One of the agents has been frequently heard to say, “that he thought the best way to civilize the Indians was to wash out the color.” They had accomplished what they were able to in that line. While it is certain that one agent came here a poor man, and went away wealthy, to say nothing of the lesser pickings which employers and contractors were allowed to take.
How to restore the lost confidence in the white man seemed on my arrival a herculean task. My first work was to get rid of all contaminating influences, by discharging bad men and filling their places with good, moral, and religious persons. The reformation at first seemed slow, but gradually increased from day
to day. I was soon able to start a Sabbath school, and divine services were held every Sabbath.
The Indians, old and young, were placed in classes, and appropriate teachers set over them. Soon our large and commodious house of worship was filled to its utmost capacity by old and young, male and female, all seemingly eager to pick up the crumbs of comfort that fell from God’s holy word; and from Sabbath to Sabbath this was continued.
Then came a change; officers from the army were ordered to relieve agents. The Sabbath was soon disregarded; Christian and moral men had their places made unpleasant, and were compelled to resign. Their places were filled by others who cared for nothing of the kind, and everything was relapsing into its former condition.
When I was again permitted to return I found things but little better than when I first came. However, I immediately set to work again, and, I think I can truly say, with full success. We have now three Bible-classes that read a verse around, and seem to comprehend very well what they read.
The old men are all in a class, and a person is appointed to read a chapter and explain it to them every Sabbath day. Many who cannot read can quote a large amount of Scripture. Quite a number, both men and women, lead in prayer, and many families maintain family worship, seemingly living Christian lives. We give out a psalm; many of the young people find it about as readily as we do, and can lead the music. The first week of the new year was observed as a national prayer-meeting, which was well attended; some for the first time acknowledging
Christ as their Saviour. We have at this time nearly one hundred professing to live Christian lives, and we seem to be adding, from day to day, such as I hope will be saved. Our day-school has been a great success for the last two years; before that it was a failure, and I am now convinced that it was the fault of the teachers not understanding the management of Indian children. We have quite a number of children who read and speak fluently, commit to memory easily, using the slate to advantage, demonstrating their capability to learn as readily as white children, provided they can have the same advantages.
There are white children in the school who do not advance as rapidly as some of the Indian children, thus exploding the general opinion that, as a race, they are merely imitative beings, but cannot originate an idea. The true Indian character, I fear, is very little understood, and still it seems almost anybody can write lectures on it, and with about as much truth in them as Æsop’s fables contain.
I have found them much more susceptible of moral and religious advancement than the white man, giving them the same opportunities; and I account for it in the fact that you never find an infidel among them unless made so by white men. They all acknowledge a Supreme Being that overrules all things. They may have a very crude notion of the worship due to such a Creator, but so soon as they are taught the true worship, they become very zealous, and they have no scoffers to discourage them.