The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1884-07 - 1884-08

              THE .WORD CARRIER.
XEW SERIES,   VOL.  I, NO.   VI.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED FOB   THE DAKOTA   MISSION.
Santeee Agency, Nebraska.
JULY AND AUGUST, 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 in the interest of schools and missions among the Indians. It is published fer 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 Alissionary 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 50 cents a year. Send
for it to Alfred L. Riggs, Editor and Publisher,
Santee Agency, Neb.
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postofficeas
second class matter.]
past week, returning on Wednesday to
Santee Agency, Nebraska. Mrs. Wood
is deeply interested in her work of teaching in the Indian school at Santee, and
is enthusiastic over manifest results.
Few women of better ability, native
and acquired, and with instincts so
kindly, have ever engaged in the work
of educating the aborignes.
Sautee School Notes.
A number of our boys and girls went
to Springfield to celebrate the Fourth,
and to see the Indians, between four
and five hundred being camped there.
According to programme they proceeded to "tear" through the streets on
their ponies, some of them nearly nude,
and all of them more or less disfigured
with paint of all colors. Soon the
dancing began, and such a din, such
grotesque figures, such a wierd and
motley assembly is seldom seen except under similar circumstances. One
of our "boys" who came from such influences about three years ago, said,
looking thoughtfully at the scene before him, "I do not like it, those are
animals." The look and tone plainly
indicating his disgust. Is there not a
crumb of encouragement in this.
We issue this number not as a double number, but as a doubled number.
We don't like to have the almanac get
too far ahead of us. Owing to the
great pressure of other work The
Word Carrier has had to stand by
patiently waiting for its message. We
expect, however, to send it out twelve
times during the year.
Our thanks are due Hon. Lymau C.
Draper, of Madison Wis., for his presentation of two good books for our
school library. The battle of Kings
Mountain and its Heroes, of which Dr.
Draper is the author, is a valuable addition to history, and represents in its
pages the labor and historical research
of many years. We gave it place in
the front rank on our shelves.
Some of the boys and girls are long-
faced and sad at the prospects of leaving old associates, teachers and schoolmates, and all are hoping for a return
in September.
Miss Fannie Ellis left for her home
in Yankton, July 22d, to spend her
vacation and prepare for the fall and
winter campaign.
James Garvie has taken the pencil
from behind his ear, donned a carpenter's apron, and gone to work on the
dining hall, as though he had wielded
a hammer all his days. If he drives
nails as well as he teaches geography,
the carpenters may look well to their
laurels.
We were asked many times, while in
Madison, what do you need? what can
we send ? Money answereth all things,
out clothing for boys, young men and
girls is very helpful. We need also
well selected books for our school library. Here money will do better than
oooks that may not be appropriate,
we of our most urgent needs is a print-
mg press and outfit. For this purpose
we will gladly receive a thousand dollars or any part thereof.
We find this appreciative item in
w Spirit Lake Beacon  of July  25th.
Mrs.M. E.Wood has made a brief
stay among friends  here  during the
The children left here for the summer are very obedient, but some of
them are impatient to see Miss Brown
or Miss Webb, their " house mothers,"
and are counting the days till they
return. The only really troublesome
ones are those composing "Winonas"
family-they are incorrigible.
John Young writes from Beloit that
he is happy, but he would like to see
all his Santee friends very much, and
the thought of coming baek gives him
much pleasure.
remain during the summer, finding
employment at the brick-yard, in the
garden or in the new Dinning Hall.
We regret to learn of the death of
one of our former pupils, James Frenier
of Sisseton Agency. He was a young
man of more than usual ability and
promise, and gave evidence of thorough
Christian worth and charity. His
friends have our sympathy.
James W. Lynd, one of our pupil
teachers, said good by to many of his
Santee friends at Madison, from which
place he went to his home at Sisseton.
He is one of the stalwart young Dakotas to be depended upon in any
good cause, and we hope to see him
again in September.
Annie, Ida and Marry Ellis, Rosa
Cordier, left for their homes to spend
vacation. They expect to return in
the fall.
One of the little girls in our school
being asked to give the plural of "scissors" promptly responded "shears."
One of the sweetest, most touching
little things in our school at its close,
was the solo, "I was Lost, a Little
Lamb," as sung by little Alice Conger.
Vacation.
How many different thoughts this
word suggests, varied according to surroundings, previous tastes and habits
of thought, yet to most of us it means
as it should, simply a change of work,
rather than no work, for after all is not
idleness more enervating to the brain
and body than work ?
