he actually sailed past them on his voyage from Victoria, and went
first to the Tsimsheans, who were so much further off; and on one
occasion they stoutly remonstrated with the captain of a man-of-war,
sent to punish them for marauding on the territory of another tribe,
that they were left without a teacher, and were only visited when they
had done wrong.

In due time teachers did appear, in the shape of a party of Roman
Catholic priests; and Mr. Duncan, stopping at the Fort when on a voyage
to Victoria in 1860, found that two of them had been there and had
taught some of the Indians "a hymn to the Virgin Mary in the trading
jargon." "I told them," he adds, "of Jesus the true and only Saviour,
which the priests had neglected to do." These Romish Missionaries held
their ground for eleven years, and then abandoned the Quoquolts as
hopeless. As will be seen however, their hopes revived when at length a
Protestant Missionary was found to be gaining an influence over the
tribe.

In October, 1875, the head chief at Fort Rupert took the three hundred
miles journey to visit Metlakahtla, and once more preferred his
request. He addressed the Christians of the settlement, and said that
"a rope had been thrown out from Metlakahtla, which was encircling and
drawing together all the Indian tribes into one common brotherhood."
Mr. Duncan planned to go and begin a Quoquolt mission himself; but it
proved quite impossible for him to leave his multifarious work at the
settlement, and ultimately the Rev. A. J. Hall, who was sent out in
1877, volunteered to go.

It was on March 12th, 1878, that Mr. Hall landed at Fort Rupert, and
was kindly received by the Hudson's Bay Company's officer in charge. A