me was of such great use as interpreter and mediator between the
Indians and the English. Arrangements were made by which Ingham should
spend three days of each week with her, teaching her children to read in
exchange for instruction in the Indian language. The other three or four
days were to be spent in Savannah, communicating to Wesley the knowledge
he had acquired, Anton Seifert sharing in the lessons.

On the 19th of June, the Moravians held a meeting to determine whether
the time had come for them to take up the Indian work in earnest. The
"lot" was appealed to, and the answer being that the language should be
learned, Seifert, George Neisser and John Boehner were appointed to make
diligent use of Ingham's instructions. The frequent visits of Tomochichi
and his people to Savannah gave them an opportunity to practice
speaking, for the Moravian house was always open to the red men, and
food and drink were theirs at any time of day, a fact of which the
visitors were not slow to take advantage.

The "lot" had so great an influence on the progress of affairs in the
Moravian Congregation at Savannah from this time on that it is necessary
to understand how the institution was regarded. The use of the lot was
common in Old Testament days; and in the New Testament it is recorded
that when an apostle was to be chosen to take the place of the traitor,
Judas, the lot decided between two men who had been selected as in every
way suited for the place. Following this example the members of the
ancient Unitas Fratrum used the lot in the selection of their first
ministers, and the Renewed Church did the same when the first elders
were elected at Herrnhut in 1727. It was no uncommon practice in
Germany, where many persons who desired special guidance resorted to it
more or less freely, and Count Zinzendorf, among the rest, had used
it from his youth up. Gradually it came into general use among the
Moravians, and at a later period in their history had its definite place
in their system of government, though the outside public never fully
understood it, and still holds erroneous views, despite the plain
statements that have been made. By degrees its use became more and more
restricted, and has been long since entirely abolished.

In its perfection the lot was simply this,--human intellect solving a
problem so far as earnest study and careful deliberation could go,
and then, if the issue was still in doubt, a direct appeal for Divine