LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 






METLAKAHTLA 



DEDICATED TO 
WILLIAM DUNCAN 

THE 
HEROIC FOUNDER 

AND 
PRESENT HEAD 

OF THE 
METLAKAHTLA SETTLEMENT 



METLAKAHTLA 

A TRUE NARRATIVE 
OF . THE . RED . MAN 



By GEORGE T. B. DAVIJ* 



Chicago: 

THE RAM'S HORN COMPANY 
1904 



CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 



METLAKAHTLA 

By JULIA A. WILLIAM/ 

Metlakahtla! beauteous isle, 

On the broad Pacific's breast; 
What hath God wrought? an holy calm 

Where once was fierce unrest. 
In the dense light of human hearts 

A glorious Light hath shined 
A dazzling shaft from Calvary's cross 

With love and mercy twined. 
Slumber, to wake no more" 

Within that city's sea-girt wall, 
The passions once untamed 

That held our brethren there in thrall. 
Metlakahtla! precious jewel 

On the bosom of the sea, 
God hath made thee what thou art, 

Unto Him the glory be. 



COPYRIGHT 1904 BY GEO T. B. DAVIS. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE VISIT OF THE WARSHIP. 




T 



ADMIRAL PREVOST. 



HE British 
warship H. 
M. S. Vi- 
rago was steam- 
i n g north ward 
through the Pa- 
cific Ocean near 
the southern 
boundary of Alas- 
ka. The steady 
throb of the ship's 
engines was the 
only sound that 
broke the stillness 
of the beautiful 
mountainous islands among which the ves- 
sel was wending its way. 

It was the year 1853, and several days 
had passed since the ship had left Victoria, 
five hundred miles southward. The war- 
ship had kept close to the Canadian coast 
throughout the journey and was now near- 
ing Queen Charlotte Islands, where an 
American schooner had recently been 
plundered and destroyed by the savage In- 
dian inhabitants. The warship had come 
to punish the offenders. 
The commander of the vessel, Captain 
9 



10 METLAKAHTLA 

J. C. Prevost, was a robust Englishman 
of middle age, who was as thorough a 
Christian as he was valiant a commander. 

After anchoring in the bay a searching 
investigation of several days was made, 
but Captain Prevost was unable to fix the 
guilt upon any particular tribe. Hence, he 
assembled the various chiefs and gave 
them stern warning of the power 
of the white man, telling them how 
easily his guns could thunder forth shot 
and shell and destroy every vestige of the 
village. In his own mind, Captain Prevost 
believed that Edensaw, the head chief of 
the Hydah tribes, was the guilty person, 
but certain proof being lacking, he could 
take no steps for his punishment. Before 
leaving, however, he tdok one step, very 
unusual, alas, among the commanders of 
warships. Calling Edensaw to one side he 
presented him with a copy ' of the New 
Testament, on the fly-leaf of which was 
written: 

"From Captain Prevost, H. M. S. 'Satel- 
lite/ trusting that the bread thus cast upon 
the waters may be found after many days." 

As the Captain handed the Indian chief the 
volume, little did he dream of the beautiful 
sequel to the action which would occur a 
quarter of a century later. 

After leaving Queen Charlotte Islands, 
the ship kept her course northward for 
nearly a hundred miles further until Fort 
Simpson, a station of the Hudson Bay 



METLAKAHTLA 11 

Company, was reached. This trading-post 
was a heavily barricaded fort, surrounded 
by a large body of fierce Tsimshean Indians. 
So savage were these tribes that the in- 
habitants of the fort had on certain occa- 
sions kept sentinels on guard day and night 
for weeks at a time for fear of an attack and 
wholesale massacre. Captain Prevost's visit 
to the fort was for the double purpose of 
ascertaining whether all was well with the 
garrison, and of making some needed re- 
pairs to his vessel. 

When the ship had dropped anchor the 
Commander ordered a number of small 
boats lowered and, surrounded by a heavy 
guard of armed marines, he was rowed 
ashore and the company marched to Fort 
Simpson, several hundred yards distant. 
As he passed through the long lines of 
fierce-looking and painted Indians, Cap- 
tain Prevost was struck at once by their fine 
physique, but equally impressed by the de- 
graded, savage, murderous appearance of 
their faces. He was filled with compassion 
for these ignorant children of the forest, 
who knew naught of love or peace, or true 
joy, but whose lives from the cra.dle to the 
grave were filled with fear and cruelty, and 
hate, and murder. At this time no protes- 
tant missionary had ever come into the 
Northland to tell the red men of the mes- 
sage from God contained in the Bible, and 
the only religion they knew was the Devil 
Worship taught by the cruel medicine men. 



12 METLAKAHTLA 

Arriving at the Fort, Captain Prevost re- 
ceived a hearty welcome from the garrison, 
for they thought the presence of the war- 
ship would have a salutary effect upon the 
red men. For a number of days the ship 
remained there undergoing repairs, the 
Captain meanwhile improving the time in 
studying the wild, untamed children of the 
forest. The more he saw of their nature, 
bold and defiant even in the face of immi- 
nent destruction, the more deeply was the 
conviction borne in upon his soul that what 
was needed to permanently restrain the In- 
dians from murder and pillage, was not the 
presence of a warship, but of a missionary 
of the Gospel. He believed that the glad 
tidings of salvation could transform even 
these sad, warlike savages into happy, 
peaceful Christians and citizens, and a 
great desire sprang up in his heart to be 
himself the means of giving them the light. 

The repairs completed, Captain Prevost 
ordered the vessel southward to Victoria, 
and during the following weeks and months, 
he went here and there in the North Pa- 
cific waters, quelling an Indian uprising in 
one place, settling an international dispute 
in another, and in general preserving the 
status quo in that far-off region. 

But during all that time he did not forget 
the sad, dusky faces of the Tsimshean In- 
dians at Fort Simpson. His desire to up- 
lift them and enlighten their eyes that they 



METLAKAHTLA 13 

might see the true glory of life, grew rather 
than lessened with the passing months. 

At length, in 1856, Captain Prevost was 
summoned to England for a conference with 
the officials of the English navy. While in 
London awaiting assignment to a new com- 
mand the Captain attended an anniversary 
meeting of a leading missionary organiza- 
tion. Here he met Rev. Joseph Ridgeway, 
an official of the Church Missionary So- 
ciety, and to him he poured out the desire 
of his heart concerning the Indians at Fort 
Simpson. Mr. Ridgeway was impressed by 
the graphic picture of the needs of the red 
men of the Northland, but declared there 
was no money in the treasury of the so- 
ciety to equip a missionary and send him 
out to that far distant region. However, 
he invited Captain Prevost to write an ar- 
ticle on the land and the people of the 
North Pacific coast of America for their 
periodical, The Church Missionary Intelli- 
gencer. The Captain gladly accepted the 
offer and wrote an able article giving the 
history of the country, describing its soil, 
climate and products, and showing what a 
promising field was open to the missionary. 
He said in part: 

"It is difficult to ascertain, with any de- 
gree of accuracy, the total number of the 
native population; a mean, however, be- 
tween the highest and lowest estimates, 
gives 60,000, a result probably not far from 
the truth. It is a fact, well calculated to 



14 METLAKAHTLA 

arrest the attention, and to enlist in behalf 
of the proposed Mission the active sympa- 
thies of every sincere Christian, that this 
vast number of our fellow-subjects have re- 
mained in a state of heathen darkness and 
complete barbarism ever since the discovery 
and partial surveys of their coast by Van- 
couver in 1792-1794; and that no effort has 
yet been made for their moral or spiritual 
improvement, although, during the last 
forty years a most lucrative trade has been 
carried on with them by our fellow country- 
men. We would most earnestly call upon 
all who have themselves learned to value 
the blessings of the Gospel, to assist in 
rolling away this reproach. The field is a 
most promising one. Some naval officers, 
who, in the discharge of their professional 
duties, have lately visited these regions, 
have been most favorably impressed with 
the highly intelligent character of the na- 
tives; and, struck by their manly bearing, 
and a physical appearance fully equal to 
that of the English, Whom they also re- 
semble in the fairness of their complexion; 
and having their compassion excited by 
their total destitution of Christian and 
moral instruction, they feel it to be their 
duty to endeavor to introduce among them 
the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ, un- 
der the conviction that it would prove the 
surest and most fruitful source of social 
improvement and civilization, as well as of 
spiritual blessings, infinitely more valuable, 



METLAKAHTLA 15 

and would be found the only effectual anti- 
dote to the contaminating vices which a 
rapidly increasing trade, especially with 
California and Oregon, is bringing in its 
train." 

The plea of the Christian Captain met 
with a quick response. Among the gifts 
received by the missionary society soon 
afterward was one of $2,500, given by "Two 
Friends" for the work among the red men 
described by Captain Prevost. 

In spite, however, of this gift the society 
hesitated to act. They had the money, but 
where was a suitable man to send. Thus, 
two or three months passed, when Captain 
Prevost came to them with the announce- 
ment that he had been re-appointed to his 
former naval station on the North Pacific 
coast, and was to leave almost immediate- 
ly in command of the warship Satellite. 
Further, by the sanction of the Admiralty, 
he was enabled to offer a free passage in 
his ship to whatever missionary they might 
choose to send to tlie Fort Simpson In- 
dians. 

Eleven days before the Satellite was to 
sail on her journey to the other side of 
the globe this was the situation: Thousands 
of Indians at Fort Simpson needing the 
Gospel; $2,500.00 in the bank to send out a 
missionary; a warship ready to transport 
the messenger of peace; and yet the com- 
mittee unable to find the right man for this 
important missionary undertaking. 



i6 METLAKAHTLA 

Could they find a man and could he get 
ready to embark in the short time remain- 
ing, was the problem that confronted the 
society. On the tenth day before the war- 
ship was ready to leave England, a young 
man then attending a missionary training 
school was suggested and his name ap- 
proved by the committee. 

Who he was, how he boarded the warship 
a few hours before its departure, and his 
strange and perilous experiences among the 
red men of America, in his efforts to win 
them to Christ, will be related as our story 
proceeds. 




CHAPTER II. 



THE ARRIVAL AMONG RED MEN. 







THE young 
man chosen 
by the com- 
mittee for the haz- 
ardous mission to 
the American In- 
dians was a student 
in the Highbury 
Training College in 
London named 
William Duncan. 
On the eighth day 
WM. DUNCAN. before the ship was 

to sail, Dr. Alford, 

the principal, called young Duncan into 
his study and, pointing to the north 
coast of America, asked whether he would 
volunteer to go there as a missionary to 
the Indians. The young man declared he 
had no objections whatever; that he was 
glad to go to whatever place the Society 
should assign him. Dr. Alford then in- 
formed him that he had been selected for 
the undertaking, that a free passage on the 
warship Satellite had been offered, and that 
he had only eight days in which to prepare 
his outfit, bid farewell to his relatives, and 
reach the ship at Plymouth. 



18 METLAKAHTLA 

The young man at once set about in haste 
making the needed preparations for his 
journey to the other side of the globe, 
from which it was quite possible he would 
never return. Just here, as he is earnestly 
striving to take advantage of the generous 
offer of Captain Prevost, let us glance at 
his previous life and see how he came to 
offer himself as a missionary to the heathen. 

William Duncan was born in 1831, his 
early life being spent in Beverly, Yorkshire. 
While in his teens he entered the employ of 
a wholesale house, and showed such pro- 
ficiency that in a few years he became clerk 
and traveling salesman. He was a member 
of the Church of England, and one evening, 
in company with another young man, his 
chum, attended a quarterly missionary 
meeting. It was a rainy night and there 
were only a few people present. Never- 
theless, the speaker delivered an earnest 
address upon the condition of the mission- 
ary world at that time. He declared there 
were regions that sorely needed mission- 
aries; that there were funds in hand to 
send out workers, but the men and women 
to go were lacking. These words made a 
deep impression upon the mind of young 
Duncan. He asked himself why he should 
not go, and decided that he would if an 
opportunity offered. The first person to 
whom he spoke on the subject was the 
bosom friend with whom he had attended 
the meeting. He suggested that they both 



METLAKAHTLA 19 

offer themselves for the work, and the 
friend consented. But, upon the young 
man's suggesting the plan to his mother, 
she declared his going would be her death- 
blow, and he reluctantly relinquished the 
idea. 

Young Duncan, however, was not daunt- 
ed by his friend's turning back, and told his 
pastor, Rev. Mr. Carr, of his newly formed 
desire. What was his surprise when Mr. 
Carr turned to him and said: "William, 
while we were listening to that address I 
thought of you and prayed in my heart that 
God would lead you to take up that work." 

The minister wrote at once to the 
Church Missionary Society recommending 
William, and the result was that he was 
accepted as a missionary candidate and 
nominated to attend the Highbury Train- 
ing School. 

When William went to announce his res- 
ignation to the two men at the head of the 
wholesale firm he encountered strong op- 
position to his going. He was a valuable 
young man and they wished to keep him 
in their employ. One of the firm said that 
not only did he regret Duncan's leaving 
but that William himself would also regret 
it. The other partner said he thought the 
missionary cause would be better served 
by bringing natives from heathen lands to 
England and then sending them back in- 
stead of sending out missionaries to be 
killed. Their opposition did not alter young 



20 METLAKAHTLA 

Duncan's resolution in the least, but to 
do the fair thing he offered to remain for 
six months longer, until they could secure 
a suitable man as his successor. 

At the expiration of the allotted time he 
resigned his business duties, and entered 
Highbury College with what result we have 
noted above. 

The Satellite was to leave Plymouth on 
Tuesday. On Monday evening the young 
man had succeeded in visiting his nearest 
relatives to bid them a 'hasty good-by, had 
bade farewell to the officials of the Church 
Missionary Society and had secured the 
needed outfit for the long journey. At 8 
p. m. he left Paddington Station, London, 
accompanied by Dr. Alford, and reached 
Plymouth at 6 a. m. Tuesday morning. To- 
gether they went aboard the man-of-war, 
Satellite, where the doctor remained some 
hours giving final advice and encourage- 
ment to the young man, twenty-six years of 
age, who was about to depart on such an 
important mission. At 2 p. m., on the 22d 
of December, 1856, the ship steamed out 
of the harbor, and put to sea for a voyage 
of nearly twenty thousand miles around 
Cape Horn to the naval station at Victoria. 

As he stands on the deck of the wars'hip, 
taking a last look at the receding shore of 
England, let us inspect more closely the ap- 
pearance and character of this brave young 
man who is starting on a heroic yet ex- 
tremely hazardous enterprise to the other 



METLAKAHTLA 



21 



side of the globe. He is of medium height, 
but firmly and strongly built, with every 
muscle instinct with life and energy. His 




CLAH, FROM WHOM MR. DUNCAN LEARNED 



face is beardless; his eyes large, bine, hon- 
est and fearless. His whole countenance 
and posture indicate a young man of strong 



22 METLAKAHTLA 

resolution and iron will. He is an idealist, 
but he has the force of character necessary 
to transmute his dreams into realities in 
the face of obstacles however difficult. Like 
Paul, the greatest missionary, he is not a 
man to shun dangers and perils by land or 
sea, but rather to exult in them, if thereby 
he can win men from darkness to light; 
and many are the perilous experiences 
through which young Duncan is destined 
to pass ere he again sees the shores of his 
native land. 

In rounding the Cape terrific storms were 
encountered by the Satellite and on more 
than one occasion it was feared the ship 
would sink. But finally the dangerous re- 
gions were passed and on the 27th of June, 
1857, after a voyage of over six months. 
Victoria was safely reached. 

On landing, the officials of the power- 
ful Hudson Bay Company informed Mr. 
Duncan that the Society had made an error 
in appointing him to Fort Simpson, over 
five hundred miles north of Victoria, as the 
Indians in that country were in a most 
barbarous condition, and the officials of the 
company could not be responsible for his 
safety. They advised him to work among 
the Indians around Victoria, where he could 
be afforded ample protection. Sir James 
Douglass was then governor both of Van- 
couver Island and of the Hudson Bay 
Company in that vicinity. Shortly after 
the arrival he and Captain Prevost walked 



METLAKAHTLA 23 

with Mr. Duncan to thie home of Rev. E. 
Cridge of Victoria, discussing the matter. 
Sir James plainly gave the Captain to un- 
derstand that he and others objected to 
Mr. Duncan's proceeding northward. But 
the Captain scouted the idea of his not go- 
ing forward and declared that if the com- 
pany refused to let Mr. Duncan proceed 
to Fort Simpson that he would carry him 
back to England on his ship. 

