Among the Sioux

d thousand of its choicest acres are now held in severalty by the fifteen hundred members of the Sisseton and Wahpeton Band of the Dakotas-the "Leaf Dwellers" of the plains. Their ho

ux of the prairie, the Church of the Ascension, referring not to the ascension of our Lord, but to "the going up" of the prairies. On the hill above it, is the cozy home of the pastor emeritus, the Rev. John Baptiste Renville, whose pastorate, in point of continuous service, has been the longest in the two Dakotas. After a long lifetime of faithful ministrations to the people of his own charge, enfeeble

ERY OF

mas S. Williamson, M.D., and Rev. Stephen R. Riggs and one elder Alexander G. Huggins. It was an independent presbytery, and, for fourteen years, was not connected with any Synod. It was a lone presbytery, in a vast region, now covered by a dozen Synods and scores of presbyteries. For many years, the white and I

the limits of the Presbytery of Dakota became the churches and ministers among the Dakota Indians. It is the only Presbytery in existence, without any geographical boundaries. At present, there are seventeen ordained Indian ministers upon the roll of this presbytery-workmen of whom neither they themselves nor any others have an

ized Presbyterian church of twenty-five communicant members. It is the chu

Dakotas, to the celestial plains of glory. And how warm must have been their greeting as they passed through the pearly gates of the city, whose builder and maker is God. Gideon Pond, Dr. Williamson, Samuel W. Pond, Stephen R. Riggs and Robert Hopkins, M

gs D.D., of Santee, Nebraska, and Rev. Thomas L. Riggs of Oahe, 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

this glorious enterprise. Under their auspices, forty-four churches, many schools and other benef

ng thirty-three in all, who have served their fellow-tribesmen in the high and holy office of

tell us o

igns of pr

Sioux Indians in the United States, there was not

le as a sacrifice to some deity. There was more or less idol-worship in all their gatherings. One of the simplest forms was the holding of a well-filled pipe at arm's length, with the mouth-piece upward, while

is a Presbyterian. There are two-thirds as many Congregationalists, twice as many Episcopalians and twice as many Catholics. More than one-

and applied by these faithful missionaries. They renounced heathenism, not because the government so ordered, but because they found that there was no G

rand work among the Dakotas and its glorious results b

tribesmen sing th

t the sta

e o'er lan

ud and si

Lord, who s

and amazed

ppy chang

f sin are b

Lord who

y in darkn

y of hop

spel Sun i

Lord who

d and joyf

soul now j

Sun is shi

Lord who

RT

OUX STO

rt

NT

OUX STO

oose.-The Ma

Pond.-Oak G

-A Legend of S

-the Red

he Warrio

ons-Lake Harriet

of Indian

ian Pa

oved of the

rs of Old

EAD P

e spirit-land; but she has a beautiful dream to solace her bereavement. The cruel empty places, which everywhere me

s fingers have embroidered them, a mother's hand has hung them there, to help the baby's feet over the

er. And often it grows tired-oh so very tired! So the tender mother carries a papoose's cradle on her back that the baby spirit may ride and rest when it will. The cradle is filled with the softest feath

IDENS'

nnual "feast of Maidens." One was given at Fort Ellis, Manitoba, some thirty years ago, in a n

e Sioux, and of the Assiniboines a

tman, great-grandson of Cloudman or Man-of-the-sky, that potential friend of th

l of jerked buffalo meat, we heard the herald of the Wahpe

r feast. It will be in the Wahpeton Camp, before the sun reaches the middle of the sky. All pure maidens are invi

nt camps, and it was not long before the girls bega

tuous. Hence it was regarded as an opportune time for the young men

llenge any maiden, whom he knew to be untrue. But woe to him, who could not prove his case.

uckskin. Their smooth cheeks and the center of their glossy hair was touched with vermillion. All brought with them wooden basins

t of altar, to which each maiden comes before taking her assigned place in the circle, and lightly touches first the stone and then the arrows. By this oath, she declares her purity

chaperons' circle. This second circle is alm

than this one. The day was perfect. The Crees, displaying their characteristic horsemanship, came in groups; the Assiniboines with their curiou

f excitement among a group of Wahpeton Sioux young men. All the maidens glanced nervously toward the scene of the disturbance. Soon a tall youth eme

a pretty Assiniboine maid

ording to custom, yo

fusion, but she soon

k upon you. Twice I was with Washtinna. She can tell the people that this is true. The third time I had gone for water when you intercepted me and begged

