408
under the: old confederation, stepped in, as-it
were, to aid and jreinfojee^liim in his means of
liting, but which in effect held him away from
his hunting grounds, paralyzed his home industry,
and supplied him new means of indulging
his propensities; for liquor and luxuries. That
the gospel should not have made a.very marked
progress under these circumstances», is not jsur-
prising.
Some years 'before the breaking out of . the
American revolution, Mr. Kirkland planted the
gospel standard among the OneidaS, at a time
when the broad and sylvan fields and glades of
'Kuw-a-wa-loa^ or Oneida Castle, were still beyond
the pale off European civilization.* And he may
be regarded as the apostle to the Iroquois, For
many years, in perils and dangers, he preached
the gospel to the Oneidas, at their once celebrated
castle and by the purity, firmness,; and- excellence
of his characterj won the confidence and
the heart of their leading sachem. Skenandoah
gave his attention to this new scheme of acceptance
with his Maker, admitted it, and became a
consistent professor and practiser of its precepts j
and of him, it can be confidently said, that he
lived and died in the faith. To gain the influence
of the most powerful man in the canton,
was to gain the whole canton y ^and when the
war broke out, the tribe, wavering, as it did for
a time, and assailed with all the arts of British
* Herkimer, the nearest point east, was about forty miles
distant.
intrigue and promise/ so profusely put forth, adhered
to theeolonfes' Kirkland, in the inception
and progress of these movements, became
the principal a gent in disseminating the doc trines
of peace aud neutrality among the six cantons.
■Washington and thecontinental congress reposed
the highest trust in his virtue, judgment, and intelligence.
He took from the lips of the father
of his-country, words of peace and good counsel,
which coincided admirably with the precepts of
the gospel. He traversed the then wilderness of
Genesee an# /Niagara on this mission, , and has
left enduring monuments of Ins faithfulness and
zeal.
Butt the- spirit of war prevailed-—that spirit
which the great body of this people had so long
served, under the guidance of their native priesthood.
All but the Oneidas/ some fewofthe Tus-
-caroras, who were then settled in their western
precincts, and some one or two individuals from
St. RegiSj joined the ranks of the mother COttntry,
under their bold and politic.leader, Brant. Seven
years of battles, ^expeditions, ambushes, and
murderSs terminated-not only in their political
overthrow as a confederacy, but plunged many
of them who had befbre listened to the voice of
Christianity, back into-the arms, of their native
priests and forest habits. The Mohawks, part
©fethe.Cayugas, and some Onondagas and Tus-
caroras, fled: the country, and settled chiefly in
Canada. The Oneidas, the body of the Onondaga^
and Senecas, and some parts of the Gayu-
53