AMONG THE SIOUX

_A Story of The Twin Cities and The Two Dakotas_

_BY_

THE REV. R. J. CRESWELL

_Author of_ "WHO SLEW ALL THESE, " ETC. 

_Introduction by_

THE REV. DAVID R. BREED, D. D. 

1906

THE UNIVERSITY PRESSMINNEAPOLIS, MINN. 

_OUR PLATFORM_. 

For Indians we want American Education, American homes, Americanrights, --the result of which is American citizenship. And the Gospelis the power of God for their salvation!

_DEDICATION_. 

TO NELLIE, (MY WIFE)

Who, for forty years has been my faithful companion in the toils andtriumphs of missionary service for the Freedmen of the Old Southwestand the heroic pioneers of the New Northwest, this volume isaffectionately inscribed. 

By the Author, R. J. CRESWELL. 

_INTRODUCTION_

By the Rev. David R. Breed, D. D. 

The sketches which make up this little volume are of absorbinginterest, and are prepared by one who is abundantly qualified to do so. Mr. Creswell has had large personal acquaintance with many of those ofwhom he writes and has for years been a diligent student of missionaryeffort among the Sioux. His frequent contributions to the periodicalson this subject have received marked attention. Several of them hegathers together and reprints in this volume, so that while it is not aconsecutive history of the Sioux missions it furnishes an admirablesurvey of the labors of the heroic men and women who have spent theirlives in this cause, and furnishes even more interesting reading intheir biographies that might have been given upon the other plan. 

During my own ministry in Minnesota, from 1870 to 1885, I became veryintimate with the great leaders of whom Mr. Creswell writes. Some ofthem were often in my home, and I, in turn, have visited them. I amfamiliar with many of the scenes described in this book. I have heardfrom the missionaries' own lips the stories of their hardships, trialsand successes. I have listened to their account of the great massacre, while with the tears flowing down their cheeks they told of thedesperate cruelty of the savages, their defeat, their conversion, andtheir subsequent fidelity to the men and the cause they once opposed. Iam grateful to Mr. Creswell for putting these facts into permanentshape and bespeak for his volume a cordial reception, a widecirculation, and above all, the abundant blessing of God. 

DAVID R. BREED. 

Allegheny, Pa. , January, 1906. 

_PREFACE_. 

This volume is not sent forth as a full history of the Sioux Missions. That volume has not yet been written, and probably never will be. 

The pioneer missionaries were too busily engaged in the formation ofthe Dakota Dictionary and Grammar, in the translation of the Bibleinto that wild, barbaric tongue; in the preparation of hymn books andtext books:--in the creation of a literature for the Sioux Nation, tospend time in ordinary literary work. The present missionaries areoverwhelmed with the great work of ingathering and upbuilding thathas come to them so rapidly all over the widely extended Dakotaplains. These Sioux missionaries were and are men of deeds ratherthan of words, --more intent on the _making_ of history than the_recording_ of it. They are the noblest body of men and women thatever yet went forth to do service, for our Great King, on Americansoil. 

For twenty years it has been the writer's privilege to mingleintimately with these missionaries and with the Christian Sioux; to sitwith them at their great council fires; to talk with them in theirteepees; to visit them in their homes; to meet with them in theirChurch Courts; to inspect their schools; to worship with them in theirchurches; and to gather with them on the greensward under the matchlessDakota sky and celebrate together with them the sweet, sacramentalservice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. 

He was so filled and impressed by what he there saw and heard, that hefelt impelled to impart to others somewhat of the knowledge thusgained; in order that they may be stimulated to a deeper interest in, and devotion to the cause of missions on American soil. 

In the compilation of this work the author has drawn freely from thesepublications, viz. :

THE GOSPEL OF THE DAKOTAS, MARY AND I, _By Stephen R. Riggs, D. D. , LL. D. _

TWO VOLUNTEER MISSIONARIES, _By S. W. Pond, Jr. _

INDIAN BOYHOOD, _By Charles Eastman_

THE PAST MADE PRESENT, _By Rev. William Fiske Brown_

THE WORD CARRIER, _By Editor A. L. Riggs, D. D. _

THE MARTYRS OF WALHALLA, _By Charlotte O. Van Cleve_

THE LONG AGO, _By Charles H. Lee_

THE DAKOTA MISSION, _By Dr. L. P. Williamson and others_

DR. T. S. WILLIAMSON, _By Rev. R. McQuesten_

He makes this general acknowledgment, in lieu of repeated references, which would otherwise be necessary throughout the book. For valuableassistance in its preparation he is very grateful to many missionaries, especially to John P. Williamson, D. D. , of Grenwood, South Dakota; A. L. Riggs, D. D. Of Santee, Nebraska; Samuel W. Pond, Jr. , ofMinneapolis, and Mrs. Gideon H. Pond, of Oak Grove, Minnesota. Allthese were sharers in the stirring scenes recorded in these pages. Thenames Dakota and Sioux are used as synonyms and the Englishsignificance instead of the Indian cognomens. 

May the blessing of Him who dwelt in the Burning Bush, rest upon allthese toilers on the prairies of the new Northwest. 

R. J. CRESWELL. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota, January, 1906. 

PART I. 

_CONTENTS_

CHAPTER I. 

The Pond Brothers. --Great Revival. --Conversions. --Galena. --Rum-sellerDecision. --Westward. --Fort Snelling. --Man of-the-Sky. --Log Cabin. --Dr. Williamson. --Ripley. --Lane Seminary. --St. Peters Church. --Dr. Riggs. --New England Mary. --Lac-qui-Parle. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Lake-that-Speaks. --Indian Church. --Adobe Edifice. --FirstSchool. --Mission Home. --Encouragements. --Discouragements. --Kaposia. --NewTreaty. --Yellow Medicine. --Bitter Winter. --Hazlewood. --Traverse desSioux. --Robert Hopkins. --Marriage. --Death. --M. N. Adams, Oak Grove. --J. P. Williamson, D. D. 

CHAPTER III. 

Isolation. --Strenuous Life. --Formation of Dakota Language Dictionary. --Grammar. --Literature. --Bible Translation. --Massacre. --FleeingMissionaries. --Blood. --Anglo Saxons Triumph. --Loyal Indians. --Monument. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Prisoners in Chains. --Executions. --Pentecost in Prison. --Three HundredBaptisms. --Church Organized. --Sacramental Supper. --Prison Camp. --JohnP. Williamson. --One Hundred Converts. --Davenport. --Release. --Niobrara. --Pilgrim Church. 

CHAPTER V. 

1884--Iyakaptapte. --Council. --Discussions. --Anniversaries. --Sabbath. --Communion. --The Native Missionary Society. 

CHAPTER VI. 

1905--Sisseton. --John Baptiste Renville. --Presbytery of Dakota. 

AMONG THE SIOUX. 

PART ONE. 

SOWING AND REAPING. 

[Illustration: FORT SNELLING. ]

 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing Precious Seed, Shall doubtless come again With rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves. 

 _Psalm 126. _

Chapter I. 

 _Now appear the flow'rets fair_ _Beautiful beyond compare_ _And all nature seems to say, _ "_Welcome, welcome, blooming May. _"

It was 1834. A lovely day--the opening of the merry month of May!

The Warrior, a Mississippi steamer, glided out of Fever River, atGalena, Illinois, and turned its prow up the Mississippi. Itsdestination was the mouth of the St. Peters--now Minnesota River--fivehundred miles to the north--the port of entry to the then unknown landof the Upper Mississippi. 

The passengers formed a motley group; officers, soldiers, fur-traders, adventurers, and two young men from New England. These latter were twobrothers, Samuel William and Gideon Hollister Pond, from Washington, Connecticut. At this time, Samuel the elder of the two, was twenty-sixyears of age and in form, tall and very slender as he continued throughlife. Gideon, the younger and more robust brother was not quitetwenty-four, more than six feet in height, strong and active, aspecimen of well developed manhood. With their clear blue eyes, andtheir tall, fully developed forms, they must have attracted markedattention even among that band of brawny frontiersmen. 

In 1831 a gracious revival had occurred in their native village ofWashington. It was so marked in its character, and permanent in itsresults, that it formed an epoch in the history of that region and isstill spoken of as "the great revival". For months, during the busiestseason of the year, crowded sunrise prayer-meetings were held daily andwere well attended by an agricultural population, busily engaged everyday in the pressing toil of the harvest and the hayfields. Scores wereconverted and enrolled themselves as soldiers of the cross. 

Among these were the two Pond brothers. This was, in reality with them, the beginning of a new life. From this point in their lives, theinspiring motive, with both these brothers, was a spirit of intenseloyalty to their new Master and a burning love for the souls of theirfellowmen. Picked by the Holy Spirit out of more than one hundredconverts for special service for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Pondbrothers resolutely determined to choose a field of very hard service, one to which no others desired to go. In the search for such a field, Samuel the elder brother, journeyed from New Haven to Galena, Illinois, and spent the autumn and winter of 1833-34 in his explorations. Hevisited Chicago, then a struggling village of a few hundred inhabitantsand other embryo towns and cities. He also saw the Winnebago Indiansand the Pottawatomies, but he was not led to choose a field of laboramongst any of these. 

A strange Providence finally pointed the way to Mr. Pond. In hisefforts to reform a rumseller at Galena, he gained much informationconcerning the Sioux Indians, whose territory the rumseller hadtraversed on his way from the Red River country from which he had comequite recently. He represented the Sioux Indians as vile, degraded, ignorant, superstitious and wholly given up to evil. 

"There, " said the rumseller, "is a people for whose souls nobody cares. They are utterly destitute of moral and religious teachings. No effortshave ever been made by Protestants for their salvation. If you fellowsare looking, in earnest, for a _hard job_, there is one ready foryou to tackle on those bleak prairies. "

This man's description of the terrible condition of the Sioux Indiansin those times was fairly accurate. Those wild, roving and utterlyneglected Indians were proper subjects for Christian effort andpromised to furnish the opportunities for self-denying andself-sacrificing labors for which the brothers were seeking. 

Mr. Pond at once recognized this peculiar call as from God. Afterprayerful deliberation, Samuel determined to write to his brotherGideon, inviting the latter to join him early the following spring, andundertake with him an independent mission to the Sioux. 

He wrote to Gideon:--"I have finally found the field of service forwhich we have long been seeking. It lies in the regions round aboutFort Snelling. It is among the savage Sioux of those far northernplains. They are an ignorant, savage and degraded people. It is said tobe a very cold, dreary, storm-swept region. But we are not seeking asoft spot to rest in or easy service. So come on. "

Despite strong, almost bitter opposition from friends and kinsmen, Gideon accepted and began his preparations for life among the Indians, and in March, 1834, he bade farewell to his friends and kindred andbegan his journey westward. 

Early in April, he arrived at Galena, equipped for their strange, Heaven-inspired mission. He found his brother firmly fixed in hisresolution to carry out the plans already decided upon. In a few dayswe find them on the steamer's deck, moving steadily up the mightyfather of waters, towards their destination. "This _is_ a seriousundertaking, " remarked the younger brother as they steamed northward. And such it was. There was in it no element of attractiveness from ahuman view-point. 

They expected to go among roving tribes, to have no permanent abidingplace and to subsist as those wild and savage tribes subsisted. Theirplan was a simple and feasible one, as they proved by experience, butone which required large stores of faith and fortitude every step ofthe way. They knew, also, that outside of a narrow circle of personalfriends, none knew anything of this mission to the Sioux, or felt theslightest interest in its success or failure. But undismayed theypressed on. 

The scenery of the Upper Mississippi is still pleasing to those eyes, which behold it, clothed in its springtime robes of beauty. In 1834, this scenery shone forth in all the primeval glory of "nature unmarredby the hand of man. "

[Illustration: SAMUEL W. POND, 20 Years a Missionary to the Sioux. ]

[Illustration: GIDEON H. POND, For Twenty years Missionary to the Dakotas. ]

As the steamer Warrior moved steadily on its way up the Mississippi, the rich May verdure, through which they passed, appeared strikinglybeautiful to the two brothers, who then beheld it for the first time. It was a most delightful journey and ended on the sixth day of May, atthe dock at old Fort Snelling. 

This was then our extreme outpost of frontier civilization. It had beenestablished in 1819, as our front-guard against the British and Indiansof the Northwest. It was located on the high plateau, lying between theMississippi and the Minnesota (St. Peters) rivers, and it was then theonly important place within the limits of the present state ofMinnesota. 

While still on board the Warrior, the brothers received a visit and awarm welcome from the Rev. William T. Boutell, a missionary of theAmerican Board to the Ojibways at Leach Lake, Minnesota. He was greatlyrejoiced to meet "these dear brethren, who, from love to Christ and forthe poor red man, had come alone to this long-neglected field. "

A little later they stepped ashore, found themselves in savageenvironments and face to face with the grave problems they had come sofar to solve. They were men extremely well fitted, mentally andphysically, naturally and by training for the toils and privations ofthe life upon which they had now entered. Sent, not by man but by theLord; appointed, not by any human authority but by the great Jehovah;without salary or any prospects of worldly emoluments, unknown, unheralded, those humble but heroic men began, in dead earnest, theirgrand life-work. Their mission and commission was to conquer thatsavage tribe of fierce, prairie warriors, by the two-edged sword of thespirit of the living God and to mold them aright, by the power of theGospel of His Son. And God was with them as they took up their weapons(not carnal but spiritual) in this glorious warfare. 

They speedily found favor with the military authorities, and with oneof the most prominent chieftains of that time and region--Cloudman orMan-of-the-sky. 

The former gave them full authority to prosecute their mission amongthe Indians; the latter cordially invited them to establish theirresidence at his village on the shore of Lake Calhoun. 

The present site of Minneapolis was then simply a vast, wind-sweptprairie, uninhabited by white men. A single soldier on guard at the oldgovernment sawmill at St. Anthony Falls was the only representative ofthe Anglo-Saxons, where now dwell hundreds of thousands of white men ofvarious nationalities. 

Busy, bustling, beautiful Minneapolis, with its elegant homes; itscommodious churches; its great University--with its four thousandstudents--; its well-equipped schools--with their forty-two thousandpupils--; its great business blocks; its massive mills; its hummingfactories; its broad avenues; its pleasant parks; its population of aquarter of a million of souls; all this had not then even been as muchas dreamed of. 

Four miles west of St. Anthony Falls, lies Lake Calhoun, and a shortdistance to the south is Lake Harriet, (two most beautiful sheets ofwater, both within the present limits of Minneapolis). The interveningspace was covered by a grove of majestic oaks. 

Here, in 1834, was an Indian village of five hundred Sioux. Theirhabitations were teepees, made of tamarack bark or of skins of wildbeasts. Their burial ground covered a part of lovely Lakewood, thefavorite cemetery of the city of Minneapolis. This band recognizedCloudman or Man-of-the-sky as their chief, whom they both respected andloved. He was then about forty years of age. He was an intelligent man, of an amiable disposition and friendly to the approach of Civilization. Here, under the auspices of this famous chieftain, they erected forthemselves a snug, little home, near the junction of Thirty-fifthstreet and Irving Avenue South, Minneapolis. 

It was built of large oak logs. The dimensions were twelve feet bysixteen and eight feet high. Straight tamarack poles formed the timbersof the roof. The roof itself was the bark of trees, fastened withstrings of the inner bark of the basswood. 

A partition of small logs divided the house into two rooms. The ceilingwas of slabs from the old government sawmill at St. Anthony Falls. Thedoor was made of boards, split from a tree with an axe, and had woodenhinges and fastenings and was locked by pulling in the latch-string. The single window was the gift of the kind-hearted Major Taliaferro, the United States Indian agent at Fort Snelling. The cash cost of thewhole was one shilling, New York currency, for nails, used about thedoor. The formal opening was the reading of a portion of Scripture andprayer. The banquet consisted of mussels from the Lake, flour andwater. This cabin was the first house erected within the present limitsof Minneapolis; it was the home of the first citizen settlers ofMinnesota and was the first house used as a school-room and for divineworship in the state. It was a noble testimony to the faith, zeal andcourage of its builders. Here these consecrated brothers inauguratedtheir great work. In 1839 it was torn down for materials with which toconstruct breastworks for the defense of the Sioux, after the bloodybattle of Rum River, against their feudal foes, the Ojibways. Here amidsuch lovely natural surroundings were the very beginnings of thismighty enterprise. 

