The Journals & Notebook of
 Nathan Bangs 1805-1806, 1817

 

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Bangs on hardships in Upper Canada
Stevens Life and Times of Nathan Bangs 98-99

"On the 7th of October [1802] I set off, in company with Joseph Jewell, the presiding elder, for the Bay of Quinte circuit. We had a terrible road to travel from the head of Lake Ontario to Little York, as it was then called, now Toronto, over hills and creeks, through mud and water, but at last arrived in safety. We had an appointment for preaching on Yonge-street in the evening of the next day. After the sermon by Mr. Jewell, I gave an exhortation. The people requested that I might be left for a few days to preach in the neighborhood. I accordingly staid behind, with the understanding that I should go on in a short time. At the time appointed I set off, but was taken sick with influenza on the way. Being tenderly nursed in the house where I stopped, I soon recovered, mounted my horse, and rode some miles, when my faithful animal was taken sick and the next day died. Here, then, I was alone in a strange place, without money, without a horse, and, as far as I knew, without friends. I trusted in God alone, and he provided for me. In about half an hour, during which I hardly knew which way to turn, a gentleman came along and offered to lend me a horse on condition that I would defer my journey to the Bay of Quinte, and agree to remain in those parts preaching for some time. I thankfully accepted his offer, mounted the horse, and went on my way rejoicing up to Little York. The settlements in this part of the country were all new, the roads extremely bad, and the people generally poor and demoralized. Our occasional preachers were exposed to many privations and often to much suffering from poor fare and violent opposition. Seth Crowell, a zealous and godly itinerant, had traveled along the lake shore before me, and had been instrumental in the awakening and conversion of many of the settlers, so that some small societies had been formed; but they were far apart, and I found them in a dwindled condition. On Yonge-street, which was a settlement extending westward from Little York in  a direct line for about thirty miles, there were no societies, but all the field was new and uncultivated, with the exception of some Quaker neighborhoods.

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Edited by Scott McLaren
Book History Practicum
University of Toronto