Book: The American Missionary, Vol. 43, No. 8, August, 1889
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Various >> The American Missionary, Vol. 43, No. 8, August, 1889
On Thursday night, the Alumni Association met at the University Chapel
for election of officers, adjourning later to the parlors for a social
meeting. These Alumni meetings grow each year in numbers, interest and
importance. Papers were read by several members, the usual history,
prophecy and poem were given, remarks were made by others and some good
music was rendered. Many who could not come sent interesting letters.
Friday night was the _great_ occasion. The crowd was no less than on
Wednesday night, and that such an audience should sit, giving close
attention, from 7:30 to 11:30, to the orations and essays of the
graduates, with no sign of weariness, was to me a wonderful thing and
showed a deep and heart-felt interest, in the community, for Christian
education, which is grandly encouraging.
Two of the graduates were from Mexico, one from Mississippi, one from
Plaquemines Parish, one from Baton Rouge and five from this city, the
proportion from the city being larger than usual.
Members of the Trustee Board and others who have heard these exercises
for many years, without hesitation pronounce them as a whole far better
than those of any previous year. It is certain that each year there is
shown a marked advancement in general intelligence and culture, and in
the depth and arrangement of thought. The venerable Judge Whittaker, who
seldom leaves his home at night, was on the platform, and at the close
of the valedictory, which was given by Leonidas Burbridge, of
Greenville, Miss., he jumped from his chair, seized the young man by the
hand and expressed his wonder and gratification at all he had heard and
seen, saying that in all his fifty years of life in New Orleans he had
seen nothing that so filled his heart with emotions of astonishment and
joy.
I neglected to speak of the meeting on Sunday morning, May 26th, of the
College Y.M.C.A., which has had a very prosperous year. The Association
was addressed by Mr. Fred S. Hitchcock on Y.M.C.A. work in the great
cities, and by Mr. Perry on College Y.M.C.A. work. The year has been a
good one, notwithstanding many adverse circumstances. The establishment
of a regular graded course of study, from the lowest primary grades to
the college, and close adherence to such course are being felt more and
more each year. More than half the graduates of this year began their
education in the school, and all interested are proud of them. There is
all along a marked difference between those who have come through our
own primary schools and others equally capable who have had no
systematic early training. For the first time since the course of study
was adopted, every class this year has thoroughly completed the work
assigned, and in most cases reviewed it.
The State has been in a condition of great excitement during most of the
year, nearly one-half the parishes being under a complete reign of
terror, and it has been a frequent thing to see one of our students from
the country, especially from the southern parishes, in tears in
consequence of the intelligence of some friend, father or brother
perhaps, having been the victim of some dastardly outrage from the
"regulators." Tales of sorrow and suffering could easily be gathered to
fill volumes. Iberia, Terrebonne and Lafayette parishes have been
especially noted as under this reign of terror, and from these we have
many pupils. Three sisters of Sammy Wakefield, who was shot at New
Iberia, are in our school, and many others closely connected with
suffering families. It has been very difficult for the colored people to
get a living, and the sacrifices they make to keep the children in
school are wonderful.
* * * * *
LE MOYNE NORMAL INSTITUTE, MEMPHIS, TENN.
BY PROF. A.J. STEELE.
Another year has passed in the history of our work at Le Moyne
Institute, and its eighteenth anniversary has been celebrated with the
graduation of a class of eleven, and the tenth reunion of an alumni
association numbering some seventy five members. Recalling sixteen years
of experience in connection with this work, I can fix upon scarcely a
single event or circumstance that has not been made to conduce to the
advancement of our work and influence in the community, and looking over
results in all directions, they have surpassed the dreams and
expectations of the most hopeful.
The year past has been a remarkable one in our history. Our attendance
has varied little from four hundred pupils in all grades of the twelve
years' course, while our enrollment for the year has reached five
hundred and twenty different pupils.
Every interest of the school has been prospered and greatly blessed and
strengthened. The utmost harmony and earnestness has marked the work of
the year, both among teachers and pupils. During the past session, as
many as sixty of our pupils have started out in the Christian life,
giving evidence of change of heart and an earnest purpose to live for
Christ and His work in the world. We rejoice over this more than over
all other results of our year's work.
