The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1884-04-15

              D CARRIER.
NEW SERIES,  VOL. I NO. III.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED FOR THE DAKOTA MISSION.
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
APRIL 15, 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 Cakriek is published in the interest of schools and missions among the Indians. It is published for" The Dakota Mission,
originally, planted b.y the American Board in the
yeai; 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 arid 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
«ork of our Normal Training Sehool will be
made prominent.
We shall also endeavor to give a view of the
state of tin- 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 50 cents a year. Send
for it to Alfred L. Riggs, Editor and Publisher,
Santee Agency, Neb.
ing Indian migrations we think Tie is j
more sure than safe. We do not believe that it is demonstrated that the
whole or a considerable part of the
Indian population of this country is of
Asiatic origin and came in by way of
Behring's Straits. It may be so; but
we say it is not proven yet. Prof.
Wright ignores the proofs" that point
to a Buropeau origin and a migration
from the east and across or around the
Atlantic. In another place we quote
from Horatio Hale who'se studies have
brought him to advocate this last
named theory. The difference may be
thought to be merely the difference of
opinion by two men, one of whom is
as likely Lo be right as the pother.
But Mr Hale's opinion is that of an
original investigator who is recognized
as one of the few living authorities.
Thanksgiving is the name of a
bright, cheery little paper which is
published at DeSmet, D. T., to carry
the local news and plans of the Congregational churches of Dakota. We
hail it as an auspicious omen, both for
the paper itself and the Congregational
churches of the territory, that the Indian Mission work lias a full share of
attention. Indeed we have long been
trying to get a report from our. own
work in the Fort Sully Mission for our
Word Carrier, and partly compass it
by clipping from the columns of the
"Thanksgiving." We finally captured
the ubiquitous T. L. R. with the aid of
the Missouri River and extracted some
items from him which, will be also
found in this number.
SOAP AND SYNTAX.
NO climatic changes to fear.
While no particular school east is
located in unhealthy regions, the sudden climatic changes have in many instances proved fatal to the Indian
children, who are accustomed to the
clear, light atmosphere of this prairie
country, where no malaria exists. It
is therefore the opinion of your correspondent that the "home school" is the
most important feature of Indian
education, in connection with the various local day schools scattered in the
different camps.
the industrial building
was finished about a year since, and
"during the past summer and fall the
finishing touches, furnishing, etc.,
were completed by the agency employes. The main building is a two-
story structure 40x80 feet, and contains the living rooms of the teachers
and pupils, school room, sewing room,
reception room for the children and
their visitors, and one for the teachers
and their friends, a store room and two
bath rooms. The rear building, connecting the main one, forming the
whole into a T,' is 40x100 feet, one-
story, contains a large, well-lighted
dining hall, kitchen, pantry and laundry .
THOSE who manage.
The school is ably superintended by
Miss Emma C Sickels, formerly of the
Indian training school at Carlisle, Pa.,
and Miss Sarah H. Webster, a former
leader in the Sioux City school, is
teacher. Miss A. E. Dunn, of Chicago, is the matron and looks closely
after the work of those who are assigned her to sweep, scrub and do
general cleaning. Miss Rose N.
Williams, of Chicago, instructs eleven
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postoflice as
second class matter.]
Rev. Thos. L. Riggs, in charge of our
work at Oahe, Cheyenne River, Grand
River, and all along shore made us a
visit March 31st to April 2d, the loss
of the ferryman's skiff and an icy rain
storm making him contended to stay
within doors for that length of time.
He was on his way to Sissiton Agency
on recruiting service for native teachers.
The new hold that the "Indian
question" is taking on the public mind
is significantly seen in the series of
articles that have been appearing for
several months in the New York Independent and the Chicago Advance.
The Independent has had a series of
deeply interesting and valuable letters
by "H. H." on the conditions and
wrongs of the California Indians. It
is fervently to be hoped that the letters may do much towards righting
those wrongs and securing homes for
those long neglected Indians. Justice
may finally prevail, eyen in California.
. The articles on Prehistoric Man in
Xorth America by Prof. G. F. Wright
that have been appearing for some
time in the columns of the Advance
■'"e well worth study. So far as we
are able to judge, in a field in which
any but an expert should be backward
about having any opinion at all, we
Relieve his conclusions are in the main
right.
But in his eleventh  article concern-
Pine Ridge Inrfigsd-iul School.
Correspondence of the Omaha Bee.
Pine Ridge Agency, Dak., Feb., 6—
Your correspondent has been given the
pleasure of an inside sight of the workings of the new industrial school at
this agency. It was opened for the
reception of pupils on the 15th of December, and is now filled to its capacity, there being 81 boys and girls now
in regular attendance. The experiment proves that the industrial school
system of the Indian policy is a success, for there are
THREE HUNDRED CHILDREN ASKING   ADMISSION, ' '      .
but there is not sufficient room for
them, and congress will be asked during the present session for an appropriation to enlarge the present building for double the number of scholars.
The children are selected from various
bands, each band being entitled to its
ratio and, while in a few instances
there was considerable prejudice felt
by the old ''coffee coolers" against
sending the children, in the majority
of cases there were many who felt injured because they could not send
more.
HOME SCHOOLS SUCCESSFUL.
It is believed that the "homeschools"
will be more successful than- at first
supposed. When appropriations were
being made for the building of these
agency industrial schools, it was held
that the influences surrounding them
would be such as to defeat the objects sought. While in some instances
this may be true, it is not so when a
strong will wields the power. But m
one particular, at least, the home
school is superior in that there are
iris in the art of making dresses and
other wearing apparel. Miss A. D.
Chaffee teaches how to rub soiled linen
to snow-white and iron it smooth,
while Miss Mary Shady presides over
the culinary department, having as her
assistants girls to cook and a boy
baker. Robert American Horse, a
young Indian graduate of Carlisle, interprets, oversees the boys, and makes
himself generally useful. The teachers are all ladies of education and refinement, and have a patient influence
over the young Indians in their various
branches.
HAIK-CUTTING AND  SOAP.
When new recruits are admitted to
the school, their hair is cut and their
heads completely cleaned of the little
live hugs. They are then taken to the
bath room where they receive the most
thorough scrubbing of their- lives, and
decked in a new suit of clothing
throughout. They come from the
bath-room looking far different from
the dirty, scabby urchins of the day
before. At the start, considerable
anxiety was felt on the part of their
parents owing to the barber's operations, lest the parents should lose caste
among their people and the hearts of
the young would lose that bravery attributed to long'hair. But that is
gradually wearing off, and, by the continuous use of soap and water, the full-
bloods are scarcely a half shade darker
than the half dozen half-breeds in attendance.
THE SCHOOL.
Both the Misses Sickels and Webster teach in this department. The
opening exercises consist of prayer and
singing,  and  the children are taught
exclusively in English by means of object lessons. Singing is a favorite exercise, and drawing a peculiar gift of
all. They are inclined to be shy, but
are learning as rapidly as can be expected. Words are placed upon the
blackboard by the teacher, and words
are added by the scholars to make
sense—a sort of syntax exercise. The
dicipline of the sehool room is as perfect as any school room containing
white children; at the tap of the bell
every child obeying the command
quietly and in order. Simple gymnastic exercises are indulged in each day,
previous to their departure from the
school room.
EATING WITH KNIVES AND   FORKS   VERSUS THE FINGERS.
The Indian table etiquette is extremely primitive. A large chunk of
beef usually finds its way to the
mouth, the teeth used as a vice and
the left hand as a guide, while the
large butcher knife comes between to
cut off such a quantity as the aborigine
thinks he cau manage at one mouthful, and such dainties as hard tack are
taken from the lap or ground.
This is all the table etiquette the great
majority of these children knew six
weeks ago. Now when the bell rings-
for meals the children march in file,
and each end of the light tables is
presided over by one of the boys, who
cloes the usual honors very gracefully,
and the girls assigned to their duties as
waiters perform the light work" of setting and cleaning of the tables, procuring the second course, and waiting
upon the }roung gentlemen as become
young ladies, each table being in
charge of one girl. These duties continue a month, when others are given
an opportunity to practice in the art
of table etiquette.
•      COOKING   AND  BAKING.
Miss Shady has her cooks quite well
trained now. When they first put in
an appearance they were apt to think
all soup came from the frolicking
puppy, and slashed things together
accordingly. The grease from the
pans and crockery was not always
rubbed off, while the biscuit and the
bread were unleavened, as it were, with
an occasional "reminden" in the shape
of a horse-like hair thrown in—-to
keep it together. But everything is
well regulated now, and your correspondent was shown some excellent biscuits made by one of the girls. The
bread, which looked light and good, is
made by one of the boys, who will
continue regularly in the capacity of
baker, while the girls will change
every month and learn another of the
household industries.
(; EN E K AL .CONCLUSIONS.
Iii the system of placing the''pupils
at the work best fitted for them, the
teachers have proved themselves equal
to the emergency. The children wear
bright and happy faces, are allowed
liberal permissions to go about the
agency, regularly attend church and
Sabbath suhool, and have games to
amuse themselves during the evenings.
The health i,« remarkable, considering
the time of year they were placed in
the school, and the vast change in
their way of living. The deportment
is excellent, and, by kindness interspersed with firmness, the Indian training school at this agency will be equal
jf not superior to any of the others
now in progress. yuiLBERSON.