The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-04-05
FROM THE SlSSET0N AGENCY.
EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS FROM A LA.
=. DY TEACHER. II ~ !
THE INDIAN CHILDREN.

: THE INDIAN CHILDREN.
In some respects, these children are
much like white children: but after all,
they are Indians, and have many of the
traditional characteristics of their fore.
fathers. We have to deal with them
severely sometimes. Yesterday /
marched our largest b0y-a great tall
fellow, taller than father-up to his
room and locked him in. The Princi.
pal was absent ut the time, but when lie
returned he took him out and put him
in a dark closet until 8 o'clock at night.
There is no getting along with them,
until they know you are their master.
Then they are no more trouble. 1t
takes much patient teaching to make
amy perceptible difference in their con.
dition, but some one must do this, and
why may not do It. Indeed. / think
am accomplishing something although
not as much as wish. My health is
almost perfect, and am contented and
quite happy here. III one OF your let.
ters, you wrote as though YOU were
worrying some about my health. he.
cause had not told you in every letter
that Was we'll. You should have seen
Arrie laugh when I told her about it,
She said she Thought if you could see
me you would never worry again. /
have been less exposed this winter than
ever before, which may account for my
present health.
For two weeks (Feb. 17th,) we have
had very little fire in our room, and
have had the register closed and win.
dow open in the school room. 1t is
colder now, but the Indians say we are
to have 10 more very cold weather.
GOING TO CHURCH.
Mr.. II. came up last evening and in.
vlted us all to go to Iyuankaptap (pro.
nounced as near like Yok-hop-top-py as
cam write it) to church to-day. We
could not all leave ut once and Arrie
did not care to go. Mr.. Hart, Mrs. Eel.
bridge, Mrs. Baglcy and IrOde down i'll
the ambulance, and Mrs. Hamilton and
Mr.. Linn Oh horseback 1t Is about ten
miles down there and over the toughest
country ever saw. The hills and trees
reminded me of old times in southern
Ohio. 1t would be a splendid trip u.
bout June.
The day was clear and not very cold
and we could see Lakes Traverse and
Big Stone, Is miles away, quite dis
tinctly; also Il large hill called Thunder
Net, covered with TIMBER which is
fifty miles distant. We could even dis
tinguisll the separate trees OH this hill.
believe l have written you before
about this church, and how it is fur
nished. They had Il much larger con-
gregation this time than when we were
there before. This time the house WAS
full. The sermon W;ls not long but the
preacher has a faculty Of interesting
one even when they cannot understand
much that he says. The singing was
quite good, indeed; but | noticed they
did not have any women in the choir
One cannot help noticing how much J. Ct
ter the men appear than the women
They are always bashful and never have
much to say. If you speak to them,
they will draw their heads down into
their slawls, like q turtle drawing it.
self into its Shell. Now and then one
Of them will say, ''Eha,'1 which may
mea !, Don t know or ''Don't care, y
but we think ourselves fortunate if we
get that much Of III answer. They are
the greatest people to have their hearts
affected you ever saw. When we tell
them anything that pleases them, they
say, 1T makes my heart very glad. -
The other day, when we told a man who
came here to see his son that Johnnie
was good boy, he said, 1T makes my
heart very glad to know that Johnnie
is Il good boy"