Dangers on the Ice Off the Coast of Labrador: With Some Interesting Particulars Respecting the Natives of that Country

In Short

This anonymous nineteenth-century tract recounts a harrowing March expedition in 1782, when Moravian missionaries Liebisch and Turner set out across the frozen Labrador coast from Nain to Okkak. Caught in a sudden sea swell during a fierce storm, they barely escape as miles of solid ice shatter and plunge into the ocean. Surviving days in makeshift snow-houses on meager rations, they eventually return safely. The narrative concludes with accounts of the long-struggling mission finally taking root among the Inuit people decades later.

The Story

The journey begins on a clear March morning in 1782, with missionaries Liebisch and Turner traveling by dog sledge alongside several Inuit companions toward Okkak. Although passing travelers offer subtle warnings, the missionaries push forward, enjoying the smooth winter track. Soon, however, a strange, hollow roaring reveals a dangerous sea swell moving beneath the thick shelf of ice. As an escalating windstorm batters the coast, the ice begins to heave and flex like paper upon a stream. Frightened dogs strain forward as the vast frozen expanse shatters against the rocky precipices, forcing the party to make a frantic, split-second dash for the shore just moments before the entire coastal shelf breaks apart and vanishes into churning waves.

Stranded on the rocky beach, the travelers hastily construct a snow-house as a temporary refuge against the freezing gale. In the middle of the night, brother Liebisch is kept awake by a painful sore throat, a circumstance that saves them all when massive waves breach the shelter and wash the structure away. Escaping to higher ground with minimal baggage, the survivors huddle together through bitter hours of distress. Their provisions dwindle rapidly, reduced to strict daily rations of a single biscuit and a half alongside a modest cup of coffee brewed over lamps. Despite the bleak conditions, the group maintains remarkable composure, aided by the seasoned survival skills of their Inuit companions, including a local sorcerer named Kassigiak who acknowledges their miraculous preservation.

By March 19, scouting parties report that the sea ice has regained sufficient stability to permit travel. Embarking cautiously, the party retraces their route around the perilous promontory of Kiglapeit and reaches the safety of the bay, eventually arriving back at Nain late at night to the profound relief and gratitude of their community. Beyond this dramatic rescue, the text transitions to reflect on decades of patient missionary labor along the harsh Labrador coast. For many years, interactions with the local population yield minimal lasting change, as visiting families frequently depart during the summer months and discard what they have heard.

A profound turning point arrives by the close of 1804, particularly at Hopedale, where a spiritual awakening takes root among the returning Inuit. Rather than remaining indifferent, the community demonstrates a deep remorse for past actions and an eager embrace of the gospel message. Adults and children alike dedicate themselves to schooling, family prayer, and regular worship. The transformation shifts the atmosphere of the settlement entirely, replacing previous skepticism with visible devotion, tearful repentance, and a lasting communal peace that proves the mission's ultimate endurance.

How It Unfolds

• The voyage begins: Two Moravian brethren set out from Nain toward Okkak in ideal weather, confident in their rapid pace across the frozen sea.
• Underground tremors: Subtle warnings from passing travelers and a strange, hollow roaring beneath the ice soon alert the party to an impending oceanic swell.
• The ice shatters: A violent storm erupts, turning the vast ice sheet into a flexible, cracking trap that forces a desperate scramble to the rocky shoreline.
• Miraculous escape: The travelers successfully pull their sledges ashore moments before the entire coastal ice field breaks apart and plunges into the raging sea.
• Nighttime peril: A temporary snow-house offers brief shelter until massive storm waves wash it away, compelling another midnight evacuation into the freezing gale.
• Scarcity and waiting: Stranded with severely limited provisions, the survivors ration hardtack biscuits while waiting days for the sea ice to refreeze.
• The return to Nain: Navigating carefully across the newly solidified ice and past Kiglapeit, the exhausted travelers finally reach home to a joyous reception.
• Years of patience: The narrative shifts to examine long decades of difficult missionary work characterized by slow progress and transient congregations.
• The 1804 awakening: Returning travelers at Hopedale display an unexpected and profound change of heart, sparking a widespread spiritual renewal.
• A transformed community: Adult converts and children embrace religious instruction and daily prayer with deep sincerity, permanently altering the character of the settlement.

The People

• Brother Liebisch: A dedicated Moravian missionary whose persistent nighttime wakefulness—prompted by a painful sore throat—alerts the party to the flooding snow-house and saves them from certain death.
• Brother Turner: His fellow missionary who shares the grueling trials of the journey, assists actively during the desperate midnight escapes, and helps evaluate the stability of the ice for their return.
• Joel and Mark: The capable Inuit travelers who manage the dog sledges, expertly construct emergency snow-houses, and scout the hazardous terrain to guide the Europeans through the crisis.
• Kassigiak: A local heathen sorcerer traveling with the group who joins in the daily hardships, rations his meager share, and candidly acknowledges the divine protection that spares their lives.

In Its Own Voice

About eight o'clock they met a sledge with Esquimaux driving towards the land, who intimated that it might be well not to proceed; but as the missionaries saw no reason for it, they paid no regard to these hints, and went on.

This early moment captures the fateful decision to ignore local wisdom before the sea ice breaks.

The sight was tremendous and awfully grand; the large fields of ice raising themselves out of the water, striking against each other, and plunging into the deep, with a violence not to be described, and a noise like the discharge of innumerable batteries of heavy guns.

This description paints the terrifying cataclysm that destroys the coastal ice shelf around the travelers.

We no longer see bold, undaunted heathen sitting before us, with defiance or ridicule in their looks; but people expecting, a blessing, desirous to experience the power of the word of life, shedding tears of repentance, and their whole appearance evincing devotion and earnest inquiry.

This passage highlights the remarkable transformation in the demeanors of the local congregation during later missionary services.

What It's Really About

The text examines the intersection of extreme physical vulnerability and spiritual persistence. It asks how human beings endure environments that actively seek to destroy them, both through the physical violence of Arctic weather and the prolonged psychological weight of cross-cultural missionary work. The narrative suggests that survival and transformation require radical patience, an acute respect for natural forces, and an openness to communal solidarity across cultural divides. Furthermore, it probes the nature of sudden change, contrasting the instantaneous, terrifying rupture of the sea ice with the slow, internal awakening of religious conversion over decades.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to gripping survival narratives, Arctic exploration history, or the documentary roots of cross-cultural encounters will find this short tract genuinely compelling. It reads with an unvarnished immediacy, placing you directly inside the freezing spray of a breaking ice field alongside travelers facing absolute annihilation. Modern readers must navigate the paternalistic religious language and period attitudes typical of nineteenth-century missionary tracts, yet the underlying human drama remains remarkably vivid. The sheer terror of the breaking ice, followed by the quiet resilience required to wait out a storm on a biscuit and a half, stays with you long after the final page.

What specific aspect of Labrador's history or missionary accounts interests you most?