VOL. XXXIV. No. 8.
THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
“To the Poor the Gospel is Preached.”
* * * * *
AUGUST, 1880.
_CONTENTS:_
EDITORIAL.
ANNUAL MEETINGS 225
FINANCIAL NOTICE 225
PARAGRAPHS 226
HARD CASES 228
TEACHER OR MISSIONARY, WHICH? 229
WRONGS OF THE PONCAS 230
THE NEGRO ON THE INDIAN 231
EADLE KEAHTAH TOH 232
BLACK MISSIONARIES FOR AFRICA: Rev. G.
D. Pike, D. D. 235
ITEMS FROM THE FIELD 237
AFRICAN NOTES 238
THE FREEDMEN.
ATLANTA UNIVERSITY—TALLADEGA COLLEGE 239
BEREA COLLEGE: Secretary Strieby 242
TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY: Pres’t De Forest 243
BREWER NORMAL SCHOOL: J.D. Backenstose 244
STORRS SCHOOL, ATLANTA, GA.—WOODBRIDGE, N. C. 245
ALABAMA: Rev. W. H. Ash 247
THE CHINESE.
MISSION WORK AMONG THE MINERS 248
RECEIPTS 250
CONSTITUTION 253
AIM, STATISTICS, WANTS 254
* * * * *
NEW YORK.
Published by the American Missionary Association,
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Price, 50 Cents a Year, in advance.
Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter.
American Missionary Association.
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PRESIDENT.
HON. E. S. TOBEY, Boston.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
Hon. F. D. PARISH, Ohio.
Hon. E. D. HOLTON, Wis.
Hon. WILLIAM CLAFLIN, Mass.
ANDREW LESTER, Esq., N. Y.
Rev. STEPHEN THURSTON, D. D., Me.
Rev. SAMUEL HARRIS, D. D., Ct.
WM. C. CHAPIN, Esq., R. I.
Rev. W. T. EUSTIS, D. D., Mass.
Hon. A. C. BARSTOW, R. I.
Rev. THATCHER THAYER, D. D., R. I.
Rev. RAY PALMER, D. D., N. J.
Rev. EDWARD BEECHER, D.D., N. Y.
Rev. J. M. STURTEVANT, D. D., Ill.
Rev. W. W. PATTON, D. D., D. C.
Hon. SEYMOUR STRAIGHT, La.
HORACE HALLOCK, Esq., Mich.
Rev. CYRUS W. WALLACE, D. D., N. H.
Rev. EDWARD HAWES, D.D., Ct.
DOUGLAS PUTNAM, Esq., Ohio.
Hon. THADDEUS FAIRBANKS, Vt.
SAMUEL D. PORTER, Esq., N. Y.
Rev. M. M. G. DANA, D. D., Minn.
Rev. H. W. BEECHER, N. Y.
Gen. O. O. HOWARD, Oregon.
Rev. G. F. MAGOUN, D. D., Iowa.
Col. C. G. HAMMOND, Ill.
EDWARD SPAULDING, M. D., N. H.
DAVID RIPLEY, Esq., N. J.
Rev. WM. M. BARBOUR, D. D., Ct.
Rev. W. L. GAGE, D.D., Ct.
A. S. HATCH, Esq., N. Y.
Rev. J. H. FAIRCHILD, D. D., Ohio.
Rev. H. A. STIMSON, Minn.
Rev. J. W. STRONG, D. D., Minn.
Rev. A. L. STONE, D. D., California.
Rev. G. H. ATKINSON, D. D., Oregon.
Rev. J. E. RANKIN, D. D., D. C.
Rev. A. L. CHAPIN, D. D., Wis.
S. D. SMITH, Esq., Mass.
PETER SMITH, Esq., Mass.
Dea. JOHN C. WHITIN, Mass.
Hon. J. B. GRINNELL, Iowa.
Rev. WM. T. CARR, Ct.
Rev. HORACE WINSLOW, Ct.
Sir PETER COATS, Scotland.
Rev. HENRY ALLON, D. D., London, Eng.
WM. E. WHITING, Esq., N. Y.
J. M. PINKERTON, Esq., Mass.
E. A. GRAVES, Esq., N. J.
Rev. F. A. NOBLE, D. D., Ill.
DANIEL HAND, Esq., Ct.
A. L. WILLISTON, Esq., Mass.
Rev. A. F. BEARD, D. D., N. Y.
FREDERICK BILLINGS, Esq., Vt.
JOSEPH CARPENTER, Esq., R. I.
Rev. E. P. GOODWIN, D. D., Ill.
Rev. C. L. GOODELL, D. D., Mo.
J. W. SCOVILLE, Esq., Ill.
E. W. BLATCHFORD, Esq., Ill.
C. D. TALCOTT, Esq., Ct.
Rev. JOHN K. MCLEAN, D.D., Cal.
Rev. RICHARD CORDLEY, D.D., Kansas.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
REV. M. E. STRIEBY, D. D., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
DISTRICT SECRETARIES.
REV. C. L. WOODWORTH, _Boston_.
REV. G. D. PIKE, _New York_.
REV. JAS. POWELL, _Chicago_.
H. W. HUBBARD, ESQ., _Treasurer, N. Y._
REV. M. E. STRIEBY, _Recording Secretary_.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ALONZO S. BALL,
A. S. BARNES,
GEO. M. BOYNTON,
WM. B. BROWN,
C. T. CHRISTENSEN,
CLINTON B. FISK,
ADDISON P. FOSTER,
S. B. HALLIDAY,
SAMUEL HOLMES,
CHARLES A. HULL,
EDGAR KETCHUM,
CHAS. L. MEAD,
WM. T. PRATT,
J. A. SHOUDY,
JOHN H. WASHBURN,
G. B. WILLCOX.
COMMUNICATIONS
relating to the work of the Association may be addressed to the
Corresponding Secretary; those relating to the collecting fields to
the District Secretaries; letters for the Editor of the “American
Missionary,” to Rev. C. C. PAINTER, at the New York Office.
DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
may be sent to H. W. Hubbard, Treasurer, 56 Reade Street, New
York, or when more convenient, to either of the Branch Offices, 21
Congregational House, Boston, Mass., or 112 West Washington Street,
Chicago, Ill. A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a
Life Member.
THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
* * * * *
VOL. XXXIV. AUGUST, 1880. No. 8.
* * * * *
American Missionary Association.
* * * * *
ANNUAL MEETING.
The next Annual Meeting of the AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION will
be held in Norwich, Ct., in the Broadway Church, commencing Tuesday,
October 12, at 3 P. M.
Rev. Wm. M. Taylor, D.D., of New York City, will preach the Sermon.
Other addresses and papers will be announced hereafter.
The time is fixed to meet the convenience of those who wish to
attend our meeting as well as those of the American Board, the State
Conference, and the National Council.
FINANCIAL NOTICE.
Only two months remain of our fiscal year. We regret to say that a debt
of nearly $20,000 is impending. This arises from the encouragement
which the prosperity of the country at the beginning of our fiscal year
gave us to make some additional appropriations to meet the most urgent
calls that pressed upon us from the field. A decline in that prosperity
has been intensified by the drought in many parts of the country, and
our receipts for our regular work have fallen off.
We give the notice thus early that pastors and churches who sympathize
with us and in our work, and in our effort to avoid a debt, may take
immediate steps to avert the danger. We are confident that if the
collections of churches that are behind in their offerings, and those
that are set down for August and September, are promptly and generously
made, the deficiency will be covered; but, fearing this may not in all
cases be done, we venture to ask individuals having our cause at heart
to assure the certainty by additional contributions.
The pastors and officers of the churches can be our most efficient
helpers by securing collections and making remittances promptly. We
earnestly invoke the aid of our friends. A debt at the close of this
year (September 30) will compel harmful retrenchment for the next. The
field has never been more fruitful in good results. The command of the
Master is, “Go forward.” We cannot go into the Red Sea of debt. Will
our friends wield the rod of Moses and open the waters for us?
PARAGRAPHS.
_Mrs. Sarah Spees_, who died at York, Nebraska, June 10th, was for
many years one of our faithful workers among the Indians at Red Lake,
Minn. Born in 1832, at Nelson, Ohio, she was converted at the age of
fourteen years, and took at once strong and decided grounds for Christ.
She was for a time a pupil of Mr. Sturgis, of Micronesia, who inspired
her with missionary zeal. Soon after her marriage to the Rev. Francis
Spees, she went with him to his missionary field among the Chippewas of
Minnesota, bearing the severest privations. The journey required great
fortitude. The Indians were in the rudest state of heathenism, and
life itself was not secure. Amid scenes of danger and peril, she never
shrank or wavered, or regretted that she had entered on so arduous a
work. For three years, Mr. and Mrs. Spees labored among these people,
and then left them for a quieter work at Tabor, Iowa. Ten years later,
the way was opened for their return, and no sooner were they back among
the red faces than a precious revival was enjoyed among the Government
employees. In addition to her work as missionary, Mrs. Spees added the
care of the Girl’s Boarding School. This was too great a tax upon her,
and after a few years her strength gave out, and she was obliged to
rest. For three years she waited by the river. Her pastor says that
often, when visiting her in her feebleness, he found her wearied with
the slow progress of the work of Christ on earth, and turning over in
her mind how money could be raised for the spread of the Gospel. Her
work well done, she has now entered upon the “rest that remaineth to
the people of God.”
* * * * *
_The Pastor of the Central Congregational Church_ of Brooklyn must take
a great deal of solid satisfaction in the noble missionary work of its
Sunday-school. Thoroughly imbued as he is with the mission spirit, he
does not fail to impart something of it even to the lambs of his flock.
This school is also blessed with one of the most earnest and successful
Christian workers of the city as its superintendent, and, therefore, it
is not surprising that, in addition to its own local missionary work,
it supports, this year, _four_ missionaries—one in the foreign field,
and three among the Freedmen. We take great pleasure in referring to
this school, whose example might be followed by many others with great
benefit to the cause of missions, and, also, to the schools themselves.
* * * * *
If the person who sent us a card, post-marked “Hartford, Conn., June
24,” but _without name or signature_, will send us his name, we will
gladly answer his inquiry.
