Mission Life in Cree-Ojibwe Country

Elizabeth Bingham Young, E. Ryerson Young, Jennifer S. H. Brown

• Publisher: AU Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781771990059
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Ministro del culto cristiano

In May of 1868, Elizabeth Bingham Young and her new husband, Egerton Ryerson Young, began a long journey from Hamilton, Ontario, to the Methodist mission of Rossville. For the next eight years, Elizabeth supported her husband's work at two mission houses, Norway House and then Berens River. Unprepared for the difficult conditions and the "eight months long" winter, and unimpressed with "eating fish twenty-one times a week, " the young Upper Canada wife rose to the challenge. In these remote outposts, she gave birth to three children, acted as a nurse and doctor, and applied both perseverance and determination to learning Cree, while also coping with poverty and short supplies within her community. Her account of mission life, as seen through the eyes of a woman, is the first of its kind to be archived and now to appear in print. Accompanying Elizabeth's memoir, and offering a counterpoint to it, are the reminiscences of her eldest son, "Eddie." Born at Norway House in 1869 and nursed by a Cree woman from infancy, Eddie was immersed in local Cree and Ojibwe life, culture, and language, in many ways exemplifying the process of reverse acculturation often in evidence among the children of missionaries. Like those of his mother, Eddie's memories capture the sensory and emotional texture of mission life, providing a portrait that is startling in its immediacy.Skillfully woven together and meticulously annotated by Jennifer Brown, these two remarkable recollections of mission life are an invaluable addition to the fields of religious, missionary, and Aboriginal history. In their power to resurrect experience, they are also a fascination to read.

I
Untitled Memoir of Elizabeth Bingham Young, 1927

The text that follows is transcribed from pages 119 to 180 of Elizabeth Young’s daybook, with added inserts as described in the introduction. Headings in quotation marks are Elizabeth’s own; others are my own. Daily diary entries that immediately precede and follow her memoir date from 1927, and a diary entry written on pages 120 and 121 is dated 9 July 1927, suggesting that Elizabeth began to compose the text at that time. A statement on page 123 implies a date of 1928: it reads, “July 29, 1868. Just sixty years ago, we arrived at Norway House & Rossville mission, where we were appointed to be missionaries to the Cree Indians.” Page 173, however, reinforces the memoir’s date as 1927; there, Elizabeth noted that she had just attended her sister Clara’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, and Clara was married on 18 September 1877.

“1859 & Sixtys”

In the fiftys and sixtys there was a happy & joyous little girl filling the hearts of home, & making melody. Sisters and brothers came, but being the eldest the right to superintend was hers, & she took the position; we had many friends many visitors some agreeable.

We had a black mammy and her Neddie who came yearly to visit us. They would take all we could give them & ask for more.Where they came from we could not tell, but they were most interesting.

Indians came with their baskets for sale, they came from Rama & Rice Lake, they were easy & happy go lucky people.1

In winter time, sleigh riding all kinds of sliding, skating, evening parties games, puzzles, guessing games, Forf[e]it games, phillip[i]ne game, interesting.2

All through the sixties my young life was very happy, making home happy & summer time picnics. Visiting in the country, often making neighbours happy, in many ways, in sickness, soothing & comforting the dying. In Church work, so happy, in choir singing, in school work, in temperance work, in whatever work interested our Town. Concerts, Tea parties, I was interested beyond measure. It seemed a real pleasure, to be useful, and appreciated by our neighbours & friends.3

Leaving Home

On December 25, 1867, I left my dear Mother & my home, in the Town of Bradford, Simcoe Co., Ontario, Canada, for Toronto where my dear Egerton & I were married in the old Methodist Church on Adelaide Street, which is now the Metropolitan Church. We were married by the Rev. Egerton Ryerson. We took dinner in the old Ros[s]in House & then went to Hamilton, where we were very kindly received.4 It was a wonderful change for me, from a sad home, for the same year in August my Father & Brother passed away leaving us prostrate with grief. But all this of my going away was arranged while my Father was still alive. Yet to have put it off would only complicate matters. Mother was not alone, for three Sisters and one Brother were with her.5

We were not blessed with earthly goods, for my dear Father was a very hard working man but met with misfortune, not through carelessness. My Father was a good Christian had a responsible place in the Methodist Church & the full respect of all especially the young people, who loved & had the greatest respect for him, for his goodness, his kindness; for his church classes he had two one in the town, one a little way out of the town. If any were sick & not able to attend they were immediately visited, & if in need at once looked after his love & care was appreciated. The love of his people was shown when he passed away when they looked after his funeral & put up a monument in memory of him.6

