Chapter II: THE MCDOUGALLS AND VICTORIA-1864-1871
In some ways it would be possible to exaggerate the importance of
the McDougall family. They themselves admitted that their success at converting the heathen natives to Christianity was due in large part to
the innate qualities of kindness and generosity shown by their subjects. Yet few people devoted more time and effort to the native cause than did
this Scottish-Canadian family. Despite innumerable difficulties, they
persisted in their missionary work. Fortunately, their persistence was
rewarded. As long as the family resided at Victoria, it remained a
moderately successful Methodist mission, one which could serve as a
healthy example for all Christian denominations. With the beginning of the new year (1864) one would have expected
the spirit of optimism to prevail at Victoria. Initially, such was the case. Enough food had been stored for the remaining winter months, and
thus far the snowfall had been heavy, which bode well for the summer crops. However, the news that the Hudson's Bay Company would no longer
transport missionary goods into the country, meant for the McDougalls that at least one of their party must make a four and a half month
return trip to Fort Garry to purchase the goods necessary for the mission's survival. The onus fell on John. In early April, accompanied
by a French half-blood by the name of Baptiste and three men from Whitefish Lake, he departed for the Red River settlement. The journey
took approximately eight weeks, the party traveling an average of fifteen miles per day. Once at the Fort, John set to work to obtain transport
for the return trip. The supplies had been requisitioned earlier in the year, but carts could be purchased only on the spot and a good deal of
haggling went on before the requisite number were secured. The oxen averaged E7 apiece ($35), while four
milk cows cost anywhere from E3
($15) to E3 10s ($18). A promising three-year-old colt, a descendant of the
H.B.C. stallion " Away", was an extravagant C14 ($70). In
addition, John purchased ten sacks of flour at El 14s ($8.75) each. These were to be shared with the Steinhauer mission at Whitefish Lake.
25
(The picture of Rev. George McDougall occupies page 14.)
While John was away, the-remaining members of the McDougall clan busied themselves with the mission buildings and the small garden plots.
Unfortunately, a significant portion of the logs scheduled for use on the house had to be recut for a prairie fire burnt the original
stockpile. 26 Nevertheless, by August the structure was completed and Mrs. McDougall could luxuriate in a pretentious residence of eight rooms;
kitchen, living-room, dining-room, and bedroom, on the ground floor, and four additional bedrooms on the upper level.
Lumber for the residence
was all "whip-sawed", the missionary party having to "straighten and plane and groove and tongue and bead, all by
hand."27 Glass windows,
opulence in the extreme, let in the light, while two open fireplaces heated the structure.
28 When first occupied there was neither furniture
nor stove, but as John noted at the time "Larsen was hard at work at the former, and time and money-would eventually bring the latter. .
" 29 A wooden palisade was also constructed around the mission house. According to John, it was to command respect from the lawless
around home, and be a great help from enemies who might come from a distance
30
Mrs. McDougall laboured endlessly over the garden plots. The seeds, which had been brought from Lac la
Biche, Edmonton and Whitefish
Lake the previous winter, were dispensed in a niggardly fashion--a thimble full at a time to the neighbouring natives--and their growth and flowering
overseen with the utmost of care. A bountiful garden crop was a distinct possibility in the summer of 1864 and the prospects for the barley
harvest were equally encouraging. Surprising indeed was the productivity of these small plots, especially when one considers that a few hoes and
but one plough were all the implements the community had with which to work.
When McDougall undertook his missionary duties to the west in 1860, his primary objective was to provide the natives with a sound Christian
education. At Victoria this process was begun immediately upon arrival, but was retarded somewhat by the lack of adequate facilities, namely, a
school. In the autumn of 1864 this deficiency was remedied. The log shanty which had been hastily build in 1863 as the McDougall family
residence was converted into a school. Once both teacher and pupils moved into their new quarters, the educational component of the Victoria
(beginning of page 16)
mission was firmly established. Mr. Connor, who with his son James returned with John from Fort Garry during the summer, proved to be an
excellent instructor and the pupils eager and willing to learn. At the outset his class consisted of nine students; Mr. Steinhauer's children
from Whitefish Lake, the McDougall children and one orphan Indian child. This small contingent was soon enlarged and it was not long before John
reported that councils of instruction were being held "night after night" and "Sabbath after
Sabbath". 31 It is interesting to note that one of the first pupils to attend the newly founded school, Abigail
Steinhauer, went on to devote her life to missionary work as the wife of Reverend
John McDougall.
