200 THE LABKADOR PENINSULA. chap, xxxiii. 



where scarcely any fuel is to be had; the missionaries 

 warm their houses by means of stoves. Whatever pro- 

 visions the natives who are attached to a station collect 

 are placed at the disposal of the missionaries, and by them 

 distributed in such a manner as to be of the most general 

 benefit. By thus taking the management of this impor- 

 tant matter into their own hands, the consequences of 

 waste and improvidence are guarded against, and the 

 means of subsistence secured.* 



In years of great scarcity the Brethren open their own 

 stores, having always an ample supply of provisions on 

 hand, so that through their fostering care the natives 

 never suffer absolute want. The Brethren have also 

 goods for trading, which they dispose of at a moderate 

 profit ; the money so accruing is thrown into the general 

 funds of the society.f 



Nain and Ok-kak have each four missionaries. At 

 Hebron and Hopedale there are three in permanent 

 residence. The total number of Brethren on the coast is 

 stated to be 28. A ship annually arrives at Nain from 

 Europe with supplies, and to collect the produce of their 

 trade with the Esquimaux. The number of Esquimaux 

 receiving instruction from them on the Labrador and in 

 Greenland is stated to be about 1,300. Some idea of the 

 hardships these devoted men have to endure may be 

 gathered from the fact that the mean annual temperature 

 at Nain is 22° 52'. At Ok-kak it is 27° 86', and at 

 Hopedale 27° 82'. 



* For a brief history of the Moravian missions on the Labrador, see 

 Appendix No. VII. 



t Notes on a Twenty-five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Terri- 

 tories. By John McLean. 



