Rev A Brandram No 107
Woodstock, New Brunswick, 24th July 1841.
In my letter to you, dated Fredericton, the 5th instant, I mentioned that I was about to go northward, up the River St. John, but could not say to what extent. My object was twofold: first, to visit Woodstock and other places in that same county; to encourage such societies as I should find formed; and to form new ones, as opportunities offered. My second object was, to visit the French Roman Catholic settlement high up the river, called Madawaska, consisting of a people resembling, in many respects, the French Canadians.
On the day after I wrote you, I started for Woodstock; and there, on the following day, held a public meeting of the Woodstock Bible Society—previous arrangements having been made, and notices given. Our meeting was good; and it was agreed that another public meeting should be held when I returned down the river. The Society existing here was first formed in 1836, and was re-formed in 1839. It has contributed a fair sum these last two years, as a branch of the Fredericton Auxiliary. But as Woodstock is the centre or head of a county, and a place of note as to the surrounding country, the subject was considered, whether it would not be better to extend its name and character; that it might take its stand as an Auxiliary, and raise up branches around it, in the various parishes of the county. This was to be more fully considered on my return.
On the 9th, I started for Tobique, and arrived there the following day. Two public meetings were held here; and a new Society was formed. This place is still well immersed in the forest, and not much, perhaps, may be expected from this new accession to our numbers. But something, and not little, I think, is always gained by the formation of a Bible Society in any place. Many are the blessings flowing from Bible Institutions, both direct and indirect; and some of these are always enjoyed, where anything at all is done. We are therefore never to be discouraged with smallness in results; for that is better than what is smaller still; and much better than nothing, which latter would be the state of things where no effort is made.
After leaving Tobique, I came to the Grand Falls, a noted waterfall in the River St. John, and coming nearer perhaps to the splendid Niagara Falls than anything I have seen. This fall is the only interruption to the navigation of the river to its mouth, a distance of more than 200 miles. The mouth of the St. John is singular. There is a fall at its mouth of full twenty-four feet; and yet large vessels pass up and down through this fall in full sail. I explain, and further illustrate this beautiful circumstance, in the following words from Dr. Gesner, the official geologist of the province:—"The accumulated waters," he says, "of this extensive and deep river, with all its lakes and tributary branches, are here dashed through a narrow gorge, and over a rapidly-inclined plane, into the sea. Interrupted by small islands above, and compelled to pass over huge masses of rocks obstructing the narrow passage, the river, foaming and spouting with tremendous fury, assumes, at making its exit, a most tragical character, threatening with instant death any who may venture upon its troubled bosom. But on the flood-tide the scene is changed; the ocean spreads its mantle over the thundering cataract, and, flowing inwards through the narrow chasm, stills the noisy rapid;—the tide-lock of the falls is shut, and, apparently to oblige the inhabitants, allows them to pass in safety, even with large vessels."
There is in all this a fine exhibition and combination of the majestic and benevolent character of the great Creator and arranger of this world. Surely the earth showeth forth His handy-work, while the heavens declare His glory!—You will please excuse my touching upon this subject, for though it appears extraneous to my objects, yet it is not so altogether; for the Bible frequently draws our attention to these matters, whilst most men, and most Christians, too, sadly overlook them. In my humble estimation, God is about to be more worshipped in His works, in the midst of which we are, than He has been. I do not allude to the Naturalist's worship, but to the Christian's. We dwell in His temple; and scarcely any one says, "See what manner of stones and building are here!" But, as the Bible spreads and is read, our attention will be drawn to these things as they should be; and then shall men be said, with more propriety than now, "to worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Living in the midst of these fountains of waters, I think it a duty at times, in connexion with the Gospel, to draw the attention of an audience to such matters, when I occasionally and unofficially expound—what I always officially give—the word of God. In this province of New Brunswick is very remarkable in this point of view, as the navigation of its various rivers in various directions nearly reach each another. And so it may be said of a great part of this continent. God's benevolence therefore in making these noble highways, this lengthened means of conveyance, calls us here more especially to praise and glorify his name in them.
