The Portland daily press., 1882-10-04

Williamson. During four months OF 1868,
"tweAty young men, who gave promise of use
| fulness, were gathered into boarding-school.'
In 1868 Rev. j. P. Williamson and Rev. S. r.
Riggs reported that "the Santee Agency is the
centre of $500 Indians To this place we
must look for teachers and preachers for the
! 25,000 Sioux who do not yet know their letters.
| Our mission must see to it that these teachers
are prepared, and for this object school, nor
NAL and theological, must be established"
| Shortly after the Dakota Mission formally de-
| termued "to give special attention to the pre-
! paration of native preachers and teachers"
In the execution of this plan, Rev. S. r Riggs
| proceeded to erect buildings near what is now
! Sissiton Agency, for one training School, and
Rev. A. l. Riggs undertook a similar wook st
Santee The Training School at Sissiton was
opened in November, 1870. "The number OF
registered pupils soon rose to seventy The
institution was expected to prove an Agency or
great value for the eyangelization of those far
away; but it seems soon to have relapsed into
an ordinary school. After the first year the
reports make no reference TO it as a training
place for teachers and preachers" DR.. Riggs
says in the Herald of August, 1873, ''For the
higher education in this whole field, we shall
look to the institution at the Santee Agency,
under the personal care of A. L. Riggs"
Raw. A. l.. Riggs went to Santee to ''estab-
lish Training School for teachers and preach
ers" December 10, 1870, the school was open
ed, in ''a substantial and neat building" In
the first year 115 scholars were enrolled, 81
young men, 18 young women, and 60 boys and
girls. Mr.. Riggs had one assistant teacher
In 1872 the scholars were reported to number
118, with two additional Indian teachers. For
1873 no report appears. For 1874 the report is,
S5 scholars American teachers, including
Mr.. Riggs and Indian teachers, 1875, 81
scholars, American, and Indian teachers;
1876, 93 scholars, American and 1 Indian
teacher; 1877, 81 scholars, American and 3
Indian teachers; 1878, 104 scholars, 5 Ameri-
can and Indian teachers; 1879, 72 scholars
6 American and l Indian teacher; $780, SO
col,N al = T..lt
1881, IS scholars, II American, and 1 Indian
teacher.
In 1870 was erected the first Young Mems
Hall, of logs Here, till 1877, they lived, with
Indian matrons to do cooking. In December
1873, the Dakota Home. erected for young
women, was occupied. In the spring of 1877
the new Young Mems Home was CONNECTED;
in 1881, the Birds Nest, for ittle girls, aud the
Boys Cottage for boys under twelve. Cot
tages for married students have also been
erected. Last year kindergarten department.
was established.
There has been decrease in the age and
diminution in the number of the scholars. In
1871 the young men (37) and yo ing women CS)
numbered together 90, nearly half the school.
In 1872 the young men (57) and young women
(5) numbered g. more than half the school.
In 1881 the Young men (17) and young women
NS) were So. The scholars VIII have made
some progress have been sent away to aeade-
mics at Becit and elsewhere
The reports indicate that while some instruc-
tion in higher studies has been given incden-
tally and to a few scholars; there has been SO
vet no formal organization of a normal or
theological department. In 1874, Mr.. Riggs
reports "Our Normal Training School has
had gratifying success in all it's branches. AS
vet its richly normal work in the trainiag of
teachers is limited there having been but two
under drill and instruction in this line." In
1878 and in 1879 it is reported that there was u
normal class of three. In 1876, theological
class of eight for four weeks is reported. In
1881 one theological student is reported.
May 10, 1881, NJ. Riggs wrote: II have Civ
en- attention TO normal training with partlcu-
lar scholars from time to time; but as yet we
have had no course of study nor pupils enough
of that grade to form class. "Our theologi-
cal course is still kept in sight. have had
one theological student this past winter .
During the week of the Annual Mission
Meeting there is held a theological institute
for indian pastors and eysngelsts, to whom
lectures are given by several missionaries.
This institute was attended by sixteen last
year.
Ia letters of March and April, 1882 Mr..
Riggs gives the total membership OF the school
from July, 1870, to 1880, as 800: "or, adding
the members of the Theological institute at
Sisseton Agency" 401. sOf the 800, "A males
and ~ females have continued until they have
made such progress as to be fifty termed adj
vsnced students. By this I mean that they
have knowledge of the four rules Of arithme-
eau read and write quite correctly in their own
language, nave StuuleQ elementary geography |
and the Bible, and can read simple English.
