CLIMATE OF RED RIVER. THERMOMETER. PIGEWIS'S NEPHEW. WOLVES. REMARKS
OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. INDIAN WOMAN SHOT BY HER SON. SUFFERINGS OF
INDIANS. THEIR NOTIONS OF THE DELUGE. NO VISIBLE OBJECT OF ADORATION.
ACKNOWLEDGE A FUTURE LIFE. LEFT THE COLONY FOR BAS LA RIVIRÈE. LOST
ON WINIPEG LAKE. RECOVER THE TRACK, AND MEET AN INTOXICATED INDIAN.
APPARENT FACILITIES FOR ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS WEST OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
RUSSIANS AFFORDING RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION ON THE NORTH WEST COAST OF
NORTH AMERICA. RUMOURS OF WAR AMONG THE SURROUNDING TRIBES WITH THE
SIOUX INDIANS.
JANUARY 1, 1823.--Once more I have to record the goodness of God in
preserving my life, and granting me the invaluable blessing of health
throughout the past year.
"God of my life! to thee belong
The thankful heart, the grateful song."
May my days be spent with renewed ardour and watchfulness in my
Christian profession; never yielding to supineness and discouragements
in my Ministerial labours, and toils in the wilderness. Of all men, the
Missionary most needs strong faith, with a simple reliance upon the
providence and promises of God in the trials that await him. His path
is indeed an arduous one. Many unexpected circumstances will oppose his
conscientious endeavours to fulfil his calling; and difficulties will
surround him in every shape, so as to put his patience, his hopes of
usefulness and steady perseverance severely to the test. He will often
exclaim in the deep conviction of his mind, who is sufficient for the
great undertaking?--Experience in the Missionary field has convinced
me, that there are indeed but _few among a thousand_ qualified for the
difficult and exalted work. If that eminent Missionary, St. Paul,
abounding in zeal, and in all the graces of the Spirit, thought it
needful to solicit the prayers of the Churches that "the word of the
Lord might run, and have free course," how earnest ought our entreaties
to be of all friends of missions to "pray for us," who, _if we feel
aright_, must feel our own insignificance, in our labours among the
heathen, and in our services to the Christian church, when compared
with the labours of the Apostles, or with those of a Swartz, a Brainerd,
or a Martyn.
The climate of Red River is found to be remarkably healthy, and the
state of the weather may be pretty accurately ascertained from the
following table for the last two years. We know of no epidemic, nor is
a cough scarcely ever heard amongst us. The only cry of affliction, in
breathing a sharp pure air, that creates a keen appetite, has been,
'_Je n'ai rien pour manger_,' and death has rarely taken place amongst
the inhabitants, except by accident and extreme old age. It is far
otherwise, however with the natives of the country, who from the
hardships and incessant toil they undergo in seeking provisions, look
old at forty, and the women at a much earlier age: while numbers die,
at an early stage of their suffering existence, of pulmonary
consumptions. These are so common, that they may be considered as the
unavoidable consequence of privations and immoderate fatigue, which
they endure in hunting and in war; and of being continually exposed to
the inclemency of the seasons.
CLIMATE OF RED RIVER
THERMOMETER.
+---------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | | | | Aver-| Aver-|
| Month | | A.M. | A.M. | M. | M. | P.M. | P.M. | age | age |
| and | |Below |Above |Below |Above |Below |Above |Below |Above |
| Year |Date | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° |
+---------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
|1821. | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|January | 23 | 24 | .. | 16 | .. | 26 | .. | 22 | .. |
|February | 2 | 30 | .. | 25 | .. | 28 | .. | 28 | .. |
|March | 17 | 5 | .. | .. | 13 | 5 | .. | .. | 1 |
|April | 9 | .. | 10 | .. | 18 | .. | 17 | .. | 15 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|May | 8 | .. | 50 | .. | 77 | .. | 77 | .. | 68 |
|June | 3 | .. | 72 | .. | 84 | .. | 88 | .. | 81 |
|July | 28 | .. | 76 | .. | 91 | .. | 90 | .. | 85 |
|August | 3 | .. | 70 | .. | 84 | .. | 88 | .. | 84 |
|September| 4 | .. | 58 | .. | 68 | .. | 70 | .. | 65 |
|October | 25 | .. | 45 | .. | 62 | .. | 65 | .. | 27 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|November | 26 | 5 | .. | 16 | .. | 16 | .. | 12 | .. |
|December | 17 | 38 | .. | 15 | .. | 16 | .. | 23 | .. |
|---------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------|
|1822. | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|January | 28 | 34 | .. | 25 | .. | 25 | .. | 28 | .. |
|February | 3 | 32 | .. | 19 | .. | 23 | .. | 25 | .. |
|March | 13 | .. | 7 | .. | 25 | .. | 10 | .. | 14 |
|April | 8 | .. | 5 | .. | 18 | .. | 21 | .. | 15 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|May | 28 | .. | 65 | .. | 77 | .. | 78 | .. | 73 |
|June | 9 | .. | 68 | .. | 76 | .. | 76 | .. | 73 |
|July | 21 | .. | 75 | .. | 87 | .. | 81 | .. | 81 |
|August | 8 | .. | 74 | .. | 83 | .. | 84 | .. | 80 |
|September| 13 | .. | 59 | .. | 79 | .. | 78 | .. | 72 |
|October | 4 | .. | 54 | .. | 72 | .. | 71 | .. | 66 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|November | 29 | 24 | .. | 2 | .. | 15 | .. | 14 | .. |
|December | 14 | 49 | .. | 25 | .. | 28 | .. | 34 | .. |
+---------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
I have selected the day in each month of the year, when the thermometer
was at the lowest and highest degree of Zero; which will give a general
idea of the change of the state of the air. Though I have been informed
of the thermometer having been several degrees higher and lower at the
Colony, than here stated, the winter is nearly the same, as to the time
it sets in and breaks up, as that of Montreal; but the frost is rather
more intense, with less snow, and a clearer air. During the winter
months, a north-westerly wind, which is synonymous in this quarter of
the globe, with excessive cold, generally prevails; and even in sultry
weather, the moment that the wind veers from the south to that quarter,
its chilling influence is immediately felt in the sudden transition
from heat to cold. In summer, a southerly wind blows commonly with
considerable heat, and often in heavy gales, is accompanied with
violent torrents of rain, and much thunder.
