The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1891-05

              The Word Carrier.
VOLUME   XX.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
MAY. i8qi.
NUMBER 5.
FIFTY CENTS PER YEAE.
OUR PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Education ! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights '. Tlie result of which is American Citizenship!
And the Gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation.
We believe that Superintendent of
Indian Schools Dorchester is a myth.
It is now two years since his name
and portent appeared, like the aurora borealis, in our sky. And he has
ever since been hitting, now north,
now west, now east, and all the while
just coming but never arriving.
It is vain to expect all the Indians
to become agriculturalists. The regions they must dwell in make it an
impossibility. For some few, irrigation may remove the difficulty.
For others, cattle raising will be
possible; but for very many, this
even is beyond the resources of
their country. Sheep raising has
broader possibilities and is coming
in extensively among white settlers,
where cattle raising has failed.
But how can the Indians ever come
to part with tlieir dogs? If then
they cannot all be farmers what
kind of manufacturing can be established among them ? Village
life suits them; and they would be
also more reachable for churches,
schools and civilization.
The Indian outbreak that was
down on the program of the croakers
to come off this spring has failed to
materialize. And it is now amongthe
impossibilities. The enlistment of
many of the restless braves of Rosebud and Pine Ridge Agencies in
the new Indian troops, has taken
up a good deal of the disturbing
element and has given them something to do. And the payment, at
Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River
Agency, for the ponies seized and
destroyed by the military some
years ago, is putting the Indians in
good humor. Some of the Indians
are receiving several hundred dollars apiece.
The Sisseton Sioux are also sharing in this general good fortune.
They have now secured the payment of all their back annuities,
that were forfeited by the Minni-
sota Sioux Out break of 1862, on
the ground that they were then
loyal, which was true of only a
part of them.
PORT YATES MISSION HOSPITAL.
A paper read by Dr. C. E. I'ingree at the
Mission Council of A. M. A. workers,held at
Oahe, S. U., April 16-19, lS9x-
HOW SHALL WE MAKE QUE HOSPITAL
A SUCCESS.
Before attempting to answer this
question, let us ask ourselves under
what conditions we will call it a
success. With what amount of
work or number of patients will we
be satisfied. Are we sure that Ave
can judge of the work accomplished
in this institution entirely by the
number of patients within its doors ?
We are accustomed to judge of
the success of hospitals by the
number of people treated, and the
skillful manner in which it is done.
Shall this be the entire basis upon
which we decide this question in regard to our own institution, or shall
these additional features be necessary, that we endeavor to teach the
few wdio come to us cleanliness and
right habits of living, how to pro- ;
tect   from   disease,  and care   for i
themselves and family Avhen suffer- j
nig from such, give them a faint I
idea of what home life may and |
should be, and as much as is in our j
power   treat   the   diseased   mind
through the diseased body ? In short I
shall we not look upon this work as i
a means to the end that these peo- I
pie shall become not alone a healthy ;
people, but primarily a Christian
people.   If so, who  can tell when
success is ours ?
If we decide entirely from the usual standpoint, the report I bring
is not very encouraging. I am unable to state the number treated
during the past years, but since December 1, 1890 the number of dispensary patients has been, during-
the month of December 175, January 137, February 98, March 103,
April, until April 12, 35. Ward patients : during December 3; during
January and February none; during March 2. Total 548 dispensary
and 5 ward patients. Previous to
this time I have made no attempt to
keep an account, excepting a few
days at ration time during the summer and fall. Then within three
days I had over one hundred dispensary patients. I am sure this
happened more than once. I think
this department compares very
favorably with the same department
of the Government hospital.
The small number of indoor patients is discouraging, but when we
consider the nearness of the Government hospital, where all the
school children and Agency employees are sent, the long distance from
Indian villages, the love of the Indian for his tepee, the utter abhor-,
rence which he has for the cleansing
process through whicli he must pass,
the separating from family and living with a strange people, the desire to eat what aud as he pleases,
Ave cannot expect much else.
It seems to me the hospital has
not yet had a fair trial. At least I
am sure it has not during the past
year. I have been there for one
year. An interpreter was provided
for the first four months. The six
following months I Avas alone save
as I secured some Indian girl for a
short time. Some one kindly taught
me the significance of the word"tok-
sta" and that word is the capital with
Avhich 1 have since carried on the
business. If a patient applied for
admission, as several did who were
for the time helpless, they were told
"tokita." We had the hospital but
over its open door was written "no
admittance" to those who were
helpless and needed its ministrations most. However, that is past,
and I mention it simply in proof
that the hospital has not 'been working under the most favorable circumstances.
Thoreau says, "If you have built
castles in the air, your work need
not be lost; that is where they
should be, iioav put foundations under them."
