Note: This Dakota Datebook corrects an earlier version that incorrectly identified the Adamites as Doukhobors, a mistake appearing in the 1908 news story from the Hope Pioneer.
On this date in 1908, the Hope Pioneer reported on an incident in Manitoba, where the Royal North-West Mounted Police faced off against a band of “armed religious fanatics” who had crossed the border from North Dakota. Known as Adamites, the group was hoping to join the Doukhobor community of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The band, including women and children, had camped near Pierson, Manitoba, twenty-five miles north of North Dakota.
They had come all the way from Oklahoma, and were heavily armed with rifles. When the local police said they had to vacate the area, they formed a defensive circle and threatened to shoot anyone who came near them. That’s when the Mounties were called.
A few members of the group chose to leave, but twelve were allowed to continue their journey to Saskatchewan; 6 men and 6 women in a one-horse caravan.
The group was led by James Sharpe and his wife Melissa who had become “roving hellfire and brimstone preachers.” They were convinced that they were the reincarnated Adam and Eve, and their son was Abel. The Sharpes had heard of the Doukhobors, who had emigrated from Russia. They were impressed by the religion’s simple, yet deep faith.
But unlike the Adamites, the Doukhobors, were pacifists, and they would later run afoul of the Canadian government for refusing to serve in the military. In 1917, the Canadian Wartime Elections Act disenfranchised the Doukhobors along with several other religious groups.
So, it’s not really surprising that when the Sharpes and their followers arrived at the Doukhobor settlements near Kamsack, Saskatchewan, the armed group was roundly rebuffed and sent packing.
The Sharpes had expected to be welcomed. Instead, they returned to the United States. After arriving in Kansas City there was an armed confrontation with police. A 13-year-old girl and two-police officers died. Two other officers were badly wounded. James Sharpe had six bullet wounds. He ended up with a 25-year prison sentence.
As for the Doukhobors, they continued to preserve their culture and religion in Canada through the 20th century to the present. Today there are approximately 40,000 descendants living primarily in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Dakota Datebook by Skip Wood
Sources:
Hope Pioneer. “Armed Fanatics.” Hope ND. 7/9/1908. Page 2.
https://chroniclingamerica.
Interview and letter from Doukhobor member and historian Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, Regina, Saskatchewan
The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Doukhobors.”
Winnipeg Tribune, July 8, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/
https://www.
Article by Bill Barry citing Gilbert Johnson writing in Saskatchewan History XXIII pp.70-74
https://www.tonyskansascity.
