summer there were above two hundred Esquimaux in thirty-seven tents
near Nain, and they were so assiduous in their attendance on the
meetings, that the new hall could not contain the crowd that anxiously
pressed to hear, and some were entered among the candidates for
baptism.

Liebisch brought with him a commission for Jans Haven to commence a
new settlement. "I felt," said Haven, "not a little anxiety on this
occasion, knowing the difficulties attending such a commission, but
accepted it in reliance on our Saviour's help." He accordingly,
accompanied by Stephen Jensen, proceeded in an Esquimaux boat to a
little creek, afterwards Okkak, which had been formerly fixed on as a
most eligible spot for a settlement, and purchased from the Esquimaux
a hundred thousand acres, or three German square miles, of land; they
expressing great joy at the prospect of the brethren coming to reside
among them. Stones were placed to mark the boundaries, and the place
taken possession of with the usual formalities. The following was the
mode of expression used by the brethren upon the occasion: "In the
name of our God and Saviour, and under the protection of our gracious
monarch, George III King of England, we take possession of this land
for the purpose of a missionary settlement for the Brethren's Unity,
and the Society for propagating the gospel."

During the following year, [1776,] the brethren were busily employed
in cutting down wood in the forest near Nain, and preparing it for a
dwelling-house at the new station; and so diligent were they in their
work, that in August, when the ship Good Intent arrived from England
with the other necessary articles for building the house, the timber
was all ready to be shipped for Okkak. On the 13th September, Jans
Haven, with his family and three other missionaries who had been