I TIlEOLOGitAK 'SEMlKiRY.I 
 _^"'"'''ii» bl ...i 
 
 
 
V-' 
 
 MISSIONARY RECORDS 
 
 GREENLATs^]), LABRADOR 
 
 AND 
 
 ASIATIC RUSSIA. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
Stereotyped by E. C. Allen, No. 51 Commerce Street, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Extent of Greenland — State of the people — Their sum- 
 mer and winter houses — Their employments — Mor- 
 tality among them from ignorance of the healing art 
 — Abhorrence of stealing from one another — The 
 Lord's prayer in their language — Their awful super- 
 stitions — Their angekoks — Discovery of Greenland 
 by some Norwegians — Solicitude of Egede — His 
 efforts to send the gospel to that country — Success 
 of his exertions — He sails for Greenland — His early 
 labours and trials among the natives. 9 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Egede continues his labours — Duplicity of the natives — 
 Arrival of Missionaries — Mortality among the people 
 — Baptism of Children — Embarrassments of the Mis- 
 sion — 'Renewed efforts — Early desires of Count Zm- 
 zendorf — Narrative of Matthew Stach — Reception 
 of the brethren at Copenhagen— Their letters from 
 Greenland. 22 
 
 3 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Difficulties of the brethren — Wanderings of the na- 
 tives — Fearful mortality among them — Their awful 
 insensibility — Devoted efforts of the missionaries — • 
 Their hope in severe trial— Death of Mrs. Egede — 
 Egede's departure from Greenland — His death — 
 First instance of a native anxious to hear the word — 
 The young Greenlander Mangek— The doctrines of 
 the cross proclaimed-— The first convert Kanjarnak. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Instances of usefulness — Activity of Sarah — Her 
 temptation, fall, and recovery— Translation 6f the 
 Harmony of the Gospels— Zeal of Samuel — His 
 illness and death— Baptism of an aged Green- 
 lander— The convert Noah— Sophia, another con- 
 vert—Insensibility of other natives— Letters of 
 Jonah, Sarah, and Rebecca— Inquiry after truth — 
 Erection of the first church— Contrast to the former 
 state of feeling—Severity of the weather— Visits to 
 the people. 54 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Visit of Johannes de Watteville — The converts Na- 
 thaniel, Keturah, and Matthew Kajarnak — Unusual 
 intensity of the cold — Horrors of famine — Great 
 mortality among the people — Instances of human 
 weakness — Sympathy and liberality awakened — The 
 single sister Judith— Extracts from her letters — Her 
 useful labours and peaceful death — Address of a 
 native teacher — Anxiety to fbrm another station — 
 New settlement at Lichtenfels. 71 
 
CONTENTS 5 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 First converts at Lichtenfels — The single sister Susan- 
 nah — Addresses of the native teachers — Continuance 
 of life, and ability to labour — Death of Frederick 
 Boehnish, Matthew Stach, and of brother Koenig- 
 seer — Exposure to great danger — Striking deliver- 
 ances — Perils of the voyage to and from Greenland 
 Confession of a native — Wreck of a vessel — Provi- 
 dential interposition — Serious privations — Visit home 
 and return of brother Kleinschmidt — Translations — 
 Baptism of an adult heathen— Change in the state of 
 the country — Severe winter — Interesting facts. 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Increase in numbers and in grace — The new hymn 
 book — Jubilee of brother Beck's labours — Recon- 
 noitering voyage — Interesting facts — Translation of 
 the New Testament completed — Letters from two 
 converts to the British and Foreign Bible Society — 
 Solicitnde felt for the young people — Establishment 
 of a fourth settlement — The new church — Addresses 
 of the assistant Nathaniel — Usefulness among 
 children. 116 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Labrador— The country and people described — Solici- 
 tude of the United Brethren in their behalf— Arri- 
 val of the first missionaries— Their early efforts- 
 First settlement, called Nain— Confidence of the 
 heathen in the missionaries— Encouragement afford- 
 ed by the native Anauke— Melancholy consequence 
 
 of a voyage — Another settlement formed at Okkak 
 1# 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 — Remarkable preservation of two missionaries — 
 , Formation of a third settlement, called Hopedale— 
 Striking description, given by some of the natives, 
 of the effects of the gospel— Ravages of disease-— 
 The native Tuglawina— -Affecting loss of brother 
 Reiraan. 137 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Pleasing instance of forgiveness— Fearful contrast- 
 Perseverance of the brethren under discouraging 
 circumstances— Commencement of a new order of 
 things— Remarkable answer to prayer— Spread of 
 interest in the things of God— Attack of disease — 
 Voyage to explore the northern coast— Interesting 
 incidents— The voyagers placed in great perplexity 
 —Divine interposition in their behalf— Prayers at 
 the missionary settlements— Trial of faith and pati- 
 ence — Recent intelligence — Perilous voyage of the 
 ship Harmony. 159 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 State of Asiatic Russia — Heathen nations — Efforts to 
 diffuse nominal Christianity — Edict of Catherine the 
 Great m behalf of the United Brethren — Station at 
 Sarepta — Labours among the Calmucs and other 
 pagans — Journey to Mount Caucasus — Translation 
 of the New Testament — Visit to the Lama — Inter- 
 view with Prince Tuemmen — His death — Funeral 
 ceremonies — Distribution of the Scriptures. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Sacrifice offered by the prince on the death of his 
 father— Various ceremonies — Coldness of the people 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 towards the brethren—Disappointment of hope — 
 Death of the lama—Interesting account of two 
 Buriat nobles — Important letter to the missiona- 
 ries — Its effects on others— Visits of the brethren to 
 the new lama— Case of wretched superstition. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Interesting account of the convert Sodnom— Difficul- 
 ties attending his course — His encouragement of the 
 brethren— His fortitude and enhghtened zeal— Effect 
 produced by the appearance of a comet— Conduct 
 of the prince Serbedshab— Removal of the converts 
 to Sarepta — Their reception by the congregation — 
 Fire at Sarepta— Opposition of the government — 
 Relinquishment of the mission. 226 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Edinburgh Missionary Society — Station formed at Ka- 
 rass Conduct of the effendis — Appearance of the 
 plague— Reinforcement of the mission— Attention 
 excited by a Turkish tract— Tour of Mr. Paterson 
 — Extracts from his journal — The youth Katagerry 
 —Land granted by the Russian government— Mes- 
 sage from a Sonna prince— State of the people in 
 that country — Opposition to the circulation of tracts 
 and the progress of the gospel — Death of Mr. Brun- 
 ton — Translation and printing of the Turkish New 
 Testament — Visit to Astrachan — Translation of the 
 prophetical and poetical books into the Persian 
 language— Abandonment of the mission. 239 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Siberia — London Missionary Society — Station at Se- 
 linginsk — Religion of the people — Praying mills of 
 the Buriats — Mongolian trsnslation of the New Tes- 
 tament — Station on the Ona — Missionary journey — 
 Favour shown by the Russian government — Inter- 
 esting account of the convert Bardo — Letter from 
 the Buriat youth Tikshie — Account of the convert 
 Shagdur — Improved state of the mission — Conclu- 
 sion. 259 
 
MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 
 GREENLAND. 
 
 
 ^:^HAPTEIt S^l^^ 
 
 Extent of Greenland — State of the people — Their sum- 
 mer and winter houses — Their employments— Mor- 
 tality among them from ignorance of the healing art 
 — Abhorrence of stealing from one another — The 
 Lord's prayer in their language— Their awful super- 
 stitions — Their angekoks — Drscovery of Greenland 
 by some Norwegians — Solicitude of Egede — His 
 efforts to send the gospel to that country — Success 
 of his exertions — He sails for Greenland — His early 
 labours and trials among the natives. 
 
 Greenland, long supposed to be part of America, 
 till captain Parry ascertained its complete disjunc- 
 tion, forms the largest known extent of land not be- 
 longing to the four continents. It remains uncer- 
 tain whether several of the deep inlets which indent 
 the coast, may not penetrate entirely across; yet 
 they would thus very slightly break the vast con- 
 tinuity af land. This immense region is of all 
 others least valuable to man, producing scarcely 
 any thing which can minister to his comfort, and 
 comparatively little for his subsistence. Its aspect 
 
 9 
 
10 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 is throughout of that character which peculiarly 
 belongs to the arctic world. It is claimed by Den- 
 mark. 
 
 The coast is tolerably populous in the southern 
 parts, and on the north in 68^ and 69^ ; though, com- 
 pared with other countries, it is but thinly inhabited. 
 In the inner part of the country no one lives, except 
 when visited for the sake of deer-hunting in the 
 summer season. The whole upland country is per- 
 petually covered with ice and snow. 
 
 The people, according to Crantz, have one house 
 for the summer, and another for the winter. The 
 latter is a low hut, built with stone and turf: it is 
 two or three yards high, and has a flat roof. The 
 windows, made of the entrails of seals, and placed 
 on one side, are white and transparent. On the 
 other side are their beds, formed of shelves or 
 benches of deal boards, raised half a yard from the 
 ground; their bedding is made of seal and rein-deer 
 skins. Several families live together in one of 
 these houses or huts: each family occupying a 
 room by itself, separated from the rest by a wooden 
 post, by which also the roof is supported. Before 
 this is a hearth, or fire-place, in which is placed a 
 great lamp, in form of a half moon, seated on a 
 trivet; over this are hung their kettles in which they 
 boil their victuals. The entry of the house is very 
 low, so that they must stoop, and it is commonly 
 entered on their hands and knees. The inside of 
 the houses is lined with old skins, which have al- 
 ready served for the covering of their boats. 
 
 The summer tents are made of rafts or long 
 poles, set in a circular Ibrm, bending at the top, 
 and resembling a sugar loaf: they have a double 
 cover, of which the innermost is of seal or rein-deer 
 skins, with the hairy side inwards; the outermost 
 
GREEIVLAND. 1 1 
 
 is also of the same kind of sldns, without hair, and 
 dressed with fat, that the rain may not penetrate. 
 In these tents the Greenlanders have their beds, 
 and a curtain through which they receive the day, 
 hght. In each case, they use a train-oil lamp, to 
 cook their food : to trim it carefully they take dry 
 moss, rubbed very small, which they lay on one 
 side of the lamp; this being lighted, burns softly, 
 and does not cause any smoke. A great heat is at 
 the same time produced, but the smell is very disa- 
 greeable. 
 
 The ordinary employments of the Greenlanders 
 are fishing and hunting: on shore they pursue the 
 rein-deer, and at sea, whales, morses, seals, and 
 other creatures, as also sea- fowls and fish. The 
 men meddle with no work at home but what con- 
 cerns their employments for hunting and fishing. 
 All other business, even buildmg and repairing the 
 houses, belongs to the women. 
 
 Few of the people exceed the age of fifly or sixty 
 years ; many die in the prime of life and a great 
 number in early infancy. Totally ignorant of the 
 healing art, this mortality can excite no surprise. 
 To supply the defect they resort to their priests, or 
 angekoks, who mutter certain spells over the sick, 
 by which it is hoped they will recover. 
 
 They have a great abhorrence of stealing ; no- 
 thing is therefore kept under lock and key, but 
 every thing is left open, without fear. This aver- 
 sion, however, is particularly confined to native 
 property ; if they can lay hands on that of foreign- 
 ers, such a feeling does not operate. The same 
 language is spoken throughout the country, though 
 the accent and pronunciation differ here and there ; 
 and in the southern parts many words have been 
 adopted which are not used in the northern. " The 
 
12 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 language," says a native of Denmark," is very rich 
 of words and sense, and of such energy, that one 
 is often at a loss and puzzled to render it in Danish ; 
 but then again it wants words to express such 
 things as are foreign, and not in use among them." 
 As a specimen, the Lord's prayer may be given, 
 which is as follows : 
 
 NALLEKAM OKASIA. 
 
 Attavut Killangmepotit, akkit usoroHrsuk: Nal- 
 legavet aggerle; pekorset Killangme munam etog 
 tamaikile : Tunnisigun ullume nekiksautionik : pis- 
 sarauneta aketsorantu, pisingilaguttog akectsortivut ; 
 Ursennartomut pisitsaraunata ; ajortomin annauti- 
 gut; Nalleganet, Pisarlo, usornatorlo pigangankit 
 isukangithomum. Amero. 
 
 The superstition of the people is very great. 
 On being asked from whence they thought heaven 
 and earth had their origin, they have answered, 
 "From nothing; it has always been so." They 
 have, however, some idea of a spiritual being, 
 called Tarngarsuk, to whom they ascribe a super- 
 natural power; though not any act of creation ; and 
 also a notion of a future state of existence. 
 
 Of Torngarsuk, however, the majority of the 
 people know little or nothing except the name. 
 Each element is thought to have its governor or 
 president, which they call Innuoe ; from whence 
 the angekoks are said to receive their Torngak, or 
 familiar spirits. Every angekok is considered to 
 have a torngak, who attends him, after he has ten 
 times conjured in the dark. 
 
 Some have their own deceased parents for their 
 Torngak, and others say they obtain theirs out of 
 
GREENLAND. 13 
 
 some of the Danes, who, as they affirm, discharge 
 their fire-arms when they wait before the entry of 
 the place where the angekok performs his con- 
 juration. Whether Torngak and Torngarsuk be 
 one and the same thing, it is not easy to decide; 
 but it is certain one is derived from the other. 
 From Torngarsuk the angekoks pretend that they 
 learn the art of conjuring, which they are taught 
 by an extraordinary method. 
 
 The hnng spirit of the angekoks is often ex- 
 posed by their gross mistakes ; yet they are held 
 in such great honour and esteem, that the strict- 
 est obedience which is required in the name of 
 Torngarsuk is commonly rendered, lest in case 
 of disobedience some great affliction might arise. 
 They also make the natives believe that with their 
 hands and feet tied, they can mount up to hea- 
 ven, and observe what is transpiring there; and 
 likewise descend into hell, or the lower regions of 
 the earth, where the fierce Torngarsuk keeps his 
 court. A young angekok, it is said, must not un- 
 dertake this journey except in the fall of the year, 
 because then the lowermost heaven, which they 
 take the rainbow to be, is nearest the earth. 
 
 Awful indeed is the ignorance and superstition 
 wnich sin has brought on the soul of mm. Nor 
 do they appear alone, but as the fruitful parents of 
 many and great evils. All that is comprehended 
 in degradation, guilt, and misery, belongs to the 
 empire of the prince of darkness. How powerful 
 an appeal is therefore presented by all his subjects 
 to Christian compassion! That of Greenland, like 
 the cry of the man of Macedonia, " Come over 
 and help us," has happly been heard; and the 
 result, under the blessing of God, is now to be 
 considered. 
 
 2 
 
14 MISSIONAKiT RECORDS. 
 
 So long since as a. d. 983, it is said, this coun- 
 try was discovered by some Norwegians from Ice- 
 land, who planted a colony on the eastern coast; 
 and the intercourse between this colony, Iceland, 
 and Denmark, was continued till the beginning 
 of the fifteenth century. At that time the colony 
 became inaccessible by the gradual increase of 
 arctic ice upon the coast; while on the west a 
 range of mountains, covered with perpetual Snow, 
 precluded all approach. This settlement contained 
 several churches and monasteries, and is said to 
 have extended about two thousand miles in the 
 southeast part. Other efforts were afterwards made. 
 
 Intimately connected with the moral improve- 
 ment of the Greenlanders. at a later period, appears 
 Mr. Hans Egede, a clergyman of Vogen, in the 
 north part of Norway. After being engaged there 
 for about a year, he recollected having read that 
 some Christians had lived in this inhospitable re- 
 gion, of whom no more was heard. Prompted, as 
 he supposed, by mere curiosity, he inquired of a 
 friend at Bergen, who had often been employed in 
 the whale fishery, respecting its moral condition. 
 The result awakened his deep sympathy for the 
 Christians, who it seems were Norwegians, and 
 who, he feared, had relapsed into heathenism for 
 want of scriptural instruction. 
 
 Impressed by a sense of the duty of sending 
 them the gospel, he thought of various methods 
 for the accomplishment of so important a design ; 
 though his personal engagement in the service ap- 
 peared to be impracticable. Still he could not dis- 
 miss the subject from his mind, and at length, 
 with many fears arising from humility, he ventur- 
 ed to send a memorial in 1710, with a petition, to 
 Randulf, bishop of Bergen, from whence the Green- 
 
GREENLAIsD. 15 
 
 land trade was carried on, and another to bishop 
 Krog, at Drontheim, to whose diocese he belong- 
 ed, entreating them to urge on the court a mission 
 to this part of the earth. This they engaged to do, 
 and represented to him, at the same time, the diffi- 
 cuhies that would arise, as well as the special ad- 
 vantages that would accrue from such efforts to 
 their own countrymen. 
 
 No sooner were the friends of Egede aware of 
 his desire to engage in this holy enterprise, than 
 they vehemently opposed it, and also instigated 
 his wife and f imily to impede its accomplishment. 
 Nor did their success appear unlikely, for he 
 actually tried to dismiss it from his thoughts ; but 
 the words of Christ, Matt. x. 37, "Whosoever 
 loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy 
 of me," produced so much distress of mind that ho 
 could not be appeased, or find rest either day or 
 night. Meanwhile a concurrence of circumstances 
 produced a great dislike in the mind of his wife to 
 the place of their residence ; he urged her to con- 
 sider it as truly providential ; and on her spreading 
 the matter before God in prayer, she w^as led to 
 unite with her husband in his view of a mission to 
 Greenland. 
 
 Still his desires were not immediately realized; 
 various delays arose, and at length he apprized the 
 bishop of his intention to resign his office, intima- 
 ting, however, that he expected some annual pen- 
 sion from his successor, until he obtained some 
 other provision. But as no one would accept his 
 benefice on such conditions, he relinquished it in 
 1718. Yet, when he had to take leave of many 
 whom he loved, he felt it to be painful, and his 
 Wite was obliged to sustain and animate him. 
 
 Their courage was soon put to the test. A re- 
 
16 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 port was circulated, that a vessel belonging to Ber- 
 gen had been shipwrecked on the coast of Green- 
 land, and the crew retreating to the land, were 
 murdered, and then voraciously eaten by the sava- 
 ges. The frightful narrative was not altogether 
 groundless ; yet it did not deter them from pursu- 
 ing the object on which their hearts were set. 
 
 Though generally considered a fanatic, Egede 
 proceeded to Copenhagen, to present his memo- 
 rials to the College of Missions ; and not only did 
 he obtain the answer, that the king would consider 
 of some means for the accomplishment of his plan, 
 but his majesty condescended to give him an 
 audience, and personally to attend to his proposals. 
 Still the hopes thus excited were soon repressed, 
 and after more time had been lost, he contrived to 
 form a capital of about £2,000. A ship, called 
 the Hope, was therefore bought to carry him to 
 Greenland, and tarry there the winter : one vessel 
 was also freighted for the whale fishery, and an- 
 other to bring back an account of the result. And: 
 in the spring of 1721, he heard with joy that the 
 king most cordially approved of the undertaking, 
 had presented him with £40 towards his equip- 
 ment, and appointed him pastor of the new colony, 
 and missionary to the heathen. 
 
 Egede, with his companions, set sail for Green- 
 land, May 12, 1721, and after being placed in 
 great peril from a storm, landed safely, July 3. — - 
 A house was soon built of stone and earth, and 
 lined with boards, on an island to which they gave 
 the name of their ship. At the end of August they 
 entered it, after a thanksgiving sermon on the 1 17th 
 Psalm. At first the Greenlanders were very 
 friendly; but when it was evident that they pur- 
 posed not to pay a short visit for the sake of traf- 
 
GREENL-\ND. 17 
 
 fic, they were filled with apprehensions, and left 
 the district. Yet, by degrees, they were led to 
 entertain those who visited them, though they 
 made room for them in a little house by themselves, 
 and stationed a watch there throughout the night. 
 At last they ventured to receive them into their 
 own houses, and now and then to repay their 
 visits. 
 
 Egede improved every opportunity of learning 
 the language, and as soon as he knew the word 
 kina, " What is this 1" he asked the name of what- 
 ever aflected his senses, and wrote it down. Ob- 
 serving, too that a Greenlander named Arok, was 
 much attached to one of his people called Aaron, 
 from the similarity of their names, he once left 
 this man secretly, but with his own consent, be- 
 hind him among the Greenlanders, that he might 
 inquire into treir circumstances, and learn their 
 language. After some days, the Indians brought 
 the statement that Aaron was well, and begged that 
 somebody would fetch him, as his being there was 
 suspicious to the people. But they were prevailed 
 on, by some presents, to let him remain during 
 the winter. Once, when they vexed him, and 
 stole things from him, he resorted to blows, and 
 was consequently ill-treated ; they also took away 
 his gun that he might do them no harm. After- 
 wards, however, they endeavoured to repair the in- 
 jury by kind treatment, and begged him not to tell 
 the minister, that they might sutler no punishment. 
 Egede, therefore, acted as if ignorant of the matter, 
 and on his next visit left another person with them. 
 He seems indeed to have awakened much fear 
 in their bosoms, and hence they asked many ange- 
 koks to conjure him and his people, with a view to 
 do them mischief and compel them to withdraw, 
 2* 
 
18 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 .<0. 
 
 But when their arts availed nothing, those who 
 practised them reported that the minister himself 
 was a great and good angekok, who would do them 
 no harm. To this the more candid were disposed 
 to give credit, because they observed how he 
 preached to his own people, and that they treated 
 him with great respect. 
 
 For the instruction of the heathen, Egede was 
 also exceedingly desirous ; and, as he could not 
 easily engage them in conversation, he directed his 
 eldest son to draw some pictures of Scripture facts, 
 which, being held before them, not only easily 
 suggested his meaning, but also enabled him, by 
 the questions they asked, to learn their language, 
 and to instruct them in the principles of Christian 
 doctrine. The most striking of these representa- 
 tions were those of Christ's healing the sick and 
 raising the dead. Regarding him as the ambassa- 
 dor of such a mighty and beneficent Being, they 
 desired him to heal their sick by blowing on them 
 as the angekoks did. Such tokens of esteem and 
 confidence he eagerly seized to direct them to " the 
 Father of lights, from whom cometh every good 
 and perfect gift ;" and the numbers of those dis- 
 posed to listen to the wonderful works of God con- 
 tinued to increase. 
 
 Various difficulties however arose, and when the 
 expectation of the Danes as to trade and the 
 means of subsistence began to fail, they mur- 
 mured against the minister for leading them thither, 
 and determined to depart in a ship which had win- 
 tered there. This reduced him to great perplexity. 
 His conscience would not allow his abandoment 
 of his post, after many years of labour, having for 
 their object the conversion of the heathen : still he 
 could not stay alone with his wife and four little 
 
GREENLAND. 19 
 
 ones, and see them perish. All that he could in- 
 duce his people to do, was to wait till some time in 
 June for the arrival of the store-ship ; and if it did 
 not come then, and they were resolved to go, he 
 proposed that they should leave him some of their 
 provisions. Six men were persuaded to stay with 
 him ; but when they saw that his stores would 
 scarcely suffice for half a year, they told him that, 
 in case of need, they intended to take refuge in a 
 Dutch ship, and sail home. 
 
 Heart-thrilling as was the resolution, Egede now 
 resolved to return ; but his wife withstood his in- 
 tention with such courage and constancy, as anima- 
 ted his mind and repressed his unbelief. Not 
 only would she pack nothing up, but she repri- 
 manded the people when they began to demolish 
 their habitations, and told them not to take any unne- 
 cessary trouble, for she felt assured that a ship was 
 sent out, and would safely arrive. The people laugh- 
 ed at her confidence ; but the vessel appeared, and 
 with it the declaration of the merchants at Bergen, 
 that notwithstanding the unfavorable aspect of the 
 Greenland trade, it should still be prosecuted ; and 
 also the intelligence from the College of Missions, 
 that it was the king's pleasure to support the Chris- 
 tian eflbrts that had been made. A moderate con- 
 tribution from all his subjects in Denmark and Nor- 
 way, under the name of the " Greenland assess- 
 ment," produced a considerable sum. 
 
 Stimulated to r^'newed exertion, Egede now 
 made many difficult voyages, not only to exert the 
 force of his own example, but personally to see 
 how the interests of the company might be best ad- 
 vanced ; as he knew that the conversion of the 
 people, which he so much desired, could not be at- 
 tained unless it were connected with temporal ad- 
 
20 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 vantage. Having now a colleague, he put forth 
 fresh energy in the work of instruction. He had 
 translated into the languase of the Greenlanders 
 some short questions and answers concerning the 
 creation, the fall, redemption, the resurrection of 
 the body, and the judgment day ; together with 
 some prayers and hymns. These they read to the 
 people, who after repeatedly hearing them, could 
 give the answers, and also receive further informa- 
 tion. The continuance of the process, however, 
 awakened disinclination, especially if they wished 
 to engage in some diversion, or go to sea, and were 
 obliged to postpone it until the reading and singing 
 were over. Above all, if an angekok were there, 
 and would practise his incantations, no such exer- 
 cises received attention, and if the missionaries 
 would proceed, they were assailed by mocking and 
 ridicule. Still further, they were charged with 
 falsehood, because it was said the angekoks had 
 been in heaven, and had neither seen any traces of 
 the Son of God, nor witnessed a state of the firma- 
 ment which threatened dissolution. 
 
 The Danes, therefore, attempted to assume au- 
 thority, drove the angekoks away, and stationed 
 sailors among the natives to keep them in order. — 
 Means of a rough and gentle kind at length ended 
 the violence that had been committed. Scjme said 
 they believed all they heard about God, because 
 when they invoked him for seals, they were suc- 
 cessful in the chase. In seasotis of distress they 
 sent for Egede, and asked him to pray for the heal- 
 ing of the sick. At the urgent request of an ange- 
 kok, he baptized his child, and when it died, he 
 alone v/as counted worthy by the parent to carry it 
 to the grave. After the interment, the angekok 
 and his family desired to be baptized also ; but the 
 
GREENLAND. 21 
 
 missionary declined doing it, saying, that as adults, 
 they must first learn the will of God. 
 
 Many difficulties arose from the perverseness of 
 the people. When the weather was bad, they 
 were often displeased and petulant, attributing it to 
 the reading and praying, which they supposed irri- 
 tated the air ; or imputing it to the credit they gave 
 the missionary, and their refusal to conform so 
 fully as before to the requirements of the angekoks. 
 It was therefore intimated that his prayers must 
 obtain for them good weather, an abundance of 
 seals and fishes, and also the healing of their sick, 
 before they would trust him any further. If he 
 urged them to call upon God, they answered, "We 
 do pray, but it signifies nothing." If he said they 
 should supplicate God chiefly for his spiritual gifts, 
 and for the happiness of the life everlasting, they 
 replied, " That we neither understand nor desire ; 
 we want nothing but healthy bodies, and seals to 
 eat, and the angekoks can procure these for us." 
 If he alluded to future judgment, or eternal punish- 
 ment, they refused to hearken, or discovered by 
 their remarks, the awful unbelief of their heaits. 
 
 The language of the people also occasioned 
 Egede much trouble, from his being continually 
 obliged to give up the use of words which he 
 thought he perfectly understood. But his children, 
 from converse with the young natives, learned it 
 more easily and fully, especially in the pronuncia- 
 tion, and could generally answer his questions. — 
 With their assistance he began a Greenland gram- 
 mar, and a translation of some Sunday lessons trom 
 the Gospels, accompanied by short illustrations. — 
 He also employed his eldest son in the instruction 
 of the people ; because he could render himself 
 more agreeable to them, and they could better un- 
 derstand him. 
 
22 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Egede continues his labours — Duplicity of the natives — 
 Arrival of Missionaries — Mortality among the people 
 — Baptism of Children — Embarrassments of the Mis- 
 sion — Renewed efforts — Early desires of Count Zm- 
 zendorf— Narrative of Matthew Stach— Reception 
 of the brethren at Copenhagen — Their letters from 
 Greenland. 
 
 Amidst various trials and dangers, Egede contin- 
 ued zealously engaged in the work on which he 
 had entered. The disposition to hear him increas- 
 ed ; he perceived also some seriousness in the dy- 
 ing, and a desire to enter a better world ; while the 
 healthy declared that their faith was strengthened, 
 because they had many proofs that God had heard 
 their prayers when they had nothing to eat, or were 
 in great peril. On one occasion, as he was teach- 
 ing them, they all asked for baptism, and wondered 
 that he scrupled the sincerity of their faith, aud of 
 their love to God. 
 
 But, unhappily, there were sound reasons for the 
 objections he raised. He could not observe any 
 true sense of inward corruption, or any change of 
 practice. Very often, indeed, he discovered to his 
 sorrow that their apparent teachableness was only 
 hypocritical affectation produced by fear or inter- 
 est ; for the Greenland boys he maintained, and 
 also the people that traded in the country, informed 
 him, that the very natives who pretended to be- 
 lieve every thing, treated his reading, praying, and 
 singing, when he was absent, with the greatest de- 
 rision. 
 
 On the arrival of some ships in 1728, with Mr. 
 Olaus Lange and Mr. Henry Milzoug, Egede's 
 
GREENLA^'D. 23 
 
 eldest son returned to Copenhagen, to prosecute 
 his studies. He was accompanied by two bap- 
 tized natives, Poek and his wife, who were called 
 Christian and Christina, and two Greenland boys 
 and a girl, who had just before made a confession 
 of their faith, and were baptized by the names of 
 Charles, Daniel, and Sophia-Magdalena. 
 
 Preparations were now made to remove the co- 
 lony from Hope Island, where it had been from the 
 first, to the main land, four leagues further east- 
 ward, and to enlarge it with the buildings that were 
 required. But a contagious disorder broke out 
 among the Europeans, which Egede ascribed 
 to irregular living and a want of exercise, be- 
 cause few of the sailors, or of the former inha- 
 bitants of the colony, who were constantly em- 
 ployed, were infected. The most useful people 
 and the artificers were removed by death, and 
 the horses, for want of proper care, died also. 
 A fatal blow was thus given, not only to the design 
 of crossing the mountains, but also to the plan of 
 colonies that were to have been raised for cultiva- 
 ting the land. Yet a still more fearful circum- 
 stance arose, in a mutiny among the soldiers, from 
 the disappointment of their expectations : on this 
 account neither the governor's nor the missiona- 
 ries' lives were safe, since they considered the 
 latter as the special cause of their transportation 
 and of their wretched condition. 
 
 The mortality alluded to lasted until the follow- 
 ing spring ; when some ot the invalids were saved 
 from death by the scurvy grass which began to 
 shoot out from under the snow. Though the num- 
 ber of the people was greatly diminished, the gov- 
 ernor endeavored to obey the king's command in 
 performing a journey to the east side ; but he re- 
 
24 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 turned without success, having found the whole 
 country overspread with ice. Not only was this 
 so slippery and uneven that it could not be stood 
 upon, but it was also full of great and small clefts, 
 from whence large quantities of water issued with 
 a loud roar. 
 
 Measures were afterwards taken for erecting the 
 new colony and the fort at Nepisene, though the 
 Norwegians had been somewhat alarmed by an ac- 
 count of a dreadful conflagration at Copenhagen, 
 and were doubtful of future support ; but they were 
 soon encouraged by the arrival of vessels bringing 
 assurances that their work should still be promoted 
 with ardour, and that fresh stores of materials for 
 building should also be provided. 
 
 The Greenlanders had looked on with dislike 
 during the accession of foreigners that had taken 
 place, especially as there were so many military 
 men, of whom they were afraid. The mortality 
 that had occurred, they ascribed to the art of a 
 famous angekok, who had promised to destroy the 
 Kablimaks, as they were called, by his magic. — 
 But when they saw that they would not all die, 
 and particularly that Egede, whom they consider- 
 ed the lord of the Europeans, still lived, most of 
 them removed from their territories to Disko Bay. 
 
 Egede was determined, from the continued indif- 
 ference of the people, — and in his views his col- 
 leagues acquiesced, — to baptize the children of 
 those parents who gave their assent to true reli- 
 gion, hoping that the latter would be thus led to 
 continue in the neighbourhood, and hereafter allow 
 their offspring to receive Christian instruction. — 
 Accordingly, on February 11, 1729, he commenced 
 with sixteen children, whose parents not only con- 
 sented to the performance of the rite, but entreated 
 
GREEXLAND. 25 
 
 to be baptized also. Without complying with this 
 request, he proceeded to baptize the children on 
 the rest of the islands, as well as in his former 
 dwelhng-place at Kangek, where some could give 
 answers to the questions proposed. 
 
 Still the new colony did not succeed : the ship 
 that wintered there for the sake of the whale-fishery, 
 cauoht nothino; • and the tradino; vessel obtained 
 very little, because the Greenlanders hid their best 
 wares from the Danes, to sell them to other ships, 
 from which they could procure every thing on bet- 
 ter terms. 
 
 Continued delay in the arrival of the ships, in 
 1730, caused great embarrassment as to provisions, 
 which was increased by the loss of a shallop laden 
 with them. With it, too, a man was lost : a boat 
 sent to its assistance, was also wrecked on the ice ; 
 and nearly all the remaining provisions in another 
 shallop were thrown into the sea, to save the people. 
 At length, however, the ship arrived at Good Hope, 
 but from the approach of winter, it could not go to 
 Nepisene. All kinds of building materials were 
 brought by it to erect houses in the valleys where 
 the Norwegians formerly lived, and they were to 
 be inhabited by families from Iceland. 
 
 Bat, alas! all these projects, carried on with so 
 much toil, ardour, and expense, appeared at once 
 to be destroyed by the death of Frederick IV. For 
 when the government under Christian VI. saw no 
 way in which the sums expended, and still requir- 
 ed, could be reimbursed by the erection and trade 
 of the colonies, and still further, that the conver- 
 sion of the heathen presented so unfavourable a 
 prospect, a royal mandate was transmitted, in 1731, 
 that these efforts should be relinquished, and all 
 the people should return. Egede was allowed to 
 3 
 
26 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 remain if he cliose, with any of the people who 
 would willingly stay ; but the only provision they 
 had to expect was support for a year. 
 
 Although no further aid was promised, the king, 
 laying to heart his representations, sent him the 
 needful supplies in the year following ; but with- 
 out any assurance of further support. Meanwhile 
 his people had been tolerably successful in trade, 
 and could send home a larger cargo than in any of 
 the former years. They would even have defrayed 
 all their charges if they had not lost two of their 
 largest boats, on which account they could not go 
 abroad in the spring, but were obliged to leave the 
 merchandize to foreign ships. After much alterna- 
 tion of hope and fear, however, Egede was rejoiced 
 on the arrival of a vessel, in May, 1733, by the in- 
 timation that the Greenland trade was to be begun 
 anew, and the mission supported : for which the 
 king was pleased to order a free gift of £400 an- 
 nually. 
 
 Other labourers arrived in this vessel, whose 
 minds were directed to the work by a series of 
 providential circumstances. It had pleased God to 
 urge on the heart of count Zinzendorf, even from 
 his early days, the salvation of his fellow men as 
 next in importance to his own. In reference to 
 one period of his life, he says : — " Between 1713 
 and 1714, there were five persons in the Psedago- 
 gium at Halle, that stood in a very peculiar con- 
 nexion together. They experienced just what our 
 Saviour says : ' Where two or three are gathered 
 together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
 them.' They had an inward impulse to the pro- 
 moting the salvation of many souls. Two of them 
 made a covenant, in 1715, concerning the conver- 
 sion of the heathen, yet only of such as no one 
 
GREENLAND. 27 
 
 else would trouble themselves with. Their proper 
 prospect was not to execute this and such like 
 things themselves ; for they were designed by their 
 relations for the sphere of high life, and had no 
 other notion but that they must be obedient ; but 
 they hoped that God would direct people to them, 
 or perhaps would even now prepare himself wit- 
 nesses through their service amono- their fellow 
 students, who should be equal to the work. And 
 therefore the thoughts of these young gentlemen 
 were continually aiming at giving the students an 
 impression of that God who laid down his life for 
 us." 
 
 The above young persons afterwards separated, 
 and only the one who had made a covenant with 
 the count to promote the conversion of the hea- 
 then, was afterwards led to him again in the dis- 
 pensations of Providence. But the impression of 
 this engagement, remained on the mind of the 
 count, and in all circumstances, particularly du- 
 ring his abode in Holland, he acted under its influ- 
 ence. , 
 
 The events which manifested the glowing feel- 
 ings of his heart, have already been recorded ; 
 and in those which originated the mission of the 
 United Brethren to the West Indies, another to 
 Greenland had its beginning. The following nar- 
 rative of Matthew Stach is very interesting: — 
 " when I heard the first account of Greenland, it 
 excited a desire to go thither ; yet when I reflected 
 on my own incapacity and inexperience, (for I had 
 scarce been two years in Herrnhut,) I could not 
 venture to disclose it : but when the written pro- 
 posal of the two brethren to go to St. Thomas's 
 was read publicly, it stirred me up to it afresh. I 
 
28 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 was then at work with Frederick Boehnish, on the 
 new burying-ground called the Hutberg. He was 
 the first person I acquainted with what passed in 
 my mind, and I found that he had been actuated 
 on the same occasion, with the same desire to pro- 
 mote the salvation of the heathen. We conversed 
 with simplicity about it, and perceived we had the 
 greatest inclination to go to Greenland ; but we 
 knew not whether we ought to look upon the pro- 
 pension that had taken place in us as an impulse 
 wrought by God, which we should give notice of 
 to the congregation, or whether we should wait till 
 a call was given us. But as we were both of one 
 mind, and confidently believed that our Saviour's 
 promise would be verified to us, ' If two of you 
 shall agree on earth,' &c. therefore we retired to 
 the wood just at hand, kneeled down before him, 
 and begged him to clear up our minds in this im- 
 portant affair, and to lead us in the right way. — 
 Upon this our hearts were filled with an uncommon 
 joy, and we omitted no longer to lay our mind be- 
 fore the congregation in writing, with perfect resig- 
 nation which tribe of heathens our call should be 
 to, though we felt the strongest tendency to the 
 Greenlanders. The letter was read in a public 
 Yeeting, and was heard with joy in the general, 
 met some expressed their surprise, that it had such 
 a great resemblance to the writing of the two first 
 mentioned brethren ; and a few even thought we 
 had compared notes with them, or would mimic 
 them. Very like, this was the reason that for a 
 long time we neither received an answer, nor were 
 spoken to about it by the labourers of the congre- 
 gation. Only one of them said something to me 
 occasionally that might have left me little hope. — 
 
GREENLAND. 29 
 
 Yet we were not frightened out of it by this, nor 
 by the representation of the difficult voyage to, and 
 manner of Uving in Greenland, which we heard 
 enough of by the bye ; but we waited with tran- 
 quillity to see whether our offer would be accepted 
 or rejected. After a considerable time the count 
 Zinzendorf sent for us, and asked us if we were 
 still of the same mind ; and when we answered 
 him, Yes, and assured him, that we should like to 
 go to Greenland, he advised us to consider once 
 more the difficulty of our subsistence there ; but 
 added, at the close, that if we would venture upon 
 it in confidence on our Saviour, we might make 
 ready for the journey, with his and the congrega- 
 tion's blessing. We expected the time of our being 
 despatched with longing, and kept working on in 
 our outward calling. But another year passed be- 
 fore we were despatched. In the meantime, as 
 Frederick Boehnish was gone another long journey, 
 Christian David got a desire to go with me to 
 Greenland. Our dismission did not last long; 
 only the two last days the count had some blessed 
 interviews with me, and gave me some instructions 
 about the preservation of my body and soul from 
 evil, which were an abiding blessing to me. 
 
 "But as Christian David was to come back 
 again the year following, I was asked whom I 
 should like for my companion. I desired my 
 cousin. Christian Stach ; who accepted the call 
 with joy and made himself ready in haste. There 
 was no need lof much time nor expense for our 
 equipment. The congregation consisted chiefly of 
 poor exiles, that had not much to give us, and we 
 ourselves had nothing but the necessary clothes on 
 our backs. We had been used to make shift with 
 a Uttle, and did not trouble our heads how wo 
 
30 MISSIONAKY BECORDS. 
 
 should get to Greenland, or how to live there. 
 The day before our departure, somethmg was sent 
 from a friend that was tutor to a gentleman's chil- 
 dren at Venice ; and part of this was given us to 
 pay the expense of our journey to Copenhagen. 
 We looked upon ourselves as richly provided for, 
 so that we would take nothing of any body on the 
 road, and simply believed that He who had pro- 
 cured us something for our journey just at the crit- 
 cal juncture, would also take care for every thing 
 requisite to the carrying our purpose into execu- 
 tion, as soon as we should want it. 
 
 " Neither could any one give us much informa- 
 tion about things, or any instructions how we should 
 manage ; for the congregation had as yet no expe- 
 rience in the affair of missions, and we were but 
 the second who were commissioned to try whether 
 the heathen would embrace the message of peace 
 concerning their Creator and Redeemer. There- 
 fore, it was left to us to act, in all circumstances, 
 as the Lord and his Spirit should lead us. Only 
 we were admonished to brotherly love among one 
 another, and to honour that old servant of God, 
 Christian David, as our father, and to make use of 
 his counsel ; to ofier ourselves as assistants to that 
 apostle of the Greenlanders, Mr. Egede, who had 
 been raised up by God in such a remarkable man- 
 ner, and who had been approved through so many 
 trials, in case he would and could make use of us ; 
 but if he did not want our assistance, then not to 
 interrupt him in the least. As to the rest, we were 
 to live alone by ourselves, and to regulate our do- 
 mestic affairs so as became a godly life and conver- 
 sation. Further than this nobody knew anything 
 to tell us. The subsequent advances, till things 
 arrived to their present pitch, are to be ascribed to 
 
GEEEXLAXD. 31 
 
 the superintendency and leading of that only wise 
 Lcrd, who has guided and assisted us from time to 
 time. We neither knew nor imagined, pre\'iously, 
 how it was to be. 
 
 " A little before our setting out, we were blessed 
 to our undertaking by Augustine, the then elder of 
 the congregation, with imposition of hands and 
 piayer; and thus we departed, Jan. 17, 1733, ac- 
 companied with innumerable wishes of blessing by 
 the congregation, and went, by way of Halle and 
 Hamburg, to Ekrenfoerde in Holsatia : from whence 
 we travelled by water to Copenhagen." 
 
 Here, as might be expected, many persons were 
 ready to declare that the brethren had engaged in 
 a romantic enterprise, and were equally so to repre- 
 sent the trials which they supposed would attend 
 their path. After waiting some time, they heard 
 that, notwithstanding all obstacles, the king had 
 consented that one ship more should go to Good 
 Hope, and that the first lord of the bedchamber, 
 Pless, had persuaded a merchant to send a trading 
 vessel, by way of experiment, to Disko Bay. 
 
 On their application to this nobleman, he was 
 much interested in them, presented their petition 
 to the king, and seconded it to the utmost of his 
 power. So far from being restrained by the illi- 
 teracy of these pei^sons, he is said to have urged 
 this motive among others, that in all ages God has 
 employed the weak things of the world to confound 
 the mighty, that no flesh may glorv* in his presence. 
 In his views the king was pleased to acquiesce, 
 accepted most graciously the oflers of the brethren ; 
 and atler weighing the difficulties that existed, he 
 resolved to promote anew the cultivation of Green- 
 land and the conversion of the heathen. He not 
 
32 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 only permitted them to go thither as mission- 
 aries, but wrote with his own hand a letter to 
 Egede, desiring for them a friendly reception and 
 the promotion of the object on w^hich their hearts 
 were set. 
 
 Being one day in conversation with count Pless, 
 that nobleman inquired how they proposed to 
 maintain themselves in Greenland. They replied, 
 they hoped to subsist by the labour of their hands 
 and the Divine blessing ; as it was their intention 
 to build a house, and cultivate a piece of land, that 
 they might not be burdensome to any. To this 
 he objected that there was no wood in the country 
 fit for building. " Then," said they, " we will 
 dig a cave in the earth, and dwell there." Struck 
 with this proof of ardent zeal and ready self-denial, 
 he exclaimed, " No ; you shall not be driven to 
 that extremity ; take timber with you suffcient to 
 build a house : and accept of these fifty dollars for 
 that purpose." 
 
 Although the country on their arrival appeared 
 wretched in comparison with Europe, for they 
 found scarcely any thing but bare rocks and steep 
 cliffs covered with ice and snows, yet they re- 
 joiced when they beheld the land they had so 
 earnestly desired to visit. The first sight of the 
 people aw^akened similar emotions, while their 
 pitiable condition pierced their hearts, and led to 
 the earnest prayer that God would make them in- 
 strumental in calling many of the natives out of 
 darkness into marvellous light. Truly refreshing 
 were many passages that emphatically occurred in 
 their daily reading of the Bible ; as, for instance : 
 " To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see : 
 and they that have not heard shall understand," 
 
GREENLAND. 33 
 
 Rom. XV. 21. "By faith he forsook Egypt; for 
 he endured, as seeing him who is invisible," Heb. 
 xi. 27. 
 
 Egede received them very cordially, congratu- 
 lated them on their undertaking, and promised his 
 best assistance in learning the language. Without 
 delay they examined the nearest habitable sea- 
 coasts for a place of residence, and having chosen 
 one, they kneeled down to consecrate it by prayer. 
 A Greenland house was soon run up with stone 
 and turf laid between, in which they could shelter 
 themselves and their things from the snow and rain- 
 until they had erected a house of wood. It was a 
 forward season, for the snow was as much melted 
 as it used to be in June, and yet it was so cold that 
 the turf often froze in their hands. On the 6th of 
 June they finished their abode so far that they 
 could enter it with thanksgiving, and then they 
 pulled down the tent in which they had before been 
 obliged to shelter themselves. 
 
 Having described the country and its inhabitants 
 in a letter to the whole congregation, they thus 
 simply describe the feelings of their bosoms :— 
 " You may now very well address that saying to 
 us, ' Should a man even lose his road, let him never 
 lose his faith in God.' Yes, here in truth the way 
 is barred up. We retain that for our daily lesson, 
 Let all our senses be composed and quiet. As to 
 our own persons, we are ver\^ happy, but our de- 
 sire is to win souls, and we cannot gratify it yet. 
 Yet, by God's grace, we will not despond, but 
 keep the Lord's watch. 
 
 " When he puts himself in motion, we will move 
 on with him, and will not swerve from his pre- 
 sence. Let but the time for the heathen come, 
 and the darkness in Greenland must give way to 
 
34 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 the light ; the frigid zone itself must kindle into a 
 flame, and the ice-cold hearts of the people must 
 burn and melt. Because we know our way is up- 
 right before the Lord, therefore our hearts are 
 not dejected ; but we live in cheerfulness and joy. 
 We are open and manifest before the eyes of the 
 Lord. It is true all men count us fools ; especially 
 those who have been long in this country, and 
 know this people ; but still we rejoice, and think, 
 where the Breaker is come up before us, there 
 must be room to tread and follow, though the ap- 
 pearance may be ever so adverse. We hope to 
 remain always in this mind ; and even if we should 
 effect nothing in Greenland, we will render him 
 the honour due to his name, though it should be 
 for nothing else but that we are humbled and made 
 low in our own eyes. But Jesus, whose heart, is 
 replete with faithful love towards us and the poor 
 heathen, knows all our ways, and knew them be- 
 fore we were born. Can any honour redound from 
 us to him ? Our substance, life, and blood, are at 
 his service. Through his death he has restored life 
 to us, has absolved us from our sins, reconciled us 
 to himself, and has gathered a people that is his 
 property, to show forth his praises. Oh that the 
 death of our Lord Jesus might bring all men to life, 
 and that all might follow this faithful Shepherd !" 
 
 Matthew Stach also wrote the following anima- 
 ting letter to some of his former companions : — 
 "I call upon you, my brethren, from a land where 
 the name of Jesus is not yet known, and where the 
 Sun of righteousness is not yet risen. You live in 
 the bright noon-day, the Sun is risen upon you. — 
 Has he now warmed your hearts ? or are some of 
 you still frozen ? The light is sprung up around 
 you all ; but he that has not yet arisen to walk in 
 
GREENLAND. 35 
 
 the light, better were it for him if he hved in Green- 
 land and had never heard of Jesus. For to know 
 what is good, and not act accordingly, is a reproach 
 to the truth. The heart of Jesus burns for love 
 after the salvation of men ; and can he let a soul 
 that is heartily concerned to enjoy him, go up and 
 down for four, five, or six years, and not reveal 
 himself to it ] I cannot believe it, for I have expe- 
 rienced the contrary. When I sought him with 
 all my power, and when my power was insufficient, 
 and could exert itself no longer, then my eyes still 
 swam in tears, and my heart palpitated with desire. 
 And when even the fountains of my eyes had no 
 more tears, and my heart had no more strength to 
 beat, in this helpless misery the Friend of smners 
 kissed me in the spirit, and healed the wounds in 
 my conscience. Nor is such a transaction a mere 
 imagination of the mind ; but it is a Divine power 
 that fills the whole heart. 
 
 " But ye, that have known the Lord Jesus, and 
 have been washed in his blood, let grace replenish 
 you fully ; and as you have tasted that the Lord is 
 gracious, go in the strength of that meat, and con- 
 quer in the name of the Lord. My heart is linked 
 and lifted with yours under the banner of the cross of 
 the faithful Saviour. To him will I live, to him 
 will I die ; for nothing can give me joy any more 
 but the name of my Saviour, who has rescued my 
 soul from death. Now, my brethren, grow on, 
 and flourish in the blessed congregation of the 
 Lord, which he hath planted for himself, and set 
 up as a sign among the nations, as a candle on a 
 candlestick, manifest before the eyes of the whole 
 world in these last days. The salvation is great, 
 and the harvest will be glorious, when we have 
 sown much seed, and watered it with many tears. 
 
36 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Oh, may one spur on the other to follow the bleed- 
 ing, lovmg Lamb without the camp ! Spend not 
 your joy on having trampled the old serpent be- 
 neath your feet ; but rejoice that you are hid in the 
 rock-clefts of everlasting love. Be vigilant, like 
 the lion, that cried out, 'I stand upon the watch.' 
 Let your loins be always girded about, and your 
 lamps burning, and keep the charge of the Lord, 
 which we will also do in Greenland ; for which 
 reason we have called our place New Herrnhut. — 
 Remember your meanest brother always in your 
 prayers." 
 
 On such communications the disciple of the 
 Saviour cannot but dwell with peculiar interest. — 
 Most touching are their indications of faith and 
 love, — of love to Chnst, of love to man. Nor was 
 this holy affection manifested under any common 
 circumstances of trial ; on the contrary, these de- 
 voted brethren counted not their lives dear uuto 
 them so that they might finish their course with 
 joy, and the ministry they had received of the Lord 
 Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. — 
 Who that has proceeded thus far in the narrative, 
 may not be reminded of his own short comings ? 
 who may not be stimulated in his approaches to 
 God, who giveth '•'-more g^raceV 
 
GREENLAND. 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Difficulties of the brethren — Wanderings of the na- 
 tives — Fearful mortality among them — Their awful 
 insensibility — Devoted efforts of the missionaries — 
 Their hope in severe trial— Death of Mrs. Egede — 
 Egede's departure from Greenland — His death — 
 First instance of a native anxious to hear the word — 
 The young Greenlander Mangek— The doctrines of 
 the cross proclaimed—The first convert Kanjarnak. 
 
 The brethren gave themselves diligently to the la- 
 bours necessary for their maintenance, but they 
 were attended at first by gi-eat difficulties. As 
 they had not been trained to hunting and fishing, 
 they obtained little or nothing by these occupa- 
 tions ; nor were they able to adopt the method of 
 the Greenlanders, because they could not manage 
 a boat called a kajak. When, on one occasion, 
 they went out in search of wood driven among the 
 islands, they were soon overtaken by a storm, and 
 after reaching home with much difficulty, the wind 
 in the night carried off their boat with its contents. 
 It was, however, brought back by the people some 
 days after, though much damaged. In these 
 things, however, they recognized the hand of God ; 
 believing that he would teach them by adversity, 
 not to be absorbed in temporal cares : and they 
 came to a resolution to follow the example of the 
 Silesians and Lusatians, from whence they came, 
 and when other work failed, to earn something by 
 spinning. 
 
 Egede kindly helped them in learning the lan- 
 guage, giving them his written remarks to copy, 
 and directing his children to lend their aid. But 
 4 
 
38^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 here there were many obstacles to their progress. 
 These illiterate men had to learn the Danish lan- 
 guage before they could understand their instruct- 
 ers ; they had never before seen a grammar, and 
 had now to form an idea of the various paits of 
 speech ; and then they had to comprehend, so far 
 as possible, the rugged and uncouth tongue of 
 the Greenlanders. It was, therefore, natural for 
 them sometimes to be tired of their scholarship, 
 especially as the people would not then enter into 
 any conversation with them, and even aggravated 
 the hardships of their circumstances by stealing 
 the books which had been written with so much 
 pains. But their love for the Greenlanders, and 
 their zeal to serve them, aroused them anew to ex- 
 ertion, in the hope that the blessing of God would 
 rest on their labours. 
 
 But at first they had very little opportunity of 
 conversing with them , or doing any thing in their 
 behalf. It is true, there were at that time at BalPs 
 River about two hundred families, which probably 
 consisted of nearly two thousand souls ; but they 
 were dispersed among the islands and the hills, 
 engaged in fishing, catching seals, and hunting 
 deer ; and towards winter some were accustomed 
 to go sixty, and others two hundred leagues to 
 their acquaintance. The brethren, therefore, soon 
 saw that there could scarcely be any intercourse in 
 such a wandering life, and that even what awakened 
 some reflection would be speedily forgotten. None 
 of the people could be induced to remain long in 
 the colony; for of those who had been baptized, 
 only two boys and two girls could be kept there. 
 Some ind(^ed called on the brethren as they passed 
 by, but only out of curiosity, to see their buildings, 
 or to beg knives, fish-hooks, or nails from them, if 
 
GREENLAND. 39 
 
 not to steal. If, on the other hand, they visited 
 the people on the islands, they could seldom pro- 
 cure entertainment, even if they offered to pay for 
 It ; and instead of the natives conversing with them, 
 they were continually asking whether they would 
 not soon go away again. 
 
