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Bringing the Gospel in
Hogan ana Pueblo.
The Navaho
Bringing the Gospel in Hogan
and Pueblo
By
REV. J. pOLFIN
Pastor of the Bethonv Christian Reformed Church
Muskegon, Michigan
Memorial Edition
189 6 1 9 2 1
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
jne VAN NOORD BOOK AND
PUBLISHING COMPANY
Five Hundred Thirteen Eastern Avenue
1921
■H3U&
Copyrighted 1921 by
We VAN NOORD BOOK AND PUBLISHING CO.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
OCl 17 1921
Print of Grand Rapids Printing Co.,
M. Hoffius, Prop.
113 Campau Ave . Grand Rapids, Mich.
©(;i.A624834
I
It is my pleasure to dedicate this
volume to my wife, whose interest
in the Indians has rivaled my own,
and who has in many ways helped
and encouraged me to persevere
until the necessary information had
been collected and tabulated.
Introduction
I GLADLY WRITE a word of introduction to this book
of the Rev. John Dolfin. Having been associated with
him during several years of sei-vice on our Mission Board,
his companion on several trips, I knew that he was well-
posted on • the subject of Missions, particularly on the
work among the Indians of the Southwest of our land,
and I feel sure that those who peruse the book will soon
agree with me on the matter. What Rev. Dolfin writes
in the opening chapters, and his introduction to the sev-
eral contributions of the workers, as well as the closing
chapters, show abundantly that the author possesses a
splendid fund of information on the subject. What
struck me in perusing the MS. was the spirit of apprecia-
tion shown in regard to the work of the various laborers.
It also occurred to me to be a happy thought that so
many of our workers had been asked to furnish a con-
tribution. No one can describe their task as well as they
themselves. The reader will also observe that the author
has given wise hints here and there about desirable im-
provements as to methods and plans of work. The Shar-
pened-Arrow-Heads give valuable information about the
work of Indian Missions in its broader scope and in its
spiritual aspects. The third Chapter gives a fine back-
ground to the book, as it describes the surroundings of
Gallup, N. M. Many books on Missions so limit them-
selves to the work, that an outsider finds it hard to realize
in just what surroundings the labor is carried on. What
is told about the Navahoes and Zunies as to the customs,
9
10 Introduction
legends, and superstitions, will be read with great interest
by all who love folklore and ethnology. The pictures
shown are all from original photos.
The entire work will be a valuable contribution to
the cause of Missions among the aborigines of our land,
and be appreciated by all lovers of the good work. For
the people of the Christian Reformed Church it will
simply prove to be invaluable, being the fii'st extensive
work on the subject in the English language.
Invoking God's blessing upon this effort,
HENRY BEETS.
Preface
IT HAS BEEN our desire and ambition for a long time
to impart some information concerning the Navahoes
and Zunies, two tribes of Indians among whom we as a
Church are privileged to labor in the Gospel ministry,
on the twenty-fifth anniversary of our entering upon that
work. To be sure, much has been written on the subject
in papers and magazines, as also in pamphlet publica-
tions, distributed broadcast among our people, and un-
doubtedly more has been told in missionary sermons and
lectures in our churches and at Mission Fests thruout our
land, by those particularly interested in our Indian work,
but, after all, from conversations with many of our
people, we are convinced that the knowledge concerning
these Indians and the work of the Lord among them is,
in many respects, erroneous and not very extensive, to
say the least. That there is not only room for a book of
this character and description, but also a great need, if
our people thru knowledge are going to be interested in
the cause of Indian Missions, goes without gainsaying.
We want to offer it as a Twenty-fifth Anniversary
Memorial, with the hope and prayer that it may increase
the love for and interest in our Indian work where it al-
ready exists and awaken it there where, because of sinful
prejudice or unanswerable antipathy, it is not found.
We appreciate more than we can tell, the kindness
and willingness of our busy and faithful workers on the
field in sending us their articles on subjects assigned. We
are persuaded that these Chapters, written by those
11
12 Preface
actively and personally engaged in the work, will be read
with the deepest interest. We also appreciate the kind-
ness and encouragement given by different brethren with
whom we consulted from time to time, as our Secretary
of Missions, Rev. H. Beets, LL.D., and the Rev. M. Van
Vessem, who showed his interest in many ways, but espe-
cially by giving us some of the illustrations which greatly
enhance the value of the book.
We confess, the gathering of the information con-
tained in the following chapters has been a great pleasure
and a most interesting work. And now we have but one
desire, and that is that also this work may redound to the
glory of our Lord and to the extension of His cause
among the many Indians within and without our land, who
are still groping in pagan darkness.
THE AUTHOR.
CON TEN TS
I. The Great Commission 15
II. The Christian Reformed Church and Missions 26
III. Gallup and Her Scenic Surroundings 34
IV. The Navahoes 48
A — Customs 76
B — Legends 84
C — Superstitions 88
V. Rehoboth, New Mexico 97
Bringing the Gospel to the Navaho at a Mission
Boarding School, by Rev. J. W. Brink,
Missionai'y-Pastor 101
VI. Crown Point, New Mexico 122
Bringing the Gospel to the Navahoes at a
Government School, by Rev. Jacob Bolt,
Missionary 128
VII. A Pioneer Missionary to the Navahoes 133
Bringing the Gospel to the Hogans, by Rev.
L. P. Brink, Missionary 140
VIII. Lay-woi'kers in our Indian Mission Service 161
Camping with the Navahoes, by Mr. William
Mierop, Field Missionary at Rehoboth, N. M. 167
IX. Tohatchi, New Mexico 188
On the Trail of the Navaho in and Around
Tohatchi, by Mr. Mark Bouma, Missionary-
in-Charge at Tohatchi, N. M 192
13
X. Medical Missions 209
Medical Work Among the Navahoes, by Dr.
J. D. Mulder, Rehoboth, N. M 214
XI. Educational Missions 220
Educational Work Among the Navahoes, by
Miss Renzina Stob, Principal at the Rehoboth
School 226
XII. Industrial Missions 233
Industrial Efforts Among the Navahoes, by
Mr. J. H. Bosscher, Manager at Rehoboth 241
XIII. The Navaho Religion 250
The Religious Views of the Navahoes, by Rev.
L. P. Brink, Toadlena, N. M 252
XIV. The Zunies 263
A — Customs 289
B— Legends 299
C — Superstitions 304
XV. Entering the Zuni Field 309
The Zuni Mission, by Rev. H. Fryling, Mis-
sionary at Zuni, N. M 315
XVI. Non-Reservation Schools 342
The Religious Work at Non-Reservation
Schools, by Mr. M. Van der Beek, Director
of Religious Work 350
XVII. A Word in Conclusion 355
They Who Have Been and Who are Still in our
Indian Mission Service 365
Sharpened Arrow-Heads 368
Bibliography 374
14
I.
THE GREAT COMMISSION
TT WOULD SEEM out of place to us to offer
■■• you a book on Missions, in commemoration
of the twentj^-fifth Anniversary of our entering
upon the work among the dwellers in Hogan and
Pueblo, without an opening chapter on the Great
Commission. The importance and meaning of
this Commission cannot well be over-estimated.
Only when our interest in and our concern for
the evangelization of the world is founded upon
the Lord's command, shall they remain both firm
and steadfast amidst all the discouraging feat-
ures encountered and all the criticism, by ene-
mies great and small, met with in the Cause.
The Book we love, because it speaks to us of
the way of salvation and is become to us the
only infallible rule and measure of our faith and
life, is the same Book which drives the Mission-
ary forth to his great adventures, and remains
his constant companion on all his wanderings.
It goes without gainsaying, therefore, that for
him who goes to the field and for us who remain
at home to hold the ropes, that Book speaks the
biggest word for Missions. There may be
many and various appeals inciting to missionary
activity, such as: the present great opportuni-
ties in all parts of the world, the cry of races and
15
16 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
of nations, the fearful siitferings and the appall-
ing needs of those without God, without Christ
and therefore without hope in the world, but, it
has been well said, underneath them all is the
great diapason of the Word: "Go ye; I am
with you."
Remember, first of all, when this Command
was given! Not until after the resurrection.
Methinks, this tells us that the Master fully
realized that before this great event His dis-
ciples were in no way able to receive it. Their
ideas of Him and of His Kingdom were so
earthly and so Jewish that they certainly would
have had no ears for or interest in such a Com-
mission. Moreover, the Lord knew that many
things that He spoke to them during His sojourn
would be forgotten, therefore He undertook to
give His Commission under such impressive and
awe-inspiring circumstances that it would be
next to impossible for them ever to lose sight
of it.
It was on the third day after the crucifixion,
on the evening of the day of resurrection, the
disciples being gathered in an upper room be-
hind barred doors for fear of the Jews, that they
were talking together about what had taken
place upon that memorable day. Jesus, the be-
loved. Whom they trusted to have been He
which should have redeemed Israel, had been
seen alive of Mary Magdalene and of the other
women, and what seemingly, at least, persuaded
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 17
them that it was really true was the fact that He
had appeared to Simon, and now the two dis-
ciples from Emmaiis also enter and still further
confirm the truth of it by telling of their experi-
ence. Then, suddenly, without a bar being
withdrawn or a door being unbolted, Jesus Him-
self, stood in the midst of them. They were
filled with fear, thinking they saw a spirit, but
He soon assuaged their fears by demonstrating
His identity, showing them His hands and His
feet, and eating before them a piece of a broiled
fish and of a honey-comb. Whatever else He
may have said to them on this never-to-be-for-
gotten occasion, His command concerning mis-
sions was so indelibly impressed upon their
hearts that when the evangelist came to write of
this visit, that was uppermost in his mind. Again,
some time later, when in obedience to the Mas-
ter's own instructions, the disciples and, accord-
ing to Paul, five hundred others assembled on a
mountain in Galilee, Jesus appeared and once
more, of all that was said and spoken by Him,
only the missionary command is recorded. But
still, this is not all. After the forty days had
elapsed since the resurrection. He gathered His
disciples on Mount Olivet and before ascending
to His Father, He once inore addressed them on
this subject, saying: "But ye shall receive power
when the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye
shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in
all Judrea and Samaria and unto the uttermost
18 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
parts of the earth." And with these words trem-
bhng, as it were, upon His lips, the very last He
ever uttered to man before going back to His
Father, He was received up into the heavens,
and a cloud hid Him from mortal view.
Another consideration that we should in no
wise overlook is the fact that, whereas some
things that Jesus said, are spoken of by one or
two of the evangelists and passed over by the
others in silence, the Great Commission is em-
phasized not only by all the four Gospel writers,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but also by
Peter and Paul in their letters to churches and
individuals. Then, when we remember that
these Apostles and many others gave their very
lives in obedience to this Commission, we say,
this is not only an important command, but the
most important given to the disciples by the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Why ! It was
for that to which this connnand looks that He
gave His life upon the bitter and accursed Cross
of Calvary, and our obedience to it shall bear
fruit and thus verify the word of the prophet of
ancient days: "He shall see the travail of His
soul and shall be satisfied."
Furthermore is the supreme importance of
this command accentuated by the very fact that
Christ's three years of active ministry and teach-
ing led up to it. We know, on two former occa-
sions He formally commissioned His disciples,
once the twelve, and later on the seventv. These
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 19
we recognize as trial-missions, limited as they
were both to area and to objects, Galilee and the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. In both cases
the instructions may be called the lesser commis-
sions when we place them in comparison with
the Great Commission uttered after the resur-
rection. From all this it assuredly should be felt
and realized, should it not? that nothing can be
more binding upon the heart and conscience of
a follower of Christ than the Great Commis-
sion, including His Home and Foreign Mission
command.
Altho Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John report
substantially the great commission, nevertheless,
to understand it in its fullness of meaning and
significance, we should place these four accounts
side by side and study them together.
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, say-
ing. All power is given unto Me in heaven and
in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:
18-20.)
"And He said unto them. Go ye into all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not, shall be damned."
(Mark 16: 15,16.)
20 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
"And ye are witnesses of these things. And,
behold, I send the promise of My Father upon
you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until
ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke
24:48, 49.)
"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be
unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so
send I you. And when He had said this. He
breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them; and whose soever
sins ve retain, they are retained." (John 20:
21-230
First of all we should view each one of these
records in the light of the Gospel in which it is
found. As the stream that flowed from the Gar-
den of Eden was parted into four heads, so the
story of the life and teachings of Him Who de-
clared Himself to be the water of life comes to
us thru four channels. W^e do not have four
Gospels, but one Gospel under a fourfold as-
pect. Even so we do not have four commissions,
but one commission recorded and emphasized
by four different writers.
By Matthew Jesus Christ is presented from
the Jewish point of view, showing that He was
the promised Messiah, of the seed of Abraham
and thru the kingly line of David. The King-
ship of Jesus is therefore especially revealed. It
is the Gospel of royal authority, and conse-
quently we find that Matthew in recording the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 21
Great Commission, is supremely impressed with
Christ's words on the slopes of Mount Olivet :
"All power (authority) is given unto Me," etc.
It is the commission of the King, the Law-giver.
It rings with the note of authority. Thus it also
answers to the first need of the world, namely,
authority. The voice which the world, especially
today, needs to hear is indeed pre-eminently the
voice of authority, and authority, in the matter
of moral standards. The world today, if it needs
anything, it needs to know by an enunciation
that is binding and authoritative, what sin is.
The authority of Jesus, the Lordship of Christ,
and not His love and His ability to save, should,
therefore, be the first note of christian preaching
at home and abroad. We must return to the old
truth that no man can enter into the experience
of conversion and salvation until he has come to
conviction of his sin and need, and that convic-
tion can only be produced by an authoritative
moral standard. And that standard is provided
by Christ Jesus in His teaching and in His life.
Mark's purpose was to present Christ to the
Romans, and for that reason he describes Him as
the mighty worker, the faithful "Servant of the
Lord," the One Who does the will of God per-
fectly. It is the Gospel of activity, being crowded
with action, with deeds rather than words. Pre-
eminently a Gospel for this rushing, busy age,
which certainly may be described as being
"driven" rather than "led." Continually we hear
22 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
the emphasis hud upon the fact that the calhng
of every disciple of the Lord is to serve and not
to be served. Therefore, the Commission as pre-
sented in Mark also bears the form : "Go ye into
all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature." The disciples are to go into the whole
world and preach the Gospel not merely to men
and women, which is, of course, fundamental,
but thru them to the whole creation. For thru
the renewed man the whole creation is affected
and redeemed as it passes under the dominion
of love. Thus we find the answer to the second
need of the world; the entering into creation
that groaneth and travaileth in pain; thru sacri-
ficial service, with the message of healing and
renewal.
Luke gives us the Gospel as it would effect-
ively appeal to the Greeks, who idolized human-
ity. Christ is here presented in the largest hu-
man relations. He is the ideal man, the perfec-
tion of mankind, the Son of man. Consequently
Luke records the Commission: "Ye are wit-
nesses of these things. . . .but tarry ye. . . .until
ye be clothed with power from on high.'' Christ,
victorious in life and in death, must be made
manifest thru His victory in our lives. This
answers to the third note in the world's need:
the consciousness of inability to realize the
highest, to do the noblest, to be the best; by de-
monstrating Christ's ability not only in His own
but also in our lives. We, who by nature must
• IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 2i.
confess: "If we would do good, evil is present,'
must now, as witnesses of Jesus' power, be able
to say : "We can do all things in Him that
strengtheneth us." Wherever we are, in home
or office, in shop or factory, in our own country
or abroad, we must be credentials, demonstra-
tions, samples of Christ, answering the world's
cry of inability with a perpetual song of ability.
The express purpose of John in his Gospel
is to present those elements of Christ's life
which tend to prove the Deity of the Savior. He
is equal with God, one with God, really God.
And living in this realization of the Godhead of
Jesus, the Apostle of love hears the mystic wordg
of the Great Commission that the others failed
to chronicle, probably because they so little un-
derstood their meaning. "As the Father hath
sent Me, even so send I you " As He came
into the world to reveal and make known the
Father, which revelation included the work
whereby sin may be forgiven, so He now sends
His disciples into the world in the power of the
accomplished work to exercise the great and
holy function of remitting and retaining sins.
Thus the Church is called today to carry out
the Great Commission in the spirit of the Lord.
It is in reality simply entering upon and continu-
ing His work, which is summarized in Matthew
in these words : "Jesus went about in all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner
24 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
of disease and all manner of sickness among the
people." Because of these three forms of activ-
ity and service, Christ is known as the Great
Teacher, the Great Physician, and the Incom-
parable Preacher. Thorwaldsen's piece of
sculpture in heroic size, representing Christ as
the "Divine Healer," with matchless compassion
upon His face, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, in
Baltimore, is a benediction to the suffering hu-
manity that goes there, for it silently but strik-
ingly reminds it of the Source of all healing,
life, and love.
No one who studies the present world situa-
tion will deny, that if ever, then, today the
world needs the message of Christ and His ac-
complished salvation. In the midst of the pres-
ent universal unrest, there is nothing that can
bring calmness and peace but the realization
that thru Christ we are reconciled with the Sov-
ereign God, Who holds the destinies of nations
and races in the hollow of His hand. When we
read how there is a tendency at the present time
to stress the cause of medical, social, and indus-
trial missions instead of the evangelistic, we are
unable to quiet the voice that warns us of the
danger of substituting "another gospel" for the
Gospel of Christ.
We, who believe in the sovereignty of God,
and in the responsibility of man, should not we
feel as if in the situation that obtains today thru-
out the world, our God, too long denied, is sim-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 25
ply unsettling mankind in order that He may
show them the way of true peace? God, the Al-
mighty and All-wise, has a program, and that
program is being carried out. This world is not
running by chance. God's power is sufficient for
all things and His love is forever the same. It
behooves all of us, therefore, who are called by
the name of His Christ and profess to be His
children, to study His program, to submit to His
guidance and to co-operate whole-heartedly in
His plan for giving the whole Gospel to the
whole world.
26 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
II.
THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH AND
MISSIONS
IWI ANY TIMES we have been told both by men
^^ ^ within and by men without our circle, that
the Christian Reformed Church is lacking in
Mission spirit. Upon closer questioning and in-
vestigation we found that this expression of criti-
cism rested especially upon two things; first, the
Christian Reformed Church was unreasonably
and most unjustly compared, as to its mission
activities, with her older and larger sister de-
nomination known as the Reformed Church of
America, and, secondly, all home work was dis-
counted and it was emphasized that there was
no representative of ours on the Foreign field,
in other words, the Christian Reformed Church
did not take part in the great cause of Foreign
Missions. The lack of a Mission spirit would
very naturally cut to the very quick any true son
or daughter of the Church, for it cannot be de-
nied, a non-missionary Church has no right of
existence, and according to an inexorable law
it must languish and ultimately die. It would
not be difficult at all to give examples of this
from the history of the Church thruout the ages.
Oh! that critics might fully understand that to
ascribe the lack of Mission spirit to a Church is
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 27
to doom that Church to death. And, oh ! that the
members of a Church might fully understand
that the very life of a Church, as well as the life
of every individual christian, exists in its mis-
sionary activities. The christian faith as repre-
sented in and by a Church simply must propagate
itself or die a dishonorable death. May there,
therefore, be a continual increase in our conse-
cration to and in our prayers and gifts for the
cause which is the business of the Church. For
well hath it been said, "Missions is not a part of
the benevolence but the business of the Church."
But to return to the criticism mentioned above.
We set ourselves to investigate the two facts
upon which it rests. We congratulate our sister
Church upon her splendid activities in China,
India, Japan, and Arabia. We always read with
intense interest and delight the magazines and
pamphlets which tell us of this work. The
names of Zwemer, Chamberlain, Pieters and
Warnshuis, to mention no others, are as dear to
us, for their work's sake, as they can possibly
be to any member of the Church which they rep-
resent. Probably because of the bands of the
Reformed faith and of nationality we feel closely
akin to them, and with our sister Church we are
proud, with a holy pride, of their endeavors and
splendid achievements on the Foreign fields
mentioned. This Church, which has by the grace
of God, given such valuable men to the cause;
this Church, which manifests such a laudable
28 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
zeal for Missions at home and abroad; this
Church, was not ever thus. Let us not forget
nor overlook that. Just recently in perusing the
history of this Church by one of its honored
fathers, the Rev. N. H. Dosker, we found in one
of the chapters a defense of the Church against
this same criticism. Then it was hurled at them,
as now it is applied to us. And his defense is
along the same lines that we would follow if we
were going to offer a defense. The church at
home must first be strong and continually be-
come stronger if it is going to have and ade-
quately support an ever-increasing work on the
Foreign field. We have ample faith to believe
that the day is not far distant when our Foreign
work, comparatively speaking, is going to be
second to none, either in the number and calibre
of the men and women sent forth, or in the
financial support by which they are backed up
at home. The history of our Church in its reve-
lation and record of the Mission spirit among us,
and our personal faith in the constituency of our
churches, fills us with a glowing hope for the
future. And it is just because of this that we cast
far from us the criticism that the Christian Re-
formed Church is lacking in Missionary spirit.
To the lasting honor of our fathers it must
be said that already at the second Classical meet-
ing, held in the year of the birth of our Church,
1857, the cause of Missions was a matter of dis-
cussion, and it was decided that on the first
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 29
Monday of each month a prayer-meeting should
be held, and that at these meetings an offering
should be made for Bible distribution. Would
to God that this decision of the fathers might be
revived today and lived up to. What an inspira-
tion, encouragement, and incentive it would be
to our representatives on the Home and Foreign
fields to know that regularly, once a month, on
the same evening, in every Christian Reformed
church they and their work were being carried
in united prayer to the Throne above, whence
comcth all our help and every blessing. Having
no Foreign work of their own, our fathers de-
cided to send their offerings to the churches of
the Netherlands to assist them in their work, but
such a second-hand activity could not inspire
and enthuse, and consequently languished and
died. Other efforts to collect moneys without a
definite purpose were also, and that very natur-
ally, more or less a failure.
During this time, however, the work of
church extension at home was prosecuted with
great zeal. These men of old did not spare
themselves to visit unchurched communities
and when- and wherever possible establish
churches of the same faith as their own. They
were not concerned about financial remunera-
tion for their efforts, but their love for the cause
gave them courage and readiness to bear the
heat of the day and the cold of night in the work
of the Lord. We younger men, who to a great
30 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
extent have entered upon what they have
wrought, should ever remember this, and at our
church meetings we should show deference to
the few old veterans still abiding with us. The
long list of Home Missionaries, from the begin-
ning of our church-life unto the present day,
testifies to the spirit of sacrifice and love. Due
to the strengthening and extension of the home
church by the blessings of the Lord thru these
Mission activities, the desire was awakened
more and more to cast the Gospel net also into
the deep darkness of the Heathen world, and to
sow the seed of the Word in virgin soil. But
whither shall we go, and to whom shall we first
extend the invitation?
Behold! That question employed the thoughts
of many minds for many years. There was so
little unanimity of thought on that question that
it verily seemed that every leader had his own
particular choice of field or work. One desired
to co-operate with the churches of the Nether-
lands in their Missions on Java; another sup-
ported the idea of an own Mission on foreign
shores; a third favored the supporting of Mis-
sions already established by churches of like
faith and polity; still another, to mention no
more, wanted to labor among the Negroes in
our own Southland. In 1886, however, unex-
pectedly and to the surprise of many, the atten-
tion of the Church was directed to the Aborigines
of our own beloved United States. It seemed to
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 31
thrill the hearts of the majority, "we need not
go afar, we have the heathen at our very door
who have never heard of the blessed name of
Jesus, and the big Churches of our land engaged
extensively on foreign shores, are forgetting
those at hoine, living in the same dense darkness
of superstition and idolatry." And then, what
added zest to the appeal to bring the glad tid-
ings of salvation to the Red Men was the con-
scious national responsibility of being especially
indebted to them because we were occupying
and holding as our own their former homes and
hunting grounds. For the material we would
return the spiritual!
After having supported the Rev. J. Kruidenier,
missionary of the United Presbyterian Church in
Egypt, to the extent of -^400.00 annually, it was
decided for the present to limit our activities to
the Indians or Negroes of our own land. When
a couple of unheeded calls had been extended to
ministers of our Church, to the joy of the com-
mittee charged with the regulation and oversight
of the work, the Rev. T. M. Van den Bosch of-
fered himself as Missionary. Things were still
very indefinite, however, even when installed it
was not sure whether his field would be in Okla-
lioma or Indian Territory, or whether he would
labor among the Indians or Negroes. Because of
discouraging reports from the Indian Territory
it was deemed best to send him to the Rosebud
Agency in the Dakotas, but he was left to blaze
32 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
the trail for himself. He was set aside for this
work on the 23rd of October, 1889, and immedi-
ately set forth. Meeting with many and various
disappointments in trying to start a w^ork among
the great Sioux tribe of Dakota, receiving word
that there was no opening for him in Oklahoma,
and considering the Winnebago tribe in Ne-
braska amply provided for, he lost all heart and
courage, therefore, upon his request in Septem-
ber, 1890, less than one year after he went out,
he received his discharge as Missionary to the
Heathen. This failure, however distressing to
the lovers of a Mission to the Indians, was not
sufficient to dampen their ardor. They contin-
ued to foster the interest already awakened, and
they did not cease to labor in the hope of some
day realizing their desire. In the meantime
work among our own scattered people and
among the Jews was prosecuted with laudable
zeal.
In 1896 it was definitely determined to enter
the Navaho Reservation and begin the work at
Fort Defiance, Arizona. On the 1st of October,
1896, the Rev. and Mrs. Herman Fryling, with
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Van der Wagen, bade fare-
well to their many friends and relatives and went
forth to this new undertaking with the hearty
good wishes and prayers of a whole Church ac-
companying them. This is the work which we
are now commemorating upon its twenty-fifth
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 33
anniversary, and concerning which we are to
read more in the following chapters.
The Mission work of the Christian Reformed
Church, however, is no longer limited to this
one activity. In addition to a continually in-
creasing interest to establish churches among
our own people living in isolated districts of our
land, work is carried on at Chicago, 111., and at
Paterson, N. J., among the Jews; at Hoboken,
N. J,, there is a representative who extends a
hand of welcome and assistance in the name of
our Church to emigrants coming from the Neth-
erlands; in various cities the work known as Res-
cue Missions is being prosecuted; attempts have
been made again and again to reach the Mor-
mons of Utah; financial support is given to the
work in the Dutch colonies of South America;
and in China, with its teeming millions, there
are at present three of our men seeking to lo-
cate and establish a Mission that will be able to
absorb for some years to come the recruits of
our Volunteer Band at Calvin College and Sem-
inary, located at Grand Rapids, Michigan.
May the interest of our beloved Christian Re-
formed Church in the great cause of Missions at
home and abroad never w^ane, but ever increase,
and may the day dawn when our sons and
daughters shall be found as Messengers of the
Gospel and Ambassadors of the King in every
land of the world.
34 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
III.
GALLUP AND HER SCENIC SURROUNDINGS
GALLUP, N. M., with a present population of
four thousand, is the railroad center of our
Mission in the Southwest. Here the Missionaries,
not only from Rehoboth, which is only about five
miles away, but from all our inland stations,
come to do their banking and trading. There-
fore we thought it would not be uninteresting to
our readers if we gave them a chapter on the
above subject. Forty years ago no one could
have foreseen that here, where at that time no
human habitation, either white or Indian, dotted
the landscape, there would arise one of the
busiest and liveliest towns in the State of New
Mexico. It derived its name from a Rostonian.
D. L. Gallup, who was in charge of one of the
numerous construction camps when the Atlantic
and Pacific Railroad, now the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe, was laid thru that territory. Mr.
Gallup being the official paymaster, it became a
custom with the men when they wanted their
pay to say, "Going to Gallup's." Thus the name
became fixed to that locality, only the possessive
form of it was dropped. At every Mission Sta-
tion of our Church today we hear them speaking
about going to Gallup.
It was not so much the railroad, however, as
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 35
the opening of the coal mines in this district, that
really put Gallup on the map, and designated
her "The Carbon City." The largest mines are
found at Gibson and Allison, while within one
mile of Gallup there are at least four smaller
ones in operation. Altogether they employ inore
than 2,000 men and carry a monthly payroll ex-
ceeding $75,000, the gi'eat bulk of which is spent
right there. In addition to this source of income,
the town has an exceedingly extensive wholesale
business, for the Indian traders from a radius of
a hundred and fifty miles come to Gallup to buy
the necessary provisions and bring in the wool
and Navaho blankets obtained from the Indians
in exchange for their merchandise. Nor should
we fail to mention as a third asset of Gallup that
she is today one of the regular division points
of this great transcontinental railroad, and con-
sequently supplies a great deal of work for the
community. And last but not least, she is a
shipping-point for the stock raisers of the whole
region, hundreds of carloads of sheep alone are
shipped from this point annually.
In 1900 Gallup became the county seat of the
new county called McKinley; prior to this date
she was a part of Bernallilo County, of which
Albuquerque is the county seat. Realizing that
the distance betw^een Albuquerque and Gallup is
136 miles, it is easily understood that there was a
desire for a separate county. In the first years
Gallup did not grow very rapidly, and was a
36 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
real, typical, pioneer western town, altho she
was singularly free from violence or events of a
tragic nature. To be sure, there were occasion-
ally Indian scares, and these scares might have
more frequently resulted in tragedies had it not
been for the presence of U. S. soldiers at Fort
Wingate, who held the war-like tendencies of
the Indians in check.
The Methodist Church was the first to look af-
ter the religious and spiritual interests of the citi-
zens. In 1888 this Church affected an organiza-
tion and erected its first building. They were
followed in turn by the Roman Catholics, Epis-
copalians, and Congi-egationalists. Another
phase of the City's life may not be overlooked.
With the operation of the mines, citizens from
all over the world came hither, and Gallup, altho
but a small town, was nevertheless of a very cos-
mopolitan character. There is probably no other
city in our whole country of the size of Gallup
where so many and strange languages are used.
We find among others, that the English (includ-
ing Welsh, Cornish, Scotch, Irish, and Negro),
Croatian, Montenegrin, Belgian, Polish, Hungar-
ian (Maygar), Holland, Norwegian, German,
Slavish, Greek, French, Russian, Roumanian,
Swiss, Swedish, Serbian, Italian, Sicilian, Japan-
ese, Spanish (Mexican), Bulgarian, Danish, and
the Indian (Navaho, Zuni, Hopi) are represented.
It has been said, and that truthfully, the South-
west is rich in mystery and history, in natural
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 37
scenery and in the ruins of perished civihzation.
And no part of the great Southwest has these
things in greater abundance and variety than the
region contiguous and tributary to GaUup. It
has been admitted by travelers of experience
that in no similar area of America are there so
many attractions to be found as in a radius of a
hundred miles, with Gallup as the central point.
We invite you to accompany us on a sight-see-
ing tour of this region and be convinced.
After driving forty miles to the south thru a
continual change of scenery, wide extensive sec-
tions of desert waste, beautiful and stately pine
forest reserves, past typical Indian trading-posts
and the well-known Z. I. ranch, we come to our
first stop at Zuni, one of the Seven Cities of Ci-
bola and concerning whose inhabitants, num-
bering about 1,800, you are to read in other
chapters of this book. The present Zuni village
is probably not more than three centuries old.
In former times this tribe, of a peaceful nature,
had to seek refuge and protection from their
enemies on some high point or peak where they
built their habitations and lived until such a
time that it was again safe to dwell in the valleys.
Thus from Zuni, in the distance, we see Mount
Taaiyalone at the base of which the first battle
between the Spaniards and the Indians took
place in July, 1540. Zuni itself is noted for its
marvelous Pueblo Pyramid house, from the
highest point of which the daily news is an-
38 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
nounced by an official Zuni Crier. A little to the
southwest of the village we also find an interest-
ing spot known as the "He'patina," designating
what the Zunics claim to be the central point of
the earth. The shrine marking this spot is built
up of stones, and within the enclosure are found
the remains of offerings made by the believers
out of appreciation for the favor that they, of all
nations, may reside the nearest to the Middle of
the World. Prayer-plumes in great abundance
are also found all about the spot, silently testify-
ing to the intense religious nature of this people.
We cannot stop now to speak about the Zunies
themselves; that will be found in a subsequent
chapter. Above the Zuni village, about four
miles, is Blackrock, where we find the headquar-
ters of the U. S. Government Agency and a
boarding-school for the education of the older
Zuni boys and girls. Here also is located a Gov-
ernment dam which cost approximately a half
million dollars. The Zunies, a farming people,
have learned to irrigate their lands from the
water here impounded. Not far from the vil-
lage we also see, rising about 1,200 feet above
the valley. Thunder Mountain on the top of
which are ruins of an ancient and extinct race.
Resuming our trip from Zuni we find near
Ramah, Inscription Rock, — the Stone Autograph
Album, known in Spanish as "El Morro," the
Castle. It is a noble triangular block of sand-
stone, of pearly whitish color, with sheer walls
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 39
over two hundred feet high, and suggesting in
its stupendous grandeur a temple or castle built
after the style of the Egyptians, only immeas-
urably larger. The walls are seamed and
marked with the storms and conflicts of many
centuries, but the rock is of such a peculiar char-
acter that it does not crumble when exposed to
the weather. Therefore the inscriptions found
on two sides of the rock remain almost as clear
and as perfect as the day they were written.
One inscription reads : "On the 28th day of Sep-
tember of 1737, reached here the most illustrious
Senor Doctor Don Martin De Elizaec ochea.
Bishop of Durango, and on the 29th passed on to
Zuni." A second one, being interpreted, says:
"They passed on the 23rd of March of the year
1632 to the avenging of the death of Father Le-
trado-Lujan." However interesting these rock
autographs are, El Morro attracts our attention
in another way. We find by talking along the
east wall, that it is possible to scale the rugged
slope of the Castle. To our surprise we discover
that it is practically split in half by a narrow
canyon, in the center of which grows a tall pine.
This canyon seems literally scooped out of the
solid rock, and is large enough to hide a whole
army if they observed a discreet silence.
Perched on the highest summit of the two sides
of the rock thus divided by this canyon, are the
ruins of two very interesting pre-historic villages.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that this rock has
40 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
been considered of so great importance by our
Government that by Presidential Proclamation
it has been made a National Monument?
Other famous rocks of this wonderland, but
not found in the vicinity of Inscription Rock,
are: (1) The Navaho Church Rock, a rock
carved by the teeth of time and weather into
resembling a church with many spires. It is in
plain view from our Rehoboth Mission. Not far
from this rock we find the famous Kit Carson's
Cave and many other caves and canyons that
simply defy description. They must be seen to
be appreciated. (2) Shiprock, or also called
Winged Rock, may be seen, on a clear day, from
our Toadlena Mission. From this distance it ap-
pears as a great ship serenely sailing on its way,
but from nearby it resembles a large bird with
outstretched wings. (3) Kit Carson's Monument,
three miles from Fort Defiance, is a most singu-
lar looking natural boulder about forty feet high,
standing forth all by itself in the desert. At a
distance it resembles a great statue, but viewed
from nearby it looks like a huge vase. (4) The
Haystacks. These are great boulders eroded by
time and storm into the shape of stacks of hay.
Close by we also discern what is known as the
Natural Window. These are found about
twenty miles from Gallup on the way to Fort
Defiance. In this vicinity, w^e are informed. Kit
Carson, famous in the history of the Southwest,
fought and defeated the Apaches.
Entrance to the famous Kit Carson's Cave.
42 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Having now spoken of the most famous rocks,
we desire to pay a visit to some of the Canyons
of this region. In the vicinity of Chin Lee, ap-
proximately sixty-five miles from Fort Defiance,
we find the famous Canyon de Chelly (pro-
nounced de Shay) on the right, and on the left
Canyon del Muerto (the Canyon of death), so
named because of the massacre of a band of
Navahoes by the Spaniards under the leader-
ship of Lieutenant Narbone during the winter of
1804— '05. This canyon is twenty miles long, and
like its neighbor to the right, is also rich in cliff-
dwellings and other interesting features.
These canyons, in their beauty and grandeur,
simply surpass the descriptive power of pen or
brush. From the mouth of the Canyon de Chelly
to its head, marked by El Capitan, is at least
twenty-five miles. El Capitan is an enormous
monolith of deep red rock, fifteen hundred feet
in height, erected by the Great Creator to mark
this Canyon one of His greatest and most mag-
nificent works in the realm of nature. Practi-
cally unknown to the American tourist. Canyon
de Chelly is doubtless one of the greatest scenic
wonders of the American Continent. Altho ab-
sorbingly interesting, it is not possible to speak
of all that is to be seen in this canyon. We will,
therefore, as it w^ere, just mention the various
attractions in passing. Located in this canyon
is La Casa Blanca, or the White House, the most
noteworthy of the cliff-dwellings, of which there
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 43
are many in this canyon. It nestles so snugly in
a crevice high in the canyon wall, and is so per-
fectly protected by the overhanging clififs, that
today it still appears as if it might have been
built but yesterday. The other notable ruins
are : Antelope, Standing Cow, Sentinel, and
Mummy Cave in Canyon Del Muerto. Mummy
Cave ruin derives its name from the fact that in
1882, a party under the direction of Colonel
James Stevenson explored this ruin for the Bu-
reau of Ethnology and found two mummies or
well-preserved bodies in it. These canyons, es-
pecially Canyon de Chelly, were always consid-
ered by the U. S. military authorities as Navaho
strongholds, and therefore all expeditions sent
out against the Navahoes have had these can-
yons for their objective, for here the Navaho
sought refuge and shelter against all invaders
of his territory.
Breaking away, as it were, from this wonder-
spot in Navaho land, we proceed fifty miles
thru this country of magnificent distances, every
mile of which holds something interesting and
attractive, and we come to Ream's Canyon, a
joint agency for the Moqui and Navaho Indians.
Just thirteen miles beyond this point, situated
on the first mesa, we find ^Yallapi, a Moqui vil-
lage. We stop here for a moment because it re-
minds us of the great Moqui snake dance, a
prayer for rain, which takes place during the
latter part of August each year, and is reputed
44 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
lo be the most barbarous ceremony ever partici-
pated in by human beings. Among the many
distingished people who have been witnesses of
this dance is the late Col. Theodore Roosevelt.
Traveling twenty-two miles further we come
to Oraibi, situated on the edge of what is popu-
larly called "The Painted Desert." It is thought
by some that this desert was at one time the bed
of a sea or a vast inland lake. Continuing our
journey for some eighty-five miles across this
"Painted Desert," we stand on the rim of the
Grand Canyon of Colorado. Truly and beauti-
fully has it been said : "This Titan of Chasms is
the climax of scenic wonders, and one can only
stand in speechless awe in the presence of its in-
comparable grandeur. Upon the earth's surface
there is nothing to parallel it."
Not alone, however, is this region, the wonders
of which we have been attempting to describe,
interesting from a scenic standpoint, but it is
also unsurpassed by anything in the United
States from the standpoint of ethnology and
archcEology. Here, indeed, the scientist finds
archaeology alive. Therefore ethnologists and
achaeologists have found here a rich treasure-
house as well as a veritable paradise for their
endeavors. No wonder that our Government has
commissioned and financed expedition after ex-
pedition to explore these regions. The findings
of these exploration parties fill volumes, and
what we know of these native peoples today we
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 45
owe, to a great extent, to their consecrated ef-
forts. We can only touch upon what has been
done in the hue of mapping, excavating, and de-
scribing the ruins of the Southwest, but anyone
particularly interested may continue the study
for himself.
In 1876 W. H. Holmes of the School of Ameri-
can Archaeology wandered over the Navaho Res-
ervation and noted the pre-historic sites and re-
ported on them. After him came many noted
scientists, Louis H. Morgan, G. Nordenskijold,
Cosmos Mindeliff, Adolph Bandelier, Edgar L.
Hewett, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, F. W. Hodge, and
many, many others, too numerous even to men-
tion by name. All of these have written valu-
able reports or books of great interest on this
subject, for example, the last one mentioned
above, F. W. Hodge, is the author of the Hand-
book on American Indians, a book which should
be in the library of everyone who desires au-
thoritative information on Indian subjects.
The Pueblo Bonito was excavated by the Hyde
Expedition. It was a thorough piece of work,
and the reports on it make most interesting
reading. As a result, the whole Chaco Canyon
section has been made a National Monument,
and it is to be hoped that the work of restora-
tion will extend to these great ruins as it has in
the Mesa Yerde, in the Parjarito Park and at
Pecos.
Under the direction of Dr. Jesse W. Fewkes of
46 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smith-
sonian Institute, the work of excavation and re-
pair on the ruins of the Mesa Verde National
Park was continued during the summer of 1915.
It was a continuation of work already accom-
plished on the cliff-dwellings, viz., Cliff Palace,
Spruce-tree House, and Balcony House. Dr.
Fewkes and his associates had the pleasure and
honor on this occasion to uncover the first and
thus far the only pre-historic Religious Edifice on
the Western Hemisphere, the Sun Temple. It
has the form of a large letter "D," and was made
of two sections, one of which is recognized as
the original building and the other an annex.
The rooms of this Temple vary in form and
type, some are circular, while others are rect-
angular. The circular ones are identified as Ki-
vas, or sacred rooms, while the purpose of the
others is still unknown. In addition to the un-
covering of this wonderful Sun Temple, this ex-
pedition also led to the restoring of an addi-
tional cliff-dwelling known as the Oak-tree
(Willow) House.
A great ethnological and archaeological study
has also been made and is still being made of
the Zuni people and the ruins of their former
cities. (See article by Rev. H. Fry ling, Chapter
XV.) This work is also done by men and women
commissioned by the Government. Names es-
pecially prominent in this work, besides some of
those mentioned above, are Frank Hamilton
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 47
Gushing and Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, While from
the facile pen of George Wharton James we
have such volumes of intense interest as: The
Wonders of the Colorado Desert, In and Around
the Grand Canyon, The Indians of the Painted
Desert Region, etc., etc.
Today most of the ruins, especially of New
Mexico, have been mapped, some have been ex-
plored, others have been described and pictured
in detail. Any one reading this and who is par-
ticularly interested in a study of these pre-his-
toric ruins, should communicate with the Ameri-
can School of Achaeology at Santa Fe, N. M., and
obtain their illustrated bulletins, such as General
View of the Archaeology of the Pueblo Region,
by Dr. Edgar L. Hewctt, or Historic and Pre-his-
toric Ruins of the Southwest, by the same author.
A quarterly, called El Palacio, illustrated, es-
pecially devoted to the Archaeology of the South-
west, is also published by the Archaeological So-
ciety of New Mexico and distributed to members
of the Society upon the payment of the annual
dues of $1.00. Opportunity sufficient, therefore,
for any student interested in the subject to ob-
tain first-hand information.
48 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
IV.
THE NAVAHOES
THE DERIVATION of the name Navaho, or
originally Navajo, is not positively known,
but it is generally supposed to be derived from
"Navaja," which signifies a sharp knife or razor.
It is furthermore surmised that this name was
given them because their warriors in former
times, when they were still a warlike tribe, car-
ried great stone knives. They, however, call
themselves dine, which means men, people.
They are, therefore, according to their idea, the
people.
As to their origin we are, of course, also in
the dark. Many and various are the specula-
tions on this point. It can hardly be questioned,
however, that they are of Asiatic origin and a
branch of that nation of Indians now known as
the Athapaskan stock. This is confirmed by the
fact that among the tribes of this great Indian
family, there is a similarity in language as far
as peculiarities in root-words, construction and
phraseology is concerned. A second or further
confirmation of this supposition is in the com-
mon name by which all these tribes call them-
selves, namely, men or people.
The home or country of the Navahoes is the
reservation, the largest now in the United States,
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 49
situated for the greater part in the northeastern
corner of Arizona and the northwestern corner
of New Mexico. It is somewhat larger in area
than the three New England States of New
Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. But
the Navahoes do not confine themselves to this
definite allotment by the Government, altho it
contains some 12,360,723 acres, or 19,313 square
miles. In every direction they have gone be-
yond the borders of their reservation. Isolated
families or small groups make their homes either
temporarily or permanently where springs,
streams or pools are found. Some have even
taken up homesteads and have thus obtained
legal right to their holding, while others are
simply squatters.
The greater part of the Navaho reservation is
in reality as well as in appearance, only a bare
and barren desert. While the higher regions are
covered with white pine, on a lower level we
find the pinon and on still lower slopes the red
cedar and juniper. With the exceptions of the
San Juan in the northeast, and the Little Colo-
rado in the southwest, there are no live rivers
in this vast territory. The rainfall, which is
usually confined to two short periods in the
spring and in the fall, averages from ten to four-
teen inches annually. The altitude of the coun-
try ranges from four thousand to six and seven
thousand feet, while the mountain tops reach a
height of nine or ten thousand feet. As a result
50 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
of this the nights are always cool and pleasant,
for the heat of the day cools off rapidly as soon
as the sun sets. The valleys, found here and
there are, as a rule, destitute of trees, but cov-
ered in many places with sage brush, cactus,
yucca, greasewood and bunches of wild grass.
The number of Navahoes is also variously
estimated. For obvious reasons it is impossible
to take an accurate numerical census or make
an actual individual count. At present, we are
told, there are in round figures approximately
thirty thousand. But when we remember that
many Navaho families have two or even three
different places where they stay or live at differ-
ent seasons of the year, it is not at all unlikely
that the above mentioned figures must be consid-
ered an over-estimation. When the Navahoes
were brought back from Fort Sumner in 186&
their number was estimated at seven thousand
three hundred, but this was undoubtedly too low^
an estimation, for it is well known that Kit Car-
son did not succeed in capturing them all during
his invasion or raid of the Navaho country. The
census of 1900 gave the number as seventeen
thousand two hundred and four.
The Navaho or Bedouin of our American des-
ert has not yet generally adopted clocks or
watches, but he still tells time by pointing out
the position of the sun. For him there is no
definite number of days to a month or a year,
and the several days of the week are not desig-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 51
nated by specific names. Just as in ages past
and among various tribes of Indians, the Nav-
aho reckons a man's age according to the num-
ber of winters he has Kved. In referring back
to any incident, a certain outstanding, well-
known event is mentioned, and then the num-
ber of years before or after that is given. So for
many years the return of the people from Fort
Sumner w^as used, so many years before or af-
ter the return. Since the coming of the mission-
aries among them and their observance of the
Lord's Day, the Sunday has become a fixed date
for reckoning purposes, and they refer to so or
so many Sundays past or hence,, one or more
days from or after Sunday.
As among the people of old, so the Navaho
today still measures the length or breadth of an
object by the span, by the width of a finger or
hand, or by stepping off, if it is a parcel of land
to be measured. Distances between two given
points are generally pointed out by the time re-
quired to cover the distance in question, for ex-
ample, by walking all day. Any one who has
ever experienced losing his way and has found
it necessary to ask directions of a Navaho whom
he happened to meet knows how valuable and
enlightening the information is when given in
such vague and indefinite terms or figures, un-
less perchance he has spent years among them
and has become accustomed to all their ways.
The dwelling of the Navaho, as we undoubt-
52 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
edly know, is called a hogan, and is, to a stranger
visiting among them, in every respect a miser-
able and uncomely structure, devoid of any dec-
oration, thus in direct contrast with the beauty
and harmony exhibited by them in their blan-
kets and silver-work. We surmise that the no-
madic life which they lead has exerted a great
influence in this matter. We also notice thai
they have neglected the art of pottery making,
so highly advanced among some neighboring
Pueblo tribes, undoubtedly because pottery was
considered too cumbersome to be carried along
on their migrations. The art of weaving the
most beautiful blankets, however, was not neg-
lected but developed to so high degree of per-
fection, that the Navaho blanket is known the
world over. This art, of course, was not im-
paired by an occasional change of dwelling-
place, for the blankets are woven on a loom gen-
erally set up alongside of the hogan. These
hogans can be distinguished into two classes:
the summer and the winter home. The former
is as a rule situated near what is called the
farm, while the latter is located in such a place
where fuel is more or less easily to be had, and
where there is range for the flocks. It is to be
understood that more care is expended upon the
winter dwelling, around which are built the
permanent fixtures as corrals, etc., than upon
the summer residence, which very often is noth-
ing better than an open-air camp. Anyone ap-
c
bo
0
X
54 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
preaching either of these homes after dark, soon
learns that besides sheep, goats and ponies, there
are also dogs at every Navaho camp. These
dogs are a sorry looking set of mongrels, but the
masters find them invaluable in herding the
sheep. Generally they are lean and mean, ill-fed
and mistreated. The pups are early trained to
help with the work, and are not infrequently
nursed by a goat of the herd.
Formerly the Navaho came into possession of
his cows, sheep and horses by making raids upon
his neighbors, the Pueblo Indians and Mexicans,
but in later years he obtained them thru grants
made by the Government. The horses are sel-
dom fed, but turned out to shift for themselves,
even when they are worked they receive but
little grain or hay from their owners. They are
kept primarily for breeding, riding, and driving
purposes. The Navaho is a poor rider and
driver, and is very indifferent to the needs of
his horse. No missionary who loves his horse
will readily allow a Navaho to use him. The
herds of sheep are as a rule under the super-
vision of the children and women, who keep
them on the move from early morning until
sunset, when they are returned to the corral for
the night. No provision is made for the winter,
as the herds feed on the withered grass and sage-
brush, and when the snow gets too deep, pinon
and cedar branches are cut off for them to graze
on. In the spring and fall the shearing takes
IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 55
place, altho the spring shearing is put off as long
as possible in order to avoid the early storms.
During the lambing season the sheep are taken
to such places that afford good grazing and wa-
ter, so that the lambs may get a good start and
be quite strong when it becomes necessary for
the family to move. After the shearing follows,
for the women, the sorting and w^ashing of the
wool, then the carding and spinning, which is a
long and tedious process. Having dyed the
wool black, yellow, red, blue, etc., she puts up
the loom and weaves one of those remarkable
blankets of which we have already spoken, and
which her white sisters are very proud to pos-
sess. Less attention is paid to the cattle. These,
with the unused and unbroken ponies, are
usually driven to the mountains, from which
the sheep are excluded. Occasionally the owner
will make an inspection or with assistants
rounds them up for branding. While the sheep
are quite often the property of the wife, the
cattle frequently belong to the man.
From the earliest times agriculture was also
one of the chief industries of the Navaho, but
has up to the present been carried on along the
most primitive lines. Corn, melons, squash,
and beans are the main crops, but gradually
oats, hay, wheat, and alfalfa are being added to
the list. Since irrigation can be carried on only
on a very small scale, and that at points where
water is available from the Little Colorado and
56 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
San Juan Rivers, the harvests are never very
abundant.
The art of silver-smithing is also found among
the Navahoes, altho it is considered by authori-
ties to be of comparatively recent date, probably
developed during the last seventy-five years.
There being no silver mines in his country, the
Navaho silversmith purchases Mexican silver
dollars, which are generally worth from forty-
five to sixty cents of United States money. These
dollars are molten and molded, or more often
simply cut and hammered into the desired orna-
ments and trinkets. One of the most curious
and interesting as well as most puzzling pieces
of work wrought by the Navaho silversmith is
the necklace of silver beads. These beads are
round and inwardly hollow. They are of dif-
ferent sizes and so arranged that the top beads,
or those resting on the neck, are quite small, but
they gradually increase in size until those rest-
ing on the middle of the breast are almost one-
half inch in diameter. When seen and exam-
ined for the first time one cannot but wonder
how it is possible for the Navaho, with his simple
and crude tools, to manufacture such a neat
piece of work. Another silver ornament much in
favor and worn with pride and show is the
leather belt upon which are strung from ten to
twelve plates or disks of silver, usually *of an
oval shape, with a scalloped edge, measuring
about four and a half inches in length and three
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 57
inches in breadth, and not infrequently beauti-
fully chased and engraved. Inquiring at the
home of a Zuni Lieutenant-Governor, where we
saw one of these belts hanging on the wall, what
the value of it was, we were informed that it
was worth from forty to fifty dollars. Large
conchas or bridle buttons are also used, making
a single bridle cost from twenty-five to thirty
dollars or their equivalent in sheep, ponies, or
other stock. The most popular pieces of jewelry
manufactured, however, are the bracelets and
rings, worn by both men and women. The men
as a rule wear less than the women. The latter
wear three or four bracelets on each wrist and
a half-dozen rings on each hand. The variety of
both, as to form and symbol, is great, and like
the Navaho blanket no two seem to be exactly
alike. Spoons, knives, sugar-shells, etc., are also
being made more and more, but only to be sold
to the whites for souvenirs of the Navaho coun-
try. The one precious stone used much for or-
namentation in ring and bracelet is the
turquoise.
The home-life of the Navaho is in many re-
spects very simple. The father is nominally the
head and has supreme authority, but if the wife
has any spirit whatsoever, she easily exerts the
greater influence, for seemingly the hogan is her
domain and the children are hers, for they are
reckoned to belong to the same clan to which
she belongs. According to some the Navaho
58 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
tribe is divided into numerous clans, namely,
four main clans, subdivided into twelve sub-
clans. The lines of these clans are definitely
and sharply drawn, and the intermarrying of
members of the same clan is prohibited. The
children are reckoned as members of the
mother's clan and not of the father's, therefore,
seemingly at least, the children belong more to
the mother than to the father. They are treated,
however, by both father and mother with kind-
ness and affection, and they in turn show an in-
born, spontaneous obedience. The Navaho is
loathe to command his children or to threaten
them if they do not obey, consequently we can
hardly speak of discipline, and as we have said,
there is a sort of inborn respect and reverence
for the elders, and far better than our own chil-
dren, the brownies have learned that a child is
to be seen but not heard. This has often caused
embarrassment to the workers among them, for
instance, when they send a school-boy to his
home to inquire whether his parents have a mut-
ton to sell, he will stand around the hogan,
shifting from one foot to the other, for half a day
without putting the question, simply because no
one happens to ask him what he wants or what
he is doing there, and he is not to speak until he
is spoken to, and the person who sent him is
simply kept waiting.
The training of children is not a matter of
grave concern to the Navaho parent. When
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 59
still very young, at the age of five or six, and
sometimes even earlier, both the boys and girls
are sent out with the sheep. When the boys
become older they discontinue this, sit on the
father's side in the hogan, look after the ponies
and begin to perform the duties which are gen-
erally considered to belong to the man. As
among most primitive people, however, the
great burden of labor falls to the lot of the
woman. The man builds the hogan, corrals,
brings in the fuel if it must be hauled some dis-
tance, but he does not always chop it up for
use, occasionally he may also go after the water,
does a little of the farming if a plow is used, but
he busies himself especially with breaking the
ponies for riding and driving, smokes and likes
to talk, therefore he is seldom absent from any
family- orxlan gathering. In more recent times
he has learned to work on the railroad, for the
Government, and at freighting for the inland
traders, etc. The woinen have the care of the
sheep and all that is connected with the prepar-
ing of the wool, as we have already stated above.
In addition, she does most of the farming,
weaves blankets, and keeps the hogan in shape.
She is the first to arise in the morning, carries
the bedding, sheep and goat's skins, etc., outside
and then gets breakfast. The meals which she
prepares and sets before the lord of the manor
consist of potatoes, beans, melons, pumpkins.
60 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
squash, flour, and cornmeal mush or cakes, mut-
ton and beaf, coffee, tea and goat's milk.
It is probably known that polygamy prevails to
quite a degree and extent among the Navahoes.
The man may have as many wives as he is able
to procure and maintain, and his standing in the
tribe is reckoned by the number of his children.
When married to the first wife there is a certain
marriage ceremony, which we may explain later
on, but this ceremony is not repeated with the
others; they are designated as "added ones." It
is very possible that the "added one" is a
sister or even a daughter of his wife by a pre-
vious marriage. Not infrequently a man mar-
ries a woman with a little girl with the under-
standing that the little one, as soon as she be-
comes eligible, shall also become his wife. Quite
often, or probably we should say usually, these
plural wives live under one roof, or rather in the
same hogan, and not in separate dwellings. It
may well happen that a stranger calling at a
hogan and seeing different women present,
might think that some neighboring ladies were
visiting there, when in fact all present, old and
young, were the wives of the one man. It goes
without gainsaying that some trouble must arise
now and then because of these conditions, but
we are assured that it does not cause as much
friction and controversy as we might expect, for
these women have been brought up from child-
hood in the face of these prevailing customs. We
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 61
are informed that we should never ask a Nav-
aho : Is this your wife? but, Is this the mother of
your children? The children of one mother feel
more closely akin to each other, belonging to the
same clan, than to the children of their father by
other added wives. The relationship of children
to one another, called by the same name, is no I
always clear to one who is not accustomed to
deal with Navahoes.
Evidences of love between man and wife and
between parents and children are not lacking,
but because they are not demonstrative about
it we might be led to consider them cold, indif-
ferent and unconcerned. If husband and wife
have been separated for some time, for instance,
because of sickness one or the other has been
confined in the hospital, when they meet again,
they hold hands, say a word or two and for the
rest only look at each other and are quiet. Kiss-
ing each other, although adopted by a few w^ho
have graduated from a Mission or Government
School, is still very rare. It is told of a certain
white man who had married a Navaho woman,
that, after quite some time of married life she
went to visit her folks. Upon her return he met
the train to take her to their distant home. He
was very glad to see her and so when she stepped
up to him he embraced and kissed her. This
token of happy affection was repaid with a re-
sounding whack on his cheek, as she indignantly
said: "Navaho don't do that way." When the
62 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
children are off to school, either a Government
or Mission Boarding School, the parents quite
often come to visit them and they hardly ever
fail to bring something in the way of a present;
and while the parents are there, the children
spend every possible moment with them. Dur-
ing the school-year the children are continually
looking forward to the two months of vacation
which they will spend at home. Some, indeed,
get so lonesome and homesick while at school,
that they run away and go home, altho they
know they will be brought back and be punished
for it.
Just here we are reminded of the fact that one
of the hardest lessons for Navaho children to
learn at school is to follow and obey the rules.
Unless thoroughly explained, the why and the
wherefore, they can see no sense in rules and
regulations, for in their homes they never met
with such restraining influences, but to a great
extent were left to themselves. It is not possible
on this account to speak of any special system-
atic and intelligent training of children by the
Navaho parents. The boys and girls simply pick
up the language as it is spoken in the home, and
in every way are obliged to accustom them-
selves to the general run of things in and around
the hogan. They know nothing about the com-
mon forms of courtesy which we attempt to
teach our children. They do not know the use
of "Please" and they never say "Thank you,"
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 53
thereby very often creating the impression with
a stranger that they do not in any way appreci-
ate all that is done for them. They simply
grunt, as it sounds to us, "No" or "Yes." As a
matter of fact, therefore, the Navaho boys and
girls as they grow up obtain a knowledge of
many hurtful and vicious things thru eye- and
ear-gate, which knowledge it would be much
better for them not to have had until of riper
years, if at all.
Now it is very possible that we might
imagine that these conditions give the mission-
ary a blessed opportunity to go to the hogans
and undertake the teaching and training of these
children. Is that possible? Hear the missionary
himself on this subject! Let us not forget that
these Navaho boys and girls, when they are old
enough to profit by the instruction of a Mis-
sionary, are generally not at home during the
day, being out wdth the sheep, out after water
or w^ood, or off on some other errand; and in the
evening there is no time, for then they are tired
with the day's wanderings and very early seek
the sheepskin for the night. Furthermore, there
would be no suitable place for teaching in a
hogan; first of all, there is no light except that
of the fire in the center of the earthen floor, and
that fire is there for heat and not for light, and
undoubtedly the parents would resent it if the
children were to receive so much attention, and
last but not least, the hogan children are so
64 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
very, very shy in the presence of strangers.
Again we might wonder whether it would not
be possible for him to look them up when they
are out with the sheep, quietly sit down with
them and by means of pictures and other ob-
jects, teach them? He tells us, that by asking
the question we manifest that we do not know
the conditions of Navaho life. The boys, and
especially the girls, out with the sheep cannot
be approached, for as soon as they discover a
stranger coming toward them, they hide, and
when they hide they surely effectually disap-
pear and it seems they are always on the look-
out for strangers, and are therefore not caught
unawares. This alertness is undoubtedly partly
due to the fact that the girls, being alone or with
a little brother, have often been and often still
are attacked by brutes in human form. And the
older care-takers, young women, know only too
well what would be said should they be visited*
while thus alone, by any man. Their reputation
would surely suffer, and of that they are often
more afraid than the whites. The instruction
that the Missionary would be able to give to the
children in the hogan or while they are out with
the sheep would therefore be nil.
While the Navaho boys and girls attending an
Indian Boarding School are taught and begin to
play many games in common with our children :
the girls playing with dolls, at house-keeping,
jumping the rope, etc.; the boys playing shinny,.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 55
marbles, tops and especially the great American
game, baseball, the little folks in and around the
hogan and while out with the sheep, have not
much in the way of games and amusements. The
little girls will make pets of prairie-dogs and
other animals and play with them, and in some
localities the boys will play at archery or imi-
tate the games of their elders. The men and
women have games of their own, altho most of
the original games of the tribe are no longer in
use. Formerly, for instance, there was the game
of Hoop and Pole which called for great dex-
terity. The hoop was wound about with hide or
buckskin, ranging from one to six inches in
diameter. It was rolled over a course east and
west, and the pole thrust at it when in motion
in an effort to pierce the opening. This pole
was decorated with thongs of buckskin and
counts were taken as these strings, called turkey
feet, lay across the hoop. The number of counts
to be scored was decided upon before the game
began. Another game of which some were pas-
sionately fond was called the Moccasin Game.
Four moccasins were buried, allowing just the
tip of their uppers to show above the ground.
A small pebble was hidden in one of the mocca-
sins and its presence guessed at by the opposing
party, who won or lost as they succeeded or
failed in locating it. Still another game, espe-
cially popular with the women, therefore also
designated as a woman's game and not played
66 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
after sunset, was the Bouncing Stick Game. It
was played by them around a circle of forty
stones. Three billets or sticks of wood were
thrown upon a flat stone in the center of this
circle, so that they would rebound from a sus-
pended blanket and fall within the circle around
which the women were seated. Counts were
made according to which side of the billet or
stick was up, one hundred and twenty points
winning the game. Today, however, the Nav-
aho being a passionate gambler, all games of
dexterity or chance have no interest unless there
is a stake to be won. He sees neither sense nor
pleasure in playing cards or dice just for
amusement. Modern cards have to a great ex-
tent displaced all original tribal games, altho
the Navaho's knowledge of cards is usually lim-
ited to two games, called monte and coon can.
In ancient times it seems to have been a gen-
eral rule that both the boys and girls were be-
tween the ages of seventeen and twenty before
they entered the marriage state, but since they
came in contact with the Mexicans, with whom
early marriage was a custom, the Navahoes also
began to give their children in marriage at a
much younger age. It was no unusual thing to
see a girl married at thirteen or even a mother at
that age. At present, if the parties desire to be
married legally, they must observe the require-
ments laid down by the Government also with
respect to the age limit, unless they present a
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 67
permit of their parents or guardians that they
consent to the marriage of their son or daughter
at an earher age than stipulated by the
Government.
When a young man lias seen or met a girl
whom he desires for a wife, he requests his par-
ents, an uncle, or some good friend of his to take
the initiative and begin the necessary negotia-
tions to obtain for him the desire of his heart.
A visit to the home of the chosen one is made
by the intermediary, he speaks to the parents,
and if they agree then generally the girl is also
consulted, and if there are no objections on her
part, an early date is set for the ceremony. If
the bride-elect should not be willing, this does
not usually prevent the marriage, but only post-
pones it for a while. Somehow or other, after a
while, by persuasion or otherwise, the unwilling
one becomes willing or at least is married to the
man approved by her parents. As soon as the
date of the ceremony is determined, or during
the period which we might designate as the en-
gagement, which generally is about a month, the
young people carefully avoid each other and
there is no thought of courtship. The ceremony
which makes them man and wife will be briefly
described under the head of Customs, and the
relation of mother-in-law to son-in-law will be
spoken of under Superstitions.
The older Navaho is very much concerned
about the traditions handed down from genera-
68 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
tioii to generation, and very seldom, and then
only in non-essential matters, departs from
them. The younger Navahoes, however, having
attended an Indian School, either Government
or Mission, do not cling so tenaciously to these
traditions of the elders. It is becoming more
and more a custom with them to follow the ex-
ample of the whites. They court the girl they
desire to marry, enter upon a formal engage-
ment, and then marry in a legal way, very of-
ten requesting the Missionary at the School to
solemnize the marriage at the Agency or Mission
in the presence of their parents, friends and em-
ployees at the post. These ceremonies are in
great favor with the Missionaries, for it fosters
the fond hope that the Navaho youth of today is
beginning to recognize the marriage state to be
of divine origin and institution, and therefore
sacred.
Whereas the divorce evil is already so very
prevalent and still on the increase among us,
who should know better, having the Master's
direct prohibition of it excepting on one
ground, we are naturally curious to know what
is found in this line among our Navaho neigh-
bors. Now we are informed as to this that when
trouble arises between a man and his wife and
they are not able to settle it between themselves,
not infrequently a council of relatives, that is,
clan-members, is called and the trouble investi-
gated and if possible an adjustment of the dif-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 59
ferences is made. Quite often this procedure
brings about the desired reconciliation, if not, it
is possible that the matter is presented to the
Government Agent of the district in which the
parties live. He hears the evidence and gives
his decision and this has the force of law, but
very often the Navaho, even as his white
brother, finds a way to evade a repugnant and
an unsatisfactory ruling. If from the beginning
an unsatisfactory decision is expected, the mat-
ter is rather brought to a Missionary than to a
Government Agent. Missionaries very often,
therefore, serve as arbiters in marital troubles
and generally are successful in reconciling the
parties. This is especially true where a legal
marriage has taken place and a separation or
divorce must conform to the rules enacted by
the United States Government.
With the primitive Navaho it is quite differ-
ent. A divorce as understood by us, is not
known to him. Their marriage being in many
respects nothing more than a co-habitation, their
divorce is also simply a separation with or with-
out mutual consent. Incompatibility of temper
and unfaithfulness, real or alleged, are the usual
sources of trouble. Generally the man steps out
and leaves. The hogan, with its belongings, the
children, and her personal possessions such as
sheep, etc., remain with her. He takes his
ponies, cattle, and personal belongings with him.
Not long after this separation he is living with
70 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
another woman and she, the forsaken one, has
another husband and her children another
father. In general it must be admitted that the
morale of the Navaho people is no longer what
it once was. According to some this is to be
ascribed to the advent of the Mexicans among
them, which has had much to do with the in-
crease of dishonesty and immorality. We would
add, however, that the unprincipled conduct of
many Americans, especially soldiers and
traders, and the illegal introduction of liquor,
fire-water, has done much toward the demoral-
ization of this people. A still further reason for
it is to be found in the following observations:
the Navaho is really a child in his conception of
many of life's relations and by nature he is very
covetous. Today he finds many opportunities to
satisfy that nature as well as the awakened de-
sires and passions of the flesh. He earns more
than is good for him by working in the mines,
on the railroad, for the Government, etc. The
more he earns the more he spends and the more
he has to spend for that which is wicked and de-
bauching. Naturally there are always enough
of the scum of the white race to assist him on
the downward grade.
The widow among the Navahoes is just as
highly respected as any woman of good reputa-
tion. She is not cast off, looked down upon, de-
spised as the child widows of India, for instance,
who live but miserable and dreary lives. The
A Navaho Girl
72 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Navaho widow is in no way shut out from inter-
course with others or from any gathering of her
people. She is considered unfortunate and an
object of sympathy, but has no special privileges
because of her widowhood. Frequently the hus-
band's brother assumes the care of the family
and looks after the interests of the children to
secure to them the property left them by their
father. The tie of blood is strongly felt, and
many examples of unselfish care for a brother's
children could be found. There is among this
people no denying a poor relative because he is
poor in the things of this world. The property
of the woman remains hers, also when she be-
comes a widow. The deceased's property re-
verts to his relatives, unless in the presence of
reliable witnesses he has made disposition of it
to his wife or children before he died. If it is
the woman that dies she has generally deter-
mined beforehand what is to be done with her
possessions.
Another pleasure in which both men and
women take a great delight is the trading at the
various Indian trading stores on and off the
reservation. The men generally dispose of the
wool, while the women sell the blankets they
have woven. This trading is rather a drawn-out
affair, and quite amusing to a white stranger not
accustomed to things Navaho. After the money
for the wool or blanket is received, first the debt,
if any, at the store is paid, then one thing de-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 73
sired is asked and paid for, the necessarj'^ change
being made. The clerk steps over to another
customer and after a while returns to Number
One who orders a second item, pays for it and
receives the change; thus it proceeds, one item
at a time until he has spent all his money or ha&
obtained all that he wants. In some cases, no
doubt, this custom has arisen from the fact that
all traders have not been honest in their dealings
with the Indians, and now he wants to be sure
that he receives the right change every time he
makes a purchase. On the other hand, it must
also be said that the Indian has not been slow in
taking advantage of a trader new in the busi-
ness and not aware of the value of things put in
pawn with him for merchandise received. Dur-
ing certain periods of the year when the Indian
has nothing to sell, he pawns his silver and tur-
quoise ornaments Mith the traders in order to
get the things he needs ii. the way of eatables
and wearing apparel, etc. Now it behooves a
trader to know what these tL:ngs given in pawn
are worth, for a trader old in the business as-
sured us that if an Indian could obtain twenty-
five cents worth of merchandise more than Iho
value of the pawn, he would never return to re-
deem it. Some traders have paid very dearly
for their experience, seeing that the value of
turquoise is not to be determined by one who
does not know the difference between the
various kinds.
74 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Before proceeding to speak more particularly
about the customs, etc., we desire to give just a
very brief synopsis of the history of the Nava-
hoes. The first record or mention that is made
of them is by Zarate-Salmeron, whose memoirs
date back to 1626, and here they are referred to
as Apaches de Nabayu. In 1630, a Franciscan
Friar, in a memorial to the King of Spain, speaks
of the "Province of the Apaches of Navajo," and
says that they are great farmers, and further-
more he mentions a treaty of peace which he
was instrumental in concluding between the
Navaho and the Pueblo Indians of Santa Clara.
These Navahoes were evidently not an easy
people to get along with, for it seems that they
were great marauders and lusted after the pos-
sessions of others. Their history is therefore a
chain of wars and treaties. Previous to the
dates above mentioned and until 1863, there ex-
isted between them and the Pueblo Indians and
afterwards also with the Mexicans, when these
began to settle in that country, an almost con-
tinuous guerilla warfare. When this territory,
after the Mexican war, became a part of the
United States, the Federal soldiers were sent to
establish peace. Many were the campaigns di-
rected against them, in 1846 Colonel Doniphan,
and in 1849 Colonel Washington, and in 1854
General Sumner headed expeditions in to the
Navaho country. In the years 1859 and 1860 no
less than three officers were charged with the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 75
task of bringing them into subjection, namely,
Colonel Miles, Colonel Boneville, and General
Camby. When the Civil War broke out and the
Texans invaded the Navaho country, all the
Federal soldiers were for a time withdrawn,
leaving the Navahoes to themselves. During
this time they certainly overran the country
rough shod, pillaging and marauding to their
hearts' content. In 1863 the time of reckoning
came. Colonel "Kit" Carson was sent by Gen.
Carleton to subdue them. "Kit" was a soldier
well-drilled in Indian warfare, understood per-
fectly the futility of attempting to dislodge them
out of their rocks and canyons, therefore he ap-
plied a different method. He sent his soldiers to
kill their stock and to destroy their crops and
soon the Navahoes, the Bedouins and marauders-
of the American Desert, were facing starvation,
and the only escape was by way of surrender.
Some 7,400 were taken as prisoners and trans-
ferred to Fort Sumner in southeastern New-
Mexico. Here they languished and many died,
until upon the treaty concluded with them by
General Sherman in 1868, they were permitted
to return to their homes. Since that time their
war-like tendencies have been broken, and they
have been a peaceful, pastoral people, living by,
with and off their flocks of sheep and goats.
We will conclude this part of the Chapter by
introducing to you the last great Navaho Chief,
Manuehto, born in 1821, and died in 1894. He
76 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
was lithe, muscular, and powerful, of tall and
commanding figure, with a strong face, and eyes
that expressed his dominating will. He was a
born leader, of great mental power, a gifted
speaker, of indomitable courage, haughty, brave,
proud, and self-possessed. When, as a young
man, by skill and courage, he turned the tide of
battle, against the Mexicans, from an inevitable
defeat into a great victory, he was hailed as
Chief, since the reigning Chief had been killed
in the battle. And from that time until his death
Manuelito was the acknowledged and honored
Chief, to whose almost absolute and autocratic
swav some thousands of his tribesmen submitted.
CUSTOMS
WE WILL BEGIN by giving a brief descrip-
tion of the primitive custom observed in
marriage, for it is rather symbolical and inter-
esting. The Navaho does not sell his daughter
in marriage, as has sometimes been supposed.
Nay, he scorns this idea vehemently, but never-
theless in certain instances it is hard for us to
suppress the thought that in spite of all his prot-
estations, tlie earmarks of barter are very evi-
dent. The gift of a prospective bridegroom to
h;s bride's mother is all in accordance with his
standing and possessions. Formerly ten horses
were considered a proper gift for the average
Navaho, but today the poorer classes olfer as
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 77
little as one or two horses. It seems that sheep
are also given, but these are usually butchered
and make up part of the wedding feast. When
the means allow, the most elaborate prepara-
tions are made for a suitable festivity. In the
morning of the appointed day, the best man or
intermediary of the bridegroom drives the
horses and sheep that are offered and that have
been promised as a gift to the bride's mother,
over to the home and puts them in the corral.
Toward evening the bridegroom and his party
arrives at the bride's hogan. Both the bride-
groom and the bride arc dressed in their very
best ornamented with all their beads, silver
rings, and bracelets.
As a beginning of the ceremony the bride-
groom enters the hogan, proceeding around the
south side of the fire to the northwest side, where
he seats himself upon the blankets spread out on
the earthen floor. Soon the bride, conducted by
her father or uncle, enters the same way and is
seated slightly to the rear at the right of the
groom. The places to the right and to the left
are now quickly occupied by the friends and
relatives, guests of the family. A new basket,
or at least one which has not been used for a
ceremonial purpose, filled with a plain cornmeal
gruel or mush is now placed before the couple.
Upon this mush the father of the bride first
draws a line with white corn pollen from the
closed seam pointing to the east to the west end
78 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
of the basket and then back again to the east;
next with yellow corn pollen, he draws another
line from south to north and back again to south;
finally with the same yellow pollen a circle is
drawn around the whole. At this juncture in the
ceremony, a jar of water is set before the bride,
who, with a ladle, jDours water over the hands of
the groom while he washes them; then he per-
forms the same duty for her. The bridegroom
now takes a pinch of the gruel or mush with his
fingers from just where the line of pollen
touches the circle of the east side; the bride fol-
lows his example, and then they eat it. Again a
pinch is taken by the groom, each time followed
by the bride, from the south, west and north
sides, every time from where the lines of pollen
touch the circle. This really ends the ceremony,
expressions of joy and happiness, as well as of
good and sound advice are given to the newly-
wedded couple.
The guests are now invited to partake of the
feast which has been prepared, and the newly-
weds may either finish the basket of mush or join
with the others in the general feasting. The
basket used in the ceremony usually goes to the
bride's mother who could not be present because
of the prevailing taboo.
The birth of a child in the Navaho home is an-
other occasion of great joy and happiness; many
friends and relatives gather when a little opie is
expected. A singer is engaged, not to act as ac-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 79
coiicheur, but to assist with songs of blessing. The
waiting period is spent with much taunting and
joking between the men and women. If twins
are born, this is not a matter of chagrin, but of
genuine pride and ehition to the parents, who
look upon it as a sign of particular divine favor.
It is not true, therefore, as has been sometimes
said, that the Navahoes always killed one of the
twins. (Strange, however, when twin colts are
born, it is considered an evil omen, and both the
colts and the mare are killed, but not so wdth a
cow.) A child that does not cry or make a sound
when it is born is considered dead, and is quickly
disposed of by casting it into the bushes or, as in
former years, placing it in the branches of a tree,
when with a little assistance it might have been
saved.
In former times children, in order to harden
them to the weather and exposure, were bathed
in the snow, but this, with many other customs
of former years, is fast disappearing. But in
common wdth all primitive people, and even
with our own boys and girls, the Navahoes are
not friends of soap and water. Water is seem-
ingly meant only for drinking and cooking pur-
poses, and not for cleansing and purifying.
Morning ablutions are of very recent date and
introduced by those who have attended either a
Government or Mission School. The Yucca
head-bath is quite generally submitted to, how-
ever, by all for relief against the irritation of lice
80 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
and vermin. The head and hair is scoured with
yucca suds and dried in tlie sun; after this it is
brushed with a whisk made of mountain grass,
and then it is twisted and tied in a bunch on the
back of the head, where it is secured by a hair-
cord.
The naming of children is not a matter of spe-
cial festivity among the Navahoes as it is with
some Indian tribes, but it is considered a purely
private affair. The names given to boys and
girls, according to age-old custom, are generally
suggestive of war. Rarely are these given names
of the children known to the whites. They are
generally referred to as the son or daughter of
so and so, and after marriage the girls are desig-
nated as the wife of this or that man. It is also
contrary to their custom to address a person by
his name, but they use a familiar term of ad-
dress, as my brother, my friend, and the like, and
then the name of the party is probably learned
from others after he or she has departed. Many
are averse to revealing the name of another in
their own presence or hearing. This often em-
barasses a stranger who visits the Navahoes and
desires to know the names of those whom he
meets. By direct questioning little or no infor-
mation is to be obtained, and only after one has
learned the true art of questioning does he make
any progress in having his curiosity and inquisi-
tiveness satisfied.
The burial custom is also one that should be
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 81
of interest to us, seeing that the Navahoes, as
ahiiost all superstitious heathen, are afraid of
the dead. In former times, before they were
subject to civilized government, slaves were gen-
erally compelled to take care of the corpse, and
when they had finished the burial they were
killed and left by the grave. Today it falls to
the lot of four or sometimes only two of the near-
est relatives to care for the dead, unless they suc-
ceed in getting some outside party, as a Mis-
sionary, to do it for them, something that is
greatly preferred. The dead, with his blankets,
belts, rings, bracelets and all other personal pos-
sessions, unless disposed of before his death, is
carried wrapped in a blanket to a crevice in a
rock or some secluded spot in the hills offering
facilities for covering it quickly and securely.
Spades, shovels and all tools used at the burial
are broken and cast upon it. In former times it
was also customary to kill the deceased's best
riding horse, bridled and saddled, and leave it
by the grave, but today if a sadle is left, it is
first hacked to pieces so that it will not be car-
ried away by some intruder. If the deceased
died in a hogan, something which is most often
prevented by removing the dying one, it and all
in it, such as pottery and cooking utensils, is de-
stroyed. Four days of mourning are observed,
during which the mourners and members of the
family that were witnesses of the death or saw
the corpse, abstain from all unnecessary conver-
82 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
sation, amusements, and labor. After the four
days the dead is considered to belong to the
spiritual world, the influence of which is to be
dreaded.
When the Navaho still grinds his own meal,,
instead of using the American flour which has
almost universally been accepted by them, he or
rather she, for it is the woman that does it, per-
forms this in an old-fashioned, laborious way.
A large and convenient tlat stone is laid down
and one of smaller size is taken, and being fairly
well rounded, it rolls easily over the larger
stone and the grains, thrown by handfuls be-
tween, is crushed and ground. The griddle,
which is still in use everywhere, in the absence
of stoves, for baking cakes and frying meat, is
a flat, round stone placed over the fire and
heated.
One of the most prevalent as well as heinous
transgressions against the only true and living
God, in our highly civilized and cultured coun-
try, is the taking of His name in vain. In mo-
ments of excitement or anger that sin is com-
mitted by those of our people who have not
learned to live and walk in holy fear before that
God who has so emphatically declared that He
is a jealous God, jealous of His name and honor ,^
and He will not hold guiltless any who take
His name in vain. This is one of our national
sins and a sin against which a mighty campaign
should be waged by every one who acknowledges.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 83
God as the Author of our liberty and the Foun-
tain of all our blessings. Now we find something
similar with our Navahoes. They are also accus-
tomed to use forceful language when angry, ex-
cited, or thwarted in their plans. Women are
just as voluble as men, if not more so. But this
must be said for them, their expletives and im-
precations are usually references to things ta-
booed, for instance, they will call each other:
"shash" (you bear) ; "ma'i" (you coyote) ; "tlish
bizede" (you expectoration of a snake) ; and
many similar expressions or variations. And,
of course, against this the Missionary, when oc-
casion presents itself, testifies, but how ashamed
and chagrinned he must feel inwardly, knowing
as he does that his own fellow-men continually
use words which are a thousand times more un-
clean and wicked. Let us all do what we can in
our communities against the transgression of the
Third Commandment of the Holy Law.
Speaking of law and transgressions naturally
reminds us of punishment, and in former times,
we are informed, severe punishment was meted
out by the Nava'hoes for certain transgressions.
Adultery was originally punished by amputation
of breasts and vagina, but this proved too fatal
to be continued, and so instead they amputated
an ear or nose or put out an eye, after the man-
ner of the Apaches. Since they have come into
contact with and under the influence, more or
less, of the whites, these customs have gradually
84 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
disappeared and the only recourse for the of-
fended party seems to be retaliation or divorce.
A heavy fine of horses and cattle is levied upon
the crime of rape, and is always exacted by the
relatives, that is by the clansmen, of the victim.
B. LEGENDS
MANY LENGTHY MYTHS and legends of the
Navaho Indians have been carefully gath-
ered, translated, and compiled by Washington
Matthews, M. D., LL.D., Major U. S. Army, Ex-
president of the American Folk-Lore Society,
etc. With intense interest we scanned his vol-
ume, Navaho Legends, in which he describes, in
addition to two incomplete rite-myths, in all de-
tail, covering a hundred large pages, the Origin
Legend, divided into four parts: (1) The Story
of the Emergence; (2) Early Events in the Fifth
World; (3) The War Gods; (4) The Growth of
the Navaho Nation. The great difliculty of get-
ting anything like a true version of a legend will
be felt by everyone who will stop for a moment
to consider that among an unlettered people,
thinly scattered over a wide territory, there arc
naturally many variants of every legend. No
two men tell the same story exactly alike, and
each story-teller generally maintains that his
version is the only reliable one. Variations of
the Origin Legend, which is the property of the
whole tribe, and unlike the rite-myths, is not in
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 85
the keeping of any special order or priesthood,
are particularly numerous. Any one especially
interested in the details of this legend should oh-
tain the above mentioned volume from our Mis-
sion Board Library in charge of the Secretary,
Rev. H. Beets, LL.D., 737 Madison Ave., SE.,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We will not attempt to make a synopsis of the
Origin Legend as given by Dr. Matthews, but
rather give you the brief account of it as found in
the Handbook of American Indians, edited by
F. W. Hodge.
According to the best recorded version of their
origin legend, the first or nuclear clan of the
Navahoes was created by the gods in Arizona
or Utah about five hundred years ago. People
had lived on earth before this, but most of them
had been destroyed by giants or demons. When
the myth says that the gods created the first pair
of this clan, it is equivalent to saying that they
know not whence they came and have no ante-
cedent tradition of themselves. The story gives
the impression that these Indians wandered into
New Mexico and Arizona in small groups, prob-
ably in single families. In the course of time
other groups joined them, until in the seven-
teenth century, they felt strong enough to go to
war. The accessions were from different stocks,
consequently the Navahoes are a very composite
people. Their appearance also strengthens this
traditional evidence of their origin. It is simply
86 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
impossible to describe a prevailing type; they
vary in size from stalwart men of six feet or
more to some who are diminutive in stature. In
feature they vary from the strong faces with
acquiline noses and prominent chins, common
with the Dakotas and other northern tribes, to
the subdued features of the Pueblos. Their faces
are also a little more hirsute than those of In-
dians farther East. Many have very flattened
occiputs, a^ feature resulting most likely from
the hard cradle-board on which the head rests
in infancy. There is nothing somber or stoic in
their character. Among themselves they are
merry and jovial, much given to jest and banter.
At first acquaintance, however, they are silent
and seemingly unfriendly, to a stranger, but on
closer acquaintance they are found to possess a
great store of humor, and a cheerful as well as
happy disposition. The proudest among them
does not scorn remunerative labor. They do not
bear pain wdth the fortitude displayed among
the militant tribes of the North, nor do they
inflict upon themselves equal tortures.
Some years ago we were told an interesting
legend about why they, the Navahoes, live in the
arid and barren region of the Southwest, and
have never sought to find a better locality. In
former times they lived to the far, far North,
but they were not a strong people and were sur-
rounded by great giants who continually perse-
cuted them. In their distress thy cried to the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 87
gods, who answered their cry by telling them to
flee to a certain rock which could be seen from
their homes. They obeyed the gods, fled to the
designated rock, and when they were all gath-
ered on it, it began to move across the country
toward the South. While thus traveling they
saw beautiful fields and rivers, valleys and prai-
ries and plains where they would have been glad
to settle and reside, but the rock upon which
they had taken refuge did not stop until it
reached the vicinity of their present homes. They
are living, therefore, in the place where the gods
sent them, and if they should seek a more ac-
ceptable country they would do so in disobe-
dience to the gods and consequently could not
expect their help and blessings. This rock, upon
which they escaped from the giants, is the same
rock we see from Toadlena, standing out by it-
self and called Ship-rock. A second version of
this same legend says it was a big bird upon
whose wings they were carried from the North
to the South, and that this bird turned to stone
when it liad accomplished its task, to be a per-
petual reminder unto them of what the gods had
done for them, and therefore this rock is called
and known by them as the Winged Rock.
There is also a legend about the division of the
year into twelve months. The coyote, a sacred
animal, recognized by the Navaho for his great
sagacity and wisdom, was consulted by the gods
concerning the dividing of the year into twelve
88 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
parts. He intimated doubt as to the wisdom of
assigning twelve months each to the earth and
sky, who stand in the relation of man and wife
to each other. The sky is considered to be the
male, the earth the female, the mother of all
hving, because in addition to being the habita-
tion of man, she produces all life, plant, min-
eral, and animal. Because of the coyote's doubt
the gods gave six months to the sky for winter
and six months to the earth for summer. There
arose contentions about the exact period of the
first month and consequently it is known as
"ghaji" (back to back), when the snow of win-
ter and the warmth of summer meet, they turn
their backs to each other and the one proceeds,
while the other retraces its steps.
C. SUPERSTITIONS
TN THE SELF-SAME HOUR that the human
•*• family, in Adam, became guilty of apostacy,
it not only lost the true knowledge of God, but
became a victim of superstition. In the state of
righteousness the whole heart of man rested in
his God. To serve that God was his all and all,
his desire, his purpose, his joy. That God he
knew as the Infinite, Omniscient, Omnipotent,
the Architect and Builder of all creation, and
who, by His all-wdse Providence, according to a
predetermined purpose ruled and governed all
things. In this blessed state there was no place
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 89
for faith in a secret, mysterious power besides or
above God. That came the very moment that
man, thru wilful disobedience, forsook his God.
Instead of rest and peace there came immedi-
ately unrest and tumult in his heart and life, and
he being afraid to face the God against Whom
he had transgressed, he sought refuge against
the wrath of that offended God in various sub-
terfuges. Instead of faith in God there came
superstition. These two stand related to each
other as health to sickness. Superstition has
correctly been designated the caricature of true
faith, and the quasi-religious phenomena ac-
companying and flowing forth out of supersti-
tion, the bastard forms of true religion. To un-
derstand the nature of superstition we must first
know what the real essence is of true faith.
Whereas faith consists first of all in a knowledge
of the true and eternal, living God, according to
His own revelation in His Word, superstition
mocks and ridicules this and rejects both the
fountain and essence of the knowledge of that
God. They have this in common, however, that
they both consider the metaphysical and super-
natural, but the difference in the method of con-
sideration is indeed great. They differ, as far
as the East is from the West, in both contents
and purpose. The highest desire and purpose
of faith is to know God in His love and out of
love to live for Him, but in superstition all love
is lacking, and the purpose is to bring all the
90 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
2:)owers of the supernatural into subjection and
make them serve unto the satisfaction of our
curiosity, the gratification of the hists and pas-
sions of our flesh, and in every way to benefit
and profit us in this present life. True faith and
superstition consequently exclude each other.
Anyone who truly believes in God, the Creator
and Preserver of all things, in Whom we live
and move and have our being, \Yho is transcen-
dent above and imminent in the world, with
Whom a whole nation is less than a drop of wa-
ter on the bucket or the small dust of the bal-
ance; such a one cannot be superstitious. Our
superstition, therefore, testifies and witnesses to
the lack or weakness of our faith. This can also
easily be verified by any one who cares to make
the test. Who are they, who are alarmed and
frightened by phenomena in nature? Not they
who truly believe and trust in the God Who
stands above nature! Who are they who believe
in bad omens, the hooting of an owl, the barking
or howling of a dog after dark, etc.? Not the
children of the heavenly Father, who have in-
trusted their all to His keeping and who have
learned to say: "I know in whom I have be-
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep
that which I have entrusted unto him against
that day!" Who are they who believe in the
signs and tokens of good luck, the finding of a
horse-shoe, the seeing of a white horse and a
red-haired girl at the same time, etc.? Not they
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 91
who believe in the Father of Hght, from ^Yhom
descendeth all good and perfect gifts!
The ramifications and products of superstition
are simply too numerous to mention, and as to
its harmful effects in the history of the children
of men, we can give only the merest suggestion.
It has sacrificed countless lives, wasted untold
treasures, embroiled nations, severed friends,
parted husbands and wives, parents and chil-
dren, putting swords, and more than swords,
between them. It has filled jails and mad-
houses with its innocent or deluded victims, and
it has broken many hearts, embittered the
whole of many a life, or, not content with per-
secuting the living, it has pursued the dead into
the grave and beyond it, gloating over the hor-
rors which its foul imagination has conjured up
to appal and torture the survivors. Let no one,
therefore, mock and ridicule this mighty weapon
in the hand of and wielded by the prince of this
world. In a most tempting, alluring, amusing
way he seeks entrance for this mighty power,
to conquer and drive out faith. We may laugh
in amusement at a company of younger or older
friends engaged fn asking the Ouija Board to
answer their earnest or foolish questions, but let
us not forget, it is playing with fire. And they
that play with fire may get burned. No earnest
observer or student of the times is ignorant of
the fact that in our day, while spiritual life runs
at a verv low ebb and the simple faith in Jesus
92 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Christ is on the wane, many, yes many, of whom
we would not expect it at all, are turning to
divination, fetishism, palmistry, sorcery, spirit-
ualism or something else which are but some of
the many ramifications of superstition.
Whereas true faith in the living God and
superstition exclude each other, it is very evi-
dent that among all nations and peoples without
the knowledge of the only true and living God
superstition finds a very fertile soil. Therefore,
also the Navahocs as well as the Zunies, with
whom we are concerned in this book, are very
superstitious. We can only give a few examples
with the hope that it may strengthen the desire
in us to help drive out this unclean spirit by
making known unto them the God in Whom we
believe, so that they, believing in Jesus Christ,
the Saviour, may also be delivered from the
dense darkness, ignorance, and blighting influ-
ences of superstition. "What joy there will be
in heaven when the broom of the Gospel brings
from these people, in truth, the lost coins of the
King's treasury. His image has been marred
beyond recognition by the rust and dust of sin,
but they will be recast and restamped, thus be-
coming rich trophies of His grace."
"There is an unyielding superstition among
the Navahoes that a hut, camp or anything else
they may be living in when a death occurs in the
family is thereafter polluted by death. The
dwelling in it of an unclean spirit makes it, ac-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 93
cording to their ideas, exceedingly dangerous.
This is doubtless a strong check on any ambition
to put much money or labor into a permanent
dwelling. The Navaho country is dotted every-
where with remaining evidences of this super-
stition. Fear of death and dread of evil spirits
are spectres of terror to them. Strong belief in
witchcraft and in spirit manifestations makes
them vie well with the modern devotees of spir-
itualism, which originates from one and the
same foul source. The deification, as occasion
may require it, of nearly every beastly object
known to them, stamps their belief as not only
primitive, but pagan from start to finish, no-
where more fitting and accurately described
than in Romans 1: 19-31." — Butler.
All sicknesses and diseases are considered to
be caused by the indwelling of evil spirits, and
therefore the remedies applied are also for the
purpose of driving out the spirit that is causing
the trouble. For this purpose they have sings,
and sand-paintings, and sweat baths, etc. The
professions of Priest and Physician are conse-
quently combined in one person, the Medicine
Man. These medicine men are considered of
great importance, and they have the knack and
audacity of making the Navahoes pay dearly for
their services. We are told the following story
to illustrate that these medicine men are not
always honest in their dealings with their own
people. There had been a great drought for
94 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
some time and the Navahoes were very anx-
ious for rain. They desired the medicine man to
make a prayer for this purpose, which he wa">
not unwilling to do, but it would cost a consid-
erable amount, seeing that in this case the prayer
to bring the desired rain would have to consist
of a certain amount of the very finest turquoise
ground to pieces. The natives produced the stip-
ulated price and the medicine man alone re-
paired to the mountain shrine to make the prom-
ised prayer. The Missionary stationed at this
particular place, knowing the medicine man,
had his doubts whether he really did what he
was paid to do and therefore the following day
he clambered to the top of the mountain, found
the prayer, scooped it together and took it with
him. Having descended the mountain he wont
to the trading-store and there showed the trader
and some lounging Indians what he had found
on top of the mountain. The following morning
before he and his family had finished their
breakfast, the mission-yard was full of excited
Indians, headed by the medicine man, volubly
accusing the missionary of interfering with the
prayer and demanding, that because he had
made it worthless, he should reimburse the In-
dians what they had paid for it. But when he,
the missionary, proposed to have the turquoise
examined by an expert authority in order to de-
termine its value, the medicine man suddenly
became aware that in case that was done his
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 95
deception would be brought to light and he lose
his hold upon the people. To escape a bad situ-
ation he peremptorily left the Mission, hurling
anathemas upon the missionary and his work.
The latter, however, grasped the opportunity to
point out to the Indians the utter foolishness of
the medicine man's service as well as his a]>-
parent dishonesty.
The Navahoes are also superstitious in the
face of phenomena in nature. For instance, an
eclipse of the sun or moon is considered to be
caused by the death of the orb, which after a
little while is revived again by the immortal
bearers of the sun and moon. If there is an
eclipse of the moon, the whole family, if asleep,
is awakened; if an eclipse of the sun, then work
or whatever they may be engaged with ceases,
and the recovery is awaited in silence. To have
a ceremony in progress during an eclipse is, con-
sidered very inauspicious and is therefore gener-
ally deferred on that account.
We have all heard and read of the superstition
pertaining to the relation of son-in-law to
mother-in-law. These two may not meet or see
each other, for if that should happen, blindness
will result. Whereas they often live in the same
camp, it calls for a continual watchfulness not
only on the part of the persons concerned, but on
the part of all the folks in the camp, that the two
separated ones may not meet and see one an-
other. If a man marries the daughter of his
96 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
wife, which not infrequently takes place, thus
his wife also becoming his mother-in-law, then
this taboo does not hold.
To mention no further examples of supersti-
tion, we will close this Chapter by referring to
the fact that the Navahoes also refrain from
eating certain foods because of superstitious
fear. For instance, waterfowls, and shore birds,
with the exception of the turtle-dove, are con-
sidered sacred, and therefore not eaten. Chick-
ens are not kept because the Navaho does not
care to eat the eggs. They also refuse to eat
fish on the ground that they belonged to the
people of the eleventh world in the emergence,
and therefore are to be considered among their
ancestors.
High and strong are these walls of Navaho
superstition, and not many indications of
crumbling have thus far appeared, but the mis-
sionaries on the field, at the front, in the midst
of the fight, are not in any way discouraged, for
they believe in Him, Who is not only able to give
the victory, but Who has also promised it unto
His own who prove faithful and true to the com-
mission upon which they have been sent forth.
For this victory and triumph over the darkness
of death they continue to pray, to labor, and to
hope, assured that in God's own time they are
going to reap if they faint not.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 97
REHOBOTH, NEW MEXICO
TN OBEYING the Master, the Church has
■■■ learned that the Great Commission does not
only call for evangelization, preaching, but that
also teaching and healing are to be used as hand-
maidens in bringing the Gospel to the nations.
To reach the Navahoes with the glad tidings this
was also soon discovered. Therefore, in the
year 1903, the Church purchased a squatter's
claim, that was locally known as Smith's Ranch,
about six miles east of Gallup, N. M., and there
founded the first Christian Reformed Mission
Boarding School for the children of Navaho In-
dians. Mindful of the encroachments upon our
privileges and liberties endured at Fort De-
fiance, this infant institution was christened "Re-
hoboth" (the Lord hath made room). It is lo-
cated on the main line of the great transconti-
nental railroad, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe, and for the benefit of those of our people
who travel on this road to sunny California, a
signboard has been erected facing the railroad,
and bearing, in large black letters, the informa-
tion : Rehoboth Mission School and Hospital,
Christian Reformed Church.
The first class in this school consisted of four
boys and two girls, and the mother-teacher of
98 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
this little group was Mrs. Nellie Noordhof Van
der Wagen. The number of scholars gradually
increased from year to year, and whereas at
first it was rather a difficult matter to persuade
a Navaho parent to send his child to this school
with the promise of allowing him to remain un-
til he was educated or had reached the age of
about eighteen years, during the last few years
it has not been possible to accept all who ap-
plied for admission. Some parents even desired
to have the names of their children enrolled on
a waiting-list, so that as soon as there was a
vacancy, their child might be admitted. But
since the two dormitories have been built to
house fifty children each, and the dining-room
of the Mission House has been equipped for one
hundred, that is the number of scholars that can
now be cared for at this school. Employees have
also been engaged accordingly: three teachers,
two matrons, two housekeeper-cooks, one seam-
stress and one laundress. It would not be a very
difficult matter, however, to double or even
triple the number of scholars, but that would
mean also the doubling or tripling of the finan-
cial support that would necessarily have to be
given. At present the cost of supporting a child
is one hundred and eighty dollars annually, and
that really only takes care of the housing, board
and clothing, while all the salaries of the em-
ployees are paid out of the General Fund of our
Heathen Missions. Instead of having the various
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 99
Sunday Schools and Societies support a certain
child, as has been the custom up till now, the
Mission is attempting to obtain pledges of these
organizations for a certain sum annually for the
support of the whole institution, for it happens
quite frequently that after a certain boy or girl
is assigned to a Sunday School or Society, that
particular child, because of sickness or some
other reason, is removed from the school and
another comes in to take the vacant place, and
consequently a great amount of corresponding
back and forth must be done to iron out the
change that has taken place.
While in the Reservation Indian schools, es-
tablished and financed by the Government, the
children receive on an average nothing higher
than a fourth, or at best in a few instances a fifth
grade education, our Rehoboth school is giving
to all who are able to carry it, an eight-grade
course. Several graduates of the school have
submitted to and have been successful in pass-
ing the regular County examination. In a few
cases instruction has even been given in the reg-
ular branches of a first year High School course.
As a fruit of this the Rehoboth graduates on the
Reservation can easily hold their own with those
who have attended any of the Government
schools.