ble statement of facts and it became apparent tha

f of the Indian police, and the audacious youth was

d to the circle and the feast was served. The "maidens' song"

ok her oath to remain pure unt

MOTHE

k between the past and the present-between that heroic band of pioneer missionaries who came to Minnesota prior to 1844

onal and social advantages and made good use of all her opportunities. She was educated at a seminary at South Hanover, Indiana. There she met her future husband, Robert Hopkins. He, as well as she, was in training for service on mission fields. They were married in 1843. He had already been appointed as a missionary teacher for the Sioux Indians. The young

mothe

Band of Pioneer Missionaries to the

SBAND

t faithful, devoted, self-sacrificing toil for the lost and degraded savages around them. They built a humble home and established and maintained a mission school. Five children were born to them there. T

t suddenly carried him to his death. His wife waited long the carefully prepared morning meal, but her beloved came not again. He went up through the great

river whose treacherous waves had robbed her of her life companion. Sadly she closed her home in Mi

gues and was greatly beloved by the Indians. His untimely dea

DAL TOUR T

Oak Grove Mission of consumption. In 1854 Mr. Pond visited Ohio, where he and Mrs. Hopkins were united in m

has been, and still is untiring in her efforts to do good to all as she has opportunity. She is strong and vigorous at the age of eighty. She still resi

Williams

of Presbyterian

rs a missionar

thony

E MISSIO

nd and Robert Hopkins to the Presbyterian ministry. For many years it was the sole source of social, moral, and spiritual light for a wide region for both races. It was also the favorite gathering place of the Indians for sport. In 1852, a great game of ball was played here. Good Road and Grey Iron joined their followers with Cloudman's band of Lake Calhou

er Pond. He was for twenty years, also, pastor of the white Presbyterian church of Oak Grove. He was a member of the first territorial legislature; the edito

hirtieth, 1810, and on the twentieth of January, 1878, he passed from his Oak Grove Mission Home through the gates of the celestial city, to go no more out. They laid him to rest in the midst of the people, whom he had loved

I

TUSA

of St. An

white man's

ecked prairies

white man's

he Mississ

ago, Dak

apawin

held these

ng on life'

W. P

iness, they were blessed with two lovely children on whom they doted. During this time, by a dint of activity and perseverance in the chase, he became signalized in an eminent degree as a hunter, having met with unrivaled success in

airs of his household and properly wait upon the many guests his rising importance would call to visit him. They intimated to him that in all probability he

o the match in the most delicate manner possible. To this end he returned to his first wife,

phistry by expressions of her unaffected conjugal affection. He left her to meditate. She became more industrious and treated him more tenderly than before. She tried every means in her power to dissuade him from the execution of his vile purpose. She pleaded all the endearments of their former happy life, the regard he had for her happiness and that of the offspring of their mutual love to prevail on him to relinquish the idea of marrying another wife. He then informed her of the fact of his marriage and stated that compliance on her part would

at her imminent peril, ran to the shore and begged her to paddle out of the current before it was too late, while her parents, rending their clothing and tearing their hair, besought her to come to their arms of love; but all in vain. Her wretchedness was complete and must terminate with her existence! She continued her cour

t still that

mighty tor

e by the nigh

broods on str

T J

d Song

ly known among both whites and Indians as "Aunt Jane." The Dakotas also called her "Red Song Woman." She was born at Fair Forest, South Carolina,

ke human beings. Her mother was fined in South Carolina, for teaching her slaves to read the Bible. Consequently, in 1804, in her early infancy,

's life naturally fall

N FOR HER GR

rily limited, but she made the most of them. She became very accurate in the use of language, wrote a clear round hand and was very thorough in everything she studied.

t J

Red So

r pupils was very rapid and her instruction was of a high order. She sought out the children of the poor and taught them without charge. She admitted colored pupils as well as whites. For this cause, many threats of violence w

colored persons the priceless boon of liberty. Miss Williamson's slave was a young woman of her own age, called Jemima. She was married to another slave named Logan. She was the mother of two children. Logan was a daring man, and rendered desperate by the loss of his young wife, he determined to be free and follow her. He fled from Sou

d Bible study a prominent feature of the exercises. In 1835, when her brother, Dr. Williamson, went as a missionary to the Dakotas, she strongly desired to accompany him. But

