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Show 30 REPORT OF THE OO~88IONER OF INDIAN AFFAIBS. climate and soil in the production of crops, wising of cattle, and kindred pursuits, upon which their future support should depend. It may not be unwise to establish one and not more than two schools after the order of Chilocco at other points. The territory coutignous to such a school must be thoroughly considered and no mistake made in the selection of the site for such an institution. The climatic eon-ditions of the State and its soil should determine the points from which pupils are to be collected, so that an Indian boy who learns the prac-tical methods of agriculture and stock raising there may be well equipped to make a living on his allotment in a S,tate with similar conditions. While the theory of the Chilocco Indian school appears to be a most excellent one, it is somewhat hampered by the dual system of educating boys and girls. An agricultural school should be for boys alone. They should not be sent to such a school until they have passed the second or third grade in either a reservation or nonreservation school, nor should the literary curriculum of such a school exceed the sixth or sev:nth grade. Between these two points there should be collected a sufficient number of Indian boys to fill a school with a capacity of at least 200, and such selected number of pupils who are hereafter to devote their attention to agriculture would mean the return to Indian reservations, where unfortunately it seems the Indian m u ~itn evitably go, of a large number of practical farmers, who by precept or example would be able to teach their less-favored kinsmen. The curriculum of such a school should, therefore, be limited in its literary training to the grades between the third and seventh, industrial pursuits to the rudiments of blacksmith~ug and carpentry to about the extent the average farmer has necessity for such trades, and the greater propor-tion of time should be devoted to practical agriculture, doing the work under the tutelage of competent instructors who should teach not only the theory but the practice of farming. For the average individual such a curriculum would permit of at least two-thirds or three-fourths more instruction in that method of money getting, which the average Indian pupil must hereafter follow. By confining the school to boys alone, a large number of employees which a school must have where boys and girls arc educated together would be eliminated. This would allow more instructors and better salaries for the securing of competent instructors in the peculiar lines for which the school is organized. A careful study, therefore, of these two methods of educating the Indian leads me to the conclusion that the number of nonreservation schools could with advantage be materially reduced, and the remain-der, withoutany increased capacity, developed to the fulllimit of their possibilities. Then, with advantage there might be established not exceeding two agricultural schools, or untiliie some nonreservation schools which fulfill the necessary conditions. The money thus saved |
