“Oh, it is great, and there is no other greatness, to make some nook
of God’s creation a little fruitfuller, better, more worthy of God;
to make some human hearts a little wiser, manfuller, happier,--more
blessed, less accursed! It is a work for God.”--_Thomas Carlyle._
One of the most beautiful districts in Canada is that which is bounded
on the west by the Sumas River, on the south and east by a spur of the
Coast range of mountains, whose easternmost peak, Mt. Cheam, rises in
majestic grandeur 8,500 feet, its summit crowned with perpetual snow,
and on the north by the Fraser River, and known as the Chilliwack
Valley. The district is divided into two parts, that through which the
old Chil-way-uk River flows being properly Chilliwack; the western
portion, along whose edge the Sumas River flows, being called Sumas.
To the south-east another smaller valley is situated, divided from the
main section by a low range of hills, through which the Chil-way-uk
finds its way by a narrow pass at Vedder Crossing.
The united valleys contain upwards of 80,000 square acres of the
richest soil to be found anywhere in the world. A yield of sixty
bushels of wheat, or of sixty bushels of oats to the acre is quite
common, and some idea may be had of the marvellous fertility of
the soil when a meadow has been known to produce for twenty-five
consecutive years an average of three and a half tons of hay to the
acre, and that without having been re-seeded or fertilized otherwise
than by the pasturing of cattle. On the levels and along the foothills
an ever-increasing acreage of orchards--apples, pears, plums, prunes,
peaches and cherries--may be seen, and vegetables of all kinds are
grown in rich abundance.
This garden spot, beautiful for situation, the joy of all those whose
good fortune it is to live there, was at one time the home of great
bands of Indians belonging to the Flathead nation. Where to-day there
are eight small villages, there were thousands of people governed by
certain great chiefs, whose authority was respected to a great extent
throughout the whole valley. Their numbers have been reduced by disease
and by their terrible tribal wars. The Indians from Cowichan and the
coast made periodical incursions, massacring the people and burning
their property. Their enemies were not always successful, for on one
occasion, when the young men of the valley had gone down to work at
Langley and Victoria, and had secured their pay in blankets, as was
then the custom, the Cowichans became enraged at this interference
with what they considered their labor market, and, gathering a large
war party, they went up the old Chil-way-uk, prepared for the work
of murder and destruction. They were met, however, with a stout
resistance, their canoes were all captured and destroyed, and those who
were not killed were forced to make their way home again stealthily and
on foot.
The Indians still have traditions of the visit of the first white man
to the river, and of how the Gospel first came to the Chilliwack.
We have in this valley what many call a model settlement, whose people
are law-abiding, and whose business is carried on prosperously without
any liquor licenses. Not one was ever granted, and the people do not
want one to-day.
In 1808, when Simon Fraser made his way down the great river which now
bears his name, he landed opposite Chilliwack, at the mouth of what is
now known as the Harrison River. Here he was received by hundreds of
the natives, who thought, as they said, that “he was the pure white
child of the sun.” The chiefs carried him upon their backs and set him
down on mats in the place of honor, and then danced to the sun-god for
days in token of their appreciation of the visit of his son. It was not
long after that they discovered, when rum and disease followed in his
train, that the white man was not the pure child of the sun they had
imagined.
THE VISIT OF THE FIRST GOSPEL MESSENGER.
The Indians of Chilliwack have their own story of how the Gospel first
came to their beautiful valley. Not long after I commenced my labors
among them and began to teach them the translations we had made of some
of our hymns, sung to those grand old tunes which have been used for
scores of years, they told me they had heard those tunes before. Many
years before there were any settlers in that part of the country, or
any white missionary, a visitor came to them from the big river, away
to the south.
Sna-ah-kul--for that was the visitor’s name--told them that some years
before a white man had come among his people to the south and had
taught them out of a great book the words of God. His message had been
a great blessing to the people, who in large numbers turned from their
old ways to God’s way. Following him a few years after, another man
came, dressed in a garment reaching to his feet, “just like a woman,”
who taught the people to worship with candles lighted in the day-time.
Sna-ah-kul remained a little while, telling them about God and His
great love, and cheering their hearts by the singing of some beautiful
hymns, and then he returned to the south once more. Before leaving he
said: “The man dressed like a woman will some day come to you, but do
not listen to him. Wait a while until a man with a short coat comes
among you who will teach you out of the Book.”
And so numbers of the Indians, when I came among them reading from the
Book and preaching unto them in their own tongue, claimed me as the one
whom Sna-ah-kul years before had told them would come.
In all probability this Indian messenger was one of the converts of the
Rev. Jason Lee, the pioneer missionary to the Flathead nation, who had
been sent out by the Methodist Episcopal Church, and had established
himself among the Chinooks on the Columbia as early as 1833. The
influence of his work was felt all along the Puget Sound country,
and some of his native helpers might easily have found their way from
Nisqually, through Sumas to the Chilliwack.
