Watkins

Rev. Edwin Watkins: Missionary to the Cree: 1852—1857

Pp. 91-117 in Papers of the Sixteenth Algonquian Conference, William Cowan ed. Ottawa: Carleton University.

[1] Acknowledgements: This research would have been impossible without the generous assistance of the General Synod Archives of the Anglican Church of Canada, Toronto, and in particular of Archivist Terry Thompson and Assistant Archivist Dorothy Kealey. I am grateful to Dick Preston for his comments on this paper, and for our many conversations on the impact of missionaries on the Eastern Cree. Thanks also to Toby Morantz for her reactions to an earlier draft of this paper, to the Hudson’s Bay Company for permission to consult its archival holdings, and to David Pentland for reading this paper at the 16th Algonquian Conference in my absence.

Fort George is not nearly so important a field of missionary labour as I was given to understand (Watkins 1853b)

The Reverend E. A. Watkins[2]was the first missionary stationed permanently to a remote island community on the east coast of James Bay, a Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) post known to Europeans as Big River or Fort George. Now relocated on the mainland, the settlement is known by its traditional Cree designation, Chisasib[3]i. Church Missionary Society (CMS) journals and correspondence are used to document Watkins’ activities and accomplishments in attempting to introduce new beliefs and regular patterns of worship and formal education among HBC employees and Cree hunters. It is also a story of missionary frustration and failure, of one white man’s maladaptation in a northern Algonquian environment.

There were 12 feet of water over the outer bar and, with a rising tide, the HBC vessel Prince Albert passed easily over it to anchor at the inner roads of the Moose River (Watkins 1852a, 18 August). The Reverend Edwin Arthur Watkins and his wife Ann were eager to get ashore to their new home in Moose Factory. The mission had been developed by the Wesleyan Methodist George Barnley from his arrival in 1840 until his abrupt departure in 1847, and had then lain vacant for four years, during which time it was briefly visited in summer by Oblate priests (Long 1981, 1985). In 1851, however, schoolteacher John Horden and his wife had reoccupied the post on behalf of the CMS. This had been a temporary measure: a clergyman was required and Horden was not ordained. Watkins would take charge of Moose Factory, and Horden would travel to Red River for theological training (Long 1978). Among those awaiting the Watkins’ arrival at Moose Factory was David Anderson, first Bishop of Rupert’s Land. He had journeyed to James Bay by canoe from diocesan headquarters at Red River. The new diocese, created in 1849 as the result of a generous bequest by HBC trader James Leith, was immense (Boon 1962:58-59). This was Anderson’s first episcopal visit.

Next morning brought Watkins disappointment: he was informed he would not be staying at Moose. In the evening, he attended church to witness the examination of Horden’s Indian communion candidates. The building was nearly full, with men seated on one side and the women on the other (a common Indian pattern). The singing was “hearty”, and the entire service was conducted by Horden in Cree (Watkins 1852a, 19 August). This remarkable and congenial man had accomplished a great deal during his year at Moose Factory, and Bishop Anderson had decided to ordain him and keep him there (Anderson 1873).

And so the Watkins set out for Fort George, 200 miles away on the northeast corner of James Bay. It was the hope of extending Christianity to the Inuit (who had begun visiting Fort George in 1839), as well as their Indian neighbours that had resulted in the Bishop’s decision to redeploy the Watkins there. The HBC’s plans to commercially hunt beluga whales at Great and Little Whale Rivers seemingly guaranteed Fort George’s importance (Francis 1977; Francis and Morantz 1983). In addition, establishing this mission was an essential strategic move in the denominational rivalry that characterized the period. Horden hoped it would serve as a “bulwark against Romish emisaries who had looked in that direction for converts to their heretical doctrines — may James & Hudsons Bays soon be clear of them” (Horden 1852, 1853a).

En route to Fort George, the Watkins stopped at Rupert House and found it to be “much smaller than ... expected.” They were finally welcomed to their remote destination by Chief Trader John Spencer and family on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Spencer recorded his own enthusiasm: “am exceedingly rejoiced to find that such a ... respectable couple have been appointed to reside at this place, where their services will be a salvation to us poor creatures, secluded as we are from all society, and so little to be seen of a European nature in this distant part of the country” (Spencer 1852, 10 October, fo. 5d). But what a disappointment Fort George must have been to the Watkins, who found it to be “not much superior either in appearance or in importance to Ruperts House.” There were 35 Indians present, including children, but by the end of the month they had all departed except for two young women and a boy who were employed as domestic servants. Watkins assessed the situation bluntly: “Fort George is not nearly so important a field of Missionary labour as I was given to understand” (Watkins 1853b). His clientele was composed of three groups: the villagers or HBC servant families; the Cree, both inlanders and coasters; and the Inuit, who are excluded from this discussion.

Watkins admired the ingenuity of the Indians’ rabbit snares, and observed their smoky, crowded log or caribou skin tents. He commented on their rabbit skin weaving, their method of stick-roasting a fish, and the speed at which a goose was plucked. He recorded the sight of his first beaver lodge. He marvelled when a Cree woman with a two-day old child, named David after Bishop Anderson, attended his classes: “the bodily strength which God has in mercy imparted the women of this country [,] thus adapting them to the hardships they have to endure.” Visiting nearby Indian tents gave him opportunities to see the “real Indian life” (Watkins 1853c; 1852a, 9 October and 15 November; 1854a, 22 October, 6 and 13 December; 1855a, 11 August and 7 December).

The missionary saw an old woman who had gone unwashed for months, one old man with a garment full of holes, and another man wearing only Indian stockings and a dirty caribou skin coat. On these occasions Watkins could supply the CMS with the kinds of images which legitimized missionary intervention — Jennings’ crusader ideology (1975:3ff). He employed his missionary metaphors, expressing a fervent hope that God would remove their “ ‘filthy garments’ of skin & substitute the spotless robe of the Savior’s righteousness ... I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, & I will clothe thee with change of raiment” (Watkins 1854a, 27 March and 16 May; 1855a, 17 December).

