Produced by David T. Jones, Ross Cooling, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) [Illustration: ACROSS THE PRAIRIE F.H.E. HASELL] ACROSS THE PRAIRIE IN A MOTOR CARAVAN [Illustration: THE CANADIAN DOMINION IN DIOCESES _By permission of S.P.G._ _Frontispiece_] ACROSS THE PRAIRIE IN A MOTOR CARAVAN A 3,000 MILE TOUR BY TWO ENGLISHWOMEN ON BEHALF OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION BY F. H. EVA HASELL IN COLLABORATION WITH J. F. S. WITH 18 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE NEW YORK AND TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN CO. 1922 TO AYLMER BOSANQUET WHOSE SELF-SACRIFICE, DEEP SPIRITUALITY, AND FAR-SEEING VISION INSPIRED THIS VENTURE, THIS BOOK IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN LETTER FROM HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. Lambeth Palace, London, S.E. Dear Miss Hasell, I happen to have read the proof sheets of the little book which is to record the story of your work and Miss Ticehurst's in the prairie tracts of Canada, and I should like to tell you how glad I am that the account of these eventful journeyings should be accessible to the public. People realise too little what are the opportunities and responsibilities of pioneer days in those incomparable regions. The perseverance, the indomitable energy, and the buoyant hope which your pages record and inspire will have a place in the annals of that vast seed plot and cradle of a great nation that is to be. I am, Yours very truly, RANDALL CANTUAR. _October 5th, 1922._ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE CALL OF THE PRAIRIE 1 II. PREPARATIONS AND DEPARTURE 7 III. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE U.S.A. AND CANADA 10 IV. LIFE IN A LITTLE PRAIRIE TOWN 17 V. IN REGINA 22 VI. THE MOTOR CARAVAN 28 VII. THE PRAIRIE TRAILS 33 VIII. FROM WINNIPEG TO REGINA 36 IX. SANDSTORMS AND SUNDAY SCHOOLS 42 X. ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES 51 XI. SOME ASPECTS OF PRAIRIE LIFE 55 XII. MISSIONS AND MUD HOLES 62 XIII. FURTHER PRAIRIE SKETCHES 71 XIV. A CAMPING TRIP IN THE ROCKIES 78 XV. ON THE RETURN JOURNEY 81 XVI. AMONG THE PRAIRIE FARMS 86 XVII. BACK TO REGINA 93 XVIII. AN INDIAN RESERVE 98 XIX. HEADED FOR HOME 100 XX. SOME PRESENT-DAY NEEDS OF THE PRAIRIE 104 APPENDIX 112 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION IN DIOCESES _Frontispiece_ THE CARAVAN AND HER CREW } } THE INTERIOR OF THE VAN } _Facing page_ 28 } TIDYING UP } } A SHACK ON THE MOVE } DIGGING OUT THE WHEEL } } THE TENT, AND MY ASSISTANTS AT LOREBURN } } HOUSEHOLD TASKS } " " 48 } MR. M. AND HIS MOTOR-CYCLE ON THE RAIL } WAY TRACK } A PRAIRIE SCHOOL } } A MAPLE-LEAF TEACHER AND HER PUPILS } } PRAIRIE SCHOLARS } " " 71 } A YOUNG HERDSMAN } } THE AVENUE AT BANFF, ALBERTA } LAKE LOUISE } } LUMBER ON THE BOW RIVER } } SLINGING HAY INTO THE BARN } " " 80 } THE CHURCH ON THE INDIAN RESERVE } ACROSS THE PRAIRIE IN A MOTOR CARAVAN CHAPTER I THE CALL OF THE PRAIRIE The diocese of Qu'Appelle, in the province of Saskatchewan, Western Canada, is so named from the Indian story which tells of the maiden who lay dying, calling piteously for her lover. He, far off in his canoe on the Saskatchewan River, suddenly heard a voice, and answered: "Qu'Appelle." The voice came again, and then he knew it for that of his beloved, and made all speed to her side. But, alas! when he reached her she was dead. _Qu'Appelle_ is a suggestive title and indicative of the call which so many have heard from the prairie provinces, a twofold call, urging some to earthly and some to spiritual husbandry. Some account of the Western Canada of to-day may be useful here. The exigencies of life on the prairie tend to make men think rather of building greater barns than of that day when their souls shall be required of them. When a man with little capital takes up a prairie "section" he is gambling with fortune, the welfare of his nearest and dearest being at stake. At the same time it is a worthy venture, a response to the age-old command to till the earth and subdue it; and it is often the only way whereby a man may become his own master, a landowner, and one who, in developing the treasures of the earth, adds materially to the well-being of his fellows. For the wheat from the prairies of Western Canada is the hardest and finest in the world. The prospective settler buys a section (640 acres), a half or a quarter section, as the case may be, and, helped by a loan from the Government for the purchase of implements, ploughs and sows the virgin soil, building a shack for himself and his family. The first three years are touch and go. Drought in early summer or torrential storms in harvest will effectually ruin the crops, but when once a good crop is raised the profit is very satisfactory. The perils of drought and storm, however, always remain, though with increasing capital the risk is lessened. The life is one long wrestling-bout--man's brain and muscle pitted against the forces of nature; but when he is victorious the reward is great. It is a virile country peopled with virile men (for only the strong can "make good" out there). But these men have already realised that man cannot live by bread alone. Close to nature, man feels the presence of God. The wide sweep of the prairie, enamelled with a thousand flowers or gilded with the ripened corn; the vast dome of the sky; the glorious sunsets and awful storms--all make men conscious of the power and might and majesty of the Supreme Being. So that beneath the feverish search for wealth there is a deep, if unrealised, thirst for the things of God. But many of these sheep have been for years without a shepherd, and such knowledge of religion as they once possessed has been choked by the cares of this world; and their children--the men and women of the future on whom so much depends--are growing up in many places without any religious teaching at all. One result of this state of things is that there is no