Page:Life and journals of Kah-ke-wa-quo-na-by.djvu/278

 anxious to learn to read and sing. Thomas Biggs, my companion, tried to teach them the alphabet. When we would sing and pray they would join in with us, and knelt down by our sides; but the parents of the young people were very angry at their children for praying, and one woman came and snatched a blanket from her child that was kneeling down, and said, “I will let you know that you shall not become a Christian unless first bidden so to do by the old Indians.” After spending three days with these people, we went on to the north on the waters of Lake Huron, as far as Koopahoonahning; but we found no Indians at this place, they were all gone to receive their presents at the Island of St. Joseph's. We were gone two weeks, and having got out of bread and meat, we were obliged to gather moss, (called in the Indian Wahkoonun), from the rocks — this moss we boiled, which became very slimy, but which possessed some nourishing qualities; on this we lived for several days, together with now and then a fish that we caught in the lake. After returning to the Matchjedash Bay, we saw the same Indians that we spent the three days with at Penetanguishene. We talked to them about religion. They answered “that they were looking at the Christian Indians and thinking about their worship. When we are convinced that they do really worship the Good Spirit and not the bad spirit, then we shall worship with them and travel together.” At Penetanguishene we saw about thirty Indians from Koopahoonahning, where we went, and then returned from our visit to the north. We told these people the words of the Great Spirit, and they said “that they were glad to hear what the Great Spirit had said to his people. If we were to hear more about those things may be we would become Christians too, and worship with you.” We saw one old man at Matchjedash, with Brother John Asance's people, who has been much afraid of the Christian Indians, and has been fleeing from them as his