CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 

 /9/S 
 
 nw «-^_ Cornell University Library 
 BV 2810. Y71 1900 
 
 The apostle of the North :Rev. James Eva 
 
 3 1924 008 338 562 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008338562 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
Copyright. 
 
 R. W. Simpson & Co., Ltd., 
 Printers, Richmond Press, Richmond and London. 
 
Re\'. .IaiMes Evans. 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 Rev. James Evans 
 
 BY 
 
 Egerton R. Young 
 
 Author of " On Iht Indian Trail," " By Canoe and 
 Dog-Train," Etc. 
 
 ' Fired with a zeal peculiar, they defy 
 
 The rage and rigor of a Northern sky; 
 And plant successniUy sweet Sharon's rose 
 On icy fields, amid eternal snows." 
 
 TORONTO 
 
 WILLIAM BRIGGS 
 
 Wesley Buildings 
 
 Montreal: C. W. Coaxes. Halifax: S. F. Huestis 
 
 1900 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 James Evans Frontispiece 
 
 Storm in the Baltic Sea Facing page lo 
 
 Pleading for the Repentant Indian " ■• 45 
 
 Four Indians and the Key of Whiskey ... " " 48 
 
 Mr. Evans Fishing by Torchlight » " 78 
 
 Deputation of Indians Pleading for a Missionary " " 88 
 
 Mr. Evans a Deck Passenger " " 92 
 
 Indian Woman Carrying Deer " " 95 
 
 Killing a Bear with Buckshot " ■• loi 
 
 Mr. Evans and Family on Canoe-Route . . " "114 
 
 A Buffalo Hunting Scene " " 135 
 
 Mr. Evans Travelling with Dogs " " 158 
 
 Shoeing the Dogs " " 166 
 
 Missionary and Indians in a Blizzard ... " " 176 
 
 The Wondrous Aurora " " 178 
 
 Syllabic Characters page 187 
 
 Bark Talking — Mr. Evans Teaching the 
 
 Syllabic Characters Facing page 190 
 
 First Hymn Translated into Cree page 193 
 
 The Mock Suns Facing page 220 
 
 Indian Brigades Crossing a Portage . . . " " 229 
 "The Island of Light"— The Tin-Canoe . . " " 243 
 Mr. Evans and the Avengers of Blood ... " " 252 
 The Farewell Parting with the Indians ... •• " 255 
 
Contents 
 
 PASI 
 
 I 
 Young Manhood 9 
 
 II 
 Co-workers of Evans 33 
 
 III 
 Tkaching the Indians 34 
 
 IV 
 Indian Associates S* 
 
 V 
 Lake Superior Missions 71 
 
 VI 
 The Work and the Workman 85 
 
 VII 
 Peter Jacobs 94 
 
 VIII 
 From Ottawa to Norway House 1 10 
 
 IX 
 A Great Trading Post - 124 
 
 X 
 
 The First Saskatchewan Missionary 131 
 
 XI 
 
 Civilising the Red Man 14^ 
 
 7 
 
Contents 
 
 PAGB 
 
 XII 
 The Apostle of the North iS7 
 
 XIII 
 Night in the Wintry Camp 172 
 
 XIV 
 Invention of the Syllabic Characters 181 
 
 XV 
 Mr. Evans' Journals 197 
 
 XVI 
 Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 209 
 
 XVII 
 Persecution Aroused 2*5 
 
 XVIII 
 Tragedy and Revenge 242 
 
 XIX 
 Vindication and Death 254 
 
YOUNG MANHOOD 
 
 Special men for special work — James Evans — Son of a Sailor 
 —Voyage to the Baltic — A Grocer's apprentice — Godly master 
 — Rev. Gideon Ouseley — The Irish Missionary — His wit — His 
 influence on James Evans — Evans converted — Evans in Lon- 
 don — His family comes to Canada — Evans also emigrates — 
 Starts in the new country as a School-teacher. 
 
 When God wants a man for a peculiar work 
 He knows where to find him. He found Moses 
 among the flocks of Jethro, and Elisha ploughing 
 with the twelve yoke of oxen. Thus has it ever 
 been. When in His infinite wisdom He sees that 
 the time has come to act, His agents are quickly 
 found. He who called Paul and Stephen and 
 Timothy and all the worthies of the apostolic age, 
 has ever been selecting the right men for His glo- 
 rious work, Augustine, Wycliflfe, Tyndal, Lati- 
 mer, Huss, Luther, Knox, Wesley, Whitfield, and 
 scores of others have by their deeds shown most 
 clearly how the hand of Providence has been at 
 ^ork in their preparation, call and success in the 
 varied positions to which they have been as- 
 signed. 
 
 This same providential fitting for some great 
 \Vork, and then the clear call to it, ig stilj to b? 
 
Voyages to the Baltic 
 
 seen. The records of missionary toil are full of 
 it. Carey, Morrison, Judson, Duff, Moffat, and 
 many others, whose names are embalmed in the 
 hearts of the church universal, are evidences of 
 this truth. And just as surely as an all-v^^ise 
 Providence called John Eliot and David Brainerd 
 to their glorious work among the Indians of New 
 England, just so surely did God call James Evans 
 to his successful work among the red men of the 
 Hudson's Bay territories. 
 
 James Evans was born at Kingston-on-Hull in 
 the year 1801. Living near the ocean, and being 
 the son of a sea captain he, like thousands of 
 other English lads, soon came deeply to love the 
 sea, and longed, like many a son, to follow his 
 father's occupation. At first his father, who by 
 personal experience knew the dangers and draw- 
 backs of that adventurous life, tried to discourage 
 him from adopting this as his future occupation. 
 So persistent, however, was this lad of eight 
 years, that he had to adopt some severe measures 
 to repress the boyish ambition. He therefore 
 permitted him to accompany him on a couple of 
 wild, tempestuous voyages to the Baltic Sea, 
 keeping him on the plainest fare, and giving him 
 plenty of work. While the plucky lad cheer- 
 fully did the rough work assigned him, and un- 
 complainingly ate the coarse fare of the common 
 seaman, yet he lost his ambition to become a 
 sailor and, after some years at school, was ap- 
 prenticed to a grocer in the near-by town of Hull. 
 
 James Evans' master, Mr. Traine, was a godly 
 
Storm in the Baltic Sea. 
 
Young Manhood 
 
 man, held in high repute by his fellow-citizens. 
 He was beloved for his open-handed benevolence 
 and his practical interest in everything that was 
 for the uplifting of humanity. Not only did he 
 fear and love God himself, but he was ever anx- 
 ious for the salvation of others, especially of those 
 over whom he had any influence and to whom 
 he could speak a word in season. His sympa- 
 thies did not alone go out to the neglected ones 
 thousands of miles away, but they also included 
 those nearer home. His clerks, apprentices and 
 all in his employ, saw and felt the influence of 
 his consistent life, and were deeply attached to 
 him by his kindly interest in their temporal and 
 spiritual welfare. He felt that, as an employer, 
 it was his duty to exert a kindly influence for the 
 development and strengthening of the moral char- 
 acter, and the spiritual growth of all committed to 
 his care. He therefore aimed at this, giving them 
 many a word of warning and advice; and, when 
 opportunity offered, uniting his prayers with 
 theirs for the blessings of which he believed them 
 to be in need. 
 
 James Evans was specially fortunate, as he was 
 one of the few who dwelt in the home of his 
 master; and, in after years, he spoke gratefully 
 of the restraining influences and blessings that 
 had come to him through being always expected 
 to be present at family prayers, where the head 
 of the household not only earnestly prayed for 
 the members of his own family, but for all in his 
 employ. 
 
 H 
 
Apprenticed 
 
 Another thing which this godly master felt to 
 be a duty incumbent upon him, was to see that 
 all those young persons under his authority, 
 should, on the Lord's day, attend some place of 
 religious worship. He did not interfere with the 
 religious preferences of his servants, but he in- 
 sisted that they should be found, at least once 
 every Sabbath, at the different churches indicated 
 by themselves or their parents. In this, also, his 
 conduct is to be commended. Too many young 
 persons leaving home for a strange town or city, 
 neglect to identify themselves with the church of 
 their fathers, or with any church, for the simple 
 reason that no one takes any interest in them, or 
 accompanies them to the house of God. 
 
 In this way thousands of those who, if wisely 
 and kindly directed, might have been saved to 
 the churches, have been allowed to drift away 
 until the religious influences of their early life are 
 deadened and dissipated by the new surroundings. 
 
 At the request of Mrs. Evans' relatives, James 
 accompanied his master and family to the church 
 in which they worshipped. The young lad, still 
 in his teens, was not sent up into the gallery, or 
 allowed to find a seat where, perhaps, boyish 
 companionships would be Ukely to hinder the re- 
 ception of the greatest amount of good from the 
 service. He tells us that he was always welcome 
 in his master's capacious pew, and of this kind- 
 ness he in after years ever spoke with gratitude. 
 
 If any great or prominent minister or mission- 
 ary came to speak or lecture, the master madf 
 
Youiig Manhood 
 
 arrangements for as many of those in his employ 
 as could, consistently with his business interests, 
 to attend. This was much appreciated by the 
 young people and especially by Evans, who, al- 
 though full of fun and energy, and a leader in all 
 the sports among boys of his age, was also greatly 
 interested in missionary addresses and in such 
 sermons as he could understand. 
 
 One Sabbath, while worshipping in the house 
 of God, there entered into the pulpit a man who, 
 by his strong personality, at once attracted his at- 
 tention, as well as that of many others. He was 
 Gideon Ouseley, the famous Irish missionary, on 
 one of his preaching tours in England. He was 
 one of those marvellous men whom God had 
 raised up for a special work; and, at the same 
 time, a gentleman of family and culture. He gave 
 up splendid worldly prospects to go up and 
 down through his beloved Ireland, and preach to 
 his ignorant, superstitious and bigoted country- 
 men the pure and simple gospel of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Mr. Ouseley was frequently mobbed and per- 
 secuted by his benighted countrymen, who were 
 often instigated to their deeds of violence by the 
 parish priests. He was a man of dauntless cour- 
 age and tact, and to this was added all that wit 
 and cleverness at repartee, for which the Irish 
 have so long been famous. One incident will be 
 sufficient here to show the shrewdness by which 
 he changed the temper of an ignorant, supersti- 
 tious crowd, and gave them some sober truths of 
 
 13 
 
The Irish Missionary 
 
 the gospel, which it is to be hoped were a bless- 
 ing to some of them. 
 
 On this occasion he was preaching at one of 
 the Irish fairs, which were places of reckless 
 jollity and mirth, as well as of a little business, 
 and a good deal of factional strife, in which the 
 famous shillalah played a conspicuous part. Mr. 
 Ouseley having taken for his pulpit the steps of 
 a public building, began singing some sweet 
 hymns in the Irish language. This speedily at- 
 tracted a crowd, and when the ignorant Roman- 
 ists discovered that it was he who was called 
 "ould Gideon Ouseley, the swaddlin' pracher," 
 their ire was aroused, and some began to throw 
 stones at him. 
 
 " Boys, dear," said he, " what's the matter with 
 you ? Won't you let me talk to you ? " 
 
 "We don't want to hear a word out of your 
 old head," replied a voice. 
 
 " 1 want to tell you what I am sure you would 
 like to know," said the preacher, "it's about the 
 blessed Virgin." 
 
 "Hould your tongue; what does the likes o' 
 you, know about the blessed Virgin?" cried an- 
 other. 
 
 ' ' There was once a young couple to be mar- 
 ried," began Ouseley, " and the decent people in- 
 vited the blessed Virgin and her Son to the wed- 
 ding. The wine ran short, and the virgin 
 mother, not liking the decent young people to be 
 shamed, whispered to her blessed Son, 'They 
 have no wine.' ' Let not that trouble you, ma'am,' 
 14 
 
Young Manhood 
 
 said He. And then she said to the servants 
 •whatsoever He saith unto you, doit.' And so 
 our blessed Saviour told them to fill six water- 
 pots with water, and then to take some of it to 
 the master at the head of the table. When he 
 tasted it he found the water was all turned into 
 the best of wine; so there was plenty for the 
 feast, and enough left to help the young couple 
 to set up housekeeping. All that," continued 
 Ouseley, "came of following the blessed Vir- 
 gin's advice, ' Whatsoever He saith unto you, do 
 it.'" 
 
 The stone throwing ceased, the hushed crowd 
 listened with rapt attention to the narrative of 
 Christ's "first miracle which He wrought in 
 Cana of Galilee," which probably some of them 
 heard then for the first time in their lives. The 
 preacher, however, kept hammering home the 
 Virgin's words, " Whatsoever He saith unto you, 
 do it." 
 
 "Follow the holy mother's advice," said he, 
 'and do not be wheedled into public houses by 
 any drunken schoolmaster, who will only put 
 wickedness into your head." 
 
 "It's thrue for ye — it's thrue for ye intirely!" 
 exclaimed an old man. "If ye're telling lies all 
 your life, it's the thruth ye're spakin' now." 
 
 This was the man bearing on his body the 
 marks of numerous scars, received in many a 
 terrible persecution from his own countrymen 
 while he preached to them the blessed truth that 
 Jesus Christ alone could forgive sin, who came 
 
 16 
 
Evans Converted 
 
 with his message of salvation to the town where 
 young Evans lived. To him Evans listened, not 
 only as he pleaded in wealthy Protestant England, 
 for help in evangelistic work among the poor 
 Irish Roman Catholics, but also when, as the de- 
 voted man of God, he urged his unconverted 
 hearers then and there to give themselves to the 
 Lord. Under his loving and powerful addresses, 
 the eyes of the young man were opened to see 
 his need of pardon and forgiveness, through the 
 infinite mercy of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. 
 After a period of deep heart sorrow on account 
 of sin, he was enabled to look away from him- 
 self to the Crucified, and the Holy Spirit, wit- 
 nessing with his spirit, enabled him to cry, 
 "Abba, Father; my Lord and my God!" 
 
 Very clear to him was his conversion. He did 
 not afterward have to wail out, amid spiritual 
 uncertainties, "Am I His, or am I not?" His 
 experience was like that of the great apostle to 
 the Gentiles: "I know whom I have believed, 
 and am persuaded that He is able to keep that 
 which I have committed unto Him against that 
 day." 
 
 It is a grand thing to have a religious date in 
 one's history. To all this is not given. Multi- 
 tudes of God's dearest, grandest children know 
 not the time or place when " He took their feet 
 out of the horrible pit, and the miry clay, and set 
 them upon a rock, and put a new song into their 
 mouths." Happy are they in the blessed assur- 
 ance of the Divine favour, and Fraternal love. 
 16 
 
Young Manhood 
 
 Still, in times of fierce temptation, when the 
 arch-tempter assails, and by naked faith we have 
 to hang on to naked promises, it is well to have a 
 date to throw into his face, as he brings forth his 
 lying insinuations. And better still is it for us all 
 to feel that we are in present possession of heir- 
 ship in the heavenly family. " Beloved, now are 
 we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear 
 what we shall be, but we know that when He 
 shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall 
 see Him as He is." 
 
 Into this blessed assurance James Evans entered 
 while the dews of youth were still upon him. 
 Highly honoured are they, who thus begin in 
 early life, the service of God, which after all is 
 the easiest, sweetest, happiest service on this side 
 of heaven. Would that all of our young men 
 and boys could be brought to realise how much 
 more blessed it is to do the right and serve the 
 Lord, rather than to be servants of satan and of 
 sin. 
 
 Such was the active, energetic temperament of 
 James Evans, that he was anxious to tell others 
 the story of redeeming love that had now per- 
 sonally come to him as a great joy. Having re- 
 ceived the Spirit of adoption, which enabled him 
 to cry, "Abba, Father," he wanted to have his 
 young associates and others enter into this same 
 rest of soul. A bold and fearless lad in sports 
 and daily duties, he at once showed the courage 
 of his convictions in his religious life. While 
 modest vid retiring in his demeanour especially 
 
 17 
 
" Serving the Lord " 
 
 toward his elders, yet he let it be known, in a 
 way that could not be misunderstood, that he 
 would go to no sports, or places of amusement 
 to which he could not invite his elder Brother, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, to accompany him. Here 
 is a good solution of this so-called difficult ques- 
 tion of proper places and amusements for Chris- 
 tian young people. 
 
 The church was not slow to notice the gifts 
 and graces of James Evans, and so he quickly 
 found an opportunity to exercise them. The 
 Sunday-school was his first field, and a grand 
 training-school it has been for many a glorious 
 hero of after years. He studied his Bible dili- 
 gently and availed himself of all assistance pos- 
 sible. Here he developed abilities of so high an 
 order, that he was engaged with others to hold 
 services in the adjoining villages and hamlets. 
 He quickly became popular among his rustic 
 audiences. His youth and modest demeanour, 
 joined to his fluency of utterance, in the simple 
 yet eminently scriptural addresses which he gave, 
 completely won their hearts. Thus for a while 
 he continued, "diligent in business, fervent in 
 spirit, serving the Lord." 
 
 After some years in this Yorkshire town, he, 
 like thousands of other young men anxious to 
 succeed in life, went up to the great modern 
 Babylon, London; where a fairly good position 
 was offered him. Here his industry and in- 
 tegrity of character, joined to his bright and 
 sprightly disposition, made him a favourite with 
 18 
 
Young Manhood 
 
 all. So pleased was he with this situation that 
 he decided that he would not unite with his 
 father's family in their removal to Canada, but to 
 remain behind in the great city. A couple of 
 years later, however, he crossed the ocean and 
 joined them at La Chute, Quebec, where they had 
 made for themselves a home. 
 
 With characteristic energy, he threw himself 
 into work immediately on his arrival. At first he 
 hoped to secure employment in some business 
 establishment similar to those in which he had 
 served his apprenticeship, and had spent some 
 years in the old land. No opening in this line of 
 business being immediately available, Mr. Evans 
 secured a position as a school-teacher. In this 
 new country, the hardy and industrious immi- 
 grants, amidst their toils and labours to change 
 the primeval forests into splendid farms, were 
 not unmindful of the educational needs of their 
 growing children. The cedar-log schoolhouse 
 was rude in its appearance, and primitive in its 
 furnishings. In many instances the best teachers 
 available had never seen the inside of normal 
 schools or college halls. Some of them were 
 notoriously unfitted for their work, being not 
 only grossly ignorant, but brutal, and often 
 drunken. On the other hand, there were some 
 so naturally gifted and so ambitious in their work, 
 that success, but little short of the marvellous, 
 crowned their efforts. 
 
 Some of the brightest men in every profession 
 and avenue of honourable life the country has 
 18 
 
Becomes a School-master 
 
 produced, look back with pleasure to the inspir- 
 ing helpful times spent in the old log schoolhouse, 
 as the best days in their lives; as then, under the 
 inspiration and guidance of some high-souled and 
 conscientious teacher, they laid the deep and 
 broad foundations of that splendid education, 
 which has enabled them to triumph over every 
 obstacle that lay between them and success. 
 
 For some years James Evans successfully con- 
 tinued this employment in what was then known 
 as the Province of Lower Canada. The religious 
 zeal and fervour of the first years that succeeded 
 his conversion, seemed to have measurably de- 
 clined. His stay in London was not helpful to 
 his religious life. Sad indeed is it that so many 
 young men amidst the glamour and excitement 
 of our great cities, and the opportunities for dis- 
 sipation there presented, with, in many cases, 
 but little interest taken in their religious welfare 
 by their employers or the churches, drift away 
 from their religious moorings and float out on 
 seas of careless indifference, if not into actual 
 skepticism and unbelief. 
 
 James Evans never became immoral or skep- 
 tical. He never lost his love for his church, or his 
 belief in her teachings. But his love had grown 
 cold, and he no longer considered himself worthy 
 of a place in her ranks. This state of religious 
 declension lasted for some years; then, under the 
 faithful ministrations of the Rev. Franklin Met- 
 calf, and Rev. David Wright, he was led by the 
 Uluminating power of the Holy Spirit, to see 
 
 30 
 
Young Manhood 
 
 from whence he had fallen, and to "repent and 
 do his first works." Very sincere and genuine 
 was his repentance for his spiritual backslidings. 
 In him was the "godly sorrow which worketh 
 repentance to salvation, not to be repented of." 
 In scriptural language " he sorrowed after a godly 
 sort." It wrought carefulness in him to be more 
 watchful in the future. What cleansing of him- 
 self of the sins and weights that had hindered 
 hirh in the Christian race; yea, what indignation 
 that he should have become so cold and indif- 
 ferent to the service of such a Master! What 
 vehement desire, yea what zeal to work for such 
 a forgiving friend, who had pardoned all his 
 backslidings. 
 
 James Evans received this new and marvellous 
 quickening and re-baptism of the Holy Spirit at 
 an old-fashioned camp-meeting; and never again 
 did he waver in his spiritual life. The experience 
 of the past was ever before him as a warning to 
 be constantly on his guard. The restraints Paul 
 put upon himself in his description of the great 
 spiritual conflict, in which all who would over- 
 come are engaged, and the words he used, were 
 those of Mr. Evans. " But I keep my body un- 
 der, and bring it unto subjection, least that by 
 any means, when I have preached to others, I 
 myself should be a castaway." 
 
 With this constant reliance on God as the 
 source of his strength and with a sublime faith in 
 the gospel to meet the needs of a redeemed hu- 
 manity, he began a career of such glorious suc- 
 21 
 
Triumph In Christ 
 
 cess, that very appropriately could he say, with 
 the great apostle of the Gentiles : "Now thanks 
 be unto God which always causeth us to tri- 
 umph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour 
 of His knowledge by us in every place." 
 
 23 
 
CO-WORKERS OF EVANS 
 
 Rev. William Case, who called James Evans to the Indian 
 work — His love for, and interest in the Indians — Henry Stein- 
 hauer, the Indian scholar — His testimony about the Rocky 
 Mountain Indians, 
 
 In the study of a great missionary character like 
 that of James Evans, it is valuable to know some- 
 thing of those who had the honour of starting him 
 on his successful life-work, and were co-workers 
 with him along those lines of action, where 
 triumphs so signal marked his career. 
 
 While perhaps to Rev. Franklin Metcalf and 
 Rev. David Wright are due more than to any 
 others the joy of seeing Mr. Evans brought back 
 to his first love, and started again on his Chris- 
 tian career, in which he never faltered while life 
 lasted ; yet to Rev. William Case must be given 
 the honour of starting him on that missionary 
 career, first as a school-teacher among the Indians 
 at Rice Lake, and then in the regular ministry, as 
 a great flaming evangel among the tribes in 
 Upper Canada, and then as the Apostle of the 
 North, in the far-away regions from Lake Su- 
 perior, on to the Ultima Thule of the almost un- 
 known North, where auroras flash, and the Frost 
 King reigns for at least two thirds of the year. 
 
 William Case was born at Swansea in Massa- 
 
 23 
 
Rev. William Case 
 
 chusetts, in 1780. Early in life he dedicated him- 
 self to God and to humanity. In 1805 he entered 
 the ministry and selected Canada as his field of 
 toil. Of his choice of this field in those early 
 days of the country's history, it has well been 
 said, " His selection of Canada at that time was 
 expressive of a heroic intention and a burning 
 zeal," for then the recesses of the wilderness had 
 been little explored, and privations and perils 
 awaited his footsteps. Then the scattered set- 
 tlers were for the most part without stated 
 gospel ordinances, and the Aboriginal tribes 
 were pagan and degraded. But in spite of all 
 the difficulties and dangers that menaced him, 
 with inflexibility of purpose, and a dauntless 
 courage, he entered on his life-work, and never 
 faltered until his career ended. He won the es- 
 teem of all, and was emphatically a soul-winner. 
 In 1828 he was made superintendent of Indian 
 missions and schools, and held this post for many 
 years. In it he gloried and rejoiced. For the 
 salvation of the Indians, he labouriously toiled 
 and constantly prayed, and when he saw them 
 coming to the cross and there rejoicing in the 
 consciousness of the divine power, he exulted as 
 one who had taken great spoil. The happy 
 conversion of a once poor degraded Indian gave 
 him the greatest joy that could possibly fill his 
 heart. 
 
 After his retirement from the superintendency 
 of the Indian missions he became an Indian mis- 
 sionary. This he considered the highest honour 
 24 
 
Co-workers of Evans 
 
 of his life. In seeing tiie poor natives first Chris- 
 tianised, and then aided and helped up to a con- 
 dition of civilisation and comfort, was ever his 
 joy and rejoicing. 
 
 As showing his burning zeal and heart's desire 
 for the extension of Christianity among all the 
 Indians of the continent, the following extract 
 from a letter written to the Rev. Peter Jones, a 
 happy Indian convert, about whom something 
 will be said later on, is well to the point. 
 
 " I can perceive no impediment to the work of 
 God becoming general throughout the wilderness 
 of America, where the Indians abide. So ex- 
 tensive is the Chippeway, and so zealous are the 
 converts of that people, and such is the founda- 
 tion now laid for the spread of the work, that it 
 will extend across the country from tribe to tribe 
 to Hudson's Bay, thence west through all the 
 wandering tribes. What a day will this be for 
 all your poor unfortunate people! What a day 
 of mercy, when they shall not only be saved 
 from their wars, which are now wasting one an- 
 other away, but saved by the mighty power of 
 grace, to become a happy people, even the peo- 
 ple of the Lord! And what an honour to the 
 Christian church ! How much glory will redound 
 to an all-conquering Saviour! And how happy 
 the instruments employed in this work! I say, 
 I can perceive nothing to hinder the general 
 spread of this great work throughout the whole 
 wilderness of America, but the want of means to 
 support the work." 
 
 25 
 
Covetousness 
 
 These helpful words to his Indian friend, over 
 whose conversion years before he had so re- 
 joiced, show the spirit of the man and his in- 
 tense desire for the salvation of all the Indians on 
 the continent. Would that they had been ful- 
 filled! 
 
 On the other hand, it is sad to think that his 
 closing sentence, about the " want of means to 
 support the work" is still so sadly significant. 
 Once the longing prayer of the church was for 
 three things. Open doors, consecrated workers, 
 and means with which to send them. The first 
 two of the petitions have been answered. The 
 whole world is open to receive the gospel. Work- 
 ers are to be found in multitudes. This late glor- 
 ious volunteer movement among the students of 
 the colleges, for mission fields, has shown that all 
 the men wanted, are available. Sad and humilia- 
 ting indeed is it, to have to mourn over the want 
 of means, in order to send these willing workers 
 through the open doors. The great sin of Chris- 
 tendom to-day is covetousness. The church has 
 the money. It is a lie in the sight of heaven to 
 deny this. She has money enough for her vani- 
 ties and luxuries, but she will not yet do as God 
 demands and expects, for the extension of His 
 kingdom. No wonder that "Zion languisheth, 
 and the love of many has grown cold." It is be- 
 cause the grace of liberality is so little cultivated. 
 
 William Case lived to preach his jubilee 
 sermon, thus grandly ending up fifty years of 
 faithful service in the ministry. The greater part 
 
 26 
 
Co-workers of Evans 
 
 of these years he gave to the evangelisation and 
 moral elevation of the Indians. This was indeed 
 his great work. He will ever be remembered as 
 the Apostle of the Indian tribes in Upper Canada. 
 For them he lived, and for them he died, and 
 among them he lies buried. The Great Head of 
 the Church, who gave a Swartz to India, an 
 Eliot to America, a Morrison to China, also gave 
 a William Case to Canada. Not the least of his 
 work was the finding of James Evans in his 
 backwood schoolhouse, among the children of 
 the white settlers, and transferring him first to 
 work among the timid untrained offspring of the 
 Indians, then but partly emeiged out of pagan 
 darkness, and then aiding and encouraging him, 
 until he had entered fully into his marvellous 
 missionary life. 
 
 With him, for years he was intimately associ- 
 ated, and in loving harmony did they together 
 toil for the salvation of the red men, and when 
 in later years their pathways diverged, and Mr. 
 Evans turned his face toward the North and the 
 tribes there living, he had no more loving and 
 devoted friend than William Case. The follow- 
 ing is a beautiful testimony to the life-work of 
 this remarkable man : 
 
 "The Rev. William Case had been touched by 
 the wretchedness which he witnessed in the In- 
 dian camps, as he rode to the white settlements, 
 and he desired earnestly to lead these people into 
 the way of peace and light and truth. The desire 
 Jjegotten in his breast increased until it burned as 
 
 27 
 
A Merited Tribute 
 
 the ruling passion of his life for thirty years. He 
 became the presiding genius of the Indian work 
 in the country, the Canadian apostle of the In- 
 dians, seeking and finding men and money for 
 sending the gospel to these people, training 
 teachers and preachers, educating the Indian 
 youth, superintending translations of hymns, 
 portions of the Bible, and other kinds of litera- 
 ture, and caring for the manual training of the 
 people. It was he who discovered and trained 
 James Evans, inventor of the Cree Syllabic sys- 
 tem; George McDougall, the missionary martyr 
 of the Saskatchewan; Henry B. Steinhauer, who 
 translated the greater part of the Bible into the 
 Cree language; Kakewahquonaby — Peter Jones 
 — native preacher, translator, and author; Shaw- 
 undais — John Sunday — the Indian chief, orator, 
 and missionary; and a host of others who have 
 devoted time, energy, talent and wealth for the 
 salvation of the Indian race. Christianise, and 
 then civilise the Indians, was his motto. He did 
 not attend merely to mission work, and neglect 
 their civilisation, but he toiled amid innumerable 
 difficulties that he might teach the people the art 
 of self-support; and on his mission at Alderville, 
 the manual labour school was part of the religious 
 life of the Indian youth. 
 
 " Dr. Reed mentions an instance of Case's work 
 amongst the Indians before the era of Indian mis- 
 sions in Upper Canada had dawned. He was 
 preaching once to a company of Indians, and en- 
 deavouring to impress them with the idea of the 
 28 
 
Co-workers of Evans 
 
 great love of God in giving His Son to die for tlie 
 world. They shook their heads and murmured 
 their dislike of the idea that an- innocent being 
 should be made to die for the guilty. Perceiving 
 this, he related to them the story of Pocahontas 
 and Captain Smith, of which they had tradi- 
 tional knowledge. He told them how the king's 
 daughter threw herself upon the body of the 
 victim whom her father had abandoned to death, 
 and declared they might kill her, but they must 
 not kill the white man, and thus for her salce, his 
 Jife was saved. Immediately the Indians showed 
 the most lively and intense interest, and seemed 
 to comprehend and approve the plan of salvation 
 by the death of Christ. The enthusiasm existing 
 in the breasts of a few men in the work of 
 Christianising the Indians rapidly spread, and the 
 scattered bands heard with joy the good news of 
 salvation through the Great Master of Life, Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Another very interesting co-labourer for years 
 with Mr. Evans was Henry Steinhauer. He was 
 a pure Indian lad, and was one of the first who 
 was taken from an Indian wigwam and sent to 
 school at the Credit Mission. He was a bright 
 and clever pupil, and early displayed fine musical 
 abilities. On account of his sweet voice, he was 
 one of the Indian choir of children whom Wil- 
 liam Case took with him on a missionary tour in 
 the United States, where he went to create among 
 the churches a deeper interest in missionary 
 38 
 
Henry Steinhauer 
 
 work; and for the purpose of raising funds for 
 the extension of the work among the Indians. 
 Great crowds attended his meetings, and all were 
 charmed and delighted. Especially were they 
 pleased with the singing of the Indian children. 
 At one place a gentleman offered to defray the 
 whole expense of the education of one of the 
 boys, if he would assume his name. The lad to 
 whom he took such a fancy, and who assumed 
 his name, was Henry Steinhauer. Some years 
 were spent by young Henry at school in the state 
 of New York, and then he returned to Canada, 
 and remained at Victoria college until 1840, when, 
 with the Rev. James Evans and Peter Jacobs, he 
 started for the far North Land. 
 
 Mr. Evans ever found him to be a most invalu- 
 able helper in his arduous work. He was always 
 cheerful and bright, as well as Christlike in his 
 everyday life. For fourteen years he did grand 
 and heroic service for the Master in those lonely 
 regions. His duties were very diversified, but in 
 them all he was faithful and painstaking. He 
 was a school-teacher, minister, and translator of 
 various portions of Scripture, and many hymns. 
 He also became quite a proficient printer, and aided 
 in preparing and circulating many portions of the 
 Word of God, as printed in Evans' Syllabic Char- 
 acters, which he thoroughly understood. Failing 
 health compelled him to return East for a rest. 
 
 In 1855 Henry Steinhauer again returned to the 
 Indian work in the far Northwest. This time 
 his first field of toil was at the foot of the Rocky 
 30 
 
Co-workers of Evans 
 
 Mountains, among the Assiniboines or Rocky 
 Mountain Stonies, where a successful and endur- 
 ing work had been commenced by the Rev. 
 Thomas Rundle, and which he had been obliged 
 to leave several years before the coming of Mr. 
 Steinhauer. We here give a beautiful story 
 which the writer had from the lips of Mr. Stein- 
 hauer himself. 
 
 At one of the missions in the Saskatchewan 
 country the Rev. William Rundle was very much 
 owned of God in the conversion of a band of 
 Indians. Circumstances made it necessary for 
 Mr. Rundle to return to England. For several 
 years the Indians at that place were never once 
 visited by a missionary or teacher. After many 
 days of weary travelling over the prairies, Mr. 
 Steinhauer reached that lonely western Indian vil- 
 lage. He told me that the hour for camping over- 
 took him several miles from the village, but so anx- 
 ious was he to be with the people among whom he 
 had come to labour, and to end his journey often 
 weeks, that he could not bear the idea of camp- 
 ing so near them; so he pushed on in the even- 
 ing twilight, ahead of his party, to the spot 
 where he saw the wigwam village on the prai- 
 ries. When he drew near to the outermost wig- 
 wam which was a large one, he heard singing, 
 and great indeed was his surprise to find that in- 
 stead of its being the monotonous droning of the 
 pagan medicine-man or conjurer, it was a good 
 Christian tune, and one with which he was very 
 familiar. 
 
 31 
 
A Beautiful Story- 
 Soon the singing ceased, and tlien after a little 
 pause, a clear, manly voice began to pray. For a 
 time tile prayer seemed to be all thanksgiving, 
 and then there went up an urgent request from 
 the earnest suppliant: "Lord send us another 
 missionary like Rundle. Lord send us a mission- 
 ary, to teach us out of Thy Word more about 
 Thyself, and Thy Son Jesus." Mr. Steinhauer 
 said he was thrilled and delighted, and so he 
 lifted up the hanging tanned-leather door, and 
 quietly entered and bowed down with them in 
 prayer. When they arose he told them who he 
 was, and that he had come to dwell among them 
 as their missionary. Great indeed was their joy 
 and excitement. They crowded around him, 
 and some of them kissed him, and all welcomed 
 him with shouts and tears of gladness as though 
 he had just come down from heaven to dwell 
 among them. 
 
 Anxious to know as to the people's steadfast- 
 ness and integrity through all those years of 
 neglect in which the Church had left them alone, 
 I said to Mr. Steinhauer, "Tell me, my brother, 
 in what state did you find them as regards their 
 religious life, the observance of the Sabbath, and 
 their religious services ?" 
 
 " Brother Young," said he, "it was just like a 
 conference change of ministers. It seemed to me 
 as though my predecessor has only been gone 
 two or three weeks. They had remembered the 
 Sabbath days, and had kept them. They had not 
 neglected any of their religious services, and they 
 33 
 
Co-workers of Evans 
 
 were living as consistent lives as God's dear chil- 
 dren anywhere." 
 
 For many years he toiled nobly on in the midst 
 of dangers and privations among those tribes of 
 the plains. Rocky Mountain House, Edmonton, 
 and White Fish Lake, were among the places 
 where he pleaded, and not in vain, with the then 
 wild, warlike tribes to accept the Lord Jesus Christ 
 as their Saviour and their friend. He lived to a 
 good old age, and then went triumphantly home 
 to join the innumerable multitude that are in the 
 Paradise of God. 
 
 Two devoted, godly, well-educated sons are 
 carrying on the work. One at the time of writ' 
 ing, is stationed at Morleyville, in the foothills ot 
 the Rocky Mountains; the other son is doing 
 good work among the Crees at Fisher River, on 
 the western side of Lake Winnipeg. 
 
 33 
 
Ill 
 
 TEACHING THE INDIANS 
 
 Mr. Evans appointed to Rice Lake Indian School — Received 
 into the Ministry — Rev. John Carroll's visit to the Mission — 
 John Pigeon — Oozhuskah — Muncey Mission — Rev. Solomon 
 Waldron — The Teacher and the drunken Indian — Fire-water, 
 the curse of the Indians — The Stand taken by the Mission- 
 aries — The Four Indians and the keg of Whiskey — The In- 
 dians of Grape Island — Muncey Camp-Meeting — Peter Jones' 
 Report — James Evans at the St. Clair Mission. 
 
 About two years after Mr. Evans' religious 
 quickening, through the instrumentality of some 
 of the ministers who had noticed his abilities, he 
 was appointed to the charge of an Indian school 
 at Rice Lake, a beautiful sheet of water several 
 miles north of Lake Ontario. 
 
 Here in 1828 began, what may well be called 
 his life-work. From this time forward his name 
 is to be found inseparably connected with Indian 
 evangelisation. To it he devoted all his abilities 
 and talents. In behalf of the red men of the 
 country, his labours were so many, and so inces- 
 sant, that most men would have sunk under 
 them. But with a zeal that never flagged, a 
 courage that never faltered, a love that never 
 cooled, he pushed on amidst storm and sunshine, 
 into the older provinces of the Dominion, and 
 then in later years, by canoe and dog-train, in 
 34 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 tempests and blizzards, into the vast regions that 
 stretch from Laice Superior away to the mighty 
 Mackenzie River. 
 
 When James Evans was appointed to the Rice 
 Lal<e mission as sciiool-teacher, there was not a 
 house built on the reservation. The Indians all 
 dwelt in wigwams. All the land was still wild 
 and uncultivated. But with his brave young 
 wife, he went there and tented, until, with his 
 own hands, he had built a small log house. Then 
 he built a schoolhouse, and opened his school 
 with about forty scholars. About a year later, in 
 writing to a friend, he says : 
 
 "Dec. 28, 1829. 
 "The school consists now of fifty scholars. 
 Twenty-two of them are reading the English 
 reader and the New Testament. We have lately 
 commenced reading the translation of seven 
 chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel in the native 
 tongue. Fourteen are studying arithmetic." 
 
 Not a bad beginning for the young school- 
 teacher. From the first he shows his versatility. 
 Building a house for himself and his equally 
 courageous and hopeful wife; then a school- 
 house; and then gettmg fifty wild Indian chil- 
 dren from their wigwams and so treating them 
 that in one year, twenty-two are able to read the 
 New Testament. In addition, he so mastered the 
 Ojibway language in that time, as to be able to 
 translate, as we see from his letter, seven chapters 
 of one of the gospels. 
 
John Carroll's Visit 
 
 In 1S30, James Evans was received into the 
 ministry. He still, however, remained at Rice 
 Lake, having also in charge another band of con- 
 verted Indians at Mud Lake. Here in addition to 
 his work for the natives, he also had the religious 
 oversight of, and frequently preached among the 
 white settlers at seventeen different places within 
 a radius of fifty or sixty miles. But his best 
 energies were thrown into his Indian work. He 
 mastered the language of the people, and began 
 a careful study of the construction of the differ- 
 ent Indian dialects, which was of invaluable 
 service to him in after years when inventing the 
 syllabic characters. 
 
 Not only did he aim to bring the Indians from 
 under the fetters of their degrading paganism 
 into the light of the gospel, but he did all he 
 could to teach them the essential methods of civ- 
 ilisation. Cleanliness, thrift and industry were 
 urged and taught both by precept and example. 
 Many were his discouragements, but a goodly 
 measure of success crowned the persevering 
 efforts of himself and his fellow-toilers. The 
 following account is given by Rev. John Carroll 
 of a visit to one of these Indian missions, where 
 Mr. Evans was then the teacher and actual over- 
 seer of the work of transforming these once wild 
 savages into a civilised people. A training school 
 for the boys and girls had also been commenced, 
 and here resided Rev. William Case and his wife, 
 who were ever at the front in everyXhing that 
 pertained to the uplifting of the Indian. We 
 
 36 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 will leave Mr. Carroll to give his account of what 
 he saw. 
 
 " We were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Case in 
 the mission-house, beholding the order of the 
 mission family, the tidiness of the girls under 
 training, and testing the excellency of the cheese 
 and butter and other domestic manufactures of 
 the establishment. Mr. Case conducted me over 
 the village the following week, to see the prog- 
 ress made in farming, and the amount of domes- 
 tic comfort to which some of the families had at- 
 tained. This was particularly apparent in the 
 house of an Indian by the name of Mr. John Simp- 
 son. But the instance which impressed me most, 
 from the power of contrast between the former 
 and present condition of the family to be men- 
 tioned, was one on which the venerable mis- 
 sionary particularly delighted to dwell. He took 
 me to a sightly sizable hewed log-house, well- 
 furnished in all respects, in the front part of 
 a good clearing. There was a large new frame 
 barn on the premises, not quite finished. In the 
 barnyard 1 saw a good yoke of oxen, in good 
 condition, two cows, I think a flock of sheep, 
 several pigs and poultry besides. We entered the 
 house; it was scrupulously clean and well fur- 
 nished with stoves, tables, chairs and beds with 
 bed-curtains. The husband was away, but the 
 wife and children were tidy and busy at their do- 
 mestic engagements. When we had retired, the 
 elder said in substance as follows: 'That is the 
 property of John Pigeon, one of the last members 
 37 
 
John Pigeon 
 
 of the Belleville band converted. He had been 
 away somewhere below for a long time and when 
 he returned to Grape Island, the work of evan- 
 gelisation had nearly completed its process of 
 change. The Indians were converted and their 
 houses and chapel were erected on the islet which 
 had been a tangled mass of grapevines and bushes 
 before. He came in his canoe, which contained 
 his wife and papooses. They were pitiable to 
 look at for squalor and poverty. He was partic- 
 ularly destitute, he had neither hat nor shoes, 
 neither shirt nor trousers, nothing on his person 
 but a dirty blanket coat, full of vermin, tied around 
 him with a rope. He had heard that some sort 
 of magical influence had fallen upon the tribe, 
 and he saw the magical effects before his eyes, 
 and he was afraid to land. His brethren came to 
 the shore and entreated him, but when they ap- 
 proached the shore, he put out his paddle and 
 pushed off to a distance. At length however, 
 hunger or something else, induced him to land. 
 He soon came under the power of prayer and 
 truth — he was converted — proved steadfast, and 
 progressive in religion — turned out to have good 
 gifts — was more than usually industrious and 
 thrifty; and now,' said the elder, 'besides this 
 comfortable home, that same, naked, destitute 
 John Pigeon is one of our best and most reliable 
 class-leaders.'" 
 
 Although the condition of the Indians at this 
 period was most discouraging, there were some 
 remarkable conversions among them. The fol- 
 38 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 lowing account of the marvellous transformations 
 wrought by the gospel is from the pen of the 
 Rev. James Evans, himself. The narrative gives 
 some insight into the Indian character, and is an 
 illustration of the different ways in which the 
 Holy Spirit works on the human heart. Still is 
 the gospel "the power of God unto salvation to 
 everyone that believeth." When Mr. Evans wrote 
 the narrative, Oozhuskah was still alive. Years 
 ago he finished his course, and joined the innu- 
 merable company in the Paradise of God. 
 