Medicines, oatmeal, biscuits and clothing were distributed to needy Indians, especially orphan children and the elderly. If at times Watkins felt it a privilege to relieve their sufferings with medicine, on many more occasions he resented their seeming ingratitude and dependency. Old Moses showed his appreciation by donating three fish, and another old man even said “Tank [sic] you Sir”, but these were exceptions. When a destitute woman received some free woolen clothes, Watkins reported that “the gift, although to her a valuable one, did not elicit one pleasant look or smile of gratitude from her excessively gloomy countenance.” Most recipients, the missionary felt, considered “all acts of kindness, & all gifts whether of food, clothing or medicine as a matter of course.” Although they “felt little need for assistance for the soul,” Watkins observed that “they readily applied for help for the body” (1853c; 1852a, 27 December; 1853a, 3 January, 7 July, 10 October; 1854a, 22 June, 20 October, 8 December; 1855a, 1 January, 1 September and 15 December).

He became suspicious of their claims, suspecting that they exaggerated their hardships in order to receive his goods. Yet he also recorded genuine instances of starvation or difficulty. In one case he reported that two deceased Indians had been wrapped in tenting and buried in snow, their survivors being too “superstitious” to look for the other bodies (Watkins 1854a, 15 June).

Although he witnessed the consecration of the Moose Factory burial ground in 1855, he makes no mention of this Christian rite being introduced at Fort George. And this is not surprising, considering the concerns of the Eastern Cree for proper treatment of dead animals and persons (Watkins 1853a, 14 May; 1854a, 15 June, 25 January, 1 August and 30 November; 1856a, 15 April).

Watkins complained that his predecessor Barnley had baptized the Fort George Indians too soon. Nearly all had been baptized, though most were “lamentably ignorant of the truths of Christianity.” The first fruits of Watkins’ own ministry were baptized in the summer of 1853, and he hoped that these would be brands “plucked out of the burning.” He emphasized that the sacrament was not to be understood as “a charm.” On the day of baptism, Watkins chose an English name for each initiate. He also had to search the register to find the names of those already baptized, who typically could not remember their English sobriquets, and substitute where the original name was difficult to pronounce. His first “adult heathen convert” received the name Peter Cox (Watkins 1852a, 31 December; 1853a, 6 July, 30 October, 20 November and 3 December; 1854a, 15 August, 1 October, 27 December; 1856a, 3 August; 1853c, 1853e, 1854c, 1856b).

In time, Watkins hoped that the Christian rite of marriage would become solemn and binding among the Cree. The duties of matrimonial alliance were, he felt, sadly violated, and every opportunity was taken to emphasize their seriousness. Adultery was reported to occur and one young woman was excommunicated for unspecified but disgraceful conduct. Watkins lectured married couples about the sin of “bigamy”. He reported that it was not uncommon for a man to have two wives simultaneously, sometimes sisters, or to dismiss a wife on some slight provocation and substitute another; wives were also known to leave their husbands. The minister also considered it important to force the Indians to be married to the objects of their first attention — no matter how dissatisfied they later became (Watkins 1853a, 30 June and 1 July; 1854a, 29 June and 29 September; 1855a, 6 May and 14 September; 1857b, 3 January; 1852b).

We may doubt his claims that one or two noted offenders took a fresh wife each year, and that one inlander had a harem of 30 women; Morantz’ research has shown that polygyny was acceptable but monogamy was the norm. In 1828, of 82 “married” men, only one had three wives, fourteen had two wives, and the rest had one wife (Morantz 1983a:87). After being detained by Watkins and reprimanded, one conjuror reacted by taking away the daughter of a resident English-speaking family to become his third wife. Another man took a second wife to help look after his children (Watkins 1852a, 29 October; 1854a, 10 October).

Watkins introduced the Christian rite of marriage to the Fort George Cree in the summer of 1853, uniting nine couples in one day and five on another occasion. Wedding rings were employed, although with some difficulty. The missionary writes, “I then proceeded to fit the fingers of the women with rings, which was rather a difficult task to perform, as their hands are by no means as delicately shaped as the English ring manufacturers seem to imagine, the largest size ring being in many instances too small to fit the fourth finger, so that I had to overcome the difficulty by substituting the fifth in its place” (Watkins 1853a, 1 and 5 July).

Watkins considered the Cree to be “in many respects a most uninteresting set of people to deal with,” — particularly when contrasted with the Inuit — but they did possess “immortal souls”. He hoped that a few days of drilling would make “some impression” on what he called their “dull” Indian minds. He described a typical session: “I commence perhaps with teaching a few verses of Scripture, then drill my class in the syllabic characters, afterwards teach a prayer, then sing a hymn, next perhaps read & explain a chapter in the ‘Bible & Gospel History’, then ask questions respecting our Savior & the great truths of his holy religion, afterwards expound a passage of Scripture & conclude by offering up a prayer.” But, over and over again, Watkins’ writings refer to the Indians’ dullness, ignorance, carelessness, laziness and forgetfulness (1855a, 1856b, 1856c).

The Coast Indians were found to be slow in learning, even though their proximity to the post gave them a potential advantage. Four arrived on one occasion who had forgotten almost all their Christian teachings. Some who were baptized could not explain who Jesus was. Only one girl in a party of 15 was able to read the simple syllabic texts. Two others arrived who were Christian but did not know who Jesus was, nor what would happen to them after death. Despite hearing the name of Jesus 50 times, some could not — or would not — answer the missionary’s questions (Watkins 1852a, 24 December; 1854a, 4 October, 17 and 27 December; 1855a, 4 May and 5 October).

