The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1913-03 - 1913-04

              Word Carrier.
of Santee Normal Training School.
VOLUME  XLII
HELPING THE RIGHT, EXPOSING THE 'WRONG.
NUMBER  2
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
MARCH-APRIL, 1918
THIRTY 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 Recrudescence of Heathenism Again
I have received and read with a good deal of interest Dr. Riggs' little leaflet on "The Recrudescence of Heathenism," and wish to trouble you to
send me a half dozen copies at your convenience.
1 am glad that this article came under my
notice. It is a matter about which we who are
in the Indian work should all of us be deeply
concerned, and it intensifies the conviction
which is strong in my own heai-t that the wox-k
cannot be too thorough. The young men and
women come back from our non-reservation
schools, whex-e they have learned of the Christian religion and have united with the various
churches, but many of them seem to have no
real grasp of Divine things, or, I might better
say that God seems to have no real hold upon
them so that they maintain their Christian integrity when they come back to their own people.
I wish to bring this tract of yours to the attention of some of our bi-other missionaries and
secretaries of the board, for the pux-pose of impressing them with the importance of thox-ough
work in dealing with these precious souls.
Tolchaco.  Arizona Jji    Q    MITCHELL.
1 wish that Dr. Riggs' article ou Recrudescence of Heathenism could be scattered broadcast through the cburches of our land. Every
word of it is so tme.
Oh that we had more Mission Schools and that
thf church of God would see her opportunity and
helpto support them asthey should be supported,
and make it possible to turn out the kind ottx-ain-
ed young people who could stand against the supt -stitions of the tribes to which they belong.
There must indeed be a new creation, and
the white missionary must stay with them until they are thoroughly established, no matter
how long it takes. Only those who live among
the Indians can i-ealize how little they know of
spirituality and how necessary it is that they
have a wise spiritual teacher for many years.
My work here with the Government School
children is going on eucouragingly. But though
the children respond freely while here in school,
when they go back to the heathen camps and
have to face the conditions prevailing there it
is next to impossible for them to carry out their
good intentions.
And the Hopis are even more superstitious,
consei-vative and clannish than the Navajos, if
that is possible. One of our workers has lately gone to the Hopi village Oraibi expecting to
do work among the English speakiug Hopis,
young people who have been to Government
Schools. The outlook is uot bx-ight for the
young people seem to have no ambition nor desire to be diffex-ent from the old type of Indians.
Leupp. Arizona. SOPHIE HUBERT.
May I have your permission to reprint your excellent article that has just come to my attention.
"The Recrudescence of Heathenism" ? I should
like to have it appear in the next number of the
Indian of the Southwest.      C. R, Brodhead.
Laguna, N. M. 	
A Heathen Custom
The old custom of the "death feast" is still
carried out among the old Indians. I was invited to one of these "feasts" and I witnessed a
scene that made me pity the Indian for his
ignorance. After a short service of prayer
and singing and a few remarks by the minister, the dinner was served to about three hundred Indians. Then came the saddest of all, the
giving away of everything in the house and out
of the house, even the giving away of the house
itself to a young Indian who moved it off the land
and put it on his own land and used it for a barn.
All this was done to show the deepest grief for
their son who recently died.—Carrier Pigeon.
Diphtheria Siege
On the twenty-eighth of January Hax-ry Med-
icinebear, one of the younger Cottage boys,
was taken sick. The Agency physician immediately pronounced it a case of laryngeal diphtheria. There was no antitoxin to be had nearer than Tynd all, fifteen miles from Springfield.
It was late at night, no moonlight, the river ice
had been pronounced unsafe even for daylight
travel. By telephone antitoxin was ordex-ed to
be brought from Tyndall to Springfield by auto. Mr. Lawson crossed at midnight to meet
the auto.
Thus began a siege with diphtheria that has
not yet come to an end as this paper goes to
px-ess twelve weeks later.
Davis Hall parlors were taken for hospital
rooms, and a most excellent trained nurse,
Miss Laura Jones, of Lake Andes, S. D., took
charge. Later Miss Alice Frazier came to help
Miss Jones.
We have been greatly blessed and wonderfully fortunate at this time in having at Santee,
in Government employ, a very skillful doctor,
Dr. H. V. Walls of Philadelphia, a Johns Hopkins graduate. He not only has been in constant attendance upon the sick but has as health
officer taken charge of the situation.
During the twelve weeks there have been
forty cases of diphtheria at the Mission. The
Hospital of two rooms was extended till nine
rooms were in use. This part of Davis Hall is
completely shut off from the rest of the building, and is regarded as quarantine within quarantine.
