The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1920-09 - 1920-10

              The Word Carrier
of Santee Normal Training School.
VOLUME  XLIX
HELPING- THE  RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG
NUMBER. 6
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1920
FIFTY CENTS PER YEAR
Our Platform
For Indians we want American Education! We want
American Homes! We want .American Rights ! The result of which is American Citizenship! And the Gospel
is the  Power of  God   for their  Salvation!
Tribute to Miss Mary C. Collins
Published in "Congregational Iowa."
To the land of the Dakotas,
Where the storm-king meets the north-wind,
Where the snowdrifts heap the valleys
And the west-wind racks the pine-trees,
Came a fearless, pale-faced maiden
Whom the Indians named Winona.
Came she from the land of sunshine,
Verdant meadows, golden grain-fields;
From the land of schools and churches,
From her home and friends and neighbors,
To this far-away Dakota.
Feared she not the storm and tempest,
Feared not Indian chiefs in war-paint,
Nor young braves on ponies dashing
With a speed to match the west-wind.
Shrank she not from filth and rudeness,
Stolid face, uncombed tresses;
Brave of heart was our Winona.
Clad in virtue like a garment,
Faith in Christ her only armor,
Love for souls her only motive,
Came she with her open Bible,
And she read it, taught it, lived it,
Till they saw it's wondrous power.
It had brought Winona to them;
It had filled her heart with pity
For a poor, benighted people.
So they reverenced Winona.
Old men came to her for council;
Young braves ceased their crazy dances;
Maidens copied gowns and manners;.
And they learned of Christ and Master
Through the life of their Winona.
Grand River Memories
Many, during the past quarter century,
have heard or read Miss Collins' own words
describing her field work among the Indians.
But to few has it been given to see her in it.
Brave, patient, kindly, sympathetic, calm;
and with a strength of soul that through nearly forty years enabled her to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." So
that with Paul she could say as she neared
life's end: "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith."
If ever she had fear,—of danger, or of hardship,—she was apparent}- undaunted. When
sometimes most trying circumstances would
arise her patience was wonderful. Her ever-
ready sympathy was never expressed in weak
sentimentality, but took some form of real
helpfulness and iu the way to inspire courage
and give inward strength—none who came to
her for counsel or for comfort (and many needed it,) ever failed to" get it: for the Source
from which she drew was never failing.
Of all that she did and said, what impressed
me most, I think, was her prayers. In the
brief morning worship in her home, there was
the evident reliance on Divine help for the
day; by the bedside of the sick, in smoky
tipi, or "dark log house, she ever brought courage and cheer, as she lifted the thought to the
glory of heaven. And as she once said to me,
"It seems as if the description of heaven were
made just for the Dakotas. The 'pure river,
clear as crystal,' the tree bearing its fruit; 'no
night there,' and no need of a candle. (Candles
were among the things we always kept in store,
to give away in case of sickness. And for
which they were so glad and grateful.) No
more death, nor sorrow, nor pain;—neither
hunger, nor thrist—allthat these things meant
to our poor people,—more than to us, where
lives have not known want as theirs." Yet
it was not on these things that Miss Collins
dwelt as on the Spiritual.
And none of her ministrations to her Indian
people were more prized than her visits to the
sick,with Scripture reading, prayer, and hymn.
Her medical work was never without prayer;
and its results sometimes seemed scarcely less
than a miracle. Surely God was with her, as
her Indians said.
Whether in her calls at their homes, in her
conversations by the way, or in her Sunday
Sermons, the message was always simple, direct, earnest, clear, and strong. As she had
sought and received for herself, so she gave.
MISS  MARY  C. COLLINS
"WINONA"
None of her misson work was done as a mere
matter of habit or form ; every occasion was an
opportunity; and from her heart, her words
sank into others' hearts, and took root, and
grew and brought forth fruit.
Her "preaching" was Scriptural too, in being "in season and out of season", and such as
could be applied to daily living. So that,
among my first impressions of the Indians,
as they came to Winona's home and I heard
them talk with her, was the frequency with
which I heard them mention God; for ''Wa-
kantauka" seemed associated with all their
daily life and problems, more intimately than
is too often the case with maturer Christians.
