CIIAP. xx. THE COMMUNION. 337 



almsgiving. When the Indians went one by one to the 

 altar-railing to receive the sacrament, the native habits 

 of Otelne and Arkaske were well displayed. They were 

 squatted on the floor near me in the background, but 

 when their turn came they rose and wound their Avay 

 through the other kneeling Indians with a silent and 

 quick step, which reminded one irresistibly of their 

 motions when stealing swiftly through a thick forest of 

 young trees. They seemed scarcely to touch any of the 

 worshippers kneeling close together, and when passing 

 noiselessly through the crowd, they did not appear to 

 cause the slightest inconvenience or attract any perceptible 

 attention. I could not refrain from drawing a mental 

 comparison between Domenique at the extremity of the 

 first gorge of the Moisie, and Domenique kneeling at the 

 altar-railing of the Kornan Catholic chapel. What a change 

 had taken place in his appearance ! Dressed in caribou 

 skin from head to foot, thin, wild-looking, and emaciated, 

 he looked the type of a forest Indian. Kneeling at the 

 altar-railing, 4|gthed in a black coat with an epaulette, 

 light blue cloth trousers, a gaudy checked waistcoat, a 

 white shirt with a high collar, a black tie, and a flaming 

 yellow handkerchief loosely folded over his ' tie,' he was 

 like a half-civilised dandy, and completely shorn of his 

 natural grace and dignity. His new clothes were part of 

 the produce of his winter hunt, for which he had paid 

 dearly to the traders ; but they became him infinitely less 

 than his old caribou suit. His children and squaw were 

 similarly metamorphosed, and to my eyes had lost more 

 than half of the interest which properly belonged .to 

 them. 



VOL. I. Z 



