The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-08-28
In The LAND OF The VICWAM|
NOTES FROM THE
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, s. D.
WRITTEN BY REV. HENRY l..
WEsTRoPP, s. j., OF THE HOLY
ROSARY MISSION.

WEsTRoPP, s. j., OF THE HOLY
ROSARY MISSION.
When commissioners once came to
the great Indian chief, Sitting Bull,
about treaties which they were so pro-
fuse in making (and breaking), he is
said to have cried out: go back to
the Great Father and tell him to send
us out an honest man if he has one
and then we will listen to him. It
has been and is still, the redman' s
fate to be continually deceived. An
Indian can get square deal nowhere.
Does he enter store to buy anything,
prices rise like magic. Has he the
least amount of money coming to him,
there is at once a hungry white man
close by to relieve him of it.. Has he
anything to sell, the laws work in in
verse ratio and he puts up with the
lowest price that can possibly be made
agreeable to him, or should say, dis
agreeable. His ignorance of the Eng
lish tongue renders him perplexed In
anything that turns up and in conse-
quence he is easily worsted. There
is, however, one place where he hears
truth and where he knows that he is
hearing the truth and that is when he
comes to Catholic Church. The
past history of other churches are a
sealed book to him and he may swal-
low whatever is told him, but woe
when the cross examination comes
and the man is not backed up by
truth. When we see some big fiabby
looking Indian in an eastern show, we
imagine their perception is on a par
with their looks. The senses of the
Sioux are something bordering on the
miraculous for white man. Their
vision at great distances, as well
as their hearing, are almost incred-
ible. Their intellectual discernment in
many things is hardly less. Thus it
happened in the old days when their
great chiefs, Spotted Tail, Red Cloud
and others went down to Washington
to see the Great Father and he asked
them what missionaries they wanted,
CH0y T6pll6O, Ol one dCCOFu. lAS bldCh
Gown He, however, benignly sent
them something just as good" and
years passed before a Catnoilc priest
was alio"eu on Tue [eselNa.ion
When' however ne ola come ne was
received with open arms anu the poor
people returned 70 the church Oh liieil
preunectlon IN great hulnpefs' Lolis
1ad they waited, IKE simeon Oh olu
Ior the coming Oh the heueemer' anu
once regenera1ed IN the holy waters
OF baptism, they turned about and be-
came apostles among their trlpesmen
ms was the starting OF the mission
among the Oglala SIOUX tWenty-slH
years ago. me mission work mere ex
TENDS over ABOUT 5'OOO square miles
and over TINS enormous district are
scattered 1,VOO lnolans' nearly nan OF
Wnom oeiong 10 the" Catnollc Cnurcn
Iney are 1or the most part poor. 'lne
SOIL is the despair Oh the Whlte man
90 the lhulans are coopeu up On
reservation Wnere there Is no game
no nSh, no WORK. no industry no way
Oh making living.
,u., ~. ,.,., !. p
WY s'e 'N" 49,
Owing to difficulties of language
custom, relationship, not to say ignor
ance, they are unable to scatter out Ii
the states and make a living for them
selves. So the missionary has to lool
out not only for the safety of the In
dams soul but also of his body. If il
cities immense sums are spent in look
| ing after the interest of the helpless
why should not something like thai
be done out here? Over this vas
stretch. the number of old and HELM
| less is great. those without enough t.
eat still greater and the amount O
suuaIor incredible. What wonder TIL,
little babies die off SO fast when tn,
nursing mother has only tea to drinl
and perhaps nothing but Indian breat
and wild turnips to eat? Many of thu
old Indians, | am sure, are In a starv
ing condition. 1t is a pity at times t,
see some old lady of eighty or ninety
lying in an old shack on squalit
quilt or mattress, with hardly enough
to eat. And yet the poor folks seen
to think that this belongs to life AMI
% me - one If these ana osrad ber !
| should bring her Holy Communion
the next morning, she joyfully re
piled: That is the only thing tina
keeps me alive" When going owe
the reservation the missionary geneT
oIlv ivnc lilo on Indian oofinor fhoi