第11章 Negotiations with the Trustees of Georgia(6)

(3) The money question was a vital one, and it was principally to solve that that Spangenberg had come to England, where with Oglethorpe's help he later succeeded in securing the desired loan.(4) That they could speak little English was also a real difficulty; Spangenberg used Latin in his conferences with the educated men he met in London, but that medium was useless in Georgia, and while the Moravians learned English as rapidly as they could, and proved their capability for self-support, the failure to fully understand or be understood by their neighbors was responsible for many of the trials that were awaiting them in the New World.(5) The protest of Bolzius was only a part of the general Salzburger opposition, and to avoid friction in Georgia, Zinzendorf had particularly recommended that the Moravians settle in a village apart by themselves, where they could "lead godly lives, patterned after the writings and customs of the apostles," without giving offense to any;and he promised, for the same reason, that as soon as they were established he would send them a regularly ordained minister, although laymen were doing missionary work in other fields.(6) In order to avoid any danger of creating trouble between the Governments, the Moravian colonists carefully said nothing in London regarding their difficulties in Saxony, or the persecutions in Bohemia and Moravia, and instead of proclaiming themselves exiles for the Faith as they might have done with perfect truth, they appeared simply as Count Zinzendorf's servants, sent by him to cultivate the five hundred acres about to be given to him, and by his orders to preach to the Indians.(7) A change of nationality would not affect the relation between Zinzendorf and his colonists, for their position as his dependents in Germany was purely voluntary, such service as they rendered was freely given in exchange for his legal protection, and his supremacy in Church affairs then and later was a recognition of the personal character of the man, not a yielding of submission to the Count.(8) That the Indians could not be employed on Zinzendorf's estate was quite true, not so much on account of the law against slavery, for the Count intended nothing of that kind, but their character and wild habits rendered them incapable of becoming good farmers, as the American Nation has learned through many years of effort and failure.(9) Whether the ten or fifteen men, reinforced by those who followed them, would have been able to make a home in the heart of the forest, will never be known, for from various reasons the town on the five hundred acre tract was never begun.In short, while the Moravians were risking much personal discomfort, there was nothing in their plan which could possibly injure others, and the cavil and abuse of their opposers was as uncalled for as is many a "private opinion publicly expressed" to-day.

Hearing of the many obstacles which were being thrown in their way, Mr.Coram, who was a man of wide charities, and interested in other colonies besides Georgia, suggested to Spangenberg that his company should go to Nova Scotia, where the climate was milder, and offered them free transportation and aid in settling there, but this proposal Spangenberg at once rejected, and pinned his faith on the kindness of Gen.Oglethorpe, whose return from Georgia the preceding July, explained the more favorable tone of the Trustees' letters after that date.

Oglethorpe asked him numberless questions about the doctrine and practice of the Moravians, and their reasons for wishing to go to Georgia, and promised to lay the matter before the Trustees, using all his influence to further their designs.

The "First Company".

On the 14th of January, 1735, the first company of Moravian colonists arrived in London.At their head was David Nitschmann, -- variously called "the III", "the weaver", "the Syndic", and Count Zinzendorf's "Hausmeister", who was to stay with them until they left England, and then return to Germany, resigning the leadership of the party to Spangenberg, who was instructed to take them to Georgia and establish them there, and then go to Pennsylvania to the Schwenkfelders.The other nine wereJohn Toeltschig, Zinzendorf's flower-gardener.

Peter Rose, a gamekeeper.

Gotthard Demuth, a joiner.

Gottfried Haberecht, weaver of woolen goods.

Anton Seifert, a linen weaver.

George Waschke, carpenter.

Michael Haberland, carpenter.

George Haberland, mason.

Friedrich Riedel, mason.

They were "good and true sons of God, and at the same time skillful workmen,"with such a variety of handicrafts as to render them largely independent of outside assistance in the settlement which they proposed to make;and all but Haberecht were religious refugees from Moravia and adjacent parts of Bohemia.

Nitschmann and Toeltschig were two of the five young men in Zauchenthal, Moravia, who had set their hearts on the revival of the ancient Unitas Fratrum.Toeltschig's father, the village burgess, had summoned the five comrades before him, and strictly forbidden their holding religious services, warning them that any attempt at emigration would be severely punished, and advising them to act as became their youth, frequent the taverns and take part in dances and other amusements.

They were sons of well-to-do parents, and little more than boys in years, (Nitschmann was only twenty), but their faith and purpose were dearer to them than anything else on earth, so they had left all and come away, commending their homes and kindred to the mercy of God, and singing the exile hymn of the ancient Unitas Fratrum, sacred through its association with those brave hearts who had known the bitterness and the joy of exile a hundred years before.

"Blessed the day when I must go My fatherland no more to know, My lot the exile's loneliness;"For God will my protector be, And angels ministrant for me The path with joys divine will bless.