The life and work of the Rev. E.J. Peck among the Eskimos online

LIFE-WORK OF
J. PECK
ONG THE ESKIMOS

HUR LEWIS



THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE REV.
E. J. PECK AMONG THE ESKIMOS




E. J . PECK.



THE LIFE AND WORK
OF THE REV. E. J. PECK
AMONG THE ESKIMOS *

BY THE REV. ARTHUR LEWIS, M.A. Author
of " A Memoir of G. M. Gordon," etc., formerly a
Missionary of the Church Missionary Society. With
Seventeen Illustrations



THIRD EDITION



HODDER fc? STOUGHTON
LONDON MCMVIII



Butler and Tanner. TheSelwood Printing Works. Frame and London.



To the wives of our missionaries
who, being compelled from various
causes to remain at home, are un-
grudgingly giving their husbands to
the work of Christ in far-off lands,
as well as to those who, in weariness
and painfulness, in hunger and thirst,
are constant partners with their
husbands in different chines, this
book is dedicated.



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

IT is a cause of satisfaction that a new edition
of this book is demanded at the present
moment. For besides being evidence of the in-
terest taken in the self-denying labours of Mr. Peck
and his co-workers in time past, it will, I trust, be
the means of calling attention to the new enterprise
that is contemplated for the evangelization of the
Eskimos. Much has happened since the first and
second editions were published. The narrative
could not then be brought beyond the autumn
of 1902, for no information of a later date was
available.

Now, however, we are in possession of facts to
which attention must be called. It is, therefore,
not so much in the light of a Preface in the ordinary
sense of the word that the reader is asked to regard
the following few pages as a sort of summary of
events which is intended to link the former narra-
tive with new plans, and, possibly, future develop-
ments of work among the Eskimos.

In the summer of 1903 Mr. Peck again returned
to Blacklead Island, and a spell of two years' more
work in that station was the result. We cannot



viii PREFACE

linger over those two years, much as we should
like to do so. We would, if we could, dwell once
more upon his loneliness, as illustrated by such a
fact as that not till one year and twenty-eight days
were gone by did he hear of the death of his little
daughter Annie. We should naturally wish, if it
were possible, to inquire into the growth of the
Church among the people of his adoption, upon
the stories of new converts, upon the appointment
of an Eskimo teacher. But these things are for-
bidden by space. All that can be done is to tell
in very few words the story of the necessary abandon-
ment of Blacklead Island as a base station for
European workers.

In various parts of the book the difficulties of
communication with Cumberland Sound have been
abundantly brought to the reader's notice. As
a rule there was one annual ship from Scotland,
but of the certainty of her safe arrival after the
tempestuous and icy voyage of the Arctic Seas no
one could feel assured. Every summer there was
great anxiety in the minds of the missionaries until
their stores and necessaries for the coming year
were safely stowed away.

In 1904 there proved to be only too much ground
for anxiety. On August 31 a ship was sighted.
This proved to be the Neptune, which had been
sent out by the Canadian Government under Com-
mander Low to visit these regions. She brought



PREFACE ix

news which was not very encouraging. The ship
Heimdal, which had been chartered from Scotland,
and on board of which was the Rev. E. W. T. Green-
shield, was in difficulties. She had suffered much
on the voyage, and was vainly endeavouring to
reach Blacklead Island. The Nefitune had brought
off some letters, and Commander Low had very
kindly offered to take Mr. Greenshield on board
his own vessel and land him at his destination.
But he would not desert his ship.

At last the Heimdal stuck fast in a vast ice-floe,
measuring some 40 miles long and 30 miles broad,
and was carried right away.

Not until Christmas week was anything known
for certain at the station. Then Mr. Noble made
his way over from Kikkerton on the north coast
of Cumberland Sound, and reported that the Heim-
dal had reached that place. Nearly three months
later, in March, 1905, Mr. Greenshield arrived at
Blacklead Island.

All this meant, of course, a considerable amount
of privation as to food.

On January i, 1905, we read of the little congre-
gation in church, " What a sickly, anaemic band
we looked ! What with the loss of the sun's heat,
want of proper food, and the heavy strain of late,
we seem at times more dead than alive." Fuel
was scarce, and this was a harder trial than short-
ness of provisions. The slender stock of coal re-



x PREFACE

maining when the winter of 1904-5 began consisted
of slack. For cooking purposes it was necessary
to mix this with seal blubber, and the odour from
this combination was something awful.