 "Oozhuskah, a native Indian of the Ojibway 
 tribe, now resides at Mackinaw. He was once 
 of the lowest and most abandoned of that profli- 
 gate class of Indians, who have measurably for- 
 saken their native wilds, and linger about the set- 
 tlements of the whites. His stature is small; his 
 frame, worn down with age and debilitated by 
 former dissipation, presents a strange ghastliness 
 of appearance, which would almost excite the 
 belief that Oozhuskah is a deserter from the land 
 of departed spirits. But however fearful and sus- 
 picious his character may have once been, those 
 acquainted with him now, do not fear him ; his 
 spirit formerly wild, untameable and intriguing, 
 is at present gentle, honest and guileless. His, 
 name once stood unrivalled| as a prqphet and hq 
 was considered invincihle as a warrior. 
 
 " The missionaries stationed at Mackinaw had 
 often faithfully tried to instruct him in the knowl- 
 edge of God; but he always responded to their 
 tastructjpns with. the most supercilious contempt, 
 
 39,, ■ ^- ■' 
 
Oozhuskah 
 
 and their lessons were apparently ' pearls cast 
 before swine.' But they were not lost. They 
 were lodged in the memory of Oozhuskah. He 
 narrated them to his wife, who was as drunken 
 as himself, but when sober, these lessons formed 
 a fruitful theme for conversation. 
 
 "In the winter, as usual, Oozhuskah chose his 
 hunting-ground some fifty miles from Mackinaw. 
 Here, with no companion but his aged squaw, he 
 pitched his lowly tent in the recesses of the for- 
 est. Here the inebriating draught was beyond 
 their reach; and they had time for reflection, and 
 for converse. They had not long occupied their 
 quarters when Mekagase, Oozhuskah's wife, was 
 taken ill; Oozhuskah's conjuring songs, and In- 
 dian medicines could not cure her. During this 
 severe illness she retained her senses. The truth 
 of heaven dwelt upon her mind; her understand- 
 ing told her she was a wretched sinner; that she 
 had all her life persisted in doing knowingly and 
 wilfully wrong. Death stared her in the face and 
 she was afraid to die; her conscience convinced 
 her she was unprepared, and that as a conse- 
 quence of her wickedness she must accept misery 
 hereafter. Trembling on the threshold of eter- 
 nity, she humbled herself, prayed to the Great 
 Spirit in compassion to forgive her, to blot out 
 her sins and receive her departing spirit. 
 
 "Suddenly the fears of Mekagase were taken 
 away ; joy filled her heart, and she felt indescrib- 
 ably more happy than when in youth she had 
 joined the Indian dance around the evening fires 
 
 40 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 of her tribe. In short she experienced what the 
 apostle designates ' joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory ! ' From that hour her disease abated. She 
 felt she was a new creature; and, unlike too many 
 enlightened Christians, she did not reason herself 
 out of the faith; but, taking the simple testimony 
 of the Spirit bearing witness with her own, spoke 
 of her hopes and her joys to Oozhuskah, with 
 ecstasy and confidence; she warned him of his 
 folly and wickedness, with such convincing tes- 
 timony, that his heart was touched. He prayed 
 to the Great Spirit; the radiance of Divine truth 
 beamed on his benighted understanding, melting 
 his hardened heart, and in ten days from his 
 wife's remarkable conversion, Oozhuskah could 
 heartily join with her in offering their morning 
 and evening orisons to the Great Spirit in praise 
 of redeeming grace. 
 
 "When the hunting season was over they re- 
 turned to Mackinaw, where they lost no time in 
 making known the change wrought in their feel- 
 ings; and from that day to this, they have at- 
 tested the verity of their conversion by well- 
 ordered lives and godly conversion. 
 
 "Oozhuskah narrated to me the following ac- 
 count of his former life: "From the earliest 
 period of my recollection, inspired by the tradi- 
 tions of my tribe, I had an insatiable thirst to be- 
 come a prophet. ... To accomplish this 
 object I commenced a fast. I partook of no kind 
 of nourishment for twenty days, excepting the 
 broth of a little boiled corn after the going down 
 
 41 
 
Oozhuskah's Conversion 
 
 of the sun. On the twentieth day I caused my 
 tent to be erected alone in the forest: I entered 
 it, and on that evening ate nothing. I was almost 
 famished with hunger; my skin clave to my 
 bones and I had barely strength to stand on my 
 feet. Nearly fainting, I laid down in my tent 
 determined to die or obtain the object of my de- 
 sire. I lay until nearly midnight when suddenly 
 a man entered my tent. ' What are you doing ? 
 Why are you here? and what do you want?' 
 said he. I replied, ' 1 am fasting, almost dead, 
 and must soon perish with hunger.' Before 1 had 
 time to say more, he rejoined, ' Follow me; ' and 
 it seemed as if my spirit left my body. I rose 
 and went out of my tent; he then took me by 
 the arm and we both ascended into the air, and 
 moved on with the utmost ease and rapidity." 
 "Oozhuskah then related the adventures of his 
 journey; how his long fasting had gained the ap- 
 probation of the gods, and how they made him a 
 mighty prophet. . . . After this he found 
 himself in his tent extremely hungry; he partook 
 of some food and slept sweetly. When he 
 awoke the next morning he felt proud, consider- 
 ing himself superior to all the Indians around 
 him. From this time all the promises of the gods 
 were fulfilled till the illness of Mekagase, ' when,' 
 he adds, ' I was led by her conversion to examine 
 myself, and saw that 1 was a wretch, and a child 
 of the devil. Then I prayed to the Great Spirit 
 and He heard and forgave me. 
 '< ' At that time 1 had a large collection of medjr- 
 
 42., 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 cines, some to kill and some to cure: I threw 
 them all away, and my hawk or totem has not 
 since visited me, and God grant he never may. 1 
 was the most wicked of men; my converse with 
 the strange man of the cave made me proud, but 
 it did not make me happy. But I bless God that 
 now a Spirit unseen communes with my heart; 
 and though it does not teach me how to destroy 
 my enemies, it teaches me to forgive and love 
 them." " 
 
 One of the most interesting of these early 
 Indian missions where some marvellous evidences 
 of the transforming power of the gospel were 
 seen was at Muncey on the River Thames, 
 twenty-four miles from the city of London, On- 
 tario. This mission has always had a great 
 fascination for the writer, as there for some time 
 his sainted mother, before her marriage, was a 
 teacher among the Indian boys and girls, who had 
 been gathered in from the various wigwams and 
 forest homes. 
 
 Quite a number of men and women had heard 
 and accepted of Christianity. Some little houses 
 and been built and quite a number of acres of 
 land had been brought under cultivation. Pota- 
 toes and corn were being raised in considerable 
 quantities, and there were many other signs of 
 progress and comfort. The mission house which 
 was two stories in height, was so constructed 
 that the missionary, my uncle, the Rev. Solomon 
 Waldron and his family, and my mother, dwelt 
 in-th& lower, story,, while thcuppenone served as^_ 
 
 4S 
 
"Marry Me, or I'll Kill You" 
 
 a church on the Sunday, and as a schoolhouse dur- 
 ing the week-days. In this room, my dear mother 
 not only endeavoured to teach her little red pupils 
 to read and write, but was even more anxious to 
 instruct them in the simple truths of Christianity. 
 For a couple of years or so she toiled, and was re- 
 warded by a good degree of success. The 
 children were bright and docile, and became 
 much interested in the story of a Saviour's love. 
 
 One hot summer's day the missionary and his 
 wife being absent attending to some mission 
 matters at another place, and mother being en- 
 tirely alone with her pupils, there rushed up the 
 outside stairway, the only way by which there 
 was access to the schoolroom, a drunken pagan 
 Indian chief. Drawing his tomahawk, he sprang 
 at my mother and shouted; " If you don't promise 
 to marry me, 1 will kill you! " 
 
 My mother seeing his drunken frenzied condi- 
 tion, knew at once that there was no use trying 
 to reason with him, and that her only hope was 
 in getting away from him. So she suddenly ran 
 along the narrow aisle or passage that was be- 
 tween the benches on which sat the now ter- 
 rified children, until she came to the open win- 
 dow at the end. As the drunken Indian had 
 followed her, she sprang out of the window, 
 although it was on the second story, and there- 
 fore quite a distance from the ground. Just as 
 she threw herself out the wretched fellow man- 
 aged to get hold of the skirt of her dress. For- 
 tunately for her, the dress tore off at her waist, 
 44 
 
Plkadixg for the Rephntant LxniAN. 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 and let her easily down to the ground, without 
 her suffering any injury. Quickly rushing into 
 the house, she caught up a morning wrapper, 
 and throwing that around herself, she hurried 
 away to a cornfield, where a number of Chris- 
 tian Indians were busily at work. To them she 
 told the story of the drunken young chief's words 
 and conduct. They were indignant at this in- 
 sult to their young teacher, and at once rushed 
 back to the schoolroom where the drunken 
 chief still was. His being a chief did not save 
 him from their ire. They gave him a severe 
 thrashing and then hauled him off to the forest 
 where they tied him hand and foot securely to a 
 tree and left him to sober off, and reflect on his 
 conduct at his leisure. For days there was he left 
 without food or water. He was eventually re- 
 leased at the importunities of my mother, who 
 pitied the poor fellow in his severe punishment. 
 The white man, who gave him the fire-water, 
 was really more to blame than the young chief, as 
 when sober he was a harmless, inoffensive man. 
 The punishment seemed to have done him good, 
 as ever after he was inclined to have nothing to 
 do with that which had brought him into such 
 trouble and dfsgrace. 
 
 The great curse of the Indian is fire-water. 
 Their love for strong drink is their greatest weak- 
 ness. When America was discovered, the In- 
 dians had no intoxicants. They were content to 
 drink the waters from the streams and lakes. 
 But the white man introduced his spirituous 
 
 45 
 
Love for Fire-water 
 
 liquors among them, and many and grievous 
 have been the evils that have followed. It has 
 been hard to account for the strange infatuation 
 the Indians have for stimulants. We have never 
 seen any satisfactory reason given to account for 
 it. It is not hereditary. It is not because some 
 have been accustomed to it. Indians from the 
 far north, where it was unknown, when brought 
 south and given a taste of it, were eager and wild 
 for more. 
 
 One reason in the early days, why the whisky 
 vendors who were also fur traders, urged upon 
 the Indians the fire-water, was to get them into 
 such an intoxicated condition that their generally 
 shrewd and cautious habits of trade would be so 
 affected by the drink that they became utterly 
 careless and reckless before the trading time ar- 
 rived. In some of the tribes the men nearly all 
 became drunkards, and at times terrible were the 
 sufferings and hardships endured by the poor 
 wives and children, when all the men in an In- 
 dian encampment were in a drunken debauch. 
 Lives were frequently sacrificed, and many were 
 maimed for life. 
 
 Mr. Evans and other missionaries, at once in- 
 sisted on all the Indian converts becoming total 
 abstainers from all intoxicating liquors. Never 
 using these things themselves, they were thus 
 able by example, as well as precept to impress 
 upon the native Christians the necessity of for 
 ever giving up that which had been such a curse 
 to their fellow-countrymen. 
 
 46 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 In some places Mr. Evans and others met with 
 fierce opposition. Unprincipled white men who 
 had been thriving on the trade of selling fire- 
 water to the Indians, were furious when the trade 
 fell off, and their gains ceased. Not content 
 with giving all the annoyance they could to the 
 missionary, they tried by various schemes and 
 stratagems to get the Christian Indians drunk. 
 
 The following story is given by the Rev. Peter 
 Jones, who, as our pages show, was long as- 
 sociated with Mr. Evans in missionary work. 
 
 " The Rev. Thomas Hurlburt informed me that 
 four Indians from Muncey Town went to the 
 white settlement to trade. The trader tempted 
 them to drink some whisky but they refused, 
 saying they were Christians. Finding he could 
 not succeed, he thought perhaps they were afraid 
 lest someone should see them drink and tell the 
 missionary, and that if they could take it slyly 
 they would drink as formerly. Knowing the 
 road they would return home, he put a small keg 
 of whisky by the side of the Indian path at the 
 edge of a sloping bank, and hid himself in the 
 bushes beneath, thinking to enjoy the sport of 
 seeing them drink when all alone. At length 
 they came along in Indian file; when, suddenly 
 the first one stopped, and exclaimed:—' O, mah- 
 je-mum-e-doo sah-oomah ahyah: — Lo, the evil 
 spirit (the devil) is here.' The second, on com- 
 ing up, said, 'Aahe, nebeje-mahmahsah : — Yes, 
 me smell him.' The third shook the keg with 
 his foot, and said, ' Kaguit, • nenoondahwahsah : 
 
 47 
 
The Keg of Whisky 
 
 —Of a truth me hear him.' The fourth Indian 
 coming up, gave the Iteg a kick and away went 
 the fire-water, tumbling down the hill. The four 
 Indians went on their way like brave warriors, 
 leaving the mortified white heathen to take up 
 his keg and drink the devil himself." 
 
 Of an Indian at the Grape Island mission the 
 following story is told. It shows how strong 
 had become the hatred of the Christian Indians at 
 this mission for whisky drinking. 
 
 "A Christian had gone out in the bay in a 
 canoe and been driven off in a storm ; and in his 
 danger had been picked up by a steamboat. The 
 poor Indian was almost exhausted and the cap- 
 tain of the steamboat made him drink a glass of 
 whisky. When he came back to the village the 
 Indians were so afflicted that he should under 
 any circumstances drink whisky, that they took 
 up a discipline with him, (/. e., they disciplined 
 him ;) and for one whole afternoon and evening, 
 alternately, one would exhort him, and another 
 pray for him, and then they would make him 
 promise that he would drink no more whisky." 
 
 At all of his missions Mr. Evans endeavoured 
 to instil into the minds of his Indian converts this 
 same hatred of the fire-water. It is a matter of 
 congratulation that now the government of Can- 
 ada, in every part of the Dominion, severely pun- 
 ishes any persons who give or in any way try to 
 induce an Indian to drink intoxicants. If it is 
 found best for Indians to be total abstainers, why 
 would it not be also best for white people ? 
 
 48 
 
Four Indians and the Keg of Whiskey. 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 For many long years Muncey Town Mission 
 has flourished. It was famous for some great 
 Indian camp-meetings of the old-fashioned style, 
 now long gone out of date. Of one of them 
 Rev. Peter Jones writes, in which he shows how 
 grandly the work was extending among the vari- 
 ous Indian tribes. He says: 
 
 "We had a large attendance of the Indian breth- 
 ren, who pitched their tents around the grounds, 
 in order to worship the Great Spirit, who filling 
 the wilderness with the Divine presence, made us 
 all feel that ' this place was none other than the 
 House of God and the gate of Heaven.' 
 
 "Never did a congregation of Christians enter 
 more heartily into the work of prayer and praise, 
 and the Lord was pleased to pour out His Holy 
 Spirit in a most powerful manner. A number of 
 Credit Indians rendered useful service. The pure 
 flame of Divine love was abundantly bestowed 
 upon them and they shouted and praised the 
 Lord aloud. Some of the St. Clair Indians were 
 with us and they left with warm hearts. 
 
 ' ' We also had a good number of Delawares and 
 Muncies from the Grand River, and some from 
 Moraviantown. I hope they in like manner 
 went away with the blessing of the Lord. The 
 Mohawk speakers, who came from the Grand 
 River, made themselves useful among the Oneida 
 Indians, and much good was done. We had 
 good order throughout all the meetings. The 
 parting procession and the hand-shakings of 
 49 
 
Indian Camp-meeting 
 
 these Indians with each other was a scene calcu- 
 lated to awaken the most lively emotion. Some 
 Indians wept in silence, while others shouted 
 aloud for joy. Love beamed in every counte- 
 nance! How different this from their former 
 drunken frolics, and powow dances, at which 
 nothing but hatred, quarrelling, fighting and the 
 grossest superstitions reigned! 
 
 "O the sweet and harmonious effects of 
 Christianity! Who would not be a Christian! 
 May the Great Spirit still carry on His glorious 
 work among my native brethren, so prays your 
 Indian friend and brother in Christ, 
 
 "Peter Jones." 
 
 The foregoing letter is worthy of thoughtful 
 consideration. Here is this Indian, once himself 
 a wild superstitious pagan, now a useful mis- 
 sionary. In his letter he writes about various 
 tribes once bitterly hostile to each other, but now 
 under the blessed transforming power of the 
 gospel, meeting for a week or ten days, to wor- 
 ship the Great Spirit in the leafy temple, and 
 singing together the praises of God and wor- 
 shipping at His feet. Surely such transforma- 
 tions exceed all the dreams of the romancer, or 
 the plots of the fiction writer. 
 
 The St. Clair Indians of whom there was a 
 goodly number at this camp-meeting, had been 
 brought to Christianity by the labours of Rev. 
 James Evans. Of his apostolic labours at that 
 mission, Rev. Joseph Stinson said; 
 
 50 
 
Teaching the Indians 
 
 "In 1835 Mr. Evans was appointed to the St. 
 Clair Mission. When he went among them, 
 they were a drunken, idle, ignorant, degraded 
 body of pagans. During Mr. Evans' residence 
 among them, the whole tribe embraced Chris- 
 tianity, and began to attend to all the duties of 
 civilised life. They became total abstainers, and 
 by their sobriety, honesty and industry, won 
 the respect and admiration of the whites, who 
 lived in the vicinity." 
 
 Thus was Mr. Evans by his marvellous suc- 
 cesses, in spite of much opposition and many dif- 
 ficulties, showing not only the power of the gos- 
 pel to save, but the wondrous abilities with which 
 God had endowed him for his arduous work. 
 
 SI 
 
IV 
 
 INDIAN ASSOCIATES 
 
 The Indian Associates of Rev. James Evans — John Sunday — 
 His early life — His story of his Conversion — John and the 
 Mormon Preacher — John Sunday's plea to " Mr. Gold " — 
 Peter Jones — His account of his Conversion. 
 
 In the study of a great general, like Napoleon, 
 or Wellington, or Washington, or Grant, we are 
 always interested in knowing something of the 
 brave men by whom he was surrounded, and 
 who aided materially in the accomplishment of 
 the great work for which the world calls him 
 famous. If this is true in reference to such men, 
 it should also hold good in reference to the study 
 of the co-workers and companions of such men as 
 James Evans, who with him, in the space of but 
 a few years, beheld some of the greatest moral 
 victories the young country has ever seen. They 
 were bloodless triumphs, but they brought 
 honour to Christ, the great Captain, and blessings 
 to hundreds of once degraded superstitious 
 pagans, who were won to truth and righteous- 
 ness in these decisive encounters. 
 
 Of the gallant band who did brave loyal service 
 for Christ, it is a pleasure to write. Not only 
 was there the goodly .company of white mis- 
 sionaries, whose names the church will not let 
 die, but there was also a well-tried company 
 
 52 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 of native Indian converts, who after showing, 
 through years of faithful living, the genuineness 
 of the transforming power of the grace of God, 
 were educated and utilised by the church, to be 
 helpers in the conflict between the powers of 
 good and evil. They were not only men of un- 
 blemished lives, but some of them possessed 
 abilities of such high order, that vast congrega- 
 tions of educated white people listened to their 
 addresses with admiration and profit. They 
 preached Christ, and Him crucified, with power 
 and success. The plaudits of the multitudes did 
 not spoil them. Simple, lovable, Christliite men 
 they were, and with gladness they rejoiced that 
 they were counted worthy to preach the glad tid- 
 ings of a Saviour's love, wherever and whenever 
 the door was open for the blessed truth. 
 
 They were a goodly company, and with them 
 James Evans, as well as William Case, and other 
 white toilers rejoiced to be associated. We can- 
 not here mention them all. Some however must 
 have place, as they played a prominent part in 
 the work at the same time as Mr. Evans, and 
 shared with him not only the toils and privations 
 of the work, but also its triumphs and victories. 
 
 Of Peter Jones, whose Indian name was 
 "Kahkawayquonaby," (waving eagle plumes,) 
 we will later on have something to say, and 
 will have him give us in his own language, the 
 story of his clear and scriptural conversion. Of 
 Henry Steinhauer we have spoken. Peter Jacobs 
 also fills his niche in the same gallery. 
 
 53 
 
John Sunday 
 
 Of John Sunday it is a pleasure to write. 
 When I was but a boy I knew him well. He 
 was ever a welcome guest at my father's house, 
 and we children listened with delight to his 
 quaint stories, and the old legends of his people. 
 He was perhaps the homeliest Indian in the land. 
 Yet when his face lit up, and his eyes began to 
 twinkle, everything else was forgotten but his 
 inimitable talk. He could charm and fascinate 
 an audience, playing upon their feelings like a 
 master musician on an organ. The halls and 
 churches were crowded wherever it was known 
 that John Sunday was to speak. In his wonder- 
 ful conversion, we see the power of the gospel 
 to uplift and save. John Sunday was as he tells 
 us, once a poor drunken Missusagas Indian. He 
 was born in one of the closing years of last 
 century. Until well on in manhood, he wan- 
 dered about with his wild pagan relatives, mak- 
 ing a precarious livelihood by fishing and hunt- 
 ing. 
 
 It is a sad reflection upon a civilised govern- 
 ment, that for long years they paid so little atten- 
 tion to the interests of the Indians. Miserable 
 white men destitute of all morality or honesty, 
 preyed upon them and by the introduction of the 
 wretched fire-water, made sad havoc among 
 them. All the good characteristics and habits of 
 the red men were about destroyed by these mis- 
 erable creatures. Their industrious habits were 
 lost. Immorality took the place of the chaste 
 regulations of the primitive days, and the once 
 S4 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 noble Indian, who would have considered it a 
 disgrace to stoop to beg, became reduced so low 
 that when not engaged in drunken revelries, 
 where the women were often fearfully maltreated, 
 and the children neglected and sometimes killed, 
 they wandered about among the settlements beg- 
 ging for something to keep themselves from 
 starvation. 
 
 Thus for years lived John Sunday, whose Indian 
 name was Shawundais. Sometimes he roused 
 himself up from his indolence and drunken fits, 
 and went on some hunting excursions. Here he 
 excelled, for he had all the cleverness of his peo- 
 ple in this respect. Then would follow a long 
 drunken debauch. 
 
 Associating much with unprincipled whites 
 during his pagan days, he acquired a knowledge 
 of broken English, which when he became a 
 Christian, was so improved that he became an 
 effective preacher and platform speaker. Still 
 there was ever to the end of his days a broken 
 quaintness in his utterances, that while not ob- 
 scuring the meaning of his addresses, added to 
 their effectiveness. He had the gift of mimicry 
 in a marvellous degree, and so was ever the cen- 
 tre of a crowd when he began to exercise this 
 gift. Yet although he often made his white as- 
 sociates, as well as his Indian comrades, laugh at 
 his drolleries, he used to tell us in his addresses 
 of the gloomy unhappy hours he spent when 
 alone in his wigwam. He would blacken his face 
 as was the custom of his tribe, and go out into 
 
 55 
 
John Sunday in Belleville 
 
 the darkest places of the forest, and there fast 
 for days. He tried to get comfort in his dreams, 
 and longed for some vision to come and satisfy 
 his mind when in such a state of disquietude 
 and unhappiness. But no comfort ever reached 
 him. 
 
 Of his conversion and how it was brought 
 about we leave him to tell in his own quaint 
 broken English. He has given it in answer to the 
 request of an honoured minister. 
 
 " Brother Scott want me that I shall write my 
 conviction about nine years ago. First is, we had 
 camped at Mr. James Howard's place one morning. 
 I go to Mr. Howard to get some whisky, so I 
 did get it, some. After I took it— that fire-water 
 — 1 feel very happy. By and by James Farmer, 
 he says to me, ' Do you want go see them In- 
 dians at Belleville ? They want see all Indians.' 
 I say to him, ' Why they want see Indians for ? ' 
 He says to me, ' Them are preachers talk about 
 God.' So I went home to my wigwam to tell 
 others; and we took some our blankets; — we 
 hire with them, Mr. Howard with his team to 
 take us at Belleville. We got there about nine 
 o'clock. We have no chance to go in the meet- 
 ing-house, so we went to the wood pile; so we 
 sit there all day in the wood pile, until about five 
 o'clock in the evening. By and by them came 
 out from meeting-house, so we went to them, 
 and shake hands with them. About seven o'clock 
 in the evening went to meeting. I want to hear 
 them very much, what they will say to us. By 
 
 56 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 and by one of them rose up talk to us, he begin 
 talk about God and soul and body; — he says this, 
 — ' All mankind is only two ways we have got to 
 go when we come to die; one is broad way, and 
 other is narrow way. All the wicked white men, 
 and wicked Indians and drunkards shall go there; 
 but the good white people shall go the narrow 
 way : but if the Indians also become good, and 
 serve the Lord, they can go in that narrow way.' 
 Then now I begin think myself; I begin feel bad 
 in my heart. This is I think, I am one, I am one 
 to go in that broad way, because 1 had hard drink 
 last night. My father and my mother had taught 
 this ever since when I was a little boy — ' all the 
 Indians shall go where sun set, but the white 
 people shall go in the Ishpeming.' That I had 
 trouble in my heart. Next morning again they 
 had talk to us ; so they went off from us. As 
 soon as they went off, some them Indians says, 
 'Let us get some more whisky to drink it. 
 What them men say unto us, we shall not do so; 
 we must do our own way ; ' so they went to get 
 more whisky. So I take it little with them ; and 
 immediately after I had drunk it, I went home, — 
 me and Moses. Is about seven miles to our 
 house. All way along the road I thinking about 
 these two ways. Four nights I do not sleep 
 much. On Saturday we all went to Belleville 
 again. There I saw brother Case. He says to 
 me, 'How you like Peter Jones' talk?' I say 
 unto him, 'Four nights I do not sleep much.' 
 And he began to talk about religion of Jesus 
 
 67 
 
His Quaint Testimony 
 
 Christ. 0, 1 feel very bad again ;— I tliought this, 
 I am one of devil his men because I so wicked. 
 On next Monday we all went home again. That 
 night I thought I would try pray; this is first 1 
 ever did intend to pray. I do not know how to 
 pray my heart is too hard, I cannot say but few 
 words ; I say this.. ' O Lord, I am wicked, I am 
 wicked man, take me out from that everlasting 
 fire and dark place.' Next morning I went in the 
 woods to pray ; — no peace in my heart yet. By 
 and by I went to other Indians to tell them about 
 what them men had said unto us at Belleville. 
 So I went home again. By and by we went to 
 cross the bay on Sahgegwin Island. So Indians 
 come there on island. By and by we begin have 
 prayer-meeting in the evening, and in the morn- 
 ing. 1 talk with them at all time. I had boy 
 about six years old : by and by he got sick and 
 died. I felt very bad. I thought this 1 better not 
 stop to pray to God; — I went to Belleville to all 
 them Methodist men to come on Sahgegwin 
 Island to pray for us. I ask one of them Metho- 
 dist men for glass of beer, to comfort in my 
 heart. That man say to me, ' Beer is not good 
 for you; better for you to have good spirit in 
 your heart.' None them they do not want to 
 come on our wigwam. So I went home with- 
 out glass of beer. So we have pray meeting. 
 None of us had religion yet. By and by I went 
 to quarterly meeting at Mr. Ketcheson. I saw 
 one man and one woman shouting; I thought 
 they were drunk. I thought this they cannot be 
 
 68 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 drunk, because is them Christian; — must be 
 something in them. Brother Belton he preached 
 that day; he says this, ' If any man be great sin- 
 ner, Lord will forgive him, if only believe in Him.' 
 I thought this if I do well maybe God will for- 
 give me. About one week after this another 
 quarterly meeting at Seventown, Mr. Dinge's 
 barn. In the morning they had lovefeast; they 
 give each other little bread and water; they give 
 us some too, that piece of bread and water. I 
 do not know what they do it for. When 1 took 
 it, the bread had stop in my throat and choke 
 me. O how I feel in my heart: I feel like this — 
 if I in under the water. In afternoon we went to 
 pray meeting in the Old House, about five o'clock, 
 and Peter Jones says to us, ' Let us lift up our 
 hearts to God.' I look at him, I do not under- 
 stand him. I think this, if I do this — take my 
 heart out of my body — I shall be died : however 
 I kneel down to pray to God. I do not know 
 what to say to ask for religion ; I only say this — 
 'O Keshmunedo, shahnanemeshim. O Lord, 
 have mercy on me poor sinner.' By and by the 
 good Lord He pour His spirit upon my poor 
 wretched heart, then I shout and happy in my 
 heart. I feel very light, and after pray meeting I 
 went to tell Peter Jones how I feel in my heart. 
 I say to him this, ' I feel something in my heart.' 
 Peter says to me, ' Lord bless you now.' O how 
 glad in my heart. I look around and look over 
 other side a bay — and look up — and look in the 
 woods — the same is everything new to me. I 
 
 59 
 
Silencing a Mormon 
 
 hope I got religion that day. I thank the Great 
 Spirit what He done for me. I want to be hke 
 this which built his house upon a rock. Amen." 
 
 Happy John Sunday. He says: " I hope 1 got 
 religion that day." None who knew him ever 
 doubted it, so marvellous was the transforma- 
 tion. The poor drunken Indian was so changed 
 that saint and sinner could not help but notice it. 
 At once he left off his old habits and sins, and 
 was emphatically a new man in Christ Jesus. 
 Intoxicating drink never passed his lips again. 
 All of his abilities were now fully consecrated to 
 the service of Christ. 
 
 In after years he became a good preacher. In 
 addressing audiences his pathos and humour 
 were simply irresistible. He was thoroughly 
 original and he could also be sarcastic and pun- 
 gent. We give some samples of his peculiar 
 methods of dealing with his opponents and others. 
 
 Long years ago when the Mormon excitement 
 prevailed both in the New England States, and in 
 Canada, a Mormon preacher came to the Bay of 
 Quinte county, in the Province of Ontario, and 
 held a series of meetings with the object of mak- 
 ing proselytes for the western Mormon country. 
 Shortly before this a number of Indians had be- 
 come Christians, and hearing of these Mormon 
 services, but not knowing their character, some 
 of them attended. Great was their sorrow at 
 hearing the Bible, which they had learned to love, 
 so belittled, and despised, and the Book of Mor- 
 mon, which he said had been dug up out of the 
 
 60 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 ground, being extolled above it. When the 
 Mormon had finished his discourse about the 
 boolt, he gave permission for any of the con- 
 gregation to say anything they desired about 
 what he had said. All sat still, and as no white 
 was found brave enough to get up and defend 
 the old book, John Sunday at length arose, and 
 asked if an Indian might speak. The desired 
 permission having been given by the Mormon, 
 the pious man replied as follows: 
 
 "A great many winters ago, the Great Spirit 
 gave His good book, the Bible, to the white man 
 over the great waters. He took it and read it, 
 and it made his heart all over glad. By and by 
 white man came over to this country, and 
 brought the good book with him. He gave it 
 to poor Indian. He hear it, and understand 
 it, and it make his heart very glad too. But 
 when the Great Spirit gave His good book to the 
 white man, the evil spirit, the Muche-Maneto, 
 try to make a book too, and he try to make it 
 like the Great Spirit made His, but he could not, 
 and then he got so ashamed of it, that he go in 
 the woods, and dig a hole in the ground, and 
 the'e he hide his book. After lying there for 
 many winters, Joe Smith go and dig it up. This 
 is the book this preacher has been talking about. 
 I hold fast to the good old Bible, which has made 
 my heart so happy. I will have nothing to do 
 with the devil's book." 
 
 This quaint speech ended that Mormon's career 
 in that neighbourhood. Would that in other 
 61 
 
Appeal to Mr. Gold 
 
 lands and places there had risen up true men like 
 this brave John Sunday, to silence and stamp out 
 the pestilent impostors, who have done so much 
 evil on this American continent. 
 
 At a great missionary meeting held in the old 
 Adelaide Street Church, Toronto, among the 
 speakers on the platform with John Sunday, was 
 a doctor of divinity, who had, on this his first 
 public appearance after getting his D. D., to re- 
 ceive a good deal of friendly banter from his 
 brethren, especially as the recipient of the honour 
 had never had other than an exceedingly limited 
 education. John Sunday listened in his quiet 
 way, to all that was said, and when called on to 
 speak, convulsed the audience by saying in his 
 own droll way, "Mr. Chairman, I never went to 
 school but two weeks in my life. If I had gone 
 four weeks I would have had D. D. too." When 
 the laughter had subsided, he gave a most ad- 
 mirable address, appealing to the vast audience 
 for his poor Indian brethren in their wretched 
 wigwams. His closing sentences of appeal for 
 financial help, were characteristically quaint and 
 original. Here are his words : 
 
 " There is a gentleman I suppose now in this 
 house. He is a very fine gentleman, but he is 
 very, very modest. He does not like to show 
 himself. I do not know how long it is now 
 since I saw him, he comes out so little. I am 
 very much afraid he sleeps a great deal of his 
 time, when he ought to be going about doing 
 good. His name is Mr. Gold. Mr. Gold, are you 
 
 62 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 here to-night ? Or are you in your iron chest ? 
 Come out, Mr. Gold! Come out and help us to 
 do this great worlc to preach the gospel to every 
 creature. Ah, Mr. Gold, you ought to be ashamed 
 of yourself, to sleep so much in your iron chest! 
 Look at your white brother, Mr. Silver; he does 
 a great deal of good in the world, while you are 
 sleeping. Come out, Mr. Gold, from your iron 
 chest, and fly around like your active brother, 
 Mr. Silver. And then Mr. Gold just think of 
 your active little brother, Mr. Copper. Why he 
 is everywhere. He is flying about doing all the 
 good he can. Be active like him! Come out, 
 Mr. Gold! Do come and help us in this good 
 work, and if you really cannot come yourself, 
 well do the next best thing you can — that is, send 
 us your shirt, that is, a bank-note." 
 
 Another of the noble band of the devoted work- 
 ers among the Indians of Canada was Peter Jones, 
 who was himself one of the first-fruits of mis- 
 sionary toil among the red men of the wilderness. 
 He was born in the woods, in the year 1813, not 
 far from the place where the city of Hamilton 
 now stands. For ten years he wandered about 
 with his heathen mother, in company with other 
 members of his own tribe. He knew nothing of 
 God except the vague pagan notions of the Great 
 Spirit, which he learned from the utterances of 
 the medicine-men, and others of his people. At 
 the age of sixteen, after he had been for a time at 
 school and under some Christian teaching, he was 
 baptised. His own testimony was, that this out- 
 
 63 
 
Peter Jones 
 
 ward ceremony brought him no peace or spiritual 
 comfort. It did, however, impose some restraint 
 upon his conduct. It was not until about three 
 years after his baptism, which had taken place in 
 a Mohawk church, on the Grand River, that he 
 was, as he tells us, truly converted to God. His 
 own account of this is very interesting. 
 
 Those were the days of the great camp-meet- 
 ings in the new country, which were marvellously 
 owned of God in the conversion of hundreds of 
 souls. Peter Jones has given us a full account of 
 his visit to the camp-meeting, where he and his 
 sister Mary were both enabled to renounce their 
 old sinful lives, and give themselves fully to God. 
 Out of curiosity they had gone to see how the 
 white people worshipped the Great Spirit in the 
 wilderness. His own words are as follows: 
 
 " On arriving at the encampment 1 was imme- 
 diately impressed with the solemnity of the peo- 
 ple, several of whom were engaged in singing 
 and prayer. Some strange feeling came over my 
 mind and I was led to believe that the Supreme 
 Being was in the midst of the people, who were 
 engaged in worshipping Him. The encampment 
 contained about two acres, enclosed by a bush 
 fence. The tents were pitched within this circle; 
 all the underbrush was taken away, while the 
 large trees were left standing and formed a beau- 
 tiful shade. There were three gates leading into 
 the encampment. During the night the whole 
 place was illumined with fire-stands, which had 
 a very imposing appearance, among the branches 
 64 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 and leaves of the various trees. The people came 
 in their waggons, from various parts of the coun- 
 try, bringing their sons and daughters with them, 
 for the purpose of presenting them to the Lord. 
 I should judge that there were about a thousand 
 persons present. The Rev. William Case, the 
 presiding elder, had the general oversight of the 
 encampment, and the religious services. There 
 were a number of ministers present, who alter- 
 nately delivered powerful discourses to the listen- 
 ing multitude. After each sermon, a prayer- 
 meeting was held, in which anyone was at lib- 
 erty to exhort the penitents, and unite in prayer 
 for the divine blessing. On the Sabbath, the third 
 of June, there was a vast concourse of people, 
 several sermons were preached, and prayer-meet- 
 ings were held during the intervals. By this time 
 I began to feel very sick in my heart, but I did 
 not make my feelings known. Some of the ser- 
 mons deeply impressed my mind; I understood 
 a good deal of what was said ; I thought the black 
 coats understood all that was in my heart, and 
 that I was the person to whom they were speak- 
 ing. The burden on my soul began to increase, 
 and my heart said : 'What must 1 do to be saved ? ' 
 I saw myself ' in the gall of bitterness, and in the 
 bond of iniquity. The more I understood the 
 plan of salvation, the more 1 was convinced of 
 the truth of the Christian religion, and felt my 
 need of its blessings. In spite of my old Indian 
 heart, tears flowed down my cheeks at the re- 
 membrance of my sins. I saw many of the white 
 
 65 
 
The Sceptical Indian Brother 
 
 people powerfully awakened, and heard them 
 cry aloud for mercy; while others stood and 
 gazed, and some even laughed. My elder brother 
 John was at that time studying the art of survey- 
 ing at Hamilton. He came to the meeting, on 
 the Sabbath, but appeared quite indifferent about 
 religion; so much so, that 1 reproved him for 
 speaking of these people, and told him I believed 
 they were sincere — that they were the true wor- 
 shippers of the Great Spirit. ' O, ' said he, ' 1 see, 
 you will yet become a Methodist! ' The meeting 
 continued all Monday, and several discourses 
 were delivered from the stand. My convictions 
 became more deep and powerful during the 
 preaching: I wept much; this, however, I en- 
 deavoured to conceal by holding down my head 
 behind the shoulders of the people. I felt anxious 
 that no one might see me weeping like an old 
 woman, as all my countrymen say that weeping 
 is a sign of weakness, which is beneath the dig- 
 nity of an Indian brave. In the afternoon of this 
 day, my sorrow and anguish of soul greatly in- 
 creased; I felt as if I should sink down into hell 
 for my sins; which I now saw to be very many, 
 and exceedingly offensive to the Great Spirit. I 
 was fully convinced that if 1 did not find mercy 
 from the Lord Jesus, of whom I heard so much, 
 I certainly would be lost forever.. I thought if I 
 only could get the good people to pray for me at 
 their prayer-meeting, I should soon find relief to 
 ry mind, but 1 had not sufficient courage to make 
 ny desires known. Oh! what a mercy it was 
 
 66 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 that Christ did not forsaite me when my heart 
 was so slow to acknowledge Him as my Lord and 
 Saviour. Toward evening, I retired into the soli- 
 tary wilderness to try to pray to the Great Spirit. 
 I knelt down by the side of a fallen tree — the 
 rustling of the leaves over my head made me un- 
 easy. I retired further back into the woods, and 
 there wrestled with God in prayer. I resolved to 
 go back to the camp and get the people of God 
 to pray with me ; but when 1 got to the meeting 
 my fearful heart again began to hesitate. I stood 
 by the side of a tree, considering what I must do 
 — whether I should give up seeking the Lord or 
 not. It was now about dusk, and while I was 
 halting between two opinions, a good old man 
 .named Reynolds came up to me and said — ' Do 
 you wish to obtain religion and serve the Lord ?' 
 I replied 'Yes!' He then said — 'Do you desire 
 the people of God to pray for you ? ' I told him 
 that was what I desired. He then led me into 
 the prayer-meeting. I fell upon my knees and 
 began as well as I could to call upon the name of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. The old man prayed for 
 me and exhorted me to believe in the name of the 
 Lord, to trust in the atonement of Him who gave 
 Himself a ransom for all — for Indians as well as 
 white people. Several of the ministers prayed 
 for me. When I first began to pray, my heart 
 was soft and tender, and I shed many tears ; but, 
 strange to say, some time after, my heart got as 
 hard as a stone. I tried to look up, but the 
 heavens seemed like brass. 1 then began to say 
 
 67 
 
"Arise, Peter" 
 
 to myself, there is no mercy for poor Indians : I 
 felt myself an outcast, a sinner bound for hell. 
 About midnight, I got so fatigued and discour- 
 aged that I retired from the prayer-meeting, and 
 went to our tent where I immediately fell asleep. 
 1 know not how long I had slept, when I was 
 awakened by the Rev. Edmund Stoney and the 
 Rev. George Ferguson, who having missed me at 
 the prayer-meeting, came with a light to search 
 for me. Mr. Stoney said to me, 'Arise, Peter, 
 and go with us to the prayer-meeting and get 
 your soul converted ; your sister Mary has already 
 obtained the spirit of adoption, and you must also 
 seek the same blessing.' When I heard that my 
 sister was converted, and had found peace, not 
 knowing before that she was seeking the Lord, I 
 sprung up and went with the good men, deter- 
 mined that if there was still mercy left for me, I 
 would seek until I found it. On arriving at the 
 prayer-meeting, I saw my sister apparently as 
 happy as she could be. She came to me, and be- 
 gan to weep over me, and exhorted me to give 
 my heart to God, and told me how she had found 
 the Lord. Her words came with power to my 
 sinking heart, and I fell upon my knees and called 
 upon God for mercy. My sister and others prayed 
 for me, especially Mr. Stoney, whose zeal for my 
 salvation 1 shall never forget. At the dawning 
 of the day I was enabled to cast myself wholly 
 on the Lord, and to claim an interest in the atoning 
 blood of my Saviour Jesus Christ, who bore my 
 sins in His own body on the tree ; when I received 
 
Indian Associates 
 
 Him, unspeakable joy filled my heart, and I could 
 say 'Abba, Father.' 
 
 " The love of God being now shed abroad in my 
 heart, I loved Him intensely, and praised Him in 
 the midst of the people. Everything now ap- 
 peared to me in a new light, and all the works of 
 God seemed to unite with me in uttering the 
 praises of the Lord. There was a time when I 
 thought the white man's God was never intended 
 to be our God ; that the white man's religion was 
 never intended to be the red man's religion ; that 
 the Great Spirit gave us our way of worship, and 
 that it would be wrong to put away that mode 
 of worship, and take to the white man's mode of 
 worship. But I and my people now found that 
 there is but one true religion, and that the true 
 religion is the religion of the Bible. Christianity 
 has found us, and has lifted us out of a horrible 
 pit and out of the miry clay; it has placed our 
 feet upon a rock ; it has established our goings, 
 and has put a new song in our mouths, even 
 praise unto our God." 
 
 This was the great turning event in the life of 
 this young Indian. Previous to this, he was full 
 of the superstitions and darkness incident to his 
 wild pagan life; now, however, his spirit was 
 emancipated from the superstitions of the past. 
 At once began a genuine thirst for knowledge. 
 He had had some opportunities for study and 
 for religious worship, but up to the time of his 
 conversion, which he has so well described, his 
 mind was all dark as regards spiritual things. A 
 
 69 
 
Dedicated to the Thunder-God 
 
 wonderful change had come to him, and all with 
 whom he associated were quick to mark the 
 transformation. 
 
