What this means we do not know, but lack of room alone prevents a reprint in these pages of the entire contents of the second number of this charming little paper, published at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., in the interest of the Indian Training School, and to some extent by the Indians, since we are told that a Pawnee boy set up about one-half of the type, and much of its contents was written by them. There is a letter from White Thunder to his son in Capt. Pratt’s school, in answer to some complaints he had made, telling him: “Your letter did not please me. I am ashamed to hear from others in the school that you act bad, and do not try to learn. I send you there to be like a white man, and I want you to do what your teacher tells you. Remember the words I told you. I said if it takes five or ten years, if you do not learn anything you should not come back here.”
OUR PROGRESS.
Under “Our Progress,” the declaration is made that, so far, results show “that these boys and girls have come to a determination to throw aside the Indian’s mode of thought and feeling with the old dress and way of life. This seemed apparent in the beginning, but we feared that the older ones, at least, would soon grow weary of the restraint, which they must find very irksome. We have between sixty and seventy pupils over sixteen years of age. With few exceptions, these young men and women are helpers in discipline, as they are in all the manual labor necessary for their mutual comfort.
“Some time ago, one of the young men came to the girls’ quarters and asked to see his sister. The interview was in the presence of an interpreter, who reported that he gave the little girl a kind but very serious talk. He told her that he had noticed that she was noisy and idle, and that she laughed too loud on the playground. Said he, ‘We came here to learn. I do not know the white man’s way very much yet, but if I do wrong it is because I do not know what my teachers want me to do.’ Several instances of the same kind have occurred since, showing that these boys consider themselves the guardians of their sisters. These are Sioux boys just from their tribes. The interpreter tells us that among the Sioux, the boys and girls of the same family seldom or never speak to each other; this makes it the more remarkable. They are far from indifferent to each other’s comfort and happiness, however, as is invariably shown in time of sickness or any kind of trouble. The letters received by the children from their parents almost invariably counsel obedience to teachers and submission to all the regulations of the school.
“An intimate acquaintance with these children, and through them a better knowledge of their people at home, have increased our respect and deepened our sympathy for the Indians.
“We believe that the beginnings of a new life are stirring in many hearts. What outward developments this life may assume, time will show. The good seed is germinating. The air is full of promise. We can afford to wait.”
OUR GIRLS.
Again, how like “our girls” these promise to be under Christian culture:
“It is gratifying to watch the interest manifested by the little girls in the new arrivals. They are so anxious for them to be washed and dressed anew, and want to loan their own clothing until new can be made.
“Ruth, Grace and Rebecca seemed to feel themselves especially called upon to watch over and teach the ways of the family to the little Nez Perces girls, ‘strangers in a strange land’. They went with them to put them to bed, and then got up early in the morning, to show them how to dress themselves and put their room in order. For several days these little girls watched over them, even leading them by the hand to their meals, when the bell rang to call them together. They could not understand one word of each other’s language, but they chattered away like little birds; and yet six months ago, these same children were quite as wild and uncivilized as the little Nez Perces, Harriet and Sophia.”