WORK AT THE DAKOTA MISSION.
In the American Missionary for April we gave a statement relating to the transfer by the American Board of its Dakota mission to the A. M. A., and published a list of the missionaries. Among these were Miss Illsley, Mrs. Steer, Miss Voorhees and Miss Webb, who were laboring at the Santee Agency. We have gleaned from their circular letters in the Word Carrier the following extracts which indicate the importance and success of woman’s work for the Indians.
Miss Illsley says: “As each one who writes will naturally tell of her own work, it becomes my pleasure to speak especially of our life at the Bird’s Nest. Miss Brown and I think we have seventeen as interesting little girls to look after as can be. Our oldest is twelve, and our youngest five years of age. All are doing well in school. Our little girls love to learn their Bible verses, and while we teach them the words, we hope and feel that God impresses the truths on their hearts as we cannot. Many of them say, ‘I am going to read the Bible to mamma when I go home.’”
Mrs. Steer writes: “I deem it one of the highest privileges granted to me in this life to be numbered among the Dakota missionaries, although with the care of my family I can do but little definite missionary work. Yet I would be loath to stand as an outsider. God granting me the strength of body, I hope soon to take a more active part in this grand work. We have strong evidence that God’s Spirit is with us at this time, and a number of our young people have been led to think seriously of their spiritual condition, and have entered the fold which has Christ for its Shepherd.”
Miss Voorhees writes: “I have had nineteen boys in my care, until the Poncas left. Seven are now in bed with the measles. Some of them are very sick, but all are so patient and obedient that it makes the work of caring for them comparatively easy. The three Berthold boys are very interesting, and I think promising boys. Miss Calhoun, Mrs. Hall’s sister, is associated with me at present. Though our boys are too small to see any decided results just yet, one of them has expressed a desire to unite with the church.”
Miss Webb says: “The amount there is to be done and overcome too often discourages and overwhelms us, and it seems to me in a letter like this, a few thoughts on points of progress and improvement may be helpful. There seems to me to have been progress in spiritual, mental and physical aspects. There is a hidden principle in our girls to which we can effectually appeal, which has been developing, and makes dealing with them by force and various contrived punishments less and less necessary. They are more open to reason, and are more influenced by kind talks, and a knowledge of our desires for them. There is not the clannishness among them, which made it so hard to discipline one, because all would rebel and side with the erring one. These are a few of the indications which show the heart is being educated, and the seed is taking root. There is also more gratitude manifest, more diligence in study, and more real live interest shown. We hear less frequently, and more reasonably, ‘give me this or that,’ which seemed to come so continually, and in such a way as to make us feel all they thought or cared about was what they could get out of us, and there is less fault-finding with what they receive. Looking at them in a physical aspect it would almost seem as if some of them had new bodies, so much have they improved by their regular life and habits.”