History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 75

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 75

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The twelfth annual session was held at Lead, commencing June 5. 1901. The grand chan- cellor reported that he had found it necessary "to suspend the charters of six lodges who had not met for from three to five years, viz: Fidelity, No. 21, Woonsocket; Calanthe, No. 22, Miller; Gettysburg, No. 27, Gettysburg; Se- curity, No. 48, Scotland; Peerless, No. 61, Brookings ; and Edgemont, No. 63, Edgemont." The number of members in good standing De- cember 31. 1900, was 2.305, being a net gain during the year 1900 of eighty-five members. The following officers were installed for the next year: Grand chancellor, H. C. Burch; grand vice-chancellor, C. E. Warner; grand prelate, W. J. Markham ; grand keeper of records and seal, J. Carl Southwick; grand master of excheq- uer, C. H. Cassill; grand master-at-arms, W. H. Disney; grand inner guard, George D. Adamson; grand outer guard, J. F. Barry.

The thirteenth convention of the grand lodge convened in Canton June 4, 1902. The grand chancellor reported that while there had been "no gains in lodges and no great gains in mem- bership, on the whole the subordinate lodges had made a good healthy growth." In strong con- trast with the reports of the former officers, the grand keeper of records and seal, J. Carl South- wick, in his report for this year, makes the fol- lowing cheerful statement: "It is a matter for congratulation that our members are enjoying material prosperity to an almost unprecedented

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

extent." The officers for the ensuing year are as follows: Grand chancellor, C. H. Cassill; grand vice-chancellor, WV. J. Markham ; grand prelate, W. H. Disney ; grand keeper of records and seal, J. Carl Southwick; grand master of exchequer, C. A. Fountain; grand master-at- arms, George D. Adamson ; grand inner guard, F. S. Randolph; grand outer guard, W. A. Roberts.

The fourteenth and last annual convention of the grand lodge convened in Yankton June 3, 1903. The grand chancellor reported the local lodges "as a rule in flourishing condition and Pythianism is looking upward. The plan of holding district meetings has resulted in much good to the order." Two new lodges were added to the order during the year, Charles Mix Lodge, No. 75, at Geddes, and Blunt, No. 76, at Blunt, while Damon Lodge, No. 45, surrendered its charter. In the Endowment Rank there were, on the Ist of April, 1903, nineteen sections in this domain, with one hundred and one mem- bers, and insurance in force, $158,000. For the ensuing year the following officers were duly elected and installed : Grand chancellor, J. Carl Southwick; grand vice-chancellor, Einer John- son ; grand prelate, W. H. Disney ; grand keeper of records and seal, F. S. Randolph; grand master of exchequer, C. A. Fountain; grand master-at-arms, A. Ericson ; grand inner guard, W. H. Schellinger : grand outer guard, J. J. U'rquhart.

The following statement from Major General James R. Carnahan shows the following condi- tion in the Uniform Rank in good standing in this domain : Diamond, No. 2, Lead City, Cap- tain H. L. Howard: Deadwood, No. 5, Dead- wood, Captain C. L. Chiniquy ; General Custer, No. 6, Central City, Captain Thomas O'Con- nor ; Apollo, No. 13, Terry, Captain E. J. Rob- inson. These compose the First Battalion, Sec- ond Regiment.

The following statement shows the number of lodges and their aggregate membership on December 31st of each year in the history of the grand lodge of South Dakota: 1890, 30 lodges, 1,168 members ; 1891, 31 lodges, 1,352 members ;

1892, 39 lodges, 1,762 members ; 1893, 44 lodges, 2,020 members; 1894, 47 lodges, 1,993 mem- bers ; 1895, 49 lodges, 1,899 members; 1896, 45 lodges, 1,770 members ; 1897, 45 lodges, 1,751 members ; 1898, 46 lodges, 1,920 members ; 1899, 51 lodges, 2,220 members ; 1900, 47 lodges, 2,305 members ; 1901, 45 lodges, 2,207 members; 1902, 46 lodges, 2,209 members.

