While Captain "Mac's" cynical remarks may have provided a modicum of comfort for the well intentioned but nevertheless easily intimidated missionary, the fact of the matter was there was very little in the Canadian west to warm the missionary heart besides the scenery. When the Methodists first arrived in the territories in 1840, they found the land rugged and treacherous, the elements trying and at times unbearable and the natives equally inhospitable. The Hudson's Bay Company had only recently made inquiries as to the prospect of converting the native Indians to Christianity and their achievements thus far had been anything but spectacular. 4 In addition, the first proselytizing Christians had been either Anglican or Roman Catholic. The Methodists regarded the latter as anti-Christian and were tolerant of the former only because they were pro-British in sentiment. For the six Weslyan ministers who inaugurated the work of the Methodists, then, their work was indeed cut out for them. 5 The heathen natives must be converted, a civilized and prosperous Canadian west must be built, and if need be, the natives must be lured away from the "man of sin," 6 the Roman Catholic priest.

The Methodists were first attracted to the Canadian west because they were convinced that their particular brand of Christianity was ideally suited to a land where individuality, ingenuity and self-determination must, of necessity, prevail. From the inception of their church in the early part of the 18th century, the Methodists had prided themselves on their ability to conform to the popular cultural traits of the day, while at the same time adhering to a Christian philosophy which stressed universal salvation through faith and the application of humanitarian and practical ethics. The Canadian Methodists were also confirmed nationalists. Therefore, any attempt to convert the native population of western Canada to the word of God, was both the Christian

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and the patriotic thing to do.

Accordingly, once it had been decided that the far northwest, as opposed to the Catholic Red River district, would be the Methodist field of activity, Reverend James Evans was dispatched to Norway House as chairman of the missionary district. Initially, his staff consisted of three recruits from England, the Reverends Barnley, Mason and Rundle. 7

The latter, whose intended destination was Fort Edmonton, spent but two months under Evans' careful tutelage. However, the chairman, who is best remembered for his translation of the Bible into Cree, made effective use of the limited time available to him. When Rundle departed for the territory of the North Saskatchewan in August 1840, he had mastered the rudiments of the Cree language.

Robert Terrill Rundle has the distinction of being the first missionary of any Christian denomination to settle permanently on the upper Saskatchewan. 8 For eight years he laboured among the natives of the territory and of his work both layman and fellow missionary have been rightly appreciative. In fact, ten years after his return to England his efforts were still very much remembered. In 1858, Reverend Enoch Wood of Toronto noted that "The seed of the Word sown by Rundle has been wonderfully preserved and blessed, notwithstanding so long a time has elapsed without its receiving any culture."9

After Rundle left the Saskatchewan in July 1848, the sole representative of Methodism west of Norway House was a Swampy half-breed by the name of Benjamin Sinclair. A convert of eight years, Sinclair had been transferred to Edmonton in September 1847, and had assisted Rundle with numerous tasks including the establishment of the Pigeon Lake mission/settlement. From 1848 to 1850, together with his wife and child, he remained at Pigeon Lake and did his best to propagate the Protestant gospel. In 1850 intertribal warfare forced the removal of the mission to the more friendly environs of Lac la Biche. It was here that Sinclair remained, alone and overworked, until 1855. On September 9, 1855, he at last welcomed to the west two missionaries sent out by the Ontario Conference of the Methodist Church, Reverend Thomas Woolsey and Reverend Henry Bird Steinhauer. Reverence Woolsey noted Sinclair's reaction upon their arrival:10

Language fails to describe the joyous manner in which he received us.

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He said that he had done his best to preserve Rundle's Indians from going over to the Romanists as the priests had done their best to get them to apostalize. Brother Sinclair said that the Indians had been expecting a missionary for seven years, and that some of them had often times sat down and wept when they thought that they might never again hear the herald of the Cross. It is an affecting sight to see a man in tears, and especially so to find him weeping because deprived of that Gospel which so many who are at ease in Zion do not sufficiently value.