The whole spirit and tone of our work has been such that even our trials
and losses, from fire and from breaks in our working force, have seemed
to be turned to means of blessing and sources of strength. Our trials
and difficulties have been to us opportunities. We look forward
hopefully to the future, as we look thankfully back to the past.
Our partially destroyed building, from the fire of March 3d, is rebuilt
and greatly improved. We hope our corps of instructors, so uniformly
faithful in the discharge of duty, may remain unbroken, the same for the
coming year.
At the close of the term, the promotions were made in all grades by the
principal, and the pupils given the "forms" they are to occupy the
coming year. In truth, the formal "Commencement" for the year was made
at the close of this session. Every pupil knows exactly his grade and
place, and few will be absent at the opening, October first.
* * * * *
AVERY INSTITUTE, CHARLESTON, S.C.
Anniversary week of this Institute is always an occasion of the deepest
interest to the colored people of Charleston and vicinity; and those who
succeed in obtaining tickets of admission to Avery Hall consider
themselves most fortunate. This year proved no exception, and the demand
for tickets, and the enthusiasm of those in attendance, have never been
surpassed in the history of the school.
The exercises throughout the week were of a high order. The Sub-Normal
Exhibition and the Prize-Speaking Contest by the normal classes were
unanimously declared to be the best ever given in Avery. At the
commencement on Wednesday, every foot of space within sight or hearing
of the platform was filled by intelligent and appreciative listeners.
Eleven graduates--ten ladies and one gentleman--received the diploma of
the Institute and joined the hundreds who have preceded them in the
grand work of elevating their race.
* * * * *
THE NEW CHURCH AND SCHOOL AT ALCO, ALA.
BY REV. R.C. BEDFORD.
Brewton is the county seat of Escambia County, Alabama. It is on the
Louisville & Nashville Railroad, one hundred and six miles north of
Montgomery, and seventy-four north of Mobile. It has a population of
about two thousand five hundred, and is quite thrifty. Alco is a mile
and a half further south, on the same road, and is a nice little village
of five or six hundred people, that has grown up within the last three
years, and almost wholly out of the Peters Lumber Company. The property
of the Company consists of one of the largest and finest mills in the
South, with nearly 200,000 acres of yellow pine surrounding it. Some
three hundred colored men, most of them with families, are employed in
the various operations of the mills. Mr. Peters is engaged most of the
time in his large lumber and salt interests at Manistee, Mich., but
comes South two or three times a year to look after the business at
Alco. From the first, it was the purpose of the Company to do something
to improve the church and school facilities of the colored people, and
last spring, while Mrs. Peters was spending a few weeks at Alco, she had
a building 35x60 erected, and nicely arranged for church and school
purposes. This she turned over to the American Missionary Association,
and they at once sent down Rev. W.P. Hamilton, of Talladega, to open a
school and begin preaching. The second Sunday in June, he was joined by
Prof. G.W. Andrews, of Talladega, Rev. R.C. Bedford, of Montgomery, and
Rev. F.G. Ragland and Deacon Godbold of Mobile, to assist him in
dedicating the building.
Though but little was known of Congregationalism in that part of the
country, the services were entered into most heartily by all classes of
the people. Most of the ministers at Brewton, in charge of colored
churches, closed their places of worship and joined with us, partaking
in the services, and speaking with great delight of the coming of an
educated preacher and teacher among them.
Mr. Hamilton starts off with over fifty pupils in Sunday and day school,
and hopes soon to have members enough so that he can take steps to call
a council and organize a church. The brethren of Alabama are greatly
encouraged by this movement. Heretofore we have had no church or school
between Montgomery and Mobile, one hundred and eighty miles. Now the
distance is divided, Alco standing about half way between the two
places.
* * * * *
CHILDREN'S DAY.
BY REV. J.E. SMITH.
