rtridges and rabbits. While moving
through the forest, Sandy walking ahead, the gun of his comrade
accidentally went off and poured its contents into his leg. The bone
was badly splintered, and the muscles so cut and torn, that there was
absolutely no possibility of his ever being able to walk on it again.

After I had had quite a chat with him, I asked if he would like to be
able to read the Word of God. His bright eyes shone with pleasure, and
his response was so expressive of eager longing, that I at once began
the first lesson. Sitting beside him on the ground, I drew the syllabic
characters and spent an hour or so in teaching them to him. He had a
very retentive memory, and was intensely anxious to learn as rapidly as
possible. So, every day, when I had finished giving lessons to the
crowd of young and old people, I used to hurry over to the wigwam where
he lay to give him additional instruction; and so deeply interested was
he, that I felt well repaid for my trouble.

As I was hundreds of miles from home--having come on that long trail
with a couple of Indians in a birch canoe--and had a number of other
points at which I wished to stop and do missionary work, I was obliged
to bring my visit at this place to an end after a couple of weeks. But
before leaving, I had an informal conversation with Murdo, Oowikapun,
and some other of the friendly Indians.

"What a pity it is," I exclaimed, "that Sandy could not be educated! If
only he could be educated enough to be your teacher, what a good thing
it would be! For, next to a missionary to live permanently among you, a
godly teacher would be the best thing you could have. He will never
again have the full use of his leg, so will not be able to become a
great hunter; but if he had an education, he might be a blessing to you
all!"

Then I bade farewell to these northern Indians who had received me so
kindly, and with some parting words, especially urging that the wounded
boy should be kindly cared for, I resumed my adventurous journey.

As we journeyed on from place to place we had plenty of strange
adventures. We shot a fine black bear, and, at our first meal after our
battle with him, enjoyed picking his ribs. In his capture, I was very
much interested in watching how human experience was able to overmatch
animal instinct. We had a very narrow escape in some wild and
treacherous rapids, where we lost part of the contents of our canoe and
were all nearly