What do you think?
Rate this book
Eskimo Parish
Here is a fast-moving account of an Alaskan missioner's adventures with the Innuit Eskimos, to whom he was priest, doctor and loving friend.
Measles has just broken out on the Delta when Father O'Connor begins his story. Hundreds of Eskimos are stricken. With no facilities to combat the epidemic, they lie patiently in their huts waiting to recover or to die. The Yukon priest "mushed" from village to village by dog sled, dispensing medical aid, Extreme Unction, prayers, and words of encouragement all the way.
Again and again Father O'Connor's stories shot the courage perseverance and eternal good humor of the Innuit Eskimos--his parishioners. He has unstinting praise for their uncomplaining patience in the face of poverty, cold and the routine hardships of life in the northern wastes.
"They wonder," he comments gently, "why the white man, who has so much, finds so much to complain of."
Only a small percentage of the Innuits, evidently, envy the white man or want to copy his ways. For these few, Father O'Connor has sympathy and true understanding
Details of Alaskan living become colorfully alive under the Jesuit's pen. His ineffectual efforts to caulk the mission buildings against the cold, his trips into the storm with dog teams which are forced to turn back in the swirling snow, his conversations with the Innuits are all faithfully recorded. Through all his adventures, the patient resourcefulness of the Eskimos runs like a thread which refuses to snap in the cold, the hardship, or the uncompromising poverty of their land.
There are lighter touches, too. Father O'Connor mentions his parishioners' reactions to the airplane, the radio, and the moving picture.
Unperturbed, an Innuit hears the priest's boast that he can fly in an hour the distance which takes several days by dog sled. "Yes?" says the Innuit; or, if pressed for further comment, "Why be in such a hurry?"
The Eskimo trait of patient resignation made ideal material for Father O'Connor's missionary work. His Innuit Catholics pray sincerely, work hard, and trust in God's providence with the same attitude that they show in their daily living. Illness and cold they expect, conscious of the ever present susceptibility to tuberculosis. Poverty they know will be their lot for life. Death they do not fear. Yet they go along, tackling each new task with energy and devotion, seldom shirking, seldom complaining.
Time and time again the reader will wonder, "Why should a Jesuit have chosen Father O'Connor's life of continual danger and hardship?" He will find the answer somewhere in the pages of work, patience, and more work that makes Eskimo Parish such excellent reading.
Measles has just broken out on the Delta when Father O'Connor begins his story. Hundreds of Eskimos are stricken. With no facilities to combat the epidemic, they lie patiently in their huts waiting to recover or to die. The Yukon priest "mushed" from village to village by dog sled, dispensing medical aid, Extreme Unction, prayers, and words of encouragement all the way.
Again and again Father O'Connor's stories shot the courage perseverance and eternal good humor of the Innuit Eskimos--his parishioners. He has unstinting praise for their uncomplaining patience in the face of poverty, cold and the routine hardships of life in the northern wastes.
"They wonder," he comments gently, "why the white man, who has so much, finds so much to complain of."
Only a small percentage of the Innuits, evidently, envy the white man or want to copy his ways. For these few, Father O'Connor has sympathy and true understanding
Details of Alaskan living become colorfully alive under the Jesuit's pen. His ineffectual efforts to caulk the mission buildings against the cold, his trips into the storm with dog teams which are forced to turn back in the swirling snow, his conversations with the Innuits are all faithfully recorded. Through all his adventures, the patient resourcefulness of the Eskimos runs like a thread which refuses to snap in the cold, the hardship, or the uncompromising poverty of their land.
There are lighter touches, too. Father O'Connor mentions his parishioners' reactions to the airplane, the radio, and the moving picture.
Unperturbed, an Innuit hears the priest's boast that he can fly in an hour the distance which takes several days by dog sled. "Yes?" says the Innuit; or, if pressed for further comment, "Why be in such a hurry?"
The Eskimo trait of patient resignation made ideal material for Father O'Connor's missionary work. His Innuit Catholics pray sincerely, work hard, and trust in God's providence with the same attitude that they show in their daily living. Illness and cold they expect, conscious of the ever present susceptibility to tuberculosis. Poverty they know will be their lot for life. Death they do not fear. Yet they go along, tackling each new task with energy and devotion, seldom shirking, seldom complaining.
Time and time again the reader will wonder, "Why should a Jesuit have chosen Father O'Connor's life of continual danger and hardship?" He will find the answer somewhere in the pages of work, patience, and more work that makes Eskimo Parish such excellent reading.
134 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 7, 2015
This is another of the books I picked up at an estate sale; interesting to read of a time sixty-five years ago when Alaska was still something of a wilderness. Not sure how much I agree with the missionary outreach program, though O'Connor does seem to like his indigenous parishioners for the most part. And it is an at least reasonably sympathetic portrayal of the locals, given the time: they're adapted to their living environment, and we the soft cheechakos would do well to copy their patterns, when living in their environment.
May 16, 2014
Great stories about the eskimos! But I'm not a big fan of religion.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews