The Moravians in Labrador

by Anonymous

While Laritz remained at Nain, Jans Haven and James Rhodes took the vessel which brought him there, and made a voyage on the north coast to Nachwach, 59 deg. 30 m. N.L. It lasted from the 7th August to the 17th September. They landed at different places, and the Esquimaux everywhere, who had either before known or heard of Jans Haven, received him with shouts! He told them what had moved the brethren to settle in the country, and invited them to come to him. They heard him with astonishment speak of the great love of the Saviour to men, and asked if he was an Angekok, as he spoke of such high things as they never had heard, even from their own prophets? Others asked, why the Saviour, who made all things, had not before sent some one to tell their fathers these good news, and now they were gone where they could hear nothing? Havens answered, that "the times of their ignorance God had winked at," but that he now shewed mercy to them in sending them the gospel, and they ought to improve this the day of their visitation. At Napartok, having declared to the natives the counsel of God for their salvation, he thus continued: "I hear that there are quarrels and backbitings among you, and that some even seek the lives of others; all this proceeds from your not knowing the Saviour." He then turned to the Angekok, Aweinak, who was a reputed murderer, and said, "Hear these my words, 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed.' Forgive one another, and live as brethren and sisters in love and fellowship; make no difference between your own countrymen and those of the north and south." The Angekok promised to behave better, and begged Haven to repeat his assurance of friendship. Haven did so, and turning to the by-standers, said, "You hear his words; forgive him and love him, and if he ever again act wickedly, let me know." At Arimek, the Esquimaux thanked him for what he had spoken, and concluded by saying, "Though thou art not big, thou hast a great soul and a brave spirit."

During an abode of two months at Nain, Laritz received every information respecting the state of the mission, and having made the proper arrangements for their further direction, he assembled the brethren in the mission-house at Nain, and read to them a solemn farewell address, and left it with them. "From the bottom of my heart," he begins, "I praise the gracious counsel of our dear Lord towards the poor and blind nations of the Esquimaux, and I return back to Europe with a deep impression of it; for though I have as yet only seen the springing of the seed, yet I feel in my heart a believing confidence, that in the proper time and hour which the Lord himself has appointed, a joyful harvest shall appear. Dear brethren and sisters, as the Lord of his pure grace has placed you in a land, where, since the creation of the world, his name has not been named or praised, it seems to me to be more incumbent on you daily to renew the deep consideration of your call and appointment to the fulfilling his purposes of grace; for you are not called here, either collectively or separately, of your own choice, or of the will of men, but of the counsel of peace in the heart of Jesus. You must therefore have it as a fixed principle in your hearts, and before your eyes, continually, that you are sent here to make known among the Esquimaux, the character of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. If you are not all able to do this in words, you can place it before their eyes by a holy walk and conversation, and by your earnest prayers and supplications be blessed helpers of their joy. And first of all, as their fellow-servant, I pray that all the servants of the Lord in this place, who bring the testimony of the gospel to the poor heathen, may, as often as they with the mouth praise the Saviour, be baptized with the Spirit and with fire, that their testimony may appear the power of God, able to make those blessed who believe it. And I beseech all the brethren to support and help with their prayers, those of them who shall speak and preach to the Esquimaux.

"You must not rest satisfied, my dear brethren, with daily meetings, but you must carefully visit them in their tents and in their houses, and put them in mind of what they have heard; for this end, all our dear brethren and sisters must diligently use the gifts and talents given them to learn the Esquimaux language. Let the joy of the Lord animate you!—When you perceive the heart of any one awakened by the Holy Spirit, and in distress fleeing for mercy to the blood of Jesus, baptize such an one, as the Lord has directed, into his death, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: there shall be joy in heaven over such first fruits, and on earth in the church of Jesus. With respect to the Esquimaux, either as to gifts or European food, do as we agreed on—neither, on the one side, neglect what necessity or compassion require; nor, on the other, accustom them to what would be injurious. When they labour for you, or go messages, pay them according to the custom of the country; and when you work for them, and make boats, sails, chests, lamps, arrows and lances, let them also pay you, that by degrees they may be accustomed to an orderly domestic life.

