The Moravians in Labrador
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| This document was originally published in 1822 and contains |
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MORAVIANS IN LABRADOR.
[Illustration]
THE MORAVIANS IN LABRADOR.
From Greenland's icy mountains
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learnt the Saviour's name.
Waft, waft, ye winds, his story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole.
HEBER.
Edinburgh:
Printed by J. Ritchie.
Sold by W. Whyte & Co., W. Oliphant, Waugh
& Innes, and J. Lindsay & Co., Edinburgh;
M. Ogle, and W. Collins, Glasgow; Hamilton,
Adams & Co., and J. Nisbet, London.
M.DCCC.XXXIII.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The present small volume which, in some measure, owes its origin to
the suggestion of that long tried, excellent, and first friend of the
Moravians in Scotland, R. Plenderleath, Esq., and being cordially
approved of by the Rev P. Latrobe, London, though connected with
considerable labour, great part of it having been translated from the
German, has been cheerfully executed, and is intended to promote a
purpose similar to that of the first edition of the Moravians in
Greenland--to aid the subscriptions of some private friends who wish
to communicate occasionally with the Missionaries in Labrador, and
send them a few articles of comfort which the general funds do not
supply. In allusion to this, the following extract from a letter,
addressed to a friend in this city, from one of these devoted men,
will be pleasant to the friends of the missions--"Dear Sister A ----,
You kindly mention that a Society of Christian Ladies was formed in
Edinburgh in aid of the missions in Greenland and Labrador, and had
sent a gift of clothes, for which I beg you will accept of our united
thanks. There are many poor widows and orphans in our Esquimaux
congregations who are in the greatest necessity, to whom any little
article of clothing will be most welcome. When our dear friends send
us any thing of this kind, we always keep it till Christmas, and then
divide them, that they may appear clothed on Christmas night. The
dividing scene is often very affecting, their sobbing and weeping
prevents their expressing _their gratitude_ in words, but one may
easily perceive how deeply they feel their kindness."
CONTENTS.
Introduction. Page vii
CHAPTER I.
Hudson's Bay Company first settle among the Esquimaux.--J.C.
Erhardt suggests a mission--his letter to the Moravian
Bishop.--M. Stach consulted.--London merchants undertake the
scheme--engage Erhardt--its fatal conclusion.--Jans Haven
employed by the Brethren--encouraged by the British
Government, sets out on a voyage of discovery--his
providential arrival at Quirpont--first meeting with the
Esquimaux--his interesting intercourse--returns to England.
His second expedition, accompanied by Drachart and other
missionaries--their proceedings.--Drachart's remarkable
conversation with the natives--influence of the missionaries
in preserving peace--their religious communications with the
savages--the curiosity of the latter--their thievish
tricks--their kindness to the missionaries--a dreadful
storm.--Drachart and Haven entertained by an Angekok--his
incantations--their parting addresses to each other--the
missionaries return to London. 37
CHAPTER II.
Contests between the colonists and savages revive--Murderous
skirmish.--Mikak.--Karpik, his conversion and death.--The
Moravians receive a grant of land on the coast of Labrador--
resolve to renew the mission--voyage to explore the land.--
Jans Haven, Drachart, &c., arrive at Labrador--their
interview with the natives--meet Mikak and Tuglavina--their
kindness.--Segulliak the sorcerer.--Anxiety of the Esquimaux
for their remaining among them--ground purchased for a
settlement--manner of bargaining with the Esquimaux--sail for
Esquimaux bay--the natives troublesome--the Captain's method
of checking them.--Conduct of the missionaries--they preach on
shore.--Conversation with the Esquimaux.--Search out a place
for a settlement--purchase it of the natives--ceremonies used
on the occasion--take formal possession. Deputation return to
England 73
CHAPTER III.