Christian public opinion on which to start this new country. It is even said that it is not unusual to hear men boast: "We cheat others before they cheat us." Another terrible result is that, unrestrained by spiritual forces, the animal instincts have gained the upper hand and immorality is rife. In the _Bulletin of Social Service in Saskatchewan_ for June 1, 1920, under the heading: "Some Measures Urgently Needed," No. 10 runs: "Higher standards in our laws regarding sex offences. Ours are the lowest in the Empire, due to the Senate's repeated rejection of amending measures." A disintegrating factor in the religious and moral life of Western Canada is no doubt to be found in the mixture of races and the resultant intermarriages. Almost every race and sect is represented. There are about eighty different religions, including many eccentric and obscure sects such as "Daniel's Band," "Doukhobors," and "Holy Rollers." According to the census of 1916 the Christian churches in Saskatchewan are numerically strong in the following order: Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran, Greek Church, Baptist. The proportion of Anglicans has probably increased since then. In 1910 the Archbishop of Rupertsland appealed to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to send out clergy to attend to the needs of the numerous British settlers who were pouring into the country. (Between 1900 and 1920 one million two hundred and fifty thousand persons have emigrated from Great Britain to Canada.) The Archbishops' Western Canada Fund was the answer to this appeal. The cause interested me extremely, and I became one of the collectors for the diocese of Carlisle. This diocese raised £3,000 and built St. Cuthbert's Hostel in Regina, and later raised another £1,000 towards the £50,000 needed for the endowment of the Western Canada missions. Three missions were started by the Fund in Edmonton, Southern Alberta, and Saskatchewan respectively, but we are only concerned with the latter. In this province many small towns had sprung up owing to the great influx of immigrants (mostly British) and to the rapid railway construction, while the surrounding prairie was dotted with isolated farms and hamlets. It was with the special needs of these people that the Regina Railway Mission had to deal. Accordingly, several clergy and laymen went out from England, made the hostel at Regina their headquarters, and visited the surrounding country. They lived in one-roomed shacks, doing their own "chores," and often driving about eighty miles on a Sunday in order to take four services a day. They returned to the hostel once a quarter for spiritual refreshment, rest, and discussion of their work with the head of the Mission and with each other. Meanwhile, a pioneer movement was on foot in the Old Country. At St. Christopher's College, Blackheath, a specialised training in the matter and method of religious education had been inaugurated for women prepared to undertake this branch of social service. I was asked to become Diocesan Sunday School Organiser for the diocese of Carlisle, and went to train at St. Christopher's in 1914. There I met Miss Aylmer Bosanquet and Miss Nona Clarke, and was naturally very interested to find that these new acquaintances were anxious to go out to Regina and do Sunday-school work in connection with the Railway Mission. A firm friendship resulted from this common interest. Aylmer Bosanquet's plan was to go out with Nona Clarke and live on the prairie, working amongst the children and supplementing the work of the clergy in any other possible way. She proposed to finance the expedition entirely herself. At first the Secretary for the Archbishops' Western Canada Fund was very dubious about accepting her generous offer, having been out in Canada himself, and knowing that life in a prairie shack is exceedingly hard for gently nurtured women. But Aylmer Bosanquet was so urgent that at last she won the day, and she and Nona Clarke went out to Regina in 1915. They established themselves at Kenaston, where they lived in a three-roomed shack and did all their own work, even to the grooming of the buggy horses. The women missioners went up to Regina once a quarter, when the clergy and laymen met to discuss their work. They brought valuable contributions to the matter in hand. They had found great ignorance amongst the children, some of whom did not even know the Lord's Prayer. At their first Christmas they found several children who had never heard of the birth of Christ. All that the holy season meant to them was contained in the nursery legend of Father Christmas. This ignorance is largely due to there being no Scripture teaching in the public elementary schools, although there is a clause in the Saskatchewan Education Act which says that the last half-hour of every day may be given to Scripture teaching if the trustees are agreed. Unfortunately, they seldom do agree in this matter, as they usually belong to different religious bodies. Nor is there any religious teaching in the collegiate schools (which correspond with English high schools), even in Regina, the capital of the province. The following answer was given by a collegiate girl in a secular examination: "When William the Conqueror went to England he found no code of laws, and so he drew up the Ten Commandments." After about four years of strenuous work, Aylmer Bosanquet fell ill, and was obliged to go into a nursing home at Toronto for a serious operation. In the quiet time of convalescence her thoughts were busy with the work so dear to her, and she began to consider the problem of the many children in the enormous diocese of Qu'Appelle, who had no Sunday school, and who could not be reached by rail or buggy from the existing centres. She felt that the future of the Anglican Church in Canada depended upon the religious training of these children, and an idea came to her whereby these isolated places might be reached. Her plan was that trained