spend the months of July and August fishing down the Labrador, whence half the world is supplied with salt cod. All the way along one sees the schooners in every bay waiting for their cargoes, or meets them homeward bound loaded to the gunwales. Salt boats are constantly plying down and up among them, scarcely able at times to satisfy the demand; and a steamer, subsidized by the government, makes fortnightly trips to carry mail and provide a doctor. The impossibility of one man's giving adequate medical care to so many people in short visits made at such long intervals is one cause for the presence on this coast of Dr. Grenfell, who was sent hither thirteen years ago by the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, and who is doing a splendid work alike for men's bodies and souls.

The little groups of turf houses, or "tilts," at the various ports of call on the mail-boat's route, shelter many families of fisher folk during the summer season. All these cordially welcome a call from any chance visitor, as do also the poor "liveyeres" who know no other homes. The query, "How are the fish running for you?" commonly asked by every one going ashore, is answered by "Pretty fair." or "All right," or by a shake of the head, and the anxious inquiry, "How are the fish elsewhere?" That this important question may be promptly answered and reapers be not lacking where the crop is most plentiful, Marconi stations are advancing rapid

THE MISSION SHIP "HARMONY."

ly along the Labrador, erected at government expense. Thus it is that extremes of civilization seem to meet in this remote land, where the crudest mode of living and the latest achievement of science fall within the range of the people's experience, apparently without exciting their wonder or any curiosity to learn the many degrees of improvement that intervene between living in a one-roomed mud-hut and receiving messages by wireless telegraphy.

The barren rocks to which these hovels cling yield only the scantiest herbage, and tiny gardens of hoarded soil, a few inches deep, guarded by retaining walls, make slight return in puny vegetables for their careful tending. The house leek with its copperhued blossoms, the bake and bunch berries close to the ground, the salic palm with its gray tassels, and the Indian tea bushes, white with bloom, show for a brief while where a bit of loam is lodged in crevices of the rocks and so protected from the raven of storms. But the panorama of a thousand miles of this stern coast is one lacking in all elements that invite human habitation, though eloquent of grandeur in solitude.

The sea is dotted in all directions with icebergs, more than fifty being, counted at a time from the masthead; while the harbors well up the coast towards the Straits of Belle Isle are still blocked with ice, or the "tickles" leading to them are made impassable by the piled-up floes. The stately or grotesque shapes assumed by these frozen monsters of the deep, together with the wonderful cerulean hues gleaming from the rifts in their sides or reflected in the water about their submerged hulks, more than compensate for the danger of their proximity or our fear of colliding with them in the darkness.

After ten days making headway against these odds, or lying for long hours in impenetrable fog, we unexpectedly sailed into Hopedale harbor and were delighted to see before us the Moravian Mission station, an im

posing group of gray buildings with gray buildings with red roofs shining in the sunlight. A well-built walk, extending from the gateway in the wall surrounding the courtyard to a flight of steps at the water's edge, at once attracted attention. Such evidence of thrift and comfort we had not seen before on the Labrador, where the usual means of landing from the rowboat, sent ashore with mail from the steamer, is a sort of rude, upright ladder formed of poles nailed to the foundation posts of the fish stages which are perched on the rocks above. These are always green with moss and lichens, and are generally slippery and insecure.

A few moments after our steamer with a loud whistle, that resounded from the hills encircling the harbor, had proclaimed her arrival, we were going ashore in the rowboat, eager to inspect this remarkable settlement, which affected us at first sight much as a fair oasis affects a traveler after

sea,

By the term "the Labrador" local usage distinguishes the strip along the extending inland for about seventy miles, which belongs to Newfoundland, from the rest of the great peninsula which is under the jurisdiction of Canada. All the Moravian settlements in this country are on "the Labrador." That at Hopedale, established in 1782, is the third permanent one, those at Nain and Okkak, further down the coast, having been founded in the decade preceding. The greatest historic interest, however, centers in the Hopedale mission.

Built on ground which had been marked out and purchased from the Esquimaux thirty years before, it is not far distant from the spot where Erhardt, the pioneer missionary, first landed and built a house. He soon suffered a martyr's death at the hands of the natives, and his mission was abandoned. But the name Hopedale, originally belonging to it, was transferred to the later settlement near by, which was thus linked to the first heroic endeavor. To this we were about paying a visit.

As we set foot on shore, we were welcomed with smiling faces and outstretched hands by three missionaries, who we soon learned were Mr. Lenz, Mr. Hessich, and Mr. Goleby. Their hearty greeting was like that of old friends, for isolation knits chance acquaintanceships ofttimes with stronger bonds than long years of association can show. They were frankly glad for the presence of others of their own race; while we were proud to clasp hands with men who are doing such a difficult part in the world's work.

At a respectful distance behind the missionaries stood groups of Esquimaux women and children, curious to see the strangers arrive. The native men had not yet come in from the fishing or had rowed out to the mail steamer, but later in the day they were seen returning to their cabins.

were dressed in garments of their own manufacture, though the materials and patterns were largely of European importation. The absence of sealskin and other furs from their clothing was no doubt due to the season, which was quite too warm for such wrappings; though the visitors from the south were none too comfortable in heavy winter garments. All the topcoats were worn by men of our party, the missionaries appearing quite comfortable in lighter clothing, though they wore black leather boots reaching to the knee over their trousers and having white soles of parchment, or skin resembling it, neatly shirred around the vamps on top of the foot,

MR. GOLEBY IN WINTER DRESS.

These

and suggesting a moccasin. are undoubtedly water-tight and comfortable, though not rivaling in warmth the great sealskin boots for winter wear.

