Canadian Scenery, Volume 2 (of 2)Willis, Nathaniel Parker
History
Canadian Scenery, Volume 2 (of 2)
Willis, Nathaniel Parker
Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- History
On the banks of the Grand River Ouse, twenty-one miles from Dundas, I
passed through several villages inhabited by the Six Nations of Indians.
These villages, which, from their proximity to each other, appear to be
comprised in one settlement, are composed of about 200 houses, which
contain nearly 1,500 inhabitants. The land upon which they reside is
some of the most fertile in the whole province. It was given to the
Indians of the Five Nations, who have since admitted another nation to
participate in all their rights and immunities, immediately after the
revolutionary war, as a compensation for lands which they had forfeited
in the United States by their adherence to Great Britain. Six miles on
each side of the river, from its source to its mouth, originally
composed this grant; but they have since sold several townships to
different individuals. Still, however, they retain a quantity of land
sufficient, under proper cultivation, for the maintenance of half a
million of people. In one of the Indian villages a neat church has been
erected at the expense of government. It is greatly superior in
workmanship, as well as in size, to many of the parish churches in Great
Britain. The pulpit is situated at the upper extremity of the aisle, and
is surmounted with the royal arms of England, executed in bas-relief.
A clergyman of the Established Church occasionally performs divine
service in the church; and when he is absent, his place in the pulpit is
supplied by an Indian, whom his countrymen dignify with the title of
“Dr. John.” This worthy divine, in the absence of the English clergyman,
affords his brethren a specimen of his oratorical abilities; but it is
very evident that the gospel has not yet obtained much influence in the
hearts of these Indians, or in that of the native preacher. It cannot,
therefore, be supposed to exercise any great control over their conduct.
As I happened to be at this village on the sabbath, and felt curious to
see uncivilised men engaged in the worship of the Deity, I called upon
Dr. John, and requested to know if there would be any service in the
forenoon. He had little the appearance of a minister of that gospel, the
principle of which is—“Peace upon earth, and good will towards men,”
for he was busily engaged in whetting a tomahawk, and replied to my
question with the utmost indifference: “I meant,” said he, “to have had
a meeting to-day, but I lost my spectacles in a frolic last night, and
cannot, therefore, preach again till Mr. Smith (a neighbouring
shopkeeper) gets his goods from Montreal.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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