women should go out on to the prairie, two and two, in caravans during the season when the trails are passable. They would gather the children together and start Sunday schools, training teachers to carry them on. In the winter they would return to some central town, whence they would keep in touch with the quite isolated children by means of the Sunday School by post. They would also lecture locally and give demonstration lessons. Many of these trained women would be needed if all the children on the prairie were to be reached. It would be necessary at first to recruit from England, but later it might be possible to develop a movement already started, but which had had to be temporarily abandoned for lack of a suitable head--namely, a training college for the Dominion of Canada on the lines of St. Christopher's, Blackheath. Aylmer Bosanquet wrote to me describing her new plan. She was very anxious to see it in operation, for the diocese of Qu'Appelle alone covers 92,000 square miles (about twice the size of England), and two women, though with the best will in the world, could do comparatively little in that immense area. The project of caravanning on the prairie in the interests of religious education appealed to me very strongly, and as Aylmer Bosanquet soon afterwards came home to England to recuperate, we were able to discuss the matter together. Her idea was to have a horse caravan which should be moved on from place to place by the farmers. But as I have lived all my life in an agricultural district, I knew the difficulties consequent on wanting the use of farm horses in seed-time and harvest--the very seasons when the trails are open--and I also knew that horses could never cover the necessary distances. In my own diocesan work, which took me to little out-of-the-way villages among the fells of Cumberland and Westmorland, I had found it necessary to use a car, and I therefore felt it would be best to have a motor caravan. It would be worse than useless to take a motor-car on to the rough prairie trails unless one had had long driving experience and done a considerable amount of running repairs. To learn to drive one year and to go out the next would probably mean finding yourself in a tight corner. As I had been allowed to use our cars throughout the War, in connection with my Sunday school work and a V.A.D. hospital, I had fortunately gained a good deal of practical experience, especially as it was necessary to drive in all weathers, day and night, over the steep hills of the Lake District. When these hills were covered in ice your car would run backwards or skid and come down sideways, and these happenings were a useful preparation for the steep, sandy banks of the trail, where the wheels could not grip. Then, too, as our chauffeur was called up and mechanics were scarce, we had to do our own repairs. The diocese having consented to my being absent for six months, I found a substitute to carry on my work, and began my preparations for the prairie tour. CHAPTER II PREPARATIONS AND DEPARTURE The first idea was to buy one of the Red Cross motor ambulances then being sold off in London, but transport difficulties made it impossible to take one across. Meanwhile Aylmer Bosanquet, having returned to Canada, found that the Saskatchewan Bible Society had a Ford caravan in which a man could live and sleep, travelling about the province with Bibles. Also, Archdeacon Burgett, the Diocesan Missioner for Qu'Appelle, was having a Ford caravan built for two of his mission clergy. She sent me details of these vans, and I asked her to order me a similar one, the interior fittings to be decided upon when I came out in the spring. The next thing to do was to find a fellow-worker for the tour; and this was by no means easy, for she must not only have been trained at St. Christopher's and be physically strong, but she must be prepared to pay her own expenses, there being as yet no fund to finance the venture. Fortunately, however, an experienced ex-student, Miss Winifred Ticehurst, offered to go. She had trained at St. Christopher's soon after its foundation, and had since had considerable experience in Sunday-school and parish work. Then came the difficulty of getting passages and passports. These would never have been granted had we not been able to prove that we were going out to work. After the trials consequent on a visit to Cook's agent the following incident in the current _Punch_ seemed peculiarly apposite. Scene: The office of a travel bureau. Clerk (helping nervous-looking lady to fill up form): "And the address of the nearest relation to whom the body may be sent if found dead?" I intended to travel via New York, in order to visit some cousins. I had heard of the fame of the U.S.A. Sunday-schools, and wished to see some of them. I also hoped to meet Dr. Gardner, the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Department of Religious Education for the American Episcopal Church. It was therefore necessary to get my passport visaed at the American Consulate, and on presenting the customary letter of recommendation from a clergyman I was much amused when the clerk eyed me suspiciously and remarked: "A letter from a clergyman is nothing to go by. They are so easily taken in." The question of equipment had taken considerable thought, and the result seems worth setting down, in view of its possible service to others. The chief items were: a motorist's 1919 tent with bamboo poles, sleeping-bags, a double Primus stove and a Tommy cooker, a ferrostate flask and two thermos flasks, canvas buckets, clothes both for winter and summer (landworkers' suits for driving the caravan, which, unfortunately, the Canadians regarded as displaying an undue amount of "limb"!). Then, for use in the prairie schools, sets of Nelson's pictures and Sunday School Institute models (given me by the Girls' Diocesan Association for Carlisle diocese), and a case of books of graded lesson courses and a quantity of postcard