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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film^s d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 r > \ \> ! ^ (Jl>^i^iSUM4^jtf "fa ! / IPancoupct ITelan^.. ;-^- AND ITS /MISSIONS 1874-1900 REMINISCENCES -ov THE REV, A. J, BRABANT w 4' 1 B7 '^ PREFACE. THIilSE reminiscences were not written for publication, i had kept a journal for my personal use — /u^c olim mcminisse jitvabit — and also for the benefit of priests who in the course of time would follow me in the same field of labor. As I was sent out by Bishop Christie, D.D. of the diocese of Vancouver Island, now Archbishop of Oregon, to take up a collection for the needs of our Indian work, the editor of the Messenger of the Sacred Heart proposed to publish the " Reminiscences,'' so as to attract the attention of his numerous readers and facilitate my work of collecting ; and as his proposition was accompanied by a generous remu- neration I succumbed to a very strong temptation. The reader will notice at once many defects and some misspelled Indian names of places with which the editor was naturally unfamiliar and which the writer had not a chance to correct in the proofs. The correct terms are printed below in a list of Errata. I hope to issue the '' Remi- niscences '' in a different form in the course of time, and also to add sev- eral chapters of ancient historical facts about this unknown coast and people. Meanwhile I send a copy of them as they now read to old and new friends. Those who have neither the taste nor leisure to read them in ex- tcnso will please cast a glance at the closing chapter ; and after doing so will put their hands into their purse and send a contribution to the needs of our missionary labors. Thereby they will secure a share in our usual prayers and Holy Sacrifices for our benefactors and deserve the heartfelt thanks of their Humble Servant in Christ, (Revd.) A. J. Brabant, Hesquiat, B. C. West Coast Vancouver Island, Canada. ..1 .J ERRATA. Fage I— For San Juan de Fuco, read Juan de Kmo. " I — " there are, rea 1 ihert- -ir/v absolutely no white settlers. " I — " except, read fillier on foot or horseback. " 3 — " Trapsota, read Kragsota. " 3 — " Nakoun, reatl Jlakooni. " 4— " McKay, read McKay. " 4 — " Kiristog, tend Kwi.stog. " 4 — " I. any, read l.anj;. " 5— " Clarkkouikoie, read Clnrkkonikoiie. " 5, 20 — For " With Kdutl,' read " Wish K'n il ' " 6 — For F.chochist, read Kcha-chist. " 6, 14, 18— For Opfcssat, read Opetsat. " 6 — For Siekn, read 'I'sieka. " 9 — " Neiwhoi, read Heiwhoi. " 10, 16— For Newchaliots, read Newchnlats. " 10 — l*'or Khetlesat, read Fhattisat. " 12 — " Ochuklesat, read Ochuklisat. " 14 — " Kgatisni, read Khaitisat. • *' 14, 16 — For Ksik ta-kis, read 'I'sik-la-kis. , '• i() — For ( ah Sis, read 'I'nh Sis. " 18 — " Mdkivinna, rend Mokwinna, " 20 — " Wannicaiuit, rcatl Naniucaniis. " 20- - Wanainio, rt-iid Nanainio. " 21, 8.; — For Aliierin, reade 43 More trouble about r he salmon and successful fishing 45 Trip to lliirclay Sdund. — l-'ear of reporters 47 The superstitious practice " osemitch," with interesting details. ---ICclipse. — Dreams . . 47 Death (if '■ Nitaska " and intrigues of " niedicine women " 49 Death attributed to liiiw ling of dog SO Chief '■ lownissim's life in diinger 5' Kyuijuot Indians on war path 51 ."^tringe feelings of Indians " tempore " famine 51 New mission built at " \amucamis," Barclay Sound 52 Kxtraordinary powers claimed by a juggler 55 \ pagan marriage, cerenmnies. feasts 55 Thunder and lightning ... ... , 5tj Dilficuhies anenl birth of first Christian child 00 The Sorcerer ( medicine man or woman) (n A new Sorcerer initiated (\\ Trouble about keeping Sunday 64 Trip to Virtoria, with interesting details. — Narrow escape from drowning (14 Sacred blanket 06 The festival " I'lokwahna " wolf feast ... 67 Church built in Ahonsat 6,S .\n old Indian house. -.\ case of twins. — .V cra/y man successfully treated 69 An Indian Christian marriage 69 ( >rder issued to wear pants. — Seal hunting. — Rules observed 70 Sea-otter hunting 71 Wreck of bark Mnllfvilli\ burial of dead 72 Death of " Wewiks. .\ bad case 76 Contirmation administered by .\rchbi.shop Seghers 77 tness and death of Indian children 7S Sickii Murder committed by " rsinii|\mh 79 PAOB Narrow escape of »cbooner Favorite, Capt. McLean to Towniuim dies.— Church built at Nootica '. 83 Chief Antonin dies a Christian. — His house burned 84 A whiskey case 84 Odd conduct of young, dying men 84 Intrusion of Protestant preachers. 85 Attempt to build an industrial school frustrated 86 An unsuccessful physician. — Death of good woman 86 Orders to build an industrial school for Indian children 87 Conclusion 88 VANCOUVER ISLAND AND ITS MISSIONS. i(S74-i9oo. REMINISCENCES OF THE REV. A. J. BRABANT. Illustiattd a'ith Photographs taken h\ the Author. The Fill. I) oi I,ai!()k. ON the west coast of N'ancouvcr Island, betwcfii the entrance of the Strait of San Juan de Fuco and Cape Cook, there Uve eighteen differ- ent tribes of Indians, forming, as it were, only one nation, as they all speak the same language. Their manners, mode of living, in one word, all their habits are so much alike, that to know one tribe is to know them all. This coast, at the time of our taking possession of it, was exclusively inhabited by Indians. Four trading posts had, however, been established and were eai h in charge of one white man. Hut l>esides these four men there are absolutely no white settlers to be found on this exten- sive coast of nearly two hundred miles. 1 need hardly say that communication was very rare, for beyond a couijle of small schooners, that made an occ asional call on the coast for the purpose of su])- plying the stores with goods and pro- visions, and at the same time making a trading call at different tribes, no vessels freijuented this part of the world. I Copyrighted, 1900. hy Apcistlksiiii' ut Pkavkr. have been as much as six months with- out seeing the face of a white man, and consequently speaking a » ivilized lan- guage. When the news of the death of Pius IX. reached me, I,eo XIII. was already two months on the Papal throne. .\s a matter of fact, it was close on five months sin< e I had received a news- ])ai)er, a letter, or a word of news of the civili/ed world. All the Indians of this mission live on the sea ( oast, and intercourse between the different tribes is impossible, except by means ol Canoes. No two tribes can visit each other. ex( ept on foot or horse- back, as their several residences are separated by inlets and arms of the ocean. As a rule the nuini)er of chances for visiting are limited, especially dur- ing the fall and winter season, for no < anoe could live iu the incessant, heavy weather and indescribable gales which rage on this open coast. When travelling I have been many a time compelled to camp and wait for days before being able to continue my journey, owing to the dangerous seas and heavy surf which V^incoiiver Islaml and Its Missions. would spring tij) without even an hour's not!) e. I'he coast is rugged and rocky, pre- senting in its entire extent the ap- pearance of desolation and barrenness. The hills and mountains run down to the l)ea< h ; the valleys are lakes, and a few pat' hes of low land, to he encoun- tered here and there, are covered with worthless tiuiher. No clear land is to be seen anywhere, and no hopes ran he entertained that the west coast ol \an- couver Island will ever he available tor agri< iiltural settlements. The climate is not very different from that of N'ictoria. 'Ihe seasons of rain and hne weather are about eipially divided : the frost is not heavy, and snow seldom falls to any depth, and then lies on the ground only for a few days. With all this, the fall and winter months are dreary beyond expression. The In- dians seem not to notice the general de- pression of the seasons, but for one born and raised elsewhere, accustomed to the society of his fellow white men, there are no words to ( onvey how monotonous it is. and how lonesome one would feel were it not for the thought of the sacred- iiess of the object lor which he is here. Nothing in the world could tempt me to come and sjjcnd my life here were it not that the inhabitants of these inhospitable shores have a i laim on the charily and zeal of a Catholic i)riest. The e and our conversation i omnienced. " \\'a> there ever a priestin Nootka? " " oh yes," he said, " at the time of the Spaniards there were two priests, big stout men, and they both were bald- headed. My grand-u''(le, who told me this, used to < ome round to Iriendly Cove, and the white men would keep Sunday. I'here was the Sundiy house'' — l)ointing to a spot about the < entre of the present village- "and they would go on their knees and ( ross themselves, and at the turn of the winter solstice they had a great Sunday and they had two iiabies — is not that what you now call Christ- mas? Oh yes. there were jiriests here, and all the men and women would have to bathe on Saturday and be ready fcjr Sunday, and they learned songs — hvmns — I know them yet." .And the old man began to sing, but the only words I could ( at( h were : .U/-/)/os. It is evident from the above narrative that at the time of the occui)ation of Nootka by the Spaniards, towards the end of last century, the missionaries of South America belonginj; to the I'ran- ciscm order, hence described by the Indian as being bald, evidently on ac- count of the tonsure, and as stout, big men because they appeared such in their heavv l-'ranciscan cloaks, were stationed at Nootka for the accommodation of the Europeans and also to a certain extent f(jr the c onversion of the natives. The old man had much more to say about the presence of the Spaniards in Nootka. One of the men was in charge of the cattle, which he would bring home every day ; which, of course, argues the presence of those useful domestic animals on this coast before there were any in other parts of the island. He also showed us the spot where the blacksmiths and carpenters had their shops, and gave many other details, which proves that events of importance \'anc(»iivt'r Islariil ami Its Missions. arc not -.o^ooii lorgottcii by Indians, in general, as white men nna(<|iiaintcd with thrni woulil imagine. I havr not notic od .my tracts of rr- lij;ions prat ti( cs inaugurated \>y Calli- olicSp.miards. However, it has strm k me as |irol)al>le that the ),'reat devotion of tlie Spaniards to the ISlessed Virgin .Mary and especially that of Catholic sailors, may have been thesoun eof an invocation freipuntlv tittered by Indians during bad weather or in danger at se.i. M;iny a time 1 have heard them sing out in ipiii k siKtession: '• Chouchist Nakowm," " ( hou t hist Na- kowm," ••(^)ueen. let the sea be i| 111 e t " ( bis ). And many a time I have h e a r d them speak of a '• (| n * e n " un- known to them, liut living in or beyond the seas. I h a v e also been inclined to believe tliat the practice of keej)- ing C'hrislmasand having the Christ- mas liolidays may account for the Indians' yet hav- ing recourse at that si)e< iat lime to their devotion- al practices. It used to be of the great- est inii)ort.inie to watch and observt- tlie solsti( eof the sun about ('hri>tmas time. The old men of the tribe would rise early on those days and in bunt hes would retire to different s]pots. Ilach one had his mark or signs— there he would sit, all attention, and soon as the sun rose out of the sea he would take his bearings and accord- ing to the (act that the sun rose at or be- yond such a ( ertain mark he woukl (on- clude that tiie sun was at its solstice, not yet at it, or ])erha])s beyond it. The event caused an amount of gen- er.il interest, it was the l.dk at neals and the great topic of conversation with the Indians of every tribe. .\cortant event, would be followed by all kinds of misfortunes, not e.\eluding famine. The .irrival of this period was the signal for the preaching of the old people [to their young men to go out and practice their sujierstitious devotions. I'eyond these indifferent signs of re- ligious practices which may have had their origin at the time ot the settlement by the S|)aniards at .N'ootka. I have never b'-en able to detect . vthing but that tiie In- dians at the time o^ ,.' arrival here were addi> ted al- most beyoiid re- demption to every de .( rijiiion of pa- gan pr.ictices. MiSSInNS I'l^lAllllslll II. \ I s ri- I (> 1 H K W Ksl ( (i.\>r IN- hlANs IN 1874 IIV KKilll KKV. ( IIAKI Is I. sr.C- iir.Ks. 1'. h., \( - < oMI'ANll 1> nv KKV. A I. IIKA- r.AN I. We lelt \i( toria on \\ hit Sunday at S c. clo< k in the morning on the s( hooner Siir/^i IS,-, twenty-eigiit tons, belonging to ('apt. W. Spring \ Co. ('apt. I'eter KiaiK is was in connnand. John Peterson, a Swede, was mate, and the rest of the crew was a Kyui|uot Indian called Nomucos, acting as ( ook, sailor and boatswain, and ('hegchiei)e, a .Mowiichat savage, assistant sailor. Mr. John M( Dowell was a passenger, and was on his way to fix the machinery of the light-house just then established on Ca[)e IJeale, Barclay Sound. HkAl;AV I . Vancouver Island and Its Missions. We left Victoria harl)or witii a strong southeasterly wind, and were at Rate Rocks before lo o'( lock a.m. Here the wind failed and our schooner began to drift about, and working with the oars was required to keep her off the Rocks. However, we got safely at anchor about 2 o'clock in Reeche Hay, where we went on shore and visited the Indians, from whom we received a good reception. .After an address, made by His Lordship. I baptized two of their infant children. .\]»ril 13. — Next morning we weighed anchor. Sailed out a short distance, but the wind failing us again, we managed to return to our anchorage to make a new start about 8 a. m. Once more the breeze dropped, and by this time we be- gan to drift with the tide till we got half way between Race Roi ks and Port .\n- gelos. Our captain was now so badly intoxicated that upon His Lordship's, with a view to trying the old man, asking him the direction of Cape Flattery, he pointed to us the 0])ening l)etween San Juan Island and Trial Island. 2 v. m., south- erly wind; lost sight of X'ictoria :it 3.30 r. M. .\]m\ 14. — Rain; no wind; 7.30 a.m., southwest by south. Enter San juan harbor at 3.30 i'. m. and cast anchor outside of the reef at 3.30. The schooner Favorite, Captain Mc- Kay, and the schooner A/e/f, Captain j. Christianson, were here at anchor, and were making preparations to go out seal- ing next morning with a crew of Xitinat and Pachena Indians. \\m\ 15. — We went on shore about 7 A. M. The Indians were sitting out- side. They were startleil to see us in our cassocks, to them an unusual kind of garment. The IJishop asked to see their chief and was soon shown into the pres- ence of a fine looking man — Kiristog — who, as we noticed at once, was then leading the life of a bigamist. His Lord- ship asked the chief's consent to assem- ble the natives of that locality and he at once consented. Here 1 was suddenly com])elled to make room for a blind horse, which was led into the house by a young Indian and was then, as we no- ticed, stabled in the chief's house. The Indian,-: withal behaved very well and, upon allowing us to l)aptize their chiUlren, requested as a favor that we continue to look after them. The num- ber of baptisms was forty-three. The captains of the sealing vessels were most impatient to take the Indians out, but they were told that if the priests wanted the Indians to stay on shore three days they should have the privi- lege ; which new- was to them a caution to keep their temper. Howover, we left the Indians at 2 i'. m.; we went on board of the Sn/frisc ; they in their turn went on board of their respective vessels. The wind was blowing from the west and blew up into San Juan harbor. The vessels weighed their anchors about the same time, had up sails and were ready for a start in unusually ipiick time. And now the race began. ()ur skip])er was about sober and did his best to win. but the Favorite got ahead of him and be- fore long the Alert went first and ke])t ahead of her frienils. The race was fiiirlv conducted and was a very pleasant episode of our western tri]). .\l)ril 16. — Xowind. Caught a breeze at 12 o'clock. I!ntered Dodger Cove at I I'. M. The chief was living alone on Mission Island (Diana). Two canoes full of Indians came over from Keehan, but were told to go back till next morning, which they did with con- siderable reluctance. The Indians lookeil well, a line, healthy set. They wore blankets, no pants ; had their . hair nicely done up and tied with grass in a bunch over the forehead. .Most of them had their faces painted, and the crowd that came on the schooner presented a very ])!( turestpie sight. April 17. — Said Mass in the house of Mr. Andrew l.any, the storekeeper, at 5 A. \i. The chief was already there ad dressing his Indians from the other side of the stream, exhorting them to rise. X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. wash ;ind clean themselves and children, announcing to them our wish to see them and telling them that great things were in store for them. The Indians arrived from Keehan and other camping places and assembled at 8 o'clock in the house of an Indian called ''Jenkins," the chief having no house large enough at this place to con- tain all his people. The savages paid great attention to the !'.ishop's instruc- tion given in Chinook and interpreted into the Indian language by "Harry" and his brother ' ' J enkins. ' ' kose, \'iilage Island, Barclay Sound, where we passed a very comfortable night in smooth water. April iS.— Up and away at 5 .\. m. Rain, heavy sea. We arrived at 9 a. m. at Icluliat, where the Indians were expecting us. The chief came at once for us in his canoe and upon Hearing the camp one of the Indians fired off his gun to announce to the Indians that we were on board ; whereupon all the tribe turned out at once and assembled in the new, unfinished house of young 'With Koutl," the chief of the Icluliats. >\ 111 KK-- ANli SAII UK-- In this and in every tribe on the coast instruction was begun by stating who we were, what was our object ; tlien followed a history of the creation, the lall of man, the deluge, the multiplication of languages, the redemption of mankind : after which, if agreeable to the nati\i.s, baptism was administered to their little children. And, if time was left, a few hymns and songs were taught. I>iit in all cases the teaching of the Sign of the Cross and the making of that sign by the Indians was the great thing and caused real e.xcitement. We had in this camp eighty baptisms of young children. We left at 6 o'clock in the evening and went ;o our anchor at Clarkkoui- 11. M. >. l;i'\lU. N<"i|K\ IM'IWS. < >ur arriv.il caused a deal of excitement. ( )ur interpreter had a thundering voice, but we were told he did not translate llis Lordship's words with much correct- ness. Perhaps he thought that shout- ing would have the necessary effect. I baptized seventy-five children in the afternoon. .\pril 19. — Sunday morning: Mass at5.,v>in the storekee])er's house and then at S .\. m off to the ranch. The Cl.iyociuot Indians ''^* fmmm INUI.VNS SI.Ar(.ll lEKIM. A \VII,lii>.\ (iN SI.VSIlDKl:. making till His Lordship stepped forward on the very spot where every speaker had come to address us, and thus blocked the way, saying that he knew by what he had heard the tom-tom of the whole tribe. We left the .\housats .\pril 24, at 4.30 A. .M. .\ good easterly wind was blow- ing, and the captain concluded to run for Kyuquot and call at the other tribes on our way back So we did, and ar- rived at the Kyu(]uot camp shortly after Here not an Indian could be seen on the bay, nor, in fact, outside of the camp. It was pronounced an unusual thing, as the captain stated that the^e Indians used to meet him out at sea and literally crowd the deck of his schooner on any other occasion. Nomucos, our Kyuipiot cook, was also at a loss to e.\- plain. and his shouting and calling for the Indians had no effect. However, at la>t a small canoe was launched at " .Aklie>, " two Indians got into her and paddh'd quickly towards the spot where we were at anchor. I!very little while they would stop and listen to the shout- ing of our Indians. " We are afraid," was the first sentence we could hear them utter. ( )ur savage ■ reassured them and when at last they got on board they explained the whole mystery. They had heard of our arrival, but the story a"T — ii^r. 8 X'ancouvcr Island and Its Missions. got mixed up. On board the schooner was a Hving man who would cut the children on the chest, and another who would rub something over the wound and it would be healed. Then the first man would begin killing the Indians, and upon the Indians' trying to kill him, he would turn into a stone or become a stone man. This and other tales were told ;is an explanation of the conduct of the Kyuipiots on this occasion. The Kyutjuots are the largest tribe on the coast, in all about eight hundred In- dians. April 26. — IJaptizcd one hundred and seventy-seven children. 1 commenced at 9 o'clock in the morning and it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon when I got through. April 27. — Frightful storm at sea — could not go on shore all day. April 2 iis(U) make a large mis- sion cross, which we found ready upon our arrival. The cross was twenty-four feet lonj^, with the cross piece in proportion, it was the work of not only the captain, \N (II |i Ml- Uh IM \\i i\l AN. but Peterson, the mate, a Swedish Luth- eran, had also, as well as a number of Indians given their assistance. liefore proceeding to plant it, we were called to the house of the chief, where we found all the men of the tribe as- sembled. .\fter asking our permission, they began losing some of their savage songs with great solemnity : then they showed us a mask, the handiwork of northern Indians, most ingeniously made, as also a piece of glass (heina 1, U) which they seemed to attach unusual import- ance : as well as a numlier of beads (Nei- whoi I, held in great esteem by all the Indians on this coast, and sold by one tribe to another at the most exorbitant jirires. After a speech from His Lordship, condemning all Indian superstitions in general, several important men got up and promised to go by our instructions. After this we iiroceeded to the blessing of the (loss. It was placed on tiiree canoes ; about fifty young men took T lO X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. chargf, and an imnu-n^c numlier of In- dians followed us in(-aii(>(.'> to the foot of a small island opposite the shore, then iinoa iipied and seemingly abandoned. And there it now >tands in sight of the tribe, blessed i)y His I,ordshi|i according to the ritual. It was beautitiil to see the Indians struggle to ( arry the heavy bur- den. ])receded by His I,ordshi]i. in siir- ])lice and stole, with his assistant also in surplice; ant! then, when it was r.iised, I'lfty muskets were tired olV. a> if to an- nounce a great triumph to the savages on the KyiHiuot Isiand>. We tiiiislu'd our work in l\y\i(iuot and, with great hopes and e\pe( tations con- cerning the future conversion of this large tribe, we left on May 2, taking the direi tion of (Juatsino Sound. However, the wind was contrary, and His Lordship came to the conclusion , alter lonsulting the ca|)tain. to abandon his trij) to (Juat- sino Sound: and thus we sailed before the wind, and arrived that evening at an anchorage in l)speranza Inlet, before the camp of the Newchaliot Indians. May 3. — l'",arly this morning we were taken in a canoe, by t'.ie chief of the Newchaliots and a c rew of young men, to the outside camp, where the Indians were at this time living. The reception given to us b)' the New- chaliots was something never to be for- gotten. The news of our arrival had here preceded us. The ( hief had made a new house. .\ wharf about two hun- dred feet in length, but only about four feet in breadth, had been constructed; and. although the Indians deserved credit for making such extraordinary preparations, we had to measure our steps and movements, lest the whole structure should break down. Inside of the chief's house the ground was ( overed with white sand, and our path and the room which we were to occupy was laid with new mats; the walls were hung with sails of canoes and pieces of calico. Twenty-nine sea otter skins, valued by Captain I'rancis, of the Siir/'iisc, at close to two thousand dollars, were hang- ing in a line opjjo^ite to where we were sitting, and excited our admiration. The Lhettesat lndiansh;id come acro>s and joined the Newchaliot>. We bap- tized the ( hildren of the two tribe>, sixty-eight in all. In the afternoon a disturbance between the two tribes took place : our interjjreter was of little ac- count, and our success was not in keep- ing with the great ])reparation> they had made to receive u>. However, before we left, harmony had l)een restored ; the l'.hettesit> went home, and we returned to the Sz/rfr/sr, where we remained until .May 4. when, at 1.15, a Might bree/e sprung up, and we slowly mailed up r.speranza Inlet ; by dark we were near the Nootka Straits, and we fastened the schooner with a rope to a tree alongside immense bluffs of ])erpendicular rock^, where we passed the night, .