The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1896-11 - 1896-12

              the Word Carrier
VOLUME   XXV.
HELPING    THE    RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
NUMBERS 11-13.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBBASKA.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, i8g6.
FIFTY CENTS PEB YEAB.
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 school exhibit of the American Missionary Association held in
connection with the Jubilee Meeting was certainly a success. That
which took the eye was the industrial part of it. The exposition of
school room work was no less significant. It all was a practical demonstration that the Association is
carrying on a vast industrial university, informed and vitalized by
academic work of high grade.
There is thought and soul behind
all the handiwork. Of course we
were gratified to find that while our
Indian work does not compare
numerically with other branches of
the Association work, yet it came to
the fore-front in the exhibition.
The Mohonk resolutions annually
crystalize many good thoughts regarding Indian matters. Sometimes
they fail to be practical because the
friction point is not evident to those
who are settling questions more by
logic than by experience. The resolution that Indian agents be dispensed with wherever Indians have
their own allotments, is a case in
point. It fails to see that tbe trouble is not from agents but from tbe
kind of agents. Tbe Indian agent of
the old type, the'Tather" of the tribe
us the Indians call him, who is really an irresponsible autocrat, may be
dispensed with even before the Indians have their allotments. But
at no time is an agent more needed
than just at the time they receive
allotments and enter into the responsibilities of citizenship. But
he must be of a new type, an adviser, an elder brother, an "agent of
civilization." The difficulty is not
in the agent but in the type.
Carlisle and Captain Pratt have
a right to be proud of the young men
of their foot ball eleven. Their
games with the famous university
elevens have brought them to public
notice, and universally to their advantage, in regard to strength,pluck,
alertness and good temper. As gentlemen they took the lead every time.
The significant point in this is that
all of these young men, except perhaps one, are members of the Indian Young Men's Christian Association at Carlisle, and Lonewolf,
the famous center of the eleven, has
been for some time a leader in
Christian work at Carlisle and elsewhere.
OUR PORTRAIT.
Santee Normal Training School is
rejoicing in possessing an excellent
oil painting of Dr. A. L. Biggs. We
consider ourselves exceedingly fortunate in having it painted by one of
the best portrait painters in the country, Frank M. Pebbles, of Chicago,
who has painted portraits of General Grant,Chief Justice Fuller, Justice Harlan,Judge Gresham,Ex-Sec-
retary of State John Foster, and
judges, governors and noted men in
balf of the states of the union.    This
portrait of Dr. Biggs is painted from
a photograph taken ten years ago.
When passing through Chicago in
October, Dr. Biggs was able to give
a day to Mr. Pebbles for the finishing of the portrait. ft is a good
likeness of him as he was at forty-
eight. Some of us- would like it
better if the picture gave his face as
it is now. Nevertheless we are glad
we bave so good a portrait. The
money was furnished by former
and present pupils and teachers
of the school, aided by a few kind
friends.
For tbe present, the portrait will
be kept in the parlors at Davis Hall,
but if ever the school is so fortunate
as to have a nice, new school-house,
it will be placed there.
If the portrait can remind the
generation that are growing up, of
the principles Dr. Biggs has tried to
make the controlling ones in the
school, it will be an inspiration and
a help. EniTH Leonard.
THE NATIVE ALASKANS.
These people are very similar to
the Indians of our western plains,
with a more marked resemblance
than that shown by these latter to
the Mongolian. They are commonly
called Indians, and perhaps the term
is as applicable to them as to any
of the aborigines of North America.
In stature they are shorter and more
"heavy set" than the average Indian
or white person. Their upper limbs
are ordinarily well developed, but
the lower limbs of many are illy
developed and deformed, owing to
the fact that they spend much of
the time in their canoes, and thus
lack the proper exercise. The natural food of the natives consists of
fish, venison, seal oil, berries, and a
kind of sea weed, which they gather
at certain seasons and press into
cakes, but now many eat much of
the white man'? food, as nature is
yearly becoming more chary of her
spontaneous products. The natives
hunt, fish and gather wild berries
for a living, while many of the
younger generation work at logging,
or in saw-mills, canneries and mines.
As only a few garden vegetables can
be raised here, they do not enga.ge
in agriculture. The people live in
villages along the coast, and all
travel is by water, in a canoe, sailboat or steamer. They own no
teams or beasts of burden, and there
are no roads through the country,
which is mountainous and covered
with dense, primeval forests.
There are not more than ten or
fifteen thousand natives in all Alaska,
and it is said that their number is
decreasing because of various diseases which are making inroads
among tbem.through the many vices
to which they have been addicted
by their contact with so many vile
white men. It is truly pitiable to
see a comparatively noble race of
people thus extinguished by contact
with those whom we are wont to
regard as members of a superior
race.
The natives are thought by many
to be intellectually superior to the
Indians of our western plains. I
think, however, that they are probably no more than equal in mental
grasp to the average tribe of Indians. They have no written language,
and their native words simply form
a vernacular by which they express
their simple ideas to one another.
