THE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST. 185 



on a visit to a family residing on the south side of Rice 

 Lake, opposite to the little Indian village The Doctor, 

 in the early years of his ministry, had been a teacher 

 and evangelizer of the Indians, and loved the work. 



In reply to a neighboring clergyman's complaint of 

 the difficulty of reaching the , understanding of the 

 Indians and of breaking through their stolid indiffer- 

 ence, he said, 



" Ah, my friend, you do not go the right way to work. 

 You must reach the Indian through his knowledge, not 

 through yov/rs, from the word-pictures written in the 

 only book he knows, the book of Nature." 



On Sunday morning at an early hour Doctor Bethune 

 crossed the lake to preach to the Indians, and was met 

 on the shore by the leading men. 



One of them — it might have been John Sunday, or 

 George Copway, or Tobico — asked the Doctor to explain 

 the work of the Holy Spirit in giving light to the 

 soul, an enquiry which elicited the following brief but 

 effective sermon : — ' 



" My Indian brothers, look at the lake before you." 



The Indians uttered a groan-like " Ugh ! " They 

 could not see the water — lake and sunlight alike were 

 obscured by a thick fog. They gazed upon it, no one 

 speaking. The preacher bent his head in silent prayer. 



Suddenly a light wind, stirring the air, breathed upon 

 the mist, and as if by some magical touch the dense 

 curtain began to rise, and slowly rolling back to the 



