Part 1

CONTENTS

PAGE.

EDITORIAL.

ANNUAL MEETING—GOOD AS THREE WEEKS REVIVAL 289 CONCERT EXERCISE—REV. STEPHEN R. RIGGS, D.D. 290 OUR INDIAN WORK 291 A VISIT TO THE DAKOTA MISSION 292 THE RELATIONS OF THE CHURCH TO THE COLORED RACE 294 PAMPHLET NO. 8—A HYMN BOOK FOR OUR CHURCHES 296 A LIFE NOT TOO LONG—BENEFACTIONS 297 GENERAL NOTES—AFRICA, INDIAN, CHINESE 298 A MARAUDING PARTY IN AFRICA (cut) 299 REFLEX INFLUENCE OF A. M. A. 301 WHITE TOP MOUNTAIN, VIRGINIA (cut) 302

THE SOUTH.

NOTES OF AN EDUCATIONAL TOUR IN LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI 303 A WORD FROM TILLOTSON INSTITUTE 305 LETTER FROM FLORENCE, ALA. 306 LETTER FROM MCINTOSH, GA.—ITEMS FROM THE FIELD 307

THE CHINESE.

RECRUITS FOR THE SOUTH CHINA MISSION 309

BUREAU OF WOMAN’S WORK.

MEETING OF BUREAU OF WOMAN’S WORK—THE PAPER MISSION AND WHAT CAME OF IT 310

CHILDREN’S PAGE.

A TALK WITH THE CHILDREN 312 TOPSY LEFT ALONE (cut) 313

RECEIPTS 315

PROPOSED CONSTITUTION 317

* * * * *

NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION, Rooms, 56 Reade Street.

* * * * *

Price 50 Cents a Year, in Advance. Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N.Y., as second-class matter.

* * * * *

THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.

* * * * *

PRESIDENT.

Hon. WM. B. WASHBURN, LL.D., Mass.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.

Rev. M. E. STRIEBY, D.D., _56 Reade Street, N.Y._

TREASURER.

H. W. HUBBARD, Esq., _56 Reade Street, N.Y._

AUDITORS.

M. F. READING. WM. A. NASH.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

JOHN H. WASHBURN, Chairman; A. P. FOSTER, Secretary; LYMAN ABBOTT, ALONZO S. BALL, A. S. BARNES, C. T. CHRISTENSEN, FRANKLIN FAIRBANKS, CLINTON B. FISK, S. B. HALLIDAY, SAMUEL HOLMES, CHARLES A. HULL, SAMUEL S. MARPLES, CHARLES L. MEAD, WM. H. WARD, A. L. WILLISTON

DISTRICT SECRETARIES.

Rev. C. L. WOODWORTH, D.D., _Boston_. Rev. G. D. PIKE, D.D., _New York_. Rev. JAMES POWELL, _Chicago_.

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. G. D. Pike, D.D., at the New York Office; letters for the Bureau of Woman’s Work, to Miss D. E. Emerson, 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.

FORM OF A BEQUEST.

“I BEQUEATH to my executor (or executors) the sum of —— dollars, in trust, to pay the same in —— days after my decease to the person who, when the same is payable, shall act as Treasurer of the ‘American Missionary Association,’ of New York City, to be applied, under the direction of the Executive Committee of the Association, to its charitable uses and purposes.” The Will should be attested by three witnesses.

* * * * *

FINEST ARCADIA BEST VELVETEEN.

GODEY’S

LADY’S BOOK

SAYS:

“The ARCADIA VELVETEEN. It is ... much sought after for jackets and trimmed suits for children’s costumes and ladies’ dinner dresses. Its cost is also an element in its success, as it can be purchased at the same price as ordinary brands.”

FOR CHILDREN’S COSTUMES,

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE MARKET THAT CAN COMPARE WITH THE

ARCADIA.

_The advantages claimed for this Velveteen are not few. First, the color, which is positive and lustrous in all shades. The appearance is certainly very handsome and not easily distinguished from velvet; it is thinner and finer in texture, and consequently less heavy than ordinary velveteen, and takes the needle more easily than any other make, and finally it will outwear any other material of equal finish and dress._

THE

BAZAR

SAYS:

“The ARCADIA VELVETEEN is an improvement upon ordinary velveteen that is sure to be thoroughly appreciated, not only during the coming winter, but for many seasons.”

For the protection of the consumer we stamp every yard.

ARCADIA VELVETEEN (REGISTERED)

Be sure and look on the back of goods, and see you find this stamp.

=SOLD BY= all Dry Goods Dealers, and at Wholesale by SHAEN & CHRISTIE, 165 Church St., New York, U.S.A.

* * * * *

THE

AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

* * * * *

VOL. XXXVII. OCTOBER, 1883. NO. 10.

