The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1884-03

              HEW SERIES, VOL. I NO. I.
Helping the R^ght, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED FOR THE DAKOTA MISSION.
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
MARCH, 1884.
Fifty Cents a Year.
Our Platform.
For Indians we want American
Education! We want American
Homes ! We want American Rights !
The result of which is American
Citizenship.
The Word Carrier is published m the interest of schools and missions among the Indians. It is published for The Dakota Mission,
originally planted by the American Board in the
year 1835, in Minnesota, but now extended
over Dakota, and into Nebraska, Montana, and
the British Possessions, and carried on under
these several branches:
The American Missionary Association, (Congregational) at Santee Agency, Nebraska, and
at Oahe, Cheyenne River, Grand River, and
Fort Berthold, Dakota,
The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions,
at Yankton Agency and Flandrau, Dakota,
and at Poplar Creek, Montana.
The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions
at Sisseton Agency and Brown Earth, Dakota.
The Dakota Native Missionary Society, at
Cheyenne River and Devil's Lake, Dakota.
Santee Normal Training School, at Santee
Agency,. Nebraska, is our principal school for
all this field, for higher education and normal
training. Therefore, while presenting the
progress of our missionary and educational
work in the whole field, the interests and
work of our Normal Training School will be
made prominent.
We shall also endeavor to give a view of the
state of _ the work under other missionary
societies, and under the Government. And we
cordially invite the co-operation of those who
have been our friends in the past and of all new
workers in the field.
Published monthly at 5(Jbents a year. Send
for it to Alfred L. Riggs, Editor and Publisher,
Santee Agency, Neb.
[Entered at the Santee Agency PostofEceas
second class matter.]
English name for it. And if anything
is done in the industrial line the estimate of expense is to small, viz:
$2,000 for building, and $3,500 for
annual expeness, for a school of fifty.
It will require at least three persons to
run one school of this kind, and probably more. And one square meal a
day for fifty children from the camps,
will spoil as much provisions as three
regular meals for the same number
when kept all the while. Nevertheless,
we think the plan worth working, but
with more money.
We suggest that Superintendent Ha-
worth make requisition for a new pair
of spectacles for his statistical clerk.
The figures he gives for our Santee
Normal Training School are very far
from correct. If all his figures are
like these, his tables are worthless. He
credits us with having, during the year
ending June 30, 1883, an "average attendance" of boarding scholars of 44.2
and a largest "average monthly attendance" 61,4, whereas the real figures,
and those that were reported to the
Indian office, were twenty more than
this.
not like to show himself at these meetings. I do not know how long it is
since I have seen him, he'comes out so
little. I am very much afraid that he
sleeps a good deal of his time, when he
ought to be out doing good. His name
is Gold. Mr Gold, are you here tonight, or are you sleeping in your iron
chest? Come out, Mr. Gold, come out
and help us do this great work, to
preach the gospel to every creature. Ah,
Mr. Gold, you ought to be ashamed of
yourself to sleep so much in your iron
chest. Look at your white brother,
Mr. Silver; he does a great deal of good
while you are sleeping. Come out,
Mr. Gold, Look, too, at your little
brown brother, Mr. Copper; he is
everywhere. Your poor little brown
brother is running about, doing all
that he can to help us. Why don't
you come out, Mr. Gold? Well, if
you won't show yourself, send us your
We have just received from the Superintendent of. Indian Schools, James
M. Ha worth Esq., his two annual reports for the years ending July 1,1883,
and July 1, 1882. The latter is a
little aged, hut we are thankful for it,
even at this late date.
Our old-time friend, James M. Ha-
worth, Superintendent of Indian
schools, makes a good record for diligent untiring labor. No man could
have done more, and few men as much,
in the line he has been sent to work.
But we must say that as yet the Interior Department has no adequate conception of what is meant by a superin-
tendency of Indian schools. Would
the Secretary of War, send out Gen.
Crook or Gen. Miles with but one aid,
and no battalions?
shirt, that is, a bank note.
I have to say."—Exchange.
the evil is corrected. He calls for an
increase in the force of teachers of
farming. "One farmer it may be
readily understood, whose whole time
is employed in the agency garden, can
hardly be expected to render much
assistance to seven or eight thousand
Indians who live forty or fifty miles
from the agency." And we say, amen!
The whole system is absurd. Instead
of large agencies and centralized communities, our policy should be just the
reverse. We should scatter the
Indians into small communities, each
with a competent industrial instructor,
who   might  be  a sort  of sub-agent.
We also thankfully acknowledge
the word he puts in, even though it be
a small one, in favor of a rapid increase of good schools on the reservations.
The Indian Rights Association will
do well to circulate systametically this,
Herbert Welsh's Report.
We acknowledge  the receipt of
jreat
Superintendent Haworth presents
tables to show that the United States
government is now in debt to certain
Indian tribes to the amount of $3,759,-
400, on the score of educational facilities, that have been guaranteed by
treaty, and have not been supplied.
That is a pretty good plum to fish out
for Indian schools on the first manipulation of his educational pie. The
Secretary of the Interior makes good
use of this point in his annual report
for 1883.