 Peter Jones was a fine looking specimen of his 
 race, and his dark and lustrous eyes used to flash 
 when he talked of the power and freedom of his 
 people and the tameless spirit of his race ere the 
 white man and his fire-water came among them 
 to their destruction. His Indian name was Kah- 
 kawayquonaby. In infancy his pagan mother 
 dedicated him to the thunder-god. Immediately 
 after his conversion he dedicated himself to the 
 one living and true God, with a burning desire to 
 be a blessing in preaching the gospel to his poor 
 degraded fellow-countrymen. For many years 
 he was associated with Rev. William Case, James 
 Evans, and many others in the blessed work of 
 striving to first Christianise, and then civilise the 
 long neglected red children of the forest. He 
 was one of nature's noblemen, respected in every 
 grade of society. 
 
 On his visits to Great Britain, he was received 
 in audience by the British sovereign, and treated 
 with respect by all classes. He married an Eng- 
 lish lady of wealth and culture, who grandly 
 aided him in his arduous missionary toils. 
 
 His name and deeds are worthy to be em- 
 balmed among those, who like James Evans, 
 have done grand service in this department of 
 missionary toil, and we gladly give him this place 
 with our other missionary heroes. 
 
 70 
 
V 
 
 LAKE SUPERIOR MISSIONS 
 
 James Evans and Thomas Hurlburt appointed to Lake 
 Superior — The journey in a row-boat — Letters of the work — 
 The welcome — ^The cannibal — Meeting John Sunday — Catch- 
 ing Fish — Personal religious development — The testimony of 
 the young lady Missionary — Evans' letter to Hurlburt — Evans 
 requested to go to the Northwest Territories. 
 
 In 1838 James Evans and Thomas Hurlburt 
 were appointed to missionary work in the Lake 
 Superior regions. Mr. Hurlburt had for some 
 years devoted himself with zeal and energy to 
 the Indian work. From 1829 to 1833 he was 
 stationed at Muncey. Then at Saugeen, St. Clair 
 and Walpole Island he laboured with much suc- 
 cess for the uplifting of the red men. He gave 
 much time and labour to the study of the Indian 
 tribes and mastery of their languages, and even- 
 tually became quite an authority on Indian eth- 
 nology and philology. 
 
 With James Evans he was appointed to begin 
 missionary work among the thousands of Indians 
 who lived in the vast regions to the north of-Lake 
 Superior. With their own open row-boat they 
 seemed to have made the long dangerous journey 
 from St. Clair. They were exposed to many 
 dangers and perils by the way. From Mr. 
 71 
 
Exposed to Perils 
 
 Evans' letters to his wife, whom he left in a 
 more civilised region on account of educational 
 facilities desired for their daughter, we get oc- 
 casional glimpses of him as he journeyed to his 
 new field. Writing from the mouth of the river 
 where the town of Goderich now stands, and 
 where they were encamped he says : 
 
 " We have been bungling along the lake shore 
 as far as this place during the last four days. 
 We have all been preserved in good health and 
 spirits and have happened no more serious ac- 
 cident than just getting a wetting, and cutting a 
 crack across the back of my hand. However I 
 have never allowed it to open but have shut it up 
 with a plaster. We had well nigh come back 
 again when the north wind took us at the mouth 
 of the river. However we rowed on and soon 
 had a fine south breeze, which carried us within 
 a few miles of Kettle Point, where we ran into a 
 small creek, after scooping out the sand and 
 forming ourselves a channel to enter. Here we 
 camped very comfortably looking southward, my 
 heart going pitter-patter; indeed it has been rat- 
 tling against my ribs ever since I started." 
 
 After thirteen days of rowing and toiling in 
 their little boats they reached a place which he 
 spells Munedoowauning, or Devil s Hole. Here 
 were gathered a large number of Indians, and 
 Mr. Evans and his co-labourers at once began 
 their missionary labours. Mr. Evans writes: 
 "We immediately commenced endeavouring to 
 do good, by preaching the blessed gospel of sal- 
 
 72 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 vation. The pagans paid good attention and 
 seemed favourably impressed." 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Evans written in 
 1838 while on the north shore of Lake Superior en- 
 gaged in missionary work among the wandering 
 tribes who hved by hunting and fishing, will not 
 only give some idea of the character of the work 
 in that region, but will also show what were the 
 thoughts and aspirations of the man as regards 
 the great future, and what might yet be ac- 
 complished. His great heart took in the whole 
 continent, and every poor wandering benighted 
 Indian from the bleak ice-bound shores of Labra- 
 dor to the snow-clad peaks of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. The letter was written to a high official 
 of the church. 
 
 "As we are daily expecting the Hudson's Bay 
 Company's vessel from the Sault, and understand 
 that she is to return thither this fall, I send you a 
 few remarks. Having written you since our ar- 
 rival here, I need say nothing respecting our 
 journey. God has been very gracious to us. 
 We are, as we have been, all in good health and 
 endeavouring according to our humble abilities to 
 advance the great work of Christ in which we 
 have the honour to be engaged. 
 
 " I shall endeavour to give you a condensed 
 account of this vast field for missionary exertion, 
 with our prospects, our discouragements, (or to 
 speak more properly, our difficulties, for 1 hope 
 we shall never be discouraged,) our hopes; and 
 offer some suggestions respecting our future 
 73 
 
From Labrador to Rocky Mountains 
 
 operations in this region of moral darltness and 
 human degradation. 
 
 "The sphere of labour here is almost bound- 
 less, eastward to Labrador, and westward to the 
 Rocky Mountains, thousands of poor benighted 
 heathen, already lifted up their longing eyes to 
 see the dawn of gospel day, are scattered as 
 sheep having no shepherd. From the shores of 
 Lake Superior, northward to Hudson's Bay, and 
 westward to Swan River above Lake Winnipeg, 
 the country is inhabited by the Ojibway or 
 kindred tribes, who generally understand the 
 Ojibway language, as the Crees, the Muskegoes 
 and others. Among these our native converts, 
 who are now lying upon their oars for missionary 
 work to do, might find ample scope for useful- 
 ness in spreading the savour of a Saviour's name. 
 The Indians, I am informed, are universally im- 
 pressed with the belief that the true religion 
 which has been received by their brothers in 
 Canada, will soon reach them and as an old chief 
 from the head of Lake Superior expressed him- 
 self, they are ' stretching their eyes to see some 
 teacher to tell them the way.' This much for 
 the field before us. 
 
 "As regards our prospects, we have, through 
 the Divine blessing found favour in the eyes of 
 the Hudson's Bay Company's factors and as they 
 command the entire influence of the Indian coun- 
 try, our prospects as far as they are concerned are 
 good. Whatever may have been the course pur- 
 sued by these men toward the Indians formerly, 
 74 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 of which I have heard much not very creditable 
 if true, 1 can only say that all I have seen has 
 tended to bias my mind much in their favour. I 
 find that spirituous liquors are no longer sent 
 into this country: — the Hudson's Bay Company 
 discountenances, at least as far as we have gone, 
 the use thereof among the Indians. The aged, 
 who can no longer hunt or provide for them- 
 selves, are fed and clothed at the establishments, 
 as I had the satisfaction to witness a few days ago 
 at this post; and, in my opinion, it would be a 
 happy circumstance were their territory allowed 
 to embrace the whole of the hunting and unim- 
 provable coast of Lake Superior and Lake Huron 
 even to Penetangwesheen, as thereby those vil- 
 lainous fortune hunters, whose sole object is to 
 make wealth at all hazards, would thereby be 
 prevented from succeeding in inducing the poor 
 Indian to destroy his hunting grounds, to destroy 
 his health by drinking, reduce his posterity to 
 beggary and starvation, and his tribe to extinction. 
 The interest of the Hudson's Bay Company is amal- 
 gamated with that of the hunters and their unre- 
 mitted exertion, where they have the exclusive 
 right of trade, has been and still is to preserve the 
 fur animals and then advance at once the interest 
 of the company and the happiness of the In- 
 dians. 
 
 "The old proverb that ' Opposition is the life of 
 trade ' will not hold good in this country, for 
 opposition by inducing the poor improvident and 
 thoughtless savage to destroy his fur-bearing ani- 
 
 75 
 
Hunting the Missionary 
 
 mals at once, is the death of trade, as the once 
 beautiful and excellent hunting country of Sau- 
 geen and other regions now impoverished fully 
 testify. 
 
 "But I have digressed a little, and must return 
 to our prospects; — The Indians are everywhere 
 anxious to be instructed; they are the very antip- 
 odes of those residing in the immediate vicinity 
 of the white settlements. There, the missionary 
 must hunt them ; here, they hunt him ; there, he 
 must entreat them to hear; here, they will urge 
 him to speak. Several have been in since our ar- 
 rival in order to obtain their fall credit, that is, 
 their supply of clothing, and supplies for the 
 winter. They are all not only ready to hear the 
 truth but they manifest the greatest willingness 
 to be instructed. In several instances immedi- 
 ately on their landing, they come to us and ex- 
 press their gratitude for our having come to in- 
 struct them. A great and effectual door is open 
 before us. Seldom have we had family worship 
 in the evening without seeing in our little room 
 all the Indians in the place, not standing around 
 or sitting in sullen carelessness or contempt, as I 
 have often witnessed at St. Clair and other mis- 
 sions, but all devoutly kneeling with us at the 
 throne of the heavenly grace. 
 
 " Last week the chief, a fine-looking fellow, ar- 
 rived. He came to us and expressed his satis- 
 faction in our arrival. He remained with two or 
 three others who accompanied him over Sabbath. 
 On Monday morning he told us that all his peo- 
 
 76 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 pie would rejoice to hear of our arrival, and that 
 they would do anything which we told them, 
 and that they would gladly leave their children 
 next fall when they went to hunt, could we take 
 and intsruct them in the white man's wisdom. 
 
 "We have present at one of our services a man 
 who is a cannibal, having killed and in company 
 with a woman, eaten two Frenchmen. But the 
 gospel can make him a man and a Christian." 
 
 Great indeed was Mr. Evans' faith in the power 
 of the gospel, when to this man guilty of such a 
 crime, he could with such confidence thus preach 
 the good news of pardon and salvation. 
 
 Two labourious but happy weeks were spent 
 here preaching and teaching out of the good 
 book. A number of the Indians were baptised, 
 and then the missionaries pushed on, still to the 
 North. At Sault Ste. Marie, Mr. Evans writes, 
 August 23d, 1838: 
 
 "We last evening about five o'clock, reached 
 this place, after nine days of hard rowing and 
 one day's fair sailing. The blessed Lord has 
 been very gracious to us. He has preserved us 
 from all evil, and our temporal wants have been 
 bountifully supplied. In fact our Munedoo (God) 
 provided for us when the Munedoos of the 
 pagans let them hunger." Mr. Evans adds: "I 
 could particularise several instances of this, but 
 one was so remarkable that it cannot be over- 
 looked. Soon after our arrival at the Munnedoo- 
 lin, John Sunday and his comrade arrived, and 
 having neither money nor provisions, they turned 
 
 77 
 
Letter from Sault Ste. Marie 
 
 in and shared with us in true Indian style, the 
 blessings which we were enjoying. Their com- 
 pany and our own made a family of ten, and all 
 these mouths soon gave our flour barrel the con- 
 sumption. On Saturday our flour and pork ad- 
 monished us to be going if we intended to have 
 any provisions with us." 
 
 For important reasons they were delayed until 
 both flour and pork were exhausted, and then 
 they had to try and get some fish on which to 
 live. Getting some inflammable birch bark to 
 make a brilliant light and taking their fishing 
 spears they started out on the lake. A number 
 of pagan Indians went immediately before them 
 and others followed behind and some kept close 
 company with them. Yet strange to say that 
 while some of the canoes of those wild Indian 
 fishermen were within ten yards of that of Mr. 
 Evans, not one of those men caught a single fish, 
 although they fished astern and ahead of him 
 time after time. Great indeed was their aston- 
 ishment when they found that the missionary 
 had thirty-five splendid fish. Mr. Evans' explana- 
 tion to them was that the Lord had sent them be- 
 fore his canoe just when he was able to secure 
 them. In no other way was he able to account 
 for it. So they rejoiced, for with flour and pork 
 gone they would have been in rather uncomfort- 
 able circumstances without this providential sup- 
 ply of fish. 
 
 After spending some time at the Sault, they 
 pushed on and on, stopping at points where In- 
 
 78 
 
H 
 X 
 
 2 
 
 _j 
 
 X 
 
 u 
 k; 
 o 
 H 
 
 >■ 
 
 CQ 
 O 
 
 z 
 
 z 
 
 < 
 > 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 dians were found, and preaching to them as op- 
 portunity offered. His home was his tent in the 
 wilderness, his parishioners were wandering In- 
 dians, without any fixed habitations. His duty 
 and joy were to find them in their forest homes, 
 and tell them the story of redeeming love. His 
 feelings and desires are well expressed in the fol- 
 lowing extracts from a. letter which he wrote to 
 his aged father and mother, who still in happy 
 old age lived at Charlottville, U. C. : 
 
 "You may wonder why and how I wander 
 about our vast wilderness and I can assure you I 
 am not less a subject of astonishment to myself. 
 It is not from choice for no man loves ' home 
 sweet home ' more than myself, and 1 am happy 
 in saying that no man's home is made more like 
 home by those 1 love than is my own. But why 
 do I talk about home? 1 have none — 'a poor 
 wayfaring man ' and I must say, I thank God I 
 can say it — 
 
 " ' I lodge awhile in tents below. 
 And gladly wander to and fro 
 And smile at toil and pain ! ' 
 
 And why? I feel an answer within me. Be- 
 cause, 'Woe is me, if 1 preach not the gospel.' " 
 This was James Evans. A man passionately 
 attached to his home and loved ones, yet cheer- 
 fully forsaking all to dwell where, at the close of 
 the heavy day's toiling on the waters, night over- 
 took him, camping often amidst heavy rains or 
 fierce storms. Often with only a fish or piece of 
 78 
 
Hopeful Conditions 
 
 fat pork on which to dine, yet ever bright and 
 cheerful and full of hope as to the future triumphs 
 of the gospel of the Son of God. As the result 
 of his arduous toil he was able later on to write: 
 
 "Our prospects of success in prosecuting this 
 great work, to which the church has appointed 
 us, are at present flattering. We have met with 
 many discouragements but God has graciously 
 cleared away the mists which beclouded our at- 
 mosphere, and although we find ourselves in a 
 vast region of moral and spiritual darkness and 
 degradation, yet the poor benighted heathen are 
 already groping about to find someone to take 
 them by the hand and lead them to the light. 
 The Indians in this region are anxious to be in- 
 structed; not, as before, endeavouring to shun 
 the missionary and standing aloof from his so- 
 ciety, but seeking as diligently for us as we for 
 them." 
 
 This condition of affairs among the Indians of 
 this mission was most hopeful and encouraging. 
 When the missionary's family were at prayers 
 the people would often come to see them that 
 they might enjoy the services. On one occasion, 
 while thus toiling to sow the good seed, they 
 were encouraged by hearing that a deputation of 
 Indians was coming a distance of six or seven 
 hundred miles to inquire for missionaries. This 
 was good news indeed and at it Mr. Evans re- 
 joiced and exclaimed, " The Lord is indeed going 
 before us and preparing the way and our motto 
 is indeed ' Onward ! ' " 
 
 80 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 That there might be greater progress in the 
 worlc these two devoted men separated; the 
 Rev. Thomas Hurlburt taking Fort William as his 
 mission field, while James Evans toiled at other 
 places in that vast country. They had many dis- 
 couraging things to meet with but they found 
 the Indians on the whole quite friendly. What 
 some of the difficulties were which the mission- 
 aries had to contend with, the following will 
 show: 
 
 "1 find them anxious to be instructed in re- 
 ligious matters but their prejudices are so much 
 warped in favour of the Catholics that it is difficult 
 to deal with them. They have received the cru- 
 cifix, beads and other mummeries from the 
 priest, instead of the gospel, and in these they 
 trust in the same manner as they formerly did in 
 their medicine bags. My aim in every discourse 
 is to show them, as they can bear, what the na- 
 ture of true religion is. I am much pleased with 
 the attention paid by the people to divine things. 
 Some appear to be quite serious." 
 
 There is an important matter to which all mis- 
 sionaries find it well to give good heed, and that 
 is, constant and thorough attention to their own 
 inner spiritual life. Amidst the tension and ex- 
 citement of the strange surroundings and the so- 
 licitude and anxiety that the poor superstitious 
 people about them should speedily accept of 
 Christianity, there is a danger that their own souls 
 should suffer in the neglect to which they are ex- 
 posed in their longing for the salvation of others. 
 
 81 
 
Personal Obligations 
 
 " What has been the secret of your marvellous 
 success in India ? " was asked not long ago of a 
 fair, delicate, young lady missionary, who had 
 been most marvellously owned of God, in the 
 conversion of many hundreds of once degraded, 
 benighted Telegus. Her answer is worthy of re- 
 membrance of all who are toiling for the advance- 
 ment of the kingdom of Christ at home as well 
 as abroad. Modestly she replied, but in a way 
 that thrilled all who heard her: 
 
 "I never let the spiritual wants of others get 
 between my own soul's personal obligations to 
 Christ. I never let my missionary duties, heavy 
 and many though they are, rob me of the time 
 devoted to private devotions and communion with 
 Christ through prayer and His word. I found it 
 better to limit my time for meals and sleep, rather 
 than the time consecrated to personal communion 
 with God alone. If a sick Hindoo came to see 
 me when at prayer, I finished my devotions as 
 usual and ever felt that I was so much the better 
 prepared to prescribe more wisely for the disease; 
 and in this I have never been mistaken." 
 
 These are words worthy of being pondered 
 over by us all. In these active days, when there 
 is so much fuss and flutter, and we seem to be so 
 busy amidst the multitudinous duties of life that 
 come to us, we cannot be too careful in guarding 
 our own soul's interest, and the time when we 
 can go apart from the world and commune alone 
 with Him who is the source of our strength and 
 our God. 
 
 62 
 
Lake Superior Missions 
 
 A letter from Mr. Evans to his co-labourer, Mr. 
 Hurlburt, gives us a glimpse into his inner life 
 and shows that in this important matter he was 
 not neglectful. It is written in reply to one in 
 which Mr. Hurlburt had opened his own soul on 
 this subject. 
 
 "Why should I not enjoy the same privilege ? " 
 that was of writing about his own spiritual life. 
 "I am sure it will be agreeable to your feelings. 
 Well, I can through grace say that I am sure God 
 has deepened His blessed work in my own soul 
 since 1 arrived here. I enjoy great peace of mind. 
 My intercourse with God is not clouded but clear 
 and satisfactory. I am endeavouring to seek 
 after more of the mind which is in Christ. The 
 world is losing its charms. I would just as soon 
 be buried in the depths and wilds as to be in the 
 populous city. I love society as you know ; but 
 I trust that God knows that I love the poor be- 
 nighted heathen more; and heaven is just as near 
 the wilderness as Toronto. 1 have no home but 
 heaven, and I desire no other, but hope God will 
 enable me to wander about these dark regions 
 until He calls me home." 
 
 In this spirit, Mr. Evans toiled on. He had 
 many difficulties, much opposition, and some 
 success. In 1839 he was, owing to the disturbed 
 state of the country, brought back to civilisation. 
 For a time he preached in the town of Guelph 
 with great p6wer and acceptance. He showed 
 by his powerful sermons that his talents and gifts 
 were many, and that if he had devoted himself 
 83 
 
Sent t6 Hudson's Bay Territory' 
 
 to the regular work of the ministry, he would 
 have taicen rank as one of the greatest preachers 
 of the age. These few months in Guelph were 
 his last ministerial labours in Upper Canada. 
 
 In March, 1840, Mr. Evans received word that 
 news had come from England of the decision to 
 begin missionary work among the Indians of the 
 Hudson's Bay Territory, and that he was requested 
 to join and be the leader of the party who were 
 coming out shortly from England, to proceed, 
 via Montreal, to those remote regions. 
 
 The following is the official intimation of the 
 desire to establish this mission by the English 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society. It is interesting 
 at times to note the beginnings of what become 
 great things. It is in one short paragraph in the 
 "Wesleyan Magazine for March, 1840: 
 
 "North America, Hudson Bay Territory. The 
 Rev. Messrs. G. Barnly, W. Mason and R. T. 
 Rundle embarked at Liverpool by the Sheridan 
 for New York, on the i6th of March, on their 
 way to the territory of the Hon. Hudson's Bay 
 Company, to commence missionary operations 
 among the settlers and native tribes of that vast 
 region of North America under the protection, 
 and chiefly at the expense of the company, 
 whose proposals to the society have been of the 
 most liberal and honourable character." 
 
 64 
 
VI 
 
 THE WORK AND THE WORKMAN 
 
 The work in Red River — Begun in 1820 — The Hudson's Bay 
 Company — Their Posts — Diet of the men — Indians drifting 
 Southward — Seeking Religious truth — Sending Missionaries to 
 keep the hunters in the woods — James Evans chosen — His 
 work at St. Clair Mission — His trip to New York. 
 
 In 1820 missionary worit was begun in the Red 
 River settlement by the Church of England so- 
 ciety. To the Rev. John West, the founder of 
 that mission, the chief said in an address on the 
 occasion of the commencement of the worlc: 
 
 " There are a great many trees to be cut down 
 and roots to remove before the path will be made 
 clear to walk in." 
 
 The work, however, prospered at the Red 
 River, not many miles from the place where it 
 enters into Lake Winnipeg. Here has long flour- 
 ished a most interesting and successful mission. 
 Here for many years the venerable Archdeacon 
 Cowley lived, and was gladdened by the sight of 
 a prosperous community of converted and civi- 
 lised Indians around him. To other regions of the 
 vast country, to the north and west, missions 
 have since extended, until now nearly all of the 
 people have heard the glad tidings sf salvation. 
 
 For over two centuries the great HuiSson's Bay 
 Company have been trading with .the Vidians. 
 .8? 
 
The Hudson's Bay Company 
 
 Their goods brought out from England are bar- 
 tered for furs. York Factory on the Hudson's Bay, 
 and Norway House, about twenty miles north of 
 the northern end of Lake Winnipeg, were two 
 of their great distributing centres for goods from 
 the interior posts, some of them three thousand 
 miles inland. From the Indians there residing, 
 they expected not only large supplies of furs, but 
 in addition they looked to them to furnish large 
 numbers of hardy boatmen, upon whom they 
 could rely at all times and in every emergency. 
 Such were the exigencies of their trade, that often 
 numbers of Indian boatmen would be required at 
 very short notice, to start off on some adven- 
 turous trip that would perhaps require weeks for 
 its performance. The result was that it was 
 necessary that there should be a considerable 
 number of Indians within reach of these two 
 great trading posts. 
 
 In those high latitudes the Indians made a pre- 
 carious livelihood by fishing and hunting. Noth- 
 ing in the way of agricultural pursuits was ever 
 undertaken. Bread and vegetables, as articles of 
 food, were unknown for generations. The peo- 
 ple lived entirely on fish and game. How they 
 subsisted without vegetables, and many of them 
 without salt, is one of those things that we leave 
 for the curious in such matters to investigate. 
 Their more northern, neighbours, the Esquimaux, 
 on the coast of Labrador and the Arctic Ocean, 
 live entirely on a fish or fat meat diet, but they 
 have the safe waters. o.f the sea around them. But. 
 86 
 
The Work and the Workman 
 
 among some of the interior Indian tribes far away 
 from the ocean and saline springs, salt was abso- 
 lutely unknown. 
 
 How long these northern tribes dwelt in those 
 high latitudes is absolutely unknown. There are 
 no reliable traditions on the matter, and while 
 they all believe that their forefathers came from 
 a land beyond the setting sun, they have nothing 
 that is at all to be depended upon. 
 
 For some years before the establishment of the 
 northern missions by Mr. Evans, there had set in 
 a drift of the Indians to the South. At first the 
 Hudson's Bay Company's officials could not under- 
 stand its cause. Among their conjectures was 
 that it was to get to a warmer country where the 
 winters were not so long and cold. This reason, 
 however, as well as several others, when care- 
 fully investigated, proved to be incorrect. At 
 length it dawned upon these shrewd gentlemen 
 that it was on account of a dissatisfaction with 
 the old pagan religion, and a desire to become ac- 
 quainted with the religion of the Bible. Vague 
 rumours had reached them from time to time, by 
 passing adventurous hunters who came from re- 
 gions where Christianity had been proclaimed. 
 These rumours of this great religion given by the 
 Great Spirit, for all His children of every colour, 
 had been talked about in wigwarns and at camp- 
 fires. While a good deal that was true about it, 
 had been reported, there wer? also, on the other 
 hand, many things current that were foolish and 
 absurd.. However their curiosity had \?een ex^ 
 87 ■ ' ■■ ■ 
 
Indians Seeking for Teachers 
 
 cited and their religious instincts so aroused, that 
 family after family embarked in their birch canoes 
 and started for the land of the South Wind, in 
 order to find the teacher, and the Book. 
 
 Some thrilling incidents have been told of north- 
 ern missionaries being visited by companies of 
 Indians, coming from regions still more remote 
 to get the true report of the story of the Great 
 Spirit and a copy of His book. To one mission- 
 ary a number of Indians thus came a distance of 
 nine hundred miles. They had kept themselves 
 alive by their hunting and fishing and when he 
 told them of the love of God in Christ Jesus, they 
 begged of him to return with them and tell the 
 same story to their fathers and relatives in their 
 wigwams far away. 
 
 Thus one of the principal reasons why the great 
 fur-trading company was so willing and solicitous 
 for the establishment of missions in the northern 
 part of the great Dominion, was to stop the drift 
 of the Indians from their rich and valuable hunt- 
 ing grounds, where they were none too numerous 
 for hunting for their profit the rich and valuable 
 furs which there abounded, as well as to serve, 
 as we have indicated, as trip-men or canpe_-meB 
 as needed in the interchange of goods and fyrs 
 between the remotely situated trading posts. So 
 ,to the English Wesleyan Missionary Society, the 
 head officials of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose 
 offices are in London, England, applied with a 
 request that they would open some mission sta- 
 .tipns in the Hudson's Bay Territories among the 
 88 
 
The Work and the Workman 
 
 Indian tribes. This request, whicfi was coupled 
 with the offer of a good deal of material aid, and 
 the assurance of their protection and good-will, 
 was at once accepted. 
 
 Then the question was, where can we find a 
 leader for such an important movement. Volun- 
 teers were found among the consecrated goodly 
 young ministers who were willing to go under 
 the guidance of an experienced head, who would 
 be able to wisely lead them to success and vic- 
 tory. Earnestly at home in England, did they 
 search for such an one, but they found him not. 
 Good men and true were there in multitudes- 
 Some of them afterward made their mark and 
 did grand service for the Master amidst the mis- 
 sionary fields of toil in other lands. But here 
 was a peculiar place to fill. The work was to be 
 among red Indians about whom so much of the 
 romantic still lingered. The location was to be 
 in the heart of an almost unknown continent, 
 where the winters were long and fierce and cold; 
 where journeys, longer than even the apostle 
 Paul undertook, were to be made; where th,e 
 conveyance in summer would be a birch canoie, 
 and in winter a dog-sled; where the bed at night 
 would often be only a granite rock amidst pelt- 
 ing storms, or in winter time, a hole dug in the 
 snowdrift, and the temperature so low that the 
 mercury would be frozen in the thermometer for 
 months. To get a man as leader of a company 
 of missionaries to begin such a work, with even a 
 fair assurance of success, was indeed no easy task. 
 89 
 
In James Evans the Workman Found 
 
 Fortunately the eyes of the home officials of 
 the English Wesleyan Church were directed to 
 Canada, and at once it was felt that in James 
 Evans, God, and His church had the man for the 
 important and arduous work. How James Evans 
 had been employing his time, and grandly fitting 
 himself for this larger field, the following letter 
 will indicate. It is a sample of many, showing 
 not only his activity and zeal in preaching the 
 gospel, but his perseverance in the study of the 
 Indian language which was to be of such good 
 service to him in years to come. The letter was 
 written to Rev. Joseph Stinson, then superintend- 
 ent of Indian missions, from St. Clair Indian 
 Mission, where James Evans was then stationed. 
 
 "The good work is still prospering. 1 bap- 
 tised sixteen last Sabbath, and expect to baptise 
 more next Lord's day. We believe the net is on 
 the right side of the ship, and doubt not that the 
 Lord will yet, at this mission, give us the hun- 
 dred and fifty and three. Amen! Last Sunday, 
 a man arrived from the southwest shore of Lake 
 Huron, whose errand was to seek the gospel; nor 
 was it for himself alone he was engaged. He 
 informed us that a body of Indians who had 
 heard of the work of God in this place, had as- 
 sembled on the lake shore and were waiting there, 
 for instruction. Some, he said, were determined 
 to become Christians, and others were waiting to 
 hear more about it before they made up their 
 minds. Thomas and myself expect to start to- 
 morrow to s^e them. We shall return l?efore. 
 
 90, 
 
The Work and the Workman 
 
 Sunday, and bring as many as we can with us. 
 Pray for us! There are also about sixty or 
 seventy on Walpole Island, thirty miles below us 
 on the St. Clair, who express a willingness, and 
 some an anxiety, to hear the gospel; we shall see 
 these as early as possible. Some residing at Bear 
 Creek also request me to go and teach them the 
 way to Ispheming (heaven), and, say they, ' We 
 will walk in it.' The Black River Indians, who 
 were anxious last fall to see us, and some of 
 whom visited our mission and attended meeting 
 twice, will soon be to hear us again, when they 
 return from the sugar bush. We expect the little 
 cloud will spread to the American Indians, and 
 water also their parched ground. It is very de- 
 sirable that Brother Sunday should, if practicable, 
 pay us a visit in April or May, nor would a pop 
 visit satisfy us. The uncultivated ground around 
 us would find him good employment for two or 
 three weeks, could he be spared so long. I am 
 confident his labours at present would be greatly 
 blessed, 'the fields are white to harvest.' I am 
 still striving to obtain a knowledge of the Indian, 
 but I make so little proficiency that I, at times, 
 almost get discouraged ; and were it not that I 
 have resolved to make ' Persevere and overcome ' 
 my motto, I should give it up. 1 endeavoured; 
 last Sunday week to preach in Indian for the first 
 time, (my interpreter beiqg absent), and for oncje 
 succeeded in preaching a short sermon." 
 
 That he was also preparing himself, although, 
 perhaps yncqnscious of it, to rough it ip tjje 
 
Poor Yet Rich 
 
 wilds of the north land, the following extract 
 from a letter, written to the loved ones at home, 
 for whom he had the greatest affection, will 
 show. He had been very busy in New York for 
 some time, engaged in putting several much- 
 needed Indian publications which he had trans- 
 lated, through the press. The chief route, in 
 those days, was up the Hudson River and Erie 
 Canal, then by boat across Lake Ontario to 
 Toronto. Nearly out of money, on account of 
 his heavy printing expenses, and resolved not to 
 go in debt, he was unable to travel as a first, 
 or even as a second-class passenger. But his 
 good humour and vivacity of spirits never left 
 him. He says: 
 
 "According to my resolution, I took deck pas- 
 sage on board the steamer Buffalo, and slept 
 three nights on the softest plank I could select. 
 By this means 1 contrived to reach Toronto with- 
 out having to stop to work on the road. On 
 taking my passage 1 flattered myself that I should, 
 in my great blanket coat, pass through the voy- 
 age unrecognised, and that consequently my 
 pride would not be wounded; but behold, first 
 came Mr. Orvis, of Black River, after we were 
 on the way. 'How do you do, Mr. Evans?' 
 Next the engineer of whom I had knowledge 
 asked ; ' Elder, are you going to Buffalo ? ' An<;i 
 to crown all, at dinner time, a boy, who used to 
 be cabin boy on board the Gatriat, came with; 
 'Elder, will you come to dinner.?' 
 
 "I had the satisfaction of saying, 'O, I am a 
 
o 
 z 
 
 
The Work and the Workmarl 
 
 deck passenger!' At Cleveland there came on 
 board a gentleman residing near the Credit, who 
 Very soon recognised me, and congratulated him- 
 self saying, ' I am very glad to find that I shall 
 have some company,' and when the bell rang for 
 breakfast, 'Come,' said he, 'we shall lose our 
 seats.' 'I am a deck passenger,' said I, nor did 
 I care one sou. Thus 1 had a chance of doing 
 penance, and I hope it has done me no harm. 
 Although much pain of mind must be endured in 
 taking deck passage, by being compelled to hear 
 a great deal of profane language, yet not more 
 than would have to be endured in the cabin, 
 where they are gambling and swearing half the 
 night." 
 
 Thus wrote James Evans. He had spent his 
 money in printing portions of the gospel, and 
 some hymns for his beloved Indian converts, and 
 now, in order to get home, he sleeps on a plank 
 on the deck of an old style steamer, amidst the 
 profanity of the roughs there huddled. Nowa- 
 days some ministers, and even returned mission- 
 aries, grumble if a baby cries, or a sleeper snores 
 in a Pullman car, or the cuisine of a palatial 
 steamer is not of the most elaborate and fastidi- 
 ous description. Fancy one of the latter descrip- 
 tion, going out on a work like that to which 
 James Evans gave so grandly, some of the best 
 years of his life. 
 
 93 
 
Vll 
 
 PETER JACOBS 
 
 Peter Jacobs — His account of his early life — Catching a 
 bear — A canoe upset — Providential Escape — Nearly caught in 
 the rapids — Shooting a sturgeon. 
 
 One of the young Indian converts whom the 
 Rev. James Evans carried with him by canoe 
 from Lac La Pluie on Lalce Superior to Norway 
 House, was Peter Jacobs. He was for many 
 years an efficient worker among his red country- 
 men. Long after his first trip to Norway House, 
 he visited England, where he addressed large 
 audiences on behalf of missions, and created a 
 good deal of interest in and sympathy for Indian 
 missionary work in Canada. In the following 
 narrative we let him speak for himself. He gives 
 us much information about things we are all 
 anxious to know. 
 
 "In the year 1824, I first heard the gospel 
 preached by the Rev. William Case. Before that 
 time I was a heathen and so were all the tribes of 
 Canada West. When I was a lad, I never heard 
 an Indian pray as Christians pray to the Great 
 Being. Our people believed in the existence of 
 a Great Being, the maker of all things; but we 
 thought that God was so very far away that no 
 human voice could reach Him : and indeed we all 
 94 
 
t*eter Jacobs 
 
 believed that God did not meddle with the affairs 
 of the children of men. 
 
 " I, as well as the people of my tribe, was very 
 cruel and wicked, because there was no fear of 
 God in our heart, and no fear of punishment, but 
 every man settles his own affairs by the force of 
 his tomahawk; that is to say by burying his 
 tomahawk in the people's heads and that ends all 
 disputes. The Indians made their women do all 
 their work and the men did little or nothing in 
 the heathen life. The women made the wig- 
 wam, and removed it when necessary, carrying 
 it on their backs; and they chopped the wood 
 and carried it home on their backs. They 
 brought the venison home when the deer was 
 killed by their husbands; they dressed the skins 
 for their husbands' clothes and made the coats, 
 shirts and moccasins, which completes the Indian 
 dress; — all was done by the women. Notwith- 
 standing the poor women did all this, they got 
 very little gratitude from their heathen husbands. 
 
 " I will just relate to you one of my prayers in 
 heathen life: ' O God the Sun, I beseech you to 
 hear my prayer, and to direct my steps through 
 the woods in that direction where the deer is 
 feeding, that I may get near him, shoot him and 
 kill him, and have something to eat thereby.' 
 And this was all the prayer I ever made. There 
 is nothing about soul salvation in that prayer. 
 Some pray for fish, or ducks, or rabbits, or what- 
 ever they wish to get. 
 
 "At length the missionary came and began to 
 
 95 
 
God Could Understand Ojibway 
 
 preach about Christ and how He died for me; 
 but I first said, 'No; that is the white man's God 
 and white man's religion; and that God would 
 have nothing to do with the Indians.' But he 
 assured me God would save me if 1 would be- 
 lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and as a proof he 
 read portions of Scripture to me again and again. 
 And then at last I began to think that he must be 
 right and I must be wrong because he read the 
 ' Book of God ' (as we call the Bible) to me. 
 Then I began to pray for the first time in Eng- 
 lish. I only then knew a few words. I said " O 
 God be merciful to me, poor Indian boy, great 
 sinner.' And the word of God had now got 
 hold of my heart, but it made me feel very sick 
 in my heart. I went to bed and I could not sleep 
 for my thoughts troubled me very much. Then 
 I would pray the words over and over again, and 
 got more and more sick in my heart. I was very 
 sorry that God could not understand my Ojib- 
 way. I thought God could only understand 
 English. And when 1 was praying tears came 
 spontaneously from my eyes, and 1 could not 
 understand this, because I had been taught from 
 infancy never to weep. In this misery I passed 
 three or four weeks. I then met with Peter 
 Jones, who was converted a few months before 
 me: and to my surprise I heard him return 
 thanks at meal in Ojibway. This was quite 
 enough for me. I now saw that God could un- 
 derstand me in my Ojibway, and therefore went 
 far into the woods, and prayed in the Ojibway 
 
 96 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 tongue to God and said: ' O God I was so igno- 
 rant and blind, that I did not Icnow that thou 
 couldst understand my Ojibway tongue! Now 
 O God, I beseech Thee, to be gracious to me, a 
 sinner! Take away this sickness that I now feel 
 in my heart; for all my sins lay very hiwy in 
 my heart. Send now Thy Holy Spirit to come 
 work in my heart! Let the blood of Christ fae 
 now applied to my heart, that all my sins may 
 depart!' 
 
 " Though I could now pray in this way in my 
 native tongue, yet God did not seem to think it 
 best to hear my prayers at this time, but left me 
 to pass many miserable nights. And I cried out 
 again: 'O God, I will not let Thee alone! I 
 shall trouble Thee with my prayers till Thou bless 
 me!' And at last God heard my prayers, and 
 He took away this heavy sickness of heart; but 
 not till many tears had been shed. And when 
 this sickness was taken away from my heart, 
 then I experienced another feeling which was 
 'joy in the Holy Ghost,' which was indeed 
 'full of glory.' My tongue could not express 
 the joy I then felt. I could say nothing but 
 'Happy, happy!' When I found this religion 
 of Christ so sweet in the heart of man, I wanted 
 all my people then to know of the great and true 
 God; but they all said: No; that I was wrong; 
 that I had been to the white man's God and not 
 the Saviour of the Indians. But I said that God 
 was the Saviour of all the nations of the earth; 
 for I know in my own heart what He has done 
 
 97 
 
Keeping Store 
 
 for tne; and what He has done for me He can do 
 for you. And they began to pray for mercy, and 
 the forgiveness of their sins; and they praying in 
 strong faith, many of them were converted; and 
 now at this time there are hundreds that are con- 
 verted among the North American Indians. I 
 was the first-fruits of the missionary labours in 
 my tribe. After I was converted, I became a 
 prayer-leader and afterward, when the Indians 
 were settled in houses, I became a class-leader, 
 then a local preacher. 
 
 "When 1 was a local preacher I used to preach 
 very long, very hard, and very often. Once I 
 had been preaching till eleven at night to the con- 
 verted Indians from Lake Simcoe, and was just 
 finishing when the Indians said: 'When we 
 were heathen we never gave up drinking the fire- 
 water the whole night, and why should we now 
 go to bed ? Why should we not go on singing 
 and praising God till daylight?' I was young 
 and full of spirits; an'^ though I had just done 
 preaching, I began again, and preached a great 
 part of the night. 
 
 "After their conversion, the Indians were set- 
 tling in houses, and I built myself a large house 
 and then began to keep a store, and made a com- 
 fortable living by selling things; but I wished to 
 be a missionary to the tribes of Indians who had 
 not heard the gospel ; and I offered myself for the 
 mission-work, and was accepted, sold off my 
 store, and went as a missionary. 
 
 " I have been a missionary for sixteen years. 
 98 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 Twelve years I have been in the far west, among 
 the Indians in the Hudson's Bay Territories, hav- 
 ing gone out with Rev. James Evans by canoe 
 from Lac La Pluie to Norway House in 1840. 
 
 " In the year 1842 I came to England and was 
 ordained in the Centenary Hall; and in 1843 was 
 sent back to the Hudson's Bay Territory. I cannot 
 tell you about all the tribes of Indians that I have 
 visited, it would take too long. 1 have preached 
 to many poor Indians in their heathen state and 
 they have become Christians. At Norway House 
 we formed seven classes and helped the Indians 
 to build houses, and kept school for children. 
 This mission is now one of the best in the Hud- 
 son's Bay Territory. There are more than three 
 hundred hearers, a fine chapel, and eighty chil- 
 dren in the school." 
 
 Peter Jacobs remained, as this narrative tells us, 
 a couple of years with Mr. Evans and then was 
 sent to England for ordination. On his return 
 he was thus able to more effectually aid Mr. 
 Evans in his work, which had become so exten- 
 sive, that he had to avail himself of the assistance 
 of all the native helpers, who had gifts and graces 
 that commanded the respect of the whites and 
 Indians. Mr. Evans also availed himself to the 
 knowledge possessed by his Indian converts of 
 their own, and other native languages, and dia- 
 lects, to aid him in his many translations of hymns 
 and portions of the Word of God. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs also travelled extensively in the pros- 
 ecution of the good work among his country- 
 
Attacking a Bear 
 
 men. He had many adventures and some most 
 marvellous escapes from death by drowning. 
 These we will let him tell in his own language, 
 which will show what a credit he was to the 
 mission schools that could thus take and trans- 
 form into the Christian gentleman the once wild 
 pagan Indian boy. His first story is an account 
 of how he and his two travelling companions in 
 a canoe, killed a bear. 
 
 "The afternoon was calm and beautiful; and 
 as we had had a good rest and were appre- 
 hensive of head winds, we pulled all that night. 
 At sunrise next morning we attempted to land 
 and breakfast, but the water was so shoal we 
 could not, without having to wade a distance. 
 The beach was of bright sand and the sun was 
 about two hours up, when I saw an object mov- 
 ing on the shore. It appeared to be a man; and 
 as we neared it, it appeared to make gestures to 
 us. We were wearied and hungry, but thinking 
 the stranger was in danger or in suffering, we 
 pulled on toward him. Judge of our surprise 
 when we found him to be an enormous bear. 
 He was seated on his hams, and what we 
 thought his gestures were his motions in raising 
 himself on his hind legs to pull berries from a 
 high bush, and with his paws filled sitting down 
 again. Thus he continued daintily enjoying his 
 fresh fruit in the position our ladies' lap-dogs 
 are taught to assume when asking a morsel from 
 their mistresses. On we pulled and forgot our 
 hunger and weariness. The bear still continued 
 
 100 
 
O 
 I 
 
 u 
 
 < 
 
 CQ 
 < 
 
 z 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 breakfasting. We got as close in shore as the 
 shoal would permit and John taking my gun, a 
 double barrel, leaped into the water and gained 
 the beach. Some dead brushwood lay between 
 John and the bear. He now discovered us; and 
 John not seeing him for the dead brush ran along 
 the beach toward him. The weariness from 
 pulling all night, and being so long without 
 breakfast, and the reaction produced by seeing 
 the bear, probably disturbed my presence of 
 mind, for 1 remembered now that the gun was 
 loaded with heavy duck-shot only, and you 
 might as well meet a bear with peas. John was 
 in danger, and we strained at our paddles ; but as 
 the bear was a very large one, and we had no 
 other fire-arms than the gun John had, we would 
 have been but poor help to John in the hug of a 
 wounded bear. The bear was at the other side 
 of the dry brush on the beach. John heard the 
 dry branches cracking before the brute, and 
 dodged into a hollow under a thick bush. The 
 bear passed the dry brush and was coursing along 
 the sand ; but as he passed by where John lay, 
 bang went the gun. The bear was struck. We 
 saw him leap through the smoke on to the very 
 spot where we saw John last. We held our 
 breath but, instead of the cry of agony we ex- 
 pected, bang, went the gun again! John is not 
 yet caught! Our canoe rushed through the water. 
 We might yet be in time. But my paddle fell 
 from my hand, as I saw John pop head and 
 shoulders above a bush, and with a shout point 
 101 
 
On Stormy Lake Winnipeg 
 
 to the side of the log he stood upon. ' There he 
 lies— dead enough ! ' We were indeed thankful to 
 the Preserver. 
 