After this digression, I return to the Grand Falls.—Above these falls the river is navigable, as far perhaps as below them. Below them there are roads on the banks for carriages to go; but above them there are none, and with difficulty a horse can get along. The usual mode of travelling, therefore, is by water, in small canoes, either hollowed out of a tree, or made of the bark of the birch. In going up the river, these canoes are pushed along by a ten-feet pole, in the shallow water close by the river-side; whilst in coming down they take the middle of the river, availing themselves of the stream, and helping it by the paddle. In poling up the margin of the St. John in this way for 38 miles, I had a fine opportunity—and much better than the Welshman had in going along the road—of seeing every larger and smaller stream, and every little brook and rill, pour in their contributions to the great stream. In seeing these, and in marking every one of them as we moved slowly onward, I thought, and often thought, of your great stream, and the Welshman's beautiful figure, and of all your auxiliaries and contributaries. May God give a plentiful rain from heaven, to increase the rills, and the brooks, and the rivers, that flow into your main stream; and also to increase these contributaries in number as well as in magnitude, in order to augment—and greatly and rapidly to augment—your glorious stream; which, though glorious, is still small, yea very small, so that one can wade it easily, with the waters not above the ankles! But such a stream, though it well fertilizes where it goes, only ran benefit, here and there, spots of the large Field—the world—which God intends it to water. Soon may your river reach the loins! soon may it be impassable for man or horse; and become like the great La Plata and Amazon, with their grand outflowing streams of 150 miles wide! Through the latter I have waded, where it did not pass the ankles, on its descent from Chimborazo; and into the grand mouth of the other and out of it once and again I have sailed, where from its centre, for more than 100 miles, neither of its banks could be perceived from its great width. Even at Buenos Ayres, which is 200 miles from the sea, the river is 30 miles in breadth. Shall I live to see your stream 30 miles broad, and grow as familiar with it as I am with the La Plata at Buenos Ayres? At present, though you roll along deep and majestic, yet still one could shoot an arrow across you. We have seen great things in the Bible cause, from year one of your Bible Society age, to year 37. And we have reason, I think, to hope that things will yet take place—and soon—which, from their magnitude in extent and effects, will greatly surprise and delight us all. The Bible Society is still but poorly supported. The great body of Christians are yet in the dark as to its claims. When the mists that envelope them on the subject are dispelled, we shall see a noble company burst forth in the Christian body, to send abroad, among the Heathen, in all their millions and many tongues, the word of light, life, and salvation. Then will your funds rise rapidly, and your issues multiply greatly. At present, you have not, even up to this day, sent forth so much as one entire million to all the Heathen nations together, in all their 600 millions and upwards. You should send to the Heathen yearly one million—two, three, and more. But your funds do not allow it;—and that is the only hindrance, for the Heathen are ready to receive the word of God on almost every hand; and more ready--to our shame!--are they to receive, than we to give. You did well at your last Anniversary the other month to draw attention of the public to the want of attention to the Bible cause.
Your bringing forward the missionary efforts in juxtaposition with Bible efforts was instructive, and I hope it will be impressive upon many. £400,000 for the missionary cause, raised in Britain in one year is glorious, and to God be the glory; but that there should have been in the same time only £50,000 for the Bible cause is inglorious, and to us all be the shame. The truth is, we have all been, as already said, much in the dark on the subject, and not aware of what we should do, or what we actually were doing in these matters. I have often are urged in my little addresses the duty of sending the Bible onwards in company at least with the missionary, and that it ought never to lag behind him, but rather if there is any difference made, that it should be in advance of him, as the Bible can penetrate where the missionary either cannot or dare not, and of this your Extracts for June, just come to hand, afford one of several good illustrations. But through your visible tangible mode of setting the subject forth by figures and sums, you have led me to make calculations by which I see that I am myself, in my little contribution, exactly in the error you describe, and in which there also is the general Christian body. But how shall it be corrected? Shall I withdraw from the missionary societies the annual mites that stand at my name? God forbid that I should! I must then add to you in order to bring things into sorts and due proportions. Please then to desire Mr. Hitchin to change my annual Bible Society subscription to two guineas into five. When I can make the five ten I shall even things better: but in the meantime please receive the error tribute now mentioned.
