We returned to Swanson that evening in order to be ready for Sunday. While we were hanging up pictures in the church two boys came in. We had already met these two out in the harvest field, and had asked them to come to Sunday School. One of them pointed to the cross on the altar, and asked, "What's that?" I found that he knew nothing about the Life of our Lord, so I showed him the picture of the Nativity, and from this and the other pictures told him the sacred story. The other boy joined in at intervals, supplementing my remarks. I found that he knew the story quite well, and asked him how it was that he knew so much, and he explained that he was a Roman Catholic. I told them that there would be Sunday School on Sunday afternoon, and asked them to come, which they did. (There was no Roman Catholic church in the place.) The children seemed to enjoy the school, and the teachers-to-be came to listen. A bad thunderstorm delayed us in beginning the service following, as the people could not get there. But they arrived eventually, and seemed to think the effort worth while. A few of the people from the Birdview district, who had attended our service on the previous Sunday, were among the congregation.
We were given an early supper by kind Mrs. T., who had mothered us when we were there before, and, thus fortified, started on our twenty-mile drive to the ferry over the Saskatchewan River, where we camped. There was another thunderstorm that night. I got up very early, and had an awful business cooking breakfast because of the raging wind. I had determined that on any future trips there should be a tin shield for the Primus, as digging a trench was of little use.
Meanwhile we heard that the ferry had not been running for several days, as the river had fallen and the sand had silted up. If I had known this sooner we might have crossed at Saskatoon, where there was a bridge, but we were now a hundred miles or more away. It was necessary to cross without loss of time, because Winifred wanted to catch the train at Outlook on the following evening. She was obliged to get back to England by an earlier boat than I was taking, because the tour had been prolonged beyond the original date, owing to weather and other difficulties.
When we had got down the steep, slippery trail to the river I found that the ferry-barge was not starting from the pier, but lower down stream where there was no pier, and between us and it was nothing but sand and mud and water in which the caravan would sink. There were two other cars waiting to cross. Their owners had gone over to Outlook in the ferry to get a team of horses to pull them through. Just at this moment a wagon and two fine horses drove down to the river bank. We explained our difficulty to the driver, and he offered to tow us on to the barge. The ferry-boat had now returned, and the touring cars were towed on with difficulty. The waggoner hitched us on to his wagon, and I asked Winifred to get out, as there was no reason why she should run the risk of being overturned. Then our wagon started, and I started the engine to help the horses, but this frightened them and they tried to bolt. The man shouted to me to switch off, which I did, but they still galloped on and seemed to be making straight for the river. Hitched on behind like this I was helpless. But the man was a splendid whip, and he knew his horses. He steadied them with his voice, and, getting them in hand, swung them sharply round and on to the barge, though still snorting and plunging in their fright. It was exceedingly difficultto steer the van round just at the right moment, but I managed it somehow. The barge men (our former friends) seemed to find it very hard work getting the heavily-laden boat across, with the wind against them. On the other side there was no pier to land on, only mud and water as before, so the waggoner offered to pull us ashore. His horses were really magnificent—extraordinarily strong—for they pulled both the wagon and the laden van through the sand and water, past the touring cars stuck in the mud. The man refused to take any money for his services, though it was usual to charge a dollar or so for pulling out cars, etc. But only once in all our three months on the prairie, and with our numerous calls for help, would any man take money for his services to us. I am sure that our work was helped by our being women. Much more consideration was shown to us than would have been the case with men similarly situated. Perhaps this is because there are fewer women than men out there. The men certainly seem to feel that they cannot do enough for them.
I took the grass track up from the river, the same which I had used when crossing the ferry before; but the van stuck at the top, so I had to unload, and then back down to the bottom and rush up again at full speed. It was a very hot day and a weary task repacking the van. We bitterly regretted our refusal of the kind waggoner's offer to pull us up.
I saw Winifred off by train, and then went on to Eyebrow, 96 miles. It was rather fun trying to race Winifred's train, which I could see on the track a little ahead of me. I did nearly catch her at one station, but was not quite quick enough. I was very grateful for all Winifred's help, and found it rather difficult to find my way without her, as she always held the map. But I struck a green blazed trail after a time, and then found my way quite easily. This trail fortunately avoided that bad corner at Elbow, and the surface of all the trails was far better now than when we came up. I arrived at Eyebrow about 5 p.m.
The next day Mr. T. took me to visit some parents, with whom we had meals, and then on to Keelerville day-school, where I gave an address. I was surprised to find one little girl answering all my questions with great fluency, while the others sat in open-mouthed admiration. I said to myself, "I'm sure you've been to the Qu'Appelle Diocesan School for Girls," as I had noticed the same phenomena in Sunday Schools in Regina, and my surmise proved to be correct.