Of more significance, at least as far as native education was concerned, were the regular visits paid to the Indian camp by McDougall
and his associates. One such trek was undertaken in the summer of 1864 when Reverend George, Peter Erasmus and Henry Steinhauer visited the
Mountain Stoneys. The natives had been expecting the visit for well over one year and when the missionaries finally arrived at the upper
crossing of the Battle River-they were accorded a warm welcome. The sight of three hundred natives camped on the banks of the river, however,
was insufficient reason for McDougall to terminate his trip there. He had hopes of finding even greater numbers of the Stoneys and consequently
the party continued farther south. Some forty miles north of Morley they encountered the rest of the tribe. George McDougall was so taken
with the Stoneys, their appearance and demeanor, as well as with the country, that he promised then and there to ". - . do what he could to
urge upon the Mission Board the need of establishing a mission in their
midst. 32 While returning to Victoria he insisted that his party make a detour to the north shore of Pigeon Lake. He wanted to
see the old Rundle-Sinclair settlement, the site he hoped would soon become the centre of missionary activity to the Stoney people.
Although the McDougall men were away from Victoria a good deal during 1864, work at the mission proceeded much as usual. When necessary
Mrs. McDougall supervised the haying and harvesting activities and the children were equally adept at assisting their parents with farm related
duties. When winter finally overtook the mission everything was in order. The pantry was as full as could be expected and a recent buffalo hunt had (The
picture of Rev John McDougall occupies page 17.)
(beginning of page 18.)
ensured that the company would not run low on meat. To the delight of all concerned, the Christmas season was greeted with a spirit of
thanksgiving and optimism. Things had gone exceedingly well for the mission during the past year and there was every indication that the good luck
would continue into the next.
Of the many Indian tribes that inhabited the Canadian west, it was the Stoneys that George McDougall was particularly attracted to. His
disappointment at not having encountered them in 1862 was markedly visible in his correspondence and his enthusiasm at the initial meeting
in the summer of 1863 was equally emotional. It is little wonder then that he had precise and immediate plans for establishing the Pigeon Lake
mission in 1865. A good deal of his time was devoted to this endeavour, and he even went so far as to detail his son John to oversee the new
mission's operation. Surprisingly, however, the amount of time and energy expended on Pigeon Lake did not detract from the Victoria
operation. The local Indian population was still the recipient of the McDougall sermons and if called upon the family also rendered medical
and agricultural advice. More often than not it was the former which was eagerly sought. The Indians were inordinately susceptible to the
whiteman's diseases and unfortunately their traditional remedies, whether of a medicinal or spiritual nature, were totally ineffective
in combating any new virus. In the spring of 1865 the McDougall missionaries were called upon to help fight the epidemic of measles
and scarlet fever which had rapidly spread among the native population. There is no record as to how many were decimated by the disease in the
Victoria area, although it can safely be assumed that the death rate was minimal. In September 1864, well before the pestilence reached
epidemic proportions, George McDougall requested "vaccine matter" from Fort
Edmonton.33
Since by 1865 the Hudson's Bay Company had still not slackened its regulations with regard to supplying the missionary outposts, it was
once again necessary that a member of the McDougall family undertake the trip to Fort Garry. John being busy at the Pigeon Lake mission,
the unpleasant duty devolved onto George. Strenuous though the Journey would undoubtedly be, he embarked with marked anticipation. If the
much needed supplies were not sufficient incentive, two of his children,
(beginning of page 19)
David and Elizabeth, who had been attending school in the east, were to accompany him back to Victoria. Happily, they were not the only
additions to the community. A small colony of English speaking half-breeds, estimated to be in the neighbourhood of twenty-five to thirty families,
emigrated from the Red River country and settled to the east of the mission. 34
With the entire McDougall family together for the first time in five years, Christmas of 1865 was an especially joyous occasion.
