The schools have been conducted entirely in English. This is the only practicable plan, for the tribes connected with the school speak three different languages, and it is impossible to have books and newspapers in their languages, while teachers can not be found who are willing to acquire any one of these languages sufficiently well to teach it. It is also the only wise plan. If the Indian in time is to become an American citizen,—and that is the goal to be reached,—he must speak the English language, and it is best to teach it to him while young. In large tribes like the Sioux, where the children will speak their native language almost wholly after they leave school, and where there are enough of them to make it pay to publish books and papers in their own tongue, it is probably best to have the schools in their native language, as a transition from one language to the other. This transition will necessarily take a long time among so large a number of Indians, and needs the stepping-stone of native schools and a native literature to aid it. But where the Indian tribes are small, as is the case on Puget Sound, and surrounded by whites with whom they mingle almost daily, who are constantly speaking English to them, this stepping-stone is not needed. It is possible for the next generation to be mainly English-speaking in this region; in fact, most of them will understand it whether they go to school or not, and it is not wise, were it possible, to retard it by schools in the native language.
CORRECTING THOMSON’S PRACTICAL ARITHMETIC.
An incident occurred in the school, in 1878, worthy of note. One of the scholars in arithmetic found four examples which he could not do, and after a time took them to his teacher, Mr. G. F. Boynton, for assistance. After the teacher (who was a good scholar) had tried them to his satisfaction, he found that there was a mistake about the answers in the book and told the boy so, and then, in a half-joking way, said to him: “You had better write Dr. Thomson and tell him about it.” The boy did so, telling also who he was. In due time he received a reply from Dr. Thomson, who said that two of the mistakes had been discovered and corrected in later editions, but that the other two had not before been found; and then he wondered how an Indian boy out in Washington Territory should be able to correct his arithmetic. He invited the boy to continue the correspondence, but I believe he never did.
XIII.
THE FOURTH OF JULY.
THIS day has always been celebrated in some way, at least by a dinner. During the first few years the agent furnished the beef and most of the provisions at government expense. On the Fourth of July, 1874, among other exercises, I married seven couples; on the next Fourth, three couples, and in 1878 four more. Speech-making by some of the whites, explaining the day, and music were interspersed. Long tables have usually been made, on which were dishes, knives, and forks, while beef, bread, tea, coffee, sugar, cake, pie, rice, beans, doughnuts, and such things were the principal food.
It was not until 1878 that they took upon themselves the main burden of the day, both of expense and labor, and since that time they have furnished both. The following, from the Tacoma Herald of July, 1879, will answer for
THE FOURTH OF JULY ON SKOKOMISH RESERVATION.
“Among the Indians, from all appearances, the Fourth of July will probably in time take the place of the potlatch. The latter is spoken of by their white neighbors as being so foolish, while the former is held in such high esteem; and as Indians, like others, enjoy holidays and festivals, it now seems as if the potlatch would be merged into the Fourth, changed a little to suit circumstances and civilization. The potlatch has always been given by a few individuals to invited guests and tribes, presents of money and other things being made to those who came, while in return a great name and honorable character was received. It lasts several days or weeks and is accompanied by gambling, feasting, tamahnous, and the like.
“The Fourth of July on the Skokomish Reservation began about a week beforehand and so lasted as long as a short potlatch. The Nisqually and Puyallup Indians, having resolved to have celebrations of their own, the attendance was smaller than it otherwise would have been. The Chehalis Indians came a full week before the Fourth in wagons and on horseback, while those from Squaxon, Mud Bay, and Seabeck came between that time and the Fourth. A few of the Skokomish Indians were at the head of the celebration, bore most of the expense, and received most of the honor. Other Indians besides these few, however, occasionally invited all the visitors to a feast. The guests, on arriving at Skokomish, brought more or less food with them,—much as at a potlatch, only on a smaller scale,—and they were received with less ceremony. A table a hundred feet long was made in a pleasant shady grove, and here for more than a week—when the guests were not invited to the house of some friend to a meal—they feasted on beef, beans, rice, sugar, tea, coffee, and the like: sitting on benches, eating with knives, forks, and dishes, and cooking the food on two large stoves brought to the grounds for the purpose; visiting, horse-racing, and other sports filled up the rest of the time.
“The Fourth was the central day of the festival and was celebrated in much the same style with the other days, only on a larger scale, there being more Indians present, more flags flying, more firing of guns, and more whites on the grounds. By invitation the whites on the reservation were present and were assigned to a very pleasant place on the grounds, where they might have had tables if they had done as the Indians did: made them for themselves; but, as it was, they picnicked on the ground, while their colored brethren sat at the tables. A few white men, rather the worse for liquor, visited the horse-races after the dinner; but not an Indian is known to have tasted liquor during the week.”