1856.] RUPERT'S LAND MISSIONS. 137 as to the evil that is inherent in man's nature, and which, if not checked and restrained by more powerful influences, hurries him onward in a course of self-destruction. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." How many have destroyed themselves, both in time and for eternity! Christianity enters with power into a man's heart, and puts this evil in chains and bonds, and thus becomes a principle of recovery in man, and individuals are saved from ruin, and nations raised up out of hopelessness and degradation. This is the delightful procedure that is going forward in Rupert's Land. We shall endeavour to present our readers with occasional glimpses of the different stations, and of the progress which is being made, notwithstanding many difficulties, in the blessed work of evangelizing the Crees and Saulteaux of Rupert's Land. There is one station-Fairford, Manitoba-where Missionary labours were carried on for a lengthened period without fruit. It is discouraging work to till a barren soil. And such the hearts of the Indians appeared to be in that place. The soul of the Missionary was cast down within him; yet, though sometimes tempted to say, "I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought," he was enabled to persevere until his prayers were heard, and the blessing, sure because promised, although long delayed, came like the gladsome breaking forth of summer in those wintry regions, when the earth put off its frozen surface, and becomes soft for the plough, and the rivers break loose from their icy chains, and genial influences, crowding in, arouse torpid nature into action. Here there is now a little church of believing Indians, who have cast away from them their heathen superstitions, that they may worship God in spirit and in truth. They confess the Lord Jesus, and seek to serve Him, and the little band increases by the addition of new converts brought in from their wanderings in the wild waste of heathenism. One interesting case has recently occurred-that of the leading chief at the station, who has made an open profession of faith in Christ before his heathen countrymen, and joined himself to the church. We find the following notices of him in the journals of our Missionary at Fairford, the Rev. W. Stagg― Easter-day, 1856-In the afternoon I held a meeting in my own house for the benefit of the Indians. One of the half-breed settlers interpreted for me, and Papamas was present, and several of his heathen friends. After I had done, the old man made such a speech as will not be forgotten for a long time at Fairford. The interpreter shed tears while relating to me what he said. He boldly declared his belief in the Christian religion, and said it was only by the help of heaven he could continue stedfast. He said the works of heathenism were the works of Satan. Will Papamas be stedfast? God grant that he may! If he should go back he will do much harm. If he continue stedfast he will undoubtedly do much good. March 30-There has been much said amongst the Indians about what Papamas said on Easter-day. Some are surprised; some say they 138 RESIGNATION. [DEC. must follow him. Oh, may it please the Lord to pour out the Holy Spirit, that they may be gathered into the Redeemer's kingdom! June 10-To-day Papamas left us. He will be off a few weeks for the moose hunting. He said to some of my people, as related to me afterwards, "Before I embraced the gospel I could go to the woods with pleasure, but now I cannot. I shall soon return, that I may hear what is good for my soul, as I know not how soon death may come." This Indian is diligently using the influence which he possesses over his countrymen in persuading them to follow his example, and give themselves to the Lord. RESIGNATION. THERE is no flock, however watched and tended, There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, But has one vacant chair. The air is full of farewells to the dying, The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, Will not be comforted. Let us be patient: these severe afflictions, Not from the ground arise; But oftentimes celestial benedictions Assume this dark disguise. We see but dimly through the mist and vapours— What seem to us but dim funereal tapers, May be heaven's distant lamps. She is not dead, the child of our affection, Where she no longer needs our poor protection, She is not dead: what seems so is transition. Is but a suburb of the life elysian, Whose portals we call death.* In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion, Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, Day after day we think what she is doing Year after year her tender steps pursuing, Thus do we walk with her, and keep unbroken Thinking that our remembrance, though unspoken, * These two verses have been slightly altered from the original. Not as a child shall we again behold her; In our embraces we again enfold her But a fair maiden, in her Father's mansion, And beautiful with all the soul's expansion And though at times, impetuous with emotion The swelling heart heaves, moaning like the ocean We will be patient, and assuage the feeling We cannot wholly stay, By silence sanctifying, not concealing, The grief that must have way. THE KARENS. LONGFELLOW. 139 OUR readers, we hope, have been interested in the notices we have introduced of Sau Quala, the Karen pastor. At present we have nothing to add with reference to him, but of his people, the Karens, much may be said. Their traditions, which are numerous, are of a curious and interesting character. They say, for instance, that the country which they now occupy is not their own, and that they came from the North, where they were independent of the Burmese and Siamese. On the banks of the Sitang, a river which flows into the sea, between the Salwen and the Irrawaddy, about 200 miles from its mouth, stands a city called Toungoo. That had once been their city and country, and from thence came all the Karens of Siam, Burmah, and Pegu. But even this appears to have been only the first place at which they settled on their arrival in further India, and their tradition points to some far more remote place than this as their original home. They speak of "the river of running sand, over which their ancestors crossed as they were advancing, a fearful trackless region, where the sands rolled before the winds like the waves of the sea.' Our readers may compare with this the description given by the travellers Huc and Gabet, of the frightful deserts of Thibet, lying between the Blue Lake and Lassa. "Immediately after crossing the river of Tsaidam we found the aspect of the country totally changed. Nature becomes all of a sudden savage and sad: the soil, arid and stony, produces with difficulty a few dry saltpetrous bushes." The passage of Bourhan-Bota mountain, remarkable for its pestilential vapours, is thus described-"Every body measured with his eyes the steep and rugged paths of the lofty ascent, gazed with anxiety at a light, thin vapour, which we were told was the pestilential vapour in question. . . . Before long, the horses refused to carry their riders, and all, men as well as animals, advanced on foot, and step by step. By degrees our faces grew pale, our