 To these circumstances of trial succeeded one 
 exceedingly formidable — a mortality, which threat- 
 ened, like a plague, the destruction of the whole 
 people. Two of the six Greenlanders that had been 
 taken to Denmark two years before, were still alive, 
 a boy and a girl, and as they also were unhealthy, 
 they were sent back to their native land by this 
 year's vessel. The girl died at sea, the boy seemed 
 to reach home well, but soon after he became ill, 
 and after infecting many of the people, he died of 
 the disease. The one that followed him was the 
 Greenland boy, Frederick Christian, a particular 
 favourite of Egede's, who, after nine years' instruc- 
 tion, was employed as a catechist among the chil- 
 dren. He could also speak Danish, had learned to 
 read, and was of great service to that missionary 
 in composing his Greenland grammar, and trans- 
 lating the Sunday lessons out of the Gospels. 
 
 At first no one knew what disorder it was, nor 
 any remedy for it : it was afterwards found to be 
 the small-pox. Egede sent in all directions to 
 desire the Greenlanders to stay in their places, as 
 those who were already infected could not escape ; 
 he also advised those who were in spots not as yet 
 visited, to prevent the entrance of any fugitives, 
 lest by their means the malady might spread. 
 But, alas ! all his admonitions were vain, and the 
 disease fearfully increased. 
 
 As the Greenlanders endured excruciating pain, 
 heat, and thirst, they drank large draughts of ice- 
 
4lb MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 water, though they were warned against it ; and, 
 in consequence, few outlived the third day. Some 
 even stabbed themselves, or plunged into the sea. 
 One man, whose son had died, stabbed his wife's 
 sister, in the mad presumption that she had be- 
 witched him to death. The Europeans, too, had 
 reason to fear an assault, especially as a shallop 
 that was gone abroad to trade, stayed out beyond 
 the time, because they were accused by the people 
 as the cause of this pest ; and they were confirmed 
 in their notion by the dream of an old woman, that 
 the Greenlander Charles, who came back from 
 Copenhagen, would murder all his country people. 
 So great was the power of imagination, that before 
 a native, who came from a healthy place to visit 
 his sister at the colony, set his foot on shore, he 
 thought he saw her apparition; "which," says 
 Crantz, "so frightened him, that he rowed back, 
 fell sick directly, and infected the people where he 
 dwelt." 
 
 Yet, though there was so much misery, and 
 though death stared them in the face, the inattention 
 and obduracy of the people still prevailed. No 
 thought nor caution was msnifested as it regarded 
 this world, and equally neglectful were they of the 
 interests of another. The living did not bewail, 
 as was usual, the death of their nearest relatives. 
 The old people, indeed, cried, in their way, to God 
 in their distress : but when it increased, they gave 
 vent to the language of impatience and blasphemy, 
 and refused to hear of resignation to the Divine 
 will, or of committing their souls to the faithful 
 Shepherd. 
 
 Egede did not sink into indolence in these mourn 
 ful circumstances ; he went in all directions, some- 
 times alone, and at others accompanied by tho 
 
GREENLAJN^D. 41 
 
 brethren. In some cases he sent his son to instruct 
 the afflicted and the dying. In most places they 
 found nothing but empty houses and unburied 
 corpses ; some \v'ithin, and others without the dwell- 
 ings, lying in the snow : these they covered with 
 stones. In one instance, they discovered only one 
 girl afflicted with the small-pox, and her three little 
 brothers. The father, having first buried all the 
 people in that place, laid himself and his yoimgest 
 child in a grave raised with stone, and ordered the 
 girl to cover him with skins and stones, that he 
 might not be devoured by the foxes and ravens. 
 She and the other children were then to subsist on 
 two seals and some dried herrings that were left, 
 till they could get to the Europeans. 
 
 Egede, in consequence, sent for them to the co- 
 lony. He gave lodgings to all the sick tliat fled 
 to him, and the brethren followed his example. 
 They laid as many in their own rooms and sleep- 
 ing chambers as they could, and nursed them with 
 great attention, although the effluvia of the sick and 
 dying greatly affected their health. Many were 
 touched by these expressions of benevolence which 
 were more than they expected from their country 
 people ; and one man, who had always derided 
 them while in health, said to one of the brethren 
 towards the close of life : — " Thou hast done for us 
 what our people would not do ; for thou hast fed 
 us when we had nothing to eat : thou hast buried 
 our dead, who would else have been consumed by 
 the dogs, foxes, and ravens ; thou hast also in- 
 structed us in the knowledge of God, and told us of 
 a better hfe." 
 
 As soon as they had put their habitation in order, 
 they were attacked with an eruption, which so 
 increased in the winter, that they could scarcely 
 4 * 
 
42 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 move their limbs, and were often obliged to keep 
 their bed. One of them, however, could always 
 be up to nurse the rest, and to go with the boat of 
 the colony to visit the sick savages. Egede behaved 
 towards them as a true friend, so that they were 
 often scrupulous of accepting the many kindnesses 
 with which they were laden. 
 
 In the greatness of their straits, they thus wrote : — 
 "We are at present in a school of faith, and see 
 not the least prospect before us. We can perceive 
 no trace of any thing good among the heathens, no, 
 not so much as a sigh ; and the poor creatures find 
 death where they should have found life. As for 
 us, let us look where we will, wo see nothing in 
 ourselves but mere poverty and misery, without and 
 within. Without, we find not the bodily strength 
 and ability requisite to stand it out in this land ; this 
 is a gift to be yet bestowed upon us from the hand 
 of God. At present, we are severely handled by 
 sickness, though we believe that our constitutions 
 will only be purged and seasoned by it, that we 
 may be able to endure the more in the service of 
 the Lord. We acknowledge it also as a peculiarly 
 kind providence, that our sickness was to wait till 
 we had removed into our house. Within, every 
 thing that could spring from human good-will, even 
 our alacrity to learn the language, is fallen away; 
 nothing but what grace has wrought abides by us. 
 Our Lord best knows why he stationed upon this 
 post the most feeble and inexperienced, and some 
 of us such as had just begun to prosper among you. 
 However, we must remain in this school, where 
 we must contend who can behave best, even in the 
 prospect of nothing but human impossibiUties ; yes, 
 here we will stay till Jesus helps us as helpless 
 ones, neither will we be concerned for any thing, 
 
GREENLAND. 43 
 
 but to please him. What gives us hope, is that 
 God suffers his children to pass through straits to 
 the mark in view ; and our joy is, the remembering 
 and being remembered by the many children of 
 God in Europe." 
 
 Much enfeebled both in body and mind, Egede 
 determined, in 1734, to ask for his dismission, and 
 to go to Copenhagen, that he might represent the 
 state of the mission, and procure a reinforcement 
 for its successful prosecution. In the following 
 year his discharge arrived, couched in the most 
 gracious terms, but he could not determine to take 
 his wife, then dangerously ill, across the ocean, 
 and therefore he remained another year. Mean- 
 while her spirit rose to the rest of the righteous. 
 "All the praise and panegyric," says her bereaved 
 husband, "with which I can crown her name, falls 
 far short of what her piety and Christian virtues 
 deserve. I will not expatiate on her excellencies 
 in domestic life, nor describe what a faithful help- 
 mate she was to me, and what a tender mother to 
 her children ; let it suffice to mention, how willing 
 and compilable she was to submit to my will as 
 soon as she got an insight into the resolution I had 
 formed of forsaking my people aud native country, 
 to repair to Greenland, that I might instruct the 
 ignorant inhabitants in the doctrines of Christianity. 
 For though friends and relations vehemently impor- 
 tuned her, that if she had any regard for her own, 
 for mine, or for our small children's temporal wel- 
 fare, she should dissuade and withstand me in this 
 project, so absurd and frantic in the eyes of all men ; 
 yet, out of love to God and me, she was induced to 
 join heart and hand with me in my undertaking, 
 and, like a faithful Sarah, to go with her Abraham 
 from her own people, and from her father's house ; 
 
44 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 not to some paradise, but to a strange and disagree- 
 able heathen land. And it is known to many with 
 what patience, nay with what alacrity, she put her 
 shoulder with mine, to bear her part of the labours 
 and adversities we had to endure ; nay, how often 
 she comforted and cheered up my mind, when it 
 was disheartened and depressed by such reiterated 
 obstacles and repulses." So far Mr. Egede, " I 
 have had occasion," says Crantz, "several times, 
 to mention this brave, magnanimous woman, whom 
 I may with propriety call a Christian heroine ; I 
 will only add, that I have never heard her name 
 mentioned by the brethren, but with the most re- 
 spectful and tender impression, as indeed she treated 
 them upon all occasions as if they had been her 
 children." 
 
 With Egede and his children, the brethren sent 
 Christian Stach, as their deputy, to Hernnhut, to 
 give a verbal account of their circumstances, as also 
 of the state of their labours among the heathen, and 
 to bring back au answer ; because hitherto their let- 
 ters could not always be properly conveyed. They 
 arrived in Copenhagen, September 24th. Mr. 
 Egede had taken the remains of his wife with him, 
 and they were interred in St. Nicholas's church- 
 yard. Soon after, he had the honour of an audience 
 of the king. He then stated how he thought the 
 mission might be prosecuted to advantage ; and 
 speedily he was made superintendent of the mis- 
 sion in Greenland, with a salary of £100 a year, 
 and was ordered to found a seminary of students 
 and orphans, whom he should teach the Greenland 
 language, and from whom the missionaries and 
 catechist were to be drawn. He spent his latter 
 years in retirement with his daughter on the island, 
 Falster, and there he closed his useful and honour- 
 
GREENLAND. 45 
 
 able life, November 5, 1758, in the seventy-third 
 year of his age. 
 
 Amidst mockery and peril, the brethren pursued 
 their work, rejoicing if but one native heard with 
 pleasure, especially if he came to listen of his own 
 accord. The first instance of this kind is thus de- 
 scribed : — May 4th. We went to the Sound to 
 pierce cat-fish with a prong, and pitched our tent 
 adjoining to four Greenland tents ; but the people 
 soon decamped and fled further, because they did 
 not like our being there. While we were fishing 
 on the 7th, a perfectly strange heathen, who ar- 
 rived this spring, fifty leagues off from the south, 
 came to us, and desired to see our things. We 
 showed him what things we had, supposing that he 
 wanted to barter some Greenland food for our iron 
 ware. But he remained quite still for a while ; at 
 last he said he had been with the pellesse (which 
 is their way of pronouncing the Danish word 
 praest^ or minister,) who had told him wonderful 
 things of One that they said had made heaven and 
 earth, and was called God. Did we know any 
 thing about it ? If we did, we should tell him some- 
 thing more, because he had forgot a good deal 
 since. This made a deep impression on us, and 
 we told him as well as we could of the creation of 
 man, and the intent thereof; of the fall and corrup- 
 tion of nature ; of the redemption effected by Christ ; 
 of the resurrection of all men, and eternal happi- 
 ness or damnation. He listened very attentively 
 to all that was said, staid at our evening meeting, 
 and slept all night in our tent. Now, dear brethren, 
 this is the first Greenlander that has come to en- 
 quire of us concerning God and divine things : 
 those in the neighbourhood have done no such 
 thing, though spiritual writings have been read to 
 
46 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 them for so many years. Therefore, bring your 
 offerings and prayers before the Lord, that he may 
 arise and build his Zion even in this desert." 
 
 Five years had now elapsed, and the brethren 
 had not seen any trace of abiding impression from 
 the truths they had urged. The Greenlanders that 
 came from a distance, were ignorant and stupid ; 
 and the little they heard during a short visit, was 
 soon lost in their wanderings. Those that lived 
 constantly at Ball's River, and had received so 
 much instruction, were not improved, but most of 
 them were worse ; they seemed, indeed, hardened 
 against the truth. They even resolved to hear no 
 more without a present. 
 
 As long as they were told any kind of news, they 
 listened with pleasure ; they could also bear to hear 
 some little histories out of the Bible, and the mira- 
 cles of the Saviour and his apostles ; but when the 
 great truths of the gospel were addressed to them, 
 they became sleepy, said " Yes," to every thing, 
 and soon slunk away. At other times they openly 
 showed their dislike, began to talk of their seal- 
 catching, or excused their want of understanding. 
 "Show us," said they, "the God you describe, 
 then we will believe in him and serve him. You 
 represent him too sublime and incomprehensible : 
 how shall we come at him ? Neither will he trou- 
 ble himself about us. We have invoked him when 
 we had nothing to eat, or when we have been sick, 
 but it is as if he would not hear us. We think 
 what you say of him is not true. Or, if you know 
 him better than we, then do you by your prayers 
 obtain for us sufficient food, a healthy body, and a 
 dry house ; and that is all we desire or want. Our 
 soul is healthy already, and nothing is wanting, if 
 we have but a sound body and enough to eat. You 
 
6KEENLAND. 47 
 
 are another sort of folk than we : in your country, 
 people may, perhaps, have diseased souls; and, in- 
 deed, we see instances enough in those that come 
 here, that they are good for nothing ; they may 
 stand in need of a Saviour and of a Physician for 
 the soul. Your heaven, and your spiritual joys 
 and felicities may be good enough for you, but this 
 would be too tedious for us. We must have seals, 
 fish, and birds. Our souls can no more subsist 
 without them than our bodies. We shall not find 
 these in your heaven, therefore we will leave your 
 heaven to you, and the worthless part of the Green- 
 landers ; but as for us, we will go down to Torn 
 garsuk, there we shall find a sufficiency of ever} 
 thing, without any trouble." 
 
 JNor was this all; they withdrew from the com- 
 pany of the brethren. Some time after, however, 
 among their guests, driven chiefly by hunger, 
 there was a young Greenlander, whose name was 
 Mangek, who offered to come and live with them 
 constantly if they would maintain him ; and he, 
 on the other hand, would give what he caught to 
 them. They did not believe that he would stay 
 longer than the famine lasted ; but they received 
 him as one sent in Providence, to whom they 
 hoped to be made useful, and by whom they ex- 
 pected to become more familiar with the language. 
 They began to instruct him daily, and particularly 
 attended to the state of his heart. At first, they 
 could detect no difference between him and others, 
 but afterwards they observed something on account 
 of which he was persecuted by other savages : 
 when, too, they could not entice him to leave the 
 brethren, or to follow their heathenish practices 
 they tried various artifices, as charging him with 
 having secretly purloined mauy things, that they 
 
48 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 might send him away. Such accusations, how- 
 ever, were found to be false. 
 
 It appears that now the doctrines of the cross 
 were made the means of an awakening among the 
 people. The narrative of the brethren is ex- 
 ceedingly interesting: — "June 2d. Many of the 
 Southlanders that went by here, visited us. John 
 Beck was just writing out fair, part of a translation 
 of the Evangelists. The savages wanted very much 
 to know what was contained in that book. He 
 read something of it to them, and took that oppor- 
 tunity to enter into a discourse with them. He 
 asked them, if they had an immortal soul. They 
 said, 'Yes.' He asked again, where their sculs 
 would go when their bodies died. Some said, ' Up 
 yonder;' and some said, 'Down in the abyss.' 
 After he had set them to rights, he asked them, 
 who had made heaven and earth, man and every 
 thing visible. They replied, they did not know, 
 nor had they ever heard ; but it must certainly be 
 a great and opulent lord. Then he told them how 
 God created all things good, particularly man ; 
 but man revolted from him through disobedience, 
 and was plunged into the most extreme misery 
 and ruin; but he had mercy upon him, and became 
 man, that he might redeem mankind by suffering 
 and dying. Now we must believe in him, if we 
 would be saved. Hereupon the Holy Spirit 
 prompted this brother to describe the agonies and 
 death of Jesus, vdth more and more energy ; and 
 he exhorted them with an affected heart, to think 
 seriously how much it had cost our Saviour to re- 
 deem us, and on that account, they should by no 
 means withhold their hearts from him, which he 
 had earned at so dear a rate : for he had been 
 wounded, shed his blood, and died, to purchase 
 
GREENLAND. 49 
 
 them; nay, he had endured such anguish of soul, 
 that it made him sweat blood. At the same time, 
 he read out of the New Testament the history of 
 our Saviour's conflict on the Mount of Olives, and 
 of his bloody sweat. Then the Lord opened the 
 heart of one of them, whose name was Kajarnak, 
 and he stepped up to the table, and said with a 
 loud, earnest, and affecting voice, 'How was that? 
 Tell us that once more ; for 1 would fain be saved 
 too.' These words," (says the brother,) "the 
 like of which I had never heard from a Green- 
 lander before, penetrated through my very marrow 
 and bone, and kindled my soul into such an ardour, 
 that I gave the Greenlanders a general account of 
 our Saviour's whole life and death, and of the 
 counsel of God for our salvation, while tears ran 
 down my cheeks. In the mean time, the rest of 
 the brethren came home from their employments 
 abroad, and began with joy to tell the heathen yet 
 more of the way of salvation. Some of them laid 
 their hands upon their mouths, as customary among 
 them wheh they are struck with wonder. Some, 
 who had no relish for the subject, slipped away 
 secretly ; but others desired we would teach them 
 also to pray; and when we accordingly prayed, 
 they repeated it many times over, that they might 
 not forget it. In short, there was such an agitation 
 and stirring among them, as we had never seen 
 before. At taking leave, they promised to call 
 upon us again soon, and hear further of this matter ; 
 and said they would also tell the rest of the people 
 of it. 
 
 "June 11th. Some of them came again, and 
 staid all night with us. Kajarnak knew still a 
 great deal of what we had told him, and could say 
 5 
 
.^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 somewhat of the prayers. He said, he would now 
 go to his tent, and tell his family, especially his 
 little son, these great things. 
 
 "The 18th. A great number of Southlanders 
 visited us again. Most of them had no ears to 
 hear. But we discern more and more that Kajar- 
 nak has got a hook in his heart that he will scarce 
 lose again. He has always something in his mind, 
 either a short ejaculation, or a text, that he has 
 heard from us. He has also told us, that he was 
 often reminded in his inward man to pray. From 
 that time he visited us more frequently, and at last 
 came to live entirely with us. When we speak to 
 him, he is often so affected that the tears roll down 
 his face. He is a very particular man, whom we 
 cannot but wonder at, when we consider the great 
 supineness and stupidity of the Greenlanders, and 
 that they can comprehend nothing but what they 
 are daily conversant with. But this man scarcely 
 hears a thing twice, before he understands it, and 
 retains it in his mind and heart. At the same time 
 he shows an uncommon love to us, and'a constant 
 desire to be better instructed, so that he seems to 
 catch every word out of our mouths, which we 
 have never perceived in any Greenlander before. 
 O, dear brethren, how many an agreeable hour 
 have we now after so much sorrow, when we 
 speak and pray with this man ! Help us to entreat 
 the faithful Saviour, that he would shed abroad his 
 light all over this nation, and give them ears to 
 hear, and hearts to understand, and that he would 
 hasten his work of grace on this firstling, that we 
 and you may soon see his glory in Greenland ac- 
 cording to our hopes ; and as for us, we have now 
 an antepast of it. The lord be praised for the lit- 
 
GREENLAND. Sll 
 
 tie he gives us to see, and for letting us attain the 
 aim of our faith in a small degree after having 
 waited five years in a believing hope." 
 
 The family, or tent-companions of Kajarnak, 
 consisting of nine persons, were soon brought under 
 serious convictions through his instrumentality. 
 Three large families of Southlanders also came and 
 pitched their tents by the brethren, anxious to listen 
 to the joyful tidings of redemption. When the mis- 
 sionaries failed in making themselves sufficiently 
 clear, Kajarnak helped them out of the fulness of 
 his heart. All were very much moved, and some 
 who had at first opposed the truth, declared that 
 they would believe, and stay the winter. 
 
 Few, however, kept their word. Most of them 
 went away soon after on the reindeer hunt : they 
 took their leave with tears, and promised to return 
 towards the close of the year. But Kajarnak 
 would not go with them, lest his soul should suffer 
 injury. Such alas ! was the case with the rest, for 
 though they came back, they had become wild, 
 and after some time went quite away, Kajarnak 
 was in great straits, having no tent of his own ; the 
 brethren offered him therefore their own dweUing, 
 though it was very small. But he only desired a 
 couple of skins for a dwelling, and said, that this 
 was the third time his friends had forsaken him, 
 and taken with them the women's boat and tent, 
 in the building of which he had assisted, because 
 he would not follow their ways. 
 
 On Easter day, 1739, the baptism of Kajarnak 
 and his family took place ; he receiving the name 
 of Samuel. But scarcely had a month elapsed 
 before a band of murderers from the north killed 
 Samuel Kajarnak's brother-in-law, who had also 
 lived with the brethren, pretending that he had 
 
OZ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 formerly conjured the ringleader's son to death. 
 They decoyed him out to sea, and threw their 
 harpoon into his body; he pulled it out again, and 
 fled to land, but there they caught him, stabbed 
 him in thirteen places, and threw him over the 
 rocks. After much searching, his corpse was 
 found in a pit, and buried. 
 
 As the murderers also threatened to kill Samuel 
 and his second brother-in-law, and said that they 
 were neither afraid of the Southlanders nor the 
 Europeans, the people of the settlement were much 
 frightened, and thought of taking flight. The 
 brethren did what they could to pacify them ; the 
 gentlemen of the colony also interested themselves 
 in the matter, and took measures to bring the 
 murderers to condign punishment. They suc- 
 ceeded in taking the ringleader and several of the 
 gang prisoners, in the presence of more than a 
 hundred of the natives. At the examination of the 
 former, he confessed that he had committed three 
 other murders, and been accessary to three more ; 
 but as he was subject to no human jurisdiction, 
 and was ignorant of the Divine laws, they read the 
 ten commandments, threatened him severely, and 
 let him go. But two of his comrades, who had 
 once been instructed in the word of God, they 
 punished with whipping. 
 
 Still the fears of Samuel, so far from being al- 
 layed, were rather increased, and, at length, he 
 said that he thought himself obliged to conduct 
 Okkorniak, the brother of the deceased, against 
 "w^hose life the ruffians chiefly conspired, to a place 
 of safety in the south. He himself would take up 
 his residence with his elder brother there, and en- 
 deavour to return with him. Against such a course 
 the brethren remonstrated, expressing their fears 
 
GBEEXLAND. ^% 
 
 that so young a convert would degenerate ; they 
 reminded him of what he had promised at baptism, 
 and agreed to maintain him and his, so that they 
 might have no occasion to go abroad while the 
 murderers were in these parts. 
 
 Samuel was deeply affected by these represen- 
 tations, yet he could not resolve to stay. They 
 were therefore obliged, though very reluctantly, to 
 let him go ; but they exhorted him to faithfulness 
 among the heathen, and commended him to God, 
 with many tears. Thus the brethren saw the 
 country quickly stripped of all the Greenlanders 
 except those in two tents, and all hope of regaining 
 their firstlings seemed to have vanished. 
 
 But all was not lost. Samuel, indeed, did not 
 return that year, but twenty-one boats of South- 
 landers passed this way, among whom were the 
 friends of one named Simek, who had fled with 
 him. They brought word that they had spoken 
 with the refugees, who told them many wonderful 
 things respecting God, concerning whom they 
 wished to be better informed. They also thanked 
 the brethren for the kindness they had shown in 
 restoring Simek's wife, who was given up for dead. 
 Some time after, Simek camenvith his family ; and 
 towards winter most of the natives that had been 
 saved from famine in the beginning of the year, 
 returned to their old quarters. After a year's ab- 
 sence, Samuel returned, without his spii'itual inter- 
 ests being impaired, bringing also his brother with 
 his family, to gain whom had been the chief object 
 of his expedition. He came unexpectedly into the 
 room, at the wedding-dinner of the missionary 
 Boehnish; and while the brethren were greatly 
 rejoiced, the guests were surprised to see the first 
 Greenlander in whom the grace of God had so 
 5* 
 
54 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 operated, that he had remained faithful amidst the 
 temptations of the heathen, and had also laboured 
 for their souls' welfare. He stated, that what he 
 had learned at the settlement he had made known 
 to the heathen of the south ; that at first they heard 
 it with pleasure and wonder, but after a time they 
 turned it into ridicule. He mentioned, moreover, 
 that towards the close of his visit, he greatly wished 
 to be with the brethren again, decause he felt how 
 much they were concerned for the spiritual interests 
 of himself and his family. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Instances of usefulness — Activity of Sarah— Her 
 temptation, fall, and recovery— Translation of the 
 Harmony of the Gospels— Zeal of Samuel— His 
 illness and death— Baptism of an aged Green- 
 lander— The convert Noah— Sophia, another con- 
 vert—Insensibility of other natives — Letters of 
 Jonah Sarah, and Rebecca— Inquiry after truth — 
 Erection of the first church— Contrast to the former 
 state of feeling— Severity of the weather — Visits to 
 the people. 
 
 Among the interesting instances of usefulness that 
 now occurred, the following maybe cited: — "In 
 one Greenland house," say the brethren, " where 
 all the rest were still dead and full of opposition, 
 there was one young woman called Pussy mek, 
 who was very much affected. One time, when 
 we were speaking at a meeting, she held her hands 
 before her face to hide her tears, and secretly 
 sighed, 'O Lord, let thy hght break through the 
 very thick darkness,' Another time we saw her 
 
GREENLAND. 55 
 
 kneeling behind a rock, and only heard the follow- 
 ing words ; ' O God, thou knowest that 1 am very- 
 much corrupted from my first parents, have mercy . 
 on me.' When she was alterwards asked what 
 she was about there, she answered, 'Because I 
 now begin to believe ; I pray every day in secret 
 to God to be gracious to me,' Upon this she was 
 taken under more express instruction ; and once, 
 when she was directed to steadfastness and con- 
 tinuance in pmyer, she herself began to weep and 
 pour forth the following ejaculations: 'O Jesus, my 
 heart is very much corrupted. O, make me truly 
 humbled and grieved about it, because thou wilt 
 have it so ; take away the bad thoughts from me, 
 and form my heart so that it may be pleasing to 
 thee. And as I know but little of thy word as yet, 
 give me thy Spirit to instruct me.' The rest of the 
 people of the house where she lived were put to 
 shame, and touched with the example of this dam- 
 sel, and yet had no inclination to follow it ; there- 
 fore they hated her, and, contrary to the customs 
 of the Greenlanders, treated her very sharply, and 
 would scarcely allow her to go any more to the 
 meetings ; and when they removed their habitation, 
 she was obliged to follow them, though she would 
 have been very glad to have staid. But in a few 
 days she came again and entreated us to take her 
 into our service, and afterwards could never be pre- 
 vailed upon, by good or bad words, to leave her 
 teachers. 
 
 " One could perceive a particular desire in this 
 person to experience the power of the blood of 
 Jesus. She was never weary of hearing of it, and 
 soon began to confess and speak of it before others. 
 When any heathens came on a visit, she went 
 among them directly, and whether asked or not, 
 
56 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 told them why she lived here, what she had 
 already experienced by the testimony of Jesus's 
 sufferings, and how she wanted to be a partaker of 
 all the blessings treasured up in it. By this, always 
 some, and now and then perfect strangers, were 
 very much affected. Therefore she was taken into 
 a more immediate preparation for baptism, and we 
 endeavoured to give her a right conception of the 
 institution, design, and operation of this holy sacra- 
 ment. And now her steady declaration was, that 
 she no more believed that Jesus is the Friend of 
 sinners because we had told her so, but because 
 she experienced it in her own heart. Now as we 
 discovered in her a most ardent longing after the 
 blood of sprinkling and the energy of the death of 
 Jesus, and as she had repeatedly uttered her great 
 desire for baptism, therefore, on the 30th of Octo- 
 ber, she was baptized in the name of the Holy 
 Trinity, and the name of Sarah was given her. — 
 Many Grecnlanders were present, most of whom 
 were moved by the power of the Lord, and some 
 beheld and heard with tears. Blessed be God for 
 this time of grace." 
 
 Thus a revival commenced among the Green- 
 landers. Many had a desire to be as happy as 
 these natives, and asked to be often visited. The 
 brethren endeavoured to make their testimony and 
 example useful to others, and took them sometimes 
 to the heathen that they might have living epistles 
 of the gospel as the power of God to salvation. — 
 Most of them were touched by the spirit and ad- 
 dress of these converted natives ; some were fully 
 convinced they were sinners, and stood in need of 
 the precious blood of Christ. An old grey-headed 
 man said, that the name of the Saviour was im- 
 pressed on his heart: he was encouraged by the 
 
GREENLAND. 57 
 
 brethren to call continually on his name. Another 
 time, when they had travelled alone several let^gues 
 south to the heathen that had lived with them the 
 preceding year, and who had desired a visit, they 
 write : — " Our Saviour gave entrance to our testi- 
 mony, and there was scarcely one discourse held 
 during these five days that did not touch some of 
 their hearts. We see visibly that the Lord is 
 arisen to build up his Zion here in Greenland also, 
 which has so long lain waste. In the meantime 
 Samuel frequendy kept hours for prayer at home 
 with the Greenlanders ; neither hath Sarah been 
 inactive am.ong her sex and the children. But 
 especially if there are any that are laid hold of by 
 grace, she enters into frequent conversations with 
 Siem, about the state of their hearts, directs them, 
 with all their misery, according to her own ex- 
 perience, to the Lamb of God that taketh away 
 the sin of the world ; and, in short, seeks all oc- 
 casions to gain something with the talent entrusted 
 to her." 
 
 The success of temptation, very common in far 
 different circumstances, occasioned the brethren no 
 little anxiety and sorrow. Thus they write : — 
 '* We have obsen-ed for some time past, that our 
 Sarah has been unruly, petulant, and made light 
 of things. We represented it to her, reminded her 
 of the grace our Saviour had bestowed upon her, 
 and exhorted her to remain faithful, and not to un- 
 dervalue the blood of Jesus. Her heart was soft- 
 ened, she acknowledged her fault, and heartily en- 
 treated our Saviour for forgiveness, and grace to 
 amend. But this did not show itself so hastily. 
 Afterwards, we found that the root, from whence 
 these bad symptoms proceeded, was lofty thoughts 
 of herself, on account of the diligence she had be- 
 
SB MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Stowed on the heathen, and the blessing attending 
 it. We pointed out to her the corruption of her 
 heart, and bid her reflect on the deplorable plight 
 she was in when our Saviour first showed mercy 
 to her, and what she then felt. She burst out a 
 crying, and said, 'Ah, now I plainly feel that I 
 have gradually departed from the happiness I then 
 enjoyed, and our Saviour is become a stranger to 
 me. Now, when I pray, I find no comfort not- 
 withstanding in my heart, and it is as if I could not 
 find my way to him again.' We kneeled down 
 with her, and prayed our Saviour to reveal himself 
 to her heart afresh. She was desired to pray, too, 
 but she could not utter a single word for weeping. 
 However, we have observed, that since that time 
 she has been very little and lowly in her own eyes, 
 and has been favoured with a free access again to 
 the Friend of the sinful and miserable." 
 
 Such a state, it may be remarked, is the only one 
 of true safety. "Before honour is humility." — 
 With this the disciple of Jesus should be "clothed." 
 A remembrance of the days spent in the service of 
 sin, and of grievous departures from the right way, 
 as well as the express requirements of the word of 
 God, should urge on all the maintenance of a lowly 
 spirit. From an obligation to its exercise none are 
 exempt ; and even the most active and useful should 
 recur to the charge, "Let him that thinketh he 
 standeth, take heed lest he fall." 
 
 The little flock was increased by another family. 
 Anxious to do more for the instruction of the heathen, 
 the brethren began to translate the Harmony of the 
 four Gospels into their language, in which work 
 Samuel and Sarah rendered them great service, and 
 reaped much advantage. It was observed, that the 
 converted natives used expressions, especially in 
 
GREENLAND. 69 
 
 prayer, which it would have been difficult to find 
 out in an ordinary way. They were, therefore, 
 anxious to speak from their believing Green- 
 landers, after they had been taught to think from 
 the brethren. 
 
 Samuel discovered a remarkably active spirit. 
 He seldom omitted an opportunity of bearing his 
 testimony before the people, and confirmed it by his 
 exemplary conduct. Once, when on a journey, he 
 was invited by them to a dance at the sun -feast, and 
 to rejoice with them at the return of that orb ; but 
 his answer was, "I have now another kind of 
 joy, because another Sun, named Jesus, is arisen 
 in my heart. Neither have I any time for it, for 
 I must hasten to my teachers, who will soon have 
 a great festival, to rejoice that the Creator of all 
 things was born into the world as a poor child, to 
 redeem us." He uttered, moreover, such a dis- 
 course upon this subject, as amazed them all ; but 
 when he was about to depart, the savages made 
 another effort, and wished him to come only once 
 to a dance some other time. But he replied, that 
 they should rather bring to heart what he had told 
 them, as he was quite in earnest. 
 
 Early in 1741 he was attacked with a pleurisy, 
 which soon terminated his earthly pilgrimage. — 
 During his illness, he exhibited the utmost forti- 
 tude and patience, and appeared alike regardless of 
 worldly concerns, and unaffected by his bodily suf- 
 ferings, whilst musing on his adorable Redeemer, 
 and on the "pleasures which are at his right hand 
 for evermore." Observing some of his relatives 
 bathed in tears, he affectionately asked, " Why do 
 you weep on my account 1 Are you not aware that, 
 when believers die, they go to Jesus, and become 
 partakers of everlasting joys ] As I was the first 
 
60 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 of our nation who was converted by his grace, he 
 has determined that I should be the first to enter 
 into his presence. He knows how to provide for 
 you in my absence ; and if you remain faithful to 
 the end, we shall surely meet again, and rejoice 
 for ever before the throne of God and the Lamb." 
 
 His dying words appear to have completely tran- 
 quillized the minds of his wife and brother, who 
 evinced the most pious resignation to the bereave- 
 ment which they were called to endure, and soli- 
 cited the missionaries to bury him according to the 
 rites of the Christian religion. Accordingly, on 
 the day of the funeral, after singing an appropriate 
 hymn, one of the brethren delivered a short dis- 
 course in the house; four Greenland youths then 
 carried the body to the place of interment, where 
 one of the missionaries gave a concise exhortation, 
 and the solemnities were concluded with prayer. 
 
 If, however, one convert was thus removed, 
 other instances of Divine operation occurred, to 
 the great joy of the brethren. Among nine persons 
 admitted to the rite of baptism, was an aged man 
 who, when he heard it was to be administered to 
 his two daughters, went to the missionary, and 
 asked if he might not be baptized too. " It is true," 
 he said, "I cannot speak much, and very like I 
 shall never learn so much as my children, for thou 
 canst see that my hairs are quite grey, and that I 
 am a very old man ; but I believe with all my heart 
 in Jesus Christ, that he died for men, and that 
 all thou sayest of him is true." Such an appeal 
 could not be otherwise than successful. 
 
 In a time of sickness, Noah, one of the converts, 
 was exceedingly cheerful, and said, as the brethren 
 were keeping a meeting round his bed: "O, what 
 joy have I had this winter, when we have been 
 
GREENLAND. 61 
 
 speaking, praying, and singing together ! But now 
 I can be no more with you." They comforted 
 him, by saying that he would mingle with a much 
 larger assembly around the throne, and celebrate 
 much more happily than in this world the praises 
 of the Lamb. When they asked him if he loved 
 the Saviour very much, he answered, " Yes, I do 
 love him." In his last hours he said, "I have 
 another younger brother whom I would gladly have 
 spoken to of our Saviour. I recommend him to 
 you, and when he comes, pray keep him here, and 
 tell him that I desired it on my death-bed." They 
 sung with him a hymn on the Saviour's blood and 
 righteousness ; and sometimes he joined in the ac- 
 cents of praise, retaining his senses to the last. — 
 He expired in peace, during prayer, attended by 
 many tears. 
 
 The brethren thus allude to this bereavement :-^ 
 "We thank our Saviour for the grace he hath 
 shown to him and his family. It is not a full year 
 since he came here first, but as soon as grace began 
 to work in him, we perceived an upright walk and 
 a daily growth. We never saw an unhappy, dis- 
 contented look in him, thouo;h he was obliged to 
 put up with very indifferent accommodations ; and 
 when the others went away to better their outu^rd 
 circumstances, he said, "I will stay with you; I 
 have no want here." He had not such gifts as the 
 others to speak to the heathen ; but he was a disci- 
 ple on the breast of Jesus. O, how doth the Lord 
 love the people! Deut. xxxiii. 3. This text fur- 
 nished the subject for his funeral discourse. 
 
 On a visit in Kangek, a Greenland woman was 
 
 baptized, who, from the badness of the weather, 
 
 could not attend the great celebration of baptism. 
 
 Respecting this service the brethren write ; — " We 
 
 6 
 
§S MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 were welcomed with much joy by the brethren, 
 and our message was heard every morning with 
 great eagerness. — March 7th. The sacrament of 
 baptism was dispensed. So many people came, 
 that the house was quite filled, and some stood 
 without by the windows. After a discourse on 
 the text, ' God so loved the world,' the candidate 
 was baptized, and called Sophia. The crowd 
 standing round were vastly affected, and shed num- 
 berless tears. May the Lamb mske her a blessing 
 to her country folks ! She is endowed with both 
 gifts and grace, and she meets already with much 
 persecution, because there is a noted angekok at 
 this place who counteracts us very much. He has 
 threatened to fall upon us with the well-known 
 band of murderers, because he sees that our minis- 
 try among the heathen encroaches too much on his 
 trade; but we rely on the word of Jesus, that not 
 a hair shall fall from our head, nor those of our 
 Greenlanders, without the will of our heavenly 
 Father. — March 9th. A woman sprung from a 
 rock into the sea, and was drowned. The reason 
 was this; the angekok pretended he would conjure 
 a healthy soul into a sick child ; but as it died after 
 all, he laid the blame upon this woman, and affirm- 
 ed that she had killed this new soul with her black 
 art. On this account the child's father lay in wait 
 to take away her life, and she leaped into the water, 
 that she might not be hewn in pieces in the man- 
 ner that the Greenlanders serve the reputed witches. 
 The sorcerers invent such lies, when they want to 
 have any body out of the way. The infidels 
 stand in great fear of them, but the believers bring 
 their delusive art into more and more disgrace. — 
 Therefore, these soothsayers betake themselves to 
 this evasion, that their skill does not extend to 
 
GREENLAND. 63 
 
 believers, because they have submitted themselves 
 to the jurisdiction of another great Spirit, who 
 always withstands their spirit." 
 
 A variety of character was often observed. — 
 Thus, when many were willing freely to converse 
 on the state of their hearts, one staid away, and 
 openly declared that he disliked such communica- 
 tions, that he neither could nor would believe any 
 thing he heard of God, that every thing came of 
 itself, and that it will always remain as it is. — 
 When spoken to on the dangerous state of his soul, 
 hi-s only reply was, that he would not alter the 
 opinion he had once entertained, but go the same 
 way as his fathers had gone. But such language 
 proceeded from the disquietude of his heart, and 
 from a desire to stifle its convictions. These were 
 betrayed, when hearing unawares a discourse on 
 the words, " The wages of sin is death :" he was 
 exceedingly anxious, turning from side to side, and 
 at last he rose up and went away. 
 
 One day, a baptized Greenlander said to his 
 wife, "Hast thou no thoughts about giving our 
 teachers something? They do so much for us, 
 and we do nothing for them. Make each of them 
 a pair of shoes." Simple as this fact may appear, 
 it shows that the people began to think of some 
 grateful acknowledgments, whereas formerly they 
 expected to be paid for listening to the brethren. 
 
 A school for children was now begun again ; 
 each time they met, a text was given them to learn, 
 and they were catechized on it the following Sun- 
 day. Sometimes the brethren read to them anima- 
 ting accounts from the children of believing Ne- 
 groes and Indians in America, or letters from the 
 children of the nurseries of the "Unity;" then gave 
 them an exhortation to follow the good example 
 
64 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and concluded with prayer. They also read some 
 accounts of other missions, to the adults; and after 
 a time, they set apart a day every month for this 
 purpose, which was called "the monthly prayer 
 day," or "congregation day." Such statements 
 awakened a desire in some of the Greenlanders to 
 express also the feelings of their hearts, in letters 
 to their brethren beyond the sea. Accordingly 
 they dictated to their teachers what was afterwards 
 translated into German, and sent. In this way the 
 following letters were written. 
 
 One was from Jonah. " My dear brethren ; 
 I have not seen you, nevertheless I love you, be- 
 cause Jesus sought after me as a lost creature, and 
 at last found me. When I was baptized, I prom- 
 ised to follow Jesus ; but now I am convinced I 
 have no strength for it. Since now I can think 
 nothing good of myself, I stand in need of the 
 blood of Jesus for my purification, that it may 
 make an end of the wickedness of my heart, for it 
 is very corrupt. When my teachers mention 
 Jesus' blood, then it gives me joy that the Lamb 
 hath purchased me with his blood ; but if I stay 
 long among the heathen, I forget it again. There- 
 fore, my dear brethren, pray often to the Lamb of 
 God for me, that he may give me a good heart. O 
 Jesus, be gracious to me !" 
 
 Sarah thus addressed the ordinary : — " I will 
 write thee about my heart. I feel my misery, and 
 pray our Saviour that he may grant me to feel his 
 blood. For I have no Saviour that can help and 
 save me, but the Lamb of God. Sometimes when 
 I am alone, I feel that good is sent to my spirit, 
 and then I thank him. But sometimes I feel no 
 kind of good in me ; nay, mere corruption, and 
 forget him, and though I strive and look about in 
 
GREENLAND. 65 
 
 mind after him, yet I still hanker after corruption, 
 and forget him. In the beginning, after I was 
 baptized, I thought, now all sin is removed far 
 from me ; but this winter our Saviour has humbled 
 me very much on account of my sinfulness. It 
 has been a great joy to me that so many have been 
 baptized this winter. Now I experience, that 
 with God all things are possible, that we Green- 
 landers can be together in right hearty love. 
 Though I am very worthless, yet my teachers 
 love me, and do not despise me, notwithstanding 
 my wretchedness; because they are acquainted 
 with the Spirit of God, and know his mind, they 
 give all diligence to direct me to the Lamb of God, 
 O ! if the Spirit of God should put it into your 
 heart to send us more teachers, then pray do, for 
 God loved us and died for us, when we and you 
 should have perished. But he has redeemed us ; 
 this we experience when we get a feeling of the 
 blood of Jesus in our hearts. May Jesus bless 
 thee. Tell all thy brethren that I love them very 
 much." 
 
 A third letter was that of Rebecca, to the mis- 
 sionary, who was then absent. "Hearken, Boe- 
 nisse ! I cannot tell thee how often I have thought 
 of thee, and prayed our Saviour to keep thee and 
 me in his care, and help us always with his blood. 
 Thanks be to Jesus, that he keeps his blood 
 always in our remembrance ; one thing I expe- 
 rienced, and that is, that we have a Saviour who 
 helps us through with his blood. When he lets 
 me feel my corruption, I say to him, 'Remove it 
 from me again, and grant me the power of thy 
 blood ;' now I will constantly cleave to him, and 
 thou wilt also do the same, for thy heart's good." 
 
 As a further proof that the Greenlanders had 
 6* 
 
6® MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 been stirred up to inquire into the truths of the gos- 
 pel, it may be stated, that, in 1744, when the be- 
 lieving natives returned from the islands, they 
 reported that they found many heathen, who gladly 
 listened to them when speaking of the Saviour, 
 and desired to hear more ; and those who were 
 disposed to mock, were generally silenced by the 
 more sober-minded. One of the baptized found a 
 number sitting together, and conversing with much 
 eagerness about the concerns of their souls. They 
 constrained him to bear them company, and to 
 join in their discourse. The awakening extended 
 to a greater distance than the missionaries could 
 conveniently visit. Of this they were informed by 
 one of the baptized natives, who had found the 
 savages, living many leagues to the north, very 
 eager to be instructed. A company of them urged 
 him to sit down and talk with them for a whole 
 night ; and when he stole away the second night, 
 to get some rest, they followed, and compelled 
 him to gratify the desire of further conversation. 
 Even a noted angekok was much impressed. He 
 wept two whole days, and told the people he had 
 dreamed he was in hell, where he saw and heard 
 things it was not possible to utter; adding that he 
 would no longer deceive them by his abominable 
 delusions. 
 
 In 1747, the brethren erected their first church, 
 a wooden building, the framework and boards of 
 which had been sent from Europe. This proved 
 a great convenience, as the auditory frequently 
 amounted to three hundred persons. Storehouses 
 were, at the same time, built, both for the mission- 
 aries and their converts, which, to the latter, were 
 peculiarly useful, as they could now keep their 
 dried meat, fish, capelins, and other articles for 
 
GREENLAND. 67 
 
 winter consumption, in a place of safety, where 
 they were neither injured by the cold, nor devoured 
 by beasts of prey. In consequence of this, and 
 the good regulations introduced among them, above 
 three hundred persons could be maintainad at New 
 Herrnhut, a place where it was formerly deemed 
 impossible for two persons to subsist. It was even 
 in their power to assist their poor neighbours in 
 times of scarcity; and they were never deficient 
 in this act of charity. 
 
 The native converts, too, though not without 
 their imperfections, evidently attained to greater 
 stability. In the brotherly love which character- 
 ized their mutual intercourse ; in their faithful im- 
 provement of all the means of grace ; in the com- 
 posure, and not unfrequently in the triumphant hope 
 with which they met death, and looked forward to 
 a glorious immortality, they gave many proofs of 
 the gospel in their hearts. Various impediments 
 were thrown in their way. Satan employed his 
 wiles ; and his emissaries, the angekoks, who, 
 fearing they should entirely lose their reputation 
 and profit, invented all kinds of tales to deter their 
 countrymen from believing the gospel : but their 
 efforts were feeble, and could not withstand the 
 power of Divine truth. 
 
 On the change thus apparent, the brethren ex- 
 press in such terms as these the feelings of their 
 hearts: — "We have at present an exceedingly 
 blessed time in Greenland ; such a season we could 
 form no conception of some years ago. The Lord 
 hath done more for us than we knew how to pray 
 for. Our heart often dissolves within us on ac- 
 count of the stream of life which is poured forth 
 upon the people, and which breaks through all op- 
 position. We are frequently filled with astonish- 
 
68 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 ment ; and are astonished, when we behold a 
 people who were lately so savage, stupid, and in- 
 sensible, now so sensibly affected at speaking or 
 singing of the sufferings of Jesus, that tears of love 
 and joy roll in streams down their cheeks ; and, 
 that a people, who usually never settle long in one 
 place, are now collected together into a congrega- 
 tion, and when they go to sea, remain still as near 
 as possible to our place ; and if they chance to be 
 from four to six leagues off, come however, almost 
 all, to their meetings on Sunday, and, like children, 
 desire to be fed with the blessed doctrine of the 
 wounds of Jesus. When the joyful message is 
 carried to one of them, that he is to be received or 
 baptized, he has scarcely patience to wait the 
 happy hour; and it is discernible in his counte- 
 nance — which formerly was savage, dark, and 
 hideous, but now clear, agreeable, and lamb-Hke — 
 that inwardly a greater change must have been 
 wrought than can be conceived by us." 
 
 In referring to another service, they say : — " Our 
 people are not able sufficiently to express, nor we 
 to describe, how we and they felt at this transac- 
 tion. We fell down with tliem at the feet of Jesus, 
 and shed tears of love on account of his unspeak- 
 able love towards such poor sinners. We now 
 richly reap the effects of the remembrance of the 
 congregation, which, no doubt, prays to the Lord 
 daily, and more particularly at such festival sea- 
 sons, for us, and our people ; and we believe, yea, 
 we feel, that the invisible Head of the church, hath 
 this year formed us also into a congregation, and 
 anointed us with his Spirit." 
 
 The winter of 1752 was exceedingly severe. 
 The cold continued from February till towards 
 Easter with little intermission, so that the inlets 
 
GREENLAND. 6^' 
 
 were frozen over, and so blocked up with ice, that 
 frequently not a kajak could stir in the water. 
 The weather, too, was so unsettled and stormy, 
 that the Greenlanders could seldom go abroad ; 
 and, when they did, were not sure of their lives. 
 Yet, amidst all this danger, only one was carried 
 away by the waves, in a fearful tempest : three 
 months after he was found in his kajak, half de- 
 voured by ravens and foxes. 
 
 Another hurricane, accompanied with lightning, 
 nearly threw down the chapel and dwelling-house 
 of the brethren ; it tottered and creaked like a ship 
 in a tempest. A few days before, the waves had 
 shattered their new and largest boat in such a vio- 
 lent manner as none had before seen, although it 
 was drawn upon land and tied to a post. Nor was 
 this all ; for such was the severity of the season as 
 to occasion great dearth, and danger of perishing 
 from hunger and cold. In other places many 
 savages actually died. The brethren did all they 
 could to relieve their wants, distributing capelins 
 among the poor families ; and, when these were 
 spent, giving them their stock of peas. They also 
 exhorted the wealthy Greenlanders not to shut up 
 their hearts against the necessitous, but liberally to 
 communicate of whatever they had. Such was 
 the effect of this appeal, that it needed no repeti- 
 tion, at least among the communicants. Now and 
 then the men brought home a couple of birds, and 
 towards Easter, a seal ; and the women and chil- 
 dren, though rarely, caught some small fishes under 
 the ice; and, by these means, they kept themselves 
 from starving till the beginning of March, when 
 there was so much opening in the water that some 
 of them could make their way to the island. But 
 most of them soon returned, because there was 
 
7& MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 less to be done there than at home, from the bad- 
 ness of the weather ; but the return of the rest was 
 prevented, partly by the cold that again set in, and 
 by the ice which stretched itself within and with- 
 out the land, as far as the eye could see ; and partly 
 by a storm, which shattered most of their boats to 
 pieces. After a time, however, they were brought 
 back. In such rigorous circumstances, the usual 
 meetings could seldom be kept in their order ; for 
 either the severe weather imprisoned all the people 
 in their houses, or the fair weather, which occurred 
 but very rarely, enticed them all to sea. But few 
 as the opportunities of mutual edification were, 
 " the inner man" appeared still to be renewed. 
 
 Meanwhile, forbidding as the weather was, their 
 visits to the heathen were not quite omitted. One 
 of the brethren thus writes : — 
 
 "The 25th. We visited in six houses, and had 
 an opportunity to portray before the heathen their 
 Creator and Redeemer. Most of those that came 
 hither last year from Statenhook, were more de- 
 sirous of bread and needles than of the word of the 
 Saviour. I told one of them, that I wished he had 
 a hunger for the imperishable food. He entered 
 into a dialogue with me about it ; and it was very 
 nearly turning out with him as it did with the Sa- 
 maritan woman at the well. Some old Kangermers 
 who have made too light of the thing they call be- 
 lieving, desired to hear something of the word of 
 God. I told them they knew already that God had 
 made all things : but now, I would tell them some- 
 thing more, namely, that the Saviour of all men had 
 shed his blood for them also ; and, if they did not 
 experience this in their hearts to cleanse them from 
 sin, all their feigned believing would be of no ser- 
 vice to them. Some wondered ; others said, in their 
 
GREENLAND, Jt 
 
 cold-hearted way, *We believe sufficiently.' We 
 spent the night with Anna's brother ; he is now the 
 only one of the late Samuel's relations that does not 
 live with us ; and, it is probable, he will not be able 
 to rest much longer a mono; the wild natives, for 
 every creature almost in that house is convinced ; 
 and, even when they would fall asleep, they are 
 continually roused again by the frequent excitations 
 of our Greenlanders, who always call upon them 
 when they go by. As it threatened to be bad 
 weather again, we hastened home, the 26th, and 
 had the pleasure of bringing with us a couple of 
 souls more, who had a desire of living with us, and 
 learning to know our Saviour." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Visit of Johannes de Watteville — The converts Na 
 thaniel, Keturah, and Matthew Kajarnak — Unusual 
 intensity of the bold — Horrors of famine — Great 
 mortahty among the people — Instances of human 
 weakness — Sympathy and liberality awakened — The 
 single sister Judith — Extracts from her letters — Her 
 useful labours and peaceful death — Address of a 
 native teacher — Anxiety to form another station — 
 New settlement at Lichtenfels. 
 
 In the year 1752, of which some account has 
 already been given, the mission was visited by one 
 of the bishops of the brethren's church, Johannes 
 de Watteville, after his being similarly engaged in 
 North America and the West Indies. He sailed 
 from Europe accompanied by Matthew Stach, who 
 
72 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 had returned home the preceding year, in the hope 
 that a mission might be commenced on the coast of 
 Labrador. After a dangerous voyage, he says, in 
 his diary of June 18th: — "It appeared very curious 
 to me when I saw the Greenlanders swimming 
 about the sea in their kajaks, like ducks, in the 
 midst of such high waves and hard winds, and 
 withal so swift, that they always kept before the 
 ship, though they were often half under water. — 
 Then we sailed between Kangek and the Kook- 
 CErnen, through the north passage, into Ball's 
 River. The increasing wind, which at last grew 
 to a little storm, obliged us to take in one sail after 
 another, and yet the ship, with one half sail spread, 
 flew by one island after another like an arrow. — 
 When I got the first sight of our dear New Herrn- 
 hut, my heart grew exceedingly soft, and the tears 
 gushed into my eyes. I had a particular impression 
 of our to-day's texts ; the watchword was, * Upon 
 Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be 
 holiness,' (in the German, a sanctuary,) Obad, ver. 
 17. This also is one of the mounts of the Lord. 
 And the word of our Saviour was Matt, xxiii. 37, 
 
 * As a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.' 
 This was just according to our wish, at our arrival 
 among these bare and barren mountains. The first 
 Scripture passage which had occurred to the breth- 
 ren there on new year's day, (not having yet re- 
 ceived the proper annual book,) was Isa. Ivi. 8, 
 
 * The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Is- 
 rael saith. Yet will I gather others to him, beside 
 those that are gathered unto him.' About one o'clock 
 in the afternoon, we came into the haven with a hard 
 wind and rain. Scarcely had we dropped anchor, 
 before our brother Beck came on board ; the rest not 
 being at home. I was just going up the steps, not 
 
GREENLAND. 73" 
 
 knowing that any of the brethren were come, as he 
 came down, and thus he ran into my arms, and I 
 embraced him before he knew who I was ; but 
 when he looked at me, he was quite transported 
 with joy, and began to weep hke a child. This 
 sudden commotion of joy had such an effect upon 
 him, that he lost his ague directly, from a fit of 
 which he was then just risen. In the mean time 
 the ship was moored with a cable to great iron rings 
 driven into the rock ; and the storm rose to such 
 a degree, that we were obliged to be drawn ashore 
 in a boat with a rope. Thus we set foot on Green- 
 land ground, in the name of Jesus, and walked a 
 mile to New Herrnhut.' 
 
