Читать книгу In the Wake of the War Canoe - W. H. Collison - Страница 22

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"The last link in the golden chain."

—Oakley.

Whilst thus engaged in acquiring the language of the Tsimsheans and afterwards in itinerating and evangelising amongst them, I became deeply interested in the Haida tribes which inhabit the Queen Charlotte Islands and also the Prince of Wales Island on the south-eastern coast of Alaska. This interest was intensified by the stories related to me by the Tsimsheans, who manned my canoe in my journeys along the coast, of the depredations and deeds of blood wrought by these fierce islanders at the various encampments which we visited, and up the rivers and inlets of the mainland in the past. It reminded me of the records of the deeds of the Vikings and sea rovers in Northern Europe before the light of the Sun of righteousness had arisen upon them. So fearful were those Indians who accompanied me, that they often hastened to reduce the camp fire when darkness set in, lest it might attract an attacking party towards our camp during the night. In addition to this, Admiral Prevost had informed me that when as captain of H.M.S. Satellite he made his first voyage up the coast, he was surprised on landing at Fort Rupert, to the north of Vancouver Island, to see the heads and decapitated bodies of Indians scattered along the shore in front of the camp, and being washed up by the waves of the rising tide. On inquiry he was informed that a fleet of Haidas on their way south had attacked the camp and, having slain those who resisted, had carried off a number of captives to enslave them.

CANOE-MAKING Finishing touches being put to the bow of a large canoe, which is turned upside down for the purpose. These canoes were carved from a single cedar trunk and hence are called dug-outs.

HAIDA HOUSE This house possesses no totems, but is ornamented with figures and surmounted by a shield. Strips of halibut may be seen drying on the rack outside. Behind it stands the forest.

But even this was not the limit of the courage and ambition of these adventurers. On another occasion they threatened to attack Victoria, and Sir James Douglas, who was then Governor of the Colony, had to order the marines around from the vessel of war lying at Esquimault, in order to drive them back to their camp outside the city limits and thus preserve the peace. When Fort Simpson was established by the Hudson Bay Company in 1834, the Tsimshean tribes, attracted by the advantages afforded for trading there, removed from their old encampments at Metlakahtla and on the Skeena River and established themselves around the fort. To this point also the Haidas come every year to exchange their furs, principally the sea-otter and fur-seal skins, for guns, ammunition, and blankets. But few such visits passed off without a fight, as the Tsimsheans were jealous to see the Haidas possessing themselves of the white man's weapons, and they regarded them as intruders. They were able to open fire on the Haidas from the shelter of their lodges, whereas the Haidas were exposed in launching and embarking in their canoes. Nothing daunted, however, they returned the firing with effect, and were enabled to embark with their cargoes and push off to sea, only to return in greater force when least expected, to take summary revenge on their foes.

In the month of June 1874, for the first time, I witnessed a Haida fleet approaching the shores of the mainland from the ocean, and it left an impression on my mind not yet effaced. It consisted of some forty large canoes, each with two snow-white sails spread, one on either side of each canoe, which caused them to appear like immense birds or butterflies, with white wings outspread, flying shorewards. Before a fresh westerly breeze they glided swiftly onward over the rolling waves, which appeared to chase each other in sport as they reflected the gleams of the summer's sun. These were the northern Haidas, who were famed for their fine war canoes. They have always been the canoe builders of the northern coast. As they neared the shore the sails were furled, and as soon as the canoes touched the beach the young men sprang out, and amid a babel of voices hastened to carry up their freight and effects above the high-water mark. These then were the fierce Haidas whose name had been the terror of all the surrounding tribes. And truly their appearance tended to justify the report. Many of the men were of fine physique, being six feet in stature; whilst those whose faces were not painted were much fairer in complexion than the Indians of the mainland. Some of their women wore nose-rings, and not a few of them were adorned also with anklets, whilst all the women wore silver bracelets, those of rank having several pairs, all carved with the peculiar devices of their respective crests. In their language there was no similarity whatever to the Tsimshean, with which I was now familiar, and which sounded softer and more musical than the Haida.

Amongst the women I found one, a half-breed, whose mother was a Tsimshean and the sister of a chief then resident at Fort Simpson. This woman was the wife of a fine young Haida chief named Seegay, and as she understood both the Tsimshean and Haida tongues, I was enabled through her to open conversation with her husband. For this purpose I invited them frequently to the Mission-house. After several such visits I was enabled to inspire them with confidence, and to draw them out of the reserve so characteristic of the Indian.

I found Seegay's wife as ignorant as he was himself of the simplest truths of the Gospel, as whilst her tribe and people had, many of them, been led to embrace Christianity, she had remained in the darkness of heathenism through her union with the Haidas. It may appear strange that such a union could be possible between the members of tribes so hostile to each other. But for some reason the Tsimshean chief, who was this woman's uncle, had always remained neutral in the conflicts between the Haidas and Tsimsheans, and from this position he had more than once been enabled to make peace between them.

