D. MCGILLIVARY. GEO. W. CHADSEY. A. C. WELLS. D. W. MILLER. ISAAC KIPP. [Illustration: SKOWKALE CHURCH.] [Illustration: SKOWKALE MISSION PEOPLE.] CHAPTER XX. _LAY AGENCIES--SALVATION IN A VICTORIA BAR-ROOM._ “Work for the good that is nighest, Dream not of greatness afar; That glory is ever the highest Which shines upon men as they are.” --_W. Morley Punshon._ It was in the fall of ’69 that a few Christian friends in the City of Victoria undertook the organization of a Sunday-school and other services among the Indians who lived in and about the city, as well as the Songees people on the reservation opposite. In February of the following year, Amos Sa-hat-son, a Songees chief, and two others of the same tribe, experienced the converting grace of God through the instrumentality of these services. In many cases it was native or lay agents who first commenced practical mission work and so prepared the way for the regular missionary. The efforts of our brethren and sisters in the various centres where the Indians congregated is worthy of all praise. It is my joy to speak kind words of appreciation of the help given by Brothers Bryant, Raybold, Raper, Brinn, Tate, Green, and others in Nanaimo; by Father McKay, Sister Russ, Brothers J. Bullan, J. E. McMillan, and others in Victoria. At New Westminster, too, Brothers Dawson, D. S. Curtis, R. Wintemute, and other young men, assisted by the pastor’s wife (Mrs. A. E. Russ), held meetings and carried on a Sunday-school on behalf of the hundreds of Indians who lived near that point. After the revival referred to at Chilliwack, Brothers A. C. Wells and J. Whitfield commenced a Sunday-school at Atchelitz, and carried it on successfully. These Sunday-schools and locally conducted services were a great blessing, not only to the natives, for whose benefit they were held, but also to the teachers themselves. There is nothing like some form of Christian activity to keep the spiritual life strong and healthy. As we look about us on the many lines of missionary need--Chinese, Japanese, Hindu and Indian--we cannot help feeling that our young people and Leaguers are missing an opportunity, which God has placed at their door, if they do not endeavor to reach out for these “strangers within our gates.” An opportunity, too, which, if made use of, brings its own reward--the joy of unselfish and successful service on behalf of others.