The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1880-11-05
Niscellanen1ts.
For tic 1Sgts and HtcHgencer
The Indian Training School Mt Car
Isle, PA.

IW Htc ZIIJtS uNb IHtCUIytHCGT.
The Indian Training School Mt Car
Isle, Pa.
Your issue of Oct. 10Th assigns "pastoral
duty" as the cause of my recent visit to Car
Isle, Pa. However excellent that might be
as an excuse for my absence from my pulpit
ON October 18th, Unjust yet acknowledge NY
self unable to claim it, because my visit was
purely one of recreation and pleasure. 1t
was rather slipping off from. pastoral du-
ty" than running into it. But us you have
Through slight misunderstanding pro-
claimed the above as my GRAND presume
that | must do something to show the com
| munty that my time was partly spent in the
| line ofpastoral duty" Saying nothing about
| the two sermons which one of the Carlisle
| pastors got out of me-nor of the Temper
| ance meeting, nor of the several political
| meetings which peeped into, / will write a
few words about the Indian School, which
| had the good fortune to examine under ia
vorable circumstances.
Perhaps many of your readers are not even
aware that the Government has a training
school for Indian boys and girls so near
at hand at Carlisle, Pa. Many others,
who know of it, may be looking upon
it as very doubtful experiment; whilst
many others who are in sympathy
i "'sAA 4" VIZ Wv NV us W llS
| progress. We are so wont to think of the
Indian as blood-thirsty savage, whose chief
delight is in the line of the tomahawk and
scalping knife, that we cannot readily bring
ourselves to realize that after all he is per
son in the fullest sense of the word and as
such is capable of being civilized and there
fore is entitled to citizenship. Our recent
method of governmental management of the
vexing "1ndan Question" has made us indif-
ferent to the fate of the led man, so that we
read of the butcheries of the Indians by our
troops without the least stir of conscience OF
pity of heart. We allow corrupt agents to
abuse and degrade them; to cheat and starve
them, and hen the poor untutored beings
dare to resent the wrong, we grow eloquent
upon their savagcry and send our troops tC
treat them to musket and sword. This meth
cd may settle the question, but it will end in
the determination of the red men and will
augment the already large burden ofsin which
the U. S. Government will lave to answer
for. Although late in the day, it may vel
not be too late to try q different method Of
treatment of the Indian. The school at Car
Isle, Pa, is an experiment of this method.
} The intention is to take boys and girls from
the various Indian tribes of the West and ed
ucate them in school of their own here il
the East. After they have received goot
practical education they are to be sent bacl
to their homes and others will be brought t.
take their places 1t is hoped that thus
generation of Indians will be reared in civil
cation that will exert a healthful infuenc,
upon the remaining tribes and ultimatel,
change the whole aspect of the Indians case
Even if some of the tribes should be extinc
before these children reach their maturity, i
would yet be much better to educate thes
few than destroy them all. The movemen
commends itself to our minds as q noble phil
anthropy, and most, if not all, men will bid |
a hearty God-speed. Let us see what are tn
prospects OF its success, after one years trial
. There are now at the Carlisle school 49,
pupils, 139 of whom are boys and 81 girls
They range in age from 8 to 10 years. Abou
one half of them had received instruction q
the agency schools prior to coming east an,
the remainder came directly from the camps
Two-thirds of them are the children of chief
and head men. About 10 per cent. are mike,
blood. They represent 10 different tribes
but the greater number come from the Sioux
Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, Comancht
Ponca and Nez Perces tribes. Their dialect
differ to such an extent that the differen
tribes cannot understand each others Ian
guage. This is not the case with all, but
mostly So AT the hospital the other day W
saw little boy just recovering from pneu
| mona, slttlng Ill CHAIR Deslde warm stoV
while another boy was standing near b
intently gazing upon him with what W
would regard as stare The latter came
= condole with the former and as he could nc
talk to him Qhey being of different trbes) h
, tried to look his sympathy into him. TIL
silent coincidence seemed satisfactory to bot
parties, even more SO than that of Jobs thrc
friends ,Aet ap.t i
The school work is organized into 81
4 graded departments, with additional side rec
tations. do not see how any one could pas
through these six schools and with his ow
eyes see and ears hear their performance
IS without being convinced that the Indian
y capable of being taught just as any other pc