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Show 163 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. the railroad, ami they had never done them any good. The other agency is that of Spotted Tail. ^- Vhen it \ yas located at Whetstone we had a very large school then-,, in which the children learned rapidly. That is characteristic of the Indian children. They are very quick to learn. The other agency is that of Red Cloud's Indians, who are a roving people. Red Cloud said plainly that, so long as the Government supplied him and his people with food, he did not care much ahont schools or missionaries. A very intelligent man has gone among them. As the Commissioner of Indian Affairs has recently been there, I hope he will say a word or two upon the subject. I will refer to one point of great interest; that is the use of their own language among the Indians. Some of us had the same idea that they should teach ' them nothing but English, but those who were the strongest advocates, now think it best to teach them their own language tirst, and they will afterward acquire the English much easier. Theirs is a phonetic language, and a smart boy will learn it in three or four weeks; and we have found it far better to instruct them in their own language, and also to teach them English as fast as we can. It will be very difficult, if not im-possible, to spiritually benefit the Indians, unless you instruct them in their own tongue. We have four Indian teachers. We have a number of ladies of cultivation who have gone out to instruct the Indians at the Yankton agency. We have three with the Santee Indians, two with the Poncas, and another who has just left, here during the last few weeks. There is everything to encourage us. The Episcopal Church has raised a committee to co- operate with the, Government in the work. We have appointed a special committee, with Senator Stevenson as chairman, to watch over the interests of the Indians committed to our charge, guard their titles to land, < fec. The body to which I belong is thoroughly aroused, and during the last two years has spent a large amount of money in the work. They are anxious to do every-thing they can. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONS. Mr. BRUNOT. The Rev. Dr. John C. Lowrie, of the Presbyterian denomination, will be heard from. Dr. LOWKIE. I am very glad, Mr. Chairman, to be a listener, and I do not intend to take very much time in the remarks which I will make. I would say at the outset that our present views of the work of this board and of our church have been very much modified by the past experiences of our branch of the church in the missionary field. I am very glad that ihe honorable Secretary of the Interior is present. We all read with great interest his report this year, in which he recognized the idea of center-ing all the Indian tribes in the Indian Territory. For years I have thought this should be brought about. It would facilitate the spreading of the Gospel by the different missionaries among the tribes, and they would advance rapidly toward civilization, soon being able to stand side by side with the whites. The object of the missionaries is to give them the Gospel, and civilization will follow as the result. This has been verified in a small mission of ours in Michigan, on Grand Traverse Bay. It was then almost inaccessible. We sent a missionary there ; an educated gentleman. He went there, accompanied by his wife, and they have been there from that day to within a few months. The work has been accomplished, and they have now left. The Indians were in as miserable a condition as any tribe you can find, living in wigwams, their wives cultivating little patches of corn, & c. Now they are scattered out on farms, are respected by the white people ; they gave up their tribal relations, & c., and are now in a most prosperous condition. There is a very interesting volume, published in 1838, in London, containing evidence taken before a committee of the British Parliament in relation to certain Indians. It is a valuable, book, showing that the true way of reach-ing these pecple is through the Gospel itself. The Gospel first, then civilization. The order should not be reversed. This doctrine, is ground upon which we should all stand. My observation of this work has convinced me of the truth of it. The church with which I am connected has always taken a lively interest in Indian missions. When some of the Indians who are now living in the Indian Territory were residing in the Carolinas, we had missionaries among them. A large majority of our laborers have been sent among these people, and the amount of money expended for them has run up to many hundred thousands, perhaps millions. The church has two boards of missions the foreign and home. Thirty years ago this work was placed in the hands of the board of foreign missions, where it remains to this day. We did not ask for any of the agencies. In fact it was considered doubtful if the plan did not involve the uniting the church a. nd State, and some were disposed to remain at arms length. But the more, closely we, examined the subject the more we became convinced of its feasi-bility. It was perhaps a little unfortunate at the outset that the agencies were not tendered to the denominations whose representatives were on the ground. It would have been better if the agent had been of the same view as the man already on the ground. The following is a list of the agencies finally assigned to us : ( 8ee Appendix, page L- 0. ) Ten in all were tendered to us. Some difficulty was experienced in securing agents, and we iinally published a notice calling for agents, stating the amount of salary |
