on them and relieve them from the oppressions under which they laboured.  Here Mr. Fish cautioned me not to say any thing about oppression, that being, he said, the very thing that made them discontented.  They thought themselves oppressed, he observed, but such was not the case.  They had already quite liberty enough.  I suggested to him the propriety of granting them the privileges enjoyed by the whites about them; but he said that that would never do, as they would immediately part with all their lands.  I told him that, if their improvement was his aim, he ought to go among them and inquire into their affairs; to which he replied that he did go at times, but did not say much to them about their worldly concerns.  He asked me if I thought it proper to preach about such things.  I answered that I thought it proper to do good in any way; that a variety was not amiss, and that such a course would convince his flock that he had their welfare at heart.

I had now appointed to meet my brethren on Wednesday evening following, when I expected to bid them farewell forever; and in the mean while I had obtained a letter of introduction to Mr. Pratt, of Great Marshes.  There I gave the audience a word in season, upon the subject of Indian degradation, which did not appear to please them much.  I then visited Barnstable, and finding no resting place there for the sole of my foot, I journeyed as far as Hyannis, where I was entertained with hospitality and kindness.  On the evening of the fourteenth day, I again preached on the soul-harrowing theme of Indian degradation; and my discourse was generally well received; though it gave much offence to some illiberal minds, as truth always will, when it speaks in condemnation.  I now turned my face toward Marshpee, to preach the word there.

I had made up my mind to depart early on the morrow, and therefore, that I might hear of their concerns, and how they fared from their own mouths, I intended to commence my labours early in the day.  I had not the least intention of staying with my brethren, because I saw that they had been taught to be sectarians, rather than Christians, to love their own sect and to hate others, which was contrary to the convictions of my own experience as well as to the doctrine of Jesus Christ.  What ensued led me to look farther into their case.  The lecture I had delivered in the Meeting-house, had wrought well, and a small pamphlet that contained a sketch of the history of the Indians of New England had had a good effect.  As I was reading from it, an individual among the assembly took occasion to clap his hands, and with a loud shout, to cry, “Truth, truth!” This gave rise to a general conversation, and it was truly heart-rending to me to hear what my kindred people had suffered at the hands of the whites.