VOL. XXXII. No. 6.
THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
* * * * *
“To the Poor the Gospel is Preached.”
* * * * *
JUNE, 1878.
_CONTENTS_:
EDITORIAL.
PARAGRAPHS 161
PRINCIPLES AND PLANS 162
DEPARTURE OF THE AZOR.—THE INDIAN BOYS AT HAMPTON 163
A SUNDAY-SCHOOL CONCERT 164
AN EDUCATED MINISTRY.—ATLANTA AND FISK UNIVERSITIES 165
NEWS FROM THE CHURCHES 168
ITEMS FROM THE SCHOOLS.—GENERAL NOTES 169
THE FREEDMEN.
STRAIGHT UNIVERSITY 172
VIRGINIA: Additions to the Church—An Indian’s
Creed—A Good Beginning 174
SOUTH CAROLINA: History of “Avery” Graduates 174
GEORGIA: Pilgrim Church and Sunday-School—Band of
Hope—Twitchell School.—School Children Farming—
Their Parents Buying Farms.—A Growing School—A
Literary Society 175
MISSISSIPPI: An Old School—Temperance Work—The
Gourd Family 176
THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY 177
THE INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL CONVENTION.—ANNUAL
MEETING OF THE SOUTH-WESTERN CONFERENCE 178
THE SINGERS TO THE MISSIONARIES, GREETING 180
AFRICA.
ARRIVAL OF THE NEW MISSIONARIES.—FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF
AFRICA—A SUNDAY SERVICE—A SCHOOL CELEBRATION 181
ADVANTAGES OF COLORED MISSIONARIES 182
THE INDIANS.
SCHOOL WANTS AND FARM WORK 182
AN INDIAN WANTS A COW 183
THE CHINESE.
FUNG AFFOO’S BIBLE CLASS—VISALIA AND PETALUMA 183
THE CHILDREN’S PAGE 185
RECEIPTS 185
CONSTITUTION 189
WORK, STATISTICS, WANTS, &c. 190
* * * * *
NEW YORK:
Published by the American Missionary Association,
ROOMS, 56 READE STREET.
* * * * *
Price, 50 Cents a Year, in advance.
* * * * *
A. Anderson, Printer, 23 to 27 Vandewater St.
* * * * *
_American Missionary Association_,
56 READE STREET, N. Y.
* * * * *
PRESIDENT.
HON. E. S. TOBEY, Boston.
VICE PRESIDENTS.
Hon. F. D. PARISH, Ohio.
Rev. JONATHAN BLANCHARD, Ill.
Hon. E. D. HOLTON, Wis.
Hon. WILLIAM CLAFLIN, Mass.
Rev. STEPHEN THURSTON, D. D., Me.
Rev. SAMUEL HARRIS, D. D., Ct.
Rev. SILAS MCKEEN, D. D., Vt.
WM. C. CHAPIN, Esq., R. I.
Rev. W. T. EUSTIS, Mass.
Hon. A. C. BARSTOW, R. I.
Rev. THATCHER THAYER, D. D., R. I.
Rev. RAY PALMER, D. D., N. Y.
Rev. J. M. STURTEVANT, D. D., Ill.
Rev. W. W. PATTON, D. D., D. C.
Hon. SEYMOUR STRAIGHT, La.
Rev. D. M. GRAHAM, D. D., Mich.
HORACE HALLOCK, Esq., Mich.
Rev. CYRUS W. WALLACE, D. D., N. H.
Rev. EDWARD HAWES, Ct.
DOUGLAS PUTNAM, Esq., Ohio.
Hon. THADDEUS FAIRBANKS, Vt.
SAMUEL D. PORTER, Esq., N. Y.
Rev. M. M. G. DANA, D. D., Ct.
Rev. H. W. BEECHER, N. Y.
Gen. O. O. HOWARD, Oregon.
Rev. EDWARD L. CLARK, N. Y.
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, 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. GEORGE THACHER, LL. D., Iowa.
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.
Rev. H. M. PARSONS, N. Y.
PETER SMITH, Esq., Mass.
Dea. JOHN WHITING, Mass.
Rev. WM. PATTON, D. D., Ct.
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.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
REV. M. E. STRIEBY, _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
DISTRICT SECRETARIES.
REV. C. L. WOODWORTH, _Boston_.
REV. G. D. PIKE, _New York_.
REV. JAS. POWELL, _Chicago, Ill._
EDGAR KETCHUM, ESQ., _Treasurer, N. Y._
H. W. HUBBARD, ESQ., _Assistant Treasurer, N. Y._
REV. M. E. STRIEBY, _Recording Secretary_.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ALONZO S. BALL,
A. S. BARNES,
EDWARD BEECHER,
GEO. M. BOYNTON,
WM. B. BROWN,
CLINTON B. FISK,
A. P. FOSTER,
AUGUSTUS E. GRAVES,
S. B. HALLIDAY,
SAM’L HOLMES,
S. S. JOCELYN,
ANDREW LESTER,
CHAS. L. MEAD,
JOHN H. WASHBURN,
G. B. WILLCOX.
COMMUNICATIONS
relating to the business of the Association may be addressed to
either of the Secretaries as above.
DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
may be sent to H. W. Hubbard, 56 Reade Street, New York, or,
when more convenient, to either of the branch offices, 21
Congregational House, Boston, Mass., 112 West Washington Street,
Chicago, Ill. Drafts or checks sent to Mr. Hubbard should be made
payable to his order as _Assistant Treasurer_.
A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a Life Member.
Correspondents are specially requested to place at the head of
each letter the name of their Post Office, and the County and
State in which it is located.
THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
* * * * *
VOL. XXXII. JUNE, 1878. No. 6.
* * * * *
_American Missionary Association._
* * * * *
As will be seen elsewhere, our new missionaries arrived at
Freetown, Sierra Leone, March 23d, just one month from the date
of their leaving New York by steamer for England. They had only
the ordinary discomforts of a sea voyage, and reached their
destination in good condition. Their first impressions of the new
field seem to be quite favorable, and their desire to be to enter
on the new work at once. We look to the Lord of the harvest for
His blessing on the lives and labors of all those who have gone
from us to the Mendi Mission.
* * * * *
We read with unfeigned regret of the disasters and delays which
the English and Scotch missionaries have met with, in attempting
to begin their new work in Central Africa. The expedition of
the London Missionary Society was, from July to January last,
trying to push its way with its supplies to its destination on
Lake Tanganyika, but was obliged to encamp for the rainy season
at Kirasa, only about one-third of the way. It is hoped that
during the present year they may reach the lake, and establish
themselves there. The mission of the Free and United Presbyterian
Churches is in danger of being driven from its station at
Livingstonia, on Lake Nyanza, by so insignificant an enemy as a
fly. The bite of the tsetse, deadly to all domestic animals, has
sadly impoverished them, impeded their industrial operations,
and curtailed their usefulness in advancing the civilization of
Africa. The station may have to be moved. A new site must be
sought with great care, which will not be liable to this pest.
In South Africa another missionary institution has been
endangered by the Caffre War, three English officials having been
murdered not far away; while missionaries Smith and O’Neill, of
the Church Missionary Society in Central Africa, have been killed
by hostile natives, on their way back to Uganda, the capital of
King M’tesa. We believe that our forces at Good Hope and Avery
are not liable to any of these perils. The station is accessible
and reached; no deadly venom is in the insect life around them,
nor are there unfriendly nations near. Only the dangers common to
such regions are there to threaten them. And yet we must not set
our hopes too high, or base them too confidently on any of the
uncertainties which the future still holds. In a land of delays
we know not what may hinder; amid a thousand possibilities, we
cannot tell what peril lurks. Our hope is in the Lord—that He
will suffer no evil to befall them, but give them strength for
patient continuance in well-doing.
Our friends at Talladega College miss their names from the
Institutions we mentioned in the May MISSIONARY, as needing
greatly, and at once, enlarged accommodations. We did not mention
their wants, as indeed we did not other important needs; and
perhaps the reason was, as they suggest, because, appreciating
the strain laid upon our resources this year, they have
considerately refrained from pressing the case which, last year,
they laid before us. They say “It is difficult for us to see how
any institutions in the South can be in more pressing need than
we of a new dormitory.”
* * * * *
Mr. Whidby’s fears that a colored delegate to the Atlanta
Sunday-school Convention would be either “lionized or snubbed”
to that extent that it would be better for him not to come,
proved to be not well grounded. The warned man did not come; but,
fortunately, another did, of similar complexion, and that from
Texas. He was received and treated just as the others were, and
he behaved as well. The fact is, they were much busier devising
for Sunday-school work than applying a color metre to each
other’s faces. We are very glad the Texas brother was there.
* * * * *
PRINCIPLES AND PLANS.
—This Association does not affirm that races, any more
than individuals, are equal in physical or mental fibre and
development. Some races, as well as individuals, are manifestly
below others in some respects. All that we claim is, that all
men shall be regarded as equal _before God and the Law_; and
that hence, in all churches of Christ, no distinction be made,
on account of race or color; and also that, in the enactment and
administration of the laws of the land, all races be equally
protected in person and property, and that whatever immunities or
privileges are granted to one, be extended to all.
—This Association does not found exclusively colored churches.
They are only exclusive because they are not exclusive. They are
open to all races, and hence but few white persons unite with
them. But, while the work of the Association has been principally
among the colored people in the South, as being at present most
accessible, yet it has always favored the establishment of
churches, mainly white, where the distribution of population
calls for them, and which allow colored persons freely to
unite with them. Thus, the early efforts of John G. Fee, its
first missionary in the South, was in the formation of white
churches in Kentucky. So, also, the counsel of its officers was
sought and given in the organization of the Second (or white)
Congregational Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. Its first minister
was Rev. J. A. Thome, a life-long friend of the A. M. A., and at
one time its agent in Great Britain. The Congregational Church
in Jacksonville, Fla., was organized, and its house dedicated,
under the auspices of Rev. C. L. Woodworth, its Boston Secretary,
who spent a month in Jacksonville preaching and laboring for that
purpose. Not long since, the Association appointed a missionary
in Kentucky, who has surveyed the field in the vicinity of Berea
College, and expects to organize five or six churches, to which
he will preach in turn until each can sustain a minister. These
will be mainly white churches, but open to colored people. In
like manner, the Association has promised missionary aid to
a church, of similar character, about to be organized in San
Antonio, Texas.