The 9th of June last was a grand day for the young people in the First
Congregational Church at Chattanooga. The church was tastefully
decorated with appropriate Scripture mottoes, choice evergreens,
beautiful flowers and sweet singing canaries. There was present a large
number of adults and a larger number of clean, sweet, hopeful children,
and many laughing, cooing babes in the arms of their Christian parents,
who like faithful Hannah and good Mary of old, had brought their babes
to the house of God to present them to the Lord. After the rendering of
a beautiful voluntary by the organist, the whole congregation joined in
singing that grand hymn, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!" The
pastor then read a few passages of Scripture selected for the occasion,
giving a short comment on the same, and prayed for God's blessing on the
young. While the congregation joined heartily in singing, "Heavenly
Father, send Thy blessing, On Thy children gathered here," Christian
parents who desired to present their offspring to the Lord, having been
invited, came forward and stood before the altar with their little ones
in their arms. Six bright-eyed, innocent babes were, on the faith of
their believing parents, consecrated to God in the Christian ordinance
of infant baptism. It was a most beautiful, pleasing and impressive
service.
After singing, "Take my life and let it be, Consecrated, Lord, to Thee,"
the pastor invited all children, calling them by name, who were ten
years of age and had been baptized in the church when infants, to come
forward. The church, then, through its pastor, at a cost of twenty-three
dollars, presented to each child, (nineteen in number) a beautiful,
well-bound copy of the Bible, with the following written on the fly
leaf: "This Bible was presented to ---- by the First Congregational
Church at Chattanooga, in commemoration of his infant consecration to
God at her sacred altar, by his Christian parents. John 5:39."
After taking a collection of ten dollars and twenty-four cents for the
Congregational Sunday-school and Publishing Society, we sang "God be
with you till we meet again," and the benediction was pronounced. Thus,
a very interesting and we trust profitable service of an hour and twenty
minutes was ended.
* * * * *
THE INDIANS.
* * * * *
LETTER FROM MISS COLLINS.
No facts in this field can be of more interest to the readers of the
MISSIONARY than those contained in the following thrilling account of
the conversion of three young Indians in Miss Collins' mission field. We
give the facts as written by this self-sacrificing missionary.
Last Sabbath, Mr. Riggs came up from Oahe and we had communion, and
there were five children baptized and seven grown people, and seven more
were examined and advised to wait till the next communion. It was a most
interesting season.
Three of the young men were the leaders in the Indian dance. They have
always been the head ones in all Indian customs. A year ago, one of them
said in the dance that he should follow the Indian customs a year
longer--give himself up to them wholly and try to be satisfied, and if
he had in his heart the same unsatisfied feeling, the same longing, that
he then had, he should throw it all away.
On last New Year's day, the same young man, "Huntington Wolcott," came
to me and said--"Last night I arose in the dance and told them that I
had given the old customs and the old Indians a fair trial, and that
they did not satisfy, now I should leave them forever and give myself to
God, and if any others were ready to follow to arise and so make it
known. The other two leaders arose, stood silently a moment, and walked
out." From that time they have given themselves up to singing, praying
and studying the Bible. They had, for two years, been halting between
two opinions, attending the school, church, etc., and the Indian feasts
and dances, too. These three having come out so boldly on God's side,
has made a great change in our work here.
Poor old Running-Antelope feels very sad. It is his desire to keep the
young men from learning Christianity and civilization as long as he can.
He wants them to have everything in common, and to feel that for an
individual to accumulate anything is a disgrace. As long as they feel
so, of course squalor and suffering will be the natural consequences.
The young men are working hard to build up homes and to accumulate
something for their families during the winter. One young man has cut
logs and is building a house. I try to teach them that long prayers and
loud singing is not all of Christianity--that however regularly a man
attends to his church duties, if he fails to provide for his family, his
religion is vain; and if he gives all his goods to his friends and lets
his wife and children cry for bread, that their cries will reach the
ears of God, and his prayers and hymns will be lost in this round of
wailing of the hungry. All this is very different from their old Indian
doctrine and hard to understand.
Elias, our native teacher, has formed a class of young men who meet
every Tuesday night and talk and pray and sing together, and he directs
their thought. I think it will prove very helpful. Then on Thursday
night I have my Bible class, which now numbers about twenty. It is
formed of the young men and women who wish to follow Christ's example,
and band themselves together to learn of him. It has been the _training
school_ of the young Christians.