The 4th.--The Indians around us generally divide into small parties for
the better support of their families during the winter months; and in
their rambling existence in search of animals for provisions. Pigewis
and a few others, occupying two lodges, called on me to-day, saying
that they were starving. The woods which they generally hunted were
burnt to a great extent during the last autumn, and they had only
killed a bear, and a few martins, with occasionally a rabbit, as a
subsistence for the last two months. This was their report, though they
often deceive in their lounging habits of begging at your residence. I
assisted them with a little Indian rice and some potatoes, on their
promise to strike their tents, and proceed to some other hunting
grounds on the following day. When they visit under these destitute
circumstances, they are often exceedingly troublesome, acknowledging no
right of restraint in being shut out from your presence; they enter
your dwelling without ceremony, and covet almost every thing that they
see. With a view, therefore, to keep them from my room in the evening,
I sent some tea and sugar with a little flour, for the purpose of
taking my tea with them in one of their tents. I was accompanied by one
of the Indian boys from the school as an interpreter, who now acted
well in that capacity, from the great progress he had made in speaking
English, and found them all encircling a small fire, by the side of
which they had placed a buffaloe robe for me to sit down upon. The pipe
was immediately lighted by an Indian whom we generally call 'Pigewis's
Aid-de-Camp;' and having pointed the stem to the heavens and then to
the earth, he gave the first whiff to the Master of Life, and
afterwards handed it to me. Pigewis then delivered what I understood to
be an address to the Great Spirit, and the party seated around him used
an expression, apparently of assent, in the middle and conclusion of
his speech. Though addressing an unknown God, what a reflection does
his conduct, in returning thanks for his short and precarious supplies,
to the Master of Life, cast upon multitudes who profess Christianity
and the knowledge of the true God, and yet daily partake of the
bounties of his providence, without any expression of gratitude, or
whose only return, is to live in the known violation of his laws, and
to blaspheme his holy name, in the midst of his goodness towards them!
Pigewis breakfasted with me on the following morning; and his general
remarks in conversation gave me, as they had done before, a favourable
opinion of his penetration and mental ability. The active efforts of
his mind, however, are confined principally to those objects which
immediately affect his present wants or enjoyments. Savages talk of the
animals that they have killed, and boast of the scalps that they have
taken in their war excursions; but they form no arrangement, nor enter
into calculation for futurity. They have no settled place of abode, or
property, or acquired wants and appetites, like those which rouse men
to activity in civilized life, and stimulate them to persevering
industry, while they keep the mind in perpetual exercise and ingenious
invention. Their simple wants are few, and when satisfied they waste
their time in listless indolence; and are often seen lying on the
ground for whole days together, without raising their heads from under
the blanket, or uttering a single word. The cravings of hunger rouse
them; and the scarcity of animals that now prevails in many parts of
the country, is a favourable circumstance towards leading them to the
cultivation of the soil; which would expand their minds, and prove of
vast advantage, among other means, in aiding their comprehension of
Christianity. It must, not be expected, however, that the Indians will
easily forsake a mode of life that is so congenial to man, in his
natural love of ease and indolence and licentious freedom. Necessity,
in a measure, must compel them to do this; _but the children may be
educated, and trained to industry upon the soil_, in the hope that they
may be recovered from their savage habits and customs, to see and enjoy
the blessings of civilization and Christianity. This object is highly
important, and no means should be spared in attempting its accomplishment,
where practicable. Where is our humanity and Christian sympathy, and
how do we fulfil the obligations which Christianity has enforced, if we
do not seek to raise these wandering heathen, who, with us, are immortal
in their destiny, from a mere animal existence to the partaking of the
privileges and hopes of the Christian religion?
