The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1895-03

              The Word Carrier
VOLUME   XXIV.
HELPING    THE    IUGIIT.   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
XUMBEIS 3.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
MARCH, ,8o5.
FIFTY CENTS PEE YEAR.
OUK   PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Edu
cation! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights! The re
suits of which is American. Citizenship!
And the gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation'
The protection of the citizen Indian against the saloon is one of the
most perplexing parts of the temperance problem. When in tribal
relations and upon the reservation,
the prohibitory laws of the General
Government have been a quite efficient safeguard. When the reservation is thrown open there is no
geographical line of defence. The
enemy is at every man's door. The
legal defence is also practically broken down, on the ground that citizenship takes the Indian out from under the wardship ofthe special prohibitory laws of the United States.
So some of the lower courts have
already decided. And where not so
decided the general sentiment rules
in the same way. While the United
States marshals still make business
and fees by taking liquor sellers off
for trial, yet that is all there is to
it; the inconvenience and expense of
arrest is the only deterrent.
The Indian Office stands squarely on the ground that the United
States Indian liquor laws are still
operative without regard to citizenship, just "so long, within the trust
period, as it may be deemed necessary by the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indiau Affairs for Indian allottees to
remain under the charge of an Indian agent." Its legal defence is
a decision of the Supreme Court in
"United States v. Holliday,"a case
of liquor sold to a citizen Indian in
Michigan, whose tribe were still
for certain purposes under charge
of an agent. The court held that
"no state can withdraw the Indians
within its limits from the operation
of the laws of Congress regulating
irade with them, notwithstanding
any right it may confer on such
Indians as  electors or citizens."
Does the Indian citizen remain
in a state of tutelage and wardship,
that is the question at issue. The
decision of the Supreme Court assumes it, but it really remains unsettled. And the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs in his report for
1894 laments that from the character of the cases in which this
question (the application of United
States prohibitory laws to citizen
Indians) would arise it is impracticable to secure a decision of the
question by the Supreme Court
of the United States. Consequently
we are left to state courts and public
opinion, and all experience so far
goes to show that the inevitable
result will be the breaking down of
all legal protection of the Indian
citizen in this regard.
We find much encouragement
from time to time in the growing
appreciation of this scliool by those
who were once pupils here. John
Thunder of Manitoba, but now missionary at Poplar, Montana, says
"Santee Normal Training School
sows good seed, sows much seed.
May her deeds shine as the stars."
A BEAUTIFUL LIFE.
A dear friend has left us. The
fair face, glowing with health aud
happiness, the beautiful golden-
brown hair, the cordial greeting.the
merry word, the prompt and generous action are with us only as memories. The Indian people loved
and admired her, and they, in common with her fellow workers deeply feel her loss. Mrs. Fred Riggs,
was admirably fitted for her work
both by disposition and training,
and full of enthusiasm for it. It
seemed as if her usefulness had just
begun. But God's ways are not our
ways, and He has prepared another place for her.
Adelaide Rideout was born in
1867, in Dorset, Yt. Her mother
died when she was six years old,
leaving also a younger boy and girl.
The children were cared for by a
sister of their mother for three
years, and then the father married
again, and three years later the
family moved to Hudson, Ohio.
Here, between the ages of twelve
and twenty years, Miss Rideout
lived and went to school, graduating
in 1887 from the Western Reserve
Academy.
She was remarkable during these
years for the amount she accomplished . for she not only held a high
place in school, but also, though
living at a little distance from the
town, was active in the religious
and social life of the young people, with whom she was always
a favorite.
Two more happy years were
spent in,Bradford Academy, Mass.,
where she graduated in June, 1889,
and the next September, came to
Santee as a teacher. Here, her
sunny spirit, unselfishness and energy, soon won for her the love
of both teachers and pupils. She
had the charge of the children of
the third and fourth year primary.
Miss Rideout always seemed happy hi her work. She had the gift
of throwing off lightly the burden of petty cares and annoyances,
owing partly probably to her keen
sense of humor, which enabled her
to see the ludicrous side. She had
great courage to undertake whatever seemed desirable to be done.
Nothing seemed too new or difficult
to learn, or too hard to try. For
example, when a large rattlesnake
confronted her near the door one
day, she did not look for some one
else to kill him, but attacked and
and nearly dispatched him herself,
before anyone else came to aid her.
The second year she roomed at
the Birds' Nest. It was during this
winter that she began to know Mr.
Fred Riggs intimately, and she afterward said that during this winter she spent some of the happiest
hours of her life.
In the fall of 1891. Miss Rideout
became Dr. Riggs's secretary. The
work was new to her but she entered upon it with her usual determination to learn what was needed,
and she succeeded. She remained
-with Dr. Riggs as bis secretary until
March, 1893,when she went home to
spend three months and get ready
to be married. But during the three
months, beside doing the other
things she had to do, she was studying photography, that she might be
able to use it in work for Santee.
