Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-10-09
INDIANS AT SCHOOL.
THE NURSERY OF ABORIGINAL SLIPS
 AT LAWRENCE, KAN.

How the Young Indians Look. Live. Study
 and Work-Their PecuIiaritIes and Progress-Breaking Down Tribal Clan nishness-A Marked Difference.
 The Haskell institute cares for nearly 4OO pupils, about one-third of whom are girls. There Is very considerable group of build ings forming the institute, which consists of large and capacious structures for the school rooms, dormitories and living purposes of tho pupils, and additional buildings which are used for shops, storehouses of various kinds, and which constitute a little settlement. There Is also large farm attached, on which the boys are taught farming, gardening and the like, and which is considered not the least valuable of the instructive agencies to which they are subjected
 The institution is under the management of n superintendent and large staff of teachers and assistants of various kinds The number of tribes represented in the school is nearly or quite thirty, and includes the names of many of the most famous fighting bodies, as well as of others nos 90 well known in history Do you have any difficulty arising from the tribal distinctions!" was asked of the superintendent
 There has been a good deal, as under stand, under prior arrangements, but have substantially obliterated it under the system which have adopted. There is an intense clannishness among the boys on their arrival, and in fact their tribal affections are never obliterated; and yet it is at least kept well m the background during their stay in the institute"
 BREAKING DOWN CLASSIsHSEss.
 How do you bring this aboutf7
 ~l arrange them into companies. selecting them with reference to size, putting the tall est boys on tho right, which, of course, pre- vents anything like tribal association. They are also mixed at the tables, and the com panies are roomed together in the various dormitories, and thus, by these and other I ans, the tribal relations arc weakened by ,-slse if not wholly obliteratedr
 Do you find any intellectual difference in the various tribes-that is, are some ~ the children of certain tribes brighter. quicker to learn, more or less docile than othcrsfr
 There Is not much difference in that direc- ton: the children of one clan are about the same in intellectual qualities as the re mainder. do find an inequality in one rt- spect. and that Is that I think find more tractability and ambition among those pos seSSed of warrior blood. had much rather teach the children of blanket Indians than those of the more civilized AS to the chil- dren here, while there are twenty nine tribes in all represented, there arc more Cheyennes and Arapahoes than all others combined"
 In reference to the control of the boys, the manager said that be has great success in ap- pealing to their manly sentiments. It Is enough to say to m erring boy: "A brave man would not do that! The son of a warrior would not do this,7 When one of them gives his word on anything or shakes hands on it, he regards his pledge as inviolable, and never -goes back on II, ,n in the words of the super inteDient.
 A trip through the shops reveals the boys engaged in various occupations In the rooms devoted to shoemaking, there were four or five young men of from IS to % years of age engaged in repairing foot furniture. Some specimens of their work were shown. and while they were not just what would be pro duced by a cosmopolitan artist, they were at least creditable to the locality and the oper- ators They handed out their work for in- spectlon. and seemed sheepishly pleased at the conmendation which their labors elicited
 There were several young fellows at work in the carpenter shop who showed the plane and handled the mallet and chisel with as much esrncstness as if they were white men The exhibit in the blacksmith shop was as creditable as that-Of the other work places; and. in short in all the mechanical depart ments the boys seemed as much at home as if they were inured to the business by genera tions of training.
 POINT OF DIFFERENCE
 There was, however, a point of difference between these young men and the same num- Der of white boys. There is in the face of the thoroughbred mechanic an expression which sc. .f tn ls, F. entire harmony with his occu. patton. There was q lack of this in the faces of the young Indians They were at the bench and forge, and yet from their counte- nanceS they seemed to be far away. They worked, as 1t were, mechanically, perfume torily. They seemed one thing and their surroundings something else. They were like an inharmonious element in the scene; as if two quite unlike things had been thrown to- gether Their expression was solemn. stern and unyielding. During the entire visit of inspection there was scarcely such a thing as a smile to be seen on the faces of the boy or girl. This is not owing to anything like un- happiness over their situation, but rather to the peculiRrities of their race.
 Each young Indian who was at work sus- geStsd some wild animal tanned sufficiently to perform domestic service; something like a wolf broken to harness, doing the work well, but yet very much out of place with bit, traces and collar.
 That the boys retain much of the old war rior leaven Is constantly shown They eyince it in their fondness for military trappings and parades. They are excessively fond of listen ing to nArrations of heroic deeds Talk to US, ,- they will often say to the superintendent, -of the warriors of EurOpe.- They listen to battle accounts and incidents in the hves Of creat soldiers with an interest intense beyond description With such sentiments pervad- ing their natures, it is not likely that they will make frst-class, plodding mechanics. They may not know why they do not love the occupations to which civilization has as signed them; in fact, they may fancy that they do like their civiliDsd trades, but beyond question there is something in these labors that is at war with their instincts A genera ton or two later may afford a difference, and they may take kindly then to what they now apply themselves as z duty or a task.-Cor. Chicago Times.