\nother night was passed before we got to the Nootka side, part of the day having been spent by the cai)tain and his passengers in fishing for rock cod. May 6. — .\fter pulling u\) the oars and dragging the schooner alongside of the rocks for a considerable time, we at last got through the narrows. This morning we had a strong land breeze which took us to r.ligh Island, then beat against the breeze from Machelat Inlet, and later the westerly wind came to our assistance and we arrived at the Machelat vil- lage ( ow-is) at half past twelve i'. M. Here. also, great prejjarations had been made, and an .\housat Indian, Muggins by name, was there with Mach- elat young men to take us on shore from the schooner. 'I'his Indian had profited by our instructions to his own tribe, and upon the re(piest of the Machelats had taught them the Sign of the Cross and some of our hymns. The Machelat Indians brought their children and had them baptized ; their number was eighteen. May 7, was spent with the Indians, the captain in the intervals of his trading Idling his schooner literally up with deer and elk skins. \ ar.couvtr Islaiul ami Its Missions. 1 1 :er I. A vol Nc; WIDOW AM> IIKK cilHIi. — 2. VlilM. MO I III K, IllLlilNC, IIIK Cllllli. — 3. AN INPIAN INKAM IllU.h HY HIS SIsl'KR. — 4. MiMHKR AM' IWcl CI 1 1 I.I lU I'.N . - 5. A l.Odli- NATl'RED MACIIEI.Al' MoTllKK WITH IIKR I IRST-lluRN. 13 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. i I May . M. Sk(i)NI) visir 10 TiiK wKsr coAsr In- dians IN I.S74 \:\ rilK KKiin RKV. lilSllOP SF.r.HKKS, 1). 1). , AND Rl V. A. .1. r.RAliAX 1. The day of our departure was the lirst of September. Two days before. Captain Francis had been married in St. Andrew's Cathedral by Rev. Father Brabant to C;ecilia, a half breed girl, the niece of Mrs. I.eipiier. The effects of the feast were visible on the skipi>er's counte- nance and in his manners. .\s a first mishap, the man who was to act as mate did not turn up at the hour agreed upon by the captain ; however, after a run on shore by one of the boys, we saw him at last, and upon crawling on board he mentioned that the cause of the delay was that his concubine, a Ilydah woman, had run away. This our mate was a Greek, and also rejoiced in the name of Frank. Thus, with two Franks and two Indians from the coast, and as we dis- covered afterwards, with plenty of whis- key on board, we started on our second visit to our West Coast Indians. The I'lrst few hours were spent pleas- antly, but when we got to the straits our skipper began to make freipient calls down in the cabin. .\t last we discovered Vancouver Island and Its Missions. ^3 •y . - that he was get- ting very drunk. T li i s rather alarmed us, as Frank, our (1 reek mate, had never been on the coast and our Indian sailors could not be relied upon. His Lordship ad- vised me to try and ti n d out where the captain kept his lii|uor and throw it overboard. Meanwhile Frank, the Greek, came down and told us that he had taken charge of and hidden all the liquor on board. It was now great fun to watch the skip- per. He went downstairs on his old errand; he pretended to whistle so as to be unnoticed; then he looked up the inji sober when we entered I'achcna Hay. stain asc, then made for the locker, iiut The wind was blowii.n fresh from the nothin},^ there ! Where could the liipior west when we entered the harbor. Our be? He did not say a word alujiit it. schooner was sui)posed to ^o up the Meanwhile he silentl\ c ursed at his river to dischar.ue at the store kept by <:lerical ])assengers and told the mate Neils Moos. \\'e were ^oiny full speed of it : then he begged him for a little when she sudcknly struck on the sand drink. It was refused at first ; later on bank : the c hanncl had shifted, or ratiier something was given him now and our captain was out of his reckonings then to sober him up. All this time through whiskey ! I'.very wave took her the old man was growling at us and up higher and higher. A few more blaming us for taking his favorite bev- dashes and she was gone. IJut Neils erage, and never suspected for a mo- Moos coming on board saved her from ment that the licpior which wasgi\ent() ruin. We took charge without heeding sober him up was his own iirojjerty, our drunken skipjier. and an hour later INUIAN WAKKIOK SINi.lNC. Sl)N(; ( il- VICTHKV AITl.K Kll.llM. A NTAN. — 2. IN rni. ACI Ol KII 1 1N(; IN A IIUSII -A C()N\ F.KIIIi INhlAV loSKIi l-nR 11II>K ril\SF.S u I- MIS luKMIK I I IK. very jjroperly taken awav from him by the mate. Although the measure adopted had she was at anchor betore Capt. Spring \- Co. 's store. -Nothing of imich conseipience cjc- the effect of keeping the old man from curred, but when we lett for Barclay greater excess, still he was far from be- Sound we met at the mouth of San jr 14 Vancouver Island ami Its Missions. Jiian liarlK)r a canoe trom \'i( toria with a supply of wliiskfv. I!y and by wt-saw H. M. S. /iiixcr coiiu' out of Ni-ah liay and steam for the I'a' hrna ('am)). Dr. I'owrll, Sui)erintt.ndi'nt of Indian ■Xffairs. was on l)oard, and this was his first trip alon}; the coast. When he landed at theranc h he fonml every man. save the ( hief, liea.stly drunk. We jiot in liarclay Sound on the 7th of September; the<>hiat Indians had moved uj) the Sound ; and after dis- (harjiinj; frei,iiht at the store in Dodger Cove we continued our journey to Iduliat. Here the schooner Sur/Tisc was to stop and we were to continue on our trip in our Indian th of Se|)teniber, 1.S74. in Refuge Cnve. Nest morning we were having our breakfast when the man-of-war steamed out of Refuge Cove and we resumed our journey as soon as that transaction was over. No wintl. a heavy sea and the sun burning over our heads, made the • Tossing of Hesipiiat harbor anything but pleasant, liesides, our Indians had indigestion and were all three very sea- sick. ( )ne of thcni, between the inter- vals of vomiting, would carelessly sing old Indian songs, which would afford us, if not recreation, at least a topic to speak about. -At noon we took dinner in front of the Hesipiiat outsiilc cam" (oumcis). Then we went on shore again on the I'.scalante Rocks, whence we paddled to i'"riendly Cove. Nootka Sound. There, to our honor, we again found the /wMwat an< lior ; and while we were boiling our cup of tea and the Indians were i)utting up our tent we received once more the visit ot our friend of yesterday, Mr. Tim Scanlan, who brought us another bottle tif brandy : at the same time he announced that the captain had ordered his boat to be low- ered and that with the Superintendent of Indian affairs he would come on shore and invite us to go on board of his ves- sel. .\nd indeed before we had taken our lea, we were introduced to Captain Collins, ofthe Royal Navy, and by him ])revailed upon to abandon our way of travelling in an Indian canoe and avail ourselves of the accommodation of an I'.nglish man of-war to continue our journey. The captain, as we under- stood, was a staunch member ol the Anglican « hun h and every day held di- vine service on board. Me kept a bank for the men and had established a tem- perance society for them. He made our stay on board most enjoyalile, and, as it hapi)ened to iie on a l-'riday, he kindly and delicately had matters arranged in such a way that the abstinence enjoined by the Chnr( h on that day was easily ob- served. The weather was thiisho|). and a bed was prejiared for me on a sofa. Our In- dians were made comfortable below with the marines. W'e left next morning at 5 A. \i.: got as fir as Catala Island, but owing to the stale of the weather and sea we once more relurned to (^>ueen's (.'ove. At noon we made a fresh start and run- ning as we did before a tresh easterly bree/e. we arrived early in the afternoon to anchor in .Man of-\Var harbor, Kyu- quot Sound. We left H. M. S. AVavv next morn- ing at 5 o'clock ( )ur canoe, which had been taken on board at I'riendly Cove, was lowered and the liberality of Tim Scmlan, under ortlers of the captain, had so nuich increased our slock of pro- visions that by the lime we got in her we were so deeply loaded that it was impossible or dangerous to look behind us to cast a last look at the fine war ves- sel, on which we had spent two most enjoyable days. .\nd now we were on shore in Kyu- • piot Sound ! We took up our head- quarters in Ca])t. Sjiring's old and un- occupied store. We went to Chicluat next day, where we did very little be- sides ba])ti/ipg one child. We soon dis- ^ i6 Vancouver Islaiul aiul Its Missions. covered that wc had ( hoscn a l>>d time of the >ear to tind the Kyu(|iii)ts to- gether. I'hey were camped at a dozen different places, but His Lonlsliip ton- chided that lie would go and see the <:hief Me was at the end of Itokshis inlit, and thore we met him nt'\t day with a few more Indians. We l)a|)ti/e(l a few newlyltorn children. Hi^ Lord ship prepared a young girl who was at the point of death, but nothing else coulil be a((:oni|)lished. His Lordship ha«l bought from the t hief for a few bis- cnits a wooden bucket representing an animal, the tail being the handle, the body the body of the bu( kct, and the head and mouth the p.issages through which the water or liijuid was poured. It was a ( urious piece of work very artistically done, and together with some masks got also at this place, was given as a souvenir of our trip to Cap- tain Collins of H. M. S. /A'wv, who felt so proud of the gilt that he after- wards exhiliited it in one of the princi- pal hotels in Victoria. Sejitember i 7. — 'I'he (hief sent his son and six other young men next day to where we expressed the wish to go, namely the New( haliot village. We had a (piick but rough passage; at one time the sea strui k our t anoe and nearly filled her up with water. .\t Newchaliot we did very little or no good, the dispositions of the Indians being very indifferent, and it ( ost us quite an amount of trouble to get a crew to take us to the next tribe. I'inally three old men volunteered, and that night we were amongst the Nootka? camped at Cah Shis. We found thes« Indians in full glee — a dead whale ha', drifted on their land and the house were full of blubber, whiw is, where the .Machelat |uiat < anoe crowded witli youn^; men, who were on tlie lookout for our e\- ])e(:ted arrival. As sotui as they recog- nized us tluy put about, intending to precede us and warn the tribe. Mow- ever, our Maciielat crew took to their paddles, and a regular race between the two canoes took place. There was no wind, and the sea ran mountains high. We had not met such a heavy swell in all We began «)ur work at once; taught the lord's I'r.iyer, Hail Mary, C:reed, Ten Commandments and Seven Sacraments, all of which the Indians learned with nine h zeal. Here it struc k the liishop that this tribe would be a good plac i' to start a Mission, being the most c entral and the Indiansof the best good will. He men- tioned the n\atter to the chiet'. asking of him to asseud)le the other c hiefs of the tribe and projiose to them the matter in tpiestion ; whic h having been done, we were informed, in presenc e of the whole tribe, that land would be given for Mission buildings and other |iuri)oses ; that we MlIi.M. AW \Kli|-.l> CMll.l' MAM \UA\V OK U KS(,i|'I AT HV I U !■ DoMlNKiN H>K KI>CI IM; I 11 K CKIAV (i|- nil-; AMKKICAN liAUk I'.dzvill. our travels. .Mthough in company with could have our choice as to locality, the Hestpiiats, we would lose sight of At the same time a npot was mentioned them for several minutes to see them on the hill — according to the l>ishop again rise on the crest of the heavy not desirable, being too much exposed waves, whilst we were, as it were, in the to the northerly wind. .\s to the ob- abyss of the ocean. It was a really jection that the spot was surrounded by grand piece of sailing we liad on that Indian houses, the Indians were willing day from Sunday Rocks to llcscjuiat to evacuate the villige site and grant harbor. W" at last lost sight of the lies- it for Mission ])urposc s. During our stay cjuiats in the fog, but we could hear them at Hesipiiat, as well as at Machelat, we fire off their guns ahead of us as a signal said Mass every morning at 5 o'clock, at to the tribe to be ready. We found the which all the Indians were present, and chiefs house, where we stayed for tour during which they recited the Holy days, cleanly swept out, and mats laid all Rosary. We here noticed every morn- over the floor, and the Indians full of ing — and, in fact, whenever we assem- joy to see us again. bled the Indians — such zeal and fervor Ui. bi \ 1 8 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. that old men unable to walk were carried on the backs of the young men to the chiefs house, and some of them came on hands and feet. The oldchiefof Hes lAIUI.K l.R\l:\NI. I 111-. Will l,|i.|;K Ml KIllKhK nl- and prepared our supper. Then the as we soon discovered that we iiad moved Bishop ordered the Indians to prejiare from bad to worse. Here, however, we for us a decent camping place, whi( h remained in the water ami mud till four they did. half way on a sandy hill. We o'c!i(k in tlie morning, when i went laid down and fell asleep, but were soon dow n the hill and made a cup of tea on awakened by heavy drops of rain, and we the fire of last night, which had kept then noticed that the sky had clouded alive under a large piece of a log. up and that it was pitch dark. About We lett as soon as it wa-> daylight. % ■'! ff/'I 20 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. M After a short walk along the beach we took to the bush, inteiidinji to make a short cut of a projecting point. After struggling about a couple of hours through the thick salal brushwood, we came to the Indian trail, which we were glad to discover; and following it with great avidity we travelled about five miles an hour, when, lo' to our great disappointment, we noticed that said trail led directly to our old camping place, where the fire on which we had cooked our breakfast was still smoking. Our courage now sank very low, and then, instead of following the same trail in an opposite direction, which with a little reOection we ought to have done, we went over rocks and boulders around the point which we had intended to have cut off that morning. According to di- rections given by the Clayoipiots we were at a certain spot to cross to the Ucluliat inlet. This we intended to do, when we took to the bush again. We walked and walked till I found my strength failing, which the Bishop noticing, he proposed that we should take something to eat. Accordingly we made a fire in the bush, and then we boiled doughnutsl We ate them with great appetite; then we noticed that our two Kymiuot Indians began to show bad will and insisted on going back to the beach, which we accordingly did. Marly in the afternoon the rain, which had fallen in the morning in the shape of a S(ot( h mist, became thicker and thi( ker, and having come to a small bay, where driftwood was piled up in great (luantity, we prepared a place where we could spend the night. We started a big fire, which soon si)read to the trees around, and in the morning I discovered that a hole was l)urned through one of my boots and that my cloak was badly dam- aged. The liishop's clothing had also suffered to a certain extent through fire. We took as breakfast the last piece of meal we had left, and we also made slapj.icks with our last llour. .\fter this we began lo walk with renewed courage. However, about nine o'clock the iiishop took a fainting fit. He lay down on the rocks and asked if I had any food left. I took down a satchel which I had on my back, and after careful examination I found in a paper a few grains of sugar and a little flour in the corner of an old flour sack ; this I gathered in a spoon and presented to His Lordship; he would not, however, take any of it except after I had taken my share, saying that he did not know what would become of us in case I should also give out. We next noticed that the Indians were gathering mussels on the rocks ..nd ate them with great relish. This we also did and raw mussels and salal berries were the only food which we took till we reached Captain Francis' place in I.'cluliat next morning. Ihe captain could hardly recognize us; seeing our condition and hearing of our long compulsory abstaining from food, he advised us, and we followed his advice, not to take any full meal till we had by eating very little at a time prepared our stomachs for its usual functions — at the same time the captain went into his store and gave us new pants and shoes, for all our clothes had been reduced to rags in our attempt to travel through the brushwood. His Lordship, IJishop Seghcrs, at one time escaped being drowned, having slipped from a rock in crossing a ravine, where the sea swept in very freely at high tide. Our experience from Clayoipiot to Ucluliat had such an effect on our general condition that it took more than two weeks for us to recover our usual strength. At Ucluliat we did nothing, as the Indians were all away to their salmon rivers. The young chief Wish-Routl took us to Lkoul and some Mkoul Indians went with us to Wannicanut where we found the Indians under the influence of liquor. We bajjtized at I'.koul seven children and a few at Wannicanut. Then we made arrangements with an Ekoul Indian to take us to Wanaimo, which he promised to do for six dollars. Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 21 u A I'YI'ICAI. INDIAN St'KNK, IIIX.HIAI, V,. C, the >;ilinon ■ Routl i:koul where UL-nce seven ith an iiaimo, hilars. We had a pleasant trip up the Alberin Canal. Having left Kkoul in the morn- ing we arrived in the afternoon at (lold River, called at the house of the miners but found them absent, but as a sign of our passing there the Bishop wrote on their door the fact of our calling and wishing them success. That night we were received and made comfortable b) Mr. Clark, who was then manager of the Johnston farm. He siiowed some tine horses of which he had twenty-two; also some of his cattle, staling that he had a hundred and sixty head running all over the settlement, lief^iiles Mr. Clark. Mr. Cuglar was tlie only settler. Next day we went to visit the Opich- asat where we were well received. They were then living above the forks of the river. The Iseshats were also on the river, but, i..^ their chief had refused to re- ceive us the day before, we coolly passed them over. Next day again we commenced our walk to (jiialicum. a delightful tri]) over the newly made road. At noon we were at the lake, which we crossed in a canoe, and thence we walked to the I'.ast Coast side, where we arrived at 5 1'. .M. Here we pitched our tent, and on Sunday morning we found a canoe in the bush and with paddles and a sail made with our tent, we travelled with great speed to Wanainio where we were in time to hear the Protestant bells ring for eve- ning service. It hai)pened that the steamer F.iinna was to leave the next day for N'ictoria and on her we took ])assage arriving in \'i( toria on Tuesday morn- ing, at 2 A. M. We went on shore at once and astonished every one by arriving in time to say .Mass, which for both of us was a .Mass of thanksgiving. I'iK-r Mi--.sioN EsTADI.lSIIIJi iiN I UK W Ks r cdASI' d!' \ AMOCN i:U 1>I.\N1) Al III— (.III \l. .About the beginning of februars. 1.SS5. I had just returned frcjm a mission to Siik:i. Alaska Territory, when 1 was notified by Right Rev. liishoj) Seghers, D.l).. to prepare myself and to be ie:ulv to go to Hesipiiat and take charge nf the \Ve>t Coa^t Indians in the beginning; of the spring. In conformity with this order i got everything in readiness, and a i arpentor was hired by Ilis Lordship at the same time. Rev. I'r. Roiuleault. of (,^>uam- 22 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. iiilli: ill ichan, was reijiiested to accompany us to Hes(|uiat and help us to put up the Mission buildings. We left N'ictoria on the Feast of the Ascension, May 6, at five o'clock in the morning, on the sloop Thornton, owned by Captain Warren iV Co., and commanded by Captain Ceorge Mrown. We had on board three little calves, one bull and two heifers, which were destined to become the pioneer cattle in this part of the country. A young Newfoundland dog was to be my only domestic com- panion after Noel Leclaire, the car- penter, and Rev. Fr. Rondeault would have linished the work for which they were sent. We had rather a (piick pas- sage as. having left N'ictoria on ihurs- day morning and called and discharged freight at Fkoul, we arrived in Hescjuiat harbor next Tuesday afternoon. Off Clayoquot Sound we met two Hes(iiiiat canoes on their way to Victoria, with Matlahaw, the chief, and his father, in one of them. .Although re( [nested by Captain Brown to return with us, and offered a free passage on the schooner, they insisted on continuing their tri]) to Victoria. .■\fter casting anchor in the inner har- bor the weather became very stormy, which i)revented us from landing our freight until Thursday morning. We had, however, put ashore our little calves immediately u|)on arriving, and when on Thursday we walked over to the Hesquiat village tiiey followed us like dogs, some- timea forgetting themselves when amidst good pasture ground, and then running up to us witli the utmost speed. There was now ([uestiou of selecting a spot for our Mission buildings. The chief was absent, and not an Indian dared or was willing to point a suit- able place out to us. F^very one of my suggestions was for various reasons repu- diated and we owe to our listening to Captain Brown the fact that the Mis- sion was ])Ut up where it now stands. Our orders had been to put up a church of 6o\26 ft. and a small resi- dence for the priest, everything to be done as cheaply as possible, as the estab- lishment of a Mission was only an exper- iment: later on, say after five years, if the Mission was successful, more sub- stantial buildings would be put up. In December of the preceding year the bark luhc'in, Capt. Hughes, loaded with lumber for Australia, had become water- logged in the straits, and her freight hav- ing shifted, she had split open so as to make of her a complete wreck. The Captain's wife now buried at Itloune, Hescpiiat harbor, had been crushed be- tween the heavy timbers and his two little boys washed overboard as well as a Chinese cook. Ilarly one morning the Hes(|uiat In- dians saw the vessel with all sails set taking the direction of Idoune before a south-easterly wind. Close to the ves- sel was a raft on which they noticed the sailors trying to make for shore and in great danger of being lost. Matlahaw, the chief of the tribe, suggested the pro- priety of going to the res( ue of the drown- ing r^en. Several canoes were launched and off they went over the heavy and stormy waves. They succeeded in tak- ing off all the men. for which Matlahaw afterward received from the Dominion Ciovernment a silver medal and from the L'nited States (lovernment a lib- eral reward for himself and the men who had given any assistance to the shij)- wrecked sailors. The bark was now on the beach to the outside of Itloune point and all the lum- ber, consisting of rafters, heavy and light, rough lumber and llooring, was piled up by the sea a mile along the seashore. It was from the lumber of the unfortunate vessel that our Mission buildings were constructed. Captain Warren bought the wreck and from him we got almost all the lumber reipiired. Some Indians had ased part to construct new houses, but with some trouble and reasoning they were ])revailed upon to let us have the use of all. I may here state that the Indians had Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 23 treated the sailors and captain of the bark Ed7L'iit with much kindness. They ap- pear, however, to have been a rough crowd. It seems hardly credible, still the rescuers maintain that when they arrived with their < anoes alongside ot tne raft where most of the men were nearly perishing from cold and exposure, they were told to leave in his sad i)redicament one of the ( rew, to throw hmi overboard; no other reason being given, as I was afterwards told, but that he was a Dutch- man. Later they begin quarrelling in the chief's house, fought and wounded each other to such an extent that they had to be se|>arated and made to lodge in different houses. .\s soon as the weather permitted the Indians took the ship- wrecked men toClayocpiot Sound, whence they reached I'cluliat and from there were taken on one of Captain Spring's schooners to Victoria. Immediately after landing, we set to work. We began by building a small slied, where wc had our beds, our stove, provisions and where we took our meals — our dog slept under the bed, and our calves alongside the stove. I'nder one of the beds we had a barrel of beer, presented to us by Stuart iV Reast of \'ictoria,and at regular times the builders were invited to take a ( up of the beverage, which they called when the Indians were l)resent a "cuj) of tea. " .