In July the Heimdal managed to reach Black-
lead Island, and then attempted the homeward
voyage. But her condition was so bad that she
was bound to return to the station, where she was
eventually broken up and used as fuel.

While these things were going on in the northern
latitudes, there was a considerable amount of
anxiety and stir at Salisbury Square. The means
of communication were considered too precarious
for the safety of the Mission. The Committee
could hear of no vessel being sent out this -year at
all. So after much deliberation it was determined,
at a very large cost to the Church Missionary So-
ciety, to charter the smack Theodora to bring the
missionaries home. She accomplished the voyage
safely, and reached the Arctic Patmos on Septem-
ber 21.

On October 7, 1905, Mr. Peck, Mr. Bilby, and the
crew of the Heimdal embarked. There were sixteen
souls on board a vessel which had cabin accommo-
dation sufficient for two or three. So the journey
was not without danger and discomfort. But all
ended well.

Mr. Greenshield left Blacklead Island in the
following year, and so the place was finally



PREFACE xi

abandoned as a base for missionary operations.

So far the picture is sad, but there is, we trust,
a bright future.

Mr. Peck soon went to Canada. One object
he had in view was the possibility of finding a new
base from which to work. In the providence of
God it is hoped that a fresh start will soon be made.
We quote from the Church Missionary Review for
April, 1908 :

" The breakdown of communications which, with
other causes, led to the giving up of Blacklead
Island will be in the memory of our readers.

" Now Bishop Holmes, in conference with the
Revs. E. J. Peck and E. W. T. Greenshield, has
decided, if the necessary funds are supplied, to
open work on an island called Ashe Inlet in Hudson
Strait.

" The Committee of the Church Missionary So-
ciety have agreed to lend Messrs. Peck and Green-
shield's services, and have promised further help
from a fund at their disposal for work in Canada.
But to justify a beginning being made and buildings
being taken out from Newfoundland, a sum of 2,000,
to meet the cost of the first two years, will be neces-
sary."

If Ashe Inlet be established as a base, Mr. Peck
hopes to be able to keep in touch with Blacklead
Island as an out-station. And thus it is possible
that the failure of communications may be the



xii PREFACE

means at length both of reaching a larger number
of Eskimos and of implanting a spirit of self-reliance
in them through the development of a native agency.

It only remains to be mentioned that Mr. Peck
has pointed out a number of errors in the spelling
of Eskimo names hi this volume, and he wished to
have these corrected. There were also two or three
paragraphs which he asked might be omitted from
a new edition of the book. It is, however, from
various reasons, which need not here be mentioned,
found impossible to make alterations at the present
time.

One mistake calls for special notice. On p. 202
" the Rev. David Fenn " should be " the Rev.
C. C. Fenn."

Opposite p. 20 a new map showing the position
of Ashe Inlet replaces the old one.

ARTHUR LEWIS.

CHARDSTOCK VICARAGE,
July, 1908.



CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

FAGB

THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK . I

CHAPTER II

THE ESKIMOS : THEIR ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT^ AND

RELIGION 22

CHAPTER III
THE ESKIMOS AT HOME AND AT WORK . . 46

CHAPTER IV

HUDSON'S BAY 68

CHAPTER V
PROGRESS ORDINATION . .... 87

ri



xii CONTENTS

CHAPTER VI

PAGB

CONSOLIDATION OF WORK ..... 108

CHAPTER VII
ITINERATIONS AND RESULTS .... 123

CHAPTER VIII

GATHERING FRUIT UNGAVA .... 140

CHAPTER IX

MARRIAGE FORT GEORGE .... 162

CHAPTER X

CHANGED PLANS HOME ..... 181

CHAPTER XI

A NEW VENTURE ...... 201

CHAPTER XII

DAYBREAK IN CUMBERLAND SOUND . . . 218



CHAPTER XIII

PLOUGHING AND SOWING .....