The first lesson was given early in May, by Samuel Pond to Big Thunderchieftain of the Kaposia band, whose teepees were scattered over thebluffs, where now stands the city of St. Paul. His chief soldier wasBig Iron. His son was Little Crow, who became famous or ratherinfamous, as the leader against the whites in the terrible tragedy of'62. Later in May the second lesson was taught by Gideon Pond tomembers of the Lake Calhoun band. Both lessons were in the useful andcivilizing art of plowing and were the first in that grand series oflessons, covering more than seventy years, and by which the Siouxnation have been lifted from savagery to civilization. 

While God was preparing the Pond brothers in the hill country ofConnecticut for their peculiar life-work, and opening up the way forthem to engage in it, He also had in training in the school of HisProvidences, in Massachusetts and Ohio, fitting helpers for them inthis great enterprise. In the early 30's, at Ripley, Ohio, Dr. ThomasS. Williamson and Mrs. Margaret Poage Williamson, a young husband andwife, were most happily located, in the practice of his profession andin the upbuilding of a happy Christian home. To this young couple thefuture seemed full of promise and permanent prosperity. Children wereborn to them; they were prosperous and an honorable name was beingsecured through the faithful discharge of the duties of his most nobleprofession and of Christian citizenship. They regarded themselves ashappily located for life. 

The mission call to Dr. And Mrs. Williamson was emphasized by themessenger of death. When the missionary call first came to them, theyexcused themselves on account of their children. God removed theseeming obstacles, one by one. The little ones were called to the armsof Jesus. "A great trial!" A great blessing also. The way was thuscleared from a life of luxury and ease in Ohio to one of great denialand self sacrifice on mission fields. The bereaved parents recognizedthis call as from God, and by faith, both father and mother wereenabled to say, "Here are we; send us. "

"This decision, " says an intimate friend, "neither of them after forone moment regretted; neither did they doubt that they were called ofGod to this great work, nor did they fear that their life-work wouldprove a failure. " With characteristic devotion and energy, Dr. Williamson put aside a lucrative practice, and at once, entered on acourse of preparation for his new work for which his previous life andtraining had already given him great fitness. 

In 1833, he put himself under the care of the Presbytery ofChillicothe, removed with his family to Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, andentered Lane Seminary. While the Pond brothers in their log cabin atLake Calhoun were studying the Sioux language, Dr. Williamson wascompleting his theological course on the banks of the beautiful river. He was ordained to the office of the gospel ministry in 1834. And inMay, 1835, he landed at Fort Snelling with another band ofmissionaries. He was accompanied by his quiet, lovely, faithful wife, Margaret, and one child, his wife's sister, Sarah Poage, afterwardsMrs. Gideon H. Pond, Mr. And Mrs. Alexander G. Huggins and twochildren. Mr. Huggins came as a teacher and farmer. During a stay of afew weeks here, Dr. Williamson presided at the organization of thefirst Protestant congregation in Minnesota, which was called thePresbyterian church of St. Peters. It consisted of officers, soldiers, fur-traders, and members of the mission families--twenty-one in all;seven of whom were received on confession of faith. It was organized atFort Snelling, June 11, 1835, and still exists as the FirstPresbyterian church of Minneapolis, with more than five hundred members. 

[Illustration: The Old Fort Snelling Church Developed. ]

[Illustration: AT LAKE MINNETONKA. ]

Early in July, Dr. Williamson pushed on in the face of gravedifficulties, two hundred miles to the west, to the shores ofLac-qui-Parle, the Lake-that-speaks. Here they were cordially welcomedby Joseph Renville, that famous Brois Brule trader, the half-breedchief who ruled that region for many years, by force of his superioreducation and native abilities, and who ever was a strong and faithfulfriend of the missionaries. He gave them a temporary home and washelpful in many ways. Well did the Lord repay him for his kindness toHis servants. His wife became the first full-blood Sioux convert to theChristian faith, and his youngest son, John Baptiste Renville, then alittle lad, became the first native Presbyterian minister, one of theacknowledged leaders of his people. 

June, 1837, another pair of noble ones joined the ranks of the workersby the Lakeside. These were the Rev. Stephen Return Riggs and his sweetNew England Mary, he was a native of the beautiful valley of the Ohio;she was born amid the green hills of Massachusetts. His father was aPresbyterian elder of Steubenville, Ohio; her mother was a daughter ofNew England. She herself was a pupil of the cultured and sainted MaryLyon of Mount Holyoke. 

They were indeed choice spirits, well-fitted by nature and by trainingfor a place in that heroic band, which God was then gathering togetheron the shores of Lakes Calhoun and Harriet and Lac-qui-Parle, for theconquest of the fiercest tribe of prairie warriors that ever roamedover the beautiful plains of the New Northwest. He was a scholar and alinguist; courageous, energetic, firm, diplomatic; she was cultured, gentle, tactful, and withal, both were intensely spiritual and deeplydevoted to the glorious work of soul-winning. Both had been trained asmissionaries, with China as a prospective field of service. Step bystep in the Providence of God, they were drawn together as lifecompanions and then turned from the Orient to the Western plains. 

During these years of beginnings, Dr. Williamson formed theacquaintance of Stephen R. Riggs, then a young man, which culminated ina life-long alliance of love and service. During his seminary course, Mr. Riggs received a letter from his missionary friend, to which heafterwards referred thus: "It seems to me now, strange that he shouldhave indicated in that letter the possible line of work open to me, which has been so closely followed. I remember especially theprominence he gave to the thought that the Bible should be translatedinto the language of the Dakotas. Men do sometimes yet write as theywere moved by the Holy Ghost. That letter decided my going westwardrather than to China. " It was a lovely day, the first of June, whenthis young bride and groom arrived at Fort Snelling. Though it wastheir honeymoon, they did not linger long in the romantic haunts ofMinnehaha and the Lakes; but pressed on to Lac-qui-Parle and joinedhands with the toilers there in their mighty work of laying foundationsbroad and deep in the wilderness, like the coral workers in the oceandepths, out of sight of man. 

What a glorious trio of mission family bands were then gathered onMinnesota's lovely plains, on the shores of those beautiful lakes!Pond, Williamson, Riggs. Names that will never be forgotten while aSioux Christian exists in earth or glory. 

[Illustration: A PARK DRIVE, LAKE CALHOUN. ]

[Illustration: SOLDIERS' HOME. ]

When the American Mission Hall of Fame shall be erected these threenames will shine out high upon the dome like "apples of gold inpictures of silver, " Pond, Williamson, Riggs. "And a book ofremembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lordand that thought upon his name. * * * And they shall be mine, saiththe Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels. "

Chapter II. 

In 1836, within one year from the arrival of Dr. Williamson and hismissionary party at Lac-qui-Parle, a church was organized, with sixnative members, which in 1837, consisted of seven Dakotas, besideshalf-breeds and whites, and, within five years, had enrolled forty-ninenative communicants. Of this congregation Alexander G. Huggins andJoseph Renville were the ruling elders. 

An adobe church edifice was erected in 1841, which for eighteen yearsmet the wants of this people. In its belfry was hung the first churchbell that ever rang out over the prairies of Minnesota, the sweet callto the worship of the Savior of the human race. The services of thechurch were usually held in the native language. The hymns were sung toFrench tunes, which were then the most popular. At the beginning, translations from the French of a portion of Scripture were read andsome explanatory remarks were made by Joseph Renville. 

The first school for teaching Indians to read and write in the Dakotalanguage, was opened in December, 1835, at Lac-qui-Parle, in a conicalDakota tent, twenty feet in height and the same in diameter. At firstthe men objected to being taught for various frivolous reasons, butthey were persuaded to make the effort. The school apparatus wasprimitive and mainly extemporized on the spot. Progress was slow; theattendance small and irregular, but in the course of three months, theywere able to write to each other on birch bark. Those who learned toread and write the language properly, soon became interested in thegospel. The first five men, who were gathered into the church, werepupils of this first school. Of the next twenty, three were pupils andfourteen were the kindred of its pupils. Among their descendants werethree Dakota pastors and many of the most faithful and fruitfulcommunicants. 

[Illustration: MINNEAPOLIS IN 1857. ]

One large log-house of five rooms, within the Renville stockade, furnished a home for the three mission families of Dr. Williamson, Rev. Stephen R. Riggs and Gideon H. Pond. One room was both church andschool room for years. Under this roof the missionaries met frequentlyfor conference, study and translation of the word of God. Here, September 30, 1844, the original Dakota Presbytery was organized. 

For several years most of the members of this congregation were women. Once in the new and then unfinished church edifice, more than onehundred Indian men were gathered. When urged to accept Christ andbecome members of this church, they replied that the church was made upof squaws. Did the missionaries suppose the braves would follow thelead of squaws? Ugh! Ugh!!

For the first seven years, at Lac-qui-Parle, mission work wasprosecuted, with marked success in spite of many grave hindrances. Butfor the four years following--1842-46--the work was seriously retarded. The crops failed and the savages charged their misfortunes to themissionaries. They became very ugly, and began a series of petty yetbitter persecutions against the Christian Indians and the missionaries. The children were forbidden to attend school; the women who favored thechurch had their blankets cut to pieces and were shut away from contactwith the mission. The cattle and horses of the mission were killed, andfor a season the Lord's work was stayed at Lac-qui-Parle. Discouraged, but not dismayed His servants were watchful for other opportunities ofhelpful service. 

In 1846, the site of the present, prosperous city of St. Paul, wasoccupied by a few shanties, owned by "certain lewd fellows of the basersort, " sellers of rum to the soldiers and the Indians. Nearby, scattered over the bluffs, were the teepees of Little Crow's band, forming the Sioux village of Kaposia. In 1846, Little Crow, theirbelligerent chieftain, was shot by his own brother, in a drunken revel. He survived the wound, but apparently alarmed at the influence of thesemodern harpies over himself and his people, he visited Fort Snellingand begged a missionary for his village. The United States agentstationed there forwarded this petition to Lac-qui-Parle with thesuggestion that Dr. Williamson be transferred to Kaposia. Theinvitation was accepted by the doctor, so in November, 1846, he becamea resident of Kaposia (now South St. Paul). To this new station, hecarried the same energy, hopefulness and devotion, he had shown at thebeginning. Here he remained six years, serving not only the Indians ofLittle Crow's band, but also doing great good to the white settlers, who were then gathering around the future Capital City of Minnesota. Here in 1848, he organized an Indian church of eight members. Itincreased to fifteen members, in 1851, when the Indians were removed. 

Then followed the treaty of 1851, which was of great import, both tothe white man and to the red man. By this treaty, the fertile valley ofthe Minnesota was thrown open for settlement to the whites. This tookaway from the Sioux their hunting-grounds, their cranberry marshes, their deer-parks and the graves of their ancestors. So the Dakotas ofthe Mississippi and lower Minnesota packed up their teepees, theirhousehold goods and gods, some in canoes, some on ponies, some on dogs, some on the women, and slowly and sadly took up their line of marchtowards the setting of the sun. 

No sooner did the Indians move than Dr. Williamson followed them andestablished a new station at Yellow Medicine, on the West bank of theMinnesota river and three miles above the mouth of the Yellow Medicineriver. The first winter there, was a fight for life. The house wasunfinished; a very severe winter set in unusually early, the snows weredeep and the drifts terrible; the supply-teams were snowed in; thehorses perished, the provisions were abandoned to the wolves and thedrivers reached home in a half-frozen condition. But God cared for Hisservants. In this emergency, the Rev. M. N. Adams, of Lac-qui-Parle, performed a most heroic act. In mid-winter, with the thermometer manydegrees below zero, he hauled flour and other provisions for themissionaries, on a hand sled, from Lac-qui-Parle to Yellow Medicine, adistance of thirty-two miles. The fish gathered in shoals, an unusualoccurrence, near the mission and both the Indians and the missionarieslived through that terrible winter. Here, an Indian church of seventeenmembers was organized by Dr. Williamson. It increased to a membershipof thirty in the next decade. 

In March, 1854, the mission houses at Lac-qui-Parle were destroyed byfire. A consolidation of the mission forces was soon after effected. Dr. Riggs and other helpers were transferred from Lac-qui-Parle to apoint two miles distant from Yellow Medicine and called Omehoo(Hazelwood). A comfortable mission home was erected. The nativeChristians removed from Lac-qui-Parle and re-established their homes atHazelwood. A boarding school was soon opened at this point by Rev. M. N. Adams. A neat chapel was also erected. A church of thirty memberswas organized by Mr. Riggs. It grew to a membership of forty-fivebefore the massacre. These were mainly from the the Lac-qui-Parlechurch which might be called the mother of all the Dakota churches. 

There were now gathered around the mission stations, quite a communityof young men, who had to a great extent, become civilized. Withcivilization came new wants--pantaloons and coats and hats. There waspower also in oxen and wagons and brick-houses. The white man's axe andplow and hoe had been introduced and the red man was learning to usethem. So the external civilization went on. 

But the great and prominent force was in the underlying education andespecially in the vitalizing and renewing power of Christian truth. Sofar as the inner life was changed, civilized habits became permanent;otherwise they were shadows. Evangelization was working outcivilization. It is doing its permanently blessed work even yet. 

About this time occurred the formation of the Hazelwood Republic. 

This was a band of Indians somewhat advanced in civilization, who wereorganized chiefly by the efforts of Dr. Riggs, under a writtenconstitution and by-laws. Their officers were a President, Secretaryand three judges, who were elected by a vote of the membership for aterm of two years each. Paul Maza-koo-ta-mane was the first presidentand served for two terms. This was an interesting experiment, in theseries of efforts, by the missionaries, to change this tribe of nomadsfrom their roving teepee life to that of permanent dwellers in fixedhabitations. The rude shock of savage warfare, which soon afterrevolutionized the whole Sioux nation, swept it away before itsefficiency could be properly tested. Surely it was a novelty--an Indianband, regulated by written laws and governed by officers, elected bythemselves for a term of years. It now exists only in the memory of theoldest of the tribesmen or the missionaries. 

In 1843, a new station was established at Traverse des Sioux (near St. Peter, Minnesota, ) by the Rev. Stephen R. Riggs. This station wasdoomed to a tragic history. July 15, 1843, Thomas Longley, the favoritebrother of Mrs. Mary Riggs, was suddenly swallowed up in thetreacherous waters of the Minnesota and laid to rest under what hissister was wont to call the "Oaks of weeping"--three dwarf oaks on asmall knoll. In 1844, Robert Hopkins and his young bride joined theworkers here. In 1851, July 4, Mr. Hopkins was suddenly swept away todeath by the fatal waves of the Minnesota and his recovered body waslaid to rest under the oaks where Thomas Longley had slept all alonefor seven years. Thus the mission at Traverse des Sioux was closed bythe messenger of death. It was continued, however, in the nearbyfrontier town of St. Peter, whose white settlers requested the Rev. M. N. Adams, one of the missionaries to the Sioux, to devote his time totheir spiritual needs. He complied and founded a white Presbyterianchurch and it is one of the strong Protestant organizations of SouthernMinnesota. 

In 1843, also the Pond brothers established a station at Oak Grove, twelve miles west of the Falls of St. Anthony. It was never abandoned. For many years it was the center of beneficent influences to both racesfor miles around. It developed into the white Presbyterian church ofOak Grove, which still stands as a monument to the many noble qualitiesof its founder, Rev. Gideon Hollister Pond. On the Sabbath scores ofhis descendants worship within its walls. The surrounding community iscomposed largely of Ponds and their kindred. 

In 1846, a mission was established at Red Wing by the Reverends J. F. Aiton and J. W. Hancock, and another in 1860, at Red Wood by Rev. JohnP. Williamson. 

In 1858, a church was organized at Red Wing with twelve members. Thiswas swept away by the outbreak in 1862. 