\lthough this was the best season of the year, the weather was most unpropi- tious, and before long our carpenter coniplained of being sick; afterwards he tried to make a row and wiien told that we coulil do without him he managed to get better, but for whole days together we could not get him to speak a word. I!verything considered, the first .Mission buildings on this coast were put up amidst much unpleasantness. The first Mass was said in tiie new uaded the Indians not to be uneasy. On the eighteenth of ( )ctober the wife of Matlahaw died rather suddenly arge number of were sick and The rei)ort ar- was small ]iox: at Hesipiiat. As I suspected that every- thing was not right, I assembled the In- dians on the hill, and told those who were living in the chiefs house to iiuit, and also if there was anybody else un- well to come and give me information. Tpon arriving home, I .'as met by Charley, whose mother had died during my absence. He reported that his father was sick. I went to his house and found the old man very sick, evidently with small-pox. He was lying in one c orner of the room and in the other corner was his sister, an elderly woman, also in the last stages of the fatal disease. 1 baptized both of them, saw them well provided with food and water, and went home con- vinced that a very trying time was before me. I was not disappointed, for next morn- ing tlie first news I heard was that both were dead and that others had taken sick. As soon as Mass was over, a large number of Indians came to my house, and I made preparations to have the dead buried. I went and tlug two graves, but when the time for the funeral had arrived no one would help me take away the corpses. I reasoned and entreated my visitors to give me a hand, but all to no purpose. .\t last after several hours talking, a Ca]ie Idattery Indian living here with his Hesipiiat wife volunteered. Others followed his exam|)Ie, and I mus- tered a force of ten to do the burying of the dead. Never was such a funeral seen l.^y mortal man! First I had to give medicine to everyone of them. As I had none I boiled water, broke some biscuits in it. sweetened the whole with sugar, and insisted that this would be the very iiest jircservative in the world against small-pox. Then began the mar(h. I led the pro- cession, then ( ame the ten Indians in a line, with their faces blackened and cover- ed witli Indian charms. They were shout- ing and jumiiing, and when we came to the house where the dead were, not one dared to ( ome in and assist me. lUit the Cajie I'iattery Indian again gavean ex- Vancouver Island and Its Missions, 25 ample ot bravery. He was accompanied by Charley's lather in-law and Charley himself. The cottin was a small Indian canoe, to which was attached about forty feet of rope. We took u\) the old man first ; he presented;, .ghastly sij;ht as the blood and bloody matter were cover- ing his face antl streaming out of his month. The woman was ( overed with two new black blankets, and had evi- dently died first, her brother having rendered to his dead sister the jiious duty of clothing the corpse : she was i)Ut into the same canoe antl then orders were given to take hold of the lines. livery- one wanted to take the very end, but after some confusion the canoe was pulled out of the house, I acting as steers- man, and thence a good distance into the bush .And after securely covering the original coffin with Indian planks, we all returned to my house. Hefore entering, the Indians all rushed into the river praying and shouting ; and having thrown away their blankets. whi( h were their only covering, they next came in every one of them as naked as the moment he had been born. Some thoughtful woman, after some time, came with a sujjply of blankets and then the spectacle became rather more decent and res])e(:table. r.ut now another scene was enacted — as they had noticed that I was chewing tobacco ui)on going to bury the dead, they had insisted upon doing the same thing, and not being accustomed to that polite i)ractiie, the\' had swallowed all the tobacco juice. Some of them in conseiiuence came near dying, as it took them many hours before they got over their vomiting. Next day I went to see the chief's daughter, who was very low also with small pox. She was a courageous woman and did not give up till she was (piite blind and her head as black and as thick as a large iron pot. She was baptized and seemed to be in the best disposition. Her own father and another old Indian , i n [iro- in a )ver- lOUt- le to one r.ut Lnex- INi'lANN n|. hIMI.KI.Nl IKII;!-. — vMl.iM;-, I K' 'M //. .1/. .V. />',n,r. 36 X'^ancouver Island and Its Missions. " ' r ii:i helped nie to bury her. The sight of the corpse was simply horrible, and as we left the shanty in which she died swarms of flies surrounded us all. At this time Matlahaw, the Hes(|uiat chief, his father Cownissim, Omerak and Charley had obtained permission to sleep in the Indian room of my house. L'pon according this jirivilege, Matlahaw jirom- ised and gave me all the strip of land between the river and the beach. I passed most of my time in vaccinat- ing the Indians and in trying to cheer them up, for the fear and discourage- ment in some cases were altogether alarm- ing. Matlahaw and Charley were hard- ly alive. Hence they would sit for hours together, telling me of the importance of their lives and insisting upon my us- ing all possible means to preserve them from the disease. Charley had been vaccinated successfully in X'ictoria, but although 1 tried it twice on Matlahaw the vaccine had no effect. I'his seemed to increase his fear. He now became morose and avoided the company of his friends; in fact he was not to be seen in the daytime for several days. We used to be up before daylight and for two or three mornings, as I got uj), upon looking through my window 1 noticed him sitting alongside ol his father apparently engaged with him in very se- cret conversation. On the twenty-seventh of October he shot some blue ja, s on my potato jjatch, and the rest of the time he stood outside, watching my movements, and from time to time exchanging a few words with the Indians who were constantly about my house. Towards evening the rejiort that an In- dii." woman was very sick was received. I went to see her, hut noticed that her case was not very serious as yet. How- ever, next morning the first thing I did upon getting up was to go and see the old woman, who was if anything rather better than the day before. Upon entering my house and about to go and ring the bell for Mass, Matlahaw came into my house and asked me for the loan of my gun, whi( h upon handing to him I stated to be unloaded. He simply remarked tlvat he had jjowder and shot in his shanty, which was made of a few Indian planks and which with my permission he had constructed behind my little barn. .\ll the Indians of the tribe, save the old woman who had sniall-po.\ and Mat- lahaw and his father, were at Mass. The old man was missed at once, and afterwards it was found out that he had crossed the hay with his little grand- child and gone up Sidney Inlet, where his wife had gone before him. There she died of small-po.\, as also her female slave; and the old chief, in a fit of pas- sion, took a stone and with it killed the husband and one old slave. When the Mass was over, and just as I was about finishing my breakfast, Charley came into my room and said, " Look out, Leilet ; Matlahaw is sick. Vou had better take your gun from him. " I made one or two inquiries, and after saying a tew words jokingly, to give heart and courage to the messenger, who looked alarr.iingly excited or down- hearted, I went out, my pipe in my mouth, to see the would be patient. When I arrived inside of his shanty I noticed in thf; middle a small fire, before which he w^a S(iuatting down. He had his chief's cap and also the coat pre- sented by the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Hehind him, against the wall, stood my double barrelled gun and an Indian musket. I asked what the matter was, when, smilingly, he looked up, and pulling the skin of his leg, he answered, " Memeloust — smallpox." I reassured him, saying that I would give him medi- cine and that by evening he would be all right. .Again he looked up, his face being very pale and the sinews of his cheeks trembling, and i)ulling at the skin of his throat he repeated memeloust. Once more 1 repeated that 1 would give him medicine and that he would be well before eveninic. X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. 37 'I'hen I asked him to hand me over my gun, which lie took without getting up; then pointing it towards me he ex- plained, as 1 understood, that one of the l)arrels was not loaded. The tact of the muzzle of the gun being pointed straight to my face and noticing caps on both nijjjiles and the cocks pulled up; caused me instinctively to turn away my head, when lo 1 the explosion took place and I noticed the blood spurting from my hand. The smoke was so thick that I could not see the would be murderer, and thinking the whole affair to be an accident, after calmly remarking that 1 was shot in the hand, I walked down to the little river where I bowed down to bathe my wounds in the stream. Just then he shot again, this time hitting me in the right shoulder and all over my back. I now knew the man wanted to kill me and 1 ran off to my house, where I found no one. Thence I ran to the ranch and was met by nearly all the men of the tribe, to whom 1 told what had happened. Some of them pretended that Meowchal Indians had done the shooting, but after my stating again and again that it was Matlahaw they be- came convinced that he indeed was the guilty party. After a few moments a film came over my eyes and thinking that I would not survive, 1 knelt down and said my acts of faith, hope, charity and contrition ; then I got up, went to my house and wrote on a jjiece of pai)er the name of the man who had shot me, ])ut the pajier in my bureau, locked it and put the key into my pocket. Hy this time the noise and alarm outside of my house was deafening : the loyal men of the tribe were there with axes and guns to kill the chief, but he had run away into the hush, not having been seen after the shooting, save by an old woman. Meanwhile I had been divested by some savages of my coat and under- clothing. The Intlians, upon noticing the blood, lost courage and one after the other walking out of the room, announced to their friends that I was dying. 'I'his was also my opinion, although I felt no pain whatever either in the hand or the back. Then 1 lay down and ordered cold dressing to be l)laced over my wounds. I noticed very little of what was going on, think- ing that the best thing 1 couKl do was to pray and prepare myself to die. Ilarly the next day ( ( )ct. 29 » two ca- noes fully manned left Uesipiiat. The first went to Refuge (love, where the sis- ter of Matlahaw, the would be murderer, was residing with her Indian husband. The Indians, excited over the doings of her brother, the chief, had decided to bring her home. In due time the canoe came back and the girl was land- ed on the beach before my house. She knew not what was in store for her. She knew not that as she was left there alone, crying, the Indians were plotting her death in expiation of what her brother had done to me. Such, however, was the case ; when the plan was well prejjared an elderly man came rushing into my house where I lay on my bed expecting that my days were numbered, owing to the dangerous state of my wounds. He wanted to have my opinion: the Indians were going to kill her. As the savage spoke his hair stood on end, froth was on his lips and his members trembled with excitement I gave orders to have the young woman removed to a place of safety, to have her taken proper care of and appointed one of the chiefs, a relative of hers, t(- act as her guardian during the time of unusual excitement. The other canoe came back next day. She had gone to (Mayoquot where a man (Ned Thornberg 1 had charge of a small trading post. 'I'his man was living with an Indian woman and when the Indians with the message called at his plac e he met them with a Murray ritle and would not allow them inside until he was fully convinced that his visitors were Hesipiiat Indians. .\s his neighbors, that is the f^ 28 \ ancouver Island and Its Missions. Indians of Clayoiiuot and Clayo(iuot Sound, were not to be trusted, he advised thi' Hesijuiats to avail themselves of the darkness of the ni^ht to return to their homes, and with his compliments and condolence sent a number of yards of calico to be used by the Indians as a shroud for my " corpse!" ()n\oveml)er i (Monday at noon), a deputation of Indians excitedly entered my house and told me that they were goin;,' to send a canoe with the news of my state to Victoria, and report to the Uishop and the police. I told them ipiietly to please them- selves, but as they were determined to leave at once I gave them a paperon which I had every morning written a few words. Meanwhile my wounds became more and more inllamed. The Indians were up with me day and night constantly pouring cold water over my injured hand. The wounds in my back and side gave me great pain from the fact that I had to lie on them and that they could not be reached by cold water dressings. As the hours and days advanced the swelling increased and inflammation was rapidly gaining. I was trembling with cold although the Indians kept up a good fire. At last, on 'Tuesday, the 9th, just as it was getting dark, an Indian out of breath ran into my house and shouted that a man-ot-war was entering the harbor 1 I cannot describe my feelings and those of the poor Indians who were in my room and acted as nurses. . . . Half an hour later one of the doctors ( Dr. Wal- kem ) who had volunteered to cone to my assistance, rushed into my room and after examining my hand expressed his opinion that it could not be saved and that I would have to submit to am- putation. By that time Bishop Seghers, Ciod bless him, had also come in. I can see him now, a picture of sadness. With tears in his eyes he told me how happy he felt to find me alive. ... I could hardly utter a word 1 My strength was gone, for I had not tasted food or drink for several days. The Bishop went into my bed room, opened a bottle of port wine and gave me a full ciose of the medicine as he called it in the presence of the na- tives and lo! my strength and courage came back at once. I told them of the details of my situation since 1 had seen him a month before in Victoria. The doctor of the navy ( Dr. Redfern) after thoroughly examining my wounds, declared that nothing could be done at ])resent: that I would have to go to the hospital in N'ictoria, etc., and urged upon me the i)ropriety of taking some food. He then cooked a meal and al- though everything waspre])artd in an ar- tistic shape I could not take more than one or two mouthfuls of his i)reparation. Next morning the captain of H. M. S. A'oikct { Captain Harris ) came on shore and proposed to have the would-be mur- derer arrested. In fact he stated that it was part of his object incoming to Hes- ipiiat. But just then an Indian came into my house with the news of new cases of small-pox, and expressing his uneasi- ness and that of his Indian friends to be left alone with the dread disease in the village. Happily, Captain Harris did not understand the messenger and so we urged upon him the necessity of return- ing to \'ictoria, as the doctors insisted that my wounds would have to be attend- ed to without further delay. Besides, I told him that the man who had shot mc had run away into the bush — that he had not been seen since and that he might be ten or twenty miles away in the mountains. An arrangement was then made with the principal men of the tribe that they were to take to N'ictoria the Chief Mat- lahaw in case he could be arrested and that the provincial police would pay them for their trouble the sum of Si 00 and a supply of provisions. Thereupon arrangements were made to have me conveyed on board of the man-of-war. lOight men placed mc on a cot, took me down to the beach between two lines of Indians, whilst one of the Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 29 iHF.SfjlIAI', I!. C. — I. A CATHOLIC lAMII.V. — 2. I'HK VolM; CIIII-.I (l| llIK IRlllK, HIS AIM, AND TWO CIlll.llRKN.— ,?, THE ITRST CATHOLIC FAMILY ON LHK COAST. — 4. CAI lloLlC MOTHKR AND SON. —5. CATHOLIC FAMILY. LHK FAIHKK CAN KKAU AND WRITE. I^' Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 30 chiefs made a speech regretting what had occurred and bespealcing the spet'dy return of "their I'riest." When we arrived at the vessel the cot was slung from the spanker- boom, an awning was stretched over the whole, and I was made to feel as comfortable as pos sible under the cir- cumstances. We arrived inVic- toria next morning. At the time of our landing an immense crowd of people were on the wharves. The city was indeed in great excitement, for the news had just reached the people that the steamship Pacific with 260 pas- sengers — (piite a number of Victorians — had foundered at sea and that thus far only one passenger had reached shore alive. As we came from the very coast where the wreck had taken place, and as it had happened just a day before, the people were all in hopes that a number might have been picked up at sea. W^e had seen nothing of the wreck, and the crowd, looking for friends and good news, were doomed to return home dis- appointed. The same men who had taken me in a cot on the man-of-war carried me on their shoulders from the vessel to the Bishop's residence, at'd then landed me on a table in the dining-room. That room, — where I had passed so many pleasant hours with Bishop Demers and Bisho]) Seghers, his successor, and my colleagues, the priests of the diocese and especially of the Cathedral, — now looked gloomy. I'-veryone wanted to have a look and say a good word. The Sisters of St. Ann were there also well repre- sented. Warm water, towels, linen and other necessary articles were prepared A (iROCP Ol' INDIAN \Vt>MKN, Al' NOUIKA by them, and the doctors, four in num- ber, began to talk business. 'I'hey were going to amputate the hand ! Yes ! perhaps it would do to amputate only the two first fingers ! \ Such and other remarks I heard them make. However, I was not going to part with those necessary members of a priest's body to allow him to say Mass, without an objection ! And object I did ! And asked them to allow me to die rather than have me become a use- less man in the world, such as a priest would be if he cannot say Mass. I'rot- estants as they were, the doctors, at first, did not understand my reiterated plead - ingr> to be allowed to keep my hand and fingers. However, they concluded to wait a couple of days and for liu? time being agreed among then;selvt's !;o cut open the main ulcers, r!„i;ijve the broken bones and cut out pieces of lead and other foreign matter. They all left me with the expectation of returning a couple of days later to perform the amputation ; but prayer had the best of them. Two days later one of the doctors made his usual call, and seeing that the blood began again to cir- culate he could not conceal his astonish- ment and went away wondering how this unexpected change could have occurred. X'ancoiiver Island and Its Missions. 31 I was in the doctors' hands for nearly five months. I then heard that a schooner was advertised to go out seal- ing to the West Coast, and foreseeing that no other opportunity to return to my mission would oiler for the next six months, I asked for a passage on board and returned to my mission in Hes(iuiat on March 2,?, 1876. I arrived in Hes(iuiat on April 5th. 'The Indians ha ng learned that I was on my way back to the Mission, and understanding that the vessel on which i had embarked would not come as far as their village, sent a canoe with nine men to meet me and take me home. I met them at "Asatikis," about twenty miles from the Mission. On our way we called at (Maktosis) Ahousat and bap- tized the newly born children; next day we arrived in Hescjuiat. My house was in the state I had left it — the floor covered with blood, the temporary bunk which I had caused to be put up in my sitting-room so as to have more space to move about with water, dressings, etc., was still there; everything reminded me of sad days and sleepless nights. It all had a tendency to make one feel downhearted, but the Indians were then so happy to see me back that I put aside all other thoughts, and after a few days' cleaning, settling down again, I recommenced my work where I had left it off. On Easier Sunday I established a force of policemen. The occasion had been furnished by the Indians themselves. They had resolved to have a feast in my honor and to [jresent me with a gift of their own as a sign of their good feelings towards me. True enough, the day was appointed and two influential men of the tribe were delegated to come and invite me. The men were dressed up in red blankets over their red skins, pants and shirts being an unknown article to men of their class; their faces were covered with black and red paint, and down of birds covered their heads and their long hair. They rather shouted than spoke, at the same time giving vent to wild, savage gesticulations. And so I went to the feast, which was given in one of the houses of a chief. As there were no chairs in the village a thoughtful savage took one of my own and placed it in the middle of the im- mense building. 'I'here I sat like an Indian chief, calmly smoking my pipe and pretending to enjoy everything that was going on. There were dancing and shouting and gesticulations and many other extrava- gant things, which no one can fancy who has not seen wild men and women, covered with feathers and with painted cheeks,giving free expression to the feel- ings of their savage heart and nature. That sort of thing lasted for about two hours, and being nearly blind with the smoke of the camp-fires and as nearly deaf with the noise made by the women, as they beat with sticks on planks and Indian boxes to the measure of the songs of the men and boys and the younger class of women, I was anxious to go home and enjoy fresh air and peace. Mut what should happen ? There in a corner got up one of the chiefs and tak- ing a shawl from a woman's shoulders held it open in view ot the whole tribe and looking at me as with an angry countenance he called out, '\I.ctIft : Li'tlct:) Priest ! Priest \ this is for you, this is for you 1 I present it to you in the name of the tribe of the Hes- (|uiats, who are all present here to do honor to you ."' I do nc>t know what anybody else would have done ; as for me, I took the shawl and thanked the tribe and went home. Hut scarcely had I reached my house when I began to reflect and ask of myself, " What in the world shall I do with that shawl?" After Mature reflec- tion, I hit upon a plan to get rid of it. Easter Sunday arrived and, as said al)ove, I established a force of Indian policemen, as asked for by the Indians themselves and approved by the Bishop. Having then carefully selected my men i;|li> M i. 32 X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. I proceeded between hi\Ljh Mass and eve- ning service to the house of one of the chiefs where the whole tribe, were assembled. I explained to them the object of the meeting: then I appointed three men to act as Indian constables, and gave each of them a coat and pants, to distinguish them from other savages and as a mark of their authority, 'ihen taking the shawl, I held it up before the tribe and made a present of it to the woman, who took care ot the orjihan bov of the man, who had tried to kill me. The new policemen were then api)ointed guardians of the future chief of the Hes- (juiats I availed myself of this season of fervor to teach them the "Catholic Ladder" of Father Lacombe. I also taught them to sing Mass in plain chant. We had the first high Mass on the Feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph. On June 5 following, there was unusual excitement in the village. Farly in the morning the news is brought that a dead whale is floating off the harbor. There is shouting and running about ; paddles are got ready and all the large canoes pulled down to the beach. Not an able- bodied man is left on shore ; even a nunil)er of women accompany the crowd. Vou can see the excitement at sea, you can hear the shouting and singing as the monster of the deep is being towed toward the shore. At last shore is reached. The men stand up in their canoes, paddles in hands, and intone one of their old songs. . . . The women on shore stand alongside the houses, and taking part in the general rejoicings, beat a measure on the sides of the dwellings and their old Indian drums. .\s the day is well advanced, it is de- cided that the cutting up of the whale shall be postponed till next morning. Meanwhile knives are i)rei)ared. and the chiefs and principal men, who alone are entitled to a share of the big fish, secure a number of inferior men to give them a hand next day. June 6. — I'Ong before daylight the whale is surrounded by half naked In- dians; they all know the share they have a right to, but not one seems satisfied with what belongs to him — there is no end of (juarrelingand pushing each other about. In the disturbance a couple are wounded— one very seriously. After half a day of fighting and general disturb- ance, the whale being cut u]), the Indians all retire to their houses, happy at tiie l)rospect of enjoying the delicacies ot whi\le blubber and whale oil for the next few months. June 7. — In the heat of their happiness the chiefs decide to go to Ahousat and invite their friends of that tribe to come and have a share in the general festivities. June 10. — Three .