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4

SR inc rina tara gai aa

34 Snapshots from the North Pacvfe.

was not aware that the young man had entered the church
in haste, bathed in perspiration, and had appealed to the
missionary in distress lest he should be passed by. He had
been prepared for baptism, and the missionary, having
appointed the churchwarden to his post in the chancel, took
the young fellow to the font at the west end, baptized him,
and was in time to present him for confirmation. The baby
choruses throughout the church had barred from my ears the
sound of the service proceeding as I was confirming.

“When the canoe arrived to call his comrades on the
western coast he was separated from them, and did not return
to the rendezvous until nightfall. He guessed the reason of
its emptiness, and at daybreak set off for Massett, twenty
miles distant, wore off his boots on the trackless and
rocky coast, and, as I have written, reached the church in a
torn and worn condition.

“T doubt not but that the heavenly gift bestowed upon
him was in blessed proportion to his earnestness in seeking it.

‘“ Foremost among the principal men was a former high-
priest of Heathenism, a clever man who believed in himself.
Formerly, so he told me, he held converse with demons, who
would come at his call; but now angels come unbidden, and
so fill his mind with bright thoughts that he cannot help
smiling, and people often ask him why he laughs when alone.
He is a good druggist, draughtsman, carver, and counsellor.
Better than all, and the crown of all, he is an energetic and
consistent Christian.

“Only twelve years before, the first missionary to the
Haidas stepped on the shore where I was so kindly wel-
comed. He found Heathenism in full possession, and in
the height of its degrading power over souls and bodies.
For the first year the missionary, his brave wife, and their
infant found shelter in the corner of one of the great Indian
houses, objects of curiosity at first, then on the part of the
medicine-men. hostility, but now of affection and respect.

“On reaching home, the first man I met was a Christian
Indian from a village fifty miles distant, where there are