Dr. John P. Williamson, who was born in 1835, in one of the missioncabins on the shores of Lac-qui-Parle, who has spent his whole lifeamong the Sioux Indians, and who with a singleness of purpose, worthyof the apostle Paul, has devoted his whole life to their temporal andspiritual uplift, thus vividly sketches missionary life among the Siouxin his boyhood days: "My first serious impression of life was that Iwas living under a great weight of something, and as I began to discernmore clearly, I found this weight to be the all-surroundingoverwhelming presence of heathenism, and all the instincts of my birthand culture of a Christian home set me at antagonism to it at everypoint. 

"This feeling of disgust was often accompanied with fear. At times, violence stalked abroad unchallenged and dark lowering faces skulkedabout. Even when we felt no personal danger this incubus of savage lifeall around weighed on our hearts. Thus it was day and night. Even thosehours of twilight, which brood with sweet influences over so manylives, bore to us, on the evening air, the weird cadences of theheathen dance or the chill thrill of the war-whoop. 

Ours was a serious life. The earnestness of our parents in the pursuitof their work could not fail to impress in some degree the children. The main purpose of Christianizing that people was felt in everything. It was like garrison life in time of war. But this seriousness was notascetical or moroseful. Far from it. Those missionary heroes were fullof gladness. With all the disadvantages of such a childhood was therich privilege of understanding the meaning of cheerful earnestness inChristian life. "

[Illustration: REV. STEPHEN R. RIGGS, D. D. , LL. D. , Forty-five Years a Missionary to the Dakotas. ]

Chapter III. 

Thus for more than a quarter of a century, the glorious work ofconquering the Sioux nation for Christ went on. It was pushedvigorously at every mission station from Lac-qui-Parle to Red Wing andfrom Kaposia to Hazelwood. Great progress was made in these years. Andsuch a work!

The workers were buried out of sight of their fellow-white men. Lac-qui-Parle was more remote from Boston than Manilla is today. It took Stephen R. Riggs three months to pass with his New Englandbride from the green hills of her native state to Fort Snelling. Itwas a further journey of thirteen days over a trackless trail, through the wilderness, to their mission home on the shores of theLake-that-speaks. Even as late as 1843, it required a full month'stravel for the first bridal tour of Agnes Carson Johnson as Mrs. Robert Hopkins from the plains of Ohio to the prairies of Minnesota. It was no pleasure tour in Pullman palace cars, on palatial limitedtrains, swiftly speeding over highly polished rails from the far eastto the Falls of St. Anthony, in those days. It was a weary, wearypilgrimage of weeks by boat and stage, by private conveyance andoft-times on foot. One can make a tour of Europe today with greaterease and in less time than those isolated workers at Lac-qui-Parlecould revisit their old homes in Ohio and New England. 

Within their reach was no smithy and no mill until they built one;there was no post office within one hundred miles, and all supplies werecarried from Boston to New Orleans by sloops; then by steamboats almostthe whole length of the Mississippi; then the flatboat-men sweated andswore as they poled them up the Minnesota to the nearest landing-place;then they had to be hauled overland one hundred and twenty-five miles. These trips were ever attended with heavy toil, often with greatsuffering and sometimes with loss of life. 

Small was the support received from the Board. The entire income of themission, including government aid to the schools, was less than onethousand dollars a year. Upon this meager sum, three ordainedmissionaries, two teachers and farmers, and six women, with eight orten children were maintained. This also, covered travelling expenses, books and printing. 

The rude and varied dialects of the different bands of the savage Siouxhad been reduced to a written language. This was truly a giant task. Itrequired men who were fine linguists, very studious, patient, persistent, and capable of utilizing their knowledge under gravedifficulties. Such _were_ the Ponds, Dr. Williamson, Mr. Riggs andJoseph Renville by whom the great task was accomplished. It took monthsand years of patient, persistent, painstaking efforts; but it wasfinally accomplished. 

In 1852, the Dakota Dictionary and Grammar were published by theSmithsonian Institute at its expense. The dictionary contained sixteenthousand words and received the warm commendation of philologistsgenerally. The language itself is still growing and valuable additionsare being made to it year by year. 

Within a few years, a revised and greatly enlarged edition should be, and probably will be published for the benefit of the Sioux nation. 

The Word of God too, had been translated into this wild, barbarictongue. This was in truth a mighty undertaking. It involved on the partof the translators a knowledge of the French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew andSioux tongues and required many years of unremitting toil on the partof those, who wrought out its accomplishment in their humble log cabinson the shores of Lakes Calhoun and Lac-qui-Parle, and at Kaposia andTraverse des Sioux, Yellow Medicine and Hazelwood. 

But it, too, was completed and published in 1879, by the American BibleSociety. Hymn-books and textbooks had also been prepared and publishedin the new language. Books like the Pilgrims Progress had been issuedin it--a literature for a great nation had been created. Comfortablechurches and mission homes had been erected at the various missionstations. Out of the eight thousand Sioux Indians in Minnesota, morethan one hundred converts had been gathered into the church. Thefaithful missionaries, who had toiled so long, with but littleencouragement, now looked forward hopefully into the future. 

Apparently the time to favor their work had come. But suddenly alltheir pleasant anticipations vanished--all their high hopes wereblasted. 

It was August 17, 1862, a lovely Sabbath of the Lord. It wassacramental Sabbath at Hazelwood. As their custom was, thatcongregation of believers and Yellow Medicine came together tocommemorate their Lord's death. The house was well-filled and themissionaries have ever remembered that Sabbath as one of preciousinterest, for it was the last time they ever assembled in thatbeautiful little chapel. A great trial of their faith and patience wasbefore them and they knew it not. But the loving Saviour knew that boththe missionaries and the native Christians required just such a restwith Him before the terrible trials came upon them. 

As the sun sank that day into the bosom of the prairies, a fearfulstorm of fire and blood burst upon the defenseless settlers andmissionaries. Like the dread cyclone, it came, unheralded, and likethat much-to-be-dreaded monster of the prairies, it left desolation anddeath in its pathway. The Sioux arose against the whites and in theirsavage wrath swept the prairies of Western Minnesota as with a besom ofdestruction. One thousand settlers perished and hundreds of happy homeswere made desolate. The churches, school-houses and homes of themissionaries were laid in ashes. However, all the missionaries andtheir households escaped safely out of this fiery furnace of barbaricfury to St. Paul and Minneapolis. All else seemed lost beyond thepossibility of recovery. 

In dismay, the missionaries fled from the wreck of their churches andhomes. There were forty persons in that band of fugitives, missionariesand their friends, who spent a week of horrors--never-to-be-forgotten--intheir passage over the prairies to St. Paul and Minneapolis. By daythey were horrified by the marks of bloody cruelties along theirpathway--dead and mangled bodies, wrecked and abandoned homes. Atnight, they were terrified by the flames of burning homes and fears ofthe tomahawks and the scalping knives of their cruel foes. The nightswere full of fear and dread. Every voice was hushed except to givenecessary orders; every eye swept the hills and valleys around; everyear was intensely strained to catch the faintest noise, in momentaryexpectation of the unearthly war-whoop and of seeing dusky forms withgleaming tomahawks uplifted. In the moonlight mirage of the prairies, every taller clump of grass, every blacker hillock grew into a bloodthirsty Indian, just ready to leap upon them. But, by faith, they wereable to sing in holy confidence:

 "God is our refuge and our strength; In straits a present aid; Therefore although the hills remove We will not be afraid. "

And the God, in whom they trusted, fulfilled his promises to them andbrought them all, in safety, to the Twin Cities. And as they passed theboundary line of safety, every heart joined in the glad-song of praiseand thanksgiving, which went up to heaven. "Jehovah has triumphed, Hispeople are free, " seemed to ring through the air. 

Little Crow, the chieftain of the Kaposia Band was the acknowledgedleader of the Indian forces in this uprising. He was forty years ofage, possessed of considerable military ability; wise in council andbrave on the field of battle. He had wrought, in secret, with hisfellow-tribesmen, until he had succeeded in the formation of thegreatest combination of the Indians against the whites since the daysof Tecumseh and the Prophet in the Ohio country, fifty years before. Hehad under his control a large force of Indian warriors armed withWinchesters; and on the morning of the battle, he mustered on the hillsaround New Ulm, the largest body of Indian cavalry ever gatheredtogether in America. 

[Illustration: MINNEHAHA FALLS. ]

[Illustration: PERILS BY THE HEATHEN Missionaries fleeing from Indian massacre in 1862. 

Thursday morning of that terrible week, after an all-night's rain, found them all cold, wet through and utterly destitute of cooked foodand fuel. That noon they came to a clump of trees and camped down onthe wet prairies for the rest of the day. They killed a stray cow andmade some bread out of flour, salt and water. An artist, one of thecompany, took the pictures here given. ]

The whites arose in their might and, under the leadership of thatgallant general, Henry H. Sibley, gave battle to their savage foes. Then followed weeks of fierce and bloody warfare. It was no child'splay. On the one side were arrayed the fierce warriors of the Siouxnation, fighting for their ancestral homes, their ancient huntinggrounds, their deer-parks and the graves of their ancestors. "We_must_ drive the white man east of the Mississippi, " was thedeclaration of Little Crow, and he added the savage boast; "We willestablish our winter-quarters in St. Paul and Minneapolis. " Overagainst them, were the brave pioneers of Minnesota, battling for theexistence of their beloved state, for their homes, and for the livesand honor of their wives and daughters. The thrilling history of thesiege of New Ulm, of the battle of Birch Coullie, of Fort Ridgely andFort Abercrombie, and of other scenes of conflict is written in themingled blood of the white man, and of the red man on the beautifulplains of western Minnesota. The inevitable result ensued. The Siouxwere defeated, large numbers were slain in battle or captured, and indespair, the others fled to the then uninhabited regions beyond the RedRiver of the North. Many of these found refuge under the British flagin Prince Rupert's Land (now Manitoba). 

One of the redeeming features in this terrible tragedy of '62, was theunflinching loyalty of the Christian Sioux to the cause of peace. Theystood firmly together against the war-party and for the whites. Theyabandoned their homes and pitched their teepees closely together. Thisbecame the rallying point for all who were opposed to the outbreak. They called it Camp Hope, which was changed after the flight of LittleCrow's savage band to Camp Lookout. Two days later, when GeneralSibley's victorious troops arrived, it was named Camp Release. Then itwas that the captives, more than three hundred in number were released, chiefly through the efforts of the Christianized Indians. 

In 1902, at the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the battleof New Ulm, by invitation of the citizens, a band of Sioux Indianspitched their teepees in the public square and participated in theexercises of the occasion. This was a striking illustration of theamity now existing between the two races upon the very ground, wheretheir immediate ancestors so eagerly sought each other's life-blood, inthe recent past. Here on the morn of battle, on the surrounding hills, in the long ago, Little Crow had marshalled his fierce warriors, whorushed eagerly in savage glee, again and again, to the determinedassault, only to be driven back, by the brave Anglo-Saxon defenders. Tablets, scattered here and there over the plains, in the valley of theMinnesota River, tell the story of the Sioux nation, in the newNorthwest. 

John Baptiste Renville, a licentiate of the Presbyterian church, andwho later was a famous preacher of great power among his own people, remained inside of the Indian lines, and was a powerful factor incausing the counter revolution which hastened the overthrow of therebellion, and the deliverance of the white captives. Elder Peter BigFire turned the war party from the trail of the fleeing missionariesand their friends, thus saving two-score lives. One Indian alone, JohnOther-Day, saved the lives of sixty-two whites. One elder of thechurch, Simon Anakwangnanne, restored a captive white woman and threechildren. And still another, Paul Mintakutemanne, rescued a white womanand several children and a whole family of half-breeds. These truly"good Indians" saved the lives of more than their own number ofwhites, --probably two hundred souls in all. 

In token of her appreciation of these invaluable services, Minnesotahas caused a monument to be erected in honor of these real braves, onthe very plains, then swept by the Sioux with fire and blood, in theirsavage wrath. 

It is located on the battlefield of Birch Coullie, near Morton inRenville County. The cenotaph is built entirely of native stone ofdifferent varieties. It rises to the height of fifty-eight feet abovethe beautiful prairies by which it is surrounded. It bears thisappropriate inscription

 HUMANITY. 

 Erected A. D. 1899, by the Minnesota Valley Historical Society to commemorate the brave, faithful and humane conduct of the loyal Indians who saved the lives of white people and were true to their obligations throughout the Sioux war in Minnesota in 1862, and especially to honor the services of those here named:

 Other Day--Ampatutoricna. Paul--Mintakutemanne. Lorenzo Lawrence--Towanctaton. Simon--Anakwangnanne. Mary Crooks--Mankahta Heita-win. 

Chapter IV. 

"Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to theirwindows?"--_Isaiah 60:8. _

But now occurred the strangest phase of this wondrously strange story. In November, 1862, four hundred defeated Indian warriors, many of themleaders of their people, were confined in prison-pens at Mankato, Minnesota. While free on the prairies, these wild warriors had bitterlyhated the missionaries with all the intensity of their savage natures. They had vigorously opposed every effort of the missionaries in theirbehalf. They had scornfully rejected the invitations of the Gospel. Butnow in their claims, they earnestly desired to hear the glad tidingsthey had formerly scorned. They sent for the missionaries to visit themin prison and the missionaries responded with eager joy. And the HolySpirit accompanied them. Thirty-eight of the prisoners were under thedeath-sentence and were executed in December. 

"I remember, " said Dr. Williamson, "feeling a great desire to preach tothem, mingled with a kind of terror partly from a sense of graveresponsibility in speaking to so many whose probation was so nearlyclosed, and partly from a sense of fear of hearing them say to me "Gohome; when we were free we would not hear you preach to us; why do youcome here to torment us when we are in chains and cannot go away. " Itwas a great relief to find them listening intently to all I had tosay. "

The prisoners were supplied with Bibles and other books, and for atime, the prison became a school. They were all eager to learn. Themore their minds were directed to God and His Word, the more theybecame interested in secular studies. 

Very soon the Indians of their own accord began holding meetings everymorning and evening in which they sang and spoke and prayed. In a shorttime, there were ninety converts that would lead in public prayer. Ofthose who were executed, thirty were baptized. Standing in a foot ofsnow, manacled two and two, they frequently gathered to sing and prayand listen to the words of eternal life. Of this work, the Rev. GideonH. Pond wrote at the time; "There is a degree of religious interestmanifested by them, which is incredible. They huddle themselvestogether every morning and evening, read the scriptures, sing hymns, confess one to another and pray together. They declare they have lefttheir superstitions forever, and that they do and will embrace thereligion of Jesus. "

In March, Mr. Pond visited Mankato again and spent two Sabbaths withthe men in prison, establishing them in their new faith. Before hisdeparture, he administered the Lord's supper, to these new converts. And again the Mankato prison-pens witnessed a strange and wondrousscene. Three hundred embittered, defeated Indian warriors, manacled, fettered with balls and chains, --but clothed and in their rightminds, --were sitting in groups upon the wintry grounds reverentlyobserving the Lord's supper. Elders Robert Hopkins, Peter Big-Fire andDavid Grey Cloud officiated with reverence and dignity. The wholemovement was marvelous! It was like a "nation born in a day. " And aftermany years of severe testing, all who know the facts, testify that itwas a genuine work of God's Holy Spirit. The massacre and thesubsequent events destroyed the power of the Priests of Devils, whichhad previously ruled and ruined these wretches' tribes. Theythemselves, exploded the dynamite under the throne of Paganism andshattered it to fragments forever. 

In 1863, these Indians were transferred to Davenport, Iowa, where theywere confined in prison for three years. In 1866 they were released bythe government and returned to their native prairies, where they thenbecame the nuclei of other churches, other Sabbath schools and otherchurch organizations; and so these formerly savage Sioux became abenediction rather than a terror to their neighbors on the plains ofthe Dakotas. The church of the prison-pen became the prolific mother ofchurches. 

