| Level | File |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | CMS/G/AC 15/157 |
| Title | Letters from Reverend John West, [Chaplain, Hudson's Bay Company], Hudson's Bay, North America |
| Extent | 4 items |
| Date | 1820-1821 |
| Description | /1: Letter written on board the 'Eddystone', Orkney Isles, 22 June 1820: has arrived safely at the Orkneys; has had regular services on board and has also taken them on 'The Prince of Wales' which is accompanying them; has met Mr Fence, a trader with Hudson's Bay Company for nearly 30 years who has written out a vocabulary of part of an Indigenous (First Nations) language.
/2: Letter written from York Fort, Hudson's Bay, 31 August 1820: arrived 16 August; describes voyage; off the Lower Savage Islands when [Inuit peoples] paddled out to the boats for barter; sends a model of an [Inuit] canoe, a spear and a pair of mittens; proposes to establish a school at Red River for 'half-breed'* children.
/3: Letter written from Red River, 4 June 1821: sends journal [not present]; there is no Protestant missionary in Canada for [Inuit peoples]; considers the only possible method of evangelising is by educating the children; already has some boys under his charge.
/4: Letter written from Hudson's Bay, 6 September 1821: an Auxiliary Bible Society has been formed; hopes to complete building the school by Spring; needs funds and fellow labourers; would like to establish schools for children near the Rocky Mountains.
[Reverend West served as a CMS missionary 1822-September 1823.] |
| Notes | * [Half-breed as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘A person who is descended from parents or ancestors of differing ethnic origin. Now derogatory and offensive]. Information correct Dec 2024. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Related Material | Office copy of West's journal entries (CMS/G/AC 18/1). |