The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-05-26
keokuk Woman Who Has Been Promi.
nent in the Missionary Work
i.. Among Sioux Indians in
~ West is No More.
MINISTER OF CHURCH
She Had Been Regularly Ordained in
the Congregational Church and
Was Prominent in Religious
Activities.

! The Rev. Miss Mary G. Collins,
missionary to the Dakota Indians lot
years and an ordained minister OIL
the CONGREGATIONAL church, died last
night at 11:15 o'clock at Graham nos
pital. where she has been Ill for
months. Miss Collins was an inter-
! esting figure in the western country
in it's early development Her work
among the Indians and for the red
i men has made her nationally known.
ITO the Indians to whom she brought
tspiritual comfort and a message OF
love and right living she was uni
| versally known as "Wenonah,
title that was bestowed upon her by
her charges lovingly and in full ap'
probation of the work she was dong
I for them.
! Miss Collins knew all Of the Indian
! chiefs of the early western territory,
and her conversion of many OF these
| children of the great forests has
been the topic on MAich she mas
talked Interestingly for years at ma
tional and international church gath
/ erings. Her work in the Dakota ter.
ritory would be her monument, but
it is not for this alone that she is
| remembered Kindly, upright ami
staunch in every tenet Of the falth
| in which she was ordained, MISS
| Collins everywhere carried the Cos
| pel of Christ and lived the gospel OF
| the Golden Rule in its fullest sense.
No one who has ever been priv
legged to hear her speak will ever
| forget the pictures that she mas
painted of the Indian and of the priv
| lege that was hers to bring Goa 10
| him. She has swayed more tnan one
; audience as she has told in SIMPLE
direct words how she passed one
whole night administering to the paoe
of an Indian chieftain, praying ana
working to save the little lie, ana
how, as the baby's soul was called
back to it's Maker, the father bowed
his head, and with none OF the
stoicism that has been credited TO
the red man, accepted the mandate
of the All Highest and later asked to
be baptised into the faith that was
Wenonah's.
Worked For Her Indians.
No less dramatic are the stories
that have been told, not by Miss Col
Inns. for she has been too modest 10
take the credit, but by others, or no"
she fought the fight Of the Indian 1or
his pasture lands and grazing fields
against the INSCRIPTIONS agents anu
settlers who would have given the
lands to squatters. And her fight to
! keep Buffalo Bill and General Miles
from taking some Of her Indians 10
Europe with Buffalo Bills wlld west
show is a familiar story to those VINO
have been privileged to hear MISS
| Collins. Something of her power
! her kindness, her ability, IS SHOWN
in the little incident that occurred IN
Keokuk just a few years ago: me
Buffalo Bill show was here, ana the
Indians in it were from Dakota. Ihey
heard that Wenonah was in the city,
and when she arrived at the grounds
they greeted her with pleasure ana
invited her to hold short service.
And there, back Of the tents, AFTER
the performance was over, Wenonah
stood and read to them out OF their
Bible and offered prayer for them.
Failing health and the removal or
some of the Indian tribes to other
places caused Miss Collins to give
up her active missionary work, ana
she came back to Keokuk few years
for the American Missionary assocla-
ton. under whose direction the work
among the Dakota Indians has been
carried out Within the last two
years, however, the most of her tlne
has been taken up at home.
To know Miss Collins was to re-
spect and love her. She was wo-
man of strong character, woman
who lived as she believed and taught,
and one whose service to humanity
and to her church can never be estl-
mated in anything but love and re-
snect and admiration of those whom
she helped. She was a woman OF
talent along many lines; her life was
an exemplification Of the Masters,
whose teachings she followed faith
fully Her reward should be His
words, We'll done, thou good and
faithful servant,
Born in Upper Alton, III.
Mary Clementine Collins, daughter
of Ephraim and Margaret Newis)
Collins, was born at Upper Alton,
ILL.,, April IS, 1916. She came with
her parents to Keokuk before she
was two years old and was educated
in public and private schools here.
! Miss Collins taught in, the old
Brighton Row school for two or three
wears, and there are several Of her
pupils who are living and who re-
member her with kindness.
She was a member of the First
Congregational church Of Keokuk
from an early age, and in October,
1875, went to Dakota territory as
missionary to the Sioux Indians, near
what is now the city of Pierre, from
! that church, under the auspices of
| the American board.
She worked in connection with the
Oahe mission, under Rev Thomas
Lawrence Riggs, until 1884, when she
went to the then unoccupied field
among Sitting Bulls people, of the