By Canoe and Dog Train Among The Cree and Salteaux Indians

In Short

This narrative records the experiences of a nineteenth-century missionary and his wife who left their comfortable Canadian pastorate to minister to the Cree and Salteaux peoples of the vast North-West Territories. Journeying by birch canoe in summer and dog-sled in sub-zero winter temperatures, the author establishes missions at Norway House and surrounding regions. The account details the challenges of travel in an unforgiving climate, the customs and languages of Indigenous communities, the slow shift from traditional beliefs to Christianity, and the deep personal sacrifices, including tragic family loss, required by life on the northern frontier.

The Story

The narrative begins in 1868 when the author, a young pastor recently married and serving a flourishing church in Hamilton, receives an unexpected request from his missionary committee. He is asked to abandon his comfortable post and travel north of Lake Winnipeg to minister to the Cree and Salteaux tribes. Accepting the call, he and his bride make a long, grueling journey across prairies and rivers to reach Lower Fort Garry. Here they encounter the strict, old-world etiquette of the Hudson's Bay Company before setting out by boat for Norway House, the central station of their new territory.

Upon arrival, the missionary throws himself into learning the local customs and languages, relying on devoted native interpreters like Timothy Bear and Big Tom Mamanowatum. He discovers that success requires adapting to local traditions and understanding the symbolic nature of Indigenous spiritual practices. Over weeks and months, he travels to distant posts such as Nelson River, Oxford House, and Berens River. Summer journeys demand skill in building and navigating fragile birch canoes, while winter travels require snowshoes and dog-trains across frozen lakes where temperatures plummet to fifty degrees below zero. Heavy loads of provisions, dog food, and camp supplies must be hauled through dense forests, often leaving the travelers bleeding and exhausted.

Throughout these travels, the author encounters both resistance and eager acceptance. In some villages, communities burdened by disease or tied to traditional medicine men view the newcomers with suspicion. In others, hunters travel hundreds of miles simply to obtain Bibles or request a teacher. The missionary records remarkable conversions, the abandonment of old idols, and the establishment of churches and schools. He also navigates complex social challenges, such as reorganizing households following the renunciation of polygamy.

Personal tragedy strikes when the family must temporarily separate; while traveling in an open boat without shelter under scorching heat, their youngest daughter succumbs to brain fever. Despite such heart-rending grief, the work continues. The narrative traces years of relentless effort, showing how mission stations slowly take root, literacy spreads through syllabic characters, and tight-knit Christian communities form before the author eventually hands his work over to successors.

How It Unfolds

The call to the North A young pastor receives a surprise letter requesting his transfer to the northern wilderness, whereupon he and his new bride immediately accept the difficult assignment.

Journey to Fort Garry Travelers cross the frontier to reach the Hudson's Bay Company stronghold, where they observe formal company traditions before embarking on the final boat leg.

Establishing the mission Arriving at Norway House, the missionary hires native interpreters, begins learning Cree culture, and navigates initial misunderstandings over regional customs and etiquette.

Winter by dog-train Travel across frozen lakes in extreme cold demands grueling physical labor, forcing the team to clear paths through deep snow while dragging heavy supplies.

Preaching at Nelson River Initial apathy and hardship give way to long council meetings, where the preacher addresses local queries about faith, life, and the protection of children.

Tragedy on the water During a boat journey to escape harsh wilderness conditions, the author’s young daughter dies of illness, casting a shadow of grief over the family's mission.

Expansion and departure New churches arise, native converts take up leadership roles, and the author prepares to pass his station to incoming ministers after years of dedicated service.

The People

• Egerton Ryerson Young seeks to spread the Gospel across the Canadian North-West, facing severe weather, physical exhaustion, and isolation while growing to deeply respect the native tribes he serves.
• Mrs. Young desires to support her husband's mission and build a home in the wilderness; she endures extreme isolation, domestic hardship, and the heartbreaking loss of her child.
• Thomas "Big Tom" Mamanowatum acts as a trusted steersman and leader; a giant in stature, he converts from traditional beliefs to become a pillar of the mission community.
• Timothy Bear serves as an emotional, eloquent interpreter whose passionate delivery of the sermons helps win over hesitant listeners.
• James Evans appears in historical accounts as a pioneering missionary who invented the Cree syllabic alphabet and suffered great personal sorrow after a tragic hunting accident.

In Its Own Voice

"Missionary, the Indian's mind is dark, and he cannot grasp the unseen. He hears the great Spirit's voice in the thunder and storms. He sees the evidences of His existence all around, but neither he nor his fathers have ever seen the great Spirit, or any one who has; and so he does not know what He looks like."

An elderly native elder explains to the author why his people originally carved physical idols to represent the divine.

"Our faces were often bleeding, and our feet bruised. There were times when the strap of my snowshoes so frayed and lacerated my feet that the blood soaked through the moccasins and webbing of the snowshoes, and occasionally the trail was marked with blood."

The author describes the intense physical toll of driving dog-sleds through unbroken wilderness in sub-zero cold.

What It's Really About

The book examines the meeting of two very different worlds on the nineteenth-century Canadian frontier. At its heart, it is an argument for the transformative power of faith, maintaining that spiritual conversion brings tangible improvements in daily life, literacy, and community structure. Yet beneath the evangelical drive lies a genuine attempt to document and understand Indigenous life. The text explores how trust is built across cultural divides through shared hardship, practical generosity, and mutual respect. It contrasts the rigid commercial hierarchies of the Hudson's Bay Company with the fluid, survival-based traditions of the Cree and Salteaux, ultimately asking what it truly means to sacrifice personal comfort in service to others.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to classic travelogues, wilderness survival, and church history will find this account captivating. It offers a vivid, first-hand look at the North-West before modern transportation, capturing details of birch-canoe construction, dog-sled management, and frontier camp life that would otherwise be lost. The prose is clear, direct, and unpretentious, carrying the reader through harrowing blizzards and quiet campfire discussions alike.

However, modern readers should approach the text aware of its era. The author writes with the inevitable biases of a nineteenth-century Victorian missionary, frequently labeling traditional Indigenous spiritual practices as "pagan" or superstitious. Yet despite these period attitudes, his narrative is remarkably free of malice; it is marked instead by deep affection for his companions and a sincere admiration for their strength and character. What remains with the reader is an indelible portrait of human endurance, profound personal sacrifice, and the quiet dignity of life on the frozen edge of the map.