 " We took about half the bear along with us, all 
 the canoe would carry. Here 1 learned for the 
 first time how to preserve meat without salt for 
 ^. month, and have it then good and fresh as 
 when killed. A hole was dug in the swamp 
 about two and a half feet deep. In the bottom 
 of this a few dry boughs were placed, then the 
 rest of the bear's meat was wrapped up in the 
 skin and placed in this hole. All was now care- 
 fully covered up so as to be safe from the sun 
 and air. About a month after when this meat 
 was taken up, it was found to be still sweet and 
 good. 
 
 "Thus on we journeyed day after day, in our 
 birch canoe. Lake Winnipeg was unusually 
 wild and tempestuous; sometimes we were de- 
 layed by head winds, at other times we were 
 nearly swamped in the great waves which were 
 like those of the ocean. One of our party was 
 kept busy all the time bailing out water with our 
 large kettle. Apprehensive of coming frost and 
 ice, we were perhaps too venturesome in our 
 anxiety to make a quick voyage. This is one of 
 the dangers to be guarded against and with Mr. 
 Evans, who was a man of such dauntless courage, 
 we were in perils oft as in our frail birch canoe 
 we pushed on over stormy lakes and down rapid 
 rivers to carry the gospel to the Indian tribes who 
 had never heard its glorious truths." 
 103 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 The following account of the upsetting of the 
 birch canoe is from the pen of Peter Jacobs. 
 The sufferings endured, with the providential es- 
 cape of the occupants of the frail craft, will give 
 some idea of the risks run by the heroic men who 
 in those days endeavoured, and not in vain, to 
 extend the Redeemer's kingdom in those deso- 
 late regions. 
 
 "During the 6th and 7th of September, we were 
 wind-bound. On the 8th the wind abated, and 
 we again put out on the lake. The waves were 
 high; but as the wind had gone down we 
 thought they also would fall. It was morning. 
 We had not yet taken breakfast, and were about 
 an hour and a half from our encampment, 
 doubling a point, when a wave struck us and 
 half filled the canoe. We ran into the bay, 
 bailed out and again turned to the lake. A point 
 lay about a mile and a half ahead. Round this 
 point and the wind Would be almost fair. On 
 we pulled, wet and cold. How uncertain is the 
 future! We were nearly two miles from shore 
 when a wave struck us and over we went. 
 When I rose to the surface I found the canoe bot- 
 tom up and John astride on its stern. I struck 
 for the stem and grasping it in my arms hung 
 on. The old man, my bowsman, hung on some- 
 where about midships. He had the worst hold 
 of any of us, and from his being more frequently 
 under the waves than John or I, he would be the 
 first to give out. I said to John, 'We die now.' 
 'Yes," John replied, 'we certainly die now.' I 
 
 103 
 
John's Heroic Rescue 
 
 advised the men no<^ to attempt swimming to 
 shore as the water was so cold they would get 
 faint and drown, but to liold on to the canoe and 
 we would drift ashore sometime. They prom- 
 ised to do so. 
 
 " 1 now saw that the boatman was getting ex- 
 hausted: his efforts to resist and rise with the 
 heave of the wave appeared to be more and more 
 feeble. I asked him if he were prepared to meet 
 his God ? He said : ' I have prayed to Him long, 
 long ago.' He was ready to die. Both the men 
 were good Christians, members of the Norway 
 House mission. The old man's eyes were clos- 
 ing, when John reached forward his hand, and 
 taking him by the hair at the risk of losing his 
 own hold, placed the old man's chin upon his 
 knee and kept it there thus keeping his mouth 
 out of the water. We thought that the old man 
 was dead, but John, a hero, would not let his 
 head drop, determined if we should get to the 
 shore, to bury his companion on the beach. 
 
 " I now felt myself getting weak, and that all 
 hope was over. I committed my soul and my 
 family to God. I told John that I felt I was 
 drowning, and that he must, if he could, save his 
 own life. He replied that he had no wish to live; 
 that if we were drowned that he would drown 
 too. The poor fellow's heart was like to burst, 
 not for himself, but for the old man and me. 
 When I thought of home and the wants of the 
 work, I did wish to live. If my work was done 
 I would die; if not all the water in the lake could 
 
 104 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 not drown me; God's will be done! I was per- 
 fectly resigned. I prayed; and as I prayed, sud- 
 denly the hope of being saved, hitherto lost, filled 
 my mind. I felt an irresistible impression that 
 we would not drown but that we would all be 
 saved. Nothing that I saw had occurred to cause 
 this, but I felt assured of its truth. The winds 
 blew, the waves heaved, and we, like floating 
 leaves, were tossed about as the storm willed. 
 It was He who rules the winds, the waves and 
 the hearts and strength of men — from Him did 
 we get our hope and our strength. I felt so much 
 revived that I began to paddle with my arm ; and 
 just as the waves threw a paddle almost into 
 John's hand, the bowsman's eyes opened. I now 
 felt merry ; not that I could laugh, but very very 
 happy — thankfulness to God being the uppermost 
 feeling. 
 
 " We neared the shore, and several times I let 
 my feet drop to sound but no bottom. Still we 
 neared the shore, and again and again did 1 sound, 
 and at last found the bottom, but a few yards 
 from the beach. 
 
 "The old man was our first care — he could not 
 walk upright. John and I returned to save the 
 canoe and on turning it up, found of all we had 
 only my bedding. God was indeed good to us 
 in this; for we would have suffered much dur- 
 ing the night from cold had the bedding not 
 been restored to us. We knelt down on the 
 beach and returned Him thanks. We now felt 
 ourselves so much exhausted that we had to lay 
 
 105 
 
A Struggle for Life 
 
 down on the beach, wet and cold as we were, 
 and rest." 
 
 The following narrow escape from perishing 
 in the rapids of Winnipeg River is also one of 
 Peter Jacobs' experiences. The Silver Falls is one 
 of the grandest falls in Winnipeg River. From a 
 distance, they present a beautiful white appear- 
 ance, caused by the spray from which they ob- 
 tained the name of Silver Falls. The river where 
 the falls are, is more than a quarter of a mile 
 wide. So whatever goes down these falls alive, 
 goes to the bottom dead enough. 
 
 "I had six voyagers in each canoe. In coming 
 down the river toward the landing of the portage, 
 my steersman Sebe (River) very foolishly and 
 carelessly steered the canoe so that we went too 
 far out, and were drawn quickly down by the 
 strong current. On perceiving the danger, the 
 men began to pull with great force, in order to 
 reach the landing, and thus save themselves from 
 being drawn over the precipice of the falls. It 
 was a struggle, a struggle for life ! Ah ! how im- 
 minent our danger was. Were we to be ingulfed 
 in the foaming deep ? As our canoe was heavily 
 laden, it refused to obey us, (so to speak,) but 
 was inclined to go over the precipice. An extra 
 paddle being by my side, I picked it up and as- 
 sisted the men. We gained inch by inch. All 
 this time the landing was only about fifteen feet 
 from us, only we were fifteen feet too low down. 
 The men in the other canoe in the meantime were 
 looking at us, anxious on our account, but could 
 106 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 not render us assistance, as they had to take care 
 of their own canoe. They could only cry out 
 ' Pull, pull, pull! ' At last we reached the desired 
 shore, and O, how glad our hearts were when 
 we found ourselves once more safe on land. I 
 looked at my men ; their faces were as pale as 
 death. The other crew seeing us now safe, be- 
 gan to laugh at us, and to say, ' Your face^ ^re as 
 white as a sheet ; that will teach you to be a little 
 more careful next time, when you come down to 
 the landing.' We expected this, for it is the na- 
 ture of the Indian to laugh heartily when the 
 greatest danger is over. My men tried to laugh, 
 but they could not, they were too much fright- 
 ened. It was half an hour before I could myself 
 get over the shock I had sustained, and be free 
 from my nervous feeling. Now if we had had a 
 distance of ten feet more to go, when we were 
 pulling away to reach the landing our canoe 
 would have gone down and have been crushed to 
 atoms, and we would have never trodden dry 
 land alive. I was thankful to Almighty God for 
 our escape from this great danger." 
 
 The following incident describes the method of 
 capturing sturgeon, which are much used by the 
 Indians and missionaries as food. " At the head of 
 the rapids is a small rock jutting out into the 
 water, and behind the rock is a little eddy. In 
 this eddy my men, as they walked on the high 
 rock, many feet above the water, espied a large 
 sturgeon, which was observed at one time to re- 
 main on the surface of the water, and sometimes 
 
 107 
 
Shooting a Sturgeon 
 
 to be thrown quite above the surface, by the mo- 
 tion of the water and at another time to disappear. 
 My men said that they would give anything for 
 this large sturgeon. To catch and kill it was im- 
 possible, for there was no spear in our posses- 
 sion. But the men still looked as eagerly at it as 
 an Englishman would have looked, had there been 
 a bag of gold in the water. "Come, come," 
 said I to my men, "it is no use to waste more 
 time looking at it; we will never get it; it has 
 only to move its tail once and then it is out of 
 reach." But the men were loath to come away. 
 At last one of them said: 
 
 " 1 will try one experiment if yww will let me." 
 
 "What is that?" said I. 
 
 " Let me have your double-barrelled gun," said 
 he, "and I will put a ball in it, and will hide behind 
 the rock yonder; I will then shoot the sturgeon 
 on the head when it comes up to the surface, but 
 let another man go down and stand in the water 
 up to his knees behind another point of rock 
 close by. If I should stun the sturgeon by firing 
 at it, the man in the water will rush toward it 
 and drag it up." 
 
 " Here is my gun," said I at once, "your plan 
 of operation is an excellent one." 
 
 So he took the gun and, after loading it, he 
 went down below with another man, to put his 
 plan into execution. The rest of us who stood 
 upon a rock about sixty feet nearly perpendicu- 
 lar, watched the two men below us. We had 
 quite a good view. Both of the men took their 
 108 
 
Peter Jacobs 
 
 posts at the time the sturgeon disappeared under 
 the surface of the water. Every five minutes the 
 sturgeon used to come up. Presently it rose up 
 finely to the surface, and at this time the man 
 with the gun banged away at it. In an instant 
 we saw the under part of the sturgeon. The 
 other Indian in the meantime who was within a 
 yard and a half of the spot, sprang at the 
 wounded sturgeon as eagerly as the fish hawk 
 after its prey. He seized it but could not take it 
 up, for it wanted to go into the deep water. 
 The other man at this time put down the gun, 
 and ran to the aid of his companion. After a tug 
 of three or four minutes, they brought up the 
 sturgeon high and dry, to the joy of the rest of 
 my men. The ball had entered the back of the 
 neck. This was the first sturgeon that I h^d seen 
 killed with a bullet. We lost no time in clean- 
 ing, cooking, and eating it. It made a good 
 dinner for my twelve men. Some remained over 
 and above, for the fish weighed from forty-five 
 to fifty pounds. " 
 
 10» 
 
VIII 
 
 FROM OTTAWA TO NORWAY HOUSE 
 
 Letter to Ephraim Evans — On the way to Norway House — 
 Mrs. Evans — Mr. Evans' hospitality and cheerfulness — The 
 Journey — To Superior by boat — Then by canoe — The fragile 
 craft — Its utility — Running rapids — Portaging — Rev. John 
 Ryerson's picture of a thunderstorm — Rev. R. T. Rundle wel- 
 comes them to Norway House. 
 
 The following extracts from a letter to his be- 
 loved brother, the Rev. Ephraim Evans, who was 
 himself at this time a successful missionary, and 
 afterward the founder of the Methodist Missions 
 in British Columbia on the Pacific coast, will give 
 us some idea of James Evans' preparatory move- 
 ments, and of the difficulties and hardships of 
 travel in those early days of this country. He 
 had expected to go from Montreal in the regular 
 Hudson's Bay Company's canoes, which leave just 
 as soon as the ice breaks up in the upper rivers, 
 and it is at all safe to travel. Mr. Evans writes 
 from on board a steamer on the Rideau canal. 
 May 1 2th, 1840: 
 
 "I reached Montreal on the 24th of April, eight 
 days earlier than mentioned by Dr. Alder and 
 found the canoes gone the day before. So now 
 I am, with Mary and Eugenia (wife and daugh- 
 ter) on my way to Norway House on Lake Win- 
 110 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 nipeg, four hundred miles from the Red River 
 colony, — Providence orders all things well. 
 
 "1 shall go to Fort William without getting 
 into a canoe. Our goods have gone to London, 
 England, to be sent to Hudson's Bay, where they 
 will arrive this fall. The Hudson's Bay Company 
 have engaged to furnish our missionaries with 
 everything necessary for their comfort and con- 
 venience in the Indian country, including canoes, 
 provisions, canoemen, houses, interpreters, free 
 of all charge ; and we have letters from Governor 
 Simpson and the committee, addresses to all the 
 gentlemen in their districts and posts in North 
 America — a pretty wide range! I shall see the 
 Pacific yet, God willing, as one of the young 
 men goes to Rocky Mountain House, and my 
 duty is to visit them as soon as possible! " 
 
 There is much in that letter of interest and 
 suggestiveness. To some of its items, we will 
 refer. 
 
 Mary, his wife, was a Miss Mary B. Smith of 
 Lower Canada, with whom Mr. Evans became 
 acquainted when he was teaching school in that 
 province. With the impetuosity of his energetic 
 nature he carried on his courtship, and as the at- 
 tachment was mutual, they were married when 
 Mr. Evans was but little over twenty-two years 
 of age. They were both poor as regards this 
 world's goods, but they were rich in each other's 
 love; and so, with faith in God and in them- 
 selves, they together entered into life's arena- 
 well equipped for the conflict. 
 1X1 
 
Happy, Hearty, Humble 
 
 Mrs. Evans was grandly equipped to be the 
 wife of such a missionary as James Evans. She 
 was a woman of fine appearance, beautiful in 
 figure, and with a sunny countenance. She en- 
 tered very heartily into all of her enthusiastic 
 husband's schemes, and bore up bravely and un- 
 complainingly during his long absences from 
 home, on his eventful journeys. At times they 
 were almost in want, and had to practice the 
 most rigid economy in order to obtain the neces^ 
 saries of life. 
 
 Well do I remember when a boy hearing my 
 father, the Rev. William Young, tell of a visit to 
 them when they were living at Rice Lake, where 
 Mr. Evans was then teaching in the Indian 
 school. 
 
 "Come in, Brother Young, come in," said the 
 happy, buoyant, always rejoicing Mr. Evans. 
 "Come in, and dine with us; we have a pan of 
 milk and a loaf of bread. The Good Book says; 
 ' his bread shall be given him, his waters shall be 
 sure: 'we are better off than that, for we have 
 milk instead of water." 
 
 To refuse such an invitation, given with such a 
 genuine ring, was impossible, and so my father 
 dined with them. A happier, more contented 
 couple of young people, he says he never saw. 
 With good appetites they ate their bread and 
 milk, laughed at their poverty, and spoke hope- 
 fully and enthusiastically about their work. 
 
 This was the woman who now, after seven- 
 teen years of happy life in civilisation, was, with 
 112 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 their only daughter, going hopefully and cheer- 
 fully with him to the far-away wilderness abode. 
 We thank God for the many noble brave women 
 who have, some with husbands, and some un- 
 married, gone out into the high places of the 
 field, and there have uncomplainingly and hero- 
 ically lived and toiled for the extension of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. What the church owes 
 to her noble band of female missionaries and 
 teachers, has never yet been fully realised. We 
 doubt whether it ever can be. Their coolness 
 and bravery in trying hours quite equals that of 
 the men. Their tact and skill, their patience and 
 endurance, their faith and belief in the ultimate 
 triumph of the gospel, easily place them in the 
 front. 
 
 Among the priceless ones, of "the elect women " 
 of the Church, was Mrs. James Evans. Here we 
 find her with her husband and daughter, en route 
 for their most important and trying, and alas, 
 their last field of toil. 
 
 Referring to the young missionaries who had 
 been sent out from England and were to be his 
 fellow workers in the far north, he writes in his 
 usual buoyant and kindly style. 
 
 " I met one of the young men from England in 
 La Chine, a fine fellow. The other good boys 
 had gone. They are all young, hearty, talented 
 men. May God bless them! I am in high spirits 
 and expect many savages to be converted to God. 
 The canoes have left, thus saving me fifteen hun- 
 dred miles of canoeing. This is especially ad- 
 113 
 
Two Young Indians 
 
 vantageous as Mary and Eugenia are accompany- 
 ing me. God does all things right. I am deeply 
 indebted to Him." 
 
 The fact that the canoes had started from La 
 Chine several days earlier than was anticipated, 
 saved Mr. Evans and family from having to 
 travel in one, from the mouth of the Ottawa 
 River to Thunder Bay on the north side of Lake 
 Superior. How few of us can realise the hard- 
 ships and dangers of such a trip, in such a boat. 
 Fifteen hundred miles of the journey of about 
 three thousand miles, were thus to be made by 
 the steamboats of those days. They journeyed 
 by Lakes Ontario and Erie, St. Clair, Lakes Huron 
 and Superior, to Fort William. Here they be- 
 gan their canoe travelling. 
 
 Mr. Evans took with him two of the young 
 Ojibway converts, who had already given signs 
 of usefulness as evangelists. They were Henry 
 Steinhauer and Peter Jacobs. As we have made 
 reference to them, or let them speak for them- 
 selves elsewhere, it is only necessary here to add 
 that they were admirably fitted for their work. 
 Having been all their days accustomed to the 
 canoe, they were of great service in the present 
 situation. Mr. Evans himself a man of great 
 physical energy, and as much at home in a canoe 
 as an Indian, not only paddled himself a great 
 deal of the time, but he infused his own energy 
 into all associated with him. Henry Steinhauer 
 and Peter Jacobs were of great assistance on the 
 journey. The fact of their both being skillful 
 114 
 
o 
 
 a; 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 > 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 hunters made them valuable on the route. Many 
 a fat duck and other savoury bird was shot by 
 them, and added much to the bill of fare, which 
 in general was none too tempting, especially to 
 the two ladies of the party. 
 
 When religious services were held among the 
 natives, as they were able to tarry long enough 
 on the route for service, these two talented young 
 Indians added much to the interest of the service, 
 not only by their sweet voices in song, but also 
 by their simple unaffected testimony to the bless- 
 edness of the gospel which had wrought such 
 changes in them, and among many of their coun- 
 trymen. They were a great help to Mr. Evans, 
 and a benediction to the degraded Indians among 
 whom they laboured, many of whom they had 
 the joy of seeing accept Christianity, and enter 
 into the blessedness which it confers on those 
 who fully believe it. 
 
 For many years Fort William was a place of 
 great importance in the fur trade. It was a kind 
 of half-way house between Montreal and the 
 vast interior. From La Chine at the mouth of 
 the Ottawa, there came during the months of 
 open navigation on the rivers and lakes, the great 
 birch bark canoes of the fur traders. These 
 canoes, some of them of large dimensions, were 
 manned by Indians of various tribes, but for 
 many years the famous Iroquois were considered 
 the unrivalled canoemen on those marvellous jour- 
 neys. There still linger old men who talk of 
 those matchless crews of stalwart Iroquois, who 
 
 U5 
 
The Light Canoe 
 
 under the stern rule of Sir George Simpson, 
 travelled at a rate that seems to us perfectly in- 
 credible. But they are now of the past. The 
 onward march of civilisation has driven them far 
 back into the remote regions, where the shrill 
 whistle of the engine on land and water, is as yet 
 unheard. 
 
 However, in Mr. Evans' time they were the 
 only boats in existence in those regions, and so 
 from Fort William to Norway House, they were 
 obliged to travel in them. Such a trip is not 
 without its enjoyments to break its monotony 
 and to offset its dangers. The canoes are made 
 of birch bark; the form and symmetry being 
 given to them by the thin strips of cedar or 
 spruce that in half-hoop-like shapes, are placed 
 inside. 
 
 Frail and light though this craft may seem, yet 
 under the guidance of those accustomed to it, 
 and who love it as an Arab does his steed, it is a 
 safe and useful boat. In a land where the rivers 
 are full of rapids and cataracts, no other can do 
 the work that it can accomphsh. Under the 
 skillful guidance of experienced canoemen, it can 
 run rapids in safety that would submerge any 
 skiff. Then as there are many portages to be 
 made, the canoe, on account of its lightness, can 
 be carried on the heads of the men with ease, 
 while a heavy boat would be very difficult to 
 transport over those places frequently so danger- 
 ous and precipitous, that the footing is very in- 
 secure. 
 
 116 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 Then a damaged canoe is easily mended. The 
 soft supple roots of the spruce-tree, and a lump 
 of gum, and fire, are the requisites to mend any 
 ugly tear or rent. This can be accomplished very 
 much more quickly and neatly than repairs on 
 the skiff of the white man. 
 
 Each night they camped when the day's work 
 was done. Sometimes the places selected were 
 very picturesque. The tent was quickly pitched, 
 the log fire was soon blazing, and on it the 
 kettles were speedily boiling. The well-earned 
 supper was much enjoyed by the hard worked 
 canoemen, and the missionary and his family. 
 Such travelling, when the weather is agreeable, 
 along lakes and rivers, where the air although at 
 times hot, during the short brilliant summer, is 
 always bracing, is very enjoyable. 
 
 True to his mission, Mr. Evans held prayers 
 with the canoemen at the camp-fires, and from 
 the beginning of the journey endeavoured to ex- 
 ercise over them an influence for good. Being a 
 good singer, and now quite proficient in several 
 Indian dialects, he had but little diificulty in mak- 
 ing himself understood. 
 
 The route from Fort William runs in a north- 
 west direction through an almost endless variety 
 of rapid rivers and picturesque lakes. For a 
 time the travellers in these regions have to work 
 up streams, often against dangerous rapids and 
 treacherous currents. This continues until an 
 actual ascent is made of over eight hundred feet, 
 when the Savan portage is reached. Here is the 
 117 
 
Running the Rapids 
 
 height of land between Lakes Superior and 
 Winnipeg. The aggregate fall of waters ere 
 Winnipeg is reached, is estimated at eight hun- 
 dred and fifty feet. From Winnipeg to York 
 Factory, on the Hudson's Bay, the fall is eight 
 hundred and thirty feet more. 
 
 Running the numerous rapids was always ex- 
 citing work. One who made this same trip 
 says: "The running of a rapid is an exciting 
 thing. Upon nearing the head of a strong rapid 
 the men make every possible effort to urge the 
 boat forward faster than the water so that it may 
 steer the better. The bowsman and steersman 
 stand erect, guiding the frail bark through the 
 smoother places in the current, which hisses and 
 foams around you, as if eager to devour you. 
 Now we rush with rapid speed toward a rock 
 against which the waters dash with fearful fury, 
 and to a person unaccustomed to such scenes, 
 you appear to be on the point of destruction, but 
 one vigourous stroke of the paddle from the bows- 
 man and the steersman, sends the light craft at 
 a sharp angle from the impending danger, and 
 away you plunge again over the surging waters, 
 sometimes floating for a minute in a small eddy, 
 and hovering as though to choose your path, and 
 then again plunging through the windings of the 
 stream, till having passed the whole in safety, 
 you float in the smooth waters below." 
 
 Making a portage to which such prominence is; 
 given, was done as follows : As far as it was 
 safe to paddle, the canoe was propelled, until the 
 118 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 head of the rapids or falls, too dangerous to run, 
 was reached. Here a landing was made, and 
 after Mr. and Mrs. Evans and their daughter had 
 stepped ashore, the canoe in which they were trav- 
 elling was speedily emptied of its cargo. These 
 canoes differ very much in size. Those used in 
 this long journey from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg 
 are from thirty to thirty-five feet long. They are 
 over five feet wide in the middle, and taper 
 gradually to the ends. Their depth is about two 
 feet three inches. Although only made as we 
 have mentioned of birch bark, they are splendid 
 boats for the purpose. The one in which Mr. 
 Evans travelled probably carried twenty hundred 
 weight, including the three travellers and the six 
 voyageurs. In the portage two men would 
 easily carry this canoe when empty, across to the 
 smooth water beyond. The rest of the crew 
 quickly made bundles of the cargo, which they 
 carried on their backs, supported by straps from 
 their foreheads. The gait of an Indian in a port- 
 a.ge is neither a walk nor. a run. It; is simply a 
 jpg-trpt, an4 it is surprising to an uninitiated one^ 
 I^ow rapidly th^y, c^n get oyer the ground. 
 When the weather was pleasant, crossing aportr 
 age was not. upwelippme to Mrs. Evans and her 
 daughter, as the sjtting position in a canoe after 
 a time becomes very tiresome to one, unless like 
 an Indian, he^ has b^en accustomed to it all his 
 life. So the pleasant walk among the balsam and 
 birch trees, where picturesque rocks abounded, 
 gi;id the ajr was sweet and fragrant, and the.m?ny 
 1,19 ' " ' •' 
 
In Nature's Solitudes 
 
 objects in the wilderness were pleasant to the ob- 
 servant eye and ear, was at times enjoyable. 
 
 Then when the canoe was once more loaded, 
 the journey was resumed, and thus the days flew 
 by, and each night found them farther and 
 farther away in the northern wilderness. Down 
 rivers, and through lakes where at times the 
 picturesque islands added much to the beauty 
 of the landscape, they passed along, "in perils 
 oft " at times by treacherous rapids and fearful 
 thunderstorms. Each night at the camp-fire 
 they sang their songs of thanksgiving, and 
 offered up their prayers of gratitude for the pre- 
 serving care that had been their portion in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 The days rolled up into weeks, and still they 
 were on the way. The beautiful Lake of the 
 Woods is passed, and then down the rushing 
 rapid Winnipeg River do they safely go until at 
 Fort Alexander they are permitted a brief rest at 
 the trading post of that name where the courteous 
 officers of the Hudson's Bay Company in charge, 
 showed them no little kindness. But although 
 Indians are here in numbers, and most attentively 
 listen to the sweet gospel story, so strangely dif- 
 ferent from anything ever heard before, our 
 party must still push on. But Mr. Evans' ob- 
 servant eye has marked the place as a desirable 
 site for a mission station in years to come, but 
 for the present he is unable to do more than to lov- 
 ingly preach the gospel of the Son of God, and 
 urge its acceptance upon those poor neglected 
 
 120 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 souls. Whites and Indians listen as for eternity, 
 and so impressed is the devoted servant of the 
 Lord by their conduct, that he promises when 
 possible to visit them if life is spared, and help 
 them on in the divine life. 
 
 With canoemen invigorated by the needed 
 rest, and fresh supplies obtained from the large- 
 hearted gentleman in charge of the post, Mr. Evans 
 and his family again embark in their canoe for the 
 last stage of their long journey. Up the eastern 
 shore of Lake Winnipeg they have to travel for 
 a number of days. Winnipeg is an Indian word 
 literally meaning "the sea." The Indians gave it 
 this name on account of its great size. It is 
 about three hundred miles long, and is subject to 
 sudden storms. Then its great waves rise up 
 like ocean billows. Here is what Rev. John 
 Ryerson says about this great stormy lake : 
 
 " Lake Winnipeg is very much subject to winds 
 and storms, which many times rise so suddenly 
 as to give the mariner no warning of their ap- 
 proach, until like a giant in his strength, they are 
 upon him. Imagination cannot paint, much less 
 describe, the sublimity and grandeur of a thunder- 
 storm as seen in the forest or on the shore of the 
 lake, where the wild waters are raging; the 
 lurid glare of the vivid lightning seems brighter, 
 and the claps of roaring thunder seem deeper 
 and heavier than anywhere else. O! I shall 
 never forget the terrific grandeur of that dreadful 
 thunderstorm. The sheets of flame, for minutes 
 9t a time, played around the tent as if eager to 
 J?! 
 
A Perfect Tornado 
 
 devour it, while the rolling thunder shook the 
 very ground on which it rested. The foaming 
 billows in their snowy whiteness were lashed 
 into fury, and the rain came down as if poured 
 out of vessels. It required the utmost exertion 
 to prevent the tempest from sweeping the tent 
 away." 
 
 The next day another storm arose. Of it he 
 writes: "It was according to the old adage, 'it 
 never rains but it pours,' so our breeze was soon 
 converted into a gale. In an hour we were com- 
 pelled to run our canoe into shoal water, to save 
 her from being swamped; and each man getting 
 out waded with the baggage to a place of shelter, 
 where the canoe was secured. But we had 
 scarcely got our tent pitched, and the things put 
 in order, when the tempest was upon us ; a tem- 
 pest which in severity and duration exceeded the 
 one of the night before. It was a perfect tor- 
 nado. O, the loud claps and hollow roaring of 
 the thunder, the vivid flashes of the lightning, the 
 descending torrents of the water floods— all,— all 
 not only surpasses the power of description, byt 
 exceeds the fancy of the liveliest imagination." 
 
 Fortunately for those who had. to. travel its un-^ 
 certain waters .in such small crafts as birch canoes, 
 its shores are vcrymuch indented with bays; and 
 gOpd h^rboyrs are , numerous and easily foundj 
 One disagreeable phase of canoeing is to be de- 
 layed by head winds. Sometimes for weeks to- 
 gether on Lake Winnipeg, the wind will blow as 
 steadily, frpm, ope direction as a trade w,ijifi, in.th(%^ 
 
From Ottawa to Norway House 
 
 tropics. Mr. Evans and his family had their share 
 of these, but under the guidance of a good Provi- 
 dence they at length weathered all the storms, 
 and reached the northern end of the great lake in 
 safety. Here for the last time they pitched their 
 camp. An adventure with a black bear that 
 swam across the great river and tried to land 
 close to the spot where Mrs. Evans and her 
 daughter were sitting, as they had wandered out 
 a little distance, the better to enjoy the prospect 
 of a glorious sunset, gave them a bit of a fright, 
 and caused some excitement. However the ra- 
 pidity with which the bear disappeared showed 
 that he was the most astonished one in the party. 
 Next morning, bright and early, the journey 
 was resumed. At Playgreen Point there was a 
 halt for a short rest and refreshment. Then the 
 journey continued and on and on, now down the 
 winding Jack River they rapidly sped along, until 
 suddenly they found themselves at Norway 
 House, A cordial welcome awaited them not 
 only from the Rev. Robert Terrill Rundle, one of 
 the young missionaries who had preceded them>. 
 but also from Mr. Ross, the gentleman in charge 
 of this important establishment of the great and 
 wealthy Hudson. Bay Company. 
 
 ISX 
 
IX 
 
 A GREAT TRADING POST 
 
 Norway House, a chief centre of the H. B. C. — The gather- 
 ing of Indian Brigades — From Saskatchewan — From Macken- 
 zie — Rapids vs. Ice — Pemmican — The Buffalo — The glory of 
 Norway House departed. 
 
 Norway House, a remote interior trading post 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company was to be Mr. Evans' 
 first, and in some respect, his only home in that 
 great land. From this spot which he with his no- 
 ble fellow-labourers made to bloom and blossom 
 as the rose, he started out on his marvellous trips 
 by canoe in summer and dog-train in winter. Of 
 this spot around which so much of interest in 
 connection with Mr. Evans and his great inven- 
 tion of the Cree Syllable Characters still lingers, 
 we will give some description. 
 
 The great Hudson's Bay Fur Trading Company 
 has been in existence in that country for more 
 than two hundred years. They received their 
 charter from Charles 1. At first they confined 
 their operations principally to the coast of the 
 bays and great lakes. As they became more 
 wealthy, they gradually pushed on into the in- 
 terior of the country, where valuable furs 
 abounded, and Indians to hunt them were to be 
 found. 
 
 Some of their interior posts were established at 
 
 m 
 
A Great Trading Post 
 
 points so remote from civilisation that the lonely 
 officers and men in charge had communication 
 with the outer world only once a year, and the 
 difficulties of carrying in the goods for barter with 
 the Indians, and then taking out the rich furs thus 
 obtained, were such that often seven years elapsed 
 ere the returns of the trade were made at the 
 principal establishment in London. From this, 
 it will be seen that Norway House, which by the 
 water route is only several hundred miles from 
 the great Hudson's Bay, can hardly now be called 
 one of the very remote interior posts, especially 
 as the railroad passes through Manitoba, only four 
 hundred miles to the south. 
 
 Norway House stood originally at the northern 
 end of Lake Winnipeg. It derived its name from 
 the fact that in those early days, the Hudson's Bay 
 Company imported a large number of hardy men 
 from Norway, Sweden, Scotland, the Orkney 
 Isles and elsewhere, to assist them in their trade 
 with the Indians. As a compliment to a number 
 of Norwegians in the service, the trading post 
 then established was thus called. After a num- 
 ber of years, the post was transferred to the 
 eastern banks of Jack River, near its entrance 
 into Playgreen Lake. Here picturesquely situ- 
 ated, the post has continued with fluctuating 
 fortunes, until the present time. 
 
 Its glory has in a great measure now departed, 
 but in days gone by it was one of the most im- 
 portant of all the great establishments of the 
 powerful company, that, almost despotically, 
 125 
 
Ice Jam on the Mackenzie River 
 
 ruled over at least one third of this continent. 
 Here gathered the great brigades that brought 
 the furs, and carried back the goods from the 
 trading posts, some of which were two thousand 
 miles farther in the interior. Here camping on 
 the green to the south of the fort, and outside its 
 walls, were at times to be found warlike Black- 
 feet, and Blood Indians, and Mountain Stonies 
 from the foothills of the far distant Rocky Moun- 
 tains. They had come down the mighty Saskatch- 
 ewan River a distance of over twelve hundred 
 miles, ere they had reached great Winnipeg into 
 which their majestic river pours its mighty floods, 
 down the only rapids that break its navigation 
 for all that vast distance. ' 
 
 Here also, in those days, were to be seen sit- 
 ting around their camp-fires, the red men from 
 the great Peace and Mackenzie River districts. 
 They were men of peace; but spoke a language 
 harsh and unmusical. They came with brigades 
 laden with the richest furs, and so were always 
 welcome. They had startling and wonderful 
 stories to tell of the marvellous sights to be seen 
 in their great country, when the early spring 
 freshets send north their enormous floods of 
 water, tearing up the ice on the Mackenzie River. 
 This river which vies in volume and size with 
 the Mississippi, enters the Arctic Ocean within 
 the Arctic circle. When its great southern tribu- 
 taries are flooded by melting snows, and by 
 waters from the mountains, lakes and plains, its 
 northern portion is still in the grasp of the Frost 
 
 126 
 
A Great Trading Post 
 
 King. That there are but few objects in nature 
 more irresistible than the floods of great waters 
 which are here to be seen. Northward they pour 
 with such force and power, that the ice although 
 still firm and hard, and several feet thick, is torn 
 up and driven on and on, at times for miles, 
 until at length the piled-up masses become so 
 firm and hard, and so securely wedged together, 
 that although the river may be from two to six 
 miles across, a barrier so strong is formed, that 
 it is able to hold back the mighty floods. 
 
 But not long is such a torrent delayed. Higher 
 and higher do the waters rise, until the "ice- 
 jam " as it is called, gives way before its very 
 weight, and once again the ice is ploughed up, 
 and driven onward for miles toward the still 
 frozen sea. Then again the immense accumu- 
 lation of ice once more arrests the floods, until 
 they gather their forces in sufficient volume to 
 make another advance. Thus on the battle goes 
 between these tremendous forces, until at length 
 the sea is reached, and the waters have prevailed. 
 
 To excited listeners, these bronzed men from 
 the great river of the north, would thus describe 
 this wondrous conflict which went on, at times 
 with a noise that was equal to that of any ar- 
 tillery battle the world has ever heard. To these 
 men at this post, Mr. Evans would, and did 
 often, in after years, preach the glorious gospel 
 of the Son of God. He visited their far-away 
 homes, and there on the banks of the Mackenzie 
 and the Saskatchewan, as well as in many other 
 
 127 
 
Buffalo and Pemmican 
 
 places, he met them, and told "the old old story 
 of Jesus and His love." 
 
 As many as twenty brigades of boats, at one 
 time, have been seen at this then busy place. 
 They came from almost every section of the in- 
 terior. They spoke many languages, and while 
 some were peaceful, others were men who had 
 delighted in war. Some carried on their persons 
 many scars received in conflict with their blood- 
 thirsty foes. Others, fresh from some warlike 
 expedition against hostile tribes, still showed 
 with exultation the scalps they had torn from the 
 heads of their victims. 
 
 The wharves and storehouses of the great 
 flourishing company fairly groaned beneath the 
 weight of the boat-loads of pemmican and robes 
 and furs which these Saskatchewan and other 
 brigades brought with them. Those were the 
 days of plenty for all the Indians who lived on 
 the fertile prairies. Countless were the herds of 
 buffalo that at times widely covered the plains. 
 Travelling was often rendered difficult and even 
 dangerous by reason of the proximity of the 
 herds, as sometimes, in their wild, mad rushes, 
 camps would be overturned and destroyed, and 
 the inmates crushed beneath the hoofs of the 
 maddened animals that were forced to rush on 
 by the thousands thundering in the rear. 
 
 For many years buffalo meat was the principal 
 
 article of food, not only among the Indian tribes 
 
 but at many of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts. 
 
 At the post situated near to those sections of 
 
 128 
 
A Great Trading Post 
 
 country where the herds roamed, the inmates 
 lived principally on fresh meat as the buffalo 
 could be slaughtered at any time. It was dif- 
 ferent however at the remote stations. For them 
 the buffalo meat had to be dried or made into 
 pemmican. This pemmican was also the princi- 
 pal food of the men in the great brigades as 
 they travelled through the country. It was also 
 largely used by missionaries and other travellers 
 both in summer and winter. On it Mr. Evans 
 and his faithful Indian companions principally 
 depended. A coarser kind of it was also carried 
 as food for dogs on the winter journeys, while 
 the buffalo herds continued to exist. Since that 
 time various kinds of fat meat have taken the 
 place of the pemmican as food for the men, 
 while the dogs are now wholly fed on fish. 
 Pemmican was ever considered a nourishing and 
 healthy article of food by those who had been 
 accustomed to it all their days, but the writer 
 must confess that although he had a great deal 
 of it for some years before the buffalo were ex- 
 terminated, neither he nor his family ever took 
 kindly to it. It had too much the smell of rancid 
 soap grease. 
 
 With the extinction of the buffalo and the 
 building of the great Pacific railway, Norway 
 House has lost its old time importance. No such 
 crowds of Hudson's Bay officials and servants 
 gather there as in former days. The numerous 
 brigades of boats with their picturesquely garbed 
 Indians no longer come to its wharves as they 
 129 
 
The Swampy Crees 
 
 did in tine days wiien Mr. Evans and iiis co- 
 labourers and successors for many years used to 
 meet tliem for reiigious worshiip. 
 
 However as Norway House is in the centre of 
 a fine fur producing country it is still a place of a 
 good deal of importance to the company. Large 
 numbers of black bears are shot every year, the 
 skins of which are always valuable. Along the 
 numerous streams and in the great forests still 
 are to be found great numbers of beavers, otters, 
 minks, martens, ermines and other animals, the 
 furs of which command high prices in the mark- 
 ets of the world. To this post also, for many 
 years, more black and silver foxes were brought 
 in by the hunters than at any other fur-trading 
 post in the world. 
 
 The Indians have always clustered round this 
 place in large numbers. They are called Swampy 
 Crees. They are a splendid type of the Indian 
 nation both in physique and intelligence. Here 
 since the days of Rundle and Evans has been one 
 of the finest and largest Indian missions on the 
 continent. Some of the grandest trophies of the 
 Cross have here been won, and some of the most 
 useful workers have here been raised up from 
 among these once superstitious pagans to go out 
 and preach, with eloquence and power, the 
 blessed gospel which has thus been made a ben- 
 ediction to many others. 
 
 130 
 
THE FIRST SASKATCHEWAN MISSIONARY 
 
 Evans and Rundle meet — Rundle's work at Norway House 
 — Rundle's estimate of Mr. Evans — Rundle goes to Rocky 
 Mountain House — Indian parishioners — Buffalo herds — The 
 conversion of Witchekan — The Beginning — Pagan's belief — 
 Good Spirit — Bad Spirit — Windegoos — " Medicine " — Mr. 
 Evans in the Saskatchewan Country — Maskepetoon — His 
 Temper — Susewisk — Maskepetoon's conversion— Tenebigachak. 
 
 Mr. Evans lost no time before entering on his 
 work. He was delighted to find that the Rev. 
 Robert T. Rundle, who had arrived before him, 
 had made a most auspicious beginning. Mr. 
 Rundle was one of the young men sent out from 
 England by the Wesleyan Missionary Society. 
 Ordained in March, 1840, he had immediately 
 thereafter started for his distant mission-field, 
 which was styled Edmonton and Rocky Moun- 
 tain House. Reaching Montreal in time to catch 
 the first brigade of the Hudson's Bay Company's 
 canoes, he secured a passage, and at once started 
 on his long journey, which would only end when 
 he was among the foothills of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains! When we trace this long journey from 
 the mouth of the Ottawa, on and on through 
 great lakes and rivers, reaching up into the thou- 
 sands of miles, and try to realise that weeks 
 were spent ere it ended, and its hardships and 
 
 131 
 
Waiting for James Evans 
 
 dangers innumerable had been faced and over- 
 come, we can begin to form some idea of the 
 courage and daring of the men who, for Christ's 
 saj<e, thus patiently and cheerfully endured such 
 toil. Mr. Rundle reached Norway House early in 
 June. Ice still floated in great masses on Lake 
 Winnipeg, and the canoemen had some difficulty 
 in forcing their way through these dangerous 
 obstructions. But success crowned their efforts, 
 and Norway House was safely reached. Mr. 
 Rundle was aware that his ultimate mission-field 
 was still over a thousand miles farther west. 
 However he wisely resolved to remain at Nor- 
 way House until the arrival of Mr. Evans, the 
 leader of the band. Mr. Rundle at once began 
 missionary work at Norway House. It was in- 
 deed a ripe harvest-field. Not only were the 
 English-speaking officials and employees of the 
 company pleased to have him in their midst, and 
 to profit by his religious ministrations, but the 
 Indians were anxious to receive a gospel which 
 could bring peace and comfort to their troubled 
 spirits. 
 
 During the two months Mr. Rundle remained 
 at Norway House, ere Mr. Evans arrived, he bap- 
 tised several score of natives, and solemnised 
 quite a number of marriages. So absorbed was 
 Mr. Rundle in his work for the good of the In- 
 dians that the work among the whites was of 
 secondary importance. This caused a little dis- 
 satisfaction among some of the high officials of 
 the company, but it much endeared the mission- 
 
 133 
 
The First Saskatchewan Missionary 
 
 ary to the red men who had quickly found in 
 him a friend, who, sympathising with them in 
 their needs and perplexities, felt that his place 
 was in their midst. Hence a buffalo robe for a 
 bed in a wigwam, and a white fish and a pot of 
 tea were preferred to the best quarters and offi- 
 cial rations in the fort. For a sanctuary, a well- 
 shaded glade among the overhanging trees was 
 preferable in the pleasant summer months to a 
 storeroom, improvised as a chapel. 
 
