98 FIFTY YEARS IN WESTERN CANADA

to what extent such successful steps of a pastor were
calculated to augment his prestige with his flock.

The next case took place at his very door. Shortly
after the American-Spanish war, a typical Yankee,
that is, a tall and lank man, who claimed to have taken
part in the affray and, of course, styled himself a
colonel, visited Fort St. James, close to Father Morice’s
headquarters. There he had a little drinking bout
with the half-breed Jimmy Alexander, whom we have
seen as a child at William’s Lake Mission school. Asa
result of this, the couple had a falling out, and Jimmy
went so far as to hurl the bragging war chief over a
fence, which operation hurt the stranger to the extent
of forcing him to return to Quesnel. There the
American officer lodged a complaint against Jimmy,
and had a summons for his arrest issued.

Shortly thereafter, on a cold winter evening, when
Lake Stuart had long been imprisoned under its icy
blanket, as Father Morice was preparing his church
for the Sunday service called the Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament, he wondered how it was that,
contrary to custom, so few had come in though the
second bell was almost on the point of ringing. As
he was pondering over this, he suddenly heard several
shots at a short distance, to which, at the time, he paid -
little attention.

Having then questioned his people, after the ser-
vice, on the cause of the scant attendance thereat,
he was told that three constables had come all the way
from Quesnel, about one hundred and sixty miles
away, in order to arrest Jimmy Alexander for the
murder of the American. Covered by guns in his own
house, a quarter of a mile from the church, Jimmy had
apparently submitted with good grace to the represen-
tatives of the law and was preparing to go with them