Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-09-18
susnected and thew are soon numbered with

suspected, and they are soon numbered with
the dead A conjurer boosted in regard to
one of them, that he had cut out her tongue,
as much as to say, caused her death and
have taken care that she shall not tell of it in
the Spirit world. Others boosted that by
their incantations they had caused the death
of the others and could kill any one they
chose.
A chief having invited a Missionary tOresde
at his village and put two of his children to re-
side in his family was charged with favoring ed
ucation. He enjOins on the Missionary fam
ily repeatedly to watch the children and see
that they eat nothing given them by any In
dian except it came from his own family. He
had at home one younger child, a bright,
pretty girl of three or four years old, the idol
of her parents. She was suddenly attacked
with strange kind of delirium or madness
and soon dies, the disease evidently being
caused by some narcotic poison. The parents
are afraid to speak of the cause of her death
but show their suspicious by withdrawing
their children from the Missionary's family
and openly disavOwing all sympathy with
Missionaries or favor for education. A man
more loved and respected than any other in
the village had daughter about five years
old, amiable and discreet above what is
common to one of her years, on which &C
count she was called Old woman. Himself a
Jealous coniurer, his attachment to the reli-
gion of his people could not be called in ques-
ton, and feeling strong desire that this child
of his old age should not be subject to all the
hardships of Indian females he placed her in
the family of aMissionary. The parents had
more friends than most Indians, and as few
enemies, and the girl was too young and
amiable to have made any enemies, yet she
mustdie Sixty thousand dollars with an addi-
ton of $4,000, year for ever was in the appre-
hension of the Dakotas, a large sum of money,
and as the schools had been broken up and
the money demanded and was not yet visible
this single child might prevent their getting
this money.
The girl seeing her parents every day, ap-
peared contended and happy in her new home,
but it was soon seen that she was not well,
and her parents took her again to their home
but though the disease did not at first appear
to be severe, neither care nor skill nor med
icine were of any avail, and she soon passed
away to the Spirit world. In other times and
nations prosecutors have thought it sufficient
to put to death the teachers and bold pro
fessOrs of Christianity. Here to be suspected
of an inclination towards it was mortal Of
fence. That but few converts were made in
such circumstances is not strange. That He
might show that his word shall not return
unto him void, God made few, and as such
of them as could find no home except among
such people could have no rest in this world
in few years he called them to rest in a
better.
Three lovely sisters, wives, mothers in the
Mission have fallen victims to the labors and
confinement of the missionary life among
the DakOtas, and two loved brethren going
into the river to battle sank to rise no more.
Several of us have lost very dear children.
We have often had occasion to travel, not
only through deep snow, but on ice which has
given away beneath us plunging us and some
times our children into the deep icy water
We have been slandered and threatened and
assailed by deadly weapons, and we have
found some whom we long looked upon as
friends, active in frustrating the object dear
est to our hearts. We have had experience
of cold, hunger and fatigue sometimes nearly
as far as we supposed our bodies capable OF
bearing but we have had no other trial or
suffering like those mental feelings arising
from the Illustration of our efforts to teach
the Mdewakantonwan in the circumstances
mentioned above. Bright, pleasant children,
willing, some of them anxious to learn to read
but not suffered to do So or if they do vince
died or forced to use their learning only in the
service Of the devil. A people polite, intelli-
gent, many of them kind and amiable per-
ishing for lack of knowledge which we felt
able and willing to give, and supposed some
of them would gladly receive if they dared,
but they did not dare, or having dared to lis
ten till they seemed almost persuaded, they
are scared away to return and listen no more
Some one may be disposed to inquire what
is the fruit of all these labors and sufferngs :
| shall not attempt an answer to this question
only in part. More than twenty persons Of
white blood, and more than eighty of the Da.
kota stock have been gathered into the visible
Church of Christ; about half of the latter
survive as such, in good standing, and many
are gone to, we trust to rest in better world.
The nucleus of not less than four of the first
Presbyterian Churches among the white, il,
Minnesota west of the Mississippi was formed
by persons who had been connected with this
Mission and three of them are supplied with
pastors who but for this Mission would proba-
bly, have never entered the ministry Not
less than two young men now studying for
the sacred Ministry were baptized and re-
ceived to the communion of the Church in
this Mission. The influence of those who have
labored in it has probably done more to adj
vance the cause of Christ IN the Churches
whence we came than it would have done had
we remained and labored in those Churches
and our influence on the Indians we believe
has saved the government of the United States
many times the whole cost of the Mission.
| say not this by way of boasting, for
when we look inward at our own hearts we
are constrained to cry out before God, "my
leaness my leanness Two unto me They made
me keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vine
yard have | not kept" While conscious that
the leading purpose of our souls has been to
serve God in laboring to extend the kingdom
of his Son, we feel that in many things we
have all come short, and erred. We cannot
doubt that it has been our duty to initiate
the great apostle of the Gentiles in laboring
with our own hands both for an example to
those for whom we have labored and to pro-
vide the things necessary for our labors, but
we have probably spent too much of our time
in this way and not enough in PRAYER and
fasting, and going from tent to tent entreating
the Dakotas to be reconciled to Christ. While
learning the language and preparing books,
travelling on the prairie and laboring with our
hands we have not been praying and keeping
up that fcrvor of spirit which secures the CO.
operation of Gods Holy spirit and carries his
word with almighty power to the hearts of
those who hear. We are often ashamed of
our sermons and prayers and wonder that
God blesses and answers them more than that
larger blessing is not granted We feel that