Among the encouraging events of 1840 and 1841 was the conversion of Simon Anawangmane. He was the first full-blood Dakota man to come out on the side of the new religion. Mr. Renville and his sons had joined the church, but the rest were women. It came to be a taunt that the men used when we talked with them and asked them to receive the gospel, "Your church is made up of women"; and, "If you had gotten us in first, it would have amounted to something, but now there are only women. Who would follow after women?" Thus the proud Dakota braves turned away. But God's truth has sharp arrows in it, and the Holy Spirit knows how to use them in piercing even Dakota hearts. _Anawangmane_ (walks galloping on) was at this time not far from thirty years old. He was not a bright scholar--rather dull and slow in learning to read. But he had a very strong will-power and did not know what fear was. He had been a very dare-devil on the war-path. The Dakotas had a curious custom of being _under law_ and _above law_. It was always competent for a Dakota soldier to punish another man for a misdemeanor, if the other man did not rank above him in savage prowess. As for example: If a Dakota man had braved an Ojibwa with a loaded gun pointed at him, and had gone up and killed him, he ranked above all men who had not done a like brave deed. And if no one in the community had done such an act of bravery, then this man could not be punished for any thing, according to Dakota custom. Under date of Feb. 24, 1841, Mary writes:--"Last Sabbath was Isabella's birthday. She has been a healthy child, for which we have cause of gratitude. But this was not our only, or principal, cause of joy on last Sabbath. Five adults received the baptismal rite preparatory to the celebration of the Lord's Supper on next Sabbath. One of them was a man, the first in the nation--a full-blooded Sioux, that has desired to renounce all for Christ. May God enable him to adorn his profession. His future life will doubtless exert a powerful influence either for or against Christ's cause here. Three years since he was examined by the church session, but then he acknowledged that the 6th and 7th commandments were too broad in their restrictions for him. Now he professes a desire and determination to keep them also. His wife, whom he is willing to marry, with her child, and three children by two other wives he has had, stood with him, and at the same time received the seal of the new covenant. As they all wished English names, we gave 'Hetta' to a white, gray-eyed orphan girl who was baptized, on account of her grandmother."