Other editions of book Mary and I - Forty Years with the Sioux

The beginning of missionary work among the Dakotas dates from the year I834 when two brothers from Connecticut, by the name of Pond, built their cabin on the bank of Lake Calhoun. Dr. Williamson and Mr. Stevens followed them the next year, and on the first of June, I837, after a journey of nearly three months from Massachusetts, the Rev. Stephen R. Riggs and his wife Mary, missionaries of the American Board, landed from a steamer at the point where the Minnesota empties into the Mississippi, and there entered into the wilderness in which they were to sojoum forty years, as the friends and teachers of the Dakota Indians. Stephen Return Riggs (1812 – 1883) was a Christian missionary and linguist who lived and worked among the Dakota people. Riggs was born in Steubenville, Ohio. His career among the Dakota began in 1837 at Lac qui Parle in what is now Minnesota, where there was a mission. He worked among the Dakota Sioux for the remainder of his life, producing a grammar and dictionary and a translation of the New Testament. In his 1887 autobiography Mary and I, or Forty Years with the Sioux, Riggs describes his life. Their first business was to master the language, and in this they had such meagre aid as could come from a vocabulary of five or six hundred words, which Mr. Stevens had gathered from the brothers Pond. Beyond this they must get their ears opened to catch strange sounds and their tongues trained to utter them; and the fleeting sound must be presented to the eye and perpetuated by fixed characters upon the written page. The English language might serve some purposes in the missionary work, but Dr. Riggs says, “for the purposes of civilization, and especially of Christianization, we have found culture in the native tongue indispensable.” Dr. Riggs and his wife went to Fort Snelling. From that time they were leaders in all efforts to Christianize the Dakotas, and labored untiringly to understand and convert the Indian. The literary labors of Dr. Riggs in producing a Dakota Dictionary and Bible have made his work known among learned men, and given his influence a permanency it could not have otherwise secured. We are made acquainted with successes and defeats, with joys and sorrows,with privations and prosperity. There is nothing artificial or sensational in the narrative. It is good for young people to read such books, to show them what kind of a life is worth living, at least what the spirit of life should be in all time and everywhere. Dr. Riggs and his wife had the joy of witnessing the revival among the Indians who were captured and confined in Minnesota prisons. These two pioneer laborers have had a large household of children who have been closely identified with missionary work. Truly the heritage left by such parents is better than great riches. Riggs writes: "The chief work of my life has been the part I have been permitted, by the good Lord, to have in giving the entire Bible to the Sioux Nation. This book is only 'the band of the sheaf.' If, by weaving the principal facts of our Missionary work, its trials and joys, its discouragements and grand successes, into this personal narrative of 'Mary and I,' a better judgment of Indian capabilities is secured, and a more earnest and intelligent determination to work for their Christianization and final Citizenship, I shall be quite satisfied. "The Forty Years are completed. In the meantime, many workers have fallen out of the ranks, but the work has gone on. It has been marvelous in our eyes. At the beginning, we were surrounded by the whole Sioux nation, in their ignorance and barbarism. At the close we are surrounded by churches with native pastors. Quite a section of the Sioux nation has become, in the main, civilized and Christianized. The entire Bible has been translated into the language of the Dakotas. The work of education has been rapidly progressing."