Before Pigewis left me, his sister arrived, who was then living with a
very lazy bad Indian, and asked me to take her eldest boy, whose father
was dead, into the school. Though much above the usual age of admission
upon the establishment, I consented to receive him; and they both took
an affectionate leave of him, remarking that they were sure I should
keep him well. The whole party then set off towards some fresh hunting
grounds, and it was my hope and expectation that I should see nothing
more of them till the spring. The boy was comfortably clothed, and he
appeared to be well satisfied with the rest at the school, and had
begun to learn the English alphabet, when, to my surprise, I found the
mother, with the Indian, in my room, in about a week after they had
left the Settlement with Pigewis, saying that they had parted from him
in consequence of their not being able to obtain any provision; and
that "they thought it long" since they had seen the boy. He was
permitted to go from the school-house to their tent, which they had
pitched near me in the woods, almost daily without restraint, till at
length he refused to return. I repeated my request for him without
effect; and having my suspicion excited, that they would take him away
for the sake of the clothing and blankets which I had given him, I
determined upon having them again, as an example to deter others from
practising the like imposition. The parties were angry at my
determination, and looking upon the medicine bag that was suspended on
the willows near the tent, and which is carried by most of the Indians,
as a sacred depository for a few pounded roots, some choice bits of
earth, or a variety of articles which they only know how to appreciate
with superstitious regard, they told me that "they had bad medicine for
those who displeased them." I insisted, however, on the return of the
articles I had given to the boy, and obtained them; at the same time
promising that if he would go back to the school-house, he should have
his clothes again; but added, that "it would never be allowed for
Indians to bring their children to the school, which was established to
teach them what was for their happiness, merely for the purpose of
getting them clothed and provided with blankets, and then to entice
them to leave it."
JAN. 20.--The severity of the winter has driven a number of wolves to
hover about the Settlement in search of provisions; they are perfectly
harmless however, as they are met singly, and skulk away like a dog
conscious of having committed a theft. But in packs, they kill the
horses, and are formidable to encounter. In the pursuit of buffaloes
and the deer on the plains, they are known to form a crescent, and to
hurry their prey over precipices, or upon the steep muddy banks of a
river, where they devour them. No instance has occurred of their having
seized any of the children of the settlers, though they sometimes kill
and eat the carcases of the dogs close to their houses.
FEBRUARY 3.--It appears that I have given great offence to one of the
remaining Swiss emigrants, for refusing to baptize, at his immediate
request, the child of his daughter, born of fornication, and cast away
by her, as living in adultery. I deeply lamented the circumstance, but
felt the obligation to defer the administration of the sacrament, from
the conviction that the profligacy of the case called for an example
which might deter others among the Swiss from acting in the like
manner; and at the same time be a public expression of disapprobation,
on my part, of such unblushing depravity, in the eyes of a numerous
young people growing up at the Colony. Unless chastity be considered as
a virtue, what hope can be entertained of forming any organized
society? and if the Colonists fearlessly commit crimes, because they
have stepped over a certain line of latitude; and live in a wild
profligacy, without the curb of civil restraint, the Settlement can
hold out but faint hopes of answering in any way the expectations of
its patrons. Till morality and religion form its basis, disappointment
must follow. Nor can I imagine that the system taught by the Canadian
Catholic priests will avail any thing materially in benefitting the
morals of the people; they are bigotted to opinions which are
calculated to fetter the human mind, to cramp human exertion, and to
keep their dependants in perpetual leading-strings. Their doctrine is--
"Extra Ecclesiam Romanam, salus non esse potest."[7]
[7] There is no salvation beyond the pale of the Roman Church.
They appear to me to teach Christianity only as a dry system of
ecclesiastical statutes, without a shadow of spirituality. While they
multiply holidays, to the interruption of human industry, as generally
complained of by those who employ Canadians, they lightly regard the
Sabbath; and sanction the practice of spending the evenings of this
sacred day at cards, or in the dance. In their tinkling service of
worshipping the elevated host as the very God himself, they fall down
also in adoration to the Virgin Mary, addressing her, as--
"Reine des Cieux!
Intercedez pour nous,
Mère de Dieu!"
and proudly arrogate to the Church of Rome, the absolute interpretation
of Scripture; forbidding the people to examine whether she does it
rightly or not. I thank God that I am a Protestant against such
idolatry and ecclesiastical tyranny!
The able and enlightened remarks of that renowned general and eminent
statesman, Washington, in his farewell address to the people of the
United States, relative to the well-being of a nation, are equally
applicable to the existence and prosperity of a Colony: "Of all the
dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity (he
observed), religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain
would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labour to
subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of
men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man,
ought to respect and cherish them. A volume would not trace all their
connexions with private and public felicity. Let it be simply asked,
Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the
sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the
instruments of investigation in the courts of justice? And let us with
caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained
without religion. Whatever be conceded to the influence of refined
education, or minds of a peculiar structure; reason and experience
forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of
religious principle."