—The educational institutions of the A. M. A. in the South are
in order to its religious work in America and Africa. Its best
and most promising churches are established near the schools and
colleges, and receive intelligence and strength from them. These
schools furnish hundreds of Christian teachers, who instruct
thousands of pupils in day and Sunday-schools, and carry a
salutary influence into the homes, churches and neighborhoods
where they reside. The schools and theological departments also
send out many ministers and missionaries, who carry the Gospel to
their people in the South and in Africa.
—The work of the Association is a providential growth, each part
having a relation to the whole, and its plans, while at present
embracing mainly the “Despised Races,” as they have been called,
are restricted in principle to no race or continent.
* * * * *
DEPARTURE OF THE “AZOR.”
The departure of the _Azor_ with the first instalment of the
African exodus, from Charleston, S. C., marks an epoch in the
history of the colored race.
It may have been a question in some minds whether the freedman
could be aroused by the missionary spirit. By some, even of the
teachers in our schools, fears have been felt that, perhaps, the
call for missionaries might come and the people not be ready to
respond. The question is decided that, whenever this call shall
be made, there will be no lack of men. We have more to fear now
from unbridled enthusiasm than from want of zeal.
This African Exodus Association had its origin, undoubtedly,
among disaffected politicians, but it soon became a sort of
religious crusade. It gained but little progress among the
people, until the idea was suggested that it be made a missionary
enterprise. From the time the _Azor_ sailed into the harbor
until her departure, on the 21st of April, with her living
freight for Liberia, the wharves and streets of the city were
thronged with people of all sexes and ages, eager to view the
African “Mayflower.” Hundreds, who had engaged their passages
months before, were left behind, for want of room. How long this
enthusiasm will continue, and what may be the success of this
first company, of course are questions to be answered by and
by. We dare not venture any prophecy, either good or evil. It
is an experiment, some features of which are not in the line of
our ideas; but if, in the providence of God, it shall prove to
be to Africa what the Pilgrim enterprise has been to America,
we shall rejoice. We should prefer to have a different class of
emigrants undertake this work, and lay the foundation of African
civilization upon a broader foundation. Our object is to raise up
men of intelligence, and sound and broad religious principle, for
this work, and we naturally look with some anxiety to the effect
of turning loose in Africa the freedman, as we find him in the
South at present. We hope for the best, however, and shall pray
for the success of the movement, that God may overrule all our
fears, and make it for good. This one question we are glad to
have settled, as we think it is by this movement, that there is
no lack of enthusiasm in the negro heart for his fatherland; and
that, when the call shall come for more laborers in that field,
we shall have this enthusiasm on our side.
* * * * *
THE INDIAN BOYS AT HAMPTON.
Visitors to St. Augustine, Fla., during the last three years have
been directed to Capt. Pratt’s Indians as among the objects of
interest in Fort Marion. There they were carried, as prisoners of
war, in the spring of 1875, after the terrible massacres which
had taken place in the Indian Territory by the Five Tribes. They
went South, each with his legs fastened to a log with chains.
They were filled with hatred over their real or fancied wrongs.
One jumped from the cars, and was shot by the guard; one killed
himself on the way. They wore only their Indian blankets, and had
great brass hoops in their ears. They knew no word of English.
It was their good fortune to fall into the hands of a Christian
army officer, who, by his skill in management, and patience in
seeking to do them good, at length won their confidence, and
succeeded, with the help of a few benevolent ladies, in teaching
them some of the simplest elements of civilization and learning.
A few of them can read very well.
At the end of their second year, Mrs. Dr. Caruthers, of
Tarrytown, N. Y., who had been teaching among them, determined to
secure, if possible, the education of two young men of her class.
She obtained permission from the Indian Commission, and raised
money for the purpose. Other means and offers of help came in.
At length it was found that twenty-two of them desired to go to
school. They are now discharged from their imprisonment. The old
chiefs go back to their people, greatly changed for the better.
Fifteen of the young men were left at Hampton, April 13th, to be
educated in the Normal Institute. They have begun their regular
studies, and have been detailed to various departments of work,
in shop and on farm. They seem perfectly happy and contented, and
their new comrades treat them with kindness and consideration.
Here is another of those curious comminglings, and crossings of
lines, of which life is so full, and yet which never cease to
surprise us. The African and the Indian meet at Hampton, to be
trained together, to be intelligent citizens and Christians, and
the teachers of their people. Thus the two races are brought face
to face—“the two races whose past involves America’s greatest
responsibilities; whose future, some of her hardest problems.”
It costs $115 to keep one of these Indian boys at Hampton for
a year—that, with what he is able to earn by his labor. This
amount has been pledged by individuals alone, or together, for
the education of most of the number. Mrs. Caruthers, having done
so much, has asked the A. M. A., through its President and its
Secretary, to assume the tuition of one of her wards, and the
Executive Committee desire to do so; and Zone-ke-nh, twenty-one
years of age, of the Kiowa tribe, will go to Hampton, in addition
to those already there, as the pupil of the Association, if some
of our friends, who may be especially interested in the elevation
of the Indians, will make up this small amount, and help on this
work, in which the elements are combined of romance, beneficence,
and personality.