Of the names associated with Alberta Methodism, Steinhauer and Woolsey are among the most revered. An Ojibway Indian by birth, Reverend Steinhauer was instrumental in strengthening the Lac la Biche mission, and in establishing the Whitefish Lake mission in 1857. His work at the latter location was unique in at least three aspects. Firstly, the mission was not associated with the fur trade and therefore was not as influenced by the whiteman as were other Christian missions. Secondly, it was the first Protestant mission established by a native Indian. And thirdly, it was the first permanent settlement of Indians in Alberta. 11 For almost thirty years Reverend Steinhauer toiled at the Whitefish Lake mission, his-only respites being a brief sojourn at Pigeon Lake (1873-1874) and a short trip to Ontario in 1880. When George and John McDougall arrived at the mission in 1862 it was far in advance of any of its contemporaries. Mission buildings had been erected and the fields surrounding the settlement had been sown and reaped of barley many times. It was an impressive beginning and it was due solely to the judgment, dedication and boundless energy of the Ojibway minister.

An equally impressive tale can be told of Reverend Thomas Woolsey. An Englishman by birth, Woolsey arrived in Canada in 1852 and when sent west three years later was stationed at Fort Edmonton. His stay there, however, was relatively brief, for in 1857 he reoccupied the Pigeon Lake mission left vacant by Benjamin Sinclair in 1850. A variety of factors worked against the success of this particular missionary endeavour. Of primary importance was the mission's location. It was situated in the midst of the warring Stoneys and Blackfoot. Confronted with the hostile environment, Woolsey decided it was best to move further north. In or around 1860 he relocated at Smoky Lake, some twelve miles north of the North Saskatchewan River.

For two years Woolsey attempted to establish a permanent mission at Smoky Lake. A small cabin and a roofless stable were quickly erected

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and by the summer of 1862 it was reported that an interpreter and two "hired men" were assisting Woolsey at the mission. 12 A complement of three, however, was the most he could attract. The location, as it turned out, was far from ideal; there were few fur-bearing animals and consequently even fewer people. When George McDougall suggested that the mission be moved to Victoria, Woolsey agreed.

When George McDougall was given charge of the northwestern Methodist missions in 1860, the objective of his work was "The welfare of the Indian Tribes within the Honourable [Hudson's Bay) Company territory." 13 A man of immense energy and with an intense sense of responsibility, Reverend McDougall was not long in implementing his commission. Those who passed by the Rossville mission (Norway House) were plied with questions concerning the conditions in the great northwest, and when he himself ventured west he was inquisitive as to the plight of both Indians and whites. The immediate problem, of course, was the rum trade. The Hudson's Bay Company did not give up trafficking in liquor until 1862, and prior to that date the appalling results of native drunkenness were anything but condusive to Christian conversion. Once this difficulty was overcome, Reverend McDougall was confronted with a scarcity of food in the Norway House region. Besides the obvious dilemma of feeding the native population, this particular problem had an additional ramification. If the Indians were forced to move south in search of food, they would more likely come into contact with the Catholic missionaries of the Red River settlement and their mixed-blood converts. Such an occurrence was to be avoided at all costs, for a full stomach and a forsaken soul was not the combination the Methodist Church had established as its standard. As the Methodist clergy not infrequently pointed out, "Their [Catholic] converts have a zeal, but their fervour prompts them to propagate a system, not a saviour. 14 Clearly then, the spiritual as well as the material welfare of the native peoples were the catalysts which prompted McDougall to suggest that Protestant missions be established further south and west of Norway House.

Shortly after the decision had been made to extend the Methodist field of operations to the southwest, George McDougall undertook a tour of the Saskatchewan missionary district. He travelled first by boat to Fort Garry, then by horse as far west as Fort Edmonton. Observing the

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vast prairie expanses and the Indians who inhabited them, the chairman was overwhelmed. Fortunately he left a vivid account of the experience: 15 

We are now in the country of the dreaded Blackfoot and in the centre of the great prairie. All round us is strange. One seems to be carried back to some remote, long past age. Never before have I felt so forcibly a consciousness of my own insignificance. Hourly expecting an attack from a war-party, living upon the providence of Heaven, our covering the vaulted sky, our only refuge God - and blessed be His holy name, we are witnesses of His watchful providence over the wants of helpless man.

This initial, and wholely predictable sense of insignificance, however, did not deter him from implementing his plan, namely, the establishment of new Methodist missions in the northwest. Both he and his young son John seized every opportunity to preach to the native Crees and Blackfoot, and their evangelism carried them over three hundred miles in Alberta ' alone. At one point the McDougalls were fortunate enough to meet with the former Warrior-Chief of the Crees, Maskepetoon. The elder chief was perhaps the most famous native Methodist convert. He constantly preached in favour of peace and through his exemplary behaviour he was able to render assistance not only to the Methodist cause, but to the Christian cause as a whole.16 George McDougall was particularly appreciative of his efforts on behalf of Protestantism, for Victoria, the proposed site of his new mission, was located in the heart of Cree territory.

