ESKIMOS 139 



Then it often happens that the good, industrious hunter, who 

 goes away from the station to provide for his family, receives 

 none of the gifts, which are given to the shiftless individuals 

 who hang about the station in a state of pious poverty. The 

 Moravian Eskimos must provide for themselves by work of one 

 kind or another, and the shiftless ones only receive sufficient 

 to keep life going, without any of its luxuries. These people 

 have all been taught to read and write, there being a number of 

 books printed in the language; the majority of these are of a 

 religious character, but there are some on geography, history 

 and other secular subjects, so that all the natives have a fair 

 knowledge of the outside world. From their long contact with 

 the missionaries, they are devout Christians, have completely 

 lost many of their ancient beliefs and customs, and now con- 

 form closely to the manners and customs of civilization. 



The natives of Cape Chidley, some half-dozen families, have 

 for a few years been under the care of the Rev. Mr. Stewart. 

 He has had some difficulty instilling the Christian doctrines, 

 and in weaning them from their ancient customs and beliefs. 



The Eskimos of Ungava bay and the south shore of Hudson 

 strait are still without knowledge of Christianity, beyond what 

 has been spread by the southern Christian natives. The Eskimos 

 as a rule take kindly to Christianity, and follow its precepts in 

 a manner which shames the average white Christian. All are 

 exceedingly anxious to learn to read the books printed by the 

 Church Missionary Society. These books are printed in a 

 syllabic shorthand, very easy to read, and are supplied from 

 Great Whale river on the east side of Hudson bay, and from 

 Cumberland gulf. A great many Eskimos have never come in 

 contact with the missionaries; notwithstanding this, there are 

 only a few of the Labrador natives who cannot read and write, 

 while the natives of Baffin island are rapidly reaching the same 

 state. Every native who learns to read, and who possesses a 

 book, becomes the teacher of the uninstructed ; in this manner 