* * * * *
A SUNDAY-SCHOOL CONCERT.
Nothing is more welcome in these days than new ideas for use in
Sunday-schools. What to do with the Concert, has been a question
which has perplexed teachers and superintendents year after year,
as the months come, one after another, in rapid succession. The
verses containing “faith” and “hope” and “heaven” must be nearly
all learned now in some quarters, and the new suggestion is, try
a Missionary Concert, or, if you please, an American Missionary
Concert.
But, how shall it be done? The answer is at hand. The pattern,
even, can be sent, like Demorest’s or Butterick’s, in paper and
by mail. We have one in our hands, about six inches by eight,
four pages. It consists of a series of questions and answers
(prepared originally by Rev. A. E. Winship, of Somerville,
Mass.) upon the nature and the work of the A. M. A., and we are
almost surprised to find so much valuable and exact information
compacted in this form, and in so taking and interesting a shape.
Coupled with this is a small sheet collection of eight or ten
Jubilee Songs, to be sung at intervals during the Catechetical
Exercise. We hear that this exercise has been used with great
interest and success in several Sunday-schools at and near
Boston; and we commend, most cordially, the thought and plan to
the consideration and use of Superintendents and Presidents of
Missionary Societies. The twenty-sixth article in the programme
is a collection, and a legend instructing generous youth how
to address their gifts to us. A new edition is in preparation,
or in press. The questions and songs may be obtained in
quantity, on application to District Secretary Woodworth, at the
Congregational House, Boston.
District Secretary Powell has issued recently, from Chicago, an
appeal to the Sunday-schools in behalf of the “Colored Student’s
Aid Fund.” He says: “It is estimated that we are reaching (by
student and graduate teachers) not less than a hundred thousand
children in the South. But there are two millions of them to be
reached.” He urges every Sunday-school to help in this good work.
To know, is the first step toward supplying the want.
* * * * *
AN EDUCATED MINISTRY.
It is quite remarkable that the uneducated ministers among the
colored people of the South should be in such earnest sympathy
with the work of educating their people. Occasionally, we hear
one intimate that he is a trumpet for the Lord to “toot” through,
and express fear that the tone of the instrument might be injured
by the application of science; but the expression of such
sentiments is rare.
In the dark days, when States did not allow people of a certain
color to read, or any one to teach them, preachers were _born_,
not _made_. The wether of the flock put a bell around his own
neck, and led off. As the Indian who could bring home from the
war-path the most scalps, or from the hunt the greatest amount of
venison or furs, was the man for chief; so the exhorter who could
pick up the most texts of Scripture, and evolve from his own
understanding the greatest amount of rhetoric, and with arrows of
his own manufacture pierce the largest number of souls, was the
minister by universal consent.
Schools do not make brains; they only develop and bring out what
Nature implanted in a man. Leaders by the voice of God need not
fear those made leaders by the voice of a theological seminary.
They who, by their quickness of perception, tact and experience,
control men, need not fear that those who depend chiefly upon
ability gained from books will steal the hearts of their people.
Now, in saying all this, as the expression of my own thoughts,
as well as the felt sentiments of the uneducated ministers
among the colored people, I have no intention of placing a low
estimate upon the schools. These uncultured giants might have
attained to a larger growth, if they had been supplied with
good mental nourishment, and no one feels this more than they.
The BEST minister combines natural ability of a high order with
liberal culture. The tendency of the times is toward an educated
ministry; and although the present pastors of the flocks may be
secure in their places without learning, the next generation will
insist upon education in their ministers.
PROF. T. N. CHASE, IN THE _Christian Recorder_.
* * * * *
ATLANTA AND FISK UNIVERSITIES.
A recent visit to these institutions has resulted in some
observations, which may be worthy of record. The location of both
is unsurpassed. In these cities Atlanta and Fisk Universities
occupy, respectively, two of the most commanding and beautiful
sites. They are seen from afar, a perpetual reminder of the
importance of the work they represent. The buildings of both
institutions are good; Jubilee Hall surpassingly so. Our party
approached it late in the evening, when it was lighted from
top to bottom, as the students were studying in their rooms.
“Hallelujah!” cried one of our number, enthusiastically, “God be
praised for this great lighthouse in the South.” And not one of
us looked upon it without emotion.
The teachers in both institutions are among the choicest of
educated Christian people. A more intelligent, cultivated and
consecrated body of instructors it would be hard to find. They
are doing their work at much personal sacrifice. Their social
privileges in both cities are few or none at all, and some of
them, for the sake of the work they are in, have refused tempting
offers from Northern schools. They are teaching the colored race
from a high sense of duty, and are filled with a missionary
enthusiasm in their work. Often did the eye flash and the face
glow, as they spoke of the trials and advancement of their pupils.
The students in these institutions are, of course, the flower
of the colored race. Only those are likely to undertake so
many years of study, with the self-denials involved, who have,
to begin with, tolerably clear ideas of the privileges of an
education, and in whom are unusual elements of character. They
are procuring an education under great difficulties. There are
few to encourage them or aid them. But they are eager to fit
themselves for future usefulness, and burdened with a longing to
help their race. They work, therefore, with an enthusiasm needing
little urging or government. It is not strange, then, that when
both teacher and scholar are fired with a religious fervor, the
results should be unusually favorable.
