Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1925-12-02

families of American children. You
see them everywhere, playing on the
rocks, racing over the paths, pulling
around in their fathers dories. The
girls marry very young, sometimes
at fourteen. The boys go out
with their fathers to the weirs or the
traps as soon as they are big enough
to handle oars / have never seen
prettier children than are growing
up under conditions that are ideal so
far as nature is concerned. Clean,
fresh air and sunshine, out-of-doors
life, plenty of action and adventure
and hard work. But they are rarely
well nourished The mission has
been working to abolish the teapot
and substitute milk for the children
there was always d teapot on the
back of the stove, the boiled kind OF
tea being preferred. 1t has been
teaching the value of a more bal
anced meal, advising less emphasis
on the ubiquitous fish. 1t has been
keeping an eye out for bad teeth and
adenoids, occasionally bringing
round a dentist, with the after cabin
fitted up for his use, and doctor
when one is needed.
OF course it can't attend to all this
thoroughly as it would like, for it
hasn't the equipment-the Sunbeam
is too slow, for one thing, making
only seven or eight knots. 1t takes
half a day to get anywhere. But
the workers are trying to do what
they can to teach healthy living and
straight thinking and to give these
promising Yankee youngsters fair
chance at life.
The islands have each a school,
graded, but with one teacher. This
teacher is in some cases, as at Head
Harbor, also mission worker, which
We held evening services in the
chapels which the mission has built
on many of the islands. | shall never
forget the light shining out through
the stained glass window the one
touch of color in those bleak places
and the little lights of the lanterns
winking and blinking toward US from
every direction as their bearers came
over the trails through the darkness.
On one island there was choir OF
small girls whose voices had been
sweetly trained. Elsewhere the Cap
tain led the sineing-once in d light
house srbooIr0om. with growuups sit
ting in the chfldren's seats and the
family lamDs ON the desks. There
was no piano, and we talked of tax
ing the Sunbeam little portable or
gan ashore, but it was raining so We
had % do without accompaniment.
Everywhere the preaching centers
round the ancient theme of peace on
earth good will 10 men. There is
sometimes considerable feeling in
villages ION the main" against the
Saints as fine 4ormous are called
there Rut Mr. Gupffl insists that
Inc Saints are brothers and must be
! treated kindly "TnEtPad of attacking
tho othar fellows Faith. show him
what GOOD one YOU have yourself, )"
he saws
Relief work takes precedence of
evervfhfne else. and often breaks up
pIans. We were anchored off Crow
/ lav's-fhn saddest of all islands
when wbife-faced fisherman came
aboard and asked if we would 90 TO
Jonesnort and get his LITTLE Girl and
ta1ya bar ia Rar Harbor tn the hospi-
tai she had hurt her arm. he said,
and the doctor couldn't fix it. His
white jnartfculate suffering went to
NV heart shall never forget the
| siobt of him on the wharf at Jones'
mort as we nulled ont with I,ucv on
hoard He stood for a moment look
ing after MS. then turned and with
head bowed stumbled away. the pic
tnra of inter misery. But heaven
knows what would have become of
the child if the Sunbeam hadn't hap
nened to he there for if was a bad
break IN near the shoulder. and no
other wav of getting her to Bar Har-
bor that a moor fisherman could have
managed
Mrs Peaslev who is motherhood
incarnate mt the child to bed in her
own bunk and did for her with a
mixture of love and expertness that
was wonderful to watch she was so
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