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Show IN THE SILENT NORTH INFLUENZA TOOK ITS DEATH TOLL - j - ioid Pnhlle Ije?eer Co. ' sionaries to Labrador. Erhardt and his boat's crew were murdered by the Eskimos Eski-mos and the missionaries had, on account ac-count of the loss of their only interpreter, to abandon the attempt to convert the aborigines to Christianity. Twelve years later the Moravian Brethren succeeded in establishing mission stations on the coast and since that time the missions have been self-supporting through the trading of the lay brothers of the staff. The authorities in England and Newfoundland at different times gave grai.ts of land to the brethren and empowered them to keep the unscrupulous unscrupu-lous traders from introducing intoxicatin-liquors intoxicatin-liquors into the settlements where mission stations are established. There are now si such stations, Hoped, Zoar, Nain, Okkab, entrance of Hudson Strait. 'West of the Cape is the great Ungava Bay where a Protestant Episcopal missionary tends his niuch scattered flock. This gentleman. Rev. S. M. Stewart, has been traveling since last October to get back to his mission after a short visit to Great Britain. He expects to arrive there about the end of February ! Bishop Martin, of the Moravian mission, wrote from Hebron under date December 1, 10 S, to the colonial secretary of Newfoundland. New-foundland. His letter was received in St. John's on June 21. He states that out of 100 Eskimo inhabitants of that place eighty-five died in a single week and one a little later. In this settlement there are now only fourteen Eskimos, eight children, chil-dren, five women and one man. The missionaries mis-sionaries were all ill, too, but recovered. sionaries to Labrador. Erhardt and his entrance of Hudson Strait. West of the ..,. ..-TX-v .yiF&g-'.' boat's crew were murdered by the Eski- Cape is the great Ungava Bay where a ;. V.r-.'J '. y :r" ?J. '..".'"-;'' "ft mos and the missionaries had, on ac- Protestant Episcopal missionary tends his J -- , v4 '-vCv-v.A 2. . ''. '"," " - 1 V. count of the loss of their only interpreter, much scattered flock. This gentleman. Rev. t "J, . Cl 4 f ' v A to abandon the attempt to convert the S. M. Stewart, has been traveling since - -i" ? ir-1' " vv- aborigines to Christianity. Twelve years last October to get back to his mission after s, s . ' i . - '"", JCm' 1Ioravian Brethren succeeded in a short visit to Great Britain. He expects .A 1 r r 1 - establishing mission stations on the coast to arrive there about the end of February ! H f si ? " --.' and since that time the missions have been Bishop Martin, of the Moravian mission, t ' ' ! C ' ' 1 self-supporting through the trading of the wrote from Hebron under date December 1, , -' v s ' , v ." lay brothers of the staff. The authorities 191S, to the colonial secretary of New- ' e ' ' v vi J in England and .Newfoundland at different foundland. His letter was received in St. !- - - -J times gave grai.ts of land to the brethren John's on June 21. lie states that out of 0 J I " ' 'i X-Av S ' --V i and empowered them to keep the unscrupu- 100 Eskimo inhabitants of that place - ' ' " ' l f ous traders from 'introducing intoxicating eighty-five died in a single week and one a ' ' ' ' , ) " ' i'VV Inuors into the settlements where mission little later. In this settlement there are X - ' " , ' t stations are established. There are now six now only fourteen Eskimos, ci-ht chil- ' s 1 " i ' ' 1 such stations, HopedJc, Zoar. Xain, Okkab, dren. five women and one man. Themis- ; ' 1 ' "v , ' il sionaries were all ill, too, "out recovered. . 4 - j s . -V 1 "x " f ' - .1 X l.-r?. .'.-..;:.''.;At'!f .i!-.."v.; . i-fr ' ?::v-.;'s !, 'j f ::.:.-, -v- . v. v- i v . . V, 'v ,VC v t V&fjsr If' . , i j" f V 4 Of the hundred mh b tants of ons 6 W 4 N lf A ( & 1 VI ettienent only fourteen Eskimos V-.?fe '; ' .rfr-,fi-.4vy. '&f ;jf .p :'V.':'v.J' survive. Whole communities in the v''Sm. .'-'.?3S-V4 ( JSiTi:? i' S J M' v-:' Northland have fallen victims of tho ':)imiti':Vy & dreaded influenza A WHOLE people almost destroyed in a few weeks ; w hole settlements left without a single survivor ; the uuburied corpses devoured de-voured by half-starved dugs; this is the story that comes out of the silent north the most gruesome, most awful tale of disease and death that the world has yet heard. 'War. famine and pestilence have taken heavy toll of mankind during five years, but the rel-ativa rel-ativa ks of life has everywhere been small compared with that which has taken place along the rockbound shores of lonely Labrador. Labra-dor. Eskimo and Indian, halfbrced and white, German and Briton, hunter and fisherman have fallen victims to the dreaded intlueuza. And on all that desolate coast, extending over eight degrees of latitude, not a doctor or a trained nurse, not a hospital or dispensary, dis-pensary, not even a health officer is to be found. The ice-floes of the north fill every harbor; giant icebergs miles in length, acres in extent, mountains in height, bar the path of ship and steamer. A laud where railroads rail-roads are unknown, where streets are never laid nor roads built to connect one settlement settle-ment with another ; a country where horses and cows are less known that are the rhinoceros rhi-noceros and zebra to the inhabitants of th United States; a region where even canned milk is a luxury and candy is seldom seen ; such is Labrador. The Labrador coast, under the jurisdiction jurisdic-tion of the government' of Newfoundland, extends from the Strait of Belle Isle (about fifty-two degrees north latitude) to Hudson Strait (latitude sixty degrees north). A straight line drawn from one end of the coast to the other would stretch over 500 miles. The length of the deeply indented seaboard would be nearer 3000 miles. The southern part to about a degree north