,on the ,indian ,trail1 ,stories of     
,missionary ,work among ,cree and       
,saulteaux ,indians1 by ,reverend       
,egerton ,ryerson ,young4   ,in his     
,introduction to the book the author    
tells us that some of the stories here  
recounted are new1 while others have    
been published in others of his works4  
,thus1 if you have read ,by ,canoe and  
,dog-,train you will experience a       
feeling of deja vue4  ,like so many     
nineteenth century clergymen1 the author
 spends a lot of time telling us how    
very holy he is4  ,but ,i suppose we    
have a different view of how we ought to
 tell others how much time we spend     
praying4 ,things are different these    
days4  ,this book is one of many to be  
found on the excellent ,early ,canadiana
 ,online4  ,we used the new 7#bjje7     
,,abbyy screen grabbing tool to capture 
the images of the pages1 using the third
 of the five sizes available4 ,this size
 was chosen because the image of each   
page just fits the text of the page on  

the screen4  ,from other points of view 
it would have been better if we could   
have used the largest size1 which we    
could not easily do for the following   
reason4 ,the original scans were far    
from being nice clean ones1 so there    
were many misreads4  ,we used the       
,athelstane editing system to produce   
the final text as we have published it4 
,had we used the full-sized scans it is 
quite possible that there would have    
been just the same number of misreads in
 the ,o,c,red text1 because of the      
number of bits of hair and fluff1       
scratches and other blemishes in the    
scans4  ,so it is lucky that the        
,athelstane system can trap most of the 
misreads4   ,,on ,,the ,,indian ,,trail1
 ,,stories ,,of ,,missionary ,,work     
,,among ,,cree ,,and ,,saulteaux        
,,indians1 ,,by ,,reverend ,,egerton    
,,ryerson ,,young4    ,,preface4  ,this 
is not a continuous narrative of        
missionary work as are some of the      
author's books4  ,it is a collection of 

distinct chapters1 some of which are    
written expressly for this volume1      
others of which1 having in whole or in  
part seen the light in other form1 are  
now1 at the request of friends1 and     
thanks to the courtesy of the           
publishers1 here gathered4  ,romantic   
missionary work among the red ,indians  
will soon be a thing of the past4       
,civilisation is reaching this people1  
and the iron horse rushes and shrieks   
where the ,indian trail was once the    
only pathway4 ,the picturesque garb is  
fast disappearing1 and store clothes1   
often too soon transformed into rags    
anything but picturesque1 have robbed1  
the ,indian of the interest that once   
clung to him4  ,these wanderings on the 
fast disappearing trail1 speak of       
successes rather than failures2 not but 
that there were many of the latter1 as  
well as long waiting after the seed time
 for the harvest1 but because it is so  
much more pleasant and helpful to look  
on the bright side of life1 and talk of 

victory rather than defeat4  ,so in the 
hope that this book will be helpful and 
encouraging to the friends and          
supporters of missions1 who have become 
such an innumerable company1 and that   
,his name may be glorified thereby1 we  
send it on its way4  ,e4,r4,y4          
,toronto4    ,,chapter ,,one4  ,,on     
,,the ,,prairie ,,trail4  ,we struck the
 prairie trail at ,saint ,paul in #ahfh4
  ,we1 that is my young wife and ,i in  
company with some other missionaries and
 teachers1 were to travel many hundreds 
of miles upon it1 in order that we might
 reach the wigwam haunts of the ,indians
 in the northern part of the ,hudson    
,bay ,territories1 to whom we had been  
appointed to carry the glorious ,gospel 
of the ,son of ,god4  ,we were to follow
 up the work begun by men of sublime    
faith and heroic courage1 and to carry  
it still farther into more remote       
regions where as yet the sweet story of 
a ,saviour's love had never been heard4 
,we had confidence enough in ,god to    

belief that if fur-traders could travel 
along these trails1 and live in those   
lonely remote regions for from the      
blessings of civilisation1 and in order 
to make money by trading with the       
,indians put up with the hardships and  
privations incident to such a life1 we  
could make equal sacrifices for         
,christ's sake1 to carry the ,glad      
,tidings of ,his great love to those who
 had never heard the wondrous ,story4   
,after about three weeks journeyings1 we
 had travelled as far as we could by    
steamboat and railroad1 and were at the 
extreme limit of these splendid methods 
of civilised locomotion4  ,from this    
point onward there was nothing before us
 but the prairie trail4  ,on and on it  
stretched for hundreds of miles1 away   
and away to the land of the north wind4 
,over its winding undulating course1    
long years ago1 the hardy pioneers of   
the new world adventured themselves2 and
 as they bravely pushed on they were    
filled with amazement and awe at the    

vastness of the great and illimitable   
prairies4  ,following closely in their  
trail1 and even sometimes themselves the
 pioneers1 came those early heroic      
priestly followers of ,loyola1 eager and
 anxious to meet and to make friends of 
the wild ,indians of the plains and     
forest1 that among them they might plant
 the cross1 and1 according to their     
belief1 by the simple rite of baptism   
induct them into the bosom of ,mother   
,church4  ,in later years much of the   
romance of the great ,trail had worn    
away4 ,commerce and ,trade with their   
multiplied activities had so taken      
possession of it that when first we saw 
it in #ahfh1 the long trains of noisy   
creaking ,red ,river carts1 and the     
great canvas-covered wagons of the      
adventurous immigrants1 were the most   
conspicuous sights on its dusty         
stretches4  ,occasionally bands of      
,indian warriors1 plumed and painted1   
were seen upon it1 dashing along on     
their fiery steeds1 out on some         

marauding adventure1 or more likely1 on 
the lookout for the vast herds of       
buffalo that still swarmed in the       
regions farther west1 like the cattle on
 a thousand hills4  ,it was one of those
 perfect days in the lovely month of    
,june when we left the thriving young   
city of ,saint ,paul1 and with our      
canvas-covered wagons1 and fourteen     
picked horses1 really entered on the    
trail4  ,as we left the frontier city1  
thus severing the last link that bound  
us to civilisation1 we realised most    
vividly that now we were entering upon  
our missionary work4  ,thirty days were 
we on this ,prairie ,trail4  ,not all of
 them were of that rare beauty of the   
first4  ,fierce thunderstorms several   
times assailed us when it was not always
 possible to protect ourselves from the 
terrible downpour of rain4  ,one night a
 genuine cyclone wrecked our camp2 tents
 and wagons with their varied contents  
went careering in erratic courses before
 its irresistible power4  ,our way was  

beset with dangers3 bridgeless streams  
had to be crossed2 prairie fires had to 
be fought1 or wildly run away from      
treacherous quicksands sometimes spread 
most invitingly on either side of the   
miserable looking trail1 lured the      
unwary traveller to trust himself on    
their smooth and shining surface4  ,but 
woe to the foolish ones who left the    
trail for the quicksands3 unless        
speedily rescued by the united strength 
of friends1 horses and travellers would 
soon be swallowed up2 so the warning cry
 of the guide was ever3 ,keep in the    
trail6  ,thus we journeyed on1 sometimes
 in the sunshine1 and sometimes in the  
storm4  ,every morning and evening we   
had our family prayers4  ,the ,sabbaths 
were rest days for all--sweet and       
precious days1 when out in the sunshine 
on the glorious prairies1 we1 a little  
company of missionaries and             
teachers--worshipped ,god3 they were as 
the days of the ,son of ,man on earth4  
,thirty days on such a trail could not  

pass without some strange adventures1   
and we had our share of them with white 
men and with ,indians4  ,a talkative    
parrot in our party nearly frightened   
the lives out of some very inquisitive  
and superstitious ,indians and ,french  
half-breeds4  ,they had stopped their   
ox-carts one day at the same spot where 
we1 coming in the opposite direction1   
were resting for the dinner hour4       
,hearing about the wonderful parrot1    
they crowded around to see her4  ,polly 
stood their inquisitive gazings for     
awhile1 then1 apparently somewhat       
annoyed1 with wings ruffled1 sprang     
forward as far as she could in her large
 cage1 and shouted out3  ,who are you8  
,the effect upon the superstitious      
half-breeds1 and ,indians1 was about as 
though ,his ,satanic ,majesty had       
suddenly appeared among them4  ,they    
rushed away1 and nothing that we could  
do would induce any of them to look at  
the bird again4  ,another adventure1    
most unique and startling1 occurred on  

this trip ere we had proceeded many days
 on the trail4  ,you had better keep a  
sharp eye on those splendid horses of   
yours1 or you may wake up some fine     
morning and find them missing4  ,this   
was rather startling news and caused a  
good deal of excitement in our camp4    
,the speakers were some scouts from the 
,united ,states army1 who were making a 
hurried trip from the head waters of the
 ,missouri where the troops had gone to 
quell some ,indian disturbance4  ,they  
were now on their way to ,saint ,paul   
with dispatches for ,washington4  ,each 
night of our journey we had1 in true    
western style hobbled our horses and    
left them to roam about and feed on the 
luxuriant grasses4 ,this hobbling is    
merely the tying of the forefeet loosely
 together with soft leather thongs so   
that the animal in moving has to lift up
 both forefeet at once4  ,its movements 
being thus necessarily slow1 there is no
 roaming very far from the camp4        
,having had no fear of danger1 we had   

been very careless1 leaving everything  
unguarded4  ,the terrible ,sioux        
massacres a few years before in these   
very regions1 were now being forgotten4 
,it is true that as we journeyed1 the   
ruins of the destroyed1 and in many     
places1 not yet rebuilt homesteads of   
the settlers1 were vivid reminders of   
those dreadful frontier wars1 when over 
nine hundred white people lost their    
lives4  ,the ,indians were now however  
far to the north and west of us1 so that
 we had no fears as we leisurely moved  
along4  ,hence1 it was somewhat         
startling when these picturesquely      
garbed scouts halted in our midst1 and  
warned us to have a guard over our      
horses2 telling us1 that1 the most      
notorious band of horse thieves was in  
the neighbourhood1 and was rumoured to  
have heard that there was a party with  
some magnificent horses in the prairie  
country1 and that doubtless1 even now1  
they were on the lookout for us upon    
some of the trails4  ,after a short halt

 for a hurried meal1 our bronzed        
well-armed visitors left us4  ,the last 
we saw of them was as they galloped away
 southward on the trail4  ,immediately a
 council was called1 when it was decided
 to move on to the vicinity of          
,clearwater1 and there remain until all 
the final preparations for our long trip
 were completed4  ,our horses were      
turned loose and hobbled during the day1
 but were not allowed to stray very far 
from the camp4  ,watchful eyes were ever
 upon them1 and also scanning the       
prairies for suspicious intruders4      
,before sundown they were all gathered  
in and securely fastened in a large barn
 that stood out upon the prairie1 the   
sole building left of a large farmstead3
 all the other buildings1 including the 
dwelling house1 had been burned during  
the ,indian wars4  ,no survivors or     
relatives had as yet come to claim the  
deserted place1 and so the rich prairie 
grasses had almost covered with their   
green verdure the spot where the        

destroyed buildings once stood2 and now 
all that remained to tell of former     
prosperity was this solitary old barn4  
,the men of our party were appointed to 
watch the barn during the night and     
protect the horses against all          
intruders4  ,two well armed persons were
 thought a sufficient guard for each of 
the eight or ten nights that we remained
 in that vicinity4  ,one night a young  
man of our party and ,i were appointed  
to watch4  ,he most thoroughly equipped 
himself with several varieties of       
weapons1 resolved to be prepared for any
 emergency4 ,i trusted to a quick-firing
 breech-loading rifle4  ,we gathered in 
the horses from the prairies1 and were  
leading them toward the barn when we met
 the leader of our party1 a man past    
middle life1 most of whose years had    
been spent among the ,indians1 and in   
the great west4  ,looking at us who were
 to be the guards of the horses that    
night1 he said1 with a sneer3  ,queer   
guards are you6  ,i have some young     

,indians that could steal any horse in  
that crowd to-night from under your very
 nose4  ,stung by the sneers of this    
man1 for it was not the first time that 
he had tried to wound1 ,i replied with  
perhaps too much emphasis3  ,mr -- ,i   
have the best horse in the company1 and 
,i will give him to you1 if either you1 
or any ,indian living1 can steal him out
 of that barn between sundown and       
sunrise4  ,my comrade and ,i carefully  
fastened our horses along one side of   
the barn where they could stand         
comfortably1 or lie down on some old    
prairie hay during the night4  ,then we 
examined the barn4  ,at one end were the
 usual large double doors sufficiently  
wide and high to admit of the entrance  
of a wagon loaded with hay or sheaves of
 grain4  ,at the other end was a small  
door which we securely fastened on the  
inside4  ,we then carefully examined the
 building for other places of ingress to
 make sure that there were no openings  
sufficiently large for even a naked     

savage to squeeze through4  ,when       
thoroughly satisfied with our survey1 we
 collected a quantity of dried hay1 and 
made ourselves some comfortable seats1  
where we could1 without being seen1     
command the large end doors3 one of     
which was fastened inside with a hook   
and staple1 while the other had only the
 usual wooden latch4  ,we moved about   
and chatted on various subjects during  
the long beautiful gloaming1 and when   
the darkness settled down upon us1 we   
made ourselves comfortable in our       
assigned positions1 and with rides in   
hand1 were indeed sentinels on the      
watch4  ,as the excitement of the       
occasion wore off1 my young companion   
who was still in his teens1 began to    
feel exceedingly drowsy4  ,i told him to
 cuddle down in the hay and go to sleep 
for a while1 and if there was any       
appearance of danger ,i would instantly 
awake him4  ,very soon he was sleeping  
quietly at my feet4  ,he had generously 
requested me to awake him when he had   

slept an hour or so1 offering then to   
take my place4  ,thanking him1 ,i said3 
,get some sleep if you can2 there is    
none1 however1 for me to-night4--,i     
remembered too well those taunting      
words1 and could not have slept had ,i  
tried4  ,as the hours slowly rolled     
along1 ,i could not but think of the    
strange transitions of the last few     
weeks4  ,not six weeks before this ,i   
was the pastor of a large church in a   
flourishing city4  ,then ,i was living  
in a beautiful home with all the        
comforts and conveniences of            
civilisation around me1 where the       
vigilant policemen paced their various  
rounds1 while we in peace and safety    
rested without one thought of danger2   
now ,i was in the far ,west1 away from  
the society and comforts of other days1 
on the boundless plains where dangers   
lurk1 and lawless1 thievish vagabonds   
abound4  ,not long ago ,i was in my own 
pulpit preaching to large congregations2
 now1 during the quiet hours of this    

night1 ,i was sitting on a bundle of    
dried prairie grass in an old barn1     
defending a lot of horses from horse    
thieves4  ,strange transformations are  
these4 ,truly life is a play1 and we1   
the actors1 little know what parts we   
shall next be called on to assume4      
,thus ,i mused2 bub hush6  ,what noise  
is that8  ,surely it cannot be that a   
cunning horse thief would come so       
deliberately this beautiful starlit     
night and try at the principal door to  
seek an entrance4  ,no stealthy ,indian 
clever at horse stealing would begin his
 operations in such a way4  ,but there  
is the sound1 nevertheless4  ,evidently 
it is that of a hand feeling for the    
latch4  ,strict orders had been given at
 the camp1 that under no consideration  
should any one of our party approach the
 barn after dark4  ,so1 here was an     
intruder who must be promptly dealt     
with1 before he could draw and fire4    
,springing up and lifting the rifle to  
my shoulder1 ,i waited until the        

intruder's hand had found the latch4    
,then the door swung open and there he  
stood2 a very tall man1 clearly outlined
 in the starry night4  ,my first grim   
resolve was to fire at once4  ,then     
there came the thought3 ,it is a        
terrible thing suddenly to send a soul  
into eternity4  ,perhaps he is not a    
horse thief4  ,he may be some lone      
wanderer on the prairies1 who1 seeing   
this old barn1 desires to get under its 
shelter out of the heavy dews4  ,you    
have him covered with your rifle2 even  
if he is a desperate horse thief bent on
 mischief1 ere he can draw his weapons1 
you can easily drop him4  ,these        
thoughts must have flashed through my   
brains very rapidly for the man had not 
yet entered the barn when ,i had decided
 on my course of action4  ,so1 while    
keeping him covered with my rifle1 and  
with my hand upon the trigger1 ,i       
shouted3  ,who's there8  ,it's only     
,matthew4  ,surely you ought to know me 
by this time4  ,instead of an enemy1    

there came stumbling along in the       
darkness1 one of our young friends from 
the camp3 a school-teacher1 going out to
 instruct the ,indians in the plains of 
the ,saskatchewan4  ,groping his way    
along1 he said3 ,it is awfully close and
 hot down there in the camp1 and so ,i  
thought ,i would rather come and spend  
the rest of the night with you in the   
barn4  ,foolish fellow6 he little knew  
how near he had come to losing his life 
by this direct breach of orders4  ,as ,i
 recognised his voice in answer to my   
challenge1 and realised how near ,i had 
come to shooting one of our party1 a    
quick reaction seized me1 and dropping  
the gun1 ,i sank back trembling like a  
leaf4  ,after chatting away at a great  
rate1 he at length settled down in the  
hay1 and went to sleep without having   
the slightest idea of the risk he had   
run1 or of the part ,i had played in    
what came so near being a tragedy4  ,i  
continued my watch until relieved at    
sunrise1 and then1 with my comrade1     

turned over all the horses safe and     
sound to those whose duty it was to     
watch them while they were feeding on   
the prairies4  ,there was a row for a   
time when ,i reported to the leaders of 
our company the visit to the barn4  ,the
 good-natured delinquent was the subject
 of a great deal of scolding1 which he  
bore with an unruffled demeanour4  ,as  
he was six feet1 six inches and a half  
in stature1 no physical castigation was 
administered2 nor was any needed2 he was
 so thoroughly frightened when he heard 
how he had stood under cover of my rifle
 with my finger on the trigger4         
,,chapter ,,two4  ,,on ,,the ,,indian   
,,trail4  ,we will call the routes over 
which ,i travelled on my large mission  
field1 ,indian trails2 but the name at  
times would be found to be inept1 as    
often1 for scores of miles1 there was   
not the least vestige of a track or     
path4  ,this was because there was so   
little travel in summer of a character  
that would make a well defined trail1   

for during that season the ,indians     
preferred to avail themselves of the    
splendid and numerous lakes and rivers1 
which enabled them to travel very easily
 by canoe in almost any direction4      
,thus1 when obliged to travel on the    
short stretches of the so-called1       
,indian trail1 it is not to be wondered 
at if the missionary sometimes lost his 
way1 and had to be sought after and     
found1 much to the amusement of the     
,indians who constituted the hunting    
party4  ,good missionary1 but him lost  
the trail4  ,more than once was ,i so   
addressed by my clever and experienced  
,indian canoeman1 with whom every summer
 ,i used to journey hundreds of miles   
into remote regions1 to find the poor   
sheep of the wilderness to whom to      
preach the glorious ,gospel of the ,son 
of ,god4  ,these summer routes lay      
through many lakes1 and up and down     
rushing rivers full of rapids and       
cataracts4  ,generally two skilful      
,indian canoemen were my companions1 one

 of whom was called1 the guide4  ,the   
,indians1 for whom we were seeking1     
drifted naturally from their hunting    
grounds in the forests1 to the shores of
 the lakes and rivers1 for the sake of  
the fish1 which1 daring the summer      
months1 could be easily obtained and    
which then constituted their principal  
food4  ,the result was1 that while in   
winter1 with our dog-trains1 we could go
 anywhere--the terrible ice-king        
freezing everything solid from the lakes
 and rivers to the great quaking        
bogs--in summer1 we were confined to    
those trips which could be only made by 
the birch-bark canoe3 in no other way   
could the ,gospel he carried to these   
people4  ,after we became accustomed to 
the canoe and dog-train1 we rejoiced    
that we were counted worthy to be the   
,messengers of ,good ,tidings'to these  
neglected ones1 who1 having lost faith  
in their old paganism1 were longing for 
something better4  ,one summer in the   
early years of my missionary life1 when 

,i had had but little experience in the 
northern methods of travel and was a    
novice at finding my way on an obscure  
trail1 ,i took a trip which ,i remember 
very distinctly2 partly1 because of the 
difficulty ,i had in keeping the trail  
when alone and partly because of the    
dangers to which ,i was exposed when ,i 
lost it4  ,my birch canoe was a good    
one4  ,it was made especially for       
running rapids1 and was so light that   
one man could easily carry it on his    
head when necessary4  ,i had as my      
companions two very capable ,indian     
canoemen4  ,one of them had never been  
over that route before and the other1   
whom by courtesy1 we called1 our guide1 
had only once travelled that way--and   
that1 several years before the date of  
this trip4  ,all the able bodied men of 
my mission excepting these two1 were    
away serving the ,hudson ,bay ,company  
as tripmen1 which was the reason why ,i 
could not obtain men better acquainted  
with the long route4  ,i had either to  

take these men and ran a good deal of   
risk1 or wait another year to carry the 
,gospel to those hundreds who had never 
heard it1 and who had sent a pleading   
call for me to come and tell them what  
the ,great ,spirit said in ,his ,book4  
,so1 after much prayer1 ,i decided1     
trusting in ,god and in these men1 to   
make the journey4  ,the country through 
which we travelled was one of the       
roughest and wildest in that dreary1    
desolate land4  ,the streams were so    
full of rapids that we had constantly to
 be making portages4  ,this was slow and
 laborious work4  ,our method of        
procedure was something like this3 as   
soon as we discovered that the current  
was too rapid to be safe1 or that we    
were hearing some great falls1 we went  
ashore and quickly unloaded our canoe2  
,william1 the guide1 easily lifted it   
upon his head and starting off1 soon    
disappeared in the forest1 running where
 possible1 and keeping parallel with the
 raging stream until he reached a place 

below which the waters were again       
navigable2 ,peter1 my other ,indian1 as 
speedily as possible made a large bundle
 of our blankets1 kettles1 and supplies1
 and with this upon his back1 supported 
by a carrying strap round his forehead1 
quickly followed the trail made by      
,william2 while to me was assigned the  
work of carrying the guns1 ammunition1  
changes of raiment and the presents1 and
 ,bibles for the ,indians we expected to
 visit4  ,although my load was not      
nearly as heavy as those carried by my  
stalwart canoemen1 yet ,i was utterly   
unable to keep up with them in the      
trail4  ,indians1 when thus loaded1     
never walk3 they seem to glide along on 
a swinging trot that carries them over  
the ground very rapidly4  ,a white man1 
unaccustomed to this pace1 is very soon 
left behind4  ,this was my experience4  
,all ,i could do1 was to trudge bravely 
along under my miscellaneous load1 which
 was becoming constantly disarranged1   
thus causing delay4  ,but my greatest   

trouble was to keep the trail4  ,there  
was absolutely no path4  ,all the trail1
 was that made by my two ,indians1 and  
,indians are trained to leave as little 
evidence of their movements as possible4
  ,so ,i was often lost4  ,i would at   
the beginning of the portage1 bravely   
shoulder my burden and endeavour to keep
 in sight of my men4  ,this1 however1 ,i
 found to be an utter impossibility4  ,a
 sharp turn among the rocky ridges1 or a
 plunge into the dense dark forest1 and 
they were gone from my vision4  ,then my
 perplexities began4  ,if1 as some times
 happened1 the trail was through mud1 or
 reeds and rushes ,i could generally    
follow them in it2 but1 as more         
frequently happened1 the trail was over 
rocky ridges1 or through dense forests1 
sometimes for miles1 and ,i was often   
completely bewildered and lost4  ,the   
trouble at first was1 that being too    
perplexed1 or too ignorant of what was  
the safer course to pursue1 ,i would    
quicken my pace and hurry on--somewhere4

  ,on and on ,i would stumble under my  
heavy awkward load until the sweat fell 
like rain from my brow and my back      
ached4  ,more than once when thus       
hurrying ,i have been startled by some  
savage beast1 that with a snort or a    
growl1 dashed away in front of me4      
,this only added speed to my footsteps1 
and frightened now ,i would hurry on1   
until utterly worn-out and exhausted ,i 
threw off my heavy burdens and sank down
 on the nearest rock or log1 tired out4 
,perhaps in my ignorance and perversity 
,i had wandered far away1 even in an    
opposite direction from that which ,i   
should have taken4  ,fortunate was it   
for me that ,i had such men for my      
comrades4  ,i knew their worth and      
loyalty1 as well as their ability       
quickly to find me4 ,as soon as they had
 safely reached the end of the portage  
they would be on the alert for my       
arrival4  ,if ,i delayed beyond what    
they thought to be sufficient time they 
would set off on the back trail looking 

for me4 ,with that unerring instinct    
which so many of them possess in        
woodcraft1 and which to me always seemed
 perfectly marvellous1 they soon found  
where ,i had wandered from the trail4   
,from this point they had not the       
slightest difficulty in following and   
finding me4  ,without any chiding1 but  
with perhaps a pitying look and a quiet 
utterance that sounded like ,good       
missionary1 but him lost the trail1 they
 would quickly pick up my burdens1 and  
safely guide me to our waiting canoe4   
,all ,i had to carry was perhaps the    
,book which ,i had with me1 the reading 
of which1 enabled me profitably to pass 
the hours that often elapsed ere my     
faithful men found me4  ,we lived on    
just what we could shoot1 as it was     
impossible to carry additional supplies 
in a birch canoe4  ,hunter's luck varies
 considerably even in a land of game1   
and we at least had variety in our bill 
of fare4 ,black bears being still       
numerous in those wild regions we       

sometimes had bear's steak broiled on   
the coals1 or ribs skidded on a stick   
and nicely browned before the fire4     
,when my canoemen had time to prepare   
the bear's feet and boil them they were 
quite a luxury4  ,in fact1 the three    
great luxuries specially prized by the  
denizens of that country are1 the       
heaver's tails1 the moose's nose1 and   
the bear's paws4  ,rarely was a deer    
shot on those canoe trips1 unless it    
happened to be in the far north regions1
 where occasionally one was caught      
swimming far out from land in a great   
lake4  ,when one was thus killed1 there 
was of course abundance of food1 but so 
little of it could be carried with us1  
that the larger portion had to be left  
to be devoured by wolves1 wolverines1 or
 other wild animals4  ,however1 in      
leaving all this meat on the trail the  
words of the ,psalmist would come to us3
  ,he giveth to the beast his food1 and 
to the young ravens which cry4 ,perhaps 
it was only carrying out ,his great     

purposes1 when we thus left all this    
food for some of ,his creatures to whom1
 ,he giveth their meat in due season4   
,wild ducks1 geese1 and other aquatic   
birds were occasionally shot1 affording 
us most savoury food as did also the    
beavers wild-cats1 and muskrats4  ,our  
nights were spent where the day's       
journey ended4  ,missionaries in nearly 
all lands can generally find some human1
 habitation in which to obtain or       
prepare their food and spend the night4 
,as a child1 ,i used to listen with     
intense interest to my beloved father1  
who for many years had been a pioneer   
missionary in what were then known as   
the wilds of ,upper ,canada--tell of his
 adventures4  ,many had been his        
hardships and dangers1 but ,i remember  
he used to say1 that he could generally 
find the comfortable log-cabin of a     
friendly settler in which to pass the   
night4 ,the trail in the wild north land
 leads through regions of country       
thousands of miles in extent1 where     

there is not even to be found a leather 
tepee or a birch-bark wigwam1 much less 
a house4  ,the result was1 when making  
such journeys1 we had to do the next    
best thing1 and that was to camp at the 
spot where night overtook us4  ,of      
course we were on the lookout for as    
comfortable a place as it was possible  
to find4  ,a smooth dry granite rock for
 our bed1 and dry wood with which to    
make our fires1 where we cooked our food
 and dried our clothes1 were always     
considered the essential requisites for 
a comfortable camp4  ,warm days         
alternated with damp and chilly ones1   
but the nights were generally cold4     
,the bright warm camp-fire was always   
welcomed with great delight after a     
day's journey of sixty miles on the     
trail4  ,pleasant indeed are the        
memories of happy restful hours so      
spent1 when the good honest day's work  
was done1 and the time of rest well     
earned4  ,after the hearty evening meal 
and prayers1 it was each a luxury to be 

able to stretch our cramped limbs before
 a glorious camp-fire on the rocky shore
 of some great river or picturesque     
lake4  ,then the attempt to read even   
some favourite author was not always a  
great success4  ,it seemed more         
congenial just to lie there1 and muse   
and watch the dying of the day as the   
brightness gradually faded out of the   
western sky1 and the stars in their     
modest way1 one by one1 came out into   
conscious vision1 until the whole       
heavens were lit up by their radiance4  
,the only sounds were the roar of the   
distant cataract1 the music of the      
running stream1 the rippling of the     
waves at our feet1 broken some nights by
 the occasional cry of a wild bird or   
beast1 from among the trees of the      
encircling forest4  ,the quiet1         
picturesquely garbed men in their       
statuesque attitudes added much to the  
attractiveness of the surroundings4     
,then at night very close to the heart1 
and appropriate1 were the words of the  

,psalmist3 ,the heavens declare the     
glory of ,god1 and the firmament showeth
 ,his handiwork2 and1 ,when ,i consider 
thy heavens the work of thy fingers1 the
 moon and stars which thou hast         
ordained2 what is man that thou art     
mindful of him1 and the son of man that 
thou visitest him8  ,but the nights     
spent on the ,indian trail1 were not    
always so delightful1 or so conducive to
 lofty and celestial sentiments4  ,when 
the cyclonic winds howled around us     
through the long night hours1 blowing   
with such fury that it requited all of  
our watchfulness and strength to prevent
 canoe1 blankets1 and bundles from being
 blown into the lake or river1 our      
thoughts were not among the stars4      
,sometimes the black thunderclouds      
gathered and the rain fell upon us in   
torrents1 putting out our fires1 perhaps
 before our evening meal was cooked1    
drenching us completely1 and continuing 
sometimes so long that we had not a dry 
stitch upon us for days together4       