A daughter has driven her aged Indian father, lashed, in his buffaloe
robe, on a sledge, to the Colony. He appeared to be in a very weak and
dying state, and has suffered much from the want of provisions. I was
much pleased with this instance of filial affection and care. Sometimes
the aged and infirm are abandoned or destroyed; and however shocking it
may be to those sentiments of tenderness and affection, which in
civilized life we regard as inherent in our common nature, it is
practised by savages in their hardships and extreme difficulty of
procuring subsistence for the parties who suffer, without being
considered as an act of cruelty, but as a deed of mercy. This shocking
custom, however, is seldom heard of among the Indians of this
neighbourhood; but is said to prevail with the Chipewyan or Northern
Indians, who are no sooner burdened with their relations, broken with
years and infirmities, and incapable of following the camp, than they
leave them to their fate. Instead of repining they are reconciled to
this dreadful termination of their existence, from the known custom of
their nation, and being conscious that they can no longer endure the
various distresses and fatigue of savage life, or assist in hunting for
provisions. A little meat, with an axe, and a small portion of tobacco,
are generally left with them by their _nearest relations_, who in
taking leave of them, say, that it is time for them to go into the
other world, which they suppose lies just beyond the spot where the sun
goes down, where they will be better taken care of than with them, and
then they walk away weeping. On the banks of the Saskashawan, an aged
woman prevailed on her son to shoot her through the head, instead of
adopting this sad extremity. She addressed him in a most pathetic
manner, reminding him of the care and toil with which she bore him on
her back from camp to camp in his infancy; with what incessant labour
she brought him up till he could use the bow and the gun; and having
seen him a great warrior, she requested that he would shew her
kindness, and give a proof of his courage, in shooting her, that she
might go home to her relations. "I have seen many winters, she added,
and am now become a burden, in not being able to assist in getting
provisions; and dragging me through the country, as I am unable to
walk, is a toil, and brings much distress:--take your gun." She then
drew her blanket over her head, and her son immediately deprived her of
life: in the apparent consciousness of having done an act of filial
duty and of mercy.
The old man who was brought to the Settlement, by his daughter for
relief soon recovered, so as to become exceedingly troublesome by
coming almost daily to my room. I succeeded at length in starting them
for some hunters' tents on the plains, where they expressed a wish to
go, if supplied with provisions to carry them there, by killing a small
dog, and giving it to them for food. An ox would not have been more
acceptable to a distressed European family than this animal was to
these Indians. But on leaving me two more families came to my residence
in a state of starvation. Necessity had compelled them to eat their
dogs, and they themselves were harnessed to their sledges, dragging
them in a most wretched and emaciated condition. One of the men
appeared to be reduced to the last stage of existence, and upon giving
him a fish and a few cooked potatoes, such was his natural affection
for his children, that, instead of voraciously devouring the small
portion of food, he divided it into morsels, and gave it to them in the
most affectionate manner. His children from their appearance had
partaken of by far the largest share of that scanty supply which he had
lately been able to obtain in hunting. They pitched their tents at a
short distance below in the woods, and the poor man came to me next
morning with the request that I would bleed him for a violent pain
which he complained of in his side. This I refused to do, and gave him
a note to the medical gentleman of the Colony, promising to call on him
the next day. When I saw him I found that he had not delivered the
note, but had bled himself in the foot with the flint from his gun, and
spoke of having experienced considerable relief. The party were
dreadfully distressed for provisions, and had actually collected at
their tents the remains of a dog which had died, with part of the head
of a horse, that had been starved to death in the severity of the
winter, and which was the only part of the animal that was left by the
wolves. The head of the dog was boiling in the kettle, and that of the
horse was suspended over it, to receive the smoke of the fire in the
preparation for cooking; while the children were busily employed in
breaking some bones which they had picked up, with an axe, and which
they were sucking in their raw state for their moisture. This was the
suffering extremity not of lazy bad Indians, but of those who bore the
character of good hunters, and were particularly careful of their
families; and I fear it is the case of many more from the exhausted
state of animals in the neighbourhood of Red River: and from the
frequent fires that occur in the plains, which extend also to the
destruction of the woods.
Towards the conclusion of the month we had another melancholy proof of
the Indians suffering extreme want from the few animals that were to be
met with during the winter. An Indian with his wife on their arrival
gave me to understand that they had been without food for twenty days,
and had lost their three children by starvation. Their appearance was
that of a melancholy dejection, and I had my suspicions excited at the
time that they had eaten them. This was confirmed afterwards by the
bones and hands of one of the children being found near some ashes at a
place where they said they had encamped, and suffered their misery. It
appears that two of their children died from want, whom they cooked and
eat, and that they afterwards killed the other for a subsistence in
their dire necessity. I asked this Indian, as I did the other, whether
from having suffered so much, it was not far better to do as the white
people did and cultivate the ground; he said, "Yes;" and expressed a
desire to do so if he could obtain tools, seed wheat and potatoes to
plant. Though it is the character of the savage to tell you what he
will do in future at your suggestion, to prevent the calamity which he
may be suffering from want of food or the inclemency of the weather,
and as soon as the season becomes mild, and the rivers yield him fish,
or the woods and plains provisions, to forget all his sufferings, and
to be as thoughtless and improvident as ever as to futurity; yet, I
think that a successful attempt might be made by a proper superintendance,
and a due encouragement to induce some of the Indians of this quarter
to settle in villages, and to cultivate the soil. The voice of humanity
claims this attention to them, under their almost incredible privations
at times: but prejudices may exist in the country which prevent this
desirable object being carried into effect. There was a time when the
Indians themselves had begun to collect into a kind of village towards
the mouth of the Red River, had cultivated spots of ground, and had
even erected something of a lodge for the purpose of performing some of
their unmeaning ceremonies of ignorance and heathenism, and to which
the Indians of all the surrounding country were accustomed at certain
seasons to repair; but fears were entertained that the natives would be
diverted from hunting furs to idle ceremonies, and an effectual stop
was put to all further improvement, by the spirit of opposition that
then existed in the country between the two rival Fur Companies.
