The Moravians in Labrador. Unknown
Esquimaux on the east coast of Labrador, may be divided into two sections: those in the south, who seldom come farther than Kangertuksoak, about twenty miles north of Okkak, which lies 57°, 20 m. N.L.; and those of the north, who seldom come farther south than Nachrack 59° —m. Saeglak lies between, and in winter is visited by both in their sledges. Those in the north still retain the original native furniture, wooden bowls, and whale-bone water buckets, large and small lamps and kettles of bastard marble, and are more unvitiated, therefore more to be depended upon than the others. They of the south have obtained European pots and kettles of iron, hatchets, saws, knives and gimlets, woollen cloths, sewing needles, and various other utensils of iron; they are more treacherous, and less to be trusted in their dealings.
So long as Newfoundland remained in possession of the French, the traffic of Europeans with the Esquimaux went little farther than the bartering of fish hooks, knives, or trifling wares, which they had brought with them to the fishing for whale fins. But when that Island fell into the hands of the English, they and the Americans, who promised themselves great advantages from opening a trade with the natives, brought with them a more extensive assortment of goods. The traffic at first was mis-managed. In order to ingratiate themselves with the savages, the traders both took and allowed greater liberties than were calculated to preserve mutual good understanding. The foreigners excited the cupidity of the natives, which, though easily satisfied at the moment, soon became a constant, increasing, and insatiable appetite; and when their whale-fins, furs, or blubber were exhausted, and they could purchase no more of the articles they had learned to prize, they first quarrelled with those friends who would not make them presents of what they wanted, and then proceeded by fraud or force to supply themselves. Having a thorough contempt for the Kablunat, they imagined that they displayed a virtuous and praiseworthy superiority, when they overreached, deceived, and stole from them. The traders who entertained similar notions respecting the Esquimaux, acted in a similar manner, and their intercourse soon became productive of murders and robberies, in which the numbers and cunning of the latter enabled them for a time to be the most successful.
A band of Esquimaux from Avertok, a place not far from where the settlement of Nain at present is, commenced their plundering expeditions upon system, evincing a depraved ingenuity, converted now to better objects. They went regularly to the south with whale fins, which they bought up from their neighbours, and under the pretext of trading with the Europeans, contrived, either by stratagem or open violence, to rob them to an extent far beyond the value of what they pretended to barter; this succeeding for a while, they were joined by others from various quarters, till they were able to equip a fleet of boats amounting to eighteen. In 1763, they so infested the straits of Bellisle, that it was not safe for a fishing vessel to enter them alone. And so successful were these pirates, that they supplied the whole coast, not only with iron utensils and European arms, but likewise with boats, sails, anchors, cords and nets; and boats in particular were in such plenty, that a good one could have been got for a few skins, twelve whale-fins, or two or three dogs. The excesses and cruelties with which these depredations were accompanied, filled the Europeans and colonists with such extraordinary terror, that if but the cry of a bird was heard in the night, every one trembled, and made ready to flee.
The savages preferred stratagem, and to accomplish their purpose did not hesitate to employ the most insidious treachery. When they approached Cape Charles, they never ventured farther, till they reconnoitred during the dark in their kaiaks, and ascertained whether there were any Europeans on the north side of Chateau Bay; if they found none, they advanced in the night, or in foggy weather, to the three islands that lie in the mouth of the bay, whence they, under cloud of night, examined the bay itself. If they found there only a few Europeans, whom they supposed they could easily master, they approached softly so near, that they could stare them in the face, and then raised a most frightful yell, which commonly terrified the Europeans thus taken by surprise, and threw them into such confusion, that they left all, and were glad if they escaped with their lives. If, however, the Europeans did not allow themselves to be frightened by the unexpected cry, but received them in a friendly manner, and made offer to trade, the Esquimaux would agree with seeming cordiality; and having sent off their boats and families, the men returned in their kaiaks bringing a few whale-fins to sell, and entered upon a very amicable-like traffic. This kind of intercourse they would continue for some days, till, having gained the confidence of the strangers and thrown them off their guard, then the most resolute and strongest of the Esquimaux, concealing their long knives in a secret sheath in their left sleeve, would enter upon a bargain for some more fins, and while adjusting it with the greatest show of friendship, each would seize the trader with whom he was dealing, as if he meant to embrace him, and on a given sign by their leader, would plunge his knife into his heart. In this manner the whole were cut off, and their property became the prey of the savages, who, when they had fairly cleaned Chateau Bay, would set sail to renew their depredations in other quarters, and if dark and misty weather favoured, and their force was sufficient, they would even scour the straits of Bellisle, or roam during the night in search of booty through the neighbouring islands. Such was the character of the savages the Moravians were desirous to civilize; how they succeeded, the following pages will show.
THE MORAVIANS IN LABRADOR
CHAPTER I
Hudson's Bay Company first settle among the Esquimaux.—J.C. Erhardt suggests a mission—his letter to the Moravian Bishop.—M. Stach consulted.—London merchants undertake the scheme—engage Erhardt—its fatal conclusion.—Jans Haven employed by the Brethren, encouraged by the British Government, sets out on a voyage of discovery—his providential arrival at Quirpont—first meeting with the Esquimaux—his interesting intercourse—returns to England.—His second expedition, accompanied by Drachart and other missionaries—their proceedings.—Drachart's remarkable conversation with the natives—influence of the missionaries in preserving peace—their religious communications with the savages—the curiosity of the latter—their thievish tricks—their kindness to the missionaries—a dreadful storm.—Drachart and Haven entertained by an Angekok—his incantations—their parting addresses to each other—the missionaries return to London.
When the original Hudson's Bay Company was formed, 1688, for the purpose of trading in furs with the natives, the instructions they sent to their factors breathed the most liberal and benevolent principles. They directed them to use every means in their power to reclaim the heathen from a state of barbarism, and instil into their minds the pure lessons of Christianity; and at the same time admonished them to trade equitably, and take no advantage of their untutored simplicity. It does not appear that much attention was paid to either of these injunctions, or if there was, the efforts proved as abortive as those they made to discover the western passage. The moral wilderness still remains around their settlements on the East Maine, while those of the brethren on the opposite coast of Labrador bloom and blossom as the rose.
The first thought of attempting to establish a missionary settlement in that quarter among the Esquimaux, originated with a Moravian brother, John Christian Erhardt, a Dutch pilot. He had in early life made several voyages to Davis Straits; but in 1749, when sailing under Captain Grierson in the Irene, the vessel touched at New Hernhut in Greenland, where he saw the congregation that had been gathered from among the heathen in that land; and in conversation with the brethren they told him that they supposed the opposite coast of North America was peopled by tribes having the same customs and speaking the same language as the Greenlanders. This statement made a deep impression on his mind, and during his stay at Hernhaag, 1750, while musing on the state of that people sitting in the darkness of heathenism, and on how the light of the gospel might be communicated to them, a description of the journey undertaken by Henry Ellis, 1746-7, at the desire of the Hudson's Bay Company, to try to discover a north-west passage, accidentally fell into his hands. The account there given of these barbarous regions convinced him that the people were sprung from the same origin with the Greenlanders, and the methods suggested by Ellis for their moral improvement enabled him to bring his own scheme to a bearing.
In a letter, dated 20th May 1750, addressed to Bishop Johannes de Watteville, he laid before him his plan for establishing a mission on that part of the coast between Newfoundland and Hudson's Straits, which had as yet been but rarely visited by Europeans, and offered himself to undertake it.