Grube’s Diary 6/12/1753-7/31/1753

On the 12th June we began to hoe our Indian corn. Logan, John and a few other Indians went to Tulpehocken to Conrad Weiser’s to fetch flour.

On the 16th we held a blessed communion.

On the 17th Brothers Grube and Marx Kiefer visited the Conoy Indians. There were mostly women at home. For the time being there is no work to be done with them.

On the 18th June and the following days we were busy with hoeing Indian corn. Shoemaker Peter, who lives 20 miles from here, arrived here safely in the morning on his way to Tulpehocken with another man whose name is Ludwig Maus, and had some work done in the smithy. The shoemaker asked me to visit him, and if I wanted to hold a meeting at his place on a Sunday that would be very welcome to him and his neighbors, for they had not heard anything about the Savior for a long time. He said he had a small child that was still unbaptized. I told him I could not promise anything because I was sent here not for the Christians but rather for the heathens, but because the man had so begged me I resolved to visit him on the 23rd after the Sabbath meal. Brother Marx Kiefer accompanied me several miles and as I arrived the people rejoiced greatly and asked me to hold a meeting on Sunday, which I could not refuse. They also lamented the fact that the small child, a few weeks old, was still unbaptized and asked me to baptize it.

[on the 21st of June Brother Grube celebrated his 39th birthday with a little love feast]

On the 24th [Sunday] I held an Hour for the people from the area who had gathered and also baptized the shoemaker’s little daughter, Anna Magdalene, and mother and father cried at this. All the people who mostly live by Jacobs Höhe in the valley asked me to visit them again soon. A few of them have heard our Brothers speak already. I soon got on my way again and climbed the steep mountains and in the evening arrived again in Shamokin. A few minutes later, the two Indian brothers Petrus and David arrived who had been hunting and who wanted to visit us about which we were very happy. They stayed the night with us.

On the 25th they left again into the bush for there was much drinking here. Brother Grube wrote letters to Bethlehem. The drunken Indians said to Petrus that he should preach to them, but he answered, if you were sober you would not say that. An Indian from Wyoming arrived here in the smithy. He spoke a great deal about the Savior to another Indian. Our two brothers Petrus and David listened and said that the man spoke many truths about the Savior and as we inquired more closely as to who he was, it turned out that it was the brother of our Nathaniel from Meniowolag.[139] A handsome man. He also wants to visit his brother in Meniologameka after the hunt. Anton’s biological brother was also here, but he soon left after he heard that small pox was here.

On the 29th Ludwig from Nescopeck came down here and ordered something in the smithy. He was going to the hunt.

On the 30th we had a quiet and blessed Sabbath.

On the 1 July we heard that Logan had taken another wife and had left his old one, the Mohican woman. We visited the huts but found no-one home except Schaafman, a good friend of the brothers.

[deleted in original] On the 1 July 10 warriors arrived here with 2 scalps.

On the 2nd we heard that French Andrew [Montour] had traveled through here on his way to Onondago. We would have liked to write to our dear Brothers there ourselves, but could not as Andrew did not stop by here. These days 5 warriors came down here, one of them was an Onondago, a handsome man, whom Brother Grube gave a letter to our dear David [Zeisberger] and he promised to deliver it properly.

ON the 10th 10 warriors arrived here again with 2 scalps.   They came to us a lot because they were very hungry. We gave them some food to each according to our ability, and they were very grateful for it.

On the 14th July we held a blessed communion.

On the 19th Andrew [Montour] arrived from Onondago by way of Quenischachachki and brought letters from our dear heart, David, about which we were very happy. We would have liked to send them on to Bethlehem immediately but none of us could be missed for so long. Andrew told us that he had made the journey from Onondago to Quenischachachki in five days, but that he had had a good horse.

During these days a boy from Shikellamy’s family died of smallpox. The children here have mostly all had the smallpox and got through it quite well. We tended them with milk and did good things for them.

On the 28th we had a contented Sabbath and covenant meeting. In the afternoon we went to visit the Indians but did not arrive at the right time, as whisky was by then their master.

On the 31st July Brother Grube travelled by water to Wyoming and left the two brothers contented and well at home.