“You will take absolutely no part in the Spangenberg-Halle controversy; you know the mind of the Congregation regarding it. If you find people prejudiced against you leave it to Him who has bidden you go to Georgia. Enter into no disputes, but, if questions are asked, give the history of the Congregation, being careful not to censure our opposers, and saying, which is true, that the Congregation at Herrnhut gives them little heed. Entire freedom of conscience must be granted you, but there may be points which you can yield without injuring the cause of Christ,—if so you will find them in due time.
“You must live alone, establishing your own little corner, where your customs will irritate no one; and as soon as you are settled an ordained minister will be sent you, out of consideration for the scruples of the Salzburgers, although our Brethren in other Colonies are served by laymen, as permitted by our ancient constitution.
“God willing, I shall soon follow you, and only wait until He opens the way for me. Our dear Elder (Spangenberg) will quickly return from America, and in his absence I commit you to the mighty grace of God.
Your brother and servant,
Lewis Count v. Zinzendorf.
“At this time one of the Elders at Herrnhut. November 27th, 1734.
“‘He everywhere hath way,
And all things serve His might, etc.’”
That these sensible and liberal instructions were not fully carried out is at once apparent, especially in the two points of free transportation and settlement in a quiet, secluded spot. The inability of the Trustees to grant their request for the first, burdened the Moravian colonists with what was, under the circumstances, a heavy debt, while the location of Zinzendorf’s five hundred acre tract was responsible for their failure in attaining the second.
When Gen. Oglethorpe planned the fortifications and defense of Savannah in 1733, he decided to erect a small fort on the Ogeechee River, some miles south, in order to command one of the trails by which the Indians had been accustomed to invade Carolina. This “Fort Argyle” was garrisoned with a detachment of rangers, and ten families were sent from Savannah to cultivate the adjacent land. The tract selected in London for Count Zinzendorf, was to lie on the Ogeechee, near Fort Argyle, an excellent place from which to reach the Indians in times of peace, but the worst possible location for noncombatants when war was threatening.
Spangenberg urged the survey of the five hundred acre tract as often and as strongly as he dared, but from various causes, chiefly rumors of Indian incursions, the expedition was deferred until Aug. 22nd, when Spangenberg, Toeltschig, Riedel, Seifert, Rose, Michael Haberland, and Mr. Johnson, the Trustees’ surveyor, prepared to start on their toilsome journey, going by boat, instead of attempting to follow the circuitous, ill-marked road across the country, impassable to pedestrians, though used to some extent by horsemen.
At one o’clock in the morning of Aug. 23rd the seven men embarked, taking advantage of the ebbing tide, and made their way down the Savannah River. It was very dark, the Moravians were unaccustomed to rowing, and Mr. Johnson, who steered, went to sleep time after time, so when they accidentally came across a ship riding at anchor they decided to stay by her and wait for the day. When dawn broke they hastened on to Thunderbolt, where a fort had been built, and some good land cleared, and there they found two Indians, who claimed to know the country, and agreed to go with them as pilots. Toward evening they reached Seituah*, where a stockade was being built as a protection against the Indians, and the night was spent with a Captain Wargessen (Ferguson), who, with several soldiers, was out in a scout boat watching the movements of the Indians and Spaniards in that neighborhood.