The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1918-05 - 1918-06

              The Word Carrier.
of Santee Normal Training School.
VOLUME XLVI
HELPING THE  RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG.
NUMBER  3
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
Our Platform
For Indians we want
American Education! We
want American Homes! We
want American Rigts ! The
result of which is American
Citizenship! 'And the Gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation !
MAY-JUNE, 1918
THIRTY CENTS PER YEAR
Indian Re.d Cross Sale
The auction sale on
the Omaha reserva
tion netted the Indian
chapter of the Red
Cross something over
$5,675.50.
The two of us who
journeyed to the Indian agency anticipated
no such result. For an
icy wind, strong and
cutting, ran over the
hills, and seemed to
make even the bleached cornstalks shiver.
On a day so bleak,
why should people
want to stand about
in the cold? And how could their hearts be
warmed  to generosity!
We, ourselves, felt mean and stingy. We begrudged the long motor drive over rough roads,
a journey (going and coming) of some forty-
eight miles. By the time we arrived at the agency, near noon, we were fearfully out of sorts.
The sale had not begun. , We doubted whether
it ever would get started; for it bad been
scheduled for 10 o'clock, and as yet but very
few Indians had assembled.
Neither were we much encouraged when we
wandered to the region of barns and sheds back
of the agency, where the auction stand had
been set up. There were articles enough to
be offered for sale, a great array of them—chickens on the ground, with legs tied together;
crates of ducks and geese and rabbits; bales
of hay, piled high in a rectangular mound; a
load of straw, headed moccasins, a ceremonial
tobacco pouch, a calf, a pig, a goat, a pony, a
load of seed corn, and many jars of preserved
fruits and vegetables.
Early in the afternoon we heard whirring
sounds, a great variety of them, mingled with
the raspy rush of cold wind. What could be
occasioning all this mechanical buzz? Not motor cars?
Yes; that was it. Motor cars. Indians were
coming  in from all parts of the reservation.
And they were coming not in the old tribal
way, with pony aud dog travoise, but in the new
way, after the manner of prosperous farmfdlk,
which they really are. Before the auction sale
began (and it was begun with a prayer to invoke
the blessing of God upon the subject) there
were not less than 350 Indians gathered about
the stand.
Furthermore, the Indians proved reckless bidders. Objects offered for sale brought outrageous sums. There was a commonplace goat, for
instance, that brought something over $4,000.
The sale was conducted in the manner known
as Dutch auction—whatever you bid you had to
pay, even though the money you advanced
bought you nothing more than a pleasant smile.
On the reservation there are 1,300 of the Upstream people, the Omaha; and that they are
intensely patriotic is attested by the mauner in
which they opened their purses for a worthy
cause on a day well calculated to inspire selfishness,
It will be recalled, besides, that while our
country was still supposed to be neutral the
Indians of eastern Nebraska were not among
those who would look with tolerance npon the
enormities perpetrated by Germany.    And once
Canadian Indian Soldiers Killed in France
A former Santee student, John Thunder, of
Pipestoue, Manitoba, furnished the above cut
to our Dakota paper, the Iapi Oaye, and wrote
as follows:
[Translated from the Dakota]
"Some of us Dakotas live under the British
Government. It has always been a good government, because of this every man who lives in
this Dominion appreciates his condition and
thinks much of his country.
But the bad-langnage-people (Indian for Germans) are trying to destroy our government aud
rob us of our homes so all our men and youth
have risen to defend ourselves. So we Dakotas
are joining our young men in with those of the
great nations and some of them have been
awfully wounded and others killed. But woe
to the young man who fears either wounds or
death. I have received letters from some of
our young men in France and they say they
enjoy fighting the Germans. One writes that
sometimes he feels specially good and he whoops.
German bullets have now killed one of our
boys from each of these localities, Pipestone,
Juneberry Creek, and Big Lake. These were
all very young but their hearts were full of
bravery. They were all volunteers and so they
deserve special honor. Their names are Thomas
Kasto (smoothed) from Pipestone, John Taylor
of Wipazuka (Juneberry) Creek and Joe Petus
from Mdetanka (Big Lake). Our Lord said
"Greater love hath no r -an than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends."
Pipestone, Minn. JOHN THUNDER.
the United States had committed itself to the
support of the allied nations in putting down
Prussian autocracy, eighty-two of those bronze-
skinned native Americans were prompt to enlist in the army and navy.
During the past year the Red Cross chapter
on the Omaha reservation, with a membership
of 314, has been actively engaged in knitting,
in making surgical dressings for soldiers and
in raising funds for relief work.
Knowing the spirit of the Indians, and how
they feel regarding the European war, one need
not be surprised at their patriotic fervor. As
long ago as 1915 they were bestirring themselves in the interests of humanity.
There was the case, for instance, of Ma-ha-wa,
whose name signifies The Conqueror. He had
been informed of nations fighting beyond the
east wind, across the great waters. He had
heard also of a peaceful people brought low by
mighty guns whose
fire-speech is as a
power to shake the
bones of the world.
He learned of them,
and how the fields
of the peaceful people were laid waste,
and their lands taken, and their homes
demolished.
Now, who better
than an old Indian
might know the meaning of all that? Ma-
ha-wa knew. He knew
and pitied, and wanted very much to show
that his heart had
gone out to those people in their suffering.
But what might In- do
for them, he, an old
man, so far away?
Money, of course,
might help. He sent
money, $20 raised by
means of selling a load
of corn; and from the Belgian minister at
Washington he received a letter, thanking him
in words graciously expre^ed, not alone for
his gift of money, but more particularly for
the kindness of an understanding heart.—
Omaha World-Herald.
Liberty Bond Sale among Apache Indians
Seventy Indians employed on the road which
, is being constructed by the Gibson Consolidat-
. ed Copper Company have shown their patriot-
i ism in a convincing manner by each of them
purchasing a $50 Liberty Bond.    The Indians
. have been working steadily for the past two
months on the road.
It is said that in buying the bonds a number
I of them stated that they have been helped by
. the government and that they intended to as-
i sist Uncle Sam when he needed the funds for
jthe promotion of the war. It is expected that
; other Indians of the district will follow their
example.
This incident is regarded by persons interested in the Liberty Bond drive as one of the most
interesting and remarkable which has occurred
during the campaign for the Third Loan.—:Bil-
ver Belt.
The Wold Family at Santee
Many years ago an expert shoe-maker and
his family came almost directly from Norway
to Santee. Mr. Ever P. Wold was an expert
workman of the old school, before the time of
machine made shoes. For long years he faithfully taught our Indian pupils. Mr. and Mrs.
Wold had eight children, seven girls and a
boy. Mr. Wold died and the family moved to
the Pacific coast. The mother was admirably
ambitious for her family and they all struggled
valiantly against poverty. All graduated from
the University of Oregon, and took post graduate work in othei institutions. The mother
lived in good health till a few weeks ago and
was suddenly taken with pneumonia. Then it
seemed good to her children to bury the ashes
beside their father. The son, Mr. Peter Irving
Wold, and one of the daughters, Miss Cora
Wold came to Santee on this errand. This Miss
Wold is now teacher of mathematics in one of
the large Chicago high schools. And Mr. Wold
Jr. is electrical expert in the radio department
for the famous Western Electric Co. with head
quarters in New York City. These two renewed their youth in the scenes and reminiscences of their childhood. We all greatly enjoyed their visit and our best wishes will always follow them.