While these events were transpiring in the prison-pen at Mankato, asimilar work of grace was also in progress in the prison camp at FortSnelling, where fifteen hundred men, women and children, mainly thefamilies of the Mankato prisoners, were confined under guard. Theconditions, in both places, were very similar. In the camp as well asin the prison, they were in grave troubles and great anxieties. Intheir distresses they called mightily upon the Lord. Here John, theBeloved (John P. Williamson D. D. ) ministered to their temporal andspiritual wants. The Lord heard and answered their burning andagonizing cries. By gradual steps, but with overwhelming power came theheavenly visitation. Many were convicted; confessions and professionswere made; idols reverenced for many generations were thrown away bythe score. More than one hundred and twenty were baptized and organizedinto a Presbyterian church, which, after years of bitter wandering, wasunited with the church of the Prison Pen and formed the largecongregation of the Pilgrim church. 

Thus all that winter long, '62-3, there was in progress within the rudewalls of those terrible prison-pens at Mankato, one of the mostwonderful revivals since the day of Pentecost. And in February, '63, Dr. Williamson and Rev. Gideon H. Pond spent a week in special servicesamongst them. 

The most careful examinations possible were made into their individualspiritual condition and the most faithful instruction given them as totheir Christian duties; then those Indian warriors were all baptized, received into the communion of the church and organized into aPresbyterian church within the walls of the stockade; _three hundredin a day_! Truly impressive was

THE BAPTISMAL SCENE. 

The conditions of baptism were made very plain to the prisoners and itwas offered to only such as were willing to comply fully with thoseconditions. All were forbidden to receive the rite, who did not do itheartily to the God of Heaven, whose eye penetrated each of theirhearts. All, by an apparently hearty response, indicated their desireto receive the rite on the proffered conditions. As soon as thearrangements were completed, they came forward one by one, as theirnames were called and were baptized into the name of the Father, Sonand Holy Spirit, while each subject stood with the right hand raisedand head bowed and many of them with their eyes closed with anappearance of profound reverence. As each came forward to be baptizedone of the ministers addressed to him in a low voice a few appropriatewords. This was the substance of these personal addresses. "My brother, this is a mark of God, which is placed upon you. You will carry it withyou while you live. It introduces you into the great family of God wholooks down from heaven, not upon your head but into your heart. Thisends your superstition, and from this time you are to call God yourFather. Remember to honor Him. Be resolved to do His will. " Each oneresponded heartily, "Yes, I will. "

Gideon H. Pond then addressed them collectively. 

"Hitherto I have addressed you as friends; now I call you brethren. Foryears we have contended together on this subject of religion; now ourcontentions cease. We have one Father, we are one family. I shall soonleave you and shall probably see your faces no more in this world. Youradherence to the medicine sack and the Natawe (consecrated war weapons)have brought you to your ruin. The Lord Jesus Christ can save you. Seekhim with all your heart. He looks not upon your heads nor on your lipsbut into your bosoms. Brothers, I will make use of a term of brotherlysalutation, to which you have been accustomed to your medicine dancesand say to you: "'Brethren I spread my hands over you and bless you. '""Three hundred voices responded heartily, "'Amen, yea and Amen. '"

Chapter V. 

It was 1884. Fifty years since the coming of the Pond brothers to FortSnelling--twenty-one years since the organization of the church in theprison-pen at Mankato. One bright September day, from the heights ofSisseton, South Dakota, a strangely beautiful scene was spread outbefore the eye. In the distance the waters of Lake Traverse (source ofthe Red River of the North), and Big Stone Lake (head waters of theMinnesota), glistened in the bright sunshine, their waters almostcommingling ere they began their diverse journeyings--the former toHudson's Bay, the latter to the Gulf of Mexico. At our feet wereprairies rich as the garden of the Lord. The spot was Iyakaptapte, thatis the Ascension. Half-way up was a large wooden building, nestling ina grassy cove. Round about on the hillsides were white teepees. Duskyforms were passing to and fro and pressing round the doors and windows. We descended and found ourselves in the midst of a throng of SiouxIndians. Instinctively we asked ourselves, Why are they here? Is thisone of their old pagan festivals? Or is it a council of war? Weentered. The spacious house was densely packed; we pressed our way tothe front. Hark! They are singing. We could not understand the words, but the air was familiar. It was Bishop Heber's hymn (in the Indiantongue):

 "From Greenlands icy mountains, From India's coral strand. * * * Salvation! O Salvation! The joyful sound proclaim, Till each remotest nation Has learned Messiah's Name. Waft, waft, ye winds, His story, And you, ye waters, roll, Till like a sea of glory It spreads from pole to pole. "

With what joyful emphasis, this strange congregation sang these words. 

We breathed easier. This was no pagan festival, no savage council ofwar. It was the fifteenth grand annual council of the Dakota ChristianIndians of the Northwest. 

The singing was no weaklunged performance--not altogether harmonious, but vastly sweeter than a war-whoop; certainly hearty and sincere anddoubtless an acceptable offering of praise. The Rev. John BaptisteRenville was the preacher. His theme was Ezekiel's vision of the Valleyof Dry Bones. We did not knew how he handled his subject. But the readyutterance, the sweet flow of words, the simple earnestness of thespeaker and the fixed attention of the audience marked it as a completesuccess. When the sermon was finished, there was another loud-voicedhymn and then the Council of Days was declared duly opened. 

Thus they gather themselves together, year by year to take counsel inreference to the things of the kingdom. The Indian moderator, ArtemasEhnamane, the Santee pastor, was a famous paddle-man, a mighty hunterand the son of a great conjuror and war-prophet, but withal a tender, faithful, spiritual pastor of his people. Rev. Alfred L. Riggs, D. D. , the white moderator, who talked so glibly alternately in Sioux andEnglish and smiled so sweetly in both languages at once, was "GoodBird, " one of the first white babes born at Lac-qui-Parle. John, TheBeloved, one of the chief white workers, as a boy had the site ofMinneapolis and St. Paul for a play-ground, and the little Indian ladsfor his playmates. That week we spent at Iyakaptapte was a series ofrich, rare treats. We listened to the theological class of young men, students of Santee and Sisseton. We watched the smiling faces of thewomen as they bowed in prayer, and brought their offerings to themissionary meetings. Such wondrous liberality those dark-faced sistersdisplayed. We marked with wonder the intense interest manifested hourby hour by all classes in the sermons, addresses, and especially in thediscussion: "How shall we build up the church?" Elder David Grey Cloudsaid, "We must care for the church if we would make it effective. Wemust care for all we gather into the church. " The Rev. James Red-Wingadded, "The work of the church is heavy. When a Red River cart sticksin the mud we call all the help we can and together we lift it out; wemust all lift the heavy load of the church. " The Rev. David Grey Cloudclosed with: "We must cast out all enmity, have love for one anotherand then we shall be strong. "

"Does the keeping of Dakota customs benefit or injure the DakotaPeople?"

Deacon Boy-that-walks-on-the-water responded emphatically. "The ancientDakota customs are all bad. There is no good in them. They are all sin, all sorrow. All medicine men are frauds. Jesus is the only one to holdto. " Rev. Little-Iron-Thunder said "When I was a boy I was taught thesacred dances and all the mysteries; to shoot with the bag; to hold thesacred shell. To gain a name, the Dakotas will suffer hunger, cold, even death. But all this is a cheat. It will not give life to thepeople. Only one name will give life, --even Jesus. " Rev. DanielRenville declared: "Faith is the thing our people need; not faith ineverything, but faith in Christ; not for hope of reward. "

There were evening gatherings in the interest of the Young Men'sChristian Associations and the Young People's Christian EndeavorSocieties. These are two of the most hopeful features of the work. Withthe young men and maidens of the tribe in careful training in Christianknowledge and for Christian service, there must be far-reaching andpermanent beneficent results. 

Sabbath came! A glorious day! A fitting crown of glory for a week ofsuch rare surprises. A strange chanting voice, like that of a heraldmingled with our day-break dreams. Had we been among the Moslems, weshould have thought it the muezzin's cry. It was all Indian to us, butit was indeed a call to prayer with this translation in English:--

"Morning is coming! Morning is coming! Wake up! Wake up! Come to sing!Come to pray. "

Very soon, the sweet music of prayer and praise from the white teepeeson the hillside, rose sweetly on the air, telling us that the day oftheir glad solemnities had begun. The great congregation assembled inthe open air. Pastor Renville, who as a little lad played at the feetof the translators of the Bible into the Sioux language, and who as ayoung man organized a counter revolution among the Christian Indians infavor of the government in the terrible days of '62, presided withdignity, baptizing a little babe and receiving several recent convertsinto the church. A man of rare powers and sweet temperament is the Rev. John Baptiste Renville, youngest son of the famous Joseph Renville. Awonderfully strange gathering is this. Hundreds of Indians seated insemi-circles on the grass, reverently observing the Lord's Supper. Probably one-third of the males in that assemblage were participants inthe bloody wars of the Sioux nation. The sermon was delivered bySolomon His-Own-Grandfather, who had taken an active part in the war of1862, but was now a missionary among his own people in Manitoba. Thebread was broken by Artemas Ehnamane ("Walking Along"), who wascondemned and pardoned, and then converted after that appalling tragedyin 1862. The wine was poured by the man whom all the Sioux lovinglycall John (Dr. John P. Williamson) who led them in the burning revivalscenes in the prison-camp at Fort Snelling in 1863. And as he referredto those thrilling times, their tears flowed like rain. It is said thatIndians cannot weep, but scores of them wept that day at Ascension. Oneof the officiating elders was a son of the notorious chieftain LittleCrow, who was so prominent against the Anglo-Saxons in those days ofcarnage. As we partook of those visible symbols of our Saviour's brokenbody, and shed blood, with this peculiar congregation, so recentlyaccustomed to the war-whoop and the scalp-dance, we freely mingled ourtears with theirs. And as our minds ranged over the vast Dakota fieldand as we remembered the thousands of Christian Sioux, their Presbyteryand their Association, their scores of churches and their many SabbathSchools, their Y. M. C. A. And their Y. P. S. C. E. Associations, theirmissionary societies and other beneficent organizations, their farmsand homes, their present pure, happy condition, and contrasted it withtheir former superstition, nakedness and filthy teepee life, we sangjoyfully;

 Behold! What wondrous works Have, by the Lord, been wrought; Behold! What precious souls Have, by His blood, been bought. 

As the shades of evening drew on, the different bands held theirfarewell meetings in their teepees. There were sounds of sweetmusic--joyous ones--echoing and re-echoing over the prairies--"Heleadeth me, Oh precious thought, " "Nearer, my God to thee, " "BlessedAssurance, Jesus hath given"--until the whole was blended in one grandrefrain:--

 "Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of Christian minds Is like to that above. "

The Council Tent was in darkness! The lights were out in the teepees. The whole camp was wrapped in solid slumber. And as we sunk to rest inour bed of new-mown hay, we breathed a prayer for the slumbering Siouxaround us; May the Cloud, by day, and the Pillar of Fire, by night, guide the Sioux Nation through the Red Sea of Savagery, superstitionand sin to the Promised Land of Christian Civilization. 

The Native Missionary Society. 

It is well worth a journey to the land of the Dakotas to witness ananniversary gathering of their Woman's Missionary Society. You enterthe great Council Tent. It is thronged with these nut-brown women ofthe plains. A matronly woman welcomes you, and presides with grace anddignity. A bright and beautiful young maiden--a graduate of Santee orGood Will--controls the organ and sweetly leads the service of song. And oh how they do sing! You cannot understand the words, but the airsare familiar. Now it is Bishop Coxe's "Latter Day" sung with vim in theIndian tongue;

 "We are living, we are dwelling, In a grand and awful time; In an age on ages telling, To be living is sublime. "

And now some sedate matron rises and reads a carefully written paper, contrasting their past, vile teepee life of ignoble servitude to Satan, with their present, pure life of glorious liberty in the Lord JesusChrist. And then they sing, so earnestly for they are thinking of theirpagan sisters of the wild tribes, sitting in darkness and the shadow ofdeath, in the regions beyond. The hymn is Draper's "Missionary Chant. "

 "Ye Christian heralds, go proclaim Salvation through Emmanuel's name; To distant lands the tidings bear And plant the Rose of Sharon there. "

And now a lively young lass, neatly attired, comes forward and with afine, clear accent, recites a poem of hope, touching the bright futureof their tribe, when the present generation of young men and maidens, nourished in Christian homes, educated in Christian schools and trainedin the Young People's societies for efficient service, shall controltheir tribe, and move the great masses of their people upward andGod-ward, and elevate the Sioux Nation to a lofty plane of Christiancivilization and culture; and enable them to display to the world therich fruition of Christian service. And, by request, their voices ringout in song these thrilling words;

 "Watchman, tell us of the night, For the morning seems to dawn; Traveller, darkness takes its flight, Doubt and terror are withdrawn. Watchman, let thy wanderings cease; Hie thee, to thy quiet home; Traveller, lo, the Prince of Peace, Lo, the Son of God is come!"

Fervent prayers are frequently interspersed in these exercises. And oh, what wondrous liberality these dark-skinned sisters of the Dakotaplains display!

How full their hands are with rich gifts, gleaned out of their povertyfor the treasury of their Saviour-King. For many years, the averageannual contributions per capita to missions, by these Sioux sisters, have fully measured up to the standard of their more highly favoredAnglo-Saxon sisters of the wealthy Presbyterian and Congregationaldenominations, of which they form a humble part. 

Chapter VI. 

It was 1905. From the heights of Sisseton, South Dakota, anotherstriking scene met the eye. The great triangular Sisseton reserve ofone million acres no longer exists. Three hundred thousand of itschoicest acres are now held in severalty by the fifteen hundred membersof the Sisseton and Wahpeton Band of the Dakotas--the "Leaf Dwellers"of the plains. Their homes, their schools, their churches cover theprairies. That spire pointing heavenward rises from Good Will Church, acommodious, well-furnished edifice, with windows of stained glass. Within its walls, there worship on the Sabbath, scores of duskyPresbyterian Christians. The pastor, the Rev. Charles Crawford, inwhose veins there flows the mingled blood of the shrewd Scotch furtrader and the savage Sioux, lives in that comfortable farm house a fewrods distant. He has a pastorate that many a white minister mightcovet. Miles to the west, still stands in its grassy cove on thecoteaux of the prairie, the Church of the Ascension, referring not tothe ascension of our Lord, but to "the going up" of the prairies. Onthe hill above it, is the cozy home of the pastor emeritus, the Rev. John Baptiste Renville, whose pastorate, in point of continuousservice, has been the longest in the two Dakotas. After a long lifetimeof faithful ministrations to the people of his own charge, enfeebled byage and disease, he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, Dec. 19, 1904. Doubtless his is a starry crown, richly gemmed, in token of themultitude of the souls of his fellow tribesmen, led to the Savior byhis tender, faithful ministry of a life-time in their midst. Roundabout these two churches cluster half a dozen other congregations, worshipping in comfortable church homes. These form only a part of the

PRESBYTERY OF DAKOTA. 

The original Presbytery of Dakota was organized September 30, 1844, atthe mission Home of Dr. Williamson, at Lac-qui-Parle, Minnesota. It wasorganized, by the missionaries, among the Dakotas, for the furtheranceof their peculiar work. The charter members were three ministers, theRev. Samuel W. Pond, Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D. , and Rev. StephenR. Riggs and one elder Alexander G. Huggins. It was an independentpresbytery, and, for fourteen years, was not connected with any Synod. It was a lone presbytery, in a vast region, now covered by a dozenSynods and scores of presbyteries. For many years, the white and Indianchurches that were organized in Minnesota, were united in thispresbytery and wrought harmoniously together. In 1858, the GeneralAssembly of Presbyterian churches (N. S. ) invited this independentpresbytery to unite with her two Minnesota Presbyteries and form theSynod of Minnesota which was accomplished. 

Solely on account of the barrier of the language, the missionaries andchurches among the Dakotas, petitioned the Synod of Minnesota toorganize them into a separate presbytery. And the Synod so ordered andit was so done, September 30, 1867, just twenty-three years after thefirst organization at Lac-qui-Parle. By this order, the limits of thePresbytery of Dakota became the churches and ministers among the DakotaIndians. It is the only Presbytery in existence, without anygeographical boundaries. At present, there are seventeen ordainedIndian ministers upon the roll of this presbytery--workmen of whomneither they themselves nor any others have any cause to be ashamed. There are, also, under its care, twenty-eight well-organized churches, aggregating more than fifteen hundred communicants, and eight hundredSabbath-School members. The contributions of these fifteen hundredDakota Presbyterians in 1904, exceeded the sum of six thousand dollarsfor all religious purposes. 

