ARRIVAL OF CANOE FROM MONTREAL. LIBERAL PROVISION FOR MISSIONARY
ESTABLISHMENT. MANITOBAH LAKE. INDIAN GARDENS. MEET CAPTAIN FRANKLIN
AND OFFICERS OF THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION, AT YORK FACTORY. FIRST
ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY. HALF-CASTE CHILDREN. AURORA
BOREALIS. CONVERSATION WITH PIGEWIS. GOOD HARVEST AT THE SETTLEMENT,
AND ARRIVAL OF CATTLE FROM UNITED STATES MASSACRE OF HUNTERS. PRODUCE
OF GRAIN AT THE COLONY.
On the 20th of June, the light canoe arrived from Montreal, which
brought me letters from England; and no one ever received news from a
far country, which gladdened the heart more than these letters did
mine. My family were all well; and a liberal provision had been made,
for a Missionary establishment at the Red River, for the maintenance
and education of native Indian children, by the Church Missionary
Society. In conveying this information to me, an active friend to the
communication of Christianity to the Indians, observes, "I hope a
foundation is now laid to extend the blessings of Christianity,
religion, morals, and education, wherever the representative of the
Company may set his foot." God grant that if may! and that the Light
which first sprang up in Judea, may break forth upon every part of
these vast territories, dissipate the present darkness of the natives,
and lead them to the enjoyment of "_the fulness of the blessings of
the gospel of Christ_."
All, all, is encouraging to proceed: yet I will not conceal my fears,
that expectations may be raised too high, as to the progress that may
be made in that vast field of labour which presents itself.--"There are
a great many willows to cut down, and roots to remove," as an Indian
chief said to me, when he welcomed me to the country, "before the path
will be clear to walk in." The axe, however, is laid to the root of the
tree, in the establishment of schools, as the means of instruction and
of diffusing Christian knowledge in this moral wilderness; and we may
anticipate the hope that numbers will arise to enjoy what they are
capable of feeling, the endearments of social life, as well as of moral
and religious education.
Soon after the express canoe arrived, a Director of the Hudson's Bay
Company and an executor of the late Earl of Selkirk, came to the
Settlement, via Montreal. I accompanied him to Pembina; and he acted
upon the opinion, that the inhabitants of this distant and extreme
point of the colony, who were principally hunters, were living too near
the supposed line of demarcation, between the British territories and
the United States; and that it would be far better for them to remove
down to the Forks; where, if the industry of the colonists was more
concentrated, it would tend more to their protection and prosperity.
Many promised to comply with this suggestion. On our return, I took the
opportunity of opening, with divine service, the building (though it
was not finished) which was intended as a school-house, and a temporary
place for divine worship; and, at the same time, baptized two of the
boys who had been under my charge, one as James Hope, and the other as
Henry Budd; they being able to read the New Testament, repeat the
Church Catechism, and to understand the chief truths of the Christian
Religion.
JULY 18.--We have the satisfaction of seeing the new sown grain promise
well for a crop; and great hopes are entertained that it will this year
escape the ravages of the locusts. Under this sanguine expectation, I
left the colony, with the Director, on the 22d, on my annual visit to
York Factory, taking the route of Manitobah Lake. As we passed this
fine and extensive sheet of water, we saw occasionally some beautiful
points, or bluffs of wood and the most striking and romantic scenery
that can be presented to the eye. The waters abound with fish; and the
alluvial soil of some parts, near the banks of the lake, promises every
encouragement to the active industry of the agriculturist. A tribe of
Indians, who traverse this part of the country, have gardens, in which
they grow potatoes and pumpkins; and were encouragement given them, by
the presence and superintendence of a Missionary, in the cultivation of
the soil, and the assistance of a plough and seed corn, afforded them
from the Colony, with the view to establish them in a village, there is
little doubt, that they would gradually, or indeed soon, become so far
civilized, as to promote the formation of a school among them for the
education of their children. We proceeded on our way, through the
Dauphin River, into Lake Winipeg, and arrived at Norway House, in about
a week after we left the Settlement.