The first visits to the Indians of the Fraser were made by Revs.
Ebenezer Robson and Edward White, the former of whom commenced school
work among them while stationed at Hope, some forty miles above
Chilliwack. These brethren both visited the Chilliwack before I came
there, and told them that a missionary speaking their own language
would soon be sent among them.
The revival which proved such a blessing to the white settlers of
the valley left a similar influence upon the Indians. They saw the
wonderful change which had taken place among the white men, and many
of them became strangely aroused and were savingly converted. Chief
Hal-lal-ton, of Skowkale tribe, was a notable instance of the power
of Divine grace. He was a chief of the old school, and when he was
converted he brought his whole tribe with him. Big Jim, the brawny
canoeman, who more than once ferried me across to his own village of
Squi-ala, “Captain John” Sua-lis, of Tsowallie (Cultus Lake), and
others, were among those who were brought to accept Christ and to
become His faithful followers.
Sua-lis (Capt. John) was a hereditary chief, and at the time of my
coming was one of the most influential chiefs in the valley. His
conversion had a great influence upon others. When I first knew him he
was a poor victim of the white man’s fire-water, but the power of God
transformed this drunken, gambling, semi-heathen chief into a devout
follower of Jesus and a diligent, persevering worker for Him.
He delights to tell of his early experiences and of what Christ had
done for him. In the old days he had charge of a crew of Indians,
freighting for the Hudson’s Bay Company, and hence his name, “Capt.
John.” In the days of the great stampede to the Fraser and Cariboo
gold mines he carried the miners in his canoe across the river, and
accumulated thereby upwards of $2,000. But, on an unfortunate day for
him, he learned the taste of strong drink, and it did not take long for
him to lose the whole of his savings. He began to fear that he would
lose his power as a chief if he did not stop, so going to the priest
who had preceded us, he told him his troubles. The priest gave him a
crucifix, and told him to hang it about his neck and to look at it
when the temptation to drink came on, and it would help him. But the
young chief found no peace from that quarter. He heard of the coming
of a missionary who could speak to him in his own language, and on
his arrival Sua-lis came to hear him. Immediately he received bitter
opposition from the priest, but he paid no attention to him and went
again to hear the messenger. Finally he attended a camp-meeting at
Maple Bay, and there gave himself up fully to Christ.
The conversion of so many prominent men led to the most bitter
persecution on the part of the Roman Catholic priests, who laid
claim to this whole district. The character of the persecution was
illustrated by a picture, about twelve by twenty-four inches in size,
which they had painted and scattered among the people. At the upper
corner of this picture was the representation of a beautiful place
labelled “Heaven,” with the Catholics ascending to it with wings, and
in the lower corner the lurid flames of hell-fire, and Crosby and his
friends going head-first into it. Still the work spread, and scores of
these poor people were led into the pure light of the Gospel, and many
of them still live devoted and exemplary lives.
FIRST CAMP-MEETING.
At the District Meeting held in the spring of 1869, it was agreed that
I should leave Nanaimo and take up the work at Chilliwack, which the
recent revival had opened up. Consequently I left my bachelor quarters
adjoining the little Coal City, and taking my books and trunks by
canoe, and crossing the Gulf of Georgia, made my way up the Fraser
River to Chilliwack, there to take charge of the Indian work, and the
white work as well, until a missionary could be secured for the latter.
It was warm weather in April, and the hot days were followed by cool
nights, when going up the old Chil-way-uk River, after a week’s trip,
there came on a pelting hail-storm, and I was drenched to the skin.
When I reached my destination I was shaking with fever and ague, and
for nearly six weeks I lay upon my bed, sometimes in a delirious
state. No doctor could be reached short of Yale, and his answer to our
telegram was to “give a blue pill every four hours,” until he could
come down. When he arrived he found me prostrate from the effect of
too strong medicine. He looked at me and left, and sent in his bill
for fifty dollars. For some seven or eight days following they did not
think I could live, but the careful nursing of my dear friends, Bro.
and Sister Wells, and others, finally won, and I recovered. The fever,
however, settled in my leg, and I had to go with crutch and stick all
summer.
When I was getting about the chairman, Rev. E. White, accompanied by
David Sallosalton and Amos Cushan, came up and held a field meeting on
the ridge over the Achelitz River, on May 24th and 25th, and I assisted
them as best I could.
Camp-meetings have been among the most successful means of reaching the
Indians and bringing them to the light. In June of that same summer
the first camp-meeting ever held in British Columbia took place, on
what afterwards became historic ground, at Maple Bay, some miles below
Nanaimo. Lumber had been brought from Saanich Mills with which to build
a church, and this lumber was used to make “tents” for this first
camp-meeting.
The steamer _Enterprise_ brought numbers from Victoria and New
Westminster to the camp, and Indians from Chilliwack, Sumas, etc.,
as well as from Nanaimo, gathered in large numbers. It was at this
camp-meeting that “Capt. John” Sua-lis was converted. Following this
meeting we had a mighty spiritual upheaval at Nanaimo, which gave us
great encouragement after the toils of the years.
