Evening star., 1916-11-26
Christianizing the Indians and Eskimo

house. The children live at the school.
the fathers and sisters believing that
they are better off when kept away
from their families.
Two of the most remarkable mission
aries of Alaska belong to the Episco-
palians. The first of these is the Rev.
p. T. Rowe. who came here in 1895 as
the first bishop Of Alaska, and the
other is Archdeacon stuck. noted for
his work among the Indians, and also
for having been one of the first men
to reach the top of Mt. Mckinley.
Bishop Rowe has done as much. II
not more. than any other one man in
the christianizing of interior Alaska.
He has travelled thousands of miles.
now riding on his dog sled and now
walking behind it over the trails
in his winter journeys in Alaska, AMI
he has visited every navigahle part or
the country by steamboat and canoe.
He goes out with an Indian guide and a
team of dogs, and in this way travels
many hundreds of miles every winter
He is not only bishop and travelling
missionary, but he is also doctor and
nurse. and his work is free to all.
Few appreciate the hardships that
the missionaries have undergone in
these far northern parts of our con-
tinent! Take. for instance. Bishop
Stringer of the Church of England.
now in charge of the work in Yukon
territory. with headquarters at Daw-
son He is known all over Canada as
the bishop who had to eat his boots
to keep from starvation. l met MN
at Dawson, and had a long talk with
him during which. in response to my
questions. he gave me some of his ex-
periences in attemnting to chrlstianiZe
the Eskimos and Indians.
Rishop Stringers first work was
among the Eskimos. He came from
Canada to Hershel Island. which lies in
the Arctic ocean not far from the Mac
kenZie river. 1t is noted as n whaling
station and in some winters more than
100 whaIers live there in order that
they may start their business with the
first breakup of the ice in the spring.
Pishop Stringcr's work was among the
whalers as well as among the Eskimos.
When he came there the latter were
the tools of the whalers. They had no
sense of property rights, and they were
sunken and degraded to a remarkable
degree Through the Christian work of
the Hershel Mission. the character or
the race has practically changed The
most of the Eskimos are now chris
tians, and they are advancing in civill-
cation.
something about the Eskimos of Can
ada. He replied:
"About five-sixths of all the Eskimos
Of the world are in the Canadian Do
minion There are altogether perhaps
ten thousand of them They live along
the shores Of the Arctic ocean and do
not 20 more than a hundred miles into
the interior. Theft chief business is
fishing and hunting. They sell the.f
skins to the Hudson's Bay Company.
TT is astonishing" said Bishop
Stringer. "how eager the Eskimos are
to become Christians, and what aroent
Christians they are. Recently we mad
two hundred volunteers who asked to
he missionaries and who were ready TO
start upon an expedition OF churcn
work that would involve an absence
of two years from home"
1t was through his wonderful work at
Hershel Island that the Rev. L. y.
Stringer was made Bishop of the Yu-
kon He has under his religious direc-
tion territory as large as Germany. ny
1t consists of Yukon Territory ana the
country east of it. running almost to
Hudsons Bay. 1t is the most northerly
mission in the British empire ,a ana the ne
most of it's work is in the wiids IT
was during one of his trips through
that region that Bishop Stringer had
his narrow escape from starving. He