When within about fifty miles of York Fort, two Indians paddled their
canoe to the side of the boat, and requested that I would take a little
boy, who was with them, under my charge. This I consented to do, if
they would bring him to me on my return to the Colony; and I threw him
a blanket, as he was almost naked, and suffering apparently from cold.
In landing at the Factory, I had the pleasure of meeting Captain
Franklin, and the gentlemen of the Northern Land Expedition, recently
returned from their arduous journey to the mouth of the Coppermine
River, and waiting for the return of the Company's ship to England. An
Esquimaux Indian, who accompanied the expedition as one of the guides,
named Augustus, and who survived the supposed fate of his companion,
Junius,[6] often came to my room, and interested me with his
conversation in English, which was tolerably well understood by him,
from the instructions he had received during his travels. He belongs to
a tribe that annually visits Churchill Factory, from the northward; and
often assures me, that "Esquimaux want white man to come and teach
them;" and tells me, that they would "make snow house, good, properly,
for him in winter; and bring plenty of musk oxen and deer for him to
eat." Captain Franklin expressed much interest for this harmless race
of Indians: and having spoken to the Governor of this northern
district, I have resolved upon visiting Churchill, next July, in the
hope of meeting the tribe on their visit to that Factory, and to obtain
information, as to the practicability of sending a schoolmaster amongst
them, or forming a school for the education of their children.
[6] See Captain Franklin's Journey to the Coppermine River, Vol.
II. p. 270, second edition.
During my stay at the Factory, we held the first anniversary meeting of
the Auxiliary Bible Society, and were warmly assisted by Captain
Franklin and the gentlemen of the expedition. It appeared that the
amount of donations and annual subscriptions for the past year, i.e.
from Sept. 2nd, 1821, when the Society was first formed, to Sept. 2nd,
1822, was 200_l._ 0_s._ 6_d._ the whole of which sum was remitted to
the parent institution in London; and the very encouraging sum of sixty
pounds was subscribed at the meeting, towards the collection for the
second year.
There were but few persons who came out by the ship for the Colony this
year, as the succession of difficulties we had met with, had lessened
the encouragement to emigrate to this quarter. Among those who came,
however, was a young woman, as the intended wife of the schoolmaster,
who was appointed by the Church Missionary Society, to assist in
teaching at the Mission Establishment at Red River. I obtained a little
boy and girl from an Indian tent at the Factory, to accompany her, in
addition to those who were already there. The features of the boy bore
a strong resemblance to those of the Esquimaux: but there was a shade
of difference between the little girl, and Indians of entire blood,
which was particularly seen in the colour of her hair. It was not of
that jet black, which is common with the Indians in general, and which
is the case with many of the children belonging to the tribes, or
individual families who visit, or are much about the different
Factories. I often met with half-caste children, whose parents had died
or deserted them; who are growing up with numbers at the different
posts in great depravity. Should their education be neglected, as it
has hitherto been, and should they be led to "_find their grounds_,"
with the Indians, it cannot be a matter of surprise, if at any time
hereafter they should collectively or in parties, threaten the peace of
the country, and the safety of the trading Posts.
SEPT. 4.--The Indians who brought the boy in the canoe to the boat on
my way to the Factory met me on my return, and he is taking his passage
with the other two children to the Settlement. Though I have now made
the voyage several times from York Fort to the Colony, I do not find
that the labour and difficulty of the way are at all relieved. Some
parts of the tracking ground might evidently be improved by cutting
away the willows at the edges of the river; and the track over a few of
the portages might also be made better; some of the large stones
likewise might be removed when the water is low, which is expeditiously
done by digging a large hole by the side and undermining them; when
they are rolled over and buried. But to improve the passage materially,
appears to me to be impracticable, from the shallowness of the water,
and the rapidity of the current in many of the rivers. We saw that
beautiful phenomenon called the '_Aurora Borealis_,' or the northern
lights, on most clear evenings, consisting of long columns of clear
white light, shooting across the heavens with a tremulous motion, and
altering slowly to a variety of shapes. At times they were very
brilliant, and appeared suddenly in different parts of the sky, where
none had been seen before. It has been observed, that this phenomenon
is not vivid in very high latitudes, and that its seat appears to be
about the latitude of 60°.