It is understood, of course, that all instruction
is given in the English language, for that is some-
thing the Government requires. Nevertheless,
all the various branches at this Mission School
100 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
are taught in the Kght of the Word of God, for
the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is ac-
knowledged by the teachers and all the other
employees as the only infallible rule and meas-
ure of faith and life. All this and more you will
find more clearly and definitely stated and ex-
plained in the following from the pen of the
Rev. J. W. Brink, Missionary-Pastor of the
Rehoboth Mission. Rev. Brink, after several
years of experience in the regular ministry of
our churches, felt constrained to take up this
work among the Navahoes. He entered the field,
sent forth and supported by the Eastern Avenue
church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1912, and
since that time has been actively engaged in the
work. Whole-heartedly has he and his good
wife given themselves to the cause. We surmise
that sometimes there is a heartache when in the
evening they sit together in their New Mexico
home and think about their children far from
home and the parents' care in order to obtain
an education. That is probably one of the most
difficult matters for a Missionary, when his chil-
dren are of that age when they especially have
need of the parents' care and watchfulness, they
must be sent from home in order that they may
obtain more education than is to be had on the
field. The Church that sends out men and wo-
men into such places with the Gospel, should
assuredly reckon with this. Let us remember
not only Brother and Mrs. Brink, but all our
Missionaries in our prayers to the Throne above.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO iQl
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO THE NAVAHO
AT A MISSION BOARDING SCHOOL
REV. J. W. BRINK, Missionary-Pastor, Rehoboth, N. M.
IT MAY not be known to every reader just what
a Mission Boarding School is. Commonly the
term describes an institution for heathen chil-
dren of either or both sexes, where they are
wholly supported a certain number of months or
the whole year. The exalted purpose of such a
School is to give the children a christian train-
ing and education, that they may, by the grace of
God, grow up to be christians and honorable
citizens, showing forth the redeeming love of
God in Christ Jesus, thru the Holy Spirit, and
serving as means in the providence of the Lord
to lead their people to Christ, the Church and
christian living. As a rule everything is pro-
vided free of charge, in the name of the Lord
and in obedience to His great Commission. Such
schools there are many thruout heathendom
where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is seeking and
gaining a foothold,
Rehoboth, considered as a Mission simply, is a
Mission Boarding School, furnishing such an
education to boys and girls of the Navaho Indian
trible. From it the Gospel radiates for miles
around to the Navaho living on or off the Reser-
vation. The one all-absorbing task is the bring-
ing of the Gospel of salvation thru faith only to
children and adults. Our chief concern in this
102 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
writing is to set forth in what manner this is done
to the pupils of the School, and to such Navaho
as tarry for a shorter or longer period at this
post. Nothing will be said touching the field la-
bors of Mr. William Mierop, missionary for
campwork exclusively, rich and edifying though
the material is, since this would be going beyond
the subject assigned to me.
Before going further it will be well to remind
that Rehoboth is also the official name of a con-
gregation of our Church, worshipping in the
chapel at this post. It consists largely of young
people who have been led to Christ Jesus thru
the labors of missionaries at Government
Schools and here. It was originally organized at
Fort Defiance and when our Church relinquished
that important and promising part of the Nav-
aho mission field, it finally settled at Rehoboth.
Hence the ordained Gospel laborer at this place
functions in a twofold relation: he is the mis-
sionary to the Navaho and the pastor to the con-
gregation. In the latter capacity the Eastern
Avenue congregation, whose missionary he is,
"loaned" his services to this little group of Chris-
tians. Hence the title: Missionary-Pastor.
An important part of the work at Rehoboth is
the preaching of the Word on the Lord's Day and
other occasions, to all who gather in the chapel.
This gathering ordinarily consists of pupils of
the school and the workers. Oft there is a visitor
or two. The language used is the English, as we
104 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
have not been enabled to have Indians from sur-
rounding camps attend our meetings for wor-
ship, altho we repeatedly invite and urge. Should
at some future time interest develop in this di-
rection, and the attendance warrant it, we shall
then make arrangements which will bring them
the Gospel in their own language. The larger
pupils and workers worship twice, the little boys
and girls once every Sabbath. And our chapel
is almost filled to its limits. When there is
company it is uncomfortably full.
This preaching is the most difficult task the
minister has. A moment's reflection will con-
vince a doubter of this. The Word of God is to
be brought to children, lads and lassies and
youths but the slightest removed from heathen-
dom, at best only beginning to be founded on the
infallible Word of God and at the worst wholly
unacquainted with, maybe indifferent to it and
the salvation it offers without money and with-
out price. A common characteristic of all, with
a possible exception, is the preference to be else-
where much rather than at school. This (need
it be said?) has its effects on the spirit in which
meetings for divine worship are attended. And
it does not tend to its advantage. It is but fair to
say, however, and we do it with thanks to the
Lord and in appreciation of our boys and girls,
the spirit of attendance is improving year by
year. The first year of our work here it not in-
frequently happened that our Principal, Mr.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO ]05
Gerrit Heiisinkveld (now M. D.), would look
over the meeting, leave the school-room and
soon return with one or more of the larger boys,
whom he had called or drawn out from their
hiding-place, generally under the bed in the
dormitory. This is wholly a thing of the past.
And we challenge any congregation to show a
group of children and youth as well-behaved as
our pupils generally are.
Our little ones understand but little of the
English language. It is surprising, however, the
evidity with which they apply themselves to rem-
edying this lack, and the speed with which they
reach this laudable object. Could we only get
the use of their tongue as readily! Those who
are older and more advanced, while not exactly
at home in the language of the land, have made
gratifying progress in this respect, which en-
ables them to follow the discourse if couched in
simple words and handling the truth plainly and
practically. They oft encourage the preacher by
their attention and remarks after their return
from worship. Among them is a sprinkling of
girls, who have confessed Jesus as their Saviour
and who have attained to some practical knowl-
edge of the truth, in whose heart the Holy Spirit
is laboring on, enlightening the eyes of their
mind and applying the truth as it is in Christ
Jesus. Frequently they will ask their matron to
repeat something that was said and to explain
what was not comprehended. And then one
106 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
finds that they have much the same difliculties
that other young people have in comprehending
Scripture and applying it to life, only more so.
But it also appears that the Holy Spirit can open
their eyes and give them visions of spiritual
things, create and strengthen spiritual longings
in their hearts, as well as He can and does in the
case of others. Still, it must he ever kept in
mind : getting down to the level of young people
found in our congregations is not enough here;
the minister must get down below that many a
foot, and then even he may not get down to a
level low enough to reach them as he would. But
be patient, give our Navaho boys and girls an
adequate chance, continue the instruction of our
Navaho brethren and sisters in the Lord, and
future generations will demonstrate that many
of our beloved Brownies are not one whit be-
hind the more favored Americans in ability to
learn and put into practice.
Sometimes humorous applications are made
to something heard while at "church." A while
ago baskets were put up for basketball. The
next day it blew a gale, down went both sup-
ports, altho of generous proportions. Along
came one of our younger girls, with a few com-
panions. The company stopped and viewed the
ruin wrought. As they turned away the leader
said: "And it was built upon a rock." (Matth.
7:25.) One day the older lads were teaming
in a carload of hay. Some riding on the load,
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO iQ?
others walking. At the barn the driver was slow
in getting down, too slow to suit one of the fel-
lows. This boy cried out to him : "Zaccheus,
make haste and come down." (Luke 19:5.)
Part of the Sunday congregation consists of
christian men and women, who have come from
East and West, North and South, to labor in this
part of the harvest in various capacities. This
complicates preaching matters for the mission-
ary, since he must also keep these in mind when
preparing and delivering the Message. All are
willing "to take what the children get," all urge
him to "think of the children first," and express
themselves satisfied if these "get it." And they
pray for the preacher that the Lord may enable
him to minister to the children according to their
ability to hear the truth. Still, all of these have
their spiritual needs, must, while here, also grow
in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ, may not be treated as children, which
could have a stunting effect upon their spiritual
life and serviceability. Therefore the preach-
ing must bring to them the bread of life suitable
to them. At the least, an effort to do so must be
prayerfully and honestly made.
I might yet add that our Sabbath meetings are
congregational, that is, it is the Church of Jesus
Christ at this place, which meets for worship,
not a mixed concourse of people. Therefore we
have everything pertaining to the assembly ar-
ranged on that basis. This is at once an educa-
108 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
tion to the "school" in matters of the christian
Church and tends to enable them, after leaving
here and being transferred to another congrega-
tion, to enter into the spirit of it all. Our Nav-
aho christians, who were educated here, would
understand much of everything customary in
our churches thruout the land.
Then there is the old-fashioned catechism. We
consider this the most excellent agency for train-
ing children and youths of our Church in the
way wherein they should go. It is indispensible.
The Church which neglects it does so at its peril.
History emphatically says so. And we know of
no other means so well suited, if properly used,
to bring the young Navaho to saving faith and
confession of Christ, and to equip him or her
for sustained christian life later on as is this
same catechism. Rehoboth's young people are
grouped into five or six classes for catechetical
instruction. And they attend nine or ten months
of the year, one hour every week for each class.
At the dormitories the matrons do the work gen-
erally tended to by our mothers, viz., they teach
the little ones their "questions," and see to it
that those older go to the various classes pre-
pared. Unceasing is their vigil at this point. On
it practically everything depends. Not only do
they superintend the acquiring of knowledge,
but they often intersperse instructive remarks,
explanations, and the like. In the case of the
very little ones much of the learning is of neces-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 109
sity mechanical. Let us listen at the door as the
little tots learn their sliort lesson. Up against
the doors behind which the clothes are stored is
ranged quite a row of little fellows. The ques-
tion propounded by the matron, who is repair-
ing tears and rips, is "How many gods are
there?" And the answer, which they are to re-
peat is, "There is only one God." They have
progressed so far that they can repeat this with-
out much more than a little prompting now and
then. And all you hear along that line of bright,
brown faces is, "There is only one God." "There
is only one God." Till you are sure that not one
of them will ever forget that precious and im-
portant truth. After some time the next ques-
tion and answer are taken up in the same man-
ner. In class these tots are able and eager to
answer the question put to them correctly pro-
vided you try no tricks, such as skipping a ques-
tion. As they get more familiar with Borstius
they learn more sensibly, oft assisted by an older
pupil. Until they get their lesson unaided. One
class has a number of blank questions which are
to be answered from he Bible, hints being given
by texts suggested, and I am sure that my fellow-
ministers would enjoy the work this class, of
which all but one is under fifteen years, does.
It is to be expected that beginners do not un-
derstand the meaning of the words, and oft pro-
nounce them in a manner which clearly shows
this. One of these was learning the ten plagues
110 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
of Egypt. He was reciting them aloud. It did
not sound just right. So Mrs. Brink bade him
repeat. This is what he was saying: "Sore boils
on man and beef!" "Where did Lazarus go?"
was the question put to another boy. His start-
ling answer was: "The angels carried him into
Abraham's bootsies." But they soon outgrow
things of this sort.
A handmaiden in leading these littler and
larger children, with but few exceptions born of
heathen parents, coming out of heathen camps,
to Jesus, is the Sabbath School. This meets every
Sabbath afternoon, for one hour. Its superin-
tendent is brother Bosscher. He is assisted by a
number of workers, each having a class. In the
dormitories and dining-room the golden text is
conspicuously posted. And it is oft referred to
and repeated, so that it is quite generally known
by class-time. In the dining-room selections of
Bible portions are read which are more or less
closely related to next Sabbath's lesson. This
portion is short. It keeps the main truth of the
lesson before the children thruout the whole
week. When the children are home during the
summer many is the Bible story they tell, oft
using a picture, or Bible Story booklet with its
bright illustrations as drawing card. Each child
who can read a bit receives such a booklet when
leaving school for the summer. Some of the
older pupils take a Bible or Gospel along. And
not infrequently a hymn book, The Good News
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO m
in Story and Song, is included in the vacation
bundle or package. In this way many an Indian
little one gets its first impression of Jesus. The
older folks enjoy a picture very much. They
often listen to the talk and so hear the Gospel.
We have been met in camp with the remark:
"We know that story." Upon my asking whence
they had their knowledge, the answer was:
"W told us."
In molding the characters of these children
after the pattern of Christ, our Mission School
has a very important part. Its relation to the
other christian endeavor here is something like
that of the Christian School at home and the
pastoral work for the young of the congregation.
This is one of the great advantages Rehoboth's
pupils have over those of even the best Govern-
ment School for Indians, on or off the Reserva-
tion. They attend a Christian School, Christian
because Mission. The School teaches eight
grades and makes use of three rooins, excel-
lently suited for the work. Our three teachers
are laboring here because they would be instru-
mental in bringing the light of the Gospel to
these boys and girls and help equip them for
useful life and honorable citizenship. And they
are putting their training and experience to fine
use. There is marked improvement all along the
line. Indeed, that School with its dormitories,
is a mighty leavening force, by the grace of God.
Every grade receives definite Bible instruction
112 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
each day. And every child sees prayer and
hears it in its exercise. Christian songs also help
to make the Gospel attractive. Stories from Old
and New Testament are told with or without
charts such as are used in our Sabbath schools.
The lower grades sit with folded hands listening.
The older grade pupils have a Bible and follow
as the teacher reads, explains and applies. Dur-
ing the instruction hour the Bible is often cited
as supporting or throwing light upon what the
text-book teaches. Should a difference be found
between the Bible and text-book, the Word of
God is final authority. Thus the child mind
gradually realizes that for a christian the Word
of God is infallible and it only. We firmly be-
lieve that, even though other things are not al-
ways equal, the results will be as Solomon as-
sures us with so much confidence : "Train up a
child in the way which he should go; and when
he is old, he will not depart from it."
True, we do not see the working out of this
word in the life of some of those how have left
school, nor do all here respond to the Lord's
grace as we pray they may. Nay, some have
left upon whom no definite impression towards
faith in Jesus and christian life seems to have
been made. Both young men and young women
revert to heathendom soon after returning to
the environment whence they came. So, too,
pupils have saddened hearts interested in their
temporal and eternal welfare by frankly ac-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO US
knowledging that they were not at all interested
in the Gospel, gave little or no thought to Jesus
and His love, felt no sorrow for sin, no fear for
the wrath of God. One said, "I never think
about these things at all." And yet, the very one
saying this is a most attentive listener when the
Word is preached. It would not be strange at
all if those who so feel and talk will be the first
among our boys to become concerned because of
sin, the first to seek after Jesus till they find
Him, the first to confess His name and be en-
rolled as members of His Church.
While writing this a case comes to my mind.
Some years ago one of our teachers came to the
missionary in sorrow, saying: "R says he
will not join with the other children in the re-
peating of the Lord's Prayer, with which we be-
gin our morning work." He says, "I do not want
to pray, for I do not want to be a christian."
"What shall I do?" After some further coun-
seling she was instructed to send the lad to the
missionary. She did so. We had an earnest
moment together, and before he left this was
said to him: "Look here, R , you are a
pupil of this School and must obey its rule
whether you want to be a christian or not. Now
you go back and tell Miss T that you will
obey. And, remember, dear boy, that Jesus
loves children and would have them as lambs
of His flock. Do not turn away from Him, but
let Him lay His hand upon you and bless you."
114 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
There was no more trouble with him after this,
on this score. And maybe three years or so after
R came to Consistory without previous
notice, requesting to be baptized. He was
thoroughly questioned, his record gone into and
we could do nothing but gladly admit him to
Baptism and the Lord's table. The lad became
ill. His illness increased till for over two years
he was a patient at our hospital and seldom left
his bed. Slowly but surely that body succumbed
till at last it was apparent to him, too, that he
must die, even as one of his mates had died of
practically the same disease in his parents'
camp. Oh, but he did have times of despon-
dency! But there were longer seasons of faith
and bright hope in Jesus. One day he said : "I
would rather die than get better, for if I die I
shall be rid of sin. If I live I may go back to the
old way." That wish was gratified. His remains
lie with other dear departed dead at rest in the
grave ordained by his Lord. He, too, awaits the
glad resurrection morn, when Jesus comes again
to fetch His people.
The Lord has from year to year blessed the
educational, nurturing portion of the work here
in the drawing of children to Him.
Much more is done in the dormitories to form
christian character and to lead young Navaho
christians in the way of christian life than one
could tell about. Every morning all meet before
breakfast with their respective matrons, a por-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 115
tion of the Word is read aloud, the children fol-
lowing in their Bible, then all kneel in prayer at
which, sometimes, one of the pupils leads. Dur-
ing the day there is often occasion for exhorta-
tion, encouraging, rebuke, personal talk, and
prayer. Not infrequently, especially lately,
pupils will come to the matron and ask her to
pray with them in her room or in their sleep-
ing quarters. One evening such a "cottage
prayer meeting" in the matron's room was inad-
vertently interrupted. Oh, the sight! About a
dozen pupils were ranged around their matron
on their knees. She had led first, and then some
of the fellow-worshippers presented petitions
for their people, the pupils of the other dormi-
tory, the workers, and the work. A little group
will kneel at a bed, at retiring, and unite in
prayer, one or each leading in turn. Surely,
there is joy in heaven because of these doings
of the Holy Spirit in these hearts.
Nearly every spring a boy or two and some
girls come to the matron and confide to her that
they desire Baptism. Soon the missionary is
having confidential talks with them, and ere-
long, if they are not too young according to the
rule laid down by our Board, they form a class
which has as its object leading them a bit deeper
into the truth, clarifying their vision, strength-
ening their resolution, trying them out. Some-
times it is thought best to let them spend the sum-
mer vacation at home before admitting them to
116 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Baptism, that they may take stock of themselves
amid the idolatrous, sinful, tempting surround-
ings, gain a deeper knowledge of themselves and
also learn to lean more wholly and heavily on
the Lord. Our most joyful and edifying hours
are those spent with these children in Christ.
They do not always say a great deal, but one can
feel that whatever Jesus says, whatever is taught
that He would have us do, is accepted as good.
Often have we had the Word of Jesus brought
home to us in this connection: "Verily, I say
unto you. Whosoever shall not receive the King-
dom of God as a little child, shall in no wise
enter therein." (Luke 18: 17.)
Gospel work is also carried on at the hospital.
I could say: All that is done in the hospital is
Gospel work, for the whole care of the ill and
the hurt by Dr. Mulder, Nurse Lam and assis-
tants is Gospel labor. It is done at the command
of our Master, the Great Physician, and points to
Him as such. Besides this there are meetings
with the patients and personal talks continually,
wherein the Gospel is brought to them and
pressed home, always with application to their
life and illustrations taken from it. Now we
read a portion of Scripture to them in their own
language. Then a patient or another serves as
interpreter to a Gospel talk. This is done at
least three or four days of nearly every week,
to from one to twenty or more patients. It is a
rule that all who receive the care of the hospital
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 117
shall attend these meetmgs, when able. Satur-
day evenings are sometimes utilized to give a
resume of the week's talks together with a stere-
opticon. Our Mission has two, both using elec-
tricity, one for slides only, the other for opaque
objects, such as clippings from magazines, Bible
pictures, and the like. That Saturday evening
meeting is always evangelical in its purpose, al-
though every picture thrown on the screen is
not biblical. We also show them foreign lands
and peoples and the like. They take a gratify-
ing interest in this occasion, sitting about or ly-
ing on their beds, children and grown-ups.
The Navaho is naturally taciturn. He does
not readily say what he feels or thinks. Unless
it be that he is displeased, grouchy, sarcastic.
He is not backward in showing that, as our assis-
tants in the hospital know. But at times they
will express their approval of what is said and
ask for more. Ofttimes they talk over these mat-
ters as they lie abed, or sit about. While this
does not need to mean that they believe and act
upon the Message, it is encouraging. Anything
but this apathy, this submissive listening. The
Gospel must do one of two things, it must
awaken antagonism or make concerned and
seeking. When antagonism develops it is a
hopueful sign. So w^hen we asked the patients
one day, whether they were tired and would
have the reading cease, one of them, not the
easiest to handle by far, said : "It is a long time
118 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
yet before sundown." It now being about
11 A. M,, I went on for a while longer. Grunts
from time to time showed their interest.
Several instances could be given of hopeful or
positive results of this phase of the hospital
work. Not many months ago a middle-aged
woman came to be treated. She remained soine
time. One day, after the story was told, she
said : "I know that story, and I believe it." We
asked her where she had heard it. She had a
child at the Fort Defiance school, and he had
told her the Bible stories taught by Rev. H. A.
Clark. We had a talk with her. After a time it
was noticed that she took a walk every morning
and always disappeared in the shrubbery near
our home. Upon being questioned about this,
she replied: "I go out there every morning
and pray to Jesus." Her tone and face gave one
the impression of honesty and spirituality.
A few months ago a mother left the hospital
to visit her people. While at home she relapsed.
Death was near. Realizing it, she told her rela-
tives that she was not at all afraid of death.
Upon their expressing surprise at this and ask-
ing the reason, her answer was: "They took
care of me at the hospital and told me that Jesus
came to save just such sinners as I. Now I am not
afraid of death. Soon I shall die, but I am
saved." Two days later she departed to be with
Jesus.
In faith we have the assurance that many a
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 119
patient has gone forth from here with a heart re-
newed by the Spirit, or has been carried forth to
burial for whom Jesus here became the resur-
rection and the Hfe. And greater results may be
expected as the work is properly provided for
and expands. The money invested in that hos-
pital is a gilt-edge investment. It should be
materially increased, the equipment should be
added to, and that quickly. The larger the pro-
vision the more extensive and important the
service. By putting the hospital there our
Church promised the Navaho adequate service.
May she keep her word,
Rehoboth has Navaho visitors at times, men
and women, who come in from camj)s far and
near to visit the children, contract for or sell
mutton or beef, advise with the missionary and
the like. On the whole it is a pleasure to have
them come and stay a bit, for it gives an oppor-
tunity to reach them with the Gospel. They
camp in a hogan, or in our basement, or in one
of the dormitories, or out-of-doors. As chance
can be found we look in on them. Sometimes
there is a preaching of the Word by one of us,
if an interpreter is at hand. Had we a goodly
sized kin more could, no doubt, be done in the
same time and more satisfactorily. Perhaps one
will be provided some day. Occasionally we
can induce them to go with us to the hospital
when we go for a meeting with the patients. Not
many leave without hearing the Message read or
120 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
spoken to them. But it will happen that they
are here for so short and at such a time, that
we do not see them.
The number of visitors does not increase in
proportion to the larger number of pupils. Older
friends are dying. Those younger do not all take
the interest these did. Some parents live a great
ways off. We have invited and urged repeatedly
that those near should come over on Lord's Days
and listen to the Word in their own tongue. But
it is practically of no avail. We could have regu-
lar Sabbath Day services for them, if they
would. But we'll not give up. The field mis-
sionary is now assuring them a lunch of crackers
and coffee at noon, if they will come. This may
draw them eventually. They do not like the
trip without anything to eat connected with it.
And one cannot blame them either.
To some this local work may seem insignifi-
cant and time-robbing. Well — it does cost quite
some time, that is true. It mighi. be tliought too
small to sit down with one, or two, by a little
fire or in the hogan or elsewhere and read to
them a portion of the Word, the more so since
they understand so little of our reading at times.
Perhaps it looks useless for two men, a mission-
ary and an interpreter, to spend the time with
one man, or one woman, preaching to him or her.
We have been asked: "Now honestly, does it
pay?" But whether it pays or not, the Lord in-
cluded the Navaho in His Commission, although
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 121
many christians do not figure with these heatlien
for generations right at our door. The Churches
have gone over seas, but have neglected the soul
perishing in the shadow of the building they
worship in. Moreover, a soul saved is a rich
fruit for eternity. And, such a soul is apt not to
stand alone. A convert is one of a circle of rela-
tives, one of a clan, member of the nation. Who
knows the influence which may go out from
him upon his connections and associates? He
may be a means in God's gracious hands for the
conversion of many to Jesus and the true re-
ligion. The woman at Jacob's well was but one,
a woman, and a sinful one at that. Behold, what
results were obtained thru her believing and
making Jesus known to her city. Let our Church
continue to properly take care of this work, let
her abound in prayer and supplication for con-
versions, and the Holy Spirit will honor her
faith, her sowing will produce large reaping in
the day of the harvest and ingathering.
122 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
VI.
CROWN POINT, NEW MEXICO
TO OBTAIN an accurate conception of what
the Government is doing as to service for
her Navaho wards and as to education for their
children, it will be necessary, first of all, to
speak about the several divisions into which the
Navaho country is divided. These various divi-
sions are called jurisdictions, or are designated
as Agencies, for, the Government representative
who is in charge is known as the Agent. Accord-
ing to a report made some years ago by our Mis-
sionaries, there are six distinct Agencies.
(1) The Pueblo Bonito Agency, headquarters
at Crawn Point, includes the far eastern section
of the Reservation, and all the Navahoes who
have received allotinents east of the Reserva-
tion proper. This district extends from far to the
south of the Santa Fe Railroad to the San Juan
River.
(2) The Navaho Agency, headquarters at
Fort Defiance, includes all the territory from
the line of the Pueblo Bonito Agency westward
to the Hopi Reservation, and northward to the
vicinity of Two Grey Hills.
(3) The San Juan Agency, headquarters at
Shiprock, lies to the north of the Navaho
»IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 123
Agency, and extends to the northern line of the
Reservation.
(4) The Hopi Agency, lieadquarters at
Ream's Canyon, inckides the entire Hopi tribe,
and since more tlian half of their Reservation is
occupied by Navahoes, these are also subject to
the same Agent. There was some talk a few
years ago to create a separate Agency for these
Navahoes, which was to be called the Black
Mountain Agency. We have not heard, how-
ever, that this has been done, and therefore sur-
mise that these Navahoes and Hopis still share a
joint Agency.
(5) The Western Navaho Agency, headquar-
ters at Tuba, extends westward from the Hopi
Agency to the Grand Canyon and northward
into Utah.
(6) The Navaho Extension Agency, head-
quarters at Leupp, lies south of the Hopi Agenc3\
We should also mention the fact that about
two hundred Navahoes, living far beyond the
boundaries of their Reservation, are under the
supervision of the Indian Agent at Albuquerque.
At the headquarters of each Agency, and at a
few other places within the jurisdiction of some
of the Agencies, Boarding Schools have been es-
tablished, where all the way from eighty to three
or four hundred boys and girls are educated.
Day schools have also been established here
and there among the Navahoes, but in general
124 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
they have not proven very successful, undoubt-
edly due to a great extent at least, to the nomadic
life of these people.
It might be well also to mention here how the
Christian Church is represented on the Navaho
Reservation. At the Pueblo Bonito Agency w^e
find the Christian Reformed Church represented
at Crown Point. On the Navaho Agency the
Presbyterians are found at Fort Defiance and
Ganado, and the Christian Reformed at To-
hatchi. On the San Juan Agency, the Presby-
terians at Liberty, near Shiprock, and in the
Carizzo Mountains; the Christian Reformed at
Toadlena. On the Hopi Agency a Baptist mis-
sionary at Ream's Canyon is seeking to reach the
Hopis, but there is no one looking after the Nava-
hoes. On the Western Navaho Agency the Pres-
byterians are located at Tuba. On the Navaho
Extension Agency the same Church is laboring
at Leupp and Tolchaco.
Crown Point, as we learn from the above, is
therefore the Agency headquarters of the Pueblo
Bonito jurisdiction. This site was chosen by the
present Superintendent, Mr. S. F. Stacher. He
not only selected the site, but also evolved the
plan for the whole institution, and under his
vigilant supervision all the buildings have been
constructed, in w^hich w^ork the Indians were
employed as much as possible. It is admitted by
all who have cognizance of the facts, that this
Agency has a record second to none in the entire
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 125
Indian Service, and it still has a most promising
future as to growth and development.
It will undoubtedly surprise all, not familiar
with conditions among the Indians of the desert,
to learn that within an area of six thousand
square miles occupied by the Navahoes of the
Pueblo Bonito Agency, there is not a single living
stream, and consequently the water supplj^ for
stock and domestic purposes has always been a
source of anxiety. This condition Supt. Stacher
is striving hard to overcome or remedy by the
drilling of artesian wells which give a permanent
supply of water. Where possible, it is proposed
to impound the surplus flow of these wells for
irrigation purposes, and then the Indians of the
various communities where these wells are
found, will be given an opportunity to farm a
small area which will supply them with prod-
ucts that they do not now enjoy. At the Gov-
ernment experiment farm, located some four
miles from the Agency, it has been demonstrated
what can be raised in the way of garden, field
and orchard products if only a sufiicient supply
of water can be obtained.
The pride of the Crown Point Boarding School
is the Navaho band which first attained its splen-
did efficiency under Bandmaster Jacob C. Mor-
gan, himself a Navaho. Mr. Morgan, at different
times employed in our Mission at Tohatchi and
Rehoboth, is one of the best cornetists in the
Southwest.
126 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
At this Agency our Church was represented
from the time the School was opened. The first
to represent the Church in the occupation of tliis
field was the Rev. D. H. Muyskens and wife, who
tabernacled during his brief sojourn in a shack.
His successor was the Rev. Jacob Bolt, who, with
his wife, were sent forth to this Mission by the
Holland churches of Paterson, N. J. They began
their labors in 1915, and have since not only wit-
nessed many changes in their surroundings, as
the marvelous development of the School and
Agency, but have also been gladdened by seeing
that the Lord of the Harvest was with them and
blessing their efforts, not only among the Nav-
aho children at the school, among whom they
were primarily sent to work, but also among the
whites at the Agency, who thoroly appreciate
and are thankful for the ministry of the Gospel
as exercised by Rev. Bolt, who before entering
upon this service, was considered one of the
most precise and definite expounders of the
Word among the ministers of the home
churches. His ministry in various churches of
the denomination, which he now represents in
the Indian Mission service, will not be forgotten
as long as they live who were recipients of it.
But, what especially gave these sincere and con-
scientious workers at the front and us at home
great joy and happiness in the soul, was that this
spring no less than twenty young ladies and fif-
teen young men of Navaho blood requested and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 127
received christian baptism. Such fruit upon
their prayers and work makes up for many of
the things sacrificed when one is away from all
ties of blood and friendship, and is located at a
lonely post in the wilderness.
The pleasant and hospitable home of Brother
and Sister Bolt at Crown Point has often proven
to be a haven of rest and peace to a weary pil-
grim across that desert country, as well as to
many another Missionary passing that way, and
different members of the Board of Heathen Mis-
sions sent to visit the field, have also been grate-
ful recipients of this kind hospitality and will
not soon forget it. How these two servants of
the Master are doing their work among the con-
stantly increasing number of Navaho girls and
boys at the Government School, to whom they
are a very father and mother, and how they are
carrying on amid all the discouragements and
disappointments naturally attendant upon such
work, is all explained in the following, written
by his at our request.
128 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO THE NAVAHOES
AT A GOVERNMENT SCHOOL
REV. JACOB BOLT, Missionary at Crown Point, N. M.
T^HE GOVERNMENT maintains Boarding
■*■ Schools for the education of the Navaho In-
dian youth. As to the number of these schools
on the Reservation suffice it to say that they are
not adequate to the number of children of school
age. The great majority must forego an edu-
cation, by reason of the Government's slowness
in providing schools.
To these Reservation Schools the Navaho chil-
dren come fresh from the camp. They range
from 5 to 20 years old when taken in. The Gov-
ernment provides their food and clothing, and
their education covers the lower grades, besides
a little manual training. For the higher grades
and trades they are sent to non-reservation
schools, located at Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Has-
kell Institute at Lawrence, Kans., and the Sher-
man Institute, at Riverside, Calif. The finest op-
portunity to obtain a thorough education, free of
charge, is offered the Navaho boy and girl. But
the Indian is slow to appreciate the value of an
education, and very few take all they can get, or
appreciate what they get. On the whole, the
Indian is contented with his lot, and he fails to
see where the White Man's way is superior to
his, and he has seen so much of the White Man's
ways that discounts their claim to superiority,.
IN.HOGAN AND PUEBLO 129
that we can hardly blame him for refusing to be
2)olliited by the \Yhite Man's education. Educa-
tion without the Gospel has proven more of a
curse than a blessing in many a case. The great
need of the Navaho as well as of any other
people is the Gospel of Christ. And it is the duty
of the Church to give him the Gospel.
At these Government Schools the Church has
a splendid opportunity to bring the knowledge
of Christ Jesus to the Navaho youth. Time is
allowed for religious instruction. And our
churches have taken advantage of this oppor-
tunity and have a Missionary at three Govern-
ment Schools for the Navahoes, at Toadlena, To-
hatchi, and Crown Point, and also at the Gov-
ernment School for the Zuni Indians at Black
Bock.
During week days we are allowed certain
hours to instruct the children, and on Sunday
we have Sunday school in the morning and an
Evening Service, attended by pupils and em-
ployees. Besides these fixed hours, we have the
privilege of mingling with the pupils and visit-
ing them in the dormitories, which gives us an
opportunity for closer contact and personal
work. In some instances, at least, this is per-
mitted, even encouraged, though at other places
it is looked at askance, or directly prohibited.
Much depends upon the local authorities and
employees their inclination or disinclination to
the Christian Beligion acting either as an en-
130 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
couragement or raising a positive barrier to
religious work.
Besides talking to them, another factor in giv-
ing the pupils a knowledge of the way of salva-
tion is the distribution of Bibles, Hymn Books,
and other Christian literature.
The Navahoes are a religious people, albeit
their religion is false. They have a sense of un-
seen, spiritual realities influencing their lives.
Their Medicine-man is priest as well as phy-
sician. This religious sense is inbred, and in the
small children it soon asserts itself in all man-
ner of superstition. This offers a point of con-
tact, altho it does not predispose them in favor
of the christian religion. Yet we have found
the pupils interested listeners when telling them
the stories of the Bible, and especially the won-
derful story of the Savior who came and died
for us. Of course, more is needed to make them
true believers in Jesus than merely learning the
Bible lessons. But faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. And we have seen
such a remarkable acceptance of the truth con-
cerning Jesus, that we cannot but ascribe it to
the gracious work of the Spirit of God. The
bringing of the Gospel at a Government School
has borne fruit. Let those who are taking to
heart this work rest assured, that their labors,
and prayers, and gifts are not in vain in the
Lord. You will meet in heaven many who
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 131
learned to know and love the Savior at a Gov-
ernment School.
The work at a Government School is as easy
as anywhere else. And it is just as difficult as
everywhere. Just as easy, because we are not
alone, not thrown upon our own resources and
strength, but the living, all-powerful Saviour is
with us. We are workers together with God.
And just as difficult as elsewhere, because
wherever the work of Christ is being done, the
devil is sure to oppose. Where Christ builds
His Church, the gates of hell make warfare.
Let us carry on. It is the Master's command.
It is His work, and that can never fail. We may
be called upon patiently to wait for tangible
fruits. But if we faint not, we shall see and be
satisfied. We see today evidence of the power
of the Gospel. There is a hunger and thirst to
know more about Jesus. It is inspiring to see a
great number of pupils at Crown Point eagerly
drink in our words as we talk to them about the
Saviour. A large number has been begging for
baptism for a year. They insist that they believe
in Jesus and are God's children.
The bringing of the Gospel at the school does
not end here. The children carry the news
home. They assure us that they tell their par-
ents. The>\ have come to us, saying: "My
mother and my father believe. They say, learn
all you can about it, and tell us." Another one
said: "I dreamt that Jesus was coming for me.
132 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
And then I awoke, and I said: O Jesus, wait a
little while until I tell my father." Their thoughts
are coccupied with Jesus and His salvation. And
they have a desire to tell others. The hope of
the future are the children, and the hope of the
children is Christ.
What shall the harvest be? Glorious, far ex-
ceeding our wildest expectations. It may seem
in vain at times to those who think the Navahoes
ought by this time to be erecting costly church
buildings and discarding their blankets for seal-
skin coats. But the Kingdom of God does not
come immediately with outward show. And of-
ten where there is most outward show, there is
least spiritual life. We who listen to the talk of
these Navaho children thank Goci and take cour-
age. Jesus is real to them. And they talk to
Him. Have you ever talked to Jesus about these
young Navaho christians? Do you realize that
they have a hard battle to fight? Rather than
criticize, pray, pray, pray. And prayer will be
answered, 't was answered for you. Where
there is much prayer, we may expect much fruit
upon our work of bringing the Gospel to the
Navaho at a Government School. Let us plant
and water, work and pray, and God will give
the increase.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 133
VII.
A PIONEER MISSIONARY TO THE NAVAHO
INDIANS
THE VERY NAME "pioneer" is a word to con-
jure with, for it has a certain attraction for
every one who has red blood in his veins. The
hearts of all our young Americans can easily be
stirred and thrilled by telling them the stories of
their pioneer fathers and mothers. It is simply
impossible to find a real boy in our homes who
does not absorb the tales of dauntless courage
and true heroism with which the history of our
country is packed. The Pilgrim Fathers of old
New England have simply been idolized by
many during the past year, when we commem-
orated the Ter-centenary of their coming to the
bleak and inhospitable shores of our Western
Hemisphere. Our Holland Pilgrim Fathers, who
left their native land because of religious per-
secution and came to the land of the free and
the brave, who settled in the virgin forests of
Michigan, are indeed true heroes in the eyes of
their children and their children's children be-
cause of the hardships endured and the courage
of faith displayed. Becoming older in years and
riper in the experiences of life, we realize that
it certainly does take real men and women to do
the "pioneering" in any sphere or labor of life.
134 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
The History of Christian Missions, thruout the
ages, is therefore also replete with the daring
undertakings and the marvelous successes of the
Pioneer Missionaries who were the first to enter
a new field, sometimes blazing a trail where no
white man or woman had gone before, sur-
mounting valiantly in the faith all the obstacles
and difficulties encountered upon the way.
Thus, as a Church, we must recognize the Rev.
Leonard P. Brink, popularly known to all the
ministers, and to most of the members of our
Church from coast to coast as "L. P.," as the Pio-
neer Missionary to the Navahoes. Since the
Rev. H. Fryling no longer labors among the Nav-
ahoes, but is holding the fort and fighting the
fight at Zuni, Rev. Brink is the longest in the
service of any of our present force. It was in the
year 1900, after graduating from the Seminary at
Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he and Mrs. Brink
left relatives and friends to enter upon the work
at Tbhatchi, which was then still in its infancy.
No one, unless he has personal experience, can
know what it means to come to work among a
people whom he cannot understand and who in
turn do not understand him. When you read
the following, kindly written by Brother Brink
at our request for this book, you will notice
that he refrains from telling about these ex-
periences. How we would like to know the
workings of a mind and the emotions of a heart
under such trying circumstances! We surmise.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 135
however, that it would be hke uncovering the
tenderest feelings of the soul to tell these things,
and therefore we may not expect it.
One of the very first things that faced him, af-
ter getting settled in the little Mission Manse at
Tohatchi, was one of the most extensive and
difficult languages of which he did not under-
stand a word, and what was still worse, of which,
if we are informed correctly, there was not a
word in print to assist him in getting a start. It
simply had to be learned and mastered by pick-
ing it up as it was spoken by those with whom he
came in contact. By untiring perseverance he
conquered and began to speak the language so
well and so fluently that the Navahoes began to
refer to him as "the man who talks like an In-
dian." He did not only learn to talk, however,
but with the help of a trusted interpreter, Ed-
ward Becenti, he began the difficult task of
translating portions of the Holy Scriptures into
Navaho. In this work he experienced what
every fellow-misisonary has experienced when
setting himself to the same task, namely, that
certain words, to express spiritual things con-
tained in the Bible, were not found in the Nav-
aho vocabulary. New Navaho words had to be
coined, therefore, and, of course, such words as
would convey the correct meaning of the scrip-
ture passage to the mind of the Indian groping
in ignorance and superstition concerning truly
spiritual matters. No one will deny that this
136 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
is surely one of the most difficult tasks that any
man can undertake. After months, yea years,
of painstaking translating and revising, again
and again, the first portions, considered to be the
most necessary for immediate use to bring the
Gospel to the Navahoes in their homes, were
prepared, and in 1910 he saw his etforts re-
warded by the publication of God Bi Zad.
Gdesziz Inda Mark (Genesis and Mark) in Nav-
aho. It was published by the American Bible
Society, which has as its purpose the translation,
publication, and circulation of the Holy Scrip-
tures, without note or comment, in all languages
and in all lands. He was also instrumental in
giving to the younger Navahoes the first Chris-
tian Hymns in their own language.
From 1900 to 1913 the Rev. L. P and his wife
labored at Tohatchi, and their work was not in
vain in the Lord. In addition to his work of
translating and writing, to which we have re-
ferred above, he taught the children at the Gov-
ernment Boarding School during the week and
on the Lord's Day. As fruit upon this work,
many believed the Gospel message delivered, ac-
cepted Christ Jesus as Savior, requested and re-
ceived christian baptism. In one single year no
less than thirty-five were added to the Church.
Another work that was begun at Tohatchi
was the training of young men to become work-
ers in the Gospel among their own people. For
more than two years there were three students
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 137
in a Training School for Native Workers that
was estabhshed under tlie supervision of the Mis-
sionary, who also taught them to read the Word
of God in their own language as well as in some
branches of Theology, while they were in-
structed in the higher academical branches, first
by Jacob C. Morgan, and aftewards by Miss Car-
rie Ten Houten and Rev. D. H. Muyskens. If this
work had been continued, it is not at all unlikely
that today we might have had at least one or
two ordained Native Missionaries, but difference
of opinion with respect to this school and its
further development led, first to its transfer from
Tohatchi to Rehoboth, when Rev. Brink was
compelled because of sickness to abandon the
field for a time, and after another year it was
discontinued, mostly because of the lack of
unanimity in regard to the character this Train-
ing School should assume. The last decision in
this matter, after a Union School with the Pres-
byterians failed to materialize, has been to re-
open it at Rehoboth with the two Brinks, Rev.
L. P. and Rev. J. W., to have charge of the in-
struction. No scholars or students being avail-
able, this latest decision has not been carried out.
Personally it seems to us that such a school
should rather be located in such a district where
to a great extent it might become a self-support-
ing institution. We are thinking of a location in
the neighborhood of Farmington, where it would
be possible to raise all the necessary vegetables
138 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
for the table, etc., and where it would be possible
for the attending students in different w^ays to
earn something toward their tuition. This is, in
our estimation, one of the greatest problems for
the Church to settle at this time. The whole fu-
ture of our Mission to the Indians will depend in
the future upon well and correctly trained
native workers.
At the time when these three young men, Paul
Jones, Hugh Dcnitdele, and James Becenti, were
in training at Tohatchi, a printing-press was
also set up and operated. Different portions of
the Scriptures and other religious literature,
translated or wTitten by the Missionary, was set
up and printed on this press by the boys. It was
in 1913 that Rev. Brink was taken sick and fin-
ally forced to leave the field. He went to Cali-
fornia and spent somewhat more than a year in
Home Mission work among our own people who
were beginning to settle in this State in ever-
increasing numbers. During this stay in beauti-
ful California Brother Brink regained his own
health, but the Lord took unto Himself the help-
meet of His servant and left him and his chil-
dren to mourn the loss of one who had been their
help and support during all the trials and disap-
pointments. When he returned to the Indian
field with his motherless children, his former
place was occupied, so the three churches of
Roseland, Chicago, Illinois, which were now sup-
porting him as their Missionary, sent him to Two
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 139
Grey Hills, to take up the work there, begun by
Mrs. E. Sipe and Mr. William Mierop. After liv-
ing here for some time, he was deprived of his
home and many personal effects by a hurricane,
which completely demolished the house so that
the family was compelled to seek shelter in what
had once been set up for a barn. At his request
the Mission was transferred from Two Grey Hills
to Toadlena, bringing it in the vicinity of the
school where part of his work is found. Under
his own supervision a new Manse and a small
chapel-school room were erected. In the mean-
time the Lord had also blesseo him and his
children with another most efficient and compe-
tent helpmeet and mother. At Toadlena they
are most admirably located. The scenery in that
vicinity, especially on a bright and sunny day,
of which there are many in New Mexico, is sim-
ply magnificent, and a superabundance of wa-
.er gives him and his family to enjoy the prod-
ucts of garden and orchard as no other Mission-
ary is able to enjoy them. The Government
School, at which he gives the children religious
instruction, is constantly growing. At present
some eighty children are in attendance. The
field of the Toadlena district, as well as of that
of the Blanco Canyon region, is being taken care
of with the aid of two faithful assistants, Hud-
son Bainbridgc and Hugh Denitdele, both Chris-
tian Navahoes. Mrs. Denitdele is Fanny Becenti,
140 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
a graduate nurse of our Rehoboth Hospital. How
they are bringing the good tidings to the Nava-
hoes in their hogans, is told by the Rev. Brink
as follows :
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO THE HOGANS.
REV. L. P. BRINK, Missionary at Toadlena, N. M.
HTHE SUBJECT of this paper is a very inclusive
•'• one, for, look at it from whatever angle you
may, it includes all kinds of mission work, all
forms of mission endeavor among the Navaho
tribe of Indians, either directly or indirectly. The
hogan is the home of the Navaho, and all the
mission efforts we have put forth from the very
beginning of our work among them to this day,
has had the end in view to bring the Gospel into
the homes of the members of this Indian tribe;
and this purpose will not be altered in the work
we are to put forth still in years to come.
It makes quite a difference what you nnder-
stand by the word "hogan." Pronounce the
word, not as an Irish name, spelled the same
way, but give it a genuine Dutch pronunciation,
and you will be very close to the genuine Navaho
pronunciation. It is a very common word
among the Navahoes, and simply means a habi-
tation, a place to dwell in. A Navaho dwelling
is a Navaho hogan and a white man's dwelling
is a white man's hogan. And furthermore in
the Navaho language a stable is spoken of as a
142 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
horse's or mule's or cow's hogan, a dog-kennel
as a dog's hogan, a chicken-coop as a chicken's
hogan, a sheep-corral as a sheep's hogan; even
an anthill is spoken of as the ants' hogan, and
the spider's web is the spider's hogan.
A church is called a hogan for prayer, a school
is called a hogan for learning; a store is called a
hogan for goods, all kinds of goods that are sold
in it being embraced in that term; a bank is a
hogan for money, a drugstore is a hogan for
medicine; a restaurant is a hogan for "eats,"
and a round-house is a hogan for railroad
engines.
It may be a long ways from the Navaho's most
primitive form of human habitation to the
grandest and most highly ornamented forms of
modern architecture, but both of these forms,
together with all forms and styles of human
habitation that lie between them are hogans and
are so called in the Navaho language.
I take it for granted, however, that the good
brother who suggested the subject, did not for a
. moment think that we would use that word in
its widest, Navaho meaning, for in that case he
would require that we would write about bring-
ing the Gospel to every human being on the face
of the globe, for they all live in hogans of some
kind or other. And let me say it with due rev-
erence, even the Almighty lives in a hogan, for
where the English Bible says, "In My Father's
house are many mansions," there the Navaho
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 143
Bible says, "In My Father's hogan there are
many abiding-places." In the narrower sense,
the sense in which it is used by Americans most
commonly, it is the habitation of the Navaho
Indian, and in that sense we are intending to use
it in the present article. Let me tell you before-
hand, that the Navahoes dwell in a variety of
habitations, and that the trend of the more pro-
gressive ones is toward better and more sani-
tary dwellings.
The simplest form of Navaho dwelling is a
brush shelter, built in the form of a crescent or
half-moon, the opening toward the east, serving
as a door; these have no roof, and as a rule the
walls are not over four feet high, they are usually
built of brush, less often out of stone; they are
usually built in an hour or two, and usually
serve as a temporary dwelling in summer-time.
An improvement on the brush shelter is the
summer camp, built with a view toward cool-
ness and shade; it is built by making a frame of
crotched posts in the form of a square. Poles
are laid in crotches, thus forming open rect-
angles of the four sides and of the roof. These
arc then closed with poles, and green branches
of trees, or even tumble weeds, or sunflower
stalks or anything else that happens to be handy.
The summer camps are roomy and well venti-
lated, but they are no protection against rain,
and they are not used in winter.
Tents are used a great deal by the Navahoes,
144 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
some are bought in the store all ready-made,
and some are made out of flour sacks. Tents are
very convenient, because they can be taken up,
moved to another location and put down again
in a few moments' time; even your missionary
lives in a tent part of the time; the Indians live
in tents so that they can pick up and follow their
flocks easily when grazing necessities makes it
urgent to do so, and the missionary lives in a
tent to follow the Navahoes, and to visit them in
their scattered homes. Tents can be made pretty
comfortable places to live in. Some Navahoes
live in them the year round.
The typical Navaho hogan is an interesting
piece of architecture; if you will take a rather
oval-shaped orange, cut it into halves crosswise,
and place both halves on the table, flat side
down, you have the typical shape of two regular
Navaho hogans. They are built out of stone or
logs, whichever happens to be the nearest at
hand; when built of stone they are more round;
when built of logs they are more of an octagon
shape. The inside is one round room, sometimes
they are not over ten feet in diameter, some-
times they are thirty; some are very well built
and some are poorly constructed; the absence of
floors and furniture is what strikes the tender-
foot most in entering them ; fire is in the middle
of the room, and usually it is an open fire, some-
times it is a stove. There is an opening about
four feet in diameter in the roof, just above the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 145
fire. The door is usually toward the east, and
there are no windows in the hogan; the floor is
earthen, sheepskins, tanned with the wool left
on, are used for seats and beds, and there are
blankets for covering at night. The hogan is a
warm building, it is also well ventilated and is
not draughty; before winter comes the outside
is well-packed with earth. It is in many respects
a very sensible kind of dwelling, and there has
been many a day in my missionary life when a
Navaho hogan, whether occupied or not, w^as a
more than welcome sight.
Then there are log houses built in the shape
of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and stone houses built in
the same shape, sometimes with more than one
room; most of these are poorly ventilated, and
on that account are no improvement over the
regular hogan; they are built wdth fireplaces,
and that is a help for ventilation, but the win-
dow's are small and stationary', and in cold
weather the door is not open a great deal; they
are too close and stuffy.