The following year (1875) this Haida fleet again visited the mainland, as also several other lesser fleets of Haidas from Skidegate and the encampments to the south of the Queen Charlotte Islands. As Seegay and his wife accompanied them, I was enabled to renew my acquaintance with them, and again endeavoured to teach them the way of Life and Salvation. On this occasion, as Seegay's mind opened to the importance of the truth, he inquired why we had taken no step to send some one to teach his fellow-tribesmen, the Haidas, as we had done for the Tsimsheans? I realised the force of this inquiry, but the Haidas were not the only tribes then "unvisited, unblest." All along the coast, north and south, and up the rivers, the tribes were in darkness. Only amongst the Tsimsheans and Nishkas had our missions been established.

The Canadian Methodist Missionary Society had made the mistake of opening their first Mission on the north-west coast in 1874 amongst the Tsimsheans instead of pushing out into the regions beyond. Thus there were two missionary societies labouring among the Indians of one language, whilst those of four other different languages were without a missionary. They defended their action by asserting that the Church Missionary Society's missionary had abandoned Fort Simpson when he removed the headquarters of the Mission to Metlakahtla in 1862. But though he had thus removed the Mission, he had not abandoned the Indians at Fort Simpson, but kept up regular services there by the native evangelists, his object being to draw the Indians from the heathen camp and establish them as Christians in the new camp, away from heathen influences, and under improved sanitary laws and rules of civilisation. Shortly after my arrival in the Mission, and when I had paid several visits to Fort Simpson, I concluded that it would be impossible to draw all the Indians from that encampment, and therefore proposed that I should take up my residence there. To this our fellow-missionary strongly objected, asserting that I would thus frustrate his object, and prevent the Indians from joining the new station, where he was erecting a church capable of accommodating twelve hundred worshippers.

The following year (1874) the Methodist Mission was established there, and I at once determined to endeavour to "launch out into the deep" of the darkness around. It was just at this crisis that the call of the Haidas of Queen Charlotte Islands came to me through the question of this young chief, Seegay. I had been commissioned by the committee of the Church Missionary Society to take spiritual charge of the Metlakahtla Mission so soon as I had acquired a knowledge of the language, as Mr. Duncan had intimated his intention to leave the work there in my care, and to proceed to the islands or Fort Rupert to open a new Mission.

Now, however, that I had overcome the difficulties of the language, my colleague intimated his inability to leave; consequently the way was open. I wrote to the committee, strongly advocating the claims of the Haidas, and requesting permission to proceed to the islands.

At first the committee hesitated, as they feared the time I had spent in acquiring the Tsimshean language would be lost, but they shortly after approved of the proposal, and commended my action. I received a most encouraging letter from the Hon. Secretary, the late Rev. Henry Wright, which removed every obstacle. Shortly afterwards the Haida fleet arrived again on the shores of the mainland, but my friend was not amongst them. I received, however, an urgent message from him, informing me that he was very ill, and was most anxious to see me. He had been capsized from his canoe, with several of his tribe, in a sudden squall off the Rose Spit, a most dangerous point to the north-east of the Queen Charlotte Islands. He had been too long in the cold waters before being rescued, and chill had resulted in fever, followed by consumption. His name "Seegay" is the Haida term for "the ocean." And truly he was a son of the sea. He had no fear of its storms or waves, and was one of the most adventurous hunters among the Haidas. In search of the sea-otter or of the fur-seal, he would sail off to the west, until the land was lost to sight, and there with his two companions, when overtaken by night, would fall asleep in his canoe, "rocked in the cradle of the deep," then away again with the first gleam of daylight, to renew the quest. Nor would he steer his canoe homewards until he had secured a goodly number of valuable skins to reward his efforts.

He had early been inured to the dangers of the ocean. When but a lad, he was returning on one occasion with his uncle, the old chief Weah, in a large canoe from the Alaskan coast to the shores of the Queen Charlotte Islands with a number of others. The wind was fair, with a rough sea. With two sails well filled they sped onwards, and, lulled by the motion and the music of the waves, one after another gave way to slumber. Even the old chief slumbered at the helm. Seegay was the only one on the watch. As the canoe, which was well laden, rose and fell with the waves, suddenly falling from a high wave into the trough of the sea, she split from stem to stern, and all were precipitated into the deep. They soon all disappeared except young Seegay, who seized an empty gun box, to which he clung with one hand, whilst with the other he seized the old chief as he rose to the surface, and upheld him there. Another canoe, which was making the same passage and following in their wake, and had witnessed the sudden disappearance of the sails, bore down quickly on the spot, just in time to rescue the lad and his uncle. The shock and exposure proved too much for the old chief, and he died before they reached the shore.

Seegay alone survived. He passed through many similar experiences afterwards, but this last exposure had proved too much for him. It occurred early in the season whilst the waters were intensely cold, and he with those wrecked with him were unable to stand when they reached the shore, and with difficulty dragged themselves up the beach, to escape from the rising tide. His wife had also sent me an earnest entreaty to come and see him, as she believed he would not live much longer. Though unprepared, and unable as yet to enter upon the work for which I had thus volunteered, I could not set aside this appeal. It sounded as the cry of old, "Come over and help us."