\housat canoes arrive in Hes(iuiat, in all twenty-two men. All the Indians assemble to receive their guests on the beach; they walk in proces- sion, one man behind the other, in white man's clothes, save two, whose heads are covered with feathers, and who dance the dances usual on such occasions. Meanwhile the .\housats, appreciating the compliment, rise in their canoes, be- gin to beat a measure on the sides of the canoes and sing a song in resi)onse to a speech made by one of the Hesquiats. It all finishes by the pulling up of the canoes of the visitors and leading them into the house of one of the chiefs, who at once entertains them at a meal of " whale meat." The accidental floating on shore of this whale and the importance which the Indians attach to this event had caused them to talk a great deal about the sub- ject. Apropos of this event, let me give a notion of their superstitions on this point. .\ few months ago an old Indian chiei called " Koninnah," and known all along the coast, died in IIes([uiat. This man enjoyed the reputation of bringing dead whales, almost at will, to the shore of the Hes(iuiat laiul, and even now he gets the credit for tiie whale that floated on shore yesterday. For as the Indians say that their chiefs do not forget their friends and subjects when they reach the j * I iu Vancouver Islaiul ami Its Missions. .r. other world, hence Kuninnali, by his influence, sent tliem " a dead whale " as a token of ^'ood will. 'I'his man. 1 am told, had here in the bush a small house made of cedar planks; to this house he would repair from time to time to \ isit his charms, which it con tained, and ljo through his usual devo- tions, prayers and incantations. His charms mostly consisted of human skele- tons, especially those of ancient chiefs and (anions hunters. W) these skeletons he would speak as if they were alive and ordtr them to i;ive him a '• whale." Kach of the skele- tons had its turn, .nnd in addressin<,' him self to them he would gi\'e due ( reilit to those of their num- ber who, he had rea son Id suspei:t, had been granting his reiiuesl. It is narrated lliat Koniniiah one da}' was boaslinji of ( ans- inu a (le.ul wh.\le tn strand ill ilesipuat harl)iir. .\> it hap- pened. tliL ilesli w.is t(>UL;h anil liie oil iidt sweet liie In dians rmdiui,' fault with their supposed good lui k. he iDJd them that lie would .u.M aiiotluT one tor them of better i|nalii\ . when lo '. a (■ou|>le of da\s later hi- juedi' tion uas verifieil. The Indians tell tl ': .uiis wiiii such conviction of truth lli.it it is almost jiain- ful to have lo ( otitradict them. Koninnah. when desirous to he sik - cessful. leil a life of strict (ontineiKC. lie a'so observed laws of lastiii- and bathint, in salt water. Hesides, he was never to taste of the llesh or blubber of his whales under pain of losing his ex- traordinary jiowers. Whales are an article of immense importance in this locality and with all the tribes on the coast. They are considered the best and most wholesome food, and the oil is used with all kinds of dry fish. June 2_?. — I p to this date it has rained a great deal : the weather now seems to break up and a rainbow is seen in the direition of S\dnev inlet. .\11 at once a I'INM K Mill K ( o'lple iif ii.di.ins to u hoiii I am tall^i^g, Ihiw their he, ids and turn their b.u ks mi the rainbow . 1 le.irn from them that the liidi.ins nil tlic ( oast never liiiik at a r.iiii- liiiw iiir fear tluit some harm bei. ill them. I line J ;. - A 1 hi Id vva-- born to day, ,mil being the oil'spriiig c.t .m iii:| ort.iiit man . there is great rejoiiing. Nrcorchng to an old 1 U'-tom a ( (III pie of men 1' c. iiig the title of (>{•//( i ■ beggars-— ( overed wit'-. Ic.ithers and paint, goto the hapi>\ parents' house and there begin their pri'.'il s antl dan»:es II ii. 34 X'ancouvcr Island and Its Missions. accompanied by singing and pleading, their on'y object being to induce the child's father to make presents to them and invite the tribe to a feast of food and amusements. Strange to say, the father of the newly horn child is confined to the house as well as the mother — on no pretext can he go outside and look at the ocean or sky. Such conduct on his jjart would have the effect to scare away the fish and to anger the waves of the sea. In case of extreme need to go outside, the man must cover his eyes, look down to find his way; but under no pretext can he look up or walk along the beach. Apart from the general rejoicings, the old women of the neighborhood must also have their turn. There they sit around the newly born with sticks in their hands, and striking up some of their usual songs begin to beat time on cedar boards or a worn-out tambourine. This they continue until the new mother or her nearest relatives make some suitable present to all the women visitors. The name of the infant, given before birth, is that of a female dead relative or ancestor. In case the progeny belongs to the masculine gender anothei' name is soon substituted. Another peculiarity about the Indians is this: If any one dies his name dies with him; that is, no one will dare pro- nounce it again, especially in the presence of relatives, and if any one in the tribe has a name which sounds like that of the deceased he will change it at once. There is something so ludicrous about this, that to day you may know the names of all your people, and still six months later you are likely to know only ■one half of them. Christian names are a great improvement, but in giving them one must be careful to make a proper choice, as the Indians cannot pronounce all our letters. .\ boy called "Damien" was the other day asked his name, to which he replied, without, however, showing any signs of anger, " l)am\'ou," meaning, of course, to say '• Damien," a French Christian name. The names given by the Indians to their children are family names, that is, they belong especially to a certain clan of the whole tribe. Through intermarriage, however, many have passed into different clans, and in fact, as far as I can see, they now are pretty well spread all over the tribe. Inferior peojjle, however, dare not give to their children certain names, which svem to be the property of the chiefs of the different tribes, nor do they, whatever their merits may be, apply them to themselves. In general, the names of our Indians have some meaning, being mostly sug- gested by the doings of some big hunter or ancient warrior. Quite a number of them, though, have no meaning what- ever, and are simply given as having been the name of some ancestor. As a rule, children take the name of their grand- father or grandmother, sometimes of other ancestors, but never those of their parents. I gather from what I heard that respect for the dead and their (living) relatives seems to be the main reason for avoiding the adoption of their names or of having them pronounced within a certain period after their death. June 26. — A canoe containing nine Ekoutl, IJarJay Sound, Indians has just arrived. She attracted our attention from (juite a distance at sea. Although the wind was favorable she took in her sail, when we could hardly see her. She car- ried a tlag at her stern and the Indians were paddling as hard as they lould. Next we could hear them sing, and when they were (juite near shore they stopped paddling, and one of the men, getting u\), struck up a song in a loud, moaning tone; then, upon landing, he shouted something to our people, which I was afterwards told was the name of our chief, and gave him a couple of blankets as a present. The Hesquiat Indians evidently knew the object of the visitors, for, as a rule, with all the tribes on the coast, when strangers arrive at a village, there are al- Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 35 ways a number of the people who run down to the l)each, either to welcome them or to get the news. In the present case, not one of our people went to meet the strangers, who were now at the landing place. Vet. when called upon to go and receive the blankets, the chief sent one of the young men to fetch them to him. After this was done the same spokes- man (of the strangers) got up again and in the same tone of voice called out the name of the second chief and made him also a (jresent of a couple of blankets, which a messenger went down to the beach to take for the second chief. This was repeated six times, so that all the •jri'icipal chiefs received a present be*bre f'^^ iien put an end to their ger isit* boii.e ni the Hes(iu'at'3, upon hearing the name of their sons called out by these strangers, got quite excited, and before inviting them into their houses also made presents to them, which were accented with the usual expression of thanks : ' • TIako : tlako ." ' It struck me as strange that in all their feasts and meetings the parents are not mentioned ; that is, if a man invites to a feast, it he has an heir he will always ex- tend the invitation in the name of that heir, and also whcii jTCi^nts are given they are always gi' i-n to the heir, even if he were only one .!.i. . 'd. i'he parent always disu')pea. bc'il'J Jic. heir, who in all cases coupes or st.uds ic tlie front in the estimation ot all tl i. i ;dians on this coast. The Indians of I'lkoutl. liarclay Sound, are here with the object of in- viting the Hes(|uiats to a p(Jtiach, as tiie peculiar way of their landing here indi- cates. I'his is the first invitation to a podach extent > ) to my Indians since I came to the : ■j- x. A |)otlach, as [ a.derstand it from the meaning of the word, is a feast where gifts or presents are made, a gift- feast. The priests and ministers of all denomi- nations condemn the feast, and the Dominion (lovernment at their sugges- tion has passed a law prohibiting it under certain penalties. As for me, I cannot see any harm in it, although I would rather have it abolished. I had no reason therefore of my own, but giving due im- portance to the conduct of men longer in the nnnistry than myself, 1 used all my influence to keep my people from going to the present gift- feast in Harclay Sound. .\s I understand it, a potlach simply consists in this : .\ man, say a chief of a certain tribe, after a season of prosperity has accumulated a large number of blankets — the Indians here have no money. He then resolves to invite a neighboring tribe to a feast and dis- tribute to them according to their rank the fruit of his industry — his blankets. He privately warns the members of his own tribe to be prepared for the recep- tion of the tribe which he singles out. 'I'his proposition is ap])roved of, and his friends, the principal chiefs, secure the necessary i)rovi::ions, so that when the feast is on they can entertain at a meal the invited guests. The tribe to be invited are also warned in due time and afterwards formally notified that their i)resence is expected soon after the formal warning. The occasion of starting is one of great excitement. .\11 the able-bodied men as a rule and also a number of women go along, and are evidently intent ujjon haviiiga good, enjoyable lime. The arrival at the village where they are invited is also ver\' exciting. They sinirand dance in their canoes, the drums beat and the muskets are fired off. Mean- while the people on shore are also doing thM|("ii (HllliKIN. A i.Kdll'. \ I AM II I \l< 11 i\l PANS , 38 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. il '1 by that time the primitive coffin was in evidence at the church door. Still, I thought it rather unusual to hury the dead at four o'clock in the morning, hence 1 postponed again; but when five o'clock came there was no use trying to put it off any longer. The funeral was to take place right then. (Juite a num- ber of people crowiled into the church; the coffin was put in the centre, but every one faced the coffin, even those in front in the church turned their ba< ks to the altar. When .Mass was over 1 solemnly headed the funeral procession with cross and altar boys, reciting the prayers of the Ritual, when looking behind me I noticed that the savages had taken another road with the corpse, in fact they had put it into a canoe and were jjaddling across the small bay around which I was walking. Still, we arrived ultimately at the same spot, but to my dismay there was no grave dug. There we stood about to bury the dead chief and no grave. Shovel and pick were sent for. I took off my surjjlice, began the digging of a grave, got an Indian to continue and went home and had my breakfiist. When everything was rtady, 1 went back and blessed the grave, and the first Christian of this region was laid to rest in con- .secrated ground. R. 1. l\ I am inf'j'-ined that this Christian funeral is i,ji' . a victory towards break- ing up the old pagan customs and super- stitions of the Indians of this coast in case of sickness and death. Mrstof all, because the Indian was really ilead when he was removed and put into the coffin. Many instances are narrated where peo- ple have been buried alive. A coasting trader told me that when he was sta- tioned at Clayoquat a man was put on an island where there was a small trad- ing post. During the night somebody rapped at his door, he got up and there stood a naked Indian, the man who had been buried tlie day before. He lived two years after his supposed death. 'I'he strangest part of the story was that the Indians who had buried him maintained still that the man was dead, and that it was a bad spirit that now occupied the corpse, or rather the body of the new Lazarus. Some time ago I was called to see an Indian sui)posed to be dying. What was my horror when coming in the house 1 found them tieing together his arms and legs and actually preparing to bury him alive. .A young married woman had given birth to her first child. She took con- vulsions and fainted away. No time was lost in putting her in a box, and removing her into a cave close to the village. Ne.xt morning a man went bathing in the neighborhood and heard the poor girl cry for pity. She was alive . . and, horrible to relate, she was left to die in her misery. Her new-born baby soon followed her in death, having starved for want of food. This happened at Nootka 1 know a man whose son, the father of a small family, took suddenly sick through exposure ; he seemed to have cramps all over his body and became speechless. .\tterfouror five days the old man or- dered a coffin to be made and asked the services of three young men — they nar- rated this to me themselves with delight — to force the sic'- son into Hie box ; they tied him hands and, feet and having him well secured they did as they were told by the heartless lather, and took him out into the bush to perish of misery. During all this transaction, the unfortu- nate fellow groaned and seemed to ask tiiein to have jiity on him. 't'hey were inclined to comply with his wishes, but they were told : " Never mind, do as I tell you; my son is dead, the bad spirit has hold of him and makes all this re- sistance. " .Another ( ase came to my notice as reported by an eye witness : A middle- aged savage was cutting down a tree ; it fell unexpectedly and crushed one of his legs very badly. He was carried home, bled a great deal and at last was pro- nounced dead by the " medicine men," although every other witness knew that TT t, Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 39 he was only in a faint. Next morning as my informant was walking along the beach he noticed that one leg stuck through the square box into which the body had been placed, an evident sign that the man had been buried alive, and that in order to free himself he had used the sound leg to break the side of the box, the injured one having been too fiir destroyed or too painful to be used for the purpose. In rare instances the Indians mutilate the bodies of the dead before removing them. ( )ne case came to my knowledge. A young couple had had several chil- dren, but they had all died soon after birth. This happened again, and the father of the dead child, upon the advice of the old people and with the object that such a misfortune should not happen to him again, literally broke every >one of the legs and arms of the dead infant before placing it into the coffin. The Indians up to this had never buried their dead under ground. When it was time to remove a corpse, they made an opening in the side of the house —they never took a corpse through a door, especially on account of the children and younger people who, as the savages thought, would die in case they passed through the passage followed by jieoplo mother's side the chief of the Xoolka or .Mowachat people. We were u>here(l into hi> lodge b\ tiie chief himself. His 1 lulian wife, the >i>- ter ol' .\latlaliaw, the man who shot me, re( ei\e(l us with esitient signs ot' iinea>i- iie^s and ^hauK'. liowe\cr. I >poke to her kindl\- and my Indians also tried to make her feel at home, .\ficr gi\ing Catechism in>lrii( tions to all the Indian^ present I went outsitle with the obie( t of saying my office, and having retired to a certain distance iVom the camp I felt an- noyed to see .\iai|uinna come and join me. I found an excuse to send him awa\' for a few minutes, and availed myself of his absence to walk ap a small creek where i could sa\ iu\- olfice without beiiiii disturbed. When lo.' 1 saw my Hesipiiat guides run about evidently in a great state of excitement They noti( ed me at last, and coming u|) they told me to (piit my place of refuge and not to go out of their sight again. I knew not what they meant and followed their advice. When night ( ame 1 prepared myself to lie down in the chief's house, who had acted, as it struck me then, in a very suspicious way in the latter part of the afternoon. I went to sleep about lo o'clock and expected to have a good night, for I was worn out with fatigue and the strong, thick smoke of the open fire had almost made me blind. Although I was lying on the bare boards I dozed off almost at once. Suddenly I lilt an oppression on the chest. I awoke and o|)ening my eyes I saw the chief s face close to mine. Mis eyes were staring out of their sockets and his heavy breath was suffocating. What did he want ? \\ hat was his intention or purpose? Next morning. in-;t at daylight. I was aroused from my couch by one of my crew : he told me to get up at once as (piietly as possible and follow him out of the ram h. I folbnved his ordeis. but llotwilh^tandinu our precaiiti(jns we were detected. We jumped into our canoe, I lie ( liiel' following us in a rage down the beach, and abusing my peo|>le in ino^t insulting language. However, no notice was taken. .M \- men were ai lluir paddles and thev did not take a breath till we were >v'\eral miles away ; then looking behind and seeing that we were not followed, one of them told of our dangerous positicjn the day bef(jre. The chief was going to have mekilleil by one of his men if he could not suc( eetl in doing it himself Then he was going to accuse my guides of having committed the murder in order to get even with them, tor one of the men with me had taken to \ i< toria and delivered to the police and authorities the father of .\lat- lahaw, the would-be murderer, and had TT V'aiuouvcr Island and Its Missions. 4« there accused the ohl man of having in- cited his son to do the shooting. In answer toa question. I was told that su( h a practice is very counnon with the sav- ages of this ( oast, and that many a war has had its origin and cause in false ac- cusations of this kind. July i6. — Townissini, the lather of Matlahaw. arrives in Hes(iuiat. I'ownissim was the chief of Hescpiiat and the father of Matlahaw. who was a( ting as his sue ccssor. together, and to tiuir honor they saw- only a lew pa< es away the liody of a dead man at the toot of a large, hollow- tree. I'here could he no mistake about it : it was he ! He wore his uniform as t hief, and a medal presented by the Dominion (lovermnent on liis breast. Horrified, they all retired — gave the news to their friends and looked upon thL' spot as a pla( e to be avoided. How- ever, before making this search they had already arrested Townissini, the young \ I II N(, \| \KRIK|i I I It'll K A tVw days afl(;r the man of war had taken me to N'ictoria the Indians ar- ranged a sean h party, and they had promised to take the \ijung chief to the authorities of the i)oli( e department, In case he could be found. All the able- bodied men took part in it, and having started from a certain point they meant to walk through the bush for miles around. Howe.er. they had hardly be- gun their work when one of the |)art\ uttered a cry of alarm. 'I'hey gathered ' hiefs latluT. and taken him to \'i( toria. They a( ( u>cd him. and iKJt without grave reason, that he was at the bottom (jf all the trouble, and that Matlahaw had only a< ted under orders from his father. Indeed, jirexioiis to the' shoot- ing, the old man had been seen for three su('( essive mornings in (lose pri\ate con- versation with his Mm : then on the morning of the shooting he had left the village, even before daylight, taking along his grandchild, and had not been seen 42 \'aiic()iivcr Island and Its Missions. M ever since : from which tlie Indians coii- ( hided thai the man knew what was go- ing to take place, and kejjt out of the way till further de\ei()|)inents. Hem e they had at once be};un their search lor liini or for both, when one morning noticing the smoke of a eam|» fire at llntrance Toint, they crossed in their canoes and arrested him. He was six months in jail in N'ictoria, and then the news that Matlahaw was dead having reac hed the authorities, he was sent hack with a caution, and indue time arrived in llesiiuiat, July 25. — I'ownissimcame to my house to-day just as (luite a number of Indians were in my house. 1 told them to be kind to him and at the same time told him to show no ill feelings against any- body. August 23. — Notwithstanding my cau- tion, Pownissim is inciting the Indians against me. I hear that the poor man is in dread of being killed by his own subjects. Hence, whenever he goes out- side of his dwelling, he always carries a knife concealed under his blanket. September 25. — ("lood news to day. The Bishop is on his way to this place and is accomjjanied by a priest. September 2(>. — Right Rev. C. J. Seghers, accompanied by Rev. P. J. Nicolaye, arrives in Hesipiiat a few min- utes before midnight. ()ctol)er I. — Feast of the Holy Rosary. The Bishop blesses our new church, the first on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and i)laces it under the patronage of St. Anthony. A procession is organ- ized in which participate, besides all the Hesquiat Indians, all the Machelats, a number of Nootkas, Clayotpiats and Ahousats. October S. — The Hescpiiat chiefs are called together and a grant of land is made, on which, in the distant future, it is proposed to build a substantial chun h and to erect other buildings as circum- stances may recpiire. The ground may be taken up at once and cultivated. October 10. — Reverend Father Nico- laye received leave to stay with me during the winter. He is supi)osed to ])repare himself to take charge of a portion of my mission next spring. ()ctoberi2. — The Bishop leaves on the schooner • '.Alert," (I. Brown captain, and returns to Vic toria. his visit to the •Mission having created cpiite an e.xcite- ment amongst the Indians as he has told them that they must prei)are for baptism. I avail myself of the oi)|)ortunity to com- mence preaching against their sui)ersti- tion with new zeal and determination. But oh ! how far they are from having the least idea of Christianity and a Chris- tian life. We have a mountain to re- move which only Cod's grace can help us to do. .\t this time of the year many of our Indians go up the inlets and rivers with the object of making new canoes. Up on the hillsides or on the lowlands they cut down a cedar tree and with a com- mon axe cut off a length according to the size recpiired for the purposes of the canoe, /. r., sealing, fishing, sea otter hunting, or traveling. Then they i)ut the proper shape to it, very roughly, first outside, then inside. Next they in- vite some friends and together they pull the clumsy frame to the stream or to the ocean and then float it and pull it on shore before their houses in the village. When otherwise unemployed, especially in the early morning and toward evening, they use a peculiar hand chisel or adze (in old times they used a chisel of stone or of horn ot the antlers of elk), and with wonderful patience they cutoff chip after chi]), till the frame is reduced to the proper thickness — say one inch or more for the sides and double that much for the bottom. Then knot- holes are filled up. finishing pieces put in, and when all this is done a fire is made under the canoe, raised up from the ground on blocks, and the bottom is rendered perfectly smooth. All the work is done without instruments to go by or measure ; yet most of these Indian canoes are so true and so well shaped and pro- ir \'aiU()iiv»T Island ami Its Missions. 