ov " j

Yarns the Missionaries Tell 69 |

missionary’s wife plays an important part in visiting

the camps along with her husband. Everywhere

she is cheerfully received, and treated with the
greatest respect. No matter how frontier environ-
ment may roughen men, they always show respect
for a good woman. The following incident was
related in one of the logging camps. A logger told
of a discussion which arose about women, their
worth and virtue. At the end, one man emphatic-
ally exclaimed, ‘‘Look here, boys, it is years since |
had anything to do with adecent woman, but all the
same, I know there are lots of them virtuous and I
would give all I have if only one good woman would
offer me a cup of tea!”

Among all the obstacles that stand in the way of
the work, two at least are well defined; Sunday
labour and strong drink. Sunday labour is carried
on in the fishing industry. This continuity of labour
tends to lower the moral and spiritual fibre of the
worker. This is perhaps more clearly seen among
the fishermen who have come from Scotland, where
things spiritual have been reverenced more, perhaps,
than in any other part of the world. In relation to
strong drink in British Columbia, Government
control of liquor seems to be developing into ‘‘ Liquor
Control of the Government,” with the result that the
bootlegger has an open door almost everywhere.
A continuous fight has been waged against the illicit
sale of liquor on the Barclay Sound, and in more than
one case the vendor has been forced to leave as the
result of the action of the missionary.