We went out to supper, where we had the usual great bowl of boiled eggs, from which we helped ourselves, everyone being expected to eat at least three. It was very dark on our return journey, and the headlights sometimes went very dim. I found it extremely pleasant to be driven for once.
I left Eyebrow on the Wednesday afternoon, and went on to Mortlack, about 38 miles. I found my way all right, but had to go through a great deal of sand. Fortunately I did not stick. The vicar and his wife gave me a very warm welcome when I arrived that evening. There were five small children and a young theological student in the house. The vicar had been presented with a Ford caravan very much like mine, in which to get about his rural deanery. For everyday use he had a Ford car, and he took me round the district in this. I taught in two schools and held a parents' meeting on the first day, and gave a picture talk and two addresses to parents and teachers on the next day. Indoors I helped the student with the household chores, which he had made part of his duty. The vicar's wife had her hands full with the children. The latter were charming people; they specially loved jumping in and out of the caravan. I secured temporary quietude by taking them down the town and presenting them with "all-day suckers." This protection of the Canadian parent is a large hard, brightly-coloured confection, stuck on a pointed stick, which forms a handle. As the name suggests, it is supposed to last all day. Another favourite comestible is chewing-gum. The children in their turn frequently presented me with both these dainties. But what I really liked were the delicious ice-creams and ice-cream sodas and sundaes.Those of the latter that one buys in England are but pale shadows of the original. The real, true sundae is a bowl of genuine ice-cream, on the top of which is preserved fruit in rich syrup, with chopped nuts scattered over it.
This rural deanery received a great deal of support from the Colonial and Continental Church Society. They wanted me to stop at Mortlack over Sunday, but I felt that I should never get all my affairs settled up in Regina before catching my boat unless I went on at once.
So I started off for Regina on the Saturday, and got there in the afternoon (70 miles). The trail was exceedingly bad, as they were newly grading it, and in some places I had to get over mounds of loose earth about four feet or more high. It was odd to find my watch an hour different from the Regina clocks. The big towns have summer time, but the C.P.R. and the country places keep to ordinary time.
I had a very warm reception from the W. family, behind whose house I stored the caravan until I had time to clean it. The first thing to do was to clean myself and my wardrobe. I looked more like a mechanic than a Sunday School "expert." I found oil on most of my clothes, and without Mrs. W. should never have got them clean again. It was very nice not to have to turn out in the morning and cook breakfast over a bad-tempered Primus. Mrs. W.'s meals were not easily forgotten, and now they seemed extra good. The Canadian breakfast is a dream: you begin with grape fruit, and then come "cereals," followed by eggs and bacon, and sometimes griddle cakes with maple syrup, or johnnie cakes.
When I went to church on Sunday morning I had another kind reception, and the vicar insisted that I should give an address to the whole Sunday School in church that afternoon.
Next day I went to see Archdeacon Dobie and Archdeacon Knowles, and had a long talk with them, the gist of which I append later. I told them that I wished to present the caravan to the diocese, that this work might be carried on. Archdeacon Knowles offered to take charge of the van and its equipment during the winter, promising that it should be stored in the Synod garage.
The caravan had covered at least 3,000 miles in just over three months. We started from Regina on May 21 and got back on August 21. We visited ten existing Sunday Schools and started four new ones; we also visited twelve day schools and enrolled sixty children in the Sunday School by Post. Besides this we gave many Bible picture talks to children and addresses to parents and teachers, held a good many services in church, and did a lot of visiting.
I felt that I could not leave Canada without seeing an Indian Reserve. I had met Miss A., the headmistress of the Christian boarding school at Punnichy, so I wrote to her asking if I might pay a flying visit to the Reserve, and received a warm invitation. I left Regina at 9.30 p.m. and did not arrive at Punnichy till next morning at 6.30. I travelled with a large number of Doukhobors, extraordinary people who talk a most curious language. They come from southern Russia, and are a religious sect. They live in communities, having everything in common, even wives. The women wear picturesque clothes—a coloured handkerchief over their heads and another over their shoulders, with a very full short skirt. I noticed that the train inspector seemed uneasy at my being in their compartment, and soon moved me to another one. But I had to remain an hour with them in the waiting-room at Saskatchewan, and they seemed quite harmless and were interesting to watch.