Once the decision had been made to relocate Woolsey's mission at Victoria, young John and Reverend Woolsey were entrusted with the task of constructing suitable buildings for a planned occupation date of the summer of 1863. A slight altercation was the first fruit of this joint endeavour for George had failed to specify what type of building he wanted before departing for Norway House on September 9th. John was of the opinion that long timbers should be faced and a solid block house constructed. Reverend Woolsey, on the other hand, was convinced that a large house built in traditional Hudson's Bay Company style--upright grooved timbers in which tenoned logs fitted in ten-foot spans--would be most appropriate for the new mission. 17 In the end John was either persuaded or overruled by Woolsey and for the remainder of 1862 logs were cut and stockpiled for use early in the new year.

If the McDougalls were expecting to move into comfortable quarters upon their arrival at Victoria in the summer of 1863, they must have

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been sadly disappointed when they discovered that a buffalo skin tent was to be their abode for the next little while. Reverend Woolsey, despite his many Christian qualities, was not a particularly well-organized man, and consequently little headway had been made on the construction of permanent dwellings. The delay, however unavoidable and unintentional it may have been, was a serious setback to the elder McDougall. For one thing, it meant that he had to postpone his missionary journey in search of the Mountain Stoneys, 18 and for another, his family would undoubtedly find it a cold and harsh winter if something more suitable were not constructed immediately. To compensate for the time lost, the McDougall clan set to work to erect a temporary dwelling-house and a store house to hold their few priceless belongings.

By September 1863, a crude one-room log cabin had been completed. George McDougall, an able axeman in his own right, supervised the cutting and lumbering of the logs, while a carpenter named Larsen, hired at the Rossville mission, built a roof, floor, windows and other amenities which required a more detailed knowledge of wood working. John McDougall and the female and younger members of the family were also kept busy. John was sent up river to take out logs for a small church while Mrs. McDougall and the children--Georgiana, Nellie, Flora and George--tended the small garden plot and helped put up the hay for the coming winter. At this time, Peter Erasmus, former guide and interpreter with the Palliser expedition, also joined the missionary party as interpreter and general assistant.

When the mission buildings were sufficiently underway to allow Woolsey to supervise their completion, George and John McDougall and Peter E.rasmus departed for the Mountain Stoney territory in what is now south-central Alberta. A potentially fatal accident marred the initial stage of the journey,19 but when the small group came upon two Stoney Indians their discomfort all but disappeared. The natives were particularly impressive representatives of their proud race and the missionary party was affected not only by their stature and aboriginal bearing, but also by the appreciative manner with which they greeted a proposed visit to their camp. For two days, then, Reverend George preached to the assembled tribe and answered their numerous questions regarding the Almighty. When it came time to leave the camp, the Indians informed

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him that there was no chance of contacting the Mountain Stoneys until the winter. Not to be discouraged, he asked that they convey a message to their brothers- He would visit their camps next summer and they were to look for him during the "Egg Moon." 20 To ensure that both branches of the Stoney nation, Wood and Mountain, would be served by a Methodist missionary, Reverend George also considered the possibility that a new mission might be established the following year. Among the sites he thought suitable was Battle River Lake. In addition to its central location, the site had a supplementary attraction. It was close to the spot where Rundle's converts were reported to have been slaughtered in 1850. Association with a previous Methodist endeavour, tragic though it may have been, was thought to strengthen the mission's appeal for recent Indian converts.

Once McDougall had finalized arrangements for his spring '64 journey, the missionary party returned to Victoria. A comfortable and well-deserved respite, however, was not awaiting the weary travellers, for the meat supply at the new mission was running dangerously low. The stock of fish was also in need of replenishing. Whitefish, surprisingly enough, was an extremely important commodity at Victoria. For one thing, it served as food for the dogs during the winter months, and for another, it was a very welcome change from boiled, baked, roasted or dried buffalo meat.

