t , e T, W-iil BY REV. D. E. EVAN S. GOOD WILL, SOUTH DAKOTA. LITERATURE DEPARTMENT. Woman's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 156 Fifth Ave., New York City. I’l-ice two cents each. Si. .50 per HKl. No. .3U1— id. Ed.— P, I90H. Early History. Koaming over the great territory covered now by the states of Minnesota and North and South Dakota, tliere used to be a number of warlike Indian tribes. Tliese peoj)le called themselves the “'Dakotas' h mean- ing the “allied" or friendly tribes. Their inveterate enemies, the Ojibways (Chii)i)ewas) who lived in whut has since been called Wisconsin, called these Dakota Indians by the name “Sioux", which means (literally “snakes"). Their fietjuent en- counters with these Ojibways i)roduced in them a warlike spirit, and at the same time strengthened the liond of union existing between the tribes so that the “Sioux Nation" became widely known as the most ])owerful body of Indians on the continent. They were also considered the most treachei-ous and blood- thirsty, and when they went on the warpath, their most i-elentless enemies trembled. In times of peace the men hunted the buffalo, which supplied them with meat and robes, and the women cultivated little )>atches which supplied their scanty supply of food. “The Sioux would rather tight than work,'' was said of them by one who knew them thoroughly. The United States Government fought them for years, but they were rever conquered. Finding it “cheaper t(» feed them than to tight them", a treaty was concluded with them which ol)ligated the Goveimment to give to each man, woman and child l)elonging to the tribe a full soldier's ration daily. Missionary Effort. Such were the conditions existing among the Dako- tas when the IIoi.y Spikit put into the hearts of two young men in Washington, Connecticut, to leave their home and friends to make known to the Indians the blessings of Christianity. These young men were Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond, who with John 3: 16 as their motto came unsent by man. even against opposition at home, to preach by example and pre- cept the unsearcliiil)le riches of Christ among the Sioux. This was in May, 1834. and on I'eaching Ft. Sneliing, at the nioutli of St. Peters River (now called the Minnesota), they found no welcome either from the Indians or fi’om (iovernment officials. The brothers at once .set about the task of learning the language, an.l their first effort to Christianize and civilize the Indians was by teaching them t.:> plow. In this way they soon gained the confi lence of the Indian Agent, as well as of the In Hans themselves. A few weeks later tlu* Ke\'. Thomas S. M'illiamson M. 1)., arrived at Ft. Sneliing under appointment from the American Hoaid of Foreign Missions, to exploi-e the country with the view of starting a Mi.ssion among the Sioux. Thus ( lod was convei’ging his rays of (iospel light on this dai-kfield. Dr. William.son i-eturne,! to his home in Ohio, and l)rought out his family the following yeai'. The Pond l)rothers proceeded to erect their little ‘*C'abind)y-the-lake’' on the shore of Lake Cal- houn. within the pi-esent limits of the city of Minnea- polis. d'he wintei- of 1834-35 was spent in accpiiring a better knowledge of the language, and reducing it to writing. This was no easy task, but was well done, and when Dr. William.son arrived th(‘ following s])ring. the lines were well laid for the future development of that difficult language. The two brothel's had di.scovered the Dakota ■‘verb", which .some of the (iovernment interjiretei's had claim- ed was not in existence. This verb, as shown by the e.xcellent (irammai- jirepai'ed later by Dr. Stephen R. Riggs, and jiublished by the United States (iovern- ment. is shown to be one of the most comiilex known to the human race. On pages 38 and 39 of that (irammar we have the paradigm of the verb-root Ksa, to cut, and theverl)is shown to lan e numerous forms, first of all to denote the three persons, and the singu- lar. dual, and plural numbei's; six different forms to denote the recipient of the cutting, whether “him”, “thee"'. "me", "them", "you", or "us"; .seven ditfei - ent forms to de.scribe the kind of cutting, such as ■■yiiUsir', to hi-i nk off III iiiiij ii'iiij^ ‘“.vaksa". to hiti iff\ “paksa“, to 'iri'iik !/ itn>ilinition the converts lived clean, pure, true Christian lives and died triumphant deaths. The Turning Point. The massacre, with all its horrors, and the revival, with its matchless work of gi-ace, marked sharply the turning point in the history of the Sioux. Now they were to “forget the things which were behind’’ them as savages and to “press forward to the things which were before" them as Chri.stians. A school was de- manded. The cull was so imperious that the mission- aries set to work at once to secure it. Their hopes Kev. Stephen K. Ivio-.tjs I). I). Founder of the (iood Will Training' School. were not fully realized, howevei', until 1870. Dr. Kigg.s selected the location, ei-ected the hr.st building and oi)eneil school, naming it “Good Will." Tlie school work began in earnest. The attendance in- creased from year to year, men, women and children seeking to avail themselves of the advantages of the school. Other buildings were erected, and in 187(1 six young men took up their abode in one of ih.em, bringing their own provisions and cooking their own meals, thus establi.shing the boarding department. All of these young men became ministers. In 1882 the plant was greatly enlarged, and Good Will became a training and industrial school. Since its opening many hundi'eds of bright, intelligent Sioux girls and boys have i)assed through the school and have made homes for themselves on the re.se rvation, proving themselves willing and capable of ailopting the ways of their white Christian teachers and neighbors. In 190-i a theological department was organized , and students preparing for active service as minister ; and missionaries, as well as officers and teachers in the churches have opportunities to study Bible doc- trine and church history, and the literary course is now extended to cover the lii-st ten grades usually taught in the i)ublic schools, besides an excellent course in music. A Busy Place. The (lood Will Training School is a Chi'istian home as well as a Christian school. Intense activity charac- tei’izes the place. From .5 o'clock in the morning un- til 8: 80 in the evening teachers and nu])ils are like busy bees, all intent u])on accomi)lishing their tasks. The girls ai’e tavight cooking, laundering, sewing, pei- sonal hygiene, the i)ropei' care of their I’ooms and other household duties. The boysai’e trained to care for the stock, and have practical experience in plow- ing. i)lanting, cultivating, harvesting and the i)roper housing of grains and grasses, together with the use of tools in the shops. So that, having completed their course of training, those boys and girls go out to make homes and become thrifty farmers anti active, intelligent, Christian citizens. The eight Presbyter- ian churches surrounding the school, with their more than six hundred communicants, ministered to l)y native pastors, speak volumes for the success of the work and the faithfulne.ss of the mi.ssionaries and teachers. A Successful Work. d'he work was difficult and i>rogress was slow at first. Many old heathen customs had to be chang<'d and many prejudices overcome. The Indian warrior distlained work — looked upon it as humiliating, if not disgraceful. The stpiaws worked, bnt not the l)raves. This even affected the children at school, the boys to a greater degree than the girls, it is true, l)ut all alike. They were willing to be worked for, but not to work for themselves or others. Mdien put Teachers and students of Good Will Traininj* School, 1901. Taken in the larjing' over the hill on his pony, would drop theii- tools and scamper to the house. They knew that should they he cauyht at work, they would he disg-raced in the eyes of their fathers and friends. So the y-irls about their cook- in