Rev A Brandram No 85
Sandwich, Upper Canada, 18 July 1839
My dear Friend,
My last letter to you was from Toronto, and dated 23rd May. Since that time I have been moving on westward, and I am at length come to what may be called one extremity of the very large field of operations you have assigned to me. Halifax in Nova Scotia may be considered as the other end of it, which is distant from this place by the Post Road 1550 miles. I bless God for having enabled me thus far to hold on my course, and bless him for all the encouragement I have had hitherto in this Bible field. I would also humbly trust that our gracious God will carry me in due time, and with similar mercies, to the other end of the territory assigned me for visitation. By your prayers, no doubt, I have been helped thus far; and on your prayers I shall count in my further movements.
Westward, as I have said, has been my course since my last. You will know, however, that I do not move on straight geographical lines. Though westward, therefore, as has been the general tending of my course, yet I have also had a good deal of northing and southing. The places I have visited I shall give you; and with a good map you will be able to trace the Bible track you have made since the last details were laid before you. They are as follows:—Hamilton, Barton, Nelson, Dundas, Beverly, Guelph, Galt, Paris, Brantford, Mohawk Indian Village, Burford, Woodstock, Oxford, London, Moravian Town, Chatham, Amherstburg, Sandwich. Some of these places are towns or villages, and some of them are townships. In most of these places meetings have been held, and societies formed—or re-animated, say, where they previously existed. In some cases, our meetings have been very good, that is, numerously attended : in other instances it has not been so. The long days and the constant field labours have been against us, as to the attendance at our meetings. In all cases, however, I may say, with the greatest truth, your object has been well received; and a general and cheerful feeling has been manifested, to cooperate with you in your endeavours to spread the Bible over all this country, and to bring it into every house, great and small. In all the lesser societies we have formed or re-formed, embracing a village or township, we have planned for the actual visitation of every human habitation within the particular spheres respectively of these Bible Associations. Our object is, with exactness, to ascertain where the Bible is, and is not; and where it is not, to bring it into these said destitute houses, by all and the best means that can be devised and used for that desirable end. We project, also, to collect something, if it were but one penny a year, from every house or individual actually in possession of a Bible, in order to throw these mites and sums into your general fund, to aid you in sending the Scriptures to all nations, in their several tongues. Our Branch Bible Societies embrace a larger field, and include several of these Township and Village Bible Associations. In forming these Branches, we are a good deal guided by the civil divisions of the country into "districts;" although circumstances at times oblige us to depart from this general rule. The whole of these Branch Bible Societies we wish to hook on, as I may say, to the Society at Toronto, which we would consider the centre of Bible Society operations in Upper Canada.
This country, you are too well aware, is exceedingly divided and distracted, both on political and religious grounds. To guide your Bible chariot in and through the midst of these twofold contentions requires, as you may well suppose, some care. The spirit of the Bible should be our polar star and this spirit is peace and goodwill towards men. In this spirit we may sail safely and successfully through very troubled waters. Your bark carries that which is for the healing of all nations and peoples, in all their evils; and as you touch in this and that port, you discharge not goods, but good; and manifest therefore it is, that you should do all this in the spirit of goodness, and of righteousness and truth. Oh, let us pray for one another, my brother and all my dear brethren, that we may have grace ever to act in all consistency with our sacred object, in all our doings in the high concerns of the kingdom of God in which we are engaged; and that we may be able to please God and to please men, in holy and happy combination, as the Bible directs!
Your Bible object has acted like a talisman as far as I have yet seen in my movements through this country, and has charmed nearly all of all classes and sides into at least a temporary unity. May God make it a perpetual one on earth, and eternal one in heaven! I could easily particularise names who have particularised themselves in their favour, and I may say affection, for your cause, but this would lead me into too much length. I must however give you one name, and because of its standing in close connection in more ways than one with the chief name of your society list. A few miles from Woodstock lives Admiral Vansittart, first cousin to Lord Bexley. I called on him and stopped three days at his house, coming and going meanwhile to places adjacent. The Admiral has a true Vansittart spirit, a Bible spirit, and is and has been long imbued with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, in whom he rests and rejoices. Your agent received every kind attention from Admiral Van at sittart, and was moved by him and his vehicles from place to place in the pursuit of his objects, and through the aid also of his eldest son Mr. John Vansittart, on whom the spirit of his father, the Spirit of God has recently and I trust powerfully fallen. The Admiral is president of the Woodstock Bible Society. He is anxious to see the Society in a prosperous state, and is most willing to labour in conjunction with all around him of all sorts and sides in order to enlarge and make fruitful the Bible institution over which he presides.
