The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1900-03

              The Word Carrier.
VOLUME   XXIX.
HELPING   THE    RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
NUMBER <5.
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
MARCH, 1900.
FIFTY CENTS PER 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 GROWTH OF THE REMNANT.
The history of God's Chosen People is an inexhaustible source of
wisdom, of warning and promise,
for all other peoples in these after
ages. We often fail to make the
right application because of our
wrong point of view; we are looking
for the wrong thing. But some lines
of revelation through history run so
plain that they cannot be mistaken.
The doctrine of the survival and
growth of The Remnant is one of
these. Time and again the prophets
have shown that the greatness and
strength of the people was not in its
lusty pride of numbers, of commercial schemes, or ot martial display. The real life of the nation
was with a few. They were its
conscience; conserved its morals;
gave it spiritual existence. To
give this spiritual germ opportunity to assert itself, it was often
necessary to strip and peel the nation down to the core. This was
the Divine Remnant.
Yet this remnant was not looked
upon as the last forlorn hope of
the nation, but as full of promise,
as bound to develop its potential
forces now unfettered by the limitations of the bestial and ungodly
nature. Thus after every great national downfall there is a quick up-
springing recovery, and for awhile
the dominance of a better life. And
there is ultimate victory for The
Remnant because it bears in itself the Divine Life. "It shall take
root downward and bear fruit up
ward."
The hope of our Indian people
does not lie in their universal salvation. Naturally and inevitably a
large proportion of them will perish.
They belong to the carnal mass
which is unspiritualized and is without the germ of life. The same conditions exist in all communities and
among all races. Only, when revolutionary crises come, then the
destructive forces governing the un-
spiritual mass have free play, until
the inbred corruption is sloughed off.
Generally the conservative forces of
society carry all along without catastrophic break. The evil material drops out quietly as it is self-consumed. So also with the Indian
tribes. In their aboriginal condition their life had its continued ebb
and flow. For a period, under favoring conditions of health, abundance of food, and quiet, they would
thrive, and their numbers and tribal
force would increase. Then again
the forays of enemies, famine, epidemic disease or a severe winter,
and the weak and the aged first and
then the young and strong would be
cut off and numbers would dwindle
and tribal existence be endangered.
Nor in those days were the youth
always wise and strong. Some were
wilful and disobeyed the exhortations of their elders; and they paid
the penalty. The difference between
then and now is mainly in the speed-
iness of their destruction.
Our work is for the Remnant; but
as we cannot certainly know who
belong to it we must work for all.
And our object must be the incoming and developing of the spiritual
life on which the vitality, endurance,
and recreative force of the Remnant depends. It does not consist
in educated habits, ecclesiastical
order, or political franchises. It is
a divine vitalization. And with this
there is abundant hope for the future
of the Indian as well as other races.
a new thought! "Does God say he
will forgive me? Yes, that is true,
He does help me when I ask him,"
she says; and my faith grows stronger, my heart lighter as I see the joy
and peace God's word brings to this
poor woman. Every night and
morning she, and her husband,
gather their children about them for
prayers, and she tells how her heart
is gladdened because even the tiny
girl just beginning to talk will utter
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Harriet A. Brown.
Since our Miss Brown died a little over a year ago, her former pupils have, with the
assistance of Miss Voorhees, secured a large picture of her which now hangs in the parlor
of the Birds' Nest. It is a water color portrait 14 x 17, made from a photograph by Mr. A.
McFarlan, at Elmira, N. Y. It is a remarkably good likeness. The artist has caught her expression and made it more natural and lifelike than the original portrait. Twenty-three of her
former girls contributed to the expense of the picture, taking eighty-seven of the one hundred
and twenty shares. Others will no d<jubt take shares as they have opportunity. We rejoice
that we have such an excellent and fitting memorial of our beloved Miss Harriet A. Brown.
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TAWAC1NWASTEWIN.
