as no more intended for Mr. Fish than for any other
clergyman; neither had the Indians given him a call. They thought it
right to let his employers know that he had not done his duty, because
he not only received between five and six hundred dollars from the
college, but had possession of five or six hundred acres of the
tribe's best woodland, without their consent or approbation, and
converted them to his own exclusive use, pretending that his claim and
right to the same was better than that of the owners themselves. Not
liking this, the Indians solicited his discharge. The document runs
thus:

To our white brethren at Harvard College and trustees of the
Williams fund, that is under the care of that body, for the
important use of converting the poor heathen in New England,
and who, we understand, by means of that fund, have placed
among us the Rev. Phineas Fish.

We thought it very likely that you would like to know if we,
as a people, respected his person and labors, and whether the
money was benefiting the Indians or not. We think it our duty
to let you know all about it, and we do say, as the voice of
one, with but few exceptions, that we as a tribe, for a long
time, have had no desire to hear Mr. Fish preach, (which is
about ten years) and do say sincerely that we, as a body, wish
to have him discharged, not because we have anything against
his moral character, but we believe his labors would be more
useful somewhere else, and for these reasons,

1st. We, as a people, have not been benefited by his
preaching; for our moral character has not been built up, and
there has been no improvement in our intellectual powers, and
we know of no Indian that has been converted by his preaching.

2d. We seldom see him upon our plantation to visit us, as a
people. His visits are as follows--To one house, one visit in
one year--to another, two visits in five years--to another one
in seven--and to many, none at all. (We would here remark that
Mr. Fish has not improved, but rather lost ground; for history
informs us that such was the anxiety of the whites, that it
was thought best to visit the Indians twice in one year, and
preach to them, so as to save them.)

3d. We think that twenty years are long enough for one trial.
Another reason is that you and the people think that we are
benefited by that fund, or