The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1897-06 - 1897-07

              The Word Carrier
0
VOLUME   XXVI.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
NUMBERS   <i-7,
8ANTEE AGENCY, NEBEASKA.
JUNE-JULY, 1807.
FIFTY CENTS PEEYEAE.
OUK   PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Education! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights! Tlie remit of which is American Citizenship!
And the gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation'
Quite a number of the former pupils of Santee Normal Training
Bchool are now occupying responsible positions at Fort Berthold
Agency. George Bassett is Agency
farmer, George Gillette assistant
blacksmith, Joseph Wilkinson doctor's assistant, John Young assistant clerk, Edward Badger, is in the
harness shop and Charles Hoffman
is teacher of an important day-
school. The Santee boys get all
the new appointments except one,
and he would have been at Santee
if he could. This is a significant
commentary on a recent utterance
of Capt. Clapp, formerly Indian
agent at Fort Berthold, that" the Indian youth who has obtained sufficient education for his needs at
the reservation day school is more
reliable, more useful, and more contented than are those who go away
to school." '___■
The Seminoles remaining in Florida are located upon six thousand
acres of land purchased for them
by the government. This it is intended to deed to them in severalty
as soon as they are ready to accept
citizenship. Meanwhile there are
those who are planning to remove
them to a certain unhealthy island surrounded by an impassable
swamp so that they may be unmolested by the whites. Another
instance of cruelty planned in the
name of humanity! But this humane idea may be circumvented.
We earnestly hope it may be.
These Indians number between
five and six hundred. They have
the reputation in their neighborhood of being clean, honest, and
reliable. They are said to be
brave and intelligent. Their support comes from hunting, fishing,
and planting.
THE NEXT STEP SPIRITUALLY.
The next step in the spiritual
progress in our Indian churches is
I think to be gained by bringing
them more into contact with God's
thought. We owe the churches'
existence to the translation and
teaching of God's word. We have
believed in and verified the promise
"my word shall not return unto me
void." We have seen that those
who have come most into contact
with this word have most felt its
power. This spirit has worked
through the proclaiming of the
word.
But our Indian communities and
even our church members come comparatively little into contact with it.
The average attendence at church
at Fort Berthold, including the out
stations is perhaps less than half the
membership for one gathering a
week. A smaller average attend
prayer-meeting once a week.
Only a part can read and not all
of them read the Bible for themselves at home. Except what they
get from pictures few get much
Bible thought out side of church
services.
The total might average what
would be equal to three-quarters of
the membership once a week. In
the public assemblies there is much
distraction of thought, much diverting of attention, much failure to
understand, much tardiness.
When all discounts are made
shall we not find the amount of
contact with God's thought for
the average church distressingly
small.
Little seed is being sown, the
crop is small. There is plenty of
food in the granaries but it does
not reach famine stricken comuni-
ties, and christian life is at starvation point.
How shall we give more ? How
much more can the missionary leader give ? Are we busy here and there
about what seem to us important
matters while we miss our opportunities to be bearers of the grace of
God. Perhaps we can do more individually. Yet our chief usefulness must be in setting others to
work. If we cannot "hire" more
preachers or so many can we not
follow Mr. Moody's plan and make
an evangelist of every church member. This is the simple wisdom one
of God's most honored servants has
from the Holy Spirit. It is no new
wisdom, but it is little followed.
Mr. Diaz in Cuba has proved the
efficiency of the same method and
in the past ten years has seen 8000.
come out of a Eoman Catholic community into the church.
Several years ago during a small
pox epidemic which lasted three
months 105 converts were gathered.
44 of these were gained through the
efforts of two women who had more
than 1600 religious conversations
with different persons during the
pestilence. Others were doing similar work.
Mackay of Formosa has an "Oxford" scliool where they study Bible
only and from which they go out
among the people, from place to
place, the students with him, after
the example of Christ and apostles.
He reports a score of self-propagating churches in the Island, although the work is but 122 years old.
Years ago Titus Coan in the
great Hilo revival on the Sandwich Islands set converted people
to work and above 40 visited from
house to house within five miles of
the central stations.
"The result would be simply incredible were they not attested
abundantly." He himself (Mr. Coan) "never lost individual knowledge and contact in all the hugh increase of his church from an hundred to 5000 members." (11,000
were baptized.) His plan was for
every person to have the gospel
brought   repeatedly   to    the   eon-
SC1GUCG.
Mr. Clough among the Telugus in
India began proclaiming one text in
broken speech by the wayside to all
and kept on till multitudes have
flocked in, taking the kingdom of
heaven by force.
Have we tried this method fully
in our Indian work.
We have much good preparation
made. We have a Dakota Bible
and hvmns. We have a number of
intelligent members, who can use
them. In Eee and Gros Ventres
we have now   much Bible truth
printed and taught. We have some
hymns and just now a spirit abroad
to produce more. We have material at hand to be used and workers
who can use it if they will.