The beginning of missionary work among the Dakotas dates from the year I834 when two brothers from Connecticut, by the name of Pond, built their cabin on the bank of Lake Calhoun. Dr. Williamson and Mr. Stevens followed them the next year, and on the first of June, I837, after a journey of nearly three months from Massachusetts, the Rev. Stephen R. Riggs and his wife Mary, missionaries of the American Board, landed from a steamer at the point where the Minnesota empties into the Mississippi, and there entered into the wilderness in which they were to sojoum forty years, as the friends and teachers of the Dakota Indians.Stephen Return Riggs (1812 – 1883) was a Christian missionary and linguist who lived and worked among the Dakota people. Riggs was born in Steubenville, Ohio. His career among the Dakota began in 1837 at Lac qui Parle in what is now Minnesota, where there was a mission. He worked among the Dakota Sioux for the remainder of his life, producing a grammar and dictionary and a translation of the New Testament. In his 1887 autobiography Mary and I, or Forty Years with the Sioux, Riggs describes his life.Their first business was to master the language, and in this they had such meagre aid as could come from a vocabulary of five or six hundred words, which Mr. Stevens had gathered from the brothers Pond. Beyond this they must get their ears opened to catch strange sounds and their tongues trained to utter them; and the fleeting sound must be presented to the eye and perpetuated by fixed characters upon the written page. The English language might serve some purposes in the missionary work, but Dr. Riggs says, “for the purposes of civilization, and especially of Christianization, we have found culture in the native tongue indispensable.” Dr. Riggs and his wife went to Fort Snelling. From that time they were leaders in all efforts to Christianize the Dakotas, and labored untiringly to understand and convert the Indian. The literary labors of Dr. Riggs in producing a Dakota Dictionary and Bible have made his work known among learned men, and given his influence a permanency it could not have otherwise secured. We are made acquainted with successes and defeats, with joys and sorrows,with privations and prosperity. There is nothing artificial or sensational in the narrative. It is good for young people to read such books, to show them what kind of a life is worth living, at least what the spirit of life should be in all time and everywhere. Dr. Riggs and his wife had the joy of witnessing the revival among the Indians who were captured and confined in Minnesota prisons. These two pioneer laborers have had a large household of children who have been closely identified with missionary work. Truly the heritage left by such parents is better than great riches.Riggs writes: "The chief work of my life has been the part I have been permitted, by the good Lord, to have in giving the entire Bible to the Sioux Nation. This book is only 'the band of the sheaf.' If, by weaving the principal facts of our Missionary work, its trials and joys, its discouragements and grand successes, into this personal narrative of 'Mary and I,' a better judgment of Indian capabilities is secured, and a more earnest and intelligent determination to work for their Christianization and final Citizenship, I shall be quite satisfied."The Forty Years are completed. In the meantime, many workers have fallen out of the ranks, but the work has gone on. It has been marvelous in our eyes. At the beginning, we were surrounded by the whole Sioux nation, in their ignorance and barbarism. At the close we are surrounded by churches with native pastors. Quite a section of the Sioux nation has become, in the main, civilized and Christianized. The entire Bible has been translated into the language of the Dakotas. The work of education has been rapidly progressing."

Mary and I Forty Years With The Sioux By Stephen r. Riggs This book I have inscribed to my own family. It will be of interest to them, as, in part, a history of their father and mother, in the toils and sacrifices and rewards of commencing and carrying forward the work of evangelizing the Dakota people. Many others, who are interested in the uplifting of the Red Men, may be glad to obtain glimpses, in these pages, of the inside of Missionary Life in what was, not long since, the Far West; and to trace the threads of the in-weaving of a Christ-life into the lives of many of the Sioux nation. “Why don’t you tell more about yourselves?” is a question which, in various forms, has been often asked me, during these last four decades. Partly as the answer to questions of that kind, this book assumes somewhat the form of a personal narrative.......

