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Show at the schools. A striking instance of this was f e n at one of the day schools on thb Pine Ridge Reservation. On g y s when the ther-mometer registered 35' and 40° below zero not a single pupil was absent, although many of them were quite y0un.v and some came from homes more than a mile distant. 8CH00LS VISITED. At the time of my hit the enrollment at the agency school was 231, which exceeds the capacity. The rogress made m class-room work was satisfactory, considering the i' act that a majority of the children have been in school less than'two years and knew little English when the entered. Owing to the lack of water for irri-gatmg purposes, Sttle practical instruction in agriculture can be There is a garden of about 8 acres attached to the school, ?%%verse conditions make the raisiig of crops both &cult and uncertain. Onf limited instruction can be given in the mechanical trades, as the ackties are poor. The girls receive instruction in cooking, sewing, and eneral housework to as great an extent as the crowded condition of tK ;e school permits. They are also given instruc-tion by a native teacher in blanket weaving, m which the tribe has excelled for generations. The Little Water Boarding School is located 35 miles from the agency. A tele hone line connecting this school with the agency is much needed. $he St. Michael's assion Boarding School, conducted by Catholic sisters, is located just off the reservation and is doing excellent work. They have a good plant and an attendance of about 80 pupils, all Navaho. The combined capacity of the two Government boardin* schools under the Navaho A ency is less than 300, and the enrohnent is about 400. The nnm% e r of children of school age is approximately 2,250, and more than half of these do not attend any school. In view of these facts it is recommended that the capacity of the agency school be increased. Some of the buildings are old and not adapted to school purposes. The hospital is located in an insanitary build-ing, which also contains three class rooms and employees' uarters. This arrangement is undersirable, and a menace to the healXt of the pupils and employees. The following buildin s are recommended: A school building, containing class rooms anf an assembl hall, a hospital, a irls' dormitory, enlarged dining room and kitc E en, and a shop budfing. The resent inadequacy of school facilities on this 'reservation could be s ti 1 further remedied by establishing one or two small boardinn schools at suitable locations and bv establishin-g a system of da &hools. The Nava 1 o have shown themselves willin to work, and their services are in demand wherever labor is neejed. In addition to the work given them by the agent, many have found employment off the reservation. A considerable number are employed by the railroad company, and others are working in the coal mines. The greatest source of income is from their sheep and goats and the sale of Navaho blankets. These blankets have become well known, and the demand for them exceeds the supply. |