* * * * *
_A Burst of Patriotism._—On the Confederate Decoration Day, at
Montgomery, Alabama, this year, the Memorial Address was delivered by
Tennent Lomax, Esq., son of Gen. Lomax, who fell at the battle of Seven
Pines, and whose monument, the principal one in the cemetery at the
capital, received the special floral attentions of the day. We give an
extract from the oration as printed in the local daily:
“Let us again to-day, standing upon this sacred spot, extend the
hand of perfect reconciliation to our fellow citizens of the North,
and ask them to clasp that hand in the true spirit of fraternal
love, and to live with us as a band of brothers, united in one grand
enterprise, the advancement of the honor, the interest, and the
glory, of our common country; and to pray with us to almighty God
to hasten the advent of that day, for it must surely come, when
the star-spangled banner, ‘with not a stripe erased or polluted,
nor a single star obscured,’ shall float, not over ‘a country
dissevered, discordant, belligerent,’ but over a union of co-equal
States, re-united and bound together by a golden chain of unbroken
friendship.”
* * * * *
_At the meeting_ of the North Carolina Conference at Dudley, in May,
one of the delegates, Deacon Stevens, of Beaufort, as he was preparing
his pipe, heard the little children of his host remarking to themselves
about the poison of tobacco, and the bad practice of using it. His
thought was started. He went out to get away by himself for a smoke. He
observed that the people about him were not indulging in that habit.
At the end of the three days’ meeting, he searched about the audience
room to see if there were any of the defilements of tobacco. He found
none. That church, (Rev. D. Peebles, pastor,) and its Band of Hope
eschew tobacco as well as all intoxicating drinks. The deacon went
home convinced, as he said, that it was a “dirty, ugly, mean habit.”
He joined in starting a Band of Hope, and told his experience as above
narrated. “A little child shall lead them.” The little ones did not
address him, but he thought that they intended their remarks for his
benefit.
* * * * *
_Mr. Spurgeon_ finds caste even in England. He says: “I know several
half-sovereign people who would not think of asking a half-a-crown to
tea, and there is a very strong aversion on the part of the half-crowns
to the three-penny pieces; and, perhaps, a stronger aversion still on
the part of the three-pennies to anything coppery. I have heard of a
Christian minister in this country now, who, I am told, is humble and
useful and talented, but there is not a congregation that will have him
for its minister. He was nearly starved to death a few years ago, and
the great sin he has committed is that he married a black wife. Now,
you would not like a minister’s black wife; you know you would not. Up
comes the caste feeling directly. We condemn it in the Hindoo, and here
it comes in this country. We like a negro if he has been a slave, and
we raise money for him when we would not for a white man. Now, I do not
think a black man is any better than a white man, and I do not think
that because a man is green he is at all superior. I believe that we
are all pretty nearly equal, and that God made of one blood all nations
on the face of the earth. But we want to hear these stories about caste
in India that we may be taught to avoid it here; and if it were not for
these follies, vanities, and prides of human nature, carried out to
extremity abroad, we might not so readily see them to be evils in what
is thought to be a mild form at home”.
* * * * *
TWO CONVENTIONS.
During the sitting of the Virginia Republican Convention at Staunton,
the members were as free from molestation as they would have been at
Worcester, Mass., and the hotels were open for their entertainment,
white and black alike. For three days, colored men took their meals in
common with white men and women in the public dining-rooms of houses
kept by life-long democrats. One day, at the principal hotel, a black
man was seen dining with representatives of some of the oldest families
of the State; other colored men sat at different tables around the
room; while a large number of staunch democrats, men and women, went
on with their meals as if the scene was not an unusual one. Whether
this is due to a change of sentiment, or to policy induced by fear of
the re-adjusters, may be open to doubt, but the fact is significant.
No less so is the fact that not a single colored man had a seat in
the Convention at Cincinnati. If the unusual treatment of the negro
voter in Virginia is due to a change of sentiment, this change is
not so observably great in the Union at large. If due to fear, this
fear is not so great in other States as in this where the colored
line has been broken. This would seem to indicate that a solid front
will be maintained longer on national than on State issues. We have
discharged our duty in regard to these facts when we have simply stated
them. Their cause and significance we leave to others; while we take
the opportunity for saying, that not until the negro voter, by his
intelligence and virtue, commands the respect of his fellow-citizens,
can he be other than an object of contempt and abuse when weak, and of
fear when strong; and a source of danger, whether weak or strong.
* * * * *
HARD CASES.
“The destruction of the poor is their poverty.” This is illustrated
not alone in the history of families, but of missionary enterprises.
Poverty, long continued and excessive, breeds a thousand evils more
destructive and more difficult to overcome than poverty itself. The
very features of a given case which constitute its strongest appeal
for help, are the ones which render it almost impossible to afford
relief, however much help is given. This, the experience of all
philanthropists, is many times repeated in the history of our work, and
the wisest discrimination is necessary to ensure that our efforts shall
be made where the greatest good can be done; not necessarily where
misery and ignorance utter their loudest wail.
One of our missionaries writes from a field where the people are
living very near the line of absolute starvation. They are as ignorant
as could be inferred by the most logical mind from their whole past
history; they are as bigoted and superstitious as their training can
legitimately make them; they are as much in need of what the missionary
offers them as a people can be. If he partially educates the children,
the Stygian darkness of their homes seems to blot out what they
have learned; if he enrolls them in the temperance army, they lose
step when they pass the boundary of childhood; if a hopeful revival
comes to cheer his heart, causing him to forget his past toils and
despair, the converts over whom he rejoiced are swallowed up by the
old churches about him, which teach salvation through loud shouting or
semi-occasional feet-washing; and his hopes would die, only that there
are a few bright ones among the children who have twined themselves
about his heart.
