Excerpt from Historical Sketch of the Origin and Work of the Hay River Mission, Great Slave Lake, N. W. T

Sept. 22nd, 1894. To-night I have'to record the saddest event that has as yet ever occurred 1n my experience. While trying to visit my nets in a strong wind, I had the sad experience of seeing my helper taken from me by the cold hand of death. Having decided that we could not visit the nets owing to the roughness of the sea, we turned andwere on our way home when a huge wave broke over our skiff, half filling it with water. My poor Indian helper, a young man of about 22 years of age, immediately became terror-stricken, while perhaps I did not do the wisest thing under the Circumstances, for I left the boat for him to guide while I hastened to bale out the water.. We were drifting towards the shore and nearing the fierce breakers when another huge swell broke over us and our little skifi immediately sank from beneath us. We each took an oar in our hands and waited for the skiff to return, which it did in a moment, but bottom upwards. We clambered on top and then the struggle for life began. Many and many times did the skiff roll, some times we were unable to retain our hold, but we both stayed beside it. At last after much effort I was able to straddle the stern and steady it a little so that the poor boy might ride upon the bottom, holding fast to the false keel. Thus we drifted for some time until we reached the land, and the fierce breakers began to roll in upon us very rapidly. We were both again swept from our perch on the bottom, and then came another struggle as the boat began again toroll over and over. At last, by the aid of Heaven's King, upon whom we had both been calling, perhaps more earnestly than ever before, I was enabled to steady the skifi with its bottom down, while at the same time I had to lend a helping hand to enable my poor comrade, who was nearly exhausted, 'not only to clamber in but even to reach the skifi' at all.

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