214 THE LAST CKUISE OF THE MIRAXUA, 



lost must be the meaning of those words that follow in the 

 same beautiful Psalm : " Thou waterest her furrows. Thou 

 sendest rain into the little valleys thereof, Thou makest it 

 soft with the drops of rain and blessest the increase of it. 

 Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness, and Thy clouds 

 drop fatness. They shall drop upon the dwellings of the 

 wilderness, and the little hills shall rejoice on every side. The 

 folds shall be full of sheep, the valleys also shall stand so thick 

 with corn that they shall laugh and sing.^^ Eskimos have 

 no idea of furrows. They have never seen sheep, nor sheep- 

 folds, nor corn. The beauty is lost to them, and they are 

 not aware of the existence of so many of our most familiar 

 things. Fortunately, in no way is this knowledge neces- 

 sary for their practical welfare or happiness. The hard, 

 cold facts of Arctic theology must be referred to some native 

 doctor of divinity for consistent explanation. Emerging in 

 comparatively recent times from the strange superstitions of 

 which their folk-lore tells us, their appreciation of some of 

 the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion has yet to 

 develop. Christian influence, however, has brought about 

 many changes, and they are wisely instructed in religion in 

 a natural native way, without the unnecessary accompaniments 

 of a foreign civilization being thrust upon them — their means 

 of living not admitting of these advantages. Far better for 

 them to know and feel the real truth of religion according to 

 their own standard of civilization, however crude that may 

 seem — to be taught their duty in that state of life in which 

 God has placed them — than to introduce a civilization which 

 would breed a spirit of discontent and lead to the extermina- 

 tion of the race. 



After church we were delightfully entertained by the gov- 

 ernor and his family, and so our Sunday amid Greenland's icy 

 mountains came to an end, leaving impressions which will 

 long be pleasantly remembered. 



