Though there was once a valuable library here, with many books now
rare and costly, yet all had disappeared.
East of the fort are shelving masses of red granite, completely
covered by a dark orange lichen, which gives them an added warmth
and richness; and on the highest part stood a square lead sun-dial,
which, at first sight, I thought had surely been set up by Franklin
or Richardson, but which I was told was very modern indeed, and
put up, if I am not mistaken, by Mr. Ogilvie, D.L.S. To the west
of the fort is the Church of England Mission, and, farther up,
the Roman Catholic establishment, the headquarters of our esteemed
fellow-voyager, Bishop Grouard. [The first Roman Catholic Mission in
Athabasca was formed by Bishop Farrand the year after Bishop Tach?©'s
visit to Fort Chipewyan, about A.D. 1849, he being then a missionary
priest. Bishop Farrand established other missions on Peace River,
and went as far north as Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake.
He died in 1890, and was succeeded by our guest, Bishop Grouard,
O.M.I., _Eveque d'Ibora_, the present occupant of the See of Athabasca
and Mackenzie River. This prelate was born at Le Mans, in France,
and was educated there, but finished his education in Quebec. He was
ordained by Bishop Tach?©, near Montreal, in 1862, and was sent at
once to Chipewyan, where he learnt the difficult language of the
natives in a year. He has worked at many points, and perhaps no man
in all the North, with the exception of Archdeacon Macdonald, or the
late Anglican Bishop Bompas, has or had as accurate a knowledge of
the great D?©n?© race, with its numerous subdivisions of Chipewyans,
Beavers, Yellow Knives, Dog Ribs, Slaves, Nahanies, Rabbit Skins,
Loucheaux, or Squint Eyes (so named from the prevalence of
strabismus amongst them), and of other tribes.
Pages:
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137