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A portion of a letter by the missionary to the Indians in Oklahoma, Isaac McCoy (1784-1846), to a critic, a Mr. Samuel Dedman of Pike County, Indiana, who opposed his plans to live among the Indians and give his life, if necessary, in reaching them with the gospel. The letter was written on January 12, 1820.
I assure you, my brother, that every opposing difficulty, the opposition of the association not expected, has only tended to increase my missionary ardour. May my merciful God forgive me if I be wrong, and set me right. I would rather be a missionary to the Indians, than fill the President's chair, or sit on the throne of Alexander, emperor of Russia. I would rather preach Jesus to the poor Indians in a bark camp, than address the thousands who assemble in Sansom Street meeting house, Philadelphia [the General Missionary Convention had been held there, May 7, 1817]. Something has turned my attention towards the Indians, and every feeling of my soul is enlisted in their cause, yet still I may be wrong. But I feel not the least inclination to turn back, but would drive on with the vehemence of Peter, the meekness of Moses, and the wisdom of Solomon.
Kansas Historical Quarterly, "Isaac McCoy and the Treaty of 1821," by Lela Barnes, vol. 5, no. 2, p. 128. Thanks to Gary Long of Particular Baptist Press for sending me a digitized copy of this letter.
A selection from a letter by Eliza McCoy, the niece of the beloved missionary to the American Indians, Isaac McCoy, after his death. She wrote to comfort Mrs. McCoy. The letter was written on June 9, 1846:
I have reflected much upon the infinite happiness with which his soul is now filled. By an eye of faith I have followed him to the heavenly city. At the entrance stood his parents, all of his brothers but one, with eleven of his children, to welcome him through the gates. Nor were these all; for near by there stood a group arrayed in robes of victory with harps of gold in their hands. And as they raised the notes of praise to their loftiest strain, they said, “We are those from the red man’s land, to whom you carried the news of salvation. We listened to your story of a Savior’s dying love; we believed, cast ourselves at the feet of that Savior, sought and obtained His mercy. We have, some of us, long since been called home. Now, with heavenly rapture, we hail you as you enter upon eternal rest from all your earthly toils.” But even this is not all. He was introduced into the very presence of the Savior in whose cause it was his meat and his drink to labor when on earth.
Isaac McCoy: Apostle of the Western Trail, by George M. Ella, Particular Baptist Press, 2002, pp. 555-56.