Repeated experiences like this led Watkins to expect the Fort George Indians to be unable to answer his questions. None in a party of Coast Indians would say why God had sent his Son into the world. Another group of coasters, though repeatedly told of Jesus’ name and his purpose in coming to earth, remembered nothing at all and were rebuked for their carelessness in not trying to remember. After four years in the region, Watkins was further dismayed when three Indians could not tell him where people went if they didn’t go to heaven. He concluded that they must be half-asleep in his presence. Their seeming ignorance was not blamed on inability, but on lack of effort. He felt his lack of success was due to the natural reserve and sullenness of the Indian character, and the indolence and despondency so common to their race (Watkins 1854a, 30 June and 2 July; 1855a, 13 and 18 December; 1857b, 12 and 18 January, 3 February and 13 July).

What Watkins called the “lamentable ignorance” and “deplorable darkness of mind” of these “dull inanimate creatures” discouraged him. In the face of apparent failure, he had to look for signs of Divine approval. If God did not answer his prayers, Watkins argued, this did not mean his prayers had been rejected; on the contrary, the grace which enabled him to persevere for months of daily unanswered prayer was proof that these prayers were being heard. Only the Biblical prophecy that “all should know the Lord” kept him from complete despair (Watkins 1852a, 24 December; 1853a, 9 February; 1854a, 5 January, 3 April, 15 May and 4 October; 1855a, 13 December).

Most Inland Indians were found to be “entirely ignorant”, and Watkins feared they might never become acquainted with the elementary truths of Christianity. To combat their poor memory it was desirable to store some scriptures in their minds, “to hide a few sacred truths in their hearts”, yet he saw how little their memories retained. It was important for them to become Christian not only in name but in reality. Since they were unaccustomed, Watkins argued, to the mental exertion of thinking (unless compelled), it was necessary to catechize them. Further experiences convinced Watkins of the advantage of this method of instruction (Watkins 1856a, 16 and 21 March, 6 and 30 April, 20 and 22 June, 14 September).

There were a few bright moments in this generally gloomy experience. Some Indians memorized two short prayers. A few of his female students quickly learned to read syllabics. Two sisters astonished him by learning the Publican’s Prayer and some texts from a paper given to another Indian two months earlier. Indeed, these self-taught scholars were often better readers than any of the others. Other Indians, especially women and children, could recall the Lord’s Prayer, biblical texts or portions of Watt’s Catechism but had almost entirely forgotten their syllabics. And others simply said that they were thinking on the missionary’s words or were sorry for their sins (Watkins 1852a, 17 November; 1853a, 21 February, 1 June, 16 July and 20 August; 1854a, 6 and 12 and 19 April, 10 June; 1855a, 25 December). On another occasion, some Indians arrived who were perplexed by syllabics and wanted to learn how to read; one in the group was reported to be a conjuror. They wished to leave the conjuror’s nephew, Albert Ishkootawahpi, to learn syllabics and prayers over the fall freeze-up period. It was a request that Watkins could not refuse (1852a, 17 November through 31 December).

In January of 1856 Watkins wrote that paper and pencil were now “objects of desire amongst the Indians.” Besides medicine and oatmeal, they were also given slates or paper. When the clergyman was asked to serve as a letter-carrier while visiting some Indian tents, this was cited as proof that his clients were becoming more civilized. One Indian was ingenious when, lacking pencil or ink, he wrote a syllabic message with gunpowder; another wrote his message with a blackened stick. Watkins himself received numerous Indian letters written in syllabics. These too were signs of advancement in civilization, even if they often contained requests for medicine and other gifts. Normally Watkins did not yield to these requests, fearing that he might encourage idleness. Requests for books or papers, however, were seldom if ever refused. Watkins and his wife were often “preparing papers for Indians” (1852a, 28 October, 27 and 28 December; 1853a, 24 and 31 January, 3 December; 1854a, 10 October and 8 December; 1855a, 21 January; 1856a, 8 January, 28 April, 30 June, 3 October and 23 December; 1857b, 25 February).

Copies of the Bible and Gospel History were given to those who learned to read. But most had few opportunities to learn and were always “beginning & never making progress.” Watkins considered it the Christian duty of literate Cree to teach their illiterate peers. This was an obligation he felt they sorely neglected. He wrote, “even those few who can read take no trouble to instruct those who can’t, who are perfectly satisfied with their ignorance” (Watkins 1853a, 6 July; 1855a, 1 September, 7 October and 16 December).

One literate Cree woman, when asked why she didn’t teach her children to read, replied that “they did not wish to learn.” This was no excuse, wrote Watkins, for few in England would attend school unless compelled. His sermons addressed the topic of “foolishly indulgent parents” and their consequently “disrespectful and disobedient children.” He felt that obstinate, self-willed children resulted when parental obedience, and God’s commandments, were not enforced. Parental carelessness was also cited as an obstacle to health; remedies were discontinued as soon as recovery began (Watkins 1853a, 10 July; 1855a, 30 August, 14 and 16 December; 1856a, 6 June and 20 December).

Watkins first learned to read Cree, and later gained some grammatical knowledge. He was unable to converse for some time, and may never have become a fluent speaker of Cree. Howse’ grammar was of some help and he took lessons from John Spencer’s wife, Sarah (daughter of Chief Factor William Sinclair and his wife Nahovway of York Factory, and sister of Betsey Miles of Moose Factory). Watkins’ first sermon without an interpreter was delivered October 9, 1853. He remarked on the occasion how delightful it was “to be freed from the miserable make shift of an Interpreter” and — no doubt overestimating his linguistic competency — of his relief that the “real meaning” of his message would no longer be “mistaken & misrepresented.” Watkins’ interpreter, perhaps Robert McKay, was evidently not fluent in the Cree dialect spoken at Fort George (Watkins 1853b; Horden 1855a; Watkins 1853a, 19 January ff; Watkins 1855a, 2 April. On Betsey Miles and the Sinclairs see Van Kirk 1980:115 and Brown 1980:71, 123).