Modern houses are few, but there are some,
and there are those who have the ambition to
build more and better; in fact, in the last
twenty years there is a great deal of improve-
ment to be noticed.
Another thing to be noticed is that the hogans
are widely scattered over a large, very extensive
territory; the whole Navaho country is fully
as large as the State of Pennsylvania, and the
146 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
population of this immense district is not over
30,000 all told.
One thing that seems strange to a great many
white people is that the Navahoes do not as a
rule build their houses alongside of the road,
like we are used to doing, in fact the impression
is often made that the Indians prefer to hide
their dwellings from the gaze of passersby.
Again I must remind you of the fact that this is
the tenderfoot's impression. We should bear in
mind that in the Navaho country the roads are
not built on section lines, and the country is not
laid out in beautiful farms, and that mail is not
delivered from house to house. The land as a
whole is not tillable, only in certain favored lo-
cations. The permanent homes of the Nava-
hoes are not usually seen from the roads, so that
travelers going thru often think there are no
people there. When the fact is that they do not
know where to look for them. The Navaho
country is a very windy country, and the homes
of the Indians are mostly found in sheltered lo-
cations, where they are protected by mountains
and hills and rocks and ridges against the cold,
chilling winds. And as these winds come mostly
from the west, you will see that this has been
reckoned with in the location of a building site,
and even in the construction of the hogan itself.
The door of the hogan is almost invariably to-
ward the east, and never toward the west. And
even a missionary, if he is wise, when he builds
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO i47
his home, will see to it that it has no doors and as
few windows as possible toward the west. Their
building their doors toward the east may have
some superstition about it, but after all, it is
good common sense at the same time.
Oftentimes one will find a bunch of hogans
together; they usually belong to the members of
one family; the daughters get married and
usually their husbands come to live near where
the bride's mother lives. There is a queer sup-
erstition, gradually disappearing, that if a son-
in-law gets to see his mother-in-law she will be-
come blind, and so it happens that sons-in-law
are not on too intimate terms with their mothers-
in-law and vice versa.
The inmates of the hogan are very much like
the inmates of all other kinds of dwellings,
father and mother and children, sometimes a
grandparent or two, and as a rule they are very
hospitable. I do not know that I ever was
treated as an intruder when I came to visit them.
An evil that is gradually but slowly disappear-
ing from their family life is polygamy; our Uncle
Sam has a hand in this, and our missionaries are
steadily working against this evil; under wise
guidance it ought to be rooted out soon. Sui-
cides are very uncommon among this people,
and all that have come under my notice were
due to polygamy. Indians are beginning to rec-
ognize it as wrong themselves.
The religious life of the inmates of the hogans
148 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
is a subject on which very much could bo said;
much more than our present space would allow.
The Navahoes are a very religious people;
prayers and prayer songs among them are not
a few. It is very necessary for a missionary to
know a good deal about their own religion, in
fact, one cannot know nor understand the Nav-
ahoes u.iless they know their religion, for they
look at nearly all things in life from a religious
standpoint. Their religion is a false religion,
yet it is not without elements of divine truth. On
the whole one must say that their religion is
polytheistic, they believe in multitudinous gods,
in gods visible and invisible; they have tradi-
tions and legends innumerable; but they know
not the God of Love who sent His Son to be the
Saviour of the world; the hogans are without
the knowledge of the only true and living God,
without the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and with-
out the Word of God; and hence it is that we
missionaries have as our appointed task to bring
the Gospel of salvation to the hogans.
Let me tell you, first of all, that it is brought
there in many different ways, and that as the
Lord in His Providence opens the doors of ap-
proach, we enter them. I can best tell you what
I mean by this by looking over the beginnings
of our work. The great missionary, Paul, used
good policy in his work by entering first into the
synagogue of the Jews to preach the Gospel there
first of all, and from there to expand into wider
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 149
activities. We were pretty much compelled to
follow in his footsteps.
When we first came we did not know the lan-
guage of the Indians, and the Indians could not
understand our language; plainly it was our
duty to learn their language, and we set ahout it
as soon as we could. That was preparatory to
bringing the Gospel to the hogans; we have often
begrudged the many hours and days that we had
to spend in dry language study, but it was nec-
essary. At the same time there was an open
door for us : the United States Government had
established Boarding Schools among the Nav-
ahoes, and we were given the privilege of giving
religious instruction to the pupils of these
schools. We rejoiced in the privilege, and thru
this method of preaching the Gospel, just as soon
as we saw an opened door, we had our chance to
do our first religious work. And in course of
time it has met with most encouraging results,
and many a time the pupils in their vacation
time brought home to their parents the message
that had been taught them in Sunday school and
catechism classes. They were a preparation for
the Gospel to the hogans, in fact, it was thru
their instrumentality that the name of the
Blessed Saviour was first brought to the hogans.
It was often thru the acquaintance of these pu-
pils with the missionaries that the missionaries
were accorded a welcome when they came to the
Indian hogans.
150 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
There were on the Reservation always a few
educated Indians; they were but a very small
per cent of the tribe, and their education as a
rule was but a very small per cent of what it
ought to be; but naturally the missionary came
into contact with these first of all, because he
could converse with them more or less, and give
them some kind of an idea of what he was
among them for. Here was another door stand-
ing a little ajar, and it was entered as oppor-
tunity offered. Some of- the Indians who are
prominent in our work today have come into
contact with our mission work in just that way,
such as Edward Becenti and Jacob C. Morgan
and Hudson Bainbridge; men who in many ways
have been and are a credit and a great help to
us in our work.
One matter of far-reaching importance result-
ing directly from work in this line, was that it
brought us into contact with young men who
could serve as interpreters. Our first way of
bringing the Gospel to the hogans where English
was not understood, was thru interpreters. It
may not be an ideal way of preaching the Gos-
pel thru an interrupter, as it has often been fitly
called, but it is the only way in which many of
our missionaries can talk to the Navahoes at all.
In fact, a good christian interpreter is always
the missionary's right hand man.
The first Indian reached thru the interpreter
is usually the interpreter himself. This is self-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 151
evident, because he would be with the mission-
ary continually, would hear the missionary day
by day, whether he were alone with him oi-
whether he were talking for him to other Indians,
and the message of the Gospel would of neces-
sity become clear and plainer to him than to any
one else, and in my experience it happened that
even before any of the members of my catechism
classes applied for baptism, my interpreter was
the very first Navaho that asked to be baptized;
but soon after him, many of the pupils asked to
be baptized. I am very glad to say that my first
adult convert is still a missionary's interpreter,
and is able to bring the Gospel message now bet-
ter than ever.
The interpreter, being won for Christ, brought
the Gospel into his hogan; shortly after his own
baptism he requested baptism for his little chil-
dren, and slowly his wife, wdio had no school
education whatever, was won by the Gospel; so
here was a case where the Gospel was brought to
a hogan, and the Navaho's dwelling became a
Christian home. Was there anything that could
delight a missionary more than to see how the
christian family life was begun by this family of
Navahoes, and how the children of the family
wx^re baptized in turn, how Christian education
was sought and provided for them when they
became of school age; and also to see that when
the Lord saw fit to take one of the little ones
home, the parents could say with Job of old :
152 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
"The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken,
and blessed be the Name of the Lord." When
missionary and interpreter can work together as
brethren in the Lord, both intent on bringing the
Gospel into the hogans of the Indians, traveling
for miles and miles thru the wide stretches of
the Navaho country, bringing the message wher-
ever opportunity offers, many hardships become
pleasures.
And in the course of their work, the Missionary
becomes better acquainted with the Navaho day
by day, both with Navaho language and char-
acter, and with the Navaho way of looking at
things ; all of these things make him fitter for his
task, and at the same time the interpreter learns
his English better, and obtains better and clearer
ideas on the christian religion, and becomes bet-
ter equipped to present the message in accept-
able terms.
I have never been satisfied to have my inter-
preter be nothing at all but an interpreter, to do
nothing but just to tell over again whatever I
told him to say and to tell over again to me
whatever an Indian wanted him to tell me, work-
ing thru interpreters has always been a regular
training school for me, and I have always aimed
to make their work a regular training school
for them, in order to equip them better for their
work right along. I do not see how any mis-
sionary could be satisfied to do otherwise.
In order to make this scheme a success a mis-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 153
sionary must be very careful in his choice of
young men for this work, and it is very poor
pohcy to change off interpreters unless it is ab-
solutely necessary.
In the beginnings of our work there were no
christian interpreters, the best we could do was
to pick out such young men as we could get, who
had the best educational equipment for inter-
preting, and it was not at all unusual for an in-
terpreter to say in the course of his interpreta-
tion: "this is what the missionary says, but I
do not believe a bit of it myself."
At present all of our interpreters are sincere
christian young men, whose hearts are in the
work, and who are not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ. And their homes are Christian homes,
examples of the result of bringing the Gospel
to the hogans.
A matter that causes a missionary much grief,
is when a christian young man marries a young
woman who is not a christian, or when a chris-
tian young women marries a man who is not a
christian. The results of being unequally yoked
with unbelievers will soon show up, and the
christian life will suffer, if indeed it will not
seem to be completely eclipsed. Yet there are
examples where the believing husband has been
the instrument in the Lord's hand to bring the
unbeheving wife to the Saviour, and even of the
believing wife being the means the Lord used to
bring her unbelieving husband to Him. We can-
154 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
not always know what is wdse; on general prin-
ciples I never advise a believer to marry an un-
believer, but there is a case on record among us
where a missionary vigorously protested against
a christian young man marrying an uneducated
and unchristian young women, where the pro-
test Avas not heeded, and the young woman soon
became interested in the ways of the Lord and
requested baptism, and is now living a faithful
christian life.
Now just imagine that you are going with me
on a trip to bring the Gospel to the hogans. I
will try to give you a clear idea of how the Gos-
pel is brought there. With my interpreter I ar-
rive at a Navaho hogan, the dogs usually an-
nouncing our coming. We walk up to the door,
greet the members of the family and are seated.
We tell them that we are on a friendly visit and
would like to talk with them a little while. They
will naturally ask wiio we are, and where we
are from. We may have brought a chart with us
and likely a Navaho bible. It is usually easy to
begin our conversation by talking about the
things that happened in the beginning, about the
creation of the world and of man, and then
about the Fall and its dire results for the world
and the human race, white people and Indians
included, and then to come to the story of the
Son of God, the Saviour, and talk about Him as
the Saviour of all kinds of people, Navahoes in-
cluded. We are. in no hurry, we take our time
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO ]55
and explain as we go along. In speaking in a
hogan we address the head of the family, others
listen and he expresses his interest audibly
at intervals, and once in a while he asks a ques-
tion. We get around to talk about prayer and
explain it in the most childlike simplicity, how
that real prayer is not a compUcated ceremony,
but like a child talking to its father or mother,
and the loving-kindness of the heavenly Father
in Hstening to our petitions. We encourage in-
terested listeners in asking questions, and we
close our little meeting by asking our host
whether it pleases him that one of our number
offer prayer in his hogan before we depart. He
agrees, at least I have never yet seen a case
where he did not, and then the first Christian
prayer ever offered in this hogan is brought be-
fore the throne of grace. This scheme of bring-
ing the Gospel is a marvel of simplicity and
adaptabiUty, and we almost invariably follow it
in our first visit to bring the Gospel to the hogan.
Usually we are requested to call again and we
always make it a point to do so; we also give the
family a standing invitation to come to visit us,
and they often make use of it.
It will happen occasionally that we will be
holding a meeting, and neighboring Indians will
drop in to listen. We then have songs; if my
wife is present she will lead the singing with
her vioUn. We read a portion of Scripture in
the Navaho language and have prayers and
156 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
preaching. It matters little whether the day be
Sunday or Monday, often we will appoint a day
when they can expect us to come again.
Gradually our native workers are being de-
veloped so they can carry the message from
hogan to hogan; the Master's method of sending
them two by two seems to me to be the most
preferable, as they mutually assist and encour-
age one another. In Hudson Bainbridge and
Hugh Denetdele I have a pair of the most trust-
worthy laborers, who often go out together, and
sometimes I accompany them. Their experi-
ences are very varied and interesting, and they
have brought the Gospel to hundreds of Indian
hogans, and the Lord willing, they will bring it
to hundreds more.
A missionary who does camp-work, as bring-
ing the Gospel to the hogans is popularly called,
is of necessity a great traveler. Last September
my speedometer read a little over 3,000 miles,
while today, February 24th, it reads far over
8,000 miles, and bear in mind that this is for the
winter months, when not one-third of the travel-
ing is done that is done in the summer months,
and this does not include trips on foot or on
horseback or with team and wagon. All of these
methods of travel must be used in bringing the
Gospel to the hogans. Sometimes an enormous
amount of time is saved by going with an auto-
mobile, and sometimes, when weather and roads
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 157
are abominable, enormous garage bills are saved
by traveling in old-fashioned style.
A great help to us in our camp-work are the
translations of Scripture w^hich we have in the
Navaho language; they are in constant use. Bib-
lical phraseology is a matter that confuses many
interpreters. But with the translations on which
years of painstaking study have been expended
by missionaries and interpreters, our inter-
preters who are familiar with these, have a great
advantage over young men, however well edu-
cated, who are not familiar with Bible expres-
sions in Navaho dress. The Bible is full of ex-
pressions which are not in use in the everyday
life of the Indians, and an interpreter must know
how to express these in his talks to his people.
This requires preliminary training, and this
training progresses as the mission work pro-
gresses. Assisting the missionary in making
translations is fine training for native workers.
During the i>ast months I have been translating
the Acts of the Apostles with my native assis-
tants and it has proved to be a regular theolog-
ical education for all of us.
Sunday school cards and charts often find
their way into the hogans and become interesting
to the inmates when the story represented is
made plain to them. In hogans where there are
young people who have been educated, religious
literature is introduced. And gradually Bibles
and Testaments are introduced.
158 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
But as the great majority of the people are il-
literate, the mission of the written word is very
limited, hence it is a necessity that the message
of the spoken Word be brought everywhere. And
as the hogans are scattered far and wide over a
rough, barren, mountainous region, the follow-
up visits are often few and far between. And yet
they are necessary. We do not consider that our
duty is done, like some missionaries do, when we
have visited a hogan and have spoken there of
the Saviour. It is an impossibility to make the
message of salvation plain to people to whom its
message is absolutely foreign in one or two con-
versations. In many cases the w^ay the message
was presented by missionaries is absolutely un-
intelligible to the Indian. We cannot consider
having fulfilled our duty as long as our brother
or sister Indian is in the land of the living, and
even then it is a question not to be lightly dis-
missed whether we have been faithful to our
trust.
W^hether the message is accepted or rejected
or held in consideration, we feel that in all cases
we must bring the Gospel to the same people and
to the same hogan over and over again. Never-
theless we rely upon the promise that the Spirit
will accompany and follow up the message, so
that we can leave the results to Him.
And we rejoice in the fact that the Gospel is
gaining ground and making headway in the ho-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 159
gans of those uneducated, so that ah'eady the
firstfruits of this labor are being gathered in.
Bringing the Gospel to the hogans calls for
careful and prayerful preparation, constant en-
deavor and hard work and patient endurance,
both physically and mentally. It requires knowl-
edge of the Indian language and character and
religion, an appreciation of all that is deserving
of appreciation in them, and a persistent en-
deavor to present the message of the Saviour
of men to them; one thing that surprises many of
us is the persistence with which they cling to
their own religion, and one can not help but
think how beautiful this same characteristic will
be when, with their hearts, they will have ac-
cepted Christ as their Saviour.
We have not planned in this article to give a
detailed account of hardships and such like
which a missionary's life among the Navahoes
entails, about camping out and sleeping in the
open, about sandstorms and quicksands and
blizzards and swollen streams, about scanty
fare oftentimes, about broken rigs and played-
out teams, about losing our way in this great
expanse of territory, and about multitudinous
delays and disappointments. After all, these
are all in the day's work when we bring the
Gospel to the hogans.
A soldier does not enlist in the army expect-
ing to find a soft snap, if he has any sense at all,
and neither should a missionary to the Navahoes
160 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
expect such, in fact, he should expect to endure
hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The
hattle may be long and tiresome, but the victory
is assured, the cause of our Lord and Master is
going to win out in the end. Let us be of good
courage as soldiers of the cross and keep on
bringing the Gospel to the hogans.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 161
VIII.
LAY-WORKERS IN OUR INDIAN MISSION
SERVICE
ONLY FOR WANT of a better term to express
what we mean, we speak of lay-workers.
That there is great need as well as great oppor-
tunities for such workers in the Indian Mission
Service, is a self-evident fact. There are num-
^erous positions at any and every well-estab-
lished Mission for both men and women who
for various reasons have not been able to obtain
the necessary education and training for ordi-
nation or professional service. These quiet, un-
assuming, consecrated workers, to be found at
every Mission, are the ones who are generally
doing more for the advancement of the great
cause than any one of us ordinarily imagines.
Eternity alone will probably reveal what has
been accomplished thru their humble services.
In our work among the Navahoes and Zunies
we also find several of these humble, ever-will-
ing, consecrated workers. First of all we are
reminded of the Matrons, whose work indeed
must be trying and arduous. At Rehoboth we
have one in charge of the boys', and one in
charge of the girl's dormitory. They each have
fifty children under their supervision during all
the hours that they are not otherwise engaged.
162 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Imagine being mother to fifty boys or girls,
ranging in age from five or six to eighteen or
older. Each one a different character, different
shortcomings and failures, different desires and
ambitions, etc. A thousand questions a day
must be answered, a hundred and one things
must be looked after. Are they washed, combed,
brushed, clothes clean and whole? Have they
studied their lessons, read the Bible and prayed,
memorized their catechism lessons? Here are
little difficulties between two or more that must
be ironed out, there grave disputes have arisen
that must be settled. Beds must be made, the
rooms kept clean, etc., etc. And all of it must
be done in a spirit that will point to Him, for
Whom and for Whose cause the service is ren-
dered. The Matron at Zuni has thirty-five chil-
dren to look after, but these do not live with
her in a dormitory, for the school at Zuni is not
a boarding, but a day school, and the children
board and lodge at home. Each Monday morn-
ing she must be ready to give each boy and girl
a thorough scrubbing from head to foot, for af-
ter a week at home this is indeed more than nec-
essary. At this weekly (not weakly) bath, they
also shed their soiled and torn garments, ex-
changing them for the fresh, clean and whole
ones the Matron has ready for them. The wash-
ing, ironing, sewing, and mending of all these
clothes is no little task in itself, but in addition
to that she teaches the girls how to wash and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 163
iron, sew and nieml. During certain afternoons
of each week she calls on all the English-speak-
ing women of the village, reading to them and
seeking to get them interested in their souls
eternal welfare. Ah! these Matrons are not of-
ten thought of, but they are doing a great work
in humble service.
At Rehoboth we also find a Seamstress to look
after the sewing and mending at this post, and a
Laundress to look after the washing and ironmg
of School and Hospital. In doing this work they
are helped by a detail of children, but m turn
they are expected to instruct these children in
doing these things, so that after graduating they
will know how to take care of their own clothes.
Furthermore, we find two at Rehoboth whose
positions are designated as Housekeeper-cooks.
They are in charge of the Mission House; here
the several employees have their rooms; here
you find tw^o dining-rooms, one for the em-
ployees and one for the hundred children; here
you also find a home-room, where the workers
can sit or lie down for a little rest or fellowship
between working periods, and last but not least,
you find here the large, well-equipped kitchen,
where these two cooks reign and prepare the
meals for employees, children and hospital pa-
tients. Surely you, who read this, need not envy
any of these w^orkers, thinking that their yoke is
easy and their burden light; but you may be
jealous of them because their work is not simply
164 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
humanitarian, but an opening of the way for the
higher service of the teacher, physician, and
preacher. All these positions, you will no doubt
have understood, are filled by daughters of our
Church, and we thank God that He has inclined
their hearts unto this work. They do it out of
love for Him or they would not do it at all.
There is still one more lady assistant at Reho-
both and she is the Clerk, in charge of the office
and the correspondence. The volume of mis-
sion business is ever on the increase, books must
be kept systematically, records must be accurate
and filed carefully, letters, ofFicial and private,
must be answered. This helper is no less con-
secrated than the others, for it has happened
several times during her incumbency that she
has served in the capacity of other employees
when they were compelled to resign because of
sickness, and their places could not immediately
be filled.
The male employees at Rehoboth are the
Manager and his assistants, of whom we will not
speak at this time, seeing we will meet them in
the Chapter on Industrial Missions. But other
lay-workers are the unordained men, with their
interpreters, in charge of some branch of direct
religious work. Such a one is found at Zuni in
the capacity of boys' worker. He is the Secre-
tary of the Zuni Indian Y. M, C. A. located at
that post. He is also assistant to the Missionary,
and thru correspondence, keeps in touch with
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 165
the Zuiii boys at non-reservation schools. His
main business, however, is to work among the
Zuni boys who have been to school, have learned
to speak and use the English, and having ac-
quired some education, are back in the village
and at home. They must be gathered in the
reading-room where they are entertained, in-
structed, and urged to make use of the advan-
tages which are theirs above others who lack all
education and training. This is a most neces-
sary work in order to conserve and foster that
which has already been gained. At Tohatchi
we also find an unordained worker, who is in
charge of all the mission work at that post, but
seeing we have a separate Chapter on his field
and work, we need not speak of it here.
A most important position, filled by an unor-
dained worker, is that of Field or Camp Mis-
sionary at Rehoboth. This is the man who lives
at Rehoboth, but finds his field of activity out
among the Indians on and off the Reservation.
That this is a most necessary, but at the same
time hard and trying job, cannot and will not
be gainsaid by anyone. With his interpreter he
wanders over the Reservation, now here and
then there; at night the great, unlimited expanse
of territory is his hotel, the ground his bed, the
beautiful dome of heaven his canopy, while the
camp-meals are prepared and served by himself
or interpreter. The only and supreme purpose
of it all is that the Navaho, whether able to un-
166 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
derstand English or not, living in the darkness
of ignorance, sorrow and sin, shall hear of that
blessed name given under heaven among men
whereby sinners must be saved. The man,
who occupies this position at the present time is
Brother Mierop. His first service on the Indian
field was rendered when he was in charge of the
Two Grey Hills Mission. After a brief stay at
this place, he returned to Chicago, Illinois, his
former home, expecting to take up regular
training for mission service. Later he resumed
his work among the Indians, working under the
direction of the Presbyterian Church. At pres-
ent he lives at Rehoboth, but labors among the
Indians of the adjacent region. That such work
is rich in experiences, both amusing and
pathetic, is easily understood. Intensely inter-
esting is therefore his own story on this sub-
ject, and we sincerely hope you will enjoy
reading it. Brother William Mierop is a sincere,
capable and consecrated servant of the Lord,
and we believe he is exceptionally well-fitted
and qualified for the work entrusted to him.
May the Lord be with him and his assistant, sus-
tain and protect them, as they go up and down
the country proclaiming the Good News to the
Navahoes, and may it be given unto them to
bear hardships as true soldiers of the Cross.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 167
CAMPING WITH THE NAVAHOES
(MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES)
I
WILLIAM MIEROP, Camp-Worker at Rehoboth, N. M.
T HAS BEEN SAID that if you want to punish
any one, compel him to camp for a while. At
first it is an innovation, but as the time goes by
it becomes burdensome, monotonous. It has a
sameness that weighs on one's mind, hence an
appropriate way of meting out punishment.
To those who have been redeemed thru the
precious blood of the Lamb, camping with the
Navahoes, in order to give them the Message of
Salvation, is a rare privilege. I deem it a great
honor to be a co-worker with the Lord, and
count it great joy when it is necessary for me
to be a co-sutferer with Him.
Of course, you can readily understand that
camping with the Navahoes incurs many diffi-
culties and amusing incidents, apart from the
blessed work of giving them the Gospel. I re-
member distinctly the time I came to work
among the Indians. I was the youngest mis-
sionary on the field— not quite 25 years of age
then. I thought I would do some camp-work
to tell them about our Lord. I was pretty
"green," I assure you. When we came to a
hogan where a Navaho lived, I jumped out of
the buggy and walked to this hogan. Now you
know, I presume, that very few Navahoes have
wooden doors, only a blanket, and when they
168 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
want to enter, all they do is to push the blanket
or canvas to one side and walk in. Well, I
stood before this hogan, skinning my knuckles,
knocking on the posts that supported the blan-
ket. I knocked and knocked and I was wonder-
ing why in the wide world they didn't yell,
"Come in!" The Navahoes on their part won-
dering who that crazy person was (for that was
really said). If he wanted to come, why doesn't
he push the tlap aside and walk in. Whenever
I felt my poor bruised knuckles, I got "sore" to
think that they would keep a man out there so
long, and I knocked harder and harder each
time. This was my first experience among the
Navahoes.
As I grew I gradually began to learn things.
It dawned upon me that Navahoes were a dif-
ferent class of people than the class I belonged
to. Keeping this thought ever in mind, it saved
me many a painful experience. Many Navahoes
are notorious liars. Some take great pleasure
in lying. There are many who try to be aver-
age careful with their tongue, but the rank and
file seem to enjoy a lie. There was one young
Indian I met who boasted of being the biggest
liar in that part of the country. Even his Nav-
aho friends couldn't rely on him, and whenever
he said anything it was taken with the pro-
verbial grain of salt, only with him they usually
took a pound. We had given a very strong ser-
monette on liars and their eternal destiny in
'Last Call for Breakfast." Eating near a "Devil's" Home
170 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
the lake of fire. It had made an impression, we
could see. This young Indian got up and said,
"My friend here said a lie is bad, a liar is worse,
because back of the lie is the devil. It is true.
I will try to lie no more." I asked him his name
and this is what he said, "My name is George
Washington." Just imagine George Washing-
ton having such a name-sake !
I do not want you to think that every Navaho
is a liar. Many wdiite people tell lies, and some
enjoy it, too. I met one man who hated a lie.
He told me if there was anything or any one he
hated, it was a lie and a liar. I began to have
confidence in this Indian, and told him how glad
I was to meet a Navaho who believed like he
did. I asked him why he hated lies and liars,
and then he told me to wait. There was a big
trunk in one corner of his room. In this trunk
he rummaged and I began to wonder what he
was up to, when I heard him grunt. Evidently
he got what he was looking for. Imagine my
surprise when he came to me wearing a
"domine's" coat in regular style, walking and
strutting up and down his kin or house, like a
proud turkey. He then told me he was wear-
ing a missionary's coat, and as they never lied
and hated liars, so he must too, for "don't I
wear a long coat?" He couldn't lie while he
had that kind of a coat on!
W^hile this Indian was proud because he pos-
sessed a preacher's coat, there are others
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 171
equally proud who have no coat and for other
reasons. You are acquainted, no doubt, .with
the Navaho superstition of the son-in-law look-
ing at his mother-in-law. If they should look at
one another they would get blind. Sometimes
they have to be pretty fleet of foot to escape the
mother-in-law. Very often the children hang
around the hogan entrance to see if the coast is
clear. If the son-in-law is seen coming or the
mother-in-law, there is a wild scramble and a
tlight. One would think they would get tired of
it, but no, it goes on day after day. They don't
care to separate and live in another locality, so
this superstitious fear is constantly hanging over
their heads as Damocles sword. We met an In-
dian one evening and slept in his house over
night. We had given him the Sweet Story of
Old and we felt happy. When we were thru,
our conversation tiu'ned to the mother-in-law
superstition and I told my friend how foolish
it was, as many white people would be as blind
as a bat if this fear was true. My friend got up
and replied, "The Indians are afraid of their
mother-in-law. Why? They don't know any-
thing. They are like children. Here am I, a
Navaho, a married man with lots of children.
Here is my wife sitting alongside of me. Here
is my mother-in-law right here, she is looking at
me, and I am looking at her. Nothing to be
afraid of. I am not blind and we have looked at
each other for many years. The other Nav-
172 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ahoes have no sense." I thought that was mighty
fine. Oh, if only others would follow, I thought !
I am glad I thought it and never spoke my
thoughts, because when I asked him how many
wives he had, he said, "Two. This is one and
my mother-in-law is the other!" He had fol-
lowed the Navaho custom of "marry the mother
you get the daughter, too." No wonder the foxy
Indian wasn't afraid because his mother-in-law
was his wife as well as his mother-in-law's
daughter.
While some try and fool you as this Navaho
tried and almost succeeded, there are others
who would not condescend to do such things.
They prefer another method. Sometimes you
can forestall them. I did it once. We were out
many days and dead tired when we came to a
hogan where they were holding a religious
ceremony. Some one had had a bad dream, so
the medicine man thought it wise to have a
ceremony, so this bad dream wouldn't come
true. Well, we were there, ready for an oppor-
tunity to tell them about the Crucified but Risen
Lord. We did so, and when thru, this medicine
man asked us several questions about our story.
Finally he told me that he was the best Navaho
doctor on all the Reservation, There were none
better. After a while I told this medicine man
I had a terrible pain right in the middle of my
stomach. Couldn't he help me, as he was the
best of all the doctors? My, it was getting worse L
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 173
This old fellow began to get worried and looked
appealingly at me until I looked at my watch,
and no wonder I had that terrible gnawing
pain. It was 12 o'clock and time to eat, after
which the hunger pain left me. How chagrined
he was can be easily imagined! He became one
of my best friends. At certain places they had
no time to hear the Gospel, but my friend invar-
iably made time for me.
All medicine men or Navaho doctors are not
that courteous. Sometimes to their own people
they are gruff and scold. Especially when other
"doctors" are busy or scarce, then they act a
little rough and independent. In our camping
with the Navahoes we ran across one crusty old
fellow who had just completed a ceremony over
a baby who had been very sick. We began to
speak about the baby, and when the mother
went out to get some wood, he confided to us
that he could cure the baby, but these people
were stingy, so he didn't heal the baby, saying
another and a different kind of ceremony was
needed. We told him he ought to go to jail if
he could cure this poor sick child and refused on
account of small payment, and I would report it
to the Agent when I got back. Then he became
just as nice as could be, vowing with the next
song he would cure the child. And he did, too.
You understand, of course, there are Navaho
doctors who are conscientious and wouldn't per-
form two ceremonies where one would suffice.
174 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Many of them are like our doctors in that re-
spect, if you will pardon the comparison. A
number of them began to know us, and when-
ever-^ we ate wdth them they invariably waited
for me to ask a blessing. I can't always say this
of some white people I meet with. Once, after
many days in camp, we arrived at an Indian
Trading Store. It was evening and we were
thankful we were going to get a good place to
sleep in. This white trader invited us to supper.
While setting the table, it was just one curse
after another. Every other word was a swear-
word. No place for me, I thought! When we
sat down to supper, this white man was still
swearing, first at this and then at that, because
there was no milk, then because there was no
jelly. This trader began to reach for things,
when I said, "Let's pray," and then with an "I'll
be blowed" from the trader, I asked a blessing.
From that time he never swore when I was
around. Another trader, knowing I was a mis-
sionary, w^ould test me from time to time. The
last time I cured him when he put a record on
his phonograph and requested me to dance with
his wife. He said it was a "two-step." I de-
clined, informing him I didn't know anything
about a "two-step," but I did know something
about being one step from hell. He never tried
me again.
It was on one of these trips that I came to a
place very much discouraged. I had no inter-
IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 175
preter and was doing the best I could in giving
the Navaho the Gospel. It was very hard work,
I can tell you. I came to a place w^here some
twenty or thirty Indians were gathered. I did
what I could, and they understood all right, but
when they began to ask questions, I couldn't an-
swer because of my lack of the Navaho language.
They said I couldn't answer. I was afraid, and
so on. I sure was in a bad fix. All that after-
noon I noticed a young Indian all decked up with
his beads, rings, and bracelets. He had a derby
hat on with the top cut otf", with a string under
his chin. He looked so comical, that many times
I had all I could do to keep a straight face. Many
times I said to myself, 'This young man sure
looks like a clown in the circus." I wondered
where he picked uj) that old hat. When the
Navahoes were tormenting me about not answer-
ing their questions, I breathed a (juick but short
prayer to God for help. Suddenly some one in
the rear began to answer the questions in Nav-
aho. What a relief! To my amazement I found
it was my "clown" whom the Lord had sent to
help me. After the sermonette I found out that
his brother had heard the Gospel, went home
and told this young man, his younger brother.
He believed the story and began to walk on God's
road, while his elder brother laughed at him.
How wonderful God works at times! How past
finding out His ways!
This wonderful provision of God is constantly
176 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
seen in our camping with the Navahoes. One
time we had visited many Navahoes in their
homes. We had travelled far from home, when
our horses got sick, and we didn't know what to
do to help them. We told the Lord about it, and
went on our way. We had rolled the burden
upon the Lord, and there we left it. That after-
noon we came to an isolated store, where a
white man met us. "Come in, folks. My, I'm
glad to see a white man. Uncle Sam sent me
away out to this God-forsaken country. Michi-
gan looks mighty line to me just now. Here it is
so dry and barren. Why did the Government
send me, a horse doctor, out to this place for any
way?" I told him why; because the Lord knew
my horses were to get sick and provided a horse
doctor to help His servant out. He fixed up my
horses in fine shape over night. And what was
my surprise to find out he was a Hollander and
knew many people I knew in Grand Rapids.
How sweet to hear a few Holland words from
him, although I couldn't answer him as good as
I wished to in Holland. And he miles away
from civilization. Yes, indeed the Lord takes
care of His servants. No question about this in
my mind.
When looking up Navahoes to tell them about
Jesus, we are compelled to sleep wherever night
finds us. Sometimes we sleep under a cedar or
pine tree, in the arroyos, in the hogans — any-
where— as long as we have a place to lay our
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 177
bedding down. During the winter, when the
snow is deep, we must first break ofl" some tree
branches, and using it as a broom, clear away
enough snow so we can lay down. Very often
then it snows all night, and in the morning
everything is completely wet. In the spring we
have sleet and sandstorms, and in the fall we
have the rainy season. Then frequently we are
aroused from our sleep by the rain. We make
the best of it until the morning, only to find that
everything is soaked. One time we laid in wa-
ter practically all night, with our shoes and other
articles all tucked nicely under the blankets.
AVhen morning arrived even the shoes and the
matches were soaked. Then the breakfast we
had was a tin-can lunch. We were thankful we
had that to eat. But some day I am going to ar-
range a lot of canned goods before me and say,
"Now you old tin cans, I am thru with you. I
don't need you any more. Good-bye, friend."
One gets so tired of eating tin-can lunches, and
yet that is the only thing that keeps in hot
weather. So the camp trips go on; first the tor-
rents of rain in the fall, then the hot desert blasts
of summer, followed by the snow and intense
cold of the winter months. Occasionally we find
a hogan to pass the night in. If it is empty we
are happy. Sometimes it is empty because it
is a "devil's home." A "devil's home" is a ho-
gan where a Navaho died. They are afraid of
such a place, therefore when one is dying they
178 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
bring the person out of the hogan alongside of a
bush and there let them die. Many of them die
in the hogan, so they simply vacate it and nevei
return. The visiting Navaho soon fmds out if a
hogan is a "devil's home," so he shuns it. On
account of the weather we often sleep in one of
these "devil's homes." The poor Indians look at
us in amazement to think we would have the
courage to sleep in such a place. But when I tell
them how I was lost once and slept in a "devil's
home," where the body was buried inside the
hogan, and am alive to tell the tale, they first
think I am in partnership with Mr. Devil, then
they change their mind and say I am alive be-
cause I am the missionary, and God's Story
makes one brave.
Whenever we come to an inhabited hogan we
always know it long before we get there.
Usually the dogs are reception connnittee. They
bark and make a terrible noise, so our coming is
widely heralded. When we get nearer the chil-
dren can then see us, and oh, how they do scam-
per to tell mother and father a white man is
coming! When we finally arrive and walk in,
as we do not knock any more, there is usually
a sheepskin for us to sit on. These sheepskins
are full of lice generally, and if you should sit
on one you are sure of getting acquainted with
some very interesting friends. One such hogan
I shall never forget if I live to be 100 years old.
This hogan had a large family in it, and it in-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 179
eluded an old lady. Now you never know what
an old Navaho lady is going to do. She is an un-
known quantity, to use an algebraic term. Well,
this time she was so glad to see me, the poor old
soul just took me in her thin, wrinkled arms and
— and — what do you think she did? She un-
blushingly planted a kiss upon my cheek. Al-
though she didn't kiss me like my wife does,
still I thanked her for it, because she was so
hai)py to see me. That night grandmother enter-
tained me and gave me a nice mattress to sleep
on. I thought I was getting to be somebody. All
that night I couldn't sleep because my friends,,
the lice, were feasting off me. The morning
came, oh so slow, and when I looked for my
friends, they were all scampering for a hiding-
place under the edges of the mattress. Then I
vowed no more mattresses for me on a camp-
trip among the Navahoes!
Grandmother thought I would get lonesome, I
suppose, if she didn't do the cooking for me. So
she started in to get breakfast ready. Once in a
while she stopped, took an insect off her head
and put it in her mouth. I heard a cracking
sound, but thought no more about it, but when
she repeated the performance time and time
again, I questioned my interpreter and he told
me she would spit them out as soon as her
mouth was full. This she did to my great relief.
It was none too soon for me, I can tell you. While
grandmother was doing this, another occupant.
180 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
a young mother, was busy giving the baby a bath
in the frying-pan. As I knew grandmother was
going to use that pan, my stomach or something
in that neighborhood began to give a gurgUng
sound, you know the kind I mean, and I thought,
all's off with me. I closed my eyes for a moment
or two, maybe five, I don't know. I do know it
was quite a while before I opened them, but
when I did, old grandmother was busy killing
lice on the butcher knife with her thumb, and
then using the knife to cut some mutton. How
quick I closed my eyes I can't tell you, but they
stayed closed for a long, long time. While they
were closed I prayed to the Lord, reverently, you
understand, for grace to meet this situation. Sud-
denly I heard the cry of "Let us eat." I asked a
blessing and slowly ate with the rest. I was
hungry enough to eat fast but — you know how
it is.
Camping with the Navahoes for the purpose
of bringing them the Gospel is no sinecure, to
say the least. If you refuse to eat with them,
you can't win them. Only recently I ate with
the Navahoes, and when all thru they said, "Now
we know you are the missionary who loves us.
Other white people say we are dirty and they
W'On't eat our food, but here you come, tell us
about God and eat our food. We are happy to
see you do it." Of course, I never tell them of
the special grace God gives me to do it, but, as
the Apostle Paul was all to all men, so we arc to
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 181
these poor heathen Navaho. I do this in order
to win them to Christ, Frequently my wife gives
me enough sandwiches for a day trip, but a
camp-missionary can't do anything amounting
to much in one day. He just gets started when
it is time for him to get back. Many an amusing
incident has followed the giving of these sand-
wiches to the Indians. They are afraid of eggs,
saying they will get a large family if they eat
them. Salmon they refuse because those who
eat it will get sores in the stomach. Now it hap-
pens these are my favorite dishes, especially as
sandwiches. They like to eat white man's food,
so thru courtesy I offer them a sandwich o^
either eggs or salmon. The moment they find
out what it is they drop it like a hot brick.
Sometimes they don't ask, so I don't tell them,
then a month or so later I tell them about it and
point out the fact that nothing happened to
them. In this way, perhaps, we can get them to
see things difl'eerntly. It is hard to do this, but
this is my aim along with the preaching. You
know when a person dies in a hogan, the Nav-
ahoes always leave that hogan. Some go so far
as to burn the hogan. They used to come to me
to ask me for help in burying their dead. This
I was always glad to do if they would help me
dig the grave. Very often they refused to do
this; then I left them to their own devices. If
they helped then I would go along to supervise
the job. When the burning of the hogan was
182 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
next on the program, 1 would ask for it, as it is
made from the best and stoutest posts. Gener-
ally they granted my request. Then for a day or
two I would haul in the old "devil's home." When
they visited me, my wife would offer them a cup
of coffee and then a second cup was asked for,
and sometimes a third. When all were satis-
fied, 1 would tell them the coffee was made by
burning the "devil's" wood from the hogan.
Then what a howl and a yell ! But when I asked
them if the coffee didn't taste good, they had to
confess that it did. Then 1 asked them why are
you yelling for then? The next time they come
for more, as they dearly love coffee. Thus we
try to teach them in more ways than one. Only
a new heart from God can affect a change that
is lasting and satisfying.
Invariably when camping with the Navahoes
any length of time they asked my interpreter his
clan name. Once I remember we arrived at a
camp very hungry indeed. Our food supply
gave out, also our water, and here we were hun-
dreds of miles from home, fifty miles from a
store and in a neighborhood in which we were
totally unacquainted. We told them who we
were and where we came from and why we
were traveling thru the country. After the mes-
sage was given we told them of our plight, but
it didn't seem to awaken any cord of sympathy,
for they just listened, but that's all. Now listen-
ing doesn't do your stomach any good, espe-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 183
cially when said stomach is sending an S. O. S.
for something to eat. \Vc began to talk about
clans, when I told them 1 came from the "Many
Goats" Clan. This certainly surprised them,
and they laughingly asked me how that was, so
I related why I took this clan name. "Four years
ago I bought a small goat or kid for my two
children. This kid became a great pet. It used
to buck my wife with its little horns, while she
was hanging clothes on the line. My family
took a month's camp-trip overland in a prairie
schooner. When we returned a coyote had eaten
the pet goat up. So I took this clan name in re-
membrance of the pet goat." Well, do you know
that when I got thru they got right on the job to
fix us something to eat. One lady began to make
"clapping bread" similar to our pancakes, and
called "clapping bread" because of the move-
ments of the hands in turning the dough over
and over again; another began to sharpen the
knife preparatory to cutting some mutton; a
3'oung girl got water on for the cotTee, and before
I knew it I heard these sweet words, "Let's eat."
I can assure you 1 ate all right. Rib after rib
vanished, the fat running down my chin, fingers
wet with grease, and how good it tasted could
be seen by what was left. We left bones only.
Ordinarily I don't eat much fat, but at times
like this I forget that I don't eat fatty meat. Now
why this sudden change in their manner? Why
all this hustle and bustle? One would think we
184 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
were really persons of high distinction. The
cause of all this lay in the mere fact that I be-
longed to the same clan as these people did,
namely the "Many Goats" Clan. So you can see
small things, as clan names, come in very handy
sometimes.
By camping with them the missionary gets
inside information of their home life. As we all
know, if you want to know a person well, just
live wdth him a wdiile. Then yoa will get an
intimate glimpse of his private and home life,
like you never could get in any other way. So
with the Navahoes. By eating and sleeping with
them, you get some of the idiomatic expressions.
You can learn many things if you keep your ears
wide open. Then you can learn their language
and give it the right flavor in pronunciation, for
the Navaho language has a flavor all its own.
Every time I camp with them I practice my Nav-
aho and how they roar with the way I come out
with some words. When they correct me I know
1 got it right then, and so we use it correctly the
next time. But the language is so difficult to
learn. Progress is very slow indeed. Here a
little, there a little; here a line, there a line;
an expression here, and a sentence there. And
so the language study goes on. But I can see
progress has been made, even though it has been
slow. "Alle goede dingen komen langzaam."
In their idiomatic expressions lies food for
thought. Many times they can say a w^hole lot
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 185
with a few words. Another time they use many
words to express what to us is a simple thought.
Some of the female Navahoes have a very sharp
tongue, so these pithy expressions come in
handy. Once I was sleeping with them. The
kin was crowded. There must have been about
nine or ten persons in this kin of about 16 x 18,
besides ourselves, four dogs and two cats and a
lamb. You can imagine what a delightful odor
came to meet us when we entered right from the
fresh, though cold air. In a few moments we
got accustomed to it and slept in that atmosphere
that night. The children began to cry. They
were told to "hush," which they all did except a
small girl of about eight years old. She kept
up crying until her mother said to her in a sharp
tone, like only some Navaho mothers can use,
"What are you crying for? Did your husband
die?" It is needless to say the crying stopped. I
surely felt sorry for the poor tot, although I
needed my night's rest.
In camping with Navahoes, one quickly learns
their religious beliefs, what stories they are al-
lowed to tell only during the winter time, what
games they are permitted to play only in the
winter time, which perhaps might prove to be
of interest to my readers, but time and space
prevents. Let it suffice when I say the Navahoes
haven't very many games. They have one
game from the remote past, which only men par-
ticipate in, while another game for women is of
186 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
recent origin. Their stories for winter relation
are many and interesting, but it must be passed
over at this time.
^Yhat a grand opportunity we have while
camping with them to reflect the image of our
Master. Our actions are constantly under their
surveillance, and all our deeds and words are
frequently brought before the bar of judgment.
These words and deeds either accuse or excuse
us in their eyes. Hence, how careful one must
be so no erroneous idea might be received of
our blessed Lord. The Gospel has not lost its
power in drawing men and women to the Cross
of Christ. For after all is said and done, this is
our main purpose in camping with the Navahoes,
to be an instrument in God's hand to bring them
to a saving knowledge of Him, Whom to know
is life eternal. One of the saddesl and most pa-
thetic incidents of all my experiences as a camp-
missionary came to me a few weeks ago. We
had visited a camp, had given the message with
gladness and singleness of heart. We were
about to leave, when I saw an old lady hid be-
yond a bush, sitting on a sheepskin. I went up
to her and shook her hand and gave her the
usual Navaho greeting of: "Is it well?" I told
her who I was, whereupon she told me: 'T am
110 years old. I know 1 am, because 1 was 53
years when I went into captivity. Now I am
blind, I am all alone, no one cares for me. My
little one, my little one, what shall I do? You
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 187
have told me about God's home where I can go
to if I walk on God's road. In God's home my
blindness will be gone. Oh, how happy I would
be if I really could go there. Here they leave
me alone. They just bring me a little food, not
much. No one cares for me." If you could
have heard that pitiful wail, it would almost
break your heart like it did mine. Lovingly we
told her God is willing, aye anxious, to receive
her if she but come with a confession of her sins.
But we couldn't convince her that God loved her
and Jesus cared for her, because it seemed ut-
terly foreign to her mind.
Ah, dear readers, there are many Navahoes to
Avhom the Gospel is strange. It is our supreme
duty to make it so simple that a child can grasp
it. This is our loving duty to the Master. It
was He Who sent us here. It is He Who sus-
tains us. We repeatedly remind ourselves that
God can and will do great things for us if our
faith is only large enough. God can't (humanly
speaking) give a heart a quart of blessings, when
it only has a pint capacity. We constantly re-
mind ourselves that while failure to bring the
Gospel to the Navahoes is a great crime, a low
aim not to expect great things from God is also
a sin. Therefore, let us go from strength to
strength, having faith in a groat God, Who will in
His own good time gather some of these Nav-
ahoes to complete the body of Christ.
Loving Father, hasten that day!
188 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
IX.
TOHATCHI, NEW MEXICO
TOHATCHI, "Little Water," is the second
place that was occupied by the Christian
Reformed Church in its work among the Nav-
ahoes. After having served as assistant to the
Rev. H. Fryling at Fort Defiance for some time,
Mr. James De Groot was sent to Tohatchi, a
branch station of the Fort Defiance Agency.
Having, as it were, just begun the work, he w^as
succeeded in the year 1900 by the Rev. L. P.
Brink. The experiences and labors of this
brother are spoken of in a preceding Chapter,
"A Pioneer Missionary to the Navahoes."
With the departure of Rev, Brink from To-
hatchi, this district, one of the best on our al-
lotted territory, has experienced a continual
change of laborers, and this has not proven to
be beneficial, but rather detrimental. Rev. D. H.
Muyskens was the first to continue the w^ork
here after Brother Brink went to California, but
it was only temporary, for the Rev. Muyskens,
Missionary of the Paterson, N. J., churches, was
called to take up the work at Crown Point. He
was simply abiding at Tohatchi until things
could take shape at Crown Point, When he
finally left, Tohatchi station was vacant until
the Rev. Lee S. Huizenga, M. D., took up his
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 189
abode there. This brother, we all know, was
not where he wanted to be when he was at To-
hatchi in the Indian work, for his heart was set
upon and, according, to his own testimony, his
life was consecrated to the cause of Christ in a
foreign land. He was serving in the Indian field
only until such a time when the Church would
be ready to send him out into foreign work. By
way of an interpolation, we can say, that that
day dawned in the fall of 1920, when on the
30th of October, Dr. and Mrs. Huizenga, with
their three children. Rev. and Mrs. J. C. De
Korne with two children, and Rev. and Mrs.
H. A. Dykstra, set sail from San Francisco, Cal.»
as the first representatives of the Christian Re-
formed Church to bring the Gospel to the
Chinese. May the Lord be with them and bless
them in selecting the field for the Foreign Mis-
sion work of our Church.
The Rev. Dr. L. S. Huizenga during his first
stay at Tohatchi, asked for and received as an
assitant Mr. Mark Bouma, a brother more or less
acquainted with the work among the Navahoes,
having served a term as General Manager at
Rehoboth, After Dr. Huizenga's permanent de-
parture from the Indian field, Mr. Bouma was
placed in full charge of the work at Tohatchi by
the churches of Holland, Michigan, who have
made the support of this station their particular
and peculiar care.
During the periods of vacancy which Tohatchi
190 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
experienced, the Roman Catholics entered the
field and established their work there. This, as
becomes evident from the following description
of the work written by Mr. Bouma, has caused a
division among the children, for now some are
being taught by the Catholic Priest and others by
the Protestant Missionary. Whoever succeeds in
getting the thumb-print of the parents, obtains
therewith the privilege of giving religious in-
struction to the child. When we recall the ex-
periences and the outcome of our struggle with
this same party at Fort Defiance, we are loathe
to think of what may happen in the future at
Tohatchi. One thing we are sure of, and that is
that this station nor any other should be left
without a resident worker for any length of time.