I was met by a Mrs. T., who drove me in her own car up to the Reserve. I found that she had nursed in France during the War, had had shell shock, and had received the Royal Red Cross. Her husband was the headmaster of the day school on the Reserve. She had found that the Indians were without a nurse of any kind, and so she was giving her services in that capacity and had her hands full. She had even bought a car in order to get round the Reserve. There was a great deal of sickness, the Indians being very tubercular now, and there was much infant mortality. Mrs. T. said that she badly needed another nurse to help her. She was then on her way to the school to help the doctor operate on a good many children for adenoids and tonsils, but it would be a case of "first catch your hare," as the patients always fled into the bush on these occasions.
Miss A. and her father, the chaplain on the Reserve, received me very kindly. After breakfast I was asked to give the children a Scripture lesson. They were bright, attractive children, but not nearly so quick as the British children. They knew a great deal, however, having been well taught. It seemed very sad that our British children had been so neglected that they knew less about the Bible than these Indian children did. I bought some of the beautiful moccasins and bead chains which they make on the Reserve. The mother of one of the pupils had made the Bishop's mitre all out of beads.
Outside the school-house there was a poor little boy lying on a mattress, the other children entertaining him with picture books. I asked what was the matter with him, and was told that he had broken his leg and the witch-doctors had essayed to cure it, doing him great harm. But he was now getting well under proper supervision. We had meals with the Indian children, in a nice family way. They talked good English, of course, having been in the school for several years. Theraison d'êtreof the boarding school is to give the children a good standard of living. When they attend a day school they have to live at home in the dirty hovels, which undoes much of the civilising influence they have received. When they are old enough the boys are trained to work on the school farm, under the management of Mr. A. I was shown the beautiful little church, but was saddened to see the many little wooden crosses marking the babies' graves. We saw some fine Indian men, looking quaint with their long braided hair and big shady hats. They are being trained to farm work, at which they prove most efficient. I should have liked to have seen the Indian warriors in war paint, but this is seldom allowed by the Government now as it is found to have such an exciting effect on them. There had been a display of the Hudson Bay Company at Winnipeg in the May of that year, but I was not able to go.
There was something singularly tragic in the sight of these people, disinherited, and suffering from diseases which they never knew in their old free life. It is one of those great injustices for which there seems to be no remedy.
I remained for evening prayer, and was asked by Mr. A. to give the address. I told the story of St. Christopher, which seemed to be much appreciated. Then I caught a night train and got back to Regina next morning.
On my return from Punnichy I went to see the Bishop and Mrs. Harding, and described our caravan tour. His lordship said that my account only emphasised his previous conviction that work among the children was of vital importance, and he hoped I would come back in the following spring to carry it on. I explained that I had my diocesan work in England, and had only six months' leave of absence, and was even now hurrying back to take a Teachers' Training Course.
I had plenty to do during the next few days. I had sent home to England for a good many books and pictures, and these now had to be done up and sent off to the different places we had visited on the prairie. A decidedly arduous task, too, was the cleaning of the caravan, to which a good deal of the trail still clung. I spent strenuous hours with a hose and brush, cleaning it inside and out. A hole had been knocked in the composition boarding of the door, and I racked my brains to think of a way to mend it. Then I remembered the paper pulp with which we make raised maps. This did splendidly and hardened well. Then there were all the books and pictures and models to catalogue and store for the winter, ready for those who should take the van out next spring.
I had told the garage to fetch the caravan and take the engine down and clean and overhaul it, but as they did not send for it I took it round myself on the Monday and said that it must be done by the Thursday, as I had to leave for England. When I went next day they had merely taken down a little bit of the engine. They did not get to work on it properly till the Wednesday, which was very annoying, as I wished to have the back springs strengthened, a long job, and one which I meant to see thoroughly done. I spent Thursday running to and fro between the garage and the parish hall (where many of my things were stored). I had to catch an early train in the morning, and so told a porter overnight to fetch my cases and boxes from the parish hall. After supper I went round to the garage again to see if the van was finished. It wasn't. I knew that if I left it the mechanics would go off to some other car, and not only would my van certainly not be done in the morning, but quite possibly it would never be properly done at all, and when used next year might break down at a critical moment. I therefore determined to stay and see it finished. I knew the garage was open all night, with a special set of mechanics for night duty. Hour after hour passed. I stood around by the van and handed tools from time to time, and pointed out what I wanted done, and by thus keeping them at it the van was actually finished soon after 7 a.m. I rushed off with it to the W.'s, and Mrs. W. and I packed all the equipment in it as fast as we could. Then I hurried up to the Synod garage, taking a man with me to remove the electric starter, which would freeze if left in all winter. As I flew along I thought wistfully of the splendid breakfast which kind Mrs. W. had prepared and which I had no time to eat. I handed over the car and keys, got another car to take me to the station, and just managed to catch the train. There was no time to feel sentimental over bidding farewell to my beloved "Tin Lizzie," who had done such wonders for us. Several friends came to see me off, but my cases from the parish hall only appeared on the platform as the train steamed out of the station, and it was months before I saw them again.
