200 BY ESKIMO DOG-SLED 



No Mission hospital ever had cheaper furniture 

 than our amateur benches ; but they served 

 their purpose, and, for all that I know to the 

 contrary, they are doing duty at Okak 

 Hospital to this day. On the advice of Peter 

 and David we made them nice and low, to 

 suit the short Eskimo legs ; and though we 

 did not paint them they always looked spruce, 

 for Sarah and Valeria, the two charwomen, 

 took great pride in scrubbing them. I was 

 well satisfied with the benches, because the 

 Eskimos liked them. 



As I had expected, the room was packed 

 to the utmost on the first day of the singing. 

 There were seats for about fifty, and as " first 

 come, first served " was to be the rule, the 

 people began to come early. By a quarter 

 to nine there was a crowd on the doorsteps, 

 a jolly tempered mob, clinging to the railings 

 and jostling to get nearer to the door, and 

 constantly reinforced by new arrivals from all 

 parts of the village. 



An avalanche of boisterous humanity surged 

 in and nearly overwhelmed me when I opened 

 the door upon the stroke of nine, and the 

 benches were full long before the stream of 

 people had ceased ; but the folk were deter- 

 mined to get in. Those who could not find 

 room on the benches squatted on the floor, 



