The Newtown bee., 1908-05-15
Bishop Frederick Foote Johnson of South Dakota.

} dering myself whether we might mol be wrong; and as we each shared the l others suspicion, we determined tt cut across and pick up the trail which , we had dropped.
 Well, have told you of our six , o'clock supper. We rested the mules , for an hour, and on we begged. I have
 sat out on these open stretches and 7 read ordinary book print at nine o'clock l at night. But that was in late June. ,, tRn early April dark gathers so that it lTs not difficult to get confused in trails , after eight o'clock. Our mules were , tired and we were weary. There was , nothing anywhere which could serve as , guide to either of us, for neither of us
 had passed that way before. had been
 once to the school; but on my previous visit l had approached it from the oth-
 CT Erection, by the thirty-fve mile
 drive from Valentine. We kept ask
 ing each other if it wasn't about time
 to arrive and before we got here we
 both were sure we ought to see the
 school lights. It was about nine when
 we climbed onto crested butte look
 ing down across wide-stretching val
 ley and caught sight of a light which 1
 was sure was at the Government school
 hard by our Mission Boarding school.
 It was like light ship on the sea. No
 need now of worrying over trails, only
 to keep our direction headed up into
 that light. and at 10 o'clock we were,
 at St Mary's. ,.-s
 Here l remained two days and nights,
 inspecting the work of the school, en-
 couraging the workers and getting ac-
 quainted again with the children.
 There are sixty Indian girls now at
 St Mary's. The principal is a splen-
 did man, refined and of polished edu-
 cation whose home before he came in-
 to our mission school work had been in
 New York City. His wife is from the
 suburbs of Boston. Strange conditions
 they are in compared with those of the
 eastern cities which they left behind.
 They are doing a splendid work which
 will last from generation to generation
 in the lives of our Indian people and
 they are much beloved for the good
 which they are doing. 7 E From the school l went for two days
 to an Indian cabin, the home of one of
 our native Sioux Indian clergy, and
 was with him two days. Indians do not
 yet live as the average of people on the
 NeWtOWn farms do. But they are do-
 ing the best they can and are gradual
 ly groping their way toward civiliza-
 tion. On Maundy Thursday and Good
 Friday l had services in the church
 among the Indian people. From many
 miles around they drove across the plains and camped near the church and the church was crowded at the serv-
 ices. All were red skins except five
 white teachers from St Mary's school.
 The service was in the Sioux language
 and my sermon was preached through
 an Indian interpreter.
 When l left the Indian cabin where l had been entertained for two days,
 the squaW gave me beautiful piece of work which she had made, long buckskin pouch such as the Indian men use for their long-stemmed pipes and for their tobacco. It was wonderfully decorated with colored beads and DOT cupine quills in all sorts of fanciful and characteristic Indian designs. The woman's husband, who talks English fairly well, told me that it was given to me as present because 1 had wis ited their home. He told me it was the first time bishop had slept beneath their roof and they wanted to mark the occasion by the gift of beadwork. l felt that l had been honored in very distinguished way. Indeed, had been, according to the etiquette of an Indian cabin.
 Shortly after noon of Good Friday, ]. with an Indian to drive me, I made the trip 35 miles to Nebraska where I got | a bed at a "hotel'' until five o'clock, Saturday morning. Getting train then, l travelled until nearly midnight Tn order to reach Sioux Falls for four services at the Cathedral on Easter Day.
 This that have written down hastily, | on the roac, is suggestion of some of the experiences which come into the work of Missionary Bishop in this great West. It is no unusual story. Many day my duties take me on a drive of more than 50 miles. AsI write, l recall trip of last June. 1 was bound for White Horse Camp on the Moreau river on Cheyenne River Reservation. A big three days en- campment of some of our Christian h. dians was there and I was asked to come. A journey of twelve hours by rail from Sioux Falls where I live, took me to town called Gettysburg, the nearest approach by rail to Chey- enne Reservation. I reached Gettys- burg at 3 in the morning and turned in for sleep until 6. Then I went out on- to the street and looked up a restaur- ant. No one was ready for business. 1 walked through into the kitchen which, as is usual in western restaur- ant, served as sleeping room also, and found the proprietor just rubbing open his eyes. told him wanted to fortify myself against long drive; and he said wait till he got dressed and he would fix me out. So he presently got himself into shape and gave me 1 of 'ham an'," which of course means ham and eggs; also some fried potatoes, slab of bread, daub of butter which looked like vas , cline and responded more readily to a spoon than to knife; also a cup of coffee, the kind which is popularly [ known hereabout as "Arbuckle's boot 1; leg." Such breakfast under such :,