Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-03-26
INDIAN settlement
ATTRACTS ATTENTION
Mission Work OF Lexington Parish
is Extended Into Amherst
County.
~ ROUGH MOUNTAIN REGION
Woman Missionary Has Organized
Work, Taught School, and Now
Large Congregations Gather From
Remote Places to Attend Services.

Few people would select the Diocese
or Southern Virginia as a field for In
dian mission work. yet recent num-
ner OF inc Bulletin. the diocesan paper,
tells remarkable story OF small
indian settlement i'm Amherst County
and OF the work the church is doing
within il.
~ appears mat IN part of licking
'oH parish IN that county, there is an
exceedingly mountainous tract, in
which there survive about 500 dos.
cendants Of the original inhabitants
How they should have remained after
all other Indians had removed n, ono
seems TO know. but probably the rocky
SOL ana isolated position OF their set
uenent protected them from the white
man VINO took possession OF more fer.
tile ground. In any event, these in
habitants have been treated as ont :
casts by the whites during many gen
erations. They are terribly poor. their
homes mostly log huts OF one room
iheN have been deprived of all oppor-
UNITY of learning to read or write.
have had no Christian training mill
recent years.
ABOUT scNc~ years ago, Rev. Arthur
Gray, Jr-, then Il student at the
virginia Seminary, became Interested
III the settlement, and by hard work
was able TO raise enough money to
build church building for the India n 9
With capacity for abou, zoo. II was
dlhlcult even 10 ind any one who
would sell the land for the purpose. so
great was the hostility felt by the
whites toward the Indians. The work
was begun. however. and the fostering
care of the rector Of Lexington parish.
Rev George T.. Zachary. has been
given 10 it,
WOMAN MISSIONARY.
HAS DONE MUCH WORK
about four years aco 2 woman
worker. Miss Packard. OF Alexandria,
established herself in a log cabin and
did work among tho people. After a
year Of this she was succeeded by
MISS Lucy EloNton, who continued the
Work, living tirst in q log cabin and
then IN two-room house that was
built for her through the interest OF
girls from Sweet Erar College For
three years Miss ijioXton lived alone
among those people, with only little
Indian girl with her in the hut She
receives some stipend from the county
az school-teachcr. since one but n
missionary will go TO a place so hone
less, and for the rest she is maintained
by the church. She keeps up 4 school
in which The Indian children arc fought
catechsm, as we'll as TO read and
write. There is a sunday school. which
about i23 men. women and children
regularly attend. The missionary
Rev Mr.. Zachary, goes TO them twice
month. when the CONGREGATIONS run
from 100 10 $50. These" he SAYS,
are immense congregations when one
considers tha; almost every enc has TO
walk from one to nine miles over
mountains and bad roads. They come
men, women. children and babies
and the service is entered. into heart
lily. They sing in earnest. and respond
eudibly and with good will" An
Indian girl eleven years old is the or
Garist. and does the work admirably.
Mr.. Zachary asks for assistance in
maintaining the work. we need" he
says. "all kinds and description Of
clothing for little children. boys and
girls. men and women This clothing
Is sold for nominal sum. in the reach
of every one. 1t is unwise 10 give
charity. The proceeds so to the work
Of the mission. We should like TO have
second hand schoolbooks for small
children" His address is Amherst. Va.