ARRIVAL AT OKAK 



friends, such is my memory of him and he saved 

 my life once ; but that comes later on. 



There was a keen wind blowing as the men rowed 

 us across from the ship to the shore, and they had 

 hard work to get along. " Aksuse " shouted the 

 steersman, and the rowers bent their backs and pulled 

 their hardest. Every time they flagged, every time 

 he saw a gust of wind coming, his cry was the same 

 " Aksuse." Aksuse be strong ; it was the Eskimo 

 greeting, the same word that met us at Ramah when 

 we first touched land, the " Aksunai " of welcome 

 given to several at once ; and I saw that the meaning 

 has not dropped out of it as it has out of some 

 greetings. 



" Aksuse," shouted the steersman ; "be strong- 

 put your hearts into it do your best," and the oars- 

 men obeyed with a will. What more noble greeting 

 could you imagine than this old Eskimo password, 

 the people's greeting through all time ? 



" Aksuse," shouted the folk as we walked along 

 the jetty, and we could not but feel heartened for 

 our task by the very sincerity of the welcome. One 

 man thought to go one better : he had a trifle of 

 English to air : he touched my wife's arm, and held 

 out his hand. " Good evening, sir," he said ! 



Ten minutes later we were walking round the 

 new hospital. This is a matter-of-fact sort of state- 

 ment, and takes but a few words in the telling ; 

 but it sums up the result of a good many months 

 of downright hard work. 



Early in the year the missionary in charge at 

 jOkak received word that the hospital was coming. 

 !" Would he please make a foundation, fifty -two feet 

 by thirty-six ? " 



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