That is another digression and along one: forgive me; but you see it has cost me something as well as you. I now return into my canoe in the St. John, poling and poling slowly up its pleasant banks. Soon after leaving the Grand Falls we got into the French settlement, and also into the famous disputed territory. But that is no disputed territory for the Bible Society, for all the world is ours, or will soon become so. About 15 miles up we came to the first French chapel, beside which a priest lives. Here then commenced my operations. I had brought from Fredericton 50 French Testaments; and these I had in the canoe with me. I landed, and after some conversation with the priest had my little case of Testaments brought from the canoe to his house. When it was opened and a Testament taken out, I found for I had not seen them before, that the edition was printed for the French and Foreign Bible Society, and that there was no mention of its being printed from a certain authorized addition. The lack of this statement was a good deal objected to by the priest, for he had broken-up one of your publishing in which it is mentioned. However he bought one and paid me for it the price I asked which was a quarter dollar, and this he considered very reasonable or low. I then made him a present of one for the schoolmaster, for there is only one French school in his parish, but it has been so recently established, he said, that none of the children were yet able to use the Testament. This was his excuse for not taking more copies for the school, but I plainly saw he did not like the edition. I think it would be well for you to hit to your friends of the F. & F.B.S. that it would be useful to put in the statement in question, and also to drop the notification should that the book is printed for them, which I should think could be no recommendation of it to the Catholics, for whom of course chiefly it is being De Sacy's version. The priest gave me some tea, which was very acceptable, as it was cold on the River with a strong breeze ahead. Before I parted from the priest I got a useful lesson from him. I happened to mention that it had been in several Catholic countries, and named some of my movements. "Oh!" he said with evident interest, "could I travel about as you do, I should be a happy man." This little envy, so to speak, of my moving life was calculated in a certain way to encourage me in it, or at least to keep me from discouragement in my never ending move; but nevertheless there is a wide difference between never traveling at all, and never resting at all, some happy medium that for the present belongs not to me. But there is rest for the people of God, and if I do not long for it, I look for it, and hope for it.
We now returned to the river, and took our case with us; though, as you have seen, but very little emptied or lightened. However, I was pleased with my interview with the priest; and to have one or two copies well received, was a mighty difference from a stern rejection of the word of God altogether; as is the case, you know, in many places, on the part of the Roman Catholic priests.
We poled till the afternoon, and coming to the house of a Captain Thibideau, whom I traveled with in the stage a short distance some days before, I landed, and went up to his house. After some conversation the Testaments were produced. His wife was much pleased with the Book, and bought one. We again embarked, and I landed next at what is called the Upper Chapel, where I found the priest reading his Breviary under the shade of a tree, for the day had grown hot. This was my main place of hope and of fear. On my mentioning my New Testaments, at first the priest did not seem to feel much interest in regard to them. I told him of the order Father Sigogne gave me last year; and told him of some priests in Canada, personally known to him, whom I had visited, and found very friendly to the use of the Testament among their people and in the schools. He now expressed a wish to see the books. I sent for them : they came, and I gave him one. He was much pleased with it, and the price seemed to him more than reasonable. "I'll take a couple of dozen," he said. I began counting them, whilst he was reading in the one I first gave him. Before I had done, "I'll take another dozen," he said. When the three dozen were all out, I said, "There's only one dozen left; you had better take that too, case and all." He did so: and thus terminated my sales, and my further journeying in that direction. He paid me a quarter-dollar for each copy. Fifty copies were thus sold, besides the one given away; for it seems they had put up for me fifty-one, instead of the fifty, which was a favourable mistake. After some general conversation with the priest, I parted from him, rejoicing and praising God for the success of this little mission. It seemed to as if I had hand about the precise number disposable, for I could not well have disposed of more. I trust this handful of seed will spring up in due time, and be crowned with a yellow waving harvest, to the glory of God, and to the salvation of souls in that place. I may state to you, that in another view, though certainly a secondary one, I was glad of the result of this little enterprise. Some of our good Bible friends below thought I had rather undertaken a wild goose chase on this occasion. However as I thus caught the geese, the account is settled in my favour, and I determine justified.
I ascended to St. John after this a few miles as far as the River Madawaska. On Sunday the 18th I held the service with the British soldiers stationed at the mouth of the river, and particularly recommended to them the duty of taking a share in the great work of distributing God's word over the world.