On Tuesday, 6th June 1876, I embarked in a Haida-built canoe, with a Tsimshean crew, to make my first journey of some 100 miles to Massett, the principal Haida encampment, situated on the north of Graham Island, which is the most northerly of the Queen Charlotte Islands. My steersman was an old fur-seal hunter, inured to the dangers of the ocean, my bowman a young hunter, the son-in-law of the former, and a skilful canoe sailor, whilst the remainder were lads of some eighteen years, well trained in the use of the paddle, but unaccustomed to the open ocean.

We reached the outermost island off the coast of the mainland on the evening of the first day, and found there a number of fur-seal hunters encamped. They had been unable to put out to sea on the morning of that day, the wind being unfavourable. They were glad to see us, and I conducted a service for them and my crew in the evening. They had shot but few seals, owing to the bad weather. The fur-seal is generally found in schools or shoals, in the months of May and June, in the open waters at a distance from the land. The hunters, when the sea is not too rough, hoist sail and glide over the ocean, often sleeping in their canoes; until at length they fall in with the object of their search, which in such cases are generally found sleeping on the water.

There are usually three Indians to each canoe, the steersman, the sailsman, and the marksman, which last is seated towards the bow. For this post the best shot is always selected. It is no easy task to shoot the seal when the sea is rough, as both the hunter and his object are being tossed up and down, now on the crest of the wave, and the next moment in the trough of the sea. It requires a steady nerve and good sight, with judgment, to fire instantly when the seal rises to the point of vantage. But in order to make sure of their aim, the hunters were in the habit of ramming a heavy charge into their guns. Four or five bullets were commonly used with a proportionate charge of powder to ensure success. These guns were the old long-barrelled Hudson Bay Company's flint-locks, which took the place of the bow and arrow, the spear and the harpoon, the Indian's original weapons. A few years afterwards the flint-locks were displaced by a similar weapon, but with the percussion cap. This also has long since disappeared, and now every Indian hunter is armed with the modern repeating-rifle.

It may be considered advantageous to the Indian hunter to be thus armed, but they assert that they were far more successful in the past when armed with bow and spear. But then the channels and inlets abounded with the sea-otter and the fur-seal, whereas now they are only to be found far from the shores in the open ocean, and in very limited numbers. In the narrative of Captain Meares' voyage along the coast in 1788 and 1789, it is recorded that the sea-otter were plentiful, and were purchased from the Indians along the coast in lots of from twenty to forty skins for a few beads or a few scraps of iron, or large nails. From that time onward there has been such a demand for them, that it may be concluded the Indian hunters have well-nigh annihilated them. My old Snider rifle, which I generally carried with me in my early canoe journeys, and which often provided myself and crew with provisions, when otherwise we might have suffered from want, was quite an object of attraction to those Indian hunters. After a careful examination of the weapon, accompanied by many questions, at length the leading marksman cast it aside, exclaiming that he believed it was worthless, and would not bear comparison with their weapons. This man was named "Nugwats Kippow," or the "Father of the Wolf," and being a daring and successful hunter both on sea and on land, his opinions carried great weight with the others.

Shortly after I had conducted morning prayer with them and my crew, they went out to practise with their guns. For this purpose they affixed a white clam shell as a target on a tree at a distance of some 150 yards. After each of them had tried his skill and the shell remained untouched, they sighted me standing at some distance, and at once challenged me to a trial with my gun. I accepted the opportunity to justify my weapon, which had been so unjustly condemned, and, taking careful aim, shattered the clam-shell target at the first effort. They looked at one another, and the "Father of the Wolf" exclaimed, "Well, the chief evidently knows his own gun," and, casting his own from him on the sand, retreated slowly into the hunting lodge. Trivial though this incident was, yet it gained for me an influence with these Indian hunters which I was enabled to turn to good effect afterwards. The "Father of the Wolf" became one of my most faithful friends, and died some years afterwards, rejoicing to the end in the faith of the Gospel. The report of my skill as a marksman spread to another camp, on an adjacent island, and in the evening I had all the hunters present at the service which I conducted in the open air, whilst the waves of the rising tide, breaking in foam and spray on the rocks around, made wild music which blended with our songs of praise.

It might be supposed from reading the first page of chapter xix. of Mr. Crosby's book that the Haidas had made application to the Church Missionary Society for a missionary, but instead they were strongly opposed to receiving any missionary. Without waiting for any invitation I visited Massett in June 1876, to see Seegay, who was dying. My experiences then are recorded in the following chapter. On the 1st November with my wife and family we took up our residence at Massett. The following year I visited Skidegate and Gold Harbour, and conducted the first services there. We then placed a native teacher at Skidegate, Edward Mathers, who remained and conducted services until the Methodist Missionary Society sent a white teacher. Gedanst (Amos Russ) came to Massett in 1877, and took to wife Agnes, the youthful widow of Chief Steilta, who had just died.