By the 20th of September the schoolhouse was finished, and Ingham and the Moravians held a conference to plan the future work, and decide what duties each should assume, as he proposed to move thither at once, and, with the approval of the lot, Rose and his wife were to do the same. Morning and evening they were to read the English Bible, accompanied by silent prayer; morning, mid-day and evening an hour was to be given to the study of the Indian language; and Rose and his wife were to have an hour for their private devotions. Mrs. Rose was to teach the Indian girls to read, and the boys, who had already begun to read, were to be taught to write. In their remaining time they were to clear and plant some land, that they might not be too long dependent on the Congregation at Savannah, and on the friendly Indians, who were giving them much.
The next day Mr. and Mrs. Toeltschig escorted Rose and his wife to their new home, and at Ingham’s request united with them in a little prayer service. Four days later fourteen of the Moravians went to the schoolhouse, which was solemnly consecrated by Seifert, the Chief Elder. That evening, in Savannah, Rose and his wife were formally set apart for their missionary work, and the next day they returned to “Irene”, as the school was called, to enter upon their duties.
At first everything was encouraging. The children learned readily, not only to read but some to write; they committed to memory many passages of Scripture, and took special delight in the hymns they were taught to sing.
The older Indians looked on with wonder and approval, which stimulated the missionaries to new zeal in mastering the language, and in taking every opportunity to make the “Great Word” known to them. Zinzendorf wrote a letter from Herrnhut to Tomochichi, commending his interest in their message, and urging its full acceptance upon him; the Indians gave some five acres of land for a garden, which Rose cleared and planted, and everything looked promising, until the influence of the Spanish war rumor was felt. True to their nature, the fighting spirit of the Indians rose within them, and they took the war-path against the Spanish, for the sake of their English allies, and perhaps more for the pure love of strife. Then Ingham decided to go to England for reinforcements, and Rose was left in charge of the work. He seems to have been a well-meaning man, and much beloved by the Indians, but he was not a man of much mental strength or executive ability, and the Congregation at Savannah soon decided that he and his wife should be recalled until the way opened for one or more of the others to go back to Irene with him.
The “Society”.
In their personal affairs the Moravians were experiencing the usual mingling of light and shadow.
Dober’s effort to make pottery was a failure, for lack of proper clay, but through Gen. Oglethorpe’s kindness a good deal of carpenter’s work was given to them. They built a house for Tomochichi at his village, and a house in Savannah, both in the style of the Moravian house, and another town house in English fashion, as well as the Indian school, a large share of their wages being applied on account, so that their debt was gradually reduced, and their credit sustained.
Their manner of living remained very simple. Morning and evening prayers began and ended their days of toil, the company being divided, part living at the garden, and part in town during the week, all gathering in the town-house for Sunday’s rest and worship. When the weather was very warm the morning Bible reading was postponed until the noon hour, that advantage might be taken of the cooler air for active labor. Once a month a general conference was held on Saturday evening, with others as needed, so that all might do the work for which they were best fitted, and which was most necessary at the time. “Who worked much gave much, who worked less gave less, who did not work because he was sick or weak gave nothing into the common fund; but when they needed food, or drink, or clothing, or other necessary thing, one was as another.”
On the 3rd of April, Matthias Seybold asked to be received into the communicant Congregation, which was done on the 5th of May, and he shared in the Lord’s Supper for the first time June 3rd. John Boehner also was confirmed on January 12th of the following year.
On the 11th of November two little girls, Anna and Comfort, were added to their household. The mother had recently died, and the father offered to pay the Moravians for taking care of them, but they preferred to have them bound, so they could not be taken away just when they had begun to learn, and so it was arranged. On the 28th, a man from Ebenezer brought his son, and apprenticed him to Tanneberger, the shoemaker.