Here, as formerly at Ramah, she serves as
school mistress, and I am told has considerable capacity both for
imparting knowledge and for maintaining discipline. She stands in
regular correspondence with several friends of the mission in Europe.
She had something to tell them in her last letters, for not long ago
she and her mother with eight other Eskimoes were nearly drowned in
the bay about where the "Harmony" lies at anchor. A sudden gust of
wind capsized the sailing boat, in which they were coming home from
their fishing place. One good feature of the Eskimo character is their
presence of mind in danger. There was no panic, though the boat sank
instantly. Happily she was towing a little flat. One of the men
promptly cut the rope, and so all were brought safe to land, some in
the flat, others hanging on to its sides. Old Marianna was one of the
latter, and when her numbed hands lost their hold, they tied her
wrists to the gunwale of the little boat. She has recovered from the
shock and exposure, but like the rest has been impoverished, for they
lost their all in the boat, which went down.
Thomas, Enoch, and John are the three native helpers.
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