People talk of "retiring" from the activities of life — of taking a vacation—
but we believe there are only two classes of people who are exempt from life's
duties; these are the invalid and the
aged. They, too, have something to do,
in a silent way, if only to show the
busy, unthinking world the beauty of
patient suffering, and to serve as milestones on the path that leads heavenward, that the world may see which
way Heaven lies.
To us it means the severing of ties,
the sending out of those who have been
endeared to us by association into new
and untried fields with a prayer for their
guidance toward the good, a hope for a
useful life and an abiding faith that
God will care for his own.
Sorrow in a Helper's Family.
Smiley Rogers, son of our native
teacher at Poplar Creek, died suddenly
at Box Elder, May 1st 1884. Mr.
Rogers and family had left their house
at Deer Tail's that very morning.
From the house where Smiley died, we
brought him back to our mission. Ou
May 2d, at 11 o'clock the school house
was filled by white peojile, Indian children from the Industrial school, and
others. We sang and prayed in Dakota and English. Rev. Mr. Miller
and Rev. Mr. Snider helped. Then at
the grave, near by the corner of the
Mission lot, we sang Odowan 66, and
the benediction was pronounced. And
while the strong Dakota women filled
up the grave, we sadly went away, yet
thinking of the words of life we read
in God's Word.
Smiley was nine years old. He
knew the words of Jesus and the hymns.
He loved Jesus. One bunch of small
white flowers was seen by the roadside. It was plucked as we slowly
came in the rain, mud and cold, a May
day tribute to the cold body. But the
soul was singing already in the everlasting Paradise.
Hurriedly the grief stricken parents
took their remaining children and
started to overtake Mr. Hopkins, our
other native helper who had left the
morning that Smiley died, on the long
journey to their Flandrau home. Our
noble helpers are gone, our band for
the summer is weaker. Pray God for
their safe return in the autumn.
M. E. Chapin.
Gilbert Sampierre, Geo. Bassett,
Richard King. Claymore Arpan and
others of our "best boys" are going to
Solomon L. Wands.
A few days after the close of school,
and just at the time some of our number were starting away for a summer
rest during the vacation.
Mr. S. Wands, our stewart was suddenly taken very ill, and rapidly grew
worse. The disease, which was hernia,
proved fatal, and he left us for his long
rest, after five days of patient suffering.
As a teacher in the Sabbath school
he was very much beloved, and being
yery fond of music, he had taught his
class of little girls and boys to sing a
great many beautiful hymns, some of
which were sung at the closing exercises of our Santee school.
He had been a Christian ever since
he was fifteen years of age, was very
attentive in his attendance to our Indian young men's prayer meetings.
All such duties were a pleasure to him.
Mr. Wands was born at Voorhes-
ville N. Y. Aug. 12th 1859 and so
had nearly reached his twenty-sixth
year. He was one of the youngest of
a large family and his home was until
a short time before coming to Santee,
in one of tbe farm houses which are
made beautiful within and without, by
the loving hands of several generations.
Although far from home and relatives, loving tender care was gladly
bestowed, but the heavenly home was
all ready for him, and he entered in at
1 o'clock, July 111884.
Not Meant for Us.
The July number of St. Nicholas,
has an article entitled "A Fourth of
July among the Indians." It is most
charmingly written, and the illustrations which are doubtless sketches
from life, are very accurate, giving a
peep into the various phases of Indian
life, which those who are well acquainted with Indian customs, cannot criticise, yet the author has made one
great mistake, which should be corrected.
To call the Indians represented Santee Sioux, is sadly out of character,
and must be as unpleasant to them
as it is for Mrs. Jones, to be introduced as Mrs. Smith.
Now having lived among the Santee
Sioux for fourteen years, we can tell
all who may be interested to know,
that they never lived in Dakota, and
not one of them has worn a blanket, or
feathers, or long hair, for eighteen
years at least. Their reservation is in
Nebraska, and they number about
eight hundred. They are civilized,
Christian Indians, living on small
farms, self-supporting, and after this
year will become voters.
A day's journey up the Missouri, are
the Yankton Sioux Indians, who number about two thousand, and are a
part of them civilized and Christians,
while fully half of them are seemingly
as wild and untutored as ever. They
are located on the Dakota side of the
Missouri, and it may be that they are
the Indians which our young author
described.