MARCH 10.--The ringing of the Sabbath bell now collects an encouraging
congregation; and some of us, I trust, could experimentally adopt the
language of the Psalmist, in saying, "I was glad when they said unto
us, let us go into the house of the Lord."--My earnest prayer to God
is, that I may exercise a _spiritual_ ministry; and faithfully
preach those truths which give no hope to fallen man, but that which is
founded on God's mercy in Christ. I often felt rejoiced in spirit in
the prospect of doing good amidst the wild profligacy of manners that
surrounded me, and of making known the doctrines and precepts of
Christianity, where Christ had never before been named. Several adult
married Indian women attended the Sunday School, with many half-caste
children to be taught to read, and to receive religious instruction,
which gave me an opportunity of ascertaining what the notions of the
Indians were concerning the flood and the creation of the world. They
appeared either to be ignorant, or unwilling to relate any traditionary
stories that they might have as to the original formation of the world,
but spoke of an universal deluge, which they said was commonly believed
by all Indians. When the flood came and destroyed the world, they say
that a very great man, called Wæsackoochack, made a large raft, and
embarked with otters, beavers, deer, and other kinds of animals. After
it had floated upon the waters for some time, he put out an otter, with
a long piece of shagganappy or leathern cord tied to its leg, and it
dived very deep without finding any bottom, and was drowned. He then
put out a beaver, which was equally unsuccessful, and shared the same
fate. At length he threw out a musk-rat, that dived and brought up a
little mud in its mouth, which Wæsackoochack took, and placing in the
palm of his hand, he blew upon it, till it greatly enlarged itself, and
formed a good piece of the earth. He then turned out a deer that soon
returned, which led him to suppose that the earth was not large enough,
and blowing upon it again its size was greatly increased, so that a
loom which he then sent out never returned. The new earth being now of
a sufficient size, he turned adrift all the animals that he had
preserved. He is supposed still to have some intercourse with and power
over them as well as over the Indians, who pray to him to protect them
and keep them alive. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in speaking of the
Chipewyan or Northern Indians, who traverse an immense track of
country, to the north of the Athabasca lake, says, "that the notions
which these people entertain of the creation are of a singular nature.
They believe that the globe was at first one vast and entire ocean,
inhabited by no living creature except a mighty bird, whose eyes were
fire, whose glances were lightning, and the clapping of whose wings was
thunder. On his descending to the ocean, and touching it, the earth
instantly arose, and remained on the surface of the waters. They have
also a tradition amongst them, that they originally came from another
country, inhabited by very wicked people, and had traversed a great
lake, where they suffered much misery, it being always winter, with ice
and deep snow. At the Copper-Mine River, where they made the first
land, the ground was covered with copper. They believe also that in
ancient times their ancestors lived till their feet were worn out with
walking, and their throats with eating. They describe a deluge, when
the waters spread over the whole earth, except the highest mountains,
on the tops of which they preserved themselves." There appears to be a
general belief of a flood among all the tribes of this vast continent;
and the Bible shews me from whence spring all those fables, and wild
notions which they entertain; and which prevail in other parts of the
heathen world upon these subjects. They are founded upon those events
which the sacred scriptures record, and which have been corrupted by
different nations, scattered and wandering through the globe as the
descendants of Noah, without a written language. The Hindoo therefore
in his belief that the earth was actually drawn up at the flood, by the
tusks of a boar, and that it rests at this hour on the back of a
tortoise: and the North American Indian in his wild supposition that
Wæsackoochack, whose reputed father was a snake, formed the present
beautiful order of creation after the deluge, by the help of a
musk-rat, afford no inconsiderable proof that the Bible is of far
greater antiquity than any other record extant in the world, and that
it is indeed of divine origin. While its sacred page therefore informs
and decides my judgment by the earliest historic information, may its
principles influence my life in all Christian practice, and joyful
expectation of the world to come, through faith in Him, whom it records
as the Redeemer of mankind; and in whom believing "there is neither
barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free."
'One song employs all nations, and all sing,
Worthy the Lamb! for he was slain for us.
The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks
Shout to each other; and the mountain-tops,
From distant mountains catch the flying joy;
Till, nation after nation taught the strain,
Earth rolls the rapturous hosannah round.'
