THE work that has been done to establish and extend the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ on this coast of the great American continent is not as fully known as it ought to be. Other more inviting fields have claimed attention, and this field, with its magnificent distances and great disadvantages, is as yet comparatively little known. Of late Dr. Grenfel, of the Deep Sea Mission, has brought this coast before the world; and whilst we rejoice in all that he has done, it is only just that the Christian Church should know what has been done by others. No writer professing to give an account of missionary work on the Labrador coast can do so fairly and fully unless there is the most reasonable recognition of the work done by previous labourers on that rough, bleak coast.

Foremost among the latter stand the brethren of the Moravian Church. From personal experience after two years' residence on the Labrador coast, I can testify to the far-reaching influence of their work, not simply as it respects the Eskimo, but also some of the Indians of the interior, as well as thousands of Newfoundlanders who in the summer time have visited their stations.

Before giving a description of my own labours and travel I will endeavour to give a brief résumé of previous missionary work done. amid untold discouragements and difficulties. The words of Jesus

-James Montgomery.

seem specially appropriate in this case, "And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours." (John iv. 37, 38.)

While the British Government was extending its power under Robert Clive in India, and struggling to retain her hold on America, and fighting bravely against the French to gain Canada, the brethren of the Moravian Church were nobly endeavouring to plant the flag for Christ on this coast, and claim it for Him in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This struggle continued for twenty years, viz., from 1750 to 1770. This mission is comprised within Lat. 55° 60′ N. and Long. 60° 65′ W., extending from Cape Webeck in the south to Cape Chudleigh in the north.

The first proposal to commence this Mission was made by a poor sailor, John Christian Ehrhardt, who was a member of the Moravian Church, in 1750. The proposal was taken up, but did not receive the warmest support, by Count Zinzendorf, at Herrnhut. They attempted to gain access to Labrador through the Hudson's Bay Company, which for over a century previous had occupied trading posts on the coast. Their request for permission to send missionaries to the Company's post was not approved of.

A merchant in London named

Nisbet then offered to help the Brethren. He formed a company with two others named Grace and Bell, fitted out a vessel, and Ehrhardt had charge of the expedition. They sailed from London in the ship Hope, on the 17th of May, 1752. On the 31st of July they reached a bay in Lat. 55° 30' N., and in grateful remembrance called it Nisbet Harbour. Afterwards they continued their journey up the shore, and a company of Eskimo were seen on the 13th of September. Ehrhardt went ashore with the captain and five of the crew in a boat full of articles for barter. Not one of these ever returned to the ship. After several days' waiting without seeing any trace of the missing men the ship returned to Nisbet Harbour. In the course of the following year an American captain found some of the provisions and the remains of the seven men. Jens Haven and Christian Lawrence Drachart afterwards succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the natives. In 1769 Commodore Sir H. Palliseer brought three natives from Labrador -Mikak, whose husband had been killed in a fight with English traders, her little son six years old, and a youth of fifteen called Karpik. During Mikak's stay in England she was shown great kindness, the Dowager Princess of Wales and other persons of rank being greatly interested in her. She was taken back to Labrador in a man-of-war, and after her return she married one named Tuglivina, and they took the name of Palliseer, after the Commodore. Mikak had fine robes, a dress of white cloth, decorated with gilt ornaments and lace, and a gold medal with the likeness of the king of England. She had also a fine large tent, the gift of Commodore Palliseer. Attired in her robes she received the missionaries, and placed the tent at their disposal. Meetings were held in it, and the Gospel message faithfully

proclaimed. I spent my first New Year's Eve on the coast in the house of Mikak's great-grandchildren. Her descendants are numerous also in Hamilton Inlet.

In the same year that Mikak visited England His Majesty King George III., by an order-in-council, gave the Brethren a block of land containing one hundred thousand acres, to be selected in the vicinity of Eskimo Bay. Since then the following stations have been formed, viz, Nain, 1771; Okak, 1776; Hopedale, 1782; Hebron, 1828; and Zoar, 1865. From the commencement of these missions the missionaries have carried on a barter trade with the natives which has met almost the entire expense. The missionary ship takes out supplies each summer for the natives, and brings back their fur, fish, oil, etc.

Much might be written respecting these missions, which like beacons flash their cheering light on these inhospitable shores. I will leave the narrative of the glorious work done by these heroic servants of God during the last century and a quarter to some abler pen than mine. have adduced it as a link in the chain of events which, under God, have done great things for this oncebenighted coast.

