sist for the greater
part of the year, are very erratic, it is often difficult to arrange for
a place of meeting, where food can be obtained in sufficient abundance
while the religious services are being held.

It used to be very discouraging, after having travelled for several days
together, either by canoe in summer, or dog-trains in winter, to reach a
certain place which had been arranged for meeting, and find very few
present. The deer, and other animals on which they had expected to
live, had gone in another direction, and the Indians had been obliged to
follow them.

Everything, however, favoured us on our second visit. We found over
fifty families camped at the place of meeting, and full of curiosity to
see the Missionary. They had all sorts of strange notions in their
minds. When Mr Rundle, of the English Wesleyan Church, first went
among some of the wild tribes of the great Saskatchewan country, with
his open Bible, preaching the wonderful Gospel truths, great was the
excitement of the people to know where this strange man had come from.
So a great council was summoned, and the conjurers were ordered to find
out all about it. After a great deal of drumming and dreaming and
conjuring, they gravely reported that this strange man with his
wonderful book had been wrapped up in an envelope, and had come down
from the Great Spirit on a rainbow!

The Nelson River Indians welcomed me very cordially, and were much more
demonstrative in their greetings than were any of the other tribes I had
visited, although I had had my share of strange welcomes. Here the
custom of handshaking was but little known, but the more ancient one of
kissing prevailed. Great indeed was my amazement when I found myself
surrounded by two hundred and fifty or three hundred wild Indians, men,
women, and children, whose faces seemed in blissful ignorance of soap
and water, but all waiting to kiss me. I felt unable to stand the
ordeal, and so I managed to put them off with a shake of the hand, and a
kind word or two.

At eight o'clock the next morning we called the Indians together for the
first public religious service which most of them had ever attended.
They were intensely interested. My Christian Indians from Norway House
aided me in the opening services, and, being sweet singers, added very
much to the interest. We sang several hymns, read a couple of lessons
from the Bible, and engaged in prayer. At about nine o'clock I read as