CONTENTS xiii

CHAPTER XIV

FAGS

A CORN OF WHEAT ...... 258

CHAPTER XV

BEARING BURDENS 272

CHAPTER XVI

BEHIND THE SCENES .... 288

CHAPTER XVII
SUNSHINE AND RAIN 302

CHAPTER XVIII

GATHERING UP FRAGMENTS .... 321



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

To face page

Map of the Diocese of Moosonee ... 20

An Eskimo Iglo or Snow House ... 47

Eskimo Women with Dead Seal ... 50

Eskimo Women and Children 54

In a Snow Shelter, Watching a Seal-Hole . 62

Little Whale River in Summer ... 90

Eskimo Huts on Little Whale River . . 94

Eskimo Children outside Tent . . . 178

The " Alert " in Sailing Ice .... 206

Cutting up a Whale ..... 220

Building Blacklead Island .... 226

A Group of Eskimo Children outside Mission . 244



xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

To face page

A Snow-House with Tunnel-Porch Banked up . 250

The Missionaries' Home, Blacklead Island . 274

The Rev. E. J. Peck and First Converts, Black-
lead Island 310

An Eskimo Building his House . . . 322



CHAPTER I

THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK.

" Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? Then
said I, Here am I ; send me."

IN Caesarea, Cornelius and his household were
seeking the truth. In Joppa, God was pre-
paring Peter to impart the truth. Saul, on the
road to Damascus, was in great need of sympathy.
Inside Damascus, God was taking away the fears
and doubts of Ananias, so that he might give the
sympathy needed.

Far away in Northern lands the Eskimos were
waiting for the Gospel, silently yet eloquently
making their claim on the Church of Christ. Thou-
sands of miles away God was preparing the mes-
senger who was to go to them carrying the tidings
of salvation.

Edmund James Peck was the chosen instrument.

He was not by any means the first missionary
from Christendom to the Eskimo race, for the
Moravians have laboured long with great devotion

1 1



2 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK

among the inhabitants of the Greenland and
Labrador coasts.

He was not even the first representative of the
Church Missionary Society to come in contact with
the Arctic wanderers. Bishop Bompas, Bishop
Horden and others had visited them at various
points, but no one had hitherto devoted his life
to them.

A brief sketch of his life previous to his call to
a most arduous and self-sacrificing work will be
instructive, as showing what means God chooses
for the preparation of a Peter or an Ananias in
these days.

Edmund James Peck was born on April 15, 1850.
His parents at this time lived at Rusholme, near
Manchester. His father was an energetic, con-
scientious, straightforward man, occupied in a
linen factory. His mother was a sweet, happy
Christian woman, whose influence was largely
exercised upon her son. Edmund was the eldest
of the family. There were three other children,
a boy and two girls, making up, to borrow Mr.
Peck's joke, a bushel of them. When the eldest
child was seven years of age the family moved to
Dublin. About three years after their arrival at
the Irish capital the mother died. Her death,
as is the death of every good mother, was an irre-
parable loss to the family, but she lived again in
at least one of her children.



THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK 3

Soon after this, young as he was, Edmund Peck
manifested a spirit of fearlessness and a desire for
truth in matters of religion. He was surrounded
by many Roman Catholics, and noticing among
other things their great neglect of the observance
of the Sabbath, though only eleven years of age,
he would speak to some of them about it, and express
a decided opinion that a religion which did not
bring forth the fruits of holiness must be worthless
in God's sight. In other ways also, especially in
conversation with his father, the same kind of
attitude was evident. And though this zeal for
God was lost for some years afterwards in a careless
life, it is interesting as pointing to the real bent of
his character, and proving the truth of the old adage
that " the child is father to the man."

When he was thirteen years old another sore trial
befell the boy the death of his father. Speaking
of that time, he says : " The most vivid and sorrow-
ful picture of my life was when I stood by the open
grave of my father, with the tears rolling down my
cheeks, as I remembered that I was now left utterly
orphaned in a lone, lone world." Perhaps this was
a foreshadowing of his future loneliness in a world
of ice.

But help was at hand. Edmund Peck had at-
tended the church of St. Matthias ; he had also been
a member of the Sunday School of that church.
The clergyman was the Rev. Maurice Day, after-



4 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK

wards Bishop of Cashel, and he interested himself
so that the lad was enabled to enter the navy. The
kindly action of this clergyman made a deep im-
pression on the boy's mind. Many years later,
he had the great pleasure of meeting him again.
The Bishop was the chairman of a meeting in
Dublin for the Church Missionary Society, at which
his former Sunday School scholar was one of the
speakers. Their joy was great and mutual.

After having been received on board the guard-
ship, H.M.S. A fax, lying at Kingstown, Edmund Peck
was very soon drafted to the training ship, Impreg-
nable, stationed at Plymouth. Here he arrived on
January 12, 1865, and remained until May 12, 1866.
Then he joined H.M.S. Caledonia, which was under
orders for the Mediterranean. It was in the Great
Sea of the Old Testament, amid the historic sur-
roundings of the ancient world, that the spiritual
life of the future missionary was awakened and
fostered.