Abigail McDougall (nee Steinhauer) was warmly, welcomed into the fold, and the two young arrivals revelled in their newfound surroundings.
Hundreds of miles from the nearest civilization, all agreed that Christmas had not lost its old meaning. Elizabeth McDougall admitted that
their Christmas may have seemed strange to some: 35
No Christmas tree, for there was nothing to put on it; no Christmas gifts, for there were none to buy, and nothing to make them of.
Even the Christmas turkey was missing. Indeed it was difficult to get up a dinner one thousand miles away from the nearest town, no
butcher, no baker, no grocer, all the people depended upon coming from St. Paul, Minnesota, or London, England. A bag of flour cost
thirty dollars, and we had only two for that year, all the missionary could buy at Fort Garry the previous summer. White flour,
indeed, was a luxury, kept for sickness, holidays, or Sundays, barley flour being used in its stead.
Buffalo meat, turnips, potatoes, plum pudding and barley cake a novel Christmas dinner!
However, necessity is the mother of both invention and improvisation and of the thirteen guests present at the Christmas celebration, none
complained about the meal's quality or originality.36 The antics following the dinner were of a similar sort. A run in a dog-drawn cariole
took the place of the traditional Christmas sleigh ride, and a single harmonium substituted for the small accompanying band or an organ. To
be sure, the luxuries usually associated with life in the mid-19th century were absent from Victoria, but the spirit of "Peace on Earth,
Goodwill to Men was ever present.
During the year and a half from January 1866 to the summer of 1861, the McDougall missionaries continued their work with little or no
interruption in the seasonal routine. The usual preparations were made for the summer harvests and the fall buffalo hunts, and once again John
was entrusted with the task of obtaining the yearly supplies, only this time from Fort Carlton.
37 The 1866 stock of provisions was supplemented
(start of page 20)
by the addition of three chickens which John managed to obtain from the Roman Catholic mission at St. Albert. Despite the exorbitant cost
of the birds, two dollars each, 38 Mrs. McDougall was overjoyed at the purchase. At last her menus would consist of meat other than buffalo.
An exciting diversion in an otherwise uneventful year was the marriage of Elizabeth McDougall to Richard
Hardisty, then in charge of the
Hudson's Bay Company outpost at Rocky Mountain House. The wedding ceremony, presumably performed by the bride's father, took place at
Victoria on September 21, 1866, and the couple are reported to have spent their honeymoon at Fort Edmonton.
39
In the early autumn of 1867 the normally tranquil life of the Victoria mission was interrupted when George McDougall and three of his
younger daughters departed for eastern Canada. The trip was undertaken partly in response to the educational needs of the children, but the
primary purpose Was to arouse the people of eastern Canada as to the possibilities of the northwest and the need of both men and money to
carry on the Methodist work. George spent nearly one year in Upper Canada and before he left he had collected well over one hundred
dollars in donations and secured the appointment of three new ministers and two new teachers.
Reverend George Young was appointed to the Red
River district, Reverend Egerton R. Young to Norway House, and Reverend Peter Campbell and the two Snyder brothers accompanied George back to
Victoria. 40
Once the administrative details regarding the new appointments were dispensed with (Reverend Peter Campbell was to open a Methodist
mission at Fort Edmonton and one of the Snyder brothers was to accompany him as a teacher),
Reverend McDougall resumed his normal duties at
Victoria. Shortly after his return he visited his son at Pigeon Lake and preached to his beloved
Stoneys. According to John, many of the
natives desired a Christian marriage and Christian baptism for their children.
41 No sooner had he accomplished this mission than he was forced to turn his attention to another matter which had plagued
Victoria for the past few years, namely, miners from the Cariboo wintering at the outpost. Since 1866 these men had been a source of
both comfort and consternation for the missionary family. They delighted at their conversion to Christianity, but were abhorred by the violence
(start of page 21)
which seemed to characterize the lives of many of them. In his annual missionary report for 1866-1867, George noted that one of their number
had been killed by the Blackfoot and he fully expected the miners to exact retribution.
42 By 1869 the incidents of violence had abated
considerably and the provision of adequate medical and spiritual services became the missionaries' major concern.