Mary and IFORTY YEARS WITH THE SIOUX BY STEPHEN R. RIGGS, D.D., LL.D.MISSIONARY TO THE DAKOTAS, AND AUTHOR OF “DAKOTA GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY,” “GOSPEL AMONG THE DAKOTAS,” ETC.PREFACE.This book I have inscribed to my own family. It will be of interest to them, as, in part, a history of their father and mother, in the toils and sacrifices and rewards of commencing and carrying forward the work of evangelizing the Dakota people.Many others, who are interested in the uplifting of the Red Men, may be glad to obtain glimpses, in these pages, of the inside of Missionary Life in what was, not long since, the Far West; and to trace the threads of the in-weaving of a Christ-life into the lives of many of the Sioux nation.“Why don’t you tell more about yourselves?” is a question which, in various forms, has been often asked me, during these last four decades. Partly as the answer to questions of that kind, this book assumes somewhat the form of a personal narrative.While I do not claim, even at this evening time of my life, to be freed from the desire that good Christian readers will think favorably of this effort of mine, I can not expect that the appreciation with which my Dakota Grammar and Dictionary was received, by the literary world, more than a quarter of a century ago, will be surpassed by this humbler effort.Moreover, the chief work of my life has been the part I have been permitted, by the good Lord, to have in giving the entire Bible to the Sioux Nation. This book is only “the band of the sheaf.” If, by weaving the principal facts of our Missionary work, its trials and joys, its discouragements and grand successes, into this personal narrative of “Mary and I,” a better judgment of Indian capabilities is secured, and a more earnest and intelligent determination to work for their Christianization and final Citizenship, I shall be quite satisfied.Since the historical close of “Forty years with the Sioux,” some important events have transpired, in connection with our missionary work, which are grouped together in an Appendix, in the form of Monographs.S. R. R. Beloit, Wis., January, 1880.Note:—This book, first published by the author, though with the imprint of W. G. Holmes, Chicago, has met with such favor as to indicate that it should be brought out under auspices that would give it to a larger circle of those interested in Indian missions. And to carry on the life of its author to its close, and give a more complete view of the progress of the work, another chapter has been added, making the “Forty Years” Fifty Years with the Sioux.A. L. R.INTRODUCTION.The churches owe a great debt of gratitude to their missionaries, first, for the noble work they do, and, second, for the inspiring narratives they write. There is no class of writings more quickening to piety at home than the sober narratives of these labors abroad. The faith and zeal, the wisdom and patience, the enterprise and courage, the self-sacrifice and Christian peace which they record, as well as the wonderful triumphs of grace and the simplicity of native piety which they make known, bring us nearer, perhaps, to the spirit and the scenes of Apostolic times than any other class of literature. How the churches could, or can ever, dispense with the reactionary influence from the Foreign Mission field, it is difficult to understand. Doubtless, however, when the harvest is all gathered, the Lord of the Harvest will, in his wisdom, know how to supply the lack.Some narratives are valuable chiefly for their interest of style and manner, while the facts themselves are of minor account. Other narratives secure attention by the weight of their facts alone. The author of “Mary and I; Forty Years with the Sioux” has our thanks for giving us a story attractive alike from the present significance of its theme and from the frank and fresh simplicity of its method.It is a timely contribution. Thank God, the attention of the whole nation is at length beginning to be

Some narratives are valuable chiefly for their interest of style and manner, while the facts themselves are of minor account. Other narratives secure attention by the weight of their facts alone. The author of “Mary and I; Forty Years with the Sioux” has our thanks for giving us a story attractive alike from the present significance of its theme and from the frank and fresh simplicity of its method.It is a timely contribution. Thank God, the attention of the whole nation is at length beginning to be turned in good earnest to the chronic wrongs inflicted on the Indian race, and is, though slowly and with difficulty, comprehending the fact, long known to the friends of missions, that these tribes, when properly approached, are singularly accessible and responsive to all the influences of Christianity and its resultant civilization. Slowest of all to apprehend this truth, though with honorable exceptions, are our military men. The officer who uttered that frightful maxim, “No good Indian but a dead Indian,”—if indeed it ever fell from his lips,—needs all the support of a brilliant and gallant career in defence of his country to save him from a judgment as merciless as his maxim. Such principles, let us believe, have had their day. They and their defenders are assuredly to be swept away by the rising tide of a better sentiment slowly and steadily pervading the country. The wrongs of the African have been, in part, redressed, and now comes the turn of the Indian. He must be permitted to have a home in fee-simple, a recognized citizenship, and complete protection under a settled system of law. The gospel will then do for him its thorough work, and show once more that God has made all nations of one blood. He is yet to have them. It is but a question of time. And the Indian tribes are doubtless not to fade away, but to be rescued from extinction by the gospel of Christ working in them and for them.The reader who takes up this volume will not fail to read it through. He will easily believe that Anna Baird Riggs was “a model Christian woman,”—the mother who could bring up her boy in a log cabin where once the bear looked in at the door, or in the log school-house with its newspaper windows, “slab benches,” and drunken teacher, and could train him for his work of faith and perseverance in that dreary and forbidding missionary region, and in what men thought that forlorn hope. And he will learn—unless he knew it already—that a lad who in early life hammered on the anvil can strike a strong and steady stroke for God and man.Mary and I : Forty Years with the Sioux, First Knowledge of the Sioux, Teaching English and Teaching Dakota, War Prophet, Baby Born on the Way, Sioux War of 1876, The Mission Surroundings

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