Among these results in both institutions, the good order is
specially noticeable. At the table, where teachers and scholars
eat together, all stand quietly till the teacher in charge takes
his seat. There is no loud talking or laughing, but, while no
restraints are put on conversation, only a gentle murmur of
voices, which does not prevent the slightest signal from being
heard. The least tap of a bell suffices to dismiss the hundred or
more boarders from the tables. In passing through the school-room
at Fisk University, we noticed that no teacher was present,
though perfect order was maintained. “Have you no instructor or
monitor here,” we asked, “to secure good order?” “Why, no, sir,”
one replied, wonderingly, “we do not wish to be disorderly.” We
could but recall certain days of our own student life when, if
our instructor chanced to step out of the room for a moment,
there were instantly missiles flying about, and students darting
here and there.
There is a striking degree of refinement among the students. They
impress one at a glance as ladies and gentlemen. There is nothing
about them, in dress, or manner or language, to offend the most
fastidious. Never was there a better illustration than at these
institutions of the power of a Christian education to change the
whole character and appearance. A cultivated soul shines out from
these dark faces, and, in our admiration for the soul, we totally
forget the color of the skin.
The education of these students is rapidly progressing. We must
remember that most of them were born in slavery, and have learned
to read since the war. A generation or two must pass before we
can see the results of life-long training in schools. What we
now see, however, is sufficiently surprising. It would be hard
to find at the North better teachers or better schools than the
two Universities of which we speak; and their influence over the
pupils is marvelous. Many of the recitations were very fine. The
normal training of Fisk University seemed to deserve special
commendation. We were also much pleased at a recitation in
Xenophon’s _Memorabilia_, in which three young men were reciting
to one of their own race, a graduate of the University—Miss
Laura S. Cary. It would not be strange if this were the first
instance of the kind in the history of the world. Perhaps a more
valuable evidence of educational progress than recitations was
the correctness of speech and richness of thought manifest in the
conversations and remarks of the students. We were permitted to
be present at a prayer-meeting, in which students of both sexes
took part freely. There are few pastors in the North who would
not be glad of such clear thought and apt expression in their
meetings as we there heard.
The discipline of these institutions is evidently giving
the pupils rare qualities of earnestness and self-reliance.
Undoubtedly those who have these qualities inborn are the
ones who are most likely to be in the schools. But once in the
course of study, all the influences tend to develop a manly and
persevering spirit. The students are accustomed every summer
to scatter through the South, in search of schools. These, in
most of the States, they do not find ready to their hand. There
are few organized schools and few school-houses for the colored
people outside the cities. The University students desirous of a
school must first hunt up children who will agree to come; then
secure the use of some little colored church at the cross-roads,
or, perhaps, of a vacant log-cabin; then they must obtain
permission of the county commissioner to teach the school. It
evidently requires courage and resolution to succeed under such
circumstances, and yet these students earn every summer, in from
three to five months of teaching, about a hundred dollars apiece.
Sometimes parents are willing and able to educate their children,
without throwing them thus on their own resources. After Fisk
University was established, a colored man bought land near by,
built him a comfortable house, and made his home there, with the
express purpose of educating his large family of children. But
such cases are rare. The youth who desire an education generally
are obliged to secure the means themselves. We were much touched
with the story of one young lady (as truly so as any in our
Northern seminaries), who, at the age of fourteen, determined to
go to Fisk University, and went to teaching till she had earned
the means. For five years she has been securing an education,
paying her way by teaching every summer. Another student was
pointed out to us, whose persistence under difficulties is still
more remarkable. For the work of two successive summers, he
has been unable to collect a dollar of the money due him; and
for last summer’s work, when he was able to get a school that
would pay only half the average sum, he has as yet received
only a small portion of what he has earned. And yet he is not
discouraged, but works on cheerfully. At Fisk University, Mrs. A.
K. Spence is making efforts to secure gifts from Sabbath-schools
in the North, to supplement the meagre sums earned by the
students. One hundred and fifty dollars annually will carry a
student through. (We heard a gentleman say that it cost his
son a thousand dollars a year at a Northern college.) If any
Sabbath-school desires to assume the additional fifty dollars for
the support of one of these pupils, Mrs. Spence will be glad to
receive a letter on the subject. The great trouble is to induce
the students to receive aid. They are eager to do for themselves.
Recently, some kind words were addressed them by a visitor, on
the subject of self-reliance. “Oh,” said one of the teachers, “it
is a pity he said that; it was natural he should, but he does not
know them. It made them wince, and we shall have harder work than
ever to persuade them to receive the help they need.”
We were greatly pleased at the piety of the students in both
institutions. Most of them, particularly among the boarders, are
earnest and consistent Christians. We were much moved at some
of their prayers, they were so tender, earnest and child-like.
The prayer of one of their number is still treasured up in the
memory of the instructors. Jubilee Hall had just been completed.
It seemed a paradise to the colored people. A farewell meeting
was held in the old dingy barracks, in the centre of Nashville,
where the school had hitherto met. It was then that one of the
students prayed—“O Lord, Thou knowest how eager we are to enter
this beautiful new building; but if Thou wilt not go with us, we
do not wish to go. Unless Thou wilt go, also, let us stay here.”