At this point the governor turned to 
Mr. Duncan and said: "As you are the 
most interested party I would like to see 
you in private on the subject. Please come 
and take dinner with me this evening." 
After dinner the Governor appeared in a 
more conciliatory frame of mind and after 
stating his fears that his life would be taken, 
said: "Do you still persist in wishing to go 
northward?" 

Mr. Duncan replied: "I cannot possibly 
entertain any change in my plans. I have 
been assigned to Fort Simpson, and can- 
not work elsewhere without first consulting 
with the Society in London which would 
take a year'r time. If you will permit me 
to go, all I will ask of you and the Hudson 
Bay Company is that I be given the pro- 
tection of the Fort until I can speak the na- 
tive language. Then I will take the risk 
of going out among the Indians without in- 
volving the Company in any further re- 
sponsibility." 

Sir James then very kindly said: "You 



24 METLAKAHTLA 

shall go and I will give instructions to the 
Fort to treat you as one of the officers. 
The only condition being that you do not 
call the Indians within the Fort for any 
meeting." 

Mr. Duncan was now ready to proceed at 
once to the northland. But for the follow- 
ing three months he was compelled to re- 
main in Victoria, as a steamer only went 
to the Fort twice yearly: once in the Spring 
and again in the Autumn. 

In the latter part of September he em- 
barked for the final journey of five hundred 
miles. One of the ports where the ship 
called was Fort Rupert, where there was a 
settlement of one thousand Indians, and 
there Mr. Duncan caught his first glimpse 
of the savage, ferocious character of the 
northern tribes. It was a sight dreadful 
enough to make the heart of any save the 
most heroic missionary quake with fear. 
Scattered about on the beach lay the dead 
and mangled bodies of a band of Hydah 
Indians. who had stopped there on a jour- 
ney homeward a few days previous, and had 
been attacked and the bodies hacked to 
pieces by the resident tribes. All but two 
of the party had been killed and those were 
held as prisoners. 

The arrival at Fort Simpson occurred at 
night when it was so dark one could not 
see his hand before him. Soon their com- 
ing was heralded throughout the Indian 
camp, and in a few moments the beach was 



METLAKAHTLA 25 

alive with excited figures running hither 
and thither waving fire-brands of welcome. 

The following day Mr. Duncan examined 
the Fort and found it consisted of dwell- 
ings, and warehouses, trading stores and 
workshops enclosed within a stockade one 
hundred yards square. The palisade was 
very solid, being built of heavy tree trunks 
sunk into the ground and projecting about 
twenty feet upward. At the corners were 
wooden bastions, mounted with cannon. On 
the inside of the stockade near the top a 
platform or gallery had been constructed 
from which one could view the surrounding 
country, or fire at an enemy, and on which 
the garrison was accustomed to take daily 
exercise. The entire garrison numbered 
scarcely more than twenty persons, while 
two or three thousand Tsimshean Indians 
lived nearby. Hence the greatest caution 
had to be constantly exercised for fear of 
a wholesale massacre. For this reason 
more than two or three Indians were never 
admitted into the Fort at one time. 

Immediately, Mr. Duncan set about to 
find an Indian from whom he could learn 
the Tsimshean language. He selected Clah, 
who had access to the Fort, but who was 
unable to speak English, and began with- 
out delay. 

The evening following his arrival at the 
Fort Mr. Duncan beheld with his own eyes 
the awful fact that the Indians he had come 
so many thousand miles to win to Christ 



26 METLAKAHTLA 

were not only savages, but in a sense can- 
nibals! In the twilight he was walking on 
the gallery of the Fort when he saw a 
slave woman murdered on the beach at the 
command of a chief and the body thrown 
into the water. Presently two parties of 
Indians approached the spot, each headed 
by a naked medicine man, who performed 
wild and weird motions and gave forth hor- 
rible gutteral sounds, and in every way en- 
deavored to work the minds of their follow- 
ers into an hysterical, devilish condition. 
On reaching the body it was torn to pieces 
by the teeth of the beastly, demoniacal 
red men. 

Within a week another significant event 
occurred, calculated to inspire fear and dis- 
couragement in the soul of any save a mis- 
sionary whose heart was aflame with love 
and who did not count his life dear, pro- 
vided he could follow in the footsteps of 
his Master. In the near vicinity of Fort 
Simpson there were located nine tribes of 
Tsimshean Indians. Each tribe had its 
own chief, but a famous medicine man 
named Legaic was the head chief of all 
the tribes of the Tsimshean nation. Legaic 
was several times a murderer and one of the 
most desperate and wicked Indians on the 
North Pacific Coast. A few days after Mr. 
Duncan's arrival he had, while partly in- 
toxicated, been holding a conference with 
some subordinate chiefs. Their words had 
angered him, and he departed from the 



METLAKAHTLA 27 

meeting in an irritable mood. Meeting a 
strange Indian from a neighboring tribe 
within a few hundred feet of the Fort, he 
shot him down in cold blood, simply be- 
cause he was feeling disgruntled. Then with 
Satanic indifference, he ordered two of his 
men to go and fire two more shots into the 
helpless, wounded Indian. An officer of 
the Fort, walking on the gallery, had wit- 
nessed the chief's devilish deed, and Mr. 
Duncan himself saw the last shots fired by 
the subordinates. 

Was Mr. Duncan discouraged by this 
appalling outburst of savagery? Not at all. 
But it was well that he did not know what 
the future held in store for him not many 
months distant in connection with this 
same Legaic. 




CHAPTER III. 
RESCUED BY PROVIDENCE. 




W 



ITH the 
a s s i st- 
ance of 

Clah, who became 
warmly attached 
to him, Mr. Dun- 
can made rapid 
progress in learn- 
ing the Tsimshean 
lang u a g e. His 
method was as 
follows: Selecting 
fifteen hundred of 
the commonest 
English words 
from the diction- 
ary he sought to 
discover from Clah the Tsimshean equiva- 
lents for them. Many were the difficult and 
often amusing experiences which occurred 
in this attempt to formulate and put down 
in order for the first time the native tongue 
of the Indians. By patient and oft-repeated 
signs he finally wrote phonetically in Eng- 
lish 1,500 words and 1,100 short sentences. 
Early in the year 1858, not long after Mr. 
Duncan's arrival at the Fort, he received a 



PAUL LEGAIC 



MR. DUNCAN'S LIFE. 



METLAKAHTLA 29 

significant visit from one of the Tsimshean 
Indians. 

The native said to him: "What do you 
mean by 1858?" 

Mr. Duncan informed him that 1858 rep- 
resented the number of years that had pass- 
ed since Christ came to earth with the mes- 
sage of salvation. 

The Indian then said: "Why didn't you 
tell us of this before? Why were not our 
fore-fathers told this?" 

To this pertinent and accusing query Mr. 
Dunc.an could make no reply, for he real- 
ized anew the guilt of the church in taking 
its ease for so many centuries while thou- 
sands and millions of men and women and 
children, red and yellow and black, were 
perishing without the Gospel. 

The Indian then asked: "Have you got 
the Word of God?" 

Translated into English the Indian's 
query meant: "Have you got a letter from 
God?" Hence Mr. Duncan answered: 
"Yes, I have God's letter." 

"I want to see it," said the native. 

Mr. Duncan went to get his Bible, glad 
of an opportunity to impress upon the In- 
dian mind the fact that he had brought a 
message, not from any human being, but 
from the King of Kings, the God of Heav- 
en. It had been rumored throughout the 
Indian camp that the white missionary had 
a message from God and this man was 
eager to see it and confirm the report. 



30 METLAKAHTLA 

When Mr. Duncan brought the Bible to 
him he asked: "Is this the Word?" 

"Yes," said Mr. Duncan, "it is." 

"The Word from God?" 

"It is." 

"Has He sent it to us?" 

"He has, just as much as He has to me," 
replied Mr. Duncan. 

"Are you going to tell the Indians that?" 
he asked. 

"I am." 

"Good, that is very good," he said, and 
departed to spread the good news through- 
out the camp. 

It was not until the summer of 1858, after 
a period of eight months of diligent study 
of the language, that Mr. Duncan ventured 
to formally address the Indians in their na- 
tive tongue. During the winter, however, 
he frequently visited among them, endeav- 
oring to prepare the way for the presenta- 
tion of his formal message in Tsimshean. 
To the Church Missionary Society in Lon- 
don Mr. Duncan wrote a vivid letter, de- 
scribing his first general visit among the na- 
tives. Part of it read as follows: 

"It would be impossible for me to give a 
full description of this, my first general 
visit, for the scenes were too exciting and 
too crowded to admit of it. I confess that 
cluster after cluster of these half-naked sav- 
ages round their camp-fires was, to my un- 
accustomed eyes, very alarming. But the 
reception I met with was truly wonderful 



METLAKAHTLA 31 

and encouraging. On entering a house I 
was saluted by one, two or three of the 
principal persons with 'Clah-how-yah,' 
which is the complimentary term used in 
the trading jargon. This would be repeat- 
ed several times. Then a general move- 
ment and a squatting ensued, followed by a 
breathless silence, during which <every eye 
was fixed upon me. After a time several 
would begin nodding and smiling, at the 
same time reiterating in a low tone, 'Ahm, 
ahm, ah ket, ahm, Shimauget' (good, kind 
person, good chief.) 

"In some houses they would not be con- 
tent until I took the chief place near the 
fire, and they always placed a mat upon a 
box for me to sit upon. My inquiries after 
the sick were always follow>ed by anxious 
looks and deep sighs. A kind of solemn 
awe would spread itself at once." 

In the course of his visits among the 
people Mr. Duncan carefully noted the re- 
ligious ideas which the Indians had held 
in their savage condition. As the result of 
his observations he found the following pe- 
culiar beliefs held sway over their minds 
and hearts, and doubtless had done so for 
ages past: 

"The idea they entertain of God is that 
He is a great Chief. They call Him by the 
same term as they do their chiefs, only add- 
ing the word for above: thus, 'shimauget' is 
chief and 'lakkah' above; and hence the 
name of God with them is Shimauget Lak- 



32 METLAKAHTLA 

i 

Kah. They believe that the Supreme Be- 
ing never dies; that He takes great notice 
of what is going on amongst men, and is 
frequently angry and punishes offenders. 
They do not know who is the author of the 
universe, nor do they expect that God is the 
author of their own being. They have no 
fixed ideas about these things, I fully be- 
lieve; still they frequently appeal to God 
in trouble; they ask for pity and deliver- 
ance. In great extremities of sickness they 
address God, saying it is not good for them 
to die." 

With these hazy feelings of a divine Ruler 
of the world, the Indians "felt after God, if 
haply they might find Him." But those 
faint glimmerings of religion did not con- 
stitute the Gospel, and in what a sad condi- 
tion they had left the red men of the forest, 
for lo, these many centuries! 

On the I3th of June, 1858, Mr. Duncan 
delivered his first formal message to the 
Tsimsheans in their native speech. De- 
scribing the memorable occasion in his 
journal, he wrote: 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all 
creation join in chorus to bless His Holy 
Name. True to His word, 'He giveth 
power to the faint, and to them that have 
no might He increaseth strength.' Bless 
forever His Holy Name! 

"Last week I finished translating my first 
address for the Indians. Although it was 
not entirely to my satisfaction, I felt it 



34 METLAKAHTLA 

would be wrong to withhold the message 
any longer. Accordingly, I sent word last 
night (not being ready before) to the chiefs, 
desiring to use their houses today to ad- 
dress their people in. This morning I set 
off, accompanied by the young Indian 
(Clah) whom I have had occasionally to as- 
sist me in the language. In a few minutes 
we arrived at the first chief's house, which 
I found all prepared, and we mustered 
about one hundred souls. This was the 
first assembly of Indians I had met. My 
heart quailed greatly before the work a 
people for the first time come to hear the 
Gospel tidings, and I, the poor instrument, 
to address them in a tongue so new and 
different to me. Oh, those moments! I 
began to think that after all I should be 
obliged to get Clah to speak to them, while 
I read to them from a paper in my hand. 
Blessed be God, this lame resolution was 
not carried. My Indian was so unnerved at 
my proposal that I quickly saw I must do 
the best I could by myself, or worse would 
come of it. I then told them to shut the 
door. The Lord strengthened me. I knelt 
down to crave God's blessing, and after- 
wards I gave them the address. They were 
all remarkably attentive. At the conclu- 
sion I desired them to kneel down. They 
immediately complied, and I offered up 
prayer for them in English. They preserved 
great silence. All being done, I bade them 
good-by. They all responded with seeming 



METLAKAHTLA 35 

thankfulness. On leaving, I asked my In- 
dian if they understood me, and one of the 
chief women very seriously replied, 'Nee, 
nee/ (yes); and he (Clah) assured me that 
from their looks he knew that they under- 
stood and felt it to be good. 

"We then went to the next chief's house, 
where we found all ready, a canoe-sail 
spread for me to stand on, and a mat placed 
on a box for me to sit upon. About 150 
souls assembled, and as there were a few 
of the Fort people present I first gave them 
a short address in English, and then the 
one in Tsimshean. All knelt in prayer, and 
were very attentive as at the other place. 
This is the head chief's house. H.e is a 
very wicked man, but he was present, and 
admonished the people to behave them- 
selves during my stay. 

"After this I went in succession to the 
other seven tribes, and addressed them in 
the chiefs' houses. In each case I found 
the chief very kind and attentive in pre- 
paring his house and assembling his people. 
The smallest company I addressed was 
about fifty souls, and the largest about 200. 
Their obedience to my request about kneel- 
ing was universal, but in the house where 
there were over 200 some confusion took 
place, as they were sitting so close. How- 
ever, when they heard me begin to pray, 
they were instantly quiet. Thus the Lord 
helped me through. About 800 or 900 souls 
in all have heard me speak; and the greater 



36 METLAKAHTLA 

number of them, I feel certain, have under- 
stood the message. May the Lord make 
it the beginning of great good for this piti- 
able and long-lost people." 

Mr. Duncan's next endeavor was to es- 
tablish a school where instruction would be 
given in both secular and spiritual things. 
What was his surprise and delight when the 
notorious head-chief Legaic offered his 
large house in which to conduct it for a 
time. About two weeks later it was opened 
with an attendance of twenty-six children in 
the forenoon and fourteen or fifteen adults 
in the afternoon. Everything went happily 
for a few weeks, until Legaic and his wife 
departed on a fishing expedition, and the 
house was closed. 

The school was such a success, however, 
and was proving such an effective means of 
attracting the Indians, that Mr. Duncan set 
about building a school-house at once. Late 
in the autumn it was completed and on the 
igth of November, the opening day of 
school, there was registered an enrollment 
of one hundred and forty children and fifty 
adults. As the days and weeks passed the 
interest grew rather than lessened and the 
Gospel teaching was making rapid inroads 
upon the heathen ideas and customs. 

There was one class of men amongst the 
Indians to whom the teaching was doubly 
displeasing; namely, the medicine men. 
They were the high priests of the heathen 
religion, and the spread of knowledge and 



METLAKAHTLA 37 

the Gospel meant the deathblow to their 
calling and the position of honor in which 
they w-ere now held. Four chiefs had al- 
ready abandoned their medicine practices 
and were giving earnest heed to Mr. Dun- 
can's instruction. 

As the month of December progressed 
the season drew near for the holding of the 
annual medicine rites and ceremonies, which 
were attended by large numbers of visi- 
tors from other tribes and were marked by 
devilish abominations and much debauchery. 
Legaic and other leading medicine men held 
a conference and sent notice to Mr. Duncan 
through the manager of the Fort that he 
must close the school for four weeks while 
the medicine work was in progress. He 
declared that such a course was impossible. 
A little later he received word that the 
chiefs would be content provided the school 
was closed for two weeks and that after- 
ward they would all come to be instructed 
while if he did not comply with their re- 
quest, the pupils would be shot as they came 
to school. Mr. Duncan knew that his own 
life as well -as that of the scholars would be 
in danger if he refused, but his duty in the 
matter was perfectly plain. Like Daniel 
of old he determined to do right whether 
he lived or died. He returned answer that 
he could not close the school a single day 
in-dieference to their heathen abominations; 
that Satan had ruled there long enough and 
t was time his rule should be disturbed. 