of the Strait of Belle Isle is served by Doctor . Grenfell and his staff of assistants. At times they visit during the summer season the northern portion. A medical man employed by the government of Newfoundland has a email cabin fitted up as a surgery and dispensary dis-pensary on the mail steamer that plies along the coast in the fishing season. COMMUNICATION in winter time would be impossible but for the dogs. AYild brutes that never bark but howl like their next of kin, the wolves, pull the komatik, or Eskimo sled, over the frozen crusts of snow at the rate of twenty miles au hour. So savage are they that the law of Newfoundland Newfound-land forbids their importation into that island. They are kept in subjection only by a whip consisting of a two -foot stick and a leather thong about thirty or forty feet long. The rawhide lash is allowed to trail behind the komatik and the driver flicks it just as one does a wet towel, but with the accompaniment of a report louder than that of a pistol. The Eskimos are so skillful in the use of this whip that they are able to behead a partridge at a blow or knock out the eye of a dog. Tales only too true have been told of drivers who have lost their whips being torn to pieces by their own dogs! In the year 1782 John Christian Erhardt, who had been for many years a sailor on whaling ships, led a party of Moravian mis- The Kev. Henry Guro.on. missionary at Cartri.ci;. in southern Labrador (latitude -fry -four degrees ) re;. oris that on'.y half a dozen whites are left alive in thai settlement. In many houses in this mission none survive. . : In some cases a few chiMr-rD managed to keep s;ive after all the grown-up people had died. On account of the . impossibility of procuring fuel, trees krg found only in sheltered valleys in the interior, mau.v were frozen to death. The various reports toil stories of almost al-most miraculous survivals: In one buse an old woman of seventy-;"'.ree alone remained re-mained out of a l'.ousehcM of five. For nine days after the last o.-.aih she wss without fire and had to tbaw pieces of ice in a cup placed under her arm-pit in order to quench her thirst. In suolher place a little girl saw the bodies of her vareuts, brothers and sisters eaten by the dojrs in the room she was lying in. She tried to ' drive them away and one bit n piece out of her arm. She bound up the wound and r finally recovered. She melted water with a few Christmas candles whic.i some one v had given her to light the Ciuistioas tree. o She was using the last inch of candle when ci she was rescued. -V TN ONE place it was impossible to find , earth deep enough to bury the dead aud it was equally impossible to bury them at sea. Five bodies had to be hauied eight y miles before earth sutVieutly deep could 0. be discovered and the ground had to be . literally hewed out in pieces before burial mwmm could take place.' All the reports which have come in are the official statements ' of clergymen written to their odieial su- was periors iu church ami state, and 1 have em-bodied em-bodied iu this article only the facts re- .sui'in-ported .sui'in-ported by them. aV' The orphans were distributed in the varl- calam- --ous --ous settlements and the toilers of the deep, with weakened bodies aud saddened mind?. v must face the future with added burdens. 1. worse, feel that those among us who haw lately lost loved ones or have themselves ex to.-u i perienced suffering through' the war or pes "''11J tilenee will s lupathi.'c with the " RimphvUoM,,niv but kindly people of the far north. w iio--M . 'L'lu v sons, both Eskimos and white, fought ''l,.',!I,ll!l;',( by side with ours iu the great strii'igh- for t , -freedom of man. And the few snl'Hoi! will "carry on" in simple fait h ;itkiug i'o help though God knows they need it prating prat-ing only that the seals will come inslioi-e and the codfish be plenty. A God fciriuii, Christian people, with few churches and scarcely any schools, that neither needs nor has a single magistrate or policeman ; w here ( no doors tire locked, where but oue murder has taken place iu a century, where dvvnroo is unknowu, where drunkenness is rare ind the Sabbath never broken such is the people' j who inhabit a hind where the potato Home . times attains the size of a walnut' nd j ancient spruce trees spread their highest branches only two feet: ubo e the ground. And yet they love their country, aud all j efforts to tempt even the white "Hvyers" , (as they are called tu distinguish lUeoj i-'. -. -v the transient fishermen! to moe to k warmer clime h.-ne failed. The a isitor' w;'.l agree that the Norsemen named it well w hen, !t!0 years ago, they called il J Ulltilinid the ' Laud of Naked Books. . j - Hebron and Buiuuh. Of these Uopeilale is the most southerly (latitude fifty -live degrees de-grees north) and Kauiah the most northerly (latitude fifty-nine degrees north). South of Hopedale there are a few missionaries of other denominations from Newfoundland. North of liamnh is Cape Chidley at the -be FOlt live or six weeks they were uiiaDie to do anything with regatd to burying the bodies. The ground, siiaouw at best, was now frozen solid. Some men from a neighboring neigh-boring settlement then came to their help and the bodies were taken in sleds out on the frozen ocean and. a hole having beeu made in the ice, they were reverently committed to the deep. In oue place iu the big Saeglek Bay, between Hebron aud Kamah, twenty out of tweuty-six bodies were devoured by dogs and a visitor there was obliged to kill the sixty wild brutes. The Rev. S. M. Stewart, writing from Okkak, says there are ninety-three people dead.iu that settlement and only two men and two boys survive. He estimates that only dOO Eskimos are left on this wild coast. A few settlements have been uu-visited uu-visited by the plague. Smallpox as well as measles has also broken out. |