I

Next to the Moravian Church the honour of attempting to establish a permanent mission on the Labrador coast belongs to the Methodist Church. Some time between 1825 and 1830 the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Newfoundland made an effort in this direction. The following ministers successively were sent to Hamilton Inlet, viz., Revs. F. Hickson, Dr. R. Knight, G. Ellege and C. Bates. Two of them remained for the summer only, and two, I am informed, stayed winter and summer. The missionaries met with much opposition, and one retired from the station disheartened at the manner in which he was treated by the whites, and at the

effects of their bad example on the natives *

The Rev. Mr. Ellege resided at Cul-de-Sac, and had a servant man named King, who taught the children to read. Among these were two sisters, who became Mrs. Mishelin and Mrs. Campbell, and lived to a good old age. The latter has written the story of her life, which was published a short time ago in the St. John's Herald. These women have taught many to read their Bibles. I found both of them longing for the consolation of Israel. Upon my first visit Mrs. Mishelin produced the hymn-book given her by Mr. Ellege, and we sang together the songs of Zion. I found the name of this man of God greatly beloved. A stone was pointed out to me at Indian Harbour on which Mr. Ellege used to stand and preach to audiences composed of Newfoundland and American fishermen, and men belonging to foreign vessels.

The seed sown by these earnest, faithful men of God has sprung up. After the missionaries were withdrawn, a Canadian named Brownson, who was agent for Hunt & Henly, used to gather the people together and teach them to sing hymns. As far as I can learn he was a Methodist, and appears to have been a very useful man. Among other things he taught them to bury their dead in graves. Formerly they simply laid the corpse on the ground, and then piled large stones over it to keep dogs, wolves and other wild animals from it. The burying-ground at Moliac, where rest the mortal remains of this man whose memory is so revered by the natives, is a beautiful spot in the summer time. The people missed the servants of God, and often longed for their return.

In 1857, in response to an invitation received from the chief officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, the

* See Prof. H. Y. Hind's "The Labrador Peninsula," Vol. II., p. 195.

Moravian Brethren sent the Rev. Mr. Elsner, who undertook a sledge journey to Hamilton Inlet, in the hope that missionary operations might be commenced. He was very hospitably received at the factory near the mouth of the North-West River, but found that the population was small, chiefly composed of Indians whose places of residence were scattered over a wide tract of country and often in places difficult of access. The natives were in a position of complete dependence upon the trader at the station, which would seriously interfere with regular missionary work. Hence no further steps were taken in this direction.

In the spring of the year 1870 another Moravian missionary, the Rev. Mr. O'Hara, made a missionary tour of three months between Hopedale and Sandwich Bay. After the Methodist Church withdrew its missionaries it continued to send a minister in the summer season to visit the coast. The pious Methodist fishermen who go to Labrador in the summer season have always held their meetings, and have done much good in this way. The coast has also been visited by clergymen of the Church of England, but until our mission was formed I am not aware that one was resident on the coast so far north as this.

In 1883 the late Rev. J. Embree visited the coast and reported to the General Board of Missions, and they decided to occupy the field. The Conference of 1884 appointed me to take charge of the work on this coast. The Red Bay Mission is in the Strait of Belle Isle, on the Labrador side. The Hamilton Inlet Mission is comprised within Lat. 53° 55' N. and Long. 55° 60′ W. This includes a number of large bays and islands along the shore. Hamilton Inlet forms the head of the Mission. It is also called Aivektok, or Invucktoke Bay, meaning walrus, as the walrus formerly abounded there.

Eskimo Bay is the name given by the Indians of the interior, from the Cree words, "Ashki," raw and "mow," to eat-eaters of raw flesh. Gross Water Bay was the name given to it by the French.

It is the finest bay on the coast, being upwards of thirty miles wide at its entrance, and thence decreasing until at Rigoulette, about fifty miles from the sea, it is barely a mile in width. Beyond Rigoulette it extends inland about seventy miles, and varies from a hundred yards to a mile in width. Above Eskimo Island the Bay expands into Melville Lake, a magnificent salt-water lake extending upwards of ninety miles, and fully twentyfive miles wide in one place. Numerous islands lie at the entrance and within the Bay. Several great rivers flow into the Inlet, the largest being Hamilton River. About one hundred miles from its mouth are the Grand Falls, which are said to exceed in grandeur the Falls of Niagara. From the south end of the Mission to the north is about one hundred miles in a direct line. The coast is much broken up into bights and bays. This is true also of the shores of each bay. The interior abounds with lakes and marshes, which in the winter season are frozen and afford good travelling. For six months each winter I travelled the whole district with dogs and comatique and snow-shoes. In the performance of this the first winter I had the assistance of over sixty different teams of dogs.