 " The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learnt 
 To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave. 
 And spread the roof above them, — ere he framed 
 The lofty vault, to gather and roll back 
 The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, 
 Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down. 
 And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks 
 And supplication." 
 
 Here for the first time Mr. Evans and Mr. Rundle 
 met. Their plans had been to have met in Mont- 
 real, but Mr. Rundle had been sent on by the 
 canoes ere Mr. Evans arrived at that city. It 
 was, therefore, in the wilderness that these de- 
 voted toilers greeted each other most cordially 
 and rejoiced at the results already accomplished, 
 and welcomed them as the first-fruits of spiritual 
 harvests yet to be gathered in. 
 
 It was the privilege of the writer to meet Mr. 
 Rundle in England more than fifty years after he 
 had begun this good work at Norway House. 
 He was then in good health, a grand old veteran, 
 quietly resting until the summons should come 
 133 
 
A Thousand Miles in Boats 
 
 that would bring him to his full reward. Since 
 that interview Mr. Rundle has gone home. Lov- 
 ingly and with great admiration did he speak of 
 James Evans. He described him as a man of 
 bright spirit, as well as of untiring industry, and 
 stated that it was evident from his invention of 
 the Syllabic Characters that he was a genius of 
 the first order. He considered that he had abili- 
 ties of such high order, that he would have be- 
 come famous in any profession he might have 
 entered. Yet all his talents were laid upon the 
 altar of service, and consecrated to the work of 
 evangelising the poor red men, so long neg- 
 lected. 
 
 As the bright summers in those high latitudes 
 are short, only for a brief time could these con- 
 genial spirits work together at Norway House, 
 ere Mr. Rundle must, in order not to be caught 
 by the ice, resume his long journey to his own 
 appointed field of toil in the great Saskatchewan 
 country. 
 
 The trip of over a thousand miles was made 
 with one of the Hudson's Bay Company's Brigades 
 of boats, which had come down loaded with 
 dried meat and pemmican for the trading posts, 
 and many bales of fur to be sent to York Factory, 
 and then shipped to England. Now heavily 
 loaded with supplies for the coming winter's 
 trade with the Indians, the brigade was returning 
 up the mighty river, to far away Edmonton and 
 Rocky Mountain House. 
 
 On this journey Mr. Rundle made his first ac- 
 
 134 
 
u 
 
 I 
 
 q 
 < 
 
 D 
 
 a:. 
 < 
 
The First Saskatchewan Missionary 
 
 quaintance with his Indian parishioners. Of 
 them to me he said : 
 
 "At the camp-fires on this trip I began holding 
 religious services with these Indian boatmen, and 
 some of them in after years became earnest, faith- 
 ful Christians." 
 
 Here on this trip the missionary for the first 
 time saw the buffalo. Speaking of them he said : 
 
 "From our camping-places, on the Saskatch- 
 ewan river we could at times see them in herds so 
 vast that the whole country seemed covered with 
 them. They crowded all the plains. They were 
 literally ' the cattle upon a thousand hills. ' The roar- 
 ings of the bulls, for they were very pugnacious, 
 was at times so loud and continuous through- 
 out the night that sleep was out of the question 
 when the great herds were near. Several times 
 in subsequent years my life and that of my Indian 
 attendant were in jeopardy from the very multitude 
 of these animals. Our horses were stampeded, 
 and our camps on the plains were overrun by the 
 rushing herds, which because of the numbers be- 
 hind, could not possibly retreat, although appar- 
 ently alarmed at our shouts and the reports of 
 our guns." 
 
 Speaking of the work accomplished while 
 waiting for Mr. Evans' arrival, Mr. Rundle said : 
 
 "Our first convert at Norway House was a 
 man by the name of Witchekan. His conversion 
 was very clear. The change wrought by the 
 gospel's power was simply marvellous. He be- 
 came a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, and was 
 
 136 
 
Witchekan or Number One 
 
 very eager for religious instruction. We called 
 him 'Number One,' or 'The Beginning.'" 
 
 Quarters were provided for Mr. Evans and his 
 family at the Fort, as their household effects had 
 not yet arrived from England. With his accus- 
 tomed energy and tact he began his work. 
 
 The Crees, who claim all this vast region, are 
 of the great Algonquin race. They are the finest 
 of the tribes, both in appearance and intelligence. 
 Their religion is a kind of devil-worship. They 
 believe in the Kissa-Manetoo, and the Muche- 
 Manetoo, the good God, and the evil one. Their 
 belief was, that the good God loves them and 
 that all that is pleasant and desirable are His gifts. 
 He cannot be otherwise than kind to them be- 
 cause it is His nature. He sends not only the 
 sunshine, and the welcome showers, but He is so 
 interested in them that He guides the fish into their 
 nets, and the otters and the beavers into their traps. 
 On the other hand the evil one is ever at work to 
 cause trouble. He hates to see people happy, 
 and his wicked mind is ever active to try and find 
 means to thwart the kindly actions of the Kissa- 
 Manetoo to make the people happy. Some of 
 them believe that the evil one ismuch afraid of 
 the Great Spirit, and so has to keep out of his 
 way, and thus he tries to do his evil deeds in the 
 dark. Some believe that this preponderance of 
 the good over the evil is so great, that all their 
 sacrifices and dances and drummings were to 
 please the Great Spirit. Others, however, give 
 such malignity and power to the evil one, that 
 
 136 
 
The First Saskatchewan Missionary 
 
 they have among them a kind of devil-worship. 
 Their explanation to me was, that it was to ap- 
 pease the anger, or at least produce indifference 
 in the Muche-Manetoo, so that he would leave 
 them alone. 
 
 Their belief of the highest bliss on earth was 
 to be completely let alone by the evil one, and 
 thus to be always under the care and guidance of 
 the Kissa-Manetoo, the good God. Many of 
 them also believe in what they call Windegoos, 
 strange gigantic creatures half demon and half 
 man. The poor superstitious creatures who be- 
 lieve in their existence say that they are so large 
 that as they stalk along they brush the pine-trees 
 aside as easily as ordinary mortals move the grass. 
 These Windegoos are cannibals, and to them are 
 attributed the disappearance of hunters and others 
 who go off on the long journeys and never re- 
 turn. When we questioned this and said that per- 
 haps the reason why some who had mysteriously 
 disappeared was that they were lost in the rapids, 
 or killed by wild animals, we were always met 
 by the reply, "O no, it could not have been that. 
 The Windegoos caught them and devoured them. " 
 And then they would shudder at the thought. 
 
 Another belief quite prevalent is what is called 
 good and bad medicine. It seemed to me, as I 
 studied the question among them, that it was a 
 corruption of the older beliefs to which we have 
 referred, namely to the existence of a good and a 
 bad spirit. 
 
 The word " medicine " in their religion has an 
 
 137 
 
Good and Bad "Medicine" 
 
 entirely different meaning from what we give it. 
 Thiey associate "good medicine," or "bad medi- 
 cine " witii many of tlie affairs of life. A 
 hunter's success fails him, they say his good 
 medicine has deserted him. So he must go 
 through a lot of ceremonies himself, and get a 
 conjurer or medicine-man to make good medicine 
 for hint in order that his success may once more 
 return. 
 
 As Mr. Rundle's field was so distant from Nor- 
 way House he and Mr. Evans but seldom met. 
 His reference to these few meetings is as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 "As soon as Mr. Evans established the work 
 at Norway House, he began his great journeys 
 over the country. When he came up the Sas- 
 katchewan on his way to Athabasca, 1 used to 
 meet him at Edmonton, where he was a great 
 favourite with everybody. Even Maskepetoon, 
 whom 1 had often seen on his return from battle 
 with scalps from the heads of his slaughtered 
 enemies, took a great liking for Mr. Evans al- 
 though he had not yet become a Christian. 
 
 "From Mr. Evans 1 obtained a knowledge of 
 the Cree Syllabic Characters, which he had in- 
 vented, and I had the joy of seeing some of the 
 Indians able to read portions of the word of God 
 in them ere 1 left the country." 
 
 For some years Mr. Rundie, the pioneer mis- 
 sionary in the great Saskatchewan country, toiled 
 on amidst many hardships and dangers. He 
 had many converts to Christianity. The tribes 
 
 138 
 
The First Saskatchewan Missionary 
 
 of the plains in those days were all very warlike. 
 To secure the scalps of their enemies, and to 
 steal their horses, were the great objects of their 
 lives. When Maskepetoon and other chiefs in 
 council first heard of Christianity, they seemed 
 quite interested in it, but when they learned that 
 it taught peace and the forgiveness of their en- 
 emies, they rejected it with disdain, and said that 
 such a religion was only fit for old women. 
 Maskepetoon's words were: 
 
 " I'll never be a Christian as long as there is a 
 scalp to take or a horse to steal from the Black- 
 feet." 
 
 He was a magnificent looking man physically, 
 and was keen and intelligent, but he had before 
 his conversion, a fierce despotic way, and was a 
 man of ungovernable temper. The way he 
 treated one of his wives clearly showed this. Her 
 name was Susewisk. One day she happened to 
 do something that aroused his ire. Suddenly 
 rushing at her, he drew his knife and scalped her 
 alive. Strange to say, she survived the dreadful 
 operation, and lived for years after, although the 
 top of her head was as dry as the old skull in the 
 surgery of a physician, or on the shelf of a medi- 
 cal college. 
 
 Yet this is the same Maskepetoon, who in 
 after years listened to a sermon at a camp-fire 
 from the text, "Father forgive them for they 
 know not what they do." He pondered all 
 night over the love of the Son of God in forgiv- 
 ing His enemies, and the missionary's words: 
 
 139 
 
Maskepetoon 
 
 " If you expect the Great Spirit to forgive you, 
 you must forgive even tiie man that has done you 
 the greatest harm." The next day he forgave 
 the man who had killed his son. Ever afterward 
 Maskepetoon was a devoted, humble, useful 
 Christian. The gospel is still " the power of God 
 unto salvation, to every one that believeth." 
 
 Tenagibachak was another chief, whom it 
 was Mr. Rundle's great joy to bring to the 
 Saviour. He was an Assiniboine chief and 
 lived among the foothills of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. Before his conversion he was a polygamist 
 and a warrior. On his acceptance of Christianity 
 he gave up his warlike habits and regulated his 
 domestic affairs in harmony with New Testa- 
 ment teachings. As his tribe was constantly in 
 danger from incursions by their hereditary en- 
 emies the Blackfeet, Mr. Rundl« one day asked 
 Tenegibachak what he would now do if attacked 
 by the Blackfeet ? 
 
 To this question he replied: " If the Blackfeet 
 stay away, they will never again be attacked 
 by us. With them we are willing to live in peace 
 and quietness. But our new religion has not 
 made cowards of us, and so if they attack us, 
 they will find that we can fight as well as pray." 
 
 After a number of years of grand useful work, 
 Mr. Rundle's health failed so completely that he 
 was obliged to return to England. His departure 
 from the country was deeply regretted by the In- 
 dians. Even many of those who had not yet ac- 
 cepted Christianity had learned to respect the 
 140 
 
The First Saskatchewan Missionary 
 
 man who had come among them to do them 
 good. That his long journeys among them, as 
 he went up and down through that vast country 
 preaching the gospel, were appreciated the fol- 
 lowing words of a chief will show: 
 
 "We are like the young hungry birds in the 
 nest, and you are like the mother bird that comes 
 to feed us. We are all hungry for what you 
 bring." 
 
 Mr. Rundle lived to a good old age: then full 
 of years and surrounded by loving friends, he 
 peacefully fell asleep in February, 1896, and " was 
 not, for God had taken him." 
 
 141 
 
XI 
 
 CIVILIZING THE RED MAN 
 
 Mr. Evans' goods received via England and Hudson's Bay — 
 Encountering prejudices — Preaching the gospel— Deputations 
 vraiting on Mr. Evans — Planting an Indian village — Indian 
 men working — " Make your women do it " — Building houses — 
 Vegetation in high latitudes — Work interrupted — " The goose 
 call " — ^The work of Mrs. Evans — ^Woman's condition in pa- 
 ganism — " To regions beyond." 
 
 We have mentioned that Mr. Evans had to send 
 his household effects from Canada to London, 
 England, that there they might be reshipped in 
 one of the Hudson's Bay Company's vessels for 
 York Factory on Hudson's Bay. Thus they had to 
 twice cross the ocean, in order to reach their des- 
 tination. When they reached York Factory, they 
 were still hundreds of miles from Norway House. 
 Up this long distance they had to be carried in 
 the company's trading boats, manned by the In- 
 dian oarsmen. At the many portages they had 
 to be carried across on the backs of the tripmen. 
 It thus happened that Mr. and Mrs. Evans and 
 their daughter reached their destination long be- 
 fore the arrival of their household goods. How- 
 ever, they were in good hands, and enjoyed the 
 hospitality of the fort, and were busily employed 
 in the blessed work. 
 
 Of course, the first desire was to lead the peo- 
 
 142 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 pie to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 This required patience and wisdom. The dark 
 and pagan mind does not always readily grasp 
 the truth. Old prejudices and beliefs die hard. 
 " As my father died so will I." Thus glibly said 
 some, while others said, "My father heard not 
 this story, why should I care for it?" Others 
 apathetically refused to argue or to listen; and 
 these are the hardest class a minister has to deal 
 with. Still Mr. Evans toiled on, and great suc- 
 cess crowned his persistent efforts. The Spirit of 
 God applied the truth, and there was first the 
 troubled heart, and then the inquiring mind. 
 "What must I do to be saved ?" 
 
 This has been heard many times since Pente- 
 cost, and will be as long as this dispensation of 
 the Holy Spirit lasts. Mr. Evans was a man who 
 firmly believed in the supernatural in religion. 
 Christ said to the woman of Samaria, " The water 
 that I shall give you." He alone could bestow 
 the living water then, and He alone can bestow 
 it now. It is a cause of continual rejoicing, that 
 He is so anxious and willing to give this gift of 
 eternal life to those who earnestly desire it. 
 So the joy and rejoicing of the faithful minister or 
 missionary of the Lord Jesus is greatest when 
 those to whom he preaches and explains the plan 
 of salvation, see in it what is their hearts' desire, 
 and gladly comply with the condition on which 
 it is possible for the Lord Jesus to grant His peace. 
 " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt 
 be saved." 
 
 143 
 
Method of Work 
 
 Mr. Evans was emphatically a preacher. It is 
 worthy of thought that such prominence is given 
 to the necessity of the ambassador of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ ever attending to this part of his com- 
 mission, "As ye go, preach." He who himself 
 could say, " The Lord hath anointed me to preach 
 good tidings," said to Jonah, and to many a mis- 
 sionary since, " Preach unto it, the preaching that 
 I bide thee." The commands upon this point 
 are not obscure or few ; and of those who knew 
 Him best, and had at Pentecost received the full 
 enduement of power for the work, it is said, 
 "they ceased not to preach Jesus Christ." 
 
 Thus it is to-day, the really useful successful 
 missionary of the Lord Jesus must still realise the 
 necessity that Paul felt, when he exclaimed, "For 
 though I preach the gospel 1 have nothing to 
 glory of, for necessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe 
 is unto me, if I preach not the gospeL" 
 
 All through Mr. Evans' missionary life, he firmly 
 believed that this was the first great essential 
 requisite for success. Preach the gospel. Let 
 the people, no matter how degraded and poverty- 
 stricken, know that the first step in the upward 
 direction was to realise their lost and undone con- 
 dition, and their absolute need of salvation. 
 Christ first in the heart, and then the after bless- 
 ings of civilisation and education. This was 
 James Evans' belief, and of course all his labours 
 were thus directed. With the Word of God in 
 his hand, he visited the people from wigwam to 
 wigwam, and there patiently explained, in what 
 
 144 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 might be called Bible Readings, the plan of sal- 
 vation. As often as he could, he gathered them 
 in companies, and ceased not to preach unto them 
 the glorious gospel of the Son of God. 
 
 This Scriptural plan was not in vain. Large 
 numbers of the Indians renounced their pagan- 
 ism and gladly accepted Christianity. Their con- 
 version was real and genuine. The change was 
 visible to all. Even white men, themselves far 
 from God and righteousness, who at first sneered 
 at the idea of the conversion of poor superstitious 
 Indians, were compelled to admit that a marvellous 
 change for the better had been wrought in them. 
 
 The news of the arrival of the Ayumeaoo- 
 kemou, the praying master, as the Crees call the 
 missionary, extended far and wide. Soon depu- 
 tations came from other places, who sat at his 
 feet, and listened with amazement and delight to 
 this wonderful story of the love of the Great 
 Spirit, who as a loving Father, had given His only 
 Son to die for sinning men and women. Not 
 only did they thus listen, but many of the men 
 returned to their distant hunting grounds and 
 gathering their families, together with their few 
 possessions of nets and traps, came and pitched 
 their wigwams at the fort, and there abode, that 
 they might all hear these blessed truths which 
 promised peace and comfort to their long per- 
 plexed and troubled hearts. 
 
 The result was that the place assigned at first 
 for the Indian village, which was just across the 
 river from the fort, was found to be altogether 
 146 
 
Miserable Abodes 
 
 too small for such numbers as were anxious there 
 to make their homes, where they could constantly 
 hear the blessed gospel. Mr. Evans rejoiced ex- 
 ceedingly at these evidences of the genuineness 
 of the work. He was eminently a practical man. 
 As we have stated, his chief desire was to see the 
 people at the cross, seeking the blessed assurance 
 of the Divine smile and favour. Then knowing 
 well how the awakened heart is aroused to wish 
 a higher and better life even here, he was ever 
 ready to extend the helping hand, to aid in the 
 material improvement. " Christianity first, then 
 civilisation," was ever his motto. Consistently 
 pursuing this course, his success at every mission 
 he ever had charge of, showed the soundness of 
 his judgment in this matter which is so in har- 
 mony with the Word of God. "Seek ye first the 
 kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all 
 these things shall be added unto you." 
 
 As soon as a number of the Indians were thus 
 happily converted, there was a desire for a better 
 mode of life. They had lived literally from hand 
 to mouth, by hunting and fishing. Starvation 
 often stared theA in the face. Their habitations 
 were wigwams, where at times many were hud- 
 dled together in a way that was not at all con- 
 ducive to comfort or morality. The winters were 
 long and severe, and so many, especially among 
 the young, succumbed before its terrible power, 
 that the death rates were very much higher than 
 they should have been, among a people naturally 
 so strong and free from disease. 
 
 146 
 
civilizing the Red Man 
 
 Work was begun as quickly as possible. Of 
 course the hunting and fishing had to be attended 
 to, and so there were at times delays in the work, 
 but progress, even if slow, was being made. 
 
 In consultation with Mr. Ross, the chief factor 
 in charge of Norway House Fort, it was decided 
 by Mr. Evans that the Indian village should be 
 located across the beautiful little Playgreen Lake 
 about two miles north of the fort. This was a 
 wise selection. It was a picturesque spot, and 
 there was plenty of room for a large number of 
 homes and fields. It was helpful to the morality 
 of the place, and a blessing in many other ways. 
 Here, under the leadership of Mr. Evans, the land 
 was cleared of its primeval forest trees, and 
 fields and garden-plots laid out. It was a new 
 sight indeed to see these Indian men so industri- 
 ously at work. In their pagan state, these Crees 
 would have scorned this manual toil. They were 
 expert fishermen and skilful hunters. In these 
 duties, as well as serving as tripmen or canoe- 
 men, they were simply unrivalled. When thus 
 engaged, no labours were too heavy, no priva- 
 tions too severe. They might be drenched by 
 the rains in summer, or half frozen by the terri- 
 ble blizzards in winter; often for days together 
 without food, when unsuccessful in their hunt- 
 ing expeditions, yet they bore it all without 
 flinching or murmuring. But there were things 
 they would not do. Some would die rather than 
 carry a bucket of water or chop wood for the 
 wigwam fires. To take down or put up the 
 
 147 
 
Woman's Sad Condition 
 
 wigwam, when migrating from one hunting 
 ground to another, and to do all the drudgery in 
 everyday life, was left entirely to the women. 
 
 So while this new work of cutting down the 
 trees and digging out the stumps and preparing 
 ground for cultivation was a new thing, the 
 pagan scoffed and laughed at the men for thus 
 degrading themselves by such menial work. 
 
 This sad condition of women among these 
 pagan Indian tribes was one of the greatest sor- 
 rows to Mr. Evans. Himself a man of the kind- 
 liest feelings, and with a heart so tender that he 
 could not restrain his tears at the sight of a child 
 in pain, the way the women were treated by 
 their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons 
 filled him with the greatest sorrow. We cannot 
 blame him for being righteously angry at a 
 sturdy old Indian who came to the mission house 
 one day, and after making a bargain for the cut- 
 ting up of a pile of wood that was in the yard of 
 Mr. Evans' house, went off and brought his wife 
 to do the work. While the wife was industri- 
 ously sawing and splitting the wood, the hus- 
 band sat on the fence and smoked and only 
 stopped occasionally to shout to her to work 
 harder as he was getting cold ! 
 
 Mr. Evans set himself to work with all of his 
 accustomed energy to correct this sad state of 
 affairs. Not only by earnest importunate words 
 did he strive to bring about a better state of af- 
 fairs, but by practical work he showed the men 
 a better and a kindlier way. Skilful himself in 
 148 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 the use of the gun, he would go out and shoot a 
 deer and then shouldering his game would bring 
 it in to the mission house on his own back. 
 
 Very different indeed was this from the meth- 
 ods adopted by the selfish, cruel Indian men. 
 Skillful indeed were they in their huntings, but 
 when the deer was shot the man stalked away 
 with his gun while the wife or mother had to 
 trudge along under the heavy load which often 
 weighed two or three hundred pounds. So 
 when Mr. Evans urged the men to take hold and 
 themselves do the hard work he had much oppo- 
 sition, 
 
 "Make the women do it," was their cry. Mr. 
 Evans was aware of this, but he well knew how 
 to meet and crush it out. Taking his own axe 
 on his shoulder, he said to them, "Come on," 
 and showed by his skill in the use of that useful 
 instrument, that he well knew how to handle it. 
 Indians are hard people to drive, but they can 
 easily be led by those whom they respect. In 
 this they are at the very antipodes of the negro. 
 It is a remarkable fact that no Indians were ever 
 enslaved. The Spaniards and the Portuguese 
 tried to enslave them, but in vain. They sub- 
 jected them to the greatest cruelties, they literally 
 annihilated whole tribes in their efforts to enslave 
 them, but failed most signally. An Indian can 
 die, but he will not be a slave. 
 
 Mr. Evans, and many a missionary since, had 
 not studied the Indian in vain. He knew how to 
 manage them most successfully, and especially 
 149 
 
Carpenter and Farmer 
 
 now as they had renounced their paganism and 
 had accepted Christianity, and simply idolised 
 the man who had come to live among them. So 
 leading them on, and encouraging them by his 
 cheery presence, for he was ever of the brightest 
 and sunniest of temperaments, he got out of 
 them all that any man could desire. 
 
 Before their sharp axes the trees fell rapidly, 
 and the boundaries of the village were defined. 
 Stumps were dug up by others, and the once 
 wild forest was, under the guidance of this most 
 versatile of men, turned into fallow ground. 
 Timber from the forest was secured for a num- 
 ber of houses. Mr. Evans proved himself to be a 
 master carpenter, as well as a capital farmer. He 
 first taught the Indians how to square the timber 
 with their axes, and then how to put up the 
 timber frame of the house, and to fill in the sides 
 and ends, with the well hewn logs. The sponge- 
 like mosses and the tenacious cream coloured 
 clay had to serve as a substitute for lime, as in 
 that country there is no limestone. However, 
 when well built, the little houses could with 
 these things be made very warm and comfort- 
 able. A good fireplace at one end or side of the 
 house, supplied with plenty of wood, of which 
 the country affords an unlimited quantity, gave 
 sufficient warmth to a people capable of endur- 
 ing the cold. 
 
 The doors and windows, although home-made, 
 under the direction of the missionary were fairly 
 good, and of course much admired and appre- 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 dated by the happy people. Some of the more 
 ambitious men as soon as possible, put up parti- 
 tions in their homes, and in other ways made 
 them attractive and comfortable. 
 
 The worit of Christianising and civilising 
 thus went on. When spring arrived, potatoes 
 and hardy seeds were distributed, and in a few 
 years the place was so transformed that "the 
 wilderness and the solitary place was made glad, 
 and the desert rejoiced and blossomed as the 
 rose." 
 
 It is very interesting and profitable to study 
 God not only in the sacred volume, but in the 
 great book of Nature. Here we find on every 
 hand evidences of infinite wisdom, as well as of 
 boundless love. Take for example the summers 
 of the high latitudes, in places like Norway 
 House. They are very short, but as a compen- 
 sation for the fewness of the weeks of warmth, 
 those that are given, have every day, from six- 
 teen to twenty hours of perpetual sunshine. 
 The growth in those warm days is simply won- 
 derful. The hours of night are so few, that 
 there is no night chill, and consequently no sum- 
 mer frost, nor any other apparent check in the 
 growth. The result is, that the hardy grains and 
 vegetables grow to maturity at a rate that is 
 amazing to those only acquainted with the slow 
 growth, in lands where there are not the ex- 
 tremes of heat and cold. Then there are but 
 few cloudy days. The rain storms come up sud- 
 denly, water the ground or growing grain and 
 J51 
 
The Goose-Hunt 
 
 vegetables and then disappear quickly, and let 
 the almost perpetual sunshine do its work. 
 
 But in spite of all that was done to encourage 
 this new kind of work by Mr. Evans and sub- 
 sequent missionaries, it was sometimes difficult 
 to keep all of them, especially the young men, 
 at it. 
 
 One day while about thirty Indians, with a 
 missionary at their head, were industriously at 
 work preparing the ground for planting, there 
 was heard in the distance the cry of a flock of 
 wild geese. They were the first arrivals of the 
 great multitudes that pass over those regions on 
 their way to the distant hatching grounds farther 
 north. The honk! honk! honk! of the great 
 geese was too much for these hunters, and so 
 every spade, shovel, axe and hoe was dropped, 
 and away flew the Indians after their guns, and 
 speedily they were off to the different points for 
 the annual goose-hunt. 
 
 At first the missionary was amazed and some- 
 what disconcerted by this wholesale desertion, 
 but he had the discretion to say nothing about it 
 in a fault finding way. Anxious not to lose his 
 grip on them, he adopted the wiser course, and 
 went along with them to the hunt, and felt quite 
 proud and elated when before his aim, down fell 
 his first gray goose. 
 
 Mrs. Evans proved a true helpmate in this dif- 
 ficult but blessed work. She found the condition 
 of the pagan woman sad in the extreme. A 
 pagan husband thinks it is a sign of weakness 
 
 15!} 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 to speak kindly words to his wife. She is only 
 a drudge or beast of burden. No slave was ever 
 expected to be more attentive to his master than 
 she is to her husband. He shoots the game, but 
 if possible, he leaves it where it was shot, and 
 stalking back to his wigwam, it may be a distance 
 of many miles, he orders her to go with the 
 carrying-strap in summer, and with her sled in 
 winter, and quickly bring it home. When this 
 is accomplished, which is often at the cost of 
 great hardship, for it is no easy matter to carry a 
 deer weighing say two hundred pounds, on the 
 back, supported only by a strap from the fore- 
 head, the wife is expected to cook a portion of it 
 as speedily as possible. This she places before 
 her husband, who calls to eat with him any men 
 who may be present. If there are any sons, they 
 also are permitted to share in the feast. But the 
 women and girls must sit at a respectful distance 
 away, and patiently wait until the men and boys 
 have eaten, and then be thankful for what is left. 
 It was also often the case that when she became 
 old and feeble, and could no longer slave and 
 toil for husband or sons, she was cruelly put out 
 of existence. 
 
 This alas, in too many instances, was the sad 
 condition of woman among many of the Indian 
 tribes, when the gospel first reached them. It is 
 true there were some exceptions. Mrs. Evans 
 found the poor woman sad, dispirited, and un- 
 happy. She at once set to work to improve 
 their condition. With Christian influences now 
 153 
 
Woman's Work 
 
 reaching the hearts of their husbands, fathers 
 and brothers, the worit was delightfully encour- 
 aging. 
 
 It was true that there were some old opposers 
 of Christianity, who in the malignity of their 
 spirits at the changes going on around them, 
 seemed resolved if possible to keep their women 
 from hearing the gospel, as preached by Mr. 
 Evans, and also from attending the women's 
 prayer-meetings and Bible-readings conducted 
 by Mrs. Evans. But woman's wit and woman's 
 expedients have generally proven a match for 
 men's devices, and so, although having opposi- 
 tions, and often severe beatings, the poor women 
 would hear, and did hear the truth that brought 
 comfort and consolation to them in their lives, so 
 full of sorrows. 
 
 Noticing the wonderful cleverness of these 
 Cree Indian women in their bead work, and silk 
 and porcupine quill work, Mr. and Mrs. Evans 
 not only encouraged them in it, but after a time, 
 indeed as soon as practicable, they sent put to 
 civilisation, and obtained quantities of flax and 
 wool and spinning wheels, as well as yarn and 
 thread, and organised various industries among 
 them. Even some sheep were brought out, and 
 the experiment tried of raising them for the 
 wool and mutton. But the terrible severity of 
 the long winter, and the ferocity of the wolfish 
 Esquimaux dogs, made the experiment a failure. 
 It was found to be cheaper to buy and bring in 
 the wool and other raw materials, than to try 
 154 
 
Civilizing the Red Man 
 
 and raise them in a land of only three months of 
 summer. 
 
 Thus the two phases of the work went on; 
 Christianity and civilisation, until the fame of 
 this happy Christian Indian village of Rossville, 
 was known far and wide. Deputations of In- 
 dians came from distant places asking for mis- 
 sionaries with the Book. Some of the crews of 
 the boats that came with the cargoes of furs to 
 Norway House, heard from Mr. Evans during 
 the few days of delay while waiting for the re- 
 turn cargoes of goods, the story of God's love as 
 revealed in Christ Jesus, and were anxious to 
 have him return with them, and tell the same 
 story to their fathers and brothers, who were 
 sitting in darkness in their far-away homes, be- 
 cause no man had told these things unto them. 
 These Macedonian cries could not be heard in 
 vain by a man like Mr. Evans. 
 
 Living now so far away from civilisation and 
 help, it was difficuU to get the home officials of 
 the church to realise the grandeur and importance 
 of the work, and the necessity of sending in ad- 
 ditional help. Only twice a year was there pos- 
 tal communication with the outside world. Once 
 in winter by the dog-train, and once in summer 
 by the birch canoe did the mails arrive. Thus a 
 whole year often elapsed before it was possible 
 to obtain an answer to a letter; hence correspond- 
 ing with the officials about the work was very 
 unsatisfactory. Mr. Evans saw this dilemma and 
 instead of being discouraged he resolved, while 
 J55 
 
Apostolic Journeys 
 
 begging for and awaiting the arrival of reinforce- 
 ments, to promptly do all that could be done. 
 
 The mission was now in such an organised 
 state, that under Mrs. Evans' care, and that of 
 Henry Steinhauer and Peter Jacobs, it could be 
 left without any serious injury. The public serv- 
 ice, day and Sunday schools, prayer-meetings 
 and the industrial matters, were all in a flourish- 
 ing condition. All who would, could hear the 
 gospel, and so the loving heart of Mr. Evans 
 went out to those in the regions beyond. Large 
 were his plans, and many indeed would be his 
 dangers and hardships, and vast the distances to 
 be traversed, ere they could be carried out. But 
 with an unfaltering trust in God, and confidence 
 in his happy converted Indian companions, 
 whether they were his canoemen in summer, or 
 dog-drivers in winter, he pushed on his marvel- 
 lous career, and whether we consider the length 
 of the journeys travelled, or the abiding results that 
 attended his efforts, he well deserved the title of 
 the "Apostle of the North." 
 
 156 
 
XII 
 
 THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH 
 
 Mr. Evans' journeys — Great magnitude — His hybrid train- 
 Cross of dogs and wolves — A trip with the dog-train — The 
 dogs — Huskie or Esquimaux — The sled — ^The Indian guides — 
 Dog harness — The food — Clothing — Dog shoes — Camp in the 
 snow bank. 
 
 Of the long journeys taken by Mr. Evans, both 
 during the short summer months, or in the long 
 cold winters, it is a pleasure to write, but it is 
 also difficult, because the story will seem to 
 many so improbable, and to others so impos- 
 sible. 
 
 No full record of his long journeys has ever been 
 written. The narrative would have equalled, in in- 
 tense interest, anything in modern missionary liter- 
 ature. All the evengelical churches having mis- 
 sion stations anywhere from Lake Superior to the 
 Rocky Mountains, or from the Red or Assiniboine 
 Rivers to the mighty Mackenzie, far away be- 
 yond Athabasca and Slave Lakes, readily admit 
 that all their flourishing missions of to-day are, 
 in a great measure, the outcome of the visits and 
 ministrations of James Evans. 
 
 For long years after his death, there lingered 
 scores of Indians in various places between. York 
 Factory and Fort Simpson, and from Thunder 
 Bay to Rocky Mountain House, whose eyes 
 
 157 
 
The First and Great Missionary 
 
 brightened and whose tongues waxed eloquent, 
 as they recalled him to memory. He was ever, 
 to them, not only Nistum Ayumeaookemow, the 
 first missionary; but always the Keche Ayumea- 
 ookemow, the great missionary. To many of 
 his successors, the writer among them, it was 
 ever a pleasure to hear the wonderful stories that 
 clustered about his name and deeds. 
 
 While others had done well, and the Indians 
 were always kind and grateful in their references 
 to all of their missionaries, it was delightful to 
 notice how they all, in their reminiscences of the 
 past, gave him the first place. He was the ideal 
 missionary, the matchless dog-traveller, the fear- 
 less canoeist. Stoical old fellows who could not 
 be induced to talk at the camp-fires about them- 
 selves, or their personal adventures, would kindle 
 up, and talk by the hour of some of the thrilling 
 adventures, the narrow escapes, and the Prov- 
 idential deliverances which entered into his 
 career. 
 
 Some of us, later in these missionary fields, at 
 great trouble and expense had imported a num- 
 ber of splendid dogs, such as St. Bernards and 
 Newfoundlands. We had magnificent trains, of 
 which we were justly proud. On our missionary 
 journeys we used to make with them from 
 seventy to ninety miles a day. The old Indians 
 who remembered Mr. Evans and his wonderful 
 train of half wolves, half dogs, and the journeys 
 he made with them, would smile at our pride in 
 our trains, and say, "O, but you ought to have 
 
 158 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 seen Mr. Evans' train and what they could do! " 
 These four hybrids loolted very much like the large 
 northern wolves. They never lost their wolfish 
 disposition. Only their owner and one or two of 
 his Indian drivers could manage them. They 
 had to be chained up each night at the close of 
 the day's work. And in the summer time they 
 had to be kept like wild animals, imprisoned in- 
 side a high stockade. But when harnessed up 
 in tandem style to Mr. Evans' sled, with Henry 
 Budd or Mustagan, or some other famous Indian 
 runner accompanying them as guide, they must 
 have been about the finest train the country ever 
 saw. Their end was sudden, and very tragic was 
 the event that preceded it. 
 
 One morning Mr. Evans, accompanied by an 
 Indian driver who could also master them, went 
 into the high stockaded yard to let them loose 
 for a little exercise. The strong door was se- 
 curely closed behind them, as they entered, but 
 it was not locked, as it fastened from the out- 
 side. The two men, armed with their heavy 
 whips, were inside with the fierce brutes, which 
 they had unchained and allowed to gambol about 
 as was their wont and delight. In the meantime 
 an old chief had come to the mission house, and 
 on asking to see Mr. Evans, was told by Mrs. 
 Evans that he was somewhere about the premises. 
 He left the house, and after looking in various 
 places, opened the door of the stockaded yard, and 
 went in. The ferocious animals sprang upon 
 him in an instant, and before Mr. Evans and his 
 159 
 
A Shocking Death 
 
 companion could tear them away, they had so 
 mangled the old man that he died of the wounds 
 and shock. Of course the brutes were shot im- 
 mediately, and thus ended the train that had 
 been more talked about than any that ever ex- 
 isted in that country. 
 
 Dog-travelling is still the only way that long 
 winter journeys can be made in that far north 
 land; though, as civilisation advances, roads are 
 made, and the dog-trains are relegated farther 
 back. Once the trails of Manitoba were kept 
 smooth by the dog-trains. Old Fort Garry some- 
 times saw as many as thirty dog-trains gathered 
 at the same time, all ready to start off to remote 
 sections of the country. The writer has, within 
 twenty-five years, travelled with his train of dogs 
 over the same route where now the express trains 
 of the Canada Pacific Railroad dash along. Truly 
 the world is advancing; for civilisation is con- 
 stantly pushing on into the wilderness, and the 
 shrieks of the iron horse are arousing the soli- 
 tudes from their sleep of centuries. God grant 
 that Christianity may keep in the forefront, and, 
 as those new regions fill up with inhabitants, 
 may they come to be a people whose God is the 
 Lord. But, at the time of which we write, and 
 ever since, and probably for many years to come, 
 there are regions so inaccessible, that still the 
 canoe is the one way by which to travel in sum- 
 mer, and the dog-sleds in winter. 
 
 As there is so much that is fascinating and in- 
 structive about travelling by dog-train in winter, 
 
 160 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 in the cold regions of the north, and as Mr. 
 Evans travelled many thousands of miles in this 
 way, and many other missionaries since have 
 done the same, though not so extensively, we 
 will, in imagination, go with that heroic man on 
 one of his journeys, and try to enter into the 
 spirit of its hardships and its triumphs. 
 
 The dogs generally used are the well-known 
 Esquimaux or Huskie dogs of the country. They 
 are, however, so mixed with other breeds, that it 
 is impossible to get pure blooded stock, except 
 at the most northern posts. They are solid, fine 
 looking dogs, with sharp pointed ears that are 
 long and erect. They have a muzzle much like a 
 fox, and their bushy tail is generally well coiled 
 up. They have a warm furry coat, which en- 
 ables them to stand the intense cold of the re- 
 gion. They are seldom treated with much kind- 
 • ness by their masters, and so early developed the 
 capacity of being able to look after themselves. 
 They are incorrigible thieves ; it seems to be in- 
 grained in them. Stealing seems to be the one 
 joy of their lives. It appears to those who have 
 studied them and watched their manoeuvres, that 
 they would rather steal than eat. Most dogs can 
 be so trained that they would rather die than 
 steal; but this is not true of the average Esqui- 
 maux dog. He will steal, no matter how well 
 treated or fed. I have gone to an Indian wig- 
 wam and bought a litter of Esquimaux puppies 
 and taken them to my own kennels. I have fed 
 them well, and petted them, and brought them 
 
 161 
 
Dogs and Dog-sleds 
 
 up in the way in which they ought to go ; but 
 they would not stay there. They would leave 
 their supper to go off on a stealing expedition if 
 they saw the slightest opportunity before them. 
 But they were good dogs for their work, faithful 
 and true, as many Arctic explorers, as well as 
 missionaries and fur-traders have often found 
 out. 
 
 On the barren plains, beyond the reach of the 
 forest limit, they have each their own trace for 
 the sled, and thus pull independently of the rest, 
 but in the forest region they are harnessed in 
 tandem style. Four dogs are called a train, and 
 are supposed to be able to draw easily five or six 
 hundred pounds weight. The dog-sleds are like 
 the toboggans of Quebec, they are about ten feet 
 long, and from sixteen to eighteen inches wide. 
 Shorter ones are used on some routes. They are 
 generally made of two oak boards securely fas- 
 tened together by cross-bars. Then one end is 
 planed quite thin and when well steamed, it is 
 curved up like the letter J. Thus the dog-sled 
 has no runners, but just slides over the icy or 
 snowy track. 
 
 On a long trip such as Mr. Evans would take, 
 say to Oxford House or York Factory on the 
 northeast; or to Red River and to Fort Alexander 
 on the south; or to Cumberland House on the 
 southwest, two dog-trains would be necessary 
 and three would be still better. The Indian com- 
 panions must be of the best; especially the guide. 
 His duty is to always be at the front. He is sup- 
 162 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 posed to know the route, and to never be at fault 
 as to the direction in which to go. Storms may 
 suddenly come up, and the blinding snow may 
 assail ; blizzards may roar and howl through the 
 great forests, or over the great frozen lakes ; yet 
 he is expected to be able to push on with unerring 
 accuracy, and without any hesitancy. For days 
 and days together there may not be the least 
 vestige of a track or trail. No high cliffs or 
 mountain peaks afford any idea of the route; no 
 evidence is to be seen of man ever having passed 
 that way before ; yet it matters not to the first- 
 class guide. With all the confidence imaginable 
 he pushes ahead, and eventually reaches his des- 
 tination as though he had been all the time lead- 
 ing in a well-beaten track. How he does it, is to 
 most of people a mystery. 
 
 Another wonderful thing about the Cree Indian 
 guides is that they can travel by night as well as 
 by day. To turn night into day and do the trav- 
 elling when the sun is below the horizon is often 
 an absolute necessity, on account of the preva- 
 lence of the terrible disease known as " snow- 
 blindness." It is caused by the reflection of the 
 dazzling rays of the sun upon the great snowy 
 wastes. The first symptom of its coming, apart 
 from the bewildering glare, is excessive weeping. 
 This is soon followed by hot burning pains in the 
 eyeballs, as though red-hot sand had been thrown 
 in them. Then follows total blindness, unless 
 prompt remedies are taken to check the progress 
 of the disease. Experienced missionaries and 
 
 163 
 
Clever Indian Guides 
 
 Indian travellers, when the days are of unusual 
 brilliancy, and snow-blindness is feared, will 
 sleep during the hours of sunshine, and travel by 
 night. It is on these long night-journeys that the 
 marvellous cleverness of the guides is seen. 
 They will lead the trains as safely through these 
 pathless wilds by night as by day. How they do 
 it we know not. Ask them if you will, and you 
 will not get much satisfaction. Almost all they 
 will say is, "O, we know we are in the right 
 trail," but how they know they cannot tell. 
 
 The harness of the dogs is made out of well- 
 tanned moose skin, and generally each collar has 
 on it three or four little bells. The dogs are very 
 fond of these bells, and one of the ways some 
 dogs are punished is to deprive them of their 
 bells. 
 
 When going a long journey of several hun- 
 dreds of miles, it is very necessary, for the com- 
 fort of all, that everything essential is well packed 
 on the sleds. They must, when making up their 
 loads, remember that they are going into a 
 country where no stores are found along the 
 route, and that no hotels or hospitable homes 
 will be open to entertain them when the fatigu- 
 ing day's trip is ended. To provide for all emer- 
 gencies and be able to live independent of the 
 rest of the world, the loads will be about as fol- 
 lows. Abundance of food, the fattest that can 
 be obtained, with a good supply of tea and 
 sugar. Then of course they must carry the ket- 
 tles in which to cook the meals, and a number of 
 164 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 tin plates and cups, with itnives and forks. For 
 their faithful dogs they must carry sufficient 
 frozen white fish to be able to give two a day to 
 each dog, for the whole journey. In Mr. Evans' 
 time pemmican was also much used by men and 
 dogs. 
 
