6
Campfire
According to a legend Heinrich Rauch, who in 1740 was the first to get into contact with the Indian tribe of the Delaware, was so exhausted by the journey that he went straight into the tent of their chieftain Tschoop and fell asleep. The chief was amazed by this degree of trust and the missionary told him afterwards about “Christ who became our brother”.
Records by Herrnhut missionaries were used by the author James Fenimore Cooper when he wrote “The Leatherstocking Tales”; in particular the scriptures of John Heckewelder and the “History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Indian in North America” by George Henry (Georg Heinrich) Loskiel were essential sources.
Count Zinzendorf himself served as a missionary among Indians between 1741 and 1743. In 2000 a stamp commemorated the meeting of Zinzendorf and Konrad Weiser with Iroqoise chieftains in 1742; the Iroquoise, however, were not proselytised successfully.