This, in brief, brings the story of Pythianism in this grand domain down to date. The fif- teenth annual convention will be held in Mitchell, commencing June 1, 1904. This order contains among its membership a large number of the most active and influential men in the state. In closing, I will quote the language which I used officially in communications to the subordinate lodges and the grand lodge, while an officer of the order :

"The Order of Knights of Pythias has a glorious history and a splendid literature. * I am profoundly impressed with the idea that the principles of our order should become liv- ing realities in the daily life of its membership. * * * The Order of Knights of Pythias is the most distinctively American fraternal organiza- tion and as such entitled to our greatest adora- tion. We admit men upon the broad platform of good morals and right living. It aims to make every Knight a true man, a good citizen. It is one of the great factors tending to the suc- cessful perpetuity of our glorious republic. In noble deeds and practical work Pythianism is today helping to make a better history for our nation, for the world, for humanity. As it seeks to instruct the mind in regard to the solemn obligations of life, to develop the moral and social virtues, it is one of the great human in- stitutions of the age, one of the grand forces ar- rayed against evil, seeking the present and future good of the human race. 'As long as there are tears to wipe away, sufferings to alleviate, orphans to educate, widows to care for, and the weak to protect, our noble order will exist, mov- ing onward and upward in its high and holy mission, with noiseless step, like the rush of an angel's wing. Its foundations are laid in God's eternal truth and love.'"

CHAPTER XCII

BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS.

BY HON. JOHN T. COGAN.

This order was instituted in New York City, in 1868. It was composed only of a few gentle- men of the theatrical profession, drawn together for social intercourse, and was then styled, "The Jolly Corks." As the order grew, its name was changed to that of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and professional and business men generally were enrolled as members. It has now developed into a widespread and powerful order of benevolence and charity, with lodges in over nine hundred of the principal cities of the United States. The idea became prevalent that none but members of the theatrical profession and its dependencies were eligible to membership in the order. This is erroneous. It is true that many of the reputable male portion of the profes- sion are members ; but on the roll of membership will be found the names of prominent officials, merchants, bankers, journalists, legal and medi- cal men, and the bright lights of the world in art, literature, science and music. The order is a purely charitable organization, seeking to do its charity in silence, that the proud spirit that suf- fers in secret, fearing more the blush of shame that comes of asking, than the pangs of hunger, may feel that never will its sore need, nor the manner of its alleviation be published to the world, and that the faults, the frailties, the neces- sities and the help extended will remain as sacred confidences never to be divulged. And this fully explains the reason for the only secret of the organization. Charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity are the watchwords of this order, and hu-

manity its keynote, and daily and hourly do the prayers of the widow and orphan ascend to the Throne of Grace, craving blessings upon the magnanimous and beneficent order of Elks. Only one lodge of Elks is permitted in any town or city, and the city must contain a population of five thousand. This is done to prevent the rivalry, conflict and jealousy that so often em- barrass and injure secret societies, by rivalry among lodges of the same order in the same city. There are no ranks, titles or emoluments in the order. All Elks have equal rights under their laws. The order is born of brotherly love, and aiming to promote the brotherhood of man, it is designed to offer its members the certainty of warm hearts and welcome hearths in the various cities to which business or pleasure may summon them.

THIE ORDER IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, was the first lodge of Elks organized in South Dakota. The lodge was instituted on May 6, 1893, by District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler Caine, of Minne- apolis. The first officers of the lodge were : Ex- alted ruler, A. B. Kittredge; esteemed leading knight, B. H. Lien; esteemed lecturing knight, S. E. Blauvelt; esteemed loyal knight, J. H. Voorhees ; secretary, Henry Schaetzel ; treasurer, A. Christopherson ; tyler, Frank Kunerth; es- quire, Theodore Wuest ; chaplain, R. F. Brown ; inner guard, J. J. Schumacher ; trustees, B. F. Campbell, C. C. Crandall, George E. Wheeler.

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Huron Lodge, No. 444, was organized June 24, 1898, by District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler F. S. Emerson, of Sioux Falls. Following were the officers: Exalted ruler, E. H. Aplin ; esteemed leading knight, D. B. Jeffries ; esteemed loyal knight, M. F. Montgomery; esteemed lec- turing knight, Frank A. Morris ; secretary, B. E. Beach; treasurer, E. J. Miller ; esquire, George C. Fullenweider ; tyler, William Ritchslag; chap- lain, O. A. Ricker ; inner guard, C. N. McIlvaine ; trustees, F. H. Kent, R. O. Richards, William Waibel.

Deadwood Lodge, No. 508, was instituted August 10, 1899, by District Deputy Grand Ex- alted Ruler F. S. Emerson, of Sioux Falls. Its first officers were: Exalted ruler, Sol. Star; es- teemed leading knight, W. R. Steele; esteemed loval knight, Joseph B. Moore; esteemed lectur- ing knight, W. L. Mclaughlin; secretary, W. A. Ickes; treasurer, John Treber ; tyler, Paul Rew- man ; esquire, M. J. Donovan ; inner guard, John Gray ; chaplain, James Conzett ; trustees, D. A. McPherson, N. E. Franklin, James Munn.

