were to serve propagandistic purpose.

15.Dr. Johann Heinrich Callenberg was then making great efforts to proselyte Jews to Christianity, for which purpose he published much conversional literature in Yiddish. Boltzius tried hard to convert the Sheftals, but he failed in this; and nearly a century elapsed before any of the Sheftal descendants married into the Saltzburger community.

16.He is referring to the Sephardic Jews of Portugal, who had survived the Inquisition only by learning to conceal their Jewish religion.

17.This seems to be an allusion to the captain of the Purysburg, whose barbarous treatment of the Saltzburgers consisted mainly in requiring the two pastors to live below decks with their flock, rather than in the Great Cabin. Whether his change of heart was due to Divine intervention, or to the strong remonstrances of Henry Newman to the ship owner, is a moot question.

18.Mischke was probably dead before the greetings arrived.

19.The members of the 1st transport were quartered for some time at the garden of Johann Caspar Schauer, a distiller and medicine manufacturer of Augsburg.

20.Hueber and his wife were the old couple that Boltzius visited at Abercorn on his way to and from Charleston. They both died shortly after this letter was written, and their children were the first orphans in the orphanage of Ebenezer, which appears to have been Americas earliest.

21.Hanns Moshammer married Maria Kruer (Krher, Krher), the sister of Barbara Krher Rohrmoser, whose daughters, Gertraud and Catherina, married Boltzius and Gronau.

22.She never regained her health, but died soon after becoming Boltzius mother-in-law.

23.Allusion to the patience of the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness.

Index

Abercorn, 90, 92, 108, 141, 178, 203 (n. 5)

Salzburgers in, 71-80

Boltzius in, 82, 95, 99, 100, 115

Gronau in, 92, 98, 99, 100; passim

Altamaha River, 24, 137, 202 (n. 2)

America, plans of Trustees, xi

resolve of settlers, 135-137; passim

Anton, Leopold, Archbishop of Salzburg, expells Protestants, xi

Anton, Paul, pietist theologian, 87, 94, 170

Apokowski, Indian chief, 20

Arndt, B., (error of Arndt, J. below), 41

Arnd(t), Johann, pietist author, 7, 12, 35, 78, 193 (n. 10)

Augsburg, Germany, xi, xii

Salzburger Emigration, xix-xx, 6

Protestant ministry contributes to emigrants, 8, 12

people contribute, 13

Augustine, Mr., English settler, 22 (n. 45)

Bach, Gabriel, Salzburger, 204 (n. 11)

Baumgarten, Siegmund Jacob, professor at Halle, letter to, 162-163

Baynton, Peter, merchant in Philadelphia, 119, 121

Beer, making of, 77, 139

Belcher, Jonathan, governor of Massachusetts, xxi, 128, 129

letter from, 188

Beque, Gilbert, French baker, 47

Bloody, Point, 113

Boltzius, Johann Martin, xii, xiii, xxi

in Rotterdam, 10

travel diary, 25-107

travels from Halle to Rotterdam, 25-30

ordination, 27-28

in England, 33-39

on board ship, 39-56

in Savannah, 69, 109-111, 114

in Abercorn, 82, 95

supervision over temporal affairs, 87

in Charleston, 85, 89, 93, 95, 112-114

in Purrysburg, 95, 97, 108

rumor of being lost, 105

travel dairy from Ebenezer to Charleston, 108-115

and Negroes, 110, 111

with von Reck, 116-118

love for Germans, 116

letters from, 149-156, 160-168, 173-174, 186-187

authorization from Trustees, 196-197 (n. 4); passim

Boltzius, Mrs., mother of Johann, letters to, 154, 173

Boston, Mass., von Reck in, 127-129

Braunberger, Matthias, Salzburger, 106

Breithaupt, Abbot J. J., pietist clergyman, 35, 177, 204 (n. 2)

Brent, pietist theologian, 45, 52

Bugenhagen, Johann, pietist theologian, 66

Burgsteiner, Matthias, Salzburger, 194

Butienter (Butjenter), Heinrich Alard, court chaplain, 14-17, 33, 34, 156, 196 (n. 20)

Cadzand, Tirnbergers at, 3, 5, 133, 193 (n. 7), 201 (n. 14)

Callenberg, Dr. Johannes Heinrich, 166, 204 (n. 15)