Amid the almost universal chorus of rejoicing from all parts of the
field over abundant and cheering results, there comes, once in a while,
a note like this from one who labors, not less abundantly or acceptably
than others, but with more doubtful success.
From another field, the missionary tells of a revival commencing among
his own people, which was the signal for desperate _rival_ as well as
revival efforts in the other colored churches, directed largely to
the end of drawing away from him the results of his labors. He notes
a fact which seems to him strange, but one which, we apprehend, is
destined to repeat itself with great frequency as the work of education
goes on. The colored people seemed less responsive to the efforts
which the church, unusually active, puts forth. As the negro becomes
more intelligent, we hope and believe that he will prove less highly
inflammable; and he should comfort himself with the assurance that the
results of all genuine religious revivals belong to the Lord, and we
will rejoice in it all, under whatever banner the new recruit marches.
The bigotry of sectarianism, which is of ofttimes so trying, should be
classed with other sins which the Gospel, rightly preached and broadly
illustrated, will in time remove; and, if under educational influence,
the negro kindles more slowly to religious zeal, he will doubtless burn
more steadily, and in the end yield more light and heat.
* * * * *
TEACHER OR MISSIONARY, WHICH?
The _Natal Mercury_, South Africa, paints a dark picture of the
Caffres, even of those who have professed Christianity. Many fathers,
it says, still sell their daughters in marriage for cattle as in years
past, and many practice polygamy, which still has a very strong hold
upon those of whom better things ought to be expected.
This is, indeed, cause for deep regret, but ought not to be of great
surprise. It may be true, that by one supreme exercise of faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the results of a whole life of debauchery can be
corrected in a single moment; that impure imaginations and dominant
appetites and perverted tastes may all be utterly eradicated, and the
degraded slave of many years restored to the normal condition of an
uncorrupted child. This may be, for men assert that it has been done;
but, most assuredly, it is not so common as to be expected ordinarily.
The prodigal who has gone into a far country has a long journey to
retrace, and he comes back with many swinish tastes and habits of
thought which he masters, if at all, by most persistent, prayerful and
painful efforts.
The grace of Christ comes in as most stimulating and efficient aid
in these efforts; but it comes as aid to effect, and not in the form
of accomplished result. What the exact, literal truth may be in the
poet-prophet’s prediction, that “a nation shall be born in a day,”
we do not know; what new forces may be called into play, or what
added efficiency may be given to those now employed, when the kingdom
advances with millennial power and celerity, we know not; but as
yet, no labor-saving machinery is known to the Church militant. The
Gospel has still to be carried by laborious, self-denying effort into
the homes of the degraded, and it gains its victories, if surely yet
slowly, over the vices and evils of man’s corrupted heart and life, and
he comes to the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus by a gradual
growth.
The Sandwich Islands afford the striking illustration of the prophecy
to which allusion has been made. But, in this case, the “day” covers
more than half a century, and has not yet reached its meridian, and
even there deplorable facts prove that the mass of the people might
be “born again and again,” as the good colored preacher has it, with
advantage. We are told that in the homes of the people are yet to be
found many of the fruits of their long degradation—much impurity of
life, little of the spiritual strength and elevation of character which
the Gospel produces as its ripened fruit.
The question comes, and often with a pressure from our friends, as
to the multiplication of missionaries, and, of course, because of
our limited means, corresponding diminution of educational work. Our
work is limited by the money put into our hands, and, therefore, we
are compelled to choose between them, when we cannot do both of
two desirable things. It would be pleasant, and a source of great
spiritual comfort and social advantage every way, if we could send an
excellent Christian woman into every negro cabin of the South, who
should bring her refined womanhood into loving and sympathetic contact
with the ignorant and lonely aunties, who never see a cultured white
woman socially. It were easily possible to organize an evangelistic
movement which would set the religious nature of the negro ablaze, and
gather the people by tens of thousands into the churches which could
be erected with the money now employed to sustain our schools; but all
this would leave the negro helpless, at the mercy of the bulldozer or
debaucher, and still under the control of his licentious and dishonest
habits.
The work must be more thorough, and, therefore, more tedious than this.
The negro _character_ needs to be created in germ, and then developed
into a worthy manhood and womanhood by thorough Christian culture, and
the best and only adequate missionaries are the Christian teachers in
our schools.
Conversion, as the negro in his ignorance understands it, is not the
most important or desirable thing to be accomplished. We must first
secure an enlightenment of the understanding, a toning up of the moral
constitution, which shall give value to conversion when it does occur.
Conversion is but the beginning of a new life—a beginning which is
utterly worthless except in connection with an adequate conception
of what that life is, and unless that life follows. No one who at
all comprehends the nature of the work to be done, will advocate
other policy than the one we now pursue of “hastening slowly.” We
must enlarge, equip and multiply our educational facilities through
the South. When this has been done, the number of missionaries may
be multiplied manifold with advantage; but to displace or weaken
educational agencies for those that aim at conversion and spiritual
comfort, would prove utterly disastrous.
* * * * *
WRONGS OF THE PONCAS.
The removal of the Poncas from their reservation, and the failure of
Congress to pass the bill for their relief, illustrate the facility
with which crimes, and blunders which have all the fateful results
of crime, have been committed by us against the Indians; also, the
criminal tardiness with which we correct such blunders.
