The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-03-05
DUSKY WARDS.
INDIAN AND NEGRO STUDENTS AT
THE HAMPTON UNIVERSITY.
A Walk Through the Primary Department
Enjoying the Noon Neccss--"faith-
full, but mot Punctuai'-Teleh-
ing the Young Indians


Lord, we thank Thee for this food.
BY Thy hand must all be fet;
Give us, Lord, our daily bread Amen
This was the sweet chant that salutet my
ears when was ushered into the dlllnG han
of Hampton institute for the first TINS Ihe
other day. 1t was an equally pleasant SIGHT
that greeted my eyes. Six hundred sludehVS,
four tfths negroes and one-ifth Indians,
were standing around the tables with bowed
heads, rendering the hymn rs only dnslIy
wards at the south know how t. render
hymn music.
"What happy substitute for the usual
form of grace" remarked involuntarily.
yes said Gen. Armstrong, the principal,
"a single voice could not be well hoard
throughout the hall We have several other
formula which are equally pretty, think.
On Sundays it is the doxology usually"
In company with Miss Hyde [ walked over
the long low, wooden building the other
day. The $50 pickaninies who are taught
the ruiiments here by graduates of the III
stitute are not included in the Hampton cat
alosus. They are children from the country
for miles around who come trldging along
on foot all the way each morning, ana then
trudge back to their miserable homes every
afternoon at 30, when school lets out
"Don't they bring their dinners with
them" inquired.
ooh, no indeed" answered Miss Hyde. 1t
is as much as most of them can hope for if
they bring their breakfasts along in their lit
tie stomachs. One girl tainted dead away
from sheer hunger the other day. 1t was
after noon, and she hadn't had any break
fast at all As a rule the children are SO
=,
conyenencel by such Il state Of things. We
try to arrange it so that the tasks requiring
the most application come first i'll the day.
But the children are always smiling as much
as though they had just got ~ from turkey
dinner. See them now
looked, and was greatly amused at the
antics of the multitude Of black youngsters
that were tunbiing out Of the various doors
in order to enjoy tie noon recess.
There was every African type in nlinia-
ture that you ever saw or dreamed of. There
was young girl with big poke sun bonnet
of straw on, although it was Il crisp January
morning Here were two boys, evidently
brothers, with but single hat between
them One wore the brim and the other
wore the crown.
Are they faithful in atteniance,'
Faithful, but not punctuaL But how
could they be pwctual without watches or
| clocks at home! They come in squads. The
one who lives i'll the most remote part Of
Shutdown starts first, the next one waits for
him, the third for the first two and SO on.
Thus if one is late all are late from that
town, and great Responsibility attaches to
that first boy or girl Others so by the
| railway train. A little girl was late the
| other day, and when ! asked the reason for
this she made reply: 4 RELY dunno; l
come when de steamboat whistle done
| blow Then discovere that She had been
timing herself by certain steamboat, tho
| time table of which had been changed that
morning. The homes from which many Of
these children come are appalIingly squalid.
We entered the main room. Presently the
| time allotted for recess was over and the
800 Jolly piclauinieS came marching in to
the music OF an organ They performed q
series Of evolutions first that are characters
| tic of Hampton. Even the 100 boys march
| to dinner i'll Virginia hall from the various
| dormitories to the strains of Il small orchas-
ira. Whel these evolutiouS Were over the
| pickaninies were found drawn up in solid
| phalanx,s quite filling the room.
| In the mean time a superb bass sin ger had
taken his position on the platform beside Us
| and now he started series of familiar
| plantation melodies The $50 irrepressihle
| pickaninieS caught up each piece with a
| zeSt, and the stories Of Daniel in lions den,
| Jonah i'll the whales belly. ana all the Othor
| biblical incidents were given with a whole
some abandon that dill me good
| After half an hour Of singing the classes
| went 10 their FoomS, ami | strayed into the
| "Hitchen Garden The children had fin
ished all their tasks, such as setting minia-
ture tables making beds, washing clothes
and hanging them ont ou Il line. sweeping
their apartment; and the teacher Wa, de
| veoping their originality by having them
| tell stores to each other
Music !, too ornamental a branch for
Hampton rs YET. although the music which
| characterizss tho exercises i always first
class and thoroughly stirring M Hamil,
ton, in charge of. tine tailoring department,
is the only one of the original jubilee stu
dent choir left. There are plenty OF 2Ica2i-
| ngly choice voices amoa-, the students The
boys have full bras, band.
The Indian girls have orglniz3l prayer
meetings 10y themselves aHI this week this
Indian boys are also holding nightly moot
ingSl Think of that
One can not help being peculiarly inter
ested in these young Indians. There are q
dozen dialects represented here, The maj nr-
ity arc SiouX. So tina; a Sioux Interpreter is
usually employed in tbe naeaiaEs- Or
course thora are not n few who come here
ignorant Of English, TO find that he one here
knows a word Of thair language Then the
teachers have 10 begin teaching the nouns
by the use of objects the verb 10y gestures
etc. The Indians have u debating society
also Two comfortable cottages Of thret
rooms each were erected for two Omaha
families alta cost Of only 500 apiece, I,
show the man ami tna black man how
nice q home may be had for that sum q
money The indians ji-ikr to learn that
tue HimaIaya- are higher thur The Rockies
and first learn Il verbs prin,.pa! parvs a
chiefs, its modes rs reese .'vati3n> aHi il
lenses a rInds.
Pulmonary Disorders.
lrittsbC"E D.s9atrh,l