From the first a Sabbath-school has been held on the reservation.
Previous to the time when Agent Eells took charge, while Mr. D. B. Ward
and Mr. W. C. Chattin were the school-teachers, they worked in this way.
But there was no Sabbath-school in the region which the Indians had
seen; the white influences on the reservation by no means ran parallel
with their efforts, and it was hard work to accomplish a little. In 1871
Agent Eells threw all his influence in favor of it before there were any
ministers on the reservation or any other Sabbath service, with the
agent as superintendent. After ministers came, it was held soon after
the close of the morning service. The school-children and whites were
expected to be present, as far as was reasonable, and the older Indians
were invited and urged to remain. Sometimes they did and there was a
large Bible class, and sometimes none stayed.
A striking feature of the school has been the effort made to induce the
children to learn the lesson. Sometimes they were merely urged to, and
sometimes the agent compelled them so to do, much as if they were his
own children. Six verses have usually been a lesson sometimes all of
them being new ones, and sometimes three being in advance and three in
review. Those who committed them all to memory were placed on the roll
of honor, and those who had them all perfectly received two
credit-marks; so that if there were no interruption on any Sabbath in
the school, 104 was the highest number that any one could obtain. During
1875 the record was kept for fifty Sabbaths, and the highest number of
marks obtained by any of the Indian children was forty-eight, by Andrew
Peterson. Eighty-eight were obtained by each of two white children,
Minnie Lansdale and Lizzie Ward. Twenty of the Indian children were on
the roll of honor some of the time. During 1876 Miss Martha Palmer, an
Indian girl, received eighty-six marks out of a possible hundred. The
next highest was a white girl, then a half-breed girl, then an Indian
boy, and then a white boy. During 1877 the same Martha Palmer received
ninety-six marks, the highest number possible that year, there having
been no school on four Sabbaths. In 1878 Martha Palmer and Emily Atkins
each committed the six verses to memory and recited them perfectly at
the school during forty-nine Sabbaths, there having been no school on
three Sabbaths. That was the best report during the ten years. The
highest number in 1883 was by Annie Sherwood, but the number of
credit-marks was only forty-eight.
Sometimes we followed the simplest part of the Bible through by course
and sometimes used the International Lessons. The former plan was in
many respects better for the scholars, as the International Lessons
skipped about so much that the children often lost the connection; they
were sometimes not adapted for Indians, and the children would lose the
quarterlies or their lesson-papers. The latter plan was for some reasons
better for the teachers, as they could get helps in the quarterlies to
understand the lesson which they could not well get elsewhere.
Sabbath-school papers with a Bible picture in them and an explanation of
it were valuable. Such at last I found in _The Youth’s World_ for 1883.
Once a month, while I had them, I gave the papers to the teachers the
Sabbath previous and told the scholars to learn a few verses in the
Bible about the picture. Then every child received the paper on the
Sabbath, and the story was explained.
At first nearly all the teachers were whites; but in time, as the whites
moved away and the young men and women became older and more competent,
they took up the work. About half of the teachers during the last two
years were Indians. Agent Eells was superintendent of the school from
its beginning in 1871 until 1882, when his head-quarters were removed to
another reservation, since which time I have had charge. When the agent
left he received from the school a copy of Ryle’s Commentary on John, in
three volumes, which present was accompanied by some very appropriate
remarks by Professor A. T. Burnell, then in charge of the school.
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth,” said Christ, and
we found this to be true; the committing to memory of so many verses
produced its natural effect. The seed sown grew. Eighteen Indian
children out of the Sabbath-school have united with the church.
The average attendance on the school at Skokomish has varied. From June,
1875, to June, 1876, it was eighty-five, and that was the highest. From
June, 1881, to June, 1882, it was forty-seven, which was the lowest. The
dismissal of employees and their families and the “dark days,” of which
mention has been made, caused decrease for a time.