CHAPTER VI 

 RED RIVER TO ARCTIC CIRCLE 



Bishop Mountain brought his journal to a 

 close on the lines of the vision of the Reverend 

 John West; that the Red River ought to be the 

 base and centre of a great missionary establish 

 ment &quot;from whence Christianity may arise and 

 be propagated among the numerous tribes of the 

 North.&quot; 



&quot;The Church,&quot; he said &quot;in the early days of Primitive 

 Christianity, was planted in new regions by seat- Or 2a nizatlon 

 ing, at a central point, the Bishop with his 

 Cathedral and his College of Presbyters, who 

 ranged the country here and there under his 

 direction. And this, or the nearest approach to 

 this of which the times are susceptible, is what is 

 wanted now. It is wanted in Prince Rupert s 

 Land. The effect of my own flying visit, and im 

 perfect ministrations, sufficiently demonstrates 

 the existence of the want. Most cheerfully, most 

 gladly, would I repeat the journey, under the 

 same arrangement, every four or five years, if 

 that would serve the purpose, so long as I may 

 be spared in health and strength, and provided 

 I could afford to steal the time from the yearly- 

 increasing duties of my own charge. But the 

 fact is, that the fruits of such a visit as mine, in 

 stead of sufficing for the exigencies which exist, 

 Serve rather to set in strong relief the real char- 



