Missionaries of the present day are not without their troubles. Mrs. Day tells of potato-whiskey making in some illicit still back in the mosquito-woods, the results of which she fears; and, even as we speak, an Indian lunatic pokes his head through the palings of the potato-patch. From far back in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, and from Fort Liard, the Hudson's Bay men have come to make their reports to Mr. Brabant at Simpson. They brought their wives and babies with them, brought also a quantity of beautiful porcupine-quill work, Fort Liard being one of the few places in the North where this art flourishes. Tomorrow they will start back, tacking against the stream, as the imported brides are doing before them.
To dive into the journals of the past, of which the loft above the offices here at Simpson is full, is even more interesting than talking with the people of the present. We take 1837, the year which saw the accession in England of the young and well-beloved Queen, and from these musty books unearth a running commentary of what is doing in Fort Simpson in that year.
"1837, January 1. The people were brought into the Hall, and enjoyed their meal with great appetites, being also treated to a glass of wine and a fathom of tobacco and a pipe. Wind East."
"1837, February 11. Rabbits are numerous, but the ladies of the Establishment make no great effort in snaring them."
"1837, February 14. Late last night arrived a woman, Thawyase, and a boy, the family of the late Thoesty. They have all come to take refuge here as they are starving. The woman at dusk decoyed old Jack away to camp in the woods—and the old fellow has found a mate."
One wonders if either Thawyase, the decoyed Jack, or the old chronicler was conscious of the fact that this was St. Valentine's Day.
"1837, March 27. Two geese have been seen to-day, the first this season."
"1837, May 2. Marcel sowed some oats. Mosquitoes begin to become annoying."
"1837, May 5. Wild fowl are beginning to frequent the small lakes of the neighbourhood. The willows and young trees are now budding forth beautifully."
"1837, May 18. Hope began to plough this morning with the bull, but as this is the first time he has been yoked, the day's work is found to be but poor."