Candide, by Voltaire, xiii

Carolina, 2, 3, 72, 79, 88, 99

gifts to Salzburgers, 79

description of, 202 (n. 2); passim

Cattle, given to Salzburgers, 79, 81, 88

Causton, Thomas, mayor of Savannah, 65, 96

provisions for Salzburgers, 69, 97, 101, 105

new settlers, 99

plans to visit Ebenezer, 106

receives Boltzius, 109, 114; passim

Charleston, S. C., 65, 93, 176, 186

Salzburgers in, 56-60

Negroes in, 57, 198 (n. 20), 203 (n. 9)

Boltzius and von Reck visit, 112-114, 117-118

description of, 198 (n. 20); passim

Charlestown, Mass., von Reck visits, 128-129

Christiani Creek, von Reck visits, 119

Christmas, celebration, 34, 35, 37

Christs Christmas Gifts, 37

Clauder, Mr., pastor in Halberstadt, 26

Commentary, by Johann Arndt, 35

Contribution to the Building of the Kingdom of God, 83

Coram, Captain Thomas, Georgia Trustee, 33, 34, 36, 39, 156, 157, 204 (n. 6)

Cosby, William, governor of New York, 123

Costerus, 196 (n. 3)

Cotterell, Clement, 20, 21

Creeks, Tomochichi represents, 20-21

emissaries expected, 24. See Indians.

Criminals, sold into indenture, 6

punished, 67

Degmair, Matthew Frederick, chaplain with 2nd transport, 13, 15, 16

Dover, 42, 64

Salzburgers in, 32-39; passim

Dunbar, George, captain of Prince of Wales, 17, 18, 23

Dutresse, Mme., hostess of Tomochichi, 22

Easter, celebration, 75

Ebenezer, Salzburgers arrive, xii, xviii, xxi, 19, 23

Oglethorpe names, 67

key to Carolina and Georgia, 83

Boltzius returns, 115

von Recks description, 141; passim

Ebenezer Creek, 68, 70, 141

Emigrant Fund at Regensburg, 17

End of a Righteous Person, 95, 96

England, xi, 3

Indian Royal Family visits, 20-24

Salzburgers stay, 32-39; passim

Fischer, Rev. J. T., pastor at Cadzand, 133

Fleiss, Balthazar, Salzburger, 90

Francke, August Hermann, pietiest theologian, xii, xxi, 88, 201 (n. 51)

Francke, Gotthilf August, son of above, spiritual father of Salzburgers, 174

letters to, 150, 153, 164, 201 (n. 51)

Francke Foundation, in Halle, xi, xii; passim

French, 79, 141, 200 (n. 46)

Fry, Tobias, captain of Purrysburg, xii, 35, 198 (n. 14)

Garden of Paradise, by Arndt, 13

George II, King of England, 1, 2, 3, 202 (n. 2)

receives Indians, 20

pass for Salzburgers, 195-196 (n. 17)

Georgia, arrangements for Salzburgers, 2-6

description of, 72, 137-142

arrangements by Trustees, 142

agreement for Salzburgers, 190-192 (n. 4)

patent for colony, 192-193 (n. 5); passim

Gerdes (Guerdes), Heinrich Walther, pastor of Swedish Church, 14, 15, 17, 196 (n. 19)

Germantown, Pa., von Reck in, 120-121

Goecking, Pastor G. G. G., author, xix, 190 (n. 1)

Gordon, governor of Pa., 119

Graffton, Duke of, Lord Chamberlain, 20

Gravesend, 14, 17, 23

Gronau, Israel Christian, assistant minister to Salzburgers, xii, xiv, xxi

arrives in Rotterdam, 10

travel diary, 25-107

travels from Halle to Rotterdam, 25-30

ordination, 27-28

in England, 33-39

on ship, 39-56

with Oglethorpe, 63, 65

at Ebenezer, 65, 73, 83

at Abercorn, 76, 92, 98, 167-168

school for children, 85

supervision over temporal affairs, 87

letters from, 149-153, 158-162, 167-168, 177-179, 180-181; passim

Gruber, Hanns, Salzburger, 85, 88, 91, 95, 96

Gschwandel (Geschwandel, Geschwandtner), Thomas, Salzburger, 9, 88, 157, 158, 204 (n. 6)

Gullman, Mr., British resident at Frankfurt, 9

Halle, Germany, 7, 10, 31, 34, 55, 150

orphanage at, xii, 201 (n. 51); passim

Halle Pietism, influence of, xii

Hammerden, captain of Priscilla, 129

Hierl (in), Maria, Salzburger, 194

Hildebrand, Deacon, pastor in Augsburg, 33, 183

Hillispylli, Indian chief, 20, 24

History of Saltzburger Emigrants, by Pastor Goeking, xix, 190 (n. 1)