43 K If |)ortionod that not lvcii an exper could detect the least llaw or imper- fection. October 22. — .Ml the natives of the tribe have ( ome tochun h to day, even those living up the inlet and rivers. 1 make a rule ( in ch.irch i that all the people — men, women and chil- dren — must at least wear a shirt, and that no one will be admitted into my house ex( ept he wears a shirt imder his blanket, .\fter this I show them the absurdity of some 01 their super- stitions. .\s this is the '•salmon sea.son," the old jjcople are as usual i>reaching to the tribe the propriety of con- forming with the old established regu- ations lest this great article of food should leave the neighborhood and not come back again in the future. For instance, salmon should not be cut open with a knife ; it should not be boiled in an iron pot, nor given as food to dogs or cats. The bones must be carefully collected and thrown into the sea, and under no con- sideration must it be given to any white man, in( hiding the priest, lest he pre- pare it in lard or a frying pan. It should not be taken to the houses in baskets, but carefully carried one in each hand. These and many other details will show what an amount of absurdities were in these people's minds. They were in utter darkness without the light of thedosiJel. It is almost humiliating to have to say that this and like matters formed to- day the suliject of my sermon, and that it created (piite a revolution in the camp, in fact, it had the effect of my presence here becoming a cause oi" alarm and a matter of regret on the part of the full grown men and women in the village. November i — For some time the In- dians in discussing with me their customs and beliefs have been talking about a moiintain said to be inhabited by a ghost or spirit. It seems to be the main prop of their creed, and it struck me that if I could IdNIi Ol- Till'. (.AMIKA. not prove this to be a traud, I could not hope to uproot the rest of their super- stitions. Henc e I resolved to visit the mountain so often spoken about, and show them that they had been deceived by their forefathers. According m the legend, nine men have died on the toj) of that mountain through entering a cave, the home of the ghost, ivithout having first made the recpiisite preparations. Some of those preparations are, to be fasting during ten days, and to abstain from all relations with the other sex during ten months. The natives here, be it no- ticed, have an immense idea of con- tinence and they attribute to the fact ol' my vow of chastity that when tiu'ir chief shot me I was not killed on the spot. Hence, in preparation for their wars, their hunting parties and every undertaking of great importance they keej) or pretend to keep strictly con- tinent. The legend continues that only one man has entered the home of the ghost ; and that he used to do so every year. In consecpience of which he was most III in 44 X'ancoiiv'cr Island ami Its Missions. successful in the w'lale hunt, an averajje catch beinj,' ♦en w hales per season. His nine brothers begged of him one day to be allowed to accompany him on the hazardous expedition. After using every means to dissuade them and see- ing that still they would insist, he at last complied with their request and the ten travelled together to the top of the mountain. The hero of the expedition insisted that the brothers should enter first into the cave, the supposed iiome of the ghost. One after the other entereil as he was told ; the tenth was just about to do so, too, when all of a sudden the entrance closed up and re- mained closed till the nine unfortunate men had been torn to jiieces and de- voured by animals the size of a minU. The hero of the story reported what had happened upon his arrival in the camj) and ever since that time the cave on the mountain has been looked upon as a famous and sacred spot. 'I'he report adds that as soon as anybody ai)i)roaches the top of the mountain pieces of rocks and pebbles are thrown at the visitor and the ghost is heard to groan from a dis- tani e. 'I'his it also does when a severe easterly storm approaches. Having been ol)liged to manifest my plan in order to secure a crew to carry me to the foot of the famous mountain. and, if willing, to accomjiany me to the to]) thereof, I meet with general disap- and i)rol)ation from the tribe. All the im- portant men put their strength together and are determined to prevent me from carrying out my plan. Conseijuently tlicy come to my house and by violent ges- ticulations and with shouts declare that I cannot go ; tiiat no Indians shall ac- company me; that if 1 do go 1 am sure not to come back alive. Two young mer. who iiad promised to accompany me are deterred from doing so. Only one in- trepid fellow keeps his promise. The Indians threaten to kill him in case he does not bring me b.ick alive. Seeing that all their efforts to |)revent me are useless, the Indians retire full of dissatis- faction and anger, assured that I will perish in the attempt, and subseipiently that my fellow white men will blame ihem for having been indirei tly the cause of my death. I, ate in the evening an old man, in order to make up for the ( ondui t of his son, who after having promised to ac- company me, had afterwards backed out, iirings word that he himself will be a member of our party — and adds that he will take along an axe to knock the ghost (i)oke) on the heail I Noveml)er 2. — After offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 1 warned the Indians th.at I would leave at once, and that I hoped that no further resistance would be made. \ took along I'ather iSicolaye who w-is very anxious to ac- company us. We arrived at noon at the foot of the lamous mountain (_^,ooo t'eet high), called by the natives, " Kwo ah-all." We experienced very little or no diffi- culty in ascnding it, for it is clear of brushwood and ( overed only thinly with cedar trees, some of which are remark able for their size. M four o'clock we were at the foot of an immense bluff which crowns the mountain and which to the southeast is of a dark red color. A( ( ording to the rejjort of the Indians, this m\steiious cave is southeast of the bluff. Without losing any time we wended our way in thai direction. Mean- while our guides began to make the re- mark that they heard no noise, that no pebbles or rocks were thrown at us ; which gave them such courage that they were determined to find the cave, if there was any. even at the risk of their lives ! But our search v.hich lasted «rv. eral hours was in vain : and after trav- eling till dark on and around the bluff without finding any mysterious opening or cave, we concluded that we would look for a good camping place, and re- turn home next morning, and rejujrt that, as we knew beforehand, the story of the nine dead men and the ten whales is an Indian varn. lust before !f Vancouver Island antl Its Missions. 45 retiring for tlic night onr ol the Indi.uis ascentkd lo the siiniiuit of the nioiin- taiii ■'" ' ''red off thi- two barrels of liis gnu use a> he >,iid tlu' ghost from his letliargy in case lie should bo asleej). The report of the gun was heard by sev- tral llisi|iiiat Indians wlio were camped three miles away from tlie toot of the mountain. We enjoyed ourselves capitally on the tcj) of the famous mountain. We s|)ent a most pleasant night around a large lire which our guides had started and which they kept going till morning. However, we suffered c-onsiderably for the want of water as none can be t'ound beyond midway of the large mountain. November 3. — Our descent fro;n the mountain, which we commenced at day- light, was very pleasant til! we came within an hour's walk from the water's edge. Then we stood before precipices frightuliy deep which delayed our return home for several hours, as we had repeat- edly to return on our tracks and lind other paths. At last we arrived at the spot where we had left our canoe the day before with no other mishap save that my Newfoundland dog, which we had taken along as a bodyguard, had fallen into one of the ravines men- tioned above and could not be gotten out. We arrived at the mission about dusk. Our mission llag was hoisted at the stern of our canoe as a sign of victory of the Cross over pagan superstitions. Upon our landing no Indians could be seen outside of the houses ; only one man came to meet us. He was a young fellow who had backed out of his prom- ise to accompany us the day before, and upon seeing us come home alive the first remark which he made was to the eflTect that now he was convinced tliat the In- dian belief and legends were pure inven- tions. November 4. — (Ireat excitement and confusion. 1 had no visitors to day. .November 3. — This l>eing Sunday ipiite a number were at Mass, I availed myself of the opportunity to speak again against their sui)erstitions and bring in a few items aliout our trip to the moun- tain, anil finished by exhorting them to abandon their old Indian, pagan belief. After Mass one of the chiefs invites the tribe to his house, where speeches are made by all the most induential men, who exhort their frienils to hold on to the old faith and pagan customs In proof of their being on the side of truth they give as a proof the loss of my New- foundland dog. 'I'he priest was not hurt and came bai k alive because he is a bachelor and continent. November 6. — Having sent a couple of liulians to look ;i'ier my dog, with the promise of a pair ol blankets in case they can bring him back alive, the brute is brought home in sound condition. The Indians say very little, but I no- tice that their minds are not calm. November 10. It is reported that the leaders of the tribe are using all means in their power to keep their intluence over the people, and are making speech after speech to the young men to stick to the old practii es. 1 am having a great time here. I no- ticed before now that when the Hishop appointed me to come to this coast I was getting charge of a great parish. Their superstitions are so numerous and so absurd that they are almost incredi- ble. Just think of it! they won't al- low us again to have any salmon for fear mi 46 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. I ;!l that I might fry it in lard, or boil it in an iron pot ! I will t,'et the bettor of them anyway — to-morrow I will go out fishing myself, if the weather permits. November ii. — I asked a couple of boys to come with me and have a canoe ride on the bay. I took along a line and a spoon bait. Before speaking of my good luck 1 must first state that yester- day I had sent a young man for a salmon and had paid three fishhooks for it. Ihe owner of the salmon was out at the time, so the messenger simply told the woman in the house that he was taking one of the " sacred" fish for the priest and in due time he gave it to me. However, when the owner of the salmon came home ho was told that one was missing. He at once called three of his friends to accompany him to my house, and seeing the now famous salmon about to pass under the knife, he sprang forward, took it away and throwing to me the three fish- hooks he went his way growling. This upset me so much that, as said above, I resolved to go out fishing my- self. As soon as I f-ot away from shore with my boys I threw out a line and spoon- bait, when lo ! after a few minutes we caught a fine large salmon. 1 did not care to get any more and so 1 returned to the village. L'pon landinii, I called the dog and putting the salmon into a basket, whi( h mode of carrying such fish was against the rules, the brute took the basket up and preceded me home. Of course no Indian would attempt to molest the large, faithful animal. (Juite a number of men and chiefs assemliled in my house, and protested against mv using a knife or frying-pan. I took no notice of their protestations and proceeded with my work, my only aim i)eing to show that their superstitions were absurd and to try by all and every means to get them to give 'hem up. Noveiulier 14. — .\ young man, Claw- ish. has gone out to the inlet, a great place for salmon, and proposes to let us have some in spite of the oi)position ot the tribe. Toward evening a cou])ie of young men come to the house with some salmon. I notice that the head is cut off. and the fish split o|)en — jjerhajjs too the fish is not fresh. I send them o(\ with my C()m])liments, for 1 have been told that the superstitious observances are only ajiplied in the case of fresh salmon not yet beheaded or <'ut open. November 20. — Clawish brings us a supply of fresh salmon. It is "asy to notice the feelings of indignation of the old people, but they are afraid to do more than make a few remarks of re- monstrance, owing to the presence ot seven white men, who have just arrived, and projiose to go prospecting to Mache- lat Arm for gold, and on our peninsula for ( oal. At a meeting of the tribe the chiet speakers predict famine for the rest of the winter. November 25. — After a spell of stormy weather the sea has become calm and the Indians have gone out fishing. The salmon is abundant — hundreds of the large fish are brought to the camp. November 30. — A second meeting of the chiefs took jilace last night. W hen everyone was in lied one of the ciiiefs sent a messenger to awaken all the in- ferior chiefs and call them to his h()u>e. The great subjei t anent the salmon was discussed, most of the men inclining to give u]) the superstitions and make peace with the " priest." "Tom-Sick i.epieds." a famous old cripple, and a notorious thief and rascal, is arrested by the local Indian police- men. He is at (used and found giiiltv of stealing an old blanket, a piece of to- bacco and one yard of Indian beads. He was condemned by the chief con- stable to pay a fine of two new blankets, within one week from date. If not paid within the time mentioned, Tom is to return to the comtroom of the Mission-house, and submit to having his hair c.l^ off and his head shaven. X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. 47 ing of When h let's e in- ouse. an was ng to 1 xMce us old rascal, olice- ilty of of to- beads. cf con- o now date. Uioned, oom of liaviiiii shaven. 'M The theft was committed during Mass on the occasion of the lilessing of the church. Hecember 3. — I went to Barclay- Sound with six men in an Indian canoe, according to orders received from His Lordship, Bisiiop Seghers. I made arrangements with ths 1 Indians ot that Sound, about establishing a mission. The spot which 1 sdecttd is Xamukamis, the jiroperty of the Ohiat Indians. I'pon my arrival here early in the morning, we noticed quite a m'^iber of people sitting before the hou..es as is their wont. One of them got uj) and made a speech. My guides told me that he was insulting us ami objet ted to our landing; that they wanted no iiriest and could take care of themselves without the help of the white men. We had noticed on our travels that the Indians on this coast have a horror of having what they say written down. So I ifuietly took a j.ocketbook and jire- tended to write down the gist of the savage's speec h. Whcreujion he stopped at once and disappeared behind one of the houses. We then ijuietly laiid-.ti. were invited to enter the lodge of the chivf. and were kindly rec eivcd by him and his tainily. .Ml the Indians assembled in the chiet"s large house about noon, and after bap- tizing the newly born children 1 e.\i)lained to the meeting the object of my vi>it. The Indians n-joiced at the idea of liaving a residei.t i)riest in their ncigli- boriiood antl the i hief told us so in a ne.tt speech, adding that we could have all the land \\i' reipiireil t"(jr the jmrpose. and make our own sclei tion as to locality. 1 tecember 2 i , r])on my return home Rev. bather .\i( olaye reports c\crythiiig ordcriv in Hesquiat. l>ecember j6. Wc had midnight Mass. Nearly all the men of the tribe were present, but only very few wonuii. .\t midnight Mass, which I sang myself, J [ireached on the m\stery of tlie day. \\ l^l'IAN llor.-K .Wh iiOMK (IF lis .NANIS. !>eceinber 27. The young m(,'n, I am veliabiy intdrmed, are all. with very few e.Mejitions, doing the ' ' oseniecli." 1 he oseniecli (or osciiielcli 1 is ,i religions practice resorted to by all the Indians of this coast, and is < onsidered to be of the greatest im])ortance and necessity, (t i- a mode of praying, trans- mitted from one generation to another. After ini|uiries made of iiilTi.'rent indi- viduals I discovered that the Indians do not ali ha.e the same uav of iiertoiniing this religious practice. \'et they all I onsider it nere»ar\' is a preparation tor e\er) thing of great iuiportam e, b.? it tho Ininl. the wai. or llie like Ihev addros .i iii\sti rioi being — one tlie\ call ■ • \\'a-v\e-me' le," nho dwells o\e. the moi.'iitains — 10 hint they pray tbi wliaies, m a otters, seals, bears and the ,ike. Kwa-yetsiiiimi is the favorite ot the medicine mi'ti, and all the people ha\e rei oursi.' to him tor liealth. W e'.i Kwaitliume. to he strong and successful at war- — to be t(r;ive and over- come their enemies. The\ ii.iM: also one- whom the\ ad- flmM 'ill 4S \'ancouver Island and Its Missions. dress to give them abundance of fish and is called U'awitt-illsois. When the sun rises and just before he sets, young mothers pray to that orbit for a hajipy delivery at childbirth. One of the main rules to be observed is to go inside the house just before sundown and not to go out again for fear of harm. The moon is also prayed to. Hut orie man told me that his uncle who initiated him. made him pray to a being — not mentioning the name or locality of its existence — who had it in its power to give him sea-otters, seals, etc. When they are at sea in l)ad or dan- gerous weather they pray to a queen "Wakoui'' — in. above rr beyond the seas. They ascribe to hei the heaving or swelling of tiie waves. Then they shout out to her asking her to cause the waves to calm down. With some Indians the "oseniecli" is a very severe performance. I'hey fast four (lays, are up at night and dive in the sea four times each night, four different times at a turn, and as they rise above the waves, they speak out in shout-like utterances asking for sea-otters or the like that they may become rich or big chiefs. < )thers have only two nights on the sea, and they confine themselves to swimming and praying as above. Others again do not take to the salt water at all. But bathing in fresh water is recpiired by all and in all cases — by some, four days; others, only two — however, every one goes in turn apart from the tribe and the company of his friends to pray. As a rule the savage goes to the woods, strips naked alongside of a stream or a clear pool of water and then rubs his body with a kind of grass, of brushwood or roots, leaving in manv cases the marks on his body and not seldom drawing blooii from his cheeks and chest. The number of bunches of this "charm" varies according to the in- structions received from the one by whom he has been initiated. During all the time that he rubs his body and mem- bers thereof he constantly repeats in short shout-like accents a formula of prayer expressing the object he prays for, be it sea-otters, seals, health, bravery or what not. You will often find in the neighbor- hood of where the Indian goes to pray a skeleton, bunches of charms, of weeds put together in a bunch and also small cedar sticks put up to represent a man with a spear in his hands aimed at a bunch of fern-roots or the like, repre- senting a fur seal. Then the savage has in his house his own medicine (charm), which he keeps sacred and uses as circumstances, in his opinion, call for. He keeps them from the view of other Indians, hides them with care and only in e.xtreme cases, such as the dangerous sickness of a child, does he make a display of them. One of our Indians the other day, either through pride or with some other object in view, perhaps the a|)peasing of the bad spirit who was in his sick little boy, exposed his ■• charms'' before .' ll those present in his house — the subject was very much talked about. The charms which the Indians koej) concealed are the bones of dead jeople, also hair, nails of the hands, beaks of birds, feathers, etc.. etc. I know an Indian who went sealing the other day, and as he left he opened the coflin of an old woman, cut or plucked out one or both of her eyes, put them in his i)Ocket and when he arrived at the sealing ground he took them in his hands and rubbed his face with them in the re- gion of his eyes as a means to best clear them and discover fron> a great distance the seals as they were sleeping on the waves. When the Indians do the "oseniecli" they have recourse to a great many ways besides those mentioned above ; but thev all amount to veiy much the same thing and can all be ranked under the name of sui)erstitious prac tices. The old people preach strict continence to the young men ; and none, who do not live apart "?r \ ancouver Island and Its Missions. 49 from their wives, can cx|)t'ct to be suc- cessful in the ])ursuit of whales or fur seals. .As a iireparation the time hmit is tell months for whales and five calendar months for fur seals. This mode of living is only to be given up when the huntinj; season is at an end. In order to avert evil the Indians have recourse to different means. On the occa- sion of an eclipse I have known them to throw baskets of food into the sea. at the same time uttering a formula of Hesquiat Indians, who, comin.u from the inlet, brou^^ht the news of chief Nitaska's death. Nitaska, although not the head chief of the tribe, was considered as the most intkiential man here and was renowned all along the coast. He was a fine orator. .At the- rei|uest of the messengers we rang the church bell and in a few min- utes nearly all the men of the tribe were at the mission buildings. The excitement was immense. The in le e he lys ev of )le art I i J- .'^«-^^w:*;^ >!*-■ ■(>r^^r-y-:-J iK rc>^ I r\ii.-. prayer, at se;i. waves : 1 h.neal ., unfavoralile weather seen them throw food on tin- heard them blow a whistle \\hi( h the\' use on the occasion of the '• wolf festivities, .\fter a bad dream about a child, the parents of the child paint its face red, burn a blanket, cali( o, prints or something ot the kind to appease the bad spirit or their divinity. shouting and the unearthly ( ries of the jieople at this unusual hour of the night frightened both women and children. Directly, spee( hes began to follow the first excitement. 'I'hey all amounted to the same sentiment: " Nitaska is not dead, for he has children." The man is sup])Osed to have been swamped as he passed in his canoe too close to a well- January 10, 1S77. .About midnight known whirlpool, where several Indians we were called uji by about half a do/en are said to have been drowned. !i! if |i li \v 5" Vancouver Island and Its Missions. January ii. — Nitaska's death is a great event in this region. AH the tribe are crying and genera! gloom hangs over tne village. The dead man was evidently a great favorite and very much liked. As for us, we consider his death almost a blessing for our work. The man's in- fluence was too great and he was nclined to work against us as regards the conver- sion of the people. The Indians say that his body is not in the salt water because, if it were in the sea, there would not be any herring, whereas to-day there are immense schools of the fish uj) the inlet. Availing themselves of the state of mind of the Indians, three medicine- women go into tran( es and ])redict the death of the second chief of the tribe. This gives his parents considerable un- easiness. This, 1 am told, is an old dodge of that class of impostors. Their object is to get presents from the relatives or parents of those whose death tho\- predict — which being given, death does not occur I January 24. — One medicine-woman caused a deal of excitement in the tribes this morning. She just came out of the tent, her head covered with down, danc- ing and shaking her head as one who has fits, and meanwhile spitting out mouth- fuls of blood. In this state she rushes into the homes of the three first chiefs, predicts death for the sons of the fami- lies and causes general alarm. One of the families gives her a blanket, another a bladder of whale oil; Ixit the third, more sensible than the others, takes no notice of her doings. At last she retires, to the great relief of the credulous. January 27. — ( )ne Indian iiaving died after a few days of sickness, the cause of his death is explained as follows : his dog (the (lead man's dog) was a few days previous sleejjing alongside of his mas- ter. .Nt daylight the dog went outside and began to iiowl. . . A tew days later the man took sick and soon died. Hence tlie cause of his death is ascribed to the howling of liie tlog. January 28. — Subsequent to the drowning of Nitaska a short time ago, Townissim, the father of the would-be murderer. Matlahaw, got into unexpected trouble. Nitaska was the leader of a crew who had taken the old chief I'ownissim to the police authorities in Victoria. He was a rival of the first chief, Townissim, and had been instrumental in capturing him and removing him to jail. The old people ever since the death ot their favorite, Nitaska, felt very morose, and some of the most wicked spread the news and attributed the acci- dent to the fact that chief I'ownissim, ever since his return from Vouil. had constantly prayed for the death of Ni- taska. Hence they secretly resolved to kill him ! But secrets among Indians are likely to leak out, and so ii happened in this case. i'he plan for killing I'ownissim was very simple. A day was determined, a Sunday after High Mass. A feast was announced to take place in one of the houses; ill the Indians were to be pres- ent; whilst they would be eating, a daring old warrior was to get up without warning and stab the old chief; that was to be a signal lor others to get up and stab him to deatii. Just before Mass a young Indian, a relative of the chief, walked into my house downhearted and looking despondent. He told me about the events that were to take place and jileaded lor my interfer- ence. 1 sent for the old ( hief and can tioned him against going to tin; enter- tainment. I need hardly add tliat lie stri( Uy followed my instructions. Next I sent for the man i Tsokwit) who was to connnit the murder and put him on his guard. He did not deny his evil intentions and that of the tribe. But after a good deal of reasoning he ])romised that he would not connnit the crime. 