 Anxious to know the state of things, the bishop, 
 accompanied by Matthew Stach, visited all the 
 Greenlanders in their tents ; and they visited him 
 in his room on that and the following days, know- 
 ing not how to express their joy at his arrival. " In 
 the evening," he says, " I kept the usual meeting. 
 I spoke in German, and one of the brethren trans- 
 lated sentence after sentence into Greenlandish ; 
 and we continued this method during the whole 
 time of my abode here. The number of the Green- 
 landers present was about one hundred and fifty ; 
 the rest were either not returned from the capelin 
 fishery, or were abroad in the Sound and islands, 
 at their usual summer places. I cannot express 
 how my heart felt at the sight of a congregation 
 of Jesus, gathered out of this nation ; and many 
 a tear was pressed out by my tenderness towards 
 them. In the evening, we Germans stayed a 
 good while together ; and then read through the 
 diary of this year, to make myself rightly ac- 
 quainted with the cause of the Greenland congre- 
 gation." 
 
 7 
 
74 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 The bishop remained in Greenland until the 9th 
 of August, during which time he was fully occu- 
 pied in regulating the internal government of the 
 congregation, conversing with the Greenland fami- 
 lies in their tents, and preaching to them through 
 an interpreter. On one occasion, he says, " I was 
 seldom half an hour without being visited by the 
 Greenlanders, who often truly refreshed me by 
 their friendly mien and manner, though I could not 
 understand their words. At my departure," he 
 observes, "the number of the still living baptized 
 inhabitants amounted to three hundred, and those 
 that are gone home to fifty-three. During my 
 abode there, ten were baptized ; and since the de- 
 parture of the ship the preceding year, sixty-eight 
 had been baptized, and seventeen departed this 
 life. The number of the communicants was one 
 hundred and twenty, and the sum total of all the 
 inhabitants three hundred and thirty ; and besides 
 that a considerable number of strangers would arrive 
 to them this autumn. 
 
 "Before I went aboard,! visited the sick Green- 
 land brother Joseph, and blessed him before his 
 departure. Our Greenlanders ran about us, and 
 showed their tender love and gratitude in a thou- 
 sand ways. During our passage to the ship, the 
 rocks stood lined with women and children, and a 
 great number of men escorted us in their kajaks. 
 About eight, we sailed out of the haven ; at nine 
 passed our house, saluted the colony ; and at ten 
 our brethren and the Greenlanders took their last 
 leave of us at Kangek." 
 
 The records of the mission at this period con- 
 tain notice of several native converts. Among 
 those removed from this world was Nathaniel, one 
 of the first baptized communicants and helpers. 
 
GREENLAND. 75 
 
 He had an active spirit, impelled by love to the 
 Saviour, and many were the fruits of the Divine 
 blessing on his faithful testimony. He was dili- 
 gent and upright in all committed to his care. 
 Though his domestic affairs were "a little cramped 
 and cumbersome," he was always satisfied and 
 patient. So truly respectable was his character, 
 that no one, whether Greenlander or European, 
 Christian or infidel, could help loving and honour- 
 ing him. His feelings were thus expressed in a 
 letter he dictated ; 
 
 " I kiss you in love from the bottom of my heart, 
 because our Saviour has made me happy. But 
 my happiness does not spring from myself. My 
 heart would have no joy, and could think nothing 
 good, if he did not let me feel his blood. He has 
 brought me into the fellowship of those that eat his 
 jflesh and drink his blood, and this joy melts me 
 into tears. I have given my whole heart to him, 
 and will no more turn my eye from him. I love 
 our Saviour and his wounds very much. But I 
 know too, that I am a sinner ; and I wish my 
 heart may feel this also continually, for I am very 
 desirous of having it always tender. I, poor 
 child, beg him to moisten it constantly with his 
 blood." 
 
 At his funeral, much emotion was discovered. 
 Every one seemed desirous of showing him some 
 mark of respect. Many appeared bringing a sod 
 or a stone to cover his ashes ; and some, who 
 were awakened through his testimony, being herq 
 on a visit, helped very actively to build his tomb, 
 though such kind of work is commonly reckoned 
 unsuitable for Greenland men. The funeral ser- 
 mon was preached from 1 Thess. iv. 13; "But 
 I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- 
 
76 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, 
 even as others which have no hope." 
 
 Another convert was Keturah, who nine years 
 before was made a partaker of baptism, and after- 
 wards of the Lord's supper. She soon declared 
 to her own sex what had been done for her soul. 
 Active and vigorous in the things of this world, 
 she was melted in tears whenever she spoke of the 
 state of her heart, or the work of the Redeemer, 
 and her course before the people was truly exem- 
 plary. She had a good recollection of what she 
 heard, and an excellent method of introducing it 
 and adapting it to the Greenlanders. Often was 
 she brought nigh to the grave ; but when, on one 
 occasion, suffering extreme agony, she heard that 
 some Greenland women, among whom were some 
 of her relatives, were about to partake of the Lord's 
 supper, she was overcome with joy, forgot her 
 pain, and made her appearance that very evening 
 at the holy communion. 
 
 Another was Matthew Kajarnak, the late Samu- 
 el's son. Soon after his baptism, he was obliged 
 to flee with his father to the south. He stayed 
 two years there after his parent's return ; and was 
 the means of the salvation of many Greenlanders. 
 In 1747, he made a visit to Europe, where he was 
 admitted to the Lord's supper. In 1749, he re- 
 turned, and was afterwards useful as a congrega- 
 tion-servant and helper. He greatly enjoyed the 
 visit of the bishop, respecting which he wrote : — 
 " We have rejoiced exceedingly at Johannes Asser- 
 kok's visit. When he spoke the first time in our 
 meeting hall, my eyes were not dry, so near did I 
 feel our Saviour. I can say with truth, that I am 
 very happy, yea, much more so than at the time I 
 was with you. Since then our Saviour has done . 
 
GREENLAPsD. 77 
 
 a great deal upon my heart. I can rejoice in him, 
 when I represent him to myself with all his wounds. 
 Worthless as I am, I know not what to do else but 
 thank him. Our Saviour is exceedingly lovely, 
 and my comfort in him will never have an end. 
 I often think on my having seen you, but now I 
 never expect to see you any more till we go to our 
 Saviour. His open side is the sanctuary where 
 we shall meet together again." 
 
 The unusual intensity of cold, some years after, 
 was productive of all the horrors of famine. In an 
 account of one of their visits to the heathen, at this 
 awful crisis, the missionaries obseiTe: — "Near a 
 habitation, which had been long since forsaken, we 
 found fifteen persons half starved, lying in such a 
 small and low provision house, that we could not 
 stand upright, but were forced to creep on our bel- 
 lies. They lay upon one another to keep them- 
 selves warm ; having no fire, nor the least morsel 
 to eat ; and they were so emaciated that they did 
 not care to raise themselves, even to speak to us. 
 At length, a man brought a couple of fish : when a 
 girl, who looked as pale as death, and whose coun- 
 tenance was truly ghastly, seized one of them, raw 
 as it was, tore it in pieces with her teeth, and de- 
 voured it with the utmost avidity. Four children 
 had already perished with hunger. We distributed 
 among them our own scanty pittance, and advised 
 them to go to our settlement; which, however, 
 they seemed reluctant to do, as they evinced no in- 
 clination to hear the word of God, and carefully 
 avoided all intercourse with our Greenlanders." 
 
 To the horrors of famine were now superadded 
 the calamities of disease. No less than thirty-five 
 of the Greenland converts were carried off; but 
 7* 
 
78 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 whilst the brethren wept over so extensive and un- 
 expected a bereavement, they were led to rejoice in 
 the success of that precious gospel which had sup- 
 ported these poor creatures in their most trying cir- 
 cumstances, and even enabled them to exchange 
 worlds with holy serenity. They had also the most 
 pleasing and substantial proofs of the reality and 
 power of Divine grace in many of their surviving dis- 
 ciples, when they saw the readiness with which they 
 undertook to assist in the support of the widows and 
 orphans of the deceased ; and they felt especially 
 grateful for its triumph, when they beheld such 
 of the female converts as were mothers suckling 
 the helpless infants, who would have perished 
 without their timely aid. If left in similar circum- 
 stances among the heathen, the children must have 
 been buried alive with their parents ; as nothing is 
 so abhorrent to the feelings of a Greenland woman, 
 unacquainted with the gospel, as the idea of nour- 
 ishing, with her own milk, the offspring of another. 
 The brethren expressed themselves in the fol- 
 lowing manner, when three corpses were to be in- 
 terred : — " What shall we say to it, that our dear 
 Lord begins to reap so plentifully in his harvest ] 
 On the one hand, we hail our brethren and sisters 
 to their everlasting rest in his arms and bosom ; but 
 on the other hand, we feel our loving attachment to 
 them, and a pain which no one can take ill, at the 
 loss of so many faithful and exemplary hearts, and 
 some of them our blessed fellow-labourers. It is a 
 very singular time among us. They go so wil- 
 lingly, so happily, and so joyfully out of the world, 
 that we must needs wonder at it : some of them 
 have scarcely patience till the hour of their dis- 
 mission strikes. This, their happy state of heart 
 
GREENLAND, 79 
 
 very much moderates, and allays our smart at our 
 temporary loss ; and besides, our dear Lord again 
 essays to replenish the number of those he has 
 called home ; for but this very day eight souls are 
 come to stay with us. It is a real wonder that 
 any creature can resolve to come to us at this time, 
 when it is every where known that some one dies 
 with us almost every day. But the heathen them- 
 selves see that true vital Christianity is a happy 
 thing. The edifying end of their country people 
 preaches this to them, and confirms the testimony 
 that they have heard from some of them at certaiit 
 times with affected hearts, and also convinces them 
 of the truth of these lines : 
 
 Christ's kingdom is not fancy's scheme, 
 Nor yet a midnight's empty dream, 
 As some say in profane derision. 
 
 Instances of human weakness, however, occur- 
 red : thus, on one occasion, the brethren say, on 
 the arrival of the season for the administration of 
 the Lord's supper : — 
 
 " Six were, for the present, obliged to forego 
 the blessed participation of the emblems of our 
 Lord's flesh and blood in the holy sacrament, since, 
 during their long absence in different parts, they 
 had suffered their minds to be corrupted by the 
 serpent from the simplicity that is in Christ, and thus 
 fallen into circumstances which caused both us and 
 them pain. Two people, who had walked quite 
 unworthy of the gospel, were obliged to be ex- 
 cluded all fellowship, which caused great weeping 
 w^hen it was made known in the public meeting. 
 But now, though our pain was great because of 
 these, our joy was still greater with respect to the 
 
80 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 larger number, in whom we found a heart sensible 
 of its own poverty, hungry, and cleaving to their 
 Lord, and who had suffered nothing to disturb their 
 intercourse with their unseen Friend." 
 
 The following circumstance, related by Mr. 
 Crantz, is deeply interesting : — 
 
 "Among the accounts read to them on the 
 monthly congregation days, some lives of children 
 departed, in one or another of the European con- 
 gregations, supplied them with peculiarly agreeable 
 matter for shortening their long winter evenings in 
 an edifying manner ; as hkewise the account of the 
 steadfastness of some Christians, in a state of vas- 
 salage, under the barbarous treatment of their lords. 
 Again, the hard fate of the negro slaves, and also 
 the particular preservation of the churches in the 
 troubles of the war, administered occasion to a va- 
 riety of natural, though striking and simple reflec- 
 tions, from which they drew this thankful conclu- 
 sion, that though they were in a wild, miserable, 
 and unfriendly cHmate, yet they lived under a mild 
 government, could serve their Saviour without mo- 
 lestation, and be preserved from so many calamities 
 of the earth. Nothing touched them so deeply as 
 the demolition of the Indian congregation at Gna- 
 denhutten, in Pennsylvania. And when a relation 
 of some further circumstances was given to the 
 helpers at their next meeting ; for instance, that, 
 though some European brethren and sisters were 
 burned, yet the Indians had time to escape to Beth- 
 lehem, and therefore only lost their property in 
 the fire ; that these poor refugees, together with 
 a multitude of people suffering under the effects of 
 a similar calamity, were received in Bethlehem, 
 and, by the assistance of some wealthy and com- 
 
GREENLAND. 81 
 
 passionate neighbours, were fed and clothed : this 
 relation, I say, excited such emotion among them, 
 as caused them to weep heartily, and to make offers 
 of raisincr also some contributions for clothinoj 
 the naked, and feeding the hungry members of 
 Christ. One said, 'I have a fine rein-deer skin, 
 which I will give you.' Another, 'And I a pair of 
 new rein-deer boots, which I will send.' 'And I,' 
 said a third, 'will send them a seal, that they may 
 have something to eat and to burn.' Now, though 
 their contributions, when turned into money, would 
 be of httle value, yet the missionaries did not choose 
 to reject the mite, or rather the compassionate wil- 
 ling heart, of their poor Greenland brethren and 
 sisters, but ordered the value of their presents 
 (proffered with an equal measure of joy and tears) 
 to be sent by their brethren to the needy in 
 America. 
 
 The case of Judith Issek is also entitled to no- 
 tice. From the time of her baptism she continued 
 to grow in the knowledge of Divine truth ; she 
 also learned to read, and the great assiduity with 
 which she appUed to this art, shows how religion 
 stimulates those who had been long indolent, to 
 the exercise of diligence. Her state of feeling is 
 minilest from the following extracts from two of 
 her letters: — 
 
 "I am sensible of my insufficiency, but at the 
 same time feel that our Saviour loves me, and is 
 rendering my heart conformable to his will; and, 
 therefore, with all my diUgence, I will adhere unto 
 him. If he had not sought and chosen me, I 
 should still have remained in darkness. When I 
 consider this, my eyes pour forth tears. My dear 
 Saviour, I have no other joy but in thee, and in thy 
 blood alone." 
 
B^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 On another occasion she wrote : — " I, poor crea- 
 ture, constantly abide as a poor sinner in my 
 Saviour, and he keeps my heart ever cheerful and 
 pure with his blood. I know, if he did not do so, 
 I should be capable of every thing that is bad; 
 tlierefore, my desire is, always to feel our Saviour's 
 sufferings and love in my heart, wherein is the 
 greatest satisfaction of life." 
 
 Judith, accompanied by Simon Arbalik and his 
 wife Sarah, and two Greenland youths, afterwards 
 went to Europe. Their visit, it is stated, proved 
 a blessing ; and these converts were now, for the 
 first time, admitted to the holy communion. Soon 
 after their return, two of them were numbered with 
 the dead. Sarah departed this hfe happily, and in 
 five weeks after she was followed by her husband 
 Arbalik. Both of them were interred in the bury- 
 ing ground at Herrnhut, called the Hutberg, from 
 the hill on which it is situated. It contains the 
 earthly remains of persons widely differing in their 
 outward situations, and the circumstances of their 
 lives ; yet here exhibiting a perfect equality — all 
 the graves presenting the same appearance. How- 
 ever unequal as to the measure of their talents, 
 their education, their mental acquirements, their 
 experience ; in short, however varied the formation 
 and discipline of mind may have been among those 
 who are here brought together to rest; yet, through 
 the power of Divine grace, they had all but one 
 faith and one hope. 
 
 Judith was permitted to continue the labours she 
 had resumed on her return from Europe. After the 
 peaceful departure of Sarah, she requested the 
 heads of families to permit their grown up daugh- 
 ters, and also their female servants, to live with her 
 that winter in a separate house, and sleep there 
 
GREENLAND, 83 
 
 together, after attending to the business of their re- 
 spective families. Her proposal was agreed to, 
 and the first single sister's house was erected, by 
 the joint labour of the Greenland congregation. 
 In these circumstances she thus writes to some of 
 her sisters in Christ in Europe: — 
 
 "I have been very happy this winter with my 
 sisters ; and, whenever they were together, they 
 thanked our Saviour for his grace, and employed 
 themselves in discoursing of his sufferings. I 
 sometimes tell them that the sisters over the great 
 waters have no other aim but to please our Saviour, 
 and live unto the ra. We then wish, 'Ah! if we 
 loved him so too.' Many of the new ones are 
 baptized, and we have taken ten into our house, 
 who afford me much joy. 
 
 " All my sisters here greet you. Though they 
 do not know you, yet they often think of you. — 
 They are ashamed on account of their wretchedness, 
 but have confident hearts unto our dear Saviour, 
 and that he will make them continually more agree- 
 able and pleasing unto him. When we meet to- 
 gether before him, we feel his presence. My dear 
 Saviour leads me, poor weak child, and the Holy 
 Spirit tends and nurses me ; at which I am often 
 astonished, but greatly comforted." 
 
 For about nine years, Judith laboured energeti- 
 cally and zealously among her countrywomen. At 
 length affliction came, but with it the spirit of resigna- 
 tion. In one of her letters she says : — " When I re- 
 flect that our Saviour redeemed us with his blood, I 
 thank him most heartily. And, notwithstanding I 
 am a poor wretched child, he strengthens my weak 
 heart with his body and blood. This winter I have 
 beeu very weak in body, and often had spitting of 
 blood : I then thought, * Now I shall go to my Sa- 
 
mt 
 
 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 viour:' and often greatly rejoiced at it. But now 
 that my Saviour restores my bodily health a little, 
 I thank him for that too, and yield myself up wholly 
 to his disposal." 
 
 Her amended health, to which she alluded, con- 
 tinued but for a very short time. She was after- 
 wards almost constantly confined to her bed. — 
 Still she was kept in " perfect peace," and dic- 
 tated the following letter to a very dear sister in 
 Europe : — 
 
 " My dear A. C. — I now send you the last kiss 
 out of my heart. My tabernacle is exceedingly 
 weakened and decayed by sickness; but I meditate 
 continually on my Saviour's sufferings, and rejoice 
 greatly in the prospect of that blessed moment 
 when he will call me ; and that I shall now see his 
 wounds with my eyes, for I am redeemed with his 
 precious blood. Although I should have been wil- 
 ling to tarry a little longer with my sisters, yet I 
 leave it to our Saviour, and my greatest desire and 
 inclination is to be with him. When I contemplate 
 the particular grace of our Saviour, which I have 
 enjoyed here upon earth in his congregation, my 
 eyes overflow with tears; I love him, and I shall 
 love him without ceasing. I once more salute all 
 the sisters that are with you. I now find myself 
 too weak to proceed further. 
 
 " Your dear, 
 
 Judith." 
 
 Two days after Judith dictated this letter, she 
 entered into the joy of her Lord; a monument of 
 the power of Divine grace, which had wrought 
 such wonders among her people. 
 
 A native teacher often possesses peculiar facili- 
 
GREENLAND. 85 
 
 ties in conveying instruction. Thus, on one occa- 
 sion, a great number of heathen from South Green- 
 land visited New Herrnhut ; but when the brethren 
 spake of the Saviour of sinners, and the happiness 
 of beHevers, they said that they did not understand 
 their discourses, and that they were unable to com- 
 prehend such strange words about a Creator, a Sa- 
 viour, and an immortal soul. Just then Daniel came 
 in, and being desired by the missionary to make 
 the matter plain to them, he proceeded to examine 
 them how their kajaks and women's boats came, 
 and they confessed that nothing could come of 
 itself, but must be made by one that is greater, and 
 existed before. He then said, " Thus ye may 
 easily conceive that men also must be made by some 
 one; Him we call Pingortitsirsok, the Creator of 
 all things. He made man to be his property. — 
 But he fell from him, and joined issue by sin with 
 Torngarsuk, who is an extremely bad spirit. But 
 it pitied the Creator of all things to see man involv- 
 ed in ruin and eternal damnation. He himself, 
 therefore, was made man like me and you, laid 
 down his life for us, and shed his blood in order to 
 set us free from sin and the devil. Hence it is that 
 we call him our Creator; Jesus Christ, Anaur- 
 sirsok, our Saviour and Deliverer. Now, when 
 we believe this, and are washed in his blood from 
 all evil, we are made children of God ; and when 
 we die we go to him, and remain for ever with 
 him in felicity unspeakable. But that ye say, ye 
 know not whether ye have a soul, is not true. Ye 
 will not know it, nor care for your immortal soul, 
 because ye choose still to act according to your 
 pleasure, and according to the lust of your flesh ; 
 therefore it is, that ye will not hear nor understand, 
 nor come to the believers; tor ye know that a 
 8 
 
86 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 change must pass upon you, and ye think ye can 
 then have no more satisfaction. But ye are vastly 
 deceived. I had formerly no true satisfaction ; but 
 when I beUeved in our Saviour, I began to be truly 
 happy. As often as I think on his death and blood 
 shedding, my heart is light and joyful." "This 
 discourse," observes Mr. Crantz, "flowed with an 
 uncommon freedom, like a fountain, from the 
 Greenlander's mouth and heart, struck the heathen 
 very much, and visibly threw them into great agita- 
 tion of mind." Three families, it appears, were 
 added to the congregation, from the impression it 
 produced. 
 
 Though nearly two hundred baptized Green- 
 landers had finished their earthly course, the con- 
 gregation consisted now of four hundred persons. 
 Since the year 1742, when the first general awa- 
 kening of the natives commenced, the increase had 
 been considerable, at least in proportion to the popu- 
 lation of the country. The same rapid increase 
 was no longer to be expected ; for, as several new 
 colonies had been established by the Danes, and 
 provided with missionaries from the Royal Mission 
 College in Copenhagen, most of the heathen living 
 in the north, and near Ball's River, attended the 
 preaching at God Haab. 
 
 The brethren had had regular stations for preach- 
 ing the gospel in the islands of Kook and Kan- 
 gek, to which the Greenlanders from the south 
 generally resorted, and where they sometimes, on 
 their journey to and from the north, took up their 
 abode for a year or two ; and it was chiefly from 
 these people they had received their converts. By 
 them, also the missionaries had often been invited 
 to establish a settlement somewhere in the south, 
 as many in that part of the country were disposed 
 
GREENLAND. 87 
 
 to receive th^ gospel, but were not inclined to move 
 to New Herrnhut, being apprehensive that they 
 would not be able to support themselves there. — 
 For though the country about Ball's River is one 
 of the finest districts in Greenland, the natives can- 
 not easily resolve to leave the place of their nati- 
 vity and settle elsewhere, since the mode of pro- 
 curing a livelihood differs more or less in every 
 place, and a year or two are spent generally in 
 acquiring the necessary new habits and practices, 
 during which time they mostly suffer great want 
 of provisions. Indeed, the brethren did not wish 
 the settlement at New Herrnhut to become too 
 numerous; for though the experience of subse- 
 quent years has shown that the place is capable 
 of supporting a considerable number of inhabi- 
 tants, yet they found it difficult to maintain proper 
 regularity and discipline, in a congregation whose 
 number rendered attention to the individual mem- 
 bers almost impossible, while it is peculiarly 
 necessary in the case of converts from among the 
 heathen. 
 
 For these reasons, and in the hope of extending 
 their usefulness, they had, for some years, fre- 
 quently deliberated on the practicability of forming 
 a second settlement ; and several places had been 
 under consideration with this view, but none of 
 them appeared eligible. Meanwhile, the Danes 
 established a factory at Fisher's Bay, about one 
 hundred miles to the south of New Herrnhut. — 
 This induced the brethren to transmit a memorial 
 to the president of the Greenland Trading Com- 
 pany in Copenhagen, offering to form a settlement 
 in that neighbourhood. Their offer was readily 
 accepted, but its execution was for some time im- 
 peded. 
 
W MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Every necessary arrangement being made, at 
 length a leader was found in Matthew Stach. He 
 was one of the first missionaries to Greenland, but 
 had retired to Germany to spend his latter years 
 among his friends. He, however, still felt the 
 most lively interest in the work. No Sooner was 
 it proposed to him to undertake this new expedi- 
 tion, than he was ready to go, especially as he had 
 always felt a strong inclination to carry the gospel 
 further to the south, though he was well aware that 
 new dangers and trials awaited him. 
 
 Accompanied by two brethren, he set sail for 
 Greenland, in 1758. Having rested a few weeks 
 at New Herrnhut, and adopted desirable measures 
 with the missionaries there, they proceeded to 
 Fisher's Bay, on the 1 9th of July, accompanied by 
 four Greenland families, consisting in all of thirty- 
 two persons, destined to make the beginning of the 
 new congregation. It was the wish of the Trad- 
 ing Company that they should settle as near to the 
 colony as they deemed most convenient for the 
 mission. After diligently exploring that part of 
 the country, they fixed on Akonamick as the most 
 eligible spot, and where an old Greenland house 
 was still standing. It is situated on an island, 
 about three miles from the main ocean, and nearly 
 at an equal distance from the factory ; and though 
 it does not afford a prospect to the sun, which is 
 peculiarly desirable in Greenland, and its beams 
 are entirely intercepted by a high mountain for 
 three months in the year, yet they chose this spot, 
 as it possessed the following three advantages ; — 
 fresh water, which is never entirely frozen ; a 
 secure harbour for their boats ; and a strand which 
 remains open the whole year, and is not at too 
 great a distance from the ocean. 
 
GREENLAND. 89 
 
 In erecting their house, they had to encounter 
 various difficulties, as they had not been able to 
 bring the necessary materials for building with 
 them, and the place itself supplied them with very 
 few; they could not even derive much assistance 
 from the Greenlanders, as they had to build their 
 own houses. They were obliged to roll the stones 
 to the spot, carry the earth in bags, and fetch the 
 sods by water from another place. 
 
 To the new settlement was given the name of 
 Lichtenfels. And here, at first, the Greenlanders 
 found it difficult to maintain themselves ; but dis- 
 covering at no great distance a strait, through which 
 the seals ran into a narrow bay, they were able to 
 prevent their escape, and were frequently success- 
 ful in killing many at a time. This supply was 
 truly providential, and especially so, as the natives 
 declared they had never before seen seals in that 
 inlet. Yet, though it alleviated the difficulty, it 
 did not entirely remove it. A scarcity, little short 
 of famine, prevailed in that district for two or three 
 years, and many of the heathen died of absolute 
 want. 
 
 The inhabitants of Lichtenfels, indeed, suffered 
 less, yet they were often driven to great necessity, 
 frequently having nothing to eat but a few cran- 
 berries left on the ground during winter, and some 
 small meagre fishes. At other times they lived on 
 muscles and sea-weed, which they gathered on the 
 strand at low water. Yet, amidst all their poverty, 
 they were content, and never complained, but 
 helped each other as far as they could, and when 
 one caught a seal, all the inmates of the house re- 
 ceived a share. 
 
 The missionaries could not relieve them to the 
 extent of their wishes, being themselves reduced 
 8* 
 
90 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 to great straits, especially as they had not yet been 
 able to erect a storehouse, in which to secure their 
 provisions during the bad weather. Till this defi- 
 ciency was supplied, the Greenlanders did not reap 
 the full benefit of their industry during the summer 
 months ; yet, by diligence, they were .even then 
 able to dispose of a greater quantity of blubber to 
 the factor of the colony, than he received from the 
 whole district besides. 
 
 During the frequent voyages which the brethren 
 and their converts were obliged to make, they often 
 encountered most imminent perils. Still they ex- 
 perienced the most wonderful preservation. The 
 following instances may serve as examples : — In 
 March, 1759, four of the missionaries of Lichten- 
 fels were overtaken in one of their voyages by a 
 dreadful snow storm, and so obstructed by the drift 
 ice that they could neither proceed nor return. 
 After long and severe toiling, however, they 
 reached the shore ; but the sea ran so high, that 
 they were afraid to land, lest they should be dashed 
 to pieces against the rocks. The only wish left 
 them seemed to be that one of them might escape, 
 to tell what was become of the rest. But, at length, 
 the tide made a sufficient opening between the 
 masses of floating ice, and thus they could proceed, 
 and land with safety. 
 
 On another occasion, two Greenlanders, being 
 despatched with letters to Frederick's Haab, or 
 Hope, were obliged to sit two whole nights in their 
 kajaks upon the ice, which at first constantly broke 
 in with them : and it was the third night before 
 they came to a house. But for this, they would, 
 in all probability, have perished, as their thirst was 
 intolerable, from their having had no water for 
 forty-eight hours. Their sweat, occasioned by 
 
GREENLAND. 91 
 
 severe and incessant labour, oozed through their 
 clothes, and, by the seventy of the cold, instantly 
 became ice. Their kajaks were also much dam- 
 aged, and one of them had his hand frozen. 
 
 Such facts at once appeal to our sympathy and 
 gratitude. Thankfully may we be found acknow- 
 ledging our many and great mercies. Nor should 
 those who have much to endure, either privately 
 as believers, or publicly as the servants of Christ, 
 forget, that one motive to calm submission may be 
 found in the far greater suffermg of others. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 First converts at Lichtenfels — The single sister Susan- 
 nah — Addresses of the native teachers — Continuance 
 of life, and ability to labour — Death of Frederick 
 Boehnish, Matthew Stach, and of brother Koenig- 
 seer — Exposure to great danger — Striking deliver- 
 ances — Perils of the voyage to and from Greenland 
 Confession of a native — Wreck of a vessel — Provi- 
 dential interposition — Serious privations — Visit home 
 and return of brother Kleinschmidt — Translations — 
 Baptism of an adult heathen — Change in the state of 
 the country — Severe winter — Interesting facts. 
 
 The first converts from among the heathen at 
 Lichtenfels were a family consisting of four per- 
 sons. They came far from the south, and though 
 previously ignorant of the truth, were enabled, by 
 the grace of God, to receive it with promptitude and 
 thankfulness. Others also experienced the same 
 almighty power, and adorned the doctrine of the 
 Divine Redeemer. 
 
92 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Among these was the single sister Susannah.— 
 She was deeply affected by the narrative of Christ's 
 sufferings ; and, under the teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit, she daily advanced in Christian knowledge. 
 As ingenuousness was one of her characteristics, 
 she consulted her sisters on all points of conduct 
 that suggested doubt, and what was more, she 
 cheerfully followed their advice. She was so 
 patient, that if without food for a whole day, she 
 did not murmur. 
 
 Excessive labour, the result of amiableness of 
 disposition, had already impaired her frame. On 
 the return of disease, she saw her dissolution was 
 at hand. But to this event she looked forward 
 with pleasure, often saying to her sisters, " O ! 
 how glad I am that I have a Saviour ! If I could 
 not rely upon him, how I should be afraid of 
 death !" On observing a funeral procession pass 
 her window, she said to one of them who had 
 taken part in the solemnities, " O ! that was fine : 
 how sweetly you sung ! You will sing at my 
 funeral in the same manner;" and then, with her 
 feeble voice, she began to praise God. 
 
 When asked by one of the sisters, a few days 
 before her departure, if she would not wish to stay 
 longer with them, she answered, "I do not like to 
 hear any thing more of that ; do but let me go 
 willingly to our Saviour." And a sister replying, 
 " Go then in peace;" she added, "O! how I long 
 for Jesus ! O ! might he but come quickly, and 
 tiike me to himself!" 
 
 In the night preceding her decease, she said sev- 
 eral times, "O my Saviour, come soon; O come; 
 yea, come. Lord Jesus !" She requested her sister 
 to sing her favourite hymns during the greater part 
 of the night. Slie then lay still for some time ; but, 
 
GREENLAND. 93 
 
 at day-break, she hastily raised herself up, looking 
 steadfastly upwards. The sister who sat by her 
 and supported her, inquiring what she looked 
 at, she answered, "That great light; do but see 
 that great light !" She made an effort to get up, 
 as if to meet the object on which her attention was 
 fixed, but she sunk down again into her sister's 
 arms and expired. 
 
 " Now this," says Mr. Crantz, " is the first of 
 the flowers planted and blown in this little garden. 
 It had no long time to grow, and presently came to 
 maturity. Now the Lord has planted it, to refresh 
 himself with it for his pains and labour. To Him 
 be glory for ever. Amen." 
 
 The discourses of some of the native assistants, 
 whom the Lord raised up in this settlement, were 
 often strikingly impressive. One of them express- 
 ed himself as follows : — " How deep our fall must 
 have been, we may learn from the sufferings of 
 Jesus ! When God created the visible world he 
 used only one word, ' Let it be,' and it was ; but 
 our redemption could not be accomplished by a 
 word : to restore us poor creatures, he had to de- 
 scend from heaven, live and suffer as man, tremble 
 and groan, and sweat bloody sweat, and at last ex- 
 pired in torments, that he might redeem u§" by his 
 blood. Can any one, therefore, refrain from loving 
 our Saviour, and devoting soul and body to his 
 service?" 
 
 On one occasion, a strange heathen, while fish- 
 ing in company with the Greenlanders from Licht- 
 enfels, on a fine moonlight night, suddenly raising 
 his eyes, with an air of singular astonishment, to 
 the starry heavens, exclaimed, "It must indeed 
 have been a Nallegarsoak," (a great Lord,) "who 
 made these things." "Yes," said a believing 
 
^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Greenlander, "it is a mighty Lord who created 
 the sun, and the moon, and the stars; and this same 
 Lord died on a cross for the salvation of men. 
 And," he added, "at the end of the world, when 
 all these things which now astonish you shall be 
 burned with fire, this Lord will take the believers 
 to a blessed place, where they shall rejoice with 
 him for ever. Should you, therefore, not like to 
 become a believer?" The heathen gave no an- 
 swer, but seemed merely to shudder at the idea of 
 a universal conflagration. 
 
 As the congregation was now increasing rapidly, 
 the brethren began to feel desirous of obtaining 
 more assistants from Europe. But, had their wish 
 been gratified at this juncture, the want of accom- 
 modation would have involved them in much in- 
 convenience. The mission house was not only too 
 small, but in such a dilapidated condition, that part 
 of the wall had twice fallen down, and the rain 
 found an easy entrance through the roof. With 
 respect to the celebration of public worship, they 
 were still more at a loss ; for though it was possi- 
 ble, in winter, to crowd the congregation into the 
 large Greenland house, yet in summer, when the 
 people resided in tents, the sixth part of them could 
 scarcely assemble in any one of these, and they 
 were frequently precluded from meeting in the 
 open air by the state of the weather. Providen- 
 tially, however, they obtained a supply of building 
 materials from Europe ; and, in a short time, 
 erected a commodious mission house, and a spa- 
 cious church, in which their numerous hearers 
 could be comfortably accommodated. 
 
 At New Herrnhut, in the meantime, the cause 
 of the Redeemer continued to flourish ; many of 
 the heathen, particularly from the south, still visited 
 
GREENLAND. 95 
 
 the settlement ; others, attracted by the doctrines 
 of the cross, took up their abode with the brethren ; 
 and between twenty and thirty persons were annu- 
 ally admitted into the church by the rite of bap- 
 tism. 
 
 The lives and the health of the Moravian breth- 
 ren had been so providentially preserved, that even 
 those who were the original founders of the mis- 
 sion still laboured, "in word and doctrine," with 
 undiminished zeal and activity ; and it is particu- 
 larly worthy of remark, that notwithstanding the 
 toils they had endured, the privations they had ex- 
 perienced, and the perils to which they had been 
 exposed, not one of them had been afflicted with 
 any acute or alarming disease. In the month of 
 July, 1763, however, the mission sustained a se- 
 vere loss in the removal of Frederick Boehnish, 
 who ceased from his labours, and entered into his 
 rest, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and the 
 twenty-ninth of his ministry on the dreary and 
 inhospitable shores of Greenland. 
 
 In the winter of 1768, an aged angekok, who 
 had repeatedly heard the gospel, but without any 
 beneficial effect, was so seriously alarmed by a 
 dream, concerning the day of judgment and the tor- 
 ments of the wicked in another world, that he im- 
 mediately renounced his former mode of life, con- 
 fessed to his countrymen that they had been grossly 
 deceived by himself and the other migekoks^ and 
 not only exhorted them to repent and believe, but 
 despatched messengers to New Herrnhut, with an 
 earnest solicitation that a missionary might be sent 
 to instruct them in the truths of the gospel. This 
 request was promptly complied with, and the at- 
 tention of the savages was so strongly excited, that 
 a very extensive awakening took place, and in 
 
06 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 • 
 
 little more than twelve months about two hundred 
 of the natives were admitted into the church by 
 baptism, at the two settlements of Lichtenfels and 
 New Herrnhut. 
 
 Another bereavement was experienced in 1771, 
 in the removal of the devoted Matthew Stach: he 
 spent the remainder of his days at Wachan, in 
 North America, where he fell asleep in Jesus, in 
 the 77th year of his age. This zealous servant of 
 Christ was the foremost of the three brethren, who, 
 when all was darkness, bound themselves solemnly 
 to continue in Greenland. On him devolved the 
 establishment of the new settlement at Lichtenfels, 
 and a dangerous journey he made to the south 
 opened the way for a third station. He also con- 
 tributed to the planting of the standard of the cross 
 on the coast of Labrador. 
 
 In 1786, brother Koenigseer fell asleep in Jesus, 
 in the sixty-fourth year of his age, the last of which 
 he had spent in the service of his mission ; being 
 entrusted with the general superintendence of its 
 concerns. He was succeeded by brother Broder- 
 sen, who had arrived about two years before. 
 
 This missionary resided in turns at New Herrn- 
 hut, Lichtenfels, and Lichtenau ; the former the 
 most northern, the latter the most southern settle- 
 ment ; devoting all the energies of his mind to his 
 important work. In addition to his regular labour 
 in the ministry, and the superintendence of the 
 whole mission, he paid particular attention to the 
 instruction of the native children and the young peo- 
 ple. " The Harmony of the Gospels" having been 
 previously completed, he employed his leisure in 
 translating several historical pieces of the Old Tes- 
 tament, and select portions of the prophecies of 
 Isaiah, and in compiling a selection of hymns in the 
 
GREENLAND. 97 
 
 Greenland language. Having brought a small 
 printing press from Europe, he struck off a number 
 of copies for immediate circulation, till the whole 
 work could be printed in Germany. The mission, 
 however, did not long enjoy his useful services. 
 A severe fit of illness, in April, 1792, so weakened 
 his constitution, that he was obliged to return to 
 Europe, in 1794. He was preceded in his return 
 by John Soerensen, then in his eightieth year, 
 forty-nine of which he had spent in the service of 
 the mission. 
 
 The missionaries were exposed to great hazards 
 in the prosecution of their temporal calling, of which 
 the following is an instance : — In June, 1794, two 
 of the brethren, having gone to a neighbouring 
 island to fetch drifl wood, were so completely sur- 
 rounded with ice, that for many days their return 
 remained impracticable. Their fellow brethren in 
 New Herrnhut, being apprehensive for their safety, 
 repeatedly sent out Greenlanders in search of them ; 
 but these found the ice impenetrable to their kajaks. 
 The two brethren, however, were fortunate in 
 catching fish enough to support life, and, at length, 
 succeeded in finding a passage through the ice, but 
 at a great distance from the settlement. After a 
 most fatiguing walk, over high mountains and 
 across extensive plains, they safely arrived at New 
 Herrnhut, having been absent a whole month. 
 
 Though the natives are far more inured to the 
 rigours of the climate, and much better able to en- 
 counter the perils connected with their mode of 
 lite than Europeans, yet even many of them perish 
 in consequence of these dangers. Still they also 
 often experience the most striking preservation and 
 deliverance. An instance of this kind will doubt- 
 less be interesting to the reader. 
 9 
 
98 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Two Greenlanders from Lichtenau, returning in 
 their kajaks from catching seals, were so jammed 
 in by the fresh ice, which was accumulating around 
 them, that their destruction appeared inevitable. — 
 Their perilous situation was observed from the 
 shore, but it was impossible to go to their assistance. 
 Soon after the wind drove them along with the 
 ice out to sea, and their friends, completely losing 
 sight of them, were thrown into the utmost anxiety. 
 In the mean time, however, they had reached a 
 large piece of old ice, (the only one in the bay,) 
 upon which they climbed, drawing their kajaks 
 after them. On this piece of ice, barely large 
 enough to afford room for them and their kajaks, 
 they spent the night, which was piercingly cold. 
 The next morning the new ice had obtained suffi- 
 cient firmness to bear their weight, and they walked 
 home on it in safety. 
 
 Another case issued fatally. A company of four 
 Europeans and three Greenland women, travelling 
 by land from Nappartok to God Haab, a distance 
 of only eight or ten miles, were so overcome by 
 c^ld and hunger, that three Europeans and one of 
 the natives, belonging to the Danish factory, fell 
 down by the way, one after the other, and were 
 frozen to death. 
 
 But the hardships and dangers unavoidably con- 
 nected with their situation in these cold regions, 
 are not the only difficulties that must be encoun- 
 tered by a missionary. His very voyage to this 
 country, or back again to Europe, is replete with 
 perils. Of this brother Grillich had most painful 
 experience, on a voyage which he made to Copen- 
 hagen, on the business of the mission. He lefl 
 Greenland in October, 1798, with a ship belonging 
 to Julianen Haab ; but, having been beating about for 
 
GREENLAND. 99 
 
 five weeks, the vessel was so much damaged by 
 drift ice, that she was obUged to return to the co- 
 lony. In February, 1799, he again set sail in the 
 same ship, but the quantity of drift ice at sea was 
 greater than before, and he was closely hemmed in 
 by it from the 18th to the 25th of that month. At 
 length, finding the ship so clogged and injured by 
 it that she could not be saved, the captain was under 
 the necessity of quitting her, with all the property 
 on board. On the last mentioned day, therefore, 
 the whole ship's company began their march over 
 the ice, dragging a boat after them. They spent 
 two nights in the open air, and had no means of 
 quenching their thirst but the melted snow. On 
 the third morning they came to open water, put 
 in their boat, and sailed five leagues, when they 
 again reached the barren coast of Greenland. — 
 They had scarcely landed, before a tremendous 
 storm arose, with snow and sleet, so that, had they 
 been still at sea, they must have perished. But 
 now they were in a disastrous situation, without 
 any food or covering for the night. On the follow- 
 ing day, however, it pleased God to send them a 
 favourable wind, with which they sailed five 
 leagues, and reached the colony at Frederic's, 
 Haab in safety, where brother Grillich was detained 
 till April, and could not reach Lichtenfels till May. 
 He at length arrived safe at Copenhagen, October 
 29th, with the ship from God Haab. 
 
 After the return of brother Grillich to Green- 
 land, the three settlements were again visited by 
 a dangerous epidemic, in consequence of which 
 many of the converts departed this hfe, among 
 M hom were some of the most active and useful 
 native assistants. The sorrow felt by the mis- 
 sionaries for the loss thus sustained by the whole 
 
160 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 congregation, was more than balanced by the 
 happy frame of mind with which the patients bore 
 their bodily sufferings, viewing death and the grave 
 as the avenues to eternal life. 
 
 But it was not only when visiting the sick, or 
 attending the death-beds of their converts, that they 
 beheld, with satisfaction, the gracious influence of 
 the gospel on the heart. They frequently observ- 
 ed its effects in convincing their hearers of sin, 
 and leading them to the Saviour, as the only true 
 source of happiness. Among many such instan- 
 ces, the following is related in the diary of the 
 brethren for 1804: — ^ 
 
 "One of our people called upon us, in order, as 
 he said, to confess his abominable intention. He 
 informed us, that on account of many quarrels 
 which had lately occurred in his family, (and 
 which he now acknowledged to have been mostly 
 provoked by his own inconsiderate language,) he 
 had formed a resolution to seclude himself from all 
 society, by retiring into the wilderness. *With 
 this resolution,' said he, 'I left my home, and 
 spent some nights in a lonely place. But as I was 
 about to proceed to a still greater distance, I 
 thought, O ! how happy are those people, whom 
 the Lord himself reproveth and chasteneth, when 
 they are going astray ! O that I were one of 
 them ! As I was rowing along, the sea seemed to 
 assume a most dreadful appearance, and with all 
 my exertions I could not get forward ; my kajak 
 appeared fixed to the bottom, though I was in the 
 deepest part of the bay. I was frightened, and 
 immediately tried to regain the shore. Here I 
 spent the night in the greatest distress, and as soon 
 as if was day, returned to my family with shame 
 and repentance. Now I most fervently thanked 
 
GREETa.A?rD. 101 
 
 our Saviour that he deUvered me from the ways of 
 destruction. Never more \\ill I follow the impulse 
 of my own heart, but He shall be my only Lord 
 and Master." 
 
 In the same year, the missionary Rudolph and 
 his wite attempted to return to Europe, after a 
 service of twenty -six years in the Greenland mis- 
 sion. They left Lichtenau on June 18th, and in 
 the evening went on board the ship, which was 
 lying off the Danish factory of Julianen Haab, but 
 were detained by the drift ice, which blocked up 
 the bay, till the 14th of July, when they weighed 
 anchor. Having, with great difficulty, entered 
 Dutch Haven, about two miles from the colony, 
 they were again detained for several weeks by the 
 ice and the continuance of southerly winds. 
 
 The captain being informed by some Green- 
 landers, that the sea, at no great distance, was free 
 from ice, once more weighed anchor, on August 
 22d, resolved, at least, to make an effort to get into 
 clear water. But the wind was contrary and very 
 high, and there was still much ice in their sight. 
 They sailed between huge masses of ice, which 
 made a roaring noise, and caused a most uneasy 
 motion in the ship. To secure her as far as pos- 
 sible from damage, several large pieces of ice were 
 fastened to her sides with grappling irons. Thus 
 they cut their way through immense fields of ice, 
 which sometimes rose mountains high. In this 
 manner they proceeded for three days, encounter- 
 ing many fears and dangers ; but unhappily un- 
 conscious of the still more dreadful calamities 
 which awaited them. 
 
 "Early on August 25th," writes brother Ru- 
 dolph, "a storm arose from the south-west, which 
 drove the ice-mountains close to our ship. Tha 
 9* 
 
102 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 scene was awful and horrible, and we expected 
 thnt the ship would have been crushed to pieces. 
 Once she struck upon a small rock, but was got off 
 without receiving any damage. But soon after 
 she struck her bows with such tbrce against a large 
 field of ice, that several planks were started at 
 once, and the water rushed in. The captain im- 
 mediately jumped into a small boat, with part of 
 the crew, and having landed them on a large field 
 of ice, he returned for another party. The rest 
 were employed in loosening the large boat, in order 
 to save themselves ; for the ship was rapidly filling 
 with water, and perceptibly going down on her 
 starboard side, so that by the time the boat was let 
 down, only the larboard gunwale appeared above 
 water. The captain and all the sailors having left 
 the ship, my wife and I were alone, standing above 
 our knees in water, and holding fast by the shrouds. 
 At last, captain Kiar came to our assistance, saying, 
 *I cannot possibly forsake these good people.' By 
 his help we got into the boat, an"fl likewise had our 
 hammock and bed secured. 
 
 " We left the wreck, being about a league from 
 the land, and about seventy-eight miles distant 
 from Lichtenau. Our boat being heavily laden, 
 and having already taken in much water, we feared 
 she would sink, and were therefore obliged to steer 
 to the nearest island. It proved to be a rough, 
 pointed, and naked rock ; at a considerable height, 
 however, we found a small spot covered with short 
 grass. We now endeavoured to land the provis- 
 ions saved from the wreck ; but the waves beat 
 frightfully against the rock, and tossed the boat up 
 and down with such violence, that the rope broke, 
 and she was driven out to sea. In order to bring 
 her back, eight men immediately leaped into the 
 
GREENLAND. 103 
 
 small boat ; but, though they came up \vith it, the 
 fury of the tempest baffled all their efforts to regain 
 the landing place: they were driven to the other 
 side among the ice, by which both our boats were 
 crushed to pieces, nor did we entertain the small- 
 est doubt that the sailors had perished, as it seemed 
 impossible for them to get over the ice to the shore, 
 the waves rising so exceedingly high. All our 
 hopes of being saved now vanished, and the whole 
 company gave vent to their feelings in general and 
 loud cries and lamentations. In the evening we 
 lay down to rest, close together, without tent or 
 covering. As it continued to rain heavily the 
 whole of this and the following day and night, and 
 the water rushed down upon us in torrents from 
 the summit of the rock, we were completely 
 soaked in wet, and lay in a pool of water. But 
 this was in reality a benefit to us as we were thus 
 supplied with fresh water. 
 
 "August 27th. The captain, and most of the 
 sailors, got ready to try to gain the shore by 
 walking across the ice ; and with great difficulty 
 succeeded in their attempt. We would willingly 
 have gone with them, but having now been two 
 days without tasting any food, we felt ourselves too 
 much enfeebled for such an enterprise. Thus 
 we were left alone on the rock, with the ship's 
 cook, who likewise was unable to follow his com- 
 rades. In this dreadful situation, we had no hope 
 but what we derived trom the Lord our Almighty 
 Saviour. We saw no other prospect before us than 
 that of ending our days on this barren rock. — 
 The thoughts of lying here unburied, as food for 
 ravens and other birds of prey, which were always 
 hovering around us, troubled us for a short time ; 
 
i04 
 
 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 but the consolations of our Saviour preponderated, 
 and we soon felt entirely resigned to his will." 
 
 The captain and sailors, having meanwhile 
 reached the land, immediately despatched some 
 Greenlanders in search of brother Rudolph and 
 his wife. These Greenlanders, after rowing about 
 a whole day, without seeing any person on the 
 rock, were about to return, concluding that they 
 had perished. Happily, however, sister Rudolph 
 happening to raise herself, discovered the Green- 
 landers. From them the missionaries got a little 
 seal's fat and a few herrings, having been without ' 
 food for nine days. As they came in their kajaks, 
 and had no other boat with them, brother Rudolph 
 and his wife were obliged to spend another night 
 on the rock, and wait till the evening of the next 
 day, when a skin-boat arrived. In her they em- 
 barked, and after enduring several hardships, 
 reached the colony of Julianen Haab in the even- 
 ing of the 8th, and proceeded to Lichtenau on the 
 11th, where they were affectionately welcomed by 
 their fellow missionaries and the whole congrega- 
 tion, who joined them in grateful praises to God for 
 this wonderful preservation of their lives. 
 
 Here they remained till the following May, when 
 they again prepared for their voyage to Europe. 
 After a very tedious and difficult passage in a 
 Greenland boat, from Lichtenau to Lichtenfels, they 
 led the latter place on the 1 3th of September, in 
 one of the Danish ships, and being favoured with 
 a very expeditious and pleasant voyage, arrived in 
 Copenhagen on the 3d of October. 
 
 Little did the brethren in Greenland imagine that 
 the war, now raging with such violence on the con- 
 tinet of Europe, would extend its ravages to the 
 
GREENLAND. 105 
 
 remote corner of the earth which they inhabited. 
 But, though happily beyond the reach of the con- 
 tending armies, they experienced some fatal effects 
 of the contest. The rupture between Great Britain 
 and Denmark occasioned a temporary suspension 
 of the accustomed intercourse between the latter 
 country and her colonies, which are wholly de- 
 pendent on Europe for support. 
 
 Many gloomy apprehensions were, in conse- 
 quence, awakened, both among the brethren and 
 the other colonists ; and this fear was considerably 
 increased, as one of the two ships sent out by the 
 English government, in 1808, was lost in the ice, 
 and the provisions prepared for them in London, 
 in 1809, could not be sent, as it was found incon- 
 vient to fit out sliips from Great Britain for 
 Greenland. Another painful circumstance was the 
 capture of a Danish provision ship by the British, 
 and thus only one small vessel arrived that year, 
 the cargo of which was by no means sufficient to 
 supply the many factories on the coast. 
 
 The missionaries in New Herrnhut and Lichten- 
 fels thus express themselves: — "Though we have 
 not yet felt absolute want of the necessaries of life, 
 yet we are obliged to measure, as it were, every 
 mouthful we eat, to make our provisions last as 
 long as possible." Their stock of wine was so re- 
 duced, that they could but very seldom celebrate 
 the Lord's supper, which was a great grief to their 
 converts. There was also a serious want of a suffi- 
 cient change of clothing, especially of linen and to- 
 bacco, which is the principal medium of traffic in 
 this country. This distress was most severely felt 
 at Lichtenau, as appears from the following ex- 
 tract from a letter written by the missionary Beck 
 in 1813:— 
 
106 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 "In 1807, we received the last regular supplies, 
 which were sufficient, in addition to what we had 
 spared in former years, to maintain us for a consid- 
 erable time, and, as we hoped that the interrup- 
 tion occasioned by the war would not last long, 
 we felt no anxiety ; but when both the colonists 
 and our brethren at New Herrnhut and Lichtenfels 
 began to suffer want, we even helped them out of 
 our store to various necessary articles, of which, 
 however, we ourselves afterwards felt the want. 
 In the north there was yet some trade, by which 
 partial relief was obtained, but here nothing could 
 be had from that source. Yet we thanked God 
 that there still existed the means of supporting life, 
 though we suffered many privations, such as of 
 beer, coffee, sugar, and wine, and afterwards of 
 butter and salt ; we made the latter last as long 
 as possible by boiling fish in salt water; and, 
 though whatever was sent to us in 1810 did not 
 arrive here till 1812, we have to thank our hea- 
 venly Father for having given us our daily bread. 
 At last we were the only people that had any to- 
 bacco : by this we were able to purchase bii'ds and 
 fish from the Greenlanders, as also furs for our 
 boats and clothing ; we had likewise some seed lefl, 
 and got a small supply of garden stuff. The 
 Greenlanders brought us scurvy -grass in barter for 
 tobacco. The latter article, however, became so 
 scarce, that a pound was worth 7s. 6^/." 
 
 In this distressing situation the colonies contin- 
 ued till the year 1811, when the British govern- 
 ment generously afforded every facility to the 
 Danes to supply their Greenland factories, by per- 
 mitting Danish provision ships, furnished with a 
 proper license, to sail thither. By this humane 
 measure, on the part of England, they were re- 
 
GREENLAND. 107 
 
 lieved from immediate distress, and all anxiety- 
 respecting the future. 
 
 While this regulation continued in force, one 
 of the missionaries, John Conrad Kleinschmidt, 
 whose \^ife had entered into the joy of her Lord, 
 after a residence of nearly nineteen years in Green- 
 land, resolved to bring his five children to Europe, 
 and for this purpose set sail in the ship Frederic, 
 bound for Leith, in Scotland. They left New 
 Herrnhut on September 2d, 1812, but, owing to 
 unfavourable weather, did not lose sight of the coast 
 till the 25th. The wind was fair, and they had 
 the prospect of a speedy and pleasant voyage, when 
 suddenly there arose from the north-west a most 
 tremendous storm, which raged with unabating 
 fury for about three days and two nights. In the 
 evening of the 29th, when it was at its height, ac- 
 companied with thunder and lightning, a flash 
 struck the ship. Two sailors were thrown down, 
 one of whom instantly expired. The captain and 
 all on board were filled with the utmost consterna- 
 tion ; and the former exclaimed, " we are all lost, 
 and there is no other ship near us to save us !" 
 