After her marriage in J une, 1893,
she returned to the mission. In
the early fall of that year, she took
a trip with Mr. Riggs upon the
Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations, camping out and sharing the
roughnesses of such travel.
In the winter of 1893 and 1894
we . began to feel that Mrs. Riggs
was not well, yet she was working
all the time, helping her husband
in every possible way to build up
the school; and many were the
plans formed, and many the lines
of work actually begun, which were
destined to be laid aside indefinitely.
Early in the summer of 1894, it
seemed imperative that something
more should be done for her health
and she went away for a time before school closed, and during the
summer sought the best medical
aid that could be had; but it was
found that she already had consumption. Every thing was done
that could be done and she continually hoped that she might live to
help her husband in this work so
dear to them both. It was very
hard for her to be sick, to have to
be a care to others when she wanted to be caring for them, yet during most of her sickness she was so
cheerful and bright, that she often
was the life of the company with
whom she happened to be.
In November, 1894, Mrs. Riggs
went to New Mexico, as the doctor
had said she could not possibly live
through the winter in this climate.
Her sister, Miss Bertha Rideout,
went with her. The sisters had
been very little together for some
years, and this year together was a
blessing to both.
But in spite of all that conld be
done, Mrs. Riggs was obliged to send
for her husband about the first of
March and died March 12. Though
she hardly gave up hoping to the
last, that she might live, yet in talking with her husband and sister she
assured them that if God willed otherwise, she was entirely willing to go.
Much of Mrs. Riggs's missionary
work was done for the girls of the
Dakota Home. For a long time she
taught the more advanced girls in
the Sunday scliool, and during the
last year of her active life she had
charge of their missionary society.
She taught them to embroider, and
that year they made prettier things
than they ever had made before.
They thoroughly enjoyed their work,
and it brought in a larger sum than
usual for their missionary offering.
Of Mrs. Riggs's inner life perhaps
most of us knew more than in any
other way, through the Christian
Endeavor Society, of which she was
a helpful member. Two little things
that she told us of herself come to
my mind. One was a story about
the first definite answer to prayer
that she could remember. When
she and her brother were little children, they lost a ball in playing,
and searched for it a long time
without success. But then she
prayed to find it, and when she did
find it soon after, it strengthened
her faith in God's loving care; and
since then she had had many experiences that seemed to her as
that first one did, the direct answer
of the loving Father who listened
to her prayer.
She also told us once of the inspiration to missionary work that
came to her through the picture of
Harriet Newell on the walls of Bradford Academy. She saw many missionaries while she was there, and
heard much about missions, but
nothing moved her so much as
the silent picture of that beautiful
young girl, who went out so bravely, and laid down her life so soon.
Now she herself has been taken
from her father and brother and
sister and husband, and from the
people for whose service her whole
heart was engaged. We shall all
miss her, and the nearest will miss
her the most. And yet, she has served so bravely and cheerfully,that for
myself 1 lose sight of the unfinished
work and the plans that seemed to
fail, and the thoughts that come to
me of her are full of the promises
"to him that overcometh" I can not
think of her as inactive, even in
a world that is free from sin and
sorrow, but feel sure that as she delighted on earth "to learn and love
and do," so now, with renewed
health, she has entered into fullness of life and joyous service, and
that in serving the Master, we still
have fellowship with our dear and
living friend.        edith Leonard.
THE MEXICAN INDIANS.
Even from a human standpoint,
those Indians of Mexico are, confessedly, an able, vigorous race.
Dr. Gracey, editor of ttie Missionary
Review, says of them: "This conquered people not only form the
base of hope for the future of Mexico,
but they have already realized the
greatest renaissance of modern history, unaided and alone becoming
presidents, generals, ministers, engineers, physicians, painters and
sculptors, and to-day dominate the
Spanish society which never did anything for them but oppress them."
Those Indians are worth saving
intellectually; and morally what
heroism they have shown ! No field
under the American Board has offered up to God more martyrs since
our Woman's Board was organized.
Within twenty years sixty-eight
Mexican and two American Missionaries there have sealed their faith
with their blood, "an average of one
being murdered every three months
from 1873 to 1888."
They are not only ready to die for
Christ, they live for Him too. How
cheerfully they await a boycott in
business or expect to be thrown out
of employment because they will
not work on Sunday. I cannot forget Donna Francesca's earnest plea,
"Pray that I may have a burning
faith," and how that good woman's
faith transformed a whole community; nor others I have seen whose
faith was, indeed, burning, so that
from it was kindled here and there
faith's torch,till it seemed as if every
convert becamearea: missionary.—
Mary Page Wright in Mission Studies.
The Indian youth, like the Red
man of history, is a believer in hero
worship. But ideas and ideals
change. A year ago Napoleon was
the favorite in our picture gallery
with nearly all the boys. Now he
has scarcely a champion—Now
hangs he there and none so poor
as to do him reverence, as the poet
has it.—Progress.