Preparations for establishing a settlement in Labrador.--A
love feast.--Missionaries leave London--erect a mission-house
at Nain---regulations for their intercourse with the
natives--visited by great numbers--manner of instruction--they
retire in winter, are visited by the Brethren in their
houses.--Death of Anauke.--An incantation.--Adventures in
search of a dead whale.--P.E. Lauritz deputed by the
conference--visits the missions--his excursion along the
coast.--A sloop of war arrives to examine the settlement--the
Captain's report.--Jans Haven's voyage to the north--
interesting occurrences.--Lauritz leaves Nain--his concluding
address.--The Brethren propose new settlements--disastrous
voyage in search of a situation.--Liebisch appointed
Superintendant.--An Angekok baptized--his address to the
natives.--Jans Haven commences a new station at Okkak--received
joyfully by the natives--six Esquimaux baptized--proceedings at
Nain.--Missionary accompanies the Esquimaux to a
rein-deer-hunt.--Third settlement--Hopedale founded.--Remarkable
preservation of the Missionaries. 97
CHAPTER IV.
Esquimaux visit the English settlements--pernicious
consequences--dreadful accident--famine--unexpected supply
of food and skins.--Emigration from Okkak--missionaries' care
of the wanderers, who return disappointed.--Terrible tales
from the south.--Inquirers separated from the heathen.--Popish
priest attempts to seduce the converts.--Brother Rose inspects
Hopedale.--Karpik the sorcerer.--Peter's fall.--Visits to
the south renewed.--Parting address of the brethren.--Epidemic.--
Death of Daniel--of Esther.--Conversion and peaceful end of
Tuglavina.--Last days of Mikak.--Indians come to Hopedale.--
Rose's remarks on the internal state of the missions.--Instances
of the power of grace among the Esquimaux--striking observation
of one of the baptized.--Jonathan's letter to the Greenlanders.--
Affecting confession of Solomon.--Conduct of a young woman
sought in marriage by a heathen.--State of the settlements at the
close of the century.--Prospects begin to brighten.--Remarkable
phenomenon.--Avocations of the missionaries--their trials--
preservation of their vessels--of their settlements--their
brotherly love. 154
CHAPTER V.
Variable appearances of the mission at Nain and Okkak--more
favourable at Hopedale.--Death of Benjamin.--Spirit of love
among the converted.--Happy communion and close of the
year.--Providential escape of the Resolution.--New epoch in
Labrador.--A remarkable awakening commences at Hopedale--
meetings--schools.--Letter from a converted Esquimaux to his
teacher.--Industry of the awakened.--Declension of religion
at Nain and Okkak.--State of the children at Hopedale.--
Progress of the adults in knowledge, love, and zeal--instances.--
Striking conversion of two young Esquimaux, its effects upon
their countrymen.--Awakening spreads to Nain and to Okkak.--Zeal
of the converts towards the heathen rouses backsliders.--
Behaviour of the awakened in sickness, and the prospect of
death.--Remarkable accessions from the heathen.--The son of a
sorcerer. 201
CHAPTER VI.
Mutual affection of the Christian Esquimaux and
Greenlanders--their correspondence--letter from Timothy, a
baptized Greenlander.--Delight of the Esquimaux in religious
exercises.--Order of the congregations--distressing events,
apostasy of Kapik--awful end of Jacob--peaceful end of
believers--Judith, Joanna.--Revival among the communicants.--A
feast by a Christian brother to the Esquimaux.--Winter
arrangements.--Childrens' meetings--schools.--The brethren's
settlements contrasted with the heathen.--Progress of religion
at the different stations.--Books printed in the Esquimaux
language.--Number of the settled Esquimaux.--Epidemic at
Nain--its consequences.--General view of the mission. 238
CHAPTER VII.
Desire of the heathen to hear the Gospel.--Brethren meditate a
new settlement--voyage to explore the country.--Quiet course of
the mission--advantages of their church discipline.--Death of
Burghardt.--Exertions of the aged survivors.--Schreiber,
superintendant, arrives.--Anxiety of the native Christians to
attend the ordinances of religion.--Advantages of the Bible as
a school-book.--Four missionaries unexpectedly carried to
England.--Baptized Esquimaux seduced by traders.--Perilous
voyage of the returning missionaries--striking accident.--
Schreiber retires from the superintendance--Kohlmeister
succeeds--his journeyings to Okkak, to Nain.--Stability of
the work of God at Nain--hopeful deaths--conversion and
recovery of a young native.--Remarkable preservation of an
Esquimaux youth. 269
CHAPTER VIII.
