,archive_/,canadian ,libraries7 ,illustration3 ,,across ,,the ,,prairie ,f4,h4,e4 ,,hasell ,,across ,,the ,,prairie ,,in ,a ,,motor ,,caravan ,illustration3 ,,the ,,canadian ,,dominion ,,in ,,dioceses ,by permission of ,s4,p4,g4 ,frontispiece ,,across ,,the ,,prairie ,,in ,a ,,motor ,,caravan ,a #c1jjj ,,mile ,,tour ,,by ,,two ,,englishwomen ,,on ,,behalf ,,of ,,religious ,,education ,,by ,f4 ,h4 ,,eva ,,hasell ,,in ,,collaboration ,,with ,j4 ,f4 ,s4 ,,with #ah ,,illustrations ,,and ,a ,,map ,,london ,,society ,,for ,,promoting ,,christian ,,knowledge ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,toronto3 ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4 #aibb ,,to ,,aylmer ,,bosanquet ,,whose ,,self-,,sacrifice1 ,,deep ,,spirituality1 ,,and ,,far-,,seeing ,,vision ,,inspired ,,this ,,venture1 ,,this ,,book ,,is ,,lovingly ,,dedicated ,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,letter ,,from ,,his ,,grace ,,the ,,archbishop ,,of ,,canterbury4 ,lambeth ,palace1 ,london1 ,s4,e4 ,dear ,miss ,hasell1 ,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 ,canada1 and ,i should like to tell you how glad ,i am that the account of these eventful journeyings should be accessible to the public4 ,people realise too little what are the opportunities and responsibilities of pioneer days in those incomparable regions4 ,the perseverance1 the indomitable energy1 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 be4 ,i am1 ,yours very truly1 ,,randall ,,cantuar4 ,october #eth1 #aibb4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,call ,,of ,,the ,,prairie #a ,,ii4 ,,preparations ,,and ,,departure #g ,,iii4 ,,religious ,,education ,,in ,,the ,u4,s4,a4 ,,and ,,canada #aj ,,iv4 ,,life ,,in ,a ,,little ,,prairie ,,town #ag ,v4 ,,in ,,regina #bb ,,vi4 ,,the ,,motor ,,caravan #bh ,,vii4 ,,the ,,prairie ,,trails #cc ,,viii4 ,,from ,,winnipeg ,,to ,,regina #cf ,,ix4 ,,sandstorms ,,and ,,sunday ,,schools #db ,x4 ,,adventures ,,and ,,misadventures #ea ,,xi4 ,,some ,,aspects ,,of ,,prairie ,,life #ee ,,xii4 ,,missions ,,and ,,mud ,,holes #fb ,,xiii4 ,,further ,,prairie ,,sketches #ga ,,xiv4 ,a ,,camping ,,trip ,,in ,,the ,,rockies #gh ,,xv4 ,,on ,,the ,,return ,,journey #ha ,,xvi4 ,,among ,,the ,,prairie ,,farms #hf ,,xvii4 ,,back ,,to ,,regina #ic ,,xviii4 ,,an ,,indian ,,reserve #ih ,,xix4 ,,headed ,,for ,,home #ajj ,,xx4 ,,some ,,present-,,day ,,needs ,,of ,,the ,,prairie #ajd ,,appendix #aab ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,map ,,of ,,the ,,canadian ,,dominion ,,in ,,dioceses ,frontispiece ,,the ,,caravan ,,and ,,her ,,crew ,,the ,,interior ,,of ,,the ,,van ,facing page #bh ,,tidying ,,up ,a ,,shack ,,on ,,the ,,move ,,digging ,,out ,,the ,,wheel ,,the ,,tent1 ,,and ,,my ,,assistants ,,at ,,loreburn ,,household ,,tasks #dh ,,mr4 ,m4 ,,and ,,his ,,motor-,,cycle ,,on ,,the ,,rail ,,way ,,track ,a ,,prairie ,,school ,a ,,maple-,,leaf ,,teacher ,,and ,,her ,,pupils ,,prairie ,,scholars #ga ,a ,,young ,,herdsman ,,the ,,avenue ,,at ,,banff1 ,,alberta ,,lake ,,louise ,,lumber ,,on ,,the ,,bow ,,river ,,slinging ,,hay ,,into ,,the ,,barn #hj ,,the ,,church ,,on ,,the ,,indian ,,reserve ,,across ,,the ,,prairie ,,in ,a ,,motor ,,caravan ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,call ,,of ,,the ,,prairie ,the diocese of ,qu',appelle1 in the province of ,saskatchewan1 ,western ,canada1 is so named from the ,indian story which tells of the maiden who lay dying1 calling piteously for her lover4 ,he1 far off in his canoe on the ,saskatchewan ,river1 suddenly heard a voice1 and answered3 ,qu',appelle4 ,the voice came again1 and then he knew it for that of his beloved1 and made all speed to her side4 ,but1 alas6 when he reached her she was dead4 ,qu',appelle is a suggestive title and indicative of the call which so many have heard from the prairie provinces1 a twofold call1 urging some to earthly and some to spiritual husbandry4 ,some account of the ,western ,canada of to-day may be useful here4 ,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 them4 ,when a man with little capital takes up a prairie section he is gambling with fortune1 the welfare of his nearest and dearest being at stake4 ,at the same time it is a worthy venture1 a response to the age-old command to till the earth and subdue it2 and it is often the only way whereby a man may become his own master1 a landowner1 and one who1 in developing the treasures of the earth1 adds materially to the well-being of his fellows4 ,for the wheat from the prairies of ,western ,canada is the hardest and finest in the world4 ,the prospective settler buys a section 7#fdj acres71 a half or a quarter section1 as the case may be1 and1 helped by a loan from the ,government for the purchase of implements1 ploughs and sows the virgin soil1 building a shack for himself and his family4 ,the first three years are touch and go4 ,drought in early summer or torrential storms in harvest will effectually ruin the crops1 but when once a good crop is raised the profit is very satisfactory4 ,the perils of drought and storm1 however1 always remain1 though with increasing capital the risk is lessened4 ,the life is one long wrestling-bout--man's brain and muscle pitted against the forces of nature2 but when he is victorious the reward is great4 ,it is a virile country peopled with virile men 7for only the strong can make good out there74 ,but these men have already realised that man cannot live by bread alone4 ,close to nature1 man feels the presence of ,god4 ,the wide sweep of the prairie1 enamelled with a thousand flowers or gilded with the ripened corn2 the vast dome of the sky2 the glorious sunsets and awful storms--all make men conscious of the power and might and majesty of the ,supreme ,being4 ,so that beneath the feverish search for wealth there is a deep1 if unrealised1 thirst for the things of ,god4 ,but many of these sheep have been for years without a shepherd1 and such knowledge of religion as they once possessed has been choked by the cares of this world2 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 all4 ,one result of this state of things is that there is no ,christian public opinion on which to start this new country4 ,it is even said that it is not unusual to hear men boast3 ,we cheat others before they cheat us4 ,another terrible result is that1 unrestrained by spiritual forces1 the animal instincts have gained the upper hand and immorality is rife4 ,in the ,bulletin of ,social ,service in ,saskatchewan for ,june #a1 #aibj1 under the heading3 ,some ,measures ,urgently ,needed1 ,no4 #aj runs3 ,higher standards in our laws regarding sex offences4 ,ours are the lowest in the ,empire1 due to the ,senate's repeated rejection of amending measures4 ,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 intermarriages4 ,almost every race and sect is represented4 ,there are about eighty different religions1 including many eccentric and obscure sects such as ,daniel's ,band1 ,doukhobors1 and ,holy ,rollers4 ,according to the census of #aiaf the ,christian churches in ,saskatchewan are numerically strong in the following order3 ,presbyterian1 ,roman ,catholic1 ,methodist1 ,anglican1 ,lutheran1 ,greek ,church1 ,baptist4 ,the proportion of ,anglicans has probably increased since then4 ,in #aiaj 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 country4 7,between #aijj and #aibj one million two hundred and fifty thousand persons have emigrated from ,great ,britain to ,canada47 ,the ,archbishops' ,western ,canada ,fund was the answer to this appeal4 ,the cause interested me extremely1 and ,i became one of the collectors for the diocese of ,carlisle4 ,this diocese raised ,l#c1jjj and built ,st4 ,cuthbert's ,hostel in ,regina1 and later raised another ,l#a1jjj towards the ,l#ej1jjj needed for the endowment of the ,western ,canada missions4 ,three missions were started by the ,fund in ,edmonton1 ,southern ,alberta1 and ,saskatchewan respectively1 but we are only concerned with the latter4 ,in this province many small towns had sprung up owing to the great influx of immigrants 7mostly ,british7 and to the rapid railway construction1 while the surrounding prairie was dotted with isolated farms and hamlets4 ,it was with the special needs of these people that the ,regina ,railway ,mission had to deal4 ,accordingly1 several clergy and laymen went out from ,england1 made the hostel at ,regina their headquarters1 and visited the surrounding country4 ,they lived in one-roomed shacks1 doing their own chores1 and often driving about eighty miles on a ,sunday in order to take four services a day4 ,they returned to the hostel once a quarter for spiritual refreshment1 rest1 and discussion of their work with the head of the ,mission and with each other4 ,meanwhile1 a pioneer movement was on foot in the ,old ,country4 ,at ,st4 ,christopher's ,college1 ,blackheath1 a specialised training in the matter and method of religious education had been inaugurated for women prepared to undertake this branch of social service4 ,i was asked to become ,diocesan ,sunday ,school ,organiser for the diocese of ,carlisle1 and went to train at ,st4 ,christopher's in #aiad4 ,there ,i met ,miss ,aylmer ,bosanquet and ,miss ,nona ,clarke1 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 ,mission4 ,a firm friendship resulted from this common interest4 ,aylmer ,bosanquet's plan was to go out with ,nona ,clarke and live on the prairie1 working amongst the children and supplementing the work of the clergy in any other possible way4 ,she proposed to finance the expedition entirely herself4 ,at first the ,secretary for the ,archbishops' ,western ,canada ,fund was very dubious about accepting her generous offer1 having been out in ,canada himself1 and knowing that life in a prairie shack is exceedingly hard for gently nurtured women4 ,but ,aylmer ,bosanquet was so urgent that at last she won the day1 and she and ,nona ,clarke went out to ,regina in #aiae4 ,they established themselves at ,kenaston1 where they lived in a three-roomed shack and did all their own work1 even to the grooming of the buggy horses4 ,the women missioners went up to ,regina once a quarter1 when the clergy and laymen met to discuss their work4 ,they brought valuable contributions to the matter in hand4 ,they had found great ignorance amongst the children1 some of whom did not even know the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,at their first ,christmas they found several children who had never heard of the birth of ,christ4 ,all that the holy season meant to them was contained in the nursery legend of ,father ,christmas4 ,this ignorance is largely due to there being no ,scripture teaching in the public elementary schools1 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 agreed4 ,unfortunately1 they seldom do agree in this matter1 as they usually belong to different religious bodies4 ,nor is there any religious teaching in the collegiate schools 7which correspond with ,english high schools71 even in ,regina1 the capital of the province4 ,the following answer was given by a collegiate girl in a secular examination3 ,when ,william the ,conqueror went to ,england he found no code of laws1 and so he drew up the ,ten ,commandments4 ,after about four years of strenuous work1 ,aylmer ,bosanquet fell ill1 and was obliged to go into a nursing home at ,toronto for a serious operation4 ,in the quiet time of convalescence her thoughts were busy with the work so dear to her1 and she began to consider the problem of the many children in the enormous diocese of ,qu',appelle1 who had no ,sunday school1 and who could not be reached by rail or buggy from the existing centres4 ,she felt that the future of the ,anglican ,church in ,canada depended upon the religious training of these children1 and an idea came to her whereby these isolated places might be reached4 ,her plan was that trained women should go out on to the prairie1 two and two1 in caravans during the season when the trails are passable4 ,they would gather the children together and start ,sunday schools1 training teachers to carry them on4 ,in the winter they would return to some central town1 whence they would keep in touch with the quite isolated children by means of the ,sunday ,school by post4 ,they would also lecture locally and give demonstration lessons4 ,many of these trained women would be needed if all the children on the prairie were to be reached4 ,it would be necessary at first to recruit from ,england1 but later it might be possible to develop a movement already started1 but which had had to be temporarily abandoned for lack of a suitable head--namely1 a training college for the ,dominion of ,canada on the lines of ,st4 ,christopher's1 ,blackheath4 ,aylmer ,bosanquet wrote to me describing her new plan4 ,she was very anxious to see it in operation1 for the diocese of ,qu',appelle alone covers #ib1jjj square miles 7about twice the size of ,england71 and two women1 though with the best will in the world1 could do comparatively little in that immense area4 ,the project of caravanning on the prairie in the interests of religious education appealed to me very strongly1 and as ,aylmer ,bosanquet soon afterwards came home to ,england to recuperate1 we were able to discuss the matter together4 ,her idea was to have a horse caravan which should be moved on from place to place by the farmers4 ,but as ,i have lived all my life in an agricultural district1 ,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 distances4 ,in my own diocesan work1 which took me to little out-of-the-way villages among the fells of ,cumberland and ,westmorland1 ,i had found it necessary to use a car1 and ,i therefore felt it would be best to have a motor caravan4 ,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 repairs4 ,to learn to drive one year and to go out the next would probably mean finding yourself in a tight corner4 ,as ,i had been allowed to use our cars throughout the ,war1 in connection with my ,sunday school work and a ,v4,a4,d4 hospital1 ,i had fortunately gained a good deal of practical experience1 especially as it was necessary to drive in all weathers1 day and night1 over the steep hills of the ,lake ,district4 ,when these hills were covered in ice your car would run backwards or skid and come down sideways1 and these happenings were a useful preparation for the steep1 sandy banks of the trail1 where the wheels could not grip4 ,then1 too1 as our chauffeur was called up and mechanics were scarce1 we had to do our own repairs4 ,the diocese having consented to my being absent for six months1 ,i found a substitute to carry on my work1 and began my preparations for the prairie tour4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,preparations ,,and ,,departure ,the first idea was to buy one of the ,red ,cross motor ambulances then being sold off in ,london1 but transport difficulties made it impossible to take one across4 ,meanwhile ,aylmer ,bosanquet1 having returned to ,canada1 found that the ,saskatchewan ,bible ,society had a ,ford caravan in which a man could live and sleep1 travelling about the province with ,bibles4 ,also1 ,archdeacon ,burgett1 the ,diocesan ,missioner for ,qu',appelle1 was having a ,ford caravan built for two of his mission clergy4 ,she sent me details of these vans1 and ,i asked her to order me a similar one1 the interior fittings to be decided upon when ,i came out in the spring4 ,the next thing to do was to find a fellow-worker for the tour2 and this was by no means easy1 for she must not only have been trained at ,st4 ,christopher's and be physically strong1 but she must be prepared to pay her own expenses1 there being as yet no fund to finance the venture4 ,fortunately1 however1 an experienced ex-student1 ,miss ,winifred ,ticehurst1 offered to go4 ,she had trained at ,st4 ,christopher's soon after its foundation1 and had since had considerable experience in ,sunday-school and parish work4 ,then came the difficulty of getting passages and passports4 ,these would never have been granted had we not been able to prove that we were going out to work4 ,after the trials consequent on a visit to ,cook's agent the following incident in the current ,punch seemed peculiarly apposite4 ,scene3 ,the office of a travel bureau4 ,clerk 7helping nervous-looking lady to fill up form73 ,and the address of the nearest relation to whom the body may be sent if found dead8 ,i intended to travel via ,new ,york1 in order to visit some cousins4 ,i had heard of the fame of the ,u4,s4,a4 ,sunday-schools1 and wished to see some of them4 ,i also hoped to meet ,dr4 ,gardner1 the ,secretary of the ,executive ,committee of the ,department of ,religious ,education for the ,american ,episcopal ,church4 ,it was therefore necessary to get my passport visaed at the ,american ,consulate1 and on presenting the customary letter of recommendation from a clergyman ,i was much amused when the clerk eyed me suspiciously and remarked3 ,a letter from a clergyman is nothing to go by4 ,they are so easily taken in4 ,the question of equipment had taken considerable thought1 and the result seems worth setting down1 in view of its possible service to others4 ,the chief items were3 a motorist's #aiai tent with bamboo poles1 sleeping-bags1 a double ,primus stove and a ,tommy cooker1 a ferrostate flask and two thermos flasks1 canvas buckets1 clothes both for winter and summer 7landworkers' suits for driving the caravan1 which1 unfortunately1 the ,canadians regarded as displaying an undue amount of limb674 ,then1 for use in the prairie schools1 sets of ,nelson's pictures and ,sunday ,school ,institute models 7given me by the ,girls' ,diocesan ,association for ,carlisle diocese71 and a case of books of graded lesson courses and a quantity of postcard pictures of ,the ,hope of the ,world and ,the ,new ,epiphany4 ,a tip from an experienced traveller proved most useful4 ,this was to fasten the packing-cases with bands of tin nailed on1 instead of with ropes1 as the latter frequently break when the cases are swung aboard ship1 scattering the contents on deck4 ,in ,february1 #aibj1 we embarked at ,liverpool for ,new ,york4 ,winifred ,ticehurst was to meet me at the boat1 and my feelings may be imagined as the time drew on1 the friends seeing me off had to leave1 and still no fellow-traveller appeared4 ,at last1 five minutes before they raised the gangway1 she ran up1 breathless4 ,her passport had not been dated in ,london1 and they had sent her back from the boat to get it dated at the ,american ,consulate in ,liverpool4 ,it was an ill-omened opening for her voyage1 which proved one of great discomfort1 as she was more or less ill for a week4 ,she managed to write descriptive letters1 all the same1 and the following extract is a vivid portrait of our fellow-travellers 7we went second-class to save expense74 ,the young men and maidens 4 4 4 sit about on one another's laps1 and the correct way to get ready for lunch is1 when you hear the gong1 to part yourself from your companion1 pull a comb out of your pocket and do your hair--then you are ready4 ,i did not suffer from sea-sickness myself1 and never missed a meal4 ,indeed1 the waiters seemed greatly intrigued at my appetite1 and ,i fancy1 from the way they pressed the various courses1 that they were betting on how much ,i could eat6 ,a day or two before we reached ,new ,york there was a horrid orgy on board4 ,knowing that they were entering a dry country1 many of the passengers got drunk1 shouting and raging all night long1 so that one could not sleep4 ,on the prairie ,i afterwards found other ill-effects of prohibition--the smuggling of spirits and excessive drug-taking1 the latter chiefly amongst women4 ,before passing such laws it surely would have been advisable to have created a stronger public opinion to support them4 ,otherwise there is danger of finding two evils in the place of one4 ,on the other hand1 future generations should benefit greatly by this measure1 however imperfectly it now works4 ,it seems improbable that the health and industrial prosperity of non-prohibition countries will equal those of dry countries4 ,the day before we entered ,new ,york we got into the end of a blizzard4 ,there was a tremendously high sea1 and we moved very little that day4 ,we received a wireless message from a ship just out of a ,canadian port which had struck a rock in the storm1 but we were too far off to go to her assistance4 ,our stay in ,new ,york proved to be an amazing and exhilarating experience4 ,the palatial manner in which1 in a private house1 one is assigned one's own compartments1 would have satisfied ,mr4 ,salteena2 and the restaurants are a paradise for the discerning palate4 ,a brief but thorough experience of ,american luxury in a great city was1 from its very contrast1 a fitting prelude to the rough life of the prairie4 ,you get a more complete picture with strongly-drawn lights and shades4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,religious ,,education ,,in ,,the ,u4,s4,a4 ,,and ,,canada ,there is a very remarkable system of religious education in ,new ,york1 ,boston1 ,detroit1 ,cleveland1 and many other cities4 ,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 7called in the ,united ,states ,the ,presiding ,bishop and ,council74 ,the ,department of ,education has several divisions3 ,theological ,seminaries1 ,church ,boarding ,schools 7the same as ,public ,schools in ,england71 ,church ,sunday ,schools1 ,week-day ,schools1 work among students in ,state ,universities1 ,pageantry1 etc4 ,all ,church ,school teachers are urged to go to ,normal ,schools4 ,these are successfully operated in ,new ,york ,city1 ,boston1 ,detroit1 and ,cleveland4 ,the teacher attends the ,normal ,school once a month and receives instruction from an expert in ,child ,study1 ,psychology1 and ,methods1 and also has an opportunity to discuss the outlines and illustrations for the four lessons which are to be taught the following month4 ,the lesson material is from the ,christian ,nurture ,series4 ,this ,series is a most up-to-date graded course for children from four to seventeen years of age4 ,week-day schools are provided for children who are excused from the public schools 7that is1 the great schools supported entirely by ,state funds7 for one hour or more each week for religious instruction under the ,church of his parents' affiliation4 ,these schools stand for the co-operation of the ,church and ,state in the education of the child4 ,the ,state does not technically release the child for religious instruction1 but honours the request of the parent and excuses the child for extra educational work desired by the parent4 ,it is realised in ,america that religious education cannot be successful without the co-operation of the parents1 therefore the ,christian ,nurture ,series provides a ,monthly ,letter to ,parents to be forwarded regularly by the teacher4 ,these letters explain clearly what is required for the preparation of each ,sunday's lesson during the week4 ,social gatherings are also arranged for the parents from time to time1 at which an address is given bearing upon the importance of the religious training of the child1 and calculated to enlist parental interest and co-operation4 ,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 ,school4 ,i had already met the superintendent1 ,miss ,warren1 and she had explained one most interesting feature of her system--namely1 that each month she held a staff meeting of parents and teachers to discuss the lesson1 the children1 and the school4 ,in each department of the school there was a superintendent2 a grade leader who ensured a continual supply of teachers 7absentees having to send in their names to her beforehand72 a teacher and an assistant teacher for each class1 the latter being there to learn her art2 and a pupil teacher to hear the memory work4 ,some of the teachers received a salary1 and all the children paid a small entrance fee4 ,these fees1 however1 did not suffice for expenses1 owing to the very good apparatus in use1 but the deficit was made up by the church4 ,a conspicuous feature of the school was a large diagram which hung near the superintendent's table4 ,it consisted of five rings3 the small central circle represented ,parish and ,home1 the next ring ,community1 the next ,diocese1 the next ,nation1 and the outer ring ,the ,world4 ,at the end of the session an appeal was made by the secretary each ,sunday for one of the above fields of service1 which took the form of a stirring address on the need for supporting the work4 ,the secretaries were always some of the elder pupils1 and their appeals were remarkably well expressed for such young persons4 ,after the address the secretaries of each class were asked to vote a sum of money for the cause1 which they did after discussion with their class-mates4 ,the school had a choir of girls led by a talented musician1 and they all united to teach the children hymns4 ,miss ,warren took me to see ,dr4 ,gardner1 and1 considering the excellence of the system at which the ,american religious educationist aims1 it was encouraging to find him taking great interest in the proposed caravan tour4 ,he even went so far as to ask for details of the plan1 and to request that an account might be sent to him for publication4 ,on the appearance of this article he appealed for volunteers and money in order to start a similar campaign on the plains of the ,u4,s4,a41 where no religious instruction was at present provided for the children4 ,after ten days in ,new ,york1 we went on to stay with friends in ,toronto4 ,here we took the opportunity of inquiring into the methods of1 and opportunities for1 religious education in ,canada4 ,we were greatly helped in this by an introduction to the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,hiltz1 ,general ,secretary of the ,general ,board of ,religious ,education for the ,church of ,england in the ,dominion of ,canada4 ,the following is a summary of the information given by him or gleaned from other sources4 ,under the ,british ,north ,america ,act of #ahfg 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 union4 ,this gave to the ,roman ,catholics in the ,province of ,ontario the right to have separate schools1 and to the ,protestants in the ,province of ,quebec a similar right4 ,in other provinces of the ,dominion1 with the exception of ,saskatchewan and ,alberta1 however1 separate public schools have no legal standing4 ,the right to have separate schools in the ,provinces of ,alberta and ,saskatchewan was conceded to these provinces when they were admitted to the ,dominion4 ,so far as religious education in the public schools in ,canada is concerned1 the following brief summary will give some idea of the situation and at the same time strongly emphasise the need4 ,in ,nova ,scotia the matter is largely in the hands of the local authorities4 ,so long as no one objects1 religious instruction may be given in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the supporters of the school4 ,in ,new ,brunswick schools may be opened with the reading of ,scripture and the use of the ,lord's ,prayer1 but as this regulation is permissive only1 everything depends upon the individual teacher4 ,in ,prince ,edward ,island the reading of the ,bible at the opening of school is authorised4 ,in ,quebec in the ,protestant schools the first half-hour of each day is devoted to religious exercises and instruction in morals and ,scripture4 ,in ,ontario the public school must be opened with the reading of ,scripture and the repeating of the ,lord's ,prayer1 or the prayer authorised by the ,department4 ,religious instruction may be given by the clergyman to the pupils of his denomination once a week after school hours4 ,in ,manitoba ministers of the various religious communions have the right to go into the schools at #c4cj once a week and give the children religious instruction4 ,in ,saskatchewan and ,alberta the ,school ,board may permit religious instruction to be given during the last half-hour of the day1 and may direct that the school be opened with the recitation of the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,in ,british ,columbia no provision is made for religious instruction1 but the ,lord's ,prayer may be used in opening and closing the school4 ,in most large towns and many villages of the ,dominion of ,canada there are well-organised ,sunday schools4 ,some of the dioceses have in the past had ,diocesan ,sunday ,school ,organisers4 ,the ,diocese of ,rupert's ,land was a pioneer in this direction1 and the ,dioceses of ,toronto and ,huron have also had such officials4 ,the ,city of ,ottawa for several years had a resident ,anglican ,sunday ,school ,organiser1 an ex-student of ,st4 ,christopher's ,college4 ,the religious educational work of the ,church in ,canada is organised under the ,general ,synod1 the ,general ,board of ,religious ,education being the officially appointed body for the promotion of this work4 ,it began as a ,sunday ,school ,commission in #aijh1 but in #aiah was enlarged to a ,board of ,religious ,education4 ,its work falls into five departments1 namely3 #a4 ,the ,department of ,parochial ,education4 ,this department concerns itself with3 7a7 ,religious education through the agency of the home4 7b7 ,religious education through the agency of the ,sunday ,school4 7c7 ,religious education through the agency of ,adult ,bible ,classes and ,young ,people's organisations4 #b4 ,the ,department of ,religious ,education in ,public and ,private ,schools4 ,this department concerns itself with religious education in public and high schools and in church boarding schools4 #c4 ,the ,department of ,teacher ,training4 ,this department concerns itself with3 7a7 ,the training of teachers and officers in the local ,sunday ,school4 7b7 ,teacher training in church boarding schools4 7c7 ,training for leadership in provincial normal schools4 7d7 ,the training of students in our theological colleges in religious pedagogy4 #d4 ,the ,lantern ,slide ,department4 ,this department concerns itself with the promotion of educational work through the medium of the lantern in all branches of the ,church's activities4 #e4 ,the ,editorial ,department4 ,this department concerns itself with the providing of suitable material for use in the promotion of religious education through the other departments1 including the preparation and publication of the necessary lesson helps for teachers and pupils4 ,in connection with the work of