 Providentially, however, it was soon discovered 
 that the ship had not taken fire, nor sustained any 
 very serious damage. They afterwards encoun- 
 tered several severe gales and contrary winds, 
 which so prolonged the voyage, that they were put 
 on short allowance of water, which was peculiarly 
 trying to the children. But the privation lasted, 
 happily, only five days, as they came in sight of 
 the Scottish coast on the 8th of October, and two 
 days after cast anchor in Leith roads. During 
 their stay there, one of brother Kleinschmidt's 
 daughters, a child only three years old, died, after 
 a short illness. On this, as well as every other 
 
108 MISSIOIVARY RECORDS. 
 
 occasion, he and his company experienced the 
 most affectionate attention from many persons at 
 Leith and Edinburgh, who proved themselves 
 sincere and generous friends to missions. 
 
 During his absence, a most afflicting event oc- 
 curred in the congregation which he had hitherto 
 served in the gospel. A party of ( Greenland Chris- 
 tians, having celebrated Christmas at the settle- 
 ment, were returning to one of the out-places, 
 where they resided by the order of government, 
 intended to promote the interests of trade. They 
 set out in their skin boat, in January, 1813, when 
 the cold was so intense, that the thermometer stood 
 twelve degrees below Reaumur's freezing point. 
 They had soon to encounter the floating ice, by 
 which their boat was crushed to pieces. They, 
 however, escaped upon a large field of ice, and 
 drove about for twenty-four hours, when, during 
 the night, a violent storm arose from the north, 
 which carried them out to sea. Here they must 
 all have perished, as nothing more was heard of 
 them. They were seventeen in number, old and 
 young, and all baptized members of the congrega- 
 tion at Lichtenau. 
 
 After spending the winter at Fulneck, in York- 
 shire, and having again married, Mr. Kleinschmidt 
 and his wif^, in company with other missionaries, 
 sailed from Leith, in the Danish ship Hualfisken, 
 for Greenland. They left Scotland on May 24th, 
 1813, and, after a safe and expeditious voyage of 
 five weeks, arrived at God Haven, in Disco Bay, 
 the captain, contrary to his engagements, refusing 
 to land them near any of the mission settlements. 
 This ungenerous conduct on his part was the more 
 reprehensible, as there was every facility of land- 
 ing them either at Lichtenfels or New Herrnhut. 
 
GREENLAND. 109 
 
 Even the mate and sailors remonstrated with him 
 on the cruehy of his behaviour; but to nopui-pose, 
 for he continued his course, day and night, and 
 the only reply he made was, "Never mind, they 
 have the summer before them." The consequence 
 was, that they had to travel back in a boat, coast- 
 ing it all the way, six hundred miles to New 
 Herrnhut, and ninety more to Lichtenfels ; and 
 brother Kleinschmidt and his wife, after reaching 
 New Herrnhut, had still to perform a voyage of 
 five hundred miles, before they arrived at Licht- 
 enau, their place of residence. But through the 
 Lord's mercy they all got home before the winter 
 set in, though brother Kleinschmidt's party were 
 four months in completing their voyage along this 
 rocky and dangerous coast. All the toils and perils 
 of their journey were quickly forgotten, when they 
 found themselves again in the midst of their breth- 
 ren and sisters, and beheld the grace of God which 
 prevailed in the Greenland congregation. 
 
 Again the affairs of the mission were brought 
 into regular course. Each of the three settlements 
 was provided with the requisite number of mission- 
 aries, and all fear as to their support was removed, 
 in consequence of regular intercourse being re- 
 opened with Europe. The brethren were, there- 
 fore, animated to renewed exertions in promoting 
 the cause of God, and the best interests of their iel- 
 low men, in these dreary regions. 
 
 Their time and attention were particularly oc- 
 cupied in devising means for enlarging the acquaint- 
 ance of the natives with the doctrines of the Bible. 
 A version of the "Harmony of the Four Gospels," 
 together with select portions of the prophecies of 
 Isaiah, had been in use among them for several 
 years. To add to their sources of information on 
 10 
 
110 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Scripture truths, brother Gonke, about this time, 
 translated a small work, entitled, " Jesus, the 
 Friend of Children ;" being a short compendium of 
 the Bible, recommended by a society of pious min- 
 isters in Denmark, for distribution among the 
 Greenlanders. But their chief concern was to 
 furnish them with a good and correct translation of 
 the New Testament ; to which they were greatly 
 encouraged by the kind offer of both the British 
 and Foreign and the Edinburgh Bible Societies, to 
 get the work printed for them. The execution of 
 this important undertaking was committed to bro- 
 ther Kleinschmidt, who had attained great profi- 
 ciency in the language, by his long residence in the 
 country. His many avocations, however, and his 
 desire that the manuscript should be previously re- 
 vised by the other missionaries, who possessed a 
 competent knowledge of the language, in some 
 measure retarded its progress ; but this temporary 
 delay eventually proved a real benefit, as it tended 
 to render the version more correct. 
 
 In November, 1816, the brethren had the joy to 
 baptize an adult heathen at New Herrnhut, a cir- 
 cumstance which had not occurred in that settle- 
 ment for sixteen years, and on this account made a 
 deeper and more solemn impression on all who 
 witnessed this sacred transaction. In the same 
 place the missionary, Henry Menzel, entered into 
 the joy of his Lord, on the 21st of October, 1816. 
 He had laboured thirty-three years with zeal and 
 faithfulness in the Greenland mission. 
 
 Since its commencement a very remarkable dif- 
 ference has taken place in the state of the country 
 in a moral point of view. In the neighbourhood of 
 New Herrnhut and Lichtenfels scarcely any hea- 
 then reside, most of the inhabitants having been 
 
GREENLAND. Ill 
 
 baptized either by Danish missionaries or the bre- 
 thren, and having acquired a general knowledge of 
 the truths of Christianity. These settlements, 
 therefore, may be considered as forming two Chris- 
 tian congregations, the children and youths of 
 which are baptized in infancy, and from their ear- 
 liest years instructed in the doctrines of the gospel ; 
 and upon giving sufficient evidence of the sincerity 
 of their profession, admitted to all the ordinances 
 and privileges of the church. And the missiona- 
 ries have Jiad the pleasure of finding that hardly 
 any of their young people have entirely forsaken 
 the fellowship of the faithful ; for, though they 
 might for a season remain spiritually dead, they 
 have sooner or later been awakened by the Spirit 
 of God, to a sense of their lost condition by nature, 
 and their need of a Saviour ; and by his grace, 
 been taught to "deny ungodliness and worldly 
 lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
 in this present world." Thus has God's promise 
 to his church been verified also in this country : 
 " Instead of the fathers shall be the children." 
 
 In Lichtenfels the case is in some degree dif- 
 ferent. Here there is still a large field for mis- 
 sionary labours, as a very considerable number of 
 heathen continue to reside in that neighbourhood. 
 To them our brethren are daily proclaiming the 
 unsearchable riches of Christ. Many pagans visit 
 them, and behave with great civility. For the 
 most part, indeed, they come only to be supplied 
 with the necessaries of life ; now and then, how- 
 ever, a desire is excited for the bread of life, and 
 the seed of the gospel falls on good ground, where 
 it produces the fruits of " repentance toward God, 
 and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus 
 
112 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 some heathen are annually added to the church by 
 baptism. 
 
 The long intercourse of the natives with Euro- 
 peans, added to the more potent influence of the 
 gospel, has effected the most pleasing and striking 
 change in their manners and general deportment. 
 Along the whole extent of the western coast the 
 barbarities of savage life, and the enormities ever 
 attending paganism where it is dominant, are now 
 rarely to be met with ; and the state of this coun- 
 try, compared with what it was eighty, or but fifty 
 years ago, may be called civilized. The nature 
 and climate of this dreary region, no less than the 
 methods by which the natives must procure their 
 subsistence, necessarily preclude the introduction 
 of most of the useful arts of civilized society. — 
 They can neither till the land nor engage in manu- 
 factures. The former is denied them by the steri- 
 lity of the rocks they inhabit, and the rigours of 
 the polar sky ; and the latter, with very few excep- 
 tions, are for the same reasons rendered useless.- — 
 A Greenlander can neither live in the European 
 manner, nor wear European clothing. But it may 
 be said, with truth, that the converted Greenland- 
 ers, by the habits of industry which they have ac- 
 quired since the introduction of the gospel among 
 them, by their contentment amidst many priva- 
 tions and hardships, and by the charity of the more 
 affluent to their needy brethren, strikingly exem- 
 plify the doctrine of the great apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles — that in every circumstance of life, and in 
 every nation, " godhness is great gain ; having 
 promise of the life that now is, and of that which 
 is to come." 
 
 The winter of 1817 appears to have been unusu- 
 
GREENLAND. 113 
 
 ally severe, and the frequency of the storms from 
 the north-east increased the cold to such a degree, 
 that even the warmest clothing proved insufficient 
 to keep off' its effects. The poor Greenlanders 
 were now precluded from obtaining any subsistence 
 by fishing ; and, as their winter stock of provisions 
 was soon exhausted, they suffered severely from 
 hunger at the approach of spring. This was a 
 source of unspeakable grief to the missionaries, 
 whose hearts yearned over the hosts of half-fam- 
 ished children crying for food at their doors, whilst 
 prudence reminded them of their own limited 
 means, and of the legitimate claims of fifty-seven 
 boys and sixty girls, then in their own schools. — 
 Providential aid, however, was much nearer than 
 had been anticipated ; for, when the natives were 
 in imminent danger of perishing with famine, the 
 weather suddenly changed, an opening was made 
 in the ice, and an ample supply of seals and her- 
 rings dispersed the general gloom, and excited the 
 most lively gratitude to that adorable Being, who 
 *'openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desire of 
 every living thing." 
 
 In a letter from Lichtenau, dated the 3d of July, 
 1818, the excellent missionary Beck observes : — 
 *' Most of our Greenlanders have learned that truly 
 important lesson, that there is no good in ourselves ; 
 but that we must keep close to Jesus, as poor 
 creatures standing in constant need of his help and 
 mercy. They make these declarations with full 
 conviction of heart, and we see manifest proofs 
 that the Holy Spirit is daily guiding them into all 
 truth. Of the greatest part of our congregation we 
 may say with confidence, that their words and walk 
 give us great joy and encouragement. Many of 
 the excluded persons have been led, with weep- 
 10* 
 
114 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 ing and supplications, to confess the error of their 
 ways, and to return to the fold. And those who 
 remain faithful have been preserved, in the convic- 
 tion that real happiness and rest are only to be 
 found in Jesus. 
 
 "Compared with other missions, our increase 
 is but small. One girl, however, has been bap- 
 tized ; and five families have come to us from the 
 heathen, all of whom assert that it is their earnest 
 desire to be converted to Christ. This they con- 
 tinually repeat, and, in process of time, we shall 
 know whether the declaration proceeds from their 
 hearts ; for, during the summer, they leave us with 
 the rest, to go in search of food, and to procure a 
 stock for winter consumption. 
 
 "There are many heathen in the south, in the 
 vicinity of Staatenhook, but their hearts are as cold 
 as the ice by which they are surrounded. In June, 
 we had a considerable company here, who accom- 
 panied our people during the herring fishery ; but 
 not one of them evinced the least inclination to 
 listen to the truths of the gospel. They all re- 
 turned home, the ways of the heathen being more 
 congenial with their dispositions than those of the 
 people of God. We hope, however, that a time 
 will come, when they shall not only hear, but be- 
 lieve." 
 
 In the same year, five families of the believing 
 Greenlanders, who had hitherto lived in the out- 
 places, took up their abode at Uchtenfels, regard- 
 less of the displeasure of the traders ; and, as the 
 congregation Unew how essentially both they and 
 their children would be benefited by residing under 
 the eye of the missionaries, they received them 
 with the greatest pleasure and affection. It seem- 
 ed, indeed, on this occasion, as if there were a 
 
GREENLAND. » 115 
 
 peculiar revival of life and love among the people ; 
 and whenever the church was opened for Divine 
 worship, it was filled with serious and attentive 
 hearers. During the Christmas holidays, both 
 old and young afforded the most pleasing demon- 
 strations that the Holy Spirit w'as progressively 
 leading them into all truth ; and one day in partic- 
 ular, a party of them came, of their own accord, to 
 the front of the mission house, and began to sing 
 hymns of praise and thanksgiving, accompanied by 
 musical instruments, with such solemnity and 
 devotion, that none of the brethren within doors 
 could refrain from tears. The singers themselves 
 were evidently affected by the great truths which 
 hung upon their lips ; and one of them was heard 
 to say afterwards : — " I have often attended and 
 assisted at such solemnities, but I never felt what I 
 experienced on this occasion. Surely our Saviour 
 was present with us to-day. We have made a new 
 and entire surrender of our hearts to him, and he 
 has graciously accepted them. O that we may 
 evince our thankfulness, by keeping the promises 
 which we have made, and by living more to his 
 honour !" During this year, five persons were 
 received into the congregation at Lichtenfels, and 
 eleven were admitted to a participation of the holy 
 communion. 
 
116 l^ISSIONARY RECOBDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Increase in numbers and in grace — The new hymn 
 book — Jubilee of brother Beck's labours — Recon- 
 noitering voyage — Interesting facts — Translation of 
 the New Testament completed — Letters from two 
 converts to the British and Foreign Bible Society — 
 Solicitude felt for the young people— Establishment 
 of a fourth settlement — The new church — Addresses 
 of the assistant Nathaniel — Usefulness among 
 children. 
 
 In a letter dated Lichtenfels, June 25th, 1819, the 
 missionary Kleinschmidt says : — " During the last 
 winter a great quantity of snow fell, but our Green- 
 landers were very constant in their attendance at 
 church. The Lord our Saviour has shown great 
 mercy towards us and our people. His love and 
 power have been manifested among us, and the 
 congregation has increased, both in number and 
 in the grace of Jesus Christ. More adults have 
 been baptized than for many years past ; and in 
 all our meetings the Lord has been present, to bless 
 us. It was to us an easy and delightful duty, to 
 speak to our people of the sufferings and death 
 of our Saviour ; for their hearts were prepared to 
 receive the doctrines of the cross, and the Divine 
 power of the word was displayed in their walk and 
 conversation. Often have we shed tears of joy 
 and thankfulness, for this singular proof of the 
 mercy of God towards us ; and when we have 
 joined our dear people in their songs of praise 
 'unto Him that was slain, and hath redeemed us 
 unto God by his blood,' we have felt an emotion of 
 rapture which words were inadequate to describe." 
 Soon after this letter was despatched to Europe, 
 
GREENLAND. 117 
 
 two heathen families came to Lichtenau, and gave 
 great cause of rejoicing to the missionaries at that 
 settlement. For a considerable time they had re- 
 sided in the neighbourhood, and had frequently 
 been visited and exhorted by the brethren, but 
 never before seemed incKned to attend to their eter- 
 nal interest. One of the men, who for a long 
 series of years, had been addressed by the mission- 
 ary Beck, now said to him, "How is it that, not- 
 withstanding you have so frequently spoken to me 
 about Jesus Christ, your words never made an im- 
 pression on my heart ; but now I begin to reflect 
 upon them as I never did before ] What a stupid 
 creature have I been, in approving the ways of 
 the heathen, and persisting in the practice of their 
 customs ! Now, however, I have, for the first 
 time, discovered where true happiness is to be 
 found." This language was fully corroborated by 
 the old man's deportment ; and after a suitable time 
 he was baptized, together with his wife, his two 
 sons, and his daughter ; and they all asserted, with 
 great energy, that they had no other desire than to 
 live devoted to God, and united to his people. 
 
 The introduction of a Greenland hymn book 
 about this time, seems to have been productive of 
 much good. The believing natives eagerly adopt- 
 ed it in their family devotions, and such as were 
 unable to read, asked others to repeat the hymns 
 to them, and thus committed them to memory. 
 " One evening," says Mr. Beck, " I entered a 
 Greenlander's house, and saw one of our native as- 
 sistants, sitting with his hymn book in his hand, 
 and a num.ber of boys sitting before him, each with 
 his book, employed in learning the verses, and 
 singing delightfully, whilst the other inmates were 
 quietly listening to them. In another house, some 
 
118 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 of our sisters were teaching the girls to sing the 
 new tunes ; and we have had a general meeting 
 for singing every week." 
 
 On the 29th of June, 1820, the venerable mis- 
 sionary Beck, then in the eightieth year of his age, 
 celebrated the jubilee of his labours ; having on that 
 day completed the fiftieth year of his services in 
 Greenland. His father was employed in it during 
 forty-three years. " The Greenlanders," he re- 
 marks, " have no correct idea of such a number of 
 years, and cannot understand the design of a public 
 celebration, which has been proposed. Nay, rather 
 would I celebrate it in stillness and private medita- 
 tion, in humility and a conscious sense of my un- 
 worthiness, and in praising my merciful Lord and 
 Master, who has shown such favour to an unfaith- 
 ful servant. I see many here to whom I had the 
 privilege of speaking, ' a word in season,' when 
 they were wild heathen, and I rejoice that they are 
 now faithful followers of Christ, and adorn the reli- 
 gion which they profess." 
 
 A strong desire having existed for some time to 
 establish a fourth settlement in the neighbourhood 
 of Staatenhook, or Cape Farewell, in consequence 
 of the wishes expressed by the heathen in that quar- 
 ter for the introduction of the gospel among them, 
 the missionary Kleinschmidt was directed to under- 
 take a reconnoitering voyage, southward from Lich- 
 tenau, during the summer of 1821. He therefore 
 left home on the 3d of July, the whole company 
 consisting of thirteen adults and four children, in 
 two women's boats. 
 
 During the first day they proceeded about thirty 
 English miles, and in the evening arrived at the last 
 Danish settlement towards the south, where they 
 had a most hospitable reception from the resident 
 
GREENLAND, 119 
 
 merchant. This was the more welcome, in con- 
 sequence of their having just escaped from a violent 
 shower, which not only drenched their clothes, but 
 threatened to fill their boats. But their spirits were 
 much daunted, on hearing that the sea was so com- 
 pletely covered with drift ice towards the south, 
 that it would be impracticable for their boats to 
 proceed. To increase their apprehensions a storm 
 arose from the same quarter, which might naturally 
 be expected to drive the ice towards the land, and 
 thus frustrate the whole design of their under- 
 taking. 
 
 In this emergency Mr. Kleinschmidt cried unto 
 the Lord for help, and he was pleased to hear the 
 petitions of his servant. On the morning of the 
 25th, the storm died away; and, from the summit 
 of a lofty hill, but little ice was to be seen. On 
 the 6th, they resumed their voyage, having been 
 joined by a party of heathen from the south, so that 
 their little flotilla was augmented to three boats and 
 eight kajaks ; and, in the forenoon, they passed a 
 lofty promontory, near to which, a few years ago, 
 a boat filled with Southlanders was upset, and all 
 on board perished. 
 
 Having heard that in this neighbourhood several 
 boats of straggling Southland heathen had lately 
 arrived, Mr. Kleinschmidt felt a great desire to visit 
 them, and to tell them of the way of salvation ; and 
 two of the Greenlanders in their kajaks serv^ed as 
 guides. In the evening they discovered their camp ; 
 and on seeing them approach, the strange Green- 
 landers called on them to come forward, promising 
 to accompany them to the south. Here they found 
 twelve tents ; and, on the other side of the creek 
 up which they had moved, there appeared an equal 
 number, filled with a great many people. 
 
120 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 When Mr. Kleinschmidt stepped on shore, he 
 found himself in a crowd, all pressing forward to 
 bid him welcome ; and, before he could begin to 
 address them, both old and young frequently ex- 
 claimed, " We are quite in earnest, we will all 
 be converted." When he replied, that having that 
 opinion of them, he had felt a great desire to visit 
 them, and to speak to them of their Saviour ; they 
 answered, "Well, then, you are indeed worthy 
 that we should thank you, and we will pay atten- 
 tion to your words." On expressing his surprise 
 at finding such a host of people here, they said, 
 " What, did you suppose that we heathen in the 
 south were only a few 1 O no ! We are a great 
 multitude !" Soon after, poor old Ajangoak, whom 
 Mr. Kleinschmidt had seen twenty years ago at 
 New Hernnhut, and who had since grown quite 
 blind, came creeping along, supported by a stick. 
 Reappeared deeply affected, and said, "I repent 
 truly, that I formerly paid no attention to your 
 words, and that I have put off my conversion so 
 long. I am nov/ near unto death ; but I always 
 exhort my children to remove to you, and to be 
 converted, which they promise to do." His chil- 
 dren confirmed his words. The poor man heard 
 with great eagerness of Jesus, and his love to 
 sinners. 
 
 As the day was far spent in conversation, the 
 Greenlanders were called together to a public 
 meeting; none remained behind in their tents; 
 even Ajangoak got somebody to lead him to the 
 place, and upwards of three hundred were assem- 
 bled in the open field. The missionary sat down 
 on an eminence, the assistants close to him ; the 
 men sat down to the right, and the women to the 
 lefl, in regular order. There was no need of com- 
 
GHEENLAND. 121 
 
 manding silence, for the old people immediately 
 exhorted the young and the children to sit quite 
 still, and the requirement was promptly obeyed. 
 
 " I could have wished," writes Mr. Kleinschmidt, 
 "that all our dear friends who love the cause of 
 God among the heathen, had been present to behold 
 such a scene, and to see so many heathens sitting 
 in silent devotion, listening to the word of God. I 
 first sang a hymn, treating of the invitation given 
 by oi.'r Saviour to sinners of every description, to 
 come unto him for pardon and peace. I then deliv- 
 ered a discourse on the words of our Lord, * Go 
 ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
 every creature.' After which the assistant Benja- 
 mm began, and seemed not to know, from zeal and 
 fervency of spirit, where to stop. But though both 
 discourses were long, the attention and eagerness 
 with which they were heard did not in the least 
 abate. Among other words of exhortation, Benja- 
 min said, 'All that you have now heard of Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour, and of his bitter sufferings and 
 death for us, is strictly true, and no falsehood. We 
 have made experience of the power thereof in our 
 hearts. We came out from amongst the heathen, 
 and have attended to true happiness and rest in 
 Jesus, and as you are here like sheep going astray, 
 we come to show you the way to him, for you may 
 become as happy as we are.' When he had done, 
 we sung that air, ' Thou God of my salvation,' 
 which sounded delightfully among the bleak rocks 
 and mountains with which we were surrounded. 
 The Christian Greenlanders of our party, raised 
 their sweet and powerful voices ; for I had pur- 
 posely chosen, not only persons of exemplary con- 
 duct for my companions, but such as had good and 
 melodious voices. The text appointed for this day 
 11 
 
122 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 of rejoicing to us all, was peculiarly suited to our 
 situation; 'He satisfied them with the bread of 
 heaven. He opened the rock, and the waters 
 gushed out,' Psal. cv. 40, 41." 
 
 On the 7th, all the inhabitants of the little en- 
 campment first seen by the missionary party set 
 out with them for the south ; they were afterwards 
 joined by two boats from the opposite shore, 
 Afler being placed in much danger, they reached 
 Narksamio, the southernmost point of the continent 
 of Greenland. Here they were cordially welcomed 
 by the people ; and, after an interesting conversa- 
 tion on the possibility of some missionaries coming 
 to reside among them, Mr. Kleinschmidt addressed 
 them in the open field, from the passage, " Unto 
 you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteous- 
 ness arise with healing in his wings;" and the 
 greatest order and solemnity prevailed during the 
 discourse. The next morning, some aged females 
 expressed a strong desire to hear something more 
 about Jesus ; and the assistant Shem, in speaking 
 to the people, not only exhorted them to seek the 
 Saviour with full purpose of heart, but gave them 
 an affecting account of the mercy of Christ, as illus- 
 trated in his own experience. "Even we," he 
 exclaimed, "wretched sinner as I was, Jesus did 
 not despise, but sought me with unwearied dili- 
 gence; and, because he is so gracious, he does not 
 withdraw his power, but resolves to preserve me as 
 his own property. And thus he is disposed towards 
 all who have a desire wrought in their souls to 
 know him, and to be converted by his Holy 
 Spirit." 
 
 As the Greenlanders had stated that at the ex- 
 tremity of the bay there was a considerable quan- 
 jiy of birch-wood, the missionary and two of the 
 
GREENLAND. 123 
 
 native assistants set out in their boat, and, on land- 
 ing, walked several miles into the country ; but they 
 found nothing but low bushes, such as abound in 
 most parts of this district. They then began to 
 ascend a lofty hill, in order to obtain a view towards 
 the eastern shore ; but the heat was so oppressive, 
 and the mosquitoes were so numerous and trouble- 
 some, that they were unable to reach the summit. 
 They, however, discovered a beautiful grassy val- 
 ley, and a fine lake, both of which appeared to ex- 
 tend to the eastern sea. 
 
 Fresh intelligence, on the part of the natives, in- 
 duced Mr. Kleinschmidt and his friends to make a 
 second excursion; and accordingly, on the 11th, 
 they rowed the whole day along the coast, leaving 
 Staatenhook behind them, and the continent of 
 Greenland on the left ; but their search after wood 
 proved unavailing. On going on shore, however, 
 to seek quarters for the night, they were agreeably 
 surprised to find some tents filled with straggling 
 Greenlanders, who had come hither in search of 
 provisions ; and a favourable opportunity was thus 
 afforded of addressino-them, on the interestino; sub- 
 ject of the love of Christ, and his wiUingness to 
 save all that come unto God by him. 
 
 On the 1 3th, after affectionately commending the 
 inhabitants of this eastern coast to the care of the 
 Almighty Redeemer, the brethren set out on their 
 return ; and, though labouring against both wind 
 and tide, they proceeded without much difficulty 
 till they got round to the western side of Staaten- 
 hook, when the strong north wind came full upon 
 them. The sea then became so boisterous that the 
 female rowers were put to great inconvenience, and 
 the whole party were exposed to imminent danger 
 from the violence of the waves. At length, however, 
 
184 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 they were able to run into a small bay for shelter; 
 and the following day they walked across the coun- 
 try to Narksamio, a distance of about four miles. 
 Here the inhabitants immediately assembled from 
 both sides of the water, and the missionary ad- 
 dressed them on the heart-thrilling subject of our 
 Lord's agony in the garden : a subject which must 
 always be identified with the success of Christian 
 missions in Greenland. Some following days were 
 also devoted to the instruction of the people, and 
 when the missionary party was about to leave them, 
 the regret they expressed was equalled by the 
 gratitude they evinced. 
 
 The friends from Lichtenau were accompanied 
 to their tents by several of the heathen ; and, when 
 they set out on their return home, they were at- 
 tended by a boat full of the inhabitants from Staaten- 
 hook, whose interest had doubtless been excited by 
 the tidings they had heard. A northern gale had 
 providentially cleared the sea of ice ; and, as the 
 female rowers exerted all their strength, they pro- 
 ceeded with great rapidity, and at length arrived in 
 perfect safety at Lichtenau, grateful for the protec- 
 tion they had enjoyed, and rejoicing in the pros- 
 pect of their mission being crowned with ultimate 
 success. 
 
 In a letter dated Lichtenfels, June 2d, 1821, the 
 missionary Gorcke remarks : — " Brother Klein- 
 schmidt, at Lichtenau, has now made a fair copy 
 of the whole New Testament in the Greenland 
 language. We have all revised and corrected it 
 according to our best ability, and it is to be sent to 
 England this year, to be presented to the venerable 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, who have gene- 
 rously oifered to print it for us. The society will 
 judge for themselves of the number of copies which 
 
GREENLAND. 125 
 
 will be wanted, when they are informed that the 
 three congregations under the care of the brethren 
 consist of 1278 persons, old and young: comprising 
 359 at New Herrnhut, 331 at Lichtenfels, and 588 
 at Lichtenau." 
 
 When the natives were informed that the New 
 Testament was ready for the press, they expressed 
 their joy in a very lively and grateful manner. 
 Two of them wrote letters to the committee of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, of which literal 
 translations are subjoined. The first is from Ben- 
 jamin, the assistant missionary residing at Licht- 
 enau ; he expresses himself as follows : — 
 
 "Beloved and highly respected, — We have this 
 winter had an employ which has given us great 
 pleasure, namely, the revision of the books of the 
 New Testament, written with our own words 
 [translated into Greenlandish ;] and as they are 
 now made perfectly useful to all, we are very 
 thankful, and have with earnestness considered 
 well of it ; and that they might be quite intelligible, 
 we let our ears be always open to them, [we 
 listened to the reading of them very attentively.] 
 
 "And now we beg of you, that you would 
 cause them to be printed, being well translated, that 
 we may hereafter be able to read the very glorious 
 word of God, which has administered so much joy 
 and comfort to us. As our words, being those of 
 Greenlanders, are every way deficient to express 
 spiritual things, it was on that account very diffi- 
 cult to translate the epistles of St. Paul ; we shall, 
 therefore, very greatly rejoice when these books 
 reach us, and whenever they appear in our coun- 
 try we shall feel great gratitude. I, who am a 
 Greenland assistant in the congregation here, have 
 11* 
 
126 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 written this : my name is Benjamin. The Green- 
 landers, who love you much, wish it may be 
 always well with you." 
 
 The other letter was written by a converted 
 Greenlander, named Shem. 
 
 ''March 2Uh, 1821, Lichtenau. 
 "Beloved and highly respected, — Every day, 
 during this winter, I have matter of thanksgiving, 
 because our teachers have brought, in order for our 
 use, these words which are so delightful to hear, 
 and taken pains to make them intelligible to us, 
 which to us is a most important service. We, 
 therefore, thank our teachers, that they have made 
 them so exact, because we could not have done it 
 ourselves. We shall now await with great desire, 
 that, being so well translated, they may come back 
 to us ; and therefore humbly request, that you 
 would cause them to be printed. We also hear 
 frequently, that you are constantly praying to our 
 Saviour on our behalf; and, whenever this is told 
 us, we feel great gratitude : continue to do so until 
 death. We who live here together as a congrega- 
 tion are a great number; and as often as we come 
 together to hear the gospel of our Saviour, our 
 church is crowded, though it is very large. It is 
 very pleasant that it is so with us. Every year 
 some new people are added to us from among the 
 heathen ; and we perceive by their conduct, that 
 their hearts and ears are opened, and that our 
 Saviour reveals himself to them : and because this 
 is done for them, we rejoice over them, but parti- 
 cularly because we are bound together in brotherly 
 love. 
 
 " I write these few lines to you, and hope it will 
 
GREENLAND. 127 
 
 be pleasant to you to hear that I write out of grati- 
 tude, on account of the New Testament, and that 
 you will have it printed. I wish that this letter 
 may go the right way, and arrive at the place to 
 which it is sent, even to our beloved and united 
 with each other, [whom we love, and to whom 
 we "are united.] I wish you every good, and am 
 a Greenlander 
 
 "Shem." 
 
 In a letter from Lichtenfels, dated March, 1823, 
 brother Gorcke observes: — "Though we have, in 
 general, the greatest satisfaction in observing the 
 Christian walk and conversation of our Greenland- 
 ers, and their growth in grace at home, we some- 
 times feel much uneasiness respecting our young 
 people of both sexes, who are obliged to attend the 
 seal catching of the colonists in the out-places, 
 where they are too apt to become familiar with 
 persons by whom they are seduced to sin. It is 
 out of our power to prevent such connexions ; 
 partly because by that occupation they must earn 
 their subsistence, and partly because we are ex- 
 pected by government to encourage our people to 
 serve the merchants in every possible way, in 
 order to promote the trade of the colony. We can 
 do nothing, therefore, but pray for such people, 
 reminding them, whenever an opportunity occurs, 
 of what they have heard of the ways of salvation, 
 and warning them against the snares laid for them 
 by the enemy." 
 
 In the same year, brother Eberle, writing from 
 Lichtenau, says : — "As to our congregations here, 
 we have reason to rejoice over most of them, and 
 are particularly encouraged by seeing so many 
 heathen arrive among us, declaring their sincere 
 
128 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 desire to hear, believe, and experience the power 
 of the gospel, and to become happy followers of 
 Jesus. During the last winter, thirty-eight were 
 made partakers of the holy communion, and nine 
 were received into the congregation. During the 
 four years that I have resided here, one hundred 
 and sixteen persons from among the heathen have 
 received the rite of baptism. At the close of 1822, 
 our congregation consisted of six hundred ; com- 
 prising five hundred and seventy-one baptized, 
 and one hundred and fourteen unbaptized, under 
 instruction. And, this year, we have the pros- 
 spect of a still greater increase, as many heathen 
 from the south have sent us word that they intend 
 to come hither, and are desirous of turning with 
 their whole heart to Jesus." 
 
 The voyage of discovery, in 1821, led to the 
 establishment of a fourth settlement in the south of 
 Greenland. In 1823, Mr. Kleinschmidt visited 
 Europe; and, in February, 1824, he sailed with a 
 brother missionary from Copenhagen, for Green- 
 land, in a large vessel, which also carried out the 
 necessary building materials for the new settlement. 
 After a stormy and dangerous voyage, they arrived 
 at New Herrnhut. 
 
 Having rested here a few days, Mr. Klein- 
 schmidt and his assistants proceeded to Lichten- 
 fcls and Lichtenau, and were gratified by hearing 
 that the heathen at Staatenhook were anxiously 
 waiting their arrival. Here their number was in- 
 creased by the addition of three assistants ; and the 
 whole party having left Lichtenau, arrived in safety 
 at the site of their future settlement, to which was 
 given the name of Fredericksthal, or Frederick's 
 Vale. 
 
 The brethren were relieved from the inconven- 
 
GREENLAND. 129 
 
 ience to which they had been subjected by the 
 want of a suitable residence, in September, 1826, 
 when they entered their new house with prayer 
 and praise. They could now add the apartment 
 formerly occupied as a dwelling house to their 
 chapel ; but even then it was insufficient to accom- 
 modate the crowds that flocked to hear the preach- 
 ing of the gospel. The brethren, therefore, de- 
 sired to have a church like those erected at the 
 other settlements ; and this desire, it appears, was 
 granted. 
 
 "At length," says Mr. Kleinschmidt, "the ship 
 has brought the frame-work of our church, which 
 before seemed impracticable; but, this year, the 
 directors of the Greenland colony insisted upon it, 
 (as brother Reuss informs me,) that the whole 
 should be transported hither; and he supposes that 
 it was by an order from the king. Last year we 
 received our provision house, the erection of which 
 is already completed. 
 
 "Who could have expected this? Is it not a 
 proof that the Lord is with us ! It remains as true 
 now as formerly, that his compassions never fail; 
 and it is no wonder that that exclamation is so often 
 repeated in the Psalms, 'O give thanks unto the 
 Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth 
 for ever.' 
 
 " When the whole of our plan is executed, you 
 may represent to yourself the dwelling house 
 standing in the middle, on one side the church, 
 and on the other the provision house and stable; 
 and so contrived, that we can pass from the one to 
 the other under cover, which is a very necessary 
 precaution in this place. The whole will look 
 beautiful, with a garden surrounded with a wall 
 five feet high. The garden is raised above the 
 
130 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 surrounding level, which no other settlement here 
 can boast of. But the chief point is, that the beauty 
 of our settlement be within, and that the grace of 
 our Lord and Saviour may prevail ; for the things 
 of the earth are dead, and perish. 
 
 " When I first came to Greenland, a situation 
 for which from my childhood I felt a peculiar affec- 
 tion, and offered myself for that particular mission, 
 I prayed to the Lord that he would never let me 
 see the downfall of his Greenland Zion. He has, 
 indeed, heard my prayers; and when, at the close 
 of the year 1827, I wrote down the number of our 
 congregation, being two hundred and seventy, of 
 whom not one is for the present excluded, I could 
 not but shed tears of joy, and exclaim, ' O that it 
 might always be in the same state !' I frequently 
 tell my Greenland hearers, that they have nothing 
 to fear but sin, and the devil, its author. Lately, 
 ' fourteen heathen desired their names to be written 
 down, and more are expected to come to us. — 
 Our congregation, therefore, including the new 
 people, counts upwards of three hundred. May 
 they all listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, 
 and seek shelter against the enemy of our souls, 
 under the wings of their Almighty Protector !" 
 
 The following extract of a letter from the same 
 missionary, shows that the Divine blessing still 
 continued to attend the preaching of the truth at 
 this settlement. 
 
 "It is indeed true, my dear brother, that the 
 all-conquering word of the atoning sufferings and 
 death of Jesus, approves itself the power of God 
 in the hearts of these people ; and I cannot de- 
 scribe the impression made upon them, when this 
 great subject is treated of, especially at baptisms 
 and communions. I think the substance of all 
 
GREENLAND. 131 
 
 our singing and preaching should be continually, 
 • Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath re- 
 deemed us to God by his blood.' If I should live 
 here to see the centenary jubilee of the Greenland 
 mission, I think I should enjoy a heavenly feast. 
 As a youth, I often thought what delight it would 
 afford me, to see a congregation of converts from 
 among the heathen ; and thanks to our Saviour, I 
 have both seen and had the favour to serve such a 
 flock of Christ for a number of years. I never 
 wished to omit meeting the Greenland congrega- 
 tion at church ; and my greatest delight is to join 
 this dear people in singing the praises of their 
 Redeemer, and to hear them declare what the Lord 
 hath done for their souls." 
 
 On one occasion, the assistant Nathaniel, in the 
 morning meeting, spoke as follows: — "Let every 
 one now attend to me. Dear brethren and sisters, 
 whenever I am called upon to speak to you, I feel 
 like a poor child who does not know what to say; 
 I am therefore ashamed, and tremble before you 
 and before the Lord, for I have been a heathen, and 
 spent much time in ignorance and sin : but hear 
 me ; I will speak only a few words to you, and 
 tell you that the Creator of heaven and earth came 
 to us irom heaven, shed his blood, and died for 
 you. And why did he do this? He tells us him- 
 self, in his holy word, that the thoughts and imagi- 
 nations of the human heart are evil ; he therefore 
 shed his precious blood, to wash and cleanse us 
 from sin. On your account he hung upon the 
 cross, pierced in hands, feet and side, and covered 
 with wounds from head to foot. He endured re- 
 vilings and buffetings for us ; and, if we always 
 had him present before us in this form, we should 
 hate sin. He heals our hearts from that incurable 
 
132 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 disease, and clothes us in his blood-bought right- 
 eousness. Therefore, my dear friends, consider 
 Him who has suffered so much for you, and apply 
 to him every day of your lives ; you will not then 
 be confounded before him, on the day of his ap- 
 pearing." "It was affecting and edifying to us," 
 says the missionary, " to hear such a discourse de- 
 livered by a man, who, but a few years ago, was 
 a blind heathen; and the words of our Saviour oc- 
 curred to us, 'I will manifest myself unto them.' 
 Our faith is strengthened, that He will manifest 
 himself unto many more." 
 
 On another occasion, the assistant Nathaniel 
 spoke as follows: — "We ought, my brethren, to 
 be very thankful to our Saviour, that he has sent 
 us teachers of his word; for it is said, 'Man doth 
 not live by bread alone, but by every word that 
 Cometh from the mouth of God.' This word of 
 God our Saviour is daily proclaimed to us by our 
 teachers ; and I, too, have heard it as the word of 
 life, proceeding from the mouth of God. You 
 know that I was a heathen, and committed many 
 sins; but when I turned to Jesus, and with many 
 tears confessed my sins to him, he said to me, ' Be 
 of good cheer ; thy sins be forgiven thee,' but sin 
 no more. This command I wish to follow. Do 
 you the same, my brethren ; then, even my poor 
 words will be words of life to you : speaking of 
 dress, and of eating and drinking, will not feed our 
 souls." 
 
 The Greenland brethren often expressed them- 
 selves with great simplicity. Thus one of them 
 said :-*— " If strange thoughts enter my heart, I turn 
 away from them to our Saviour; for I think, From 
 whom do I receive peace and happiness ? Assuredly 
 from him alone." The language of another was : — 
 
GREENLAND. 133 
 
 *'I am naturally of a fiery temper: and, though my 
 anger does not last long, I am ashamed of myself; 
 for I know that a true believer ought not to yield 
 to his pas^on." 
 
 While some of the aged were made partakers of 
 Divine grace, it is pleasing to observe that the 
 Lord showed mercy to the young. Of this the 
 following are instances: — 
 
 "May. — During this month many heathens 
 visited us; and, on the 21st, a boat filled with 
 them arrived, and related that, being in a great 
 hurry to get to the north, they had intended to pass 
 by, but that a little girl, six years old, had not 
 ceased with tears to beg that they would call here, 
 as she had a great desire to see us ; they therefore 
 could not resist the child's entreaties. When the 
 httle girl was told what the children here had 
 learned during the winter, and what they had 
 heard of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and how pleasant 
 it had been to them, and when we showed her their 
 little books, the poor child was greatly affected, and 
 stood, with eyes full of tears, as it were in deep 
 meditation. On the contrary, the conduct of the 
 old people was marked with indifference, and 
 nothing seemed to make the least impression on 
 them. 
 
 " On the 23d, we spoke with all our children, 
 and had much pleasure in perceiving thrit they in- 
 creased in the knowledge and love of Jesus, as 
 a Friend of children. A mother related, that, 
 whenever her little boy awoke in the morning, he 
 exclaimed, ' Jesus is my Saviour ; he alone is 
 worth loving !' 
 
 "April 11th. — A child, four years old, called 
 Fabea, departed this life. She suffered extreme 
 pain from an internal complaint, but her joy in the 
 12 
 
1341 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 experience of the love of our Saviour was remark- 
 ably great ; and^ whenever she had any ease, she 
 sung praises to him, the Friend of children. Her 
 mother gave us the most edifying account of her 
 latter end. 
 
 "On the 26th, a widower, named Abia, de- 
 parted this life. He, with his wife and eight chil- 
 dren, joined us in this place, in company of thirty- 
 nine heathen Greenlanders. He was baptized on 
 the 19th of December, 1824, and walked worthy of 
 the grace he received. As a heathen, he had dis- 
 tinguished himself by an extremely frolicsome tem- 
 per; but, after his baptism, he grew serious, quiet, 
 and very modest. Having, as a heathen, led a very 
 loose life, we could not help fearing and cautioning 
 him against a relapse into his former habits. He 
 replied, 'I have found true happiness in commu- 
 nion with our Saviour, and that I will not by any 
 means forego.* To this resolution he remained 
 faithful to his end. When brother Kleinschmidt 
 visited him on his death-bed, weak as he was, he 
 lifted himself up, and said, ' Pray sing that hymn ;' 
 pointing to one which showed that his heart was in 
 communion with the Lord.' 
 
 "He was followed, on the 5th of November, by 
 Seth, a communicant, and a very aged man ; for 
 some of his children were already far advancing in 
 years, by whom he was well nursed and cared for. 
 He came to live here soon after we settled in this 
 place : after his conversion it was edifying to see 
 how cheerful and happy he was in hie soul, and 
 how attentive to all instruction, public and private, 
 as if he were determined to make up for lost time. 
 Whenever we spoke to him of the love of Jesus to 
 sinners, and especially to his people, his whole 
 countenance seemed lighted up, and by various 
 
GREENLA^'D. 135 
 
 signs he confirmed every word. He was, indeed, 
 an instance of what the grace of God can effect, 
 even in one long buried in heathenism ; and if his 
 spiritual enjoyments were so great on earth, what 
 will they be now that he is with the Lord for ever ! 
 Yes, indeed, if we have to travel ever so far through 
 snow and ice, to gain one soul for Christ, such a 
 decided proof of his power would be a sufficient 
 reward." 
 
 Although but little direct communication reached 
 this country in the year 1834, the want was par- 
 tially supplied by the information brought by two 
 of the missionaries, who arrived at Copenhagen in 
 the autumn. One of these was brother Grillich, 
 who retired from his long and faithful services in 
 the mission of nearly half a century. The ac- 
 counts they furnished of the state of the different 
 settlements were very satisfactory, but presented 
 few circumstances of novelty requiring special 
 notice. 
 
 The missionaries had to lament, as they did in 
 former times, the dispersion of their numbers, 
 which continued to be required by the Danish in- 
 spector of the Greenland trade, and which greatly 
 impeded their spiritual care of their flocks. In the 
 two northern settlements this was particularly re- 
 gretted, as the severity of the previous winter ren- 
 dered it impossible for the brethren to visit the 
 out-places, or for the Greenlanders residing in them 
 to visit the stations. At Lichtenau, more than half 
 the congregation were thus dispersed, but the out- 
 residents had been able to attend at the settlement 
 at the festival seasons in the winter, and the mis- 
 sionaries had also visited them at the out-places. 
 On all such occasions, the latter appear to have been 
 
196 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 well satisfied with the steadiness and faithfulness of 
 spirit exhibited by the people. 
 
 The cold at Lichtenfels was most intense, the 
 frost having continued from September to May, 
 with Fahrenheit's thermometer at times as low as 
 twenty degrees below zero. The sea being blocked 
 up with ice, the Greenlanders could obtain a very 
 scanty supply of provisions, and the scarcity at last 
 amounted to a famine ; nor could they warm their 
 dwellings, having no blubber to burn in their lamps. 
 To this distressing statement, however, the mis- 
 sionaries add : — " Although the winter was in this 
 respect most afflicting, the prevailing distress was 
 not unattended with spiritual benefit. Want of sus- 
 tenance for the body, proved with many the means 
 of causing them more eagerly to seek for the true 
 bread that can nourish the soul, and to lay hold of 
 the comfort to be derived from God's holy word ; 
 and our brethren witnessed many striking examples 
 of confidence in God, of true contentment, and of 
 lively gratitude." 
 
 At the other stations, where the cold was some- 
 what less severe, the people suffered no actual 
 want ; but the missionaries experienced a defi- 
 ciency of fuel, both of wood, which they are obliged 
 to seek at a considerable distance, and of coals. 
 The needful supply of this necessary of life, in 
 such a climate, calls for the active attention of their 
 Christian friends in these more favoured regions. 
 
 A new chapel was opened at Fredericksthal, to 
 the great comfort and benefit of that interesting 
 settlement. The spiritual state of the congrega- 
 tion was such as to afford satisfaction and encour- 
 agement to the missionaries. 
 
 The following is the last report from Greenland : 
 
GREENLAND. 137 
 
 — New Herrnhut, four brethren ; Lichtenfels, three 
 brethren; Lichtenau, three brethren; Freder- 
 icksthal, three brethren: eight being married, and 
 five single. The number of labourers is 21 ; com- 
 municants, 744; baptized adults, 329; baptized 
 children, 606: total in church fellowship, 1679. 
 Candidates for baptism, new people, and excluded, 
 127 : making a total under instruction of 1806. 
 
 12 
 
138 LABRADOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Labrador — The country and people described — Solici- 
 tude of tVie United Brethren in their behalf — Arrival 
 of the first missionaries — Their early efforts — First 
 settlement, called Nain — Confidence of the heathen 
 in the missionaries — Encouragement afforded by the 
 native Anauke — Melancholy consequences of a 
 voyage — Another settlement formed at Okkak — 
 Remarkable preservation of two missionaries — 
 Formation of a third settlement, called Hopedale — 
 Striking description, given by some of the natives, 
 of the effects of the gospel — Ravages of disease — 
 The native Tuglawina — Affecting loss of brother 
 Reiman. 
 
 Labrador lies on the east side of Hudson's Bay, 
 extending from latitude 57^ to 60^ north. Al- 
 though this latitude is not as high by several 
 degrees as that of Greenland, yet the cold here is 
 far more intense. The reason assigned for this 
 is, that the north-west wind, which is the severest, 
 comes over an arm of the sea to the settlements in 
 Greenland, by which means the cold is lessened : 
 on the contrary, this severe wind which prevails 
 the greater part of winter in Labrador, comes to 
 that coast over an immense frozen continent. 
 During the winter, Fahrenheit's thermometer often 
 falls thirty or even more degrees below zero, and 
 though the houses of the missionaries are heated 
 by large cast iron stoves, the windows and walls are 
 all the winter covered with ice, and the bed clothes 
 freeze to the walls. Rum freezes in the air like 
 water, and rectified spirits soon become thick, like 
 oil. From December to June, the sea is so com- 
 pletely frozen over, that no open water is to be 
 
LABRADOR. 139 
 
 seen. Some of the missionaries venturing once, 
 during the month of February, to make a journey 
 from Nain to some Esquimaux, living at the dis- 
 tance of forty miles, endured extreme hardships 
 from the cold. Though wrapped in furs, yet their 
 eyelids froze together in such a manner, that they 
 were continually obliged to pull them asunder, and 
 by constant rubbing prevent them from closing. 
 One of them returned with a pain in his side ; an- 
 other, with his hands frozen and swollen like a 
 bladder ; and it was only through God's mercy that 
 their lives were preserved. It is no uncommon 
 case in the winter, for some of the natives to be 
 found frozen to death. The few summer months, 
 on the other hand, are very hot ; the thermometer 
 sometimes rising to the eighty -sixth degree of 
 Fahrenheit. Swarms of musquitoes infest the air, 
 whose sting frequently causes painful swellings. 
 
 The coast is but thinly inhabited ; and the Es- 
 quimaux ditfer little in their general manners and 
 mode of living from the Greenlanders, of whose 
 language theirs is only a dialect. In summer, they 
 live in tents constructed like those in Greenland, 
 but their winter habitations are built in a very dif- 
 ferent manner. For this purpose they choose a 
 large drift of snow, and dig an oval hole in it, in 
 size corresponding with the dimensions of the in- 
 tended house. They then cut pieces of snow, 
 three feet long, two in breadth, and one foot thick. 
 These they place in the form of an arch over the 
 hole ; and instead of a window, they cut an aper- 
 ture in the arch, in which they fix a slab of ice, 
 which admits sufficient light. The entrance into 
 the dwelling is long, winding, and very low, and a 
 slab of frozen snow answers for a door. In the 
 middle of the house they leave ' an elevation of 
 
140 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 about twenty inches high, which they cover with 
 skins, and this serves them for a place to rest and 
 to sleep on. Since the missionaries have settled in 
 the country, the natives have, by degrees, built 
 winter houses for themselves, constructed after the 
 manner of those in Greenland. 
 
 In Labrador, a sledge is drawn by a species of 
 dog, somewhat similar to a wolf in shape ; and, like 
 that animal, they never bark, but howl disagree- 
 ably. They are kept by the Esquimaux in greater 
 or smaller packs, according to the wealth of the 
 proprietor. They quietly submit to be harnessed 
 for their work, and are treated with no great mercy 
 by the savages, who make them do hard duty, and 
 at the same time allow them little food ; this con- 
 sists chiefly of offals ; or, should their master not 
 be provided with these, he leaves them to go and 
 seek dead fish or muscles on the beach. 
 
 When pinched with hunger, they will eat almost 
 any thing ; and on a journey, it is necessary to 
 secure the harness during the night, lest by devour- 
 ing it, they should render it impossible to proceed 
 in the morning. In the evening, after being un- 
 harnessed, they are left to burrow in the snow 
 wherever they please ; and in the morning, they are 
 sure to return at the call of the driver, as they then 
 receive some food. In fastening them in the har- 
 ness, they are not allowed to go abreast, but are 
 tied by separate thongs, of unequal length, to an 
 horizontal bar on the fore part of the sledge : an 
 old knowing one leads the way, running ten or 
 twelve paces before the rest, directed by the driver's 
 whip, which is very long, and can be properly 
 managed only by an Esquimaux. The others 
 follow Kke a flock of sheep. If one of them re- 
 ceive a lash, he generally bites his neighbour, and 
 
LABRADOR. 141 
 
 the bite then goes round. Their strength and 
 speed, even with an hungry stomach, are truly as- 
 tonishing. The Esquimaux, however, find it more 
 convenient to go from place to place in their boats, 
 when the sea is open, being then much less ex- 
 posed to the cold than when crossing the ice in 
 their sledges. Their journeys, therefore, are more 
 frequent in summer than in winter. 
 
 In their pagan state, the Esquimaux appear 
 rather more depraved than the Greenlanders. 
 Their ideas in reference to God, and religious and 
 moral subjects in general, are as confined as those 
 of the latter ; and in their superstitious notions and 
 practices, there is no discernible difference between 
 the two nations. The kajaks, skin boats, and other 
 implements, are of the same construction as those 
 of the Greenlanders. 
 
 The efforts of the brethren, to attempt the con- 
 version of the Esquimaux, began from those in 
 Greenland supposing that they were a branch of 
 its people. Matthew Stach, in particular, entered 
 warmly into these exertions, and applied, in the 
 year 1752, to the Hudson's Bay Company, for 
 permission to preach the gospel to the Indians be- 
 longing to their factories : but no attention was 
 at that time paid to this application. In conse- 
 quence of this failure, some of the Moravians in 
 London, joined by several well-disposed merchants, 
 fitted out a vessel to trade on the coast of Labra- 
 dor ; four brethren having declared themselves 
 willing to settle there, for the purpose of learning 
 the language, and preaching the gospel to the 
 natives. A person, named Christian Erhard, 
 offered to go with the vessel. As mate on board 
 a Dutch ship, he had been several voyages to 
 Davis's Straits in the whale fishery, and had 
 
l42 MISSIONARir RECORDS. 
 
 visited at New Herrnhut, where he had learned a 
 little Greenlandic, and was now residing at the 
 brethren's settlement at Zeist, in Holland. 
 
 Every facility being thus afforded by government 
 for establishing a mission on the coast, some of the 
 brethren in London, and other places, formed a 
 company, in order to fit out a ship to convey the 
 missionaries to Labrador, and make an annual 
 voyage thither for the purpose of supplying them 
 with provisions, and of carrying on a trade with 
 the natives. They purchased a brig of about a 
 hundred and twenty tons burthen. In this vessel 
 the three missionaries, Jens Haven, Lawrence 
 Drachart, and Stephen Jensen, sailed to Labrador, 
 in 1770, merely for the purpose of exploring the 
 coast, and fixing on a spot where to build. 
 
 They landed on an island, where they met with 
 ia number of Esquimaux, who behaved very vio- 
 ' lently till awed by the report of the ship's guns. 
 Two days after they again ventured to go on 
 shore, met the natives in a friendly manner, and 
 preached the gospel to them. In sailing from the 
 island to the main land, though but a few miles 
 distant, and having to pass between a number of 
 islets and concealed rocks, along an unknown 
 coast, without a chart or pilot, they were exposed 
 to great danger ; but were mercifully preserved, 
 and safely reached a harbour on the eastern ex- 
 tremity of the continent, to which they gave the 
 name of Unity. 
 
