OUR POSTMAN 



"Is the King alive and well?" " How is the 

 world ? " " Is there peace everywhere ? " Such ques- 

 tions do not seem so odd if you remember that we had 

 not seen a newspaper since the year before ! And 

 letters ! We got our big budget by the ship ; but 

 there was always a winter bag by the overland mail 

 from Montreal to Rigolette, and this was handed 

 along by one means or another until we got it about 

 March. 



During the winter we had a little Labrador post 

 of our own. 



On the 20th of January big Josef started 

 south with his sledge and dogs, to meet the 

 messenger from the southern stations at Nain. 

 After a stay of two or three days to give the Nain 

 missionaries time to read and answer their letters- 

 days which Josef spent in going the round of the 

 village and delivering the laborious salutations of 

 which the Eskimos are so fond he travelled back 

 again. We used to meet him as he drove up to the 

 Mission house, and shake his great hand, and smile, 

 and tell him we were glad to see him and so we 

 were. 



Sometimes there were a few belated European 

 letters in the bag, a welcome spice in the pile of 

 coast news ; aye, we knew what it was to feel thank- 

 ful for the postman, in Labrador. 



Next day Jerry would take the mail sledge north- 

 ward, while Josef rested on his laurels and told tales 

 of his trip, and delivered himself of his burden of 

 salutations. He went about it with great solemnity. 

 He had all the greetings written down, and usually 

 called a mass meeting in one of the huts to get rid 

 of the most of them. Sometimes he had a general 



