hem about these great truths
which I had come so far to tell them of. I wanted to know what were
their wishes and determinations about becoming Christians. When I had
finished, every eye turned towards the principal chief, as these
Indians, like the other tribes, have their unwritten laws of precedence.
He rose up from his place among his people, and, coming near me on my
right hand, he made one of the most thrilling addresses I ever heard.
Years have passed away since that hour, and yet the memory of that tall,
straight, impassioned Indian is as vivid as ever. His actions were
many, but all were graceful. His voice was particularly fine and full
of pathos, for he spoke from his heart. Here is the bare outline of his
speech, as, with my interpreter to aid me, I shortly afterwards wrote it
down.

"Missionary, I have long lost faith in our old paganism." Then pointing
down to the outer edge of the audience, where some old conjurers and
medicine men were seated, he said, "They know I have not cared for our
old religion. I have neglected it. And I will tell you, Missionary,
why I have not believed in our old paganism for a long time. I hear God
in the thunder, in the tempest, and in the storm; I see His power in the
lightning that shivers the tree into kindling wood; I see His goodness
in giving us the moose, the reindeer, the beaver, and the bear; I see
His loving-kindness in giving us, when the south winds blow, the ducks
and geese; and when the snow and ice melt away, and our lakes and rivers
are open again, I see how He fills them with fish. I have watched these
things for years, and I see how during every moon of the year He gives
us something; and so He has arranged it, that if we are only industrious
and careful, we can always have something to eat. So thinking about
these things which I had observed, I made up my mind years ago, that
this Great Spirit, so kind and so watchful and so loving, did not care
for the beating of the conjurer's drum, or the shaking of the rattle of
the medicine man. So I for years have had no religion."

Then turning towards me and looking me in the face, he said, in tones
that thrilled me, "Missionary, what you have said to-day fills up my
heart and satisfies all its longings. It is just what I have been
expecting to hear about the Great Spirit. I am so glad you have come
with this wonderful story. Stay as long as you can; and when you have
to go away, do not forget us, but