 Having discovered a piece of land near the har- 
 bour, suitable for a missionary settlement, they 
 found the Esquimaux not only willing to sell it 
 them, but very desirous that a company of brethren 
 might come and take possession of it. Filled 
 with gratitude to God, who had so graciously pros- 
 
LABRADOR. 143 
 
 pered their enterprise, they returned to England, 
 to spend the winter in preparing for the full com- 
 pletion of their plan. Meanwhile brother Haven 
 married, and the offer of several brethren, in addi- 
 tion to those already mentioned, to join the mis- 
 sion, was accepted, with thanksgivings to God, for 
 inducing so many of his people to sacrifice all the 
 comforts of civilized society, and to venture among 
 savages, where their sufferings must be many, and 
 their lives constantly in peril. 
 
 The whole company now consisted of three 
 married couples, a widower, and seven single 
 brethren, in all fourteen persons; some of whom 
 went out as assistants, to manage the external con- 
 cerns of the mission. Among them was also a 
 physician. Having been commended to the grace 
 of God, in a solemn meeting at the brethren's 
 chapel, in Fetter Lane, on the 8th of May, 1771, 
 they sailed in the brig Amity for Labrador, touch- 
 ing at St. John's, Newfoundland. Their voyage 
 was tedious; and the latter part of it rendered 
 hazardous, as frequent storms obliged them to run 
 into unknown bays, where they were often envi- 
 roned with large fields and mountains of ice. 
 They, however, reached the coast in safety, on the 
 9th of August. 
 
 The next day they went on shore to the place 
 previously selected, and immediately began build- 
 ing their house, the entire frame of which, together 
 with bricks and every other requisite, they had 
 brought with them from England ; and towards the 
 end of September, the building was so far com- 
 pleted, that they could inhabit two rooms. They 
 surrounded it with palisades; for, as one of them 
 writes, " their situation was critical ; it was as if 
 each with one of his hands wrought in the work, 
 
144 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and with the other held a weapon." They found 
 it needful to be constantly on their guard against a 
 nation to whom robbery and murder had become 
 habitual. Their apprehensions, however, were 
 happily not realized ; for they soon discovered a 
 striking difference between the disposition of the 
 natives and that which they manifested on their 
 first visit. Before, they were bold and impudent, 
 looked on the Europeans as dogs, and called them 
 barbarians, while they styled themselves men; 
 but now, they were quiet and modest, expressed 
 their desire to hear the " good news," and of their 
 own accord showed that they had no deadly weapons 
 secreted either in their clothes or kajaks. 
 
 To the place chosen for their habitation, the 
 brethren gave the name of Nain. It is so situated, 
 that both the Nuenguak tribe, who reside in the 
 island, and the other Esquimaux, who usually travel 
 from the south to the north, can pass through the 
 settlement. 
 
 The brethren improved every opportunity of 
 preaching to the natives, especially brother Dra- 
 chart, who was the greatest proficient in the lan- 
 guage, and devoted himself wholly to this work. — 
 The Esquimaux generally listened to it with si- 
 lence, and expressed their astonishment. A few 
 treated it with contempt, but there was reason to 
 think, that, in other instances, the good seed would 
 become productive. Notwithstanding the exces- 
 sive cold in winter, some of the brethren ventured 
 to cross the ice and snow in order to visit the 
 heathen, who entertained them very hospitably, and 
 they in their turn visited, in great numbers, the 
 missionary settlement. 
 
 One important result arose; for the latter gained 
 such confidence towards the brethren, that they 
 
LABRADOR. 145 
 
 asked their advice in all difficult cases, and even 
 chose them as arbitrators in their disputes, de- 
 termining among themselves to refer all their dif- 
 ferences in future to the missionaries, and to sub- 
 mit to their decision. The fame of the setdement 
 and its inhabitants now spread far into the country, 
 and promised important results. 
 
 The following is another fact of great interest. 
 A man named Anauke, who had been formerly a 
 ferocious and desperate character, was at length 
 induced to attend the preaching of the brethren ; 
 and, after hearing them repeatedly, he pitched his 
 tent in their settlement, in 1772, and remained 
 there till the month of November, when he re- 
 moved to his winter house. Even then, his anxiety 
 for further instruction in the things of God was so 
 great, that he actually returned on foot, for the pur- 
 pose of spending a few more days with the heralds 
 of the cross, though the Esquimaux were never 
 accustomed to travel in that manner ; as in summer 
 they pass from one place to another in their 
 kajaks, and in winter they perform their journeys 
 in sledges. 
 
 From the time of his second departure, the mis- 
 sionaries heard nothing of him till February, 1773; 
 when his wife came to Nain, and stated that he 
 had died, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus: 
 Though no Christian friend was present to direct 
 or influence him, he would not permit one of the 
 angekoks, who were considered as the physicians 
 of the Esquimaux, to come near him ; but com- 
 mitted himself unreservedly into the hands of that 
 great Physician, who descended from heaven to 
 bind up the broken-hearted, and with whom he 
 was enabled to hold sweet communion even when 
 heart and flesh were failing. After his demise, 
 13 
 
146 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 this person was invariably spoken of by the 
 natives, as "the man whom the Saviour took to 
 himself." 
 
 This event encouraged the missionaries to se- 
 lect from among their hearers such as appeared 
 the most seriously impressed with Divine truth, 
 and to form them into a class of catechumens ; in 
 order to give them more particular instruction, 
 and to prepare them for baptism. They also re- 
 solved to erect a proper chapel, as the room in 
 their house, hitherto used for their meetings for 
 worship, was not sufficiently large to accommodate 
 their hearers, who occasionally amounted to some 
 hundreds. 
 
 They likewise began to build boats, and make 
 various implements and utensils for the Esquimaux, 
 hoping thereby to introduce a degree of civilization 
 among them, to prevent their going to the south to 
 steal boats, and also to lessen the expenses of the 
 mission, by bartering these articles to the natives 
 for whalebone and blubber. 
 
 In the year 1774, four of the missionaries under- 
 took a voyage for the purpose of exploring the 
 coast to the north of Nain. - This expedition was 
 attended with most melancholy consequences. 
 After enduring incredible disasters, and escaping 
 many imminent dangers, they suffered shipwreck 
 on their return; the vessel being driven on a rock, 
 where she remained fixed, and finally broke to 
 pieces. After a most anxious night they betook 
 themselves early next morning to the boat. This 
 was likewise dashed against the rocks. Two of 
 the brethren, Brasen and Lehman, lost their lives ; 
 the other two. Haven and Lister, together with 
 the sailors, saved themselves by swimming, and 
 reached a barren rock. Here they suffered ex- 
 
LABRADOR. 147 
 
 cessively from hunger and cold, and must inevita- 
 bly Ivive perished, had they not found it practicable 
 to draw the boat on the rock; and so far to repair 
 the damage she had sustained, as, on the fourth 
 day after their shipwreck, to venture again into 
 her. The wind was in their favour; and they 
 were providentially observed by an Esquimaux in 
 his kajak, who towed them into the harbour of 
 Nain. 
 
 Unappalled by this calamity, Haven and Lister, 
 accompanied by brother Beck in the following 
 spring, ventured on another reconnoitering voyage 
 along the south coast, penetrated as far as Old 
 Hope Dale, and after some search, found a place 
 near Avertok, more eligible for a mission settle- 
 ment than any yet discovered. 
 
 But before the directors of the mission could 
 consider the expediency of occupying this station, 
 they had commissioned brother Haven to begin a 
 new settlement at Okkak, about one hundred and 
 fifty miles to the north of Nain. Accompanied by 
 brother Stephen Jensen, he proceeded thither in 
 the summer of 1775. They purchased the land 
 from the Esquimaux, fixed the boundaries of it, and 
 the following year established themselves in this 
 place. They immediately began to preach the 
 gospel to the heathen in the neighbourhood, and 
 though the progress of conversion here, as well as 
 at Nain, was but slow, yet it was sufficient to pre- 
 serve the zeal and animate the hope of the mission- 
 aries. In 1781, there belonged to the conorrecration 
 at Okkak, thirty-eight baptized Esquimaux, and 
 about ten catechumens. 
 
 In the year 1782, two of the missionaries expe- 
 rienced a very striking preservation of their lives. 
 Early on March the 11th, the brethren Liebisch 
 
148 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and Turner left Nain to go to Okkak, a journey of 
 one hundred and fifty miles. They travelled in a 
 sledge drawn by dogs, and another sledge with Es- 
 quimaux joined them, the whole party consisting 
 of five men, one woman, and a child. Every thing 
 seemed to favour the undertaking; the weather 
 was fine and remarkably serene, and the track over 
 the frozen sea was in the best order, so that they 
 travelled at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. 
 All, therefore, were in good spirits, hoping to reach 
 Okkak in two or three days. Having passed the 
 islands in the bay, they kept at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the shore, both to gain the smoothest 
 part of the ice, and to avoid the high and rocky 
 promonotory of Kiglapeit. About eight o'clock, 
 they met a sledge driving towards the land with 
 Esquimaux, who obscnrely intimated that it might 
 be well not to proceed. But as the missionaries 
 saw no reason for alarm, they paid no regard to 
 these hints and went on. After a time, however, 
 their own Esquimaux remarked that there was a 
 swell under the ice. It was then hardly percepti- 
 ble, except on applying the ear close to it, when a 
 hollow, grating, and roaring noise was heard, as 
 if ascending from the abyss. The weather re- 
 mained clear except towards the east, where a 
 bank of light clouds, interspersed with some dark 
 streaks, appeared. But as the wind blew hard 
 from the north-west, no sudden change of weather 
 was expected. The sun had now reached his 
 height, and there was as yet little or no alteration 
 in the appearance of the sky. But the motion of 
 the sea under the ice had grown so perceptible as 
 rather to alarm the travellers, and they began to 
 think it prudent to keep closer to the shore. The 
 ice in many places had fissures and cracks, some 
 
LABRADOR. 149 
 
 of which formed chasms of one or two feet wide ; 
 but as they are not uncommon, even in the best 
 state, and the dogs easily leap over them, the 
 sledge followed without danger. They are terri- 
 ble only to new comers. 
 
 But as soon as the sun declined towards the 
 west, the wind increased to a storm, the bank of 
 light clouds from the east began to ascend, and the 
 dark streaks to put themselves in motion against the 
 wind. The snow was violently driven about by 
 partial whirlwinds, both on the ice and from off the 
 peaks of the neighbonring mountains. The ground 
 swell had now increased so much that its effects on 
 the ice were very extraordinary, as well as alarm- 
 ing. The sledges, instead of gliding smoothly 
 along as on an even surface, sometimes ran with 
 violence against the dogs, and sometimes seemed 
 with difficulty to ascend a rising hill ; for, though 
 the ice was many leagues square, and in some 
 places three or four yards thick, yet the swell of 
 the sea underneath gave an undulatory motion, not 
 unlike that of a sheet of paper accommodating 
 itself to the surface of the rippling stream. Noises, 
 too, were now distinctly heard in many directions, 
 like the report of a cannon, owing to the bursting 
 of the ice at a distance. 
 
 The Esquimaux, therefore, drove with all haste 
 towards the shore, intending to take up their night- 
 quarters on the south side of the Nirak. But as it 
 plainly appeared the ice w^ould break and disperse 
 in the open sea, Mark, (who drove the sledge of the 
 missionaries,) advised to push forward to the north 
 of the Nirak, from whence he hoped the track to 
 Okkak might still remain entire. To this proposal 
 the company agreed, but when the sledges ap- 
 proached the coast, the prospect before them was 
 13* 
 
15,0: MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 truly terrific. The ice, having broken loose from 
 the rocks, was forced up and down, grinding and 
 breaking into a thousand pieces against the preci- 
 pices, with a tremendous noise, which added to the 
 raging of the wind, and the snow driving about in 
 the air, nearly deprived the travellers of the jx)wer 
 of hearing and seeing any thing distinctly. 
 
 To make the land at any risk, was now the only 
 hope left, but it was with the utmost difficulty that 
 the affrighted dogs could be forced forward; the 
 whole body of ice sinking frequently below the 
 rocks, then rising above them. As the only mo- 
 ment to land was that when the ice gained the 
 level of the coast, the attempt was extremely nice 
 and hazardous. However, by God's mercy, it 
 succeeded; both sledges gained the shore, and 
 were drawn up the beach, though with much diffi- 
 culty. 
 
 The travellers had hardly time to reflect with 
 gratitude to God on their safety, when that part of 
 the ice, from which they had just now made good 
 their landing, burst asunder, and the water forced 
 itself from below, covering and. precipitating it into 
 the sea. In an instant, as if by a signal given, the 
 whole mass of ice, extending for several miles 
 from the coast, and as far as the eye could reach, 
 burst, and was overwhelmed by the rolling waves. 
 The sight was tremendous and awfully grand, the 
 large fields of ice, raising themselves out of the 
 water, striking against each other, and plunging 
 into the deep, with a violence not to be described, 
 and a noise like the discharge of innumerable bat- 
 teries of heavy guns. The darkness of the night, 
 the roaring of the wind and sea, and the dashing 
 of the waves and ice against the rocks, filled the 
 travellers with sensations of awe and horror, and 
 
LABRADOR. 151 
 
 almost deprived them of the power of utterance. 
 They stood overwhelmed with astonishment at 
 their miraculous escape, and even the heathen Es- 
 quimaux expressed gratitude to God for their de- 
 liverance. 
 
 The Esquimaux now began to build a snow- 
 house, about thirty paces from the beach; and 
 about nine o'clock at night all of them crept into 
 it, thankful for such a place of refuge, wretched as 
 it was. Before entering it, they once more turned 
 their eyes to the sea, and beheld with horror, 
 mingled with gratitude, the enormous waves 
 driving furiously before the wind, like so many 
 huge castles, and approaching the shore, where, 
 with tremendous noise, they dashed against the 
 rocks, foaming and filling the air with the spray. 
 The whole company now took supper, and, after 
 singing a hymn, they lay down to rest about ten 
 o'clock. The Esquimaux were soon fast asleep, 
 but Liebisch, the missionary, could get no rest, 
 partly on account of the dreadful roaring of the 
 storm, and partly from severe pain. Both the 
 brethren, indeed, were engaged in thinking of their 
 late most merciful deliverance ; and they mingled 
 with their thanksgivings, prayer for still further 
 relief. 
 
 The wakefulness of the missionaries proved the 
 deliverance of the whole party from destruction. 
 About two o'clock in the morning, Liebisch per- 
 ceived some drops of salt water fall from the roof 
 of the snow-house on his lips. Though rather 
 alarmed on tasting it, he lay quiet till the dropping 
 became more frequent, and then, just as he was 
 about to give the alarm, a tremendous surf, all of a 
 sudden, broke close to the house, and discharged a 
 quantity of water into it ; a second quickly fol- 
 
152 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 lowed, and carried away the slab of snow which 
 was placed as a door before the entrance. The 
 brethren immediately cried to the Esquimaux to 
 rise and quit the place. Alarmed at the call, they 
 jumped up in an instant. One of them with a 
 large knife cut a passage through the side of the 
 house, and each seizing some part of the baggage, 
 threw it out bn a higher part of the beach. They 
 all immediately retreated to a neighbouring emi- 
 nence; but scarcely had they reached it, when 
 an enormous wave carried away the whole of the 
 house. 
 
 Thus they were a second time delivered from 
 the most imminent danger of destruction; but yet 
 they suffered great distress during the remaining 
 part of the night, as it was scarcely possible to 
 stand against the wind, the sleet, and the snow. 
 Before the dawn of day, the Esquimaux cut a hole 
 in the snow to screen the two missionaries, the 
 woman, and the child. Liebisch, however, could 
 not bear the closeness of the air, and was obliged 
 to sit at the entrance, where they covered him with 
 skins to keep him warm, as the pain in his throat 
 was extremely severe. As soon as it was light, 
 they built another snow-house, about eight leet 
 square, and six or seven feet high; yet still their 
 situation was by no means comfortable. 
 
 The missionaries had taken but a small stock 
 of provisions with them, merely sufficient lor the 
 short journey to Okkak. Joel, his wife and child, 
 and Kassigiak the sorcerer, had nothing. They 
 were obliged, therefore, to divide the small stock 
 into daily portions, especially as there appeared no 
 hope of soon quitting this place, or reaching any 
 dwellings. Only two ways were left for this pur- 
 pose, either to attempt the land passage across the 
 
LABRADOR. 153 
 
 wild and unfrequented mountain of Kiglapeit, or to 
 wait for a new ice tract over the sea, which it 
 would require time to form. They therefore re- 
 solved to serve out no more than a biscuit and a 
 half per day to each. The missionaries remained 
 in the snow-house, and every day endeavoured to 
 boil so much water over their lamps, as might 
 supply them with two cups of coifee a-piece. 
 Through mercy they were preserved in good 
 heahh, and, quite unexpectedly, brother Liebisch 
 recovered of his sore throat on the ffrst day. The 
 Esquimaux also kept up their spirits, and even 
 Kassigiak, though a wild heathen, declared that it 
 was proper to be thankful that they were still alive ; 
 adding, that if they had remained a little longer on 
 the ice yesterday, all their bones would have been 
 broken in a short time. 
 
 Towards noon of the 13th, the weather cleared 
 up, and the sea was seen, as far as the eye could 
 reach, quite clear and free from ice. Mark and 
 Joel went up the hill to reconnoitre, and returned 
 with the disagreeable news, that not a single piece 
 of ice was to be seen in any direction, and that it 
 had been forced away even from the coast at Nua- 
 sornak. They were, therefore, of opinion, that 
 they could do nothing but force their way across 
 the mountain of Kiglapeit. 
 
 Towards evening some flakes of ice were ob- 
 served driving towards the coast; and on the 14th, 
 in the morning, the sea was covered with them ; 
 but the weather being vei*y stormy, the Esquimaux 
 could not quit the snow-house, which made them 
 very low spirited and melancholy. Kassigiak sug- 
 gested, that it would be well to attempt to make 
 good weather, by which he meant to practise his 
 
154 MISSIONARY KECORDS. 
 
 art as a sorcerer. This the missionaries opposed, 
 telling him that his heathenish practices were of no 
 use, but that the weather would become favour- 
 able as soon as it should please God. Still it con- 
 tinued extremely boisterous, and the Esquimaux 
 were ready to sink under their disappointment. 
 They, however, possessed one advantage, the 
 power of going to sleep when they pleased ; for, if 
 need be, these people sleep for days and nights to- 
 gether. 
 
 Meanwhile, the brethren at Nain, and especially 
 the wives of the two missionaries, were thrown 
 into a state of the utmost alarm, on account of the 
 travellers. During the storm, they had felt con- 
 siderable apprehension for their safety, though it 
 was by no means so violent in that quarter, as the 
 coast is there protected by islands. The Esqui- 
 maux, however, who had met them, and had 
 warned them of the ground swell in their obscure, 
 ambiguous manner, now threw out hints of their 
 inevitable destruction. One of them, to whom 
 either Liebisch or Turner was indebted for some 
 article of dress, came to the wife of the missionary, 
 and said, he should be glad of payment for the 
 work. "Wait a little," answered she; "when my 
 husband returns he will settle it with you, for I am 
 unacquainted with the bargain between you." 
 "Samuel and William," replied the Esquimaux, 
 "will return no more to Nain." "How, not re- 
 turn ! What makes you say so ?" After some 
 pause, he replied in a low tone of voice, " Samuel 
 and William are no more ! All their bones are 
 broken, and in the stomach of the sharks !" So 
 certain was he of their destruction, that it was with 
 difficulty he was prevailed on to wait their return. 
 
LABRADOK. 155 
 
 He could not believe it possible that they could 
 have escaped the storm, considering the course 
 they were pursuing. 
 
 While these circumstances were transpiring, the 
 two brethren were in no small distress how they 
 should escape from their present dreary situation. 
 The weather had now cleared, and the sea, as far 
 as the eye could reach, was so completely free 
 from ice, that not a morsel was to be seen. They 
 were also in such straits for provisions, that the 
 Esquimaux one day ate an old sack made of fish 
 skin, and the next they began to devour a filthy 
 worn-out skin which had served them for a mat- 
 tress. ]\loreover, the roof of the snow-house was 
 melted by the warm exhalation of the inhabitants ; 
 and as this occasioned a continual dropping, every 
 thing by degrees was so soaked with water, that 
 there was not a dry thread about them, nor a dry 
 place on which to lie. 
 
 But meanwhile the sea had begun to freeze, and 
 m a short time, it acquired a considerable degree 
 of solidity. The Esquimaux belonging to the 
 other sledge now resolved to pursue their journey 
 to Okkak; while the brethren, after remaining six 
 days in this miserable place, set off to return to 
 Nain. Their Esquimaux driver ran all the way 
 round the promontory of Kiglapeit before the 
 sledge, to find a good track; and after travelling 
 about three hours, they reached the bay, and so 
 were out of danger. Here they made a meal of 
 the remainder of their provisions, and then pro- 
 ceeded on their journey without again stopping till 
 about twelve at night, when they reached Nain, to 
 the great joy of the settlement, and particularly of 
 their own families. 
 
 The ensuing summer, the brethren began a third 
 
156 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 establishment on the coast, to the south of Nain, 
 which they called Hope Dale. For this purpose 
 they purchased from the Esquimaux that tract of 
 land which had been formerly reconnoitered, and 
 deemed peculiarly eligible for a settlement. They 
 were encouraged to this extension of their labours, 
 in consequence of the eagerness then manifested 
 by the heathen in that vicinity to hear the gospel, 
 and in the fond hope, that by this means a commu- 
 nication might be opened between them and the 
 so-called Red Indians, who live in the interior, and 
 now and then approach the coast in small parties. 
 This latter object, however, has hitherto remained 
 unattainable ; and even with respect to the Esqui- 
 maux themselves, the missionaries had several 
 years to deplore their rejection of the gospel, so 
 that, in 1790, it even appeared as if they had en- 
 tirely withdrawn from these parts. This unpro- 
 mising state of things led both the missionaries 
 and the Society for the furtherance of the Gospel 
 among the Heathen, to consider the expediency 
 of relinquishing this settlement altogether. The 
 Lord, however, directed otherwise; and, in the 
 sequel, Hope Dale was the very place where a 
 new awakening among the Esquimaux com- 
 menced, and from thence spread to the two other 
 settlements. 
 
 In 1790, many horrid murders were committed 
 in the north. The natives fell upon each other in 
 their tents by night, and numbers were massacred 
 in the most barbarous manner. Amidst the alarm, 
 which this event spread through the country, the 
 missionaries were not a little encouraged by the 
 remarks of the Esquimaux who resided on their 
 land. They expressed their gratitude, that the 
 brethren had settled in the country, adding, " As 
 
LABRADOR. 157 
 
 many murders would certainly have been com- 
 mitted here, if you had not come and brought us 
 the good news of our Creator and Redeemer, of 
 his love to us, and our duty to love him and our 
 neighbour." 
 
 About six years after, the brethren had a very 
 trying period. An epidemical disease broke out 
 among the natives, and raged through the whole 
 country for some months. All the settlements 
 were visited by it; and it attacked not only the 
 Esquimaux, but also the Europeans : in their case, 
 however, its violence was considerably mitigated. 
 The brethren were obliged for several weeks 
 almost totally to suspend their usual meetings for 
 worship, as the Esquimaux could not leave their 
 dwellings. It proved a source of deep regret to 
 them, to find that some of their people, when the 
 medicine administered did not immediately produce 
 the desired effect, had recourse to their old heathen- 
 ish and superstitious practices for recovery. With 
 few exceptions, however, they afterwards confessed 
 their sinful deviations, and with every mark of 
 true penitence begged to be reconciled to the con- 
 gregation. In the settlements, the disorder was 
 not generally fatal, only three or four dying in 
 consequence of it ; but among the heathen, its vio- 
 lence was greater, and dissolution more frequent. 
 Notwithstanding their excessive dread of death, the 
 gospel as yet found no entrance among them. 
 They indeed acknowledged the necessity of con- 
 version, if they would have any solid hope of hap- 
 piness beyond the grave; but the impression was 
 soon effaced, and they seldom came near the mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 Among the Esquimaux whom the brethren re- 
 ceived into fellowship with them, was a man named 
 14 
 
Tuglawina, who had been baptized some years 
 before, by a Presbyterian, in Chateau Bay, during 
 a dangerous illness. He was a person of great 
 note among his countrymen, and acquired an as- 
 tonishing ascendency over them, not only by his 
 activity, dexterity, and success in hunting, his 
 courage, strength, and hardiness, — the most essen- 
 tial qualities of a great man among the Esquimaux 
 — but by a vigour of mind, a soundness of intellect, 
 and a quickness of apprehension, far superior to 
 most of his nation. As he was also a sorcerer, 
 they believed him to possess extraordinary super- 
 natural powers, bestowed on him by the Torngak, 
 or familiar spirit, which he pretended to consult on 
 all occasions. Such, indeed, was the credulity of 
 the poor deluded creatures, that if he declared, on 
 the word of his Torngak, that any person ought 
 not to live, they often instantly murdered the un- 
 fortunate object of his vengeance. Thus he was 
 not only guilty of the murder of several persons 
 by his own hands, but he was accessory to the 
 death of many more, through the influence he 
 possessed over others. The brethren would cer- 
 tainly have fallen a sacrifice to his artifice and 
 barbarity, had Providence permitted him to disap- 
 prove of their settlement in the country ; but though 
 he was a tyrant among his own people, a disturber 
 of the peace of the mission, and a seducer of the 
 converts, he was the friend of the missionaries, 
 and always professed to respect and even to love 
 them. When reproved by them for his wicked 
 deeds, he acknowledged that he was a vile sinner, 
 frequently shed tears, and even trembled in their 
 presence ; but still he apologized for himself, say- 
 ing, that the devil forced him to sin, and it was not 
 in his power to help it. By degrees, however, he 
 
LABRADOR. 159 
 
 became attentive to the gospel, and at length gave 
 such proofs of his sincere conversion, that the 
 brethren, after the usual time of trial as an inhabi- 
 tant of the settlement, received him into Christian 
 fellowship with them. Afterwards, indeed, he was 
 guilty of some deviations from the path of duty; 
 but yet, on the whole, he afforded them much 
 satisfaction, by his pious and regular deportment. 
 In his last illness, he declared that he was ready 
 to go to Jesus, and hoped that the Saviour would 
 not reject him. He repeatedly testified that he 
 was happy, and put his trust in God our Saviour 
 alone. As his bodily pain increased, he frequently 
 called on the Lord to release him, and take him to 
 himself. He was about sixty years of age when 
 he died. 
 
 In December, 1800, an event occurred which 
 occasioned the brethren the deepest and most pun- 
 gent grief. One of the missionaries at Hope Dale, 
 named Reiman, who had gone out to procure some 
 fresh provisions by shooting, did not return. In 
 the evening his brethren became much alarmed for 
 his safety, particularly as the whole country was 
 covered with ice, rain having fallen the day before 
 the snow; and about seven o'clock they sent out 
 four of the Esquimaux, with muskets, to seek him, 
 and to direct him to them by the tire of their guns ; 
 but these returned about break of day, without 
 having seen or heard any thing of him. As soon, 
 theretbre, as it was light, the whole of the brethren, 
 together with all the Esquimaux, set off to renew 
 the search. In several places, they discovered his 
 footsteps in the snow, but these were soon lost on 
 the ice ; and though they persevered in the inquiry 
 for nine days successively, examining every place 
 they could think of with the utmost anxiety and 
 
»160 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 care, yet it was without success. In April follow- 
 ing, they renewed their pursuit, in order, if possi- 
 ble, to discover his remains ; but this attempt also 
 was of no avail. It was, therefore, impossible, to 
 determine in what manner he had perished, though 
 of his death no doubt could remain. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Pleasing instance of forgiveness — Fearful contrast — 
 Perseverance of the brethren under discouraging 
 circumstances — Commencement of a new order o? 
 things — Remarltable answer to prayer — Spread of 
 interest in the things of God — Attack of disease — 
 Voyage to explore the northern coast — Interesting 
 incidents — The voyagers placed in great perplexity 
 — Divine interposition in their behalf — Prayers at 
 the missionary settlements — Trial of faith and 
 patience — Recent intelligence — Perilous voyage of 
 the ship Harmony. 
 
 In the diary of Hope Dale, of 1803, a pleasing in- 
 stance is related of the mild and forgiving spirit of 
 the gospel. In a conversation which took place 
 among some of the converts, in the presence of a 
 missionary, many disputes were amicably settled, 
 and quarrels prevented. They showed a readiness 
 to confess their grievances and faults to each other, 
 and a sincere disposition mutually to forgive and 
 forget them, and begin anew to bear with each 
 other in the true spirit of brotherly love. " This 
 circumstance was the more striking," say the mis- 
 sionaries, "as the custom of the Esquimaux is, to 
 suppress their displeasure, and even feign indiffer- 
 ence on receiving injuries; but to watch an oppor- 
 
LABRADOR. 161, 
 
 tunity for revenge, which, if no earlier one presents 
 itself, breaks out in the most diabolical and mur- 
 derous retaliation, perhaps ten or twelve years 
 after the offence has been given." 
 
 The following horrible incident is of a similar 
 character. Intelligence was brought to the mis- 
 sionaries at Okkak, in January, 1806, from Kiva- 
 lek, that an old sorcerer, Uiverunna, had spent the 
 winter there, he and his family being the only resi- 
 dents. Here his wife died ; upon which the mon- 
 ster seized a poor orphan child, which he had for- 
 merly adopted, and, having murdered it, he cut it 
 across all the joints of the fingers and toes, ripped 
 open the belly, and threw it into the sea. " Though 
 we are not acquainted with his motives for so atro- 
 cious an act," write the missionaries, " yet we 
 know that it belongs to that system of diabolical 
 incantations, by which he expects to appease the 
 devil, by whom he pretends to do great wonders, 
 but who now, according to his notions, required a 
 greater sacrifice than before, as he had not saved 
 the life of his wife." He did not long escape. 
 Having of late endeavoured to render himself for- 
 midable among the heathen, by making them be- 
 lieve that he had power to kill whomsoever he 
 pleased, as he never failed, when any died, to have 
 reported, that he had sent them out of the world 
 by his Torngak, or familiar spirit ; and being also 
 known as an old murderer, many had resolved to 
 kill him as soon as a fit opportunity should offer. 
 Among other lies, he some time ago pretended, 
 that by his sorceries he had killed Kujalek's two 
 wives, who died on the same day. Ever since, 
 Kujalek sought for revenge ; and being joined by 
 another man, they succeeded in despatching the 
 14* 
 
1^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 old sorcerer, shortly after the above act of infanti- 
 cide. 
 
 Hitherto the conversion of the heathen in Labra- 
 dor had not only proceeded very slowly, but had 
 been attended with many discouraging circum- 
 stances. The missionaries had patiently perse- 
 vered in preaching to the natives, and watching 
 every opportunity to make them attentive to the 
 best interests of their souls; but had reaped little 
 fruit from their labours. Visits were frequent, and 
 there was in general no want of hearers to address, 
 but they showed no dispositio« to be instructed. If 
 even a salutary impression was occasionally made 
 on their minds, it was not abiding. Some families 
 were indeed collected in the different settlements, 
 but after staying there during the winter, they 
 mostly moved away again in the summer, and ap- 
 parently forgot all they had heard. A few had 
 been baptized and admitted to the Lord's supper, 
 yet even these caused the missionaries more grief 
 than pleasure. They had no power to resist the 
 temptations placed in their way, when associating 
 with the heathen during their summer excursions. 
 This often obliged the missionaries to exclude them 
 from fellowship with the believers. In case of 
 sickness, they were but too ready to have recourse 
 to the superstitious tricks of sorcerers. Even those 
 who refrained from such practices, and were moral 
 in their general deportment, had no true life of God 
 in their souls. They might in some degree ob- 
 serve the forms of religion, but they were utterly 
 destitute of its power. 
 
 One principal impediment to the progress of the 
 mission, was the practice of the Esquimaux, espe- 
 cially those at Hope Dale, to go to the south to 
 
LABRADOR. 163 
 
 purchase fire-arms and other articles from the Eu- 
 ropeans. Here they associated with the heathen, 
 and soon relapsed into their former impious course. 
 However, as a scarcity began to prevail in that 
 quarter, in consequence of which many perished 
 with hunger, a stop was put to these wanderings. 
 
 Such was the state of the mission at the begin- 
 ning of 1804: but before the close of that year a 
 new order of things commenced. A fire from the 
 Lord was kindled among the Esquimaux, accom- 
 panied by the clearest evidence of being the effect 
 of Divine operations on their hearts. It com- 
 menced at Hope Dale, the very place that presented 
 the most discouraging prospect. 
 
 When the Esquimaux returned from their sum- 
 mer excursions, the missionaries were delighted to 
 find, that they not only had been preserved from 
 sinful practices, but had greatly increased in the 
 knowledge of Divine truth. They had obtained 
 an humbling insight into the corruption and deceit- 
 fulness of their hearts, and the wretched state of 
 those who are destitute of faith in Christ. This 
 constrained them to cry for mercy, and gladly to 
 accept salvation on the terms of the gospel : and 
 some afforded encouraging hopes that they had 
 found the forgiveness of sins through the blood of 
 Christ, and that their souls were filled with peace 
 in believing. Out of the abundance of the heart 
 their mouths spake of the love and power of Jesus. 
 Their artless, but energetic declarations impressed 
 the rest of the inhabitants. They began to feel the 
 necessity of true conversion ; and, in a short time, 
 all the adults appeared earnestly to seek peace 
 with God. Even several of the children were 
 awakened. The missionaries were daily visited 
 by the people, who either inquired, what they 
 
164 
 
 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 must do to be saved ; or testified of the grace of 
 God manifested to their souls. 
 
 The work of conversion, that began at Hope 
 Dale, soon spread to Nain; and was promoted by 
 a rather singular occurrence. Two young men, 
 Siksigak and Kapik, whose parents were members 
 of this congregation, went to Hope Dale, where 
 the mother-in-law of the former resided. His in- 
 tention was to convey his wife back to his mother, 
 and marry another, who promised to second him 
 in every heathenish abomination, and to forsake 
 the Christian Esquimaux altogether. This man, 
 on entering his own mother's house at Hope Dale, 
 found the family engaged in their evening devotion. 
 They did not suffer themselves to be disturbed by 
 his arrival ; he sat down quite astonished at what 
 he saw and heard, being ignorant of what they 
 were doing. The whole company earnestly en- 
 treated him not to part with his wife, but to pray 
 for true conversion of heart. To these entreaties 
 the missionaries added their exhortations, but with- 
 out effect; he persisted in his determination. His 
 relations finding that advice and persuasions had 
 no result, resorted to prayer. The following day 
 they all assembled in his mother's house, and, in 
 his presence, joined in fervent supplication for his 
 conversion. His mother, among the rest, uttered 
 this petition, " O Lord Jesus ! behold this my child ! 
 [ now give him up to thee. O accept him, and 
 suffer him not to be lost for ever !" A scene so 
 unprecedented and unexpected, had an immediate 
 effect on the young man ; he evinced a real concern 
 for his salvation, and his heart appeared changed; 
 he desisted from his wicked purpose, took his wife 
 back, and became an humble inquirer after the 
 Divine truth, and to him the Lord afterwards 
 
LABRADOR. 165 
 
 showed great mercy. His companion, Kapik, also, 
 was powerfully awakened by the instrumentality 
 of his relations. 
 
 On their return to Nain, these two men, with 
 energy and boldness, preached Jesus to their coun- 
 trymen. Some of their friends heard with aston- 
 ishment, others mocked and hated them; but the 
 impression made on the inhabitants of the settle- 
 ment was pleasing and permanent. "We saw 
 several of our people," say the missionaries, " by 
 degrees yielding to conviction, and beginning to 
 doubt whether their Christianity were of the right 
 kind, and whether they had not been deceiving 
 themselves and others. They came voluntarily 
 and confessed their sins ; some with many tears, 
 and in a manner of which we had no instances be- 
 fore. The more seriously they reflected on their 
 former life, the more deeply were they convinced 
 of the treachery of their hearts: they wept on ac- 
 count of the deceit they had so often practised, and 
 confessed to us all things, of which we could have 
 formed no conception. Though we could not but 
 feel pain on account of their former hypocrisy, our 
 grief was counterbalanced by the joy we felt at the 
 amazing power of our Saviour's grace, by which 
 their hearts were thus broken and softened. Our 
 faith, which in some cases was indeed very weak, 
 revived, and we saw clearly that with God nothing 
 is impossible. 
 
 The news of these pleasing events at Hope Dale 
 and Nain soon spread to Okkak, and was followed 
 by similar effects. The work of conviction and 
 conversion here was greatly promoted by the visits 
 of the Christian Esquimaux from Nain. These 
 visiters showed such an ardent desire to describe to 
 their countrymen the love and mercy of God, 
 
1^§ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 which they themselves had so savingly experienced, 
 that they went from tent to tent, testifying of the 
 love of Jesus to sinners, in so impressive and 
 affecting a manner, that their hearers could resist 
 no longer, but came to the missionaries, and con- 
 fessed the dangerous state of their souls, earnestly 
 inquiring the way of salvation. Even the heathen 
 visiters from the north, who passed through the 
 settlement, were struck. They expressed their 
 regret that they lived at such a great distance, and 
 could not conveniently remove from their native 
 country; but said, if the missionaries could come to 
 them, they would gladly receive instruction. Many 
 of the heathen, also, living in the neighbourhood 
 of the brethren, were so astonished at the occur- 
 rences among their believing countrymen, that 
 they resolved to move to one or other of the settle- 
 ments. 
 
 The progress of the mission in the sequel, sup- 
 plies sufficient proof that this effect of the gospel 
 was not a wild fire, or a mere consequence of mo- 
 mentary impression; but a Divine work, wrought 
 in the hearts of the natives by the Spirit of God. 
 The missionaries frequently mention the attention 
 and diligence shown in the schools, both by adults 
 and children, and the delight and fervour with 
 which they engaged in their family devotions, and 
 in conversations with each other, respecting the in- 
 fluence of the gospel on their own souls. Their 
 behaviour at public worship, likewise, very striking- 
 ly differed from that of former years, with regard 
 to the eagerness with which they now attended 
 the house of God, and their deportment during the 
 performance of Divine service. On one occasion, 
 the missionaries remark: — "We no longer see 
 bold, undaunted heathen sitting before us, with de- 
 
LABRADOR. 167' 
 
 fiance or ridicule in their looks; but people ex- 
 pecting a blessing, desirous of experiencing the 
 power of the word of life, shedding tears of repent- 
 ance, and their whole appearance evincing devotion 
 and earnest inquiry." 
 
 Whenever any heathen Esquimaux obtained 
 permission to live on the land belonging to the 
 brethren, their Christian countrymen manifested 
 the purest joy. The following occurrence, related 
 in the report from Hope Dale, of 1805, will serve 
 to confirm this assertion: — "As soon as it was 
 known that some heathen had obtained leave to 
 stay, there arose among our Esquimaux such a 
 spirit of joy and gladness, that it was truly affect- 
 ing to witness it. Since their arrival here, our 
 people had not failed to speak of the mercy which 
 the Lord had shown in their own conversion, and 
 to preach Jesus to them as the only Saviour, who 
 alone could make them happy both here and here- 
 afler; and now, on being informed that they were 
 to be inhabitants of the place, they hardly knew 
 how to contain themselves for joy. Young and 
 old ran to help them with their baggage, and to 
 settle their httle affairs. It happened, also, that 
 early in the morning, a party of heathen Esqui- 
 maux, who had declared that they would not live 
 with the believers, on departing, had left a man, 
 his wife, and child behind, who refused to follow 
 the heathen any longer. He had pitched his tent 
 at some distance; but our people, filled with love 
 and ardour to serve all those who manifested a 
 sincere desire of being converted, went immedi- 
 ately, took it down, and set it up in the midst of 
 their own dwellings. The new comers were quite 
 humbled and amazed by such proofs of love and 
 attention on the part of their Christian countrymen, 
 
168 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and declared that for the first time in their lives, 
 they had found people who loved them with disin- 
 terested sincerity." 
 
 A proof, no less striking, of the transforming in- 
 fluence of the gospel, appeared in the readiness of 
 the believing Esquimaux to abandon those super- 
 stitious habits and practices, to which they are apt 
 to cling to the very last. A woman, who had 
 been called Magdalene at her baptism, resisted 
 many temptations put in her way by her husband. 
 Having formerly been very ailing, the heathen 
 used to give her a variety of charms and amulets, 
 which she wore about her clothes whenever she 
 went to sea. In the summer of 1807, being ready 
 to set out on a voyage with her husband, she threw 
 them into the water, saying to the whole company, 
 " Now ye shall see whether there is a Jesus, who 
 can save and preserve us in health without this 
 trumpery." 
 
 She enjoyed remarkably good health during the 
 whole voyage, which greatly confirmed her pre- 
 vious convictions of the sinfulness of her past life, 
 and her resolution to devote herself entirely to the 
 Lord. Nor was this a solitary instance; the cases 
 were now becoming less frequent every year in 
 which, in consequence of their having been se- 
 duced to heathen superstitions during their summer 
 residence at a distance from the settlement, the mis- 
 sionaries found themselves compelled to exclude 
 any of the converts from church fellowship; a cir- 
 cumstance which, in the early period of the mis- 
 sion, caused them so much sorrow and perplexity. 
 
 In 1811, the settlement at Hope Dale suffered 
 considerable diminution. A very unusual disorder 
 broke out among the natives, of which the mission- 
 aries give the following account: — "Our Esqui- 
 
LABRADOR. 169 
 
 maux had been for a long time preserved from any 
 particular illness, except being subject to a kind of 
 eruption and boils; which, however, though painful 
 and unpleasant, were rather beneficial to their 
 general health. But on the 24th of July, as a boat 
 filled with our people was leaving Tikkerarsuk, one 
 of their provision places, to return to Hope Dale, 
 several of them, one after the other, were seized 
 with a nervous paralytic disorder, of a most dan- 
 gerous and deadly nature, insomuch that, during 
 the next eight days, thirteen of them departed this 
 life, of whom seven were communicants. Three 
 of them were fishing in perfect health in the morn- 
 ing, and in the evening lay as corpses in the boat. 
 About thirty were taken ill, and some brought nigh 
 unto death ; but now, thank God, the greater part 
 have recovered, though a few are still very weak. 
 As late as the 12th of September, we buried an old 
 communicant, called Luke. Terror and dismay 
 seized the people; but we confidently believe that 
 those that departed this life are now in the presence 
 of Him whom they had known here as their Sa- 
 viour, and to whose holy will they expressed full 
 resignation at the approach of death. By this 
 afflicting dispensation we have now got a consider- 
 able number of widows and orphans, depending 
 entirely upon charity; and we cannot withhold 
 from them occasional assistance. We often com- 
 mend them in prayer to the Father of the father- 
 less, who will, in mercy, regard and supply their 
 wants." 
 
 The brethren had not been long settled in La- 
 brador, before they discovered that the coast was 
 very thinly inhabited. They consequently con- 
 ceived that the aim of the mission would be better 
 attained, if access could be had to the main body 
 15 
 
170 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 of the nation, from which the roving Esquimaux 
 on the coast appeared to be mere stragglers. In 
 this opinion they were confirmed by those heathen 
 who annually visited the settlements, and who re- 
 ported that the chief part of the Esquimaux nation 
 lived near and beyond Cape Chudleigh. These 
 visiters conceived much friendship for the mission- 
 aries, never failed to request that some of them 
 would come to their country, and even urged the 
 formation of a new settlement, considerably to the 
 north of Okkak. 
 
 In order to determine the practicability of thus 
 extending the labours of the brethren in Labrador, 
 the directors of the mission, after mature delibera- 
 tion, recommended them to undertake a voyage for 
 the purpose of exploring the northern coast, which 
 had hitherto remained unknown to the European 
 navigators. 
 
 The missionaries Kohlmeister and Kmock rea- 
 dily engaged in this difficult and perilous enter- 
 prise, for which they were well fitted. The latter, 
 to other essential qualifications, joined great cheer- 
 fulness and intrepidity; the former, having resided 
 seventeen years in Labrador, was completely mas- 
 ter of the language, and deservedly loved by both 
 Christian and heathen Esquimaux. His kind and 
 affable manner, also, was eminently calculated to 
 conciliate the affections of unknown pagans, while 
 his invincible zeal to promote their temporal and 
 spiritual welfare sustained his mind in every diffi- 
 culty and danger. He had besides acquired 
 some knowledge of mineralogy, botany, and other 
 sciences, which might be of advantage on such an 
 expedition. 
 
 They engaged the Christian Esquimaux, Jona- 
 than, of Hope Dale, who possessed a two-masted 
 
LABRADOR. 171 
 
 shallop, for a liberal recompense, to conduct them 
 on their voyage. He was a man of superior under- 
 standing and skill, and of uncommon presence of 
 mind in difficulties and danger^. At Hope Dale, 
 he was considered the principal person, or chief, of 
 his nation. On his part, it was no small sacrifice 
 to accompany the missionaries; for though an Es- 
 quimaux roves a good deal during summer in quest 
 of food, yet in winter he always, if possible, settles 
 in his native place, where he is esteemed and be- 
 loved. But Jonathan was willing to relinquish all 
 these comforts, to reside among strangers where he 
 would have no pre-eminence, and expose himself 
 to unknown hardships and dangers, uncertain 
 whether he should ever return, and sustained only 
 by the hope that the projected voyage might pave 
 the way for the introduction of the gospel into that 
 quarter. When any of his countrymen represented 
 to him the danger of the expedition, he used to say, 
 " Well, we will try ; we shall know better when we 
 get there." Once he said, " When I hear people 
 talk about the danger of being killed, I think, Jesus 
 died out of love to us ; what great matter would 
 it be, if we were to be put to death in his service, 
 should that be his pleasure concerning us?" Nor 
 did he ever, during the whole voyage, forsake that 
 generous principle; but his cheerful, firm, and 
 faithful conduct, under all circumstances, proved 
 most honourable to the character of a convert to 
 Christianity. 
 
 Besides the missionaries and the captain, the 
 travellers were joined by the family of the latter, 
 and three other Esquimaux families from Hope 
 Dale, and a fifth from Okkak, who attende-d the 
 shallop in a skin-boat. The whole company, 
 therefore, consistsd of nineteen persons, among 
 
172 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 whom were several young children. They all 
 met at Okkak, and waited there till the bay was 
 cleared of ice. Having freighted the vessel with 
 the things necessary for the voyage, they were 
 commended to the grace and protection of God in 
 a meeting of the congregation at Okkak, on the 
 evening of the 23d of June, 1811. 
 
 At two o'clock, on the following afternoon, they 
 weighed anchor, and for several days proceeded 
 without any remarkable occurrence. The sea 
 being full of drift ice, which it required great care 
 to avoid, they commonly approached the shore at 
 night and cast anchor. They frequently met with 
 companies of Esquimaux from Okkak and other 
 places, who had their summer station along the 
 coast ; and with them the missionaries held meetings 
 for worship, whenever circumstances permitted, 
 especially on the sabbath day. 
 
 Proceeding in a northerly direction, the travel- 
 lers found their passage completely occupied with 
 floating ice driving towards them and forcing them 
 to return. This brought them into great distress, 
 so that the captain himself repeatedly exclaimed, 
 in a plaintive tone, " Alas ! alas ! we shall soon be 
 without boat." With the utmost difficulty they 
 sailed along shore, some being obliged to land to 
 haul the boat with ropes round the points, and 
 others with hooks and spars to keep her off' the 
 rocks. Two or three times she stuck fast on 
 sunken rocks, but by God's mercy was got off* 
 without being damaged. At length they reached 
 Nullatartok Bay, in the 59th degree of north lati- 
 tude. It is surrounded by high mountains, and so 
 shallow at the upper end, that no large ice-fields 
 can float in it. Here they pitched their tents, and 
 were detained twelve days, during which time they 
 
LABRADOR. 173 
 
 explored the country as far as they were able. 
 The mountains were covered with moss, alder, 
 birch, and various shrubs and plants, and the val- 
 leys, with grass and a variety of flowers. The 
 rocks were slaty, easily splitting into plates of from 
 f »ar to eight feet square. They discovered also 
 three rivers, abounding in salmon. 
 
 The sea being at length cleared of ice, they em- 
 barked again, on July the 15th, and steered towards 
 Nachwak Bay, the magnificent mountains of \\hich 
 afforded them a most delightful prospect, especially 
 at sun-rise. A party of heathen Esquimaux, about 
 fifty in number, had fixed their summer residence 
 on this bay. As soon as the voyagers approached, 
 loud shouts of joy resounded from all quarters, and 
 muskets were fired in every direction. The Es- 
 quimaux had scarcely patience to wait for their 
 landing, and were all eager to assist them in pitch- 
 ing their tents. Their behaviour was modest and 
 rather bashful; there was no reason to complain of 
 any unpleasant intrusions, nor were any thefts com- 
 mitted. They rested here two days, and did not 
 neglect to acquaint the people with the design of 
 their voyage, or to preach the gospel to them. 
 They were evidently much impressed; and one 
 of the chief men said, " I am determined to be con- 
 verted to Jesus." The Christian Esquimaux in 
 the missionary company were very zealous in ex- 
 horting their countrymen to believe in Christ, and 
 on every occasion they exhibited the character of 
 true believers. 
 
 On the 25th of July, the party arrived at Opper- 
 navik, lying between the sixtieth and sixty-first de- 
 gree of north latitude, and not far from Cape Chud- 
 leigh. Here they found a native, named Uttakijok, 
 with his two wives and youngest brother, waiting 
 15* 
 
1^4 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 for them. They had come from Ungava Bay, the 
 very place to ""hich the voyagers were directing 
 their course. He was one of the two Esquimaux 
 from whom the missionaries received the most dis- 
 tinct information respecting the Ungava country and 
 its inhabitants. Having learned that it was the in- 
 tention of the brethren to make a voyage thither in 
 the present year, he had waited for their arrival in 
 Oppernavik during the whole spring, and had 
 erected signals on all the heights of his tent, that 
 they might not miss him. This man was of very 
 essential service to them; as without such a steady 
 and trusty guide, they must have been wandering 
 in the most painful and perilous uncertainty, in 
 the desert regions to the west of Cape Chudieigh, 
 where, on a coast of one hundred miles in length, 
 they did not meet a single inhabitant. He exe- 
 cuted the office he had thus voluntarily undertaken, 
 with a degree of faithfulness and disinterested 
 kindness, which excited their admiration and gra- 
 titude. 
 
 After enduring much fear and difficulty on the 
 1st of August, from large shoals of ice surrounding 
 them on all sides, they safely passed the whirlpool 
 and eddies in the straits, and doubled Cape Chud- 
 ieigh without meeting any disaster, except that the 
 skin-boat they had in tow, containing an Esqui- 
 maux, was seized by the vortex, and received a 
 rapid twist, but as the towing rope did not break, 
 she was immediately, by the swiftness of their 
 course, rescued from danger. 
 
 Having thus entered the ocean on the western 
 side of the Cape, they found themselves, as it were, 
 transported to a new world. The coast which had 
 hitherto taken a northerly direction, now turned to 
 the south-south-west. They soon had a sight of 
 
LABRADOR. 175 
 
 the Ungava country, and sailed briskly amidst the 
 numerous islands, lying along the coast, which is 
 low, with gently sloping hills. They discovered 
 three skin-boats, full of people, standing towards 
 them from the shore. They were the inhabitants 
 of Ungava, who welcomed them with shouts of 
 joy, and with firing their muskets ; and the mis- 
 sionaries visited them in their tents, informing them 
 of the purpose for which they had undertaken this 
 voyage. 
 
 On August 7th, they arrived at what was after- 
 wards called George's River. To this part they 
 had from the first directed their attention. It lies 
 about one hundred and forty miles suuth-south-west 
 of Cape Chudleigh, in lat. 58^ 57' north. Here 
 they pitched their tents, and stayed several days 
 for the purpose of exploring the country. At a 
 short distance from the landing place, they dis- 
 covered a spot well adapted for a missionary 
 station. It is a green slope or terrace, overgrown 
 with shrubs, having a woody valley extended on 
 one side. Their conductor, Uttakiyok, who had 
 spent more than one winter in the Ungava country, 
 assured them that there was here an ample supply 
 of provisions, and expressed his conviction that the 
 Esquimaux would collect from all parts and settle 
 here, if a settlement were formed. As to Euro- 
 peans, the missionaries entertained no doubt that 
 they might find means of subsistence in this 
 place, as it is accessible for ships, and has plenty 
 of wood and water. These considerations, there- 
 fore, induced them to erect high marks of stones, 
 on the two opposite hills at the entrance of the 
 bay; and on a declivity of another on the right 
 they fixed a board, on which were carved the 
 initials of the reigning king of Great Britain, those 
 
176 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 of the two missionaries, and that also of the society 
 to which they belonged, together with the year of 
 their arrival. 
 
 The travellers, after leaving this place, had pro- 
 ceeded but a short way, when they were obliged 
 to cast anchor in an exposed situation, being de- 
 tained several days by contrary winds ; and when 
 these became more favourable, it blew so hard a 
 gale, that they were in imminent danger of suffer- 
 ing shipwreck. Their situation now became more 
 critical, and rather alarming. The season was far 
 advanced, and the Esquimaux expressed their 
 fears, that if they proceeded much further, they 
 might not find it practicable to return to Okkak 
 before winter, which would be attended with most 
 distressing consequences. 
 
 These circumstances threw the missionaries into 
 great perplexity. They were only seventy or 
 eighty miles distant from the western extremity of 
 the Ungava country, which they had fixed upon as 
 the fmal object of their voyage ; and yet difficulties 
 seemed to render it nearly impossible to reach this 
 point. In this distress they retired to their own 
 tent, and having maturely weighed all circum- 
 stances, entreated the Lord's direction in fervent 
 prayer. They rose from their knees with a firm 
 conviction that they ought to proceed in his name, 
 and relying on his help; and when they men- 
 tioned their determination to the Esquimaux, they 
 found them cheerfully disposed to prosecute the 
 voyage. 
 