In the absence of the superintendent of the mission, on furlough in Germany, Mr. Lenz acted as host and conducted us at once into his own parlor, where we met his wife and two small

daughters. The absence of larger children in the homes of the missionaries is due to a regulation made by their church that at the age of seven years all children shall be sent to the homeland to be educated, after which long years elapse ere they again see their parents. We were interested to learn that Mrs. Lenz was herself born

the Labrador, her father and mother having been faithful teachers there a generation ago. The length of service for which one volunteers as a missionary is thirty years, and few furloughs interrupt its continuance. The good ship "Harmony," sent out by the church in Germany, brings the annual letters and supplies, and is the means of inter-communication between the different Labrador stations, Hopedale, Nain, Zoar, Hebron, Okkak, and Ramah.

The missionaries, men and women,

appear the healthy, happy Germans tl.at they are; and while. realizing the limitations enforced by their residence in so bleak a clime, they have made a pleasant, homelike atmosphere by surrot ling themselves with many things suggestive of friends and customs in Germany. While simplicity and good taste mark the furnishings and arrangement of every part of the mission buildings and grounds, the visitor is amazed at the surprising results obtained in the culture of flowers and fruit under glass frames and in a small greenhouse. The windows of the living rooms are filled with blooming plants, whose color and fragrance make one forget for the nonce how near to the Arctic circle all this tropical display is, and how entirely exotic in this latitude is every blossoming thing.

On the hill which rises behind the mission compound, is a park-like garden that must be a constant source of wonder to the natives, whose labor is largely employed in tending it. It is laid out with winding gravel walks, and the circular beds are planted with dwarf evergreens trimmed into curious and ornamental shapes. This is a recreation ground for the missionaries' families. Here are little buildings which correspond somewhat to the summer houses on our lawns. They are not of lattice, however, for that could not afford sufficient protection even on summer days; but they are warmly built with close-fitting windows and doors. Within is an attractive room with tea table, a shelf of favorite books, a work basket, and other evidences of feminine occupation. A miniature copy of these pleasure houses, bearing the legend, "Baby Villa," stands in the children's playground, and from the nearby tree hangs a chair swing. These and other simple means of amusement scattered about claim our attention only because they seem so incongruous with the gaunt features of nature all about them.

Gleaming among some stones piled under a tree in the garden are some

large specimens of the native labradorite, from which the lapidary polishes lustrous gems, that gleam a bluish green like peacock feathers.

Adjacent to the compound, which contains the chapel, schoolhouse, store, and missionaries' homes, there is an Esquimaux village, numbering about twenty-five cabins. This has been established almost as long as the mission itself. We learn from an early history of the work of the Moravians in Greenland and Labrador, published a century ago in German. and afterwards translated into English, that the Christianized Esquimaux were often influenced by their pagan neighbors to join in heathen practices. To prevent this evil, permission was given in 1783, the year following the settlement at Hopedale, for the natives to build houses on land belonging to the mission, on condition that they renounce heathenism altogether. This community of church. members and catechumens forms the nucleus of the congregation of about three hundred that gathers weekly in the mission chapel. From it come also most of the children instructed in the school that is always held in the winter season. Natives and settlers within a radius of fifty miles, and some from as far as seventy miles, come to attend a Sunday meeting.

Our arrival at Hopedale on Saturday afternoon was fortunate, as we had the opportunity to see large numbers of Esquimaux who were gathered from their week's fishing to enjoy the next day's services. Clad in their best attire, a sort of compromise between the native dress and European garments, they were seen ranged along the mission fence or gathered in groups about their own cabins. was plainly a general holiday, though a few of the women were still busied frying out seal blubber in a common workhouse in the rear of the village.

It

High behind the chapel was piled the community's supply of wood, cut into convenient lengths for burning. The logs are rafted to the harbor in the fall after the fishing is over, and

AN ESQUIMAUX GIRL.

sawing them for winter's use is a general occupation.

Ranging amid the Esquimaux homes were many large dogs, which were now having their summer vacation. At this time they are left to forage for themselves. They, too, can fish, and many fine meals a dog draws with his paws out of shallow water. Fierce brutes they are, and not to be petted, for their lupine nature is untrustworthy.

The approach to some of the cabins was wet and miry, seeing which the missionary guide shrugged his shoulders, saying, "It is easier to teach godliness here than to teach cleanliness."

The interiors showed better housekeeping, which is probably due to the fact that in the many years of the station's existence native girls have been employed as maids in the teachers' homes and received the training good German housewives give. For the century and a quarter that the Moravians have been here, they have taught the Esquimaux more sanitary wavs of living, thus prolonging the existence of a race fast hastening to decay through their own uncivilized condition and the debaucheries introduced among them by traders.

Together with Christianity these Esquimaux have been taught many useful arts. They show also a decided musical talent. The Hopedale brass band of a dozen members has a flour

ishing organization, and is justly celebrated along the coast. In the chapel is a small pipe organ, or vocalion, which is regularly played by Ambrosius, a native, who handles the instrument so well and is so diligent in practice that the missionary who taught him says that the pupil now excels the master. The assistant organist is Lukas Terriak, whose surname means a weasel; he is son-inlaw to Ambrosius. Under their direction is the choir, which includes men and women, and which plays an important part in the chapel services, though congregational singing is general and hearty.

Re

All too soon word came that our party must return to the mail boat, which was bound for Nain, more than a hundred miles down the coast. luctantly we left our new friends, but consoled ourselves with the hope of seeing them again on our return trip to the south. That Saturday night was made memorable to us by the fields of ice into which our boat ran very soon after leaving Hopedale. The drifting floes were all about us and stretched before us as far as we could see. For the next twenty or thirty miles we made headway slowly, the captain's eye from the bridge choosing always the line of least resistance. When the way was completely blocked, the good ship, with a mighty effort leaping forward, mounted upon the opposing ice, where she stood quivering a brief instant un