Lead Lodge, No. 747, was instituted January 6, 1902, by District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler H. H. Keith, of Sioux Falls, with the following officers : Exalted ruler, Dr. Newton M. Wade ; esteemed leading knight, L. P. Jenkins ; esteemed

loyal knight, James P. Wilson; esteemed lectur- ing knight, R. H. Purcell; secretary, John Walsh, Jr. ; treasurer, James W. Curran ; esquire, Walter A. Quimby ; tyler, Herman F. Schiek; chaplain, J. Allen Archibald; inner guard, James B. Parker; trustees, Malcom C. Campbell, Walter E. Smead, Peter H. Gushurst.

Watertown Lodge, No. 838, was instituted March 12, 1903, by District Deputy Grand Ex- alted Ruler John T. Cogan, of Sioux Falls, with the following officers : Exalted ruler, M. R. Bas- kerville ; esteemed leading knight, F. A. Country- man; esteemed loyal knight, G. A. Abott; es- teemed lecturing knight, A. G. Matter ; secretary, F. S. Bramble ; treasurer, H. T. Sheldon ; tyler, C. E. Fowler; esquire, M. A. Hackman; inner guard, H. D. MacCosham; trustees, J. I. Monks, C. A. Neil, C. C. Whistler.

DISTRICT DEPUTIES.

United States Senator A. B. Kittredge was the first district deputy grand exalted ruler for South Dakota, serving during the term of 1893-4. F. S. Emerson, of Sioux Falls, was next elected and served as that officer until 1902, when Judge H. H. Keith, of Sioux Falls, was chosen to suc- ceed him. John T. Cogan, of Sioux Falls, was selected as district deputy in 1903.

CHAPTER XCIII

MISSION WORK AMONG THE TETON DAKOTAS.

BY LOUISA IRVINE RIGGS.

In 1872 the mission work among the Teton Sioux was begun, though the field was visited and selection of location made the year previous, 1871. At that time a portion of the Indians of the Cheyenne River agency were distributed along down the Missouri bottoms in little villages and clusters of houses. In a village of this kind, a little below Fort Sully and on the west side of the river, Rev. Thomas L. Riggs erected his first mission station. It was a hewed-log house, with two rooms below, one of which was a schoolroom. The garret was arranged for sleep- ing apartments. This was called Hope Station. Fort Sully was a military post, the only civilized community within hundreds of miles. Of the experiences of those early days Mr. Riggs writes : "Beginning our mission among the Teton Sioux involved much of hard work and real danger. In the woods with an axe; rafting on the muddy and turbulent Missouri; lifting and fitting the green cottonwood logs to place in the station building-all is fresh and vivid, even to the soreness and pain in hands and back. I could

get no help at that time-the summer of 1872. No white man would hire to work unprotected among Indians here, and hence, with the un- certain help of an occasional Indian, a younger brother and I worked at Hope Station. We lived as the natives live, on bacon, greasy bread and black coffee ; an Indian woman, the helper's wife, cooked for us. After the burning heat of the day, we slept on the ground with our rifles under our blankets beside us. Often we were

awakened at dawn and saluted during the day by the near report of a rifle, the ping of the ball overhead showing that it was the gun of some Indian to scare us, and grim fun it was. Two men were killed at the agency, a few miles away; a messenger was shot dead quite near by and at Fort Sully, that haven of safety as we regarded it, on the opposite side of the river, an officer was shot and severely wounded in the head within sight of the fort.

"We worked on the house weekdays and on the Sabbath services were held long before I could talk Dakota other than in a lame way. The attendance was fitful and uncertain,-now a full house and then but one or two dirty children. Then, as they would not come to us, I went to them. Into their dirty houses or smoky tents I took the A B C book and in this way gathered them in. More or less of opposition had to be met. In a general way the men talked and promised sweeter than honey ; the women usually let us alone and the children were shy. On par- ticular issues I had to take many a severe scold- ing. We did not feed and clothe the children,- they should not come to school! We did not feast all comers,-it would be well for us to leave at once ! I would not pay the crowd for wood, in addition to the price paid the man of whom I bought it! On this issue we were be- sieged for two weeks,-fifteen to thirty armed warriors demanding: 'Will you do as we say?' They failed of course in the attempt, but the contest nearly used me up. This the first year.