Hofer, Anna, Salzburger, 97

Holzendorf, judge at Purrysburg, 64

Horses, sent to Salzburgers, 77, 99, 199 (n. 25)

Household Conversations, by Paul Anton, 87, 94

Huber, Lorentz, Salzburger, xiv, 99, 101, 108, 205 (n. 20), letter from, 182

Huber, Maria, wife of above, 83, 99, 100, 102, 104, 108

Hueber, see Huber

Indian Royal Family, in England, 17-24

Indians, von Recks description of, xiii, xxi, 142-148, 198 (n. 23), 199 (n. 28), 204 (n. 10)

behavior of Christians toward, 46-47

Oglethorpe praises, 57

and Salzburgers, 60-61, 64, 70-71, 81, 93

pity for criminal, 67

Spanish Indians, 77

look for Zwifler, 105

near Savannah, 109

Welsh Indians, 121

near Ebenezer, 141-142

religion, 147-148; passim

Information Biblicum, by Arndt, 41

Jamaica, description of, 125-127

Jekyll Island, 24

Jenys, speaker of S. C. House, 199 (n. 27)

Jews, 43, 60, 65, 70, 110, 166, 198 (n. 24), 204 (n. 16)

give testimonials, xix

in Savannah, 140; passim

Johnson, Robert, governor of S. C., 57, 160, 200 (n. 41), 202 (n. 1)

Jones, Noble, chief overseer, 200 (n. 35)

Josephs Town, 140-141, 203 (n. 5)

Kleinschmitt, Johann Jacob, engraver at Augsburg, 196 (n. 26)

Kogler, George, Salzburger, 194, 195

Krauer (Krer, Krer), Barbara, Salzburger, letter from, 182

Lackner, Tobias, Salzburger, 71, 73, 75

Lange, Johann, theologian in Bautzen, 66

Laue, Samuel, pastor in Wernigerode, 27

Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilhelm, German philosopher, xiii

Lisbon, Quake, xiii

London, 1

Salzburgers in 14, 15

Indian Royal Family visits, 17-24; passim

Luther, Martin, xvii

Lynck, Dr., 22

Macpherson, captain of Rangers, 77, 200 (n. 40)

Madreuter, Hanna, Salzburger, 194

Majer, Johann August, deacon of St. Ulrichs in Halle, letter to, 152

Matthieson, Junner, German resident at Dover, 33

Maurer, Gabriel, Salzburger, 194, 195

Meditations, by Abbot Breithaupt, 151

Minnet, Isaac, French merchant at Dover, 34

Mischke, inspector at Halle, 205 (n. 18), letter to 158, 184

Morell, Johann Georg, mayor of Protestant Augsburg, 7, 183

Mosheim, Johann Lorentz, Abbot of Marienthal and Michaelstein, 190 (n. 1)

Mosshammer, Johannes, Salzburger, 93, 98, 104, 201 (n. 52), 205 (n. 21), letter from, 182-184

Munch, Mr. von, banker at Frankfurt, 9

Munden, Dr., senior of Lutheran ministry at Frankfurt, 9

Musgrove, John, Indian trader, 24, 196 (n. 30), 204 (n. 12)

Musgrove, Mary, wife of above, 196 (n. 30), 199 (n. 27), 204 (n. 12)

Negroes, in Charleston, 57, 198 (n. 20), 203 (n. 9)

at Ebenezer, 69, 73, 79, 95

set fire to beehives, 91-92

punishment of escaped, 77

refuse to work, 87

stealing, 89

in fights, 96

dying, 104, 106

Boltzius and von Reck stay with, 110, 111

von Recks comments on, 117, 198 (n. 20), 203 (n. 9)

in New York, 122-123

in Jamaica, 127

in Georgia, 142; passim

New Haven, Conn., 124

New London, Conn., 124

New York, 122-123

Newcastle, Pa., 119

Newman, Henry, secretary of SPCK, 2, 19

writes to Gronau and Boltzius, 37

meets with von Reck, 132

letter to, 160-161; passim

Newport, R. I., 124-125

Noble Savage, admired by Oglethorpe, xiii, 196 (n. 24). See Indians.

