14 



W1THAWEECAP0. 



civilized life ; but with a combination of 

 opposing circumstances, I determined not to 

 be intimidated, nor to " confer with flesh and 

 blood/' but to put my hand immediately to 

 the plough, in the attempt to break in upon 

 this heathen wilderness. If little hope could 

 be cherished of the adult Indian in his wander- 

 ing and unsettled habits of life, it appeared to 

 me, that a wide and most extensive Jield, 

 presented itself for cultivation in the instruc- 

 tion of the native children. With the aid of 

 an interpreter, I spoke to an Indian, called 

 Withaweecapo, about taking two of his boys 

 to the Red River Colony with me to educate 

 and maintain. He yielded to my request ; and 

 I shall never forget the affectionate manner in 

 which he brought the eldest boy in his arms, 

 and placed him in the canoe on the morning 

 of my departure from York Factory. His two 

 wives, sisters, accompanied him to the water's 

 edge, and while they stood gazing on us, as 

 the canoe was paddled from the shore, I con- 

 sidered that I bore a pledge from the Indian 

 that many more children might be found, if an 

 establishment were formed in British Christian 

 sympathy, and British liberality for their edu- 

 cation and support. 



I had to establish the principle, that the 