Some can speak English, and have also studied
bookkeeping, algebra and geometry, or rather
have begun these branches. Thirteen have |
had theological instruction, and eleven more |
were members Of the Sissetcn Institute. Ten |
have had instruction as normal scholars The |
annual reports give eight as the number of /
normal scholars-two in 1874, three in 1878, |
and three in 1879; and nine as the number of |
theological students-Eght for four weeks in |
1876, and one student in 1881. The names are |
reported of five Indian preachers who have |
studied at Santee. One was pastor at Santee |
before the school was established, and has
been ever since. One has been connected |
with the Episcopal Mission, and the other |
three are connected with the Presbyterian |
Mission. Neither of the four new Indian min
listers who have become pastors of our mission |
churches since 1872, are reported as having |
studied at Ssntee nor is any one of the whole |
number of thirteen pastors who have been |
connected with our churches since 1872 report |
ed at Santee student, except the pastor of |
the Santee church, as sbo Q stated. When the |
visiting committee were at Santee, there were |
no scholars in special preparation for the min |
isry or for teaching, and none, SO far as could |
be learned, having these objects in view,
though it is hoped some of them may, in due |
time, be fitted for this service The commit |
tee found no scholar, far enough advanced to |
enter an ordinary grammar school,
AS boarding school for Indian children, a |
fair measure of success has been attained, for a |
given, the name of F'Normal Training SchooPp |
has doubtless excited too high expectations, |
and involved too large expenditures. The ap- |
pontment, since the visiting committee re- |
turned, OF treasurer of the mission, who also |
is to have general charge of the temporalities |
at the Santee station, will greatly relieve Mr. |
Riggs, and leave him free for the more impor- |
tant missionary work.
THE sIssTT6N AGENCY STATION.
The Sissiton--or Lake Traverse-reservation |
is on the eastern border of Dakota, adjoining |
Minnesota, from which it is separated in part |
by Lake Traverse. 1t lies about 800 miles |
west and little north of st. Paul, and is |
reached by railway to Browns Valley, on the |
east edge of the reservation, or to Wilmot. on |
the south. The Agency and the mission sta |
ton are some fourteen miles from Browns |
Valley. The reservation contains / 435 square |
miles, or million acres, great part of which |
is fit for agriculture and grazing. The In
dians, numbering 1377, are not in villages, but |
are distributed on farms over the country |
They dress like whites; some live in frame |
houses, others in comfortable log houses. They |
have horses, oxen, wagons plows, mowers and |
harveSters.
Three hundred families are engaged in agri- |
culture; $500 acres OF land were cultivated last
year, yielding 28, 700 bushels of wheat. II 700 |
OF corn, $4,000 of oats and vegetables, and |
$500 tons of hay. Government ratious fur |
nished one-third of the subsistence of the In |
diaus, aud three-ffths they procured by labor i
in civilized pursuits. From fishing and hunt
ing ana root gathering they derive but small |
part OF their living. The government holds in
trust, from sales or theirs lands $9S 500, to be |
paid not in cash, but in providing Tor educa-
tional, agricultural, and general necessities.
When the reservation shall be- broken up,
every Indian, man. woman and child, NAV
have 160 acres of good land, while six town. |
ships, or 600000 acres, will remain to be sold.
OF the $4,000 expended by government last
year for the Sissiton and Wahpeton aud San
tee Sioux of Lake Traverse and Devils Lake,
$4,000 would be the proportion fer the Lake
Traverse Indians About one hird of the
1877 can read; nearly 500 ale ehildren, 242 of
school age. The births we're 38 anG the deaths |
"a, showing slight natural increase. Less
than one-seventh are counted as non-CbriS-
tians. These chiefly live at Wahpay and Lake
Traverse though few men of influence con
tinue in their polygamy near the agency.
A Protestant Episcopal church has lust been
built near the station we have occupied for
twenty years, and an Episcopal mission is be-
gun.
In connection with our mission there are six
churches, including the one at Brown Earth
just south Of the Reservation, where some of
the Indians bave taken farms. Each church
has It's native pastor, deacons aud elders; Sun