 The bedding is also an important matter, as 
 perhaps they may not see a house in which to 
 sleep for weeks. They must be prepared to 
 sleep in a hole dug in the snow, wherever night 
 overtakes them. Sometimes they may be fortu- 
 nate enough to get into a spruce or balsam 
 forest, where the keen winds can be guarded 
 against, and the branches be used as their bed. 
 This however is not always the case. The day's 
 journey may end by finding the party in some 
 open wind-swept place, where there is but scant 
 material to make a barricade against the pitiless 
 fury of the storm. Thankful are they, if the 
 guide has managed to find a spot where there is 
 sufficient dry wood with which to cook the sup- 
 per, and warm their half-frozen bodies. In order 
 to be ready for every emergency, there must be 
 sufficient bedding to make all comfortable, or at 
 least keep all from freezing. A couple of fur 
 robes, and some heavy blankets, with any quan- 
 tity of heavy clothing, are absolutely necessary 
 for the missionary. The Indians prefer to have 
 the famous rabbit skin blankets, each one of 
 which requires a hundred and twenty skins in its 
 manufacture. They are undoubtedly the warm- 
 est robe a human being can sleep under. An In- 
 
 165 
 
Dog Shoes 
 
 dian will fairly swelter under one out in the 
 woods, even when the temperature is fifty or 
 sixty below zero. 
 
 Another important item of the load is a large 
 supply of dog shoes. Mr. Evans was always 
 most careful about his dogs' feet. These shoes 
 are very essential, as a dog's foot is very liable to 
 injury. Sometimes on the rough, sharp ice, they 
 cut their feet so that they bleed very much. At 
 other times in the rough places they break off the 
 nails from their toes or run sharp spikes through 
 the webbing between the toes. When thus in- 
 jured they are quite unfitted for work and 
 speedily let it be known that something is 
 wrong. An experienced dog will stop and re- 
 fuse to move until his sore feet are attended to. 
 The wise missionary will have handy a bunch of 
 cotton wool as well as dog shoes. A little of the 
 wool, saturated in balsam gum, is fastened over 
 the wounded part of the foot, then the dog shoe 
 which is like a long mitten without the thumb, is 
 drawn on the foot and securely fastened with a 
 piece of deer skin. The dogs get to be very 
 fond of these shoes, and sometimes resort to 
 queer expedients to get them on. They will 
 sometimes pretend to be very footsore; and, if 
 the night be specially cold at the camp, they will 
 howl and whine for them in a way that is pa- 
 thetic though at times very laughable. Mr. Evans' 
 train of half dogs, half wolves, would lie down 
 on their backs and holding up their four feet 
 would howl for him or Henry to put on their 
 
 166 
 
o 
 o 
 
 o 
 z 
 
 ui 
 
 o 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 shoes. Other missionaries have had their dogs 
 do the same thing. 
 
 h is always considered a fortunate thing when 
 the day's journey is ended to be able to make the 
 camp, as it is called, on the lea side of some 
 dense forest trees. Plenty of dry wood is also 
 an essential requisite to a good camp; so the 
 guide endeavours to find a place where, during 
 the previous summer, the fires had swept through 
 the forest. There the trees, killed by the flames 
 but not consumed, after standing until the next 
 winter have become so dry that they make the 
 best of fuel. When a place possessing these req- 
 uisites has been found a halt is called, and at 
 once all set to work to prepare for spending the 
 night. The dogs are at once unharnessed ; they 
 do not have to be tied unless some of them are 
 very fierce or are new ones that have been re- 
 cently purchased. They are generally allowed to 
 wander about at will ; and, if rabbits are plenti- 
 ful, some of the young dogs may get up a hunt 
 or two with rather indifferent success. Axes are 
 next taken from the sleds and a general assault is 
 made on the standing dry trees. They may be 
 from twelve to twenty inches in diameter, and 
 fifty or sixty feet in height. A dozen or so of 
 these small mast-like trees are cut down, and 
 then chopped up into lengths of from ten to fif- 
 teen feet. 
 
 Then the camp is prepared. The big snow- 
 shoes make capital substitutes for shovels, and, 
 with these, the light, dry snow is speedily thrown 
 
 167 
 
Feeding the Dogs 
 
 out from a space about ten feet square. This is 
 to be the abode of all the party for the night. 
 The snow is piled up in banks on three sides, 
 while on the fourth side, which is so selected 
 that the wind will drive the smoke from the 
 camp, the snow is scraped away and there the 
 logs of wood are brought and piled up into a big 
 heap, dry pieces and chips are placed underneath 
 them, and the whole is speedily ignited, and soon 
 there is a glorious blaze. 
 
 The robes and blankets are arranged in the 
 camp, which now has a wall of snow in the rear 
 and on the right and left, while the splendid fire 
 guards well the front. Kettles are filled and re- 
 filled with snow and kept on the fire until they 
 are full of water. In the larger one the meat is 
 boiled. It may be venison, bear's meat, or half a 
 beaver. In Mr. Evans' party it would more likely 
 have been some dried meat or buffalo tongues. 
 However, the fatter it is, the more it is craved 
 and enjoyed by the missionary as well as his In- 
 dian companions. 
 
 While the meat is cooking, the dogs are fed. 
 These faithful animals are only fed once a day. 
 Tender-hearted persons might think this cruel and 
 unkind, but long experience has taught mission- 
 aries and dog-drivers that they thrive best on one 
 meal a day, and that one given them at the even- 
 ing camp. If fed in the morning, they are apt 
 to be sluggish at their work during the entire 
 day. Even small lunches during the day are not 
 helpful. Long experience has shown that a good 
 1G8 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 meal of two white fish at night, for each dog, 
 keeps them in better health and spirits than any 
 other plan that has been adopted. Some dogs 
 get so that they will refuse food at any other time 
 of the day. 
 
 So severe is the frost, that these fish are as solid 
 as stones, and so, ere they are fed to the dogs, a 
 log is placed quite near to the fire, and there two 
 fish for each dog are placed and thoroughly 
 thawed out. Sometimes, in their nervous anxiety 
 and jealousy while waiting for their fish, which 
 they see thawing under their very noses, fighting 
 begins among them, and as one dog after another 
 joins in, it becomes quite a battle. But it was 
 always noticed that dogs that have toiled in the 
 same trains, very seldom quarrelled with each 
 other. The battle was usually between the four 
 of one train, and the four of another. When fed, 
 they go and dig holes in the snow and there cud- 
 dle down and sleep, and shiver through the bitter 
 cold night as best they can. Sometimes valuable 
 imported dogs have frozen to death in their cold 
 nest in the snow. 
 
 The dogs being thus fed and disposed of, the 
 missionary and his Indians have their own sup- 
 pers. Tin plates, and cups of the same material, 
 are arranged on an old tablecloth, and then with 
 knives and forks they attack the meat and flat 
 cakes, if they have any, and drink a great deal of 
 strong, well-sweetened tea, which has been made 
 by one of the Indians in a second kettle. 
 
 Sometimes, when the night was intensely cold, 
 168 
 
Camp Devotions 
 
 which was generally the case, the meat would 
 freeze up two or three times during the meal. 
 When this would occur it would have to be 
 plunged for a minute or tWo into the boiling pot, 
 kept specially ready for this emergency. 
 
 When it was colder than forty below zero, the 
 ice would form on a pint cup of tea in a few 
 minutes after it was poured out of the boiling pot. 
 Many indeed were the cold nights thus endured, 
 so all were thankful for the roaring log fire. 
 
 After supper they had prayers. The Indians 
 were bright and joyous and full of pleasantry. 
 Mr. Evans, himself one of the most joyous of 
 men, would never take with him the second time, 
 a dog-traveller or guide no matter how capable 
 he was in doing his work, who was morose or 
 sullen in his disposition. Serving the Lord with 
 gladness himself, he wanted that kind of men 
 around him. But when after supper the words 
 were uttered : "Let us worship God," all talk- 
 ing and laughing ceased, and reverently and de- 
 voutly they all, with uncovered heads, seated 
 themselves around their beloved missionary, who 
 always led the service. A portion of the Word 
 of God, newly translated into their musical Cree 
 language, would be read, then a familiar hymn 
 would be sung, and, devoutly kneeling, first one 
 and then another of these happy converted In- 
 dians would lead in prayer. Then Mr. Evans 
 would offer the closing petitions and pronounce 
 the benediction in their own language, and the 
 precious devotions were at an end. 
 
 170 
 
The Apostle of the North 
 
 Mr. Evans, although the most rapid of travel- 
 lers, and ever anxious to use every hour possible, 
 always took abundance of time for the morning 
 and evening prayers. He made each service the 
 occasion of some Bible instruction that would be 
 food for thought and encouragement to the men 
 with whom he was travelling. Then, after pray- 
 ers, the necessary arrangements for spending the 
 night in the camp were at once quickly made. 
 How to sleep comfortably in a camp like this, 
 which was, as we have described, only a place 
 from which the snow had been scraped and piled 
 up on three sides of a square, with no roof above, 
 and a flashy fire at the front, which in all proba- 
 bility, unless the wolves are threatening, will go 
 out in a couple of hours, we must try and de- 
 scribe in our next chapter. 
 
 171 
 
XIII 
 
 NIGHT IN THE WINTRY CAMP 
 
 Night in the Forest Camp— Preparing to sleep — Loving In- 
 dian Companions — The glorious Aurora Borealis. 
 
 One of the favourite hymns which Mr. Evans 
 and his Indian dog-drivers used to sing at their 
 evening devotions ere they lay down and tried to 
 sleep, was the Cree translation of the Evening 
 Hymn, of which the following is the first verse: 
 
 " Ne ma mechee mou, ne mon toom, 
 Ka ke was ta na ma wee yan, 
 Ka na way ye min kee cha ya 
 A qua na ta ta quan a une." 
 
 Very appropriate indeed would be such a 
 prayer, thus sung in such a place, in such a tem- 
 perature. 
 
 There they are, out in the dreary forest in that 
 hole, scooped out in the snow. No roof have 
 they above them but the starry heavens, no walls 
 on three sides of them but those snow banks, 
 which their snowshoes have thrown up. The 
 fire, now blazing so brightly in front of them, 
 will, unless constantly renewed, soon go out. 
 Yet they will be obliged to pass the long cold 
 night with the temperature ranging anywhere: 
 from forty to sixty below zero. So no wondet" 
 
 172 
 
Night in the Wintry Camp 
 
 If with a consciousness of their need of the 
 watchful care of the ever-loving Almighty Friend, 
 they invoke His presence, and His protection. 
 
 As they rise up from their devotions, the de- 
 voted Indian attendants say, " Now missionary, 
 if you will get ready, we will make your bed, 
 and then tuck you in." No traveller ever had 
 more loyal and devoted attendants than are these 
 loving vigilant Christian Indians. They are alive 
 to the many dangers that are necessarily incident 
 to such travelling by day and night, and are quick 
 to meet every emergency. The way they make 
 the bed for the missionary is about as follows: 
 
 First, they spread out a large buffalo skin on 
 the ground in this so-called camp, from which 
 most of the snow has been removed. On this 
 robe a large Hudson's Bay blanket is laid. The 
 pillow is then so placed that the feet of the mis- 
 sionary will be toward the fire. While the men 
 have been making the bed, the missionary has 
 been preparing himself to occupy it. There is no 
 disrobing before retiring to rest, in such a bed- 
 room, and in such an atmosphere. On the con- 
 trary the missionary very gladly puts on a large 
 amount of additional clothing. 
 
 A fur bag into which to crawl was at one time 
 quite popular, but it has been much discarded of 
 late. Fur boots reaching up to the body, and 
 large enough to be pulled on over the moccasins, 
 leggins and pants, are very comfortable. A fur 
 or heavy blanket coat with well-lined hood to 
 draw over the large fur cap is also essential, then 
 173 
 
Heads Covered 
 
 fur mittens for the hands and perhaps a heavy 
 Scottish plaid wound round and round the body, 
 generally completes the outfit. The next opera- 
 tion is to get into this bed already described. 
 When the missionary has lain down, the Indians 
 at once complete their work. Throwing over 
 the already well packed man a couple of blank- 
 ets and a large fur robe, they begin the process 
 of tucking him in. No loving mother ever more 
 tenderly or thoroughly tucked in her child in his 
 crib than these experienced Indians tuck in 
 their beloved missionary. The operation is very 
 satisfactory at first, as they begin at the feet and 
 gradually work up to the head. When, how- 
 ever, the head is reached they immediately pro- 
 ceed to cover it up. This, of course, is very try- 
 ing to an inexperienced white man, as there is 
 such a sense of suffocation which is not entirely 
 removed even by the assuring words of the faith- 
 ful Indians, who inform the sufferer that al- 
 though he thinks he is going to die, yet he will 
 manage to survive. However, in spite of these 
 assuring words he finds it extremely difficult to 
 breathe packed in, as he is under this heavy 
 covering, and if the night is unusually cold, 
 tucked in under his shoulders. But trying as it 
 is for the novice thus to sleep without his ac- 
 customed number of cubic feet of fresh air, there 
 is no case on record of any missionary having 
 thus been suffocated, although Mr. Evans and 
 others found it quite an ordeal to accustom them- 
 selves to sleep after this fashion. 
 174 
 
Night in the Wintry Camp 
 
 The experienced Indians well knowing the 
 dangers of the winter camp, generally warn the 
 missionary to keep as quiet as possible, while 
 thus almost buried beneath his heavy coverings. 
 When questioned as to the reasons of this solici- 
 tude, the answer given is, " You may disarrange 
 the clothing while you are asleep, and so let in 
 the cold air; and then you may freeze to death 
 without awakening." This is serious informa- 
 tion, and is apt to make the missionary careful. 
 
 That it means something is evident from the 
 fact that one night a missionary unconsciously 
 uncovered his face, doubtless on account of the 
 instinctive longing for fresh air. When a little 
 later he fully awoke to consciousness, he found 
 himself pulling away at something he at first 
 thought was the end of an axe-handle, but which 
 he soon discovered was his frozen nose! 
 
 Strange as it may appear, a fall of snow is like 
 an additional blanket on a none too warm bed on 
 a cold wintry night. The question has been 
 asked, who tuck in the faithful Indians who 
 have been so considerate and thoughtful about 
 their missionary ? Accustomed as they are to 
 their primitive way of sleeping, from long prac- 
 tice they have become very skillful in so rolling 
 themselves up, each in a single blanket that it 
 seems as though not a particle of air is able to 
 reach them. Brought up in a mossbag, where 
 they are lashed to a board when babies, they are 
 obliged to keep still, and an Indian very seldom 
 stirs in his sleep from the moment he lies down 
 176 
 
Facing a Blizzard 
 
 until he springs up refreshed and invigorated in 
 the morning. 
 
 At times Mr. Evans and his dog-drivers were 
 exposed to the attaclts of the great northern gray 
 wolves. Fortunately they seldom went in packs 
 larger than seven or eight. When their howling 
 was heard additional wood was put on the fire 
 which was kept burning as long as they were 
 troublesome. It is a fortunate thing for mission- 
 aries and other travellers that these bloodthirsty 
 brutes are afraid of fire. Still it was ever neces- 
 sary to be on guard when their mournful blood- 
 curdling bowlings were heard. Thus did Mr. 
 Evans spend night after night, often for weeks 
 together, with the exception of the short visits 
 made at the different Hudson's Bay Company's 
 trading posts, guarding against these treacherous 
 foes as he rapidly travelled through the country. 
 
 He had some fierce encounters with blizzard 
 storms, and at these times it was extremely diffi- 
 cult to find the way. A blizzard is very different 
 from an ordinary snowstorm. It may come on 
 while the sky is cloudless and the sun is shining 
 with undimmed splendour. It must be remem- 
 bered that where the winters are very cold the 
 snow does not congeal, but is light and dry and 
 feathery. A blizzard storm consists of a high 
 wind which lifts up and drives before it this light 
 dry snow. So full does the air become of it that 
 often it is impossible for those so unfortunate as to 
 be caught out in it to see a dozen feet in any direc- 
 tion. Trails, paths, roads, whatever there may 
 
 176 
 
cc 
 
 -.fc^-*j8.L..-.' .'/ 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 
Night in the Wintry Camp 
 
 have been of this description are soon obliterated ; 
 hence the great difficulty for any except the most 
 experienced, to avoid becoming bewildered and 
 lost. 
 
 These blizzards often come up very suddenly 
 and are as apt to occur by night as by day. At 
 midnight the stars may be shining in the heavens 
 with rare beauty, and in one short hour a blizzard 
 storm may be howling through the forest or over 
 the lakes and prairies like a fierce monster clam- 
 ouring for his prey. Then indeed it is far from 
 pleasant in the wintry camp. The banks of snow 
 so labouriously shovelled with the snowshoes 
 are instantly caught up in the maddening gale 
 and whirled in every direction. The fire that 
 may have been burning brightly is extinguished 
 by its fury, so that where the bright blaze shed 
 its light and warmth around, the pitiless storm 
 has smothered all and piled up a drift of snow, 
 like a great winding sheet. 
 
 Fortunate was it for Mr. Evans and his com- 
 panions if they were so completely covered up 
 that they could comfortably lie still and let the 
 blizzard howl and rage above them. Strange as 
 it may appear this was quite possible to do, and 
 many a missionary party since has slept out in 
 the woods during these terrific storms. Warm 
 and safe under their heavy blankets and robes, 
 the bowlings of the blizzards have only been to 
 them as lullabies, and they have rested and slept 
 as comfortably as though in their happy homes. 
 
 The getting up in the mornings, however, was 
 177 
 
Northern Lights 
 
 not always comfortable, after one of these night 
 storms, even if it had spent its fury. Everything 
 was buried under the snow. Even the dogs had 
 to be searched for and dug out. From the spot 
 where the fire had blazed the night before, the 
 snow had to be cleared away, and fresh wood 
 had to be cut and a new fire made. Snowshoes, 
 dog harness, sleds and various other things had 
 to be searched for, and dug out from the drifts. 
 Breakfast similar to the supper of the previous 
 evening, was quickly cooked and eaten by the 
 half frozen company, who, although all busy, 
 found it hard work to keep from shivering. 
 Prayers followed, and then the dogs were har- 
 nessed, the loads tied on the sleds, and the jour- 
 ney was resumed. 
 
 One of the great compensations which the lover 
 of nature, and Mr. Evans was emphatically one 
 of them, has in those high latitudes are the beau- 
 tifully natural phenomena there at times dis- 
 played. At certain seasons of the year the most 
 vivid and distinct mirages display their erratic 
 powers. Places scores and sometimes hundreds 
 of miles away are clearly thrown up high above 
 the horizon. Mock suns in many circles sur- 
 round the real sun, and vivid crosses like the one 
 that thrilled the soul and fired the courage of 
 Constantine are not uncommon. But the glory 
 of these regions, surpassing the visions of all 
 other lands, is the aurora borealis, commonly 
 known as the Northern Lights. 
 
 Artists have tried to paint their ever-changing 
 178 
 
Night in the Wintry Camp 
 
 glories, and writers to give us some adequate 
 idea of their bewildering splendours, but all in 
 vain. Their very mysteriousness, the uncertainty 
 that still exists as to their origin, the suddenness 
 with which at times they blaze out, in their more 
 than earthly beauty; the rapidity with which 
 they change from "glory to glory," all these and 
 many other of their characteristics only add to 
 our exquisite pleasure, and increase our fascina- 
 tion as, with undiminished interest, we gaze upon 
 them. 
 
 Sometimes as seen in the illustration Mr. Evans 
 saw them as they danced and flitted and rolled 
 and unrolled before him. At times they were of 
 purest white, then suddenly they took on by 
 turns, and in wondrous combinations, all the 
 colours of the rainbow. Often they flashed and 
 blazed all night until their glories were lost in the 
 splendour of the rising sun. 
 
 Thus day after day, and week after week with 
 all the varied experiences of glorious weather, 
 wintry storms and wondrous auroras by day 
 and night, this marvellous missionary pushed on. 
 Of course he was human, and at times suffered 
 most intensely; but such was his devotion to his 
 work, and his joy at seeing the cause of Christ 
 prospering and many Indians renouncing their 
 paganism, that he counted his physical sufferings 
 but trifles in comparison with the good accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Not only was he emphatically the apostle of 
 these northern red men, but his periodical visits to 
 179 
 
Trophies, White and Red 
 
 the great trading posts of the fur traders were 
 looked forward to with pleasure and delight. 
 Mr. Evans faithfully preached the Word of God 
 to the whites as well as to the Indians. Through 
 his loving words, strong and faithful at all times, 
 he had the joy of seeing many of the officers and 
 employees at these different posts, become earnest 
 and zealous followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The trophies thus won were his exceeding 
 great reward; and he counted no journey too 
 long, no hardships too severe, if only he could 
 see men and women, white or red, brought to 
 the foot of the Cross. 
 
 180 
 
XIV 
 
 INVENTION OF THE SYLLABIC CHARACTERS 
 
 Invention of the Syllabic Characters — The wandering habits 
 of the Indians — In search for food — Alphabet — Thirty-six Char- 
 acters — Type of tea chest lead — Ink of soot and sturgeon oil — 
 Translation begun — School formed — The birch bark books — 
 Popularity of the invention — A Catechism printed — Helped by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 That which will give James Evans the most 
 enduring fame, and keep his name prominent 
 among the greatest missionaries and benefactors 
 of his race, is the fact that he invented and per- 
 fected what are known as the Cree Syllabic Char- 
 acters. From the time Mr. Evans was taken by 
 Rev. Mr. Case from his country schoolhouse and 
 set to work among the Indians, the investigation 
 of their languages and the mastery of them, as 
 far as possible, was one of his lifelong pursuits. 
 While in the old Province of Upper Canada, now 
 better known as Ontario, he studied with such 
 diligence that he became quite proficient in Ojib- 
 way, and some other languages of the Indians 
 among whom he so industriously toiled. As has 
 already been said, he spent some considerable 
 time, and all of his available cash, in going to 
 New York, for the purpose of there putting 
 through the press certain portions of the Word of 
 ^od, as w.eU as ,a catechism and a number of 
 .181 
 
Wandering Habits of the Indians 
 
 hymns, which he himself had translated for the 
 benefit of the Indians. 
 
 When he reached Norway House, he found 
 the condition of the Indians very different from 
 that of those among whom he had formerly la- 
 boured. In Upper Canada, their reservations 
 were where the land was fertile, and the climate 
 everything that could be desired for the produc- 
 tion of abundance of grain and vegetables. If 
 any of the Indians still occasionally went on 
 hunting expeditions, it was by choice, not by 
 necessity, as the same labour expended on the 
 soil brought them far greater returns. 
 
 The case was far different in the northern 
 fields. There the summer was so short and the 
 quantity of good land available so limited, that 
 the products of the soil afforded at the best but a 
 small proportion of the essential support of the 
 people. They were obliged to depend almost 
 entirely upon their hunting and fishing. The 
 great lakes and rivers abounded in the finest of 
 fresh-water fish. But even fish have their mi- 
 grations, and in order to obtain them in sufficient 
 quantities, the Indians had to move with them. 
 What was true in reference to the fish, was even 
 more true in reference to the game. Some ani- 
 mals are ever on the move. The great herds of 
 reindeer roam over vast areas. Bears also are 
 great wanderers, and so are some other animals. 
 They are instinctively drawn to those sections of 
 the country where their food can be obtained at 
 the different seasons of the year. Then there are 
 183 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 
 certain sections of the country which abound in 
 valuable fur-bearing animals, which can only be 
 hunted at certain times. 
 
 As a result, Mr. Evans found that those Indians 
 who would make a successful living must be 
 very much on the move. For a time, when fish 
 were abundant in Playgreen Lake and vicinity, 
 they could live at Norway House. Then as the 
 fish disappeared, the Indians had to seek a living 
 elsewhere. Some went far away into the in- 
 terior, among the smaller streams, looking for the 
 industrious beaver. Others went after the fierce 
 black bear; and others sought for the otter, or 
 fisher, or wolverine, or the many varieties of the 
 fox, from the rich and valuable black and silver, 
 to the common red and the beautiful white. 
 Living as they did from hand to mouth, and 
 never having a reserve of food, or the ability to 
 purchase it, they were obliged to take their wives 
 and children with them on these almost constant 
 wanderings from one fishing or hunting ground 
 to the other. 
 
 It followed, therefore, that Mr. Evans had here to 
 face a condition of things entirely new. He could 
 preach to the Indian hunters as they came in from 
 their hunting grounds with the furs which they 
 exchanged for supplies, and remained for a few 
 days at Rossville, ere they returned to their dis- 
 tant hunting lodges far away in the forest. But 
 their wives and children were far away, and 
 would not return until the spring opened and 
 they could travel by their canoes. In the sum- 
 
Problem of Food-Supply 
 
 mer, as the men had to spend most of their time 
 as tripmen in the transportation into the interior 
 of the country, of the goods of the company, and 
 the bringing out of the furs for shipment to Eng- 
 land, it was difficult to teach them to read in the 
 ordinary way. Even the women and children had 
 become so accustomed to lead these ever roving 
 lives, that the slightest report that fish or rabbits 
 were more numerous at some point twenty or 
 thirty miles away, was quite sufficient to excite 
 them to removal, and so, all summer, while the 
 men were absent the women and children were 
 thus roaming about. 
 
 At first, with his usual courage, he tried to 
 remedy the evil; but the all-essential problem of 
 the food supply was there before them, and he 
 found that at least for some years to come, the 
 Indians would have to continue in the same style 
 of living, unsatisfactory though it was. 
 
 The great wheat fields of Manitoba and the 
 regions west of them, were then the feeding 
 grounds of the buffalo. Flour was almost un- 
 known among the Indians. Bread had never 
 been heard of. So destitute then was the lan- 
 guage of the very idea of bread that in the Lord|s 
 Prayer, the petition, ' ' Give us this day our daily 
 bread" is written: "Meyenan anooch kake- 
 seekak kaooche pe mah teseyak," which, liter- 
 ally translated, is, "<jive us this day something 
 to keep us in life." The question of food was 
 paramount, and so the Indians had to continue 
 thpjr w^pderings cxt starve. To teach thexn l^p^ 
 184 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 
 to read, no matter how great their anxiety to 
 learn, was under such conditions almost an im- 
 possibility. It is true that some persevering 
 spirits did succeed even against all these diffi- 
 culties, and became fairly good English scholars, 
 but the great majority necessarily remained in 
 ignorance. Mr. Evans was troubled in spirit, and 
 mourned over such a state of things. After see- 
 ing at the missions in Upper Canada hundreds of 
 Indians learning to read the Word of God in 
 their own language, it was peculiarly trying that 
 the Crees, equally intelligent and anxious, should 
 not enjoy the same advantages. 
 
 While pondering over this matter and making 
 it the subject of much prayer, there flashed into 
 his mind this thought: "Why cannot a simpler, 
 easier method of learning to read be invented, 
 than our old, slow, cumbersome one with the 
 alphabet ? " This thought took such possession 
 of him that it became all-absorbing. He could 
 not get it out of his mind. It seemed such a de- 
 lusive thing, that while he pondered over it, the 
 uppermost thought for a long time was that it 
 was only as a dream. However, it so abode 
 with him, that he set himself to work out the 
 problem with his usual energy and perseverance. 
 
 His first work was to so study the language, as 
 to find the number and character of the sounds 
 used by the best speakers in the tribe. Fortu- 
 nately the Cree is one of the finest of the Indian 
 languages, and Mr. Evans was not long in dis- 
 covering its beauty and its strength. 
 
 m 
 
Thirty-six Characters 
 
 He found out that its principal sounds were 
 thirty six in number, and that with some slight 
 variation and a few affixes, the whole could be 
 expressed. After much study and many experi- 
 ments he succeeded in arranging them in rhyth- 
 mic order, so that they could be much more 
 easily committed to memory than the alphabet. 
 Having mastered the sounds, the next thing was 
 to devise signs or characters to represent them. 
 Among his other acquirements, Mr. Evans had 
 quite a knowledge of phonography, and this was 
 now found to be of great use. So, after a good 
 deal of experimenting, he decided upon the 
 thirty-six characters which we here append. 
 
 When the discovery thus far was made, great 
 indeed was his joy. As he tested them, and 
 wrote down in them the conversation and utter- 
 ances of the people, and above all when he found 
 that all the translations thus far made of portions 
 of the Word of God and of some beautiful 
 hymns could really be expressed more accu- 
 rately, as regards the sounds, than by the 
 ordinary alphabet, his rejoicing was almost with- 
 out measure. 
 
 The next thing was to make his invention of 
 practical value. Thus far what had been done 
 had been accomplished with the pen, this of 
 course would not go very far, and so the next 
 thing was to get it in type, and thus be able to 
 print with it. But a more unfortunate mission- 
 field the world hardly possessed than Norway 
 House, for the possession of the requisites to set 
 186 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 THE CREE SYLLABIC ALPHABET. 
 
 INITIALS. 
 
 STLLABMS. 
 
 FINALS. 
 
 
 a 
 
 e 00 
 
 ah 
 
 ° OW 
 
 a 
 
 , V 
 
 A t> 
 
 
 
 X Christ 
 
 p 
 
 V 
 
 A > 
 
 < 
 
 ' P 
 
 t 
 
 u 
 
 n D 
 
 c 
 
 / t 
 
 k 
 
 s 
 
 p d 
 
 b 
 
 vk 
 -ch 
 
 ch 
 
 n 
 
 r J 
 
 I 
 
 c m 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 r J 
 
 L 
 
 5 n 
 
 n 
 
 T3 
 
 o- ^ 
 
 Q. 
 
 '^ s 
 
 s 
 
 ^ 
 
 t^ ^ 
 
 '^ 
 
 i r 
 
 y 
 
 ^ 
 
 I^ ^ 
 
 S- 
 
 il 
 
 The dot over any syllable lengthens the vowel sound. 
 Thus, La-D = Manito, the Indian name for the Great 
 Spirit, or God; LL = Mama; « = Papa, 
 
 187 
 
Birch Bark for Paper 
 
 up a printing press. There was no type, no 
 paper, no inlc, no press, not even a building, be- 
 yond tlie little mission house, in which to carry 
 on the work. But Mr. Evans' ingenuity and 
 fertility in expedients soon made him master of 
 the situation. With such an invention in his 
 possession, and with the possibilities of ac- 
 complishing such glorious results, in so easily 
 teaching the Indians to read in their own lan- 
 guage the Word of God, he set to work to do 
 the best he could with the limited materials at his 
 disposal, for the present ; certain that as soon as 
 the news of his discovery became known to the 
 outside world, material assistance would be forth- 
 coming. 
 
 So remote from civilisation, and so difficult of 
 access was Norway House, and above all, so ex- 
 pensive was it to get in supplies, that Mr. Evans 
 resolved to begin with the resources within his 
 reach. The material he used for the manufacture 
 of his type was the thin sheets of lead which 
 are found in the tea chests. This he begged from 
 the fur traders, who sell large quantities of tea to 
 the Indians. Having carefully carved out little 
 models of his characters, he made casts of them 
 in soft clay, and then pouring into these moulds 
 the melted lead, he secured, after many failures, 
 type sufficient for his use. He made his ink out 
 of the soot of the chimneys mixed with sturgeon 
 oil. He had no paper, and so had to be conterrt 
 with birch bark as a substitute. It did better than 
 ? person would first imagine it w^qiild. Hp 
 188 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 
 manufactured his own printing press. A jack 
 screw used generally by the traders for the pack- 
 ing of the bales of furs, was kindly loaned him 
 for his work of printing. This gave him the 
 requisite power, and so with these primitive ap- 
 pliances, the work of furnishing the Indians por- 
 tions of Scripture and Hymns in their own lan- 
 guage, began. 
 
 The beauty of these Syllabic Characters is that 
 they can be acquired so easily, and then that 
 when this is accomplished, the art of reading by 
 them, is only a matter of a very few days. Each 
 character is a syllable, as the name indicates, so 
 there are just as many characters in a word as 
 there are syllables. AH then that is necessary 
 for the Indians, from the boys and girls of six or 
 eight years of age, up to the old men and women 
 of ninety, is just to master the syllabic alphabet, 
 and then begin to read. There is no spelHng re- 
 quired. No first book or second book; no dicta- 
 tion lessons. Then there are no cross teachers to 
 say to the class, "1 am sorry so many words 
 were wrongly spelt." How strange this sounds 
 to our boys and girls, this being able to read 
 easily and correctly, without ever having to spell 
 a word. 
 
 It is a marvellous invention, and has been a 
 benediction to thousands. Great indeed was the 
 astonishment of the Indians when this discovery 
 was revealed to them. There were diverse im- 
 pressions created. When those who had become 
 Christians, and had thus broken the claims of 
 
 189 
 
Birch Bark Could "Talk" 
 
 superstition, had the method explained to them 
 on their visits to Rossville, they were eager 
 students, and were soon able to read as fast as 
 new copies could be made. Not only this, but 
 they became teachers themselves, and carried to 
 distant hunting camps the knowledge they had 
 acquired, and gladly explained to others this 
 wonderful invention. 
 
 With a rude sort of stylus or wooden pen, they 
 carefully multiplied copies of the passages of 
 scripture first given them by Mr. Evans, even be- 
 fore he was able to begin his crude printing 
 operations. These caused intense excitement, as 
 they went from camp-fire to camp-fire, and from 
 wigwam to wigwam in the wilderness. That 
 birch bark could "talk," and above all that it 
 could talk about the Great Spirit, and say His 
 words, was indeed a thing of mystery and as- 
 tonishment. Nothing else for a time could be 
 talked about. The Christian Indians rejoiced, but 
 the conjurers and medicine-men were enraged, 
 and declared that terrible calamities would fol- 
 low. Superstitious Indians were frightened, and 
 nothing could induce them to touch the magic 
 birch bark that could thus talk. 
 
 The one great absorbing feeling of the grand 
 man who had so well succeeded in his work, was 
 gratitude to God, who had enabled him with the 
 Divine blessing, thus to triumph beyond his most 
 sanguine expectations, in putting within the reach 
 of these wandering Indians, the power of learn- 
 ing to read the Bible in their own tongue. As 
 
 190 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 
 the Spring opened the next year after the dis- 
 covery of these characters, and tiie circulation of 
 portions of Scripture, Mr. Evans was deligiited 
 and encouraged by the numbers of men and 
 women and children too, who had in their far- 
 away hunting lodges, obtained a knowledge of 
 the syllables, from those who had visited the 
 mission, during the previous winter, when they 
 had come in with the bales of furs. 
 
 As soon as possible, after their arrival, a school 
 was organised, and all were invited to attend, no 
 matter what was their age. On a large black- 
 board, made with his own hands, Mr. Evans 
 marked out these wonderful characters, and there 
 for hours every day, the work of instruction went 
 on. Some could not attend very regularly. The 
 nets had to be visited, and fish secured for food. 
 Then some time must be spent in preparing land 
 for potatoes, and other things, for the missionary 
 had secured seed for those who would have the 
 gardens ready in time. But school was going on 
 all the time, and now there were many teachers, 
 for each Indian was ambitious to show to the late 
 arrivals how much he knew. 
 
 When the printing press began to do its work, 
 and the piles of beautiful pieces of birch bark 
 which the industrious women had collected, 
 went under so clean and white, and came out all 
 covered with some of the sweetest passages of 
 the divine Word, their joy knew no bounds. 
 Quite a number of copies of the first set were 
 struck off, and then another collection of beauti- 
 
 191 
 
Books of Birch Bark 
 
 ful verses was set up, and printed off in like 
 manner. Tiiis went on until a dozen or so of 
 different pages were printed. Tiiese tiie happy 
 people stitched togetlier with deerskin covers, 
 and thus were formed the first books among 
 them. 
 
 Long ago these first crude little volumes disap- 
 peared; but they served their purpose well, and 
 were a joy and benediction to many. They were 
 carried back to their distant hunting grounds, and 
 were nightly read by the light of the camp-fire. 
 Pagan Indians who came in to gamble as in pre- 
 vious years, were awed by what they heard, and 
 while some mocked, others were so interested, 
 that they too mastered these Syllables, and learned 
 to read, and afterward to pray. Truly "the Word 
 of the Lord was precious in those days." 
 
 The first hymn translated by Mr. Evans for 
 these Cree Indians and printed in the Syllabic 
 Characters is here given. The first verse in Eng- 
 lish being: 
 
 " Jesus my all to heaven is gone. 
 He whom I fix my hopes upon ; 
 His path I see, and I'll pursue 
 The narrow way till Him I view." 
 
 The Story of this marvellous invention spread far 
 and wide. Scholars in America and Europe heard 
 of it with great interest. The English Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society sent for a set of the Syllabic 
 Characters, and sending them to a type-foundry 
 had a large quantity of type made. These with 
 192 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Characters 
 S'b" -D>rCo-o L.M, 
 
 Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone. 
 1 ^'^" o-nUl^JA-' 
 
 A"An bPA>'U'; 
 A-b' Ad o-Lrr'\ 
 6-"C bA-A^'uV'. 
 
 2 bc'o r<-n.^'<i-° 
 
 VdC PAD"U<]-^; 
 V<]-d Ad l"bQ.° 
 bi'Pi^o bKP"Ae. 
 
 3 P'V-" 0-CCQ.5-D', 
 
 Lb vbvr^bL^ 
 
 c^Pb■b•Cq^'J^ 
 
 [>^<: VLLr-A-'b''. 
 
 _. 4 V <]C Q.Q.rcL', 
 
 <i"r o-di^q-r^"U5; 
 
 pi^" o-VU' VAU-' 
 
 5 vb- Lb o-r<i-u' 
 
 r\" bJ">' VA-D>no-'; 
 
 <C Ar^ LP'Tl'^J 
 
 Vr'V-x VA-kp"A'. 
 
 193 
 
Indian Music 
 
 a good hand press, roller, ink, paper and all the 
 other essential requisites, in addition to a dona- 
 tion of five hundred pounds for the purpose of 
 erecting a building of sufficient dimensions for 
 carrying on all the printing operations, they sent 
 out to Mr. Evans. These things all arrived in 
 due time, ahhough it was slow and labourious 
 work getting them up from York Factory, where 
 they had come by the Hudson's Bay Company's 
 ship from London. 
 
 Then the work proceeded more rapidly. Mr. 
 Steinhauer, with John Sinclair and others raised 
 up in the country, and who had now, thanks to 
 Mr. Evans' ability and industry, acquired quite a 
 good education in English, as well as in the Syl- 
 lables, were able to render a good deal of service. 
 Translating, type-setting and printing went on 
 steadily, and soon quite lengthy portions of the 
 blessed book were bound in little volumes and 
 distributed among the people. The good that 
 was thus done eternity alone can fully reveal. 
 
 A catechism was also printed, and was well 
 received and studied by young and old. Familiar 
 hymns, full of the gospel, were translated, and 
 proved a blessing and a joy to multitudes. 
 
 The Indians have no music of their own worth 
 preservation. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both 
 sweet singers, and so they taught the people to 
 sing the old tunes to these translations of the 
 sweet words, with which they have been ever 
 associated. Very quickly did the people learn 
 these tunes, and it was ever a source of astonish- 
 194 
 
Invention of the Syllabic Character 
 
 ment, as well as pleasure, for the passing stranger, 
 to hear how grandly the people here could sing. 
 
 Still farther travelled the reports of this won- 
 derful invention, until at length other churches at 
 other mission fields inquired about it, and gladly 
 was the knowledge of it imparted by its gener- 
 ous inventor. 
 
 The time at length came when the calls upon 
 Mr. Evans from outside missionary work were so 
 numerous that he was obliged to be away often 
 for months at a time, on his extensive journey- 
 ings of some thousands of miles, through sum- 
 mer storms and winter's terrible gales. That the 
 work at Rossville might not suffer, he called to 
 his help one who had been placed at another post 
 with the hope that he there would have suc- 
 ceeded, as did Mr. Rundle in the Saskatchewan, 
 or as Mr. Evans had at Norway House. Brought 
 to Rossville, and under the direction of Mr. 
 Evans who ever treated him with the greatest 
 kindness, he did good service for a time, but even- 
 tually he turned in the dark and cloudy days 
 against his best friend, and not only tried to crush 
 him to the earth, but had the audacity in after 
 years to claim the invention of the Syllabic Char- 
 acters as his own invention, and even had his 
 name put on the title page of the Cree Syllabic 
 Bible, when the fact is that he never even saw 
 the characters until long after the happy converts 
 of James Evans were reading portions of the 
 Scripture and hymns printed in them in the 
 unique birch bark books. We do not put his 
 
 195 
 
Syllables Used by Other Tribes 
 
 name here on our pages ; though long ago, both 
 he and James Evans passed into the presence of 
 the Judge of all the earth. 
 
 The Syllabic Characters are still in use. The 
 British and Foreign Bible Society now furnish 
 all these northern missions with Bibles and Testa- 
 ments free of cost. Hundreds of Indians are 
 reading out of them every day of the year. Mis- 
 sionaries to other tribes have utilised these Syl- 
 lables for other languages, by adding additional 
 signs for sounds not found among the Crees. 
 Methodists, Episcopalians, Moravians, Roman 
 Catholics and others use these Syllables of James 
 Evans and find them of incalculable value. 
 
 All honour to the man who invented them ! 
 After seeing the ease with which pagan bands 
 could acquire a knowledge of them, even when 
 only marked with a burnt stick from our camp- 
 fire on the side of a granite rock, and then from 
 that little knowledge, by perseverance, learning 
 in a few days to read the Bible with ease and de- 
 light, we bring our wreath of immortelles, and 
 with thankfulness to God for giving such a 
 helper to those Indians and to the world, we 
 gladly give him the name he deserves above all 
 others who there have toiled, — the name of "the 
 Apostle of the North." 
 
 196 
 
XV 
 
 MR. EVANS' JOURNALS 
 
 Mr. Evans' Journals — Extracts — Proposed journeys — York 
 Factory — Boats coming up the Nelson — Oxford House — Nor- 
 way House — Meeting Rundle — Work on Norway House Mis- 
 sion — Making the Syllabic Characters — Testimonies of the In- 
 dians — The Stereotype Plate — Indian boys reading the printed 
 characters. 
 
 It is a matter of profound regret that the 
 greater portion of Mr. Evans' journals were de- 
 stroyed by fire. What remains can only be 
 spoken of as "extracts" extending over certain 
 years. They do not record some of his greatest 
 journeys, nor his grandest triumphs. We give, 
 here and elsewhere, some little part of that which 
 has been saved. The natural modesty of the 
 man has caused him to leave unwritten much 
 that could and should have been recorded of the 
 toils and sufferings endured. From his Indian 
 travelling companions, the writer has had to ob- 
 tain much of his information. The extracts from 
 his journals, here presented, show us his difficul- 
 ties and perplexities in bringing to perfection his 
 invention of the Syllabic Characters. There are 
 also some references to the first-fruits of the 
 harvest of the multitudes of precious souls he 
 y/M instrumental in winning for Christ. This 
 
 197 
 
" Journeyings Oft " 
 
 latter work, the winning of souls for the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, was ever his highest, sweetest joy. 
 