One of our strongest men should be called and
located at such a station, and undoubtedly he
should be supplied with the best of interpreters
as well as with an assistant to look after the
faraway camps which he would not be able to
reach regularly without neglecting his work at
the school. Thus working in the closest har-
mony, the Missionary and his assistant may be
able to hold the ground. This matter should as-
suredly teach us a lesson for the future. Never
again allow a station to remain vacant and un-
manned. It is possible to prevent this if the
spirit of self-denial is practised, and the welfare
of the whole is considered rather than the wel-
fare of a certain part.
IN IIOGAN AND PUEBLO 191
Brother Bouma has a difficult field to labor in,
and we should remember him in our prayers
and back him up with our encouragement. If
he, who is undoubtedly more or less acquainted
with the whole Tohatchi district would consent
to assume the camp-work and the Classis of Hol-
land would send an ordained Missionary to care
for the school work and the nearby camps, this
would be, in our estimation, the best solution
of the problem, and the very best arrangement
that could be made for the place.
At Tohatchi much time has been spent, great
efforts have been put forth, many dollars have
been invested, the confidence of the people in
the district has been won, blessed fruit upon the
work has been gathered in, and therefore by all
means everything possible should be done to
conserve what has been gained. I am sure you
will be interested to read the following experi-
ences of the Tohatchi Missionary as he follows
the trail of the Navaho over the mountains,
thru the valleys, across the plains, and into the
rocks.
192 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ON THE TRAIL OF THE NAVAHO IN AND
AROUND TOHATCHI
MR. MARK BOUMA, Missionay-in-Charge at Tohatchi.
HTHE COMMAND, ''Go yc teach all na-
•'■ tions " includes the adult Navahoes,
and in order to reach them, we surely must "hit
the trail." Although most of them do enjoy
hearing "stories," very few will go out of their
\vay to hear the Gospel. It must be brought to
them in their homes. The ideal would be to
have systematic camp-work done from out of
every mission post. That would mean a camp-
worker for each post, who does nothing but
visiting camps. Our Tohatchi man, would have
to cover an area of about one thousand square
miles, which would keep him busy, and afford
the Indians a visit none too often.
As we are situated now, one man being re-
sponsible for that entire field, and also for the
school- and home work, which alone can keep
one busy, it is easily understood that some part
of the work must be neglected. Because the
class-work with the school children is set at
fixed hours, and it seems a shame to go away
when work at home (such as personal work with
school children, Indians calling at the Mission,
etc.), must be neglected, our camps are visited
very irregularly and at great intervals.
These periodic visits at the camps arc often
caused by some special emergency, a few of
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 193
which I'll quote to give you somewhat an idea
of our work.
About two miles from our Mission is the camp
of "Many-Goats-Nephew." One morning early
the entire family was at breakfast outside of
the hogan with the exception of a five-year-old
laddie, who was still asleep inside. All at once
a crash was heard, and then they saw that the
roof of the hogan had caved in. It had rained
some during the night, which propably caused
the catastrophe. Rushing to the place of disas-
ter, they found the boy buried beneath the
beams and dirt. It took them only a very short
time to rescue him, but imagine their grief
when they saw their child badly bruised about
the head. Word was at once sent to the govern-
ment doctor, who walked over, as there was no
vehicle at hand. A hasty examination revealed
that the lad was scalped, and would probably
die. The doctor did what he could under the
circumstances and went home.
Because the government car was not in run-
ning order, I was asked to take the doctor to
that camp after breakfast. When we arrived
there, the child had already died. Upon a closer
investigation we found a fracture of the skull
and a piece of wood stuck into the brain. Never
before had I seen a skull so completely scalped.
There we stood, unable to do a thing for these
heart-broken parents and grandmother. The
doctor talked about it in a matter-of-fact way,
194 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
and wanted to go right back. It was plain to
be seen that the man had never lost a child of
his own, nor felt any concern for the spiritual
welfare of these people.
While the grandmother prepared the child for
burial (for it was decided that I take it away
and bury it) I stood by, thinking. My thoughts
surely "multiplied within me." About two hours
before this child was asleep, no one suspecting
any danger. Now in eternity, without having
given the parents one word or look of recogni-
tion. I thanked the Lord for the sickbed of our
boy, brief as it was. I thought of Psalm 94: 19,
but realized that it does not apply to these
stricken relatives, because they know of no
"comforts" as the Psalmist mentions, and as so
many of God's people experience, even in times
of greatest distress.
While the child was being washed and clad in
new clothes, which the father had hurriedly pur-
chased in the nearby Indian trading store, an-
other member of the family was carrying all
the household articles away, as they would not
dare to do that after the corpse was ready for
burial. The child died just outside the hogan in
which it had received its death-blow, which fact
compels them to move away and never come
near the place again. Superstition predominates
with respect to anything and everything you can
name. They will remain in the vicinity four
days, which must be spent in "mourning," and
IN
HOGAN AND PUEBLO 195
then they move away and resume their usual
activities. „
Although burials bring us much "on the trail
of the Navaho, they are very unsatisfactory as
far as real gospel work is concerned. Before the
burial, the folks are usually not in the mood to
listen to the Gospel, because it is always m their
first grief that we find them. Their dead must
be buried at once. Then they do not want to
meet us for four days because those that bury a
corpse are "unclean" for that length of time. It
we visit them after those days have expired, it is
not wise to refer to either the deceased or the
burial in any way, as the most of them would
greatly object. Burying their dead may wm their
good-will, (and so much has to be done to wm
that), but it brings them very little direct
Gospel.
The Government requests that the mission-
aries get the consent of the parents before they
may give religious instruction to the pupils ot
the Government schools. This rule is especially
enforced at the schools where both Cathohcs
and Protestants have their missionaries. Be-
cause of the illiteracy of the Navahoes, we have
printed forms on which the parent impresses
his or her thumb-print.
Where there is only one missionary, this
ruling does not involve much extra work nor
embarrassment, because a child is compelled to
196 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
attend religious instruction, and with very little
persuasion the thumb-prints are obtained. The
missionary can patiently await the coming of
the parents, knowing he is sure of the child.
But where both Catholics and Protestants are
working, as at Tohatchi, this matter is more
serious. If parents bring in their children here,
there are two missionaries aw^aiting them, who
nominally are doing the same work. Unless the
minds of these parents are biased thru certain
circumstances, the missionary who first asks
thein gets the signature, especially if the other
man is not in sight. If perchance both are on
the scene, it is embarrassing to the missionaries
and to the parents alike. No missionary likes
to use persuasive means in the presence of his
opponent, and Mr. Navaho is very much set on
"keeping on the right side" of both missionaries
for possible material aid.
One day a man assigned his boy to me, but
seeing Fr. M , whose friendship he also
wanted to hold, he said that he had more chil-
dren at home, and when he brought the next one
in he would give the signature to the Father.
This, of course, had to serve as a pacifier!
This "signature business" certainly puts us
on the trail. As soon as we have any intima-
tion of a family thinking of sending a child to
school, we "hit the traiV and look them up, no
matter how far they live away from us. If they
tell us that it is their intention to send a child.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 197
^ve ask them for their signature, explaining that
there are two missionaries there, that only one
of these two can have the child, that we are the
"short-coat" missionaries, and well, what-
ever we think we ought to tell them. Sometimes
we have no trouble at all and soon have their
thumb-print.
But that the thumb-print does not positively
assure us of the child, the following incident re-
veals. We asked D. M for his signature for
the little boy he promised to bring to school.
He readily gave it because we also have his
little girl who is at school here. But. . . .when
D. M brought the boy, he first came to my
room, requesting the paper he had signed, be-
cause he had come to the conclusion that it was
better policy to give one child to each mission-
ary, as he might need the help of both. I did not
return him the paper, but told him he was at
liberty to give his boy whom he would, although
I tried to dissuade him from giving him to the
Catholics. Saying that the child's mother wished
her son to be put on the other side, he left me.
I knew this was not so, but had to let him go.
He went to Fr. M — — , who was greatly surprised,
well knowing that his girl was on our side. But,
of course, he was glad to get the child and ac-
cepted the signature. D. M had no more than
given his thumb-print, when he asked the Father
if he did not have some lumber for him to make
a door for his hogan. (The Father had just fin-
198 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ished building the church, and had some hnnber
left.)
If, when we go out after signatures we meet a
family that is prejudiced against us, it is often
interesting and amusing to notice their dodging.
Not often will they say right out that they want
their child on the other side, but will give all
kinds of evading answers.
It is not principle that decides for them, be-
cause they understand neither Catholicism nor
Protestantism. Their motives vary, but are
mostly politic. One reason why there is a marked
decrease on our side and an increase on the
side of Rome, is that Rome influences the head
men of the Navahoes, who in turn use their
authoritative powder among their subjects. Be-
cause these head men are invariably medicine-
men, they have a marked influence over the
people.
It is not a wise policy to solicit signatures for
children while out camp-preaching, because
most of the parents must almost be compelled
to send their children to school, and if the mis-
sionary keeps asking for children, he will be less
welcome at the camp. If it is during the time
that new children are expected at the school,
and especially if it is noised abroad that a cer-
tain family intends to send a child, it is allright
to ask for the signature.
While soliciting these signatures, w^e have
great opportunities to bring them the Gospel.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 199
They invariably ask what the difference is be-
tween our rehgion and that of the "long-coats,"
but instead of answering that question directly,
we give them as much Gospel as possible, telling
them that our commission is to bring the Gos-
pel and not to run down Rome. Sometimes we
cannot well get out of telling them something
about the difference, and then we touch upon
the radical points. They do not understand
enough about either Church to appreciate this
explanation.
Sam lives about fifteen miles away from here,
on a mountain which is difficult to climb with a
car. Sam met me one day and asked if I would
not come to his camp. His wife had an ulcera-
tion of the breast; had been down for some
time; could not nurse the baby; often fainted,
etc. He realized she should have hospital treat-
ment (Sam is an ex-pupil of the Government
school), and wanted me to help him persuade
his wife to go to Rehoboth.
So George and I started out, praying that the
way might be opened for some effective work.
It surely was a task to get there. Because of un-
usual drought, they had moved to a place where
otherwise nobody ever lived, and where I'm
sure never a car had been before. Had I
known what we would encounter, I would not
have ventured into the pinons, but once in there
we had to proceed. The water in our Ford boiled
200 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
so much that it burned the radiator hose, and we
consequently had a difficult time getting back
home.
We found the camp and Mrs. Sam. She was
emaciated, and it was easily to be seen that she
had suffered a great deal, and was still in pain.
Two ulcers had broken and the wounds had not
been taken care of, so you can imagine the filth
and stench. Another ulcer was forming, causing
a great deal of pain. It seemed to me this one
was in the right condition to be lanced, but that
was beyond my skill and daring. The woman's
temperature and pulse was running very high.
Fever, pain, and loss of sleep were draining her
system.
She was anxious to have me do something for
her, and watched every move I made, expecting
me to give her medicine. But she would not
hear of going to the Hospital. All kinds of ex-
cuses she had to offer, none of which were very
weighty. She had been in the Hospital before,
knew she would be well taken care of, even
realized that if she did not go she would have
to suffer a great deal more, but positively re-
fused to go.
Although her husband made a few feeble ef-
forts toward getting her consent, he did not seem
half as anxious as when he spoke to me the day
before. And he spoke differently to me
than he did to his wife. She could not under-
stand what he said to me, and he supposed 1
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 201
could not follow him when he spoke Navaho. I
did, however, understand some, and interro-
gated my interpreter afterwards. Then I learned
that the case was thus.
Sam is a very immoral man, and his wife
knows it, and he knows that she knows it. She
dared not leave the camp, knowing what it
would lead her husband to, and she shielded
him before me, in not giving the reason why she
would not let me take her away. He wanted
her to go for more than one reason, but he did
not dare to say too much for fear she would be-
gin to unburden her mind to me.
The issue of this affair was that the woman
remained at home and suffered much more than
she would have had she gone to the Hospital.
What little medicine I left could do her very
little, if any, good. We offered them the Balm
of Gilead, and pointed out to them the Great
Physician, Who can cleanse even "moral lepers."
One of the school girls had been very sick.
While convalescing I obtained permission to
take her home for a brief visit. Her parents
were very glad to see her so well again, wdiich
they had hardly dared to hope some weeks
previous.
While the girl was visiting her mother and
sisters in the hogan, George and I had a very in-
teresting talk with the father. Although he does
not understand much of the christian religion.
202 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
he knows it must be good, because one of his
sons, who is off at school and is a christian, is
one of his best boys. If rehgion can produce
such fruits, it must be a power for good. I
greatly rejoiced hearing this testimony, the
more so, because that son is one of our Tohatchi
converts, a young man who really promises well.
If all our converts would be "unto God a sweet
savour of Christ," what an untold influence for
good they would exert.
After we explained the law of God to this
father, as a rule for our lives, he did not wonder
about the earnest endeavor of his son to live ac-
cording to that law, although he did not see why
eternal life could not be obtained thru good
works, such as living according to this law.
While reconnoitering about the camp, I dis-
covered a miniature brush shelter. Suspecting
that this was the abode of the old grandmother
whom I knew to be living in the camp and had
not seen with the family, I walked toward it.
There she sat, very old, feeble, blind, almost
nude, with finger- and toe-nails about one-half
inch long, a tangled mass of grey hair about her
head, a most forlorn and pitiable sight. A rope
was tied to one of the twigs of the shelter, which
she would take hold of when she wished to walk
a bit.
I have often seen similar scenes, but cannot
get accustomed to them. After I had stood there
a while, looking at the old lady and thinking of
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 203
my grandmother, whom I adored, I spoke to her
as best I could. Although I called her my grand-
mother and she called me her grandson, we did
not understand each other as well as grand-
mothers and grand-children usually do; but she
made me understand that she was hungry, that
her children neglected her, giving her barely
enough food to keep alive, and giving her no
clothes at all. She asked me for food, but I had
none with me.
This was no exception to the rule. As long
as the grandparents are sturdy and able to man-
age, they rule over all the children and grand-
children, and sometimes with an iron hand.
They are the heads of the camp. But when they
become feeble, they are usually neglected, as
was this old lady I mentioned. Even the chil-
dren seem to feel no concern for them, because
my protegee, although not a professing chris-
tion girl, but one who has some education, and
has had several years of religious instruction,
did not go to see her grandmother. It is doubt-
ful whether the old lady ever knew that her
granddaughter had been home.
David, when persecuted by a rebellious son in
his old age, prayed for divine assistance (Psalm
71: 9), but these people have not learned to do
that. They know of no- God of love and mercy.
They are just waiting for death to take them
to they know not where. They are in the
dark.
204 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
When one makes calls he may expect to be
called upon in return. We also experience that
here. For every imaginable and sometimes un-
imaginable reason the Indians call upon us. Of-
ten we cannot do more than give them some ad-
vice in the matter, and even that is sometimes
very hard. But it helps win friendship and con-
fidence, and puts us in contact with the people.
We mostly have an opportunity to present them
with a bit of Gospel.
On the Tohatchi mission premises we have,
besides the church-building and our home, a
small house known as the "kin." It has two
rooms : one which I use for my study, reception
room for Indians, etc., etc. The other one is
called the Camp-house. It has in it a stove, table,,
chairs and two sewing-machines for Navaho
women to sew on. Those that know how to sew
help themselves, others are taught by Mrs.
Bouma.
That same room is used for Indians to lodge
in. Sometimes two or more families happen
to come at the same time, and then floor space
is at a premium.
One Tuesday evening, when we came from the
church, where we had been instructing the
school children, a family was waiting alongside
the Camp-house, anxious to get in. Hurriedly I
started a fire for them and tried to make them
comfortable, as it was cold, and they had a child
wrapped up in a blanket. We supposed it was a
206 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
sleeping infant, and paid no more attention to it.
Three of the school boys went with me into
my room, desiring to talk. After a while I asked
one of them to step into the other room to sec if
the fire was allright, because very few of the
camp Indians can keep a fire goijig in a stove,
especially with coal. After a few minutes the
boy came back, asking if I had any medicine for
burns. The child in the other room had burnt
itself. I took the people some medicine (of
which I keep a goodly supply on hand), think-
ing I could do something to relieve, when to
my horror I found a six-year-old girl very badly
burned, unconscious, and with the death pallor
on her face. Upon inquiry we found that they
had come more than twenty miles from the
north of us and had stopped at the school to see
the doctor. He had done for the child what he
could, but saw there was absolutely no hope for
recovery. Because it was cold and stormy the
parents sought shelter, and knowing about us
and having heard of our Camp-house, they
came to us.
I called in my interpreter, hardly knowing
what to do. I could see that there was nothing
I could do for the child, but was afraid she
might die, and I did not like to have her die in
that room. That would henceforth bar the
room for the Indians, as they dare not enter a
room where some one has died. Not wanting to
frighten the parents more than necessary by ask-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 207
ing them to come into our house, and trying to
help them all we could, I decided that George
should lie down in my study, so that they could
call him as soon as they thought they needed
assistance. George was then to call me, so we
could help and, if possible, carry the child out
before it expired.
About midnight George called me, but the
child had already died. She had vomited and
died before the parents realized it. The par-
ents, of course, felt the loss of the child very
much I the fact that my Camp-house was
now a c in di hi gan (demon's house). But
knowing that even this event came not by
chance, but by the wise Providence of God, I was
soon consoled.
The parents said it was customary to bathe
their dead, and would hke a vessel with some
water. I got them a pail with water, and in the
meantime they asked George where they could
spend the rest of the night, because they would
not dare to stay where they were. He said they
could come to his house, so they started to carry
their belongings over there. Because they did
this before the child was bathed, it set me to
thinking, and I asked if they did that purposely.
Yes, I was told, if once the child is bathed they
will not dare to use what was present, nor enter
the room again. Then I asked if bathing the
corpse in that room would pollute the room
more than only dying in it. They said it would.
208 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
SO I forbade the bathing there, and suggested we
go to the barn. This was readily accepted. Be-
fore we left the room, the father took a string
of beads from his neck, washed them and put
them on the child.
In the barn the father loosened the child's hair
and combed it was a bunch of dry prairie grass.
Then her clothes were removed, and while
George poured the water on the body the father
washed it. He then asked us to dress it, for he
would rather not touch the corpse again. They
then walked to George's house, never to see the
child any more, and probably never to come to
our Mission House again. At any rate, not
to enter the "kin." Oh, the darkness of
heathendom !
Great is the privilege but also heavy the re-
sponsibility to the bearer of light into this dark-
ness, the Messenger of Good Tidings to those in
deepest sorrow and trouble ! How little we can
truly realize the awful misery of heathendom in
its idolatry and superstition unless we come into
personal contact with it and see it from day to
day! Being in the midst of it, we understand
better than ever before Paul's request, expressed
in the words, "Brethren, pray for us !"
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 209
X.
MEDICAL MISSIONS
\ TO ONE at all acquainted with the conditions
■'• ^ that prevail in the non-christian world,
among those without the knowledge of the only
true and living God, whether they live within
the boundaries of our own beloved United States
or on some foreign shore, will for one moment
doubt the great need of Medical Missions. Only
they, who read very superficially, will fail to
realize that this is not a self-imposed task,
but a distinct command of the Lord, as
well as one of the credentials of the christian
religion, which is a religion of mercy, and its
messengers are sent forth on errands of healing
and help to all the man as well as to all men.
The one supreme purpose of Missions, however,
whether evangelistic, educational, industrial or
medical, is to present Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, the Saviour of the world, by preaching His
Gospel, by teaching the truth, by promoting thru
every worthy and effective means the welfare of
this present life, and by ministering in mercy
healing to the sick and indigent. The medical
missionary must therefore also be first a mis-
sionary and then a doctor, and to the degree that
this is verified, will the cause of Medical Missions
come to its own in the mind and heart of the
210 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Church at home and on the field. It may not
stand first, but it does stand second, to the work
of evangelization. Medical service is and must
always continue to be a preparer of the way for
the message of salvation. And every student of
the history of Missions knows that more than
any other department of service Medical Mis-
sions has been instrumental in disarming fanat-
icism with its consequent prejudice and super-
stition. Many a heart touched by this service of
love and mercy has been opened for the glad
tidings of Him Who loved us and gave Himself
for us and sent His servants to minister unto us.
Conscious of the command, and realizing the
great need, and convinced of the help it would
afford in bringing the Gospel to the Navahoes,
our Church in the year 1910 established a Hos-
pital, for medical service to the Indians, at Re-
hoboth, the most centrally located of our mis-
sion posts. It was a matter of gratitude and sat-
isfaction to all concerned when the Board an-
nounced the acceptance of its appointment by
Dr. Wilbur P. Sipe, as our first medical mis-
sionary to the Navahoes. This brother entered
upon the service full of love and enthusiasm, be-
ing, w^ell acquainted with the needs of those
whom he was called to serve. But what a hard
and sad blow it was to all those who had the
Mission and also his work upon their hearts,
when in the following j^ear the Lord called him
home and to higher service. Our loss was his
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 211
gain, and in humble christian submission we
bowed as a Church to His will, Whose work it
was and Who always knows what is best and
docs what is to the highest interests of His cause.
The first trained nurse, sent to assist the doc-
tor in the Hospital work, was Mrs. R. Van der
Veen Heusinkveld. Expecting to work under
the supers'ision of the doctor, she found herself,
when arriving on the field, face to face with the
task of "carrying on" alone. The Indians, not
as yet accustomed to come to the Hospital, she
was compelled to carry the service to them
in their hogans. Not in the least daunted by the
unexpected change of plans, she began to train
one of the Indian girls as an assistant, and to-
gether they went up and down the Navaho coun-
try bringing aid and relief where it was re-
quired, and soon they were able to persuade a
few that could not be cared for in their homes to
come to the Hospital for treatment. Before
leaving the field and her work, Mrs. Heusink-
veld had the signal pleasure of seeing her faith-
ful assistant graduate as the first Navaho trained
nurse and take up field work among her own
people. This was Mrs. Christine Hood Whipple,
and a year later Mrs. Fannie Becenti Denitdele
passed the required examination and graduated
as an accomplished nurse, highly respected by
both the Indian and white patients.
The second physician to be in charge of the
Rehoboth Hospital and its field work was
212 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Dr. C. J. K. Moore. A man especially well-
equipped for this service and one who, under-
standing the peculiar needs of the Navahoes,
sought in every way to help them. During his
stay the Hospital constantly gained in reputa-
tion among the Indians and whites. After the
departure of our first trained nurse, who for a
short time had been assisted by Mrs. B. Simme-
link van Pernis, Mrs. Sena Voss Hoogezand, a
graduate of the well and everywhere favorably
known Hackley Hospital of Muskegon, Mich.,
took charge of the Hospital service, and for some
time after Dr. Moore resigned, she, with the In-
dian help and frequent visits by Dr. L. S. Hui-
zenga from Tohatchi, kept the ever-increasing
work going. Our third medical missionary was
the present one in charge. Dr. J. D. Mulder, and
he was first assisted by Miss Maude Koster, R. N.,
who, to the great regret of all, was compelled to
resign because of ill-health, and her consecrated
services will never be forgotten; at present the
doctor's assistants are the Misses Jeanette Lam,
R. N., and Fanny M. Van der Wal. What the
status of the service is at the present time can be
gleaned from the presentation of the work
by the doctor. If the churches understood the
extreme need for increased hospital facilities,
then surely all those which have not yet made a
special contribution for this department would
do so immediately. One day's visit at the Mis-
sion would convince the most prejudiced and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 213
convert him from a cold critic into a most en-
thusiastic supporter of Medical Missions.
To meet Dr. Mulder, our one medical mis-
sionary to the Indians, is to meet a man who
loves his work and is constantly on the lookout
for ways and means by which the Hospital and
field service can be improved. He is highly re-
spected by his fellow-physicians of Gallup and
those of the neighboring Government schools.
He is continually called by them for consulta-
tion in difficult cases, and is often asked to assist
in operations. The Government has also rec-
ognized the value of his services when it re-
quested him to take charge of the medical work
at the Tohatchi Government Boarding School in
the absence of a regular physician at that place.
It behooves us as a Church to appreciate the
services of this consecrated worker, and remem-
ber him, with his assistants and their labors, in
our prayers.
214 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
MEDICAL WORK AMONG THE NAVAHOES
J. D. MULDER, M. D., Rehoboth, N. M.
THE SICK among the Navahoes are still to a
very great extent taken care of by their own
medicine men. Very few patients come to me
that have not first been under their care. The
method of these priest-doctors is the same to-
day as for ages past. Disease is attributed to
evil influence. The diagnosis of a case consists
in finding the reason why harm has come to an
individual. The medicine man therefore cares
little about the history of the patient's trouble
nor does he examine him; he depends on divi-
nation. Some consult the stars, others say they
are inspired by wind and breeze or while shak-
ing the hands over the sick. As to the cause of
the trouble, it may be that the patient has some
years ago harmed a sacred animal, as a coyote,
bear or rattlesnake; if threatened with blindness
he has probably looked upon his mother-in-law,
granted he has one. As to the treatment, this
consists in ceremonies carried out in the mi-
nutest detail, consisting of chants, sand-paint-
ings, dances, sacrifices, etc., together with the
administrations of herbs, the latter only to such
an extent and of such a nature as the special
chant demands.
That such a theory of disease is harmful to
both individual and tribe need scarcely be men-
tioned. There is no contagion ! Think of a
216 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
room ten to fifteen feet in diameter crowded
witli people, no ventilation, except a hole in the
roof for the escape of smoke. At the farther end
of this room sits a patient suffering from small-
pox. The priest-doctor has painted his naked
body black, one white pustule after the other
crowds its way to the surface, however, making
him a strange spectre. They are holding a
seven-day chant over this man. Relatives and
friends come from far and near, to be present or
to partake of the ceremony. Before two weeks
have passed the disease has spread in all
directions.
What about injuries? Last fall a Navaho boy,
living near the Black Mountains, some eighty
miles from Rehoboth, met with an accident. A
broken bone protruded thru torn muscles.
Medicine men were engaged to heal this wound.
One after the other, however, finished his
prayers, sand-paintings and administration of
medicine without avail. Days and months the
child lay and suffered. In March, after long
consultation, the child was finally taken to a
hospital some forty-five miles distant. Here I
was called to amputate the leg, the bone of
which was destroyed for over six inches. Thru
God's Providence his life was spared, and in a
short time, although maimed, he was relieved
and happy to return home.
There is a variety of human ills which above
all others demands our attention. A short time
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 217
ago an old trader told nie, he at that moment
could tell me of ten confinement cases in his
vicinity that had died without aid or where un-
trained hands mutilated the patient to such an
extent that death resulted. "In sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children" is also the rule
among the Indian. The squaw, accustomed to
hardships, may stoically show no sign of pain,
she suffers; and is subject to as many abnormal-
ities as her white sister. One night I was called
to visit an Indian camp some thirty-five miles
from here. A woman had been in labor for
days. Four medicine men were sending up their
prayers, but in vain. Not many more hours and
she would have been taken from her home to
some desolate spot to die. After a counsel last-
ing almost for hours, I was finally permitted to
afford relief.
It is scarcely necessary to speak of the terrible
eye disease Trachoma, which causes untold suf-
fering and much blindness, nor of the white
plague. Tuberculosis, which demands many
lives, to show the need of medical work among
the Navahoes.
What is done to help the Navaho medically?
The work of Government and Church combined,
does not nearly suffice, to care for the sick of
some thirty thousand Navahoes wandering over
large areas. Our Church maintains a Hospital
of sixteen beds, which, God willing, will soon be
enlarged. Navahoes are here cared for free of
218 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
charge; medicine is given or they are entered as
patients. The Hospital force consists of doctor,
nurse, assistant nurse and Navaho girls who are
taught to be of service among their people. The
capacity of this Hospital often exceeds the num-
ber of beds. Our maxim is, "As long as there is
floor space we have room." Last spring it hap-
pened several times that we had more patients
on the floor than in bed. In a city hospital it is
easy to refuse admittance; here it is often prac-
tically impossible. Too sick to return, we must
admit, no matter if our beds are taken or the
disease is contagious. They come with all the
ills human being are subject to, from imaginary
to real. They come requesting us to remove
from their body some imaginary monster, they
come to get relief for toothache, no longer fancy-
ing the Navaho way of having the tooth knocked
out with hammer and peg. I also travel by car
and horse as much as time permits, to care for
sick in their hogans. It is, however, impossible
to follow up these cases, as they are spread over
such large areas.
Their willingness to be aided is, thru God's
grace, increasing. Some five years ago it was
difTicult to persuade them to come to the Hos-
pital. People had died there, and a house in
which people died is supposed to be inhabited
by evil spirits. Patients had gone home, telling
the wierdest tales of sounds heard and spirits
seen. Add to this the hatred of the medicine
IN HOGAN AND PUE-BLO 219
men whose religion and income are at stake,
and it is no wonder that a strange doctor did
not readily gain their confidence and a tabooed
Hospital did not attract them. But superstition
is on the wane. The power of the priest-doctor
is questioned. Patients healed from various ail-
ments go as far as seventy miles in all directions,
and although the medicine men invariably as-
cribe their recovery to some chant held in the
past, they are losing ground. The Navaho also
becomes more daring to face the medicine man.
Not long ago I was asked by a young, unedu-
cated Navaho to follow him into his hogan and
examine his two sick children, while a chant
was in progress. A deed usually considered a
sacrilege. To show how anxious they are at
times to secure our services is well illustrated by
a family who three times sent a messenger sev-
enty miles, requesting me to come and give aid
to an injured shepherd girl. Conditions in the
Hospital forced me to postpone the trip for
several days.
The fact, however, that we are gaining ground
may not put us off our guard. Superstition still
hangs as a shroud over these people. And no
sooner are the bonds loosened, but Satan stands
ready to cast the heathen, awakening from sup-
erstition, into agnosticism and doubt. The Nav-
aho needs above all the knowledge of the true
God, and medical work, no matter how greatly
needed, can only be of real and lasting value if
it aids in spreading the Gospel.
220 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
XI.
EDUCATIONAL MISSIONS
AS WE USE the terms and speak of "Medi-
cal Missions," and "Evangelistic Missions,"
so also of "Educational Missions," remembering,
however, that each constitutes a part of the one
great enterprise, in which Divine and human
forces co-operate for the evangelization and
christianization of the world. Educational Mis-
sions is in truth a misnomer the moment we
mean by the term the establishment and propa-
gation of educational work and educational in-
stitutions separate and apart from the other de-
partments of missionary activity. Only when
the vital, inseparable relations of all the parts
to the whole are recognized, can we estimate the
character and value of each part. The one great
purpose is and always must remain the bring-
ing of the Gospel of light and life to those grop-
ing in darkness and lost in the realm of death.
Consequently the schools established among the
heathen, whether they be grammar schools or
are institutions of higher learning, must be
per se schools of Christian instruction. Not only
must the atmosphere of the school-room and on
the campus be christian, but all the branches of
education must be taught in the light of that
Word, which is presented as the one and only
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 221
infallible rule and measure of faith and life, "a
lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path."
It can hardly be true that the Church has ful-
filled its mission to the world lying in darkness
when it has witnessed once or twice of the love
of God manifested in the gift of His Son, Who
came not to condemn but to save that world.
The mind of the heathen child born in the dark-
ness of ignorance, sorrow, and sin, is in no w'ay
able to grasp the blessed truths of the Gospel,
even if it be able to understand the language
in which these truths are presented. As a nec-
essary preparation for the presentation of the
christian truths, therefore, the mind must first
be developed and the child taught to think in
terms of the christian faith. We do thus for our
own children, born under the light of the Gos-
pel, much more should we do it for the children
born in heathen darkness, although it may prove
to be a costly and tedious work.
Such an educational institution for Christian
instruction was established and opened for the
children of the Navahoes at Rehoboth, N. M., by
the Christian Reformed Church, in 1903. After
different ones, in conjunction with other work,
had taught the children as best they could, the
first regular teacher was Miss Cocia Hartog
(Wezeman), of Chicago, 111. She came in 1906
and entered upon the work wdth the enthusiasm
of faith and consecration. During the five years
she taught at this school the children certainly
222 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
made remarkable progress, and it was with keen
regret that her resignation, because of ill-health,
was accepted. Her successor was Mr, (now Dr.)
G. Heusinkveld, of Alamosa, Colo. He came in
1911 and he left in 1914 for the purpose of pur-
suing a medical course. Although his stay was
comparatively short, nevertheless he left his im-
press upon the institution. In the meantime the
number of scholars increased to such an extent
that a second or additional teacher was required
for the beginners and primary grades. Miss
Carrie Ten Houten, of Holland, Mich., served in
this capacity for several years, being in turn suc-
ceeded by Miss C. Van Koevering. The third
Principal was Miss Kathryn Venema (Sikkcma),
of Lucas, Mich., who, to the regret of the Board,
only remained two years, during which time she
gave evident proof of her ability to understand
the Indian to apply the required means for his
mental and intellectual development. The next
one to take up the work was Miss Nellie De Jong,
of whom it must be said that she was especially
qualified for the teaching of Indian children,
having had a few years of actual experience at
Zuni, N. M., and then a special course at the Nor-
mal School at Flagstaff, Arizona, with this pur-
pose in view. Ill-health was once more the rea-
son to cause this worker to lay down a work
dear to her hear.t The number of scholars had
now been increased to a hundred, and it was
felt that because of the peculiar needs of Indian
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 223
children, it was not possible for two teachers to
do justice to the work, consequently it was de-
cided to add a third teacher. At present, there-
fore, the teaching-statf at this Mission Boarding
School consists of the Misses Renzina Stob, Prin-
cipal and teacher of the higher grades, Nellie
Lam, for the intermediates, and Jeanette Van
der Wei^p for the beginners and primary grades.
To these three consecrated workers the hundred
children of this Boarding School are entrusted
for their education and training, and we are as-
sured that it would be a diificult matter to find a
trio of more consecrated workers at any Mission.
In 1908 another educational institution was
established, namely, the Mission Day School at
Zuni, N. M., for the children of the Zuni Indians.
Miss Nellie De Jong, afterwards Principal at
Rehoboth, as stated above, was the first teacher
at this place. The facilities were very poor and
inadequate, and since the children lodged at
their own homes, it was assuredly no sinecure to
be crowded with these children for a whole day
in a little, poorly-ventilated school-room. The
progress made, however, was beyond expecta-
tion and the work of the teacher was highly ap-
preciated. Different circumstances made a
change of teachers necessary also at this place
from time to time, so that we count amongst
those who during the past decade taught in this
Mission Day School at Zuni the following daugh-
ters of our Church: the Misses Alice Aardsma
224
BRINGING THE GOSPEL
(Hoekstra), Anna Van der Riet, Dcna Brink
(Van der Wagen) and Sophia Fryling. These
five teachers of Zuni have done a noble work,
and they can feel assured that as it was done in
the Lord, according to His Word it shall not be
in vain.
A third institution for educational work, but
of a higher order, was established at Tohatchi,
N. M., when the Rev. L. P. Brink was missionary
at that place (see the Chapter on "The Pioneer
Missionary). The purpose of this school for
higher education and training was to prepare
for Gospel work among the Navahoes by the
Navaho. "Every race in the end must be ele-
vated by its own educated leadership," said a
wise leader of his people. The discovery, train-
ing and using of a native christian leadership is
therefore a worthy goal of missionary endeavor
in any field. It is perhaps true that we have
been more remiss in not urging this in season
and out of season, in our Indian, work than we
should have been. That the Indian is also cap-
able of leadership no one really acquainted with
him will question or deny, but most emphat-
ically it must be said, if he is going to succeed
then he must assuredly have the right kind of
training. Much thought has been given to this
matter not only by the men on the field, but also
by the members of the Board at home. A Union
Training School for the whole of the Navaho
tribe and country was proposed, and accepted
i
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 225
by our Church , but evidently rejected by the
other Churches laboring among the Navahoes,
for it has not been realized. The latest decision
in the matter is, the establishment of a Training
School at Rehoboth, or rather, the gradual de-
velopment of a Training School out of the pres-
ent Boarding School. Personally we question
the wisdom of this latest decision. This school
for the training of young men for Gospel work
among their own people should be, in our esti-
mation, located at such a place where it would
be possible for the students to raise the greater
part of the necessary provisions for the table,
and thru employment, during a part of their
time, provide for their clothes and tuition. This
School should be a self-sustaining institution, if
at all possible, and we believe that if it is cor-
rectly located, it can be that to a great extent at
least. But then it must by no means be located
at Rehoboth, even with all the advantages which
this place otherwise, and very naturally, offers.
The following sketch, written by our Reho-
both Principal, is one of great interest. It takes
and places us, as it were, in the very atmosphere
of this Mission School on the opening day of a
new year. It makes our hearts go out in real
sympathy to those little ones who are there for
the first time, being real shy, they are frightened
by all they see, and at night, when no one sees
them, they sob themselves to sleep because they
feel so lonesome and forlorn without the others
226 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
who arc always with them in the hogan. It gives
us a httle ghmpse, a peep, as it were, into the
very mind, heart, and soul of the Indian child.
Read it carefully, and then remember the
School, with its teachers and scholars, in your
prayers and with your gifts.
EDUCATIONAL WORK AMONG THE
NAVAHOES
MISS RENZINA STOB, Principal-Teacher at
Rehoboth, N. M.
A NEW school year has begun. Everywhere
•**■ are signs of life and activity. Groups of
children stand about rehearsing the events of
the happy vacation, now past. Here and there
are little new-comers. How strange the new
world at school is to them! Everything is
strange, new faces, large buildings, the first bath,
the complete set of "white people's clothes," the
heretofore unheard- of duties, such as making
beds, setting tables, etc., and going to a room
with many other children who sit perfectly still
and do just as one, called the "School-lady" bids.
Reing confronted by a new class of little be-
ginners fresh from heathendom, one wonders
what the development of the raw material in
hand will bring forth.
They look about in bewilderment. Many are
mere babes. Their parents have brought them
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 227
to receive an education. Very early do they ex-
perience the pangs of leaving home and dear
ones! For often they do not see their relatives
again until the summer vacation. Many a little
one sobs itself to sleep the first week, and the
Matron, like the "Old Woman" who lived in a
shoe, must needs be a mother to all.
To teach minds unaccustomed to looking be-
yond their monotonous surroundings, to think,
to reason, to apply the knowledge gained, to en-
large the vision, to open the windows of the
soul, to instill high and pure purposes and ideals
in life, to train for useful citizenship, and fit
them for service for their people that they may
be a blessing to them temporally and spiritually,
these are some of the ideals of the educational
department. A gigantic task, indeed! A task
that well-nigh overwhelms one with a sense of
responsibility and inability. The security of
God's promise, "My grace is sufficient," is, how-
ever, a powerful stimulus to spare no eftort to
at least try to reach these ideals.
In accepting new scholars, preference is
usually given to those six or seven years of age.
They are then less shy and difiident, and will
respond more readily than those older. The
first year is spent in getting the child somewhat
acquainted with the language. To gain this end
all kinds of ingenious methods and devices are
resorted to. Objects are used whenever possible
to teach new words, and short sentences acted
228 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
out. Little Language Games are played and
simple songs and verses learned. We have a
few w^hite children of the workers attending
school, and they fairly bubble over with eager-
ness to answer Teacher's questions when their
little dusky comrades seem slow.
At our Rehoboth Mission Boarding School wc
have all grades, from one to eight inclusive. The
Government Schools usually go no higher than
the fourth or fifth grade. Then the more ad-
vanced ones are transferred to some large non-
reservation Government School, such as Sher-
man Institute in California, Phoenix, or Albu-
querque. There they complete the eighth or
tenth grade and learn a trade.
All Indian children, both of the Government
and Mission Schools attend school just half a
day, and are detailed to a particular kind of
work the other half. Thus the teachers do not
have the same classes for both sessions. The
school hours are usually from 8:30 to 11:30
a. m., and from 1 : 00 to 4: 00 p. m. Since they
go just half a day at a time, from one and a half
to two years are generally required to complete
a grade.
It takes some time to really get acquainted
with these children and gain their confidence.
Therefore, especially, is a frequent change of
teachers so detrimental to the school. So much
time is lost in trying to find out what the pupils
know, for unlike white children, they do not
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 229
like to let the teacher see how much they know;
on the contrary, one often gets the mipression
that they wish to let their teacher see how little
they know.
Their written work is often better than their
oral. One reason for this is their extreme sen-
sitiveness. They feel at a loss to know which
words to use and hesitate for fear they will be
ridiculed by the others. One of our fifth graders
in using a spelling-word, "confusion" in a sen-
tence, said, "The cooks are confusion the flour."
He had worked in the kitchen and evidently was
speaking from experience.
English, naturally, is emphasized in all the
grades, especially oral reproductions of stories,
conversation lessons, rapid drills in questions
and answers and composition work. One can-
not be too simple in talking to them. Things
which are so common to us as to need no ex-
planation whatever, are often entirely without
the pale of their comprehension.
On the whole, the Navaho children arc good
memorizers. They often memorize parts of
their lesson when they think they will be called
on to recite. Of course, it is at once detected
by the teacher as the strangest words and sen-
tences are forthcoming at times. Our little be-
ginners learned a new song one day and sang it
at a social gathering. The workers could hardly
. keep back a smile as our little sunbeams were
1 singing lustily, "Jesus wants me for a sunbean."
230 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Arithmetic is difficult for most of the children,
particiUarly tliose problems which call for deep
thinking. It is a subject, however, which they
will ap])ly themselves to more diligently than
some others, for the older ones, especially,
realize the value of it. They are intensely prac-
tical, and when they see something which thej'
think will come in handy after leaving school,
it is quickly grasped. One of our big boys re-
marked about Geography that he didn't see
much value in it. He said he guessed the train
would be glad to take him w^herever he wished
to go. Since drawing is natural to many of
them, they draw excellent maps and take great
pride in them. They have been unusually inter-
ested in China since the missionaries' visit here.
Story-telling time is always a welcome one. I
think it would be hard to find a more attentive
child anyhwere than the Navaho. A true story
is his favorite. Little lessons in History, Hy-
giene, and Current Events are given in this
form, and proves very satisfactory. We told
them one day about the air flight from London
to Australia as described in the "Geographical."
They listened breathlessly, and after supper,
when visiting the dormitory after the boys were
snugly tucked in, they asked the Matron to
please ask us to tell them the story again. Such
instruction forms a valuable part of their edu-
cation, for since their horizon is so limited, they
must be brought in touch with the activities of
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 231
the world; an interest must be created so that
there will be a desire to know more about them
and thus an incentive for reading be produced.
Rev. Brink's stereopticon talks on various coun-
tries and miscellaneous subjects of interest are
very helpful toward this end, too.
Part of the educational training is the Friday
afternoon Assembly meeting, when all the pu-
pils gather in the chapel from 3: 45 to 4: 15, and
a short program of recitations, songs, and read-
ings is rendered by the pupils in turn. This is
done to train them to speak up promptly and
loudly and prepare them to take part in
programs.
We sometimes hear the remark, "Oh, those
little Indians sit so quietly, surely a teacher does
not have to be such a good disciplinarian." They
are sadly mistaken. These children are adepts
in doing things so slyly and unsuspiciously that
it takes a very alert teacher to find who the of-
fender is. They can be very stubborn at times
and have an almost indomitable will. If, how-
ever, they know that the teacher means what he
says, and will have obedience, one's troubles are
considerably lessened.
Another strong characteristic of Indian chil-
dren is their keen observing powers. They study
one's character carefully and are quick to take
advantage of any weakness they detect.
Does the Navaho appreciate an education?
Seemingly not in many cases. Yet one often gets
232 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
an encouraging word from some older scholar
or an ex-pupil. They are slow to admit the fact
but more and more do we see that they do
realize the necessity of an education, and appre-
ciate it. The future of their race depends upon
the youth and will be what the educated ones
make it. It is as one of our seventh grade schol-
ars stated in a Composition today on "The Nav-
aho," "The future of the Navaho race depends
on the Navaho children at school."
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 233
XII.
INDUSTRIAL MISSIONS
INDUSTRIAL, trades, or vocational schools are
not new in the educational realm. In our
own United States we have some wonderful in-
stitutions of this character. Institutions which
stand as a lasting monument to the memory of
their honored founders. One that immediately
comes to our mind is Hampton Normal and
Agricultural Institute of Virginia, founded for
"the instruction of youth in the various common
school, academic, and industrial branches, the
best methods of teaching the same and the best
mode of practical industry in its application to
agriculture and the mechanical arts." The
founder and father of Hampton, an Institute for
Negroes and Indians, was General Samuel Chap-
man Armstrong, son of Richard and Clarissa
Armstrong, missionaries to Hawaii, where Sam-
uel was born in 1839. He believed that these
primitive people, Negroes and Indians, should
be taught to become self-reliant and indepen-
dent, to realize that labor is not disgraceful; and
thru hard work to keep out of mischief. This
education must be earned by the pupils as far
as possible thru their own efforts and after
graduation they must be able to support them-
selves by the work of their hands as well as by
234 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
their brains. Mental and manual training must
be combined. These were the methods he fol-
lowed and the results accomplished at Hamp-
ton have astounded all who have read the story
of General Armstrong's life, struggles, and
triumphs. Another wonderful example, to men-
tion no others, of what can be accomplished in
this line is the Tukegee Normal and Industrial
Institute of Tuskegee, Alabama, of which Booker
T. Washington, a graduate of Hampton, was the
founder. Every one interested in this matter
should not neglect to read that intensely inter-
esting autobiography of Washington, Up from
Slavery.
Naturally, since Missions bring men and
women into contact with primitive peoples, the
question of industrial improvements also comes
to the front. Especially in our present day much
is being said and written on this subject, for it is
true in many respects, today is a day of social
and industrial problems at home and abroad.
Yerily, we need to be exceedingly careful with re-
spect to the extreme emphasis that is placed
upon these matters, so that there seems to be but
a seeking of social and industrial regeneration
rather than a spiritual one, nevertheless we may
not ignore this department of missionary activity
altogether. The Christian Reformed Church
also came to realize this very soon after it be-
gan its work among the Navahoes, who indeed
are known for their persistent primitiveness.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 235
The Missionary Rev. John Butler, of Tuba,
Arizona, a few years ago described this primi-
tiveness of the Navahoes as follows : "If we look
at the Navaho in the care of his flocks or in his
farming operations, the most crude and primi-
tive methods are used generally from start to
finish. Many instances among the people of this
tribe are in evidence where the Indian has had
considerable training in the use of modern im-
plements for soil culture and general farm v. ork,
and which he could obtain did he wish them, but
his appreciation of their value to him still lies
unawakened, and he continues on in the old way
of preparing the soil. In a leisurely way he sits
down every seven to ten feet in his field and,
with a stick sharpened at one end, prepares a
hole deep enough to reach well down into the
moist dirt, where he deposits twenty to forty
grains of corn to a hill. No less primitive is his
method of irrigating his field. He checkers it
with very irregular high borders, disregarding
the contour and undulations of the land to a
great extent. This often necessitates the flood-
ing of these enclosures with such a depth of wa-
ter at some points in order that the high places
may be covered, that it takes not infrequently
thirty days or even more for the water to en-
tirely disappear by evaporation and absorption
by the soil. Here he certainly has primitive
methods that need the intervention of kind but
strong hands to demonstrate to him to econom-
236 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ically distribute his water supply over a much
greater acreage and reclaim to him a far larger
tillage than he now enjoys.
"True, his country is lacking in some resources
which are important factors in the initial step
toward a better environment for him in material
things. But the Xavaho has enough left, if the
latent energies, easily discernible in his makeup,
are once thoroughly awakened and set in mo-
tion, to draw him out of his primitive environ-
ment, arrest his nomadic life, locate him in a
more permanent home, and preserve and give
latitude to properly exploit the better ideals
brought back by the returned student, from the
non-reservation school to the interest of the
tribe. As it is now, on his return, the student's
conformity to the white man's way and his little
growth in new and better ideals, are immediately
subjected to a continuous withering 'east wind'
of tribal prejudices and time-honored customs.
These are intolerant of progress, and the student
is soon floundering in such uncertainty and dis-
tress, that in many cases, he dons the tribal
dress, wraps himself in his blanket, and fully
identifies himself again with Navaho customs
and ideals."
When the Rehoboth Boarding School was iirst
planned and proposed to the churches, it was
understood that it was also to be an Industrial
Institute, self-supporting to a great extent. It is
now almost two decades since it was established^
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 237
and it must be admitted that in the way of in-
(iustrial training it has not accompHshed niiuh
nor has it answered in the way of self-support
to any appreciable extent to the fond hopes and
expectations of the founders and supporters.
This is in no way meant as a criticism of the
work that has been done at this institution or of
the things accomplished in other lines, but it
simply is a statement of the facts concerning in-
dustrial missions. The trouble lies, first of all, it
seems to us, in the selection of scholars for this
school. If, instead of enrolling the scholars at
five and six years of age, older ones were se-
lected, able to do something toward the obtain-
ing of their education, more might have been
accomplished in this line. For instance, we are
thinking of the possibility of enrolling gradu-
ates of the Government schools, desiring a higher
and better training than already received, but
not willing to be sent to a non-reservation school.
A second handicap to the accomplishment of
self-support and industrial training \\c find in
the selection of the location. To be sure, tlie
present location has its advantages, great advan-
tages indeed, for the work that the school is now
doing, but if it had been located where it would
be possible to raise most of the i)roduce that
must now all be bought at high prices, what ;•
tremendous difference that would make. All
efforts put forth in the way of farming at the
present location have been practically failures,
238 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
and still every one must realize that a school
farm would be a great asset to the institution.
In truth it means so much that we would heartily
favor the purchasing of a school farm, even if it
must be several miles distant from the school.
