Forty-two Years Among the Indians and Eskimo

Book excerpt: Looking at the map of North America, a little inland from the coast of Labrador, you will find Hudson's Bay, and in the south-west corner, at the mouth of the Moose River, Moose Fort. Here is the residence of the deputy governor and his subordinate officers; a number of people are anxiously looking out; they are expecting the one ship that comes to them in the course of the year. A small vessel lying a little way out to sea has raised the long-looked-for signal, and rejoicing is the order of the day." On June 6, 1851, Reverend John Horden (1828-1893) embarked on a journey across the Atlantic to take his post as First Bishop of Moosonee (in today's Ontario, Canada), which he was to hold for forty-two years. This book is largely comprised from the correspondence that the missionary took up with the author Beatrice Batty. Having "the pen of a ready writer," Horden vividly describes the country, the people, their ways and their language, which he eagerly learned and used in his sermons to the natives."