Having now finished my business in this quarter, I made arrangements for returning. As far down as the Grand Falls, I must of necessity go by water, but on the whole I thought it would be better to go down by water all the way to Woodstock. Accordingly I agreed for a canoe to take me down to that place, a distance of about 120 miles. Early in the morning of the 20th I embarked in my canoe. It was of the kind made of the birch bark, and so small and light as to be easily carried by one man for a considerable distance; and this lightness is one of the advantages of these bark canoes, which facilitates their removal from one navigable stream to another. This smallness however and lightness are as you may suppose, disadvantageous in regard to safety and comfort in sailing in them. The centre of gravity is here a very practical subject, and the having it a little higher than it ought to be would overturn the canoe. Accordingly the passenger has to sit down low in the bottom of the canoe, and then to keep himself prim without much movement to this side or that, and thus and so to sit till the voyage is ended, with the upper half of the body vertical, and the lower half horizontal. There is more penance than pleasure in this posture for 10 or 12 hours, as may be easily understood. To this discomfort must be added the dangers of this little bark in the midst of the stream of a great river, and more particularly in passing through the rapids, several of which are to be encountered. Once and again I had to be admonished, by an exclamation from my boatman, "Take care! You will upset the canoe." Thus prim and then bandaged set out your poor pilgrim, consoling himself with the hope that he had not come to this place in vain. The first part of the voyage was cheered also by reading the abstract of your Report for this year, which came into my hands the evening before at the Madawaska post office. How extensive, and glorious is this work! I could not but say, again and again, as I read and read this your 37th voyage round the world.
In my descent I called on the priest at the Lower Chapel to whom I had sold one Testament, and given another. My object was, to give him a little indirect reproof, which might perhaps be useful to him, and serviceable to our cause, on a future occasion. I wished to tell him how much and how well the other priest, greatly his senior, had done, and thereby to lead him at some other time to do better, by giving the word of God I readier reception and circulation. I accordingly did as I intended, and have good hopes, from what I have perceived, that my purpose would be in some degree accomplished. On parting the priest gave me a bottle of milk, to use with our dry dinner on board. This was very acceptable; and if you will consider the tea I got before, and a bottle of milk now, you will find that we were not badly paid for the gratis Testament bestowed when ascending the River.
Our next place of landing, and from necessity, was at the Grand Falls 38 miles below the Madawaska River. Here our boatman mounted his canoe on his head and shoulders, and so walked with it for a quarter of a mile until we came again to the navigable waters of the River below the falls. Near to this we had several rapids to pass, which was not very pleasant in our nutshell bark. But my canoe-man was well acquainted with them all, and the best way to take them: and through his guidance, and the ever-guidance of God, we got safely through them all.
At the close of the first night we came to the mouth of the Aroostook River, and I felt tired enough with the long painful position in the canoe, and the heat of the weather. Early next morning we started again, having first received the kindness from Mr. Hopkins, the Keeper of the Inn, of no charge either for myself or the canoe-man. This act lightened, I may say, our morning voyage. When the day got up it grew hot, but we glided along in hopes of terminating our voyage in the evening. I called at two places on the way, to speak with individuals interested in our Bible cause, and which I hope will be afterwards useful. About dusk I reached Woodstock, glad and thankful that my voyage of 120 miles in this bark bark had thus closed in safety.
My canoe-man on this occasion, as well as when I ascended from the Grand Falls to the Madawaska River, were both Frenchmen of the Madawaska settlement, and of course Roman Catholics. I preached to them the Bible, as we sailed along, and its grand substance the Lord Jesus Christ. From the manner in which they received what was said, and from their freedom of speaking of, and questioning both the conduct of the priests and their doctrines at several points, it is plain that there is an openness a working on their minds in these matters that indicates a preparedness for a better state of things when those who should shall use better means for the same. In the meantime we prepare the way by circulating among them the word of God. This settlement contains nearly 4000 people. It is divided into three French parishes, with as many chapels and priests: one of the chapels is at present vacant. The French language prevails, but many can speak some English. May God give his blessing with the Holy Scriptures now brought among them, and early, may there be a great awakening here to the Gospel of Christ, for to bring men to the Gospel is the grand end and object of all our Bible circulation.
I now relieve you, and myself, of the toil of this journey, and narrative, and the miscellanea intermixed.
James Thomson.
P.S. and N.B. -- The overlength of this letter is to be compensated for by the shortness of the next. -- Also please to bracket of all extraneous matter.