At the end of about two years he was laid low
with Mediterranean fever, and was brought very
near to the gate of death. In the weeks of prostra-
tion that followed, one of the ship's officers used to
come and see him frequently ; and though we do not
hear of these visits causing the patient more than
passing pleasure, we can hardly doubt that they
had a permanent effect.

As he returned to a slow convalescence, the young



THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK 5

sailor began to read a Bible which his sister had
given him when they parted. Illness had awakened
him to his need of spiritual and eternal things, and,
in his own words, he " made great efforts to secure
peace to his soul." These efforts, however, were in
vain, for they were made in his own strength only,
and " in the energy of the flesh." Mr. Peck con-
cludes the review of this portion of his life with the
expressive sentence, " While weakness lasted, I
went on in what I may term the trying-to-be-a-
Christian state."

As his health did not improve, he was invalided
home to England in the autumn of 1868. After
some time on furlough he was sent to Nelson's old
flag-ship, the Victory. Speaking of this time,
Mr. Peck says : " Many strange thoughts stirred
within me as I looked upon that spot upon the
Victory's quarterdeck where England's noblest
naval hero fell fighting the battle which freed Eng-
land from her foes. But little did I think at that
time that the Lord would call me to a conflict
mightier than that of earthly battles, because
eternal destinies hang upon the triumphs of the
host of God."

When drafted from the Victory he joined his old
vessel, the Caledonia, though with a new crew. At
this time there seems to have been some retrogression
in the struggle for spiritual life. With returning
health, as often happens, good resolutions grew



6 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK

weaker, so that we find him writing : " For a time,
at least, I gave up private prayer and the study of
the Scriptures." But the wanderer was not allowed
to wander unwarned. " In the midst of life we are
in death," and this is especially true in the case of a
sailor. Dangers and accidents are always eloquent,
even when we cannot hear the voice of ordinary
passing events. One day he was ordered aloft with
one of his shipmates. The latter got into the rigging
a moment before him and a race upwards ensued.
Suddenly a ratline gave way under the foot of his
shipmate, who was dashed upon the deck a maimed,
crushed mass of humanity. This roused thought
in the one who was spared : " Why was it that I
was spared ? Why was I led to the opposite side
of the rigging to that which my poor shipmate had
taken ? Why ? Because God had a life-task for
me to perform."

On another day, when a heavy sea was running,
he was sent to the large wheel, which had three tiers
of spokes. A mighty sea caught the rudder and
wrenched the wheel from the grasp of all the men
who held it, dashing upwards, against the deck
above, one poor fellow who was on the weather side.
We who were on the lee-side were saved from hurt.
The injured man died soon afterwards as a result of
the accident.

Whatever effect these and similar accidents had
upon the young sailor at the time, they were brought



THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK 7

to his remembrance later and used by the Holy
Spirit for the guidance and moulding of his life. If
it be true

That not a worm is cloven in vain,
That not a moth with vain desire
Is shrivel'd in a fruitless fire,

Or but subserves another's gain,

how much more the sudden death of one with whom
we are closely associated ! God's voice is always
to be heard by those who have ears to hear.

It was, as a matter of fact, some time after this,
on board his next ship, the Excellent, that the pearl
of great price was found. Mr. Peck says, " One
evening, when reading i John v. 9-13, this glorious
passage was made the means of bringing peace,
perfect peace, to my troubled conscience. With
what power and force did these words of God speak
to my poor longing, trembling heart ! What a mine
of comfort they held for me, and still hold, not only
for myself, but for all those who will accept them ! "

Truly, the spirit breatheth where He listeth. We
understand readily enough that the whispered
breath may be wafted to the weary soul in the hush
of the sanctuary; in the stillness of the prayer-
chamber ; in the solemn hours of the night. We
understand the louder message of God being heard
in the inspired voice from the Church pulpit or the
pleading tones of the Mission Room. We can under-
stand the awful call of God to repentance coming



8 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK

from the earthquake or the thunder as on Sinai.
There is a certain agreement and harmony between
them.

But we should be inclined to say that the confused
discords of Babel were no surroundings for the
Spirit of Pentecost. And yet it was a veritable
Babel on board ship between thirty and forty years
ago, in which the Holy Breath came into the life of
young Peck and took possession of him.

