"Sir,--The Tsimshean Indians, who have lately removed from Fort
Simpson under my superintendence and settled here, are very anxious to
tender your Excellency their warmest thanks for the liberal and timely
aid which you have rendered them in building their new village. The 150
window-sashes and 600lbs. of nails, which came of your bounty of L50,
arrived quite safely in September last by the Hudson Bay Company's
steamer 'Labouchere,' and have been duly distributed and appropriated
as follows:--To thirty-five houses (averaging about 34 feet by 18) four
window-sashes and 13lbs. of nails each; and to two smaller houses two
window-sashes and 6lbs. of nails each. Five window-sashes and about
130lbs. of nails remain.

"In obedience to your Excellency's kind wish, I will proceed to lay
before you a few particulars respecting our new Indian Mission
settlement.

"Your Excellency is aware of the dreadful plague of the small-pox with
which it pleased Almighty God to visit the Indians of this coast last
year, and by which many thousands of them were swept away. Though no
fewer than 500, or one-fifth of the Tsimsheans at Fort Simpson, have
fallen, I have gratefully to acknowledge God's sparing mercy to us as a
village. We had only five fatal cases amongst those who originally left
Fort Simpson with me, and three of these deaths were caused by
attending to sick relatives who came to us after taking the disease.
Yet so fearful was the amount of death and desolation on every side of
us till about the end of September, that the Indians had but little
spirit left for building, or even for the gathering necessary food for
the winter. Thus it was that they found inclement weather upon them
long before they were properly housed. In addition to the great amount
of labour and trouble attendant upon moving and building new houses, we