| OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 5 or medium; while only 24 per cent are considered bad or ~vortbless, and upon mholu the benefits and advantages of school life conferred no appreciable resnlts. The ratio of tbe good to the bad ia remark-able froin any standpoint, but is emphasized particularly as sl~owi~rg the value of nu edncational system which can.in a geuerattiol~d evelop from savages 7G per cent of good average men and women, capable of dealing with the ordinary problems of life and taking their places ill the great body politic of our country. A11 these thousar~dso f edu-cated Iudian boys aud girls, speaking the English language, weaned from tribal customs and the irou bands of tradition, cau not fail to exert a powerful and far-reaching influence upon the quarter of a mil-lion Indians scattered throughout the United States. It has been suggested that the transfer of an Indian child from the free open-air envirol~menti n which he was born mould have a tend-ency to break a naturally strong and vigorous constitution, weaken its vitality, and render tlie system an easy prey to disease. These statis-tics do not bear out such a oonclusion, as 89 per cent of those pupils who have gone through the schools aud returned to their homes are reported to be in good physical condition. ATTENDANCE. , The enrollment and average attendance at the scl~ools aggregated and compared with the preccdiug year are here exhibited for the fiscal year 1898. TABLE2. -Enrollment and overage attendance at Indian eohools, 1597 and 1898, ahnm'ng inoreass im 1898; also imnbw of sokools in 1898. Enrollment. Averagesttendanae. Nnmber Hind of sahool. of -Ism. -1898. -Inorease. -1897. -1898. I-ncrease. -echooh. Government sohwls: Nonreserration boarding. 6,175 452 4,787 5.347 5BO 25 Reservaiion boarding .... 8.877 765 6,855 7.532 617 75 Day ...................... --4.768 --4.84 7 --7 9 -3,234 3,283 -52 142 Tobl ................... 242 Contract aahoola: Boarding ................. 0.1 ...................... Boarding, apeeinlly rp-pmpriated for .......... Total .................. 3.158 . 34 Publio ........................ 303 315 12 194 Mission boardingd.. ......... Mission day .................. Aggregate ............. 0 n ~ ~ 8 . 0 . b'l'llraa e.b.ola tranefoned r~ the r+vammcor aud eootrnt la #uaJu fur tau scboola wheL were paid YO111 1 1 1 1 1~" 1 r ni l ,us , rrr. b:~il.rts,.n e I I ~ ~ I I <I I I . . ~ I i~ ~ ~ w hpiu~pihl* dTr t i l n ~ ~i.0t, t emunnemc~dh em dTbcacrchoulsnn culltiut tccl hy rrli;il.,8. luvirric.. v.nw o l \ r l ~ r t1. n . ~ c i r of xom rba i luueml l lat t forrl~cla dtnl t 2~1Idre1~. b e r ~~tut ~ ~ h r ~ t ~ ~ ~ . ~ n o d ~rlhuolcLl ci~ul :dar a. n r r a r n t ~ ~tul ea~r rea,,rratton Indlat.. |