38 METLAKAHTLA 

A few days later, on the 2oth of Decem- 
ber, as the children were assembling for the 
afternoon session of the school, Mr. Duncan 
looked out of the door and saw Legaic ap- 
proaching, followed by a motley crowd of 
medicine men dressed in their fantastic 
garb. When they reached the building, Le- 
gaic shouted at the top of his voice to the 
few children who had just come in, order- 
ing them to hurry home at once. He then 
entered the room, followed by seven or 
more of the medicine men, and drawing 
near to Mr. Duncan, they tried to intimidate 
him by their terrorizing language and 
frightful appearance. Legaic declared the 
school must be closed four days, at least, 
or he would shoot at the pupils as they 
came to school; that if he was unable to 
stop the school medicine men from other 
tribes would shame and perhaps kill him; 
that he knew how to kill men (drawing his 
hand across his throat as he spoke) ; that 
he was a wicked man and would go down 
anyway. 

God enabled Mr. Duncan to stand calmly 
during the long harangue, and then to ad- 
dress the intruders with far more fluency 
than usual. Be was enabled to tell them 
of their sin faithfully, and to vindicate his 
own conduct. He declared that God was 
his Master and that he must obey Him 
rather than men; that the devil had taught 
their fathers what they were practising and 



METLAKAHTLA 39 

it was bad; that he had come to tell them 
of God's way and it was good. 

During the excited scene, which lasted 
fully an hour, Legaic once pointed to two 
men standing near and said they were mur- 
derers as well as himself, hence it was use- 
less for them to go to school. At this point 
Mr. Duncan broke in, declaring the Gospel 
was for murderers as well as others; that 
if they would repent and amend they could 
still be saved. 

Toward the close of the interview, how- 
ever, two vile-looking confederates went 
and whispered something into Legaic's 
ear; doubtless a taunt that h<e was afraid to 
kill the missionary. Legaic at once became 
passionately inflamed and drawing near to 
Mr. Duncan, gesticulated wildly, having a 
knife concealed in his right hand. 

Without doubt, he was preparing to mur- 
der Mr. Duncan at once, when something 
occurred, which though human, was also 
providential and miraculous, and showed 
that God still watches over His servants, 
even as in the c'ays of Daniel. 



CHAPTER JV- 
PLANNING A MODEL VILLAGE. 




A 



S Legaic ap- 
p r o a c heel 
Mr. Duncan 
and was about 
raising his hand 
to slay him, he 
h a p p e ned t o 
glance behind 
him, and saw a 
person he had not 
previ o u s 1 y ob- 
served, stand i n g 
behind Mr. Dun- 
can, silent, yet 
gu a r d i n g him 
with eagle eyes. 
It was Clah, the faithful interpreter 
and friend. He had heard of the 
visit of the medicine men, and hastily se- 
curing his revolver had hurried to the 
school-house, resolved to shoot anyone 
who attempted the life of the missionary. 
He had entered the building unobserved by 
either Mr. Duncan or Legaic, and it was 
not until the latter drew near to Mr. Dun- 
can that he saw Clah standing behind him. 
Legaic knew that Clah's hand, which was 
slipped just inside his blanket, contained a 
40 



MRS. SAMUEL MARSDEN. 



METLAKAHTLA 41 

revolver and that the moment he raised his 
arm to kill the missionary, he would be 
shot. With the new turn of affairs Legaic 
realized that his mission was a failure, and 
in a few moments sullenly withdrew, fol- 
lowed by his disappointed confederates. 

Thus was Mr. Duncan's life wonderfully 
preserved and the Gospel triumphant over 
heathenism. The school was not closed, 
but Legaic's hostility continued and as his 
house stood near the school it was difficult 
for the children to attend. At this juncture 
another chief proffered the use of his house 
for the school, and it being in a less danger- 
ous locality the offer was gladly accepted 
and the scholars transferred to the new 
place where rapid progress was made. Mr. 
Duncan's connection with Legaic by no 
means terminated with this incident. Of 
his future career we shall hear in detail as 
the narrative progresses. 

The first Christmas spent by Mr. Duncan 
among the Tsimsheans was very different 
from his later ones. However, he did what 
he could to make the day notable, and to 
explain to the people its glorious meaning. 
In a letter to the Missionary Society he 
described the day in the following manner: 

"Yesterday I told my scholars to bring 
their friends and relatives to school today, 
as I wanted to tell them something new. 
We numbered out two hundred souls. I 
tried to make them understand why we dis- 
tinguished this day from others. After this 



42 METLAKAHTLA 

I questioned the children a little and then 
we sang two hymns, which we also trans- 
lated. While the hymns were being sung, 
I felt I must try to do something more, al- 
though the language seemed to defy me. I 
never experienced such an inward burning 
to speak before, and therefore I determin- 
ed to try an extemporaneous address in 
Tsimshean. The Lord helped me; a great 
stillness prevailed, and I think a great deal 
was understood of what I said. I told them 
of our condition, the pity and love of God, 
the death of the Son of God on our ac- 
count, and the benefits arising to us there- 
from, and exhorted them to leave their sins 
and pray to Jesus. On my enumerating the 
sins of which they are guilty, I saw some 
look at each other with those significant 
looks which, betoken their assent to what I 
said. I tried to impress upon them the 
certain ruin which awaits them if they pro- 
ceed in their present vices. Very remark- 
ably an illustration corroborating what I 
had said was before their eyes. A poor 
woman was taken sick not four yards from 
where I stood, and right before the eyes of 
my audience. She was groaning under a 
frightful affliction, the result of her vices." 
During the ensuing four years Mr. Dun- 
can made slow but steady progress in in- 
structing the people and wooing them from 
heathenism and savagery to Christianity and 
civilization; even Legaic often attending 
school and listening eagerly with the rest. 



METLAKAHTLA 43 

Nor were his efforts confined entirely to 
the nine Tsimshean tribes surrounding 
Fort Simpson. Occasionally he made 
journeys to interior tribes who had never 
heard the story of the Gospel. It was on 
a visit of this character up the Nass River 
that a most remarkable incident occurred. 
Let us give Mr. Duncan's own narrative of 
the visit as it was afterwards related by 
him: 

"They had heard that I was coming, and 
the chief, in order to show his great delight, 
at my arrival, put up what they call a large 
cap. Their cap was an umbrella. They had 
no idea of preventing rain from falling on 
their heads by its use, but looked upon it 
simply as a web-footed cap, and so they 
used it on state occasions. As soon as I 
landed I saw the man with the umbrella, 
and saw the excitement. He sent a mes- 
sage to this effect: 'I would like you to 
come into my house and I shall send my 
messenger to tell you so.' 

"I immediately encamped upon the bank 
of the river. By and by I was told that all 
things were ready and prepared to receive 
me. I said to my little crew for in those 
days I took only boys with me, being afraid 
to take men, as they might kill me for the 
purpose of getting my clothes I said, 
'What are they going to do when I go into 
the house?' 

" 'Dance.' 

" Tell them I did not come here to see 



44 METLAKAHTLA 

dancing, and I cannot go therefore.' 

"They told the messenger to tell the chief 
that I objected to seeing them dance, that 
I had come with a solemn message to them. 

"The chief replied, Tell the white chief 
he must come; if he doesn't come to me I 
won't go to hear his word; but if he will 
come I will go and hear him.' 

"That changed the matter altogether. I 
had a little consultation with my boys, and 
they said, 'You had better go; if you do not 
go the chief will not come to hear what 
you have to say.' 

"I walked up to his house, I confess, in 
a very grum kind of a spirit. I did not like 
to attend a dance. But I saw that I had to 
do it. I was very glad afterward that I 
did go. When I entered the house there 
was a person there ready to point out a seat 
for me. There was a bear-skin spread over 
a box for me to sit on. The chief had all 
of his men placed around in different por- 
tions of the house, which was a very large 
one. I observed that he had gotten a large 
sail and used it for a curtain in part of the 
room. 

"Very soon I saw two men step out. One 
had a rod in his hand beating the floor. 
They had a kind of theatrical performance. 
The old man, after stamping his foot and 
putting his rod down very firmly, said, in 
his own language, of course, 'The heavens 
are changing.' 

"The other man was there to respond, 



METLAKAHTLA 



45 



'Yes, so it seems; the heavens are chang- 
ing/ 

"A few little remarks of this sort were 




made, and then the sail was drawn aside 
and out dashed the chief, dressed in most 
magnificent costume, his head being com- 
pletely covered with feathers and other or- 
naments. He had his rattle in his hand. He 



46 METLAKAHTLA 

shook it before my face; walked up a little 
way to me and then put up his hand with 
his rattle in it; he looked through the hole 
in the center of the roof where the smoke 
came out, and immediately began a beauti- 
ful prayer. I was astonished. This was 
no dance. If I could only give you his 
prayer in his own beautiful and eloquent 
language, you would be astonished also. I 
can only give you the substance of it: 

"'Great Father in Heaven, pity us! Give 
us Thy good Book to do us good and to 
cleanse away our sins! This Chief (Mr. 
Duncan) has come to tell us about Thee. It 
is good, Great Father, we want to hear! 
Whoever came to tell our forefathers Thy 
will? No! no! But this Chief has pitied us 
and come. He has Thy Book. We will 
hear! We will receive Thy Word! We will 
obey!' 

"When I heard this prayer I felt thunder- 
struck. I had expected to be disgusted at 
seeing their heathen abominations, but the 
people sat solemnly during the ceremonies, 
even saying amen to the prayer. 

"After this the Indians began a chant, 
clapping their hands. It was an extempora- 
neous song and I listened to it with a great 
deal of pleasure. There was a man among 
them who extemporized the song as they 
sang it, verse by verse as they wanted it. 
The chant was a very plaintive one. I 
found the song was all about God having 



METLAKAHTLA 47 

sent His servant and His messenger to 
teach the Indians. 

"When this was done the chief turned to 
me and made a short speech to the effect 
that they wanted me amongst them as they 
wanted God's Word. They wanted to cast 
away their evil ways and to be good." 

Mr. Duncan spent the day visiting a num- 
ber of houses, and invited every one to his 
tent for the evening address, where he told 
them as much as possible about the won- 
derful news of salvation. 

The first public reception of Indian con- 
verts into the church occurred on the 26th 
of July, 1861, when fourteen men, five wom- 
en and four children were baptized on their 
public profession of faith in Christ. Others 
also came forward, but it was thought best 
that they wait for a time; while several who 
believed in Christ were afraid to come bold- 
ly out for fear of their relatives. 

As the years had passed since Mr. Dun- 
can began his work among the Indians, he 
had realized more and more the necessity 
of separating the converts, and especially 
the children under instruction in the school, 
from the vices and immorality and heathen- 
ism around Fort Simpson. As early as 
1859 he wrote as follows to the Missionary 
Society in London: 

"What is to become of the children and 
young people under instruction, when tem- 
poral necessity compels them to leave 
school? If they are permitted to slip away 



48 METLAKAHTLA 

from me into the gulf of vice and misery 
which everywhere surrounds them, then the 
fate of these tribes is sealed, and the labor 
and money that has already been spent for 
their welfare might as well have been 
thrown away. The well-thinking part of the 
Indian people themselves see this, and are 
asking, nay, craving, a remedy. The head 
chief of one tribe (a very well-disposed old 
man) is constantly urging this question 
upon me, and begs that steps may be taken 
which shall give the Indians that are in- 
clined, and especially the children now be- 
ing taught, a chance and a help to become 
what good people desire them to be." 

Gradually the conviction grew in his mind 
that what was demanded for the spiritual 
welfare of the Indians was a Christian col- 
ony, where peace and quiet would : -ign, 
where industries would be taught and toil 
rewarded, and where the terrible evils of 
fire-water would be unknown. He talked 
the plan over with his followers and they 
not only highly favored it, but suggested 
that the colony be located on the beautiful 
island of Metlakahtla*, only seventeen miles 
distant, where they and their forefathers 
had lived before they removed to Fort 
Simpson. So glowing were their accounts 
of the beauty and suitability of the island 
that Mr. Duncan visited it, and found it ad- 
mirably adapted to the plan in every par- 
ticular. 

*Metlakahtla means "Inlet of Kahtla." 



METLAKAHTLA 49 

Mr. Duncan believed such a village would 
not only be an infinite blessing to the In- 
dians themselves, but would be a Gospel 
lighthouse, shedding its radiance through- 
out the entire northland. In describing the 
project, he wrote: "All we want is God's 
favor and blessing, and then we may hope to 
build up in His good time, a model Chris- 
tian village, reflecting light and radiating 
heat to all the spiritually dark and dead 
masses of humanity around us." 

His first step toward the actual realiza- 
tion of the settlement was the drawing up 
of a set of fifteen rules which all who joined 
the colony would be required to sign. They 
were as follows: 

1. To give up "Ahlied" or Indian devil- 

try. 

2. To cease calling in "Shamans" or 

medicine men when sick. 

3. To cease gambling. 

4. To cease giving away their property 

for display. 

5. To cease painting their faces. 

6. To cease indulging in intoxicating 

drinks. 

7. To rest on the Sabbath. 

8. To attend religious instruction. 

9. To send their children to school. 

10. To be cleanly. 

11. To be industrious. 

12. To be peaceful. 

13. To be liberal and honest in trade. 

14. To build neat houses. 



50 METLAKAHTLA 

15. To pay the village tax. 

In the winter of 1861-2 active prepara- 
tions for the embarkation to the new home 
went forward, but it was not until May 27th 
that everything was in readiness for the 
long planned event. For some time previ- 
ous to the day of departure Mr. Duncan 
devoted himself to visiting from house to 
house, and to delivering farewell addresses 
to the tribes in the homes of the chiefs. 

Several days before the date set for de- 
parture the school-house was torn down 
and made into a raft on which ten Indians 
went in advance of the main group, pilot- 
ing the logs through the sea seventeen miles 
to the island where it was to be speedily re- 
transformed into a school-house. 

Finally, the 'eventful day arrived and the 
1 arty of pilgrims gathered on the shore, 
ready to set out on their journey. Those 
who had subscribed to the rules and were 
ready to leave home and friends for the 
sake of the Gospel numbered in all about 
fifty souls; men, women and children. Six 
large Indian canoes lay at the water's edge 
ready to receive the pilgrims and bear them 
to their new home. A large company of 
Indians had assembled to witness the de- 
parture and looked on with solemn and 
earnest faces, many promising to join the 
settlement in the near future. 

As the heroic band entered the canoes 
tliey were filled with solemn joy at the 
thought of the Christian community in 



METLAKAHTLA 51 

which they were going to dwell. Mr. Dun- 
can realized fully what an eventful page in 
the history of the Indians was being turned, 
and his joy was great when as the canoev 
left the shore, the sun which had been hid 
behind the rain-clouds, broke forth and dis- 
closed to view a beautiful rainbow. It was 
a happy omen as the pilgrims departed for 
their new home on th* island of Metla- 
kahtla. 




CHAPTER V. 




THE ARCADIAN ISLE. 

THE six Indian 
canoes freighted 
with heroic pil- 
grims had left Fort 
Simpson in the after- 
noon and it soon be- 
came evident that they 
could not reach Metla- 
kahtla until late at 
night. Hence, when 
they reached a good 
camping place only a 

DAVID LEASK ICW H 1 ^ 68 ^0111 tllC 

Fort, the canoes were 

headed for the shore, and soon all were on 
the beach gathering fuel for fires and pre- 
paring tents and blankets for the night. 
After supper all gathered around the camp- 
fire while Mr. Duncan conducted evening 
prayers. It was a beautiful and impressive 
sight and one long to be remembered, to 
see those Indians, who, only a short time 
since were degraded savages, sitting quietly 
around the camp-fire with faces aglow with 
Christian joy, singing praises to their Cre- 
ator and King in softly flowing Tsimshean 
accents. 

Mr. Leask was for many years a leader among the 
Metlakahtla Indians. 

52 



METLAKAHTLA 53 

Early the next morning they broke camp 
and in a few hours reached the shore of 
their new island home, where much event- 
ful history was to occur during the com- 
ing years. 

During the next few days all were ac- 
tively engaged in selecting sites for their 
homes and in making preparations to build. 
Each evening after the labor of the day, 
they gathered together on the beach, like 
a large, happy family, for prayer and sing- 
ing and a short Scripture address by Mr. 
Duncan. 

Only four or five days after their arrival 
others began coming from Fort Simpson, 
singly and in groups, while on the 6th of 
June great excitement was created by the 
arrival of thirty canoes, bringing three hun- 
dred souls, with two chiefs. 

