School Wants and Farm Work.
W. W. WHEELER, KESHENA, WIS.
The school opened very encouragingly this term, and before the close of the second week we had fifty-four different boarding scholars, and were compelled to refuse admission to others, on account of our limited accommodations. Soon the scarlet-fever broke out, and before the close of the term twenty-three boarding scholars, and many of our day scholars, had been sent home on account of sickness.
The boarding scholars seem, generally, to be happy and contented with us, and eager to return at the opening of each new term; and their progress in their studies, and general deportment, is much greater than with the day scholars. The general interest, also, of the tribe in the subject of education is greatly quickened. The boarding-school, with suitable accommodations, might be made a great blessing to the tribe. We feel sure we could readily obtain 100 scholars if we had the accommodations.
The tribe has asked the Department to appropriate, from their funds in the United States Treasury, $6,000 for the erection of a suitable building.
We see the dreadful results, in other tribes around us, of allowing the youth to grow up, without education, in contact with the whites, learning their vices and not their virtues, and it makes us long to see something done to save this people from the blight which has fallen upon so many other tribes before them.
I have spent nearly three weeks going over the Reservation since school closed, visiting from farm to farm, encouraging the Indians to make larger improvements; and I have been very greatly gratified to notice so many already clearing up new lands. I have only found three or four families who will not clear up some new ground this spring. Some will clear as much as three or four acres. Many are chopping and logging heavy timber without any team to help them.
I think there will be 300 acres of new land cleared this spring. I expect to distribute (only to those who clear at least one acre) 1,000 bushels of potatoes, besides corn, oats, wheat, and vegetable seeds, for many of them have not yet learned to provide beforehand. There are, however, quite a number who not only have enough for their own seed, but some to sell.
Could the boarding-school be kept up regularly for a few years, we should have great hopes for the future of this tribe, but there seems to be a strange lack of interest in this matter on the part of the authorities at Washington. We are now anxiously waiting for instructions to re-open this school. Meanwhile, the day-school is in operation, with an attendance of twenty-two scholars.