I went by train to Fort William, on Lake Superior, then by the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River. Lake Superior is a huge inland sea, into which you could drop England. On Sunday morning we reached the easterly end of the lake, where the great locks are between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. We stopped at Sault St. Marie for several hours, and some of us went ashore to church. I hunted about for an Anglican church, and seeing one with a cross on it made for it; but it was a Roman Catholic church, and was packed to the doors. Next I found a Presbyterian church, and at last found an Anglican one, which I afterwards discovered was the pro-cathedral. The Archbishop of Algoma was preaching on the Lambeth Conference, from which he had just returned. I had to leave before the end of the service lest the boat should go without me. We started again at one o'clock, and went down Lake Huron and through the Georgian Bay and past the Ten Thousand Islands. It was very beautiful. We arrived at Fort McNicholl at 8 a.m. on Monday. I then went by train to Toronto, and thence took a steamer down Lake Ontario. It was a grey day, but the scenery was lovely, and the waves quite rough, like the sea. We passed into the St. Lawrence at night, and on the Tuesday morning began to pass the Thousand Islands, some of which are disfigured by enormous houses, which look too big for the island. At Prescott we changed into a tiny steamer calledThe Queen of the Rapids, and went on down the river, soon coming to the first of the rapids, which the steamer shot. There is a drop of three hundred feet between Prescott and Montreal. The biggest rapid is the Lachine Rapid, with a fall of eighty-five feet. These rapids have always been shot by the Indians in their canoes, and now one always comes on board to pilot the steamer down. The river here is far wider than the Thames at London, and the rapids form a foaming bar from side to side, through which there is only one narrow channel. As we rushed through we were suddenly aware that the walls of water close on either side were veiling rocks, between which the boat passed with only a few inches to spare. We went three miles in one and a half minutes. In 1921 the rudder chain broke when the steamer was shooting the rapids. The boat dashed on the rocks and had a hole knocked in it, but the passengers managed to reach an island and were all saved.
We arrived at Montreal that night, whence I went on to Quebec by train, theEmpress of Francebeing too big to get up the river. I arrived at Quebec in the cold early morning, and spent the day hunting up my luggage, but finding very little of it. I found time, however, to go up to the Heights of Abraham, whence I had a magnificent view right over the harbour. Both here and at Fort William the gigantic elevators were a striking sight, and I could also see a lot of lumber floating in Quebec harbour.
Quebec is a strangely old-world town, noticeably so after the very modern West. I went into a shoemaker's shop to get a shoe mended, but had to make my wants known chiefly by signs, as the man spoke a queer old French and knew no English.
This journey down through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence is so exceedingly beautiful that it is a pity more people do not take it. But it is only possible in the summer months. After October the lakes are too rough, and in winter the St. Lawrence is blocked by ice.
As we steamed out of Quebec the Heights of Abraham looked very fine with the sunset behind them. We went by the northern passage, between Labrador and Newfoundland. At night the Northern Lights lit up the sky for two or three hours together, and just here we had to go slowly for fear of sunken icebergs.
We got to Liverpool on September 15, but though we arrived at 4 p.m., we did not get off the boat till 7.30 p.m., as a White Star liner was at the landing-stage, so I did not get home till next morning.
In the interview which I was granted with Archdeacon Knowles and Archdeacon Dobie before leaving Regina, I tried to explain my conviction that the future of the Anglican Church on the prairie depended on the training of the children. If they remained as ignorant of religion as we found them in many places, it was obvious that their generation would have no use for the Church. On the other hand, they were now in an intensely receptive state, and the parents were more than willing that they should receive instruction, and had supported us by every means in their power, both by promising to carry on our work and by giving us most generous hospitality. Experience had proved that a caravan was the best means of reaching these outlying districts, first because they were often so far from the railway, and also because there was no accommodation for women visitors in most of the shacks.
When I offered my van to the diocese, Archdeacon Knowles suggested that I should leave suggestions for its future use. Those I made were as follows: (1) That in the spring, summer, and fall, a Sunday School expert should use the van on the prairie, starting Sunday Schools, visiting the farms and day schools, giving Bible lessons in school hours, if allowed by the trustees, if not, after school hours; taking names for the Sunday School by Post; helping the existing Sunday Schools, teachers, and clergy. (2) That the expert must be a person fully trained for the work, either at St. Christopher's, Blackheath, London, or in any similar institution which might be started in Canada. (3) The expert must be accompanied by someone who has driven acar for at least a year, and done her own running repairs. She should be able to cook, and willing to teach a class under the direction of the expert. (4) Concerning the finance: the travelling expenses of the workers, their board, and the running expenses of the caravan should be raised in England until the diocese is able to support them. If possible, a salary should be provided, but, failing this, honorary workers might be found.