1 iowever, the old ( hief more than ever abstained from ijoing out alone after dark. And .then, whether liay or night, he always carried a weapon concealed under his clothes. Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 51 March i. — VWcr since the beginning of last month, with the exception of the last three days, the Indians have been unable to go out fishing and have suf- fered very much from hunger. This circumstance I made use of to make the Indians understand that the idea that chiefs will send food — whales or fish — to their relatives from the other world after their de.ith was absurd. Nitaska was a great chief and yet sent no whale or food to his starving Hesquiat relatives. I am almost losing patience and use every opportunity to impress on their minds the idea that they will have to renounce their old i)agan belief. March 8. — There arrived here last night four Kyu(|uot men on a very im- portant errand. As they walked into our Indian room, they jjrcsented a most alarming appearance. Their faces were painted bla( k with a red < ircle around their eyes. Their only covering was a piece of blanket around their waist and in their hands they held Indian muskets pointed as if ready for shooting. They were followed by a number of my Hes- quiat Indians, who were suspicious of evil designs on the part of the visitors, and were prepared for any emergency. < »ne of the strangers, acting as spokes- man, jdaced the butt of his gun on the floor and held it with one hand whilst with the other he made indescribable ge-Uires. Then his chest began to heave, and, i)anting for breath, he at last spoke out in a loud coarse voice. He had big news to tell. His son, a lad whom I knew well, was missing. The report had it that whilst on hi^ way from Tugct Sound to his home in Kyu(iuot, his canoe had lapsized when off one of the Nittinat villages at the tntrane e of the Straits of Kuca. Thence, having reached shore alive, he and three of his compan- ions had traveled on foot with the object of reaching one of the ( )hiat villages near Jian lay Souiid. This wis only a report, but the speaker, the father of the young man and a very intlueniial man at home, was of o|)ini(>M that iiy this time his young son was with the Ohiat Indians. This idea seemed to have a great effect on the state of his mind. However, he added that, if his son had been maltreated by the Nittinat Indians or killed by them, two hundred warriors of the Kyuquot tribe would come on the warpath and avenge the death of the young ( hief. The four men here now are a de- tachment of a crew of twenty men now camped at Vamis and detained by head winds. They intend to walk back to the spot where they left their friends and then sail to the Nittinat coast, as soon as the weather allows. March 2()th. — This day is marked by a welcome change in the condition of the natives. Since the 5th of the month, the Indians had been unable to go fish- ing and had very little food in their houses. They were a( tually starving and their little children crying for food. \'ou can see the misery on the faces of both old and young. The oldest people assert that within their memory they have never been in such a state of dis- tress. To-day, the weather being fine, an abundance of herrings and salmon are brought to the camp. .\s regards the spiritual state of the tribe it is worse than ever. They blame me tor the absence of food. 'They laugh at the doctrine which I teach. I gain nothing by making the sign of the Cross. I am neither a white man nor an Indian. 1 am the ( Chig-ha 1 devil ! Man h 25. — 'This day, I'aim Sunday. 1 i n . — ^1 — ■* ^■^l| Nl, INI'I \N M' 'I III- k. ■it 52 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. Rev. Father Nicolaye left after Mass for Marclay Sound (I'cluliat), there ;o join a schooner which is soon expected to sail from thence to N'ictoria. Com- plaints of illness are the cause of his departure. I am under the impression that the poor father is not really sick, but is sick at heart to see the dis- couraging state of affairs here. .And indeed our ])Osition would almost make an angel lose heart and courage. Soli- tude, we have not seen a white man since October ; we have not received any mail for several months ; our pro- visions are nearly all gone and .vhat remains is of the poorest kind. And our Indians are as bad, and as much attached to their pagan ideas and superstitions as before we commenced our work and took up our residence here. Father Nicolaye left me. (lod bless the i)Oor man and restore him to health! I am now again alone with not a friend to speak to .' March 30.— There is some rejoicing in the camp since this morning, when a canoe of visitors brought the news that there was scarcity of provisions and a great deal of distress in all the villages on the coast. When our Indians meet with misfortune they always feel much relieved when they hear that others of their class have met with misfortune also. Hence, my ])eople feel good to-day, be- cause they have not alone suffered for want of provisions, but other tribes have fared as badly as they tjiemscives. April 2. window cases no lumber was used from the saw mills. It was slow work, yet it was pleasant to see a lot of wild men at work and to hear from morning till night the noise of the axe or hammer in this wild part of the world. 1 said the f rst Mass in the new build- ing on Christmas Day, and Rev. I'ather Ni(olaye huviiig arrived at his new resi- dence on New Year's Kve, I left on the second day of the year for Hesfpiiat in the canoe which had brought my former assistant to his new field of labor. From the beginning of this year all the II I ■ I 54 \'ancouver Island and Its Missions. It Indians of Barclay Sound and down to Port San Juan inclusive will be attended to from St. Leo's Mission, of which Rev. 1'. J. Nicolaye is the first resident pastor. Hefore taking charge of his new mis- sion of Barclay Sound, Rev. Father Nic- olaye gave me a short account of the conduct of the Hes(|uiat Indians during my five-months' absence, of which the following is a synopsis. He continued to preach Sunday after Sunday against the Indians' superstitious worship and the Indian medicine- men. He to'd them that none could expect to be baptized except they would first abandon their superstitious practices. In a mo- ment of fervor forty men and women resolved to comply with the conditions and gave in their names. Before ten days had elapsed ten of the number had transgressed the rules. In a few days more, sickness having broken out in the settlement, recourse was freely had to the medicine-men and women. In short, when he left for his new mission only seven had remained faithful. The struggle between good and evil is very great. The old people are most de- termined to frustrate our plans of con- verting the tribe. Two of them — Ksko- wit and ICagakom — have declared that they will kill the priest in case their sons come to die with sickness without having consulted the medicine-men or women — that is, if they have acted at the insti- gation of the priest. A young man — Xagokwit — one day entered the house and began to abuse Father Nicolaye. Next he raised his hand to strike the Father, but he was pushed back and prevented from ( arry- ing out his desi^jn by some friendly In- dians who happened to be ])resent. January 13. — ( )n the feast of the ]^l)iphany very few Indians were at Hesi|uiat, almost all the tribe beini; at the time fishing at the head of the inlet. The weather being better last Sunday all the men came to Hesquiat to at- tend church ; there were also t|uite a number of women. It is evident that the people would like to be good and become Christians, but their prejudices are too strong yet and their superstitions too deeply rooted. I notice that the leaders against us and those who follow their instructions most closely are ashamed of themselves ; most of them keep out of my way alto- gether. The few who are preparing for bap- tism are young men and three young women. The old people are once more holding up their old superstitions as re- gards the winter salmon. There was a row on account of some of the most rea- sonable threatening to use their iron pot as a utensil for boiling fresh salmon. January 22. — A dead whale was found on the beach this side of Estevan Point. It is cut up by the natives who reside here at this time of year — every one helps himself the best way he can — almost all the chiefs and the rightful owners of a share of the big fish are absent at the inlet — these, upon hearing the news of the stranding of the fish hurry to Estevan Point, l)ut find that very little is left for them. This greatly enrages them and trouble is imminent. However,they con- fine themselves to going from house to house and taking away all the blubber they come across. This amounted to very little, for the thieves had concealed the principal part of their booty in the bush with the expectation of fetching it home when the excitement is over. January 25. — I am informed that most of the blubber of the famous whale is now being boiled and the oil pressed out away in the bush. March i. — Since the middle of Janu- ary there has been great scarcity of food. Owing to the easterly gales which comnieiK ed last October and which have not been interrupted by fair weather exce'it tor a few da\s about New Year's, the Indians all along the coast have been unable to go out fishing. As the natives of this coast have no food except fish, and several tribes had been unable to lay in a [irovision of dry salmon last ilti. Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 55 season, it follows that those tribes are almost starving — and all, without excep- tion are very hard up. The second chief of thie tribe, a nice young fellow, came to my house to day, about noon. He told me in a pathetic tone that my dog had entered his iiouse and had taken away a i)iece of whale blubber, the only food there was left for him and his pa- rents, and asked me to lend him some flour so that they might have a decent meal for a day or two. The flour was given with a good heart and the jioor fellow went away rejoicing. I find it very luird and painful to see the suffer- ings of these people for want of food. -March 3. — The state of the weather becomes more satisfactory and the In- dians avail themselves of it to go out fishing. Any amount of salmon is caught in the inlet and at Hesquiat. The su])erHtitions are as strong as last year. The old people are desperate and most abusive against anyone who ven- tures to trangress the old customs. I>ut ([uite a few of the young people do not mind them. March 1 1 .— To-day a young fellow was whipped by the police for running away with his uncle's Indian wife. March 14. — The Indians are drying salmon. This was never done before on this coast. The Indian basket is also used to carry the famous fish to the houses from the canoes. The number of those who got over the superstitions regarding the winter salmon is so great that the advocates of the ancient i)rac- tices give up in despair the idea of trying to keep them alive any longer. A canoe arrives from ('layo(piot and reports the Indians of those parts in very great distress, owing to the lack of food. One of their number, the Juggler, who claims the power to make the herring Hock to their harbor by incantations and superstitious means, finds himself disap- pointed, not one herring having thus far been seen in the neighborhood. A few days ago he ordered the Indians out in their canoes, having noticed, as he thought, by the appearance of immense flocks of sea-gulls, that the herring was coming in shore. He claimed credit for this I'veiit, but in the evening the canoes came back disappointed. Hence his father and his nearest relatives in public speeches put the blame on one vicious young fellow who last year had crushed with a stone the hea|)ortance by ail the Indians of this extensive coast. July 2 1. — The father of the child is a determined, good man ; he has an amount of trouble with his relatives who all want him to take the "doctors." The infant is a weak child and gives doubtful signs of a long ?.'.\islente. This gives them a chance to find fault with him ail the more. Hut he does not mind their suggestions or interference. In my own mind 1 can see the consequences if the infant should come to die ; never would an Indian listen to us again under sir.iilar circumstances ; for Indians are exceedingly fond of having an heir and passionately attached to their offspring. I make daily visits to the newcomer, but he is not a great success I — aind as he cries a good deal the people all say that it is because the evil one was not cast out by the " Sorcerers." August 28. — I just returned from Kyuquot and other tribes. My instruc- tions from .\rchbishop Sei',hers on the occasion of his last visit were to feel the pulse of the Kyutjuots with regard to having a priest stationed at that place. Part of the Indians had moved to their river stations ; however the chief and several of the most important men were still at ".-\kties," their summer resi- dence. The chief not only told me that he was anxious to have a resident priest, but besides promised to grant ail the land reciuired for the use of the missionary, free of charge. Other important men also SDoke and expressed their happiness at the idea of having a chance to have their ( hil- dren properly educated. My opinion ofthe Kyu(|Uots is that it will be hard to manage the old people : but as regards hoys and girls, of whom there are hunareds, I consider it to be the very fin-jst mission, not only on the island, but in the diocese. December 3 — .\s said above, the greatest obstacle to the conversion of the Indians is the idea that they will have to give up the Indian doctors or Sorcer- ers. I know a young woman who re- fused to marry a young man because he intended to become a Christian , the idea that he would object to her con- sulting the Indian " doctors " both for herself and children made her reject his advances for matrimony. The Sorcerer is either a man or a woman — on this coast. Very few men are Sorcerers, but the number of women '■doctors" is very large. In some tribes three-fourths ofthe women and in others one-half ora third — nearly all the the old women — claim some special talent in that line, I'he Sorcerer does not deal in drugs nor use medicine for his patients. He does not study medicine as a prepara- tion, b'.'t he is put up to become a Sorcerer by some relution of the craft, or sometimes through some motive of his own. The starting-point is either a dream or a so-called vision or the discovery of something unusual in hi.-: wanderings on the beach or in the bush — -then he will feign sickness and he retires to his couch. His friends \)retend to be or are really alarmed. . . . He suddenly ut- ters deep sighs or groans : does so repeat- edly : then he jumps ui>, shaking his head — eyes closed — and intones a song sup- posed to have been taught by the one (a mysterious being ) who inspired hiui to become a Sorcerer. This is the announcement to tiie tribe that they have a new Sorcerer. The cases may dilTer in some of the details, but they all amount to the same. We have one here just iiow — the first since I am stationed on the coast. He is a young, sickly fellow of a silent, morose disposition. He is the last Indian that I would have suspected of be- ing inclined that way. liut he .'s al- ways sick antl very likely he tries this dodge to get welt : for Indians say :hat m lli f- m t Vancouver Island and Its Missions. ! ii when anybody is an invalid he will re- cover at once by be- coming a Sorcerer. The Indians have been talking a good deal of their new " doctor" ; they say that he pulled a snake out of hi? al)domen and that he will walk on the salt water as if it were "terra firma." 1 hey also say that he walks on the branches of trees to their very extremity, and thus passes from one tree to another. As I always strive to draw good out of evil, so I tried to do in the present case. Nothing like facing the enemy — it may be hard at first, but it is the only way to convince for the future. At noon all the Indians of the tribe So I defied the hero of all the were entertained l)y an old couple and Indians' talk. And on Sunday I told during the repast they were unanimous in them what I thought of such impostors rejoicing at the fact of having a new med- and of those who take their part. icine man. The old peo])le t'specially Next Sunday, Nov. 9, about four were jubilant and availed themselves of o'clock in the morning, I was aroused the opportunity to commend their old from my slumber b' the loud voices of superstitions to the rising generation. Indians and the noise made by their new I may here say that speculation was Sorcerer. He was on the top of a tree at the bottom of this general endorse- and at times barked like a dog or croaked ment by the tril)e of the new ' ' doctor. ' ' like a raven, then he would strike up a lor this his first ai)i)carance was the song or work his rattles to attract the announcement that four days later he attention of the stupefied savages. would make a gift-feast to the tribe and At Mass-time Michel, the head of the those who praised him most expected only family now faithful to their baptis- to be the most favored in his acts of nml promises, came to see me in a des- generosity. pondent mood. I think 1 felt as bad as When the rejiast was coming to an end he did himself, but I composed myself the lather of the new hero went into the and sang High Mass as usual and house and invited all those present to preached on the Gospel of the day. follow him behind one of the houses, A IIKSIJUIAT HOY AND AN K.1.1)KKI.V MAIIAI'K INDIAN. Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 63 tie pe id 1(1 111 |e where his son would ^ive proofs of his extraordinary powers, Michel was called out by name. Like a man — a determined fellow, as he al- ways was — Michel got up and all the people followed him outside, expecting to see him covered with confusion. He put his hand to his mouth and as he walked at the head ot the crowd he prayed " that truth might triumph ! " We found the new medicineman standing at the foot of the tree on which he had been doing his performances since the early ni^.ning. All the Indi- ans arrived on the spot and stood around in a circle, none daring to approach the awe inspiring juggler. Michel, however, being called upon to do so, went up to him. We at once noticed the prepara- tions that had been made and showed before all those present that the initial step of the would-have supernatural pow- ers was an utter failure. The trick con- sisted or was supposed to consist in the fact that the Sorcerer was, by incanta- tions, to cause the lower branches of the tree, under which he stood, to bow down and thus enable him to reach them so that by taking hold of them he could climb up to the spot where he had caused the admiration of everybody in the early morning. Michel being close by no- ticed hanging from the lower branches a thin string which was not sM])|)Osed to be there, and thus the trick fell through. One would think that the people upon noticing that they were imposed upon would walk away disgusted. Hut not at all — their boasting changed into anger and was followed by most unusual excite- ment. Three days later the mediciiie-inaii made a gift feast ( i'otlach) to the whole tril)e. When all the peojjle were assem- bled he recommenced his wonderfui( ! ) [)erformances. Once more, Indian Mi- chel was called upon and defied by the performer. He was equal to the oc( a- sion, and before long he was advised by a thoughtful friend to retire, leaving the whole assembly of pagan Indians covered with confusion. The feast went on and I was glad to learn that my good and faithful Indian friend came in for many and valuable presents. I have written the above details with a feeling of disgust, but they will show, when paganism and superstition have disappeared from this coast, the blind- ness and obstinacy of heathens, before receiving the Gospel, and the amount of truth there is in the ancient saying, muntiiis vitlt decipi. I have been asked, "Are there real sorcerers to be found amongst your people? " My answer is : If there are any I have never met or discovered them. January 27, 1880. — Very extraordi- nary news ! I received word that we have a new Bishop. I received indeed a letter dated ( )ctober from Victoria in the handwriting of Father Hrondel, late of Steilacoom, Washington Territory, inviting me to go to his Consecration, which was to take place in the Cathedral of Victoria, H.C. , on the 14th of De- cember of last year. February 25. — An Indian arrived at the Mission from Barclay Sound and de- livered a letter, with a portrait inclosed, of the new Bishop of \'ancouver, the Right Rev. J. B. Brondel, D.I). The new prelate expressed his astonish- ment that I was not present at the great celebration of December 14th, when he received the mitre at the hands of Most Rev. Archbishop Seghi'rs. A great many events take place and great celebrations in the Church are had, but, although 1 would be happy to be present and witness them, I must forego the pleasure of taking part in them owing to the hu k of communication. Our new Bishop will after a time understand the situation and in the present instance he will be astonished to learn that it was over a month after his i onsecration that I received the letter of invitation, to be present on the great occasion. April 20. — I have just returned from X'ictoria, where I went to pay my respects 'fJhl; 64 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. ii Pi ^M \ ■ to Right Rev. J. B. Hrondel, our new- Bishop. This visit was occasioned by a very disagreeable circumstance. lOarly in March tlie Indians became very dis- satisfied and troublesome. The old people »v>,re finding fault and exciting the others at any and every chance, i'hey now made up their minds that they would work on Sundays and ignore all the established rules. First they came to ask permission to go out fishing, and as they pleaded scarcity of provisions, the weather having been very bad, I allowed them to go out on one Sunday, and again on the follow- ing. On the third Sunday — there being now abundance of food in the village — they went out without leave. How- ever, when the bell was rung for High Mass, they all came on shore and at- tended Mass. I warned them and in- sinuated that the trangressors ot our Sunday law would be punished ; that I could not punish them all, but that the one who would start the others would be the sufferer. .\fter Mass a messenger came to tell me that all the men of the tribe were preparing to pull out their canoes. And indeed, upon looking out I saw about thirty canoes in a line and on a ce.'