Missionary Work Among the Ojebway IndiansWilson, Edward Francis
History
Missionary Work Among the Ojebway Indians
Wilson, Edward Francis
Indians of North America -- Missions; Ojibwa Indians
_August_ 16_th_.--The morning opened with a heavy mist,
threatening clouds and wind. Hoping for a change for the better, we
took down our tents, and by 9 a.m. all was packed on board _The
Missionary_,--then, as was our custom, the boys gathered in a
semicircle, a hymn was sung, a portion of Scripture read, and prayer
offered, Ningwinnena standing beside me and looking curiously at my
book as I read. By the time we started, the wind had become favourable
and we made a splendid run, getting into Pugwash Bay at 5.30 p.m. Eight
or ten birch bark canoes on the shore told us the whereabouts of the
Indians, though no wigwams were visible, the bush being so thick; as we
neared the shore, the people began to show themselves, men, women, and
children starting up one after another from amid the dense foliage and
gazing at us with curious eyes. There were about seventy people, though
nearly half of them were away. Some had been baptized by the Jesuits,
others were pagans. After ascertaining these facts we paddled along the
shore a little way to a sandy beach, where we made our camp. Our three
tents were pitched in the thick of the bush like the Indians, and a
huge fire lighted in the middle as the weather had become autumnal and
chilly.
These poor people seem to have nothing to eat as a rule except fish
and small animals; and they sat and lay around like half-starved dogs
while we partook of our evening meal. Two or three of them brought
raspberries for which we gave them bread in exchange, and we invited
one man, who seemed to be something of a chief among them, to take
supper with the boys. These Indians are of a very low type, and are
very dirty, appearing to have no idea of anything beyond pork and flour.
I went to see an old man who had been baptized about a year ago by the
Roman Catholics, and read the Bible to him. His wife was still a pagan,
but they both listened attentively while I read and seemed glad to be
visited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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