The Portland daily press., 1882-10-04

GupDOFI, ana UOIeClS DGHBFl
ence which are reported in the Presbyterian
Assembly minutes The minutes for 1881
credit them with 1885, of which $l5f are re-
ported as given to foreign missions, $40 to
church erection, 1925 TO home purpose, and
S549 to miscellaneous. They seem to have as
of taking care Of their own affairs az average
churches in the border States.
EDUCATION.
The Government Industrial Boarding
school at the Agency, when the Committee
visited it, had fifty-eight pupils boys and
girls, who showed good proficiency in reading
English wholly writing, simple arithmetic,
and geography. The AGENT Major Crissey, ex-
pected to erect a new building to accommodate
eighty girls The present building can then
accommodate eighty boys. There are several
sehool-houses on the reservation not now oc-
cupied, as tie population is not compact
enough to support local schools. With the
abundant funds at its disposal there is no
reason why provision should not be made by
the government for the whole two hundred
and forty-two children of school age.
The Episcopal Mission has not yet opened
school. Our mission school, originally inten-
ded to be a training school for teachers and
preachers, is now boarding school for boys
and girls, in charge of Mr. Morris and lady
assistant. The children ara taught both in DI-
kota and in English. The school at the time
of the Committees visit had twenty-seven
scholars. An Indian woman had charge OF
one cottage, in which two girls and eight boys
live, and another Indian woman was in charge
of another house, in which four girls and ten
boys were living. Mr.. Morris had three In
dian girls in his own family.
1t is proposed to establish, in connection with
each of the Indian churches scattered over the
reservation, small schools, to be in charge of
an indian teacher, in which the children can
be taught IN their own language, so that all
shall be- able to read the Bible. Such schools
may prepare scholars for advanced schools.
By granting $40 year, it is thought the Iudi-
ans will meet The rest Of the expense OF such
school for five months of each year.
The mission has requested that a new build
ing be erected for a girls boarding home
The plan involves two white women in place
of the two Indian women now serving, and
man and wife in charge of the new building:
aud even more force has been spoken Of
Some repairs and additions are indispensable
to the buildings. Neither the boys nor the
girls are adequately provided for. The school
has had of late years, a small number of pu-
pills. AS a new large building for girls may be
erected soon by the government, and as there
may be changes before long in the relation of
the churches here to the American Board the
COMMITTEES do not think it advisable to erect
new building,
There are now school house, which after
some repairs, will answer its purpose well.
commodous dwelling house recently enlarged,
aud two small cottages. The land designated
on the government plat at the Agency, as as
sigAed to the American Board is about eighty
acres. Tho Board has no title to the iand on
which the buildings stand. The meeting
house, with bell and furniture, just finished,
is mt considered mission property.
The missionary force consists of Rev DIR. S.
r. Riggs and wife, Mr. w. X. and Mrs. Mar
tina Riggs Morris, an assistant teacher, also
Mrs. John b. Reavitle and two Indian mat
rons DR.. Riggss residence is Belot. He
spends few weeks in visiting the reser vation
each year, and attends the annual meetings
He is one of the editors of the Iape Oaye, pub
lished at Chicago moRthly. This paper partly
meets its own expenses. Mrs. RenSille is the
wife OF the Indian pastor of the Ascension
Church, where she has taught school.
THE FORT sULLY STATION.
West of the Missouri River, and stretching
from Nebraska on the south to within thirty
miles of Bismark, on the north. distance OF
more than two hundred miles as the crow flies
and by the river five hundred miles, is the
greas Sioux Reservation. 1t extends from the
river westward to the Black Hills, and till
within few years included them. The area is
49, 600 square miles, or 81 1,Q00,0 000 acres There
are five Indian Agencies on the Reservation.
Standing Rock, the most northern is assigned
to the Roman Catholics; Lower Brule Red
Cloud (Pine Ridge, Spotted Tail (Rese Bud).
and Cheyenne River Agencies are assigned to
the Protestant Episcopaians. The CHEYENNE
hlVtf-comes INTO the missouri from the Black
Hills, so as nearly to divide the reservation
north aud south. Fort Bennett is few miles
below the month of the Cheyenne, on the west
bank of the Missouri, and Fort Sully is seven
miles south of Fort Bennett, and on the east
side If the river.
