Missionary Work Among the Ojebway Indians — John Shaqi
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
I must finish this chapter with an account of an Indian funeral. The
daughter of one of our Indians, named Kwakejewun, had fallen sick and
died--died, as we hoped, trusting in her Saviour. As is usual among the
Indians, a large number of people gathered together to show their
sympathy with the bereaved parents, and to follow the body to the
grave. The coffin was first brought into the church. I read the usual
service, and a hymn was sung very sweetly and plaintively. Then we
proceeded to the cemetery, nearly a mile distant. The snow was deep on
the ground and sparkling in the sunlight. I drove in my cutter and
headed the long funeral procession. A sad and picturesque sight it was;
from eighty to a hundred people in all, some in sleighs, some ploding
through the snow on foot,--aged women in their white blankets, mothers
with their children, some of them in bright scarlet shawls, boys and
girls, all in their Sunday attire. Through the silent forest we wended
our way till we came at length to the wild little cemetery with its
rude snake fence encircling it. The coffin was taken from the sleigh
and carefully lowered into the grave; then the men took off their hats
and we sang another hymn. It sounded very sweet in that wild desolate
spot, and the poor mother stood enveloped in a blanket at the head of
the open grave, and, with her eyes fixed on her daughter's coffin,
joined in the singing. Then I read the remainder of the service, and,
having shaken hands with the poor father and mother, returned home. The
mother grasped my hand warmly, and met me with a happy smile. She
believed, I think, that her child was safe with the Saviour.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BISHOP'S VISIT.
We were now well settled into our Indian home at Sarnia and my work
was clearly defined. The Sarnia Reserve was our head-quarters. Here
there were some 400 Indians, and at Kettle Point, thirty miles away,
were about 100 more. The out-stations were to be New Credit, Saugeen,
and Cape Croker, which places together contained about 1150 Indians.
The idea was to place a catechist at each of these distant settlements,
and for me to visit them twice or three times in the year. With the
view of providing catechists suitable for the work I was authorized by
the Church Missionary Society to receive and educate some young men;
and within a few months after we had taken up our residence on the
Reserve I commenced to teach two young Indians, named Wilson Jacobs and
William Henry, with the view of their becoming catechists.
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