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+Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: With the Harmony to Labrador
+       Notes Of A Visit To The Moravian Mission Stations On The North-East
+       Coast Of Labrador
+       
+
+Author: Benjamin La Trobe
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2005 [EBook #15190]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Wallace McLean, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading (https://www.pgdp.net), from images kindly provided by
+www.canadiana.org
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+     WITH
+     THE HARMONY
+     TO LABRADOR
+
+
+     [Illustration: "THE HARMONY"]
+
+
+     A VISIT
+     TO THE
+     MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS
+     ON THE
+     NORTH EAST COAST OF LABRADOR
+
+
+
+
+     London:
+     MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY.
+     32, FETTER LANE, E.C.
+
+     PRICE THREEPENCE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     _WITH_
+     THE HARMONY
+     TO
+     LABRADOR.
+
+
+     NOTES OF A VISIT
+     BY THE
+     REV. B. LA TROBE
+     TO THE
+     MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS
+     ON THE
+     NORTH-EAST COAST OF LABRADOR.
+
+
+     LONDON:
+     MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY,
+     32, FETTER LANE, E.C.
+
+     LONDON:
+     G. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET,
+     COVENT GARDEN, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+                  CONTENTS.
+
+                                                     PAGE
+     INTRODUCTORY REMARKS                              1
+     ARRIVAL AT HOPEDALE, THE SOUTHERN STATION         2
+     THE 119TH VOYAGE OF THE SOCIETY'S VESSEL          3
+     HOPEDALE                                          5
+     A STROLL "TO THE HEATHEN"                         5
+     JOYS AND SORROWS--A MARRIAGE AND A FUNERAL        7
+     THREE NATIVE HELPERS                              9
+     A COMMUNION AND FESTIVAL SUNDAY AT HOPEDALE      11
+     A PLEASANT SAIL FROM HOPEDALE TO ZOAR            13
+     ZOAR                                             14
+     A CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP HILL AT ZOAR      15
+     FROM ZOAR TO NAIN BETWEEN ISLANDS                16
+     THE FIRST EVENING AT NAIN                        17
+     INTERCHANGE OF VISITS WITH THE ESKIMOES          18
+     TWO ESKIMO GROUPS TAKEN AT NAIN                  21
+     "GOD'S ACRE"                                     23
+     A BUSY WEEK AT NAIN                              25
+     FROM NAIN TO OKAK                                27
+     THE MOST PRIMITIVE STATION IN LABRADOR           30
+     WALKS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OKAK               33
+     FROM OKAK TO RAMAH                               34
+     "RAMARSUK" (NEAT LITTLE RAMAH)                   35
+     AN ESKIMO VILLAGE                                38
+     ON THE BEACH AT RAMAH                            41
+     A FAITHFUL NATIVE HELPER                         42
+     LEAVING RAMAH                                    43
+     SUNSET, MOONRISE AND AURORA BOREALIS             44
+     ARRIVAL AT HEBRON                                45
+     THE VISITING MISSIONARIES' LEVEE                 46
+     A SLEDGE DRIVE                                   47
+     MY LAST SUNDAY IN LABRADOR                       51
+     MUSIC ON THE WATER                               53
+     HOMEWARD BOUND                                   53
+
+
+               ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                                          PAGE
+
+     "THE HARMONY"                          1
+     HOPEDALE                               4
+     TITUS, NATIVE HELPER AT HOPEDALE      10
+     ESKIMO HOUSES                         19
+     A GROUP OF WIDOWS AT NAIN             21
+     THE CHOIR AT NAIN                     22
+     ICE AGROUND                           29
+     RAMAH                                 36
+     TENTS AT RAMAH                        37
+     AN ESKIMO IN HIS KAYAK                42
+     TRAVELLING IN LABRADOR                49
+
+
+
+
+=LABRADOR=
+
+
+Is an extensive triangular peninsula on the north-east coast of
+British North America, Lat. 50° to 62° N., Lon. 56° to 78° W.; bounded
+N. by Hudson's Straits, E. by the Atlantic, S.E. by the Strait of
+Belle Isle, separating it from Newfoundland, S. by the Gulf and River
+St. Lawrence and Canada, and W. by James' Bay and Hudson's Bay. Its
+area is estimated at 420,000 sq. miles. The vast interior, inhabited
+by a few wandering Nascopie Indians, is little known; the coast,
+mainly but sparsely peopled by Eskimoes, is rugged, bleak and
+desolate. Seals abound, and the sea is well stocked with cod and other
+fish. The wild animals include deer (caribou), bears, wolves, foxes,
+martens, and otters. The Eskimo dogs are trained to draw sledges, to
+which they are attached in teams of from eight to fourteen.
+
+The temperature in winter ranges lower than that of Greenland, the
+thermometer often showing a minimum of 70° below freezing-point of
+Fahrenheit. The climate is too severe to ripen any cereals, and the
+flora is very limited.
+
+
+The Moravian Mission to the Eskimoes on the north-east coast of
+Labrador was established in 1771 by a colony of brethren and sisters
+from England and Germany, who on July 1st reached Unity's Harbour, and
+at once began the erection of a station, calling it NAIN. An earlier
+attempt in 1752 under the direction of John Christian Erhardt had
+failed, the leader of the little band of missionaries and the captain
+of the ship, together with several men of the crew, having been killed
+by the natives. Five more stations were subsequently added--viz., ZOAR
+and HOPEDALE to the south, and OKAK, HEBRON, and RAMAH to the north of
+Nain. The distance from Ramah to Hopedale is about three hundred
+miles.
+
+Since the year 1770, when the "Jersey Packet" was sent out on an
+exploratory trip, the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel has
+maintained regular communication with Labrador by despatching each
+year a ship, specially devoted to this missionary object. Eleven
+different ships have been employed in this service, ranging from a
+little sloop of seventy tons to a barque of two hundred and forty
+tons. Of these only four were specially constructed for Arctic
+service, including the vessel now in use, which was built in the year
+1861. She is the fourth of the Society's Labrador ships bearing the
+well-known name "THE HARMONY."
+
+[Illustration: "THE HARMONY."]
+
+
+
+
+=WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR=.
+
+NOTES OF A VISIT BY THE REV. B. LA TROBE.
+
+
+What can a summer visitor tell of Labrador, that great drear land
+whose main feature is winter, the long severe winter which begins in
+October and lasts until June? I have been sailing over summer seas,
+where in winter no water is visible, but a wide waste of ice
+stretching thirty, forty, fifty or more miles from the snowy shores.
+In the same good ship "Harmony," I have been gliding between the
+innumerable islands of the Labrador archipelago and up the fine fjords
+stretching far inland among the mountains, but in winter those bays
+and straits and winding passages are all white frozen plains, the
+highways for the dog-sledge post from station to station. I have
+visited each of our six mission-stations, dotted at intervals of from
+forty to ninety miles along some 250 miles of the grand, rocky coast,
+but I have seen them in their brightest and sunniest aspect, and can
+only imagine how they look when stern winter has come to stay for
+months, and the thermometer frequently descends to forty, fifty,
+sixty, sometimes even seventy degrees below freezing point,
+Fahrenheit. I have spent happy, busy days in those Christian villages,
+nestling close by the shore under the shelter of one or another hill
+that cuts off the icy northern blasts of winter. But I can fancy that
+their ordinary aspect is very different to the bustle and interest of
+the "shiptime." I have enjoyed the kindly hospitality of successive
+mission-houses, one as neat and clean as the other. But I have seen
+none of them half buried, as they often are, in snowdrifts of fifteen
+or twenty feet deep. The summer sun sent down powerful rays into the
+windows of the pleasant guest-chamber usually facing southward, but in
+mid-winter the Okak mission-house lies in the shadow of a great hill
+for weeks, and at other stations the sun describes a low curve over
+the opposite mountains, and does little more than shed a feeble ray of
+cheer upon the mid-day meal.
+
+One unpleasant experience of the warmer season I have shared with our
+missionaries, which they are spared in winter. That is the
+inconvenience of the swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies, which make
+them almost glad when the brief summer yields to a cooler autumn.
+
+On the other hand many phases of Labrador life do not change with the
+season of the year, least of all the spiritual verities which there,
+as elsewhere, concern the welfare of the bodies and the souls of men,
+and the eternal principles which should rule the life that now is, as
+well as that which is to come. The Christian life of the dwellers in
+those mission-houses, and, thank God, of the goodly congregations
+gathered around them, has its source in a perennial fountain, flowing
+summer and winter from the upper sanctuary. _This_ is the matter of
+main interest to my readers, therefore I will transcribe, or rather
+adapt, some diary pages, hoping they may convey correct impressions of
+the daily surroundings and local conditions under which our dear,
+self-denying missionaries are constantly toiling to win souls, and
+build up truly Christian congregations.
+
+
+
+
+ARRIVAL AT HOPEDALE, THE SOUTHERN STATION.
+
+
+Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Okak, Hebron, Raman; these are our Labrador
+mission-stations in order from south to north, and as we visited them
+in the "Harmony," with one exception. From Okak we went straight to
+Ramah, and returned southward to Hebron, whence we sailed for Europe.
+Each station consists of the mission premises and a group of Eskimo
+dwellings, situated on the shore of a bay, affording safe and
+convenient anchorage for the ship which brings supplies. From Hopedale
+to Ramah is about 250 miles, "as the crow flies," but the ship
+traverses a hundred miles more in its passages from place to place.
+The distances between the stations are about as follows:--
+
+     Hopedale to Zoar 90 miles  Okak to Hebron  70 miles.
+     Zoar to Nain     40  "     Hebron to Ramah 60   "
+     Nain to Okak     80  "
+
+The accompanying log of our voyage gives a _résumé_ of its history. I
+will take up my more detailed sketches on the day when we arrived at
+Hopedale, the southern station.
+
+
+
+
+THE 119th VOYAGE OF THE SOCIETY'S VESSEL.
+
+(28th of present barque "Harmony.")
+
+
+     June 20. Wed.--_Farewell Service in London Docks._
+       "  23. Sat.--Left LONDON.
+     July  3. Tues.--Arr. at STROMNESS (Orkney Isles).
+       "   6. Fri.--Left STROMNESS.
+
+     (_London to Labrador, 41 days_.)
+
+     Aug.  3. Fri.--Arr. at HOPEDALE.
+       "  13. Mon.--Left       "
+       "  14. Tues.--Arr. at ZOAR.
+       "  19. Sun.--Left      "
+       "  19. Sun.--Arr. at NAIN.
+       "  27. Mon.--Left     "
+       "  29. Wed.--Arr. at OKAK.
+     Sept. 5. Wed.--Left     "
+       "   9. Sun.--Arr. at RAMAH.
+       "  14. Fri.--Left      "
+       "  17. Mon.--Arr. at HEBRON.
+       "  25. Tues.--Left     "
+
+     (_Stay in Labrador, 53 days_.)
+
+     Oct. 26. Fri.--Re-entered LONDON DOCKS.
+
+     (_Homeward Voyage, 31 days_.)
+
+     The whole voyage occupied 125 days, or close upon 18 weeks.
+
+
+_August 3rd_, 1888. It is six weeks all but a day since we left
+London. We might have reached Hopedale three days ago, for we were
+within eighty miles. But a dense fog made it impossible to venture
+among the islands, where drift ice might be added to the dangers of
+rocks. So we have been driving to and fro for the last three days and
+nights over a high sea, studded with icebergs hidden from us by a
+thick white mist, which made everything wet and cold. It has been the
+least pleasant and most anxious part of our voyage hitherto. This
+morning the fog cleared away, and we could see how good the Lord had
+been to us, for the icebergs were still surrounding us, but had never
+been permitted to come nigh our vessel. (Not till later did we know
+how well He had not only protected but piloted us. Drift ice beset the
+whole coast, but during those three days it cleared away southward.
+Nor could we have reached Hopedale by the usual southerly route, past
+the Gull Island, even on August 3rd. The course by which we were
+taken, _nolens volens_, was the only one open).
+
+As morning wore on our swift progress brought us to the outer islands,
+bare bleak rocks, at whose base the sea was breaking terrifically. The
+first was Ukalek (the hare), about equal distance from Nain, Zoar, and
+Hopedale. We turned southward, our good ship speeding along before a
+favourable breeze and rolling heavily. Many icebergs of all shapes and
+sizes were visible around our now widened horizon. Tremendous waves
+were beating against their gleaming white sides, and sending the spray
+high towards their towering pinnacles, in one case clean over a huge
+berg perhaps 150 feet high.
+
+Presently the Eskimoes at their northern fishing-places caught sight
+of us. Yonder are two boats sailing from that barren island, and we
+can now see three or four Eskimoes in each. As we overtake them they
+fire their guns and shout. See, on that island to the right is a
+regular little encampment, two or three tents, and men, women, and
+children running about excitedly, waving their arms and hallooing.
+Soon they launch their boats and row after us. The Ship Hill has been
+visible for some time. Now we see the red roof of the mission-house,
+and the little cupola of the church. Thank God! the flag is flying at
+the mast-head, _i.e._, at the top of the station flagstaff; no death
+has occurred in the mission circle. Yonder Eskimoes on the rocks,
+congregated about their little cannon, fire their salutes and shout
+their welcome. Now we are sailing into the harbour. With mingled
+feelings I scan the mission-house. Yes, there are some of the
+missionaries at the door. They run down to the pier, launch their boat
+and are coming off to us, rowed by two men and two women. I recognize
+old Boaz from his photograph; and that is Verona, good faithful soul.
+But there are only Mrs. Dam, and the Brethren Kaestner, Asboe, and
+Hansen. Where are the rest? Mr. Bourquin has not arrived from Nain; no
+news from the North; Mr. Dam is ailing, and must return to Europe with
+us. Mrs. Asboe and Mrs. Kaestner await us, so we are soon off in the
+boat to get another warm welcome at the door of the mission-house,
+about half-past five.
+
+[Illustration: HOPEDALE. (_See next page._)]
+
+I am conducted to the guest-chamber, and ere long we meet at the tea
+table, around which the whole mission family is assembled with their
+visitors. First our gratitude is expressed for the many mercies to
+each and all, included in the safe arrival of the "Harmony," and then
+ensues a lively interchange of news and mutual interests.
+
+
+
+
+HOPEDALE.
+
+
+I will content myself with a few explanations of the accompanying view
+of the station from the bay. In winter the aspect of the whole
+landscape would be very much whiter, and the foreground not water, but
+ice. The bare, rocky ship hill which forms the background still had
+considerable patches of snow when we arrived early in August, but it
+melted from day to day during our stay, for the summer sun asserts its
+power during its brief sway. The mission-house in the centre of the
+picture is connected with the church by a covered passage, and the
+building with the three gable-ends, on the other side of it, is the
+store. The gardens, really wonderful in results when the climate is
+considered, are situated at some distance to the rear of the mission
+premises. The Eskimo village lies mostly to the right, where only one
+or two log huts are visible in the picture. Some of the native houses
+are behind the mission premises, including that of Jonas and his
+capable wife Lydia, perhaps the neatest and best furnished home of an
+Eskimo to be found in Labrador. The three windows to the right of the
+front door of the mission-house belong to the rooms occupied by Mr.
+and Mrs. Asboe. If there be as much snow this winter as last, they may
+be in the dark, part of the time. The three centre windows of the
+upper story show Mr. Hansen's rooms, and on each side of these are the
+dwellings of Mr. and Mrs. Kaestner and Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg.
+
+
+
+
+A STROLL "TO THE HEATHEN."
+
+
+The only "road" in all Labrador is the broad path at Hebron traversed
+by the only wheeled vehicle in the country, a queer little wagon drawn
+by dogs, and used to fetch water for the house. But great service to
+succeeding generations of missionaries has been rendered by those who
+have employed some of their leisure in making pleasant paths leading
+to points of view or places of interest. For such a remote settlement,
+Hopedale is rich in well-made walks, though they are by no means so
+extensive as the winding paths in the fir woods behind Nain, the
+oldest station. And as I can bear witness, the present generation of
+missionaries have at each station fairly done their duty in adding to
+the roads along which their successors in the service shall take their
+social strolls or their lonely prayerful walks in communion with the
+best of friends.
+
+What an illustration of the spiritual service in such a land! The
+pioneer finds all in the roughest phase of nature. With infinite
+trouble and pains he prepares the way of the Lord, making the rough
+places plain; here he takes away the rocks and stones which bar the
+way, there he builds up, so making His paths straight. And where the
+good-work has been begun, other missionaries follow on the same lines;
+and so by grace it shall go forward, until the glory of the Lord shall
+be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
+
+One of the Hopedale paths leads "to the heathen," and what more
+interesting spot could we visit than those three mounds, which are all
+that remain of the former winter dwellings of the original heathen
+population. One by one, and sometimes several at once, when the Spirit
+of the Lord was powerfully bringing home to their hearts the Gospel
+preached by the early missionaries, the inmates of these abodes moved
+from their pagan surroundings and began to make themselves Christian
+homes around the mission-houses.
+
+On our way to the long uninhabited ruins of this older group of
+abodes, we will pass through the Christian village, which has thus
+sprung up at Hopedale as at all the other stations. It consists of
+irregular groups of little log houses, planted with little attempt at
+symmetry. Their Eskimo owners have no idea of a street. Perhaps some
+day the conception may occur to them as they read in their Bibles of
+"the street which was called straight." Nor do they need any words in
+their language for "rent," "rates," or, "taxes." Here in the south and
+at the station most influenced by civilization, the majority of the
+little houses are built of logs and even roofed with wood. Some are
+covered with turf. The dwellings of our people in the north are much
+more primitive. Each house has its low porch, a very necessary
+addition in this land of "winter's frost and snowing."
+
+Between the houses and in their porches lie many dogs. One of these
+wolf-like creatures follows us over the rocks to the burial-ground,
+and then runs off to fish on his own account. The dogs scour the shore
+for miles in search of food, for, with the exception of those
+belonging to our stores, they mostly have to forage for themselves.
+They like seal and reindeer meat, but there are times when they can
+get neither flesh nor fish. Then they turn vegetarians, spring over
+the fences of the mission gardens and help themselves.
+
+We enter the irregular enclosure, where lie the bodies of many, who
+have fallen asleep during the hundred years that Hopedale has stood.
+Here are some Eskimo graves with little headstones, bearing brief
+inscriptions, but more mounds without identification. In one corner
+lies a group of graves of touching interest--the missionaries and
+their children--who have taken sepulchre possession here.
+
+Thence our way lies along the shore. What is that noise? It is a whale
+blowing in the smooth water. Look, yonder rises the column of spray,
+and now a great fin appears for a moment over the surface. Wait
+awhile, and the monster will blow again. Yes, there he is, spouting
+and diving; on the whole, we can hear more than we can see of him.
+
+Over rock and moss, variegated with lovely little flowers, we reach
+the path which skirts the old heathen sites. Little more than the
+outline of the former turf houses is visible. The turf roof has fallen
+in, or been carried away, but the low mounds which formed the walls
+remain, as also the roofless curving porch, which in each opened out
+to the sea. More than one hundred persons of both sexes and all ages
+are said to have inhabited these three houses, and their heathen life
+here, with its cruelties, sorceries, and other unhallowed phases, can
+better be imagined than described. It must have been a great advance
+for them in every respect when they moved to the mission-station,
+established nearly half a mile away, and began to learn the faith and
+hope which have given it its name. In those days there must have been
+a good many such heathen villages along this coast with a nomad
+population far more numerous than now.
+
+Thence we easily ascend the ship hill, over rock and moss, and
+occasional patches of snow. The view is really grand, though bleak and
+bare. Hundreds of rocky islands lie between us and the seaward
+horizon, while to north and south one can scarcely distinguish them
+from the bold headlands which stretch out into the ocean. Northward,
+the white sails of from thirty to forty fishing schooners are gleaming
+white in the sun. Hundreds of these craft pass up the coast from
+Newfoundland every summer, and the spiritual interests of their crews
+are faithfully sought at Hopedale. Sometimes the Sunday afternoon
+English service is attended by more than two hundred such visitors. As
+we descend the hill and return to the station past the well-kept
+gardens, we make our first acquaintance with mosquitoes, but they do
+not trouble us much to-day.
+
+
+
+
+JOYS AND SORROWS--A MARRIAGE AND A FUNERAL
+
+
+Each mission-station is a little world in itself; it has its own joys
+and sorrows, and complete cycle of events in the human lives lived
+here for a time by the will of God, who has His purposes of love in
+each and all. I have touched many of these joys and sorrows during my
+brief stay here.
+
+In the godly family of this Hopedale mission-house, it is a time when
+the clouds return after the rain. Little Hildegard Kaestner has been
+lying for some days between life and death, but at last we can rejoice
+with her parents in a degree of hope. The child has even shown a faint
+interest in her toys. (I am grieved to hear on my return that the
+little one passed away while her father was absent with me on duty.)
+Our English missionary sister has also been passing through woman's
+time of trial and honour, and we are now able to rejoice with her and
+her husband in the gift of a little girl, their firstborn. God bless
+and keep mother and child!
+
+My visits with Mr. Dam, the pastor, and his wife, to some of the
+Eskimoes' houses have been singularly sad. Titus' wife, Katharina,
+formerly a good and able woman, has fallen into a pitiable state of
+insanity, which is not only a sore sorrow to the good man, but also a
+great hindrance to his earning a livelihood. Then we were suddenly
+summoned to the next house, where we found Hermine dying. In the
+morning she went out fishing with her husband, Wilhadus. Both were
+taken very ill with one of those colds which are so fatal to the
+Eskimoes, and he feared he should not be able to bring her home alive.
+She was nearly gone, and he very ill, when they did arrive. We found
+her on the floor, surrounded by sympathizing and helpful neighbours.
+But there was little to be done; life was fast ebbing. Mr. Dam knelt
+and prayed beside her, then blessed her, and she feebly responded to
+his words. The women laid her down comfortably, and as they sang
+hymns, amid tears and sobs, she passed away to be with the Lord, on
+whom she believed. God be praised that there is such hope and comfort
+in this event.
+
+Hermine died on Thursday, and the funeral was on Saturday afternoon,
+when a little child was also buried. The first part of the service was
+in the church. Then the congregation reassembled just outside, the men
+by themselves and the women apart. The larger coffin was borne on the
+shoulders of six men, the little one was carried by two. The whole
+congregation appeared to be the mourners, nor was poor Wilhadus well
+enough to follow his wife's remains to their last resting-place. After
+singing a verse in front of the church, the procession moved slowly
+onward to the burial ground, where Mr. Kaestner read the litany, and
+the responses and singing were beautifully reverent. At his signal the
+coffins were lowered into the graves, and he spoke the concluding
+blessing at each.
+
+I was present at a marriage service last Sunday. The young bridegroom
+and bride sat together on two stools in the middle of the church. They
+were simply and plainly dressed in clean white "sillapaks," _i.e._,
+light calico tunics edged with broad braid, mostly red. The woman's
+was rather more ornamental than the man's, and had a longer tail
+hanging over her skirts. She had a ring on one finger, but that played
+no part in the ceremony. In his opening address the minister named the
+pair. William Tuktusna comes from the South, and possesses both
+Christian name and surname, which is unusual for an Eskimo. The woman
+is called Amalie. Both replied with a clear "Ahaila" (yes) to the
+usual questions of the marriage service. They then gave the hand to
+one another, and, kneeling down, a prayer and the Old Testament
+blessing confirmed the solemn contract, into which they had entered
+before God. As usual the congregation sang the response, "Jêsum
+akkâne, Amen." (In the name of Jesus, Amen).
+
+Amalie cried a little during the ceremony, and more as she followed
+her husband out of the church, but the heathen custom of feigning
+sorrow on such an occasion is dying out. At first she refused
+William's offer, made through their missionary, but afterwards she
+thought better of it. May the Lord give them a happy and holy union of
+heart and life!
+
+
+
+
+THREE NATIVE HELPERS.
+
+
+I had a visit this afternoon from the three "native-helpers" here at
+Hopedale. They came to interview the angajokak from London
+(anga-yo-kâk = chief or elder) and their pastor kindly interpreted. I
+am pleased to know these worthy men. They are true Eskimoes in modes
+of thought and expression, and they are true servants of God,
+faithfully serving this congregation of their countrymen in many ways.
+Among the duties of their office are, visiting the sick, admonishing
+the negligent, settling disputes, and affectionately exhorting those
+who are under Church discipline. They are also chapel-servants, and
+evidently glad to be door-keepers in the house of their God. At the
+fishing or hunting places they often hold services, and sometimes they
+preside at the meetings at Hopedale. At the celebration of the recent
+centenary each of the three delivered a powerful address.
+
+Let me introduce them to my readers.
+
+The first and oldest is JOSHUA, a decided Christian of many years'
+standing. His wife Bertha is also a chapel-servant, a real mother in
+the congregation, and a true helpmeet to her husband. They are a
+thrifty, diligent, much respected couple, whose influence and example
+is blessed to those around them. Next February 4th they will, D.V.,
+celebrate their golden wedding, an event unknown as yet in Labrador.
+Though Joshua cannot read, he frequently addresses the congregation
+with power, suitability, spirituality, and some originality. In his
+public prayers he almost invariably adds a petition "for our Queen
+Victoria; because she is only a woman." On one occasion he said to his
+countrymen: "Those of you who can read know that it says, they shall
+come from the East and the West, and the North and the South, and
+shall sit down in the kingdom, but the children of the kingdom shall
+be cast out. Our fathers were heathen, but we are children of the
+kingdom. If _we_ fail of the grace of God, we shall not only be cast
+into hell, but into outer, _outer_, OUTER darkness." It made a great
+impression on them. At another time he drew a comparison between the
+Israelites, who entered Canaan with Joshua, and the spiritual
+Israelites, who with Jesus shall enter on the millennium.
+
+The second is DANIEL, a gifted man with a humble spirit and
+considerable missionary zeal. Year by year, as Epiphany, "the Heathen
+Festival," comes round, he has sleepless nights of deep sorrow in his
+heart for those who know not Jesus, the Salvation of God. Twenty years
+ago, stirred by the example of John King, the bush-negro evangelist in
+Surinam, Daniel went in his own boat to his heathen countrymen in the
+far north of Labrador. He found a companion of like sentiment in
+Gottlob of Hebron, who afterwards rendered such excellent service at
+Ramah. More recently Daniel induced Titus of Hopedale to accompany him
+on a winter journey to some of the European settlers and half-breeds
+in the neighbourhood of that station. When they arrived at the
+log-house of one or another of these dwellers in the remote bays,
+Daniel at once told their errand with as much humility as
+earnestness. Their simple testimony of the Saviour from sin was well
+received. When they returned to Hopedale Daniel had a great deal to
+tell the missionaries of the utterances of his companion, but very
+little to remark about his own sayings and doings. He frequently
+accompanies his missionaries on their evangelistic or pastoral
+journeys not only as driver of the dog-sledge, but as helper of their
+spiritual work.
+
+[Illustration: TITUS. _Native Helper at Hopedale_.]
+
+The third of my visitors is the above mentioned TITUS, also a man of
+ripe years and Christian experience. The way in which his zeal and
+spirit of service supplement the gifts of his friend Daniel is a
+striking illustration of the Spirit's dividing to every man severally
+as He wills. Daniel is a man of quick perceptions, Titus of prompt
+action. The two may be walking together and talking of the spiritual
+welfare of the congregation so much upon their hearts and prayers.
+Daniel mentions some matter which he fears is displeasing in God's
+sight. "Yes, yes, that is so," says Titus; "I had not perceived it, but
+you are right. We must testify against that." And testify he does, on
+the first opportunity, with such vigour that the abuse is rebuked and
+stopped, yet with such tact that none can be offended at his faithful
+outspokenness.
+
+For some years Titus has served as assistant schoolmaster, and like
+his friend Daniel he takes part in the music of the sanctuary, having
+a good bass voice. Daniel sings tenor in the choir, or plays the
+violoncello.
+
+
+
+
+A COMMUNION AND FESTIVAL SUNDAY AT HOPEDALE.
+
+
+_Sunday, August 12th_.--To-day the festival of the thirteenth of
+August, the spiritual birthday of the renewed Brethren's Unity, has
+been celebrated in this far northern congregation, incorporated in the
+one bond with those in Germany, England, America, and our various
+mission-fields scattered thousands of miles apart over the surface of
+the globe.
+
+In the early morning the congregation band played suitable chorales in
+good time and tune, and the solemn strains were well adapted to
+prepare hearts and feelings for the spiritual privileges of the day.
+
+At nine o'clock Daniel kept the morning blessing. Picture the neat
+clean, church, simple and suitable for the worship of an Eskimo
+congregation. Behind the table sits the worthy native-helper. To his
+right hand the missionaries face the men and boys; to his left are the
+missionaries' wives, and opposite them a more numerous company of
+women and girls. The benches are without backs. The little organ is
+played by Ludolf, an Eskimo, well and devotionally, and the singing is
+further accompanied by other musicians with one clarionet, five
+violins, and a violoncello. The choice of tunes is such as would
+puzzle most congregations in England. The people are very devout in
+their demeanour and sing well. Their faces are mostly brown, with high
+cheek bones, but on the whole they are much lighter in complexion than
+photographs had led me to conclude.
+
+Daniel did his part reverently and simply, for, as he had told me
+before by word and gesture, God has made the heart and the mouth. His
+long and earnest prayer, spoken extempore in his own language, was
+evidently well prepared, and thoroughly suitable to the occasion. He
+asked the Lord to be among us with His blessings, His faithfulness,
+and His mercies. He continued: "O Saviour, Thou hast all fulness; Thou
+wast able and willing to bless the brethren at Herrnhut a hundred and
+fifty years ago, bless us now. True, we are worse and much lower than
+they were, but Thou canst do it. Bless us to-day. We are very bad, but
+Thou wilt bless those among us who believe. As to those who do not
+believe, bless them too, and, if possible, let them be partakers of
+Thy salvation.
+
+"We think of our teachers, those who have come to us and those who are
+about to leave us by the 'Harmony.' O bless them for their works'
+sake. We do not always obey them as we ought. Help us to be more
+obedient. Lord, do these things for us, and though we are not able to
+praise Thee sufficiently here on earth, we will praise Thee in heaven
+for ever."
+
+The next service was commenced with a choir piece, when the organ and
+other instruments accompanied seven singers, four women and three men.
+The women especially had voices of power and compass. Alto, tenor, and
+bass were fairly sustained, as well as soprano, and the whole effect
+was good. The piece, which was not easy, but suitable in liturgical
+character, was well rendered both in forte and piano passages. This
+time Ambrose, another native, presided at the organ, and Ludolf played
+the first violin.
+
+Mr. Kaestner's sermon on 1 John iii. 1 was followed by a baptism, in
+Labrador suitably the closing part of the public service. The
+congregation as ever take up the long responses well and devotionally,
+and in this service the children repeat portions of Scripture (1 Pet.
+iii. 21, Tit. iii. 5, and Matt. xix. 14). These were spoken distinctly
+and simultaneously by the boys and girls. The infant having been
+brought up to the table by the parents, the minister baptized it with
+the formula Susannah, Jesusib tokkun-ganut baptipagit Atatab,
+Ernerublo, Anernerublo ajunginerub attinganut. (Susannah, into the
+death of Jesus I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the
+Son, and of the Holy Ghost.)
+
+I took the English service at three o'clock. Soon after we again
+assembled in the church, for the Eskimo choir had sent a deputation to
+request that they might sing some more of their pieces for us. The
+programme of their really excellent performance included such pieces
+as Hosanna, Christians Awake, Stille Nacht, Morgernstern (Morning
+Star), and an anthem (Ps. 96) containing effective duets for tenor and
+alto. When they had finished I spoke a few words of thanks and
+farewell, and then Mr. Dam bade good-bye to the people he had loved
+and served for ten years. They were much moved at the thought of
+parting with their faithful pastor and his wife.
+
+Shall I ever forget that communion at seven? I felt it a great
+privilege to partake of the Lord's Supper with my brethren and sisters
+in Labrador. How much He has done for these dear missionaries, simple
+earnest Christians, experienced in the things of God, men and women of
+mighty faith, who do "move mountains." How much hath God wrought for
+these dear Eskimo Christians, who sit down at His table with beautiful
+reverence and real appreciation of this act of faith.
+
+The benches not needed for the communicant congregation had been
+removed from the centre of the church. On the men's side two empty
+benches stood together, on the women's three or four. After the
+trombonists had played a solemn chorale outside, the first chapel
+servant Joshua and his wife Bertha opened their respective doors, and
+about twenty men and more than thirty women entered from right and
+left and took their seats. Both men and women were all attired in
+their light braided sillapaks, and they are very particular to have
+clean ones for this service. The women who are communicants have a
+lock of their hair plaited in front of each ear. The vessels used on
+this occasion were presented to this congregation by two American
+ladies, who recently visited Hopedale. They were present on a similar
+occasion and were much struck by the solemnity and reality of the
+service. In grateful remembrance of the kindness of our missionaries
+they have sent this valuable and beautiful gift of communion plate.
+
+Though unacquainted with the language, I was able to follow the
+simple, familiar communion service. The words of institution sounded
+solemn, as pronounced in Eskimo, and truly when one knelt with the
+congregation, and partook of the bread and wine, one could discern the
+Lord's body, and feel that, though these dear people have their
+temptations and their failings, yet there are many souls here who feed
+on the Bread of Life and live by Him. When He cometh it will be
+manifest, and even now He is glorified here in them that believe.
+
+After the communion we went down to the boat to embark. The rock that
+stretches out into the harbour was crowded with Eskimoes, who had
+hurried to bid their departing missionaries a loving farewell.
+
+
+
+
+A PLEASANT SAIL FROM HOPEDALE TO ZOAR.
+
+
+_Tuesday, August 14th._--We are nearing the second station. Leaving
+Hopedale about dawn yesterday we made good progress northward, sailing
+quietly between innumerable islets, all bleak, bare, uninhabited
+rocks. We saw many small icebergs. In the evening one singularly
+shapely and beautiful berg floated past us, tipped with violet, which
+contrasted with the curious yellow tint of one side, the pure white of
+the mass and the living green of the waves rippling at its base. The
+sunset and the northern lights were very fine.
+
+When I went on deck this morning the island of Ukalek, or "The Hare,"
+was astern, various rocky islets, imperfectly marked, or altogether
+omitted on the chart, were on both sides of us, and Zoar far ahead
+among the distant hills. Our vessel was almost imperceptibly gliding
+in that direction. May the Lord, who alone knows the rifts and rocks
+of this marvellous coast, bring us safely thither, and guide me aright
+amid the difficulties of the present situation there! These people
+have learned no wisdom or thrift, in spite of all the love and
+patience shown them, and they have made the past winter a most trying
+time for their devoted missionaries.
+
+The mirage yesterday and to-day is a wonderful freak of nature. At
+times, nothing can be seen as it really is. Icebergs and islands are
+flattened to one dead level, or doubled, so as to appear now like long
+bridges, now like high towers. The rapid changes in the appearance of
+solid masses are marvellous. All day we have been slowly sailing
+westward, new prospects of distant hills ever opening up as we passed
+headland after headland. Presently the barren rocks began to be
+clothed with firs here and there, but the lifelessness of the scene
+was striking. Once we caught sight of two or three Eskimo tents on a
+little island, but no human beings were visible. Only a solitary
+grampus made the circuit of our ship.
+
+At length we round the last cape, and enter Zoar Bay. Presently we
+come in sight of the station buildings between the fir-clad slope and
+the shore. There is the store, now the mission-house and church appear
+from behind yonder rock. The Eskimoes are firing their shots of
+welcome, answered by rockets from the ship. Thank God, the station
+flag is flying at the mast-head! That tells us that neither illness
+nor accident have been permitted to carry off any of the missionaries.
+
+Look behind you. The hills are glowing with a glorious
+"Alpenglühen"--an evening effect as splendid as it is surprising.
+
+Now we are nearer. They are launching the "Emily," the station boat.
+Rowed by natives, she comes alongside almost as soon as our anchor is
+down, and all the resident missionaries climb on board, followed by a
+number of Eskimoes.
+
+Soon our hosts carry us off to the hospitable little mission-house,
+which somehow or another manages to find comfortable quarters for all
+the visitors. I am writing up my diary in Mr. and Mrs. Rinderknecht's
+pleasant rooms, which I am to share with Mr. Kaestner, who is on his
+way to Nain to take part in our conference there. Mr. and Mrs. Martin
+are occupying the spare room below us, and the Lundbergs have also
+turned out to make room for Mr. and Mrs. Dam. Where our hosts have
+taken up their abode meanwhile remains a riddle for the present. (The
+riddle was solved in a subsequent tour of inspection of the house,
+when I found that the one resident couple had retired to the garret
+and the other to a workshop on the ground floor.)
+
+
+
+
+ZOAR.
+
+
+In its summer aspect this is a singularly lovely place. Yet, I see
+each station at its best, and can only guess at the changes which snow
+and ice will work in the landscape. Were this spot in Europe, it would
+soon be a favourite summer resort. Being in Labrador, however, the
+summer visitors would speedily fly from the swarms of mosquitoes and
+sand-flies. These appear as soon as the weather is at all warm and are
+a veritable plague in the summer evenings, which would else be so
+enjoyable. And when these myriad tormentors with wings and stings are
+gone, rude winter cuts short the autumn.
+
+As usual in Labrador, the little mission-station lies on the north
+side of the bay, so that the wooded hill behind shields it from the
+northern blasts. This fir-clad slope makes Zoar much more friendly in
+appearance than any other station. Hopedale is bare and treeless in
+its general aspect and so in less degree are Nain and Okak, though all
+three have fir-trees in their neighbourhood. Ramah and Hebron are
+beyond the limit of even these hardy evergreens, and the latter looks
+very bleak and rocky. Pleasing as is the first impression of Zoar,
+the conviction soon grows upon one that the site has its serious
+disadvantages. First and foremost among these is the fact that it is
+not favourable to success in sealing and fishing, so that it is not
+easy for the inhabitants to make a livelihood.
+
+The pretty mission-house affords convenient accommodation for two
+missionary families. It is, as usual, connected with the church by a
+covered passage. To the right of these buildings the little Eskimo
+village stretches along the shore, to their left are situated the
+well-stocked mission-gardens, from which pleasant paths have been made
+through the woods beyond. Between the church and the rocky beach
+stands the store, and not far off the salt-house and the boat-house.
+The powder-house is always situated on some rock at a safe distance
+from the station, for the Eskimoes burn a considerable quantity of
+this dangerous material in their ceaseless war with seals, walrusses,
+reindeer, and other animals, including an occasional black or white
+bear.
+
+
+
+
+A CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP HILL AT ZOAR.
+
+
+The ascent to the spot whence the approach of the ships can best be
+descried is by no means so easily accomplished at Zoar as at Hopedale.
+But the hour's stiff climb is richly rewarded by a magnificent
+prospect. Our path lies first through the fir woods, then over a bare
+plain on which tufts of beautiful and very variegated mosses alternate
+with rocks and withered roots. This is evidently the site of a forest,
+which at no very distant date has been killed by the terrible climate.
+Up again through low thick brushwood and over great rocks, till at
+last we reach the summit. Seaward we can see the course by which the
+"Harmony" came in. Northward the eye ranges along the rugged coast
+with its innumerable islands and deep fjords. Yonder sheet of water is
+not an arm of the sea, but a great freshwater lake, long an object of
+superstitious dread to the Eskimoes. Neither in summer or winter dared
+they cross it, until their missionaries did so, for they believed a
+monster dwelt in it, who could eat up the man and his kayak, or
+sledge, dogs and driver. Inland one sees mountain after mountain,
+whose wild slopes are traversed by no human foot unless the Nascopie
+Indian, or "mountaineer," may pass that way in pursuit of the
+reindeer. None of these natives of the great unknown interior have
+visited our stations this year. In the Zoar bay beneath us the
+"Harmony" is riding at anchor near the mission premises, and now we
+can see the whole curve of the other great bay, which approaches Zoar
+from the north. The "itiblek," as the Eskimoes call a low narrow neck
+of land between two such arms of the sea, is but a few hundred yards
+across. To the east of yonder waterfall is a level place on the shore
+of the larger fjord, which was once thought of as a site for this
+station. But it would have been too much exposed to the east wind.
+
+What a different landscape this will be in winter, when all those
+waterways among the islands are frozen! It must be very difficult even
+for an Eskimo sledge driver to know his way through the snow-covered
+labyrinth on so large a scale, indeed almost impossible when the
+driving snow hides his landmarks. But He, to whom we are wont to
+commend our travellers by land and sea, cares also for those who
+traverse the ice-plains of Labrador, that they may serve Him or join
+His people in worship. Not only our missionaries but the settlers have
+often experienced His goodness in answer to prayer in moments of
+perplexity or danger. It is indeed praiseworthy that, to gain a
+blessing for their souls, the latter are willing to run the risks and
+bear the expenses of a two or three days' sledge journey to the
+stations, often in terrible cold. Sometimes their children are sorely
+disappointed when the parents cannot venture to take them to the
+Christmas or Easter Festival. Last Christmas Eve, two boys, aged
+sixteen and fourteen, started from their home in Kamarsuk bay and
+walked through deep snow to Zoar, which they reached after ten
+laborious hours. English services are held for the settlers at this
+station as well as at Hopedale, though they are more frequent at the
+southern place owing to the visits of the crews from the Newfoundland
+fishing schooners.
+
+
+
+
+FROM ZOAR TO NAIN BETWEEN ISLANDS.
+
+
+Our voyage from Zoar to Nain occupied just twelve hours. We left about
+5.30 A.M., and our anchor went down again before 5.30 P.M. The day was
+fine and warm, and the scenery changed continually. Often the way
+seemed barred before us, but, as we sailed on, a narrow strait opened
+to right or left, and as we neared Nain our voyage between the islands
+became more and more interesting. Presently some Nain Eskimoes caught
+sight of the "Harmony," and posted off to the station in their sailing
+boat, which kept ahead the whole way. Two men came to meet us in their
+kayaks, and paddled alongside for some time, their light skin boats
+skimming over the water as easily as the flock of ducks which had just
+crossed our bows. Passing the island Tâktuk, a salute fired by the one
+Eskimo visible was followed by such a concert of howls from his dogs
+seated in a row on a rock as made us all laugh. Next the Kauk came in
+view, a great rock looking like a skull, or, as its name implies, "a
+forehead," a very recognizable landmark often anxiously looked for on
+sledge journeys. Paul's Island, with its deep inlets, was to our
+right, and now a good wind sent us forward past headland after
+headland till Nain came out from behind the Süderhucke. First we could
+see the Eskimo village, whose inhabitants were, as usual, firing their
+guns and shouting; then the church came in sight, and the
+mission-house with flag at the mast head; then the store and the
+little pier, which, as we approached, was crowded with Eskimoes
+singing, "Now let us praise the Lord."
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST EVENING AT NAIN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Nain was the third station visited on our voyage northward along the
+bleak but grand coast of Labrador. Hopedale and Zoar had already been
+left behind in the south; Okak, Hebron, and Ramah, all to the north of
+Nain, had yet to be touched at in their turn. Each successive station
+has its own distinctive features and so presents fresh interest to the
+visitor. Nain, the oldest of all, is rich in associations with the
+past as well as very interesting in the life, spiritual and temporal,
+of the mission-house and the Eskimo dwellings, which constitute this
+little Christian village of three hundred inhabitants.
+
+_August 19th._--I take up the story on the Sunday evening, when, about
+a quarter past five o'clock, the "Harmony" came to her anchorage some
+three to four hundred yards from the mission premises on the north
+shore of the Nain bay. It is a mercy when no accident occurs on the
+arrival of a ship at a station, for the Eskimoes are rather wild in
+their expression of their joy, and rather careless in handling powder.
+Just a year ago they burst a little cannon in welcoming the "Gleaner."
+The pieces flew in all directions about the heads of those standing
+round. Yet by God's great goodness not one was hurt. One man's cap was
+knocked off by a flying fragment of iron.
+
+Our first welcome to Nain was from some members of the mission-band,
+who at once came aboard the "Harmony" in their boat. Rowing ashore
+with them, we visitors received a second kind welcome at the
+mission-house. It was rather curious that my fellow-travellers, the
+Martins, should arrive at their destination five-and-twenty years to
+the day after Mr. Bourquin, whom Mr. Martin is eventually to succeed
+in the presidency of this mission. I was conducted to the pleasant
+guest chamber. On my table lay two dear letters from home, the first
+and last received after leaving Stromness. During our stay at Zoar the
+mail steamer came from Newfoundland to Hopedale where she is due every
+fortnight, while the coast is free from ice. This time she came on to
+Nain, which she is bound to visit twice in the season at the captain's
+discretion. She never touches at Zoar between these two stations.
+
+When we met as a family for the evening meal, Mr. Bourquin expressed
+our thanks to the Lord for all his goodness and mercy involved in
+another safe arrival of the mission-ship. The congregation did the
+same at the thanksgiving liturgy, which commenced at 7 P.M. The Church
+here is older and larger than any other in the land. The singing was
+good, rather quicker than at Hopedale. About forty men and sixty women
+occupied the same relative positions to the minister behind the table
+and to the missionary brethren and sisters to right and left of him,
+as at Hopedale and Zoar. The short benches at each end of the long
+church were respectively occupied by three male and three female
+chapel servants. The latter were dressed, not in European fashion, but
+in the national costume of skin trousers with the fur outside.
+
+9 P.M. I am seated in my room after a pleasant social hour with
+interchange of mutual tidings. Every provision has been made for my
+comfort in this neat, clean guest-chamber. What interesting scenes of
+human life as well as fine views of Labrador scenery are visible from
+its windows south and west! Grand rocks from five hundred to eight
+hundred feet in height rise nearly perpendicularly from the opposite
+shore of the bay. Here comes a man paddling his kayak past the
+"Harmony" as she lies at anchor. What is up among the dogs? They are
+all howling and running along the beach, and now they have set on one
+unfortunate, which is hustled and bitten until he escapes and hobbles
+away yelping.
+
+Here is a woman coming to fetch water from the trough. I wish I could
+draw her, for she is an odd figure in trousers and high boots. The
+tail of her sillapak almost trails on the ground, and in its capacious
+hood, a baby is seated looking out on the world with great content.
+
+10 P.M. It has grown dark whilst I have been writing up my diary. What
+a concert the dogs are giving us now. They are howling, barking, and
+sometimes fairly screaming, each and all contributing their full share
+of the unearthly noises. 10.10. All is still: may it last! It is time
+I retired to rest, for one must be up betimes; 6 A.M. is the hour in
+all these mission-houses, for morning prayers are at 6.30 sharp. One
+more look out of my window. The moon is rising above the opposite
+hills and casting a broad band of light across the rippling waters.
+
+
+
+
+INTERCHANGE OF VISITS WITH THE ESKIMOES.
+
+
+"Good luck to you, sir!" That was meant for "Good-bye," and is the
+sort of English the Eskimoes to the south of Hopedale have learnt.
+Both at that station and here at Nain I have had curious visits from
+such as prided themselves on their knowledge of my mother-tongue. Some
+spoke it very fairly, but my conversation with the natives was, of
+course, mostly through an interpreter. These visits are quite a
+feature of mission-house life. One afternoon at Hopedale Jonas and his
+wife Lydia came to see me. The good man said: "As there are so many
+souls here, I would ask our angayokaks (elders or superiors) in London
+and Berthelsdorf for God's sake to let us have teachers, as long as
+there are people here. We cannot do without them. We have undying
+souls, and must be cared for." With tears he added, "When I cannot
+sleep, I ask God for this. We thank the angayokaks very much. I hope
+God will grant those who are leaving us a good passage. We may never
+meet again on earth, but I hope we shall in heaven."
+
+I had specially interesting visits from some of the native-helpers at
+different stations. They expressed their humble sense of unworthiness,
+and their gratitude for the benefits which come to them and their
+countrymen through the mission. They also promised faithfully to stand
+by their missionaries. My conviction is that the spiritual life of
+each congregation very much depends on the Christian character,
+stability, and influence of its native leaders.
+
+[Illustration: ESKIMO HOUSES.]
+
+Visits of the Eskimoes to my room, however, took up much precious time
+of the missionary requested to interpret, so I preferred to get one of
+the pastors to accompany me on a round of calls in the village. Let my
+visits to the native-helpers at Nain give a view of the interiors of
+some of the better dwellings.
+
+_Wednesday, August 22nd._--Mr. Bourquin kindly conducted me to the
+homes of Jonathan, Abraham, and Matthew. Through the little porch or
+vestibule, where the dogs lie, one enters the house. Sometimes there
+are two rooms, one for sleeping and the other the dwelling room; but
+mostly the beds are in corners, more or less partitioned or curtained
+off. A little stove serves for warmth and cooking. A small table
+stands by the wall, and there are one or two short benches, but the
+articles of furniture most frequent are the boxes, which accompany the
+Eskimo in his nomad life, and hold his possessions, whether he be in
+his house at home, in his boat fishing, or in his tent at some distant
+hunting place. The walls of the houses are ornamented here and there
+with pictures cut out of old _Illustrated London News_ or _Graphics_.
+Some remains of Christmas ornamentation showed considerable taste. The
+present is not a favourable season to gain a good impression of the
+houses, as their owners are most of their time away from home hunting
+and fishing. Before Christmas they have a thorough turn out and clean
+up, and then await the usual visit from their missionaries, who wisely
+speak a word of commendation where it is deserved. Undoubtedly the
+invariable neatness of the mission-houses, and the special care
+bestowed upon the churches, have a great influence on the cleanliness
+of the Eskimo dwellings.
+
+Husbands and wives were at home in all three houses visited to-day.
+Jonathan spells his own name "Jonatan." He is a godly and worthy man
+of mild disposition yet decided Christian character. His Leah is also
+a native-helper among her sex, and a chapel servant. They gave us a
+friendly welcome. True, it did not occur to them to ask us to sit
+down; but our Eskimoes are pleased if one takes a seat in their houses
+without the asking. Jonatan's grandchild was sleeping on one of the
+beds, and its young mother sat in a corner sewing. The little
+harmonium by the wall belonged to her husband, who lives with his
+parents. The older people thanked me for the visit, and desired their
+greetings to the great teachers over the water.
+
+Our second call was on Abraham, or more correctly "Abraha," for the
+genius of the Eskimo language always requires a name to end with a
+vowel. He is also an excellent and intelligent native assistant. He
+and his Pauline were very pleased to see us, and expressed themselves
+in the same strain as the former couple. As his harmonium and violin
+show, he is very musical; indeed, he is a leading member of the Nain
+choir.
+
+Lastly we called on Matthew and his young wife. His quiet, rather shy
+demeanour and humble estimate of himself, as a recently appointed
+office-bearer in the congregation pleased me well. Perhaps his house
+was the neatest and best furnished of the three.
+
+I wish I could have heard Abraham or Jonathan speak at some service. I
+am told their addresses correspond with their dispositions. The former
+is warm, and vigorous, the latter more calm and affectionate in tone.
+Matthew has yet to overcome his diffidence.
+
+By the way, when I went over to the ship to-day. I found Abraham and
+his family on board. His little two-masted smack was lying alongside
+the "Harmony," ready for a start to his fishing place. It contained an
+interesting variety of possessions. Tent-poles and oars lay along both
+sides, and his kayak was lashed to the right gunwale. Tackle, tent,
+skins, utensils, and boxes were secured in the bottom of the boat, and
+in a small pen at the bows lay his seven dogs.