Our mission is among the Blackfeet, Mime
CoDjou, Sans Arc, aud Two Kettle Sioux of
Cheyenne River. A number of these Indians
have crossed the Missouri, and taken farms in
severslty on Peoria Bottom, seventeen miles
south OF Fort Sully. Peoria Bottom is our !.
central station. 1t is fifteen miles north of Pi-
ere, from which the stages start for the
Black Hills. Pierre is where the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad strikes the Missouri
River aud is the present western terminus of
that road, 7S0 miles from Chicago
Connected with the Cheyenne River Agency
there are now 5000 Indians, including 1904
hostiles of Sitting Bulls camp, recently re-
ceived With few exceptions, they are wild
Indians. There were plowed last year less
than 800 acres out of the % 600 acres of their
land. No wheat is reported as raised:
1 300 bushels of corn are reported; no oats or
barley, few vegetables, and $500 tons of hay.
They hunt and fish For furs and robes they
received in 1880 $4,000 They own 1000
horses and {, 400 cattle. They hardly earn one.
tenth of their own living; nine .tenths are fur
nished in government ratjoGs.
Our mission work here was begun by Rev.
Thomas l.. Riggs, in 1872. He is now living
on Peoria Bottom, where are the mission build
iDgs, and whore has just been established a
post office (Oahe, Hughes County, Dsk) which
is fifteen miles above Pierre and seventeen be-
low Fort Sully. This bottom is beautiful.
level prairie, rimmed easterly by a ridge which |
rises sharply from the bottom to table-land
of indefinite breadth, and towards the river
has second bottom OF lowland, covered with
and other timber, and various
shrubs. Peoria Bottom is ten miles on the |
river, and averages two miles in width to the |
ridge of higher table-land The mission |
buildings cC INSIST of a commodious log dwell |
ing and numerous farm buildings A church,
which serves also as schoolhouse, stands close |
by. Three miles south is a small schoolhouse.
The Indians have their farms of 100 acres, 40 |
r DDS on the river and one mile back, which al |
lotmeut gives them timber and wood lots and |
wheat fields They live in log houses, have |
fenced in their plowed ground, and are provid- |
ons plows and haryesters. There are already |
some white settlers who havo bought out Indi- |
an claims, and the number of such is likely to |
increase. The church of % members has its |
native preachers and officers its Sunday school |
and women's prayer meetings. The Sunday
on which the committee were present, Dea- |
cons Spotted Bear and Yellow Hawk passed |
the boxes for the weekly offerings; Yellow
Hawk had finished his three months turn of
preaching the Sunday previous. The chief re-
sponsibility for the religious services is laid up
on The Indians, and they seem to take hold
very we'll They continue to draw their IA
tons and other supplies from the agency at
Fort Bennett, but are making fair progress
towards earning their own living Some of
the church members live on the west side of
the Missouri, on the reservation. The church
is Congregational, and is connected with the
Dakota Congregational Association.
The teachers-Miss Collins land Miss Irvine
are engaged in evangeiistic work from house
to house, besides teaching every forenoon. One
has the school in the chapel; the other saddles
and brides and mounts the pony, and gallops
off three miles TO the other schooihouse, where
was seen grandmother, and mother and son
and daughter in the same class learning 10
read, the women specially studying that they
may read the Dakota Bible. Que week one
teacher takes the distant school. and the next
week the other teacher mounts the pony and
goes there.
On the opposite side of the river, a few miles
distant, is Chantier Bottom, where Indian
teachers, Samuel Hopkins and Mrs, Hopkins,
have a school and h Id religious meetings. On
Cheyenne River, some thirty miles from Pee
ria Bottom, and across the Missouri, at Minne-
conf iou village, is another out station where
Isaac Renville and wife aud Mrs. Elizabeth
Wingan have school and maintain religions
services. For April the school attendance was
twenty girls and eighteen boys A comforta-
BILE log house serves for church and school
house and has rooms in which the Indian min
lister aud teachers live, and where Mr.. Riggs
and Miss Irvine and Miss Collins make their
headquarters, as by turns they spend a fsw
IaT. Il