-tain signal being given, they all pulled out together. This was very clever on their part, for I could not punish any single starter, as they all started together. However, I walked down to the beach and I noticed that not only the men but even most of the women were bent on desecrating the Sunday. ( )nly two or three of the Indian policemen had remained faithful. With their assist- ance I took away a number of nets, said a few words to the leaders, and walked back to the Mission. On my way a scuffle took place between the police and some of the worst of the lot. I his 1 stopped without delay and without any harm being done save the tearing of a few shirts and the pulling out of a handful or two of hair. When I got home 1 tried to take the matter coolly. Hut how could I ? Here I was now nearly six years ! .And only one convert and two or three decent fellows, although heathens, besides ? However, the .Apostles Aired still worse, and the missionaries in China and else- where have no better times. Nothing like persevering and fighting the matter through ! Now, then, the thought struck me to leave the place for a few Sundays, for what could I do were the same trouble to arise again the next Sunday? I was half victorious, as ipiite a few nets — the articles most necessary for the herring season now on — were in my possession. I therefore resolved to make a trip to \'ictoria and see our new Hishop. His wise counsels and a talk with iny fellow- priests there would give me new courage and light. I secured a crew of six Indians, and, as usual, we travelled in an Indian canoe. The weather looked fine, but at this time of the year the nights are very cool when one must sleen outside on the shore or in the bottom of the canoe. And yet we could expect nothing else ; for the next four or five nights we would be compelled to do so. When we came within sixty miles of \'ictoria the weather was bitter cold, but the sea, comparatively speaking, smooth. On the shore, though, there was considerable surf, and the northerly wind was very strong. We managed to paddk in shore, and as it was near mid- night, my men concluded to make a landing. I was so crippled up with cold that 1 refused to go on shore, and pre ferred to pass the rest of the night in the bottom of the canoe. One of my guides, hearing that my feet were actually freezing, turned about in the canoe and put the soles of his feet to those of mine. This had the desired effect of imparting heat to my chilly limbs ana making me feel more comfortable, for the feet of our Indians are always warm, even when they walk barefooted through the snow. 1 was aroused very early by the (row- ing of a rooster in the bush, and later on \'ancouver Island and Its Missions. 6r •• 1 IK I Al IIKK (i| I UK MAN. " I was amused to see one of my Indians, in his shirt tails, running everlastingly after the lonely rooster, which he caught at last and mercilessly killed. The l)ird had been left there by Indians of the neighborhood, who had, 1 suppose, stolen hiiii from some farmer, and left him there to shift for himself, and who were ir foggy weather guided by his fits of ( rowing, as a seafaring man is guided by the reports of a fog horn. We cleaned the poster and ate him at breakfast. I remained in \ictoria three days \/ith the new Hishfip and the ])riests stationed there. During that time the weathe.' had rh.inged. and on our way ba< k to the coast we had a favorable leading wind. When we h-'d made a little over a hundred miles, which we had done in less than three days and two nights, we came very near being drowned during a most severe storm. Moth the Indians ami myself had given up ; the waves were immense, and rising like mountains threatened to engulf us at any moment. We all lay flat in the canoe, save the man in the stern, and at times our frail skiff stood almost perpendicularly up and down. .At last we got on shore, being soaked with the brine of the sea. We camped on a small island, where we found a good supply of driftwood, and there wr passed the night under /n belle eioile, and as 1 lay under my blan- kets I wondered at the myriads of stars and admired the wonderful works of ( lod, and after saying Jifiit'dirife Stelhe Civli Domino, I managed to take .some very much needed rest. Next morning the wind and storm had abated so that we could make a 1 ttle headway and jiass the day in an Indian cami). Three days later we arrived at Hes- ipiiat, where the Indians were becoming uneasy on account of our prolonged absence. The trouble they had given me be- fore leaving seemed to have weighed heavily on their minds, and I was re- liably informed that they were deter- mined to avoid listening to the evil counsels of their wicked leaders who, without exception, are all old men and old women. July 2S. — Right Rev. J. I!. Brondel made his first ejuscopal visit to the coast, and I am sorry to say 1 could not re|)ort omnia f'ros/^i'ro. The liishop si'emed to be (lisapjioiuted; he e\pe( ted to re( eive a great recejjtion and he would have been receiveil with all the honors due to his rank. Rut my Indians with the excep- tion of one family being still pagans, I thought it would look like hypocrisy to make them turn out and act as Christian Indians do elsewhere 1 live in hopes that the time may yet come when our Bishop will be duly received here by Christian Indians. July 30. — The Rishopcalk'd hereon Kis way back from further along the ( oast. He was accompanied by Father Nicolaye, 66 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. m and upon lariding he introduced me to the Fathei as the future missionary at Kyuquot, sixty miles west from my ^^is- sion. Everything was arranged and the new Mission was to be put up without delay. September 25. — These Indians are extraordinary people ! There is an el- derly man who of late has been giving a good deal of trouble to some of his old enemies. Several of them have come for protection and seem to be really alarmed. At the bottom of all the mischief com- plained of is an old threadworn blanket in the possession of the old man ! The Indian in question is a very troublesome individual. He has the name of having been a daring warrior and at home he has had many a (juarrel and fight with the people of this tribe. At last he got tired of black eyes and bruised limbs, and so he had recourse to the following ruse : Early one morning he came back from a long walk on the seashore. He wore as usual an old blanket, his only covering. The old man was frothing at the mouth and his blanket was dripping wet, ap])arently with blood. He called his friends to- gether and with a trembling, hoarse, voice he told them that at a short dis- tance from the settlement he had come upon a strange object ; it was at the foot of a large tree and it was bleeding pro- fusely. Something seemed to tell him to take off his blanket and steep it in the red hquid. He impulsively did so and left the spot assured that he had now in his possession a ' ' charm ' ' that would render him invulnerable — an object that would serve him to defy his enemies, and whether at home or abroad, defeat them. I had often heard the Indians si)eak of this blanket and tell me that the wicked- ness of the children of this man was to be ascribed to the fact that their father, immediately after their birth, had rolled the blanket around their tiny limbs and body and had otherwise besmeared them with juices extracted from his famous "charms." Not only that, the blanket had such mysterious qualities that it would be impossible to send a shot through it ! .\s there was now quite an excitement in the tribe about the wonderful blanket, in order to destroy any further belief in the obnoxious article, I sent the men who had a new grievance against the old fellow to tell him to come over to the Mission and see me. He came, but did not take along the mysterious covering. I had my gun in my hands and quietly told the poor fellow to go and get it, that I wanted to be convinced and that if I could not pierce a hole through it with my gun, the Indians would be justified in looking upon it with awe and dread. There w ;re now t|uite a number of people around to be witnesses of the re- sults, but of course it all ended in con- fusion on the part of the old man ; the others after some discussion returning to their homes convinced that they had all along been imposed upon. It is slow work, but one after another the dark spots in the Indians' minds are being cleared off. A few more proofs of this kind will go a long way to make them look upon the old Indian yp.rns with misgivings, and truth will at last prevail. There is general feasting going on just now. The festivities are called " Chook- wahu." They remind one of the feasts of the " Mardi (Iras" of Eurojje, and from time to time are indulged in by the tribes on the coast, especially during the winter season. The origin and the spirit of this feast are, 1 think, the same, although some of the details di(Ter. in the several tribes of the west coast of the island. A chief or one of the lead- ing men has prepared for the occasion. He must have a large supply of food and of blankets, for he is expected to feed all the people of the settlement during the festivities and to close them by making a gift to everyone who has been invited and taken part in them. These gifts consist in canoes, blankets, axes, fruit, calico, Indian beads, etc., etc. J! V^ancouver Island and Its Missions. 6f The opening ceremonies are abantiuet at which all the Indians are supposed to be present — one or more of them go outside and return immediately into the house and cause consternation in the as- sembly by reporting that a pack of wolves are to be seen at a short distance from the camp. The wolves arc some of the young mt-n running on all fours, imitating thf step of wolves, and with a tail and ears, so that trom a distance they resemble fairly well the much to-he- dreaded animal. I'his is the signal for great excitement. The chiefs make speeches, the old war- riors sound the alarm, songs are in- dulged in, fright is cast into the bosoms of old and young, and general notice is given, especially to the children, to be on their guard against the wolves. On this and the four next days no work is to be done, and general rejoicing is indulged in. Banquets are given, and there is singing and dancing and joking, and all kinds of drolleries are the order of the day. 'I'his is, however, interrupted by the appearance of wolves in the morning and towards evening. They are very bold ; they make for some of the children — singled out before the time of the fes- tivities and now purposely exposed to the danger — and take them away with them in the bush. The men of the tribe, seeing this, run into their houses, take up their guns and shoot them off as they run in pursuit of the lleeing wolves with their prey in their hands. Von can now hear the shouts of alarm of mothers and old women . . . but after a while the excitement subsides and the general rejoicings re< ommence. And thus the game continues for four days. .Meanwhile the children that are taken away by the wolves are kept out of sight of the tribe. I'he mothers weep, the fiithers are wild with grief. Every- thing is done to make the uninitiated be- lieve that real wolves have carried away and devoured their children. It is a matter of pride for a chief and for all his tribe to have the " Chook- wahu " festivities take place. .\nd no more important news can be communi- cated to a neighboring settlement. It travels all along the coast and com|)li- ments are extended by all and every friendly settlement. In old times and even now on the coast there are tribes where ceremonies ending in mutilation, or at least wound- ing, are indulged in. But the wounding is received voluntarily and payment is made at the conclusion of the festivities. The occasion is suggested by the individ- ual himself. He knows that as long as the " Chookwahu " is on, a man who fights or quarrels with his wife or strikes her is liable to have a spear passed through the skin of his arm, which, as a rule, causes profuse bleeding and much pain, '{"his individual, 1 say, will pur- posely transgress this rule, whereupon a number of men enter his lodge, take hold of him and pass a sharp piece of iron or spear through the skin of his arm, which naturally enough causes fright and consternation in the bosoms of the wo- men and children. Being aware of this, I cautioned the people of this settlement against doing anything of the kind, but I can see nothing to find fault with at the present time. When I see the mascjuerades, cavalcades, historic processions, dramas, and other entertainments of our white populations abandoned and given up forever, it will be time enough to tell the Indians that they must give up the "Chookwahu" festivities. On the fifth day, if it be fair weather, the Indians all dress up. 'I'he initiated know what is to take j)lace. The wolves, as usual, come out of the bush. This time the children whom they had stolen away from their homes accompany them. The Indians get excited They pull down to the beach two large canoes, (over them with planks and the chiefs and men and women of a special rank, using this as a l)lalforni, slowly proceed over the water to within close distance where the iii 1 6S Vancouver Island and Its Missions. m m I ! ll supposed wolves have charge of the chil- dren. 'I'hey beat the drums, dance as they proceed, sing incantation songs, fire off their guns, and at a determined moment rescue the captive children and send the defeated wolves back into the bush. The now rescued young jjcople are Hiked, their only covering being small branches of trees and brush- wood, and they are sol- emnly, amidst songs and general rejoicing, taken to the house of the chief, who gives the famous entertain- ment, 'i'he day is passed, without hardly any inter- ruption, in this house. The children tell their experi- ence in the home of the wolves, mention new names they are to take, and many other ceremonies too long and too numerous to men- tion are gone through. 'The feast continues at this place nearly a full month — in other tribes it lasts only a week. It comes to a con- clusion by the burning of the branch-covering of the children as they were res- cued from the wolves; and (nially by a "])Otlach," or a gift of presents by the chief who organized the festival, to all the members of the tribe. July, iS.Si. — I have just returned home from Ahousat (eighteen miles from Hes(|uiat), where I built a small church with two rooms attachedjfor u^eas house and sacristy. To build a wooden church with the material I had at my disposition would puzzle many an architect. I had ex- plained my plans to the Hisho]), who sent me enough llooring and ])lanks for the body of the building. Then I made the Indians get cedar, which we squared and used for sills, rafters and other necessary supports; lastly I enlisted the services of an old fellow who brought me a supply of cedar blocks, cut in two feet lengths, of which 1 made shingles to be used as a covering for the roof. ( )utside the build- ing is neat, but the inside has the appear- ance of a common barn. I put up an altar and communion railing. lUit for the generous assistance of the natives I DISTKUSTl'll. HI IHK I'AMKKA. could never have finished the work by myself alone. I have been complimented on my work, but people cannot throw dust into my eyes — it is altogether a poor job: yet it will answer a useful purpose and has cost the best of only a few dollars. 1 considered this jilace very necessary if I want to instruct the Indians of this tribe, ilius far I had done it in the house of the chief, but it was a terrible place. . Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 69 The house of the chief was over one hundred feet in length by sixty in width. I'he corner posts were immense pieces of cedar twenty feet high ; they were met on top by long sticks three feet through. (-)ne monster l)eam was laid across the centre and served as crosspiece to sup- port the roof planks. With a fall, for rain and water, of only about two feet, the roof looks almost flat. 'Phis is now the form of all the Indian houses on this coast — immense places with almost flat roofs 'I'he sides are cedar planks fast- ened by ro])es of cedar bark l)elow and above. 'I'he cedar roof ])lanks are chis- eled out so as to leave a groove for the rain. In fine weather one of these ])lanks is raised and shoved above its neighbor to let in air and give a place of exit for the smoke. In this chief's house twelve different families had their home — twelve differ- ent open fireplaces supplied the room with smoke and heat. There were no windows in the house, although the crev- ices between the wall planks jjermitted some light to enter. How could I in- struct these people in such a horrible place of filth and smoke? — not mention- ing the noise made by the quarrelling of the women, the crying of children, the growling and fighting of dogs. . . . .\nd then the immodest bearing of the nu- merous inmates ! Yes I I reciuired a place to try and do something for the .Ahousat Indians, and I now rejoice that when I go t 'ere next season I will have a place of my own, no matter how \^ooT and how undesirable it may look or be. During my stay at Ahousat I was greatly amused to see a couple of young Indians taking their daily walk around the place with each a shoe on one foot only I 'I'he man wore a shirt with a blanket over his shoulders and the wife had also a blanket over her dress : both had their faces painted with red vermil- ion. 1 was told that the reason for this odd action was that they had recently be- \ ■■' S^mpH^^H^^HP ^^^^^Wn«£7 O/c^f^^KM 1 HI L^^gM^yi^^gi mm m 1 A llAirV I'AIK Ol- 111, INI) MKN, 1IES wiio liad lKli)ed me to bury the dixui and Xancouver Island and Its Missions. /^ had parted with the vahiahlc jewelry, the Americ an ("lovernincnt granted a sum of two hundred dollars to l)e distributed among the most deserving ones, and a gold medal was presented to Chief Aimc as a souvenir of the kindness and humane conduct of the tribe. I'he inter- ests of the Nfission and of the priest in charge were forgotten by all parties concerned. December. — The Indians having com- menced Miinu" of their winter festivals and the chr-f being engaged in a " Chookwahu " entertainment, a young woman fell into tran( es and began to prepare to become a medicine woman. As my position with the majority of the jieople was becom- ing solid, iind as I tould re( kon ujjon being siis'.ained in anything 1 vvould un- dertake or their good. I dec iiled to in terfere The medicine men and women being all around the candidate for new honors, 1 sent a posse of strong men ♦•' uterthiHn with menacesand threats. .1 the impostors immediately left the liouse t'^e young woman herself took to the bu>n and left the village, and it is now Mrttled that for the future consulting ami employing medi( ine-men and women can no longer be tolerated in this neighborhood. Thus the greatest obstacle to the < on- verNion of the lles(iuiat hulians i^ iur- evet removed. 1.SS4. liisho]) brondel is gone to Montana to become Hishop tliere. Rev. I'ather Jouckau was to be his successor, but he does not accept on account of sickness atid ]ioor health. I now heard that Srciibisho]) Seglurs hail obtained permission to return to his old diocese. .\ngust 15. — I had a narrow escape tvom drowning. 1 was coinint; fr'>m Nootka where I h.ul spiiil a month. .\s 1 lett friendly Cove with a \()iing man and his wife there was nowind/lml a heavy sea was coming into Nootka Sound. it was a signal of the approach of westerly wind. J ust the wind we wanted. We had hardh traveled half a mile when we me the bree/e ; yes, a regular gale I "What do you think of runnin,.^ for shore?" cried my Indian, "lake in sail, I cannot steer." I obeyed his orders. We were now in the midst of a fearful tempest. i'he young woman be- gan to cry and utter shrieks of despair. It was terrible, but I prayed like a good fellow, 'i'he sea was now breaking over our canoe. ... I put the matter into the hands of St. Lawrence, whose feast we were to ( elebrate the next day, and I called the net", on which we happily succeeded in landing. St. Lawrence's reef. I'he Inci.;;!, baled out the canoe, dried their blankets in the sun, and I re- tired amongst a little brushwood, grow- ing between the 'ocksof St. Lawr.ince's reef, where I made myself comfortable and slejit that night. September (). — .\ wicked young fel- low, the son of the most desperate characters of the coast, had recourse to an old dodge, very frecpiently used in the past, to procure for himself a partner in life. A canoe of New- chatlat Indians passed here and called at the village. TK* rascal watched his chance and whilst her friends were en- joying a hospitable meal in one of the houses, he went to their canoe and took out by force a young woman, wl^o strug- gled and cried as he carried her to his parents' residence. Although I felt in- clined to stop the performance of this dastardly act. lor motives ul jjrudence 1 was compelled to abstain trom inter- fering. September 14 — Distant relatives of the young woman in ipiestion to day took iter tc ler home and friends. Speaking in general, the people are orderly and doc ile ai\d well behaved. Since the abolition of the medicine- men and women free recourse is had to me for medicines and medical treatment. Day and night calls are made for reme- dies for the old and young — the\ want inedii ine lor any and every complaint — there is no end to it. Strong, burning medicincN are preferred; in fiut, mild II 76 X'ancouver Island and Its Missions. remedies are discardeil. Since last year I must have applied a square yaril of blistering and mustard plasters to the aching limbs and bodies of my parish- ioners. I hope this habit of calling for help for even the most trivial ailments will soon cease; if not, I have a hard and ])usy time before me. 18X5, November. — Since the begin- ning of last year the religious status of the tribe has greatly changed. Many adults have been baptized and received into the church. .Ml the marriages are now contracted in the church and it is only a matter oi' time to have all the young people gathered in the bosom of the Chun h and leading practical Christian lives. At last, then perseverance and prayer have carried the day. -Deo Gratias.' Last June seventeen young men went on a sealing expedition to the JJehring Sea. They did very well, and arrived home highly delighted with the success of their long voyage, 'i'hey had killed 1,400 animals, receiving two dollars per animal. However, their earnings were considerably reduced, as they had to i)ay for their board on the vessel. Their mode of hunting is as follows: Their ca- noes are taken on board of the vessel and se( ured on deck. When they come to the sea their canoes are lowered when the weather is calm. The Indians then, with spears and some provisions and a compass, begin to cruise around, hunt the seals and return to the vessel to spend the night. It is iiazardous work, as the waters of the BehringSea are very treacherous and become covered with a dense fog some- times more than once a day; the Indians, of course, use their compass, but it takes good reckoning, to come from a (listan( e of ten or fifteen miles, and then just meet the spot where their vessel is drift- ing about. In such weather, signal guns are fired off and are of great assistance to the befogged hunters ; yet on their first voyage two Indians lost their vessel and by their al)sence on board caused miu h uneasiness and grief to their friends and many tears to their relatives at home on the arrival of the schooner. They are back now, and pose as heroes. After losing the vessel they landed on one of the Aleutian Islands. There they met a native who treated them well and, by signs and gestures, showetl them the direction of a trailing post. The tra .er, a white man, gave them some provisions and directed them to a bay where .Ameri- can fishermen were busy at their trade, i'hence they were taken in a boat and landed at one of the central trading sta- tions, whence they were ])assengers on the .Alaska Commercial Company's steamet Z>()/v?// and landed at San Fran- cisco. They were treated with nnu h kindness by the captain and his men ; and the first officer took the two Indians, bewildered upon seeing the large city of the Pacific Coast, to the ISritish Consul who paid their passages to Victoria, H. ('. Here they at once went over to see the Bishop, who assisted them by a letter of recommendation to the owners of the vessel from which they had strayed. .\ canoe was bought and a supply of provis- ions and they arrived home last Sunday morning, just in time to attend Mass. 'I'hey now excite the wonder of. not onl\- their own friends, but of all the Indians of the coast, and, no doubt, their experi- ence, told in all its details, would ex( ite the admiration of people more accus- tomed to travel than these Indians who had never before left their home and ( ountry. .\1I is well that ends well '. "W'ewiks," an Indian boy, the son of parents whose great i)ri(le it was to en- tertain the tribe with food and jiresents and had only half fed and clothed their own children, got in trouble and died a few weeks ago. It has been storm\' and dangerous- looking for me ever since, and 1 now have a paper on my table stating that, if I do not turn up and that my body is found with evidence of liav- ing been murdered, traces of it can he found on the lower limbs of the man ulio h, n< re wl jiii sei th. M I X^ancouver Islantl and Its Missions. / / '! I I son cn- •nts llicir ]cl ;> ;iinl Ik 0. li\)!r [that Ihav- In 1h' committed the deed. I have since the beginning of the tioulile ( ariied a revol- ver in my pocket with tlie object of wounding in the lower limbs, the man who committed the assault, so that no- body but the guilty party may be hauled up. W'ewiks broke into the store of a trader. He was condemned to six months' imprisonment, contrat ted con- sumption in prison, and died a week after his return home. Three days before his ■death his father came to my house and began to abuse and threaten me fear- fully. I took it calmly and simply cast the blame on the one to whom it be- longed, namel}-, the boy who had broken into the store, just before leaving me the old man changed his lone and gave me to understand that my services as a priest would not be rejected. So I went over and prepared the poor young fel- low for fVath. I was, however, informed thattru.i.i was brewing and to be on my guuiii. 