OCR Text |
Show 1 - REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF ZNDlAN AFFAIRS. for them the supply must be frequently repeated. The habits also of wigwam life itre elltirely irregul;rr. The India11 has no regular habits or hours. He eats and sleeps when and where he will or c:tu, and no school atterrda~iee, which deprnda upon regular ho~ue habits of the parents or children, eau be relied upon. It is also nzell nigh irr~posvible to teach 1n1lia11c hildren the English language when they spend twenty hours out of the twentyfour in the wigwarn, uslog only their llative tongue. T l ~ eb o;~rdingsc hool, on the contrary, takes tbe 3-outh n~rder congtant care, has him alnays a t h ~ l ~adnd, surrounds him by an 6ng-lish- speaking conrmnnity, aud above all, gives him ins t r r~ct ioi~n ~t he first lessons of civilization, which can be found only in a nell-ordered home. Any plan for civilization wtrich does not provide for training the young, eveo though at a largely increase(1 expenditure, is short-sighted and,expeusive. A large expsnrlitl~re for a few rears in tlie proper direction nil1 he more ecouomioal than a smaller e x p e l l d i t~rp~e rpetn-ated; and it is believed that at ledst ooe-half of the Indian children, now growiug up in barbarism, could be put during the comirrg )-ear in such processes of education in home schools, if the means vere at hand for supportirrg such schools. Fonr or five years of this appliance of civilization crlres one-half of the 11:rrbarism of the Inclian tribe perma-nently. For these children thus tr;rined, though many of them wight lapse into oomadic ways, would rtrver go back so far as to be dal~ger-ousor troubleso~net o the citizr~rso f the Goveru~nent,a nd sitlrin that lengtih of time it is reasonable to be expected that the otl~er tribes, whose children could not at firat br obtained for such selroola, will be brought within the reach of the Uuvernment, and thus be ready to receive their turn a t this training process. I most earr~estlgr ecorn~nend that this appropriatiorr for ei1nc;btiorr be made on a scale comlnel~~urate with the urgent necessities of the ease. 00-OPERATION WITH RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The arrangement by which, in accordance wit,h the direction of the President, all agents are awpointed on the uon~inationo f some religious I.. t.od r is \vorkinn with increasing aatisfaction. In ~ronortiona s these ~ . v. . . wliiior~rs,o cirrirri ~ i 1 i 1 1a ssrIri(n(:+f.1 1;tt r l ~ i ap lan of coollrvafroll \bit11 rhe ; o v c r r r r ~ r i~s likply to be pcrr~I;irr~.nrt, l~eya re ~ ~ ~ 1 r v l u 1 1e.rytf tsriug h~.nrtiIvi r~too rivri~tionqt hat cortlt-tt 1olz11ee ,rrrle$t e(ltic:~ri,m;iHl IIII v v l i p ions n6rk in the respecti&? ageucies hllotted them. Tlrry are also learn-ing from experience what are the es.;ential qualificatiorls of an I~rdian a&.. nt, . and ilso the serious nature of the resnonsibilits to the Crovern- I I t l r s s ~ inr I r i ~ t o r .Tl rr rbsult is :I grr;lter I in I s l l i o~f I I i:i(:reil~c(l\ ~ a t ( ~ l ~ t jo~vel r~ ~fle~e~ibr i i t i . O ut o i ~ I I Ha ixtv live :rzzrrts rhu* r!orr~ir~:fcrrthl tsr?. Ilnvr been seve~afla ilures during the" y e a , from Taut of adaptation to the service, or trorn waut of iutegrit). But in nearly every case the relig-ious society represented by these I I I ~ h~ aI s been the tirat to make the discovery of u~~fitnesasn, d to ask for a (:hange of agents. INATIEQUATE BALARIES. Tlrere is a serious complai~~ont the part of these religious hodies that they are not able, at tho salary of $1,500, to find conrpcte~rt Inen ailling to arcept the service, and that when sooh men have bee11 secured it has often been found impossible to retain them. The service has lost |