An' I dinna agree with ye aboot their
speeritual needs. I think ye sky-pilots would do better to leave them to
their ain gods, such as they are. Man, do ye know that it's better than
a century since the fathers began their missionary labors? A hundred
years of teachin' an' preachin'. The sum of it a' is next to
nothin'--an' naebody knows that better than the same fathers. They're
wise, keen-sighted men, too. What good they do they do in a material
way. If men like ye came here wi' any certitude of lightenin' the
struggle for existence--but ye canna do that; or at least ye dinna do
that. Ye'll find that neither red men nor white ha' time or inclination
to praise the Lord an' his grace an' bounty when their life's one long
struggle wi' hardships an' adversity. The God ye offer them disna
mitigate these things. Forbye that, the Indian disna want to be
Christianized. When ye come to a determination of abstract qualities,
his pagan beliefs are as good for him as the God of the Bible. What
right ha' we to cram oor speeritual dogmas doon his gullet?"
MacLeod applied himself to relighting his pipe. Thompson gathered
himself together. He was momentarily stricken with speechless amazement.
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