l prayers ascended, and the most frequent word uttered was
"nanaskoomowin"--"thanksgiving."

Winter Adventures of Three Boys--by Egerton R. Young

CHAPTER NINE.

THE INDIAN SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS--THE PRIZES--NOBLE INDIAN BOYS--THE
SKATES TO KEPASTICK--THE VARIOUS SPORTS--FOOT RACES--THE SKATING RACE--
TRICKY CLERK OUTWITTED--FRANK AND KEPASTICK TIE AS WINNERS--FOOTBALL--
HOCKEY.

The day for the examinations and sports at the mission school arrived in
due time. Fortunately, it was a very beautiful day, although it was
many degrees below zero. But nobody now minded that. There were no
fogs, or mists, or damps, and the dry, steady cold is always much more
healthy and invigorating than changeable weather in any land. Everybody
invited was present, and so the day's full program was well carried out.

Mr McTavish, a chief factor in the Hudson Bay Company's service and the
chief officer at the Norway House trading post, presided at the school
examinations, which began promptly at nine o'clock. The schoolhouse was
packed with the children and their friends, except the large platform at
the upper end of the schoolroom, on which were seated the white visitors
from Sagasta-weekee and the trading posts and mission.

The children were first examined in their reading lessons in both
languages, Cree and English. In their own language they used the
syllabic characters, invented and perfected by the Reverend James Evans,
the founder of this mission. These syllabics, as their name indicates,
each represent a syllable. The result is there is no spelling, and just
as soon as a pupil, young or old, has once mastered these characters he
begins to read. Three weeks or a month is considered quite sufficient
time, in which to teach a person of ordinary intelligence to read
fluently.

Mr Evans was several years in perfecting this invention. He begged
from the traders the sheet lead that is found around the tea in tea
chests. Then, making little bars of this lead, he carved out his first
type. His first paper was made out of birch bark. His first press he
made himself. His first ink was made out of soot mixed with sturgeon
oil. Many were his difficulties and discouragements, but he triumphed
over them all, and now here were hundreds of Indians reading in their
own language the word of God.

The whole Bible, with some hundreds of hymns and a few volumes of good
books, "_Pilgrim's Progress_," "_The Path of Life_," and ot