The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1889-10

              The Word Carrier.
VOLUME   XVIII.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBEASKA.
OUR PLATFORM.
For Indian* 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.
KEEPING    THE    UIGHT,   EXPOSING    THE    AVISOXG.
XI'MIIKH   lO.
OCTOBER, 1889.
FIFTY CENTS PER YEAR.
Owens, is a Cherokee.  Lieut. Brad-
iTv ?f .th,e 7th Infantry, who was
killed at the battle of the Big Hole,
Montana, was  married to a half-
principle is due rather to the tardiness of goverment than the dislike
of the tribes, Congress having neglected to appropriate funds for pre-
BARROWS INDIAN STATISTICS
In his "Indian's Side of the In-
linn      M-i-ii-in + i rt-t-.    ,J     T\_-       TTT'll • t-*
William Bar-
dian Question," Dr.
rows says many interesting things
which he has gathered up here and
there. And he himself is friendly
to the Indian, and not unhopeful of
his advancement. But the real influence of his book will come from
his fourth chapter, "Do the American Indians Increase or Decrease,"
and this influence will be hostile to
the Indian. For he concludes that
they are quite surely decreasing;
and if this is true it inevitably
deadens effort in their behalf.
We have asked the opinion of one
whose wide acquaintance with the
whole field, and whose special training makes him competent to weigh
such testimony, Dr. Washington
MattheAvs,Surgeon U. S. Army, and
Ave herewith give his criticism on
this chapter, which Ave thoroughly
agree with.
Army Medical Museum,
Washington, D. C.
September 20, 1889.
I have read Avith particular care
the chapter (IV) entitled "Do the
American Indians Increase or Decrease?" The author I think has
in this chapter contributed very little to the question at issue. The
material is selected in an uncritical
manner and at random ; it is presented in an undigested state, and
no logical conclusions are drawn.
The only lesson the chapter teaches
us is Iioav untrustworthy and contradictory all estimates and official
reports on the subject of Indian
population are. If the chapter
had for its title "The Worthlessness
of So-called Indian Statistics," I
would consider it a very fair performance.
A point which he and most writers on the subject of Indian statistics do not touch is that of the dispersion of tribes and their absorption by the American people.   As
a separate and distinct race the Indians must disappear.   My experience in the West is that the process  of absorption is an immense
one.    When  I was a child 111 the
Mississippi Valley many very prominent families, as well as obscure
families of American whites, were
knoAvn to be   of.   Indian  descent.
These traditions of them are now
forgotten or the families are dispersed.     I  might instance the
Davenports,  of  Davenport, Iowa;
the  Leclaires,  of Le Claire;   the
Gregories,   Langworths   and   St.
Pierres, of Dubuque; the Borups,
of   St.  Paul,   and  many  others.
Some   years   ago  the  "Chippewa
Aristocracy" was a term  applied j
bv new-comers to certain old and
wealthy families of St. Paul.   Such
losses to the Indian element are
not made up by Avhites joining the
tribe.    I have met Cherokees in all
parts of the United States—m Dakota, Oregon, Arizona, California,
and elsewhere.   A member ot tbe
Medical Corps of the Army, Dr.
r-no+Q TAol    4-       ■  i  /  """     ^nuou l<j tbjjjjiupiitirc iiintiB lur pre
l»rl^    f04"^11'1 (an accomplished   liminary surveys in a number of in
lady), whom he met in  Alabama, '
where her parents reside. So thev
are scattered over the country and
lost sight of.
W. Matthews.
PROGRESS IN SEVERALTY.
A decided gain to the principle of
allotment of Indian lands in severalty is promised as a result of the
! Chickasaw elections, if the victory
of the progressive party means, as
is announced, the adoption of that
system.    The creation of Oklahoma
was the opening Avedge into the reservation system in the Indian Territory, and if the Chiekasaws, the
third largestland-holders among the
Five Nations, shall apportion then-
lands in severalty and sell the re-
! mainder to the United  States for
[ settlement, the solution of the Indian problem will be markedly ad-
i vanced.   In proportion to numbers
the tribe is the wealthiest in land
amongthecivilizednations.the 6,000
members OAvning 4,650,935 acres, or
I an average of 775 acres for every
man, Avoman and child in the tribe.
Tue Cherokees, Avith a membership
I of 22,000, hold 5,031,351 acres, exclusive of the unoccupied Cherokee
Strip, or an average of 228 per capita,
| and the Choctaws, with a membership of 16,000, own 6,688,000, or 417
acres per head.   The Chiekasaws
will thus have the largest acreage
; of surplus lands to sell should the
severalty principle be adopted, and
I its acceptance by them Avill carry all
the more weight elseA\'here,in the fact
: that the strongest opposition to it
has thus far come from the civilized
nations.  The bulk ofthe opposition
may presumably be placed to the
credit of the wealthier and more civilized class, who have taken advantage of the tribal laAvs permitting any
member to occupy as many acres as
he can use, to acquire actual possession of large tracts of lai d.    Nominally the lands are common proper-
' ty, but the occupation of extensive
tracts by the richer class leads the
poorer Indians to believe that the
adoption of the severalty principle
would crowd them stillmore, instead
of restoring theirrights, a beliefiAvhich
has, no doubt,  been encouraged.