Among the "Dispersed" of the Sioux nation, in Manitoba, there is oneorganized Presbyterian church of twenty-five communicant members. It isthe church of Beulah and is in connection with the Presbyterian churchof Canada. 

In all, twenty-one Sioux Indians have been ordained to the Presbyterianministry, by the Presbytery of Dakota. Of these, Artemas Ehnamane, Titus Icaduze, Joseph Iron Door, and John Baptiste Renville have allpassed on, from the beautiful prairies of the Dakotas, to the celestialplains of glory. And how warm must have been their greeting as theypassed through the pearly gates of the city, whose builder and maker isGod. Gideon Pond, Dr. Williamson, Samuel W. Pond, Stephen R. Riggs andRobert Hopkins, Margaret Williamson, Mary Riggs and Aunt Jane and otherfaithful missionaries and thousands of redeemed Dakotas, welcomed them, with glad hozannas, and sweet are the songs they sing as they walktogether, under the trees, on the banks of the River of Life. 

The Dakota Congregational association has under its care thirteenorganized churches, with more than one thousand communicants and onethousand Sabbath school members. The prominent leaders of its work areAlfred L. Riggs D. D. , of Santee, Nebraska, and Rev. Thomas L. Riggs ofOahe, South Dakota. They are the worthy sons of their famous father, Stephen R. Riggs, D. D. , one of the heroic pioneers in the Dakota work. The native ministers are Francis Frazier, Edwin Phelps, James Garvie, James Wakutamani and Elias Gilbert. This association is a mighty factorin God's plan, for the upbuilding of the Dakotas, in the things thatare noble and of good report. 

The Presbyterian and Congregationalists have wrought together, side byside, for seventy years, in this glorious enterprise. Under theirauspices, forty-four churches, many schools and other beneficentorganizations are in efficient operation among these former savagedwellers on these plains. 

Seven other natives have, also, been ordained to the priesthood in theEpiscopal Church, making thirty-three in all, who have served theirfellow-tribesmen in the high and holy office of the Christian ministry. There is not a single ordained Romish priest among the Sioux Indians. 

 "Watchman, tell us of the night, What its signs of promise are. "

Seventy years ago, among the twenty-five thousand Sioux Indians in theUnited States, there was not a single church, not even one professingChristian. 

They were all polytheistic pagans. There were signs of pagan worshipabout every teepee. It might be the medicine sack tied behind theconical wigwam, or a yard of broadcloth, floating from the top of aflagpole as a sacrifice to some deity. There was more or lessidol-worship in all their gatherings. One of the simplest forms was theholding of a well-filled pipe at arm's length, with the mouth-pieceupward, while the performers said, "O Lord, take a smoke and have mercyon me. " In the feasts and dances, the forms were more elaborate. TheSun-dance continued for days of fasting and sacrificial work by theparticipants. 

Now these signs of pagan worship have almost entirely disappeared amongthe Dakotas. These facts speak volumes--one in eight of the Dakotas isa Presbyterian. There are two-thirds as many Congregationalists, twiceas many Episcopalians and twice as many Catholics. More than one-halfof the Dakotas have been baptized in the name of the Triune God andthousands of them are professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Now what has wrought this great change among the Dakotas? It was thepower of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, working through the means ofgrace as employed and applied by these faithful missionaries. Theyrenounced heathenism, not because the government so ordered, butbecause they found that there was no God like Jehovah and Jehovah said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. " Even those who have notaccepted Christ have generally cast away their idols. 

Now do missions pay? Do Indian missions pay? Let the grand work amongthe Dakotas and its glorious results be an all sufficient answer. Itdoes pay a thousand fold. 

Hear the Christian tribesmen sing the Hymn of the Sioux. 

 Lift aloft the starry banner, Let it wave o'er land and sea; Shout aloud and sing hosanna! Praise the Lord, who set us free! Here we stand amazed and wonder Such a happy change to see; The bonds of sin are burst asunder! Praise the Lord who set us free. Long we lay in darkness pining, Not a ray of hope had we! Now the Gospel Sun is shining: Praise the Lord who set us free. In one loud and joyful chorus, Heart and soul now join will we; Salvation's Sun is shining o'er us! Praise the Lord who set us free. 

_PART II. _

SOME SIOUX STORIETTES

_Part II_

_CONTENTS_

SOME SIOUX STORIETTES. 

 I. The Dead Papoose. --The Maiden's Feast. 

 II. Grand Mother Pond. --Oak Grove Mission. 

 III. Anpetuzapawin. --A Legend of St Anthony Falls. 

 IV. Aunt Jane--the Red Song Woman. 

 V. Artemas--the Warrior-Preacher. 

 VI. Two Famous Missions--Lake Harriet and Prairieville. 

 VII. The Prince of Indian Preachers. 

VIII. An Indian Patriarch. 

 IX. John--the Beloved of the Sioux Nation. 

 X. The Martyrs of Old St. Joe. 

THE DEAD PAPOOSE

The Indian mother, when her child dies, does not believe that swiftangels bear it into the glorious sunshine of the spirit-land; but shehas a beautiful dream to solace her bereavement. The cruel emptyplaces, which everywhere meet the eye of the weeping white mother, areunknown to her, for to her tender fancy a little spirit-child fillsthem. 

It is not a rare sight to see a pair of elaborate tiny moccasins abovea little Indian grave. A mother's fingers have embroidered them, amother's hand has hung them there, to help the baby's feet over thelong rough road that stretches between his father's wigwam and theGreat Chief's happy hunting grounds. 

Indians believe that a baby's spirit cannot reach the spirit-land untilthe child, if living, would have been old enough and strong enough towalk. Until that time the little spirit hovers about its mother. Andoften it grows tired--oh so very tired! So the tender mother carries apapoose's cradle on her back that the baby spirit may ride and restwhen it will. The cradle is filled with the softest feathers, for thespirit rests more comfortably upon soft things--hard things bruiseit--and all the papoose's old toys dangle from the crib, for the deadpapoose may love to play even as the living papoose did. 

THE MAIDENS' FEAST

Of the many peculiar customs of the Indians in the long ago, perhapsthe most unique was the annual "feast of Maidens. " One was given atFort Ellis, Manitoba, some thirty years ago, in a natural amphitheatre, surrounded by groves, fully one thousand feet above the AssiniboineRiver. 

It was observed at a reunion of the Sioux, and of the Assiniboines andthe Crees, three friendly tribes. 

In his "Indian Boyhood, " that brilliant Sioux author, Dr. CharlesAlexander Eastman, great-grandson of Cloudman or Man-of-the-sky, thatpotential friend of the missionaries in pioneer days at Lake Calhoun, graphically describes it thus:--

"One bright summer morning, while we were still at our meal of jerkedbuffalo meat, we heard the herald of the Wahpeton band upon his calicopony as he rode round our circle. 

"White Eagle's daughter, the maiden Red Star, invites all the maidensof all the tribes to come and partake of her feast. It will be in theWahpeton Camp, before the sun reaches the middle of the sky. All puremaidens are invited. Red Star, also, invites the young men to bepresent, to see that no unworthy maiden should join in the feast. "

The herald soon completed the rounds of the different camps, and it wasnot long before the girls began to gather. It was regarded as asemi-sacred feast. 

It would be desecration for any to attend, who was not perfectlyvirtuous. Hence it was regarded as an opportune time for the young mento satisfy themselves as to who were the virtuous maids of the tribe. 

There were apt to be surprises before the end of the day. Any young manwas permitted to challenge any maiden, whom he knew to be untrue. Butwoe to him, who could not prove his case. It meant little short ofdeath to the man, who endeavored to disgrace a woman without cause. 

From the various camps, the girls came singly or in groups, dressed inbright colored calicoes or in heavily fringed and beaded buckskin. Their smooth cheeks and the center of their glossy hair was touchedwith vermillion. All brought with them wooden basins to eat from. Somewho came from a considerable distance were mounted upon ponies; a fewfor company or novelty's sake rode double. 

The maidens' circle was formed about a cone-shaped rock, which stoodupon its base. This was painted red. Beside it, two new arrows werelightly stuck into the ground. This is a sort of altar, to which eachmaiden comes before taking her assigned place in the circle, andlightly touches first the stone and then the arrows. By this oath, shedeclares her purity. Whenever a girl approaches the altar there is astir among the spectators and sometimes a rude youth would call out;"Take care! you will overturn the rock or pull out the arrows!"

Immediately behind the maidens' circle is the chaperons' circle. Thissecond circle is almost as interesting to look at as the inner one. 

The old women watched every movement of their respective charges withthe utmost concern. There was never a more gorgeous assembly of itskind than this one. The day was perfect. The Crees, displaying theircharacteristic horsemanship, came in groups; the Assiniboines withtheir curious pompadour well covered with red paint. The various bandsof Sioux all carefully observed the traditional peculiarities of dressand behavior. 

The whole population of the region had assembled and the maidens cameshyly into the circle. During the simple preparatory rites, there was astir of excitement among a group of Wahpeton Sioux young men. All themaidens glanced nervously toward the scene of the disturbance. Soon atall youth emerged from the throng of spectators and advanced towardthe circle. With a steady step, he passed by the chaperons, andapproached the maidens' circle. 

At last, he stopped behind a pretty Assiniboine maiden of good familyand said:

"I am sorry, but according to custom, you should not be here. "

The girl arose in confusion, but she soon recovered her control. 

"What do you mean?" she demanded indignantly. "Three times you havecome to court me, but each time I have refused to listen to you. I haveturned my back upon you. Twice I was with Washtinna. She can tell thepeople that this is true. The third time I had gone for water when youintercepted me and begged me to stop and listen. I refused because Idid not know you. My chaperon Makatopawee knows I was gone but a fewminutes. I never saw you anywhere else. "

The young man was unable to answer this unmistakable statement of factsand it became apparent that he had sought to revenge himself for herrepulse. 

"Woo! Woo! Carry him out!" was the order of the Chief of the Indianpolice, and the audacious youth was hurried away into the nearestravine to be chastised. 

The young woman who had thus established her good name returned to thecircle and the feast was served. The "maidens' song" was sung, and fourtimes they danced in a ring around the altar. 

Each maid, as she departed, took her oath to remain pure until sheshould meet her husband. 

II

GRANDMOTHER POND. 

Grandmother Pond is one of the rarest spirits, one of the loveliestcharacters in Minnesota. She is the last living link between the pastand the present--between that heroic band of pioneer missionaries whocame to Minnesota prior to 1844, and those who joined the ranks of thisglorious missionary service in more recent years. Her life reads like aromance. 

Agnes Carson Johnson Pond is a native of Ohio--born at Greenfield in1825. She was the daughter of William Johnson, a physician and surgeonof Chillicothe, Ohio. By the death of her father she was left an orphanat five years of age. Her mother married a worthy minister of theAssociate Reformed Presbyterian church, Rev. John McDill. She hadsuperior educational and social advantages and made good use of all heropportunities. She was educated at a seminary at South Hanover, Indiana. There she met her future husband, Robert Hopkins. He, as wellas she, was in training for service on mission fields. They weremarried in 1843. He had already been appointed as a missionary teacherfor the Sioux Indians. The young wife was compelled to make her bridaltour in the company of strangers, by boat and stage and privateconveyance from Ohio to the then unknown land of the upper Mississippi. It required thirty days then, instead of thirty hours, as now, to passfrom Ohio to the Falls of St. Anthony. The bride-groom drove his ownteam from Galena, Illinois, to Fort Snelling. 

[Illustration: GRANDMOTHER POND, The Last Living Member of the Heroic Band of Pioneer Missionaries to the Dakotas, in the 81st Year of Her Age. ]

HER HUSBAND DROWNED. 

Mr. And Mrs. Hopkins were first stationed at Lac-qui-Parle. After oneyear they were transferred to Traverse des Sioux, near the present siteof St. Peter, Minnesota. Here they gave seven years of the mostfaithful, devoted, self-sacrificing toil for the lost and degradedsavages around them. They built a humble home and established andmaintained a mission school. Five children were born to them there. Twoof these were early called to the celestial home on high. Their life atTraverse des Sioux was a strenuous, isolated, but a fruitful and happyone. It was destined, however, to a speedy and tragic end. 

Early in the morning of July 4, 1851, Mr. Hopkins entered the river fora bath. He was never seen alive again. A treacherous swirl in the waterat that point suddenly carried him to his death. His wife waited longthe carefully prepared morning meal, but her beloved came not again. Hewent up through the great flood of waters from arduous service on thebanks of the beautiful Minnesota to his glorious rewards on the banksof the still more beautiful River of Life. 

Broken-hearted, the young wife, only twenty-six years of age, laid himto rest on the banks of the river whose treacherous waves had robbedher of her life companion. Sadly she closed her home in Minnesota and, with her three little fatherless children, returned to her old home infar-distant Ohio. 

Rev. Robert Hopkins enjoyed the full confidence of his colleagues andwas greatly beloved by the Indians. His untimely death was anirreparable loss to the mission work among the Sioux. 

SECOND BRIDAL TOUR TO THE WEST. 

Shortly after the tragedy at Traverse des Sioux, Mrs. Sarah Poage Pond, wife of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, died at Oak Grove Mission of consumption. In 1854 Mr. Pond visited Ohio, where he and Mrs. Hopkins were united inmarriage. She made a second bridal tour from Ohio to Minnesota, andtoiled by his side till his death in 1878. 

In every relation in life in which she has been placed, Mrs. Pond hasexcelled. While she long ago ceased from active service in missionfields, she ever has been, and still is untiring in her efforts to dogood to all as she has opportunity. She is strong and vigorous at theage of eighty. She still resides at the Oak Grove Mission house, herhome since 1857, universally beloved and regarded as the best woman inthe world by about one hundred descendants. 

[Illustration: JOHN P. WILLIAMSON, D. D. , Superintendent of Presbyterian Sioux Missions. Forty-five years a missionary to the Sioux. ]

[Illustration: ST. ANTHONY FALLS. ]

OAK GROVE MISSION HOUSE. 

This old land mark is located in Hennepin County, Minnesota, twelvemiles southwest of Minneapolis. Here in 1843, Gilbert H. Pondestablished his headquarters as a missionary to the Sioux Indians. Heerected a large log building in which he resided, taught school andpreached the gospel. Here, in 1848, the Presbytery of Dakota convened, and ordained Mr. Pond and Robert Hopkins to the Presbyterian ministry. For many years it was the sole source of social, moral, and spirituallight for a wide region for both races. It was also the favoritegathering place of the Indians for sport. In 1852, a great game of ballwas played here. Good Road and Grey Iron joined their followers withCloudman's band of Lake Calhoun in opposition to Little Six and hisband from Shakopay. Two hundred and fifty men and boys participated inthe game, while two hundred and fifty others were deeply interestedspectators. The game lasted for three days and was won by Cloudman andhis allies. Forty-six hundred dollars in ponies, blankets and othersuch property changed hands on the results. 

In 1856, the present commodious residence was erected of brickmanufactured on the premises. For twenty-one years it was the residenceof Rev. Gideon Hollister Pond. He was for twenty years, also, pastor ofthe white Presbyterian church of Oak Grove. He was a member of thefirst territorial legislature; the editor of the "The Dakota Friend"the first religious journal published in the state, and he was also thefirst preacher of the gospel in the city of Minneapolis. 

In whatever position he was placed in life, he ever proved himself tobe a wise, conscientious, consecrated Christian gentleman. None knewhim, but to love him; none knew him, but to praise. He was born inConnecticut, June thirtieth, 1810, and on the twentieth of January, 1878, he passed from his Oak Grove Mission Home through the gates ofthe celestial city, to go no more out. They laid him to rest in themidst of the people, whom he had loved and served so well for four andforty years and by whom he was universally beloved and admired. Nonewere more sincere in their demonstrations of sorrow than the littlecompany of Dakotas to whom he had been a more than father. 

