The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1886-04 - 1886-05

              THE WORD CARRIER.
NEW SERIES,   VOL. III.   NOS.   II-III.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED  FOR  THE DAKOTA   MISSION.
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
APRIL-MAY, 1886.
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.
Tub Word Caiuiiek is published in the interest of schools and missions among the Indians. It is published for The Dakota Mission,
originally planted by tbe 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.
Tha 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 whok 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.]
The editor has been taking a vacation . Acting upon the urgent requests
and almost commands of the officers of
our Missionary Association, he broke
away on the 24th of March; traveled
through Indian Territory and the
south, visiting important schools of
the A. M. A. at Memphis, Tenn., Ton-
galoo, Miss., New Orleans, La., Atlanta, Ga., Hampton, Va., spent a week
in Washington, and a fortnight in
New England and New York, touching at Philadelphia, New Haven, Mt.
Holyoke Female Seminary, Mr. Wood's
school for boys at Mount Hermon,
Mass., and Dartmouth College, N. H.,
returning from Boston and New York
City byway of Cincinnati, Chicago and
Beloit, Wis., and arriving home again
May 20th after nine weeks absence.
This trip has given a good opportunity which has been diligently improved, to become acquainted with
many leading schools, Indian, colored
and others, which have much in common in their industrial and domestic
features. And the observations made
will all contribute to maintain the
high standing of our Santee Normal
Training school, and lead on to still
further advances.
Several very important bills are now
before   Congress  in regard   to   Indian
affairs.    What   are   called   the Sioux
bill and the land in severalty and citi-
enship   bills   are of   general interest.
While none is more urgently needed
than the bill to secure the rights of the
Mission Indians of California, an act
of simple justice long delayed, in which
longer delay would be a horrible crime,
the Sioux bill will probably pass
but this has to be submitted to a vote
of the Indian tribes interested. The
issue of this vote is quite dependent
upon the character of the commission
appointed to present the case to the
Indians, And it will take at least six
months to take this vote. By this arrangement the Indians on the Great
Sioux Reservation will give, up a large
part of their laud and accept conditions
favorable to education, individual
homesteads, and ultimate citizenship.
The Land in Severalty and Citizenship
Bill, or the Dawes Bill as it is called in
honor of Senator Dawes who is the father of it, and to whom its success will be
a lasting monument, this bill is just now
amended nearly to death. The point
of the bill is to give the individual Indian the chance to stand out from his
tribe whenever he is ready, giving him
a secure homestead and ultimately
citizenship. But an amendment was
tacked on saying that this should not
be until the majority of the tribe were
willing to have him do it; that is, the
single Indian is to start first, whenever
the whole tribe are ready to start with
him. Which is simply amending the
the tail of the dog close up to his ears.
But we believe that the friends of this
measure are now on the alert and will
rescue the bill from   these absurdities.
Miss Mary C. Collins of our Oahe
Mission has had a wonderful reception
this winter at the east. The most of
the winter was spent in Ohio, visiting
different points in the interest of the
Women's Missionary Societies auxiliary to the A. M. A., and whose special
missionary she is. Thence she went
to Washington where she had most
cordial welcome and spoke . several
times, and thence to Boston and its
neighborhood where she spoke for
twenty-nine consecutive days. Speaking to mixed audiences as well as to
companies of ladies only, her simple
story has everywhere carried conviction of truth and has been eagerly
listened to. Before leaving for the
west she occupied Henry Ward Beech-
ers pulpit Sunday evening by request,
and her story had much to do with the
five hundred dollars contribution that
was made for Indian missions in Plymouth church two weeks later. This
contribution however goes into the
treasury of the Women's Indian Association, and not to the,.A- M. A. as it
should.
Miss Angelique Cordier who has
been attending Mrs. Hay's Family
School for Young Ladies at Woodstock,
111., for the past three years, now returns home to Yankton Agency, D. T.
Miss Angelique was one of our Santee
pupils before she went to Woodstock.
The careful training she has received
will make her a useful helper in the
mission work, when her present home
duties permit.
Miss Jenny Cox, of Santee, has spent
seven weeks at Cincinnati under treatment by the well known oculist, Dr.
S. C. Ayres, receiving permanent benefit and the promise of a complete
cure before long. The kind hospitalities of the friends who entertained
her and the gratuitous services of her
distinguished physician put her and
her mission friends under obligations
that can be met only by more faithful
work for the master for whose sake it
was done.
Law at Last.
[From Black Hills Paper, March, 1886.
