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
Our readers will not have forgotten poor Shegaugooqua, the poor
decrepid bed-ridden creature whom we found in such a pitiable condition
in an old wigwam back in the Bush. They will remember also the mention
we made of her little five-year-old boy, with his shock of rough, black
uncombed hair, and his bright intelligent eyes. This little boy, Willie
by name, we now took in hand. I arranged that the catechist who had
been appointed to the Kettle Point Mission should take two little boys
into his family, and train them up to a Christian and useful life. One
of them was to be Willie, and the other a grandchild of the unfortunate
man who was murdered--Tommy Winter. So, a few days before Joshua
Greenbird was expected, we brought Willie and Tommy to our house in
Sarnia to prepare them for entering upon their new life. The first
thing was to divest them of their dirty rags, and give them each a
thorough good scrubbing; then they were put into two new little suits
of grey cloth which my wife and I had each taken a share in making with
the sewing machine. Thus, clean and neat, these two little fellows of
six years old were shipped off to their new home. Walpole Island, where
Joshua the catechist was coming from, was some 40 miles south of
Sarnia, and Kettle Point was 30 miles or more to the north, the road
lying direct through the town; and as Joshua had arranged to drive in a
waggon the whole way with his family and baggage, he made our house his
stopping-place on the road, and we gave him and his wife and four
children all a lodging for the night; then in the morning they started
on again, taking Willie and Tommy with them. For the first week or two
the two little boys were quite happy and contented in their new home,
and went regularly to school with the other children who lived at
Kettle Point; but after a time they got home-sick, and then they did
what Indian boys often do when first taken in hand and put under
restrictions--they ran away. However, they did not get far on their
thirty mile journey homeward before they were accosted by a farmer who
was driving along in his waggon. Willie, always ready with his tongue,
and already knowing a little English, called to the former, "Say, you
going Sarnia?" The farmer immediately guessed what was in the wind, and
cried, "Yes, come along, boys; jump in." So in they jumped; but were
somewhat mortified--poor little fellows--to find themselves, half an
hour later, back again at the catechist's house. The lesson was a good
one for them, and from that day forward they had the impression deeply
printed on their minds that farmers were everywhere on the watch for
them, ready to bring them home if they tried to run away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account