Part 2

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.

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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.”

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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.”

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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.

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ITEMS FROM THE FIELD.