The Lord did go with them, and they have enjoyed frequent seasons
of revival ever since.
The aims of these students are very high. They justly feel that
the elevation of nearly five millions of people rests largely
on them. They have a worthy ambition to be the leaders of their
race in everything pure and noble. Conjoined with this, a new
ambition has recently fired their hearts. The four students who
have just gone from Fisk University to Africa have left behind
them an enthusiasm for missionary work. The students are now
praying and planning for the conversion of Africa by missionaries
of their own color. There is nothing that so lifts up a people as
a definite and high aim. These students justly feel that in this
land, and abroad, there is work for them to do. A glorious future
lies within their reach, and the fact stimulates them to faithful
study and gives them Christian manliness, as could nothing else.
It was a grief to us to learn that a shadow of financial anxiety
hung over Fisk University. Funds that were relied upon from
Great Britain for current expenses had failed, and retrenchment,
where expenses had already been cut down to the quick, was under
consideration. Surely the friends of this noble Institution will
not let it suffer.
REV. ADDISON P. FOSTER.
* * * * *
NEWS FROM THE CHURCHES.
HAMPTON, VA.—Four students received to the church by profession
May 5th. One of the Indian students lately received gives
evidence of Christian character.
RALEIGH, N. C.—“Our church has shared with others in a revival
blessing this spring.” Twenty were received to the church April
8th, which now numbers 72. Mr. Smith, the pastor, writes: “There
are several of the young men connected with our church and school
who are anxious that I should teach them theology. I think, if
I can get some simple, cheap work on that subject, that I will
form them into a class, and have them recite two or three times a
week. I want to do all I can to help the young men on.”
ORANGEBURG, S. C.—Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Johnson have been two years
in this church and school. The church membership has increased
two-thirds. Two members received in April. Sunday-school thriving
and increasing, and feeding the church. A Woman’s Foreign
Missionary Association is organized, and has contributed to the
A. M. A. debt, and missions in India and Africa. Fifteen have
been in training for teachers this year.
BYRON, GA.—“The church is active; Sunday-school increasing in
numbers steadily. A day-school will soon be opened. Young people
are asking for prayers every Sunday evening.”
SAVANNAH, GA.—One of the workers in Savannah writes: “Our church
work is very encouraging. The Sabbath-school is splendid. I have
twenty boys from twelve to sixteen years of age in my class, and
am deeply interested in them. Never before, since I have been
here, has the church been so prosperous.”
MARION, ALA.—The Sabbath audiences are steadily increasing.
Three or four are to unite with the church at the next Communion.
FLORENCE, ALA.—Mr. L. C. Anderson reports the attendance on
church services good, and one member received on profession at
his last visit.
ABBEVILLE, LA.—The church has been holding special meetings,
crowded every night. Two have been received to membership; others
are under deep conviction. Rev. Charles E. Smith is the pastor.
MEMPHIS, TENN.—A genuine interest is manifested in the teachings
of God’s word, and a higher standard of personal godliness
sought. “The question, how to utilize the combined power of the
Church for its own unification and enlargement, is discussed
in the prayer-meetings with growing frequency, and manifestly
deepening interest. The church has passed in safety and triumph
through its financial straits, deficiencies have been made up,
current expenses provided for, and a small surplus is on hand for
the summer demands.”
* * * * *
ITEMS FROM THE SCHOOLS.
CHARLESTON, S. C.—The Avery Normal Institute held its thirteenth
anniversary April 17th. The school numbers 294. The pupils were
examined in Natural Philosophy, Grammar, Arithmetic, Botany,
Physiology, Spelling, Mental Arithmetic, History, Latin,
Grammatical Analysis, Reading, Geography, Algebra, Writing, etc.;
and an exhibition was held the following day, with music and
recitations, to the great delight of a large assembly.
MACON, GA.—The school building was dedicated, with the chapel,
March 24. There are three rooms occupying the ground floor of the
building. The large one will seat 110 pupils; the smaller, or
recitation-rooms, twenty-five or thirty each. The whole building
is lighted with gas and heated by a furnace. Mr. Harrington
writes:—“We are credited by the people of the city—by the
white people, especially—with having the prettiest chapel and
school-rooms in the State.”
FORSYTH, GA.—School-house built last year—“a two-story
building, without a chimney, plastering, or even laths.” Occupied
since February last. Attendance good. “A deep concern about the
most familiar truths of the Bible has led to a short lecture
every morning,” by Mr. Jackson, the teacher. That the young
people can only stay in school two or three months at a time,
is the greatest drawback. The white people are very kind, and
respond generously to every call for aid.
CUTHBERT, GA.—There has been going on for over two weeks a
glorious revival. Nearly all the pupils of the school are
converted; all of the highest class but one, and that one an
inquirer. Three ministers are attending school regularly. A
reading-room has been opened. Mr. Wright divides his efforts
between the two (Methodist and Baptist) Sunday-schools of the
place.
FORT VALLEY, GA.—The day-school is improving by degrees. The
Sunday-school is growing rapidly. The cold weather has prevented
many from coming out, but the prospect is that very soon the
school will be crowded. A small sum is in hand, with which to
purchase catechisms and lesson-papers.