pictures of "The Hope of the World" and "The New Epiphany." A tip from an experienced traveller proved most useful. This was to fasten the packing-cases with bands of tin nailed on, instead of with ropes, as the latter frequently break when the cases are swung aboard ship, scattering the contents on deck. In February, 1920, we embarked at Liverpool for New York. Winifred Ticehurst was to meet me at the boat, and my feelings may be imagined as the time drew on, the friends seeing me off had to leave, and still no fellow-traveller appeared. At last, five minutes before they raised the gangway, she ran up, breathless. Her passport had not been dated in London, and they had sent her back from the boat to get it dated at the American Consulate in Liverpool. It was an ill-omened opening for her voyage, which proved one of great discomfort, as she was more or less ill for a week. She managed to write descriptive letters, all the same, and the following extract is a vivid portrait of our fellow-travellers (we went second-class to save expense). "The young men and maidens . . . sit about on one another's laps, and the correct way to get ready for lunch is, when you hear the gong, to part yourself from your companion, pull a comb out of your pocket and do your hair--then you are ready." I did not suffer from sea-sickness myself, and never missed a meal. Indeed, the waiters seemed greatly intrigued at my appetite, and I fancy, from the way they pressed the various courses, that they were betting on how much I could eat! A day or two before we reached New York there was a horrid orgy on board. Knowing that they were entering a "dry" country, many of the passengers got drunk, shouting and raging all night long, so that one could not sleep. On the prairie I afterwards found other ill-effects of prohibition--the smuggling of spirits and excessive drug-taking, the latter chiefly amongst women. Before passing such laws it surely would have been advisable to have created a stronger public opinion to support them. Otherwise there is danger of finding two evils in the place of one. On the other hand, future generations should benefit greatly by this measure, however imperfectly it now works. It seems improbable that the health and industrial prosperity of non-prohibition countries will equal those of "dry" countries. The day before we entered New York we got into the end of a blizzard. There was a tremendously high sea, and we moved very little that day. We received a wireless message from a ship just out of a Canadian port which had struck a rock in the storm, but we were too far off to go to her assistance. Our stay in New York proved to be an amazing and exhilarating experience. The palatial manner in which, in a private house, one is assigned one's own "compartments," would have satisfied Mr. Salteena; and the restaurants are a paradise for the discerning palate. A brief but thorough experience of American luxury in a great city was, from its very contrast, a fitting prelude to the rough life of the prairie. You get a more complete picture with strongly-drawn lights and shades. CHAPTER III RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE U.S.A. AND CANADA There is a very remarkable system of religious education in New York, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, and many other cities. The entire educational work of the Church in the United States is under the direction of the Department of Religious Education of the National Council (called in the United States "The Presiding Bishop and Council"). The Department of Education has several divisions: Theological Seminaries, Church Boarding Schools (the same as Public Schools in England), Church Sunday Schools, Week-day Schools, work among students in State Universities, Pageantry, etc. All Church School teachers are urged to go to Normal Schools. These are successfully operated in New York City, Boston, Detroit, and Cleveland. The teacher attends the Normal School once a month and receives instruction from an expert in Child Study, Psychology, and Methods, and also has an opportunity to discuss the outlines and illustrations for the four lessons which are to be taught the following month. The lesson material is from the Christian Nurture Series. This Series is a most up-to-date graded course for children from four to seventeen years of age. Week-day schools are provided for children who are excused from the public schools (that is, the great schools supported entirely by State funds) for one hour or more each week for religious instruction under the Church of his parents' affiliation. These schools stand for the co-operation of the Church and State in the education of the child. The State does not technically release the child for religious instruction, but honours the request of the parent and excuses the child for extra educational work desired by the parent. It is realised in America that religious education cannot be successful without the co-operation of the parents, therefore the Christian Nurture Series provides a "Monthly Letter to Parents" to be forwarded regularly by the teacher. These letters explain clearly what is required for the preparation of each Sunday's lesson during the week. Social gatherings are also arranged for the parents from time to time, at which an address is given bearing upon the importance of the religious training of the child, and calculated to enlist parental interest and co-operation. An interesting example of the practical application of these principles was afforded by a visit to what we should call in England an "upper class" Sunday School. I had already met the superintendent, Miss Warren, and she had explained one most interesting feature of her system--namely, that each month she held a staff meeting of parents and teachers to discuss the lesson, the children, and the school. In each department of the school there was a superintendent; a grade leader who ensured a continual supply of teachers (absentees