The Government in 1868 made a new treaty with the Sioux, and settled
them upon reservations in Dakota, which included 96,000 acres of land
belonging to the Poncas, one of the most peaceable of all the Indian
tribes, who had held and had been dwelling upon this land ever since
they were known as a tribe—held it, too, as an absolute grant from
the United States, under a guaranty of peaceable possession during
good behavior. Without their knowledge or consent, as also without a
shadow of complaint against them as a tribe, their reservation was set
apart and given into possession of the Sioux. Failing to gain their
consent to a removal, the Government forced them, without compensation,
for their homes and fields, or other losses, to abandon their own and
settle upon a reservation in the Indian Territory, where the climate
was to them inhospitable. As a result of this, their numbers have been
greatly diminished, they have become discouraged and disheartened, and
are making no progress toward self-support. This alienation of their
lands was an acknowledged blunder, due to ignorance of boundaries on
the part of Congress; but their arbitrary and cruel ejectment from
their homes, without charge of crime, and in violation of most solemn
pledges, is more than a blunder; it is an act of high-handed injustice
and robbery.
The bill reported by Senator Dawes, of the Senate Select Committee,
to investigate their removal, requires the Secretary of the Interior
to return the Poncas without delay to their Dakota reservation, and
provides that their title to the same shall be deemed valid, anything
in the Sioux treaty to the contrary notwithstanding. It also requires
the Secretary of the Interior to restore to the Poncas “use and
enjoyment in the same condition, as nearly as may be, when left by
them, all houses and other improvements and personal property belonging
to the tribe when removed from Dakota, and for all the foregoing
purposes provides an appropriation of $50,000.” The minority report
proposed simply to compensate them for losses sustained by removal, but
hints at no remedy for the wrongs they have suffered in this removal.
And now Congress has adjourned without action of any kind for their
relief, and they are left to brood over their wrongs, and mature such
plans of revenge as suggest themselves to savage minds.
The appointment of a commission to China to investigate, report upon,
and adjust the difficulties growing out of Chinese immigration,
suggests the propriety of a commission of like character, as regards
its members, to take into consideration the agitating questions
relating to the Indians. There is nothing which more nearly touches
our honor, or more intimately affects our peace and prosperity, than
does the condition of these people. We believe that a commission of
statesmen would devise some solution of our difficulties, and suggest
a remedy for the wrongs and injustice which have characterized our
treatment of them, and thus bring to an end their wild and lawless mode
of life.
* * * * *
THE NEGRO ON THE INDIAN.
The negro teacher of the Indian boys at Hampton pithily says some
things which go right to the heart of his subject, and are well worth
repeating and remembering. The following extracts are from Prof.
Robbins’ Report to the Trustees of Hampton Institute. The much-abused
negro, forgetful of his own wrongs, stands before the Anglo-American
to plead for the Indian and urge a more excellent treatment of him.
We commend the whole report to the thoughtful consideration of those
who yet doubt the capacity of either the negro or Indian for Christian
civilization:
“The Indian problem which the people of the United States have so long
been trying to solve may be briefly stated thus: Shall we be able to
teach the Indians to surrender their lands and their houses to us, when
we want them, without fighting? It is a singular fact that the American
people require more Christian charity from the Indians than they
themselves are ready to give.”
“The question is not, can the Indian learn, but will he put his
knowledge to practical use? The answer to this question depends
upon the future policy of the Government. The white man, to put his
knowledge to the most practical and profitable use, has a choice of
location. He goes where his services are most demanded, and where he
can get the best returns for his labor. Are these Indians to be bound
to get their living on one reservation, or will they be left free to
choose homes for themselves?”
“Unless education is made to mean more than brain culture, it may yet
prove the curse of the Anglo-Saxon race. Thousands of young men and
women who leave our high schools, seminaries and colleges, all over
the land, graduate a degree higher than their social surroundings.
The majority of them return to their homes unprepared to put their
philosophy and literature into every-day practical life. With them,
life becomes one continued grind, and the long list of intelligent
criminals is only a sad sequel of it. The education which will nerve
and strengthen a man for his calling in life is the most practical, and
is the most needed to-day.”
“The condition of the Indian is unlike that of any other people in
the world at present. He is not only banished from the best contact
with civilization, but he is hated, hunted, envied, and yearly the
boundaries of his place of exile are growing smaller; his rights are
conferred by a superior power, and are so limited that his gun is his
only defence, for the awful judgment of the nation is always against
him.”
“It should not be asked, how can we avoid war, but how can we introduce
the arts of peace and throw the Indians on their own resources? Every
man should be made to supply his own wants. The Indian question can
only be solved by meeting and conquering its difficulties.”
“We want to make savages Christians in a day, and after a short trial
we see that it cannot be done. Christianizing is not the work of a day
or a year, or a spasmodic effort in any direction; it is a continued
and constant effort.”
“The Indians should be allowed to assimilate with, and become a part
of, our nation’s life. Are there always to be national prison pens for
them; or will they some day enjoy those ‘certain inalienable rights’?
It is wonderful how slow the Anglo-American has been to perceive that
this Declaration refers to no particular race or color, but speaks of
‘all men.’”
“It takes a higher degree of civilization than all Anglo-Saxons
possess, to give up an opinion to which one stands committed, even
when he knows it is false. But it is grand to think that neither
fears nor prejudice can be a final obstacle to the work. The greatest
revolutions in popular opinion which the world has ever known have been
the outgrowth of a few strong hearts that have believed in, and have
achieved, success.”