There was no nook for quiet meditation where a
seaman could be alone. Every place was public,
every place was noisy. Here is a group playing a
forbidden game of cards under cover of a barrier
formed of piled-up " ditty boxes," a mess kettle, and
other unshorelike obstacles. There is a man play-
ing his banjo with his eternal tumma-tumma-tum-
tum. In another part is a concertina in full swing
playing " Jack's the Lad," while a score or more of
step-dancers execute wonderful performances with
their bare feet on the deck, their rough : soles sound-
ing like the rasp of a knife being cleaned on a brick-
dust board. In another part are seen two young
fellows, locked in each other's arms in orthodox
ballroom fashion, whirling gracefully round in the
dreamy mazes of a valse, the music being hummed
by the pair in turn.

Yet again a sombre-minded sailor chants dole-
fully that dreariest of all ditties, " Babara Allan,"
beloved of Jack years ago. Close by him, another



THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK 9

tar with a hammer is whack, whacking a leather
sole before clumping it, as well as any shoemaker, on
to the waiting boot, and thus proving that " a sailor
can do anything." A little knot of men is in hot
and fiery argument over the Tichborne Case ; another
over the merits of a new gun. Here is a man writing
to his sweetheart ; another is making a twine cabbage-
net for the mess ; a third is mangling his washed
clothes with the bottom of an enamelled basin or
rolling-pin. The gangway is blocked here and there
by men with fathoms of spun yarn and canvas-
wrapped leaf-tobacco, " heaving " it into those
huge cigar-shaped rolls much appreciated by sailors,
envied and coveted by shore smokers a hundred or
two of men laughing, talking, skylarking ; this is the
scene into which the Gracious Spirit enters, and seek-
ing out amid the din of that deck the young sailor
who, defying all opposition, sits reading his Bible,
whispers to him the word of peace and assurance.

On January 7, 1874, he was transferred from the
Excellent to H.M.S. Hector, the guardship in South-
ampton Water, and here he formed a friendship
with John Martin, sailmaker, Sydney Watson,
carpenter's yeoman, and Tom Yeadle, seaman.
These four eventually came to be like-minded in
spiritual things, and so were also inseparable, meet-
ing together night after night for prayer and praise.
But they could not remain satisfied with mutual
edification. They must offer their good things to



io THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK

others also. Referring to these days, Mr. Peck
writes : " A little band of the Lord's people, being
thus brought together, we were almost immediately
led to try and do something for our unconverted
shipmates. Very soon we had interested one or
two more seamen to join us, men for whose con-
version we never ceased to pray. Then as the days
went on, and our little nightly gathering grew more
and more precious, we divided the hour spent, mak-
ing the definite study of the Bible a part of the
exercises ; for each felt the need of feeding in the
green pastures.' "

But they were not allowed much peace outwardly.
They were hunted about constantly from place to
place by many in authority who seemed to take a
pleasure in persecuting them. Among their bitterest
enemies was a ship's corporal, who, though he drove
them like partridges, was forced to give an unwilling
testimony to the effect of their meetings. The
corporals' mess was cleaned and cared for by a smart
but ungodly lad, who held the rating in the ship of
first-class boy. This lad came down on one occa-
sion to a meeting which was being held in the seclu-
sion of the carpenter's store room. He was decidedly
impressed, and this proved to be only the first of
many gatherings that he afterwards joined. For
he came again and again. Whether he was truly
converted or not was not manifest, but certainly
his whole life was changed. One night, as three



THE EARLY LIFE OF E. J. PECK n

of the band of men were emerging from the store-
room, their old enemy the corporal saw them, and
beckoned them to him. As they ranged up close
to his table, he said : " What in the name of fortune
do you do down there with the fellows ? They go
down devils and come up saints." The words
speak for themselves, and prove that God was mani-
fested in these humble but happy gatherings.

The petty persecutions directed against these
men, who had banded themselves together for devo-
tion and spiritual edification, after a time became
so constant that they could find no cave of Adullam
as a permanent refuge. Accordingly they sum-
moned up courage enough to make an official appli-
cation for a spot where they might meet, " none
daring to make us afraid," and in response to their
appeal they were granted the use of one of the bath-
rooms. What precious times they spent there ;
how sweet their memory still ! One of these even-
ings stands out vividly to this day. The iron room
is about twelve feet by nine ; along three sides are
massive iron baths, surmounted by huge pipes, and
great glittering brass cocks. The deck under foot
is covered with three-inch wooden gratings, sodden
with water which, swayed with every motion of the