FOR THE CHILDREN.

THE WAY TO DO IT.

REV. C. L. HALL, FORT BERTHOLD, DAKOTA.

We have a Badger in our house. He begins with a capital B, and he is a capital little chap. He can throw his bean-bags into the hole every time, and he does well in school, too. A year ago his relatives wanted him to come to our school, but as he could not live in the ground and grow his own coat as other badgers do, we had to wait till this fall. I said he could not live in the ground. He did live on it though last winter, for there was no floor in his house and the sides and roof were made of logs and mud, and he had a tin cup, and sometimes a tin plate, perhaps, and that was all there was to supplement his fingers. Some forked sticks in the ground, on which a board or two were supported, and a dirty quilt and an old blanket made his bed. The bed made itself, without any neat housekeeper’s help.

Corn, pounded up in a wooden mortar and boiled in water, and dried venison and berries, were the principal diet of our Badger.

Now, he is just like a boy—a white boy—and he is learning to talk English fast, and he tries to sing Sunday-school hymns and gets the tune quite well. Pretty good for a Badger just out of his native hole, isn’t it?

Well, he has woolen shirts, knee-pants, stockings, mittens, and shoes and cap, etc.; everything suitable for a boy seven years old. You would not know him from a boy if he did not sometimes get down on all fours and rub his stockings through at the knees; but we hope he will grow out of this badgerly habit in time.

Now, there are some boys and girls called the “Torrington Valley Gleaners,” who like pets so well that they are taking care of this little Badger. They call him Edward.

They send him clothes and send money to buy his food. They held a fair, and the boys brought in pumpkins, turnips, celery, pop-corn, etc., not for the Badger to eat, but to sell, so that they might have money to help him. The girls made fancy articles for the same purpose.

Now they have enjoyed doing this so much, and they think it will be so nice when they and their Badger are grown up, to feel that they had helped him to be a man, that they have asked me to recommend their plan to other boys and girls and to their parents, in Connecticut and other States also.

We can say that we have a variety of pets for them—ducks, bears, weasels, cows and other animals, to whom we give Christian names and Christian training, so far as Christian friends help us to do so.

Nine of these Indian boys have just gone off in the twilight with their lady teacher, in a big sled, to get the mail, and a dozen little girls are making rag dolls, etc., for they all like a little play after school is out and their work is done. So they have both work and play and are not dull.

May there be many to pray for them and help them that they may become good servants of Jesus Christ.