. When I hrst saw this woman she
was sitting on the ground pounding
cherries to make a paste which the
Indians dry in the sun and afterward stew as we do dry fruit. Such
a dirty, forlorn specimen of humanity as she sat there in her dirty Dakota gown, with her dirty,. pretty,
black-eyed baby tied on her back.
Tawacinwaltewin, or Lucy as we
call her in English, is a natural
leader, full of ambition. She was
very guarded about accepting help
at first or acknowledging that she
did not know everything. This
lack of confidence gradually disappeared and she came seeking more
and more help. Her desire to know
more of God's word became awakened; she studied it and pondered
it. Hearing a verse read at prayer-
meeting, she will go home and hunt
for it. Sometimes failing to find it,
she will come to me with her Bible
wrapped carefully in a piece of
cloth and ask me to find the verse.
How her face lights up as she gains
a sentence prayer, and the little
boys will ask the blessing at the
table. She has been the president
of the woman's society during this
last year. At every week's meeting
she selects a few verses and explains
them. Her prayers are talks to the
Father, and the tears will come to
our eyes as she asks for deliverance
from the many temptations that surround us, for strength to cast away
heathen customs and worship, and
then she will piteously add : "0 God,
our Father, strengthen us, for we of
ourselves are not able to do anything." A year ago she began to
fail very rapidly. We feared that
she would not recover. As physically she lost, so spiritually she made
marked progress. Finally, she grew
stronger and she thanks God for
answering her prayer and sparing
her to her family. She has since
then with increasing energy tried to
lead her children in God's path, and
plan and work that our women's
society may be stronger and more
efficient in Christian work.       D.
THE LITTLE ONES AT OAHE.
The children seem to enjoy the
class room work. I always enjoy
teaching, especially when, as now,
it seems but a direction of force.
Since the first of the year I have
been trying Ward's Rational Method of Reading. Superintendent
Ward of the Brooklyn schools, an
old friend of mine, sent me the
books. I am every day surprised
and delighted at the enthusiasm
and progress of the first class in
reading, both as regards recognition of words, expression, and almost unconscious mastery of spelling. I don't have to expend nervous force to enthuse them. But
I have to let them whisper to me
what they have discovered, so that
each has a chance to make an individual discovery unaided.
It is amusing to see these little
slow, unemotional children jump up
and down in delight and eagerness
to tell what they know. They enjoy
Speer's blocks too; and this is a
great aid in making them talk. They
don't whisper answers to me now.
All our reading, language, spelling
and writing is in connection with
science work. We have good times
and I think are learning something,
oahe. s. n. j). B. Dodge.
THE LITTLE ONES AT SANTEE.
At the opening of school in October, the first grade room was of peculiar interest. Seventeen little people, ranging from six to ten years
of age, with wide open eyes, full of
wonder,were experiencing,the greater part of them, their first day at
school.
For the first few weeks, each one
used his eyes and ears to good purpose, absorbing everything which
came within their range. But the
mouths ! They were sealed, to the
teachers, at any rate. As time went
on, however, tne children grew accustomed to hearing English, and
began to pick it up themselves, with
surprising quickness. Then were
their tongues loosed, and no more
urging was needed to persuade them
to talk.
After a few weeks, the first wonder and strangeness wore away, and
we were ready for work.
I have been surprised to find these
ohildren as responsive as they are.
When they came to Santee, by far
the greater majorityof the first grade
pupils knew absolutely no English.
This is of course the great difficulty
in the work with the youngest children. They are making very good
head-way in this direction however.
Their struggles for the right words
are often amusing and at the time
encouraging.
As the days and weeks go by the
gress of the children and their improvement in different ways are apparent. This is proof that they are
becoming awake to the world about
them,and is abundant reason for our
hope that the outlook for their future
is being made brighter and broader.
Josephine M. Merrill.
Miss Lydia Hartig visited Santee
March 20-26 as the representative of
the Vermont Ladies' Home Missionary Union. Her wide experience
with all phases of missionary work
makes her quick to see the significant points and she has fine success
in catching them in her Camera.