Scarcely had the exodus occurred when a 
fearful plague of small-pox broke out at 
Fort Simpson, which swept away over five 
hundred Indians and spread up and down 
the coast carrying death and desolation in 
its wake. In terror they fled in all direc- 
tions from the dread disease, many now 
coming to Metlakahtla and pleading to be 
allowed to join the colony. Most of them 
were admitted, but some who were still 
steeped in heathenism Mr. Duncan was 
compelled to refuse. Many of the new- 
comers were infected with the small-pox 
and Mr. Duncan was kept busy day and 
night tending the sick. The members of 



54 METLAKAHTLA 

the original colony were wonderfully pre- 
served from the plague, only five of them 
dying, three of these deaths being occa- 
sioned by attending sick relatives who al- 
ready had the disease when they reached 
the island. 

The colonists fervently thanked God for 
their marvelous escape from the surround- 
ing destruction, and as the plague subsided 
they set earnestly to work to build up a 
handsome village which should be a verita- 
ble Christian Arcadia. 

Since he had left Victoria, Mr. Duncan 
had by no means been forgotten by the 
governor, Sir James Douglas. The gov- 
ernor took pains to converse with Indians 
who had been under Mr. Duncan's instruc- 
tion when they visited Victoria, and was 
delighted at the results observed. He re- 
quested Mr. Duncan to send him reports 
from time to time concerning the prog- 
ress of the mission. 

The governor's request was gladly com- 
plied with by Mr. Duncan, and in a report 
sent in the spring of 1863, about ten months 
after the arrival at Metlakahtla, he wrote 
Sir James a long letter, giving many in- 
teresting details of the new settlement. A 
part of the communication was as follows: 

"To many who have joined me, the sur- 
rendering their national and heathen cus- 
toms performed over the sick ceasing to 
give away, tear up, or receive blankets, 
.etc., for display, dropping precipitately 



METLAKAHTLA 55 

their demoniacal rites, which have hitherto 
and for ages filled up their time and en- 
grossed all their care during the months 
of winter; laying aside gambling, and ceas- 
ing to paint their faces had been like cut- 
ting off the right hand and plucking out the 
right eye. Yet I am thankful to tell you 
that these sacrifices have been made; and 
had your Excellency heard the speeches 
made by the chiefs and some of the prin- 
cipal men at our Christmas evening meet- 
ing, alluding to these and other matters, 
you would, I am sure, have rejoiced. 

"On New Year's Day the male adult set- 
tlers came cheerfully forward to pay the 
village tax, which I had previously pro- 
posed to levy yearly, viz., one blanket, or 
two and one half dollars of such as have at- 
tained manhood, and one shirt, or one dol- 
lar of such as are approaching manhood. 
Out of 130 amenable we had only ten de- 
faulters and these were excused on account 
of poverty. Our revenue for this year thus 
gathered amounts to one green, one blue, 
and ninety-four white blankets, one pair of 
white trousers, one dressed elk skin, seven- 
teen shirts and seven dollars. The half of 
this property I propose to divide among 
the three chiefs who are with us, in recog- 
nition of stated services which they will be 
required to render to the settlement, and 
the other half to spend in public works. 

"As to our government; all disputes and 
difficulties are settled by myself and ten 



56 METLAKAHTLA 

constables; but I occasionally call in the 
chiefs, and intend to do so more and more, 
and when they become sufficiently instruct- 
ed, trustworthy and influential, I shall leave 
civil matters in their hands. I find the In- 
dians very obedient, and comparatively easy 
to manage, since I allow no intoxicating 
drinks to come into our village. Though 
we are continually hearing of the drunken 
festivals of the surrounding tribes I am 
happy to tell you that Metlakahtla has not 
yet witnessed a case of drunkenness since 
we have settled here a period of ten 
months. Still, not all with me are true 
men. Some few, on their visits to Fort 
Simpson, have fallen; and two, whose cases 
were clearly proved and admitted of no ex- 
tenuation, I have banished from our midst. 

"On Sabbath days labor is laid aside, a 
solemn quiet presides and the best clothing 
is in use. Scarcely a soul remains away 
from divine service, excepting the sick and 
their nurses. Evening family devotions are 
common to almost every house, and, better 
than all, I have a hope that many have ex- 
perienced a real change of heart. To God 
be all the praise and glory. 

"We have succeeded in erecting a strong 
and useful building, capable of containing 
at least 600 people, which we use as church 
and school. We held our first meeting in 
this building on the night it was finished, 
the 2Oth of December last. I have about 
one hundred children who attend morn- 



58 METLAKAHTLA 

ing and afternoon and about one hundred 
adults (often more) in the evening. I oc- 
cupy the principal part of the time in the 
adult school, in giving simple lectures on 
geography, astronomy, natural history and 
morals. These lectures the Indians greatly 
prize. 

"Trusting, by God's blessing upon us, we 
shall go on improving and continue to merit 
your Excellency's favor and good-will, 

"I have the honor to remain, with warm- 
est gratitude, 

"Your Excellency's humble and obedient 
servant, "W. Duncan." 

A few weeks later, the Bishop of Colum- 
bia visited Metlakahtla to baptize those who 
were ready to receive the sacred rite, Mr. 
Duncan being a lay, not a clerical mission- 
ary. Two full days were spent in examin- 
ing the candidates, of which the Bishop 
wrote: 

"We were met by the whole village, who 
stood on the bank, in a long line as fine 
a set of men and as well dressed as could 
anywhere be seen where men live by their 
daily toil certainly no country village in 
England would turn out so well-clad an as- 
semblage. 

"At three the bell was rung and almost 
instantly the whole population were wend- 
ing their way to church. There were 
hymns and prayers in Tsimshean. They 
repeated the answers to a catechism in 
Tsimshean. I addresser! them and offer- 



METLAKAHTLA 59 

ed prayers in English, which were interpre- 
ted by Mr. Duncan. 

"Converts from heathenism can fully real- 
ize renunciation of the world, the flesh and 
the devil. Aniong these Indians pomp of 
display, the lying craft of malicious magic, 
as well as all sins of the flesh, are particu- 
larly glaring, and closely connected with 
heathenism. So are the truths of the Creed 
in strongest contrast to the dark and mis- 
erable fables of their forefathers and heart- 
ily can they pledge themselves to keep the 
holy will of God, all the days of their life, 
seeing in Him a loving and true Father, of 
whom now so lately but so gladly, they have 
learned to know. 

"I first drew forth their views of the ne- 
cessity of repentance, its details and their 
own personal acquaintance with it. I then 
questioned them as to the Three Persons 
of the Trinity, and the special work of 
each with allusion to the Judgment, and the 
state of the soul hereafter, inquiring into 
their private devotion to learn their person- 
al application of repentance and faith. I 
questioned their anxiety for baptism, and 
demanded proof of their resolution to keep 
the will of God for their guide, to speak 
of God, and to labor for God's way, all 
their life long. I sought to find out the 
circumstances under which they first be- 
came seriously inclined, and to trace their 
steps of trial and grace. Admitting them 
to the promise of baptism, I exhorted them 



60 METLAKAHTLA 

to prayer and devotion, as a special prep- 
aration until the time came. 

"A simple table, covered with a white 
cloth, upon which stood three hand-basins 
of water, served for the font, and I offi- 
ciated in a surplice. Thus there was noth- 
ing to impress the senses, no color, nor 
ornament, nor church decoration, nor music, 
The solemnity of the scene was produced by 
the earnest sincerity and serious purpose 
with which these children of the far West 
were prepared to offer themselves to God, 
and to renounce forever the hateful sins 
and cruel deeds of their heathenism; and the 
solemn stillness was broken only by the 
breath of prayer. The responses were made 
with earnestness and decision. Not an in- 
dividual was there, whose lips did not ut- 
ter in his 'own expressive tongue, his 
hearty readiness to believe and to serve 
God." 

The Christian experiences of the candi- 
dates for baptism were most touching and 
impressive. 

Clah, who had saved Mr. Duncan's life 
and was his first friend, testified as follows: 

"I have made up my mind to live a Chris- 
tian. Must try to put away all my sins. I 
believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
who died for our sins. God is good to us 
and made us. God gives us His Spirit to 
make us clean and happy. I pray to God 
to clean my heart, and wipe out my sin 
from God's book. It will be worse for us 



METLAKAHTLA 61 

H we fall away after we have begun." Clah's 
wife was also baptized with him. 

The chieftainess of the Nish-Kahs, named 
Nishah-Kigh, whose sorrow was great 
when she first heard the message of salva- 
tion and who had been seeking God for 
five years, said: 

"I must leave all evil ways. I feel myself 
a sinner in God's sight. I believe in God, 
the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, 
who died for our sins. God sends down 
His Spirit to make us good. Jesus is in 
Heaven, and is writing our names in God's 
Book. We must stand before God and be 
judged by Him. I feel God's Word is 
truth. Have been for some time accustom- 
ed regularly to pray." 

A young man, Kappigh Kumlee by name, 
thirty years of age, who had been a sorcer- 
er, but found no satisfaction in the calling, 
said: 

"I have given up the lucrative position 
of sorcerer. Been offered bribes to prac- 
tice my art secretly. I have left all my mis- 
taken ways. My eyes have been bored (en- 
lightened.) 1 cry every night when I re- 
member my sins. The great Father Al- 
mighty sees everything. If I go up to the 
mountain He sees me. Jesus died for our 
sins upon the cross to carry our sins away." 

Kappigh Ktimlee's wife was baptized with 
him, and all their family having renounced 
heathenism, they were doubly united in the 
bonds of Christian fellowship. 



62 METLAKAHTLA 

A chief seventy years of age named 
Neeash-Lakah-Noosh, when asked if he de- 
sired to become a Christian, said: 

"For that object I came here with my 
people. I have put away all lying ways, 
which I had long followed. I have trusted 
in God. We want the Spirit of God. Jesus 
came to save us. He compensated for our 
sins. Our Father made us and loved us 
because we are His work. He wishes to 
see us with Him because He loves us." 
When asked about the judgment he said: 
"The blood of Jesus will free those who 
believe from condemnation." 

Vilmauksh, a young man who rescued 
three of his relatives from the darkness of 
heathenism, said: 

"I believe in Jesus as my Savior, who 
died to compensate for my sins to God." 

One, named Neeash-ah-Pootk, who was 
converted by losing ten of his relatives by 
the plague of small-pox, said: 

"I have long followed sins which made 
God angry. I have put away sin, but if I 
am ever so ignorant in my endeavors I will 
persevere. Used to be a great drunkard. 
Have given up magic and display of prop- 
erty. Felt God last summer. We have 
turned back to our great Father. He see 
all; His Spirit is with us. The blood of 
Jesus cleanseth us from all sin. How happy 
the angels will be to see us good, and how 
they will cry if we are sinful! At the last 
God will divide us. Lost ten relatives by 



METLAKAHTLA 63 

the small-pox last year, and it opened my 
eyes to my sins. God's hand was strong 
to cut down sinners." 

A beautiful testimony was given by 
Kahlp, only thirty-five years of age, who 
had had a sad and checkered career. When 
a young man he was captured by the Hy- 
dab Indians. Later he was brought back 
and sold to his old chief, who kept him in 
slavery several years. The chief's son final- 
ly sold him to his own friends, who set 
him free. He said: 

"I shall fight against my sins. My heart 
truly says I will turn from sin to God. God 
is perfectly right in His ways. Whosoever 
believes in God, the Father, the Spirit 
of God lives 'in his heart. Those who die 
in their sin go to darkness and to fire. I 
will fear God as long as I live. I pray for 
God's Spirit and light to lead my own 
spirit along the path to Himself when I 
die. Was a slave; was poor in spirit, and 
was drawn to cry to God to take my heart." 

One of the most touching experiences of 
all was that given by a boy sixteen years of 
age, named Kisheeso. It shows how, when 
the Gospel really fills one's heart, one is 
willing to forsake all for Christ. This boy 
left his heathen home, and came by himself 
in a tiny canoe across the sea to join the 
Christian people. He said: 

"A duty to give up the ways of the 
Tsimsheans. Was very wicked when quite 
young. Will try to put away my sin. I pray 



METLAKAHTLA 



night and morning for God to pity and to 
pardon me." 

These are only a few of the touching tes- 
timonies given by these Indians who had 
for centuries been steeped in heathenism, 
but had at last seen a great light, had come 
into possession of the pearl of great price, 
without which life is a dreary waste, but 
with which it is a foretaste of the Heaven 
hereafter. 

The most notable of all the Indians bap- 
tized by the Bishop was one with whom we 
have already become acquainted; who from 
being a persecutor was marvelously trans- 
formed into a saint. The story of his con- 
version and valiant career as a Christian 
rea-'s like a new chapter in the Acts of the 
Apostles. 





A 



AN INDIAN BOY 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE TRANSFORMATION OF LEGAIC 

FEW months after 
the settlement 
had been estab- 
lished at Metlakahtla a 
thrill of surprise and 
delight ran throughout 
the village at the an- 
nouncement that a no- 
table recruit had arrived 
at the island, determin- 
ed to sign the rules and 
cast in his lot with 
RT the Christian party. The 
newcomer v;as none other than Legaic, 
head-chief, murderer and medicine man, 
who had so nearly succeeded in taking Mr. 
Duncan's life. The Spirit of God had long 
been working upon his heart until he had 
come to loathe heathenism and to long for 
the peace and joy which he saw were the 
outcome of the Christian life. To openly 
join the Christian party at Metlakahtla, 
however, would be to make a tremendous 
sacrifice, for it would mean the practical 
renunciation of the headship of the Tsim- 
shean nation. But the victory over self was 
won and Legaic had finally arrived at the 
village ready to subscribe to the fifteen 
65 



66 METLAKAHTLA 

rules. Accompanying Legaic were his wife 
and daughter, and Mr. Duncan and the na- 
tives gave them a warm and hearty wel- 
come. 

Legaic began building a beautiful home, 
but was often interrupted by messengers 
from Fort Simpson urging him to return 
and resume his position over all the Tsim- 
shean tribes. The temptations were so 
strong and constant that Legaic finally 
weakened, and gathering the Metlakahtla 
Indians together on the beach, he told them 
that he could hold out no longer, but must 
return to his old life. He said he knew it 
was a wrong step and he might perish as 
the result, but that he was being pulled 
away by influences stronger than he was 
able to resist. In deep sorrow, amid falling 
tears, he shook hands with each one pres- 
ent, then turned and entered his canoe and 
paddled silently away. 

As he disappeared from sight, do you 
think the Indians went back to their homes 
criticising him and discussing the weakness 
of human nature, as most white people 
would have done under similar circum- 
stances? Not at all. They knelt on the 
beach and held a prayer-meeting, imploring 
God to check Legaic in his backward 
course and to restore him to his right mind. 

The subject of their prayers paddled rap- 
idly toward Fort Simpson until night came 
on and he was compelled to put the canoe 
ashore. He wrapped himself in his blank- 



METLAKAHTLA 67 

et and lay down to sleep, but sleep came not 
to his eyes. Instead, he tossed and turned 
in awful unrest of soul. The Spirit of God 
was wrestling mightily with him even as 
with Jacob of old. Finally, the torture be- 
came unbearable. Such misery overwhelm- 
ed him as words cannot describe, until the 
Spirit conquered and kneeling in the dark- 
ness he repented of his evil, and weepingly 
besought God for pardon. Next morning 
he turned his canoe about and once more 
appeared at Metlakahtla, this time a thor- 
oughly saved man. Saul, the persecutor, 
had become Paul, the apostle. In afterward 
describing the agony he endured on that 
memorable occasion, Legaic declared: 

"A hundred deaths would not equal the 
sufferings of that night." 

Six months later a visitor to Metlakahtla 
wrote as follows of Legaic and his family: 

"I paid a visit to the wife of the chief, 
Paul Legaic. He it was who nearly took 
Mr. Duncan's life at the head of the medi- 
cine band attacking the school. They were 
both baptized by the Bishop last April. Le- 
gaic was the wealthiest chief of the Tsim- 
sheans at Fort Simpson. He has lost 
everything has had to give up everything 
by his conversion to Christianity. It was 
with many of them literally a 'forsaking of 
all things to follow Christ.' 

"His house is the nicest and best situated 
in the village. A very little labor and ex- 
pense in the way of interior fittings would 



68 METLAKAHTLA 

make it quite comfortable. He and his wife 
have one child only, a young girl of four- 
teen. She is a modest looking, pleasing 
child very intelligent one of the first class 
in the school. She does not look like one 
who has ever been 'possessed with a devil'; 
and yet this is the child whom, three years 
ago, her teacher saw naked in the midst of" 
a howling band, tearing and devouring the 
bleeding dog. How changed! She who 'had 
the unclean spirit' now sits at the feet of 
Jesus, clothed and in her right mind." 