 "Since my arrival in the country 1 have visited 
 York Factory, of which I made the committee 
 aware last autumn. On my return 1 remained at 
 Norway House until December, and I left early in 
 that month to visit the posts within my reach. 
 During the winter I visited Moose Lake, the Pas 
 Cumberland House, Shoal River, Fort Pelly, 
 Beaver Creek, Red River on my way to Fort 
 Alexander and Beren's River, and returned to 
 Norway House at the latter end of March. I was 
 received at every post of the Honourable Company 
 with the greatest kindness, and experienced 
 every attention from the gentlemen in charge. I 
 endeavoured to discharge the duties incumbent 
 upon me with an eye to the glory of God in the 
 salvation of sinners; and trust that the fruits of 
 my humble labours will appear in the day of 
 eternity. 
 
 "I intend, by the divine blessing, to visit the 
 following places during a journey which it is my 
 purpose to commence; namely, Cumberland, 
 Carlton, Fort Pitt and Edmonton, where I hope 
 to meet my good brother the Rev. Robert T. 
 Rundle. After spending a few weeks in that 
 vicinity, I shall proceed by winter conveyance- 
 (snowshoes and dog-carriages) to Fort Jasper,. 
 Assiniboine, Lesser Slave Lake, Dunvegan, Ver-- 
 million, Chippewayan, Fond du Lac, La Crosse,. 
 Green Lake and back to Carlton. Thence to 
 Norway Hause. by the Saskatchewan, or Atha,- 
 
Mr. Evans' Journals 
 
 basca boats, reaching Norway House in June or 
 July, 1842. This journey is undertaken with the 
 decided approbation of the Governor in Chief, 
 Sir George Simpson, who Itindly assured me that 
 he would himself in passing the Saskatchewan, 
 see that every preparation should be made for me 
 to proceed thence. Before my return, should I 
 succeed in my proposed tour, I shall travel about 
 six thousand miles. During this time I hope to 
 preach the everlasting gospel to hundreds who 
 never heard the joyful sound, and I humbly trust 
 that, in a short period, not a post belonging to 
 the Honourable Company will be found where the 
 glad news of salvation by Christ shall not have 
 been proclaimed. I shall, I feel convinced, have 
 the cooperation of my brethren here and of the 
 committee at home, and the unlimited aid of the 
 Honourable Company's officers in carrying out 
 this great object. I shall likewise become better 
 acquainted with the state, wants, and general 
 character of the country, as well as with the 
 number, disposition, and language of the natives. 
 I feel assured of the divine protection and blessing. 
 '■' I am most happy to assure, the committee 
 tfiat I have every reason to believe that the young 
 brethren, who have been apfwinted to this place, 
 have faithfully laboured; and are, with true mis- 
 sionary zeal and ardour, prosecuting the great 
 work of saving souls, by preaching and travel- 
 ling and visiting the poor, heathen in their 
 wretched wigwams, and teaching young and old 
 the W3y of life^ 
 
Fire-water Prohibited 
 
 " Norway House station includes York Factory, 
 Oxford House, Moose Lake, Cumberland House, 
 Beren's River, and Nelson River. This mission I 
 have reason to acknowledge with deep humility 
 has been much blessed by Almighty God, and 
 the labours of His servants crowned with signal 
 success. The total number of persons who had 
 been received into the Christian Church by bap- 
 tism at Norway House and in those ports which 
 I have named, is one hundred and ninety-three, of 
 which seventy-seven are adults. The number of 
 marriages on the register is twenty-seven. 
 
 "We have three classes at this station com- 
 posed of seventy-three persons, about half of 
 whom have been received into full membership. 
 The remainder are on trial and are still unbap- 
 tised. We have great cause for gratitude to 
 Almighty God that we are saved from what is 
 the scourge of the poor Indians in Canada, the 
 fire-water, (rum); the use of this being by the 
 Honourable Company prohibited to a great extent 
 in the country, an arrangement equally wise and 
 benevolent 
 
 " I shall copy from my journal a few extracts 
 which may enable the committee to form a judg- 
 ment of the state of the country, the nature pf 
 the work, and the manner in which my time has 
 been occupied. 
 
 "August 1 8th, 1840.-1 left York Factory at 
 noon having twenty-one persons in the boat and 
 a large cargT>. 
 
 ■" J 9th, —The boat has to-day been l^aule^ up 
 
 m 
 
Mr. Evans' Journals 
 
 the stream against a current of very shallow 
 water, frequently grounding. I enjoyed much 
 peace of mind and an assurance of the divine 
 favour and protection. We made eighteen miles. 
 
 "22d. — We have had rain every day and hav- 
 ing no shelter in the boat, have been anything 
 but comfortable. 
 
 "Sunday, 23d. — Raining in torrents. Prayers 
 at ten o'clock and at eight in the evening as 
 usual. 
 
 "24th. — I met five boats from Mackenzie 
 River; a region where the gospel was never 
 heard, and where men are in darkness. 
 
 "September ist. — I found Mr. Grant at Oxford 
 House anxious to make my night's stay as com- 
 fortable as possible. I preached to the Honour- 
 able Company's officers and servants, and several 
 natives attended. At the close of the service I 
 baptised six adults, who expressed a determina- 
 tion to forsake sin and cleave to the Lord, and 
 solemnised two marriages. 
 
 "2d. — I left Oxford House. Crossing the port- 
 age I saw two Indian graves neatly roofed with 
 birch bark, and the totem or family name marked 
 thereon with charcoal in several places, they hav- 
 ing belonged to the Reindeer tribe. The ashes 
 and coals at the head of the grave showed that 
 they had been recently visited by their friends and 
 the "cheebie weekoontoowin," or spirit feast 
 held for them. This custom prevails among the 
 pagan Indians. They suppose that the spirit of 
 t.be departed lingers about the place yyhefp the 
 
 m 
 
A Two Months' Journey- 
 body is deposited and partakes, in a spiritual 
 manner, of the food wiiicli the relatives eat on 
 the spot. They likewise throw a small piece of 
 the victuals into the fire, and pour a libation of 
 liquor, when they can procure it. 
 
 " 5th.— Reached Norway House in the evening, 
 grateful to Almighty God for His continued mercy 
 and preserving care amidst the dangers to which, 
 in these shallow and rapid waters, we are always 
 exposed. 
 
 "7th.— To-day my worthy brother Rundle left 
 by the Saskatchewan boat for Edmonton. About 
 two months, with God's blessing, will bring him 
 thither, during which time he must sleep on the 
 ground, wet or dry, not unfrequently without 
 erecting his cloth tent, as sometimes it cannot be 
 pitched. Rain or fair, hot or cold, he must sit in 
 the open boat, and look for present and eternal 
 comfort. Everything which the fort could sup- 
 ply was kindly furnished in order to make his 
 voyage as comfortable as circumstances would 
 permit. May God bless him and make him a 
 blessing, and have him under His watchful eye by 
 day and by night! 
 
 " 15th. — I, commenced a, school on the opposite 
 side of the river from Norway House fort, and. 
 had about twenty-five scholars anxious to learn. 
 1 am teaching them to read the English and their 
 own tongue. 
 
 "Sunday, 20th. — 1 baptised, four adults who 
 witnessed a good confession of the Lord Jesus. 
 Qr.eat, gracq rested, upon the ordinance, and thf^ 
 
Mr. Evans' Journals 
 
 blessing of God was with His people. About 
 sixty persons were present. 
 
 "25th. — I commenced clearing the point of land 
 selected for the settlement of the Indians about 
 three miles from the fort, and preparing the ground 
 for the erection of mission premises next sum- 
 mer. The spot is thickly covered with small pop- 
 lars and underbrush, but patience and persever- 
 ance will soon let in the light of heaven. May 
 the hearts of the poor heathen as easily yield to 
 the gospel, and this spiritual wilderness become 
 the garden of the Lord I 
 
 ' ' Sunday, 27th. — 1 preached twice to the Indians 
 and once to the whites in the fort; at six a. m., 
 and eleven and at four o'clock. At seven I held 
 a prayer-meeting. 
 
 "28th. — For a fortnight I have been endeavour- 
 ing to cast type to print the Cree language, but 
 every attempt hitherto made has failed. 1 have 
 no proper materials, neither type metal nor any 
 other thing requisite. I hope, however, to con- 
 quer the difficulties, and to begin printing the Cree 
 language in a few days or months at the furthest. 
 
 "30th. — I cut types in lead of two characters, 
 and I took moulds in clay, chalk, putty, sand, and 
 tried some other fruitless experiments. 
 
 "Sunday, October 4th. — This evening, after 
 preaching, I met a class ; and the clear and spirit- 
 ual testimony of several of these until lately poor 
 jjnd benighted sons of the forest was heart-cheer- 
 ing, and of the most encouraging nature. Am 1 
 discouraged? No! 'The Word of Go<l sh^l!^ 
 
 m. ' 
 
Indian Testimonies 
 
 have free course and be glorified,' and I believe, 
 as I believe in my own conversion, of which I 
 have no doubt, that God will soon give these 
 heathen to His Son for an inheritance, and ' the 
 uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.' 
 'Thy Kingdom come!' 
 
 "One man spoke as follows: 'Last summer I 
 visited Red River, when for the first time I heard 
 the news of these good words. I felt that I was 
 a great sinner, and that I was in darkness and in 
 the broad road to eternal punishment. I learned 
 very little. I heard that I must pray to the Great 
 Spirit through His Son, whose name I could not 
 remember, although I tried very much to do so. 
 I came home. I went often back there into the 
 swamp and cried very much. O, my heart was 
 very, very heavy! I tried often to pray to the 
 Great Spirit to pity me, a poor Indian. I said, 
 "Great Spirit, I hear that you wish to save the 
 poor sinner. I wish to pray, but I do not know 
 your Son's name. O pity me and forgive all my 
 sins and crooked life."' He added: 'I had no 
 minister here at that time to teach me as we now 
 have, and I often wept much when we went to 
 bed, and could not sleep, because I had no one to 
 teach me. The Great Spirit did pity me, for 
 when we had no minister. He sent me a dream 
 that encouraged me very much. One night last 
 winter I dreamed that I saw two roads. One 
 was very wide and full of white people and In-r 
 dians; they were very wicked, swearing and 
 fighting. The other road was only a foot-path, 
 
Mr. Evans' Journals 
 
 and I saw only very few persons following each 
 other's trail ; some were singing, and they went 
 very fast and looked very happy. 1 prayed in my 
 sleep that the Great Spirit would let me go with 
 them. When 1 awoke i thanked Him for this 
 dream. O now I have more than a dream to 
 bless me! O yes, I have my poor heart cheered 
 by the good words. When I pray I am so very, 
 very happy. O I cannot tell how much 1 am 
 blessed. I love the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 
 I shall never more forget His great name. I am 
 very happy to-day.' 
 
 " Here tears of joy stopped his simple story, 
 and his heaving bosom and cheerful countenance 
 told what he could not utter. 
 
 " An old man eighty years of age said, ' O, but 
 I have been a great sinner. I have walked in the 
 dark road! My head is like the hilltop in win- 
 ter, and I shall soon be under the earth. O I am 
 so thankful that I have heard the good word! I 
 hear with my eyes wide open, and sometimes 
 my heart is very soft when I hear about the love 
 of the Son of God. I think He has been very 
 merciful to me to allow me to survive many of 
 my poor relatives, who are gone to the earth; 
 that I might hear this good news. If I had died 
 before it came, I should certainly have perished ! 
 for I have been, as you all know, a great sinner. 
 But now I am pardoned. O, now I have the 
 gladness in my heart! I am old; 1 cannot hunt. 
 I wish for nothing now but to see Jesus Christ. 
 I am sure I shall love Him yet more when I see 
 
 206 
 
Cutting out the Cree Alphabet 
 
 Him. His Spirit tells me I am His. He blesses 
 me daily, and all my heart wishes to serve Him. 
 1 wish very very much, that all my poor people 
 everywhere could hear the good words of the 
 Great Spirit before they die.' 
 
 " 13th. — I cast a plate of hardened lead, pol- 
 ished it and commenced cutting the Cree alpha- 
 bet, making a sort of stereotype plate. 
 
 " 15th. — Last night I finished the alphabet plate, 
 and to-day printed a few sheets. Several boys 
 know all the letters, having written the alphabet 
 for each; and they are much pleased with their 
 new books, but not much more so than I am my- 
 self. 
 
 " i6th. — I went to the point, surveyed the land, 
 running lines north and south, giving each person 
 two chains in width, and from eighteen to 
 twenty-seven in length; being as much as the 
 short season will permit them to cultivate. 
 
 "Sunday, i8th. — I preached at six, eleven, and 
 three ; and at seven held a band meeting. In the 
 forenoon I baptised four persons, who professed 
 their faith in Christ and belief of God's word, 
 and their resolution by His grace, to live to His 
 honour and glory, and to renounce forever all their 
 heathen superstitions, and forsake their munne- 
 doos (gods). Several spoke in the evening of 
 having great peace with God. 
 
 " 19th.— Several of the boys are beginning to 
 read the written hymns in the Cree character; 
 and 1 feel encouraged to think I can print them in 
 a few days. 
 
 206 
 
Mr. Evans' Journals 
 
 "Sunday, November 8th. — I baptised three 
 adults and one child. Some others desired 
 baptism but 1 deferred the ordinance until they 
 had received further instruction. Surely the Lord 
 ' hath set before us an open door, which no man 
 can shut.' Praised be His ever blessed name! 
 
 " nth. — My types answer well. The hymn be- 
 ginning with 'Jesus my all to heaven is gone,' 
 is in the press. I have to-day struck off three 
 hundred copies of the first three verses, making 
 a small page. I have got excellent type, consid- 
 ering the country and materials; they make at 
 least a tolerably good impression. The letter or 
 character I cut in finely polished oak. I filed out 
 of one side of an inch square iron bar the square 
 body of the type; and after placing the bar with 
 the notch over the letter, I applied another pol- 
 ished bar to the face of the mould, and poured in 
 the lead, after it had been repeatedly melted in 
 order to harden it. These required a little dress- 
 ing on the face and filing to the uniform square 
 and length, but they answer well. 
 
 " 17th. — I have to-day struck off two hundred 
 and fifty copies of the hymn, beginning, ' Behold 
 the Saviour of mankind,' with a chorus for oc- 
 casional use, 'Hallelujah to the Lamb,' etc. My 
 press is very rude but 1 am anticipating better 
 days. 
 
 "December 3d. — I printed the hymn begin- 
 ning, ' Blow ye the trumpet, blow.' The Indians 
 and children sing these well and several read 
 some with some fluency. The short time which 
 
 207 
 
No Learning to Spell 
 
 Is required to learn to read and to write, arises 
 from there being no such thing as learning to 
 spell, every character in the alphabet being a 
 syllable, so that when these are learned, all is 
 learned. Several of the boys and young men 
 can write any word in the language, seldom 
 committing an error. I have now printed about 
 two thousand pages of hymns, etc., and on my 
 return from my winter tour by God's blessing I 
 shall print the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, Com- 
 mandments, and the first chapter of St. Matthew's 
 gospel; not forgetting the rules of our society." 
 
 soe 
 
XVI 
 
 WINTER JOURNEY TO SASKATCHEWAN 
 
 The journals continued — ^Winter journey— To Saskatchewan 
 district — " Had not heard a sermon for thirty years " — 
 Meeting Mr. Budd — Celestial phenomena around the sun — 
 Salt manufacture — Simple prayer and simple faith — Return to 
 Norway House. 
 
 We devote this chapter to some additional ex- 
 tracts from Mr. Evans' journal. They give us, 
 from his own pen, some account of winter trav- 
 elling by dog-train. As his routes on these 
 journeys lay south and southwest of Norway 
 House, the coldest weather he experienced was 
 only forty-two degrees below zero. This was 
 surely cold enough for any white men to endure. 
 But he had it much colder when he made his 
 more dangerous tours to the north. 
 
 This one tour extended, as we shall see, over a 
 period of more than three months. It gives us 
 glimpses into the methods of travel, which, else- 
 where, we have more fully described. But sel- 
 dom does he refer to his wintry camp, and then 
 only when it was about the best one he had dur- 
 ing the whole route. Often, after he and his 
 brave men left the forest country, they had to 
 sleep in regions where the only trees were aspen 
 poplars. These gave no help or protection from 
 the biting, penetrating winds, or in making the 
 
 209 
 
Venison-Balls 
 
 camp. They furnished very poor fuel for cook- 
 ing, and but little warmth. In such camps there 
 were no pine bushes to put under the robes 
 for a bed, for the missionary or his dogs. The 
 tasty venison-balls that could be carried for food, 
 made by the loving hands of Mrs. Evans, would 
 not last very long on such a trip, and so the mis- 
 sionary had to fall back with his men and live 
 on the pemmican and fat meat. 
 
 While Mr. Evans' great work was the evangel- 
 isation of the Indians, he had the great joy of 
 preaching the gospel to whites, some of whom 
 for long years had never heard a sermon. The 
 pathetic story which he gives of the man who 
 had never heard a sermon for thirty years, and 
 his earnest desire, as well as that of his wife, for 
 salvation, is most touching. 
 
 On one of his visits to one of these remote 
 places where no missionary had ever preceded 
 him, he first married a man and woman, then 
 baptised them, and their family of six children 
 all in the same day. They had never been legally 
 married, for the simple reason that there had 
 never come into that remote region anyone quali- 
 fied to perform the ceremony. Surely it was 
 time that such places should be visited! 
 
 This most interesting journal continues as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 "December 9th. — I am preparing for my 
 winter journey, hoping to reach Norway House 
 again in April. This route will cover a tract of 
 ground over two thousand miles : a long winter 
 
 310 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 journey, but I can implicitly trust in Him who 
 says, 'As the day, so shall thy strength be.' I 
 hope during my travelling to dispense the word 
 of eternal life to many who have not heard ' the 
 joyful sound.' 
 
 "Sunday, 13th. — I preached to my little flock, 
 and endeavoured to encourage them to trust in 
 God, and to be faithful during my absence. 
 
 " 14th. — 1 left Norway House accompanied by 
 my interpreter and two Indians. In passing the 
 Indian village, the men, women and children, 
 flocked down to the ice and bade me adieu, 
 while I commended them to God and His grace. 
 I made eight miles of lake travelling and three 
 miles in the wilderness, after which I encamped 
 for the night. Our encampment is made by 
 scraping away the snow, cutting a few pine 
 bushes and spreading them for a bed, and by 
 turning before the fire, we can generally keep 
 one side warm at a time. The first thing on ar- 
 riving is to unharness the dogs, of which we 
 have seven. The camp is then made, and wood 
 collected for the night. The dogs are fed soon 
 after arriving and a bed of brush spread for 
 them, when, being weary after their day's travel 
 of from thirty to seventy miles, a load of from 
 one hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds 
 on each sled they lie down. Our carriages carry 
 each about three hundred pounds, and are drawn 
 where nothing but dogs could take them ; there 
 being no road but through the tangled brake and 
 over piles of falling and decaying timber. The 
 311 
 
Carioles and Supplies 
 
 sleds and carioles are nothing more than two 
 half-inch oak boards, about eight feet long and 
 seven or eight inches broad, stitched together 
 with thongs of deerskin and strengthened with 
 a few light pieces of wood as crossbars. These 
 sleds being turned up in front are drawn over 
 logs and other impediments, but not without 
 frequent assistance from the driver. 
 
 "Our supper consists of some venison balls. 
 These are made by chopping the meat and mix- 
 ing with it a little tallow. I need scarcely say 
 that these are frozen. Our milk we carry in a 
 bag, breaking off pieces as we require it. The 
 men have a supply of pemmican, a kind of port- 
 able provision made of buffaloes' meat, dried and 
 pounded and mixed with tallow. The dogs are 
 fed on the same, but of an inferior quality to- 
 gether with some frozen fish. The thermometer 
 seven and a half below zero. Blowing fresh, 
 wind northwest. 
 
 "15th. — I started at four a. m. Thermometer 
 six and a half. I crossed a deep bay of Lake 
 Winnipeg, passed through a point of thick 
 woods, much fallen, which rendered the walking 
 in snowshoes of about four and a half feet long 
 and twenty-two inches broad, very tedious. 
 Thermometer eight. 
 
 " 16th. — I crossed the traverse of Lake Winni- 
 peg. Wind and snow. A very severe day. 
 Thermometer ten. I had a bad headache. We 
 were late before we could find the requisites to 
 make an encampment. Our dogs to-day became 
 312 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 footsore from the roughness of the ice, and have 
 been duly shod. We carry about forty small 
 bags, in which their feet are thrust whenever 
 the snow becomes crusted. 1 lay down in peace. 
 
 " 17th. — I started at daylight, being unable to 
 move sooner through these thick swamps. I 
 crossed five small lakes of a few miles each in 
 length. Thermometer four below zero. 
 
 " i8th. — A cold night. Thermometer twenty- 
 five, having fallen twenty-one degrees since last 
 night. We made Moose Lake at three o'clock. 
 We crossed two bays and encamped on a bleak 
 point, the wind blowing hard. Thermometer 
 eighteen below zero. 
 
 "Sunday, 20th. — We held divine service this 
 morning. I preached from John iii. 16. Several 
 appeared deeply impressed with the blessed 
 truths, and at the close of the service seven chil- 
 dren were presented for baptism. We held a 
 prayer-meeting in the evening. Thermometer 
 six." 
 
 When Mr. Evans visited the vast fertile region 
 known as the Saskatchewan District he found a 
 very different condition of things from what 
 now exists there. His words are as follows : 
 
 "Saskatchewan Station. This is a station of 
 great importance, being situated in the heart of 
 the plain country where numerous bands of In- 
 dians roam in the midst of plenty. Perhaps no 
 portion of the human race in an uncivilised state 
 are more independent than these people. The 
 buffalo and other animals being numerous, they 
 
 213 
 
An Independent People 
 
 are seldom if ever subjected to those privations 
 under which the Wood Indians suffer. The cli- 
 mate likewise is more favourable; indeed every- 
 thing connected with their station gives it an 
 importance which demands our utmost energies 
 in order to push successfully the great object we 
 have in view. 
 
 "The gospel is the only instrument by which 
 the prejudices of these people can be overcome, 
 their manners changed, their social state improved, 
 and their souls saved. In many instances such is 
 the extreme poverty of the Indians that powerful 
 arguments, founded on their increasing temporal 
 comfort, consequent on embracing Christianity 
 which teaches industry, economy and a provident 
 forethought, may be advanced by the missionary 
 which not unfrequently, under the divine blessing, 
 operate in conjunction with the gospel in dis- 
 posing the heart to listen to the truths of our holy 
 religion. 
 
 ' ' But here an abundance of food, in many cases 
 a deeply rooted prejudice, a haughty independent 
 spirit, and a fondly cherished idea that war and 
 horse-stealing are the most glorious pursuits for 
 the red man, compel us to make a vigourous attack 
 on the heart as the citadel of sin which can only 
 be savingly wrought upon, first or last, by that 
 which alone proves ' the power of God unto sal- 
 vation unto every one that believeth.' 
 
 "22d. — I reached the Pas where I found Mr. 
 Budd, who is employed by the Church Mission- 
 ary Society as teacher. He has a small school at 
 S14 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 this place. At his request I preached to the In- 
 dians and others present, and was gratified to hear 
 several of the former assent to the truths deliv- 
 ered. Mr. Budd complains of strong opposition, 
 and labours under some discouragements. He ap- 
 pears to be an excellent young man. I gave him 
 such encouragement as I would offer to any of 
 our own teachers, and am satisfied that a mutual 
 feeling of esteem existed between us. Ther- 
 mometer two. 
 
 "24th. — I reached Cumberland House on the 
 Saskatchewan River and found Mr. McPherson in 
 very poor health. We held prayers at seven. I 
 read a portion of Scripture, and made a few re- 
 marks. These people appear anxious to hear and 
 be profited by the Word of God. Several of them 
 had never heard the gospel, or seen a minister in 
 their lives. 
 
 "25th. — Christmas Day — I preached at eleven. 
 Several Indians were present. During the morn- 
 ing and evening service many were in tears, and 
 I trust the fruits of this visit will appear in the 
 day of eternity. 
 
 "26th. — 1 conversed with two Indians who ex- 
 pressed their approval of what they heard yester- 
 day, and promised to make their people acquainted 
 with the 'good news,' on returning to their hunt- 
 ing grounds. 
 
 "Sunday, 27th. — I met the children. At eleven 
 I preached from Proverbs xxiii. 18. Several 
 broken-hearted penitents were present. I preached 
 to the Indians at three; held prayers at seven in 
 
 216 
 
Almost Like the Heathen 
 
 the evening; baptised two children, and invited 
 any who were desirous of salvation and who 
 wished to be baptised, to come to my room as 
 frequently as possible. 
 
 "28th. — A white man came last night bringing 
 the names of six children for baptism. Poor man, 
 he has spent nearly thirty years in this country, 
 and has never heard a sermon since leaving his 
 native land. 'O, sir,' said he, 'I am a poor for- 
 getful sinner, and ! have become almost like the 
 heathens; but the words which I have heard to- 
 day have awakened me and I have resolved to 
 lead a new life ; ' — with much more that evinced 
 a deep conviction of sin. I gave him such advice 
 as I considered suited his case and prayed with 
 him and he left me. His wife came this morning 
 to say that she wished to be baptised and to serve 
 God. She is deeply affected. I talked to and 
 prayed for her and inquired when she intended to 
 pray. She replied, ' I began this morning.' ' And 
 did you never pray before ? ' I inquired. ' No, 
 sir,' she replied, ' I never tried because I never 
 knew how.' 
 
 " • And how did you pray this morning ? ' said I. 
 
 " ' Ah, sir, I could not say much. I asked God 
 to forgive me for Jesus Christ's sake, and help 
 me to be better; but,' added she, ' I was so sorry, 
 and the tears ran so fast, I could not speak many 
 words.' 
 
 ' ' Another woman belonging to one of the tribes 
 west of the Rocky Mountains, came for instruction. 
 
 "'O,' said she, 'I am very thankful to hear 
 216 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 those good words; and I will endeavour to com- 
 mence a praying life. 1 sometimes heard about 
 Christians being baptised and going to heaven; 
 but 1 never before heard the way. Last year 1 
 was told that ministers had settled among my 
 people beyond the mountains; and I was very 
 anxious to go home that 1 might hear the words 
 they spoke. My heart is very heavy for my sin. 
 I shall try to do as the Good Book teaches. 1 be- 
 gan yesterday and I shall never turn round again 
 to travel back.' 
 
 "She manifests the greatest sincerity by sighs 
 and tears, and the strongest language which the 
 nervous Cree presents. 
 
 "29th. — Three persons came to-day to inquire 
 the way to heaven, all professing sincere repent- 
 ance. 
 
 " I read some hymns and portions of the New 
 Testament in Ojibway, to an Indian who speaks 
 this dialect. I conversed an hour or two with 
 him and he left, expressing satisfaction ; and said 
 he would relate to his people on his return to 
 camp all he could remember. He returned, after 
 going a little way, and said: 'The Indian who 
 heard you yesterday, and myself, have agreed to 
 begin to pray.' 
 
 "January ist, 1842.— Blessed be God, 1 see 
 another year, and still desire to love and serve 
 Him. An Indian who has long been employed 
 about the fort, came to-day and asked me to bap- 
 tise him. 1 have every reason to believe, from 
 several conversations, that he strongly desires to 
 217 
 
Christian Ministrations 
 
 be a true Christian. The many inquiries which 
 he malces proves his sincerity, being generally 
 such as are of a practical character, and show that 
 he desires not only to know the way of salvation, 
 but to be able to walk therein. 
 
 "2d. — Two youths called this morning; a lad 
 about seventeen and a girl about sixteen. Though 
 they both profess their determination to serve 
 God, I have considered it advisable to defer the 
 ordinance of baptism until my next visit. 
 
 "Sunday, 3d. — I read and expounded the fifth 
 and sixth chapters of Ephesians, solemnised six 
 marriages, baptised eight adults and twelve chil- 
 dren, and administered the Lord's Supper. I can- 
 not speak too highly of all I met with at this post. 
 Every personal kindness was shown me; but what 
 to every minister must be much more gratifying, 
 was the serious and prayerful attention paid to 
 religious instruction. 
 
 " 4th. — 1 left Cumberland House. Thermome- 
 ter eighteen below zero; and the wind blowing 
 strong in our faces, with fine, sharp snow. I 
 made the old encampment at dark. I slept, but 
 was very cold. It was snowing hard all night. 
 At one o'clock, Thomas awoke me by shaking off 
 the load of snow from my blankets. I roused 
 myself and started at two a. m. 
 
 " 5th. — I stopped to breakfast at eight. Ther- 
 mometer twenty-six below zero. I reached the 
 Pas, and preached in the evening. Three Indians 
 came in after the service and commenced an 
 argument, offering strong opposition. I told 
 
 218 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 them I had nothing to say until I had told them 
 what God said. 1 then preached Jesus and the 
 Resurrection. They listened and left by remark- 
 ing, ' Well, that is all very good, we can find no 
 fault with the Great Spirit or His servant.' 1 find 
 'Christ and Him crucified,' to be the best subject 
 under all circumstances. 
 
 "6th.— At Mr. Budd's request I spent the fol- 
 lowing day with him. I preached at eleven 
 o'clock and trust that God gave effect to His 
 truth. The evening service was well attended. 
 
 "nth. — I left Moose Lake at daybreak. At 
 eight o'clock a halo was observable around the 
 sun. At about ten the circle became more darkly 
 defined than anything I have observed in the 
 country, presenting beautifully the colours of the 
 rainbow. Another circle of less brilliant colours 
 surrounded this at about the same distance from 
 the inner circle as that was from the sun. This 
 outer halo was intersected by a semicircle of the 
 same shades at the zenith ; the colours were in- 
 verted, however, like those of the iris and its re- 
 flection, and had in every respect the appearance 
 of the rainbow, the colours becoming more and 
 more faint from the centre until they mingled one 
 with another. From the sun in the centre a 
 stream of white light, resembling the aurora 
 borealis, issued parallel with the horizon, forming 
 where it intersected the inner halos, two brilliant 
 mock suns nearly as bright as the true one, and 
 then passing on until it reached the outer circle, 
 where two mock suns, but less dazzling, were 
 
 219 
 
Mock Suns 
 
 observable. In the northwestern sky was a faint 
 reflection of the sun, the two halos and the mock 
 suns. The sky during the whole forenoon had 
 altogether an extraordinary appearance, very 
 dark, but neither misty nor cloudy, everywhere 
 clear with a darkening of the blue, nearly ap- 
 proaching to black. It blew a gale from the 
 southeast, and we had a heavy snowstorm at 
 three o'clock which obliged us to encamp. Ther- 
 mometer six. 
 
 " 14th. — I left the encampment at two a. m., 
 and made Swan River at daybreak. At eleven 
 p. M. we reached Shoal Fort, all well. Praised be 
 God! 
 
 ' ' 1 5th. — Three persons came to converse on 
 the subject of religion. A Romish priest visited 
 the place last autumn, baptised two or three In- 
 dians, and taught them to say a few words in 
 French as prayers, nothing of which they under- 
 stood; but they were further instructed how 
 dangerous it would be to listen to us. It is pain- 
 ful that these poor creatures, seeking knowledge, 
 and having so few opportunities, should be pre- 
 vented from hearing the plain truths of revelation. 
 Our mode of teaching is better known to the 
 gentlemen and servants in the Honourable Com- 
 pany's service than to the priests, and I feel as- 
 sured that the plain simple story of Christ cruci- 
 fied, as the author of salvation, and a faithful 
 enforcement of practical piety, can never injure 
 either Papist, Protestant or Pagan. 
 
 " The Honourable Company carry on near this 
 220 
 
z 
 
 u 
 
 O 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 place the manufacture of salt. The waters of 
 nearly all the small lakes and streams are more or 
 less impregnated, having a brackish, disagreeable 
 taste, and are purgative when drunk freely. This 
 evening a woman came to see me who accom- 
 panied her husband last summer to Norway 
 House, where the family were baptised. She 
 said, ' I have prayed to the Great Spirit ever 
 since I was baptised. My httle child became 
 very ill so that all concluded she must die. I took 
 her in my arms, and kneeling down, I told the 
 Great Spirit what I felt in my heart. He was 
 very merciful, my child recovered; God gave 
 her back to me.' This woman made a remark 
 which the Indians not unfrequently make, — that 
 sometimes the wicked spirit told her her prayers 
 were foolish. ' But,' said she, ' my heart is often 
 made very happy.' 1 inquired how she prayed. 
 She answered, ' I say, O Great Spirit, pity me. 
 Forgive all my crooked ways. Give me a good 
 mind ; keep me from sin. Bless my husband and 
 children, and give us all good life (health). I 
 trust in Jesus, Amen!' 'And I believe,' added 
 she, ' that He was hanged by nails on the cross- 
 wood to save me.' This is simple prayer, and 
 simple faith. 
 
 "Sunday, 17th.— I preached at ten, at three, 
 and at seven. Few persons were present, the 
 fort being very small, and the Indians generally 
 on their hunting grounds. 
 
 " 1 8th. — We departed. We crossed Swan 
 Lake and found a store of fish, which the guide 
 221 
 
What Forty-two Below Zero Means 
 
 had laid up during the winter of which we took 
 a supply for the dogs. Thermometer twenty- 
 three. Our encampment was good. 
 
 " 19th.— Thermometer forty-two below zero. 
 It is excessively cold. Water from the tea kettle, 
 nearly boiling, being poured out into a tin plate 
 to the depth of about half an inch became frozen 
 and solid, or sufificiently so to slide out, when 
 warmed on the under side, in seven minutes and 
 a half. 
 
 "20th. — We made Fort Pelly at ten o'clock. 
 Thermometer twenty-five. 
 
 "22d. — We had fine moderate weather. I 
 conversed with four persons who requested in- 
 struction and baptism, and found them anxious 
 to know the truth and to do the will of God. 
 
 "Sunday, 24th. — I preached to an attentive 
 congregation, several professing their determina- 
 tion to seek and serve the Lord. 
 
 " 26th. — We have prayers every night at seven, 
 at which time I always deliver a short discourse 
 or expound some portion of scripture. I cate- 
 chise the children, and teach them prayers at 
 half-past eight. 
 
 " 28th. — I have had several interviews with a 
 sick Indian who is taken care of in the fort. He 
 appears anxious to receive instruction, but is very 
 deaf. 
 
 "29th. — To-day an Indian arrived from his 
 hunting grounds with whom I conversed while 
 he listened with much interest. 
 
 "Sunday, 31st.— 1 preached at eleven, at three, 
 223 
 
Winter Journey to Saskatchewan 
 
 and seven o'clock, and baptised eight after tiie 
 forenoon service. 
 
 "February ist.— 1 left Fort Pelly, having ex- 
 perienced every kindness and attention from Dr. 
 Todd, and derived great satisfaction in seeing a 
 marked attention to the word of life. 
 
 "3d. — We have been crossing extensive plains 
 for the last two days but we made good speed, 
 having an old beaten track, sleds having been 
 through during the season. 
 
 "4th. — A snowstorm rendered our travelling 
 very disagreeable and led us sometimes to wander 
 far from the track. 
 
 "5th. — We made Beaver Creek House and 
 found all well. Thanks to our great Preserver! 
 
 "6th. — We experienced great kindness from 
 Mr. and Mrs. McKay. He is an excellent Cree 
 speaker, and kindly furnished me with a trans- 
 lation of the Lord's Prayer. We held prayers at 
 eight p. M. in a large tent, and had a good con- 
 gregation. Several Indians encamped in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 "Sunday, 7th. — I preached at eleven and at 
 six. I baptised three persons connected with the 
 fort. Much pains has been taken by the gentle- 
 man in charge and his family, to instruct those 
 connected with the establishment. 
 
 "9th. — I departed accompanied by two men 
 from this place, two sleds and eight dogs. Not 
 the sign of a track was to be seen, nothing but 
 open plains with here and there a few small 
 poplars, 
 
 223 
 
Journey Ended 
 
 " loth. — We had a very crooked track. Four 
 of our dogs were nearly crippled through the 
 driver's carelessness in not having shoes. 
 
 " Sunday, 14th. — We rested to-day snugly en- 
 camped in a thick clump of poplars, making 
 good fire wood, of which we collected an abun- 
 dance last evening, and have enjoyed a Sabbath of 
 peace and improvement and rest in the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 " 15th. — Not a bush to be seen. At night we 
 reached a few stunted oaks, and endeavoured to 
 make afire; we succeeded in boiling a kettle, got 
 a cup of tea and laid down for warmth. Ther- 
 mometer thirty-five. 
 
 " 1 6th. — We were unable to sleep in conse- 
 quence of the intense cold. We started at 
 twenty minutes past twelve and made the As- 
 siniboine River at dark. 
 
 " February, 17th. — We reached Norway House 
 in the afternoon after an absence of three months 
 and four days. Thanks be to the Almighty God 
 for His providential care! I found my family, 
 the inhabitants of the fort, and the Indians, in 
 good health." 
 
 224 
 
XVII 
 
 PERSECUTION AROUSED 
 
 " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy " — Tripping 
 and the Voyageurs — Slavish work — The Guides — " Pieces " — 
 Portaging — Short Summers — Sir George Simpson — His oppo- 
 sition to Sabbath rest and to Mr. Evans — " Persecuted for 
 Righteousness' sake " — Falsely accused — Mockery of a trial — 
 Strong in Grace and Innocence — The false friend — Supplies 
 cut off — Practical tests — The victory of the Sabbath-keeping 
 Indians — Continued demands for Mr. Evans' recall. 
 
 Mr. Evans was a thorough and consistent mis- 
 sionary. He was a brave and fearless man, and 
 shunned not to declare all the counsel of God. 
 He had such faith in the gospel, not only to save 
 man, but to keep them in the paths of righteous- 
 ness, that on their acceptance of Christianity he 
 at once began to impress upon his converts the 
 necessity of fully keeping all God's commands. 
 The high ideals to which he at once endeavoured 
 to bring up his converts, was very much at vari- 
 ance with the lax ideas of some who occupied 
 high positions in the country, and very soon 
 there were antagonistic influences at work among 
 the Indians. 
 
 For years he had lived on terms of friendship 
 and good will with the great fur-trading com- 
 pany that had so long been paramount in its in- 
 fluence in the country. At the different posts in 
 
 225 
 
Keeping the Sabbath 
 
 the vast country, where he visited on his won- 
 derful journeys, he had been an honoured guest, 
 as his journals so well intimate, and his sermons 
 and addresses, as we have seen, had been a bene- 
 diction to both whites and Indians. Thus had 
 he well repaid them for all the courtesies and 
 kindnesses shown him. 
 
 The troubles which so increased and multiplied, 
 began in reference to the divine command, " Re- 
 member the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Mr. 
 Evans all his life had held high ideas, and strong 
 views in reference both to its sanctity and value. 
 He had also such belief in Omnipotent wisdom, 
 that he felt assured that the day would never 
 have been instituted if its keeping in all lands 
 was not for man's physical, as well as his spirit- 
 ual good. Hence he took the same ground in 
 the Hudson's Bay territories as he had in Upper 
 Canada and in England. 
 
 To his Indian converts, he preached the same 
 truths in reference to the Sabbath that he had in 
 other lands. To him they listened, and at once 
 the question arose in their minds: Is it right 
 for us as tripmen of the company, to travel on 
 the Sabbath day? Conscience, now under re- 
 ligious guidance troubled them, and so they in- 
 formed their masters, the Hudson's Bay officials, 
 that they wished to rest on the long journeys on 
 God's day, as He had commanded them to do. 
 
 Some reference to this work of tripping is es- 
 sential, in order to fully understand the almost 
 slavish toil that was required of these hardy men. 
 226 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 For over two centuries the great fur company 
 have had their trading posts scattered through 
 that vast region. Some of them are thousands 
 of miles in the interior from the sea board. 
 Around these different posts are bands of Indians 
 who are the fur-hunters, whose rich products of 
 the chase have been yearly exchanged for the 
 goods brought in from the outside civilised 
 world. The whole system of trade has been one 
 of barter from the beginning. There was, until 
 very lately, but very little money in the country. 
 It was quite unnecessary. 
 
 The great company had its brigades of boats 
 so organised that the goods were by them car- 
 ried into the interior, and the furs caught in 
 previous years were by them brought out for 
 shipment to England. So great however are the 
 distances, and so many the difficulties in the dif- 
 ferent routes, that no one brigade can travel with 
 sufficient rapidity to reach the coast from the in- 
 terior posts within a single year. The result, is, 
 that some of the furs from the more remote 
 places are two or three years on the route. 
 
 For example, the brigades of boats loaded 
 with goods that had been brought out the previ- 
 ous summer from England, would leave Norway 
 House as soon as the lakes and rivers were free 
 of ice, for the vast interior known as the height 
 of land, where the waters divide; some coming 
 south to the great Saskatchewan, and thus find- 
 ing their way ultimately to the Hudson's Bay, 
 while the rest goes north down the tributaries of 
 227 
 
Great Journeys of the Trlpmetl 
 
 the Mackenzie, and then through that mighty river, 
 north to the Arctic ocean. In order to reach this 
 point called the height of land, many labourious 
 weeks of toil were necessary. Many portages 
 had to be made and dangers encountered. Then 
 when the place was reached, the cargoes of 
 goods were exchanged with a northern brigade 
 of boats, that had come from Peace river Ath- 
 abasca, or it may be from the distant Fort Simp- 
 son, on the Mackenzie River. Dangerous and 
 diificult was the return journey, and many 
 weeks elapsed ere it was ended, and the well 
 bronzed and weather-beaten men were able to 
 place in the strong warehouses of the company, 
 the bales of rich and valuable furs caught the 
 previous winters, some of them thousands of 
 miles away in the vast interior hunting grounds. 
 Thus all through the brief summer, these 
 brigades were at work in the different parts of 
 the country. It was indeed slavish toil. The 
 men worked like heroes. I never saw better or 
 harder work in any land, by any class of toilers. 
 The guides of the brigades were Indians of much 
 experience, who had proved themselves skillful 
 in running the dangerous rapids ; quick to notice 
 the coming of the storms, and prompt to meet 
 every emergency of danger that threatened the 
 cargoes of goods, or bales of furs. They were 
 also petted and honoured according to their abil- 
 ity to push their brigades on with the greatest 
 speed, and as quickly as possible safely make the 
 long and dangerous trip. The consequence was 
 
 228 
 
Ill 
 o 
 < 
 i- 
 
 Di 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 ■z. 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 Q 
 <■ 
 O 
 ai. 
 
 ca. 
 
 7. 
 
 < 
 
 3 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 there was a great deal of rivalry among the head 
 guides; and, as a result, the head men in the dif- 
 ferent boats were pushed to the very limit of 
 their physical strength. Especially was this no- 
 ticed in the portages, where the goods or bales 
 of furs, and then the big heavy boats themselves 
 were being taken across. 
 
 These goods are put up in what are called 
 "pieces," each averaging about eighty pounds in 
 weight. In transporting these across the port- 
 age, each man was expected to carry at least two 
 of these "pieces," on his back, supported by a 
 strap across his forehead. Many of the men car- 
 ried three of them on each trip across. They 
 were expected to run the whole distance when 
 loaded, in a kind of jog-trot, and to return at a 
 much more rapid rate. The trails in the portages 
 were with few exceptions very rough, and some 
 of them were of great length, owing to the long 
 succession of dangerous and unnavigable rapids 
 in the rivers. Then the heavy boats had to be 
 drawn across the same rough and often steep 
 portages by their crews, who under the stentorian 
 shouts of the guides, were kept tugging and pull- 
 ing to the utmost of their strength. 
 
 When the boats were once more launched 
 and loaded, and the journey resumed, the men 
 usually had to settle down to their heavy oars, as 
 it was not always that the winds were favourable 
 for their sailing with the one big square sail, 
 with which each boat was furnished. 
 