* * * * *

American Missionary Association.

* * * * *

ANNUAL MEETING.

Preparations for our forthcoming Annual Meeting, to convene in the Central Church, Brooklyn, October 30, are progressing favorably. The indications are that we shall have one of the most important meetings ever held by this Association. We hope to be able to announce through the religious press and otherwise, in good season, such particulars relating to speakers and accommodations as will be of interest to our readers. For the present we refer them to the announcement on the 4th page cover of this MISSIONARY.

* * * * *

GOOD AS THREE WEEKS REVIVAL.

The value of the annual meetings of our great missionary societies is not measured chiefly by the amount of business transacted, important and necessary as that is. The information imparted might be gathered otherwise, but the full benefit to mind and heart can only be had by participating in the devotions, the instructions in righteousness, and, indeed, the arousements that are found among the vast throng that assemble on these occasions. Dr. Withrow said, at the Saratoga meeting of the Home Missionary Society: “These three days are worth as much as three weeks revival in giving a spiritual uplift to the churches.” We believe this to be no extravagant assertion. Great religious gatherings of some sort have been common from time immemorial. These have varied according to the developments of the age.

The problem of the church to-day is the world’s conversion. All other questions are but side issues. The wonderful developments of our modern civilization have been preparatory. They have made it possible for the church to make rapid strides in hastening the triumphs of the Redeemer’s kingdom. The facilities are ready. Young men and women with trained faculties for the work are being graduated from our schools of learning by the thousands. Nothing is lacking but the disposition—the mind to work. The chief value of these meetings is seen in their potency to impart this disposition.

It is not many years since there was but one truly great and grand distinctively missionary annual meeting in our land—the meeting of the American Board. Then there came well up to the front the annual meetings of the American Missionary Association, and latest, the meeting of the Home Missionary Society, which, in point of attendance from abroad, possibly, outnumbered any one ever held by the Congregational brethren. Other denominations are progressing in this direction. There is a wonderfully encouraging development all along the line. The morning cometh; they who turn their thoughts to our great missionary enterprises are looking toward it, and not toward yesterday morning, as men blinded by misbelief continually look.

We call the attention of our readers to the fact that two of these great annual meetings convene in October, and we trust that but few obstacles will be deemed so weighty as to interfere with their attendance.

* * * * *

THE demand for Our Temperance Concert Exercise, issued in the May MISSIONARY, and also in circular form, has been steady and encouraging. It was recently used in the First Church, Greenwich, Conn., with gratifying success. Some features were introduced by the pastor, Rev. Mr. Kellogg, not contemplated in the preparation of the exercise. Selections were made from the communications on temperance published in the same number of the MISSIONARY, and read by different individuals. Words were adapted to Jubilee Songs, giving a pleasing variety, and recitations introduced in addition to, and in place of, those given in the paper. We again call the attention of our friends to this Concert Exercise, with reference to its use.

* * * * *

REV. STEPHEN R. RIGGS, D.D., LL. D., missionary to the American Indians for forty years, died at the age of 71, at Beloit, Wis., in August. Like Livingstone, in early life, he was desirous of becoming a missionary to China, but yielded to what he considered the overrulings of Providence, and in 1837, with his wife, went into the far Northwest among the Sioux. He reduced their language to writing, compiled a dictionary and translated the Holy Scriptures and hymns. Ten well-ordered churches and many out-stations were established in the region of his operations, reaching beyond the British line.

As an author, he did good service. His book, “_Mary and I—Forty Years with the Sioux_,” has magnified the significance of Indian missions. Another book, “_Gospel Among the Dakotas_,” portrays vividly scenes of pioneer life. His memorial of Dr. Williamson is a tribute worthy of the man and his successful efforts in behalf of the Indians. Four of his children have labored among the Sioux, and one of his daughters has entered upon work across the Pacific. Rev. Alfred L. Riggs, principal of our school at Santee, and Thomas L. Riggs, of Fort Sally, and Mrs. Martha Riggs Morris, at the Sisseton agency, are carrying on the work so happily inaugurated by their father. His life was one of incessant missionary toil, in which for years he had been aided by his children, and to whom he bequeathed its continuance, and in the midst of whom he passed from earth to his reward on high.

* * * * *

OUR INDIAN WORK.