Not many months later Mr. Duncan paid 
a visit to Fort Simpson to preach the Gos- 
pel to the heathen Indians, who still re- 
mained there. He was accompanied by two 
natives, Clah and Paul Legaic. On their 
return, in a letter to the Missionary So- 
ciety, Mr. Duncan related a remarkable in- 
cident which occurred during the trip. He 
said: "I have just returned from a visit to 
Fort Simpson. I went to proclaim the Gos- 
pel once more to the poor, unfeeling heath- 
en there. I laid the Gospel again distinctly 
before them, and they seemed much affected. 
The most pleasing circumstance of all, and 
which I was not prepared to expect, was, 
that Paul Legaic and Clah (the one in 
times past a formidable enemy and opposer, 
and the other one among the first to hear 
and greet the Gospel), sat by me, one on 
either side. After I had finished my ad- 
dress on each occasion, they got up and 
spoke, and spoke well. 



70 METLAKAHTLA 

"Legaic completely shamed and con- 
founded an old man who, in replying to my 
address, had said that I had come too late 
to do him and other old people good; that, 
had I come when the first white traders 
came, the Tsimsheans had long since been 
good; but they had been allowed to grow 
up in sin; they had seen nothing in the 
first whites who came amongst them to un- 
settle them in their old habits, but those 
had rather added to them fresh sin, and 
now their sins were deep laid, they (he and 
the other old people), could not change. 
Legaic interrupted him and said: 'I am a 
chief, a Tsimshean chief. You know I have 
been bad, very bad, as bad as anyone here. 
I have grown up and grown old in sin, but 
God has changed my heart and He can 
change yours. Think not to excuse your- 
self in 'your sins by saying you are too old 
and too bad to mend. Nothing is impossi- 
ble with God. Come to God; try His way; 
He can save you.' 

"He then exhorted all to taste God's 
way, to give their hearts to Him, and to 
leave all their sins; and then endeavored to 
show them what they had to expect if they 
did so not temporal good, not health, long 
life, nor ease, nor wealth, but God's favor 
here and happiness with God after death." 

Legaic had been known far and wide 
along the coast, and the traders who heard 
of his conversion and transformation cotil 1 
scarcely believe it. As time went on he be- 



METLAKAHTLA ft 

came of immense service to Mr. Duncan in 
the prosecution of the work, and came to 
be called "Mr. Duncan's Grand Vizier." 

For seven years Legaic played a promi- 
nent part in the life of the settlement, eager 
to assist in every undertaking for the bet- 
terment of his fellows, and humbly .earning 
his living as a carpenter. In 1869 he made 
a journey up the Nass River, and on reach- 
ing Fort Simpson on his way home, was 
taken suddenly ill. He at once dispatched 
a messenger to Mr. Duncan, bearing this 
note: 

"Dear Sir: I want to see you. I always 
remember you in my mind. I shall be very 
sorry if I shall not see you before I go 
away, because you showed me the ladder 
that reaches to Heaven, and I am on that 
ladder now. I have nothing to trouble me. 
I only want to see you." 

Mr. Duncan wished greatly to go at once 
to the bedside of Legaic, but his duties at 
Metlakahtla would not permit him to leave, 
for a peculiar epidemic was raging just 
then and there were a score of sick people 
on the island whom he was attending day 
and night. 

A second and third messenger followed 
in quick succession, but still Mr. Duncan 
could not leave. Then came the sad tidings 
of the death of the famous chieftain, ac- 
companied by the following lines, which 
were still unfinished when the death angel 
bore his soul to the long home above: 



^2 METLAKAHTLA 

"My Dear Sir: This is my last letter, 
to say I am very happy. I am going to rest 
from trouble, trial and temptation. I do 
not feel afraid to meet my God. In my 
painful body I always remember the words 
of our Lord Jesus Christ"- 

Here the letter ended abruptly, and in 
this triumphant manner ended the life of 
the Apostle Paul of the Tsimshean Indians. 
He was a modern miracle of grace, a strik- 
ing example of the power of Christ's blood 
to wash away the darkest sins and to trans- 
form men from darkest sinners into saints. 
* * * 

During the years from 1863 to 1869 the 
spiritual progress of the settlement had 
gone on apace. In 1868 the Bishop of Co- 
lumbia paid a second visit to Metlakahtla 
and baptized sixty-five adults, of whom he 
wrote: "I truly believe that most of these 
are sincere and intelligent believers in 
Christ, as worthy converts from heathenism 
as havje ever been known in the history of 
the church." 

In the autumn of the following year Mr. 
Cridge, then Dean of Victoria, baptized 98 
adults and 18 Indian children. 

The desire of Mr. Duncan that the island 
should be a beacon of Gospel light to the 
Indians of all the Northland was being hap- 
pily fulfilled. Wherever the Metlakahtla 
Indians went on their fishing, trading and 
hunting expeditions, they carried with them 



METLAKAHTLA 73 

the Gospel message and proclaimed it at 
every opportunity. 

On one occasion a party of Metlakahtla 
people visited the Chilkat Indians, who 
lived on the Alaskan coast, 500 to 600 miles 




to the north. So impressed were these 
northern Indians with the wonderful tales 
they heard of the power of the Gospel and 
of the material progress at Metlakahtla, 
that they decided to pay a visit to the island 



74 METLAKAHTLA 

to see the man who had accomplished such 
marvels. A delegation came down the coast 
in their handsome canoes, and as they near- 
ed the shore they put on their finest apparel 
and barbaric ornaments to suitably impress 
the people with their importance. On land- 
ing, they approached in solemn state, and 
Mr. Duncan was advised to dress in his 
best clothes, as the savages might despise 
him if he appeared in rough garments. He, 
however, was engaged in some important 
work which he could not drop just then. 

The Chilkats marched through the village 
well-nigh struck dumb with astonishment 
at what they beheH; the beautiful buildings, 
the strange industries, the civilized clothing 
of the Metlakahtlans. 

Finally, Mr. Duncan left his work, just 
as he was, and hastened to greet the visit- 
ors. As he drew near and was pointed out 
to the Chilkats, they looked over and be- 
yond him and declared they could not see 
him. When he cordially welcomed them 
they said scarcely a word beyond the form- 
al syllables of recognition, so disappointed 
were they. 

Mr. Duncan escorted them to his house, 
and there their pent-up astonishment gave 
way, and they exclaimed: 

"Surely, you cannot be the man! Why, 
we expected to see a great and powerful 
giant, gifted in magic, with enormous eyes 
that could look right through us and read 
our thoughts! No, it is impossible! How 



METLAKAHTLA 75 

could you tame the wild and ferocious 
Tsimsheans, who were always urging war, 
and were feared throughout the whole 
coast? It was only a few years ago that all 
this country was a streak of blood. Now we 
see nothing but white eagle's down (their 
emblem of peace and amity.) We can hard- 
ly believe our own eyes when we see these 
fine houses and find the Tsimsheans have 
become wise like white men! They tell us 
that you have God's Book and that you 
have taught them to read it; we wish to 
see it." 

Mr. Duncan then brought out a Bible and 
placed it before them. That sacred book, 
he declared, contained the Word of God, 
the Message of the Great King, the Way 
of Life Everlasting. It was only because 
the Metlakahtla Indians had obeyed the 
words of that Book that they had built such 
a beautiful city. 

Each of the Chilkat delegation then went 
forward and reverently touched the Bible, 
exclaiming, "Ahm, Ahm" "It is good, it is 
good." 

For several days the delegation remained 
r>t Metlakahtla inspecting the truly wonder- 
ful results, which ha ! been achieved by the 
Metlakahtlans during the few short years 
of their residence. 

As the years passe 1, Metlakahtla became 
not only a Gospel beacon, but a great light, 
radiating law and order throughout all the 
surrounding country. Mr. Duncan was ap- 



76 METLAKAHTLA 

pointed a magistrate by the Canadian Gov- 
ernment, with jurisdiction up and down the 
coast for hundreds of miles. In the enforce- 
ment of his duties, chief among which was 
the suppression of illegal liquor selling, 
many thrilling and perilous experiences 
were encountered, some of which will next 
l>e related. 




INTERIOR OF NEW CHURCH AT NEW METLAKAHTLA. 



CHAPTER VII. 
FIGHTING AGAINST FIRE-WATER. 








NE of the 
first steps 
taken b y 
Mr. Duncan on 
his arrival at Met- 
lakahtla had been 
the appointment 
of a body of In- 
dian constables to 
maintain order. 
Although he an- 
ticipated no trou- 
ble, yet he deem- 
ed it wise to take 

A TYPICAL INDIAN G.RL. tittlC by tllC fOrC- 

lock, remember- 
ing that many who had signed the fifteen 
rules had had very little training, and had 
not yet fully surrendered themselves to 
Christ. 

By the year 1866 there were twenty of 
these constables, "as fine a set of young 
men as you would wish to see the very 
pick of the Christians." The Indians gr^at 
ly enjoyed their distinction as guardians of 
the law, and to be admitted into the force 
was esteemed the highest honor that could 
be conferred upon a stalwart young man. 

77 



78 METLAKAMTLA 

In his duties as magistrate and justice of 
the peace along the Alaskan and Canadian 
coasts, Mr. Duncan found these constables 
indispensable. 

At this period, as today, it was against 
the law to sell liquor, or fire-water, to any 
Indian. However, wicked white men and 
Indians constantly attempted to sell it in 
secret, though they well knew that liquor 
set the red men on fire with evil and led 
tliem to commit the most horrible crimes. 
The influence of intoxicating drinks on white 
men is sufficiently terrible, but on the In- 
dians it is often two-fold worse. 

One of the saddest incidents in connec- 
tion with his duties as magistrate was the 
following, which Mr. Duncan reported to 
the Canadian government in 1865: 

"The Indian camps about us are deluged 
with fire-water, and, of course, every kind 
of madness is rife. 

"It is just because our village makes a 
stand against the universal tide of disorder 
that we are being threatened on every side. 

"In July last I apprised his Excellency, 
the Governor, that we had in the spring 
seized a quantity of liquor, which a party of 
Kitahmaht Indians brought here for sale. 

"In revenge for the loss of their liquor (I 
3m sorry to inform you) these Indians, in 
the summer, stole a little boy belonging to 
this place, while Jie was away with his 
parents at a fishery on the Skeona River. 
And. horrible to write, the poor little fel- 



METLAKAHTLA 79 

low was literally worried -to death, being 
torn to pieces by the mouths of a set of 
cannibals at a great feast they had made. 

"This atrocious deed would have met 
with summary vengeance from the relatives 
of the boy had it happened a few years ago. 
In this case, however, though highly exas- 
perated, they would not allow themselves 
to do anything until they had seen me. In 
order to prevent blood being shed at ran- 
dom, I ordered them to wait till the arrival 
of a ship of war, when I promised to refer 
the matter to the captain, and hoped they 
would have justice done them in a civilized 
way. 

"Last week, however, an Indian, (uncle 
to the unfortunate boy, but not a Metla- 
kahtla man), arrived here from Victoria, 
where he had been living for the last two 
years and a half. On his learning of the 
Kitahmaht atrocity, it seems 'he secretly 
resolved to take the law in his own hands, 
and for that purpose proceeded two or 
three days ago to Fort Simpson, where a 
party of Kitahmaht Indians had recently 
arrived. 

"This morning at two o'clock, I was 
awakened and informed that a Kitahmaht 
Indian had fallen a victim to this man's re- 
venge, and that great excitement was oc- 
casioned at Fort Simpson. Nor is it known 
who will be the next to fall, to feed the 
stream of blood which has commenced to 



80 METLAKAHTLA 

flow, but every Indian around me is in 
fear for his life." 

Mr. Duncan and his heroic band of con- 
stables performed valiant service in ridding 
the coast of the illegal and infernal liquor 
traffic, and in nearly every case without 
loss of life. On one occasion, however, 
one Indian was killed in the attempt to 
capture a sloop, manned by white men, 
which was smuggling in liquor to be sold to 
the Indian camps. Mr. Duncan, hearing of 
the presence of this vessel in the 'neighbor- 
hood, sent several Indians with a warrant 
for the arrest of the captain. The result 
of the encounter and the series of events 
following were thus related by Mr. Duncan: 

"The sad result was that the five Indians 
serving the warrant were fired upon by the 
three white men on board the sloop, one 
being killed on the spot, three be- 
ing severely wounded. The sloop got 
away and it was not till the following day 
that the Indian unhurt returned to the set- 
tlement, bringing his three wounded com- 
panions in a canoe. Unfortunately, at the 
time, I had very few people left in the vil- 
lage, so that we were unable to follow the 
murderers while within a reasonable dis- 
tance of us. After I had done all and the 
best I could for the wounded men, I de- 
termined to run down to Victoria, it being 
unsafe from the unsettled state of the coast 
to send the Indians alone. 

"On the 25th of August I started for Vic- 



82 METLAKAHTLA 

toria in a small boat, and on the 5th of 
September, by seven a. m. I was in Nan- 
aimi, the nearest white settlement, having 
been brought by a gracious God safely 
through many perils on the sea and perils 
by the heathen. 

"I need scarcely say that, as soon as pos 
sible I communicated the shocking tidings 
to the Governor of each colony, to Admiral 
Denman, and to all our friends. All deeply 
sympathized with us; and Governor Sey- 
mour, of British Columbia, lost not a mo- 
ment of time till all the needful despatches 
were written, and forwarded to the two 
neighboring governments, Russian and 
American, and to the Admiral of the station, 
calling upon all to do their utmost to seize 
the murderers and hand them over to jus- 
tice. The Governor also engaged a doctor 
to visit the wounded men, and Admiral 
Denman sent up H. M. S. 'Grappler' with 
the doctor and myself on board to the set- 
tlement. 

"I cannot express to you the anxiety I 
felt while away and how restless I was to 
return to the sick men. But God was better 
to me than my fears. We arrived on the 
4th instant at Metlakahtla and to my great 
relief I found the wounded men doing well, 
and all the settlement going on prosperous- 
ly. I called a meeting of the village on the 
evening of our arrival, to return thanks to 
Almighty God, that He had remembered us 
in our affliction. In my addresses both be- 



METLAKAHTLA 83 

fore going to Victoria and since my return 
I 'have been greatly helped in opening to 
the Indians the passages and truths from 
the Scripture which this late dispensation of 
Providence illustrated; and I have been 
shown by unmistakable signs that this se- 
vere chastisement with which it has pleased 
God to visit us, will be productive of great 
good to us. 

"It would take too long to detail to you 
the series of Indian laws of revenge and 
compensation which this sad occurrence 
and its sequences have revived, met, defeat- 
ed and dispersed forever; and how the 
Christian laws on these matters have been 
put forward in strong contrast, approved, 
magnified, and made to triumph; and how 
for the first time a calamity which would 
have called forth only savage fire and' re- 
lentless fury in the Indian as heathen, has 
only called forth patient endurance and law- 
ful retaliation in the Indian as Christian." 

Among the scores of persons brought to 
justice by Mr. Duncan and his constable a 
notable case was that of Peter Gargotitch 
who, on account of a grudge against Mr. 
Duncan, had boasted in Victoria that he 
would make the Metlakahtla Indians drunk. 

Some weeks later the Indians reported 
that there was a white man at Inverness, 
ten miles distant from Metlakahtla, selling 
liquor contrary to law. Mr. Duncan told 
his constables to find out definitely the facts 
in the case and report to him. Accordingly 



84 METLAKAHTLA 

two Indians went to Inverness to gather 
evidence. While one went into the man's 
tent and bought some liquor in a bottle, 
the other looked through a hole in the tent 
n- order to testify as a witness. As soon 
as th-ey reported to Mr. Duncan he sent a 
white man then staying on the island at the 
head of several constables to arrest the of- 
fender. When the party reached Inverness 
with the warrant the liquor seller drew a 
icvolver, and brandishing it in their faces, 
declared he would shoot the man who at- 
tempted to serve the warrant upon him. 
The white man, at the head of the consta- 
bles, did not wish to risk his life, so he 
returned to Mr. Duncan with the warrant 
unserved. Mr. Duncan declared that on no 
account must the offender be allowed to 
escape. He asked the man if he would 
make another attempt at capture, if it were 
made certain that his life would not be in 
danger. He consented and Mr. Duncan 
completed his plans without delay. 

