OUR DEACON.
“Young men, never despair of the hardest case,” were the words which were spoken to some of us, while in Hartford Theological Seminary, more than fifteen years ago, by a missionary from Africa, and he gave us some illustrations to prove his point. I was forcibly reminded of this a few weeks ago as we elected two Indians to serve as deacons, the first Indians ever chosen to fill that place in the history of this church, for during the first eleven years of its existence there have been white men connected with it who have filled that office acceptably. Some time ago, however, the last one left us, and after waiting a while in vain to see if some other men would not come, who would serve in this capacity, we decided that it was best to choose Indians for the place.
One of these has had a remarkable history. About thirty years ago or more he was baptized a Catholic, but when, after a short stay, the Catholic priest left these Indians, not to return again, he, with the rest of these Indians, relapsed to their heathenish ways.
Twelve years ago he was noted for drinking and for the sly ways in which he could procure his liquor. In 1876 he had great trouble with his wife and wished to leave her, but the Agent would not allow it. A long trouble followed, in which the Agent and prominent Indians tried every way they could think of to make them live peaceably together. One day the Agent with two friendly Indians went to arrest him, but, with the help of his uncle, he knocked down the Agent, broke out a window and got away. He was pursued all day, but was not taken, and at night was helped off by his relations, and he ran a long way off. For this his relations were locked up in jail, which brought them to terms, and they induced him to return so that they could be let out, and he served six months in jail.
After that he secretly left his wife, took another, and went to another reservation, sixty miles distant, but in time, with the help of another Agent and two soldiers, he was again taken and conveyed to Fort Townsend, where he worked six months more, with a soldier and bayonet to compel him to do so.
A year or two afterwards he returned to Skokomish. He said that he had reformed, but was still a Catholic, and he held some Catholic services at his own house. For a year or two, however, they did not amount to much, as hardly anybody attended them. In 1881 affairs changed, and through the death of a prominent Indian, the Catholics became quite strong, mingling with their teachings spiritualistic revelations from the dying man, and he was their priest.
The next year another Indian professed to die, receive revelations, and come to life again, and he originated a religion which was composed of Protestantism, Catholicism, spiritualism, the old Indian religion, and a nervous twitching, similar to the jerks prevalent in the Southern and Western States fifty years ago, and which gained for them the name of Shakers. For a few months they carried things with a high hand, and he was an acknowledged leader. The Catholic religion, however, grew to be a very small part of their services, while the shaking grew to be very large, so that their heads and hands were sometimes shaking night after night, six hours at a time. To save them from becoming crazy, with the advice of the physician, the Agent put a stop to this, but told them they might continue their Catholic services, if they wished, as he had no right to interfere with their religion as a religion. But they gave up everything, and asked me to teach them. I gladly did so, and a year afterwards, in the fall of 1884, he united with our church. Thus he has been by far the most troublesome Indian of any here, both to Church and Government. For more than two years he has done well in the church, and now, with my approval and with the unanimous consent of the members of the church, he has been chosen their deacon.
As I write, an Indian sits before me dressed in leggins with two blankets around him, and a comforter tied over his head. He has come to get his horses shod, and as the blacksmith is away, he has to wait. He has sat stolidly most of the day, his horses out in the cold—the thermometer is about 12 or 14 degrees below zero. As he has sat here without an expression of a single emotion passing over his face, he has occasionally drawn a deep sigh. He knows his life is wretched, and yet it would take almost a miracle to arouse him to activity enough to render his life comfortable. As I contrast him with my own boys and girls, with the emotions aroused by mental activity chasing each other over their faces, I feel that their lives will be happier and, I hope, better than his.
TEACHER AMONG THE PONCAS.
THE CHINESE.
Several articles savagely anti-Chinese having appeared in a Knights of Labor paper published in Marlboro, Mass., Rev. A. F. Newton sent to the editor the following vigorous reply:
“We understand the purpose of the laboring classes in their organizations and publications is to promote the best interests of our suffering fellow men. And this we do wherever we find a man who has fallen among thieves on the Jericho road. The fact that he has on the wooden shoes of Holland, or the queue of China, or the corduroy pants of Ireland, does not prevent our performing our duty to him as a fellow man. And any one who abuses any man because of the land of his birth deserves severe censure from every right-minded man who labors with hand or head.
“Your inconsistency, Mr. Editor, appears when in one place you say of the Chinese, ‘This town is afflicted with but few of them, thank God, and the sooner they disappear the better.’ And in another column you say, ‘We are willing to do anything possible to aid in promoting charity, but if creed or nationality is to be considered in bestowing it, just count us out.’ What is your creed? The one in which you thank God this town is afflicted with only a few of one nationality, or the one in which you propose to be counted out unless charity shall be bestowed regardless of creed or nationality? The man who tries to ride two horses is apt to fall. Inconsistency always appears ridiculous. We hope the prayer in your ‘Thank God’ does not put you under the condemnation of Proverbs 28:9.
“In behalf of every nation in America, we protest against the abuse of any people, whether they come from the banks of the Shannon, or of the Rhine or the Po, the Danube or the Hoang Ho.
“It is urged against the Chinese in one of your columns that their great sin is in the fact ‘that California has been drained of over $200,000,000 during the last twenty-five years.’ This is an average of $800,000 per year. But surely this is not a great offence, for Mr. Michael Davitt, at Madison Square Garden, New York city, recently urged ‘that millions of dollars had been sent from this country to gladden the poor Irish peasants.’ Every true man will rejoice that the peasantry of Ireland and China and Germany can be gladdened with money honestly earned by their friends in America. The heart of one peasant is as precious in the sight of the Lord as the heart of any other peasant so far as we know.
“We have always held that it was mean for a great strong man to strike a small one. When we see this done we feel like saying, ‘Take a man of your size.’ On this principle we shall never admire the 17,000,000 laboring men attacking the 125,000 now in our country. We do not believe any one has correctly sensed the heart of true workmen when he tries to win their favor by abusing the few harmless industrious celestials.
“What are the charges you have to make against these Chinese? Are they disturbers of the peace, are they thieves, are they licentious, are they riotous or drunkards or paupers? Are they the burden of our courts? If there be anything I denounce it is national prejudice. Will you denounce an Irishman because he came from Ireland, or a Chinese because he came from China? I will not. My condemnation shall fall on him who violates law and is an unworthy citizen. And then my condemnation rests, not upon his nationality, but upon his guilt. So long as any man is a quiet, law-abiding citizen, he can count me his friend. When he sins, I shall preach to him repentance and reformation.
“I am aware that the problem of foreign immigration is gigantic. But what kind of a sieve shall be used to strain the stream that is flowing into America from the Old World? The men who weave the meshes of the strainer have a Herculean task. Your readers will find it very profitable to study the ‘evils incident to immigration’ in the North American Review for January, 1884.”
BUREAU OF WOMAN’S WORK.
MISS D. E. EMERSON, SECRETARY.