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Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/143

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Spalding and Whitman Letters, 1837
119

letter requesting them to be forwarded by the favor of the Am Fur Co to Rendezvoux & from thence, by the favor of the H.B.Co, to WW. letters to be in St Louis last of February. In either of these last mentioned ways, could letters be sure to leave the states or the Canada's they come safe through. There need but little fear be entertained here however, if the gentlemen to whose care they are addressed are requested to forward them. The Revd M Lee's received several letters last fall, by the Montreal express. Hon. Doct McLoughlin, has written to their agents in London & Montreal to forward our letters. I need not say that we are in great want of school books, slates & pencils. A good number of testaments are desirable. The copy stereotyped by Baker & Green Boston & printed in N. Y. for the Am[erican] B[ible] S[ociety] By D. Fanshaw is to be prefered on account of the large print. Doct McLaughlin has favored us with two. Paintings representing important events recorded in the scriptures would be of great service to us. To show that they are not attracted by pictures merely, I have only to say, among several books with pictures they will select the two testaments which have not a picture in them F 8th this morning we witnessed what would seem to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit. Four weeks since, our good chief Tack-en-su-a-tis, left for his country, to obtain provisions & collect his effects, & returned yesterday to take up his abode with us, for life. Of course nearly all the improvement in reading & singing has been made since he left. After the exercises of the school were closed (which we close by singing) we observed him in tears. In the evening I called him to my room & inquired the cause. He replied with, apparently deep feeling, that when he heard those good words sung about God, viz. Glory honor praise and power &c he could not refrain from weeping. He said he saw on one of the paintings, eleven good men who loved Jesus & one bad who sold him for money & it made his heart weep. He said he did not know whether his heart was good now or not. He knew it had been very bad from a little boy—had made many inquiries how he could get rid of it but [line torn off] Another subject & I have done. What do you say to establishing in connexion with the Methodist Missionary Soc. (perhaps) an express over the Rocky Mts; via. of St Louis & Rendezvoux, or