In this place and quarter from which I now write you, the westernmost part of Upper Canada, the majority by far of the inhabitants are French, as in the Lower Province. You will be pleased to hear that the French children read the New Testament at school. I hope, when our Bible Societies in this place and Amherstburg are in full operation, that the Bible will find its way into the houses of the Catholics. By our plan every house is to be visited, French and English, that all may have the Book of Life, if they will.
In my last letter I begged you would have the goodness to send out to the Montreal people the same quantities and kinds as requested in my letter of 20th. December last, and to send them out in good time that they might arrive before the St. Lawrence navigation closes for the season. I now mentioned this that the notice may serve as a kind of duplicate to that letter. Mr. Wilkes has I understand written you to add to that order a portion of brevier and minion Testaments. Be so good as to send these accordingly, and also be pleased to add 1000 Sunday School Bibles and 2000 Sunday School Testaments. I find in my movements that this description of Bible and Testament will be required to a considerable extent. These are partly for our Reports, and partly for general use.
I learned by notices from Montreal of the arrival of a stock of Bibles, and of their being sent out in ample quantities in different directions. That is a serious complaint forwarded to me on account of a defect in the invoice from Earl Street, as the different kinds and quantities in each case are not marked, so that as they write me the preparing of a supply, which with a good invoice might not have cost above three hours, has cost three days hard labour. I feel ashamed to notice the subject anew to you, as I wrote so particularly and as I thought strongly about it not long before leaving Jamaica. In former times also I requested attention to this matter with minuteness and urgency in whatever shipments might be made to places with which I was concerned. Surely you should have a standing order to have your invoices always made up so as to express the sorts and the quantity in each and every case that is packed in your stores. At least so it appears to me. Pray forgive my re-noticing this point. The labour arising from the defect in question has not in this instance fallen upon me, and I am therefore at liberty to be more frank in my statement of blame and off request.
I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your letter of 15th April. It came into my hands on 1st June: and since that letter has been received jointly written by Mr. Hitchin and Mr. Jackson, I acknowledge also the receipt of the Record newspaper of 2nd May which I suppose you sent. This paper contains a report of your annual meeting on 1st May. You may be sure I read over this article from beginning to end with much care and interest. God be praised who has honoured you so much in his work, and is still honouring you in so marked manner. Oh that we may be all stimulated by his goodness to labour with more zeal, wisdom and humility in this that a sacred cause.
On the 10th and 11th instant I found myself once more among my old and good friends the Moravians. The establishment at which I was is generally denominated by the people around Moravian Town, though the proper and characteristic name of it is New Fairfield. It is situated on the south side of the River Thames about 40 miles from its mouth, and is the only missionary station of the Moravians in Canada. It is exclusively an Indian mission, and the tribe is the Delawares. The number of Indians there at present is 127, but formerly there was more than double that number, the major part having gone off to a Delaware station in the States a couple of years ago under the influence of one of their chiefs named Kunkapot. My first introduction to this tribe of Indians was on getting off the stage at two o'clock in the morning on the 10th at a solitary Indian house on the north side of the River. I was half welcomely received at this unseasonable hour. I had a sound and comfortable sleep on the floor till the morning light, and soon after I was ferried over the river in a small canoe by my host, and after a few minutes walk I was introduced to the Rev. Mr. Luckenbach who has been stationed there for 19 years. I felt myself, as you may suppose, quite at home in this establishment, and I had the gratification of communicating various circumstances to our friends respecting their missions in the West Indies, which were new to them in this isolated place: and I had it in my power also to inform them concerning several of their personal friends, whom I had met with in my movements, and particularly of one who had been some years in this very spot, and whose house I had been in on different occasions in Jamaica. The missionary colleagues of Mr. Luckenbach is Mr. Bachman. These two worthy men of God, with their two wives, conduct the church, and I may say the State, of this Indian establishment, being only chargeable in all into the missionary society with which they are connected to the amount of 200 dollars annually.
