OUR POSTMAN 



message to deliver, and in such a case he would beg 

 leave to announce it after one of the meetings in 

 church. The congregation sat quietly in their 

 places, while big Josef rose and stalked solemnly to 

 the missionary's table. " Jonas and his wife, Naine- 

 miut (Nain people), send greetings to all the people 

 of Okak," he would say in his quiet voice, and then 

 make his dignified way to his seat by the door, while 

 the people shuffled and began to pick up their hymn- 

 books ready for home. 



Jerry, our northern postman, was a great man for 

 adventures ; he generally had something out of the 

 common to relate. 



Once he broke through thin ice on a river, and 

 had to run all day long to keep his clothes from 

 setting stiff and jointless he must have known what 

 the old knights felt like in their armour : another 

 time he was caught in a storm, and had to spend a 

 couple of awful nights among the rocks and the 

 snow. When he wanted a drink of warm tea, he 

 cut chips off his sledge and made a fire. So much 

 for our great luxury, the postman. 



Our other great luxuries were our occasional 

 visitors. 



They used to come quite unexpectedly, for they 

 had no chance of giving warning : imagine our de- 

 light, therefore, at an unexpected vessel or sledge, 

 bringing news, and above all, bringing a fresh voice 

 to talk to us. I am afraid we rather bored our 

 visitors, dragging them into our rooms to make them 

 talk and tell us t the news ; but let them be consoled, 

 because their visits were real godsends to us in our 

 lonely land, even though they had come, first of all, 



to see the Eskimos and the scenery. 



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