BACK TO REGINA
We returned to Swanson that evening in order to be ready for Sunday.
While we were hanging up pictures in the church two boys came in. We had
already met these two out in the harvest field, and had asked them to
come to Sunday School. One of them pointed to the cross on the altar,
and asked, "What's that?" I found that he knew nothing about the Life of
our Lord, so I showed him the picture of the Nativity, and from this and
the other pictures told him the sacred story. The other boy joined in at
intervals, supplementing my remarks. I found that he knew the story
quite well, and asked him how it was that he knew so much, and he
explained that he was a Roman Catholic. I told them that there would be
Sunday School on Sunday afternoon, and asked them to come, which they
did. (There was no Roman Catholic church in the place.) The children
seemed to enjoy the school, and the teachers-to-be came to listen. A bad
thunderstorm delayed us in beginning the service following, as the
people could not get there. But they arrived eventually, and seemed to
think the effort worth while. A few of the people from the Birdview
district, who had attended our service on the previous Sunday, were
among the congregation.
We were given an early supper by kind Mrs. T., who had mothered us when
we were there before, and, thus fortified, started on our twenty-mile
drive to the ferry over the Saskatchewan River, where we camped. There
was another thunderstorm that night. I got up very early, and had an
awful business cooking breakfast because of the raging wind. I had
determined that on any future trips there should be a tin shield for the
Primus, as digging a trench was of little use.
Meanwhile we heard that the ferry had not been running for several days,
as the river had fallen and the sand had silted up. If I had known this
sooner we might have crossed at Saskatoon, where there was a bridge, but
we were now a hundred miles or more away. It was necessary to cross
without loss of time, because Winifred wanted to catch the train at
Outlook on the following evening. She was obliged to get back to England
by an earlier boat than I was taking, because the tour had been
prolonged beyond the original date, owing to weather and other
difficulties.
When we had got down the steep, slippery trail to the river I found that
the ferry-barge was not starting from the pier, but lower down stream
where there was no pier, and between us and it was nothing but sand and
mud and water in which the caravan would sink. There were two other cars
waiting to cross. Their owners had gone over to Outlook in the ferry to
get a team of horses to pull them through. Just at this moment a wagon
and two fine horses drove down to the river bank. We explained our
difficulty to the driver, and he offered to tow us on to the barge. The
ferry-boat had now returned, and the touring cars were towed on with
difficulty. The waggoner hitched us on to his wagon, and I asked
Winifred to get out, as there was no reason why she should run the risk
of being overturned. Then our wagon started, and I started the engine to
help the horses, but this frightened them and they tried to bolt. The
man shouted to me to switch off, which I did, but they still galloped on
and seemed to be making straight for the river. Hitched on behind like
this I was helpless. But the man was a splendid whip, and he knew his
horses. He steadied them with his voice, and, getting them in hand,
swung them sharply round and on to the barge, though still snorting and
plunging in their fright. It was exceedingly difficult to steer the van
round just at the right moment, but I managed it somehow. The barge men
(our former friends) seemed to find it very hard work getting the
heavily-laden boat across, with the wind against them. On the other side
there was no pier to land on, only mud and water as before, so the
waggoner offered to pull us ashore. His horses were really
magnificent--extraordinarily strong--for they pulled both the wagon and
the laden van through the sand and water, past the touring cars stuck in
the mud. The man refused to take any money for his services, though it
was usual to charge a dollar or so for pulling out cars, etc. But only
once in all our three months on the prairie, and with our numerous calls
for help, would any man take money for his services to us. I am sure
that our work was helped by our being women. Much more consideration was
shown to us than would have been the case with men similarly situated.
Perhaps this is because there are fewer women than men out there. The
men certainly seem to feel that they cannot do enough for them.
I took the grass track up from the river, the same which I had used when
crossing the ferry before; but the van stuck at the top, so I had to
unload, and then back down to the bottom and rush up again at full
speed. It was a very hot day and a weary task repacking the van. We
bitterly regretted our refusal of the kind waggoner's offer to pull us
up.
