CHAPTER IX
WHY I CAME TO ST. PAUL
THE question, why I came
to St. Paul, will naturally arise in the mind of the
reader. This cannot be better explained, nor with
less appearance of egotism, than by the following
letter from Rev. Dr. Williamson,
of the Sioux Mission. It was addressed to the Board
of National Popular Education,then in its embryo state,
and by them placed in my hands.
"My present residence
is on the utmost verge of civilization in the northwestern
part of the United States, within a few miles of the
principal village of the white men in the territory
that we suppose will bear the name of Minnesota, which
some would render, 'clear water,' though strictly,
it signifies slightly turbid or whitish water.
"The village referred
to has grown up within a few years in a romatic [romantic
?] situation on a high bluff of the Mississippi, and
has been baptized by the Roman Catholics by the name
of St. Paul. They have erected in it a small chapel,
and constitute much the larger portion of the inhabitants.
The Dakotas call it Im-mi-ja-ska (white rock), from
the color of the sand-stone which forms the bluff
on which the village stands. This village has five
stores, as the call them, at all of which intoxicating
drinks constitute a part, and I suppose the principal
part, of what they sell. I would suppose the village
contains a dozen or twenty families living near enough
to send to school. Since I came to this neighborhood,
I have had fre-
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quent occasion to visit the village,
and have been grieved to see so many children growing
up entirely ignorant of God, and unable to read his
Word, with no one to teach them. Unless your Society
can send them a teacher, there seems to be little
prospect of their having one for several years. A
few days since I went to the place for the purpose
of making inquiries in reference tot he prospect of
a school. I visited seven families, in which there
were twenty-three children of proper age to attend
school, and was told of five more, in which thirteen
more that it is supposed might attend, making thirty-six
in twelve families. I suppose more than half of the
parents of these children are unable to read themselves,
and care but little about having their children taught.
Possibly the priest might deter some from attending,
who might otherwise be able and willing.
"I suppose a good
female teacher can do more to promote the cause of
education and true religion than a man. The natural
politeness of the French (who constitute more than
half the population) would cause them to be kind and
courteous to a female, even though the priest should
seek to cause opposition. I suppose she might have
twelve or fifteen scholars to begin with, and if she
should have a good talent for winning the affections
of children (and one who has not should not come),
after a few months she would have as many as she could
attend to.
"One woman told me
she had four children she wished to send to school,
and that she would give boarding and a room in her
house to a good female teacher, for the tuition of
her children.
"A teacher for this
place should love the Savior, and for his sake should
be willing to forego, not only many of the religious
privileges and elegances of New England
towns, but some of the neatness also.
She should be entirely free from prejudice on account
of color, for among her scholars she might find not
only English, French, and Swiss, but Sioux and Chippewas,
with some claiming kindred with the African stock.
"A teacher coming
should bring books with her sufficient to begin a
school, as there is no book store within three hundred
miles."
This was the first I had
heard of St. Paul, or even of Minnesota, and the impression
was at once riveted on my mind that I must go;
and when, after two weeks of prayerful deliberation,
the question was asked, "Who will go to St. Paul?"
I could cheerfully, though tremblingly, respond, "Here
am I; send me." Every possible obstacle
was presented; the difficulties of the almost unknown
route; the condition of society; doubts as to a welcome
by the people generally; the self-denials to be exercised;
the privations to be endured—all of which were
to me as so many incentives to persist in my decision.
In short, I came because I was more needed here than
at any other spot on earth, and because there was
no other one of my class who felt it a duty to come.
Friends violently opposed.
Those who dare not oppose did not encourage, and vice
versa. It was evident that all considered it
hazardous in the extreme, presuming on, yea, tempting
Divine Providence. Only one had said "Go,
and the Lord will be with you." And thus,
with no human aid on which to rely, the arm of the
Invisible was my support. And though comparatively
ignorant of the world and its evils, I went forth
to struggle with its waves; to tread the unknown future—a
path hitherto unexplored—a thorny maze; but
with the certainty that, where thorns abound, roses
often bloom, and their
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sweet fragrance has refreshed
me when weary, and been a sweet savor unto my soul.
I was happy then; I am
happy in retrospect. Never has a regret for the decision
crossed my heart; on the contrary, it has ever been
a theme of gratitude that I was enabled to overcome
all impediments, and come at a time when no other
one would venture.
Chapter X
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