Soon after breakfast I have the pleasure of meeting a number of the Indians in their Chapel to the amount of 80 of all ages. This was their usual morning service. The average attendance is about 30, the missionaries informed me, but the sound of the stranger's arrival well on trebled the usual number. I saluted these Red Men as my brethren, being all made, as I said to them, of one blood by the God and Father of all. I then went over the several items of our natural sinful state, of the redemption of man by the glorious all-efficient sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the way in which we are to walk so as to please God who has formed us, and redeemed us, and dwells in us. I drew their attention to the Bible as God's book of directions for us all of whatever colour or condition. I closed with this, saying when we met again I should tell them many things especially about this Bible. All my discourse was delivered in sections, as I may say, and at the close of each one of the Indians interpreted to the audience what I had said.
On the following day at the same hour we met again, and had what I might call, a Bible meeting, and with the intention of forming, should the thing take with the Indians, a Bible Association among them. I may well say, "should the thing take," for the Indians under very suspicious and shrewd people, and for the stranger to endeavour to lead and induce them to give away money at all, and especially to give it to persons and for an object unknown to them, was rather a venturesome task. I felt it so, and tried to manage things in the wisest manner I could, in all truth and righteousness. God waved his hand over them, and the thing took to admiration. The Indians formed themselves into a Bible Association forth with, and cheerfully. When I had done speaking I desired them to talk among themselves upon the subject, and to conclude for or against the thing propose to them just as they felt inclined. They talked with each other, and Mr. Luckenbach shortly address them, and the result was as I have stated, the formation of a Bible Association. I had suggested to them, should they agree to the proposal brought before them, that they should subscribe half a dollar each year, or Schilling, or less, just as they were disposed and had means. One of the Chiefs have his name put down first, and neglecting my suggestion of half a dollar, of his own pure accord, and said, put me down for a dollar. The second chief then said, put me down also for dollar. The interpreter was the third person called upon; and he said, I will give two dollars, because I can read. The fourth individual said, I have given away a good deal of money for bad purposes, I will now give something for a good purpose, put me also down for two dollars. Several others followed for lesser sums, but above what could have well been expected.
At the close of our speeching, and just as we were beginning to put down subscriptions, all the women decamped, which led one of the men to say, that the Squaws went off as soon as they have heard of the money. I must justify the Squaws however, alias Indian women. It is true they did all move off, two excepted, when money was spoken of; but after we had taken down all the men's names who subscribed, and had retired to the house, by and by came in a Squaw of her own proper accord, and for the purpose of having her name put down as a subscriber. She had a dollar put down for herself, and then she gave the names of her two children for one shilling each. Another Squaw came in some little time after, and had her name put down for three shillings, then one of her children for a shilling, a second for the same sum, then a third, a fourth, and a face. Other women followed, and had their own and their children's names put down. The putting down of their children's names was their own suggestion, and they did so remarking that they wished that their children should have a blessing through a participation in this good work as well as themselves. On one of the occasions when we were taking down the names of these women and their children, a woman present said she had nothing to give, or she would have her name put down also. On second thoughts she said she could make a broom for which she would get sixpence, put me down, said she, for sixpence. Another woman present then said, I can make two brooms, put me down for a shilling. Lastly a man came in to subscribe who also had not been it meeting at all, but who had matters rehearsed to him by some of the other Indians. Other individuals we heard of also who intimated that they would subscribe. The missionaries are to bring the subject for their before the people, and in the course of a week or 10 days they are to write me giving me the names and sums of all the subscribers. When I get this paper I will send you a copy of it. Thus was formed our second Bible Society among the Red men, the aborigines of North America. I hope we shall have others added to them in due time. These two attempts have succeeded wonderfully, and are very encouraging. Pray ye, my friends, especially, that blessings may be upon these Indians will thus come forward in the Lords work, and by his own spirit moving them to act in a manner so contrary to their natural turn of disposition. I promised them a blessing, help me that they may obtain it.
And now in closing this letter, I pray for a blessing to be on you, My dear Friend, and in all your co-labourers in Earl Street. I humbly trust that your prayers will, by the blessing of our God, greatly avail to the strengthening of your poor agent in every way, for in every way he needs it.
I am your Faithful and Affectionate Friend,
James Thomson.