NEW ORLEANS, LA.—“The year has been in every way delightful
and profitable. God has blessed us in every department of our
work. Every month, and indeed every week, has brought some
new expression of the Divine favor. Upon our catalogue, soon
to be issued, between 280 and 300 names will appear, and they
represent as good a class of students as were ever gathered in
the University. So much for numerical success. What is better,
there has been entire harmony and affectionate co-operation in
the Faculty.”
MOBILE, ALA., EMERSON INSTITUTE.—The new two-story brick
building, 34×64, with wings 10×21, was dedicated May 1st with
exercises of great interest. A full account was received just too
late to be inserted in this number, but in good time for the July
MISSIONARY.
* * * * *
GENERAL NOTES.
The Negro.
—We were misled by a usually reliable authority in regard to the
income of the Peabody Educational Fund. In 1866, its trustees
distributed, in eight States, $35,400; in 1873, in ten States,
$137,150; and in 1877, $89,400. We give the figures from their
report, and take the largest and smallest.
—April 21st, the barque _Azor_ sailed from Charleston, S. C.,
with 250 emigrants, one-fifth being children. They go under the
auspices of the Liberian Exodus Association to Boporo, about
sixty miles north-east from Monrovia. It is intended to purchase
a steamship to make regular trips to Monrovia. A reporter from
the Charleston _News and Courier_ accompanies the _Azor_.
—Mr. Orcutt, General Secretary of the American Colonization
Society, writes that vessels will sail under their auspices in
June and November. He fears for the new exodus movement, as
having more zeal than knowledge; and remarks that, “at the very
outset, they were subjected to disappointments and annoyances,
which evinced the need of a competent controlling agency in the
management of their affairs.”
—A meeting of colored men was held at Washington, a few weeks
ago, to organize a colony for the West, and measures were taken
to promote that object. They denounced the Liberian exodus.
—Senator Ingalls has written a letter, in which he promises to
all the colored people who may choose to emigrate thither, a
cordial welcome to Kansas, the protection of her laws, and equal
facilities for education.
—“We starve and pinch the American Missionary Association,
giving little more than $200,000 a year towards founding
Christian schools, and planting Christian pulpits, among four
million freedmen, in the pit of ignorance and degradation; we
do little to speak of among the Celestial pagans on the Pacific
slope; and our labor among the Indians is light. But our Romish
friends are now said to be spending $600,000 a year among the
freedmen, among whom they have 150,000 pupils under priestly
schools. There are 137 Catholic missionaries and teachers among
the Indians.”—_President E. P. Tenney, Colorado College._
—“The Roman Catholic Church has purchased a tract of 7,000 acres
of land within nine miles of Chase City, Va., and propose to
colonize it, and educate the freedmen, on the industrial farm
plan.”—_Evangelist._
—A correspondent of the _Christian Observer_ is informed that
there are twenty-five Romish schools in the three States of
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, with free board and tuition.
—The following is the closing sentence of an affidavit, signed
by Gen. Lopez Analto, and sworn to before a U. S. Commissioner in
Florida:
“I further declare and say, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, that there are negroes from the United States at
different places on the Island of Cuba, who are to this day
held as slaves, shipped from the United States, under various
pretexts, since the rebellion in the United States, and upon
American vessels.”
The investigation of this matter was interrupted by the sudden
death of Judge Leonard.
—The delays, and partial defeat, of the various Central African
Missions, are referred to on an editorial page.
—One of the results to be anticipated from the establishment of
new missionary stations in the interior of Africa, is the effect
which such civilized settlements among the hunting-grounds of the
slave-traders will have in suppressing that terrible evil. It is
still the whole business of thousands to buy or steal Circassian,
Abyssinian, and negro boys and, especially, girls.
* * * * *
The Chinaman.
—In the United States Circuit Court, at San Francisco, Judge
Sawyer has rendered a decision, in the case of the Chinaman who
applied for naturalization papers, holding that Chinamen are
not white persons within the meaning of the term as used in the
Naturalization Laws, and are not entitled to become citizens.
“White,” he holds to be equivalent to Caucasian; and that, by
exact construction of the provision, all but white persons, and
persons of African nativity and descent, are excluded forever
from citizenship. The case will probably be appealed.
—We commend the story of Yung Wing, as told by Rev. Joseph
Twichell, in his recent lecture at New Haven, to those who are
either hopeful or hopeless as to the Chinese in America. Under
his care, the Chinese Government is expending annually $100,000
in maintaining about 120 Chinese boys at schools in Connecticut,
where they are receiving a thorough course of education.
—The Chinese in San Francisco paid, in 1866-67, more than
$42,000 in school taxes. California law omits Mongolian children
from the apportionment of school funds, refuses them admission
to the common-schools, and opens no schools for them. Thirteen
hundred Chinamen have petitioned the Legislature for separate
schools for their three thousand children of proper age. Such are
provided for those of African and Indian descent. The petition
was at once laid on the table. A leading paper stigmatized it
as a dangerous and aggressive indication of a movement on their
part to “obtain larger wages,” and showing a desire “to mingle
their youth with ours, with a view, doubtless, to more thorough
assimilation in the body politic.” And yet, the burden of the
complaints against them has been that they will not assimilate,
and will work cheap! If consistency is a jewel, it is evidently
not a “California diamond.”