"To your little church in the house, I call in the name of Jesus, love ye with a thorough inward sacred impulse; for God hath from eternity chosen you to love. Consider this well, that our dear Lord has said, 'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' You know from what source the apparent want of this can be supplied; and I am sure, if every one would search out his own fault, with kindness and benevolence acquitting others, then would you feel that you loved one another from the heart fervently. Be of one mind; live in peace, then shall your conferences be kept with much blessing, and you be subject one to another in the fear of God. No one will then tenaciously hold his own opinion as the best, or as infallible, but every one will gladly take advantage of the other's discernment, and rather follow what is likely to attain the desired end, than his own private inclination. In the division of your labour consider yourselves as members of one body—that the eye cannot be supposed to do what the hand can, and the hand cannot do what the foot can; and if ye are each of you conscious that you have, according to the words of our Lord, done what thou couldst, let no one even in his heart think that one of his brethren has done too little. Whatever the congregation sends for your support and clothing, receive with thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father, who has enabled his people to minister to you in these things: at the same time you must frugally and faithfully improve every opportunity afforded by providence to supply your necessary expenses, by working with your own hands, and his blessing shall certainly accompany your labours.

"Commend us to the Lord, that his inestimable presence may be near us by sea and by land; and, dearest brethren and sisters, I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. The God of love and peace sanctify you wholly, that your whole spirit, soul and body, may be kept unblameable to the coming of the Lord Jesus; that then you, with a great number of believing Esquimaux, may appear before his presence with exceeding joy—'Faithful is he who hath called you, and also will do it.'"

With this excellent address, the labours of Mr Laritz ended. After partaking of the communion together, he bid adieu to the brethren on the 29th September, and went on board the ship Amity, which had come from Newfoundland, according to appointment, and arrived in London on the 29th of October.

Circumstances, apparently the most unpropitious, frequently contribute, in the course of Providence, to promote the most important and most happy issues. While the brethren at Nain continued with unwearied diligence to make known the salvation of Christ among the Esquimaux, they observed with grief, that their deep-rooted heathenish superstitions, and the violent and gross, but natural evil passions which they delighted to indulge, and which led to the frequent perpetration of adultery and murder, obstructed the entrance of the word of God into their hearts, and had as yet rendered almost all their labours fruitless. But what particularly distressed them was, when they saw that the impressions which had been made on some of the natives on hearing the gospel, while residing in the neighbourhood of the mission-settlement, were wholly effaced when they removed to a distance, and associated with their heathen countrymen.

Anxious, therefore, to retain them around their station, the brethren proposed a method for rendering them comfortable during the winter, by building a store-house where their provisions might be laid up, so that the superfluities of summer should supply the wants of winter. But the savages could not understand the use of refusing to gratify their present appetites in order to provide for any distant emergency—they preferred to revel in the plenty of summer, and to rove to other places in winter in search of food, by which propensity they were scattered above one hundred and twenty miles along the coast. Yet, even these wanderers were the means of exciting the attention of their kindred to the gospel, by telling them of the strange things they had heard at Nain. It was therefore resolved to follow the leadings of Providence, and, as soon as possible, to establish two other missionary settlements, the one towards the north, the other south of the present.

For this purpose, application was made to the Society of the Brethren in London, who, entering fully into their views, obtained from the Privy Council an order granting them liberty to search out and take possession of land sufficient for their object. A commission was accordingly sent for the brethren to explore the coast, and Brazen, Lister, Lehman, and Jans Haven, offered themselves for this service. On the 5th of August they set out for the north. "But just as we were setting out," says Jans Haven, "an uncommon horror and trembling seized me, so that, contrary to my former experience, I was exceedingly intimidated, and wished rather to stay at home." They proceeded however, and were every where received in a friendly manner by the Esquimaux, and invited to settle among them. Their return justified the presentiment of Jans Haven. Not far from Cape Keglapeit they had the misfortune to encounter a dreadful storm, and when only three miles from Nain, their vessel struck on a sunk rock where she was wrecked.

After a fearful night, about 2 o'clock next morning they attempted to get at the boat that belonged to their shallop, but through the violence of the waves it was driven on a rock and almost dashed to pieces. Brazen and Lehman were drowned, but Haven and Lister, together with the sailors, succeeded in reaching a barren rock, where they suffered much from cold and hunger—where they must have perished miserably had they not providentially got their boat, which was in tatters, drawn on shore, and with all the woollen clothes and seal skins they could spare, patched it together. Still it was a wretched barque, but they had no other resource, and were obliged to venture to sea in it such as it was. The wind was favourable, and at length they happily met Manamina in his kaiak, who towed them safely to Nain, where they arrived on the evening of the 18th of September, truly thankful to the Lord for his wonderful assistance. "After our return," Haven says in the account of his life, "I was overwhelmed with sorrow—spent days and nights in sighs and tears—thought much of my whole past life—cried to the Lord for help and forgiveness of all my many failings, and renewed my vows to devote myself entirely to his service." The bodies of both the brethren who were drowned were driven on shore, and afterwards brought to the settlement, where they were decently interred.