Ten years of missionary work among the Indians at Skokomish, Washington Territory, 1874-1884Eells, Myron
Religion
Ten years of missionary work among the Indians at Skokomish, Washington Territory, 1874-1884
Eells, Myron
Clallam Indians -- Missions; Missions -- Washington (State); Skokomish Indian Reservation (Wash.); Twana Indians -- Missions
On reaching Jamestown, the afternoon was spent in introducing an Indian
from British Columbia, who had taken me there in his canoe, to the
Clallam Indians and the school; and in comforting two parents, Christian
Indians, whose youngest child lay at the point of death. The next day
she died, and, as no minister had ever been among these Indians at any
previous funeral, they needed some instruction. So it was my duty to
assist in digging the grave and making the coffin, comfort them, and
attend the funeral in a snow-storm.
The Sabbath was spent in holding two services with them, one of them
being mainly a service of song; and, as there was a part of the day
unoccupied, at the request of the whites near by I gave them a sermon.
The next day I found that “Blue Monday” must be adjourned. Years ago the
Indians purchased their land, but owing to a mistake of the surveyor, it
was necessary that the deeds should be made out again. So, in order to
get all the Indians together who were needed, with the proper officer, I
walked fourteen miles, rode six in a canoe, and then, after half-past
three o’clock, saw that nineteen deeds were properly signed, which
required sixty-two signatures, besides the witnessing, acknowledging,
and filing of them, which required seventy-six more signatures. The plat
of their town--Jamestown--was also filed and recorded. When this was
done, I assisted the Indians to obtain two marriage-licenses, after
which we went to the church, where I addressed them on two different
subjects, and then the two weddings took place, and by nine o’clock we
were done.
The monotony of the next day was varied by a visit to the school;
helping the chief to select a burying-ground (for their dead had been
buried in various places); a walk of ten miles and a wedding of a white
couple, who have been very kind to me in my work there, one of them
being a member of the Jamestown church.
On my way home, while waiting for the steamers to connect at Port
Gamble, I took a trip of about fifty miles, to Port Madison and back, to
help in finishing the Indian census of 1880 for General F. A. Walker and
Major J. W. Powell; and then on my way home, by the kindness of the
captain of the steamer, who waited half an hour for me, I was able to
assist the chief in capturing and taking to the reservation the fifth
Indian at Port Gamble who had been drunk, and had, by that time,
returned from the British side.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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