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"After the coming of Mrs. Riggs and the sweet-tempered Miss Bishop to the mission, we soon began to see a change. The men quieted down; the children came more regularly to school and the women were interested in a patchwork sewing school. Two boys had their hair cut, the nicely braided scalplock cut off with the rest. This, however, did not prevent war parties, the sound of whose drum and dance greeted the birth of our little Theodore.

"A second station was soon established, and then a third. To one of these, that located upon Peoria bottom, selected to be the central and home station, the mission family removed at the beginning of a winter. The cold weather came early. Our home was open and unfurnished and the winds of that November pinched and chilled us. The young mother and her lady assistant both were taken sick. The river closed and there would he no more boats. Our supplies had not reached us and they must be hauled nearly three hundred miles overland, and for a time the mis- sionary's heart failed him; but the good Father cared for us. The sick recovered; we had food for the winter and to spare; our house was made comfortable and warm before the New Year.

"A school was opened for the young men in the work shop. The plane and saw on the bench and the shavings underneath did not prevent study. All began with the A B C. The women, too, were interested in a sewing school. Soon these also wanted to learn from books. It be- came popular to be able to read and we had to teach them other things as well, the women to wash and iron and the men to work. The gospel of cleanliness is emphatically taught. When a dirty hand is put out to take a book the boy is told to wash himself. A woman is advised to comb her hair, another is told to wash her gown and to clean her house. The men watch my ten- acre lot closely and learn. Many plan to set trees, seeing the success of my first attempt. The other day a shiftless fellow admired my potatoes : 'God helps you very much, I think,' said he. 'Yes,' I answered, 'He helps me. He would help you too if you worked as hard as I do.'" 35

It was in 1874 that the station on Peoria bot- tom, fifteen miles below Fort Sully, and on the east side of the river, became the central station and Hope was continued as an outstation only. The other outstation was on the west side of the river at Chantier creek, five miles above the home station. This was the beginning. The mission- aries were much encouraged. Mrs. Riggs, in writing of the outlook, said: "It seems like the glow before the dawn." In 1875 Miss Bishop, Mrs. Riggs' first misisonary helper, was called to the home above. That same autumn Miss Col- lins and Miss Whipple came together as assist- ants in the work at Peoria bottom. Two years later Miss Whipple was taken from the work she loved so well and engaged in so earnestly and in the following year, 1878, death again entered the mission home, taking from it the beautiful wife and mother. The day "dawned" indeed for her, but for those who were left it seemed as if the dark night had settled around, as though it were impossible to carry on the work without her dear presence and help. But God does not suffer such lives to go out : "Their echoes roll from soul to soul, and grow forever and forever."

The new comers to the mission felt the in- spiration of these beautiful lives. At this time there were about three hundred Indians living on Peoria bottom. The work was continued in much the same way, teaching in the day school being combined with teaching in the homes and helping in the attempts to farm, until 1879, when the land on the east side of the Missouri river, which had been a special reservation, was thrown open to settlement. At this time twenty-one heads of families took homesteads, entering their claims as white men do. Those who did not wish to take land moved to the west side of the river. Of the twenty-one families who took homesteads, only seven made final proof. This exodus changed somewhat the character of the mission work. The attendance at the home school was very small and there being but few children, those who came were mostly women-the necessity for our outstation work was greatly increased. Since that time ten new outstations have been estab- lished on the Cheyenne river reservation. Hope

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station, the one at Chantier creek, the first one built on Cheyenne river and one on Bad river were abandoned on account of the Indians hav- ing left the vicinity. The Indian families at Oahe, being Christianized and the day school work having grown so insignificant, it almost seemed as though that place as a mission station might be given up. The work done at the out- stations was, however, necessarily primary work, carried on by native teachers, wholly in the ver- nacular, and but little attention could be given to industrial and domestic training, so that it seemed to the missionary in charge a necessity to estab- lish, somewhere in the near vicinity, a boarding school into which pupils from outstations could gather, and where they could be taught to cook and to sew and keep house, as well as to receive instruction in English and the higher branches of study. The foundation for such work had already been laid at Peoria bottom, or Oahe, as it had come to be called. The church organization was there; the Indian families living there were in sympathy with such work; then, too, the place was not so far distant from the Indian homes from which pupils would be secured that they would hesitate to come on that score. Consent was obtained from the American Missionary As- sociation to begin an industrial school and in the winter of 1884-5 twelve Indian girls were taken into the mission home, and thus that phase of the work began. At that time there was no building suitable for the enterprise. A small house, twelve by fourteen feet, which had formerly done ser- vice as a day school building, was moved up into the mission enclosure to serve as a kitchen, dining and sitting room. Here the Indian matron and some of the girls slept, while the remainder were provided for elsewhere. In the summer of 1885 a substantial frame building was erected, one that would accommodate fifty pupils. This building was erected by individual gifts entirely and for five years the school was carried on without cost to the treasury of any missionary society, though reporting to the American Missionary Associa- tion. The school building is simply but suitably furnished. Here the pupils are taught to work; to cook, to sew, to keep house, to care for their