We are glad also to report from
Ft. Berthold some beginning is being
made in the direction we are urging.
One of our young men returned
from Santee, with others, has been
going out for several Sundays to
people at a distance with the word
of God and asking the prayers of
the church for success.
One of our little school girls goes
out to her own home and gathers
some of the neighbors to hear Bible
stories on Sunday afternooon.
Our oldest church member Poor
Wolf, now about 73 years old and
nearly blind, has been talking to his
neighbors and visitors for the last
two years.
Last Saturday he stood by the
grave where he had just buried his
wife and told me of half a dozen or
more young men who wished to become church members, whose
minds were fully made up and
who did notwish any delay. One was
an uncle of Alfred Mandan who is
buried at Santee.
Shall we not lay it upon the
hearts and consciences of each of
our church members to do this
work, to impart in the way of personal conversation the thoughts
that God has given.
Some of them are ready enough
to preach or pray in a public and
formal way at a set time. This often
runs into cant or stereotyped forms,
which like pressed flowers or dried
meat are lifeless. Our public assemblies get their power from Christian life behind, they do not primarily cause it. We need first the individual contact of those who "fear the
Lord and speak often one to another.
We need the work in season but also
out of season i. e. out of the set formal time. The work from house to
house.
We must be behind our members
as the succesful teacher is behind a
lot of boys or girls at work. Keeping and working with them, present
to warn and to encourage, seeing
that their efforts are not misdirected, seeing they have and use their
tools aright.
But each member must do his
work and for love's sake. Some are
ignorant and timid and shrink
from public address; tBis is not
required. It is simply the simple
telling of something that Christ has
done, some fact or story about him
that every church member should
be ashamed not to do and should
be accounted disloyal for not doing.
Where this work has been done
we find self-supporting self-propo-
gating churches.
Mr. Coan's people sustained their
pastors, built their own churches
with their own money and sent out
twelve missionaries to other tribes.
Mr. Wheeler's people on the Euphrates sustained a pastor where-
ever there were ten men in the community. Each gave a tenth and the
pastor lived as his people lived.
Perhaps we have here a solution
in part of our financial difficulties
in the consecrated energy of those
who have taken the word into "honest, and good hearts."
Let us hope this will be the re
sult of our financial embarrassments
and retrenchments today— that all
the Congregational churches, and
all the Indian churches of our land
shall be driven home to God by
this storm and get more of his
spirit and a truer consecration of
themselves and their possessions
to him. C. L. Hall.
May s, 1897.
GENERAL  MISSION  CONFERENCE.
Our General Mission Meeting of
the Congregational and Presbyterian missions among the Dakotas is
to be held this year at Crow Creek,
S. D., September 23-26. This is
the program:
THURSDAY FORENOON.
9:00. Devotional Services.
9:30. Enrollment of members.
10:00. Greetings.
10:30. Address by A. L. Eiggs.
11:00. Discussion: How to increase the interest of believers in
the study of the Bible.'
THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
2:00. Address by Eev. Geo. W.
Eeed.
2:30. Discussions :
1. What can be done to decrease
the mortality of the Indian race ?
2. The Seven Council Fires.
3. Where shall our children attend school? For bow long? And
how much shall we do to assist
them?
4:30. Question Drawer.
THURSDAY EVENING.
Dakota Y. M. C. A. and also Mission Circle.
FRIDAY   FORENOON.
9 :00. Prayers.
9:30. Address by Dr. Chas. Eastman.
10:00. Discussions:
1. How in missionary work may
the Gospel be most speedily brought
to bear upon the heathen mind.
2. What Dakota customs may
well be retained and what may not.
3. To what extent should our Indian churches give to the support
of their pastors.
11:30. Question Drawer.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
2:00-5:00. Sectional Meetings:
Dakota Congregational Association,
Dakota Presbytery, Women's Societies.
FRIDAY EVENING.
7:00. Christian Endeavor Anniversary.
8:30. Stereopticon Lecture. F.B.
Eiggs.
SATURDAY FORENOON.
9:00. Prayers.
9:30. Address by Eev. J. F. Cross.
10 :00. Discussion : Is the issue
of rations by the government a benefit to the Indians.
11:00. Place of next meeting.
11:30. General business.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
2:00. The Missionary Societies.
4:00. Woman's Union Missionary Meeting.
SATURDAY EVENING.
DakotaY. M. C. A. Also Mission
Circle.
SUNDAY.
9:00 A. M. Sunday School Service.
10:30. The Great Assembly closing with the Lord's Supper.
2 :00 P.M. English Service.
3 -.30-5 :00. Union Missionary Service.
Santee Normal Training School Press,
Santee Agency, Neb.