I could never discover that the Indians among whom I travelled had any
thing like a visible object of adoration. Neither sun, moon, nor stars,
appear to catch their attention as objects of worship. There is an
impression upon their minds, of a Divine Being, whom they call the
_Great Spirit_, whom they ignorantly address, and suppose to be too
good even to punish them. Their general idea is, that they are more
immediately under the influence of a powerful _Evil Spirit_. Experience
has taught them this melancholy fact, in the trials, sufferings,
afflictions, and multiform death which they undergo; and therefore
their prayers are directed to him, when any severe calamity befalls
them. To avert his displeasure, they often have recourse to
superstitious practices, with the most childish credulity; and will
drum and dance throughout a whole night, in the hope of bringing relief
to the sick and dying. They know not that the great enemy of man's
happiness and salvation, is a chained enemy, and a captive to Him who
triumphed in his resurrection and ascension to glory, and under the
control and permissive will of Him, whom they denominate Keetchee
Manitou, or Great Spirit; and, consequently they are enslaved to all
that is pitiable in ignorance and superstition. Acknowledging the being
of a God, the uncultivated minds of these savages have led them to
shrink from the thoughts of annihilation, and to look forward with hope
to a future life. They have no idea however of intellectual enjoyments;
but a notion prevails among them, that at death they arrive at a large
river, on which they embark in a stone canoe; and that a gentle current
bears them on to an extensive lake, in the centre of which is a most
beautiful island, in the sight of which they receive their judgment. If
they have died courageously in war, they are particularly welcomed in
landing upon the island, where they, with skilful hunters, enjoy
perpetual spring and plenty, and live with all the good in an eternal
enjoyment of sensual pleasures. If they die with their hands imbrued
with the blood of their countrymen, and are lazy bad characters, the
stone canoe sinks with them, leaving them up to their chins in water,
that they may for ever behold the happiness of the good, and struggle
in vain to reach the island of bliss.
The 17th. I left the Colony in a cariole, to visit the Company's Post
at Bas la Rivière; we stopped the night, near the mouth of the Red
River, and crossed the point of Lake Winipeg, on the ice, the following
day, in time to reach the Fort the same evening. It is pleasantly
situated by a fine sheet of water; and is the way the canoes take their
route to Fort William, Lake Superior, and Montreal. During my stay, the
officer of the Post gave me the much admired fish of the country,
called by the Indians, _tittameg_, and by the Americans, _white-fish_.
Its usual weight is about three or four pounds; but it is caught in
some of the lakes of a much larger size; and, with the sturgeon, is a
principal article of food, and almost the only support of some of the
establishments. Before I left, the officer was married to one of the
best informed and most improved half-caste women I had seen. She was
the daughter of one of the chief factors, who was particularly fond of
his family; and afforded an instance of superiority of character among
this class of people, from the care and instruction which she had
received. The Mètifs, or, as they are sometimes called, Bois brulés,
have displayed the most striking ability as steersmen of boats, through
the most difficult rapids, and in the navigation of the rivers; and if
advantages were given them in education, they have capacities of
usefulness which might adorn the highest stations of civilized life. Of
the moral degradation, however, of these people, in common with that of
the Canadian voyageurs, it is difficult to exhibit an accurate picture.
Suffice it to say, that it is a degradation which, in some respects,
exceeds even that of the native Indian himself.
In starting from the Company's Post, on my return to the Colony, it was
my hope that we should cross the point of Winipeg Lake to the mouth of
the Red River, in one day, as we had done in our way thither; but about
two o'clock in the afternoon, I perceived, as I was in the cariole,
that the driver had mistaken his way. I told him of his error, but he
persisted in the opinion that he was right, and drove on till the
evening closed upon us, without his finding the entrance to the Red
River. Night came on, and the dogs were exhausted with fatigue, which
obliged us to stop, though not before one of them contrived to slip his
head out of the collar. It happened that we were near some wood on the
edge of the lake, but in reaching it we sank in soft drift snow up to
the middle; and it was a considerable time before we could make our
preparations for the night, under the spreading branches of a pine
tree. We got but little rest from the small fire that we were able to
make, and from our bad encampment. The next morning, I found that the
driver was greatly embarrassed in his idea of our exact situation, and
he led me throughout the day from one point of wood to another, over
the ice, on the borders of the lake, in a directly contrary way to that
in which we ought to have gone. We had no food for our dogs, and on
coming to our encampment for the night, the animals were completely
worn out with fatigue; and what added to our trials, was the loss of
the flint, which the man dropped in the snow, the first time he
attempted to strike the steel to kindle a fire. After some difficulty
we succeeded, with a small gun-flint, which I found in my pocket, and
we bivouacked upon the snow, before an insufficient fire, from the
scanty wood we were able to collect. It was my wish to have divided the
little provision that remained with the dogs, as they had eaten nothing
for two days, and I considered them scarcely able to move with the
cariole the next morning, at the same time intending to kill one of
them the following evening, to meet our wants, should we not succeed in
recovering our track. The driver assured me, however, that they would
go another day without giving up. From the conversation I had with him,
before we started on the following morning, I found that he had no
knowledge of our situation on the extensive lake before us, and
supposed that the Red River lay to the north, while I thought, from the
course of the sun, that it was to the south, and insisted upon his
taking that direction, which we did accordingly; and after a laborious
and rather anxious day's toil, we saw some points of small and
scattered willow bushes, like those which I knew to be near the
entrance of the river. This providentially proved to be the case,
otherwise our trials must have been great; the driver having become
nearly snow-blind, and incapable of driving the dogs, and the weather
becoming more intensely cold and stormy. It may easily be conceived
what our feelings were, in recovering a right track, after wandering
for several days upon an icy lake, among the intricate and similar
appearances of numerous and small islands of pine. They were those, I
trust, of sincere gratitude to God; and I often thought what a wretched
wanderer was man in a guilty world, without the light of Christianity
to guide, and its principle to direct his steps. Infidelity draws a
veil around him, and shrouds all in darkness as to a future life. All,
all is uncertainty before him, as the tempest-tossed mariner without a
compass, and the wearied wandering traveller without a chart or guide.