“We can afford to wait; the American public cannot be educated in a day
any more than the Indian. The people will be ready by and by to lay
aside legends two hundred years old, and accept facts as they are. The
ideal Indian is dead; the true Indian is living and progressing. It is
time to concede that he is a man. Take from him what you will in the
scale of civilization, but do not subtract his manhood; it is his by
Divine right.”
“The answer to the Indian question must be broader than his reservation
and broader than his territory; it must be as broad and as long as
these United States; with all their rights and privileges.”
* * * * *
EADLE KEAHTAH TOH.
What this means we do not know, but lack of room alone prevents a
reprint in these pages of the entire contents of the second number of
this charming little paper, published at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., in
the interest of the Indian Training School, and to some extent by the
Indians, since we are told that a Pawnee boy set up about one-half of
the type, and much of its contents was written by them. There is a
letter from White Thunder to his son in Capt. Pratt’s school, in answer
to some complaints he had made, telling him: “Your letter did not
please me. I am ashamed to hear from others in the school that you act
bad, and do not try to learn. I send you there to be like a white man,
and I want you to do what your teacher tells you. Remember the words
I told you. I said if it takes five or ten years, if you do not learn
anything you should not come back here.”
OUR PROGRESS.
Under “Our Progress,” the declaration is made that, so far, results
show “that these boys and girls have come to a determination to throw
aside the Indian’s mode of thought and feeling with the old dress and
way of life. This seemed apparent in the beginning, but we feared that
the older ones, at least, would soon grow weary of the restraint, which
they must find very irksome. We have between sixty and seventy pupils
over sixteen years of age. With few exceptions, these young men and
women are helpers in discipline, as they are in all the manual labor
necessary for their mutual comfort.
“Some time ago, one of the young men came to the girls’ quarters and
asked to see his sister. The interview was in the presence of an
interpreter, who reported that he gave the little girl a kind but very
serious talk. He told her that he had noticed that she was noisy and
idle, and that she laughed too loud on the playground. Said he, ‘We
came here to learn. I do not know the white man’s way very much yet,
but if I do wrong it is because I do not know what my teachers want me
to do.’ Several instances of the same kind have occurred since, showing
that these boys consider themselves the guardians of their sisters.
These are Sioux boys just from their tribes. The interpreter tells us
that among the Sioux, the boys and girls of the same family seldom or
never speak to each other; this makes it the more remarkable. They are
far from indifferent to each other’s comfort and happiness, however,
as is invariably shown in time of sickness or any kind of trouble. The
letters received by the children from their parents almost invariably
counsel obedience to teachers and submission to all the regulations of
the school.
“An intimate acquaintance with these children, and through them a
better knowledge of their people at home, have increased our respect
and deepened our sympathy for the Indians.
“We believe that the beginnings of a new life are stirring in many
hearts. What outward developments this life may assume, time will show.
The good seed is germinating. The air is full of promise. We can afford
to wait.”
OUR GIRLS.
Again, how like “our girls” these promise to be under Christian culture:
“It is gratifying to watch the interest manifested by the little girls
in the new arrivals. They are so anxious for them to be washed and
dressed anew, and want to loan their own clothing until new can be made.
“Ruth, Grace and Rebecca seemed to feel themselves especially called
upon to watch over and teach the ways of the family to the little Nez
Perces girls, ‘strangers in a strange land’. They went with them to
put them to bed, and then got up early in the morning, to show them
how to dress themselves and put their room in order. For several days
these little girls watched over them, even leading them by the hand to
their meals, when the bell rang to call them together. They could not
understand one word of each other’s language, but they chattered away
like little birds; and yet six months ago, these same children were
quite as wild and uncivilized as the little Nez Perces, Harriet and
Sophia.”
TSAIT-KOPETA.
Hear what Tsait-Kopeta has to say of his old life and new, showing that
Indian nature, both old and new, is human nature:
“My life was pretty rough and sharp before I came this way, just like
the waves of the ocean, unsteady and not sure. I always was stumbling,
but again I would get up. I was a very smart servant for Satan. I was
like an ox with his yoke on me; but I worked for him willingly, just
same he was my father. But what kind of pay did he give me? Nothing,
only shame and danger, and I think when I suffered he laughed at me. I
hope now I am free from him, and I think he is sorry he lost me, but he
can’t help; and now I have found the Great Master, the Rock of Ages;
and I saw His words, and He says, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find
rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ And
therefore I shall fall at His feet and worship Him, and have confessed
Him before men, and want to serve Him only all life long.
“Now I can boast, Satan is my enemy. I return to him the shame he give
me. He used tell me, ‘You do what you want in earthly life, nothing
hurt you; you only got this life, by and by you die; so anything you
want good or bad you do.’ Oh, poor Tsait-Kopeta, how Satan kept me
down and tempted. I don’t want something to hurt or do bad and he
ridicule me and lie. He said, ‘Ah, you coward! only women feel that
way.’ Satan made me prisoner; but Christ was sorry for me and picked
me out of his hand. He give me free, and told me go and no more sin. I
think very strange, Capt. Pratt, why I not know more then, why I did
not ask myself who make me and all the wonderful things. My life is
very strange and different from my past life. Little good at that time;
often I hungry, thirsty and cold, sorrowful, all the time I restless,
and afraid of the enemies or trouble; but this part of the Indian life
I like sure, riding and hunting.”
