William comes back--Another refuge seeker comes to us--Haul our fish
home--Hard work.
William had come back from the plains, bringing some provisions--not
very much, but sufficient to make us all feel thankful. Mr. Woolsey
had sent him to Edmonton to bring some horses he had left there, and
when he returned he had another "refuge seeker," this time a young
man, the son of one of our ministers in Ontario, Williston by name.
He had started to cross the mountains with some others, but reaching
the Kootanie Pass, their provisions and pluck both dwindled away.
They wandered back along the mountains and came to Edmonton in a
famished condition, and Williston, being "dead-broke," heard of Mr.
Woolsey, and came down with William. Of course Mr. Woolsey, because
of his being the son of a brother minister, took him in.
And now snow came, and Williston and I, each with a dog-train, made
several trips to the lake for fish.
These trips were hard work; the man, besides walking and running all
the time over the home stretch, had to push and pull and strain, and
hold back to get his load up and down the many hills and over the
logs, which were legion, and which would have taken more time than we
had to clear out of the way.
About this time we made a trip to White-fish Lake for some stuff Mr.
Woolsey had in store there. We found Mr. Steinhauer and family well,
and hard at work among their people, for things were now getting into
shape at this mission, and the Indians were gathering in and looking
upon it as a home. Mr. Steinhauer was an ideal missionary--capable
and practical and earnest, a guide and leader in all matters to his
people. Heart and soul, he was in his work.