The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1891-03

              The Word Carrier.
VOLUME    XX.
HELPING    THE    BIGHT,   EXPOSING    THE    WRONG.
NUMBER 8.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
MARCH, i8qi.
FIFTY CENTS PEE YEAR.
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.
The Republicans of South Dakota
are just now holding an inquest similar to the memorable inquest over
Cork Robin. They are anxiously inquiring: Who killed Senator
Moody ? We may not have much
light to throw on the question, but
we remember that Mr. Moody is the
man who a few years ago, according
to the press reports, testified before
a government commission that the
Indians had no verbs in their language until the missionaries came
and put them in. A man of such
caliber as that can easily be spared
from representing any part of this
country in the United States Senate.
One reason why our Government
cannot civilize the Indian is because
it does not believe much iu civilization. Buffalo Bill has just received permission from the Honorable
Secretary of the Interior to take one
hundred more Indians for his
"Wild West Show." It is reported
that Commissioner Morgan-had refused the application on account of
the character of Col.Cody,alias Buffalo Bill. And because Col. Cody
has letters of commendation from
half a dozen generals,, eight or ten
governors and a dozen senators,that
settled the case. WTiereas it could
make no sort of difference were it
the Secretary of the Interior himself who conducted the "Wild West
Show." The thing is utterly deinoral-
izingto the Indians who are employed in it. Nor is it helpful in cultivating the right kind of a spirit in
the white spectators of these savage
exhibitions. It will only confirm the
too prevalent opinion that the
Indian is a savage and a brute for
whom nothing can be done.
As the old story goes an artist
was once employed to paint the ten
commandments upon the walls of a
church. The work was artistically
perfect but the moral effect was
rather confusing for he had left out
all of the "nots". The delineators of
the times, the reporters, frequently
make as much of a muss of things
by the little words they slip in or
out of the sentences of their victims.
Last month we questioned the consistency of Commissioner Morgan
for saying, as was reported, "I believe it is not possible to improve
the present system of the Administration of Indian Affairs." We
have now before us, by his courtesy, the authorized copy of that
speech, and the quotation will be
made correct by knocking out the
"not." At another time we will
quote "some ways of improvement" that he suggests.
The most discouraging feature of
the whole affair is the blunted perception of what constitutes a fit
agent of civilization. Buffalo Bill
may have been a good scout in his
day, but that he is thereby proven to
be an apostle of sobriety, industry,
and humanity is an absurdity which
would be grotesque were it not so
serious in its consequences. He
may be a "good fellow," but the
particular type he belongs to is
illustrated in his recent expedition
to capture Sitting Bull, related in
another column of this paper. If
there is nothing more in our civilization than a mere varnish of conventionalism upon a ground of vulgarity then let the Wild West Shows
go on. They will introduce our
Indians to our elite civilized society. And tne whole contract of
civilizing the Indians can be let
out to the Buffalo Bills and the
western cow boys, thus simplifying
the-whole business. However, along
with this inviting scheme comes the
thought that perhaps it would be
just as well if we bad left the Indians altcgether alone. Would
they not be more sober, more truth-
ful,more refined, more religious men
left to themselves, if this is all we
have to offer them.
We have great respect for our
army as our army, but we do not
think much of it as a theological
school. Here is a sample of the
theological knowledge it can boast.
When the commanding officer at
Fort Sully was asked for permission to have Mr. Edwin Phelps
teach the refugees from Sitting
Bull's village wdio are held as
military prisoners there, he objected, on the ground that to give
them any more religious teaching
now might set them off on the
"Messiah craze" again ! And when
the question was referred to Washington, the War Department practically confirms this astute major's
decision. Consent is granted subject to the approval of the commanding officer who is to pass
upon the qualifications of our
missionary. He has passed judgment upon Edwin Phelps, than
whom there is no better native
missionary in the whole Sioux
country, nor a more prudent or
gentlemanly fellow anywhere, and
he says he won't do! Absurdity
can   go  no further.
Miss Dickson and Miss McCreight
have returned to their home at
Porcupine Creek, which they found
undisturbed, everything just as
they had left it. Miss Dickson
writes:
The people do not feel settled by
auy means. When the Rosebud
Indians were ordered back to their
reservation, only those who wished
to go went, and there are still
hundreds of them here,—they say
one thousand," but that may be an
exaggeration. A great many of
of the Indians are inclined to laugh
at the way things were settled and
they think they have gotten " the
upper hand." It does seem strange
to see so many unarmed Indians
carrying guns.
I think these people here are
worse than when in their native wildness. That, and the vices they have
so freely learned from the white man
make them creatures who can be
reached only by the powerful workings of the Spirit of God. Ask our
Father to create in them a hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for
nothing else will bring them to the
Fountain where they can be satis-
tied.