Initially, Horden’s printed syllabic books from Moose Factory were found to be of little use and Watkins questioned the value of the syllabic system. The Moose Factory Cree had enjoyed the advantage of “several years drilling” under Barnley, but in Watkins’ view “many of them” were even now “but dull scholars.” In a critique of the syllabic system, he complained that it was impossible to distinguish between pin and pen, or to express the sounds of b, d, f or ph, g, j, th, v and z. Thus Jesus became “Chenis”, Joshua was “Choshua”, David was “Tayit”, figtree became “yikmistik”, God became “Kot”, and many other words such as Joseph, Pharisee, Theophilus and George could not be written accurately. He could not bring himself to write words “in such a barbarous manner.” Some of Watkins’ troubles are understandable: linguists now consider the aboriginal language spoken on the east coast of James Bay to be closer to Montagnais than to the Cree spoken at Moose Factory and the western coast of the Bay (Watkins 1853c, 1853d; Rhodes and Todd 1981; Wolfart and Carroll 1973: 5—6. See also footnote 2).

After a meeting with his colleague Horden, these critical views were modified and Watkins was able to employ Horden’s publications by changing all examples of 1 to y, and all examples of k to ch. Besides handwritten copies of the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, Watt’s Cathechism and scriptural texts which Watkins and his wife produced, printed versions of the Bible and Gospel History, hymn book, almanacs, a pastoral letter from the Bishop, Watt’s Cathechism and prayer books were received from Horden’s press at Moose Factory. Among Watkins’ own contributions were translations or adaptations of Watt’s Cathechism, St. John and Luke, Hunter’s Evening Prayer, Psalm 86, and the books of Jonah and Samuel (Horden 1853b; 1855b, 22 October; 1854a, 14 and 16 January, 2 and 19 March, 3 and 22 April; 1855a, 10 January and 5 August; 1856a, 18 March and 15 July).

We learn from Watkins’ writings that the prayer book was the “large book”, the catechism was “answer book”, a pencil or pen was a “book-stick”, Christmas was “feast day”, the Bishop was “great praying chief”, England was “across the-water-country”, and heaven was “great spirit land”. We are also told that the Cree greeting wachea is derived from a British sailors’ salutation “what cheer”. Perhaps Watkins’ greatest achievement was the compilation of a 6000 word dictionary, later revised and published by the General Synod of the Anglican Church (Watkins 1867c; 1852a, 22 September; 1854a, 8 December; 1855a, 31 January, 14 June, 5 August and 31 December; 1862a; Faries 1938). The Bible or “great book” was not yet translated. Watkins claimed that the Indians were amazed at the amount of printing it contained. He prayed that God would hasten the translation of the entire Bible, so that each wandering family might have a copy to guide their feet “unto the way of peace” (Watkins 1853a, 4 and 6 November).

Watkins played his “Flantina” [accordian?] and was amazed at the Indians’ harmony while singing hymns. Although the Sabbath was a day of rest, Watkins did permit fishing and hunting in times of need, but scolded a man for repairing his snowshoe. The missionary refused to travel on Sunday despite fair weather and was, as a result, delayed by contrary winds (Watkins 1852a, 3 October; 1853a, 21 January, 17—21 September; 1854a, 24—30 March; 1855a, 1 January and 15 December; 1856a, 6 April).

It was usually the Indian women who received instruction, since the men were often engaged in hunting or haymaking at Fort George or when Watkins visited their tents. He felt that Cree females had the most arduous share of the division of labour, hauling home caribou while the men merely enjoyed the excitement of the chase and the inactivity of lying about and smoking their pipes (Watkins 1853a, 16 February, 31 July and 6 August; 1854a, 27 August; 1857b, 30 January).

He was shocked to report that a Little Whale River Indian had murdered his blind mother by leaving her behind on a sled to freeze or starve. A sermon on murder was aimed at another old man who had allegedly strangled his father and brother a decade earlier. A conjuror memorized some short prayers and promised to stop his conjuring as long as Watkins was at the post; understandably, this did not satisfy the minister (“he should do it for God, not for me”). Another conjuror said he was willing to become a Christian, but felt obliged to conjure whenever the other Indians made a “conjuring house” for him (Watkins 1852a, 26 and 27 October; 1853a, 24 January and 17 July; 1854a, 17 October; 1857b, 14 January; 1856a, 7 August).

On a pastoral visit to nearby Weestakay’s Bay, Watkins was confronted by a conjuring pole — evidently mistikukaan — not 50 yards from his own marquee (a word which has found its way into Cree as maki, a canvas tent). Old Moses claimed that the pole had been erected decades earlier by an inlander named Adam, but declined Watkins’ request to pull it down. When the Indians tried to argue that this was merely their flagpole, Watkins rebuked them. Despite four years of instruction, he was dismayed at being confronted by the strong hold of “superstitions” on a “dull & spell-bound people.” Moses’ 12-year old son helped to topple the pole, which eventually served as firewood. Watkins himself smashed the skull and bones, wishing “if only their superstitions were as easily smashed” (Watkins 1856a, 8 June; Morantz 1978:116).

Men’s hairstyles were another source of missionary grief. St. Paul had established the importance of distinguishing between male and female. It was not just the length of the men’s hair which was cause for concern, but also a “superstitious” notion the Indians attached to a small length on the crown. This the Inland Indians designated “the spirit” and ornamented with beads. To Watkins, this was more Devil worship; many honoured his request to cut off the offending decoration (1853a, 7 July, 9 and 12 December). Their readiness to comply with the demands of an arrogant white man seems surprising; perhaps he misunderstood or overstated the religious significance of their hairstyles. Those who neglected Watkins’ weekday summer classes were sharply rebuked for their natural indolence and spiritual indifference. But even Coast Indians, who lived just a two-hour walk from the post, would not attend services every Sunday (Watkins 1854a, 6 February; 1856a, 22 June).