Archdeacon Dobie read me a report which he had just received from two of the Mission clergy who had gone out in the other Ford caravan. They had done between two and three thousand miles already, and I afterwards heard that by the end of the season they had gone 6,000 miles and baptized 101 children. It was interesting to note where their report corroborated ours. They spoke of the spiritual desolation of the people, who asked them if the Church would only send clergy where a stipend could be guaranteed. They remarked on the eagerness of the children to learn, their intense appreciation of the sacraments and services, and the pathetic ignorance of the children and young people, many of whom had never been to a service before. The bad effects of this isolation and lack of education were very noticeable, they said. One of the clergy, in his report, spoke of the people "disappointed of their hope year after year, cut off from the Church—the glory and joy of which separation has deepened—there is little wonder at times they are almost on the verge of insanity." He adds: "If only some lover of Christ and of the British Empire would provide for two such vans to run for a few more years until the tide turns and the country develops, much might be done to save the children of the prairie and to foster a spirit of loyalty to the Mother Country."
These Mission clergy seemed to feel, as we had done, that the time for seizing these wonderful opportunities is now or never. The worship of the almighty dollar may easily take the place of true religion unless this present hunger for spiritual things is satisfied. It would be a serious reflection on the Anglican Church if she should let this golden opportunity pass.
Some time after I had returned to England I received a letter from a man at Stimson (which the Railway Mission used to work from Youngstown), saying, "Why don't they send us a clergyman? Once a fortnight a service is held here by howling dervishes, calling themselves Nazarenes, instead of our dear old Church of England services." In one of the prairie towns I saw the Holy Rollers' tent erected, and should like to have attended one of their meetings just to see what they are like; but as I was doing Anglican Mission work, I feared it might create a wrong impression. I received a description of the meeting from an eye-witness, however. The order of procedure is as follows: The preacher gets up and begins to speak in excited tones, gradually working himself up into a frenzy and becoming unintelligible. This is contagious, and the audience soon become frenzied also, finally rolling about the floor—hence the name by which the sect is known. When the people are in this ecstatic state they are persuaded to sign cheques for large amounts. The Holy Rollers will not come to a town unless a considerable sum is first guaranteed, and this peculiarity of theirs adds point to the settlers' query with regard to the Anglican clergy. It is dreadful to think of the sheep being left to these hirelings.
A matter of grave import had come under my notice on the prairie, and I felt it to be my duty to speak of it to those who were working for the welfare of the province. The lack of a high spiritual standard, with its consequent elevated moral tone, is having a gravely deleterious effect on the children's morality, proving a serious menace to the health of the community on which the welfare of this new country depends. On this point I was strongly supported by the wife of one of the members of the Senate, herself a trained nurse, who had lived for many years on the prairie, and also by an experienced clergyman and a Sunday School superintendent. All three gave me permission to use their names if necessary, and promised to supply corroborative details. They lived in widely separated districts, thus making their combined evidence of more value. Whilst in Regina, therefore, I reported to the presidents or secretaries of the following: The Local Council of Women, The Women Grain-Growers' Association, The Women Home-makers' Club, and the Social Service Council, all of which organisations work throughout the province, and are interdenominational.
The secretary of the Social Service Council asked me to give a report of our work on the prairie to the Interdenominational Sunday School Council for the province. I was very glad to be present at this council, because I learnt so much. We discussed methods and organisation, not doctrine. It was most interesting to hear about the camps and clubs which they hold for adolescent boys and girls. When I gave an account of our caravan tour I took the opportunity of drawing attention to the moral question, and emphasised my belief that on this matter all the Churches should co-operate.
I sent a report of my work to Dr. Hiltz, which he read to the Executive Committee of the Board of Religious Education. They were good enough to show interest in the matter, and suggested that the Western Field Secretary should inquire what the diocese of Qu'Appelle thought of the scheme, and if the report were favourable he should try to develop the scheme in other Western dioceses.