It is very plain that a mistake
has been made by the people of Illinois and Wisconsin,by insisting tbat
the English language 011/1/ must be
taught in all their schools. It iswell
to keep in mind that voters can be
easily influenced,but with difficulty
driven. Foreigners are attached to
the language and literature of fatherland, and will insist that their
children must learn it thoroughly.
No one can say tbat this is not
right. In this city several daily papers publish editions in the German
language because there are many
who will read no otlier. It would
be foolish to enact a law compelling these papers to print their issues only 111 English, for it is certain that it could not be enforced.
The common sense of the community wouldn't stand it. What we
want is education in some language, it matters little what.
The English is to-day, and is to
be, the language of America, and
if all the Geimans in the world
should come to this country in a
body it would not change the predestination. For a time, in certain
states it may seem as though German was taking the country, but it
is not, and never can. Educators
should let these minor matters
work out their own solutions, just
as they have in certain parts of
Pennsylvania, where for many
years the "Pennsylvania Dutch "
has been spoken almost to the
exclusion of English. The Penn-
sylvanians have been too wise to
attempt to compel tbese people to
use nothing but English, but in the
absence of any law the English is
rapidly supplanting the mixture,
which is neither German nor English. Iu this city, German has always been taught in the public
schools, aiid probably will be for
several years to come, but this in
no way supplements the English.
It would be well if no language was
spoken in this country but the English, but since this cannot be, nothing will be gained by going to law or
the legislature about it. 'there are
some things that must be left for the
great law of natural selection to adjust, and the use of a foreign tongue
in our schools is one of them.—
From 'The School Journal.
HENRY HASTINGS  SIBLEY.
In the  death  of General  H. H.
Sibley one of the prominent landmarks in the history of the Mississippi Valley   has   been   removed.
He died at Bt. Paul. M inn., February
19.    He came to Mendota, opposite
Fort Snelling, in 1834 to take charge
of the interests of the American Fur
Company.    That was the same year
that the Dakota  Mission was practically begun by the first visit of Dr.
Thos. S. Williamson and the arrival of the Pond brothers.    His political work in the founding of a new
state was important and his political honors were many.    He was in
turn judge, delegate  to   congress,
state governor, major general, Indian commissioner.    Yet in the later years of his life he remembered wdtli most satisfaction his early
comradeship with the Indian missionaries, and his later efforts to
bring tbe United States government
to adopt a more just Indian policy.
In the early days he and Samuel
W. Pond were Presbyterian elders
together in the same church.    And
in writing to this life long friend, two
years ago, be said : "Mine has been
a life of unceasing activity, called,
as 1 have been, to till various offices,
contrary to my inclinations, for I
never sought such positions. I have
endeavored, nevertheless, lo   discharge the duties  devolved  upon
me in the fear of Cod, and if 1 have
been of service to my fellow men,
I owe it not to any merit  of  my
own but   to   Him   wdio   doeth   all
things well."
Santee's.new course of'study has
caused an increased interest in
study, because of the attractiveness
of all novelty; because of an aroused
expectancy; because of fantastic
conception of its processes and purposes; because of misapprehension
and delusion as well as intelligent
appreciation; because of the em-
bryotic though inevident presence
of class spirit; because of the appreciation for delinit e measures of progress and velocity; because of the
establishment of both ultimate and
intermediate objects of attainment
and thereby the encouragement to
healthful competition and honorable
ambition in study and scholarship.
The Good Will Press for February
enterprisingly brings out a map of
Good Will Mission. It gives quite a
good idea of the number and position of the various scliool buildings.
With such a raging river as that depicted at the rear of the mission
grounds how can there ever be any
trouble with their water supplv
SPECIAL INDIAN (iltANTS.
The Congress just dissolved voted
the following items of special interest to the Dakotas:
$100,000. for the payment of the
friendly Sioux and legal residents
on the Sioux Reservation for property destroyed during the recent Sioux
trouble.
$80,000. for payment for lands
sold by the Sisseton and Wahpeton
Indians of Devil's Lake, N. D. To
be spent in stock and agricultural
implements.
$376,578. to reimburse the Indians of Sisseton Agency, S. D. for
annuities said to have been wrongfully taken away from them after
the Minnesota Sioux Outbreak.
This is in cash. The annuity is
also reestablished.
$120,020. for the payment of those
of the Mdewakanton and Walipe-
koota Indians (Santees) who served
as United States Scouts, and their
families and descendants. This is
cash down. Their old annuity is not
reestablished.
$80,000. to the Fort Berthold Indians, the first of ten instalments,
for the sale of their lands. This is
to be spent for their benefit, no part
of it goes in cash or for food except
for the infirm and sick. Twelve
thousand maybe used for the moving ot the Agency.
$50,000. for the new Indian scliool
to be at Flandrau, S. D. $35,000. for
the Indian school at Pierre, S. D.,
yet unopened.
We gratefully record another gift
of $50.00 from Dr. Washington Matthews to our cooking school fund.
We hope to soon see the Matthews
Scliool of Cookery a well equipped
department at Santee.