Although leaving home I could not forget the love & care of both my Father & Mother and many times the heart & thoughts would recall the past, & thank God for his care & love, & leadings in the good and true way & now I can look back with nothing but a true & thankful heart that my way was so lovingly guarded & pleasantly and sweetly cared for. For now I can only see & feel that God for Christ’s sake had me in His special keeping. Many proffers of more than friendship came to me, but the unseen hand kept watch until the right one came, then there was no diffidence or trouble, & I am today full of thankfulness to my loving & Heavenly Father for His watchfulness care over one so unworthy. I can sing truly “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

The Invitation to the North West

From “The Bride of 1868”:

Little did I dream when I left my home that as a missionary would I be counted worthy to go, for in my young days I had been nursed in a Christian home, and now the fulfillment of my early wishes and desires I was willing to leave home, friends & with my newly found treasure go to the “West.” . . . This was December, we got the New Years over and was settling down when a written Invitation came for us to go to the N.W. as missionaries, which very much unsettled us for the moment, for we must decide quickly. So we began to think & decide, my beloved’s church were all very much opposed to losing their much loved Pastor, for they had just had some very interesting Revival meetings and many new members were added to the church. The President of the Ladies [Wesleyan Female] College was the only one who gave my beloved any encouragement, he thought it was just the climate for his Constitution, but he was the only one.7 But with a good deal of serious thought & prayer we decided to go, so from that moment we were getting ready and seemingly up-set & divided in our thought and work. We had many invitations here & there, the friends could not show us too much kindness and attention.

From Hamilton to Detroit

July 29, 1868. Just sixty years ago, we arrived at Norway House & Rossville mission, where we were appointed to be missionaries to the Cree Indians.

On May the tenth 1868, having everything arranged, settled, and farewells all said we parted from our Hamilton friends. [In her diary, 9 May 1868, Elizabeth wrote: “We have alreddy bid adieu to my dear Ma and sisters in Canada and my own dear brother Joey, and also those dear brothers by marriage, we have yet to say goodbye to Pa Young. . . . We meet so many friends who were or seemed very anxious for our special welfare, this we thank God for.”]8

My beloved had first closed a very successful term of years and all were happy with a large number of members added to the church who were grieved at his departure, yet all wished us well.

We embarked at Thorolds. [Thorold, on the Welland Canal. According to Elzabeth’s diary (13 and 14 May), they traversed the Welland Canal and Lake Erie on 13 May, reaching Detroit around midnight.]

The Officials of the Hamilton First Church were very much surprised & grieved at their official meeting, at the close of the year of 1867. My husband announced his intention of devoting his life to mission work among the Indians of the Hudson Bay district.

The Board expressed its appreciation of him in the following resolution: “We the members of the quarterly board of Hamilton City East Circuit, cannot allow our beloved Pastor & his wife to depart without an expression of our high appreciation of their services amongst us. His faithfulness, zeal and affection have endeared him to all our hearts, and we pray that he may be equally successful in winning souls for Christ, in the land to which he journeys.”9

The Travelling Party

Elizabeth’s diary, 14 May, reads: “The rest of our party joined us. Now our Missionary company is complete.” The members of the party, some of whom had joined the group in Detroit by rail, were the following:

Rev. Geo. Young age 46. Occupation Wes[leyan] Missionary. Mrs Young 45. Their Son George 16. [To establish the Methodist Church in Red River (Winnipeg).]

Rev. Geo. McDougall. Occupation Wes Missionary. Georgina McD his daughter.10

Rev. Peter Campbell age 30 Wes Miss. Mrs [N?] Campbell age 30. Two children Annie 3, Ella ½.

Rev E. R. Young age 27 Wes. Miss. Mrs. Young age 24.

Matthew Snyder age 22. Teacher. Ira Snyder age 18. Teacher.11

John Day [aged] 24 Carpenter. Margaret Day 23.

Geo. A Caswell Age 25 farmer

Enoch Skinner 12.12

Detroit to Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Red River

The journey from Detroit to Milwaukee took the Youngs across Lake Michigan. In her diary, Elizabeth wrote on 16 May: “Had a violent attack of sea sickness. Neptune demands an offering. Allmost too indisposed to rise, however mustered up courage to leave my birth, food repugnent. Mr. George Young kindly came in and gave me a little port which made me feel very much better.” The following day, the lake was quite rough, and both Elizabeth and Mrs. George Young were too sick to leave their staterooms: “we had to lie right down and lay there all day pretty near.” Her husband evidently fared better. His diary entry for 17 May reads: “That disagreeable disease sea sickness has prostrated many. . . . I am kept in perfect health as well upon the sea as upon land.”