SUSETTE LA FLESCHE.
Susette La Flesche (Bright Eyes), in the following extract from a
letter to a friend, illustrates what culture has done for an Indian
girl, and discovers the fountains of yearning and of hope in the heart
of her people:
“I am coming more and more to the conclusion that the surest and almost
the only way of reaching the parent is through the children. Almost
the only comforts they have in their lives consist in their children.
For them they are willing to lay aside their arms and take up the plow
and mower, all unused as they are to labor. For them they are willing
to pass over injuries, lest the wrath of the Government be aroused and
their children slain. For the sake of their children they are willing
to break up their nationality, their tribal relations, and all that
they hold dear, to become citizens. Said one man to me, ‘I wish I had
had the advantages in my youth which you have. I could then have had a
chance to become something other than I am, and could have helped my
people. I am now helpless and ignorant; but I shall die content if my
children after me live better than I have done.’”
INDIAN MOTHER-LOVE.
We are in danger of quoting the whole of this paper after all, but must
give the following extract from a letter from the wife of one who was
stationed at what is now Post Fort Sill. The incident occurred in 1869.
We do not envy him who can read this without shame, that during the
260 years of our contact with these people we have done so little to
call forth their finer qualities, glimpses of which we catch in such a
scene. We have done much to degrade and brutalize them; almost nothing
to save them:
“One bright spring morning I had just dressed my fair girl-baby in her
first short dress, then carefully placing her upon the bed, stood back,
mother-like, to admire. The outer door of my room was wide open, and I
saw approaching what seemed to me then the most miserable-looking squaw
I had yet seen. On she came with the grace and tread of an elephant;
and oh, how revolting she looked as she stood in the doorway! Her hair
was cut short and hung over her forehead to her eyes. Her face, neck
and breast were painted in narrow stripes of different colors. About
her waist was fastened a short skirt made of a part of a buffalo robe.
She saw my darling, and before I knew what she intended she had her in
her arms. What did I do? Why, I sprang forward, saying, ‘You horrid,
dirty thing,’ and took my baby into my own arms. The poor miserable
woman looked at me in the most pitiful manner, and then gathering up
the corner of her blanket, she held it in her arms as one would hold a
sick infant, and at the same time with a mournful cry, she made a sign
that her baby had died; and to show how great her grief had been, she
held up her hand so that I could see she had cut off her little finger,
which is one of the extreme mourning customs of the Kiowas, and she
also pointed to the deep scars on her breast and arms. Tears ran down
her cheeks, and my sympathies were so moved that almost unconsciously I
placed my baby back in her arms. How carefully she handled her, and how
tenderly she passed her hands over her plump limbs. After some minutes
she handed her back to me, and with a grateful look and smile, giving
me a hearty hand-shake, she departed. In a week she came again, and
placed in my lap about a peck of ripe wild plums, which ripen there in
the early spring. They had been freshly washed, and were brought to me
in a piece of new pink calico. Again she held the baby, and this time
with signs asked permission, and got it, to kiss our darling, for she
was no longer disgusting to me. She left me as before, and in another
week she came again, this time bringing two buffalo tongues. All she
wanted in return was the pleasure of holding baby. This was her last
visit. Where she came from or where she went, I never knew. She came
and went alone.”
* * * * *
BLACK MISSIONARIES FOR AFRICA—THE BISHOP CROWTHER PLAN.
REV. G. D. PIKE, D.D.
If God “hath set bounds to the habitations” of the different races
of men, or to any race, that fact should enter into our plan of
missionary work. It is our duty to succeed. How to do it, is worthy of
our greatest thought and most earnest prayer. When we take the road
to success in God’s work, we find heavenly attendants all along the
way, and abundant supplies of grace and every needful thing. Just now
the great question before the Christian world is, “How to succeed with
missionary work among the recently discovered Pagans in Equatorial
Africa.” Attempts have been made on the borders of this country for
hundreds of years, but no permanent success has been achieved inland.
We have learned, however, two things. One is, that white men and
mulattoes are, as a rule, incapable of preserving their health and
lives in the climate of tropical Africa; and the other, that the
genuine negro has a constitution entirely fitted for its vicissitudes.
“Negroes for Negroland” must be emblazoned on the banner of the
successful missionary army, as it goes forth to battle against sin
through the Dark Continent.
The history of every missionary endeavor of long continuance among the
negroes in tropical Africa warrants this conclusion. But have negroes
succeeded as missionaries? They have not had much opportunity for doing
so, as but few missions have been committed to their care. Public
sentiment has been against them. The theory of manning stations by
black men is comparatively recent. Our great societies, however, are
forced by the unfolding of providential events to weigh the evidence in
favor of the theory. The only question left to be settled pertains to
the negro’s aptitude and capacity. Can he achieve success in the domain
of missions? We are fortunate in having an illustration which enables
us to answer this question in the affirmative.
In 1821, an African lad was captured in a village about 100 miles from
the Bight of Benin, and put on board a slave-ship, from which he was
subsequently rescued by the English government and landed at Freetown.
Here he was received into a mission school under the care of Mr. Weeks.
