A Summer’s Journey and a Winter's Campaign. 17

the last day of the feast. The crowds melted away, but re-
assembled at a village eight miles distant before the final
break up. Before this took place I was invited to meet them
again. When the same invitation was repeated I walked up
the frozen river, and a great lodge containing about four
hundred men was prepared for my reception. Then I took
solemn leave of them, urging them to turn to God and forsake
the evil of the old ways. This has been the largest gathering 1
of Indians that has taken place for a generation, and placed .
an opportunity for doing good in my reach, worth not only
the labour it involved, but more than it is possible to compute.
The place is now well-nigh emptied of its people. They are ‘
scattered in all directions, some carrying stores to the gold |
mines, some going to their hunting-grounds, and some to the
coast to be ready for the fishery.

“What are the results of the winter campaign? you will
ask. It is impossible to state this fully, for God only knows.
But this we know, much suffering has been alleviated, much
ignorance removed, and much enmity overcome.”

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‘ The gold fever, which during the last few years has so
suddenly populated the former solitudes of the north-western
corner of the Dominion of Canada, had already attacked

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some persons in 1881, and the influx of Kuropeans foreseen
by the Bishop before he left Kngland was beginning.

As a sad rule where whites have come in contact with
native races there has been a quick deterioration of the latter, |

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so it is a pleasure to find on reading the next letter

that this is not always the case. Probably the advent of

Mission work almost simultaneously with the miners had

much to do with this. The restraining influence of the

former on the latter would prevent many of those excesses

which have ruined both dark-skinned and white people

together.
Writing again from Hazelton, in October, 1881, the Bishop tt

said: — |
“The community here is mixed. The Indians have worked :

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