Kapik had spent the same night restless and almost hopeless—convinced that he deserved, and afraid that he would be everlastingly lost. Ere the morning had scarcely broken he came to Kohlmeister, who presented to him the same Saviour and Redeemer, who would not reject him, and in whom he shortly found peace to his soul.
These two now joyfully thanked and praised God their Saviour, who had redeemed them; and, filled with life and spirit, set out on their return to Nain, where they testified with boldness of what they had heard, seen, and experienced at Hopedale. They related to the missionaries with an ingenuousness and sincerity, which the latter say they had never before known among Esquimaux, how the Almighty power of Jesus had awakened them, by giving them a proper sense of the wickedness of their ways, and caused them to resolve to turn to Him in truth as their Saviour. Now they began earnestly to declare to their countrymen the necessity of a thorough conversion of heart, representing how they ought to believe and acknowledge themselves sinners, confess and repent of their sins, and flee to Jesus for pardon and deliverance from the power of sin; for without this, all, so called conversion, was ineffectual, and no fruits of righteousness would appear. Some of the baptized received their exhortations in the true spirit of the Pharisees of old, and in a rage upbraided them, saying, "Ye wicked and abandoned fellows, will ye speak to us?" "That we are wicked we well know," was the meek reply; "but yonder, in Hopedale, we learned that there is a Jesus who came to die for sinners, who receives such even as we, and saves them."
Their old acquaintance heard them with astonishment—some mocked, and others hated them for it; but several, who had been admitted members of the congregation, became gradually convinced, and began to doubt whether their cold formal Christianity were of the right kind, and whether they had not been deceiving themselves and others. They came spontaneously to their teachers, and with tears, and in a manner the latter had never before witnessed, confessed their sins, wept on account of the deceit they had so often practised; and declared that the more they were led to consider their former life, the more deeply they were convinced of the treachery of their own hearts. The sensations of the missionaries are thus described by themselves. "Though we could not but feel pain on account of their former hypocrisy, our grief was counterbalanced by the joy we felt at the amazing power of our Saviour's grace, by which their hearts were thus broken and melted. Our faith and courage, which in some of us was indeed very weak, revived; and we saw clearly, that with God, nothing is impossible. Thus the many prayers offered up, and tears shed by our brethren and sisters in Labrador, on account of the conversion of the Esquimaux nation, began, after thirty-four years, to shew their fruit. And we now often encourage each other to pray our Saviour to give us the needful grace, strength, and gifts to declare the gospel unto them; and so to fill our hearts with his love, that we may lead and serve those, his sheep, so as to promote their growth in grace, and in his love and knowledge." The awakening here, as at Hopedale, extended to the children. The frequent visits of the Hopedale Esquimaux were made very useful to the congregation at Nain; many of whom moved to Hopedale, among whom were Siksigak and Kapik, who wished to reside where they had been so powerfully laid hold of by the grace of Jesus; "and," to use their own expressions, "be there thoroughly converted to Him"—hoping to receive much advice and assistance from the believers at Hopedale; and being afraid that their old heathen associates might hinder their progress at Nain; nor could they bear the thought of remaining longer at a place where they had spent their former lives in sin, and might again be led into temptation.
By means of these two converts the report of the awakening among the Hopedale Esquimaux spread to Okkak, and even farther north, creating a very considerable sensation among the heathen, three families of whom arrived at that settlement with the avowed determination of becoming obedient to the gospel, and turning to Jesus with their whole heart. The schools were also attended with the blessing of God, and both children and adults made good progress in their learning; and the missionaries remark, "That it was very edifying to hear them exercising themselves in their own dwellings, in reading and singing hymns." Morning and evening prayer, ere the close of the year, had been set up in every family; and while the melody of praise ascended from every dwelling, tears of holy gratitude mingled with the brethren's prayers for the stability and increase of the Redeemer's kingdom among the Esquimaux. The intercourse between the settlements became now more frequent, interesting, and profitable; the converted natives, particularly the sisters, when on these visits, showed such an ardent desire to describe to their countrymen the love and mercy of God, which they themselves had so savingly experienced, that they went about from tent to tent, and particularly to their own sex spoke so powerfully and movingly of the compassion of Jesus, and his desire to save them from sin and perdition, that many were convinced of their dangerous state, and earnestly inquired what they should do to be saved? The zeal of the newly baptized had often likewise a powerful effect on the old, in rekindling the dying embers of their profession. Several of these expressed their surprise at their former indifference, and seemed to doubt if they had ever truly given themselves to Jesus; and old and young now declared, weeping, that their only desire was to obtain peace and rest in their souls, and to be enabled to live in the undisturbed enjoyment of the Saviour. With their emotions of love were mixed deep shame and abasement, that they had not before perceived their true happiness; but by their lifeless profession, and inconsistent conduct, had crucified the Saviour afresh, and put him to open shame.
