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Show 458 REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. of their time, I also included in my plan the allotting to each individual settling around the nature land enough to make a small farm. A@ their ponies were nu- 1 adapted to pTowing the prairie sod, cattle might be taken from the herd and broken in as oxen. In preparation for this I had some oxen at the school which I trained ' the Indian boys to drive and handle. At the time of my resignation from the school superintendency our herd consisted , of 1,000 head: Bv careful breeing we had improved their grade to a degree far above the natlve Texan stock w~ t hw hich we began. Almost from the very first the parents of the children manifested a deep interest in the success of the project, and encouraged and aided it in every ssihle way. A 1 number of Indian ch~efms ade donations toward it, and a single 1nran woman galre ! 60 head of cattle to the school, to be the property of her daughter, and her husband : also gave a large number of ponies to the boys for use in caring for the herd. These : and many other instances are evidence of what may be expected from the Indians once their ambition and emulation are aroused. At our present institution in Oklahoma, the Seger Colony scbool, we are pnrsuiu I the same object of making it self-supporting, but now we have adopted the plan 05 stock raising and farming in conjunction, of which I shall speak later. This school was started se\.en years ago, at which time 100 head of cattle were j given us by the Government. These cattle cost 81,300, and for the last five years this small herd has supplied the sehool with over $1,000 worth of beef each year, ! besides proving a practical education for our boys. Our herd now numbers 141, of an excellent grade. The main features of the plan I am at ppresent endeavoring to carry out are as follows: First. The land is divided into sections of erhaps 100 acpres each, and upon each section four families are located, giving eacR about 25 acres. These four families thus form a group and are of mutual assistance to each other in their farm work. Upon locating they are required to sign a contract by which they agree to remain on 1 their farms at least three years; to haul the lumber and build a suitable house on the farm; to keep at least one cow, a hog, and a small amount of poultry; to give half of their crops toward the support of the school, and that not more than one of the four shall be ahsent from home at a time, so that the others may look after his ; premises. Other restrictions tending to prevent the Indian from wasting his capital in the prodigal fashion so chara.cteristic of him may be incorporated. I The Indians must earn the homes they need, but all implements necessary for con- 1 ducting their farms are furnished by the school. The first year the land is planted in cotton and the sewnd year in wheat. When the cotton is well up cattle may be allowed to run in it without damage. The inter- 1 val between the planting of the cotton and picking time is about three mouths, and during this period work is provided for them in some shop, so that they can make a living. When the cotton is ready to pick, the whole school aasiists. The crop sells : for about 50 cents per ound, of which half goes to the family raisin it and half to the school. The pro8ta are invested in cattle, which is considerd the very best ! investment, bringing on the average a return of 25 per cent on the capital. This is repested at Wle end of each season, and in three years I estimate that each family i will be worth $1,000 and he able to support itsdf. If they will allow me to write the agreement as to what they shall do, I am positive this result can be attained in I every ease. The cattle belonging to each family are held as security for the obsew-ance of their contract. In our colony at present we have over 70 per cent of the Indians in houses. It is a rare sight to see an Indian wearing a blanket. I wanted ' to take an Indian boy's picture as he looked a few years a$o and as he looks now, and he would not think of having his picture taken with h ~lseg s bare; and I am so I glad they feel that wa I n t h i connection aik it may not be amim to azy a word regarding their religious i and social development. There is a. splendid field here for missionary work, and I religious teaching is an element thrtt is very much needed. Some young men of the tribe, having been electedto leadership, came to me and asked my advice as to their course, saying they wanted to do what was best for their ; people. I told them that as long as I had been ampqg them I had known of noth- 1 mg that bad kept them back so much as their rehg~on. I sa~d: "Yon have your sun dance and other dances, and ou are apt to change again to some other kind of religion. The white people's refigion has remained unchanged for thousands of ears, and my advice to you would be to throw aside your heathen worship and i Lome Christians." They replied: "We are perfectly ignorant and know nothing 1 about the Christian religion." To this I said: "A man bas wme here to explain it I to yon. He will tell you everything about the Christian religion, the existence of |