The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1884-09

              i
THE WORD CARRIER.
HEW SERIES,   VOL.  I, NO.   VII.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED FOR   THE DAKOTA   MISSION.
Santeee Agency, Nebraska.
SEPTEMBER, 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 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 50 cents a year. Send
lor it to Alfred L. Riggs, Editor and Publisher,
Santee Agency, Neb.
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postofficeas
second class matter.]
About this time look out for a new
crop of Indian Agents. For many
years at Santee we have looked on
with calm indifference as the procession
inocming an outgoing Indian Agent
have filed past us. But now, alas, by
the resignation of our Major Light.ner,
we are let down among the common
lot of miserable expectants.
It is generally believed that the Indian service has improved. Indeed we
have lent our voice to spread the idea.
But it seems to have been improved too
much. At all events the result is most
unlooked for. The Indians are ahead
of their civilizers, and it is now proposed to make use of the ludian Agencies as reformatouies for bibulous white
men. This is sober fact. In regard
to our own Agency a citizen of a
neighboring town has been prominently urged as a candidate for the place of
Indian Agent, because he is a fine fellow, but drinks so much he can't attend to his business, and so his friends
wish him sent among the Santee Indians to reform him.
Since Agent McGillicuddy put Dr.
Bfand, of the Council Fire, off from
"'tie Ridge Agency, some of the news-
Papers have dubbed his Agency the
Kingdom of McGillicuddy. Well he
makes a pretty good king anyway.
hh.   Bland  feels  agrieved   that  he
j tould not be allowed to go on to Pine
Wge Agency and  talk his sentimen
tal nonsense. It don't make any difference how much he talks at Washington for nobody believes it. But when
it is poured into the ears of a cridulons
old savage like Red Cloud it comes to
be like playing with fire by a powder
magazine. The best thing that McGillicuddy has ever done is that he
squelched Red Cloud. The only thing
that he could do better would be to
squelch Bland.
Happy is the new Indian Agent who
retains his speech until he understands
what he is talking about. At the
Yankton Agency there is a new man
in charge, who, as the saying is, has
given himself away by an ill-considered speech. It seems he adviies that
dances be held in the government
boarding school for the purpose of
training the pupils in the polite arts of
civilized society. Now the Indians
themselves ought to know something
about things in an Indian community,
and they say that though it may be all
right iu white society for the young
men and women to hug and whirl
each other around promiscuously, but
as Indians are not used to that kind of
thing yet, it is not conducive to good
morals for them to do it.
Before us lie the July and August
numbers of The Gospel in all Lands,
published in Baltimore. $2.00per year.
The idea is most excellent, and we
can in all good consience say, that of
its kind we know of no better magazine, inasmuch as it occupies its own
peculiar field alone.
It comes to us filled with good news
from all missions in all lands, gathered
from the many different missionary
papers. We can heartily wish it well.
Would that it were as easily able to
combine in act as in word.
Denominationalism may have been
productive of much good, but the evils
coming therefrom are worthy of serious considerations.
Several numbers of the Mission
Studies, published by the W. B. M. I.,
are received. Issued monthly it is supplementary to lessons in life and light.
Among the many papers for smaller
people, we have made good use of The
Child's Paper and The Morning Light,
publications of the American Tract
Society, among our Indian Sunday
school scholars. The enjoyment is
theirs, as well as are many other characteristics which some of us of fairer
features are wont to think our own
exclusive property.
A pamphlet, "Navajo Silversmiths,"
comes to us from the hands of its author Dr. Washington Matthews U. S.
A. The subjeet is interesting and we
take the liberty of making an extract
here and there.
"Among the Navajo Indians are
many smiths, who sometimes forge in
iron and brass, but who work chiefly
in silver. There are many reasons for
supposing that they have long possessed the art. Yet old white residents
of the Navajo country tell me that
the art has improved greatly within
their recollections." Notwithstanding the greater disadvantages under
which the Navajo labors, ornaments
made by his hand are generally conceded to be equal or even superior to
those made by the Pueblo Indian.
These Iudians are quite fertile in design, and their designs are not without
beauty. Their eye is their guide in
measurement and form. In their use
of material they show their wasteful
nature.
