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Show . REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS darniug have h e n taught the girls, and tlre tnilorl~nks ept hi3 apprentices busy in making and repiring conrfi pantq, re,is, "11 lerwrur.etr. .\I1 lmltil+' ~mclerwcar, erceot u f c sk~irr <. w . w~ad e iit Ill* rcllool. Audut 20.001) ni~ceso i ciothin-.~ . inclidinz hosiery, +ere repaired in the sewing room during the year. The,carpenterand his aisistants have beenPully owupid in iooking after and repanmg hnildings and making sidewalks and other improvements, such as coal sheds. oil sheds. etc. I have been unable to secure a. competent blacksmith at the sa'ary allowed. It seem.; to me that it w.>uld be a p ~ hplla t, for rho largo training ~choolstoturnant fowcr literary tenche:a nnd a gre:lr.!r numbc~'og~o od cnrpcnters, bl%ck*m~tl!,, shoeruirkers. and utllcr inililarinl r ~-n v l.o ~ . trel~~e.d cmanilt or which i s mc:iior than the supply. The principal work ot the printing office has been the publishing of the schooi paper, The Outlook. The pressis adilapidatedQordon, built during t,heoivil war; the type is battered and worn. and there has been no expert printer at the school during the past year, and yet I can safely say that the printing office has been of corrsiderable educational value,not only to those directly connected with it, hut to a majority of the other pupilsas well. I haverefrained frommakingany requests for the betterment of the plant on account of the small amount of miscellaneous receipts of Class IV at my disposal, hut at some future time L intend to ask yonr assistance in providin,q tho school with facilities for getting out a paper that will be more of a credit to it. Fire protection.-We have a g03d small reservoir (another one shonld he pro-vided and the water filtered, as recommended by your offica architect), plenty of piping, hydrants. hose, a good cart, and willing firemen, hut the pressure is so light that a stream of water can be thrown only about 6 feet. As long as oil lamps and stoves remain in use there will h: great danger of fire. in spite of all precautions that can betaken. A steampnmo of acapao~tya ygreatas that of the pump in use here when the waterworks sy~temw as established should be provided as soon as possible. Plans for snch a pump or boiler were loaned to Sapervisor Bauer when he visited the school, just after the close oE the last fiscal yeas, and have undoubtedly been forwarded to you by him. Health.-The health of all pupils. except thosecoming from the low altitude and hotclimateof ~onthernA rizonaandNew Mexico, hasbaen remarkably good. There has been no epidemic of any kind, although contagious diseases have been raging all about us in places of lower aititude and wnrrner climate. Therather high death rate among pupils from the locdity mentioned should not be charged up t9 the climate, as the probshie cause is the inherited tendency to scrofula and con-sumption, due to the poly,oamous practices whichforrnerlp prevailed among these southern Indian tribes and the careless habit of lying down on the hare qrouud, especiitlly in the early spring, a habit which, in this altitude, is almost certain to he followed by serious conse.]uences. I have recommended that our pupils from southern Arizona and New Mexico he returned to their homes and that no more he sent here, as there at'e other schools. such as that at Phcenix, wherg the climstio oonditions are similar to those to which they are accustomed. With the assistance of the lndian Bureau there should be no difficulty in securina 1.000pu~iilfso r thisschool if desired from the near-by Ute, Jicarilla Apache. and Navajo reservations, the climate and altitude of which are similar to Fort Lewis. Employees.-The employees of this school, almost without exception, have been faithful and loyal. Their duties have heenperformed with zeal. and it gives me pleasure to thns publialy expresp my appreciation of their servioes and tho impor-tant part they have taken in making the past year so successful. All diffioulties and differences (and they have been remarkahly tew when one considers the wiae range of opinion and the various tastes represented) haw been settled amicably, wit1:ont. troubling tile Depi~rt.ment. Nesriy half of my last year'semployees were of Indian blood. as I am a firm believer in pushing the indian forward as fast as his ability will allow. Some o'my Indian emp!oyees mere remarkahly socoessful; one was almost a total failure: the remainder gave fair satisfaction and will he given a further trial. I am inclined to the opinion that. asa rule,white employees take more interest in the quceeis snrl advancement of the Indian race than do the Indians themselves. I have tvied to make my employees understand that the fact of their having Indian blood in their veins does not entitle them to any special favors and has no influence either for or aqainat them when I make my recommen-dations for promotion: that they must do their work faithfully if they expect to be retained in the servioe, and that them advancement depends upon the manner in which they perform their duties and the proof they show of their ability to fill higher positions. |