+
+
+
+
+TWO ESKIMO GROUPS TAKEN AT NAIN.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF WIDOWS AT NAIN.]
+
+
+Mr. Jannasch is the photographer among our Labrador missionaries, and
+we have to thank him for some excellent pictures of persons and places
+in that cold land. Copies of these may be obtained at our Agency (No.
+32, Fetter Lane, London, E.C.), and we should be glad to encourage
+him by a larger sale for his interesting cabinet, stereoscopic and
+_carte de visite_ photographs. As he is resident at Nain, most of his
+scenes or groups are taken at or near that station, but last-winter he
+took his camera with him on a sledge journey to Hopedale.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHOIR AT NAIN.]
+
+The two groups which we have had reproduced for our pages are
+characteristic, but those whose portraits are given might remark that
+justice has scarcely been done to their faces. The first is a group of
+
+WIDOWS AT NAIN. It was a good day for lonely Eskimo women of this
+class when the Gospel came to their shores. I made a point of
+inquiring at each station as to the status of the widows and the
+fatherless, and found that everywhere they are well cared for. Indeed,
+the widows invariably stand in the first rank of those for whom
+regular employment is found by the Society for the Furtherance of the
+Gospel. They gratefully acknowledged this. Several of them also gave
+me a special commission, which I hereby discharge to the best of my
+ability. It was this, "_Give my greeting to all the widows in
+Europe._" Perhaps they thought it would be as easy for the visitor
+from England to do this on his return, as to inquire after all the
+widows in Labrador.
+
+The five aged women in our picture are Adolfina (standing behind),
+Marta (seated to her right), and Hulda and Beata (to her left). Amalia
+(in the centre of the foreground) is attired in skirts after European
+fashion, though she has on a pair of the Eskimo boots indispensable in
+such a land. The rest are dressed in full Eskimo costume. It will be
+seen that their sillapaks and trousers are ornamented with broad
+coloured braid, and the hood, which falls back over their shoulders,
+is edged with dog's skin and adorned with a strip of embroidery. Hulda
+is a worthy door-keeper in the church, and a valued servant in the
+mission-house of many years' standing. The other group represents
+
+THE CHOIR AT NAIN. We have already referred to the musical taste and
+ability of many of the Eskimoes, and those at Nain are not behind the
+Hopedalers in this respect. The man with the violoncello seated in the
+centre is Abraham, the native helper mentioned in a previous
+paragraph. To his right is Nathanael, with a violin. He is the
+schoolmaster at Nain, and his wife Frederika is seated at his right
+hand. One day in 1887, Nathanael was seen shaking his fists at the
+mission house. What had ruffled his temper? He had been told by some
+fishermen that Queen Victoria, to mark her Jubilee, had sent a present
+of a suit of clothes to every schoolmaster in her dominions. As his
+had not reached him, he suspected the missionaries of withholding it.
+This is a characteristic instance of the credulity with which the
+Eskimoes accept the statements of strangers and the mistrust they are
+too apt to show towards those who have long proved themselves their
+most disinterested friends.
+
+
+
+
+"GOD'S ACRE."
+
+
+The burial ground at Nain is the best kept in Labrador. Others are
+neat and tidily arranged, but this decidedly bears off the palm. It is
+finely situated, commanding a view seaward, and an Easter morning
+service in this peaceful resting-place of the departed must be
+impressive indeed, as the rising sun sheds his first rays across
+frozen sea and snowy islands on a company of Christian Eskimoes,
+rejoicing in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, and not
+sorrowing hopelessly for their dead. I know no better name for such a
+sacred enclosure, where the bodies of those who have died in the Lord
+are sown in hope, than the beautiful German term, "God's Acre."
+
+      ______________       ______________
+     |              |     |              |
+     |     805      |     |     741      |
+     |  _Harriott_  |     |  _Eleonora_  |
+     |  1865-1882   |     |  1819-1879   |
+     |______________|     |______________|
+
+
+Scarcely any grass grows within the oblong space surrounded by wooden
+palings, but here and there patches of moss or low berry bushes
+threaten to hide the neat little slabs of wood placed by the
+missionaries on the graves of the native Christians. If left to the
+Eskimoes, this duty to their departed relatives and friends would
+either be done carelessly or forgotten. These simple "headstones," of
+which I give two specimens as copied into my notebook, are perhaps
+about twelve inches by eight. The place for the next grave in each row
+(men, women, boys, girls) is indicated by long poles likely to appear
+above the highest snow in winter. Here at Nain, and indeed at all the
+stations except Okak, where the soil is clay, it is possible, though
+in winter very troublesome, to dig a grave all the year round. At Okak
+the coffin must be laid in the snow until returning spring thaws the
+frozen ground. As already stated, the Eskimoes have no surnames, and
+their graves show a great repetition of certain Christian names, as
+Abel, Abia, Zecharias, Thomas, Susannah, Katarina, &c. There is a
+greater variety on the female side. At Zoar I noted some curious
+ones--Persida, Botille, Teresia Dina, and Justine. "Helena-Helenalo"
+evidently means mother and child, both bearing the name Helena.
+"Fillipusib-kitornganga" and "Davidib-kitornganga" mean the child of
+Philip and the child of David. Mostly, the little wooden "headstones"
+lie flat on the grave; those at Okak are placed upright, as in the
+accompanying sketch, and record the names of several persons buried
+beneath.
+
+      /--------\
+     /          \
+     |   644    |
+     |  Andrew  |
+     |  1862    |
+     | -------- |
+     |   959    |
+     |  Marcus  |
+     | -------- |
+     |   642    |
+     | Heinrich |
+     |   1873.  |
+     +----------+
+         |  |
+         |  |
+
+
+Where the paths cross one another at right angles, in the older
+Labrador churchyards, there is always a specially interesting group of
+graves. There lie, in sure and certain hope of a joyous resurrection,
+the bodies of good men and women, who have taken sepulchre possession
+of this land for their Lord. Here, too, many sorrowing missionary
+parents have had to lay little ones, early taken home in this bleak
+climate. Ah, what stories are written on those simple gravestones,
+when one can read between the lines!
+
+The "God's Acre" at Nain is as rich in historical associations as any.
+Christian Larsen Drachard, one of the pioneers of this mission was
+buried here in 1778; and beside the stone, on which is inscribed his
+honoured name in full, is a rough slab from the shore, placed on his
+grave by his own desire. Side by side to right and left of the path
+separating the last resting-places of the married men from those of
+the single missionaries lie Christopher Brasen and Gottfried Lehmann,
+drowned in 1774 on their return voyage from finding a site for Okak,
+the second station in this land. Not many days after I stood beside
+their graves I sailed close by the island on which their sloop was
+wrecked, and on whose rocks the angry sea cast their bodies.
+
+
+           /\
+          /  \
+         /    \
+        /   D. \
+       /        \
+      /   1778.  \
+     /            \
+     \ _Sep. 18._ /
+      \          /
+       \        /
+        \      /
+         \    /
+          \  /
+           \/
+
+I will close this chapter with a contrast. Leaving the peaceful
+Christian burial ground, we climb the hill behind the station. In a
+lofty, lonely valley we find many heaps of great stones. We will
+examine one. Remove one or two of the boulders, and look in. On the
+ground, rather than in it, lies a human skeleton, perfect with the
+exception of the skull. We go on to the next heap; it is empty. In a
+third we find a skull and one or two bones. Others contain scarcely
+any human remains, but some Eskimo utensils were evidently the
+property in life of the natives whose bodies were laid there by their
+countrymen. It was customary to bury the possessions of the dead with
+them, and very interesting curiosities used to be found in all these
+graves.
+
+Yes, these are _heathen graves_, and the bodies in them are those of
+Eskimoes who have died, ere they heard the words of life from the lips
+of missionaries sent by the Church of Christ to proclaim His salvation
+at this end of the earth. No inscriptions mark the tombs of these
+nameless pagans, yet those rude stoneheaps have a voice for those who
+have ears to hear. Methinks they appeal loudly on behalf of myriads
+still living without God and dying without hope. "How shall they
+believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear
+without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?"
+
+
+
+
+A BUSY WEEK AT NAIN.
+
+
+The week spent at Nain may serve as a specimen of my stay at each
+station in turn. We arrived here on Sunday, August 19th, in the
+evening. Monday and part of Tuesday were taken up by conferences on
+the spiritual prosperity and temporal regulations of the. Labrador
+Mission. Tuesday afternoon proved the most convenient time for my
+special meeting with the congregation, when, as at every station, I
+gave the assembled men and women the greeting and message sent them by
+the mission authorities at home. Opportunity being afforded them to
+reply, some of the native helpers and others expressed their pleasure
+that a visitor had come from Europe, and their gratitude that
+Christians on the other side of the ocean had sent missionaries to
+their forefathers, and still maintained teachers among them. They
+also asked questions and gave their opinions on very various topics. I
+promised to convey their salutations to "their angayokaks in London
+and Herrnhut." This meeting lasted about two hours, and was, as
+elsewhere, an arduous time for the missionary who acted as my
+interpreter. It seemed easier to him to render into Eskimo my own
+address given in English, than to interpret all the speeches made by
+the natives in reply.
+
+Inspection of the premises, stores, archives, &c., continued
+conferences, and other businesses filled up the remaining days of the
+week during which the "Harmony" lay at anchor near the station.
+Meanwhile the disembarking and embarking of her outward and homeward
+cargoes went on, and when she was ready to sail we were ready to go
+northward with her. In the intervals of daily duty I enjoyed pleasant
+walks and talks with one or another member of the mission band in the
+extensive plantation behind the station, the growth of more than a
+hundred years of careful cultivations, Not till Saturday did we find
+time for more distant expeditions, when grand views rewarded our
+ascent of two hills to the north and south of the Nain Bay. They are
+about 700 or 800 feet in height.
+
+Most of the week the majority of the natives were away fishing, but
+several of the men and boys were earning daily wages by assistance
+with the cargo. For those at the station evening services were held in
+the church. These varied in character, one was a singing meeting,
+another a liturgy, a third a Bible reading, when the two last chapters
+of II. Corinthians were the portion of Holy Scripture taken in course.
+When there was no Eskimo service, the mission family and their guests
+met in their dining-room for mutual edification with the German Bible
+and hymn-book. As to the latter, by the way, the book itself was
+seldom needed, for most of the company knew the hymns by heart. So the
+week sped away, bringing the Sabbath again.
+
+_Sunday, August 26th._--The Church Litany, and not the so-called
+"Catechism Litany," was used at the 9 o'clock service. At 10 A.M. Mr.
+Dam preached with fervour on the text for the day, John X. 16, of
+course in Eskimo. The sermon was followed by the baptism of little
+Esther, the infant daughter of Joash and Wilhelmina. After the service
+the parents passed me on their way home. But where is the baby?
+Nowhere visible, but the hood on the mother's back is bulky and moves.
+
+At three o'clock I conducted the usual English service on the deck of
+the "Harmony." A good many natives were present, rather out of
+curiosity than as able to understand, though it is astonishing to find
+how many have managed to pick up a little English, especially at the
+southern stations.
+
+At five we again gathered in the church for a short Eskimo liturgy of
+praise to the Triune God, when our vessel and her passengers were
+commended to the renewed care of the faithful Creator. Our evening
+meal, the last in this hospitable mission-house, was followed by
+farewell words and some commendatory hymns in German. Then we "parting
+guests" went on board the "Harmony," accompanied by most of our hosts,
+who lingered long with us. As we got into the boat, the Eskimoes bade
+us an affectionate good-bye, "Aksunai, aksuse." (Aksunai, Be thou
+strong, or its plural, Aksuse, Be ye strong, are used both for "How do
+you do?" and "Good-bye.")
+
+
+
+
+FROM NAIN TO OKAK.
+
+
+_Monday, August 27th, 1888._--When I rose, our ship was being slowly
+towed by her boats out of the bay in search of a fair breeze. About
+eleven we had to put down the anchor, as wind and current forbade our
+attempting to pass between "the Turnpikes," two rocks in the narrow
+channel before us. Here we lay all the day among islands. Barth, to
+our left, is so called in honour of Dr. Barth of Calw, the compiler of
+a Bible history translated by our missionaries into Eskimo, as well as
+into the languages of several other people evangelized by our church.
+Rhodes, to our right, is named after James Rhodes, a native of
+Gomersal, Yorkshire, who was a missionary here for twenty-six years,
+1771-1797. Lister, the snowy hill beyond, perpetuates the memory of
+Christian Lister, another Yorkshireman, who crowned seventeen years of
+service in Labrador by thirteen in Jamaica. It is well to be thus
+reminded that the British Province of four missionary Unitas Fratrum
+had several representatives in this mission field a hundred years ago.
+William Turner (twenty-two years' service, 1771-93) was a native of
+Halifax; and James Bramagin (1775-94) of Lurgan in the north of
+Ireland; Samuel Towle (1782-91) came from the neighbourhood of
+Ockbrook, Derbyshire, and Henry Shaw (1806-13) was again a
+Yorkshireman. Further, Mary Butterworth (1771-84), of Birstal in
+Yorkshire, gave herself to this mission as the wife of Jens Haven, its
+founder; and later Mary Waters (1812-31), of Dukinfield in Lancashire,
+married George Kmoch for similar service.
+
+Yonder fjord running far inland is the _Nunaingoak_ Bay, which,
+conveniently for the natives, embodies the foreign name given to their
+station. Nain itself is behind that neck of land, on which our friends
+have lit a fire as a signal that they perceive our vessel has not as
+yet been able to leave them very far behind.
+
+What a study of colour this evening effect would make! The sun has
+just set and the sky to the north and west is orange, shading off into
+yellow along the horizon. Between these curiously bright hues and
+their fainter reflection on the rippling water, the nearer islands are
+black as ink and the further mountains indigo.
+
+_Tuesday, August 28th._--Besides the missionary pair, who are
+accompanying me all the way from Hopedale to Europe, my fellow
+passengers are now the superintendent, who has acceded to my request
+to go with us to Okak, and a young missionary, transferred from Nain
+to Ramah.
+
+When I went on deck this morning we had passed the Turnpikes and were
+gliding very slowly seawards between islands. The one which faced us
+all the morning is called Tappé, after a worthy missionary, still
+living, who served some years in Labrador, before going to Jerusalem
+in 1867, to be the first "house-father" of the Leper Home. About noon
+a fresh breeze sent us northward swiftly and safely through several
+narrow and awkward passages. We passed two or three Newfoundland
+fishing schooners, whose crews were doubtless interested to see the
+"Dutch Bark," or the "foreigner" as they called the "Harmony." Our
+other vessel, the "Gleaner," calls at St. John's, so she is not a
+foreigner in the estimation of Newfoundland mariners. About two
+o'clock we were off the island memorable for the shipwreck in which
+Brasen and Lehmann lost their lives. Later we passed the rocks on to
+which Liebisch and Turner escaped as by a miracle, when a sudden storm
+broke up the ice over which they had been travelling. The scene must
+have been terrific. One moment the frightened dogs drawing their
+sledges were being urged at utmost speed over the leagues of heaving,
+cracking ice. The nest, the shore was reached, and the missionaries
+were overwhelmed with astonishment as they turned and looked upon a
+raging, foaming sea, whose wild waves had already shattered the frozen
+surface as far as the eye could reach. Even the heathen Eskimoes with
+them joined in praising God for the wonderful deliverance.
+
+This part of the coast is rugged and grand. There is a good deal of
+snow on the heights of Aulatsivik and the northern extremity of that
+great island is a bold precipitous cliff. Port Mauvers, at the mouth
+of the narrow strait, which separates Aulatsivik from the mainland,
+figures so prominently as a name upon most maps of Labrador, that one
+might suppose it to be at least the capital. But there are no
+inhabitants there, nor indeed all along the coast between Nain and
+Okak. Kiglapeit, to the north, is so splendid a mountain range that I
+am quite sorry we shall pass it in the dark. We are getting more into
+the open sea as evening advances, and there are icebergs to be seen
+here and there.
+
+Come into the captain's cabin and look at this little budget of
+letters. They are notes from Eskimoes at our southern stations to
+their relatives and friends in the north. Some are funny little
+pencilled scraps folded and oddly directed, e.g. "Kitturamut-Lucasib,
+Okak." That means "To Keturah (the wife) of Lucas or Luke, at Okak."
+Our Eskimoes seem to have a talent for phonetic spelling;
+"ilianuramut" is evidently "To Eleanor," and "Amaliamut-kuniliusip,
+Okak," is meant for "Amalia (the wife) of Cornelius at Okak." Some are
+very respectable epistles, and I doubt not the Christian tone of most
+would please us could we read the Eskimo language, with its strange
+long words. Here is a good-sized letter folded and directed in a bold
+clear hand, "Sosanemut-Andoneb, Hibron" (To Susannah, the wife of
+Antony at Hebron). It is not sealed, so, as we shall scarcely
+understand a word of its contents, we will venture to open it and
+glance at them. It is a well-written letter, covering three pages of
+blue foolscap paper, so it must be conveying a good deal of news to
+Antony and Susannah. The writer names himself at the commencement,
+"Boas-Kedoralo." "Lo" is Eskimo for "and," and "Kedora" is another
+phonetic version of Keturah. He closes his long epistle with "Amen."
+
+The Eskimoes also write the names of their missionaries with
+considerable variations as to spelling. "Pinsilamut" might be the
+address of a letter to Mr. Bindschedler, and I have seen "Karizima"'
+stand for Mr. Kretschmer. The natives have no idea of such titles as
+Mr. or Mrs., and they still call the majority of their missionaries by
+their Christian names.
+
+[Illustration: ICE AGROUND.]
+
+_Wednesday, August 29th._--5 A.M. The sun just rising. We are between
+Lundberg Island and the Saddle, so named from its shape. Its
+"stirrups," two little rocks, are supplemented by a great, white berg.
+To the south-west Kiglapeit is still visible, and to the west are the
+hills on Okak Island, including "Smith Hill," so called after Tiger
+Schmitt[A] of South African fame. I did not know before that the good
+man had also been a missionary in Labrador. How ready our forefathers
+were to go anywhere, everywhere, if only they could "win one soul for
+the Saviour!" The grandest mountain in the landscape is Cape Mugford.
+Yes, it does look like Salisbury Crags on a large scale, as a
+missionary remarked to me last year on the Calton Hill in Edinburgh.
+
+In the course of the morning Okak came in sight, visible at a much
+greater distance than any other station. Another hour and we had
+entered the bay and were approaching our anchorage. A very numerous
+company gathered on the pier and sang; how or what I could not hear
+for the rattling of our iron cable. Then the "Kitty" came off to us,
+bringing the missionaries Schneider, Stecker, and Schaaf, and
+seventeen natives.
+
+Soon after we got ashore to be welcomed also by the three sisters, the
+mist, which we had seen gathering round the Saddle, came in from the
+sea, first drawing a broad, white stripe straight across the entrance
+of the bay, then gradually enveloping everything. Experience of
+driving to and fro off this coast in such a fog makes one doubly
+thankful to be safe ashore, with our good ship riding at anchor in the
+bay.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote A: See "Conquests of the Cross" (an admirable Missionary
+Serial, published by Cassell & Co.), Part I., p. 20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOST PRIMITIVE STATION IN LABRADOR.
+
+
+Our dear missionaries who dwell in Labrador for the King's work have
+certainly not much space in their small sitting-rooms and smaller
+bedrooms, for each family is content with two apartments, easily
+warmed in winter. They meet in the common dining room for meals, the
+household worship or conference, and the sisters take it in turns, a
+week at a time, to preside over the kitchen department, where they
+have the aid of an Eskimo servant. Besides the ministry and the
+pastoral care of their congregations, the brethren share between them
+a vast variety of constantly recurring temporal duties, for in
+Labrador there is no baker, greengrocer, and butcher round the corner,
+and no mason, carpenter, plumber, painter or glazier to be called in
+when repairs are needed. The missionaries must discharge all these
+offices, as well as be their own gardener and smith, and on occasion
+doctor, dentist, chemist, or anything else that may be necessary.
+These general remarks hold good of mission life at every station, but
+in many respects Okak is the most primitive of the six, and not least
+in the appointments of the mission-house, like all the rest, built of
+wood.
+
+Glance round the two rooms kindly set apart for the English guest.
+They are the same size as the simple domain of any one of the three
+mission families resident here. The sitting-room is about fourteen
+feet by twelve; its panelled walls are coloured a blue-green. The
+floor is boarded, and over the middle a carpet is laid. In front of
+the sofa, the seat of honour, stands a little table, and the high back
+of my antique chair is within a foot of it as I write at the bureau
+against the opposite wall. By the way, what convenient pieces of
+furniture these bureaus are, especially to a visitor who has so much
+writing to do! The other chair is of like pattern, with seat stuffed
+and covered with sealskin. It stands between the door into the
+bedroom and the high, white stove. Of course open fire-places are
+unknown in Labrador, nor would they effectually warm the rooms. In the
+corner by the door the Eskimo bench is the regular institution.
+Sometimes my door opens, a native enters, sits down and smiles at me.
+When we have exchanged the usual greetings, "Aksunai" (be strong) and
+"Ahaila" (yes), my Eskimo vocabulary is nearly at an end, and I have
+to fetch an interpreter. A cupboard and a stool complete the inventory
+of my furniture. Do my readers wish to look into the bedroom about
+fourteen feet by six? Two little bedsteads and another bureau scarcely
+leave room to pass to the window. The prophet's table, chair, and
+candlestick are there, also a washstand, a strip of carpet by the bed,
+a little looking-glass, and some useful rows of hooks: I think that is
+all; but in my endeavour to give a correct idea of the godly
+simplicity of such a mission-house, I would not for anything
+misrepresent the hospitable care, of which at every station I have the
+most pleasant and grateful remembrance.
+
+Now look out of my window. High hills close in the bay where the
+"Harmony" lies at anchor some distance from the shore. Yesterday a
+strong wind made her roll even in the harbour. The mission premises
+stand within a few yards of the beach and the little pier runs out
+into the water just in front of the gate. The tide is out now, and the
+lighter which is bringing the stores from the ship has got aground.
+The mate and some Eskimoes are trying to push it off, and among the
+rest two women are standing in the water and pushing manfully. Their
+position and occupation illustrate the utility of their national
+female costume of trousers and boots. Skirts would be impracticable
+when they go out boating and fishing with their husbands or trudge
+through the deep snow, which lies on the ground more than half a year.
+Nevertheless they look odd to an unaccustomed eye. The children are
+comical miniatures of their fathers and mothers, and sometimes it is
+difficult to tell whether they are boys or girls.
+
+Do you see the station boat lying a little way from the end of the
+pier? She is named the "Kitty," and has an interesting history. Many
+years ago she brought to Okak the five survivors of the ship "Kitty"
+lost in the ice of Hudson's Bay. The captain and ten men escaped in
+the larger boat, but fell into the hands of heathen Eskimoes, who
+treacherously murdered them all. Those in the smaller boat rounded
+Cape Chudley and were driven by the wind among the islands near Okak.
+Here they were seen by Eskimoes belonging to the station. Emaciated
+and famished, they feared a cruel death, but to their astonishment the
+natives helped them ashore, took them into their little hut of sods,
+wrapped them in skins, and supplied them with food. Very beautiful to
+those ship-wrecked mariners sounded the singing and very solemn the
+prayers at the morning and evening devotions of their Eskimo
+deliverers. As soon as the wind permitted, the natives brought them to
+the station, where they were carried ashore to this mission-house and
+received every attention. They were in a deplorable condition and the
+missionaries had to perform some surgical operations on severely
+frost-bitten limbs. When recovered, three of them went to the south,
+and the other two worked their passage home in the "Harmony."
+
+Here come a number of women and children running to the pier. Several
+of the women have babies in their hoods. There must be something of
+special interest. Yes, the fishermen from the schooner are coming
+ashore in their boat, and I perceive their flag is flying half-mast
+high, indicating a death aboard their vessel. They came into the bay
+yesterday, piloted by some of our Eskimoes, and bringing a dying
+comrade. Their request for medicine was at once granted, but the poor
+man lay unconscious. His "mates" said he had not lacked spiritual
+exhortation and comfort, adding simply and humbly, "several of us know
+the way, sir." So they did, as was evident from further observation
+of, and conversation with them. They were very grateful for Christian
+literature.[B] Now they have come for boards to make a coffin for
+their dead comrade, and the Eskimo women and children watch the
+strangers with curiosity, but not rudely. On the whole, I think our
+Eskimoes very well behaved. Their Christianity has certainly improved
+their manners in everyday life, as well as made them remarkably devout
+in church.
+
+There is the church bell. Being the first Monday in the month, it is
+the missionary prayer-meeting. Let us go. The interior of the church
+is similar to that at Hopedale already described, and the congregation
+is more numerous. Edification predominates, but one or two amusing
+items may be noted. The babies are rather noisy. Should one or another
+get too obstreperous, however, the mother slips it into her hood
+behind, and marches to the door on the women's side. The worthy widow,
+who acts as chapel servant, opens the door and then closes it upon the
+little disturber of the peace. It is also amusing to a stranger to
+watch the organ-blower, for this humble but important service to the
+sanctuary has a prominent place here. The office is fulfilled by a
+woman, clad in Eskimo fashion, and when the hymn is given out she
+places one booted leg on the lever of the bellows and then, hymn book
+in hand, treads wind into the instrument as vigorously as she sings.
+During the concluding hymn a number of little heads and muffled up
+little bodies appear above the four or five rows of women; they belong
+to the babies who have already been heard and now are seen as their
+mothers lift them up to slip them into the hoods of their sillapaks.
+The babies being thus stowed away on their backs, the mothers are
+ready to stand up and file out at the end of the service.
+
+But, as I said before, edification predominates, and truly it is
+edifying to hear the hearty singing and see the reverent demeanour of
+all classes of this Eskimo congregation. I may here add that after
+being present at between thirty or forty services at our six stations,
+I do not remember seeing a single boy or girl talking or laughing with
+a neighbour in church. Had one done so, no doubt he or she would have
+received a timely rebuke from some native-helper. The Eskimoes at
+Hopedale have been known to take the Newfoundland fishermen to task
+for irreverence.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote B: This gives me an opportunity of recording thanks to the
+Drummond Tract Institute for a free supply of bright Christian
+publications in English, which have been distributed, and will, I
+trust, bear some fruit. From the Religious Tract Society and other
+benefactors we have also received valuable help for evangelistic
+efforts among English-speaking sailors or settlers on the Coast of
+Labrador.]
+
+
+
+
+WALKS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OKAK.
+
+
+The word Okak signifies "the Tongue." The station is situated on a
+hilly island, which for nearly half the year is practically part of
+the mainland, for the broad straits are bridged by thick ice. The
+heights around our little settlement command fine views of the
+surrounding mountains and fjords. The island of Cape Mugford is one of
+the grandest objects in the barren landscape, and the Kaumajets, a
+noble range, stretch away to the north of it.
+
+_Thursday, August 30th._--Had an interesting walk over moorland in
+search of the site of Kivalek, one of the old heathen villages, from
+which the population of Okak was drawn. On a grassy plain we found the
+roofless remains of many turf huts. They are similar to the mounds
+near Hopedale, already described, but larger and more numerous. One
+cannot but view, with a sad interest, these remnants of the former
+abodes of pagans without hope and without God in the world. "Let them
+alone, they are very happy in their own religion." So some would tell
+us; but was it so here? Is it so where the true light has not yet
+shined into pagan darkness? No, here, as everywhere in heathenism, the
+works of the flesh were manifest. And these, as the Bible plainly
+tells us, and as missionary experience abundantly confirms, are
+"fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery,
+enmities, strifes, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
+envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." But through the
+power of the Gospel old things have passed away. Heathen Kivalek is
+uninhabited, and though the flesh yet lusteth against the Spirit in
+the lives of the dwellers at Christian Okak, yet, thank God, the
+Spirit also lusteth against the flesh, and the fruits of the Spirit
+are manifest there, as at the other stations.
+
+_Tuesday, September 4th._--Before we had done breakfast the flag was
+flying at the mizen-gaff of the "Harmony," summoning her passengers to
+start for Ramah. We speedily packed our baggage, but the wind died
+away ere the anchor could be lifted, and we did not sail out of the
+bay till the next morning. So some of us utilized the interval for the
+ascent of the Sonnenkoppe, so called because it hides the sun from
+Okak for several weeks of the year. High on the hill was a pond, which
+superstitious natives believe to be inhabited by a sea-monster left
+there by the flood. A larger lake is named after our Irish missionary
+Bramagin. Arrived at the summit, a very wide prospect over innumerable
+mountains and blue sea, dotted with white icebergs, rewarded our
+climb. Far below us we could see the mission-house, centre of blessed
+influence, for the Eskimo village, divided into Lower Okak by the
+beach, and Upper Okak on the slope beyond. Strange to think that, with
+the exception of one settler family in Saeglek Bay, the nearest group
+of fixed human habitations is at Hebron, seventy miles to the north.
+Easier than the ascent was the descent, over rocks and stones,
+beautifully variegated mosses, and low vegetation changing its hue to
+a brilliant red as the autumn advances.
+
+
+
+
+FROM OKAK TO RAMAH.
+
+
+_Wednesday, September 5th._--About ten o'clock this morning a strong
+breeze sprang up, and we speedily left behind us the friendly
+red-roofed mission-house at Okak. When we entered the open sea and
+turned northwards we passed near a grounded iceberg, curiously
+hollowed out by the action of the waves. The seaward face of Cape
+Mugford is even grander than its aspect from the heights around Okak.
+It seems to be a perpendicular precipice of about 2000 feet, with
+white base, and a middle strata of black rocks surmounted by
+castellated cliffs. Presently the remarkably jagged peaks on the
+island of Nennoktuk came out from behind the nearer headland. There's
+a sail to the right of it! No, she is not another schooner; she is
+two-masted and square rigged, and therefore the "Gleaner," the only
+brigantine in these waters. So the two Moravian vessels pass one
+another within a mile or two, the "Gleaner" on her way southward from
+Hebron to Okak, whence she will take Mr. Bourquin home to Nain, the
+"Harmony" pursuing her northward course past Hebron to Ramah. The
+captains, who are consigns, exchange a salute by running up their
+flags, but the sea is too rough to put down a boat.
+
+_Thursday, September 6th._--We have had a rough night. This morning we
+are off Hebron, but twenty-five miles out to sea. We have just passed
+"the Watchman," an island which serves as a waymark for the entrance
+to that station. I asked the mate, who once spent a winter there,
+whether the missionaries or the Eskimoes could see us from the heights
+near it. He replied that there was no doubt of it, but that he had
+looked out in this direction from those hills, where no drop of water
+was visible, nothing but an illimitable plain of ice stretching far
+beyond where we are now sailing.
+
+_Sunday, 9th._--Safe at Ramah, thank God, and not out in the fog,
+which now envelopes sea and land. The last two days have been a trial
+of patience. We have seen the entrance to this Nullatatok Bay all the
+time, and longed to reach the desired haven, yet have not been able,
+owing to calms and contrary currents. This Labrador coast becomes ever
+bolder and grander as one sails northward. Here the snowy mountains
+are quite Alpine in appearance. This morning the thick mist hides all
+but the base of these magnificent hills, but the enormous rocky
+masses, rising so quickly from the water's edge into the heights
+veiled from us, give some idea of their grandeur. Our captain is,
+indeed, well acquainted with their aspect or he would not have
+ventured to enter this bay under such circumstances.
+
+
+
+
+"RAMARSUK" (NEAT LITTLE RAMAH).
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Missionaries all over the world are perhaps too fond of multiplying
+Scripture names of their stations. In our own fields we have already
+three Bethanys and three Bethesdas. We should have had three Ramahs
+too, had not the natives of Australia themselves greatly improved the
+appellation of theirs by adding to it a syllable meaning "home" or
+mother's place. It seemed so homelike to the Christian Aborigines, who
+moved thither from Ebenezer, the older station, that they at once
+called it Ramahyuck (Ramah, our home). Perhaps as the Ramah on the
+Moskito Coast is also known as Ramah Key, the northern station in
+Labrador, founded in 1871 to mark the cenutry of that mission, should
+abide plain, simple "Ramah," otherwise the above combination would, I
+understand, have suited the genius of the language, and its
+significance. "Neat little Ramah" certainly expresses the character of
+the lonely missionary settlement.
+
+The village, if one may dignify this small group of human dwellings by
+that name, stands on a little plain evidently won by degrees from the
+sea for the successive beaches can be traced. The mission premises,
+the old house, the new house, and the church with its little belfry,
+are one continuous building facing the bay southward, and exactly one
+hundred feet in length. Behind are the store buildings, and the low
+turf huts of the natives stretch westward along the strand. They are
+so like grassy mounds, that from any distance one would ask, "But
+where do the Eskimoes live?"
+
+The missionary dwelling is primitive enough, even as enlarged. During
+our brief stay here, I have the honour of occupying the original
+house, built about twenty years ago. It is but a room divided by a
+curtain, but it served the first missionary couple here as
+dwelling-room, bedroom, church, and everything else. What a grand view
+there is from the window over the deep land-locked bay, in which the
+"Harmony" is lying at the only available anchorage. No one would guess
+that it would take more than half-an-hour to row across the smooth
+water, or in winter to walk over its frozen surface to the opposite
+shore, where, as on this side, precipitous bluffs rise almost from the
+water's edge. All nature around is on a grand scale, and those
+snow-clad mountains, which look over the shoulders of the nearer
+cliffs, are quite Alpine in effect. Climb to the dizzy heights, which
+tower threateningly six or seven hundred feet above the station and
+you find you are not half way to the summit of the nearest hill. It
+must, indeed, be a magnificent view from thence towards the great
+mountains in the interior, whose everlasting snows cover long ridges
+at least five or six thousand feet in height. Seawards, the Ramah
+Hill, a remarkable perpendicular rock, surmounts the nearer cliffs. It
+looks as if, standing on the crag, one could drop a stone into the
+water at its base, 1000 feet below.
+
+All this is grand, but grander still is the quiet, unconscious
+devotion of the worthy missionary pair, who live in this lonely bay,
+tending the little Christian congregation already gathered, and
+seeking the salvation of the heathen Eskimoes to the north. Of these
+there are perhaps sixty or seventy dwelling between Ramah and Cape
+Chudley; the northern point of Labrador. I am heartily glad Mr. and
+Mrs. Schulze have now a helper in Mr. Eckhardt, and trust the little
+missionary band will have increasing joy in souls won for the Lord.
+
+[Illustration: RAMAH.]
+
+It will be remembered that the fourth morning after leaving Okak we
+entered Nullatatok Bay through a thick mist. Beautiful days followed,
+showing the Ramah scenery to advantage, but the weather was rather
+wintry. Snow fell once or twice, though not in sufficient quantities
+to lie, and one morning we had ice on the bay. Yet at midday the sun
+was quite hot. The arrival of the "Harmony" at Ramah on Sunday
+(September 9th, 1888), interfered with the usual morning worship. We
+passengers came ashore for the afternoon service, Mr. Schulze read the
+Litany and then Mr. Dam addressed the congregation in Eskimo,
+centreing nearly all the black eyes in eager attention to the Word
+preached. The chapel being small, the people were rather near to the
+benches occupied by the missionary brethren and sisters, and this
+proximity was evident to the organs of smell. Several being away at
+their fishing places, there were only about a dozen men and boys and
+rather more women and girls with an extra sprinkling of lively and
+healthy-looking babies. Most were characterized by an air of
+independence amusingly illustrated at the close by the oldest man,
+who asked aloud when the visitor from London was going to speak to
+them.
+
+[Illustration: TENTS AT RAMAH.]
+
+And what of the spiritual life of this little congregation? In reply I
+will give neither my own impressions, nor the missionary's testimony
+to his flock, apt sometimes to be influenced by his estimate of what
+they should be. I will call in a casual witness. Last year Eugenia, a
+Christian Eskimo from Hopedale, visited all the congregations,
+travelling to and fro by dog-sledge with the post-sledges. She
+remarked to her missionary: "The Ramah and Okak people, those are the
+best in the country. At Ramah I was quite shamed by their desire after
+truth. They said, 'You know these things; teach us, we are so
+stupid.'"
+
+
+
+
+AN ESKIMO VILLAGE.
+
+
+Now for a visit to our Eskimoes in their own dwellings, as the two
+missionaries are ready to accompany me and interpret for me. It may
+not be a pleasant expedition in every respect, as within and without
+there is a pervading fishy smell. Rows of drying fish hang on frames
+high enough to be out of reach of the dogs, who sniff about
+everywhere, sometimes climbing into the boats to see if any fish be
+left. Those red rows are trout, the white ones are cod.
+
+When we arrived here last Sunday, two families were living in skin
+tents. One has now taken down the temporary abode and removed into the
+more permanent winter residence, a low turf hut. We will enter the
+other tent. Frederick, the owner, is not at home, but his wife,
+Susannah, is there with her two children. Whilst she inquires after
+her former missionaries and sends a grateful greeting to the widow of
+the late Samuel Weitz, take the opportunity to glance around the tent.
+It is more spacious and better furnished than one would think. We can
+all three stand upright in the middle of it, which is not possible in
+every house. Deer skins spread on a raised platform at the further end
+make two beds. In that open box are hymn-book, liturgy-book, and some
+volumes of the Eskimo Bible. Next it are a set of very fair cups and
+saucers, but it seems incongruous for the china to stand on the mud
+floor. Various utensils lie about, but there is neither chair nor
+table.
+
+We cannot stay long, however, for we are going to visit every house in
+the place. The first house is Gottlob's. He came hither from Hebron,
+and has enjoyed a better education than the Ramah people, most of whom
+grew up in heathenism. His wife's baptismal name is Lydia; as a
+heathen, she was Auinasuak. This is one of the best huts, but the best
+are poor inside as well as outside, compared to many log-houses I have
+seen further south. Through the low porch, without any remonstrance
+from the dogs, we reach a lower door. It is hot inside. Yes, there is
+a stove to the left, and it appears to be the only article of
+furniture in the room entered. Behind the partition is a very
+different chamber. It is furnished with the usual couches spread with
+skins, and on the edge of one of these, Lydia is seated. She does not
+rise to greet her visitors, nor does it occur to her to offer a seat.
+What shall she offer? A box? As with the rest of those visited, her
+welcome takes the form of a good-humoured laugh. One or two objects in
+her room testify to a refinement unusual for this station. A guitar
+hangs on the wall near a cage with a bird in it, and against the
+partition stands a piano. Fancy such an instrument in a low turf hut,
+even though it be but an old square piano! Here, as elsewhere, we
+speak a few words of kindly greeting and spiritual interest, and then
+take leave with "Aksunai."
+
+The occupant of the next hut is not at home. This is indicated by two
+great slabs of slate, one at the entrance to his porch and one over
+his front (and only) window. These are more for protection against
+prowling dogs than dishonest men.
+
+Now we come to the dwelling of the oldest couple, William and Hulda,
+whose heathen names were Nochasak and Aksuana. They are, respectively,
+fifty-five and fifty, but look older. Two sons live with them, of whom
+the elder is married. Both parents are at home, and the
+daughter-in-law with her first baby in her arms. Here first I notice
+the curious lamp, a sort of dish hollowed out in a soft stone. The
+wick is a kind of moss which floats in seal-oil, and gives a feeble
+flame apparently more for warmth than for light, for the houses are
+not dark.
+
+Next to William's stand the roofless remains of an unoccupied
+dwelling, which may serve to show how these huts are built. It is a
+square enclosure three or four feet in height; the back is dug out of
+the sloping bank, the front wall is built up with turf. Put a roof
+over this and your house will be made. Two upright posts in the
+middle, about seven feet in height, will serve as the supports for the
+frame of your roof, which will also be covered with turf. The low door
+must be in front, facing the bay, and, both for warmth and as a
+shelter for the dogs, must invariably be protected by a low covered
+porch. Whether he be dwelling in his turf hut or sheltering in some
+snow hut, quickly built for a night away from home, the Eskimo enters
+his abode by a little tunnel, at the further end of which is the door.
+Just above this comes the window-frame, sometimes on a slant, better
+perpendicular. The window of his turf hut is semi-transparent seal
+bladder unless the owner of the mansion can afford and obtain glass.
+Now your house is complete, but lacks interior fittings. If you are an
+Eskimo, you do not want many. Your two poles supporting the roof may
+help you to partition off the sleeping places, either with boards or
+with curtains. These are raised about a foot from the ground, and the
+edge of the bed is the general seat.
+
+Let us continue our visits to the inhabited houses, one next the
+other, in an irregular row. Outside them the children are playing
+about and seem to enjoy life. Here and there one may see a sledge, or
+a kayak, the skin-covered boat such as is used, by the men. The larger
+umiak, or women's boat, is now scarcely met with in Labrador. There
+are one or two light wooden skeleton frames of kayaks, but most are
+tightly covered with white smooth skins, cleverly sewn together by the
+women. Look at this one lying on the grass; it is about fifteen feet
+long, but you can lift the end of it quite easily. The owner paddled
+home in it this morning from his fishing-place at the head of the
+fjord, and sold fifty-two trout off the top of it to the captain, as
+he passed the "Harmony." His bone-pointed harpoon and a hook with a
+long handle are strapped on top of the canoe. Beside it lies his
+paddle, which the Eskimo wields so deftly and silently that even a
+seal may fail to detect his swift approach. Its blades at both ends
+are beautifully finished off with bone. I see his gun is carelessly
+left in the round man-hole in which he sits when afloat. It may be
+loaded; I hope the children will let it alone.
+
+Passing Daniel's empty hut, for he and his family are away fishing, we
+call on Ikkaujak and Sakkearak (now John and Ernestine), and then on
+Matthew and his wife Verona, who not long ago were known as Swanzi and
+Akkusane. Matthew is interested to show and explain the weapons of the
+chase. His racket-shaped snow-shoes are the shortest I ever saw.
+Longer ones, unless like the Norwegian skydder, would be unpractical
+among these mountains. His harpoons hang on the wall next his gun. The
+blunt one, pointed with a walrus tooth, is used in the body of a seal,
+but the iron-pointed one is needed when the animal's head alone is
+above the water or the ice. Both are cleverly put together with wood,
+bone, and thongs, so arranged that when necessary head and haft easily
+come apart.
+
+Some of these Ramah Eskimoes are perhaps 5 ft. 10 in. in height, and
+most of them look robust and strong; but little Paul's door is very
+low, and I must bend double to enter his hut. His heathen name was
+Simigak and his wife's Ikkinek when they came from Nachvak in 1881. He
+is not at home, but his Adolfine gives us a welcome in Eskimo fashion.
+There is a stove in the corner, and on it a pot with some pieces of
+salmon in it. A few trout are strung up to the roof. I notice a clock
+in the corner, but am told that it is broken. Perhaps Paul can mend
+it; at any rate, while I was at Hopedale some Newfoundland fishermen
+entrusted their ship clock to an Eskimo for repairs.
+
+The last hut in the village is Frederick's. Some of his goods are
+here, but most are in the tent where we found his wife and family. A
+few pictures are pasted on his walls. Many houses at other stations
+are almost papered with pages from the _Graphic_ and _Illustrated
+London News_.
+
+What is your impression of Eskimo abodes now you have seen their
+interiors? Well, they are not prepossessing to a European with the
+ordinary notions of what belongs to the necessaries of life, yet they
+are airier and cleaner than I had expected from their exterior aspect.
+I am assured that there is much Christian life in those queer homes,
+and that in many a heart there a "candle of the Lord" has been
+lighted, which shines for the illumination of the dark North. If
+honoured with an invitation to a meal in some Eskimo hut, I would
+rather it were not at Ramah. In the southern stations there are some
+tidy log-houses, where one need not hesitate to sit down to table with
+Christian Eskimoes, who have learnt cleanly and tidy habits from
+intercourse with and the example of missionaries. Here there are no
+tables; the people have scarcely learnt the use of forks, and are apt
+to handle the knives in eating in a somewhat uncouth fashion. The meat
+is taken in the teeth and cut off near the mouth, so that the upward
+motion of the blade seems to endanger the nose at every bite,
+especially in the case of very small children with a very big knife.
+
+Do my readers want to know about the gardens? There are none.
+Gardening is no employment for the Eskimoes; the severity of the
+climate and their migratory habits forbid it. Nor do they seem to have
+much taste for flowers, though they see them in the missionaries'
+gardens. They appreciate the vegetables grown there, but they do not
+care for the trouble of raising them for themselves.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE BEACH AT RAMAH.
+
+
+Returning along the beach we see Matthew's skin-covered canoe lying
+upside down on the grass, and we induce him to give us a specimen of
+kayak navigation. He picks up the end of his light craft, runs round
+so as to bring it right end foremost to the sea, and pushes it over
+the beach till three-fourths or more are in the water. Then he steps
+lightly over the flat top, paddle in hand, sets himself deftly in the
+man-hole, and in a moment he is afloat, paddling to and fro with quiet
+powerful strokes. Returning at full speed, he runs his kayak, which
+only draws a few inches, straight on to the shore; stepping lightly
+over the front of it, he stands dry shod on the beach and drags his
+kayak out of the water.
+
+Further along a little group of Eskimoes have just finished unloading
+a boat, which has brought goods from the ship. Let us join them, for I
+want to see a whip, such as they use in driving the dog-sledge. My
+request is interpreted and one of the natives runs to fetch his. Truly
+it is a formidable instrument. The wooden handle is only a few inches
+in length, but the lash is more than thirty feet. It is made of many
+thongs of stout, tough sealskin sown together, and tapering till a
+single thong goes off almost to a point. The owner gives us a specimen
+of its powers by cracking it, but I am glad he does not practice on
+anything living. Stepping backwards from us, he drags the whip out to
+its full length, so as to be sure he is beyond reach of us, then
+deftly throws the lash behind him. Now a rapid movement of the hand
+and arm sends the long lash back towards us, and a quick turn of the
+wrist makes the end of it crack like a pistol. I have purchased that
+implement, but I doubt if any amount of practice would enable me to
+perform the feat of cracking it with safety to myself and the
+bystanders.
+
+To the east of the mission-house there is a pretty waterfall about ten
+or twelve feet in depth. It is the last leap of a mountain brook,
+which in summer flows swiftly down the deep ravine, which it has cut.
+Higher up, a part of the pure, clear stream is diverted as the water
+supply for the mission-house and the native huts. As at Hopedale and
+Zoar, this runs off a trough about a hundred yards from the house. At
+Nain and Okak it is conducted straight into the kitchen, when desired.
+In winter every station is liable to the freezing of the ordinary
+supply, and then water must be fetched from a distance, or if none can
+be found, snow or ice must be melted. Icicles are hanging from the
+trough here to-day, for though the sun is warm now, there were four or
+five degrees of frost last night, and the wind is still keen. In
+spring, when a thaw sets in, this little stream is a source of danger
+to Ramah. Its deep channel is filled with snow, and the pent-up
+torrent, seeking an outlet, is apt to escape from its usual bounds and
+start an avalanche down the steep declivity. When the thaw becomes
+general, there is a grand series of leaping cataracts and roaring
+rapids in that ravine.
+
+[Illustration: AN ESKIMO IN HIS KAYAK.]
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL NATIVE HELPER.
+
+
+I would that young Gottlob, now living at Ramah, might turn out as
+good a man as his late namesake. Let me take you to old Gottlob's
+grave, and there tell you the story of himself and his family. The
+little "God's acre" is scarcely an acre, and it should be enclosed.
+Flat slaty stones, suitable for wall, lie around in abundance, brought
+down by the avalanche, which a year or two ago endangered the station,
+but happily did no more damage than destroy the powder-house and
+devastate the burial-ground. Kegs of powder and tombstones were
+carried far out on to the ice of the bay. Most of the latter were
+recovered unbroken and replaced, and among them the one of which we
+are in search. Here it is, a simple square slate tablet of touching
+interest. The Eskimo inscription informs us that Gottlob was born in
+1816. He was the child of heathen parents at Nachvak, and grew up in
+paganism. Presently he came under the influence of the Gospel and was
+baptized at Okak, exchanging his heathen name of Nikkartok for the
+Christian name which his subsequent life adorned.
+
+      __________________
+     |                  |
+     |     GOTTLOB.     |
+     |                  |
+     |   unulilanktok   |
+     |                  |
+     |       1816.      |
+     |                  |
+     |    angerarpok    |
+     |                  |
+     | 14 Septbr. 1878. |
+     |__________________|
+
+In 1867 he joined Daniel of Hopedale in an endeavour to evangelize the
+northern heathen, among whom his childhood had been spent. After this
+he settled with his family at Hebron, but when Mr. and Mrs. Weitz
+commenced the station at Ramah in 1871 Gottlob volunteered to
+accompany them. He and his family proved useful helpers of the
+missionary effort. His wife Marianna was also born a heathen, and
+named Nukupjuna. She is now a native helper at Hebron. His daughter
+was exceedingly valuable as the schoolmistress, and when an organist
+was needed Nicholina fulfilled the office to the best of her ability
+by playing the melody with one finger on the very little harmonium,
+which still does duty at Ramah. That was a simple service rendered in
+simplicity of spirit, yet in such a climate possibly attended with
+suffering. A missionary sister lately resident at Hebron told me she
+had often played the organ there with a blister at the end of each
+finger, for the intense cold made the touch of the keys like contact
+with red-hot iron. But to return to Gottlob. For seven years he lived
+and laboured among his countrymen, from whom he had at times to bear
+obloquy on account of his Christian fidelity. He died September 14th,
+1878, and this is the comprehensive record of him in the Ramah Church
+book: "In life and death Gottlob placed his whole trust in the
+crucified Saviour, in whom he found pardon, peace, and joy."
+
+
+
+
+LEAVING RAMAH.
+
+
+_Friday, September 14th._--Came aboard last night for an early start;
+weighed our anchor about 6 o'clock this morning. The wind was light
+and several of the natives towed us out of the bay in the ship's
+boats. Ere we started the resident missionaries brought their last
+batch of letters for Europe, and bade us farewell. They had been
+writing most of the night. Now the good folk will rest after the
+excitement and bustle of shiptime. It will be a year before they have
+visitors again, unless it be a missionary brother from Hebron or Mr.
+MacLaren, the Hudsons Bay Company's agent at Nachvak.
+
+It was most interesting to move slowly out of the bay, passing point
+after point, each headland opening up new vistas of grand, snowy
+mountains at the heads of the bays southwards, whilst northwards the
+great cliff of the Ramah Hill looks down upon us. Having brought the
+"Harmony" round the first point into more open water, where she can
+better avail herself of the occasional light puffs of wind, our
+Eskimoes came aboard for their breakfasts and presently rowed away in
+their boats. They bade us a hearty "Aksunai" and went down the side
+evidently well pleased with their wages. Nor were they sorry to leave
+the ship, which was beginning to roll a little. Accustomed as they are
+to brave high waves in their kayaks or flats, they nevertheless felt
+the motion of the vessel and were afraid of seasickness. Before
+starting John had to splice his oar with a strip of seal hide. I
+watched him put it round the handle, then holding on to the oar with
+both hands get the rope in his teeth and pull his lashing tight with
+all the strength of his back. So the teeth served him at each turn.
+
+
+
+
+SUNSET, MOONRISE AND AURORA BOREALIS.
