PLOUGHING AND SOWING 243 



some twenty Eskimos who cut out and hauled 

 several large sledge loads of frozen blocks of snow." 

 And this protection was arranged not before it was 

 wanted, for the next day a very heavy gale was 

 blowing, indeed the heaviest " we have experienced 

 since landing here. One of our fires could not be 

 kept alight as we were nearly suffocated with sulphur 

 and smoke. So we spent a miserable day. How 

 we should have fared I hardly know if we had not 

 been led most providentially to encircle our house 

 with what proved to be a real shelter. A snow 

 wall, five feet thick, keeps out not a little wind." 



Christmas approached, but it did not come upon 

 the Missionary Station without preparation. Work- 

 ing parties of one sort or another are the correct 

 thing in every well-ordered parish. It is true they 

 are generally set on foot and managed by ladies. 

 But the fact that no ladies were present at Black- 

 lead Island was not going to deter so orthodox and 

 energetic a pastor as Mr. Peck. He had organized 

 his working party some time before. It was really 

 a knitting class. He found some Eskimo women 

 who had been taught to knit years ago by a whaler's 

 wife. These were appointed as instructors. Wool 

 and needles had been sent out by kind friends in 

 England. The class had been regularly attended 

 by thirteen women and thirteen girls. The result 

 was a very respectable out-turn of articles, number- 

 ing 42 woollen caps, 113 pairs of mittens, and 35 



