ol last winter, which
has accentuated anew the ignorance and the superstitious heathenism of
these Indian people.

One of our little boys was sent to the dormitory one morning to do some
work to which he objected, and, while pretending to obey, he took one of
the other little boys with him and ran away. Their absence was not
discovered until it was too late to overtake them, and as their home was
only ten miles away, and we knew they were good walkers, as all Indians
are almost from babyhood, we had every reason to believe they would
reach home in safety. They had started before daylight, and without any
breakfast, and the little boy who was enticed away had no overcoat nor
mittens, but had gone on the impulse of the moment without taking any
extra clothing. About ten o'clock, it grew very cold, and as the little
fellow had on shoes, to which he was unaccustomed, his feet became so
cold and tired that he could not go on. Then the boy who had coaxed him
away gave him his overcoat and mittens and went on, reaching home about
noon, telling that he had run away, and that he had left Jaran about
half way. Jaran's father did not believe the story, and came back to us,
ten miles, to see if it were true. This made us very anxious, but
nothing could be done but to await the issue. It seemed as if a series
of unfortunate mistakes had combined to bring about this result; and to
make everything still more puzzling, Mr. Riggs, our superintendent, was
away. He reached home that evening, and the next morning sent the
steward to learn the fate of the little runaway. He went on until he
found the little boy's cap and mittens, and the place where he had
evidently lain all night. It was a bitter night, and we knew that he
could not possibly have survived, in his exhausted condition, and not
knowing how to protect himself, even if he had had the means for so
doing. This, in itself, was a very bitter experience for us, but the
worst was yet to come. Mr. Riggs found it impossible to get an Indian to
go to the assistance of these poor people. They were all _afraid_.
Rumors were afloat that the father was going to shoot anyone connected
in any way with the school, Indian or white. When an Indian is
sorrow-stricken over the death of a friend or relative, he alleviates
his suffering by killing some one else.

After the little boy was buried, the family came to the school. The old
grandmother brought the clothes he had on when found--and which t