Never was there a more favorable time for enlargement on our part. The new impulse to the general cause by General Grant’s peace policy, augmented by the success of the schools at Hampton and Carlisle, will be still more accelerated by the schools soon to be completed by the Government at Chilloco, Indian Territory; Lawrence, Kansas; and Genoa, Neb. When these are finished and filled, the Indian schools throughout the country will accommodate 10,250 pupils of the 40,000 school population of the Indians at the present time. Sec. Teller may be too sanguine in the expectation that with adequate means the Indian problem will not be heard of in the next generation, but never before could such a prediction come so near being true. At all events, the nation and the Government are fully aroused, and it becomes the American Missionary Association to bestir itself to do its part. This Association has now the responsibility of doing the Indian work for the Congregational churches, the American Board having transferred to it the whole of its Indian missions. A delegation of the Executive Committee of the Association, consisting of Rev. W. H. Ward, D.D., Rev. Addison P. Foster, Charles L. Mead, Esq., and the Secretary, made recently a thorough inspection of all the schools and missions with very favorable impressions, a report of which follows.

Enlargement is imperatively needed in three directions, in addition to the $20,000 for the current work:

1. At the old and well-established mission at the Santee Agency, Nebraska, Rev. A. L. Riggs thus details the immediate wants of that station: additional industrial accommodations; extension of carpenter shop, $250; blacksmith shop, with five forges, $750; outfit of tools for the same, $150; general dining hall for 200 boarders, with laundry rooms, $5,000; outfit for the same, including heating arrangements, kitchen ranges, laundry apparatus, $1,500; making in all $7,650. Boarding-school house for girls at Oahe, Fort Sully, $2,500.

2. New mission stations and schools among the Indians now unsupplied. Three station buildings for native teachers on the Cheyenne River, $1,000; missionary’s house at Cherry Creek, Cheyenne River, $1,500; mission among the Crows, $2,000.

We invite the friends of Indian progress to select from the items above given in both fields of enlargement the specific object for completing which they will aid us in whole or in part.

3. An agricultural, mechanical and Normal School, to be founded perhaps somewhere in Peoria Bottom, a new Hampton located on the border, with the white man’s civilization on one hand and the Indian reservations close on the other. This, though it is an urgent want and essential to the filling out of our general plan, must await the careful search for a fitting location and the means to give it a suitable inauguration.

Where shall the work be done for the Indian? One successful teacher in Indian schools says that the children should all be brought East, and trained amid the white man’s civilization; another gentleman, long connected with a Mission Board, holds that the education should be given wholly among the tribes, so that the pupils would be trained amid their people and not away from sympathy with them. We believe _both_ methods are necessary. The youth trained at home elevates his people as he rises, and is himself strengthened and helped by his friends who come from the East with the higher touch of the white man’s culture. Our schools and missions, those now in progress and the one proposed, afford the advantages of both plans. We shall aim to combine the industrial, normal and religious training so as to fit the pupils, male and female, for the practical duties of life in the field, the shop and the home, in the school room, in the pulpit and the church.

We have undertaken much. The hour has come for it, and we know that the friends of the Indian will not suffer us to fail for want of means.

* * * * *

A VISIT TO THE DAKOTA MISSION.

REV. ADDISON P. FOSTER.

The transfer by the American Board of its Missions among the Dakota Indians to the American Missionary Association made it desirable that some of the officers of the Association should acquaint themselves personally with the work. Accordingly, Rev. M. E. Strieby, D.D., Secretary of the Association, and Rev. Wm. Hayes Ward, D.D., of the _Independent_, C. L. Mead, Esq., and your correspondent, all members of the Executive Committee, met by appointment at the Santee Agency. Three of the party then visited the mission station at Oahe, D.T., connected with the Cheyenne Agency, where the party divided, Dr. Strieby returning by way of the Sisseton Agency, Dr. Ward and Mr. Foster, under the leadership of Rev. Thomas L. Riggs, the efficient missionary, entering the great Sioux Reservation and traveling in an open wagon between three and four hundred miles, mostly in Indian country. This last-named expedition had not a little of excitement and adventure. Camping out at night, fording swollen streams, sleeping in an Indian wigwam, driving across trackless prairies by the aid of a compass, running the divides, killing a rattlesnake, preaching to the wild Indians through an interpreter, spending days in Indian villages, where hideous heathen mummeries were in full view, visiting the Indians’ strange earth-built lodges, and their offensive scaffold burying grounds, we passed through a series of experiences not soon to be forgotten.

The American Missionary Association has become possessor of three considerable mission stations among the Indians, in or near Dakota Territory. At the Santee Agency, which is just across the Missouri in Nebraska, about thirty miles up the river from Yankton, is a large and very successful school, a church of Indians with an Indian pastor, and one out-station with an immediate prospect of a second. This school and mission work are under the general superintendence of Rev. Alfred L. Riggs. The children in the school come not only from the Santees on the Agency, but from long distances, from the Sisseton Agency, Fort Berthold and Montana. We were greatly pleased with the intelligence, the neatness and Christian spirit of these students. They will certainly compare favorably in every way with the bright young Indians we have seen at Hampton.

