Canada To-day and To-morrow

by Arthur E. Copping

“Those two brothers had come originally to our services at the eager persuasion of Axe. Curiosity and ridicule clearly engaged their thoughts at first. But the satirical smiles had gradually died away, and of late they had listened as earnestly as Axe himself. But of what was passing in their hearts I had no knowledge until that ever-memorable Sunday afternoon. Little Eyes poured forth the story of a dream he had had. In that dream he entered the school porch, and was standing by my side as I rang the bell for the morning service. Suddenly he saw a spiral staircase passing up far out of sight. I asked him to come with me up the staircase, and he consented, so that presently we ascended far above the earth, and came at last to the top, where a lovely country spread in every direction. In that dream I asked what he thought of the sight before him, and he said it was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before. I urged him in the dream never to forget what he had seen, and then I bade him to descend again. ‘I did so,’ he said, ‘trembling very much, but reached the earth in safety.’ That was the end of the dream. He said God had sent it to him, and he wanted to obey His voice and be baptised.”

That, Canon Stocken told me, was but the beginning. A great spiritual awakening had come to the Blackfeet, and for some time the reserve was in a state of strange unrest. Many had dreams, which were deeply impressive as told to the missionary by those awed and child-like Indians. For some time he lived amid marvels and mysteries, not knowing what new wonder the hour would bring forth. At first, indeed, he was frightened and in a great uncertainty, scarce daring to hold to the hopes those manifestations put into his mind. Yet it did not seem incredible that matters should shape themselves thus, and not otherwise, when into the darkness of heathendom there first came spiritual light, leaving the Indian dazzled, bewildered, exalted.

“Following those first conversions,” said Canon Stocken, “we had about twelve weeks of careful, individual preparation, and on March 27th, 1898, the first five adults were baptised, receiving the names of Paul, Daniel, Timothy, Thomas, and Ruth. From that time there were crowded congregations at the services. I can never forget those wide-open, straining eyes. No more impressive sight can any man see than the faces of heathen who begin to realise that there is something outside of themselves. The most solemn and wonderful time I think I ever experienced was on the evening of Easter Sunday. In the morning I had said, in dismissing my congregation, ‘Now, to-night I’m going to have a special service in the mission-room for those Christians who want to understand more about the Resurrection, and I’ll tell you of all the appearances of Christ that are mentioned in Scripture.’ Every one of the Christians came, besides some heathen, among whom was the wife of our Axe. She was very angry with him for becoming a Christian. She had refused to go to the service. But he made her come. Thinking of Constantine’s method, he was going to put the sword into force, so she yielded. Neyer shall I forget the awful, death-like stillness as those men and women strained their whole being, so to speak, to take in the subject of the Resurrection. You could positively have heard a pin drop on the floor. I was trembling all over at the responsibility of telling them those things which now they heard for the first time. I concluded with a short prayer, and then I went out to put my surplice in an adjoining room. Before, however, I had taken it off that woman came rushing in—the wife of Axe, I mean—and cried aloud: ‘Mokuyomakin, I do believe! I very much believe! I believe the teaching of God. I want you to baptise me also.’ The upshot was that she became a most earnest Christian. My poor wife used to say that, apart from Naomi (and I will tell you about Naomi later), there was no one in her women’s class upon whom she could lean more confidently than upon Esther, which was the name given in baptism to Axe’s wife.”

I asked Canon Stocken to elucidate the Indian name by which Esther had addressed him. “Mokuyomakin means Running Wolf,” he explained. “The Indians christen everybody, you know. It was an old chief who dubbed me Running Wolf soon after I arrived. The words have no personal application to myself. The old chief said it was the name of a friend of his who had lately died, and for whose loss his heart was heavy. I considered he was paying me a real compliment, and I have always felt very proud of my name.”

Canon Stocken next told me about Little Eyes, who figures on the Government list as Paul Little Walker. His father, it appeared, was Bull Backfat, who was head chief of the Blood Indians and a famous warrior and hunter. “When Little Eyes was only four years old,” said the canon, “Bull Backfat was killed, accidentally or otherwise, by an Indian. The boy was then brought here by his mother, whose name was Little Walker, and he became one of the most conspicuous lads on the reservation. I have told you of the dream that led to his conversion. He was thirty-one years of age at that time. He received the name of Paul at his baptism.