* * * * *
What could be more encouraging than such facts as these? An Indian
unattended by any white person, dissatisfied with the religion of his
fathers, walks out of heathenism; out of sympathy and connection with
his tribe; out of the religion and customs of his fathers and into the
customs of civilized life, into the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
the words of that quaint old Negro hymn, let those who so earnestly
desire the conversion of the Pagans in America exhort one another to
"Pray on: Pray on."
C.J.R.
* * * * *
THE RAMONA INDIAN SCHOOL.
BY DISTRICT SECRETARY JOS. E. ROY.
This is a department of the University of New Mexico at Santa Fe,
occupying separate buildings and a separate locality, and managed by the
American Missionary Association. A recent visit to the school it may be
worth while to report. It is for the Apache Indians and the youth who
are gathered into it are of the Jiccarrilla band. Their reservation is
about two hundred miles west, and is reached by railroad or by pony
transportation. The teachers deem it better to have the school some
distance from the people so as to make its impression the more positive,
and yet near enough for the parents to visit their children occasionally
while at school. This keeps up the interest and prevents the children
from being educated away from their elders. Two good sized buildings are
used. In one there are the school rooms, the accommodations for the
teachers, and the lodgings for the boys. In the other, under a matron,
there are lodgings for the girls, work rooms for the same, and the
boarding department for all. The Indian girls do the cooking for the
establishment. I saw them getting dinner and I saw many loaves of
beautiful white bread made by them. In their work shop they make their
own clothes. The boys, under the lead of the principal, Prof. Elmore
Chase, work at cobbling, making ditches and cultivating the soil, and
also do something with carpenter's tools. The Government pays over a
hundred dollars a year for each student toward the expense of board,
clothes, etc. The American Missionary Association appoints the teachers
and directs the school. The scholars, thirty in all, have made very
creditable progress in their studies, considering the short time the
school has been in operation, from three to four years. Prof. Whipple,
now of Wheaton College, who for a time was principal of the Ramona,
testifies: "I never saw on an average such aptness, docility and
faithfulness in school and industrial work." The religious influence
of the school has not been interfered with by the Government. I heard
the scholars recite with promptness and evident understanding the
Twenty third Psalm, the Beatitudes, the Commandments, the Lord's
Prayer, and portions of a catechism introductory to the Westminster
Shorter. Daily worship is maintained among them, the Sunday-school
lesson is thoroughly taught, while the Bible is freely used in the
school. The Professor thought that several of the youth gave such
evidence of an experience of grace as would satisfy us concerning
white children. I was permitted to see half a dozen letters written by
the scholars to be sent to their parents and brothers and sisters,
without the supervision of their teachers, in which were many
expressions of love for the Saviour and the Bible, and of a desire
that their friends at home should be made acquainted with the same,
and the purpose, when they should go home, to communicate those good
things.
The following are four of those letters:
RAMONA INDIAN SCHOOL, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.
June 16, 1889.
_My Dear Father:_
I am very well and happy all the time. I am very sorry that my
step Mother was dead. I want you to come after me in July. And
come early. I had such a lovely time on our picnic. I want you
to learn about Jesus and His love. So when you die you will go
to Him. Where you shall be happy evermore.
From your loving daughter, MARY ARMSTRONG.
RAMONA SCHOOL, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.
June 10, 1889.
_My Dear Father:_
I was very glad to get your letter, and I am going to answer it
right away. I am so anxious to go home this Summer. I love you
all very much, and I love my Father in Heaven too. I love my
Saviour very much. He is your Saviour too. Jesus is a Saviour
of all the people in this world. I am glad that you are all
working. I am working too but I am in school now. I am reading
in the Third Reader. Give my love to all of my folks and Miss
Moore and Miss Clegg[1].
From your loving daughter, MARY GRIMES.
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.
June 15, 1889.
_My Dear Brother A.G.:_
I would like to see you very much. We have a nice time here.
The children are all well and happy. How is my little cousin?
Is he well and happy? We are all writing a letter this morning.