The second camp-meeting at Maple Bay took place in July, 1870, and
in September of the same year the first camp-meeting was held in
Chilliwack, on the banks of the Fraser River, where the old Chil-way-uk
joins the larger stream. In the midst of preparations for the
gathering, clearing off the ground, etc., a heavy rain came on. We had
got the loan of a great raft of lumber which was to be floated down the
river to the Sumas to build barns; but the raft got past us, and we
feared we should lose it. We stood up to our waists in water to hold
it, and then, after finally anchoring it, had to pack the whole 22,000
feet back to place.
It was a grand camp-meeting, however, the forerunner of many blessed
seasons of grace which the people of the valley have enjoyed. The
steamboats chartered for the occasion brought large numbers of whites
from Victoria and New Westminster, while Indians from the north and
from the island, as well as a great many from the locality, were
there in large numbers. It was a time long to be remembered. Here
“Old Capt.” from the head of Sumas Lake was converted, and David
Sallosalton preached his steamboat sermon, and Amos Cushan his
never-to-be-forgotten sermon on the final judgment. These two native
helpers were mightily used of God in touching the hearts of and
arousing their own people.
EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN.
Early in our work at Chilliwack we realized the importance of reaching
and educating the children. But as they were scattered at such
distances, and so few children in any one place, the only real teaching
we could do was when we got them all together in a big rough house, put
up for that purpose, near the Achelitz church, and here we gave them
instructions every Sabbath. It became evident to all concerned that we
must have an industrial or boarding school.
At the District Meeting held in the spring of 1872 the matter of
establishing an industrial school was discussed, and a resolution
setting forth the needs was placed on record in the minutes. Growing
out of this discussion the following resolution was submitted and
passed, and forwarded to the Mission Rooms:
“In view of the foregoing resolution, and the responsibility of
establishing an industrial school on the Chilliwack, and believing that
a sum of not less than $1,000 is requisite for the erection of mission
buildings,
“Resolved, That this meeting desires hereby strongly to recommend the
Missionary Committee to make a grant of $500 for the above object, and
at the same time to obtain a similar amount by donation.”
This recommendation, however, was not adopted, and it was not until
some years later that anything practical was accomplished, when Rev.
C. M. Tate, who was appointed my successor, seeing the necessity of
getting some of the children at school, gathered a number into his own
home and then enlisted the aid of our Woman’s Missionary Society in
building a boarding school at Sardis.
The first building was destroyed by fire, but Bro. and Sister Tate
persevered in their work, and to-day we have the well-equipped and
beautifully-situated Coqualeetza Industrial Institute, the product of
their consecrated zeal and enthusiasm.
[Illustration: COQUALEETZA INDIAN INSTITUTE.]
THE VISIT OF DR. PUNSHON.
In 1871 we had the joy of a visit to the Pacific Coast by the President
of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in Canada, the Rev. Wm. Morley
Punshon, D.D. His sermons and lectures are still talked of by those who
had the pleasure of hearing him. Broad-minded, warm-hearted man that he
was, he soon captured the affections of all who met him. One evening,
after lecturing to the people of Nanaimo on “Daniel in Babylon,” he
startled me by saying, “Bro. Crosby, you are to be ordained next
Sabbath in Victoria.”
I went home to the little cabin, but did not sleep that night. Next day
we were to take the party in a large canoe to one of those beautiful
islands that abound on the coast, for an outing, and there I had a
chance to talk with the President. I told him I had not slept that
night, and that I did not wish to be ordained.
When pressed for my reasons, I told him, in the first place, that I
had hoped to go to college for a time, as the brethren had agreed, and
in the second place, I wished to pay a visit to mother and friends at
home; and furthermore, I did not feel myself to be good enough to take
such solemn vows, and would prefer to continue as a lay worker.
“Well,” said the good man, “I am pleased, brother, to hear you speak
so frankly. Now, as to your going to college, I can appreciate your
feelings, and we would like to see it, if it could be. But if you
should go for one year you would want to go for four, and many of these
poor souls will be gone by that time. You have the language of this
people, which is more than a college can do for you, and we believe it
better that you should go on in your effort to save and help them. We
will see that you get a chance to go home; and as to your feeling an
unfitness, that might be one of our strongest reasons for urging you on
to ordination. You had better leave the matter to God and His Church.”
I had no more to say.
Next Sabbath came, and the old Pandora Street Church was crowded to
the doors with an enthusiastic audience, who listened attentively to a
marvellous sermon by Dr. Punshon from the text, “And ye shall receive
power.” At the close I experienced one of the most solemn moments of
my life, when in the presence of the large audience I stood alone and
gave myself in solemn vow to God and His work, and was ordained by the
laying on of hands of the gifted President of the Conference and other
ministers. This was in April, 1871.