第 45 节
作者:一半儿      更新:2021-02-20 18:39      字数:9322
  two men to be stationed in Augusta; either as licensed Traders; for many
  Indians came there; or as Schoolmasters。
  Zinzendorf   thought   well   of   the   plan;   and   accepted   the   tract;   which
  Oglethorpe deeded to him Nov。 1st; 1746; the land lying on the Carolina
  side   of   the   Savannah   River;   adjoining   the   township   of   Purisburg;   where
  Boehler and Schulius had made many friends。
  No colonists; however; were sent over; and the title to the land lapsed
  for lack of occupancy; as that to Old Fort; on the Ogeechee; had already
  done。
  1774。
  Early in 1774; Mr。 Knox; Under…Secretary of State in London; asked
  for   missionaries   to   preach   the   Gospel   to   the   slaves   on   his   plantation   in
  Georgia。     He   offered    a  small   piece   of  land;   whereon     they   might   live
  independently; and promised ample store of provisions。
  This   time   the   plan   was   carried   into   execution;   and   Ludwig   Mueller;
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  formerly teacher in the Pedagogium at Niesky; with John George Wagner
  as his companion; went to England; and sailed from there to Georgia。 They
  settled on Mr。 Knox's plantation; and at once began to visit and instruct the
  slaves;        and       preach        to      the      whites       living       in      the
  neighborhood。〃Knoxborough〃   lay   on   a   creek   about   sixteen   miles   from
  Savannah;   midway  between   that   town   and   Ebenezer。 The   land   had   been
  settled   by   Germans;   Salzburgers   and   Wittenbergers;   and   Mr。   Knox   had
  bought      up   their  fifty  acre   tracts;   combining      them    into   a  large   rice
  plantation。The homes of the Germans had been allowed to fall into ruin;
  the     overseer     occupying       a   three…roomed       house;     with    an    outside
  kitchen。Mueller was given a room in the overseer's house; preaching there
  to the white neighbors who chose to hear him; and to the negroes in the
  large shed that sheltered the stamping mill。 Wagner occupied a room cut
  off from the kitchen。
  In   February;   1775;   Frederick   William   Marshall; Agent   of   the   Unitas
  Fratrum  on   the Wachovia Tract   in   North   Carolina;  (with   headquarters   at
  Salem)       visited    Georgia     to   inspect     the   Moravian       property     there;
  accompanied   by   Andrew   Broesing;   who   joined   Mueller   and   Wagner   in
  their missionary work。It had been suggested that the Moravians preach in
  a   church   at   a   little   place   called   Goshen;   near   〃Knoxborough〃;   a   church
  which had been built by subscriptions of Germans and English living in
  the   neighborhood;   and   had   been   used   occasionally   by   a   preacher   from
  Ebenezer。
  At this time the Salzburgers were in a very bad condition。 Bolzius had
  died in 1765; and Rabenhorst and Triebner; who shared the pastorate; were
  greatly at variance; so that the entire settlement was split into factions。 Dr。
  Muehlenberg;  〃the  father of   Lutheranism  in   Pennsylvania〃; had   come   to
  settle the difficulties; and heard with much displeasure of the plan to have
  the Moravians preach at Goshen。He declared;  〃I doubt not; according to
  their known method of insinuation; they will gain the most; if not all the
  remaining families in Goshen; and will also make an attempt on Ebenezer;
  for   their   ways    are  well   adapted    to  awakened      souls。I   have   learned    by
  experience that where strife and disunion have occurred in neighborhoods
  and congregations among the Germans in America; there black and white
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  apostles     have    immediately   appeared;         and   tried   to  fish  in  the   troubled
  waters; like eagles which have a keen sight and smell。〃
  Dr。   Muehlenberg   was   too   much   prejudiced   against   the   Moravians   to
  judge them fairly; for he belonged to the Halle party in Germany; and in
  Pennsylvania   had   clashed   with   Zinzendorf   during   the   latter's   residence
  there。The Lutheran Church was in no way endangered by the preaching of
  the    missionaries;      for  their   instructions     were    explicit:〃If    you    have    an