+
+
+Now we have got fairly out to sea. The light land breeze has ceased
+and we are lying becalmed. What a sunset there is over that Alpine
+range of snowy mountains! Yonder dark hills to the north of Ramah are
+glowing as if they were red hot through and through. True this is a
+glory that fadeth, yet the cloudless sky long retains the brilliant
+hues, and the seaward horizon has a broad red band shading off above
+and below into blue. Still more beautiful is the paler pink
+reflection, tinting the smooth surface of the water on all sides of us
+save the west. There the sun has just gone down, and the lingering
+glories of the sky are reflected on the rippling waves in a wonderful
+network of bright yellow and deep orange. Look southward again, now
+that the darkness is beginning to tell on the scene. Over yonder great
+iceberg the rising moon sends a path of silvery light across the
+water, now a broad waving band, now innumerable sparks and circlets
+dancing like fairy lights upon the gently swelling sea.
+
+All this is beautiful, but what follows is a rarer sight.
+
+"Mr. La Trobe, the northern lights."
+
+"Thank you, captain, I will be on deck in a moment."
+
+I have seen many pictures of the Aurora Borealis, and we have already
+had some fine displays during this voyage, but I never witnessed
+anything like this. Truly the heavens declare the glory of God and the
+firmament sheweth His handiwork! Undulating bands of bright white
+light are swiftly scintillating across the sky, now curving upwards
+from the horizon, now stretching in broad stripes right over the
+zenith. Sometimes the Aurora is stationary and the smooth surface of
+the sea reflects the steady light; in the next moment it is moving
+rapidly all over the heavens. The swifter the motion the more
+brilliant the red or pink or green, which at times fringes the lower
+edge of the broad white bands of light.
+
+_Monday, September 17th._--Early this morning I went on deck and found
+we were a considerable distance outside the Kangertluksoak Fjord. We
+were much nearer the entrance for the greater part of yesterday, but a
+strong contrary wind kept us tacking to and fro the whole day, till
+the darkness made it impossible to reach Hebron, which lies in a
+little side bay to the north of the great fjord. There were many large
+icebergs around us, and we passed quite close to some floating
+fragments, which proved to be great lumps of ice, necessitating a turn
+of the helm to avoid collision with them. It was evident from the
+number of these, that a berg had recently broken up. I was told that
+yesterday a large piece fell off one near us with a crack like a
+cannon shot. I would like to see an iceberg turn over, as they
+sometimes do, but I do not wish to be too near it in that case. Last
+night the wind fell and the currents drifted our little vessel
+perilously near one of the great bergs, which was probably aground. It
+was an anxious time for those on the watch, but the Lord preserved us.
+
+The headland to the north of us is Cape Uivak. Uivak is simply the
+Eskimo word for promontory, and the names of Cape Webuck on this coast
+and Quebec in Canada, are evidently derived from it. There is a board
+on that little island, and through the glass one can read the betters
+S.F. What does that stand for? Well, that identifies "Friday Island,"
+so-called after Sophia Freitag, the wife of a worthy missionary. Once
+the captain of a steamer read it S.E., so he steered north-west, and
+safely entered Hebron Bay. He afterwards congratulated our captain on
+having put up so good a way-mark.
+
+To-day the wind has veered round a little to the north, which enables
+us, at last, to run straight in at the mouth of Kangertluksoak Fjord,
+past three great icebergs, which stand in a row as if to defend the
+entrance. The sailors call them "men-of-war." Our rapid progress soon
+brings us in sight of the mission premises, whose red roofs stand out
+against the bare rocky background of the steep hillside, tinted a warm
+red-brown by the autumn hues of the mosses. There is the church with
+its cupola in a line with the long one-storied mission-house. The
+store buildings and the boat-house are nearer the landing stage. Some
+skilful tacks bring us into the Hebron Bay, and ere long the "Harmony"
+lies at her anchorage, here farther from the station than at any other
+place on the coast. What a lively scene! Ten or a dozen boats have
+already came round us--these Eskimoes are bold sailors--and our anchor
+is scarcely down before we are boarded in friendly fashion by numerous
+natives. Yonder white boat is the "Harp," and it brings four good
+gentlemen in sealskin coats. The patriarch of the band is our
+venerable Mr. Kretschmer, who came to Labrador in 1852. This year he
+leaves his loved land after thirty-six years of service, during which
+he has been home once, twenty-seven years ago. He is followed by the
+missionaries Kahle, Wirth, and Hlawatschek, who report their wives and
+children all well.
+
+Ere long we visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Dam and myself, are ready to go
+ashore with them. Landing from the boat, we climb the hill to the
+mission-house, farther from the shore than any other. The sisters and
+children welcome us at the door, and for the sixth time I enjoy the
+hospitality of a Labrador mission family.
+
+The chapter entitled "A busy week at Nain" would serve as a general
+description of the time spent at this or any of the stations.
+Conferences with the missionary band, daily services in the Church or
+the house, the special meeting for my address to the congregation,
+visits to and from the natives, inspection of the mission premises and
+their surroundings, pleasant strolls in the intervals of daily duty
+and the routine of a mission-house, one or two more extensive walks on
+the hills around, profitable evenings in the mission circle, all these
+made eight days at Hebron pass very quickly, whilst as ever I was
+lovingly cared for by my hosts. Hebron is, to use the expressive term
+of the Newfoundland fishermen, a "blusterous" place. It is beyond the
+northern limit of trees on this part of the coast, and the wind sweeps
+down the bare, rocky slopes with great force. This is the reason for
+the exceptional construction of the mission premises.
+
+
+
+
+THE VISITING MISSIONARIES' LEVEE.
+
+
+My dear fellow-travellers from Hopedale used to be stationed at
+Hebron, and it is astonishing to see how affectionately these people
+gather around them. Their temporary abode here is the schoolroom, and
+it is just as well that it is a good size and easily accessible. Look
+in upon them at any hour of the day, and you will probably find that
+they have Eskimo visitors. Last Sunday they held quite a levee, for
+men, women, and children flocked in after service to greet them.
+
+Come and make acquaintance with some of these Eskimo brethren and
+sisters. Several are introduced as relatives of Abraham and Tobias,
+who visited Germany and France in 1880. In their letters home the poor
+fellows confessed that there was far more sea between Labrador and
+Europe than they had any idea of, before they and some heathen from
+Nachvak were induced by an agent of Hagenbeck's in Hamburg to allow
+themselves to be brought over and exhibited. They were very home-sick
+for Labrador, but they never returned, for one after another was taken
+fatally ill. The last survivors died in Paris early in 1881. The
+Christians among them did credit to their profession, had their daily
+worship, exercised a good influence over the heathen members of the
+party, and died in simple trust in Jesus as their Saviour.
+
+Sarah needs no introduction. I had heard of her before reaching
+Hebron, and one cannot be in the place long without making her
+acquaintance. She is a woman of energy and resource. Last year she
+lost her good husband Hieronymus, the oldest native helper at Hebron.
+She continues, however, to be a leader in the concerns of the
+community, and her influence is good. She is a prominent chapel
+servant, and a leading singer in the choir. To be sure, tact is
+needed to keep Sarah in good humour, and direct her energies into
+useful channels. She has a turf house for winter occupation, but when
+I visited her she was living in her summer abode--a log hut. The
+interior was very tidy. In the outer room I noticed a harmonium; and
+in the inner one, besides a table and some chairs, there were pictures
+and ornaments and a sewing machine, on which she kindly did some work
+for me.
+
+Seated near us, among the numerous visitors in the schoolroom, are a
+mother and daughter, whose names are already well known to us. That
+dark-looking old woman is Marianna, the widow of Gottlob, whose grave
+we saw at Ramah. She is now a valued native helper here. The younger
+person is Nicholina, bright and strong in mind and heart though rather
+bent and crippled in body. Here, as formerly at Ramah, she serves as
+school mistress, and I am told has considerable capacity both for
+imparting knowledge and for maintaining discipline. She stands in
+regular correspondence with several friends of the mission in Europe.
+She had something to tell them in her last letters, for not long ago
+she and her mother with eight other Eskimoes were nearly drowned in
+the bay about where the "Harmony" lies at anchor. A sudden gust of
+wind capsized the sailing boat, in which they were coming home from
+their fishing place. One good feature of the Eskimo character is their
+presence of mind in danger. There was no panic, though the boat sank
+instantly. Happily she was towing a little flat. One of the men
+promptly cut the rope, and so all were brought safe to land, some in
+the flat, others hanging on to its sides. Old Marianna was one of the
+latter, and when her numbed hands lost their hold, they tied her
+wrists to the gunwale of the little boat. She has recovered from the
+shock and exposure, but like the rest has been impoverished, for they
+lost their all in the boat, which went down.
+
+Thomas, Enoch, and John are the three native helpers. Since the death
+of Hieronymus, Thomas has been the oldest in the office, but, as he
+feels, has not yet sufficient influence or force of character to lead
+his countrymen at critical times. He is, however, a humble child of
+God, and growing in grace as well as experience. John has a little
+speech to make, and here is the literal translation of it:--"Sometimes
+when we are busy, we do not always use the Scriptures daily. Mostly we
+do. The distress of our body often causes us to seek the Word of God.
+If the everlasting Gospel were well considered by all, there would be
+visible love."
+
+
+
+
+A SLEDGE DRIVE.
+
+
+_September 22nd, 1888._--My good friends are determined that I shall
+see a real sledge and team of dogs start and travel. So after dinner
+the sledge is brought to the gate of the mission premises. It consists
+of a couple of iron-bound wooden runners about fifteen feet long and
+eight inches high, across which many cross-pieces of wood are secured
+with thongs. Nails would soon be pulled out or broken off on a journey
+over hummocky ice or uneven ground. First the sledge is laden with
+everything necessary for a winter journey. A great white bear skin is
+folded and laid along the front, making a comfortable seat. That bruin
+must have been an enormous creature. The box comes about the middle;
+it contains the traveller's traps. Behind it some coats, a gun, a
+harpoon (we may see a seal if we go on the ice), some wood (we shall
+want a fire for camping out, and I hope matches have not been
+forgotten), the coats of the men, a sleeping sack and a pair of
+sealskin trousers. Those two oval frames like a large lawn tennis bat
+without handle, are a pair of snow-shoes. All these traps are secured
+by a sealskin thong passing over the ends of the cross-boards, and
+pulled tight. It would not do to lose anything on the way.
+
+Now seat yourself there in front of the box. But the dogs are not
+attached to the sledge. _Seat yourself_; they are all harnessed. Each
+has a band of sealskin round his neck and another round his body, and
+to this simple harness is attached the separate trace or thong by
+which he does his share in pulling the sledge. In one moment the
+sledge rope will be passed through the loops of all their traces, and
+they will be off almost before you can say "Hoo-eet," for they, like
+the Eskimoes standing round, seem to enjoy the fun. We are supposed to
+start southward for Okak, and to come home, by way of Ramah. I seat
+myself and get a good hold, with my back against the box and my feet
+well off the ground. "Hoo-eet!" The dogs are directed by the voice,
+and that is the word used to start them. Shout "Owk, Owk," and they
+will run to the right, or "Ra, Ra, Ra," and you will soon find
+yourself going to the left. Say, "Ah, Ah," and your dogs will lie
+down. Now you have all your directions so "Hoo-eet," we are off,
+gliding easily over the grass, for snow and ice there is none this
+warm autumn day after a night when there were two or three degrees of
+frost. So it is rather hard for the dogs, when we turn the corner of
+the mission enclosure and are going a bit up-hill through the long
+grass. Thomas, one of the Eskimoes, is running in front of the dogs in
+his sealskin boots with the fur outside--a handsome pair. Enoch is
+minding the sledge, now running beside me, now throwing himself down
+on it in front of me, or lifting the front end of the runners from
+right to left, or _vice versâ_ to turn a corner or avoid a stone.
+"Owk, Owk," he shouts as we wish to turn the corner to the _right_. A
+third Eskimo, who is running between us and the dogs with the whip,
+takes up the sound and the dogs obey. But as it seems hard for them
+through the long grass, I get off and run after till we come to the
+corner by the church. It will go easier along the path to the _left_.
+I seat myself again and the driver cries "Ra, Ra, Ra." Away we go. It
+is well I was wary of the stones, another inch and that rock just
+passed would have given me a sore foot or a sprained ankle. "Owk,
+Owk." We leave the path on our left and turn away to the _right_ over
+rocks and moss. The ground is broken but the long runners of the
+sledge make it go fairly smoothly. "Ah, Ah," or as Thomas pronounces
+it long drawn, "Aw, Aw." At this sound the dogs stop and lie down,
+with their tails curled over their backs. We are supposed to have
+arrived at a halting place where we shall camp out for the night.
+The wood is unloaded; to make the fire would be the first thing and
+then perhaps a snow-house for a shelter. The sleeping sack is ready to
+be my night's couch on the floor. Meanwhile, the dogs lie quite
+contentedly, and we use the first opportunity to count them. There are
+fourteen in harness and two are running beside them of their own
+accord, entering into the spirit of the thing in spite of their fear
+of that formidable whip. Nine of these useful animals belong to the
+mission. Their names are Yauerfritze, Purtzelmutter, Purtzel, Caro,
+Pius, Fanny (an exceptionally friendly Eskimo dog), Ammi, Kakkortak
+and Takkolik. The others belong to different natives.
+
+[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN LABRADOR.]
+
+Our imaginary night has been short enough, and we are supposed to be
+preparing for a new start. "Look, see," says Thomas to me, and pours
+some water on the iron of the runners, for the sledge has meanwhile
+been turned upside down. Were it winter, that water would at once
+freeze on the iron and form a splendid smooth surface for the sledge
+to run on over ice or snow. "Hoo-eet." The sledge has been turned
+right again and repacked, and the dogs get up. No, there is nothing
+left behind. "Hoo-eet;" away we go. It is astonishing how widely the
+dogs spread themselves in pulling. However, the course of the sledge,
+as it follows them, depends more on the nimble drivers. See yonder dog
+is getting to the wrong side of that post, by way of illustrating the
+difficulties of travelling through a wood. Hebron is beyond the
+northern limit of trees, but our missionaries at Hopedale have often
+great trouble in passing through forests of stunted fir-trees. The
+front dogs also have got their traces foul of the two other posts in
+our forest of three trees without any branches. So we are brought to a
+standstill until, all the harness being cleared, we are ready for a
+fresh start down that slope to the right. "Owk, Owk," is the word, but
+at the brook our wild career is brought to a sudden stop. Our specimen
+sledge trip would not be complete without an accident. The bed of the
+little stream proves just too wide for the sledge to clear it, and the
+points of the runners have bored into the further bank. The thong of
+the sledge has broken in two places with the jerk, and the dogs who
+were pulling with might and main are suddenly released. Four or five
+have been caught by our nimble Eskimoes, but the majority are off
+home. Were the station three hours or three days distant and we were
+left in the snow it would be a bit different to the present situation.
+The station is about three minutes distant, and we have time for a
+good laugh before our dogs are caught and brought back. What has
+become of the passenger? Oh, he is unhurt; the shock did not even
+unseat him. There he sits on the sledge, which stretches like a little
+bridge from bank to bank. It is freed from the earth, and the dogs are
+again attached, after a fierce little quarrel between two or three of
+them, just to keep up their credit as quarrelsome creatures. Order and
+obedience restored, "Hoo-eet," away we go homeward, but at a more
+moderate pace, for it is uphill. By the mission-house the road bends
+to the left, "Ra, Ra, Ra." At the corner a number of women are
+standing and laughing, and as the sledge approaches, they ran,
+according to their usual custom, and throw themselves on to it, so the
+poor dogs finish their course with an extra load, and are quite
+willing to lie down in obedience to the final command, "Ah, Ah." If
+you were on a real journey, you would learn by experience to avoid
+that interjection in your conversation, for the weary animals would at
+once take the permission to stop and lie down.
+
+Now the dogs are released from their harness and run away to their
+respective homes with glee. The sledge is unloaded, and its contents
+carried off by their owners. "When did you leave Ramah?" says the
+missionary to Thomas. "Yesterday morning," replies the good fellow,
+keeping up the joke with thorough appreciation. I give them my hearty
+thanks, "Nakungmék," for Thomas and Co. have not only given me a great
+pleasure, but provided interest for young friends at home, to whom I
+may detail my winter journey on a sunny autumn afternoon at Hebron. A
+real midwinter Labrador sledge journey, with the thermometer far below
+zero of Fahrenheit and the wind blowing hard and cold, is not so
+pleasant, especially if the dogs be quite invisible because of the
+driving snow. Should the traveller then be pitched off the sledge, and
+the drivers not perceive his absence at once, they may lose one
+another for ever. But God has watched over our travellers by sea and
+land, by ice and snow on many an errand of spiritual import to the
+settlers, or journey from station to station.
+
+
+
+
+MY LAST SUNDAY IN LABRADOR.
+
+
+_Sunday, September 23rd._--Morning prayers in German with the
+house-family. Our venerable senior missionary read the texts and the
+Gospel for the day, and gave out suitable hymns, which were well sung
+by the company of brethren, and sisters, and children assembled in the
+dining-room around the long table. Breakfast is enlivened with
+cheerful, godly converse, and shortly after we join the Eskimo
+congregation in the first service of the day. I like this church as
+well as any in the land. It is proportionate, simple, neat and light.
+Mr. Wirth takes his place behind the table, and, what with residents
+and visitors, there is a goodly row of missionary brethren and sisters
+to right and left of him, facing the Eskimo congregation. Among the
+latter the white faces of a settler family, the Metcalfs from Napartok
+Bay, are conspicuous. Though the language be strange, I have already
+grown familiar with the liturgic forms of worship and can follow
+either the "Church Litany," familiar to one in English and German, or
+the admirable responsive compilation of tests known as the Catechism
+Litany. The latter is chosen this morning, and it is quite possible
+that a negro congregation in Surinam, or a Kaffir congregation in
+South Africa may be using the same form of sound words, for it exists
+both in Negro English and in Kaffir.
+
+At 10 we are again summoned to the house of prayer by the bell. Mr.
+Dam is the preacher, and is evidently moved by the thought that this
+may be his last sermon in Eskimo for many a day. A hymn and a prayer,
+fervent and brief, precede the giving out of his text, Rev. i. 12-20.
+The sermon is listened to attentively by old and young, of whom
+considerably more than a hundred are present. Old Zippora is, as ever,
+at her place at the end of the bench. Blind though she is, she often
+walks miles to church over uneven ground or hummocky ice, when away at
+the fishing places. She seems to take her part in the worship of the
+sanctuary thoroughly, whether in response or sacred song, or as
+listener with animated face and at times an overflowing heart. While I
+am looking, her fingers seek the corner of her apron, and lifting it
+she wipes the tears from her sightless eyes.
+
+But the eloquent flow of words, mostly unintelligible to me, comes to
+a close. A hymn is sung, and the New Testament blessing pronounced.
+Then the procession from the missionary benches files out through the
+schoolroom into the mission-house and the people disperse to their
+homes. Mere mounds they look as I see them from my window. But they
+are Christian homes, whence rises prayer and praise.
+
+I was mistaken. The congregation had not dispersed, for the choir
+wished to give me a specimen of their powers. I returned to the church
+and listened to a fair selection of sacred music, including a long
+piece (Psalm xcv. 6, 7), well sustained by a choir of about a dozen
+men and women, and two or three instrumentalists. When they ceased, I
+spoke a few words of thanks and farewell.
+
+Dinner was as usual very literally "the mid-day meal." Soup was
+followed by a joint of reindeer venison, which was a treat to me, as
+beef or mutton would be to my hosts. The vegetables had been grown in
+the mission garden. After coffee I went over to the ship for the
+afternoon service aboard, rowed by four Eskimoes, Thomas, Clement, one
+of the organists, Daniel, and Heinrich. In their endeavour to converse
+with me they brought out some amusing scraps of English, and little
+Heinrich informed me his name in my language was "Harry."
+
+Whilst I was preaching to the crew there was an afternoon meeting
+ashore. I returned for our solemn farewell service with the missionary
+band. Here, as at each previous station, this was an occasion of deep
+feeling. My parting word was founded on (2 Corinthians xiii. 11)
+"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of
+one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with
+you." So I took leave of "brethren," who are faithfully serving their
+Lord in this cold country. Truly here is the patience and the faith of
+the saints. The God of all grace bless each missionary family, comfort
+and strengthen them in all their work, and perfect that which
+concerneth them and their people! How wonderfully He can and does
+help, I have experienced on this voyage and visit to Labrador, and so
+at the close of my visitation record my humble praise.
+
+
+
+
+MUSIC ON THE WATER.
+
+
+After the evening meal we went down to the shore and embarked. The
+people crowded the pier, and many a hand was stretched out with a
+hearty "Aksunai." As we rowed away they were singing, and when their
+voices sounded fainter across the water Thomas began of his own accord
+the following hymn in his own language:--
+
+    "O Lord! lift up thy countenance
+      Upon thy Church, and own us thine;
+      Impart to each thy peace divine,
+    And blessings unto all dispense.
+
+    'Tis our desire to follow thee,
+      And from experience to proclaim
+      Salvation in thy blessed name:
+    O bless thy servants' ministry."
+
+The other Eskimoes rowing our boat sang with him, until we reached the
+"Harmony."
+
+We were having a quiet time of cheerful converse in the cabin, when
+the sound of singing again called us on deck. A procession of eight or
+ten boats, the bow of one almost touching the stern of the other, was
+rowing slowly round and round the ship, and the people in them were
+singing sweet Christian songs to the measured beat of the oars. Sarah
+was in the first boat, evidently the leader and director of the
+proceedings.[C] Hymn after hymn, in well-sustained parts, sounded
+beautifully over the still water, and not till it was getting quite
+dark did they row away, singing "Victoria," _i.e._ "God save the
+Queen," in honour of the English visitor. Her Majesty has very loyal
+subjects in that unknown corner of her realm; and, by the way, some of
+them charged me to bring home an "Aksunai" to her, too.
+
+_Tuesday, September 25st._--Yes, "good-bye;" yet, when your vessel is
+not a steamer, but dependent on the wind, you may have repeated
+"good-byes," as often happens in Labrador. Not till this afternoon
+could the "Harmony" hoist her sails and speed away to the broad
+Atlantic. As soon as the Eskimoes saw our sails being unfurled, they
+again came around the vessel in their boats, and anew commended us to
+the Divine protection in their version of a very favourite hymn of
+Count Zinzendorf's ("Jesu geh voran").
+
+    "Jesus, day by day,
+    Guide them on their way."
+
+
+
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+
+The story of our homeward voyage must he told in short. We had more
+stormy days than bright ones, and more contrary winds than fair
+breezes. We left Hebron on Tuesday, September 25th, and on the
+following Sunday found ourselves among Greenland icebergs and fogs. So
+we had to turn southwards and run on that tack for two days. Then a
+moderate side wind followed the strong contrary gale, and we made good
+steady progress eastward. This was undoubtedly pleasant after the
+heavy rolling and pitching of the previous days. For two weeks and
+more nothing was to be seen but sea and sky, yet both had their
+interest and beauty. The sunsets were lovely, and the phosphorescent
+light in the water at night especially so. The wake of the ship was
+luminous for a long distance, and the crests of the waves shone all
+around us. Once I was leaning over the taffrail late in the evening,
+when a shoal of fish passed. There were thousands of them, and each
+one was a living, moving centre of light. Bottle-nosed whales
+gambolled around us when we were within a few hundred miles of
+Labrador, and later on "schools" of porpoises occasionally visited us.
+The latter often sprang clean out of the water, and seemed to take
+special delight in crossing the bows of the "Harmony." On October
+10th, we sighted the first ship since leaving Labrador, and a day or
+two later tacked southward near the coast of Ireland to make the
+entrance of the British Channel. There a trial of patience awaited us.
+A hard-hearted east wind barred our progress, and with long tacks we
+seemed to make headway only by inches. Yet the little "Harmony"
+bravely held on her way, when larger vessels had given up the fight.
+
+_Sunday, October 21st._--Up at six, to find the Scilly Isles in sight.
+The Bishop's rock and St. Agnes lighthouses were plainly visible. But
+the old east wind is back again. The light, fair breeze of yesterday
+evening sent us forward fifteen miles in an hour or two, and seventy
+or eighty miles of tacking to-day has barely secured as much progress.
+Visited the men in the forecastle, a small gloomy looking place, yet
+fair as such accommodation goes. The good fellows are cheery and happy
+there, indeed, they have been pleasant and faithful to duty throughout
+the entire voyage. God grant them the true blessedness we have told
+them of in this morning's and previous Sunday services.
+
+_Monday, 22nd._--Weathered the Wolf Rock by this tack. Sighted Land's
+End, with its white houses, and the Longships lighthouse on its lofty
+rock. A steamer passing us into Penzance answered our signals and will
+report us we hope.
+
+_Tuesday, 23rd._--Four weeks away from Labrador. Four months absent
+from home. How much longer yet? To windward of the Lizard this
+morning. That is good, for we could have run for Falmouth harbour had
+it blown harder from the east. But the wind has died away altogether.
+The Lizard twin lighthouses and the white walls surrounding them are
+plainly visible, as we lie becalmed.
+
+_Wednesday, 24th._--Got a fair wind yesterday, which carried us
+forward past the Eddystone Lighthouse. We are now nearing Start Point,
+and have shown our signals. They will be seen, and reported either at
+that lighthouse or at Prawle Point, and it is quite a relief to think
+our presence in the Channel will soon be known in London. What a
+contrast there is between our own shores and the coast of Labrador.
+_Here_ one is never out of sight of some guiding light, _there_ not a
+lighthouse--not a buoy. Such a voyage makes one the more thankful for
+the experience and faithfulness of our own valued ship's officers,
+tried servants of the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel, who
+have the interests of that society and of the mission at heart, and
+whose annual voyages to Labrador involve a full share of
+responsibility and anxiety.
+
+_Thursday, 25th._--Passed the Isle of Wight this morning, and Beachy
+Head in the afternoon. As night came on the long rows of electric
+lights on the marine parades of Eastbourne, Hastings, and St.
+Leonard's were very effective across the water. Got our pilot aboard
+at Dungeness just before midnight.
+
+_Friday, 26th._--_Home again!_ How infinitely good is the gracious
+Lord, who permits one to go on His errands, and meanwhile takes care
+of all that is so dear! We were off Margate when I went on deck, about
+7 A.M., and shortly afterwards secured a powerful little tug, which
+towed the "Harmony" swiftly up the Thames to London Docks, where she
+now lies at her usual moorings, awaiting the hundred and twentieth
+voyage.
+
+    "Then, at the vessel's glad return,
+      The absent meet again;
+    At home, our hearts within us burn
+      To trace the cunning pen,
+    Whose strokes, like rays from star to star,
+    Bring happy messages from far,
+    And once a year to Britain's shore
+      Join Christian Labrador."
+
+I lay down the pen which has transcribed those lines of Montgomery's
+as a fitting close to my chapter, "Homeward Bound." If it has had any
+"cunning," it has been simply because I have described what I have
+seen with my own eyes in Christian Labrador. Traversing nearly three
+hundred miles of that grand, but bleak and desolate-looking coast, I
+met with scarcely any heathen. Only at Ramah I found one or two who
+had no Christian names, because they had not yet publicly professed
+Christ. They were, however, candidates for baptism, and their few
+heathen countrymen to the north of that station are, from time to
+time, attracted to the sound of the Gospel. But if the mission in that
+land be nearing the close of the evangelistic phase, our task is not
+done, and still we hear the voice of the Divine Spirit saying:
+Separate me this one and that one for the work whereunto I have called
+him in Labrador.
+
+Yet I hope and pray for a wider result from these pages than increased
+interest in the one field so closely connected with Britain by the
+good ship "Harmony." Labrador in its turn is linked to all the mission
+provinces in the world-wide parish given to the little Moravian
+Church, and I trust this glimpse into the life and labours of our
+devoted missionaries there will quicken the loving intercessions of my
+readers for their fellow labourers in all our own fields, and for the
+whole great mission work of the Church of Christ.
+
+I will conclude with a stirring stanza[D] from another poet, who found
+a theme and an inspiration in contrasting the wretched condition of
+the people of Labrador, prior to the arrival of missionaries, with the
+wonderful change wrought among the poor Eskimoes through their noble
+efforts under the blessing of God.
+
+    "When round the great white throne all nations stand,
+    When Jew and Gentile meet at God's right hand,
+    When thousand times ten thousand raise the strain--
+    'Worthy the Lamb that once for us was slain!'
+    When the bright Seraphim with joy prolong
+    Through all eternity that thrilling song--
+    The heathen's universal jubilee,
+    A music sweet, O Saviour Christ, to Thee--
+    Say, 'mid those happy strains, will not _one_ note,--
+    Sung by a hapless nation once remote,
+    But now led Home by tender cords of love,
+    Rise clear through those majestic courts above?
+    Yes! from amid the tuneful, white-robed choirs,
+    Hymning Jehovah's praise on golden lyres,
+    _One_ Hallelujah shall for evermore
+    Tell of the Saviour's love to LABRADOR."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+G. NORMAN & SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote C: For those who may be interested to know what hymns were
+chosen, and what tunes were sung (without accompaniment), by the
+natives on this occasion, I will append the numbers in our new English
+Hymn Book, as far it contains their selection, 646, 788, 755, 834, and
+1135. The melodies included our Tunes 132, 26, 69, 205, 166, and 146.]
+
+[Footnote D: _Labrador, a Poem in three parts_, written to commemorate
+the centenary of the Moravian Labrador Mission, by B. TRAPP ELLIS.]
+
+
+
+
+THE "HARMONY."
+
+Captain: HENRY LINKLATER.
+
+     Length (Extreme)  120     ft.
+     Breadth            27-1/2  "
+     Depth              15      "  4 in.
+     Length of Mast     87      "
+     Tonnage           251 tons.
+
+_Launched, April 24th, 1861._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The average duration of the _outward_ voyage with the present vessel
+has been 41-1/4 days, including a short stay at Stromness in the
+Orkneys. The _homeward_ voyage has been accomplished on an average in
+23 days, including the coarse up channel to the West India Dock. The
+whole voyage, including the stay on the coast and visit to six
+stations there, has averaged 117-3/4 days.
+
+
+THE TEMPERATURE OF LABRADOR.
+
+At Hopedale, the most southerly of our mission stations,
+thermometrical observations during several years give + 86° Fahrenheit
+as the greatest heat (July 26, 1871), -104°, or 72° below freezing
+point, Fahrenheit, as the greatest cold (February 2nd, 1873). The
+average temperature for the year is -5° F. For four years the month of
+July was the only one in which there was not a fall of snow. The
+average temperature of Edinburgh, which lies in about the same degree
+of latitude as Hopedale, is + 47° F. At the Hospice of St. Bernard in
+the Alps, which is situated at an elevation of 7192 feet above the
+level of the sea, the average temperature for the year is not quite
+-3° F. There winter and spring are much less cold, summer and autumn
+much less warm than in Labrador.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: With the Harmony to Labrador
+       Notes Of A Visit To The Moravian Mission Stations On The North-East
+              Coast Of Labrador
+              
+
+Author: Benjamin La Trobe
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2005 [EBook #15190]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Wallace McLean, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading (https://www.pgdp.net), from images kindly provided by
+www.canadiana.org
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<a name="Page_i" id="Page_i"></a>
+
+<h1>WITH <br />
+THE HARMONY<br />
+TO LABRADOR</h1>
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 50%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-1.png" width="100%" alt="The Harmony 1" />
+<p class="sc" style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: .1em;">
+&quot;The Harmony&quot;</p>
+</div>
+
+<h2>A VISIT<br />
+TO THE<br />
+MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS<br />
+ON THE<br />
+NORTH EAST COAST OF LABRADOR</h2>
+
+<br />
+
+<h5>London:<br />
+MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY.<br />
+32, FETTER LANE, E.C.</h5>
+
+<h6>PRICE THREEPENCE.</h6>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+<a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"></a>
+<h2>WITH <br />
+THE HARMONY<br />
+TO LABRADOR</h2>
+<br />
+
+<h3>NOTES OF A VISIT<br />
+BY THE<br />
+REV. B. LA TROBE<br />
+TO THE<br />
+MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS<br />
+ON THE<br />
+NORTH-EAST COAST OF LABRADOR.</h3>
+<br />
+<br />
+<h5>LONDON:<br />
+MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY,<br />
+32, FETTER LANE, E.C.</h5>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h5><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></a>LONDON:<br />
+G. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET,<br />
+COVENT GARDEN, W.C.</h5>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="toc" id="toc"></a><hr />
+<br />
+
+<h3><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a>CONTENTS.</h3>
+
+<div style="margin-left: 15%;">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="85%" summary="Table of Contents">
+  <tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="tdright"><span class="sc">Page</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td width="75%" class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Intro">Introductory Remarks</a></td>
+<td width="25%" class="tdright">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Arrival">Arrival At Hopedale, The Southern Station</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Voyage119">The 119th Voyage Of The Society's Vessel</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Hopedale">Hopedale</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Stroll">A Stroll &quot;To The Heathen&quot;</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Joys">Joys And Sorrows&mdash;A Marriage And A Funeral</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Helpers">Three Native Helpers</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Communion">A Communion And Festival Sunday At Hopedale</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Pleasant_Sail">A Pleasant Sail From Hopedale To Zoar</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">13</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Zoar">Zoar</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Climb">A Climb To The Top Of The Ship Hill At Zoar</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#From_Zoar">From Zoar To Nain Between Islands</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Nain">The First Evening At Nain</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Interchange">Interchange Of Visits With The Eskimoes</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Eskimo_Groups">Two Eskimo Groups Taken At Nain</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Gods_Acre">&quot;God's Acre&quot;</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Busy_Week">A Busy Week At Nain</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#To_Okak">From Nain To Okak</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">27</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Most_Primitive">The Most Primitive Station In Labrador</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Walks">Walks In The Neighbourhood Of Okak</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">33</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Ramah">From Okak To Ramah</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">34</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Little_Ramah">&quot;Ramarsuk&quot; (Neat Little Ramah)</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">35</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Village">An Eskimo Village</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">38</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Ramah_Beach">On The Beach At Ramah</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">41</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Native_Helper">A Faithful Native Helper</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">42</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Leaving_Ramah">Leaving Ramah</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">43</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Sunset">Sunset, Moonrise And Aurora Borealis</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">44</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Hebron">Arrival At Hebron</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">45</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Levee">The Visiting Missionaries' Levee</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">46</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Sledge">A Sledge Drive</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">47</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Last_Sunday">My Last Sunday In Labrador</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Music">Music On The Water</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">53</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc"><a href="#Homeward">Homeward Bound</a></td>
+<td class="tdright">53</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h3>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3>
+
+<div style="margin-left: 15%;">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="85%" summary="Illustrations">
+  <tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="tdright"><span class="sc">Page</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">&quot;The Harmony&quot;</td>
+<td class="tdright">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Hopedale</td>
+<td class="tdright">4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Titus, Native Helper At Hopedale</td>
+<td class="tdright">10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Eskimo Houses</td>
+<td class="tdright">19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">A Group Of Widows At Nain</td>
+<td class="tdright">21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">The Choir At Nain</td>
+<td class="tdright">22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Ice Aground</td>
+<td class="tdright">29</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Ramah</td>
+<td class="tdright">36</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Tents At Ramah</td>
+<td class="tdright">37</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">An Eskimo In His Kayak</td>
+<td class="tdright">42</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdleftsc">Travelling In Labrador</td>
+<td class="tdright">49</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v"></a><b>LABRADOR</b></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Is an extensive triangular peninsula on the north-east coast of
+British North America, Lat. 50&deg; to 62&deg; N., Lon. 56&deg; to 78&deg; W.; bounded
+N. by Hudson's Straits, E. by the Atlantic, S.E. by the Strait of
+Belle Isle, separating it from Newfoundland, S. by the Gulf and River
+St. Lawrence and Canada, and W. by James' Bay and Hudson's Bay. Its
+area is estimated at 420,000 sq. miles. The vast interior, inhabited
+by a few wandering Nascopie Indians, is little known; the coast,
+mainly but sparsely peopled by Eskimoes, is rugged, bleak and
+desolate. Seals abound, and the sea is well stocked with cod and other
+fish. The wild animals include deer (caribou), bears, wolves, foxes,
+martens, and otters. The Eskimo dogs are trained to draw sledges, to
+which they are attached in teams of from eight to fourteen.</p>
+
+<p>The temperature in winter ranges lower than that of Greenland, the
+thermometer often showing a minimum of 70&deg; below freezing-point of
+Fahrenheit. The climate is too severe to ripen any cereals, and the
+flora is very limited.</p>
+<br />
+
+<p>The Moravian Mission to the Eskimoes on the north-east coast of
+Labrador was established in 1771 by a colony of brethren and sisters
+from England and Germany, who on July 1st reached Unity's Harbour, and
+at once began the erection of a station, calling it NAIN. An earlier
+attempt in 1752 under the direction of John Christian Erhardt had
+failed, the leader of the little band of missionaries and the captain
+of the ship, together with several men of the crew, having been killed
+by the natives. Five more stations were subsequently added&mdash;viz., ZOAR
+and HOPEDALE to the south, and OKAK, HEBRON, and RAMAH to the north of
+Nain. The distance from Ramah to Hopedale is about three hundred
+miles.</p>
+
+<p>Since the year 1770, when the &quot;Jersey Packet&quot; was sent out on an
+exploratory trip, the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel has
+maintained regular communication with Labrador by despatching each
+year a ship, specially devoted to this missionary object. Eleven
+different ships have been employed in this service, ranging from a
+little sloop of seventy tons to a barque of two hundred and forty
+tons. Of these only four were specially constructed for Arctic
+service, including the vessel now in use, which was built in the year
+1861. She is the fourth of the Society's Labrador ships bearing the
+well-known name &quot;THE HARMONY.&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Intro" id="Intro"></a><hr />
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 60%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-2.png" width="100%" alt="The Harmony 1" />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1"></a>
+&quot;THE HARMONY&quot;</p>
+</div>
+
+<h3>WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR.
+<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h3>NOTES OF A VISIT BY THE REV. B. LA TROBE.</h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>What can a summer visitor tell of Labrador, that great drear land
+whose main feature is winter, the long severe winter which begins in
+October and lasts until June? I have been sailing over summer seas,
+where in winter no water is visible, but a wide waste of ice
+stretching thirty, forty, fifty or more miles from the snowy shores.
+In the same good ship &quot;Harmony,&quot; I have been gliding between the
+innumerable islands of the Labrador archipelago and up the fine fjords
+stretching far inland among the mountains, but in winter those bays
+and straits and winding passages are all white frozen plains, the
+highways for the dog-sledge post from station to station. I have
+visited each of our six mission-stations, dotted at intervals of from
+forty to ninety miles along some 250 miles of the grand, rocky coast,
+but I have seen them in their brightest and sunniest aspect, and can
+only imagine how they look when stern winter has come to stay for
+months, and the thermometer frequently descends to forty, fifty,
+sixty, sometimes even seventy degrees below freezing point,
+Fahrenheit. I have spent happy, busy days in those Christian villages,
+nestling close by the shore under the shelter of one or another hill
+that cuts off the icy northern blasts of winter. But I can fancy that
+their ordinary aspect is very <a name="Page_2" id="Page_2"></a>different to the bustle and interest of
+the &quot;shiptime.&quot; I have enjoyed the kindly hospitality of successive
+mission-houses, one as neat and clean as the other. But I have seen
+none of them half buried, as they often are, in snowdrifts of fifteen
+or twenty feet deep. The summer sun sent down powerful rays into the
+windows of the pleasant guest-chamber usually facing southward, but in
+mid-winter the Okak mission-house lies in the shadow of a great hill
+for weeks, and at other stations the sun describes a low curve over
+the opposite mountains, and does little more than shed a feeble ray of
+cheer upon the mid-day meal.</p>
+
+<p>One unpleasant experience of the warmer season I have shared with our
+missionaries, which they are spared in winter. That is the
+inconvenience of the swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies, which make
+them almost glad when the brief summer yields to a cooler autumn.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand many phases of Labrador life do not change with the
+season of the year, least of all the spiritual verities which there,
+as elsewhere, concern the welfare of the bodies and the souls of men,
+and the eternal principles which should rule the life that now is, as
+well as that which is to come. The Christian life of the dwellers in
+those mission-houses, and, thank God, of the goodly congregations
+gathered around them, has its source in a perennial fountain, flowing
+summer and winter from the upper sanctuary. <i>This</i> is the matter of
+main interest to my readers, therefore I will transcribe, or rather
+adapt, some diary pages, hoping they may convey correct impressions of
+the daily surroundings and local conditions under which our dear,
+self-denying missionaries are constantly toiling to win souls, and
+build up truly Christian congregations.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Arrival" id="Arrival"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>ARRIVAL AT HOPEDALE, THE SOUTHERN STATION.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Okak, Hebron, Raman; these are our Labrador
+mission-stations in order from south to north, and as we visited them
+in the &quot;Harmony,&quot; with one exception. From Okak we went straight to
+Ramah, and returned southward to Hebron, whence we sailed for Europe.
+Each station consists of the mission premises and a group of Eskimo
+dwellings, situated on the shore of a bay, affording safe and
+convenient anchorage for the ship which brings supplies. From Hopedale
+to Ramah is about 250 miles, &quot;as the crow flies,&quot; but the ship
+traverses a hundred miles more in its passages from place to place.
+The distances between the stations are about as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div style="margin-left: 10%;">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" width="30%" summary="distances">
+  <tr>
+  <td width="70%">Hopedale to Zoar</td>
+  <td width="30%">90 miles</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Okak to Hebron</td>
+  <td>70 miles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Zoar to Nain</td>
+  <td>40 &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Hebron to Ramah</td>
+  <td>60 &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Nain to Okak</td>
+  <td>80 &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>The accompanying log of our voyage gives a <i>r&eacute;sum&eacute;</i> of its history. I
+will take up my more detailed sketches on the day when we arrived at
+Hopedale, the southern station.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Voyage119" id="Voyage119"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3"></a>THE 119th VOYAGE OF THE SOCIETY'S VESSEL.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<p class="cen">(28th of present barque &quot;Harmony.&quot;)</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<div class="content">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="55%" summary="Harmony Itinery">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft" width="10%">June</td>
+  <td width="6%" class="tdright">20.</td>
+  <td width="84%" class="tdleft">&nbsp;Wed.&mdash;<i>Farewell Service in London Docks.</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">23.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Sat.&mdash;Left <span class="sc">London.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">July</td>
+  <td class="tdright">3.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Tues.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Stromness</span> (Orkney Isles).</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">6.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Fri.&mdash;Left <span class="sc">Stromness</span>.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td colspan="3" class="tdcenter">(<i>London to Labrador, 41 days</i>.)</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">Aug.</td>
+  <td class="tdright">3.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Fri.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Hopedale.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">13.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Mon.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">14.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Tues.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Zoar.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">19.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Sun.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">19.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Sun.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Nain.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">27.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Mon.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">29.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Wed.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Okak.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">Sept.</td>
+  <td class="tdright">5.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Wed.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">9.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Sun.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Ramah.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">14.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Fri.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">17.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Mon.&mdash;Arr. at <span class="sc">Hebron.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">&quot;</td>
+  <td class="tdright">25.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Tues.&mdash;Left &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td colspan="3" class="tdcenter">(<i>Stay in Labrador, 53 days</i>.)</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdleft">Oct.</td>
+  <td class="tdright">26.</td>
+  <td class="tdleft">&nbsp;Fri.&mdash;Re-entered <span class="sc">London Docks.</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td colspan="3" class="tdcenter">(<i>Homeward Voyage, 31 days</i>.)</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td colspan="3" class="tdleft">The whole voyage occupied 125 days, or close upon 18 weeks.</td>
+  </tr>
+  </table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p><i>August 3rd</i>, 1888. It is six weeks all but a day since we left
+London. We might have reached Hopedale three days ago, for we were
+within eighty miles. But a dense fog made it impossible to venture
+among the islands, where drift ice might be added to the dangers of
+rocks. So we have been driving to and fro for the last three days and
+nights over a high sea, studded with icebergs hidden from us by a
+thick white mist, which made everything wet and cold. It has been the
+least pleasant and most anxious part of our voyage hitherto. This
+morning the fog cleared away, and we could see how good the Lord had
+been to us, for the icebergs were still surrounding us, but had never
+been permitted to come nigh our vessel. (Not till later did we know
+how well He had not only protected but piloted us. Drift ice beset the
+whole coast, but during those three days it cleared away southward.
+Nor could we have reached Hopedale by the usual southerly route, past
+the Gull Island, even on August 3rd. The course by which we were
+taken, <i>nolens volens</i>, was the only one open).</p>
+
+<p>As morning wore on our swift progress brought us to the outer islands,
+bare bleak rocks, at whose base the sea was breaking terrifically. The
+first was Ukalek (the hare), about equal distance from Nain, Zoar, and
+Hopedale. We turned southward, our good ship speeding along before a
+favourable breeze and rolling heavily. Many icebergs of all shapes and
+sizes were visible around our now widened horizon. Tremendous waves
+were beating against their gleaming white sides, and sending the spray
+high towards their towering pinnacles, in one case clean over a huge
+berg perhaps 150 feet high.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the Eskimoes at their northern fishing-places caught sight
+of us. Yonder are two boats sailing from that barren island, and we
+can now see three or four Eskimoes in each. As we overtake them they
+fire their guns and shout. See, on that island to the right is a
+regular little encampment, two or three tents, and men, women, and
+children running about excitedly, waving their <a name="Page_4" id="Page_4"></a>arms and hallooing.
+Soon they launch their boats and row after us. The Ship Hill has been
+visible for some time. Now we see the red roof of the mission-house,
+and the little cupola of the church. Thank God! the flag is flying at
+the mast-head, <i>i.e.</i>, at the top of the station flagstaff; no death
+has occurred in the mission circle. Yonder Eskimoes on the rocks,
+congregated about their little cannon, fire their salutes and shout
+their welcome. Now we are sailing into the harbour. With mingled
+feelings I scan the mission-house. Yes, there are some of the
+missionaries at the door. They run down to the pier, launch their boat
+and are coming off to us, rowed by two men and two women. I recognize
+old Boaz from his photograph; and that is Verona, good faithful soul.
+But there are only Mrs. Dam, and the Brethren Kaestner, Asboe, and
+Hansen. Where are the rest? Mr. Bourquin has not arrived from Nain; no
+news from the North; Mr. Dam is ailing, and must return to Europe with
+us. Mrs. Asboe and Mrs. Kaestner await us, so we are soon off in the
+boat to get another warm welcome at the door of the mission-house,
+about half-past five.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 75%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-3.png" width="100%" alt="Hopedale" />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+HOPEDALE. (<i>See next page.</i>)</p>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>I am conducted to the guest-chamber, and ere long we meet at the tea
+table, around which the whole mission family is assembled with their
+visitors. First our gratitude is expressed for the many mercies to
+each and all, included in the safe arrival of the &quot;Harmony,&quot; and then
+ensues a lively interchange of news and mutual interests.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Hopedale" id="Hopedale"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5"></a>HOPEDALE.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>I will content myself with a few explanations of the accompanying view
+of the station from the bay. In winter the aspect of the whole
+landscape would be very much whiter, and the foreground not water, but
+ice. The bare, rocky ship hill which forms the background still had
+considerable patches of snow when we arrived early in August, but it
+melted from day to day during our stay, for the summer sun asserts its
+power during its brief sway. The mission-house in the centre of the
+picture is connected with the church by a covered passage, and the
+building with the three gable-ends, on the other side of it, is the
+store. The gardens, really wonderful in results when the climate is
+considered, are situated at some distance to the rear of the mission
+premises. The Eskimo village lies mostly to the right, where only one
+or two log huts are visible in the picture. Some of the native houses
+are behind the mission premises, including that of Jonas and his
+capable wife Lydia, perhaps the neatest and best furnished home of an
+Eskimo to be found in Labrador. The three windows to the right of the
+front door of the mission-house belong to the rooms occupied by Mr.
+and Mrs. Asboe. If there be as much snow this winter as last, they may
+be in the dark, part of the time. The three centre windows of the
+upper story show Mr. Hansen's rooms, and on each side of these are the
+dwellings of Mr. and Mrs. Kaestner and Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Stroll" id="Stroll"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A STROLL &quot;TO THE HEATHEN.&quot;<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The only &quot;road&quot; in all Labrador is the broad path at Hebron traversed
+by the only wheeled vehicle in the country, a queer little wagon drawn
+by dogs, and used to fetch water for the house. But great service to
+succeeding generations of missionaries has been rendered by those who
+have employed some of their leisure in making pleasant paths leading
+to points of view or places of interest. For such a remote settlement,
+Hopedale is rich in well-made walks, though they are by no means so
+extensive as the winding paths in the fir woods behind Nain, the
+oldest station. And as I can bear witness, the present generation of
+missionaries have at each station fairly done their duty in adding to
+the roads along which their successors in the service shall take their
+social strolls or their lonely prayerful walks in communion with the
+best of friends.</p>
+
+<p>What an illustration of the spiritual service in such a land! The
+pioneer finds all in the roughest phase of nature. With infinite
+trouble and pains he prepares the way of the Lord, making the rough
+places plain; here he takes away the rocks and stones which bar the
+way, there he builds up, so making His paths straight. <a name="Page_6" id="Page_6"></a>And where the
+good-work has been begun, other missionaries follow on the same lines;
+and so by grace it shall go forward, until the glory of the Lord shall
+be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Hopedale paths leads &quot;to the heathen,&quot; and what more
+interesting spot could we visit than those three mounds, which are all
+that remain of the former winter dwellings of the original heathen
+population. One by one, and sometimes several at once, when the Spirit
+of the Lord was powerfully bringing home to their hearts the Gospel
+preached by the early missionaries, the inmates of these abodes moved
+from their pagan surroundings and began to make themselves Christian
+homes around the mission-houses.</p>
+
+<p>On our way to the long uninhabited ruins of this older group of
+abodes, we will pass through the Christian village, which has thus
+sprung up at Hopedale as at all the other stations. It consists of
+irregular groups of little log houses, planted with little attempt at
+symmetry. Their Eskimo owners have no idea of a street. Perhaps some
+day the conception may occur to them as they read in their Bibles of
+&quot;the street which was called straight.&quot; Nor do they need any words in
+their language for &quot;rent,&quot; &quot;rates,&quot; or, &quot;taxes.&quot; Here in the south and
+at the station most influenced by civilization, the majority of the
+little houses are built of logs and even roofed with wood. Some are
+covered with turf. The dwellings of our people in the north are much
+more primitive. Each house has its low porch, a very necessary
+addition in this land of &quot;winter's frost and snowing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Between the houses and in their porches lie many dogs. One of these
+wolf-like creatures follows us over the rocks to the burial-ground,
+and then runs off to fish on his own account. The dogs scour the shore
+for miles in search of food, for, with the exception of those
+belonging to our stores, they mostly have to forage for themselves.
+They like seal and reindeer meat, but there are times when they can
+get neither flesh nor fish. Then they turn vegetarians, spring over
+the fences of the mission gardens and help themselves.</p>
+
+<p>We enter the irregular enclosure, where lie the bodies of many, who
+have fallen asleep during the hundred years that Hopedale has stood.