Many of the Indians have a pleasing and romantic idea of this meteor.
They believe the northern lights to be the spirits of their departed
friends dancing in the clouds, and when they are remarkably bright, at
which time they vary most in form and situation, they say that their
deceased friends are making merry.
The northern Indians call the Aurora Borealis "Edthin, i.e. Deer, from
having found that when a hairy deer-skin is briskly stroked with the
hand in a dark night, it will emit many sparks of electrical fire as
the back of a cat will."
On the 5th of October we reached the encampment of Pigewis, the chief
of the Red River Indians; and on pitching our tents for the night a
little way farther up on the banks of the river, he came with his
eldest son and another Indian and drank tea with me in the evening. It
was the first time that I had met with him, since I received the
encouraging information from the Church Missionary Society, relative to
the Mission School at the Colony, and I was glad of the opportunity of
assuring him, through the aid of an interpreter, who was of our party,
"that many, very many in my country wished the Indians to be taught
white man's knowledge of the Great Spirit, and as a proof of their love
to them, my countrymen had told me to provide for the clothing,
maintenance, and education of many of their children; and had sent out
the young person whom he then saw to teach the little girls who might
be sent to the school for instruction." Though not easily persuaded
that you act from benevolent motives; he said _it was good!_ and
promised to tell all his tribe what I said about the children, and that
I should have two of his boys to instruct in the Spring, but added,
that 'the Indians like to have time to consider about these matters.'
We smoked the calumet, and after pausing a short time, he shrewdly
asked me what I would do with the children after they were taught what
I wished them to know. I told him they might return to their parents if
they wished it, but my hope was that they would see the advantage of
making gardens, and cultivating the soil, so as not to be exposed to
hunger and starvation, as the Indians generally were, who had to wander
and hunt for their provisions. The little girls, I observed, would be
taught to knit, and make articles of clothing to wear, like those which
white people wore; and all would be led to read the Book that the Great
Spirit had given to them, which the Indians had not yet known, and
which would teach them how to live well and to die happy. I added, that
it was the will of the Great Spirit, which he had declared in His Book,
'that a man should have but one wife, and a woman but one husband.' He
smiled at this information, and said that 'he thought that there was no
more harm in Indians having two wives than one of the settlers,' whom
he named. I grieved for the depravity of Europeans as noticed by the
heathen, and as raising a stumbling block in the way of their receiving
instruction, and our conversation closed upon the subject by my
observing, that 'there were some very bad white people, as there were
some very bad Indians, but that the good book condemned the practice.'
We had an unusually fine passage from the Factory; and in our approach
to Fort Douglas, we were cheered with the sight of several stacks of
corn standing near to some of the settlers houses, and were informed,
not only of a good harvest, but also of more than a hundred and fifty
head of cattle having arrived at the colony, from the Illinois
territory. These were encouraging circumstances, and I saw with
peculiar pleasure, a stack of wheat near the Mission School, which had
been raised, with nearly two hundred bushels of potatoes, from the
ground that we had cultivated near it; and having purchased two cows
for the establishment, our minds were relieved from anxiety as to
provisions for the children during the winter, as well as from the
quantity of grain that might be collected, till another harvest. Our
fears were kept alive however, as to the safety of the Settlement, by
being informed of another horrid massacre of four hunters, a woman, and
a little girl, on the plains near Pembina, by the Sioux Indians. Their
bodies were dreadfully mangled, and the death of the little girl was
attended with atrocious barbarity. When the Indians first approached
and made their attack on the party, she concealed herself under one of
the carts; but hearing the screams of her friends as the savages were
butchering them, she ran from the place of her concealment, and was
shot through with an arrow as she was running to escape. The frequent
massacre of the hunters by the Sioux Indians, and the constant alarm
excited at the Settlement, by reports that they would come down with
the savage intention of scalping us call for some military protection.
