The American Missionary — Volume 49, No. 02, February, 1895Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 49, No. 02, February, 1895
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
The venerable Dr. Cushing Eells left behind him many mementoes of his
remarkable activity in promoting educational and missionary work in
Oregon and Washington, on the Pacific coast. Nor with his decease has
his good work ceased. Two sons of his have gone forward in similar
lines of effort. His son, Major Edwin Eells, was one of the first
nominees of the American Missionary Association under General Grant's
Peace Policy, and he was renominated by us so long as we were allowed
to make nominations, and he has been continued ever since, making a
total service of twenty-three years and a half. During this time the
Indians have received titles to their lands and have become citizens.
His effective hand has been seen in all their improvement. But now we
learn that he has been notified that he is soon to be relieved. His
removal is said to be due solely to politics. We are sorry for the
Indians, and we are ashamed of a Government that will deprive them for
partisan purposes of a good agent.
Another son of Dr. Eells, Rev. Myron Eells, was appointed as a
missionary at the S'kokomish Agency by the American Board, and when the
transfer of missions was made he was continued at the post under the
American Missionary Association--a position that he still holds. The
subjoined sketch from his pen shows that in point of honesty, in some
respects, at least, the Indians surpass their white neighbors.
* * * * *
HONORABLE RECORD FOR INDIANS.
BY REV. MYRON EELLS, S'KOKOMISH AGENCY, WASHINGTON.
During the late financial stringency the principal business man near
this reservation failed, and put his property into the hands of a
receiver. The S'kokomish Indians owed him about three thousand dollars,
and the whites owed him over twenty thousand. The first business of
the receiver was to try to collect these debts. After he had made
considerable effort in this direction he said to me substantially as
follows: "These Indians have made more honest efforts to pay these
debts than the whites have, as a whole."
As the Indians have become citizens they have been required to work
road taxes among their other duties. The road supervisor said to me:
"I obtained more satisfactory work out of the Indians than I did out
of the white men." The Indians had often said that the roads were
theirs, and they wanted to use them, so that they were not losing
anything, even if they worked a little over their time, and several of
them who were over fifty years of age voluntarily gave a day's work or
two. While the Indians by no means always do as I wish to have them,
yet these facts are encouraging.
[Illustration: MISSION HOME, S'KOKOMISH.]
* * * * *
THE TRIALS OF MISSIONARY LIFE.--The hardships and dangers to which our
Indian missionaries are exposed are illustrated in the sad experience
of Rev. T. L. Riggs, the superintendent of the missions of the
Association at Oahe, S. D.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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