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
Come and visit our Indian Homes now, this summer of 1884. No longer are
we in the midst of bush and swamp, as we were ten years ago. The land
has been cleared up and a good part of it brought under cultivation,
fences have been put up, and several new buildings added. Let us visit
the Shingwauk Home first. We may go by water, and land at the Shingwauk
dock; there is the boat-house, with our new boat, _The Missionary_,
given to us by the children of St. James's Sunday-school, Toronto,
floating gently on the dark water within. We have no need to walk up to
the Institution. There is an excellent tramway, which has just been
completed, and visitors are requested to take their seats in the
tramcar, and some of the Indian boys will push them up to the Home. We
can already see the Institution over the brow of the hill, and a little
to the right the Memorial Chapel, and nearer to us the Factory, and off
to the left the boot shop and carpenter's cottage. We note that there
are neat stone walls round some of the fields, and a white picket fence
inclosing the Institution; the old-fashioned lych-gate in front of the
Chapel also strikes us, with the hops clambering over it; but we must
hasten on and enter the Home. As we walk up the central drive we notice
that the Institution is a substantial stone building, the bareness of
the walk relieved by a pretty trellis-work, up which hops and other
creeping plants are climbing; to our right is a cottage-wing, which is
the principal's residence, and to our left the entrance hall, with an
ornamental belfry over it; a little further to our left is another small
stone building--the dairy. We enter the hall, and, having written our
names in the Visitors' book, we ascend the oak staircase and visit the
school-room. Here the boys are all busy at work with their slates and
books, and Mr. Wotton, the master, is instructing a class by the black-
board. The school-room is nicely fitted up with modern desks and other
appliances; on the walls are large maps and pictures, which give it a
cheerful look; the ceiling is panelled in woods of two shades. Opening
into the school-room is a smaller room, a class-room separated from it
by three folding-doors. Ascending the staircase, we visit the
dormitories. The east dormitory for the senior boys is fitted with
English iron bedsteads, the junior dormitory has wooden bedsteads
painted blue, and wide enough for two little fellows to sleep in each;
the front dormitory, which is the largest of them all, is hung with
hammocks,--there is sleeping accommodation altogether for about sixty-
five boys. Descending once more, we pass through the lavatory and the
matron's sitting-room down to the dining-hall, and we note as we go
along every here and there a shelf with three white pails full of water
and an ominous F painted on them. Evidently experience has taught
caution. The dining-hall is a fine large room, the ceiling panelled like
the school-room.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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