Meanwhile Miss Margaret West, who had been trained at St. Christopher's and had been working in the diocese of Ottawa, became Diocesan Field Supervisor for Qu'Appelle. She lectured and gave demonstration lessons in Regina, and acted as secretary for the Sunday School by Post. When I suggested it, she expressed herself as quite ready to go out on the prairie in the spring of 1921, but she could not drive the caravan. I inquired of the Red Cross and St. John Ambulance in Canada if there were any ex-service girls who could drive caravans, and they replied that very few had volunteered to drive in France, and those who had done so were now dispersed and could not be communicated with. I then applied to various organisations in touch with ex-service women, and received a list of women who had driven motor ambulances or transports in France, but all of them wanted their expenses paid and most of them needed a small salary. There was no fund as yet, but through the "Recruiting Committee for Service in the Kingdom of God" I was fortunate in finding an honorary worker, who would pay all her own expenses. This was Miss Higginbotham, who had driven a car for years, and had also driven a Ford in France for the Y.M.C.A. and the Church Army, as well as doing canteen work.
Miss Higginbotham joined Miss West in the spring of 1921, taking out with her a large number of books and several thousand pictures which I was sending for distribution. They arranged to visit a very large district, comprising many more places than we had visited. At the end of the season Miss West wrote: "I have about 200 members collected this year for the Sunday School by Post . . . the children need the A.B.C. of the Faith . . . they are astonishingly ignorant but very nice to teach, so appreciative of one's efforts and so ready to learn . . . I enjoyed the summer very much—the people were very kind." They had many adventures similar to ours in mud holes and thunderstorms, and also received similar kindness and hospitality. In theBishop's Leafletfor the diocese of Qu'Appelle (December, 1921) a summary of their work is given, which ends thus:
"What are the results of this itinerary? The Diocesan Field Supervisor has gained an intimate knowledge of the needs and difficulties of the prairie town Sunday Schools and has got into touch with many of the teachers, so that she is now in a better position to give assistance. Also nearly 200 boys and girls living in districts where there is no Church of England Sunday School have been enrolled in the Sunday School by Post and are now receiving regular instruction in the Faith of the Church."
In a letter dated April 26, 1921, Dr. Hiltz gave us the following encouragement: "At the meeting of the Executive Committee held last Friday I read extracts of your latest letter telling of the plans for 1921. The Committee was very much interested, and I have much pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed resolution, which willgive you some idea of the attitude of our Executive towards the work which has been done." The resolution was as follows: "That this Committee desires to express its great appreciation of the work done in the diocese of Qu'Appelle by Miss Hasell and Miss Ticehurst during the summer of 1920, and rejoices to learn that the work is to be continued during the summer of 1921 by Miss West and Miss Higginbotham. The Committee thanks these ladies for their great help, and commends their spirit and self-sacrifice for the emulation of the whole Church."
Dr. Hiltz added that he was calling the attention of the General Synod to the caravan plan. (The General Synod consists of the four Archbishops, all the bishops and clergy, and certain representative laymen from each diocese of the Dominion.)
The following extracts are from the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the General Board of Religious Education of the Church of England in Canada, October, 1921.
From the Report of the General Secretary:
"Diocesan Conference and Synods.—A feature of all the conferences and synods attended, was the outspoken conviction of the Bishops and officers of the dioceses of the urgent necessity for the immediate increase of effort in the training of the children of the Church in the Faith of their fathers. The Bishop of New Westminster . . . cited the fact that communistic leaders in Great Britain and Europe recognised the strategic importance of influencing the young, and had established Sunday Schools for propagating their doctrines. The Bishop urged that the Church must not be less alive to a great basal principle."Without doubt, the present is a critical period in the life of our Church in the West. The great dearth of clergy has left many parishes, formerly occupied, without Sunday Schools or any other Church organisation. The Church of the future, in the country districts of the West, will be the Church that will now go into these fields and train and enfold the young.""The Caravan Plan.—The Executive Committee asked for a report on the use of the caravan for religious educational work in the prairie dioceses. There can be no question that the van can be used to accomplish great results. . . . The van idea is rapidly gaining ground. Qu'Appelle Diocese has three vans at work, one of which is for purposes of religious education alone. Saskatchewan Diocese secured a fine new van this year, which is being operated for general missionary work. From experience this summer, the Field Secretary is prepared to recommend its use to every diocese that may be prepared to man and use it in scattered missionary districts."A van or motor-car, under the direction of the Field Secretary, could be utilised to good purpose in our work. Two competent lady-workers in Calgary volunteered for field work during July, but we had no means of sending them out. A motor could have been used steadily during August, and it could be sent on special missions into other dioceses."