the ,parochial ,department1 an interesting attempt has been made to reach the people in the scattered districts through what is known as ,the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,this is practically the only way in which isolated families can be helped who are too far away to make attendance at ,sunday school possible1 and too few in numbers to support a school of their own4 ,this ,sunday ,school by ,post sends out monthly and weekly graded lesson helps1 each lesson having its own illustrations1 questions1 memory work1 prayers1 and ,bible readings for each week4 ,the parents are asked to see that the child has ample opportunity to do the written work1 and this is returned to the ,diocesan ,secretary for the ,sunday ,school by ,post for examination and correction4 ,sunday ,school by ,post secretaries are now working in the ,dioceses of ,qu',appelle1 ,saskatchewan1 ,calgary1 ,edmonton1 and ,athabasca1 and1 now that the ,general ,board of ,religious ,education has a western field secretary at work1 in the person of the ,rev4 ,w4 ,simpson1 it is hoped that other dioceses may be led to establish work similar to this to reach the church people in the more distant settlements4 ,without some such help as this the parents usually find it impossible to give their children religious instruction4 ,they have little time for thought or study1 and have frequently forgotten what they once knew4 ,but their interest is very keen when roused1 as the following incident proves4 ,in one of the public schools1 during the history hour1 the teacher read part of the story of ,joseph1 but not having time to read the whole of it promised to finish it next day4 ,one child1 thrilled by the story and impatient for the end1 went home and asked his parents if they could finish it for him4 ,joseph6 they said1 ,joseph6 ,surely we have heard that name somewhere4 ,at last they remembered that it was a biblical name4 ,a long search finally revealed the ,bible1 dusty from long neglect1 and a further search discovered the story1 which was read with intense interest by parents and child alike4 ,when the latter went to school next day he proudly told his class-mates how the fascinating adventure ended4 ,in connection with the ,parochial ,department1 much is also being done for the training of boys and girls of the teen age4 ,with a view to meeting the needs of these young people1 a ,council on ,boys' ,work1 a ,council on ,girls' ,work1 and a ,council on ,young ,people's ,work have been formed1 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 people4 ,the plan which is largely followed is that known as the fourfold plan1 the aim being to develop these adolescents physically1 intellectually1 socially1 and spiritually4 ,the programmes are of such a character that they can be worked out through any type of organisation desired1 whether it is with an organised class in ,sunday ,school1 a ,boy ,scout or ,girl ,guide ,troop1 ,trail ,rangers1 ,tuxis ,square1 or ,anglican ,young ,people's ,association4 ,the publication work of the ,board is extensive1 lesson courses and helps1 both for teachers and pupils1 being provided for all departments from the little beginners to the adult ,bible classes4 ,these constitute the official lesson schemes of the ,church of ,england in ,canada1 and are used in the great majority of the schools4 ,a very effective piece of work is being done by the ,teacher ,training ,department1 which not only provides courses of training for teacher training classes in the local parish1 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 ,quebec4 ,in addition to this1 definite courses of training are provided for the students in attendance at the ,church of ,england ,deaconess and ,missionary ,training ,school in ,toronto1 and in the various theological colleges of the ,church of ,england4 ,in five of these latter1 the ,general ,secretary of the ,board of ,religious ,education lectures regularly4 ,another important channel for the promotion of teacher training work is that provided through ,summer ,schools1 which are held regularly at strategic centres from the ,maritime ,provinces to ,british ,columbia4 ,these schools are conducted under the auspices of the three ,boards of the ,church--namely1 the ,missionary ,society1 the ,board of ,religious ,education1 and the ,council for ,social ,service4 ,dr4 ,hiltz kindly showed interest in our caravan project1 and said that if it proved possible of accomplishment he would like a report of the work at the end of the season4 ,he remarked that there was great need for work of the kind4 ,,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 road1 but before leaving ,toronto ,i heard that my caravan was not yet begun4 ,this was exceedingly worrying1 as it was now the middle of ,march1 and ,i wished to start on the prairie by ,may #a1 when the trails should be open4 ,i had only six months' leave from my diocese1 and was anxious to make the most of it1 and now it seemed as if the whole plan would be spoilt by this delay over the caravan4 ,i determined to stop at ,winnipeg on my way to ,regina in order to see about the matter1 and to bring what influence ,i could to bear upon the coach-building firm4 ,as a member of the ,victoria ,league1#a ,i had an introduction to a ,daughter of the ,empire at ,winnipeg1 and ,i wrote and asked her to use her influence in getting my order for the caravan put through without further delay4 ,then1 arming myself with a letter from an official of the ,royal ,bank of ,canada1 stating that ,i was to be relied upon to carry out my business transactions1 ,i had a stop-over for ,winnipeg put on our tickets1 and on arrival in that town went straight to the coachbuilder's office4 ,the ,daughter of the ,empire had telephoned to the firm1 and this1 with the official's letter1 had the desired effect4 ,the manager was most civil and obliging1 and promised to do everything in his power to carry out the contract4 ,to my surprise ,i found that the order for the caravan had never been received1 the firm through which it had been given never having transmitted it4 ,when ,i pressed for a promise that the van should be finished by ,may #a1 adding that otherwise ,i should not pay for it1 the manager1 knowing that ,i came from the land of labour troubles1 said1 with a twinkle in his eye3 ,yes1 if there isn't a strike4 ,i spent some hours in attending to the details of the van1 and then we went on to ,regina by the night train1 arriving there next morning4 ,the clergy of the ,railway ,mission gave us hospitality at first1 then ,winifred ,ticehurst went to work in ,st4 ,peter's parish1 and lived at the vicarage1 and ,i went to ,st4 ,mary's parish1 and lived in lodgings4 ,soon after ,i arrived in ,regina ,aylmer ,bosanquet asked me to go out to her at ,kenaston for a week-end4 ,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 starting4 ,this was so much a matter of course that a fellow-traveller--one of the ,railway ,mission clergy1 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 train4 ,these automatic telephones were a feature of every house in ,regina1 and were also installed in all parish halls and public buildings4 ,the person using them could switch on to the desired number without calling up through the ,exchange4 ,it was a five hours' journey to ,kenaston1 which is a typical prairie town--just a wide earth road1 with wooden side-walks1 and bordered on either side by wooden shacks4 ,even in ,regina all but the main streets are of this unpaved earth1 and when the snow is melting or after heavy rain this earth turns into thick and sticky mud 7called gumbo71 which cakes on your boots in lumps of incredible hardness1 so that you often find yourself walking with one foot higher than the other4 ,it is so hard that it can only be scraped off with a knife4 ,of course one has to clean one's own boots1 unless one is near a ,shoe-shine ,parlour in some large town4 ,kenaston is surrounded by illimitable prairie1 across which one can see for twenty or thirty miles4 ,when ,i first saw it the prairie was covered with snow1 stained crimson in the ,west by the red glow of the setting sun4 ,an unforgettable sight4 ,the town has a lumber-yard and several elevators1 both of which are found in every town situated close to the track--i4e41 the railway4 ,the lumber 7trees sawn into boards7 is sent down from ,british ,columbia and other parts for building shacks1 etc41 there being no timber trees on the prairie4 ,the elevator is a high granary for storing the wheat till it is sent away by train4 ,small as the place is there are three churches--,anglican1 ,roman ,catholic1 and ,evangelical ,lutheran4 ,in many places there is a ,union ,church and ,sunday school4 ,this is a sort of co-operative ,nonconformity1 the ministers of the different denominations officiating alternately4 ,presbyterians have united in this matter with the other non-episcopal sects4 ,the plan has been adopted to economise in men and money2 but its weak point seems to be that1 as the ministers have to please all denominations1 the teaching is apt to become wishy-washy4 ,a possible alternative occurred to me--namely1 that all the religious bodies of a given area should combine to build a church1 which could then be used for their own special services at different hours4 ,but1 of course1 this plan would not economise in men4 ,aylmer ,bosanquet's shack had three rooms1 all on the ground floor1 with a veranda reached by steps4 ,all the wooden houses have a basement beneath them1 dug out of the earth and concreted4 ,this helps to keep the houses dry and warm1 and in the larger ones the furnace for the central heating is placed here4 ,a stove going night and day is absolutely essential in the winter1 as it is often forty or fifty degrees below zero4 ,but the cold is not felt as severely as might be expected because of the dry1 sunny atmosphere4 ,life in a shack was a distinct contrast from life in ,new ,york4 ,my hostesses slept together in a bed #b-a_/b feet wide in order to accommodate their guest4 ,in the dark of the wintry morning1 about #g a4m41 ,i roused up sleepily to find ,aylmer ,bosanquet bringing me hot water1 herself fully dressed and armed with logs1 just going out to light the stove in the church1 so that it might be warm when the people came at eight o'clock4 ,st4 ,colomba's was a typical prairie church1 square built1 without a chancel1 the plainness of the walls only accentuating the richness of the altar furnishings4 ,the walls were hung with framed ,nelson pictures1 which lent beauty and atmosphere to the church1 and suggested meditation on holy things to all who entered4 ,most of the pictures were ,aylmer ,bosanquet's gifts1 and the little wooden font1 with its brass basin1 was given by the ,sunday ,school children4 ,the splendid attendance at ,holy ,communion and ,morning ,prayer showed that the adornment of the church was the expression of a real love for religion4 ,the hearty way in which the congregation joined in the services was very striking4 ,their mutual friendliness also was pleasant to see1 and gave point to the usual greeting3 ,pleased to meet you6 murmured in broken ,english even by the ,chinese member of the congregation1 a phrase which left me at a loss for a suitable reply until ,i hit upon the plan of always saying it first4 ,preparation for the afternoon ,sunday ,school was somewhat hampered by the necessity for cooking lunch at the same time1 and the peas got burnt while the sand-tray was being prepared4 ,at this unpropitious moment ,mr4 ,g41 the ,mission clergyman1 looked in to smoke a surreptitious pipe1 removed from the disapproving gaze of his flock1 who have no sympathy with this form of self-indulgence on the part of their spiritual pastors4 ,unfortunately1 in peas versus tobacco1 peas won1 and with a discerning sniff ,mr4 ,g4 remarked3 ,you seem to be having very strange food4 ,which was the more disconcerting as the shack owners had more than once been reproved for their carelessness of their own comfort4 ,this first experience of a prairie ,sunday ,school was indicative of the problems to be faced4 ,it was held perforce in the church1 a necessity with which ,i was familiar in my little schools on the fells4 ,there were only sixteen children at ,kenaston1 their ages ranging from two to seventeen1 so that the grading of lessons and devotions was difficult4 ,the intelligence and interest displayed by these children were very remarkable4 ,they did credit to the excellent teaching they had received4 ,the women missioners had classes in three other places1 and held preparation classes for young teachers1 thus training up a supply of teachers from among the young girls of the neighbourhood4 ,the influence of the missioners' lives on these young girls was very wonderful4 ,on the ,sunday evening there was no service at ,kenaston because ,mr4 ,g4 had gone on to take one elsewhere1 so we went round to visit the parents and children4 ,it was noticeable how beloved the missioners were4 ,with some of the old people they held an informal service1 which was greatly appreciated4 ,aylmer and ,nona intended to go out on the prairie that summer1 in a different direction from that which ,i should take1 of course1 as we wanted to cover as much ground as possible4 ,aylmer had ordered a ,ford roadster1 which is a two-seater ,ford with a folding camp-equipment attached4 ,this caravanning was a subject of enthralling interest to both of us4 ,life in a shack is a very busy one1 but one soon got used to the inevitable chores1 and remembered to keep the pan of melting snow on the stove always filled1 this being the only water available for washing up4 ,the shortage of water is one of the great trials of prairie life4 ,when ,i remembered ,aylmer's house in ,england1 with its well-trained servants1 her car and chauffeur1 and all the luxuries to which she had always been accustomed1 it emphasised all the more strongly the self-sacrifice of her present life4 ,on the ,monday morning ,i wanted to telephone to ,regina1 and as my hostess said they were always allowed to use a neighbour's telephone1 ,i took advantage of this neighbourly kindness4 ,whilst waiting for the long distance call ,i remembered that mutual assistance is the custom of the ,west1 and helped to make the beds and sweep the house4 ,it was about mid-day before ,i had finished with the telephone1 and so ,i was pressed to stay for dinner4 ,no newcomer is a stranger in that hospitable country4 ,they were ,yorkshire people and seemed delighted to meet another ,north ,country person4 ,it was a typical ,west ,canadian meal4 ,it began with boiled ,indian corn served with white sauce1 then meat and potatoes1 and then delicious canned fruit served with iced layer cake1 the whole accompanied by strong tea4 ,it is difficult to do as ,rome does until you know what ,rome does do1 and with agony the guest realised that she had nothing wherewith to eat the canned fruit before her1 having been too engrossed in conversation to notice the removal of her knife1 fork1 and spoon4 ,like ,chinese chop-sticks1 these should have been retained throughout the meal4 ,the scarcity of water necessitates these little economies4 ,footnote #a3 ,an organisation started in memory of ,queen ,victoria to bind together the members of the ,empire4 ,,chapter ,v ,,in ,,regina ,within the last twenty years ,regina1 the capital of ,saskatchewan1 has grown from a colony of wooden huts to a town of over #bf1jjj inhabitants4 ,government ,house and the ,parliament ,buildings are finely built of stone1 but most of the houses are of wood1 there being no quarries on the prairie4 ,one not infrequently meets one of these wooden houses moving along the streets--a fascinating accomplishment4 ,when you wish to live in another part of the town you simply have your house lifted on to wooden blocks and skids1 and it is then moved bodily with a windlass turned by horses or machinery4 ,one day ,i went house-hunting quite literally1 chasing my elusive quarry from street to street with a camera4 ,we stayed in ,regina for eight weeks1 giving lectures and holding demonstration classes4 ,we were invited to visit parents and teachers1 which we were very glad to do1 as by this means we became acquainted with most interesting people1 and saw how life is lived in this part of the world4 ,there are four ,anglican churches in ,regina1 ,st4 ,paul's having a splendid parish hall4 ,but ,anglicanism only comes fourth in numbers and wealth here1 as it does in ,western ,canada as a whole4 ,the ,presbyterians are the most numerous1 and have a fine church with a conspicuous tower4 ,methodism is also very strong4 ,the ,roman ,catholics have built a beautiful cathedral on the highest part of the town1 with two fine spires which form a landmark for miles around4 ,underneath the cathedral is a large parish hall with rooms for various purposes1 and this economy of space allows room for two tennis-courts in the cathedral grounds4 ,a large piece of ground has been acquired for the site of the ,anglican cathedral1 but this has not yet been begun1 because it was thought better1 whilst funds were low1 to build the theological college and the girls' school first4 ,aylmer ,bosanquet gave ,l#a1jjj to start this school1#b a project in which she took great interest4 ,it is under the management of the ,anglican sisters of ,st4 ,john the ,divine4 ,it supplies a long-felt want1 being the only ,anglican ,church boarding school in this part of the ,west4 ,it has now taken over ,st4 ,chad's ,college1 which was originally built for divinity students1 but as their numbers were greatly depleted by the ,war1 ,st4 ,cuthbert's ,hostel is now large enough for their needs4 ,unfortunately1 in many cases the children's schooling depends upon the crops4 ,only comparatively well-to-do parents are able to send their children regularly4 ,before they have made their way1 or when the crops fail1 they have to depend upon the public schools4 ,to help such parents several bursaries have been given1 but others are needed4 ,after my week-end at ,kenaston ,i settled down to work in ,regina until the trails were ready4 ,my vicar made arrangements for me to lodge with a charming family--a ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,w4 and their two daughters4 ,they had come out from ,england about twenty years before1 and the girls were thorough ,canadians and very delightful creatures4 ,mrs4 ,w4 made me feel like one of the family1 and mothered me in countless ways4 ,she taught me how to use the ,canadian washing-machine1 a thing not unlike a churn4 ,you wash the clothes simply by turning a handle--so many times for white things and so many times for coloured4 ,she also showed me how to iron my blouses1 and1 above all1 helped me to buy the equipment for the caravan4 ,her advice here was invaluable1 as she not only knew the best stores and what a thing ought to cost1 but she also interpreted ,canadian terminology1 such as coal oil for paraffin1 wood alcohol for methylated spirits1 and gasolene for petrol4 ,mr4 ,w4 was equally helpful1 and ,i soon came to regard him as an encyclopedia of useful information1 especially with regard to practical business matters4 ,having lived on the prairie1 he also gave me many valuable tips about prairie life4 ,the girls were members of the choir1 and one was a ,sunday ,school teacher1 and by meeting their friends and going about with them ,i gained an insight into the life of young ,canada4 ,pretty faces1 very smart clothes1 instant friendliness1 swiftness in uptake1 a keen interest in work and play1 and a worthy ambition are some of the characteristics of these young people4 ,the movies and ice-cream play a large part in their lives4 ,the girls usually marry very young and have a large circle of admirers from whom to choose4 ,winifred ,ticehurst sketched them as follows in one of her letters3 ,choir girls1 mortar boards and tassels1 most chic2 surplices and cassocks1 curls each side of mortar boards 4 4 4 white ,eton collars like little boys4 ,one of the social activities which interested me very much was the ,canadian ,girls in ,training1 organised by the ,council on ,girls' ,work4 ,they gave a banquet while ,i was in ,regina1 and one of the ,w4 girls asked me to go as her mother1 it being the custom for each of them to invite a parent or some older person4 ,i was much struck by the excellent speeches made by the girls4 ,they explained the object of the organisation1 and gracefully thanked all those who had helped towards its success4 ,another very interesting social gathering which ,i attended was a reception given by the ,daughters of the ,empire in the ,parliament ,buildings4 ,i had received introductions to all the members of this association living in any of the towns where ,i was likely to go4 ,the ,president thought that it would be interesting for us to meet the members who were coming in from all parts of ,saskatchewan1 and who might help us on the caravan tour4 ,we were also introduced to ,premier ,martin1 who was then ,minister of ,education for ,saskatchewan4 ,he gave a most interesting address on the rural schools1 and after hearing about our project promised to give us introductions to the day school teachers in the places we hoped to visit4 ,further official encouragement resulted from an introduction to the ,lieutenant-,governor1 ,sir ,richard ,lake4 ,he welcomed me as a compatriot1 as he had been educated at ,heversham ,grammar ,school1 in ,westmorland4 ,we had an interesting talk on prairie trails and motoring1 and the need for religious education in the day schools4 ,he was strongly in favour of this1 and expressed regret for the continual opposition to it4 ,the ,daughters of the ,empire sent the editor of a ,regina newspaper to interview me4 ,she questioned me on what ,i had done during the ,war1 the reason for our coming out1 and the places we intended to visit4 ,the result was an embarrassingly flattering article in the local paper1 which was copied by the ,saskatchewan ,star4 ,a few weeks later the following notice appeared in another paper3 ,bachelors1 beware6 ,two women are going in a caravan on the prairie4 ,this is ,leap ,year6 ,in ,regina ,i met some very nice girls who had come out under the ,fellowship of the ,maple ,leaf4#c ,they had come to teach in the prairie schools1 and a good many were now in training at the ,normal ,school4 ,i gave a tea-party for them1 and they told me a good deal about their work1 and in return showed great interest in our caravan scheme4 ,those of them who were going out to the prairie that summer said that they hoped we would visit them4 ,i was very glad of this opportunity of explaining our hopes and aims to these teachers1 for ,i knew it had been suggested that they should help with religious education1 either by starting ,sunday ,schools or by giving instruction after school hours during the week4 ,i foresaw that our great difficulty would be to make our work permanent in districts where there were no clergy1 and ,i realised the enormous value of the help of these trained women4 ,they would already have some knowledge of teaching methods1 and some acquaintance with the ,bible and ,church doctrine4 ,it would be a simple matter to show them how to apply psychological methods to religious education1 and1 helped with lesson courses and pictures1 they could easily carry on any ,sunday ,schools we might be able to start in their neighbourhood4 ,we did not talk shop all the time2 the green ,englishwomen were put through a severe catechism on ,canadian as it is spoken4 ,but the ,w4 family having instructed me carefully1 ,i came off better than might have been expected4 ,i saw a good deal of the deaconess in charge of the ,maple ,leafs4 ,she found them comfortable lodgings1 and befriended them in every possible way4 ,she asked us to look up any of them whom we came across in the out-of-the-way prairie schools4 ,her only way of visiting was by train1 and some of these schools were far from any track4 ,she was very kind to us and helped us in many ways4 ,whilst ,i was in ,regina ,i had to plan out the organisation of the caravan tour4 ,i was given the names of a large number of places to visit and the routes we were to follow1 but no names of the clergy in the different districts 7parishes74 ,i had no idea how far apart these places were1 or how long it would take to get from place to place in the caravan4 ,i therefore got a map and worked out the mileage between the places4 ,on the earth trails outside ,regina ,i had often seen motor-cars stuck in mud-holes1 and ,i had noticed the deep ruts of these unmetalled roads1 so ,i concluded that we could not make more than ten miles an hour at most in the caravan4 ,on these two calculations ,i based the mileage we might hope to cover4 ,when at last ,i obtained the names of the clergy on my proposed route1 ,i found that there were large areas in which there were no ,anglican clergymen at all4 ,i then wrote to the clergy1 and1 lacking these1 the leading laity when ,i could find their names4 ,in some cases this was impossible until ,i neared their district4 ,in these letters ,i made the following suggestions4 ,we should like to come and stay a week in their locality1 living and sleeping in the caravan and doing our own cooking 7,i wished to make it clear that we should not be burdensome71 but we should be glad to receive invitations and hospitality at times in order to get to know the people4 ,where there was a ,sunday ,school in existence1 we proposed to superintend the school and teach1 while the teachers watched4 ,where there was no ,sunday ,school1 we should like to have the children gathered together to form one4 ,in this case we hoped that prospective teachers would come to be shown how to teach1 that they might carry on the school when we had started it1 helped by the books and pictures which we proposed to leave them4 ,we also requested the trustees to allow us to give ,scripture lessons in the day schools in the half-hour allotted for that purpose1 and also expressed our great desire to meet the parents1 that we might discuss with them the problems of religious education4 ,i received most kind replies to these letters4 ,the writers offered us a hearty welcome1 and said how pleased they would be to have people coming out to them1 for1 as a rule1 they had little help in these matters1 beyond an invitation to a summer school just when the harvest was in full swing4 ,i should add here what ,i had been most careful to explain--namely1 that we were given diocesan authority for our work by ,archdeacon ,dobie1 ,d4,d41 who was acting as ,commissary for the ,bishop owing to the latter's breakdown through overwork1 and by ,archdeacon ,burgett1 the ,chairman of the ,sunday ,school ,diocesan ,association1 who was also ,diocesan ,missioner4 ,footnote #b3 ,the ,qu',appelle ,diocesan ,boarding ,school for ,girls4 ,footnote #c3 ,see ,appendix ,i4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,motor ,,caravan ,whilst in ,regina waiting for the caravan to be ready for the road ,i took steps to be ready for the van4 ,i had never driven a ,ford1 but ,aylmer ,bosanquet's ,ford roadster arrived whilst ,i was in ,regina1 and she allowed me to have lessons on it4 ,it was quite easy to drive1 and on the second day ,i took it out alone4 ,i also went to a motor school and had a course of lessons on ,ford running repairs and vulcanising tyres4 ,the head man was exceedingly nice1 and took infinite pains to help me in every way4 ,i was the only woman in the shop1 but there were a great many men learning motor-tractor work preparatory to working on the prairie farms4 ,most of them had been in the army4 ,they took a most embarrassing interest in me and my future plans1 putting me through the usual catechism1 with the inevitable leading question3 ,are you married8 ,they seemed to think it was not fit for two women to go out alone on the prairie1 as in ,western ,canada women hardly ever drive outside the towns1 and never do their own running repairs--and seldom even oil their engines1 judging from the sound4 ,on ,may #a ,i heard that the caravan was ready1 but1 unfortunately1 the trails were not yet open4 ,however1 spring comes suddenly on the prairie4 ,on ,may #b there was a blizzard of snow1 and on ,may #e it was like an ,english midsummer day4 ,archdeacon ,burgett advised us not to fetch our caravan until his clergy had arrived at ,regina with theirs1 as they could then tell us what the trails were like4 ,they came in on the ,saturday1 ,may #h1 having had a very rough time with snow-drifts and mud-holes4 ,they had bent their back lamp and damaged a rear mudguard4 ,i noticed that they had no shock absorbers1 which accounted for a good deal of the damage4 ,they gave us a book with directions and maps of the blazed trail between ,winnipeg and ,regina1 and gave us a lurid description of the perils of the way1 apparently wishing to dissuade us from what they considered a mad attempt4 ,but as ,i had mapped out the caravan itinerary with but little margin1 ,i did not wish to lose any time in getting off1 so ,winifred ,ticehurst and ,i started for ,winnipeg late on ,sunday evening 7after working pretty hard all day74 ,we took a blanket or two and a little spirit lamp and saucepan as our sole camping equipment4 ,the parish hall1 in which our sleeping-bags1 etc41 were stored1 was locked1 and the caretaker had gone to church4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,caravan ,,and ,,her ,,crew 7,w4 ,m4 ,t4 ,,left1 ,f4 ,h4 ,e4 ,h4 ,,right7 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,interior ,,of ,,the ,,van ,to face p4 #bh ,illustration3 ,,tidying ,,up 7see page #ed7 ,illustration3 ,a ,,shack ,,on ,,the ,,move 7see page #bb7 ,we arrived at ,winnipeg at #aa4cj a4m4 on ,monday1 and went straight to the coachbuilder's4 ,the manager showed us the caravan1 which was all ready for the road1 except that they had not put non-skid tyres on the rear as ordered4 ,i pointed this out1 and the manager said that the mistake had been made by the ,ford ,company1 but he would send the car down to have it put right in the morning4 ,we had expected to start that afternoon1 but were told that the car had not yet been passed by the ,government officials1 who were going to register it as a commercial vehicle to escape taxation4 ,as it was a public holiday this could not be done until next day4 ,the caravan was much like a tradesman's van in appearance4 ,it was painted black1 with ,sunday ,school ,mission1 ,anglican ,church1 lettered in red and gold on one side4 ,the driving seat could be completely closed in when necessary1 for1 besides the wind-screen1 there were half-glass doors on either side1 which in hot weather could be taken off and put behind the mattresses4 ,there were two doors at the back of the van1 which opened outwards4 ,as the side doors had their catches inside1 when we wished to leave the caravan we got out at the back and padlocked these doors1 thus making all secure4 ,the back of the driving-seat was hinged and folded forward at night1 so that the six-foot mattresses which were strapped back to the van sides during the day could come down over it4 ,beneath one mattress was a wooden locker1 and under the other a wooden shelf with legs4 ,there was also a shelf on one wall of the van4 ,when ,i got back to ,regina1 before starting out on the prairie1 ,i added further items1 which the run from ,winnipeg had shown to be desirable4 ,an electric bulb was fitted to the roof of the van1 and a reflecting glass put on the left side4 ,i also got an inspection lamp for use at night in case anything went wrong with the engine4 ,this could be attached to the electric current which supplied the bulb4 ,we racked our brains to think of some means of keeping the things on the shelf1 and finally nailed on wire netting1 which we hooked to the roof4 ,this proved very effective1 but so great was the jar that the dancing pots and pans wore it out from time to time4 ,we made a bag to hold our tidiest clothes1 and blue cotton covers for the mattresses and a bag to keep our pillows clean4 ,we also nailed linoleum on the floor of the van1 because dust and draughts came through cracks in the wood-work1 and this made the floor easy to keep clean4 ,the caravan had a ,ford chassis with electric starter and head lights4 ,i had heard that for the rough prairie trails nothing could beat a ,ford engine4 ,only a car with a high clearance is of any use on these earth roads1 and whereas a heavy car would stick in a mud-hole the light ,ford can get through4 ,then again1 even little towns which are nothing more than hamlets stock ,ford spare parts1 both in garages and in the ordinary hardware stores--i4e41 iron-mongers4 ,i had had two extra petrol tanks put on the foot-board1 each holding #h-a_/b gallons1 so that we could carry #be gallons in all4 ,the tool box1 also1 was on the foot-board1 so the spare tyre had to be strapped inside the caravan above the driving seat4 ,we had very strong shock absorbers to prevent the body smashing the back axle and springs when we went through very deep holes1 and sub-radius rods to strengthen the steering-rod and front axle4 ,i carried three spare tubes as ,i had not remountable rims1 and a pyrene extinguisher fixed inside the car in case of fire through damage to the petrol tanks on the rough trails4 ,i fitted out the caravan in the light of what ,i had learnt about the prairie from the ,regina ,railway ,mission clergy lecturing in ,england1 and from books on the subject4 ,from these sources ,i knew something about the condition of the roads and the storms one might expect4 ,this was why ,i insisted on having a caravan rather than a ,ford roadster1 for though the lightness of the latter would enable it to get through a mud-hole where a caravan might stick1 ,i guessed that a prairie thunderstorm with its terrific winds and torrential rains would sweep away the tent and hood of the roadster like straws1 leaving the occupants homeless4 ,as we could not get away that day we were obliged to find lodgings for the night1 and had not the least idea where to go4 ,i would have asked hospitality from the ,daughter of the ,empire to whom ,i had an introduction1 but we did not care to present ourselves to a stranger in our travel-stained condition1 and we had brought no evening clothes with us4 ,winifred suggested that we should try to find a ,y4,w4,c4,a41 which we did4 ,the head received us very kindly1 and gave us cheap and comfortable accommodation4 ,had we not been so tired we might have attended a concert in their concert-hall4 ,next morning we went to a store which sold camping outfits and bought several things1 in particular a cunning arrangement of aluminium cooking utensils which fitted neatly into a canvas bag4 ,canadians make a speciality of this kind of thing1 as people often camp out when on a shooting or fishing expedition4 ,i also had to get several extra tools for the car1 as very few were provided with it4 ,whilst ,i did this ,winifred went off to buy food4 ,when ,i went to fetch the caravan ,i found that a mechanic was just about to take it to the ,ford ,company to have the non-skid tyres put on1 so ,i accompanied him4 ,i noticed that it was not easy to drive in traffic1 you could not see out of the back1 and as yet it had no reflecting glass4 ,the engine was very stiff as it had just come out of the assembly shop and had not been run1 so it was difficult to steer and to regulate the speed4 ,also it swung a good deal as the body was very long1 and the shock absorbers helped to make it swing4 ,though ,main ,street1 ,winnipeg1 is much wider than ,oxford ,street1 it also contains much more traffic1 including trams1 so it was not surprising that we nearly ran into a motor bicycle and other vehicles4 ,then the pyrene extinguisher fell out1 and ,i had to rescue it from under the nose of a tram4 ,seeing what ,winnipeg traffic was like1 and how stiff the engine was1 and also not knowing the way out of the town1 ,i thought of the suggestion made by the ,regina motor school1 where ,i had learnt ,ford running repairs4 ,this was that ,i should ask a mechanic of their ,winnipeg branch to look over the engine and see if it were rightly adjusted1 and then take us out of ,winnipeg4 ,leaving the caravan at the ,ford ,company1 ,i went to find this firm4 ,the address given to me proved to be a barber's shop4 ,this was rather disconcerting1 but1 on inquiring the way1 ,i found that it belonged to the same firm1 and they directed me to the motor shops4 ,they sent a mechanic with me1 but he seemed all the time to be in a great hurry1 and kept looking at his watch4 ,i left him looking at the engine while ,i went after something or other1 and when ,i came back he was gone4 ,i then saw that ,i should have to take the van out of ,winnipeg myself1 as they could not spare a mechanic from the ,ford ,company4 ,what must be must1 so ,winifred and ,i started off and drove into ,main ,street1 with its surging stream of trams and cars4 ,the rule of the road here is the opposite of the ,english rule1 all cars having a left-hand drive1 so ,i thought it best to cross over to the right side of the street4 ,but just as ,i had turned across the tram-lines a policeman stopped me1 saying that ,i must cross further up at the regular crossing-place4 ,the engine1 being stiff1 stopped dead1 and there we were1 right in the way of the trams4 ,however1 by the help of the self-starter1 ,i got it going again and tried to turn1 but the steering-wheel was so stiff that ,i nearly ran into the pavement4 ,we went on further up the street until we came to a red notice which marked the crossing-place1 but as ,i had to drive slowly through the traffic1 the engine kept stopping1 so ,i turned into a side street1 and with a good deal of difficulty found my way out of the town4 ,with every mile the engine ran better1 and after fifty miles it went quite easily4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,prairie ,,trails ,the prairie trails are simply earth roads1 it being impossible to get stone for them4 ,the very best trail is much like the worst cart road in ,england4 ,the trail is made by scooping out the earth on either side of a wide track1 and throwing it into the middle1 where the clods are baked as hard as bricks by the sun4 ,these clods would knock the bottom out of any car which had not a high clearance--the more so as a used trail has ruts about two feet deep4 ,trail-making is usually done by a scoop drawn by two horses1 but in some places a kind of motor-plough is used4 ,in dry weather a simple track across the prairie made by carts and horses is much easier going1 but these tracks are impossible when the snow is melting1 or after the heavy thunderstorms of summer4 ,therefore all the main trails have to be raised in the middle to let off the water1 which would otherwise stand till it formed sloughs4 ,when once on the trail you have to keep there1 as it is either bordered by a three-foot bank whence the earth was dug1 or else it slopes straight into a slough4 ,these sloughs are like great ponds1 their bottoms are covered with deep mud1 and if it once gets in1 a car sinks deeper and deeper1 and cannot be got out4 ,the sloughs are very beautiful1 reflecting the wonderful blue of the sky1 or the marvellous colours of sunset4 ,a prairie sunset is quite beyond description4 ,i have never seen such colours in ,england4 ,the flowers on the prairie are lovely1 forming a changing kaleidoscope of colour throughout the summer months4 ,they border the trails and the sloughs1 and grow in riotous profusion on unbroken ground4 ,when we first took the trail ,i specially noticed a lovely little pale mauve anemone4 ,there are also many beautiful birds on the prairie1 the most striking being the red-winged blackbird--a very big blackbird with glinting red feathers on the top of his wings4 ,there was also a robin about twice the size of his ,english cousin1 and a yellow-breasted bird which sang a very sweet little song1 but never seemed to finish it4 ,there were prairie chickens of a greyish brown1 wild duck and large snipe1 and a sort of water-hen4 ,the jack-rabbit was a very ubiquitous person1 always jumping across the trail4 ,he is really a hare1 greyish-brown in summer and white in winter4 ,another local inhabitant who made his presence felt was the gopher1 which looks like a cross between a squirrel and a weasel4 ,they make their holes in the wheel-ruts of the trails1 as we found by bumping violently over their excavations4 ,badgers adopt the same inconvenient habit1 as we discovered to our cost when shot suddenly to the roof of the caravan4 ,fortunately1 they are not so common as gophers4 ,the latter do a great deal of damage to the wheat1 so that the farmers are obliged to poison them and the children are given so much per tail2 consequently ,i had little compunction in running over one occasionally when it sat up in the middle of the trail just in front of the wheel4 ,at first ,i wondered why these beasties chose the trail for their burrows when they had all the enormous prairie at their disposal1 until it was explained to me that the hard ground formed a better front door to their holes1 as in soft ground the soil would fall in4 ,we were interested in watching the farming operations en route4 ,they were disking and ploughing and sowing1 generally driving six horses abreast4 ,the machines were immensely wide1 too large to pass through our widest gates1 and it was a heavy alluvial soil1 thus needing much horse-power4 ,we also saw a large number of motor tractors in use4 ,all the main trails are bordered with telephone poles1 and a red blaze on these poles indicates the way--i4e41 an ,r or an ,l tells you when to turn to the right or left4 ,at least1 it is supposed to tell you1 but as both letters are usually on the same side of the pole1 it is up to you to guess whether you turn to the right to go to ,winnipeg or to ,regina4 ,the matter is further complicated by the letters being made of paper on some trails1 in which case they are generally half torn off4 ,the trails1 like the towns1 are laid out in squares4 ,in a town the avenues run east and west and the streets north and south4 ,on the trail1 when you are running north and south you find a trail running east and west every two miles2 and when you are running east and west you find a trail going north and south every mile4 ,but this arrangement is complicated as you draw near to the ,arctic ,circle1 because as the trails are laid out in squares1 these squares grow narrower in this direction and so an extra trail1 called a correction line1 is added at intervals4 ,also now and again an old ,indian trail upsets one's calculations4 ,you never talk of right and left on the prairie1 but always of the points of the compass1 and these points form the first lesson which a child learns4 ,yet the actual compass is of no use on these rough roads1 as it gets out of order4 ,one learns to steer by the sun and stars4 ,it is useless to ask for directions1 you will merely be told ,go five miles north1 and three miles east and one mile south and four miles west1 and then look for the elevator at ,so-and-,so4 ,ye can't miss it4 ,but you can miss it1 very easily4 ,again1 you are often told that a place is quite close and find it to be at least five miles away4 ,there are no landmarks on these trails1 except the elevators in the towns near the track4 ,the sections are marked by a small heap of stones at their corners4 ,there is scarcely a fence on the prairie1 there being no stock to speak of and no wood at hand for posts4 ,there are also no sign-posts or danger signals1 and for lack of the latter we had a narrow escape of finishing our tour before it had well begun4 ,soon after we left ,winnipeg1 running through the main street of a little town1 we suddenly saw a great ,c4,p4,r4 train cross the road in front of us with no warning whatever4 ,had we been a minute or two sooner we must have been killed4 ,it is no unusual thing for the track to cross the trail1 but in this instance the houses prevented us from seeing the approach of the train4 ,meeting another car was an awkward matter as it meant climbing out of the ruts and running with one wheel in the gutter4 ,sometimes1 in trying to avoid a mud hole or something1 we ran at such an angle that ,i only kept my seat by clinging to the steering-wheel1 and how ,winifred kept hers is a mystery4 ,straw and sand are sometimes thrown into these mud holes1 in a vain endeavour to fill them up4 ,when stuck fast in one it was little consolation to be told that it was probably an old buffalo wallow4 ,this is how ,winifred described the trail in one of her letters3 ,the road was long1 the ruts were deep1 the sloughs were lined with mud4 ,the road was narrow1 and on each side those watery sloughs did gleam with tempting sunset gleams of cherry1 pink and gold1 a warm1 warm glow4 ,they said ',oh1 guide your car into our gleams and spend the night with us4' ,,chapter ,,viii ,,from ,,winnipeg ,,to ,,regina ,the first night we camped near a farmhouse so as to be able to get water4 ,we did this whenever it was possible4 ,going to bed in a caravan proved to be an acquired art4 ,first we had to put all the camping equipment1 etc41 either in front of the driving seat or outside the van covered over with a waterproof sheet 7there was always a very heavy dew at night72 then we let down the mattresses and arranged the bedding4 ,next came the difficulty of undressing1 there being barely #ab inches between the mattresses when they were let down4 ,we could not make a dressing-room of the prairie because we generally camped near a farm1 and anyhow the clarity of the atmosphere and the flat ground made one visible from a long distance4 ,this first night we sat on our mattresses and wriggled out of our clothes1 there being no room in the van to stand upright4 ,afterwards we adopted the plan of going to bed one by one4 ,we put up the tent for a second room whenever we stayed long enough in a place to make it worth while4 ,we had been obliged to do this trip without our sleeping-bags1 and so were very cold at night1 as the temperature then falls very low even in the summer4 ,you really need a sleeping-bag as well as blankets on the prairie4 ,our excellent health throughout the tour was probably largely due to our precautions in this matter4 ,my sleeping-bag had already done much service1 having been lent me by a cousin who had used it on the ,french and ,italian fronts1 and my mosquito net was a loan from a padre who had served at ,salonica4 ,this preserved me from much discomfort and blood-poisoning1 as later in the summer the mosquitoes were very ferocious1 especially to us newcomers4 ,we started on our tour with a due regard for appearances1 both of us armed with travelling looking-glasses4 ,but these soon got smashed in our bumpy progress1 and henceforth we contented ourselves with tidying our hair from our shadows cast on the ground or our reflections in the wind-screen1 or1 ,hyacinth-like1 gazed fondly into the sloughs4 ,i turned out first in the morning1 as ,i was going to cook the breakfast1 and found it decidedly cold4 ,when ,i went to the farm for milk and eggs the nice woman would not let me pay for them4 ,we found great generosity wherever we went4 ,we had brought sufficient water from ,winnipeg in the ferrostate flask for tea1 but this was too precious to use for washing up1 so we had our first experience of getting water out of a prairie well4 ,this shortage of water and the expense of boring very deep wells is one of the farmers' great trials4 ,in certain places you have to go down forty feet for water4 ,if there is no gasolene engine or windmill it has to be drawn up with a bucket and rope4 ,this is by no means easy1 the problem being to prevent the bucket from floating empty on the surface of the water4 ,to avoid this you have to swing the bucket so that it falls in sideways and fills itself1 but if you are not very careful when drawing it up it will sway violently and spill half the contents4 ,on this first occasion1 having proudly drawn up my water1 ,i essayed to take it away in our canvas bucket1 but not knowing the habits of the latter it turned over just as ,i had got it filled4 ,afterwards ,i circumvented it by weighting it with a stone or propping it up4 ,when at last we were all ready to start1 the engine unfortunately wasn't4 ,i thought that the sparking plugs had probably got damp with the heavy dew1 or had got oily1 so ,i took them out and cleaned them and also cleaned the carburetter4 ,in the meantime ,winifred went off to the neighbouring town to fetch help from a garage1 but they were all too busy with motor tractors to come4 ,presently two farm men came and talked to me and helped to undo screws1 but did not seem to know much about a car4 ,the small boy from the farm saved the situation by his cheerful chatter4 ,he kept telling me that the radiator was like a letter-box4 ,at last ,i got the car to start1 and then it went very well4 ,the trail was very sandy1 bordered with coarse grass and prickly scrub1 and there were hills at intervals4 ,the car skidded badly in the sand1 and once swung round broadside on up a bank1 and nearly turned over4 ,we had to cut down some of the thorny bushes in order to get it out without damaging the headlights4 ,we had not gone much further before the car stuck in the sand again1 going up a hill4 ,some men came by in a car and advised me to tighten the gear pedal1 which ,i did4 ,new cars need continual adjustment at first1 of course4 ,when we had done about fifty miles ,i thought that the engine smelt hot and found that the fan was not working1 so ,i screwed up the belt and it was all right for a time4 ,we passed through several towns that day1 and stopped for the night near a slough1 outside ,alexandra4 ,for the first time we were hushed to sleep by the ,canadian ,band1 as the frog chorus is called4 ,the next day was ,ascension ,day1 and we hoped to reach some town in time for a service1 but difficulties beset us from the first4 ,i had to get some gasolene out of the side tanks1 and this meant siphoning it1 an exceedingly unpleasant performance1 no less than sucking it through a tube to start the flow4 ,then the electric starter went wrong1 and the engine was terribly hard to crank1 as the starting-handle had not been used4 ,at last we were off1 but the trail was heavy with sand1 and the engine got very hot and presently stuck fast at a hill4 ,i found that the fan had gone wrong again1 and took it down1 and while trying to put it right found that a nut had not been properly adjusted4 ,a man came along in a car and at once went to my aid4 ,then two more men came by and also stopped to help1 and when we had adjusted the fan they all three pushed the van off and we went up the hill4 ,but our troubles were not over yet4 ,an immense hole1 about five feet deep1 yawned across our path as we topped the hill1 and there was nothing for it but to plunge through it and down the hill beyond4 ,the caravan swayed so violently that ,i expected every moment that we should be upset1 but it always righted itself just in time1 though everything on the shelves was hurled to the floor--a continual occurrence until we put up the netting4 ,the sand was so thick here that we got on to a grass track beside the trail1 hoping for better going1 but this soon ended1 and we had to bump back on to the trail again4 ,in so doing we stuck fast in the ditch4 ,by racing the engine ,i got her out1 but we soon stuck fast again1 this time up to our axles in sand4 ,after we had tried in vain for an hour to get the car out1 we gave it up and sat down by the roadside to read the service for the day in our prayer-books4 ,it was easy to enter into the spirit of the festival out there on the wide prairie1 with its immense distances and glorious blue sky4 ,we were about thirty miles from any house4 ,after a time we started to dig out the wheels with our hands1 but just then two of the men who had helped us before came back along the trail4 ,how many more times shall we have to help you two girls out of a hole8 they cried1 and with much good nature proceeded to assist us1 until at last1 with reversing and pushing and putting our blankets under the wheels1 we got out4 ,we had to go half a mile back and along another trail1 but at last reached ,verdun4 ,we only did twenty-seven miles that day4 ,we didn't stick fast anywhere next day1 but the trails were very bad1 and we were shaken to pieces4 ,my arms became very stiff with the vibration from the steering-wheel1 and sometimes it was nearly knocked out of my hands when a front wheel struck big clods4 ,one had to hang on like grim death4 ,after a time1 however1 ,i quite got into the way of driving in ruts4 ,we stopped for the night at ,wapallo1 and were just going to have supper when the vicar came along and saw our van1 whereupon he promptly took us home with him4 ,his wife was most kind to us1 and at once supplied our greatest 7and most obvious7 need by inviting us to wash4 ,a real wash is a great treat on the prairie1 where water is so scarce4 ,after supper we went to evensong in the pretty little prairie church1 near which we afterwards camped4 ,we had done ninety-two miles that day4 ,next day1 when we stopped at ,medicine ,hat for gasolene1 a man came out of a store close by1 and1 seeing the van1 introduced himself as the superintendent of the ,anglican ,sunday ,school there4 ,he was most anxious that we should stop over ,sunday1 but we thought it best to get to ,regina as soon as possible4 ,as we neared the town we had a narrow escape from a slough4 ,going into ,regina there was a very bad turn1 in negotiating which the car swung round and one of the front wheels went into a muddy ditch4 ,by putting on the brake with great force1 ,i managed to stop her from plunging farther in4 ,i think ,i was getting a little tired4 ,we had done #abj miles that day4 ,winifred went off to find help1 but a big motor lorry came along as ,i sat waiting with the car1 and stopped at once1 seeing ,i was in difficulties4 ,the driver called out that he would pull me out if ,i had a rope4 ,i always carried one1 and with its aid he soon towed me out backwards4 ,when ,i thanked him he said3 ,you're ,scotch1 aren't you8 ,i was in a hospital in ,scotland during the ,war1 and the nurses were so good to me that ,i'm glad to help any girls from the ,old ,country4 ,everyone seemed both pleased and surprised to see us back1 though unfeignedly astonished that one so green should have been able to bring the car through alone4 ,it is #dab miles from ,winnipeg to ,regina--farther than from ,london to ,glasgow4 ,far from being exhausted by our adventures1 we felt braced up by the glorious sunshine and invigorating air of the prairie1 and we did full justice to the feast of welcome prepared4 ,folks were interested in the caravan1 and various remarks were made about it4 ,even to our fond eyes it could not be called exactly beautiful1 but it was rather cruel of ,canon ,x4 to observe3 ,ah6 a ,black ,maria1 ,i see4 ,on the ,monday following1 while ,i was in the midst of preparations for our start that week1 ,nona ,clarke rang me up to say that ,aylmer ,bosanquet was very ill1 and could ,i come at once to help to bring her into ,regina4 ,i had about ten minutes in which to catch the train4 ,helped by kind ,mrs4 ,w41 ,i bundled a few things into a suit-case and ran4 ,but ,i had to stop at a drug-store to get some sort of stimulant for ,aylmer1 as ,nona had said that she seemed on the verge of a collapse4 ,it is in a case like this that prohibition is so inconvenient4 ,i could get neither brandy nor sal-volatile without a doctor's certificate--and yet ,i had often seen people who did not look ill produce a certificate and get the stimulant they asked for4 ,is there nothing you can give me8 ,i asked in desperation1 and the shopman handed me some kind of ammonia1 saying that was the only thing he could let me have4 ,the bottle bore no directions1 and when ,i asked how one should take it1 and whether the dose would be about the same as sal-volatile1 he replied indifferently3 ,oh1 yes1 ,i think so4 ,i just caught the train1 which then steamed out of the station and waited an hour at ,north ,regina4 ,i found ,aylmer very ill indeed1 hardly able to speak1 and without any of those little comforts which mean so much in sickness4 ,the shack was all in disorder1 too1 as they were packing up to go on the prairie in the ,ford roadster4 ,although she was so weak and ill she was full of interest in our work1 and made me describe the journey from ,winnipeg1 but ,i soon saw that conversation was too much for her4 ,nona telephoned to a doctor in ,regina1 asking him to come out next day to see if the patient were fit to travel1 in which case he was to accompany her back by the next train4 ,all that night a dust storm raged1 succeeded next morning by torrential rain4 ,i went out to get milk and bread for breakfast1 buying the latter from the ,christian ,chinaman1 who inquired anxiously for ,aylmer1 and said1 when ,i wished to pay for my purchase1 ,eef it ees for de missionarees you need not pay4 ,then there was the problem of how to get the invalid to the station1 as the shack was by this time surrounded with a sea of black mud which no car could traverse4 ,but ,nona found a man with a dray who promised to come if needed4 ,the doctor's train was so late that there was only a quarter of an hour between his arrival and the departure of the return train4 ,but he made a hasty examination1 and said that though she was very weak it would be better to take her into ,regina4 ,it is so difficult to get nurses or medical attendance out on the prairie4#d ,i dressed her with difficulty1 and she lay on the bed while we all combined to lift it bodily on to the dray4 ,but the rain and wind were still so strong that ,nona had to kneel beside the bed holding on fast to the rugs1 while ,i held an umbrella over ,aylmer's head4 ,it was pathetic to see the people waving good-bye from their houses as she passed1 for though they did not guess how ill she was1 they knew that she was leaving them1 perhaps for ever4 ,arrived at ,regina1 we took her to the ,grey ,nuns' hospital4 ,i had now only three days in which to complete our preparations if we were to start on the date fixed1 which it was necessary to do if we were to fulfil our engagements4 ,i went to see ,aylmer as often as ,i could1 and of course drove the caravan up to the hospital for her to see from her window4 ,it grieved me very much 7apart from my anxiety about her illness7 to think that she could now take no part in this adventure1 the idea of which was all her own4 ,indeed1 this was to prove her only glimpse of our van1 in the details of which she would have revelled1 for before we returned from the prairie she had been ordered to ,british ,columbia and then on to ,california4 ,i never saw her again4 ,footnote #d3 ,see ,appendix ,,ii4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,sandstorms ,,and ,,sunday ,,schools ,we had arranged to start on ,friday1 ,may #ba1 and the day dawned beautifully fine4 ,i fetched the caravan round to the parish hall1 where our things were stored1 and we loaded up4 ,this was no easy task1 for unless you did it very carefully you could not get everything in4 ,the packages reached from floor to roof now that we were fully equipped4 ,whilst we were busily engaged in this task we did not notice that the weather had changed1 but presently a great wind arose1 and then an ominous darkness blotted out the sun4 ,we knew that that horror of horrors1 a fierce dust storm1 was raging4 ,it was a veritable blackness that might be felt2 and when we went to say good-bye to some ,regina friends they begged us not to start4 ,one of them travelled for a firm1 and he assured us that no commercial traveller would venture out in such a storm4 ,it was bound to get worse and worse1 he said1 and he did his best to dissuade us4 ,but ,i had arranged to get to ,buffalo ,lake by ,sunday1 and ,i had already been obliged to alter the date once owing to the delay in getting the caravan1 so ,i felt that ,i could not put them off any more4 ,if one delays for difficulties one will never do anything4 ,so we started4 ,the wind whipped and whistled around the caravan1 and blew the earth in great clouds over us1 and formed huge drifts on the trail1 which made the car skid as on loose sand4 ,it was distressing to remember that this earth was full of newly-sown wheat4 ,it was hard enough to see the way when we started1 though ,winifred held the map and directed me2 but after sunset it was impossible to go on1 as the headlights could not penetrate the dense clouds of dust4 ,however1 we had gone a good distance1 and therefore decided to camp4 ,meanwhile our late host1 at the urgent instigation of his wife1 was searching the trail for our mangled remains4 ,the next morning was fine1 and