+Here are some Eskimo graves with little headstones, bearing brief
+inscriptions, but more mounds without identification. In one corner
+lies a group of graves of touching interest&mdash;the missionaries and
+their children&mdash;who have taken sepulchre possession here.</p>
+
+<p>Thence our way lies along the shore. What is that noise? It is a whale
+blowing in the smooth water. Look, yonder rises the column of spray,
+and now a great fin appears for a moment over the surface. Wait
+awhile, and the monster will blow again. Yes, there he is, spouting
+and diving; on the whole, we can hear more than we can see of him.</p>
+
+<p>Over rock and moss, variegated with lovely little flowers, we <a name="Page_7" id="Page_7"></a>reach
+the path which skirts the old heathen sites. Little more than the
+outline of the former turf houses is visible. The turf roof has fallen
+in, or been carried away, but the low mounds which formed the walls
+remain, as also the roofless curving porch, which in each opened out
+to the sea. More than one hundred persons of both sexes and all ages
+are said to have inhabited these three houses, and their heathen life
+here, with its cruelties, sorceries, and other unhallowed phases, can
+better be imagined than described. It must have been a great advance
+for them in every respect when they moved to the mission-station,
+established nearly half a mile away, and began to learn the faith and
+hope which have given it its name. In those days there must have been
+a good many such heathen villages along this coast with a nomad
+population far more numerous than now.</p>
+
+<p>Thence we easily ascend the ship hill, over rock and moss, and
+occasional patches of snow. The view is really grand, though bleak and
+bare. Hundreds of rocky islands lie between us and the seaward
+horizon, while to north and south one can scarcely distinguish them
+from the bold headlands which stretch out into the ocean. Northward,
+the white sails of from thirty to forty fishing schooners are gleaming
+white in the sun. Hundreds of these craft pass up the coast from
+Newfoundland every summer, and the spiritual interests of their crews
+are faithfully sought at Hopedale. Sometimes the Sunday afternoon
+English service is attended by more than two hundred such visitors. As
+we descend the hill and return to the station past the well-kept
+gardens, we make our first acquaintance with mosquitoes, but they do
+not trouble us much to-day.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Joys" id="Joys"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>JOYS AND SORROWS&mdash;A MARRIAGE AND A FUNERAL<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Each mission-station is a little world in itself; it has its own joys
+and sorrows, and complete cycle of events in the human lives lived
+here for a time by the will of God, who has His purposes of love in
+each and all. I have touched many of these joys and sorrows during my
+brief stay here.</p>
+
+<p>In the godly family of this Hopedale mission-house, it is a time when
+the clouds return after the rain. Little Hildegard Kaestner has been
+lying for some days between life and death, but at last we can rejoice
+with her parents in a degree of hope. The child has even shown a faint
+interest in her toys. (I am grieved to hear on my return that the
+little one passed away while her father was absent with me on duty.)
+Our English missionary sister has also been passing through woman's
+time of trial and honour, and we are now able to rejoice with her and
+her husband in the gift of a little girl, their firstborn. God bless
+and keep mother and child!</p>
+
+<p>My visits with Mr. Dam, the pastor, and his wife, to some of the
+Eskimoes' houses have been singularly sad. Titus' wife, Katharina,
+formerly a good and able woman, has fallen into a pitiable state of
+insanity, which is not only a sore sorrow to the good man, but also <a name="Page_8" id="Page_8"></a>a
+great hindrance to his earning a livelihood. Then we were suddenly
+summoned to the next house, where we found Hermine dying. In the
+morning she went out fishing with her husband, Wilhadus. Both were
+taken very ill with one of those colds which are so fatal to the
+Eskimoes, and he feared he should not be able to bring her home alive.
+She was nearly gone, and he very ill, when they did arrive. We found
+her on the floor, surrounded by sympathizing and helpful neighbours.
+But there was little to be done; life was fast ebbing. Mr. Dam knelt
+and prayed beside her, then blessed her, and she feebly responded to
+his words. The women laid her down comfortably, and as they sang
+hymns, amid tears and sobs, she passed away to be with the Lord, on
+whom she believed. God be praised that there is such hope and comfort
+in this event.</p>
+
+<p>Hermine died on Thursday, and the funeral was on Saturday afternoon,
+when a little child was also buried. The first part of the service was
+in the church. Then the congregation reassembled just outside, the men
+by themselves and the women apart. The larger coffin was borne on the
+shoulders of six men, the little one was carried by two. The whole
+congregation appeared to be the mourners, nor was poor Wilhadus well
+enough to follow his wife's remains to their last resting-place. After
+singing a verse in front of the church, the procession moved slowly
+onward to the burial ground, where Mr. Kaestner read the litany, and
+the responses and singing were beautifully reverent. At his signal the
+coffins were lowered into the graves, and he spoke the concluding
+blessing at each.</p>
+
+<p>I was present at a marriage service last Sunday. The young bridegroom
+and bride sat together on two stools in the middle of the church. They
+were simply and plainly dressed in clean white &quot;sillapaks,&quot; <i>i.e.</i>,
+light calico tunics edged with broad braid, mostly red. The woman's
+was rather more ornamental than the man's, and had a longer tail
+hanging over her skirts. She had a ring on one finger, but that played
+no part in the ceremony. In his opening address the minister named the
+pair. William Tuktusna comes from the South, and possesses both
+Christian name and surname, which is unusual for an Eskimo. The woman
+is called Amalie. Both replied with a clear &quot;Ahaila&quot; (yes) to the
+usual questions of the marriage service. They then gave the hand to
+one another, and, kneeling down, a prayer and the Old Testament
+blessing confirmed the solemn contract, into which they had entered
+before God. As usual the congregation sang the response, &quot;J&ecirc;sum
+akk&acirc;ne, Amen.&quot; (In the name of Jesus, Amen).</p>
+
+<p>Amalie cried a little during the ceremony, and more as she followed
+her husband out of the church, but the heathen custom of feigning
+sorrow on such an occasion is dying out. At first she refused
+William's offer, made through their missionary, but afterwards she
+thought better of it. May the Lord give them a happy and holy union of
+heart and life!</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Helpers" id="Helpers"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9"></a>THREE NATIVE HELPERS.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>I had a visit this afternoon from the three &quot;native-helpers&quot; here at
+Hopedale. They came to interview the angajokak from London
+(anga-yo-k&acirc;k = chief or elder) and their pastor kindly interpreted. I
+am pleased to know these worthy men. They are true Eskimoes in modes
+of thought and expression, and they are true servants of God,
+faithfully serving this congregation of their countrymen in many ways.
+Among the duties of their office are, visiting the sick, admonishing
+the negligent, settling disputes, and affectionately exhorting those
+who are under Church discipline. They are also chapel-servants, and
+evidently glad to be door-keepers in the house of their God. At the
+fishing or hunting places they often hold services, and sometimes they
+preside at the meetings at Hopedale. At the celebration of the recent
+centenary each of the three delivered a powerful address.</p>
+
+<p>Let me introduce them to my readers.</p>
+
+<p>The first and oldest is <span class="sc">Joshua</span>, a decided Christian of many years'
+standing. His wife Bertha is also a chapel-servant, a real mother in
+the congregation, and a true helpmeet to her husband. They are a
+thrifty, diligent, much respected couple, whose influence and example
+is blessed to those around them. Next February 4th they will, D.V.,
+celebrate their golden wedding, an event unknown as yet in Labrador.
+Though Joshua cannot read, he frequently addresses the congregation
+with power, suitability, spirituality, and some originality. In his
+public prayers he almost invariably adds a petition &quot;for our Queen
+Victoria; because she is only a woman.&quot; On one occasion he said to his
+countrymen: &quot;Those of you who can read know that it says, they shall
+come from the East and the West, and the North and the South, and
+shall sit down in the kingdom, but the children of the kingdom shall
+be cast out. Our fathers were heathen, but we are children of the
+kingdom. If <i>we</i> fail of the grace of God, we shall not only be cast
+into hell, but into outer, <i>outer</i>, OUTER darkness.&quot; It made a great
+impression on them. At another time he drew a comparison between the
+Israelites, who entered Canaan with Joshua, and the spiritual
+Israelites, who with Jesus shall enter on the millennium.</p>
+
+<p>The second is <span class="sc">Daniel</span>, a gifted man with a humble spirit and
+considerable missionary zeal. Year by year, as Epiphany, &quot;the Heathen
+Festival,&quot; comes round, he has sleepless nights of deep sorrow in his
+heart for those who know not Jesus, the Salvation of God. Twenty years
+ago, stirred by the example of John King, the bush-negro evangelist in
+Surinam, Daniel went in his own boat to his heathen countrymen in the
+far north of Labrador. He found a companion of like sentiment in
+Gottlob of Hebron, who afterwards rendered such excellent service at
+Ramah. More recently Daniel induced Titus of Hopedale to accompany him
+on a winter journey to some of the European settlers and half-breeds
+in the neighbourhood of that station. When they arrived at the
+log-house of one or another of these dwellers in the remote bays,
+Daniel at once told <a name="Page_10" id="Page_10"></a>their errand with as much humility as
+earnestness. Their simple testimony of the Saviour from sin was well
+received. When they returned to Hopedale Daniel had a great deal to
+tell the missionaries of the utterances of his companion, but very
+little to remark about his own sayings and doings. He frequently
+accompanies his missionaries on their evangelistic or pastoral
+journeys not only as driver of the dog-sledge, but as helper of their
+spiritual work.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 60%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-4.png" width="100%" alt="Titus" />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+<span class="sc">Titus</span>. <i>Native Helper at Hopedale</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>The third of my visitors is the above mentioned <span class="sc">Titus</span>, also a man of
+ripe years and Christian experience. The way in which his zeal and
+spirit of service supplement the gifts of his friend Daniel is a
+striking illustration of the Spirit's dividing to every man severally
+as He wills. Daniel is a man of quick perceptions, Titus of prompt
+action. The two may be walking together and talking of the spiritual
+welfare of the congregation so much upon their hearts and prayers.
+Daniel mentions some matter which he fears is displeasing in God's
+sight. &quot;Yes, yes, that is so,&quot; says Titus; &quot;I had not perceived it, but
+you are right. We must testify against that.&quot; And testify he does, on
+the first opportunity, with <a name="Page_11" id="Page_11"></a>such vigour that the abuse is rebuked and
+stopped, yet with such tact that none can be offended at his faithful
+outspokenness.</p>
+
+<p>For some years Titus has served as assistant schoolmaster, and like
+his friend Daniel he takes part in the music of the sanctuary, having
+a good bass voice. Daniel sings tenor in the choir, or plays the
+violoncello.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Communion" id="Communion"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A COMMUNION AND FESTIVAL SUNDAY AT HOPEDALE.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Sunday, August 12th</i>.&mdash;To-day the festival of the thirteenth of
+August, the spiritual birthday of the renewed Brethren's Unity, has
+been celebrated in this far northern congregation, incorporated in the
+one bond with those in Germany, England, America, and our various
+mission-fields scattered thousands of miles apart over the surface of
+the globe.</p>
+
+<p>In the early morning the congregation band played suitable chorales in
+good time and tune, and the solemn strains were well adapted to
+prepare hearts and feelings for the spiritual privileges of the day.</p>
+
+<p>At nine o'clock Daniel kept the morning blessing. Picture the neat
+clean, church, simple and suitable for the worship of an Eskimo
+congregation. Behind the table sits the worthy native-helper. To his
+right hand the missionaries face the men and boys; to his left are the
+missionaries' wives, and opposite them a more numerous company of
+women and girls. The benches are without backs. The little organ is
+played by Ludolf, an Eskimo, well and devotionally, and the singing is
+further accompanied by other musicians with one clarionet, five
+violins, and a violoncello. The choice of tunes is such as would
+puzzle most congregations in England. The people are very devout in
+their demeanour and sing well. Their faces are mostly brown, with high
+cheek bones, but on the whole they are much lighter in complexion than
+photographs had led me to conclude.</p>
+
+<p>Daniel did his part reverently and simply, for, as he had told me
+before by word and gesture, God has made the heart and the mouth. His
+long and earnest prayer, spoken extempore in his own language, was
+evidently well prepared, and thoroughly suitable to the occasion. He
+asked the Lord to be among us with His blessings, His faithfulness,
+and His mercies. He continued: &quot;O Saviour, Thou hast all fulness; Thou
+wast able and willing to bless the brethren at Herrnhut a hundred and
+fifty years ago, bless us now. True, we are worse and much lower than
+they were, but Thou canst do it. Bless us to-day. We are very bad, but
+Thou wilt bless those among us who believe. As to those who do not
+believe, bless them too, and, if possible, let them be partakers of
+Thy salvation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We think of our teachers, those who have come to us and those who are
+about to leave us by the 'Harmony.' O bless them for their works'
+sake. We do not always obey them as we ought. Help us to be more
+obedient. Lord, do these things for us, and <a name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></a>though we are not able to
+praise Thee sufficiently here on earth, we will praise Thee in heaven
+for ever.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The next service was commenced with a choir piece, when the organ and
+other instruments accompanied seven singers, four women and three men.
+The women especially had voices of power and compass. Alto, tenor, and
+bass were fairly sustained, as well as soprano, and the whole effect
+was good. The piece, which was not easy, but suitable in liturgical
+character, was well rendered both in forte and piano passages. This
+time Ambrose, another native, presided at the organ, and Ludolf played
+the first violin.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Kaestner's sermon on 1 John iii. 1 was followed by a baptism, in
+Labrador suitably the closing part of the public service. The
+congregation as ever take up the long responses well and devotionally,
+and in this service the children repeat portions of Scripture (1 Pet.
+iii. 21, Tit. iii. 5, and Matt. xix. 14). These were spoken distinctly
+and simultaneously by the boys and girls. The infant having been
+brought up to the table by the parents, the minister baptized it with
+the formula Susannah, Jesusib tokkun-ganut baptipagit Atatab,
+Ernerublo, Anernerublo ajunginerub attinganut. (Susannah, into the
+death of Jesus I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the
+Son, and of the Holy Ghost.)</p>
+
+<p>I took the English service at three o'clock. Soon after we again
+assembled in the church, for the Eskimo choir had sent a deputation to
+request that they might sing some more of their pieces for us. The
+programme of their really excellent performance included such pieces
+as Hosanna, Christians Awake, Stille Nacht, Morgernstern (Morning
+Star), and an anthem (Ps. 96) containing effective duets for tenor and
+alto. When they had finished I spoke a few words of thanks and
+farewell, and then Mr. Dam bade good-bye to the people he had loved
+and served for ten years. They were much moved at the thought of
+parting with their faithful pastor and his wife.</p>
+
+<p>Shall I ever forget that communion at seven? I felt it a great
+privilege to partake of the Lord's Supper with my brethren and sisters
+in Labrador. How much He has done for these dear missionaries, simple
+earnest Christians, experienced in the things of God, men and women of
+mighty faith, who do &quot;move mountains.&quot; How much hath God wrought for
+these dear Eskimo Christians, who sit down at His table with beautiful
+reverence and real appreciation of this act of faith.</p>
+
+<p>The benches not needed for the communicant congregation had been
+removed from the centre of the church. On the men's side two empty
+benches stood together, on the women's three or four. After the
+trombonists had played a solemn chorale outside, the first chapel
+servant Joshua and his wife Bertha opened their respective doors, and
+about twenty men and more than thirty women entered from right and
+left and took their seats. Both men and women were all attired in
+their light braided sillapaks, and they are very particular to have
+clean ones for this service. The women who are communicants have a
+lock of their hair plaited in front of each ear. The vessels used on
+this occasion were presented <a name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></a>to this congregation by two American
+ladies, who recently visited Hopedale. They were present on a similar
+occasion and were much struck by the solemnity and reality of the
+service. In grateful remembrance of the kindness of our missionaries
+they have sent this valuable and beautiful gift of communion plate.</p>
+
+<p>Though unacquainted with the language, I was able to follow the
+simple, familiar communion service. The words of institution sounded
+solemn, as pronounced in Eskimo, and truly when one knelt with the
+congregation, and partook of the bread and wine, one could discern the
+Lord's body, and feel that, though these dear people have their
+temptations and their failings, yet there are many souls here who feed
+on the Bread of Life and live by Him. When He cometh it will be
+manifest, and even now He is glorified here in them that believe.</p>
+
+<p>After the communion we went down to the boat to embark. The rock that
+stretches out into the harbour was crowded with Eskimoes, who had
+hurried to bid their departing missionaries a loving farewell.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Pleasant_Sail" id="Pleasant_Sail"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A PLEASANT SAIL FROM HOPEDALE TO ZOAR.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Tuesday, August 14th.</i>&mdash;We are nearing the second station. Leaving
+Hopedale about dawn yesterday we made good progress northward, sailing
+quietly between innumerable islets, all bleak, bare, uninhabited
+rocks. We saw many small icebergs. In the evening one singularly
+shapely and beautiful berg floated past us, tipped with violet, which
+contrasted with the curious yellow tint of one side, the pure white of
+the mass and the living green of the waves rippling at its base. The
+sunset and the northern lights were very fine.</p>
+
+<p>When I went on deck this morning the island of Ukalek, or &quot;The Hare,&quot;
+was astern, various rocky islets, imperfectly marked, or altogether
+omitted on the chart, were on both sides of us, and Zoar far ahead
+among the distant hills. Our vessel was almost imperceptibly gliding
+in that direction. May the Lord, who alone knows the rifts and rocks
+of this marvellous coast, bring us safely thither, and guide me aright
+amid the difficulties of the present situation there! These people
+have learned no wisdom or thrift, in spite of all the love and
+patience shown them, and they have made the past winter a most trying
+time for their devoted missionaries.</p>
+
+<p>The mirage yesterday and to-day is a wonderful freak of nature. At
+times, nothing can be seen as it really is. Icebergs and islands are
+flattened to one dead level, or doubled, so as to appear now like long
+bridges, now like high towers. The rapid changes in the appearance of
+solid masses are marvellous. All day we have been slowly sailing
+westward, new prospects of distant hills ever opening up as we passed
+headland after headland. Presently the barren rocks began to be
+clothed with firs here and there, but the lifelessness of the scene
+was striking. Once we caught sight of two or <a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a>three Eskimo tents on a
+little island, but no human beings were visible. Only a solitary
+grampus made the circuit of our ship.</p>
+
+<p>At length we round the last cape, and enter Zoar Bay. Presently we
+come in sight of the station buildings between the fir-clad slope and
+the shore. There is the store, now the mission-house and church appear
+from behind yonder rock. The Eskimoes are firing their shots of
+welcome, answered by rockets from the ship. Thank God, the station
+flag is flying at the mast-head! That tells us that neither illness
+nor accident have been permitted to carry off any of the missionaries.</p>
+
+<p>Look behind you. The hills are glowing with a glorious
+&quot;Alpengl&uuml;hen&quot;&mdash;an evening effect as splendid as it is surprising.</p>
+
+<p>Now we are nearer. They are launching the &quot;Emily,&quot; the station boat.
+Rowed by natives, she comes alongside almost as soon as our anchor is
+down, and all the resident missionaries climb on board, followed by a
+number of Eskimoes.</p>
+
+<p>Soon our hosts carry us off to the hospitable little mission-house,
+which somehow or another manages to find comfortable quarters for all
+the visitors. I am writing up my diary in Mr. and Mrs. Rinderknecht's
+pleasant rooms, which I am to share with Mr. Kaestner, who is on his
+way to Nain to take part in our conference there. Mr. and Mrs. Martin
+are occupying the spare room below us, and the Lundbergs have also
+turned out to make room for Mr. and Mrs. Dam. Where our hosts have
+taken up their abode meanwhile remains a riddle for the present. (The
+riddle was solved in a subsequent tour of inspection of the house,
+when I found that the one resident couple had retired to the garret
+and the other to a workshop on the ground floor.)</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Zoar" id="Zoar"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>ZOAR.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>In its summer aspect this is a singularly lovely place. Yet, I see
+each station at its best, and can only guess at the changes which snow
+and ice will work in the landscape. Were this spot in Europe, it would
+soon be a favourite summer resort. Being in Labrador, however, the
+summer visitors would speedily fly from the swarms of mosquitoes and
+sand-flies. These appear as soon as the weather is at all warm and are
+a veritable plague in the summer evenings, which would else be so
+enjoyable. And when these myriad tormentors with wings and stings are
+gone, rude winter cuts short the autumn.</p>
+
+<p>As usual in Labrador, the little mission-station lies on the north
+side of the bay, so that the wooded hill behind shields it from the
+northern blasts. This fir-clad slope makes Zoar much more friendly in
+appearance than any other station. Hopedale is bare and treeless in
+its general aspect and so in less degree are Nain and Okak, though all
+three have fir-trees in their neighbourhood. Ramah and Hebron are
+beyond the limit of even these hardy evergreens, and the latter looks
+very bleak and rocky. Pleasing as is <a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a>the first impression of Zoar,
+the conviction soon grows upon one that the site has its serious
+disadvantages. First and foremost among these is the fact that it is
+not favourable to success in sealing and fishing, so that it is not
+easy for the inhabitants to make a livelihood.</p>
+
+<p>The pretty mission-house affords convenient accommodation for two
+missionary families. It is, as usual, connected with the church by a
+covered passage. To the right of these buildings the little Eskimo
+village stretches along the shore, to their left are situated the
+well-stocked mission-gardens, from which pleasant paths have been made
+through the woods beyond. Between the church and the rocky beach
+stands the store, and not far off the salt-house and the boat-house.
+The powder-house is always situated on some rock at a safe distance
+from the station, for the Eskimoes burn a considerable quantity of
+this dangerous material in their ceaseless war with seals, walrusses,
+reindeer, and other animals, including an occasional black or white
+bear.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Climb" id="Climb"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP HILL AT ZOAR.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The ascent to the spot whence the approach of the ships can best be
+descried is by no means so easily accomplished at Zoar as at Hopedale.
+But the hour's stiff climb is richly rewarded by a magnificent
+prospect. Our path lies first through the fir woods, then over a bare
+plain on which tufts of beautiful and very variegated mosses alternate
+with rocks and withered roots. This is evidently the site of a forest,
+which at no very distant date has been killed by the terrible climate.
+Up again through low thick brushwood and over great rocks, till at
+last we reach the summit. Seaward we can see the course by which the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; came in. Northward the eye ranges along the rugged coast
+with its innumerable islands and deep fjords. Yonder sheet of water is
+not an arm of the sea, but a great freshwater lake, long an object of
+superstitious dread to the Eskimoes. Neither in summer or winter dared
+they cross it, until their missionaries did so, for they believed a
+monster dwelt in it, who could eat up the man and his kayak, or
+sledge, dogs and driver. Inland one sees mountain after mountain,
+whose wild slopes are traversed by no human foot unless the Nascopie
+Indian, or &quot;mountaineer,&quot; may pass that way in pursuit of the
+reindeer. None of these natives of the great unknown interior have
+visited our stations this year. In the Zoar bay beneath us the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; is riding at anchor near the mission premises, and now we
+can see the whole curve of the other great bay, which approaches Zoar
+from the north. The &quot;itiblek,&quot; as the Eskimoes call a low narrow neck
+of land between two such arms of the sea, is but a few hundred yards
+across. To the east of yonder waterfall is a level place on the shore
+of the larger fjord, which was once thought of as a site for this
+station. But it would have been too much exposed to the east wind.</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a>What a different landscape this will be in winter, when all those
+waterways among the islands are frozen! It must be very difficult even
+for an Eskimo sledge driver to know his way through the snow-covered
+labyrinth on so large a scale, indeed almost impossible when the
+driving snow hides his landmarks. But He, to whom we are wont to
+commend our travellers by land and sea, cares also for those who
+traverse the ice-plains of Labrador, that they may serve Him or join
+His people in worship. Not only our missionaries but the settlers have
+often experienced His goodness in answer to prayer in moments of
+perplexity or danger. It is indeed praiseworthy that, to gain a
+blessing for their souls, the latter are willing to run the risks and
+bear the expenses of a two or three days' sledge journey to the
+stations, often in terrible cold. Sometimes their children are sorely
+disappointed when the parents cannot venture to take them to the
+Christmas or Easter Festival. Last Christmas Eve, two boys, aged
+sixteen and fourteen, started from their home in Kamarsuk bay and
+walked through deep snow to Zoar, which they reached after ten
+laborious hours. English services are held for the settlers at this
+station as well as at Hopedale, though they are more frequent at the
+southern place owing to the visits of the crews from the Newfoundland
+fishing schooners.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="From_Zoar" id="From_Zoar"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>FROM ZOAR TO NAIN BETWEEN ISLANDS.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Our voyage from Zoar to Nain occupied just twelve hours. We left about
+5.30 A.M., and our anchor went down again before 5.30 P.M. The day was
+fine and warm, and the scenery changed continually. Often the way
+seemed barred before us, but, as we sailed on, a narrow strait opened
+to right or left, and as we neared Nain our voyage between the islands
+became more and more interesting. Presently some Nain Eskimoes caught
+sight of the &quot;Harmony,&quot; and posted off to the station in their sailing
+boat, which kept ahead the whole way. Two men came to meet us in their
+kayaks, and paddled alongside for some time, their light skin boats
+skimming over the water as easily as the flock of ducks which had just
+crossed our bows. Passing the island T&acirc;ktuk, a salute fired by the one
+Eskimo visible was followed by such a concert of howls from his dogs
+seated in a row on a rock as made us all laugh. Next the Kauk came in
+view, a great rock looking like a skull, or, as its name implies, &quot;a
+forehead,&quot; a very recognizable landmark often anxiously looked for on
+sledge journeys. Paul's Island, with its deep inlets, was to our
+right, and now a good wind sent us forward past headland after
+headland till Nain came out from behind the S&uuml;derhucke. First we could
+see the Eskimo village, whose inhabitants were, as usual, firing their
+guns and shouting; then the church came in sight, and the
+mission-house with flag at the mast head; then the store and the
+little pier, which, as we approached, was crowded with Eskimoes
+singing, &quot;Now let us praise the Lord.&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Nain" id="Nain"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17"></a>THE FIRST EVENING AT NAIN.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><img style="float: left; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/smharm.png" width="350" height="240" alt="The Harmony (small)" />
+Nain was the third station visited on our voyage northward along the
+bleak but grand coast of Labrador. Hopedale and Zoar had already been
+left behind in the south; Okak, Hebron, and Ramah, all to the north of
+Nain, had yet to be touched at in their turn. Each successive station
+has its own distinctive features and so presents fresh interest to the
+visitor. Nain, the oldest of all, is rich in associations with the
+past as well as very interesting in the life, spiritual and temporal,
+of the mission-house and the Eskimo dwellings, which constitute this
+little Christian village of three hundred inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p><i>August 19th.</i>&mdash;I take up the story on the Sunday evening, when, about
+a quarter past five o'clock, the &quot;Harmony&quot; came to her anchorage some
+three to four hundred yards from the mission premises on the north
+shore of the Nain bay. It is a mercy when no accident occurs on the
+arrival of a ship at a station, for the Eskimoes are rather wild in
+their expression of their joy, and rather careless in handling powder.
+Just a year ago they burst a little cannon in welcoming the &quot;Gleaner.&quot;
+The pieces flew in all directions about the heads of those standing
+round. Yet by God's great goodness not one was hurt. One man's cap was
+knocked off by a flying fragment of iron.</p>
+
+<p>Our first welcome to Nain was from some members of the mission-band,
+who at once came aboard the &quot;Harmony&quot; in their boat. Rowing ashore
+with them, we visitors received a second kind welcome at the
+mission-house. It was rather curious that my fellow-travellers, the
+Martins, should arrive at their destination five-and-twenty years to
+the day after Mr. Bourquin, whom Mr. Martin is eventually to succeed
+in the presidency of this mission. I was conducted to the pleasant
+guest chamber. On my table lay two dear letters from home, the first
+and last received after leaving Stromness. During our stay at Zoar the
+mail steamer came from Newfoundland to Hopedale where she is due every
+fortnight, while the coast is free from ice. This time she came on to
+Nain, which she is bound to visit twice in the season at the captain's
+discretion. She never touches at Zoar between these two stations.</p>
+
+<p>When we met as a family for the evening meal, Mr. Bourquin expressed
+our thanks to the Lord for all his goodness and mercy involved in
+another safe arrival of the mission-ship. The congregation did the
+same at the thanksgiving liturgy, which commenced at 7 P.M. The Church
+here is older and larger than any other in the land. The singing was
+good, rather quicker than at Hopedale. About forty men and sixty women
+occupied the same relative positions to the minister behind the table
+and to the <a name="Page_18" id="Page_18"></a>missionary brethren and sisters to right and left of him,
+as at Hopedale and Zoar. The short benches at each end of the long
+church were respectively occupied by three male and three female
+chapel servants. The latter were dressed, not in European fashion, but
+in the national costume of skin trousers with the fur outside.</p>
+
+<p>9 P.M. I am seated in my room after a pleasant social hour with
+interchange of mutual tidings. Every provision has been made for my
+comfort in this neat, clean guest-chamber. What interesting scenes of
+human life as well as fine views of Labrador scenery are visible from
+its windows south and west! Grand rocks from five hundred to eight
+hundred feet in height rise nearly perpendicularly from the opposite
+shore of the bay. Here comes a man paddling his kayak past the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; as she lies at anchor. What is up among the dogs? They are
+all howling and running along the beach, and now they have set on one
+unfortunate, which is hustled and bitten until he escapes and hobbles
+away yelping.</p>
+
+<p>Here is a woman coming to fetch water from the trough. I wish I could
+draw her, for she is an odd figure in trousers and high boots. The
+tail of her sillapak almost trails on the ground, and in its capacious
+hood, a baby is seated looking out on the world with great content.</p>
+
+<p>10 P.M. It has grown dark whilst I have been writing up my diary. What
+a concert the dogs are giving us now. They are howling, barking, and
+sometimes fairly screaming, each and all contributing their full share
+of the unearthly noises. 10.10. All is still: may it last! It is time
+I retired to rest, for one must be up betimes; 6 A.M. is the hour in
+all these mission-houses, for morning prayers are at 6.30 sharp. One
+more look out of my window. The moon is rising above the opposite
+hills and casting a broad band of light across the rippling waters.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Interchange" id="Interchange"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>INTERCHANGE OF VISITS WITH THE ESKIMOES.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>&quot;Good luck to you, sir!&quot; That was meant for &quot;Good-bye,&quot; and is the
+sort of English the Eskimoes to the south of Hopedale have learnt.
+Both at that station and here at Nain I have had curious visits from
+such as prided themselves on their knowledge of my mother-tongue. Some
+spoke it very fairly, but my conversation with the natives was, of
+course, mostly through an interpreter. These visits are quite a
+feature of mission-house life. One afternoon at Hopedale Jonas and his
+wife Lydia came to see me. The good man said: &quot;As there are so many
+souls here, I would ask our angayokaks (elders or superiors) in London
+and Berthelsdorf for God's sake to let us have teachers, as long as
+there are people here. We cannot do without them. We have undying
+souls, and must be cared for.&quot; With tears he added, &quot;When I cannot
+sleep, I ask God for this. We thank the angayokaks very much. I hope
+God will grant those who are leaving us a good passage. We may never
+meet again on earth, but I hope we shall in heaven.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>I had specially interesting visits from some of the native-helpers <a name="Page_19" id="Page_19"></a>at
+different stations. They expressed their humble sense of unworthiness,
+and their gratitude for the benefits which come to them and their
+countrymen through the mission. They also promised faithfully to stand
+by their missionaries. My conviction is that the spiritual life of
+each congregation very much depends on the Christian character,
+stability, and influence of its native leaders.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 70%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-5.png" width="100%" alt="Eskimo Houses." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+ESKIMO HOUSES.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Visits of the Eskimoes to my room, however, took up much precious time
+of the missionary requested to interpret, so I preferred to get one of
+the pastors to accompany me on a round of calls in the village. Let my
+visits to the native-helpers at Nain give a view of the interiors of
+some of the better dwellings.</p>
+
+<p><i>Wednesday, August 22nd.</i>&mdash;Mr. Bourquin kindly conducted me to the
+homes of Jonathan, Abraham, and Matthew. Through the little porch or
+vestibule, where the dogs lie, one enters the house. Sometimes there
+are two rooms, one for sleeping and the other the dwelling room; but
+mostly the beds are in corners, more or less partitioned or curtained
+off. A little stove serves for warmth and <a name="Page_20" id="Page_20"></a>cooking. A small table
+stands by the wall, and there are one or two short benches, but the
+articles of furniture most frequent are the boxes, which accompany the
+Eskimo in his nomad life, and hold his possessions, whether he be in
+his house at home, in his boat fishing, or in his tent at some distant
+hunting place. The walls of the houses are ornamented here and there
+with pictures cut out of old <i>Illustrated London News</i> or <i>Graphics</i>.
+Some remains of Christmas ornamentation showed considerable taste. The
+present is not a favourable season to gain a good impression of the
+houses, as their owners are most of their time away from home hunting
+and fishing. Before Christmas they have a thorough turn out and clean
+up, and then await the usual visit from their missionaries, who wisely
+speak a word of commendation where it is deserved. Undoubtedly the
+invariable neatness of the mission-houses, and the special care
+bestowed upon the churches, have a great influence on the cleanliness
+of the Eskimo dwellings.</p>
+
+<p>Husbands and wives were at home in all three houses visited to-day.
+Jonathan spells his own name &quot;Jonatan.&quot; He is a godly and worthy man
+of mild disposition yet decided Christian character. His Leah is also
+a native-helper among her sex, and a chapel servant. They gave us a
+friendly welcome. True, it did not occur to them to ask us to sit
+down; but our Eskimoes are pleased if one takes a seat in their houses
+without the asking. Jonatan's grandchild was sleeping on one of the
+beds, and its young mother sat in a corner sewing. The little
+harmonium by the wall belonged to her husband, who lives with his
+parents. The older people thanked me for the visit, and desired their
+greetings to the great teachers over the water.</p>
+
+<p>Our second call was on Abraham, or more correctly &quot;Abraha,&quot; for the
+genius of the Eskimo language always requires a name to end with a
+vowel. He is also an excellent and intelligent native assistant. He
+and his Pauline were very pleased to see us, and expressed themselves
+in the same strain as the former couple. As his harmonium and violin
+show, he is very musical; indeed, he is a leading member of the Nain
+choir.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly we called on Matthew and his young wife. His quiet, rather shy
+demeanour and humble estimate of himself, as a recently appointed
+office-bearer in the congregation pleased me well. Perhaps his house
+was the neatest and best furnished of the three.</p>
+
+<p>I wish I could have heard Abraham or Jonathan speak at some service. I
+am told their addresses correspond with their dispositions. The former
+is warm, and vigorous, the latter more calm and affectionate in tone.
+Matthew has yet to overcome his diffidence.</p>
+
+<p>By the way, when I went over to the ship to-day. I found Abraham and
+his family on board. His little two-masted smack was lying alongside
+the &quot;Harmony,&quot; ready for a start to his fishing place. It contained an
+interesting variety of possessions. Tent-poles and oars lay along both
+sides, and his kayak was lashed to the right gunwale. Tackle, tent,
+skins, utensils, and boxes were secured in the bottom of the boat, and
+in a small pen at the bows lay his seven dogs.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Eskimo_Groups" id="Eskimo_Groups"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21"></a>TWO ESKIMO GROUPS TAKEN AT NAIN.
+<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>Mr. Jannasch is the photographer among our Labrador missionaries, and
+we have to thank him for some excellent pictures of persons and places
+in that cold land. Copies of these may be obtained at our Agency (No.
+32, Fetter Lane, London, E.C.), and we should be <a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a>glad to encourage
+him by a larger sale for his interesting cabinet, stereoscopic and
+<i>carte de visite</i> photographs. As he is resident at Nain, most of his
+scenes or groups are taken at or near that station, but last-winter he
+took his camera with him on a sledge journey to Hopedale.</p>
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 60%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-6.png" width="100%" alt="A Group Of Widows At Nain." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+A GROUP OF WIDOWS AT NAIN.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 80%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-7.png" width="100%" alt="The Choir at Nain." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+THE CHOIR AT NAIN.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The two groups which we have had reproduced for our pages are
+<a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a>characteristic, but those whose portraits are given might remark that
+justice has scarcely been done to their faces. The first is a group of</p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">Widows At Nain</span>. It was a good day for lonely Eskimo women of this
+class when the Gospel came to their shores. I made a point of
+inquiring at each station as to the status of the widows and the
+fatherless, and found that everywhere they are well cared for. Indeed,
+the widows invariably stand in the first rank of those for whom
+regular employment is found by the Society for the Furtherance of the
+Gospel. They gratefully acknowledged this. Several of them also gave
+me a special commission, which I hereby discharge to the best of my
+ability. It was this, &quot;<i>Give my greeting to all the widows in
+Europe.</i>&quot; Perhaps they thought it would be as easy for the visitor
+from England to do this on his return, as to inquire after all the
+widows in Labrador.</p>
+
+<p>The five aged women in our picture are Adolfina (standing behind),
+Marta (seated to her right), and Hulda and Beata (to her left). Amalia
+(in the centre of the foreground) is attired in skirts after European
+fashion, though she has on a pair of the Eskimo boots indispensable in
+such a land. The rest are dressed in full Eskimo costume. It will be
+seen that their sillapaks and trousers are ornamented with broad
+coloured braid, and the hood, which falls back over their shoulders,
+is edged with dog's skin and adorned with a strip of embroidery. Hulda
+is a worthy door-keeper in the church, and a valued servant in the
+mission-house of many years' standing. The other group represents</p>
+
+<p><span class="sc">The Choir At Nain</span>. We have already referred to the musical taste and
+ability of many of the Eskimoes, and those at Nain are not behind the
+Hopedalers in this respect. The man with the violoncello seated in the
+centre is Abraham, the native helper mentioned in a previous
+paragraph. To his right is Nathanael, with a violin. He is the
+schoolmaster at Nain, and his wife Frederika is seated at his right
+hand. One day in 1887, Nathanael was seen shaking his fists at the
+mission house. What had ruffled his temper? He had been told by some
+fishermen that Queen Victoria, to mark her Jubilee, had sent a present
+of a suit of clothes to every schoolmaster in her dominions. As his
+had not reached him, he suspected the missionaries of withholding it.
+This is a characteristic instance of the credulity with which the
+Eskimoes accept the statements of strangers and the mistrust they are
+too apt to show towards those who have long proved themselves their
+most disinterested friends.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Gods_Acre" id="Gods_Acre"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>&quot;GOD'S ACRE.&quot;<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The burial ground at Nain is the best kept in Labrador. Others are
+neat and tidily arranged, but this decidedly bears off the palm. It is
+finely situated, commanding a view seaward, and an Easter morning
+service in this peaceful resting-place of the departed must be
+impressive indeed, as the rising sun sheds his first rays across
+<a name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></a>frozen sea and snowy islands on a company of Christian Eskimoes,
+rejoicing in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, and not
+sorrowing hopelessly for their dead. I know no better name for such a
+sacred enclosure, where the bodies of those who have died in the Lord
+are sown in hope, than the beautiful German term, &quot;God's Acre.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>
+<img style="float: left; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/hstone1.png" width="200" height="109" alt="headstone 1" />
+<img style="float: right; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/hstone2.png" width="200" height="109" alt="headstone 2" />
+Scarcely any grass grows within the oblong space surrounded by wooden
+palings, but here and there patches of moss or low berry bushes
+threaten to hide the neat little slabs of wood placed by the
+missionaries on the graves of the native Christians. If left to the
+Eskimoes, this duty to their departed relatives and friends would
+either be done carelessly or forgotten. These simple &quot;headstones,&quot; of
+which I give two specimens as copied into my notebook, are perhaps
+about twelve inches by eight. The place for the next grave in each row
+(men, women, boys, girls) is indicated by long poles likely to appear
+above the highest snow in winter. Here at Nain, and indeed at all the
+stations except Okak, where the soil is clay, it is possible, though
+in winter very troublesome, to dig a grave all the year round. At Okak
+the coffin must be laid in the snow until returning spring thaws the
+frozen ground. As already stated, the Eskimoes have no surnames, and
+their graves show a great repetition of certain Christian names, as
+Abel, Abia, Zecharias, Thomas, Susannah, Katarina, &amp;c. There is a
+greater variety on the female side. At Zoar I noted some curious
+ones&mdash;Persida, Botille, Teresia Dina, and Justine. &quot;Helena-Helenalo&quot;
+evidently means mother and child, both bearing the name Helena.
+&quot;Fillipusib-kitornganga&quot; and &quot;Davidib-kitornganga&quot; mean the child of
+Philip and the child of David. Mostly, the little wooden &quot;headstones&quot;
+lie flat on the grave; those at Okak are placed upright, as in the
+accompanying sketch, and record the names of several persons buried
+beneath.</p>
+
+<p><img style="float: left; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/hstone3.png" width="162" height="250" alt="headstone 3" />
+Where the paths cross one another at right angles, in the older
+Labrador churchyards, there is always a specially interesting group of
+graves. There lie, in sure and certain hope of a joyous resurrection,
+the bodies of good men and women, who have taken sepulchre possession
+of this land for their Lord. Here, too, many sorrowing missionary
+parents have had to lay little ones, early taken home in this bleak
+climate. Ah, what stories are written on those simple gravestones,
+when one can read between the lines!</p>
+
+<p>The &quot;God's Acre&quot; at Nain is as rich in historical associations as any.
+Christian Larsen Drachard, one of the pioneers of this mission <a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></a>was
+buried here in 1778; and beside the stone, on which is inscribed his
+honoured name in full, is a rough slab from the shore, placed on his
+grave by his own desire. Side by side to right and left of the path
+separating the last resting-places of the married men from those of
+the single missionaries lie Christopher Brasen and Gottfried Lehmann,
+drowned in 1774 on their return voyage from finding a site for Okak,
+the second station in this land. Not many days after I stood beside
+their graves I sailed close by the island on which their sloop was
+wrecked, and on whose rocks the angry sea cast their bodies.</p>
+
+<p><img style="float: right; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/hstone4.png" width="180" height="188" alt="headstone 4" />
+I will close this chapter with a contrast. Leaving the peaceful
+Christian burial ground, we climb the hill behind the station. In a
+lofty, lonely valley we find many heaps of great stones. We will
+examine one. Remove one or two of the boulders, and look in. On the
+ground, rather than in it, lies a human skeleton, perfect with the
+exception of the skull. We go on to the next heap; it is empty. In a
+third we find a skull and one or two bones. Others contain scarcely
+any human remains, but some Eskimo utensils were evidently the
+property in life of the natives whose bodies were laid there by their
+countrymen. It was customary to bury the possessions of the dead with
+them, and very interesting curiosities used to be found in all these
+graves.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, these are <i>heathen graves</i>, and the bodies in them are those of
+Eskimoes who have died, ere they heard the words of life from the lips
+of missionaries sent by the Church of Christ to proclaim His salvation
+at this end of the earth. No inscriptions mark the tombs of these
+nameless pagans, yet those rude stoneheaps have a voice for those who
+have ears to hear. Methinks they appeal loudly on behalf of myriads
+still living without God and dying without hope. &quot;How shall they
+believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear
+without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Busy_Week" id="Busy_Week"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A BUSY WEEK AT NAIN.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The week spent at Nain may serve as a specimen of my stay at each
+station in turn. We arrived here on Sunday, August 19th, in the
+evening. Monday and part of Tuesday were taken up by conferences on
+the spiritual prosperity and temporal regulations of the. Labrador
+Mission. Tuesday afternoon proved the most convenient time for my
+special meeting with the congregation, when, as at every station, I
+gave the assembled men and women the greeting and message sent them by
+the mission authorities at home. Opportunity being afforded them to
+reply, some of the native helpers and others expressed their pleasure
+that a visitor had come from Europe, and their gratitude that
+Christians on the other side of the ocean had sent missionaries to
+their forefathers, and still maintained teachers <a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a>among them. They
+also asked questions and gave their opinions on very various topics. I
+promised to convey their salutations to &quot;their angayokaks in London
+and Herrnhut.&quot; This meeting lasted about two hours, and was, as
+elsewhere, an arduous time for the missionary who acted as my
+interpreter. It seemed easier to him to render into Eskimo my own
+address given in English, than to interpret all the speeches made by
+the natives in reply.</p>
+
+<p>Inspection of the premises, stores, archives, &amp;c., continued
+conferences, and other businesses filled up the remaining days of the
+week during which the &quot;Harmony&quot; lay at anchor near the station.
+Meanwhile the disembarking and embarking of her outward and homeward
+cargoes went on, and when she was ready to sail we were ready to go
+northward with her. In the intervals of daily duty I enjoyed pleasant
+walks and talks with one or another member of the mission band in the
+extensive plantation behind the station, the growth of more than a
+hundred years of careful cultivations, Not till Saturday did we find
+time for more distant expeditions, when grand views rewarded our
+ascent of two hills to the north and south of the Nain Bay. They are
+about 700 or 800 feet in height.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the week the majority of the natives were away fishing, but
+several of the men and boys were earning daily wages by assistance
+with the cargo. For those at the station evening services were held in
+the church. These varied in character, one was a singing meeting,
+another a liturgy, a third a Bible reading, when the two last chapters
+of II. Corinthians were the portion of Holy Scripture taken in course.
+When there was no Eskimo service, the mission family and their guests
+met in their dining-room for mutual edification with the German Bible
+and hymn-book. As to the latter, by the way, the book itself was
+seldom needed, for most of the company knew the hymns by heart. So the
+week sped away, bringing the Sabbath again.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sunday, August 26th.</i>&mdash;The Church Litany, and not the so-called
+&quot;Catechism Litany,&quot; was used at the 9 o'clock service. At 10 A.M. Mr.
+Dam preached with fervour on the text for the day, John X. 16, of
+course in Eskimo. The sermon was followed by the baptism of little
+Esther, the infant daughter of Joash and Wilhelmina. After the service
+the parents passed me on their way home. But where is the baby?
+Nowhere visible, but the hood on the mother's back is bulky and moves.</p>
+
+<p>At three o'clock I conducted the usual English service on the deck of
+the &quot;Harmony.&quot; A good many natives were present, rather out of
+curiosity than as able to understand, though it is astonishing to find
+how many have managed to pick up a little English, especially at the
+southern stations.</p>
+
+<p>At five we again gathered in the church for a short Eskimo liturgy of
+praise to the Triune God, when our vessel and her passengers were
+commended to the renewed care of the faithful Creator. Our evening
+meal, the last in this hospitable mission-house, was followed by
+farewell words and some commendatory hymns in German. Then we &quot;parting
+guests&quot; went on board the &quot;Harmony,&quot; accompanied by most of our hosts,
+who lingered <a name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></a>long with us. As we got into the boat, the Eskimoes bade
+us an affectionate good-bye, &quot;Aksunai, aksuse.&quot; (Aksunai, Be thou
+strong, or its plural, Aksuse, Be ye strong, are used both for &quot;How do
+you do?&quot; and &quot;Good-bye.&quot;)</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="To_Okak" id="To_Okak"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>FROM NAIN TO OKAK.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Monday, August 27th, 1888.</i>&mdash;When I rose, our ship was being slowly
+towed by her boats out of the bay in search of a fair breeze. About
+eleven we had to put down the anchor, as wind and current forbade our
+attempting to pass between &quot;the Turnpikes,&quot; two rocks in the narrow
+channel before us. Here we lay all the day among islands. Barth, to
+our left, is so called in honour of Dr. Barth of Calw, the compiler of
+a Bible history translated by our missionaries into Eskimo, as well as
+into the languages of several other people evangelized by our church.
+Rhodes, to our right, is named after James Rhodes, a native of
+Gomersal, Yorkshire, who was a missionary here for twenty-six years,
+1771-1797. Lister, the snowy hill beyond, perpetuates the memory of
+Christian Lister, another Yorkshireman, who crowned seventeen years of
+service in Labrador by thirteen in Jamaica. It is well to be thus
+reminded that the British Province of four missionary Unitas Fratrum
+had several representatives in this mission field a hundred years ago.
+William Turner (twenty-two years' service, 1771-93) was a native of
+Halifax; and James Bramagin (1775-94) of Lurgan in the north of
+Ireland; Samuel Towle (1782-91) came from the neighbourhood of
+Ockbrook, Derbyshire, and Henry Shaw (1806-13) was again a
+Yorkshireman. Further, Mary Butterworth (1771-84), of Birstal in
+Yorkshire, gave herself to this mission as the wife of Jens Haven, its
+founder; and later Mary Waters (1812-31), of Dukinfield in Lancashire,
+married George Kmoch for similar service.</p>
+
+<p>Yonder fjord running far inland is the <i>Nunaingoak</i> Bay, which,
+conveniently for the natives, embodies the foreign name given to their
+station. Nain itself is behind that neck of land, on which our friends
+have lit a fire as a signal that they perceive our vessel has not as
+yet been able to leave them very far behind.</p>
+
+<p>What a study of colour this evening effect would make! The sun has
+just set and the sky to the north and west is orange, shading off into
+yellow along the horizon. Between these curiously bright hues and
+their fainter reflection on the rippling water, the nearer islands are
+black as ink and the further mountains indigo.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tuesday, August 28th.</i>&mdash;Besides the missionary pair, who are
+accompanying me all the way from Hopedale to Europe, my fellow
+passengers are now the superintendent, who has acceded to my request
+to go with us to Okak, and a young missionary, transferred from Nain
+to Ramah.</p>
+
+<p>When I went on deck this morning we had passed the Turnpikes and were
+gliding very slowly seawards between islands. The one which faced us
+all the morning is called Tapp&eacute;, after a worthy missionary, still
+living, who served some years in Labrador, before <a name="Page_28" id="Page_28"></a>going to Jerusalem
+in 1867, to be the first &quot;house-father&quot; of the Leper Home. About noon
+a fresh breeze sent us northward swiftly and safely through several
+narrow and awkward passages. We passed two or three Newfoundland
+fishing schooners, whose crews were doubtless interested to see the
+&quot;Dutch Bark,&quot; or the &quot;foreigner&quot; as they called the &quot;Harmony.&quot; Our
+other vessel, the &quot;Gleaner,&quot; calls at St. John's, so she is not a
+foreigner in the estimation of Newfoundland mariners. About two
+o'clock we were off the island memorable for the shipwreck in which
+Brasen and Lehmann lost their lives. Later we passed the rocks on to
+which Liebisch and Turner escaped as by a miracle, when a sudden storm
+broke up the ice over which they had been travelling. The scene must
+have been terrific. One moment the frightened dogs drawing their
+sledges were being urged at utmost speed over the leagues of heaving,
+cracking ice. The nest, the shore was reached, and the missionaries
+were overwhelmed with astonishment as they turned and looked upon a
+raging, foaming sea, whose wild waves had already shattered the frozen
+surface as far as the eye could reach. Even the heathen Eskimoes with
+them joined in praising God for the wonderful deliverance.</p>
+
+<p>This part of the coast is rugged and grand. There is a good deal of
+snow on the heights of Aulatsivik and the northern extremity of that
+great island is a bold precipitous cliff. Port Mauvers, at the mouth
+of the narrow strait, which separates Aulatsivik from the mainland,
+figures so prominently as a name upon most maps of Labrador, that one
+might suppose it to be at least the capital. But there are no
+inhabitants there, nor indeed all along the coast between Nain and
+Okak. Kiglapeit, to the north, is so splendid a mountain range that I
+am quite sorry we shall pass it in the dark. We are getting more into
+the open sea as evening advances, and there are icebergs to be seen
+here and there.</p>
+
+<p>Come into the captain's cabin and look at this little budget of
+letters. They are notes from Eskimoes at our southern stations to
+their relatives and friends in the north. Some are funny little
+pencilled scraps folded and oddly directed, e.g. &quot;Kitturamut-Lucasib,
+Okak.&quot; That means &quot;To Keturah (the wife) of Lucas or Luke, at Okak.&quot;
+Our Eskimoes seem to have a talent for phonetic spelling;
+&quot;ilianuramut&quot; is evidently &quot;To Eleanor,&quot; and &quot;Amaliamut-kuniliusip,
+Okak,&quot; is meant for &quot;Amalia (the wife) of Cornelius at Okak.&quot; Some are
+very respectable epistles, and I doubt not the Christian tone of most
+would please us could we read the Eskimo language, with its strange
+long words. Here is a good-sized letter folded and directed in a bold
+clear hand, &quot;Sosanemut-Andoneb, Hibron&quot; (To Susannah, the wife of
+Antony at Hebron). It is not sealed, so, as we shall scarcely
+understand a word of its contents, we will venture to open it and
+glance at them. It is a well-written letter, covering three pages of
+blue foolscap paper, so it must be conveying a good deal of news to
+Antony and Susannah. The writer names himself at the commencement,
+&quot;Boas-Kedoralo.&quot; &quot;Lo&quot; is Eskimo for &quot;and,&quot; and &quot;Kedora&quot; is another
+phonetic version of Keturah. He closes his long epistle with &quot;Amen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></a>The Eskimoes also write the names of their missionaries with
+considerable variations as to spelling. &quot;Pinsilamut&quot; might be the
+address of a letter to Mr. Bindschedler, and I have seen &quot;Karizima&quot;'
+stand for Mr. Kretschmer. The natives have no idea of such titles as
+Mr. or Mrs., and they still call the majority of their missionaries by
+their Christian names.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 80%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-8.png" width="100%" alt="Ice Aground" />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+ICE AGROUND.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Wednesday, August 29th.</i>&mdash;5 A.M. The sun just rising. We are between
+Lundberg Island and the Saddle, so named from its shape. Its
+&quot;stirrups,&quot; two little rocks, are supplemented by a great, white berg.