III

ANPETUSAPAWIN

_A Legend of St. Anthony Falls_

 Long ere the white man's bark had seen These flower-decked prairies, fair and wide, Long ere the white man's bark had been Borne on the Mississippi's tide, So long ago, Dakotas say, Anpetusapawin was born, Her eyes beheld these scenes so gay First opening on life's rosy morn. 

 --S. W. Pond. 

In the long ago, a young Indian brave espoused as his wife this Indianmaiden of whom the poet sings. With her he lived happily for a fewyears, in the enjoyment of every comfort of which a savage life iscapable. To crown their happiness, they were blessed with two lovelychildren on whom they doted. During this time, by a dint of activityand perseverance in the chase, he became signalized in an eminentdegree as a hunter, having met with unrivaled success in the pursuitand capture of the wild denizens of the forest. This circumstancecontributed to raise him high in the estimation of his fellow savagesand drew a crowd of admiring friends around. This operated as a spur tohis ambitions. 

At length some of his newly acquired friends suggested to him thepropriety of taking another wife, as it would be impossible for onewoman to manage the affairs of his household and properly wait upon themany guests his rising importance would call to visit him. Theyintimated to him that in all probability he would soon be elevated tothe chieftainship. His vanity was fired by the suggestion. He yieldedreadily and accepted a wife they had already selected for him. 

After his second marriage, he sought to take his new wife home andreconcile his first wife to the match in the most delicate mannerpossible. To this end he returned to his first wife, as yet ignorant ofwhat had occurred, and endeavored, by dissimulation, to secure herapproval. 

"You know, " said he, "I can love no one as I love you; yet I see yourlabors are too great for your powers of endurance. Your duties aredaily becoming more and more numerous and burdensome. This grieves mesorely. But I know of only one remedy by which you can be relieved. These considerations constrain me to take another wife. This wife shallbe under your control in every respect and ever second to you in myaffections. " She listened to his narrative in painful anxiety andendeavored to reclaim him from his wicked purpose, refuting all hissophistry by expressions of her unaffected conjugal affection. He lefther to meditate. She became more industrious and treated him moretenderly than before. She tried every means in her power to dissuadehim from the execution of his vile purpose. She pleaded all theendearments of their former happy life, the regard he had for herhappiness and that of the offspring of their mutual love to prevail onhim to relinquish the idea of marrying another wife. He then informedher of the fact of his marriage and stated that compliance on her partwould be actually necessary. She must receive the new wife into theirhome. She was determined, however, not to be the passive dupe of hisduplicity. With her two children she returned to her parental teepee. In the autumn she joined her friends and kinsmen in an expedition upthe Mississippi and spent the winter in hunting. In the springtime, asthey were returning, laden with peltries, she and her children occupieda canoe by themselves. On nearing the Falls of St. Anthony she lingeredin the rear till the others had landed a little above the falls. 

She then painted herself and children, paddled her canoe into the swiftcurrent of the rapids and began chanting her death song, in which sherecounted her former happy life, with her husband, when she enjoyed hisundivided affection, and the wretchedness in which she was now involvedby his infidelity. Her friends, alarmed at her imminent peril, ran tothe shore and begged her to paddle out of the current before it was toolate, while her parents, rending their clothing and tearing their hair, besought her to come to their arms of love; but all in vain. Herwretchedness was complete and must terminate with her existence! Shecontinued her course till her canoe was borne headlong down the roaringcataract, and it and the deserted, heartbroken wife and the beautifuland innocent children, were dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Notraces of the canoe or its occupants were found. Her brothers avengedher death by slaying the treacherous husband of the deserted wife. 

 They say that still that song is heard Above the mighty torrent's roar, When trees are by the night-wind stirred And darkness broods on stream and shore. 

IV

AUNT JANE

_The Red Song Woman_

Miss Jane Smith Williamson, the subject of this sketch, was one of thefamous missionary women in our land in the nineteenth century. She waswidely known among both whites and Indians as "Aunt Jane. " The Dakotasalso called her "Red Song Woman. " She was born at Fair Forest, SouthCarolina, March 8, 1803. Through her father she was a lineal descendantof the Rev. John Newton and Sir Isaac Newton. Her father was arevolutionary soldier. 

Her mother was Jane (Smith) Williamson. They believed that negroes hadsouls and therefore treated the twenty-seven slaves they had inheritedlike human beings. Her mother was fined in South Carolina, for teachingher slaves to read the Bible. Consequently, in 1804, in her earlyinfancy, her parents emigrated to Adams county, Ohio, in order to beable to free their slaves and teach them to read the Word of God andwrite legibly. 

The story of Aunt Jane's life naturally falls into three divisions. 

I--PREPARATION FOR HER GREAT LIFE WORK. 

This covered forty years. She grew up in an atmosphere of sincere anddeep piety and of devotion to Christian principles. Her earlyeducational advantages were necessarily limited, but she made the mostof them. She became very accurate in the use of language, wrote a clearround hand and was very thorough in everything she studied. She was agreat reader of good and useful books, possessed an excellent memoryand a lively imagination and very early acquired a most interestingstyle of composition. 

[Illustration: AUNT JANE, Or, The Red Song Woman. ]

From her ancestors she inherited that strong sympathy for the coloredrace, which was a marked characteristic of her whole life. In her youngwomanhood, she taught private schools in Adams county, Ohio. Theprogress made by her pupils was very rapid and her instruction was of ahigh order. She sought out the children of the poor and taught themwithout charge. She admitted colored pupils as well as whites. For thiscause, many threats of violence were made against her school. But shewas such an excellent teacher that her white pupils remained with her;and a guard of volunteer riflemen frequently surrounded her schoolhouse. She calmly pursued the even tenor of her way. 

In 1820, when she was only 17 years of age, she and her brother rode onhorseback all the way from Manchester, Ohio, to South Carolina and backagain, and brought with them two slaves they had inherited. They couldhave sold them in the South for $300 each, and stood in great need ofthe money; but instead, they gave to these two poor colored persons thepriceless boon of liberty. Miss Williamson's slave was a young woman ofher own age, called Jemima. She was married to another slave namedLogan. She was the mother of two children. Logan was a daring man, andrendered desperate by the loss of his young wife, he determined to befree and follow her. He fled from South Carolina, and after passingthrough many adventures of the most thrilling character, he found hiswife in Ohio, and lived and died a free man. He was fully determined todie rather than return to slavery. Jemima lived to a great age, surviving her husband, who was killed accidently in the fifties. Theyleft a family highly respected. 

During all these years "Aunt Jane" was a very active worker in Sabbathschools, prayer meetings and missionary societies. In her own dayschools, she made religious worship and Bible study a prominent featureof the exercises. In 1835, when her brother, Dr. Williamson, went as amissionary to the Dakotas, she strongly desired to accompany him. Buther duty required her to remain at home and care for her aged father, who died in 1839, at the age of 77. She did not join her brother, however, until 1843, at the age of forty. 

II--HER WORK AMONG THE DAKOTAS. 

This covers one-third of a century. The missionary spirit was a part ofher life, --born with her, --a heritage of several generations. The bloodof the Newtons flowed in her veins. When she arrived in Minnesota, shewent to work without delay and with great energy and with untiringindustry greatly beyond her strength. She was very familiar with theBible. She taught hundreds of Indians, perhaps fully one thousand, toread the Word of God, and the greater part of them to write a legibleletter. She visited all the sick within her reach, and devoted much ofher time to instructing the Dakota women in domestic duties. Sheconducted prayer meetings and conversed with them in reference to thesalvation of their souls. Many of them, saved by the Holy Spirit'sbenediction upon her self-denying efforts, are now shining like brightgems in her crown of glory on high. 

Lac-qui-Parle, --the Lake-that-speaks, --two hundred miles west of St. Paul, was her first missionary home. There she gathered the youngIndians together and taught them as opportunity offered. Theinstruction of the youth--especially the children, of whom she was evera devoted lover, was her great delight. 

It was more than a year before any mail reached her at this remoteoutpost. She was absent in the Indian village when she heard of thearrival of her first mail. She, in her eagerness to hear from herfriends in Ohio, ran like a young woman to her brother's house. Shefound the mail in the stove-oven. The carrier had brought it throughthe ice, and it had to be thawed out. That mail contained more thanfifty letters for her and the postage on them was over five dollars. In1846, she removed with her brother to Kaposia, Little Crow's village(now South St. Paul), and in 1852 to Yellow Medicine, thirty-two milessouth of Lac-qui-Parle. The privations of the missionaries were verygreat. White bread was more of a luxury to them then, than rich cakeordinarily is now. Their houses and furnishings were of the rudestkind. Their environments were all of a savage character. 

Their trials were many and sore, extreme scarcity of food inmid-winter, savage threats and bitter insults. They were "injourneyings often, in perils of waters, of robbers, by the heathen andin the wilderness. " All this she endured contentedly for Christ's sakeand the souls of the poor ignorant savages around for theevangelization and salvation of the degraded Dakotas, --lost in sin. 

She possessed great tact and was absolutely fearless. In 1857, duringthe Inkpadoota trouble, the father of a young-Indian, who had beenwounded by the soldiers of Sherman's battery, came with his gun to themission house to kill her brother. Aunt Jane met him with a plate offood for himself and an offer to send some nice dishes to the woundedyoung man. This was effectual. The savage was tamed. He ate the foodand afterwards came with his son to give them thanks. Scarcely was theprison-camp, with nearly four hundred Dakota prisoners, three-fourthsof them condemned to be hanged, established at Mankato, when Aunt Janeand her brother came to distribute paper and pencils and some booksamong them. 

When their lives were imperilled, by their savage pursuers, during theterrible massacre, Aunt Jane calmly said; "Well if they kill me, myhome is in Heaven. " The churches were scattered, the work apparentlydestroyed, but nothing could discourage Aunt Jane. She had, in themidst of this great tragedy, the satisfactory knowledge that all theChristian Sioux had continued at the risk of their own lives, steadfastin their loyalty, and had been instrumental in saving the lives of manywhites. They had, also, influenced for good many of their own race. 

III--THE CLOSING YEARS OF HER LIFE. 

After that terrible massacre the way never opened for her to resume herresidence among the Dakotas; but she was given health and strength fornineteen years more toil for the Master and her beloved Indians. Herhome was with her brother, Dr. Williamson, near St. Peter, until hisdeath in 1879, and she remained, in his old home several years afterhis death. During this period, she accomplished much for the educationof the Indians around her and she kept up an extensive and helpfulcorrespondence with native Christian workers. All the time she kept upthe work of self-sacrifice for the good of others. In 1881 she met apoor Indian woman, suffering extremely from intense cold. She slippedoff her own warm skirt and gave it to the woman. The result was asevere illness, which caused her partial paralysis and total blindnessfrom which she never recovered. In 1888 she handed the writer a $5 goldcoin for the work among the freedmen with this remark: "First thefreedman; then the Indian. " Out of a narrow income she constantly gavegenerously to the boards of the church and to the poor around her. Shespent most of her patrimony in giving and lending to needy ones. 

The closing years of her life were spent with her nephew the greatIndian missionary the Rev. John P. Williamson D. D. At Greenwood, SouthDakota. There at noon of March 24, 1895, the light of eternity dawnedupon her and she entered into that sabbatic rest, which remains forthe people of God. Such is the story of Aunt Jane, modest andunassuming--a real heroine, who travelled sixteen hundred miles all theway on horseback and spent several months that she might rescue twopoor colored persons whom she had never seen or even known. 

Without husband or children, alone in the world, she did not repine, but made herself useful, wherever she was, in teaching secular learningand religious truth, and in ministering to the sick and afflicted, thedown-trodden and oppressed. She never sought to do any wonderfulthings, --but whatever her hand found to do, she did it with her mightand with an eye to the honor and glory of God. Hers was a very long andmost complete Christian life. Should it ever be forgotten? Certainlynot, while our Christian religion endures. 

 "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. "

 --Rev. 14: 13. 

V

ARTEMAS, THE WARRIOR PREACHER

He was one of the fiercest of the Sioux warriors. He fought theOjibways in his youth; danced the scalp-dance on the present site ofMinneapolis, and waged war against the whites in '62. He was convertedat Mankato, Minnesota, in the prison-pen, and for thirty-two years, hewas pastor of the Pilgrim Congregational church at Santee, Nebraska. 

Artemas Ehnamane was born in 1825, at Red Wing, Minnesota, by themountain that stands sentinel at the head of Lake Pepin. "WalkingAlong" is the English translation of his jaw-breaking surname. As alad, he played on the banks of the mighty Mississippi. As a youth, hehunted the red deer in the lovely glades of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Hesoon grew tall and strong and became a famous hunter. The war-path, also, opened to him in the pursuit of his hereditary foes, theChippewas. He danced the scalp-dance on the present site ofMinneapolis, when it was only a wind-swept prairie. 

While in his youth, his tribe ceded their ancestral lands along theMississippi and removed to the Sioux Reservation on the MinnesotaRiver. But not for long, for the terrible outbreak of 1862, scatteredeverything and landed all the leading men of that tribe in prison. Artemas was one of them. He was convicted, condemned to death, andpardoned by Abraham Lincoln. While in the prison-pen at Mankato, hecame into a new life "that thinketh no evil of his neighbor. " The wordsof the faithful missionaries, Pond and Williamson and Riggs, sank deepinto his heart. His whole nature underwent a change. Artemas onceexplained his conversion thus:

"We had planned that uprising wisely and secretly. We had able leaders. We were well organized and thoroughly armed. The whites were weakenedby the Southern war. Everything was in our favor. We had prayed to ourgods. But when the conflict came, we were beaten so rapidly andcompletely, I felt that the white man's God must be greater than allthe Indians' gods; and I determined to look Him up, and I found Him, All-Powerful and precious to my soul. "

Faithfully he studied his letters and learned his Dakota Bible, whichbecame more precious to him than any record of traditions and shadowshanded down from mouth to mouth by his people. He soon became possessedof a great longing to let his tribe know his great secret of the Godabove. So when the prisoners were restored to their families in theMissouri Vally in Nebraska, Artemas was soon chosen one of thepreachers of the reorganized tribe. His first pastorate was that of thePilgrim Congregational Church at Santee, Nebraska, in 1867. It was alsohis last, for he was ever so beloved and honored by his people, thatthey would not consider any proposal for separation. 

No such proposition ever met with favor in the Pilgrim Church forArtemas firmly held first place in the affections of the people amongwhom he labored so earnestly. He served this church for thirty-twoyears and passed on to take his place among the Shining Ones, on theeve of Easter Sabbath, 1902. 

Artemas seldom took a vacation. In fact there is only one on record. In1872, his church voted a vacation of six weeks. True to his Indiannature, he planned a deer hunt. He turned his footsteps to the wilds ofthe Running Water (Niobrara River), where his heart grew young and hisrifle cracked the death-knell of the deer and antelope. One evening, inthe track of the hostile Sioux and Pawnees, he found himself near acamp of the savage Sicaugu. He was weak and alone. They were strong andhostile. 

He had tact as well as courage. He invited those savage warriors to afeast. His kettle was brimming, and as the Indians filled their mouthswith the savory meat, he filled their ears with the story of thegospel, and gave them their first view of that eternal life, purchasedby the blood of Christ. 

The deer-hunt became a soul-hunt. The wild Sicaugu grunted theiramicable "Hao" as they left his teepee, their mouths filled withvenison and their hearts planted with the seeds of eternal truth. 

Again he went on a deer-hunt, when he crossed another trail, that ofhunters from another hostile tribe. In the camp he found a sick child, the son of Samuel Heart, a Yankton Sioux. But let Heart tell the storyhimself in his simple way:

"I was many days travel away in the wilderness. My child was very sick. I felt much troubled. A man of God came to my tent. I remember all hesaid. He told me not to be troubled, but to trust in God, and all wouldbe well. He prayed; he asked God to strengthen the child so I couldbring him home. God heard him. My child lived to get home. Once myheart would have been very sad, and I would have done something verywicked. I look forward and trust Jesus. "

This is how Rev. Artemas Ehnamane spent his vacations, hunting for wildsouls instead of wild deer. 

