clothing. They lived from hand to mouth, as they had no
facilities for keeping any surplus food even if they were ever fortunate
enough to secure more than they needed for their immediate wants. If
some were successful in killing a number of deer or bears, they made but
little attempt at trying to dry or preserve some of the meat for future
use. Very rarely, a little deer-pemmican would be made out of some of
the venison; but this was an exceptional case. The general plan, was to
keep open house after a successful hunt, with the pot boiling
continually, everybody welcomed and told to eat heartily while the
supply lasted. He was considered a mean man indeed, who, being
fortunate in killing a large quantity of game, did not share it with all
who happened to come along. This hospitality was often earned to such
an extent, that there would be but very little left for the hunter
himself, or for his own family.

Thus, life among the Indians for long generations, was a kind of
communism. No unfortunate one actually starved to death in the village
so long as there was a whitefish or a haunch of venison in the
community. It was feast together when plenty comes; starve together
when plenty goes. They could not at first understand why, when the
missionary had anything in his mission house, he hesitated about giving
it out to any one who said he was hungry. This plan, of once a year
getting in front the outside world supplies to last a whole year, was
indeed a mystery to them. They had an idea that it was very nice to see
so many things coming in by the company's boats; but when they were once
in the house, the pagan Indians thought that they should be used up as
quickly as anybody asked for them. The practice of rationing out the
supplies to last for twelve months, was a style of procedure that more
than once exposed a missionary, who rigidly adhered to it, to be thought
mean, stingy, and very unfriendly. They even questioned the
truthfulness of one frugal, careful missionary, who carried out this
system. When asked to help some hungry Indians, he refused on the plea
that he had nothing left, knowing that that month's supply was gone.
They reasoned from the fact, that, they knew that he had the balance of
his year's supply stored away.

One very interesting phase of our work, was to help the Indian families,
who had moved from a wigwam into a cosy little house, into the mysteries
of civilised housekeeping. It is t