+To the south-west Kiglapeit is still visible, and to the west are the
+hills on Okak Island, including &quot;Smith Hill,&quot; so called after Tiger
+Schmitt<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1">
+<sup>[A]</sup></a> of South African fame. I did not know before that the good
+man had also been a missionary in Labrador. <a name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></a>How ready our forefathers
+were to go anywhere, everywhere, if only they could &quot;win one soul for
+the Saviour!&quot; The grandest mountain in the landscape is Cape Mugford.
+Yes, it does look like Salisbury Crags on a large scale, as a
+missionary remarked to me last year on the Calton Hill in Edinburgh.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of the morning Okak came in sight, visible at a much
+greater distance than any other station. Another hour and we had
+entered the bay and were approaching our anchorage. A very numerous
+company gathered on the pier and sang; how or what I could not hear
+for the rattling of our iron cable. Then the &quot;Kitty&quot; came off to us,
+bringing the missionaries Schneider, Stecker, and Schaaf, and
+seventeen natives.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after we got ashore to be welcomed also by the three sisters, the
+mist, which we had seen gathering round the Saddle, came in from the
+sea, first drawing a broad, white stripe straight across the entrance
+of the bay, then gradually enveloping everything. Experience of
+driving to and fro off this coast in such a fog makes one doubly
+thankful to be safe ashore, with our good ship riding at anchor in the
+bay.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+
+<p>FOOTNOTES:</p>
+
+<div class="note"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1">[A]</a>
+ See &quot;Conquests of the Cross&quot; (an admirable Missionary
+Serial, published by Cassell &amp; Co.), Part I., p. 20.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Most_Primitive" id="Most_Primitive"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>THE MOST PRIMITIVE STATION IN LABRADOR.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Our dear missionaries who dwell in Labrador for the King's work have
+certainly not much space in their small sitting-rooms and smaller
+bedrooms, for each family is content with two apartments, easily
+warmed in winter. They meet in the common dining room for meals, the
+household worship or conference, and the sisters take it in turns, a
+week at a time, to preside over the kitchen department, where they
+have the aid of an Eskimo servant. Besides the ministry and the
+pastoral care of their congregations, the brethren share between them
+a vast variety of constantly recurring temporal duties, for in
+Labrador there is no baker, greengrocer, and butcher round the corner,
+and no mason, carpenter, plumber, painter or glazier to be called in
+when repairs are needed. The missionaries must discharge all these
+offices, as well as be their own gardener and smith, and on occasion
+doctor, dentist, chemist, or anything else that may be necessary.
+These general remarks hold good of mission life at every station, but
+in many respects Okak is the most primitive of the six, and not least
+in the appointments of the mission-house, like all the rest, built of
+wood.</p>
+
+<p>Glance round the two rooms kindly set apart for the English guest.
+They are the same size as the simple domain of any one of the three
+mission families resident here. The sitting-room is about fourteen
+feet by twelve; its panelled walls are coloured a blue-green. The
+floor is boarded, and over the middle a carpet is laid. In front of
+the sofa, the seat of honour, stands a little table, and the high back
+of my antique chair is within a foot of it as I write at the bureau
+against the opposite wall. By the way, what convenient pieces of
+furniture these bureaus are, especially to a visitor who has so much
+writing to do! The other chair is of like pattern, with seat stuffed
+and covered with sealskin. It stands between the door <a name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></a>into the
+bedroom and the high, white stove. Of course open fire-places are
+unknown in Labrador, nor would they effectually warm the rooms. In the
+corner by the door the Eskimo bench is the regular institution.
+Sometimes my door opens, a native enters, sits down and smiles at me.
+When we have exchanged the usual greetings, &quot;Aksunai&quot; (be strong) and
+&quot;Ahaila&quot; (yes), my Eskimo vocabulary is nearly at an end, and I have
+to fetch an interpreter. A cupboard and a stool complete the inventory
+of my furniture. Do my readers wish to look into the bedroom about
+fourteen feet by six? Two little bedsteads and another bureau scarcely
+leave room to pass to the window. The prophet's table, chair, and
+candlestick are there, also a washstand, a strip of carpet by the bed,
+a little looking-glass, and some useful rows of hooks: I think that is
+all; but in my endeavour to give a correct idea of the godly
+simplicity of such a mission-house, I would not for anything
+misrepresent the hospitable care, of which at every station I have the
+most pleasant and grateful remembrance.</p>
+
+<p>Now look out of my window. High hills close in the bay where the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; lies at anchor some distance from the shore. Yesterday a
+strong wind made her roll even in the harbour. The mission premises
+stand within a few yards of the beach and the little pier runs out
+into the water just in front of the gate. The tide is out now, and the
+lighter which is bringing the stores from the ship has got aground.
+The mate and some Eskimoes are trying to push it off, and among the
+rest two women are standing in the water and pushing manfully. Their
+position and occupation illustrate the utility of their national
+female costume of trousers and boots. Skirts would be impracticable
+when they go out boating and fishing with their husbands or trudge
+through the deep snow, which lies on the ground more than half a year.
+Nevertheless they look odd to an unaccustomed eye. The children are
+comical miniatures of their fathers and mothers, and sometimes it is
+difficult to tell whether they are boys or girls.</p>
+
+<p>Do you see the station boat lying a little way from the end of the
+pier? She is named the &quot;Kitty,&quot; and has an interesting history. Many
+years ago she brought to Okak the five survivors of the ship &quot;Kitty&quot;
+lost in the ice of Hudson's Bay. The captain and ten men escaped in
+the larger boat, but fell into the hands of heathen Eskimoes, who
+treacherously murdered them all. Those in the smaller boat rounded
+Cape Chudley and were driven by the wind among the islands near Okak.
+Here they were seen by Eskimoes belonging to the station. Emaciated
+and famished, they feared a cruel death, but to their astonishment the
+natives helped them ashore, took them into their little hut of sods,
+wrapped them in skins, and supplied them with food. Very beautiful to
+those ship-wrecked mariners sounded the singing and very solemn the
+prayers at the morning and evening devotions of their Eskimo
+deliverers. As soon as the wind permitted, the natives brought them to
+the station, where they were carried ashore to this mission-house and
+received every attention. They were in a deplorable condition and the
+missionaries had to perform some surgical operations on <a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a>severely
+frost-bitten limbs. When recovered, three of them went to the south,
+and the other two worked their passage home in the &quot;Harmony.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Here come a number of women and children running to the pier. Several
+of the women have babies in their hoods. There must be something of
+special interest. Yes, the fishermen from the schooner are coming
+ashore in their boat, and I perceive their flag is flying half-mast
+high, indicating a death aboard their vessel. They came into the bay
+yesterday, piloted by some of our Eskimoes, and bringing a dying
+comrade. Their request for medicine was at once granted, but the poor
+man lay unconscious. His &quot;mates&quot; said he had not lacked spiritual
+exhortation and comfort, adding simply and humbly, &quot;several of us know
+the way, sir.&quot; So they did, as was evident from further observation
+of, and conversation with them. They were very grateful for Christian
+literature.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2">
+<sup>[B]</sup></a> Now they have come for boards to make a coffin for
+their dead comrade, and the Eskimo women and children watch the
+strangers with curiosity, but not rudely. On the whole, I think our
+Eskimoes very well behaved. Their Christianity has certainly improved
+their manners in everyday life, as well as made them remarkably devout
+in church.</p>
+
+<p>There is the church bell. Being the first Monday in the month, it is
+the missionary prayer-meeting. Let us go. The interior of the church
+is similar to that at Hopedale already described, and the congregation
+is more numerous. Edification predominates, but one or two amusing
+items may be noted. The babies are rather noisy. Should one or another
+get too obstreperous, however, the mother slips it into her hood
+behind, and marches to the door on the women's side. The worthy widow,
+who acts as chapel servant, opens the door and then closes it upon the
+little disturber of the peace. It is also amusing to a stranger to
+watch the organ-blower, for this humble but important service to the
+sanctuary has a prominent place here. The office is fulfilled by a
+woman, clad in Eskimo fashion, and when the hymn is given out she
+places one booted leg on the lever of the bellows and then, hymn book
+in hand, treads wind into the instrument as vigorously as she sings.
+During the concluding hymn a number of little heads and muffled up
+little bodies appear above the four or five rows of women; they belong
+to the babies who have already been heard and now are seen as their
+mothers lift them up to slip them into the hoods of their sillapaks.
+The babies being thus stowed away on their backs, the mothers are
+ready to stand up and file out at the end of the service.</p>
+
+<p>But, as I said before, edification predominates, and truly it is
+edifying to hear the hearty singing and see the reverent demeanour of
+all classes of this Eskimo congregation. I may here add that <a name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></a>after
+being present at between thirty or forty services at our six stations,
+I do not remember seeing a single boy or girl talking or laughing with
+a neighbour in church. Had one done so, no doubt he or she would have
+received a timely rebuke from some native-helper. The Eskimoes at
+Hopedale have been known to take the Newfoundland fishermen to task
+for irreverence.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+
+<p>FOOTNOTES:</p>
+
+<div class="note"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2">[B]</a>
+This gives me an opportunity of recording thanks to the
+Drummond Tract Institute for a free supply of bright Christian
+publications in English, which have been distributed, and will, I
+trust, bear some fruit. From the Religious Tract Society and other
+benefactors we have also received valuable help for evangelistic
+efforts among English-speaking sailors or settlers on the Coast of
+Labrador.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Walks" id="Walks"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>WALKS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OKAK.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The word Okak signifies &quot;the Tongue.&quot; The station is situated on a
+hilly island, which for nearly half the year is practically part of
+the mainland, for the broad straits are bridged by thick ice. The
+heights around our little settlement command fine views of the
+surrounding mountains and fjords. The island of Cape Mugford is one of
+the grandest objects in the barren landscape, and the Kaumajets, a
+noble range, stretch away to the north of it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Thursday, August 30th.</i>&mdash;Had an interesting walk over moorland in
+search of the site of Kivalek, one of the old heathen villages, from
+which the population of Okak was drawn. On a grassy plain we found the
+roofless remains of many turf huts. They are similar to the mounds
+near Hopedale, already described, but larger and more numerous. One
+cannot but view, with a sad interest, these remnants of the former
+abodes of pagans without hope and without God in the world. &quot;Let them
+alone, they are very happy in their own religion.&quot; So some would tell
+us; but was it so here? Is it so where the true light has not yet
+shined into pagan darkness? No, here, as everywhere in heathenism, the
+works of the flesh were manifest. And these, as the Bible plainly
+tells us, and as missionary experience abundantly confirms, are
+&quot;fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery,
+enmities, strifes, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
+envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.&quot; But through the
+power of the Gospel old things have passed away. Heathen Kivalek is
+uninhabited, and though the flesh yet lusteth against the Spirit in
+the lives of the dwellers at Christian Okak, yet, thank God, the
+Spirit also lusteth against the flesh, and the fruits of the Spirit
+are manifest there, as at the other stations.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tuesday, September 4th.</i>&mdash;Before we had done breakfast the flag was
+flying at the mizen-gaff of the &quot;Harmony,&quot; summoning her passengers to
+start for Ramah. We speedily packed our baggage, but the wind died
+away ere the anchor could be lifted, and we did not sail out of the
+bay till the next morning. So some of us utilized the interval for the
+ascent of the Sonnenkoppe, so called because it hides the sun from
+Okak for several weeks of the year. High on the hill was a pond, which
+superstitious natives believe to be inhabited by a sea-monster left
+there by the flood. A larger lake is named after our Irish missionary
+Bramagin. Arrived at the summit, a very wide prospect over innumerable
+mountains and blue sea, dotted with white icebergs, rewarded our
+climb. Far below us we could see the mission-house, centre of blessed
+influence, for <a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a>the Eskimo village, divided into Lower Okak by the
+beach, and Upper Okak on the slope beyond. Strange to think that, with
+the exception of one settler family in Saeglek Bay, the nearest group
+of fixed human habitations is at Hebron, seventy miles to the north.
+Easier than the ascent was the descent, over rocks and stones,
+beautifully variegated mosses, and low vegetation changing its hue to
+a brilliant red as the autumn advances.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Ramah" id="Ramah"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>FROM OKAK TO RAMAH.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Wednesday, September 5th.</i>&mdash;About ten o'clock this morning a strong
+breeze sprang up, and we speedily left behind us the friendly
+red-roofed mission-house at Okak. When we entered the open sea and
+turned northwards we passed near a grounded iceberg, curiously
+hollowed out by the action of the waves. The seaward face of Cape
+Mugford is even grander than its aspect from the heights around Okak.
+It seems to be a perpendicular precipice of about 2000 feet, with
+white base, and a middle strata of black rocks surmounted by
+castellated cliffs. Presently the remarkably jagged peaks on the
+island of Nennoktuk came out from behind the nearer headland. There's
+a sail to the right of it! No, she is not another schooner; she is
+two-masted and square rigged, and therefore the &quot;Gleaner,&quot; the only
+brigantine in these waters. So the two Moravian vessels pass one
+another within a mile or two, the &quot;Gleaner&quot; on her way southward from
+Hebron to Okak, whence she will take Mr. Bourquin home to Nain, the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; pursuing her northward course past Hebron to Ramah. The
+captains, who are consigns, exchange a salute by running up their
+flags, but the sea is too rough to put down a boat.</p>
+
+<p><i>Thursday, September 6th.</i>&mdash;We have had a rough night. This morning we
+are off Hebron, but twenty-five miles out to sea. We have just passed
+&quot;the Watchman,&quot; an island which serves as a waymark for the entrance
+to that station. I asked the mate, who once spent a winter there,
+whether the missionaries or the Eskimoes could see us from the heights
+near it. He replied that there was no doubt of it, but that he had
+looked out in this direction from those hills, where no drop of water
+was visible, nothing but an illimitable plain of ice stretching far
+beyond where we are now sailing.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sunday, 9th.</i>&mdash;Safe at Ramah, thank God, and not out in the fog,
+which now envelopes sea and land. The last two days have been a trial
+of patience. We have seen the entrance to this Nullatatok Bay all the
+time, and longed to reach the desired haven, yet have not been able,
+owing to calms and contrary currents. This Labrador coast becomes ever
+bolder and grander as one sails northward. Here the snowy mountains
+are quite Alpine in appearance. This morning the thick mist hides all
+but the base of these magnificent hills, but the enormous rocky
+masses, rising so quickly from the water's edge into the heights
+veiled from us, give some idea of their grandeur. Our captain is,
+indeed, well acquainted with their aspect or he would not have
+ventured to enter this bay under such circumstances.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Little_Ramah" id="Little_Ramah"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>&quot;<a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></a>RAMARSUK&quot; (NEAT LITTLE RAMAH).<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<br />
+
+<p><img style="float: left; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/smicem.png" width="280" height="250" alt="Ice M" />
+Missionaries all over the world are perhaps too fond of multiplying
+Scripture names of their stations. In our own fields we have already
+three Bethanys and three Bethesdas. We should have had three Ramahs
+too, had not the natives of Australia themselves greatly improved the
+appellation of theirs by adding to it a syllable meaning &quot;home&quot; or
+mother's place. It seemed so homelike to the Christian Aborigines, who
+moved thither from Ebenezer, the older station, that they at once
+called it Ramahyuck (Ramah, our home). Perhaps as the Ramah on the
+Moskito Coast is also known as Ramah Key, the northern station in
+Labrador, founded in 1871 to mark the cenutry of that mission, should
+abide plain, simple &quot;Ramah,&quot; otherwise the above combination would, I
+understand, have suited the genius of the language, and its
+significance. &quot;Neat little Ramah&quot; certainly expresses the character of
+the lonely missionary settlement.</p>
+
+<p>The village, if one may dignify this small group of human dwellings by
+that name, stands on a little plain evidently won by degrees from the
+sea for the successive beaches can be traced. The mission premises,
+the old house, the new house, and the church with its little belfry,
+are one continuous building facing the bay southward, and exactly one
+hundred feet in length. Behind are the store buildings, and the low
+turf huts of the natives stretch westward along the strand. They are
+so like grassy mounds, that from any distance one would ask, &quot;But
+where do the Eskimoes live?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The missionary dwelling is primitive enough, even as enlarged. During
+our brief stay here, I have the honour of occupying the original
+house, built about twenty years ago. It is but a room divided by a
+curtain, but it served the first missionary couple here as
+dwelling-room, bedroom, church, and everything else. What a grand view
+there is from the window over the deep land-locked bay, in which the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; is lying at the only available anchorage. No one would guess
+that it would take more than half-an-hour to row across the smooth
+water, or in winter to walk over its frozen surface to the opposite
+shore, where, as on this side, precipitous bluffs rise almost from the
+water's edge. All nature around is on a grand scale, and those
+snow-clad mountains, which look over the shoulders of the nearer
+cliffs, are quite Alpine in effect. Climb to the dizzy heights, which
+tower threateningly six or seven hundred feet above the station and
+you find you are not half way to the summit of the nearest hill. It
+must, indeed, be a magnificent <a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></a>view from thence towards the great
+mountains in the interior, whose everlasting snows cover long ridges
+at least five or six thousand feet in height. Seawards, the Ramah
+Hill, a remarkable perpendicular rock, surmounts the nearer cliffs. It
+looks as if, standing on the crag, one could drop a stone into the
+water at its base, 1000 feet below.</p>
+
+<p>All this is grand, but grander still is the quiet, unconscious
+devotion of the worthy missionary pair, who live in this lonely bay,
+tending the little Christian congregation already gathered, and
+seeking the salvation of the heathen Eskimoes to the north. Of these
+there are perhaps sixty or seventy dwelling between Ramah and Cape
+Chudley; the northern point of Labrador. I am heartily glad Mr. and
+Mrs. Schulze have now a helper in Mr. Eckhardt, and trust the little
+missionary band will have increasing joy in souls won for the Lord.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 80%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-9.png" width="100%" alt="Ramah" />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+RAMAH</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that the fourth morning after leaving Okak we
+entered Nullatatok Bay through a thick mist. Beautiful days followed,
+showing the Ramah scenery to advantage, but the weather was rather
+wintry. Snow fell once or twice, though not in sufficient quantities
+to lie, and one morning we had ice on the bay. Yet at midday the sun
+was quite hot. The arrival of the &quot;Harmony&quot; at Ramah on Sunday
+(September 9th, 1888), interfered with the <a name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></a>usual morning worship. We
+passengers came ashore for the afternoon service, Mr. Schulze read the
+Litany and then Mr. Dam addressed the congregation in Eskimo,
+centreing nearly all the black eyes in eager attention to the Word
+preached. The chapel being small, the people were rather near to the
+benches occupied by the missionary brethren and sisters, and this
+proximity was evident to the organs of smell. Several being away at
+their fishing places, there were only about a dozen men and boys and
+rather more women and girls with an extra sprinkling of lively and
+healthy-looking babies. Most were characterized by an air of
+independence <a name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></a>amusingly illustrated at the close by the oldest man,
+who asked aloud when the visitor from London was going to speak to
+them.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 80%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-10.png" width="100%" alt="Tents at Ramah." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+TENTS AT RAMAH.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>And what of the spiritual life of this little congregation? In reply I
+will give neither my own impressions, nor the missionary's testimony
+to his flock, apt sometimes to be influenced by his estimate of what
+they should be. I will call in a casual witness. Last year Eugenia, a
+Christian Eskimo from Hopedale, visited all the congregations,
+travelling to and fro by dog-sledge with the post-sledges. She
+remarked to her missionary: &quot;The Ramah and Okak people, those are the
+best in the country. At Ramah I was quite shamed by their desire after
+truth. They said, 'You know these things; teach us, we are so
+stupid.'&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Village" id="Village"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>AN ESKIMO VILLAGE.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Now for a visit to our Eskimoes in their own dwellings, as the two
+missionaries are ready to accompany me and interpret for me. It may
+not be a pleasant expedition in every respect, as within and without
+there is a pervading fishy smell. Rows of drying fish hang on frames
+high enough to be out of reach of the dogs, who sniff about
+everywhere, sometimes climbing into the boats to see if any fish be
+left. Those red rows are trout, the white ones are cod.</p>
+
+<p>When we arrived here last Sunday, two families were living in skin
+tents. One has now taken down the temporary abode and removed into the
+more permanent winter residence, a low turf hut. We will enter the
+other tent. Frederick, the owner, is not at home, but his wife,
+Susannah, is there with her two children. Whilst she inquires after
+her former missionaries and sends a grateful greeting to the widow of
+the late Samuel Weitz, take the opportunity to glance around the tent.
+It is more spacious and better furnished than one would think. We can
+all three stand upright in the middle of it, which is not possible in
+every house. Deer skins spread on a raised platform at the further end
+make two beds. In that open box are hymn-book, liturgy-book, and some
+volumes of the Eskimo Bible. Next it are a set of very fair cups and
+saucers, but it seems incongruous for the china to stand on the mud
+floor. Various utensils lie about, but there is neither chair nor
+table.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot stay long, however, for we are going to visit every house in
+the place. The first house is Gottlob's. He came hither from Hebron,
+and has enjoyed a better education than the Ramah people, most of whom
+grew up in heathenism. His wife's baptismal name is Lydia; as a
+heathen, she was Auinasuak. This is one of the best huts, but the best
+are poor inside as well as outside, compared to many log-houses I have
+seen further south. Through the low porch, without any remonstrance
+from the dogs, we reach a lower door. It is hot inside. Yes, there is
+a stove to the left, and it appears to be the only article of
+furniture in the room entered. <a name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></a>Behind the partition is a very
+different chamber. It is furnished with the usual couches spread with
+skins, and on the edge of one of these, Lydia is seated. She does not
+rise to greet her visitors, nor does it occur to her to offer a seat.
+What shall she offer? A box? As with the rest of those visited, her
+welcome takes the form of a good-humoured laugh. One or two objects in
+her room testify to a refinement unusual for this station. A guitar
+hangs on the wall near a cage with a bird in it, and against the
+partition stands a piano. Fancy such an instrument in a low turf hut,
+even though it be but an old square piano! Here, as elsewhere, we
+speak a few words of kindly greeting and spiritual interest, and then
+take leave with &quot;Aksunai.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The occupant of the next hut is not at home. This is indicated by two
+great slabs of slate, one at the entrance to his porch and one over
+his front (and only) window. These are more for protection against
+prowling dogs than dishonest men.</p>
+
+<p>Now we come to the dwelling of the oldest couple, William and Hulda,
+whose heathen names were Nochasak and Aksuana. They are, respectively,
+fifty-five and fifty, but look older. Two sons live with them, of whom
+the elder is married. Both parents are at home, and the
+daughter-in-law with her first baby in her arms. Here first I notice
+the curious lamp, a sort of dish hollowed out in a soft stone. The
+wick is a kind of moss which floats in seal-oil, and gives a feeble
+flame apparently more for warmth than for light, for the houses are
+not dark.</p>
+
+<p>Next to William's stand the roofless remains of an unoccupied
+dwelling, which may serve to show how these huts are built. It is a
+square enclosure three or four feet in height; the back is dug out of
+the sloping bank, the front wall is built up with turf. Put a roof
+over this and your house will be made. Two upright posts in the
+middle, about seven feet in height, will serve as the supports for the
+frame of your roof, which will also be covered with turf. The low door
+must be in front, facing the bay, and, both for warmth and as a
+shelter for the dogs, must invariably be protected by a low covered
+porch. Whether he be dwelling in his turf hut or sheltering in some
+snow hut, quickly built for a night away from home, the Eskimo enters
+his abode by a little tunnel, at the further end of which is the door.
+Just above this comes the window-frame, sometimes on a slant, better
+perpendicular. The window of his turf hut is semi-transparent seal
+bladder unless the owner of the mansion can afford and obtain glass.
+Now your house is complete, but lacks interior fittings. If you are an
+Eskimo, you do not want many. Your two poles supporting the roof may
+help you to partition off the sleeping places, either with boards or
+with curtains. These are raised about a foot from the ground, and the
+edge of the bed is the general seat.</p>
+
+<p>Let us continue our visits to the inhabited houses, one next the
+other, in an irregular row. Outside them the children are playing
+about and seem to enjoy life. Here and there one may see a sledge, or
+a kayak, the skin-covered boat such as is used, by the men. The larger
+umiak, or women's boat, is now scarcely met <a name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></a>with in Labrador. There
+are one or two light wooden skeleton frames of kayaks, but most are
+tightly covered with white smooth skins, cleverly sewn together by the
+women. Look at this one lying on the grass; it is about fifteen feet
+long, but you can lift the end of it quite easily. The owner paddled
+home in it this morning from his fishing-place at the head of the
+fjord, and sold fifty-two trout off the top of it to the captain, as
+he passed the &quot;Harmony.&quot; His bone-pointed harpoon and a hook with a
+long handle are strapped on top of the canoe. Beside it lies his
+paddle, which the Eskimo wields so deftly and silently that even a
+seal may fail to detect his swift approach. Its blades at both ends
+are beautifully finished off with bone. I see his gun is carelessly
+left in the round man-hole in which he sits when afloat. It may be
+loaded; I hope the children will let it alone.</p>
+
+<p>Passing Daniel's empty hut, for he and his family are away fishing, we
+call on Ikkaujak and Sakkearak (now John and Ernestine), and then on
+Matthew and his wife Verona, who not long ago were known as Swanzi and
+Akkusane. Matthew is interested to show and explain the weapons of the
+chase. His racket-shaped snow-shoes are the shortest I ever saw.
+Longer ones, unless like the Norwegian skydder, would be unpractical
+among these mountains. His harpoons hang on the wall next his gun. The
+blunt one, pointed with a walrus tooth, is used in the body of a seal,
+but the iron-pointed one is needed when the animal's head alone is
+above the water or the ice. Both are cleverly put together with wood,
+bone, and thongs, so arranged that when necessary head and haft easily
+come apart.</p>
+
+<p>Some of these Ramah Eskimoes are perhaps 5 ft. 10 in. in height, and
+most of them look robust and strong; but little Paul's door is very
+low, and I must bend double to enter his hut. His heathen name was
+Simigak and his wife's Ikkinek when they came from Nachvak in 1881. He
+is not at home, but his Adolfine gives us a welcome in Eskimo fashion.
+There is a stove in the corner, and on it a pot with some pieces of
+salmon in it. A few trout are strung up to the roof. I notice a clock
+in the corner, but am told that it is broken. Perhaps Paul can mend
+it; at any rate, while I was at Hopedale some Newfoundland fishermen
+entrusted their ship clock to an Eskimo for repairs.</p>
+
+<p>The last hut in the village is Frederick's. Some of his goods are
+here, but most are in the tent where we found his wife and family. A
+few pictures are pasted on his walls. Many houses at other stations
+are almost papered with pages from the <i>Graphic</i> and <i>Illustrated
+London News</i>.</p>
+
+<p>What is your impression of Eskimo abodes now you have seen their
+interiors? Well, they are not prepossessing to a European with the
+ordinary notions of what belongs to the necessaries of life, yet they
+are airier and cleaner than I had expected from their exterior aspect.
+I am assured that there is much Christian life in those queer homes,
+and that in many a heart there a &quot;candle of the Lord&quot; has been
+lighted, which shines for the illumination of the dark North. If
+honoured with an invitation to a meal in some <a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></a>Eskimo hut, I would
+rather it were not at Ramah. In the southern stations there are some
+tidy log-houses, where one need not hesitate to sit down to table with
+Christian Eskimoes, who have learnt cleanly and tidy habits from
+intercourse with and the example of missionaries. Here there are no
+tables; the people have scarcely learnt the use of forks, and are apt
+to handle the knives in eating in a somewhat uncouth fashion. The meat
+is taken in the teeth and cut off near the mouth, so that the upward
+motion of the blade seems to endanger the nose at every bite,
+especially in the case of very small children with a very big knife.</p>
+
+<p>Do my readers want to know about the gardens? There are none.
+Gardening is no employment for the Eskimoes; the severity of the
+climate and their migratory habits forbid it. Nor do they seem to have
+much taste for flowers, though they see them in the missionaries'
+gardens. They appreciate the vegetables grown there, but they do not
+care for the trouble of raising them for themselves.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Ramah_Beach" id="Ramah_Beach"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>ON THE BEACH AT RAMAH.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Returning along the beach we see Matthew's skin-covered canoe lying
+upside down on the grass, and we induce him to give us a specimen of
+kayak navigation. He picks up the end of his light craft, runs round
+so as to bring it right end foremost to the sea, and pushes it over
+the beach till three-fourths or more are in the water. Then he steps
+lightly over the flat top, paddle in hand, sets himself deftly in the
+man-hole, and in a moment he is afloat, paddling to and fro with quiet
+powerful strokes. Returning at full speed, he runs his kayak, which
+only draws a few inches, straight on to the shore; stepping lightly
+over the front of it, he stands dry shod on the beach and drags his
+kayak out of the water.</p>
+
+<p>Further along a little group of Eskimoes have just finished unloading
+a boat, which has brought goods from the ship. Let us join them, for I
+want to see a whip, such as they use in driving the dog-sledge. My
+request is interpreted and one of the natives runs to fetch his. Truly
+it is a formidable instrument. The wooden handle is only a few inches
+in length, but the lash is more than thirty feet. It is made of many
+thongs of stout, tough sealskin sown together, and tapering till a
+single thong goes off almost to a point. The owner gives us a specimen
+of its powers by cracking it, but I am glad he does not practice on
+anything living. Stepping backwards from us, he drags the whip out to
+its full length, so as to be sure he is beyond reach of us, then
+deftly throws the lash behind him. Now a rapid movement of the hand
+and arm sends the long lash back towards us, and a quick turn of the
+wrist makes the end of it crack like a pistol. I have purchased that
+implement, but I doubt if any amount of practice would enable me to
+perform the feat of cracking it with safety to myself and the
+bystanders.</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></a>To the east of the mission-house there is a pretty waterfall about ten
+or twelve feet in depth. It is the last leap of a mountain brook,
+which in summer flows swiftly down the deep ravine, which it has cut.
+Higher up, a part of the pure, clear stream is diverted as the water
+supply for the mission-house and the native huts. As at Hopedale and
+Zoar, this runs off a trough about a hundred yards from the house. At
+Nain and Okak it is conducted straight into the kitchen, when desired.
+In winter every station is liable to the freezing of the ordinary
+supply, and then water must be fetched from a distance, or if none can
+be found, snow or ice must be melted. Icicles are hanging from the
+trough here to-day, for though the sun is warm now, there were four or
+five degrees of frost last night, and the wind is still keen. In
+spring, when a thaw sets in, this little stream is a source of danger
+to Ramah. Its deep channel is filled with snow, and the pent-up
+torrent, seeking an outlet, is apt to escape from its usual bounds and
+start an avalanche down the steep declivity. When the thaw becomes
+general, there is a grand series of leaping cataracts and roaring
+rapids in that ravine.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 100%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-11.png" width="100%" alt="An Eskimo in his Kayak." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+AN ESKIMO IN HIS KAYAK.</p>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Native_Helper" id="Native_Helper"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A FAITHFUL NATIVE HELPER.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>I would that young Gottlob, now living at Ramah, might turn out as
+good a man as his late namesake. Let me take you to old Gottlob's
+grave, and there tell you the story of himself and his family. The
+little &quot;God's acre&quot; is scarcely an acre, and it should be <a name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></a>enclosed.
+Flat slaty stones, suitable for wall, lie around in abundance, brought
+down by the avalanche, which a year or two ago endangered the station,
+but happily did no more damage than destroy the powder-house and
+devastate the burial-ground. Kegs of powder and tombstones were
+carried far out on to the ice of the bay. Most of the latter were
+recovered unbroken and replaced, and among them the one of which we
+are in search. Here it is, a simple square slate tablet of touching
+interest. The Eskimo inscription informs us that Gottlob was born in
+1816. He was the child of heathen parents at Nachvak, and grew up in
+paganism. Presently he came under the influence of the Gospel and was
+baptized at Okak, exchanging his heathen name of Nikkartok for the
+Christian name which his subsequent life adorned.
+
+<img style="float: left; padding: 1em;"
+border="0" src="images/hstone5.png" width="170" height="174" alt="Headstone 5" />
+
+In 1867 he joined Daniel of Hopedale in an endeavour to evangelize the
+northern heathen, among whom his childhood had been spent. After this
+he settled with his family at Hebron, but when Mr. and Mrs. Weitz
+commenced the station at Ramah in 1871 Gottlob volunteered to
+accompany them. He and his family proved useful helpers of the
+missionary effort. His wife Marianna was also born a heathen, and
+named Nukupjuna. She is now a native helper at Hebron. His daughter
+was exceedingly valuable as the schoolmistress, and when an organist
+was needed Nicholina fulfilled the office to the best of her ability
+by playing the melody with one finger on the very little harmonium,
+which still does duty at Ramah. That was a simple service rendered in
+simplicity of spirit, yet in such a climate possibly attended with
+suffering. A missionary sister lately resident at Hebron told me she
+had often played the organ there with a blister at the end of each
+finger, for the intense cold made the touch of the keys like contact
+with red-hot iron. But to return to Gottlob. For seven years he lived
+and laboured among his countrymen, from whom he had at times to bear
+obloquy on account of his Christian fidelity. He died September 14th,
+1878, and this is the comprehensive record of him in the Ramah Church
+book: &quot;In life and death Gottlob placed his whole trust in the
+crucified Saviour, in whom he found pardon, peace, and joy.&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Leaving_Ramah" id="Leaving_Ramah"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>LEAVING RAMAH.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Friday, September 14th.</i>&mdash;Came aboard last night for an early start;
+weighed our anchor about 6 o'clock this morning. The wind was light
+and several of the natives towed us out of the bay in the ship's
+boats. Ere we started the resident missionaries brought their last
+batch of letters for Europe, and bade us farewell. They had been
+writing most of the night. Now the good folk will rest after the
+excitement and bustle of shiptime. It will be a year before they have
+visitors again, unless it be a missionary brother from Hebron or Mr.
+MacLaren, the Hudsons Bay Company's agent at Nachvak.</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a>It was most interesting to move slowly out of the bay, passing point
+after point, each headland opening up new vistas of grand, snowy
+mountains at the heads of the bays southwards, whilst northwards the
+great cliff of the Ramah Hill looks down upon us. Having brought the
+&quot;Harmony&quot; round the first point into more open water, where she can
+better avail herself of the occasional light puffs of wind, our
+Eskimoes came aboard for their breakfasts and presently rowed away in
+their boats. They bade us a hearty &quot;Aksunai&quot; and went down the side
+evidently well pleased with their wages. Nor were they sorry to leave
+the ship, which was beginning to roll a little. Accustomed as they are
+to brave high waves in their kayaks or flats, they nevertheless felt
+the motion of the vessel and were afraid of seasickness. Before
+starting John had to splice his oar with a strip of seal hide. I
+watched him put it round the handle, then holding on to the oar with
+both hands get the rope in his teeth and pull his lashing tight with
+all the strength of his back. So the teeth served him at each turn.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Sunset" id="Sunset"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>SUNSET, MOONRISE AND AURORA BOREALIS.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>Now we have got fairly out to sea. The light land breeze has ceased
+and we are lying becalmed. What a sunset there is over that Alpine
+range of snowy mountains! Yonder dark hills to the north of Ramah are
+glowing as if they were red hot through and through. True this is a
+glory that fadeth, yet the cloudless sky long retains the brilliant
+hues, and the seaward horizon has a broad red band shading off above
+and below into blue. Still more beautiful is the paler pink
+reflection, tinting the smooth surface of the water on all sides of us
+save the west. There the sun has just gone down, and the lingering
+glories of the sky are reflected on the rippling waves in a wonderful
+network of bright yellow and deep orange. Look southward again, now
+that the darkness is beginning to tell on the scene. Over yonder great
+iceberg the rising moon sends a path of silvery light across the
+water, now a broad waving band, now innumerable sparks and circlets
+dancing like fairy lights upon the gently swelling sea.</p>
+
+<p>All this is beautiful, but what follows is a rarer sight.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mr. La Trobe, the northern lights.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thank you, captain, I will be on deck in a moment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>I have seen many pictures of the Aurora Borealis, and we have already
+had some fine displays during this voyage, but I never witnessed
+anything like this. Truly the heavens declare the glory of God and the
+firmament sheweth His handiwork! Undulating bands of bright white
+light are swiftly scintillating across the sky, now curving upwards
+from the horizon, now stretching in broad stripes right over the
+zenith. Sometimes the Aurora is stationary and the smooth surface of
+the sea reflects the steady light; in the next moment it is moving
+rapidly all over the heavens. The swifter the motion the more
+brilliant the red or pink or green, which at times fringes the lower
+edge of the broad white bands of light.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Hebron"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45"></a>ARRIVAL AT HEBRON<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Monday, September 17th.</i>&mdash;Early this morning I went on deck and found
+we were a considerable distance outside the Kangertluksoak Fjord. We
+were much nearer the entrance for the greater part of yesterday, but a
+strong contrary wind kept us tacking to and fro the whole day, till
+the darkness made it impossible to reach Hebron, which lies in a
+little side bay to the north of the great fjord. There were many large
+icebergs around us, and we passed quite close to some floating
+fragments, which proved to be great lumps of ice, necessitating a turn
+of the helm to avoid collision with them. It was evident from the
+number of these, that a berg had recently broken up. I was told that
+yesterday a large piece fell off one near us with a crack like a
+cannon shot. I would like to see an iceberg turn over, as they
+sometimes do, but I do not wish to be too near it in that case. Last
+night the wind fell and the currents drifted our little vessel
+perilously near one of the great bergs, which was probably aground. It
+was an anxious time for those on the watch, but the Lord preserved us.</p>
+
+<p>The headland to the north of us is Cape Uivak. Uivak is simply the
+Eskimo word for promontory, and the names of Cape Webuck on this coast
+and Quebec in Canada, are evidently derived from it. There is a board
+on that little island, and through the glass one can read the betters
+S.F. What does that stand for? Well, that identifies &quot;Friday Island,&quot;
+so-called after Sophia Freitag, the wife of a worthy missionary. Once
+the captain of a steamer read it S.E., so he steered north-west, and
+safely entered Hebron Bay. He afterwards congratulated our captain on
+having put up so good a way-mark.</p>
+
+<p>To-day the wind has veered round a little to the north, which enables
+us, at last, to run straight in at the mouth of Kangertluksoak Fjord,
+past three great icebergs, which stand in a row as if to defend the
+entrance. The sailors call them &quot;men-of-war.&quot; Our rapid progress soon
+brings us in sight of the mission premises, whose red roofs stand out
+against the bare rocky background of the steep hillside, tinted a warm
+red-brown by the autumn hues of the mosses. There is the church with
+its cupola in a line with the long one-storied mission-house. The
+store buildings and the boat-house are nearer the landing stage. Some
+skilful tacks bring us into the Hebron Bay, and ere long the &quot;Harmony&quot;
+lies at her anchorage, here farther from the station than at any other
+place on the coast. What a lively scene! Ten or a dozen boats have
+already came round us&mdash;these Eskimoes are bold sailors&mdash;and our anchor
+is scarcely down before we are boarded in friendly fashion by numerous
+natives. Yonder white boat is the &quot;Harp,&quot; and it brings four good
+gentlemen in sealskin coats. The patriarch of the band is our
+venerable Mr. Kretschmer, who came to Labrador in 1852. This year he
+leaves his loved land after thirty-six years of service, during which
+he has been home once, twenty-seven years ago. He is followed by the
+missionaries Kahle, Wirth, and Hlawatschek, who report their wives and
+children all well.</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a>Ere long we visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Dam and myself, are ready to go
+ashore with them. Landing from the boat, we climb the hill to the
+mission-house, farther from the shore than any other. The sisters and
+children welcome us at the door, and for the sixth time I enjoy the
+hospitality of a Labrador mission family.</p>
+
+<p>The chapter entitled &quot;A busy week at Nain&quot; would serve as a general
+description of the time spent at this or any of the stations.
+Conferences with the missionary band, daily services in the Church or
+the house, the special meeting for my address to the congregation,
+visits to and from the natives, inspection of the mission premises and
+their surroundings, pleasant strolls in the intervals of daily duty
+and the routine of a mission-house, one or two more extensive walks on
+the hills around, profitable evenings in the mission circle, all these
+made eight days at Hebron pass very quickly, whilst as ever I was
+lovingly cared for by my hosts. Hebron is, to use the expressive term
+of the Newfoundland fishermen, a &quot;blusterous&quot; place. It is beyond the
+northern limit of trees on this part of the coast, and the wind sweeps
+down the bare, rocky slopes with great force. This is the reason for
+the exceptional construction of the mission premises.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Levee" id="Levee"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>THE VISITING MISSIONARIES' LEVEE.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>My dear fellow-travellers from Hopedale used to be stationed at
+Hebron, and it is astonishing to see how affectionately these people
+gather around them. Their temporary abode here is the schoolroom, and
+it is just as well that it is a good size and easily accessible. Look
+in upon them at any hour of the day, and you will probably find that
+they have Eskimo visitors. Last Sunday they held quite a levee, for
+men, women, and children flocked in after service to greet them.</p>
+
+<p>Come and make acquaintance with some of these Eskimo brethren and
+sisters. Several are introduced as relatives of Abraham and Tobias,
+who visited Germany and France in 1880. In their letters home the poor
+fellows confessed that there was far more sea between Labrador and
+Europe than they had any idea of, before they and some heathen from
+Nachvak were induced by an agent of Hagenbeck's in Hamburg to allow
+themselves to be brought over and exhibited. They were very home-sick
+for Labrador, but they never returned, for one after another was taken
+fatally ill. The last survivors died in Paris early in 1881. The
+Christians among them did credit to their profession, had their daily
+worship, exercised a good influence over the heathen members of the
+party, and died in simple trust in Jesus as their Saviour.</p>
+
+<p>Sarah needs no introduction. I had heard of her before reaching
+Hebron, and one cannot be in the place long without making her
+acquaintance. She is a woman of energy and resource. Last year she
+lost her good husband Hieronymus, the oldest native helper at Hebron.
+She continues, however, to be a leader in the concerns of the
+community, and her influence is good. She is a prominent chapel
+servant, and a leading singer in the choir. To be sure, tact <a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"></a>is
+needed to keep Sarah in good humour, and direct her energies into
+useful channels. She has a turf house for winter occupation, but when
+I visited her she was living in her summer abode&mdash;a log hut. The
+interior was very tidy. In the outer room I noticed a harmonium; and
+in the inner one, besides a table and some chairs, there were pictures
+and ornaments and a sewing machine, on which she kindly did some work
+for me.</p>
+
+<p>Seated near us, among the numerous visitors in the schoolroom, are a
+mother and daughter, whose names are already well known to us. That
+dark-looking old woman is Marianna, the widow of Gottlob, whose grave
+we saw at Ramah. She is now a valued native helper here. The younger
+person is Nicholina, bright and strong in mind and heart though rather
+bent and crippled in body. Here, as formerly at Ramah, she serves as
+school mistress, and I am told has considerable capacity both for
+imparting knowledge and for maintaining discipline. She stands in
+regular correspondence with several friends of the mission in Europe.
+She had something to tell them in her last letters, for not long ago
+she and her mother with eight other Eskimoes were nearly drowned in
+the bay about where the &quot;Harmony&quot; lies at anchor. A sudden gust of
+wind capsized the sailing boat, in which they were coming home from
+their fishing place. One good feature of the Eskimo character is their
+presence of mind in danger. There was no panic, though the boat sank
+instantly. Happily she was towing a little flat. One of the men
+promptly cut the rope, and so all were brought safe to land, some in
+the flat, others hanging on to its sides. Old Marianna was one of the
+latter, and when her numbed hands lost their hold, they tied her
+wrists to the gunwale of the little boat. She has recovered from the
+shock and exposure, but like the rest has been impoverished, for they
+lost their all in the boat, which went down.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas, Enoch, and John are the three native helpers. Since the death
+of Hieronymus, Thomas has been the oldest in the office, but, as he
+feels, has not yet sufficient influence or force of character to lead
+his countrymen at critical times. He is, however, a humble child of
+God, and growing in grace as well as experience. John has a little
+speech to make, and here is the literal translation of it:&mdash;&quot;Sometimes
+when we are busy, we do not always use the Scriptures daily. Mostly we
+do. The distress of our body often causes us to seek the Word of God.
+If the everlasting Gospel were well considered by all, there would be
+visible love.&quot;</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Sledge" id="Sledge"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>A SLEDGE DRIVE.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>September 22nd, 1888.</i>&mdash;My good friends are determined that I shall
+see a real sledge and team of dogs start and travel. So after dinner
+the sledge is brought to the gate of the mission premises. It consists
+of a couple of iron-bound wooden runners about fifteen feet long and
+eight inches high, across which many cross-pieces of wood are secured
+with thongs. Nails would soon be pulled out or broken off on a journey
+over hummocky ice or uneven ground. <a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"></a>First the sledge is laden with
+everything necessary for a winter journey. A great white bear skin is
+folded and laid along the front, making a comfortable seat. That bruin
+must have been an enormous creature. The box comes about the middle;
+it contains the traveller's traps. Behind it some coats, a gun, a
+harpoon (we may see a seal if we go on the ice), some wood (we shall
+want a fire for camping out, and I hope matches have not been
+forgotten), the coats of the men, a sleeping sack and a pair of
+sealskin trousers. Those two oval frames like a large lawn tennis bat
+without handle, are a pair of snow-shoes. All these traps are secured
+by a sealskin thong passing over the ends of the cross-boards, and
+pulled tight. It would not do to lose anything on the way.</p>
+
+<p>Now seat yourself there in front of the box. But the dogs are not
+attached to the sledge. <i>Seat yourself</i>; they are all harnessed. Each
+has a band of sealskin round his neck and another round his body, and
+to this simple harness is attached the separate trace or thong by
+which he does his share in pulling the sledge. In one moment the
+sledge rope will be passed through the loops of all their traces, and
+they will be off almost before you can say &quot;Hoo-eet,&quot; for they, like
+the Eskimoes standing round, seem to enjoy the fun. We are supposed to
+start southward for Okak, and to come home, by way of Ramah. I seat
+myself and get a good hold, with my back against the box and my feet
+well off the ground. &quot;Hoo-eet!&quot; The dogs are directed by the voice,
+and that is the word used to start them. Shout &quot;Owk, Owk,&quot; and they
+will run to the right, or &quot;Ra, Ra, Ra,&quot; and you will soon find
+yourself going to the left. Say, &quot;Ah, Ah,&quot; and your dogs will lie
+down. Now you have all your directions so &quot;Hoo-eet,&quot; we are off,
+gliding easily over the grass, for snow and ice there is none this
+warm autumn day after a night when there were two or three degrees of
+frost. So it is rather hard for the dogs, when we turn the corner of
+the mission enclosure and are going a bit up-hill through the long
+grass. Thomas, one of the Eskimoes, is running in front of the dogs in
+his sealskin boots with the fur outside&mdash;a handsome pair. Enoch is
+minding the sledge, now running beside me, now throwing himself down
+on it in front of me, or lifting the front end of the runners from
+right to left, or <i>vice vers&acirc;</i> to turn a corner or avoid a stone.
+&quot;Owk, Owk,&quot; he shouts as we wish to turn the corner to the <i>right</i>. A
+third Eskimo, who is running between us and the dogs with the whip,
+takes up the sound and the dogs obey. But as it seems hard for them
+through the long grass, I get off and run after till we come to the
+corner by the church. It will go easier along the path to the <i>left</i>.
+I seat myself again and the driver cries &quot;Ra, Ra, Ra.&quot; Away we go. It
+is well I was wary of the stones, another inch and that rock just
+passed would have given me a sore foot or a sprained ankle. &quot;Owk,
+Owk.&quot; We leave the path on our left and turn away to the <i>right</i> over
+rocks and moss. The ground is broken but the long runners of the
+sledge make it go fairly smoothly. &quot;Ah, Ah,&quot; or as Thomas pronounces
+it long drawn, &quot;Aw, Aw.&quot; At this sound the dogs stop and lie down,
+with their tails curled over their backs. We are supposed to have
+arrived at a halting place where<a name="Page_49" id="Page_49"></a>
+<a name="Page_50" id="Page_50"></a>we shall camp out for the night.