Very- early the next morning, a number 
of large canoes left Metlakahtla, filled with 
forty Indians, all fully armed, with the white 
man at their head. When they reached In- 
verness they found that the liquor dealer 
had loaded all his kegs into a canoe and set 
off up the river, accompanied by two com- 
panions. The Indians at once started in 
pursuit. After going a few miles they saw 
the fugitives in their canoe paddling for 
dear life. When it was seen that the In- 



METLAKAHTLA 85 

dians would soon overtake them the canoe 
was headed for the shore and beached, 
wit'hi the liquor still in it, while the three 
men took to the woods. They knew that 
escape was impossible, for the forest was 
well-nigh impenetrable, and behind them 
were forty fleet-footed Indians. Hence, 
they ran only a few rods and hid in the 
bush. As the pursuing canoes came oppo- 
site the place where the leader was hid the 
officer with the warrant shouted out that 
he wished to see him. The leader stepped 
boldly out, prepared as before to defy his 
captors. The officer then shouted that he 
placed him under arrest and ordered him to 
hold up his hands at once or he would be a 
dead man. At the same instant the rifles 
of the forty Indians standing in the ca- 
noes were leveled at the dealer with orders 
to fire if he offered the least resistance. 
The man saw he was caught and at once 
held his hands high above his head. 

The warrant was served and the three 
men, with the canoe and liquor, were 
brought to Metlakahtla. As the leader was 
brought before Mr. Duncan, who should 
it prove to be but Peter Gorgotitch, who 
had threatened to make the Metlakahtla 
Indians drunk? He was fined $500, which he 
succeeded in borrowing and paying, and he 
left the Island a sadder but wiser man. The 
circumstances of the arrest did not allow 
Mr. Duncan to confiscate Gorgotitch's 
twenty-three kegs of liquor, each contain- 



S6 METLAKAHTLA 

ing ten gallons. A few weeks later, how- 
ever, about half of it was stolen, and Gor- 
gotitch returned to Victoria burdened by 
debt and in a pitiable condition. For sever- 
al years he went here and there, until news 
reached Mr. Duncan that he had been killed 
in British Columbia. The activity of Mr. 
Duncan and his constables in enforcing the 
law became more and more feared by the 
smugglers and liquor sellers until by 1876 
the illegal traffic had almost entirely ceased. 

During the eight years following the ar- 
rival of the pilgrims at Metlakahtla in 1862 
great material progress had been made. 
Between one hundred and two hundred 
houses had been built, almost every one hav- 
ing a neat garden attached. A large gener- 
al store had been establishe 1, which was 
patronized not only by the Metlakahtla In- 
dians, but by men from surrounding camps 
who were thus brought into contact with 
Christian influences. A court house and 
commodious school house had been erected 
and several industries started, including a 
soap-house, blacksmith shop, and by no 
means least, a saw-mill run by water power. 
W'hen one old Indian heard that Mr. Dun- 
can intended to make water saw wood, he 
exclaimed: 

"If it is true that Mr. Duncan can make 
water saw wood, then I will see it and die." 

In 1870 Mr. Duncan paid a visit to Eng- 
land, where he procured machinery for new 
industries and spent several weeks learning 



METLAKAHTLA 87 

the arts of weaving, rope-making, twine- 
spinning and brush-making. In addition, 
he acquired the gamut of each instrument 
in a band of twenty-one pieces, which was 
presented to him for the settlement. On 
his return journey he spent nearly three 
months in Victoria, reaching Metlakahtla 
once more in February, 1871, after a year's 
absence. Describing the first evening after 
his arrival, Mr. Duncan wrote: 

"At night, after visiting among the sick, I 
sat down with about fifty for a general 
talk. I gave them the special messages 
from Christian friends which I had down in 
my note-book, told them how much we were 
prayed for by many Christians in England, 
and scanned over the principal events of 
my voyage and doings in England. We sat 
till midnight, but even then the village was 
lighted up, and the people all waiting to 
hear from the favored fifty, what I bad 
communicated. Many did not go to bed at 
all, but sat up all night talking over what 
they had heard." 

As may be seen from this royal welcome 
accorded to Mr. Duncan, and from events 
shortly to be narrated, the Tsimshean In- 
dians were far from being a stolid, unemo- 
tional race. At times they fairly overflowed 
with emotion and excitement, and no peo- 
ple enjoyed holidays and festal occasions 
more than they. At this period there oc- 
curred two notable celebrations which were 
red letter days in the history of the settle- 
ment. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
GALA DAYS ON THE ISLAND. 

THE island of Metlakahtla being in 
Canadian territory one of the days 
most elaborately celebrated by the 
Indians was Queen Victoria's birthday. 
On one occasion the date occurred when a 
British warship, "The Sparrow-Hawk," was 
anchored in the bay off the village. The 
Bishop of Columbia had come on the ship 
to Metlakahtla to receive fresh converts 
into the church, and he and the officers of 
the vessel joined heartily in the effort to 
make the day one long to be remembered. 

The day dawned bright and beautiful and 
at an early hour a party of sailors rowed 
ashore to decorate the mission house and 
bastion with flags of all nations. 

The proceedings of the early part of the 
day were spiritual, seventeen children be- 
ing baptized in the house of God. Later, a 
distribution of small gifts took place among 
140 nicely dressed Indian children. 

On the stroke of twelve o'clock a royal 
salute of twenty-one guns thundered from 
the ship, and the special exercises of the 
occasion began. There were sports and 
games of all sorts which were engaged in 
most heartily and joyously by young and 
old. There were foot races, sack races, 



METLAKAHTLA 89 

etc., with such games as blind man's buff, 
and a review of the village constables. The 
most exciting feature of the afternoon was 
the canoe race. The course was two miles 
long around the island. Five large canoes 
entered for the contest, eight or nine stal- 
wart young Indians being seated in each. 
Beneath the deep, swift strokes of the pad- 
dles the canoes shot forward like birds, and 
the race was as beautiful as it was exciting. 

In the evening a public meeting was held 
when a number of the officers of the "Spar- 
row-Hawk" addressed the Indians, and sev- 
eral of the Metlakahtla leaders made brief 
but eloquent replies. A few of the short 
speeches made by the Indians were report- 
ed as follows: 

Abraham Kemskah: "Chiefs, I will say 
a little. How were we to hear when we 
were young, what we now hear? And, be- 
ing old and long fixed in sin, how are we 
to obey? We are like the canoe going 
against the tide which is too strong for it; 
we struggle, but in spite of our efforts we 
are carried out to sea. Again, we are like 
a youth watching a skilled artisan at work; 
he strives to imitate his work but fails; so 
we: we try to follow God's way, but how 
far we fall short. Still we are encouraged 
to persevere. We feel we are nearing the 
shore; we are coming nearer the hand of 
God, near peace. We must look neither 
to the right nor left, but look straight on 
and persevere." 



00 METLAKAHTLA 

Richard Wilson: "Chiefs, as we have 
now heard, so do ye. Indeed, father" (ad- 
dressing Mr. Duncan) ''we are sinners be- 
fore you; we often make your voice bad 
in calling us; we must persevere, we must 
try, though we are bad; we are like the 
wedge used in splitting the trees; we are 
making the way for our children; they will 
be better than we are. The sun does not 
come out in full strength' in early morn; 
the gray light at first spreads itself over 
the earth; as it rises the light increases and 
by and by, is the mid-day sun. We shall 
die before we have reached much, but we 
shall die expecting our children to pass on 
beyond us, and reach the wished-for-goal." 

Daniel Baxter (Neeash-ah-pootk) : 
"Chiefs, I am foolish, I am bad, bad in 
ypur sight. What can our hearts say? 
What shall we do? We can only pray and 
persevere. We will not listen to voices on 
this side or that, but follow on till we reach 
our Father in Heaven." 

Jacob (Cheevost) : "Chiefs, we have 
heard you. Why should we try to mistake 
the way you teach us? Rather we must 
try to follow on; though our feet often 
slip, we must still try; we have rocks all 
around us; our sins are like the rocks, but 
the rudder of our canoe is being held. She 
will not drift away. We are all assisting 
to hold the rudder and keep her in her 
course. What would she be without the 
rudder? Soon, a wreck upon the rocks; so 



METLAKAHTLA 91 

we must cry to God for help to follow on." 

* * * 

As the Indians had grown enlightened 
under Mr. Duncan's teaching, and had 
come to understand the full meaning of 
Christmas day, they entered as heartily as 
their white brothers into making it a seas- 
on of joy and gladness, and thus fittingly 
celebrating the birthday of Him who re- 
deemed the world from darkness and death. 
The Christmas season of 1873 was especial- 
ly notable because large numbers of Fort 
Simpson Indians were invited to Metla- 
kahtla to spend the period with their Chris- 
tian brethren. Of the series of events 
which filled up the days with happy mem- 
ories Mr. Duncan sent the following 
graphic report to the Missionary Society: 

"This is the first season that the heathen 
customs at Fort Simpson have been gen- 
erally disregarded, and hence we -thought 
it well to encourage Christian customs in 
their place. To this end we decided to in- 
vite all the congregation at Fort Simpson 
to spend the festival of Christmas with us 
at Metlakahtla, that they might receive the 
benefit of a series of special services, and be 
preserved from falling into those excesses 
which we had reason to fear would follow 
should they spend the Christmas by them- 
selves. About two hundred and fifty avail- 
ed themselves of our invitation and they ar- 
rived at Metlakahtla the day before Christ- 
mas in twenty-one canoes, which, indeed, 



92 METLAKAHTLA 

presented a picture as they approached us 
with flags flying. 

"According to previous arrangement 
they all clustered to the market house, 
which we at present use for our church and 
which has been very appropriately decor- 
ated. On our guests being seated I gave 
them a short address, and after prayer, in 
company with Mr. and Mrs. Collison, shook 
hands with them all. They then were quar- 
tered around the village and a very ex- 
citing scene ensued, all the villagers literal- 
ly scrambling for the guests. After the 
scramble several came running to me to 
complain that they had not succeeded in 
securing a single guest, while others had 
got more than their share. To settle mat- 
ters amicably, I had to send two consta- 
bles round the village to readjust the dis- 
tribution of our new friends. 

"Our Christmas eve was spent in prac- 
ticing with a band of twenty young men, a 
new Christmas hymn in Tsimshean, which 
I managed to prepare for the occasion. 
About i .'30 on Christmas morning we re- 
assembled, when Mr. Collison and myself 
accompanied the twenty waits to sing round 
the village, carrying the harmonium and 
concertina with us. We sang in seven dif- 
ferent places and three hymns in each place. 
The village was illuminated and the sing- 
ing was hearty and solemn. This was the 
first attempt of the Indians at part-singing 
in their own tongue, 



94 METLAKAHTLA 

"Christmas day was a great day, houses 
decorated with evergreens, flags flying, 
constables and council passing from house 
to house in their uniforms, and greeting 
the inmates. Now a string of young men, 
then another of young women, might be 
seen going into this house, then into that; 
friends meeting on the road, shaking hands 
everywhere; everybody greeting everybody; 
hours occupied with handshaking and inter- 
changing good wishes; nobody thinking of 
anything else but scattering smiles and 
greetings, till the church bell rings, and all 
wend their way to meet and worship God. 

"The crowd seemed so great that fears 
were entertained that our meeting house 
could not accommodate them. I at once 
decided that the children should assemble 
in the school-house and have a separate 
service. Samuel Marsden kindly volun- 
teered to conduct it. Even with this ar- 
rangement our meeting house was crowded 
to excess. There could not have been less 
than seven hundred present. What a 
sight! Had anyone accompanied me to 
the Christmas-day services I held twelve or 
fourteen years ago at Fort Simpson, and 
again on this occasion, methinks if an in- 
fidel lue would have been confused and puz- 
zled by the change; but if a Christian his 
heart must have leaped for jo(y. The 
Tsimsheans might well sing on this day, 
'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good will towards men,' 



METLAKAttTLA 9$ 

"The following day the young men en- 
gaged in the healthy game of foot-ball, and 
all the people turned out to witness the 
sport. Mr. and Mrs. Collison and myself 
were present to encourage them. After 
foot-ball a marriage took place. A young 
woman formerly trained in the mission- 
house, was married to a chief. A marriage 
feast was given, to which between four and 
five hundred people were invited. 

"On Friday, the second day of January, 
our guests departed home. When ready to 
start the church bell rang, and they paddled 
their canoes to the meeting-house, which is 
built upon the beach. Leaving their ca- 
noes, thiey reassembled for a short address 
and a concluding prayer. This out, again 
entering their canoes, they pushed a little 
from the beach, a cannon was fired, and 
amid the ringing cheers of hundreds of 
voices they dashed off, paddling with all 
their might." 

The most memorable events of the next 
few years were the completion of the re- 
markable church, and the visits of two dis- 
tinguished personages, with one of whom 
our narrative has already been concerned, 
and whose presence again in their midst 
filled the Metlakahtlans with the keenest 
joy. 



CHAPTER IX. 
TWO NOTABLE VISITORS. 

WITH each passing year the settle- 
ment at Metlakahtla grew strong- 
er, the village more prosperous 
and beautiful. On the sixth of August, 1872, 
there was laid the corner-stone of a mas- 
sive new church which was to be the crown- 
ing glory of the Christian colony. Al- 
though part of the cost of the church was 
given by outsiders; yet the Indians sacri- 
ficed largely and often that the work might 
progress unhindered. A little over two 
years from the laying of the corner-stone, 
on Christmas day, 1874, the beautiful edi- 
fice entirely the work of Indian hands 
was dedicated to the service of God. It 
was a time of great rejoicing and gladness. 
Describing it, Mr. Duncan said: 

"Over seven hundred Indians were pres- 
ent at our opening services. Could it be 
that this concourse of well-dressed people 
in their new and beautiful church, but a 
few years ago made up 'the fiendish assem- 
blies at Fort Simpson! Could it be that 
these voices, now engaged in solemn pray- 
er and thrilling songs of praise to Almighty 
God, are the very voices I once heard yell- 
ing and whooping at heathen orgies on dis- 
mal winter nights!" 

96 



METLAKAHTLA 97 

At this period the Governor-General oi 
Canada was the Earl of DurTerin. He was 
one of the great statesmen of the age, and 
one of the leaders of the English aristo- 
cracy. In the year 1876 he made an ex- 
tended trip through the western part of 
Canada, in ihe course of which he planned 
to visit Metlakahtla, of which he had heard 
most glowing accounts. The Indians on 
their part, were greatly delighted at the 
prospect of receiving a visit from so fa- 
mous a man. As one method of showing 
their appreciation of his coming, they pre- 
pared the following address of welcome, 
whicn was presented to him on his arrival: 

"May it please your Excellency: We, the 
inhabitants of Metlakahtla, of the Tsim- 
shean nation of Indians, desire to express 
our joy in welcoming your Excellency and 
Lady Dufferin to our village. Under the 
teaching of the Gospel we have learned the 
Divine command, 'Fear God, honor the 
King/ and thus as loyal subjects of her 
Majesty, Queen Victoria, we rejoice in see- 
ing vou visit our shores. 

"We have learned to respect and obey the 
laws of the Queen, and we will continue to 
uphold and defend the same in our com- 
munity and nation. 

"We are still a weak and poor people, 
only lately emancipated from the thraldom 
of heathenism and savage customs; but we 
are struggling to rise and advance to a 
Christian life and civilization. 



98 METLAKAHTLA 

"Trusting that we may enjoy a share of 
your Excellency's kind and fostering care, 
and under your administration continue to 
advance in peace and prosperity. 

"We have the honor to subscribe our- 
selves, your Excellency's humble and obed- 
ient servant, 

"For the Indians of Metlakahtla, 

"David Leask, 
"Secretary to the Native Council." 