He was a scriptural, personal and powerful preacher. 

Faith in a risen Saviour, was the keynote of his ministry. As he said:"Who of all the Saviours of the Indian people has risen from the dead?Not one. " "Our fathers told us many things and gave us many customs, but they were not true. " "I grew up believing in what my father taughtme, but when I knew of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I believed in Himand put aside all my ways. " It was to him in truth, the coming out ofdarkness into light. "Sins are like wolves, " he said. "They abound inthe darkness and destroy men. When we enter the way, Jesus watches overus. Be awake and follow Him. All over the world men are beginning tofollow Christ. The day is here. " "Repent, believe, obey. "

He loved to sing:

 "Saved, by grace, alone; That is all my plea; Jesus died for all mankind; Jesus died for me. "

The twenty grand-children of the old Sioux--all of school age--arediligently prosecuting their studies in order to be prepared to meetthe changed conditions which civilization has made possible for theIndians. One of his grand-sons is a physician now, in a fair practiceamong his own people. 

This man President Lincoln wisely pardoned, knowing full well what agreat influence for good such a man could wield over his turbulentpeople. And the President was not disappointed. One of his sons hasbeen a missionary among the Swift Bear tribe at the Rose Bud Agency fortwenty years; another son has been a missionary at Standing Rock, onthe Grand River, and is now pastor of an Indian congregation on BasileCreek, Nebraska, and is also an important leader of his tribe. The Rev. Francis Frazier, one of his sons, was installed September 10, 1902, ashis father's successor in the pastorate of Pilgrim church at Santee. 

His married daughter is also very earnest in the woman's work in thechurch. Seventy-seven years of age at his death, Rev. Artemas Ehnamanehad filled to overflowing with good deeds to offset the first half, when he fought against the encroachments of the whites and the advanceof civilization with as much zeal as later he evinced in his religiousand beneficent life. Abraham Lincoln pardoned Ehnamane and the oldwarrior never forgot it. But it was another pardon he prized morehighly than that. It was this pardon he preached and died believing. 

VI

TWO FAMOUS MISSIONS. 

_Lake Harriet and Prairieville_

In the spring of 1835, the Rev. Jedediah Dwight Stevens, of thePresbyterian Church, arrived at Fort Snelling under the auspices of theAmerican Board of Missions. He established a station on thenorthwestern shore of Lake Harriet. It was a most beautiful spot, westof the Indian village, presided over by that friendly and influentialchieftain Cloudman or Man-of-the-sky. He erected two buildings--themission-home, first residence for white settlers, and the schoolhouse--the first building erected exclusively for school purposeswithin the present boundaries of the State of Minnesota. 

Within a few rods of the Pavilion, where on the Sabbath, multitudesgather for recreation, and desecration of God's holy day, is the site, where, in 1835, the first systematic effort was made to educate andChristianize Dakota Indians. It is near the present junction ofForty-second Street, and Queen Avenue (Linden Hills). 

In July, Mr. Stevens, and his interesting family, took possession ofthe mission house. With the co-operation of the Pond brothers, thismission was prosecuted with a fair measure of success till the removalof the Indians farther west, in 1839, when it was abandoned, and theconnection of Mr. Stevens with the work of the Dakota mission ceased. 

Here on the evening of November 22, 1838, a romantic wedding wassolemnized by Rev. J. D. Stevens. The groom was Samuel Pond of theDakota mission. The groomsman was Henry H. Sibley, destined in afteryears to be Minnesota's first delegate to Congress, her first stateexecutive, and in the trying times of '62, the victorious GeneralSibley. The bride was Miss Cordelia Eggleston; the bridesmaid, MissCornelia Stevens; both amiable, lovely and remarkably handsome. 

It was a brilliant, starry evening, one of Minnesota's brightest andmost invigorating. The sleighing was fine, and among the guests, weremany officers, from Fort Snelling, with their wives. Dr. Emerson andwife, the owners of Dred Scott, the subject of Judge Taney's infamousdecision, were present. The doctor was, then, post-surgeon at the fort, and the slave Dred, was his body-servant. The tall bridegroom andgroomsman, in the vigor and strength of their young manhood; the brideand bridesmaid, just emerging from girlhood, with all their dazzlingbeauty, the officers in the brilliant uniforms, and their wives, intheir gay attire, must have formed an attractive picture in the longago. After the wedding festivities, the guests from the fort wereimprisoned at the mission for the night, by a blizzard, which sweptover the icy face of Lake Harriet. 

In the previous November, at Lac-qui-Parle, the younger brother wasunited in marriage to Miss Sarah Poage, by the Rev. Stephen R. Riggs. It was a unique gathering. The guests were all the dark-faced dwellersof the Indian village, making a novel group of whites, half-breeds andsavage Indians. Many of the latter were poor, maimed, halt and blind, who thoroughly enjoyed the feast of potatoes, turnips, and bacon sogenerously provided by the happy bridegroom. 

PRAIRIEVILLE. 

In 1846, Shakpe or Little Six, extended an urgent invitation to SamuelPond to establish a mission at Tintonwan--"the village on theprairies"--for the benefit of his people. He was chief of one of themost turbulent bands of Indians in the valley of the Minnesota. He wasa man of marked ability and one of the ablest and most effectiveorators in the whole Dakota nation. Yet withal, Shakpe was a pettythief, had a "forked tongue, " a violent temper, was excitable, andvindictive in his revenge. These characteristics led him to thescaffold. He was hanged at Fort Snelling, in 1863 for participation inthe bloody massacre of '62. He and his followers were so noted fortheir deception and treachery, that Mr. Pond doubted their sincerityand the wisdom of accepting their invitation. But after weeks ofprayerful deliberation, he accepted and began preparations for apermanent establishment at that point. He erected a commodious andsubstantial residence into which he removed, with his household, inNovember 1847. 

This station, which Mr. Pond called Prairieville, was fourteen milessoutheast of Oak Grove mission, on the present site of Shakopee. Themission home was pleasantly located on gently rising ground, half amile south of the Minnesota River. It was surrounded by the teepees ofsix hundred noisy savages. Here, for several years they toiledunceasingly for the welfare of the wild men, by whom they weresurrounded. 

In 1851, Mr. And Mrs. Pond were compelled, by her rapidly failinghealth, to spend a year in the east. She never returned. She diedFebruary 6, 1852, at Washington, Connecticut. Thus after fourteen yearsof arduous missionary toil, Cordelia Eggleston Pond, the beautifulbride of the Lake Harriet mission house, was called from service toreward at the early age of thirty-six. 

Mr. Pond returned to Prairieville and toiled on for the Indians untiltheir removal by the government, in 1853. He himself, remained andcontinued his labors for the benefit of the white community ofShakopee, which had grown up around him. In 1853, a white Presbyterianchurch was organized and, in 1856, a comfortable church edifice waserected, wholly at the expense of the pastor and his people. Thecongregation still exists and the mission house still stands asmonuments of the wisdom, faith and fortitude of the heroic builder. After thirteen years of faithful service, he laid the heavy burdensdown for younger hands, but for a quarter of a century longer heremained in his old home. 

During these last years, his chief delight was in his books, which lostnone of their power to interest him in advancing age; especially wasthis true of the Book of books. He was never idle. The active energy, which distinguished his youth, no less marked his advancing years. Hismind was as clear, his judgment as sound, and his mental vision as keenat eighty-three, as they were at thirty-three. His was a long and happyold age. He lingered in the house his own hands had builded, content togo or stay, till he was transferred, December twelfth, 1891, to thehouse not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

VII

THE PRINCE OF INDIAN PREACHERS. 

Without disparagement to any of his brethren in the ministry, thistitle can be properly applied to the Rev. John Baptiste Renville, ofIyakaptapte, (Ascension) South Dakota, who recently passed on to jointhe shining ranks of the saved Sioux in glory. 

Timid as a little child, yet bold as a lion, when aroused; shy ofconversation in private, yet eloquent in the pulpit and in thecouncil-chamber; yielding yet firm as a rock, when duty demanded it; aloving husband, a kind father, a loyal citizen, a faithful presbyter--apungent preacher of the gospel, a soul-winner--a courteous, culturedChristian gentleman; such a man was this Indian son of a Sioux mother, herself the first fullblood Sioux convert to the Christian faith. 

He was the youngest son of Joseph Renville, a mixed blood Sioux andFrench, who was a captain in the British army in the War of 1812 andthe most famous Sioux Indian in his day. After the war, he became atrader and established his headquarters at Lac-qui-Parle, where heinduced Dr. Thomas S. Williamson to locate his first mission station in1835. 

John Baptiste was one of the first Indian children baptized by Dr. Williamson and he enjoyed the benefits of the first school among theSioux. He was rather delicate, which hindered his being sent east toschool as much as he otherwise would have been. However, he spentseveral years in excellent white schools, and he acquired a fairknowledge of the elementary branches of the English language. The lastyear he spent at Knox College, Galesburgh, Illinois, where he wooed andwon Miss Mary Butler, an educated Christian white woman, whom hemarried and who became his great helper in his educational andevangelistic work. 

[Illustration:JOHN B. RENVILLE[1] JOHN P. WILLIAMSON, D. D. DANIEL RENVILLEJOHN EASTMAN CHARLES R. CRAWFORD

All Indian Ministers Except Dr. Williamson]

 [1] Died Dec. 19, 1904

[Illustration: The Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D. , Forty-five years a Missionary to the Sioux. ]

He was the first Sioux Indian to enter the ministry. In the spring of1865, he was licensed to preach, by the presbytery of Dakota, atMankato, Minnesota, and ordained in the following autumn. When heentered the ministry, the Sioux Indians were in a very unsettled state, and his labors were very much scattered; now with the Indian scouts onsome campaign; again with a few families of Indians gathered about somemilitary post, and anon with a little class of Indians, who were tryingto settle down to civilized life. 

In 1870, he became the pastor of Iyakaptapte, (Ascension) a littlechurch in what subsequently became the Sisseton reservation. Bothphysically and in mental and spiritual qualities, he was best adaptedto a settled pastorate. His quiet and unobtrusive character requiredlong intercourse to be appreciated. However, in the pulpit, hisearnestness and apt presentation of the truth ever commanded theattention even of strangers. Under his ministry, the church increasedto one hundred and forty members. More than half a dozen of them becameministers and Ascension was generally the leading church in every goodwork among the Dakota Indians. No one among the Christian Sioux wasmore widely known and loved than Mr. Renville. In the councils of thechurch, though there were seventeen other ministers in the presbyterybefore his death, he was ever given the first place both for counseland honor. He twice represented his presbytery in the general Assembly, and he was ever faithful in his attendance at Synod and Presbytery andactive in the discharge of the duties devolving upon him. 

Mary Butler, the white wife of his youth, died several years ago. Theirdaughter Ella, a fine Christian young lady passed away at twenty yearsof age. She was active in organizing Bands of Hope among the childrenof the tribe. She sleeps, with her parents on the brow of Iyakaptapteoverlooking the church to which all their lives were devoted. Josephine, the Indian wife of his old age, survives him and remains inthe white farm house on the prairie in which John Baptiste Renvillespent so many years of his long, happy useful life. He died December19, 1904, in the seventy-third year of his age. 

VIII

AN INDIAN PATRIARCH. 

Chief Cloudman or Man-of-the-sky, was one of the strongest charactersamong the natives on the headwaters of the Mississippi in the earlierhalf of the nineteenth century. He was one of the leading chiefs of theSantee band of Sioux Indians. He was born about 1780. He was brave inbattle, wise in council, and possessed many other noble qualities, which caused him to rise far above his fellow chieftains. He possesseda large fund of common sense. Years prior to the advent of the whiteman in this region, he regarded hunting and fishing as a too precariousmeans to a livelihood, and attempted to teach his people agricultureand succeeded to a limited extent. 

It was a strange circumstance that prompted the chief to this wiseaction. On a hunting tour in the Red River country, with a part of hisband, they were overtaken by a drifting storm and remained, for severaldays, under the snow, without any food whatsoever. While buried inthose drifts, he resolved to rely, in part, upon agriculture, forsubsistence, if he escaped alive, and he carried out his resolution, after the immediate peril was passed. His band cultivated small fieldsof quickly maturing corn, which had been introduced by their chief inthe early 30's. He was respected and loved by his people and quite wellobeyed. 

[Illustration: REV. JOHN EASTMAN. ]

Before the coming of the missionaries he taught and enforced, by hisexample, this principle, namely, that it as wrong to killnon-combatants, or to kill under any circumstances in time of peace. Hefavored peace rather than war. He was twenty-five years of age, and hadsix notches on the handle of his tomahawk, indicating that he had slainhalf a dozen of his Ojibway foes before he adopted this human policy. 

His own band lived on the shores of Lakes Calhoun and Harriet, withinthe present limits of Minneapolis. On the present site of lovelyLakewood--Minneapolis' most fashionable cemetery--was his village ofseveral hundred savages, and also an Indian burial place. This villagewas the front guard against the war parties of the Ojibways--feudalenemies of the Sioux--but finally as their young men were killed off inbattle, they were compelled to remove and join their people on thebanks of the Minnesota and farther West. He located his greatly reducedband at Bloomington, directly west of his original village. Thisremoval occurred prior to 1838. 

He was never hostile to the approach of civilization, or blind to theblessings it might confer on his people. 

He was one of the first of his tribe to accept the white man's ways andto urge his band to follow his example. This fact is confirmed by thegreat progress his descendants have made. 

He was the first Sioux Indian of any note to welcome those firstpioneer missionaries, the Pond brothers. As early as 1834 he encouragedthem to erect their home and inaugurate their work in his village. Inall the treaties formed between the government and the Sioux, he wasever the ready and able advocate of the white man's cause. He threw allthe weight of his powerful influence in favor of cession to the UnitedStates government of the military reservation on which Fort Snellingnow stands. He died at Fort Snelling in 1863, and was buried on thebanks of the Minnesota in view of the fort. 

He was the father of seven children, all of whom are dead, except hisson David Weston, his successor in the chieftainship, who still livesat Flandreau, South Dakota, at the age of seventy-eight years. He wasfor many years a catechist of the Episcopal Church. His two daughterswere called Hushes-the-Night and Stands-like-a-Spirit. They were oncethe belles of Lake Harriet, to whom the officers and fur traders paidhomage. Hushes-the-Night married a white man named Lamont and becamethe mother of a child called Jane. She had one sister, who diedchildless, in St. Paul, in 1901. Jane Lamont married Star Titus, anephew of the Pond brothers. They became the parents of three sons andtwo daughters. Two of these sons are bankers and rank among the bestbusiness men of North Dakota. They are recognized as leaders among thewhites. The other son is a farmer near Tracy, Minnesota. Stands-Like-a-Spirit was the mother of one daughter, Mary NancyEastman, whose father, Captain Seth Eastman, was stationed at FortSnelling--1830-36. Mary Nancy married Many Lightnings, a fullblood, oneof the leaders of the Wahpeton-Sioux. They became the parents of foursons and one daughter. After Many Lightnings became a Christian, hetook his wife's name, Eastman, instead of his own, and gave all hischildren English names. John the eldest, and Charles Alexander, theyoungest son, have made this branch of the Cloudman family widely andfavorably known. 

John Eastman, at twenty-six years of age, became a Presbyterianminister, and for more than a quarter of a century has been thesuccessful pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Flandreau, SouthDakota. He was for many years a trusty Indian agent at that place. Heis a strong factor in Indian policy and politics. He has had a scantyEnglish education in books, but he has secured an excellent training, chiefly by mingling with cultured white people. 

His proud statement once was; "every adult member of the Flandreau bandis a professing Christian, and every child of school age is in school. "During the "Ghost Dance War, " in 1890, his band remained quietly athome, busy about their affairs. In the spring of 1891, they divided$40, 000 among themselves. 

Charles Alexander Eastman was born in 1858, in Minnesota, the ancestralhome of the Sioux, and passed the first fifteen years of his life inthe heart of the wilds of British America, enjoying to the full, thefree, nomadic existence of his race. During all this time, he lived ina teepee of buffalo skins, subsisted upon wild rice and the fruits ofthe chase, never entered a house nor heard the English language spoken, and was taught to distrust and hate the white man. 