Ogeechee River, 24

Oglethorpe, James Edward, xiv, 18

provisions for Salzburgers, 5, 61, 82, 88, 157, 199 (n. 27), 201 (n. 1)

and Indian Royal Family, 17, 22

letter to John Philipps, 19

love for Germans, 35

in Charleston, 57, 60

at sermon, 64

names Ebenezer, 67

in Savannah, 65-66, 67

gives pastors supervision over temporal affairs, 87

gives horses to pastors, 99, 185, 200 (n. 41)

leaves for England, 110, 140

and Indians, 146, 148, 160, 204 (n. 10); passim

Orphanage, Franck Foundation, in Halle, xi, xii, 150

Gronaus letter to, 180-181, 185; passim

Ordination Speeches, by Abbot Breithaupt, 35

Ortmann, Christopher, schoolmaster with Salzburgers, 78

Palachocolas, 77, 200 (n. 42)

Penn, Thomas, Lord Proprietor of Pa., 119, 120

Penn, William, founder of Pa., 120

Pennsylvania, 3, 18, 118; passim

Pfeffer, Hanns and Peter, 183

Philadelphia, 119-120

Philipps, Sir John, benefactor of Salzburgers, 19

Piederl (in), Catharine, Salzburger, 194

Ploss, Octaviano, physician at Augsburg, 13

Porst, Provost, pietist theologian, 47

Port Royal, S. C., 61, 63, 64, 203 (n. 2)

Boltzius and von Reck visit, 110, 113, 116; passim

Postiles on Redemption, by Anton, 170

Prince Frederick, ship renamed Prince of Wales, 17, 23, 196

Prince of Wales, see above

Priscilla, ship, 129, 130

Protestant Emigration Fund, 8, 17

Protestants. See Salzburgers.

Prussia, Salzburgers in, 3, 5, 31

Purry, Jean, Swiss settler in S. C., 35, 64, 157, 198 (n. 9), 203 (n. 3)

Purrysburg, 35, 78, 157

Germans in, 64

Boltzius in 95, 96, 97

von Reck visits, 108, 116; passim

Purrysburg, ship, 157, 204 (n. 17)

Quaker, preacher, and von Reck, 118

Quincy, Samuel, Anglican pastor in Savannah, 59, 198 (n. 22)

Rattlesnakes, 80, 139, 201 (n. 48)

Reck, Philipp Georg Friedrich von, leader of Salzburgers, xiii, xxi, 72, 73, 77, 80, 182, 186, 195 (n. 17)

and Indians, xiii, xxi, 142-148, 198 (n. 23), 199 (n. 29), 204 (n. 10)

appointed Royal British Commissioner, 7

returns to Augsburg, 14, 19, 83-84

arrives in Rotterdam, 30

in England, 33

in Savannah, 59, 76

goes with Oglethorpe, 63

letter from Oglethorpe, 82

in Charleston, 85, 93, 95

letter to Salzburgers, 98-99

goes with Boltzius to Charleston, 108-115

travel diary, 115-134

comments on Negroes, 117, 198 (n. 20), 122-123, 142, 203 (n. 9)

report on Georgia and Indians, 135-148

letter to Urlsperger, 156-158; passim

Regensburg, Germany, British embassy at, 3, 8

Emigrant Fund, 17

Rensler, Jeremias von, 123

Resch, Rev. T. M. Bonaventura, pastor at Lindau, 194

Reuter, Maria, 104

Rheinlnder, carpenter from Palatinate, 59, 99

Riedelsperger, Adam, Salzburger, 194, 195

Riedelsperger, Maria, Salzburger, 194

Rieser, Bartholomeus, Salzburger, 11, 157, 158, 193 (n. 13), 204 (n. 5)

Roman Catholics, xix, 9, 68, 69

Rothenberger, Stephan, Salzburger, 194

Rotterdam, Schumacher accompanies congregation to 7, 9

Salzburgers arrive, 10

second group leaves for, 14

Boltzius and Gronau arrive, 30

Salzburgers leave for Dover, 33, 39; passim

Rum, 61

St. Annes Church, in Augsburg, xi, 7, 12

St. Ulrichs Church, in Augsburg, 12

Sale, William, English merchant in Dover, 35

Salt of the Earth, 151, 177, 178

Salzburg, xi, xvii, xix

Salzburger Emigration, xix-xx, 6

Salzburger Letterbooks, of Henry Newman, xi, xiv, 190 (n. 2)

