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
Well, after my walk of course I took a draught of sap from the first
trough I found, and then wended my way on to Buhkwujjenene's camp. The
sugar camp is made of poles about four inches thick, laid horizontally
for walls, and fitted into each other at the corners, the crevices being
filled with moss. The walls are only about four feet high, and they
enclose a space about ten or twelve feet square; the roof is also made
of poles placed like rafters and covered over with sheets of birch-bark,
an opening being left the whole length of the ridge for the escape of
the smoke. In the centre of the earthen floor is the fire, over which
are suspended five or six large sugar-kettles, holding perhaps twenty or
thirty gallons each, and into these the sap is poured as it is brought
in from the trees. Along the inside of the wigwam on either side of the
fire is a raised floor of boards or sticks, covered with fir branches,
on which the Indians recline by day or sleep at night. The door is
generally an old blanket hung over the opening. In just such a camp as
this I found Chief Buhkwujjenene, for though chief of his band he yet
has to hunt and fish and make sugar for his living, the same as the rest
of his people.
"Ah-ah-ah boo-zhoo boo-zhoo!"--That's the way we Indians greet one
another. Very warm and hearty, is it not? There they all were, busy
over their big pots--Isabel and Susette and Therese and Liquette, and
the old mother, who is very stout and comfortable-looking.
I told Buhkwujjenene that I wanted to have a little talk with him, so
as soon as I had some maple syrup, and my pockets filled with sugar
cakes to take home to the children, he came with me out of the wigwam,
and we sat down on a log together for a pow-wow. Of course he lighted
his pipe the first thing, for Indians can't talk without smoking. I
told him I had been thinking that I would cross the great salt water to
the land of the pale-faces, and try to collect some money to build the
big teaching wigwam that we had been talking about, and I suggested the
idea of taking him with me, if he would like to go. I said his brother
"Little Pine" had already done a good work by addressing meetings in
Canada and thus giving a start to the scheme, and now it would be for
him, the other chief, to carry the work on and help to raise funds
sufficient to erect the institution. Buhkwujjenene listened attentively
while I spoke, and then, laying his pipe down, replied as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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