We are all going home in July, so you know I am very happy
every day. How are all my brothers. I would like to see them
too. How is my father. Is he well and happy? I have not seen my
father for a long time. Why don't he come to see me? I wish you
knew about our dear Saviour. I wish some one will come and tell
all the people about Jesus. God is our Father in Heaven who
loves us very much. He loves all the people in the world. He
wants them to love Him. I will tell you about him when I go
home. I wish you would read the Bible so you would know about
Him. Our corn is beginning to grow. Some children are going to
speak in the church to-morrow. Please give my love to all my
people. I am going to say good-bye.
From your loving sister, IRENE BANCROFT.
RAMONA SCHOOL, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.
April 12, 1889.
_Dear Father Monarcha:_
I am very glad that you are working; that is just what I want
you to do. You must build a house for your children, and you
will have a place to stay when the weather gets cold. And every
body must build houses for themselves; that is just what the
Government wants all of you to do, because that is right and
everybody thinks that it is right, and they were very much
pleased when you do so. I am very glad that all my folks are
well and happy if all of you are happy then I am happy too.
Your letter pleases me very much. And you must do just what Mr.
Bishop asks you to do. You must not do like other men do that
don't build houses; they just run off from the Reservation and
go hunting and sell all the things that the Government gives
them. You must not do that because that is wrong, not right.
Miss Moore will tell you what I say to you. Write another
letter if you have time, if you don't have time, why just go on
and finish all your spring work then you come after me when
school is out; if you don't want to come then you send somebody
after me.
Your loving son, JESSE GREENLEAF.
The writer of this letter has attended school two and a half years,
spending one-half day in school each day and working half a day. He is
now fourteen years old.
[Footnote 1: These were former teachers at the Ramona, who are
now doing mission work among the Indians. They read these
letters to the parents and in turn write back for them.]
* * * * *
THE CHINESE.
* * * * *
OROVILLE, MARYSVILLE, PETALUMA.
BY REV. W.C. POND, D.D.
Early on Monday morning, June 17th, I left home for a visit to our
missions at Oroville and Marysville. I reached Oroville at about 7:30
P.M. As soon as possible I was at the Mission House, where warmest
greetings from teacher and pupils awaited me. The lessons of the evening
received our first attention, for it is a principle with us that each
scholar shall have the English lesson promised him, whoever may be
present and whatever else we may desire to do. This is the demand of
good faith, and not less of good policy. It is the English lesson that
holds them where the gospel can reach them, so that this we must never
forego.
When all this was accomplished, those who could read with comparative
ease were gathered about a table for a sort of Bible reading, which I
proposed to give them, in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. This was the
manner of it: One of them read the first verse, being helped over the
hard words, then I explained it in as simple English as I could command;
then the reader translated both it and my explanation into Chinese, each
other pupil keeping watch to see whether what was said expressed the
ideas which he had received from me. At this time, we were much aided by
the co-operation of Yong Jin, our missionary helper, whose translations
I could depend upon quite confidently, but I often give these readings
without such help, feeling quite sure that if six or eight have received
the _same_ idea, they have received the one I meant to give. When we had
finished the first verse, a second pupil read the second verse with the
same method, and so on. Some felt unequal to the task of translating,
but most were willing to try, and most who tried succeeded strangely
well. I had intended to follow this with a few words of exhortation, but
just as we read the last verse, Yong Ack arrived. This is a brother who
was converted about a year ago. His daily work is that of a cook in a
way-side inn, about six (some said eight) miles from Oroville. He has
been accustomed to walk this distance, over a rough and dusty road, to
attend, not often the school, but the religious services of our mission.
He can seldom reach the Mission House before nine, but the meetings
begin when he arrives and continue till he is ready to start away. As
this brother was to be baptized on the following evening, the Bible
reading was suspended with a promise from me that I would speak from
these words the next evening, and we all addressed ourselves to a study
of the Confession and Covenant of our little Chinese Church at Oroville.
It was taken up clause by clause, read in English, explained, translated
into Chinese, and still further explained, till Yong Ack in particular,
and in a general way all the rest of them, professed to understand and
believe it all. When this was finished, we were well on towards 11 P.M.,
and we closed the meeting with song and prayer.