Apportionment in severalty cannot
be forced upon the Five Nations; I
their lands, being practically held in
fee simple, though they cannot be !
alienated without the consent of the |
government, the Dawes act   pro- |
viding for the resurvey of reservations and the allotment of lands at |
the discretion ofthe President,being
thus inapplicable in their case. Nev-
ertheless, the system has been considered by them for more than twenty
years,   the   treaties negotiated in
1866 with the three principal tribes,
having plainly in view the allotment
of lands hi severalty.   Its adoption
by all the tribes, followed by the sale
of surplus lands to the government,
would work a radical change in the
character of the region, there being
about 38,000,000 acres of land in the
territory,   exclusive of Oklahoma,
with a population, Indian and white,
of not more than 100,000. Apparently the slow progress of the severalty
stances AA'hen the tribes Avere ready
for it. Latest statistics sIioav that
since the DaAves bill went into effect
there have been 3,349 allotments in
severalty, an aggregate of 349,124
acres, more than one-third of Avhich
have been made among the Sisseton
Sioux in Dakota.—The Interior.
FROM FORMER PIPITS.
As I don't have anything to do
this morning, sitting here, I thought
I might just as Avell as be doing
something; but T don't know what
to do, and all at once I see my
badge, and then I think about you,
so I take my pencil and write.
Nellie and I Ave are staying at my
grandma's house. The people at
this village are gone to the Agency
to get rations: about ten of them
stayed at home. Thursday all of
the people are going again and
camp at the Agency about live Aveeks
they said. They going to "Wowapi
yutanpi" (vote), so I think we are
going too. I expect my father will
be here today.
Mr. T. L. Riggs said I am going
to stay with Winyan this year, help
her in teaching. I was so glad that
he gave me such a nice work. I
told my aunt, and it seems she don't
like to have me go among those people the way she talk to me about
them. She thought I am going to
stay at the Oahe School, and she
said she like that better, but not
over there, so I feel bad and I cry,
but I am big now and I can do what
I want. And I don't come back to
do as they please but 1 come back
to do what Jesus want ins to do for
him.
I said "When we ask Jesus any
thing he never refused or said no
but he always ready to do for us, so
we ought to do as he want us to do,
so I can notrefused to do that work."
I guess they think I cannot take
care of myself, so they said that. So
if they say it again I am just come
right back to S. N. T. S.   My father
haven't say thing yet.    I Avant see
what he would said.    If he said the
same thing I am sure I won't stay
here but come back, that all about
it, because I don't come back to
do as they please.    But I hope 1
Avill do  some good to  my people
sometimes, so think of me in your
prayers, please.
Nellie audi having nice time by ourselves yesterday.    We were by ourselves at home.    They went to town
but we don't go.    First, we clean the
house, then we went to the chapel.
It is about half a mile from here.
I played on the organ and sing and
sing.    We stay here all the morn- ;
ing till in afternoon Ave come back,
and   we made tea and  have our '
dinner and sit under the shade and j
talk about Santee.    Then we went
to the river and in the woods Ave j
pick goose berries.    There are lots
of goose  berries  around here, we i
have nice times in picking them.
Katie Howard.
Coulson, S. D., July, 1889.
I have been very busy with Mr.
Renville. I always get tired at
nights, so I never feel like to sit
down   and write   letters;  but  we
don't Avork iioav for about a Aveek,
and so tonight I begin this letter.
I spent the Fourth at Chamberlain. They have horse races, pony
races, and foot races too. And
they have tAvo base ball games.
All this in the afternoon. In the
forenoon they have a band march
around the streets. I can't tell you
all I have seen; all the streets were
just full of people. I was among
the crowd witli Philip, and some
other boys. In the evening they
have lots of lire Avorks, and they
had a dance out side, right in front
of a big hotel. The Commissioners were there too. Another band
came up from Mitchell. 1 must
tell some things else besides the
Fourth.
July 6 Avas a very hot day. It
was one of the hottest days that I
ever knew of in my life. It killed
most everything, so there are many
farmers that don't get any wheat
or oats. The Avheat and the oats
came up about six inches, but it
was so dry that they stopped grow*
ing. The weeds grow about the
wheat, so if you pass by a held you
Avould see nothing but weeds.
There was a young man died last
month, and I never saw anything
like it before. There were lots of
folks went to his bouse as soon as
they heard that he was going to die.
When he died all the women cried
over him, and at first I thought that
all these women were some relation
to the young man, and I thought
they cry because they really feel
bad ; but I found out that all these
women cry because I hey wanted to
get some things thai lie left. That
is their custom, that when any person helps somebody to cry they
ahvays get something. When I
saAV all these things, 1 remembered
when Jesus raised J aims' daughter.
When he came near the house a
great crowd gathered around the
house and made a great noise. So
this people are doing just like those
people were doing when Jesus was
on this earth.
I have remembered Avhat Mr.
Abraham said to us the last time,
so all the time I try to behave as a
Christian. There are a great many
temptations; but I try to keep myself from all the temptations. I
keep this same text all the time:
"Watch and pray that ye may not
enter into temptation."
When I pray I always pray for
all the teachers and scholars that
went home to different places.
Your true friend,
Henry Ieonooor.
Crow Creek Agency, 8. 1)., August, 1889.
The Christian Endeavor Society
of Pilgrim Church, Santee Agency,
had charge of the English service
September 29. "The Object and
Growth ofthe Organization" was presented by the leader, E. A. Scotford;
"The Difference betAveen Active, Associate and Honorary Members," by
J. A. Chadbourne. "The Use of the
Consecration Meeting" Avas also presented, and was followed by the reception of new members.
Now, lad, make "rely" the everyday
business of your life, and not a thing of
lits and starts; for if you do, temptation
and other things Avill get the better of
you.—David Hogg's advice to young David
Livingstone.