"Her parents had no money; but her father used to go out to the forest with his bow and arrows, and bring home some wild fowl or a deer on his back. Her dresses, when it was cold enough for her to wear dresses, were made from the bark of trees. On her feet, she wore moccasins of deer skin. In the winter, her mother worked moccasins with wampum or bead-work, to be sold to visitors."
"Iwassee, as she grew older, helped her mother to tan the skins of the bears, wolves and deer, which her father killed. These skins were their beds and seats. They were thrown on the floor or ground inside the tent. Iwassee herself, her father, mother and all her tribe were savages. They lived from day to day only to eat, sleep and carouse. They knew nothing of the pleasures which Christians enjoy. They quarrelled, stole from each other, told lies to cover their guilt, and broke every one of God's commands. They were filthy, too, filthy in their own persons, in their dress, in their food, and in their tents. They thought it quite too much trouble to wash their clothes often, or to keep their tents in order."
"Their arrows were hung in a quiver near their bows, on a peg in their tents. The kettle they cooked their venison in, was hung there too, unwashed from month to month. They would have thought it very foolish to sweep out the floor of the tents, about which the vermin were running, or to have washed and cleansed their own bodies. They much preferred, when their work was done, to lounge on the grass in the sun and think of nothing."
"Poor Iwassee lived year after year in this way, until the missionaries, I spoke of, went to the tribe. It was a terrible trial for the wife, who had been brought up so delicately, to settle down in the midst of such pollution. Even the touch of the filthy women and girls, whose soiled garments were alive with vermin, was dreadful. Nothing but their love to Jesus Christ, and their desire to tell these poor heathen about him could have induced this intelligent Christian lady to remain there a day."
"But this love was so strong, they were glad to obey his command to preach the gospel of salvation to every creature. The missionary put up his tent in the wilderness, and then called the people together to talk to them in their own language about God. Iwassee was one of the first who went to hear the talk. When she learned of the love of Jesus Christ for poor sinners, tears of joy ran down her swarthy cheeks. Her heart began to swell with love and gratitude to him. She could not leave the spot. She went to the missionaries' tent early and late to beg them to tell her more; and when Mrs. Johnson assured her that Christ was waiting to be her friend, she threw herself on the ground in a transport of joy. She was the first of the tribe who accepted Jesus as her Saviour; but she was not the last; for the labors of the good missionaries were greatly blessed."
"When Iwassee had once felt her need of pardon and had found her Saviour, she did not stop there. She saw how comfortably the tent of the Christians looked; what a contrast to the filth and confusion in her father's. She told the Missionary's wife her trouble, and the lady encouraged her to strive after cleanliness, as one of the first of Christian virtues. She opened the book which contains God's word and read: 'Wo to her that is filthy!' She told her that everywhere in the Bible, sin and uncleanliness are named together, while order and cleanliness follow holiness."
"Iwassee listened and remembered. The next time she went to the Missionaries' tent, she looked so different, that the lady scarcely knew her. She had always been in the habit, like other women of her tribe, of oiling her face with bear's or other grease, and staining her nails. Now she had bathed in the stream which ran through the settlement, and in the best manner she could, had made herself tidy."
"This was very cheering to Mrs. Johnson. She took courage to talk with other women of the tribe. In two or three years, there was a wonderful change. Many of the men and women had become earnest Christians, and took the Bible for their guide. It was of course very hard for them to give up their old habits; but when they found that God requires it, when Mrs. Johnson read to them such passages as these: 'Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and all your idols will I cleanse you;' they did make great efforts to be clean. If any stranger visited the tribe, and walked along by the tents, it was not necessary to tell him:"
"'Here lives a man who has become a Christian.' He could see that for himself. Everything about the small home looked thriving and attractive. The tents were better too. Sometimes a log hut had been made, set in a small garden. Sometimes too, there were bright-colored blossoms before the doors. When the people assembled on the Sabbath either under a tree or a large tent, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson no longer shrank from their touch. They were clean and dressed according to their fashion, in neat garments."