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Show 22 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONEE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. with St. Benedict Academy on Sac and FOXR eservation, Okla., reduces the number of such 8chools to 32, as against 34 last year. Old Fort Spokane, on the Colville Iieservation, Wash., has been turned over by the War Department for Indian school purposes, and a school for 150 pupils will be organized there about the 1st of November. Owing to the destruction of two school plants and s series of epi-demics of measles, smallpox, and whooping cough the reservation schools have not maintained their usual ratio of increase. At several of these schools, from these causes, there was a very small attendance, or none at all, during the first quarters of the fiscal year. The close of the same, however, witnessed a material increase, which almost overcame the earlier losses. As suggested iu the preceding Annual Report stronger measures for enforcing attendance upou the various schools should be adopted. Reports indicate that the children are easily awakened to a desire for educational adva~~cemenbtu, t too frequently the opposition of an aged grandmother or grandfather or other relative will prevail, and the children will be allowed to grow up iu ignorance. There should be enacted a law which would compel such parents to give their children the advantages presented by the Government for their own good. However, as the schools are extended this difficulty grows less, and in time drastic measures would only be required in exceptional cases. SUMMARY OF SCHOOLS AND ATTENDANCE. The following table exhibits the uniform and steady increase of the attendance upou Iudian schools duriug the past twentythree years: TABU ll.-.V~cntber of Ittdion sohools and average attendaace from 1877 to 1899.' Boarding acbwls. Day schools. 7 Totds. year. Number. Iat",':gzeNu,m ber. I,&.'O"~,"~~N~u mber. I S , , ~or~ th a dgnrc* in thms ubln n* r inl e4 prlor u, 1896 were taken [NU repom3 t.f the Snperin. t r ~ d e n to f I ~ ~ l ; a3,,, t ,ul,l,. ne r.,v>aclf. !he nl r all tarrx. frnlu r l e r ~ s o r t ro f roe Cumn.tsar~sn+ruf I . , A . P r:, r II 1882 i1.e rigurea i n r f a d * r l ~ e ~ nTvu rk rcl.erla. . I , . ~ I ~ ;b~llud,ra ll attrulllu. ~ ~ u b lrhul to~l ,a re incltldc~ti t, rllc men.pu ntuud.,u,e l u l tho scLt8~l* are n ~i~t .r luded~ u tllo u u ~ v kor i SL~CIII?. |
