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Life of Thomas Eddy

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own natural powers, but must be under the influenceof the Good Spirit. We also believe that there is an evil spirit, whichis always striving to lead us into wrong things: that spirit which leads us to hate and destroy one another;and in this persuasion of mind, we believe it neces-sary for us to sit down in stillness and quiet, to waitupon the Great Spirit. Under these impressions, we are concerned oftento assemble ourselves together, that we may indivi-dually come under an exercise and concern, to berightly directed in our religious movements; andonce in the year we assemble at certain places, inorder to have a general and full conference, to know how things are amongst us as a people. One of these meetings is held at Philadelphia, andanother at Baltimore. At our yearly meeting at Baltimore, several yearspast, our minds were brought under a concern onbehalf of our brethren, the Indians; and remember-ing the friendship that had subsisted between oursociety and the Indians, from the first settlement ofour fathers upon this continent, and at the same timerecollecting that the country to the westward wasfast settling, apprehensions arose in our mind, that,as the game became scarce, they would be broughtunder sufferings; and, as there had been long warsbetween some of the white people and the Indians,we had not had, for a long time, an opportunity oftaking our brothers, the Indians, by the hand. Now, brothers, as we are thus led by the concernsthat arose in our council, some of us were appointedto go out into the wilderness, and endeavour to getamongst our brethren, the Indians, that we mighthave some talk with them; and amongst those who were appointed, this, my brother, who sits at myright hand, was one; and I have thought that he,perhaps, can give a more full account, both of thetimes, and of our first movements at the concern.