The winter of 1868-1869 was an extremely trying one for those who found themselves on the Alberta plains. There was scarcely any snow
and consequently the hunters found it difficult to track wild game of any sort. Conditions around Victoria were so severe that George
McDougall was forced to vacate the mission. Writing to his superiors on May 1, 1869, he noted that the scarcity of food compelled him to
move his family onto the plains and he did not expect to return until at least July.
Yet another cause of anxiety for the missionaries was
the murder of Maskepetoon, the old Cree Chief. The Chief had been a source of strength and encouragement for those concerned with
maintaining the tenuous Indian peace and his death was indeed a bitter loss.
George explained the circumstances of his demise:43
The old Chief, who has ever been a peacemaker, started about two
weeks ago [mid April] for the Blackfoot camp, hoping to arrange for a peace among the tribes. He was approaching the camp, bearing
a white flag with one hand, and carrying his Bible in the other, when a blood-thirsty Blackfoot, called the Swan, rushed upon the
old man and shot him, and then the work of death began; seven of our own Crees were literally cut to pieces. The death of our old
Chief is regarded by both whites and Indians as a national loss.
The effects of Maskepetoon's death, however, were not restricted to the warring Crees and Blackfoot. Since the missionaries were thought
to favour and harbour members of the Cree tribe, the Blackfoot considered them equally dangerous adversaries. They therefore carried their war
as far north as Victoria and according to George McDougall some of
[his] people suffered severely." 44 One such incident nearly proved fatal
for a member of his own family. While hauling a boat onto the bank near the mission, John and a Christian Cree were fired upon by a small war
party of Blackfoot. 45 Fortunately, neither party were injured, but incidents such as these were not uncommon and life at Victoria was
rapidly becoming anything but pleasant.
If the crop failures, the Blackfoot raids, and the general disorder of the times were discouraging for the Victoria missionaries, their
(start of page 22)
spirits must have been lifted when they learned that they still had many generous and concerned friends in eastern Canada. According to the
Wesleyan Missionary Notices, the Victoria missionaries were the recipients of numerous gifts, gifts which were not only costly and hard to
get, but also of unesteemable value as far as their work was concerned.
Messrs. D. Moore and E. Jackson of Hamilton are reported to have donated a cooking stove to the mission and sixteen dollars was collected by Mrs.
W. Christie of Brockville for use at the school. The list of donations sent to the western missions also included some seventy-six dollars in
cash, and presumably a portion of this sum was made available to George
McDougall. 46 A slight change in personnel in the summer of 1869 was also welcomed by those stationed in Victoria. John and his family
returned to the mission after their five year sojourn at Woodville (Pigeon Lake).
Ostensibly, the change was a means of bettering the service
to the Plain Crees (the Edmonton mission was to be closed temporarily and Reverend Campbell to be moved to Woodville), but an additional
reason was the expected birth of John and Abigail's third child. It was only natural that the young couple wished to be with their family for
such an event. 47
In order for McDougall and his missionary colleagues to accomplish their original task of converting the natives to
Christianity, it was absolutely essential that peace prevail on the plains.
Inter-tribal and inter-racial warfare was destructive not only in terms of human
lives, but also in terms of "civilizing tendencies" which might have been instilled in a few natives.
If progress was to be made, then all
efforts must be directed toward bringing the Indians under control. Capable though the missionaries may have been, it was beyond even their
abilities to bring this about unassisted. The Indian lands belonged ultimately to the Federal Government and their involvement was
unavoidable.'
48 A petition from the native peoples of Victoria and Whitefish Lake, addressed to the Governor of Rupert's Land, is illustrative of
their anxious concern to arrest the difficulties between Indians and whites: 49
Great Chief! We welcome you and your people to the home of our Fathers; we are the friends of the white man, and are anxious
that no trouble may ever arise between your children and others. Great Father! We ask that wise men might be sent to our Councils
(start of page 23)
to tell us what you wish to do with our lands, and how much we are to keep for ourselves and our children . . . .
Also how the Indian must behave towards the white man, and how
the white man is to treat the Indian. Let these things be done very soon and a great weight will be lifted from our minds, and we
believe the danger of trouble taken away from our country.