Nor were they less assiduous with the heathen who visited the settlements, and their love for the truth was manifested in the gladness they expressed at every new accession to the congregation from among them, the kindness they showed, and the eagerness with which they endeavoured to retain them. Some of these new comers, at Hopedale, having expressed their desire to receive the gospel, and to submit to the rules of the place, young and old instantly ran to help them with their baggage, to arrange their little affairs, and cheerfully built new winter houses for their reception. Another party, however, refusing to stop, left a man with his wife and child, who were disinclined to go, wishing, as he said, to be converted. He had pitched his tent at some distance, but no sooner did the baptized Esquimaux learn his determination, than they immediately went, took it down, and set it up in the midst of their own dwellings, with such demonstrations of welcome, that he exclaimed, he had never met with any thing like it before; nor could he understand why they should shew such disinterested love to him, a stranger. In visiting the sick, the missionaries had much satisfaction; there was now no horror at the thought of death—no disposition to return to their sorcerers; but calm, peaceful resignation to the Divine will, or holy joy in the prospect of soon seeing their Redeemer, face to face. Magdalene, in the view of departure, said, "I weep not over the pain I feel, though that is very great, but for joy that my Saviour is near my heart. O would but Jesus come and take me to himself! I long to go to him, as a child longs for its parent, to behold him, and to embrace his feet. I feel no gloom; my heart is filled with joy in believing on him." Benigna, upon her recovery from a dangerous illness, thus expressed herself: "I think that it pleased the Lord to afflict so many in our house with illness, and to restore them again, that he might prove us, to know whether we could place all our hopes in him, even in perplexity and pain; and I have now found that he is able, not only to bring us safe through the most distressing circumstances, but to establish us more and more in full reliance upon his help alone. During this illness, the Lord has given me to feel his presence so sweetly, that if it had been his will, I should have rejoiced to go and be with him for ever; but since it has pleased him to restore me to health, my heart is filled with gratitude towards him." Among the strangers, the power of God was no less wonderfully displayed in awakening them from the deep sleep of sin and death: they came and confessed their sins and their crimes, which, though formerly deemed light matters, now heavily burdened their consciences. "Human nature shudders and starts back," says the missionary diary, "on hearing the horrid detail of the abominations practised among the heathen;" and they themselves would often exclaim, "O! how shocking the way in which we lived in sin; but we were quite blind, and chained down by the fetters of Satan; we will serve him no longer, but belong only to Jesus."
One instance deserves more particular notice, that of a young man named Angukualak, the son of a most noted sorcerer, Uiverunna. His parents had instructed him in all the secrets of their art, and his confession gives at least plausibility to the opinion, that the influence of Satan is permitted to be sometimes visibly exercised, in the dark places of the earth, though, while the effects of that influence are palpable in the perpetration of the grossest vices and most barbarous cruelty, it is very immaterial whether it assumes a perceptible form, or merely acts upon the imagination. His own account to the missionaries, was as follows: "My parents told me, that their familiar spirit, or Torngak, lived in the water; if I wished to consult him, I must call upon him, as the spirit of my parents, to come forth out of the water, and remember this token, that I should observe, in some part of the house, a vapour ascending, soon after which, the spirit would appear, and grant what I asked. Some years ago, when my little brother was very ill, I tried this method for the first time, and called upon the Torngak, when I really thought I saw a small vapour arising, and shortly after, the appearance of a man in a watery habit stood before me. I was filled with horror, my whole frame shook with fear, and I covered my face with my hands."
His brother recovered, and the impression of this strange occurrence appears to have been forgotten, when a terrible dream overwhelmed his mind with anguish and terror. "I thought," to resume his own language, "I thought I saw a very deep, dark cavern, the descent to which was a narrow, steep chasm. In this horrible place, I discovered my mother, my relations, and many others whom I had known, and who had led a very wicked life upon earth, sitting in great torments, and exhibiting a dreadful appearance. I was already with my feet slipping down the chasm; and it seemed as if somebody said to me, 'Unto that dark place thou must likewise depart!' From that moment I found no rest anywhere, but having heard that true believers lived at Hopedale, I resolved to come hither, and with my whole family to be converted to Jesus, that I may not likewise descend into the place of torment, and be lost for ever. But alas! I know not how to get released from evil, for I still feel as if I was bound with the chains of sin."
To this account, the brethren added the following pertinent remark: "We often hear the Esquimaux relate dreams; and certain it is, that several of our Esquimaux have been led to very serious reflections, by occasion of a remarkable, and, perhaps, terrifying dream, and been convinced of their lost and wretched state. We do not encourage a belief in the fulfilment of dreams, nor pay any regard to them in general; but yet we find the words of Scripture true, Job xxxiii. 14-17. 'God speaketh once, yea, twice, but man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men; in slumberings upon the bed: then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw them from their purpose.'"
Towards the end of this remarkable year, the missionaries, in their diary, thus exultingly break forth: "O! that we were able, by words, to convey to our dear brethren and sisters, some faint idea of our sensations, and of the joy and gratitude we feel in beholding this work of the Lord among our dear Esquimaux. Could they but see the marvellous change wrought in the minds and conduct of some of these people, who were lately such avowed enemies of the truth, led captive by Satan at his will, and delighting in the most filthy and outrageous practices, they would mingle their tears of joy with us. We now hear backsliders as well as heathen, those who have long heard, but never believed in the gospel, speaking the same language as those who have never, till now, heard of a Saviour; all confess themselves most vile and unworthy, weep over their sins, and cry for mercy through the atonement of Jesus. Thus, in Labrador also, the word of the cross is the power of God unto salvation. We regard this gracious work of the Saviour, as the blossoming of a precious plant, which has been long germinating in the earth, and on whose growth we have been waiting with the utmost anxiety;—now that it has at last sprung up, and is bearing beautiful flowers, may He cause it to prosper and bring forth fruit unto eternal life!"