,under such circumstances1 while ringing
 some quarts of water out of our        
clothes1 or from the blankets in which  
we had slept1 there was no disposition  
to sentimentalise about the rippling of 
the waves on the shore or the distant   
waterfall4  ,thus in storm as in        
sunshine1 it was necessary that the     
missionary and his faithful canoemen    
should be on the trail1 if the ,book    
were to be carried1 and its glorious    
truths proclaimed to those wandering    
people in their wigwam homes1 in regions
 so remote and inaccessible that in no  
other way could they be reached during  
the brief summer months4 ,however1 in   
spite of its hardships and dangers1 the 
results accomplished more than          
compensated for them all4  ,physical    
sufferings are not worthy of record1    
where successful work has been done in  
the conversion of immortal souls for    
whom the ,saviour died4  ,many have been
 the trophies won and marvellous the    
transformations wrought as the result of

 these difficult trips on the ,indian   
trail4  ,the missionaries1 numbers of   
whom are still toiling upon them1       
rejoice that they are counted worthy to 
endure such hardness1 and to be in      
perils oft for ,his glory1 and for the  
salvation of those for whom ,he died4   
,as regards some abiding results        
attained by these adventurous trips1 one
 or two incidents are here recorded4    
,on these long journeys1 the missionary 
generally carried with him a small      
assortment of medicines4  ,he well knew 
that many a hard heart could be reached1
 and many a prejudice overcome1 by the  
healing of some afflicted member of the 
family1 when all other means for        
influencing them for good1 had for the  
time being failed4  ,at one remote pagan
 village dwelt a man who had refused    
most positively to become a ,christian4 
,when urged to accept of ,christianity  
he had most emphatically repeated the   
expression most common among them3 ,as  
my fathers lived and died1 so will ,i4  

,he came to me one day in a state of    
much perplexity1 and after speaking     
about several things1 mentioned the     
thankfulness that was in his heart on   
account of my having cured his wife1 who
 had been sick a long time4 ,the way in 
which he expressed himself1 however1    
showed the great ignorance under which  
he was living4  ,his words were         
something like these1 and most          
emphatically were they uttered3         
,missionary1 my wife was long sick4  ,i 
went to the medicine man of my people to
 cure her4  ,he tried and tried1 but he 
could not do her any good4  ,then ,i    
came to you1 and your medicines cured   
her1 and she soon got well4  ,so ,i     
believe1 that as your medicine is       
stronger than that of the medicine men  
of our religion1 your religion must be  
better than ours4  ,my wife and ,i have 
talked it over1 and we want to sit at   
your feet1 and learn of this new way4   
,of course there was a good deal in his 
mind that was erroneous and ,i had to   

explain myself literally and enlighten  
him1 ere ,i could begin to teach him the
 truths of the ,gospel4  ,however1 ,i   
had won his heart1 and that was half of 
the battle4  ,now predisposed toward the
 truth1 he and his wife gladly accepted 
it4  ,they became sincere and earnest   
,christians1 and were both made a       
blessing and a benediction to their     
people4  ,there was a great hunter who  
had an only son4  ,he had a number of   
daughters1 but they were as nothing in  
his sight in comparison with his little 
boy4  ,one day the child fell sick1 and 
the medicine man of the tribe was sent  
for in great haste1 a famous old        
conjuror by the name of ,tapastanum4    
,he had some knowledge of roots and     
herbs1 but like the other conjurors of  
his nation1 pretended to depend upon his
 incantations and conjurings to effect  
his cures4  ,with a great deal of       
ceremony he brought out his sacred      
medicine bag1 his charms1 and rattle and
 drum4 ,then arraying himself in the    

most hideous manner possible1 he began  
his wild incantations4  ,he howled and  
yelled1 he shook his rattle and beat his
 drum4  ,all however was in vain4  ,the 
child rapidly became worse as the days  
passed4  ,seeing that there was no      
improvement1 the father became          
thoroughly alarmed and lost all faith in
 ,tapastanum's power4 ,fearing however  
to offend him1 he gave him some presents
 of tea and tobacco1 and told him that  
he need not trouble himself to come     
again4 ,up to this time he had refused  
to listen to the missionary's teachings4
 ,he had been loud and almost           
persecuting in his opposition to the    
preaching of the ,gospel among his      
people1 and had refused to come where   
the friendly ,indians gathered under the
 trees to hear the ,word read and       
explained4  ,indian-like however1 he had
 been most observant1 and it had not    
escaped his notice that some cures had  
been effected by the pale face that had 
been too difficult for the native       

medicine men4  ,so1 when he saw his     
little boy getting worse and worse1 in  
spite of all the yells and antics of the
 conjuror1 so soon as he had dismissed  
him1 he came for the missionary1 and in 
a tone very different from that which he
 had first used1 almost begged him to   
come and save his little boy4  ,i will  
do the best ,i can1 said the missionary1
 who was thankful for an opportunity    
thus1 perhaps1 to win his friendship and
 to lead him to the cross4  ,when he    
examined the boy he found that it was a 
serious case of inflammation1 so he     
candidly told the father1 that as the   
disease had run so long it was hard to  
say whether he would be able to cure him
 or not1 but he would gladly do his     
best4  ,the ,indian father urged him to 
begin at once to do all that was        
possible to save his boy2 saying1 that  
he would be so glad if his child        
recovered1 and would not blame the      
missionary if he died4  ,prompt remedies
 were applied1 and with ,god's blessing1

 and careful nursing1 the child         
recovered1 greatly to the joy of the    
father4  ,not long after1 as the        
missionary gathered the people together 
for religious service1 he was pleased to
 see1 leaning against a distant tree1   
the once stubborn old ,indian whose son 
had been healed4  ,it was evident that  
he was anxious to hear what that        
missionary who had cured his boy had to 
say1 and jet1 he was still too proud to 
come and sit with the friendly ,indians1
 who were anxious to learn about the    
message which the ,great ,spirit had    
sent to the people4  ,so he compromised 
by taking a position on the outskirts of
 the audience4  ,fortunately the        
missionary was gifted with a strong     
clear voice1 so without any apparent    
effort1 he told the story of ,god's love
 in ,jesus ,christ in a tone that could 
be distinctly heard by all1 even by the 
distant hunter leaning against the tree4
  ,very attentively did that ,indian    
listen to all that was said1 and so     

interested was he1 that at the next     
service he stood at a tree considerably 
nearer the speaker4  ,the next service  
he was in the midst of the audience1 and
 a few weeks later he was at the ,cross1
 a happy converted man4  ,it was        
interesting and delightful to listen to 
his after apologies1 and chidings of    
himself for his stubborn opposition to  
that in which he now so delighted4      
,among other things he would say3  ,but 
missionary1 you know that ,i was so     
foolish and stubborn4  ,i was then blind
 and deaf2 but now ,i have rubbed the   
dust out of my eyes1 pulled the moss out
 of my ears1 so now ,i see clearly and  
hear all right4 ,then1 ,i could only say
 hard things against the ,book which ,i 
thought was only for the white man1 but 
now1 ,i have found that it is for every 
one1 and ,i love to think and talk about
 the good things that it has brought to 
us4  ,long centuries ago ,isaiah        
prophesied3  ,then the eyes of the blind
 shall be opened1 and the ears of the   

deaf shall be unstopped2  ,then shall   
the lame man leap as an hart1 and the   
tongue of the dumb sing2  ,for in the   
wilderness shall waters break out1 and  
streams in the desert4  ,here in this   
wild north land1 as1 thank ,god1 it has 
been on many other mission fields1 this 
glorious prophecy had been1 and is      
being1 most literally fulfilled4  ,eyes 
long spiritually blinded are now open to
 behold the blessed light1 deaf ears    
have been unstopped and now hear ,his   
loving voice1 and tongues unloosened by 
,his power make the wilderness vocal    
with ,his praise4    ,,chapter ,,three4 
,,practical ,,work ,,in ,,indian        
,,homes4  ,since the opening up of the  
heart of ,africa1 by the indomitable    
courage and zeal of such men as ,speke  
and ,moffat1 ,baker and ,livingstone1   
,stanley and ,cameron1 ,bishop ,taylor  
and others1 perhaps one of the least    
known portions of this habitable globe  
is the northern part of the great       
,dominion of ,canada4  ,the discovery of

 the rich gold mines in the great ,yukon
 ,river district--the greater number by 
far being in ,canadian territory--is    
attracting attention to that part of the
 hitherto unknown north-western portion 
of the great ,dominion1 and will        
doubtless lead to its becoming better   
known4  ,it is true that there are vast 
regions of this great country that are  
of but little value to civilised people 
as a home4  ,still there are hundreds of
 millions of acres1 of land as fertile  
as any in the world1 and thousands of   
people are crowding in every year and   
taking possession of what will yet      
become one of the greatest wheat        
producing portions of the globe4  ,from 
east to west1 through the ,dominion runs
 the great ,canada ,pacific ,railway1   
the longest in the world4  ,this great  
road has not only broken the long       
silence of the wilderness and opened up 
the grandest route to the ,orient1 but  
it has also unsettled the ,indians in   
their prairie and forest retreat2 it has

 not only brought trade to their wigwam 
villages but also the missionary with   
the ,bible to their very doors4  ,but   
north of these new provinces where the  
whistle of the iron horse is heard1 are 
vast regions that are as free from the  
inroads of the adventurous pioneer as is
 the ,desert of ,sahara4  ,this is a    
country of magnificent lakes and rivers 
with their untold wealth of fish4  ,its 
vast forests and morasses abound in     
fur-bearing animals of great value4     
,bears and wolves1 reindeer and moose1  
and many other animals which the        
,indians love to hunt1 exist in large   
numbers4  ,the ,indian tribes of these  
northern regions live altogether by     
hunting and fishing4  ,they are not     
warlike1 as are the tribes of the great 
prairies1 but in their pagan state have 
many vile and abominable practices1     
which show that they are just as bad as 
those who delight in war and as much in 
need of the ,gospel4  ,missionaries of  
the different denominations have gone   

into these remote regions1 have lived   
amidst many privations1 and have given  
their lives to the blessed work of      
,christianising1 and then civilising    
these long neglected people4  ,they have
 not toiled in vain4  ,thousands have   
renounced their paganism and become     
earnest1 genuine ,christians4  ,the     
missionary life in such a land and among
 such a people is1 as might be well     
imagined1 very different from that in   
other countries4  ,as these mission     
fields are in such high latitudes the   
winter is very long and severe4  ,hence1
 the habitations to be at all           
comfortable must be very warmly built4  
,there is no limestone in that land1 and
 consequently1 no lime4  ,as a poor     
substitute1 mud is used4  ,the houses   
are built with a framework of squared   
timber which is well logged up1 and the 
chinks well packed with moss and mud4   
,when this is thoroughly dry1 and made  
as air-tight as possible1 the building  
is clapboarded1 and lined with tongued  

and grooved boards4  ,double windows are
 used to help keep out the bitter cold4 
,when well built and cared for1 some of 
these homes are fairly comfortable2 very
 different from the wretched1           
uncomfortable abodes some of the early  
missionaries were content to dwell in4  
,as great forests are everywhere in     
those regions1 wood is used for fuel    
instead of coal4  ,great box stoves are 
kept red hot day and night from ,october
 until ,may4  ,the food used by the     
missionaries was the same as that on    
which the ,indians lived4  ,flour was   
almost unknown4  ,fish and game afforded
 subsistence to nearly all4  ,it is true
 that1 many years ago1 the great        
,saskatchewan1 brigades of boats came to
 ,norway house and ,york factory loaded 
down with vast quantities of pemmican   
and dried buffalo meat2 but long since  
the great herds of buffalo have been    
exterminated1 and the far-famed pemmican
 is now but a memory of the past4  ,the 
last time ,i saw the wharves of the     

,hudson ,bay ,company's post at ,norway 
,house piled up with bags of pemmican1  
was in #ahga4  ,this pemmican was       
pounded buffalo meat1 mixed with the    
tallow and preserved in large bags made 
out of the green hides of the           
slaughtered animals1 and was the food   
that for some months of each year gave  
variety to our fish diet4  ,it was      
healthy and nourishing to persons of    
good appetites and unimpaired digestive 
organs2 but to those not to the manner  
born1 or unaccustomed to it all their   
days1 it appeared1 whether cooked or    
raw1 as partaking more of the nature of 
soap grease1 than of anything more      
inviting4  ,cut it has gone to return no
 more3 much to the satisfaction of some1
 and to the regret of others4  ,i and my
 ,indian fishermen used to catch about  
ten thousand white fish in gill nets    
every ,october and ,november4  ,these we
 hung up on great stages where they     
froze as solid as stones4  ,a few       
hundred we would pack away in the snow  

and ice for use in the following ,may1  
when those left on the stages began to  
suffer from the effects of the spring   
warmth4  ,these ten thousand fish were  
needed by the missionary's family and   
his dogs3 the faithful dogs1 from whom  
so much was required1 lived on them all 
the time1 while the missionary's family 
had them on the table twenty-one times a
 week for six months4  ,during the      
winter we had certain varieties of game 
which ,i shot1 or which the ,indian     
hunters brought in and exchanged with us
 for tea1 sugar1 cotton1 flannels1 or   
other things4  ,all trade was done by   
barter1 as there was no money then in   
the land4  ,during the spring and summer
 months1 occasionally1 a wild goose or  
some ducks were obtained1 and proved    
acceptable additions to our bill of     
fare4  ,once or twice during the summer 
the boats of the ,hudson ,bay           
,company--the great trading corporation 
of the country--brought us from         
civilisation1 our yearly supplies4      

,these consisted of3 a few bags of      
flour1 a keg of bolster1 a can of coal  
oil1 tea1 sugar1 soap1 and medicines4   
,they also brought an assortment of     
plain1 but good1 articles of clothing   
and dry goods which we required in our  
own household1 and with which we also   
paid the ,indians whom we had to hire1  
as fishermen1 dog-drivers1 canoemen or  
guides on my long journeys over the     
great mission field which was several   
hundreds of miles square4  ,so many were
 the calls upon us on account of the    
sickness and terrible poverty of the    
people1 that often our little stock of  
flour was soon gone4  ,other luxuries   
quickly followed1 and is the mission    
home1 as in the wigwams of the natives1 
the great staple was fish1 fish1 fish4  
,so many have inquired how ,mrs ,young  
and ,i managed so long to live and      
thrive1 and keep up our health and      
spirits1 on an almost exclusive fish    
diet1 that ,i will here give the plan we
 pursued4  ,we were in good health1 and 

charmed with1 and thankful for1 our     
work4 ,we both had so much to do1 and   
were kept very busy either in our own   
cosy little log house home1 or outside  
among the ,indians1 that our appetites  
were generally very good and we were    
ready for our meals as soon as they were
 ready for us4  ,still1 after all1 the  
very monotony of the unchangeable fish  
diet sometimes proved too much for us4  
,we would1 perhaps1 be seated at the    
break fast table1 neither of us with any
 appetite for the fish before us4  ,we  
would sip away at our cups of tea       
without apparently noticing that the    
fish were untested1 and chat about our  
plans for the day4  ,my dear1 ,i would  
say1 what are you going to do to-day8   
,i am going to have ,kennedy harness up 
my dogs1 and drive me up the river to   
,playgreen point to see how that old    
sick woman is getting on and take her   
the warm blanket ,i promised her4  ,i   
will also stop to see how those sick    
babies are1 and how ,nancy's little     

twins are prospering4 ,in the afternoon 
,i want to drive over to ,york village  
and see ,oosememou's sick wife--,what is
 your day's programme8  ,to my good     
wife's question1 my answer would be     
after this fashion3  ,well1 first of    
all1 as word has come that the wolves   
have been visiting our fish-cache1      
,martin ,papanekis and ,i have arranged 
to drive over there with the dogs to see
 the extent of the damage4  ,we may be  
detained some hours making the place so 
strong1 that if they visit it again1    
which is likely1 they will be unable to 
reach the fish4  ,then we will spend the
 rest of the day in that vicinity1      
visiting and praying with the           
neighbours4  ,having taken our tea1 we  
had prayers1 and soon after began to    
carry out the programmes of the day4    
,for several winters we kept for our    
varied duties1 a number of dogs4 ,mrs   
,young and ,i each had our favourite    
dog-trains4  ,so widely scattered were  
the ,indians1 and for such diverse      

reasons did they look to us and claim   
our attention1 that our lives were full1
 not only of solicitude for their       
welfare1 but we were1 sometimes for days
 together kept on the go1 often         
travelling many miles each day in       
visiting the sick and afflicted1 and in 
looking after the interests of those who
 needed our personal help4  ,on that    
particular day in which the conversation
 above recorded was held1 it was after  
dark ere our work was accomplished and  
we met in our little dining-room for our
 evening meal4  ,it was really the first
 meal of the day2 for we had a tacit    
understanding that when these times     
arrived that we could not really enjoy  
our fish diet1 we would resolutely put  
in the whole days work without tasting  
food4  ,the result was1 that when we    
drew up to the table after having       
refused the morning breakfast1 and      
ignored the midday meal1 we found that  
our appetite1 even for fish1 had        
returned1 and we enjoyed them greatly4  

,and what was more1 the appetite for    
them remained with us for some          
considerable time thereafter4  ,hunger  
is still a good sauce2 and we found--and
 others also have made the same         
discovery--that when the appetite fails 
and there is a tendency to criticise1 or
 find fault with the food1 or even with 
the cook1 a voluntary abstinence for two
 or three meals will be most beneficial 
for mind and body1 and bring back a very
 decided appreciation of some of ,god's 
good gifts which hitherto had been      
little esteemed4  ,of course the great  
and prominent work was the preaching of 
the ,gospel and the teaching of the     
people to read the ,word of ,god4  ,to  
this latter work we devote a full       
chapter and so need not refer to it     
here4  ,next perhaps to the direct      
results obtained by the preaching of the
 ,word1 we accomplished the most good by
 the medical work4  ,indians are fond of
 medicine and are believers in large    
doses4  ,the hotter the dose is with    

cayenne pepper1 or the more bitter with 
any powerful drug1 the more it is       
relished1 and the greater faith they    
have in its power to effect a cure4     
,various were the expedients of some of 
them to induce us to give them a good   
strong cup of tea1 made doubly hot with 
red pepper4  ,in their estimation such a
 dose was good for almost any disease   
with which they could be afflicted1 and 
was especially welcomed in the cold and 
wintry days1 when the mercury was frozen
 hard1 and the spirit thermometer       
indicated anything between forty and    
sixty degrees below zero4  ,practical   
sympathy never failed to reach some     
hearts1 and so influenced them1 that    
they were ultimately brought to ,christ4
  ,so poverty stricken were the people1 
that the opportunities of helping them  
were many4  ,looked at from our         
standpoint of comfort1 they had very    
little with which to make themselves    
happy4  ,few indeed were their          
possessions4  ,owning the land in       

common1 there was in it no wealth to any
 one of them2 but neither were there any
 landlords1 or rents4  ,all their other 
possessions were their wigwams1 traps1  
nets1 guns1 canoes1 dogs1 and clothing4 
,they lived from hand to mouth1 as they 
had no facilities for keeping any       
surplus food even if they were ever     
fortunate enough to secure more than    
they needed for their immediate wants4  
,if some were successful in killing a   
number of deer or bears1 they made but  
little attempt at trying to dry or      
preserve some of the meat for future    
use4  ,very rarely1 a little            
deer-pemmican would be made out of some 
of the venison2 but this was an         
exceptional case4  ,the general plan1   
was to keep open house after a          
successful hunt1 with the pot boiling   
continually1 everybody welcomed and told
 to eat heartily while the supply       
lasted4  ,he was considered a mean man  
indeed1 who1 being fortunate in killing 
a large quantity of game1 did not share 

it with all who happened to come along4 
,this hospitality was often earned to   
such an extent1 that there would be but 
very little left for the hunter himself1
 or for his own family4  ,thus1 life    
among the ,indians for long generations1
 was a kind of communism4  ,no          
unfortunate one actually starved to     
death in the village so long as there   
was a whitefish or a haunch of venison  
in the community4  ,it was feast        
together when plenty comes2 starve      
together when plenty goes4  ,they could 
not at first understand why1 when the   
missionary had anything in his mission  
house1 he hesitated about giving it out 
to any one who said he was hungry4      
,this plan1 of once a year getting in   
front the outside world supplies to last
 a whole year1 was indeed a mystery to  
them4  ,they had an idea that it was    
very nice to see so many things coming  
in by the company's boats2 but when they
 were once in the house1 the pagan      
,indians thought that they should be    

used up as quickly as anybody asked for 
them4  ,the practice of rationing out   
the supplies to last for twelve months1 
was a style of procedure that more than 
once exposed a missionary1 who rigidly  
adhered to it1 to be thought mean1      
stingy1 and very unfriendly4  ,they even
 questioned the truthfulness of one     
frugal1 careful missionary1 who carried 
out this system4  ,when asked to help   
some hungry ,indians1 he refused on the 
plea that he had nothing left1 knowing  
that that month's supply was gone4 ,they
 reasoned from the fact1 that1 they knew
 that he had the balance of his year's  
supply stored away4  ,one very          
interesting phase of our work1 was to   
help the ,indian families1 who had moved
 from a wigwam into a cosy little house1
 into the mysteries of civilised        
housekeeping4  ,it is true that these   
houses were not very large or imposing4 
,they were generally built only of logs1
 well chinked up with moss and mud1 and 
consisted of but one room1 with the     

fireplace in the end or side4  ,as the  
people were able1 they put up partitions
 and added various little conveniences4 
,at first1 when a family moved into one 
of these homes1 some of its members     
would be very much inclined to keep to  
their wigwam habits4  ,as these were    
very shiftless1 and far below what we   
considered to be their possibilities of 
methodical and tidy housekeeping1 some  
practical lessons had to be given4  ,as 
they were willing to learn1 various     
plans and methods were adopted to help  
them4 ,the following was the most       
successful and perhaps on the whole1 to 
all concerned1 the most interesting4    
,when we were aware that some new houses
 had been erected and taken possession  
of by families who had known no other   
habitations than their wigwams1 ,i would
 announce from the pulpit on ,sabbath1  
that during the week1 in connection with
 my pastoral visitations1 ,mrs ,young   
and ,i would dine at ,pugamagon's house 
on ,monday1 on ,tuesday with            

,oostasemou1 and on ,wednesday with     
,oosememou4  ,these announcements at    
first caused great consternation among  
the families mentioned4  ,when the      
services were over and we were leaving  
the church1 we would be accosted by the 
men whose names ,i had mentioned1       
generally in words like these3  ,could  
we believe our ears to-day1 when we     
thought we heard you say1 that you and  
,ookemasquao1 7,mrs ,young's ,indian    
name7 were coming over to dine with us8 
,certainly1 your ears are all right4    
,that is what they heard1 and that is   
what we are thinking of doing1 would be 
our answer4  ,nothing but fish1 have we 
to set before you1 would generally be   
their reply1 uttered in tones of regret4
  ,well1 that is all right4  ,it is what
 we generally eat at home1 we would     
reply4  ,well1 but we have no table as  
yet1 or chairs1 or dishes fit for you1  
would be their next objection4  ,that is
 all right1 we are coming4  ,meantime1  
their half frightened wives would be    

seen standing behind their husbands1    
most attentively listening to the       
conversation4  ,when they found that    
this enumeration of the lack of variety 
of food and the poverty of their new    
homes1 could not deter us from our      
determination to dine with them1 almost 
in desperation they would say3  ,well1  
what are we to do to be ready to receive
 you8  ,that is the very question we    
wanted you to ask1 ,i would reply4  ,now
 ,i will tell you what is in our hearts4
  ,have plenty of your fish ready and we
 will look after the rest of the dinner4
  ,but there are several other things   
about which we are anxious1 and to which
 we want you to attend3 first1 we want  
to see when we visit you1 how very clean
 and sweet your new house will be2 then1
 we are also anxious to see1 how neat   
and tidy the members of the family will 
be2 we also wish to see1 how bright and 
polished all your kettles1 pots1 and    
plates1 will be4  ,we are both coming to
 your homes as ,i announced1 so be on   

the lookout and ready for us4  ,i       
believe we will all have a good time4   
,somewhat relieved by this interview1   
they would start off to their homes4    
,soon after breakfast on ,monday        
morning1 ,mrs ,young would have her own 
dog-train and cariole brought up to the 
door1 aid aided by willing hands1 the   
cariole would be quickly loaded up for  
the visit to the ,indian home announced 
for that day's visit4  ,perhaps it is   
but right here to state1 that we never  
inflicted these visits upon our ,indians
 except when we had abundance of        
supplies of some kind or other in the   
mission house1 and were thus able to    
carry over sufficient1 with the fish the
 family supplied1 for a hearty meal4    
,so1 in her cariole ,mrs ,young had1 not
 only this liberal supply of food1 with 
plenty of tea and sugar1 but a large    
tablecloth1 dishes1 knives1 forks1      
spoons1 and other essentials4  ,about   
nine o'clock she was driven over to the 
home1 where1 with a certain amount of   

trepidation1 the expectant family were  
awaiting her coming4  ,they had been at 
work very early and never did a floor   
made of well-planed spruce boards shine 
whiter4  ,for hours it had been         
scrubbed2 an unlimited amount of        
elbow-grease aided by some soft soap    
made out of strong lye and the grease of
 a fat dog1 had done the work most      
completely4  ,the faces of the children 
showed that they had been most          
thoroughly polished1 while all the      
family were arrayed in their ,sunday    
apparel4  ,every kettle and pot bore    
evidence of the early hour at which the 
family had arisen and begun operations4 
,the instructions given to me1 were1    
that ,i was not to put in an appearance 
until about half-past twelve1 and ,i was
 so interested that ,i was generally on 
time4  ,it was a very gratifying sight  
that met me1 and a very cordial welcome 
that ,i received4  ,every member of the 
family was simply radiant with happiness
 and my good wife had most thoroughly   

caught the contagion of the hour4  ,i1  
of course1 shook hands all round and    
kissed the fat little baby in its       
quaint1 moss-bag cradle4  ,then1 we were
 speedily informed of what was very     
evident1 that dinner was ready4  ,there 
was not a chair or table in the house4  
,the snow white tablecloth was spread   
out on the almost equally snow white    
floor1 and upon it were placed in order 
plates1 cups1 and saucers1 knives and   
forks4  ,then the dinner which had been 
cooked in various pots1 and pans1 at the
 capacious fireplace1 was served up1 or 
rather1 down1 and in our assigned places
 we seated ourselves ,indian-like1 upon 
the floor4  ,after heaven's blessing was
 asked1 the feast began4  ,the menu was 
not very elaborate4  ,spoiled children  
of luxury1 with lost appetites1 might   
have sneered at it1 but to us in that   
land1 and especially to this happy      
,indian family1 it was one of the great 
events of their lives4  ,the missionary 
and his wife were happy because they saw

 these poor people so happy4  ,for      
perhaps three hours1 ,mrs ,young1 had   
been the instructor of that ,indian     
motherland her daughters1 as under her  
direction they prepared that dinner1 and
 they were very proud of their teacher4 
,the dinner was pronounced a great      
success1 and after it was over1 and all 
had had an abundance1 the ,bible in the 
syllabic characters1 was brought out and
 read1 when all devoutly kneeling1 the  
missionary with a glad heart offered up 
an earnest prayer for heaven's blessing 
ever to abide upon that home4  ,after   
prayers ,i was expected to leave1 while 
,mrs ,young remained for the rest of the
 day4  ,when she returned to our mission
 home in the evening1 tired1 but very   
happy over her day's work1 she would    
give me some glimpses into the doings of
 the afternoon4  ,of course1 the first  
thing1 was to teach the women how1      
nicely and carefully1 to wash and put   
away the dishes2 then1 the house was    
once more swept up1 when they were ready

 for the afternoons work4  ,sometimes   
the happy ,indian mother was able to    
bring out a nice piece of dress cloth1  
which her now kind4  ,christian husband1
 had bought for her in exchange for his 
valuable furs4  ,this dress piece had to
 be cut and fitted by ,mrs ,young4      
,when asked as to how she wished to have
 it made she would generally say3       
,please1 ,ookemasquao1 cut it out so    
that it will be like the one you had on 
in church1 last ,sunday4  ,so1 as far as
 possible1 the dress was cut and fitted 
in that style1 the sewing of it         
commenced1 and full instructions given  
so that the owner might go on working1  
until she became perplexed with its     
intricacies1 when she would come to the 
mission house for help1 and so on until 
the work was completed4  ,in addition to
 thus helping in dressmaking there were 
lessons to be given in patching and     
darning1 and in lengthening out1 or     
adding to1 the dresses of the rapidly   
growing ,indian girls4  ,thus1 from     

house to house we went1 and for long    
years after the good results of those   
visits remained2 thus1 was a noble      
ambition stirred in those ,indian       
women's lives to try and keep house like
 ,ookemasquao2 and thus1 they           
endeavoured to let their husbands and   
children see1 that no longer did they   
wish to live in the careless way of the 
old pagan life1 but1 as now they had    
become ,christians in their profession1 
so in their homes1 they would have the  
neatness and cleanliness1 that should   
belong to those who are thus called4    
,,chapter ,,four4  ,,how ,,the ,,gospel 
,,is ,,carried3 ,,by ,,canoe ,,in       
,,summer2 ,,by ,,dog-,,train ,,in       
,,winter4  ,that great northern country 
is a land of innumerable lakes and      
rivers4 ,unfortunately1 many of the     
streams abound with rapids1 and         
navigation on them1 as generally        
understood1 is an impossibility4        
,hence1 the only way of travelling on   
them in summer1 is in the light birch   

canoe or in some other craft1 so        
portable1 that it can be carried or     
dragged across the many portages that   
are so numerous in that land of         
cataracts and falls4  ,from time        
immemorial1 the birch canoe has been    
considered a part of the craft of the   
,indian4  ,centuries of its use has     
enabled him so to perfect it1 that      
although attempts have been made by the 
white man to improve it1 they have not  
been very successful4  ,one of our      
missionaries1 who was one of the best   
canoemen in the country1 was conceited  
enough to imagine1 that the beautiful   
cedar canoe of the white man was        
superior to the birch-bark ones of the  
natives4  ,so certain was he of this1   
that at a good deal of trouble and      
expense1 he had one of the very best    
models sent to him all the way from     
,ontario to ,norway ,house4  ,on the    
beautiful ,playgreen lake and other     
similar places1 he enjoyed it amazingly2
 but when he started off on his         

missionary touring1 the ,indians1 who   
are the best judges of these things     
urged him not to attempt in that        
beautiful1 but unreliable boat1 to run  
the wild rapids of the mighty ,nelson or
 other great rivers4  ,he1 however1 only
 laughed at their fears and             
protestations4  ,a number of them set   
off together on a long missionary       
journey1 one of the objects of which    
was1 to assist in the building of a new 
church4  ,for a time1 the erection of   
the little sanctuary in the wilderness  
went on uninterruptedly1 much to the    
delight of the resident ,christian      
,indians1 who had long wished for one in
 which to worship ,god4  ,the securing  
of sufficient food for the builders1 was
 one of the duties that devolved upon1  
and gave considerable anxiety to1 the   
missionary4 ,when the supplies which had
 been secured were about exhausted1 and 
it seemed as though the work of building
 would have to cease on account of the  
lack of food1 word came through some    