 Thus it was drive, drive, drive, from the 
 389 
 
Drive, Drive, Drive 
 
 time the ice disappeared in tlie waters in early 
 June, until well on in September, when the cold 
 breath of the Frost King began to chill, and once 
 more freeze up the waters. So short were the 
 summers, and so vast were the distances, and so 
 many the delays by head winds and disasters in 
 the rapids or storms, that it often happened that 
 the late brigades did not get to their destination, 
 and thus that cargo of furs had to wait another 
 year, ere it reached the seaboard for shipment. 
 This of course meant a considerable loss ; hence 
 we can appreciate the anxiety of the officials to 
 make the most of the summer months, and get 
 all the returns possible on the market, as their 
 salaries were rated according to the profits on the 
 yearly returns. 
 
 With these statements of the condition of af- 
 fairs in reference to the trade of the country we 
 are able to understand the feelings of the worldly 
 ambitious officials of the great company when 
 it became known that several of the finest bri- 
 gades, including some hundreds of tripmen, had 
 stated that they wished it to be understood that 
 they would not travel on the Sabbath day. They 
 were dismayed as well as indignant. One 
 seventh of the short summer to be wasted in 
 idleness. It would never do. It meant the com- 
 plete disorganisation of the trade; it meant that 
 no dividends were to come from London, as pay- 
 ment for all they were enduring in this lonely 
 land. 
 
 Protests, decided and emphatic, went at once 
 !J3Q 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 to Mr. Evans, whom they rightly judged was the 
 man who had preached this nonsense, as they 
 called it, to the Indians. They knew but little of 
 the man, if they thought that he could be induced 
 to swerve from the path that he considered right, 
 by their threats. And their threats in those days 
 meant a great deal. No despot in Ancient Egypt 
 or in modern Russia, ever ruled with more absor 
 lute power than did Sir George Simpson rule 
 in the Hudson's Bay Territories for many long 
 years. His word was law. The stories that are 
 still afloat in the country, at the different posts, 
 of his despotic and arbitrary doings seem almost 
 incredible. High officials were like trembling 
 schoolboys in his presence. To such a man, 
 whose one absorbing ambition was to make high 
 dividends for the company in London, and 
 who retained his position of governor so long in 
 spite of all the protests of injured ones, because 
 of the way in which he despotically drove every- 
 thing, with this one end in view; the position 
 and teachings of James Evans were peculiarly of- 
 fensive. 
 
 He had noticed also the marvellous popularity 
 of Mr. Evans with all classes in the country, and 
 this also was sufficient cause for his destruction 
 on the part of a man so jealous and unprincipled 
 as Sir George Simpson. Mr. Evans saw the 
 coming storm, but conscious of his own inno- 
 cency and integrity, he pushed on in the great 
 work of preaching to whites and Indians, the 
 whole gospel as revealed in the Word of Ggd, 
 231 
 
Hardships Increased 
 
 However, he had no desire to make enemies of 
 the great company of fur traders; and so, when 
 he was most emphatically informed that his 
 teachings on the Sabbath question were inciting 
 many of the hitherto faithful tripmen of the 
 company to rebellion, and therefore must cease, 
 he replied by saying, that no harm would come 
 to the Honourable Company by their servants 
 keeping God's commands; and that in reference 
 to the Sabbath, he had not the slightest doubt 
 but that if the matter were fairly tested, it would 
 be seen that the brigades that rested on the Sab- 
 bath day could do more work in the six days 
 than could those brigades that took no Sabbath 
 rest. 
 
 This suggestion of testing the matter was 
 laughed to scorn, and utterly refused. Persecu- 
 tion, bitter and unprincipled, began; and many 
 favours and privileges were at once cut off. This 
 conduct on the part of the company made it 
 very trying to the missionary and his family, and 
 very much increased their hardships. Living so 
 remote from civilisation, they were in a great 
 measure dependent on this well organised com- 
 pany, which then possessing a monoply of trade, 
 were able to make it very uncomfortable for any 
 persons in the country who had incurred their 
 animosity. 
 
 Fortunately for Mr. Evans, so well grounded 
 had the Christian Indians become under his 
 teachings and their own reading of the Word of 
 God on this matter, that they firmly but respect- 
 
 ^3s^ 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 fully told the oificials of the company that they 
 would "obey God, rather than man"; and re- 
 quested themselves to have the matter tested, as 
 to which brigades could do the business assigned 
 them better, and more expeditiously; those who 
 ignored the sacred day, or those who respected 
 it. To this request of the Indians, the company 
 also refused to listen. In their pride and arro- 
 gance, and especially in the mind of the despotic 
 Sir George Simpson, it had become a question of 
 who is master and whose word is to control the 
 Indians. Sir George thought it was between 
 himself and the brave missionary, Mr. Evans. 
 We think it had become a question between the 
 obstinate immoral governor and the Lord of the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Of course Mr. Evans would not yield, or cease 
 to preach what he considered the truth. Then a 
 system of persecution began, the most cold- 
 blooded and heartless, by a man lost to all sense 
 of shame and honour; a man who was one of the 
 greatest libertines of the century. Some poor 
 timid women were terrorised into swearing 
 falsely against one of the purest minded of men, 
 and thus try to destroy his influence and drive 
 him out of the country. A mockery of a trial 
 was held, at which Sir George constituted him- 
 self the judge, and summoned this man of God 
 before him, and, producing his own witnesses 
 who had been prepared for the occasion, he pro- 
 ceeded to find him guilty. 
 
 gince that sad mockery of a trial in Jerusalerri, 
 233 
 
Falsely Accused 
 
 when false witnesses there perjured themselves 
 and tried to injure the Holy One of God, we 
 know of nothing in all the centuries more sad, 
 more diabolical. How the brave man continued 
 in his work so grandly as he did, is only to be 
 accounted for by those who know the power of 
 divine grace. "Though He slay me, yet will I 
 trust Him." With this grip on the Almighty One, 
 who allowed him to be thus terribly assailed, he 
 hung on amidst the dense darkness that seemed 
 so impenetrable. 
 
 He was clad in the armour of a clear conscience ; 
 and certain of his innocence of the dark charges 
 preferred against him, and understanding well 
 the reasons why he was being so persecuted, he 
 could rest in the words of his Redeemer who 
 said, " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, 
 and persecute you, and shall say all manner of 
 evil against yon falsely, for My sake." He knew 
 it was false, and he knew that it was because of 
 preaching the whole gospel, he could claim 
 Christ's words, when he said, "for My sake," 
 and so he was sustained, amidst it all. 
 
 Then he was cheered and encouraged by the 
 fact that not one Christian Indian, even for one 
 moment, believed that the charges preferred 
 against him were true. In fact they knew they 
 were false, for the weak-minded false witnesses 
 openly declared in the Indian village that what 
 they said at the trial were lies, but that the words 
 were put into their mouths, and they were so 
 afraid of the wicked governor, that they had to 
 !?34 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 say what he ordered them to say. This coming 
 to the ears of the governor, the false witnesses 
 were sent more than a thousand miles away into 
 the more remote interior. But they outlived the 
 despotic governor; and in after years, before 
 competent authorities, with bitter tears, con- 
 fessed that the whole thing was a wicked con- 
 spiracy to crush their missionary, because he had 
 reproved the governor for his sins, and taught 
 the people to remember the Sabbath day to keep 
 it holy. 
 
 One of the saddest and most humiliating things 
 about this whole affair is that, while all the 
 Christian Indians were true, in some way or 
 other, one of the young missionaries for a time 
 fell under the baneful spell of the governor, and 
 jealous at the marvellous influence and popularity 
 of Mr. Evans, became the traducer of one who 
 had ever been his friend, and whom, as after- 
 ward confessed, he knew to be innocent. Yet 
 Mr. Evans lived through it all, and some of the 
 grandest and most successful of his work in 
 winning the Indians to Christ was done while 
 white men were thus endeavouring to ruin his 
 influence and so harrass him, that he would be- 
 come discouraged, and in disgust or despair, 
 leave the country. 
 
 With unflagging industry he went on with his 
 work of translating more and more of the Word 
 of God, which, with additional hymns, were 
 printed in the Syllabic Characters, and more and 
 more widely scattered as opportunities offered, 
 !?35 
 
Secret but Helpless Friendship 
 
 Many of the officials of the company, well 
 aware of the baselessness of the charges preferred 
 against Mr. Evans, secretly assured him of their 
 confidence and friendship, but such was the des- 
 potic power of the governor and the dread that 
 all had of his vengeance, that they could not 
 openly avow it without suffering. AH their pro- 
 motions were absolutely in his hands; and, ac- 
 cording to their promotions, were their shares of 
 the profits which constituted the greater part of 
 their salaries. Years of faithful service were 
 nothing to him. He only promoted those who 
 did his will and with servile obedience carried out 
 all his commands. To incur his anger meant 
 banishment to the wildest and most remote and 
 miserable trading posts in the vast interior of that 
 country. 
 
 While with characteristic zeal Mr. Evans kept 
 the home work at the mission thus progressing, 
 he still with undiminished energy, travelled to the 
 different remote places where missions were now 
 beginning to flourish ; and although, through the 
 stern orders sent from the governor to the differ- 
 ent posts of the fur traders, favours once allowed 
 him were now refused; he had the satisfaction of 
 knowing that he could live among his own peo- 
 ple, the happy Indian converts whom he had led 
 to Christ, and who all stood true to him, in every 
 place. 
 
 Still anxious to conciliate, in spite of all the 
 contumely and persecution he had received, Mr. 
 Evans endeavoured to convince these opposers of 
 836 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 the correctness of his teachings, as regards the 
 Lord's day, by actual tests. He had nothing but 
 kindness in his great loving heart. He would 
 start in his canoe with a couple of Indian canoe- 
 men at the same time the company were sending, 
 in one of their swiftest canoes, and by their well- 
 tried men, important dispatches to some far-away 
 post. Mr. Evans would, with his men, always 
 rest on the Sabbath day, while the other canoe 
 pushed on without any cessation. In every case 
 Mr.. Evans reached the end of his journey first. 
 
 These practical tests not only confirmed the In- 
 dians in their belief of the genuineness of the 
 teachings of their beloved missionary, but num- 
 bers of the honourable officers of the company saw 
 their force and rejoiced; but, from the motives of 
 worldly policy to which we have already referred, 
 they remained silent or ignored the subject as far 
 as possible. 
 
 The Christian Indians in the great brigades also 
 tested the matter, and they too signally triumphed; 
 so much so that on the death of this arbitrary 
 governor, no attempt was ever made after to in- 
 terfere with this faithful observance of the Lord's 
 day. Years after it was the privilege of the vyriter 
 to watch for eight consecutive summers these 
 great brigades of boats on their long and toilsome 
 trips. They left us loaded with the " pieces" of 
 goods that had come out from England and were 
 to be carried, as we have described, into the in- 
 terior for the next winter's trade. With the bales 
 of furs obtained where the cargoes were ex- 
 
 837 
 
The Sabbath Keeper's Revenge 
 
 changed, the boats returned to Norway House. 
 Without one exception our Sabbath-keeping In- 
 dians always returned in a shorter time than did 
 those who icnew no Sabbath. It was suggestive, 
 and like one of the revenges of history, that my 
 attention was first directed to this fact by some 
 high officials in the company themselves, who re- 
 joiced that the Sabbath was thus honoured, and 
 stated that when they had some specially valuable 
 cargoes, or important and costly "pieces" to be 
 transported over difficult routes, they preferred, 
 whenever possible, to put them in charge of our 
 Sabbath-keeping Christian Indians. 
 
 When I have asked some of the Indian guides 
 or Christian boatmen to give me in detail some 
 account of their doings, in contrast with the ac- 
 tions of the other brigades, I was always very 
 much interested. Something like this would be 
 their story : 
 
 "When going up the height of land to meet 
 the brigades from the north, perhaps three or 
 four brigades would leave the old fort for the 
 mouth of the Saskatchewan at the same time. 
 We would push on, keeping much in company, 
 until we would begin to reach the portages, then 
 we would separate. Our Christian men could 
 hold their own with the best of these others, who 
 were generally either pagans or Roman Catholics. 
 Saturday we were generally ahead. We camped 
 as usual Saturday night, sometimes near together, 
 sometimes perhaps ten miles ahead of any other 
 brigade. As the next day was our Sabbath, our 
 238 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 day of rest, we made everything as comfortable 
 as possible. We covered our cargoes with the 
 tarpaulins, or oilcloths, and after supper and 
 prayers went to bed. The next day was the Sab- 
 bath. We rose as usual, had a good wash, got 
 out our Sunday clothes, which we had carried 
 with us, and put them on. Then we had our 
 breakfast, and after that, as we generally had 
 some of our class-leaders or lay preachers among 
 the men, we held a religious service. We always 
 carried our Bibles and hymn books. After din- 
 ner we had a good sleep, then supper, then 
 another religious service. Then we lay down and 
 went to sleep. Perhaps during the day the other 
 brigades passed us in the forenoon. They pushed 
 on and on, but we never minded that. We were 
 remembering the command, " keep holy the Sab- 
 bath day." We were up very early on Monday 
 morning. The day of rest had refreshed us, and 
 so while the wapun-uchukoos, the morning star, 
 was still visible, we were stirring and making 
 ready for a long day's pull at the oars. 
 
 "About Wednesday we generally caught up to 
 the other brigades that had no Sabbath. With a 
 shout, the struggle began. They to keep ahead, 
 we to get ahead. Perhaps we could not do it 
 that night, but we did it the next day. Then on 
 we hurried, until Saturday night came again. We 
 do the same as we did last Saturday. Then the 
 next day we sleep, and eat, and worship God. 
 Perhaps about five o'clock, or may be six, the 
 brigades come along. They are now so tired 
 S39 
 
The End of the Boat Race 
 
 they can hardly get up a cheer as they pass us 
 and push on, perhaps five, or six, or ten miles 
 further, when they camp for the night. They 
 are very tired, and so sleep long the next morn- 
 ing. But we have had our day of rest, and so 
 feel strong again. So with the morning star still 
 in the sky, we are up and off, and we get on so 
 well that we pass the other brigades perhaps 
 when they are just having their breakfast. With 
 a cheer, we push ahead. We travel some weeks 
 over many rough places, but at length we reach 
 the height of land, or whatever post we are trav- 
 elling for that year. We find the brigades from 
 Athabasca, or Mackenzie, or Peace Rivers, there 
 with the furs. We exchange our loads of goods 
 for packs of furs, and turn around and begin the 
 homeward journey. Perhaps we get down five 
 or six days before we meet the other brigades 
 still going up. 
 
 "We push on day after day, having as usual 
 our quiet Sabbath of rest and worship, and we 
 generally arrived home about a week or ten days 
 before the other brigades returned. When they 
 did come back, they generally had some of their 
 men about used up, and all of them were very tired, 
 while we who kept the Sabbath were soon ready 
 to start off for York Factory to meet the ship." 
 
 This was their uniform testimony, and has 
 been for years; and it is so in harmony with the 
 experience in all lands where the test has been 
 made, that, looked at from the lowest stand- 
 point, man as a creature of toil can do more and 
 
 240 
 
Persecution Aroused 
 
 better work in six days, by resting on the seventh, 
 than he can where he keeps no Sabbath. 
 
 How saddening it is to think that, for standing 
 up for God's glory and even for what was for 
 their highest good, this glorious missionary 
 should have been so persecuted. Finding that 
 these persecutions could not drive him out of the 
 country, and that as usual Mr. Evans toiled on 
 and attended to his work, the governor sent 
 most stringent letters to England, demanding the 
 withdrawal of the brave, courageous missionary. 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Evans continued to toil 
 on, hoping that the storm would blow over, and 
 the sunshine of prosperity return. He had been 
 under no obligations to heed the trial of his moral 
 character, devised and carried through by such 
 consummate malignity by the governor of the 
 fur-trading company, so he ignored the whole 
 affair. This only the more exasperated his ene- 
 mies, and so elaborate copies of the trial and other 
 letters were prepared, and sent to England. Some 
 were sent to the head officers of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company in London, whose selfish fears were ex- 
 cited by the garbled statements sent them of the 
 terrible doings of the missionary, in inciting the 
 Indians to rebellion against the rules of the com- 
 pany. Others were sent to the mission rooms, 
 to the secretaries; and these painted in lurid col- 
 ours the immoralities of this man, who was such 
 a wolf in sheep's clothing, and must be recalled. 
 Thus the storm was brewing, and the clouds instead 
 of dispersing, were gathering in densest darkness. 
 241 
 
XVIII 
 
 TRAGEDY AND REVENGE 
 
 Mr. Evans' unremitting missionary work — " In perils oft " — 
 The tin canoe— "The Island of Light" — The trip to Fort 
 Chippewayan — Thomas Hassel, the Interpreter — John Oig — 
 The terrible accident — Hassel shot — Buried in the wilderness 
 — Mr. Evans' grief — Hassel's people — Pagans — "Avengers of 
 blood " — Evans surrenders himself to Hassel's people — Not 
 murdered but adopted. 
 
 Still unaware of the tightening coils that were 
 gathering around him, Mr. Evans laboured on in 
 his blessed worit. In the home-work his interest 
 was unabated. Here he had gathered about him 
 a large number of happy converts from a debas- 
 ing paganism. Many of them were now begin- 
 ning to preach to others, and were thus more 
 rapidly extending the work. 
 
 At his own fireside, he was the loving and 
 loyal husband, and the most affectionate of 
 fathers. No one prized his home more than did 
 he; and yet, so great was his love for his Master, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the precious souls 
 for whom his Saviour died, that he was willing 
 to tear himself away, and in storm, blizzard and 
 hurricane, go out over an area of country larger 
 than many an empire. No roof had he above 
 him for many days and weeks. He cheerfully 
 exposed himself to "perils oft" in many forms, 
 that he might fill up his life with usefulness, by 
 S4S 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 winning as many as possible to the service of his 
 Lord. 
 
 To far-away Athabasca, and even to Fort Simp- 
 son, Lesser Slave Lake, and other remote places 
 he had gone, and in all of them he was intensely 
 interested. As far as possible he visited them by 
 summer in his canoe, and with his dog-trains in 
 winter. 
 
 So ingenious was he that he manufactured a 
 tin canoe himself. It was a great success, and in 
 it he travelled many thousands of miles. The 
 Indians, as they saw it flashing in the distance as 
 the sun's bright rays were reflected from it as 
 from a mirror, called it: " The Island of Light." 
 
 He carried with him on account of the dangers 
 arising from hidden rocks, a soldering iron and 
 some solder; so that when he was so unfortu- 
 nate as to strike a sharp rock and thus cause his 
 canoe to leak, he could quickly go ashore and re- 
 pair the damage. 
 
 Still in happy ignorance of the coming storm 
 he made preparations for a journey by canoe to 
 Fort Chippewayan on the Athabasca, where a 
 good work had been accomplished among the 
 Indians of the region. His chief object in going 
 on this last trip was to be with those Christian 
 Indians whom he had the joy of winning from 
 paganism, and saving them from the false teach- 
 ings of some whom he heard were pushing up 
 from the Saskatchewan country into the regions 
 which formed the home of his Athabasca flock. 
 
 With this purpose in view, Mr. Evans started 
 
 843 
 
Trip to Fort Chippewayan 
 
 immediately upon receiving the information, go- 
 ing by the quicker but much more dangerous 
 route of Nelson River, Churchill River, Lake 
 Wollaston and thence through Lake Athabasca 
 to Fort Chippewayan. 
 
 He took with him as canoemen, his inter- 
 preter, Thomas Hassel, and John Oig. Thomas 
 Hassel belonged to the Chippewayan tribe. He 
 had, for an Indian, been a great traveller. He 
 had a marvellously retentive memory, and the 
 gift of easily acquiring foreign languages. He 
 was able to speak fluently in English, French, 
 Cree, Saulteaux, and had a partial knowledge of 
 several other tongues. Best of all he was a godly 
 man, a genuine Christian and full of anxious zeal 
 for the extension of the cause of Christ among 
 his fellow-countrymen. At Fort Chippewayan, a 
 small but very interesting work had been begun. 
 There some of the natives had accepted of Chris- 
 tianity, but the great mass of the tribe was still 
 in the darkness of heathenism. The family of 
 Hassel were all stubborn, superstitious pagans, 
 retaining all their old habits and customs. Oig, 
 the other man in the canoe was also an exper- 
 ienced traveller, and had often been employed by 
 Mr. Evans on account of his endurance and skill. 
 He lived to be a very old man, and to the end of 
 his days was full of reminiscences of the one he 
 loved to call, "Nistum Ayumeaookemow," (the 
 first missionary). 
 
 When Mr. Evans applied at the Hudson's Bay 
 Post for supplies of food and ammunition to 
 
 244 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 equip him for his long journey, he was bluntly 
 refused by orders of the governor. However, 
 friends among the Indians provided everything 
 necessary; and so bidding the loved ones in his 
 happy home "Good-bye," and with cheery 
 parting words to his helpers and Indian friends, 
 the long journey was begun. 
 
 For some days they pushed on with the great- 
 est rapidity, for Mr. Evans was resolved to make 
 this trip in spite of the many difficulties in the 
 way, one of the quickest of his life. He felt it 
 his duty not only to try and win precious souls 
 to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as 
 their only Advocate and Saviour, but also to 
 strive to guard them against the false teachings 
 and erroneous doctrines of the Church of Rome. 
 Hence his anxiety to make rapid progress and be 
 first in the field, even if those who were striving 
 to invade his fold had started a number of days 
 ahead and over a better route ere he had heard of 
 their movements. 
 
 Awfully sad and abrupt was the end of the 
 journey. From Oig long years after I heard the 
 story; so sad, so tragic, so dreadful. His words 
 as I remember them were: 
 
 " We had pushed on for a number of days, 
 and Mr. Evans said he was so much pleased with 
 our progress. We had run many rapids and 
 made a large number of portages. We were 
 well and strong as there was plenty of game for 
 us to shoot. So we did not waste an hour, but 
 kept rapidly pushing fprward. 
 
 245 
 
Hassel Shot 
 
 "We had risen one morning very early and 
 after our brealcfast and prayers had launched our 
 canoe and were rapidly hurrying away. The 
 morning mists hung low on the shores of a great 
 lake-like river on the waters of which we were 
 paddling. Thomas Hassel was in the front of 
 the canoe. Mr. Evans was in the centre, and 1 
 was in the stern. 
 
 "All at once Hassel whispered, 'I see ducks. 
 Hand me the gun.' We generally kept the gun 
 in the stern of the canoe pointing backward for 
 safety." 
 
 Continuing Oig said: "I reached back and 
 lifting the gun I turned the muzzle around and 
 quietly pulled back the hammer, as it was a flint- 
 lock gun. 1 then reached it forward and handed 
 it to Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans did not look back. 
 He only reached back his hand for the gun as he 
 was earnestly looking forward to try and see the 
 ducks which could not be plainly seen on account 
 of the mist. 
 
 "Somehow or other, I can hardly tell how, the 
 gun went off just as Mr. Evans took it out of my 
 hands. And as it was pointed directly toward 
 Hassel in front, the whole charge went into his 
 head just at the base of his skull. 
 
 " Poor Hassel 1 he just turned and gave one sad 
 look at the missionary and then fell over dead. It 
 was an awful time. Mr. Evans was wild with 
 grief, and so was I. 
 
 "We wept and mourned like little children. 
 We were dazed and bewildered. There we 
 246 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 were in the wilderness, far away on that lonely 
 lake-like river with no Indians or white people 
 within many, many miles of us. 
 
 "But we had to do something, and so we 
 went ashore, and wept again as we took out our 
 dead friend and laid him on the sand. For a 
 time we sat in silence beside him. Then we 
 tried to pray, but at first we could only sob. 
 But the Great Spirit heard our prayer and we 
 were quieted and comforted even in our tears, 
 and brought back to ourselves, so that we could 
 think what to do. We could not take the body 
 back to our mission, nor forward to the far-away 
 land of his people; for they dwelt far beyond 
 Lake Athabasca. So we decided to bury our 
 dead on the river-bank. We dug a grave as well 
 as we could and there tenderly laid him away, 
 and then with sad lonely hearts we started back 
 for our homes. 
 
 "O! but it was a sad home-coming. Our 
 eyes were so dim with weeping we could hardly 
 see the trail. We were so dazed along the whole 
 route that we were like those who dream. 
 
 "When at length we reached our village the 
 people came out to meet us, wondering why we 
 had so soon returned, and that there were only 
 two of us, where there had been three when the 
 journey began. They wondered more when they 
 saw our sad faces, and observed that our tongues 
 at first refused to speak. When at length the 
 sad story was told them their hearts were filled 
 with sorrow, and indeed it was a double sorrow. 
 247 
 
Surrendering Himself 
 
 Sorrow at the sad death of such a useful well- 
 beloved man as Hassel; and deeper sorrow as 
 they saw how prostrated with grief was the 
 loved missionary, who had been so unfortunate 
 as to have caused the sad accident." 
 
 This is the substance of the account Oig gave 
 me long years afterward. Even then, strong In- 
 dian though he was, the recital of the sad trag- 
 edy deeply affected him and those of his family 
 who heard it, as he related it at my request. 
 
 The effect on Mr. Evans himself was terrible. 
 He never seemed able to rise above it. He was 
 never again just the same man. His appearance 
 was that of one who had suddenly grown old. 
 The sprightliness and vivacity of the man, which 
 had, with divine grace, made him one of the 
 most joyous and companionable of men, had 
 gone forever. The awful tragedy seemed ever 
 before him. His heart was full of sorrow, and 
 his eyes were often dimmed with tears. 
 
 Sometime after his return home, he prepared 
 to surrender himself to the tribe to which the 
 dead man belonged. They were, as has been 
 stated, Chippewayans; and were as a tribe, 
 nearly all pagans. In fact the only company of 
 them who had accepted Christianity was con- 
 nected with the flourishing little mission Mr. 
 Evans himself had established, and which he was 
 on the way to visit when the death of Hassel oc- 
 curred. The family and relatives of Hassel were 
 all pagans, retaining, as we have said, all their 
 old superstitions and cruel customs. 
 248 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 As a tribe they held some of the old severe be- 
 liefs in reference to blood-feuds and quarrels. 
 Blood for blood, and life for life, was a part of 
 their belief, as the following sanguinary tribal 
 quarrel will show. 
 
 At a great tribal gathering, a young warrior, in 
 mere mischief, drew his arrow to the head, and 
 sent it whizzing through the body of a white 
 dog much prized by his master. That master 
 instantly sent an arrow into the body of the 
 slayer of his dog. The next-of-kin to the man 
 thus slain shot his murderer, and then the next- 
 of-kin on the other side retaliated. This went 
 on until about a hundred dead bodies lay around 
 the encampment. Old chiefs and medicine-men 
 interfered and managed to stop the strife, which 
 had assumed such proportions that it threatened 
 to annihilate them. The trouble was only ended 
 by the banishment from the tribe of all the rela- 
 tives of the man who had shot the dog. They 
 were driven out with orders never to return, and 
 wandered about for several weeks ere they found 
 a section of the country in which they could 
 dwell. 
 
 To this people Mr. Evans resolved to give him- 
 self up, to be treated by them in any way they 
 pleased. Life's joys seemed to have left him, 
 and he seemed not to care whether he lived or 
 died. 
 
 Settling up all of his affairs at home, and turn- 
 ing over the mission and school with the printing 
 house and all of its work to men whom he had 
 
 249 
 
With the "Avengers of Blood" 
 
 trained, and were now able to carry out his plans, 
 he prepared for his departure. He kissed his 
 beloved wife and daughter, and saying "fare- 
 well " to all, he left his weeping family and sor- 
 rowing people for the far-away distant country 
 where were the wigwams of the relatives of 
 Hassel. It was a long, lonesome journey ; for he 
 would not allow any of his people to accompany 
 him. 
 
 When he reached the village he inquired for 
 the wigwam of the family of the dead man. 
 This being pointed out to him he at once entered 
 it, and sitting down on the ground he covered 
 his face with his hands and burst out into a 
 paroxysm of weeping. The inmates were all 
 astonished and perplexed at this. The news of 
 Hassel's death had not yet reached them, and so 
 the sight of a strong white man sitting in their 
 wigwam, and weeping like a woman, was in- 
 deed a mystery. 
 
 When the wild burst of sorrow was over, and 
 Mr. Evans was able to control himself, he told 
 the sad story of the death of their relative, and 
 the part he had played in it. 
 
 Of course there was intense excitement. They 
 had not been very friendly toward Hassel, when 
 he had, as they expressed it, "left the religion of 
 his forefathers." They had however been eager 
 to appropriate the large portion of his wages, 
 which he had as often as possible sent to them. 
 Now that he was dead, perhaps the fact of their 
 loss, as well as their old pagan instincts, caused 
 250 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 them to demand vengeance upon the one who 
 had taken his life. Tomahawks were drawn 
 and knives were unsheathed, and there was a 
 cry for the satisfaction of blood. Strong words 
 were uttered, and threatening were some of the 
 actions of some of the young, hot-blooded ones 
 among them. 
 
 Amidst the sharp controversy that raged around 
 him as to what should be done, the broken 
 hearted missionary sat with bowed head and 
 covered face. He was utterly indifferent as to 
 their actions. He cared not what should become 
 of him. 
 
 Noble womanhood, even if it was in the per- 
 son of a poor old Indian mother, decided the 
 question by turning the tide in his favour, and 
 his life was preserved. Hassel's poor old mother 
 was much shocked when she heard the story of 
 her son's death. She had bowed down in her 
 grief at her loss, but had listened attentively to 
 all that had been said. She had also heard the 
 mutterings of vengeance on the part of her sons 
 and others, and had observed the actions of 
 those who would not have required much provo- 
 cation to have quickly put the stranger to death. 
 She had also, however, observed the deep sor- 
 row of the man who had accidentally taken the 
 life of her son. With quick intuition she had ob- 
 served the genuineness of his grief, and her 
 womanly heart was moved in sympathy toward 
 him, who in his grief, had thus voluntarily put 
 himself in their power. 
 
 251 
 
A Good Son 
 
 While the story had been told, and the discus- 
 sion had gone on as to the penalty to be inflicted, 
 these had been her feelings and emotions. When 
 it seemed as though the avengers of blood would 
 prevail, and Mr. Evans would be killed, she 
 sprang up from her place in her wigwam, and 
 going over to him, she put both her hands upon 
 his head and said: 
 
 "He shall not die. There was no evil in his 
 heart. He loved my son. He shall live, and 
 shall be my son in the place of the one who is 
 not among the living." 
 
 There were some murmurings even against 
 this, but the mother strongly pleaded, and her 
 plan ultimately carried out. 
 
 When the days of mourning for the dead were 
 ended, Mr. Evans was adopted into the tribe and 
 family. For a time he remained in the wigwam 
 of his new father and mother. He won their 
 love and admiration by his words and kindly 
 deeds. He talked to them of God as revealed in 
 Jesus Christ, and of the blessed land beyond this, 
 into which so tragically, as regards the earthly 
 side of it, their son had entered. 
 
 When the time came that according to the 
 custom of the tribe he could leave to go out into 
 the active world again, he kissed them both, and 
 returned to his far-away family and work. He 
 was ever a good son to his new parents. As 
 Hassel had, since he had been a Christian, been 
 very thoughtful of them, and had sent them 
 many a present for their comfort, so also, and 
 
 252 
 
Mr, Eva\s in the Wigwam of the Ave.ncer 
 OF Blood, 
 
Tragedy and Revenge 
 
 much more so, did James Evans. As long as he 
 lived, they had their portion of his never very 
 large salary. 
 
 Mrs. Evans and her daughter shared with Mr. 
 Evans in the resolve to live with the closest 
 economy, in order to help that aged Indian foster- 
 father and mother, who now had a claim upon 
 him. 
 
 Memory takes me back to the time when, as a 
 little boy in my father's parsonage, I sat at the 
 feet of the widow of James Evans, and listened 
 with intensest interest as she talked of these 
 thrilling and fascinating matters. Little dreamed 
 1 then that I should ever live in that distant land, 
 and have the joy of having in my Indian Churches, 
 many brought to God through her husband's in- 
 strumentality, and among them John Oig, then 
 the sole survivor, and with Mr. Evans the only 
 witness, of the tragic death of the interpreter, 
 Thomas Hassel. 
 
 353 
 
XIX 
 
 VINDICATION AND DEATH 
 
 Lying Letters — ^Work continued at Rossville — Leaving for 
 England — via Canada — In England — Cold reception — The trial 
 — Vindicated — Friends rally round him — Lecturing — Demand 
 for Mr. Evans — The meeting at Walthara Chapel, Hull — At 
 Keilby — ^The sudden death of the Apostle of the North. 
 
 The course pursued by Mr. Evans' arch-enemy, 
 Sir George Simpson, was worthy of his vile 
 reputation. His letters to the officials of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, in London, were of such 
 a character that these gentlemen at once clam- 
 oured for the recall of Mr. Evans from the country 
 by the missionary secretaries to whom he was 
 responsible. Truly the devil has had some cun- 
 ning agents in this world to do his horrid work! 
 
 Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Mr. Evans 
 there were but two mails a year; and so months 
 elapsed ere he was aware that such lying charges 
 had been preferred against him to the chief offi- 
 cials of his church, and that he was soon to 
 answer before his brethren, and there defend his 
 character, which was dearer to him than his life. 
 
 With broken heart Mr. Evans continued his work 
 at Rossville, until there fell upon him the stroke 
 that showed the vindictiveness of the character 
 of the man who was resolved to drive him out 
 of the country. Imperative orders arrived from 
 854 
 
The Farewell Parting with the Indians. 
 
Vindication and Death 
 
 England that he should at once leave the mis- 
 sionary work in the hands of his colleagues, and 
 come across the ocean to answer the grave charges. 
 From the tenor of the letters it seemed evident 
 that the oflFicials of the church were already much 
 biased against him, and that he would have a 
 difficult task in disabusing their minds of the 
 prejudices with which the slanders of his en- 
 emies had filled them. 
 
 With inexpressible grief he broke up his home, 
 and, what was sadder still, relinquished the work 
 so near his heart, and then bade farewell to his 
 weeping Indian converts, and with his wife and 
 daughter returned to Canada by the long and 
 toilsome canoe route, to which we have referred 
 so fully and so frequently. 
 
 Some little time was spent in Lower Canada 
 among loving and sympathising friends; and then 
 he and Mrs. Evans crossed the great ocean for 
 England, to meet face to face the missionary 
 secretaries and others selected to hear his story 
 and his defence. 
 
 Not very cordial was his reception. We re- 
 gret to have to record, that at first he met only 
 with coldness and neglect. So biased were even 
 high church dignitaries by the persistent circula- 
 tion of the lying charges against him, that they, 
 forgetting his marvellous work, were deeply 
 prejudiced against him. 
 
 It is a maxim in law, to consider a man inno- 
 cent until he is proven guilty. This ought to 
 have been uppermost in the minds at least of his 
 
 856 
 
Joy o£ Vindication 
 
 brethren; but, for a time, it was not so. Mr. 
 Evans' sturdy English nature was aroused at this. 
 Some of his truest friends had been grieved at 
 the indifference with which he had treated the 
 foul charges preferred against him. Conscious 
 that they were only the emanations of his en- 
 emies, he had treated them with almost silent 
 contempt. Now, however, when he found that 
 even those from whom he had expected sympa- 
 thy and support, were turning against him, he at 
 once demanded the fullest investigation that could 
 be made. 
 
 Friends rallied round him, and saw that he had 
 fair play. Long and exhaustive was the inves- 
 tigation, but it ended in the most triumphant vin- 
 dication of Mr. Evans. Every opportunity was 
 offered to his enemies to prove their charges. 
 Every one, however, most signally failed; and 
 not only that, but the foul conspiracy to blast his 
 character and injure his usefulness, was clearly 
 exposed. The Jesuitical methods of the immoral 
 governor to influence different classes against this 
 godly man, were fully brought to light. The 
 mean and contemptible attitude assumed by one, 
 who, knowing his innocency, had become a 
 traitor and a traducer, was also made clear. 
 
 The unearthing and publication of the foul 
 conspiracy, and the story of what Mr. Evans had 
 so long suffered from such implacable enemies, 
 evoked a great wave of sympathy for the inno- 
 cent and long-suffering man. Loving letters 
 poured in upon him, and more tangible evidences 
 
 256 
 
Vindication and Death 
 
 of sympathy were not wanting. Most cordial in- 
 vitations to speak in many of the great churches, 
 and especially at the great missionary meetings, 
 which are such marked events in many parts of 
 the country, were continually being received. 
 
 He was wearied and exhausted, and in great 
 need of rest. Only his iron constitution, and the 
 consciousness of his rectitude and faith in God, 
 had upheld him. But he was a prematurely old 
 man. Although not yet fifty years of age, he 
 had crowded into the last twenty-five years, 
 work enough for a half a dozen busy lives. His 
 best friends would have held him back, but that 
 was impossible. Work he must, and would, as 
 long as life should last. 
 
 There were two things ever before him. Very 
 different were they, and yet both were incentives 
 to keep him always at the fullest stress of toil. 
 There was first the joy, that through "abounding 
 grace," he had triumphed so signally against the 
 conspiracies, which had been so cunningly de- 
 signed to rob him of his Christian character; and 
 that he was once more in the sight of men, as he 
 had always been in God's sight, innocent of the 
 foul charges. This made him ever anxious now 
 to meet the vast multitudes, and, in his new free- 
 dom, lift up his head in the sight of heaven and 
 tell the thrilling story of the triumphs of the 
 blessed gospel. 
 
 There was also another reason. The one so 
 sad, that was ever before him. His many friends 
 seeing his haggard looks and failing health, had 
 
 257 
 
The Recital of his Life-work 
 
 besought him lovingly and importunately, to 
 spare himself for future days or years of useful- 
 ness. Very pathetic was his answer to them: 
 " If I cease from active labours, and have an idle 
 hour, there comes up before me the picture of 
 the dying interpreter. I cannot be idle. 1 must 
 be busy. I dare not stop." 
 
 And so he responded to the many calls that 
 poured in upon him ; and, the more he talked in 
 his own inimitable way, the more the people 
 were interested and charmed and thrilled, and 
 the more they demanded of him. 
 
 His story was so new, unique and fascinating, 
 that they could not help but be interested in it 
 especially when told by such a man. Other mis- 
 sionaries had charmed them about the stories of 
 gospel triumphs in other lands; but here was 
 something from mission fields, about which but 
 little had ever been heard. Mr. Evans was from 
 the land of Eliot and Brainard, the missionaries 
 to the red men ; and to English audiences there is 
 a glamour of romance about everything in con- 
 nection with the North American Indians. 
 
 Then it was all so romantic, as it was from the 
 far North Land, where auroras flash and blaze, 
 and the mirage and mock suns are often seen. 
 Everything that Mr. Evans had to say was a 
 revelation. The travelling by dogs, the sleeping 
 in the wintry camp with the mercury frozen, car- 
 rying frozen milk that was months old, and 
 chopping it with an axe, all these things produced 
 a profound impression. 
 
 258 
 
Vindication and Death 
 
 The story of his difficulties and triumphs, in the 
 invention of the Syllabic Characters, and the 
 teaching of a people to read the Word of God so 
 easily, and the wondrous transformation wrought 
 by the gospel's power, all these things simply 
 electrified the people ; and so it came to pass that, 
 no matter how honoured were the ministers as- 
 sociated with him, on the platform as speakers, 
 the people almost entirely refused to hear any- 
 body else. 
 
 He should have stopped; but he could not. 
 His health once so robust, was worse than he 
 dare let himself admit. His heart had long re- 
 minded him by its tumultuous throbbings, when 
 on the snowshoe trail, or when labouriously pad- 
 dling his canoe in some dangerous place, that all 
 was not right. Then his sorrows had come to 
 aggravate its troubles, and now here he was 
 speaking to thousands every night, often until 
 nearly midnight. When we think of it, it does 
 not now seem strange that the end should have 
 come as suddenly as it did. 
 
 On Monday evening, the 22d of November, 
 1846, Mr. Evans attended a missionary meeting 
 in Waltham Street Chapel, Hull, England. Our 
 readers will remember that Hull was his native 
 town. The chapel was packed to suffocation. 
 Two of the greatest orators of the church were 
 also announced to speak that evening. Mr. Evans 
 was called on as the first speaker. So charmed 
 and thrilled was the vast audience with his story, 
 and with the magnetism and eloquence of the 
 259 
 
His Last Address 
 
 man, that they would hear nobody else. Neither 
 the influence of the chairman nor the reputations 
 of the other great speakers, could prevail. Mr. 
 Evans must go on ; so said that vast assemblage. 
 The whole evening must be his. The pleading 
 that he was far from well availed not, and so he 
 talked on for hours. 
 
 The writer has conversed with old men 
 who were present at that wonderful meeting. 
 They will never forget that night, and that ad- 
 dress. Mr. Evans spoke until long after eleven 
 o'clock. The interest and enthusiasm continued 
 to the last; and, late as it was, when he closed, 
 the people were loath to leave the place where 
 they had heard so much that brought glory to 
 God, in the proclamation of His Word. 
 
 The next evening Mr. Evans spoke at a place 
 called Keilby, in Lincolnshire. There was a 
 similarly crowded sanctuary, and the same in- 
 tense enthusiasm; and again Mr. Evans had to 
 do all the speaking. 
 
 It was his last address. At the close of it, he 
 and Mrs. Evans returned to the home of a dear 
 friend, whose guests they were. The usual 
 English supper was partaken of, and then the 
 host and his wife, with Mr. and Mrs. Evans, en- 
 gaged in a little quiet chat. During the day Mr. 
 and Mrs. Evans had been talking about the hope 
 that now that the dark clouds had so flitted away, 
 and his character had been so grandly vindicated, 
 they might again return to their beloved work 
 among the Indians, in the Hudson's Bay Territo- 
 260 
 
Vindication and Death 
 
 ries. This thought was again uppermost in this, 
 their last evening talic. At the prospect of again 
 seeing them, and once more working among 
 them for the salvation of bands not yet won to 
 Christ, Mr. Evans seemed to have regained some 
 of his old time sprightliness and pleasantry. 
 This matter of the probable return to the Indian 
 work was the last thing about which he con- 
 versed. 
 
 Mrs. Evans rose to retire to her room. As she 
 left with her hostess accompanying her to the 
 door, she turned to Mr. Evans, who lingered be- 
 hind and said: 
 
 " Well, my dear, it is pleasant to think of go- 
 ing back to those dear people; but I have had a 
 strange presentiment all day that we will never 
 see Norway House again." 
 
 He looked at her with all his old time bright- 
 ness, and replied : 
 
 " Well, my dear, heaven is just as near from 
 England as from Norway House." 
 
 The ladies retired. The two gentlemen sat for 
 a little longer, talking about various things when, 
 all at once, the host noticed Mr. Evans leaning 
 strangely over the side of the large chair in which 
 he was sitting. 
 
 On speaking to him, he received no answer. 
 He at once sprang to his aid, but he was already 
 beyond all human assistance. The heroic mis- 
 sionary, the Apostle of the North, had passed 
 over into the Paradise of God. 
 
 Thursday, November 25th, 1846, all that was 
 261 
 
Final Resting-Place 
 
 mortal of James Evans was carried back to Hull, 
 and laid away in the minister's vault in the Walt- 
 ham Street Chapel, the same chapel in which he 
 had spoken with such marvellous power the 
 previous Monday evening. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 262