The Governor-General was accompanied 
by his accomplished wife, Lady Dufferin, 
and to say that they were pleased with 
what they saw is putting it mildly. Lord 
Dufferin declared he would treasure their 
address of welcome above all others he re- 
ceived during his journey. In an address 
to the Indians assembled in the open air 
on a beautiful summer day the Governor- 
General said in part: 

"I have come a long distance in order to 
assure you, in the name of your Great 
Mother, the Queen of England, with what 
pleasure she has learned of your well-being, 
of the progress you have made in the arts 
of peace and the knowledge of the Chris- 
tian religion, under the auspices of your 
friend, Mr. Duncan. 1 have viewed with 
astonishment the church which you have 
built entirely by your own industry and in- 
telligence. That church is in itself a monu- 
ment of the way in which you have profited 
by the teachings you have received. It 
does you the greatest credit, and we have 



METLAKAHTLA 99 

every right to hope that, while in its out- 
ward aspect it bears testimony to your con- 
formity to the laws of the Gospel, beneath 
its sacred roof your sincere and faithful 
prayers will be rewarded by those blessings 
which are promised to all those who ap- 
proach the throne of God in humility and 
faith * * * 

"Before I conclude T cannot help express- 
ing to Mr. Duncan and those associated 
with him in his good work, not only in my 
name, not only in the name of the Govern- 
ment of Canada, but also in the name of 
Her Majesty, the Queer, and in the name 
of the people of England, who take so deep 
an interest in the well-being of all the na- 
tive races throughout the Queen's domin- 
ions, our deep gratitude to him for thus 
having devoted the flower of his life, in 
spite of innumerable difficulties, dangers 
and discouragements to a work which has 
resulted in the beautif'jl scene we have wit- 
nessed this morning. I only wish to add 
that I am very much obliged to you for the 
satisfactory and loy;tl address with which 
you have greeted me. The very fact of 
you being in a position to express your- 
selves with so much propriety is in itself 
extremely creditable to you, and although 
ic has been my good fortune to receive 
many addresses during my stay in Canada 
from various comrmini+ies of your fellow- 
subjects, i!0t one of thtm will be surround- 
ed by so many hopeful and pleasant rem- 



ioo METLAKAHTLA 

iniscences as those which I shall carry 
away with me from this ^pot." 

But there was one person whose coming 
to the island threw it into a far greater 
commotion of pleasurable excitement than 
even the visit of the Governor-General. 
That person was none other than Admiral 
Prevost, who, twenty-five years before, as 
Captain Prevost, had been the means of 
starting the entire work. His visit has 
been well called "the most joyous and 
memorable event in the history of the set- 
tlement." It was the red letter day of Met- 
lakahtla. 

Throughout a quarter of a century amid 
all the dangers and perils of naval life God 
had preserved the gallant captain, and had 
honored him enabling him to reach the ex- 
alted station of Admiral. During all the 
years, however, he had not lost sight of the 
glorious work he inaugurated, and now at 
last he was permitted to see with his own 
eyes the marvelous results of his early ef- 
forts. The Admiral spent a full month 
among the Metlakahtlans, declaring that 
words could not describe the joy he experi- 
enced at witnessing their transformation. 
He sent a graphic account of his visit to 
the Church Missionary Society, part of 
which was as follows: 

'Three a. m., Tuesday, i8th June, 1878. 
Arrived at Fort Simpson in the United 
States Mail Steamer California, from Sit- 
ka. Was met by William Duncan with six- 



102 METLAKAHTLA 

teen Indians, nearly all elders. Our greet- 
ing was most hearty, and the meeting with 
Duncan was a cause of real thankfulness to 
God, in sight, too, of the very spot (nay on 
it) where God had put into my heart the 
first desire of sending the Gospel to the 
poor heathen around me. Twenty-five 
years previously H. M. S. Virago had been 
repaired on that very beach. What a 
change had been effected during those 
passing years! Of the crew before me 
nine of the sixteen were, to my knowledge, 
formerly medicine men or cannibals. In 
humble faith, we could only exclaim, 'What 
hath God wrought!' It is all His doing, 
and it is marvelous in our eyes. 

"It did not e take long to transfer ourselves 
and our baggage to the canoe and at 4:30 
a. m. we started against wind and tide, 
lain, too, at intervals; but having much to 
talk about of past events and future plans 
the twenty miles of distance soon disap- 
peared and about noon we crossed the bar 
and entered the 'inlet of Kahtla.' On the 
north side of the inlet stands on an emi- 
nence 'the church of God;' on either side 
of it spreads out the village of Metlakaht- 
la, skirting two bays whose beaches are at 
once a landing-place for its inhabitants 
and a shelter for the canoes. As we ap- 
proached the landing-place two guns were 
fired and flags displayed from house to 
house conspicuous by a string of them 
reaching the Mission House verandah, in- 



METLAKAHTLA 103 

scribed, 'A Real Welcome to Metlakahtla.' 
Near to this were assembled all the village 
men, women and children gaily dressed. 

"After twenty-five years' absence God 
had brought me back again amidst, all the 
sundry and manifold changes of the world, 
face to face with those tribes amongst 
whom I had before witnessed only blood- 
shed, cannibalism and heathen deviltry in its 
grossest form. Now they were sitting at 
the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in their right 
mind. The very church-warden, dear old 
Peter Simpson, who opened the church- 
door for me, was once the chief of one of 
the cannibal tribes * * * 

"Be I ore my departure from Metlakahtla 
I assembled the fe\v who were left at the 
village, to tell them I was anxious to leave 
behind some token both of my visit to 
them after so long an absence, and also 
that I still bore them on my heart. What 
should it be? After hours of consultation, 
they decided they would leave the choice 
to me, and when I told them (what I had 
beforehand determined upon) that my pres- 
ent would be a set of street lamps to light 
up their village by night, their joy was un- 
bounded. Their first thought had a spirit- 
ual meaning. By day, God's house was a 
memorable object, visible both by vessels 
passing and repassing, and by all canoes as 
strange Indians traveled about; but by 
night all had been darkness, now this was 
no longer so as the bright light of the 



104 METLAKAHTLA 

glorious Gospel had through God's mercy 
and love shined into their dark hearts, so 
would all be reminded by night as well as by 
day, of the marvelous light shining into the 
hearts of many at Metlakahtla." 

But tne narrative of the Admiral's visit 
would by no means be complete without 
relating the sequel to the beautiful action 
which haa occurred on the Queen Char- 
lotte Islands a quarter of a century pre- 
viously. One day a well built canoe con- 
taining two stalwart Indians was seen ap- 
proaching Metlakahtla. When the occu- 
pants landed they proved to be Edensaw, 
the head chief of the Hydahs, and his son. 
They had heard of Admiral Prevost's visit 
and had made the long journey through the 
open sea to see his face once more. Their 
meeting with the Admiral presented a beau- 
tiful scene, which reached its climax when 
Edensaw put his hand into his bosom and 
drew forth a little book which he handed 
to the Admiral. The heart of the venerable 
commander overflowed with wonder and 
praise to God when he saw written on the 
fly-leaf these lines: "From Captain Pre- 
vost, IT. M. S. 'Satellite,' trusting that the 
bread thus cast upon the waters may be 
found after many days." 

Truly it had been found after 'many 
days' indeed! The son of Edensaw was an 
earnest Christian the first person among 
the Hydahs to come out boldly on the 
Lord's side. Edensaw himself was con- 



METLAKAHTLA 105 

vinced that Christianity was the right way, 
but lie was a proud man and had not yet 
been willing to sacrifice his power and 
wealth as chieftain in order to follow Christ. 
But who can estimate the part played by 
that small testament in preparing the 
heart of the son to receive the Gospel? 
Doubtless scores of times as a boy he had 
heard his father relate the story of how he 
received'The Letter of God"from the great 
white Chief, and he had without doubt 
longed earnestly to know the meaning of 
the message contained in the strange Eng- 
lish b'jok. Hence when the missionary 
came to the Queen Charlotte Islands it was 
natural that the son of Edensaw should be 
the first convert. 

And now once more in this world, father 
and son stood 'face to face* with their spir- 
itual benefactor, after a full quarter of a 
century had passed, whitening the hair of 
the Admiral and bringing wrinkles into the 
face of the old chief. It was a memorable 
meeting worthy of the brush of a great 
painter. It was a strange and wonderful 
illustration of the glorious fruitage that re- 
sults in the far distant future from the 
good little deeds of today. 
* * * 

But eie long the idyllic life of the colony 
was to be shattered to pieces, only to spring 
up again more beautiful than ever on an 
isle of paradise under the glorious banner 
of the stars and stripes. 



CHAPTER X. 
IN QUEST OF A NEW HOME. 

EARLY in the eighties when the 
Christian colony was in the full 
bloom of its vigor and prosperity a 
cloud appeared on the horizon, which grew 
larger with each passing year until the 
Metlakahtlans finally left their dearly loved 
island, and, in company with Mr. Duncan, 
set out in search of a new home. The trou- 
ble began soon after the death of the great 
Henry Venn, secretary of the Church Mis- 
sionary Society, who had most heartily ap- 
proved of Mr. Duncan's methods and plans 
for the conversion and education of the In- 
dians. Following his decease, however, a 
Missionary Bishop was appointed to over- 
see the work at Metlakahtla and other mis- 
sions in British Columbia. He decided that 
the Indians should conform more closely to 
the customs of the Church of England; 
that the Lord's Supper should be instituted 
with the use of real wine in the service; 
and that much of the ritual and ceremony 
of the English church should be introduced 
among the red men. Mr. Duncan strongly 
objected to these changes. He knew the 
inordinate passion of the Indian for intox- 
icants and felt it would be wrong to use 
fermented wine in the communion service; 

106 



METLAKAHTLA 107 

while in addition the law of Canada prohib- 
ited any Indian from touching wine under 
penalty of imprisonment. 

In regard to the elaborate ritual of the 
Church, of England, Mr. Duncan believed 
it entirely unsuited to the worship of the 
Indians, and felt that if introduced it would 
seriously weaken and undermine their spir- 
itual life. 

The Bishop, however, still insisted on the 
changes being made. But Mr. Duncan was 
accustomed to adhering to principle at 
whatever cost, and rather than submit to 
what he believed was wrong, he left the 
Church Missionary Society and started an 
Independent Native Church. All but a few 
of the Indians at Metlakahtla followed him 
and joined the new church. The Mission- 
ary Society, on the advice of its Bishop, 
but against that of several of its mission- 
aries in the vicinity, still continued to carry 
on a mission among the few who remain- 
ed, and claimed the ownership of the two 
most central acres of land in the village on 
which the mission buildings stood. The 
Canadian Government supported the So- 
ciety in this claim, to the Indians' aston- 
ishment and dismay, for the land had been 
theirs for ages past. 

Mr. Duncan and his followers carefully 
considered the situation and rather than 
have discord and disunion in their Arcadia 
determined to set out for the second time 
in quest of a new home. 



io8 METLAKAHTLA 

A short time later a band of Metlakaht- 
lans set out in their canoes in search of an- 
other island upon which they could erect a 
new and more beautiful Christian city. 
They went northward into Alaska, explor- 
ing the land carefully as they went. At 
last, about one hundred miles north of Met- 
lakahtla, they found an island which even 
surpassed the old one in beauty and natural 
advantages. When the Indians saw it they 
unanimously exclaimed that they would 
look no farther, for it was certainly an isle 
of paradise they had found, with its mar- 
velously beautiful harbor, its virgin forests, 
its purple mountains, and its silvery water- 
fall. As the scouts approached Metlakaht- 
la on their return, they signalized the suc- 
cess of their mission by singing the "Ca- 
noe-song," the most beautiful of all the na- 
tive melodies. 

Mr. Duncan now started for Washington 
to secure permission from the United 
States Government to settle on the land. 
The case of the Metlakahtlans was care- 
fully considered by President Cleveland, the 
secretaries of the Interior and Treasury, 
the Attorney-General and others. Many 
distinguished people earnestly seconded the 
cause of the Indians, among them being the 
Governor of Alaska, Henry Ward Beecher 
and Dr. Sheldon Jackson. 

By the advice of the Attorney-General, 
the Secretary of the Interior finally de- 
cided that the Metlakahtlans could settle 



METLAKAHTLA 109 

upon any unoccupied land in Alaska, but 
that no reservation could be set aside for 
them, as land laws for the territory had not 
yet been made. He also declared that when 
Alaskan land laws should be formed "am- 
ple provision will be made to meet the ne- 
cessities of all law-abiding inhabitants." 

With this assurance of fair treatment 
from the United States, Mr. Duncan was 
fully satisfied. He mailed the good news 
to the Indians and during the summer of 
1887 a small number of them journeyed 
northward in their canoes to fell the forest 
and prepare the way for the remainder. 
On the 7th of August, Mr. Duncan reached 
the new island, having been absent in the 
United States nearly nine months. His 
welcome was most hearty as he stepped 
upon the beach of the New Metlakahtla, 
which was to be the future home of the col- 
ony. A memorable service, like that the 
Pilgrims must have held on landing at 
Plymouth Rock, was at once arranged, 
which a newspaper correspondent who was 
present described graphically as follows: 

"The day was a perfect one and the visit- 
ors were at once put on shore. A more 
lovely place than this harbor it is impossi- 
ble to imagine. It is semi-circular in shape, 
opening out through a number of small is- 
lands to the westward. On the east and 
north were wild, rugged mountains, com- 
ing down to the water's edge, and on the 
south is a low, green shore skirted by a 



i io METLAKAHTLA 

gravel beach that winds in and out in 
beautiful curves. The place was entirely 
uninhabited except by thirty or forty of the 
men of Metlakahtla with their families who 
had come on as an advance guard. The re- 
mainder, in all about one thousand people, 
men, women and children, will come as 
soon as provision can be made for them 
and the means of transportation shall ar- 
rive. 

"The exercises were impromptu and Mr. 
Duncan first addressed his people in their 
native tongue. He told them of his trip 
to the United States, and concluded by in- 
troducing Hon. N. H. R. Dawson, the U. 
S. Commissioner of Education then upon 
an official tour of Alaska, who had kindly 
consented to make an address upon this 
occasion. In Mr. Dawson's address, in- 
terpreted by Mr. Duncan into the native 
language for the benefit of those who did 
not understand English, they were impres- 
sively told of the power and glory of the 
great American Government, under whose 
protection they were coming, and were as- 
sured that when its flag was raised over 
them, they would be protected in their 
lives and liberties, that their homes and 
lands would be assured to them, and that 
their education and welfare would be the 
cherished care of the great Government, 
to which they had intrusted themselves. 

"When he concluded, the flags were rais- 
ed, the ship saluting them as they went up 



ii2 METLAKAHTLA 

with its battery of one gun. The natives 
then sang 'Rock of Ages' exquisitely in 
their native tongue. Rev. Dr. Eraser of 
San Francisco, in a touching prayer, then 
commended the new settlement to the pro- 
tection of Divine Providence, after which 
all united in singing 'Coronation.' One of 
the principal chiefs or selectmen, Daniel 
Ne-ash-kum-ack-kem, then replied to Mr. 
Dawson's address in a short speech as fol- 
lows: 

" 'Chiefs, I have a few words of truth to 
let you know what our hearts are saying. 
The God of Heaven is looking at our do- 
ings here today. You have stretched out 
your hands to the Tsimsheans. Your act 
is a Christian act. We have long been 
knocking at the door of another govern- 
ment for justice, but the door has been 
closed against us. You have risen up and 
opened your door to us, and bid us wel- 
come to this beautiful spot, upon which we 
propose to erect our homes. What can 
our hearts say to this, but that we are 
thankful and happy. The work of the 
Christian is never lost. Your work will 
not be lost to you. It will live, and you 
will find it after many days. We are here 
only a few today who have been made 
happy by your words; but when your words 
reach all of our people, numbering over a 
thousand, how much more joy will they oc- 
casion. * * * We come to you for pro- 
tection and safety. Our hearts, though 



METLAKAHTLA 113 

often troubled have not fainted. We have 
trusted in God, and He has helped us. We 
are now able to sleep in peace. Our con- 
fidence is restored. God has given us His 
strength to reach this place of security and 
freedom, and we are grateful to Him for 
His mercy and loving kindness. We again 
salute you from our hearts. I have no 
more to say.' 

"At the conclusion of this reply, which 
was delivered in the musical intonations of 
his native tongue, with a grace and elo- 
quence that did credit to the picturesque 
forum in which he stood, Dr. Eraser gave 
the benediction." 

During the autumn of 1887 the remaind- 
er of the colonists removed to their new 
home, and throughout the following winter 
and spring building preparations went rap- 
idly forward. Mr. Duncan drew up a beau- 
tiful design for the streets and homes and 
public buildings of the new village, so that 
it should be a model city in every respect. 
A new set of rules, or declaration of prin- 
ciples, was also drawn up in harmony with 
the present enlightened character of the 
people. It read as follows: 

"We, the people of Metlakahtla, Alaska, 
in order to secure to ourselves and our 
posterity the blessings of a Christian home, 
do severally subscribe to the following 
rules for the regulation of our conduct and 
town affairs: 

"i. To reverence the Sabbath and to re- 



ii4 METLAKAHTLA 

frain from all unnecessary secular work on 
that day; to attend Divine Worship; to 
take the Bible for our rule of faith; to re- 
gard all true Christians as our brethren, 
and to be truthful, honest and industrious. 

