sav·age
(chiefly in historical or literary contexts) a member of a people regarded as primitive and uncivilized.
In Jonathan Edwards time it was not an insult to call primitive people savages. It was simply a statement of fact. The Indians may have thought different, but these days it appears that referring to an Indian as an Indian is considered an insult. “Indigenous People” is what they want to be called, suggesting that they prefer to be thought of as “primitive”.
prim·i·tive
Relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something.
Good point. I will have to see if I can find that diary and read thru it again. It has been a few years, and maybe it wasn’t as derogatory as I remember. But if terms like savage, ignorant, and unlearned were used, maybe a reflection of our times vs their times.