McDougall echoed native concern when he too urged upon the Governor the necessity of a speedy and peaceful solution to the land question. "I
would advise," he urged, "that no time be lost in meeting them at their councils, treating with them for their lands, and by patient explanation,
allay the present excitement. ."50
No one, however, neither the Hudson's Bay Company nor the Dominion Government, was particularly concerned with the plight of the Indians.
Official information was rarely sent west, and in its place McDougall and his many colleagues had only to deal with
rumours, which expectedly
bred prolifically. Tensions reached such a high pitch in the winter and spring of 1870 that Reverend George was troubled that the French
mixed-bloods in the Victoria area would join the Riel party in sympathy. Fortunately, such was not the case, but McDougall continued to hold a
very low opinion of those to whom he ascribed the blame for the troubles. He persistently regarded the Catholic priests and Fenians"as subversive
elements within Canadian society. While McDougall was extremely chauvinistic in his appraisal of French-speaking Catholics, it should be
mentioned in his defense that he was more than willing to defend what he considered to be a righteous cause. He offered to be one of twenty
men to attack Fort Garry when it was under the control of Riel and his accomplices.
While political machinations of various sorts continued in the Red River district and in eastern Canada, the pioneers at Victoria had to
contend with yet another serious problem, an outbreak of smallpox among the Indians. " The disease had originated in the Sioux country to the
south, but in no time the Piegans, Blackfoot, Stoneys, and finally the Crees found themselves battling the dreaded scourge. The elder
McDougall was in the Red River district when the Victoria mission was hit, but John did what he could to prevent the disease from spreading to the
entire population. Acting on his father's instructions, he closed the church and encouraged the settlers and natives to scatter and seclude
(start of page 24)
themselves in the neighbouring woods. That the pestilence continued to wreck havoc among the Indian tribes is a proven fact, but the mortality rate at Victoria and other Methodist missions, e.g., Whitefish
Lake, was considerably less than the norm. In 1870 Richard Hardisty assessed the losses in the northern regions of his district:
51
Table 1. Mortality Figures for the Smallpox Epidemic of 1870.
Community St. Albert St. Anne Ft. Edmonton Victoria Whitefish Lake Lac la Biche St. Paul Fort Pitt Carlton |
Deaths 320 40 30 55 50 13 150 100 100
|
Source: Hardisty Papers, Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary.
For the Methodists, the above figures represent a complete vindi cation of their policies. Oblate criticism that their behaviour was both heartless and cruel was totally unfounded, as was the contention that the Protestant ministers refused to visit their parishioners. 52 George McDougall, of course, was equally jaundiced in his views of the Oblates. He rarely admitted that so much as their intentions were good, and he was never to concede that their labours were of benefit to even a few natives. It is a sad reflection on both these branches of Christianity that they never learned to trust and work with one another.
One of the most harrowing aspects of the smallpox epidemic at Victoria was the death of three of George McDougall's children. On October 18, 1870, the youngest daughter, Flora, passed away, and within two and a half weeks, Anna, an adopted Indian daughter, and Georgiana, followed. It was a heartbreaking experience for a very close and loving family. Mrs. McDougall was prostrate with grief and son David admitted that he too found it hard to bury your own dead." 53 The family's Christian faith undoubtedly sustained them during this very difficult period, but the tragedy hung over the mission for a long time to come.
(start of page 25)
Colonel Butler wrote of the unhappy Christmas of 1870: 54 I spent the evening of Christmas Day in the house of the missionary. Two of his daughters sang very sweetly to the music of a small melodeon. Both song and strain were sad--sadder perhaps than the words or music could make them, for the recollection of the two absent ones whose newly-made graves covered with the first snow lay outside, mingled with the hymn and deepened the melancholy of the music.
