nd love of God; but I answered and comforted her. She then
related to me from the beginning her case, that is, how she had
embraced Christianity. She was born of a Christian father and an
Indian mother, of the Mohawk tribes. Her mother remained in the
country, and lived among the Mohawks, and she lived with her, the same
as Indians live together. Her mother would never listen to anything
about the Christians, or it was against her heart, from an inward,
unfounded hate. She lived then with her mother and brothers and
sisters; but sometimes she went with her mother among the Christians
to trade and make purchases, or the Christians came among them, and
thus it was that some Christians took a fancy to the girl, discovering
in her more resemblance to the Christians than the Indians, but
understand, more like the Dutch, and that she was not so wild as the
other children. They therefore wished to take the girl and bring her
up, which the mother would not hear to, and as this request was made
repeatedly, she said she would rather kill her. The little daughter
herself had no disposition at first to go; and the mother did nothing
more with the daughter than express continually her detestation and
abhorrence of the Christians. This happened several times, when the
daughter began to mistrust that the Christians were not such as the
mother told her; the more so, because she never went among them
without being well treated, and obtaining something or other. She
therefore began to hearken to them; but particularly she felt a great
inclination and love in her heart towards those Christians who spoke
to her about God, and of Christ Jesus and the Christian religion. Her
mother observed it, and began to hate her and not treat her as well as
she had done before. Her brothers and sisters despised and cursed her,
threw stones at her, and did her all the wrong they could; but the
more they abused and maltreated her, the more she felt something
growing in her that attracted and impelled her towards the Christians
and their doctrine, until her mother and the others could endure her
no longer; while she, feeling her love of the Christians, and
especially of their religion, which she called their doctrine, to
increase more and more, could no longer live with the Indians. They
ceased not seeking to wrong her, and compelled her to leave them, as
she did, and went to those who had so long solicited her. They gave
her the name of Eltie or Illetie.[33