we started early2 but quite soon we struck sand1 and after the storm of the day before it lay in drifts4 ,i tried to rush through at full speed1 but with a tremendous skid the car lurched sideways and stuck fast in a drift4 ,we got out1 and tried to jack it up in order to wind rope round a wheel1 as ,i had been told that ,parsons' chains are useless in sand4 ,to crown our misery the wind now began to blow hard1 and we were almost blinded by the flying sand1 which stung our eyes cruelly4 ,in the dust-storm of the previous day we were spared this torture by the wind-screen and side-doors being kept shut4 ,but help was at hand4 ,one after another six men in all stopped their cars and came to our assistance4 ,it was easier for them to get through the sand-drifts than for us because their cars were so much lighter1 although a good deal of the caravan was made of a kind of stout beaver-boarding to save weight1 but this was counteracted by our camping equipment1 etc4 ,our helpers pulled us out with great difficulty1 and we continued on our way through ,moose ,jaw4 ,towards evening we sighted ,buffalo ,lake church and steered for it1 expecting that the vicarage would be near by4 ,but before we reached it1 in trying to negotiate a mud hole1 we stuck fast once more4 ,a farmer ploughing near came to our aid1 and fastened his team to our rope4 ,one of the trials of a mud hole was that when you got out to adjust the rope1 etc41 your boots became thickly coated with sticky mud1 so that you could scarcely work your gear pedal4 ,it was also exceedingly difficult to drive the car close at the heels of restive horses4 ,they hated the noise of the engine1 and were all ready to kick2 and when the car reached firm ground it rushed forward almost on to the horses1 and was only stopped by jamming on the brakes4 ,thanks to this timely aid we reached our goal in good time to make camp4 ,but the wind was still blowing strong1 and as ,i was cooking on the ,primus it suddenly burst into flames4 ,thinking the caravan in danger1 ,winifred hastily threw earth on it--which put an effectual end to my culinary efforts for that night4 ,we made a fair meal on the food we had with us1 and just as we had finished a buggy came along with the vicar and his family4 ,they had been shopping in the neighbouring town4 ,from the van he guessed our identity1 and came up to ask how we had managed our cooking in this wind4 ,we tactfully evaded this point1 and assured him that we had made a good meal4 ,but we were not sorry when he said that next day we must have meals at the vicarage4 ,the next day was ,whit ,sunday1 and we were very glad to be where we could have an early ,celebration4 ,so widely scattered is the population that there was only one other worshipper besides ourselves4 ,after breakfast the vicar was going to take duty at a place about five miles away1 so ,i offered to drive him in the caravan as there was another dust storm blowing up and he had nothing but an open buggy4 ,as he was the first vicar ,i had driven ,i determined not to disgrace myself by sticking on the trail1 and so went full tilt all the way and successfully ploughed through the drifts4 ,we skidded and swayed a good deal1 but my passenger seemed thoroughly to enjoy it4 ,when we arrived1 however1 we found that none of the congregation had cared to face the storm2 we therefore did a little visiting and returned home4 ,there was a regular weekly ,sunday ,school here in which two of the parents taught4 ,it was brilliantly fine in the afternoon and the children and their parents were all able to come4 ,car after car drove up1 until there was a long line of them4 ,the children were most beautifully dressed1 with dainty white frocks and pretty hats4 ,the parents and the elder boys and girls were also extremely well turned out4 ,indeed1 it is one of the most striking features of prairie life that1 with all their heavy manual work1 the people dress well when not engaged in actual toil--a fine example of personal self-respect4 ,it was delightful to see this school1 conducted by two of the mothers4 ,we longed to give professional assistance but hesitated to offer it1 as of course the idea of constructive criticism and demonstration lessons was quite foreign to them4 ,but an opportunity for the latter presented itself when we gave round ,hope of the ,world postcards and the children began to ask questions about them1 whereupon the mothers appealed to me to give the explanation4 ,after the school there was a ,family ,service 7characteristic of the prairie7 at which all are present1 from the father to the infant in arms4 ,there were a great many baptisms1 which made one think of ,whitsuntide in the early ,church4 ,a delightful feature of the service was the freedom with which the children ran out to play when tired4 ,i could see them from the window jumping in and out of the cars4 ,but when they had worked off their superfluous energy they came back quietly to their places4 ,after the service we were introduced to all the people1 and one young man remarked3 ,we thought your car was a motor ambulance and supposed there'd been a scrap4 ,the fervour of these people1 and their evident appreciation of the services of the ,church1 made a strong impression on me4 ,it was shown by their coming long distances--twenty miles in some cases--after working very hard for very long hours all the week4 ,in the evening ,i drove the vicar to another church for evensong4 ,it was coated so thickly with dust from the storm of the morning that we had to clean it down before a service could be held4 ,next morning the vicar showed us his stable1 and we photographed his special pride1 a handsome colt which he had broken himself4 ,we had had a most delightful week-end1 and were much cheered by our kind reception from the vicar and his wife1 and felt quite weak with laughter at the former's amusing stories4 ,in the afternoon we started for ,eyebrow1 but did not get very far that day1 as we stuck in the mud and had to wait to be pulled out4 ,we arrived at ,eyebrow next day1 however1 and went to see the layman in charge of the mission4 ,it had not been possible as yet to arrange for us to visit any schools1 so we decided to go on and spend some time here on our return journey4 ,they entertained us most hospitably to supper1 and allowed us to put our baggage in the church porch as it was raining in torrents4 ,we next made a two days' journey on to ,riverhurst1 and on arrival went into a ,chinaman's restaurant for supper4 ,the food in these restaurants is both good and cheap4 ,a three-course dinner costs only about one and eightpence in ,english money4 ,as we were comfortably eating our supper we were surprised and rather alarmed to see a district policeman making straight for us4 ,he put us through a searching catechism4 ,who were we and where did we come from8 ,a brother officer had seen us and put him on our trail4 ,we told him who we were and whose authority was behind us1 and after a few more questions he seemed satisfied and left us to finish our supper in peace4 ,we longed to know what crimes he had mentally charged us with4 ,we found that there was a ,union ,sunday school at ,riverhurst which all the children attended1 including the only ,anglican children in the place1 four in number4 ,it seemed hopeless to try to start a ,sunday ,school for these four1 so we noted them for enrolment in the ,sunday ,school by ,post1 and went on towards ,elbow4 ,we started in a dust storm1 the unpleasantness of which custom cannot stale4 ,i took some photographs of it1 however4 ,presently we thought that we must have taken the wrong trail to ,elbow1 and so tried to turn on what looked like firm grass1 but the ground was soft underneath1 and the heavily-weighted car stuck fast1 sinking in up to the axles4 ,it was far away from any sign of human habitation1 and the recommendation of ,dr4 ,smiles seemed the only solution4 ,so ,i started to dig out a wheel4 ,suddenly a boy on a horse appeared as if by magic1 and asked if we wanted help1 saying that he would go back to his father's farm for horses1 which sure enough he did1 and handled them manfully4 ,he fastened his team to our rope1 and ,i got into the car and started the engine4 ,then followed the usual breathless moment when the car charged forward on to the horses' heels4 ,the boy then directed us to take a certain trail1 and after his recent display of prowess we naturally followed his advice4 ,but we soon found ourselves going up a very steep and narrow track with a bank on one side and a sheer drop into a ravine on the other1 and with literally not an inch to spare on either side4 ,on the steepest part of this road the car stopped dead1 and ,i had to keep my foot hard down on the foot brake to prevent it slipping backwards4 ,there was nothing for it but to unload the heaviest things1 and ,i could not get out to help1 as the car would then have run back4 ,winifred opened the back doors so that ,i could see behind me1 and ,i managed to get safely down to the bottom of the hill1 though it was exceedingly difficult to back round the sharp corners4 ,i then put on full speed and rushed the car up1 and at the top we loaded her again1 thinking that the worst was over4 ,but as we went on we found the road was as narrow as ever1 with a very bad surface1 big stones cropping out here and there4 ,i was driving1 with one wheel low down in a rut and the other high up1 when the car again stopped at a steep bit1 and ,i had to jam on the brakes as before whilst ,winifred unloaded4 ,but when ,i tried to release the brakes ,i found that the hand brake had jammed1 and ,i could not get out and hammer it free as the van would have run backwards when ,i shifted it4 ,at this crisis two men came along and helped us1 and between us we put the brake right and got the car to the top of the hill4 ,this was the only bad hill we had found and the only stony road4 ,we discovered afterwards that it was not the right trail for ,elbow4 ,the town is so named because the ,saskatchewan ,river runs in a elbow-like curve through the ravine at the bottom of this hill1 on the crest of which the town is built4 ,we went on beyond ,elbow to ,loreburn1 and camped near the vicarage for the night4 ,the vicar and his wife had only just arrived in the parish1 with a little baby of a month old4 ,she looked hardly fit to cope with all there was to do1 but they insisted that we should come in to meals with them4 ,i was the more grateful for this as ,i had had a difference of opinion with the spirit lamp1 which blew up in my face and nearly blinded me4 ,this was the first occasion on which we used the tent1 and its erection was something of a puzzle1 as we had no sketch of the finished article1 and had never seen it in action4 ,but by the time ,i had it all laid out1 and was wondering how ,i should put it up without help 7,winifred having gone to the vicarage71 some boys appeared1 and said that they knew all about tents1 and helped me splendidly4 ,there was no difficulty about finding the children at our stopping places1 for the caravan drew them like a magnet4 ,we reversed ,froebel's injunction--,come let us live with our children--for the children invariably came and lived with us4 ,on occasions their company was so persistent as to be rather embarrassing4 ,one never knew at what moment the tent would be invaded by eager visitors4 ,they were most delightful children1 extraordinarily intelligent and full of practical wisdom4 ,it was truly a case of development by self-activity4 ,they freely offered assistance and advice when they saw we were in need of either4 ,it was a five-year-old girl who noticed one evening that ,i had laid the potatoes outside the caravan1 and thoughtfully warned me3 ,i shouldn't leave those potatoes out all night if ,i were you2 the gophers will eat them4 ,illustration3 ,,digging ,,out ,,the ,,wheel ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tent1 ,,and ,,my ,,assistants ,,at ,,loreburn ,to face p4 #dh ,illustration3 #a4 #b4 ,,household ,,tasks 7see page #ed7 ,illustration3 #c4 ,,mr4 ,m4 ,,and ,,his ,,motor ,,cycle ,,on ,,the ,,railway ,,track 7see page #fc7 ,on that first night at ,loreburn we had torrents of rain1 and next morning the trails were deep in mud4 ,but ,i had promised to drive the vicar into ,elbow1 as he had no buggy as yet4 ,we skidded violently from side to side of the road all the way1 and had more than one narrow escape from a slough--,i had horrid visions of a congregation waiting indefinitely for a vicar hopelessly submerged4 ,i put on the ,parsons' chains before making the return journey4 ,this is a job one willingly defers till it is unavoidable4 ,despite the weather there were many people at church1 so ,i was glad that ,i had made the effort4 ,these prairie services really were an inspiration4 ,in the afternoon ,i superintended the ,sunday school1 which consisted as usual of children from six to sixteen4 ,winifred and ,i divided the children into two classes1 and the vicar and a teacher listened to our teaching4 ,the greatest difficulty1 here as elsewhere1 was the grading of hymns and prayers4 ,the best way seemed to be to open with devotions suitable to the infants and then to let them go off to another part of the church for their lesson while we had other prayers and hymns for the elder ones1 closing the school in a similar manner2 but if this made the session too long1 we began with devotions suited to the younger children and closed with those more suited to the elder4 ,after school there was the usual family service1 at which ,i specially noticed how well the organist played4 ,we were afterwards invited to supper with him and his wife1 and were interested to find that they used to live at ,leeds and had sung at ,morecambe ,musical ,festival4 ,canadian meals are delicious1 and we had a sumptuous supper--bacon and eggs1 layer cake and stewed fruit1 and strong tea1 very acceptable after our sketchy caravan meals4 ,after supper we had some good music1 and the organist told us some of his experiences as a prairie choir-master4 ,his choir showed talent1 so he felt that they were capable of chanting the psalms1 and trained them to do so4 ,he kept this as a pleasant surprise for the congregation1 and felt very proud of his pupils when they duly acquitted themselves well4 ,but the real surprise was his4 ,next day most of the congregation waited upon him in a body and stated that they would not attend church in future if such ,high ,church practices were followed4 ,we had obtained permission from the trustees of the public school at ,loreburn to give religious instruction in school hours1 as it was more convenient for us4 ,i took the upper division1 children of twelve to eighteen1 and ,winifred took the lower form1 children of six to twelve1 it being a two-roomed school4 7,in these prairie schools the scholars stay from six to eighteen47 ,the teachers were very nice4 ,they showed interest in our work and listened to our lessons4 ,as ,i could give them only one lesson1 ,i wanted it to be one of permanent value1 sufficiently connected with their everyday experience to recur frequently to their minds1 so ,i spoke on the ,union ,jack1 which floats over almost all of these little schools4 ,i began with the splendid work of ,canada in the ,war1 and referred to the men of the widespread ,british ,empire all united under one flag1 thus leading on to the unity of ,christian soldiers and telling the stories of the three saints whose crosses unite in the ,british flag4 7,a further bond of empire now is the photograph of the ,prince of ,wales1 which is found everywhere in this neighbourhood since his visit to ,regina47 ,after the lesson we gave each child a prayer card and a picture of the ,hope of the ,world or ,the ,new ,epiphany4 ,it was very distressing to find that only two or three of the thirty children present knew the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,apropos of this a clergyman's wife told me how she had asked a child1 ,do you know ,our ,father8 and the child answered1 ,no1 but ,i know our grandfather4 ,the children seemed to hang on our words1 listening with intense eagerness to the lessons4 ,they listen to lessons here in this country that they would never dream of attending to in the ,old ,country1 ,winifred wrote home4 ,one has no fear here of possibilities of naughtiness either4 ,they are good without being disciplined1 not restless like the children at home4 ,the intense hunger for knowledge holds these sturdy1 open-air little people in a trance of breathless interest4 ,it was their desire rather than our skill which exercised the spell1 as we knew well4 ,,chapter ,x ,,adventures ,,and ,,misadventures ,it rained hard all next day1 so ,i spent the time in making some things for the caravan2 in particular1 a wire cage for the electric bulb1 which was always being knocked against and broken4 ,one could never start directly the rain ceased1 the trails were too bad1 and when we did take the road on the following day we found a sea of mud4 ,on the second day we arrived at ,outlook1 and camped above the ferry4 ,there was no resident clergyman here1 but a local lady did what she could for the spiritual needs of the children1 holding a very successful ,sunday ,school in the church1 where she had arranged a beautiful ,children's ,corner4 ,a few suitable pictures and simple printed prayers were pinned on the wall within easy reach of kneeling children4 ,they are encouraged to make this spot their special oratory4 ,this particular ,corner was arranged near the font1 which seemed a specially suitable place for it4 ,unfortunately1 we were unable to meet this lady1 as she was ill1 but we went to see the lay reader who took the services on ,sunday4 ,after we had camped that night a young girl came to talk to us4 ,she explained that she was very unhappy and unsettled with regard to religion4 ,she had gone to the ,pentecostals1 poor child1 because she was deaf1 and could hear their loud declamations2 but she had received no sort of help from them4 ,her parents belonged to the ,church of ,england1 but since they had been in ,canada the younger children had not been baptized4 ,presently the girl's mother joined us1 and we made friends at once and had a good crack when we each found that the other came from ,cumberland4 ,she told me that she had been brought up a ,baptist1 but had joined the ,church of ,england4 ,i urged her to prepare her children for baptism herself1 and have them baptized at the earliest opportunity4 ,this she promised to do4 ,next day we had to cross the ,saskatchewan ,river1 no easy task from all accounts4 ,we had been regaled with hair-raising stories of how a man drove his car too fast down the pier to the ferry boat1 which had not been linked up1 and the car plunged into the river and was never seen again4 ,the same fate overtook a man who fell out of his boat when mending the ferry cable4 ,i was not quite at my best for this particular undertaking1 as ,i had one eye badly swollen from a mosquito bite through forgetting to put on my net when sitting down to write a letter4 ,there were three ways of getting down the river bank to the ferry pier4 ,one road zig-zagged so sharply that the long caravan could not turn at the bend1 and the paling just there was so frail that had we run into it we must have broken through and gone down a bank4 ,the other road was strewn with huge stones1 so ,i eschewed roads altogether1 and went down the rough grass bank1 swaying and bumping and almost overturning1 but it seemed the least perilous passage4 ,i took the car down while ,winifred was on in front1 looking for a better road1 as there was no reason why we should both be upset4 ,a narrow road led on to the pier1 which was a long wooden structure built over the sand and mud of the river's edge4 ,the ferry1 a wooden barge worked by a cable1 was moored to the end of it1 and ,i drove on to it cautiously4 ,the men working the ferry were three ,englishmen1 who had served with the ,canadian contingent1 and they hailed the van delightedly as a long-lost friend1 at first thinking it was an old motor ambulance from ,france4 ,we took photos of them1 whereupon they begged that we would not exhibit them as specimens of the white heathen we met out there4 ,i felt indeed that we must look missionaries of the fiercest type1 was ,winifred's comment on this incident4 ,there was only one trail to ,bounty1 our next destination1 so when we came suddenly on a dreadful hole right across the path1 with a bank on either side of the road1 there was nothing for it but to go on4 ,i tried to rush across1 and suddenly felt an awful concussion4 ,i was flung up against the roof of the van and saw stars for the moment1 but somehow or other we got across4 ,then ,i went round to see what damage was done to our baggage1 etc41 and found that a three-gallon tin of coal oil had been flung up and had come down upside down4 ,there it was1 standing on its cork4 ,i next examined the engine1 which seemed very odd4 ,the gear pedal had gone wrong and everything was crooked4 ,then ,i saw that the bonnet was not fitting4 ,i lifted it up and found that the whole engine was two or three inches out of the straight4 ,i saw that ,i could not put things right myself1 and so determined to try to reach the town4 ,meanwhile1 in this as in other mishaps1 ,winifred helped me enormously by sitting calmly on the bank reading a novel4 ,she never fussed or made worrying exclamations1 or hindered me by offering useless suggestions or unwanted assistance4 ,she never complained1 either1 under the most trying circumstances1 or made the slightest sound in those wild moments when we were nearly thrown out of the van by the roughness of the road4 ,we were five miles from ,bounty1 but ,i found that ,i could get along on low gear4 ,a few miles farther on we came to another bad place1 where the conduit had fallen in1 but we managed to crawl through somehow4 ,i was thankful to find a big garage at ,bounty1 with an efficient mechanic4 ,he and ,i examined the car and found that the frame was sprung three inches on either side4 ,he said that the body would have to be slung up and the engine taken out and a new frame put in1 and that this would take a week to do4 ,so we unloaded the van by the church1 and took out the mattresses also for use in the tent1 and then left the poor invalid at the garage4 ,there are garages in every prairie town1 even in what we should call little villages1 for in ,saskatchewan there is a car for every two people4 ,these garages are well fitted up1 and have all the latest inventions4 ,outside all of them there is a petrol pump and a ,free ,air cable for the convenience of passers-by4 ,the latter has a gasolene engine which pumps up the air1 so that you can fill your tyres in a second4 ,no one thinks of using a hand-pump unless he has a burst right out on the prairie4 ,we lived in the tent this week1 with most of our baggage stored in the church porch4 ,as usual1 the children helped us to arrange our things4 ,i had quite a holiday1 with the caravan off my hands1 but ,winifred's duties went on as usual4 ,we had apportioned the work as follows3 she was to keep the interior of the van clean and do all the washing-up1 whilst ,i drove1 cleaned the engine1 did repairs1 etc41 and cooked4 ,winifred's job was no sinecure4 ,she hardly ever had much water for washing-up1 so she used to clean the horrid greasy dishes and things with paper and then rinse them2 and though ,i sometimes nearly threw her out of the van1 she in turn sometimes kept me out of it when she was having a thorough clean up--a necessary evil after a muddy day or a dust-storm4 ,i wanted to telephone to ,mr4 ,w4 at ,regina1 as he was holding my insurance policy for the car1 so ,i asked permission to do so from a resident who had already greatly befriended us4 ,when 'phoning ,i found it very difficult to hear what ,mr4 ,w4 said2 it seemed as if all the receivers were open4 ,i was further distracted by hearing the owner of the telephone remark to ,winifred1 as she gazed at my back1 ,eh6 isn't she fat8 as who should say1 ,no wonder the frame was sprung6 ,next morning ,i walked to ,conquest 7six miles away7 to interview the secretary of the ,municipal ,council1 as the inhabitants of ,bounty thought that the hole should have been attended to1 and advised me to claim damages4 ,i failed to get any compensation1 but ,bounty benefited from our misfortune1 as the hole was immediately filled up4 ,calling at the ,conquest post-office for letters1 the old postman remarked to me1 ,i have heard all about your accident4 ,you girls1 you drive too fast4 ,it seemed that the entire district knew all the details1 even to the cost of the repairs4 ,i now remembered having heard that a favourite winter amusement on the prairie was to take down your receiver and listen to the conversations along the line4 ,report said that a certain courtship had in this way provided entertainment for the whole neighbourhood4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,some ,,aspects ,,of ,,prairie ,,life ,it was unfortunate that there was no ,anglican ,sunday ,school in this place1 where we had perforce to spend a week4 ,there were very few ,anglicans there at all1 but a great many ,presbyterians and ,nonconformists1 who united to form a ,union church and ,sunday ,school4 ,there was a very nice ,anglican church1 but most of the congregation lived at farms some distance away1 coming in for ,sunday services1 when the vicar also came in from one of his other districts4 ,he came to see us on the ,saturday night1 and explained that on the morrow there would be a ,united ,family ,service in the ,anglican church1 to which he was inviting all the members of the ,union church4 ,he asked us to write out and fix up notices about it4 ,he also asked if we would give an address after the service on the need for religious instruction for the children4 ,sunday was a very hot day1 and with sinking hearts we realised that the congregation would be arrayed in lovely summer clothes1 and that it was up to us not to discredit the ,old ,country4 ,but it is difficult to look one's best when caravanning1 and even one of ,paquin's frocks would lose its bloom in a cotton bag1 and the smartest hat would look dashed after the three-gallon oil tin had collided with it4 ,personally1 ,i felt that my bravest efforts would be futile since ,winifred's remark as we arose that morning3 ,let me look and see if you are as much a fright as you were yesterday4 ,when your nose and one eye have been entirely remodelled by a mosquito bite you do not look your best1 nor can you be quite unselfconscious in public1 and1 alas6 ,i should have to give that address1 for ,winifred had flatly refused4 ,patience is required when attending prairie meetings4 ,what with the immense distances1 varying clocks1 and unexpected obstacles on the trails it is difficult to get anywhere to time4 ,in this case we waited an hour for the organist1 whose car had stuck in a mud hole4 ,winifred rose to the occasion1 and was just making her way to the organ when the belated car was heard and the big bronzed young farmer hurried in4 ,the elders of the ,union church preceded the vicar and his churchwardens up the aisle4 ,the service was a shortened form of evensong1 interspersed with many hymns4 ,the sermon was a clear but non-controversial exposition of the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,it was remarkable to notice how the preacher held the attention of all present1 from the child of five to the old lady with grey curls4 ,one hoped that this united worship might pave the way for union on ,christian essentials1 so that ,christian teaching might be agreed upon for the schools and a united stand made against materialism and the many so-called ,christian sects4 ,after service ,i was called upon to address the congregation4 ,i had to speak from before the altar rails1 there being no other place from which to command the congregation1 except the pulpit1 which ,i did not wish to occupy4 ,as there had been a fairly long service1 and the church was very full and very hot1 ,i thought that a ten minutes' address would be sufficient4 ,so ,i spoke briefly on the importance of religious education1 leading up from the wonderful way in which ,canadians had helped in the ,war1 to the need for their help in warfare against evil4 ,christian soldiers must be trained1 and a young country needs a ,christian foundation4 ,it is extraordinarily easy to hold the attention of a prairie congregation1 and ,i was told afterward that they wished ,i had gone on longer4 ,it is indeed a preacher's paradise4 ,the vicar had to leave at once for his next service4 ,he motored about eighty miles each ,sunday and took four services4 ,but the rest of us held a kind of social gathering outside the church1 where we had opportunities of studying the prairie fashions4 ,most of these gorgeous garments are ordered by post from ,timothy ,eaton's store in ,toronto4 ,his enormous illustrated catalogue is sent yearly to every house1 and is commonly called ,the ,prairie ,bible4 ,the children know it by heart1 and amuse themselves on winter evenings by cutting out and colouring the fashion plates1 with the embarrassing result that when they see a neighbour in her new spring costume they remark1 ,oh1 ,mrs4 ,so-and-,so's new hat is on page #fjc1 price so many dollars4 ,we had a washing-day on the ,monday4 ,when near a farm they allowed us to take our blouses1 etc41 and wash them with their apparatus1 as the ,chinks1 who did our heavy washing1 ruined the finer things4 ,on the ,tuesday we went to ,swanson by train 7the trains only ran on certain days in the week74 ,this had been one of the centres of the ,railway ,mission1 and was worked with ,birdview1 but they had had no services for about a year1 owing to the scarcity of clergy1 and they felt the privation very much4 ,the ,railway ,mission had now come to an end1 and there were no clergy to supply these districts4 ,we went to see the leading church people1 with a view to taking ,swanson on our return journey if it seemed possible to start a ,sunday ,school there4 ,we were told that there was no ,sunday ,school of any kind thereabouts1 and were advised to go to the day school and beat up recruits1 which we did with great success4 ,a farmer's wife promised to gather the people together for us when we came again1 so that we could hold a demonstration school and a parents' meeting4 ,we