The bee., 1883-05-19
A FRONTIER SCHOOL.
EdnentinI the Young Men of RusIIer,s
tsnlch- --IsriHgiug n PapfI co Terms.

bcnOOl Wllcn 00urISneS at that place
He begins his letter in this style:
Yes" said the schoolnlaster. as h
rolled a fresh cornhusk cigaro, "tht
history Of this school would no donb
prove interesting from a newspape
point OF view. Its most startling in
cidents, however. seem common 1lac,
and tame to frontierSman."
You have been on the frontier
many years p
"Since rs"
"And you have taught school al
that timer"
"No. / was in the army when ]
FIRST came west Of the Mississippi.
was discharged in 80 and began teach.
ing school the following year"
The schoolmaster blew the smoke
from his mouth and his bearded face
assumed grave and reflective express
sion. He was sweeping away the cob
webs which time had woven across
the doors of the storehouse of memory.
Finally he spoke:
Il have had a great many interest
ing experiences in my quarter of a
century of pedagogical life-a great
many. But you wanted particularly
to hear the history of the Rustler's
Gulch school2"
"Yes, sir"
He consulted his watch and, finding
that it lacked an hour of school time,
threw away the stump of his cigaro,
poured out a drink Of mescal for each
of Us from jug, which during school
hours was hidden under the bed, and,
tossing off his portion at a gulp,
began:
"This school was started five wears
ago and / am the fourth teacher.
have been here two years About six
weeks ago a great sheep man from the
lower country locat in the gulch and
established a ranch here. He had a
large herd and employed many herders.
He built the big C asa up there among
the cottOnwoods and brought his
family here, portion of which were
seven children within the school age.
Many OF his herders had families, and.
being a man Of influence and wealth,
he had no difficulty in establishing a
public school and he built this house.
1t has been improved deal since
then. Formerly it was just an ordin-
airy jacal, with mud walls and a mud
roof and floor. The teacher stood up
or walked about during school hours.
lie hung his hat up on the floor in one
corner and shelved his books in an
other. The pupils brought sheep
skins to sit upon, AMI every night
rolled them up with their books an
pile1 the lot up in the two unOccupied
corners. BumLer of any sort was very
scarce. When the railroad wa COM
pletod through the trustees made these
Improvements put in desks and win
dows, tackled up a iiling and hung
doors. This little room was also lded
and fitted up for me. Now it is very
comfortable
1.-TWO wears ago was employed and
have been here ever since. / like the
place and the people. and, if l say it
myself, have a school to be proud Of j"
The children were beginning to ar
rive as he finished speaking and he in
vitel me to stay and inspect the
school. There were about fifty pupils,
varying in age from seven 20 twenty
All over sixteen were pay scholars.
Two-thirds of the school were Mexi-
cans or halGbreejs. The latter were
the brightest and quickest to learn.
Many of the children could not under
stand word Of English when they
first entered the school and were un-
able TO read and write Spanish. 1t re-
quired a 81, at deal of patience
and perseverance to educate them. All
studied two sets of books, English and
Spanish. One day they recite from
the English book and translate an
swers and questions into Spanish on
the blackboard. The next day this is
reversed. The lesson is learned from
the CaStilian manual and rendered in
Saxon. BY this means both sets of
pupils get the advantage of a dual ed
ucation, which is Of great advantage
on the frontier, where Spanish is writ
ten and spoken as frequently as Eng
lish. For my benefit several of the
speeches in both languages. thought
the performance very creditable and
told the schoolmaster SO that night
over the mescal.
Yes" he answered, "they do very
well. / had considerable trouble with
them ut firSt-that is, with the white
boys-the Mexicans are more or less
peoned from birth and are very tract
able and oh adient. Did you notice that
large boy sitting at that further left
hand deSkg"
The one who recited The Burial
of Sir John Moore in English and then
repeated it in Spanish?"
Yes. Two years ago he did not
know lis A, B, C's."
"He must be twenty years old"
"Just twenty, and at eighteen he
was as large as he is now. His father
is wealthy cattle owner and this boy
is the only child. He had been petted
and spoiled from birth. In the States
that would make a sap;' here itmakes
a desperate. He ruled the rooSt at
home and his father could do nothing
with him. He cursed and smoked, |
gambled and drank, and always went
armed. His father wanted him to en-
ter the school as pay scholar and
consented to receive him. He did very
wei the first three days and then was
absent. sent a note to his father in
guiring the cause. He replied that the
young ruflian refused to 60 any more,
and adjured me TO use my authority