JUNE 9:

June 9, 1647:  New England synod clergy meet at Cambridge today. A large number of Indians attend the meeting to hear Roxbury minister John Eliot deliver a sermon in their own language.
 

BACKGROUND:
 

From http://www.mit.edu/people/muawiya/wamptextdb/wamptextsdb.html (Ed's Note:  Hyperlinks to John Eliot's texts are to be found on this website.)
 

8. The Indian Grammar Begun 
John Eliot, 1666. See below for complete reference. Electronic version entered by Roger Higgins.

The Indian Grammar Begun 

9. Eliot Bible (1685)
These three texts are from the 1685 edition (second). Typed by Marilyn Goodrich. English again from the King James Bible at Project Gutenberg.

The Gospel According to St. Mark (New Testament). 
Wampanoag text -- English text The Gospel According to St. Matthew (New Testament). 
Wampanoag text -- English text Second Book of Kings (Old Testament). Wampanoag text -- English text
 

*****
 

>From http://members.tripod.com/~shesabo/winthrop/eliot.htm
 

WINTHROP'S JOURNAL
"THE HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND"
1630-1649

Rev. John Eliot's Methods of Instructing Indians
1647

Mention was made before of some beginning to instruct the Indians, etc.  Mr. John Eliot, teacher of the church of Roxbury, found such encouragement, as he took great pains to get their language, and in a few months could speak of the things of God to their understanding; and God prospered his endeavors, so as he kept a constant lecture to them in two places, one week at the wigwam of one Wabon, a new sachem near Watertown mill, and the other the next week in the wigwam of Cutshamekin, near Dorchester mill.  And for the furtherance of the work of God, divers of the English resorted to his lecture, and the governor and other of the magistrates and elders sometimes; and the Indians began to repair thither from other parts.  

His manner of proceeding was thus:  he would persuade one of the other elders or some magistrate to begin the exercise with prayer in English;  then he took a text, and read it first in the Indian language, and after in English; then he preached to them in Indian about an hour; (but first I should have spoke of the catechising their children, who were soon brought to answer some short questions, whereupon he gave each of them an apple or a cake) then he demanded of some of the chiefs, if they understood him;  if they answered, yea, then he asked them if they had any questions to propound.  And they had usually two or three more questions, which he hid resolve.  At one time (when the governor was there and about two hundred people, Indian and English, in one wigwam of Cutshamekin's) an old man asked him, if God would receive such an old man as he was; to whom he answered by opening the parable of the workmen that were hired into the vineyard; and when he had opened it, he asked the old man, if he did believe it, who answered he did, and was reafy to weep.  

A second question was, what was the reason, that when all Englishmen did know God, yet some of them wee poor.  
His answer was, 
1.  that God knows it is better for his children to be good than be rich; he knows withal, that if some of them had riches, they would abuse them, and wax proud and wanton, etc..  therefore he gives them no more riches than may be needful for them, that they may be kept from pride, etc. to depend upon him, 2.  he would hereby have men know, that he hath better blessings to bestow upon good men than riches, etc., and that their best portion is in heaven, etc.  

A third question was, if a man had two wives, (which was ordinary with them,) seeing he must put away one, which he should put away.  To this it was answered, that by the law of God the first is the true wife, and the other is no wife; but if such a case fell out, they should then repair to the magistrates, and they would direct them what to do, for it might be, that the first wife might be an adulteress, etc., and then she was to be put away.  When all their questions were resolved, he concluded with prayer in the Indian language.

     The Indians were usually very attentive, and kept their children so quiet as caused no disturbance.  Some of them began to be seriously affected, and to understand the things of God, and they were generally ready to reform whatsoever they were told to be against the word of God, as their sorcery, (which they call powwowing,) their whoredoms, etc., idleness etc.  The Indians grow very inquisitive after knowledge both in things divine and also human, so as one of them, meeting with an honest plain Englishman, would needs know of him, what were the first beginnings (which we call principles) of a commonwealth.