'The sick man ha(^ in his possession a brand new gun. and it was lying alongside of his bed. What was the use of his i)arents buying a new gun. when it was evident that their boy must ■soon die ; and then, was the bed of the dying man the jiroper |)lace to keei' vlic dangerous weapon ? Such were the re- marks which were made and thence the hints thrown out to me. I ( ould easily ■see that my position was not a safe one. Now, the evening before the \oung fellow died, a messenger, in the jierson of the sick boy's brother, came to a-^k me to go over to the house, it was dark, the Indians had retired for ihe night and the sick man was dying in a house away from the settlement, and had no company there save his wii ked pa- rents. \ coasting trader was with me when the invitation was made. He jumped up as 1 rose to follow the itftrtvs- senger and entreated im- not to go, d*ii(f thev were going to kill me, the hist word I heard him call out being ' ili' !'.«%■/. come back, for (iod's sake d •' ! " 1 knew that 1 was running ,'•.." f\^ . but how could I in conscience refuse to go and see a dying man? On my way I called on a man whom I could trust, and asked him to accompany me. He was ([uite willing, but how di.sappointed the sick man's |)arents looked when they saw that I was not alone ! My presence as a priest was not wanted— net one of them spoke a single word to me — but they all entered in conversation with my companion, and so after a while I re- turned to my house with this one consola- tion that I had done my duty. W'ewiks died, but his people ob- jected to having him buried from the church. Thuy were bent ujion making trouble. His body was placed on the branches of a huge tree, covered and decorated with blankets, and the famous gun is also in evidence as an ornament. .Ml this is against tne rules of the Chris- tians and even the pagans, having for sometime since renounced many of their old customs, now found fault with the con- duct of the bereaved relatives. Hut it is evident that this transgression of our newly established regulations was only nude with the object of creating trouble. The lamentations of the nearest rela- tives, their shrieks of despair and the expression of the wickedness of their hearts surpass all limits. They call me a liar and all sorts of names, the curses . lor the first time in the history of the ve.>rld was Confirmation *4minist<'red on ti oast. On the 2Sth of I'ebruary, the .Mo,.t Kev. C. J. Seghers, Archbishop l of the Indians have now come back to their I les(|uiat homes, 'I'iiis used to be an occasion for rtjoicing and good feeling. It is dilTcrent now. I'rom morn- ing till night you can hear the women cry and lament : some of them expressanger and passion. lUit it is touching and sad beyond exjiression to hear the young mothers who have lost their little ones bemoan their loss. It would draw tears from the eyes of stolid men to see them in groups of tiiree or four, with their eyes filled with tears, scjuatted before the houses and hear eacii one of them tell in song like words that cm be heard all over the \illage the greatness of her loss anil the >urferings of her motherly heart. The men also take pait in the general mourning. Like the women, they clip their hair short, neglect their attire and >eem to be deprived of all ambition. Some look nKjrose and sullen, others are the picture of men with broken liearts. It is terribly hard on me to be here just now, for one ( annot hilp ( ommis- erating and feeling for his poor people. Hiwever. there is no use sitting down and crying. But the worst is that some of the ;)agaiis look very bad.ind by their con is to be our new liishop. June 25 — 1 nexpectedly the steamer Mai/de called in Hesquiat harbor and I took jiassage on her and went to Vic- toria The steamer called at " (_'layo(piot Mission." I went to see the Hishop- elect, whom i found in his >rei)ared for me in good style, we talked the matter over and we left together for X'ictoria. Jtdy — F^ere the new Hishop elect was welc(jme(l by the clergy and es- pecially the Wry Rev. I. J. |()U( kau, the administrator. This last-named gentleman was very weak and evidently suffering very mu( h. Rev. l-'ather Fenmiens obje( ted to be- coming liishop, but he was eventually ])ersuaded to accept and his consecration was set for .August 5. ( )n the Sunday (jrevious his adminis- trator, the \ery Rev. J. J. Jouckau, died (|uite suddenly and his funeral, at whii h 1 was made Ij preach, took )>la( e on the following Tuesday. August 17. — Two days later I re- ceived word through the wife of the Indian agent for the coast, that a murder had been committed at Hes- ipiiat ; that the body of a little i)oy of four years had been found behind one of the houses, but that there was no evi- dence to prove bv whom he hau Ikch killed. This news spoiled all the i)leasure and enjoyment of my presen. e at the conse- cration of the liishop. uhen all the l)riests of the diocese met together. I went home with a crew a long, tedious trip, all the moil, unpleasant as I ( ould see the trouble 1 had before me on account of the timrder. .August 21. — I arrived home shortlv before midnight, and retired at once. .About two o'clock .\. \i . I heard some- body knov k ai the door I waited for another knock, but the visitor left. Farly ne\t morning a uian called r 80 \'ancoiivt,r Is1;uk1 and Its Missions. Isiniquali came to sec me, and as lie be- gan to siy that he was falsely ac'cused of being the murderer, 1 would not give him a hearing. Later in the evening he came again and asked me what the Indians had been telling nie about him. Bill again I sent him off without making any statement. The Indian agent called a couple of days later and went to X'ictoria to in- form the authorities of the < ircumstances of the crime. A magistrate and a couple of police- men were sent. Isini([uah underwent a preliminary hearing and was taken to civilization for trial. Meanwhile the father of the murdered child arrived home from iJehring Sea. 1 never in my life saw a man the victim of such a struggle to control his temper. However, he held out. and I heard him say in my own house to his weejiing wife : " Now let us not be oversad ; if we are good we will see our little boy again in heaven." The tears came in my eyes and it struck me then that if I had had my troubles I had at least done some good by remaining and trying to do my duty. Oct "(her 25. — The schooner Kii/e arrivea liere and had been chartered by the government to take tiie witnesses to NiUiaimr for the trial of Isinicpiah. I received a sunnnons to accompany them and act as interpreter, which 1 did, rj.ther than pay a fine of live l.undred dollars tor non-attendance. The trial caiiie off in due time, lasti-d thrc" days and lsinii|uah was con- demned to be hanged December i Jth. 'I'he Methodist ministers and one I'resbyterian bigot got up a petition to have the sentenc e commuted, oi rather, have the prisoner (iis( harged. They considered it a jMere of persecution and compared the proceedings to the pro- ceedings of the "Spanish Inquisition !" 'I'heir object at the bottom was, to ,gain the good will of the natives who were related to the murderer, e\( ite them against the (.'atholic jjriest, and tlius prepare the field to put a I'rotestant mis- sion on the coast. This was the first attempt they made to intrude on onr missions on that coast. December 19. — Isinifjuah was hanged on December 12th, after being duly pre- pared by baptism and instruction in our holy religion. The motive of his crime had, presum- ably, been the fact that one of his < hil- dren who had died of measles was called Moses, and the boy whom he killed had the i-'rench name Moise : this latter boy was the child of .\Ii< hel. a good Christian. Isiniquah and his friends, according to an old pagan custom, wanted this man to give another name to his child on account of the similarity of the two names. Michel having re- fused to do so, the murderer availed himself of the absence of the parent and the grandfather of the boy in Hehring Sea to get him out of the way, and he unmercifully took the little fellow in the bush, put his strong hand firmly on the mouth and nostrils of the child and then choked him to death. When the sen- tence was i)ronounced in court, a white. Catholic woman, the mother of .several little children, was heard to say, " that a rope was too good to hang a man who had choked to death an innocent child." When the time of going back to the mission had arrived, the government put at our disiiosition the schooner J-'arorif,', ( cSo tons). Captain L. Mcl-ean. The Indians took along a supply of building lumber and other material with the ob- ject of improving their habitations and their mode of living. 1 had also on board several thousand feet of lumber antl bricks for a new < hun h in hriendly Cove. Nootka Sound These Indians had for a long time refused my ser\ ices as a jiriest. anut he followed them. . . . The Indians knew the entrance to Friendly Cove. \'es, that was the cove. But it was not the cove ... it was a small bay, close to the entrance of the real harbor, which we hud to make : and the I''aroiitt\ having sailed in at full speed, was before long looked upon as in extreme danger close to and touch- ing the rocky shore. The would-be pilots were des|)ondent ; the skipper ke|")t cool and ordered his sailors to run lines on shore, fasten them to the rocks and then try to keep the vessel from go- ing to pieces. 1 heard him make only one sour remark and he did so in a solemn, stern way, •' I could," said he "shoot those sons of savages as they stand in their boots." The mistake was the\' wore no boots. The sailors, after fastening lines to the rock to keep the vessel frcjm striking. hingles and generally helped me to jiut u|i the building. It is a very neat structure, but the inside work is not finished for the want of lining. .As soon as possil)le I assembled the people and baptized their newly- born ( hildren. 1 then left them for the winter season. .\s I was preparing my canoe to return to llesipiiat, most of the people made also arrangements to go up the rivers for the salmon season. i.Syo. — I saw the Nootka Indians, stayed with them a short time and then went on a voyage to I'.urope — the fnst since my arrival in the country twenty- one years ago. .November. — I returned from the old country, where I had spent four months, and secured the necessary funds tor. a new chun h in Mescpiiat. It was about time to move out of the old building, tor it had become a complete wreck. It rained on. my head as I was saying Mass, and the floor of the body of the build- ing was covered with water. It was the poorest church in Christendom. One of the fruits of my lluropean voyage will be the possession of a better place for Divine Service. I1S91, March. — Two I'rench Canadian carpenters arrived here last month on the schooner /■'aron'/r, loaded with building material, in order to build our new church at Hes(piiat. On account of the general boom in liritish Columbia the wages are very high, my men being paid three dollars and fifty cents per day (each) and their board. The plan of the new church was made by Stephen Donovan, of \'i( toria, but was consid- erably modified on account of lack of means to jxit u\) a building such as he had (h.'signed. October. — 1 understand that a young man re])resenting the I'resbj terian ('hurch of Canada has taken u]) his resi- dence at .Mberin. Han lay Sound, and has be"in introduced by the Indian agent to the natives of that distri( t. 1S92. — Some of the Indians are not behaving as well as they ought to do. Their contact with the sailors on the leaking schooners has a bad effect. It is too bad that after all the trouble I have ha I a class of white men, who ought to know better, should excite them against 84 \'ancouver Island and Its Missions. nu' ; and yet only for my presence on thf coast their life and property would not he safe. Satan has more than one means to i)erv'ert good jieople and hin- der the work of Clod from going ahead. In the ])resent ( ase so-called Christian white men are his chosen tools. July. — I'here is great excitement here since .several days, and the old pagan ])eople are exceedingly jjrovoking It was known all along the coast that Antonin. the young ( hief here, and the son of Mat- lahaw, the would-be murderer, was sick and sinking fast of consumption. 'I'he young man, a good lad, was |)reparing for death as a Christian. Now the chiefs from the neighborhood sent medicine- men and medicine-women to tempt him and make him renounce Christianity and have recourse to the old superstitious practices. All their efforts were of no avail, and the young lad died after re- ceiving the last rites of the Church. He was buried in the cemetery with grand solemnity, but the old people objected and used every means to jirevent it. Being defeated in this matter they insisted that the house of the young chief should be broken down and burned. This was always done in the case of anybody dying childless, especially if the departed was a chief. At first I oi)jected, but as the aunt was willing to allow the movers to have their own way I withdrew my opposition. .\nd so the young chief's house, which he had built and intendetl to occup) as soon as he was married, was torn down and burned on the beach. The Hestiuiats have no chief again. The aunt of the departed boy will now be considered as occupying the dignity until her infant son becomes of age. I*'ebruary, 1895. — The Right Rev. Bishop I.emmens paid his first visit to the Indians of this district. As the Bishop had not given notice of his arrival, no reception was prejjared for him. .Most of the Indians were absent, but wlien they heard of the presence of His Lordship they all came to the mis- sion and on Sunday, January 29th, were all present at the blej-sing of my new ( hiirch in the morning and the blessii^g of the Stations of the (,"ross in the afternoon. .\s a piece of bad news the Hishoptold me that the .Methodists were prejiaring to put up a mission in N'ittinut ami had obtained a grant of five hundred dollars from the Dominion (lovernment for missionary purposes. They had asked and obtained the grant for the building of a school, but ofcour.se with them that also means a meeting-house or a church. December. — My jjeople this year have had considerable sickness in the village and many deaths have oci iirred. It casts a gloom over the place. Other- wise the outlook is good. July, 1X94. — During my absence a party of Indians from the State of Wash- ington came across the Straits of l.uca with a supply of whisky which they in- tended to dispose of in Hesipiiat. As soon as the presence of the licjuor in the settlement became known, three of my Christian Indians went and took it away and secreted it in one of the rooms of my house. 1 reported this to the Indian Department and the men, who had acted so judiciously in confiscating the vile spirits, received each a reward of twenty dollars from the Dominion (lovernment. Very touching stories reached us from Xootka The Indians of this district, having refused my services as a |)riestfor a long time, are not as well instructed as they might have been. They were not of real bad will, but the chief having lost his only child the whole tribe went in. mourning, the consecpience being that they excluded not only their games but also the practice of religion. So that on one occasion as I jjresented myself 1 was told in the name of the chief, a crue pagan and bigamist, that my presence was not retiuired. Since then, however, they have sent for me and seem to be well disposed again, as I had occasion to notice when 1 visited them last. One of their young men, having been si( k a very long time and feeling Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 85 that his end was roming, sent for his nearest relatives, 'lins is usual with all the Indians of this coast and tlie scenes that are then enacted are sometimes most touching. The patient is duly prepared for the arrival of the visitors. One < onies in after the other, the men stoically, tlie women with a sad face and a weeping voice, nod their heads to the |)atient; then when they are all seated they all begin to cry and lament and wail. '! he noise which they make as they all join in the songs of grief must be a torture to the dying relative, but it is meant as a compliment and it is taken as such ; it is a matter of pride and deej) consolation to the living when not only near and distant relatives call, but especially if the chief and his subjects related to the patient extend a visit of ( ondolence. After death it is always remembered who did and who did not call and the feeling of the living is good or bad toward their neighbors in accordance with the fact that they have or have not performed this act of eti(piette. After a spell of crying and lamenta- tions speeches are made by the chiefs telling the patient to have a good heart, reminding him of his acts of daring and his success as a hunter, etc., when all begin to retire, leaving only his nearest relatives to whom he e.xpresses his last wishes, the disposition to be made of his worldly possessions and many other matters. In this i)resent case the poor young fellow, after the above scenes and formal- ities had been gone through, being now left alone with his mother, his step- father and a half-brother, gave orders to count the money which he had still left. He had been a great sea-otter hunter and very successful, especially the last season. He then sent his half i)rother for a suit of new clothes whi( h he put on — the Indians always i)ut on to the dying their best clothes and l)lankets. Tiien he sent for another suit and under- clothes. The trader told me that he sjient over one hundred dollars for wearing ajjparel in his place, and the orders of the dying man were that what he could not put on shoidil be enclosed in the coffin or box in whicli his body was put for burial. It is a very curious custom, but in most cases the coffin of the Indians con- tains not only the body, but also a great many things dear to the dead one, su( h as clothes, toys, money, his own and also blankets presented for the ])urpose l)y his friends. His favorite dog is killed, his canoe split uj), his watch or clock destroyed ; anything and everything that would remind the living of the dead rel- ative is done away with and gotten out of sight .\s noticed already, articles or parts of articles having belonged to an enemy are also very often ent losed with the body, the idea and belief being that such a |)roceeding will have the effect of causing si( kness ami death to an ailver- sar\ . The other case referred to was that of a young man whose two little children had died before him. He evidently e.\i)ected to join them in the ne.\t world, for shortly before his death he sent a messenger to the nearest trading station with orders to buy such and such toys, at one time dear to his little ones, and he ordered them placed in the coffin with his own body the moment his death woidd occur. This was an old practice and the fact that it existed before the arrival of a priest on this coast proves that the natives believed in a life after this life. ^Vere they not ahead of some of our civ- ilized would-be scientists? 1895. — ( )ur Indians all over the coast are well disposed ; the iieoi)le of Iles- ([uiat, with the exception of some old men and women, being Catholics and most of them very exemplary. This being known seems to have e.x- cited the Presbyterian and Methotlist (.lenomiu'itions, and their efforts to in- vade the coast are very jjronounc ed. Now that the Indians are more than half civili/ed and are withal peaceable »i tsm IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) i/.i 1.0 I.I 1.25 V^ 11112.0 12.5 2.2 JA ill 1.6 V] <^ /^ /. '/ /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STfl^T WEBSTER, N.V, 14580 (716) 872-4503 .:N% 4^ iV \\ «V^ %^ O^ '^"^€. ^.-J:f> ^^. <^ s .J,. i/.A 86 Vancouver Island and Its Missions. t3. hi and docilf. the sects will come and give us trouble A monthly steamer now also visits the coast, as the government has established a Scandinavian settlement at Cape Scott, the northern end of the island, and bound itself to carry the mails and provisions once a month. With these facilities of travel and the peaceful behavior of the natives all along the coist, the zeal of the Protestant ministers has grown to the extent that tliey now have established themselves at different points on the coast. When a man's life was in danger and when the only means of traveling was an Indian ( anoe ; when the mails reached us only once or twice a year . . . we were wel( ome to do alone the work of converting the natives ; but now with the present fa< ilities and the absence of danger, the ministers come in sight to give us trouble and to pervert our Indian < hildren. .After mature reflection I made u\) my mind to projmse to our Hishop a plan for his ai)|)robation. I would build in a central part of the coast an industrial school for boys and girls. August. — We had a retreat for the clergy last month. All the i)riests of the diocese were present, liefore returning to my mission I spoke to the Hishop of the idea of a boarding-school for our le. I'hey wanted medical treatment for the ( ough- ing infant. It was a dark night but the sky was ( loudless. So then I took my lantern, whistled for my dog and wended my wav in the direction of the village. I noticed a light in some of the houses, for there was sickness in almost all of them. The wolves were howling in the distant e, and the lutlian tlogs were bark- Vancouver Island and Its Missions. 87 ing at the rising moon. The sea was breaking against the shore, but there was not a human sou! to break the solemnity ancl the monotony of the midnight hour. Oh, what a wild, lonely country this is after all I In the home I was impatiently ex|)e( ted ; the grandparents, four of them, an days ago one of the most sensible and most jiious ])er- sons it has been my fortune to have in my parish. This «oman for several years refused to become a Christian and gave as a reason that she was afraid that she might be temjjted and return to the old pagan pra< tices She was converted at last and from the day of her re< eption in the Chun h by baptism she attended Mass every day of the week and was at church every Sunday twice. She had made her first Communion and was con- firmed : and as her son was inclined to be wild and thoughtless she never ceased to warn him. Her last message to her tamily. was to remain faithful to and lol- low the instructions of the priest She received the last sacraments and oh ! how tou( hing it was to see her with her beads in her hands : and when she could not speak any more raise up her hand and point her linger towards heaven ! The faith of those people and the trust they have in (iod at their last moments are worth) of all admiration. I have as- sisted many good peojile at the hour of death, but I have never been so much edified as when I assisted this good wo- man a few days ago She was buried 01, Sunday morning at the parrchial Mass. Her husband with his beads in hands said the prayers aloud, to which the rest of the peoi)le answered. I attempted to say a few words, but the sadness in the chiir< h was such that 1 broke down and cried with the rest. Su< h a scene of sadness and the feelings of sympathy expressed by the good people cannot bedesc ribed nor even imagined by anybody who was not pres- ent at the funeral last Sunday morning. Cod rest the good Indian woman and may she pray for us ! May. — The rumor which reached us some time ago that we have a new Mishoj) proves to be true, for I have just received a letter trom Rev. .\. Christie, of Minne- ap'^'is, inviting me to his consecration, which is to take jihue on|une2> //ri//, ///\ it to our missions by the new prelite, I returned to iii\ house in Hes- quiat and began at once to prepare some of my peo|»le tor Confirmation. i.S()9 — I received a letter from Ilishop Christie with this message: •'(,"oiiieto N'ictoria at once. I want to consult with you aiiout building a boarding school for the Indian children of the west coast. I have just returned from ( )ttawa and have obtained a ])er capita grant from the(iov- ernment for fifty < h'ldren. If we do not accept the grant it will be given to one of the se( ts : your children will be per- verted and you will lose the fruit of all your labors." 88 Vancouver Island and it> Missions. .' f I ) r ! ,'■• ! 9 Since Bishop I.emnuMis had abaiKioncd the idea of such a school, as I had pro- posed to him live \ -ars ago, I had never mentioned to him the advisal)iiity of the •indertaking since that time. It must have become evident to the priests nearer to the Hishoj) than myself that the ivork was a rer i necessity for the silva- tion of our Indian children. In Victoria the good IJishop Christie explained all his plans. "Hut,"' said he, " Father, we have no money to do the work. However, let us conmience at once, /)ct4< f^roviih-hit. Return to the ( oast at the first opportunity, choose a < entral location and 1 will send up lumber and men to