| Summary: | THE FORT BERTHOLD CONGREGATIONAL MISSION On May 9, 1876, Dr. Charles L. Hall and his wife, the first resident missionaries at Fort Berthold, arrived at Like-a-Fish-Hook Village on the steamboat "Josephine". Because the "Josephine" and other river boats were hauling supplies for the ill-fated Custer campaign, Dr. Hall's supplies were delayed at Fort Lincoln, near present-day Bismarck. Finally, lumber and other supplies arrived, and the Halls built a combination home and school near the Village. The following spring a Chapel was built; when the Three Tribes abondoned the Village and the Mission moved to Elbowoods, in 1892 to 1895, the Chapel was moved to Plaza where it still stands. From the beginning, the Mission placed strong emphasis upon education. Dr. Hall established a school near the Village; no school bell was available so he would raise the American Flag to signal the beginning of classes. First the adults were urged to come; huge sheets of paper or canvas hung from the walls with English words and sentences; this led to the winning of confidence of the older people and soon the children attended school; eventually this school reached at least one member or more of every household on the reservation. At the same time, Dr. Hall worked hard to get government schools on the reservation so that children would not have to go to far-off schools for years at a time without seeing their parents. A horticulturist in his own right, he also established a Mission Farm School toi help the people learn improved farming methods. Dr. Hall's friendship and patient teaching over the years finally resulted in the Christian baptism of Otter Wolf and Mark Beard, about 1886, some ten years after his arrival. From that slow beginnig, the Mission work grew steadily. In time, churches were organized and places of worship erected at Nishu, Elbowoods, Independence, Nueta, and Shell Creek. In addition, congregations gathered in homes and schools for worship at Beaver Creek, Charging Eagle, and Lucky Mound. Dr. Hall's teaching and love brought forth Indian lay pastors, men who assisted him in the preaching and teaching and carried on in his — 212- Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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