having to send in their names to her beforehand); a teacher and an assistant teacher for each class, the latter being there to learn her art; and a pupil teacher to hear the memory work. Some of the teachers received a salary, and all the children paid a small entrance fee. These fees, however, did not suffice for expenses, owing to the very good apparatus in use, but the deficit was made up by the church. A conspicuous feature of the school was a large diagram which hung near the superintendent's table. It consisted of five rings: the small central circle represented "Parish and Home," the next ring "Community," the next "Diocese," the next "Nation," and the outer ring "The World." At the end of the session an appeal was made by the secretary each Sunday for one of the above "fields of service," which took the form of a stirring address on the need for supporting the work. The secretaries were always some of the elder pupils, and their appeals were remarkably well expressed for such young persons. After the address the secretaries of each class were asked to vote a sum of money for the cause, which they did after discussion with their class-mates. The school had a choir of girls led by a talented musician, and they all united to teach the children hymns. Miss Warren took me to see Dr. Gardner, and, considering the excellence of the system at which the American religious educationist aims, it was encouraging to find him taking great interest in the proposed caravan tour. He even went so far as to ask for details of the plan, and to request that an account might be sent to him for publication. On the appearance of this article he appealed for volunteers and money in order to start a similar campaign on the plains of the U.S.A., where no religious instruction was at present provided for the children. After ten days in New York, we went on to stay with friends in Toronto. Here we took the opportunity of inquiring into the methods of, and opportunities for, religious education in Canada. We were greatly helped in this by an introduction to the Rev. Dr. Hiltz, General Secretary of the General Board of Religious Education for the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada. The following is a summary of the information given by him or gleaned from other sources. Under the British North America Act of 1867 the right to legislate on matters respecting education was reserved exclusively to the Provincial Legislatures subject to the maintenance of the rights and privileges of the denominational and separate schools as existing at the time of the union or admission of provinces to the union. This gave to the Roman Catholics in the Province of Ontario the right to have separate schools, and to the Protestants in the Province of Quebec a similar right. In other provinces of the Dominion, with the exception of Saskatchewan and Alberta, however, separate public schools have no legal standing. The right to have separate schools in the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan was conceded to these provinces when they were admitted to the Dominion. So far as religious education in the public schools in Canada is concerned, the following brief summary will give some idea of the situation and at the same time strongly emphasise the need. In _Nova Scotia_ the matter is largely in the hands of the local authorities. So long as no one objects, religious instruction may be given in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the supporters of the school. In _New Brunswick_ schools _may_ be opened with the reading of Scripture and the use of the Lord's Prayer, but as this regulation is permissive only, everything depends upon the individual teacher. In _Prince Edward Island_ the reading of the Bible at the opening of school is authorised. In _Quebec_ in the Protestant schools the first half-hour of each day is devoted to religious exercises and instruction in morals and Scripture. In _Ontario_ the public school _must_ be opened with the reading of Scripture and the repeating of the Lord's Prayer, or the prayer authorised by the Department. Religious instruction may be given by the clergyman to the pupils of his denomination once a week after school hours. In _Manitoba_ ministers of the various religious communions have the right to go into the schools at 3.30 once a week and give the children religious instruction. In _Saskatchewan_ and _Alberta_ the School Board may permit religious instruction to be given during the last half-hour of the day, and may direct that the school be opened with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer. In _British Columbia_ no provision is made for religious instruction, but the Lord's Prayer may be used in opening and closing the school. In most large towns and many villages of the Dominion of Canada there are well-organised Sunday schools. Some of the dioceses have in the past had Diocesan Sunday School Organisers. The Diocese of Rupert's Land was a pioneer in this direction, and the Dioceses of Toronto and Huron have also had such officials. The City of Ottawa for several years had a resident Anglican Sunday School Organiser, an ex-student of St. Christopher's College. The religious educational work of the Church in Canada is organised under the General Synod, the General Board of Religious Education being the officially appointed body for the promotion of this work. It began as a Sunday School Commission in 1908, but in 1918 was enlarged to a Board of Religious Education. Its work falls into five departments, namely: 1. _The Department of Parochial Education._ This department concerns itself with: (_a_) Religious education through the agency of the home. (_b_) Religious education through the agency of the Sunday School. (_c_) Religious education through the agency of Adult Bible Classes and Young People's organisations. 2. _The Department of Religious Education in Public and Private Schools._ This department concerns itself with religious education in public and high schools and in church boarding schools. 