Missionary Work Among the Ojebway Indians | Page 3

for the ministry, to returning to England; and whenever opportunity
allowed, I paid a visit to some Indian Reserve, or went on an exploring
tour up the great lakes.

After rather more than two years' preparation, I returned to England,
and in December, 1867, was ordained deacon at the Chapel Royal, by
the Bishop of London, Dr. Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury.
Shortly after this, it was arranged that I should go out again to Canada
as a Missionary to the Ojebway Indians, under the auspices of the
Church Missionary Society, the Rev. Henry Venn being then Hon.
Secretary, and on July 1, 1868, accompanied by my wife and an old
faithful servant named Jane, we started for Canada.
My wife, accustomed to the refinement and comforts of a beautiful old
rectory home in Gloucestershire, knew not whither she was going--she
had never been out of England before, and all was new and strange to
her. Indeed, I for my part was going out also, "not knowing whither I
went." Whether our lot would be cast in one of the older and more
civilised dioceses of Canada, or whether we should find a home on the
very outskirts of civilization, I knew not. My instructions from the
Church Missionary Society Committee, were simply to go first to
London, Ont., where the late Bishop of Huron (Dr. Cronyn) then lived,
and from thence to travel around and select what might seem to be the
best spot to make the centre for a new mission. We had thought of
Cape Croker on the Georgian Bay, and we had thought of Michipicoten,
on Lake Superior,-- but nothing could be settled until after our arrival
in Canada, and as for my wife she was content to go with me wherever
I went.
We had a splendid view of icebergs on the eighth day of our voyage. It
was a clear, keen morning reminding one of Christmas time, the sailors
were washing the decks and all looked merry and bright, and around on
all sides were icebergs of every size and shape, some looking like great
sea monsters bobbing up and down on the water, others as if a large
extent of Dover Cliff were floating past. Twenty-seven we counted at
one time, and during the morning fully 150 must have passed us. "Ah,"
said an old sailor, "if one of them had touched us, this ship wouldn't be
here." Then came the excitement of whales, spouting in the deep, and at
10 a.m., on July 10th, the rocky coast of Belle Isle was in sight.
When we landed at Quebec, the heat was intense, the glass standing at

99 deg. in the shade. My wife's first experiences of Canada are
described in a letter home, dated from London, Ont., July 22nd, '68.
"At 4 p.m. we left Quebec and started by boat for Montreal. The boats
for the lakes and river are simply splendid,--such large handsome
saloons and everything very nice, except that we had only one small
towel between us and very little water. After leaving Montreal we had
to go through a succession of locks which was slow work and made us
feel the heat very much. On Wednesday it was a little cooler, and we
were able to enjoy the most lovely scenery I had ever beheld, 'the
thousand isles,'--that alone is quite worth coming out for. From
Hamilton we took train to London. No one can remember such a
summer before, for the last three weeks the glass has been standing at
between 103 deg. and 99 deg. except in the evening, when we think it
cold if it goes down to 80 deg. The boarding-house we are in is cool
and clean and quite English-like about a mile from the so-called town."
Almost immediately after settling in at our London boarding-house I
started on my first Missionary tour, the object being to choose a spot
suitable for the centre of our Mission.

CHAPTER II.
FIRST MISSIONARY EXPERIENCES.
My first service among the Indians was held in a little log-house on the
Indian Reserve, at Sarnia (south of Lake Huron), on Sunday, July 26th.
Twenty-two Indians of the Ojebway tribe were present. They all
seemed most anxious to have a Church of England Mission established
in their midst, as many of them, inclusive of their venerable old chief,
Wawanosh, were already members of the Church, and had been from
time to time visited by a Missionary. I promised to visit them again on
my return from other Indian settlements and see what could be done.
The following day, Monday, I took train to Toronto, and thence to
Collingwood, from which place I intended to branch off to Owen
Sound and visit the Cape Croker and Saugeen Indians. I had with me