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
(5) _The Government Physician._--Unfortunately the physician proved to
be the wrong man in the wrong place, but was retained for a time because
it was impossible to obtain any one else who was better. When the agent
left the previous fall, by orders from Washington, he was in charge of
the reservation until February. His moral and religious influence in
many points was at zero. The less said about him the better, but we had
to contend against his influence.
(6) _Indian Church Members._--Previous to this time nineteen Indians had
been received into the church on the reservation. Of these four had
died, two had been suspended, and another ought to have been, but for
good reasons was suffered to remain for a time; two more were sisters
of Billy Clams, and had gone with his church, but were not suspended
because the church thought it best to be lenient with them for a time on
account of their ignorance and the strong influence brought to bear on
them; three had moved away, and there were seven left, three of whom
were school-girls.
The previous summer there were two young men who had assisted
considerably in church work, and I was hoping much from them, but one of
them in getting married had done very badly, had been locked up in jail
and suspended from the church, and thus far, although I had kindly urged
him, and it had been kindly received as a general thing, yet he had
refused to make the public acknowledgment which the church required of
him. The other, with so many adverse influences to contend against as
there then were on the reservation, found it hard work to stand as a
Christian without doing much as a teacher.
During the previous spring there had been considerable religious
interest, and four men with their families had taken a firm stand for
the right, but in August one of them for wrong-doing had been put in
jail, and in the fall two others had fallen into betting and gambling at
a great Indian wedding, and the remaining one, a sub-chief, whom I
thought a suitable candidate for church membership, had declined to
unite with the church when I suggested the subject to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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