3. _The Department of Teacher Training._ This department concerns itself with: (_a_) The training of teachers and officers in the local Sunday School. (_b_) Teacher training in church boarding schools. (_c_) Training for leadership in provincial normal schools. (_d_) The training of students in our theological colleges in religious pedagogy. 4. _The Lantern Slide Department._ This department concerns itself with the promotion of educational work through the medium of the lantern in all branches of the Church's activities. 5. _The Editorial Department._ This department concerns itself with the providing of suitable material for use in the promotion of religious education through the other departments, including the preparation and publication of the necessary lesson helps for teachers and pupils. In connection with the work of the Parochial Department, an interesting attempt has been made to reach the people in the scattered districts through what is known as "The Sunday School by Post." This is practically the only way in which isolated families can be helped who are too far away to make attendance at Sunday school possible, and too few in numbers to support a school of their own. This Sunday School by Post sends out monthly and weekly graded lesson helps, each lesson having its own illustrations, questions, memory work, prayers, and Bible readings for each week. The parents are asked to see that the child has ample opportunity to do the written work, and this is returned to the Diocesan Secretary for the Sunday School by Post for examination and correction. Sunday School by Post secretaries are now working in the Dioceses of Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Edmonton, and Athabasca, and, now that the General Board of Religious Education has a western field secretary at work, in the person of the Rev. W. Simpson, it is hoped that other dioceses may be led to establish work similar to this to reach the church people in the more distant settlements. Without some such help as this the parents usually find it impossible to give their children religious instruction. They have little time for thought or study, and have frequently forgotten what they once knew. But their interest is very keen when roused, as the following incident proves. In one of the public schools, during the history hour, the teacher read part of the story of Joseph, but not having time to read the whole of it promised to finish it next day. One child, thrilled by the story and impatient for the end, went home and asked his parents if they could finish it for him. "Joseph!" they said, "Joseph! Surely we have heard that name somewhere." At last they remembered that it was a biblical name. A long search finally revealed the Bible, dusty from long neglect, and a further search discovered the story, which was read with intense interest by parents and child alike. When the latter went to school next day he proudly told his class-mates how the fascinating adventure ended. In connection with the Parochial Department, much is also being done for the training of boys and girls of the "teen" age. With a view to meeting the needs of these young people, a Council on Boys' Work, a Council on Girls' Work, and a Council on Young People's Work have been formed, whose chief task it is to prepare and issue definite programmes of mid-week activities for organised groups of older boys and girls and young people. The plan which is largely followed is that known as the fourfold plan, the aim being to develop these adolescents physically, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. The programmes are of such a character that they can be worked out through any type of organisation desired, whether it is with an organised class in Sunday School, a Boy Scout or Girl Guide Troop, Trail Rangers, Tuxis Square, or Anglican Young People's Association. The publication work of the Board is extensive, lesson courses and helps, both for teachers and pupils, being provided for all departments from the little beginners to the adult Bible classes. These constitute the official lesson schemes of the Church of England in Canada, and are used in the great majority of the schools. A very effective piece of work is being done by the Teacher Training Department, which not only provides courses of training for teacher training classes in the local parish, but has also made provision for definite teacher training work to be carried on amongst the Anglican students in attendance at the Normal Schools in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In addition to this, definite courses of training are provided for the students in attendance at the Church of England Deaconess and Missionary Training School in Toronto, and in the various theological colleges of the Church of England. In five of these latter, the General Secretary of the Board of Religious Education lectures regularly. Another important channel for the promotion of teacher training work is that provided through Summer Schools, which are held regularly at strategic centres from the Maritime Provinces to British Columbia. These schools are conducted under the auspices of the three Boards of the Church--namely, the Missionary Society, the Board of Religious Education, and the Council for Social Service. Dr. Hiltz kindly showed interest in our caravan project, and said that if it proved possible of accomplishment he would like a report of the work at the end of the season. He remarked that there was great need for work of the kind. CHAPTER IV LIFE IN A LITTLE PRAIRIE TOWN We had arranged to work at Regina until the season was sufficiently advanced for us to take the road, but before leaving Toronto I heard that my caravan was not yet begun. This was exceedingly worrying, as it was now the middle of March, and I wished to start on the prairie by May 1, when the trails should be open. I had only six months' leave