wished to visit ,birdview1 but no train ran there that day4 ,our friend ,mrs4 ,t41 however1 said that her son should drive us in a car4 ,a terrible sandstorm blew up1 and we were almost blinded in the open car4 ,we realised once more the advantage of a caravan4 ,great drifts of sand lay on the trail1 and the car skidded from side to side1 but we got there4 ,mrs4 ,t4 had arranged by telephone that we were to stay the night with a storekeeper and his wife4 ,there were not many church people in ,birdview1 so ,i wanted to go out to a little mission church in the centre of outlying farms which used to be worked by the ,railway ,mission4 ,the only way to get there was by car1 and the storekeeper thought that no hired car would face the storm4 ,but1 happily1 the wind dropped and the sand subsided1 and we found a car to take us4 ,so the storekeeper's wife and ,i started off4 ,we were now in one of the dried out areas4 ,there are certain belts of land in ,saskatchewan which1 when first taken up1 nearly twenty years ago1 proved very fertile4 ,but over-cultivation1 though advised by the ,board of ,agriculture in order to conserve the moisture1 had rendered the soil so fine that most of it had blown away4 ,it had been of no great depth to start with1 and the sand below it had come to the surface1 and now blew in great drifts4 ,as the wheat came up1 the flying clouds of sand cut it down1 and even buried the scrub4 ,little vegetation was visible1 and what wheat there was the grasshoppers devoured4 ,they were enormous things1 #c inches long4 ,they flew into the car with a great plop1 and even jumped down my clothes4 ,the farmers hereabouts were ruined1 and nobody would take their farms4 ,they had not sufficient capital to start again4 ,yet with all this they kept up their courage and hoped for better days4 ,when we reached the little church we stuck fast in a big drift1 but ,i took the wheel while the man pushed1 and at last we got out4 ,we went on to the leading farmer's1 where they welcomed us warmly4 ,they had had no services there for a very long time4 ,i explained that we should like to visit the place on our way back if they would collect the people to meet us4 ,the farmer's wife expressed great delight at the idea4 ,they had been so long without a clergyman1 and had so much appreciated services when they had them4 ,she found it very difficult1 she said1 to keep ,sunday when there was nothing to remind her of the day4 ,they felt their spiritual privation1 especially now that their material troubles were so great4 ,i noticed here1 as in many other places1 an almost conscience-stricken look on the parents' faces when ,i mentioned the necessity of religious instruction for the children4 ,it was not that they did not wish their children to be taught religious truths1 but that they themselves were so cruelly overworked that they had no time for the care and forethought which the preparation of a lesson entails4 ,when you work all the week from #e a4m4 to #aj or #aa p4m4 you are exceedingly tired on ,sunday2 and yet there is still some necessary work to be done if you live on a farm4 ,but give these parents some idea of how and what to teach1 with a suitable book to follow and pictures to illustrate the subjects1 and they will do their very best1 often making most excellent teachers4 ,it is in places like this that the ,sunday ,school by ,post helps so greatly1 especially in winter1 when the children cannot attend a ,sunday school at a distance4 ,we returned to ,birdview that night 7sticking again in the sand-drift on the way74 ,our kind host and hostess refused to let us pay for our entertainment4 ,we were continually receiving most generous hospitality all the time we were on the prairie4 ,we were never allowed to pay for our milk and eggs at a farm1 and we were invited to many meals1 which greatly helped our resources4 ,we hardly liked to accept so much1 knowing as we did how badly off the farmers sometimes were4 ,but we knew how hurt they would have been had we refused4 ,their generosity was a great lesson in almsgiving4 ,they always treat all missionaries in this way4 ,we took the train to ,conquest1 and then had to walk to ,bounty1 a very tiring six miles on the rough trail with the wind against us4 ,unfortunately no car overtook us1 for it is the invariable custom to give pedestrians a lift4 ,we went at once to the place where we had left our tent1 but no tent was to be seen4 ,we inquired about it at a neighbouring house1 and a nice old man told us that the storm of the previous night had smashed the pole and ripped up the canvas1 whereupon he had rescued it1 otherwise it would now have been miles and miles away across the prairie4 ,we felt thankful that we had had a house over our heads when this happened4 ,we were now homeless1 tent and caravan both hors de combat4 ,many kind people would have taken us in1 but in a prairie shack1 or even in most of the smaller houses1 there is seldom any accommodation for visitors1 especially women visitors4 ,so ,i went round to beg an old broom-handle1 and with this ,i spliced the tent-pole4 ,then ,winifred and ,i set to work on the canvas1 and managed to restore it to the semblance of a tent cover4 ,early next morning another storm came on4 ,we got up hurriedly and took refuge in the church1 for the tent showed signs of collapsing on top of us4 ,that day we had been invited out to the ,b4's farm4 ,one of the ,bounty farmers drove us out there behind a spanking pair of horses which had taken first prize at a show4 ,a heavy thunderstorm came on and we were asked to spend the night1 an invitation which was gratefully accepted in our shelterless circumstances4 ,mr4 ,b4 was a most interesting man4 ,in ,england he had been a coachman1 and had come out about seventeen years before with ,l#h in his pocket4 ,he worked his way ,west1 and took up a half-section4 ,when he had got a home together a girl from the ,old ,country came out and married him4 ,now he had a splendid farm2 the house and farm-buildings were lit by electric-light4 ,a feature of this farm1 as of all others1 was the enormous barn4 ,this is always much larger than the house4 ,the hay and grain are stored at the top and the stables are below4 ,on most large farms they keep at least twenty horses1 besides up-to-date and ingenious machinery4 ,this farmer felt very strongly on the subject of emigration4 ,as he truly said1 in the ,old ,country he would probably have remained a coachman all his life1 and would have had nothing to leave his children4 ,but it was useless to come out to the prairie1 he added1 unless you were prepared to work hard4 ,he himself worked from #e a4m4 to #aj p4m4 throughout the summer months4 ,during the ,war he had been obliged to work his farm single-handed4 ,both he and all the other prairie farmers had given large gifts of wheat to ,england1 and all the young farmers had enlisted in a body directly war was declared1 often travelling miles to the nearest recruiting station4#e ,in many cases their farms went to rack and ruin whilst they were away1 as there was no one else to work them4 ,large numbers of them never returned4 ,the conversation at meal-time was most entertaining4 ,mr4 ,b4 used to inquire if things were still the same in the ,old ,country1 and if folks still touched their hats and said ,sir--this with a twinkle in his eye as he looked at us4 ,of course1 there are no class distinctions out ,west2 the very word is unknown4 ,we agreed with our host that the fairest measurement of mankind is to judge each one on his own merits4 ,it is quite certain that no one should come out here unless he can become what is called a good mixer4 ,the following extract from one of ,winifred's letters is descriptive of the country3 ,the people 4 4 4 must have pretty big minds to manage their own ,state1 which is larger than the ,british ,isles4 ,there is1 and must always be1 a stretching out in this country1 and it's a wide outlook for children 4 4 4 no appearances to keep up1 a natural existence1 hard work1 but suitable1 and prospects for children4 4 4 4 ,canada is a leisurely place2 no bustle4 ,it is too large1 ,i think4 ,when we got back to ,bounty we found that the caravan was ready1 and we joyfully fetched it from the garage and repacked it4 ,once again ,i felt glad that ours was a van rather than a roadster4 ,though more difficult to get along the trails it was a much more stable home4 ,the wind is perhaps the greatest trial of prairie life4 ,it sweeps with unbroken force over these wide spaces4 ,sometimes we had to go all day without hot food or drink1 as of course it was not safe to use a ,primus stove in the caravan or tent4 ,at times even a trench would not keep off the wind1 but it usually dropped at night4 ,we regretfully bade farewell to the kind people of ,bounty1 feeling that the town was well named1 and went on to ,rosetown4 ,on the way we passed through another dried-out area2 our car and several others stuck in a great sand-drift near a farmhouse1 which was actually being submerged in sand4 ,we went to the house to ask for the help of a team of horses4 ,a young farmer and his sister lived there4 ,the girl told us they were going to beat it1 as nothing would grow1 and the sand was up to the lower windows of the house4 ,she had just washed some clothes and hung them up inside the house1 and yet they were covered with sand4 ,i was much struck with her extraordinary cheerfulness in these trying circumstances4 ,this fine quality is characteristic of all ,westerners4 ,the farmer pulled us out with his team1 and we had no further trouble that day4 ,footnote #e3 ,canada raised an army of #dej1jjj1 and it is estimated that #fj per cent4 were members of the ,church of ,england4 ,the ,canadian casualties were #aeb1jjj4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,missions ,,and ,,mud ,,holes ,when we arrived at ,rosetown the vicar and his wife were out1 as they did not know what time to expect us2 but we found the vicarage door unlocked1 as is the hospitable local custom1 so we went in and read the letters from home which we knew were awaiting us there4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,m4 soon arrived1 and gave us a very warm welcome4 ,they insisted on our sleeping in the house instead of in the van1 and having our meals with them4 ,we said that in that case they must let us help with the chores4 ,mrs4 ,m4 had a tiny baby and no domestic help4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 our host and hostess were delighted to meet anyone fresh from ,england4 ,mr4 ,m4 had worked on the ,railway ,mission1 and was now in charge of this district4 ,a ,canadian parish is often #b1jjj or #c1jjj square miles in extent4 ,mr4 ,m4 had a rural deanery of #f1jjj square miles1 and as many of his clergy were in deacon's orders1 he had to perform all priestly duties for them4 ,he used a ,ford car in the summer1 and in the winter took the tyres off a motor bicycle and fixed it up to run on the rail of the track4 ,the prairie being so flat1 he could see the trains in time to get out of the way4 ,when talking to men like this we realised that our summer adventures were as nothing compared with what they experienced in the winter1 with the thermometer #ej degrees below zero and blinding blizzards in which it was impossible to find one's way4 ,this life of hardship and self-sacrifice won the respect of their parishioners and developed their own manhood4 ,the farmers looked upon them as personal friends1 fellow-men1 instead of the remote being a clergyman is sometimes assumed to be4 ,they are all-round men of affairs1 too1 as ,winifred put it3 ,out here a parson has to know about seeds and weather and dollars1 but he is respected also for his office1 and valued very much for what he brings to the people4 ,for the most part the men out here are the pick of the junior clergy from ,oxford and ,cambridge1 men who have sacrificed much in leaving ,england4 ,the clergy depend upon voluntary contributions1 there being no endowments1 of course4 ,it is reckoned that in the diocese of ,qu',appelle the average contribution for each man1 woman1 and child is #aes4 per head4 ,they use the envelope system1 so that if prevented from attending church the money is set aside just the same4 ,besides this1 the farmers give generously in kind4 ,but1 as a clergyman's wife remarked to me1 butter and eggs1 though very welcome1 do not supply clothes for the children4 ,the drawback to the voluntary system is that the clergyman's income is as uncertain as that of his parishioners2 for when the harvest fails there is no money for anyone4 ,the ,railway ,mission clergy received monetary support from the ,fund1 but this ,mission was only a temporary arrangement until the various districts became self-supporting4 ,there is1 however1 a diocesan fund to help the poorer parishes4 ,though the parishioners do their best it is obvious that they can never provide more than a scanty support for a clergyman who has a wife and family1 and hence the great difficulty in filling the ,canadian theological colleges4 ,the ,rosetown ,sunday ,school was in a flourishing condition1 for the vicar was very keen4 ,the children were taught to sing by a lady who had been accompanist to ,clara ,butt4 ,on the ,monday it had been arranged that ,i should take a ,bible-class of elder girls1 but when ,mr4 ,m4 took me down to the house where it was to be held1 we found that none of the girls had come 7owing to school examinations71 so we went to the movies instead6 ,there is a splendid picture palace in every little prairie town1 and some of the films shown are really good4 ,the cinema provides the sole recreation for the entire populace4 ,on ,saturday evenings there are long lines of cars all down the street1 when the farmers and their wives come into town to shop and go to the pictures and meet each other4 ,i was asked to give a missionary address next day to the junior branch of the ,women's ,auxiliary4#f ,this particular branch proposed to call itself ,the ,busy ,bees1 because the members intended to work so hard4 ,i talked to the children about the ,hope of the ,world picture1 which seemed suitable to this country of many nationalities4 ,winifred remarked that it was a splendid country from the missionary point of view as they see black and white and brown4 ,where this junior branch had been started the children were keen to join1 just as every ,canadian churchwoman seemed to belong to the ,women's ,auxiliary4 ,from many years' experience as a secretary for ,s4,p4,g4 one longed to see the ,church of ,england follow ,canada's example by directing all her missionary effort into one channel1 and one wished that missionary fervour were as universal4 ,just at the time when we had planned to start from ,rosetown a tremendous thunderstorm came on1 making the trails quite impassable for several days4 ,the water cart which brought the town's drinking water from five miles away could not get in for three days1 so we had very short rations4 ,on the ,thursday ,i determined to leave for ,kerrobert1 in spite of ,mr4 ,m4 saying that no one ought to go out on such trails4 ,i knew that if we did not start at once we should not get to ,kerrobert by ,sunday4 ,the trails were indeed dreadful1 about the worst we had ever seen4 ,the half-dried mud was like putty4 ,we had the ,parsons' chains on1 but even so we skidded from side to side and had to go on low gear all the time4 ,about a mile out of the town we came face to face with a large wagon and four horses1 which refused to make way for us4 ,the road was steeply graded1 so that if you got off it you would slide down into the mud and water of the ditch4 ,i pointed out that it was as awkward for us as it was for them1 indeed worse1 as they had horses4 ,they replied that if we stuck they would pull us out1 and making a dash for it ,i managed to get on the gradient and up again4 ,but what was my horror to find1 a little farther on1 another great wagon left standing in the middle of the road4 ,it appeared that they had taken the horses from this to help on the other wagon4 ,there was nothing for it but to drive round it1 and this time my luck failed and we stuck fast in the mud4 ,one of my ,parsons' chains had come off in the last place1 we found4 ,i put on another chain with great difficulty1 as the jack kept continually sinking in the thick mud4 ,when ,i had finished ,i looked round for ,winifred1 and could not see her anywhere4 ,i got the car out and waited4 ,still no ,winifred4 ,feeling very anxious1 ,i went off to a neighbouring farm and asked to be allowed to telephone4 ,i then rang up ,mrs4 ,m4 at ,rosetown1 but she had seen nothing of her4 ,at last ,i saw her coming along the road4 ,she had been to look for the lost chain1 found it was broken and had got it mended in the town4 ,we then went on with great difficulty till we came to a most awkward place4 ,it was a bridge over a creek1 very narrow1 and just as muddy as the rest of the trail1 with a very rotten paling on either side4 ,i knew that if the caravan skidded it would smash this paling and fall four or five feet into the little stream below4 ,as there was no reason why we should both run the risk ,i asked ,winifred to get out1 and then managed to crawl over safely4 ,presently we came to a very bad bit1 nothing but large holes of mud and water1 but we ploughed through4 ,then came a tremendously steep hill up which ,i tried to rush1 but ,i stuck half-way4 ,even with the chains on the wheels could not grip in the sticky mud1 and unloading failed to help us4 ,i then sought assistance from a farm at the top of the hill1 and the farmer1 a ,frenchman1 brought a horse and pulled us up4 ,the trail got worse farther on1 and we camped at the next farm we came to4 ,we were in a dreadful condition of dirt and hunger1 our feet twice their normal size with clotted mud1 the caravan full of lumps of mud1 our hands and clothes all over mud4 ,i did not feel much like cooking1 so when ,i went to the farm house for water ,i asked if we might boil some eggs there4 ,whereupon the farmer's wife insisted on giving us the eggs as well as boiling them for us1 and she also gave us boiling water for our coffee4 ,we thankfully ate our supper and went to bed4 ,after sticking in several mud holes next day1 we finally stuck fast in a very deep one1 but a farmer ploughing near pulled us out4 ,he told us that the trails got worse between here and ,kerrobert1 no cars had been through for several days1 and he advised us to stop the night at his farm and go on by train next day4 ,so we drove the van into his yard and received a kind welcome from his wife4 ,i wanted to let the vicar of ,kerrobert know that we were coming4 ,they said that there was a telephone at the next farm a mile or so away1 so ,i walked over there4 ,on my return ,i found it exceedingly difficult to find my way in that featureless district1 and ,i should probably have got lost had ,i not heard ,winifred's hail4 ,we tried to make some return for the kind hospitality we received here by helping with the chores1 but zeal without knowledge is a dangerous thing1 and one of us1 washing up the separator1 dissected it so thoroughly that the farmer's wife gazed in consternation at the result4 ,on the ,saturday the farmer drove us into ,rosetown when he went in for his weekly shopping4 ,he promised to look after the caravan for us while we were away4 ,we got to ,kerrobert in good time that night1 and were able to carry out all our ,sunday engagements4 ,but we missed the caravan very much1 as we could not take all our apparatus without it1 and we had to put up at an hotel as the vicarage was very small4 ,these little hotels are expensive and not at all comfortable4 ,we hoped great things when we caught sight of a bath1 and promised ourselves a real treat1 but on inspection it proved to be full of dust1 with no water laid on4 ,there had been a ,sunday ,school at ,kerrobert1 but the teachers had left the district4 ,the vicar was too busy to take it1 and his wife had her hands full with two small children4 ,but for several ,sundays in succession the children had come as usual1 waiting and hoping against hope that the school would be held4 ,two little boys of six and seven years old had driven three miles in a buggy by themselves4 ,the joy of these children made our struggles to get to them well worth while4 ,there were about twenty of them in all4 ,it grieved me that1 though the ,union ,sunday school had plenty of teachers1 no one could be found to teach the ,church of ,england children4 ,we visited some very fine day schools and gave ,bible lessons there1 and also gave an address to parents in the church4 ,the vicar arranged a children's service for the next day1 so ,winifred stayed to give the address while ,i went to fetch the caravan4 ,mr4 ,m4 drove me out to the farm1 but ,i did not get started with the van till about #c4cj p4m4 ,the trails had dried up a good deal1 but the ruts were perfectly awful1 as they always are after these heavy rains4 ,i had great difficulty in finding the way without ,winifred to hold the map and direct me4 ,presently ,i came to a little town and stopped at the garage to refill my gasolene tank1 but the petrol pump was empty4 ,i had plenty in the side tanks but it took so long to siphon it out1 so ,i determined to run on with what ,i had left4 ,but beyond the town was a steep hill1 and as ,i could get no run at it1 and my gasolene being so low1 ,i stuck half-way up4 ,again ,i missed ,winifred badly4 ,i could not get out to unload because the brakes were not strong enough to hold the loaded van1 so ,i had to back to the bottom of the hill1 unload1 drive the van up1 and then load again4 ,this wasted a lot of time1 though ,i got some help from a passer-by4 ,then ,i came to a wash-out--i4e41 a conduit that has fallen in4 ,this one was a large hole right across the trail about five feet deep4 ,as there was a large slough on either side ,i had to go back four or five miles to find another trail4 ,i could not turn between the sloughs and so had to reverse for some way4 ,the great difficulty now was to know where to go4 ,i had been following main trails1 but now ,i had to take any side trail in the desired direction which seemed passable4 ,i went mostly by the sun1 as ,i knew my way lay north and west4 ,when it was growing dusk ,i was going down a steep hill1 when ,i noticed a bit of wood lying across the trail4 ,i thought it was merely a broken piece of wagon rack4 ,at the same time ,i experienced the most curious sensation1 a strong warning not to go any farther1 the like of which ,i have never felt before or since4 ,i stopped the van1 and getting out walked along the trail a few paces and found a great wash-out right across the road4 ,it was much worse than the former one1 with quite as deep a drop and a much wider chasm4 ,had ,i gone on ,i could not have escaped it1 and must have been badly hurt if not killed4 ,i heard afterwards that there had recently been two bad accidents here4 ,one man had broken three ribs and had had to be nursed at a neighbouring farm1 there being no hospital near4 ,to the side of the wash-out there was an equally bad hole1 but it had not such a sudden drop4 ,it was evident that cars had been through this1 so ,i tried it4 ,remembering the sprung frame1 ,i went rather too slowly and stopped dead just on the opposite incline1 at an acute angle4 ,my gasolene being so low contributed to this misfortune1 so ,i filled up my tank by siphoning from the side tank and tried to crank the car1 as the electric starter had gone wrong that morning4 ,at this angle it is almost impossible to crank any car1 and this handle was stiff1 so ,i blistered my hands in vain4 ,as it was late ,i made up my mind to go to bed and tackle it in the morning4 ,i was hungry1 however1 and had had no food since ,i started1 so seeing a farm about half a mile off ,i went to get milk and water4 ,the farmer's wife said she was sick of this hole1 so many accidents happened there4 ,she promised that her husband should come and help me in the morning1 and said that she would telephone to the ,secretary of the ,municipal ,council to see if they could not get the road mended4 ,i had my supper and was just going to bed1 when ,i saw the headlights of an approaching car4 ,i hurried out to stop them before they reached the wash-out4 ,it was an enormous caravan on its way to ,kerrobert sports4 ,they were very grateful1 and said they would tow me out in the morning1 before they went on1 if #d a4m4 was not too early4 ,it was very difficult going to bed at this angle1 but ,i managed to sleep4 ,the prairie air is so wonderful that you can sleep anywhere and anyhow4 ,next morning the other van crawled round me and tried to pull me out1 but my rope broke1 and ,i told them not to stop for me4 ,the farmer came later on1 and between us we managed to get the engine going by priming the sparking plug1 and then ,i got out of the hole all right4 ,the farmer directed me along the main trails4 ,but1 unknown to him1 there had been a cloud-burst in this district during the recent thunderstorm1 and this had washed away conduits and formed great sloughs within the space of three hours4 ,consequently ,i spent the day retracing my path and trying to find passable trails4 ,on one occasion ,i stuck fast in a very bad mud-hole1 and so went to a farm for help4 ,the farmer sent his man with two horses1 and he pulled me out4 ,while he was unhitching the horses1 he became embarrassingly confidential4 ,beginning with the usual query ,are you married8 and the inevitable ,why not8 he intimated that now was the opportunity4 ,i gathered he was baching it as many do1 which meant that he had to do all his own domestic chores as well as his farmwork4 ,i could imagine what his shack looked like1 having seen some when asking the way with their unwashed crockery and general disorder1 and ,i guessed that he was wanting a housekeeper and thought that ,i looked strong and useful4 ,the man would take no money for his service1 and when ,i refused to let him come and sit beside me in the caravan he called me ungrateful4 ,it was an awkward situation1 and ,i saw that the only thing to do was to get away at once4 ,but as the caravan was not quite out of the mud the engine had stopped as soon as the horses ceased pulling4 ,fortunately they now became so restive that they took all the man's attention1 so ,i cranked the car like lightning1 jumped in and got away4 ,farther on ,i stuck again in alkaline mud1 which sucks you down1 but a farmer lent me boards and ,i managed to run along them4 ,presently ,i reached a farm with a telephone1 and sent a message to ,winifred lest she should be anxious4 ,the farmer's wife kindly offered me food1 which ,i gladly accepted1 as ,i had had none since early morning4 ,on other occasions1 when we could not stop to cook1 ,winifred fed me with biscuits and chocolate1 as on these rough trails ,i had to keep both hands on the wheel4 ,when ,i tried to start the car again it would not crank4 ,but there was a small hill near the farm1 so ,i pushed the car to the brow of it by turning the wheels by the spokes4 ,then came the exciting moment when the van began to run down the hill and ,i had to jump in with all speed4 ,at a place called ,dodsland ,i was advised to cut across the prairie1 as the main trail was impassable4 ,i had an exciting time bumping over the hillocks1 and felt sure that everything in the van was being smashed to pieces4 ,finally1 by asking the way at isolated farms1 ,i got in sight of ,kerrobert1 and then found yet another slough half across my path1 in which two side wheels stuck fast as ,i tried to get by4 ,my efforts to dig the car out proved futile1 so ,i went to a near-by farm for help4 ,i found numbers of horses1 but no men4 ,everyone had gone to ,kerrobert sports4 ,i was sorely tempted to take some horses and pull the car out myself4 ,then a car came along from ,kerrobert1 and most kindly turned round and hauled me out4 ,i got into the town about #i4cj p4m4 and went straight to the vicarage1 where ,i found ,winifred4 ,illustration3 ,,prairie ,,scholars ,illustration3 ,a ,,young ,,herdsman 7see page #ia7 ,illustration3 ,a ,,prairie ,,school ,illustration3 ,a ,,maple ,,leaf ,,teacher ,,and ,,her ,,pupils ,to face p4 #ga ,the next day ,i took the van to the garage to have the electric starter repaired1 but as it was a new pattern the spare parts were not in stock1 and they could not promise them before ,saturday4 ,this was awkward1 as we were due at ,coleville on the ,friday 7the next day74 ,we could not work the ,coleville district without the caravan1 so many of the schools being far from the track4 ,we went up on ,friday by train1 and back on ,saturday for the car1 which was not ready till ,sunday afternoon1 however4 ,but we arrived at ,coleville during evensong1 in time for ,winifred to play and for me to give the address4 ,footnote #f3 ,see ,appendix ,,iii4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,further ,,prairie ,,sketches ,we had come to ,coleville at the special invitation of ,mr4 ,h41 the clergyman in charge of the district4 ,it seemed strange to meet out here1 he being the son of the late vicar of my parish at home4 ,we had promised to spend a week in his district1 and he had planned out a full programme for us4 ,on the ,monday we gave an address in ,coleville school 7during school hours71 and then went on to ,victory school4 ,this school-house was a mile and a half from any other house1 and many miles from a town4 ,all around were wide stretches of unbroken prairie1 with a few farms here and there4 ,the prairie was covered with flowers of all colours--the wild1 blue flax1 flame-coloured mallows1 many-hued vetches1 and a lovely deep pink low growing wild rose with a very sweet perfume1 and a small anousa of turquoise blue4 ,a ,maple ,leaf teacher was in charge of this little one-roomed school--a very pretty girl4 ,she was delighted to see anyone out from ,england4 ,after school was over the children brought round the teacher's horse1 and then they all mounted and galloped away in a picturesque cavalcade4 ,most of them lived about four miles off4 ,we went on to ,smilie in the evening1 where ,i gave an address to parents and children4 ,while ,i was buying gasolene next morning1 a man came into the garage1 and1 seeing the name on the van1 began a conversation with us4 ,he was glad that someone was going round to teach the children1 he said4 ,he had been taught