passing hunters that they had seen      
abundance of sturgeon sporting at the   
foot of some great rapids of the ,nelson
 ,river4  ,as they are considered       
delicious and nourishing food1 an       
expedition was at once prepared to go   
and capture as many of them as possible4
  ,the missionary himself1 an energetic1
 active man1 took charge of the party1  
and insisted1 on going in his beautiful 
cedar canoe4  ,when they reached the    
head of the rapids1 at the foot of which
 the sturgeon were reported to have been
 seen in such numbers1 there was a brief
 rest ere the run down was attempted4   
,the ,indians all protested against the 
missionary's resolve to run such wild   
rapids in a canoe which they were       
certain was so unfitted for such a      
dangerous trip4  ,the missionary1       
however1 was stubborn and unmoved by    
their entreaties4  ,when they saw that  
their words availed not1 to change his  
resolve1 an old experienced guide said3 
,well1 then let one of us go with you1  

to sit in the stern of your boat and    
help you to steer1 and also1 by our     
weight1 to keep the head of your canoe  
high up as we run the rapids4  ,this    
kindly offer to risk and to share the   
dangers1 he also refused1 saying1 that  
he could go in his white man's canoe    
anywhere an ,indian could go in a       
birch-bark4  ,their objection to his    
canoe1 was1 that it was not built high  
enough in front1 and so when he made the
 last wild rush in the rapids where the 
pitch in the waters was so steep1       
instead of the boat rising like a duck  
on the mad billows at the foot1 it would
 plunge under like a log and disappear4 
,well would it have been for the wilful 
missionary if he had listened to the    
advice of these experienced men who knew
 what they were talking about4  ,he1    
however1 cut them short by ordering them
 to enter their canoes and go on1 and he
 would soon follow4  ,with regret they  
left him there1 sitting on a rock1      
leisurely watching them as they began   

the hazardous trip4  ,with care and     
skill1 the ,indians all succeeded in    
successfully running those dangerous    
rapids which are as wild and fierce as  
any in the ,saint ,lawrence4  ,as       
quickly as possible they went ashore at 
the foot1 and1 with their hearts full of
 foreboding1 clustered at a point where 
they could watch the missionary make the
 run4  ,alas6 their fears were too well 
grounded4  ,down the rushing1 roaring   
river1 they saw the brave1 but rash man1
 coming4  ,with consummate skill in the 
upper rapids1 did he manage his         
beautifully polished craft2 but when the
 last wild plunge at the foot was made1 
both canoe and missionary suddenly      
disappeared4  ,it was many days ere the 
poor putrid body was recovered1 far away
 down the great river4  ,a solitary     
grave is there on the bank1 and a little
 tombstone set up by loving hands1      
records the name of this brave1 but rash
 man4  ,for the manufacture of a first  
class ,indian canoe1 the birch-bark must

 be taken from the tree at the right    
time of the year with the greatest care4
  ,the framework must be arranged with a
 skill and accuracy that comes only of  
long practice4  ,the fact is1 the       
first-class canoe-makers1 were about as 
rare among the tribes1 as are           
first-class poets in civilisation4      
,many ,indians could make canoes2 but   
there were a few men whose fame for     
their splendid crafts1 were known far   
and wide1 and who were always able to   
obtain the highest price for all they   
could make4  ,it is really wonderful1   
considering the cranky nature of a canoe
 at its best1 what journeys can be made 
in them4  ,my skilled canoeman and ,i   
used to run wild rapids1 and cross over 
storm swept lakes of large dimensions4  
,we lived on the game we could shoot as 
we hurried along1 slept on the rocks or 
sandy beach where night overtook us1 and
 were always thankful when we found the 
little companies of ,indians for whom we
 were seeking4  ,as they were generally 

eager to hear the truth1 but little time
 was lost between the religious         
services4  ,long sermons and addresses  
were the order of the day2 and often    
from early morn until late at night1    
there was only the short intermissions  
for our hasty meals of fish or game4    
,as we journeyed on from place to place1
 our meals were cooked and eaten in the 
open air1 and for days we met no human  
beings4  ,our bed was on some balsam    
boughs1 if obtainable2 if not1 a smooth 
granite rock or sandy beach did very    
well4  ,so healthful were we1 and so    
congenial was the work and its          
surroundings1 that there were no        
sleepless nights1 except when sometimes 
myriads of mosquitoes assailed us1 or a 
fierce thunderstorm swept over us4      
,then the nights were not so pleasant1  
and we welcomed the coming of the day1  
even if1 because of the storm1 it       
revealed a damp condition of affairs    
among our supplies4  ,this was the      
general plan of our proceedings3 when we

 reached one of the little ,indian      
villages at a time which had been1      
perhaps1 arranged six months or a year  
before4  ,all who possibly could come in
 from contiguous fishing or hunting     
grounds1 were there to meet me2 then1   
for several days services would be held1
 after which the ,indians would return  
to their different hunting grounds1     
while ,i would again launch my canoe and
 with my skilled paddlers1 push on to   
some other point1 where would be        
gathered another company of ,indians    
awaiting my arrival and longing to hear 
the glorious ,gospel of the ,son of     
,god4  ,very precious was the ,word to  
those people so isolated4  ,the coming  
of the missionary in his canoe to preach
 to them1 and perhaps teach them how to 
read for themselves the precious ,book1 
was one of the few happy breaks during  
the brief summer months in their lonely1
 monotonous lives4 ,they were ever on   
the lookout for my coming1 and          
especially did those who had renounced  

their paganism and accepted             
,christianity give me a hearty welcome1 
even if it was expressed in their quiet1
 dignified way4  ,the ,indian's         
alertness and keenness of hearing1 as   
well as of seeing1 was something        
remarkable to me4  ,the following is a  
good illustration of it4  ,one summer1  
when thus travelling1 ,i was on the     
lookout for some friendly ,indians whose
 camping place was determined each      
summer by the abundance of the food     
supply4  ,anxious to make as much of the
 time as possible1 my men and ,i were   
paddling away in our canoe at four      
o'clock in the morning4  ,to hasten our 
progress1 we pushed out into the centre 
of the great river1 down which we were  
travelling1 as there the current was    
much more rapid than near the shore4    
,at that early hour1 the morning mists  
still lay low and dense on either side1 
completely hiding from view every object
 on the shore4  ,while thus pushing on  
between those walls of vapoury mist1 we 

were startled by the rapid firing of    
guns4  ,to me this was a decided        
mystery1 but it was at once understood  
by my experienced canoemen4  ,quickly   
turning the head of our canoe in the    
direction from which came the tiring1   
they paddled through the now rapidly    
disappearing vapours1 and there on the  
shore we descried a company of friendly 
,indians on the lookout for our coming4 
,their ears had been of more service    
than their eyes2 for although they had  
been unable to see us1 their practiced  
ears had caught the sound of our        
paddles4  ,after greeting us most       
cordially1 they produced some smoked    
reindeer tongues and other native       
delicacies which they had brought for   
the missionary4  ,some very suggestive  
and profitable religious services were  
enjoyed there by the riverside4  ,for   
the comfort and encouragement of those  
who had already become ,his children we 
talked of the loving kindnesses and     
providential care of our ,heavenly      

,father4  ,we also pleaded with those   
who had not yet decided to renounce the 
paganism of their forefathers1 to do so 
speedily and to accept of the religion  
of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4  ,thus the 
work went on1 and through many happy    
summers1 my canoe was afloat for days on
 many waters1 while as a glad messenger1
 ,i travelled through the wilderness    
beseeching men and women to be          
reconciled to ,god4  ,of the            
dog-travelling in that land so much has 
been written1 that but a short account  
need here be given4  ,winter begins in  
those regions in the latter part of     
,october and continues without any      
perceptible break until ,april4  ,so    
immense1 however1 are the ice-fields on 
the great lakes1 that they do not all   
disappear until a month or six weeks    
later4  ,one winter ,i was able to make 
quite a long journey with my dog-trains1
 arriving home as late as the eighteenth
 of ,may4  ,at that date1 however1 the  
snow had all disappeared and the frost  

was nearly all out of the ground4  ,the 
cold is intense1 the spirit thermometer 
indicating from thirty to sixty below   
zero4  ,we have seen the mercury frozen 
as solid as lead for weeks together4    
,for months milk is frozen into cakes   
like marble4  ,we used to carry large   
pieces of it wrapped up in a newspaper1 
and when at the camp-fire we desired a  
little in our cup of tea1 we cut it off 
with an axe4  ,as will be seen from this
 we had about seven months of bright    
cold winter4  ,during all that time     
there was not a thaw1 the snow was never
 soft1 and there was no dampness in the 
air or under foot4  ,soft deer skin     
moccasins are very much superior to     
civilised boots or shoes under such     
conditions4  ,there are no roads in that
 vast country4  ,the frost ,king freezes
 up every lake and stream1 and hardens  
into adamant every muskeg and quaking   
bog4  ,the snow covers everything with  
its great mantle of beauty1 and makes it
 possible to travel on snow-shoes or by 

dog-train through vast regions          
absolutely impassable in the summer     
months4  ,horses or other large animals1
 are absolutely worthless for travel in 
such regions4  ,the snow is a great     
leveller4  ,it fills up many a dangerous
 pitfall and puts such a cushion on the 
logs and rocks1 that upsets or falls are
 only laughed at by the dog-travellers  
as they merrily dash along4  ,the only  
drawbacks to a tumble down a steep      
declivity of some hundreds of feet1 as  
once befell the writer1 were the        
laughter of his comrades1 and the delay 
incident to digging him out of the      
snowdrift at the bottom1 which was      
anywhere from twenty to thirty feet     
deep4  ,these accidents and delays were 
not frequent2 and1 although there were  
hardships and sufferings1 there were    
many things to instruct and interest1   
and to break the monotony of winter     
travelling in that lonely land4  ,in the
 coldest1 brightest1 sunniest days1 the 
fitful mirage played its strange antics 

with distant landscapes1 and at times   
brought within near vision places many  
miles away4  ,sometimes circle within   
circle appeared around the sun1 until as
 many as four were distinctly visible2  
each circle at times having within it   
four mock suns--sixteen mock suns       
visible at the same time was a sight    
worth going a long distance to see4     
,strange to say1 the ,indians dreaded   
the sight of them1 as they declared they
 were always the forerunners of blizzard
 storms2 and the more vivid these       
sun-dogs1 as they called them1 the more 
dreadful would be the storm4  ,but the  
most fascinating and glorious of all the
 celestial phenomena of those glorious  
regions1 are the ,northern ,lights--the 
,aurora ,borealis4 ,confined to no      
particular months of the year1 we have  
seen them flashing and quivering through
 the few hours of the short nights      
following the hottest days in ,july or  
,august1 as well as in the long cold    
nights of the winter months4  ,they     

would sometimes linger on all night in  
their weird beauty1 until lost in the   
splendour of the coming day4  ,a        
description of them has often been      
attempted by writers of northern scenes1
 and ,i have to confess1 that ,i have   
been rash enough to try it elsewhere2   
but their full glories are still        
unwritten and perhaps ever will be4     
,they appear to belong to the spiritual 
rather than to the earthly2 and there   
are times when they so dazzle and       
overwhelm1 that it does seem as though  
only the language of spirits is adequate
 to the task of describing them4  ,then 
they are so changeable4  ,never have ,i 
seen two great exhibitions of them      
alike4  ,at first they are of purest    
white2 but when the scintillations      
begin1 they take on every colour of the 
rainbow4 ,sometimes they appear in great
 brilliant arcs1 as in the illustration4
 ,at other times they are simply ribbons
 of wavy undulations that seem to       
soothe1 as well as charm1 with their    

rhythmic motions and ever changing hues4
  ,at still other times they are mighty 
armies of disciplined warriors going out
 to conflict4  ,then1 when they seem    
wearied with their warlike deeds1 they  
appear to marshal all their forces2 and1
 fairly filling the northern heavens1 to
 rush on1 and up1 until the very zenith 
is reached1 where they form a corona of 
such dazzling splendour1 that it really 
seems as though the longing prayer of   
the church militant was being fulfilled2
 and1 that universal triumph had come to
 the world's ,redeemer here1 and now the
 angelic and redeemed hosts of heaven   
and earth are bringing forth the ,royal 
,diadem to crown ,him ,lord of all4     
,the dogs which we use in the           
dog-trains1 are generally of any breed  
that has in it size1 endurance1 and     
sagacity4  ,the ,esquimaux breed of dogs
 formerly predominated2 but in later    
years there has been such an admixture  
of other varieties1 that a pure         
,esquimaux dog is now a rarity except at

 some of the most northern posts and    
missions4  ,my worthy predecessor among 
the ,crees1 left me a train of mongrels1
 that were good enough for hauling wood 
and fish for the mission2 and also for  
the short trips to the places near home 
where ,i held weekly services2 but when 
,i attempted to make the long journeys  
of hundreds of miles to the remote parts
 of my great mission field1 which was   
larger than all ,england or the state of
 ,new ,york1 they proved miserable      
failures4  ,travelling with such dogs1  
was like the experience of the man who1 
in the olden times1 paid first-class    
fare to ride in a packet boat on the    
,erie canal1 from ,new ,york to         
,buffalo1 and then drove a horse on the 
towpath all the way4 ,so1 after nearly  
killing myself travelling with weak or  
lazy dogs1 having to walk or run on     
snowshoes all the time on account of    
their inability to draw me1 ,i resolved1
 if possible1 to become the owner of    
better ones4  ,i appealed to some good  

friends in civilisation to aid me1 and  
the result was1 that ,i was soon        
supplied with some of the finest dogs   
that could be obtained4  ,among them1   
,jack and ,cuffy1 the gifts of ,senator 
,sanford of ,hamilton1 were never       
equalled4  ,through the kindness of     
,james ,ferrier1 ,esquire1 of ,montreal1
 five beautiful ,saint ,bernards were   
obtained from ,mrs ,andrew ,allan4  ,dr 
,mark of ,ottawa1 and other friends also
 remembered me1 with the result1 that   
soon ,i had some of the finest          
dog-trains in the land4  ,these         
civilised dogs had all the good         
qualities of the ,esquimaux without any 
of their thievish tricks4  ,they proved 
themselves equal in their endurance and 
sagacity2 and only lacked in that their 
feet seemed more easily to become       
injured and sore4  ,the dog-sleds are   
ten feet long and eighteen inches wide4 
,they are used to carry our bedding and 
supplies1 as often for days and nights  
together we are entirely dependent on   

our loads for food and lodgings4  ,these
 miscellaneous loads are well packed up 
in the great deer skin wrappers and so  
securely tied to the sleds1 that no     
matter how many may be the upsets1 the  
loads never become disarranged4  ,my own
 sled1 which was called a cariole1 was  
one of the usual oak sleds with         
parchment sides and a firm back         
attached4  ,sometimes these carioles    
were handsomely painted and were very   
comfortable vehicles in which to ride4  
,when well wrapped up in fur robes1 with
 plenty of fat meat to eat1 splendid    
dogs to draw you1 and loving loyal      
,indian attendants with you             
dog-travelling was not without its      
pleasures and enjoyments2 especially if 
the sun was bright1 the icy pavement    
under you free from drifting snows1 and 
the temperature not colder than forty   
degrees below zero4  ,it was a different
 thing1 however1 when blizzards howled  
around you and the air was so fall of   
the fine cutting particles of icy snow1 

that it was dangerous to expose any part
 of the face to their pitiless attacks4 
,then it was1 that the marvellous skill 
of the experienced ,indian-guide was    
seen1 and we were led on amidst such    
miserable surroundings with an accuracy 
and speed that seemed almost incredible4
  ,the camp1 when the day's travel was  
ended--especially if blizzards had      
assailed us--was a welcomed spot1 even  
if it was only a whole day out in the   
snow on the sheltered side on some dense
 spruce or balsam grove4  ,at times we  
were able to find places in which thus  
to camp that were quite picturesque4    
,when the halt for the night was called 
by the guide1 the first thing done was  
to unharness our faithful dogs4  ,our   
snow-shoes were improvised as shovels1  
and from the spot selected as our       
resting place1 the snow was quickly     
piled up in a great bank at our rear2   
and1 sometimes1 if the night threatened 
to be unusually severe1 on each side of 
us4  ,then the great roaring fire of dry

 wood1 at which we cooked our suppers1  
thawed out the fish for our dogs1 and   
warmed our half frozen bodies1 was very 
welcome4  ,when supper was eaten1 and   
prayers1 so sweet and profitable to us  
all1 were over1 how delightful to sit   
down on our robes and spend some hours  
in pleasant chat ere my bed was made and
 ,i was cosily and thoroughly tucked in 
by my faithful comrades4  ,it was hard  
at first to sleep with the head         
completely covered2 there was such a    
sense of smothering1 that ,i often ran  
the risk of the freezing rather than the
 smothering4  ,one night1 perhaps       
because of this suffocating sensation1  
,i unconsciously uncovered my head4     
,after a time ,i awoke suddenly to      
consciousness1 to find that ,i was      
trying to pull off my now frozen nose   
which ,i thought was the end of an axe  
handle4  ,we fed our dogs on fish1      
giving them only one meal a day1 and    
that one1 when the day's work was done4 
,to feed them in the morning1 caused    

them to be sluggish and stupid for some 
time thereafter2 and the same happened  
if they were fed at noon4  ,long        
experience has shown1 that the dogs     
thrive the best1 and are able to do the 
most work1 on one good meal given to    
them before their long night's rest4    
,the dog-shoes1 which are so essential  
to their comfort and recovery when a    
foot is frozen or badly injured1 are    
much prized by them4  ,these shoes are  
made out of a warm ,english cloth called
 duffle1 and are in shape like a large  
mit without a thumb4  ,an old dog that  
has once become accustomed to dog shoes1
 is ever hankering after them when on a 
long cold trip4 ,sometimes1 they will   
come and most comically hold up their   
feet to be shod4  ,at other times1 they 
have been known to come into camp and   
there lie down on their backs1 and1     
holding up their four feet1 plead most  
ludicrously and importunately for these 
warm woollen shoes4  ,some of them get  
very cunning at their work1 and shirk   

from doing their share of the pulling2  
and yet1 to avoid discovery1 will appear
 to be doing more work than any other   
dog in the train4  ,but this dog        
travelling was hard work at best2 and   
dogs1 as well as their master1 were     
always glad when the long journeys were 
ended and a welcome rest for a little   
while could be taken1 to heal up the    
wounds and frost bites1 and gather      
strength for the next trip4  ,good was  
accomplished1 and that was the great    
reward for all the risks run and        
sufferings endured4  ,many for whom     
,christ died1 would never up to the     
present hour1 have heard the ,gospel or 
have seen the ,book1 if it had not been 
for the missionary carrying it to them  
by the canoe in summer1 and the         
dog-train in winter4  ,thank ,god1 many 
of them have heard and have accepted    
gladly the great salvation thus brought 
to them4  ,with its reception into their
 hearts and lives1 marvellous have been 
the transformations4  ,where the        

devil-dance1 and ghost-dance1 and other 
abominations1 performed to the          
accompaniment of the conjurer's rattle  
or the monotonous drumming of the       
medicine man1 once prevailed and held   
the people in a degrading superstition1 
the house of prayer has now been        
erected1 and the wilderness has become  
vocal with the sweet songs of ,zion4    
,lives once impure and sinful have been 
transformed by the ,gospel's power1 and 
a civilisation real and abiding1 has    
come in to bless and to add to their    
comfort for this life1 while they dwell 
in a sweet and blessed assurance of life
 eternal in the world to come4          
,,chapter ,,five4  ,,god ,,on ,,the     
,,rock1 ,,or ,,how ,,the ,,indians ,,are
 ,,taught ,,to ,,read ,,the ,,book4     
,the ,british and ,foreign ,bible       
,society1 the ,american ,bible ,society1
 and other kindred institutions that    
print and scatter the ,word of ,god1    
have been1 and are1 of incalculable     
benefit to the missionaries4  ,long ago 

the ,psalmist said3 ,the entrance of thy
 words giveth light2 and blessedly and  
gloriously is this truth being realised4
  ,no matter where a missionary goes1 he
 feels much hampered if he has not the  
,book in the language of the people4    
,it is a matter of thankfulness1 that in
 these later years--thanks to these     
glorious ,bible ,societies-- there is   
hardly a land or nation where a         
missionary can go1 but he will find the 
,bible printed in the language or       
languages of that nation1 and offered to
 the people at rates so reasonable1 that
 the poorest of the poor may have it if 
they will4  ,but it was not always so1  
and we need not go back to ,wickliffe or
 ,tyndal to read of difficulties in the 
way of presenting to the common people  
the ,word of ,god in their own tongue4  
,all the great missionary societies in  
their earlier days had their ,careys1   
and ,morrisons1 and ,duffs1 who         
struggled on1 and persevered against    
oppositions and difficulties that to    

ordinary mortals would have been        
insurmountable1 and would have filled   
them with despair4  ,the difficulties   
that ,john ,eliot had to overcome ere he
 was able to give the ,bible to the     
,indians of ,new ,england1 were numerous
 and exasperating2 but his indomitable  
will carried him through to ultimate    
success4  ,sad indeed is it to think1   
that there is not a man1 woman or child 
of them left to read his ,bible4  ,all  
the tribes for whom1 at such a cost of  
tears and difficulties1 he translated   
the ,book1 are gone4  ,the greed for    
land and the cruelties of the early     
settlers1 were too much for the poor    
,indian4  ,from his different           
reservations where ,eliot1 ,brainard1   
,mayhews1 and other devoted friends     
tried to save him1 he was driven back1  
back1 with such destruction and loss at 
each move1 that ultimately he was simply
 wiped out4  ,and so to-day1 in the     
library of ,harvard ,university and in a
 very few other places1 there are to be 

found copies of ,eliot's ,bible2 sealed 
books1 which no man can read2 a sad     
evidence of ,man's inhumanity to man4   
,one of the most signal triumphs in     
giving the ,bible to a people in their  
own language1 and printed in a way so   
simple as to be very easily acquired by 
them1 is that of the translation and    
printing of the ,book in the syllable   
characters4  ,these syllabic characters 
were invented by the ,rev  ,james       
,evans1 one of the early ,methodist     
missionaries to the scattered tribes of 
,indians in what were then known as the 
,hudson ,bay ,territories4  ,for some   
years ,mr ,evans had been employed as a 
missionary among the ,indians who       
resided on different reservations in the
 ,province of ,ontario1 then known as   
,upper ,canada4  ,at the request of the 
parent ,wesleyan ,missionary ,society1  
and at the solicitation of the ,hudson  
,bay ,fur-trading ,company1 ,mr ,evans1 
accompanied by some devoted brother     
missionaries went into those remote     

northern regions to begin missionary    
operations4  ,mr ,evans and some of his 
companions travelled all the way from   
,montreal to ,norway ,house1 on the     
,nelson ,river1 in a birch-bark canoe4  
,a look at the map will give some idea  
of the length and hardships of such a   
journey in those days4  ,but they       
succeeded in accomplishing it2 and with 
glad hearts began their blessed work of 
the evangelisation of the natives4      
,missionary methods must necessarily    
differ in different lands4  ,the        
missionary to succeed must be a man who 
can adopt himself to his surroundings2  
and he must be quick to see where       
success can be most easily attained4    
,here was a people who were fishermen   
and hunters1 living far north of the    
agricultural regions4  ,as hunters1 they
 were ever on the go1 so that it was    
almost an impossibility to keep them    
long enough in one place to teach them  
to read in the ordinary way4  ,over     
these difficulties ,mr ,evans pondered  

and worked and1 after any amount of     
experimenting and failure1 succeeded in 
inventing and perfecting that is known  
as the syllabic characters4  ,these very
 simple characters each represent a     
syllable1 so all the difficulties of    
learning to spell are done away with4   
,in prosecuting his work1 ,mr ,evans had
 to labour under many disadvantages4    
,living in a land so remote from        
civilisation1 he had but little material
 on which to experiment1 and but few    
facilities to aid him4  ,from the       
fur-traders he begged a few sheets of   
the lead that lines the interior of tea 
chests4 ,this he melted into suitable   
pieces1 out of which he carved his first
 type4  ,for paper he was obliged at    
first to use birch bark4  ,his ink was  
manufactured out of the soot from his   
chimney and sturgeon oil4  ,yet with    
these rude appliances he succeeded in   
being able to print portions of the     
,scriptures and some hymns in the       
language of the ,cree ,indians4 ,when   

the story of his marvellous invention   
reached ,england1 generous friends came 
to his assistance4  ,from some of his   
types1 as models1 a generous supply was 
cast2 these1 with a good hand printing  
press and all necessary supplies of     
paper1 ink1 and other essentials1 were  
shipped to him by the ,hudson ,bay      
,company1 to ,norway ,house4  ,for years
 the work of printing portions of the   
,word of ,god was there prosecuted1     
until at length the ,british and        
,foreign ,bible ,society took up the    
work1 and now1 all the ,bibles the      
people require are most cheerfully      
furnished them by that most generous and
 glorious society4  ,the love of the    
,christian ,indians for their ,bible is 
very gratifying4 ,so great a comfort and
 solace is it to them in their solitary 
wigwams and lonely hunting-camps1 that  
nothing will induce them to leave it out
 of their pack4  ,the trail may be rough
 and the journey of many days duration2 
food may have to be carried on their    

backs for days together so that every   
pound of weight has to be determined    
upon2 days of hunger must be faced ere  
the journey ends and abundance of game  
is reached1 yet the ,great ,book is ever
 carried as the most prized of all their
 possessions4  ,such a thing as a       
,christian ,indian throwing out his     
,bible1 when in an emergency his load   
had to be lightened1 ,i have never      
known4 ,their work as hunters gives them
 a good deal of leisure time1 which     
enables them to be diligent students of 
the ,book4  ,when in the beginning of   
the winter1 they go to the distant      
hunting grounds1 the hunting lodge is   
erected1 and the traps and snares and   
other appliances for capturing the game 
are all arranged4  ,then1 especially in 
the capture of some kinds of game1 they 
have to allow some days to pass ere they
 visit the traps4  ,this is to allow all
 evidences of their presence to         
disappear1 as some of the most valuable 
fur-bearing animals have a wonderful    

power of detecting the presence of man1 
and will not approach either his traps  
or trail1 until some considerable time  
after the hunter had finished his work  
and retired4  ,during these long        
waitings in their wigwams1 or hunting   
lodges1 the ,indians have not much with 
which to interest themselves2 the result
 is1 the ,bible has come to them as a   
wonderful benediction4  ,its startling  
incidents and stories1 become more      
prized than the legends and myths that  
have come down to them from their       
forefathers1 and have been repeated over
 and over in their hearing by the old   
story-tellers of the tribe4  ,then1 when
 the revelation of ,god's love in the   
gift of ,his ,son has been proclaimed   
to1 and received by them--and here in   
this ,book they can read it for         
themselves--they are filled with        
grateful and adoring love1 and the ,book
 is indeed most precious4  ,as ,i       
journeyed among these wonderful people1 
,i carried as part of my outfit1 a      

number of these syllabic ,bibles1 and no
 gift was more acceptable to those who  
had but lately renounced their paganism 
and given their hearts to ,god4  ,in    
some way or other they had acquired a   
knowledge of the syllables1 so that the 
acquisition of a ,bible that they could 
call their own1 was a treasure most     
prized and used4  ,amongst those1 who   
until my visit had never seen a ,bible  
or heard a missionary1 there were       
conflicting ideas regarding the ,book4  
,some1 at first1 were afraid of it4  ,it
 was great medicine1 and only for the   
white man4  ,one old conjurer who       
boasted of his supernatural powers and  
of the wonderful things he could do by  
the aid of his medicines1 failing       
signally when ,i challenged him to show 
his power1 declared1 that it was because
 of the ,book which ,i carried in my    
pocket4  ,then1 ,i permitted an ,indian 
to take the ,book some distance away2   
and when he still failed1 he protested  
that it was because ,i had so much of it

 in my head or heart4  ,of course this  
feeling of fear for the ,book quickly   
left them as they became acquainted with
 it4  ,when ,christianity is accepted1  
there comes a great love for the        
precious volume that has in it so much  
information of things about which they  
are in such ignorance1 and that reveals 
the love of the ,great ,spirit for ,his 
,indian children4  ,the missionaries    
employed simple and primitive ways to   
teach the syllabic characters to those  
who knew them not1 but who were anxious 
to learn4  ,sometimes with a lead pencil
 on a piece of board or birch-bark1 the 
characters were drawn and slowly and    
carefully gone over1 time and time      
again1 until they were completely       
mastered4  ,when pencils gave out1 the  
end of a burnt stick1 or a piece of coal
 from the fire1 had to serve as a       
substitute4  ,our illustration will show
 one of my methods used at ,burntwood   
,river far up in the ,nelson ,river     
country4  ,i had the honour of being the

 first missionary who ever reached the  
,indians of that section and preached to
 them the ,gospel4  ,they are a fine    
company of ,indians1 and ,i found1 that 
with the few exceptions of some old     
conjurers and medicine men and          
polygamists1 the people were not only   
glad to see me1 but anxious to hear and 
accept the ,gospel of our ,lord ,jesus  
,christ4  ,i visited them twice a year  
and began the work2 but to my beloved   
first colleague1 the ,rev  ,john        
,semmens1 was given the work of         
establishing the mission4  ,on my       
visits1 which as usual were made with my
 dogs in winter and by canoe in summer1 
,i had to gather the ,indians for       
religious services as best ,i could4    
,the large kitchen of the ,hudson ,bay  
,company's trading post was put at my   
disposal by the officer in charge1 who  
was ever kindly disposed toward the good
 work4  ,in this1 as well as in the poor
 wigwams of the natives1 we met1 and    
sang1 and prayed1 and explained to them 

as well as possible the plan of         
salvation--,god's great love toward     
them4  ,in the short brilliant summer   
the work was very much more pleasant4   
,then1 under the beautiful trees1 or    
where the great rocks rose up around us 
and cast their welcome shadows1 we could
 gather the people and talk of the      
loving ,heavenly ,father2 not only of   
,his ,creative power1 but of ,his       
redeeming love in the gift of ,his      
beloved ,son4  ,in my missionary        
experiences ,i have found1 that the     
majority of men are sick of sin4  ,down 
in the human heart there is a longing   
for something which is only really      
satisfied by the acceptance of the ,lord
 ,jesus ,christ4  ,it is true that these
 inner feelings may be long hidden from 
outer vision1 or there may be an        
endeavour to satisfy their cravings by  
the vigorous exercise of all the        
religious ceremonies that have been     
revealed to them in their idolatrous or 
pagan surroundings2 but when they can be

 induced to speak out and unburden their
 very souls1 their bitter wailing cry is
 one of dissatisfaction and unrest4     
,happy is the missionary who can so win 
the confidence of a people thus         
dissatisfied1 that they will reveal to  
him their heart's burdens and longings4 
,his victory is more than half assured4 
,christ in ,his fulness1 lovingly       
presented to such1 and accepted by them1
 is soon in their hearts a satisfying   
portion4  ,the missionary ever finds    
among all classes of pagan people that  
the ,book is always considered a        
mysterious and wonderful volume4  ,its  
marvellous incidents ever attract4      
,they never tire of the services where  
it has a prominent place4  ,sermons1    
even though hours in duration1 if full  
of its truths1 will be attentively      
listened to4  ,one day at one of these  
places where ,i was holding some        
extended services1 ,i said to the       
friendly ,indians who were around me3   
,would you not like to read this ,book  