+The wood is unloaded; to make the fire would be the first thing and
+then perhaps a snow-house for a shelter. The sleeping sack is ready to
+be my night's couch on the floor. Meanwhile, the dogs lie quite
+contentedly, and we use the first opportunity to count them. There are
+fourteen in harness and two are running beside them of their own
+accord, entering into the spirit of the thing in spite of their fear
+of that formidable whip. Nine of these useful animals belong to the
+mission. Their names are Yauerfritze, Purtzelmutter, Purtzel, Caro,
+Pius, Fanny (an exceptionally friendly Eskimo dog), Ammi, Kakkortak
+and Takkolik. The others belong to different natives.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 95%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/image-12.png" width="100%" alt="Travelling in Labrador." />
+<p style="text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1em">
+TRAVELLING IN LABRADOR.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our imaginary night has been short enough, and we are supposed to be
+preparing for a new start. &quot;Look, see,&quot; says Thomas to me, and pours
+some water on the iron of the runners, for the sledge has meanwhile
+been turned upside down. Were it winter, that water would at once
+freeze on the iron and form a splendid smooth surface for the sledge
+to run on over ice or snow. &quot;Hoo-eet.&quot; The sledge has been turned
+right again and repacked, and the dogs get up. No, there is nothing
+left behind. &quot;Hoo-eet;&quot; away we go. It is astonishing how widely the
+dogs spread themselves in pulling. However, the course of the sledge,
+as it follows them, depends more on the nimble drivers. See yonder dog
+is getting to the wrong side of that post, by way of illustrating the
+difficulties of travelling through a wood. Hebron is beyond the
+northern limit of trees, but our missionaries at Hopedale have often
+great trouble in passing through forests of stunted fir-trees. The
+front dogs also have got their traces foul of the two other posts in
+our forest of three trees without any branches. So we are brought to a
+standstill until, all the harness being cleared, we are ready for a
+fresh start down that slope to the right. &quot;Owk, Owk,&quot; is the word, but
+at the brook our wild career is brought to a sudden stop. Our specimen
+sledge trip would not be complete without an accident. The bed of the
+little stream proves just too wide for the sledge to clear it, and the
+points of the runners have bored into the further bank. The thong of
+the sledge has broken in two places with the jerk, and the dogs who
+were pulling with might and main are suddenly released. Four or five
+have been caught by our nimble Eskimoes, but the majority are off
+home. Were the station three hours or three days distant and we were
+left in the snow it would be a bit different to the present situation.
+The station is about three minutes distant, and we have time for a
+good laugh before our dogs are caught and brought back. What has
+become of the passenger? Oh, he is unhurt; the shock did not even
+unseat him. There he sits on the sledge, which stretches like a little
+bridge from bank to bank. It is freed from the earth, and the dogs are
+again attached, after a fierce little quarrel between two or three of
+them, just to keep up their credit as quarrelsome creatures. Order and
+obedience restored, &quot;Hoo-eet,&quot; away we go homeward, but at a more
+moderate pace, for it is uphill. By the mission-house the road bends
+to the left, &quot;Ra, Ra, Ra.&quot; At the corner a number of <a name="Page_51" id="Page_51"></a>women are
+standing and laughing, and as the sledge approaches, they ran,
+according to their usual custom, and throw themselves on to it, so the
+poor dogs finish their course with an extra load, and are quite
+willing to lie down in obedience to the final command, &quot;Ah, Ah.&quot; If
+you were on a real journey, you would learn by experience to avoid
+that interjection in your conversation, for the weary animals would at
+once take the permission to stop and lie down.</p>
+
+<p>Now the dogs are released from their harness and run away to their
+respective homes with glee. The sledge is unloaded, and its contents
+carried off by their owners. &quot;When did you leave Ramah?&quot; says the
+missionary to Thomas. &quot;Yesterday morning,&quot; replies the good fellow,
+keeping up the joke with thorough appreciation. I give them my hearty
+thanks, &quot;Nakungm&eacute;k,&quot; for Thomas and Co. have not only given me a great
+pleasure, but provided interest for young friends at home, to whom I
+may detail my winter journey on a sunny autumn afternoon at Hebron. A
+real midwinter Labrador sledge journey, with the thermometer far below
+zero of Fahrenheit and the wind blowing hard and cold, is not so
+pleasant, especially if the dogs be quite invisible because of the
+driving snow. Should the traveller then be pitched off the sledge, and
+the drivers not perceive his absence at once, they may lose one
+another for ever. But God has watched over our travellers by sea and
+land, by ice and snow on many an errand of spiritual import to the
+settlers, or journey from station to station.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Last_Sunday" id="Last_Sunday"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>MY LAST SUNDAY IN LABRADOR.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Sunday, September 23rd.</i>&mdash;Morning prayers in German with the
+house-family. Our venerable senior missionary read the texts and the
+Gospel for the day, and gave out suitable hymns, which were well sung
+by the company of brethren, and sisters, and children assembled in the
+dining-room around the long table. Breakfast is enlivened with
+cheerful, godly converse, and shortly after we join the Eskimo
+congregation in the first service of the day. I like this church as
+well as any in the land. It is proportionate, simple, neat and light.
+Mr. Wirth takes his place behind the table, and, what with residents
+and visitors, there is a goodly row of missionary brethren and sisters
+to right and left of him, facing the Eskimo congregation. Among the
+latter the white faces of a settler family, the Metcalfs from Napartok
+Bay, are conspicuous. Though the language be strange, I have already
+grown familiar with the liturgic forms of worship and can follow
+either the &quot;Church Litany,&quot; familiar to one in English and German, or
+the admirable responsive compilation of tests known as the Catechism
+Litany. The latter is chosen this morning, and it is quite possible
+that a negro congregation in Surinam, or a Kaffir congregation in
+South Africa may be using the same form of sound words, for it exists
+both in Negro English and in Kaffir.</p>
+
+<p>At 10 we are again summoned to the house of prayer by the bell. Mr.
+Dam is the preacher, and is evidently moved by the thought <a name="Page_52" id="Page_52"></a>that this
+may be his last sermon in Eskimo for many a day. A hymn and a prayer,
+fervent and brief, precede the giving out of his text, Rev. i. 12-20.
+The sermon is listened to attentively by old and young, of whom
+considerably more than a hundred are present. Old Zippora is, as ever,
+at her place at the end of the bench. Blind though she is, she often
+walks miles to church over uneven ground or hummocky ice, when away at
+the fishing places. She seems to take her part in the worship of the
+sanctuary thoroughly, whether in response or sacred song, or as
+listener with animated face and at times an overflowing heart. While I
+am looking, her fingers seek the corner of her apron, and lifting it
+she wipes the tears from her sightless eyes.</p>
+
+<p>But the eloquent flow of words, mostly unintelligible to me, comes to
+a close. A hymn is sung, and the New Testament blessing pronounced.
+Then the procession from the missionary benches files out through the
+schoolroom into the mission-house and the people disperse to their
+homes. Mere mounds they look as I see them from my window. But they
+are Christian homes, whence rises prayer and praise.</p>
+
+<p>I was mistaken. The congregation had not dispersed, for the choir
+wished to give me a specimen of their powers. I returned to the church
+and listened to a fair selection of sacred music, including a long
+piece (Psalm xcv. 6, 7), well sustained by a choir of about a dozen
+men and women, and two or three instrumentalists. When they ceased, I
+spoke a few words of thanks and farewell.</p>
+
+<p>Dinner was as usual very literally &quot;the mid-day meal.&quot; Soup was
+followed by a joint of reindeer venison, which was a treat to me, as
+beef or mutton would be to my hosts. The vegetables had been grown in
+the mission garden. After coffee I went over to the ship for the
+afternoon service aboard, rowed by four Eskimoes, Thomas, Clement, one
+of the organists, Daniel, and Heinrich. In their endeavour to converse
+with me they brought out some amusing scraps of English, and little
+Heinrich informed me his name in my language was &quot;Harry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Whilst I was preaching to the crew there was an afternoon meeting
+ashore. I returned for our solemn farewell service with the missionary
+band. Here, as at each previous station, this was an occasion of deep
+feeling. My parting word was founded on (2 Corinthians xiii. 11)
+&quot;Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of
+one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with
+you.&quot; So I took leave of &quot;brethren,&quot; who are faithfully serving their
+Lord in this cold country. Truly here is the patience and the faith of
+the saints. The God of all grace bless each missionary family, comfort
+and strengthen them in all their work, and perfect that which
+concerneth them and their people! How wonderfully He can and does
+help, I have experienced on this voyage and visit to Labrador, and so
+at the close of my visitation record my humble praise.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Music" id="Music"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53"></a>MUSIC ON THE WATER.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>After the evening meal we went down to the shore and embarked. The
+people crowded the pier, and many a hand was stretched out with a
+hearty &quot;Aksunai.&quot; As we rowed away they were singing, and when their
+voices sounded fainter across the water Thomas began of his own accord
+the following hymn in his own language:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="center"><div class="content">
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>&quot;O Lord! lift up thy countenance<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Upon thy Church, and own us thine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Impart to each thy peace divine,<br /></span>
+<span>And blessings unto all dispense.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>'Tis our desire to follow thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And from experience to proclaim<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Salvation in thy blessed name:<br /></span>
+<span>O bless thy servants' ministry.&quot;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The other Eskimoes rowing our boat sang with him, until we reached the
+&quot;Harmony.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>We were having a quiet time of cheerful converse in the cabin, when
+the sound of singing again called us on deck. A procession of eight or
+ten boats, the bow of one almost touching the stern of the other, was
+rowing slowly round and round the ship, and the people in them were
+singing sweet Christian songs to the measured beat of the oars. Sarah
+was in the first boat, evidently the leader and director of the
+proceedings.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a>
+<a href="#Footnote_C_3"><sup>[C]</sup></a> Hymn after hymn, in well-sustained parts, sounded
+beautifully over the still water, and not till it was getting quite
+dark did they row away, singing &quot;Victoria,&quot; <i>i.e.</i> &quot;God save the
+Queen,&quot; in honour of the English visitor. Her Majesty has very loyal
+subjects in that unknown corner of her realm; and, by the way, some of
+them charged me to bring home an &quot;Aksunai&quot; to her, too.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tuesday, September 25st.</i>&mdash;Yes, &quot;good-bye;&quot; yet, when your vessel is
+not a steamer, but dependent on the wind, you may have repeated
+&quot;good-byes,&quot; as often happens in Labrador. Not till this afternoon
+could the &quot;Harmony&quot; hoist her sails and speed away to the broad
+Atlantic. As soon as the Eskimoes saw our sails being unfurled, they
+again came around the vessel in their boats, and anew commended us to
+the Divine protection in their version of a very favourite hymn of
+Count Zinzendorf's (&quot;Jesu geh voran&quot;).</p>
+
+<div class="center"><div class="content">
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>&quot;Jesus, day by day,<br /></span>
+<span>Guide them on their way.&quot;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="Homeward" id="Homeward"></a><hr />
+<br />
+<h3>HOMEWARD BOUND.<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>The story of our homeward voyage must he told in short. We had more
+stormy days than bright ones, and more contrary winds than fair
+breezes. We left Hebron on Tuesday, September 25th, <a name="Page_54" id="Page_54"></a>and on the
+following Sunday found ourselves among Greenland icebergs and fogs. So
+we had to turn southwards and run on that tack for two days. Then a
+moderate side wind followed the strong contrary gale, and we made good
+steady progress eastward. This was undoubtedly pleasant after the
+heavy rolling and pitching of the previous days. For two weeks and
+more nothing was to be seen but sea and sky, yet both had their
+interest and beauty. The sunsets were lovely, and the phosphorescent
+light in the water at night especially so. The wake of the ship was
+luminous for a long distance, and the crests of the waves shone all
+around us. Once I was leaning over the taffrail late in the evening,
+when a shoal of fish passed. There were thousands of them, and each
+one was a living, moving centre of light. Bottle-nosed whales
+gambolled around us when we were within a few hundred miles of
+Labrador, and later on &quot;schools&quot; of porpoises occasionally visited us.
+The latter often sprang clean out of the water, and seemed to take
+special delight in crossing the bows of the &quot;Harmony.&quot; On October
+10th, we sighted the first ship since leaving Labrador, and a day or
+two later tacked southward near the coast of Ireland to make the
+entrance of the British Channel. There a trial of patience awaited us.
+A hard-hearted east wind barred our progress, and with long tacks we
+seemed to make headway only by inches. Yet the little &quot;Harmony&quot;
+bravely held on her way, when larger vessels had given up the fight.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sunday, October 21st.</i>&mdash;Up at six, to find the Scilly Isles in sight.
+The Bishop's rock and St. Agnes lighthouses were plainly visible. But
+the old east wind is back again. The light, fair breeze of yesterday
+evening sent us forward fifteen miles in an hour or two, and seventy
+or eighty miles of tacking to-day has barely secured as much progress.
+Visited the men in the forecastle, a small gloomy looking place, yet
+fair as such accommodation goes. The good fellows are cheery and happy
+there, indeed, they have been pleasant and faithful to duty throughout
+the entire voyage. God grant them the true blessedness we have told
+them of in this morning's and previous Sunday services.</p>
+
+<p><i>Monday, 22nd.</i>&mdash;Weathered the Wolf Rock by this tack. Sighted Land's
+End, with its white houses, and the Longships lighthouse on its lofty
+rock. A steamer passing us into Penzance answered our signals and will
+report us we hope.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tuesday, 23rd.</i>&mdash;Four weeks away from Labrador. Four months absent
+from home. How much longer yet? To windward of the Lizard this
+morning. That is good, for we could have run for Falmouth harbour had
+it blown harder from the east. But the wind has died away altogether.
+The Lizard twin lighthouses and the white walls surrounding them are
+plainly visible, as we lie becalmed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Wednesday, 24th.</i>&mdash;Got a fair wind yesterday, which carried us
+forward past the Eddystone Lighthouse. We are now nearing Start Point,
+and have shown our signals. They will be seen, and reported either at
+that lighthouse or at Prawle Point, and it is <a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a>quite a relief to think
+our presence in the Channel will soon be known in London. What a
+contrast there is between our own shores and the coast of Labrador.
+<i>Here</i> one is never out of sight of some guiding light, <i>there</i> not a
+lighthouse&mdash;not a buoy. Such a voyage makes one the more thankful for
+the experience and faithfulness of our own valued ship's officers,
+tried servants of the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel, who
+have the interests of that society and of the mission at heart, and
+whose annual voyages to Labrador involve a full share of
+responsibility and anxiety.</p>
+
+<p><i>Thursday, 25th.</i>&mdash;Passed the Isle of Wight this morning, and Beachy
+Head in the afternoon. As night came on the long rows of electric
+lights on the marine parades of Eastbourne, Hastings, and St.
+Leonard's were very effective across the water. Got our pilot aboard
+at Dungeness just before midnight.</p>
+
+<p><i>Friday, 26th.</i>&mdash;<i>Home again!</i> How infinitely good is the gracious
+Lord, who permits one to go on His errands, and meanwhile takes care
+of all that is so dear! We were off Margate when I went on deck, about
+7 A.M., and shortly afterwards secured a powerful little tug, which
+towed the &quot;Harmony&quot; swiftly up the Thames to London Docks, where she
+now lies at her usual moorings, awaiting the hundred and twentieth
+voyage.</p>
+
+<div class="center"><div class="content">
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>&quot;Then, at the vessel's glad return,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The absent meet again;<br /></span>
+<span>At home, our hearts within us burn<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To trace the cunning pen,<br /></span>
+<span>Whose strokes, like rays from star to star,<br /></span>
+<span>Bring happy messages from far,<br /></span>
+<span>And once a year to Britain's shore<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Join Christian Labrador.&quot;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I lay down the pen which has transcribed those lines of Montgomery's
+as a fitting close to my chapter, &quot;Homeward Bound.&quot; If it has had any
+&quot;cunning,&quot; it has been simply because I have described what I have
+seen with my own eyes in Christian Labrador. Traversing nearly three
+hundred miles of that grand, but bleak and desolate-looking coast, I
+met with scarcely any heathen. Only at Ramah I found one or two who
+had no Christian names, because they had not yet publicly professed
+Christ. They were, however, candidates for baptism, and their few
+heathen countrymen to the north of that station are, from time to
+time, attracted to the sound of the Gospel. But if the mission in that
+land be nearing the close of the evangelistic phase, our task is not
+done, and still we hear the voice of the Divine Spirit saying:
+Separate me this one and that one for the work whereunto I have called
+him in Labrador.</p>
+
+<p><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56"></a>Yet I hope and pray for a wider result from these pages than increased
+interest in the one field so closely connected with Britain by the
+good ship &quot;Harmony.&quot; Labrador in its turn is linked to all the mission
+provinces in the world-wide parish given to the little Moravian
+Church, and I trust this glimpse into the life and labours of our
+devoted missionaries there will quicken the loving intercessions of my
+readers for their fellow labourers in all our own fields, and for the
+whole great mission work of the Church of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>I will conclude with a stirring stanza<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4"><sup>[D]</sup></a> from another poet, who found
+a theme and an inspiration in contrasting the wretched condition of
+the people of Labrador, prior to the arrival of missionaries, with the
+wonderful change wrought among the poor Eskimoes through their noble
+efforts under the blessing of God.</p>
+
+<div class="center"><div class="content">
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>&quot;When round the great white throne all nations stand,<br /></span>
+<span>When Jew and Gentile meet at God's right hand,<br /></span>
+<span>When thousand times ten thousand raise the strain&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>'Worthy the Lamb that once for us was slain!'<br /></span>
+<span>When the bright Seraphim with joy prolong<br /></span>
+<span>Through all eternity that thrilling song&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>The heathen's universal jubilee,<br /></span>
+<span>A music sweet, O Saviour Christ, to Thee&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>Say, 'mid those happy strains, will not <i>one</i> note,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span>Sung by a hapless nation once remote,<br /></span>
+<span>But now led Home by tender cords of love,<br /></span>
+<span>Rise clear through those majestic courts above?<br /></span>
+<span>Yes! from amid the tuneful, white-robed choirs,<br /></span>
+<span>Hymning Jehovah's praise on golden lyres,<br /></span>
+<span><i>One</i> Hallelujah shall for evermore<br /></span>
+<span>Tell of the Saviour's love to <em>Labrador</em>.&quot;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="img" style="width: 60%;">
+<img border="0" src="images/floral.png" width="100%" alt="decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<h5>G. NORMAN &amp; SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET, COVENT GARDEN.</h5>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+
+<p>FOOTNOTES:</p>
+
+<div class="note"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3">[C]</a>
+For those who may be interested to know what hymns were
+chosen, and what tunes were sung (without accompaniment), by the
+natives on this occasion, I will append the numbers in our new English
+Hymn Book, as far it contains their selection, 646, 788, 755, 834, and
+1135. The melodies included our Tunes 132, 26, 69, 205, 166, and 146.</p></div>
+
+<div class="note"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4">[D]</a>
+<i>Labrador, a Poem in three parts</i>, written to commemorate
+the centenary of the Moravian Labrador Mission, by B. TRAPP ELLIS.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h3><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"></a>THE &quot;HARMONY.&quot;</h3>
+<br />
+
+<h3>Captain: <span class="sc">Henry Linklater</span>.</h3>
+
+<div class="center"><div class="content">
+  <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="50%" summary="Ship stats">
+  <tr>
+  <td width="70%">Length (Extreme)</td>
+  <td width="12%">120</td>
+  <td width="18%">ft.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Breadth</td>
+  <td>27 &frac12;</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;&quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Depth</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;4 in.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Length of Mast</td>
+  <td>87</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;&quot;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td>Tonnage</td>
+  <td>251</td>
+  <td>tons</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdcenter" colspan="3"><i>Launched, April 24th, 1861.</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  </table>
+</div></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+<p>The average duration of the <i>outward</i> voyage with the present vessel
+has been 41-1/4 days, including a short stay at Stromness in the
+Orkneys. The <i>homeward</i> voyage has been accomplished on an average in
+23 days, including the coarse up channel to the West India Dock. The
+whole voyage, including the stay on the coast and visit to six
+stations there, has averaged 117-3/4 days.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p class="cen">THE TEMPERATURE OF LABRADOR.</p>
+
+<p>At Hopedale, the most southerly of our mission stations,
+thermometrical observations during several years give +86&deg; Fahrenheit
+as the greatest heat (July 26, 1871), -104&deg;, or 72&deg; below freezing
+point, Fahrenheit, as the greatest cold (February 2nd, 1873). The
+average temperature for the year is -5&deg; F. For four years the month of
+July was the only one in which there was not a fall of snow. The
+average temperature of Edinburgh, which lies in about the same degree
+of latitude as Hopedale, is +47&deg; F. At the Hospice of St. Bernard in
+the Alps, which is situated at an elevation of 7192 feet above the
+level of the sea, the average temperature for the year is not quite
+-3&deg; F. There winter and spring are much less cold, summer and autumn
+much less warm than in Labrador.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
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+</body>
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+
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@@ -0,0 +1,3247 @@
+Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: With the Harmony to Labrador
+       Notes Of A Visit To The Moravian Mission Stations On The North-East
+       Coast Of Labrador
+
+
+Author: Benjamin La Trobe
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2005 [EBook #15190]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Wallace McLean, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading (https://www.pgdp.net), from images kindly provided by
+www.canadiana.org
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+     WITH
+     THE HARMONY
+     TO LABRADOR
+
+
+     [Illustration: "THE HARMONY"]
+
+
+     A VISIT
+     TO THE
+     MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS
+     ON THE
+     NORTH EAST COAST OF LABRADOR
+
+
+
+
+     London:
+     MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY.
+     32, FETTER LANE, E.C.
+
+     PRICE THREEPENCE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     _WITH_
+     THE HARMONY
+     TO
+     LABRADOR.
+
+
+     NOTES OF A VISIT
+     BY THE
+     REV. B. LA TROBE
+     TO THE
+     MORAVIAN MISSION STATIONS
+     ON THE
+     NORTH-EAST COAST OF LABRADOR.
+
+
+     LONDON:
+     MORAVIAN CHURCH AND MISSION AGENCY,
+     32, FETTER LANE, E.C.
+
+     LONDON:
+     G. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET,
+     COVENT GARDEN, W.C.
+
+
+
+
+                  CONTENTS.
+
+                                                     PAGE
+     INTRODUCTORY REMARKS                              1
+     ARRIVAL AT HOPEDALE, THE SOUTHERN STATION         2
+     THE 119TH VOYAGE OF THE SOCIETY'S VESSEL          3
+     HOPEDALE                                          5
+     A STROLL "TO THE HEATHEN"                         5
+     JOYS AND SORROWS--A MARRIAGE AND A FUNERAL        7
+     THREE NATIVE HELPERS                              9
+     A COMMUNION AND FESTIVAL SUNDAY AT HOPEDALE      11
+     A PLEASANT SAIL FROM HOPEDALE TO ZOAR            13
+     ZOAR                                             14
+     A CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP HILL AT ZOAR      15
+     FROM ZOAR TO NAIN BETWEEN ISLANDS                16
+     THE FIRST EVENING AT NAIN                        17
+     INTERCHANGE OF VISITS WITH THE ESKIMOES          18
+     TWO ESKIMO GROUPS TAKEN AT NAIN                  21
+     "GOD'S ACRE"                                     23
+     A BUSY WEEK AT NAIN                              25
+     FROM NAIN TO OKAK                                27
+     THE MOST PRIMITIVE STATION IN LABRADOR           30
+     WALKS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OKAK               33
+     FROM OKAK TO RAMAH                               34
+     "RAMARSUK" (NEAT LITTLE RAMAH)                   35
+     AN ESKIMO VILLAGE                                38
+     ON THE BEACH AT RAMAH                            41
+     A FAITHFUL NATIVE HELPER                         42
+     LEAVING RAMAH                                    43
+     SUNSET, MOONRISE AND AURORA BOREALIS             44
+     ARRIVAL AT HEBRON                                45
+     THE VISITING MISSIONARIES' LEVEE                 46
+     A SLEDGE DRIVE                                   47
+     MY LAST SUNDAY IN LABRADOR                       51
+     MUSIC ON THE WATER                               53
+     HOMEWARD BOUND                                   53
+
+
+               ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                                          PAGE
+
+     "THE HARMONY"                          1
+     HOPEDALE                               4
+     TITUS, NATIVE HELPER AT HOPEDALE      10
+     ESKIMO HOUSES                         19
+     A GROUP OF WIDOWS AT NAIN             21
+     THE CHOIR AT NAIN                     22
+     ICE AGROUND                           29
+     RAMAH                                 36
+     TENTS AT RAMAH                        37
+     AN ESKIMO IN HIS KAYAK                42
+     TRAVELLING IN LABRADOR                49
+
+
+
+
+=LABRADOR=
+
+
+Is an extensive triangular peninsula on the north-east coast of
+British North America, Lat. 50 deg. to 62 deg. N., Lon. 56 deg. to 78 deg. W.; bounded
+N. by Hudson's Straits, E. by the Atlantic, S.E. by the Strait of
+Belle Isle, separating it from Newfoundland, S. by the Gulf and River
+St. Lawrence and Canada, and W. by James' Bay and Hudson's Bay. Its
+area is estimated at 420,000 sq. miles. The vast interior, inhabited
+by a few wandering Nascopie Indians, is little known; the coast,
+mainly but sparsely peopled by Eskimoes, is rugged, bleak and
+desolate. Seals abound, and the sea is well stocked with cod and other
+fish. The wild animals include deer (caribou), bears, wolves, foxes,
+martens, and otters. The Eskimo dogs are trained to draw sledges, to
+which they are attached in teams of from eight to fourteen.
+
+The temperature in winter ranges lower than that of Greenland, the
+thermometer often showing a minimum of 70 deg. below freezing-point of
+Fahrenheit. The climate is too severe to ripen any cereals, and the
+flora is very limited.
+
+
+The Moravian Mission to the Eskimoes on the north-east coast of
+Labrador was established in 1771 by a colony of brethren and sisters
+from England and Germany, who on July 1st reached Unity's Harbour, and
+at once began the erection of a station, calling it NAIN. An earlier
+attempt in 1752 under the direction of John Christian Erhardt had
+failed, the leader of the little band of missionaries and the captain
+of the ship, together with several men of the crew, having been killed
+by the natives. Five more stations were subsequently added--viz., ZOAR
+and HOPEDALE to the south, and OKAK, HEBRON, and RAMAH to the north of
+Nain. The distance from Ramah to Hopedale is about three hundred
+miles.
+
+Since the year 1770, when the "Jersey Packet" was sent out on an
+exploratory trip, the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel has
+maintained regular communication with Labrador by despatching each
+year a ship, specially devoted to this missionary object. Eleven
+different ships have been employed in this service, ranging from a
+little sloop of seventy tons to a barque of two hundred and forty
+tons. Of these only four were specially constructed for Arctic
+service, including the vessel now in use, which was built in the year
+1861. She is the fourth of the Society's Labrador ships bearing the
+well-known name "THE HARMONY."
+
+[Illustration: "THE HARMONY."]
+
+
+
+
+=WITH THE HARMONY TO LABRADOR=.
+
+NOTES OF A VISIT BY THE REV. B. LA TROBE.
+
+
+What can a summer visitor tell of Labrador, that great drear land
+whose main feature is winter, the long severe winter which begins in
+October and lasts until June? I have been sailing over summer seas,
+where in winter no water is visible, but a wide waste of ice
+stretching thirty, forty, fifty or more miles from the snowy shores.
+In the same good ship "Harmony," I have been gliding between the
+innumerable islands of the Labrador archipelago and up the fine fjords
+stretching far inland among the mountains, but in winter those bays
+and straits and winding passages are all white frozen plains, the
+highways for the dog-sledge post from station to station. I have
+visited each of our six mission-stations, dotted at intervals of from
+forty to ninety miles along some 250 miles of the grand, rocky coast,
+but I have seen them in their brightest and sunniest aspect, and can
+only imagine how they look when stern winter has come to stay for
+months, and the thermometer frequently descends to forty, fifty,
+sixty, sometimes even seventy degrees below freezing point,
+Fahrenheit. I have spent happy, busy days in those Christian villages,
+nestling close by the shore under the shelter of one or another hill
+that cuts off the icy northern blasts of winter. But I can fancy that
+their ordinary aspect is very different to the bustle and interest of
+the "shiptime." I have enjoyed the kindly hospitality of successive
+mission-houses, one as neat and clean as the other. But I have seen
+none of them half buried, as they often are, in snowdrifts of fifteen
+or twenty feet deep. The summer sun sent down powerful rays into the
+windows of the pleasant guest-chamber usually facing southward, but in
+mid-winter the Okak mission-house lies in the shadow of a great hill
+for weeks, and at other stations the sun describes a low curve over
+the opposite mountains, and does little more than shed a feeble ray of
+cheer upon the mid-day meal.
+
+One unpleasant experience of the warmer season I have shared with our
+missionaries, which they are spared in winter. That is the
+inconvenience of the swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies, which make
+them almost glad when the brief summer yields to a cooler autumn.
+
+On the other hand many phases of Labrador life do not change with the
+season of the year, least of all the spiritual verities which there,
+as elsewhere, concern the welfare of the bodies and the souls of men,
+and the eternal principles which should rule the life that now is, as
+well as that which is to come. The Christian life of the dwellers in
+those mission-houses, and, thank God, of the goodly congregations
+gathered around them, has its source in a perennial fountain, flowing
+summer and winter from the upper sanctuary. _This_ is the matter of
+main interest to my readers, therefore I will transcribe, or rather
+adapt, some diary pages, hoping they may convey correct impressions of
+the daily surroundings and local conditions under which our dear,
+self-denying missionaries are constantly toiling to win souls, and
+build up truly Christian congregations.
+
+
+
+
+ARRIVAL AT HOPEDALE, THE SOUTHERN STATION.
+
+
+Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Okak, Hebron, Raman; these are our Labrador
+mission-stations in order from south to north, and as we visited them
+in the "Harmony," with one exception. From Okak we went straight to
+Ramah, and returned southward to Hebron, whence we sailed for Europe.
+Each station consists of the mission premises and a group of Eskimo
+dwellings, situated on the shore of a bay, affording safe and
+convenient anchorage for the ship which brings supplies. From Hopedale
+to Ramah is about 250 miles, "as the crow flies," but the ship
+traverses a hundred miles more in its passages from place to place.
+The distances between the stations are about as follows:--
+
+     Hopedale to Zoar 90 miles  Okak to Hebron  70 miles.
+     Zoar to Nain     40  "     Hebron to Ramah 60   "
+     Nain to Okak     80  "
+
+The accompanying log of our voyage gives a _resume_ of its history. I
+will take up my more detailed sketches on the day when we arrived at
+Hopedale, the southern station.
+
+
+
+
+THE 119th VOYAGE OF THE SOCIETY'S VESSEL.
+
+(28th of present barque "Harmony.")
+
+
+     June 20. Wed.--_Farewell Service in London Docks._
+       "  23. Sat.--Left LONDON.
+     July  3. Tues.--Arr. at STROMNESS (Orkney Isles).
+       "   6. Fri.--Left STROMNESS.
+
+     (_London to Labrador, 41 days_.)
+
+     Aug.  3. Fri.--Arr. at HOPEDALE.
+       "  13. Mon.--Left       "
+       "  14. Tues.--Arr. at ZOAR.
+       "  19. Sun.--Left      "
+       "  19. Sun.--Arr. at NAIN.
+       "  27. Mon.--Left     "
+       "  29. Wed.--Arr. at OKAK.
+     Sept. 5. Wed.--Left     "
+       "   9. Sun.--Arr. at RAMAH.
+       "  14. Fri.--Left      "
+       "  17. Mon.--Arr. at HEBRON.
+       "  25. Tues.--Left     "
+
+     (_Stay in Labrador, 53 days_.)
+
+     Oct. 26. Fri.--Re-entered LONDON DOCKS.
+
+     (_Homeward Voyage, 31 days_.)
+
+     The whole voyage occupied 125 days, or close upon 18 weeks.
+
+
+_August 3rd_, 1888. It is six weeks all but a day since we left
+London. We might have reached Hopedale three days ago, for we were
+within eighty miles. But a dense fog made it impossible to venture
+among the islands, where drift ice might be added to the dangers of
+rocks. So we have been driving to and fro for the last three days and
+nights over a high sea, studded with icebergs hidden from us by a
+thick white mist, which made everything wet and cold. It has been the
+least pleasant and most anxious part of our voyage hitherto. This
+morning the fog cleared away, and we could see how good the Lord had
+been to us, for the icebergs were still surrounding us, but had never
+been permitted to come nigh our vessel. (Not till later did we know
+how well He had not only protected but piloted us. Drift ice beset the
+whole coast, but during those three days it cleared away southward.
+Nor could we have reached Hopedale by the usual southerly route, past
+the Gull Island, even on August 3rd. The course by which we were
+taken, _nolens volens_, was the only one open).
+
+As morning wore on our swift progress brought us to the outer islands,
+bare bleak rocks, at whose base the sea was breaking terrifically. The
+first was Ukalek (the hare), about equal distance from Nain, Zoar, and
+Hopedale. We turned southward, our good ship speeding along before a
+favourable breeze and rolling heavily. Many icebergs of all shapes and
+sizes were visible around our now widened horizon. Tremendous waves
+were beating against their gleaming white sides, and sending the spray
+high towards their towering pinnacles, in one case clean over a huge
+berg perhaps 150 feet high.
+
+Presently the Eskimoes at their northern fishing-places caught sight
+of us. Yonder are two boats sailing from that barren island, and we
+can now see three or four Eskimoes in each. As we overtake them they
+fire their guns and shout. See, on that island to the right is a
+regular little encampment, two or three tents, and men, women, and
+children running about excitedly, waving their arms and hallooing.
+Soon they launch their boats and row after us. The Ship Hill has been
+visible for some time. Now we see the red roof of the mission-house,
+and the little cupola of the church. Thank God! the flag is flying at
+the mast-head, _i.e._, at the top of the station flagstaff; no death
+has occurred in the mission circle. Yonder Eskimoes on the rocks,
+congregated about their little cannon, fire their salutes and shout
+their welcome. Now we are sailing into the harbour. With mingled
+feelings I scan the mission-house. Yes, there are some of the
+missionaries at the door. They run down to the pier, launch their boat
+and are coming off to us, rowed by two men and two women. I recognize
+old Boaz from his photograph; and that is Verona, good faithful soul.
+But there are only Mrs. Dam, and the Brethren Kaestner, Asboe, and
+Hansen. Where are the rest? Mr. Bourquin has not arrived from Nain; no
+news from the North; Mr. Dam is ailing, and must return to Europe with
+us. Mrs. Asboe and Mrs. Kaestner await us, so we are soon off in the
+boat to get another warm welcome at the door of the mission-house,
+about half-past five.
+
+[Illustration: HOPEDALE. (_See next page._)]
+
+I am conducted to the guest-chamber, and ere long we meet at the tea
+table, around which the whole mission family is assembled with their
+visitors. First our gratitude is expressed for the many mercies to
+each and all, included in the safe arrival of the "Harmony," and then
+ensues a lively interchange of news and mutual interests.
+
+
+
+
+HOPEDALE.
+
+
+I will content myself with a few explanations of the accompanying view
+of the station from the bay. In winter the aspect of the whole
+landscape would be very much whiter, and the foreground not water, but
+ice. The bare, rocky ship hill which forms the background still had
+considerable patches of snow when we arrived early in August, but it
+melted from day to day during our stay, for the summer sun asserts its
+power during its brief sway. The mission-house in the centre of the
+picture is connected with the church by a covered passage, and the
+building with the three gable-ends, on the other side of it, is the
+store. The gardens, really wonderful in results when the climate is
+considered, are situated at some distance to the rear of the mission
+premises. The Eskimo village lies mostly to the right, where only one
+or two log huts are visible in the picture. Some of the native houses
+are behind the mission premises, including that of Jonas and his
+capable wife Lydia, perhaps the neatest and best furnished home of an
+Eskimo to be found in Labrador. The three windows to the right of the
+front door of the mission-house belong to the rooms occupied by Mr.
+and Mrs. Asboe. If there be as much snow this winter as last, they may
+be in the dark, part of the time. The three centre windows of the
+upper story show Mr. Hansen's rooms, and on each side of these are the
+dwellings of Mr. and Mrs. Kaestner and Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg.
+
+
+
+
+A STROLL "TO THE HEATHEN."
+
+
+The only "road" in all Labrador is the broad path at Hebron traversed
+by the only wheeled vehicle in the country, a queer little wagon drawn
+by dogs, and used to fetch water for the house. But great service to
+succeeding generations of missionaries has been rendered by those who
+have employed some of their leisure in making pleasant paths leading
+to points of view or places of interest. For such a remote settlement,
+Hopedale is rich in well-made walks, though they are by no means so
+extensive as the winding paths in the fir woods behind Nain, the
+oldest station. And as I can bear witness, the present generation of
+missionaries have at each station fairly done their duty in adding to
+the roads along which their successors in the service shall take their
+social strolls or their lonely prayerful walks in communion with the
+best of friends.
+
+What an illustration of the spiritual service in such a land! The
+pioneer finds all in the roughest phase of nature. With infinite
+trouble and pains he prepares the way of the Lord, making the rough
+places plain; here he takes away the rocks and stones which bar the
+way, there he builds up, so making His paths straight. And where the
+good-work has been begun, other missionaries follow on the same lines;
+and so by grace it shall go forward, until the glory of the Lord shall
+be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
+
+One of the Hopedale paths leads "to the heathen," and what more
+interesting spot could we visit than those three mounds, which are all
+that remain of the former winter dwellings of the original heathen
+population. One by one, and sometimes several at once, when the Spirit
+of the Lord was powerfully bringing home to their hearts the Gospel
+preached by the early missionaries, the inmates of these abodes moved
+from their pagan surroundings and began to make themselves Christian
+homes around the mission-houses.
+
+On our way to the long uninhabited ruins of this older group of
+abodes, we will pass through the Christian village, which has thus
+sprung up at Hopedale as at all the other stations. It consists of
+irregular groups of little log houses, planted with little attempt at
+symmetry. Their Eskimo owners have no idea of a street. Perhaps some
+day the conception may occur to them as they read in their Bibles of
+"the street which was called straight." Nor do they need any words in
+their language for "rent," "rates," or, "taxes." Here in the south and
+at the station most influenced by civilization, the majority of the
+little houses are built of logs and even roofed with wood. Some are
+covered with turf. The dwellings of our people in the north are much
+more primitive. Each house has its low porch, a very necessary
+addition in this land of "winter's frost and snowing."
+
+Between the houses and in their porches lie many dogs. One of these
+wolf-like creatures follows us over the rocks to the burial-ground,
+and then runs off to fish on his own account. The dogs scour the shore
+for miles in search of food, for, with the exception of those
+belonging to our stores, they mostly have to forage for themselves.
+They like seal and reindeer meat, but there are times when they can
+get neither flesh nor fish. Then they turn vegetarians, spring over
+the fences of the mission gardens and help themselves.
+
+We enter the irregular enclosure, where lie the bodies of many, who
+have fallen asleep during the hundred years that Hopedale has stood.
+Here are some Eskimo graves with little headstones, bearing brief
+inscriptions, but more mounds without identification. In one corner
+lies a group of graves of touching interest--the missionaries and
+their children--who have taken sepulchre possession here.
+
+Thence our way lies along the shore. What is that noise? It is a whale
+blowing in the smooth water. Look, yonder rises the column of spray,
+and now a great fin appears for a moment over the surface. Wait
+awhile, and the monster will blow again. Yes, there he is, spouting
+and diving; on the whole, we can hear more than we can see of him.
+
+Over rock and moss, variegated with lovely little flowers, we reach
+the path which skirts the old heathen sites. Little more than the
+outline of the former turf houses is visible. The turf roof has fallen
+in, or been carried away, but the low mounds which formed the walls
+remain, as also the roofless curving porch, which in each opened out
+to the sea. More than one hundred persons of both sexes and all ages
+are said to have inhabited these three houses, and their heathen life
+here, with its cruelties, sorceries, and other unhallowed phases, can
+better be imagined than described. It must have been a great advance
+for them in every respect when they moved to the mission-station,
+established nearly half a mile away, and began to learn the faith and
+hope which have given it its name. In those days there must have been
+a good many such heathen villages along this coast with a nomad
+population far more numerous than now.
+
+Thence we easily ascend the ship hill, over rock and moss, and
+occasional patches of snow. The view is really grand, though bleak and
+bare. Hundreds of rocky islands lie between us and the seaward
+horizon, while to north and south one can scarcely distinguish them
+from the bold headlands which stretch out into the ocean. Northward,
+the white sails of from thirty to forty fishing schooners are gleaming
+white in the sun. Hundreds of these craft pass up the coast from
+Newfoundland every summer, and the spiritual interests of their crews
+are faithfully sought at Hopedale. Sometimes the Sunday afternoon
+English service is attended by more than two hundred such visitors. As
+we descend the hill and return to the station past the well-kept
+gardens, we make our first acquaintance with mosquitoes, but they do
+not trouble us much to-day.
+
+
+
+
+JOYS AND SORROWS--A MARRIAGE AND A FUNERAL
+
+
+Each mission-station is a little world in itself; it has its own joys
+and sorrows, and complete cycle of events in the human lives lived
+here for a time by the will of God, who has His purposes of love in
+each and all. I have touched many of these joys and sorrows during my
+brief stay here.
+
+In the godly family of this Hopedale mission-house, it is a time when
+the clouds return after the rain. Little Hildegard Kaestner has been
+lying for some days between life and death, but at last we can rejoice
+with her parents in a degree of hope. The child has even shown a faint
+interest in her toys. (I am grieved to hear on my return that the
+little one passed away while her father was absent with me on duty.)
+Our English missionary sister has also been passing through woman's
+time of trial and honour, and we are now able to rejoice with her and
+her husband in the gift of a little girl, their firstborn. God bless
+and keep mother and child!
+
+My visits with Mr. Dam, the pastor, and his wife, to some of the
+Eskimoes' houses have been singularly sad. Titus' wife, Katharina,
+formerly a good and able woman, has fallen into a pitiable state of
+insanity, which is not only a sore sorrow to the good man, but also a
+great hindrance to his earning a livelihood. Then we were suddenly
+summoned to the next house, where we found Hermine dying. In the
+morning she went out fishing with her husband, Wilhadus. Both were
+taken very ill with one of those colds which are so fatal to the
+Eskimoes, and he feared he should not be able to bring her home alive.
+She was nearly gone, and he very ill, when they did arrive. We found
+her on the floor, surrounded by sympathizing and helpful neighbours.
+But there was little to be done; life was fast ebbing. Mr. Dam knelt
+and prayed beside her, then blessed her, and she feebly responded to
+his words. The women laid her down comfortably, and as they sang
+hymns, amid tears and sobs, she passed away to be with the Lord, on
+whom she believed. God be praised that there is such hope and comfort
+in this event.
+
+Hermine died on Thursday, and the funeral was on Saturday afternoon,
+when a little child was also buried. The first part of the service was
+in the church. Then the congregation reassembled just outside, the men
+by themselves and the women apart. The larger coffin was borne on the
+shoulders of six men, the little one was carried by two. The whole
+congregation appeared to be the mourners, nor was poor Wilhadus well
+enough to follow his wife's remains to their last resting-place. After
+singing a verse in front of the church, the procession moved slowly
+onward to the burial ground, where Mr. Kaestner read the litany, and
+the responses and singing were beautifully reverent. At his signal the
+coffins were lowered into the graves, and he spoke the concluding
+blessing at each.
+
+I was present at a marriage service last Sunday. The young bridegroom
+and bride sat together on two stools in the middle of the church. They
+were simply and plainly dressed in clean white "sillapaks," _i.e._,
+light calico tunics edged with broad braid, mostly red. The woman's
+was rather more ornamental than the man's, and had a longer tail
+hanging over her skirts. She had a ring on one finger, but that played
+no part in the ceremony. In his opening address the minister named the
+pair. William Tuktusna comes from the South, and possesses both
+Christian name and surname, which is unusual for an Eskimo. The woman
+is called Amalie. Both replied with a clear "Ahaila" (yes) to the
+usual questions of the marriage service. They then gave the hand to
+one another, and, kneeling down, a prayer and the Old Testament
+blessing confirmed the solemn contract, into which they had entered
+before God. As usual the congregation sang the response, "Jesum
+akkane, Amen." (In the name of Jesus, Amen).
+
+Amalie cried a little during the ceremony, and more as she followed
+her husband out of the church, but the heathen custom of feigning
+sorrow on such an occasion is dying out. At first she refused
+William's offer, made through their missionary, but afterwards she
+thought better of it. May the Lord give them a happy and holy union of
+heart and life!
+
+
+
+
+THREE NATIVE HELPERS.
+
+
+I had a visit this afternoon from the three "native-helpers" here at
+Hopedale. They came to interview the angajokak from London
+(anga-yo-kak = chief or elder) and their pastor kindly interpreted. I
+am pleased to know these worthy men. They are true Eskimoes in modes
+of thought and expression, and they are true servants of God,
+faithfully serving this congregation of their countrymen in many ways.
+Among the duties of their office are, visiting the sick, admonishing
+the negligent, settling disputes, and affectionately exhorting those
+who are under Church discipline. They are also chapel-servants, and
+evidently glad to be door-keepers in the house of their God. At the
+fishing or hunting places they often hold services, and sometimes they
+preside at the meetings at Hopedale. At the celebration of the recent
+centenary each of the three delivered a powerful address.
+
+Let me introduce them to my readers.
+
+The first and oldest is JOSHUA, a decided Christian of many years'
+standing. His wife Bertha is also a chapel-servant, a real mother in
+the congregation, and a true helpmeet to her husband. They are a
+thrifty, diligent, much respected couple, whose influence and example
+is blessed to those around them. Next February 4th they will, D.V.,
+celebrate their golden wedding, an event unknown as yet in Labrador.
+Though Joshua cannot read, he frequently addresses the congregation
+with power, suitability, spirituality, and some originality. In his
+public prayers he almost invariably adds a petition "for our Queen
+Victoria; because she is only a woman." On one occasion he said to his
+countrymen: "Those of you who can read know that it says, they shall
+come from the East and the West, and the North and the South, and
+shall sit down in the kingdom, but the children of the kingdom shall
+be cast out. Our fathers were heathen, but we are children of the
+kingdom. If _we_ fail of the grace of God, we shall not only be cast
+into hell, but into outer, _outer_, OUTER darkness." It made a great
+impression on them. At another time he drew a comparison between the
+Israelites, who entered Canaan with Joshua, and the spiritual
+Israelites, who with Jesus shall enter on the millennium.
+
+The second is DANIEL, a gifted man with a humble spirit and
+considerable missionary zeal. Year by year, as Epiphany, "the Heathen
+Festival," comes round, he has sleepless nights of deep sorrow in his
+heart for those who know not Jesus, the Salvation of God. Twenty years
+ago, stirred by the example of John King, the bush-negro evangelist in
+Surinam, Daniel went in his own boat to his heathen countrymen in the
+far north of Labrador. He found a companion of like sentiment in
+Gottlob of Hebron, who afterwards rendered such excellent service at
+Ramah. More recently Daniel induced Titus of Hopedale to accompany him
+on a winter journey to some of the European settlers and half-breeds
+in the neighbourhood of that station. When they arrived at the
+log-house of one or another of these dwellers in the remote bays,
+Daniel at once told their errand with as much humility as
+earnestness. Their simple testimony of the Saviour from sin was well
+received. When they returned to Hopedale Daniel had a great deal to
+tell the missionaries of the utterances of his companion, but very
+little to remark about his own sayings and doings. He frequently
+accompanies his missionaries on their evangelistic or pastoral
+journeys not only as driver of the dog-sledge, but as helper of their
+spiritual work.
+
+[Illustration: TITUS. _Native Helper at Hopedale_.]
+
+The third of my visitors is the above mentioned TITUS, also a man of
+ripe years and Christian experience. The way in which his zeal and
+spirit of service supplement the gifts of his friend Daniel is a
+striking illustration of the Spirit's dividing to every man severally
+as He wills. Daniel is a man of quick perceptions, Titus of prompt
+action. The two may be walking together and talking of the spiritual
+welfare of the congregation so much upon their hearts and prayers.
+Daniel mentions some matter which he fears is displeasing in God's
+sight. "Yes, yes, that is so," says Titus; "I had not perceived it, but
+you are right. We must testify against that." And testify he does, on
+the first opportunity, with such vigour that the abuse is rebuked and
+stopped, yet with such tact that none can be offended at his faithful
+outspokenness.
+
+For some years Titus has served as assistant schoolmaster, and like
+his friend Daniel he takes part in the music of the sanctuary, having
+a good bass voice. Daniel sings tenor in the choir, or plays the
+violoncello.
+
+
+
+
+A COMMUNION AND FESTIVAL SUNDAY AT HOPEDALE.
+
+
+_Sunday, August 12th_.--To-day the festival of the thirteenth of
+August, the spiritual birthday of the renewed Brethren's Unity, has
+been celebrated in this far northern congregation, incorporated in the
+one bond with those in Germany, England, America, and our various
+mission-fields scattered thousands of miles apart over the surface of
+the globe.
+
+In the early morning the congregation band played suitable chorales in
+good time and tune, and the solemn strains were well adapted to
+prepare hearts and feelings for the spiritual privileges of the day.
+
+At nine o'clock Daniel kept the morning blessing. Picture the neat
+clean, church, simple and suitable for the worship of an Eskimo
+congregation. Behind the table sits the worthy native-helper. To his
+right hand the missionaries face the men and boys; to his left are the
+missionaries' wives, and opposite them a more numerous company of
+women and girls. The benches are without backs. The little organ is
+played by Ludolf, an Eskimo, well and devotionally, and the singing is
+further accompanied by other musicians with one clarionet, five
+violins, and a violoncello. The choice of tunes is such as would
+puzzle most congregations in England. The people are very devout in
+their demeanour and sing well. Their faces are mostly brown, with high
+cheek bones, but on the whole they are much lighter in complexion than
+photographs had led me to conclude.
+
+Daniel did his part reverently and simply, for, as he had told me
+before by word and gesture, God has made the heart and the mouth. His
+long and earnest prayer, spoken extempore in his own language, was
+evidently well prepared, and thoroughly suitable to the occasion. He
+asked the Lord to be among us with His blessings, His faithfulness,
+and His mercies. He continued: "O Saviour, Thou hast all fulness; Thou
+wast able and willing to bless the brethren at Herrnhut a hundred and
+fifty years ago, bless us now. True, we are worse and much lower than
+they were, but Thou canst do it. Bless us to-day. We are very bad, but
+Thou wilt bless those among us who believe. As to those who do not
+believe, bless them too, and, if possible, let them be partakers of
+Thy salvation.
+
+"We think of our teachers, those who have come to us and those who are
+about to leave us by the 'Harmony.' O bless them for their works'
+sake. We do not always obey them as we ought. Help us to be more
+obedient. Lord, do these things for us, and though we are not able to
+praise Thee sufficiently here on earth, we will praise Thee in heaven
+for ever."
+
+The next service was commenced with a choir piece, when the organ and
+other instruments accompanied seven singers, four women and three men.
+The women especially had voices of power and compass. Alto, tenor, and
+bass were fairly sustained, as well as soprano, and the whole effect
+was good. The piece, which was not easy, but suitable in liturgical
+character, was well rendered both in forte and piano passages. This
+time Ambrose, another native, presided at the organ, and Ludolf played
+the first violin.
+
+Mr. Kaestner's sermon on 1 John iii. 1 was followed by a baptism, in
+Labrador suitably the closing part of the public service. The
+congregation as ever take up the long responses well and devotionally,
+and in this service the children repeat portions of Scripture (1 Pet.
+iii. 21, Tit. iii. 5, and Matt. xix. 14). These were spoken distinctly
+and simultaneously by the boys and girls. The infant having been
+brought up to the table by the parents, the minister baptized it with
+the formula Susannah, Jesusib tokkun-ganut baptipagit Atatab,
+Ernerublo, Anernerublo ajunginerub attinganut. (Susannah, into the
+death of Jesus I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the
+Son, and of the Holy Ghost.)