K AMONG TH

greatly beyond her strength. She was very familiar with the Bible. She taught hundreds of Indians, perhaps fully one thousand, to read the Word of God, and the greater part of them to write a legible letter. She visited all the sick within her reach, and devoted much of her time to instru

e. There she gathered the young Indians together and taught them as opportunity offered. The instruct

ove-oven. The carrier had brought it through the ice, and it had to be thawed out. That mail contained more than fifty letters for her and the postage on them was over five dollars. In 1846, she removed with her brother to Kaposia, Little Crow's village (now South St. Paul), and in 1852 to Ye

ings often, in perils of waters, of robbers, by the heathen and in the wilderness." All this she endured contentedly for Christ's

rother. Aunt Jane met him with a plate of food for himself and an offer to send some nice dishes to the wounded young man. This was effectual. The savage was tamed. He ate the food and afterwards came with his son to give them thanks.

d, the work apparently destroyed, but nothing could discourage Aunt Jane. She had, in the midst of this great tragedy, the satisfactory knowledge that all the Christian Sioux had contin

SING YEARS

shed much for the education of the Indians around her and she kept up an extensive and helpful correspondence with native Christian workers. All the time she kept up the work of self-sacrifice for the good of others. In 1881 she met a poor Indian woman, suffering extremely from intense cold. She slipped off her own warm skirt and gave it to the woman. The result was a severe illness, which

the light of eternity dawned upon her and she entered into that sabbatic rest, which remains for the people of God. Such is the story of Aunt Jane, modest and unassuming-a real

ring to the sick and afflicted, the down-trodden and oppressed. She never sought to do any wonderful things,-but whatever her hand found to do, she did it with her might and wi

nceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest

. 14

THE WARRI

he present site of Minneapolis, and waged war against the whites in '62. He was converted at Mankato, Minnesota, i

As a lad, he played on the banks of the mighty Mississippi. As a youth, he hunted the red deer in the lovely glades of Minnesota and Wisconsin. He soon grew tall and strong and became a famous

and landed all the leading men of that tribe in prison. Artemas was one of them. He was convicted, condemned to death, and pardoned by Abraham Lincoln. While in the prison-pen at Mankato, he came into a new life "th

uthern war. Everything was in our favor. We had prayed to our gods. But when the conflict came, we were beaten so rapidly and completely, I felt that t

nging to let his tribe know his great secret of the God above. So when the prisoners were restored to their families in the Missouri Vally in Nebraska, Artemas was soon chosen one of the preachers of the reorganized tribe. Hi

the affections of the people among whom he labored so earnestly. He served this church for thirty-t

nt. He turned his footsteps to the wilds of the Running Water (Niobrara River), where his heart grew young and his rifle cracked the death-knell of the deer and antelo

, and as the Indians filled their mouths with the savory meat, he filled their ears with the story o

amicable "Hao" as they left his teepee, their mouths filled with

om another hostile tribe. In the camp he found a sick child, the son of Samuel

old me not to be troubled, but to trust in God, and all would be well. He prayed; he asked God to strengthen the child so I could bring him home. God he

spent his vacations, hunting for

al, personal and

rue." "I grew up believing in what my father taught me, but when I knew of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I believed in Him and put aside all my ways." It was to him in truth, the coming out of darkness into light. "Sins are like w

ved t

by grace

s all

d for all

died f

dies in order to be prepared to meet the changed conditions which civilization has made possible

a missionary among the Swift Bear tribe at the Rose Bud Agency for twenty years; another son has been a missionary at Standing Rock, on the Grand River, and is now pastor of an Indian congregation on Basile Cr

o offset the first half, when he fought against the encroachments of the whites and the advance of civilization with as much zeal as later he evinced in his religious and beneficent l

MOUS M

iet and P

northwestern shore of Lake Harriet. It was a most beautiful spot, west of the Indian village, presided over by that friendly and influential chieftain Cloudman or Man-of-the-sky. He erected two bu

f God's holy day, is the site, where, in 1835, the first systematic effort was made to educate and Christian

e Pond brothers, this mission was prosecuted with a fair measure of success till the removal of the Indians farther

omsman was Henry H. Sibley, destined in after years to be Minnesota's first delegate to Congress, her first state executive, and in the trying times of '62

were present. The doctor was, then, post-surgeon at the fort, and the slave Dred, was his body-servant. The tall bridegroom and groomsman, in the vigor and strength of their young manhood; the bride and bridesmaid, just emerging from girlhood, with all their dazzling beauty, the office

gathering. The guests were all the dark-faced dwellers of the Indian village, making a novel group of whites, half-breeds and savage Indians. Many of the