for yourselves8  ,a chorus of hearty    
affirmative answers1 was the quick      
response4  ,it did not take us long to  
organise our school1 for it was indeed a
 primitive affair4  ,i was fortunate in 
having a goodly number of syllabic      
,bibles1 which1 at a great deal of      
trouble1 we had brought with us in our  
canoe4  ,we had carried them across many
 a portage and had guarded them from    
injury in many a storm4  ,not one person
 in that audience except my boatmen1    
knew a letter or syllabic character4    
,we had no primary books1 which are     
considered so essential in organising a 
school that has to begin at first       
principles2 we had not even a slate1    
pencil1 paper1 or blackboard4 ,however1 
necessity is the mother of invention1   
and it was so here4  ,near at hand was a
 huge rock that towered up like a house1
 one side of it being as smooth as a    
wall4  ,this constituted an admirable   
substitute for a blackboard4  ,burnt    
sticks from the camp-fire1 where our    

fish and bear's meat had been cooked1   
were used as substitutes for chalk4     
7,our smaller illustration shows        
thirty-six syllabic characters with     
their names47  ,after a few words of    
explanation the work of memorising the  
characters began4  ,a1 ,e1 ,oo1 ,ah4    
,it was just like a lot of little       
children in a primary school beginning  
with ,a1 ,b1 ,c4  ,over1 and over again1
 we repeated them1 one after the other1 
until my mixed audience became          
familiarised with the sounds4  ,thus we 
studied them for hours4  ,at first the  
interest in the work was very great1 and
 from the old men of eighty1 to the boys
 and girls of six or eight the best of  
attention was paid4  ,they seemed to vie
 with one another in their efforts to   
see which could master them most        
quickly4  ,after a time the interest    
flagged considerably1 especially among  
the older men1 as to them1 these        
characters alone1 were as yet1 unmeaning
 sounds4  ,some of them got up and lit  

their pipes1 and moving around1 divided 
their time between the lesson and the   
smoking4  ,of course ,i had to let them 
smoke4  ,i might have found it a        
difficult matter to have stopped them if
 ,i had been so foolish as to have      
tried4  ,so ,i told them some pleasant  
stories1 as we toiled on at our lesson1 
it was not many hours before a number of
 my undisciplined pupils had a fairly   
good idea of the names of the           
characters4  ,knowing that ,i could     
arouse the interest of the most         
apathetic among them when ,i began to   
combine the characters into words1 ,i   
asked for their earnest attention while 
,i proceeded in my work4  ,i marked out 
some simple words such as3 7pa-pa17     
7ma-ma17 7,oo-me-me17--7,english3       
pigeon47  ,i showed them how thus to    
combine these signs into words4  ,this  
very much interested them2 but the      
climax came1 when with the burnt stick  
,i marked 7,maneto1--,english3 ,god1 or 
the ,great ,spirit47  ,great indeed was 

the excitement among them4  ,they could 
hardly believe their own eyes that      
before them was ,maneto1 the ,great     
,spirit4 ,he whom they had heard in the 
thunder and the storm1 whose power they 
had seen in the lightning flash1 about  
whom1 with reverence and awe1 they had  
talked in their wigwams1 and at their   
camp-fires--,maneto6 ,here1 made by a   
burnt stick on a rock visible to their  
eyes1 was that name3 ,god on the ,rock6 
,it was indeed a revelation4  ,something
 that filled1 and thrilled them1 as ,i  
have never before or since seen ,indians
 thrilled4  ,for a time ,i could only   
keep quiet and look on1 and rejoice as  
,i studied them4  ,some of them in their
 amazement were doubtful of their own   
senses4  ,they acted as though they     
could not believe their own eyes2 so    
they appealed to those nearest to them1 
and said3  ,is it ,maneto to you8       
,others were noticed rubbing their eyes1
 as though they feared that by some     
witchery bad medicine had been thrown in

 them1 and1 in their ,indian            
phraseology1 they were seeing double4   
,there was no more inattention4  ,every 
pipe went out1 and every eye followed   
me1 as in these syllables ,i wrote on   
the rock1 ,god is ,love4 ,after talking 
about this a little4  ,i then wrote1    
,god ,loves ,you4  ,this we followed    
with other short sentences full of      
blessed ,gospel truths4 ,thus passed    
some hours in this delightful way1 and  
before they were ended1 numbers of my   
pupils had become quite familiarised    
with the formation of words out of these
 characters4  ,then we opened our bundle
 of ,bibles1 and1 passing them around as
 far as they would go1 ,i had them all  
turn to the first verse of the first    
chapter of ,genesis4  ,after some       
explanation of a few additional signs   
which they there saw upon the printed   
page1 and which give some variation to  
the sound of the syllabic character to  
which they are attached1 we began the   
study of the verse4  ,of course our     

progress at first was slow4  ,it could  
not be otherwise under such             
circumstances4 ,but we patiently        
persevered1 and it was not very long ere
 they were able to read in their own    
language3 ,ma-wache ,nistum ,kaesamaneto
 ,keoosetou ,kesik ,mesa ,askee1 7,in   
the beginning ,god created the heaven   
and the earth47  ,when they had acquired
 the ability to read this verse for     
themselves1 and had grasped a little of 
its meaning1 there was another outburst 
of delight4  ,that first verse of       
,genesis is very suggestive and full of 
meaning to any one1 no matter how       
learned1 who strives to investigate it4 
,it is in itself the first chapter of   
,god's revelation of ,himself to man1   
and has long occupied the attention and 
study of the most godly and profound4   
,here1 for the first time1 it was being 
read by a company of poor ,indians just 
emerging from paganism4  ,but they were 
sharp and keen1 and able to grasp a new 
truth2 and so when the verse first      

opened before them with its wondrous    
meaning1 great was their delight and    
amazement4  ,now we know all about it6  
some of them shouted4  ,the             
,kaesa-,maneto1 7the great ,god17 made  
all these things1 the heaven and the    
earth4  ,others said3  ,our fathers     
talked about it in their wigwams1 and   
wondered how all these things came as   
they are2 but they had to confess that  
they were in darkness1 and knew nothing4
  ,but now we know it6  ,we know it6    
,over and over again they read the verse
 until they had thoroughly committed it 
to memory4  ,and in after days1 at many 
a campfire and in many a hunting lodge1 
it was repeated to others who had not   
heard it1 but who1 on hearing it1 were  
also filled with gratification and      
delight at the answer which it gave to  
what had long been a subject of         
perplexity and awe4  ,day after day     
before that rock the study of other     
verses followed4 ,slowly of course at   
first1 but gradually increasing as they 

became more and more acquainted with the
 syllabics4  ,thus these eager          
interested ,indians1 studied amidst     
these primitive surroundings1 and       
applied themselves with such earnestness
 to their work1 that although they had  
never been to school a day in their     
lives1 some of them1 in ten days or two 
weeks were able to read with fluency the
 ,word of ,god in their own language4   
,no wonder the great ,lord ,dufferin1   
then ,governor ,general of the ,dominion
 of ,canada1 said to me3  ,the man who  
invented that syllabic alphabet1 was one
 of the great benefactors of humanity1  
and more richly deserved a pension1 a   
title1 and a resting place in           
,westminster ,abbey1 than many who were 
there buried4  ,for some years1 at      
several of the missions1 the ,christian 
,indians were only taught a knowledge of
 these syllabic characters1 and were    
thus only able to read the books which  
were printed with them4  ,now1 however1 
in all the schools1 the ,english        

language is taught also1 and our common 
alphabet is in general use4  ,the result
 is1 that many of the younger generation
 understand1 talk1 and read in ,english4
  ,english ,bibles are being circulated 
among them1 and many of the younger     
people already prefer the ,english      
,bible to the ,indian translation4      
,still1 all the older people only       
understand the syllabic characters2 and 
so for years to come1 this wonderful    
invention will still be utilised1 and   
will continue to be a benediction4      
,hymn-books1 catechisms1 the ,pilgrim's 
,progress1 and a few other books of a   
religious character1 have been printed  
in the syllables1 and are much prized   
and well used1 by their ,indian readers4
  ,all the churches that are currying on
 missionary work in those vast northern 
regions have availed themselves of ,mr  
,evans' invention4  ,among other tribes 
than the ,cree1 where there are         
different sounds in their language1 some
 few extra characters have been added4  

,even in ,labrador and ,greenland the   
devoted ,moravian missionaries who are  
there toiling1 are successfully using   
the syllabic characters to teach the    
poor wandering ,esquimaux how to read1  
in his own uncouth ,language1 the ,word 
of ,god4    ,,chapter ,,six4  ,,the     
,,story ,,of ,,sandy ,,harte4  ,among   
all of my appointments1 the one which   
perhaps afforded me the greatest        
pleasure and satisfaction1 was that of  
,nelson ,river4  ,at ,oxford house we   
had a larger number of converted        
,indians2 but that mission had been long
 organised1 and devout and earnest men1 
like ,reverend ,messrs ,brooking1 and   
,stringfellow1 had given to it years of 
honest self-denying toil4  ,nelson      
,river1 on the other hand1 was a new and
 untried field1 where it was my         
privilege and joy to go as the first    
missionary4  ,of the many grand converts
 there happily rescued from the darkness
 and power of paganism1 there is one    
beautiful character who is now the right

 hand of the resident missionary4  ,his 
name is ,sandy ,harte4  ,my introduction
 to him was a peculiar one4  ,the day   
was one of rare beauty1 and ,i had spent
 the forenoon in teaching a number of   
adults and ,indian children how to read 
the ,word of ,god printed in the        
syllabic characters4 ,during the noon   
hour of rest ,i entered the birch bark  
wigwam of one of the principal ,indians1
 and was naturally surprised to observe 
a fine looking ,indian lad stretched out
 on a bed of rabbit robes and blankets  
while the other boys were engaged in    
various sports4  ,addressing him1 ,i    
said3  ,why are you lying here this     
beautiful day8  ,with a sudden movement 
he jerked away the upper robe that was  
over him1 and1 pointing to his shattered
 thigh1 said in tones full of           
bitterness3  ,missionary1 that is the   
reason why ,i am here1 instead of being 
out in the sunshine with the other boys4
  ,the despairing tone1 the emphatic    
utterance1 at once aroused my sympathies

 and caused me to be deeply interested  
in this wounded boy1 so helpless1 not   
knowing the hour when1 according to the 
prevailing custom1 he might be put to   
death4  ,the heartless reasoning of     
these ,indians in such cases was like   
this3 he will always be lame and        
helpless2 why should he be a burden on  
his friends8 let us kill him at once2 it
 will be better for him and them4       
,however1 they had postponed the killing
 of this lad because he was the son of  
the chief4  ,after ,i had examined his  
wound and had given some directions as  
to its treatment1 ,i sat down beside him
 and heard from his lips the sad story  
of the misfortune which had crippled him
 for life4  ,it seems1 that he and      
another boy were out shooting partridges
 and rabbits4  ,while moving through the
 forest1 ,sandy walking ahead1 the gun  
of his comrade accidentally went off and
 poured its contents into his leg4  ,the
 bone was badly splintered1 and the     
muscles so cut and torn1 that there was 

absolutely no possibility of his ever   
being able to walk on it again4  ,after 
,i had had quite a chat with him1 ,i    
asked if he would like to be able to    
read the ,word of ,god4  ,his bright    
eyes shone with pleasure1 and his       
response was so expressive of eager     
longing1 that ,i at once began the first
 lesson4  ,sitting beside him on the    
ground1 ,i drew the syllabic characters 
and spent an hour or so in teaching them
 to him4  ,he had a very retentive      
memory1 and was intensely anxious to    
learn as rapidly as possible4  ,so1     
every day1 when ,i had finished giving  
lessons to the crowd of young and old   
people1 ,i used to hurry over to the    
wigwam where he lay to give him         
additional instruction2 and so deeply   
interested was he1 that ,i felt well    
repaid for my trouble4  ,as ,i was      
hundreds of miles from home--having come
 on that long trail with a couple of    
,indians in a birch canoe--and had a    
number of other points at which ,i      

wished to stop and do missionary work1  
,i was obliged to bring my visit at this
 place to an end after a couple of      
weeks4  ,but before leaving1 ,i had an  
informal conversation with ,murdo1      
,oowikapun1 and some other of the       
friendly ,indians4  ,what a pity it is1 
,i exclaimed1 that ,sandy could not be  
educated6  ,if only he could be educated
 enough to be your teacher1 what a good 
thing it would be6  ,for1 next to a     
missionary to live permanently among    
you1 a godly teacher would be the best  
thing you could have4  ,he will never   
again have the full use of his leg1 so  
will not be able to become a great      
hunter2 but if he had an education1 he  
might be a blessing to you all6  ,then  
,i bade farewell to these northern      
,indians who had received me so kindly1 
and with some parting words1 especially 
urging that the wounded boy should be   
kindly cared for1 ,i resumed my         
adventurous journey4  ,as we journeyed  
on from place to place we had plenty of 

strange adventures4  ,we shot a fine    
black bear1 and1 at our first meal after
 our battle with him1 enjoyed picking   
his ribs4  ,in his capture1 ,i was very 
much interested in watching how human   
experience was able to overmatch animal 
instinct4  ,we had a very narrow escape 
in some wild and treacherous rapids1    
where we lost part of the contents of   
our canoe and were all nearly drowned   
ere we succeeded in reaching the shore4 
,this loss was the more keenly felt1 as 
in such an isolated place it is utterly 
impossible to replenish your store4     
,however1 after several such mishaps1 we
 succeeded in carrying out our          
programme2 and at length reached home in
 safety4  ,the long winter1 with its    
seven or eight months of bitter cold1   
set in shortly after4  ,for a few weeks 
,i was kept busy with home matters and  
the affairs of the local mission        
appointment4  ,as soon1 however1 as the 
great lakes and rivers were well frozen 
over and a sufficient fall of snow made 

it possible to begin my winter journeys1
 ,i harnessed my dogs1 and with my guide
 and dog-drivers1 responded1 as far as  
possible1 to the many calls to tell the 
,story of the ,great ,book4  ,so many   
were the ,macedonian calls from other   
places that winter1 that ,i did not make
 a trip to ,nelson ,river4  ,this ,i    
regretted exceedingly1 for although it  
was the most distant1 it was one of the 
most promising and encouraging of all   
the new fields to which ,i had gone4    
,about the middle of the following      
summer1 while enjoying the glories of a 
magnificent sunset1 ,i saw a canoe with 
some ,indians in it coming toward our   
home4  ,when they had landed1 two of    
them at once came up to me1 greeted me  
most cordially1 and before ,i could     
fully return their greetings1 or recall 
where ,i had before seen them1          
exclaimed3  ,we remember your good words
 to us--and we have brought ,sandy      
along4  ,sandy along6  ,who is ,sandy8  
,i asked4  ,why1 ,sandy ,harte--you     

remember him--the boy who was shot in   
the leg-- the one you used to go and    
teach2 we have brought him along1 for we
 remember your words1 so sweet to us1   
about him4  ,what were my words8  ,i    
asked1 for ,i could not at that moment  
recall them4  ,why1 your words were3    
,what a pity it is that ,sandy is not   
educated6  ,if he were educated1 he     
might be such a blessing to you all4    
,we have not forgotten it4  ,we have    
often talked about it4  ,what you said  
to us and taught us from the ,great     
,book was so good1 we are hungry for    
more4  ,we are willing to be taught4    
,you cannot come all the time4  ,we want
 some one to be with us who knows       
something2 so we have brought ,sandy all
 the way in the canoe to be taught by   
you2 and then1 to come back to us1 that 
we may learn of him4  ,there was no     
mistake about it4  ,there was ,sandy in 
the middle of the canoe looking up at me
 with those brilliant black eyes that   
had so attracted me in that wigwam far  

away4  ,i went down to the canoe1 spoke 
kindly to the lad1 shook his hand1 and  
invited all the ,indians into my house4 
,after introducing them to my good wife1
 ,i told her ,sandy's story2 and how    
they had remembered my words of a year  
ago1 and had brought him on this long   
journey to place him in our care3       
utterly unable themselves to do anything
 for his support1 ,i confess1 that for  
the moment1 ,i regretted having been so 
quick in uttering words which had been  
so construed1 by these ,indians and     
which had thrown upon our care this wild
 wounded ,indian boy4  ,it was the time 
of the first ,riel ,rebellion in        
,manitoba1 and although we were living  
far north of the actual scene of        
rebellion1 yet our supplies had in so   
great a measure been cut off1 that we   
were existing on very scant rations4    
,often we averaged no more than two     
meals a day1 and frequently1 when eating
 breakfast1 we did not know from what   
quarter our dinner was to come4  ,and   

now while on the verge of starvation1   
came this extraordinary addition to our 
family1 which meant another mouth to    
feed1 and another body to clothe4  ,in  
our abounding poverty1 here indeed was a
 trial of faith6  ,after talking the    
matter over with my brave large-hearted 
wife1 and asking divine direction1 the  
noble woman said3  ,the ,lord is in it1 
and ,he who has sent the mouth to be    
filled will surely send all our         
additional requirements4  ,so we        
cheerfully received ,sandy into our home
 and made him as one of our family4  ,he
 was in a deplorable condition in more  
ways than one4  ,coming from a wild band
 of ,indians who were in complete       
ignorance of cleanliness and of the     
habits and requirements of the whites1  
this poor wounded ,indian boy had many  
things to learn2 and at first1 on       
account of his ignorance and prejudices1
 we had many opportunities for the      
exercise of patience and forbearance4   
,,how ,,sandy ,,was ,,conquered4  ,like 

nearly all of the pagan ,indians1 ,sandy
 had prejudices against women1 and it   
was hard at first to get him to pay any 
attention to what the missionary's wife 
said4  ,he thought it humiliating and   
degrading to obey1 or even to pay any   
attention to a woman's request4  ,yet we
 both treated him with the greatest     
kindness1 and hoped and prayed1 that    
time and the grace of ,god would work   
the changes needed for him4  ,he was a  
bright scholar and made rapid progress  
in his studies1 and in a few months was 
able to read in his own language4  ,for 
a time1 the novelty of his new          
surroundings kept him interested1 and he
 seemed quite at home4  ,he made many   
friends among our ,christian ,indians1  
who1 on learning of the peculiar way in 
which he had been thrown upon our hands1
 became much interested in him4  ,he    
went to ,sunday school1 and also        
attended the various services in the    
church2 but for a long time it seemed as
 though it was only in the spirit of    

mere idle curiosity1 or because others  
did so4  ,when the first long winter    
after his arrival had ended1 and the    
springtime had come again1 ,sandy became
 very homesick and longed to go back to 
his far-off wigwam abode4  ,the sight of
 rippling waters and running streams was
 too much for his wild untamed spirit1  
and he chafed under the discipline of a 
civilised home1 and became dejected and 
miserable4  ,we all noticed his         
restlessness2 but talked kindly to him1 
and urged him to apply himself to his   
lessons1 that he might the sooner be    
able to return to his wild free life in 
his distant home4  ,but ,indian-like1   
the more we said to him1 the worse he   
seemed to become1 until he made it very 
uncomfortable for us all4  ,one day     
instead of going to school1 he hobbled  
away on his crutches to a picturesque   
point of land which jutted far out into 
the lake4  ,in the evening1 the teacher 
came to the mission house and inquired  
why ,sandy had not been at school that  

day4  ,this of course was news to us4   
,we were at once much alarmed1 and      
immediately began searching for the     
absentee4  ,after about an hour's       
search1 in which quite a number of      
,indians took part1 ,sandy was found    
curled up among the rocks on the point1 
crying bitterly for his ,nelson ,river  
home4  ,having exhausted all my         
persuasive powers1 ,i saw that ,i must  
change my style of dealing with him4    
,so1 appearing to be very indignant1 ,i 
picked up a large stick1 and1 rushing at
 him1 sternly ordered him to get up and 
return to our house as quickly as       
possible4  ,with a frightened glance    
into my face to see how much ,i meant1  
he sprang up and hurried back to the    
mission house1 ,i gave him a severe     
reprimanding1 asking him1 among other   
things if he thought such conduct on his
 part was a fair return for all our     
kindness to him4  ,then ,i said to him  
sharply3  ,go up to your room and bring 
down all your torn and soiled clothes   

and moccasins4  ,with a sad look he     
obeyed1 and soon returned with his      
bundle4  ,after looking over the lot1 ,i
 took them away from him2 and1 calling  
in an ,indian woman1 gave her some soap 
and sewing material1 and told her to    
take all of those things1 wash and mend 
them nicely1 bring them back to me1 and 
,i would pay her for her trouble4  ,when
 he saw his clothes going away1 he was  
in great perplexity and distress as he  
was not at all sure that they would be  
returned to him4  ,the fact was1 he had 
a good deal of vanity about him in those
 days1 and ,i made the discovery that he
 had become very proud of the clothes we
 had given him in place of the wretched 
ones in which he had been brought to us4
  ,so1 the threatened loss of all he had
 except what he wore1 was to him a dire 
calamity1 ,i let him grieve for some    
hours1 saying but little to him1        
resolved to put a stop to his nonsense  
which was only making himself and others
 miserable4  ,when the bundle of clean  

clothing returned1 ,i added to it new   
pants1 shirts1 moccasins1 a bright      
handkerchief1 and a hat2 then1 in the   
kindest way possible1 with loving words4
  ,i gave him the whole bundle4 ,poor   
boy6 he was bewildered and amazed4  ,he 
could not speak his thanks2 but his     
glistening tear dimmed eyes told us that
 he was cured and conquered4  ,never did
 the stern lesson have to be repeated4  
,but he was greatly perplexed4  ,it was 
such different treatment from that to   
which he had been accustomed4  ,this    
combination of sternness and kindness1  
was to him such a mystery1 that he      
evidently could not stop thinking and   
wondering about it4  ,so1 one day when  
he had nothing to do1 he went over to   
have a talk on the subject with one of  
the ,indians who was a sensible         
,christian man and a great friend of    
his4  ,i cannot make out our missionary1
 said ,sandy4  ,when he came after me to
 the point where ,i had hid1 he seemed  
very angry1 and took up a big stick as  

if to strike me4  ,indeed1 he nearly    
frightened the life out of me although  
he did not once hit me4  ,then1 after   
ordering me back to the house in such a 
hurry1 he made me bring out all my      
clothes1 and gave them to a woman to    
carry away4  ,of course ,i never        
expected to see them again3 but ,i      
did--they came back clean and mended1   
and he had added a lot more to them4  ,i
 cannot understand it4  ,the missionary 
at first seemed as though he would      
thrash me1 then he turned round and gave
 me all these good things4  ,from the   
,christian ,indian to whom ,sandy had   
gone1 we afterward learned all about    
this interview4  ,he said he let the lad
 tell him of his perplexities1 and then 
gave him a long faithful talk4  ,here is
 the substance of his reply to ,sandy4  
,the missionary and his kind wife have  
come here to do us good4  ,they have    
left their friends far away4  ,they were
 many days on their journey to this     
land1 and have suffered many hardships4 

,when your friends brought you here1    
they took you into their home and       
treated you1 not as a servant1 but as   
one of their own family4  ,there is not 
an ,indian in the village but would be  
glad to change places with you1 and to  
be treated as you have been4  ,if they  
have food1 they share it equally with   
you4  ,you have had medicine and        
bandages for your sore leg4  ,you are   
well dressed4  ,they have been like     
parents to you4  ,yet you have not been 
grateful4  ,you acted very foolishly4   
,you ran away from school and hid       
yourself4  ,you made their hearts       
alarmed for fear some serious accident  
had happened to you4  ,the worst is1 you
 do not obey ,ookemasquao 7the          
missionary's wife17 as you ought4       
,white ladies are to be as much obeyed  
and respected as men4  ,yet in spite of 
all your foolishness and stubbornness1  
they have been very patient with you4   
,they kept hoping1 that as you grew     
older you would grow wiser2 but you have

 been getting so much worse lately1 that
 the missionary has had to deal sternly 
with you4  ,he1 however1 felt sorry for 
you2 his heart was kind toward you all  
the time2 and so1 when you went back1 he
 showed his love to you by his presents4
  ,we all see1 that the missionary and  
his wife have nothing in their hearts   
toward you but love4  ,but you must be  
obedient1 and you ought to be thankful4 
,they are praying much for you1 and     
hoping that you will yet become a good  
,christian1 and at some future time1 be 
a great blessing to your own people4    
,thus this sensible ,christian ,indian  
talked to ,sandy1 and it was to him a   
revelation4  ,from that day there was a 
decided change in him for the better4   
,he became obedient and studious1 and   
was ever anxious to do what he could in 
return for the kindnesses shown to him4 
,he was a capital shot1 and he and ,i   
had some fine bunting and fishing       
excursions together4  ,as his lameness  
interfered with successful hunting on   

land1 but not with his dexterity in     
handling the paddle1 ,i purchased for   
him a light canoe in which he made many 
short excursions4  ,like all ,indian    
boys1 he was very clever with the bow   
and arrow4  ,i remember an exhibition1  
of his quickness and skill that almost  
amazed me4  ,i had taken him with me on 
a shooting excursion to a place which   
was called the ,old ,fort4  ,it was so  
named from the fact1 that many years    
before1 the ,hudson ,bay ,company had a 
trading post there for traffic with the 
,indians4  ,it had been abandoned for   
many years1 but in its vicinity were    
some capital hunting grounds4  ,this    
spot to which ,sandy and ,i had gone for
 ducks1 was about twenty miles from our 
home4  ,we had paddled that distance in 
our canoe1 and were quite successful in 
replenishing our larder4  ,while        
carefully paddling along1 we saw a fine 
large mallard duck swimming quite a     
distance ahead4  ,when we thought we    
were within range1 ,sandy1 who was in   

the bow of the canoe1 carefully raised  
his gun and fired4  ,whether it was     
owing to the movement of the canoe or   
not ,i cannot say2 but he missed the    
duck4  ,quick as a flash he threw down  
his gun1 and1 catching up his bow and   
arrow1 fired at the duck which of course
 had instantly risen1 and was flying    
away directly in front of us4 ,imagine  
my surprise and delight1 to see the     
arrow wing its way so unerringly1 that  
it pierced the duck1 and brought it     
suddenly down into the river4  ,thus    
,sandy not only became a wiser and a    
better boy1 but at times he was quite   
helpful in his way1 and returned from   
some hunting excursions with quite a    
variety of small game which added       
considerably to our household bill of   
fare4  ,we praised him for his skill and
 industry and very quickly discovered1  
that kind loving words were the highest 
reward which could be given him4  ,poor 
boy6 he had had but few of them in      
paganism2 and now from us1 whom he had  

learned to respect and love1 they were  
as water to a thirsty soul4  ,,sandy',s 
,,conversion4  ,about a year after this 
unpleasantness with ,sandy1 a very      
gracious revival began among our        
,indians1 extending far and wide4  ,it  
was the fruit of years of teaching and  
preaching by numbers of devoted         
missionaries1 and of much personal      
effort to bring the people to a decision
 for ,christianity4  ,i had observed    
with great joy1 that the prayer-meetings
 and other social religious services1   
were largely increased by the attendance
 of ,indians who had been under         
religious influences for a long time1   
but had not yet fully given themselves  
to ,christ4  ,even among the pagan      
,indians there was less opposition to   
,christianity1 and a greater willingness
 to hear the ,word than ever before4    
,at times this spirit showed itself in a
 way that to most people would have     
seemed to savour much of selfishness4   
,for example1 one day1 very early in the

 morning1 the chief came rushing into   
our mission house1 and gave utterance to
 this extraordinary statement3          
,missionary1 there are a lot of pagan   
,indians at the ,fort4  ,they are the   
ones you were talking to about becoming 
,christians4  ,i have just come from    
visiting them1 and have been urging them
 to give up their old way2 they said to 
me1 ,tell your missionary1 if he will   
give us one good square meal of         
potatoes1 we will come and hear him     
preach three times6'  ,doubtless many   
will smile at this quaint offer--this   
queer exchange of commodities2 yet we   
who were on the ground1 and remembered  
the haughty stubborness of those same   
,indians only a short time before1 were 
glad to hear thus from them4  ,we       
promptly accepted the challenge and     
furnished the potatoes4  ,what appetites
 they had6  ,but they carried out their 
share of the contract1 and listened     
attentively--and smoked--during the     
three services4  ,they were always      

friendly afterward2 and1 in subsequent  
years1 a number of them became sincere  
,christians4  ,it pays to get the truth 
into the heart1 even if we have to begin
 by filling the stomach with potatoes6  
,so anxious had ,sandy become to win our
 approval1 that we knew he was willing  
and courageous enough to take any stand 
we suggested4  ,but we were so very     
anxious that his decision for ,christ   
should be built on a deeper1 firmer     
foundation than a mere desire to please 
us1 that1 in talking with him1 we used  
no special personal persuasion to bring 
him to a decision for the ,lord ,jesus4 
,it was evident to us by his life that  
the ,good ,spirit was graciously working
 upon his heart1 and that he was under  
deep religious conviction4  ,and soon   
the blessed hour came4  ,one afternoon1 
while ,i was urging upon the large      
audience who had assembled in the church
 the privilege and necessity of         
immediate decision for ,christ1 ,sandy1 
with others1 sprang up from his seat    

near the door and came forward for      
prayer4  ,his first audible petition    
still rings in my ear as though uttered 
but yesterday3  ,o ,tapa-yechekayan     
,kiss-awa-totawenan6  7,oh ,lord1 have  
mercy upon me67  ,i knelt beside him and
 pointed him to the dear ,saviour--the  
sinners ,friend4  ,i quoted the sweet   
promises of the blessed ,book1 and      
assured him they were for him4  ,he     
wept1 and was deeply anxious for the    
assurance that even1 he had a personal  
interest in the crucified ,one4 ,earnest
 prayers were offered for him and       
others1 who1 like him1 were seeking the 
,pearl of great price4  ,we talked to   
him of the love of ,god as revealed in  
,jesus4  ,we tried to explain to him the
 way of faith--the simple plan of       
salvation4  ,that best of all ,teachers1
 that infallible ,guide1 the ,holy      
,spirit1 applied the truth to his heart2
 and our dear ,sandy saw the way1 and   
believed unreservedly in the ,lord      
,jesus4  ,he was a sweet singer1 and had

 often joined with us in our songs of   
devotion at our family altar2 but now as
 never before he sang in his own musical
 language the translation of the verse  
,my ,god is reconciled1 etcetera4       
,ma' to noo-too-ta-min   ,ne-pa-tan     
a-e-sit1   ,ak-wa a-wa-ko-mit           
,na-ma-ne-say-ke-sin1                   
,wa-na-tuk-ne-pa-hi-to-tan   ,abba      
,no-ta a-e-tae-yan4  ,need we add that  
our ,indian boy1 so strangely thrown on 
our care1 was doubly dear and precious  
to as from that hour6  ,we had had our  
long months of trouble and anxiety about
 him1 and friends1 both white and       
,indian1 had thought1 and had told us1  
that what we were doing for him was1    
love's labour lost4  ,how thankful we   
were at this glad hour of his clear and 
beautiful conversion1 that we had       
persevered8  ,we never could help       
feeling that his coming to us was from  
,god1 and in spite of all the           
discouragements1 we had not dared to    
give up our charge4  ,we had accepted it

 as a trust although it became a trial  
of patience2 yet when the clouds cleaved
 away1 we had our exceeding great       
reward4  ,from that day1 his presence in
 our humble mission home was a          
benediction4  ,he became a very devout  
and reverent student of the ,word of    
,god2 and as its blessed truths opened  
up before him1 he had many questions to 
ask1 so that we had many loving talks   
about the holy ,book4 ,often his heart  
overflowed with gratitude and           
thanksgiving to ,god1 and he would      
exclaim--  ,o missionary1 these words   
are very sweet to my heart6  ,to spend  
hours on his knees with his open ,bible 
before him1 was no uncommon thing for   
,sandy4  ,and when he came down from his
 upper room with his face radiant1 he   
would sometimes exclaim3  ,oh1 how blind
 and stupid ,i was6  ,i used to think   
that the white man's religion was just  
like the ,indian's1 only performed in   
another way1 but now ,i know--yes ,i    
know it is different3 oh so different6  