“It will be difficult for me,” continued Canon Stocken, pondering his words, “to make you realise the simple earnestness and sincere devotion that have characterised that man’s life down to the present day. I would like first to say that many and many a time he has helped me spiritually. There have been occasions of stress and sorrow when, following a long and exhausting day, I have sat alone at my desk in such an extremity of physical weariness that, when a knock has come at the door, I have been tempted to disregard the summons rather than have my rest disturbed. Sometimes Paul has proved to be the visitor, and each time, in a little while, his words and thoughts have lifted my oppression and renewed my strength, leaving me very grateful.

“Soon after his conversion he was going among the heathen Indians one Sunday morning, as came to be his custom, and trying to persuade them to attend the service. Among those to whom he spoke was the wife of one of his uncles—a woman bitterly hostile to Christianity. ‘No, no,’ she indignantly replied, ‘I won’t be seen inside your church. I don’t believe in your God,’ and she jumped up and got her tanning knife and started to tan. Paul said: ‘This is God’s day. It is not the will of God that we should work seven days. Our bodies need a rest, and to-day it is our duty to worship.’ Then he walked away. But he had not gone many steps when he heard a scream, and, turning round, he saw the woman lying in convulsions on the ground. ‘Go away,’ she cried, when he stepped up to her; ‘your God has done this.’ ‘Done what?’ he asked. ‘Broken my knife in half,’ she replied. And then he saw that the blade of the tanning knife had snapped. ‘I do not know if God did this,’ Paul quietly rejoined, ‘but you had better learn a lesson from it.’ And, as a matter of fact, though that woman never became a Christian, she was ever afterwards respectful about Christianity.

“Paul, you will notice, is not superstitious. One day, soon after his conversion, we were talking about Indian charms, some specimens lying before us. ‘If there was anything in them,’ Paul said simply, ‘they would jump up and help me to have a better temper.’ He was a little hasty and liable to fits of anger, I should mention, until he learnt to conquer the weakness. Indeed, several people told me that he had been, as they put it, a very tough sort of fellow. How different to the later Paul—the present Paul!

“He devises his own ways of doing good, but always with modest diffidence. One day he came to me in anxious sorrow and said: ‘What is right? What ought I to do? There is Owl Voice over there, and he is angry with his wife. Some Indians have gone to him and said she has behaved as a bad woman, and I fear he will take her life before sunset. The chiefs are there, and the camp is quite excited. What I want you to tell me is—What is my duty? May I not go and try to bring peace? ‘I said ‘Yes—what else could you do?’ Paul looked relieved; but he showed me how the uncertainty had come into his mind. ‘I asked Axe first,’ he explained, ‘and at once Axe said: “We believe in Christ and God, and we do what is right. But those heathen people are different. Let them alone.” But I then said to Axe: “By what we hear about Jesus Christ, I think He would go and try to make peace.”’ I said to Paul: ‘Go, please, by all means; and I do hope you will be successful!’ He went; and the sequel I heard next day from one of the chiefs who was present—Big Road, who became a Christian later on. Big Road came to me and said: ‘This young man of yours is a wonderful fellow.’ I said: ‘Why?’ He said: ‘We have never seen anything the same as this in our lives. We all like him.’ I said: ‘Tell me of it.’ Big Road said: ‘He came into the tent yesterday, and went up to Owl Voice and held out his hand. Then he stepped up to Owl Voice and kissed him, and said “My brother, I’ve come to you as a friend, as a servant of the God above us, because I believe that Jesus Christ would do what I am trying to do if He were here. I want to restore peace between you and your wife. I want to tell you that I don’t believe one word of what you have been told about your wife. I want you to say you will forgive your wife what you thought was wrong, and that you will let her come to you, and you will kiss her in the presence of these chiefs, and say it is all right.” Owl Voice looked on the ground and was silent a long time. Paul continued to speak to him, and said: “Well, my brother, you will do what I ask? Let me bring your wife to you that you may kiss her.” At last Owl Voice looked up in your young man’s face, and said: “Well, I believe you are right.” Then the young man went and took the girl by the hand and brought her to Owl Voice, and said: “Now, kiss her.” Owl Voice looked up and kissed his wife, and said: “It is all right.” Then he turned to the chiefs and said: “You can all go,” and they went.’ ”