RIEV

ors in the whole Dakota nation. Yet withal, Shakpe was a petty thief, had a "forked tongue," a violent temper, was excitable, and vindictive in his revenge. These characteristics led him to the scaffold. He was hanged at Fort Snelling, in 1863 for participation in the bloody massacre of '62. He and his followers were so noted for their de

mission home was pleasantly located on gently rising ground, half a mile south of the Minnesota River. It was surrounded by the teepees of

e died February 6, 1852, at Washington, Connecticut. Thus after fourteen years of arduous missionary toil, Cordelia Eggleston

ound him. In 1853, a white Presbyterian church was organized and, in 1856, a comfortable church edifice was erected, wholly at the expense of the pastor and his people. The congregation still exists and the mission house still stan

ergy, which distinguished his youth, no less marked his advancing years. His mind was as clear, his judgment as sound, and his mental vision as keen at eighty-three, as they were at thirty-three. His was a

I

OF INDIAN

erly applied to the Rev. John Baptiste Renville, of Iyakaptapte, (Ascension) South D

firm as a rock, when duty demanded it; a loving husband, a kind father, a loyal citizen, a faithful presbyter-a pungent preacher of the gospel, a soul-winner

the War of 1812 and the most famous Sioux Indian in his day. After the war, he became a trader and established his

ool as much as he otherwise would have been. However, he spent several years in excellent white schools, and he acquired a fair knowledge of the elementary branches of the English language. The last year he s

John P. Williamson,

an Charles

isters Except

d Dec.

mas S. Willi

rs a Missionar

e following autumn. When he entered the ministry, the Sioux Indians were in a very unsettled state, and his labors were very much scattered; now with the Indian scouts on so

ation of the truth ever commanded the attention even of strangers. Under his ministry, the church increased to one hundred and forty members. More than half a dozen of them became ministers and Ascension was generally the leading church in every good work among the Dakota Indians. No one among the Christian Sioux was more widely known and loved than Mr. Renvill

the children of the tribe. She sleeps, with her parents on the brow of Iyakaptapte overlooking the church to which all their lives were devoted. Josephine, the Indian wife of his old age, survives him

I

IAN PA

nd of Sioux Indians. He was born about 1780. He was brave in battle, wise in council, and possessed many other noble qualities, which caused him to rise far above his fellow chieftains. He possessed a large fund of common

days, under the snow, without any food whatsoever. While buried in those drifts, he resolved to rely, in part, upon agriculture, for subsistence, if he escaped alive, and he carried out his resolution, after th

ohn Ea

ants, or to kill under any circumstances in time of peace. He favored peace rather than war. He was twenty-five years of age, and had six

ed savages, and also an Indian burial place. This village was the front guard against the war parties of the Ojibways-feudal enemies of the Sioux-but finally as their young men were killed off in battle, they were c

of civilization, or blind to the bl

s ways and to urge his band to follow his example. This fact

age. In all the treaties formed between the government and the Sioux, he was ever the ready and able advocate of the white man's cause. He threw all the weight of his powerful influence in favor of c

ecame the mother of a child called Jane. She had one sister, who died childless, in St. Paul, in 1901. Jane Lamont married Star Titus, a nephew of the Pond brothers. They became the parents of three sons and two daughters. Two of these sons are bankers and rank among the best business men of North Dakota. They are recognized as leaders among the whites. The other son is a farmer near Tracy, Minnesota. Stands-Like-a-Spirit was the mother of one daughter, Mary Nancy Eastman, whose

First Presbyterian church of Flandreau, South Dakota. He was for many years a trusty Indian agent at that place. He is a strong factor in Indian policy

d every child of school age is in school." During the "Ghost Dance War," in 1890, his band remained q

wilds of British America, enjoying to the full, the free, nomadic existence of his race. During all this time, he lived in a teepee of buffalo skins, subsis

a mission school, he stood shoulder to shoulder, with our own youth, at Beloit, Knox, Dartmouth and the Bos

pations, a physician, missionary, writer and speaker of wide experience and,

mmemorate a great victory of La Crosse, the Indian's favorite game, won by his band, "The Leaf Dwellers," over their foes, the Ojibways. When he received this new name, the leading medicine

. By reason of her great beauty, she was called "Demi-Goddess of the Sioux." Save for her luxuriant, black hair, and her deep black eyes, she had every characteristic of Caucasian descent. The motherless lad was reared by his grandmother and an uncle in the wilds of Manitoba, where he learned thor

rles A.