It seems to us that the educational program
might be so arranged that for agricultural and
dairy purposes and training, the older boys and
girls could for certain periods be transferred to
the farm. Industries also, have not been success-
ful thus far. At St. Michaels, Arizona, a Catholic
school, the girls are taught to weave those beau-
tiful Navaho blankets that are in such great de-
mand everywhere. Surely, this could also be done
at Rehoboth. There are still other things that we
might mention, but we only want to reiterate
two things that lie at the foundation of the tre-
mendous success of Hampton and Tuskegee :
(1) Every scholar or student must, as far as pos-
sible, thru his own efforts, cover the expense of
his education and training; (2) The buildings
needed must be, as much as possible, built by
student labor. Of the hundreds of buildings
found at these Institutes, the greater part have
been entirely erected by the student-body. These
two things, it seems to us, have been too often
forgotten regarding Rehoboth School as an
Industrial Institute,
Undoubtedly, the several Managers have had
too much to do and to look after in the way of
routine details, than that they could give much
a
•>
(d
4)
240 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
attention to these all-important things. Man-
agers at Rehoboth have also changed now and
then. Student L. S. Huizenga and Mr. Mark
Bounia were the first to fill this position; after
them we have had especially Messrs. John Spj'-
ker and Jacob H. Bosscher with their assistants.
During the days of Brother Spyker the majority
of the present buildings were erected, such as the
Parsonage, Mission House, Doctor's home, School
and Chapel, and the Boys' and Girls' Dormi-
tories, the latter two while Mr. Bosscher was
Manager and Mr. Spyker, builder. During these
building operations Brother Spyker had the op-
portunity and it was grasped, to give the older
boys some practical training in plastering, ce-
ment brick-making, painting, carpentry, etc. In
a little machine shop, door and window frames,
as also tables and stools for the dining-room
were inanufactured, and at one time some of
these things were placed on exhibition in Gallup
to show what the Rehoboth boys could do in this
line. Now we have always believed that if an
industrial trainer of that calibre could be per-
manently employed, much in the way of Indus-
trial Missions might be accomplished.
The present Manager, Brother J. H. Bosscher,
has many years of experience in the manage-
ment and supervision of the various departments
of work at Rehoboth. Much has been done by
him in the way of repairs, and the installing of
heating and lighting plants, as well as caring for
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 241
the indispensible water supply for the Mission.
His work is highly appreciated, and he and his
assistants are constantly on the lookout for the
improvement of the Mission. The following,
kindly, written by him at our request, re-
veals his heart}^ interest in the work and cause
entrusted to his care. We should not fail to
mention, in conclusion, lest any one perchance
might misunderstand the foregoing impressions,
that the industrial problems of the Navahoes
create the most difficult matters to be solved, and
that it is the least developed of the four depart-
ments of missionary activity, and consequently
also the hardest to present.
INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS AMONG THE
NAVAHOES
MANAGER J. H. BOSSCHER, Rehoboth, N. M.
I7R0M PERSONAL OBSERVATION, we be-
-'■ lieve that as a whole the Navahoes are in-
dustrious after their fashion. It is true, several
of them like to hunt, and some of them are very
lazy, but when the Government or construction
companies call for men in this part of the coun-
try, you will find Navaho workmen filling nine-
tenths of the bill. They work very well under
supervision, and are good with a shovel and pick,
taking as their reward the highest pay of un-
skilled labor.
242 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
But why, then, is it necessary to have Indus-
trial Missions among them? Did you stop to
think, dear reader, that we are deaUng with a
heathen people, uneducated, a people of un-
skilled labor, with a few exceptions, and those
exceptions are due to Industrial Missions among
them? I said that these men work well under
supervision, but they lack the judgment neces-
sary to take up the responsibility of the work.
They cannot work systematically on their own
accord, getting out the most work in the least
time. At home they work in their own fashion,
building the hogan, hauling wood, rounding up
the cattle and horses, if they own any, planting
a little grain, or freighting for the Government
or a neighbor trader. Part of this work is but
of a passing nature; besides, there is not enough
to go around. Those living farther from civi-
lized life must find other means of support — a
w^ay must be found by which they eventually
can make a living independent of the white man.
They should be able to build their own home
more after the civilized pattern, improve their
stock and care for the soil. They must also learn
to repair their tools and be more economical.
At present there is comparatively very little
done for the youth of the Navaho tribe as far as
reservation schools are concerned. We know of
no reservation school where a complete course
of the various trades is taught. This includes
Government as well as Mission schools. Sher-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 243
man Institute, Haskell, the Government schools
at Albuquerque, Phoenix and Chilocco are the
only schools we know of that give a thorough
training in the various trades, such as carpentry,
harness-making, shoe repairing, painting, and
tailoring for the boys; domestic science, dress-
making, etc., for the girls. The Navahoes form
only a small percentage of attendance at these
schools, since other tribes are also present.
The course followed by the reservation schools
and one which we hope to have in better work-
ing order by next September, is outlined by the
Department of the Interior under the direction
of the Commissioner of Indian Atf airs, in a book
entitled. Tentative Course of Study for the U. S.
Indian Schools. In this Uncle Sam outlines the
primary and pre-vocational, as well as the voca-
tional course. Where this course is followed,
each employee, who has a detail of boys or girls
in his or her charge, must at the same time" in-
struct them in the work before them, as out-
lined in the above named Course of Study. This
does not mean that each one is a competent
teacher in that line, but each instructs as best
he can, so the pupil receives a general educa-
tion in the various lines of work.
Thus the reservation schools give a more gen-
eral education, and the non-reservation schools
specialize in the various trades. Several of the
pupils, when they reach the third or fourth
grades in the respective schools, are then trans-
244 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ferred to the iioii-reservation schools, where they
have the privilege of specializing in a trade.
Should you ask the writer what should be done
for our Navaho pupils, and how to do it, espe-
cially with a view towards the Rehohoth School,
as doing the most good with the least amount of
money, I suggest and am firmly convinced of the
following: That we should bend our efforts to
a more systematic general training. Why not
si)ecialize? Let Jiie explain. We have seen sev-
eral returned students from the above named
non-reservation schools, who were taught and
have mastered some particular trade, and upon
returning home made no use of it. Why? Be-
cause they found no place to use it at home, out-
side of their own family circle. For example, I
know a shoe- and harness-maker who under-
stands his trade, but makes no extensive use of
it, and I know^ of others who have learned
trades, but they make no use of them, although I
must admit that those who have been taught
carpentry seem to find more use for the same,
where they associate with some contractor and
work in a city. But why do these returned stu-
dents not use their trades to any great extent?
Because the Navaho life does not call for it.
There are at present not enough educated Nav-
ahoes who appreciate the progress of civiliza-
tion, and since the majority live in the same
way, i.e., building and living in their homes the
same way as they did forty or fifty years ago.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 245
they can get along without the white man's way.
It is true, they have their wagons to repair, etc.,
but why should they consult a blacksmith when
baling-wire can be found all over the State? This
is, to say the least, our friend's "first aid." Why
should he consult a carpenter to build him a
house with lumber, lath and plaster, when a
hogan can be built with poles cut within, in most
cases, less than one thousand feet from the pros-
pective home, and where Mother Earth, upon
A^hich his home is built, does very nicely for
plastering wdthout? The lumber must be bought
and hauled at least from a Government saw-mill,
of which there are perhaps three or foio* on the
whole reservation, or must be bought from
neighboring cities. Why, then, not live the old
way, which is better (?) Let me say, however,
for your encouragement, that when conditions
are favorable, "kins" or small houses are being
erected, evidently due to white influence, and
these homes are supplied in a crude way with
the white man's furniture. But as long as the
majority are in favor of the old way of living,
the specialist will find very little use for his
trade. Then, my friends, can you imagine a re-
turned student, who has mastered the painter's
Irade, going home to apply the brush lo the mud-
covered hogan !
More general, systematic training why ? To
gradually prepare the way for the experts. This
work is not one of a few years; it is one of a life-
246 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
time. Not of one generation, but of two or
three. First we must make them dissatisfied
with their present mode of living by teaching
and suggesting better things.
In connection with this general training, econ-
omy should have a prominent place. By a gen-
eral training we mean that every boy who leaves
this school should be able to do his own prac-
tical carpenter work and those ordinary repair
jobs which are found on any farm, or about any
home. He should be taught certain things about
the soil and to keep it up, the use of fertilizers,
legumes, crop rotation, etc., so that should he
be able to get hold of a piece of soil, that under
normal conditions receives moisture enough to
raise crops, he may be able to take care of the
same. Then, also, he should be taught that it is
cheaper to keep a good animal, be it sheep, goat,
cow or horse, than a scrub; and so we could
enumerate. The girls also must be taught good
housekeeping, cooking, sewing, nursing and
home economy.
We once more wish to emphasize economy,
because our Navaho friends do not know what it
is to be saving. They know what poverty is, for
they live from hand to mouth. There are very
few who have any money at all, and should they
be the happy possessors of some today, tomor-
row it is all gone. They have either spent it for
luxuries and what little clothing they need, or
redeemed a pawned saddle, blanket or a string
IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 247
of beads which has been in pawn long before
they knew where the money was to come from
to redeem it. They like to borrow, but to pay
back is like pulling teeth. If you wish to get rid
of a Navaho, loan him fifty cents.
Talking about owing reminds me of an inci-
dent which befell us a few years ago. We had
on the place an old wagon, known as the Chintee
(the devil's) wagon, so-called because dead
people had been carried in it. It stood around a
long while. Finally an Indian came who wanted
to buy the same. The moderate price of five
dollars was argued by the Indian, who said he
would bring two sheep for the same. Sheep at
that time were worth about $2.50 to $3.00 per
head. I told him he could pay in mutton, but if
the two would not pay for the wagon, he was to
pay the difference. If there was more I was to
pay him. When the mutton was weighed there
was $4.80 worth, so I frankly told him he owed
us the difference. Now I did not wish to get rid
of this man, but the result was that he did not
show up on the Mission grounds for three years.
Finally he came, asking to bring wood. Having
made a bargain, and upon settlement, I asked
him if he remembered the twenty cents he owed
us for the wagon. He said, "Yes," and smiled;
upon which we deducted the amount, and now
he comes whenever he has occasion to call.
How shall we carry out such a program at our
School? Let me say that we have been working
248 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
toward this for some time. The girls, especially,
have received a training on the above order.
Each girl is detailed for three months to the dif-
ferent departments, e. g., the sewing-room, dor-
mitory, kitchen, laundry, and hospital. The
smaller boys are also detailed to some of the
above places, but when they are old enough to
do the heavier work, they do not shift in detail,
since there are no various departments like for
the girls. The boys are instructed by the Man-
ager and his assistants as best they can, but at
best it is not what it should be because time is
lacking. One of these assistants does the team-
work about the place with the help of boys.
The other assistant does the general repair work
wdth a detail of boys, and they get out of it what
they pick up, but the individual instruction is
oftentimes lacking because time will not permit,
and the Manager is kept busy to keep the ball
rolling. We should have at least another man
added to our force of men, who is a carpenter
and capable of instructing therein, as well as
teaching the boys in repair work of whatever
nature.
Now, then, what shall we do in case we have a
boy who takes a special liking to a certain trade?
I would say with all my heart, "Give him a
chance." If we cannot supply the needed edu-
cation, send him to a school that can, or let him
do apprentice w^ork with a capable instructor.
When he returns as a graduate he may not be
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 249
able to do anything with his trade at home, but
if his heart is in that work, he will follow it
where he can, and should he marry an educated
girl, he can gain a livelihood for both and be an
influence for the civilizing of the Navaho tribe.
Leaving the present enrollment, one hundred,
as it is, it would not be wise for us to attempt to
specialize in the different trades, since it would
be too expensive, and, as I mentioned before, I
think for the present more good can be done by
giving a general education in vocational training.
Too expensive, because our School is limited to
the hundred mark. To enlarge means to change
the scope of the whole School. It would not be
wise to hire a blacksmith to teach a class of two.
Nor would it be wise to entail proportionately
larger expenses for a few pupils, when ten or
twelve could be instructed more economically.
May the Lord grant that the instruction given
at this School may tend for an eternal blessing
for the Navaho Tribe.
250 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
XIII.
THE NAVAHO RELIGION
A MONG ALL the different subjects, upon
^ *• which we were called to gather information
for this book, we found none quite so difTicult as
tliat of, "The Navaho Religion." The difBculty
lay not in a scarcity of material, for there are
pages and pages to be read upon this matter. But
the difficulty, for one not able to obtain first-
Iiand information thru personal observation and
conversation, lay in the sifting of the material
and the selecting of that which would not only
prove suitable for our purpose, but also convey
the truth and give some kind of an adequate con-
ception of the subject. We met with contradic-
tions between authors who we presumed wrote
with authority, how were we to know which was
right? Indeed, we were in a quandary to know
just what to do about this, when our Missionary,
the Rev. L. P. Brink, offered to write on this
subject for us. He, who has been on the Navaho
Beservation practically since 1900, who has been
engaged in the work of translating the Holy
Scriptures into the Navaho tongue, who has
learned to understand and speak the Navaho so
well that he has been called, "The white man
that talks like an Indian," who has made a spe-
cial study of the Navaho Myths, Ceremonies, and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 251
Religion, he, we admit, is the logical man to en-
lighten us on this subject.
A stranger coming among the Navahoes and
abiding with them for a short time, sees so little
that reminds him of religion and hears less that
reveals any particular religious views or concep-
tions, that some have gone away testifying that
here was a tribe without any religion. That view
has been accepted by many and held for a long
time. But now, when you have read the follow-
ing article, you will see how mistaken these
people were. Instead of being a tribe without
any special religious views and conceptions, they
are a people with such complicated views that it
is a most difficult matter for a white man to get
any adequate conception of them. And still,
who of us does not realize that a knowledge of
these religious views is first of all of the highest
importance and value to any one called to labor
among the Navahoes in the Gospel? And in the
second place this knowledge is also highly valu-
able to all who are interested in sending the Gos-
pel to these benighted ones. With the conviction
that the reading of the following will give you
to realize better than ever before the great need
of preaching the Gospel to those still in dark-
ness and superstition, we pray that you read it
most carefully.
252 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
THE RELIGIOl S VIEWS OF THE NAVAHOES
REV. L. P. BRINK, Toadlena, N. M.
TT will not be possible to do justice to this
■'• large subject in a short aiticle; the best we
can do under the circinnstances is to present it
in brief and fragmentary form, contenting our-
selves with giving a bare outline. The study of
the religions of the American Indians presents a
very wide and very rich field for students who
delight in ethnology and related subjects.
We cannot properly speak of the religion of
the American Indians, any more than we can
properly speak of the language of these people
as though it were one, because the American In-
dians are not one nation, but many nations,
speaking not one language, but many languages,
and believing not one religion, but many relig-
ions. The fact that Navaho and Zuni cannot un-
derstand each other's language, any more than
we can understand Chinese or any other tongue
that is absolutely unrelated to ours, is noi un-
derstood by many, but it certainly is a fact.
It requires study and research, both patient
and prolonged, to obtain knowledge of the re-
ligion of the Navahoes; the remarks on this sub-
ject which we present in this paper, have been
culled during the past twenty years of our ex-
perience as a missionary.
Navahoes ordinarily do not speak of their re-
ligion to outsiders, and as long as even a mis-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 253
sionary is considered an outsider, he will gain
little information along these lines.
Broadly speaking, the Navaho rehgion is poly-
theistic; they believe in a multitude of super-
natural beings, some of higher and some of lower
order, and also that some of them are the bene-
factors of mankind, and others are quite the op-
posite. Some of their gods are deifications of
men, animals, and other creatures; others are
personifications of (luaUties or occurrences, and
some cannot be subsumed under either of these
heads.
The Navaho name for supernatural beings of
all kinds is diyini, a word corresponding to our
word "holy ones," except that the term with them
is devoid of moral content. The name of divine
beings of the beneficent kind is yaij-ih, and of
those that are inimical to mankind is ana-ijay;
the word ana being the same as enemy. Those
occupying high rank among the yaij-ih are called
Hast-yay.
The sources of our information are varied;
men like Dr. Washington Matthews and James
Stevenson have made very careful study of the
Navaho religion in some of its phases, and have
left to us the results of their research in writings;
and personally we have been in contact with the
Indians themselves, and with a number of the
best-informed men of the tribe, including many
prominent medicine men; and we have attended
many of the sings and ceremonies, both great and
254 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
small, and gathered information at first hand
wherever an opportunity presented itself; the re-
sults have been very informing and exceedingly
useful in comparing their religion with the
christian religion, and finding points of agree-
ment and of disagreement with the sure word of
revelation.
The Navaho Indians have many great rites or
ceremonies, and also lesser rites. The great cere-
monies are usually of nine days' duration.
Among these, the ceremony known as the Night
Chant, takes a very prominent place; another of
high rank is the Mountain Chant, or mountain
ceremony. Each of these ceremonies has its
story, which is steeped in legend and mythology.
These stories are the chief sources of our knowl-
edge of the religious conceptions of the
Navahoes.
Among the yay-ih a very prominent place is
taken by a being named Hast-yay-yalh-ti; liter-
ally the speaking or talking God; he is also called
Yay-hit-chai, the maternal grandfather of the
gods. The story of his dealings with mankind,
as told in the legends, would fill quite a volume;
and a number of them would not reflect much
credit to himself.
Another prominent figure among the gods is
Hast-yay-o-gahnt : people who understand less
Navaho than I can, tell you what this name
means. Dr. Matthews says it means House-god,
but I am certain that that is not what it means;
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO
255
he writes it hogan instead of ogahiit; besides I
have failed to find a single instance where he
has anything to do with a hogan or house, or
where he is honored and recognized as a House-
god. In many of the legends he is accorded the
place of chief of the gods.
Another yay-ih of great importance is To-neh-
nilli, the water-sprinkler, or, as we might say,
the God of rain. In the ceremonies he is usually
represented as a clown, playing all kinds of an-
tics, and in this he might well represent the ac-
tion of rains in this desert land, where it hardly
ever rains, but when it docs rain, it pours.
As fourth in this series we may name Hast-
ijaij-zhinni, the Black God, also known as the
God of fire; he is always represented as carry-
ing a fire-drill, such as the Indians used to have
before the use of matches became common, and
it is assumed that his fire-drill will penetrate the
most impenetrable. These four gods are sup-
posed to correspond with the four sacred colors,
namely, white, yellow, blue, and black ; and they
are referred to as White Body, Yellow Body,
Blue Body, and Black Body, respectively. In the
case of the latter two, the correspondence be-
tween these colors and their position and char-
acter is readily seen, blue corresponding with
rain and black with fire.
The home of the Gods is in the mountains;
their capitol, if we may call it so, is in the rock-
walls of Chinlee Canyon, though many other
256 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
places are also indicated as their homes, and
often the impression is made that there are gods
of the same name at many different places, all
regarded as sacred places by the Navahoes.
A place of prominence is also given to the
Spirit-god or Wind-god, who, considered by his
actions, may be regarded as the God of life. In
what is related of him, there is much that cor-
responds to the Spirit of God in Holy Writ.
There are also a number of lesser deities, wind
or spirit people, even such as are called little
wind people, or Breeze-people, who communi-
cate with humans whose ears are attuned to re-
ceive their message.
The gods above mentioned are the creators of
the human race, or to be more exact, of the First
Man and the First Woman, from whom the hu-
man race is descended. The creation of inan is
presented thus : The divine beings above named
formed a circle upon earth, a number of lesser
deities being with them. One of the gods laid a
buckskin in the middle of the circle, another laid
two ears of corn, one white and one yellow, upon
the buckskin, another laid a couple of eagle
feathers upon the ears of corn, and another cov-
ered this pile with a buckskin, the Wind-god
circled around these buckskins and blew around
and under them, and erelong the eagle feathers
were seen to move, after a while one of the gods
stepped up and took away the upper buckskin,
and lo and behold, the white ear of corn had
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 257
become a man and the yellow one a woman, and
the eagle feathers had become hair on their
heads.
They were bidden to live together as man and
wife, and they did so and became the progeni-
tors of the Navaho race.
First Man has been raised to the rank of the
gods; in one of the legends he is represented as
making drawings upon the sand, arranging the
stars upon the gi'ound the way he wanted them
to be set in the sky ; he had the Great Dipper all
laid out in form, the Orion properly propor-
tioned and a few of the other combinations of
stars, when the Evil Genius, Coyote, came along,
looked at the drawings, finished and unfinished,
and by blowing a great breath upon them, trans-
ferred them all to the sky. The stars mentioned
landed there in proper form, but the others were
scattered all over the heavens as they are now.
A place of prominence is also given to the Sun
God or Sun Bearer, as he is called, and to the
Moon Bearer. The legends concerning them are
interesting, but would require too much space
here.
Two female divinities also hold high rank in
the Navaho religion; they are Astsanatlehi and
Yolhkai-astsan. In Enghsh, the Changing Wo-
man and the White Shell Woman. Both of these
were young maidens upon the earth, and were
visited on the sly by the Sungod at night, and
became the mothers of the two great Heroes or
258 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Demigods of the Navahoes, Nayenezganni, the
Slayer of the AHen Gods, and Tohadzizchinni,
"Born to the Water."
These boys grew up without knowing their
father, because their mothers would not tell
them who their father was, but in some mys-
terious ways they found out and made a trip
to the home of the Sungod, and before they left
his home they were invested wath powers to
destroy Monsters who were making a prey of the
Navaho people.
Chief among these monsters was one called
Giant, who lived near Mount Taylor. His chief
amusement was catching people and eating
them. With lightning supplied them by the
Sungod, these boys killed him, and cut off his
head. His blood flowed in a big stream like a
river and hardened and became petrified, and
if today you should visit the country near Mount
Taylor between Laguna and Grants along the
Santa Fe Railroad, you will see there enormous
lava beds, these were once the blood of the
Monster called Giant, killed by the Demigods.
And should you travel east of the Reservation
and come near the Mexican town Cabezon (pro-
nounced Cab-e-zone), you will find there a
mountain of black rock, shaped like a human
head, this is the head of the Monster Giant, slain
by the Demigods, and should you travel on the
Reservation anywhere and come across a piece
of petrified wood, here you have a piece of one
J
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 259
of the bones of the Monster Giant, who once
made havoc with the Navaho race.
These Heroes slew many more monsters that
preyed upon the Navaho race, but according to
Navaho legends there are still Monsters left, who
were not destroyed, such as Hunger, Thirst,
Pain, Old Age, Death, these are still raging and
claiming victims from this people.
And according to our way of looking at these
things, there is still the Parent Monsier, the
Source and Origin of all Evil, Sin, from whose
stranglehold only the great Redeemer of Man,
Jesus Christ, can save them.
The Navahoes treat with superstitious regard
many animals, birds, and reptiles, such as bears,
coyotes, owls, bats, snakes, though these beliefs
are being greatly undermined of late years, and
the younger people do not share all of the super-
stitions of the older generation.
The Navaho gods are represented in visible
form by sand-paintings, elaborate drawings
made on the clear sand of the floor of a medi-
cine lodge, the materials used are ground red
sandstone, white ashes, ground black charcoal,
all of these in powder form, and the painting
is very carefully done by the medicine man, as
he lets these powders glide from between his
thumb and forefinger. A complete sand-paint-
ing requires the work of days by the medicine
man and his assistants.
They are also represented in the ceremonies
260 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
by living men and women wearing masks and
garments such as the gods are supposed to wear,
and the dancer wearing these is supposed to
personify the god his garments represent, to
such an extent that even tlie prayers of the sicli
are addressed to him.
Prayers form a very important part of their
rehgion, and these are mostly stereotyped forms,
always repeated in the same way.
Offerings are made to the gods, usually in the
form of cigarettes, cut and painted in shape and
color appropriate to the god worshipped. They
have songs and prayers for all occasions, for al-
most every circumstance of life ; they are always
trying to find religious significance in every-
thing that varies from the ordinary; and a very
common fault they find with Americans with
whom they come in contact is that they have no
reverence.
The Light of the Word of God is penetrating
their world of darkness and superstition. I want
to close this article by quoting what I heard a
christian Navaho say in preaching.
''This world in which we live is like a great
book which is full of letters that talk to us of
God, our Maker. Here is the great mountain
standing before us in his greatness, and saying
to us as it were, 'God made me.' Here is the
great pine-tree, with its branching arms, and he
says, 'God made me.' Here are the rocks, and
they say, 'God made me.' The animals, bear.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 261
coyote, horse, cow, sheep, cat, dog, all kinds of
creatures, and each one of them says 'God made
me.' And that is the way the whole world, both
earth and heaven above, from the tiniest crea-
ture in them to the mightiest, talk to us as it
were with one voice, and we hear them saying,
each and eveiy one in accord, 'God made me'."
Behold in these words, my readers, the first-
fruits of the Gospel of the Son of God, the dawn-
ing of the new day in which the Navahoes shall
know the only True and Living God, and our
Blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 263
XIV.
THE ZUNIES
HTHE ZUNIES are a Pueblo tribe, residing in
■*■ one permanent pueblo or village known by
the same name, Zuni, and located on the north-
ern bank of what is called the Zuni River. In
the sunmier, however, they also inhabit the three
neighboring farming villages of Pescado, Nu-
tria, and Ojo Caliente. Their tribal name is
A'shiivi (singular, Shi'ivi), meaning "the flesh."
The name of their tribal range is given as
Shi'wona, or Shi'winakunn, which, according to
Gushing, a man who may surely be considered
an authority on things Zunian, means "the land
that produces flesh." Their common name, Zuni,
is supposed by many to be a Spanish adaptation
of the Keresan Siinyitsi or Siinyiisa of unknown
meaning, but often erroneously considered to be
connected with "the people of long finger-nails."
The history of the white man's knowledge of
this people is in many respects very interesting.
To get an anyway clear outline and conception
of it, we must start with Cabeza de Vaca, who
had been treasurer of the ill-fated expedition of
Panfilo de Narvaez to that part of our United
States which is now included in the State of
Florida. As we know from history, this expe-
dition was a total failure, and none but Cabeza
264 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
de Vaca and three companions escaped. Realiz-
ing that his only hope of safety lay in reaching
the settlements of his countrymen on the other
side of the Continent, he and his companions
started on that first transcontinental journey
over the plains and mountain ranges of North
American territory. They were imprisoned by
tribe after tribe, sometimes abused as slaves and
then again revered and almost worshipped as
those possessing some shamanistic powers. To
escape each new emergency and keep on push-
ing Westward, called for the exercising of almost
superhuman craft and cunning. What tongue
of man is able to tell, and where is there a pen of
man able to describe in any way, the impatience,
the heart-hunger, the agony of despair of these
four men during those nine long years of en-
deavor? For let us not forget, it was no less
than nine years from the destruction of Nar-
vaez's ships until the day de Vaca and his
Avretched companions arrived at Culiacan. They
were looked upon as men raised from the dead,
and their stories were, of course, listened to with
rapt attention. Undoubtedly every one sympa-
thized with them in the woes and hardships they
had endured, but the part of their story which
elicited the greatest interest, and awakened the
desires and ambitions to the highest pitch was
Avhen they told of cities that had been described
to them as lying to the north of the path they
IN H O G A N AND PUEBLO 265
were following, and therefore too far out of the
way for them to visit.
At once the Spaniards believed that these were
the long-dreamed-of "Cities of Quivera," and the
first to set out in order to visit these cities and
gain definite knowledge and real information
concerning these people and their cities, was
Fray Marcos of Niza. He started on this perilous
journey in 1539, accompanied by a negro named
Estevanico, one of the companions of Cabeza de
Vaca, spoken of above. This negro and some
Indian guides were sent on ahead by the Friar
to prepare the various tribes, thru whose coun-
try they had to pass, for his coming, and also to
report on the prospects of the country. This
negro carried a bell, which he rang continuously,
thus causing the Indians not only to gather
around him out of curiosity, but also out of blind
superstition to look upon him as a being from a
different and higher world. This honor and rev-
erence was too much for Estevanico ; he became
more and more exacting and cruel, and conse-
quently by the time he had reached the cities
sought for, the natives were filled wdth fear. And
out of fear for him as well as for him whose
coming he announced, the negro and some of his
Indian companions were killed. The report of
this massacre was brought by some of the In-
dian guides that escaped to Fray Marcos, who
had pursued his way into the present State of
Arizona. After placating his Indian followers.
266 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
who threatened to kill him, the Friar again
pressed on, viewing the first of the seven cities
of Cibolg from an adjacent height. Having seen
the "Kingdom of Cibola," as Moses of old saw
the Promised Land from the heights of Nebo,
Fray Marcos returned to report on his findings.
He represented this "Kingdom," from what he
had heard from the Indians along the route, as a
rich and very populous province containing
seven cities of which Hawikuh (see Rev. Fry-
ling's article), was the principal one. His glow-
ing accounts led to the fitting out of an expedi-
tion the next year, 1540, under the gallant and
brave Francisco Vasques Coronado. It was in
the month of February that this expedition set
forth, with great pomp, circumstance, and blare
of trumpet. After a strenuous and arduous jour-
ney, pregnant with both thrilling and harassing
experiences, Cibola was reached on the 7th of
July. Then it was that Coronado experienced
what he thus expressed in words, "The friar hath
told everything about Cibola but the truth." In-
stead of finding seven cities, populous, strong,
and rich in gold, silver, and precious stones, they
found, according to Castaneda, the historian of
the expedition (translation by Winship) : "A
little, unattractive village looking as if it had
been crumpled all up together. There are man-
sions in New Spain which make a better appear-
ance at a distance. It is a village of about 200
warriors, is three and four stories high, with the
IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 267
houses small and having only a few rooms, and
without a courtyard. One yard serves for each
section. The people of the whole district had
collected here, for there are seven villages in the
province, and some of the others are even larger
and stronger than Cibola. These folks waited
for the army, drawn up by divisions in front of
the village. When they refused to have peace
on the terms the interpreters extended to them,
but appeared defiant, the Santiago was given,
and they were at once put to flight. The Span-
iards then attacked the village, w^iich was taken
with not a little difficulty, since they held the
narrow and crooked entrance. During the at-
tack they knocked the general down with a large
stone, and would have killed him but for Don
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and Hernando de Al-
varado, who threw themselves above him and
drew him away, receiving the blow^s of the
stones, which were not a few. But the first fury
of the Spaniards could not be resisted, and iu
less than an hour they entered the village and
captured it. They discovered food there, which
was the thing they were most in need of."
In this way the world received its first true
knowledge of Zuni and its most interesting
people. It remained, however, for men like
Lieut. F. H. Cushing to make an exhaustive study
of their mode of hfe and thought. In 1879 he
was sent by Major Powell, Director of the U. S.
Bureau of American Ethnology, to live among
263 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
them and thus gain the aforesaid knowledge
first-hand, thru personal contact and observa-
tion. In 1883-1884 Lieut. Gushing pubhshed the
first articles on the Zunies, and they certainly
aroused the interest of the whole English-speak-
ing and civilized world. Since that time many
other scientific investigators have carried and
are still carrying on research work in this region.
Today our knowledge of Zuni and its people is
fairly accurate.
After all that has been said in the above Chap-
ters, the location of the i)ersent Zuni village or
pueblo must be known to us. We have given
you the expression of the impression made by
the first Zuni village upon a Spanish historian in
1540, allow us now to give you a description of
the present Zuni village by an author known for
his wonderfully beautiful descriptions of South-
western places and scenes, George Wharton
James. "Yonder is Zuni. Imagine a lot of low,
squat, square, or oblong, flat-roofed houses of
adobe, leading the eye from the left to the main
part of the town, where they are connected one
with another, in rows and squares and streets,
piled up one above another, receding in front
and on both sides as they ascend higher, so that
they form a series of terraces on three sides, the
topmost houses being perched six stories high,
and you have a crude idea of the architecture of
Zuni. Now add to this the poles of the ladders,
thrust out from numberless hatchways, the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 269
quaint chimneys, made of pottery ollas, or water
jars, the bottoms broken out, piled one above an-
other, the quaint stairways between the stories
and on dividing-walls, the open-air bee-hive-like
ovens, the strings of chili-pepper pods, glistening
brilliant red in the sunshine, the piles of firewood
stacked on the housetops, the patient burros
standing hobbled in the streets, or slowly moving
to and fro in search of scraps, the little figures
of naked boys and girls — bronze cupids as one
has appropriately called them — romping about
and playing hilariously, as children of the sun-
loving races always do, and you have a fair gen-
eral impression of what Zuni is to the casual
observer."
In this village and in this people we are at
present particularly interested, and we desire to
know more about them.
The Zuni men are in general not tall, being on
an average about five and a half feet, but they
are solidly built and have the appearance and
carriage of athletes. The Zuni women are even
smaller than the men, and as long as they are
young they are not given to be corpulent, but as
soon as they grow older they also become more
stout. In general they are fairly good-looking,
having shapely arms, hands and feet, laugliing
and tender brown or black eyes, and as to their
disposition, they are kind and affectionate,
motherly and compassionate, loyal and helpful.
The man's dress is usuallv of white calico, and
270 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
consists of a kind of shirt or jacket and a pair of
trousers that are sHt from the knee down. He
wears blue stockings, held up by beautifully
woven garters, vividly scarlet, while his feet are
covered with thick-soled buckskin moccasins,
and around his forehead is tied a handkerchief
which serves as his head-dress, The majority
of the men today, however, have discarded the
native dress for American clothes. The women's
dress is really picturesque. The gown is made
of one piece (that of the Navaho of two pieces),
generally woven by the men, and is of black diag-
onal cloth, embroidered in blue at the top and
bottom. This gown usually reaches well down
to the knees, while a long belt of bright red or
blue color and wdth fringed ends, is wrapped
around the waist several times, and as the end
is tucked under and the fringe falls, it adds a
very attractive and picturesque touch to the
whole garment. An indispensable article of at-
tire for the Zuni woman, indeed without which
she does not consider herself dressed, but seem-
ingly useless to the white man, is what is called
the Bi'toni, usually a piece of calico, but some-
times simply made of two large or blue bandana
handkerchiefs sewed together. It is tied in
front of the neck and is allowed to fall over the
shoulders, hanging on the back. The legs from
the knees down, visible below the gown, are
wrapped around and around 'with wide pieces
of buckskin, giving them a very heavy and ex-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 271
ceedingly clumsy appearance, though they set
off the snialhiess of the feet, which, even as
those of the men, are clothed in buckskin
moccasins.
The personal ornaments of both men and
women consist of several strings or necklaces
of shell or silver beads, and between the beads
are found pieces of turquoise. Bracelets and
rings are also worn, and earrings especially by
the men. Leather belts, with silver disks,
chased or engraved into certain curious and
striking designs, which are worn around the
waist, are also highly prized and greatly appre-
ciated by the Zuni men. The men allow their
hair to grow rather long, and being kept back
from hanging in front of the face by the hand-
kerchief tied around the forehead, it is allowed
to hang loose and down the back of their heads.
The hair of the woman is banged all around,
down almost to the shoulders, and then tucked
up in front under the forehead to allow the face
to appear. None dress their own hair. Women
comb the men's hair and one another's, unless
a lover or a bridegroom, greatly enamored of
his bride, sometimes plays the part of a hair-
dresser. One of the favorite pastimes is to sit
outside the house and search in the hair for
vermin, and as each one is found the hair-dresser
cracks it between her teeth with genuine satis-
faction. The vermin are not eaten, as has been
sometimes stated, but they are thrown from the
272 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
mouth. The front of the hair is allowed, when
the woman is outside, to fall in heavy bangs over
the forehead, while the back hair is carefully
brushed. A bunch of broom-corn, tied about
four inches from the cut ends, serves a double
purpose, the longer portion being the broom, the
shorter the hair brush. We have been informed
that the women wear their bangs for the same
reason that Turkish women wear their veils to
cover their faces. The Zuni says, "It is not well
for a woman's face to be exposed to the gaze of
men."
The Zuni parents also love their children, and
are very indulgent and kind to them. In com-
parison with some other tribes, the number of
children is also large. And when one enters the
village, he sees among the dogs and donkeys, and
pigs upon the streets, many children of all sizes
and of both sexes, but all alike healthy, happy,
vigorous, and naked until thej^ reacli the age of
six or seven. Living today as they have lived
for centuries in their own village, not inter-
marrying with other tribes, these Zunies have
assuredly retained a strong individuality, and
are therefore easily distinguished from neigh-
boring Indian tribes.
They are of a friendly disposition and not
sullen as the Navaho. When you meet them
they give you a greeting and advance to shake
hands, and generally ask a few questions to sat-
isfy their curiosity. To strangers they are also
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 273
hospitable, and although they may not invite
you, they expect you to call on them during your
stay in their midst. They appreciate it greatly,
and it makes them happy if you, upon your visit,
will accept their food and eat with them. The
floor, of course, serves as the table, and a sheep-
skin for a chair, and you are expected to use
your fingers to eat with. If in season, you will
most likely be served with green corn or a mush
of ground green corn, flavored with certain wild
herbs. Another dish, often served, is a kind of
mutton stew, consisting of small cubes of mut-
ton, squash, beans, corn, and chili-pepper;
which latter they use very much in their dishes,
probably having learned that from the Mexi-
cans. Coffee is also served, sometimes with
white man's sugar to sweeten it. Naturally the
canned fruits, etc., displayed by the traders,
are also finding their way more and more to the
Zuni table.
There is one article of food, peculiar to the
Zunies, and considered by them to be a very
special delicacy. It is called hewe, or paper
bread. Upon one of our visits to Zuni we were
privileged to watch an old mother engaged in
making this bread. Of cornmeal, very finely
ground, a very soft batter is made. A large flat
stone is raised so that a fire can be built under-
neath it. When this stone is finally hot enough,
the hewe-nrc\ki}r dips her hand in the batter and
rapidly spreads it over the hot surface of the
274 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
stone, and almost instantly the batter cooks into
a very thin, paper-like sheet, which is then pulled
off and piled up until a great number of sheets
have been prepared. It is very palatable to the
taste, but we cannot say that we were very fond
of it, especially after watching the preparing and
making of it.
As we have noticed in preceding Chapters, the
Navahoes are known for their blankets, the cov-
eted treasure of every white woman. The Zunies,
however, are not known for their blankets, al-
though they do weave some for their own use,
nor are they known particularly for their pot-
tery, although they make and bake quite a little
of it. The following description is given of pot-
tery-making as it may be seen among the Zunies
even today. First, however, we should listen to
Mrs. Stevenson, one of the experts of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, as she tells about the
care with which the reverent Zuni woman
gathers the clay for her work. "On passing a
stone-heap, she picked up a small stone in her
left hand, spitting upon it, carried the hand
around her head and threw the stone over one
shoulder upon the stone-heap in order that her
strength might not go from her when carrying
the heavy load down the mesa. She then visited
the shrine at the base of the mother rock, and
tearing off a bit of her blanket, deposited it in
one of the tiny pits in the rock as an offering to
the mother rock. When she drew near to the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 275
clay-bed, she indicated to Mr. Stevenson that he
must remain behind, as men never approached
the spot. Proceeding a short distance, the party
reached a point where We'wha requested me to
to remain perfectly quiet and not talk, saying,
'Should we talk, my pottery would crack in the
baking, and unless I pray constantly, the clay
will not appear to me.' She applied the hoe vig-
orously to the hard soil, all the while murmur-
ing prayers to Mother Earth. Nine-tenths of the
clay was rejected, every lump being tested be-
tween the fingers as to its texture. After gather-
ing about one hundred and fifty pounds in a blan-
ket, which she carried on her back, with the ends
of the blanket tied around her forehead, We'wha
descended the steep mesa, apparently uncon-
scious of the weight."' Now for the pottery-mak-
ing itself: "The Zuni woman having gathered
the clay from two or three different localities,
mixes it, for it is found that certain mixed clays
are much better than any one of them taken
alone. After being well washed and puddled,
the potter takes a small piece of the now pre-
pared clay and rolls it out between her hands
into a long 'rope.' This is now coiled around a
center, and thus the base of her jar or olla is
formed, pressing and pinching one coil into or
upon the other until they cohere, and then
smoothing them out with a spatula made of
bone or perhaps of a dried piece of melon or
gourd rind. Rapidly and surely, coil upon coil
276 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
is added. With nothing but her eye to direct
her, and with no tool but the spatula and her
own hand, the neck of the jar is shaped. For a
day or two it is set in the sun to dry, and while
in this brittle state it is also painted and deco-
rated. The most fascinating part of the whole
work for the Zuni woman is this painting of the
designs. What do they mean and what do they
symbolize? It certainly would be interesting to
know all this. Some designs are drawn from
nature and undoubtedly symbolize the germina-
tion and development of life. These are more
or less easily understood, the tadpole or polli-
wog, and frog. Other designs seem to be drawn
only from the imagination of the potter. There
is no copy, no drawing, no sketch, but it simply
lives in her busy and imaginative brain. Some-
times it is a conventionalized butterfly, or deer,
or the symbolic thunder-bird, while rain, cloud,
and water symbols are also very frequent, A
great variety of geometrical designs are also
used. Her paints are drawn from the clays, and
under the influence of heat have been turned
into reds, yellows, and browns. For paint
brushes she uses the yucca fiber and needles.
With the jar on her knees, she places each stroke
deftly and determinately until the decoration is
finished. Now, when dry, the jar or whatever
she has made and painted, is ready for firing.
The kiln is built out-of-doors, free from the
wind, and then an oven of dried maniu'e from
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 277
the sheep and goat pens is made around and
over it. The fire is hghted and skillfully man-
aged, so that the heat gradually increases and
finally is kept as intense as possible for an hour
or so, when it is allowed to die down, and when
quite cooled, the pottery is removed. A bit of
paper-bread is placed in each pot when it is
fired, in order to feed the spirit of the vase. It
is believed, that if a woman, about to bear a
child, should look at the pottery before it is
fired, it will come from the oven with a black
spot upon it."
As may be gleaned from the foregoing, the
Zuni pueblo in many respects resembles a great
bee-hive. The houses are built, as we have al-
ready seen, one upon another, the roof of one
forming the floor or yard of the next one above,
and thus in some cases four or five tiers of dwell-
ings have been erected, however, two stories is
the usual height, very few are built higher than
that. Among the Zunies as among the civilized
peoples, riches and official position confer im-
portance and significance upon the possessor.
The rich live in the lower houses; those of more
modest means in the next above; while the
poorer families as a rule content themselves
with the uppermost stories. These houses, which
are built of stone and adobe (sun-dried bricks
composed of earth and straw molded in wooden
forms), are clustered about three plazas, or
squares, and a fourth plaza is on the western
278 CRINGING THE GOSPEL
side of the village. There are three covered
ways, and several streets. Strange to say, the
women delight in house-building, especially in
plastering them inside and out. Once a year
they are engaged, to their delight and pleasure,
in plastering the outside of the adobe Mission
buildings. They consider this their special pre-
rogative, and would consider it an infringement
upon their rights if the men were to do it. Men
lay the stone foundations, build the walls, and
place large logs, which serve as beams to sup-
port the roof, which is made of willow boughs
spread over with brush, and then tliQ whole cov-
ered with earth. As Egyptian women of old, so
the little Zuni girls trudge to and from the
river with their water vases on their heads
bringing the water for mixing the mortar.
Though some of these Zuni houses have as
many as eight rooms, the ordinary one has from
four to six, and a few have only two. Ledges
built with the house, extend around the rooms,
forming seats and shelves. The largest room is
for general living purposes; here the entire fam-
ily works, eats, and sleeps, and here the guests
are also entertained. Whenever this room is
required for the use of some fraternity, the fam-
ily, taking all its belongings, moves to other
quarters. Very simple indeed are the sleeping
arrangements, for in one corner of the big liv-
ing-room hangs a big pole, suspended by thongs
of rawhide at each end. Poetically this is termed.
280 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
"the pole of the soft stiitf." The term, "soft stuff"
includes sheep- and goatskins, together with the
robes the Zunies themselves weave or which they
have purchased from the Navahoes. The more
valuable things, as the ceremonial parapher-
nalia, are carefully wrapped and deposited in
the storage rooms.
As a rule, you will also find in this living-room
the mills that are set up for grinding meal.
These mills consist of three or more slabs of
stone, of different degrees of fineness of grain,
set side by side at an angle of about 45°,
and separated by upright slabs, the whole sur-
rounded by other slabs, making an enclosure for
each mill. On these mills the corn and grain is
ground by the women and girls, calling for an
exercise not unlike the washing of clothes on
an old-fashioned wash-board. While the bangs
of the women flop back and forth w hen engaged
in this work, the perspiration caused by the
strenuous exercise and the vermin loosing their
grip, often falling in the meal as it is being
ground, and this very naturally has an influence
upon the white man's appetite when he breaks
bread with his Zuni neighbors.
Nearly all the rooms of a Zuni house are pro-
vided with a fireplace. A commodious mantel
usually extends over a part of the fireplace, and
on it rests the masonry chimney reaching up
thru the roof, while the exterior chimney is
composed of old pottery vases with perforated
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 281
bottoms. Today the influences of our civiliza-
tion, as it is represented by the Missionaries,
traders, and Government employees, are begin-
ning to be seen in many Zuni homes. There are
sewing machines upon which the women have
been taught to sew, cook stoves or ranges are
also found here and there, even modern iron
bedsteads and chairs are in a few places. Lamps,
regular gasoline lamps, are being used for light,
and many, many other things equally useful
and convenient to the betterment of the enjoy-
ment of life are being introduced all the time.
The home-life of the Zunies, as Rev. FryHng
also mentions in his article, is entirely different
than that of the Navaho, whom the Zuni looks
upon as an enemy. Here, in Zuni, the husband
lives with his wife's folks and it is a very com-
mon thing to find several families living under
the same roof. In general, the Zunies do not
have large families, but the members are deeply
attached to one another. It is indeed a distinct
pleasure, in the early evening, to pay a visit to
the living-room, before the elders have been
called away to the fraternities or elsewhere. The
Zuni children are scarcely ever disobedient, and
can play together the livelong day without a
quarrel. The boys and girls do not play together
very often. In fact, the girls seem to have little
time for play. They must care for the little
ones, whom they carry on their backs, often tot-
tering under the weight. When free from this
282 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
care they imitate all that the mother does. They
make pottery, weave belts, and especially bake
bread.
Games and impromptu dances are among the
favorite pastimes of the young men. The dog
dance, in which the performer picks money and
silver buttons from the ground with his mouth,
always draws a large audience and leads to con-
siderable betting. The older girls do not go
about the village unattended, and espe-
cially after dark they are not safe. Really the
only place they are free to visit alone is the well,
"the town pump." Here in the evening there
may sometimes be found a youth waiting for an
opportunity to speak a word to the pretty girls,
and, of course, to some special one, if his affec-
tions have already been settled. It is a mistake
that Zuni girls make advances to the men. Their
love-making is little different than among our
own youths and maidens.
The Zunies are, as you perhaps already know,
an agricultural and pastoral people. The fields
are not owned by clans, as is sometimes sup-
posed, but any one may cultivate any strip of
land that appeals to him, provided it has not
already been appropriated, and once in his pos-
session, he has the right to transfer it to whom-
soever he pleases within the tribe. According to
their law the landed property of a married man
or woman after death goes to the daughters. The
sons are supposed to be able to acquire their
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 283
own fields, but if there should be no girls, then
the sons are the next heirs. Horses, cattle,
sheep, and blankets are divided among the boys
and the girls of the family, and while the silver
beads and turquoise earrings of the mother go
to the daughters, the coral, white shell and tur-
quoise necklaces and earrings of the father go
to the eldest son. The little gardens about the
village, which are tended exclusively by the
women, are inherited by the daughters.
As will have been noticed from the foregoing,
the Zuni as well as the Navaho tribe is divided
into clans. Knowledge of some clans has been
entirely lost, while there are at least four clans
which have now become extinct, and one clan
since many years has been represented by just
one man. Besides these, there are fifteen other
clans. While descent, as also with the Nav-
ahoes, is thru the maternal side, the offspring is
considered closely allied to the father's clan.
Always the child is referred to as belonging to
the mother's clan and as being the "child" of the
father's clan. As appears from the Missionary's
article, the native government and religion are
inseparably connected. There is supposed to be
a Governor with four assistants and a Lieuten-
ant Governor with four deputies. The real Gov-
ernment, however, in the present Zuni village, is
represented in the United States Agent, who re-
sides at Blackrock, some four and a half miles
from Zuni. We need not say anything about the
284 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
educational facilities and opportunities as of-
fered by the Government and Mission, since this
matter is treated by Rev. Fryling. Just to re-
member it, we state here, that there is a large
Government Boarding School at Blackrock, and
a Government Day School as also a Mission Day
School in the Zuni village,
•By means of the Government dam at Black-
rock, built at a cost of more than a half million
dollars, it is possible for the Zuni people to irri-
gate their whole valley, and they are thus en-
abled to raise profitable crops. Near the corn-
fields, muskmelons, watermelons, squashes, and
gourds are usually grown. When these begin to
ripen, the fields must be continually guarded,
and for this purpose rude shelters are erected
where the owners can stay over night. In addi-
tion to the human thieves, the country is so in-
fested with ravens that the Zunies have become
experts in the construction of scarecrows. Many
of the Zunies leave the village and rather com-
fortable houses and live in one of the three
farming places mentioned at the beginning of
this Chapter. Having learned by experience
what it means to be reduced to starvation and
compelled to seek help of neighboring pueblos,
the Zunies aim to keep a year's supply of grain
on hand untouched, to provide against failure
of crops.
As we know, among enlightened and civilized
peoples games are usually associated with sport
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 285
and recreation, but with the Zunies this is not
so. Their ceremonial games are for the bringing
of rain, and tluis tliey vei-y naturally constitute
an important element in their religious and so-
cial life. Each game, of course, has its regula-
tions and limitations. The betting race, which
we once witnessed while on a visit to Zuni, is
one in which a distance of about twenty-five
miles is covered. Each leader of a team that en-
ters this race places a stick, somewhat larger
than one's middle finger, across his foot near the
Iocs and sprinkles it with meal; they then cry
out Si (ready). This stick may not be touched
with the hand after it is once placed on the foot.