  opportunity   to   preach   the   Gospel   to   German   or   English   residents   use   it
  gladly; but receive none into your congregation; for you are sent expressly
  to the negroes。〃 〃You will probably find some of the so…called Salzburgers
  there; with their ministers。With them you will in all fairness do only that to
  which      you    are   invited    by   their   pastor。You     will   do   nothing     in   their
  congregation   that   you   would   not   like   to   have   another   do   in   yours。〃   Dr。
  Muehlenberg;   therefore;   might   safely   have   left   them   free   to   preach   the
  Gospel   where   they   would;   even   to   his   own   distracted   flock;   which   was
  weakened by dissensions; suffered severely in the Revolutionary War; and
  gradually scattered into the adjoining country。
  In accordance with his instructions; Mueller at once gave up all idea of
  using the Goshen church; and occupied himself with those who heard him
  gladly     at   Knoxborough。After          a  careful    examination       of   the   land;   the
  Moravians   decided   not   to   build   a   house   for   themselves;   but   to   continue
  with the overseer; who was kind to them; and gave Mueller the use of a
  horse for his visits to adjoining plantations。
  James   Habersham;   who   had   come   over   with   George   Whitefield   in
  1738;   was   one   of   the   most   prominent   men   in   Savannah   at   this   time。   In
  1744   he   had   established   a   commercial   house   in   Georgia;   the   first   of   its
  kind; to ship lumber; hogs; skins; etc。; to England; and this business had
  been a success。He had taken a great interest in Whitefield's Orphan House;
  and had been active in governmental affairs; having served as Secretary of
  the     Province;     President      of   the   Council;      and    Acting     Governor       of
  Georgia。For many years he had been the Agent in charge of the Moravian
  lots in and near Savannah; and now; in failing health; and a sufferer from
  gout;   he   asked   that   one   of   the   missionaries   might   be   sent   to   his   three
  estates   on   the   Ogeechee   River;   partly  as   his   representative   and   partly  to
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  instruct    the   slaves。   It  was   decided     that  Wagner      should    accept   this
  invitation and go to 〃Silkhope〃; while Mueller and Broesing remained at
  Knoxborough; Mueller preaching at 〃Silkhope〃 every two weeks。
  Marshall was much pleased with the reception accorded him and the
  missionaries; and hoped the time was coming for again using the lots in
  Savannah; but the hope again proved to be fallacious。The missionaries all
  suffered greatly from fever; always prevalent on the rice plantations in the
  summer;      and   on   Oct。   11th;   1775;    Mueller    died。The    outbreak     of  the
  Revolutionary War made Wagner's and Broesing's position precarious; for
  the   English Act   exempting   the   Moravians   from  military  service   was   not
  likely to be respected by the Americans; and in 1776 Broesing returned to
  Wachovia; where the Moravians had settled in sufficient numbers to hold
  their   own;   though   amid   trials   manifold。Wagner   stayed   in   Georgia   until
  1779; and then he too left the field; and returned to England。
  The Savannah Lands。
  In   January;   1735;   fifty   acres   of   Savannah   land   was   granted   by   the
  Trustees   of   Georgia   to August   Gottlieb   Spangenberg;   who   was   going   to
  Georgia       as    the    leader     of    the    first    company       of    Moravian
  colonists。Spangenberg   had   the   habit   of   speaking   of   himself   as   〃Brother
  Joseph〃 in his diaries; and in the records he sometimes appears as Joseph
  Spangenberg;   sometimes   as   Joseph Augustus   Gottlieb   Spangenberg;   and
  sometimes by his true name only。According to custom; the fifty acre grant
  embraced three lots;  Town Lot No。 4; Second Tything; Anson Ward; in
  the town of Savannah; Farm Lot No。 2; Second Tything; Anson Ward; in
  the township of Savannah; and Garden Lot No。 120; East。 (Office of the
  Secretary of State of Georgia; Book D of Grants; Folio 208。)
  A   few   days   later   a   similar   grant   was   made   to   David   Nitschmann;
  〃Count   Zinzendorf's   Hausmeiste