—A correspondent of the _Intelligencer_ asserts that the
opposition to the Chinaman is instigated mainly by the
liquor-sellers and the Roman Catholic priests, neither of whom
has John any use for, and whose patrons he displaces.
—A Chinese church is to be organized at Oakland, Cal., composed
in part of members from Dr. Eells’ church, and the mission under
the care of Rev. J. M. Condit. This is the second church in
California, all the members of which are Chinese.
—Prof. Mooar in _Evangelist_: “Our greatest danger in regard to
this problem is not that the Chinaman will be too pagan for us,
but that we shall fail to be Christian enough for him.”
* * * * *
The Indian.
—A writer in the _Advance_ says that there are 6,500 persons
in the Indian Territory, formerly slaves of the Choctaws and
Chickasaws. The treaty of 1866 provided for their citizenship
among the tribes, and an allotment of fifty acres of land to
each. In the first Indian Legislature after the treaty, a law was
passed refusing to comply with the treaty; so that, in the land
where they were born, and where they toiled in slavery to enrich
their masters, they can own no land, cannot send their children
to the nation’s schools, are not permitted to vote, and have no
protection from, nor access to, the Indian courts of law. So, the
big fish eat the little fish, all the way down.
—The various plans for organizing the Indian Territory under
a territorial government, are in the face of solemn treaties,
and the opposition of the various tribes to whom it has been
promised. It is only another of the wrongs to which the poor
Indian has been subjected by the cupidity of his white neighbors,
and their disregard of the rights of so-called inferior races.
—The Bill creating the Territory of Oklahoma has been agreed
upon by the House Committee on Territories.
—As to the rebel Indians, Gen. Sheridan allows a Nez Percés
prisoner to go to the Canadian frontier, to offer immunity from
punishment to the fugitives of that tribe, if they surrender to
the military. Some have left Sitting Bull, and refused to fight
with him longer. A band are raiding in Texas, in the neighborhood
of Fort Ewell. The Bannocks at Lemhi Agency, in Idaho, complain
that the agent has defrauded them, and threaten trouble. To
Sitting Bull’s inquiries about peace, Gen. Miles answers that,
when the Indians give up their ponies and guns, they will receive
cattle and other property of greater value; and that when peace
is made, the Government will provide for them, as it does for all
friendly Indians.
—The Nez Percés Indians take a Turkish bath every morning.—See
Leavenworth _Times_. The _Christian Recorder_ (A. M. E.) says:
“No people can go down who make a plentiful use of soap and
water.”
* * * * *
THE FREEDMEN.
* * * * *
STRAIGHT UNIVERSITY.
New Orleans, Louisiana.
REV. W. S. ALEXANDER, PRESIDENT.
The Institution was incorporated June 25th, 1869, and the first
school building was completed in February, 1870. The American
Missionary Association and the Freedmen’s Bureau co-operated
in the establishment of the University. From the first, great
numbers flocked to the school to enjoy its advantages, so that
the capacity of the building was taxed to its utmost. The
eagerness of the freedmen for education in 1870, and the two or
three years following, was, perhaps, more intense and general
than now. Between three and four thousand have been enrolled
as students in the University during the eight years of its
existence.
It bears the name of Hon. Seymour Straight, of Ohio, who is one
of its steadfast friends and benefactors.
LOCATION.
New Orleans, a city of 220,000 inhabitants, of whom 80,000 are
colored people, is a most important point to be occupied in
missionary work among the freedmen. As the commercial centre of
the South-west—as the great cotton, sugar, and rice market of
the Union—it out-ranks all others. In its intimate connections
by river, bayou, and railroad with the most thickly populated
negro districts of the old slave States, it is second to none.
Texas, Mississippi, and Florida are constantly adding to the
negro population of Louisiana. By the census of 1875 there were
369,000 colored people in this State, and each year swells
the number. Already it is fifty-five per cent. of the entire
population. Without disparagement to any other section, we claim,
also, that the colored population of New Orleans represents
the highest intelligence yet attained by the race in America.
It includes the genuine African, the mulatto, the quadroon,
the octaroon, and yet other shades and grades; and in this
mingling of races we see, also, the diffusion of intelligence,
and a corresponding increase in the capacity of culture and
development. It would require the quick eye of an “expert” to
detect, in the fair complexion and delicate features of many who
throng our churches and schools, the faintest trace of African
descent. Without speculating upon the cause, certain it is that
we find among the colored people of the Crescent City a quickness
of intelligence, and a capacity for the best culture and the
noblest development, and withal a thirst for knowledge, which is
worthy of our best sympathy and most generous benevolence.
THE RESULTS WE HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH.
In a word, our aim is Education, in its broadest and best
meaning. The elevation, the prosperity, the highest manhood,
and the co-ordinate rank of the African race in America, in the
friendly rivalry of races, are still in the future—whether in
the near or remote future, depends largely upon the race itself
to determine. Education, under Divine guidance, is the gateway
to that longed-for future. That I mean education as allied with
religion, will be assumed. That the race is not educated, is
by no fault of theirs. That they desire education, is to their
credit. To help them to this education is both our duty and our
privilege.
The courses of study in this Institution include in the Academic
Department, the Collegiate, the Normal, and the Preparatory; and
in the Professional Department, the Theological and the Law.