,for do ,i not feel it in my heart1 that
 ,god is my ,father1 and ,his ,son is my
 ,saviour1 my ,elder ,brother6  ,oh yes1
 ,i know6  ,i know6  ,then he would     
burst into song1 asking us to join with 
him1 which we often did gladly2 and     
heaven seemed nearer while we sang4     
,thus1 he lived with us as a son in our 
home4  ,he studied hard1 and grew       
physically and spiritually4  ,his faith 
never wavered1 and his simple trust     
never gave way to doubt4  ,he was a     
benediction in the schoolroom1 and the  
transformation of a number of wild      
,indian lads into loving1 docile pupils1
 was the result of his kindly influence 
over them4  ,the long cold winter came  
and passed away4  ,during it ,i         
travelled some thousands of miles on my 
dog-sleds1 or tramped through1 the deep 
snow1 day after day1 on my snow shoes4  
,among other places1 ,i visited ,nelson 
,river1 and had the great pleasure of   
taking down some little gifts from      
,sandy to his relatives4  ,the following

 summer1 ,i again visited his people and
 had the joy of telling them1 that he   
was well and was making rapid progress  
in his studies4  ,great was their       
rejoicings at this good news4  ,on these
 trips we had our usual amount of       
hardships and dangers1 and met with some
 peculiar adventures4  ,one that very   
much interested us all1 and for a time  
much excited me1 was our discovery of a 
bear fishing1 and our capture of his    
supplies4  ,he was a fine large black   
fellow1 and had seated himself on a rock
 near the shore4  ,between this rock and
 the shore rushed a little portion of   
the great river1 in which quite a shoal 
of white fish seemed to have been       
spawning4  ,the sharp eyes of the bear  
having detected them1 he had resolved to
 capture a number of them for his       
supper4  ,his hand-like paw was all the 
fishing tackle he needed4  ,he very     
skilfully thrust it low down into the   
water under the passing fish1 and with a
 sudden movement sent the finny beauty  

flying through the air1 and out upon the
 not very distant shore4  ,when our     
canoe appeared around a bend in the     
river1 his fine sense of hearing        
detected our approach4 ,at first1 he    
seemed to show fight1 and acted as      
though he would defend his fish2 but a  
bullet caused him to change his mind    
about fighting1 and he fled into the    
forest leaving us to enjoy his splendid 
fish4  ,good fish indeed they were1 and 
quite sufficient for our evening and    
morning meals1 in spite of the good     
appetites which such a glorious         
out-of-door life had given us4  ,,sandy1
 ,a ,,benediction4  ,the next summer    
after ,sandy's conversion1 my good wife 
and ,i noticed1 that for several days he
 was restless and excited1 and1 to use  
an ,indian phrase1 there was something  
on his mind4  ,we kindly questioned him 
as to the cause of his unrest and mental
 disquietude1 and drew from him1 that it
 was solely on account of a visit that  
was soon to be paid him by quite a      

number of the trip men of his own       
,nelson ,river people4  ,his anxiety    
was1 that at this the first meeting with
 his own people since he had become a   
,christian1 the talk which he was going 
to give them on the subject of the good 
,book and his acceptance of             
,christianity1 might be made a great    
blessing to them4  ,so many and so      
valuable were the furs obtained in those
 days in the ,nelson ,river district1   
that often two brigades of boats were   
necessary to bring up the catch of the  
previous winter4  ,if the missionaries  
have been preaching the ,gospel at the  
different posts where these brigades are
 made up1 in all probability1 part of   
the people have accepted ,christianity1 
while others still walk in their own    
ways4  ,on their trips1 the ,christians 
naturally travel together1 while the    
pagans1 selecting one of their own party
 as their leader1 form a separate       
brigade4  ,it was known1 that the first 
brigade coming consisted principally of 

those who had as yet refused to renounce
 their pagan ways4  ,among them were    
some of ,sandy's own relatives1 and he  
was intensely anxious1 that they should 
no longer continue in their opposition  
to ,christianity1 and when appealed to  
on the subject1 shrug their shoulders   
and say3  ,as our fathers lived and     
died1 so will we4  ,so we found out that
 the cause of ,sandy's restlessness was 
his great anxiety to help these1 his    
friends1 to know the ,christ4  ,with    
glad hearts we cheerfully promised to   
aid him all we could4  ,still he        
lingered1 and it was evident that       
something else was on his mind1 although
 he had very warmly expressed his       
gratitude for our promise of assistance4
  ,we encouraged him to tell us what was
 still on his heart1 so that if possible
 we might help him4  ,cheered by our    
words he said3  ,oh6  ,i know you will  
help me to tell them of ,jesus and ,his 
love2 but you know that most of these   
boatmen are not yet ,christians1 and    

they are so blind and stupid4  ,they are
 just like ,i was in my ignorance of    
this religion--of the ,bible2 and my    
trouble and fear is that when ,i begin  
to talk to them of this blessed way1    
they will get up and leave before ,i    
have had time to say all that there is  
in my heart4  ,i am afraid we cannot    
keep them together unless--unless--     
,unless what8  ,i said as he stopped4   
,the dear fellow looked up in our faces1
 and1 seeing nothing but encouragement  
there1 mustered up courage to say this  
that was in his heart3  ,unless we give 
them something to eat4  ,we had been    
long enough among the ,indians to know  
that the boy was right2 for often1 to   
win the poor ignorant creatures and     
bring them within sound of the ,gospel1 
had we given them even the food from our
 own table1 until we ourselves knew what
 genuine hunger was4  ,then we could    
better understand1 how difficult it was 
for poor hungry listeners to give       
undivided attention to spiritual        

exhortations on an empty stomach4  ,of  
course you shall have a dinner for them1
 ,sandy1 said my brave wife1 and we will
 do the best we can afford for you and  
your people4  ,his cup of happiness     
seemed full1 as he heard this answer1   
and as we saw the clouds flitting away1 
,i said3  ,is this what has been        
troubling you for days8  ,yes1 he       
replied1 what right have ,i to ask such 
a favour from you who have been so kind 
to me8  ,you let me come into your house
 when ,i was wounded1 and dark1 and     
wicked2 clothed me1 and have even       
treated me as though ,i had been your   
son2 and best of all1 you have led me up
 into this great joy of knowing that ,i 
am a child of ,god4  ,here his eyes     
filled and he was overcome by deep      
emotion4  ,much moved1 we waited        
silently until he had controlled        
himself1 when he continued3  ,you know  
how every day we have together prayed   
for my people2 and when alone before    
,god ,i pray for them2 they are always  

in my heart and prayers2 and now that ,i
 am to have the chance of speaking to   
them1 ,i do want it to succeed4  ,you   
know1 that the poor pagan ,indian seems 
better able1 or more willing1 somehow1  
to listen after he has had something to 
eat4  ,so it was settled to ,sandy's    
great delight1 that when his friends    
arrived from ,nelson ,river they were to
 be invited to the mission house for    
dinner4  ,it was a beautiful day when   
they came4  ,a long table had been made 
and put up on the grassy lawn in front  
of the house1 and a good substantial    
meal had been prepared4  ,fortunately1  
our supply boat had arrived from ,red   
,river1 and some ,indian hunters had    
brought in abundance of game1 so that we
 had enough and to spare1 even for a    
crowd of ,indians4  ,sandy was full of  
bliss4  ,to watch him1 and to observe   
how interested his people were in him1  
gave us great delight4  ,he seated his  
,indian friends to suit his own mind1   
for his thoughts were more on the after 

service than on the substantial meal    
before them4 ,when all were in their    
assigned places1 he said3  ,now1 wait a 
minute4  ,from the ,great ,spirit we    
receive all our blessings2 so shut your 
eyes while ,i thank ,him and ask ,his   
blessing upon us4  ,they obeyed readily3
 for was he not the son of a chief1 and 
taught of the missionary8  ,they did not
 know what ,amen meant1 so1 after ,sandy
 had said it1 still kept their eyes     
shut1 and had to be told to open them   
and begin at their dinners4  ,they had a
 good time together4  ,there was nothing
 rude or awkward in any of their        
actions1 and a stranger looking on1     
would never have imagined that the      
majority of these polite1 courteous1 yet
 picturesquely garbed bronzed stalwart  
men1 had never before sat at a table or 
eaten with forks4  ,these latter are    
considered superfluous in the ,indian   
country4 ,give an ,indian a good knife  
and a horn or wooden spoon--and what    
cares he for a fork8  ,his only concern 

is in reference to the supply of food4  
,but on this occasion we had placed     
forks at each place1 and after those who
 had never seen them before had observed
 how one familiar with them used his1   
they all quickly imitated him and did   
exceedingly well4  ,what appetites they 
had6  ,it was a pleasure to see how they
 enjoyed their dinner--especially as we 
knew that we had enough for all4        
,,sandy1 ,a ,,missionary4  ,when dinner 
was ended1 and they were about to rise  
from the table1 a few words from ,sandy 
caused them all to remain quietly       
seated4  ,now we perceived1 why he had  
arranged them at the table as he did4   
,every one was so seated that he could  
easily see1 as well as hear4  ,it was   
evident that they were all very much    
interested1 and full of curiosity to    
hear the message he had for them4  ,they
 were doubtless well aware1 that such a 
feast as had been prepared for them     
meant a talk at the close2 but none of  
them ever dreamed that ,sandy--their    

,sandy--was to be the principal speaker4
  ,when at the close he so naturally and
 ably took control1 they were at first  
amazed1 and then delighted1 that one of 
their own people--and a young man at    
that--was not only able to do such a    
thing1 but was encouraged in the        
undertaking by the missionary and his   
wife4  ,fearing that our presence might 
embarrass ,sandy1 my wife and ,i moved  
our chairs back a little behind him1 but
 still near enough to hear all that was 
said4  ,we were intensely interested in 
the proceedings1 and lifted up our      
hearts to ,god that divine help and     
guidance might be given to the one whom 
we now loved to call our ,sandy4  ,a    
little nervousness that was at first    
noticeable1 disappeared after a few     
sentences1 and then1 with a fluency and 
eloquence that simply amazed us1 the    
loving burning words flowed from his    
lips4  ,with few words of explanation he
 took up his beloved ,bible and         
hymn-book1 and began the service4  ,of  

the actual words of that address1 ,i can
 now recall very few2 but the memory of 
it will live forever4  ,he told them the
 story of his life from the time when1  
having found my way to their distant    
land1 ,i met him in his wigwam home as  
he lay wounded upon the ground1 talked  
kindly to him1 and gave him his first   
lesson4  ,he spoke of his long1 long    
journey in the canoe1 and of his arrival
 at our home4  ,he described how kindly 
he had been received1 how stupidly and  
ungratefully he had acted when the      
novelty of the new way of living had    
worn off1 and how he had been so foolish
 as to long for his old life in the     
wigwam4  ,he denounced in very emphatic 
language1 his own ingratitude toward us 
for all the kindness we had shown him   
and the patience with which we had borne
 with his stupidity4  ,then he told the 
story of his conversion3 would that ,i  
could tell it as he did6  ,he contrasted
 their old foolish religion of the      
conjurers-- which had only kept them in 

fear and terror all their days1 bringing
 no peace or rest to their souls--with  
that which was taught in the blessed    
,book2 which had come as a great joy    
into his life1 filling him with peace in
 the assurance that even he was a child 
of ,god4  ,he had his date in his       
spiritual life--his well remembered     
birthday2 and to it he referred4  ,he   
told of that afternoon in the church1   
when1 in response to the invitation3    
,who will give his heart to ,god to-day8
 he had answered1 ,i will6 and bowing   
down before ,god in prayer1 had sought  
for the forgiveness of his sins and the 
assurance of the divine favour4 ,very   
clearly1 and with much emotion he       
assured them that1 while trusting and   
believing that ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son 
of ,god1 was able and willing to receive
 him1 ,he had indeed received him4      
,thus in earnest tones1 in his beautiful
 ,indian tongue1 he went on and on2 now1
 urging and exhorting them to accept of 
this great salvation from the ,great    

,spirit who was the loving ,father of   
all1 and who desired the salvation of   
every one of ,his children whether they 
were white or ,indian2 and then1 again  
referring to his own conversion and the 
joy that had come to him1 as one reason 
why he wished them all to be            
,christians4  ,mrs ,young and ,i were   
delighted and also amazed2 not only at  
his readiness of utterance1 but at the  
religious character and power of the    
address4  ,i could only say in my heart3
  ,this is the outcome of those long    
hours which this young child of ,god has
 spent day after day with the open ,book
 before him and the ,holy ,spirit as his
 teacher2 and1 thank ,god1 here is the  
glorious reward for all we have had to  
do for1 and bear with this wild unkempt 
,indian lad4 ,in this one glad hour we  
see enough amply to repay us for all we 
have had to put up with ere there was   
the first appreciation of our kindness4 
,it has seemed a long time between the  
seed sowing and the reaping2 but the    

harvest time has come at last and here  
we witness this glorious sight--,sandy1 
our once wild rebellious ,indian boy1   
now with radiant face and eloquent      
tongue1 in most beautiful and scriptural
 language1 urging and beseeching his    
,indian friends to renounce their old   
foolish paganism and to accept of       
,christianity4  ,as he talked the faces 
of his ,indian auditors were indeed     
studies4  ,they were literally drinking 
in his marvellous words4  ,to a few of  
them ,i had preached on some of my long 
journeys2 but beside these few1 there   
were those now listening to ,sandy who  
had never heard such things before1 and 
they seemed amazed and confounded4      
,persons who have never witnessed it1   
can hardly imagine the astonishment1 and
 sometimes awe1 that fails over a       
company of pure pagans1 when1 for the   
first time1 the story of ,redeeming     
,love is heard4  ,sandy went on to tell 
them of his love and anxiety for them1  
and of his desire and constant prayers  

that they should all become ,christians1
 and know for themselves that ,god loved
 them and that they were ,his children4 
,he explained to them1 how1 at first1 he
 thought the ,bible was only for the    
white man2 but that he had learned1 that
 the ,great ,spirit has given ,his ,book
 to all races1 loving all alike4  ,this 
was the reason he was so anxious that   
his own people should accept this great 
salvation which was for them4  ,it would
 make them happy1 as it was making      
others everywhere who fully accepted it4
  ,they listened to the end of his long 
address with intense interest4  ,in     
response to his request1 a number of    
questions were asked in reference to    
this new way1 and how it was possible   
for them to enter into it4  ,his answers
 were very appropriate and beautiful4   
,in addition to his own words1 he again 
opened his ,bible and read promise after
 promise to them1 to show the           
universality of the love of ,god1 and   
that he had given his ,son to die for   

them all1 and what they must do to      
receive this love into their hearts4    
,at his request1 ,i followed with a     
short address1 endorsing what he had    
said4  ,i lovingly entreated them to    
remember his words1 and to do as he had 
done--give their hearts to ,god2 and    
thus become ,his happy1 loving children4
  ,a hymn was sung2 earnest prayers were
 offered up2 the benediction was        
pronounced--and this remarkable service 
came to an end4  ,ere they departed they
 gathered around ,sandy and kissed him4 
,they asked him more questions about    
this new way1 and with some of them he  
had earnest faithful talks4  ,they all  
came and shook hands with us1 and very  
kindly thanked us for our great love and
 kindness to their ,ookemasis1-- the    
young chief1--as they now laughingly    
called ,sandy4  ,after remaining with us
 some years1 ,sandy returned to his own 
land and people4  ,among them he still  
lives a devoted1 industrious ,christian4
  ,he is the right-hand man of the      

missionary1 a blessing and a benediction
 to many1 and we count it as one of our 
chief joys that we were instrumental in 
leading him into the light4    ,,chapter
 ,,seven4  ,,the ,,new ,,year',s        
,,indian ,,feast4  ,from time immemorial
 the ,indians have been noted for the   
number of their feasts4  ,some of       
these--as the ,new ,moon and the        
,first-,fruits of the corn1 celebrated1 
by a part of the tribes--were generally 
innocent1 seeming to point to some      
,jewish origin in the dim past2         
others--such as the feast of the dogs   
when the poor animals were wantonly torn
 to pieces--were loathsome in the       
extreme4  ,as soon as the missionaries  
succeeded in getting the red men to     
listen to the ,gospel1 they insisted    
upon the suppression of the sinful      
feasts2 especially as they were more or 
less associated with their ideas of     
worship4  ,even the dog feast was       
considered good medicine to propitiate  
the evil spirits3 for the dogs were     

prized by the ,indian next to his       
children1 and sacrificing them was      
making a very great offering4  ,when the
 missionaries went among the ,northern  
,wood ,crees1 they met with a great     
degree of success in winning the people 
from their pagan superstitions4  ,they1 
of course1 insisted upon the entire     
giving up of all the objectionable      
habits and customs of their past life2  
and among them1 their sinful feasts4    
,however1 they did not try to root the  
word out of their language2 but as a    
substitute for what was so wrong1       
organised a ,christian festival4  ,this 
great feast was celebrated on ,new      
,year's day--unless that day happened to
 fall on ,sunday1 when it was held on   
the day following--at ,norway ,house1   
the largest mission station in those    
days4  ,preparations for it were begun  
many months in advance4  ,a great       
,indian council would be held at which1 
as a mere formality1 the question would 
be first asked3 ,are we to have the     

great feast this year8  ,this would be  
carried unanimously1 and--for           
,indians--with great applause4  ,the    
next question which required more time  
for answering would be3 ,what is each   
man prepared to give as his contribution
 toward the feast8  ,very strange at    
first seemed the answers4  ,mamanowatum1
 a big ,indian moose-hunter1 would say3 
,i have discovered the trail of a moose4
  ,i will give half of the animal--and  
his nose4  ,the moose nose is considered
 a great delicacy4  ,moose meat is the  
best of all venison2 and ,mamanowatum   
was a most successful hunter4  ,so this 
splendid contribution1 although the     
moose had yet to be shot1 and was hard  
to kill1 would be recorded with great   
pleasure4  ,then ,soquatum would say2 ,i
 have discovered a bear's den4  ,i will 
give half the bear to the feast--and all
 the paws4  ,this generous contribution 
would also meet with much approval1 for 
the beat's paws are likewise among the  
great delicacies of the country4        

,mustagan would speak next1 and would   
say2 ,i know where there is a large     
beaver house1 and ,i will give five     
beavers--and ten tails4  ,this donation 
would also meet with great satisfaction1
 as beavers are capital eating1 and     
their great broad tails1 together with  
the moose's nose and the bear's paws1   
constitute the principal delicacies of  
the country4  ,rapidly would the hunters
 rise up one after another and proffer  
their gifts1 keeping the ,indian        
secretary busily employed in writing    
down in syllabic characters1 the various
 promised offerings of game1 the greater
 quantity of which would be still       
roaming--perhaps hundreds of miles      
away--in the wintry forest4  ,those     
among the hunters who excelled in       
catching the valuable fur-bearing       
animals1 whose flesh is worthless for   
food1 would make their contribution in  
rich furs1 such as minks1 martins1      
otters and ermines1 which would be      
exchanged in the ,hudson ,bay ,company's

 stores for flour1 tea1 sugar and plums4
  ,the council would last until all who 
could give1 or had any remote idea of   
success1 had recorded their             
contributions4  ,shortly after would    
begin the work of securing the promised 
offerings for the feast4  ,even the     
successful ones did not always bring in 
what they had promised4  ,sometimes     
those who had promised beaver1 would be 
so fortunate as to meet with a herd of  
reindeer1 and thus would return with    
their contribution in venison1 perhaps  
four times in excess of the beaver      
promised4  ,or perhaps the man who      
promised a couple of wildcats-- and they
 are not bad eating--while out          
diligently searching for them1 would    
detect the tiny ascending thread of     
vapoury steam from a great snowdrift1   
which told him1 that low down there in a
 den were sleeping some fat hears4      
,these would be dug out1 and killed1 and
 part of the meat would be brought in to
 the feast4  ,again it sometimes        

happened--as hunter's luck is very      
uncertain--that some who promised a     
large contribution were not able to     
bring so much4  ,however1 with the      
donations from the fur-traders and the  
mission house1 there would be a large   
supply3 and this was necessary1 as      
,indians have good appetites4  ,as the  
different kinds of animals were shot or 
captured1 the meat would be brought to  
the mission1 and well secured from      
cunning dogs in the large fish-house2   
where it would freeze solid1 and so keep
 in good condition until required4      
,about a week before the day of the     
feast1 the missionary's wife would call 
to her assistance a small number of     
clever ,indian women2 and1 aided by some
 men who would cut the frozen meat into 
pieces of suitable size1 they would     
roast or boil the whole of this great   
assortment4  ,it was an assortment1 and 
proudly would they look at it1 and      
rejoice4  ,out of the flour1 plums1     
sugar and bear's grease--a substitute   

for suet--great plum-puddings would be  
made1 hard and solid2 but the chunks cut
 off with an axe1 gave much satisfaction
 to the hearty eaters4  ,when the day   
arrived1 preparations for the feast     
began very early4  ,the seats were      
removed from the church1 and tables the 
whole length of the interior1 were      
quickly made and put in position by the 
native carpenters4  ,great roaring fires
 were built in the two iron stoves1 and 
the inside temperature of the building  
made as nearly tropical as possible2    
while outside it was fifty degrees below
 zero1 or even colder4 ,this intense    
heat was necessary to thaw out the meat1
 which1 after it had been cooked a day  
or two before1 had quickly cooled and   
frozen solid4  ,the great supply was    
soon carried into the hot church1 and   
after the few hours that elapsed before 
the feast began1 it was in capital      
condition for the twelve or fifteen     
hundred hungry ,indian who for weeks had
 been eagerly looking forward to this   

great event4  ,they were a motley       
company1 all welcome1 and all in the    
best of humour4 ,chiefs and head men    
were receiving directions from the      
missionary1 transmitting them to the    
workers1 and seeing that everything was 
done4 ,happy busy women1 under the      
loving guidance of the missionary's     
wife1 whom they simply idolised1 were   
arranging the tables1 for the equipment 
of which1 all the table necessaries of  
the village1--principally tin cups and  
plates1--as well as of the mission      
pantry1 were brought into service4      
,great boilers and kettles of tea were  
brewed1 and hundreds of flat cakes1 made
 of flour1 water and a little salt1 were
 baked in frying pans or on top of the  
stoves1 cut into large pieces1 and made 
ready for distribution4  ,while busy    
hands were thus employed in making these
 final arrangements for the great feast1
 which generally began about one        
o'clock1 the hundreds of other          
,indians--especially the young men--were

 having various sports outside4  ,the   
toboggan slides of the schoolboys had   
many visitors2 and some lively games of 
football were played on the frozen lake4
  ,the snow had been scraped away from a
 smooth hit of ice where the active     
skaters showed their speed and skill4   
,but the thoughts of all were on the    
feast1 and they were anxious for the    
sound of the bell that would summon them
 to its enjoyment4  ,about the middle of
 the forenoon1 there was a most         
interesting break in the preparations4  
,the chief would go to the missionary   
and ask for a pencil and piece of       
writing paper4  ,then1 taking with him  
one of the principal men into the       
church1 where the crowd of workers were 
busily engaged1 he would call for a     
short halt in the proceedings1 and      
standing on a bench1 ask3  ,how many of 
our people are sick1 or aged1 or        
wounded1 and are thus unable to be with 
us at the great feast to-day8  ,give me 
their names4  ,as the names were        

mentioned1 they would be recorded2      
until1 perhaps1 twenty or more were thus
 called out4  ,any more8 the chief would
 cry4  ,let none be overlooked on this  
happy day4  ,oh yes1 there is an old    
bed-ridden woman1 lying on her couch of 
rabbit skins and balsam boughs1 in a    
wigwam six miles up ,jack ,river1 says  
one4  ,i heard1 that there are two sick 
people left behind in a wigwam on the   
island over near ,york village by the   
pagan ,indians who have come to the     
feast1 says another4  ,put them down1 of
 course4  ,but stop6  ,one of you go out
 and ask those who have come1 if there  
are not more than those two left behind4
  ,soon word comes in that there are not
 only these two sick ones1 but a little 
girl with a broken leg4  ,put her name  
down1 too4  ,the list is again read     
over1 and the question again asked3     
,are you sure that we have not          
overlooked any8  ,it would be a shame   
for us to be here feasting and any of   
our aged and afflicted ones forgotten4  

,the matter would be discussed until    
they were confident that all the names  
were recorded1 even the afflicted ones  
of the still unconverted ,indians who   
were always welcomed and generally on   
hand4  ,then the chief1 with an         
assistant or two would go to the great  
piles of food1 and cut off generous     
pieces of venison and bear's meat1 and1 
with an assortment of other things1 make
 up as many large parcels as there were 
names on his list1 each bundle1 perhaps1
 containing enough food to last the     
afflicted ones a couple of days4  ,then 
the chief would go out to where the     
sturdy active young men were at their   
sports1 and shouting the names of as    
many as he had bundles1 give to the     
fleetest a large bundle and say3  ,take 
that to ,ookoominou1 who ,is sick in bed
 six miles up the river1 and tell her   
that we are all sorry that she is so old
 and feeble that she cannot be with us  
to-day4  ,with it give her our          
,christian greetings and love1 and our  

wishes that she will enjoy her share of 
the feast4  ,with a look to see that the
 strings of his moccasins and his beaded
 garters are well tied1 and tightening  
his sash belt around his leathern shirt1
 the swift runner would be off like an  
arrow2 making straight for the far away 
wigwam1 where1 in age and feebleness1 is
 one of the grandmothers of the tribe1  
now loved by all2 but who would have    
been put to death years ago1 if the     
blessed ,gospel had not come among this 
people and wrought its marvellous       
transformations in their hearts4  ,six  
miles would that fleet ,indian runner   
have to go1 and return1 ere he could    
have his share of the feast2 but never  
fear1 he will be back in time4  ,what   
are twelve miles to him1 when there is  
such a feast at the end of it8 ,and     
then1 is he not a ,christian8  ,and does
 he not consider it a joy to be the     
carrier of such a bundle1 with such a   
loving message1 to the aged and feeble  
,ookoominou8  ,of course he does4       

,others similarly addressed1 and charged
 with loving messages1 are rapidly sent 
off4  ,while the majority of the        
messengers prefer to make the journey on
 flying feet1 some1 perhaps who have    
bundles for three or four in the same   
vicinity1 prefer to take their fleet    
dog-trains4  ,it makes but little       
difference1 however1 how they go4  ,they
 are soon all off1 and much sooner back 
again than we inexperienced ones would  
expect4  ,of the great feast itself1 it 
is difficult to give anything like an   
adequate description4  ,the tables are  
piled with the various kinds of food1   
the cups are filled with tea1 and all   
the older people first seated4  ,some   
years it was customary for the          
missionary to have a large table at the 
head1 to which were invited the         
officials of the ,hudson ,bay ,company  
and their families1 and any visiting    
friends who might be in the country4    
,the chiefs were also given a place at  
this table1 an honour much appreciated4 

,when all were seated1 they very        
heartily sang as grace before meat1 the 
,cree translation of the ,verse3    ,be 
present at our table1 ,lord1   ,be here 
and everywhere adored2   ,these         
creatures bless1 and grant that we      
,may feast in ,paradise with ,thee4     
,when the older people had eaten1 the   
tables were quickly cleared2 then again 
filled and refilled1 until all had      
feasted1 and some had even returned to  
fill up1 as they said1 some vacancies   
discovered4  ,what appetites they had2  
and what unrestrained enjoyment6  ,no   
foreboding fears of coming nightmare1 or
 fits of indigestion1 disturbed their   
felicity4  ,dyspepsia and its kindred   
ills1 had1 up to those times1 never     
visited that healthy hunting people2 and
 so1 when such a feast of fat things as 
this was prepared1 where they knew they 
were all welcome guests1 they went in   
for a good time and had it in full      
measure1 without any anxiety for after  
consequences4  ,it was an epoch in their

 history-- the most blessed day of the  
year4  ,from it some of them recorded   
time1 as so many moons after the feast2 
and as the year advanced they made      
engagements by so many moons before the 
next feast4  ,if supplies were still    
abundant when the last had eaten1 the   
first were set to work again until the  
bear's ribs were all picked and every   
haunch of venison had disappeared4      
,night was grandly closing in1 ere this 
stage in the proceedings was reached4   
,when it did arrive1 willing hands soon 
took down the tables1 swept out the     
building1 replaced the seats1 lighted   
the oil lamps1 and the intellectual     
feast was held4  ,for years             
,mamanowatum1 whose familiar name was   
,big ,tom1 was appointed chairman4 ,he  
was a large man1 in fact1 almost        
gigantic1 slow and deliberate2 but he   
generally made his mark in everything he
 undertook to do or say4  ,it was       
amusing to see him in the chair1        
presiding over a great meeting4  ,he was

 very much respected by all1 and none   
dared to presume on his apparent good   
nature4  ,he rose slowly1 seeming to get
 up in short jerks2 but when up1 he had 
something to say and said it4  ,they    
always opened every kind of a meeting   
held in the church with religious       
exercises4  ,then ,mamanowatum made his 
address1 always good and suggestive1 the
 keynote of which was thanksgiving and  
gratitude to ,god for the blessings of  
the year4  ,when he had finished1 he    
called on different ,indians for        
addresses4  ,some of them were very good
 also4 ,this is the night of all others1
 when ,indian orators try to be humorous
 and witty4  ,as a race they do not     
excel along these lines1 but sometimes  
they get off some very good things4     
,while they began their speeches with   
some bright pleasantry that brought     
smiles1 and even laughter1 there was    
never anything unbecoming to the place1 
and all quickly drifted into a strain of
 thanksgiving to ,god for his blessings4