 Two days after, the wind veered to the north- 
 east, and became favourable, so that after a sail of 
 six days they arrived at the mouth of the river 
 Kocksoak, (Sand River,) the very place they had 
 in view. Here they remained from August 25th 
 
LABRADOR. 177 
 
 to the 1st of September, exploring the surrounding 
 country, and entering into conversation with the 
 inh:ibitants respecting the object of this expedition. 
 The difference between these Esquimaux and their 
 countrymen Hving at the settlements was very 
 striking. The former were very poor, and miser- 
 ably provided; whereas the latter, by their inter- 
 course with the brethren and other Europeans, had 
 acquired many conveniences, and even compara- 
 tive affluence. They appeared rather shy, but, 
 after having received a few trifling presents, they 
 became more free and communicative, surveying 
 the missionaries from head to foot, as if they were 
 a new species of animal. They listened, however, 
 with attention to their discourses, repeatedly ex- 
 pressing their wish that they would come and set- 
 tle in the country, that they might hear more of 
 the gospel, and be converted. 
 
 The estuary of the Kocksoak lies in 589 36' N. 
 latitude, at the distance of about six or seven hun- 
 dred miles from Okkak, and is about as broad as 
 the Thames at Gravesend. The brethren gave it 
 the name of South River. Having proceeded 
 further onwards in the skin-boat, they arrived al a 
 bay, surrounded on all sides by a gentle rising 
 ground, well wooded with trees of moderate size, 
 and called it Unity Bay; considering it as a very 
 desirable place for a missionary settlement. A fine 
 slope extends for about half an English mile, 
 bounded on each extremity by a hill, on which 
 they erected high signals. The land is level and 
 dry, well watered by several rivulets issuing from 
 the wood, and in this they found various European 
 plants and flowers, and different kinds of shrubs, 
 such as junipers, currants, &c., with grass and 
 trees in abundance. 
 
Its MISSIOXAEY BECOKDS. 
 
 The travellei-s now deemed it unnecessary to 
 prosecute their voyage any further, as, from all 
 the inteUigence they could gain from the natives, 
 they were satisfied that no other place suitable 
 fw a missionary establishment could be found. 
 Further west, no wood grows along the coast, and 
 there is no place, except the two rivei*s betbre 
 mentioned, where a ship could with safety approach 
 the land ; and at this season of the year they 
 would probably meet with no inhabitants, as they 
 were all gone into the interior to hunt rein-deer. 
 The object of their expedition having been thus tar 
 attained, they therefore prepared for their return. 
 They presented their faithful pilot, Uttakiyok, with 
 their skin-boat, with which he was highly gratified. 
 On September 2d, they commenced their voyage 
 home ; and, without meeting with any remarkable 
 occurrence, arrived in safety at Okkak, on the 4th 
 of October, afier an absence of fourteen weeks, 
 having performed a voyage of from twelve to tliir- 
 teen hundred miles. 
 
 During the following years no very remarkable 
 events occurred in the three settlements at Hope 
 Dale, Nain, and Okkak. The mission proceeded 
 with a slow but steady pace, and though the ac- 
 cession of new converts was not great, yet tlie 
 brethren had tlie pleasure to find that, with but 
 few exceptions, those who came to reside with 
 them, remained faithfiil to their promise, to foi'sake 
 their pagan customs, and to improve all the means 
 of gmce with which they were lavoured. They 
 were cheered in their benevolent exertions, by ob- 
 serving clear evidences of a DiN ine work in the 
 children and young people born and educated in 
 the settlements, wlio were stimulated to increasing 
 diUgence at school, by obtaining a new spelling 
 
LABRADOR. 179 
 
 and reading book in the Esquimaux language. 
 The progress of both young and old in scriptural 
 knowledge was greatly promoted, by the translating 
 and printing of the *• Harmony ot' the Four Gos- 
 j>els," and the "Summary ot' Christian Doctrine," 
 for the use of the children, and the subsequent ver- 
 sion of each ot' the Gx)spels, generously published 
 at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society. The devotion of the congregation had, 
 moi-eover, been much enlivened by the publication 
 of a hymn book in their native tongue. 
 
 The early commencement and extraordinary se- 
 verity of the winter of 1S15, prevented the Esqui- 
 maux trom procuring a sutiicient stock of provi- 
 sions; they were, however, preser\-ed from abso- 
 lute tamine, as the missionaries rendered them all 
 the assistance which their 0N\'n scant\' stores al- 
 lowed. This distress had in some measure an 
 injurious influence on their spiritual coui"se, as 
 they were obliged to seek their food at a distance 
 from the settlements. Some were so reduced by 
 want and distress, that they seemed, as it were, 
 stupefied, and scarcely able to attend to the con- 
 cerns of their souls with becoming seriousness. 
 Many of them, however, manifested tilial conti- 
 deiice in their heavenly Father, and due resigna- 
 tii:«n to his will. 
 
 Notwithstanding these trying circumstances, the 
 missionaries remark: — ''It is clearly seen, that the 
 Christian Esquimaux have a consciousness of the 
 necessity of knowing and relying on their Saviour 
 and Redeemer, whom they are bound to love and 
 serve ; and otten have we seen them shed teai-s on 
 hearing the gospel. The conduct of our commu- 
 nicants has atTorded us pleasure and editication, by 
 w hich we have been greatly encouraged. In short, 
 
1'80: MISSIONARY BECORDS. 
 
 we rejoice in perceiving, that the work of God and 
 his Spirit has been carried on in the hearts of our 
 people with manifest blessing, though amidst much 
 weakness and imperfection on our part, and not dis- 
 tinguished by any extraordinary and striking ap- 
 pearances from without." 
 
 A trial, severer than any which had hitherto ex- 
 ercised the faith and patience of our brethren on 
 this coast, was experienced by them in the year 
 1816, in consequence of the late arrival of the ship 
 at Nain and Okkak, and the complete failure of all 
 the captain's attempts to reach the settlement at 
 Hope Dale. The following is the official account 
 of this disastrous event : — 
 
 "October 28th, 1816. — The Jemima arrived in 
 the river from Labrador, after one of the most dan- 
 gerous and fatiguing voyages ever known. She 
 arrived at the drift ice on the coast of Labrador, on 
 the 1 6th of July. Captain Frazer found it extended 
 two hundred miles from land; and, after attempting 
 to get in, first at Hope Dale, then at Nain, and 
 lastly at Okkak, he was at length completely sur- 
 rounded by ice, and in the most imminent danger 
 during six days and nights, expecting every mo- 
 ment that the ship would be crushed to pieces. 
 With very great exertion, he at length got towards 
 the outer part of the ice. Yet he was beset by it 
 forty-nine days, aud, to the astonishment of all our 
 brethren, as well as of the Esquimaux, did not 
 reach Okkak till August 29th. The very next 
 day, the whole coast, as far as the eye could reach, 
 was entirely choked up by ice, and, after lying at 
 Okkak nearly three weeks, he was twice forced 
 back by it on his passage to Nain, which place he 
 did not reach till September 22d. After staying 
 the usual time, Captain Frazer proceeded, October 
 
LABRADOR. 181 
 
 3d, towards Hope Dale, with fine weather, yet, on 
 account of the lateness of the season and a great 
 deal of drift ice, with but little prospect of reaching 
 that settlement. Notwithstanding he mentioned 
 his fears to the brethren at Nain, brother Kmock 
 and his wife, and the two brethren Komer and 
 Christensen, who were going to Hope Dale, went on 
 board, and they set sail. In the evening the wind 
 rose and blew very hard, accompanied with a heavy 
 fall of snow, and so dense a fog that they could not 
 see the length of the ship. Being within half a 
 mile of a dangerous reef of rocks, the captain was 
 under the necessity of carrying a press of sail to 
 clear them, which he did but just accomplish, when 
 the gale increased to such a degree, the wind being 
 right on shore, that he was obliged to lay to, when 
 the sea often broke over the vessel. Seeing every 
 attempt to reach Hope Dale was in vain, he was at 
 last necessitated to bear away for England, on Oc- 
 tober 5th. On the 8th, 9th, and lOth, he again 
 experienced a gale equal to a hurricane, which 
 during the nights of the 9th and 10th was so vio- 
 lent, that the captain expected the ship would be 
 foundered. She was at one time struck by the 
 sea, which twisted her in such a manner that the 
 very seams of her larboard side opened, and the 
 water gushed mto the cabin and the mate's berth;' 
 as if it came from a pump, and every body at first 
 thought her side was stove in: the Lord, however, 
 was pleased to protect every one from harm, and 
 nothing was lost, nor has the ship suffered material 
 damage." 
 
 This disastrous event occasioned many fears and 
 perplexities, both to the missionaries in Labrador, 
 and their friends at home ; it caused a very con- 
 siderable expense to the funds of the society ; it un- 
 16 
 
J8^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 expectedly removed four missionaries from the 
 scene of their labours; and it awakened the most 
 painilil feelings in the brethren and sisters at Hope 
 Dale, who naturally concluded that the ship had 
 been lost, as a considerable time elapsed before 
 they heard of her arrival at the other two settle- 
 ments ; and even when their anxiety was partially 
 relieved, they were inclined to fear that the vessel 
 had foundered in her attempts- to reach her har- 
 bour. 
 
 The four missionaries, who had thus been unex- 
 pectedly brought to Europe, after spending the 
 winter in England, returned to Labrador in 1817, 
 Their voyage was perilous, as the passage was 
 frequently obstructed by immense fields of ice 
 during heavy gales and thick fogs. But though 
 the vessel was greatly damaged, she safely reached 
 the harbour of Hope Dale; and, after receiving 
 the needful repairs, proceeded to Nain ^nd Okkak. 
 The non-arrival of the ship at Hope Dale, in the 
 preceding year, had, as was anticipated, caused 
 much anxiety to the missionaries in that place. 
 They had, however, suffered no want of provi- 
 sions, being sufficiently supplied from the stores of 
 Nain. 
 
 The most distressing consequence of the event 
 just alluded to, was the obstacle thereby thrown in 
 the way of the brethren at Okkak, to proceed 
 during the summer of 1817 to the Ungava country, 
 and to spend the following winter there. But the 
 unexpected removal of the missionaries to Europe, 
 so reduced the number of those remaining in the 
 country, that they were obliged, though very re- 
 \jctantly, to relinquish that intention. This was 
 he more to be regretted, as they had received pre- 
 vious information that the inhabitants of that coun- 
 
LABRADOS. 183 
 
 try were anxiously waiting their arrival. But 
 times and seasons are in the hands of the Lord. 
 He does all things well ; and the duty of his ser- 
 vants is, under every trial, to be resigned to his 
 will. 
 
 The peaceful and hopeful course of the Christian 
 Esquimaux was now unhappily disturbed by some 
 pagan visiters from the south, who inveigled 
 eighteen of the inhabitants of Hope Dale, and fifty 
 of Okkak, to leave the settlements, and remove 
 with them to the residence of the Europeans in the 
 south. Discouraginof as this was to the brethren, 
 they were animated in the prosecution of their 
 work, by observing that the major part of the con- 
 verts were progressively attaining more of the 
 Christian character, both in knowledge and 
 practice. 
 
 The brethren wrote from Hope Dale, July 27th, 
 1825: — "We have, indeed, even in the year past, 
 richly experienced that the good seed has not been 
 sown in vain. The Spirit of God accompanied the 
 testimony of the life, sufferings, and death of Jesus, 
 with power in the hearts of our people ; and we en- 
 joyed with them many rich blessings whenever we 
 met in his name. It gave us peculiar satisfaction 
 to perceive, that all those that had for some time 
 past been excluded from the congregation, returned 
 with true signs of repentance, bemoaning their sins 
 and transgressions, and crying to the Lord for 
 mercy. We could, therefore, at different opportu- 
 nities, readmit them all to fellowship with the be- 
 lievers. Several persons advanced in the privi- 
 leges of the church ; two girls and eight children 
 were baptized ; four persons, baptized as children, 
 were received into the congregation ; seven became 
 candidates for the holy communion ; six partook of 
 
18'4 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 It for the first time ; and a youth was added to the 
 class of candidates for baptism. One child de- 
 parted this life. The Esquimaux congregation at 
 Hope Dale consists of sixty-five communicants, 
 thirty-five baptized adults, thirty-eight baptized 
 children and youths, seven candidates for baptism, 
 and two children yet unbaptized: in all, of one 
 hundred and ninety-two persons. 
 
 " In externals, we have cause to thank our hea- 
 venly Father for his care of his poor children. 
 Though few seals were caught by our Esquimaux 
 during the last winter, they never suffered real 
 want. The rein-deer hunt turned out well, and 
 many partridges were shot in the country, so that 
 we could always procure a good supply of fresh 
 meat. Towards the end of spring, the Esquimaux 
 were remarkably successful in catching seals, which 
 enabled them to dry a considerable stock of meat. 
 We had little snow during the winter, but from the 
 24th of November to the 9th of June, our bay was 
 frozen." 
 
 On August 13th, 1825, the missionaries wrote 
 from Nain : — " The internal state of our Esqui- 
 maux congregation has, by the Lord's mercy, 
 afforded us more joy than pain. Most of the bap- 
 tized have been desirous of experiencing the power 
 of our Saviour's grace, to enable them to walk 
 worthy of the gospel, and to give honour to him 
 who has delivered from darkness and the power of 
 sin. Some painful occurrences may be expected; 
 for the enemy of souls is ever active seeking to do 
 harm to the cause of God. Nor has he spared 
 us, but even sought to lead the children into mis- 
 chief, and created disturbance among them. But 
 the Spirit of God, ruling in the congregation, proved 
 more mighty; and the evil being brought to light, 
 
LABRADOB. 185 
 
 the machinations of the enemy were soon destroyed. 
 We thank the Lord, that we perceive that the spirit 
 of our people is with us, and all are intent on put- 
 ting away that which is an evil in the sight of 
 God. Against such a spirit, which is his gift, 
 Satan cannot long exert his craft with success. 
 May the Lord preserve it amongst us ! As to ex- 
 ternals, we can declare with gratitude that our 
 merciful heavenly Father has cared for our people. 
 None have suffered extreme hunger. They 
 caught but few seals in kajaks, or upon the ice, but 
 more in nets ; by which they obtained a sufficiency 
 for subsistence. Nor have they suffered much 
 from severe illness. 
 
 "During the winter season, five adults and four 
 children were baptized; three persons were re- 
 ceived into the congregation ; fourteen were added 
 to the candidates for the Lord's supper, and three 
 became partakers. At present our Esquimaux 
 congregation consists of two hundred and seven 
 persons, of whom eighty-two are communicants. 
 None have departed this life. About seventy 
 children attend the meetings and schools, with dili- 
 gence and profit." 
 
 In a letter dated Okkak, August 24th, 1825, it 
 is said: — "Since the departure of the ship last 
 year, nine children and thirteen adults were bap- 
 tized ; thirteen became partakers of the Lord's sup- 
 per: three youths were received into the congre- 
 gation; twenty-three persons came to live here, de- 
 siring to be converted to the Lord; a lamily of six 
 persons removed to Nain; seven adults and three 
 children departed this life. They all gave evidence 
 of faith, and expressed their desire to depart and 
 be with Christ. Our congregation consists of three 
 16* 
 
186 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 hundred and eighty-eight persons, of whom ninety- 
 seven are communicants." 
 
 In 1829, the missionaries at Nain furnished the 
 following interesting communication: — 
 
 " What has not the Lord done for this nation for 
 nearly sixty years ! Oh, might none remain be- 
 hind, to whom the precious gospel of a crucified 
 Saviour is brought; but experience that the blood 
 of Christ cleanseth from all sin, and brings the sin- 
 ner nigh to God ! Of this we have seen many en- 
 couraging proofs in the years past; but never had 
 more cause to rejoice than over those which we 
 witnessed during the last autumn, when an infec- 
 tious disorder was brought hither from the south, 
 and spread so fast, that, in the space of four weeks, 
 upwards of one hundred and fifty of the members 
 of our congregation lay ill. 
 
 " The situation of these people was deplorable 
 in the extreme. In such cases every thing is 
 wanting ; nor could the patients assist one another. 
 In many tents, all the families lay in a helpless 
 state ; nor could any one give the other even as 
 much as a drop of water: those who had recovered 
 a little walked about hke shadows. We were em- 
 ployed early and late, in preparing medicines, and 
 visiting and nursing the sick; and all our spare 
 time was occupied in making coffins and burying 
 the dead. On some days, we had two or three 
 funerals; and you may conceive what we felt 
 during such an accumulation of distress. Our 
 stock of medicine was all expended; and at one 
 time we feared we should lose the majority of our 
 congregation. 
 
 " But the Lord heard our sighs and prayers, and 
 gave us to experience his marvelous help, when 
 
LABRADOR. 187 
 
 at Hope Dale, had returned thither with a peni- 
 tent resolution to forsake no more the fellowship of 
 believers. A satisfactory and improving spirit ap- 
 pears to prevail. 
 
 From Nain, brother Lundbury writes : — " Upon 
 the whole, the past winter has been a season of 
 much greater satisfaction to us than the preced- 
 ing. Many of our Esquimaux appear to have been 
 led by the Spirit of God to serious self-examina- 
 tion ; and we cherish the hope, that the spiritual 
 advantages they have enjoyed, will not have been 
 conferred in vain. Experiences of this kind prove 
 a great encouragement to us to continue to pro- 
 claim the gospel to the poor Esquimaux, for we 
 see that the Lord is still with us. The New Tes- 
 tament remains in constant use among our people, 
 and never fails to be their companion and guide, 
 during their absence from us at the out-places in 
 the spring and summer." 
 
 Brother Fritche adds the following testimony: — 
 " It was evident that our simple preaching of the 
 sufferings and death of Jesus made an impression 
 upon the hearts of our hearers ; to this, the conver- 
 sations which I had from time to time in visiting 
 Esquimaux, bore sufficient testimony. The know- 
 ledge of the truths of the gospel, which many of 
 them exhibited, surprised me. I question whether 
 many European Christians in the same rank of life 
 could be found possessing a clearer insight into 
 them." 
 
 The missionaries at Okkak speak with pleasure 
 of the general course of their congregation, and of 
 the appearance of greater spiritual life among their 
 young people. Some persons had been added to 
 the congregation, but the total number of members 
 had decreased by removals to other settlements, 
 
188 MISSIONARY' RECORDS. 
 
 especially to one called Hebron, situated on Georges' 
 river. 
 
 The buildings at Hebron were making progress 
 but slowly, owing to the want of materials on the 
 spot, the necessary timber having to be procured 
 from the settlement of Hope Dale, at the distance 
 of five hundred miles, or from England by the ship. 
 It was hoped, however, that the mission house would 
 be completed in the ensuing summer. 
 
 The advantage at present derived from this new 
 settlement is chiefly as an outlet for the redundant 
 population of Okkak ; but the brethren cherish the 
 hope, that it will become the means of extending 
 the Redeemers kingdom in those northern regions. 
 Fourteen natives have taken up their abode at the 
 settlement, among whom some encouraging indica- 
 tions have appeared. But most of the visiters 
 whom the missionaries receive from the north 
 come only for the purpose of trade, and hitherto 
 hive shown no inclination to attend to the gospel 
 message. 
 
 At all the settlements, the missionaries speak 
 with satisfaction of the progress of the schools, and 
 the diligence and proficiency of the scholars. 
 
 Brother Morhardt perseveres in his arduous and 
 important undertaking, the translation of the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old Testament into the Esquimaux 
 language. In the course of the preceding winter, 
 (1833,) he completed the translation of the prophe- 
 cies of Isaiah, which is under the revision of the 
 brethren at the other settlements, and purposed to 
 proceed with the book of Exodus. His version of 
 the book of Genesis has been printed by the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 The last accounts are as follows: — Nain, four 
 brethren j Okkak, five brethren j Hope Dale, four 
 
LABRADOR. 189 
 
 brethren; Hebron, four brethren; of these twelve 
 are married, and five single. The labourers amount 
 to 29; communicants, 240; baptized adults, 162; 
 baptized children, 355 ; total in church fellowship, 
 857. Candidates for baptism, new people, and 
 excluded, 46 ; making a total under instruction of 
 903. 
 
 The winter of 1834-35 proved very severe and 
 protracted, as has already been stated ; but, in 
 Labrador, the native converts had less to suffer 
 from the want of the necessaries of life than their 
 Greenland brethren. The missionaries here had 
 also less cause to complain of the encroachments 
 of the Southlanders than in former years ; and the 
 course of their Esquimaux congregations was, in 
 consequence, less disturbed : the youth afforded 
 them particular pleasure, by their diligence in 
 learning. At Hope Dale, a cheerful jubilee was 
 celebrated, fifty years having elapsed since the 
 baptism of the first heathen Esquimaux at that 
 place. At Hebron, the frame of the church and 
 mission house was erected in the course of the 
 summer. 
 
 It has often and justly been remarked, that the 
 punctual performance, by the brethren's ship, of 
 the dangerous voyage between England and Labra- 
 dor, for the last sixty-seven years, forms an inter- 
 esting and important fact in the history of their la- 
 bours. The voyage in 1836, both outward and 
 homeward, was, however, one of great peril, the 
 most hazardous, with the exception, perhaps, of 
 that performed in the year 1816, which the present 
 century has witnessed. 
 
 The perils to which the Harmony was exposed, 
 on her outward course, commenced soon after the 
 
1^ MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 24th of June ; on which day, after a speedy and 
 prosperous voyage across the Atlantic, she fell in 
 with the drift ice, about two hundred miles from 
 the coast of Labrador. According to the statement 
 of the captain, it was not merely the immense 
 quantity of ice which rendered the navigation diffi- 
 cult and dangerous, nor yet the number of icebergs 
 which crowded the narrow channels, and of which 
 he, on one occasion, counted no less than seventy ; 
 but, more especially, the character of the frozen 
 masses, consisting chiefly of what the seamen call 
 " bottom ice," (ice of great thickness, concealed 
 either wholly or partially beneath a covering of 
 water, too shallow to allow a vessel to pass with 
 safety,) and the violent swells by which they were 
 frequently agitated ; the undulations thereby pro- 
 duced exceeding, on one occasion, one hundred 
 feet in perpendicular height ; a spectacle, which, 
 however sublime, could not be contemplated with- 
 out the most lively sensations of alarm ; for although 
 the Harmony was at the time beyond the reach of 
 the most violent agitation, the striking of the ice 
 against the ship's sides was sufficiently severe to 
 cause the utmost apprehensions for her safety. 
 
 It was, in fact, only by the constant use of tow 
 or cable-junk let down beneath the surface of the 
 water, and interposed between the vessel and the 
 advancing masses, that the sailors were enabled, 
 with the Divine help, to prevent her receiving seri- 
 ous, and perhaps irreparable, injury from their 
 sharp and rugged edges. For eight days subse- 
 quent to this anxious period, the vessel remained 
 completely intrenched in ice ; not a drop of water 
 being visible on any side of her, as far as the eye 
 could reach. At length, however, the Lord sent 
 
LABRADOR. 191 
 
 deliverance from these accumulating perils, and 
 opened for her a safe, though toilsome, voyage 
 through the ice, to the coast of Labrador. 
 
 On entering Hope Dale harbour, on the 4th of 
 August, the captain learned that it had become 
 clear of ice only two days before; a circumstance 
 which led him to consider as peculiarly providen- 
 tial, the many obstacles which had hitherto opposed 
 his progress ; having every reason to believe, that, 
 had the ship been obliged to contend with similar 
 ones in the narrow and rocky channels between 
 Hope Dale and the islands, the destruction of the 
 vessel, humanly speaking, would have been inevi- 
 table. 
 
 The voyage of the Harmony northwards, to 
 Nain and Okkak, was performed without any seri- 
 ous difficulty ; but the approach to Hebron was 
 attended with fresh dangers. When within a quar- 
 ter of a mile of the coast, at no great distance from 
 the settlement itself, a sudden storm arose, which 
 drove the vessel out to sea ; and continued to blow 
 with such violence, that the missionaries, who, 
 with their Esquimaux, had been standing on the 
 beach, making signals of welcome, gave way to 
 the mournful thought, that the Harmony had finally 
 quitted the coast of Labrador, and that they must 
 forego the comfort and refreshment of her annual 
 visit. So much the greater were their joy and 
 gratitude, when, on the 11th of September, they 
 saw her brought to an anchorage in Hebron bay, 
 uninjured by the three days' tempest to which she 
 had been exposed. 
 
 On the 15th of September, the ship commenced 
 her homeward voyage. The weather was boister- 
 ous ; but it was not till the 28th that she had to 
 encounter any severe gale. On that day a heavy 
 
192 MISSIONAEY RECORDS. 
 
 sea broke over her, which carried away the skiff 
 hanging astern, stove the cabin windows, swamped 
 the cabin, and, in its progress over the decks, 
 washed away the cook house, broke the wheel, 
 and nearly killed the man at it. No serious injury 
 was done, however, to the hull of the vessel. 
 
 To this affecting narrative, it may be appropri- 
 ately added in the words of the committee : — 
 "When it is considered, that, owing to the ex- 
 treme rigour of the season, the whale fishery on 
 the coast of Greenland, and in Davis's Straits, has 
 proved an entire failure, and that not a {ew of the 
 ships engaged in it have been lost; and when, in 
 addition to this circumstance, the distressing fact is 
 recorded, that, of the four vessels fitted out by the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, for the conveyance of 
 the necessary stores to the factories within their 
 jurisdiction, one has returned without being able to 
 fulfil her errand, and two others had not been heard 
 of so late as the 20th of November, the friends of 
 the Labrador Mission will doubtless feel how much 
 the Society owes to the undeserved favour and 
 good will of Him, who alone maketh a way in the 
 sea, and a path in the mighty waters." 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 193 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 State of Asiatic Russia — Heathen nations — Efforts to 
 diffuse nominal Christianity — Edict of Catherine the 
 Great in behalf of the United Brethren — Station at 
 Sarepta — Labours among the Calmucs and other 
 pagans — Journey to Mount Caucasus — Translation 
 of the New Testament — Visit to the Lama — Inter- 
 view with Prince Tuemmen — His death — Funeral 
 ceremonies — Distribution of the Scriptures. 
 
 The vast north of Asia, placed beneath the sceptre 
 of Russia, is said to contain an area of more than, 
 4,000,000 square miles. So extensive is this 
 space, that it would admit the whole of Europe, 
 were it half as large again as it is. This immense 
 tract is, for the most part, a dreary desert, full of 
 steppes, extending further than the eye can reach, 
 and without even a single tree; or else of moors 
 and forests, into which a human being has scarcely 
 ever penetrated. Still more dreary does th« wil- 
 derness become, at every step towards the polar 
 circle, where the soil is more and more unyielding, 
 until at length neither man nor beast can exist. It 
 is no uncommon circumstance for snow to fall 
 during the summer months in Siberia; and in the 
 winters of Nertschinsk and Tobolsk, quicksilver 
 becomes so hard a mass, that it may be hammered 
 out into leaves. 
 
 Scattered over this immense tract there are, 
 however, many heathen nations, amounting to 
 about 9,000,000, hving in a state of primitive bar- 
 barism. The greater part of these people are rude 
 and independent; they lead a roving life, under 
 movable tents and jurts, or in caves and subterra- 
 17 
 
Ir94i MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 neous houses; and engage in rapine, the rearing of 
 cattle, hunting, and fishing. Many, overwhehned 
 by cares for the preservation of Hfe, yield them- 
 selves merely to the first instincts of nature. Some 
 bear the Christian name, but without even an ob- 
 scure notion of the religion of the Son of God. 
 Others are attached to the gods of their forefathers. 
 From inquiries made some years since, there ap- 
 pears to be about 1,000,000 of fire and fetisii wor- 
 shippers, besides about 300,000 professors of the 
 Lama religion, in addition to about 3,000,000 
 Mohammedans, who inhabit the Asiatic dominions 
 of Russia. 
 
 During the eighteenth century, various attempts 
 were made to diffuse Christianity through the Tar- 
 taries and the deserts of Siberia. Philophei, for 
 instance, Greek archbishop of Tobolsk, sent several 
 of his clergy to the Mongol tribes and their ku- 
 tuchtes, or Lama high priests, but without success. 
 Impelled by zeal, he himself at length went, in the 
 year 1712, to the Ostiaks, who hve by hunting, 
 fowling, and fishing, in the wilds along the Obi. 
 He took with him priests and Russian soldiers. 
 He entered the jurts of the timid people, attacked 
 their shamans, or sorcerers, burned their household 
 gods, overthrew the sacred trees, forbade polygamy 
 and the eating of horse-flesh, enjoined the observ- 
 ance of the Greek fasts and the wearing of the 
 cross, and, at the same time, was assiduous in 
 baptizing. He frequently ordered his military at- 
 tendants to drive large bodies of the refractory into 
 the water, where they then received baptism, 
 U^hether they would or not. 
 
 Similar efforts were made among the indolent 
 and effeminate Buriats, who inhabit the country 
 from the Jenesei to the frontiers of China, dwell in 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 195 
 
 felt huts, and worship Oktorgon Burchan, the good 
 spirit, and Okodol, the evil one, besides heavenly 
 bodies and household deities; among the Wogules 
 along the northern Ural mountains, the Tungusians, 
 Wotyaiks, and other tribes. In 1721, Theodore, 
 metropolitan of Tobolsk, announced, with exulta- 
 tion, the baptism of more than 40,000 Tartars, 
 whose conversion was said to be completed in a 
 very short time; and the College de Propaganda 
 Fide acquainted the sacred synod of Petersburg 
 with the conversion of 295,679 souls among the 
 Wotyaiks, Tchuwashes, Tcheremisses. and Mord- 
 wines, in a series of eight years, from 1740 to 
 1747. Many of the Calmucs, through the zeal of 
 Nicodemus Lenkeiawitz, archimandrite of Astra* 
 chan, especially after Mursa Tenishkow, in 1732, 
 and even Dshan, the female khan of the Calmucs, 
 in 1744, received this rite, for which the empress 
 Elizabeth made them valuable presents, and con- 
 ferred on them the princely rank, bearing to them 
 in this service the relation of godmother. 
 
 Yet what, after all, was thus accomplished? 
 Travellers since that period furnish no very grati- 
 fy iug accounts of the Christianity of the Fins, Tar- 
 tars, and Mongols, It appears, from Gmelin, Pal- 
 las, and others, that it was chiefly hordes living in 
 abject want, that submitted to baptism, in the hope 
 of gain; and that there was no improvement in 
 their moral condition. All they did to ingratiate 
 themselves with the Russians, was to adopt a few 
 usages of the Greek church, and punctually to 
 celebrate its festivals, because, on such occasions, 
 they were supplied even to intoxicatisn with beer 
 or brandy. The more wealthy natives, on the 
 contrary, as the Tungusians, who possess numer- 
 
196 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 ous herds, adhered steadfastly to the idols of their 
 country and the usages of their ancestors. The 
 emigrations of many of the Cahnucs to the Chinese 
 territory, are even said to have been a consequence 
 of the indignation of these Mongols against the 
 Russian clergy and their armed deacons, since the 
 Lama priests accounted to the people in the follow- 
 ing manner for the zeal manifested by the Russians 
 for their conversion: — "The Russian god wants 
 money, the Russian governor bread, the Russian 
 czar recruits : this is the reason why you are to be- 
 come Christians, and to till the ground like slaves." 
 
 Under the empress Catherine II. other measures 
 were adopted. Seminaries were founded for the 
 education of boys belonging to the Tchuwashes, 
 Tcheremisses, Mordwines, Calmucs, and other 
 Tartar and Mongol tribes, who were afterwards to 
 be employed as teachers and priests among their 
 roving countrymen. Similar institutions were 
 established at Iskutzk, Kasan, and other places; 
 and the Jesuits also sent forth missionaries into 
 the desert steppes. Of the results of their efforts, 
 however, but litde is known. 
 
 In consequence of an imperial edict, issued by 
 Catherine the Great, in behalf of the United Bre- 
 thren, granting them free permission to settle in 
 her dominions, and promising them entire liberty 
 of conscience, five missionaries sailed from Ger- 
 many in 1765, and proceeded to the banks of the 
 Wolga, where, with the assistance of some Rus- 
 sians, they formed a settlement, to which they gave 
 the name of Sarepta. In the course of a few years 
 this place became a flourishing and populous little 
 town, and the discovery of a mineral spring, within 
 the distance of five miles, drew together a great 
 number of visiters of different nations, many of 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 197 
 
 whom remained some time at the settlement, or in 
 the vicinity, for the benefit of the waters. 
 
 Intent on their great object, the brethren were 
 desirous of forming an acquaintance with the 
 Cahnuc Tartars, who occupy an immense tract of 
 country on each side of the VVolga; and their wish 
 was speedily gratified, as a numerous horde of that 
 people encamped in their immediate vicinity soon 
 after their arrival. Many of them also became pa- 
 tients of Dr. Joachim Wier, the practising physi- 
 cian of the settlement. Among these was a prince 
 of the Derbet tribe, who, with his retinue, took up 
 his winter quarters near Sarepta, in 1757; and, on 
 his removal in the ensuing spring, he invited two 
 of the brethren to accompany him to the immense 
 plain called the Great Steppe, assuring them of his 
 friendship and protection, and promising to facili- 
 tate, to the extent of his power, their attainment of 
 the language. Of course, this proposal was grate- 
 fully accepted; and, for about two years, the mis- 
 sionaries who had been selected for this purpose, 
 resided with the Calmucs, following them, with 
 their tents and cattle, in their occasional migrations, 
 and cheerfully conforming to ttieir mode of life. 
 During the whole of this time they were treated 
 with civility and kindness, and were without oppo- 
 sition from the priests; but, as little or no benefit 
 appeared, they relinquished their wanderings, and 
 confined their labours to such of the Tartars as oc- 
 casionally visited the settlement, or resided within 
 a moderate distance. 
 
 In the summer of 1844, an alarming event oc- 
 curred. A formidable troop of insurgents, who, by 
 their devastations, had for some time excited terror 
 and dismay in various provmces of the Russian 
 empire, made an irruption into the government of 
 17* 
 
198 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Astrachan, reduced the town of Saratof, and com- 
 pletely routed a party of the military, who attempted 
 to check their progress, at a place called Praleika, 
 within sixty miles of Sarepta. 
 
 The brethren were first apprized of these alarm- 
 ing circumstances by some fugitives, who arrived 
 at the settlement on the 28th of August; and about 
 the same time they received a message from the 
 commandant of Czarizin, avowing his total inability 
 to defend Sarepta, and recommending the inhabi- 
 tants to provide for their safety by immediate flight. 
 Accordingly, the whole of the women and the 
 children set out the same night, accompanied by 
 several of the brethren, and proceeded, partly by 
 land and partly by water, to Astrachan, where they 
 arrived, after many hardships and perils, on the 
 7th of September. Meanwhile, sixty-four of their 
 companions remained at Sarepta, anxious to secure 
 their most valuable property, and determined not to 
 abandon their post, until to do so was altogether 
 unavoidable. On the 1st of September, however, 
 some very alarming reports reached the settlement, 
 which induced them to flee for their lives, and it 
 was not until the 9th that they heard of the com- 
 plete discomfiture of the insurgents. When this 
 became known to the fugitives at Astrachan, they 
 all returned, adoring the God of their mercies that 
 no lives had been lost, and that not one of their 
 number had fallen into the hands of the rebels. 
 
 The brethren now resumed their labours among 
 the Calmucs, and other pagans who visited the set- 
 tlement, and embraced every opportunity of de- 
 claring and explaining the truths of Christianity; 
 but, though some seemed to listen with pleasure, 
 no abiding impressions were made on their minds. 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 199 
 
 At length, however, they had the satisfaction arising 
 from the conversion of a blind Calmuc girl, who 
 had been educated at Sarepta, and who was not only 
 adnnitted to the rite of baptism, but became a living 
 evidence of genuine faith, and at length died, confi- 
 dently relying on the all-sufficient atonement of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 In November 1781, two of the brethren, Messrs. 
 Grabsch and Gruhl, undertook a journey to Mount 
 Caucasus, in order to put to the test some reports 
 which they had heard of a tribe called the Tsehecks, 
 in that part of the country. It was said they had 
 tied thither from Europe, some centuries ago, and 
 still retained their peculiar customs, but professing 
 the Christian religion, though their churches were 
 never occupied, as they were no longer capable of 
 reading the books of their forefathers, which were 
 there deposited. Some of the missionaries were 
 indeed ready to conclude, as the name of Tsehecks 
 is assumed by the Bohemians, that the persons of 
 whom they had then heard were the descendants 
 of their countrymen, who, on account of their 
 religion, were cruelly banished from Moravia, 
 towards the close of the fifteenth century, and 
 are supposed to have retired to the vicinity of 
 Mount Caucasus. 
 
 On arriving at Astrachan, the travellers waited 
 on the governor, who kindly furnished them with 
 the necessary passports ; and after passing through 
 several Tartar villages, they reached Beregu, the 
 inhabitants of which are bigoted Mohammedans. 
 Considerable difficulty was, therefore, found in pro- 
 curing a lodging, till, at length, one man consented 
 to receive them into his house for a night to oblige 
 their guide. Usmei Khan, the prince of the coun- 
 try, happened to be in the town at this time, and as 
 
200 MISSIONAHY RECOBDS. 
 
 to him they had letters of recommendation, they 
 intimated to him without delay the object of their 
 journey. Some time elapsed before he could be- 
 lieve the account which Grabsch gave of himself 
 and his companion; but being at length satisfied of 
 his veracity, he took them in his retinue to his 
 residence at Bashiu, and provided them with a 
 guide to conduct them to the house of his friend 
 Muhmud, at Kubasha, the principal town belonging 
 to the Tschecks. 
 
 The missionaries on their arrival were grieved 
 and disappointed, as they had been before, to find 
 the religion of the inhabitants was that of the Koran. 
 But they resolved to make every inquiry respect- 
 ing their origin, language, former religion, and 
 sacred books ; and, in this researcli, Grabsch actu- 
 ally visited all the houses, consisting of about five 
 hundred. He also carefully examined all the pub- 
 lic edifices, and discovered the remains of three 
 well-built churches. The inscriptions which were 
 visible, were in characters bearing no resemblance 
 to those of any alphabet which he had ever seen. 
 
 Mahnjud, to whom the missionaries had been 
 recommended by Usmei Khan, treated them with 
 great kindness, and convened ten of the inhabitants 
 of Kubasha, for the express purpose of procuring 
 the information which they desired. From the 
 united testimony of these persons, it appeared that 
 their ancestors had originally professed the Chris- 
 tian religion, but that upwards of three centuries 
 ago they had embraced the doctrine of the Koran ; 
 and also, that they had now no books in their pos- 
 session written in the characters used by their lore- 
 fathers, as the Arabic alphabet was invariably used 
 by them in writing the Turkish, the Tartar, or 
 their own language. In speaking on the subject of 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 201 
 
 religion, they expressed themselves grateful to 
 God, that he had mercifully directed them into the 
 right path ; and assured Mr. Grabsch they could 
 never acknowledge him as a brother till he had 
 renounced the faith of Christ for that of Moham- 
 med. The remarks of their visiter, however, 
 seemed to make a favourable impression on their 
 minds, and Mahmud assured him that, whenever 
 he came to Kabasch, he would treat him with fra- 
 ternal kindness. " What !" said Grabsch, " though 
 I should not turn Mussulman ?" " Oh !" replied 
 his host, " all that goes for nothing !" 
 
 On the 17th of March, 1782, Mr. Grabsch and 
 his fellow-traveller returned to Bashlu, and the 
 same day proceeded to Derbent, where they were 
 treated with the utmost kindness and hospitality, 
 by an Armenian, to whom they had letters of re- 
 commendation ; but on their attempting to leave that 
 place for Teflis, two days afterwards, they were 
 arrested by order of Hashi Bek, a person superior 
 to the khan in wealth and influence, and informed 
 that they would be detained till a quantity of silk 
 should be restored which had been recently confis- 
 cated in the Russian territory. They had the pri- 
 vilege, however, during their detention, of walking 
 about the town ; and, on the 18th ef April, through 
 the kind offices of a friend at Kishar, they were 
 permitted to resume their journey, in company 
 with a caravan. 
 
 On their arrival at the town of Samachia, they 
 were informed that the adjacent village of War- 
 taschin contained a congregation of Christians, who 
 were supposed to be the descendants of foreigners ; 
 and who had peremptorily refused, notwithstanding 
 all the threats and persecutions of their priests, to 
 embrace the doctrines of Mohammed. The breth- 
 
202 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 ren deeply regretted that they could not, under ex. 
 isting circumstances, visit these people; but having 
 met with one of the inhabitants of the village, he 
 informed them, that the persons who had been de- 
 scribed came originally from Georgia, and were 
 members partly of the Georgian, and partly of the 
 Armenian church. 
 
 After a tedious and troublesome journey, in 
 which they had been compelled to take a circuitous 
 route, to avoid coming in contact with the Lesgians, 
 who were returning from a predatory incursion, 
 and marking their rout© with depredations, they 
 arrived, on the 20th of June, at Teflis, where they 
 were received with the most distinguished con- 
 descension and kindness by the czar, or emperor, 
 Heraclius ; who not only entered into familiar con- 
 versation on the subject of the doctrine and consti- 
 tution of the church of the United Brethren, but 
 even wrote a letter to the directors of the missions 
 of Europe, requesting that some of their members 
 might be sent to reside in his dominions. 
 
 During their stay in Teflis, the travellers felt 
 anxious to proeeed across the mountains, in order 
 to visit a people called the Tschegemzes, resident 
 on the banks of the Tschegem, and conjectured, 
 from the resemblance of their name to that of the 
 Tschecks, to be lineally descended from the an- 
 cient brethren of Bohemia. In a conversation, 
 however, with some persons from that part of the 
 country, Mr. Grabsch was given to understand, 
 that they were the descendants of a Tartar tribe, 
 who had fled from the Russians into the moun- 
 tains in the neighbourhood of Astrachan ; though 
 the ruins of Christian churches in their immediate 
 vicinity, intimated that a different race of people 
 had ibrmerly dwelt on the spot now occupied by 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 203 
 
 them. Other testimonies, also, induced a belief, 
 that the idea respecting the Bohemians was un*? 
 founded ; and as the missionaries could not accom- 
 plish their intended visit without great inconve- 
 nience, they resolved to abandon it, and set out for 
 Sarepta, where they arrived in safety, after an ab- 
 sence of about ten months." 
 
 The brethren still continued to labour with un- 
 wearied patience and unremitting assiduity, in their 
 attempts to disseminate the knowledge of Divine 
 truth among the pagan hordes by whom they were 
 surrounded ; but as nothing seemed to have bet-n 
 t'tfected among the adults, they resolved to direct 
 their attention towards the children. Accordingly, 
 in 1801, the missionary Wendling opened a school 
 at Sarepta, to which one of the Calmuc princes 
 was induced to send his son, named Makash, for 
 the purpose of learning the German language ; and, 
 in the following year, several other children were 
 placed in the new seminary for the same purpose. 
 In the instruction of these, it was found extremely 
 difhcult to fix their attention; yet, on some occa- 
 tions, they appeared to be impressed by those 
 passages of Holy Writ which they were taught to 
 read ; and Makash, in particular, afforded proofs of 
 deep reflection, if not of Divine influence. Hav- 
 ing one day learned a verse relative to the neces- 
 sity of faith, he observed that he had offered up 
 his petitions to our Redeemer for this inestimable 
 gift, and the blessings connected with it ; and he 
 had found such enlargement of heart upon this 
 occasion, that he hardly knew how to give over 
 praying. Being once asked whether he considered 
 it a duty to pray for our fellow-creatures, he replied, 
 " I have often prayed that our Saviour would 
 lead my mother and relations to this place, that 
 
204 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 they might have an opportunity of hearing of the 
 way of salvation, and that he would send a teacher 
 to them with this good news." At another time he 
 observed, that after he had been perusing the his- 
 tory of our Lord's temptations in the wilderness, 
 he felt strongly inclined to absent himself from the 
 celebration of Divine service ; but soon recollected 
 that this was a temptation of the enemy, and pray- 
 ed to Jesus to deliver him from it. " Afterwards," 
 said he, " I rejoiced that I went to the preaching, 
 particularly as the subject of temptations was intro- 
 duced in the sermon ; I had cause to bless God 
 that I had not been permitted to follow my evil in- 
 clination." 
 
 In the year 1808, the brethren were encouraged, 
 by the committee of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, to undertake the translation of the New 
 Testament into the Calmuc language; and, in the 
 same year, they had the pleasure of ransoming from 
 slavery four girls of the Kingese nation ; who, 
 through the Divine blessing on the discourses of 
 their teachers, were subsequently emancipated from 
 the dominion of sin and Satan ; brought to a saving 
 acquaintance with the things of God ; and admitted, 
 at Easter, 1810, into the pale of the church by the 
 rite of baptism. These, however, with the bliud 
 Calmuc female, to whom reference has already 
 been made, were the only individuals of that nation 
 who had been considered proper subjects of bap- 
 tism, after a period of forty-five years ; and the 
 mission was, in consequence of this small success, 
 soon afterwards abandoned. The encouragement 
 and pecuniary assistance of the directors of the 
 London Missionary Society, however, induced the 
 brethren to recommence their labours among the 
 people, whose immense numbers, together with 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 205 
 
 the blindness of their minds, and the grossness of 
 their suoerstitions, rendered them peculiar objects 
 of consiaeration. 
 
 The Calmucs, in what is called the Great Steppe, 
 amount, according to the most authentic informa- 
 tion, to upwards of sixty thousand. Beyond the 
 limits of the Steppe, on the banks of the river 
 Wolga, there are about ten thousand more, who 
 have occasionally embraced the Christian faith, and 
 are considered as belonging to the Greek church. 
 And, besides these, sixty-five thousand families, 
 speaking the Calmuc language, live under the pro- 
 tection of China, having emigrated from Russia in 
 the year 1791. 
 
 With an ardent desire of proving instrumental to 
 the eternal salvation of some individuals among this 
 vast multitude, the brethren J. G. Schill and C. 
 Huebner set out from Sarepta, on the 20th of May, 
 1815 ; and, after a hazardous and difficult journey, 
 they arrived among the Choschut horde. These 
 people inhabit a district about two hundred miles 
 south-east of the missionary settlement, and fifty 
 miles south-west of Astrachan ; they reside in 
 kibitkes, or tents covered with skins, sometimes on 
 one, and sometimes on the other bank of the Wolga, 
 and employ themselves in the rearing and feeding 
 of cattle. 
 
 Here the brethren were introducod to the Cal- 
 muc prince Tuemmen, to whom they had a letter 
 of recommendation from St. Petersburg, and whom 
 they found sitting in his kibitke, on a rough skin 
 spread on the ground, barefooted, clad in black 
 h )rse fur, and with a black silk cap on his head. 
 He received them very kindly, and caused several 
 dishes of food to be served up to them, with plates, 
 knives, forks, and spoons, in the European style. 
 18 
 
206 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 He also gave them free permission to reside in the 
 horde, that they might become thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the religion and manners of tlie na- 
 tion ; and procured for them a competent teacher of 
 the language, in the person of another prince, 
 named Dschalzen, who had recently left his tribe 
 on the Don, and had come to reside in this part of 
 the country as a private person. 
 
 Their next visit was to the lama, or high priest, 
 who received them with the utmost courtesy, and 
 readily permitted them to cultivate an acquaintance 
 with the inferior priests. These are very numerous, 
 and, together with their disciples, are divided into 
 three classes, called the Gellong, the Goezul, and 
 the Manschi ; the first being considered of superior 
 rank. All these sacerdotal orders are profoundly 
 reverenced by the laity, who are extremely igno- 
 rant, and every thing connected with religion is 
 carefully enveloped with the veil of mystery. The 
 priests, indeed, were extremely cautious in con- 
 versing with the missionaries, and soon began to 
 suspect their real object in desiring to reside among 
 them. Hence, on one occasion, a Gellong ob- 
 served : — " All that is necessary to enable you to 
 transact with the Calmucs who come to Sarepta, is, 
 that you shonld learn to read and write our lan- 
 guage; you have no need to trouble yourselves 
 about our gods; and would do better to spend your 
 money at home, and rest satisfied with having a 
 thorough knowledge of one religion." 
 
 This mistrust of the brethren was particularly 
 apparent, when the Gospel of St. Matthew was 
 published in the Mongolian language, at the ex- 
 pense of the Petersburg Bible Society. The first 
 intelligence of this work was conveyed to prince 
 Tuemmen, by the Russian agent resident in the 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 207 
 
 horde, and it appeared to give him much uneasi- 
 ness. When two copies, elegantly bound, were 
 presented to him, however, in the name of prince 
 Galitzin, he received them with apparent satisfac- 
 tion, and immediately sent for the missionaries, to 
 inform them of the circumstance. He also stated, 
 that they had been recommended to his protection 
 in the letter which accompanied the imperial minis- 
 ter's present ; and assured them, that no individual, 
 either of the Russian, Calmuc, or Tartar nation, 
 should be suffered to injure them with impunity. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1816, prince Tuemmen 
 requested an interview with Mr. Schill, and pro- 
 posed several questions relative to the Christian re- 
 ligion ; but the whole of these were unimportant, 
 and evidently dictated by mere curiosity. "He 
 likewise mentioned, " say the brethren, " that he 
 had sent a copy of St. Matthew's Gospel to the 
 lama : but as he had very weak eyes, the writing 
 would be too fine for him. This expression was 
 perhaps intended to have a double meaning, as we 
 were afterwards led to suppose, from a declaration 
 made to us by two learned Calmucs. They asked 
 us if we had any writings in their language ; and 
 upon our showing them the printed Gospel of St. 
 Matthew, they observed, * That is your doctrine, 
 but it too fine for our eyes.' Priests of the se- 
 cond and third class, however, continued to request 
 copies of this work, and sometimes went so far as 
 to approve of the Gospel, though, in general, they 
 remarked that it was very good for Christians, and 
 not tor Calmucs. One day, a Gellong of some con- 
 sequence, expressed this opinion by an allegory.— 
 At>er he had read s portion of the Gospel, and re- 
 ceived from the brethren the desired explanation of 
 it, he wrote upon a piece of paper as follows : — ' A 
 
Sos 
 
 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 goose flew to a fine clear pond ; but she could not 
 find rest there, and as soon as she heard the voice 
 of the hunter she flew back again to the pond which 
 she had left, but which she had not forgotten.' " We 
 begged," say the nnissionaries, " that he would 
 explain this parable, but he was unwilling to do 
 it; the meaning, however, was sufficiently intel- 
 ligible." 
 
 Only ten copies of the Gospel were, at first, 
 sent to the missionaries from St. Petersburg, for 
 distribution, and these remained some time in their 
 hands ; but, on the subsequent reception of about 
 ninety copies, they were sought after with such 
 avidity, that nearly forty were disposed of in two 
 hours, and in a few days, not a single copy remain- 
 ed with the brethren. This demand took place 
 soon after an event which produced a deep sensa- 
 tion in the horde, namely, the demise of the prince, 
 after a short illness. Various offerings of camels, 
 horses, sheep, and money had been made to the 
 priests, in order to procure the removal of the pa- 
 tient's disorder, which was a pleurisy, but all 
 proved ineffectual. 
 
 "The prince breathed his last," say the mission- 
 aries, "in the night between the 10th and 11th of 
 June, old style. To that moment an incessant 
 uproar had been kept up in the idol temples ; where 
 vociferous prayers and unintermittiug drumming 
 indicated the anxiety of the people for the recovery 
 of their prince; but now an universal stillness en- 
 sued, and all mourned the loss of the deceased ; 
 for, though he was severe in punishing crimes, he 
 knew how to make allowances for faults and mis- 
 takes, and was consequently beloved and feared by 
 his subjects. Gladly would we have visited him 
 <iuring his last illness, but one of his attendants had 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 209 
 
 advised us against the attempt, assuring us that we 
 should not be admitted. In the visits which we 
 had previously made to him, we had remarked a 
 continual desire, on his part to connect the gospel 
 history with the fables of his own religion ; but as 
 soon as we endeavoured to bring the fundamental 
 truths of Scripture home to his conscience, he was 
 seized with a kind of agitation, which induced him 
 to turn the conversation upon other subjects, or to 
 break it off altogether. 
 
 " On the second day after his decease the inter- 
 ment took place. At a short distance from the en- 
 campment, a number of Gellongs constructed the 
 tomb in which the body was to be deposited.— 
 This was built of brick, of an oblong form, with a 
 hole in each of the four sides. A large iron three- 
 legged chair was then placed in the middle of the 
 inclosure, and above it an iron ring, secured by 
 long poles driven into the wall. A sufficient quan- 
 tity of wood, and several kettles filled with melted 
 butter, were likewise provided for the occasion. 
 
 " After these preparations had been completed, 
 the funeral procession set out in the following 
 order : — First, the lama, seated in a covered car 
 with two wheels, drawn by ten Gellongs and Goe- 
 zuls. After him came the corpse, sitting upright 
 on a litter, and borne by twelve of the principal 
 servants of his household. The deceased was 
 attired in a light blue gown, the head being bound 
 with a yellow silk handkerchief, and covered with 
 a Calmuc cap ; and the body was kept in an erect 
 position by some persons who walked on each side. 
 Next to the corpse walked two sons of the prince, 
 the one twenty, and the other seventeen years of 
 age ; the heir of the throne and another son being 
 absent. A guard of honour, composed of fifteen 
 18* 
 
SlO MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 young saisangs, or nobles, armed with spears and 
 muskets, followed ; and the rear was brought up 
 by Gellongs with music ; if, indeed, the noise ot 
 their drums and their long copper horns may be 
 dignified by that name. 
 
 " The procession having reached the place of 
 sepulture, the deceased was conveyed into the 
 tomb by some Gellongs, who together with the 
 corpse, were concealed from view during this 
 operation, by a large white cloth thrown over them. 
 The body being placed on the three-legged chair, 
 the iron ring was passed round the neck, and 
 the interstices being filled with wood, the Gellongs 
 began to wall up the tomb, narrowing it as they 
 advanced; at the top, instead of a key-stone, an 
 iron kettle was placed, in the bottom of which was 
 an aperture, and the whole building was daubed 
 over with melted butter and chalk. 
 
 " While the work was thus proceeding, the 
 lama and other Gellongs were busy in performing 
 their devotions, in a kibitke appointed for the pur- 
 pose ; the monotony of their prayers being reliev- 
 ed by the tinkling of little bells, of which each per- 
 son held one in his hand. The sons of the prince, 
 in the mean time, stood mourning over the grave, 
 and behind were the saisans, with a great con- 
 course of the laity. Soon after, the Gellongs form- 
 ed a circle round the tomb, set fire to the wood 
 which it contained, by means of the four apertures 
 already described, and poured repeated libations of 
 melted butter through the upper opening, to in- 
 crease the strength of the flames. The whole of 
 the contents being consumed, the company dis- 
 persed. The Gellongs, however, first drank tea 
 together, and some of them remained three days 
 to watch the tomb. To beguile the time, they 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 211 
 
 amused themselves by playing at cards ; a practice 
 in which no one durst indulge during the life-time 
 of the prince. 
 
