The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1888-09

              The Word Carrier.
VOLUME   XVII.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT.   EXPOSING    Till:    WRONG
VI'MHKH    i).
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
OUR   PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Education! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights! The result of which is American Citizenship!
And the Gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation.
SEPTEMBER, 1888.
FIFTY CENTS PEB YEAB.
Three new out-stations are soon
to be established in our field. One
will be called Moody Station, a second Sankey Station, and the third
Northfield Station. And this is
their history: Messrs. Moody and
Sankey each have given funds to
the American Missionary Association for building one of these station
houses, and for placing a teacher
there one year. At the same North-
field meeting at Avhich their gift
Avas made, two ladies gave funds
required for the third station and
teacher.        .	
Several young men, who have applied for admission to our Theological Class at Santee and have been
accepted, are kept at their Agency
until they can procure a special
permit from the Indian Bureau at
Washington. One of these young
men has been waiting a year.
We have just heard from another
Agency that no passes wdl be given
to those wishing to attend our Annual Mission Conference at Oahe.
Pastors of churches, elders, deacons, officers of Young Men's Christian Associations are not suffered to
go forth as Christian men on the
Master's business.
We say, advisedly: Away with
all this nonsense! Out with this
Avhole Indian Bureau system! It
is an imposition and a farce from
beginning to end. Life is too short
to fool with it any longer.
Our advice to these pastors,
church officers and theological students is, go right along Avithout
regard to Reservation or Indian
Bureau passes. And if you are
nabbed by the Agency police, or
stopped by orders from Washington, it will only hasten the utter demolition of this useless humbug.
OF   SOME   USE   AFTER  ALL.
Elaine Goodale writes in the Independent of the problem before the
Indian Office at this time in regard
to securing the assent of the Indians
to the Sioux Land Bill. In that connection she has something to say of
the use of the Dakota language:
Major Spencer has received a sufficient
number of copies of the Sioux Bill, with a
map of the proposed reservations attached to
each, to suppy all his Indians. These will,
however, be of problematical value to most of
them. Of more practical use are the copies of
the bill, translated into the Dakota language,
which are freely circulated at the instance of
the Indian Rights Association. A goodly
number can read and write in their own
tongue, although they do not understand English ; and such men are more intelligent and
better informed than the mass of uneducated
Indians, the Hon. Commissioner to the contrary notwithstanding. Education in their
own language is not a "positive hindrance" to
their progress. As well say that an educated
Frenchman who spoke no English would be a
Avorse citizen of America than an ignorant,
uneducated Frenchman in the same case.
Doubtless the acquirement of our language
would be an advantage to both ; but doubtless
the former would both acquire it more easily and
could better do without it than the latter. And
the characterization of the Dakota language as
a "barbarous dialect" is a needless insult to
its full and expressive vocabulary—in several
instances conveying more delicate shades of
meaning than can be given in English.
NOTES FROM SISSETON.
One evening about tbe middle of
June, a pleasant gathering was held
at tlie Sisseton Indian Industrial
j bchool.   About thirty of the larger
boys and girls from the Mission
i bchool, together with their teachers
J and others, were invited to the feast
which was to be spread.   The early
; part of the evening was spent in
I various games, in one of which Col.
Jenkins took a prominent part. The
, exercises  in calisthenics were  interesting,  as, indeed, they always
. are.   When the scholars Avere in-
! vited to adjourn to the dining room,
', the tables presented a very attractive   appearance,   with  the white
1 table linen and the vases of flowers.
[ Probably, however, the heaped up
saucers of  candies and mits, the
piled up plates of cake and ginger-
snaps, and the cups of coffee, appealed more forcibly to the tastes
of the guests than these other, and
i to them, less important  matters.
Hoav rapidly the good things disappeared ! Hoav many times the plates
of cake were passed and re-passed!
I The Avonder was that Dr. McKitter-
ick was not aroused from his slumbers to administer some nice medicine to tbe boys and girls. He was,
however, left to sleep in peace.
The closing exercises at the S. I.
I. School were held on Friday evening, June 22d.   When the parents
and friends of the pupils in such a
1 school gather from all parts of the
Reservation,   no   hall   any where
! about could possibly accommodate
I the audience.  Prof. J. H. Malugen,
the present superintendent of the
school, had his pupils go through
, Avith their calisthenic drill  out of
: doors, as in no other way could so
I many have been Avitnesses of this
very entertaining program.
The school room, which is by far
i the most capacious one in either
school, was filled to overflowing.
Most of the pupils who took part in
I the exercises, stood during the en-
1 tire time, only varying their positions as they came on the platform
to sing or speak. The singing was
very good indeed, and was quite
appreciated by the audience. The
recitations and declamations were
generally very well given, and every
part of the program showed very
manifestly the painstaking drill
that had been bestowed upon the
pupils, as well as that some of them
had worked hard themselves.
Gabriel Robertson may be mentioned as the orator of the evening.
He has, evidently, more of the faculty needed to stir the pulses of an
audience than most of these youth;
more, indeed, than many of his
fairer-faced brothers. Louis Williams did Avell also, and had, perhaps, worked harder over his declamation than Gabriel had.