I saw Winifred off by train, and then went on to Eyebrow, 96 miles. It
was rather fun trying to race Winifred's train, which I could see on the
track a little ahead of me. I did nearly catch her at one station, but
was not quite quick enough. I was very grateful for all Winifred's help,
and found it rather difficult to find my way without her, as she always
held the map. But I struck a green blazed trail after a time, and then
found my way quite easily. This trail fortunately avoided that bad
corner at Elbow, and the surface of all the trails was far better now
than when we came up. I arrived at Eyebrow about 5 p.m.
The next day Mr. T. took me to visit some parents, with whom we had
meals, and then on to Keelerville day-school, where I gave an address.
I was surprised to find one little girl answering all my questions with
great fluency, while the others sat in open-mouthed admiration. I said
to myself, "I'm sure you've been to the Qu'Appelle Diocesan School for
Girls," as I had noticed the same phenomena in Sunday Schools in Regina,
and my surmise proved to be correct.
We went out to supper, where we had the usual great bowl of boiled eggs,
from which we helped ourselves, everyone being expected to eat at least
three. It was very dark on our return journey, and the headlights
sometimes went very dim. I found it extremely pleasant to be driven for
once.
I left Eyebrow on the Wednesday afternoon, and went on to Mortlack,
about 38 miles. I found my way all right, but had to go through a great
deal of sand. Fortunately I did not stick. The vicar and his wife gave
me a very warm welcome when I arrived that evening. There were five
small children and a young theological student in the house. The vicar
had been presented with a Ford caravan very much like mine, in which to
get about his rural deanery. For everyday use he had a Ford car, and he
took me round the district in this. I taught in two schools and held a
parents' meeting on the first day, and gave a picture talk and two
addresses to parents and teachers on the next day. Indoors I helped the
student with the household chores, which he had made part of his duty.
The vicar's wife had her hands full with the children. The latter were
charming people; they specially loved jumping in and out of the caravan.
I secured temporary quietude by taking them down the town and presenting
them with "all-day suckers." This protection of the Canadian parent is a
large hard, brightly-coloured confection, stuck on a pointed stick,
which forms a handle. As the name suggests, it is supposed to last all
day. Another favourite comestible is chewing-gum. The children in their
turn frequently presented me with both these dainties. But what I really
liked were the delicious ice-creams and ice-cream sodas and sundaes.
Those of the latter that one buys in England are but pale shadows of the
original. The real, true sundae is a bowl of genuine ice-cream, on the
top of which is preserved fruit in rich syrup, with chopped nuts
scattered over it.
This rural deanery received a great deal of support from the Colonial
and Continental Church Society. They wanted me to stop at Mortlack over
Sunday, but I felt that I should never get all my affairs settled up in
Regina before catching my boat unless I went on at once.
So I started off for Regina on the Saturday, and got there in the
afternoon (70 miles). The trail was exceedingly bad, as they were newly
grading it, and in some places I had to get over mounds of loose earth
about four feet or more high. It was odd to find my watch an hour
different from the Regina clocks. The big towns have summer time, but
the C.P.R. and the country places keep to ordinary time.
I had a very warm reception from the W. family, behind whose house I
stored the caravan until I had time to clean it. The first thing to do
was to clean myself and my wardrobe. I looked more like a mechanic than
a Sunday School "expert." I found oil on most of my clothes, and without
Mrs. W. should never have got them clean again. It was very nice not to
have to turn out in the morning and cook breakfast over a bad-tempered
Primus. Mrs. W.'s meals were not easily forgotten, and now they seemed
extra good. The Canadian breakfast is a dream: you begin with grape
fruit, and then come "cereals," followed by eggs and bacon, and
sometimes griddle cakes with maple syrup, or johnnie cakes.
When I went to church on Sunday morning I had another kind reception,
and the vicar insisted that I should give an address to the whole Sunday
School in church that afternoon.
Next day I went to see Archdeacon Dobie and Archdeacon Knowles, and had
a long talk with them, the gist of which I append later. I told them
that I wished to present the caravan to the diocese, that this work
might be carried on. Archdeacon Knowles offered to take charge of the
van and its equipment during the winter, promising that it should be
stored in the Synod garage.
The caravan had covered at least 3,000 miles in just over three months.
We started from Regina on May 21 and got back on August 21. We visited
ten existing Sunday Schools and started four new ones; we also visited
twelve day schools and enrolled sixty children in the Sunday School by
Post. Besides this we gave many Bible picture talks to children and
addresses to parents and teachers, held a good many services in church,
and did a lot of visiting.