Fiftieth anniversary of the missionary vessel's first arrival
in Labrador--jubilee of the mission celebrated at Nain.--
Summary view of the success of the gospel in Labrador during
that period.--Instance of maternal affection.--Esquimaux
contribute to the Bible Society.--British sloop of war,
Clinker, visits Hopedale.--Captain Martin's testimony to the
good effect of the brethren's labours--visits Nain and
Okkak--consequences of his favourable report. 304
CHAPTER IX.
The Brethren obtain a further grant of land on the east coast
of Labrador--projected fourth settlement delayed.--Progress of
the three settlements in the interval.--Instances of wonderful
preservation--Ephraim--of Conrad, Peter, and Titus.--Report of
the Superintendant, Kohlmeister, on the general state of the
Mission.--Letter from Brother and Sister Kmoch, to a friend in
Edinburgh.--Commencement and progress of Hebron, the fourth
station. 318
THE MORAVIANS IN LABRADOR.
INTRODUCTION.
The Moravian Mission in Labrador was attempted under circumstances
scarcely less discouraging than those under which the brethren were
enabled to achieve the moral conquest of Greenland, was attended with
incidents still more romantic, and blest with a success equally
remarkable. But it possesses a peculiar interest to British readers,
having been commenced under the auspices of the British government,
and promising a more extensive influence among tribes with whom
British intercourse is likely to produce a wider and more intimate
connection.
The Peninsula of Labrador extends from the 50th to the 61st deg. N.L.
It is somewhat of a triangular form; bounded on the north by Hudson's
Straits, and indented by Ungava Bay; on the east by the northern
ocean; on the south by Canada and the Gulph of St Lawrence; and on
the west by Hudson's and James' Bay, which last coast, by a kind of
anomaly in nomenclature, has been called the East Main, from its
situation to that great inland sea.
The German geographers do not appear to doubt, what some of our own
have called in question, that the discovery and the name of this
Peninsula, at least of its eastern shores, were owing to the
Portuguese, Gaspar Cortereal, who, in the years 1500 and 1501, in an
expedition fitted by the king to discover a western passage to India,
reached the coast of Newfoundland about the 50th deg. N.L., and sailed
northward to nearly the entrance into Hudson's Bay. This tract of
country was originally called after its discoverer, Terra Cortereali,
a name since superseded by that of Terra de Labrador--the land capable
of cultivation. Davis Straits, here about one hundred miles broad,
separates it from Greenland, whose southernmost point, Cape Farewell,
lies in the same degree of latitude, [60 N.L.] with Cape Chudleigh,
the northernmost extremity of Labrador. The Straits of Bellisle run
between it and Newfoundland. The land along the shore is abrupt and
precipitous, indented with many little creeks and vallies, surrounded
by innumerable islands, and rendered extremely dangerous of access
from the multitude of sunken rocks. The interior is mountainous,
intersected by marshes, and abounding with streamlets and lakes.
Detached from the Arctic lands, this country ought to partake in some
degree of the temperate cold regions, but whether owing to the
elevation of its mountains, or the influence of the perpetual fogs
that cover the neighbouring seas, it is as frozen a region as those to
the west of Hudson's Bay; and though it lies some degrees farther
south than Greenland, yet the cold during the long winter is far more
severe, the thermometer being frequently 32 deg. below 0 deg. of Fahrenheit.
Perhaps the immense quantity of drift ice which accumulates on the
eastern shores, and which extends for so many miles out to sea, may
have some influence on the temperature of the climate. The summer, on
the other hand, during the short time that it lasts, is proportionally
warmer, the thermometer rising from 70 deg. to 80 deg. above 0. Vegetation
then proceeds with uncommon rapidity; the shrubs and plants expand as
if by enchantment; and the country assumes the luxuriance and beauty
of a European summer. Forests of pine and larch are scattered over the
country, the trees of sufficient size to be used in building, or to be
sawn into boards; there are also willows, birch, aspen, and alder, in
considerable quantities.