+
+I took the English service at three o'clock. Soon after we again
+assembled in the church, for the Eskimo choir had sent a deputation to
+request that they might sing some more of their pieces for us. The
+programme of their really excellent performance included such pieces
+as Hosanna, Christians Awake, Stille Nacht, Morgernstern (Morning
+Star), and an anthem (Ps. 96) containing effective duets for tenor and
+alto. When they had finished I spoke a few words of thanks and
+farewell, and then Mr. Dam bade good-bye to the people he had loved
+and served for ten years. They were much moved at the thought of
+parting with their faithful pastor and his wife.
+
+Shall I ever forget that communion at seven? I felt it a great
+privilege to partake of the Lord's Supper with my brethren and sisters
+in Labrador. How much He has done for these dear missionaries, simple
+earnest Christians, experienced in the things of God, men and women of
+mighty faith, who do "move mountains." How much hath God wrought for
+these dear Eskimo Christians, who sit down at His table with beautiful
+reverence and real appreciation of this act of faith.
+
+The benches not needed for the communicant congregation had been
+removed from the centre of the church. On the men's side two empty
+benches stood together, on the women's three or four. After the
+trombonists had played a solemn chorale outside, the first chapel
+servant Joshua and his wife Bertha opened their respective doors, and
+about twenty men and more than thirty women entered from right and
+left and took their seats. Both men and women were all attired in
+their light braided sillapaks, and they are very particular to have
+clean ones for this service. The women who are communicants have a
+lock of their hair plaited in front of each ear. The vessels used on
+this occasion were presented to this congregation by two American
+ladies, who recently visited Hopedale. They were present on a similar
+occasion and were much struck by the solemnity and reality of the
+service. In grateful remembrance of the kindness of our missionaries
+they have sent this valuable and beautiful gift of communion plate.
+
+Though unacquainted with the language, I was able to follow the
+simple, familiar communion service. The words of institution sounded
+solemn, as pronounced in Eskimo, and truly when one knelt with the
+congregation, and partook of the bread and wine, one could discern the
+Lord's body, and feel that, though these dear people have their
+temptations and their failings, yet there are many souls here who feed
+on the Bread of Life and live by Him. When He cometh it will be
+manifest, and even now He is glorified here in them that believe.
+
+After the communion we went down to the boat to embark. The rock that
+stretches out into the harbour was crowded with Eskimoes, who had
+hurried to bid their departing missionaries a loving farewell.
+
+
+
+
+A PLEASANT SAIL FROM HOPEDALE TO ZOAR.
+
+
+_Tuesday, August 14th._--We are nearing the second station. Leaving
+Hopedale about dawn yesterday we made good progress northward, sailing
+quietly between innumerable islets, all bleak, bare, uninhabited
+rocks. We saw many small icebergs. In the evening one singularly
+shapely and beautiful berg floated past us, tipped with violet, which
+contrasted with the curious yellow tint of one side, the pure white of
+the mass and the living green of the waves rippling at its base. The
+sunset and the northern lights were very fine.
+
+When I went on deck this morning the island of Ukalek, or "The Hare,"
+was astern, various rocky islets, imperfectly marked, or altogether
+omitted on the chart, were on both sides of us, and Zoar far ahead
+among the distant hills. Our vessel was almost imperceptibly gliding
+in that direction. May the Lord, who alone knows the rifts and rocks
+of this marvellous coast, bring us safely thither, and guide me aright
+amid the difficulties of the present situation there! These people
+have learned no wisdom or thrift, in spite of all the love and
+patience shown them, and they have made the past winter a most trying
+time for their devoted missionaries.
+
+The mirage yesterday and to-day is a wonderful freak of nature. At
+times, nothing can be seen as it really is. Icebergs and islands are
+flattened to one dead level, or doubled, so as to appear now like long
+bridges, now like high towers. The rapid changes in the appearance of
+solid masses are marvellous. All day we have been slowly sailing
+westward, new prospects of distant hills ever opening up as we passed
+headland after headland. Presently the barren rocks began to be
+clothed with firs here and there, but the lifelessness of the scene
+was striking. Once we caught sight of two or three Eskimo tents on a
+little island, but no human beings were visible. Only a solitary
+grampus made the circuit of our ship.
+
+At length we round the last cape, and enter Zoar Bay. Presently we
+come in sight of the station buildings between the fir-clad slope and
+the shore. There is the store, now the mission-house and church appear
+from behind yonder rock. The Eskimoes are firing their shots of
+welcome, answered by rockets from the ship. Thank God, the station
+flag is flying at the mast-head! That tells us that neither illness
+nor accident have been permitted to carry off any of the missionaries.
+
+Look behind you. The hills are glowing with a glorious
+"Alpengluehen"--an evening effect as splendid as it is surprising.
+
+Now we are nearer. They are launching the "Emily," the station boat.
+Rowed by natives, she comes alongside almost as soon as our anchor is
+down, and all the resident missionaries climb on board, followed by a
+number of Eskimoes.
+
+Soon our hosts carry us off to the hospitable little mission-house,
+which somehow or another manages to find comfortable quarters for all
+the visitors. I am writing up my diary in Mr. and Mrs. Rinderknecht's
+pleasant rooms, which I am to share with Mr. Kaestner, who is on his
+way to Nain to take part in our conference there. Mr. and Mrs. Martin
+are occupying the spare room below us, and the Lundbergs have also
+turned out to make room for Mr. and Mrs. Dam. Where our hosts have
+taken up their abode meanwhile remains a riddle for the present. (The
+riddle was solved in a subsequent tour of inspection of the house,
+when I found that the one resident couple had retired to the garret
+and the other to a workshop on the ground floor.)
+
+
+
+
+ZOAR.
+
+
+In its summer aspect this is a singularly lovely place. Yet, I see
+each station at its best, and can only guess at the changes which snow
+and ice will work in the landscape. Were this spot in Europe, it would
+soon be a favourite summer resort. Being in Labrador, however, the
+summer visitors would speedily fly from the swarms of mosquitoes and
+sand-flies. These appear as soon as the weather is at all warm and are
+a veritable plague in the summer evenings, which would else be so
+enjoyable. And when these myriad tormentors with wings and stings are
+gone, rude winter cuts short the autumn.
+
+As usual in Labrador, the little mission-station lies on the north
+side of the bay, so that the wooded hill behind shields it from the
+northern blasts. This fir-clad slope makes Zoar much more friendly in
+appearance than any other station. Hopedale is bare and treeless in
+its general aspect and so in less degree are Nain and Okak, though all
+three have fir-trees in their neighbourhood. Ramah and Hebron are
+beyond the limit of even these hardy evergreens, and the latter looks
+very bleak and rocky. Pleasing as is the first impression of Zoar,
+the conviction soon grows upon one that the site has its serious
+disadvantages. First and foremost among these is the fact that it is
+not favourable to success in sealing and fishing, so that it is not
+easy for the inhabitants to make a livelihood.
+
+The pretty mission-house affords convenient accommodation for two
+missionary families. It is, as usual, connected with the church by a
+covered passage. To the right of these buildings the little Eskimo
+village stretches along the shore, to their left are situated the
+well-stocked mission-gardens, from which pleasant paths have been made
+through the woods beyond. Between the church and the rocky beach
+stands the store, and not far off the salt-house and the boat-house.
+The powder-house is always situated on some rock at a safe distance
+from the station, for the Eskimoes burn a considerable quantity of
+this dangerous material in their ceaseless war with seals, walrusses,
+reindeer, and other animals, including an occasional black or white
+bear.
+
+
+
+
+A CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP HILL AT ZOAR.
+
+
+The ascent to the spot whence the approach of the ships can best be
+descried is by no means so easily accomplished at Zoar as at Hopedale.
+But the hour's stiff climb is richly rewarded by a magnificent
+prospect. Our path lies first through the fir woods, then over a bare
+plain on which tufts of beautiful and very variegated mosses alternate
+with rocks and withered roots. This is evidently the site of a forest,
+which at no very distant date has been killed by the terrible climate.
+Up again through low thick brushwood and over great rocks, till at
+last we reach the summit. Seaward we can see the course by which the
+"Harmony" came in. Northward the eye ranges along the rugged coast
+with its innumerable islands and deep fjords. Yonder sheet of water is
+not an arm of the sea, but a great freshwater lake, long an object of
+superstitious dread to the Eskimoes. Neither in summer or winter dared
+they cross it, until their missionaries did so, for they believed a
+monster dwelt in it, who could eat up the man and his kayak, or
+sledge, dogs and driver. Inland one sees mountain after mountain,
+whose wild slopes are traversed by no human foot unless the Nascopie
+Indian, or "mountaineer," may pass that way in pursuit of the
+reindeer. None of these natives of the great unknown interior have
+visited our stations this year. In the Zoar bay beneath us the
+"Harmony" is riding at anchor near the mission premises, and now we
+can see the whole curve of the other great bay, which approaches Zoar
+from the north. The "itiblek," as the Eskimoes call a low narrow neck
+of land between two such arms of the sea, is but a few hundred yards
+across. To the east of yonder waterfall is a level place on the shore
+of the larger fjord, which was once thought of as a site for this
+station. But it would have been too much exposed to the east wind.
+
+What a different landscape this will be in winter, when all those
+waterways among the islands are frozen! It must be very difficult even
+for an Eskimo sledge driver to know his way through the snow-covered
+labyrinth on so large a scale, indeed almost impossible when the
+driving snow hides his landmarks. But He, to whom we are wont to
+commend our travellers by land and sea, cares also for those who
+traverse the ice-plains of Labrador, that they may serve Him or join
+His people in worship. Not only our missionaries but the settlers have
+often experienced His goodness in answer to prayer in moments of
+perplexity or danger. It is indeed praiseworthy that, to gain a
+blessing for their souls, the latter are willing to run the risks and
+bear the expenses of a two or three days' sledge journey to the
+stations, often in terrible cold. Sometimes their children are sorely
+disappointed when the parents cannot venture to take them to the
+Christmas or Easter Festival. Last Christmas Eve, two boys, aged
+sixteen and fourteen, started from their home in Kamarsuk bay and
+walked through deep snow to Zoar, which they reached after ten
+laborious hours. English services are held for the settlers at this
+station as well as at Hopedale, though they are more frequent at the
+southern place owing to the visits of the crews from the Newfoundland
+fishing schooners.
+
+
+
+
+FROM ZOAR TO NAIN BETWEEN ISLANDS.
+
+
+Our voyage from Zoar to Nain occupied just twelve hours. We left about
+5.30 A.M., and our anchor went down again before 5.30 P.M. The day was
+fine and warm, and the scenery changed continually. Often the way
+seemed barred before us, but, as we sailed on, a narrow strait opened
+to right or left, and as we neared Nain our voyage between the islands
+became more and more interesting. Presently some Nain Eskimoes caught
+sight of the "Harmony," and posted off to the station in their sailing
+boat, which kept ahead the whole way. Two men came to meet us in their
+kayaks, and paddled alongside for some time, their light skin boats
+skimming over the water as easily as the flock of ducks which had just
+crossed our bows. Passing the island Taktuk, a salute fired by the one
+Eskimo visible was followed by such a concert of howls from his dogs
+seated in a row on a rock as made us all laugh. Next the Kauk came in
+view, a great rock looking like a skull, or, as its name implies, "a
+forehead," a very recognizable landmark often anxiously looked for on
+sledge journeys. Paul's Island, with its deep inlets, was to our
+right, and now a good wind sent us forward past headland after
+headland till Nain came out from behind the Suederhucke. First we could
+see the Eskimo village, whose inhabitants were, as usual, firing their
+guns and shouting; then the church came in sight, and the
+mission-house with flag at the mast head; then the store and the
+little pier, which, as we approached, was crowded with Eskimoes
+singing, "Now let us praise the Lord."
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST EVENING AT NAIN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Nain was the third station visited on our voyage northward along the
+bleak but grand coast of Labrador. Hopedale and Zoar had already been
+left behind in the south; Okak, Hebron, and Ramah, all to the north of
+Nain, had yet to be touched at in their turn. Each successive station
+has its own distinctive features and so presents fresh interest to the
+visitor. Nain, the oldest of all, is rich in associations with the
+past as well as very interesting in the life, spiritual and temporal,
+of the mission-house and the Eskimo dwellings, which constitute this
+little Christian village of three hundred inhabitants.
+
+_August 19th._--I take up the story on the Sunday evening, when, about
+a quarter past five o'clock, the "Harmony" came to her anchorage some
+three to four hundred yards from the mission premises on the north
+shore of the Nain bay. It is a mercy when no accident occurs on the
+arrival of a ship at a station, for the Eskimoes are rather wild in
+their expression of their joy, and rather careless in handling powder.
+Just a year ago they burst a little cannon in welcoming the "Gleaner."
+The pieces flew in all directions about the heads of those standing
+round. Yet by God's great goodness not one was hurt. One man's cap was
+knocked off by a flying fragment of iron.
+
+Our first welcome to Nain was from some members of the mission-band,
+who at once came aboard the "Harmony" in their boat. Rowing ashore
+with them, we visitors received a second kind welcome at the
+mission-house. It was rather curious that my fellow-travellers, the
+Martins, should arrive at their destination five-and-twenty years to
+the day after Mr. Bourquin, whom Mr. Martin is eventually to succeed
+in the presidency of this mission. I was conducted to the pleasant
+guest chamber. On my table lay two dear letters from home, the first
+and last received after leaving Stromness. During our stay at Zoar the
+mail steamer came from Newfoundland to Hopedale where she is due every
+fortnight, while the coast is free from ice. This time she came on to
+Nain, which she is bound to visit twice in the season at the captain's
+discretion. She never touches at Zoar between these two stations.
+
+When we met as a family for the evening meal, Mr. Bourquin expressed
+our thanks to the Lord for all his goodness and mercy involved in
+another safe arrival of the mission-ship. The congregation did the
+same at the thanksgiving liturgy, which commenced at 7 P.M. The Church
+here is older and larger than any other in the land. The singing was
+good, rather quicker than at Hopedale. About forty men and sixty women
+occupied the same relative positions to the minister behind the table
+and to the missionary brethren and sisters to right and left of him,
+as at Hopedale and Zoar. The short benches at each end of the long
+church were respectively occupied by three male and three female
+chapel servants. The latter were dressed, not in European fashion, but
+in the national costume of skin trousers with the fur outside.
+
+9 P.M. I am seated in my room after a pleasant social hour with
+interchange of mutual tidings. Every provision has been made for my
+comfort in this neat, clean guest-chamber. What interesting scenes of
+human life as well as fine views of Labrador scenery are visible from
+its windows south and west! Grand rocks from five hundred to eight
+hundred feet in height rise nearly perpendicularly from the opposite
+shore of the bay. Here comes a man paddling his kayak past the
+"Harmony" as she lies at anchor. What is up among the dogs? They are
+all howling and running along the beach, and now they have set on one
+unfortunate, which is hustled and bitten until he escapes and hobbles
+away yelping.
+
+Here is a woman coming to fetch water from the trough. I wish I could
+draw her, for she is an odd figure in trousers and high boots. The
+tail of her sillapak almost trails on the ground, and in its capacious
+hood, a baby is seated looking out on the world with great content.
+
+10 P.M. It has grown dark whilst I have been writing up my diary. What
+a concert the dogs are giving us now. They are howling, barking, and
+sometimes fairly screaming, each and all contributing their full share
+of the unearthly noises. 10.10. All is still: may it last! It is time
+I retired to rest, for one must be up betimes; 6 A.M. is the hour in
+all these mission-houses, for morning prayers are at 6.30 sharp. One
+more look out of my window. The moon is rising above the opposite
+hills and casting a broad band of light across the rippling waters.
+
+
+
+
+INTERCHANGE OF VISITS WITH THE ESKIMOES.
+
+
+"Good luck to you, sir!" That was meant for "Good-bye," and is the
+sort of English the Eskimoes to the south of Hopedale have learnt.
+Both at that station and here at Nain I have had curious visits from
+such as prided themselves on their knowledge of my mother-tongue. Some
+spoke it very fairly, but my conversation with the natives was, of
+course, mostly through an interpreter. These visits are quite a
+feature of mission-house life. One afternoon at Hopedale Jonas and his
+wife Lydia came to see me. The good man said: "As there are so many
+souls here, I would ask our angayokaks (elders or superiors) in London
+and Berthelsdorf for God's sake to let us have teachers, as long as
+there are people here. We cannot do without them. We have undying
+souls, and must be cared for." With tears he added, "When I cannot
+sleep, I ask God for this. We thank the angayokaks very much. I hope
+God will grant those who are leaving us a good passage. We may never
+meet again on earth, but I hope we shall in heaven."
+
+I had specially interesting visits from some of the native-helpers at
+different stations. They expressed their humble sense of unworthiness,
+and their gratitude for the benefits which come to them and their
+countrymen through the mission. They also promised faithfully to stand
+by their missionaries. My conviction is that the spiritual life of
+each congregation very much depends on the Christian character,
+stability, and influence of its native leaders.
+
+[Illustration: ESKIMO HOUSES.]
+
+Visits of the Eskimoes to my room, however, took up much precious time
+of the missionary requested to interpret, so I preferred to get one of
+the pastors to accompany me on a round of calls in the village. Let my
+visits to the native-helpers at Nain give a view of the interiors of
+some of the better dwellings.
+
+_Wednesday, August 22nd._--Mr. Bourquin kindly conducted me to the
+homes of Jonathan, Abraham, and Matthew. Through the little porch or
+vestibule, where the dogs lie, one enters the house. Sometimes there
+are two rooms, one for sleeping and the other the dwelling room; but
+mostly the beds are in corners, more or less partitioned or curtained
+off. A little stove serves for warmth and cooking. A small table
+stands by the wall, and there are one or two short benches, but the
+articles of furniture most frequent are the boxes, which accompany the
+Eskimo in his nomad life, and hold his possessions, whether he be in
+his house at home, in his boat fishing, or in his tent at some distant
+hunting place. The walls of the houses are ornamented here and there
+with pictures cut out of old _Illustrated London News_ or _Graphics_.
+Some remains of Christmas ornamentation showed considerable taste. The
+present is not a favourable season to gain a good impression of the
+houses, as their owners are most of their time away from home hunting
+and fishing. Before Christmas they have a thorough turn out and clean
+up, and then await the usual visit from their missionaries, who wisely
+speak a word of commendation where it is deserved. Undoubtedly the
+invariable neatness of the mission-houses, and the special care
+bestowed upon the churches, have a great influence on the cleanliness
+of the Eskimo dwellings.
+
+Husbands and wives were at home in all three houses visited to-day.
+Jonathan spells his own name "Jonatan." He is a godly and worthy man
+of mild disposition yet decided Christian character. His Leah is also
+a native-helper among her sex, and a chapel servant. They gave us a
+friendly welcome. True, it did not occur to them to ask us to sit
+down; but our Eskimoes are pleased if one takes a seat in their houses
+without the asking. Jonatan's grandchild was sleeping on one of the
+beds, and its young mother sat in a corner sewing. The little
+harmonium by the wall belonged to her husband, who lives with his
+parents. The older people thanked me for the visit, and desired their
+greetings to the great teachers over the water.
+
+Our second call was on Abraham, or more correctly "Abraha," for the
+genius of the Eskimo language always requires a name to end with a
+vowel. He is also an excellent and intelligent native assistant. He
+and his Pauline were very pleased to see us, and expressed themselves
+in the same strain as the former couple. As his harmonium and violin
+show, he is very musical; indeed, he is a leading member of the Nain
+choir.
+
+Lastly we called on Matthew and his young wife. His quiet, rather shy
+demeanour and humble estimate of himself, as a recently appointed
+office-bearer in the congregation pleased me well. Perhaps his house
+was the neatest and best furnished of the three.
+
+I wish I could have heard Abraham or Jonathan speak at some service. I
+am told their addresses correspond with their dispositions. The former
+is warm, and vigorous, the latter more calm and affectionate in tone.
+Matthew has yet to overcome his diffidence.
+
+By the way, when I went over to the ship to-day. I found Abraham and
+his family on board. His little two-masted smack was lying alongside
+the "Harmony," ready for a start to his fishing place. It contained an
+interesting variety of possessions. Tent-poles and oars lay along both
+sides, and his kayak was lashed to the right gunwale. Tackle, tent,
+skins, utensils, and boxes were secured in the bottom of the boat, and
+in a small pen at the bows lay his seven dogs.
+
+
+
+
+TWO ESKIMO GROUPS TAKEN AT NAIN.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF WIDOWS AT NAIN.]
+
+
+Mr. Jannasch is the photographer among our Labrador missionaries, and
+we have to thank him for some excellent pictures of persons and places
+in that cold land. Copies of these may be obtained at our Agency (No.
+32, Fetter Lane, London, E.C.), and we should be glad to encourage
+him by a larger sale for his interesting cabinet, stereoscopic and
+_carte de visite_ photographs. As he is resident at Nain, most of his
+scenes or groups are taken at or near that station, but last-winter he
+took his camera with him on a sledge journey to Hopedale.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHOIR AT NAIN.]
+
+The two groups which we have had reproduced for our pages are
+characteristic, but those whose portraits are given might remark that
+justice has scarcely been done to their faces. The first is a group of
+
+WIDOWS AT NAIN. It was a good day for lonely Eskimo women of this
+class when the Gospel came to their shores. I made a point of
+inquiring at each station as to the status of the widows and the
+fatherless, and found that everywhere they are well cared for. Indeed,
+the widows invariably stand in the first rank of those for whom
+regular employment is found by the Society for the Furtherance of the
+Gospel. They gratefully acknowledged this. Several of them also gave
+me a special commission, which I hereby discharge to the best of my
+ability. It was this, "_Give my greeting to all the widows in
+Europe._" Perhaps they thought it would be as easy for the visitor
+from England to do this on his return, as to inquire after all the
+widows in Labrador.
+
+The five aged women in our picture are Adolfina (standing behind),
+Marta (seated to her right), and Hulda and Beata (to her left). Amalia
+(in the centre of the foreground) is attired in skirts after European
+fashion, though she has on a pair of the Eskimo boots indispensable in
+such a land. The rest are dressed in full Eskimo costume. It will be
+seen that their sillapaks and trousers are ornamented with broad
+coloured braid, and the hood, which falls back over their shoulders,
+is edged with dog's skin and adorned with a strip of embroidery. Hulda
+is a worthy door-keeper in the church, and a valued servant in the
+mission-house of many years' standing. The other group represents
+
+THE CHOIR AT NAIN. We have already referred to the musical taste and
+ability of many of the Eskimoes, and those at Nain are not behind the
+Hopedalers in this respect. The man with the violoncello seated in the
+centre is Abraham, the native helper mentioned in a previous
+paragraph. To his right is Nathanael, with a violin. He is the
+schoolmaster at Nain, and his wife Frederika is seated at his right
+hand. One day in 1887, Nathanael was seen shaking his fists at the
+mission house. What had ruffled his temper? He had been told by some
+fishermen that Queen Victoria, to mark her Jubilee, had sent a present
+of a suit of clothes to every schoolmaster in her dominions. As his
+had not reached him, he suspected the missionaries of withholding it.
+This is a characteristic instance of the credulity with which the
+Eskimoes accept the statements of strangers and the mistrust they are
+too apt to show towards those who have long proved themselves their
+most disinterested friends.
+
+
+
+
+"GOD'S ACRE."
+
+
+The burial ground at Nain is the best kept in Labrador. Others are
+neat and tidily arranged, but this decidedly bears off the palm. It is
+finely situated, commanding a view seaward, and an Easter morning
+service in this peaceful resting-place of the departed must be
+impressive indeed, as the rising sun sheds his first rays across
+frozen sea and snowy islands on a company of Christian Eskimoes,
+rejoicing in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, and not
+sorrowing hopelessly for their dead. I know no better name for such a
+sacred enclosure, where the bodies of those who have died in the Lord
+are sown in hope, than the beautiful German term, "God's Acre."
+
+      ______________       ______________
+     |              |     |              |
+     |     805      |     |     741      |
+     |  _Harriott_  |     |  _Eleonora_  |
+     |  1865-1882   |     |  1819-1879   |
+     |______________|     |______________|
+
+
+Scarcely any grass grows within the oblong space surrounded by wooden
+palings, but here and there patches of moss or low berry bushes
+threaten to hide the neat little slabs of wood placed by the
+missionaries on the graves of the native Christians. If left to the
+Eskimoes, this duty to their departed relatives and friends would
+either be done carelessly or forgotten. These simple "headstones," of
+which I give two specimens as copied into my notebook, are perhaps
+about twelve inches by eight. The place for the next grave in each row
+(men, women, boys, girls) is indicated by long poles likely to appear
+above the highest snow in winter. Here at Nain, and indeed at all the
+stations except Okak, where the soil is clay, it is possible, though
+in winter very troublesome, to dig a grave all the year round. At Okak
+the coffin must be laid in the snow until returning spring thaws the
+frozen ground. As already stated, the Eskimoes have no surnames, and
+their graves show a great repetition of certain Christian names, as
+Abel, Abia, Zecharias, Thomas, Susannah, Katarina, &c. There is a
+greater variety on the female side. At Zoar I noted some curious
+ones--Persida, Botille, Teresia Dina, and Justine. "Helena-Helenalo"
+evidently means mother and child, both bearing the name Helena.
+"Fillipusib-kitornganga" and "Davidib-kitornganga" mean the child of
+Philip and the child of David. Mostly, the little wooden "headstones"
+lie flat on the grave; those at Okak are placed upright, as in the
+accompanying sketch, and record the names of several persons buried
+beneath.
+
+      /--------\
+     /          \
+     |   644    |
+     |  Andrew  |
+     |  1862    |
+     | -------- |
+     |   959    |
+     |  Marcus  |
+     | -------- |
+     |   642    |
+     | Heinrich |
+     |   1873.  |
+     +----------+
+         |  |
+         |  |
+
+
+Where the paths cross one another at right angles, in the older
+Labrador churchyards, there is always a specially interesting group of
+graves. There lie, in sure and certain hope of a joyous resurrection,
+the bodies of good men and women, who have taken sepulchre possession
+of this land for their Lord. Here, too, many sorrowing missionary
+parents have had to lay little ones, early taken home in this bleak
+climate. Ah, what stories are written on those simple gravestones,
+when one can read between the lines!
+
+The "God's Acre" at Nain is as rich in historical associations as any.
+Christian Larsen Drachard, one of the pioneers of this mission was
+buried here in 1778; and beside the stone, on which is inscribed his
+honoured name in full, is a rough slab from the shore, placed on his
+grave by his own desire. Side by side to right and left of the path
+separating the last resting-places of the married men from those of
+the single missionaries lie Christopher Brasen and Gottfried Lehmann,
+drowned in 1774 on their return voyage from finding a site for Okak,
+the second station in this land. Not many days after I stood beside
+their graves I sailed close by the island on which their sloop was
+wrecked, and on whose rocks the angry sea cast their bodies.
+
+
+           /\
+          /  \
+         /    \
+        /   D. \
+       /        \
+      /   1778.  \
+     /            \
+     \ _Sep. 18._ /
+      \          /
+       \        /
+        \      /
+         \    /
+          \  /
+           \/
+
+I will close this chapter with a contrast. Leaving the peaceful
+Christian burial ground, we climb the hill behind the station. In a
+lofty, lonely valley we find many heaps of great stones. We will
+examine one. Remove one or two of the boulders, and look in. On the
+ground, rather than in it, lies a human skeleton, perfect with the
+exception of the skull. We go on to the next heap; it is empty. In a
+third we find a skull and one or two bones. Others contain scarcely
+any human remains, but some Eskimo utensils were evidently the
+property in life of the natives whose bodies were laid there by their
+countrymen. It was customary to bury the possessions of the dead with
+them, and very interesting curiosities used to be found in all these
+graves.
+
+Yes, these are _heathen graves_, and the bodies in them are those of
+Eskimoes who have died, ere they heard the words of life from the lips
+of missionaries sent by the Church of Christ to proclaim His salvation
+at this end of the earth. No inscriptions mark the tombs of these
+nameless pagans, yet those rude stoneheaps have a voice for those who
+have ears to hear. Methinks they appeal loudly on behalf of myriads
+still living without God and dying without hope. "How shall they
+believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear
+without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?"
+
+
+
+
+A BUSY WEEK AT NAIN.
+
+
+The week spent at Nain may serve as a specimen of my stay at each
+station in turn. We arrived here on Sunday, August 19th, in the
+evening. Monday and part of Tuesday were taken up by conferences on
+the spiritual prosperity and temporal regulations of the. Labrador
+Mission. Tuesday afternoon proved the most convenient time for my
+special meeting with the congregation, when, as at every station, I
+gave the assembled men and women the greeting and message sent them by
+the mission authorities at home. Opportunity being afforded them to
+reply, some of the native helpers and others expressed their pleasure
+that a visitor had come from Europe, and their gratitude that
+Christians on the other side of the ocean had sent missionaries to
+their forefathers, and still maintained teachers among them. They
+also asked questions and gave their opinions on very various topics. I
+promised to convey their salutations to "their angayokaks in London
+and Herrnhut." This meeting lasted about two hours, and was, as
+elsewhere, an arduous time for the missionary who acted as my
+interpreter. It seemed easier to him to render into Eskimo my own
+address given in English, than to interpret all the speeches made by
+the natives in reply.
+
+Inspection of the premises, stores, archives, &c., continued
+conferences, and other businesses filled up the remaining days of the
+week during which the "Harmony" lay at anchor near the station.
+Meanwhile the disembarking and embarking of her outward and homeward
+cargoes went on, and when she was ready to sail we were ready to go
+northward with her. In the intervals of daily duty I enjoyed pleasant
+walks and talks with one or another member of the mission band in the
+extensive plantation behind the station, the growth of more than a
+hundred years of careful cultivations, Not till Saturday did we find
+time for more distant expeditions, when grand views rewarded our
+ascent of two hills to the north and south of the Nain Bay. They are
+about 700 or 800 feet in height.
+
+Most of the week the majority of the natives were away fishing, but
+several of the men and boys were earning daily wages by assistance
+with the cargo. For those at the station evening services were held in
+the church. These varied in character, one was a singing meeting,
+another a liturgy, a third a Bible reading, when the two last chapters
+of II. Corinthians were the portion of Holy Scripture taken in course.
+When there was no Eskimo service, the mission family and their guests
+met in their dining-room for mutual edification with the German Bible
+and hymn-book. As to the latter, by the way, the book itself was
+seldom needed, for most of the company knew the hymns by heart. So the
+week sped away, bringing the Sabbath again.
+
+_Sunday, August 26th._--The Church Litany, and not the so-called
+"Catechism Litany," was used at the 9 o'clock service. At 10 A.M. Mr.
+Dam preached with fervour on the text for the day, John X. 16, of
+course in Eskimo. The sermon was followed by the baptism of little
+Esther, the infant daughter of Joash and Wilhelmina. After the service
+the parents passed me on their way home. But where is the baby?
+Nowhere visible, but the hood on the mother's back is bulky and moves.
+
+At three o'clock I conducted the usual English service on the deck of
+the "Harmony." A good many natives were present, rather out of
+curiosity than as able to understand, though it is astonishing to find
+how many have managed to pick up a little English, especially at the
+southern stations.
+
+At five we again gathered in the church for a short Eskimo liturgy of
+praise to the Triune God, when our vessel and her passengers were
+commended to the renewed care of the faithful Creator. Our evening
+meal, the last in this hospitable mission-house, was followed by
+farewell words and some commendatory hymns in German. Then we "parting
+guests" went on board the "Harmony," accompanied by most of our hosts,
+who lingered long with us. As we got into the boat, the Eskimoes bade
+us an affectionate good-bye, "Aksunai, aksuse." (Aksunai, Be thou
+strong, or its plural, Aksuse, Be ye strong, are used both for "How do
+you do?" and "Good-bye.")
+
+
+
+
+FROM NAIN TO OKAK.
+
+
+_Monday, August 27th, 1888._--When I rose, our ship was being slowly
+towed by her boats out of the bay in search of a fair breeze. About
+eleven we had to put down the anchor, as wind and current forbade our
+attempting to pass between "the Turnpikes," two rocks in the narrow
+channel before us. Here we lay all the day among islands. Barth, to
+our left, is so called in honour of Dr. Barth of Calw, the compiler of
+a Bible history translated by our missionaries into Eskimo, as well as
+into the languages of several other people evangelized by our church.
+Rhodes, to our right, is named after James Rhodes, a native of
+Gomersal, Yorkshire, who was a missionary here for twenty-six years,
+1771-1797. Lister, the snowy hill beyond, perpetuates the memory of
+Christian Lister, another Yorkshireman, who crowned seventeen years of
+service in Labrador by thirteen in Jamaica. It is well to be thus
+reminded that the British Province of four missionary Unitas Fratrum
+had several representatives in this mission field a hundred years ago.
+William Turner (twenty-two years' service, 1771-93) was a native of
+Halifax; and James Bramagin (1775-94) of Lurgan in the north of
+Ireland; Samuel Towle (1782-91) came from the neighbourhood of
+Ockbrook, Derbyshire, and Henry Shaw (1806-13) was again a
+Yorkshireman. Further, Mary Butterworth (1771-84), of Birstal in
+Yorkshire, gave herself to this mission as the wife of Jens Haven, its
+founder; and later Mary Waters (1812-31), of Dukinfield in Lancashire,
+married George Kmoch for similar service.
+
+Yonder fjord running far inland is the _Nunaingoak_ Bay, which,
+conveniently for the natives, embodies the foreign name given to their
+station. Nain itself is behind that neck of land, on which our friends
+have lit a fire as a signal that they perceive our vessel has not as
+yet been able to leave them very far behind.
+
+What a study of colour this evening effect would make! The sun has
+just set and the sky to the north and west is orange, shading off into
+yellow along the horizon. Between these curiously bright hues and
+their fainter reflection on the rippling water, the nearer islands are
+black as ink and the further mountains indigo.
+
+_Tuesday, August 28th._--Besides the missionary pair, who are
+accompanying me all the way from Hopedale to Europe, my fellow
+passengers are now the superintendent, who has acceded to my request
+to go with us to Okak, and a young missionary, transferred from Nain
+to Ramah.
+
+When I went on deck this morning we had passed the Turnpikes and were
+gliding very slowly seawards between islands. The one which faced us
+all the morning is called Tappe, after a worthy missionary, still
+living, who served some years in Labrador, before going to Jerusalem
+in 1867, to be the first "house-father" of the Leper Home. About noon
+a fresh breeze sent us northward swiftly and safely through several
+narrow and awkward passages. We passed two or three Newfoundland
+fishing schooners, whose crews were doubtless interested to see the
+"Dutch Bark," or the "foreigner" as they called the "Harmony." Our
+other vessel, the "Gleaner," calls at St. John's, so she is not a
+foreigner in the estimation of Newfoundland mariners. About two
+o'clock we were off the island memorable for the shipwreck in which
+Brasen and Lehmann lost their lives. Later we passed the rocks on to
+which Liebisch and Turner escaped as by a miracle, when a sudden storm
+broke up the ice over which they had been travelling. The scene must
+have been terrific. One moment the frightened dogs drawing their
+sledges were being urged at utmost speed over the leagues of heaving,
+cracking ice. The nest, the shore was reached, and the missionaries
+were overwhelmed with astonishment as they turned and looked upon a
+raging, foaming sea, whose wild waves had already shattered the frozen
+surface as far as the eye could reach. Even the heathen Eskimoes with
+them joined in praising God for the wonderful deliverance.
+
+This part of the coast is rugged and grand. There is a good deal of
+snow on the heights of Aulatsivik and the northern extremity of that
+great island is a bold precipitous cliff. Port Mauvers, at the mouth
+of the narrow strait, which separates Aulatsivik from the mainland,
+figures so prominently as a name upon most maps of Labrador, that one
+might suppose it to be at least the capital. But there are no
+inhabitants there, nor indeed all along the coast between Nain and
+Okak. Kiglapeit, to the north, is so splendid a mountain range that I
+am quite sorry we shall pass it in the dark. We are getting more into
+the open sea as evening advances, and there are icebergs to be seen
+here and there.
+
+Come into the captain's cabin and look at this little budget of
+letters. They are notes from Eskimoes at our southern stations to
+their relatives and friends in the north. Some are funny little
+pencilled scraps folded and oddly directed, e.g. "Kitturamut-Lucasib,
+Okak." That means "To Keturah (the wife) of Lucas or Luke, at Okak."
+Our Eskimoes seem to have a talent for phonetic spelling;
+"ilianuramut" is evidently "To Eleanor," and "Amaliamut-kuniliusip,
+Okak," is meant for "Amalia (the wife) of Cornelius at Okak." Some are
+very respectable epistles, and I doubt not the Christian tone of most
+would please us could we read the Eskimo language, with its strange
+long words. Here is a good-sized letter folded and directed in a bold
+clear hand, "Sosanemut-Andoneb, Hibron" (To Susannah, the wife of
+Antony at Hebron). It is not sealed, so, as we shall scarcely
+understand a word of its contents, we will venture to open it and
+glance at them. It is a well-written letter, covering three pages of
+blue foolscap paper, so it must be conveying a good deal of news to
+Antony and Susannah. The writer names himself at the commencement,
+"Boas-Kedoralo." "Lo" is Eskimo for "and," and "Kedora" is another
+phonetic version of Keturah. He closes his long epistle with "Amen."
+
+The Eskimoes also write the names of their missionaries with
+considerable variations as to spelling. "Pinsilamut" might be the
+address of a letter to Mr. Bindschedler, and I have seen "Karizima"'
+stand for Mr. Kretschmer. The natives have no idea of such titles as
+Mr. or Mrs., and they still call the majority of their missionaries by
+their Christian names.
+
+[Illustration: ICE AGROUND.]
+
+_Wednesday, August 29th._--5 A.M. The sun just rising. We are between
+Lundberg Island and the Saddle, so named from its shape. Its
+"stirrups," two little rocks, are supplemented by a great, white berg.
+To the south-west Kiglapeit is still visible, and to the west are the
+hills on Okak Island, including "Smith Hill," so called after Tiger
+Schmitt[A] of South African fame. I did not know before that the good
+man had also been a missionary in Labrador. How ready our forefathers
+were to go anywhere, everywhere, if only they could "win one soul for
+the Saviour!" The grandest mountain in the landscape is Cape Mugford.
+Yes, it does look like Salisbury Crags on a large scale, as a
+missionary remarked to me last year on the Calton Hill in Edinburgh.
+
+In the course of the morning Okak came in sight, visible at a much
+greater distance than any other station. Another hour and we had
+entered the bay and were approaching our anchorage. A very numerous
+company gathered on the pier and sang; how or what I could not hear
+for the rattling of our iron cable. Then the "Kitty" came off to us,
+bringing the missionaries Schneider, Stecker, and Schaaf, and
+seventeen natives.
+
+Soon after we got ashore to be welcomed also by the three sisters, the
+mist, which we had seen gathering round the Saddle, came in from the
+sea, first drawing a broad, white stripe straight across the entrance
+of the bay, then gradually enveloping everything. Experience of
+driving to and fro off this coast in such a fog makes one doubly
+thankful to be safe ashore, with our good ship riding at anchor in the
+bay.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote A: See "Conquests of the Cross" (an admirable Missionary
+Serial, published by Cassell & Co.), Part I., p. 20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOST PRIMITIVE STATION IN LABRADOR.
+
+
+Our dear missionaries who dwell in Labrador for the King's work have
+certainly not much space in their small sitting-rooms and smaller
+bedrooms, for each family is content with two apartments, easily
+warmed in winter. They meet in the common dining room for meals, the
+household worship or conference, and the sisters take it in turns, a
+week at a time, to preside over the kitchen department, where they
+have the aid of an Eskimo servant. Besides the ministry and the
+pastoral care of their congregations, the brethren share between them
+a vast variety of constantly recurring temporal duties, for in
+Labrador there is no baker, greengrocer, and butcher round the corner,
+and no mason, carpenter, plumber, painter or glazier to be called in
+when repairs are needed. The missionaries must discharge all these
+offices, as well as be their own gardener and smith, and on occasion
+doctor, dentist, chemist, or anything else that may be necessary.
+These general remarks hold good of mission life at every station, but
+in many respects Okak is the most primitive of the six, and not least
+in the appointments of the mission-house, like all the rest, built of
+wood.
+
+Glance round the two rooms kindly set apart for the English guest.
+They are the same size as the simple domain of any one of the three
+mission families resident here. The sitting-room is about fourteen
+feet by twelve; its panelled walls are coloured a blue-green. The
+floor is boarded, and over the middle a carpet is laid. In front of
+the sofa, the seat of honour, stands a little table, and the high back
+of my antique chair is within a foot of it as I write at the bureau
+against the opposite wall. By the way, what convenient pieces of
+furniture these bureaus are, especially to a visitor who has so much
+writing to do! The other chair is of like pattern, with seat stuffed
+and covered with sealskin. It stands between the door into the
+bedroom and the high, white stove. Of course open fire-places are
+unknown in Labrador, nor would they effectually warm the rooms. In the
+corner by the door the Eskimo bench is the regular institution.
+Sometimes my door opens, a native enters, sits down and smiles at me.
+When we have exchanged the usual greetings, "Aksunai" (be strong) and
+"Ahaila" (yes), my Eskimo vocabulary is nearly at an end, and I have
+to fetch an interpreter. A cupboard and a stool complete the inventory
+of my furniture. Do my readers wish to look into the bedroom about
+fourteen feet by six? Two little bedsteads and another bureau scarcely
+leave room to pass to the window. The prophet's table, chair, and
+candlestick are there, also a washstand, a strip of carpet by the bed,
+a little looking-glass, and some useful rows of hooks: I think that is
+all; but in my endeavour to give a correct idea of the godly
+simplicity of such a mission-house, I would not for anything
+misrepresent the hospitable care, of which at every station I have the
+most pleasant and grateful remembrance.
+
+Now look out of my window. High hills close in the bay where the
+"Harmony" lies at anchor some distance from the shore. Yesterday a
+strong wind made her roll even in the harbour. The mission premises
+stand within a few yards of the beach and the little pier runs out
+into the water just in front of the gate. The tide is out now, and the
+lighter which is bringing the stores from the ship has got aground.
+The mate and some Eskimoes are trying to push it off, and among the
+rest two women are standing in the water and pushing manfully. Their
+position and occupation illustrate the utility of their national
+female costume of trousers and boots. Skirts would be impracticable
+when they go out boating and fishing with their husbands or trudge
+through the deep snow, which lies on the ground more than half a year.
+Nevertheless they look odd to an unaccustomed eye. The children are
+comical miniatures of their fathers and mothers, and sometimes it is
+difficult to tell whether they are boys or girls.
+
+Do you see the station boat lying a little way from the end of the
+pier? She is named the "Kitty," and has an interesting history. Many
+years ago she brought to Okak the five survivors of the ship "Kitty"
+lost in the ice of Hudson's Bay. The captain and ten men escaped in
+the larger boat, but fell into the hands of heathen Eskimoes, who
+treacherously murdered them all. Those in the smaller boat rounded
+Cape Chudley and were driven by the wind among the islands near Okak.
+Here they were seen by Eskimoes belonging to the station. Emaciated
+and famished, they feared a cruel death, but to their astonishment the
+natives helped them ashore, took them into their little hut of sods,
+wrapped them in skins, and supplied them with food. Very beautiful to
+those ship-wrecked mariners sounded the singing and very solemn the
+prayers at the morning and evening devotions of their Eskimo
+deliverers. As soon as the wind permitted, the natives brought them to
+the station, where they were carried ashore to this mission-house and
+received every attention. They were in a deplorable condition and the
+missionaries had to perform some surgical operations on severely
+frost-bitten limbs. When recovered, three of them went to the south,
+and the other two worked their passage home in the "Harmony."
+
+Here come a number of women and children running to the pier. Several
+of the women have babies in their hoods. There must be something of
+special interest. Yes, the fishermen from the schooner are coming
+ashore in their boat, and I perceive their flag is flying half-mast
+high, indicating a death aboard their vessel. They came into the bay
+yesterday, piloted by some of our Eskimoes, and bringing a dying
+comrade. Their request for medicine was at once granted, but the poor
+man lay unconscious. His "mates" said he had not lacked spiritual
+exhortation and comfort, adding simply and humbly, "several of us know
+the way, sir." So they did, as was evident from further observation
+of, and conversation with them. They were very grateful for Christian
+literature.[B] Now they have come for boards to make a coffin for
+their dead comrade, and the Eskimo women and children watch the
+strangers with curiosity, but not rudely. On the whole, I think our
+Eskimoes very well behaved. Their Christianity has certainly improved
+their manners in everyday life, as well as made them remarkably devout
+in church.
+
+There is the church bell. Being the first Monday in the month, it is
+the missionary prayer-meeting. Let us go. The interior of the church
+is similar to that at Hopedale already described, and the congregation
+is more numerous. Edification predominates, but one or two amusing
+items may be noted. The babies are rather noisy. Should one or another
+get too obstreperous, however, the mother slips it into her hood
+behind, and marches to the door on the women's side. The worthy widow,
+who acts as chapel servant, opens the door and then closes it upon the
+little disturber of the peace. It is also amusing to a stranger to
+watch the organ-blower, for this humble but important service to the
+sanctuary has a prominent place here. The office is fulfilled by a
+woman, clad in Eskimo fashion, and when the hymn is given out she
+places one booted leg on the lever of the bellows and then, hymn book
+in hand, treads wind into the instrument as vigorously as she sings.
+During the concluding hymn a number of little heads and muffled up
+little bodies appear above the four or five rows of women; they belong
+to the babies who have already been heard and now are seen as their
+mothers lift them up to slip them into the hoods of their sillapaks.
+The babies being thus stowed away on their backs, the mothers are
+ready to stand up and file out at the end of the service.
+
+But, as I said before, edification predominates, and truly it is
+edifying to hear the hearty singing and see the reverent demeanour of
+all classes of this Eskimo congregation. I may here add that after
+being present at between thirty or forty services at our six stations,
+I do not remember seeing a single boy or girl talking or laughing with
+a neighbour in church. Had one done so, no doubt he or she would have
+received a timely rebuke from some native-helper. The Eskimoes at
+Hopedale have been known to take the Newfoundland fishermen to task
+for irreverence.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote B: This gives me an opportunity of recording thanks to the
+Drummond Tract Institute for a free supply of bright Christian
+publications in English, which have been distributed, and will, I
+trust, bear some fruit. From the Religious Tract Society and other
+benefactors we have also received valuable help for evangelistic
+efforts among English-speaking sailors or settlers on the Coast of
+Labrador.]
+
+
+
+
+WALKS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OKAK.
+
+
+The word Okak signifies "the Tongue." The station is situated on a
+hilly island, which for nearly half the year is practically part of
+the mainland, for the broad straits are bridged by thick ice. The
+heights around our little settlement command fine views of the
+surrounding mountains and fjords. The island of Cape Mugford is one of
+the grandest objects in the barren landscape, and the Kaumajets, a
+noble range, stretch away to the north of it.
+
+_Thursday, August 30th._--Had an interesting walk over moorland in
+search of the site of Kivalek, one of the old heathen villages, from
+which the population of Okak was drawn. On a grassy plain we found the
+roofless remains of many turf huts. They are similar to the mounds
+near Hopedale, already described, but larger and more numerous. One
+cannot but view, with a sad interest, these remnants of the former
+abodes of pagans without hope and without God in the world. "Let them
+alone, they are very happy in their own religion." So some would tell
+us; but was it so here? Is it so where the true light has not yet
+shined into pagan darkness? No, here, as everywhere in heathenism, the
+works of the flesh were manifest. And these, as the Bible plainly
+tells us, and as missionary experience abundantly confirms, are
+"fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery,
+enmities, strifes, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,
+envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." But through the
+power of the Gospel old things have passed away. Heathen Kivalek is
+uninhabited, and though the flesh yet lusteth against the Spirit in
+the lives of the dwellers at Christian Okak, yet, thank God, the
+Spirit also lusteth against the flesh, and the fruits of the Spirit
+are manifest there, as at the other stations.
+
+_Tuesday, September 4th._--Before we had done breakfast the flag was
+flying at the mizen-gaff of the "Harmony," summoning her passengers to
+start for Ramah. We speedily packed our baggage, but the wind died
+away ere the anchor could be lifted, and we did not sail out of the
+bay till the next morning. So some of us utilized the interval for the
+ascent of the Sonnenkoppe, so called because it hides the sun from
+Okak for several weeks of the year. High on the hill was a pond, which
+superstitious natives believe to be inhabited by a sea-monster left
+there by the flood. A larger lake is named after our Irish missionary
+Bramagin. Arrived at the summit, a very wide prospect over innumerable
+mountains and blue sea, dotted with white icebergs, rewarded our
+climb. Far below us we could see the mission-house, centre of blessed
+influence, for the Eskimo village, divided into Lower Okak by the
+beach, and Upper Okak on the slope beyond. Strange to think that, with
+the exception of one settler family in Saeglek Bay, the nearest group
+of fixed human habitations is at Hebron, seventy miles to the north.
+Easier than the ascent was the descent, over rocks and stones,
+beautifully variegated mosses, and low vegetation changing its hue to
+a brilliant red as the autumn advances.
+
+
+
+
+FROM OKAK TO RAMAH.
+
+
+_Wednesday, September 5th._--About ten o'clock this morning a strong
+breeze sprang up, and we speedily left behind us the friendly
+red-roofed mission-house at Okak. When we entered the open sea and
+turned northwards we passed near a grounded iceberg, curiously
+hollowed out by the action of the waves. The seaward face of Cape
+Mugford is even grander than its aspect from the heights around Okak.
+It seems to be a perpendicular precipice of about 2000 feet, with
+white base, and a middle strata of black rocks surmounted by
+castellated cliffs. Presently the remarkably jagged peaks on the
+island of Nennoktuk came out from behind the nearer headland. There's
+a sail to the right of it! No, she is not another schooner; she is
+two-masted and square rigged, and therefore the "Gleaner," the only
+brigantine in these waters. So the two Moravian vessels pass one
+another within a mile or two, the "Gleaner" on her way southward from
+Hebron to Okak, whence she will take Mr. Bourquin home to Nain, the
+"Harmony" pursuing her northward course past Hebron to Ramah. The
+captains, who are consigns, exchange a salute by running up their
+flags, but the sea is too rough to put down a boat.
+
+_Thursday, September 6th._--We have had a rough night. This morning we
+are off Hebron, but twenty-five miles out to sea. We have just passed
+"the Watchman," an island which serves as a waymark for the entrance
+to that station. I asked the mate, who once spent a winter there,
+whether the missionaries or the Eskimoes could see us from the heights
+near it. He replied that there was no doubt of it, but that he had
+looked out in this direction from those hills, where no drop of water
+was visible, nothing but an illimitable plain of ice stretching far
+beyond where we are now sailing.
