The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-06-16
lX ea st ;si
by Captain
G. Elliott Nightingale
Copyright, WNU
FIRST BRUSH WITH
THE DUKHOBORS

~ shouting biblical texts and warm
ings, hundreds of men, women, and
children were seen strolling across
the vast Saskatchewan prairies one
chilly October morning. The few
settlers that witnessed this scene
rubbed their eyes and wondered if
the judgment day had arrived. Yet,
there they were, hundreds of them,
absolutely naked and, apparently,
strolling ainlessly over the prairie
just for the exercise and fresh air.
Could it be possible that the mani
acs of the farfung northland were
gathering for a convention? Could
it be possible that some unseen pow
er had suddenly emptied lunatic
asylum on the Saskatchewan plains?
At any rate, settlers saddled up and
rode over to the strange strollers,
and asked the reason for the stark
naked parade on such a frosty
morning.
''We are looking for Jesus" came
the almost unanimous reply.
'Well, He's here, all right" re-
piled settler, 'but you don't have
to run around like this in order to
find Him. Better get your clothes
on before you freeze to death" This
latter advice, however, fell on
deaf ears. The amazed settlers did
not know it at the time, but they had
encountered a newly-arrived reli-
gious sect known as Dukhobors. The
sect had its origin in southern Rus
STA a few years before and after
years of persecution had been grant
ed permission to come to Canada
provided they behaved themselves
and did not become public charges.
To say that these early Dukhobors
were fanatics, is putting it mildly.
To the writer, who first encountered
them in Saskatchewan, they ap-
peared to be positively unbalanced.
Having emerged from unspeakable
persecution in Russia, the good old
fashioned Canadian freedom went to
their heads, and they began to put
their strange religious beliefs into
practice.
They took biblical commands lit
orally, and fixing their minds on
certain texts, completely ignored
other texts that contradicted. They
believed in full and complete liberty
in thought and deed, and they even
placed their horses and cattle in
the same spiritual category as them
selves. When it appeared that their
horses needed a days rest, the ami
mails were left in the barn, and
the stoutest women were hitched
up to wagon, buggy, or plough so
that the work of the sect should
continue unbroken. Now and then
all work would cease, and they
would go off on a stark-naked,
psalm-singing hike in order to catch
up on their spirituality. The time
soon arrived when the Canadian
authorities had to take a hand. The
Men of the Mounted were given the
strange puzzle to solve. And, they
solved it, too, but only after years
of planning and studying these
strange prairie pests
Back-trailing this crazy mob, that
October morning, the Men of the
Mounted picked up every bit OF
clothing and footgear the Dukhobors
had cast off during their stroll.
Horses piled high with clothing, the
amused, yet somewhat annoyed
Men of the Mounted at last caught
up with the naked strollers and de-
manded that they get dressed at
once. At this there was swift move
ment among the Dukhobors and
they broke up and formed two
groups, women and children in one,
men in the other. Both groups then
went into sort of scrimmage for
nation. They punched and crowd
ed together as tightly as possible,
and sang psalms, shouted texts,
and now and then snarled defiance
at the two policemen who were try
ing to make them get dressed.
Of course, they could have used
force, or they could have started
slapping bare buttocks and backs,
as the writer saw one lone Redcoat
do a year or so later, but, that was
not the way of the Mounted under
circumstances such as these. This
job called for delicacy and tact and
diplomacy, for they were dealing
with unbalanced minds. At any rate,
whether it was the increasing cold
that changed their minds, or wheth-
er it might have been fear of the
Mounted several hours later the two
tightly packed mobs began to open
up and here and there a Dukhobor
grabbed for a shirt, a dress, or a
pair of trousers. Meanwhile, the
Men of the Mounted pleaded,
begged, promised and stayed with
their charges until they were fully
clothed. This done the Men of the
Mounted hustled and hustled about
for food and drink for their spa
TENTS and when they set it before
them the crazy lot went on a hum
ger strike. This latter development,
however, did not bring any gray
hairs to police heads. The big Job
had been to stop these crazy peo-
pie from running around naked in
October, and that job had been
done. If the Dukhobors noG want
ed to starve to death, it was o. K.
with the Mounted. Nature, howev.
er, soon had her way, and after be.
ing fed the two Men of the Mounted
escorted the Dukhobors back to
their prairie huts and cabins and
homeSteadS.