It is very necessary to the future
welfare of this institution that each
one of us shall educate ourselves to
believe that whether Ave wished this
building erected somewhere else,
or even not at all, it is here and to
stay, to trust that God's hand Avas,
and is in it, and since he makes no
mistakes and suffers no failures, it
is even now a success, that sooner
or later we hope to see this success
in the increasing number of applicants tor admission. But while
waiting for these patients let us not
cease to exercise our own, looking
upon the Hospital as an important
part of our work, a member of our
own family, and because it is the
weakest as Avell as the youngest
member, justly demanding more of
our kind attention.
It is of the utmost importance
that Ave have plenty of Avater. We
have suffered no serious inconvenience from a lack of supply for
the reason that we have had so
small a number of ward patients.
But ought we not, so far as Ave are
able, put ourselves in readiness to
receive those who may come to us,
not think Ave have had but few thus
far and live in hopes we may al-
Avays be as fortunate.
When this question is satisfactorily disposed of, the bath room
should be put in readiness for use,
some means of drainage being provided.
We have discussed the question
among ourselves of enlarging the -t
building. I do not at present feel
like urging this very earnestly, unless it may be a building for wood.
At present the wood being exposed
to view is a great temptation to the
Indian, besides giving me the unenviable notoriety of being "as stingy
as a white woman."
I think the building was planned
with the understanding that one
j w o m a n—a nurse—was to have
; charge. As such it cannot be improved. But we now haA'e an associate for whom no room is provided.
She is usually sure of one of the
wards, but two patients, a man and
Avoman, entering at the same time,
deprive her of this. My room will
ahvays be hared gladly with Miss
Rodger, but in time to come it may
not be pleasant either for the associate or Doctor to share the room
which is also used as sitting room,
and sleeping apartment for the
sometime guest.
mentioned to meet with the approval of all interested in missionary work.
Nothing would aid our out-station
teachers so much or give them
more influence than just this knowl-
ledge of nursing. Tlie best place
to acquire the knowledge is at
Santee where the patients would
be Indians, and where most of the
ailments to be met with in future
work would be found in hospital
work. The strict rules necessary
to the maintenance of an ideal
hospital, however small, would be
excellent discipline for our Indian
pupils. There are many good reasons why Ave need a hospital and
training scliool for nurses at Santee,
but the best reason is that this
training is of vital importance in
the education of the missionary
teacher. It promotes unselfishness
and increases the sympathy and
love for humanity and helps one
to follow more closely in the footsteps of the great Teacher, "who
Avent about doing good."
E. Wordkn.
HOSPITAL TRAINING AT SANTEE.
"Send to our out-stations, teachers and missionaries who can care
for the sick," Avas said by those in
charge of these stations  at a May
! Mission Meeting.    Now nearly all
1 of these   stations   are  under   the
! immediate care of native teachers.
Hoav are they to receive this needed
training in the care of the sick and
1 disabled ?
The Santee Scliool is a missionary school in every sense of
the word, and the earnest aim of
the scliool is to fit Christian teach-
j ers for the best work among the
Dakota people; it should therefore
i have the means for this kind of
training as well as in other lines.
The missionary boards of all denominations are realizing more every
year the value of trained nurses
and physicians.    Many applicants
i to these boards are advised to take
a nurse's course before beginning
work in the home or foreign field.
To meet this demand  some of the
; best hospital training schools ofthe
east have   arranged a missionary
! course. The reason for this is so
apparent that   it needs  but to be
"SEATED BULL'S"  EXPLOIT.
The notion that the TJ nited States
is a country principally inhabited
by a people of Indian race still
clings to a great many Europeans,
and even to some of those Avho are
educated. The most singular misapprehensions concerning the Indians and the part of the country
they occupy are continually appearing in the newspapers of Europe.
A French periodical called Science
Pour Tous [Science For All,]
which declares its aim to be the
enlightenment of the public, recently published the following absurd
article:
"We have received some interesting information concerning
the incidents which preceded this
recent rising in arms of the Indians
in the West, and one of the first
engagements.
"The Seated Bull, tlieir chieftain,
having resolved to make known the
fact that the Indians had not received their annuities and certain
promised munitions betook himself
to the Capitol at Washington.
"There he laid before the president
of the legislative   body his   com-
| plaints of the governmental agents,
who, he declared, had stolen wdiat
; was the Indians' due.
"He Avas informed that his declara-
1 tions would be taken under consid-
\ eration, and he departed. But
: the promise having remained with-
I out performance, the Seated Bull
I once more came to the Capitol.
"This time, in the midst of the
assemblage, the Seated Bull did not
j utter a word, but  drew his toma-
; hawk and dealt with it a terrible
blow upon the marble table wdiich
was  before  him.    The  table was
broken in two, and the chief's toma-
lniAvk buried itself in the floor be-
| neath.
"It Avas the token of the chief's
declaration of war.
"The Seated Bull then left the
Capital without any one daring to
lay a hand upon him. Returning to
his canoe which he had tied to one
of the piers of the great bridge a-
cross the Potomac River, he paddled rapidly back to his own territory."—The Youth's Companion.