from my diocese, and was anxious to make the most of it, and now it seemed as if the whole plan would be spoilt by this delay over the caravan. I determined to stop at Winnipeg on my way to Regina in order to see about the matter, and to bring what influence I could to bear upon the coach-building firm. As a member of the Victoria League,[1] I had an introduction to a Daughter of the Empire at Winnipeg, and I wrote and asked her to use her influence in getting my order for the caravan put through without further delay. Then, arming myself with a letter from an official of the Royal Bank of Canada, stating that I was to be relied upon to carry out my business transactions, I had a "stop-over" for Winnipeg put on our tickets, and on arrival in that town went straight to the coachbuilder's office. The Daughter of the Empire had telephoned to the firm, and this, with the official's letter, had the desired effect. The manager was most civil and obliging, and promised to do everything in his power to carry out the contract. To my surprise I found that the order for the caravan had never been received, the firm through which it had been given never having transmitted it. When I pressed for a promise that the van should be finished by May 1, adding that otherwise I should not pay for it, the manager, knowing that I came from the land of labour troubles, said, with a twinkle in his eye: "Yes, if there isn't a strike." I spent some hours in attending to the details of the van, and then we went on to Regina by the night train, arriving there next morning. The clergy of the Railway Mission gave us hospitality at first, then Winifred Ticehurst went to work in St. Peter's parish, and lived at the vicarage, and I went to St. Mary's parish, and lived in lodgings. Soon after I arrived in Regina Aylmer Bosanquet asked me to go out to her at Kenaston for a week-end. I was thankful that I was going to make my cross-country journeys by caravan when I found that it was no unusual thing for the trains in Western Canada to be three hours late in starting. This was so much a matter of course that a fellow-traveller--one of the Railway Mission clergy, who was going up to Kenaston to take service on the Sunday--telephoned to the station from the Mission-house before attempting to catch the train. These automatic telephones were a feature of every house in Regina, and were also installed in all parish halls and public buildings. The person using them could switch on to the desired number without calling up through the Exchange. It was a five hours' journey to Kenaston, which is a typical prairie town--just a wide earth road, with wooden side-walks, and bordered on either side by wooden shacks. Even in Regina all but the main streets are of this unpaved earth, and when the snow is melting or after heavy rain this earth turns into thick and sticky mud (called "gumbo"), which cakes on your boots in lumps of incredible hardness, so that you often find yourself walking with one foot higher than the other. It is so hard that it can only be scraped off with a knife. Of course one has to clean one's own boots, unless one is near a "Shoe-shine Parlour" in some large town. Kenaston is surrounded by illimitable prairie, across which one can see for twenty or thirty miles. When I first saw it the prairie was covered with snow, stained crimson in the West by the red glow of the setting sun. An unforgettable sight. The town has a lumber-yard and several elevators, both of which are found in every town situated close to the "track"--_i.e._, the railway. The lumber (trees sawn into boards) is sent down from British Columbia and other parts for building shacks, etc., there being no timber trees on the prairie. The elevator is a high granary for storing the wheat till it is sent away by train. Small as the place is there are three churches--Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Evangelical Lutheran. In many places there is a "Union" Church and Sunday school. This is a sort of co-operative Nonconformity, the ministers of the different denominations officiating alternately. Presbyterians have united in this matter with the other non-episcopal sects. The plan has been adopted to economise in men and money; but its weak point seems to be that, as the ministers have to please all denominations, the teaching is apt to become wishy-washy. A possible alternative occurred to me--namely, that all the religious bodies of a given area should combine to build a church, which could then be used for their own special services at different hours. But, of course, this plan would not economise in men. Aylmer Bosanquet's shack had three rooms, all on the ground floor, with a veranda reached by steps. All the wooden houses have a basement beneath them, dug out of the earth and concreted. This helps to keep the houses dry and warm, and in the larger ones the furnace for the central heating is placed here. A stove going night and day is absolutely essential in the winter, as it is often forty or fifty degrees below zero. But the cold is not felt as severely as might be expected because of the dry, sunny atmosphere. Life in a shack was a distinct contrast from life in New York. My hostesses slept together in a bed 2½ feet wide in order to accommodate their guest. In the dark of the wintry morning, about 7 a.m., I roused up sleepily to find Aylmer Bosanquet bringing me hot water, herself fully dressed and armed with logs, just going out to light the stove in the church, so that it might be warm when the people came at eight o'clock. St. Colomba's was a typical prairie church, square built, without a chancel, the plainness of the walls only accentuating the richness of the altar furnishings. The walls were hung with framed Nelson pictures, which lent beauty and atmosphere to the church, and suggested meditation on holy things to all who entered. Most of the pictures were Aylmer Bosanquet's gifts, and the little wooden font, with its brass basin, was