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land, "whole colonies" of whom are described as "living without God in the world," "others distracted with every variety of strange doctrine," the neighboring Indians "partly instructed by the Jesuits, by John Eliot and the New England company." The first missionaries, George Keith and Patrick Gordon, sailed in 1702, and John Talbot, the ship's chaplain, enlisted with them. A few weeks after arrival Gordon died, and Keith and Talbot began a two years' journey which took them "through all the governments of England"—a distance of eight hundred miles, between North Carolina and Piscataway River in New England—"preaching twice on Sundays and week days, offering up public prayers, disputing with the Quakers, and establishing the Church." What they found as they journeyed, early records tell—"people who could not with truth be called Christians," in one town "perhaps the most ignorant and wicked people in the world," some Independents, but many of no religion, but "like wild Indians," and, on the other hand, multitudes of colonists petitioning for help, which the society tried to supply, at the same time "using direct means for the conversion of the heathen, whether Negroes, Indians or Whites."

To one colony after another missionaries were sent. Thomas was pioneer in South Carolina, going "to the native Yammonsees," who had already revolted against the Spaniards because they "would not be Christians." Failing these, he worked with Negroes and Indian slaves as well as with English settlers. In North Carolina, Adams and Gordon found Quakers "opposed, ignorant, contemptuous of the Holy Communion." In Georgia John Wesley wished to minister to Indians, but found the English so bad he had to