The three-fold nature of the McDougall mandate was to Christianize, educate and "civilize" the native people of the west. By 1871, the family had made remarkable advances in all three fields, but their most noted achievements were in the sphere of education. George had always maintained that a mission without a school was an anomaly and that the education of the youth should receive top priority in any missionary activity. It has been noted above that Mr. Connor was the first lay teacher at Victoria, but from his early endeavours far greater things were to develop. Once the schoolhouse/church was completed in the spring of 1865, enrollments steadily increased. 55 As newer and better books were added to the library, the quality of education improved as well. 56 When Mr. McKenzie arrived in 1870, the school proudly boasted an enrollment of forty-odd students and of the 130 mixed-bloods who lived at the mission, most could read the Bible and understand the English language. Notwithstanding the smallpox epidemic which swept through the settlement, the missionaries and teachers were not unmindful of their duties to the remaining Indian youths. As soon as the pestilence was brought under control, classes were resumed. By February 1871 attendance had once again risen to forty or fifty scholars. Neither was the education of the parents neglected in favour of their offspring. Evening classes were held for the adults of the mission. George McDougall reported that six or eight people were called upon each evening to read short pieces of their own selection. "So profitable have been the exercises," he noted, "that we intend to introduce them among the natives, training those who understand the syllabic characters to interest their people with portions of the Bible."57 The Victoria mission was also favoured by several benefactors who appreciated the worth of a sound education. In addition to the one hundred dollars collected from the local residents in 1871, Chief-Factor W. J. Christie donated an equal amount for the mission schools at Victoria and Whitefish Lake. 58
(start of page 26)
Education, it seems was now becoming a commodity to be valued. The year 1871 marked a watershed in the history of the Victoria mission. In June, George and Mrs. McDougall took their leave of the small settlement and moved to Edmonton. It was a transfer long anticipated and in fact badly needed. Edmonton was the capital of the Methodist missionary district and the mercantile depot for a large part of the northwest. At the Methodist district meeting held in March 1871, it was agreed that the rapidly growing community should be served by an able and dedicated minister. What could the citizens of Edmonton expect from their new clergy- man? The answer lay in his record at Victoria. From an isolated out- post in 1862, the mission had grown into a sizeable rural community. The population now numbered nearly 150 and they were serviced by a church, 59 a school, and most recently by a hospital. 60 The mixed-bloods who had settled in the area had largely given up the chase as a means of livelihood and were now content to cultivate the land and pursue a more sedentary existence. The McDougall brand of Christianity had also made its imprint on the natives. Inter-tribal warfare no longer characterized Indian life in north-central Alberta. Tolerance and forbearance were becoming increasingly common. Because he believed so strongly in the righteousness of his work, he bequeathed to his successors a moderately prosperous and Christian community.
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Chapter II.
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Footnotes:
25. Ibid., p. 147.
26. Wesleyan Missionary Notices (British), letter dated Rossville, July 4, 1864.
27. Edna Kells, Elizabeth McDougall: Pioneer (Toronto: The United Church Publishing House, n.d.), p. 9. According to Rev. Woolsey, the frame for this building was erected in 1863 and measured 38 ft. by 22 ft. "Papers relative to the Wesleyan Missionary and the State of Heathen Countries," September 1864. Welseyan Missionary Notices (British). J. McDougall, Saddle Sled and Snowshoe.
28. John McDougall, Saddle, Sled and Snowshoe, p. 126. Elizabeth McDougall when describing the house as it stood in 1865, however, maintained that there was but one open fireplace: "The mission house, like the church, was of logs, whitewashed without and boarded within, amply fortified against the severest winds. Down the centre of the dining room was a long table, homemade, as were the chairs ranged around it. Bright pictures from magazines which had found their way across the continent from the Old Land decorated the walls, while buffalo robes strove to hide the bareness of the wooden floors. But best of all was the open fireplace, with its blazing, crackling logs and the flames roaring up the wide chimney...." An Alberta Christmas. (Unpublished manuscript found in the Glenbow Alberta Institute, Calgary), p. 2. For several years Mrs. McDougall did all her cooking over the open fireplace. According to Edna Kells, however, "an oven of stones and clay" was eventually built outside. Elizabeth McDougall: Pioneer, p. 19.
29. John McDougall, Saddle, Sled and Snowshoe, p. 182.
30. For the palisade was constructed of tamarac logs. Ibid., pp. 125 - 126. For the exact location of the various buildings, see Figures 10 and 16 and Appendix One.