As sickness started in different dox-mitories
the domitox-ies were quarantined though all patients were taken to the Hospital at once. A
constant process of fumigation has been kept
up. All rooms in all buildings have not only
been fumigated continually but walls, ceilings,
woodwork, windows and furniture have been
washed with bichloride of mei'cury, dishes have
been boiled after meals, aud laundering has
been done only after thoroughly disinfecting
the garments.
On the twenty-fourth of February Harry Medi-
cinebear died. Everything that could possibly
be done to save his life had been of no avail.
We thought he was slowly gaining strength but
diphtheretic heart failux-e suddenly ended the
struggle.
When Harry was first takeu sick we sent for
his father who lives on the Rosebud x-esex-vation.
He stayed with us two weeks though he could see
his little boy but once during that time. Thinking Hax-ry was better he then went home expecting to return for the child as soon as he
could be safely moved. Receiving the telegram
telling of Hax-ry's sudden death Mr. Medicine-
bear came at once. The funeral was by necessity an open air service, only a few attending.
Harry had been with us dui'ing two school
years. He was a bright and attractive little
boy. When he first came he knew no English
but he was quick to learn and had done well in
every way. His father was devoted to the
child and it had been vex-y hax-d for him to
bring Hax-ry so far from home but he believed
it was the best opportunity he could give his
boy and so had entrusted him to our care. The
father's grief was heart x-ending. He left for
home immediately after the service.
At  this  date  the   Mission  was  completely
quarantined.     Guards  were  stationed  at the
Agency bridge  to  prevent people from coming or  going.    Quarantine  signs  of
"Diphtheria— Quarantine.
■ Danger:  Pass along the road but
do not stop."
were put up at  the  cross  roads   leading to
the Mission.
Through the government we twice secured
antitoxin for all on the Missiou. First 500
units was given and iu three weeks all received
1000 uuits.    Since then at our own expense we
have had to immunize pupils at thx-ee of the
dormitories and provide all antitoxin used in
the Hospital.
The expense of all this sickness has been
large—to us it seems tremendously great because it places us in an embarrassing position.
We are all obliged to remain here at the Mission until the quarantine can be safely removed.
This prevents us from closing school though
available funds for meeting regular expenses
have already been used up on the emergencies
of the situation.
On the other hand we have much to be thankful for in that our pupils who have not been
sick have not made it the harder for ns by being restless and discontented and fearful, but
have accepted without complaint the limitations
and incoveniences brought to bear in so many
and various ways.
Also we are glad that during these months
of sickness and of separation of pupils into isolated groups we have still been able all along
to keep up school wox-k and shop classes, Sunday services and Sunday school, though it has
at times been done under great difficulties because of the continual necessary readjustments.
It has increased difficulties to have five of our
Mission workers among the diphtheria victim*,
Miss Kennedy, Miss Leonard, Miss Margaret
Storck, Mrs. F. B. Riggs, and Miss Barber,
Some of the cases have been most serious,
causing great anxiety and ceaseless care of doctor and nurse. Yet we have no cause for coim
plaint of any kind over the hax-dships of the
past months when we remember God's great
goodness in sparing the lives of all but oue
of our number.
Indian Day at Hampton
The twenty-sixth annual celebration of Indian
Citizenship day was held at Hampton Institute
on February 8. Henry Roe Cloud, of Auburn
Theological Seminary, Auburn, New Yoi'k, who
is a Nebraska Winnebago, was the chief speaker.
He declared that Indians must perform the
duties of citizenship before they demand their
rights. He referred to the splendid work which
is now being done by the Society of American
Indians in which many men are learning to solve
their problems through co-operation. The program follows:
Hymn—How firm a foundation.
Prayer Mr. Harlan P. Beach
Introductory remarks W. David Owl
Extracts from the Dawes' Bill  Cynthia Powdrill
Address George Brown
Vocal solo Caroline Murie
Negro representative Hugh V. Brown
Indian Cradle Song Chorus
The Winnebago Indians Lucv Hunter
Piano duet-«W, fltfrt* { J|™ Williams
Address Henry Roe Cloud
America By  the school
Henry Roe Cloud was a Santee graduate,
class of 1903; Lucy Hunter of the class of
1910. 	
An Indian's Report of the Meeting of the
Society of American Indians
It has been the policy of many people to say
the Indian is ignorant, let him x-emain in his
ignorance.
Yes, let him alone. But nevertheless you
cannot keep him down. The gathering of Indians at Columbus, Ohio, last October showed this.
The Conference was a success and every delegate who was px-esent went home better educated as to the needs of his people.    The soci-
j ety has  resented  the  cooperation  of grafters
who would make it a source of wealth.    May
j all heathenism and self-gain continue to be ex-
j eluded, and may only thoughts of helping the
Indian be uppermost. S. J.