  ,to listen to their grateful joyous   
words1 one would think they were the    
most highly favoured people on the      
earth2 that there never was such a      
feast1 such delicious venison1 such fat 
bear meat1 such strong tea with so much 
sugar in it2 and that no other people   
had such kind missionaries4  ,so with   
more grateful hearts than ever they     
would sing3  ,praise ,god from whom all 
blessings flow4  ,thus they talked and  
rejoiced together in this peculiar      
service which was all their own4  ,the  
whites were expected to take back seats 
on this occasion and say nothing4       
,about ten o'clock they together sang   
the doxology2 and1 with the benediction1
 pronounced by one of their own number1 
this most interesting of days1 with its 
varied pleasures and enjoyments1 came to
 a close4  ,long years have passed1     
since with the happy ,crees we enjoyed  
those rich feast days2 yet they stand in
 our missionary life as red-letter days2
 when our hearts were especially touched

 by the spontaneous and hearty kindness 
displayed toward the aged and afflicted 
ones1 who unable to be present1 were by 
the generous gifts sent1 made to feel1  
that they were not forgotten or         
neglected1 but were in a large measure  
made partakers of the pleasures of that 
eventful day4    ,,chapter ,,eight4     
,,the ,,extra ,,dog-,,train ,,of        
,,supplies1 ,,and ,,what ,,came ,,of    
,,it4  ,as you have so many splendid    
dogs this winter1 why not take an extra 
train with you1 and bring out from ,red 
,river some of the food of civilisation1
 so that we can have it to remind us of 
other days8  ,thus spake the good wife1 
who1 like myself1 sometimes became tired
 of having the fresh water fish of the  
country as our principal diet for about 
one half of the year4  ,during the other
 six months we lived principally upon   
game1 such as venison1 bear's meat1     
beaver1 wild-cat1 ptarmigan1 rabbits and
 even muskrats4  ,so1 this request to   
bring out something to eat that savoured

 of civilisation1 was not an            
unreasonable one4  ,i was going in to   
,red ,river settlement on business      
pertaining to the spiritual advancement 
of our mission1 and this was a good     
opportunity to bring out with me some   
things that would add to our comfort and
 help on in the good work2 we had to do 
so many things for our poor ,indians1   
who were often in trouble1 and were     
constantly looking to us for help4  ,my 
splendid dugs obtained from ,hamilton1  
,montreal and elsewhere1 had increased  
and multiplied1 until now ,i had a      
number of the finest sleigh dogs in the 
country4  ,when the time came for the   
long trip1 ,i harnessed them up2 and1   
taking an additional train for the extra
 supply of food which was suggested by  
my wife1 with my guide and dog drivers1 
began the journey4  ,in order that we   
could return with full loads1 we started
 with our sleds loaded with fish1       
numbers of which we cached at our       
different camping places1 that we might 

have them on which to feed our dogs on  
the return journey4  ,we were several   
days on the route1 as we encountered a  
fierce blizzard which made travelling   
with our heavy loads very difficult4    
,however1 we reached the settlement1 and
 met with a warm welcome at the home of 
our friend1 the ,hon4  ,mr ,sifton4     
,the business that brought us in to     
civilisation being soon arranged1 we    
began our purchases of supplies for the 
return1 special attention being given to
 the purchase of the extra load of good 
things4  ,first1 ,i went to a butcher1  
and purchased from him about two hundred
 and fifty pounds of his choicest cuts  
of meat2 telling him1 that as it was to 
be dragged by dogs on a sled some       
hundreds of miles1 ,i wanted as little  
bone as possible4  ,he was a decent man 
and treated me well4  ,then1 ,i went to 
a storekeeper1 and purchased from him   
rice1 meal1 butter1 canned vegetables   
and various other things1 making in all1
 a load of about six hundred pounds4  ,i

 was very proud of such a load1 in      
addition to the supply of flour which   
was on the other sleds4 ,sending my     
heavily loaded dog-sleds on a couple of 
days in advance1 ,i followed--in company
 with ,martin ,papanekis1 a favourite   
,indian driver-- with such dogs as4     
,voyageur1 as leader1 and ,jack and     
,cuffy and ,caesar behind him1 knowing  
we would have no difficulty in          
overtaking the rest of our party4  ,we  
so arranged our return journey1 that    
each night we reached the camp we had   
used on the outgoing trip4  ,in two     
places1 much to our disgust1 we found   
that the wolves or wolverines1 had been 
too clever for us1 and had discovered   
our cache and devoured our fish4  ,so   
those nights1 we had to feed our dogs   
from the supplies of meat bought in ,red
 ,river4  ,in due time we reached our   
mission home where there was great      
satisfaction over the abundance and     
variety of the supplies secured at such 
a cost of toil and danger4  ,the bill of

 fare was much improved1 and twice a    
week we had a little roast of beef or   
mutton1 with vegetables1 and a dessert  
of rice pudding4  ,for two or three     
weeks this continued1 when our hearts   
were saddened1 and our duties and cares 
greatly increased1 by the breaking out  
of the measles among our ,indians4      
,this epidemic was caused1 by the coming
 in to our country of some free-traders 
who had lately had the disease4 ,they   
had been discharged from the hospital as
 cured2 but in some way or other they   
had carried the germs of the disease so 
that going in and out of the wigwams    
they spread the contagion among the     
natives1 and an epidemic broke out4     
,this strange new disease terrified the 
people4  ,at that time ,i had parties of
 ,indians at ,oomeme ,river1 and also at
 ,berens ,river1 where we were then     
living4  ,about this same time the      
measles also broke out among a number of
 pagan ,indians under the rule of       
,thickfoot1 a stubborn yet friendly old 

chief who refused to become a           
,christian4  ,at this place we had but  
lately completed a mission house1 some  
outbuildings1 and a comfortable         
school-house1 which we were using as a  
church until the latter should be       
completed4  ,all the timber for these   
buildings we had drawn with our dogs    
from a large island several miles out   
from1 the mainland4  ,when the measles  
broke out1 and we saw the fear of the   
,indians1 at once1 as far as possible1  
we turned our mission premises into a   
hospital4  ,in addition to the buildings
 already mentioned1 we also put up for  
the sick our large buffalo leather tent4
 ,here1 on improvised beds and couches1 
we gathered about us the afflicted ones1
 making them as comfortable as our      
limited means would allow4  ,over at    
,oomeme ,river1 our ,christian ,indians 
fortunately escaped2 but the pagan      
,indians1 among whom the disease broke  
out1 were wild with fear1 and in many   
cases acted in a manner to aggravate the

 disease4  ,some of them1 when they     
broke out1 rushed from their heated     
wigwams and rolled themselves in the    
snow1 which of course was most          
disastrous treatment1 resulting in the  
death of numbers4  ,thereupon1 their    
relatives became so terrified1 that1    
being afraid to bury their bodies1 they 
stripped the wigwams from around them1  
leaving them exposed to the devouring   
wolves2 and then1 sent word over to me1 
that if ,i desired their friends to be  
decently buried1 ,i must come over and  
do it myself4  ,hearing this1 ,i took   
some boards1 nails1 hammer1 spades and  
other things necessary1 and with some   
,indians1 hurried over to the place4    
,after some persuasion1 ,i succeeded in 
getting an ,indian family to move their 
wigwam from the spot where it had stood 
the whole winter1 and where constantly  
the fire had been burning2 and there1   
where the ground was yet warm and       
unfrozen1 dug the grave1 making it      
sufficiently large for all who had died4

  ,with our boards we made the coffins1 
and after a simple religious service    
buried their dead4  ,at ,berens ,river1 
our method of procedure among our sick  
was something like this4  ,early in the 
morning1 large pots partly filled with  
water were hung over a good fire4  ,into
 them were put several pounds of the    
good fresh beef or mutton which we had  
brought from civilisation4  ,when well  
boiled1 several pounds of rice were     
stirred in and the whole left to boil   
until cooked into a rich nourishing     
soup4  ,then nourishing flat cakes were 
made in abundance4  ,while this         
breakfast for the sick was being        
prepared1 the missionary1 with his      
assistants1 was busily engaged in making
 the rounds of the sick4  ,their various
 wants were attended to1 medicine was   
given1 and every thing that could be1   
was cheerfully done for their comfort4  
,then1 the missionary's wife1 with her  
helpers1 followed with kettles of warm  
soup1 bread and tea4  ,meals of this    

nourishing food were given to1 and much 
relished by1 the afflicted ones4 ,there 
were some such severe cases1 that at    
times it looked as though it would be   
impossible to save them2 but with       
heaven's blessing on our efforts1 we    
were successful in bringing about the   
recovery of every case under our        
immediate care4  ,while doing everything
 that we could for their physical       
recovery1 we had grand opportunities for
 imparting religious instruction4       
,sweet hymns1 translated into their own 
language1 were sung1 and the exceeding  
great and precious promises of the      
blessed ,book1 were often read and      
explained at every bedside4  ,their fear
 of this strange new disease left them1 
and they became patient and hopeful4    
,the result was1 that while among the   
pagan ,indians at ,oomeme ,river there  
were many deaths1 not one of our        
,christian ,indians died4  ,when the    
last case was cured and the disease had 
disappeared1 we took stock of our       

supplies4  ,we found that all of that   
extra dog-train of food1 together with a
 large quantity of flour and other      
things1 had been used up in feeding our 
poor sick people4  ,not one-tenth of the
 whole had come to our own table2 and so
 we had once again to fall back upon our
 native food4  ,fish was again our diet 
twenty-one times a week4  ,but1 we had  
the great joy and satisfaction of       
knowing that1 in all human probability1 
we had saved the lives of many of our   
people2 and had found such a place in   
their hearts1 that our future efforts to
 evangelise or to help along in the     
blessed life1 would be very much more   
effective4    ,,chapter ,,nine4  ,a     
,,lesson ,,never ,,to ,,be ,,forgotten4 
,when ,i was a small boy1 my father was 
stationed on a large mission in the back
 woods of ,canada4  ,the hardy emigrants
 from the ,old ,world were crowding into
 that new country1 and every year       
additional thousands of acres of grain  
were growing1 where shortly before the  

dark primeval forests1 which had stood  
for centuries1 held possession4  ,the   
native ,indian tribes were retreating   
before this irresistible march of the   
white man1 or were settling on          
reservations selected for them by the   
government4  ,for years they retained   
their right to roam about1 and kill the 
game which still abounded1 but which was
 rapidly becoming less as the white     
settlements increased4  ,in addition to 
their hunting and fishing1 the          
industrious ,indians added to their     
comfort by manufacturing native baskets1
 brooms1 handles for axes1 hoes and     
similar articles1 which they sold to the
 friendly settlers for food and         
clothing4  ,those that left the         
fire-water alone1 and were industrious1 
were thus able to live comfortably4  ,to
 these ,indians on their reservations   
the ,gospel was proclaimed by the       
self-sacrificing missionaries1 as they  
travelled their toilsome rounds4 ,these 
visits were not made in vain4  ,many of 

these children of the forest1 sick and  
dissatisfied with their old paganism    
which gave no peace to their troubled   
spirits1 gladly received the truth1 and 
became earnest1 consistent ,christians4 
,their godly lives were1 in many places1
 a constant reproof to the              
inconsistencies and sins of their white 
neighbours4  ,at rare intervals in my   
boyhood days it was my great privilege  
to be permitted to accompany my father  
to some of the ,indian encampments that 
were not very far from our home1 ,i well
 remember the sweet plaintive voices of 
the ,indians1 as they sung some of our  
hymns which had been translated into    
their language4  ,their devout and      
attentive demeanour during the religious
 services1 deeply impressed me4 ,it was 
ever a great pleasure to visit them in  
their wigwams1 to see the young people  
at their sports1 and the older ones at  
their work3 building canoes1 or making  
baskets4  ,in my boyish curiosity1 ,i   
did not confine my rambling solely to   

the ,christian ,indians2 but1 as all    
were very friendly1 ,i wandered about   
the encampments to the different        
wigwams1 to see what ,i could that was  
novel and interesting4  ,being known as 
the son of the ,blackcoat--for in this  
way was the missionary designated by the
 tribe--,i was always welcomed in the   
wigwams1 and was given a seat in the    
circle around the fire4  ,in one wigwam 
the following characteristic incident   
occurred which made a deep impression on
 my mind4  ,seated on the ground were   
representatives of three generations1   
all1 except the aged grandfather1 busily
 engaged in work1 principally           
basket-making4  ,he was a               
patriarchal-looking old man1 and1 to my 
youthful eyes as he sat there on his    
blanket smoking his long pipe1 seemed to
 be absorbed in thought1 noticing       
neither me nor any one else4  ,the      
youngest of the company1 and the one    
that naturally attracted my attention1  
was a young lad of about my own age4    

,he was busily engaged with an ,indian  
crooked knife1 endeavouring to make an  
arrow4  ,in his eagerness to succeed1 he
 let his knife slip1 and unfortunately1 
cut himself very badly4  ,at the sight  
of the blood1--which flowed freely1 for 
the wound was an ugly one--the lad set  
up a howl of pain and alarm1 which      
greatly startled his stoical relatives4 
,relief was quickly afforded1 the cut   
covered with balsam and tied up in a    
piece of deer skin4  ,not one word of   
sympathy did the boy receive2 but on the
 contrary from nearly all in the wigwam 
arose a chorus of indignation and       
disgust4 ,to them it was a great        
disgrace that one of their family1 and  
he a boy of so many winters1 should howl
 and cry like that1 for such a trifling 
injury4  ,how the other families would  
laugh at them when they heard of it6    
,it looked for a time as if they would  
severely punish him1 not for his        
awkwardness in handling his knife1 but  
because he did not control his feelings 

and treat the wound and the pain with   
utter indifference4  ,the old           
grandfather especially1 was deeply      
stirred and indignant at conduct so     
unworthy of his grandson1 to whom       
evidently he was deeply attached4       
,indians very seldom punish their       
children4  ,upon the boys especially1   
the rod is seldom used4  ,the girls in  
the heathen families often have a hard  
time of it1 being frequently knocked    
about and beaten2 but the boys generally
 escape1 even if they richly deserve    
punishment4  ,here1 however1 was a very 
serious case4  ,the boy had committed a 
crime in crying out at an ordinary cut  
on his hand1 inflicted by himself4  ,it 
would never do to let this pass4  ,the  
lad must be taught a lesson he would    
never forget4  ,and this is the way in  
which it was done1 much to my amazement1
 by his old grandfather4  ,placing near 
him the lad1 who evidently was now      
feeling that he had been very guilty1 he
 gave him a talk upon the duty of       

bearing pain without uttering a cry1 or 
even a groan4  ,then the old man1 who   
had been a great warrior in his younger 
days1 told him1 that unless he were more
 courageous than that1 he would never   
become a brave warrior or a good hunter2
 and1 that unless he was able to control
 his feelings1 and never cry out no     
matter what happened1 they could never  
respect him any more than they would an 
old grandmother4  ,while the old man    
talked excitedly to him1 now thoroughly 
roused out of his usual calm demeanour1 
he renewed the fire which had partly    
burnt down4  ,when1 by the addition of  
some very dry wood1 it was burning very 
vigorously1 he again turned quickly to  
his grandson1 and speaking out sharply  
and excitedly1 said3 ,see here6  ,look  
at me6  ,this is the way a brave warrior
 should stand pain6  ,then1 to my       
horror1 he suddenly reached out his     
hand1 and holding one finger in the     
flame1 kept it there until it was       
fearfully burnt4  ,during this sickening

 ordeal1 not a muscle of the old man's  
face quivered2 not a groan escaped from 
his firmly set lips4  ,to judge from his
 appearance1 it might have been a stick 
that he was burning4  ,when at length he
 drew back the crisp burnt finger of his
 now blistered hand1 he held it toward  
his grandson and gave him another       
lecture1 telling him among other things 
that if he ever expected to be great or 
honoured among his people1 he must hear 
pain without flinching or uttering a    
cry4    ,,chapter ,,ten4  ,,the ,,honest
 ,,indian2 ,,or1 ,,venison ,,for        
,,pemmican4  ,years ago the missionaries
 living in the northern part of what    
were then known as the ,hudson ,bay     
territories1 were often so remote from  
civilisation1 that they were obliged to 
depend principally on fish and game for 
their livelihood4  ,hence1 in times of  
scarcity1 they welcomed the arrival of a
 hunter who came in with plenty of game4
  ,one cold wintry day1 a man of this   
description made his appearance at our  

mission home4  ,he was a fine stalwart  
,indian1 and1 in the quiet way of his   
people1 came into our kitchen without   
knocking4  ,unstrapping from his back a 
fine haunch of venison1 he threw it down
 upon the table4  ,as our supplies of   
food were very limited at the time--for 
we were averaging hardly more than two  
good meals a day--,i was glad to see    
this welcome addition2 and so1 after ,i 
had cordially greeted him1 ,i said3     
,what shall ,i give you for this        
venison8  ,i want nothing for it1 as it 
belongs to you1 was his answer4  ,you   
must be mistaken1 ,i replied1 as ,i     
never saw you before1 and have had no   
dealings with you4  ,oh1 but it does    
belong to you1 and ,i want nothing more 
for it1 he insisted4  ,excuse me1 ,i    
said1 but you must let me pay you for   
it4  ,we are very glad to get it1 as    
there is little food in the house2 but  
we have a rule here1 that we pay the    
,indians for everything we get from     
them4  ,the reason we had come to this  

determination1 was because we had found 
by rather dear experience1--as we       
presume other missionaries on similar   
fields have1--that the natives have an  
idea the missionary is rich1 or that he 
is backed up by wealthy churches2 and1  
with unlimited resources at his         
disposal1 is able to make large gifts in
 return for lesser ones received4  ,a   
few rabbits1 or a brace of ducks would  
be given with great politeness to the   
missionary or his wife4  ,then the      
donor1 often accompanied by his wife and
 several children1 would remain to      
dinner1 and1 in all probability1 eat the
 greater part of the gift4  ,of course  
they must be asked to supper--and they  
had glorious appetites4  ,as they still 
lingered on until time for retiring     
arrived1 the missionary was at length   
obliged to hint1 that he thought they   
would better go and see if their wigwam 
was where they left it in the morning4  
,this would generally bring things to a 
crisis1 and the man would say3 ,ever    

since we came we have only been waiting 
to get the present you are going to give
 us for the one we gave you4  ,while    
they were contented to sell at a        
reasonable rate the various things which
 they could supply for our needs1 yet1  
if a present were accepted1 they        
expected something many times its value4
  ,had this been allowed to continue1 we
 would have been speedily left destitute
 of everything in the house4            
,therefore1 not many weeks before the   
arrival of this strange ,indian with the
 venison1 as a precautionary measure we 
had made a rule that no more presents   
were to be received from the ,indians2  
but that for everything brought which we
 needed1 such as meat1 fish1 or         
moccasins1 there was to be a fair tariff
 price mutually agreed upon4  ,yet in   
spite of all this1 here was a stalwart  
,indian insisting1 that ,i should       
receive a haunch of venison without     
payment4  ,judging from some past       
experiences1 ,i was fearful that if ,i  

accepted it as a present1 it would about
 bankrupt me4  ,so ,i again said to him3
  ,you must let me pay you for this4    
,no1 no1 he energetically replied4  ,i  
take no pay4  ,it belongs to you4  ,how 
do you make that out8  ,i inquired1 more
 perplexed than ever4  ,then he         
proceeded to give me his explanation1   
which deeply interested me1 and which   
will also ,i am sure interest my        
readers4  ,first1 he began by asking me 
a few questions3  ,did you make a trip  
with your guide and dog drivers to      
,burntwood ,river last winter8  ,yes1 ,i
 did1 was my answer4  ,and were your    
dog-sleds not heavily loaded8  ,yes1 ,i 
replied4  ,and was there not a heavy    
fall of snow followed by a blizzard1    
which as you had no trail through the   
deep snow1 made it very difficult       
travelling8  ,quite true1 ,i replied1   
for all had happened just as he was     
describing it4  ,and did you not at a   
certain place make a cache of some of   
your pemmican and other heavy things1 so

 as to lighten your loads1 that your    
dogs might make better time8  ,yes1 ,i  
answered1 for well did ,i remember that 
long journey1 and the fearful storm     
which made travelling through the       
trackless forest almost impossible4  ,i 
had gone on a journey of several        
hundreds of miles to carry the ,gospel  
to some ,indians who were still in the  
darkness of paganism4  ,i travelled with
 sixteen dogs and four ,indian          
companions1 and there was not the least 
vestige of a road4  ,this is the one    
great drawback2 and any party of        
hunters1 traders1 or missionaries1      
wishing to travel with any rapidity1    
must send one of their number on ahead  
of the dog trains to mark out the path  
with his great snow shoes as he strides 
along4  ,the skill and endurance with   
which this work is performed1 is        
marvellous and almost incredible to     
those who have not witnessed it4  ,often
 the country for days together is tamely
 monotonous1 without any striking       

feature in the landscape1 and without   
the least sign of human footsteps4      
,clouds may gather and cover the whole  
heavens with a sombre grey mantle1 so   
that the white man gets bewildered and  
does not know south from north1 or east 
from west4  ,yet the ,indian guide      
pushes on without hesitancy1 and with   
unerring accuracy4  ,while endeavouring 
to push on as rapidly as possible1 we   
were assailed by a fierce storm4  ,the  
snowfall was so great1 that1 with our   
heavy loads1 speedy progress was an     
utter impossibility4  ,we found1 that we
 must either lighten our loads1 or be   
content to lose much valuable time on   
the way4  ,after talking it over with my
 ,indians1 we decided on the former     
course1 and so1 a cache was made4  ,a   
number of the heavier articles were tied
 up in large blankets1 some saplings    
bent down by the stalwart men1 and the  
bundles fastened in their tops4  ,when  
let go1 the young trees sprang up1 and  
thus held their loads so far above the  

ground that they were safe from the     
prowling wolves or wolverines4  ,this   
plan is very much safer than that of    
using large trees1 as up the latter many
 of the wild animals can climb1 and     
short work would be made of the cache4  
,with lightened sleds--although some of 
the things left behind were sadly       
missed--we hurried on1 and after a few  
days reached our destination4  ,we found
 the majority of the ,indians glad to   
see us1 and anxious for instruction in  
the ways of the great ,book4  ,they had 
become dissatisfied with the ways of    
their fathers1 and had lost all faith in
 their conjurers1 so they listened with 
great attention to what we had to tell  
of the ,gospel of the ,son of ,god4     
,while we were thus engaged in our      
missionary duties1 blizzards were raging
 through that cold northland2 so that   
when we began the long home journey1 we 
discovered but few traces of the trail1 
which our snow shoes and dog-trains had 
made not very long before4  ,however1 my

 guide was very clever1 and my splendid 
dogs most sagacious1 so we travelled    
home most of the way on the same route1 
even though the original path was deeply
 buried by the snow4  ,the place where  
our cache had been made was duly        
reached2 and glad enough were we to     
obtain the additional supplies it       
contained1 for we had been on short     
allowance for some time4  ,the strong   
arms of my ,indians soon bent down the  
saplings1 untied the bundles and        
consigned them to the different         
dog-sleds4  ,to my surprise1 ,i         
observed1 that at one of the            
bundles--the heaviest article in which  
had been a piece of pemmican weighing   
perhaps fifty or sixty pounds--my men   
were talking and gesticulating most     
earnestly4  ,in answer to my inquiries1 
they said1 that that bundle had been    
taken down during our absence1 and a    
piece of pemmican had been cut off and  
taken away4  ,nonsense6  ,i replied4    
,you are surely mistaken4  ,it looks to 

me just as it was when we put it up4    
,and then there was not the vestige of a
 track here when we returned4  ,however1
 in spite of my protestations1 my men   
were confident that some pemmican had   
been taken by a stranger1 and that the  
blizzard had covered up the tracks4     
,with a little more discussion the      
matter was dropped1 and after a good    
meal we proceeded on our way4  ,months  
later1 along came this strange ,indian  
with the venison and his story1 which we
 will now let him finish3  ,i was out   
hunting in those forests through which  
you passed3 for they are my hunting     
grounds4  ,i found the trail of a moose1
 and for a long time ,i followed it up1 
but did not succeed in getting a shot4  
,i had poor success on that hunting     
trip4  ,shooting nothing for some days1 
,i became very hungry4  ,while pushing  
along through the woods1 ,i came across 
your trail and saw your cache4  ,so when
 ,i saw it was the missionary's cache1  
the friend of the ,indian1 ,i was glad1 

and ,i said to myself4  ,if he were     
here1 and knew that ,i was hungry1 he   
would say3 ,help yourself3'--and that   
was just what ,i did4  ,i pulled down a 
sapling1 and opening the bundle1 cut off
 a piece of pemmican--just enough to    
make me feel comfortable under my belt  
until ,i could reach my wigwam1 far     
away4  ,then ,i tied up the bundle1     
fastened it in the treetop1 and let it  
swing up again4  ,and now ,i have       
brought you this venison1 to pay for    
that pemmican which ,i took4  ,honest   
man6  ,he had carried the haunch of     
venison on his back1 a distance of about
 sixty miles4  ,of course ,i was        
delighted1 and while complimenting him  
for his honesty1 inquired how he knew   
that it was my party that had made the  
cache1 rather than a party of ,indian   
hunters4  ,without any hesitancy he     
replied3 ,oh ,i saw your snow shoe      
tracks in the snow4  ,impossible6  ,i   
answered2 for the snow shoes used by the
 whole party were made by ,sandy1 my    

,indian boy1 and were all of one        
pattern4  ,that no matter1 he answered1 
while his eyes twinkled with amusement4 
,snow shoes all right1 but ,i saw your  
tracks all the time4  ,when ,indian     
walk1 he walk with toes in2 when white  
man walk1 he walk with toes out4 ,so ,i 
saw where the missionary make tracks all
 the time4  ,we all voted him a clever1 
as well as an honest ,indian1 and       
rejoiced that under the faithful        
teachings of another missionary1 this   
red ,indian of the forest1 had been so  
grounded in the lessons of the sermon on
 the mount4    ,,chapter ,,eleven4      
,,the ,,vindication ,,of ,,the          
,,sabbath4  ,when the missionaries go   
among the heathen preaching the blessed 
,gospel of the great ,book1 they        
necessarily have to begin1 with first   
principles4  ,when good impressions have
 been made1 and hearts touched1 then    
follows religious instruction in matters
 of which they have been perfectly      
ignorant6 and much that is false1 and   

often very childish1 has to be          
unlearned4  ,to these people1 before the
 arrival of the missionary1 the ,sabbath
 was utterly unknown4  ,the preaching of
 it at first filled them with perplexity
 and trouble4  ,they thought that it    
would interfere with their plans1 and so
 break up their hunting arrangements as 
to bring them to absolute want4  ,they  
were poor1 even though working and      
fishing every day2 and to give up one   
day out of every seven1 and not fire a  
gun1 or set a net--what would become of 
them6  ,thus argued some of the         
,indians4  ,faithfully and lovingly the 
missionaries set before them the        
commands of ,god adding the promises of 
blessings to the obedient4  ,the ,book  
itself was diligently searched1 and     
there was a great desire to know1 if    
such passages as the one we here quote  
referred to white people and ,indians   
now3 ,if thou turn away thy foot from   
the ,sabbath1 from doing thy pleasure on
 my holy day1 and call the ,sabbath a   

delight1 the holy of the ,lord1         
honourable3 and shalt honour him not    
doing thine own ways1 nor finding thine 
own pleasure1 nor speaking thine own    
words1 then shalt thou delight thyself  
in the ,lord1 and ,i will cause thee to 
ride upon the high places of the earth1 
and feed thee with the heritage of      
,jacob thy father2 for the mouth of the 
,lord hath spoken it4  ,at last1 under  
faithful teaching1 aided by the blessed 
,spirit1 the ,christian ,indians        
resolved to take the ,book for their    
guide1 and to keep the ,sabbath day4    
,at once1 the guns and bows and arrows  
were put aside1 and the fish-nets were  
left hanging in the breeze for that day4
  ,no traps were visited1 neither were  
the axes lifted up against the trees4   
,their simple meals were cooked and     
eaten1 and all who could attend1 were   
found in the house of ,god three times  
each ,sabbath4  ,but now arose fierce   
opposition from an unexpected quarter4  
,the great fur-trading company that had 

for so long a time held despotic power  
in the land1 in their                   
short-sightedness1--fearing a diminution
 in the returns of the fur by the       
hunters if one-seventh of the time was  
to be1 as they put it1 spent in         
idleness1--sneered at the actions of the
 missionaries1 and by bribes and        
threats1 endeavoured to induce the      
,indians to ignore their teachings on   
the subject4  ,when1 the summer tripping
 began1 and the ,indians refused to     
travel or work in the boats on the      
,sabbath1 the action of the company     
developed into downright persecution4   
,some description of this tripping in   
that great wild northland is necessary1 
in order that our readers may understand
 the position taken by the              
,sabbath-keeping ,indians1 and its most 
satisfactory results4  ,so remote from  
the seaboard are some of the interior   
posts of the ,hudson ,bay ,company1 that
 seven years1 and sometimes more        
elapsed1 ere the furs obtained for the  

goods sent1 could reach the ,london     
market4  ,the bales of goods were first 
shipped by the company's vessels to     
,york factory1 on the ,hudson ,bay4     
,then they were taken by the ,indian    
trippers in strong boats that would hold
 from three to five tons4  ,a number of 
these boats constituted a brigade4  ,a  
captain of the whole was appointed1 and 
a good state of discipline maintained4  
,the first brigade would take the bales 
up the rivers1 often having to pass many
 dangerous places and encounter many    
risks4  ,great care and watchfulness    
were necessary1 and yet in spite of all1
 boats were sometimes wrecked and lives 
lost4  ,the hardest part of the work was
 in what was called1 making the         
portages4  ,some of the rivers are full 
of falls and rapids that are impassable 
for the boats4  ,here the portages have 
to be made4  ,the hardy boatmen row up  
to the rapids as close as is safe1      
unload their cargoes1 and carry them on 
their backs to the selected spot below  

