INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 29 



pended upon, as no two people will agree on the 

 orthography. 



With respect to the future prospects of the 

 'Tinne, the nation in general may be said to be 

 more docile and confiding, and more directly under 

 the influence of the traders, or of missionary ex- 

 ertions, than their southern neighbours, the Crees. 

 As yet, Roman Catholic missionaries alone have 

 entered the 'Tinne country, and they have already 

 a large number of nominal converts. For some 

 years Canadian priests from the Red River colony 

 went annually to Methy Portage, where many of 

 the Athabascans and Churchill River 'Tinne con- 

 gregate at the usual season of transporting the 

 outgoing furs and incoming supplies. On these 

 occasions, numbers of the Indians were baptized, a 

 considerable inducement to submit to the rite 

 being the present of a piece of tobacco, or perhaps 

 some vague notion of the protection thereby af- 

 forded against evil influences. There was no time 

 to instruct them in the truths of the Christian 

 religion, and this could be but very imperfectly 

 done through the medium of interpreters. In 

 1846, however, the Roman Catholic mission under 

 Monsieur La Fleche was established, as has been 

 mentioned in a preceding chapter. This gentleman 

 and his associate, Monsieur Tasche, members, I 

 believe, of the Society of Jesus, applied themselves 