 "The deceased was now, according to the idea 
 prevalent among the people, translated to the com- 
 pany of the gods, from whom his soul, like that of 
 every other chief, had originally proceeded. All that 
 remained of his bones was, on the third day, carried 
 to another place for preservation ; and the tomb con- 
 taining his ashes, which had been damaged by the 
 fire, was repaired, to serve as a place of prayer. 
 
 " Thus ended the government of this good natured 
 and respectable prince. He had placed no abso- 
 lute impediment in the way of the gospel; but, 
 owing to a predilection for his own religion, he had 
 beheld with concern the attempts to introduce it 
 among his people. The distribution of the Gospel 
 of St. Matthew, particularly, caused him uneasi- 
 ness; and he considered all those who accepted 
 copies of it as persons of a light and wavering cha- 
 racter. On this account it was, that many who 
 had refused to accept copies during his life-time, 
 willingly received them when he was no more." 
 
 The brethren were now particularly anxious to 
 distribute these sacred writings, which they knew, 
 by personal experience, were able, under the in- 
 fluences of the Holy Spirit, to make men wise 
 unto salvation; but various hinderances were op- 
 posed to the accomplishment of their pious wishes. 
 One evening, Mr..Schill paid a visit to a Gellong, 
 in whose house several persons of the same rank 
 were assembled, in consequence of the arrival of a 
 venerable priest, named Arschi, from the vicinity 
 of Astrachan, who had acquired the appellation of 
 master by his great learning. This person, on 
 hearing that Schill was a native of Germany, re- 
 
212 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 mai*ked, "The Germans are very sensible and 
 clever people, but they are not competent to under- 
 stand the profound mysteries of our religion." He 
 also stated he had received a copy of the Gospel of 
 St. Matthew from Astrachan; but that he could by 
 no means countenance the distribution of such 
 writings among the Calmucs, and had therefore 
 visited the horde for the express purpose of re- 
 pressing it. Some days after, a Gellong, who had 
 accepted one of the first copies of the Gospel, 
 called upon the missionaries, and, in the course of 
 conversation, expressed a strong desire to return 
 the volume which had been placed in his hands. 
 The brethren observed, that it would by no means 
 appear friendly to return a present which he had 
 once received, and at the same time assured him, 
 that they should feel happy in accepting any book 
 illustrative of the Calmuc religion ; but he replied, 
 "Our religious writings are principally Tangutish, 
 and as that language is sacred, we never commit 
 them into the hands of laymen." Several other 
 persons afterwards returned their copies of the 
 Gospel; yet it was pleasing to observe some in- 
 stances in which this barbarous people appeared to 
 thirst after the waters of salvation. One student 
 in particular, on obtaining the sacred volume, ob- 
 served, "I have borne many blows for the sake of 
 this book, but I am resolved to have it again; 
 though, in future, I will be very cautious how I 
 permit a Gellong to see it." 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Sacrifice offered by the prince on the death of his 
 father — Various ceremonies — Coldness of the people 
 towards the brethren — Disappointment of hope — 
 Death of the lama — Interesting account of two 
 Buriat nobles — Important letter to the missiona- 
 ries — Its effects on others — Visits of the brethren to 
 the new lama — Case of wretched superstition. 
 
 As the brethren were allowed to instruct some of 
 the Calmuc children in reading, they availed them- 
 selves of every opportunity to speak of Christ and 
 his great salvation. Sometimes, on these occa- 
 sions, they were joined by a few adults ; but it too 
 frequently happened, that after listening for a short 
 time, they left the company, observing, "Oh! it is 
 only the history of Jesus!" To the history of 
 angels they would give the utmost attention, but 
 they were indifferent to the Lord of angels. 
 
 One exception it was hoped was found in an 
 aged woman, the mother of a boy whom the late 
 prince had appointed to attend on them. Suffer- 
 ing from ill health, and having heard, from the 
 Gospel of St. Matthew, of the diseases cured by 
 the Redeemer, she expressed an earnest desire that 
 he would afibrd her relief The missionaries, 
 therefore, told her that the help of Jesus was prin- 
 cipally needed to cleanse her soul by his precious 
 blood; and that, if she experienced the healing 
 power of his atonement, she would not only be 
 able patiently to submit to her afflictions, but be 
 enabled to rejoice in the prospect of death, as the 
 means of her removal from a state of sin and 
 sorrow. 
 
214 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 To her this statement appeared at first incredi- 
 ble, yet it evidently made an impression on her 
 mind. One day she remarked: — "Whosoever 
 lives entirely without religion, cannot expect any 
 happiness in a future state ; and though we Cal- 
 mucs are by no means the worst of people, yet it 
 must be acknowledged that we sin frequently." 
 She then proceeded to relate, that a great sinner 
 once appeared, in the world of spirits, before the 
 judgment-seat of God. The good works and the 
 sins of the individual being placed in the balance, 
 the latter immediately preponderated- Happily, 
 however, for the culprit, he had brought with him 
 a single letter of one of the sacred writings ; and 
 this being added to the good works, the scale 
 turned as much in his favour as it had been before 
 against him ! 
 
 "This story," say the missionaries, "gave us 
 the most desirable opportunity of first making 
 known to her the nature of sin, according to the 
 word of God; and then of bearing witness of 
 Jesus, as the Saviour of sinners, who is ordained to 
 be the Judge of the quick and the dead ; and whose 
 precious blood alone can satisfy the demands of 
 Divine justice against every guilty transgressor. 
 In consequence of this conversation, she fell into 
 great uneasiness of mind, but it seemed as if she 
 were kept from us by some invisible hand. On 
 another occasion, also, she appeared to be affected 
 by our discourse, but we were unable to trace any 
 abiding impression made upon her heart." 
 
 Early in September, Sherbedshab, the eldest son 
 of the late prince Tuemmen, arrived from St. Pe- 
 tersburg, to assume the reins of government, and 
 one of the first duties he had to perform, was to 
 effer a sacrifice in honour of his deceased father. 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 215 
 
 This was attended with various ceremonies, and 
 employed th'" priests for several days successively, 
 for which they received a handsome gratuity. Pre- 
 vious to the arrival of the prince, indeed, they had 
 exacted a contribution of ten roubles tVom the inha- 
 bitants of each kibitke, without distinction of rank or 
 possession; and the readiness with which the peo- 
 ple came forward on this occasion would have done 
 honour to more civilized nations, and to a better 
 cause. It must be remarked, however, that it is a 
 grand point with the priests to impress on the 
 minds of the laity, that great liberality secures 
 their everlasting happiness; and from this doctrine 
 they derive a considerable revenue, particularly at 
 the celebration of a singular solemnity, styled the 
 "Festival of Good Works," which has been thus 
 described by the missionaries, in their diary for the 
 year 1816:— 
 
 "The festival alluded to, lasted eight days, 
 during which the laity were expected to entertain 
 the gellongs. This required a great quantity of 
 butchers' meat and mares' milk. Early in the 
 morning, the guests, from four to five hundred ia 
 number, assembled under a wide-spreading tent. 
 First they drank tea, and towards noon regaled 
 themselves with sour mares' milk; after which, 
 tea, and a supper of meat followed. The intervals 
 between feasting were filled up with the murmur- 
 ing of long Tangutish prayers, accompanied by 
 the sound of drums and horns. This constituted 
 the round of their devotions, every day, from morn- 
 ing till late at night. The conclusion of the fes- 
 tival, however, was particularly imposing. All the 
 orders of the priesthood assembled together in the 
 great tent ; the lama and the gellongs being clothed 
 
216 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 in a vest of red satin, without sleeves; about the 
 loins they wore a piece of dark red baize, fastened 
 by a girdle ; and over the shoulders a kind of man- 
 tle, of yellow silk : they wore no shirt, so that the 
 arms remained nearly bare. The lama was only 
 distinguished from the rest of the gellongs by a 
 high yellow cap, pointed at the top. The great 
 tent stood near his dwelling; and five kibitkes, 
 fitted up as temples, belonged to the sacred inclo- 
 sure. Around this place an immense multitude of 
 persons, of both sexes, adults and children, kept 
 incessantly moving; and whenever they passed 
 the temples, they bowed down to the ground, with 
 their heads uncovered. They then seated them- 
 selves, and listened, for a time, to the prayers of 
 the gellongs. Towards the end of the ceremonies, 
 the various orders of the priesthood performed a 
 similar revolution, the laity meanwhile standing 
 round them in a close circle. The lama was sup- 
 ported by two gellongs, who held him under the 
 arm-pits; for, as he generally remains in a sitting 
 posture, or is supported by others, he finds walk- 
 ing very difficult. The procession being concluded, 
 the lama was brought back into his kibitke, and 
 the whole multitude flocked around him, to receive 
 his blessing, which he imparted with imposition of 
 hands." 
 
 In the early part of 1817, the brethren observed 
 a growing coldness in the conduct of the priests, 
 few of whom now visited them ; while others, on 
 being visited, were actually rude, and desired them 
 to quit their kibitkes. Many of the laity, also, 
 who had been warned against the missionaries as 
 seducers of the unwary, advised their neighbours 
 to avoid all intercourse with them ; and others as- 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 217 
 
 serted, that all who had accepted copies of St. 
 Matthew's Gospel, would eventually be required to 
 pay for them. 
 
 A Gellong, one day, asked the brethren, " Why 
 do you expend so much money, in translating, 
 printing, and gratuitusly distributing a book, the 
 doctrines of which we shall never receive ? Such 
 exponse is entirely useless ; for though many of 
 us have your Gospel in our possession, we never 
 peruse it; as it contains many Russian names which 
 we cannot understand ; and, besides this, we have 
 a sufficient stock of religious writings of our own." 
 At another time, they were accosted in a more in- 
 decent manner, by a half-drunken Calmuc, who 
 charged them, in the mort insulting terms, with 
 falsehood and imposture. " You have given out," 
 said he, " that you reside in our horde in order to 
 acquire the language: but I have sagacity enough 
 to discern, that your real design is to betray and 
 sell us. You sneak into our kibitkes, to pry into 
 our religion and customs, and I have no doubt, that 
 you were sent hither by the emperor for this pur- 
 pose." Unmoved by these base calumnies, and 
 probably remembering the observation of the wise 
 man, that " a soft answer turneth away wrath," 
 the brethren mildly observed, that they had no 
 other object in view than the temporal and eternal 
 welfare of the people among whom they dwelt; 
 and though the barbarian at first replied that he 
 o<ily considered this an empty expression, he 
 gradually became more calm, solicited some to- 
 bacco, and said, on receiving it, that he had merely 
 called on them, to request that they would make a 
 favourable report of the Calmucs to the court of 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 To the painful feelings excited by repeated at- 
 19 
 
218 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 tacks, were sometimes added the bitter pangs of 
 disappointment, in reference to those of whom the 
 most lively hopes had been formed by the brethren. 
 " By one Gellong, in particular," say they, " we 
 had been treated in a very friendly manner. He 
 visited us frequently ; seemed attentive to what was 
 said on the subject of the counsel of God, concern- 
 ing man's salvation, and confessed at times, that 
 the exercises prescribed by his religion, did not 
 afford him true peace of mind. We, therefore, con- 
 ceived hopes that he was not far from the kingdom 
 of God ; and were so much the more grieved, to 
 find that his opinien on this subject soon began to 
 waver, and that he seemed to lose the impression 
 formerly received. At length, he declared that he 
 visited us merely out of good- will, and that, even 
 if he discoursed on religious subjects, it was 
 chiefly, to afford us a little exercise in the lan- 
 guage." 
 
 The death of the lama, an event of great im- 
 portance to the whole horde, occurred towards the 
 close of the year ; and he was succeeded in his 
 high dignity by an individual who came from a 
 considerable distance, where he had acquired the 
 appellation of "the hermit." The ceremonies ob- 
 served at his installation, which took place a 
 few days after his arrival, are thus described by 
 the brethren: — 
 
 " A general assembly of the people having been 
 convened in the open place where the temples are 
 erected, the prince, with his brother and their rela- 
 tions, first entered into each of these temples, and 
 bowed down before the idol images ; and similar 
 adorations were paid by the common people, 
 though at a considerable distance. After several 
 processions of the whole company round the sacred 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 219 
 
 inclosure, the prince repaired to the great tent 
 erected in the midst of the temples, and to which 
 the Gellongs were likewise invited, together with 
 the person to be installed into the vacant dignity. 
 The reigning prince, turning to the latter, addressed 
 him in the following words: — "I make thee 
 lama, and bow down before thee.' The new lama 
 now showed himself to the people, all of whom 
 prostrated themselves before him on the earth, and 
 afterwards each individual approached him in the 
 most reverential posture, to receive the blessings 
 which he imparted by means of a species of 
 rosary." 
 
 At St. Petersburg, in the meantime, an event 
 had occurred, which seemed likely, under the 
 Divine blessing, to open "a great door and effectual" 
 for the diffusion of a heavenly light among a people 
 who had been long and awfully enveloped by dense 
 clouds of ignorance, and the thick darkness of pa- 
 gan superstition. Two saisangs, or nobles, of the 
 Chonin-Buriat tribe, of the Mongol nation, had 
 come to the Russian capital, from the border of the 
 sea of Baikal, for the purpose of translating the 
 Gospel of St. Matthew into their dialect and cha- 
 racter ; which differ, in some respects, from those 
 in use among the Calmucs. This journey had 
 been undertaken at the request of the Petersbui^ 
 Bible Society, and with the consent of the prince 
 and lama of the tribe. Whilst they were engaged 
 in this important work, it pleased God to enlighten 
 their understandings, and to convince them so ef- 
 fectually of the truth, that they avowed the neces- 
 sity they felt of openly confessing Jesus as the 
 Saviour of their souls ; and, after a short time, they 
 gave a public testimony of their conversion, by 
 writing to the prince of their nation a letter, the 
 
220 MISSIONARY RECORDS. ^ 
 
 perusal of which will, no doubt afford a peculiar 
 gratification to the reader. 
 
 " At all times, gracious and benevolent prince, 
 and father of the eleven tribes of the Chonin-Buriat 
 people, DiNGBiL Galsang Faischi ! we wish you 
 to enjoy peace, joy, and honour evermore. 
 
 " We have received from your exalted person, 
 a letter of friendship and kind greeting, together 
 with the letters from the nobles in our chancery, 
 and from other nobles among our people and our 
 families. 
 
 " We rejoiced greatly on reading the contents of 
 your letter, in which you send us loving exhorta- 
 tions and words from your heart, expressing your 
 wish that we might use all diligence in the transla- 
 tion of the sacred Gospels. We have nothing fur- 
 ther to reply to it. 
 
 " Of the words and doctrine of the most high 
 God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have translated 
 the first book, called the Gospel according to St. 
 Matthew, into the Mongolian language and charac- 
 ter ; and we shall soon finish another book, called 
 the Gospel according to St. John. As far as we 
 know, we have perfectly well understood the words 
 of the Calmuc-Mongol writing and doctrinal lan- 
 guage, and have faithfully translated it into our 
 Mongolian dialect. As the word of God is clear 
 and plain, we can never be tired of reading it ; and 
 we feel that it is certain truth. 
 
 " The most high God and Saviour came into the 
 world, as into a great wilderness, with the design 
 to bring together, and unite in one fold, men who 
 were walking in various ways in darkness, like 
 straying sheep having no owner. It pleased his 
 merciful love to save and deliver them ; and, there- 
 fore, he left his Divine majesty, and came as the 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 221 
 
 Son of God into this world, being born in a mean 
 condition, and was called Jesus Christ. 
 
 " That he might show us the most exalted 
 Father's truth, mercy, and love, in all its clearness, 
 he became our light, our trust, and our guide into 
 all truth. He took on himself the grievous sins 
 and trespasses of men, and, instead of them, he 
 gave us his easy and gentle yoke. Though he 
 could declare to his cruel and savage enemies, that 
 he might have twelve legions of holy angels ready, 
 at his beck, to turn them to dust and ashes ; yet he 
 delivered himself up to these enemies, and suffered 
 himself by them to be nailed on the cross ; and all 
 he did for us, that we might be inseparably pre- 
 served in his faith, and that men might be united 
 under his merciful hand. Before the cross, there- 
 fore, all the gods that had previously been on earth, 
 all idol temples, and all traditions of men must 
 vanish. The prophecies have been fulfilled, and 
 that tree has sprung up which grows more and 
 more glorious, under whose leaves those related to 
 each other by religion, though widely diFenng 
 in form, may assemble together and build their 
 nests. 
 
 "Though eighteen hundred years have passed 
 away, yet this vessel of reasonable faith, this pearl 
 of a devout heart, has not yet reached the ears of 
 our Mongols and Buriats. According to our hum- 
 ble conception, our highly exalted and most gra- 
 cious emperor is an instrument in the hand of God ; 
 and the society of the sacred book of religion, 
 called the Bible, is a true apostle of Je^sus Christ. 
 
 " We hope to send you the translations of the 
 
 Gospels this summer ; and we are of opinion, that 
 
 you, exalted prince, according to the upright and 
 
 eound judgment you possess, will receive them 
 
 19* 
 
222 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 with joy. We likewise believe, that the priests, 
 the learned, and the nobles among our people, and 
 the whole nation will rejoice at it. We wish and 
 hope, also, that these Tungueses on the river Onon, 
 the Selengenskian Mongols, and the Mongols be- 
 yond the frontier, may be converted by it. 
 
 " As to yourself, having already made most 
 laudable attempts to comprehend this doctrine, do 
 not any longer act according to the will of your 
 old priests. As you well know the proper aim of 
 religion, you will soon love the doctrine of Christ. 
 
 " When, by the grace of God, both our own 
 people, and all who speak the Mongol language, 
 shall leave their old belief, and receive the doctrine 
 of Jesus Christ : and when they shall walk in the 
 only way of salvation ; then they will likewise 
 adopt a godly conversation and good usages. God 
 only can work faith within us. 
 
 "Thus have we, by this letter, laid before you 
 the feelings and thoughts of our heart in words of 
 truth. We have made the same confession to the 
 president of the society of this holy doctrine, 
 and to other enlightened persons ; but particularly 
 to our most enlightened teacher, Jacob Isaac 
 Schmidt. 
 
 " We are thoroughly and firmly resolved to 
 adopt the doctrine of the Saviour and true God, 
 Jesus Christ. Though we are yet ignorant of 
 the customs and rites of Christendom ; and when 
 we return home, shall neither find a teacher on 
 whose breast we may lean our heads, nor have a 
 house of God ; yet, after receiving such convictions 
 of the truth, we can be satisfied no longer, but 
 must remain true to his doctrine. 
 
 "We hope that our highly exalted and gracious 
 sovereign, the emperor, on hearing that his subjects 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 223 
 
 in the uttermost parts of his empire will receive 
 Christianity, will favour us with wise and worthy- 
 teachers." 
 
 A copy of this letter having been sent from St. 
 Petersburg to the missionaries, they embraced 
 every opportunity of distributing so interesting and 
 important a document among the Calmucs of every 
 rank in their neighbourhood. Prince Sherbedshab 
 read it aloud, and with great seriousness, in the 
 presence of the old Arschi, whose countenance 
 evinced the workings of his mind, particularly 
 during the recital of that passage which warns the 
 prince of the Buriats from suffering himself to be 
 any longer guided by his old priests. After Sher- 
 bedshab had concluded the letter, he said: — "It 
 appears, then, that these Buriat saisangs are in- 
 chned to receive the religion of the Christians; but 
 will the rest of their nation be of the same mind] 
 Whoever embraces a new faith without a strong 
 predilection for it, acts improperly; and to become 
 a Christian merely in name, will answer no pur- 
 pose whatever." The brethren immediately replied, 
 that this observation was extremely just; for it was 
 indispensable that every one who made a profession 
 of Christianity, should be satisfactorily convinced 
 of the truth of the system: they also stated, that a 
 change of religion should be perfectly voluntary, 
 and that no object should be kept in view by the 
 convert, but the obtaining of rest and salvation 
 for the immortal soul. In respect of the saisangs, 
 however, they observed, it was evident, from their 
 own letter, that they had considered this subject 
 maturely and had acted in complete conformity 
 witn the principles laid down. 
 
 Soon after the contents of this letter were com- 
 municated to a company of Gellongs, who listened 
 
2^24 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 to it with evident astonishment, and eagerly asked, 
 whether the converted Biiriats designed to become 
 Russians. As this question referred to the loss 
 of national character, which the Calmucs consider 
 as exceedingly degrading, the brethren told them 
 that Christ was no respecter of persons; and 
 that as no nation had any special claim to his 
 mercies, so none was excluded from their partici- 
 pation, 
 
 " This remarkable letter," say the brethren, 
 "found its way even to the lama himself. To- 
 gether with it, we had received from St. Peters- 
 burg, the Lord's prayer in the Buriat character; 
 and, one day, whilst the lama was entertaining us 
 with tea and sour mares' milk, we presented him 
 with both documents. He invited brother Schili 
 to sit down by him, and to read them aloud. 
 This being done, he showed us an old book, writ- 
 ten in the same character, and observed, " That is 
 the old Mongolian, which is no longer understood 
 among our people; our characters being of later 
 date.' To this question, 'Why the two Buriats 
 remained at St. Petersburg?" we replied, that it 
 was for the purpose of translating the remaining 
 Scriptures into the Mongolian. After this he 
 made no further inquiries in reference to the 
 subject. 
 
 It afterwards appeared that the new lama was 
 desirous of more frequent visits from the brethren, 
 and they called on him several times before the 
 close of 1818. It seemed, however, that he was 
 more anxious on these occasions to give his own 
 views, than to obtain information as to Christianity. 
 In one case, they stated that by Jesus were all 
 things created that are in heaven and on earth, and, 
 consequently, both the body and soul of man. On 
 
ASIATIC BUSSLl, 22o 
 
 hearing this, he burst into loud laughter, and ex- 
 claimed, " What! Is there any one who can create 
 souls'?" Here the conversation was interrupted 
 by some Gellongs; and the lama, after remarking 
 that though unnecessary talking was sinful, it was 
 right and profitable to speak on religious subjects, 
 dismissed the brethren, eihorting them to pray 
 diligently, and to visit him frequently. 
 
 "At our next visit," say the missionaries, "the 
 lama gave us another well-meant admonition. He 
 had observed that we were in the habit of killing 
 gnats and other vermin that annoyed us. He re- 
 marked, that we ought not to do this, but deal in a 
 more gentle manner with such creatures ; for though 
 it was true they deserved punishment for molesting 
 us, yet some allowances ought to be made for their 
 want of understanding. Upon our asking what was 
 the reason that the Calmucs subsist almost entirely 
 on animal food, although killing cattle is absolutely 
 forbidden by the principles of their religion, he 
 returned for answer, that every thing in this world 
 was growing worse and worse ; and that it must be 
 confessed, the decline of true religion among his 
 nation had been particularly great in this respect; 
 for, in earlier periods of their history, they had 
 lived merely upon milk and water gruel. It is 
 worthy of remark, however, that the Calmucs in 
 this neighbourhood, always employ the Tartars, 
 who reside among them, to slaughter their cattle. 
 
 The following is an affecting instance of the ex- 
 treme darkness and wretched superstition of this 
 people : — 
 
 "A saisang died, leaving behind him considera- 
 ble propeity. At his funeral the priests were very 
 busily engaged. After they had finished some long 
 prayers, the lama instructed the deceased at length, 
 
226 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 how he must travel to the world of spirits. The 
 best riding-horse of the saisang stood saddled before 
 the door, provided with a drinking glass ; and this 
 animal, with other valuable perquisites, fell to the 
 share of the lama. A Gellong afterwards observed 
 to us, " The saddled horse belongs now as much to 
 the deceased as ever; for, though the lama takes 
 possession of it, he makes an aerial horse, after the 
 fashion of the other, that the saisang may travel 
 upon it to his new place of abode.' Concerning 
 this shameful transaction, however, a man of rather 
 low rank expressed his astonishment to us, in 
 words to this effect: — 'It is singular that our 
 priesthood are solicitous merely to provide for the 
 rich, and that the latter alone are put into the right 
 way after death ; but that, on the contrary, the poor 
 are left unheeded, and are obliged to find the way 
 as well as they can without a guide.' " 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Interesting account of the convert Sodnom — Difficul- 
 ties attending his course — His encouragement of the 
 brethren — His fortitude and enlightened zeal — Effect 
 produced by the appearance of a comet — Conduct 
 of the prince Serbedshab — Removal of the converts 
 to Sarepta — Their reception by the congregation — 
 Fire at Sarepta — Opposition of the government — 
 Relinquishment of the mission. 
 
 In one individual, the missionaries had the hap- 
 piness of discovering an earnest desire to under- 
 stand and embrace the truths of the gospel. To 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 227 
 
 this man, named Sodnom, they were providentially 
 led to present a copy of the letter written by the 
 two Buriats at St. Petersburg, and its contents ap- 
 peared to make an immediate and serious impres- 
 sion upon his mind. "This letter," said he, "is 
 not to be slighted, for it has been evidently written 
 from genuine conviction of heart. The authors 
 have not acted like the generality of our Calmucs, 
 who take no pains to examine into any thing, but 
 are perfectly indifferent whether the doctrines which 
 they believe be true or erroneous. We have, in- 
 deed, numerous writings on the subject of our reli- 
 gion ; but they are either so dark or so contradic- 
 tory, that it is impossible to obtain any clear ideas 
 from perusing them. If an explanation be requested 
 of our learned men, they merely reply, 'The mean- 
 ing of religion is very deep.' But what benefit 
 can I derive from writings, the sense of which is 
 too mysterious for my comprehension? What I 
 read I ought to understand, or there should, at 
 least, be some person able and willing to give me 
 the needful explanation. I am not at all surprised 
 that the two Buriats have adopted the resolution 
 mentioned in their letter; and I sincerely wish 
 they would come hither, that I might converse 
 with them on the subject." Afler a short pause, 
 during which he probably feared that he had gone 
 too far, he added, "It would not, indeed, be right 
 in me to disbelieve our own religion : yet it is very 
 possible, that though the trunk of the tree be Di- 
 vine, some of the branches may be the work of 
 human invention." 
 
 The readiness with which this man appeared to 
 receive the truth, and the frankness with which he 
 owned his convictions, excited the livliest hopes 
 in the bosoms of the missionaries, who resolved to 
 
228 MISSIONARY BECORDS. 
 
 spare no pains in his instruction. The eflbrta 
 they made were so richly blessed of God, that 
 Sodnom never appeared so happy as when in their 
 company, notwithstanding the derision and perse- 
 cution of his countrymen. On its being stated 
 that, in the commencement of the mission in Labra- 
 dor, one of the brethren had been murdered by the 
 inhabitants, yet the mission had not been abandon- 
 ed, as others were found willing to risk their lives 
 in the service of the Redeemer; he was deeply 
 affected by the remark, and exclaimed, " It must, 
 indeed, be an easy thing to suffer death for the 
 sake of Jesus !" Sodnom was, therefore, considered 
 the first fruits of the Calmuc mission. 
 
 He wrote to the two Buriats at St. Petersburg, 
 stating the impression which a copy of their letter 
 had made on his mind, and explaining his views of 
 the Christian religion; the answer he received 
 tended greatly to his encouragement. On the mis- 
 sionaries presenting him with a copy of the Gospel 
 by St. John, he read it with the most devout atten- 
 tion; and one day emphatically exclaimed, "This 
 is the soap which must cleanse us from the defile- 
 ment of the old system of religion." He seemed 
 greatly delighted with the seventeenth chapter, 
 containing the prayer which our blessed Lord 
 offered up for his disciples, previous to his suffer- 
 ings. He now longed ardently for that commu- 
 nion of heart with all believers which the Redeemer 
 solicited as the portion of his followers; and, as a 
 proof of this, he addressed the brethren at Sarepta, 
 in a letter to the following effect : — 
 
 " Herewith I approach you who live at a dis- 
 tance, wishing you rest and joy. Since by the 
 instrumentality of the word of the Most High God, 
 who cannot lie, a small seed has fallen into my 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 229 
 
 heart, I entreat most earnestly that you will afford 
 me your assistance, in still further enlightening my 
 mind ; remembering me continually before the 
 Most High, and commending me to his grace and 
 favour." 
 
 About this time, he gave the missionaries to un- 
 derstand, that it would be impossible for him any 
 longer to attend the religious exercises of the Cal- 
 mucs; that, on account of the change in his senti- 
 ments, he had already suffered much persecution 
 from his wife and relatives, particularly since his 
 neglected rosary had been devoured by the mice f 
 and that he was aware his conduct would expose 
 him to the hatred of the whole nation ; yet he said 
 it was his most earnest desire to be saved through 
 faith in Jesus Christ ; and he added, " I trust the 
 dear Saviour, according to his great mercy, will 
 grant me grace to remain faithful to my resolution 
 of devoting myself to him." 
 
 On another occasion, whilst conversing with the 
 brethren respecting the ditliculties which attended 
 the conversion of the Calmucs, he endeavoured to 
 encourage them, by saying, *' When the sheep are 
 to be washed, we find every one afraid to enter the 
 water ; but this is no longer the case after the first 
 has been washed." A few days afterwards, he 
 stated, with evident delight, that he had at length 
 met with a friend, in one of his countrymen, with 
 whom he could converse freely upon spiritual sub- 
 jects. This person had once observed to him, " I 
 am in the service of the prince, and entirely de- 
 pendent upon him ; but I should not wish, on this 
 account, to risk the salvation of my soul." Sod, 
 nom had also the pleasure to perceive that his daily 
 practice of reading a portion of the Gospel in hia 
 family, though formerly opposed and derided, was 
 20 
 
280 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 at length productive of the happiest consequences. 
 One of his brethren who, in time past, exhibited 
 the utmost aversion to hearing the word of God, 
 now began to listen to it with seriousness and in- 
 terest ; nor was it long before a similar change be- 
 came apparent in his wife. In the commencement 
 of the winter, when Sodnom had sometimes con- 
 tinued reading till a late hour, she used to express 
 her impatience, and to remonstrate against a prac- 
 tice, which, she observed, could be of no utility, 
 though it occasioned an unnecessary consumption 
 of fire- wood. Now, however, she appeared to 
 give the most devout attention to what was read, 
 and, if the slightest interruption were made by the 
 children, she immediately suppressed it. 
 
 Sodnom, like many other converts, in the ardour 
 of their first love to Christ, had, for some time, 
 seemed anxious to preach to his countrymen ; but 
 having, on one occasion, received from the brethren 
 a correct and judicious exposition of that passage, 
 " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will 
 I also confess before my Father which is in hea- 
 ven ;" he observed, " I am now convinced that it 
 is better for me, at present, to be silent than to 
 speak. Our people are well versed in asking ques- 
 tions, but if they are interrogated in turn, their 
 answer is commonly an empty vapour. Perhaps 
 it might be advisable for us to live at some distance 
 from the rest of the horde ; for how can the spark 
 of truth, which is enkindled in the heart, burst 
 forth into a flame, if water be incessantly poured 
 upon it?" 
 
 But, notwithstanding his conviction on this sub- 
 ject, and the resolution which he formed, he was 
 never backward to speak " a word in season," on 
 behalf of the gospel, or with a view to the edifica- 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 231 
 
 tion of the heathen with whom he happened to fall 
 into conversation. Hence, the brethren observed 
 that a Calmiic having, one day, asked him, in a 
 jeering manner, whether it was really true, that he 
 was desirous, in his old age, of becoming acquaint 
 ed with a new religion ; Sodnom replied, by asking, 
 whether old age would exempt him from dyin^. — 
 And, on another occasion, when a man of the Kin- 
 ghese nation objected to the Christian religion, on 
 the ground that none of the nobles or learned men 
 had embraced it, he said : — " If a friend were to 
 offer you a costly present, would you ask why he 
 did not bestow it upon a more wealthy or distin- 
 guished person? Or, if a quantity of gold were 
 lying on the summit of a lofty precipice, and our 
 teachers were to place a ladder and invite you to 
 ascend, and to take away so much of the treasure 
 as you might think proper, would you wait till 
 some one greater or wiser than yourself came and 
 swept it all away]" 
 
 The appearance of a comet, in the month of July, 
 was considered as indicative of some disaster to the 
 Calmuc nation, and the Gellongs were busily em- 
 ployed in prayers and religious ceremonies, with 
 a view to avert the evil threatened by the celestial 
 stranger. This led to a conversation between the 
 prince and the missionaries, in which the latter 
 stated explicitly, that such a phenomenon portended 
 nothing relative to the concerns of mankind, but 
 merely displayed, like the other heavenly bodies, 
 the glory of the invisible Creator. The subject 
 was then dropped, as Serbedshab never appeared 
 inclined to speak of any thing connected with the 
 Christian religion. On several occasions, how- 
 ever, he demonstrated a superiority to the preju- 
 dices of his own nation ; which rendered it truly 
 
S30 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 desirable that he might be led to examine for him- 
 self the truths of Divine revelation. 
 
 He even deposed the lama from his high dignity, 
 and sent him back to the place from whence he 
 had originally come, in consequence of his having 
 spoken with unbecoming freedom of the government; 
 and, on another occasion, he reduced the number 
 of Gellongs from upwards of six hundred to two 
 hundred and fifty ; and informed those that were 
 dismissed, that they must, in future, pay tribute to 
 him like the rest of his subjects. No act of a simi- 
 lar nature had ever been heard of before among the 
 Calmucs ; but, though the greatest astonishment was 
 excited, not the least opposition was made to the 
 will of a prince, of whose wisdom and power the 
 whole horde had the highest opinion. 
 
 Some time after the promulgation of these de- 
 crees , Serbedshab began to exhibit a decided hos- 
 tility against the dissemination of the gospel, and 
 would no longer permit the missionaries to reside 
 among his people. By this time, however, the 
 light of divine truth had dawned upon twenty-two 
 of the Calmucs, who accordingly removed, with 
 Mr. Schill, to a spot belonging to the brethren at 
 Sarepta, and within about an hour's walk from that 
 setdement. 
 
 Mr. Reichel, in allusion to this circumstance, 
 observes : — " I shall never forget the impression 
 made upon my mind, when I beheld these dear 
 firstlings from a heathen nation, thrust out from 
 their own people and connexions, arrive on our 
 land, after a wearisome journey, accompanied by 
 their faithful missionary, brother Schill. The 
 weather was rather unfavourable, but I and some 
 other brethren rode out to meet them, and, after the 
 first cordial welcome, we stopped to see them pass. 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 222 
 
 Brother Schill proceeded on horseback, accompa- 
 nied by a division of men ; another division went 
 up the Wolga, in a boat; and the main body of the 
 people proceeded along the high banks of the river. 
 Then followed, at a short distance, the camels, 
 loaded after the oriental manner, with the various 
 parts of the kibitkes, or skin-tents, upon which the 
 women were seated. These were followed by the 
 Calmuc carts, drawn by horses; and one by a bul- 
 lock,' loaded likewise with tents and their furniture, 
 on which the young children were placed. After 
 the carts followed two loaded bullocks, as they had 
 only three camels; the herd of horned cattle, and, 
 lastly, the sheep and goats, driven by the bigger 
 children. There might be, altogether, seventy head 
 of cattle belonging to them. 
 
 " In the countenances of the people, who were 
 mostly, as it were, babes in faith, and had but just 
 begun to believe in the power and protection of 
 Jesus, we observed marks of mildness, thoughful- 
 ness, and deep reflection, rather than indications of 
 joy and gladness of heart. The countenance of 
 Sodnom, whose features are those of a genuine 
 Calmuc, but manly and expressive, seems to show 
 a gentle and contemplative mind. The Lord has 
 granted him true grace and a Hving faith. He is 
 truly humble in heart; and with his humility he 
 combines a truly apostolical zeal, fearing neither 
 reproach nor danger, but ever desirous to promote 
 the deliverance of his countrymen from the chains 
 of darkness, and to show them the same way to 
 the Saviour which he himself has found. As the 
 next to him in experience and grace, I may men- 
 tion his wife. She is of a very mild and quiet dis- 
 position, and does not speak much ; but her ex- 
 pressions remind us of what is recorded of Mary ; 
 20* 
 
234 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 " She kept all these things, and pondered them in 
 her heart." Indeed, there are several among them, 
 who, when they walk with their teacher along the 
 coast of their island, might say to him, as the 
 emiuch said to Philip, "Here is water; what doth 
 hinder us to be baptized ]" 
 
 " During the first days after their arrival, almost 
 the whole of the congregation of Sarepta went to 
 see these dear emigrants, and to bid them welcome 
 As the weather proved remarkably fine, aged breth- 
 ren and sisters, widows and hoary-headed men, 
 were seen grasping once more their pilgrim's staff, 
 and creeping along the road towards the kibitkes, 
 which stood about three English miles from hence, 
 that they might with their own eyes behold this 
 work of God. We were particularly affected 
 with what happened to a venerable brother named 
 Steinau, eighty-three-years of age, and one of the 
 first settlers at Sarepta. He, like other aged fathers 
 of this place, never forgets its pristine destination 
 to be the means of introducing the gospel to the 
 Calmucs. For this he had offered up his daily 
 prayers, and he now desired to see the firstlings 
 of that heathen nation. He, therefore, seized his 
 staff, which he had long ago laid aside, and, by 
 the help of a friendly conductor, reached their 
 camp. After beholding them, and hearing them, 
 in their own language, sing verses relative to the 
 sufferings, death, and redemption of Jesus their 
 Saviour, he returned home, thanking and praising 
 God ; and two days afterwards he closed his eyes, 
 and departed in peace." 
 
 The kibitkes of the Calmucs were, at first, 
 erected on the banks of the Wolga, but they were 
 subsequently removed to an island in that river, in 
 order to obtain better pasturage for their cattle, and 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 235 
 
 to avoid the troublesome visits of their pagan coun- 
 trymen, of whom there are many in the vicinity of 
 Sarepta. 
 
 " It has been but seldom," adds Mr. Reichel, 
 *' that the ice in the Wolga was sufficiently strong 
 to allow us to walk across it, the winter being un- 
 usually mild. I have attempted it only twice, in 
 company with some other brethren, before the 
 block-house, which the missionaries are to inhabit, 
 was put up. Sodnom entertained us very hospi- 
 tably in his kibitke, with Calmuc tea. This, how- 
 ever, is not to be compared with that in use among 
 us. It is brought from China, and is of a very- 
 coarse kind, being pressed into hard cakes, some- 
 thing like oil-cake, and thus sold. A piece being 
 cut off, is thrown into an iron pot, and boiled. — 
 The tea by itself, yields an unpleasant decoction, 
 like soap-lees ; but by an admixture of fat and salt, 
 it becomes a strengthening and nourishing kind of 
 broth, the colour of which resembles that of choco- 
 late made with milk. The Calmucs can bear hun- 
 ger and fatigue many days, if they can only get a 
 cup or two of this sort of tea. If the cooking of it 
 be cleanly, and the fat, which is commonly mutton, 
 be fresh, the taste is not disagreeable. Though I 
 had never tasted it before, I was able to drink a 
 whole cup of it without disgust. The wooden 
 bowls, out of which the Calmucs drink this tea, 
 holds about three or four cups of the common size. 
 
 " We had not been long with Sodnom, before 
 the other inhabitants came out of their kibitkes to 
 welcome us. I had brought a large wheaten loaf 
 with me, and distributed it among them, as they, 
 according to their custom sat on the ground. — 
 Nothing like a chair or stool is found in their tents ; 
 but they provided us with saddle-cloths and skins 
 
236 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 to sit on. During our friendly meal, men, women 
 and children were engaged in smoking tobacco, 
 and much conversation took place ; but when the 
 repast was finished, they all laid down their pipes, 
 folded their hands with great devotion, and sung 
 several hymns in the Calmuc language. We were 
 deeply affected by the simplicity and earnestness 
 with which the whole was conducted, and took an 
 affectionate leave of the poor people. 
 
 " Oh ! what a contrast was this to a meal at 
 which I was once present, when I visited a heathen 
 Calmuc family in the Steppe 1 Brandy having 
 been distilled in a sort of kettle, plastered all over 
 with clay and cow-dung, the father of the family 
 stepped forward, and began to draw off a portion, 
 pertbrming many singular ceremonies. First, he 
 threw a spoonful out at the chimney, then some 
 drops out at the entrance, and some behind his 
 back, with a view to expel all evil spirits. His 
 grimaces filled me with such disgust, that I lost 
 almost all appetite, and the little that remained en- 
 tirely quitted me when the filthy mess was put to 
 my lips, the smell of which annoyed me all the 
 day. 
 
 " The presence of the Calmucs has been the 
 means of much blessing and refreshment to this 
 congregation. When, on the second Christmas 
 holiday, a report was made of the manner in 
 which these firstlings had celebrated the incarna- 
 tion of our Lord with their teachers; and thus, for 
 the first time, the Saviour of the world, manifest in 
 the flesh as an infant in the manger, hud been 
 adored and greeted with hymns of praise and 
 thanksgiving by a portion of the Calmuc nation, 
 all present were deeply afiected. In all the solem- 
 nities of the season, and those of the new year, 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 237 
 
 these dear people were remembered before the 
 Lord, with fervent suppHcation, that he would 
 complete the work begun in their souls." 
 
 From this pleasing and truly interesting scene, 
 and from the contemplation of that dawning of 
 heavenly light, which had been so long anticipated, 
 and so anxiously desired, on behalf of the Calmuc 
 nation, it is now a painful task to direct the reader's 
 attention to an event of a peculiarly calamitous na- 
 ture. The disappointment that arose must also 
 be poignantly felt and deeply deplored, by all who 
 are solicitous that the heathen may be given to our 
 adorable Redeemer for his inheritance, and that 
 the uttermost parts of the earth may be his posses- 
 sion. 
 
 On the 9th of August 1823, about one o'clock in 
 the afternoon, a fire broke out in one of the out- 
 houses of the tobacco manufactory at Sarepta, and 
 spread with such rapidity, that no human efforts 
 could arrest its progress. Within about four hours 
 and a half, the whole of the buildings belonging to 
 the manufactory, the apothecary's shop, the war- 
 den's house, the two large houses of the single 
 brethren, with all their shops and farming premises, 
 and twenty-four dwelling houses, were laid in 
 ashes. About three-fourths of the settlement were 
 thus destroyed; and twenty-eight families, seventy 
 single brethren, and about twenty families of work- 
 men and servants, were deprived of their habita- 
 tions. It is worthy of remark, however, that when 
 the fire had reached the most dangerous place, and 
 had nearly caught the out-buildings of the minis- 
 ter's house, the progress of the devouring element 
 was providentially arrested ; or, it is probable, that 
 in half an hour more the whole settlement would 
 have been changed into a heap of ruins, and its in- 
 
238 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 habitants left without a home. "But our gracious 
 God," says Mr. Reichel, " who found it needful to 
 treat us with paternal severity, would yet, accord- 
 ing to the purposes of his love, not lay a heavier 
 burden upon us than we were able to bear; but 
 preserved to us our beautiful church, and so many 
 dwelling-houses, that on the 10th of August, all 
 the inhabitants, both members of the congregation 
 and strangers, could be provided with a place of 
 refuge." 
 
 But while the missionaries at Sarepta rejoiced 
 that the power of the gospel had, at length, been 
 felt and ackowledged by some individuals of the 
 Calmuc nation, they conceived that the government 
 would readily grant them permission to baptize 
 their converts ; and in future to collect and instruct 
 such heathens as were disposed to hearken to the 
 gospel. To their great surprise and disappoint- 
 ment, however, this was refused ; on the ground, 
 that the sovereign, notwithstanding his good-will 
 towards the brethren, has no power to alter an old 
 ecclesiastical law, which ordains, that none of the 
 heathen within the Russian dominions, shall be 
 permitted to receive the rite of baptism from any 
 other than the clergy of the Greek church. In 
 consequence of this decision, the Calmucs who 
 were brought to the knowledge of the truth sub- 
 mitted to be baptized by these ecclesiastics. 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Edinburgh Missionary Society — Station formed at Ka- 
 rass — Conduct of the efFendis — Appearance of the 
 plague — Reinforcement of the mission — Attention 
 excited by a Turkish tract — Tour of Mr. Paterson 
 — Extracts from his journal — The youth Katagerry 
 — Land granted by the Russian government — Mes- 
 sage from a Sonna prince — State of the people in 
 that country — Opposition to the circulation of tracts 
 and the progress of the gospel — Death of Mr. Brun- 
 ton — Translation and printing of the Turkish New 
 Testament — Visit to Astrachan — Translation of the 
 prophetical and poetical books into the Persian 
 language — Abandonment of the mission. 
 
 In April, 1802, the Rev. Messrs. Brunton and 
 Paterson were sent by the Edinburgh Missionary 
 Society, on an exploring mission to the countries 
 lying between the Caspian and Black Seas. Having 
 proceeded by way of St. Petersburg, they met with 
 so many difficulties and discouragements, on their 
 arrival in that city, that they almost despaired of 
 obtaining liberty to travel through the Russian em- 
 pire: but they, at length, unexpectedly found a 
 friend in the person of M. Novassilzoff, a noble- 
 man in the confidence of the emperor, and a lord 
 of his bedchamber. Through his means, they im- 
 mediately obtained the countenance and approba- 
 tion of government. Passports were granted them, 
 with full liberty to travel through the empire, and 
 to settle in any part of Tartary they might think 
 proper ; post horses were ordered for their use ; 
 private letters of introduction were given them; and 
 an open one was written by the nobleman now 
 mentioned, recommending them to the protection 
 
340 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and attention of all others in the country, civil and 
 military. Under these auspicious circumstances, 
 the missionaries proceeded on their journey, and 
 were every where treated with kindness and re- 
 spect. The magistrates of the places through which 
 they passed were forward to assist them ; and many 
 private individuals, likewise, showed them the ut- 
 most hospitality. Having, at length, arrived in 
 Tartary, they resolved to take up their residence in 
 a village called Karass, containing upwards of five 
 hundred inhabitants, all of whom were Mohamme- 
 dans. It is situated on the east side of the largest 
 of the mountains called Besh-tor. 
 
 Judging it indispensably necessary, not only to 
 their own comfort, but to the success of the mis- 
 sion, that they should be able to supply themselves 
 with the necessaries of life, independent of the na- 
 tives, they wrote to Mr. Novassilzoff, their gene- 
 rous friend at the Russiun court, acquainting him 
 with the situation they had chosen, and soliciting 
 from the emperor a grant of land, and certain other 
 privileges relative to the ransom of slaves from the 
 Tartars; particularly that they should have a right 
 to them until they were twenty-three years of age, 
 with the view of training them up in the principles 
 of the Christian religion, and instructing them in 
 the useful arts of life. To this request they re- 
 ceived a most gracious answer from his imperial 
 majesty, who was pleased not only to grant, but 
 highly to approve of their proposals. 
 
 Encouraged by these favourable circumstances, 
 the Edinburgh Missionary Society, in April, 1803, 
 sent out a new reinforcement of missionaries; 
 namely, Messrs. Andrew Hay, John Dickson, John 
 Hardie, Douglas Cousin, and Charles Frazer, seve- 
 ral of whom were married, together with the family 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 241 
 
 of Mr. Brunton, consisting in all of fifteen persons. 
 On their arrival at St. Petersburg, they met with 
 the kindest reception from his excellency, Mr. 
 NovassilzofF, and other friends in that city. Having 
 received letters of recommendation to the governors 
 of the different provinces through which they were 
 to pass, together with a government courier and 
 interpreter, they set off for Karass; and, after a 
 journey of about ten weeks, they arrived in safety 
 in that place. 
 
 In the mean while, Messrs. Brunton and Pater- 
 son had been diligently employed in learning the 
 Tartar language, which differs from the Turkish 
 chiefly in this, that the latter is enriched with num- 
 bers of words from the Arabic and Persic. Having 
 written and circulated several short addresses on 
 the subject of religion, they excited a great deal of 
 conversation, on the claims of Christ and Mo- 
 hammed, throuofhout Circassia and the neighbour- 
 ing parts of Tartary. Some of the effendis, or 
 doctors, frankly confessed that they were unable 
 to answer the arguments of the missionaries; but 
 still they showed no inclination to embrace the 
 truth, and were even averse to enter into any kind 
 of discussion concerning the evidence of their re- 
 ligion. 
 
 The priest of the village, named Abdy, was par- 
 ticularly thoughtful; his mind was sometimes so 
 perplexed that he could not sleep; he even acknow- 
 ledged to the missionaries the truth of Christianity. 
 One day, in talking w^ith some people who were 
 connected with the missionaries, he advised them 
 to read the Bible carefully, and to satisfy themselves 
 as to its truth while they were young. "As for 
 me," said he, "I am a poor, old, miserable man. 
 I know not what to believe. I cannot say that I 
 21 
 
242 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 am either of the one religion or the other. I stand 
 between the two, and am distressed with doubts 
 and uncertainty." At another time, when speaking 
 of the cheerfulness with which they should obey 
 the will of God, he said, "Jesus Christ hath shed 
 his blood for you, and why should you grudge to 
 do thus much for himf When conversing with 
 the missionaries, he spoke in a similar style ; but it 
 was said, he had been heard to declare, it would 
 have been well for him had he never seen the New 
 Testament. He travelled through the whole coun- 
 try, visiting the doctors and effendis, in order to 
 obtain answers to the objections which the mission- 
 aries raised against his creed; but instead of 
 having his difficulties removed, his statement of 
 them rather tended to excite doubts in the minds of 
 some of his learned brethren. 
 
 He himself possessed a sound judgment, was 
 eloquent, very inquisitive, and rather of a suspi- 
 cious temper, Though, in the early periods of his 
 life, he might have received his religious sentiments 
 without much examination, yet now nothing but the 
 strongest evidence could induce him either to em- 
 brace new opinions, or renounce his old principles. 
 Still, however, through fear of the chiefs, and the 
 love of this world, he continued to exercise the 
 office of a priest among his countrymen. He 
 seemed, indeed, to have persuaded himself, that, 
 on account of the peculiar circumstances in which 
 he was placed, God would not condemn him for 
 professing a religion he did not believe. 
 
 In the summer of 1804, the plague began to 
 make its appearance in the neighbourhood of Ka- 
 rass ; but as the Mohammedans, from their abuse 
 of the doctrine of predestination, seldom think of 
 going out of the way of that dreadful disorder, or 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 243 
 
 using precautions against it, so they were at great 
 pains to conceal its approach from the missionarie* 
 and the Russians. Some of the chiefs even threat* 
 ened to put any person to death who should inforn? 
 the missionaries of it ; and when the Russian gene* 
 ral sent some officers, with a party of Cossacks 
 to inquire concerning it, the Tartars positively de- 
 nied that they knew any thing about it, though at 
 that very moment it was raging in a village at no 
 great distance. 
 
 To add to the general distress, war now broke 
 out between the Russians and Kabardians. Many 
 of the former were, in various places, murdered by 
 the latter; and though they repeatedly came to aa 
 agreement, yet the barbarians were so regardless 
 of their oaths, that they broke them the first oppor- 
 tunity. These disastrous events could not fail to 
 create in the missionaries much anxiety and dis- 
 tress. Every day brought them new and alarming 
 reports. The whole family, men, women, and 
 children, sometimes slept with their clothes on, 
 ready to flee in case of danger; and, more than 
 once, the dread of an immediate attack drove thera 
 to the woods. 
 
 On one occasion, a plundering party of Kabar- 
 dians carried oft' three of their horses; and, it was 
 said, they expressed a strong desire to get the na- 
 tive children into their possession: in consequence 
 of these circumstances, the missionaries judged it 
 expedient to leave Karass for the present, and re- 
 tire to a Russian fort, about thirty -two versts dis- 
 tant. It is scarcely possible to conceive the con- 
 cern which the inhabitants of the village manifested 
 at their departure. Nine Tartars, with carts, went 
 with them to the fort, and Islam Geng, the sultan, 
 who had uniformly shown himself their warm and 
 
244 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 decided friend acccompanied them almost the whole 
 of the way. 
 
 In May, 1805, the society sent out four new mis- 
 sionaries to Tartary, namely, John Mitchell, Robert 
 Pinkerton, George M'Alpine, and James Galloway ; 
 two of whom, previous to their departure, had 
 learned the art of printing; and, besides other 
 useful articles, they took with them a printing press 
 and a fount of Arabic types, which is the character 
 generally used in that country. On their arrival 
 at Karass, whither the other missionaries had 
 again returned, they lost no time in erecting the 
 press, and in employing that powerful engine for 
 the propagation of Christianity in the country. 
 The first work which they printed, was a small 
 Turkish tract against Mohammedanism, written by 
 Mr. Brunton, who appears to have possessed a 
 very correct knowledge of that language. As a 
 proof of this, it is not unworthy of notice, that 
 many alleged that the tracts circulated by the mis- 
 sionaries were not written by any of themselves, 
 but must have been the work of some Turk, whom 
 they employed for that purpose. Others insinuated 
 that Mr. Brunton was not an Englishman, as he 
 pretended, but some renegade Turk. 
 
 On the publication of this little work, it created 
 no small sensation in the country, particularly 
 among the effendis. One who had visited the 
 missionaries a considerable time before, with a 
 view of converting them to the Mohammedan faith, 
 was not only shaken in his sentiments, but was so 
 troubled in his mind, that, for some nights, he was 
 scarcely able to sleep. He had travelled through 
 Syria, Arabia, Egypt, and other countries; and 
 was one of the most learned and respectable doc- 
 tors in all that quarter. At first he was extremely 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 245 
 
 bitter against Christianity, but after he became ac- 
 quainted with the missionaries his violence abated ; 
 and, for some time past, he had been so friendly 
 towards them, that some of the more zealous Mo- 
 hammedans threatened to kill him, on account of 
 his attachment to them. Several other etfendis, 
 of the first rank in the country, made no secret of 
 their suspicions respecting the truth of their own 
 religion. 
 