A small party stationed at the Colony, would not only be the means of
enforcing any civil process in the punishment of delinquents among the
Colonists, but afford that security in their habitations, which would
stimulate them to make improvements, and to a more active industry upon
the soil, while it would have the best effect upon the minds of the
Indians at large.
NOV. 4.--A party of hunters have just returned, bringing in some
venison of the red deer, or stag, which is sometimes killed at the
distance of about ten or twelve miles from the Colony. It is
astonishing with what keenness of observation they pursue these
animals: their eye is so very acute, that they will often discern a
path, and trace the deer over the rocks and the withered leaves, which
an European passes without noticing, or being at all aware, that any
human being or game have directed their course before him. They
distinguish the cardinal points by the terms, sun-rise, sun-set, cold
country, and warm country; and reach any destined point over the most
extensive plains with great accuracy, or travel through the thickest
woods with certainty, when they have nothing to direct them but the
moss that grows on the north side of the trunks of the trees, and their
tops bending towards the rising sun.
The 18th. The attendance on divine worship is much improved on the
Sabbath, from the accommodation the building affords, and I hope to
complete it in the ensuing spring. We have a considerable number of
half-caste children, and some adult Indian women, married to Europeans,
who attend a Sunday-school, for gratuitous instruction; and I have no
doubt that their numbers will increase considerably in the spring.
These children have capacity, and would rival Europeans, with the like
instruction, in the developement of their mental faculties. Extensive
plans might be devised, and carried into effect, if patronized by an
active co-operation, which would ultimately result in producing great
benefits to the half-caste population, and the Indians in general.
There is an opening for schools on the banks of the Saskashawan, where
the soil is good for cultivation, as well as on the banks of the
Athabasca river; and frequent applications reached me to forward their
establishment in those quarters, under the prospect of their being
supported through the produce that might be raised from the soil, and
the supplies to be obtained from the waters and the chase.
The winter has again set in, and many of the settlers are threshing out
their crops; and from the best information I can obtain, the return of
wheat has been from twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre. Barley, may
be stated at the same produce: but where sown in small quantities, and
under particular cultivation, I have heard of thirty, forty, and fifty
fold being reaped. Taking the average of the general crop, however, I
think it may be fairly stated at the above increase, without the
trouble of manuring. That useful article of food, the potatoe thrives
well, and returns upon an average thirty bushels for one. Indian corn
is grown; and every kind of garden vegetable, with water melons, and
pumpkins, comes to great perfection, when spared by the locusts. Some
have raised the tobacco plant, but it has not yet met with a fair
trial, any more than the sowing of hemp and flax. I failed in the
experiment of sowing some winter wheat, which I brought with me from
England; but I attribute this failure, to its being sown in an exposed
situation, and too early in the autumn, the plant having been of too
luxuriant a growth, before the severe frosts came on.--If sown in
sheltered spots, and later in the season, there is every probability of
its surviving the winter, which would be of great advantage in
agriculture, from the short period we have for preparing the land and
sowing it in spring. We have no fruit trees, but if introduced, they
would no doubt thrive at the Colony. We get a few raspberries in the
woods, and strawberries from the plains in summer; and on the route to
York Factory, we meet with black and red currants, gooseberries, and
cranberries. There is a root which is found in large quantities, and
generally called by the settlers, the Indian potatoe. It strongly
resembles the Jerusalem artichoke, and is eaten by the natives in a raw
state; but when boiled it is not badly flavoured. The characteristic
improvidence of the Indians, and their precarious means of subsistence,
will often reduce them to extreme want, and I have seen them collecting
small roots in the swamps, and eating the inner rind of the poplar
tree, and having recourse to a variety of berries, which are found in
abundance in many parts of the country.