the ,bible when he was young1 but nowadays people knew nothing about it4 ,why1 only the other day he had asked a workman if he knew what building it was which had been raised without sound of axe or hammer1 and he actually didn't know6 ,it was quite time the children were taught the ,bible4 ,we had no housekeeping cares in this district1 as ,mr4 ,h4 had arranged for nearly all our meals to be provided4 ,so generous1 indeed1 were the folk of this neighbourhood that all our gasolene was sold to us at half-price4 ,on the ,tuesday we went out to a prairie school where they were having holidays4 ,but our visit had been announced1 and the children drove in to have a ,bible lesson1 holiday time though it was4 ,moreover1 after ,winifred had given them an hour's lesson the class still refused to disperse4 ,out here ,i saw the first flock of sheep which ,i had found on the prairie4 ,we had dinner with the owner1 an old ,welsh farmer1 and his wife4 ,he remarked that he was very glad that we were going round to teach the children1 and when ,i asked why1 he replied that the young people now growing up hadn't been taught the ,bible as he and his wife had been taught it at home in ,wales1 adding gloomily3 ,half the motor cars you see in the town on a ,saturday evening haven't been paid for4 ,it's time somebody went round to teach them something4 ,he did not usually attend any meetings1 it seemed1 but we had evidently made a good impression1 for1 to everybody's surprise1 he turned up in the evening at my address to parents4 ,we had a special ,welsh hymn in his honour4 ,this meeting1 as was often inevitable1 was an hour late in beginning4 ,those who arrived first telephoned to the rest to know if they had started4 ,it was rather like a ,derby day1 ,mr4 ,h41 on the top of the caravan1 announcing from time to time who was first in the field4 ,while we were waiting1 a good many young men were introduced with the usual formula1 ,meet ,mr4 ,so-and-,so1 one of our bachelors1 and etiquette obliged us to reply1 ,pleased to meet you4 ,next morning we went out to ,travet ,park school1 miles away across the unbroken prairie4 ,we should never have found our way had not ,mr4 ,h4 accompanied us4 ,it was pleasant to miss the telephone poles and see countless flowers instead4 ,we never passed a farm all the way1 and we could hardly see the trail4 ,at ,travet ,park the teacher told us that she had started a ,sunday ,school on ,fridays after school hours1 but very much wanted help with books4 ,the children here listened with breathless attention to the lesson we gave them4 ,it was most encouraging to find both teacher and children so keen4 ,we had dinner at a farm1 and afterwards ,i took the van to collect people for the parents' meeting--among others1 a young mother with her tiny baby1 and an old lady with a broad ,cockney accent and a bonnet trimmed with black cherries1 some of which were jolted off in the van and remained with us as trophies4 ,it was a real cross-country run4 ,we were actually told to drive over the wheat4 ,then we came to a ditch which we crashed into and out again1 and then over a large badger's hole4 ,by the time we arrived at the school ,i felt that all ideas had been jerked out of my head4 ,but the meeting began with a hymn1 and then ,winifred said a few words1 and by that time ,i had collected my scattered wits4 ,next day we had a puncture far out on the prairie--our first misadventure of the kind4 ,i had no spare wheel1 and this entailed a hot job in the broiling sun4 ,at last we arrived at the farm where we were taking ,mr4 ,h4 to baptize two children--a child of three and an infant in arms4 ,the father was ploughing1 but he left his horses and came in for the baptism4 ,we then went on to ,kindersley1 where ,mr4 ,w4 was in charge4 ,we had done #acj miles in ,mr4 ,h4's parish4 ,mr4 ,w4 kindly gave us a special ,celebration next morning1 as ,mr4 ,h41 who was still in deacon's orders1 was never able to have one4 ,he then returned to his district4 ,we spent a week at ,kindersley4 ,the ,women's ,auxiliary had arranged to give us dinner and supper every day in different people's houses throughout our visit1 and others brought us milk and eggs for breakfast4 ,we met many thoughtful and interesting people here1 some of whom had been early settlers4 ,while entertaining us1 they told us stories of these early days4 ,the settler and his wife used to trek fifty miles in an ox-wagon to the bit of land he had bought4 ,there they lived in a tent until he could build a sod shack4 ,the wife would perhaps have to go twenty miles to the nearest slough to wash her clothes1 and sixty miles for stores1 letters1 etc4 ,probably there would not be another woman for miles around4 ,in time a solid wooden shack replaced the sod building1 and the farm slowly acquired all the latest modern appliances4 ,then motor-cars linked the isolated farms together1 and with the coming of the railway little towns sprang up here and there4 ,these tales of quiet heroism filled me with great admiration4 ,on the ,saturday the president of the ,women's ,auxiliary invited us to meet all the members at a tea-party1 and asked me to give a description of our aims and objects4 ,they seemed interested1 and thought it was a work which the ,w4,a4 might support4 ,on the ,sunday we had an early ,celebration1 and1 after breakfast1 started off for ,avonhill1 some sixteen miles away in ,mr4 ,h4's district1 which we had been unable to visit on the previous ,sunday4 ,we went along a road with sloughs on either side until we found a slough right across the trail4 ,so ,i had to reverse on this narrow road for about a quarter of a mile1 and then had to cut across the prairie2 this made us an hour late in arriving4 ,we held a service for parents and teachers and children1 and left them some books4 ,although we were invited to dinner1 there was no time to stop for any1 and we got back to ,kindersley just in time for the ,sunday ,school at #b4cj4 ,on the ,tuesday ,i held a study circle in the church for adults 7by request74 ,it was on ,prayer and the ,prayer ,book4 ,among the members was a ,dunkard1 a sect which combines the tenets of the ,quaker and the ,plymouth ,brother4 ,this woman had a most spiritual and beautiful face4 ,she wore a sort of uniform with a dark bonnet much like a ,salvation ,army girl's4 ,there were some ,presbyterians in the class1 too4 ,we ended with a discussion on the respective value of forms of prayer and of extempore prayer1 those not in communion with us showing great sympathy and breadth of mind4 ,next day we went out on the prairie with the vicar1 to visit the parents and children who lived far away4 ,there had been some rain1 which added to the glory of the flowers--masses of wild mustard and purple vetch and luxuriant gaillardias4 ,on ,friday1 ,july #i1 we started for ,alsask1 fifty miles off4 ,we arrived by supper-time1 though we did not start till #d p4m4 ,we had a terrific thunderstorm on the way4 ,it was a wonderful and terrible sight1 great zig-zags of forked lightning against inky black clouds4 ,we tried to keep pace with the storm1 expecting a torrential rain at every moment1 which would render the trails impassable4 ,i set my teeth1 and got every possible ounce of speed out of the caravan4 ,we could actually feel the heat of the lightning4 7,they are called out here electrical storms47 ,just as we thankfully caught sight of the ,alsask elevators1 the storm increased4 ,a terrific wind got up1 and we saw a great grey cloud of dust swirling towards us1 mingling with the black storm-clouds above4 ,as we entered ,alsask1 the clouds burst and the rain came down in torrents4 ,i tore down the main street looking for a garage1 to get the van under cover as soon as possible4 ,fortunately1 ,i soon found one4 ,when the storm had partially subsided1 we made our way to the vicarage1 and from under cover watched the lightning and tried to take photos of it4 ,later on1 when it had cleared a little1 we brought the caravan up to the vicarage and slept in it4 ,the vicar and his wife were not long out from ,southwark ,diocese4 ,he had been secretary for his diocese for the ,a4,w4,c4,f41 and1 like me1 had got keen in this way4 ,the vicar's wife was a trained educationist1 and ran a splendid ,sunday ,school1 but1 like all who know the most about a subject1 she was eager for fresh suggestions4 ,here1 also1 we received much hospitality1 and so got to know the people1 and when we were not at other folks' houses the children were with us4 ,on the ,sunday we held a demonstration ,sunday ,school4 ,while we were here a ,sunday-school picnic was arranged4 ,there were about thirty to forty children1 most of whom went with their parents1 but we took some in the van and the vicar took some in his car4 ,shrieks of laughter arose from our passengers when the van skidded badly in the sand4 ,our destination was a big slough1 which was almost a small lake4 ,there was a crazy boat on it1 in which the children rowed about1 keeping it afloat by vigorous bailing4 ,i unwillingly adventured in this craft in response to a pressing invitation1 feeling certain that my weight would send it to the bottom4 ,a further diversion was paddling1 in which we also joined the children4 ,it was very hot and quite shadeless3 #ajd degrees in the shade and #abf degrees in the sun is quite usual during the ,canadian summer1 hence the national welcome accorded to ice-cream4 ,on this occasion the vicar brought a barrelful1 which he doled out into cone biscuits all through the afternoon4 ,each child ate about six1 but they paid for what they had4 ,these ice-creams are most delicious and wholesome1 being made of pure cream from the ,co-operative ,creameries4 ,these are established in all large towns4 ,they buy up the farmers' cream1 making it into butter or ice-cream1 the latter being sent all over the country in barrels4 ,co-operation is one of the great secrets of success out here4 ,even this picnic tea was co-operative4 ,everybody brought their own1 and then shared it with others4 ,thus the speciality of some clever housewife was enjoyed by many2 and ,mrs4 ,x4's iced layer cake or ,mrs4 ,y4's salad was greatly in demand4 ,everybody wished to have his or her picture taken1 and it was very difficult to get them all in1 so we perched some on the top of the caravan4 ,on the ,thursday we had another expedition4 ,the vicar had just returned from camping with his scouts at ,laverna ,lake1 some thirty miles off1 and he happened to mention that he had left all his equipment there and did not know how to get it back1 so ,i suggested that we should fetch it in the caravan4 ,we got there in good time1 though the trails were rough1 and ,i had a delicious swim before lunch4 ,it is a beautiful lake1 surrounded by low hills4 ,all around the margin were lovely wild tiger-lilies4 ,mr4 ,h41 from ,coleville1 was in camp there with his scouts4 ,it is an ideal place for a camp4 ,we got back to ,alsask in time to give a ,bible picture talk to the children around the caravan4 ,then we went on to a social evening1 at which we were asked to speak4 ,all present seemed to realise the great importance of work amongst the children4 ,on ,friday morning the vicar kindly gave us an early ,celebration as we were going on to ,youngstown1 eighty miles away1 where there was no ,anglican clergyman4 ,it was a very hot day1 and the trails were extremely rough4 ,when running one felt a little air1 but when one stopped for meals the heat was intense4 ,the tyres got so hot that ,i had to keep them covered or they would have burst4 ,alsask is on the borders of ,saskatchewan and ,alberta1 and we were now in ,alberta4 ,we had written in advance to a ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,s41 some of the leading laity of ,youngstown1 and ,mrs4 ,s4 had replied that it would be useless for us to attempt anything there this week because a ,chautauqua would be going on4 ,therefore1 as ,youngstown was the most westerly point of the diocese which we were to visit1 we thought it best to go on and make arrangements for our work when the ,chautauqua should be over1 meanwhile going on to ,banff to see the ,rockies4 ,we did not arrive at ,youngstown till #h p4m41 and had to wait for some time before we could see ,mrs4 ,s4 as she was out4 ,we then arranged meetings for the ,saturday and ,sunday of the following week1 thus giving her time to let all the people know4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,a ,,camping ,,trip ,,in ,,the ,,rockies ,while ,i was visiting ,mrs4 ,s41 ,winifred had found a garage where we could leave the caravan4 ,she had also inquired about the trains for ,banff1 and found that one left about #e a4m4 next morning4 ,mrs4 ,s4 gave me the vicarage key1 so that we might store our things there4 ,this we did overnight4 ,we got up very early in the morning1 collected our sleeping-bags1 the tent1 the tea-basket and a little food1 with a small saucepan and a spirit lamp1 and a grip apiece1 and drove these things to the station in the van4 ,we then left the van outside the garage 7as previously arranged71 because it did not open till #g a4m41 and just managed to catch the train4 ,we had a few hours' wait at ,calgary1 and arrived at ,banff about twelve o'clock at night4 ,we had not the least idea where to go1 and there was nobody about except an old man with a lorry4 ,i asked him where the camping-ground was1 and he replied that it was too far to go that night1 but he would take us to a place where we could camp for the present1 and he would come and fetch us in the morning2 so we put our things on the lorry and climbed up after them1 and he whipped up his horses and drove off at a gallop into the darkness4 ,presently we stopped suddenly where a wood loomed up against a star-strewn sky4 ,here's the place1 our charioteer said briefly1 and we pulled our things off the lorry and were speedily left alone4 ,it was pitch dark under the pines1 so we could not see to put the tent up4 ,we groped for the rope which confined the tent and sleeping-bags1 and after some fumbling undid the knots and got out the bags and waterproof sheets and mosquito-nets4 ,then we undressed with great difficulty in the heavy dew1 and somehow or other crawled into the bags and rolled ourselves up in the waterproofs and pulled the mosquito-nets right over our heads4 ,the latter pests were awful4 ,they even bit us through the nets1 and made such a noise in the early morning that we could stand it no longer1 and got up1 whereupon they fell upon us with renewed zest4 ,we now saw the exquisite beauty of the place4 ,the sun shone down through the tall pine-trees and glittering dew-drops spangled every blade of grass4 ,we came out of the wood1 and there were the ,rockies in full view--lovely pointed peaks1 with snow on their summits4 ,near at hand flowed a beautiful clear river4 ,trees and water were an intense delight after the bare stretches of prairie4 ,i collected sticks and boiled coffee in the little saucepan1 and we had the most delicious breakfast4 ,by the time we had finished the old man had come for us4 ,he drove us a few miles beyond the town to a large pine-wood4 ,the ,spray ,river ran through this wood--a swift clear stream1 opalescent with melting snow4 ,the wood was full of tents1 but we found a nice spot near the river for our camp1 not too near anyone else4 ,i then went off into the town to look for an ,anglican church1 as it was ,sunday morning4 ,the way into the town was through a beautiful avenue of tall pines1 an avenue over two miles long4 ,by dint of asking the way ,i found a lovely little church4 ,it had the prettiest natural decoration--moss growing on the window-sills4 ,it was just #aa a4m4 when ,i arrived1 and ,i found there would be both ,matins and ,holy ,communion4 ,i was well rewarded for my efforts4 ,in the evening we both went into the town for evensong1 and had supper at a restaurant4 ,we had heard of the beauty of ,lake ,louise1 so on ,monday we made a trip thither4 ,the last part of the way was by a funicular railway4 ,lake ,louise was hardly known before #ahij4 ,it is a small jewel of a lake1 just over a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide4 ,it lies #e1fgj feet above sea-level1 and ,mount ,george at the head of the lake is #aa1cee feet high4 ,this mountain is covered with glaciers and perpetual snow4 ,i live in the ,lake ,district1 and also know the lakes of ,scotland1 ,switzerland1 and ,italy1 but ,i have never seen such exquisite colouring as that of ,lake ,louise4 ,it flashes on you suddenly as you emerge from the pine woods1 a mirror of gleaming turquoise1 framed on either side by dark pine-clad slopes1 with glistening white peaks between them1 these being reflected in the clear waters4 ,on the lower slopes of the mountains and at the foot of the lake there is vivid emerald green grass4 ,facing this loveliness the ,c4,p4,r4 has built an artistic hotel1 chalet fashion1 which does not spoil the landscape4 ,from the windows of this hotel the whole enchanting picture is seen as in a frame4 ,in the afternoon ,winifred went in a motor char-a-banc to see other lakes and mountains1 and ,i walked up through the pine woods on the right of ,lake ,louise to ,lake ,agnes1 a climb of #a1bjj feet4 ,a little above this ,i saw a tiny lake called ,mirror ,lake4 ,these two are sometimes called the ,lakes in the ,clouds4 ,by this time a thunderstorm had come on1 which greatly enhanced the grandeur of the scene4 ,on the ,tuesday ,i went to the famous sulphur baths at ,banff4 ,the water comes out at #ih degrees in one spring and #aab degrees in the other4 ,there are open-air swimming baths with glass all round them1 so that you can see the mountains all the time4 ,the next day we went down the river in a motor-boat1 seeing a most wonderful panorama of woods and mountains1 which a thunderstorm made more beautiful4 ,the lightning seemed to strike a waterfall and glance off again4 ,that same night there was another tremendous storm1 the thunder echoing and re-echoing in the mountains1 sounding as if two storms had met and burst above us4 ,i distinctly felt the heat of the lightning and could not help wondering how soon it would be before we were struck1 being under trees4 ,but although the rain was terrific it never came through the tent4 ,another day we motored to ,lake ,minawaake1 passing several canyons4 ,we came back by ,banff ,park1 where we saw moose and other tame wild animals1 the most interesting of all being the buffalo1 one of which was wallowing with his legs in the air4 ,i took a photo of him1 but was not allowed to get out of the car to do so as they said he would probably charge4 ,this is the only herd now in existence1 and they once covered the prairie4 ,another very interesting sight was the lumber being floated down the ,bow ,river to ,banff1 where it is sawn up and sent by train all over the prairie4 ,the flowers here were very luxuriant4 ,the most striking one was the ,red ,indian's ,paint ,brush4 ,illustration3 #a4 ,,the ,,avenue ,,at ,,banff1 ,,alberta #b4 ,,lake ,,louise #c4 ,,lumber ,,on ,,the ,,bow ,,river ,to face p4 #hj ,illustration3 ,,slinging ,,hay ,,into ,,the ,,barn 7see page #hg7 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,church ,,on ,,the ,,indian ,,reserve 7see page #ii7 ,on the ,friday we returned to ,youngstown4 ,we had a very exciting journey as there were sixty wash-outs on the track4 ,it was very sandy1 and had given way in the recent big storms4 ,you wondered all the time what was going to happen next1 especially after it grew dark and they kept shunting us from one line to another4 ,then a madman got in1 and insisted on conversing with us when he was not fighting1 until removed by the conductor4 ,we arrived at ,youngstown at #a4cj a4m41 but as the tent had not arrived1 and the caravan was garaged1 we had nowhere to sleep1 and so finished the night on a very hard wooden bench in the waiting-room4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,on ,,the ,,return ,,journey ,the ,chautauqua at ,youngstown was now over1 but we heard all about it from ,mrs4 ,s4 ,it consists of meetings1 with lectures on all sorts of international and intellectual subjects1 interspersed with concerts and social gatherings4 ,it seems a very good plan for places far from large centres of human life and thought4 ,by this means they are brought into touch with modern movements4 ,speakers from all over the world lecture at these ,chautauquas4 ,mrs4 ,pankhurst was speaking at this one4 ,that night we gave our promised picture talk around the caravan4 ,we had a mixed congregation of ,anglicans1 ,roman ,catholics1 and ,lutherans4 ,the children seemed most interested1 and would hardly go away4 ,the ,anglicans were without a clergyman at present1 and they felt this privation very keenly4 ,they had had one of the ,railway ,mission clergy1 who had lived here and worked the surrounding district4 ,the four missioners who had served this district at different times had all been killed in the ,war4 ,now no one was forthcoming owing to the distressing dearth of clergy4 ,everything was ready should anyone be sent4 ,monetary support was guaranteed4 ,the vicarage was a nice little two-roomed shack with a garage and ,ford car all complete4 ,the church was dusty from long disuse1 and ,winifred spent all ,saturday cleaning it4 ,the furniture had been made by one of the congregation4 ,it was of some dark wood and of very original design4 ,the asphalt path from the church to the vicarage had been laid by a ,roman ,catholic neighbour4 ,this same spirit of goodwill was shown when ,i went to buy gasolene and oil from a ,youngstown ,roman ,catholic4 ,he refused to take any money for it1 saying that he was glad to help on religious work amongst the children4 ,on ,sunday we held a ,sunday school at #c p4m4 ,the children were most eager for instruction2 they knew almost nothing1 poor little things4 ,in the evening we had a service for adults in the church4 ,a man took the collection in his hat because they could find nothing else4 ,he carried it up the aisle and gave it to me1 and as ,i laid it on the altar ,i felt that it was a more acceptable offering than many a laden alms dish offered that night in some rich cathedral4 ,here1 as in many places1 we were asked who paid us4 ,when we explained that we were not paid1 it seemed to give the people a better grasp of spiritual things4 ,in this country of growing materialism1 in which the monetary value of a thing is of first importance1 it was difficult for them to understand anyone doing honorary work4 ,they began to think religious education must be of real importance when they saw that we considered the work its own reward4 ,the congregation asked us to keep the collection money for our work1 so we thanked them and promised to use it towards paying for the pictures which we left at each place4 ,in all the parishes which we visited we left a dozen ,nelson pictures backed on linen1 with wooden slips top and bottom so that they could be hung up in the church1 and also some small ,nelson pictures for use in class1 as well as lesson books of different grades4 ,where the ,canadian ,sunday ,school magazine was in use the teachers found these additional books useful to supplement it both in matter and method4 ,we discovered that there were several outlying missions which had been worked from ,youngstown1 so we decided to visit the nearer ones1 and take the others on our way back to ,regina4 ,on the ,monday we went to ,ryson and looked up the children at the farms and got them to join the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,at one farm we were thankful to take shelter as a thunderstorm was raging4 ,the farmer's wife was away1 but he and two of his brothers were at home4 ,the farmer was a great student of the ,bible1 so he and ,i had a theological discussion under cover of the piano where ,winifred and the brothers made music4 ,after another day or two's visiting we started for ,cereal1 but lost our way and did not arrive until #aj p4m4 ,here1 also1 we took the names of several children for the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,the next day we went to ,stimson1 over a very bad trail4 ,we addressed the children in the afternoon1 had supper at a farm1 and then held a service in the school1 with prayers1 hymns1 and address4 ,the latter was given under difficulties4 ,several small children came with their parents1 and several dogs accompanied their masters4 ,presently one baby fell down and began to cry1 whereupon all the other babies howled in sympathy and all the dogs began to bark4 ,i tried to make my voice heard above the din1 but ,winifred came to the rescue by collecting children and dogs and taking them all outside4 ,afterwards we discussed the best way to start a ,sunday ,school1 and took names for the ,sunday ,school by ,post in case it proved impossible4 ,we started about #h a4m4 next morning for ,alsask and ,kindersley4 ,we meant to go over a hundred miles that day4 ,the trails were awful1 however1 and presently we came to a graded place which was all loose earth1 and the car skidded badly1 running off the grade and sticking at an angle of #de degrees4 ,we unloaded1 and when ,i got in again to drive it ,i had to hold fast to the wheel in order to keep my seat1 the slope was so great4 ,but ,i managed to get back to the trail4 ,we reached ,alsask about #b p4m4 and found ,mr4 ,h4 there1 who wanted to be taken on to ,kindersley4 ,after five miles the car stopped dead4 ,on examination ,i found that the hub of a back wheel was broken in half4 ,just then two men came along in a car and said they were going to ,alsask1 so they took me and the wheel4 ,while it was being mended ,i bought some food to take back with me to the others1 but had to wait an hour or so till the men were ready to return4 ,they took me back to the caravan1 and ,i put the wheel on again and we started once more4 ,but the car still went badly4 ,then we came to a steep hill newly graded1 which we could hardly get up4 ,at last ,i found that ,i must put in new sparking plugs1 a difficult job in the dark4 ,whilst ,i was doing this ,winifred had a splendid view of a distant electrical storm4 ,it was a magnificent sight to see the lightning flashes playing on a vast expanse of sky4 ,then we came to a nightmare of a road1 very steeply graded and with loose hard clods about #c feet deep on the top4 ,these nearly knocked the bottom out of the engine1 so ,i had to drive on the side at an incredible angle1 expecting every moment to be overturned1 though my companions were steadying the van with might and main1 the one hanging on to one side1 and the other propping up on the other4 ,every now and then we had to stop and unload1 or else we must have capsised4 ,we arrived at ,kindersley about #b4cj a4m41 and found ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,w4 still waiting up for us with a splendid supper prepared1 to which we did full justice4 ,about four in the morning a tremendous thunderstorm came on4 ,i woke up with a start and suddenly remembered that ,i hadn't covered up the engine1 so ,i scurried out to do so1 otherwise my sparking plugs would have been ruined and the whole of the engine flooded4 ,the difficulty was to keep the tarpaulin on1 as there was always a big wind4 ,i made up my mind that another year the engine should have a proper mackintosh cover to clip on4 ,we could not start for another twelve hours because the trails were so heavy after the storm4 ,the ,chautauqua had reached ,kindersley now4 ,the big brown tent was pitched just opposite the vicarage and ,i heard the singing1 but had no time to go to any of the lectures1 unfortunately4 ,we did not leave for ,rosetown till #d p4m41 but we arrived there at #i p4m41 a seventy mile run4 ,the next day 7,sunday7 we went on to ,dinsmore1 where the vicar lived whom we had met before at ,bounty4 ,we had not been able to hear from him1 but knew he expected us to take a ,sunday ,school and address parents somewhere in his district that afternoon4 ,we started about noon1 but lost our way1 and when we inquired at a farm were wrongly directed1 so we did not get to ,dinsmore till #b4cj4 ,just as we were entering the town we got on to a rough trail with a lot of big clods4 ,a front wheel struck one of these and badly bent the steering-rod1 which made it very difficult to steer the van1 as it kept veering towards the left of the trail all the time4 ,when we reached the vicarage we found the vicar had gone1 but ,i knew that he had a service at ,surbiton on ,sunday afternoons and so asked the way there4 ,the caravan got more and more difficult to steer4 ,i tried to straighten the steering-rod with a tyre iron1 but it was not strong enough4 ,then we came to a creek where there had been a bad wash-out1 and a board up across the trail said ,no road4 ,but ,i noticed that cars had been going over the creek a little to the right1 which meant going down a hill like the side of a house1 over the stream1 and up an equally steep hill on the other side4 ,one needs to steer particularly well on these occasions1 but ,i had to risk it and got across somehow4 ,at last we arrived at the school-house at ,surbiton1 and singing told us that service was going on4 ,we crept in and found the room full2 some of the congregation were even sitting in the porch4 ,the ,sunday ,school was over1 but ,i was asked to give an address to the people4 ,the vicar had to go on immediately to another service1 but he had a puncture and no spare tube1 so ,i lent him one of mine4 ,he introduced us to the ,sunday ,school superintendent and her husband4 ,she was most anxious to learn anything about methods4 ,all the children of every denomination attended her school4 ,she invited us to stop to supper1 and it finally ended in our camping in their yard for nearly a week4 ,we wanted to teach the children1 so our host and hostess suggested that they should be invited to a cricket match1 and have a picture talk afterwards in the evening4 ,they complained of the lack of organised games for the children1 a thing we had already noticed4 ,here and there a teacher would organise a base-ball team1 and that was all4 ,one felt how invaluable it would be to have more ,boy ,scouts and ,girl ,guides4 ,the difficulty here lies in the lack of people for ,guiders and ,scout-masters4 ,the cricket match could not take place till after school1 then the children arrived in cars and buggies1 and we had a splendid game4 ,we