The second period (third) of his life was spent in school and college, where after a short apprenticeship in a mission school, he stoodshoulder to shoulder, with our own youth, at Beloit, Knox, Dartmouthand the Boston university. He is an alumnus of Dartmouth of '87 and ofBoston University, department of medicine, of '90. 

During the last fifteen years, he has been a man of varied interestsand occupations, a physician, missionary, writer and speaker of wideexperience and, for the greater part of the time, has held anappointment under the government. 

At his birth he was called "Hakadah" or "The Pitiful Last, " as hismother died shortly after his birth. He bore this sad name till yearsafterwards he was called Ohiyesa, "The Winner, " to commemorate a greatvictory of La Crosse, the Indian's favorite game, won by his band, "TheLeaf Dwellers, " over their foes, the Ojibways. When he received thisnew name, the leading medicine man thus exhorted him: "Be brave, bepatient and thou shalt always win. Thy name is "Ohiyesa the Winner. ""The spirit of his benediction seems to follow and rest upon him in hislife-service. 

His grandmother was "Stands-Like-a-Spirit, " the second daughter of theold chief Cloudman. His full-blooded Sioux father was a remarkable manin many ways and his mother, a half-blood woman, was the daughter of awell-known army officer. She was the most beautiful woman of the "LeafDwellers" band. By reason of her great beauty, she was called"Demi-Goddess of the Sioux. " Save for her luxuriant, black hair, andher deep black eyes, she had every characteristic of Caucasian descent. The motherless lad was reared by his grandmother and an uncle in thewilds of Manitoba, where he learned thoroughly, the best of the ancientfolk lore, religion and woodcraft of his people. Thirty years ofcivilization have not dimmed his joy in the life of the wilderness norcaused him to forget his love and sympathy for the primitive people andthe animal friends, who were the intimates of his boyhood. 

[Illustration: DR. CHARLES A. EASTMAN, Famous Sioux Author, Orator and Physician. ]

He is very popular as a writer for the leading magazines. "HisRecollections of Wild Life" in St. Nicholas, and his stories of "WildAnimals" in Harper, have entertained thousands of juvenile as well asadult readers. His first book, "Indian boyhood, " which appeared in1902, has passed through several editions, and met with heartyappreciation. "Red Hunters and the Animal People, " published in 1904, bids fair to be, at least, equally popular. 

During the last two years, he has lectured in many towns from Maine toCalifornia and he is welcomed everywhere. His specialty is the customs, laws, religion, etc. , of the Sioux. Witty, fluent, intellectual, trained in both methods of education, he is eminently fitted toexplain, in an inimitable and attractive manner, the customs, beliefsand superstitions of the Indian. He describes not only the life andtraining of the boy, but the real Indian as no white man could possiblydo. He brings out strongly the red man's wit, music, poetry andeloquence. He also explains graphically from facts gained from his ownpeople, the great mystery of the battle of the Little Big Horn in whichthe gallant Custer and brave men went to their bloody death. 

He was married in 1891 at New York City, to Miss Elaine Goodale, afinely cultured young lady from Massachusetts, herself a poetess andprose writer of more than ordinary ability. 

They have lived very happily together ever since and are the parents offive lovely children. They have lived in Washington and St. Paul andare now residents of Amherst, Massachusetts. Whether in his physician'soffice, in his study, on the lecture platform, in the press or in hisown home, Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman is a most attractivepersonality. 

IX

JOHN

_The Beloved of the Sioux Nation_

Rev. John P. Williamson, D. D. , of Greenwood, South Dakota, was born inthe month of October, 1835, in one of Joseph Renville's log cabins, with dirt roof and no floor; and was the first white child born inMinnesota, outside of the soldier's families at Fort Snelling. Hisfather, the Rev. Thomas S. Williamson. M. D. , was the first ordainedmissionary appointed to labor among the Sioux Indians. He came out tothe new Northwest on an exploring expedition in 1834, visiting theIndian camps at Wabawsha, Red Wing, Kaposia, and others. 

He returned in the spring of 1835, with his family and others who wereappointed. 

After the arrival of this missionary party, Dr. Williamson and hiscolleagues, lived and labored continuously among the Indians theremainder of their lives. Their work for the Master has not sufferedany interruption, but is still carried on successfully and vigorouslyby their successors. 

John P. Williamson grew up in the midst of the Indians. He mastered theSioux language in early boyhood. As a lad, he had the present sites ofMinneapolis and St. Paul for his playgrounds and little Indian lads forhis playmates. Among these, was Little Crow, who afterwards becameinfamous in his savage warfare, against the defenseless settlers inwestern Minnesota, in 1862. 

He was early dedicated to the work of the gospel ministry. In his youngmanhood he was sent to Ohio, for his education. In 1857, he graduatedat Marietta College, and in 1860, at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati. In 1859he was licensed by Dakota (Indian) Presbytery, and ordained, by thesame body, in 1861. The degree of D. D. Was conferred upon him byYankton, (S. D. ) college in 1890. He recognized no call to preach thegospel save to the Sioux Indians, and for forty-six years, he has givenhis whole life zealously to this great work. He has thrown his wholelife unreservedly into it. And he has accomplished great things for theMaster and the tribe to which he has ministered. 

In 1860 he established a mission and organized a Presbyterian church oftwelve members at Red Wood Agency on the Minnesota. These were bothdestroyed in the outbreak two years later. He spent the winter of1862-3, in evangelistic work, among the Sioux, in the prison-camp atFort Snelling, where 1, 500 were gathered under military guard. Anintense religious interest sprung up amongst them and continued formonths. Young Dr. Williamson so ministered unto them, that the wholecamp was reached and roused, and the major part of the adults were ledto Christ. Many, including scores of the children of the believers, were baptized. A Presbyterian congregation of more than one hundredcommunicants was organized. This church was afterwards united with thechurch of the Prison-pen, at Crow Creek, Nebraska. 

In 1883, he was appointed superintendent of Presbyterian missions amongthe Sioux Indians. He has ever abounded in self-sacrificing andsuccessful labors among this tribe. He has organized Nineteen (19)congregations and erected twenty-three (23) church edifices. Intwenty-three years he has traveled two hundred thousand miles in theprosecution of these arduous labors. The number of converts cannot bereckoned up. 

In 1866, he was married to Miss Sarah A. Vannice. To them there havebeen born four sons and three daughters, who are still living. In 1869he established the Yankton mission, which has ever since been a greatcenter, moral and spiritual, to a vast region. At the same time heestablished his home at Greenwood, South Dakota, and from that, as hismission headquarters, he has gone to and from in his great missionarytours throughout the Dakota land. 

He has, also, abounded in literary labors. For sixteen years he was thechief editor of "Iapi Oayi, " an Indian weekly. In 1864, he published"Powa Wow-spi, " an Indian Spelling Book, and in 1865, a collection ofDakota Hymns. His greatest literary work, however, was an edition ofthe "Dakota Dictionary, " in 1871, and other later editions. 

He has won the affections of the whole Sioux nation. They bow willinglyto his decisions, and follow gladly his counsels. To them, he is a muchgreater man than President Roosevelt. While he has passed the limit ofhis three-score years and ten--forty-six of them in frontierservice--his bow still abides in strength, and he still abounds inmanifold labors. He is still bringing forth rich fruitage in his oldage. 

Every white dweller among the Indians is known by some specialcognomen. His is simply "John. " And when it is pronounced, by a SiouxIndian as a member of the tribe always does it so lovingly, all whohear it know he refers to "John, the Beloved of the Sioux Nation. "

X

THE MARTYRS OF OLD ST. JOE. 

One of the most touching tragedies recorded in the annals of the newNorthwest, was enacted in the sixth decade of the nineteenth century, on the borders of Prince Rupert's Land and the Louisiana purchase (nowManitoba and North Dakota). It is a picturesque spot, where the Pembinariver cuts the international boundary line in its course to thesoutheast to join the Red River of the North in its course to Hudson'sbay. 

Sixty years ago, in this place, encircled by the wood-crowned mountainand the forest-lined river and prairies, rich as the gardens of thegods, there stood a village and trading post of considerableimportance, named after the patron saint of the Roman Catholic church, in its midst--St. Joseph--commonly called St. Joe. It was a busy, bustling town, with a mixed population of 1, 500. Most of these dwelt intents of skin. There were, also, two or three large trading posts andthirty houses, built of large, hewn timbers mudded smoothly within andwithout and roofed with shingles. Some of these were neat and pretty;one had window-shutters. It was the center of an extensive fur tradewith the Indian tribes of the Missouri river. Many thousands of buffaloand other skins were shipped annually to St. Paul in carts. Sometimes atrain of four hundred of these wooden carts started together for St. Paul, a distance of four hundred miles. 

But old things have passed away. The village of old St. Joe is nowmarked only by some cellar excavations. It possesses, however, a sadinterest as the scene of the martyrdom of Protestant missionaries onthis once wild frontier, then so far removed from the abodes ofcivilization. 

James Tanner was a converted half-breed, who with his wife labored, in1849, as a missionary at Lake Winnibogosh, Minnesota. His father hadbeen stolen, when a lad, from his Kentucky home, by the Indians. Nearthe close of 1849 he visited a brother in the Pembina region. He becameso deeply interested in the ignorant condition of the people there, that he made a tour of the East in their behalf. He visited New York, Washington and other cities, and awakened considerable interest inbehalf of the natives of this region. While east he became a member ofthe Baptist Church. He returned to St. Joe, in 1852, accompanied by ayoung man named Benjamin Terry, of St. Paul, to open a mission amongthe Pembina Chippewas and half breeds under the auspices of the BaptistMissionary Society. Terry was very slight and youthful in appearance, quiet and retiring in disposition and was long spoken of, by thehalf-breeds, as "Tanner's Boy. " They visited the Red River (Selkirk)settlement (now Winnipeg). While there, Terry wooed and won one of thedaughters of the Selkirk settlers, a dark-eyed handsome Scotch lass, towhom he expected to be married in a few months. But, alas, ere theclose of summer, he was waylaid, by a savage Sioux, shot full ofarrows, his arm broken and his entire scalp carried away. Mr. Tannersecured permission to bury him in the Roman Catholic Cemetery in thecorner reserved for suicides, heretics and unbaptized infants. Thusended in blood, the first effort to establish a Protestant mission inthe Pembina country. 

June 1, 1853, a band of Presbyterian missionaries arrived at St. Joe. It was composed of the Reverends Alonzo Barnard and David BrainardSpencer, their wives and children. They came in canoes and in cartsfrom Red and Cass lakes, Minnesota, where for ten years, they hadlabored as missionaries among the Chippewas. They removed to St. Joe, at the earnest request of Governor Alexander Ramsey, of Minnesota, andothers familiar with their labors and the needs of the Pembina natives. Mrs. Barnard's health soon gave way. Her husband removed her to theSelkirk settlement, one hundred miles to the north, for medical aid. Her health continued to fail so rapidly that by her strong desire theyattempted to return to St. Joe. The first night they encamped in alittle tent on the bleak northern plain in the midst of a fiercewindstorm. The chilling winds penetrated the folds of the tent. Allnight long the poor sufferer lay in her husband's arms, moaningconstantly: "Hold me close; oh, hold me close. " They were compelled toreturn to the settlement, where after a few days more of intensesuffering, she died, Oct. 22, 1853, of quick consumption, caused by tenyears exposure and suffering for the welfare of the Indians. 

Mrs. Barnard was first interred at the Selkirk settlement, in PrinceRupert's Land (now Manitoba). In the absence of other clergymen, Mr. Barnard was compelled to officiate at his wife's funeral himself. Inobedience to her dying request, Mrs. Barnard's remains were removed toSt. Joe and re-interred in the yard of the humble mission cabin, Dec. 3, 1853. 

In 1854, Mr. Barnard visited Ohio to provide a home for his children. On his return, at Belle Prairie, Minnesota, midway between St. Paul andSt. Joe, he met Mr. Spencer and his three motherless children, journeying four hundred miles by ox-cart to St. Paul. There in the rudehovel in which they spent the night, Mr. Barnard baptized Mr. Spencer'sinfant son, now an honored minister of the Congregational church inWisconsin. On his arrival at St. Joe Mr. Barnard found another moundclose by the grave of his beloved wife. 

The story of this third grave is, also, written in blood. It was Aug. 30, 1854. The hostile Sioux were infesting the Pembina region. Only theprevious month, had Mrs. Spencer written to a far distant friend inIndia: "Last December the Lord gave us a little son, whose smiling facecheers many a lonely hour. " On this fatal night, she arose to care forthis darling boy. A noise at the window attracted her attention. Shewithdrew the curtain to ascertain the cause. Three Indians stood therewith loaded rifles and fired. Three bullets struck her, two in herthroat and one in her breast. She neither cried out nor spoke, butreeling to her bed, with her babe in her arms, knelt down, where shewas soon discovered by her husband, when he returned from barricadingthe door. She suffered intensely for several hours and then died. Andtill daybreak Mr. Spencer sat in a horrid dream, holding his dead wifein his arms. The baby lay in the rude cradle near by, bathed in hismother's blood. The two elder children stood by terrified and weeping. Such was the distressing scene which the neighbors beheld in themorning, when they came with their proffers of sympathy and help. Thefriendly half-breeds came in, cared for the poor children and preparedthe dead mother for burial. A half-breed dug the grave and nailed arude box together for a coffin. Then with a bleeding heart, the sorebereaved man consigned to the bosom of the friendly earth the remainsof his murdered wife. 

Within the past thirty years civilization has rapidly taken possessionof this lovely region. Christian homes and Christian churches coverthese rich prairies. The prosperous and rapidly growing village ofWalhalla (Paradise) nestles in the bosom of this lovely vale andoccupies contentedly the former site of Old St. Joe. 

June 21, 1888, one of the most interesting events in the history ofNorth Dakota occurred at the Presbyterian cemetery, which crowns thebrow of the mountain, overlooking Walhalla. It was the unveiling of themonument erected by the Woman's Synodical Missionary Society of NorthDakota, which they had previously erected to the memory of SarahPhilena Barnard and Cornelia Spencer, two of the three "Martyrs of St. Joe. " The monument is a beautiful and appropriate one of white marble. The broken pieces of old stone formerly placed on Mrs. Barnard's grave, long scattered and lost, were discovered, cemented together and placedupon her new grave. The Rev. Alonzo Barnard, seventy-one years of age, accompanied by his daughter, was present. Standing upon the graves ofthe martyrs, with tremulous voice and moistened eyes, he gave to theassembled multitude a history of their early missionary toil in theabodes of savagery. It was a thrilling story, the interest intensifiedby the surroundings. The half-breed women who prepared Mrs. Spencer'sbody for the burial and who washed and dressed the little babe afterhis baptism in his mother's blood, were present. The same half-breedwho dug Mrs. Spencer's grave in 1854 dug the new grave in 1888. Severalpioneers familiar with the facts of the tragedy at the time of itsoccurrence were also present. 

"The Martyr's Plot, " the last resting place of these devoted servantsof our Lord Jesus Christ, is a beautiful spot, on the hillside, in thePresbyterian Cemetery at Walhalla. It is enclosed by a neat fence, andeach of these three martyr's graves is marked by a white stone, with anappropriate inscription. 

The Rev. Alonzo Barnard retired to Michigan, where he gave five yearsof missionary toil to the Chippewas at Omene and many other years ofhelpful service to the white settlers at other points in that state. In1883 he retired from the work of the active ministry and spent theremainder of his days with his children. 

He died April 14, 1905, at Pomona, Michigan, at the home of his son, Dr. James Barnard, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. There is alarge and flourishing Episcopal Indian church at Leech Lake, Minnesota, the scene of Mr. Barnard's labors from 1843-52. 

The rector is the Rev. Charles T. Wright, a full-blood Chippewa. He isthe eldest son of that famous chieftain, Gray Cloud and is now himself, chief of all the Chippewas. "Thus one soweth and another reapeth. "