We are called to notice a new invention made by the Superintendent of
Indian schools. It is to be called the
Semi-Boarding-Industrial School. It is
new only in name. In early days the
mission schools often furnished something of a lunch, and the government
school at Flandrau, D. T., has had the
noon lunch as a regular feature for
sometime, until now it has merged into
a regular three meal boarding school.
And the tendency will be one way or
the other. But for a temporary experiment merely, it may be worth a
good deal.   Let us however have an
Visitors at Santee.—January 20,
1884, brought us at the Santee Normal
Training School, Miss M. C. Collins,
of the Fort Sully mission, with four
little bright-eyed Dakota girls for the
school. Miss Collins' visit was only
too short.
One hundred and seventy-two of the
Nez Perces have been admitted as
members into the Presbyterian church,
of which they have an organization at
their Agency, with Rev. A. B. Lawyer,
a full blood native as their pastor, and
the officers of their church are chosen
from their own number. The church
was organized by Rev. S. B. Fleming,
o£ Arkansas City, Ks., in 1881, since
which their force been steadily iBj:
creased. The Nez Perces are an intelligent looking body of people, and
they have made fair advancement toward civilization. The greatest discouragement since the removal from
Idaho to this Territory is the fatality
among the young. They have been
appealing long to the government to
be returned to their old homes, according to the terms of their surrender, and
is now at last granted.
That was a capital piece of Indian
oratory—a sermon on gold that ought
to do a deal of good, contained in an
address some time ago by Rev. John
Sunday, an Indian preacher in Hamilton, Ontario. "There is," he said, ''a
gentleman who, I suppose, is now in
this house. He is a very fine gentleman, but a very modest one.   He does
copy of a report of a visit to the
Sioux reserve, by Herbert Welsh Esq.,
secretary o£ the Indian Rights Association. This visit was made in the summer of 1883, primarily to enquire into
the terms and methods employed in
securing the cession of the half of the
great Sioux reserve. Mr. Welsh is a
keen observer, and one whose sympathies are thoroughly enlisted in behalf
of the race whose rights he is protecting. But he also sees that their best
interests are one with those of their
white neighbors, and he says: "My
experience among the Sioux has fully
convinced me, that there is no reason
why this large and important body of
Indians should not, within a comparatively short period of time, become a
civilized and self supporting people."
He points out clearly however, that,
"if the citizens of the United States
would see this desirable result attained,
they must demand the enforcement of
a policy both wise and continuous. If
we indeed propose to give to the
Jndians the benefits of education, a
permanent tenure of land, and the protection of civil law, we must adhere
more rigorously to our promises in the
future than we have in the past. Any
system by which a people emerging
from barbarism are at one time urged
by a great Government to apply themselves to agriculture, in order to obtain
protection and secure a permanent
hold upon the soil, and in a few years
are threatened with a summary removal from their lands,will hardlyfoster
the rapid advance of civilization or inspire confidence iu national promises."
What Mr. Welsh says of Indian
agents is well worth repeating. He
calls attention to the necessity of maintaining men of ability and integrity,
and such there are, in the position of
Indian agents and shielding them from
the machinations of unscrupulous
schemers. He also says: "The power of the agent is at present too great,
and should be limited by the introduction of law upon reservations. The
Indian is at present almost completely
at the mercy of his caprice and tyranny, should he be an unjust or hot
tempered man."
Another point he brings up which
needs repeating and emphasizing until
That is all i and other reliable information of this
sort. They can do a great work if
they will only inform the public of the
facts as they are.
One slight criticism we would offer;
and that is that as the representative
of the Indian Rights Association, and
reporting to them, Mr. Welsh gives
undue prominence to the missions and
schools of the Protestant Episcopal
church. Unless the Indian Rights
Association is simply another name for
the Protestant Episcopal Board of
Indian Missions, as we hardly think is
the case, it would have been more
seemly to have divided his special
missionary report from the other, and
addressed each to those whom it specially belongs.
Agent Miles' Resignation.
We have delayed  speaking  of this
matter for some time, hoping the agent
might reconsider the subject  and consent  to  remain.    The agent tendered
his resignation some  two months ago,
but as yet no action has been taken
toward accepting it, the  government
being unwilling to part with so faithful, true  and  experienced  an official.
The cause of the agent's withdrawal is
his shattered health, which, of late, has
shown signs of giving away under the
continued  responsibilities   which   for
years he has borne with honor to himself and satisfaction to the department.
A leave  of  absence of sixty days was
granted agent Miles in which to recruit,
and he is now absent at his Lawrence
home, enjoying the benefits of the rest
to which he is so justly entitled. There
is a feeling both in public and private
circles  that, while  the agent's health
requires^relaxation and rest, sufficient
time off duty will be allowed him to
recover his strength, after which all
are in hopes he will again assume the
duties of his office.    Iu his official capacity he has proved himself a man of
enlarged views,   steady   purpose   and
honorable intentions, with a will and
nerve to overcome all obstacles.    Socially, he  is courteous, agreeable and
unreserved,   and he  has so endeared
himself to his people that both Indians
and whites will part  with him  with
feelings of the deepest   regret.    We
join with one and all in a sincere hope
that he may soon be restored to full
health and strength and that he may
see his way clear to again assume the
duties of this office, to remain for some
time at least.—Cheyenne Transporter..
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