In 1825, when 15 years of age, he was baptized, and sent to England
to study. Soon after, a Bible-school for training native students to
preach was established at Sierre Leone, and the young African, who had
been named Samuel Crowther, was recalled and placed in this school,
where he remained as student and teacher until 1841. At this time,
Lord John Russell’s famous Niger Expedition selected Mr. Crowther as
interpreter, and while exploring the territory on the west bank of
the Niger, he became exceedingly interested in the people living in
the villages of the country. When the purpose of that expedition was
abandoned, Mr. Crowther gave himself to missionary work in the towns
he had visited. To fit him more thoroughly for this, he was sent to
England, where he remained till 1843. He then returned to his chosen
field, reduced the language of the people to writing, and preached
the Gospel to them in their native tongue. At one of his preaching
stations, he discovered his mother, brother and two sisters, who had
been held in slavery for many years, and procured their ransom. Among
his first converts in the great town of Abeokuta, was his own mother.
At this place, he commenced preaching in 1845. In 1861, there were
reported to be 1,500 converts as the result of his labors. In 1864
he was consecrated “African Bishop of the Niger.” Since then he has
proceeded with his great work with many additional facilities.
Some friends in England have secured for him a steamboat, valued at
more than $22,000, by which he is able to visit his mission stations,
now nine in number, located along the river, and superintend some 22
native preachers and helpers under his charge. At an early age he
married Asano, a girl delivered from bondage at the same time with
himself, and instructed in the same school. Several children were born
to them, and some of these, at least, are very worthy and helpful to
their father.
Here we have in a nut-shell an illustration of how the work may be
done. Representatives of the inland tribes may be gathered into
suitable schools, taught the things which pertain to the Christian
faith, and practiced in the arts of teaching and preaching, under the
supervision of wise and experienced missionaries, and then returned to
their tribes to declare the good news of a salvation which, through the
blessing of God, they have experienced. The illustration we have chosen
would indicate that it were wise to establish the training-school in
Africa itself; and the fate of scores of white missionaries and others
of our race, who have perished on account of the climate of Africa,
points to the wisdom of selecting black men as teachers in these
training-schools, whenever suitable persons for the position can be
found among the colored people.
The venerable Dr. Moffat affirms that black missionaries for Africa
is the “Divine plan.” Dr. Blyden tells us that the climate of Africa
recognizes only pure negroes with favor. It conforms to no prejudices
or customs of society in assigning mulattoes to the negro race. Unmixed
black men alone are welcomed with long life and happiness.
God sets bounds to habitations, but the love of Christ in God is
unbounded. The good tidings of great joy has no metes. The heathen and
the uttermost parts of the earth are within the borders of the kingdom.
The elect and precious are separated by no climate or partition
walls. They shall come up from the North, South, East and West. We
can only hope to succeed in doing our part towards hastening the
consummation when we have fallen into line with the logic of events,
and have accepted the new phases of work for the negro as they are
providentially unfolded.
* * * * *
ITEMS FROM THE FIELD.
SAVANNAH, GA.—The pastor of the church at this place writes: “The
standard of piety among the colored people about us is so low that
it is difficult to create a moral conscience in our own people, and
this fact shows the great need there is for our churches.” There has
been an unusual work of grace among his people, and the “meetings
have been quiet and orderly, as with a New England congregation.” A
number have been brought into the church whose experience has been most
satisfactory; none of them have had dreams or visions, but all tell
of simple faith in the Saviour, and express the purpose of a new life
of intelligent obedience to Him. “We are beginning to rise above the
superstitious notions which once prevailed.”
ATLANTA, GA.—June 20th, Rev. M. E. Strieby, D.D., preached the
dedication sermon of the First Congregational Church. The dedicatory
service had been delayed until all debt should be cleared off the
house—a beautiful structure in brick, with slate roof and tower,
having cost more than $5,000. This done, and a $300 Troy bell secured,
all was ready. In the afternoon, a thanksgiving service was held,
consisting of music, the responsive reading of appropriate Psalms, and
addresses by the pastor, Pres. Ware, Prof. Francis, Supt. Roy, and
Mayor Calhoun. The latter, referring to the early days of trial, said
that he had always been glad that this people had friends, wherever
they came from, who were willing and able to help them.
—Rev. T. E. Hillson, of New Orleans, has been located at Flatonia and
Luling in Texas, to have charge of the two churches in those places,
which are far out upon the “sunset” route to San Antonio. Miss M. E.
Green is in charge of the school in Flatonia.
—Rev. Mr. Roberts, a recent graduate of the Talladega Theological
Department, has been appointed to take the pastoral charge of the
church at Paris, Texas. Mr. White, another student of Talladega, will
probably take the school at Paris.
—Rev. L. C. Anderson, of Fisk, is teaching and preaching near Austin,
Texas.
—Rev. B. A. Jones, a recent student in the Theological Department at
Oberlin, will take the pastorate of our church at Memphis, Tenn., in
September. Mr. Williams, whose health is not equal to the permanent
charge, will continue as a supply until that time.
—Rev. G. W. Moore, of the Fisk University, is supplying at Florence,
Ala., for the vacation; while Rev. S. N. Brown, another student,
supplies the Howard Chapel in Nashville.
—Rev. J. W. Strong, of Talladega, takes the place of Pastor O. W.
Crawford at Mobile during the vacation.
—Mr. Geo. Clark, of the Divinity School in Howard University, is
supplying Pastor Lathrop’s pulpit at Macon, Ga.
—Rev. J. W. McLean, of Ogeechee, is filling Rev. R. F. Markham’s place
in Savannah, Ga., during vacation.