+
+_Sunday, 9th._--Safe at Ramah, thank God, and not out in the fog,
+which now envelopes sea and land. The last two days have been a trial
+of patience. We have seen the entrance to this Nullatatok Bay all the
+time, and longed to reach the desired haven, yet have not been able,
+owing to calms and contrary currents. This Labrador coast becomes ever
+bolder and grander as one sails northward. Here the snowy mountains
+are quite Alpine in appearance. This morning the thick mist hides all
+but the base of these magnificent hills, but the enormous rocky
+masses, rising so quickly from the water's edge into the heights
+veiled from us, give some idea of their grandeur. Our captain is,
+indeed, well acquainted with their aspect or he would not have
+ventured to enter this bay under such circumstances.
+
+
+
+
+"RAMARSUK" (NEAT LITTLE RAMAH).
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Missionaries all over the world are perhaps too fond of multiplying
+Scripture names of their stations. In our own fields we have already
+three Bethanys and three Bethesdas. We should have had three Ramahs
+too, had not the natives of Australia themselves greatly improved the
+appellation of theirs by adding to it a syllable meaning "home" or
+mother's place. It seemed so homelike to the Christian Aborigines, who
+moved thither from Ebenezer, the older station, that they at once
+called it Ramahyuck (Ramah, our home). Perhaps as the Ramah on the
+Moskito Coast is also known as Ramah Key, the northern station in
+Labrador, founded in 1871 to mark the cenutry of that mission, should
+abide plain, simple "Ramah," otherwise the above combination would, I
+understand, have suited the genius of the language, and its
+significance. "Neat little Ramah" certainly expresses the character of
+the lonely missionary settlement.
+
+The village, if one may dignify this small group of human dwellings by
+that name, stands on a little plain evidently won by degrees from the
+sea for the successive beaches can be traced. The mission premises,
+the old house, the new house, and the church with its little belfry,
+are one continuous building facing the bay southward, and exactly one
+hundred feet in length. Behind are the store buildings, and the low
+turf huts of the natives stretch westward along the strand. They are
+so like grassy mounds, that from any distance one would ask, "But
+where do the Eskimoes live?"
+
+The missionary dwelling is primitive enough, even as enlarged. During
+our brief stay here, I have the honour of occupying the original
+house, built about twenty years ago. It is but a room divided by a
+curtain, but it served the first missionary couple here as
+dwelling-room, bedroom, church, and everything else. What a grand view
+there is from the window over the deep land-locked bay, in which the
+"Harmony" is lying at the only available anchorage. No one would guess
+that it would take more than half-an-hour to row across the smooth
+water, or in winter to walk over its frozen surface to the opposite
+shore, where, as on this side, precipitous bluffs rise almost from the
+water's edge. All nature around is on a grand scale, and those
+snow-clad mountains, which look over the shoulders of the nearer
+cliffs, are quite Alpine in effect. Climb to the dizzy heights, which
+tower threateningly six or seven hundred feet above the station and
+you find you are not half way to the summit of the nearest hill. It
+must, indeed, be a magnificent view from thence towards the great
+mountains in the interior, whose everlasting snows cover long ridges
+at least five or six thousand feet in height. Seawards, the Ramah
+Hill, a remarkable perpendicular rock, surmounts the nearer cliffs. It
+looks as if, standing on the crag, one could drop a stone into the
+water at its base, 1000 feet below.
+
+All this is grand, but grander still is the quiet, unconscious
+devotion of the worthy missionary pair, who live in this lonely bay,
+tending the little Christian congregation already gathered, and
+seeking the salvation of the heathen Eskimoes to the north. Of these
+there are perhaps sixty or seventy dwelling between Ramah and Cape
+Chudley; the northern point of Labrador. I am heartily glad Mr. and
+Mrs. Schulze have now a helper in Mr. Eckhardt, and trust the little
+missionary band will have increasing joy in souls won for the Lord.
+
+[Illustration: RAMAH.]
+
+It will be remembered that the fourth morning after leaving Okak we
+entered Nullatatok Bay through a thick mist. Beautiful days followed,
+showing the Ramah scenery to advantage, but the weather was rather
+wintry. Snow fell once or twice, though not in sufficient quantities
+to lie, and one morning we had ice on the bay. Yet at midday the sun
+was quite hot. The arrival of the "Harmony" at Ramah on Sunday
+(September 9th, 1888), interfered with the usual morning worship. We
+passengers came ashore for the afternoon service, Mr. Schulze read the
+Litany and then Mr. Dam addressed the congregation in Eskimo,
+centreing nearly all the black eyes in eager attention to the Word
+preached. The chapel being small, the people were rather near to the
+benches occupied by the missionary brethren and sisters, and this
+proximity was evident to the organs of smell. Several being away at
+their fishing places, there were only about a dozen men and boys and
+rather more women and girls with an extra sprinkling of lively and
+healthy-looking babies. Most were characterized by an air of
+independence amusingly illustrated at the close by the oldest man,
+who asked aloud when the visitor from London was going to speak to
+them.
+
+[Illustration: TENTS AT RAMAH.]
+
+And what of the spiritual life of this little congregation? In reply I
+will give neither my own impressions, nor the missionary's testimony
+to his flock, apt sometimes to be influenced by his estimate of what
+they should be. I will call in a casual witness. Last year Eugenia, a
+Christian Eskimo from Hopedale, visited all the congregations,
+travelling to and fro by dog-sledge with the post-sledges. She
+remarked to her missionary: "The Ramah and Okak people, those are the
+best in the country. At Ramah I was quite shamed by their desire after
+truth. They said, 'You know these things; teach us, we are so
+stupid.'"
+
+
+
+
+AN ESKIMO VILLAGE.
+
+
+Now for a visit to our Eskimoes in their own dwellings, as the two
+missionaries are ready to accompany me and interpret for me. It may
+not be a pleasant expedition in every respect, as within and without
+there is a pervading fishy smell. Rows of drying fish hang on frames
+high enough to be out of reach of the dogs, who sniff about
+everywhere, sometimes climbing into the boats to see if any fish be
+left. Those red rows are trout, the white ones are cod.
+
+When we arrived here last Sunday, two families were living in skin
+tents. One has now taken down the temporary abode and removed into the
+more permanent winter residence, a low turf hut. We will enter the
+other tent. Frederick, the owner, is not at home, but his wife,
+Susannah, is there with her two children. Whilst she inquires after
+her former missionaries and sends a grateful greeting to the widow of
+the late Samuel Weitz, take the opportunity to glance around the tent.
+It is more spacious and better furnished than one would think. We can
+all three stand upright in the middle of it, which is not possible in
+every house. Deer skins spread on a raised platform at the further end
+make two beds. In that open box are hymn-book, liturgy-book, and some
+volumes of the Eskimo Bible. Next it are a set of very fair cups and
+saucers, but it seems incongruous for the china to stand on the mud
+floor. Various utensils lie about, but there is neither chair nor
+table.
+
+We cannot stay long, however, for we are going to visit every house in
+the place. The first house is Gottlob's. He came hither from Hebron,
+and has enjoyed a better education than the Ramah people, most of whom
+grew up in heathenism. His wife's baptismal name is Lydia; as a
+heathen, she was Auinasuak. This is one of the best huts, but the best
+are poor inside as well as outside, compared to many log-houses I have
+seen further south. Through the low porch, without any remonstrance
+from the dogs, we reach a lower door. It is hot inside. Yes, there is
+a stove to the left, and it appears to be the only article of
+furniture in the room entered. Behind the partition is a very
+different chamber. It is furnished with the usual couches spread with
+skins, and on the edge of one of these, Lydia is seated. She does not
+rise to greet her visitors, nor does it occur to her to offer a seat.
+What shall she offer? A box? As with the rest of those visited, her
+welcome takes the form of a good-humoured laugh. One or two objects in
+her room testify to a refinement unusual for this station. A guitar
+hangs on the wall near a cage with a bird in it, and against the
+partition stands a piano. Fancy such an instrument in a low turf hut,
+even though it be but an old square piano! Here, as elsewhere, we
+speak a few words of kindly greeting and spiritual interest, and then
+take leave with "Aksunai."
+
+The occupant of the next hut is not at home. This is indicated by two
+great slabs of slate, one at the entrance to his porch and one over
+his front (and only) window. These are more for protection against
+prowling dogs than dishonest men.
+
+Now we come to the dwelling of the oldest couple, William and Hulda,
+whose heathen names were Nochasak and Aksuana. They are, respectively,
+fifty-five and fifty, but look older. Two sons live with them, of whom
+the elder is married. Both parents are at home, and the
+daughter-in-law with her first baby in her arms. Here first I notice
+the curious lamp, a sort of dish hollowed out in a soft stone. The
+wick is a kind of moss which floats in seal-oil, and gives a feeble
+flame apparently more for warmth than for light, for the houses are
+not dark.
+
+Next to William's stand the roofless remains of an unoccupied
+dwelling, which may serve to show how these huts are built. It is a
+square enclosure three or four feet in height; the back is dug out of
+the sloping bank, the front wall is built up with turf. Put a roof
+over this and your house will be made. Two upright posts in the
+middle, about seven feet in height, will serve as the supports for the
+frame of your roof, which will also be covered with turf. The low door
+must be in front, facing the bay, and, both for warmth and as a
+shelter for the dogs, must invariably be protected by a low covered
+porch. Whether he be dwelling in his turf hut or sheltering in some
+snow hut, quickly built for a night away from home, the Eskimo enters
+his abode by a little tunnel, at the further end of which is the door.
+Just above this comes the window-frame, sometimes on a slant, better
+perpendicular. The window of his turf hut is semi-transparent seal
+bladder unless the owner of the mansion can afford and obtain glass.
+Now your house is complete, but lacks interior fittings. If you are an
+Eskimo, you do not want many. Your two poles supporting the roof may
+help you to partition off the sleeping places, either with boards or
+with curtains. These are raised about a foot from the ground, and the
+edge of the bed is the general seat.
+
+Let us continue our visits to the inhabited houses, one next the
+other, in an irregular row. Outside them the children are playing
+about and seem to enjoy life. Here and there one may see a sledge, or
+a kayak, the skin-covered boat such as is used, by the men. The larger
+umiak, or women's boat, is now scarcely met with in Labrador. There
+are one or two light wooden skeleton frames of kayaks, but most are
+tightly covered with white smooth skins, cleverly sewn together by the
+women. Look at this one lying on the grass; it is about fifteen feet
+long, but you can lift the end of it quite easily. The owner paddled
+home in it this morning from his fishing-place at the head of the
+fjord, and sold fifty-two trout off the top of it to the captain, as
+he passed the "Harmony." His bone-pointed harpoon and a hook with a
+long handle are strapped on top of the canoe. Beside it lies his
+paddle, which the Eskimo wields so deftly and silently that even a
+seal may fail to detect his swift approach. Its blades at both ends
+are beautifully finished off with bone. I see his gun is carelessly
+left in the round man-hole in which he sits when afloat. It may be
+loaded; I hope the children will let it alone.
+
+Passing Daniel's empty hut, for he and his family are away fishing, we
+call on Ikkaujak and Sakkearak (now John and Ernestine), and then on
+Matthew and his wife Verona, who not long ago were known as Swanzi and
+Akkusane. Matthew is interested to show and explain the weapons of the
+chase. His racket-shaped snow-shoes are the shortest I ever saw.
+Longer ones, unless like the Norwegian skydder, would be unpractical
+among these mountains. His harpoons hang on the wall next his gun. The
+blunt one, pointed with a walrus tooth, is used in the body of a seal,
+but the iron-pointed one is needed when the animal's head alone is
+above the water or the ice. Both are cleverly put together with wood,
+bone, and thongs, so arranged that when necessary head and haft easily
+come apart.
+
+Some of these Ramah Eskimoes are perhaps 5 ft. 10 in. in height, and
+most of them look robust and strong; but little Paul's door is very
+low, and I must bend double to enter his hut. His heathen name was
+Simigak and his wife's Ikkinek when they came from Nachvak in 1881. He
+is not at home, but his Adolfine gives us a welcome in Eskimo fashion.
+There is a stove in the corner, and on it a pot with some pieces of
+salmon in it. A few trout are strung up to the roof. I notice a clock
+in the corner, but am told that it is broken. Perhaps Paul can mend
+it; at any rate, while I was at Hopedale some Newfoundland fishermen
+entrusted their ship clock to an Eskimo for repairs.
+
+The last hut in the village is Frederick's. Some of his goods are
+here, but most are in the tent where we found his wife and family. A
+few pictures are pasted on his walls. Many houses at other stations
+are almost papered with pages from the _Graphic_ and _Illustrated
+London News_.
+
+What is your impression of Eskimo abodes now you have seen their
+interiors? Well, they are not prepossessing to a European with the
+ordinary notions of what belongs to the necessaries of life, yet they
+are airier and cleaner than I had expected from their exterior aspect.
+I am assured that there is much Christian life in those queer homes,
+and that in many a heart there a "candle of the Lord" has been
+lighted, which shines for the illumination of the dark North. If
+honoured with an invitation to a meal in some Eskimo hut, I would
+rather it were not at Ramah. In the southern stations there are some
+tidy log-houses, where one need not hesitate to sit down to table with
+Christian Eskimoes, who have learnt cleanly and tidy habits from
+intercourse with and the example of missionaries. Here there are no
+tables; the people have scarcely learnt the use of forks, and are apt
+to handle the knives in eating in a somewhat uncouth fashion. The meat
+is taken in the teeth and cut off near the mouth, so that the upward
+motion of the blade seems to endanger the nose at every bite,
+especially in the case of very small children with a very big knife.
+
+Do my readers want to know about the gardens? There are none.
+Gardening is no employment for the Eskimoes; the severity of the
+climate and their migratory habits forbid it. Nor do they seem to have
+much taste for flowers, though they see them in the missionaries'
+gardens. They appreciate the vegetables grown there, but they do not
+care for the trouble of raising them for themselves.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE BEACH AT RAMAH.
+
+
+Returning along the beach we see Matthew's skin-covered canoe lying
+upside down on the grass, and we induce him to give us a specimen of
+kayak navigation. He picks up the end of his light craft, runs round
+so as to bring it right end foremost to the sea, and pushes it over
+the beach till three-fourths or more are in the water. Then he steps
+lightly over the flat top, paddle in hand, sets himself deftly in the
+man-hole, and in a moment he is afloat, paddling to and fro with quiet
+powerful strokes. Returning at full speed, he runs his kayak, which
+only draws a few inches, straight on to the shore; stepping lightly
+over the front of it, he stands dry shod on the beach and drags his
+kayak out of the water.
+
+Further along a little group of Eskimoes have just finished unloading
+a boat, which has brought goods from the ship. Let us join them, for I
+want to see a whip, such as they use in driving the dog-sledge. My
+request is interpreted and one of the natives runs to fetch his. Truly
+it is a formidable instrument. The wooden handle is only a few inches
+in length, but the lash is more than thirty feet. It is made of many
+thongs of stout, tough sealskin sown together, and tapering till a
+single thong goes off almost to a point. The owner gives us a specimen
+of its powers by cracking it, but I am glad he does not practice on
+anything living. Stepping backwards from us, he drags the whip out to
+its full length, so as to be sure he is beyond reach of us, then
+deftly throws the lash behind him. Now a rapid movement of the hand
+and arm sends the long lash back towards us, and a quick turn of the
+wrist makes the end of it crack like a pistol. I have purchased that
+implement, but I doubt if any amount of practice would enable me to
+perform the feat of cracking it with safety to myself and the
+bystanders.
+
+To the east of the mission-house there is a pretty waterfall about ten
+or twelve feet in depth. It is the last leap of a mountain brook,
+which in summer flows swiftly down the deep ravine, which it has cut.
+Higher up, a part of the pure, clear stream is diverted as the water
+supply for the mission-house and the native huts. As at Hopedale and
+Zoar, this runs off a trough about a hundred yards from the house. At
+Nain and Okak it is conducted straight into the kitchen, when desired.
+In winter every station is liable to the freezing of the ordinary
+supply, and then water must be fetched from a distance, or if none can
+be found, snow or ice must be melted. Icicles are hanging from the
+trough here to-day, for though the sun is warm now, there were four or
+five degrees of frost last night, and the wind is still keen. In
+spring, when a thaw sets in, this little stream is a source of danger
+to Ramah. Its deep channel is filled with snow, and the pent-up
+torrent, seeking an outlet, is apt to escape from its usual bounds and
+start an avalanche down the steep declivity. When the thaw becomes
+general, there is a grand series of leaping cataracts and roaring
+rapids in that ravine.
+
+[Illustration: AN ESKIMO IN HIS KAYAK.]
+
+
+
+
+A FAITHFUL NATIVE HELPER.
+
+
+I would that young Gottlob, now living at Ramah, might turn out as
+good a man as his late namesake. Let me take you to old Gottlob's
+grave, and there tell you the story of himself and his family. The
+little "God's acre" is scarcely an acre, and it should be enclosed.
+Flat slaty stones, suitable for wall, lie around in abundance, brought
+down by the avalanche, which a year or two ago endangered the station,
+but happily did no more damage than destroy the powder-house and
+devastate the burial-ground. Kegs of powder and tombstones were
+carried far out on to the ice of the bay. Most of the latter were
+recovered unbroken and replaced, and among them the one of which we
+are in search. Here it is, a simple square slate tablet of touching
+interest. The Eskimo inscription informs us that Gottlob was born in
+1816. He was the child of heathen parents at Nachvak, and grew up in
+paganism. Presently he came under the influence of the Gospel and was
+baptized at Okak, exchanging his heathen name of Nikkartok for the
+Christian name which his subsequent life adorned.
+
+      __________________
+     |                  |
+     |     GOTTLOB.     |
+     |                  |
+     |   unulilanktok   |
+     |                  |
+     |       1816.      |
+     |                  |
+     |    angerarpok    |
+     |                  |
+     | 14 Septbr. 1878. |
+     |__________________|
+
+In 1867 he joined Daniel of Hopedale in an endeavour to evangelize the
+northern heathen, among whom his childhood had been spent. After this
+he settled with his family at Hebron, but when Mr. and Mrs. Weitz
+commenced the station at Ramah in 1871 Gottlob volunteered to
+accompany them. He and his family proved useful helpers of the
+missionary effort. His wife Marianna was also born a heathen, and
+named Nukupjuna. She is now a native helper at Hebron. His daughter
+was exceedingly valuable as the schoolmistress, and when an organist
+was needed Nicholina fulfilled the office to the best of her ability
+by playing the melody with one finger on the very little harmonium,
+which still does duty at Ramah. That was a simple service rendered in
+simplicity of spirit, yet in such a climate possibly attended with
+suffering. A missionary sister lately resident at Hebron told me she
+had often played the organ there with a blister at the end of each
+finger, for the intense cold made the touch of the keys like contact
+with red-hot iron. But to return to Gottlob. For seven years he lived
+and laboured among his countrymen, from whom he had at times to bear
+obloquy on account of his Christian fidelity. He died September 14th,
+1878, and this is the comprehensive record of him in the Ramah Church
+book: "In life and death Gottlob placed his whole trust in the
+crucified Saviour, in whom he found pardon, peace, and joy."
+
+
+
+
+LEAVING RAMAH.
+
+
+_Friday, September 14th._--Came aboard last night for an early start;
+weighed our anchor about 6 o'clock this morning. The wind was light
+and several of the natives towed us out of the bay in the ship's
+boats. Ere we started the resident missionaries brought their last
+batch of letters for Europe, and bade us farewell. They had been
+writing most of the night. Now the good folk will rest after the
+excitement and bustle of shiptime. It will be a year before they have
+visitors again, unless it be a missionary brother from Hebron or Mr.
+MacLaren, the Hudsons Bay Company's agent at Nachvak.
+
+It was most interesting to move slowly out of the bay, passing point
+after point, each headland opening up new vistas of grand, snowy
+mountains at the heads of the bays southwards, whilst northwards the
+great cliff of the Ramah Hill looks down upon us. Having brought the
+"Harmony" round the first point into more open water, where she can
+better avail herself of the occasional light puffs of wind, our
+Eskimoes came aboard for their breakfasts and presently rowed away in
+their boats. They bade us a hearty "Aksunai" and went down the side
+evidently well pleased with their wages. Nor were they sorry to leave
+the ship, which was beginning to roll a little. Accustomed as they are
+to brave high waves in their kayaks or flats, they nevertheless felt
+the motion of the vessel and were afraid of seasickness. Before
+starting John had to splice his oar with a strip of seal hide. I
+watched him put it round the handle, then holding on to the oar with
+both hands get the rope in his teeth and pull his lashing tight with
+all the strength of his back. So the teeth served him at each turn.
+
+
+
+
+SUNSET, MOONRISE AND AURORA BOREALIS.
+
+
+Now we have got fairly out to sea. The light land breeze has ceased
+and we are lying becalmed. What a sunset there is over that Alpine
+range of snowy mountains! Yonder dark hills to the north of Ramah are
+glowing as if they were red hot through and through. True this is a
+glory that fadeth, yet the cloudless sky long retains the brilliant
+hues, and the seaward horizon has a broad red band shading off above
+and below into blue. Still more beautiful is the paler pink
+reflection, tinting the smooth surface of the water on all sides of us
+save the west. There the sun has just gone down, and the lingering
+glories of the sky are reflected on the rippling waves in a wonderful
+network of bright yellow and deep orange. Look southward again, now
+that the darkness is beginning to tell on the scene. Over yonder great
+iceberg the rising moon sends a path of silvery light across the
+water, now a broad waving band, now innumerable sparks and circlets
+dancing like fairy lights upon the gently swelling sea.
+
+All this is beautiful, but what follows is a rarer sight.
+
+"Mr. La Trobe, the northern lights."
+
+"Thank you, captain, I will be on deck in a moment."
+
+I have seen many pictures of the Aurora Borealis, and we have already
+had some fine displays during this voyage, but I never witnessed
+anything like this. Truly the heavens declare the glory of God and the
+firmament sheweth His handiwork! Undulating bands of bright white
+light are swiftly scintillating across the sky, now curving upwards
+from the horizon, now stretching in broad stripes right over the
+zenith. Sometimes the Aurora is stationary and the smooth surface of
+the sea reflects the steady light; in the next moment it is moving
+rapidly all over the heavens. The swifter the motion the more
+brilliant the red or pink or green, which at times fringes the lower
+edge of the broad white bands of light.
+
+_Monday, September 17th._--Early this morning I went on deck and found
+we were a considerable distance outside the Kangertluksoak Fjord. We
+were much nearer the entrance for the greater part of yesterday, but a
+strong contrary wind kept us tacking to and fro the whole day, till
+the darkness made it impossible to reach Hebron, which lies in a
+little side bay to the north of the great fjord. There were many large
+icebergs around us, and we passed quite close to some floating
+fragments, which proved to be great lumps of ice, necessitating a turn
+of the helm to avoid collision with them. It was evident from the
+number of these, that a berg had recently broken up. I was told that
+yesterday a large piece fell off one near us with a crack like a
+cannon shot. I would like to see an iceberg turn over, as they
+sometimes do, but I do not wish to be too near it in that case. Last
+night the wind fell and the currents drifted our little vessel
+perilously near one of the great bergs, which was probably aground. It
+was an anxious time for those on the watch, but the Lord preserved us.
+
+The headland to the north of us is Cape Uivak. Uivak is simply the
+Eskimo word for promontory, and the names of Cape Webuck on this coast
+and Quebec in Canada, are evidently derived from it. There is a board
+on that little island, and through the glass one can read the betters
+S.F. What does that stand for? Well, that identifies "Friday Island,"
+so-called after Sophia Freitag, the wife of a worthy missionary. Once
+the captain of a steamer read it S.E., so he steered north-west, and
+safely entered Hebron Bay. He afterwards congratulated our captain on
+having put up so good a way-mark.
+
+To-day the wind has veered round a little to the north, which enables
+us, at last, to run straight in at the mouth of Kangertluksoak Fjord,
+past three great icebergs, which stand in a row as if to defend the
+entrance. The sailors call them "men-of-war." Our rapid progress soon
+brings us in sight of the mission premises, whose red roofs stand out
+against the bare rocky background of the steep hillside, tinted a warm
+red-brown by the autumn hues of the mosses. There is the church with
+its cupola in a line with the long one-storied mission-house. The
+store buildings and the boat-house are nearer the landing stage. Some
+skilful tacks bring us into the Hebron Bay, and ere long the "Harmony"
+lies at her anchorage, here farther from the station than at any other
+place on the coast. What a lively scene! Ten or a dozen boats have
+already came round us--these Eskimoes are bold sailors--and our anchor
+is scarcely down before we are boarded in friendly fashion by numerous
+natives. Yonder white boat is the "Harp," and it brings four good
+gentlemen in sealskin coats. The patriarch of the band is our
+venerable Mr. Kretschmer, who came to Labrador in 1852. This year he
+leaves his loved land after thirty-six years of service, during which
+he has been home once, twenty-seven years ago. He is followed by the
+missionaries Kahle, Wirth, and Hlawatschek, who report their wives and
+children all well.
+
+Ere long we visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Dam and myself, are ready to go
+ashore with them. Landing from the boat, we climb the hill to the
+mission-house, farther from the shore than any other. The sisters and
+children welcome us at the door, and for the sixth time I enjoy the
+hospitality of a Labrador mission family.
+
+The chapter entitled "A busy week at Nain" would serve as a general
+description of the time spent at this or any of the stations.
+Conferences with the missionary band, daily services in the Church or
+the house, the special meeting for my address to the congregation,
+visits to and from the natives, inspection of the mission premises and
+their surroundings, pleasant strolls in the intervals of daily duty
+and the routine of a mission-house, one or two more extensive walks on
+the hills around, profitable evenings in the mission circle, all these
+made eight days at Hebron pass very quickly, whilst as ever I was
+lovingly cared for by my hosts. Hebron is, to use the expressive term
+of the Newfoundland fishermen, a "blusterous" place. It is beyond the
+northern limit of trees on this part of the coast, and the wind sweeps
+down the bare, rocky slopes with great force. This is the reason for
+the exceptional construction of the mission premises.
+
+
+
+
+THE VISITING MISSIONARIES' LEVEE.
+
+
+My dear fellow-travellers from Hopedale used to be stationed at
+Hebron, and it is astonishing to see how affectionately these people
+gather around them. Their temporary abode here is the schoolroom, and
+it is just as well that it is a good size and easily accessible. Look
+in upon them at any hour of the day, and you will probably find that
+they have Eskimo visitors. Last Sunday they held quite a levee, for
+men, women, and children flocked in after service to greet them.
+
+Come and make acquaintance with some of these Eskimo brethren and
+sisters. Several are introduced as relatives of Abraham and Tobias,
+who visited Germany and France in 1880. In their letters home the poor
+fellows confessed that there was far more sea between Labrador and
+Europe than they had any idea of, before they and some heathen from
+Nachvak were induced by an agent of Hagenbeck's in Hamburg to allow
+themselves to be brought over and exhibited. They were very home-sick
+for Labrador, but they never returned, for one after another was taken
+fatally ill. The last survivors died in Paris early in 1881. The
+Christians among them did credit to their profession, had their daily
+worship, exercised a good influence over the heathen members of the
+party, and died in simple trust in Jesus as their Saviour.
+
+Sarah needs no introduction. I had heard of her before reaching
+Hebron, and one cannot be in the place long without making her
+acquaintance. She is a woman of energy and resource. Last year she
+lost her good husband Hieronymus, the oldest native helper at Hebron.
+She continues, however, to be a leader in the concerns of the
+community, and her influence is good. She is a prominent chapel
+servant, and a leading singer in the choir. To be sure, tact is
+needed to keep Sarah in good humour, and direct her energies into
+useful channels. She has a turf house for winter occupation, but when
+I visited her she was living in her summer abode--a log hut. The
+interior was very tidy. In the outer room I noticed a harmonium; and
+in the inner one, besides a table and some chairs, there were pictures
+and ornaments and a sewing machine, on which she kindly did some work
+for me.
+
+Seated near us, among the numerous visitors in the schoolroom, are a
+mother and daughter, whose names are already well known to us. That
+dark-looking old woman is Marianna, the widow of Gottlob, whose grave
+we saw at Ramah. She is now a valued native helper here. The younger
+person is Nicholina, bright and strong in mind and heart though rather
+bent and crippled in body. Here, as formerly at Ramah, she serves as
+school mistress, and I am told has considerable capacity both for
+imparting knowledge and for maintaining discipline. She stands in
+regular correspondence with several friends of the mission in Europe.
+She had something to tell them in her last letters, for not long ago
+she and her mother with eight other Eskimoes were nearly drowned in
+the bay about where the "Harmony" lies at anchor. A sudden gust of
+wind capsized the sailing boat, in which they were coming home from
+their fishing place. One good feature of the Eskimo character is their
+presence of mind in danger. There was no panic, though the boat sank
+instantly. Happily she was towing a little flat. One of the men
+promptly cut the rope, and so all were brought safe to land, some in
+the flat, others hanging on to its sides. Old Marianna was one of the
+latter, and when her numbed hands lost their hold, they tied her
+wrists to the gunwale of the little boat. She has recovered from the
+shock and exposure, but like the rest has been impoverished, for they
+lost their all in the boat, which went down.
+
+Thomas, Enoch, and John are the three native helpers. Since the death
+of Hieronymus, Thomas has been the oldest in the office, but, as he
+feels, has not yet sufficient influence or force of character to lead
+his countrymen at critical times. He is, however, a humble child of
+God, and growing in grace as well as experience. John has a little
+speech to make, and here is the literal translation of it:--"Sometimes
+when we are busy, we do not always use the Scriptures daily. Mostly we
+do. The distress of our body often causes us to seek the Word of God.
+If the everlasting Gospel were well considered by all, there would be
+visible love."
+
+
+
+
+A SLEDGE DRIVE.
+
+
+_September 22nd, 1888._--My good friends are determined that I shall
+see a real sledge and team of dogs start and travel. So after dinner
+the sledge is brought to the gate of the mission premises. It consists
+of a couple of iron-bound wooden runners about fifteen feet long and
+eight inches high, across which many cross-pieces of wood are secured
+with thongs. Nails would soon be pulled out or broken off on a journey
+over hummocky ice or uneven ground. First the sledge is laden with
+everything necessary for a winter journey. A great white bear skin is
+folded and laid along the front, making a comfortable seat. That bruin
+must have been an enormous creature. The box comes about the middle;
+it contains the traveller's traps. Behind it some coats, a gun, a
+harpoon (we may see a seal if we go on the ice), some wood (we shall
+want a fire for camping out, and I hope matches have not been
+forgotten), the coats of the men, a sleeping sack and a pair of
+sealskin trousers. Those two oval frames like a large lawn tennis bat
+without handle, are a pair of snow-shoes. All these traps are secured
+by a sealskin thong passing over the ends of the cross-boards, and
+pulled tight. It would not do to lose anything on the way.
+
+Now seat yourself there in front of the box. But the dogs are not
+attached to the sledge. _Seat yourself_; they are all harnessed. Each
+has a band of sealskin round his neck and another round his body, and
+to this simple harness is attached the separate trace or thong by
+which he does his share in pulling the sledge. In one moment the
+sledge rope will be passed through the loops of all their traces, and
+they will be off almost before you can say "Hoo-eet," for they, like
+the Eskimoes standing round, seem to enjoy the fun. We are supposed to
+start southward for Okak, and to come home, by way of Ramah. I seat
+myself and get a good hold, with my back against the box and my feet
+well off the ground. "Hoo-eet!" The dogs are directed by the voice,
+and that is the word used to start them. Shout "Owk, Owk," and they
+will run to the right, or "Ra, Ra, Ra," and you will soon find
+yourself going to the left. Say, "Ah, Ah," and your dogs will lie
+down. Now you have all your directions so "Hoo-eet," we are off,
+gliding easily over the grass, for snow and ice there is none this
+warm autumn day after a night when there were two or three degrees of
+frost. So it is rather hard for the dogs, when we turn the corner of
+the mission enclosure and are going a bit up-hill through the long
+grass. Thomas, one of the Eskimoes, is running in front of the dogs in
+his sealskin boots with the fur outside--a handsome pair. Enoch is
+minding the sledge, now running beside me, now throwing himself down
+on it in front of me, or lifting the front end of the runners from
+right to left, or _vice versa_ to turn a corner or avoid a stone.
+"Owk, Owk," he shouts as we wish to turn the corner to the _right_. A
+third Eskimo, who is running between us and the dogs with the whip,
+takes up the sound and the dogs obey. But as it seems hard for them
+through the long grass, I get off and run after till we come to the
+corner by the church. It will go easier along the path to the _left_.
+I seat myself again and the driver cries "Ra, Ra, Ra." Away we go. It
+is well I was wary of the stones, another inch and that rock just
+passed would have given me a sore foot or a sprained ankle. "Owk,
+Owk." We leave the path on our left and turn away to the _right_ over
+rocks and moss. The ground is broken but the long runners of the
+sledge make it go fairly smoothly. "Ah, Ah," or as Thomas pronounces
+it long drawn, "Aw, Aw." At this sound the dogs stop and lie down,
+with their tails curled over their backs. We are supposed to have
+arrived at a halting place where we shall camp out for the night.
+The wood is unloaded; to make the fire would be the first thing and
+then perhaps a snow-house for a shelter. The sleeping sack is ready to
+be my night's couch on the floor. Meanwhile, the dogs lie quite
+contentedly, and we use the first opportunity to count them. There are
+fourteen in harness and two are running beside them of their own
+accord, entering into the spirit of the thing in spite of their fear
+of that formidable whip. Nine of these useful animals belong to the
+mission. Their names are Yauerfritze, Purtzelmutter, Purtzel, Caro,
+Pius, Fanny (an exceptionally friendly Eskimo dog), Ammi, Kakkortak
+and Takkolik. The others belong to different natives.
+
+[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN LABRADOR.]
+
+Our imaginary night has been short enough, and we are supposed to be
+preparing for a new start. "Look, see," says Thomas to me, and pours
+some water on the iron of the runners, for the sledge has meanwhile
+been turned upside down. Were it winter, that water would at once
+freeze on the iron and form a splendid smooth surface for the sledge
+to run on over ice or snow. "Hoo-eet." The sledge has been turned
+right again and repacked, and the dogs get up. No, there is nothing
+left behind. "Hoo-eet;" away we go. It is astonishing how widely the
+dogs spread themselves in pulling. However, the course of the sledge,
+as it follows them, depends more on the nimble drivers. See yonder dog
+is getting to the wrong side of that post, by way of illustrating the
+difficulties of travelling through a wood. Hebron is beyond the
+northern limit of trees, but our missionaries at Hopedale have often
+great trouble in passing through forests of stunted fir-trees. The
+front dogs also have got their traces foul of the two other posts in
+our forest of three trees without any branches. So we are brought to a
+standstill until, all the harness being cleared, we are ready for a
+fresh start down that slope to the right. "Owk, Owk," is the word, but
+at the brook our wild career is brought to a sudden stop. Our specimen
+sledge trip would not be complete without an accident. The bed of the
+little stream proves just too wide for the sledge to clear it, and the
+points of the runners have bored into the further bank. The thong of
+the sledge has broken in two places with the jerk, and the dogs who
+were pulling with might and main are suddenly released. Four or five
+have been caught by our nimble Eskimoes, but the majority are off
+home. Were the station three hours or three days distant and we were
+left in the snow it would be a bit different to the present situation.
+The station is about three minutes distant, and we have time for a
+good laugh before our dogs are caught and brought back. What has
+become of the passenger? Oh, he is unhurt; the shock did not even
+unseat him. There he sits on the sledge, which stretches like a little
+bridge from bank to bank. It is freed from the earth, and the dogs are
+again attached, after a fierce little quarrel between two or three of
+them, just to keep up their credit as quarrelsome creatures. Order and
+obedience restored, "Hoo-eet," away we go homeward, but at a more
+moderate pace, for it is uphill. By the mission-house the road bends
+to the left, "Ra, Ra, Ra." At the corner a number of women are
+standing and laughing, and as the sledge approaches, they ran,
+according to their usual custom, and throw themselves on to it, so the
+poor dogs finish their course with an extra load, and are quite
+willing to lie down in obedience to the final command, "Ah, Ah." If
+you were on a real journey, you would learn by experience to avoid
+that interjection in your conversation, for the weary animals would at
+once take the permission to stop and lie down.
+
+Now the dogs are released from their harness and run away to their
+respective homes with glee. The sledge is unloaded, and its contents
+carried off by their owners. "When did you leave Ramah?" says the
+missionary to Thomas. "Yesterday morning," replies the good fellow,
+keeping up the joke with thorough appreciation. I give them my hearty
+thanks, "Nakungmek," for Thomas and Co. have not only given me a great
+pleasure, but provided interest for young friends at home, to whom I
+may detail my winter journey on a sunny autumn afternoon at Hebron. A
+real midwinter Labrador sledge journey, with the thermometer far below
+zero of Fahrenheit and the wind blowing hard and cold, is not so
+pleasant, especially if the dogs be quite invisible because of the
+driving snow. Should the traveller then be pitched off the sledge, and
+the drivers not perceive his absence at once, they may lose one
+another for ever. But God has watched over our travellers by sea and
+land, by ice and snow on many an errand of spiritual import to the
+settlers, or journey from station to station.
+
+
+
+
+MY LAST SUNDAY IN LABRADOR.
+
+
+_Sunday, September 23rd._--Morning prayers in German with the
+house-family. Our venerable senior missionary read the texts and the
+Gospel for the day, and gave out suitable hymns, which were well sung
+by the company of brethren, and sisters, and children assembled in the
+dining-room around the long table. Breakfast is enlivened with
+cheerful, godly converse, and shortly after we join the Eskimo
+congregation in the first service of the day. I like this church as
+well as any in the land. It is proportionate, simple, neat and light.
+Mr. Wirth takes his place behind the table, and, what with residents
+and visitors, there is a goodly row of missionary brethren and sisters
+to right and left of him, facing the Eskimo congregation. Among the
+latter the white faces of a settler family, the Metcalfs from Napartok
+Bay, are conspicuous. Though the language be strange, I have already
+grown familiar with the liturgic forms of worship and can follow
+either the "Church Litany," familiar to one in English and German, or
+the admirable responsive compilation of tests known as the Catechism
+Litany. The latter is chosen this morning, and it is quite possible
+that a negro congregation in Surinam, or a Kaffir congregation in
+South Africa may be using the same form of sound words, for it exists
+both in Negro English and in Kaffir.
+
+At 10 we are again summoned to the house of prayer by the bell. Mr.
+Dam is the preacher, and is evidently moved by the thought that this
+may be his last sermon in Eskimo for many a day. A hymn and a prayer,
+fervent and brief, precede the giving out of his text, Rev. i. 12-20.
+The sermon is listened to attentively by old and young, of whom
+considerably more than a hundred are present. Old Zippora is, as ever,
+at her place at the end of the bench. Blind though she is, she often
+walks miles to church over uneven ground or hummocky ice, when away at
+the fishing places. She seems to take her part in the worship of the
+sanctuary thoroughly, whether in response or sacred song, or as
+listener with animated face and at times an overflowing heart. While I
+am looking, her fingers seek the corner of her apron, and lifting it
+she wipes the tears from her sightless eyes.
+
+But the eloquent flow of words, mostly unintelligible to me, comes to
+a close. A hymn is sung, and the New Testament blessing pronounced.
+Then the procession from the missionary benches files out through the
+schoolroom into the mission-house and the people disperse to their
+homes. Mere mounds they look as I see them from my window. But they
+are Christian homes, whence rises prayer and praise.
+
+I was mistaken. The congregation had not dispersed, for the choir
+wished to give me a specimen of their powers. I returned to the church
+and listened to a fair selection of sacred music, including a long
+piece (Psalm xcv. 6, 7), well sustained by a choir of about a dozen
+men and women, and two or three instrumentalists. When they ceased, I
+spoke a few words of thanks and farewell.
+
+Dinner was as usual very literally "the mid-day meal." Soup was
+followed by a joint of reindeer venison, which was a treat to me, as
+beef or mutton would be to my hosts. The vegetables had been grown in
+the mission garden. After coffee I went over to the ship for the
+afternoon service aboard, rowed by four Eskimoes, Thomas, Clement, one
+of the organists, Daniel, and Heinrich. In their endeavour to converse
+with me they brought out some amusing scraps of English, and little
+Heinrich informed me his name in my language was "Harry."
+
+Whilst I was preaching to the crew there was an afternoon meeting
+ashore. I returned for our solemn farewell service with the missionary
+band. Here, as at each previous station, this was an occasion of deep
+feeling. My parting word was founded on (2 Corinthians xiii. 11)
+"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of
+one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with
+you." So I took leave of "brethren," who are faithfully serving their
+Lord in this cold country. Truly here is the patience and the faith of
+the saints. The God of all grace bless each missionary family, comfort
+and strengthen them in all their work, and perfect that which
+concerneth them and their people! How wonderfully He can and does
+help, I have experienced on this voyage and visit to Labrador, and so
+at the close of my visitation record my humble praise.
+
+
+
+
+MUSIC ON THE WATER.
+
+
+After the evening meal we went down to the shore and embarked. The
+people crowded the pier, and many a hand was stretched out with a
+hearty "Aksunai." As we rowed away they were singing, and when their
+voices sounded fainter across the water Thomas began of his own accord
+the following hymn in his own language:--
+
+    "O Lord! lift up thy countenance
+      Upon thy Church, and own us thine;
+      Impart to each thy peace divine,
+    And blessings unto all dispense.
+
+    'Tis our desire to follow thee,
+      And from experience to proclaim
+      Salvation in thy blessed name:
+    O bless thy servants' ministry."
+
+The other Eskimoes rowing our boat sang with him, until we reached the
+"Harmony."
+
+We were having a quiet time of cheerful converse in the cabin, when
+the sound of singing again called us on deck. A procession of eight or
+ten boats, the bow of one almost touching the stern of the other, was
+rowing slowly round and round the ship, and the people in them were
+singing sweet Christian songs to the measured beat of the oars. Sarah
+was in the first boat, evidently the leader and director of the
+proceedings.[C] Hymn after hymn, in well-sustained parts, sounded
+beautifully over the still water, and not till it was getting quite
+dark did they row away, singing "Victoria," _i.e._ "God save the
+Queen," in honour of the English visitor. Her Majesty has very loyal
+subjects in that unknown corner of her realm; and, by the way, some of
+them charged me to bring home an "Aksunai" to her, too.
+
+_Tuesday, September 25st._--Yes, "good-bye;" yet, when your vessel is
+not a steamer, but dependent on the wind, you may have repeated
+"good-byes," as often happens in Labrador. Not till this afternoon
+could the "Harmony" hoist her sails and speed away to the broad
+Atlantic. As soon as the Eskimoes saw our sails being unfurled, they
+again came around the vessel in their boats, and anew commended us to
+the Divine protection in their version of a very favourite hymn of
+Count Zinzendorf's ("Jesu geh voran").
+
+    "Jesus, day by day,
+    Guide them on their way."
+
+
+
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+
+The story of our homeward voyage must he told in short. We had more
+stormy days than bright ones, and more contrary winds than fair
+breezes. We left Hebron on Tuesday, September 25th, and on the
+following Sunday found ourselves among Greenland icebergs and fogs. So
+we had to turn southwards and run on that tack for two days. Then a
+moderate side wind followed the strong contrary gale, and we made good
+steady progress eastward. This was undoubtedly pleasant after the
+heavy rolling and pitching of the previous days. For two weeks and
+more nothing was to be seen but sea and sky, yet both had their
+interest and beauty. The sunsets were lovely, and the phosphorescent
+light in the water at night especially so. The wake of the ship was
+luminous for a long distance, and the crests of the waves shone all
+around us. Once I was leaning over the taffrail late in the evening,
+when a shoal of fish passed. There were thousands of them, and each
+one was a living, moving centre of light. Bottle-nosed whales
+gambolled around us when we were within a few hundred miles of
+Labrador, and later on "schools" of porpoises occasionally visited us.
+The latter often sprang clean out of the water, and seemed to take
+special delight in crossing the bows of the "Harmony." On October
+10th, we sighted the first ship since leaving Labrador, and a day or
+two later tacked southward near the coast of Ireland to make the
+entrance of the British Channel. There a trial of patience awaited us.
+A hard-hearted east wind barred our progress, and with long tacks we
+seemed to make headway only by inches. Yet the little "Harmony"
+bravely held on her way, when larger vessels had given up the fight.
+
+_Sunday, October 21st._--Up at six, to find the Scilly Isles in sight.
+The Bishop's rock and St. Agnes lighthouses were plainly visible. But
+the old east wind is back again. The light, fair breeze of yesterday
+evening sent us forward fifteen miles in an hour or two, and seventy
+or eighty miles of tacking to-day has barely secured as much progress.
+Visited the men in the forecastle, a small gloomy looking place, yet
+fair as such accommodation goes. The good fellows are cheery and happy
+there, indeed, they have been pleasant and faithful to duty throughout
+the entire voyage. God grant them the true blessedness we have told
+them of in this morning's and previous Sunday services.
+
+_Monday, 22nd._--Weathered the Wolf Rock by this tack. Sighted Land's
+End, with its white houses, and the Longships lighthouse on its lofty
+rock. A steamer passing us into Penzance answered our signals and will
+report us we hope.
+
+_Tuesday, 23rd._--Four weeks away from Labrador. Four months absent
+from home. How much longer yet? To windward of the Lizard this
+morning. That is good, for we could have run for Falmouth harbour had
+it blown harder from the east. But the wind has died away altogether.
+The Lizard twin lighthouses and the white walls surrounding them are
+plainly visible, as we lie becalmed.
+
+_Wednesday, 24th._--Got a fair wind yesterday, which carried us
+forward past the Eddystone Lighthouse. We are now nearing Start Point,
+and have shown our signals. They will be seen, and reported either at
+that lighthouse or at Prawle Point, and it is quite a relief to think
+our presence in the Channel will soon be known in London. What a
+contrast there is between our own shores and the coast of Labrador.
+_Here_ one is never out of sight of some guiding light, _there_ not a
+lighthouse--not a buoy. Such a voyage makes one the more thankful for
+the experience and faithfulness of our own valued ship's officers,
+tried servants of the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel, who
+have the interests of that society and of the mission at heart, and
+whose annual voyages to Labrador involve a full share of
+responsibility and anxiety.
+
+_Thursday, 25th._--Passed the Isle of Wight this morning, and Beachy
+Head in the afternoon. As night came on the long rows of electric
+lights on the marine parades of Eastbourne, Hastings, and St.
+Leonard's were very effective across the water. Got our pilot aboard
+at Dungeness just before midnight.
+
+_Friday, 26th._--_Home again!_ How infinitely good is the gracious
+Lord, who permits one to go on His errands, and meanwhile takes care
+of all that is so dear! We were off Margate when I went on deck, about
+7 A.M., and shortly afterwards secured a powerful little tug, which
+towed the "Harmony" swiftly up the Thames to London Docks, where she
+now lies at her usual moorings, awaiting the hundred and twentieth
+voyage.
+
+    "Then, at the vessel's glad return,
+      The absent meet again;
+    At home, our hearts within us burn
+      To trace the cunning pen,
+    Whose strokes, like rays from star to star,
+    Bring happy messages from far,
+    And once a year to Britain's shore
+      Join Christian Labrador."
+
+I lay down the pen which has transcribed those lines of Montgomery's
+as a fitting close to my chapter, "Homeward Bound." If it has had any
+"cunning," it has been simply because I have described what I have
+seen with my own eyes in Christian Labrador. Traversing nearly three
+hundred miles of that grand, but bleak and desolate-looking coast, I
+met with scarcely any heathen. Only at Ramah I found one or two who
+had no Christian names, because they had not yet publicly professed
+Christ. They were, however, candidates for baptism, and their few
+heathen countrymen to the north of that station are, from time to
+time, attracted to the sound of the Gospel. But if the mission in that
+land be nearing the close of the evangelistic phase, our task is not
+done, and still we hear the voice of the Divine Spirit saying:
+Separate me this one and that one for the work whereunto I have called
+him in Labrador.
+
+Yet I hope and pray for a wider result from these pages than increased
+interest in the one field so closely connected with Britain by the
+good ship "Harmony." Labrador in its turn is linked to all the mission
+provinces in the world-wide parish given to the little Moravian
+Church, and I trust this glimpse into the life and labours of our
+devoted missionaries there will quicken the loving intercessions of my
+readers for their fellow labourers in all our own fields, and for the
+whole great mission work of the Church of Christ.
+
+I will conclude with a stirring stanza[D] from another poet, who found
+a theme and an inspiration in contrasting the wretched condition of
+the people of Labrador, prior to the arrival of missionaries, with the
+wonderful change wrought among the poor Eskimoes through their noble
+efforts under the blessing of God.
+
+    "When round the great white throne all nations stand,
+    When Jew and Gentile meet at God's right hand,
+    When thousand times ten thousand raise the strain--
+    'Worthy the Lamb that once for us was slain!'
+    When the bright Seraphim with joy prolong
+    Through all eternity that thrilling song--
+    The heathen's universal jubilee,
+    A music sweet, O Saviour Christ, to Thee--
+    Say, 'mid those happy strains, will not _one_ note,--
+    Sung by a hapless nation once remote,
+    But now led Home by tender cords of love,
+    Rise clear through those majestic courts above?
+    Yes! from amid the tuneful, white-robed choirs,
+    Hymning Jehovah's praise on golden lyres,
+    _One_ Hallelujah shall for evermore
+    Tell of the Saviour's love to LABRADOR."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+G. NORMAN & SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote C: For those who may be interested to know what hymns were
+chosen, and what tunes were sung (without accompaniment), by the
+natives on this occasion, I will append the numbers in our new English
+Hymn Book, as far it contains their selection, 646, 788, 755, 834, and
+1135. The melodies included our Tunes 132, 26, 69, 205, 166, and 146.]
+
+[Footnote D: _Labrador, a Poem in three parts_, written to commemorate
+the centenary of the Moravian Labrador Mission, by B. TRAPP ELLIS.]
+
+
+
+
+THE "HARMONY."
+
+Captain: HENRY LINKLATER.
+
+     Length (Extreme)  120     ft.
+     Breadth            27-1/2  "
+     Depth              15      "  4 in.
+     Length of Mast     87      "
+     Tonnage           251 tons.
+
+_Launched, April 24th, 1861._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The average duration of the _outward_ voyage with the present vessel
+has been 41-1/4 days, including a short stay at Stromness in the
+Orkneys. The _homeward_ voyage has been accomplished on an average in
+23 days, including the coarse up channel to the West India Dock. The
+whole voyage, including the stay on the coast and visit to six
+stations there, has averaged 117-3/4 days.
+
+
+THE TEMPERATURE OF LABRADOR.
+
+At Hopedale, the most southerly of our mission stations,
+thermometrical observations during several years give + 86 deg. Fahrenheit
+as the greatest heat (July 26, 1871), -104 deg., or 72 deg. below freezing
+point, Fahrenheit, as the greatest cold (February 2nd, 1873). The
+average temperature for the year is -5 deg. F. For four years the month of
+July was the only one in which there was not a fall of snow. The
+average temperature of Edinburgh, which lies in about the same degree
+of latitude as Hopedale, is + 47 deg. F. At the Hospice of St. Bernard in
+the Alps, which is situated at an elevation of 7192 feet above the
+level of the sea, the average temperature for the year is not quite
+-3 deg. F. There winter and spring are much less cold, summer and autumn
+much less warm than in Labrador.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's With the Harmony to Labrador, by Benjamin La Trobe
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
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