Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-22
mag cnrrs.nnnaencs of the Evening Star.

special study KNOW OF no ptIiOu III Eeu mon .
existence when he did not worship God At
times the savage idea OF the Almighty was not
in harmony with more civilized beliefs, but IN
general way it must be evident to the impair
tial observer that there is a close relationship
between the spiritual theories OF the white man
and the practices of his more or less copper
eolored brother. The Indian is naturally
religious. He is superstitious. and there are
but few human beings who superstitious
and who are not more or less under the
influence of religious ideas. Much has been
written Of those rites through the medium Of
which the Indian was accustomed to communi-
cate with the Great Spirit, but only a little
attention has been given to the manner In
which the semi-civilized Sioux now hold public
communion with their Maker. Pine Ridge
agency has been and is the scene Of active
religious endeayor; this much must be apparent
on any Sunday to those who are here and
interested.
Three observation-disclosures Presby-
terrain and Roman Catholic-compete for the
privilege of gathering into their respective
folds the greatest number of sunburned souls,
and do not know whether the Episcopalians
or the Roman Catholics are in the lead, but 1
vent yesterday to see how the Sioux wor-
shiped God in accordance with the dictates OF
his conscience and the regulations made and
provided by the Episcopal church.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
An interesting edifce is the little brown
structure in which Pine Ridge Episcopalians
rejoice. Five months ago and the building
Was dlled with manned and suffering men,
rvomen and children, who had escaped with
/. their lives from that awful N orping strife at
Wounded Knee, and in the place from whence
yesterday song and prayer assembled the groans
of misguided and mutilated Indians but little
while ago filed the then malodorous atmos-
phere. The contrast was complete. Bright
.sunshine had succeeded the SHOWS of January
and the sullen nature Of the wintry days was
buried beneath the waves of summer verdure.
From some of the lowly houses at the agency
and over the ridges. from some Of the camps a
mile or two away, came the Indians who made
up the Episcopal congregation. The suns
rays were hercely hot, but the squaws
and little girls tramped along without
giving any apparent heed to the Their
mometric conditions Parasols-some of them
quite expensive affairs-shaded the bare heads,
while extra warm shawls, dyed in superheated
hues, protected the shoulders and arms Sew
eral of the women wore shoes, but the major
ity preferred the infinitely more artistic and
comfortable moccasins. The little ones, how
ever, were shod after the civilized fashion, but
not with shoes such as civilized people wear;
their footgear consisted simply Of rectangular
leathern boxes that would as nearly mt the
foot Of a precipice as the pedal extremities of
Indian or any other kind OF children. Small
wonder the Indian has an aversion for shoes.
III the responsible authorities would only give
him such shoes as were made for human feet
moccasins might lose some Of their popularity.
HOT SUNDAY
It was just as hot yesterday morning as it
was on that day when Henry Ward Beecher
startled his congregation by repeating the
slightly profane remark which one OF his per-
spring auditors had given utterance to just
before the service. The heat was intense, and
from the vicinity of White Clay creek
the which aft4rvrar1 fell
in torrents. Butterflies futtered everywhere
and big bluebottle flies were musical as
blue bottle flies can ever hope to be. Occasion
ally stray cloud would obscure the suns pri-
mary brightness, but only iOr a moment, and
then the shadow would ripple over the prairie
and be lost II was an ideal country sabbath
frequently disturbed bell called just as
church bells do everywhere and the response
was a satisfactory one.
As the women and children arrived they at
once entered the church, but the men. Just
like other men in other places, remained in
shady places on the outside until the service
was about to begin, chatting meanwhile about
the weather and the crops, and such other mat
tiers as were Of present interest Inside the
church the reverential silence strikingly in
contrast with the whispered Cabling that in
vsriably precedes the opening prayer or hymn
In most Of our civilized churches. II any one
of the squaws present was the happy possessor
Of new shawl, she did not display that fact
by word or action, nor did any other
squaw seem to be aware of such an individu-
ally desirable state OF affairs. The children
behaved equally well. / never saw white chill
dren 80 quiet throughout service. Ordinarily
the features Of little Indians are more or less
obscured by dirt, but there were such faces
IN that congregation Well-made and we'll
hitting clothing, new straw hats and good
many bright ribbons made the youngsters, for
once, positively attractive.
INDIANS AT CHURCH.
Thev te he sexea AZ Pine p;1oa xta
women being on the north side of the aisle and
the men on the south. The women's side was
almost fully occupied, but there were less than
Q dozen men present. Two or three Of these
wore suits of black cloth, the coats being of the
regulation Prince Albert variety: others were
clad in citizens dress, not expensive as to ma
ter,ai, but clean; two were non-eom-
missioned officers of scouts and they wore
the regulation United States uniform. One
particularly amiable gentleman was gloriously
arrsyed In pale blue-striped seersucker and
bore in a conspicuous place on the front of his
vest ticket which proclaimed to all beholders
that that vest measured thirty-eight inches
around the chest and cost as cents. Mai
Pearce Of the Sioux commission, a sergeant Of
infantry and myself were the only white people
present
The interior Of the church was plain. Walls
and ceiling were whitewashed-some time ago
Window frames were Gothic and the glass was
opaque. In front of the altar and extending
across the church was a triple arch Of wood
the points touching the ceiling. Covering the
altar was green cloth. on which was en-
broidered in yellow the sacred mono
gram l. H. 8. Near the north wall was
the orgsn-a reed instrument-directly op-
posite but on the side of the reading desk A
frieze In rear of the altar portrayed scenes in
the Saviors life, and from above the frieze
hung banners on which were inscribed, in let
tiers OF crimson, Grown Him with many
crowns and He is risen, Alleluiah.'' Behind
and above the altar was jeweled glass window
IN which the prevailing tint was that of old gold
An ornamental multiple lamp bracket depended
from above and between the desk and the or
gan, while numerous lamps were in brackets
on the walls In front of the desk Was a stove
AND near the public entrance, at the other end
OF the church, was another. They were CON-
nectsd By snake-fke line Of pipe, which de-
rived Its semi-support from numerous wires.
THE UNUSUAL SERVICE.
Clericaiiy clad was Catechist Silas Red Doo
son OF that once famous but now dead chief
Red Dog-as he walked sedately down the
sisle to the main entrance and gave the hell
rope . few concluding pulls; but there wa.
nothing particularly Episcopaiian or denomina-
nonal IN the summer clothing worn by the
Rev. Alfred c. smith, upon whom in the an
seace Of Pastor Cook, the conduct O. the
. service deyolved- Ordinarily Mr.. Smith who
u hAk-blood Yankton, is in charge of the
misaion at Wounded Knee But few ministers