Many of the ideas at the basis of the
new Manual Training Methods are
so eminently sound that their progress
is insured. Schools based on the position are in demand and the demand
is to be met. We have before us the
inaugural address of the director, Henry H. Belfield of the new Chicago
Manual Training School. The char-
acterof his school speaks more strongly than can words for the value of the
methods.
Monday Club Essays.
Bv Pupils of Santee Normal Training School.
HOW SANTEE HAS  GROWN.
Some of the members of the '"Club"
have written about the school as it is
now, but I would like to tell a little as
it used to be, that we may see the improvements.
I remember when there were only
three houses. Mr. tiiggs' house, the
little church, and the "Home" smaller
then than it is now. Instead of the
large garden, sunflowers grew tall and
thick—made good hiding places for
the girls when they did not want to do
their work or obey their teachers.
Now, once in a great while a boy or
girl will run home—then, when any
little thing did not please them, they
would run home, no matter how far
their home was.
The boys home used to be an old,
long, log house, kept by an Indian
woman, but after a while a new house
was built for the young men, after
which the church was enlarged—then
the "Birds Nest,'' "Cottage" and shoe
shop were built.
In this last year the blacksmith-shop
and carpenter-shop were added until
now it seems like a little town. As
the buildings have grown there come
more teachers and scholars.
The boys are smarter than they used
to be—I do not know what they used
to do, for the girls used to do all the
work, bring all the water from the well-
house, take care of the church, do everything but saw the wood.
The boys may think the girls are
lazy now, but they seem to have enough
to do.
It seemed as though none of the
scholars knew English then, and Mr.
Riggs had to do all the talking to them
—now in all the homes some scholars
know   English    and    can   interpret.
These few things show how the
school has grown.
Ella M. Kitto.
II.
domestic animals.
The animals that live among men
are the horse, mule, cow, sheep, dog,
cat and all kinds of poultry.
The horse is useful to draw heavy
loads and to draw a buggy or a wagon.
A mule is stronger than a horse. A
cow is good to give milk, and we can
make butter and cheese and have milk
for our coffee and tea.
Sheep are good for their wool, for
we can make blankets, cloth for clothes,
stockings, mittens, and many warm
things for winter, from wool.
The  flesh of sheep  is good to eat.
Dogs are very intelligent and understand what you say to them. They
go after the cows and hunt foxes, rats,
rabbits aud other things. The cat is
harmless and catches mice. Chickens,
turkeys, and ducks are good to eat
Christmas, Thanksgiving and New
Years.
Earnest Hopkins.
III.
THE UNITED  STATES.
The United States extends from Canada on the North to the Gulf of Mexico on the South, and from the Atlantic
Ocean on the East to the Pacific Ocean
on the West.
The United States contains 3,611,849
square miles and a population of about
50,000,000. It consists of thirty-eight
states and ten territories including Alaska, and the eastern part is more
thickly settled than the western part,
because the whites settled on and near
the coast.
The first English settlement was
made at Jamestown,-Virginia, in 1607.
The first Dutch settlement was made
in New York in 1613. The first Spanish settlement was made at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. The early settlers suffered much for food and clothing, though the friendly Indians gave
them corn until they could grow their
own corn The West is gaining in
population very fast.
In the eastern and middle part are
mines of iron, coal, lead and copper,
and in Nevada are silver mines, and in
California gold is found.
In the southern states, cotton, rice
and sugar-cane is raised, and Texas produces many fine cattle.
What has made the United States
great, is work, with head, and hand,
and heart, and we must all work if we
would be great and strong.
James Frenier.
The Dakota Conference.
The Annual Conference of the Dakota Mission and Churches, will this
year be held at Yankton Agency, D.
T., September 25th to 28th. The following programme will be discussed:
1. The Christian Nation.
2* What efforts should be made to
lead men to repent.
3. How shall we bring our churches
to self-support.
4. The blessing of knowledge.
5. The power of education.
6. How to secure sure titles to laud.
7. How to beautify our homes.
8. The selection of a husband.
John P. Williamson,
John Eastman,
Secretaries.
Rev. H. Locke has charge of the
Government Indian School at Flandrau, D. T., again this year. A few
weeks ago we had a very pleasant call
from him at Santee.
Fred B. Riggs took the steward's
work at Santee Normal, during a part
of July and the month of August, until the opening of the college term at
Yankton called him away.
Dr. Robert B.. Riggs, of Gottingen
University, Germany, is giving valuable assistance at Santee Normal Training School, during the month of September.