given by the Sunday School children. The splendid attendance at Holy Communion and Morning Prayer showed that the adornment of the church was the expression of a real love for religion. The hearty way in which the congregation joined in the services was very striking. Their mutual friendliness also was pleasant to see, and gave point to the usual greeting: "Pleased to meet you!" murmured in broken English even by the Chinese member of the congregation, a phrase which left me at a loss for a suitable reply until I hit upon the plan of always saying it first. Preparation for the afternoon Sunday School was somewhat hampered by the necessity for cooking lunch at the same time, and the peas got burnt while the sand-tray was being prepared. At this unpropitious moment Mr. G., the Mission clergyman, looked in to smoke a surreptitious pipe, removed from the disapproving gaze of his flock, who have no sympathy with this form of self-indulgence on the part of their spiritual pastors. Unfortunately, in peas versus tobacco, peas won, and with a discerning sniff Mr. G. remarked: "You seem to be having very strange food." Which was the more disconcerting as the shack owners had more than once been reproved for their carelessness of their own comfort. This first experience of a prairie Sunday School was indicative of the problems to be faced. It was held perforce in the church, a necessity with which I was familiar in my little schools on the fells. There were only sixteen children at Kenaston, their ages ranging from two to seventeen, so that the grading of lessons and devotions was difficult. The intelligence and interest displayed by these children were very remarkable. They did credit to the excellent teaching they had received. The women missioners had classes in three other places, and held preparation classes for young teachers, thus training up a supply of teachers from among the young girls of the neighbourhood. The influence of the missioners' lives on these young girls was very wonderful. On the Sunday evening there was no service at Kenaston because Mr. G. had gone on to take one elsewhere, so we went round to visit the parents and children. It was noticeable how beloved the missioners were. With some of the old people they held an informal service, which was greatly appreciated. Aylmer and Nona intended to go out on the prairie that summer, in a different direction from that which I should take, of course, as we wanted to cover as much ground as possible. Aylmer had ordered a Ford roadster, which is a two-seater Ford with a folding camp-equipment attached. This caravanning was a subject of enthralling interest to both of us. Life in a shack is a very busy one, but one soon got used to the inevitable chores, and remembered to keep the pan of melting snow on the stove always filled, this being the only water available for washing up. The shortage of water is one of the great trials of prairie life. When I remembered Aylmer's house in England, with its well-trained servants, her car and chauffeur, and all the luxuries to which she had always been accustomed, it emphasised all the more strongly the self-sacrifice of her present life. On the Monday morning I wanted to telephone to Regina, and as my hostess said they were always allowed to use a neighbour's telephone, I took advantage of this neighbourly kindness. Whilst waiting for the long distance call I remembered that mutual assistance is the custom of the West, and helped to make the beds and sweep the house. It was about mid-day before I had finished with the telephone, and so I was pressed to stay for dinner. No newcomer is a stranger in that hospitable country. They were Yorkshire people and seemed delighted to meet another North Country person. It was a typical West Canadian meal. It began with boiled Indian corn served with white sauce, then meat and potatoes, and then delicious canned fruit served with iced layer cake, the whole accompanied by strong tea. It is difficult to do as Rome does until you know what Rome does do, and with agony the guest realised that she had nothing wherewith to eat the canned fruit before her, having been too engrossed in conversation to notice the removal of her knife, fork, and spoon. Like Chinese chop-sticks, these should have been retained throughout the meal. The scarcity of water necessitates these little economies. [Footnote 1: An organisation started in memory of Queen Victoria to bind together the members of the Empire.] CHAPTER V IN REGINA Within the last twenty years Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, has grown from a colony of wooden huts to a town of over 26,000 inhabitants. Government House and the Parliament Buildings are finely built of stone, but most of the houses are of wood, there being no quarries on the prairie. One not infrequently meets one of these wooden houses moving along the streets--a fascinating accomplishment. When you wish to live in another part of the town you simply have your house lifted on to wooden blocks and skids, and it is then moved bodily with a windlass turned by horses or machinery. One day I went house-hunting quite literally, chasing my elusive quarry from street to street with a camera. We stayed in Regina for eight weeks, giving lectures and holding demonstration classes. We were invited to visit parents and teachers, which we were very glad to do, as by this means we became acquainted with most interesting people, and saw how life is lived in this part of the world. There are four Anglican churches in Regina, St. Paul's having a splendid parish hall. But Anglicanism only comes fourth in numbers and wealth here, as it does in Western Canada as a whole. The Presbyterians are the most numerous, and have a fine church with a conspicuous tower. Methodism is also very strong. The Roman Catholics have built
{'title': 'Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan by Hasell and Sayle', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}