XXI. THE CHURCH AT SKOKOMISH.

THE church was organized June 23, 1874, the day after I arrived, with eleven members, only one of whom was an Indian, John F. Palmer, who was government interpreter. I did not come with the expectation of remaining, but only for a visit. I had just come from Boise City, Idaho, and more than half-expected to go to Mexico, but that and some other plans failed, when the agent said that he thought I might do as much good here as anywhere, and the sentiment was confirmed by others. Rev. C. Eells had been here nearly two years, had been with the church through all its preliminary plans, and it was proper that he should be its pastor, and he was so chosen at the first church meeting after the organization. He almost immediately left for a two months’ tour in Eastern Washington, and wished me to fill his place while I was visiting. The next summer he spent in the same way, only wintering with us. His heart was mainly set on work in that region, where he had spent a good share of his previous life. He felt too old, at the age of sixty-four, to learn a new Indian language, and so from the first the work fell into my hands, but he remained as pastor. When it was decided that I should remain, the American Missionary Association gave me a commission as its missionary, and I served as assistant pastor for nearly two years. In the spring of 1876 the pastor left for several months’ work in the region of Fort Colville, hardly expecting to make this his residence any longer; hence he resigned, and in April, 1876, I was chosen as his successor.

During most of this time the congregations continued good, though once in a while the Indians would get very angry at some actions about the agency, and almost all would stay away from church, but the average attendance until the spring of 1876 was ninety. At that time the disaffection resulting from the trouble with Billy Clams, as spoken of under the subject of Marriage and Divorce, caused a considerable falling off, so that the average attendance for the next two years was only seventy. Although the people got over that disaffection in a measure, yet one thing or another came up, so that while in 1879 and 1880 the average attendance was better, the congregation never wholly returned until the fall of 1883. A Catholic service sprang up in 1881, which took away a number, and which will hereafter be more fully described among the Dark Days.

From the first there were a few additions to the church, but more of them during the first few years were from among the whites, several of them being children of the employees, than from among the Indians. When the Indians began to join, all the accessions, with one exception, were from among the school-children, and others connected with the work at the agency until 1883. Gambling, horse-racing, betting, and tamahnous had too strong a hold on them for them to easily give up these practices.

The following is from The American Missionary for April, 1877:—

“Our hearts were gladdened last Sabbath by receiving into our church three of the Indian school-boys, each of them supposed to be about thirteen years old. We had kept them on virtual probation for nearly a year, until I began to feel that to do so any longer would be an injury both to themselves and others. Their conduct, especially toward their school-teacher, although not perfect, has been so uniformly Christian that those who were best acquainted with them felt the best satisfied in regard to their change of heart. Said a member of our church of about fifty years’ Christian experience: ‘I wish that some of the white children whom we have received into the church had given half as good evidence of being Christians as these boys give.’ On religious subjects they have been most free in communicating both to their teacher and myself by letter. I have thought that you might be interested in extracts from some of them, and hence send you the following.

“I am going to write to you this day. Please help me to get my father to become a Christian” (his father is an Indian doctor) “and I think I will get Andrew and Henry” (the other Christian boys) “to say a word for my father. I want you to read it to my father.”

He wrote to his father the following, which I read to him:—

“August 3, 1877.

“My Dear Beloved Father,—Your son is a Christian. I am going off another road. I am going a road where it leadeth to heaven, and you are going to a big road where it leadeth to hell. But now please return back from hell. I was long time thinking what I shall do, then my father would be saved from hell. I prayed to God. I asked God to help my father to become a Christian.”

The letter of another to his Indian friends:—

“You have not read the Bible, for you can not read, but you have heard the minister read it to you. You seem not to pay good attention, but you know how Jesus was crucified; how he was put on the cross; how he was mocked and whipped, and they put a crown of thorns, and he was put to death.

The letter of the other to me:—

“Oh, how I love all the Indians! I wish they should all become Christians. If you please, tell them about Jesus’ coming. It makes me feel bad because the Indians are not ready.”

To his Indian friends:—

“The first time I became a Christian, I found it a very hard thing to do, but I kept asking Jesus to help me, and so he did, for I grew stronger and stronger. So, my friends, if you will just accept Jesus as your King, he will help you to the end of your journey. You must trust wholly in Jesus’ strength, and yield your will, your time, your talents, your reputation, your strength, your property, your all, to be henceforth and forever subject to his divine control—your hearts to love him; your tongues to speak for him; your hands and feet to work for him, and your lives to serve him when and where and as his Spirit may direct. Don’t be proud, but be very good Christians; be brave and do what is right.

“Your young friend, “—— ——”

It is but just to say now that the first two of these have been suspended from the church for misconduct, and still stand so on our record. The other one has done a good work, and has been one of the leaders of religion with the older people, sometimes holding one and two meetings a week with them and teaching the Bible class of fifty on the Sabbath.

The Twanas and the Clallams were formerly at war with each other, and even now the old hostile feeling, dwindled down to jealousy, will show itself at times. A like unpleasant feeling has often been shown between the whites and Indians, yet, on the first Sabbath in April, 1880, three persons united with the church and received baptism, who belonged one to each of these three classes. Another noticeable fact was the reason which induced them to become Christians. In reply to my question on this point, each one, unknown to the other, said that it was because they had noticed that Christians were so much happier than other people. Two of them had tried the wrong road with all their heart, and had found to their sorrow that “the way of transgressors is hard.”

The following table will show the state of the church during the ten years:—

Added by Letter. Added on Profession of Faith. Of those Joining on Profession, these were Indians. Dismissed by Letter. Died. Excommunicated. Membership on Last Day of Fiscal Year. Absentees.

Organized with 9 2 1 11

June, 1874-75 2 13

June, 1875-76 4 4 1 21

June, 1876-77 2 2 2 9 16 2

June, 1877-78 3 3 19 2

June, 1878-79 6 4 2 1 22 4

June, 1879-80 4 11 7 1 36 5

June, 1880-81 2 5 3 3 40 10

June, 1881-82 2 5 4[3] 5 16 31 13

June, 1882-83 1 5 6[3] 5 6 31 13

June, 1883-July, 1884 1 18 7[3] 17 5 1 1 43 10

Total 27 61 64 37 6 2

The large diminution in 1876-77 was caused by the removal of employees. The same cause operated in 1881-82, for then the Indians were believed to be so far advanced in civilization that the government thought it wise to discharge all of the employees except the physician and those at work in the school. During that year the church also granted letters to seven of its members who lived at Jamestown, to assist in organizing a church there. Thus when the reasons for the reduced membership of that year were considered there was no particular cause for discouragement, but rather for encouragement. One white man and one Indian have been ex-communicated.

The next year the agent moved away, and while he still retained his membership in the church, and aided it financially almost as much as when he resided here, still his absence has been felt, as from the beginning he had been its clerk and treasurer, for a part of the time its deacon, and his councils had always been of great value.

The absentees grew in number mainly because white employees moved away, and did not always unite with another church.

On July 4, 1880, the first Indian infant was baptized. Some cases of discipline have been necessary, four being now suspended. Most cases of discipline have resulted favorably.