After the close of the exercises,
the scholars speedily dispersed to
their homes, or, rather, to the camps
near by, where they remained until
the morning light came. The bundles of clothing,'which are always a
noticeable feature of the breaking
up of an Indian school, had been
made ready earlier in the day.
They were, consequently, quickly
in hand, and both boys and girls
"stayed not on the order of their
going." So ended another year's
work in the S. I. I. School.
A SABBATH  WITH   Till:   REES.
It was a great treat to baby
Evan and me to attend the Sabbath
afternoon service among the Bees
about five miles from us. It proved
a service of special interest.
When Ave reached the home of
Strike-Enemy, where the service is
I usually held, Ave found no audience
and no member of the family at
home.
We had seen a number of people
I on the way, and learned as Ave drove
on, that the Bees had been summoned to finish then- Sacred Lodge,
which, for a year or more, had been
in process of building. We drove
to seek an audience to Avhich to tell
the "Old, Old Story," and found a
very large one gathered in the immense, round lodge which they had
just completed; and then- work being
finished, they were feasting before
separating. They welcomed us, saying, "We expected Mr. Hall in the
neighborhood, and hoped he Avould
come here."
As we entered, around the walls
of the lodge, or under the eaves, as it
were, was a line of faces; the men
occupying the place of honor directly opposite the door, and the women
on either side. Mr. Hall was invited
to the place of honor, Avhere, at the
close of our service, a platform was
made of sods. For a few minutes,
while they were finishing their feast,
there Avere handshaking and an
exchange of kindly greetings, after
Avhich Mr. Hall showed them a large
picture of the Tabernacle, telling
them of the Sacred Temple or tent
of long ago; of the people coming
together to build it, giA'ing each his
part. He had hardly begun when
an old man jumped up, and, in the
name of the people, expressed his
pleasure in his coming, and desire to
hear what he had to say of God's Avay.
Was it not of God's ordering that
His gospel should be proclaimed at
the finishing of this heathen temple, and may we not believe it a
promise that at no distant day this
very temple will be consecrated to
the one true God ? Let us pray for
more faith.
An interesting and amusing incident occurred at the beginning of
the service. As Mr. Hall rose to
speak several hats Avere taken off,
whereupon the order, "Hats off,"
went around.
As we drove home Ave met a number Avith requests of various sorts.
One man wanted the loan of a scythe
for the next day; to this we had to
say it was God's day, and he must
come to talk of such things on other
days. Another man had a sick
child whom he wanted us to visit,
which Ave did, and found her quite
sick, but being tenderly cared for by
an adopted father. A little tea and
sugar is the balm for all maladies,
and this case proved no exception,
for, with the requests to visit the
child, came also one for the balm.
It is blessed to thus come in
contact with the people we long to
help, and makes us realize as nothing else the meaning of "He went
about doing good."      s. w. hall.
George Bassett, a student at
Carlton College, Minn., and John
Young of Wheaton College, 111.,
have both been employed on farms
this summer.
FORT  BERTHOLD   NOTES.
Saturday, August 25, found all
of our fourteen boys back of their
own accord, Avith a glad, contented,
happy spirit Avhich could be seen
and felt.
One old Bee man avIio brought
several said, "I am very glad to
bring these boys back to you."
I said to one boy, "Is it good to
be here again?" and he, looking up,
answered promptly, "Yes."
Many of them no doubt have been
often hungry, as our people have
been reduced to a small or no al-
loAvauce of those things they like
best.
All the girls are back but tAvo, and
their delay is, seemingly, only from
a fear that they may be persuaded
to go away to school, as they have
been offered the opportunity to go
to Santee.
Some of the parents seem to think
the children will be snatched off.
Perhaps it is only a manifestation
of a consciousness that they ought
to give their consent.
August 27: We said "good-bye"
this morning to tAvo of our boys
and one girl Avho started for Santee.
The parents of one stood Avith us
with tearful eyes; their sacrifice is
truly great.
We look off into the future and
can gain comfort, hope, and even
cheer, in the good that will be acquired ; but they can have little
help in such thoughts. The present pang of parting is all absorbing, and hurts, oh, so keenly! I
Avonder, almost, that we can persuade the few to go.
The friends of the others let
them go very unwillingly, making
all manner of excuses to keep them
if only a few weeks longer.
Could Eastern friends, or rather
unbelievers in the Indian, see how
these fathers and mothers cling
to their children, they would never
doubt they had warm hearts, tender affections, and souls worth
saving. ' I
Hoav great are the longings, how
deep the feelings that fill us as we
say good-bye to our boys and girls
as they leave us for more advanced
education ? How little they can
ever realize how much we hope
from them, and how earnestly our
prayers follow them.
""May we not depend too much upon them, but upon God's using them.
Nancy Doctor writes interesting
letters of the life of some of the
wilder Indians at Yankton Agency,
Dak. When out one day, she found
a woman cooking a great quantity
of food. Not seeing any one about
for whom it was prepared, she Avas
told by the woman that it was for
her dead child. Nancy tried to talk
to her about it, but the Avoman was
crying too much to listen.
There are souls in the world who
have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and of leaving it behind
them when they go. Joy gushes
from under their fingers like jets
of light. Their influence is an inevitable gladdening of the heart.
It seems as if a shadoAv of God's
own gift had passed upon them.
They give light without meaning to
shine. These bright hearts have a
great work to do for God.—Faber.