played till it was too dark to see1 and then had the ,bible picture talk by the light of the moon and the headlights of the cars4 ,the day-school master and the parents standing behind the children seemed just as interested as the latter were4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,among ,,the ,,prairie ,,farms ,our host and hostess were charming1 cultured people4 ,he and his brothers1 ',varsity men1 were farming in a little colony of their own4 ,he was a member of the ,provincial ,parliament1 or ,senate4 ,our hostess was a trained nurse from ,st4 ,bartholomew's4 ,she had been matron at a hospital in ,rosetown1 and she still helped in cases of illness whenever she had time4 ,she told us how badly nurses were needed on the prairie4 ,she was also ,president of the local ,grain ,growers' ,association1 which is similar to the ,home-,makers' ,club and the ,women's ,institutes--we got the latter idea from ,canada4 ,the chief aim of these associations is the selling of farm produce and the general betterment of home and rural life4 ,our hostess was one of those who saw the need for a higher moral standard in the country1 and her ,association had appealed to the ,senate to that effect4 ,they were most kind and hospitable1 and insisted on our having meals with them4 ,the farm hands sat at the same table--in this democratic country no longer below the salt4 ,on several evenings ,i went with our host and his children to play cricket at other farms1 and ,i noticed that the farm-hands and everyone else joined in the game4 ,it was very interesting to go round the farm and see all the wonderful labour-saving devices4 ,they had cut the hay and were getting it in4 ,the term wild and woolly ,west is said to have originated from the prairie wool1 or natural hay1 which is specially luxuriant on dried-up sloughs4 ,it is a grass with a fluffy1 golden-brown plume4 ,but this natural hay can only be cut every other year1 hence many farmers are sowing hay seeds as well4 ,the wagon which they use for carting hay and wheat has enormously high rack-like sides4 ,on this farm1 when carting hay1 an immense canvas sheet with rings at the corners is put in the wagon and the hay piled up on it4 ,when a wagon-load reaches the barn1 a rope attached to a pulley in the barn roof is put through the four rings of the sheet1 the horses are taken out of the shafts and harnessed to the pulley-rope1 and the whole load is swung up into the barn1 along a rod1 and on to the rick4 ,the whole operation only takes three minutes4 ,there was a blacksmith's shop on this farm1 and as some of the metal on my shock-absorber had broken1 our host cut me a piece of metal1 and ,i mended it with his assistance--a job which entailed lying under the car for an hour with earth falling into one's eyes4 ,the vicar was famous as a fixer of broken-down ,fords1 and one day he came to the farm with his children to gather ,saskatoon berries4#g ,whilst he was waiting for the party to start1 he and our host took out my steering-rod and straightened it at the forge4 ,as he put it back he eyed me solemnly and remarked3 ,i suppose you know that your two lives depend on this rod4 ,one very hot night we were sleeping in the van with all the doors wide open for the sake of coolness4 ,i woke up suddenly to a tremendous clap of thunder with terrific forked lightning and a hurricane of wind1 and hailstones the size of a hen's egg4 ,i sprang up and pulled the wind-screen to and shut the side doors1 and then woke up ,winifred and told her that we must hold on to the back doors for dear life4 ,if once the wind got in it would certainly overturn the van4 ,how we got through the next half-hour ,i cannot tell4 ,there was no catch inside the back doors1 as we always bolted them from the outside1 but so sudden and terrific was the storm that there was no time to run round and bolt them4 ,the wind would have swept you off your feet1 and you might have been struck by the lightning4 ,for the same reasons it was impossible to make a dash for the farmhouse1 and even if we had got there safely by any chance1 the caravan would have been smashed to atoms as soon as an open door gave entrance to the wind4 ,the only thing to do was to hold the back doors with our fingers in the chinks1 though how we managed it ,i do not know4 ,the alternative was to abandon the caravan and lie flat on the ground1 as one was advised to do in cyclones1 but in this case we might have been killed by lightning4 ,all through that half-hour the van quivered like a live thing1 and we expected every minute that it would be blown away or broken in4 ,i have never felt so near death4 ,the storm lessened after a time1 and then ,i bolted the back doors4 ,in the morning we found that the farmhouse had been nearly flooded by the torrential rain1 a stream of water having poured through the house4 ,they had looked out at us anxiously from time to time1 but could no more reach us than we could get to them when the storm was at its worst4 ,two great hay-wagons had been blown several yards into a fence1 and we heard that a shack eight miles off had been blown over1 and the settler had had all his limbs broken4 ,we had often heard of these storms before4 ,on one occasion such a storm burst upon a prairie school1 smashing in the windows4 ,the young teacher gathered the children into the porch1 where they escaped injury4 ,but when they returned to their homes most of them found the shacks blown over and their parents killed4 ,a neighbouring school was entirely wrecked and the teacher and children killed4 ,on the ,saturday1 when the trails had dried up1 we started for ,birdview4 ,we were now entering the dried-out area again1 but the sand-drifts had sunk a good deal and become more compact1 so we managed to get the caravan through1 though she skidded a bit4 ,we camped by the little prairie church1 built miles away from any farm so that it might be in the most central spot for each4 ,beside it stood the vicarage1 a one-roomed shack with a cellar beneath4 ,there was also a good-sized parish hall and a stable for the parishioners' horses4 ,this complete isolation has its perils4 ,during the influenza epidemic in #aiah one of the clergy lay here helpless for three days before anyone knew that he was ill4 ,we stayed here for a week1 having the place all to ourselves4 ,we cleaned out the shack and had our meals in it1 sleeping in the van4 ,it was intensely hot1 and we found the cellar a great boon for our butter1 etc4 ,these cellars are a necessity on the prairie1 keeping your food cool in summer and your house warm in winter4 ,mrs4 ,m41 the farmer's wife who had arranged for our visit here1 used to bring us water and milk and eggs from her farm two miles away4 ,the well at the shack was now very low4 ,she also drove us to visit a day-school teacher who had promised to carry on the ,sunday ,school if we started it4 ,we held the school on ,sunday1 and two prospective teachers listened4 ,after school there was a most excellent tea in the parish hall1 provided by the parents who had brought the children4 ,delightful al fresco meals are a feature of prairie life4 ,after tea we held a service in the church4 ,we had made it as beautiful as possible1 with golden rod in the altar vases4 ,members of the ,women's ,auxiliary had cleaned it thoroughly for us4 ,this service will always remain in my memory4 ,there were people of all ages present1 and a large number of men1 both middle-aged and young4 ,winifred played1 and ,i read the service and gave the address4 ,we had a shortened form of evensong4 ,for the lessons ,i selected passages from the ,gospels about our ,lord and the children4 ,i also used some of the beautiful prayers written for the ,forward ,movement--in particular1 the one for a parish left without a clergyman4 ,we chose well-loved hymns1 such as ,rock of ,ages1 from the ,canadian hymn-book1 which is beautifully called ,the ,book of ,common ,praise4 ,it is the best collection of hymns which ,i have ever seen1 including suitable ones for both children and adults4 ,there is also a ,canadian prayer-book1 some of the prayers being for the special needs of the country1 such as the prayer in time of drought4 ,we used this one at the service on behalf of this dried-out area4 ,i spoke on the importance of religious education1 building up my theme from the ,gospel readings of the lessons4 ,i tried to show how juvenile crime had increased in countries which neglected the spiritual welfare of the children4 ,i ended by reminding them that1 just as they had chosen a font for their ,war ,memorial1 so the children1 properly trained1 would be a living memorial of those who had laid down their lives for ,christian ideals4 ,it was very easy to draw analogies between the spiritual life of the child and the growth of the wheat1 which is so easily prevented by storms and drought from coming to its full perfection4 ,at the close of the service we went to the door to say good-bye to the people4 ,i was very touched to see that some of them were crying1 no doubt from memories which the old familiar hymns and prayers had brought to mind4 ,the next day we were invited to supper at a farm five miles off4 ,on the way we had a feast of beauty from the flowers1 which were especially glorious now4 ,this is the native land of golden rod and ,michaelmas daisies4 ,i have never seen such a variety of the latter--little white ones growing low on the ground1 little pale mauve ones1 and great bushes of deep mauve and yellow ones4 ,there were also perennial sunflowers with beautiful dark centres1 and fine erigerons4 ,at last we arrived at the farm4 ,it was a melancholy sight1 almost buried in sand1 and the farmer was leaving it4 ,in spite of being very badly off they gave us a most delicious supper--roast chicken and layer cake and fruit and tea4 ,it was especially welcome just then as ,i had been doing a lot of cooking that week1 so a meal which ,i had not prepared was a great treat4 7,this may be taken in two ways47 ,the next day we taught in the day school and enrolled some children for the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,then we went on and paid several visits1 finishing up at ,mrs4 ,m4's farm1 where we had supper4 ,it was wonderful to see her small son1 aged three or four1 rounding up cattle mounted on a tall steed4 ,this infant had already made our acquaintance1 driving over to our shack all by himself to bring us eggs4 ,on ,thursday we left for ,swanson1 nearly sticking in the sand more than once4 ,at last the sub-radius rod broke with our continual skidding1 but ,i was able to get another at a hardware store on the way4 ,we reached ,swanson that night and camped by the church4 ,next day we went to see the farmer's wife who had promised to get the people together to meet us4 ,the family consisted of ,mrs4 ,z41 a widow1 her daughter1 and two sons4 ,as we drove up we saw that the wheat was being cut4 ,some of the binders were drawn by motor tractors and others by horses4 ,after the tea-supper1 which is the last meal of the day1 ,winifred went to the piano to play songs for the girl4 ,i noticed that the two brothers looked very tired after their day's work1 and guessed that they were waiting up for us as ,i had seen that our room led through another4 ,at last in desperation they went to bed1 and we found them fast asleep when we went through4 ,this shack was in advance of many1 as it had a door between the rooms instead of a curtain1 but the girl ingenuously suggested that as it was a hot night we should leave the door open4 ,the next day we went out to help them stook the wheat4 ,it was a beautiful sight1 the sky so very blue and the wheat so very golden4 ,i felt quite at home at this job1 though one had to stook from a quarter to half a mile before turning1 and the sheaves in the stooks were placed in a circle instead of in our ,english way4 ,their aim is to keep out the sun and wind1 which would dry the wheat too much1 whereas ours1 of course1 is to let them in4 ,they told us that a stooking machine had been invented1 but it was not very satisfactory as yet4 ,the wheat usually stands only a week in stook1 and is then threshed on the field4 ,the rack 7i4e41 wagon7 is accompanied by a loader 7elevator7 which shoots up the sheaves into the rack4 ,when this is full it is driven to the thresher4 ,this differs from our ,english threshing machine4 ,instead of coming out in bundles1 the straw is cut fine and blown out of a funnel1 accumulating in a heap on the ground4 ,it is left there all winter1 being used either as fodder or as fuel4 ,the grain pours down a great pipe into a wagon1 instead of being put into bags as with us4 ,the wagon is then driven off to the nearest depot1 where there is always an elevator1 as the tall buildings used for storing the wheat are called out here4 ,the wagon drives into the building1 where it is weighed with its freight4 ,then the wheat is tipped out and taken up to the store rooms above4 ,from there it is shot down a pipe into railway trucks1 and sent by train to ,fort ,william on the ,great ,lakes4 ,there it is cleaned and again stored in elevators1 and then poured down a great pipe into the grain boats which carry it down the ,great ,lakes4 ,then it goes by train to ,montreal and ,quebec1 where there are even greater elevators1 whence it is sent all over the world4 ,we were told that this was the first good harvest in that district for five years1 which shows what a gamble prairie farming is4 ,what with drought and late frosts in spring1 and hail and rain when the wheat is ripe1 the result must always be uncertain4 ,the farmers are obliged to put all their eggs into one basket1 as they cannot store a root crop in winter owing to the intense frost4 ,a daily paper1 dated ,september1 #aiba1 has the following news from ,montreal3 ,two feet of snow fell in the district of ,saskatchewan1 causing much damage to crops and bringing the snow-ploughs out4 ,drenching rains throughout the remainder of the province suspended harvesting and threshing4 ,the storm is the worst for #be years4 ,of course ,i had put on my landworker's clothes to stook in1 and to my surprise this caused a great sensation4 ,they had never seen a landworker in real life1 only pictures of them in the ,sketch and the ,daily ,mirror4 ,they said the kindest things about ,british women war-workers4 ,footnote #g3 ,something like wortleberries4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,back ,,to ,,regina ,we returned to ,swanson that evening in order to be ready for ,sunday4 ,while we were hanging up pictures in the church two boys came in4 ,we had already met these two out in the harvest field1 and had asked them to come to ,sunday ,school4 ,one of them pointed to the cross on the altar1 and asked1 ,what's that8 ,i found that he knew nothing about the ,life of our ,lord1 so ,i showed him the picture of the ,nativity1 and from this and the other pictures told him the sacred story4 ,the other boy joined in at intervals1 supplementing my remarks4 ,i found that he knew the story quite well1 and asked him how it was that he knew so much1 and he explained that he was a ,roman ,catholic4 ,i told them that there would be ,sunday ,school on ,sunday afternoon1 and asked them to come1 which they did4 7,there was no ,roman ,catholic church in the place47 ,the children seemed to enjoy the school1 and the teachers-to-be came to listen4 ,a bad thunderstorm delayed us in beginning the service following1 as the people could not get there4 ,but they arrived eventually1 and seemed to think the effort worth while4 ,a few of the people from the ,birdview district1 who had attended our service on the previous ,sunday1 were among the congregation4 ,we were given an early supper by kind ,mrs4 ,t41 who had mothered us when we were there before1 and1 thus fortified1 started on our twenty-mile drive to the ferry over the ,saskatchewan ,river1 where we camped4 ,there was another thunderstorm that night4 ,i got up very early1 and had an awful business cooking breakfast because of the raging wind4 ,i had determined that on any future trips there should be a tin shield for the ,primus1 as digging a trench was of little use4 ,meanwhile we heard that the ferry had not been running for several days1 as the river had fallen and the sand had silted up4 ,if ,i had known this sooner we might have crossed at ,saskatoon1 where there was a bridge1 but we were now a hundred miles or more away4 ,it was necessary to cross without loss of time1 because ,winifred wanted to catch the train at ,outlook on the following evening4 ,she was obliged to get back to ,england by an earlier boat than ,i was taking1 because the tour had been prolonged beyond the original date1 owing to weather and other difficulties4 ,when we had got down the steep1 slippery trail to the river ,i found that the ferry-barge was not starting from the pier1 but lower down stream where there was no pier1 and between us and it was nothing but sand and mud and water in which the caravan would sink4 ,there were two other cars waiting to cross4 ,their owners had gone over to ,outlook in the ferry to get a team of horses to pull them through4 ,just at this moment a wagon and two fine horses drove down to the river bank4 ,we explained our difficulty to the driver1 and he offered to tow us on to the barge4 ,the ferry-boat had now returned1 and the touring cars were towed on with difficulty4 ,the waggoner hitched us on to his wagon1 and ,i asked ,winifred to get out1 as there was no reason why she should run the risk of being overturned4 ,then our wagon started1 and ,i started the engine to help the horses1 but this frightened them and they tried to bolt4 ,the man shouted to me to switch off1 which ,i did1 but they still galloped on and seemed to be making straight for the river4 ,hitched on behind like this ,i was helpless4 ,but the man was a splendid whip1 and he knew his horses4 ,he steadied them with his voice1 and1 getting them in hand1 swung them sharply round and on to the barge1 though still snorting and plunging in their fright4 ,it was exceedingly difficult to steer the van round just at the right moment1 but ,i managed it somehow4 ,the barge men 7our former friends7 seemed to find it very hard work getting the heavily-laden boat across1 with the wind against them4 ,on the other side there was no pier to land on1 only mud and water as before1 so the waggoner offered to pull us ashore4 ,his horses were really magnificent--extraordinarily strong--for they pulled both the wagon and the laden van through the sand and water1 past the touring cars stuck in the mud4 ,the man refused to take any money for his services1 though it was usual to charge a dollar or so for pulling out cars1 etc4 ,but only once in all our three months on the prairie1 and with our numerous calls for help1 would any man take money for his services to us4 ,i am sure that our work was helped by our being women4 ,much more consideration was shown to us than would have been the case with men similarly situated4 ,perhaps this is because there are fewer women than men out there4 ,the men certainly seem to feel that they cannot do enough for them4 ,i took the grass track up from the river1 the same which ,i had used when crossing the ferry before2 but the van stuck at the top1 so ,i had to unload1 and then back down to the bottom and rush up again at full speed4 ,it was a very hot day and a weary task repacking the van4 ,we bitterly regretted our refusal of the kind waggoner's offer to pull us up4 ,i saw ,winifred off by train1 and then went on to ,eyebrow1 #if miles4 ,it was rather fun trying to race ,winifred's train1 which ,i could see on the track a little ahead of me4 ,i did nearly catch her at one station1 but was not quite quick enough4 ,i was very grateful for all ,winifred's help1 and found it rather difficult to find my way without her1 as she always held the map4 ,but ,i struck a green blazed trail after a time1 and then found my way quite easily4 ,this trail fortunately avoided that bad corner at ,elbow1 and the surface of all the trails was far better now than when we came up4 ,i arrived at ,eyebrow about #e p4m4 ,the next day ,mr4 ,t4 took me to visit some parents1 with whom we had meals1 and then on to ,keelerville day-school1 where ,i gave an address4 ,i was surprised to find one little girl answering all my questions with great fluency1 while the others sat in open-mouthed admiration4 ,i said to myself1 ,i'm sure you've been to the ,qu',appelle ,diocesan ,school for ,girls1 as ,i had noticed the same phenomena in ,sunday ,schools in ,regina1 and my surmise proved to be correct4 ,we went out to supper1 where we had the usual great bowl of boiled eggs1 from which we helped ourselves1 everyone being expected to eat at least three4 ,it was very dark on our return journey1 and the headlights sometimes went very dim4 ,i found it extremely pleasant to be driven for once4 ,i left ,eyebrow on the ,wednesday afternoon1 and went on to ,mortlack1 about #ch miles4 ,i found my way all right1 but had to go through a great deal of sand4 ,fortunately ,i did not stick4 ,the vicar and his wife gave me a very warm welcome when ,i arrived that evening4 ,there were five small children and a young theological student in the house4 ,the vicar had been presented with a ,ford caravan very much like mine1 in which to get about his rural deanery4 ,for everyday use he had a ,ford car1 and he took me round the district in this4 ,i taught in two schools and held a parents' meeting on the first day1 and gave a picture talk and two addresses to parents and teachers on the next day4 ,indoors ,i helped the student with the household chores1 which he had made part of his duty4 ,the vicar's wife had her hands full with the children4 ,the latter were charming people2 they specially loved jumping in and out of the caravan4 ,i secured temporary quietude by taking them down the town and presenting them with all-day suckers4 ,this protection of the ,canadian parent is a large hard1 brightly-coloured confection1 stuck on a pointed stick1 which forms a handle4 ,as the name suggests1 it is supposed to last all day4 ,another favourite comestible is chewing-gum4 ,the children in their turn frequently presented me with both these dainties4 ,but what ,i really liked were the delicious ice-creams and ice-cream sodas and sundaes4 ,those of the latter that one buys in ,england are but pale shadows of the original4 ,the real1 true sundae is a bowl of genuine ice-cream1 on the top of which is preserved fruit in rich syrup1 with chopped nuts scattered over it4 ,this rural deanery received a great deal of support from the ,colonial and ,continental ,church ,society4 ,they wanted me to stop at ,mortlack over ,sunday1 but ,i felt that ,i should never get all my affairs settled up in ,regina before catching my boat unless ,i went on at once4 ,so ,i started off for ,regina on the ,saturday1 and got there in the afternoon 7#gj miles74 ,the trail was exceedingly bad1 as they were newly grading it1 and in some places ,i had to get over mounds of loose earth about four feet or more high4 ,it was odd to find my watch an hour different from the ,regina clocks4 ,the big towns have summer time1 but the ,c4,p4,r4 and the country places keep to ordinary time4 ,i had a very warm reception from the ,w4 family1 behind whose house ,i stored the caravan until ,i had time to clean it4 ,the first thing to do was to clean myself and my wardrobe4 ,i looked more like a mechanic than a ,sunday ,school expert4 ,i found oil on most of my clothes1 and without ,mrs4 ,w4 should never have got them clean again4 ,it was very nice not to have to turn out in the morning and cook breakfast over a bad-tempered ,primus4 ,mrs4 ,w4's meals were not easily forgotten1 and now they seemed extra good4 ,the ,canadian breakfast is a dream3 you begin with grape fruit1 and then come cereals1 followed by eggs and bacon1 and sometimes griddle cakes with maple syrup1 or johnnie cakes4 ,when ,i went to church on ,sunday morning ,i had another kind reception1 and the vicar insisted that ,i should give an address to the whole ,sunday ,school in church that afternoon4 ,next day ,i went to see ,archdeacon ,dobie and ,archdeacon ,knowles1 and had a long talk with them1 the gist of which ,i append later4 ,i told them that ,i wished to present the caravan to the diocese1 that this work might be carried on4 ,archdeacon ,knowles offered to take charge of the van and its equipment during the winter1 promising that it should be stored in the ,synod garage4 ,the caravan had covered at least #c1jjj miles in just over three months4 ,we started from ,regina on ,may #ba and got back on ,august #ba4 ,we visited ten existing ,sunday ,schools and started four new ones2 we also visited twelve day schools and enrolled sixty children in the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,besides this we gave many ,bible picture talks to children and addresses to parents and teachers1 held a good many services in church1 and did a lot of visiting4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,an ,,indian ,,reserve ,i felt that ,i could not leave ,canada without seeing an ,indian ,reserve4 ,i had met ,miss ,a41 the headmistress of the ,christian boarding school at ,punnichy1 so ,i wrote to her asking if ,i might pay a flying visit to the ,reserve1 and received a warm invitation4 ,i left ,regina at #i4cj p4m4 and did not arrive at ,punnichy till next morning at #f4cj4 ,i travelled with a large number of ,doukhobors1 extraordinary people who talk a most curious language4 ,they come from southern ,russia1 and are a religious sect4 ,they live in communities1 having everything in common1 even wives4 ,the women wear picturesque clothes--a coloured handkerchief over their heads and another over their shoulders1 with a very full short skirt4 ,i noticed that the train inspector seemed uneasy at my being in their compartment1 and soon moved me to another one4 ,but ,i had to remain an hour with them in the waiting-room at ,saskatchewan1 and they seemed quite harmless and were interesting to watch4 ,i was met by a ,mrs4 ,t41 who drove me in her own car up to the ,reserve4 ,i found that she had nursed in ,france during the ,war1 had had shell shock1 and had received the ,royal ,red ,cross4 ,her husband was the headmaster of the day school on the ,reserve4 ,she had found that the ,indians were without a nurse of any kind1 and so she was giving her services in that capacity and had her hands full4 ,she had even bought a car in order to get round the ,reserve4 ,there was a great deal of sickness1 the ,indians being very tubercular now1 and there was much infant mortality4 ,mrs4 ,t4 said that she badly needed another nurse to help her4 ,she was then on her way to the school to help the doctor operate on a good many children for adenoids and tonsils1 but it would be a case of first catch your hare1 as the patients always fled into the bush on these occasions4 ,miss ,a4 and her father1 the chaplain on the ,reserve1 received me very kindly4 ,after breakfast ,i was asked to give the children a ,scripture lesson4 ,they were bright1 attractive children1 but not nearly so quick as the ,british children4 ,they knew a great deal1 however1 having been well taught4 ,it seemed very sad that our ,british children had been so neglected that they knew less about the ,bible than these ,indian children did4 ,i bought some of the beautiful moccasins and bead chains which they make on the ,reserve4 ,the mother of one of the pupils had made the ,bishop's mitre all out of beads4 ,outside the school-house there was a poor little boy lying on a mattress1 the other children entertaining him with picture books4 ,i asked what was the matter with him1 and was told that he had broken his leg and the witch-doctors had essayed to cure it1 doing him great harm4 ,but he was now getting well under proper supervision4 ,we had meals with the ,indian children1 in a nice family way4 ,they talked good ,english1 of course1 having been in the school for several years4 ,the raison d'etre of the boarding school is to give the children a good standard of living4 ,when they attend a day school they have to live at home in the dirty hovels1 which undoes much of the civilising influence they have received4 ,when they are old enough the boys are trained to work on the school farm1 under the management of ,mr4 ,a4 ,i was shown the beautiful little church1 but was saddened to see the many little wooden crosses marking the babies' graves4 ,we saw some fine ,indian men1 looking quaint with their long braided hair and big shady hats4 ,they are being trained to farm work1 at which they prove most efficient4 ,i should have liked to have seen the ,indian warriors in war paint1 but this is seldom allowed by the ,government now as it is found to have such an exciting effect on them4 ,there had been a display of the ,hudson ,bay ,company at ,winnipeg in the ,may of that year1 but ,i was not able to go4 ,there was something singularly tragic in the sight of these people1 disinherited1 and suffering from diseases which they never knew in their old free life4 ,it is one of those great injustices for which there seems to be no remedy4 ,i remained for evening prayer1 and was asked by ,mr4 ,a4 to give the address4 ,i told the story of ,st4 ,christopher1 which seemed to be much appreciated4 ,then ,i caught a night train and got back to ,regina next morning4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,headed ,,for ,,home ,on my return from ,punnichy ,i went to see the ,bishop and ,mrs4 ,harding1 and described our caravan tour4 ,his lordship said that my account only emphasised his previous conviction that work among the children was of vital importance1 and he hoped ,i would come back in the following spring to carry it on4 ,i explained that ,i had my diocesan work in ,england1 and had only six months' leave of absence1 and was even now hurrying back to take a ,teachers' ,training ,course4 ,i had plenty to do during the next few days4 ,i had sent home to ,england for a good many books and pictures1 and these now had to be done up and sent off to the different places we had visited on the prairie4 ,a decidedly arduous task1 too1 was the cleaning of the caravan1 to which a good deal of the trail still clung4 ,i spent strenuous hours with a hose and brush1 cleaning it inside and out4 ,a hole had been knocked in the composition boarding of the door1 and ,i racked my brains to think of