A buffalo hunt in the mid-19th century was an event unprecedented as far as danger and excitement were concerned. The Indians and buffalo hunters were renowned for the number of animals they could kill in a short span of time, and their ability to dispose of the carcass was equally impressive. John McDougall, himself an excellent hunter and marksman, described some of the tactics and seeming confusion which typified most buffalo hunts: 21 

We charged at the buffalo as they were running down the slope of a hill towards an opening between two dense thickets of timber. The last I saw of Peter was when two bands of buffalo were meeting in their mad rush for this opening, and old Ki-you-ken-os seemed determined to take the gap before them. Peter had his gun stuck in his belt, had hold of the double reins from the big curb-bit with both hands, and was pulling with all his might, mouth wide open, and eyes bulging out; but the old horse did not seem to heed either Peter or his bit--he was running the buffalo a race for yonder gap. Peter and his horse were on the centre line of

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three converging forces: two bands of buffalo, perhaps two hundred each, and Peter and his wild horse. I fully expected to see some buffalo killed by the collision, which was inevitable. I was terribly anxious for Peter. In a few moments the two herds came against each other. A moment later the horse and his rider were in the centre of the confused mass, and then all I could see was buffalo stampeding, and old Ki-you-ken-os leaping over and running amongst the wild herd, which was now tightly jamming its way through the narrow prairie lane. Then dust and distance hid the scene from me.

In addition to the thrill of the chase, the 1863 fall hunt was of further significance to the McDougall missionaries. Of the meat obtained, a goodly portion was destined for their mission at Victoria, and the continued success of the mission depended on a fruitful hunt. Fortunately, the buffalo were plentiful that year, and when father and son returned home after the thirteen day hunt, their wagons were well stocked.

Once sufficient food had been procured for the winter months, attention at Victoria was again focused on the mission buildings themselves. John reported that stables and outbuildings were begun and that work continued on the new mission house. 22 The spiritual welfare of their native brethren always uppermost on their minds, the missionary group also made a start on a small church. The building was to serve as both the spiritual and educational centre for the mission. Situated, as they were, nearly one thousands miles from a mill or hardware store, it would have been impossible to obtain supplies necessary for the construction of two separate buildings. 23

With the onset of the winter snows, the pace of activity at the Victoria mission decreased slightly. The women busied themselves with mending and preparing odds and ends for the new house they would shortly occupy, while the men occupied their time preaching and occasionally venturing out to obtain some fresh buffalo meat. During the Christmas season, it was customary for the missionaries to congregate at Fort Edmonton and preach to the assembled Hudson's Bay Company officials.

For Reverend Woolsey and John McDougall it was both an honour and a treat to represent Methodism during the 1863 festivities. A visit to the Fort was always an exciting event, but much more so during the holiday season. Of the Christmas cheer (non-alcoholic of course) we can assume they heartily partook, and a good time was undoubtedly had by all. The return journey, however, was marred by several potentially

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dangerous incidents. Upon leaving Edmonton one member of the returning party was bitten on the hand by a dog. The wound grew steadily worse as the group proceeded to Victoria and it was reported that upon arrival several members of the missionary community had to work day and night to save his hand. Reverend Woolsey's "unmentionables" were yet another casualty of the return trip. In an effort to warm himself one morning he appears to have ventured just a little too close to the open fire. 24

Reverend Woolsey's singing and his eventual deliverance from the flames was a portent of things to come at Victoria. Initially, the new year brought some very bad news for the missionary group, but the hardships were overcome and the mission was put on a firm foundation. The introduction of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose presence at mission outposts in the past had not always been beneficial, was also the beginning of a long and warm relationship. A new chapter was opening in the history of this small community; a chapter marked by consistent population growth, orderly economic development and the unceasing promotion of the Christian, or more specifically, the Methodist code of conduct.

Continue to Chapter II.
Return to the Index of Les Hurt's Occasional Paper 7
Return to the Mission Index
Or Return to the Smoky Lake History Archive

 Used with permission of Les Hurt and Alberta Community Development.

3. Captain "Mac", Canada: The country, its People', Religions, Politics, Rulers and its apparent Future (Montreal, 1882), p. 312.

4. In 1816 a small group of Hudson's Bay Company directors made inquiries of Governor Semple "as to the prospect of success of civilizations and converting to Christianity the children of Native Indians." Arthur S. Morton, A History of the Canadian West to 1870 - 71, p 631. Cited in James Ernest Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo (Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1960), p. 7.

5. There were three English ministers and three Canadians. The former group consisted of Reverends G. Barnley, W. Mason, and R. T. Rundle. The latter was composed of Reverend James Evans, T. Hurburt and P. Jacobs. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo.