The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1884-05

              THE WORD CARRIER.
\ 0]V SEBIES,*VOL. I NO. IV.
Helping'the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED FOR THE DAKOTA MISSION
giNTEE Agency, Nebraska.
MAY, 1884.
Fifty Cents a Year
Our Platform.
For Indians we want American
Education! We want American
Homes!" We want American Rights!
The result oe which is American
Citizenship. 	
The Word Carrier is published in the interest of schools and missions among the Indians. It is published for The Dakota Mission,
orif inally 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
it 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
hare 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.
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postoffice as
second class matter.]
people. Moreover, the sign language
has its verbs as well as any other
language. It is impossible to predicate
anything without some word or sign
that has the force of a verb.
Judge Moody is really a good lawyer
and is very highly thought of as a
judge, and we join in that opinion.
But when he allows himself to become
responsible for such nonsense as this,
he will excuse us if we have to laugh.
For his philological contributions are
"too funny for anything."
and girls gave sentiments; and what
did it matter if they were meant to be
facetious, but were delivered in the
most serious manner, which naturally
added greatly to the effect upon those
who appreciated it.
Last, but not least, " Winona" had
prepared the birthday cake, which was
another link in the chain of surprises
to the heroine of the hour.
We washed the church all over, and
it took us all day because there were so
few of us. Bessie Lovejoy.
We often owe ;more to high dignitaries than they are aware of. We are
under great and lasting obligations to
our judges, and to none more than to
Judge Moody, of the Supreme Court
of Dakota. The obligation we wish
to acknowledge just now is for his contribution to philology, in his testimony
before Senator Dawes' Indian commission last fall, at Omaha. The official
report of this commission is just out,
and brings to light the very interesting fact, according forjudge Moody,
that "The Sioux is a sign language.
There is not a verb in the whole
language, or (the language) did not
have until these men (missionaries)
came among them."
This is just as if some John Jasper
should arise and! say/ihere never were
any fossils in thejhills until the geologists came andrput them there.
The truth of it is, that the Sioux
or Dakota is not a sign language.
What is known as the sign language,
is a language by signs which has grown
up for the inter-communication of Indian tribes having different spoken
languages. .Some who are adept in the
sign language will continue to use it
for emphasis, along with their own
spoken language, and among their own
The latest news (May 21) concerning
the Sioux Reservation bill, is that it
has been slightly amended in the subcommittee of the House, and with one
exception the bill will be reported to
the House practically as it came from
the Senate. The exception is that the
general patent to the whole tribe is
thrown out. And this is a very wise
thing. Do not let us maintain even
the shadow of tribal sovereignty.
The Cherokees are discussing,
through the "Advocate," the morality
of the contingent expenses of their
commission that secured the "per
capita fund" of $300,000 from the last
Congress. It seems that $22,500 went
for "assistance," a considerable portion
of which, if not all, was rendered by
Congressmen. The Cherokees seem to
agree that since the money was theirs
by right, and they could not get any of
it otherwise, they are not responsible
for the methods or the moral character
of Congressmen.
We welcome to our exchange table
two new faces; The New Era and The
Indian Citizen. The New Era hails
from Pawnee Agency, I. T., and is an
attractive 16-page monthly. We fail
to find its subscription price. The Indian Citizen comes from Forest Grove
Indian Training School, Oregon, and
is a diminutive 4-page paper, published
mouthy at 50 cents a year. It makes
the boast that it is entirely edited and
published by Indians. We think, however, that a little help and instruction
from some competent white man might
make them able to furnish a more useful paper. We suggest that one very
good way to help on the work of Indian education and civilization is to
send your subscription to such papers.
They are to become the levers of influence if they can be insured a few years'
existence.
For the past few weeks a part of the
industrial training of the boys has
been as a spade and wheelbarrow brigade, whose drill ground is in the excavation for the cellars of the new dining hall. Although never on dress
parade, they make quite a fine appearance, and make the dirt fly.
The blacksmith boys are making
bolts for the girders of the new building. The carpenter boys have under
way, and will soon finish, a set of light
stands to furnish the dormitories of
the young men's hall. The shoeshop
proves the activity of its apprentices
as Moses Barret carries around, with
due dignity, his bunches of shoes repaired aud made, for distribution to the
several houses.
Through the kindness of Major
Lightner, our Indian agent, we are to
have the use of the government brick
yard this summer, and have added this
branch to our industrial curriculum.
Mr Joseph Williams, of Tyndall, D.
T., is superintendent. So far, the boys
are quite interested in it. It may,
however, become a fiery furnace to
some of them.
"Even Christ pleased not himself,"
was the happy remark of one of our
dutiful Bird's Nest girls, as she went
cheerfully to an irksome task.
School Notes.
Although we are a busy little community at Santee, we have our merrymakings occasionally, which give us a
healthy variety, and help us, in a measure, to renew our youth.
Recently, some one having made the
discovery that Mrs. Wood's birthday
was very near at hand, and also knowing that she had not dreamed of any
demonstration in celebration thereof,
it was determined by a few, to gently
surprise our heroine in the evening of
that momentous day; it also being the
regular meeting time of the Monday
Club.
So Prof. Pratt prepared a poem, "A
Forest Hymn," Miss Illsly gave a beautifully rendered song, Mr. Riggs made
congratulatory remarks, and the boys
MONDAY CLUB ESSAYS
By pupils of Santee Normal training  school.
VACATION AT THE "DAKOTA  HOME"
About two years ago the girls
nearly all went home but I did not go,
but was alone with two or three girls
and two bovs. We ate together. All
the teachers went home but three and
it seemed very quiet around here.
First, when they had all gone home, we
were so lonesome, after a while we got
very happy.
We had a little march over to Mr.
Riggs house on Fourth of July. At
first we stayed at the "Dakota Home"
but when they painted the "Home" we
stayed over to the "Bird's Nest." We
did not have much work to do, but
played all the time. We did not even
sew. When we wanted to we went to
pick choke-cherries and gooseberries.
The first time when we ate with the
boys, we were so afraid we could not
eat. We did something that the
"Band of Mercy" would think very
bad, and we cannot do any more because we have joined the "Band of
Mercy."
We picked up frogs and toads and
put them in a bag and gave them to
Miss Paddock for a present. We used
to make play-houses and tents, and
play croquet with the boys, but we used
to get to fighting. We had a nice
time and were sorry when all the girls
came back. One day we quarreled and
one girl went in a corner and cried and
I went in another corner.
SANTEE   NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL.
The purpose of this school is to teach
the scholars to live in a civilized manner having a shoe-shop, carpenter shop
blacksmith-shop and among other
works that will lead to higher manhood
and better living men and women than
their fore-fathers were.
I have been to several schools
(Dakota) and know the way in which
most of them are managed, and this
school is the most advanced among
them all. This school has the most
intelligent and industrious teachers.
As I have seen this winter, some of
the Dakota young men have improved
wonderfully, both in their manners
and in Christianity. Most of them
have never been to school before, and
some of them, in six months' time,
have learned to read in their own language and in English too; besides
others, who are not Dakotas, have
learned two languages, which is the
hardest part, and they are among those
that have improved most in every way,
in labor, educational work and talking
English.
I think their being a long way from
home causes them to try to learn, and
I hope they will try to set a good example amongst their own people when
they get through with their schooling
here. This school, or the teachers,
have many good ways to manage and
improve the scholars, as 1 said before.
We have what we call the "Monday
Club," for the purpose of learning to
talk and write English, and we find it
very pleasant and instructive.
Each member is expected to respond
to his name at roll-call, by repeating
some English sentiment. Some five or
six of the members have essays or select reading, from both boys and girls.
One of the teachers is president, but
the vice-president and secretary are
both Dakota young men.
Last week we organized a "Band of
Mercy," or what we call, "Waonsida
Okodakiciye," and these boys aud girls
all know what it means, and the spirit
of it, whatever it is called, and will try
to keep the pledge, I am sure.
Of course, everything of this kind
encourages the scholars and the teachers too, and ought to show to the world
that Indians are no more to be Indians,
but white men.       James W. Lynd.
Visitors at Santee.
We have recently enjoyed a visit
from Rev. John P. Williamson and his
wife. They spent a day in inspecting
the school and shops. We have hardly yet recovered ourselves from our
surprise enough to express our thanks
becomingly. Mr. Williamson visits us
not infrequently, and Mrs. Williamson at rare intervals; but the conjunction of their visits is something beyond
our comprehension.
Miss Caroline Weber and Miss Eliza
Foster, teachers in the public schools
of Niobrara, came down at the close
of their school term, and spent several
days visiting the schools of this agency,
May 17-22. They each left a certificate of their excellent good sense in
the shape of a subscription . to The
Word Carrier.