a way to mend it4 ,then ,i remembered the paper pulp with which we make raised maps4 ,this did splendidly and hardened well4 ,then there were all the books and pictures and models to catalogue and store for the winter1 ready for those who should take the van out next spring4 ,i had told the garage to fetch the caravan and take the engine down and clean and overhaul it1 but as they did not send for it ,i took it round myself on the ,monday and said that it must be done by the ,thursday1 as ,i had to leave for ,england4 ,when ,i went next day they had merely taken down a little bit of the engine4 ,they did not get to work on it properly till the ,wednesday1 which was very annoying1 as ,i wished to have the back springs strengthened1 a long job1 and one which ,i meant to see thoroughly done4 ,i spent ,thursday running to and fro between the garage and the parish hall 7where many of my things were stored74 ,i had to catch an early train in the morning1 and so told a porter overnight to fetch my cases and boxes from the parish hall4 ,after supper ,i went round to the garage again to see if the van was finished4 ,it wasn't4 ,i knew that if ,i left it the mechanics would go off to some other car1 and not only would my van certainly not be done in the morning1 but quite possibly it would never be properly done at all1 and when used next year might break down at a critical moment4 ,i therefore determined to stay and see it finished4 ,i knew the garage was open all night1 with a special set of mechanics for night duty4 ,hour after hour passed4 ,i stood around by the van and handed tools from time to time1 and pointed out what ,i wanted done1 and by thus keeping them at it the van was actually finished soon after #g a4m4 ,i rushed off with it to the ,w4's1 and ,mrs4 ,w4 and ,i packed all the equipment in it as fast as we could4 ,then ,i hurried up to the ,synod garage1 taking a man with me to remove the electric starter1 which would freeze if left in all winter4 ,as ,i flew along ,i thought wistfully of the splendid breakfast which kind ,mrs4 ,w4 had prepared and which ,i had no time to eat4 ,i handed over the car and keys1 got another car to take me to the station1 and just managed to catch the train4 ,there was no time to feel sentimental over bidding farewell to my beloved ,tin ,lizzie1 who had done such wonders for us4 ,several friends came to see me off1 but my cases from the parish hall only appeared on the platform as the train steamed out of the station1 and it was months before ,i saw them again4 ,i went by train to ,fort ,william1 on ,lake ,superior1 then by the ,great ,lakes and down the ,st4 ,lawrence ,river4 ,lake ,superior is a huge inland sea1 into which you could drop ,england4 ,on ,sunday morning we reached the easterly end of the lake1 where the great locks are between ,lake ,superior and ,lake ,huron4 ,we stopped at ,sault ,st4 ,marie for several hours1 and some of us went ashore to church4 ,i hunted about for an ,anglican church1 and seeing one with a cross on it made for it2 but it was a ,roman ,catholic church1 and was packed to the doors4 ,next ,i found a ,presbyterian church1 and at last found an ,anglican one1 which ,i afterwards discovered was the pro-cathedral4 ,the ,archbishop of ,algoma was preaching on the ,lambeth ,conference1 from which he had just returned4 ,i had to leave before the end of the service lest the boat should go without me4 ,we started again at one o'clock1 and went down ,lake ,huron and through the ,georgian ,bay and past the ,ten ,thousand ,islands4 ,it was very beautiful4 ,we arrived at ,fort ,mc,nicholl at #h a4m4 on ,monday4 ,i then went by train to ,toronto1 and thence took a steamer down ,lake ,ontario4 ,it was a grey day1 but the scenery was lovely1 and the waves quite rough1 like the sea4 ,we passed into the ,st4 ,lawrence at night1 and on the ,tuesday morning began to pass the ,thousand ,islands1 some of which are disfigured by enormous houses1 which look too big for the island4 ,at ,prescott we changed into a tiny steamer called ,the ,queen of the ,rapids1 and went on down the river1 soon coming to the first of the rapids1 which the steamer shot4 ,there is a drop of three hundred feet between ,prescott and ,montreal4 ,the biggest rapid is the ,lachine ,rapid1 with a fall of eighty-five feet4 ,these rapids have always been shot by the ,indians in their canoes1 and now one always comes on board to pilot the steamer down4 ,the river here is far wider than the ,thames at ,london1 and the rapids form a foaming bar from side to side1 through which there is only one narrow channel4 ,as we rushed through we were suddenly aware that the walls of water close on either side were veiling rocks1 between which the boat passed with only a few inches to spare4 ,we went three miles in one and a half minutes4 ,in #aiba the rudder chain broke when the steamer was shooting the rapids4 ,the boat dashed on the rocks and had a hole knocked in it1 but the passengers managed to reach an island and were all saved4 ,we arrived at ,montreal that night1 whence ,i went on to ,quebec by train1 the ,empress of ,france being too big to get up the river4 ,i arrived at ,quebec in the cold early morning1 and spent the day hunting up my luggage1 but finding very little of it4 ,i found time1 however1 to go up to the ,heights of ,abraham1 whence ,i had a magnificent view right over the harbour4 ,both here and at ,fort ,william the gigantic elevators were a striking sight1 and ,i could also see a lot of lumber floating in ,quebec harbour4 ,quebec is a strangely old-world town1 noticeably so after the very modern ,west4 ,i went into a shoemaker's shop to get a shoe mended1 but had to make my wants known chiefly by signs1 as the man spoke a queer old ,french and knew no ,english4 ,this journey down through the ,great ,lakes and the ,st4 ,lawrence is so exceedingly beautiful that it is a pity more people do not take it4 ,but it is only possible in the summer months4 ,after ,october the lakes are too rough1 and in winter the ,st4 ,lawrence is blocked by ice4 ,as we steamed out of ,quebec the ,heights of ,abraham looked very fine with the sunset behind them4 ,we went by the northern passage1 between ,labrador and ,newfoundland4 ,at night the ,northern ,lights lit up the sky for two or three hours together1 and just here we had to go slowly for fear of sunken icebergs4 ,we got to ,liverpool on ,september #ae1 but though we arrived at #d p4m41 we did not get off the boat till #g4cj p4m41 as a ,white ,star liner was at the landing-stage1 so ,i did not get home till next morning4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,some ,,present-,,day ,,needs ,,of ,,the ,,prairie ,in the interview which ,i was granted with ,archdeacon ,knowles and ,archdeacon ,dobie before leaving ,regina1 ,i tried to explain my conviction that the future of the ,anglican ,church on the prairie depended on the training of the children4 ,if they remained as ignorant of religion as we found them in many places1 it was obvious that their generation would have no use for the ,church4 ,on the other hand1 they were now in an intensely receptive state1 and the parents were more than willing that they should receive instruction1 and had supported us by every means in their power1 both by promising to carry on our work and by giving us most generous hospitality4 ,experience had proved that a caravan was the best means of reaching these outlying districts1 first because they were often so far from the railway1 and also because there was no accommodation for women visitors in most of the shacks4 ,when ,i offered my van to the diocese1 ,archdeacon ,knowles suggested that ,i should leave suggestions for its future use4 ,those ,i made were as follows3 7#a7 ,that in the spring1 summer1 and fall1 a ,sunday ,school expert should use the van on the prairie1 starting ,sunday ,schools1 visiting the farms and day schools1 giving ,bible lessons in school hours1 if allowed by the trustees1 if not1 after school hours2 taking names for the ,sunday ,school by ,post2 helping the existing ,sunday ,schools1 teachers1 and clergy4 7#b7 ,that the expert must be a person fully trained for the work1 either at ,st4 ,christopher's1 ,blackheath1 ,london1 or in any similar institution which might be started in ,canada4 7#c7 ,the expert must be accompanied by someone who has driven a car for at least a year1 and done her own running repairs4 ,she should be able to cook1 and willing to teach a class under the direction of the expert4 7#d7 ,concerning the finance3 the travelling expenses of the workers1 their board1 and the running expenses of the caravan should be raised in ,england until the diocese is able to support them4 ,if possible1 a salary should be provided1 but1 failing this1 honorary workers might be found4 ,archdeacon ,dobie read me a report which he had just received from two of the ,mission clergy who had gone out in the other ,ford caravan4 ,they had done between two and three thousand miles already1 and ,i afterwards heard that by the end of the season they had gone #f1jjj miles and baptized #aja children4 ,it was interesting to note where their report corroborated ours4 ,they spoke of the spiritual desolation of the people1 who asked them if the ,church would only send clergy where a stipend could be guaranteed4 ,they remarked on the eagerness of the children to learn1 their intense appreciation of the sacraments and services1 and the pathetic ignorance of the children and young people1 many of whom had never been to a service before4 ,the bad effects of this isolation and lack of education were very noticeable1 they said4 ,one of the clergy1 in his report1 spoke of the people disappointed of their hope year after year1 cut off from the ,church--the glory and joy of which separation has deepened--there is little wonder at times they are almost on the verge of insanity4 ,he adds3 ,if only some lover of ,christ and of the ,british ,empire would provide for two such vans to run for a few more years until the tide turns and the country develops1 much might be done to save the children of the prairie and to foster a spirit of loyalty to the ,mother ,country4 ,these ,mission clergy seemed to feel1 as we had done1 that the time for seizing these wonderful opportunities is now or never4 ,the worship of the almighty dollar may easily take the place of true religion unless this present hunger for spiritual things is satisfied4 ,it would be a serious reflection on the ,anglican ,church if she should let this golden opportunity pass4 ,some time after ,i had returned to ,england ,i received a letter from a man at ,stimson 7which the ,railway ,mission used to work from ,youngstown71 saying1 ,why don't they send us a clergyman8 ,once a fortnight a service is held here by howling dervishes1 calling themselves ,nazarenes1 instead of our dear old ,church of ,england services4 ,in one of the prairie towns ,i saw the ,holy ,rollers' tent erected1 and should like to have attended one of their meetings just to see what they are like2 but as ,i was doing ,anglican ,mission work1 ,i feared it might create a wrong impression4 ,i received a description of the meeting from an eye-witness1 however4 ,the order of procedure is as follows3 ,the preacher gets up and begins to speak in excited tones1 gradually working himself up into a frenzy and becoming unintelligible4 ,this is contagious1 and the audience soon become frenzied also1 finally rolling about the floor--hence the name by which the sect is known4 ,when the people are in this ecstatic state they are persuaded to sign cheques for large amounts4 ,the ,holy ,rollers will not come to a town unless a considerable sum is first guaranteed1 and this peculiarity of theirs adds point to the settlers' query with regard to the ,anglican clergy4 ,it is dreadful to think of the sheep being left to these hirelings4 ,a matter of grave import had come under my notice on the prairie1 and ,i felt it to be my duty to speak of it to those who were working for the welfare of the province4 ,the lack of a high spiritual standard1 with its consequent elevated moral tone1 is having a gravely deleterious effect on the children's morality1 proving a serious menace to the health of the community on which the welfare of this new country depends4 ,on this point ,i was strongly supported by the wife of one of the members of the ,senate1 herself a trained nurse1 who had lived for many years on the prairie1 and also by an experienced clergyman and a ,sunday ,school superintendent4 ,all three gave me permission to use their names if necessary1 and promised to supply corroborative details4 ,they lived in widely separated districts1 thus making their combined evidence of more value4 ,whilst in ,regina1 therefore1 ,i reported to the presidents or secretaries of the following3 ,the ,local ,council of ,women1 ,the ,women ,grain-,growers' ,association1 ,the ,women ,home-makers' ,club1 and the ,social ,service ,council1 all of which organisations work throughout the province1 and are interdenominational4 ,the secretary of the ,social ,service ,council asked me to give a report of our work on the prairie to the ,interdenominational ,sunday ,school ,council for the province4 ,i was very glad to be present at this council1 because ,i learnt so much4 ,we discussed methods and organisation1 not doctrine4 ,it was most interesting to hear about the camps and clubs which they hold for adolescent boys and girls4 ,when ,i gave an account of our caravan tour ,i took the opportunity of drawing attention to the moral question1 and emphasised my belief that on this matter all the ,churches should co-operate4 ,i sent a report of my work to ,dr4 ,hiltz1 which he read to the ,executive ,committee of the ,board of ,religious ,education4 ,they were good enough to show interest in the matter1 and suggested that the ,western ,field ,secretary should inquire what the diocese of ,qu',appelle thought of the scheme1 and if the report were favourable he should try to develop the scheme in other ,western dioceses4 ,meanwhile ,miss ,margaret ,west1 who had been trained at ,st4 ,christopher's and had been working in the diocese of ,ottawa1 became ,diocesan ,field ,supervisor for ,qu',appelle4 ,she lectured and gave demonstration lessons in ,regina1 and acted as secretary for the ,sunday ,school by ,post4 ,when ,i suggested it1 she expressed herself as quite ready to go out on the prairie in the spring of #aiba1 but she could not drive the caravan4 ,i inquired of the ,red ,cross and ,st4 ,john ,ambulance in ,canada if there were any ex-service girls who could drive caravans1 and they replied that very few had volunteered to drive in ,france1 and those who had done so were now dispersed and could not be communicated with4 ,i then applied to various organisations in touch with ex-service women1 and received a list of women who had driven motor ambulances or transports in ,france1 but all of them wanted their expenses paid and most of them needed a small salary4 ,there was no fund as yet1 but through the ,recruiting ,committee for ,service in the ,kingdom of ,god ,i was fortunate in finding an honorary worker1 who would pay all her own expenses4 ,this was ,miss ,higginbotham1 who had driven a car for years1 and had also driven a ,ford in ,france for the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 and the ,church ,army1 as well as doing canteen work4 ,miss ,higginbotham joined ,miss ,west in the spring of #aiba1 taking out with her a large number of books and several thousand pictures which ,i was sending for distribution4 ,they arranged to visit a very large district1 comprising many more places than we had visited4 ,at the end of the season ,miss ,west wrote3 ,i have about #bjj members collected this year for the ,sunday ,school by ,post 4 4 4 the children need the ,a4,b4,c4 of the ,faith 4 4 4 they are astonishingly ignorant but very nice to teach1 so appreciative of one's efforts and so ready to learn 4 4 4 ,i enjoyed the summer very much--the people were very kind4 ,they had many adventures similar to ours in mud holes and thunderstorms1 and also received similar kindness and hospitality4 ,in the ,bishop's ,leaflet for the diocese of ,qu',appelle 7,december1 #aiba7 a summary of their work is given1 which ends thus3 ,what are the results of this itinerary8 ,the ,diocesan ,field ,supervisor has gained an intimate knowledge of the needs and difficulties of the prairie town ,sunday ,schools and has got into touch with many of the teachers1 so that she is now in a better position to give assistance4 ,also nearly #bjj boys and girls living in districts where there is no ,church of ,england ,sunday ,school have been enrolled in the ,sunday ,school by ,post and are now receiving regular instruction in the ,faith of the ,church4 ,in a letter dated ,april #bf1 #aiba1 ,dr4 ,hiltz gave us the following encouragement3 ,at the meeting of the ,executive ,committee held last ,friday ,i read extracts of your latest letter telling of the plans for #aiba4 ,the ,committee was very much interested1 and ,i have much pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed resolution1 which will give you some idea of the attitude of our ,executive towards the work which has been done4 ,the resolution was as follows3 ,that this ,committee desires to express its great appreciation of the work done in the diocese of ,qu',appelle by ,miss ,hasell and ,miss ,ticehurst during the summer of #aibj1 and rejoices to learn that the work is to be continued during the summer of #aiba by ,miss ,west and ,miss ,higginbotham4 ,the ,committee thanks these ladies for their great help1 and commends their spirit and self-sacrifice for the emulation of the whole ,church4 ,dr4 ,hiltz added that he was calling the attention of the ,general ,synod to the caravan plan4 7,the ,general ,synod consists of the four ,archbishops1 all the bishops and clergy1 and certain representative laymen from each diocese of the ,dominion47 ,the following extracts are from the ,minutes of the ,annual ,meeting of the ,general ,board of ,religious ,education of the ,church of ,england in ,canada1 ,october1 #aiba4 ,from the ,report of the ,general ,secretary3 ,diocesan ,conference and ,synods4--,a feature of all the conferences and synods attended1 was the outspoken conviction of the ,bishops and officers of the dioceses of the urgent necessity for the immediate increase of effort in the training of the children of the ,church in the ,faith of their fathers4 ,the ,bishop of ,new ,westminster 4 4 4 cited the fact that communistic leaders in ,great ,britain and ,europe recognised the strategic importance of influencing the young1 and had established ,sunday ,schools for propagating their doctrines4 ,the ,bishop urged that the ,church must not be less alive to a great basal principle4 ,without doubt1 the present is a critical period in the life of our ,church in the ,west4 ,the great dearth of clergy has left many parishes1 formerly occupied1 without ,sunday ,schools or any other ,church organisation4 ,the ,church of the future1 in the country districts of the ,west1 will be the ,church that will now go into these fields and train and enfold the young4 ,the ,caravan ,plan4--,the ,executive ,committee asked for a report on the use of the caravan for religious educational work in the prairie dioceses4 ,there can be no question that the van can be used to accomplish great results4 4 4 4 ,the van idea is rapidly gaining ground4 ,qu',appelle ,diocese has three vans at work1 one of which is for purposes of religious education alone4 ,saskatchewan ,diocese secured a fine new van this year1 which is being operated for general missionary work4 ,from experience this summer1 the ,field ,secretary is prepared to recommend its use to every diocese that may be prepared to man and use it in scattered missionary districts4 ,a van or motor-car1 under the direction of the ,field ,secretary1 could be utilised to good purpose in our work4 ,two competent lady-workers in ,calgary volunteered for field work during ,july1 but we had no means of sending them out4 ,a motor could have been used steadily during ,august1 and it could be sent on special missions into other dioceses4 ,from the ,report of the ,executive ,committee3 ,the ,caravan ,plan for ,reaching ,sparsely-,settled ,districts4--,following up the suggestions of the ,board at its last meeting1 the ,general ,secretary communicated with several persons in the ,diocese of ,qu',appelle1 with a view to finding out how far1 in their judgment1 the ,caravan ,plan1 as used by ,miss ,hasell and ,miss ,ticehurst1 had proved successful4 ,the consensus of opinion was that the results were good1 but could only be made permanent by a regular system of visitations4 4 4 4 ,the ,western ,field ,secretary has had an opportunity during the summer to investigate this work1 and has been doing some experimenting in the ,diocese of ,calgary4 ,the ,diocese of ,qu',appelle also tried out the plan again this past summer under the direction of ,miss ,west4 ,as a result of the investigations of the ,field ,secretary1 he recommends that the plan be adopted in every diocese that is prepared to man and use the van properly in scattered missionary districts4 ,from the ,report of the ,parochial ,department1 under the heading1 ,council on ,rural ,schools3 ,in one ,western diocese the ,sunday ,school caravan similar to the mission van has proved of great value to the work of rural schools4 ,from the above it will be seen that the caravan scheme supplies a felt need1 and as ex-students of ,st4 ,christopher's and ex-service girls have volunteered1 the only hindrance is lack of funds4#h ,as showing the approval which this work has received from the ,church's representatives1 ,i may add that the ,bishops of ,saskatchewan and ,calgary have both invited me to work a van in their dioceses in #aibb4 ,it was a bitter disappointment to me to be unable to talk over the results of our work with ,aylmer ,bosanquet1 for it was she who originated the scheme1 and she would have delighted in the details of its working4 ,but she was in ,british ,columbia when ,i returned from the prairie1 so all ,i could do was to write her a full report1 and keep her in touch with all the developments of the work4 ,she soon grew too weak to write herself1 but her interest never flagged1 and she dictated most encouraging and stimulating letters4 ,she passed away on ,shrove ,tuesday1 ,february1 #aiba4 ,she was a true missionary1 with a gracious and loving personality4 ,she had a definite call and followed it4 ,this led her to exchange a life of luxury for one of hardship1 and to expend much of her wealth in the service of ,god4 ,she laboured unceasingly1 and with a vision which seemed to leave a living impress on all with whom she came in contact1 and inspired them to greater heights of devotion and service4 ,as the lessons of childhood are indelibly engraven on the mind1 there must be many prairie children who will bless her name in after life for the imprint she left upon them4 ,she had a statesmanlike grasp of the trend of events1 and lived to do a wonderful work in ,western ,canada1 pointing to lofty ideals and raising the standard of public opinion in this young and growing country1 not only from the ,church point of view1 but also from the ,imperial standpoint4 ,she has been one of the glorious instruments used in helping to bring about ,god's purpose1 that the earth shall be filled with the glory of ,god as the waters cover the sea4 ,footnote #h3 ,see ,appendix ,,iv4 ,,appendix ,i4 ,the ,fellowship of the ,maple ,leaf was started under the directorship of ,dr4 ,g4 ,e4 ,lloyd#i in order to remedy the great shortage of teachers in ,western ,canada4 ,it aims at enlisting ,englishwomen who are not merely taking up teaching as a livelihood1 but who are willing to do something beyond what they are paid to do1 for the sake of ,church and ,empire4 ,their object is the building up of character and the development of loyalty to the ,empire1 and they are to go specially to the prairie schools among the foreign population 7now called the ,new ,canadians71 many of whom cannot speak ,english4 ,the problem is--,what can be done to make the un-,english settlers ,british in sentiment8 ,wherever immigration spreads over the new territory1 there1 in two or three years' time1 appear the little country schools1 built by the settlers out of the rates and taxes1 or from bonds guaranteed by the ,provincial ,government4 ,all the children of the district1 from four miles on either side1 go to that school4 ,in ,saskatchewan alone three hundred new schools were built in #aiae1 five hundred the year before1 and more than six hundred in the year before the ,war4 ,not only do these hundreds of new schools need teachers1 but there is a continual thinning of the ranks as teachers go on to other professions or the women teachers marry4 ,many of the leading men in ,canada have taught in these little one-teacher schools at the beginning of their career--such men as ,sir ,robert ,bordon1 ,sir ,wilfrid ,laurier1 ,sir ,sam ,hughes1 and ,sir ,george ,forster4 ,the demand for teachers in these schools is so great that very many non-,british persons are accepted1 and it is1 to say the least1 very unlikely that such persons can or will train these young ,british subjects as ,britain would have them trained4 ,it follows that there is here a magnificent opportunity for patriotic young ,englishwomen4 ,they would also be able to help the children of those isolated ,anglicans who have no resident clergyman1 as well as the mixed populations of anybody's people4 ,of course1 no ,church of ,england doctrine or any other doctrine may be taught in the day schools4 ,these are ,government schools1 and every religion has an equal right there4 ,but much may be done out of school hours4 ,anyone can be a teacher who can pass the ,government test and who takes a short ,method course in the ,normal ,school4 ,if she has any practical experience of teaching she may obtain a ,provisional ,certificate1 and begin to teach at once1 taking the ,method ,course later on when the prairie schools are closed in winter4 ,the teachers are paid a fair salary4 ,the lowest is about ,l#ad a month1 ranging up to ,l#de in the towns for head teachers4 ,the higher stipends1 of course1 are for those who make teaching their life-work4 ,any further particulars may be obtained from the ,rev4 ,p4 ,j4 ,andrews1 ,secretary1 ,the ,fellowship of the ,maple ,leaf1 #ac1 ,victoria ,street1 ,westminster1 ,s4,w4 #a4 ,,ii4 ,the present hospital arrangements in the prairie provinces are as follows3 ,the ,regina ,railway ,mission started hospitals in a few of the little towns where they had established missions1 and some of the municipal councils took up the matter and opened a great many more4 ,but there are no free hospitals in the ,west4 ,a patient's expenses are about #bbs4 a day 7five or six dollars71 which makes a hospital prohibitive for most4 ,many farms are miles away from any sort of medical or surgical attendance1 and as the farmer's wife has generally no one to help her with her house and children1 she can seldom1 if ever1 go away into hospital for her confinements1 and at these times often has no one with her except her husband4 ,of course1 all goes well sometimes1 but it is obvious that child and mother must suffer should complications arise4 ,i met a great many farmers' wives in outlying districts whose health had been ruined through lack of skilled attention at these critical times4 ,there is a splendid opening here for ex-,v4,a4,d4's4 ,the ,social ,service ,council of ,saskatchewan is offering free training in a municipal hospital to any ,v4,a4,d41 after which she would go out to the farms as a nursing housekeeper1 her work being to give the mother professional attention and to keep the home running while she is laid up4 ,she would need some knowledge of the domestic arts1 such as washing and cooking4 ,her work would be similar to that of a village district nurse in ,england1 only she would have but one family under her care at a time4 ,it should be added that the father of a family helps a great deal in the house4 ,these nursing housekeepers would be paid #ag to #bj per week1 just half the salary of a graduate nurse4 ,thus they would be earning a good income and at the same time doing a noble work4 ,in this new country the health of the mothers and children is of supreme importance4 ,applications for further particulars about nursing housekeepers may be made to the following secretaries for ,social ,service3 ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,stewart and ,mr4 ,w4 ,p4 ,reckie1 #de1 ,canada ,life ,building1 ,regina1 ,saskatchewan1 ,western ,canada4 ,,iii4 ,the ,women's ,auxiliary is the women's branch of the ,anglican ,church ,missionary ,society for ,canada4 ,there are members in every district1 and they work magnificently for the cause1 raising enormous sums of money4 ,one place1 which had only three members1 made about #cjj in the year 7about ,l#fj or ,l#gj74 ,they get money by sewing meetings1 teas1 and social gatherings4 ,the money is used first for the parish1 to build or furnish the vicarage house1 and supply church furnishings1 etc41 and then to help the work among non-,christians1 both in ,canada and overseas4 ,,iv4 ,the cost of a caravan is ,l#caf 7#a1bej72 running expenses1 ,l#dj 7#afj72 passage out and travelling expenses1 about ,l#ej1 but for ex-service girls1 who can get a free passage1 ,l#bi2 board and lodging on the prairie for five or six months1 about ,l#dj2 board and lodging in ,regina1 between ,l#c and ,l#d a week 7#ae74 ,donations may be made payable to ,miss ,eva ,hasell1 ,canada ,mission ,account1 ,london1 ,city1 and ,midland ,bank1 ,penrith1 ,cumberland4 ,a sum of more than ,l#cjj has already been contributed4 ,footnote #i3 ,now ,bishop of ,saskatchewan4 ,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,by ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,guildford ,,and ,,esher ,transcriber's ,notes3 original hyphenation1 spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original ,page #cf1 hers a mystery changed to hers is a mystery ,page #fa1 ,the ,canadian casualities changed to ,the ,canadian casualties ,page #fb1 sand drift near changed to sand-drift near ,page #fb1 #c1jjj miles changed to #c1jjj square miles ,page #ij1 ,michaelmas daises changed to ,michaelmas daisies ,page #aad1 here for ex-,v4,a4,d's changed to here for ex-,v4,a4,d4's