It is often kicked a long distance, but no matter
where it may rest, it must be managed wdth the
foot. To the Zunies there is only one thing more
exciting than this race, and that is the so-called
scalp-dance. Those on horseback must urge
their ponies onward to keep pace with the
racers. On the outcome of this race everything
is wagered from a silver button to a fine blan-
ket. All these things are placed in two stacks
and kept in the large plaza. The women are not
permitted to mingle with the men, but are to be
seen in groups on the house tops, just as much
interested in the affair as the men.
There is still one more thing that we must
speak of concerning the Zunies before we take
up a brief special study of their customs, leg-
ends, and superstitions, and that is their rehgion.
286 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Just recently we found an article on this subject,
'The Religion of the Zuni," in the Bugle, the An-
nuary of Grundy Center College, by the pen of
Mr. J. J. Fryling, son of our Zuni Missionary.
We quote the following from this article :
"The Zuni's conception of the deity is far different
from that of any other people of the world. They serve
the creature instead of the Creator, they believe the sun
to be the father of the gods, the moon the mother, and
the stars their children. Before sunrise, and just before
sunset, the holy Sun-priest sprinkles a pinch of holy meal
from his valet on the ground, murmuring a low, weird
prayer. This is, undoubtedly, the most obligatory duty
which is performed by this priest. Besides this, he is
often seen praying in the bed of the Zuni River, and al-
ways, when his prayer is ended, sprinkling that pinch of
holy meal upon the ground before him.
"Three or four times a year all the members of the
Zuni tribe go into the mountains, and plant their prayer-
plumes. This sacred duty of the Zuni is always carried
out most religiously. There are about nine or ten holy
shrines near their pueblo, and every now and then the
different priests go there to worship. It is important to
notice the seriousness and reverence which each and every
member shows in his worship. This, however, does not
seem to impose upon them any moral laws. He may be
sincere in his faith, devout and punctilious in his religious
duties, and still may not hold moral rectitude as an active
and a living principle.
Another, both interesting and important, factor in the
religious orders of the Zuni is their sacred dance. There
are a great number of different kinds, but I shall give a
brief description of only two of the more interesting
types — the Rain Dance and the 'Kolawusae." The
'Kokoa' or the Rain Dance, is an order that dresses up in
a strange costume, and which represent the gods of rain.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 287
Before entering the pueblo, on their journey from the
hills, they pray at the holy shrine of 'Hepatina,' beseech-
ing the gods, whom they represent, to grant them their
desire by answering prayers and songs. While entering
the pueTDlo they pass by different members of the tribe,
who sprinkle holy meal upon their heads, a form of honor
and respect. Meanwhile they utter a short prayer of
humiliation and devotion. Then they pass together into
the holy plaza, where they perform their religious duties.
There the people go to worship and to attend the dance.
That is the place where they become re-inspired in their
heathen belief, and sometimes approach the lowest stages
of barbarism and beastly lusts. (Things have occurred
at these dances, we have been told, which modesty simply
forbids even as much as to mention. — J. D.).
"The 'Kolawusae' festival, a very unique form of wor-
ship, takes place eveiy four years. The word signifies a
great sea monster. A representation of this beast is made
and carried around by six members of the clan. All the
members of the Zuni tribe worship this great beast. The
priest, as in other religious performances, again sprinkles
a pinch of holy meal upon its head. There is a great
amount of mythology connected with the 'Kolawusae.'
The Zuni believes that during the time of a great flood,
this beast swam thru a hol,y arch in a large mountain near
the present pueblo of the Zuni. Growing out of the ef-
fort of primitive man to account for the natural phe-
nomena surrounding him, the myth of the 'Kolawusae'
varies as to detail with almost every tribe. The wide cir-
culation of this myth is shown by the fact that the mon-
ster figures prominently, in the mythology of botl\ the
roving and the pueblo tribes. With some groups it is pic-
tured as a mighty bird, dwelling in the mountain cliffs
with kindred spirits, and sallying forth at intervals, caus-
ing blessings upon the dry fields with abundant showers
of fresh rain, which means rich grass for their herds, and
full granaries. Hence it is a deity embodying all things
288 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
beneficial to mankind; its presence, a constant augury of
peace and happiness; its painted image on the rocks and
in the estufas, an enduring talisman of good fortune.
The glazed mineral paints, and the clear-cut sculptures of
the prehistoric artists, made by the people of one of the
more prominent tribes, have remained bright and distinct,
and today those figures on the red cliffs are accepted as a
conventional design of this universal Indian deity.
"Their religion has taught loyalty and respect to their
gods, but has fostered a willful individualism. It has
made social life lower; its virtues are stoical; it makes
life barren and empty; it makes religion a submission to
a few infinite despots. Is it not our duty to bring to
people of this type, at home and abroad, the true Gospel,
so that they also may know what the spark of human
existence may mean for them now and for the time to
come
"Long years of earnest toil may be spent, but can never
be wasted, for success usually comes at last, after weary
years of disappointment. For the religion of the Zuni is
as a great tree, which seems still solid and firm, but has.
been secretly decaying within and is hollow at heart; at
last it falls, speedily, filling the forest with the echo of its
ruin. Again, it is like a dam which seems strong enough
to resist the torrent of true faith, but has been slowly
undermined by a thousand minute rills of water, and at
last it is suddenly swept away, and opens a yawning
breach for the tumbling cataract, so that the waters of
Christianity may flow smoothly on to their final goal.
Hence, in order to attain this end, let us trample beneath
our feet the viper of heathendom, and raise high in its
place the banner of the Cross."
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 289
A. CUSTOMS
TT is as true of the Ziinies as of other Indian
-■■ tribes, there are many and various customs
wliich are still being observed by the older
people, but which are gradually being discarded
by those educated in the white man's schools.
These educated young people are ashamed of
these customs just as they are of many of the
religious rites and ceremonies. If they observe
them at all, it is not because they believe in
them or attach any value to them, but it is done
out of fear of being ostracized and thus becom-
ing an outcast. The life of those that are thus
cast out is anything but pleasant. One con-
fessed to us once, upon a visit to Zuni, that he
Avished he might die, for his life was simply full
of trouble, and there was no pleasure in it. Now
the customs that we would say a word about at
this time are those which are observed at nativ-
ity, marirage, and death.
If parents, looking forward to the coming of
an addition to the family, desire a daughter,
then the husband and wife, frequently accom-
panied by a doctress or a female relative, visit
what is called the Mother-rock on the west side
of Towa-yallanne (corn mountain). The base
of this rock is covered with symbols of the a'sha
(vulva), and is perforated with small excava-
tions. The woman, expecting soon to become a
mother, scrapes a small quantity of the rock
290 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
into a tiny vase made for the purpose, and de-
posits it in one of the cavities in the rock and
prayer is offered by all present that the daugh-
ter may grow to be good, beautiful, and preserve
all virtues, and that she may be able to weave
beautifully and be skilled in the art of making
pottery. If a son is desired, the party visits a
shrine higher up the side of the mountain, in a
fissure in the same rock, and sprinkle meal and
deposit A'likinawe, with prayers that a son may
be born to them and that he may become dis-
tinguished in war, and after death be great
among the ancestral gods. Should these prayers
at the shrines not be answered as desired, then
it is because the heart of one or both of the
couple was not good. There are still other
shrines which are visited for this purpose.
Physicians who serve among the Indians, can
tell of many and varied experiences in regard to
child-birth. Mrs. Stevenson in her records of
life among the Zunies, speaks of the following
experience : "An expectant mother, while at
her farm at Oje Caliente, became alarmed at the
retarded action of the fetus, and she and her
husband returned to Zuni to consult Nai'uchi,
at that time one of the greatest and most highly
respected theurgists among the Zunies. On
learning that the woman had been drinking
from the sacred spring of the Ko'loowisi
(Plumed Serpent), he declared that she was not
carrying a child, but a serpent. The following
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 291
day the husband came to the writer in great dis-
tress and hegged her to go to his wife, w^ho was
in such a wretched mental state, that he feared
she would die. After examining the abdomen,
the writer declared that Nai-uchi was mistaken,
but his words had sunk deep into the sufferer's
mind, and hours were spent with the distracted
woman before she was convinced that her doc-
tor was in error. After several days a slight
color took the place of the death-like pallor of
the woman, and she slowly improved, but it was
many days before she was like herself again. In
less than six weeks from that time a healthy
boy was born. The writer named the child at
the request of the mother, but the nickname of
little Ko'loowisi will chng to him for many a
day. The gratitude of the husband was very
marked and was shown in every way possible.
Each week the best products of his fields and
garden were brought to her from his farm, fif-
teen miles away."
When a birth has taken place, one of the at-
tendant doctrcsses makes two warm beds of
heated sand, one for the mother and one for the
new-born child, and while this is going on, the
mother bites upon a white stone in order that
the child's teeth may be strong and white. Two
ears of corn are presented by the mother-in-law;
a single ear, called the father, is used for a boy;
a divided one, called the mother, is placed by a
girl. The doctress, who has received the child
292 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
into the world, deposits a basket of prayer-meal
at the head of the child's sand-bed, and offers
a long prayer to A'wona wilona (the supreme
power) for long life and health to the child.
Although the Zunies believe that the span of life
is determined at the time of birth, this does not
keep them from incessant prayer for health and
long life. After prayer, the doctress sprinkles
a line of meal from east to west over the sand-
bed to symbolize the straight path the child must
follow in order to receive the blessings of
A'wona wilona and the Sun Father. Now the
mother is looked after; having taken her seat
upon the sand-bed prepared for her, a bowl of
mutton-stew, a basket of mush, boiled in corn
husks, and a basket tray of paper bread is de-
posited on the floor beside her. All of those
present join in the meal, but generally none eat
with more relish than the new^ mother. At the
first peep of the sun on the morning following
the birth, the doctress, having been supplied
with a vase of warm water, a gourd, and a bas-
ket of ashes, proceeds to bathe the infant. Dip-
ping a gourd of water, she fills her mouth, and
pouring the water from her mouth over the head
of the child, washes its face and head, rubbing
quite vigorously, after which ashes are rubbed
over the face, a quantity of which usually ad-
heres to the skin. After the head, the whole
body is bathed and rubbed over with ashes and
wrapped in a blanket, a present of the maternal
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 293
grandmother. Six days after the birth, at the
first light of day, a Hne of meal, symbolic of the
path of life, is sprinkled from the house to the
point where the child is to observe for the first
time the Sun Father. The doctress, accom-
panied by the mother and paternal grand-
mother, carries the infant, with the ear of corn
which has been by its side since its birth, held
close to its head. The doctress holds the child
to face east while she offers a prayer for health
and happiness, goodness of heart, and long life.
The child is now given a yucca suds bath by the
doctress, the great grandmother and paternal
grandmother, after prayers have been offered to
the Sun Father and the Earth Mother, that all
blessings may be granted. Nothing is used to
dry the child aside from the ashes rubbed over
its entire body. The children as soon as pos-
sible, at least within ten hours after birth, are
placed to the breast, and in general little trouble
is experienced in nursing them. Children of
unmarried girls receive the same attention as if
they had been born in wedlock, and no differ-
ence is made in the ceremonies because of
illegitimate birth.
With the Zunies marriage generally occurs at
a very early age; girls are not infrequently mar-
ried two years before reaching puberty. Should
one not be married when she arrives at woman-
hood, her mother goes to the house of the pater-
nal grandmother and informs her of the fact.
294 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
The girl is made to labor hard all day grinding
corn in the house of her grandmother; when she
returns in the evening to her own home, she
carries a bowl of meat stew prepared and pre-
sented by the grandmother. The belief is that
if she works hard at the dawn of her woman-
hood, she will not suffer pain at this period.
The Zuni marriage ceremony is very simple
in comparison with some in vogue among other
tribes. When a boy sees a girl he desires to
marry, he manages in some way or another to
meet her on the road and tells her of his ad-
miration and asks permission to go to her
house. If he is acceptable, she will answer:
"Wait until I speak to my father and mother."
Later on, meeting the girl again, he inquires
what the father and mother had to say. If they
are willing, he then accompanies the girl to her
home. The mother asks him to be seated and
directs the daughter to bring food and place it
on the floor before the guest. Should she now
hesitate to obey the mother, either from lack of
interest or from love of coquetry (for Zuni girls
are real coquettes), she is admonished by one
or both of the parents. When she has brought
the food, she places it on the floor before her
suitor and also takes her seat facing him. While
he eats the food that has been set before him,
the parents of the girl talk to him about the
duties of a husband to a wife. After he has fin-
ished eating, the father says: "You are about
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 295
to marry my daughter. You must work hard;
you must watch the sheep and help to cut the
wood and plant grain and cut it. " The mother
tells him that he must be kind and gentle to his
wife. He now remains here for five nights,
sleeping alone outside of the general living-
room and during the day he works for the fam-
ily, ostensibly to prove his ability to provide for
the daughter if she becomes his wife. On the
sixth morning he returns to his own home.
They naturally ask, where he has been, and
when told, they inquire if the girl's parents are
willing. If they themselves are satisfied, they
reveal this by saying: "It is well." When the
groom returns to his bride from this visit to his
home, he brings her a dress as a present from
his mother. Having received this dress, the
bride now grinds a lot of corn into flour, and the
following day she carries this in a basket on
her head and presents it to her mother-in-law,
saying: "Mother, this is for you." The mother
says: "Thanks, my child, be seated." The girl
now receives bread and meat of her mother-in-
law, and before she leaves the house, the father-
in-law folds a deerskin and laying it before her,
says : "This is for your moccasins." The groom
and bride now return to her mother's house,
where they make their permanent home.
The Zunies, in distinction of the Navahoes,
are monogamists. They abhor polygamy, but
rather than live in trouble and disharmony, they
296 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
separate, and as a result divorce is very com-
mon. Some men and women have had several
different companions, and therefore it is some-
times not an easy matter to know the real rela-
tion of children to each other or to their nom-
inal parents.
It has always been a custom with the Zunics,
according to their own testimony, to bury their
dead. They claim that the dead are the A'wcin-
nami (rain-makers), and therefore if the bodies
should be cremated or disposed of in some other
way, there would be no rain. Infants that die
with unpierced ears are supposed to carry bas-
kets of toads and tadpoles on their heads and
hanging from their ears, and drop them on the
earth when the rain-makers are at w^ork. Be-
cause this is considered a great misfortune, of-
tentimes the ears of dead children are pierced
before they are buried.
As soon as a death has taken place, the body
is laid with its head to the cast, bathed in yucca
suds, and rubbed over with cornmeal. It is
clothed in the best garments available and
wrapped about with one or more blankets, and
is buried. For officers and priests there are
elaborate rites and excrcices, but for the ordi-
nary dead there is little ceremony. A death is
first announced to the clan of which he or she
was a member, and then the news is spread to
all the intimates of the family. The mourners
begin to arrive even before the body is fully pre-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 297
pared for the grave, and as each woman enters
and looks upon the corpse, she at once sets up a
hideous howl, taking a seat on the ledge wdiich
extends around the room. This howling con-
tinues until the remains have been removed
from the house and are buried. Members of the
family remain quiet during the funeral rites.
The body, however, is not accompanied to the
grave by the mourners. The interment is con-
sidered a disagreeable duty and is concluded as
quickly as possible by the bearers of the corpse.
The cemetery, since the days of the Spanish
conquest, is in the church-yard, in front of the
ruins of the old Spanish church. The old cus-
tom is still adhered to that men are buried on
the south and women on the north side of the
burial grounds. Today the church-yard is so
packed with bodies that when a grave is dug,
the bones thrown out are seemingly as abundant
as the soil. Articles and possessions of any
value are no longer buried with the dead as was
formerly the custom.
If the burial occurs sufficiently early for the
Sun Father, in his journey over the world, to
receive the prayers wafted from the plumnes,
the immediate members of the family go a short
distance west of the village by the river's bank
and make an excavation in which the extra
clothing of the deceased are deposited. For four
nights after death the ghost of the dead hovers
about the village and then starts on its journey
a
en
o
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 299
to Ko'thliiwala' wa (abiding-place of the Coun-
cil of Gods). During the stay of the spirit in the
village the door of the hatchway of the house
must be left open that it may pass in and out
at will.
After the burial of a husband or a wife, the
body of the surviving spouse is bathed by female
relatives, and during the four nights that the
spirit remains in the village, the parents or sis-
ters of the deceased spouse sleep at the side of
the surviving one. A grain of black corn and a
bit of charcoal are put under the head of the
mourner to insure against dreaming of the lost
one.
B. LEGENDS
UNDER THIS HEAD it is our privilege first
of all to attempt a description of the crea-
tion of the Zuni people, whom, as we have al-
ready seen, are designated as the A'shiwi. The
parents of these A'shiwi, or Zunies, are no other
than the superhuman beings who labor with
hearts and minds and not with hands, and are
known as Shi'wanni and ShCwano'kia. The
Zunies were born as infants of these parents in
the undermost world, and not at long intervals,
but in very rapid succession until there were a
great number of them. The Sun Father, Ya-
tokia, had created two sons by impregnating
300 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
two bits of foam with his rays. These two sons
are known as the Divine Ones. Now when the
Snn Father decided to bring his children, the
Zunies living in the undermost world, into his
presence, he sent the Divine Ones to fetch them,
having previously provided them with rainbows,
lightning arrows, and cloud shields. Thus equip-
ped, the Divine Ones shattered the earth with
their lightning arrows and descended to the
dwelling-place of the Zunies, the fourth world
down.
When the Divine Ones arrived in this place,
the Zunies very naturally inquired: "Who are
you? Whence did you come?" and as answer
they were told : "We are, the two come down."
In this undermost world it was indeed so dark
that it was impossible for one to see the other,
and they were constantly trodding on each
other's toes. Holes in the earth served for houses
and seed grass was their food. The Divine Ones,
in order to see the people, laid dry grass upon
the ground and then by rubbing their arrows
with a rotary motion upon the bows, they pro-
duced fire and lighted the grass, using it as a
torch to carry about among the people. There
were many who could not look on this fire and
many others fell back, filled with fear. Thus the
Divine Ones received the impression that there
were but a very few people, but the elders de-
clared that there were very many and their word
prevailed.
IN HOG AN AND PUEBLO 301
The Divine Ones now proceeded to open the
way for the people to reach the outer world, suc-
cessively they cast a line of meal which produced
light, to the north, to the west, to the south, to the
east, each time planting a certain tree for them
to climb from the lower world to the one higher
up until they appeared in the outer world. The
Zunies therefore speak of their Sun Father and
their Earth Mother.
As they ascended from one world to the other,
the Divine Ones and the Zunies spent some time
in each world, and thus many of the A'shiwi,
who were first left behind, had time to struggle
on after the others, and finally catch up with
them.
Although the earth upon which the Zunies
made their appearance coming into the out^r
world was not exactly nuiddy, nevertheless it
was so soft that they found great difficulty in
proceeding. Many years were consequently con-
sumed in their journeys to discover the middle
of the world, the place designated for their habi-
tation. During these years, repeated divisions
of the people occurred, some going to the North,
others to the South, and in this way they account
for the ruins north and south of their line of
travel. Finally, however, they reached the de-
sired place, the middle of the world, now marked
by the shrine He' patina, a stone's throw from the
home of our Missionary at Zuni.
The Zunies claim that the Mu'kwe (the Hopis)
302 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
followed them to this world four years after
they had all arrived. The Pimas came four
years after the Hopis, and the Navahoes four
years after the Pimas. All these people had to
work their own way up, for the Divine Ones only
assisted the Zunies. Two Mexicans, man and
wife, who appeared in this world at the time the
A'shiwi arrived, remained with them for some
time, and thus the presence of the Mexicans
among them is accounted for.
The annual Shalako festival is the great
autumn celebration, and is of more interest to
the Zunies, and also to the Indians of the sur-
rounding country as well as to many whites,
than all the other festivals. The Shalako, or
giant couriers of the rain-makers, come to the
village and this is the sign for great, yea, un-
bounded feasting and entertaining by the Zunies.
During these days the larders are never empty.
Regardless of the aftermath, with its attendant
sutfering, the poorer class of Zunies often give,
during this festival, all that they possess for the
feeding of their welcome and unwelcome guests.
Among the unwelcome guests at this festival are
the Navahoes, who in continually increasing
numbers, come to satiate their appetites at the
expense of their hosts. These Navahoes do not
seem to have the slightest hesitancy in coming
unbidden to Zuni, riding up to a house, unsad-
dling their horses, walking in and remaining as
long as they please, and the Zunies, although not
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 303
graciously, nevertheless accept this as inevitable
and make the best of it.
The Divine Ones not only divided the Zunies
into different groups or clans, with distinguishing
names as: Dogwood clan. Corn clan. Bear clan.
Coyote clan, Antelope clan, etc., but they also
organized and established certain fraternities
among them as : Rattlesnake, Struck-by light-
ning fraternity, etc. It would simply be impos-
sible, within the limits of our space, to give any
adequate description of this Zuni fraternity life
and ceremony work, but we do want to say a
few words about just one fraternity in conclud-
ing this Chapter, and anyone particularly inter-
ested may study the subject for himself by ob-
taining the necessar}^ material from any up-to-
date Public Library.
The Fraternity we have in mind is known as
the 'Hle'wekwe (Wood Fraternity) or Sword
Swallowers. Different clans are represented in
this fraternity, and it is considered to be a great
honor to be represented therein. Two regular
meetings are held each year, one in January
and the other in February. Should they dance
or hold their meetings in the summer, the corn
would freeze, as their songs and dances are for
cold rains and snows. The medicines of these
'Hle'wekwe are considered to be especially good
for sore throat; undoubtedly because of their
barbarous practices during their dances. The di-
rectors have wooden swords which, during their
304 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ceremonial dances, they ram down their tiiroats
until just enough is left exposed to get hold of
when the time comes for withdrawing them. It
is a marvelous feat to accomplish, but a nause-
ating affair to wdtness. Such are also the prac-
tices of other fraternities too horrible and too
beastly even to mention, much less describe. May
the Gospel of Jesus lead them out of this dense
darkness to the wonderful light of love and to
the works of purity and beneficence.
C. SUPERSTITIONS
' I 'HE ZUNIES, as all primitive peoples, are not
•^ as happy in their philosophy of life as are
civilized and enlightened men, because these
have cast away many of their superstitions,
while the Zunies' world still abounds in perplex-
ing mysteries. Any thing they are not able to
understand or comprehend is ascribed to some
occult power, and consequently they are in con-
stant terror of being conjured. Young mothers
especially are solicitous for their infants, since
these are the targets for the venom of diabolical
beings. Possessors of fine beads or other adorn-
ments are constantly frightened by the thought
that some witch, prompted by jealousy, will cast
a spell upon them and afflict them wdth some
sore disease. Those that are in any way de-
formed or have some peculiarity in their phys-
IN H 0 G A N AND PUEBLO 305
ical make-up, or who have awakened the enmity
of a prominent member of the tribe, are con-
stantly in terror lest they fall under the sus-
picion of being a witch. Those w^ho must go
about at night, find a great boon in the moon-
light which enables them to identify suspicious
objects, for it is believed that witches love the
night and lurk in shadows and darkness, and
often assume the shape and form of animals,
especially that of the cat, because of its stealthy
habits and its ability to get thru small places.
Belief in witchcraft is therefore strong among
the Zunies, even as among all the Indian tribes
of our land.
Although there are always some in the village
that are under a cloud of suspicion, nevertheless
it takes some particular cause, as the severe ill-
ness or death of a prominent man or woman of
the tribe, to start the persecution and the bring-
ing to trial of a witch. The attendant theurgist
must in some way account for his inability to
cure the patient, and he finds an easy way to do
this by ascribing malevolent powers to someone
already under suspicion or to someone who has
aroused his enmity and hatred. Upon convic-
tion a witch must suffer capital punishment.
Many, many are the stories that might be told
about those who professed to be under the power
of some wdtch, or about those who have been ac-
cused of being witches. But of all the stories we
have read or heard along this fine, we select just
306
BRINGING THE GOSPEL
one for your reading, and this selection was de-
cided by the fact that we, on one of our visits to
Zuni, had the privilege to talk with the accused
and question him concerning the whole matter.
Zuni Nick, now a man past middle age, was
brought up in the family of an Indian trader.
As a result of this, and of the ideas he continually
absorbed in listening to the white people when
they talked about the Zuni dances and cere-
monies, Nick was led to deny and despise the
teachings and superstitions of his people. As a
young man he was rather bold and outspoken,
and when he returned from the white man's
school, he did not hesitate to publicly criticize
the "ways of the old," as followed by the Zunies.
After some time he fell in love with a Zuni
maiden, and in spite of all protests, he succeeded
in winning her, and they were married. This
marriage and his continued mocking criticisms
of their customs, superstitions, and religion,
widened the breach between him and his people
more and more, and the elders, priests, and gov-
ernors assumed an attitude of "watchful wait-
ing," for their day of opportunity to publicly re-
buke him, which they knew would come sooner
or later. At last this day dawned. The crops
were a failure as a result of a severe drought
and of hot winds that simply scorched every-
thing, the flocks of sheep and goats began to die
otf, the children fell sick and many died, the
hunters returned empty-handed from the chase
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 307
in spite of their most earnest prayers and peti-
tions to the gods. These conditions offered to
the enemies of Nick their long-coveted oppor-
tunity. Quietly they had it whispered about the
village that all these evils were due to the fact
that Nick, who constantly associated with white
men and used the white man's language, was a
wizard and had exercised his diabolical powers
upon them. The leaven of hatred and supersti-
tion soon began to work. One nignt when Nick
was sound asleep, a number of the elders broke
into his room, bound him hand and foot, gagged
him and carried him to one of the Estufas, un-
derground sacred ceremonial chambers. Here
he was faced by his accusers, harangued, and ex-
horted to confess. Nick, who realized what his
fate would be unless he were rescued, mocked
and teased his captors and defied them to do
their worst, thus fighting for time. Being tried,
he was soon found guilty, his hands tied behind
his back, taken to the ruins of the old Spanish
church, he was hung up by the thumbs from a
projecting beam. Thus he hung suspended in
most horrible torture until upon the urging of
the Shamans he was ready to confess that he
was a wizard. This confession would undoubt-
edly have cost him his life had it not been for
the Zunies' fear of the soldiers at Fort Wingate,
and with whom they were threatened by the
trader, who had been notified of what was going
on, if thev did not release Nick immediately.
308 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
After the release the Government Agent was
informed by someone of what had happened. He
undertook to bring the guilty ones to trial for
"assaulting with intent to kill" one of their own
people. But at last fearing that this step might
lead to a Zuni uprising, which would not be to
his credit as United States Agent, he satisfied his
desire for justice by arresting the Zuni Governor,
Tsnahey, known to the whites as Dick, and sent
him to prison for several months on the charge
that, as Governor, he had power to prevent the
persecution of Nick.
Since that time and day, even up to the pres-
ent, there is an irreconcilable enmity between
Zuni Nick and Zuni Dick.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 309
XV.
ENTERING THE ZUNI FIELD
TN the month of June, 1629, a band of Mission-
•■• aries under Fray Estevan de Perea, accom-
panied by the governor, Don Francisco Manuel
de Silva Nieto, started westward from Santa Fe
for the purpose of planting missions among the
Acomas, Zunies, and Hopis. They evidently
reached Zuni late in July, as Nieto's first inscrip-
tion on El Morro is dated July 29. Fray Roque
de Figueredo, Fray Augustine de Cuellar, and
Fray Francisco de la Medre de Dios, together
with three soldiers, one of whom was Juan Gon-
zales, remained at Zuni. A house was built for
religious purposes at Hawikuh, which became
the first Misison established in the Zuni country.
These three missionaries, however, disappear
from Zuni history before 1632. They were suc-
ceeded by Fray Francisco Letrado, who arrived
in New Mexico in 1629, and was first assigned to
the Jumanos east of the Rio Grande. In the
month of February, on the twenty-second, a date
now known to every American boy and girl as
the birthday of George Washington, the father
of his country, of the year 1632, the Zunies killed
Letrado, and then out of fear for the conse-
quences, tied to their stronghold on Mount
Toaiyalone, where they remained for three
years. Five days after the massacre of Letrado
310 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
the Zunies also followed Fray Martin de Arvide
and also murdered him and his escort of two sol-
diers as they were going from the Zuni villages
to visit a tribe who lived to the west. Mission-
aries of this same Order were again established
at Zuni about the year 1643. In 1670 the Nav-
ahoes raided the Zuni villages and besides other
depredations, they killed the Zuni missionary,
Fray Pedro de Avila Ayala by beating out his
brains with a bell while he was clinging to a
cross. Ten years later, in 1680, a general revolt
of Pueblo Indians against Spanish authority
took place. Again the Zunies killed the mission-
ary. Fray Juan de Bal, burned the church and
fled once more to Toaiyalone, where they re-
mained this time for more than twelve years. In
1700 Padre Juan Garaicochea was priest at Zuni.
From now on the history is not particularly in-
teresting; thruout the eighteenth and well into
the nineteenth century, a mission was in exist-
ence, but at last the church fell into ruin and
only occasionally was it visited by priests.
It is not to be expected that the Friars will give
up this mission, once established by their
martyrs' blood, without a great combat. They
may be willing to let us alone at present, and it
may seem that we will be allowed to continue
our work unmolested, but we doubt not, the day
will come when we will have them to contend
with.
After the Friars discontinued their active work
312 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
in Zuni, abandoning the ruins of a once large
church, the Presbyterians made an attempt to
establish a mission at Zuni. This was in the days
when this great Church was not alive to the
cause of Indian Missions as it is today. It was
not a very prosperous undertaking, and did not
in any way receive the backing that it should
have from the home church. When our Churen
desired to occupy the field in 1897, these good
people very willingly withdrew and left the
work to us.
The motive of our entering this field when we
had as yet only the smallest kind of a beginning
among the Navahoes, may well be questioned.
We recall that it was in the latter part of 1896
that our men. Rev. H. Fryling and Mr. A. Van
der Wagen, with their wives, entered upon the
Indian Mission service at Fort Defiance. Soon
after becoming established at that place, they
came in contact with members of the Zuni tribe,
and after their village had been visited, Mr. Van
der Wagen was filled with enthusiasm to enter
upon that field, believing that it was Providen-
tial as well as a most promising opportunity.
After iinparting some of his enthusiasm to mem-
bers of the Board, he was granted the privilege
to enter the field. The following year a severe
epidemic of smallpox broke out among the
Zunies, and Mr. Van der Wagen and his good
wife, who by the way was a nurse, stood by the
sick and the dying. It verily seemed that the un-
i N ! I O (; A N AND PUEBLO 3 1 5
timely death of so many, and the highly appre-
ciated services of the missionaries would open
the hearts of the survivors for the Gospel of
light and life. But when the danger was past,
although the services were not forgotten, the
Zunies clung to their idolatry and superstition.
Mr. and Mrs. Van der Wagen labored on without
gathering any real fruit until 1906, when he re-
signed and was succeeded by the Rev. H. Fryling^
formerly among the Navahoes at Fort Defiance,
but who, when that place was abandoned, en-
tered upon the regular ministry in our Church at
Pease, Minnesota. His heart, however, was in
the Indian service, so when the way was opened
for him to take up the work at Zuni, he was glad
to accept the call and the Board was more glad
to have him accept, seeing that it was seemingh
impossible to get anyone to enter upon that
work.
Since 1906 Rev. Fryling has been laboring at
Zuni, not with a blare of trumpets and the beat-
ing of drums, but quietly and carefully thru
teaching and preaching laying a solid founda-
tion to build upon when the Lord's time comes
to call the Zunies out of nature's darkness into
the wonderful light of His mercy and grace. Al-
ready a couple of young men have accepted the
Christ Jesus presented to them in the catechism
class by Missionary Fryling. A great number
of others would be willing to accept Christian
Baptism if the Missionary would only be ready
314 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
to receive them and thru baptism bring them
into the Christian Church. Rev. Fryling is a
most careful and conscientious worker, and fully
realizing the temptations, the scoflings, the per-
secutions that await every convert, he desires to
be rather certain that any whom he receives
into the communion of the Church shall be able
to withstand all these, for a back-slidden convert
in Zuni would be a tremendous drawback to the
prosecution of the work. Ah! Zuni is undoubt-
edly a promising field. Not in the sense in which
many have understood it, however, who thought
that in a short time the village to a great extent
Avould be a village of converts. But promising
in the sense, as you may gleam it from a careful
perusal of Rev. Fryling's article, which follows.
Promising, when we do not forget: "Not by
might, nor by power, but by My Spirit shall it be
brought to pass, saith the Lord"; when, after a
thorough indoctrination of the youth, both boys
and girls, the influence and power of the old
people is broken. Then, and then only, may we,
by the grace of our God, expect a mighty change
in Zuni. If thru kindness and love the Mission-
ary and his helpers arc able to hold the youth
w^ho they are now teaching in the various schools
and Sunday schools, then the future for the work
at Zuni is most promising.
It is in no way necessary for us to go into de-
tail about the work or the workers, our repre-
sentatives, at Zuni, for you will find a full de-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 315
scription of this in the following written by the
Rev. H. Fryling himself. We want to mention,
however, that the various workers at Zuni are
sincere and consecrated men and women, and
that the mutual relation is always of the very
best. The Missionary and his Assistant are sup-
ported by the Classis Muskegon, while the school
and all connected therewith is for reckoning of
the Board. We have, as a Board, without ex-
ception, received laudatory commendation of
the Mission from the other whites living in or
near Zuni and Blackrock, where the work is car-
ried on. No one visiting our Indian field should
fail to make a trip to Zuni, one of the most in-
teresting places of the Southwest to visit. With
the hope that your interest in this particular
part of our Indian Mission service may increase
your prayers to the Throne above that the idola-
trous and superstitious Zuni may also come to
the faith that saves, we ask you to read most
carefully the description of the work that
follows.
THE ZUNI MISSION
REV. H. FRYLING, Missionary at Zuni, N. M.
OUR FIELD is in the Zuni village and valley
on the north and south side of the Zuni
River, about forty miles southwest of Gallup,
New Mexico. Here our Christian Reformed
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 317
Church located its mission in the fall of 1897,
and where we then found a tribe of about 1,600
pueblo Indians, the remnant of a much larger
tribe which lived here in the past. Since the
Government took charge of them, their num-
ber has increased to a little over 1,800. They
are a village people, which as long as they have
been known, have lived together in pueblos. At
present the Museum of the American Indian,
the Heye Foundation, is making an ethnological
survey, by excavating one of the oldest Zuni vil-
lages called Haweku, which is located about
fourteen miles southwest from the present Zuni
village. This old village, found by Spanish ex-
plorers, is entirely covered with sand, and by
these excavations very precious things are found
to elucidate the early history of the Zunies.
The Zunies, unlike their Navaho neighbors,
have a regular home and family life. They
build a home and enjoy being in their family
circle and visiting relatives and friends in their
homes. They do the most of their visiting in
the winter when their farm work is done and
nearly all have come together from their three
farming villages, various farming places and
ranches, for civil and religious association. Be-
sides being a home-loving people, they also enjoy
to be together in society. During the winter
months they often convene for counsel on secu-
lar and religious matters. They have for that
purpose a regular staff of civil officers appointed
I
318 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
by their most important religious leaders. Their
civil government is thus kept up and regulated
by their religious officers. This is the reason why
the Zuni religious system governs the entire
tribe, and every action in its government, in its
society and family life is, in some way or other,
connected with religion, and has some kind of a
religious significance attached to it. Their homes
are built and consecrated with religious cere-
monies, their grindstones, for grinding the meal
or flour in their homes, are set with sacred meal
and prayer plumes under them; their fields and
ranches are often visited and consecrated with
devotional exercises. Their whole civil and so-
cial, as well as their religious life, is therefore
connected with some kind oi a devotional
ceremony.
The Zunies are therefore considered a very
religious people, who are guided by their re-
ligious beliefs and motives thru the whole of
their lives. We must admit they are a very re-
ligious people, but we must also note that their
religion is exceedingly formal, consisting in
nothing but religious ceremonies, which does not
influence their morals nor change their life for
the better. They believe in the Sun-Father as
their main deity, and next to him the Moon-
Mother and her children, the stars and other
forces of nature which they emblematize by
making images of and shrines for them. The
worship of these idols, however, does not create
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 319
in them a sense of dependence upon or respon-
sibility towards a higher being. They have no
conception of real sin or of favor with their
gods. Consequently they have no idea of a
heaven and a hell, in the sense as taught by the
Word of God. They believe in Kothhialakwe,
which is an imaginary village of the Zuni dead,
about forty miles southwest from the present
Zuni Pueblo, but this is a place where all the
Zunies go four days after their demise. In this
village the spirits pass their time with dance and
song, and from thence they now and then, in the
form of Ko-kokshi (certain dancers), make their
appearance among the people in the Zuni vil-
lage. At other times they are heard and seen in
the cloudy sky as rain gods, who send thunder,
lightning, rain, snow, and so on. What really
keeps the Zunies in line for their pagan worship
is not so much their love for their gods nor their
fear of them, as their fear of one another. They
are very much afraid to be looked upon and held
by their people as a wizard or a witch, and can-
not bear any reproach. In former years the
wizards and witches were hung up by their
hands tied on their backs till they confessed
their sin. At present they are ignored and their
life among them is made unbearable by mockery
and scoffing. The public opinion in Zuni is as
yet much against everything new and all that
contradicts and counteracts their religious
views, because the older men are still in the lead.
320 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
From babyhood up their children are taught
their pagan views and to shun everything that is
foreign to their rehgion.
The Zunies, therefore, hve for the present and
have no sense of the needs for a future hfe.
They toil every day in the week, and think of
nothing else than what pertains to their tem-
poral welfare. The majority of them arc not
poor materially and live as well as the average
white people. Their life is not conducted or con-
trolled by a moral and spiritual influence. They
will all tell a falsehood or steal if they consider
themselves reasonably certain of not being de-
tected. They do not know of a word of honor,
and are thus not dependable not only for the
whites, but also among themselves. They do not
trust one another for a minute. This lack of con-
fidence is seen in their trade, in their business
contracts, in their marriage vows, and in any
other promise they should happen to make.
They do not seem to feel themselves bound by
a sense of justice. The reliable among them
are very few, and they even are not any too
honest and dependable according to the opinion
of the Indian traders who deal with them. Their
character is peculiar and very difficult for us to
understand.
They are naturally a friendly people, and very
hospitable and kind, and not addicted to much
quarreling and the committing of heinous
crimes. We therefore never hear of anv mur-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 321
ders among them as we do amongst the Nav-
ahoes. The best conception of their character
we obtain when we deal with them and treat
them as a people, adults in body but children in
mind and soul. They are easily stirred up to
anger, and by a little kind treatment soon
quieted down to peaceful association. They are
teachable and subject to material advancement.
Some of them are quite thrifty and prove that
there is a future for the Zunies. The coming
generation, two-thirds of which are or have been
educated in schools, begins to show a marked
change of character. Although these young
people in many ways try to comply with the
wishes of their parents and the leaders of the
tribe, they nevertheless hold their own ideas and
do many things which they are required to do
for their people with disgust. They do not like
to be noticed by the white people when they
must take part in the foolish stunts of the old
Zunies. For this reason we believe that the pub-
lic opinion and character of the Zunies is slowly
changing for the better. Their opposition to
something foreign is not so great and strong at
present as it was when our mission work in Zuni
began. They are more subject to persuasion
and to listen to advice than in former years, be
it for no other reason than to get material gain
and obtain a certain advantage over others.
Thus the Zunies arc gradually advancing in civi-
lization, and are accommodating themselves to
present-day circumstances and influences.
322 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
This change in the Hfe of the Zunies is caused
by various influences. The first to be men-
tioned is their association with the Mexican and
white settlers around their reservation, with
whom they trade more or less in stock or farm
products. They are quite keen to see a good
thing and ever ready to imitate their neighbors
to suit their own convenience. If one of them,
therefore, catches an idea of a white man or
Mexican and proves his success in applying it,
others will follow suit and all will be trying to
do the same thing. They do not like to go or
work alone. They often, therefore, go and work
in groups on the field, threshing-floor, in sheep-
camp, harvesting and hauling wood. They fol-
low each other like sheep in doing things, and
enjoy spending their time together in social
chats and games. They can lose game after
game without the least sign of being disheart-
ened or less cheerful than when they entered
the game.
Another influence for a change in the Zuni
life and character has been the Indian Trader,
who has ever held new things out to them in
trade for their produce of sheep, cattle, hides,
wool, grains and other farm products. In this
way they have learned that there is something
else in the world than what they themselves pro-
duce. The old people have the idea that they
are living at the center of the earth. Two-thirds
of these people have never yet seen a railroad
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 323
train, and seem to be satisfied with what they
have at home in Zuni. That trade in the stores
has taught them the value of money and how to
handle it. They buy their articles one at a time
and pay for its separately, causing much work
for the clerks in giving them change. The Indian
trade, it must be admitted, has wonderfully
changed their mode of living, their manners and
costumes. The old-time dress has long ago dis-
appeared and the civilized clothes have taken
its place. In their religious ceremonies the old
costume is sometimes used, but the most of their
apparel even then is made up of what they buy
in the stores. Their homes have changed from
old, small, dingy dwellings, built close together
and upon each other, with the entrance up and
down a ladder thru the roof, to large, roomy
houses built somewhat apart, with a large en-
trance in the side and well-lighted with Ameri-
can windows. Civilized household goods have
now found a place in their homes. The sewing-
machine, stove or range, bedstead, table and
chairs were about the first to claim a place. From
the light derived from the fire on the hearth they
adopted the use of the wax candle, next came the
coal-oil lamp, and now quite a number of them
use the modern gasoline lamp. From these and
other things we can readily observe the influence
the Indian trader has on the life of the Zunies.
They have mightily advanced in civilization
since they came in contact with the white people
324 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
and have given a clear proof that they are a
people adaptable to the influences of civiliza-
tion. Still, they are in dire need of a change of
heart and life. They need more than this ma-
terial change. They need the Gospel. They
need the knowledge of the only true God, of the
Savior and the way that leads to a spiritual life.
Yet another influence for their uplift, which
by the providence of God, is brought to bear
upon them is the kind endeavor of our Govern-
ment to educate them by sending instructors to
teach them how to till their land and care for
their stock. A government physician and field
matron are sent to look after their health and
cleanliness. Their influence is gradually gaining
in strength, and their presence is growing more
indispensable to them. When the Doctor is
away on a vacation, the Zunies soon feel the
need of him. The Government maintains two
schools here in Zuni and our Church one. The
aggregate number of Zuni children attending
these three schools is a little over three hundred,
with about fifty or sixty others attending non-
reservation schools. By this education the young
Indians are taught how to deal with their neigh-
bors, how to build good homes and how to live
a civilized life amongst a civilized people. These
young people are causing a visible change
amongst their own people as they begin to prac-
tice at home what they have been taught at school
and in their association with the \vhites. Their
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 325
schooling, although very necessary for their ma-
terial uplift, is not sufficient to give them the
much-needed information concerning the things
of the life to come. Civilization without the
knowledge of Jesus Christ, the only name under
heaven given among men for salvation, will
never save a soul from the wrath of God to come.
This is evident also here in Zuni. These Indians
need the knowledge of the only true God and
Jesus Christ, His Son, whom he has sent to be
the only Saviour of sinners, but let us mark that
all the above mentioned influences are paving
the way and opening the door for us to bring
them the Gospel. These Indians are therefore
more accessible today to be reached with the
message of truth than they were twenty or thirty
years ago. The time is not so far distant when
they will all be able to speak and understand
the American language and read the Bible and
other books in English,
From this bird's-eye view of our mission field
in Zuni we shall be willing to admit that it is a
place where Satan dwelleth and where he has
his forces well organized to resist any eventual
attack of his enemy. But we can also feel as-
sured that the forces of the Most High God are
busily at work to overthrow his bulwark, and
that according to the Word of God, like many
other strongholds of his, will have to fall before
the irresistible influence of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The day will come when the Zunies as
bo
G
\x
0
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IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 327
well as other people, will bow before the Lord
our God and seek pardon and mercy thru the
blood of the Lamb slain on Calvary's cross.
OUR MISSION FORCE until now has con-
sisted of one ordained missionary and three
helpers; an assistant missionary who makes it
his business to reach the young men; a matron,
who takes care of the cleanliness of the Indian
children of our Mission Day School, and who
tries to win the confidence of the Zuni young
women who understand and speak English; and
a teacher, who gives christian instruction to
about thirty-five young Zunies.
Our Christian Mission Day School, held in a
little adobe building on our Mission premises, is
always well attended and never needs to beg for
pupils, as the Zunies like to send their children
there. The teacher always leads the school in
the beginning and at the close of each school-
day in devotional exercices. Here is where the
httle Indians learn to read and write, figure and
draw, love and obey, and last but not least, to
read and reverence the Bible, to sing christian
hymns and pray to the true God. Every school-
day the golden text for Sunday school is re-
peated and the children are pointed to Him, who
came to this world to seek and save poor lost
sinners. What a glorious work is done there in
that little christian school-room. Such a work
cannot and will not be without glorious and last-
ing results for time and eternity. The pupils are
328 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
not all equally bright in their studies, but they
all do fairly well, and in behavior make a very
^ood impression on anybody, who perchance
should step into the school-room. They are all
fairly efficient in learning to read and write, and
quite so to draw pictures. Some of them are
real artists. Our Mission School being a Day
School, the children go home for their meals,
and in the evening for lodging. For the sake of
their health and cleanliness and to make it bear-
able for the teacher to be with them all day in
the school-room, they are provided with the
most necessary clothing and are required to
wash themselves every day in the school lava-
tory, and are given a bath and change of under-
wear once a week. Their book-learning, their
cleansing, their discipline and their instruction
in spiritual things all have their importance for
the making of their future. May the Lord bless
that work unto their eternal salvation.
The Matron looks after the cleanliness of these
children in our Mission School as has already
ieen mentioned, and she also, with the help of
the older pupils, washes and mends their clothes.
She teaches the girls to darn the stockings
and sew by hand and on the machine. Her work,
like that of the teacher, is to give instruction, but
more in an industrial line. She can, however,
not always be busy with this work, as the chil-
dren have their time to be in school, and there-
fore goes out into the village a few afternoons
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 3.9
each week to call on the English-speaking wo-
men to bring them the message of salvation. She
reports having met with all kinds of experiences,
pleasant and unpleasant. At one place she is
accepted with the greatest courtesy and friendli-
ness that anybody could ever expect, and at an-
other place the people shut and lock the door in
her face, or if permitted to enter, they do not
speak a single word to her. All her visits in the
village, however, are not so discouraging. Many
a time she finds women ready to listen to her
talks and readings about the Gospel story. She
often carries with her very easy reading-matter,
as for instance a Story of the Bible with some
pictures and a few tracts, making it her object
to read to them. Often she has tried to per-
suade the young Indian women to come to Sun-
day school or church, but they have always made
good promises, but which they failed to fulfill.
May the good Lord, who has every human heart
in His hand, turn them unto His own worship
and service. Let us pray for that. Let us look
for that. Let us work for that and let us keep
up courage, with that in view. It is the Lord's
work, and we are His servants with the privilege
to do it for Him.
The position of the Assistant Missionay calls
him to make it his business to befriend the Zuni
young men and lead them to the Saviour. He
calls on them in the village, makes himself a
companion to them and receives them in a room
330 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
which is always kept open for that purpose in
the old Zimi mission parsonage, and which is
called the Zuni Y. M. C. A. Reading-room. Here
is where the Zuni young men can spend their
long winter evenings in reading newspapers,
magazines and christian literature, and in social
chats and games. The Assistant Missionary sees
to it that the boys conduct themselves orderly
and welcomes, them to the place. Here he often
has the opportunity to read and talk to them
about things most needful for the life to come,
and preach the way of life to them. When they
are away from home, at school or work, he
keeps in touch with them by correspondence.
The last couple of years he kept up religious in-
struction with about thirty of them by mail. We
try to stay with these young Zunies until they
will be ready to take a leading place among
their people in the room of the present old
leaders. If we, by the grace of God, can hold
the confidence of the present young people, we
have in an ordinary course of events their good-
will assured in the future. May the good Lord
bless our efforts to that effect.
At present the position of Assistant Missionary
here in Zuni is vacant, and that work is not at-
tended to as it should be. Mr. M. Van der Beek
has resigned to take up work in Albuquerque
and Santa Fe, N. M., as Religious Director at two
Government Indian Boarding Schools, under
the auspices of the Home Missions Council, a
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 331
federation of various Protestant Churches, with
its headquarters in New York. We are glad to
have one of our own men in that position, as
he can and will naturally look after the inter-
ests of our Indian boys and girls at those schools.
The Missionary is in charge of the whole mis-
sion field and looks after the work and interests
of all the other workers. He is the governing
head. With him the helpers confer about their
work, and he attends to it that every part of the
work is sutficiently supplied and arranged, to
be most effectively done. To him the children
in our Mission School are sent for discipline, and
the parents come to him if they desire to have
a child taken up in School or if they have an
excuse to ask or complaint to make.
He corresponds with the supporters of the
School, and renders a financial statement of the
Mission in Zuni to the Treasurer of the Mission
Board and the Classis of Muskegon about every
other month, and a report each month. The old
Indians often come to see him at the parsonage
for advice in secular matters, and that often
gives him a coveted opportunity to bring them
the Gospel message. They come to him with
their troubles and for advice and information
about things that worry them. These poor ig-
norant Indians are very superstitious, and sights
like the Northern lights or the eclipse of sun
or moon trouble them as omens of something
horrible to happen. The opinion of the Mis-
332 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
sionary seems to quiet them. Sometimes they
come with their family troubles, and the Mis-
sionary is asked to attempt a settlement or to
advise in the matter, or they may be worried
about their children, who are away from home
and do not return. There are a half dozen Zuni
young men away, who have not been home for
several years. Two are at present in Indianap-
olis, one in Kansas City, another in Los Angeles,
and others in unknown places, of whom the
parents or relatives or friends seldom or never
hear. They therefore come to the Missionary
for information or to have him write a letter
for them. From all these things it is evident
that our Mission in Zuni is gradually gaining
in influence and confidence.
