Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-12-28
Sending Indians To College.

Sohtiouihu ndIHeu hutcbln, living
in Green Lake county, this state, has
had several Indian boys at work for
him the past summer on farm, and
they proved so valuable, and so willing
TO work, and SO anxious to leave the
rowing life of the tribe and engage in
civilized pursuits, that he has inter-
ceded with the government to educate
the young Indians, and they are to be
sent to college. This seems 10 us to
be fatal mistake. 1t they would send
the young Indians to district school,
and teach them the English language,
surrounded by the boys of farmers and
mechanics, il would be well for the In
diass, but to put them into college
will break them all up. The Indian
who goes to q college will find it hard,
after the life he has led, to adopt the
ways of civilized college students, and
become hazers, who practice cruelty on
boys who are physically weak. The
Indian boy who has never been on the
war-path would be sick at heart at wit
Messing a hGzing match, where q con-
sumptive freshman is taken from his
warm room, undressed, and held out
Of four story window until the mar
row In his bones is frozen, as has been
done within the last year by civilized
sons of rich men attending college.
The Indian boy is not naturally hard
hearted, and TO be thrown into the So
ciety OF boys who think it fun to take n
freshman blindfolded, in hack, ten
miles from the college, strip him, and
turn him loose too find his way back
thrnnnh hn 10
too much for them, and they would
drift back to the uncivilized life to
which they have been accustomed.
Again it would be hard TO make college
dudes of sensible Indian boys. You
take plain, unvarnished Indian boy,
put on his head a visorless college cap,
n collar four inches high, tight coat,
cut Off too short at the lower end, a
pair OF pants that, he would have too
put French chalk inside of, to get his
legs in, and long tooth.pick shoes with
yellow tops, and give him cane, and
teach him TO say, "Ah, by Jove, you
know" and he would be picture that
would cause his tribe TO weep. Sup
pose the father and mother of the In
dian student, thus attired, should give
the muskrats that they trap, q holiday,
and go to the college to visit their son,
and should find him as described, and
he should put his eye glass into MS eye
and say "Ah, governor glad to see you,
you know; and madame, l am yours
truly" the aged rat trapper would
pull his gun and if he could get t of
them in range he would shoot them,
though he would hesitate 10 waste q
charge of powder on single one,
while the squaw mother would wrap
her blanket around her form and 90
and lean against q fence and be sick.
The Indian would have too much sense,
uncultured though he might be, to be
proud of such an outfit as son, and
instead OF blessing the day that his son
decided to became civilized, he would
curse it. If it is deemed advisable TO
educate the Indian boys, let us com
mence at the right place, the country
school, and when the Indian has learned
enough to be able TO transact business,
let him go inJo some business that he
can do, and if he has got it in him to
become man, he will have encourage
ment from all decent people, but if we
start him in a college, where half the
boys go because all the other places TO
get rid OF them are closed, the Indian
Will come out big-headed piece OF
uselessness, and when he gets out
there will be no place good enough for
him. lie will be above catching rats,
and the world will owe him living.