The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-09-29
CHURCH U 0 T Il. THE /. SCOUTS
THE MOTHER OEr MANY OF THE
FIRST CHURCHES OF THE
NEST
CHANGES FR0M 1894 TO 1899
Rev. H. j. Cres,vell Writes nm
Interesting and Historical Ar.
ticle About Developments
i'm the Northwest. III. 4 Z.

Rev r. J. -Creswell,r of A1ci44svine, W,is..e
in the New York Observer:
1t was 1884. There stepped ashore from
a Mississippi boat, at Fort Smelling, two
men, whose names were destined to be-
come household words In the tepees Of
the Sioux nar!on-the Pond brothers, OF
Connecticut Their mission was a x;or-
ious pne-the conquest of that savage
Tribe of prairie warriors, by the sharp
two-edged sword of the Spirit OF God,
ana their urlift by the power of the
Gospel OF His Son. Then and there be-
gan one Of the most heroic struggles of
modern times. What was the outcome?
1t was 1862. The scene shifts, two
hundred miles to the west, to the shores
OF Lac-qui-parle, the Acknowledgements.
Twenty-eight years since the coming Of
the Pond brothers to Fort Smelling All
these years the work had been pressed
with vigor. Great progress had been
made The rude dialect Of the savage
Sioux had been reduced to a written
language, the word of God had Leen trans
lated into that wild barbaric tongue.
ture for nation had been created Com
Portable missions had been erected. Sew
enty-tive converts had been gathered in
to The church. The faithful missionaries
who had labored so long in their lowly
log cabins on the banks of Lac-qui- parle,
with but little encouragement, now look
ed forward hopefully into the future
Suddenly, however, all their high hopes
We're rudely blasted. lit was August 49,
a lovely Sabbath of the Lord AS the
sun sank that day into the bosom of the
prairie. fearful storm Of fire and blood
burst upon the defencele4sss settlers and
missionaries. Like the cyclone, it came
unheralded, and like that dread mon
ster of the prairies, 1t left devastation
and death in it's pathway. The Sioux
rose and. in their savage wrath, swept
the prairles of western Minnesota as with
a bosom of destruction. a thousand
settlers persisted; hundreds of happy
homes were made 'desoate. All the mis-
sions property was DESTROYED God
however, led all His missionaries and
their households in perfect safety, out
or the fiery furnace Of savage fury to
st. Pau: md Minneapolis. There was
not even the smell of fire upon their gar
ments. All else seemed lost beyond all
hopes or recovery. Then followed weeks
gave battle to their savage foes. The
Sioux were defeated large numbers fled
to the then uninha bited regions beyond
the Red River Of the North. Many Of
these found refuge under the British Tia :;
In Prince Rupert's land. Rut now oc.
CURED the strangest Tart Of this won-
drOusly strange story.
Three hundred Indian braves mainly
chiefs, were confined in prison pens at
Mankato. Mimi. While free on the
prairies these warriors had hated the
missionaries with all the intensity Of
their savage natures. They had bitterly
opposed every effort of the missionaries.
They had sco-nfully rejected the invita-
lions of the gospel. But now, in their
bonds, they were led to turn towards tn.
Great Deliverer. They desired to hea,.
'he gospel which they had formerly
srorned. They sent for the missionaries
to visit them in prison, and the mission
aries came with joy, and the Holy Spirit
came with them. The savage captives
welcomed these ministers of God and lis
tened eagerly to the glad t1dings of His
salvation. And all that long winter of
'62-3 there was in progress within the
rude walls of those terrible prison pens
at Mankato one of the most wonderful
Gevivals since the days of Pentecost. And
one bright May day, those three hundred
Indian captives were all baptized re-
II,
and organized into Presbyterian church
within the walls of the stockade, called
1.-The Church of the Scouts Three years
they were confined In prison at Daven-
port, Ia. Then they were released by
the government and returned to their ma
tive prairies. There they formed the
nucleus of other churches and Saba tn
schools, and so the Sioux became a ben
ediction rather than terror to their
neighbors on the prairies of the Dakotas
1.-The Church of the Scouts became the
mother of many other churches.
1t was in 1884. Fifty years had roll
ed away since the coming of the Pond
brothers to Fort Smelling. Twenty-one
years since the organization of the
Church of the Scouts. One bright Sep
TENDER day from the heights of Sisseton,
Dakota, strangely beautiful scene was
spread out before the eye. In the dis
lance the waters of Lake Traverse
(source of the Red River of the North,
and Big Stone lake (headwaters Of the
minnesota glistened i'm the bright sun
shine, their waters almost Communicating
ere they began their diverse journeyings,
The former to the Hudson bay the lat
ter to the Gulf Of Mexico. At our feet
were prairies rich as the garden of the
Lord. The spot was Iyakaptapte, ~that
is, The Ascension. Half way up was a
VI
grassy cove Round about on the hill
sides were white tepees. Dusky forms
We're passing to and fro and pressing
around the doors and windows. We de-
scended and found ourselves in the midst
of a throng of Sioux Indians. Instinc-
lively we asked ourselves: ''Why are
they gathered here? Is this one of their
old pagan festivals? or is it a council Of
war; We entered. The spacious house
was densely packed; we pressed our way
to the front. Hank, they are singing;
we could not catch the words, but the air
was familiar. It was Bishop Hebers
grand old hycn dn the Indian tongue.)
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From midas coral strand @s Il
E we breathed easier. This was no pagan
FESTIVAL, no savage council of war. It
was the grand annual conference of the
Dakota Indian Christians of the North.
west Thus they came together year by
year from Manitoba, Montana. the Dako-
fas and Nebraska, to take sweet counsel
together as brethren of the Lord Jesus
Christ The white moderator who talk
ed so glibly alternately in Sioux and Eng
Hsh, and smiled so sweetly in both Ian
EuageS at once, was Good Bird" one
of the first white babes born at Lac on:
Parle. John, one Of the chief white work
ers, as a boy had the site of Minneapolis
for a playground and little indian lads
for his playmates. That week we spent
at Iyakaptapte was series OF rich, rara
treats. We listened to the theological
class of young men, students Of, Santee
and Sisseton We watched the smiling
faces Of the women as they bowed in