In her memoir, Elizabeth continued:

When we reached Milwaukee we were detained by the Customs, on account of the horses.13 So several days were lost on our journey. However my husband had a wedding,14 & as Mr McDougal’s Daughter Georgenia was troubled with Rheumatism [“That is why she left Hamilton College and nothing would do but she must come with her Father, home”], and had no flannel under clothes, the Ladies of the partie improved the opportunity & secured some flannel & insisted on my doing the cutting out, & very soon we had the dear girl comfortable in nice warm flannels.15 [Elizabeth’s diary, 18 May: “I cut out two pairs of drawers and partly made one pair.”]

We took the train on the Lacross[e] Railroad [19–20 May] to the Miss[iss]ippi boats up to St Pauls; here we were at the point where we had to prepare for the Prairies, by procuring such things as dried fruits, Bacon, sugar, tea, flour, and all necessaries, for after leaving this point it would be impossible to be able to get anything in the way of food. We were advised not to forget anything, even salt [“as it is the last of stores or shops we will see for days weeks yea months. The H.B.C. Stores will be all we will see and those are only to exchange for the furs of the Indians. I remember when very much in need of some special article, and asked them for it; that was there answer, ‘We are not here to serve Whites.’ That answer was not needed twice, I did without.”]

We had to prepare against mosquitoes, black flies, sand flies, bull dog flies. The women folks got some Quaker poke bonnets, mosquitoe Skreening, made long veils & weighted them down with shot.16 This done & many other little necessaries accomplished, horses ready, wagons ready, Carts ready, harness all in good shape. It was wonderful to see what a wonderful procession we made. Now [27 May] we were off and our first night on the Prairie.

The party next stopped near Clearwater, Minnesota, on the west side of the Mississippi River not far from its headwaters. Some of them stayed at the “Linden Hotel,” where Elizabeth was able to bake bread for the trip (diary entry, 30 May). On 1 June, Elizabeth wrote in her diary: “Through the blessing of God we were enabled to make another start on our journey. Our poney is very sick and almost unable to draw us let alone much of a load. About ½ past 4 you might have seen us starting, a small stove hanging to the top of the waggon also a tea kettle and a yeast pail” (whereupon the Youngs caught up with the rest of the party).

Just as we were busy getting ready for the night our carts & wagons arranged in horse shoe fashion & tied together & our horses hobbled for fear of there wandering away, we were very much surprised excited & perplexed to see flying towards us men on horseback coming. Soon [we] found out that they were Indians who thought we were Americans & were on the war path. They had lately had some misunderstanding and were very much imbittered and very angry. They, the Indians, called the Americans Keche-mookimen (long-knives) and if it had not been for our “British flag,” the Union Jack, we would have been badly treated. That is [our] no. 1, Introduction to the Indian Country.17

Day in and day out we had peculiar incidents, interruptions, such as the breaking of wooden [Red River] carts that were constructed without a bit of iron in any point whatsoever, consequently you could hear them as far as we could see them. There were days we had to carry water from one point to another, and our firewood was Buffalo chips. Narrow escapes from accidents occurred very often as our companions carried fire arms, so as to assist in our menues. One day our Leader [George McDougall] shot a goose, and divided it amongst the party, my part was a leg. It must have descended from the Ark, for tough was no name for it.

We camped early, and in the morning struck our tents early, preparing the night before as far as we could our lunch for the next day, so that there would be no midday delay. Sunday was sacredly kept. We had service in the morning, and the after part of the day was spent in resting.18

Excitement and experience often occurred. One day as we crossed from American Territory we threw out [hoisted] our Union Jack and our American horses ran away. Our guide said, “Let them run; they will soon get tired” as they were loaded down with Missionary Luggage.19

One other day it took nearly all our horses to pull one heavy ladened wagon out of a deep revine & those that were left, were being so stung with bull dog flies, that one of [our] sympathetic women made a smudge fire and before we were aware of it, the prairie grass was on fire. Now our leader who had just reached the top of the revine with the other members of the party called out, every man to his place, and away we went with the wind blowing the fire away from us, so for days we were exposed to a Prairie fire.

We were glad if we found a farmers home so that we might get some milk or eggs or butter, but alas these commodities were all too scarce.

Fierce wind storms came and unless our things were tied securely they would fly from us, never to be seen again. On the Prairies we were exposed to hot sun, wind storms, rain storms, thunder storms.

I made yeast, mixed bread, put it to rise as we were journey-ing along, and when we camped for the night, I borrowed the Frenchmans sheet iron stove & baked some bread & buns. This was a new experience travelling on the Prairies, but a very acceptable one, for all enjoyed the agreeable change.

Even Mr George McDougal came without invitation as soon as he heard of the home made bread.20

Prairie chickens was another pleasant & agreeable change. While I drove the horse Egert...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I Untitled Memoir of Elizabeth Bingham Young, 1927
• Part II “ A Missionary and His Son” and Subsequent Reminiscences, by E. Ryerson Young
• Part III Supplementary Documents and Excerpts
• Index
• Footnotes