28 AN ESKIMO VILLAGE 



and shot and fishing lines, " for," said they, " surely 

 we can hunt and fish for our food and save expense 

 to those at home who send us." Clothing, too, they 

 had brought, but not much of that to spare ; " for," 

 said they, "we will dress like the Eskimos, in skins 

 and furs." 



Then, bricks and mortar and joists and planks, 

 with tools and nails for building. Yes, they would 

 build a little house to live in, for they wanted some 

 fixed dwelling-place ; and you may imagine them 

 happily sawing and hammering at their planks and 

 joists, and laying the bricks of their chimneys ; for, 

 let me tell you, that only a little while ago I held 

 reverently in my hand a brick from the ruins of that 

 house, the house built on the shore of the little bay 

 at Hopedale by those four young men. 



Remember, all this is in the summer days of 1752. 

 The shores of that little bay are now deserted, and 

 the house has fallen in ruins and crumbled away, but 

 this one brick was brought home by the captain of 

 the mission ship a few years ago perhaps the last 

 remaining relic of this great adventure. 



And another thing those four young men had 

 brought a parcel of garden seeds. " Surely," said 

 they, "this land of Labrador is not all rocks and 

 ice ; there must be soil there, and maybe the good 

 God will cause His sun to shine even there, and 

 maybe He will cause our garden seeds to grow. We 

 will take seeds lettuce and turnips and cabbages." 

 Strange act of faith and common sense ! Sure 

 enough, they found soil upon the sloping hillside, 

 and there they planted the seeds. I almost think 