uthor, Orator

per, have entertained thousands of juvenile as well as adult readers. His first book, "Indian boyhood," which appeared in 1902, has passed through s

is eminently fitted to explain, in an inimitable and attractive manner, the customs, beliefs and superstitions of the Indian. He describes not only the life and training of the boy, but the real Indian as no white man could possibly do. He brings ou

dale, a finely cultured young lady from Massachusetts, hers

ngton and St. Paul and are now residents of Amherst, Massachusetts. Whether in his physician's office, in his study, o

O

d of the S

e first white child born in Minnesota, outside of the soldier's families at Fort Snelling. His father, the Rev. Thomas S. Williamson. M.D., was the first ordained missionary appo

f 1835, with his family and

continuously among the Indians the remainder of their lives. Their work for the Master has not su

present sites of Minneapolis and St. Paul for his playgrounds and little Indian lads for his playmates. Among these, was Lit

nsed by Dakota (Indian) Presbytery, and ordained, by the same body, in 1861. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Yankton, (S.D.) college in 1890. He recognized no call to preach the gospel save to the Sioux Indians,

amp at Fort Snelling, where 1,500 were gathered under military guard. An intense religious interest sprung up amongst them and continued for months. Young Dr. Williamson so ministered unto them, that the whole camp was reached and roused, and the major part of the adu

cessful labors among this tribe. He has organized Nineteen (19) congregations and erected twenty-three (23) church edifices. In twenty-thre

shed the Yankton mission, which has ever since been a great center, moral and spiritual, to a vast region. At the same time he established his home at

ekly. In 1864, he published "Powa Wow-spi," an Indian Spelling Book, and in 1865, a collection of Dakota Hymns. H

much greater man than President Roosevelt. While he has passed the limit of his three-score years and ten-forty-six of them in frontier s

ohn." And when it is pronounced, by a Sioux Indian as a member of the tribe always does i

RS OF OLD

n the borders of Prince Rupert's Land and the Louisiana purchase (now Manitoba and North Dakota). It is a picturesque spot, where the Pembin

. Joe. It was a busy, bustling town, with a mixed population of 1,500. Most of these dwelt in tents of skin. There were, also, two or three large trading posts and thirty houses, built of large, hewn timbers mudded smoothly within and without and roofed with shingles. Some of these were neat and pretty; one had

excavations. It possesses, however, a sad interest as the scene of the martyrdom of Protestant

is region. While east he became a member of the Baptist Church. He returned to St. Joe, in 1852, accompanied by a young man named Benjamin Terry, of St. Paul, to open a mission among the Pembina Chippewas and half breeds under the auspices of the Baptist Missionary Society. Terry was very slight and youthful in appearance, quiet and retiring in disposition and was long spoken of, by the half-breeds, as "Tanner's Boy." They visited the Red River (Selkirk) settlement (now Winnipeg). While there, Terry wooed and

and others familiar with their labors and the needs of the Pembina natives. Mrs. Barnard's health soon gave way. Her husband removed her to the Selkirk settlement, one hundred miles to the north, for medical aid. Her health continued to fail so rapidly that by her strong desire they attempted to return to St. Joe. The first night they encamped in a little tent on the bleak northern plain in the midst of a

ther clergymen, Mr. Barnard was compelled to officiate at his wife's funeral himself. In obedience to her dying reques

is three motherless children, journeying four hundred miles by ox-cart to St. Paul. There in the rude hovel in which they spent the night, Mr. Barnard baptized Mr. Spencer's i

with loaded rifles and fired. Three bullets struck her, two in her throat and one in her breast. She neither cried out nor spoke, but reeling to her bed, with her babe in her arms, knelt down, where she was soon discovered by her husband, when he returned from barricading the door. She suffered intensely for several hours and then died. And till daybreak Mr. Spencer sat in a horrid dream, holding his dead wife in his arms. The baby lay in the rude cradle near by, bathed in his mother's bl

es and Christian churches cover these rich prairies. The prosperous and rapidly growing village of Walhalla

d 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 placed upon her new grave. The Rev. Alonzo Barnard, seventy-one years of age, accompanied by his daughter, was present. Standing upon the graves of the martyrs, with tremulous voice and moistened eyes, he gave to the assembled multitude a history of their early missionary toil in

eautiful spot, on the hillside, in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Walhalla. It is enclosed by a neat fen

at Omene and many other years of helpful service to the white settlers at other points in that state. In 1

d, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. There is a large and flourishing Episcopal I

s the eldest son of that famous chieftain, Gray Cloud and is now hims