the obstruction in the river4  ,then the
 boats have to be hauled ashore1 and    
dragged overland by the united strength 
of the several crews to the same place2 
here they are again launched1 and with  
cargoes aboard1 the journey is resumed4 
,on some of these trips the number of   
portages runs up into the scores4       
,great lakes have to be crossed where   
fierce storms at times rage1 and where  
head-winds blow with such fury1 that    
sometimes the brigades are delayed many 
days4  ,at ,norway house1--which for    
many years was the great northern depot 
for the company's goods1 and the great  
distributing centre for the interior    
parts1--this first brigade would        
exchange its cargo of goods for the     
bales of rich furs which another        
brigade1 that had come from the further 
interior1 perhaps from ,athabasca or the
 ,saskatchewan country1 had brought down
 thus far on their way to the ships for 
the ,london market4 ,then this second   
brigade would return hundreds of miles  

into the interior2 and1 meeting another 
brigade from regions still more remote1 
would exchange its cargo of goods with  
this third brigade1 for regions yet more
 distant4  ,thus it would go on1 until  
some of the bales of goods were more    
than three thousand miles from the      
seaboard where they were landed2 and the
 different posts had their supply of    
goods for the fur trade with the        
,indians4  ,so it happened1 that years  
elapsed ere the goods reached some of   
the places2 and the furs also were years
 in reaching the ship for ,england4     
,all of this heavy work was performed by
 the ,indian boatmen1 or trippers1 as   
they were called4  ,they were the       
fur-hunters during the cold winter      
months2 but so long as there was open   
water--that is1 no ice--they were       
employed by hundreds to take in goods   
and bring out furs4  ,the one despotic  
command delivered to these brigades by  
the company was1 push on6  ,they argued3
 ,the summer in these high latitudes is 

short2 we must make the most of it4     
,every day tells1 and there must be no  
lagging by the way4  ,the result was1   
that the men were worked to the last    
degree of endurance4  ,many failed at   
the oar1 while others dropped under the 
heavy loads on the difficult portages4  
,fill up the ranks quickly1 and push on1
 was the order4  ,it was all excitement1
 and rush1 and high pressure1 from the  
beginning of the tripping season until  
the close4 ,there was no relaxation--no 
,sabbath--no rest4  ,it seemed utter    
folly for the missionary to come in     
where such a condition of things        
existed1 and say to the best men of the 
best brigade3 ,we know the summer is    
short1 and it is essential for the      
welfare of the company and your own     
wages1 that the goods should be taken   
in1 and the furs brought out4  ,but a   
,higher ,power has said1 ,remember the  
,sabbath day to keep it holy1 so when   
,saturday night overtakes you1 tie up   
your boats1 lay aside your oars1 and    

rest in quietness and devotion until    
,god's day is over4'  ,the company in   
their blindness were at first astounded1
 then enraged4 ,to lose one-seventh of  
the short summer1 when1 as it was1 the  
brigades were sometimes caught by the   
ice1 would never do6  ,this fanaticism  
must be stopped6  ,they threatened--they
 persecuted the missionary and the      
,indians4  ,their monopoly in the       
country gave them great power1 and they 
wielded it unmercifully4  ,unable to    
induce the missionary by bribes or      
threats to take another stand1 they     
resorted to persecution2 and by         
calumnies most foul1 strove to destroy  
his good name1 and to drive him out of  
the country4  ,he was a wise and        
judicious1 as well as a brave man2 and1 
standing at his post1 endeavoured to    
show his rich and powerful detractors1  
that no harm would come to them by their
 employees resting one day in seven4    
,he bravely declared1 that a man could  
do more work in six days by resting the 

seventh1 than by working continuously2  
and he challenged them to the test4  ,at
 first the statement1 which had been1 so
 conclusively proved to be true was     
laughed to scorn4  ,however1 as the     
missionary and his ,christian ,indians  
remained true1 the company were obliged 
to yield so far as to send off a        
,sabbath-keeping brigade1 which they did
 with many fears and misgivings4  ,to   
their surprise1 they did their work just
 as well1 and returned in less time1    
with the men in better health than those
 who knew no ,sabbath4  ,the logic of   
actual success triumphed eventually4    
,all opposition ceased1 and up to the   
time when the old order of things came  
to an end1 and oars gave way to steam   
power1 no one was found rash enough to  
question the ability of the             
,sabbath-keeping ,indians to excel in   
work those who kept not the day of rest4
  ,i often travelled with those         
,christian ,indians1 and the ,sabbaths  
spent on these long trips1 are sweet and

 happy memories4  ,up to the last hour  
on ,saturday when it was safe to travel1
 the journey would be pursued1 until1 in
 some quiet harbour or cosy bend in the 
river1 safe from sudden storms or       
tornadoes1 the boats would be securely  
fastened1 and the cargoes carefully     
covered with the oilcloths4  ,after a   
supper cooked on the rocks1 all would   
gather around the bright camp-fire for  
the evening devotions4  ,a hymn would be
 sung1 a chapter of the good ,book read1
 and prayer offered by one or two of the
 company4  ,the ,sabbath would be spent 
quietly and restfully1 with at least two
 impressive and simple services4 ,on    
,monday1 at first blush of morn1 we were
 up1 and1 after a hasty meal and a      
prayer1 the journey would be resumed    
with renewed vigour4  ,thus was the     
,sabbath introduced among the northern  
,indians4    ,,chapter ,,twelve4  ,,god 
,,more ,,powerful ,,than ,,the          
,,conjurer4  ,the following beautiful   
story deserves a place among the very   

many real answers to prayer4  ,still    
does the ,lord say to his followers3 ,i 
will yet for this be inquired of by the 
house of ,israel1 to do it for them4    
,our ,indian converts believe in ,god4  
,with a simple1 childlike faith they    
take ,him at his word4  ,one of our     
,indians at his baptism1 received the   
,english name of ,edmund ,stephenson4   
,he was an earnest1 simple ,christian4  
,his religion made him industrious1 and 
so by his diligent hunting and fishing  
he provided comfortably for his wife and
 two little ones4  ,one evening1 about  
the middle of last ,october1 he left his
 family at his little home at ,norway   
,house1 and started up a rapid river to 
visit some of his relatives1 who lived  
several miles away4  ,in those high     
latitudes the cold winter sets in so    
early that already the river1 was       
covered with ice4  ,to make the trip    
much quicker he fastened on his skates1 
and when last seen1 was speeding rapidly
 away in the evening twilight4  ,he did 

not return the next day as he had       
promised1 and his family becoming       
alarmed1 sent an ,indian messenger to   
inquire the reason4  ,to his surprise he
 was informed by the friends that       
,edmund had not visited them and they   
knew not of his whereabouts4  ,when     
these tidings were carried home there   
was great alarm1 and a search party was 
quickly organised4  ,from the point     
where he was last seen alive1 they      
carefully examined the ice1 and1 after a
 little time1 discovered the most       
conclusive evidence that the poor man   
was drowned4  ,over a part of the river 
where the current is very rapid1 they   
discovered that the ice had been broken 
through2 and although all was now again 
firmly frozen over1 yet1 in the         
congealed mass1 they discovered one of  
,edmund's deer-skin gloves1 a button of 
his coat1 and other evidences that he   
had here fallen through the ice1 and had
 made a most desperate effort to escape4
  ,as it was nearly dark when the       

searchers made these discoveries as to  
the place and manner1 of his death1 they
 were obliged to be satisfied with this1
 and to postpone the search for the body
 until the next day4  ,early the next   
morning they set to work diligently4    
,as much snow had fallen since the      
previous evening1 they were very much   
hampered in their efforts2 and1 although
 a large number of men1 with snow       
shovels1 axes and grappling irons sought
 carefully in many places for the       
remains1 several days passed1 and they  
were still unsuccessful in their        
efforts4  ,among the searchers were some
 ,indians who still believed in the     
skill and supernatural powers of the    
conjurers1 or medicine men4  ,these1    
having become discouraged in their      
efforts1 resolved to consult one of     
these old men1 so they said3  ,let us go
 and consult old ,kwaskacarpo1 and get  
him to conjure for us1 and tell us where
 to find the body4  ,the ,christian     
,indians protested against this1 and    

tried to dissuade them2 but to no       
purpose they were so discouraged in     
their efforts4  ,so they carried gifts  
of tea and tobacco to the conjurer1 and 
told him of the object of their coming4 
,in response to their wishes1 and in    
return for their gifts1 he took his     
sacred drum and medicine-bag into the   
tent1 drummed away noisily until he     
worked himself up into a kind of frenzy 
or delirium1 and then told them where to
 cut the ice and drag for the body of   
their dead comrade4  ,when the          
,christian ,indians heard that these    
others had gone to the conjurer for     
help1 they were very much grieved4  ,one
 especially1 a grand old man by the name
 of ,thomas ,mustagan1 was very much    
depressed in spirit4  ,while feeling    
deeply the loss of ,edmund1 he was very 
much hurt when the news reached him1    
that some of the searchers instead of   
going to ,god in their perplexity and   
trouble1 had1 like ,king ,saul1 resorted
 to such disputable agencies4  ,no      

sooner had he received this news1 than  
he resolved to adopt a very different   
course4  ,getting his wife to cook a    
quantity of food2 he carried it1 with   
some kettles of tea1 to a spot on the   
shore near to where the men were        
diligently searching for the body4      
,clearing away the snow he made a fire2 
and1 when the tea was prepared1 called  
the hungry and almost discouraged men   
around him1 and made them eat his food  
and drink his tea4  ,then he talked to  
them of the one living and true ,god1   
and of ,his power to hear and answer    
prayer4  ,he spoke of the foolishness   
and wickedness of those1 who1 having    
heard about ,him1 had gone and consulted
 the wicked old conjurer4  ,let us go to
 that ,god about whom we have been      
taught by our missionaries4  ,he is the 
one to help us in our trouble4  ,with   
the people all around him1 he kneeled   
down in snow1 and earnestly and         
reverently asked ,god to hear and help  
them in their sorrow and perplexity4    

,he prayed that wisdom might be given   
them1 so that they might find the body  
of their dear friend lying somewhere in 
that cold river2 that they might take it
 up1 and bury it in their little village
 graveyard4  ,he asked ,god very        
earnestly to comfort the poor sorrowing 
widow and the little helpless children4 
,thus with believing faith did this     
venerable old ,indian of more than      
fourscore winters1 call upon ,god4      
,when they arose from their knees he    
said3 ,now trusting in ,god to answer   
us1 let us go to work4  ,on account of  
the quantity of snow that had fallen on 
the ice1 they had first to scrape it    
away1 and then use their judgment about 
where to cut through the ice1 and drag  
for the body4  ,although ,thomas was so 
old a man1 he now seemed the most alert 
and active of the party4  ,by common    
consent1 he was given charge of the     
party of ,christian ,indians1 who now   
worked diligently under his direction4  
,in the meantime1 the old conjurer      

,kwaskacarpo in a confident voice told  
his followers1 that he had conjured1 and
 the answer was1 that they were to cut  
the ice in a certain designated place4  
,paying no attention to him or his      
party1 the ,christian ,indians worked   
away1 and as fast as the ice was cleared
 of snow1 ,thomas looked through as well
 as he could4  ,all at once he arose    
quickly from a spot of semi-transparent 
ice which he had been carefully         
examining1 and calling to the men with  
the axes and ice-chisels1 he said3  ,try
 here4  ,soon they had a large hole cut1
 the grappling irons were brought into  
use1 and there hundreds of yards from   
the place where the conjurer had        
directed his followers to look for it1  
the body was found4  ,thomas1 while     
intently searching through the ice1 had 
seen on the under surface at that place 
a quantity of air bubbles4  ,the thought
 came to him1 that here the body had    
rested1 and the last air from the lungs 
had escaped and formed these bubbles4   

,he had asked for wisdom and divine     
direction and he was not disappointed1  
for in less than an hour after these    
pious ,indians had been on their knees  
in earnest prayer the body of their     
comrade was being borne away to his     
home1 and from thence to its final      
resting place in the ,god's ,acre of the
 little ,christian village4    ,,chapter
 ,,thirteen4  ,,betsy1 ,,the ,,indian   
,,wife4  ,she was not a bad looking     
woman1 but she had such a sorrowful face
 that never seemed to have on it a      
smile4  ,mrs ,young and ,i had both     
noticed this1 and had spoken to each    
other about it4  ,her name was ,betsy4  
,she was the wife of an ,indian whose   
name was ,atenou1 but who1 when         
baptised1 had1 like most of his         
countrymen1 asked for the addition to it
 of an ,english name1 and so was known  
as ,robert ,atenou4  ,his record seemed 
to be that of a quiet1 industrious sort 
of an ,indian1 who fished and hunted as 
did the rest1 and gave trouble to none4 

,as he1 like many of his people1 was    
gifted with readiness of utterance1 and 
was very faithful in his attendance at  
all of the religious services1 and      
seemed to be living a godly life1 he had
 been1 given an official position in the
 church1 which1 he very much            
appreciated4  ,it was noticed however1  
that ,robert's advancement in the       
church1 did not seem to remove the cloud
 that was on his wife's face4  ,while   
the other women were so bright and happy
 and thankful at the change which       
,christianity had brought into their    
lives1 and were at times not slow in    
speaking about it1 she was a very marked
 exception4  ,not wishing to pry into   
her affairs1 while perplexed1 we were   
obliged for a time to remain in the     
dark1 and could only conjecture as to   
the cause4  ,perhaps the most marvellous
 and conspicuous evidence of the        
blessedness of the ,gospel1 next to its 
divine power in the salvation of the    
soul1 is to be seen in the glorious way 

in which it uplifts women4  ,sad indeed 
is the condition of women in lands      
unreached by the blessed influences of  
,christianity4  ,he whose wonderful and 
tender love for ,his mother1 and for the
 goodly women who ministered to ,him1   
was so manifested when ,he walked this  
earth of ours1 is ,jesus still4  ,and   
wherever ,his name is successfully      
proclaimed1 and hearts opened to receive
 ,him1 there at once is a glorious      
uplifting of woman from a condition of  
inferiority and degradation1 into one   
where she is honoured and respected4    
,the northern ,indian tribes on this    
continent1 while not very warlike1 or   
much in the habit of going after the    
scalps of their enemies1 had other      
crimes and sins1 which showed that they 
were fallen and sinful1 and much in need
 of the ,gospel4  ,among the defects and
 wickednesses of the men1 was the almost
 universal contempt for1 and cruelty to 
the women4  ,if a man spoke or acted    
kindly to his wife1 or mother1 or       

daughter1 it was by them considered a   
sign of weakness and effeminacy4  ,to be
 harsh and cold toward the women1 was   
supposed to be one of the signs of the  
ideal ,indian toward which they were    
ever striving4  ,all manual labour1     
apart from hunting and fishing1 was     
considered degrading to be left to the  
women1 and some1 as much as possible1   
even left the fishing to them4 ,where   
there were no tribal wars1 the perfect  
,indian was only the great hunter4  ,and
 with the great hunter1 his work ended  
when the game was killed4  ,if it were  
at all possible to send his wife or     
mother to the spot where the animal lay1
 that his arrow or gun had brought down1
 he would scorn to carry or drag it back
 to camp4  ,he had killed the bear1 or  
moose1 or reindeer1 or whatever animal  
it might happen to be1 and now it was   
woman's work to take it to the wigwam1  
and as quickly as possible prepare for  
him his meal4  ,thus we have seen the   
great stalwart six-footed hunter come   

stalking into the village with his gun  
upon his shoulder1 while the poor       
mother1 or wife1 or daughter1 came      
trudging on behind1 almost crushed down 
with the weight of the game upon her    
back4 ,he carried the gun--she the game4
  ,then1 no matter how tired she might  
be with the heavy burden1 no time was   
allowed for rest4  ,with a quick harsh  
kinipe 7hurry72 she was soon at work4   
,the skin was quickly and skilfully     
removed1 and some of the savoury meat   
was cooked and placed before her husband
 or son4  ,not a mouthful would she be  
allowed to taste until the despot had   
leisurely finished1 unless it were to   
pick some of the bones which he         
condescendingly threw to her1 as1 at a  
distance from him1 she sat with the     
girls and dogs4  ,thus she was treated  
as a slave1 or drudge1 or beast of      
burden4  ,then when sickness or old age 
came on1 and she became unable to work  
and toil and slave1 she was without     
mercy put out of existence3 the usual   

method being strangulation4  ,this was  
the sad condition of women in various   
parts of this great continent ere the   
,gospel reached the ,indian tribes4     
,very marvellous and striking have been 
the transformations which we have       
witnessed among those to whom we had    
gone with the truth4  ,at some places we
 witnessed changes wrought by the       
labours of the worthy men who had       
preceded us2 in other places we were    
permitted both to sow the seed and see  
the glorious harvest4  ,although1 from  
the white man's standpoint the people   
here were poor1 yet the little houses1  
where were the followers of the ,lord   
,jesus1 were homes of happiness1 and the
 spirit of kindliness and affection     
everywhere prevailed4  ,there men and   
women lived on terms of equality4 ,no   
longer did the men eat alone and of the 
best of the game and fish1 but all      
together men and women1 boys and girls  
as one loving family1 shared            
proportionately what had been secured4  

,the result was1 there was a spirit of  
contentment and happiness in our mission
 village that was very gratifying4      
,however1 amidst these happy faces and  
notes of thanksgiving1 here was this one
 sorrowful face and silent tongue4      
,what was the cause8  ,the truth came   
out at last1 and in a way that was      
almost dramatic4  ,mrs ,young and ,i    
were busy one day with our routine      
duties1 when ,betsy came into our home1 
and hardly taking time enough to give   
the usual morning salutation exclaimed  
in a most decided way2 ,robert is not   
kind to me1 and does not treat me like  
the other men1 who profess to be        
,christians1 treat their wives4  ,this  
strong emphatic remark startled us1 and 
at once gave us the clue to the cause of
 the sorrowful face4  ,at first we      
hardly knew just how to answer such an  
emphatic utterance1 and so in silence   
waited for her to proceed4  ,but there  
she sat quietly her face nearly hidden  
in her black shawl1 seeming to be afraid

 to proceed further4  ,so we had at     
length to break the awkward silence1 by 
saying we were very sorry to hear her   
words and could not understand their    
meaning1 as ,robert seemed to be a very 
good man1 and an earnest ,christian4    
,this at once caused her to break her   
silence1 and turning around to me1 she  
said3  ,yes1 that is it4  ,if he did not
 so profess to be a ,christian1 ,i would
 never mind it1 and would silently bear 
it2 but he professes to be a ,christian1
 and does not treat me in the way in    
which the other ,christian men treat    
their wives4  ,then she quieted down1   
and in a very straightforward way told  
us her story1 which was as follows3     
,when ,robert goes out and shoots a     
deer1 it is true he does not come home  
with the gun upon his shoulder1 and make
 me go out on his trail and bring in the
 game2 he brings it in himself1 like the
 other ,christian ,indians2 but when it 
is brought in1 he makes me skin it2 and 
then takes the two haunches over to the 

fort1 and there exchanges them with the 
fur-traders for some flour1 tea and     
sugar1 which he brings home4  ,i have to
 cook for him a fore-shoulder of the    
deer1 make cakes at the fire1 out of his
 flour1 and then when the tea is made   
and supper is ready1 sit and watch him1 
and our boys1 and any men visitors who  
happen to be there-- and a number are   
generally around by that time--eat until
 all is consumed4  ,he never gives any  
of these good things to me1 or to the   
girls4  ,we have to go out in a canoe1  
and1 with a net1 catch some fish for our
 food4  ,and yet1 she added1 with some  
bitterness1 he calls himself a          
,christian2 and treats us in this way1  
as though he had never heard the        
missionary4  ,of course we were both    
indignant as she told her story1 and    
were not slow in letting her know of our
 annoyance at her having been1 so       
treated4  ,but wife-like1 and           
woman-like1 when ,i said3  ,robert shall
 hear of this1 and shall be straightened

 out forthwith1 her fears were aroused1 
and it seemed as though she were now    
frightened at what she had said4        
,however there was not much difficulty  
in quieting her fears1 although at first
 it did seem as though she would rush   
out of the house1 and return to her     
tent1 and submit to the humiliating life
 which she saw should not have continued
 so long4  ,after a little consultation 
with ,mrs ,young1 our course of action  
was agreed upon4  ,it was1 that ,betsy  
should be kept at the mission house     
until ,i had assembled in the church a  
number of the elderly ,christian men2   
and later ,robert1 whom we learned from 
his wife was then at his tent1 was to be
 summoned4  ,but little time was        
required in which to gather the men ,i  
wanted1 as most of the people were then 
at their homes4  ,they were completely  
in the dark as to the object for which  
,i had called them together4  ,when in  
the church4  ,i sent for ,mrs ,young and
 ,betsy to join us4  ,poor ,betsy was   

now so frightened1 that it seemed as if1
 like a startled deer1 she would run to 
the woods4  ,however1 she was in good   
hands4  ,mrs ,young spoke soothing      
words1 and cheered her much by telling  
her1 that what she had done in coming to
 us with the story of her wrongs was    
perfectly right1 and that very soon     
every thing would be cleared up4        
,shortly after the two women came in and
 took seats together1 ,robert1 for whom 
,i had sent two men1 walked in4  ,at    
first he was much surprised at the      
gathering1 and especially puzzled and   
perplexed at seeing his wife sitting    
there by the side of the wife of the    
missionary4  ,before he could say       
anything1 ,i pointed out a seat for him 
where he would be in full view of his   
brother ,indians1 and yet1 where his    
presence would not overawe1 or crush    
down his wife4  ,soon after1 ,i locked  
the church door and said3  ,let us pray4
  ,after prayers ,i turned to ,betsy1   
and said3  ,now ,betsy1 if what you told

 ,mrs ,young and me in the mission house
 is true1 and ,i believe it is1 ,i want 
you now to tell the story over again    
that these ,christian men may hear it4  
,never mind the fact of ,robert's being 
here2 if he is a ,christian1 as he says 
he is1 the hearing of it will1 ,i hope1 
do him good4  ,the faces of those       
,indians were studies4  ,none knew1 not 
even ,robert himself1 what ,betsy had to
 say2 and so they waited in amazement to
 hear her story4  ,with an encouraging  
word from ,mrs ,young1 she began2 and   
although at first she was timid and     
nervous1 she soon recovered her         
self-possession1 and in a perfectly     
natural manner told the story of the    
treatment she and the girls had received
 from the hands of her husband4  ,with  
renewed emphasis she dwelt on that which
 seemed to have given her the most      
sorrow8  ,if he had not so professed to 
be a ,christian1 ,i would not have so   
much minded it4  ,indians are the best  
listeners in the world4  ,they never    

interrupt anyone in his talk4  ,and so1 
even ,robert1 who at first was simply   
dumbfounded and amazed1 controlled      
himself and held his peace4  ,very few  
white men could have done so4  ,i had   
purposely so placed him1 that if he had 
suddenly attempted violence1 stronger   
men could instantly have restrained him4
  ,but nothing of the kind was          
attempted4  ,as his wife went on and on1
 showing the difference between his     
conduct toward her and their girls1 and 
that of the other ,christian men toward 
their wives and daughters1 ,robert's    
head went lower and lower1 until there  
he sat1 humiliated and disgraced before 
his brethren4  ,when ,betsy finished her
 talk and sat down1 ,i turned to the    
good men there assembled and merely     
said3  ,what do you think of such       
conduct on the part of one who professes
 to be a ,christian8  ,their indignation
 knew no bounds4  ,indian like1 they had
 let ,betsy tell her whole story without
 any interruption2 but the looks on     

their faces as she proceeded1 told how  
deeply affected they were4  ,now that   
they had heard her story1 it seemed as  
though they all wanted to speak at ones2
 but there are well understood1 although
 unwritten1 rules of precedence among   
them1 so the first in order spoke1 and  
then the second1 and then the third1 and
 so on4  ,how they did dress the poor   
fellow down6  ,while it was very severe1
 it was ,christian and brotherly4  ,they
 spoke as men who were grieved and      
wounded4  ,is this the way you have     
acted6  ,you1 ,robert ,atenou1 who for  
so long a time have professed to be a   
,christian2 you1 to treat your poor wife
 and children like that2 as though no   
,bible1 or missionary had come among us6
 ,now we know why ,betsy has been so    
sad1 and did not rejoice like the other 
women4  ,thus they faithfully chided    
him1 and expressed their sorrow at his  
heartless conduct4  ,poor ,robert1 ,i   
had soon to pity him4  ,first1 of       
course1 ,i was a little anxious as to   

the way in which a once proud-spirited  
fiery ,indian1 would take his wife's    
arraignment of his misdoings and        
selfishness1 and also these reprimands  
from his brethren4  ,however1 it turned 
out all right4 ,robert just buried his  
bronzed face in his hands1 and received 
it all in silence4  ,when ,i thought it 
had gone far enough1 and had decided in 
my own mind not then and there to       
question him1 ,i asked for a cessation  
of the speaking1 and went and opened the
 church door4  ,at once ,robert arose   
and left the church4  ,not one word had 
he spoken to anybody4  ,betsy1          
wife-like1 wished immediately to follow 
him1 but ,mrs ,young persuaded her not  
to go for a little while4  ,she took the
 poor frightened creature into the      
mission house1 gave her a cup of tea and
 something to eat1 and what she prized  
more1 some loving sympathetic words4    
,when she did return home1 she found    
that ,robert was absent4  ,the children 
said that he had come in1 and1 after    

saying some kind words to them1 had     
taken his gun and ammunition and had    
gone off hunting4  ,he did not return   
until the next day1 but he had with him 
a fine deer4  ,this he skinned himself1 
and taking the two hind quarters1 went  
as usual to the fort1 and bartered them 
for flour1 tea and sugar4  ,when he     
returned to his tent1 he handed these   
things to his wife1 and desired her to  
cook them as usual4  ,after all had been
 prepared he had all placed before his  
wife1 daughters1 and sons4  ,then1      
telling them to enjoy the meal1 he left 
the tent4  ,taking a net1 he went out   
upon the lake in a canoe1 and after some
 time spent in fishing1 was seen cooking
 and eating his catch upon the shore4   
,thus he lived for weeks4  ,he was a    
good hunter1 and worked most            
industriously and successfully4  ,all   
the game taken1 he brought to his wife  
and children1 upon which he insisted    
that they should feast1 while he        
confined himself to a fish diet2        

although those caught at that season    
were far from being the best4  ,one     
,saturday evening1 as we were standing  
in the front of our mission home        
enjoying the splendours of a most       
magnificent sunset1 we saw ,robert      
coming up the trail4  ,as he drew near  
,i accosted him kindly1 but it was easy 
to see that he was in trouble1 and that 
there was something on his mind4  ,we   
chatted about various things1 and ,i    
encouraged him to speak out freely4     
,with a sudden effort he broke loose    
from his feeling of restraint1 and said3
  ,missionary1 are you going to let me  
come to the ,sacrament of the ,lord's   
,supper to-morrow8  ,four times a year  
we had this sacramental service1 and it 
was a great event to our native         
,christians4  ,in answer to his question
 ,i replied3  ,why ,robert1 what is     
there to cause me to wish to prevent you
 from coming to the ,lord's table8      
,looking at me earnestly1 he said3      
,there is a good deal4  ,just think of  

the way ,i have treated my wife and     
daughters6  ,yes1 ,i said1 ,i remember  
that2 but ,i also know how you have been
 treating them during the last few      
weeks4  ,with a face from which the     
shadows had now fled away1 he said      
quickly3--  ,have you heard anything    
about that8  ,o yes1 ,robert1 ,i        
replied1 ,i know all about it4  ,i have 
good eyes and ears1 and ,i have seen and
 heard how nobly you have redeemed      
yourself4  ,i am very glad of it4  ,of  
course ,i will welcome you to the       
,lord's table4  ,after a little further 
conversation1 ,i said3  ,tell me1       
,robert1 why did you act so selfishly   
toward your wife and daughters8  ,he    
just uttered with emphasis the ,indian  
word which means3 ,stupidity1--then     
after a little pause he quietly added2  
,but ,i think ,i have got over it4  ,and
 so he had4    ,,chapter ,,fourteen4    
,,five ,,indians ,,and ,a               
,,jack-,,knife4  ,indian boys dearly    
love pocket-knives4  ,as they have to   

make their own bows and arrows1 the     
paddles for their birch canoes1 and also
 the frames for their snow shoes1 of    
course a good knife is a valued         
possession4  ,in whittling1 ,indian boys
 do not push the knife from them1 but   
always draw it toward them4  ,they are  
very clever in the manufacture of the   
few things which they require1 and are  
encouraged by their fathers to do their 
work as neatly as possible4  ,so the    
better the knife1 the better the work   
which these ,indian lads can do1 and    
they are ambitious to possess the very  
best knife that it is possible for them 
to obtain2 just as the older ,indians   
will give any price within their means  
for the very best guns that are made4   
,knowing this love for a good knife1 ,i 
once used it among a lot of ,indian     
lads1 as an incentive to encourage them 
to sing3 as our story will explain4  ,at
 one of our ,indian villages1 where a   
flourishing mission with its day and    
,sunday schools exists1 the devoted lady

 teacher said to me on a recent visit3  
,i do wish you would do something to    
encourage our boys to sing4  ,they have 
good voices1 but they seem afraid to use
 them4  ,if ,i do succeed in getting one
 to sing1 the others laugh at him1 and  
then there is no more singing that day4 
,i gladly promised to do what ,i could2 
but before ,i describe the plan adopted1
 perhaps ,i would better give some      
description of these ,indians among whom
 this courageous young lady was living4 
,their hunting grounds are in the vast  
region which lies between ,lake         
,winnipeg and ,hudson ,bay4 ,they are   
called ,saulteaux1 and are a subdivision
 of the great ,algonquin family4  ,until
 very recently they lived altogether by 
hunting and fishing4  ,so ignorant were 
they1 even of the existence of bread1   
that when the first missionaries1 who   
translated into their language the      
,lord's prayer1 came to the petition1   
,give us this day our daily bread1 to   
make it intelligible to them1 they had  

to translate it1 ,give us this day      
something to keep us in life4  ,they    
were1 and still are very poor4  ,once   
the forests abounded in game1 and the   
richest fur-bearing animals1 such as the
 black and silver foxes1 otters1        
beavers1 minks1 martens and ermines1    
were caught in large numbers2 but       
incessant huntings have almost          
annihilated some of these animals1 and  
others are very difficult to find4  ,the
 lakes once teemed with fish2 but the   
rapid increase of the white population  
in the north-western states and in      
,manitoba has so multiplied the demands1
 that not one quarter as many fish are  
now caught as formerly4  ,the result is1
 that the poor ,indians whose sole      
dependence was on these things1 are not 
as well off as they formerly were1 even 
with the little help which they receive 
from the government4  ,hence it is the  
imperative duty of the missionaries1 not
 only to ,christianise them1 but to do  
all they can1 in harmony with the       