The natives of the coast of Labrador are called Eskimo, and are a race distinct from the Indians of the interior. They are, as a rule, small of stature, and they have large heads, which are thickly covered with black hair. The forehead is low, and the eyes are large and generally dark. The nose seems flat, the lips are thick, and the mouth large. The men possess only small beards. Their complexion varies, for some

have a bright colour in their cheeks; but generally they are dark-specially so in the spring. The Eskimo are a nomadic race, dependent for food and clothing almost entirely on their success in hunting and fishing. In the summer time they used to pitch their skin tents along the banks of the rivers or on the shores of the inlets, and fish for salmon, codfish, etc. Now they have small "tilts," or huts, built of wood, and some of them get salmon nets on hire from the Hudson's Bay Company or the traders. They have also boats like the settlers, as well as their own native boats, which they call "kayaks." The latter are about fifteen feet long, and are made of wood which is completely covered with seal-skins. They are about two feet six inches wide in the middle and about two feet deep, and gradually taper to a point fore and aft.

In the centre is a small opening into which the Eskimo thrusts his legs, and sits down to row. A single oar is used, each end of which is flattened and rounded. It is dipped in the water from right to left, and vice versa. The speed at which the kayak is propelled is considerable, and it is surprising how it will ride the "top," or slush ice. In the winter the Eskimo move to different parts of the bays along the coast. Those on my mission wintered at two places principally, viz., Back Run and Karawala. The water is not frozen at these places in the winter, and so they catch with a "jigger" an inferior kind of codfish which abounds in the bay. Besides this they hunt foxes, rabbits, partridges, bears, deer, etc. In the spring they move farther up the bay for the purpose of shooting, or spearing seals on the ice. The bay seals keep holes open in the ice all winter, and they come up through these to breathe and sport themselves on the ice. In the spring they bring forth their young on the ice.

Different methods are adopted by

the Eskimo to kill the seals. Sometimes they stand at the hole in the ice, and when the seal appears they spear it. At other times the seals are asleep on the ice, and then the Eskimo puts on his skin clothes and crawls over the ice. If the seal should notice them they wriggle and roll like a seal to allay its suspicions. The seal, satisfied that there is no foe, falls asleep again. The Eskimo crawls nearer, and when he thinks he is near enough he fires, invariably killing the seal.

The skins of the seals are used in making boots and clothes. The men wear a coat called a cossack, and the women wear a similar one with a large hood for carrying the baby. Polygamy formerly existed among this race, and even now the marriage tie with some is very loose. Cases of immorality are found among this people, and this is largely owing to the crowded state of their houses. Several families are often huddled together in one hut. These huts are rudely built of wood, and in the winter time are frequently covered with snow. If you want to find them you can do so by observing the dogs lying around the stovepipe.

On one occasion I descended seven steps of snow in order to get to the front door of one of these huts. This covering of snow helps to keep the house warm, but often the large stove which is used melts the snow and fills the house with water. Formerly the houses were lighted by means of a stone lamp, which was filled with seal oil. I have seen one of these ancient lamps, the stone of which was most peculiar. It had the appearance of slate, but was much softer. The lamp was about ten inches long, and a handle was formed at one end and a spout at the other, and in the centre a hollow was cut to contain the oil. A wick made of cloth or moss was placed in this hollow, and one end was passed along the spout and lighted. Tin lamps with a long spout are now

generally used. These are filled with seal oil, and have a wick passed through the spout. A needle or piece of wire is tied to the spout, and it is used to prick out the wick as it burns away.

Formerly intoxicating liquor was sold in the Bay, and many sad stories are related of those who fell victims to this "fire-water." The Newfoundland Government passed a law prohibiting the sale or gift of liquor to any Eskimo or Indian under a penalty of two hundred dollars. If such a prohibitory law is good for Labrador, why should it not be extended to all British North America?

The Eskimo are very fond of music, and many of the men can play the violin. These instruments were formerly called into requisition at scenes of revelry, but they are now consecrated to higher and better uses. Many pleasant hours have been spent teaching them Methodist and Sankey's hymns. Their language is a great hindrance, because it is so unlike any European tongue. So great were the linguistic obstacles that exactly one hundred years passed before an Eskimo translation of the Bible was finished. The Moravian missionaries declare that it would have been better to have substituted the German or English language for the Eskimo.

Each family is supplied with a book containing certain chapters of the Bible, and a few prayers. They have also hymn - books. Most of them can read in their own tongue, having learned to do so at the Moravian stations. I could give abundant evidence to prove my former statement respecting the widespread influence of the labours of the Moravian missionaries.

It is truly impressive to see one of these men conduct worship with his family. When present with them I would sing a hymn and read a chapter in English, and then they would sing a hymn and read a