PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT.
DOUKHOBORS.
ber shoes. Some discarded all clothing, not from any immorality or im-
modesty, as they were wrongfully considered to do by the general public,
who did not know them, but because they were following the example
of the Garden of Eden. Finally large bodies started on the tramp "look-
ing for Jesus." One known as "John the Baptist" headed them as
they moved slowly and solemnly along. At night they slept in the bluffs if
they found any, and they gleaned their food from the fields. Their mourn-
ful dirges as they moved along could sometimes be heard for a couple of
miles off. Day after day they travelled on, suffering great hardships, till
they reached Minnedosa in Manitoba. By this time the weather had be-
come severe; and the authorities now without much trouble, were able to
round them up, put them into box cars on the railroad and take them
back to where they started from. John the Baptist, however, protested
vigorously, but he was gently lifted up and with others, deposited in a box
car which was locked. The Doukhobors would not fight, as it was against
their principles, but they showed they were very good wrestlers. The
most violent were herded and fed west of Yorkton for awhile; the bulk
went quietly back to their villages, some of the ringleaders who had broken
the law, were taken to Regina Barracks; and some, who were visibly un-
balanced were sent to an asylum.
There was subsequently another march which took them to Fort Will-
iam in New Ontario, but stronger measures were now used and they were
returned.
Peter Veregin, the real leader of the Doukhobors, was an exile in
Siberia, but he was liberated, and came out and took charge. He was
looked upon as the Almighty's Vice-regent and by the more superstitious
was supposed to have supernatural powers, one of which was the gift of
All-seeing. The Doukhobors obeyed him readily and he got them into line
again after their bursts of fanaticism, and they got a new start. Soon
after this the railways reached the Doukhobor reserves. The lands were
first class and although no one else would look at them when the Doukho-
bors first took them up because they were so distant from a railway, yet
now those lands were looked upon with envious eyes, and the trouble
began to which a previous reference has been made, with the result that
the Doukhobors who had hitherto been unmolested, although they had
not made entry according to law, were now obliged to throw up their
homesteads, as they would not consent to individual ownership.
Veregin is a great organizer, but a benevolent autocrat. He had to be
supreme, but he ruled wisely. He purchased car loads of machinery in-
cluding a modern flour mill which was erected at "Veregin". Veregin is
just west of Kamsack, and in the centre of the settlements consisting of
numerous villages along the Assiniboine River, Stony Creek, and White
Sand River. A good store was established with a modern office equip-
ment. Any one could buy at this store but no tobacco or meats were stocked
or sold. You could buy biscuits or crackers as they were manufactured
but if you wanted butter it was sent out for and presented to you.
Steam plows were largely used and great stretches of land were
culti~
Bibliography follows:
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