hearts sick, and our legs incapable of supporting us: we threw ourselves on the ground, then rose again to make another effort, then once more prostrated ourselves, and again rose to stumble on some paces further. In this deplorable fashion was it that we ascended the famous Bourhan-Bota." Further on, passing 140 THE LAND OF THE CHAGALELEGAT. [DEC. another mountain, they say " Almost immediately after attaining the summit, the sky became thickly overcast with clouds, and the wind began to blow with a violence which grew constantly more and more intense. The opposite sides of the mountain we found so encumbered with snow, that the animals were up to their girths in it: they could only advance by a series of convulsive efforts, which threw several of them into gulfs from which it was impossible to extricate them, and where they accordingly perished. We marched in the very teeth of a wind so strong and so icy that it absolutely at times choked our respiration, and, despite our thick furs, made us tremble, lest we should be killed with cold." Similar difficulties lie between Lassa and the Western provinces of China. All this is interesting; but the scriptural character of the traditions of the Karens is still more so. They say they were dispersed because they lost their faith in God and their love to each other, and that their language became confused in their dispersion. Their tradition of the fall of man is very singular, from its close resemblance to the Bible statement. We insert a fragment of it— A yellow fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the children of God. A white fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the daughter and son of God. They transgressed the commandments of God, and God turned His face from them ; They kept not all the words of God-were deceived, deceived unto sickness; They kept not all the law of God-were deceived, deceived unto death. It is difficult to conceive that these ideas could have been derived from any other source than the Old-Testament writings. The Karens themselves say they were obtained from their ancient books of skin, which taught morals, while the palm-leaf books treat only of wonders, i.e. fables. In this persuasion, that they once had books, the Karens are very decided they say that they did not take care of their books, and that, when they lost their books, they lost the knowledge of God. It is strange, that, in connexion with this, the idea has prevailed amongst them that the knowledge of God would be restored to them through the instrumentality of white foreigners-"Look toward the ocean. The great bird shall ascend, and spread forth its white wings. This is the white foreigners, bringing you the words of the eternal God." In another Number we shall describe Toungoo, which, since the termination of the last Burmese war, has become a Missionary station. THE LAND OF THE CHAGALELEGAT. OFF the west coast of Sumatra rise out of the ocean three hilly masses, called the Mantawe Islands, the channel between them and the mainland being some eighty miles across. Their place on the world's map is thus marked-from 1° to 3° 40′ S. lat., and 98° 30' to 100' E. long. Our readers, if they please, may look them out, and place their finger on the spot. Why do we select them as a subject? To remind our readers that there are places we have never heard of, which are, nevertheless, the homes of our fellow-men, who are living and dying without God. The northern, and largest island, Si-Berut, is seventy-two miles long and fourteen broad. The middle one, Si-Kobo, separated from the northern by a strait about twenty-five miles broad, dotted with isles, is thirty-four miles long by ten broad; and the southern, Si-Galagan, 1856.] THE LAND OF THE CHAGALELEGAT. 141 fifteen miles distant from the central one, about forty-four miles by seven. Along their whole length the islands are intersected by ranges of hills, the highest summits of which do not rise above 500 feet. These hill ranges are covered to their summits with trees, and the whole land, as viewed from the sea, appears a dense and continuous forest, almost impervious, and consisting of a great variety of trees and underwood, more or less matted by hanging and trailing plants. Some of the timber trees on the richer soil of the hills attain a great size. There is the Bintangur, large enough for the lowest mast of a first-rate man-of-war. Casuarinas grow along the shore, in long and regular rows, to the height of 100 or 150 feet. There are several species of the fig and the wild nutmeg; but more prized by the inhabitants are the abundant natural groves of cocoanut and the sago palms. The plantain, bambú, &c., are also common. The large wild beasts of Sumatra are unknown in these islands; but monkeys and Sumatran deer abound. The Indian crocodile inhabits most of the rivers; and various kinds of zoophytes in the seas around are busily engaged in raising new islands to the surface. So long as the reefs remain beneath the surface, the water on them is remarkably clear and transparent; and, like a transparent wood, are seen the different corals, decked with brilliant colours, with beautifully coloured fishes moving amongst them in all directions. In dark nights these animals appear to be surrounded by light, and the water is full of small shining specks, like stars on a dark blue field. The people who inhabit these islands are the Chagalelegat, a rude, simple, sequestered race, who are not found beyond the limits of these three islands, which are their home. The races contiguous to these are the Niba, in islands to the north, the Malayan tribes, and Battas, on the Sumatran shore; but with none have they any dealings, the Malays excepted, who visit them for timber and traffic. The numerous foreign traders who resort to the western shores of Sumatra, have not been attracted to these islands. The Chagalelegat, or Mantaweans, are about 11,000 in number, of middle size, well made, and very muscular. Some are remarkably handsome, with finely-moulded limbs. The nose is more or less flat; the mouth projecting, but not in the same degree as with the Malays; the eyes large and bright; the eyebrows thin, and only slightly curved; the hair fine, lank, and jet black; and the colour of the skin yellowish brown, with a ruddy tinge. They are robust, athletic, active, and expert in all bodily exercises incidental to their mode of life. Their ordinary occupations consist in hunting and fishing, the extraction and washing of the sago meal, the preparation of bark cloth, the collection of wood, oil, timber, rattans, wild fruits, and other forest produce. The house and garden once made, their highest industry and skill are employed in the fabrication of canoes, weapons, and implements for kiillng and snaring game and fish. In carving implements in wood, and in plaiting grass, rattans, &c., they show considerable ingenuity. Their houses are of two kinds-large ones, in which thirty or forty families live together, and small ones, adapted for one only. The former, which are always the property of a chief, have a length of 180 to 200 feet, and a breadth of 30 or 40 feet. The whole is, as it were, a colossal roof, covered with the leaves of the sago, having arched side walls; |