bodies. In the school room the work is primary and intermediate. English is the everyday lan- guage. The Bible, both in the vernacular and the English, are studied daily. The great aim is to build up Christian character. At first girls only were taken in, but in the course of a few years the Indian parents asked that we take little boys also. This has been done to the number of ten or twelve, they being kept only until they are ten or twelve years of age. Notwithstanding the establishment of government school system, the day schools on the reservation, the large boarding schools at the agency and at Pierre, Oahe school holds its own popularity. It is essentially a home school. The pupils are treated as individuals : the Bible and Christian training are the founda- tion of all its teaching, and the Indian people themselves have grown to appreciate its worth. Now they are asking us to make some arrange- ment for boys from twelve to sixteen years of age.

The Oahe church, which was organized in 1876 with one native and three white members, grew to have a membership of one hundred and nine, of whom more than twenty were white peo- ple. After a majority of the Indians moved to the reservation, it became the custom to hold com- munion service at stated times at the outstations. Finally at the more central ones church organiza- tions were formed and neat church buildings erected; for these the Indians themselves con- tributed both money and labor. At the present time, 1903, there are the following churches : Oahe, Hughes county, fifteen miles from Pierre ; Cheyenne river, Cherry creek, near Leslie : Rem- ington, at Green Grass creek, Moreau river ; Lit- tle Moreau, further east on the Moreau, and Vir- gin creek, twenty miles from agency, on creek of same name. There are also four other out- stations : one about twenty miles from Cherry creek, at Touch the Clouds village; one at Bear Creek, called Hope Station, seven miles from Remington station; one at Thunder Butte, fur- ther west on the Moreau, and one opposite Lind- say, on the Cheyenne river, called Elizabeth Me- morial Station. There has also been established at Plum creek, five miles from Cherry creek, a

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

little boarding school for ten pupils, under the care of Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Griffiths; this takes pupils of six years and upwards and keeps them three years, after which they are transferred to Oahe. This school has been a success in every way. The outstations are all in charge of native workers. The church organizations choose their own pastors and pay their salaries in part. The missionary at Oahe (Mr. Riggs) makes a tour of the field every two months, holding com- munion services at the different churches, "ex- horting, reproving, admonishing, comforting," keeping in touch with the people. To do this a journey of about three hundred miles by team is necessary and a stay of two days, or part of them, is made at each place.

For a time the missionary at Oahe had charge

of the outstations on Standing Rock reservation to the north. These have passed into the care of Rev. George W. Reed, with his headquarters at Fort Yates, and Miss Mary Collins, on Grand river. He also had charge of those on White river, one hundred miles southwest, now included in the field of Rev. James F. Cross, whose cen- tral station is at Rosebud agency. So the work goes on. It was never more prosperous, never more difficult, never required more wisdom or patience. It has been directed into new channels ; those whose presence and help seemed indispensa- ble have been taken away,-workers come and go, but God's work goes on. May He grant to all engaged in it strength for every duty and the realization that now as ever, "Earnest work is prayer." "Laborare est Orare."

CHAPTER XCIV

JOHN P. WILLIAMSON, MISSIONARY.

The first missionary to locate among the Indi- ans in South Dakota was Rev. John P. William- son. He located at Crow Creek in 1863. He was a Presbyterian, and under appointment of the American Board of Commissioners for For- eign Missions. Other missionaries, both Cath- olic and Protestant, had previously visited and preached to the Indians. The most noted of these was Father DeSmet of the Catholic church, who went up the Missouri river almost every summer, stopping at trading posts to hold services, and administer mass to the employes, who were mostly Canadian French and their mixed-blood descendants.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 75

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998