government officials1 to encourage them 
to raise cattle1 to cultivate what land 
is available1 and to raise those hardy  
crops which will come to maturity in    
such a cold northern region4  ,this was 
the place2 and those were the ,indians  
whose boys the devoted teacher wished me
 to encourage to sing4  ,the request was
 made during the celebration of a feast 
which ,i was giving them4  ,i had taken 
out from civilisation such things as    
flour1 tea1 sugar1 currants1 candies2   
and at four a4m4 the ,indian women had  
come to the place appointed and had     
cooked the cakes etcetera1 and made all 
other needed preparations4  ,at about   
ten the people assembled on the bank of 
the river in front of the church4       
,everybody came4  ,all were welcome4    
,it was not asked whether they were     
,christian or pagan4  ,we greeted them  
all cordially1 and treated them alike4  
,of the happy incidents of the feast1   
the glad hours of loving converse1 and  
the religious services held after1 we   

have no room here to write4 ,suffice it 
to say1 that at about four p4m4 the     
children's hour came1 and with them we  
had a very interesting time4  ,i was    
delighted with their answers to my many 
questions1 especially with their        
knowledge of the blessed ,book4  ,the   
girls sang very sweetly1 but not much   
music came from the boys1 and so ,i     
began at once to act on the request of  
the teacher4  ,knowing1 as ,i have      
stated1 the boys' love for              
pocket-knives1 ,i went to one of my     
boxes1 and taking out six very good     
ones1 ,i stood up before the crowd and  
said3  ,boys1 listen to me4  ,i am going
 to give these six knives to the six    
boys who will sing the best4  ,and look6
  ,while five of them are good two      
bladed knives1 one of them is a splendid
 four bladed one6  ,now1 ,i am going to 
give this best one1 to the boy who will 
sing the best of all6  ,great indeed was
 the excitement among the ,indian lads4 
,nearly every boy in the audience rushed

 to the front and the trial began4      
,indians in their wild state have no    
music worth preserving1 and so in all of
 our missions1 our hymns and songs are  
translated1 and the tunes of            
civilisation are used4  ,the teacher    
seated herself at the little organ1 and 
the testing began4  ,they sang such     
hymns as ,rock of ,ages1 ,come1 thou    
,fount of every blessing1 ,just as ,i   
am1 ,jesus my all1 to heaven is gone1   
and many others4  ,the inferior singers 
were weeded out very rapidly1 and sent  
back to their seats4  ,when the number  
was reduced to about ten1 the work of   
selection proceeded more slowly2 but    
eventually the number was reduced to    
six4  ,the question now was1 ,which of  
these six was to receive the four-bladed
 knife8  ,this was not easy to settle4  
,the members of the committee differed  
very decidedly2 so one boy after another
 was tried1 over and over again1 and    
still no unanimous decision could be    
reached4  ,while the committee was      

discussing the matter1 five of the boys1
 seeing our perplexity1 took the matter 
out of our hands and settled it in a way
 that surprised and delighted us all4   
,these five were fine specimens of      
,indian lads4  ,they were lithe and     
strong1 and full of life and fun4  ,the 
sixth boy1 ,jimmie ,jakoos1 was a       
cripple1 having one leg which was very  
much shorter than the other3 the result 
being that he had to use crutches4      
,these five had moved over to one side1 
and were observed to be excitedly1      
though quietly1 engaged in conversation4
  ,after their brief discussion1 one of 
them sprang up1 and looking at me asked3
  ,missionary1 may ,i say something8    
,certainly you may1 ,i replied4  ,well1 
missionary1 he answered1 we five boys   
have been talking it over1 and this is  
what we think about it4  ,you see we are
 well and strong4  ,we can chase the    
rabbit1 and partridge1 and other game2  
and then when winter comes1 we can skate
 on the rivers1 and lake2 but ,jimmie is

 lame1 he has a bad leg4  ,he cannot run
 in the woods4  ,he cannot go skating on
 the ice4  ,but ,jimmie is fond of      
whittling4  ,he is a good hand at making
 bows1 and arrows1 and paddles1 and     
other things1 and a fine knife would be 
just the thing for him4  ,and so we five
 boys have talked the matter over1 and  
as he is a cripple1 we will be very glad
 if you will give the best knife to     
,jimmie4  ,noble boys6  ,how the people 
were thrilled at this speech4  ,it      
electrified me1 and filled not only my  
eyes with tears1 but my heart with joy4 
,i could but think of the past1 of the  
cruelty and intense selfishness of those
 dark days1 when1 among both the young  
and old1 everyone was for himself1 and  
the unfortunate1 and feeble1 were       
neglected and despised4 ,now1 thanks to 
the blessed ennobling influences of     
,christianity1 even the boys were       
catching this ,christly spirit1 and     
would spontaneously act in this         
delightful way4  ,so to ,jimmie was     

given the four-bladed knife and to the  
other boys were handed the two-bladed   
ones2 but so pleased was ,i with the    
beautiful spirit displayed by them1 that
 ,i added to the gift a good shirt or   
jacket as each boy chose4    ,,chapter  
,,fifteen4  ,,the ,,saulteaux           
,,chieftainess2 ,,or1 ,a ,,searcher     
,,after ,,the ,,truth4  ,she was a large
 woman1 and as she came into our mission
 home her conduct was so different from 
that of the ordinary ,indian woman1 that
 ,i was somewhat prejudiced against her4
  ,generally the ,indian women when they
 enter a house are quiet1 and modest1   
and unobtrusive in their movements2 but 
here stalked in a large woman1 who gazed
 at us with searching glances1 and had  
such decided ways1 that ,i felt         
disturbed at her presence and soon left 
the house for a couple of hours in the  
woods where some of my ,indian men were 
at work4  ,when ,i returned1 it was with
 the hope that she had finished her     
visit and retired4  ,but no1 there she  

was2 and it was quite evident that she  
had come to stay4  ,when my good wife   
saw my apparent annoyance at this new   
visitor1 she called me to one side and  
said3  ,you must not be annoyed at this 
woman4  ,she is a chieftainess1 and the 
daughter of a chief4  ,her husband was a
 chief1 and when he died1 she1 at the   
request of her people1 took his         
position1 and has maintained it ever    
since4  ,she had heard from some        
fur-hunters about our having come to    
live in the land of the ,saulteaux4     
,she had also heard of the wonderful    
book we had1 which was the word of the  
,great ,spirit2 and this too1 had       
excited her curiosity4  ,she had        
listened to these rumours with          
incredulity and did not believe them2   
but as they increased1 her curiosity was
 so excited1 that she resolved at length
 to find out for herself if these things
 were true1 and had actually come many  
days journey to investigate for herself4
  ,here she was1 thoroughly installed in

 our little home1 and ,i1 at first1 much
 prejudiced against her on account of   
her decided emphatic sort of way4  ,i   
sat down beside her1 and had her tell me
 her story4  ,she was indeed a clever   
woman1 and was full of anxiety to learn 
if what she had heard were true4  ,she  
was an anxious inquirer after truth1    
literally insatiable in her curiosity1  
and in her desire to learn all she      
could4 ,she could talk morning1 noon and
 night1 and would keep one of us busy   
answering her questions all the time she
 was not sleeping or eating4  ,she      
stayed with us about two weeks1 and then
 returned to her people2 meanwhile      
attending every religious service1 and  
receiving many lessons in divine truth4 
,the simple plan of salvation was       
explained to her1 and she was taught how
 to pray4  ,ere she went away1 ,i said  
to her3 ,now you are going back home1   
and ,i want to say something to you4    
,you must try to remember what we have  
said about the loving ,father1 and ,his 

beloved ,son4  ,you must try to pray    
every day to ,him1 and you must try to  
love ,him and keep all of ,his commands4
  ,now one of these commands is1        
,remember the ,sabbath day to keep it   
holy4'  ,christians keep one day in     
seven1 and you say that your people     
desire to be ,christians2 and ,i believe
 you4  ,we want you to be a ,christian  
in everything1 and so we want you to    
remember this among the other           
commandments4  ,to help you in this     
matter1 ,i am going to give you this big
 sheet of paper and pencil1 and you will
 mark each day as it goes by4  ,so      
starting her on ,monday1 ,i showed her  
how to mark the days in this            
way3--#aaaaaa4  ,those six are your     
days1 in which to hunt and fish and     
attend to all your duties as a          
chieftainess4  ,look after all your     
affairs on those six days2 then1 when   
the seventh day comes1 make a big mark  
in this way3--  ,this mark is for ,god's
 day4  ,leave your gun and net on that  

day1 and do not go hunting or fishing3  
it is the day of rest and worship4      
,make all preparations for it on the day
 before4  ,see that you have plenty of  
food captured1 and wood cut1 so that    
when the day of ,god chines1 you will   
not have to work or hunt or fish4  ,on  
that day think much about the ,great    
,spirit1 and pray much to your loving   
father who sees and hears you all the   
time1 and who is well pleased if we keep
 ,his day and worship ,him upon it4     
,ere she left1 she pleaded earnestly    
with me to come and visit her and her   
tribe1 and preach to them1 and explain  
the way of the ,great ,book4 ,my        
engagements were very many but finding  
that ,i could crowd in a visit1 ,i said3
  ,when the eagle-moon is filling out   
listen for the ringing of the           
missionary's sleigh-bells1 for then will
 he be coming to see you and your people
 with his dog-train and guide4  ,my     
programme of engagements was so great1  
that it was about six months ere ,i     

could make the promised visit4  ,so when
 the eagle moon came--which is          
,february--,i harnessed up my dogs1 and 
taking one of my experienced guides and 
a couple of dog-drivers1 started for the
 far-off land of ,ookemasis4  ,we were  
about two weeks on the journey4  ,it was
 one of the most dangerous and toilsome 
,i ever undertook4  ,we often had to    
travel along on the narrow ledges of ice
 that overhung the rapid waters of the  
great river4  ,sometimes our dog-sleds  
would whirl round on the ice and we come
 very near falling off into the dark    
cold waters4  ,this was much more       
dangerous from the fact1 that much of   
the travelling had to be done by night  
for the dazzling rays of the sun during 
the daytime rendered us so liable to the
 terrible snow-blindness1 which is such 
a painful disease4 ,however1 we         
persevered1 and by daylight when        
possible1 and by night when we could do 
no better1 pushed on1 and at last       
reached our destination4  ,the last six 

miles of the journey lay across a frozen
 lake on the farther shore of which was 
the village of the chieftainess4  ,when 
not more than half way across the lake1 
the sharp eyes of those on the lookout1 
detected our coming1 whereupon great    
excitement prevailed in the village4    
,never1 it seemed1 was there a happier  
woman than ,ookemasis4  ,she received us
 with a wondrous welcome1 and in        
emphatic ways expressed her gratitude   
and joy4  ,already when we arrived1 the 
feast of welcome was being prepared4    
,when she was certain that it was the   
missionary1 she had taken down from a   
staging some heads of reindeer1 and1    
after singeing off the hair and chopping
 them into great chunks1 had put them   
into a big pot to boil4  ,after the warm
 welcome1 we were escorted to a large   
tent to wait until dinner was ready4    
,as she had no tea1 ,i gave her a       
quantity much to her delight4  ,so      
excited was she1 that she kept running  
into the tent to tell me how great was  

her joy1 that at length the man and the 
,book had come to her people4  ,when    
dinner was ready1 she escorted me and my
 attendants out to it4  ,a spot had been
 cleaned away1 in the centre of which1  
on a big dish1 was a large pile of      
pieces of reindeer heads4 ,around were a
 number of tin cups filled with hot     
strong tea4  ,her invitations had been  
limited to the number of tin cups she   
could muster4 ,she placed me at her     
left1 and her chief next in authority to
 herself1 on her right4  ,my guide and  
dog-drivers were next to me on my left1 
and the circle was completed with other 
,indian men4  ,she was the only woman in
 the circle as soon as we were seated on
 the ground1 some of the men at once    
seized hold of a piece of meat1 and     
drawing their hunting knives1 were about
 to begin their dinners3  ,stop1 said   
,i4  ,wait a minute4  ,you are all going
 to be ,christians1 and one thing       
,christians do1 is to ask a blessing    
upon their food4  ,the ,great ,spirit   

gives us all the good things1 and we    
must thank ,him for them4  ,so now shut 
your eyes1 and ,i will ask the blessing4
  ,every eye was closed as ,i asked a   
blessing of several sentences4  ,when ,i
 had finished1 ,i said ,amen and of     
course opened my own eyes4  ,to my      
amazement and amusement1 every eye1     
except those of my own ,indian          
attendants1 was still closed4  ,open    
your eyes1 ,i said4  ,amen1 here means1 
open your eye4  ,it has some other      
meanings1 but that will do here4  ,then 
we went at our dinners4  ,there were no 
plates or forks1 only our hunting       
knives4  ,every one1 including the      
missionary1 took up a piece of the      
well-cooked meat in his left hand1 and  
began whittling off his dinner with his 
knife4  ,my friend1 the chieftainess1   
had large1 strong and not very clean    
hands4  ,but she cared not for that4    
,she grabbed up a large piece of juicy  
meat1 into which her hand almost sank1  
and cut and tore off the savoury bits   

with great delight4  ,then she flung it 
on the ground and took a good drink of  
the tea2 and then seizing hold of the   
meat tore at it again with great        
satisfaction4  ,suddenly she dropped it 
again upon the ground1 and1 plunging her
 greasy hand into the bosom of her      
dress1 said3  ,o1 missionary1 ,i want   
you to see how ,i have tried to keep the
 record of the praying day4  ,so out of 
the bosom of her dress she drew a greasy
 dirty paper1 which at first ,i did not 
recognise as the large clean sheet ,i   
had given her4  ,here1 look1 she said1  
see how ,i have tried to keep the record
 of the praying day6  ,with much        
interest1 ,i examined it1 and found1    
that during all those six months1 she   
had faithfully kept the record4  ,there 
it was2 the right day for all that long 
period4  ,then she went on to tell me of
 all her experiences4  ,she said1 that  
some days when she was in her wigwam    
trying to think of the ,great ,spirit   
and of ,his ,son1 and was trying to pray

 to ,him1 a boy would rush in and say3  
,ookemasis1 there is a big reindeer out 
in the ravine1 ,i am sure you can shoot 
it4  ,but ,i would say1 ,no4  ,this is  
the praying day and ,i cannot fish or   
shoot on this day4'  ,so ,i have never  
gone hunting or fishing on the praying  
day4  ,i just try to think of the ,great
 ,spirit1 my ,father1 and to pray and   
talk to ,him1 and have ,him talk to me4 
,of course ,i spoke kind and encouraging
 words to her1 and she was very happy   
indeed to hear them4  ,then she put back
 the dirty paper1 and reaching down to  
the ground again seized hold of her big 
piece of meat4  ,looking at mine1 a bony
 bit which ,i had selected because ,i   
could hold it a little more easily while
 ,i carved it1 she shouted out3  ,your  
piece of meat is a very poor one1 mine  
is a very good piece1 and before ,i     
could realise what she was about1 she   
exchanged the pieces4  ,of course ,i    
could do nothing but accept it1 with    
thanks4  ,i had to approve of the       

motive1 even if ,i did not applaud the  
deed4  ,it was an act of kindness that  
we are not all educated up to4  ,after  
the dinner we had a religious service   
that lasted until supper time4  ,then1  
after a good supper of fish1 we had     
another service1 that lasted until      
midnight4  ,then she put me in charge of
 one of her ,indians who had a large    
wigwam4  ,with him my ,indians and ,i   
spent the night4 ,there were only       
twenty-two of us sleeping around the    
fire in the centre4  ,i remained with   
them for a number of days1 and since    
then1 they have all given up paganism1  
and have become good earnest ,christian 
people4    ,,chapter ,,sixteen4  ,,big  
,,tom4  ,his full name was ,mamanowatum1
 which means1 ,o be joyful4  ,he was a  
big man1 almost gigantic1 and generally 
slow in his movements1 except when on   
the trail4  ,when he arose to address an
 assembly1 either in council1 or church1
 he got up by inches1 and seemed to rest
 between4  ,but when he was up1 and     

began to talk1 he had something to say  
that was worthy of attention4  ,our     
first introduction to him was in #ahfh4 
,he was the guide and steersman of the  
,hudson ,bay inland boat1 in which my   
wife and ,i travelled from ,fort ,garry1
 on the ,red ,river of the ,north1 to   
,norway ,house1 situated on ,playgreen  
,lake1 beyond the northern extremity of 
,lake ,winnipeg4  ,at this time ,big    
,tom1 as he was called by everybody1 had
 been an earnest ,christian for several 
years4  ,earlier missionaries had       
preceded us1 and among the ,indian      
converts was this godly man1 about whom 
it is a pleasure to write4  ,we both    
took to him at once4  ,he was one of    
nature's noblemen4  ,while pleased with 
his kindly considerate ways1 we admired 
the skill and ability with which he     
managed the little boat on such a stormy
 lake4  ,the long and dangerous journey 
was of about four hundred miles and     
occupied us for about fourteen days4    
,big ,tom steered our boat with a long  

oar1 which he used as a rudder4  ,the   
principal propelling power of these     
boats1 is the long strong oars1 manned  
by the ,indian crews4  ,we had in our   
boat eight good oarsmen1 and the vigour 
and endurance of these men was a matter 
of constant admiration4  ,when head     
winds prevailed1 or we were in the midst
 of calm1 hour sifter hour these        
faithful men toiled on at their oars1 as
 diligently as ever did any galley      
slave4  ,a favouring breeze1 even if it 
turned into a dangerous gale1 was ever  
welcomed1 as it gave the men a rest from
 their slavish work4  ,as soon as the   
wind was favourable the cheery cry of3  
,meyoo-nootin1 7,fair wind17 from the   
guide1--or as was the cry on this trip1 
,souway-nas1 7,south wind17--gladdened  
every heart4  ,at once there was great  
activity4  ,the oars were hauled in1 and
 the mast which had been lashed to the  
side of the boat1 was quickly placed in 
position4 ,ropes were speedily arranged1
 the big square sail was hoisted1 and on

 we sped before the favouring breeze4   
,with the rising of the wind1 generally 
came the great waves2 and the most      
careful steering on the part of ,big    
,tom was necessary to keep our heavily  
laden boat from plunging her prow into  
foam-covered billows4  ,it was a        
pleasure to observe the watchful care of
 this cautious steersman1 as well as to 
see the strength and quickness with     
which he managed our little boat when   
great waves seemed about to sweep over  
us4  ,his courteous ways won our        
respect1 while his ability as a         
steersman commanded our admiration4  ,he
 did all that he could to make our trip1
 which had many drawbacks1 as           
comfortable and as enjoyable as         
possible4  ,it was not very comfortable 
to have a great struggling ox on board1 
very close to the place where we had to 
sit4  ,sometimes1 as the boat was tossed
 on the waves1 his head was over one    
side of the little craft2 and then      
shortly after1 his tail was over the    

other side4  ,every night where we      
camped on the shore4  ,big ,tom gathered
 bundles of fragrant grass1 part of     
which he gave the ox as provender1 and  
with the rest he endeavoured to make our
 surroundings more comfortable and      
inviting4  ,he regretted1 perhaps as    
much as we did1 our having to travel so 
long a time with this great ox so close 
to us2 and yet ere we reached the end of
 our journey1 it seemed almost a        
certainty1 that what we had considered  
an unmitigated nuisance1 had been our   
salvation4  ,one night1 in our anxiety  
to push on1 the ,indians decided not to 
go ashore and camp1 but to sail on all  
night as the wind was favourable4       
,during the small hours the wind        
increased almost to a gale1 while dark  
clouds obscured nearly every star4  ,big
 ,tom--hero that he was--stuck to his   
post and1 nobly aided by his experienced
 ,indians1 under close-reefed sail1 sped
 rapidly on in the gloom4  ,the         
missionary and his wife were sleeping in

 their camp bed1 which had been spread  
out at the feet of the steersman2 and   
just beyond us1 lying down at our feet1 
was the great ox4 ,suddenly the boat was
 thrown on its side1 and came to a      
standstill4 ,for a time there was great 
excitement1 and the shouting of orders  
by the usually quiet ,indians1 about    
equalled the raging of the storm4  ,with
 great presence of mind4  ,big ,tom     
instantly lowered the sail1 thus saving 
us from a complete upset4  ,it was found
 that we had run on the sloping side of 
a smooth submerged granite rock4        
,fortunate indeed was it for us that our
 boat was well ballasted by its cargo1  
and that the heaviest item was the ox4  
,the unanimous opinion of the ,indians  
was1 that his great weight saved us from
 a capsize4  ,by careful management the 
boat was released from its perilous     
position uninjured1 and the adventurous 
journey resumed4  ,after this exciting  
adventure4  ,big ,tom decided that there
 must be no more night travelling4  ,so 

from early dawn until late at night we  
hurried on1 encamping each evening in   
some favourable spot upon the shore4    
,the camp-fire1 generously supplied with
 fuel from the great forests so near1   
lit up the swarthy features of our      
stalwart men1 some of whom were engaged 
in preparing the evening meal1 while    
others1 in picturesque groups1 were     
otherwise occupied4  ,this hearty       
evening meal was enjoyed by all4        
,shortly after1 we all assembled for our
 evening devotions4  ,some additional   
logs thrown upon our camp-fire so       
brightened it up1 that all who wished   
could easily follow the reading of the  
lesson in their own ,testaments and use 
their own hymn-books in the service of  
song4  ,the memories of some of those   
religious services are very precious4   
,still can we hear ,big ,tom's deep rich
 voice reading in his musical ,cree     
language3  ,weya ,muneto a ispeeche     
saketapun uske1 ke niakew oo            
pauko-,koosisana1 piko una              

tapwatowayitche numaweya oo ga          
nissewunatissety1 maka oo ga ayaty      
kakeka pimatissewin4  ,which is the     
translation of that matchless verse1 the
 sixteenth of the third chapter of      
,saint ,john's ,gospel4  ,then after the
 chapter was read1 an appropriate hymn  
would be sung4  ,the ,indians have but  
little music of their own1 and less     
poetry that can be made available for   
religious worship4  ,the result is1 that
 the missionaries and teachers have     
already translated over four hundred of 
our choicest hymns into the ,indian     
language1 and use with them the tunes   
with which they have been generally     
associated4  ,upon the occasion to which
 we refer1 it did seem sweet and        
appropriate to us to sing1 even if in   
another language1 the favourite evening 
hymn3    ,glory to thee my ,god this    
night1   ,for all the blessings of the  
light2   ,keep me1 ,o keep me ,king of  
kings1   ,beneath thine own almighty    
wings4  ,when our evening hymn had been 

sung1 we knelt reverently upon the      
rocks1 while ,big ,tom1 or some other   
godly ,indian1 led us in prayer1        
followed by one or two others4  ,then   
sweet rest was ours1 until the early    
dawn4  ,a sharp call1 to which all      
promptly responded1 was followed by a   
hasty breakfast1 and earnest prayers1   
and then the journey was resumed4  ,two 
,sabbaths were spent on this journey4   
,to our ,christian ,indians1 the        
,sabbath was indeed a much prized       
blessing4  ,by scripturally using it as 
a day of rest and religious worship1 and
 not as a day of dissipation1 they were 
physically1 as well as spiritually1     
invigorated2 and thus able to do much   
better work4  ,we had1 in addition to   
the morning and evening prayers1 two    
delightful religious services in both   
the ,indian and ,english languages4     
,the intervals between were spent in    
reading the ,book and some sweet song   
services4  ,as the years rolled on1 with
 their varied duties1 we ever found in  

,big ,tom1 a most valued and trusted    
assistant4  ,his noble consistent life1 
made him a benediction1 to both whites  
and ,indians4  ,if disputes arose1 and  
arbitration was necessary1 it was ,big  
,tom who was first thought of as an     
arbitrator2 and we cannot recall an     
instance where his decision was         
rejected4  ,he was a great hunter in his
 day1 and many were the stories afloat  
of his skill and prowess4  ,for years he
 held the record of being the best moose
 hunter in the village4  ,the moose1    
although the largest of the deer tribe1 
and of an ungainly appearance1 can move 
through the forest with great rapidity4 
,it never gallops like other deer1 but  
swings along on a pacing trot1 at a     
rate1 and with an endurance that would  
soon leave the swiftest horse behind4   
,its head is freighted with great broad 
horns of enormous dimensions and weight1
 and yet among the dense trees1 it can1 
when alarmed1 move so swiftly1 that the 
fleetest hunter is soon left far in the 

rear4  ,its sight is not equal to that  
of some other of the deer species2 but  
nature has given it the most acute      
powers of hearing and of scent4  ,from  
,big ,tom and others we have heard it   
stated1 that even when a fierce         
,november storm was raging in the woods1
 with trees swaying to and fro1 and     
branches crashing against each other and
 breaking in the gale1 if the incautious
 hunter1 hundreds of yards away1        
happened to step on a small dry twig    
that snapped under his foot1 the moose  
at once detected the sound and was off  
like an arrow1 never stopping for many  
miles4  ,of ,big ,tom's skill as a      
hunter1 we have nothing more to record  
at present2 but here we wish to put on  
record an instance of his               
self-abnegation1 which beautifully      
reveals the disinterested character of  
the man1 and shows what was the heart's 
ambition4  ,for many generations these  
,american ,indians have been divided    
into tribes4  ,many and diverse are     

their languages2 but numbers of their   
customs and methods of government are   
similar4  ,in all the tribes chiefs     
governed who had more or less authority4
  ,in some1 the honour was hereditary2  
in others1 not so2 although in the      
latter the son of the chief1 if he were 
at all suitable1 had the best chance of 
being appointed in his father's place4  
,when the ,canadian government made     
treaties with the ,indians of the great 
north-west1 it ever acknowledged the    
authority of the chiefs2 and through    
them1 today still transacts all business
 with the tribes4  ,for some time before
 the treaty was made with the northern  
,crees1 the office of chieftainship had 
fallen into abeyance4  ,when word       
arrived that the government was about to
 enter into treaty with them1 and wished
 to know who was their chief1 there was 
a good deal of excitement4  ,the        
,dominion government has been very      
honourable in its treatment of the      
,indians1 and in the respect which it   

has paid to the chiefs of this naturally
 sensitive people1 whose allowances have
 been silver medals1 fine clothes1 and  
extra gratuities1 both in money and     
supplies4  ,of course there was         
excitement among the ,crees at the      
prospect of great political changes4    
,councils were frequent1 and many pipes 
were smoked in wigwams and beside       
camp-fires over the matter4  ,various   
names were discussed1 and sons and      
grandsons were brought forward1 only to 
be rejected one after another4  ,big    
,tom took but little interest in these  
proceedings1 and attended but few       
councils4  ,one day to his surprise1    
while at work in his garden1 he was     
waited upon by a deputation of ,indians 
and informed that he was urgently needed
 at the council house4  ,here in full   
council he was told that he was the     
choice of the people1 and that they     
wanted him to be their chief--to wear   
the silver medal with the face of the   
,great ,mother 7the ,queen7 upon it1 and

 to be their voice to speak to the      
,queen's representative1 7the           
,governor71 on all matters that referred
 to the happiness and welfare of the    
tribe4  ,i had been informed of the     
decision of the people1 and had accepted
 an invitation to be present at the     
council when ,big ,tom was to be        
appointed4  ,in other days1 ,i had      
attended conventions among my white     
friends1 and there had observed the     
readiness with which proffered honours1 
political and ecclesiastical1 were      
accepted4  ,here1 however1 was a        
surprise in store for us2 an exception  
to the general rule1 so marvellous that 
it is worth pondering4  ,when the office
 of chief was offered to him1 the big   
man1 who looked every inch a chief1     
instead of accepting the position at    
once1 became deeply affected1 and seemed
 utterly unable to make any suitable    
reply4 ,he tried1 we thought1 to express
 his thanks for the great honour2 but   
all he really did was in broken words to

 ask for an adjournment of the council  
until the next day4  ,while disappointed
 at the adjournment1 ,i was pleased at  
the thought that ,big ,tom1 taken       
unawares1 had felt that he could not    
give the oration which the occasion     
demanded1 and so had asked for time to  
get his thoughts in order1 when he would
 give us a speech worthy of the great   
event2 for ,big ,tom was a speaker of no
 mean order1 although rather slow until 
he warmed up to his subject4  ,on the   
reassembling of the council1 we were all
 there1 eager to hear an ,indian oration
 under the best auspices4  ,it was a    
speech1 calm1 eloquent1 delightful2 but 
how different from what had been        
expected4 ,what a chance was here for an
 ambitious1 aspiring man6  ,how he could
 have talked about himself2 what he had 
done1 and what he was going to do6  ,but
 in ,big ,tom's address there was       
nothing of the kind4  ,quietly and      
modestly he talked1 warming up as he    
proceeded4  ,the only brief report ,i   

have of his address is the following1   
and it fails to do justice to the       
occasion or to the man3  ,long ago when 
the missionaries came and preached to   
us1 for a time we refused to listen to  
them1 and would not become ,christians4 
,then1 after a while1 many of us who had
 been in darkness1 began to feel in our 
hearts1 that what they told us was for  
our good2 and so we accepted these      
things1 and they have done us good4     
,when ,i got the assurance in my heart  
that ,i was a child of ,god1 and had a  
soul that should live forever1 ,i found1
 that in working out this salvation1 ,i 
had something great to live for4  ,to do
 this was the great object of my life4  
,by and by ,i married1 and then1 as my  
family increased and began to grow up   
around me1 ,i found ,i had another      
object for which to live--to help its   
members along in the way to heaven1 as  
well as to work for their comfort here4 
,then1 after a while1 the missionary    
gave me the charge of a class4  ,we were

 to meet1 and talk together about our   
souls1 and ,god's love for us1 and to do
 all we could to help each other to the 
better land4  ,to do my duty as the     
leader was a great and an important     
work4  ,while attending to these duties1
 ,i found ,i had another object for     
which to live4  ,these three things1--my
 own soul's salvation2 the salvation of 
my family2 to do all ,i can to help and 
encourage the members of my class to be 
true and faithful to ,him1--are         
uppermost in my heart4  ,i am thankful  
for your confidence in me1 in asking me 
to be your chief4 ,i know it is a great 
honour2 but ,i see it will have many    
responsibilities1 and1 that whoever has 
the position1 will have to attend to    
many other things than those which ,i   
have set my mind upon4 ,so you must     
appoint some one else2 for1 with those  
three things ,i cannot let anything else
 interfere4  ,i thank you1 my brothers1 
and love you all4  ,noble1 disinterested
 ,big ,tom6  ,as ,i listened to him     

while he thus talked1 ,i was prouder of 
him than ever2 and ,i thanked ,god for  
the conversion of such men from paganism
 to ,christianity1 and for the          
development in their hearts and lives of
 such noble qualities and virtues4