Always, Winona seemed to have a message
ready. Once where she stopped for her ponies
to drink, as we were fording Grand River,
she used that brief opportunity, to speak to
some women who were washing on the river
bank. And her words were apparently always
welcome. So it was a very natural and practical, every-day Christianity that Winona's
people grew to know and to live, with a simple child-like faith. Her life was hard in
scorching heat or fierce cold; whether at home
or in
flood.
; could go.    That she did seems indicated in
the markings in a little book of devotional
poems from which the following:—
"Oh Saviour, I have proved
That thou to help and save art truly near ;
How else this quiet rest from grief and fear,
And all distress?
Is it indeed, thy peace ? I have not tried
To analyze my faith, dissect my trust,
Or measure if belief be full, and just,
And therefore, claim thy peace.   But thou
hast died.
I know that this is true, and true for me,
And knowing it, I come and cast my all on thee."
Again a doubly marked verse, reads:—
"Teach me that harder lesson—how to live,
To serve Thee in the darkest paths of life ;
Arm me for conflicts now, fresh vigor give,
And make me more than conquerer in the strife."
Though her own brave heart did not admit
it in her own words—one marked verse has
the words:—
''The way is lonely: I am travel worn."
And another stanza doubly marked:—
"So tried ! Lord Thou wilt come
To take me to my home,
So long desired;
Only Thy grace and mercy send,
That I may serve Thee to the end,
Though I am tired."
And now she rests. Our Winona ! Comrade,
friend; shall we rejoice with her, as she rejoices in the Heavenly mansions with the many
there, to whom she showed the way.
Mary P. Lord.
"journeying", in wind and storm and
She took her people sincerely, and appreciated them, as they did her.
• As a neighbor, Winona was kindness itself
and most hospitable, as a hostess Although
Indian callers were many, sometimes a score
in half a day, ou errands of many kinds ! White
visitors at that isolated little home were few,—
but very, very welcome. And what lacked
in quantity, was made up in quality. And I
doubt if any one ever went away without having felt refreshed—in body and in son]—by
the visit to th.-it little mission home. Such a
tiny dot in the landscape as one catches that
first glimpse of the Grand River valley from
the brow of Elk-Horn butte, oh so tiny! But
who shall say how far, by the grace of God,
its influence has reached, and will yet reach!
Of the deeper springs of life she said little,—or nothing—in words. Few,—or it may
be none—of us have fathomed the depths of
her strong soul, aud fully recognized the
seeret of its strength. Sorrow, weariness
loneliness, all had part in her life's discipline, and there was but one to whom she
The news of Miss M. C. Collins' death seemed to take part out of our lives. "The milestones are becoming tombstones," as Lowell
wrote on his 68th birthday. But Miss Collins' work and influence will live on. She
grew under the work and difficulties of a
frontier Missionary life. It is a good thing
for a woman to have a work to do, said a well
know man to me once, speaking of a Dakota
Mission worker. Miss Collins had that, and
the work was not only good but great because
it was Christlike, with a great purpose to
save the Indians.
She passed thru the frontier town where I
was, next to the Indian field, but not yet in it
in 1875. She had a fine attractive lady companion missionary. They went together to
Oahe. Before long that companion was taken
from her, and than followed Mrs. T. L. Riggs,
the mother of the household. It was a great
trial to be left so alone on the front where
lady friendship means so much. Some would
have been discouraged, but she held on. She
was brave enough later to go alone among the
Indians to a new place. Her reward was that
she earned their love as an elder sister. She
learned to know the language of their lips and
their heart. So she was the channel of God's
graoe to their sou's.
Are there any heroic women to take the
places of those who are passing on? God
grant it. We believe he has. Miss Collins
and those like her have laid a foundation for
them to build on. C. L. Hall.
Miss Collins was devoted to the Indians,
and they will deeply mourn for her. Several
generations at Oahe and Grand River will remember her. She led a brave life for many
years. It must have been comforting to her
to have her last home in her home-town and
State.—Mrs. Lena Lindemann Ward, Matron
Oahe School, 1886-89
Lawrence Riggs Injured in Railroad Accident
Mr. Lawrence Riggs, son of Dr. and Mrs.
T. L. Riggs, of Oahe, S. D. was very seriously injured in a rail road wreck, Sept. 20th.
He was on a special train going from Huron to
Pierre when that train was run into at the rear
by another special train in a fog. Mr. Riggs
had both legs broken in a bad manner and one
of them in two places and severely splintered.