The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-06-14
From THE SzSsNTON- AGENCY


The following letter was written, by
a lady at the Sisseton Agency, to the
Sabbath School class formerly taught
by Miss Grant in the Union Congrega-
tional Sabbath School, now taught by
Miss Kilnball. They will all be very
much interested to read about the lit
tie Indians up at the Agency:
S1ssEToN AGENCY, D. T.,
May rs, 1877. !
DEAR CHILDREN: Some time ago
Miss Grant asked me if I would not
write you letter. I said I would try,
and have thought of it often, but one
thing after another has prevented.
It was very kind of you to send your
pennies and five and ten cents up here
for these people to buy a melode0n with.
They have not been able to buy it yet,
but we expect they will during the
Summer. They are very poor, and
have very little money, and this church
is very small. But the women have
done what they could, in making bead
work, some moccasins, pin-cushions,
match cases and other things. Some
of them have been sold, and when they
are all sold, they can send and get the
instrument. They have had some
help from white people, at different
places.
We had some very nice scholars in
our school last winter. One little girl
named Nancy, was about twelve years
old, but was not so tall rs her sister
Mary who was four years younger.
M 1oo 1xy e. a.
her little body, and she can sing so loud
that you can hear her all over the school
house. She had sore eyes, and as they
did not get well enough for her to
study, we thought she had better go
man named "Black face,'' a relation of
hers, some kind of a father, I think.
You children would think it was fun
ny to have more than one kind of a
father, but here every body has Il dozen
cry one else'is aunt or cousin or some
thing. We'll, Nancy lived twenty five
miles away, and I thought she would
be tired to walk so far. Rut ''Black-
face" said, ''when she gets tired / will
L thought she would look funny. The
girls all made some quilts for them
selves, and Mary sewed the fastest, and
almost finished hers before she went
home. None of the others got along so
fast.
One of our boys was Daniel Red
Earth. lie is half white, 1 think.
His Indian father is very anxious Dan
iel should learn, though he never goes
to meeting himself, or tries to be civil
LIKED either. Then there was Lewis
jug, a bright lad, and Charley and Nor
man Robertson, both of whom speak
English. And there was James, Mr..
Many Clothes sou. James was a good
faithful and studious boy. lie made
the school house fire every morning for
Il long time. When lie came to school
early in the winter he did not know his
letters in English, though he read we'll
in Dakota. But he learned to read in
the Second Reader, and could spell quite
hard words, such us ''straight" and
''breathe." And best of all he is trying
to he good Christian boy.
There are some boys and girls who
live not far from here, who never go to
school ut all. Some of them, perhaps,
eleven or twelve years old, do not know
a letter in their own language Their
parents never 80 to meeting, and they
never teach them anything that is good.
Their fathers before them worslllppett
stones, and they lived to be old, so they
say "the stone God Of my grandfather
is good enough for me.'' And the chill
dren go around ragged and dirty, oh,
so dirty. Sometimes they come here
for milk, almo~t naked. The boys will
be, and I feel very sorry for them. But
we have tried all we can to get them to
go to school, and have not succeeded.
expect you all go to school every day,
and hope you are glad to 60. You
must remember it is from among the
ignorant and the lazy and the diSoDedi-
ent to their parents and to God, that
so many bad men and women grow up
from.
We have one boy of our own, Harry,
who says lie is Five minutes to nine''
when asked how old he is. In some
things he is 4 good deal of Dakota,
and we think sometimes we shall have
to send him some where among white
people to have him forget some of it.
lie talks Dakota, and he thinks more
in Dakota than in English. lie likes
to be with the Indian boys, and would
play with them all day long if he could.
Perhaps some day some of you may
go among some of these D;lkota's to
teach them what is good and right.
Or perhaps you may 60 to China or
India. But whether you go or wheth.
er you stay at home, you can do good
and be good wherever you are And |
hope that all of you, while young will
love the Lord Jesus, and so be ready
for any work He has for you to do.
Although have never seen you, am
Very truly your Friend,
MARTHA r. MORRIS.
We want peace in the community