Further the Missionary makes it his business
to talk with old and young wherever he meets
them on the street, in the stores and upon his
visits in their homes. He has often called on
the sick to talk to them and to pray with them,
kneeling beside their bed on the floor, or where
a dear relative of the family had passed away
he has talked to those present to bring them the
message of truth, directing them to the only
Comforter and Saviour. The Zunies have their
own medicine men and women, and with their
medical practice these also believe in the efficacy
of prayer. They are therefore, as a rule, in sick-
ness or death, quite willing to have the mis-
sionary pray for them. On his visits in their
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 3,^3
homes he has always been accepted and treated
with courtesy and friendship. If he wouki try
to tell them the Gospel story, they often would
listen silently or say eyah, eyah, tee, hai, and
further give no response. They always seem to
be glad to see him come in, and offer him a chair
or a box to sit down and are willing to listen to
what he has to say, but from their entire dis-
position it is evident that they as yet hold to
their own pagan belief, and go on with their
idol worship. The longer we associate and deal
wdth them in trying to bring them the Gospel,
the more we are convinced that never a Zuni, as
well as any other sinner, will be drawn from
the darkness of sin to the marvelous light of
God's grace in Christ Jesus without the mighty
operation of the Holy Spirit in his heart. He
nmst be born again, and it is our mighty Lord
that must do it. Let us therefore pray as well as
work for it. We as christians often expect too
much of our own efforts and forget that we are
doing the Lord's work and that it is a privilege
extended by Him to us to do it for Him. By
prayer we keep in touch with our Master and
abide in His Word, and have His encouraging
and strengthening influence. As prayer without
work availeth nothing, so work without prayer
is also ineffective and cannot but lead to great
discouragement. Let us therefore pray and
work, and work and pray, for a Missionary has
often patient waiting to practice in the Lord's
334 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
service, as the Master will set His own time to
bless the means of grace for the conversion of
sinners.
The Zunies seemingly pray wdth all they do,
but their prayer has no meaning to them, be-
cause it is for them a mere ceremony and form
which has been handed down from their ances-
tors by the parents to the children, and is an end-
less repetition of a few sentences used by them as
a mystic charm. They do not know themselves
what they are praying for, and in many in-
stances do not even know the meaning of the
words they are saying. The more curious their
symbolization is in their religious ceremonies,
the more it seems to interest their pagan heart
and mind. For hours at a time these poor people
can stand in and around the sacred court in the
center of the village to watch the performances
of those Zunies who have dressed themselves to
represent certain gods. Our gospel preaching
and religious services do not seem interesting
to them, especially to the older people, because
of its lack of symbolism. Their undeveloped
mind as yet can not catch and understand the
preciousness of the words and thoughts brought
in the message of the Gospel truth. We there-
fore aim to follow the command of our Master
when He says: "Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations," making disciples of them, and we un-
derstand that teaching is difi'erent from preach-
ing, as it requires more time and effort and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 335
patience to bring the truth home to them for
whom it is intended.
We are therefore doing our most etTective
work in Zuni by giving rehgious instruction to
the young Zunies in the three schools, with a
regular attendance of three hundred pupils.
These children are divided into ten Bible classes
and receive instruction once, and some twice,
a week during their school-term. For the be-
ginners the Missionary uses Borstius' Primer of
Bible Truths, for the middle or intermediate
classes, Sacred History for Juniors, and for the
advanced. Sacred History for Seniors, as hand-
books. The instruction of the very first begin-
ners is conducted very much like parents have
to do at home with their little ones. It is, for
the Missionary, an endless repetition of the
same short sentences over and over again until
they have memorized the Gospel truths. In this
way they learn to pray a little morning and
evening prayer, and also the Lord's Prayer,
and to repeat the Apostle's Creed, the Twenty-
third Psalm, and the older ones, the Ten Com-
mandments. The more advanced pupils under-
stand English and are lectured to according to
the handbook followed for instruction. In this
work the Missionary is assisted by his Assistant
because he is required to take two classes at the
same hour in order not to interfere with their
regular school work. Our time for religious in-
struction is arranged with the superintendent or
336 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
principal of each school. We have enjoyed the
privilege of conducting this religious instruction
for over ten years, and as yet it has not been
interfered with by any other Church. The re-
sults of this work, with the blessings from on
high, cannot fail to come, as these young people
are in the ordinary course of time most certain
to grow up to manhood and womanhood, and
then will take the place of the present leaders,
and under the Providence of God advance their
influence according to the ideas they imbibed at
school about secular and sacred things. Let us
remember this branch of the work in our daily
prayers.
Besides following the Lord's command by
teaching these Indians in Bible classes, we try to
influence them by conducting Sunday schools.
In our Mission Day School we have a gathering
of about fifty children every Sunday morning.
This school is divided into three classes, taught
by the Missionary and his helpers. During the
week the children memorize the golden text in
school, and on Sunday morning they repeat it
after rising from their seats. They master this
portion of the Word of God wonderfully well,
and are able quite well to retain it in their mem-
ory for some time. May the Lord bless this good
work unto the hearts of these young Zunies so
that they may soon turn unto Him to seek and
find life eternal thru faith in the only name given
under heaven by which we can be saved. The
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 337
Government employees at the Government In-
dian Boarding School conduct a Sunday school
with about one hundred and twenty pupils at-
tending, and they use our Sunday school
supplies.
On Sunday evening our Missionary has the
privilege to preach at the Black Rock Indian
Boarding School about four miles east of the
Zuni village, with the majority of the Govern-
ment employees attending to help in keeping
order and to conduct the music. This is as a
rule a very interesting meeting, and affords the
Missionary and his helpers, who often accom-
pany him thither, much pleasure and encour-
agement. The Gospel is brought there to the
Zuni young people as simple and comprehensible
as possible. That those talks on Sunday evening
make some impression on those youthful In-
dian minds is evinced by the questions the chil-
dren ask the teachers during the week about
what was said on Sunday evening. So we may
feel quite confident that our preaching is heard
and understood, if not by all, at any rate by
some of the young Indians and the Gospel ac-
cepted for retlection during the week. May the
Lord also abundantly bless this work for the
coming of His Kingdom in Zuni.
Every Sunday afternoon we as missionaries
gather for religious worship, principally for our
own spiritual uplift and encouragement. This
meeting is sometimes attended by white people
338 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
living around us in Zuni, and also now and
then by a few Indians. The white people here
in general have come to dwell amongst the In-
dians to make money and accumulate wealth by
trade, and take no interest in religion or mission
work. When we are gathered for worship the
Indians often have a dance in the village and
draw a crowd of their own people around them.
They always -seem to prefer the Sundays for
their religious ceremonies, dances, festivities,
and sports in order to keep their people away
from the mission. The old leaders do all that is
within their power to uphold their heathen wor-
ship in order to counteract the influence of the
mission. But, believe me, dear mission friend,
we are persuaded that they are playing a losing
game. They are losing hold on the coming gen-
eration and they begin to feel it quite strongly.
Hence their struggle against the influence of the
Gospel, and their enthusiasm in their paganistic
worship. The number of the old leaders in
their idol worship is, from year to year, getting
smaller and the people are gradually losing in-
terest in their heathen ceremonies and feasts.
The Shalico, for instance, which has been their
most prominent feast for ages in the past, and
which has been celebrated with great enthu-
siasm, is gradually losing in interest. Quite a
number of the Zunies now refuse to receive the
Shalicoes in their house or to remodel or to
build a new house for the celebration of this an-
INHOGAN AND PUEBLO 339
nual feast. It means too much of an expense
for the most of them, and they who have made
preparation for the Shalico in the past, have lost
nearly all of the little possessions they did have.
But the fact of the whole matter is that they are
losing interest in their old heathen ceremonies,
that is, enough interest to refuse to spend as
much of their earnings as is required to uphold
that old religious feast according to its former
dignity. Many of the old-time ceremonies and
religious dances have long ago disappeared be-
cause, as the Zunies claim, their leaders have
died and there is nobody left to take their place
and continue the rite.
In this sense our work here in Zuni is slowly
but surely progressing and we are encouraged
with the thought that we are serving an Omnis-
cient, Omnipotent and Merciful Lord, Who per-
mits us to do His work although He does not
need our help and can easily accomplish His
purpose without us. We consider it a privilege
to be permitted to do His work. We are per-
suaded that He will take care of His own, so that
our labors here in Zuni as well as elsewhere will
not be in vain. We are confident also according
to the testimony of God's own Word, that not
one of His elected children will be lost. It
takes the grace of God thru faith in Jesus Christ
to save a soul from eternal damnation, and it is
the same grace that saves us all, but we all do
not require an equal amount of it. Our merci-
340 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
fill God and Father does not require of the hhnd
and ignorant heathen what He does of a civi-
lized and well-enlightened person who is horn
and lives in the light of God's countenance in a
christian community, or who has christian par-
ents and lives and dies under christian influence.
From what we have seen here in Zuni by our
visits in their homes, at their sickbeds, and
deathbeds, in Bible classes and Sunday school,
we are much encouraged to believe and expect
that we shall meet some Zunies in heaven who
will there testify that they are saved by grace
thru the blood of the Lamb. Eternity will cer-
tainly reveal in full the fruits of our labors here,
and we shall have every reason to forever thank
and parise our Lord and Savior with those
whom He permitted us to lead to Him.
Please, reader, remember our Zuni Mission in
your daily prayers, that the bulwark of Satan
in Zuni may soon fall, that many of these poor,
ignorant and blind Indians may be turned from
the darkness of heathendom to the light of God's
grace, that our Lord may have a church estab-
lished here where at present Satan dwells, and
that His great Name be glorified and we. His
servants, be encouraged in the work. It is His
work to convert the soul. It is His power to
overcome the devil. It is His Spirit to establish
His Church. Let us therefore pray for it and do
all we can with the goods, energy, talents and
wisdom God has given us to help bring it about.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 341
and we shall then be able to rejoice in the Lord's
doing forever and ever and glory in His coming
back on earth to take unto Himself His own in
glory. After work will come our rest. After our
battles we shall enjoy the victory and receive the
crown of glory, which shall never be taken from
us. Let us therefore continue in our work and
prayer for the Master Whom we love and serve.
342 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
XVI.
NON-RESERVATION SCHOOLS
WHEN WE SET ourselves to study the Indian
and his opportunities for education, we
should not overlook these Non-Reservation
Schools provided and supported by our Govern-
ment. In response to our inquiry, the Depart-
ment of the Interior informed us that there were
seventeen such schools, giving us their names
and locations. A report on Indian Missions to
the Home Missions Council in 1918 gives the
number as twenty-five, although it only men-
tions seventeen by name, with an enrollment of
8,566. There seems to be a little discrepancy in
this matter, therefore, and we account for it by
taking it for granted that the Department of the
Interior mentions only those schools which are
entirely under the supervision of the Govern-
ment, and that some of the twenty-five men-
tioned in the Indian Report of the Home Mis-
sions Council are either partly or wholly sup-
ported by private initiative.
We were also informed that all Indians boys
and girls who are of one-fourth or more Indian
blood, and whose parents are not citizens of the
United States and the State in which they live,
and who do not have public school facilities
near their homes, are admitted to these schools,
but they are required, in most cases, to attend
the school nearest their home which carries the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 343
course of study they desire to pursue. The
schools of this character in which we as a
Church are and should be more particularly in-
terested, are those at Santa Fe and Albuquerque,
N. M., and the Sherman Institute at Riverside,
Calif. Our particular interest in these, and also
the one at Phoenix, Arizona, to a certain extent,
is eti'ected by the fact that it is to these schools
that our brightest Navaho and Zuni boys and
girls are sent for higher education and broader
training.
Naturally it has often proved a sore disap-
pointment to our Missionaries at Crown Point,
Toadlena, Tohatchi, and Zuni, that their pupils,
just when they were beginning to understand,
and consequently beginning to take a deeper in-
terest in the religious instruction given them,
were removed beyond their reach by being
transferred to one of the above mentioned
schools. Ah! to be sure, the Missionary was de-
lighted to think that his brightest boys and girls
were going to have an opportunity for further
development in the lines of education and in-
dustrial training, but he could not stifle the fear
that in the process they might lose the knowl-
edge of the truth and of the "Jesus Way" which
he, with so much prayer and patience, by the
grace of God had been privileged to instill in
their hearts while under his religious care and
instruction. It has happened again and again
that some boys and girls had plead to be bap-
344 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
tized and received into the christian communion,
but the Missionary hesitated, beheving it to be
for their good to wait a httle longer in order that
they might become better founded in the truths
of the christian rehgion, and then unexpectedly
by Government order these very pupils were
transferred to one of these non-reservation
schools beyond his personal reach and instruc-
tion. How his heart burned for them, and if the
way had been open, he undoubtedly would have
rather followed them than to remain at his
lonely post and begin over again with the little
ones brought in from the camps to take the place
of those transferred. I am sure we can all feel
the keen disappointment of our Missionaries in
this matter, and can only hope with them that
thru a regular and systematic correspondence
with these absent ones, they may keep them in-
terested and faithful unitl they return to the
Reservation.
Now, however, a change is being brought
about, as far as religious instruction is con-
cerned at these non-reservation schools. The In-
dian Committee of the Home Missions Council,
of which our Dr. H. Beets is also a member, has
taken this matter in hand and appointments of
Rf ligious Directors at these schools are mpde.
Of course, this is an Interdenominational work,
for pupils of almost every mission field are
found in these schools. Practically every de-
nomination that carries on w^ork among the In-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 345
dians is represented by some children. Conse-
quently these Religious Directors must also be
drawn from the various Churches, Our Mr. M.
Van der Beek, formerly a boys' worker at Zuni»
was appointed such a Director at the two
schools, one at Albuquerque and one at Santa
Fe, N. M. He gives us a description of the work
done at these schools in the brief article which
follows. That his is a responsible and a most
important position must be realized by all.
At Riverside, a little town in southern Cali-
fornia, we find what is known as the Sherman
Institute, one of the largest and best equipped
of all non-reservation schools. This Institute
and the work done there is known far and wide
among the Western Indian tribes. Its results
verily enter every region of red life, from the
salmon canneries of the great Columbia River,
to the painted desert of Arizona, but, strange to
say, the white man in general has no knowledge
of it. This is because this school does not send
out propaganda literature, its records of
achievement lie buried in the dry and dusty Gov-
ernment reports, perused and read by very few;
but the fruits and blessings of the work itself are
found in the homes and cradles of the red race;
consequently this great work is really known to
those only whom it benefits.
This school, now more than twenty-five years
old, with its numerous buildings, magnificent
gardens, campus, and farm, lies in the heart of
346 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
orange groves, with snow-capped and sun-
flooded mountains grouping their strength
around it. Here, in this splendid gift of the
white race to the red, the Indian youth of more
than fifty different tribes are taught tlie higher
things of life. The boy is taught a trade, to take
care of land, the maintenance and upkeep of his
future home. He is also taught the meaning of
a home, and the co-operation of the sexes, some-
thing in which Indian life is usually lacking. He
is therefore taught the man's duty in every
sphere of life and activity. The girl, to fit her
for domestic efficiency, is first of all taught to
sew and mend. Her days really alternate be-
tween the school-room and the work-room; on
one day she may be taught how to conjugate a
verb, and on the following one how to dress and
care for a baby. In a big sunny room, filled with
sewing machines, work-tables, etc., the Crow
maiden of Montana, the Navaho, Hopi, and Zuni
girls of New Mexico, the little Winnebago lass
from Nebraska, stand side by side with many
others of different tribe and lineage, learning
the complete trade of dress-making, etc. Things
which their mothers are not able to teach them,
but which they will most certainly teach their
children.
Besides dress-making, the girl is taught cook-
ing, cleanliness in the preparation and care of
food material, the need for clean utensils and
good ventilation in the home, the relation of
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 347
health to nourishing food, and what effective
agents these things are in combating disease.
Housekeeping is another branch of domestic
science that is taught, with the great dormitories
for demonstrating purposes. Nothing is elab-
orate, but everything is thoroughly practical. In
the laundry building they are trained in this line
of domestic competency. But now it may seem
useless to some of us to teach the Indian youth
these various branches of domestic science, and
then when they graduate send them back to the
desert and Reservation, where the facilities of
Sherman Institute are unknown and undreamed
of, and where everything must of very necessity
be done in the most primitive ways. Ah! this
would be only too true if it were not a fact that
at this Institute stress and emphasis is laid upon
this very thing. They learn, thru special instruc-
tion and in special classes, to do all these various
things as they will have to do them in their home
environment. Except in a few^ localities, the
average Indian home is a blank, its mother is a
drudge, its children merely exist, and therefore
the Sherman Institute, by precept and example,
sends into thousands of these homes, by means
of its graduates, light and ambition to have
things different and better.
Another remarkable and important feature of
this Institute is the hospital. The girls arc
trained in extremely practical hygiene and nurs-
ing and are shown how to prevent diseases
348 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
among their peoi)le. These gentle-voiced and
silent-footed Indian nurses give ministrations
just as tender and soothing as those of their
v/hite sisters.
On the ranch, four miles from the Institute
campus, the girls are shown and taught the care
of a dairy, the raising of poultry, and other wo-
man's work about the farm. And all this is
work, real work, earnest work, for life with an
Indian woman, is a serious business, devoid of
much of the sociability and recreation which
her white sister enjoys.
It will have been understood from the fore-
going that this school is to a great extent self-
supporting. The tailor shop and dressmaking
department turns out the neat-appearing uni-
forms with which all are clothed, the hospital
takes care of the sick, the ranch and gardens
provide for the kitchen, the laundry and
print shop command their own departments.
And to teach the pupils to earn and save money
for themselves, they are able, by means of the
outing system, to secure positions during vaca-
tions and are required to save two-thirds of their
wages. In this way they are able to earn thou-
sands of dollars annually.
This is surely enough about the school itself,
to give everyone a little idea of the institution,
although much more might be said, for in one
word, it is a wonderful place to visit and should
be known to all oiir people as well as to the In-
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 349
dians, in order that the two races may come to a
better mutual appreciation.
Now as to the religious instruction at the Insti-
tute. According to our Rev. L. P. Brink in The
Banner of May 26, 1921, the Roman Catholics are
simply putting the Protestants to shame. May
it not continue thus! The Indian Committee of
the Home Missions Council has appointed a Rev.
Mr. Vennink as Religious Director. He is of the
Congregational Church, and according to reports
a man well-fitted and equipped for the position
Our Church also gladly helps to support this
-work, but because of the great number of Nav-
aho boys and girls at the Institute, the Board
feels inclined to offer to pay the full salary of the
worker if he be chosen from ainong our men.
In the meantime, it seems to us that our church
at Redlands, Calif., might do a very good piece
of work by regularly visiting this Institute and
by getting in touch with the boys and girls that
come from the several mission stations of our
Church. If the Missionaries would send a list of
the boys and girls from their districts that have
been transferred to Riverside, to the Redland's
consistory, I am sure these good brethren would
be glad to arrange for the above mentioned visi-
tation. We know at least one man in the Red-
lands church whose heart and soul is in the In-
dian work and who loves the Navaho boys and
girls, and I am sure he would be glad to do thio
work.
350 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
These non-reservation schools are indeed crii-
ical places for the future of our Indian work,
and if anywhere then just here our best men
should be employed, our best efforts put forth
and our best talents expended.
RELIGIOUS WORK IN NON-RESERVATION
SCHOOLS
By M. VAN DER BEEK
THERE IS MUCH to be said regarding the
work done in non-reservation Government
schools. They are splendidly equipped and
draw pupils from every part of the country,
some schools having as inany as fifty tribes rep-
resented. The pupils in these schools have
greater opportunities to "make good" than those
in the Government schools on the Reservations,
because here they are removed from the influ-
ences of their own people and the paganism of
their tribe. Here they are to some extent at
least in a christian community, many of the
people with whom they come in contact being
christian people.
At these schools, especially with the new
course of study prescribed by the Indian Office,
the pupils are kept busy from early morning
until late in the evening. At 5 : 30 a. m. they are
summoned by the call of the bugle to arise. At
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 351
six they are ready for their early morning phys-
ical exercices, then, breakfast, school, work, din-
ner, school again, work, supper, and even after
that there is still much to be done such as band
practice, choir practice, school-work, religious
meetings, etc., so that when the hands of the
clock point to nine, every boy and girl is more
than willing to rest for the night.
According to the rules and regulations of the
Indian Office, two hours per week are allowed
for religious instruction. These hours must be
arranged with the Superintendent of the school.
I will now give you a few particulars about the
religious work at the Albuquerque school where
I am Religious Director to the Protestant pupils.
Religiously the school is divided into two groups,
namely, Protestant and Roman Catholic. Each
of these groups attend their respective churches
every Sunday morning for Sunday school as well
as church services.
The Protestant boys and girls attend the
Presbyterian church, the school providing the
necessary conveyances. Here they are taught
the first principles of the Christian faith, or if
they have previously enjoyed religious instruc-
tion at a Mission School, their spiritual life is
developed and strengthened. That they are
greatly concerned about all these things is evi-
denced by their intense interest when attending
the services in the house of God, and we are
reminded of the saying from the Book we love :
352 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
"They were desirous that the word should h^.
spoken unto them."
On Wednesday evening, at the school, a
Y. M. C. A. meeting is held. This is a strictly re-
ligious service something similar to the Young
People's Societies in our Reformed churches.
This meeting is conducted by the Religious Work
Director, who acts as General Secretary of this
organization. Attendance at these meetings is
not compulsory. Being a Government school,
they assume no responsibility for the spiritual
development of the Indians boys and girls as
they come from the Reservations. This is in-
evitable because of our separation of Church
and State. However, spiritual and religious in-
fluences are brought to bear thru the agencies
of the Church and the Christian Associations.
Many of the boys that belong to the Y. M. C. A.
are divided into small groups, called the "Inner
Circle." These boys have promised to spend
some time each morning and evening in the
study of God's Word and in prayer, and they are
especially sincere about observing the "Morning
Watch," realizing at least in a measure that "a
half hour each morning with God alone, saves
two hours of confession each night." These meet-
ings are usually conducted with great success,
principally because the attendance is voluntary,
and also because the boys themselves take part.
May God bless this work which is done by the
faithful boys, and may the result of it be felt by
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 353
the entire school, and when they return to their
Reservations may they become moral and relig-
ious leaders among their own people.
On Friday evening there is a meeting with the
girls, called a Y. W. C. A.. All that has been said
about the Y. M. C. A. can practically be applied
to the Y. W. C. A., both organizations having
uniform programs.
On Saturday afternoon an hour of religious in-
struction is given to the Protestant boys and girls
in The Fundamentals of Christianity. All Prot-
estant pupils attend these meetings. Here they
are instructed in the old-time religion, they are
pointed to the Lamb of God that taketh away the
sins of the world. Here they are urged to ac-
cept Christ, and here they receive an adequate
understanding of what the "Jesus Way" really
means.
On Sunday evening a regular religious serv-
ice is conducted at the school, and the ministers
from the different churches in Albuquerque are
asked to address the audiences.
The work is very pleasant but also very re-
sponsible. The students come to us with their
joys as well as their sorrows, their trials and
temptations, asking our guidance and our
prayers. Surely, a great work, to be the instru-
ments in God's hand of leading boys and girls
out of nature's darkness into God's wonderful
light, to break down the "Bulwarks of Satan,"
354 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
and to build up the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
By the help and grace of God we are laying a
foundation for the future, we sow the seed and
we have God's own promise that it shall not be
in vain — "My Word will never (did you get that
word, never) return unto Me void." May the
prayers of God's people rise up in great volume
for these hundreds of Indian young people in
the non-reservation Government schools. That
there may be a real spiritual awakening among
them and a genuine consecration to the cause
of Christ, and to the redeeming of their own
people.
The morning light is breaking,
The darkness disappears,
The Indians are awakening,
To penitential tears,
Each breeze that sweeps the ocean.
Brings tidings from afar.
Of Indians in commotion,
Prepared for Zion's war.
See the Indians bending.
Before the God we love.
And thousand hearts ascending
In gratitude above;
While sinners now confessing.
The Gospel call obey,
And seek the Savior's blessing
A nation in a day.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 355
XVII.
A WORD IN CONCLUSION
TV'T'E ARE very happy to conclude this brief
^^ sketch on bringing the Gospel in Hogan
and Pueblo, preaching Jesus to Navaho and
Zuni, with the statement that all the Protestant
denominations of our land having work among
the Indians are co-operating in a very friendly
and harmonious way under the guidance and
direction of the Joint Committee on Indian Mis-
sions of the Home Missions Council and the
Council of Women for Home Missions. In this
way the Protestant Churches of America are
maintaining a united front, and by bringing
their combined influence to bear, they are able
to accomplish much, both in a negative and in a
positive way. In a negative wa> ttiey, by pre-
senting an unbroken phalanx, are able to pre-
vent harmful legislation against the Indians, and
in a positive way the fields have been so allo-
cated by mutual agreements, that there are prac-
tically no cases of overlapping and consequent
waste of man- and money power. Thru this
genial co-operation of the Boards there has also
been brought about in the Churches which they
represent a very marked increased desire to
reach all the Indians, even the most scattered
and neglected, by some responsible missionary
356 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
agency. There are twice as many missionaries
in the Indian field today as there were twenty-
five years ago.
No less than eight Protestant denominations
are at work among the Navahoes in twenty-two
stations. The types of work are evangelistic
(camp work), educational (four Mission
Schools), medical (six hospitals and dispensa-
ries). There are fifty-two w^hite workers and
tw^enty-four native, (some serving part time as
interpreters). The great need as voiced by one
missionary is: "man power and equipment
which is woefully needed." "It is estimated that
there are seven thousand and five hundred Nav-
aho children, of school age, without adequate
school facilities. This is a challenge to Chris-
tian America," declared Moff ett. The above fig-
ures, gleaned from the latest Annual Report of
the Indian Committee of the Home Missions
Council, may be correct, we have no way to dis-
prove them, but we are rather skeptical when
we remember that we as a Church, working in
four of the twenty-two places, have twenty-one
of the fifty-two white workers. We are positive,
however, that of all the Missions to the Navaho,
there is no station better manned and more thor-
oughly equipped than our Rehoboth Mission.
In our estimation there are at least two things
which the Home Missions Council should put
forth all its efforts, thru its Indian Committee, to
obtain. In the first place, a fulfillment of the
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 357
promise by our Government that for every thirty
children a teacher would be provided, so that it
will no longer be true that thousands are grow-
ing up without any opportunity for schooling.
In the second place, it should strive to get na-
tional legislation against the peyote evil. This
evil is assuming such proportions that it is most
detrimental to the health and morals of the In-
dians among whom it is introduced. According
to Dr. R. W. Roundy, the use of this mescal bean
with its accompanying hallucinations, has as-
sumed religious sanction as an Indian religion,
with an incorporated church in the State of
Oklahoma. One or two States have already
passed laws prohibiting the use of this deleter-
ious drug. Our national Government should
speedily follow the same course if it is to con-
tinue as a faithful guardian of the humanitarian
interests of the original Americans. You who
read this can help by writing to your Senators
and Representatives at Washington, D. C., urg-
ing them not only to give their attention to this
peyote evil, but also to actively support the ef-
fort to get national prohibition in this matter.
The average public speakers, and conse-
quently the people in general, have and foster
the idea that the Indian is a vanishing race, rap-
idly disappearing from our midst. But this is
not true according to the reports issued by our
national Census Bureau. These reports show a
steady increase during the last three or four dec-
358 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ades. Also the Navahoes and Zimies, among
whom we as a Church have the privilege to la-
bor, are continually increasing in numbers. The
Navaho today is numerically the largest and
strongest tribe, and most probably also of all In-
dians the most in need of the Gospel of Jesus.
The Zunies, according to a census taken by our
own missionary, have increased from a tribe of
sixte^en hundred souls to a little more than
eighteen hundred, during the fifteen years that
he has been among them. Let no one therefore
attempt to belittle or to cast reflection upon In-
dian Missions by designating the Indian, as is
too often done also among us, a vanishing race.
It cannot well be gainsaid that one of the
greatest, if indeed not the greatest hindrances to
missionary success among the Indians has been
the notorious and scandalous treatment of these
aborigines by the whites. There is more truth
than fiction in the saying: "When the white
man came to these shores he first fell upon his
knees and then upon the aborigines." The In-
dians' own point of view regarding this matter
may be gleaned from the following incident:
"In the Capitol at Washington are four histor-
ical pictures which are striking object lessons of
the treatment which the Indians have received.
The first is the landing of the white men, and the
Indians offering corn to them. The second is
the signing of the treaty ceding Pennsylvania to
the white man. The third shows Pocahontas in
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 359
the act of defending Captain John Smith. The
fourth represents an engagement between the
whites and the Indians in which the latter are
being killed. An Indian, to whom the Capitol
was being shown, stood thoughtfully before the
pictures described, and summed up the history
of his people in a few simple words: 'Indian
give white man corn. Indian give white man
land. Indian save white man. White man kill
Indian'."
"The relation of the United States Govern-
ment to the Indian has been divided into three
periods: the COLONIAL, the NATIONAL, and
the MODERN. The COLONIAL period was
characterized by constant wars, bloodshed and
rapine. The fact cannot be disguised that the
most bloody Indian wars and massacres of these
days were inspired by the whites themselves.
The NATIONAL period of the Government's re-
lation to the Indian has been called 'a century
of dishonor.' Peace was impossible because of
the insatiate greed of the settler for the Indian's
land. Treaties were made, but utterly disre-
garded by the whites, and new wars would re-
sult. The MODERN period, beginning with the
first term of President Grant, was introduced by
'The Peace Policy.' President Grant advocated
the Indian's civilization, the education of their
children, and a fulfillment of treaty obligations.
His appeal to christian bodies to assist in their
amelioration led to the organization of the 'In-
360 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
dian Rights Association', which from that time
unto the present day has labored in behalf of the
Indians. The 'Women's National Indian Asso-
ciation' is a supplementary body. It establishes
missions where there are none, and turns them
over to christian denominations, who will care
for them. Since 'The Peace Policy' went into ef-
fect, the Department of the Interior at Wash-
ington has charge of the government of the In-
dians. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs is
at the head of the Indian office, which is a bu-
reau in this Department. About one-half of the
Indians today are on Reservations — a term ap-
plied to the land set apart or reserved by the
Government for the exclusive use of the Indians.
These Reservations in turn are in charge of Gov-
ernment Agents, as we have seen in a previous
Chapter. The Agents are responsible to the
Commissioner of Indians, who is appointed by
the President and resides in Washington." The
present Commissioner of Indian Affairs is
Charles H. Burke.
Because of the Indians' feeling toward the
white man, the Missionary coming to them with
the Gospel was generally met with a sullen
hatred. But if we consider all the difficulties
and the comparatively small number of Indians,
missions among them have been successful be-
yond what might have been expected. And if
we read the signs aright, we believe we have now
entered upon a new era of Indian Missions. The
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 361
Indian of the old trail, a very religious being in
the darkness of ignorance and superstition,
clothed in war-paint and feathers, armed with
tomahawk and scalping-knife, and with bow and
arrow, has made way for the Indian of today
just entering citizenship thru the highway of
knowledge. He has been well-termed " a bundle
or bristling possibilities." Great is the respon-
sibility of the Church of today, to get him, to
hold him, to use him in the service of the King
of kings and the Lord of lords.
Twenty-six different Boards, representing
twenty-one different Protestant denominations,
are facing this responsibility. Partial statistics
show that there are established Missions in over
one hundred different tribes and tribal bands.
There are some six hundred and forty-three In-
dian churches, four hundred and twenty-nine
Protestant, and two hundred and eight Roman
Catholic missionaries. Forty-four thousand seven
hundred and thirty Protestant and five thousand
eight hundred and sixty-four Catholic church-
going Indians, while in addition to these there
are probably some seventy thousand adherents.
The actual annual expenses for all Protestant
work, including the maintenance of twenty-five
Mission Schools, with an enrollment of approxi-
mately two thousand children, is less than a
third of a million dollars.
The history of Indian Misisons is a story of
patient, untiring service, and of unwearying self-
362 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
sacrifice. Tlie recording of this history in its
details is a work still to be accomplished by
some lover of the cause. We can only give an
incident or two, with the hope that these may
stimulate an interest to search for more. The
heroes, whose names are best known to us and
who stand in the forefront are: Roger Wil-
liams, John Eliot, David and John Brainerd,
Jonathan Edwards, Count Zinzendorf, Marcus
Whitman, Bishop Whipple, Bishop Hare, and
many, many others whom we should mention,
but do not for want of space. Eliot's monumen-
tal work is the Bible in the Mohican, the first
Bible published in America and that only fifty
years after the publication of the King James
version. The brief ministry of David Brainerd,
five years, is a most impressive story of burning
zeal and devotion, and written as it is by Jona-
than Edwards, it is a classic of missionary and
devotional literature. The life of Marcus Whit-
man contains four outstanding incidents that
should be known to every one interested in the
subject of missions among the Indians. We will
simply mention the incidents and ask you to look
them up and read them in any authentic biogra-
phy of this man of God. The search for the white
man's book of heaven. The double wedding jour-
ney of the young missionaries, Marcus Whitman
and H. H. Spalding, and their brides to the dis-
tant Indian country. Whitman's famous ride to
Washington. The martyrdom of Whitman and
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 3t)'S
his wife in the massacre of 1847. Bishops
Whipple and Hare were instrumental in estab-
lishing and wonderfully developing the work of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in Minnesota.
If anyone today speaking of Indian Missions,
thinks only of the work among the three hun-
dred and more thousands of Indians in our own
land, he shows thereby that he has not the vision
that he should have as a believer in and sup-
porter of this cause. The millions of Indians of
Latin America are the real field for Indian mis-
sionary activity. The greatest stretch of un-
evangelized territory in the whole world lies in
the center of South America, including the in-
terior of Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. This territory is
about two thousand miles long and from five to
fifteen hundred miles wide, and includes but
two or three missionaries, and in spite of the
needs as great as in China or Africa, American
Missionary Boards only sujiport one hospital in
the whole continent. What makes the oppor-
tunity absolutely unique in the world's mission-
ary history is the common language, the com-
mon religious inheritances, the common form of
government and the common problems and
ideals. More and more we ought to be able to
see therefore that the cause of Indian Missions
is not child's play, but in every respect a man's
job and worthy of the very best talented men
that our Church is able to produce. The Train-
364 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
ing School for Native leaders should be a school
equipped to furnish Missionaries for the extend-
ing of the Kingdom of God among the millions
of Indians, not only in North, but also in Cen-
tral and in South America as well.
i
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 365
THEY WHO HAVE BEEN OR WHO ARE
STILL IN OUR INDIAN MISSION
SERVICE
The Regular Missionaries.
*REV. AND MRS. HERMAN FRYLING, Zuni, New
Mexico.
MR. AND MRS. ANDREW VAN DER WAGEN, Zuni,
New Mexico.
MR. AND MRS. JAMES E. DE GROOT.
*REV. AND MRS. L. P. BRINK, Toadlena, New Mexico.
*REV. AND MRS. J. W. BRINK, Rehoboth, New Mexico.
REV. AND MRS. D. H. MUYSKENS.
REV. AND MRS. L. S. HUIZENGA, M. D.
*REV. AND MRS. JACOB BOLT, Crown Point, New
Mexico.
REV. AND MRS. HERMAN HEYNS.
*MR. AND MRS. MARK BOUMA, Tohatchi, New Mexico.
*MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM MIEROP, Rehoboth, New
Mexico.
Other Workers
MISS ALICE AARDSMA (Mrs. Hoekstra).
*MR. AND MRS. HUDSON BAINBRIDGE (Navahoes),
Toadlena, New Mexico (Interpreter and Assistant).
*MISS NELLIE BAKER, Rehoboth, New Mexico (House-
keeper-Cook).
MISS J. BARTELS.
MR. EDWARD BECENTI (Navaho).
*MISS HATTIE BEEKMAN, Zuni, New Mexico,
(Matron).
*MR. AND MRS. J. H. BOSSCHER, Rehoboth, New
Mexico (Manager).
NOTE: — Those marked with a (*) are still in the
service.
366 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
MISS ANNA BOUMA.
MISS DENA BRINK (Mrs. Van der Wagen).
MISS WINNIE BOUMA.
MR. AND MRS. D. BRUMMELER.
*MISS ALICE BUSH, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Seam-
stress).
MISS MARY DAS.
*MR. AND MRS. HUGH DENITDELE, Toadlena, New
Mexico (Interpreter and Assistant) [Navahoes].
MISS NELLIE DE JONG.
MISS ANNA DERKS (Mrs. Teusink).
MISS MARY DE RUITER.
MISS JOHANNA DIELEMAN (Mrs. Van den Hoek).
MISS SUSANNA DIELEMAN.
*MISS SOPHIA FRYLING, Zuni, New Mexico (Teacher).
MR. AND MRS. NELSON GORMAN (Navahoes).
MISS COCIA HARTOG (Mrs. Wezeman).
MR. CLAUDE HAVEN (Navaho).
*MISS ANNA HAVINGA, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Laun-
dress).
DR. AND MRS. G. HEUSINKVELD.
MISS CHRISTINE HOOD (Mrs. Whipple) [Navaho].
MR. AND MRS. P. HOOGEZAND.
MISS MAUDE KOSTER.
*MISS JEANETTE LAM, Rehoboth, New Mexico
(Nurse).
*MISS NELLIE LAM, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Teacher).
MISS FANNY LEYS (Mrs. Rett).
DR. AND MRS. C. J. K. MOORE.
MR. AND MRS. J. C. MORGAN (Navahoes).
*DR. AND MRS. J. D. MULDER, Rehoboth, New Mexico.
(In charge of the Medical Department.)
MISS JANE NYENHUIS.
MISS CLARISSA PIERSON (Mrs. Jones) [Navaho].
NOTE: — Those marked with a (*) are still in the
service.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 367
*MISS CATHERINE ROSBACH, Rehoboth, New Mexico
(Housekeeper-Cook) .
MISS BERTHA ROSBACH (Mrs. Guichelaar).
MR. C. SCHANS.
*MISS WINNIE SCHOON, Rehoboth, New Mexico
(Clerk).
MR. AND MRS. JOHN SCHREUR.
DR. AND MRS. WILBUR SIPE.
MR. AND MRS. JOHN SPYKER.
*MISS RENZINA STOB, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Prin-
cipal and Teacher).
MISS MARY STYF.
*MR. JOHN H. SWETS, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Assis-
tant to the Manager) .
MISS CARRIE TEN HOUTEN.
MRS. A. VAN BREE.
MR. M. VAN DER BEEK.
MISS ANNA VAN DER RIET.
MR. AND MRS. DERK VAN DER WAGEN.
*MISS FANNIE M. VAN DER WAL, Rehoboth, New
Mexico (Hospital Assistant).
*MISS M. VAN DER WEIDE, Rehoboth, New Mexico
(Boys' Matron).
*MISS JEANETTE VAN DER WERP, Rehoboth, New
Mexico (Teacher).
MISS M. VAN DEURSEM.
MISS C. VAN KOEVERING.
MR. AND MRS. G. M. VAN PERNIS.
*MISS C. VAN ZANTEN, Rehoboth, New Mexico (Girls'
Matron).
MISS KATHRYN VENNEMA (Mrs. Sikkema).
MISS ANNA VEURINK.
MISS GERTRUDE ZANDSTRA.
*MR. JOHN SPRICK, Zuni, New Mexico (Assistant).
NOTE: — Those marked with a (*) are still in the
service.
368 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
SHARPENED ARROW-HEADS
The total niiiiiber of Indians in the United
States is usually estimated to be approximately
336,000. There are more than 150 tribal bands
and clans, all speaking different languages and
dialects and are scattered on 147 Reservations
and in different communities.
Rehoboth's PROSPECTS ARE, subject to
Divine blessing, VERY GOOD. He who blessed
in the past, in more ways than one, will do so in
the future. Psalm 115:21. Since 1903 several
of our pupils have confessed Christ and received
baptism. We have reason to believe that as
time goes on the Gospel will show itself to be
the power of God unto salvation for more of
them as well as adults in camps.- — Rev. J. W.
Brink.
The number of Indians within the boun-
daries of the United States since the time of
Columbus was never so great as it is today. —
Major C. F. Larrabee.
The Navaho is today the largest tribe, and
they are anxious to have their children educated.
The Government promised a teacher for every
thirty children, but the promise has not been
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 359
kept. At the present time there are more than
7,000 Navaho children who have no opportunity
whatever for schooling.
"Redeeming the red man is a more hopeful
and also a more interesting process than rifling
him."
"We earnestly express as our conviction, at-
tested by the knowledge of our respective tribes
and our several personal experiences, that the
one fundamental need of the Red Men is Jesus
Christ; that the Indian race will achieve greater
glory or will vanish from the earth according
as it receives or rejects Him; that in Him only is
to be found that power that saves from the vices,
greed, gross materialism, and selfishness of
inodern civilization, and that leads to the glory
of a blameless Indian womanhood and man-
hood.
"In view of these indisputable facts, we bid
every Christian student to stand with us and to
take heart as never before. We call upon all
christian agencies working in Indian-student
centers, to strengthen their hands in the en-
deavor to lead students to a personal knowl-
edge of Jesus Christ, and to foster all influences
working for a settlement of Indian problems
along the lines of Christian statesmanship," — In-
dian Delegates to a Mohonk Conference.
370 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
The greatest factors in the uplifting of the
Indians are the men and women who are teach-
ing the Indians to become Christian citizens. —
Theodore Roosevelt.
There are still parts of the Navaho Reserva-
tion where Christ Jesus has not been preached!
There are hundreds, yes, perhaps thousands,
who are on this Reservation and have never
heard the name JESUS mentioned! Pause a
moment and think on that ! — William Mierop.
To work in this (Tohatchi) section, as well
as on other parts of the field, will mean much
traveling, but it is not at all hopeless. Work
must necessarily go slow. The Navaho is slow.
The Navaho can be reached and the Gospel
brought to him, and this is our duty. To reach
all is a possibility. Trained native helpers, as
interpreters, readers, and evangelists, will
greatly aid the rapid spread of the Gospel among
them. Caring for their sick will, in time, we ex-
pect, become valuable — Dr. Lee S. Huizenga.
In prayer lies our great power. It is not so
much our talking to men, but rather our talking
to God about men, and for men, that will turn
men to God. Let us not think too highly of our
power to persuade men. For then we shall ut-
terly fail. Only the voice of God can reach men
who are dead in sin. — Rev. Jacob Bolt.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 371
Prayer and pains, thru faith in Jesus Christ,
will do anything — John Eliot.
The future of the Navahoes is promising. We
firmly believe that there will be many, many
christian homes before another decade. God
uses means and we must apply them to bring
about this radical change in Navaho life. —
Cocia Hartog.
The missionary goes to do a spiritual work;
he should know by personal experience what it
is to be under the sway of the Holy Spirit, and
not attempt to accomplish the work of God in
the energy of the flesh — Rev. Henry Beets, LL.D.
In Zuni, with the blessing of God, we can ex-
pect an organized christian congregation, a
christian nation, because the people live to-
gether, they are fully able to support themselves,
and they are a willing people in their own pagan
worship, and when converted, we may reason-
ably expect them to be the same in following the
truth. Let us not forget to earnestly pray for
them !^ — Rev. Herman Fryling.
The biggest problem, the greatest asset for
the Christian Church if she can and will get
hold of them, are the thousands of returned stu-
dents in the Indian country.
372 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
Toadlena is an Indian word meaning "Out-
flowing Water." Our aim and prayer is that the
Missionary and his helpers may be such as those
of whom the Savior said, "From the midst of
them shall flow rivers of living water." That we
may be the channels thru which the waters of
salvation may flow to those who are dying for
lack of it. And may the Lord speed the day
when the Navahoes in turn may become the
bearers of the Gospel Message to others. — Rev.
L. P. Brink.
When the Indians were without Christ, it
needed a standing army to control them. This
has practically passed away. In this way the
Missionaries are saving our Government millions
of dollars.— Dr. T. C. Moffett.
The American Bible Society has published
the Scriptures in whole or in part in twelve In-
dian languages, including large portions of both
Old and New Testament in the Navaho.
Oh, that I could dedicate my all to God. This
is all the return I can make Him. — David
Brainerd.
Forty-six thousand Indians without the Gos-
pel! Calls for repetition of the Great Commis-
sion.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 373
The QUESTION OF THE HOUR IN ALL
OUR CHURCHES has been well put:—
"To pledge or not to pledge — that is the question :
Whether 'tis nobler in a man to take
The Gospel free, leave other men to foot the bill,
Or sign a pledge and pay toward the church expenses."
The fact that —
"Men are righteous, men are bad,
According to the meal they've had,"
may apply to spiritual as well as to physical
feeding. It might be a good principle to bear in
mind when making our pledge for missionary
work for a new year. Not a (weakly) but a
(weekly) offering should be made for the ful-
filling of the Great Commission.
I will go down, but remember that you must
hold the ropes. — William Carey.
Immigrants afflicted with trachoma and tu-
berculosis are promptly deported. These are
among the most prevalent diseases of the Indian
tribes. Consequently christian medical service
is strongly demanded.
EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD ; AT-
TEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD.
374 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL
BEADLE, J. H. — "The Undeveloped West, or Five Years
in the Territories." Cincinnati, 1873.
BEADLE, J. H. — "Western Wilds and the Men Who Re-
deem Them." Cincinnati. 1878.
(Two of the most interesting books of travel in print.)
CHAPIN, FREDERICK H.— "The Land of the Cliff
Dwellers." 1892.
COZZENS, S. W.— "The Marvelous Country, or Three
Years in Arizona and New Mexico." Boston. 1874.
CURTIS, EDWARD S.— "The North American Indian."
20 vols. Vol. 1, "Indians of Arizona and New
Mexico."
GUSHING, F. H.— "Zuni Folk Tales." G. P. Putnam's
Sons. 1901.
DIXON; JOSEPH— "The Vanishing Race." Doubleday,
Page & Co. 1913.
DORSY, GEORGE A.— "Indians of the Southwest." 1903.
FRANCISCAN FATHERS— St. Michaelis, Arizona.
"Vocabulary of the Navaho Language." 2 vols.
"An Ethnological Dictionary of the Navaho Lan-
guage."
"The Sawli'ranciscan Missions of the Southwest."
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIANS. Bureau of
American Ethnology. Bulletin No. 30. 2 vols. 1912,
HUMPHREY, SETH K. — "The Indian Dispossessed."
Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1905.
JACKSON, HELEN H. — "A Century of Dishonor."
Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1885.
JOHNSTON, C. H. L. — "Famous Indian Chiefs." L. C.
Page & Co., Boston. 1909.
STARR, FREDERICK — "American Indians." D. C.
Heath & Co., New York. 1898.
WINSHIP, G. P. — "The Journey of Coronado, the First
Explorer of the West." 1904.
IN HOGAN AND PUEBLO 375
GREGG, JOSIAH — "Commerce of the Prairies." 2 vols.
1844.
HIGGINS, C. A.— "To California and Back."
HIGGINS, C. A.— "To California Over the Santa Fe
Trail."
JAMES, GEORGE WHARTON— "Indians of the Painted
Desert Region." 1903,
TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BU-
REAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 1901-1902.
ELLIS, GEORGE E.— "The Red Man and the White."
MISSIONS
EDGERTON R. YOUNG— "On the Indian Trail and
Other Stories."
F. W. CALKINS — "My Host the Enemy and Other Tales
of the Northwest."
HON. FRANCIS LEUPP— "In Red Man's Land."
REV. GILBERT L. WILSON — "Good Bird, the Indian."
ROBERT LAIRD STEWART— "The Life of Sheldon
Jackson."
JOHN W. ARCTANDER— "The Apostle of Alaska."
ELIZABETH M. PAGE — "In Camp and Tepee."
THOMAS C. MOFFETT — "The American Indian on the
New Trail."
J. M. SHERWOOD — "Memoirs of Brainerd." (The stand-
ard work on Brainerd.)
WILLIAM A. MOWRY — "Marcus Whitman." (The most
complete and authentic biography.)
JOHN T. FARIS — "Winning the Oregon Country." 1911.
M. G. HUMPHREYS — "Missionary Explorers Among the
American Indians." 1913.
HORATIO 0. LADD — "Chunda: A Story of the Nav-
ajos." 1906.
BELLE M. BRAIN — "The Redemption of the Red Man."
1904.
BARRETT — "Geronimo, The Story of My Life."
376 BRINGING THE GOSPEL
PAMPHLETS
THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF HOME MISSIONS—
"The American Indian."
BOARD OF HEATHEN MISSIONS, CHRISTIAN RE-
FORMED CHURCH— "Navaho and Zuni." 1914.
BOARD OF HEATHEN MISSIONS, CHRISTIAN RE-
FORMED CHURCH— "Zuni and Navaho." 1918.
COCIA HARTOG— "Indian Mission Sketches."
THOMAS C. MOFFETT— "Presbyterian Work for the In-
dian Race in the United States."
REV. H. WALKOTTEN— "De Navaho Indianen." (Hol-
land Language.)
REV. H. WALKOTTEN — "De Zuni Indianen." (Holland
Language.)
HOME MISSIONS COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORTS—
"Reports on Indian Missions."
DR. L. S. HUIZENGA — "De Navaho Indiaan."
MAGAZINES AND PAPERS
THE INSTRUCTOR FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOI^-
Mission Department.
"DE HEIDENWERELD" — Missionary Monthly.
THE MISSION FIELD — Monthly. Boards of the Re-
formed Church in America.
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