received news from a
far country, which gladdened the heart more than these letters did
mine. My family were all well; and a liberal provision had been made,
for a Missionary establishment at the Red River, for the maintenance
and education of native Indian children, by the Church Missionary
Society. In conveying this information to me, an active friend to the
communication of Christianity to the Indians, observes, "I hope a
foundation is now laid to extend the blessings of Christianity,
religion, morals, and education, wherever the representative of the
Company may set his foot." God grant that if may! and that the Light
which first sprang up in Judea, may break forth upon every part of
these vast territories, dissipate the present darkness of the natives,
and lead them to the enjoyment of "_the fulness of the blessings of
the gospel of Christ_."

All, all, is encouraging to proceed: yet I will not conceal my fears,
that expectations may be raised too high, as to the progress that may
be made in that vast field of labour which presents itself.--"There are
a great many willows to cut down, and roots to remove," as an Indian
chief said to me, when he welcomed me to the country, "before the path
will be clear to walk in." The axe, however, is laid to the root of the
tree, in the establishment of schools, as the means of instruction and
of diffusing Christian knowledge in this moral wilderness; and we may
anticipate the hope that numbers will arise to enjoy what they are
capable of feeling, the endearments of social life, as well as of moral
and religious education.

Soon after the express canoe arrived, a Director of the Hudson's Bay
Company and an executor of the late Earl of Selkirk, came to the
Settlement, via Montreal. I accompanied him to Pembina; and he acted
upon the opinion, that the inhabitants of this distant and extreme
point of the colony, who were principally hunters, were living too near
the supposed line of demarcation, between the British territories and
the United States; and that it would be far better for them to remove
down to the Forks; where, if the industry of the colonists was more
concentrated, it would tend more to their protection and prosperity.
Many promised to comply with this suggestion. On our return, I took the
opportunity of opening, with divine service, the building (though it
was not finished) which was intended as a school-house, and a temporary
place for divine worship; and, at the