Salzburger relief fund, 75

Salzburgers, xii, xvii-xviii, xxii

leave Salzburg, xix-xx, 6

expenses for transportation, 1-3

obstacles, 3-4

in Prussia, 3, 5, 31

journey from Augsburg to Rotterdam, 7, 8-10

second transport and difficulties, 10-12

in Augsburg, 13-14

arrive in England, 14-15

meet Trustees, 15-16

arrive in Georgia, 23, 59

journey from Rotterdam to England, 30-33

in England, 33-39

love for ministers, 36

on board ship, 39-56

in Charleston, 56-58

provisions for, 61, 69, 72, 82, 88, 97, 101, 105

and Jews, 65

in Abercorn, 71-80

move to Ebenezer, 80

Trustees conditions, 190-192 (n. 3)

recommendation for settlers from Lindau, 193-195 (n. 14)

traveling pass from George II, 195-196 (n. 17); passim

Santeechi, Indian chief, 24

Savannah, Georgia, 24, 81, 82, 114, 176, 178

Salzburger in, 59

people angry over provisions for Salzburgers, 109

Boltzius and von Reck visit, 109, 116

description of, 140; passim

Savannah River, 59, 71, 202 (n. 2)

Schaitberger, Josef, Salzburger exile at Nuremberg, 13, 195

Schauer, Johann Caspar, distiller in Augsburg, 182, 183, 205 (n. 19)

Schoppacher, Margaretta (daughter), Maria (mother), Ruprecht (father), Salzburgers, 17

Schumacher, chaplain with Salzburgers, 7, 9, 10

Schwaighofer, Margareta, Salzburger, 85

Schwaighofer, Paul, Salzburger, 92

Schweiger (Schwaiger), Georg (Jerg), Salzburger, 90, 97, 106

Schweikert, Christian, von Recks footman, 186, 201 (n. 9)

Scnauki, wife of Tomochichi, 20, 23

Sheftal, Benjamin, Jew from Frankfurt, 60, 65, 70, 198 (n. 24)

Short Description of the Present Status of South Carolina, by Jean Purry, 203 (n. 3)

Siron, Mr., 58

Skidoway, 24

Slaves, 57, 198 (n. 20), 201 (n. 3), 203 (n. 9). See Negroes.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, English missionary society, xi, xii, xxii

and expenses for Salzburgers, 1, 2, 3, 17-18, 156

with Salzburgers in Dover, 15, 38, 39; passim

Spaniards, in Florida, xii, 141, 203 (n. 9)

Spener, Phillip Jacob, pietist theologian, 25, 196 (n. 1)

Steiner, Ruprecht, Salzburger, 194

Steiner, Simon, Salzburger, 194

Stimolichi, Indian chief, 24

Theodicy, by Leibnitz, xiii

Thunderbolt, settlement, 24, 196 (n. 31)

Timotheus (Timothy), German printer, 57, 198 (n. 19)

Tirnbergers, in Cadzand, Zeeland, 3, 5, 9, 133, 193 (n. 7), 201 (n. 14)

Tomochichi (Tomo Cha Chi), Indian chief, xiii, 17-24, 145, 196 (n. 22), 198 (n. 25)

Tooanahowi, Indian Chief, 20, 23, 24

Treaty of Westphalia, 4, 191 (n. 3), 193 (n. 8)

True Christianity, by Arndt, 7, 12-13, 78

Trustees for Establishing a Colony in Georgia, xi, 99, 106, 142, 156-157, 158

Reports dedicated to, xii

Urlsperger letter to, xvii-xviii

and Salzburgers, 2-5, 33, 34, 156, 188

conditions of Salzburger settlement, 190-191 (n. 3)

list of, 191-192 (n. 4)

authorization for ministers, 196-197 (n. 4); passim

Tuskenovi, Indian chief, 199 (n. 27)

Two Brothers, ship, 15

Umpychi, Indian chief, 20, 24

Urlsperger, Johann August (son of Samuel), xi

Urlsperger, xi, xiii, xv

dedicates Reports to Trustees, xii

letter to Trustees, xvii-xviii

introduction to reports, xix-xxii

report, 1-24

letters to, 149-150, 156-158, 161-162, 164, 182-184, 188-189, 196 (n. 25); passim

Urlsperger Reports, xi, xiii

Vat, John von, commissary with Salzburgers, 3, 14, 15, 17, 23, 196 (n. 18)

Vaudois, 157

Vernon, James, Trustee, 38, 157

Walther, Rev., pastor at Frankfurt, 9

Weidner, Rev., pastor of St. Ulrichs, 12

Weisiger, Daniel, passenger to Pa., 18, 196 (n. 23)

Wilson, Thomas, passenger with Salzburgers, 17

Wistar, Caspar, 121

Yale College, 124

Zeltner, Dr., xvii

Ziegenhagen, Friedrich Michael, royal chaplain, 17, 33, 57

Zwifler, Andreas, apothecary, xxi, 78, 80

with first transport, 18

and the sick, 50, 71

in Savannah, 59

at Communion, 64

searches for clay, 92

in Abercorn, 98

lost, 104-107

letter to Urlsperger, 164; passim