Among the Sioux | Page 2

others somewhat of the knowledge thus
gained; in order that they may be stimulated to a deeper interest in, and
devotion to the cause of missions on American soil.
In the compilation of this work the author has drawn freely from these
publications, viz.:
THE GOSPEL OF THE DAKOTAS, MARY AND I, By Stephen R.
Riggs, D.D., LL.D.

TWO VOLUNTEER MISSIONARIES, By S. W. Pond, Jr.
INDIAN BOYHOOD, By Charles Eastman
THE PAST MADE PRESENT, By Rev. William Fiske Brown
THE WORD CARRIER, By Editor A. L. Riggs, D.D.
THE MARTYRS OF WALHALLA, By Charlotte O. Van Cleve
THE LONG AGO, By Charles H. Lee
THE DAKOTA MISSION, By Dr. L. P. Williamson and others
DR. T. S. WILLIAMSON, By Rev. R. McQuesten
He makes this general acknowledgment, in lieu of repeated references,
which would otherwise be necessary throughout the book. For valuable
assistance in its preparation he is very grateful to many missionaries,
especially to John P. Williamson, D.D., of Grenwood, South Dakota; A.
L. Riggs, D.D. of Santee, Nebraska; Samuel W. Pond, Jr., of
Minneapolis, and Mrs. Gideon H. Pond, of Oak Grove, Minnesota. All
these were sharers in the stirring scenes recorded in these pages. The
names Dakota and Sioux are used as synonyms and the English
significance instead of the Indian cognomens.
May the blessing of Him who dwelt in the Burning Bush, rest upon all
these toilers on the prairies of the new Northwest.
R. J. CRESWELL.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, January, 1906.


PART I.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
The Pond Brothers.--Great
Revival.--Conversions.--Galena.--Rum-seller
Decision.--Westward.--Fort Snelling.--Man of-the-Sky.--Log
Cabin.--Dr. Williamson.--Ripley.--Lane Seminary.--St. Peters
Church.--Dr. Riggs.--New England Mary.--Lac-qui-Parle.
CHAPTER II.
The Lake-that-Speaks.--Indian Church.--Adobe Edifice.--First
School.--Mission
Home.--Encouragements.--Discouragements.--Kaposia.--New
Treaty.--Yellow Medicine.--Bitter Winter.--Hazlewood.--Traverse des
Sioux.--Robert Hopkins.--Marriage.--Death.--M. N. Adams, Oak
Grove.-- J. P. Williamson, D.D.
CHAPTER III.
Isolation.--Strenuous Life.--Formation of Dakota Language Dictionary.
--Grammar.--Literature.--Bible Translation.--Massacre.--Fleeing
Missionaries.--Blood.--Anglo Saxons Triumph.--Loyal
Indians.--Monument.
CHAPTER IV.
Prisoners in Chains.--Executions.--Pentecost in Prison.--Three Hundred
Baptisms.--Church Organized.--Sacramental Supper.--Prison
Camp.--John P. Williamson.--One Hundred
Converts.--Davenport.--Release.--Niobrara. --Pilgrim Church.
CHAPTER V.
1884--Iyakaptapte.--Council.--Discussions.--Anniversaries.--Sabbath.--
Communion.--The Native Missionary Society.

CHAPTER VI.
1905--Sisseton.--John Baptiste Renville.--Presbytery of Dakota.

AMONG THE SIOUX.
PART ONE.
SOWING AND REAPING.
[Illustration: FORT SNELLING.]
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and
weepeth, bearing Precious Seed, Shall doubtless come again With
rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves.
Psalm 126.
Chapter I.
Now appear the flow'rets fair Beautiful beyond compare And all nature
seems to say, "Welcome, welcome, blooming May."
It was 1834. A lovely day--the opening of the merry month of May!
The Warrior, a Mississippi steamer, glided out of Fever River, at
Galena, Illinois, and turned its prow up the Mississippi. Its destination
was the mouth of the St. Peters--now Minnesota River--five hundred
miles to the north--the port of entry to the then unknown land of the
Upper Mississippi.
The passengers formed a motley group; officers, soldiers, fur-traders,
adventurers, and two young men from New England. These latter were
two brothers, Samuel William and Gideon Hollister Pond, from
Washington, Connecticut. At this time, Samuel the elder of the two,
was twenty-six years of age and in form, tall and very slender as he
continued through life. Gideon, the younger and more robust brother

was not quite twenty-four, more than six feet in height, strong and
active, a specimen of well developed manhood. With their clear blue
eyes, and their tall, fully developed forms, they must have attracted
marked attention even among that band of brawny frontiersmen.
In 1831 a gracious revival had occurred in their native village of
Washington. It was so marked in its character, and permanent in its
results, that it formed an epoch in the history of that region and is still
spoken of as "the great revival". For months, during the busiest season
of the year, crowded sunrise prayer-meetings were held daily and were
well attended by an agricultural population, busily engaged every day
in the pressing toil of the harvest and the hayfields. Scores were
converted and enrolled themselves as soldiers of the cross.
Among these were the two Pond brothers. This was, in reality with
them, the beginning of a new life. From this point in their lives, the
inspiring motive, with both these brothers, was a spirit of intense
loyalty to their new Master and a burning love for the souls of their
fellowmen. Picked by the Holy Spirit out of more than one hundred
converts for special service for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Pond brothers
resolutely determined to choose a field of very hard service, one to
which no others desired to go. In the search for such a field, Samuel the
elder brother, journeyed from New Haven to Galena, Illinois, and spent
the autumn and winter of 1833-34 in his explorations. He visited
Chicago, then a struggling village of a few hundred inhabitants and
other embryo towns and cities. He also saw the Winnebago Indians