The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 11, November, 1879 — John Shaqi
The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 11, November, 1879Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 11, November, 1879
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
Our first call on Indians was at _Port Gamble_, fifty miles from home.
Here are about one hundred, and they asked me to talk on temperance.
During the last year and a half they have reformed in this respect.
After pointing them to Christ as the source of their help, they had
their talk. They said that one thing now troubles them. They live
across Port Gamble Bay, an eighth of a mile from the saw-mill and town,
in a village by themselves, on land owned by the mill company. They can
manage the Indians as well as could be expected, but there is near them
a white man with a black heart, who with his Indian wife often gets
drunk, sometimes remaining so for a week at a time. They also tempt
the weaker Indians; and now how to get rid of him is the question. As
both he and they live on land belonging to the company, the only way
I saw was for them to petition the superintendent to remove him. So
after nine o’clock at night I wrote out a petition, which the chiefs
and policemen and others signed, stating all the facts, and asking for
this man’s removal. I was obliged to leave early the next morning,
and so left them to present it. I have known of whites petitioning to
have worthless Indians removed, but have never before known Indians
to petition to have a white man removed because he was so low that
they did not wish to have him near them. Two years ago they would not
have done this, as many of them were glad to have an opportunity so
convenient where they could obtain the liquid poison.
My next congregation was at _Port Discovery_, thirty-five miles farther
on, and very much the same routine was observed at a number of places.
My business with them was to preach; theirs with me was to talk about
how and where to procure land in the best way. This was true at Port
Angelos, Elkwa, and two settlements at Clallam Bay. For several years
they have been urged to procure land so that they could feel warranted
in erecting good houses, and thus leave the old ones, full of grease,
dirt and smoke; but with the exception of those at Dunginess, very few
have done so; now they begin to realize the benefits of it and have
“land on the brain.” But they move cautiously, for it is easy for them
to be deceived, and it is talk, talk, talk as to what is best. Two
parties traveled to the Reservation about the time I was beginning my
journey—a trip of two or three hundred miles—to consult about land.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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