Seven other natives have, also, been ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, making thirty-three in all, who have served their fellow-tribesmen in the high and holy office of the Christian ministry. There is not a single ordained Romish priest among the Sioux Indians. "Watchman, tell us of the night, What its signs of promise are." Seventy years ago, among the twenty-five thousand Sioux Indians in the United States, there was not a single church, not even one professing Christian. They were all polytheistic pagans. There were signs of pagan worship about every teepee. It might be the medicine sack tied behind the conical wigwam, or a yard of broadcloth, floating from the top of a flagpole as a sacrifice to some deity. There was more or less idol-worship in all their gatherings. One of the simplest forms was the holding of a well-filled pipe at arm's length, with the mouth-piece upward, while the performers said, "O Lord, take a smoke and have mercy on me." In the feasts and dances, the forms were more elaborate. The Sun-dance continued for days of fasting and sacrificial work by the participants. Now these signs of pagan worship have almost entirely disappeared among the Dakotas. These facts speak volumes--one in eight of the Dakotas is a Presbyterian. There are two-thirds as many Congregationalists, twice as many Episcopalians and twice as many Catholics. More than one-half of the Dakotas have been baptized in the name of the Triune God and thousands of them are professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what has wrought this great change among the Dakotas? It was the power of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, working through the means of grace as employed and applied by these faithful missionaries. They renounced heathenism, not because the government so ordered, but because they found that there was no God like Jehovah and Jehovah said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Even those who have not accepted Christ have generally cast away their idols. Now do missions pay? Do Indian missions pay? Let the grand work among the Dakotas and its glorious results be an all sufficient answer. It does pay a thousand fold. Hear the Christian tribesmen sing the Hymn of the Sioux. Lift aloft the starry banner, Let it wave o'er land and sea; Shout aloud and sing hosanna! Praise the Lord, who set us free! Here we stand amazed and wonder Such a happy change to see; The bonds of sin are burst asunder! Praise the Lord who set us free. Long we lay in darkness pining, Not a ray of hope had we! Now the Gospel Sun is shining: Praise the Lord who set us free. In one loud and joyful chorus, Heart and soul now join will we; Salvation's Sun is shining o'er us! Praise the Lord who set us free. _PART II._ SOME SIOUX STORIETTES _Part II_ _CONTENTS_ SOME SIOUX STORIETTES. I. The Dead Papoose.--The Maiden's Feast.