Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/144

Montreal & Hudson Bay, for the benefit of our missions the Methodist mission on the Wallammat & the Sandwich Islands & perhaps the Pawnees. I have written to Doct Whitman, the Revd Mr. Lee's & to the Sandwich Islands on the subject, shall hereafter consult Doc McLaughlin. My plan is as follows: 1st the Am Board to confer with the Honorable H[udson's] B[ay] Co Agent Montreal & engage the transportation of the express for a stipulated price, from Montreal to Vancouver. In this case a trusty agent should be appointed in Montreal to whom letters & papers should be addressed & by whom the express should be put up & delivered to the H B. Co Agent Or 2d through Maj. Brant who I believe is an Agent of the Board, & engage the Am Fur Co to transport it for a stipulated price to Rendezvoux & the H.H.B. Co from that place to Vancouver, or 3d appoint one or two men, who may wish to improve their health & do good, to travel with the Am F Co from St Louis to Rendezvous & distribute Bible & tracts among Mountain men, who could transport this express to that place & deliver it to the H.H.B.Co. I consider the distribution of Bible & tracts among the mountain men, an object worthy of attention. Here are 3 or 400 men shut out from the civilized world & all religious instruction. Their condition is truly affecting. Many of them know not when the Sabbath comes & the days & weeks they spend in their camps entirely unocupied during the winter months & other seasons of no game, give rise to many vices, the affects of which are felt even here, which might be prevented had they books to read in their leisure hours. We were solicited by multitudes, especially at Rendezvoux for tracts & Bibles. One man to whom I had given a copy of Brainard told me he had been offered 10 dollars for it, but would not sell it for 2 hundred. While at Rendezvoux, a trapper came to our camp and requested the privilege of attending evening prayer with a No of his associates wishing to hear something upon this subject of religion, 15 or 20 sometimes attended. Could men of suitable characteristics be found willing to engage in this good work, I think this the preferable way to transport the express. Or 4th employ some of my Indians for a small sum to go as far as the Pawnee's or St Louis. Please to be particular on this subject.