31. John McDougall, George Millward McDougall, p. 123.
32. Cited in J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 33.
33. Fort Edmonton Journal, September 1864. Microfilm copy of Hudson Bay Records found in the Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Future references will omit location.
34. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 36; John McDougall, George Millward McDougall, p. 129; and Fort Edmonton Journal, August 2, 1865.
35. Elizabeth McDougall, An Alberta Christmas, p. 2.
36. Four Hudson's Bay Company officers spent the holidays at the Victoria Mission. Ibid., p. 3.
37. In 1866 the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to transport missionary goods as far west as Fort Carlton.
38. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 37.
39. Edna Kells, Those Wonderful McDougall Women (Unpublished manuscript found in the City of Edmonton Archives), Chapter 11, p. 9.
40. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 40.
41. John McDougall, George Millward McDougall, p. 135.
42. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 39.
43. Wesleyan Missionary Notices, p. 58; letter dated Victoria, May 1, 1869.
44. Cited in John McDougall, George Millward McDougall, p. 139.
45. Cited in Edna Kells, Elizabeth McDougall, p. 29.
46. Wesleyan Missionary Notices, p. 78; letter dated Victoria, late 1869 early 1870.
47. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 54.
48. On December 1, 1869, the Hudson's Bay Company lands in Rupert's Land were transferred to the Dominion Government in Ottawa. The terms of the agreement stipulated that Canada would pay £300,000 for the property, grant the Company up to 3,000 acres of land around each of the outposts, and surrender to the Company 1/20 of the "fertile" belt in the northwest. W. L. Morton, The Kingdom of Canada (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1970), p. 334.
49. Missionary Notices, series 2, pp, 105, 106. The address is quoted in a letter from John McDougall, dated Victoria, January 5, 1870. Cited in J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 58.
50. Cited in J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 59.
51. Hardisty Papers, File 15 - 82. Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary, Alberta. Future references will omit location.
52. Oblate Papers, 1870, p. 497. The Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. "Les protestants de l'endroit avaient écrit à leur ministre une lettre pressante pour le solliciter de venir à leur secours; le ministre s'était contendé d'écrire une longue épître d'excuse et de consolation en les exhortant à mourir, avec confiance. Pendant ce tempts, un autre ministre resident à Victoria fermait sa porte à ses coreligionaires pestiférés, et, pensant que la prudence est mere de la sûreté, leur faisait, passer ses mediacaments par la croisée, au bout d'un bâton."
53. Missionary Notices, series 2, pp. 147-149; letter dated Victoria, December 2, 1870. Cited in J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 66.
54. Cited in Edna Kells, Elizabeth McDougall, pp. 23 - 24 According to Rev. A. Sutherland, who visited the site in 1880, Mrs. J. McDougall and the children were buried "in the mission house garden." A summer in praire-land. Notes of a tour through the North West Territories (Toronto: Methodist Book and Publishing House, 1881), p. 116.
55. Of a most primitive nature, the building was whitewashed without, boarded within, and spartanly decorated. According to Elizabeth McDougall, long backless benches seated both pupils and congregation, and a platform erected at one end of the building served as the pulpit. Elizabeth McDougall, An Alberta Christmas, p. 1.
56. In the summer of 1870, Reverend George McDougall purchased forty dollars worth of school books from the Right Reverend Robert Machray, Anglican Bishop of Rupert's Land. J. E. Nix, Mission Among the Buffalo, p. 63.
57. Cited in John McDougall, George Millward McDougall, pp. 170 - 171.
58. Ibid., p. 171.
59. By April 1870, an end gallery had been built onto the church. It was to accommodate an additional sixty people. Wesleyan Missionary Notices, p. 125; letter dated Victoria, April 5, 1870.
60. "The people of Victoria erected a building for a hospital, and taxed themselves seventy-five cents a month, each male, over and above providing fuel and provisions; and up to this date, the good Lord has signally blessed their efforts." Wesleyan Missionary Notices, p. 162; letter dated Victoria, January 10, 1871. There was no doctor at the "hospital", rather the missionaries would merely administer to the sick with any medical provisions which happen to pass their way.
Continue to
Chapter II.
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Or Return to the Smoky Lake History Archive
Used with permission of Les Hurt and Alberta Community Development.