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Show ! ! I REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. 399 I I ' the end of the lodge opl~ositet he goods. Every ]light the different tribes sing aud dance, wrestle and gamble, and piles of gold and silver, 1 g~ulsa, nd blankets exchange hands. I The follon~ing are the names of the principal potlatch Inen and the 1 amotu~tso f money each distributed at this feast: blankets. . 'Phe number of cnnoes given &may mas 100; boats, 5; wigwams and tents, 40. 'me Qninaielt ramen 1,reaentetl the other mornen with oedar bark runts, fancy made, wlth variona kind8 of baskets, Indian spoons, ireads, carringa, dresses, shawls; and %alloon. The SlKokomish ~~conncofi lo rder,," held October 28 to the 31st, found the following cases of oflenses dunng the festival: One Clallam for drinking whisky; a S'ICokornish man and Clallam woman for divorce, and lnedicine me11 fighting over their ~nedicine. A war clcbnce was given by the Clalla~ns represe~lting a party ready for mar, in uniforms and pmnt. These festivals among the Indians of tbe Puget Sound region have now wholly ceased; at least, on any large scale. About five years ago the last one mas held at Neah Bay, where Agent McGlinn found they had been a great e~i1,pauperizingt he Indians. Soon after his arrival $700 was eiven away in a i)otlatch. and the Tear before $3.000. Under instructio;~f~ro m ~ a s h i n g t o nth eentire practice was stopped. How great the contrast in the condition of the Indians in these two remote sections of country. In the Southwest, for a ueriod of one 111u1rlrctal ll11 thirty jcars, the I~l,li;~n1s1 :lre I I ; I ~ti le 1>6ncfito i very e r~cn.~icv~r l i~.fro$r r lleir rlcr.triol~. It1 the Xol rllrrest R ~ I C I IC ITUI.h~aSr e bee11 limi~etl to o ~ocriod rritl~ill tiity or sixry rears. 111 the iormrr case, the nnfavorabie h1exicati enviro<ment, ,esiei~tiallyn onprogressive, has held the Indians back, indulging then1 ln the maintenance of their old oeculiar customs. In the Northwest the nev life xvit11 rrhich the I ress toward better conditions. To allom those old Indian fiestas of whitever kind. so intimate; co~iuc~. twr~i lr l ~r l~cp :tsr tlcg~.;ulntiotlo i rltt.so T I I ~ ~ ~ I I I Sto, v o ~ ~ t i ~ ~ n e ~ ~ u ~ , h e ~;-iukde e~slv,e ~:inll.vt br the Guvcr l~~i~oef ~t rlltr i:~iited States to countenance such ciebasement by consenting to let showmen carry away young Indians from reservations to give indecent exhibitions of old tribal barbarism is an impediment in the way of true progress. I resuectfnllv submit whether such ~racticea do not educate Iudirtns dok.u\\.ard'more rapidly a l~dfa rally illall i~~uuifoledff orts \rill elevate: Should tlie i;over~~u~esntarr up irs seal l~poub ut11 kiuda ol' edncnrion? 111 I)r.l~nlt'otih e i n i l i ; ~1~, i. t he [-nite(l Srares. I am, respectfully yo~wse, tc., DANIEDLO ROHESTER, Sueerintefident of Indiana ScWools. A The ~ ~ M X I ~ ~ IOOF INNDEIARN AFFAIRS. |