Oahe is the centre of a wide evangelistic work, which has been organized and is carried on with great energy and success by Rev. Thomas L. Riggs. At Oahe itself is a mission home, a neat chapel, also used as a school-house, and three miles away, a second school-house. A native church is organized here, ministered to most acceptably by Yellow Hawk, an exemplary and industrious Indian. We were specially interested in a prayer meeting of Indian women, which was fully attended and heartily sustained. Oahe is on the east side of the Missouri, where a considerable number of Indians have given up their tribal relations, taken up land in severalty, and become voting citizens of the United States. Immediately across the river is the Sioux Reservation. This is greatly cut up by sizable streams which flow down from the Black Hills. On every stream are extensive and very fertile bottom-lands. Here the Indians are located, living mostly in tents, but some in log houses. They are chiefly wild Indians, only a few years since being on the war-path, mainly different sections of Sitting Bull’s band. They still wear blankets, and are gaudy in bead-work, and paint and feathers. But they are now in wholesome fear of the government and, better still, are anxious to be as white men. Mr. Riggs has established four stations in Indian villages on the Cheyenne River, and a fifth on the Grand River. At three of these stations there is preaching by native pastors, Solomon Martun (or Bear’s Ear), Isaac Renville and Edward Phelps, by name; at the other places are schools. The mission at Ft. Berthold is among the Rees, Mandans and Gros Ventres. These three small tribes long since combined in one village for protection against their ancient foes, the Sioux. Rev. C. L. Hall is the missionary here. A mission home and a chapel are the buildings, both in excellent condition. The work at this mission is slow in developing results, not from any lack of faithfulness or adaptation on the part of the missionaries, for their consecration and fitness are marked, but because these Indians by their tribal divisions are jealous of one another, and by their contact in the past with white men of bad character are corrupt and hard to reach. Mr. Hall has an out-station in his care at Devil’s Lake, where Rev. David Hopkins, a Sisseton Indian, is laboring.

THE ADVANCE.

* * * * *

THE RELATIONS OF THE CHURCH TO THE COLORED RACE.

BY REV. LEWIS GROUT.

Rev. Dr. J. L. Tucker’s speech on the above subject before the Episcopal Church Congress, in Richmond, last October, has had a very emphatic indorsement from professional and other men in the South, and yet not without severe criticism from some of the colored people, especially in Jackson, Miss., the home of Dr. Tucker, where he made the speech. It seems that Dr. Tucker is a man of Northern birth, that he was a soldier in the Confederate army, after which he became a planter, then a rector, and that he has had much experience and interest in the education of the colored race, as planter, teacher and minister. And yet, with all his acquaintance with that race, there are several important points pertaining to their history, character and welfare, in which he is sadly mistaken.

The first mistake of his that I will notice has respect to the character of the native African. In Africa, he says, “human life has no sacredness, and men, women and children are slain as beasts are, and even more carelessly, as less valuable. Human suffering excites no pity, and blood flows like water.” “That what we call morality, whether in the relations of the sexes, or in the sense of truthfulness, or in the sense of honesty, has no lodgment whatever in the native African’s breast;” and that they have “no words” for gratitude, generosity, industry, truthfulness, honesty, modesty, gentleness and virtue, because they have none of these ideas. Now all this, and much more of the same sort, is the baldest of hyperbole, far from the truth. During my fifteen years of labor in that land, I made the study of African character and language a specialty; and I believe that words representing the ideas above named may be found in every language and dialect on the continent. As to humanity and all kindred virtues, they are abreast, if not ahead, of any and every other people that have not had the gospel. For honesty and morality, under pure native rule, in many respects, the Zulus and cognate tribes would put to shame the people in every part of this land of ours. I have no reason to believe that I ever lost a sixpence worth of anything, through their stealing, in all those fifteen years of my stay among them; and as to the relations of the sexes, I believe there are ten illegitimate births here in New England to-day, where there was ever one in Zululand previous to the incoming of the Dutch and English. To be sure, all African tribes may not be abreast of what the Zulus used to be, in these things. And yet Rev. Dr. Crummell, for many years a college professor and rector of a parish in Liberia, says: “All along the west coast of Africa the family tie and the marriage bond are as strong as among any _primitive_ people.” “Their maidenly virtue, the instinct to chastity, is a marvel.”

2. Dr. Tucker says the colored people of the South are grossly immoral. If he had made a very deserved exception of the many who have been brought under the restraints of the gospel by good mission work among them, within a few years, his charge would have been more just. But whence came the great excess in vice which he avers? Could anything else have been expected from long generations of the peculiar training their bondage gave them? Under the treatment they had, as Dr. Tucker says, “they quickly learned to conceal,” “learned lying, stealing and adultery.” By a somewhat minute detail, he shows how the familiarity and “the intrigues which the white men” had with the black women wrought in them, as he says, “the utter destruction of the very sense of virtue.”