The land animals are the same as those in Greenland. The _rein-deer_,
this beautiful and useful creature, is found in considerable herds,
but has not hitherto been domesticated, being only hunted for its
flesh, which makes an agreeable variety of food; and its skin, which
is an elegant and necessary article of clothing, as the fur is always
richer in proportion to the intensity of the cold, against which it
forms an excellent defence; they are hunted with dogs, and formerly
used to be easily killed with the bow and arrow, but the introduction
of fire arms has proved much more destructive. When hard-pressed, they
soon take to the water, and swim so well that a four oared boat can
scarcely come up with them, but an Esquimaux in his kaiak more readily
overtakes them. _Hares_ are tolerably plenty. The _Arctic fox_ also is
numerous; their skins are used for the purposes of commerce, and their
flesh is esteemed preferable to that of the hare. _Black bears_ are
frequently killed, and are relished as food by the Esquimaux. But the
most formidable among the tribes of these regions is the _Polar bear_,
whose ferocity and courage render him an object of terror even to the
well armed European. The _dog_ is the most useful of the quadrupeds
to the Esquimaux; he bears a strong resemblance to the wolf; is in
height about the size of the Newfoundland, and is well furnished with
a thick hairy coat, peculiarly adapted to the climate. As a hunter,
his scent can trace the seal or the rein-deer at a considerable
distance, and he does not dread, when in packs, to attack even the
white bear itself. His chief value, however, consists in his qualities
as a draught animal; for this he is carefully trained from his
infancy, and undergoes severe and frequent floggings to break him
regularly into the team. He becomes then remarkably submissive, comes
at his master's call, and allows himself quietly to be harnessed to
the sledge. In fastening them care is taken not to let them go
abreast: they are tied by separate thongs, of unequal lengths, to a
horizontal bar on the forepart of the sledge; an old knowing one leads
the way, running ten to twenty paces a head, directed by the driver's
whip, which is often twenty-four feet long, and can only be properly
wielded by an experienced Esquimaux; the other dogs follow like a
flock of sheep, and if one receives a lash, he bites his neighbour,
and the bite goes round. Their strength, and speed, even with an
hungry stomach, is astonishing; and to this they are often subjected,
especially by the heathen, who treat them with little mercy, and force
them to perform hard duty for the small quantity of food they allow
them. Their portion upon a journey consists chiefly in offals, old
skins, entrails, rotten whale flesh, or fins, or whatever else the
Esquimaux himself cannot use; if these run out, or if the master,
whose stomach is not of the most delicate contexture, requires his
dogs' meat, then the poor creatures must go and seek for themselves,
in which case they will swallow almost any thing, so that it is always
necessary to secure the harness over night, if the traveller wishes to
proceed in the morning. The teams vary from three to nine dogs, and
this last number have been known to drag a weight of more than sixteen
hundred pounds, a mile in nine minutes.
Like the Greenlanders the inhabitants of Labrador must draw their
subsistence and their wealth chiefly from the sea; but in this respect
their circumstances are less favourable than the former. Whales are
scarce, and the chief species they take is that denominated the white
fish, of little value in commerce. In pursuing them they have now
adopted the European boat in preference to their own, and those most
frequently employed are six oared, rowed by twelve men. The harpooner
stands in the bow with his harpoon, or iron spear, which is stuck on a
shaft one or two fathoms long, and is provided with a leathern thong
of considerable length, to which are attached from five to ten
bladders of seal skin. If the whale be struck he immediately dives to
the bottom of the sea, where he remains till he is quite exhausted,
when he again comes to the surface of the water to breathe; in the
meanwhile the boat's crew observe all its motions, and are in
readiness with their lances to complete the business, during which,
the person who first struck the fish, falls down on his face in the
fore part of the boat, and prays that Torngak would strengthen the
thongs that they may not break; another of the crew allows his feet to
be bound, as a symbol of what he desires, then attempting to walk,
falls down and exclaims, "Let him be lame!" and a third, if he
observes that the whale is dying, calls out, "Now Torngak is there,
and will help us to kill the fish, and we shall eat his flesh, and
fare sumptuously, and be happy!" But if the whale appears likely to
escape, the first continues lying on his face crying out with
vehemence, "Hear yet, and help us!" If the whale get off, some of
their conjurors inform them that Torngak was not there, or he did not
hear, or he was otherwise employed! Seals are more abundant, and are
the chief dependance of the natives, their flesh serving for food,
their skins for clothes and covering to their tents and boats, and
their blubber for oil or for exchange. Catching the seal was formerly
a tedious and laborious process, but now they are generally taken in
nets, which the natives have adopted from the Europeans.