"Diocesan Conference and Synods.—A feature of all the conferences and synods attended, was the outspoken conviction of the Bishops and officers of the dioceses of the urgent necessity for the immediate increase of effort in the training of the children of the Church in the Faith of their fathers. The Bishop of New Westminster . . . cited the fact that communistic leaders in Great Britain and Europe recognised the strategic importance of influencing the young, and had established Sunday Schools for propagating their doctrines. The Bishop urged that the Church must not be less alive to a great basal principle.
"Without doubt, the present is a critical period in the life of our Church in the West. The great dearth of clergy has left many parishes, formerly occupied, without Sunday Schools or any other Church organisation. The Church of the future, in the country districts of the West, will be the Church that will now go into these fields and train and enfold the young."
"The Caravan Plan.—The Executive Committee asked for a report on the use of the caravan for religious educational work in the prairie dioceses. There can be no question that the van can be used to accomplish great results. . . . The van idea is rapidly gaining ground. Qu'Appelle Diocese has three vans at work, one of which is for purposes of religious education alone. Saskatchewan Diocese secured a fine new van this year, which is being operated for general missionary work. From experience this summer, the Field Secretary is prepared to recommend its use to every diocese that may be prepared to man and use it in scattered missionary districts.
"A van or motor-car, under the direction of the Field Secretary, could be utilised to good purpose in our work. Two competent lady-workers in Calgary volunteered for field work during July, but we had no means of sending them out. A motor could have been used steadily during August, and it could be sent on special missions into other dioceses."
From the Report of the Executive Committee:
"The Caravan Plan for Reaching Sparsely-Settled Districts.—Following up the suggestions of the Board at its last meeting, the General Secretary communicated with several persons in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, with a view to finding out how far, in their judgment, the Caravan Plan, as used by Miss Hasell and Miss Ticehurst, had proved successful."The consensus of opinion was that the results were good, but could only be made permanent by a regular system of visitations. . . ."The Western Field Secretary has had an opportunity during the summer to investigate this work, and has been doing some experimenting in the Diocese of Calgary. The Diocese of Qu'Appelle also tried out the plan again this past summer under the direction of Miss West."As a result of the investigations of the Field Secretary, he recommends that the plan be adopted in every diocese that is prepared to man and use the van properly in scattered missionary districts."
"The Caravan Plan for Reaching Sparsely-Settled Districts.—Following up the suggestions of the Board at its last meeting, the General Secretary communicated with several persons in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, with a view to finding out how far, in their judgment, the Caravan Plan, as used by Miss Hasell and Miss Ticehurst, had proved successful.
"The consensus of opinion was that the results were good, but could only be made permanent by a regular system of visitations. . . .
"The Western Field Secretary has had an opportunity during the summer to investigate this work, and has been doing some experimenting in the Diocese of Calgary. The Diocese of Qu'Appelle also tried out the plan again this past summer under the direction of Miss West.
"As a result of the investigations of the Field Secretary, he recommends that the plan be adopted in every diocese that is prepared to man and use the van properly in scattered missionary districts."
From the Report of the Parochial Department, under the heading,Council on Rural Schools: "In one Western diocese the Sunday School caravan similar to the mission van has proved of great value to the work of rural schools."
From the above it will be seen that the caravan scheme supplies a felt need, and as ex-students of St. Christopher's and ex-service girls have volunteered, the only hindrance is lack of funds.[8]
As showing the approval which this work has received from the Church's representatives, I may add that the Bishops of Saskatchewan and Calgary have both invited me to work a van in their dioceses in 1922.
It was a bitter disappointment to me to be unable to talk over the results of our work with Aylmer Bosanquet, for it was she who originated the scheme, and she would have delighted in the details of its working. But she was in British Columbia when I returned from the prairie, so all I could do was to write her a full report, and keep her in touch with all the developments of the work. She soon grew too weak to write herself, but her interest never flagged, and she dictated most encouraging and stimulating letters. She passed away on Shrove Tuesday, February, 1921.
She was a true missionary, with a gracious and loving personality. She had a definite call and followed it. This led her to exchange a life of luxury for one of hardship, and to expend much of her wealth in the service of God. She laboured unceasingly, and with a vision which seemed to leave a living impress on all with whom she came in contact, and inspired them to greater heights of devotion and service. As the lessons of childhood are indelibly engraven on the mind, there must be many prairie children who will bless her name in after life for the imprint she left upon them. She had a statesmanlike grasp of the trend of events, and lived to do a wonderful work in Western Canada, pointing to lofty ideals and raising the standard of public opinion in this young and growing country, not only from the Church point of view, but also from the Imperial standpoint.
She has been one of the glorious instruments used in helping to bring about God's purpose, that "the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea."