 In the summer of 1806, Mr. Paterson made a 
 tour in the Crimea, to distribute Tartar Testaments 
 and tracts. Leaving Karass on the 10th of May, 
 accompanied by one of the ransomed youths, he 
 proceeded towards the peninsula, through the steppe 
 between the Kuma and Tscherkask, on the Don ; 
 visited Rostof and Mariapol, on the sea of Asoph, 
 entered the Crimea at Perecop, traversed it south- 
 ward by Koslov and Sympheropol, then eastward 
 by Theodosia, or KafFa, and Kertch ; whence cross- 
 ing the straits of Jenicola to the isle of Taman, they 
 returned homeward by the Kuban; reaching Ka- 
 rass in safety, on the 18th of July. Though Mr. 
 Paterson's health was considerably injured, by the 
 fatigue of travelling and the state of the weather, 
 his spirits were continually revived, and his thanks- 
 givings to God called forth by the reception which 
 he and the object of his journey met with, not only 
 from the friends of the Bible Society, of whom 
 there were many, but by the population of every 
 description. Wherever he halted, he was sur- 
 rounded by multitudes, pressing with eagerness for 
 copies of the word of life; disappointed if their 
 wishes were not instantly complied with, and not 
 to be repulsed till they had gained their object. 
 Sometimes, from the top of the cart on which he 
 rode, in the market places of the towns, or in the 
 21* 
 
246 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 midst of an open place, he would stand for hours 
 together, talking to the listening and wondering 
 people, concerning the great truths contained in 
 the sacred volume which he was about to put into 
 their hands. At other times, he would sit in the 
 midst of a group, at the foot of a tree, and read to 
 them portions of the Scriptures, unfolding their 
 meaning as he went along; addressing them on the 
 value of their souls ; or replying to the questions 
 and objections which were suggested to them by 
 what he said. 
 
 The following extract from his journal will be 
 read with pecuhar interest: — 
 
 " At a village between Mariapol and Perecop, a 
 number of people, among whom was the head man 
 of the village, came with a young moUah, and 
 begged a New Testament. I gave him tracts, but 
 he earnestly begged a Testament. He said he 
 would read it in the Mejed, and pray for the wel- 
 fare of my soul. I told him that the effendis would 
 not allow it to be put into the Mejed, or to be read 
 there ; but the people insisted to the contrary, and 
 said that the house belonged to them, and not to the 
 effendis. After some conversation, I solemnly ad- 
 dressed the young mollah, and delivered the New 
 Testament into his hands. He went away very 
 happy. The head man also begged a tract and a 
 Testament for his son; and the people of the vil- 
 lage urged me to stay with them some days. 
 
 At this place, my young friend Shattose, (who 
 three days before had received a New Testament,) 
 came up to me on horseback, saluted me after the 
 eastern manner, and kissed my hand. He had 
 brought his New Testament bound in his bashluk, 
 or covering for the head, and I suspected that he 
 had been ordered to give it me back. But how 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA, 247 
 
 agreeably was I disappointed to hear him tell me 
 that he loved the New Testament ; and that he had 
 left his mother's house, and was determined to fol- 
 low me wherever I went, and become my son 1 He 
 said his friends and the mollahs had advised him to 
 do so. He accordingly proceeded with me on my 
 journey through the other villages. 
 
 " At Koslow, sitting and musing in my lodgings 
 on the obstinacy of the Mohammedans, and revolving 
 in my mind the best means to employ in order to 
 induce them to receive the truth, there came in a 
 company of Jews, and sat down at my side, and 
 entered into conversation with me on religion. I 
 spoke to them, and read portions of the New Tes- 
 tament to them. One of them opened a copy, and 
 read to his countrymen two or three chapters. He 
 read it with ease, and earnestly requested that I 
 would give it to him. I told him it was the New 
 Testament ; that I had brought copies of it to give 
 to Mohammedans ; and that I was afraid, should I 
 give it to him, that he would not read it, as it con- 
 tained the history of that Jesus whom their fore- 
 fothers crucified, but whom we believe to be the 
 promised Messiah, and the Saviour of the world. 
 He said that if I would give it to him, he would 
 read it, and stood as much in need of it as the Mo- 
 hammedans did. His brethren also made interces- 
 sion for him, and said, 'We wish ourselves to learn 
 what is contained in the New Testament.' After 
 some hesitation on my part, but anxiety on theirs, 
 I thought it might be of advantage to the young 
 man, and theref ire gave it to him, and exhorted 
 him to read it. Several more Jews who could read 
 Turkish came forward, and made the same request ; 
 but I was obliged to refuse them. One, however, 
 was peculiarly urgent, and would not go away, and 
 
248 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 used many arguments to induce me to give him 
 one, but for a long while without eifect, my whole 
 stock being now reduced to eight copies. He at 
 last said, " Give me this book ; it had been good for 
 me that I had never seen it, unless you give it to 
 me ; it may be of eternal advantage to me.' After 
 such expressions, I could not withhold it from him 
 any longer, but gave it to him as the word of God, 
 and exhorted him to read it. Here, truly," adds 
 Mr. Paterson, "there is a field for Bible and Mis- 
 sionary Societies : the first, in putting the Holy 
 Scriptures into the hands of the people ; and the 
 last for explaining them, and preaching the gospel 
 of Christ in simplicity and truth." During this 
 tour, also, he found at Bakcheserai, a Tartar trans- 
 lation of the Old Testament, which he sent to As- 
 trachan. 
 
 Agreeably to the plan which they had proposed 
 to the Russian government, the missionaries began, 
 at an early period, to ransom some of the Tartars 
 who were in a state of slavery, particularly some 
 young persons, with the view of training them up 
 from their early years in the principles of religion, 
 and teaching them the useful arts of life ; by which 
 means, they hoped Christianity would be most 
 effectually propagated in the country. Several of 
 the ransomed now professed to embrace the gospel ; 
 and, as their conduct fully corresponded with their 
 profession, they were solemnly baptized in the 
 name of Christ. Among others who embraced 
 Christianity, Katagerry, the son of one of the 
 neighbouring chiefs, deserves particular notice. He 
 was lineally descended from the khans of the Cri- 
 mea, and was allied to some of the principal fami- 
 lies in the East. 
 
 Having become acquainted with Mr. Brunton, 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 249 
 
 soon after the missionaries arrived in the country 
 he early formed a particular attachment to him. — 
 Interested by his fine appearance, his superior ta- 
 lents, and his engaging manners, Mr. Brunton, on 
 the other hand, was eager to instruct him in the 
 principles of Christianity ; and, though he had been 
 educated by a priest, it was not long before the in- 
 genuous youth perceived the vast superiority of 
 the gospel of Christ to the religion of Mohammed. 
 Having, at length, openly avowed his belief of 
 Christianity, he was baptized by the missionaries ; 
 and, from that period, he was steadfast in the pro- 
 fession of it. notwithstanding the persecution he 
 suffered from his relations, and the derision with 
 which he was loaded by his acquaintance. Some 
 of the chiefs even threatened to kill him, unless he 
 should return to the faith of his ancestors. On other 
 occasions, they endeavoured to gain him by the 
 liberality of their promises ; but neither promises 
 nor threatenings, neither harsh nor gentle treat- 
 ment, made any impression upon him. 
 
 Katagerry, however, was not merely steadfast 
 in his adherence to the Christian faith ; he was also 
 zealous in spreading it among his countrymen. He 
 lost no opportunity of recommending it to their at- 
 tention; he boldly defended it when it was attacked ; 
 he argued even with the mollahs and effendis, and 
 laboured to expose their absurd opinions, and their 
 wicked practices, to the view of the poor deluded 
 people. This interesting youth afterwards entered 
 into the Russian service; but though, by this means, 
 he was separated from the missionaries, he still re- 
 tained a strong attachment to them ; and wherever 
 he went, was eager to spread the knowledge of 
 Christianity. 
 It has already been stated, that the missbnaries 
 
250 MISSIONARY RECOKOg. 
 
 obtained a grant of land from the Russian govern- 
 ment, soon after their arrival in the country ; and, at 
 their desire, a person was now sent to Karass, to 
 measure off the ground which they had chosen, 
 amouting in all to six thousand dessatines. Of 
 this, a topographical description was transmitted to 
 the minister of the interior at St. Petersburg, with 
 a request that certain privileges, which were 
 deemed essential to the prosperity of the mission, 
 might be granted them. With the view of forward- 
 ing this important measure, it was found necessary 
 for one of the missionaries to visit that city. Ac- 
 cording, Mr. Mitchell proceeded thither in May, 
 1806, and happily succeeded in obtaining all the 
 immunities which they desired. By one article it 
 was declared, that they should be exempted from 
 all personal and landed tax and charges, for the 
 space of thirty years ; that, at the expiration of that 
 period, they should pay yearly fifteen copecks for 
 each dessatine of land fit for cultivation ; that, in 
 future, they should be subject to no other public 
 charge and impost whatever; and that they should 
 for ever be exempt from civil and military service, 
 and also from military quarters. 
 
 By another article it was provided, that the in- 
 ternal affairs of the settlers, respecting religion, the 
 management of their land, their proj^erty, and 
 their police should always be subject to their own 
 direction, or that of a committee chosen by them ; 
 and that this committee should have the power of 
 granting passports to all members of the settlement, 
 who wished to travel into the interior of the em- 
 pire, or to go abroad. The last was a privilege 
 which had never been granted to any foreign colo- 
 nists but themselves. The exemption from taxes 
 for thirty years was double the period that any 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 251 
 
 Other settlement enjoyed ; and while the United 
 Brethren at Sarepta pay for every dessatineof land 
 they have, whether goc^ or bad, the missionaries at 
 Karass had to pay only for those parts which are 
 fit for cultivation. 
 
 In April, 1809, the missionaries received a mes- 
 sage from a Sonna prince, requesting them to send 
 some person to instruct his people in the principles 
 of the Christian religion. The Sonna country lies 
 about seven days' journey from Karass, and is said 
 to contain upwards of fifty villages or towns, and 
 about two hundred thousand inhabitants, who, it 
 seems, are professed Christians. They believe. 
 we are told, in one God, and in Jesus Christ as 
 their only King and Saviour. They pray that God 
 would bless them for Christ's sake, and continue to 
 them the privileges which their forefathers enjoyed. 
 They baptize their children four or five days after 
 their birth, by washiug them all over the body. — 
 They devote the Sabbath to purposes of religion ; 
 and, when they swear, they wish they may be 
 turned to the left hand of Christ at the day of judg- 
 mont, should their oath be false. 
 
 In. their churches, however, they have images, 
 some of which they say were formed by the power 
 of God. In one of them there is the figure of a 
 young horse, which, according to them, was pro- 
 duced in this miraculous manner. They have, 
 likewise, in their places of worship, a number of 
 large books, which their priests read, but do not 
 pretend to explain ; their religious services consist- 
 ing chiefly of singing and praying. Their priests 
 are allowed to marry ; and, when they officiate in 
 public, they are arrayed in long garments, richly 
 ornamented with silver and gold. They inoculate 
 their children with the small-pox on the crown of 
 
252 MISSIONARY BECORDS. 
 
 their head. From these circumstances, the mis- 
 sionaries concluded that the Sonnas were Greek 
 Christians, and that probably they had once be- 
 longed to the Georgian church. They had long 
 been anxious to visit them, with the view of learn- 
 ing more particularly the state of religion among 
 them. Mr. Paterson had already made an attempt 
 to penetrate into that part of the country, but was 
 obliged to return without accomplishing his design ; 
 and, from the distracted state of the neighbouring 
 tribes, it was at present deemed unadvisabie to re- 
 new the attempt. 
 
 In March, 1810, the whole number of persons 
 belonging to the missionary settlement at Karass 
 amounted to thirty-nine. But, besides those more 
 immediately connected with the mission, there 
 were in the settlement one Mohammedan and two 
 German families ; and, after that time, their number 
 was considerably augmented. 
 
 The missionaries had now circulated a conside- 
 rable number of tracts through the country, and, by 
 this means, had excited a spirit of inquiry among 
 the people. The chiefs were, however, hostile to 
 their circulation, and prohibited their subjects from 
 reading them, under the severest penalties. The 
 Mohammedan tribes, to the south of Karass, dis- 
 played the most furious enthusiasm in support of 
 their religion. Inspired with a fierce zeal, they 
 threatened destruction to all who bore the Christian 
 name. Paradise, with all its sensual delights, was 
 preached up with more than ordinary earnestness 
 by the efiendis and mollahs; and, in consequence 
 of this, a considerable number of the people had 
 already sacrificed their lives. The missionaries 
 were, in a particular manner, the object of their 
 rage and malice, and they had lately employed 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 253 
 
 means to destroy them ; but owing to certain un- 
 foreseen causes, and the overruling Providence of 
 God, their maHcious designs were happily disap- 
 pointed. Though their enemies acknowledged that 
 they were quiet and inoffensive, they complained 
 that they were zealous in endeavouring to seduce 
 the people. 
 
 The Tartars, to the north of Karass, seemed no 
 less determined to oppose the labours of the mis- 
 sionaries, and the progress of the gospel. The 
 chiefs and the etfendis had, of late, several meet- 
 ings, to take the affairs of religion into considera- 
 tion. They passed various laws against those who 
 neglected to attend prayers at the muschid; and 
 they appointed some of their number to visit the 
 villages, and see these laws carried into execution. 
 About sixty young men, in a village a few miles 
 from Karass, were learning to be priests, in order 
 to obstruct more effectually the progress of the 
 gospel ; and the schools throughout the country 
 were crowded with scholars, as the chiefs, who 
 were particularly hostile to the progress of Chris- 
 tianity, earnestly advised the people to have their 
 children taught to read, that they might be able to 
 withstand the arguments of the missionaries, and 
 detend their own religion. The common people, 
 however, though much intimidated by these pro- 
 ceedings, were not insensible to the violence of the 
 means which were used ; and several of the elfendis 
 complained, that they did not meet with the san)e 
 respect from them as formerly. 
 
 In March, 1813, Mr. Brunton departed this life, 
 after a painful illness of several weeks. Happy 
 should we have been, could we have spoken of his 
 character and conduct with unqualified approbation ; 
 but though he was certainly a man of vigorous uu- 
 22 
 
254 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 derstanding, and possessed a great facility in ac- 
 quiring languages, as well as various other qualities 
 which fitted him to be a useful missionary among 
 the heathen, yet it cannot be denied that there were 
 faults in his character, which more than counter- 
 balanced these excellencies; and, indeed, towards 
 the close of his life, his conduct was a disgrace to 
 the cause in which he was engaged. It is painful 
 to record such circumstances ; but it is demanded 
 by impartiality. Let not the infidel triumph in the 
 iall of Brunton ; let the Christian shed a tear over 
 his memory; and "let him that thinketh he stand- 
 eth, take heed lest he fall." 
 
 It is proper here to add, that Mr. Brunton, soon 
 after his arrival in the country, began to translate 
 Ihe New Testament into the Turkish language, or 
 rather the language of the Nogay Tartars, which is 
 a dialect of it, and which he thought would be un- 
 derstood by most of the Tartars who could read, 
 from the banks of the Volga to the shores of the 
 Euxine Sea. In carrying on this work, he derived 
 essential assistance from the translation of the New 
 Testament in the Turkish, by Dr. Lazarus Sea- 
 man, which was published in England about the 
 middle of the seventeenth century. This work he 
 completed before his last illness commenced ; and it 
 is gratifying to add, that the printing of it was 
 finished a few weeks after his death. Other cases 
 of mortality had occurred. In the course of little 
 more than twelve months, no fewer than six per- 
 sons were carried to the grave, thus greatly re- 
 ducing the band of missionary labourers. But the 
 mission was afterwards reinforced. 
 
 In August, 1813, the number of the inhabitants 
 of the missionary settlement at Karass amounted to 
 one hundred and sixty-five persons ; namely, twen- 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 255 
 
 ty-five British, six of whom were missionaries, 
 eighteen natives, and one hundred and twenty-two 
 Germans. Since the establishment of the mission, 
 twenty-seven natives had been ransomed, ten of 
 whom had been baptized. Of this number, five 
 had died, some of whom, there was reason to hope, 
 departed in the faith of Christ. One of the bap- 
 tized, and four of the unbaptized, had run off to the 
 Kabardians. 
 
 As soon as the weather permitted, in the spring 
 of 1814, Messrs. Dickson and Galloway were sent 
 to visit Astrachan, where they remained two 
 months, endeavouring to excite the attention of the 
 Mohammedans in that city to the gospel. In June, 
 they returned to Karass, where the other missiona- 
 ries had again settled. 
 
 Scarcely had they got home, when, in conse- 
 quence of the urgent request of the Russian minis- 
 ter of the interior, at the express desire of the em- 
 peror, who had uniformly manifested a cordial in- 
 terest in the success of the mission, the brethren 
 despatched Messrs, Mitchell and Frazer to Oren- 
 burg, on the line of Siberia, to look out a more eli- 
 gible station than Karass. At Orenburg, the lieu- 
 tenant-general of the province received the mission- 
 aries with kindness, and seconded their views 
 with his personal influence. A piece of ground was 
 soon selected, of which a free grant was made by 
 the Russian government to the mission, with a view 
 to its secure and permanent establishment. 
 
 In May, a letter addressed to all the missiona- 
 ries, was received by the brethren at Karass, from 
 two of the principal effendis in the Kabardian 
 country. They begged an Arabic and Turkish Tes- 
 tament, and used among others the following re- 
 markable words — " We are friends to the saved of 
 
256 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 Jesus, and to the lovers of his glory. We wish to 
 see the statutes of the New Testament, and to com- 
 pare it with the Koran. All who keep the statutes 
 of the New Testament we hold as friends." This 
 request was joyfully and liberally complied with. 
 The prospects at this time were more encouraging 
 than at any former period. 
 
 All the missionaries, with their families, con- 
 tinued to reside at Karass, the original settlement, 
 until June, 1815, when a division of them took 
 place, for the purpose of occupying the station at 
 Orenburg, and another at Astrachan. Messrs. 
 Paterson and Galloway remained at Karass ; and 
 their attention was chiefly confined to the education 
 of the ransomed natives, and the conduct of affairs 
 in the settlement. In the mean time they endea- 
 voured to circulate tracts and copies of the Scrip- 
 ture around them. The ransomed natives at Karass 
 ■were said to pay attention to their education ; 
 and such of them as had received their freedom 
 and been baptized, conducted themselves with pro- 
 priety. 
 
 The youug sultan Katagerry came to St. Peter- 
 burg during the summer of 1815, where he re- 
 sided for some time under the eye of Messrs. Pater- 
 son and Pinkerton, who had the happiness of see- 
 ing and testifying that his conduct was in all re- 
 spects that of a Christian. Having obtained his 
 discharge from the military service, he was induced 
 to visit England and Scotland, in order to qualify 
 himself more fully for Christian usefulness among 
 his countrymen. He accordingly went to London, 
 in 1816, and prosecuted his studies there for some 
 time with great diligence. 
 
 In 1830, Mr. Glen, who was stationed at Astra- 
 chan, completed the translation of the prophetical 
 
ASIATIC RUSSIA. 257 
 
 books into Persian. It had been delayed by the 
 confusion arising from a violent attack of cholera 
 morbus. Of this awful visitation Mr. Glen writes, 
 on the 27th of August, when the disease, having 
 continued its ravages for twenty-eight days, had 
 disappeared : — "Such a time the city of Astrachan 
 never saw, in the memory of the present genera- 
 tion at least, as has elapsed since the 30th ultimo ; 
 at which date it was ascertained that the cholera 
 was on the turn. The greater part of that period, 
 business was, in a manner, completely suspended 
 at the bank, the bazaar, etc. ; the shops were al- 
 most all of them shut; and a universal gloom sat on 
 the faces of the inhabitants, as they passed through 
 the streets of the city. Out of not more than about 
 forty thousand inhabitants, it is calculated that from 
 five thousand to six thousand must have fallen vic- 
 tims to it in the city alone, and that about one-half 
 of the adults have been more or less affected by it. 
 Some were cut off almost instantaneously, and 
 multitudes in the course of six or eight hours ; 
 while others, after appearing to be in a state of 
 convalescence, relapsed, and were carried off. It is 
 said, that on one day five hundred were interred, 
 and on another four hundred and eighty." 
 
 In their report of 1833, the directors of the Scot- 
 tish Missionary Society, allude to the necessity 
 they felt for reducing their scale of operations, 
 and to their consequent resolution to relinquish both 
 the stations in Russia. " The mission at Karass," 
 they say, " has now existed for thirty years ; but 
 when the directors considered the little fruit that 
 has attended it during so long a period, and the 
 small prospect of success which it presents for the 
 future, they felt that this was one of the first sacri- 
 fices which it became them to make. The station 
 22* 
 
258 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 at Astrachan was, in a great measure, relinquished 
 seven or eight years ago, when most of the mis- 
 sionaries returned to this country. Mr, Glen only 
 was left to carry on a translation of the poetical and 
 prophetical books of the Old Testament into Persic, 
 on account of the British and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety ; but as his engagement with that Society is 
 expected to terminate about the close of the present 
 year, the directors have, for the same reasons as 
 have induced them to give up Karass, resolved to 
 relinquish Astrachan as a field of missionary la- 
 bour." 
 
 There are two colonies of German settlers, one 
 at Karass, and the other at Madchar, also near the 
 Caucasus. They offer many opportunities for 
 missionary labours among the numerous tribes of 
 Tartars in the vicinity ; and the agents from the 
 German Society have been engaged for several 
 years as ministers to the Christian colonists, and as 
 missionaries among the Mohammedans. As yet 
 they have not seen much fruit of their labours; but 
 it pleases God to strengthen their faith and their 
 hope. Frequent attacks of the savage inhabitants 
 of the neighbouring mountains render these stations 
 insecure and dangerous ; but the opportunity there 
 afforded of making known the word of life among 
 these tribes, and some rays of a rising light among 
 them, fill the missionaries with expectations of bet- 
 ter days. 
 
SIBERIA. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Siberia — London Missionary Society — Station at Se- 
 lioginsk — Religion of the people — Praying mills of 
 the"Buriats — Mongolian trsnslation of the New Tes- 
 tament — Station on the Ona — Missionary journey — 
 Favour shown by the Russian government — Inter- 
 esting account of the convert Bardo — Letter from 
 the Buriat youth Tikshie — Account of the convert 
 Shagdur — Improved state of the mission — Conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 The London Missionary Society have a station at 
 St. Petersburg, where much good has been effected 
 under the Divine blessing; and another at Se- 
 linginsk, a town and military station in the govern- 
 ment of Irkutsk, Siberia, and about four thousand 
 miles east of the capital. 
 
 The people originally derived their religion from 
 Thibet, and worship " Dalai Lama," or the Gmnd 
 Lama, whom they believe to be a heavenly, if not 
 a divine being; but, hke heathen in all ages, they 
 have numerous other objects of religious homage. 
 Their worship is associated with no sanguinary 
 rites ; but abounds with external observances, 
 many of them very absurd, which the people them- 
 selves acknowledge to be burdensome and disa- 
 greeable; but these ceremonies are considered, on 
 this account, as being the more meritorious. A 
 portion of the people still profess Shamanism, 
 which is supposed to be the most ancient religioA 
 of the country, and consists chiefly in the worship 
 of fire, and in reliance on amulets. It also differs 
 from Lamaism, inasmuch as it derives no support 
 from an order of priests, or from any regular ont- 
 ward observances. Many of the Lamaists, es- 
 
260 MlSSIOr^ARY RECORDS. 
 
 pecially the priests, are zealous, and have been 
 very successful in making converts from the 
 Shamans. 
 
 The following practice illustrates their predomi- 
 nant characteristic. The Buriat procures a prayer, 
 written on a long slip of paper, and suspends it 
 where it will be moved by wind or passengers, or 
 rolls it round the barrel of a small windwill, which 
 keeps his petition in motion, and satisfies his con- 
 science that it is acceptably offered to the god. 
 These praying mills are very numerous ; and they 
 have various other modes of worship equally suited 
 to their indolent habits. Indeed, their whole sys- 
 tem is a delusion, and their services are unmeaning 
 forms. Their restraints from animal indulgences 
 are confined to the short time spent in their tem- 
 ples; from which they return to commit "all un- 
 cleanness with greediness." 
 
 They speak the Mongolian language, but their 
 books are in an unknown tongue. The Selinginsk 
 Buriats are in the centre of all the Buriats on the 
 east side of Baikal Lake, and are estimated at about 
 fifteen thousand ; they have ten temples, and not 
 less than two thousand lamas, or chief priests. 
 The Chorinsk tribe are distinguished for their 
 wealth. They are divided into eleven tribes, inha- 
 biting the country easterly of Selinginsk, are esti- 
 mated at thirty thousand, and have only four 
 temples, and scarcely two hundred lamas. Up- 
 wards of one hundred thousand males belong to the 
 nation of Buriats. 
 
 The Rev. Messrs. Stallybrass, Swan, and Yuille, 
 arrived in 1819, and this mission, first commenced 
 at Irkutsk, has received the full approbation and 
 aid of the Russian government. 
 
 The missionaries frequently visit the Buriats in 
 
SIBERIA. 261 
 
 their different hordes, following them in their va- 
 rious wanderings, visiting their temples, distributing 
 the gospel and tracts, and otherwise communi- 
 catilig Christian instruction. Of the manner in 
 which they were received, soon after their arrival, 
 Mr. Swan wrote: — "The Buriats are every where 
 receiving the gospel and tracts with avidity, and 
 are daily coming to us for them from all quarters, 
 and from a distance of hundreds of versts. We 
 have likewise daily applications for medicine and 
 advice; and our being able to prescribe simple re- 
 medies, and furnish medicine for some of their pre- 
 vailing diseases, has contributed not a little to 
 secure their good opinion of us ; while we have, at 
 the same time, the finest opportunities for distribut- 
 mg the word of God. The lamas, or priests, 
 themselves, not only come for the gospel, but are 
 sometimes seen sitting at the door, reading it to a 
 listening audience of their own people." 
 
 Of a new opening for a missionary, the report 
 for 1823, states, that "a large district round Ner- 
 chinsk is inhabited by the Tungusians, a people 
 who are not in possession of a written language of 
 their own. Their neighbours, the Chorinsk Bu- 
 riats, have introduced among them books relative 
 to their superstitions, written in Mongolian, which 
 the Tungusians are, at length, able to read and un- 
 derstand. Thus the way was prepared, by the 
 zeal of the Buriats themselves, for the dissemina- 
 tion of Christianity among the Tungusians, who 
 will now be able to read the Mongolian Scriptures 
 circulated among that tribe, which otherwise, from 
 their ignorance of letters, would have been to them 
 a sealed book." 
 
 The Mongolian translation of the New Testa- 
 ment was completed during the year 1826, and 
 
262 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 considerable progress was made at that time in a 
 version of the Old Testament. The importance of 
 this work will be felt when it is considered that the 
 Mongolian dialect is spoken and understood, tiot 
 only among the Buriats, but extensively in Chinese 
 Tartary, and in a south-westerly direction, among 
 the inhabitants of all the intermediate country, from 
 Selinginsk to Thibet. The Mongolians Proper are 
 subjects of the Chinese empire, and the Kalkas and 
 Eluths, also under the same government, use the 
 same language. 
 
 Mr. Stallybrass has visited more than once a 
 missionary station which has been formed on the 
 Ona, availing himself of such opportunities as oc- 
 curred of preaching the gospel to the people. In 
 that quarter the lamas are zealous in their attempts 
 to make proselytes among the Shamans. The 
 people in this part of the country appear to be less 
 under the influence of prejudice than the other Bu- 
 riats. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1826, Mr. Swan 
 visited a tribe of Buriats, who inhabit that part of 
 the country which lies along the shores of the Bai- 
 kal, near the mouths of the Selinga. He conversed 
 with the taisha and principal people, endeavoured 
 to direct their minds to the importance of educa- 
 tion, and informed them of the existence of a semi- 
 nary for Buriat youths at Selinginsk. They were 
 fully aware of the importance of learning to read 
 and write Russ; and several of them seemed in- 
 clined to send their children to the school, but were 
 prevented on finding that the missionaries sought 
 no remuneration for the instructions they impart. 
 A plan of doing good disinterestedly they considered 
 as justly hable to suspicion. 
 
 The society has been placed under great obliga- 
 
SIBERIA. 263 
 
 tions to the Russian government for the favours 
 shown towards this mission. When several mis- 
 sionaries left St. Petersburg, on their journeys to 
 Siberia, nothing could exceed the demonstrations 
 of its favourable sentiments towards them. Messrs. 
 Stallybrass and Rahmn, when on their way to 
 Irkutsk, had an interview with the emperor Alex- 
 ander at Moscow, by his imperial majesty's ex- 
 press desire; and on this occasion he assured them 
 that every possible facility would be afforded on 
 their journey, and that his prayers should ascend 
 to God on their behalf Through their whole 
 route they were consequently received and treated, 
 by persons in authority, with the utmost attention 
 and respect. Similar orders were subsequently 
 given, and similar attention shown to Messrs. Swan 
 and Yuille, on their journey from St. Petersburg 
 to Selinginsk. The emperor also caused an impe- 
 rial ukase to be issued, assigning the land granted 
 by him for the use of the missionaries ; and gave a 
 handsome sum for defraying the expense of the 
 mission buildings at Selinginsk. He also gave the 
 missionaries a special permission to teach the peo- 
 ple to whom they had been designated, and to pre- 
 pare a translation of the Scriptures in their language. 
 This work being completed within the last few 
 years, the emperer Nicholas granted permission to 
 print the same at the society's mission press at Se- 
 linginsk. His imperial majesty, in other impor- 
 tant respects, also manifested his favour to the mis- 
 sion in Siberia. 
 
 More than sixteen years had elapsed from the 
 time that the first missionaries to the Buriats lefl 
 the imperial city, on their way to the barren wilds 
 of Siberia, when pleasing indications of piety were 
 furnished by a youth named Bardo, who was about 
 
264 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 seventeen years of age. He was providentially 
 brought from a distant district, and had been re 
 ceived into the school. From his manner and dia- 
 lect he was as a Galilean among the other boys, 
 and soon became an object of ridicule with them 
 His application to learning was, however, uncom 
 monly great. 
 
 On his applying for baptism, his views appeared 
 to be consistent. He was informed of what he 
 must expect from his unbelieving countrymen if he 
 became a follower of Jesus, and he soon began to 
 experience it. Having left off the worship of idols, 
 he was reproached and reviled, and turned out of 
 their tents, yet by such things he continued un- 
 moved. He talked much with the chilldren of Mr. 
 Stallybrass, and told them he believed there was 
 but one God and one Saviour, his Son Jesus Christ. 
 It was known that he prayed daily in secret ; and 
 that when mixing with his own people, he told 
 them what he himself felt, and begged them to 
 come and hear the truth for themselves. 
 
 On one occasion, he said, he thought it would 
 be no bad thing for the cause of Christ, if their 
 enemies should beat and trouble them; "for this," 
 said he, "will make the more noise, and many 
 may hear of it in this way, and be led to inquire 
 what these things mean." Happy youth ! little 
 did he then know for what God was preparing his 
 soul. 
 
 His open avowal of being a disciple of Christ, 
 and his refusal to worship the gods of his fathers, 
 had rendered him very obnoxious to the lamas 
 and other zealous devotees. Towards the end of 
 1834, one of them beat him severely on the head, 
 and serious illness ensued. After some weeks of 
 suflering, he was removed to the tent of an uncle. 
 
SIBERIA. 265 
 
 who lived in the neighbourhood, with the hope 
 that the change might prove beneficial. On the 
 skill of a native doctor failing, his friends, fearing 
 he would die, began to talk of resorting to their 
 heathenish rites, as the best means of saving his 
 life. He would not, however, suffer any such arts 
 to be used ; and afraid lest any superstitious cere- 
 monies should be performed, he begged leave to be 
 taken back to the missionaries. To this there 
 was a ready assent; it was said, that he was 
 tlieirs, both body and soul ; and thus his friends 
 gave him up to live and die as a disciple of the 
 Saviour. 
 
 On the morning of the day on which he died, 
 perceiving that his end was approaching, Mr. Swan 
 told him, as he had done before, that he must give 
 up all hopes of getting better; and then had some 
 very satisfactory conversations with him in refer- 
 ence to his faith and hope. " Should you die now, 
 whither would your soul go ?" " To heaven."— 
 "Who will receive it there?' "God." — " Oa 
 what Saviour do you trust for salvation ?" With 
 emphasis, " On Jesus Christ." — " If God had not, 
 in his providence, brought you hither, to learn 
 about that Saviour, what would have become of 
 youl" "I should have hved in sin, and gone to 
 hell when I died." 
 
 " Thus fell asleep in Jesus," says Mr. Swan, 
 " one, whom I hope that we may regard as one 
 of the first fruits of the Buriat nation gathered 
 into the Saviour's kingdom; and one who may 
 be said to have fallen a martyr to the cause of 
 Christ ; for I have little doubt, in my own mind, 
 that the blows on the head, which he received 
 from the enraged lama, were the remote cause of 
 his death. 
 
 23 
 
266 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 " We endeavoured to improve the solemn event, 
 for the benefit of his fellow-scholars and others ; 
 and many tears were shed, when he was laid in a 
 grave near the spot where the remains of our be- 
 loved sister, Mrs. Stallybrass, await the resurrec- 
 tion. Tikshie, another of our dear ^''oung men, 
 read over the grave, with a faltering voice, part of 
 the fifteenth of the first Epistle to the Corinthians ; 
 and I spoke a few words to the people assembled, 
 founded on the passage read. It was a touching 
 circumstance, and, at the same time, one highly 
 encouraging to our minds, to hear our converted 
 Buriat, who firmly trusted in our Saviour, joining 
 thus in the funeral service, while we committed to 
 the dust the body of another young Buriat who had 
 died in the faith." 
 
 Another member of the mission thus speaks of 
 a visit which Mr. Swan paid to Bardo, while 
 with his friends, and of the closing scene of his 
 life:— 
 
 " On Mr. Swan's entering the tent where Bardo 
 was lying, he saw that the boy's friends had placed 
 on the wall opposite him some of their charms, at 
 which the sick perso'i should look, in order to be 
 cured; but Bardo, instead of being left in his dis- 
 tress to trust to these, had turned his back to them, 
 and was lying in an awkward position, so that his 
 eye might not rest on them. 
 
 "It was only till the following Friday, a little 
 after mid-day, that he continued a sufferer here 
 below. It was with feelings never before ex- 
 perienced, that I stood and gazed on him, going, as 
 we trusted, so peacefully away to his Saviour. 
 Death did appear to be robbed of its terrors. I 
 think there was not one of us but could have lain 
 down beside him, to have entered with him on the 
 
 i 
 
SIBERIA. 267 
 
 unseen glories of eternity. None, but those who 
 have been in similar circumstances with ourselves, 
 can enter into the joy which we felt on seeing one 
 who had been so lately in the greatest ignorance, 
 and sunk in sin, not only led to seek Christ as the 
 only Saviour, but enabled to place his whole re- 
 liance and hope on Him, and carried on to the end 
 by the Saviour whom he loved." 
 
 About two years since the mission wore a more 
 favourable and promising aspect than it ever did 
 at any previous period. More recently still, it is 
 stated, that several out of fifteen youths, who were 
 under the instructions of Mr. Stallybrass, have 
 given evidence of being truly converted to God.^ 
 One of these has for a considerable time acted as 
 teacher in the schoel, and copyist to the missiona- 
 ries. The work of grace, thus manifesting itself 
 among these Buriat youths, first commenced in the 
 family of Mr. Stallybrass, and he had also the 
 pleasure of admitting three of his own children to 
 the fellowship of the church. 
 
 To Mr. Stallybrass we are indebted for the fol- 
 lowing narrative, whic-h is well adapted to stimu- 
 late the gratitude and the prayers of the friends of 
 the missions. " Shagdur is the young man who 
 has been the teacher ever since the school com- 
 menced here. It is now nearly five years since he 
 came to me, and during the second year he gave 
 evidence that he had paid great attention to the 
 things which he had heard ; as also, that impres- 
 sions of the truth and importance of those things 
 had been made upon his mind. He heard the truth 
 and did many things gladly. I regarded him as a 
 hopeful subject ; and as such I have written of him, 
 but nothing more. There was always evidendy a 
 reserve — an unwillingness to take the consequences 
 
268 MISSIONARY KECORDS. 
 
 which an open and unreserved avowal of Chrst be- 
 fore men might involve. As he had daily heard 
 the truth, these impressions have, from time to 
 time*, been alternately revived, neglected, or stifled. 
 As my beloved wife always took a great interest in 
 him, and manifested great kindness towards him, 
 her removal affected him much ; and what he 
 heard on the subject, both from brother Yuille 
 (who visited the Khodon on that occasion) and 
 myself, seemed to revive former impressions. But 
 these disappeared ; and during the last six months 
 his case has appeared less hopeful than during any 
 period for the last four years. 
 
 " But I knew not what was passing in his mind. 
 He was striving with his convictions, determining 
 to overcome them, and had returned to the worship 
 of his idols, which, for some years he had relin« 
 quished. O, how easy to the Almighty Spirit's 
 agency are those things which are impossible with 
 men ! This, I trust, has been conspicuously dis- 
 played in his history. The word of truth has been 
 applied to his heart with Almighty power ; and all 
 opposition, and difficulty, and fear of consequences, 
 have vanished instantly. The change in him has 
 been more immediate and palpable than in the case 
 of the lad mentioned before ; and probably for this 
 reason, that he had sinned against more light and 
 knowledge. 
 
 " The means by which he seems to have been 
 awakened was a sermon (three Sabbaths ago) from 
 Rev. iii. 20, 'Behold, I stand at the door, and 
 knock.' I felt much while speaking, on account 
 of those at whose door Christ had been, as it were, 
 * knocking' for years, but who refused to admit him. 
 In the evening, after service, he came to my study, 
 looked very strange for a few moments, and then 
 
SIBERIA. 269 
 
 burst into tears, and wept most bitterly. I began 
 to inqnire the reason, afraid to hope that it arose 
 from any spiritual cause. He began by saying, 
 *The word of God makes all things manifest ; this 
 word I have long heard ; I have been convinced of 
 its truth, but I have been endeavouring to hide and 
 stifle my convictions. Christ has long been knock- 
 ing at my heart, and I have refused to admit him; 
 but I can now resist no longer- What must I do 
 to be saved V O, those words, which were indi- 
 cative of the anguish of his soul, were the sweetest 
 sounds (trom a heathen) which had saluted my 
 ears ever since I left my native land. I referred 
 him to the words of Paul and Silas to the jailer, 
 with which he is familiar : ' Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' ' And can 
 1 be saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ]' 
 * Undoubtedly.' ' Then henceforth may he be my 
 only Lord and Saviour.' After some more conver- 
 sation, I commended him in prayer to that com- 
 passionate Saviour, who, I trusted, had effectually 
 knocked at the door of his heart, mingling my tears 
 of adoring gratitude with his of distress, and, I trust, 
 true contrition. 
 
 "Many things are feigned; but there was no- 
 thing of which I was more deeply convinced, than 
 that there was no feigning here. Whatever be the 
 issue, I think I shall never doubt his sincerity at 
 the time. The state of his mind, and his conduct 
 since, are highly gratifying. On the succeeding 
 day he collected his boys around him, (in number 
 fifteen,) told them of the change he had expe- 
 rienced in his mind ; his regret that he should so 
 often have been sinfully angry with them ; and have 
 used improper words in scolding them; exhorted 
 them seriously to consider their state, and prayed 
 23* 
 
270 MISSIONARY RECORDS, 
 
 with them. The next day his father and sister 
 came. With them he talked and prayed, by which 
 they were affected, and wept. He sent a message 
 by them to his wife and sister, to abstain from 
 working on the Sabbath, and from worshipping the 
 idols, till he should come home. During the week 
 he was desirous of going home, but circumstances 
 prevented him. On Monday, in the next week, 
 he asked to go home, but said nothing to me of the 
 reason of it. When he came back on the next day, 
 I learned that he had been home for the purpose 
 of burning his idol gods. 
 
 "My children had some intimation of his inten- 
 tion to put them away ; and my little daughter 
 wrote him a note, requesting him not to sell them, 
 as by that means he would cause others to com- 
 mit sin with them. The following is a note 
 which he wrote her in reply, (that is, a translation 
 of the note :) — 
 
 " ' Yes ; I have done as I said I would. That 
 I might no more transgress the command of the 
 most high living God, who had mercy upon me 
 when I was ' dead in trespasses and sins,' having 
 prayed to God in the name of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ to give me an unhesitating resolution, disre- 
 garding all which my friends pleaded, I have kept 
 the word which I spake before God. Much was 
 said against it, but at length I prevailed. The 
 tempter came to me with various reasons for desist- 
 ing; but praying to God that, having believed on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, I might have no more to 
 do with him, my mind became calm, and the idols, 
 which have so many years deceived us, I threw 
 into the fire, with the table on which they stood. — 
 Although my father requested some, I would not 
 consent, but burned every thing except the iron, 
 
SIBERIA. 271 
 
 brass, etc. The thought came into my mind also, 
 (as you wrote,) that if I should give them to any 
 other person, I should be the means of making him 
 commit sin.' 
 
 " This has been done not rashly, I hope. Al- 
 though the resolution was soon formed and exe- 
 cuted, yet I believe the subject had often been me- 
 ditated previously. There was no Jehuism in it ; 
 and yet there was no cowardice, or striving to hide 
 it. Shegamuni's idols were never before treated 
 so ungraciously here. It must be known ; and it 
 has already begun to excite much talking, and will, 
 no doubt, expose him to much reproach. His dis- 
 position naturally is amiable, and rather timid and 
 pliable ; and when entertaining hope of him on 
 former occasions, I have not unfrequently feared 
 lest that peculiar disposition of mind should be a 
 snare to him, and prevent decision. But in stand- 
 ing forward alone — a young man, without wealth 
 or influence — in opposition to the voice and feeling 
 of all his people — unassisted and unadvised — as the 
 first to renounce idolatry, and destroy his idols, he 
 has manifested a decision, a heroism, a strength of 
 principle, which I did not expect from him. I do 
 hope it is from a Divine principle. The first time 
 I conversed with him after burning his idols, when 
 I asked him if it was the case, his answer power- 
 fully reminded me of Hosea xiv. 8, although he 
 had never seen it ; " As I believe in the Lord Jesus 
 Chri-st, what should I do with idols any longer?' 
 He is now in his twenty-fifth year, and we enter- 
 tain the hope that he may have been called, not 
 merely to get to heaven himself, but to be an in- 
 strument in drawing others thither also. He, with 
 the boy before mentioned, has applied for baptismi 
 
 " The next is Tikshie. This young man lived 
 
272 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 about a year and a half with Mr. Swan, till his de- 
 parture for Europe, in the capacity of copyist ; and 
 when our brother took his journey he was left at 
 this station, where he has continued in the same 
 capacity till the present time. He has manifested 
 much depravity, and I was repeatedly provoked 
 almost to dismiss him, though unwilling, hoping 
 that the opportunities and privileges he had enjoy- 
 ed might be blessed to him. When my dear 
 brother arrived, I had no cheering accounts to com- 
 municate respecting one in whom he would feel 
 peculiarly interested ; and it was reserved for him 
 to be the means of producing a serious impression, 
 and exciting him to serious thought. As he is much 
 more reserved than the former one, he says less ; 
 and as he is unmarried, and has no house, he has 
 no idols of his own to destroy. But he has given 
 more silent evidence of a change, and of having his 
 heart much affected with the truths of the gospel. 
 These two, for the last four or five years have been 
 in the habit of daily listening to the truth ; and we 
 trust that what has appeared to be hid shall not be 
 lost. The discourse of my brother which appear- 
 ed to be the means of arousing him, two Sabbaths 
 ago, was from John vi. 28, 29. On the same oc- 
 casion, a lad mamed Badma, about sixteen years of 
 age, was alarmed. This lad had been under in- 
 struction about three years. He has, on several 
 occasions, discovered a mind susceptible of impres- 
 sion. Sometimes convictions have appeared to be 
 produced ; but they have been like ' the morning 
 cloud and early dew,' and have passed away with- 
 out producing any permanent or saving change. — 
 But on the occasion referred to, when Mr. Swan 
 was preaching, his mind was so much atTected by 
 some things which were said, that towards the 
 
SIBERIA. 273 
 
 close of the service he could not refrain from weep- 
 ing and sobbing aloud. This was something quite 
 new. He had no precedent for it, so that it could 
 not be regarded as any thing like imitation. But 
 we were induced to believe that he was alarmed on 
 account of his sins. He was taken aside after the 
 service, and asked what it was that affected him. 
 He said, his sins were so great that he was fearful 
 of the consequences; adding, 'Lord, save me !' — 
 His friends, who live near, soon heard of his dis- 
 tress. His brother came to dissuade him from be- 
 coming a disciple of Christ, urging the persecutions, 
 etc., to which he would expose himself. But 
 these things seemed not to move him. It was re- 
 ported that his father was coming to take him 
 away. He did come ; and 1 took an opportunity 
 of speaking with him on the subject, warning him 
 against attempting to do any thing against the sal- 
 vation of his son's soul. His words are deserving 
 of being recorded. He said, " His body is mine, 
 but his soul is God's : I shall do nothing in the 
 way of interfering with his religion :' and added 
 " I suspect, after having lived here three years, he 
 knows more of religion than I do.' I embraced the 
 opportunity of exhorting him to consider for him- 
 self also. 
 
 "Thus, after a long period of awful silence and 
 stillness, do I hope a shaking has commenced. — 
 An alarm has been heard, and it has been commu- 
 nicated from one to another. Oh, may it prove to 
 be the work of God, and not of us I These are 
 the sweets of a missionary life. We need much 
 prudence, and grace, and wisdom, that we may not 
 mar the work of God. We are introduced into a 
 new scene of labour and action. But we trust the 
 God of all grace will grant us all necessary wisdom 
 
274 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 and direction, and proportion his grace to our ne- 
 cessities. We trust that you, honoured sirs, and 
 the friends of missions, will bear these Iambs on 
 your hearts before the Great Shepherd." 
 
 The following is an extract from a translation of 
 a letter, addressed by Tikshie, the Buriat convert 
 already mentioned, to Mr. Brown, of St. Peters- 
 burg : — 
 
 " You have heard, I suppose, that God has made 
 less the number of us, who had, by his grace, 
 been chosen from among the Buriat people, one 
 who received the grace of God, and who loved 
 Christ; so, on this account, I suppose, the Lord 
 took him before us to the land of rest. 
 
 " We trust that he has departed from this world 
 to be with Christ, as he hoped. If so, he now 
 sees the good, which we see not ; and the sound of 
 the melodious praise offered to God, which we do 
 not hear, I suppose that he hears. We trust that 
 God will not further diminish our numbers, but 
 rather we hope and pray that our little flock may 
 may be increased. 
 
 " Ah, dear Mr. Brown, please remember that 
 your few worthy brethren do desire that you 
 may find an opportunity of coming to Siberia. — 
 Your friend, our dear teacher, who shows our fa- 
 mishing souls Christ's truth, and testifies to our 
 darkened people the Saviour's name, is well ; but, 
 as we wrote before, he has but one body, and but 
 one tongue and cannot be every where. We know, 
 too, that those who dwell in bodies of clay are sub- 
 ject to many infirmities, weaknesses, and diseases. 
 But, sir, why should I multiply words? I desire 
 that you may enjoy peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Also, I desire you to make known my love to those 
 whom you know, who are in Christ. Wishing 
 
SIBERIA. 275 
 
 you much happiness and peace from this quarter of 
 Siberia, I remain your unworthy and weak brother, 
 
 " TiKSHIE, SON OF MeRHASIE." 
 
 At this time there were more pupils at the sta- 
 • tion than at any former period, their number 
 amounting to fifteen. Their progress and con- 
 duct, in general, were encouraging. Their school- 
 book was composed of the four gospels and the 
 Acts of the Apostles. Passages from these were 
 daily read and committed to memory, and hope 
 is cherished that the sacred word, thus stored up 
 in their own minds, will not be without its effect on 
 their hearts. They had gone through two scrip- 
 tural catechisms, written by Mr. Swan, and were 
 learning the second initiatory catechism, which had 
 been translated by the eldest son of Mr. Stallybrass. 
 He had also in hand the " Village Sermons" of the 
 Rev. G. Burder, which it is hoped will prove, at 
 some future period, a valuable treasure to many 
 inquirers after truth. " I believe," says Mr. Stal- 
 lybrass, "it is the earnest and settled desire of both 
 my eldest sons to be engaged in preaching the gos- 
 pel to the Buriats; and this desire increases in pro- 
 portion as their own views of Divine truth become 
 enlarged and confirmed." 
 
 Zealous effort was also making to give the peo- 
 ple the Old Testament in their own language. Mr. 
 Swan had brought with him the book of Genesis 
 from St. Petersburg ; it had passed the hands of 
 the censor, and had received his approbation and 
 recommendation for printing. Other parts of the 
 sacred volume were likewise in hand. 
 
 Two of the elder Buriat girls also rank among 
 the hopeful converts, and there are several other 
 serious inquirers. All of them are young, except 
 
276 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 two : the one a teacher, who has been five years 
 in the employment of Mr. Stallybrass, and the 
 other the former copyist of Mr. Swan ; both of 
 whom now give satisfactory evidence of change 
 of heart. 
 
 *' It is delightful to mark their progress," says 
 Mr. Swan, " and to witness how a beam of sacred 
 pleasure lights up their features, when some new 
 view of Divine truth breaks in upon them ; some 
 new point from which they can contemplate the 
 love of the Redeemer. Last Lord's day morning, 
 at our usual Mongolian service, I requested one of 
 them to read the third chapter of St. John's Gos- 
 pel ; when he came to the words, ' God so loved 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever belie veth in him should not perish, but 
 have everlasting life,' his voice faltered, and with 
 difficulty he read a little further ; but when became 
 to the words, " This is the condemnation, that light 
 is come into the world, and men loved darkness 
 rather than light, because their deeds were evil,' 
 his feelings completely overcame him, and his 
 voice was drowned with sobs and tears. 
 
 " Shagdur pursues his active and useful labours 
 with steadiness and zeal. A short time since, he 
 performed a journey, in which he distributed a 
 considerable number of books, and held many con- 
 versations with his countrymen; returning much 
 encouraged, and anxious to be sent again among 
 his brethren." 
 
 The Siberian mission, though always regarded 
 with much solicitude by the friends of the London 
 Missionary Society, required the exercise of great 
 faith and patience, in connexion with the unremit- 
 ted efforts of the esteemed brethren in the field, 
 who were long called to labour in hope almost 
 
SIBERIA. 277 
 
 against hope. Sixteen years passed away after the 
 mission was commenced; some of the labourers 
 were called to their rest and their reward, and no 
 decisive fruits of good appeared to animate and sup- 
 port the survivors. But, at length, God, who in 
 faithfulness has declared that his word siiall not 
 return to him void, thus granted them to see his 
 pleasure prospering in their hands. 
 
 Other instances of the same kind might be men- 
 tioned, among which that of the South Sea mission 
 is peculiarly conspicuous. A season of unprece- 
 dented success followed onB of unprecedented trial 
 and anxiety. Let, then, no man's heart fail him. 
 The charge is still obligatory; "In the morning 
 sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy 
 hand," while the motive supplied should still ope- 
 rate ; " for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, 
 either this or that, or whether they both shall be 
 alike good." The scenes of labour which now 
 seem to promise least, may hereafter yield a plen- 
 teous reward. 
 
 Nor let it be supposed, that even in those cases 
 in which missions have been relinquished, nothing 
 has been effected. The result may be long con- 
 cealed, and yet ultimately appear. Of this the fol- 
 lowing is among many interesting proofs. When 
 the late excellent bishop of Madras, Dr.Corrie, was 
 stationed at Chunar, a Roman Catholic visited him 
 for religious instruction, and as there was not at 
 that time any translation of the Scriptures to put in 
 his hands, he selected some of the most important 
 passages of the Bible, "and," says Dr. C, "ac- 
 cording to the best of my ability, I dictated a 
 translation of them, very imperiect it is true, to the 
 poor man, who wrote it on a number of pieces of 
 24 
 
278 MISSIONARY RECORDS. 
 
 loose paper." Of this applicant, however, he soon 
 lost sight. 
 
 About twenty years after, the Rev. Mr. Wil- 
 kinson, of Gorruckpore, was called to visit a man 
 on the bed of death, and was surprised by the ex- 
 tent of his acquaintance with scriptural religion, 
 and the propriety of the feelings which he expressed 
 in reference to the solemn situation in which he 
 was placed. He asked an explanation, when the 
 poor man produced the loose slips of paper on 
 which he had written Dr. Corrie's translations. — 
 On these it appeared that his soul had fed through 
 life, and through them he died such a death, that 
 Mr. Wilkinson entertained no doubt that he had 
 passed into glory. 
 
 The effect of many conversations and addresses, 
 which seemed to leave no trace, has yet to appear. 
 Before the secrets of all hearts shall be made known, 
 much unlooked-for good will doubtless be apparent. 
 Meanwhile, it should be remembered that the 
 grand object contemplated by the spirit of mis- 
 sions, is the conversion of the world. When on 
 this the eye is fixed, partial failure will stimulate to 
 new efforts, while general prosperity will prevent 
 discouragement. 
 
 How much is involved in the thought. There is 
 a world to be saved through the instrumentality 
 of Christian effort! To adopt the language of 
 one; "What minister of Christ, what Christian, 
 what philanthropist, can refuse to meet the claims 
 which are thus urged ? Here is the sphere, the 
 appropriate sphere, where the minister may act 
 worthy the heavenly commission of his Master; 
 where the Christian may obey the command of 
 Christ, and prepare for heaven ; where the philan- 
 
SIBERIA. 279 
 
 thropist may wisely expend his charity to raise 
 and bless mankind. Not to the Christian and 
 the Christian minister alone would we put this 
 question, Is there nothing here to stimulate you to 
 effort ? But to the philanthropist, the scholar, the 
 statesman, the friend of political economy, we would 
 put the question. Is there nothing here to interest 
 you? Before you are six hundred millions of 
 heathen, of your own species, whos3 influence is 
 lost, and worse than lost to the world ; who yield 
 no revenue to its wealth, its intelligence, or its 
 happiness. We urge the question. Shall all this 
 physical and moral power be lost ? Is it no object 
 to redeem and raise, to enhghten and save those 
 wretched millions ? Is it no object to create, as it 
 were, a world of mind and of moral feeling : to 
 prepare for endless life a crowd of immortal souls ? 
 " As ministers, as Christians, and as men, God 
 holds us responsible, and calls upon us to awake 
 at once to the grand enterprise of saving the world 
 from sin and death. And happy shall those be, 
 and only those, to whom, amid the scenes of the 
 judgment, Christ shall declare, ' Inasmuch as ye 
 have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have 
 done it unto me ; enter ye into the joy of your 
 Lord.'" 
 
 THE END.