u that."

Pritchen fully realized the truth of these words, so after a few
moments of hesitation he agreed to comply with the request.

As he drew near to the Council ground a nameless fear took possession
of him. He saw the miners shrug their shoulders as he took his place
among them. They seemed to forget his presence, however, as they
turned their attention to the old chief to watch his next move.
Neither did they have to wait long, for with much deliberation and many
gestures, the hoary patriarch began his harangue.

First, he invoked the aid of the Great Father of Heaven upon the
gathering. Then he told of the nobleness of his race, of the mighty
men and warriors who had died. He described the vastness of the land
which they had owned from time immemorial. He next gave an account of
their wild condition before the arrival of the missionary.

"We were brutes," he said in substance, flourishing his arm in an
eloquent manner. "We had many wives and treated them worse than dogs.
They cut and drew our wood; they brought in the moose, when killed,
into camp, and waited upon us, doing our slightest bidding. When they
refused to work we beat them, and when too old to toil we turned them
out to die, or left them on the trail. Our wives, dreading such a life
for their little girl babies, often killed them and we thought nothing
of it.

"We robbed, cheated, fought and killed one another. Our hearts were
always bad, all same black bear. We were like men walking at night in
a thick wood, lost and unable to find our way out. Oh, it was a bad
time! Then the teacher came to us from beyond the great mountains. He
lived in our midst, and learned our language. At first we treated him
very badly and tried to kill him, but we could not, for something
stopped us. When we shot at him the arrows and balls went wide. When
we threw our knives and hatchets they did not touch him. When we broke
down his cabin and stole from him, he prayed for us, and built a new
house. When we were sick, he healed us. When we wanted food he shared
with us of his own supply. He led us slowly out of the wood. He told
us about Christ and another life. He taught us how to build good
cabins, and live as true Christians. Thus the Spirit came to us like
the breath of Spring, and thawed and warmed our cold hearts. New,
sweet flowers of love, truth, purity and peace sprang up, which choked
and killed the bad weeds. We put away our old man