When the ship had dropped anchor the Commander ordered a number of small boats lowered and, surrounded by a heavy guard of armed marines, he was rowed ashore and the company marched to Fort Simpson, several hundred yards distant. As he passed through the long lines of fierce-looking and painted Indians, Captain Prevost was struck at once by their fine physique, but equally impressed by the degraded, savage, murderous appearance of their faces. He was filled with compassion for these ignorant children of the forest, who knew ...
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When the ship had dropped anchor the Commander ordered a number of small boats lowered and, surrounded by a heavy guard of armed marines, he was rowed ashore and the company marched to Fort Simpson, several hundred yards distant. As he passed through the long lines of fierce-looking and painted Indians, Captain Prevost was struck at once by their fine physique, but equally impressed by the degraded, savage, murderous appearance of their faces. He was filled with compassion for these ignorant children of the forest, who knew naught of love or peace, or true joy, but whose lives from the cradle to the grave were filled with fear and cruelty, and hate, and murder. At this time no protestant missionary had ever come into the Northland to tell the red men of the message from God contained in the Bible, and the only religion they knew was the Devil Worship taught by the cruel medicine men. Arriving at the Fort, Captain Prevost received a hearty welcome from the garrison, for they thought the presence of the warship would have a salutary effect upon the red men. For a number of days the ship remained there undergoing repairs, the Captain meanwhile improving the time in studying the wild, untamed children of the forest. The more he saw of their nature, bold and defiant even in the face of imminent destruction, the more deeply was the conviction borne in upon his soul that what was needed to permanently restrain the Indians from murder and pillage, was not the presence of a warship, but of a missionary of the Gospel. He believed that the glad tidings of salvation could transform even these sad, warlike savages into happy, peaceful Christians and citizens, and a great desire sprang up in his heart to be himself the means of giving them the light. The young man chosen by the committee for the hazardous mission to the American Indians was a student in the Highbury Training College in London named William Duncan. On the eighth day before the ship was to sail, Dr. Alford, the principal, called young Duncan into his study and, pointing to the north coast of America, asked whether he would volunteer to go there as a missionary to the Indians. The young man declared he had no objections whatever; that he was glad to go to whatever place the Society should assign him. Dr. Alford then informed him that he had been selected for the undertaking, that a free passage on the warship Satellite had been offered, and that he had only eight days in which to prepare his outfit, bid farewell to his relatives, and reach the ship at Plymouth. GET MORE BOOKS @ REVIVALPRESS.NET
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