"2. To be faithful and loyal to the Gov- 
ernment and laws of the United States. 

"3. To render our votes when called 
upon for the election of the Town Council, 
and to promptly obey the by-laws and or- 
ders imposed by the said council. 

"4. To attend to the education of our 
children and keep them at school as regu- 
larly as possible. 

"5. To totally abstain from all intoxi- 
cants and gambling, and never attend heath- 
en festivities or countenance heathen cus- 
toms in surrounding villages. 

"6. To strictly carry out all sanitary 
regulations necessary for the health of the 
town. 

"7. T,o identify ourselves with the prog- 
ress of the settlement, and to utilize the 
land we hold. 

"8. Never to alienate give away or sell 
our land, or building lots, or any portion 
thereof, to any person or persons who 
have not subscribed to these rules." 

In the land of the free, in the midst of un- 
surpassed natural landscape, a new and 
more beautiful village sprang into existence 
under the skilled and willing hands of Mr. 
Duncan, and his devoted followers. A sal- 
mon cannery and saw-mill were erected, 



METLAKAHTLA 115 

numerous stores opened, and after months 
of faithful and loving toil a large and beau- 
tiful church was built. Peace and joy dwelt 
in the hearts of the people; industry, puri- 
ty and harmony guarded the homes; and 
the spot became indeed Paradise Island, a 
bit of the garden of Eden regained. 

Sixteen years after the foundation of the 
new village it was the good fortune of the 
writer to make a 3,000 mile journey across 
the continent and up into the Northland, 
solely to obtain the strange and inspiring 
history of these red men and to observe 
their present condition. The story of the 
journey and of some of the remarkable 
things seen and heard at Metlakahtla will 
next be related. 



CHAPTER XL 
ON THE ISLE OF PARADISE. 

AS the Queen of Sheba traveled far 
to pay a visit to the court of King 
Solomon to see for herself the mar- 
vels of which she had heard so much, so the 
writer made a round -trip journey of 6,000 
miles to see the wonderful model city of 
Metlakahtla inhabited by red men, who 
yesterday were wild savages, today are 
well-dressed exemplary Christians. The 
trip from Chicago occupied nine days. 
Leaving the inland metropolis on Monday 
evening the writer reached Seattle Friday 
afternoon, and the following day arrived at 
Victoria, the old English city on Vancouver 
Island, which is so frequently mentioned in 
our narrative. Here I saw the naval sta- 
tion which was the headquarters of Admiral 
Prevost half a century previous, and called 
upon the venerable Bishop Cridge, who en- 
tertained Mr. Duncan upon his arrival in 
the city in 1857, and has ever since been a 
staunch friend and warm supporter. A de- 
lightful Sunday was spent in this quaint 
English city where the Sabbath is observed 
far better than in the United States. Early 
Monday morning I embarked on the swift 
steamer, "Cottage City," and for two days, 
as we sped northward, enjoyed a changing 

116 



METLAKAHTLA 117 

panorama of sea and land scenery which 
is probably unparalleled on the North 
American continent. At five-thirty Wed- 
nesday morning we reached Ketchikan, 
Alaska, a gold-mining town fifteen miles 
from Metlakahtla, where it was necessary 
to change steamers. It proved to be a 
typical frontier village with less than a 
thousand inhabitants and eight saloons 
into whose coffers, I was informed, went 
two-thirds of the wages of the miners. 

But fortunately I had not long to wait in 
the town. At nine a. m. a large steamer 
approached, which proved to be "The Dol- 
phin," carrying the United States Sena- 
torial Committee of five members, appoint- 
ed to inspect Alaska for the purpose of 
framing laws for the territory. The vessel 
was just returning from a special visit to 
New Metlakahtla to enable the committee 
to see the famous Indian settlement and 
to obtain Mr. Duncan's views on the needs 
of Alaska. As the ship touched the dock I 
hastened on board and greeted Senator 
Dillingham, chairman of the committee, 
whom I had met in Seattle a few days pre- 
vious. He took me into the captain's 
cabin and there introduced me to the man I 
had come three thousand miles to see 
William Duncan! And yet, could it be pos- 
sible that the vivacious, ruddy-faced man 
with whom I was shaking hands was the 
missionary who had spent forty-six years of 
toil and privation among the red men? 



ii8 METLAKAHTLA 

His hair and beard were white, but at sev- 
enty-two years of age he had the energy 
and vigor of mind and body of a man of 
fifty. 

Mr. Duncan had come from Metlakahtla 
to Ketchikan as the guest of the Senator- 
ial party, and was accompanied by two 
leading members of the Indian community, 
Mr. John Tait and Edward K. Mathers. 
After several hours of waiting the luxuri- 
ous excursion steamer "Spokane" reached 
Ketchikan on its way to Metlakahtla, 
which it visits on every trip to Alaska, and 
Mr. Duncan, the Indians, and myself, were 
soon speeding rapidly toward the village, 
whose fame has reached round the world. 

As we came into the bay which I have 
never seen equaled for beauty at home or 
abroad and beheld the quiet, peaceful vil- 
lage, set like a jewel between the blue sea 
and the purple mountains, I was filled with 
amazement and awe and could only in- 
wardly exclaim: "Fifty years ago savages 
and today this!" What a tremendous 
power is contained in the Gospel! No other 
force on earth or above or beneath it could 
have transformed those savage tribes into 
that tranquil Indian village! Truly I was 
looking upon a modern miracle of the Gos- 
pel and it was marvelous beyond the power 
of description. 

Eleven delightful days I spent at Met- 
lakahtla as the guest of Mr. Duncan. 
Needless to state, there is no saloon on the 



METLAKAHTLA 119 

island, and during my entire stay I saw no 
one intoxicated and heard no profane nor 
angry word! Instead, a spirit of peace and 
quiet contentment broods over the island 
and fills the heart with satisfaction, and one 
realizes as never before of what little ac- 
count are the riches and honors of the 
world compared with the true riches of liv- 
ing right with God! 

The village lies on a right-angled point 
of land so that two sides of it face the sea. 
The houses of the Indians are on the aver- 
age considerably finer than those in an 
American village of eight hundred inhabi- 
tants. They are mainly two stories in 
height, plentifully supplied with windows 
and usually have a verandah. The village 
sidewalks are wide and well built. 

Trie church stands on an eminence just 
at the back of the village and is far the 
most handsome and pretentious building in 
the town. It was constructed entirely by 
the Indians themselves under Mr. Duncan's 
direction. The interior is finished in spruce 
and cedar, and the large arched auditorium, 
capable of seating over seven hundred peo- 
ple, is most impressive. The handsome 
pews and ornamental puloit, with the paint- 
ing of the Angels at Bethlehem above the 
pulpit, indeed, everything save the pipe or- 
gan, is the result of native handicraft. The 
church is the largest in Alaska and has fitly 
been called 'The Westminster of the In- 
dians." 



120 METLAKAHTLA 

The combined school house and town 
hall stands next to the church, and has the 
unique distinction of being equipped with 
a gymnasium. Next to the school house is 
a commodious building designed for a boy's 
home or boarding school, and next that a 
girl's boarding school. At present there 
are only nine girls in the school, but it is 
expected the number will be shortly in- 
creased to fifteen or more. 

The two most important industries in the 
village are the salmon cannery and the saw- 
mill. During a recent season the former 
turned out over 800,000 cans of salmon, 
while the latter employs a considerable 
number of people the year round. If any 
of our readers wish a good can of salmon 
and at the same time a souvenir from Met- 
lakahtla let them ask their grocer for sal- 
mon put up by "The Metlakahtla Industrial 
Company." The chief occupations of the 
800 inhabitants are salmon fishing in the 
summer and logging in the winter. There 
are nine stores in the town, the largest 
being owned by Mr. Duncan, the other 
eight by natives. The saw-mill and most 
of the stock of the salmon cannery are also 
owned by Mr. Duncan, some of the shares, 
however, being held by the Indians. There 
is no doubt but that Mr. Duncan is simply 
acting as trustee for the people in con- 
ducting these enterprises and that at his 
decease the profits, if there be any left, 
will be given to the village. Today Mr. 



122 METLAKAHTLA 

Duncan pays the salary of his assistants 
in the work, Dr. and Mrs. Boyd, and sup- 
ports the girls' school, which is conducted 
by the doctor and his wife. Last year, as 
previously, Mr. Duncan personally taught 
the public school, in addition to all his 
other duties, but he finds the burden very 
severe and is desirous of securing a young 
minister and his wife to undertake this 
work and to assist in the spiritual training 
of the people. 

Mr. Duncan is still the active pastor of 
the church, serving without salary. He 
preaches twice on Sunday, conducts the 
children's Sunday School, and the mid- 
week prayer-meeting. He is also the spir- 
itual and temporal adviser and counselor 
of his people, and his office, where he 
spends many hours daily as active man- 
ager of the cannery, saw-mill and store, is 
the natural resort of anyone in trouble or 
difficulty. I spent considerable time with Mr. 
Duncan in his office, and sometimes there 
would be a stream of callers which would 
occupy his attention for hours together. 

The home life of the people is beautiful 
and affectionate. Among strangers they 
appear stolid, for they hide their feelings, 
but among themselves they are often most 
lively and gay. I saw considerable of the 
nine girls in the boarding school, and they 
were constantly bubbling over with fun of 
some sort and frequent bursts of hearty, 
wholesome laughter filled the air. Some of 



METLAKAHTLA 123 

the homes are furnished very attractively, 
two houses in the village containing pianos. 
The energy and natural talents of the 
people are amazing. Many of them earn 
double wages by doing double work. For 
example, the blacksmith at the cannery, 
Mr. Edward K. Mathers, works at night at 
his home carving queer figures on silver 
spoons. Going to the native stores on 
several occasions I found them locked, un- 
til I discovered that the proprietors worked 
at the cannery or saw-mill during the day, 
and opened their shops after a hasty sup- 
per in the evening. The village photo- 
grapher, Benjamin A. Haldane, does not 
hesitate to work in the cannery when it is 
running and looks after his picture-mak- 
ing and developing after or before working 
hours. Mr. Haldane is a versatile and tal- 
ented young man. In addition to being an 
excellent photographer, he is leader of the 
village band, and plays the pipe organ in 
the church. One of the two pianos in the 
town is in his home, and one evening he 
displayed much skill in playing several diffi- 
cult selections for my entertainment. It 
is typical of the people that they learn any 
art or trade with astonishing ease and ra- 
pidity. There are several excellent silver- 
smiths in the village, and at least one skilled 
wood carver. In addition most of the older 
women weave handsome baskets out of a 
certain kind of bark which find a ready 
sale to tourists. 



124 METLAKAHTLA 

The two Sundays spent in Metlakahtla 
were red letter days in my experience. On 
Sabbath morning all is peace and quiet 
throughout the village, and the spirit of 
worship permeates the atmosphere as 
strongly as the spirit of gladness fills the 
air of our land at Christmas-tide. At ten 
o'clock I stood on the church steps and 
watched the streams of people coming from 
different directions, all converging at the 
church door. They were dressed in the 
bright colors they love, and the sight of 
the happy people and the quiet village, with 
the sea and mountains for a background, 
made one of the most beautiful pictures I 
have ever seen. I was especially struck 
with the large number of Indian boys and 
girls who accompanied their parents to 
church, and with the sight of the very aged 
coming to the House of God as long as 
they were able to walk. One old woman, 
probably nearly or quite ninety years of 
age, bent over a large staff as she slowly 
approached the church. After going up a 
couple of steps she sat down to rest 
awhile, and then found strength to enter 
the building and worship her Creator. 

Part of the church service was in the na- 
tive Tsimshean language and part in Eng- 
lish. Following the organ voluntary play- 
ed by Mr. Haldane, came a song in soft, 
flowing Tsimshean accents. Mr. Duncan 
then offered prayer in Tsimshean, at the 
close of which all repeated the Lord's 



METLAKAHTLA 125 

Prayer in the native tongue. The beauti- 
ful song, "He Leadeth Me," was next sung 
in English by the congregation, followed 
by a short prayer in our language by Mr. 
Duncan. A passage of Scripture was then 
read in English by Mr. Duncan, followed 
by the. sermon, which is always delivered 
in the native tongue. A short prayer in 
Tsimshean closed the service, an organ 
postlude being played as the people passed 
out of the church. The order of service 
in the evening varies little from that in the 
morning. 

But two services during the whole of the 
Sabbath day cannot at all satisfy the en- 
ergetic Indians. At three o'clock in the 
afternoon they gather in the church again 
for an "Adult Sunday School," the chil- 
dren's Sunday School being held in the 
school house. Here there are often more 
than twenty classes all taught by native 
teachers. 

At the conclusion of the Sunday School 
Mr. Mathers, the blacksmith and silver- 
smith, invited me to attend a "Sing Prac- 
tice" which he holds at his home on Sun- 
day afternoons. It is an informal gather- 
ing of ten or a dozen friends and neigh- 
bors in his parlor to learn and sing Gos- 
pel hymns. I gladly accepted and greatly 
enjoyed hearing the old familiar hymns 
in a new tongue. Some of their favorite 
songs are: "There's a Stranger at the 
Door," "There's a Land That is Fairer 



126 METLAKAHTLA 

Than Day," "I Will Tell the Wondrous 
Story," "I Must Tell Jesus," "Nearer the 
Cross." 

Mr. Mathers is an elder in the church and 
a native evangelist. Whenever he is away 
fishing or on any business he gathers the 
people together and preaches to them. One 
day he showed me a large account book, 
in which he kept a record of every preach- 
ing service he held and of every prayer- 
meeting or sing-practice he led. The rec- 
ord was headed thus: "Record of God's 
Work Done by E. K. Mathers, Lay Preach- 
er." He set down accurately the date, 
place and number of people at each meet- 
ing. 

There are sixteen elders in the Metla- 
kahtla church and each gladly grasps the 
opportunity to preach and exhort when 
he is absent from the island and can 
gather a few Indians together. Family 
worship is held in most of the homes, and 
daily Bible reading is the rule. I asked 
one young man how he read the Bible, and 
he said it was his custom to read it through 
yearly, reading three chapters each week 
day and five on Sunday. 

One of the wisest and most devout men 
now living at Metlakahtla is Mr. John 
Tait. He is over sixty years of age, was 
one of Mr. Duncan's early converts and 
has been one of his staunchest friends and 
followers. 

One day I asked Mr. Duncan if he would 



METLAKAHTLA 127 

again become a missionary if he had his 
life to live over. In reply he said: "I have 
enjoyed my work and would gladly go 
through it again if necessary. Looking 
back over my career I have nothing to re- 
gret in regard to my plans and methods of 
conducting the work, and if called upon to 
begin again would follow the same pro- 
gram." Mr. Duncan believes all missions 
would be more successful if they would fol- 
low the "Christian village" plan. He said: 

"I firmly believe that missionaries all 
over the world should adopt the Christian 
settlement plan of procedure. Just as soon 
as a small group of Christians have been 
won from heathenism they should remove 
and form a separate and distinct colony. 
The converts will in that way grow and 
develop far better and faster than when 
living in daily contact with all sorts of 
vices common among the heathen. 

"Why, suppose I had never removed my 
people from Fort Simpson, I could never 
have obtained the result you see today in 
this village. In one house there would be 
living a Christian family and in the next a 
heathen one. The Christians would con- 
stantly be in trouble, enduring slanders and 
seeing and bearing evil things that would 
mar the beauty of their characters. 

"Now, if it were necessary forthe converts 
to come into daily contact with all kinds 
of evil the plan of separation would be un- 
wise, but no good purpose is served by it. 



128 METLAKAHTLA 

On the contrary the departure of the Chris- 
.tian from evil surroundings has been the 
divine plan from the beginning. God call- 
ed Abraham to come out from Ur and re- 
move to a place where a separate people 
could be trained up into holiness. Again 
the Children of Israel were led out from 
Egypt and given a land where they would 
be separated from other nations and where 
they were given an opportunity to become 
a light unto all the world." 
* * * 

Such is the strange and remarkable story 
of Metlakahtla. Its lessons of zeal and 
heroism, of faith and devotion, are many 
and inspiring. If those poor red men with 
their meagre advantages can produce such 
a beautiful Christian life in a single gen- 
eration what ought not we to be and ac- 
complish with our countless advantages 
and our generations of Christian ancestors! 

There are other red men, and yellow 
men, and black men, and white men in all 
parts of the earth living and dying without 
the Gospel. Let us arise and carry the 
news of salvation to them, or help others 
to do so by giving largely of our earnings! 
THE END. 



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