The Fellowship of the Maple Leaf was started under the directorship of Dr. G. E. Lloyd[9]in order to remedy the great shortage of teachers in Western Canada. It aims at enlisting Englishwomen who are not merely taking up teaching as a livelihood, but who are "willing to do something beyond what they are paid to do, for the sake of Church and Empire." Their object is the building up of character and the development of loyalty to the Empire, and they are to go specially to the prairie schools among the foreign population (now called the New Canadians), many of whom cannot speak English. The problem is—What can be done to make the un-English settlers British in sentiment? Wherever immigration spreads over the new territory, there, in two or three years' time, appear the little country schools, built by the settlers out of the rates and taxes, or from bonds guaranteed by the Provincial Government. All the children of the district, from four miles on either side, go to that school. In Saskatchewan alone three hundred new schools were built in 1915, five hundred the year before, and more than six hundred in the year before the War. Not only do these hundreds of new schools need teachers, but there is a continual thinning of the ranks as teachers go on to other professions or the women teachersmarry. Many of the leading men in Canada have taught in these little one-teacher schools at the beginning of their career—such men as Sir Robert Bordon, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Sam Hughes, and Sir George Forster.
The demand for teachers in these schools is so great that very many non-British persons are accepted, and it is, to say the least, very unlikely that such persons can or will train these young British subjects as Britain would have them trained. It follows that there is here a magnificent opportunity for patriotic young Englishwomen. They would also be able to help the children of those isolated Anglicans who have no resident clergyman, as well as the mixed populations of "anybody's people." Of course, no Church of England doctrine or any other doctrine may be taught in the day schools. These are Government schools, and every religion has an equal right there. But much may be done out of school hours.
Anyone can be a teacher who can pass the Government test and who takes a short "Method" course in the Normal School. If she has any practical experience of teaching she may obtain a "Provisional Certificate," and begin to teach at once, taking the Method Course later on when the prairie schools are closed in winter. The teachers are paid a fair salary. The lowest is about £14 a month, ranging up to £45 in the towns for head teachers. The higher stipends, of course, are for those who make teaching their life-work. Any further particulars may be obtained from the Rev. P. J. Andrews, Secretary, The Fellowship of the Maple Leaf, 13, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. 1.
The present hospital arrangements in the prairie provinces are as follows: The Regina Railway Mission started hospitals in a few of the little towns where they had established missions, and some of the municipal councils took up the matter and opened a great many more. But there are no free hospitals in the West. A patient's expenses are about 22s. a day (five or six dollars), whichmakes a hospital prohibitive for most. Many farms are miles away from any sort of medical or surgical attendance, and as the farmer's wife has generally no one to help her with her house and children, she can seldom, if ever, go away into hospital for her confinements, and at these times often has no one with her except her husband. Of course, all goes well sometimes, but it is obvious that child and mother must suffer should complications arise. I met a great many farmers' wives in outlying districts whose health had been ruined through lack of skilled attention at these critical times.
There is a splendid opening here for ex-V.A.D.'s. The Social Service Council of Saskatchewan is offering free training in a municipal hospital to any V.A.D., after which she would go out to the farms as a nursing housekeeper, her work being to give the mother professional attention and to keep the home running while she is laid up. She would need some knowledge of the domestic arts, such as washing and cooking. Her work would be similar to that of a village district nurse in England, only she would have but one family under her care at a time. It should be added that the father of a family helps a great deal in the house. These nursing housekeepers would be paid $17 to $20 per week, just half the salary of a graduate nurse. Thus they would be earning a good income and at the same time doing a noble work. In this new country the health of the mothers and children is of supreme importance.
Applications for further particulars about nursing housekeepers may be made to the following secretaries for Social Service: Mr. W. J. Stewart and Mr. W. P. Reckie, 45, Canada Life Building, Regina, Saskatchewan, Western Canada.
The Women's Auxiliary is the women's branch of the Anglican Church Missionary Society for Canada. There are members in every district, and they work magnificently for the cause, raising enormous sums of money. One place, which had only three members, made about $300 in the year (about £60 or £70). They get money by sewing meetings, teas, and social gatherings. The money is used first for the parish, to build or furnish the vicarage house, and supply church furnishings, etc., and then to help the work among non-Christians, both in Canada and overseas.
The cost of a caravan is £316 ($1,250); running expenses, £40 ($160); passage out and travelling expenses, about £50, but for ex-service girls, who can get a free passage, £29; board and lodging on the prairie for five or six months, about £40; board and lodging in Regina, between £3 and £4 a week ($15). Donations may be made payable to Miss Eva Hasell, Canada Mission Account, London, City, and Midland Bank, Penrith, Cumberland. A sum of more than £300 has already been contributed.