Metlakahtla and the North Pacific Mission of the Church Missionary Society. Eugene Stock
in the previous winter, and so was forbidden by law to wear any thing over him except a blanket or a skin for one year. If he had put on a shirt, death would have been expected to ensue.
On Sunday, July 11th, God enabled him a second time to proclaim the Gospel in another carefully-written address. He went, as on the first occasion, to each of the nine tribes separately, and began and concluded with prayer. At the concluding prayer almost all knelt, or the exceptions were rare. One man, however, sullenly refused. It was Quthray, the chief of the cannibal gang, of whom we shall hear again.
After a few weeks the school was suspended, in consequence of the absence of the chief in whose house it was held. It had been used sufficiently long, however, to show that it was appreciated by both parents and children, and thus encouraged, Mr. Duncan determined to commence to build a school-house. The wood had arrived in a raft, and a number of Indians were engaged to assist in the building; but scarcely had they begun to carry the wood up the hill, when one of the Indians dropped dead. The news ran through the camp, and great alarm spread on all sides. Mr. Duncan at first feared that owing to the superstition of the Indians with regard to such events, the confidence which he had secured among the people would be greatly shaken, and his work amongst them retarded. But, through God's mercy, his fears were not realized. He deemed it prudent to suspend the work for a time, but, after repeated invitations from the Indians, he resumed it on Sept. 17th:—
"Yesterday I spoke to a few on the subject, and all seemed heartily glad. One old chief said to me, 'Cease being angry now,' thinking, I suppose, my delay was occasioned by anger. He assured me he would send his men to help. It was quite encouraging to see how earnestly they expressed their desire for me to proceed with the work, and I may safely say the feeling was universal. This morning I went to the raft at six a.m., but only one old man was there. In a little time came other two or three, then a few more, then two chiefs. By about half past six we mustered seven or eight workers on the raft, though several more came out and sat at their doors, Indian like, as though they wished only to look on. This seemed greatly in contrast with their expressions to me yesterday; but such is the Indian. I knew it was of no use to push, so I patiently waited. About half-past six one of the Indians on the raft sprang to his feet, gave the word of starting, which is a peculiar kind of whoop, and he, with the few so inadequate to the work, determined to begin. At this I proceeded up the beach to the place for building upon, but what was my surprise when, on returning, I met upwards of forty Indians carrying wood. They all seemed to have moved in an instant, and sprung to the work with one heart. The enthusiasm they manifested was truly gladdening, and almost alarming. Amongst the number were several old men, who were doing more with their spirited looks and words than with their muscles. The whole camp seemed now excited. Encouraging words and pleasant looks greeted me on every side. Every one seemed in earnest, and the heavy blocks and beams began to move up the hill with amazing rapidity. When the Fort bell rang for breakfast they proposed to keep on. One old man said he would not eat till the work was done. However, I did not think it good to sanction this enthusiasm thus far, but sent them off to their houses. By three o'clock p.m. all was over, for which I was very glad, for the constant whooping, groaning, and bawling of the Indians, together with the difficulties of the work, from the great weight of the pieces and the bad road, kept me in constant fear."
But no sooner had Mr. Duncan set up his school, and commenced work in it, than the opposition of the medicine men began. They saw that if the work progressed, "their craft was in danger of being set at nought." The chiefs of three tribes had already declared that they had made up their minds to abandon their sorceries.
On November 19th the new school was opened, and it was soon attended by one hundred and forty children and fifty adults; but on December 1st Mr. Duncan was told by the manager of the Fort that the head chief, Legaic, was going to ask him to give up the school for about a month during the medicine season. Shortly afterwards he was told that they would be content if he would stay school for a fortnight, and after that they would all come to be taught; but if he did not comply, they intended stopping him by force, and had determined to shoot at the pupils as they came to the school. Mr. Duncan had a long talk to two of the officers about the matter, giving them plainly to understand that he did not intend in the least degree to heed the threats of the Indians. "Go on with my work I would, in spite of all. I told them Satan had reigned long enough here; it was high time his rule should be disturbed (as it is)." On December 20th he wrote:—
"This day has been a great day here. I have heartily to thank that all -seeing Father who has covered me and supported me to-day. The devil and wicked men leagued to overthrow me this day, but the Lord would not have it so. I am still alive. This morning the medicine party, who are carrying on their work near to the school, broke out with renewed fury. On going to school, I observed a crowd of these wretched men in a house that I was approaching. As soon as I got into the school, the wife of the head chief came to beg me to give up school for a little time. She was certainly very modest in her manner and request, but altogether unsuccessful. I spoke to her a little, and then she said (what I knew to be false) that neither she nor her husband desired to go on with the medicine-work, for, they often cried to see the state of things, but it was the tribe that urged them to do what they were doing. When she saw she could prevail nothing, not even so much as to prevent striking the steel (used as a bell), which they have a peculiar hatred for, she left me. I then went up the ladder and struck the steel myself, as I did not like to send a boy up. Very soon about eighty pupils were in the school, and we went on as usual.
"This afternoon a boy ran to strike the steel, and not many seconds elapsed before I saw the head chief (Legaic) approaching, and a whole gang of medicine men after him, dressed up in their usual charms. The chief looked very angry, and bade the boy cease. I waited at the door until he came up. His first effort was to rid the school of the few pupils that had just come in. He shouted at the top of his voice, and bade them he off. I immediately accosted him, and demanded to know what he intended or expected to do. His gang stood about the door, and I think seven came in. I saw their point: it was to intimidate me by their strength and frightful appearance; and I perceived the chief, too, was somewhat under the influence of rum. But the Lord enabled me to stand calm, and, without the slightest fear, to address them with far more fluency, in their tongue, than I could have imagined possible—to tell them of their sin faithfully—to vindicate my conduct—to exhort them to leave their bad ways, and also to tell them they must not think to make me afraid. I told them that God was my Master, and I must obey Him rather than them, and that the devil had taught their fathers what they were practising, and it was bad, but what I was teaching now was God's way, and it was good. Our meeting lasted for more than an hour. I saw a great many people at a distance looking anxiously at our proceedings, the school door being open. The chief expressed himself very passionately, now and then breaking out into furious language, and showing off his savage nature by his gestures. Towards the close of the scene, two of the confederates, vile-looking fellows, went and whispered something to him, upon which he got up from a seat he had just sat down upon, stamped his feet on the floor, raised his voice as high as he could, and exhibited all the rage and defiance and boldness that he could. This was all done, I knew, to intimidate me, but, blessed be God, he did not succeed. Finding his efforts unavailing, he went off.
"The leading topics of the chiefs angry conversation were as follows—He requested four days' suspension of the school, he promised that, if I complied, he and his people would then come to school, but threatened if my pupils continued to come on the following days, he would shoot at them, lastly, he pleaded, that if the school went on during the time he specified, then some medicine men, whom he expected on a visit shortly from a distant tribe, would shame, and, perhaps, kill him. Some of his sayings during his fits of rage were, that he understood how to kill people, occasionally drawing his hand across his throat to show me what he meant, that when he died he knew he should go down, he could not change, he could not be good, or, if I made him good, why, then, he supposed he should go to a different place from his forefathers, this he did not desire to do. On one occasion, whilst he was talking, he looked at two men, one of them a regular pupil of mine, and the other a medicine-man, and said, 'I am a murderer, and so are you, and you' (pointing to each of these men), 'and what good is it for us to come to school?' Here I broke in, and blessed be God, it gave me an opportunity of telling the three murderers that pardon was now offered to them if they would repent, and amend, and go