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
Besides the Indian Home which was being built I had various other
objects to attend to. There were the Garden River Indians to visit from
time to time, and I wanted, if possible, to make another trip up Lake
Superior. One Indian settlement, about fifty miles up the lake, called
Batcheewauning, I had already visited, and the Bishop had consented to
my building a school-church there and placing a catechist in charge. So,
as soon as the new Institution was fairly started, I arranged to pay a
visit to this place, accompanied by Mr. Frost. We took with us a tent
and a good supply of provisions, also lesson books and slates, and a
voyage of some ten hours brought us to the saw mills, where we were to
land. It was a dark night and raining a little. The outline of the saw
mill and a cluster of small buildings was just visible. The inhabitants
of Batcheewauning consisted of about twelve men and three women--white
people, and some sixty or seventy Indians, whose village was six miles
off across the bay. We landed our things, a sack of camp kettles and
provisions, our bedding and tent. Jacob, the Indian boy who had come
with us, was left in charge, while Frost and I went off to look for a
suitable place to camp. The owner of the saw mill directed us to an open
spot on the shore, and we bent our steps thitherward; but after
wandering about for some time, searching in vain for a smooth spot, we
espied a man approaching with a lantern, and, accosting him, inquired
whether all the land around were as rough. "Yes," he replied, "it is
only lately cleared, but you will see better in the day-time where to
camp,--and to-night you had better turn into the shanty here." To this
proposition we agreed, and following our guide, were led into an old log
shanty with crevices in its sides and roof. He lighted us a dip, and
pointed to an unoccupied corner, where he said we could fix ourselves
for the night. The accommodation, certainly, was rude, and the place by
no means clean; yet we were glad of the shelter. We laid our blankets on
the floor, and, oiling our faces and necks to keep off the mosquitoes,
were soon asleep. At first streak of dawn we awoke. The mosquitoes would
not let us rest. They became exceedingly voracious, as always, just at
sunrise. It was a fine morning, the water in the bay sparkling in the
sunlight, and the thickly wooded mountains looking soft and blue in the
far distance. Frost and myself set out again to look for a place to
camp. There was not much choice. About eight acres had been roughly
cleared around the saw mill, and beyond this on all sides was the thick
bush. We overcame the roughness of the ground by borrowing some old
boards from the mill, with which we made a floor, and erected our tent
over it. Frost kindled a fire, and I made some oatmeal porridge for
breakfast, after which we strolled along the shore, and were surprised
to find an encampment of Indians quite close to us. They belonged to the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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