The Indians’ wandering life meant that little permanent good could be achieved by the mission unless they received instruction more frequently. The Coast Indians numbered 30 to 40; some were seen three or four times a year, and others once a month. For two or three weeks in summer, Watkins might see 200 inlanders, who then departed for the Whale River beluga operations. Others came to Fort George only for ammunition during the fall and spring goose hunt (Watkins 1853c, 1854c, 1853d; 1856a, 2 March). An Indian settlement was not feasible; the growing season was too short in these latitudes. If one was to be established, it would be completely dependent on the CMS for a supply of grain. Yet without such a concentration of people, an effective mission was scarcely possible. Two students under Watkins’ instruction, the Indian Shem Miskumaheesh (Register of Baptisms, entry number 131) and the Inuk Peter, were compelled to spend three days of the week in search of food. Watkins could never have more than two or three trainees unless food was sent out from England. Bleak as the situation was at Fort George, he reported there was no better place on the Bayside — except Fort Albany and Rupert House, both too close to Moose Factory, or remote Little Whale River, beyond the treeline on Hudson Bay (Watkins 1853c, 1853e, 1854b and 1856c).

To promote the development of Native agency, Watkins had begun training Shem Miskumaheesh, a young man baptized by Barnley. After five months, Shem was dismissed on charges of adultery, to set an example to others. Another Indian, Peter Cox, seemed promising, but his wife had been involved with Shem. A fatherless boy named Hugh was readily given up by his guardians and began training for the position of catechist. After seven and a half months Hugh too was dismissed, on charges of gossiping and sullen obstinacy, disobedience, lying and theft (Watkins 1853c, 1853d, 1853e, 1854c; 1853a, 15 July, 10 and 14 November; 1854a, 29 June, 28 August, 13 and 18 September; 1855a, 19 March).

Finally, after three years at Fort George, Watkins was joined by John Mackay, a 17-year-old man of mixed ancestry destined to become an important Native clergyman. Mackay would be trained by Watkins as schoolmaster, and would also help in carpentry and other manual work. A “truly Christian” young man, Mackay knew the Cree language and possessed good mental abilities. Bishop Anderson felt that Mackay showed “great steadiness” and was “one of the most promising young men I have seen in the country.” After reading and studying with Watkins for two years, it was hoped he would become a catechist and replace the Watkins. The training of local leadership to replace European clergy was a major goal of the CMS. Mackay made rapid progress, though he was limited to studying in the evenings. He was a fine carpenter and promised to become a good schoolmaster (Boon 1962a; Anderson 1855; Watkins 1857a and 1855a, 13 December).

Watkins became increasingly depressed and discouraged. His mission was at a “stand still” with no “glowing accounts of success.” “The poor Indians,” he reported, were “as dull, careless & almost as ignorant as formerly, & I fear the English-speaking residents at Fort George are but little improved.” He complained of exaggerated missionary reports carried in the Society’s publications. Watkins wrote, “I cannot think that [the Fort George Indians] are so very far below all others as truthfulness compels me to represent them.” He had his trials and hardships, it was true, but these were overstated in CMS journals. There was fog at Fort George, but it did clear away, and there was ice on the lakes, but its thickness was finite. If missionaries encountered “careless indifference,” Watkins wrote, then they should be honest and “let people know that it is so” (1856c, 1857d, 1858).

What can we learn from the experiences and frustrations of the Rev. E. A. Watkins? Toby Morantz has described the independence of the northern caribou-hunting inlanders of eastern James Bay (1980, 1983b), and her observations are confirmed by missionary opinion. Horden noted that the eastern Cree wandered more than their west coast neighbours, only coming in to the posts to trade (1862a). Flour and tobacco were still luxuries to the east coast Cree. Watkins was easily able to collect artifacts for the CMS museum from the east coast. Unlike the Moose Factory Cree, who dressed much in the style of the English, many of the eastern Cree wore caribou skin, although Mrs. Watkins had begun giving the women lessons in sewing English-style dresses (Watkins 1852a, 17 August; 1855b; Horden 1851).

Watkins’ repeated observations on the disinterest of the Indians, particularly at Little Whale River, may be a reflection of this independence. His discouraging remarks are certainly confirmed independently by his successors (Fleming 1859; Horden 1858, 1862b). Anthropologists consider that the Cree did not believe in an afterlife (Preston 1983; Flannery 1984); their interest was in tangible outcomes. If this is so,[4]it was no wonder that Watkins felt they were only interested in “food, clothing & the blessings of the present life.” He wrote, “[I]f Jesus had come into the world to give them flour, & oatmeal & tea they would have loved… him & easily have remembered his name” (Watkins 1855a, 18 December; 1856a, 7 June and 3 August).

Cree reticence (Preston 1976) can explain why some of the Indians would not answer Watkins’ questions. The missionary complained that they “never venture to make any remark, & very rarely go so far as to testify their assent by a grunt, & even when a question is asked [,] it is with difficulty that so much as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer can be elicited.” Their apparent indifference was much more frustrating to Watkins than outright rejection would have been — it was too ambiguous (Watkins 1856a, 23 January; 1856d). But in most cases, the Cree probably were unable to reply to the missionary’s questions. He was undoubtedly using Christian religious metaphors which were totally incomprehensible to the Cree (who had their own religious metaphors). As Preston remarks, it is a problem of translating from one structure of knowledge to another (1982, 1983).