Salmon and salmon-trout are caught in every creek and inlet; they
remain in the rivers and fresh-water lakes during the winter, and
return to the sea in spring. The Esquimaux about Okkak and Saeglak,
catch them in winter under the ice by spearing. For this purpose they
make two holes in the ice, about eight inches in diameter, and six
feet asunder, in a direction from north to south. The northern hole
they screen from the sun by a bank of snow about four feet in height,
raised in a semi-circle round its southern edge, and form another
similar bank on the north side of the southern hole, sloped in such a
manner as to reflect the rays of the sun into it. The Esquimaux then
lies down, with his face close to the northern aperture, beneath which
the water is strongly illuminated by the sunbeams entering at the
southern. In his left hand he holds a red string, with which he plays
in the water to allure the fish, and in his right, a spear ready to
strike them as they approach; and in this manner, they soon take as
many as they want. The trout on this coast are from twelve to eighteen
inches long, and in August and September so fat, that the Esquimaux
collect from them a sufficient quantity of oil for their lamps. The
great shoals of herrings, which are the staple of the Greenlanders, do
not touch at the shores of Labrador, but they have abundance of cod at
many of their fishing stations, which the missionaries have shown them
the method, and set them the example, of curing for their winter's
supply.
Sea-fowl of the duck and goose species frequent the shores of
Labrador, and the islands scattered around it, and afford to the
natives, as they do to the rest of the northern tribes, food, warmth,
and materials for trade. Of the land birds, the large partridge,
[reiper,] or American wild pheasant, is the only one which the
missionaries mention as being used by them as an agreeable variety of
food, when, other resources failing, they have been confined to salted
provisions.
The peninsula is chiefly inhabited on the coast, where the Moravians
have now four settlements. The natives style themselves _Innuit_,
_i.e._ men; and foreigners, _Kablunat_ or inferior beings. Their
original national name is Karalit, also denoting superiority, and the
term Esquimaux, by which they are now so generally known, was given
them by their neighbours the Indians, in whose language it signifies
"men's raw meat," and probably imports that the Indians were, or it
may be, are cannibals, and devoted their captives for this horrible
repast. In lowness of stature, in their flat features, and dark
colour, they exactly resemble the Greenlanders. Their language is a
dialect of the same tongue, intelligible by both; but from their
intercourse with foreigners, and their adopting some foreign customs,
and becoming possessed of foreign utensils, a number of strange words
have been introduced into each, only the former borrowed Danish or
English phrases, while the latter had learned many French words. Their
dress is nearly similar, being seal-skin coats and breeches, except
the outer garment of the women ends behind in a train that reaches to
the ground, and their boats are sufficiently large to carry their
children if they are mothers--or provisions, or any other packages, if
they are not.
Their winter houses are low, long, ill-constructed huts, inhabited by
several families, and abominably filthy; they are dug deep in the
earth, but the walls above the surface never exceed three feet in
height, the roof is elevated in the middle, and the windows are placed
to look to the south: the entry can only admit a person to crawl in;
on one side of it is placed the kitchen, and on the other the
dog-kennel, but no partition separates the biped from the quadruped
inhabitant. If constrained to travel in winter, or to remain at a
distance from their usual homes, they build houses of snow, which
afford them a tolerably comfortable temporary abode. These habitations
are very ingeniously constructed; they first search out a heap of
firmly frozen snow, next they trace out a circular figure, of whatever
size they think requisite, and then proceed with their long thin
knives, to cut out square slabs, about three feet in length, two in
breadth, and one in thickness, and gradually contracting as they rise,
they form a dome about eight feet high; within, they leave an
elevation all round the walls of about twenty inches, which, when
covered with skins, serves both for a seat and a sleeping place; a
piece of ice serves for a window, and in the evening they close their
door with a board of snow; a lamp suspended from the roof gives light
and heat to the apartment.