John Wesley Preaching to the Indians
Yesterday I was going through some old Chickasaw newspapers and came across an article about a conversation between John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, and some Chickasaw warriors. The conversation took place in Savannah, Georgia, shortly after the Chickasaws' victory over the French at the village of Ackia in 1776, (See Post of 10/4/2010, The French Chickasaw War of 1736) and the warriors who responded to Wesley's invitation had taken part in the battle.
John Wesley had come to Georgia the previous year at the invitation of the governor, James Oglethorpe, to become the pastor of a parish there. Wesley had earned a reputation in England for evangelistic preaching and for speaking out for social reform. He aspired to create a mission among the Native Americans.
The five Chickasaw warriors who came to see Wesley were from a party of twenty, apparently in Savannah seeking supplies, or possibly a little help in their war with the French. Among them were two chiefs, Paustoobee and Mingo Mattaw. The conversation went as follows:
Wesley: Do you believe there is one above, who is over all things?
Paustoobee: We believe there are Four Beloved Things above: The Clouds, The Sun, The Clear Sky, and He that lives in the Clear Sky.
W: Do you believe there is but One that lives in the Clear Sky?
P: We believe there are two with Him, three in all.
W: Do you think He made the Sun, and the other Beloved Things?
P: We cannot tell, Who hath seen?
W: Do you think He made you?
P: We think He made all Men at first.
W: How did He make them at first?
P: Out of the Ground.
W: Do you believe He loves you?
P: I don't know. I cannot see Him.
W: But has He not often saved your life?
P: He has. Many bullets have gone on this side, and many on that side, but he would not let them hurt me. And many bullets have gone into these young men, and yet they are alive.
W: Then can't he save you from your enemies now?
P: Yes, but we know not if he will. We have now so many Enemies round about us, that I think nothing but Death, and if I am to die, I shall die, and I will die like a Man. But if he will have me to live, I shall live. Tho I have ever so many Enemies, He can destroy them all.
W: How do you know that?
P: From what I have seen. When our Enemies came against us before, then the Beloved Clouds came for us. And often much Rain, and sometimes Hail has come upon them, and that on a very hot day. And I saw, when many French and Choctaws, and other Nations, came against one of our towns. And the Ground made noise under them, and the Beloved Ones in the Air behind them. And they were afraid, and went away, and left their meat and drink and their guns. I tell no lie. All these saw it too.
Torrential rains delayed the arrival of French forces from Illinois under Major Pierre D'Artaguette, enabling the Chickasaws to destroy them before they could join Louisiana Governor Bienville in his attack on the Chickasaw village of Ackia. Chickasaws believed that hail on a hot day signified fury from the Gods.
Wesley asked several more questions about the sounds made by the Beloved Ones prompting Chief Paustoobee to tell more about the battle:
P: The night before I dream'd I heard many drums up there, and much stamping of feet and shouting. Till then I thought we should all die. But then I thought the Beloved Ones were come to help us. And the next day I heard above a hundred guns go off, before the fight began. And I said, "When the Sun is there, the Beloved Ones will help us, and we shall conquer our Enemies. And we did so."
W: Do you often think and talk of the Beloved Ones?
P: We think of them always, whenever wherever we are. We talk of them and to them, at home and abroad, in Peace, in War, before and after we fight, and indeed whenever and wherever we meet together.
W: Where do you think your souls go after Death?
P: We believe the Souls of Red Men walk up and down near the Place where they died, or where their bodies lie. For we have often heard cries and noises near where the prisoners had been burnt.
W: Where do the Souls of White Men go after Death?
P: We can't tell. We have not seen.
W: Our Belief is, that the Souls of bad men only walk up and down; but the Souls of good men go up.
P: I believe so too. But I told you the Talk of the Nation.
At this point Wesley asked the chief if he would be interested in learning about the Bible. Chief Paustoobee politely refused Wesley's offer saying that he had no time, since his tribe was at war.
According to Swanton in his book Chickasaw Society and Religion, the souls of those killed in battle haunted their living relatives until they had been avenged. Then they were able to proceed westward and into the Land of the One Above. The path they travelled was the Milky Way. The Chickasaws were careful to retrieve the bones of the departed, even from the field of battle. Each person was buried with the things he or she might need in the afterlife. They believed that the souls of the departed would return at some later time, to gather their possessions and to enjoy their favorite hunting grounds.
In the meantime many spirits inhabited the Chickasaws' world. Sometimes they were helpful, warning the living of danger, but sometimes they caused trouble and had to be scared away.
John Wesley decided after his interview with the Chickasaws that "The Gods of these Heathens … are but Devils," but he might have taken a lesson from their sincerity and humility. He was later sued for defamation of character by a woman with whom he had an affair on his voyage to the colonies, and he was challenged to a duel by her husband. Wesley escaped back to England before his trial.
As for the Indians, John Wesley didn't make much of an impression on them either. His efforts to create a Native American church failed.
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