e to which we have referred, for
it was something which he had never heard of nor seen before. It was
that in the morning and evening Memotas would take out of a bag a little
book printed in strange characters, and read from it while his wife and
children reverently and quietly sat around him and listened to the
strange words. Then they would sing in a manner so different from the
wild, droning, monotonous songs of the conjurers, that Oowikapun was
filled with a strange feeling of awe, which was much increased when they
all knelt down reverently on the ground and Memotas seemed to talk with
the Great Spirit and call him his Father. Then he thanked him for all
their blessings, and asked his forgiveness for everything they had done
that was wrong, and he asked his blessing upon his family and everybody
else, even upon his enemies, if he had any. Then he besought the Great
Spirit to bless Oowikapun, and not only heal his wounds, but take the
darkness from his mind and make him his child. He always ended his
prayers by asking the Great Spirit to do all these things for the sake
of his Son Jesus.

All this was very strange and even startling to Oowikapun. He had lived
all his life in a land dark with superstition and paganism. The Gospel
had as yet never been proclaimed there. The name of Jesus had never
been heard in that wild north-land, and so as none of the blessedness of
religion had entered into the hearts of the people, so none of its
sweet, losing, elevating influences had begun to ennoble and bless their
lives and improve their habits. So he pondered over what he witnessed
and heard, and was thankful when the day's hunting was over, and Memotas
would talk to him as they sat there on their robes around the fire,
often for hours at a time. From him he learned how it was that they had
so changed in many of their ways. Memotas told him of the coming to
Norway House of the first missionary, the Reverend James Evans, with the
book of heaven, the words of the Good Spirit to his children. He told
him many of the wonderful things it speaks about, and that it showed how
man was to love and worship God, and thus secure his blessing and
favour. The little book which Memotas had was composed of the four
gospels only. These Mr Evans had had printed at the village in Indian
letters, which he had invented and called "syllabic characters." They
are so easily learned by the Indians, that in a few weeks those who were
d