On Tuesday, Little Moon, a full
blooded Sioux Indian, was sentenced
to two years and a half imprisonment
at the fjioux Falls penitentiary for assault with intent to kill. This case
posseses unusual interest as the firstin-
stance in the history of the United
States, wherein an Indian was tried,
convicted, sentenced and sentence carried into effect by the white man's
court, for an offence committed by an
Indian in the Indian country, upon
the person or property of another Indian. Until a few mouth ago such offenders were amenable to tribal authorities only. Crow Dog, slayer of Spotted Tail, was tried, convicted and sentenced to be hung, all by the United
States court of this district, but upon
appeal, the supreme court of the
United States set aside the judgment
and ordered the release of the prisoner
holding that under treaty stipulations,
civil courts of the territory could not
exercise jurisdiction to the extent
claimed by the court of this district.
At the following session of Congress
a law was framed extending jurisdiction, and under it the recent trial was
held.
The effect upon the Indian cannot
but be salutary. Under the old regime
larceny, murder and outlawry of all
kinds was practiced with impunity, inasmuch as tribal laws were so lax and
punishments so light; never exceeding
the forfeiture of a few ponies; that no
fear of an hereafter was entertained
by the evil disposed. Give the Indian
to understand that larceny implies
separation from his tribe aud deprivation of liberty, and that murder will
result in his ignominious death and
there will be less stealing and life taking on the reserve. Indians can be
made good, can be made to respect the
rights of others and he could be made
to earn his own living by subjecting
him to the same laws and responsibilities that are imposed upon others.
Favor him, extend privileges and «x-
emptions, patronize him, in short, in
the foolish old fashioned way, and we
will never have else than a lousy, lazy
dependent thief and murderer.
A Ride in the Country.
There was a little cottage on the
hill near the prairie land, and the folks
who live in it had three children, and
these children have a nice big dog,
they called it Carlo, and they have a
little nice wagon also, and whenever
they play they used to hitch up
the dog and drive him as a single
horse. One early, bright morning
these children were going out to
ride,  so they hitch   up  their  dog  to
the wagon • and they all get in the
wagon, but of eourse this wagon is
very small for three children, so they
packed full of the wagon box. Now
they start, the oldest boy was driving,
so they going on into the country.
When they were about a mile away
from their home, they saw a rabbit in
tbe way, aud when the dog Carlo saw
it, he didn't wait but he just ran after
the rabbit, and while he run he draw
the wagon and all the load just as
same, aud scared all the children, and
the driver pull him back with all his
might, but this all in vain, the dog ran
fast as he can, and the rabbit was run
for his life. After while he run over
a large log, and of course the dog was
after him, he ran over the log too, but
the wagon caught it and broke it, and
spill the load too, but the dog got the
rabbit and kill it and enjoy himself,
but he did not make the children enjoy till they know that he kill the rabbit, because they have the rabbit, but
you must think that they must be long
walk for little children, they been
mile away from their home.
Mark Khune.
Beginning of the Indian Y. M. C. A.
Remarks of Rev. John Eastman at Y. M. C.
A. Convention in St. Paid, Minn., Dec, :885
My Friends: I will tell you about
the growth of the Young Men's Christian Association among the Dakota Indians.
About eight years ago in the church
I had charge of, some young men
wished to have a Young Men's Christian Association, and asked me what I
knew about it. But I told them that
I, for my part, knew nothing of the
constitution or methods of the Young
Men's Christian Associations, so they
did nothing at that time. But three
or four months later they again spoke
of it, yet we knew not how to make a
constitution. But nevertheless they
said we will have a Young Men's Christian Association. Then I appointed a
meeting for them and they talked it
over. And they agreed that even
though they did not have the Y. M.
C. A. constitution and rules to go by,
they would work according to the
words of Jesus, and would seek out
the ways hi which young men might
benefit each other, and they would
bring into meeting any who did not
attend, and would make contributions
to carry the Gospel to the wild Indiaus. For these purposes they would
create their society. I approved of
this, and they made their society and
appointed those who should look after
these several kinds of work.
This was the beginning of our
Young Men's Christian Association.
It was made without any constitution,
but was made upon the rules of Jesus.
Therefore we remember one of his
words, "Abide in me and I will abide in
you. The branch cannot bear fruit
unless it is united to the vine." Upon this our Young Men's Association
made its first growth. Their desire
has seemed to be, to keep with Jesus.
Therefore my friends remember us, so
that much fruit may grow among us
to the glory of God our father.