The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-30
MAYB CONVERTED IN ABUNCH
ATTEMPT TO CHRISTIANIZE An
ESKIMO TRIBE.

Father Turquetil on His way 10 the Frozen
North 10 Discuss Win chief NyrimayOk
Polar Monarch. the Conversion Of
His PeOple-DinieultleS or the Mission.
QUEBEC, April 2o-The Standardization
OF one OF the largest tribes OF Eskimos in
the world IL at present depending upon the
result Of a conference between the chief,
Nyrimayok who reigns az absolutely as
any other earthly king. and a Roman
Catholic missionary. Father Arsene ntr-
quetil. who has started out on a 900 mile
journey to keep a tryst made with the
copper colored monarch a year ago.
The uncounted thousands Of Nyrimayok's
subjects roam the wilds OF the frozen north
from Hudson Bay to the Beaufort Sea. II
Ia believed that the chiefs conversion ia as
sured. and this win mean the conversion Of
all his people. There Is quite a little ro-
nance about the chiefs Invitation to the
missionary to meet him In the far north,
and in connection with the readiness Of the
other to undertake the perilous journey OF
1 900 mikes upon which he is now engaged.
For many years Nyrimayok, with the
suspicion and reserve Characteristic Of his
race, had scowled at every suggestion Of
Christianity, at no time showing open
hostility TO the missionaries but always
doggedly refusing 10 follow their advice.
For hours at time he would sit and listen
TO their patient explanations. Then he
would grlint and stalk on into the woods
with no appearance Of having been affected
by their story.
It il understood that he was much i'm
pressed by the peril and suffering endured
by the priests for the sake Of the natives
q n - l.. l.. ~.
Of superiority among the uneducated, un-
christiani8ed red men.
One day last spring. just before the
caribou began their northward migration,
the Eskimo chief, who was then at the
northernmost point OF Reindeer Lake,
there and with some show Of ostentation,
though with his usual hngly dignity some
what changed by his apparent sincerity,
invited Father Turqueti 10 visit his camp,
900 miles north az the crow flee. He
also told him that II be would make his
homo among his people he would build
him a hut and provide sustenAnce for him.
Bishop Pascal under whom Father
Turquetil is working, and 10 whom he told
the story Of Nyrimayok, has not only en-
mission, but declares IL 10 be a. important
as any which has ever come before the
missionary branch Of the Church.
OF the Journey before Father Turquetil
q description IL given by Father Caste,
a missionary who travelled 700 miles Of
the distance as long ago as 1858. when he
was the first white man 70 traverse the
country. Parties Of surveyors are the
only other white men known 20 have VEN
tured into these barren wilds.
Before undertaking his Journey north
ward from ST. Peters Mission Father
TuTquetil had to travel 900 miles from
Prince Albert 10 reach the mission. The
first 200 miles ie easy-a four days paddle
down the broad Saskatchewan River.
Across Cumberland lake the passage
IL not hard. save that Il Ia the first long
stretch Of oonsant rowing agaipst the
stream, for from Reindeer Lake down
through a series Of rivers and little lakes
the water rushes rapidly on tie way 10 the
Saskatchewan, Lake Winnipeg or Hudson
Bay.
The portages further north are long and
bad and almost the whole Of the last 500
miles has TO be tramped, for in that dis
lance the stream PUSHES with a noisy roar
In a close series Of cstaTacts among giant
dragged rocks always half buried in the
foam into which the water is chuned.
This part Of the trip sometimes takes six
OF seven weeks and it 10 hoped that Father
Turquetil got over II and reached st. Peters
Mission before the winter frost set in.
North Of Reindeer Lake the country
which the father Is now supposed to be
tTaversing Is the real frozen north Of to-day.
It IL being made on ski and sledge. IL takes !
indomitable will and great physical en-
durance.
There will be tramping. shutting day
after day over the binding snow, even
at this season Of the year and much later,
though calm and blow, either meaning a
temperature Of many degrees below zero,
across a succession OF dreary wastes, broken
here and there by great masses, Of rocks /
and glaciers. over which the traveller on
foot must stumble and clip; by forests whose F.
fallen tree trunks and tangled underground, /
the accumulation ~ centuries make travel /
ing discouragingly difficult, and again |
by streams whose oataraots defy the cold |
TO freeze them.
And then there will be night after night |
In which the father and his guides must dig /
deep down into the snow TO build little |
shelter. into which they can cuddle in their |
furs when the cold u extreme. II the dogs /
are tame, which few Of them are, they will /
be taken into these little excavations, 30 |
that the humans may enjoy the warmth I
which is given on from their bodies. IL they /
are wild, the faithful little brutes will sneak 1
and they have had their evening meal, /
and will dig holes In the snow and make |
their own sleeping places therein.
The most powerful potentate Of the polar /
regions, whom Father Tlruueti IL now on /
his way TO meet, is a most interesting per-
sonality and a type Of the best men Of the
northland; apparently about IS, tall strong Z
square shouldered, agile, a crack shot with .
the rifle, a spearsman Of seemingly infallible
arm and eye, and a fisherman Of rare skill.
He knows not only the secrets Of the beasts
Of the forest and field and the finny felix in
tho rivers, lakes and seas, but also the secrets
Of the lives Of his human subjects. His mind,
which acts slowly enough In things not ma
tive TO him, is keen and penetrating, and in
the judgments which he makes In disputes
among his people, for whom he Ia arbitrator
in ell matters Of importance, he IL surpris-
ingly wise and just
His authority Is complete and Ia never
questioned. The Eskimos obey him out
Of respect for his prowess and bis powers
and also for love Of him.