Let me then prize the scriptures more, which have "God for their
author, truth unmingled with error for their subject, and salvation for
their end." They are the fountains of interminable happiness, where he
who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, may be satisfied; and when
received in principle and in love, are a sure and unerring guide,
through a wilderness of toil and suffering, to the habitations of the
blessed, "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
As we passed along the river towards the Settlement, we met an
intoxicated Indian, who had been drinking at the grave of his child,
whom he had buried in the fall of the year. In going to the spot, I
found that all the snow and the grass had been removed, and that a
number of Indians, with Pigewis, had encircled the place where the body
had been deposited; and, as is their custom, they smoked the calumet,
wept, and sacrificed a little of what they possessed to the departed
spirit of the child. They do this, under the idea that the deceased may
want these articles in the world whither they are gone; and it is very
affecting occasionally to hear the plaintive and mournful lamentations
of the mother at the grave of her child, uttering in pitiful accents,
"Ah! my child, why did you leave me! Why go out of my sight so early!
Who will nurse you and feed you in the long journey you have undertaken!"
The strength of natural affection will sometimes lead them to commit
suicide, under the idea that they shall accompany the spirit, and nurse
their departed child in the other world. This persuasion, that the
spirits of the deceased want the same attendance in their new station
as in the present life, is so deeply rooted in the minds of the
Indians, that the _Carriers_, west of the Rocky Mountains, sometimes
burn the widow; and a chief, on the North-West coast of America,
sacrificed a human victim, who was a slave, on the death of his son. In
some provinces of America, historians have mentioned that, upon the
death of a Chief, a certain number of his wives, and of his slaves who
had been taken in war, were put to death, and interred together with
him, that he might appear with the same dignity in the world of
spirits, and be waited upon by the same attendants. Some have solicited
the honour to die, while others have fled, as marked for victims, under
this cruel and superstitious practice.
APRIL 4.--On my arrival at the Church Mission House for divine worship,
a poor Indian widow with five children, asked me to admit two of the
boys into the schools, which I immediately did, and particularly wished
her to leave the two girls also, one about six, and the other eight
years of age; but she would not comply with my request. The boys were
very wild and troublesome, and often ran away from the school to their
mother, who was generally living about the Settlement. They were
getting at length however better reconciled, and had begun to be
attached to the schoolmaster, when I was informed the Catholics were
prejudicing her mind against the school; and that some of the women of
that persuasion had told her, that I was collecting children from the
Indians with the intention of taking them away to my country. This idea
was spread amongst them, and an Indian calling at my residence told me
that he would give his boy to the school, if I would not leave them, as
he understood I intended to do. In vain did I tell him, that in going
home to see my wife and children I should be glad to return and bring
them with me, to assist me in teaching those of his country; and that
on my going away, my brother Minister would come, and love, and take
care of the Indian children as I did. He was not satisfied, and took
his boy away with him, saying he must wait, and see what was to be
done. The Saulteaux woman took her two boys away clandestinely, saying,
as I was afterwards informed, that "they would be all the same as dead
to her, if what she had heard was true," and though I had not an
opportunity of seeing her afterwards, she had the honesty to return the
children's clothes which I had given to them. These circumstances with
others that had occurred, convinced me that it would be far better to
obtain children for the school, from a distance than from the Indians
in the immediate neighbourhood of the Colony, as all those children who
were under our charge, and whose parents were more remote, soon became
reconciled to restraint, and were happy on the establishment. This
desirable object might soon be obtained by visiting the different
tribes of Indians, more especially were there a powerful interest
excited in favour of the Native School Establishment at Red River, by
the officers at the different Trading Posts.
In the attempt however to spread the knowledge of Christianity among
the natives, it appears that the least expensive mode of proceeding and
of ensuring the most extensive success for the Missionary is, to visit
those parts of the country where they are stationary, and live in
villages during the greater part of the year. He should direct his way
and persevering attention towards the rocky mountains, and the
Columbia. He may meet with difficulties and obstacles such as have
tried the faith and patience of Missionaries in other parts of the
heathen world, but let him persevere through the aid of the Company's
officers, who may introduce him to the Indians trading at their
respective Posts. Near to the foot of the rocky mountains the Indians
are known to dwell in their villages nearly nine months of the year.