For all Watkins’ worries about the accuracy of the syllabic system, he showed little understanding of the immense difficulties involved in translating the Bible into Cree. Two Indians found names like Nebuchanezzer and Judas Christopulus, contained in the Bible and Gospel History, difficult to pronounce. If problems were involved in merely pronouncing Biblical words, one can imagine how this challenge was compounded. It was not simply a matter of translating word for word or learning a new grammar. There were new concepts and images to explain. These were not part of Cree experience, yet they had to be explained with reference to Cree idioms. This demanded a great deal from the teacher and his students; Watkins admitted his inability to understand “the Indian mind.” He was probably closer to the truth than he imagined when he wrote in exasperation of the Cree: “they are as unable to give me an answer as they would be if I were to propose some difficult question in Astronomy.” The Indian who said that he was simply thinking intently on the missionary’s words was probably very honest and very representative (Watkins 1856a, 21 September; 1855a, 5 October and 30 December; 1853b, 1856c).

Evans-Pritchards,[5]speaking of Biblical translations, writes of the difficulties in trying to translate “the word ‘lamb’, as in the sentence ‘Feed my lambs’” (1965:13—14). Although Evans-Pritchards was referring to the Inuit, I think we can imagine the same problem with Crees. He writes,

You can, of course, render it by reference to some animal with which the Eskimoes are acquainted, by saying, for instance, ‘Feed my seals’, but clearly if you do so, you replace the representation of what a lamb was to a Hebrew shepherd by that of what a seal may be to an Eskimo. How is one to convey the meaning of the statement that the horses of the Egyptians ‘are flesh and not spirit’ to a people which has never seen a horse or anything like one, and may also have no concept corresponding to the Hebrew conception of spirit? ... Or how do you render into an Amerindian language ‘In the beginning was the word’? Even in its English form, the meaning can only be set forth by a theological disquisition. Missionaries have battled hard and with great sincerity to overcome these difficulties, but in my experience much of what they teach natives is quite unintelligible to those among whom they labour.

Evans-Pritchard concludes: “The solution [to this problem which is] often adopted is to transform the minds of native children into European minds” (1965:14) — a task which was especially attempted in mission schools. Watkins would have agreed that re-socialization was needed. The missionary wrote that the Indian was “so clouded by a host of superstitious notions that there seems but little prospect of success with the adult population.” In contrast, he judged that the eight children attending his English-language day school were making steady and satisfactory progress “especially in Scripture knowledge in which I think they would ... be found to equal most of the same age in England” (Watkins 1855a, 14 September; 1855c).

Besides the young, it is apparent that Indian women were more interested in the missionary’s teachings, had more access and were better able to memorize the prayers and syllabics. There is a lesson too, in the proficiency of those who were self-taught. Their own pedagogical style was perhaps more conducive to learning than the impatient clergyman’s formal drilling. He might have been a more effective teacher if he had studied, and assumed the role of, a Cree storyteller.

The introduction of syllabics was undoubtedly as revolutionary an event for the Crees as the invention of printing was for western Europeans. We have seen that some individuals eagerly learned to read or loaned a child to the missionary for several weeks. To judge from Watkins’ writings, literacy did not become widespread at Fort George for some years; this is in marked contrast to the situation at Rupert House, closer to Moose Factory. (Perhaps the Rupert House Indians, living near a linguistic boundary, were more able to make sense of the 1-dialect publications issued from Horden’s Moose Factory printing press.) The mere possession of books does not mean one can read or understand them; one of the HBC servants living at Fort George possessed an English copy of the Bible but was “little acquainted with reading” (Watkins 1854a, 7 February; 1855a, 28 February and 27 June).

John Webster Grant, in his survey of Canadian missionary contacts, remarks, “The line between commendable generosity and deliberate bribery was inevitably a fine one” for missionaries (1984:113). This was not the only problem with gifts. Gift-giving involved much more than a transfer of goods; there were meanings attached, for the giver and for the receiver. Watkins’ Christian generosity was tempered with resentment. He expected the Indians to demonstrate their appreciation, but the recipients appeared to be ungrateful. For the Cree, it was natural to expect the missionary to share his extra goods. He considered that only the destitute had a claim to his aid, and worried that they were exaggerating their hardships in order to exploit him.

Watkins was unable to plumb the depths of his clients’ minds, and comprehend their motives or understanding. The assigning of English names and surnames, the distribution of wedding rings, and tardiness at church services undoubtedly had more meaning for the missionary than for the Indians. He observed the sorry plight of Indian widows left to exist by fishing, and of their need for clothes (1852a, 25 October), but was perhaps unaware that his campaign to enforce monogamy would have compounded this problem.

Watkins’ statistics for 1856 convey some idea of his impact. The number of Native Christians was 300, whom he described as “baptized but ignorant.” There were no Native communicants and no Native teachers. The day school claimed six male and two female students. Church attendance of Indians ranged from two to eighteen but averaged ten; for three weeks in summer there were up to 80, with an average of 50. Compared to other missionaries, Watkins seemed a failure, but he rejected the validity of their statistics. The number of communicants in a parish was no measure of godliness, he wrote — not at Red River and not even in England. His mission at Fort George had been one of “breaking new ground and scattering the first seeds.” Most of the Indians were “baptized heathen with little claim in any sense to be called Christians”; there had been true conversion in only three or four (1856a, 30 December; 1857b, 5 July; 1857d; 1858; 1854d; 1857a. On Red River see Pannekoek 1976).

Watkins was frequently tempted to despair at the few opportunities the Indians had for instruction. He observed how little could be done in their passing visits, and yet how necessary it was to use each opportunity to accomplish some good for their souls. There were so few “sheep” in this wilderness, and yet each soul had such immense value. He was constantly reminded of the Biblical injunction “I will give the heathen for thine inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.” It was his duty to proclaim the message of salvation “whether they will hear or whether they will forbear” (Watkins 1854a, 15 January; 1855a, 16 September; 1856a, 3 August).

