Squaw-Sachem; not only for the sake of her own immortal soul, but also
in the hope that her influence, if she became a sincere Christian,
might greatly tend to the conversion of her father and his tribe.

Since the night when Tisquantum had seen his young captive kneel in
prayer, and had questioned him as to the object of his worship, he had
never spoken to him on the subject of his religion; and, Henrich had
feared to address the stern old Chief, or to introduce a theme which,
though constantly present to his own mind, and the source of all his
consolation, would, probably, he rejected with scorn and contempt by
the Sachem.

The more the Christian boy became acquainted with the character of
Tisquantum, the stronger became this fear, and the more he despaired of
any influence proving sufficiently strong to break the chains of error
and superstition that bound him to heathenism. The Chief was a
distinguished Powow, or conjuror; and was regarded by his own people,
and even by many other tribes, as possessing great super natural
powers. His pretensions were great, and fully accredited by his
subjects, who believed that he could control the power of the
subordinate evil spirits, and even exercise a certain influence on
Hobbamock himself. He was called a Mahneto, or priest; as being the
servant or deputy of the Great Mahneto, and permitted by him to cure
diseases by a word or a charm, to bring down rain on the thirsty land,
and to foretell the issue of events, such as the results of wars or
negotiations. The influence which these acknowledged powers gave him
over other tribes besides his own was very gratifying to his pride and
ambition; and could Henrich hope that he, a young and inexperienced
boy, could have wisdom or eloquence sufficient to 'bring down the high
thoughts' that exalted him, and to persuade him to 'become a disciple