174 Inasmuch 



able to show a great light; but if we can only 

 strike a matbh in the darkness, it may show the 

 path of salvation to one of the lost. To this 

 chief was allotted the duty of seeing that family 

 prayers were held regularly in every house; not 

 owing to any unwillingness on the part of the 

 people, but that in the domestic hurry incidental 

 to their mode of living there was a temptation 

 to set the sacred duty aside. When their new 

 church was opened, the offertory in silver weighed 

 eighty pounds, and Mr. McCullagh could not 

 lift it on to the Communion Table 280 sterling 

 given by 300 Indians ! 



TheHaidas When Captain Prevost made his first visit to 

 Fort Rupert, he was surprised &quot;to see the heads 

 and decapitated bodies of Indians scattered along 

 the shore in front of the camp, and being washed 

 up by the waves of the rising tide. On enquiry 

 he was informed that a fleet of Haidas on their 

 way south had attacked the camp and, having 

 slain those who resisted, had carried off a number 

 of captives to enslave them.&quot; 



This incident affords a fitting introduction to 

 the corsairs and freebooters of the Northern 

 Pacific. Inhabiting the Queen Charlotte Islands, 

 the Haidas were master canoe builders and 

 seamen. They were the terror of the adjoining 

 regions, and ranged the mainland and both 

 coasts of Vancouver Island as far south as 

 Victoria. On one occasion the Governor found 

 it necessary to call upon the crew of a warship 

 to ward off a threatened attack upon the Capital. 