Fort George surely must have seemed, to Watkins, like one of the utmost parts of the earth. His latest newspaper was at least 18 months old, and he considered himself “For all practical purposes ... further removed from my nearest neighbour than persons in England are from the inhabitants of Calcutta.” It was a “desolate portion of the Lord’s vineyard” (Watkins 1853e: 1854a, 10 October; 1856a, 27 October).

Eager to move from Fort George, Watkins begged that he might “not be required to learn another language”: “the thought of having all [that] drudgery to go over again?’ was not a pleasant one. In 1857, having completed a five-year term, he finally learned of his removal to Red River. The Indians and the English-speaking people at Fort George with their “indifferent sullenness & shameless ingratitude” would not be missed. The Watkins were no happier at Cumberland, and another move to Devon, in the Saskatchewan district, similarly failed to satisfy them (1856d, 1857d, 1859, 1861a, 1861d, 1862a and 1862b; Anderson 1860). They returned to England in 1863.

Mackay also moved west, where he eventually succeeded Watkins at Devon (Boon 1962a, 1962b:87ff). This left Fort George without a missionary, although the Indian William Keshkumash was later recognized as a catechist (Boon 1962b:125; Long 1978). Itinerant CMS agents[6]visited the area periodically until 1876, when Fort George was re-occupied by Edmund James Peck.

A major aim of the Fort George mission had been to preempt the Roman Catholics, and this goal was largely realized. There was no denominational rivalry at Fort George until the 1930s when an Oblate mission was established. These decades of monopoly allowed the CMS to insist on high standards for the admission of Indians into the church. There was no universal standard; each situation dictated the measure to be used. John Horden recognized this when speaking of the Little Whale River Indians: “In a field where there is but little probability of Romish opposition, too much care and determination cannot be used in admitting those so recently heathen into the Christian Church, living as they do among heathen associates, lest they should hereafter give cause of reproach to us” (Horden 1862a). The urgency of the evangelical concern for converting the heathen was tempered with the politics of denominational rivalry.

Watkins’ most visible and immediate impact was on a dozen or so HBC employees and their families, many of whom were of mixed ancestry, at Fort George, Eastmain and Little Whale River. These included the Spencers, Samuel and Ellen Louttit, Thomas and Mary Wiegand, Robert Watt and his wife Jeane or Jenny (Ritchards), Mary Corcoran, Charles Robertson, William Corston and his wife Margaret (Mackay), Walter Dickson and his wife Maria (Spencer), Henry Ladouceur and his wife Priscilla (Neobud). These cottagers, as they were sometimes called, seemed to Watkins to have sunken morally to the level of their heathen neighbours. The minister helped curtail their swearing and provided regular worship and schooling. John Spencer regularly recorded Watkins’ church services in the Company journal, and noted the “beautiful discourses”, the “wholesome lesson”, and “the unmistakable pleasure of listening to the edifying Sermons of that able preacher the Revd Mr. Watkins.” The minister also reduced the traditional year-end drinking bouts, at least during his brief tenure at Fort George. On Christmas Day 1852, Spencer observed, “Much better for us all that we should be listening to the [word?] of God, than to be passing the day in the manner that I have seen exhibited here — some of us more like madmen than anything else” (Watkins 1854d, 1853b; Register of Baptisms; Register of Marriages; Spencer 1852, October 17 fo. 6, November 7 fo. 7, December 25 fo. 8d).

To assess Watkins’ impact on the Indian hunters, we may look to the writings of Rev. William Walton who arrived at Fort George in 1892. Walton married a local woman of mixed ancestry, Daisy Spencer, and remained in the region for some 32 years. In 1894, 37 years after Watkins’ departure, Walton observed:

The Indians think a great deal of a bear, especially of the black bear. I was almost going to say that he used to be their god, still he was not very far short of it. They have numerous superstitious ideas concerning him, & it will take many years teaching to get them out of some. Some think he does not sleep all the winter, but simply retires to meditate. It is a very common belief amongst them that he understands when they speak to him, & some believe he has a soul like a man. I have gathered the Indians together & spoken very plainly about these very foolish ideas & one old man was perfectly convinced, but I am afraid that it will be a very long time before many of their ideas will be given up ... Bear’s meat is the greatest delicacy they have, & they always make a feast when one is caught. Whoever gets it, generally hands it over to the oldest man in the tent. This is a recognized law amongst them showing their respect for the old men. Before they eat a bit themselves [,] a piece of fat or meat is thrown into the fire. Why this is done, I cannot find out for sure, as they are very chary about letting their minister know the pros & cons of many of their customs. Some of the better taught say it is a sign of thankfulness to God for giving them their food, but it is a custom known to them before they knew about God, the giver of all good things. It most probably is done in honour of the animal [;] I was told [this] by one well acquainted with their ways & customs (Walton 1894).

If the Indians’ traditional beliefs were difficult to erase, so were many of their practices. The “ponas” method of cooking food on a stick by an open fire, which had intrigued Watkins, was also noted by Walton (1895). Similarly, marital situations which were irregular by Christian standards persisted (Walton 1896). However, as Walton’s comments suggest above, it was possible to merge Christian and aboriginal beliefs and practices — for example, reconciling the grease or meat thrown into the fire with Christian notions of thanksgiving to God. Similarly, hymns might later replace traditional hunting songs. Perhaps William Walton, married to a local woman, gained deeper insights into Cree culture than his predecessors. In any event, it is clear that the program of indoctrination envisaged by Watkins (and by Barnley before him) was complex; results were limited even after several decades.

Records of the Church Missionary Society were consulted at the General Synod Archives, Toronto. They are referred to in the references by the abbreviation CMS followed by the number of a specific microfilm reel.