Many of the younger generation
bavi attended our schools, and have
learned to read and write and have
mastered some of the rudiments of
an English education. Those who
are placed in the school at an early
age make about tbe same progress
in their studies as would white children, save in the acquiring of the
correct use of the English language.
In this they are not so apt as in
numbers, and other branches.
They are natural carvers of wood,
and have done much of this kind of
work; most of the carving is of
course very rude, yet it shows much
natural genius. As a result of this
gift and the practice they have had
in its use from infancy, many of
them show fairly good mechanical
skill, and readily make considerable
progress in carpentry.
When the white man came among
them he found them to be heathen,
though they did not seem to have
any set form of pagan religion.
They were not worshippers of idols,
but had many superstitions, heathen
beliefs and practices,such as sorcery,
witch-craft, etc. Tbese old beliefs
are rapidly passing away under the
influence of the blessed gospel of
Jesus Christ, and many of the natives have been brought to the Saviour. But though the gospel has
been preached in Southeast Alaska for about twenty years there is
yet much to be done. This process
of educating these people to a proper conception of a higher civilized
and Christian life is necessarily
gradual and slow. Our schools and
churches, in the Lord's hands, are
working wonders among these people. By the prayers and help of the
dear Christian people in the States,
we are permitted to bear a humble
part in helping to educate and evangelize this benighted and much neglected people.—The North Star.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR AT THE
MISSION MEETING.
On Friday night there was a meeting of the Christian Endeavor societies. It was led by Mr. Guy Williamson, of Yankton Agency, and the
number of the people who gathered
in the large booth indicates a good
degree of interest.
Over the platform some of the
Santee pupils had arranged a tasteful back ground of sumac leaves and
golden rod. It was noticeable that
although the singing was all in English, it was well sustained. There
are many among the younger Indians who know and enjoy the Gospel Hymns. One new hymn was
sung by a choir.
After a short opening service, new
officers were elected and then reports were called for from the societies. There are not as many of
these societies now as there were a
few years ago. There was one at
Poplar, Montana, which had among
its more active members three or
four Santee pupils; but this one
has not been kept up, and the
one at the Pine Bidge Government
school has also gone down since the
burning of the school. The society
at Oahe school has been replaced
by other agencies that seemed better
adapted to the needs of the pupils
and the   surrounding  people  just
now. The older girls there are active in the Woman's Missionary Society, which meets every week, and
the children also have an enthusiastic mission band. They have a good
deal of the spirit of Christian Endeavor, if not its form.
Beports were given from three
stations. One of the Santee pupils
reported for the society there,that it
was found to be helpful to .all the
members. She also spoke of the Junior societies,and of a pleasant and
helpful "rally" that was held there
in the summer. Later in the meeting
mention was made of the Mothers'
Society of Christian Endeavor at
Santee. The mothers meet once
a month, and take essentially the
Christian Endeavor pledge. This
society has seemed to meet a real
need. In their meetings many questions are asked and answered,especially concerning the care and training of children, but also concerning
the spiritual life. Bev. Mr. Basker-
ville of the Good Will School, at
Sisseton Agency, in reporting for
their society spoke especially of progress in the direction of thoughtful
preparation for the meeting.
All these reports were given in
English, but they were interpreted
in the Dakota language. Then a
young man from Yankton Agency
reported in Dakota, that the meetings at their station had been interrupted during the summer, but it
was hoped that they could be resumed. The meeting closed with
the singing of "God be with you till
we meet again," and the C. E. benediction.
There is one Indian C. E. society
that I should like to mention, although it is too far away to belong
to our Dakota union. It is in the
state of Washington, among the
Skokomish Indians, and the prime
mover in starting it, and its first
president, was Mr. Frank Peterson,
who graduated at Santee a year ago.
He has already gone to be "at Jesus'
feet" where we sang that we hoped
to meet again—he, and another of
our noble Christian Endeavor young
men, within a few weeks of each
other. But we are sure that "tlieir
works do follow them," and we trust
that many more will be found as
faithful in service as they.
E. Leonaed.
On her way home from Oxford,
Ohio, where she had taken her
youngest daughter to college, Mrs.
M. E. Morris made a visit of a
few weeks on her Santee friends
and relatives. Every one was sorry
when the time of her departure
came, but duties were calling her
to her home on the Pine Bidge
Beservation.
Another one of our circle has
stepped aside and taken the unseen
path. Miss Bertha Bideout, the
sister of Mrs. F. B. Biggs, died in
Chicago, October 17. Miss Bideout
accompanied her sister to New Mexico two years ago. After her sister's death she returned to Santee,
| and during her three months stay
became a favorite with everyone.
Miss Bideout was studying in Armour Institute,Chicago,preparatory
to teaching some of the domestic
sciences. Typhoid fever was the
cause of her sudden and seemingly
untimely death.