During these months they live on salmon, either dried or taken fresh
from the rivers. They are not ferocious, but very indolent, and where
this is the case, are generally very licentious; but as they are
stationary for so long a period, an attempt might be made through the
co-operation of the Company's Officer, to lead them to cultivate the
soil, which at certain points will grow turnips, cabbages, and barley:
this produce, with the natural resources of the country would greatly
encourage an establishment for the education of their children
throughout the year: to the support of which the Indians themselves
might greatly contribute, and which would be attended with the most
beneficial results. In following the track towards the North Pacific
Ocean, the climate is much milder than to the East of the mountains,
and a vast encouragement would be found in seeking to benefit the
natives, from their being strangers to the intoxicating draught of
spirituous liquors, in barter for their articles of trade. So little
acquainted with the effects of intoxication are some of the Indians in
this quarter, that the following circumstance was related to me by an
Officer from the mouth of the Columbia. A Chief who had traded but
little with Europeans came to the Fort with two of his sons, and two
young men of his tribe. During their stay the servants made one of his
sons drunk. When the old man saw him foaming at the mouth, uttering the
most incoherent expressions, and staggering under the power of the
intoxicating draught, he immediately concluded that he was mad, and
exclaimed, 'Let him be shot.' It was some time before he could be
pacified, which was only effected in a measure by his being assured,
that he would see his son recovered from the disorder of his faculties.
And when the aged Chief saw him again restored to his right mind, and
found him capable of conversing, he manifested the greatest joy.
The Columbia presents every advantage in forming a settlement for the
natives or others, particularly so to the south of its entrance to the
sea, on the banks of the Willammette River. The soil is excellent; fish
and wild fowl are found in abundance, and a good supply of indigenous
animals is met with from the praries, or natural meadows. The summer
months are very pleasant, but those of winter are frequently rainy, and
subject to heavy fogs, which may occasionally render it unhealthy. The
Chinnook Indians are six months in villages in the neighbourhood of the
Company's Post, Fort George, at the mouth of the Columbia, and afford
facilities, with other surrounding tribes for the benevolent attempt of
introducing the knowledge of Christianity among them. In their war
excursions they adopt a different mode of warfare to that of the Red
River Indians, and those towards the Atlantic coast, by openly taking
the field against their enemies; and keeping their prisoners alive for
slaves. These are numerous among some of the tribes; and many might be
obtained, without purchasing them, for religious instruction. In fact
there appear to be many points in this vast territory where there is a
prospect of establishing well-conducted missions to the great and
lasting benefit of the natives. But the object should be pursued upon a
regular and persevering system, and while the Missionary needs the
active co-operation of the resident Officer in his arduous engagement
with the Indians; no idle prejudice should ever prevent his endeavours
to civilize and fix them in the cultivation of the soil where it may be
effected.
The Russians it appears are affording religious instruction in the
establishment of schools for the education of half-caste children, with
those of the natives in their Factories on the North-west coast of
North America. A gentleman informed me that he saw, at their
Establishment at Norfolk Sound, a priest and a schoolmaster, who were
teaching the children, and instructing the natives, not as the Spanish
priests do, at Fort St. Francisco, in South America, by taking them by
force, and compelling them to go through the forms and ceremonies of
_their_ religion, but by mild persuasion and conviction; and the
report of their success in general is, that a considerable number of
savages of the Polar Regions have been converted to Christianity.[8]
[8] Since my return to England I have been favoured with the
following communication from a gentleman, who travelled in
Siberia, to promote the object of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, in the general circulation of the Scriptures; and
which-corroborates the above report. "The Russians have made many
proselytes to the Greek Church, (he observes,) from among the
natives of the North-West coast of North America, and two
different supplies of copies of the Scriptures in the Slavonian
and modern Russ languages have been forwarded to that quarter,
for the use of their settlements there, by the Russian Bible
Society."
MAY 23.--The Settlers have been very industrious in getting in their
seed corn; but the weather has been, and continues to be very cold,
with a strong north and north-easterly wind, which has cheeked
vegetation; and the woods around us still wear the dark hue of winter.
We now take a plentiful supply of sturgeon, and with the return of the
feathered tribe we are much annoyed by myriads of blackbirds that
destroy a good deal of the new sown grain, as well as when it is ripe
for harvest. Multitudes of pigeons also now appear, and unless they are
continually shot at, they devour the fruits of husbandry. They fly by
millions, and are often seen extending to a vast distance like a cloud;
when one flock has passed another succeeds, and we often profit by this
kind gift of Providence, by shooting them in their migrations, as
excellent food.
There is a general talk among the surrounding tribes of Indians, of
going to war against the Sioux nation. A strong band of the
Assiniboines are directing their course towards Pembina; and Pigewis,
who is by no means a war Chief, is setting off in that direction to
join them. Their rage of vengeance towards the Sioux Indians appears to
know no bounds; but the scalp of some poor solitary individuals among
them will probably terminate the campaign. They cannot keep long
together in numerous parties from the want of foresight to provide for
their subsistence; and accordingly a little more than a week's absence
brought Pigewis back again, with his party, without their having seen
an enemy, and in the destitute condition of being without food and
moccassins.