1873 The Net in the Bay: or, Journal of a Visit to Moose and Albany. 2nd edition. London: Thomas Hatchard.

1843 Letter to Committee and Secretaries. 26 November. Wesleyan Missionary Correspondence, microfilm consulted at United Church Archives, Toronto.

1962a Ordained 100 Years Ago in Middlechurch, May 29, 1862. Winnipeg Free Press Reprinted pp. 61—62 in his These Men Went Out. Toronto: Ryerson.

1862b The Anglican Church From the Bay to the Rockies A History of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land and its Dioceses From 1820 to 1950. Toronto: Ryerson.

1980 Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

1938 A Dictionary of the Cree Language. Toronto: General Synod of the Church of England in Canada.

1971 Some Magico-Religious Concepts of the Algonquians on the East Coast of James Bay. Pp. 31—39 in Themes in Culture and Other Essays in Honor of Morris Opler. Mario D. Zamora, J. Michael Mahar and Henry Orenstein, eds. Quezon City, The Philippines: Kayumanggi.

1983 Partners in Furs: A History of the Fur Trade in Eastern James Bay 1600—1870. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

1984 Moon of Wintertime: Missionaries and the Indians of Canada in Encounter Since 1534. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

1975 The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and the Cant of Conquest. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

1978 Education in the James Bay Region During the Horden Years. Ontario History 70:75—89.

1981 Introducing Christianity to the James Bay Cree. Paper presented at the Thirteenth Algonquian Conference, Toronto, Ontario.

1983 Archdeacon Thomas Vincent and the Handicap of “Metis” Racial Status. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 3: 95-116.

1985 Reverend George Barnley, Welseyan Methodism, and the Fur Trade Company Families of James Bay. Ontario History 77:43-64.

1978 Pratiques religieuses des Cris de la Baie James aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles (d’après les Européens). Recherches amérindiennes au Québec 8:113-122.

1980 The Fur Trade and the Cree of James Bay. Pp. 39—58 in Old Trails and New Directions: Papers of the Third North American Fur Trade Conference. Carol M. Judd and Arthur J. Ray, eds. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

1983a An Ethnohistoric Study of Eastern James Bay Cree Social Organization, 1700—1850. National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Ethnology Service Paper 8. Ottawa.

1983b “Not Annuall Visitors”: The Drawing in to Trade of Northern Algonquian Caribou Hunters. Pp. 57—73 in Actes du quatorzième congrès des Algonquinistes. William Cowan, ed. Ottawa: Carleton University.

1976 The Anglican Church and the Disintegration of Red River Society 1818—1870. Pp. 72—90 in The West and the Nation: Essays in Honour of W. L. Morton. Carl Berger and Ramsey Cook, eds. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

1976 Reticence and Self-Expression: A Study of Style in Social Relationships. Pp. 450-494 in Papers of the Seventh Algonquian Conference 1975. William Cowan, ed. Ottawa: Carleton University.

1982 Towards a General Statement on the Eastern Cree Structure of Knowledge. Pp. 299-306 in Papers of the Thirteenth Algonquian Conference. William Cowan, ed. Ottawa: Carleton University.

1983 Kitchi Manitu: The Northern Algonquian Supreme Being Revisited. Typescript of interview.

Register of Baptisms for Fort George, Little Whale River and Great Whale River, 1852—1937. Original at Anglican Diocese of Moosonee office, Schumacher, Ontario. Microfilm copy at General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada, Toronto, Ontario.

Register of Marriages at Fort George, Little Whale River and Great Whale River, 1852—1937. Original and microfilm copy as above.

1981 Subarctic Indian Languages. Pp. 52—66 in Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6, Subarctic. June Helm, ed. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.

1852 Fort George Post Journal 1852-53. Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA) B.77/a/28, reel 1M56. [1852—1853].

1980 “Many Tender Ties”: Women in Fur Trade Society, 1670-1870. Winnipeg: Watson and Dwyer.

1973 Meet Cree: A Practical Guide to the Cree Language. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.

1942 “Reindeer” Walton. Pp. 9-23 in Publishers of Peace. T. R. Millman, ed.

Notes

[2] Morantz credits Watkins with being the first, in 1853, to call the eastern James Bay Indians “Cree” (1983a:12; see also Francis and Morantz 1983:11). My earliest reference is an announcement, a decade earlier, of Rev. George Barnley’s appointment to Moose Factory (from which he was responsible for the entire James Bay region), which states: “The Indians in this district are principally of the Swampy Cree Tribe; with a few Esquimaux at an establishment called Big River” (Wesleyan Missionary Notices 1841:437). Barnley (1843) himself referred to “the dialects of the Cree spoken in this neighbourhood”. Similarly in 1850 an agent of the Church Missionary Society, which succeeded the Wesleyans in the region, simply reported “The Cree dialect is spoken” (James 1850).

[3] Chisasibi is translated as ‘Old River’ or ‘Great ‘River (Davies and Johnson 1963:263). See also Faries (1938:283-284) on the prefix kisa- or chesa-,and on kisasepe or chesasepe.

[4] The Cree certainly did have some beliefs which approximated the Christian concept of heaven. Two days after arriving at Moose Factory, the Reverend George Barnley noted: “The Indians have some idea of a future state where every thing exactly resembles the present but is incorporal; they know something too of future rewards & punishments but suppose it will consist in sensual gratification [,] the Indian who is good will not miss his deer & have success in all his enterprises, while the bad man will find something to turn his gun aside, be wishing to drink and unable to alleviate his thirst [,] to eat & unable to satisfy his craving appetite.” (1840, June 5). The aurora borealis was thought to be the ancestors’ dancing spirits.

[5] I am grateful to Dick Preston for drawing my attention to this reference.

[6] Itinerants included the Native clergyman Thomas Vincent (Long 1983) and Edward Richards, and Europeans Thomas Hamilton Fleming and John Horden (Boon 1962b).