The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-09-18
GUESTS WITH IDEAS.
Men of the World Who Are
Visiting Seattle.
THE INDIAN or THE PRESENT.


Mr.. r. s. Gardner, of Clarksbure, West
Virginia, the United States Indian inspec-
tor, who is stopping for few days ct the
Rainier, is . man who has had an eventful
life. and has seen many interesting things
At the breaking out of the civil war he
went to the front as = private in Company
F of the Seventy-third Ohio volunteers.
He rose steadily, till, at the close Of the
conflict, he was assistant chief quarter
master for the department of West Viz
ginia.
In April, 1879. he entered the government
Indian service. in which he has remained
ever since. His present business is to visit
the various reservations throughout the
country, go through the accounts OF the
agents, examine the contracts. and look
after the general work and condition Of
the reservations. At one time and another
he has visited every reservation in the
country. On this present trip he has just
come from the Colville, Okanogan, Spo-
kane. Yakima. Neah Bay and Tulalip res
ervations. After visiting the Puyallup res
ervation Mr.. Gardner will 20 into Oregon
1t is three years since Mr.. Gardner visited
this state. and he says he finds the condi-
ton Of the Indians in the Eastern part OF
the state considerably improved; and he
believes that in the west there is probably
the same improvement, although almost
all the indians are now away from the res
ervations hop picking, and 1t Is impossible
to judge accurately of their condition.
1T is fact" said Mr. Gardner, "that
scrofulOus diseases and consumption are
very prevalent among the Indians, and
that in many parts the race is terribly
weakened. Ny own belief is that the In
dian. in his tribal relations, viii soon be
thing of the past. The lands will be given
in severaity and then the Indian will be
living on much the same terms as the
whites.
Take this state for example; the indi-
them are wealthy. It is true that they give
but little attention to agriculture. for all
their hereditary instincts are for hunting
and fishing. particularly the latter. and
they drawA good substance from the
sea. But they will come to the land in
time. Their allegiance to the chief is
merely nominal now. but when they hold
their lands in severalty there will be less.
Tribal lines will utterly disappear, and
they will amalgamate with the whites be-
ieve within fifty years.
There is not the antipathy between the
Indians and the whites that there is be.
tween the whites and the blacks, Is / my
self can testify, for am one-sixteenth In
dian. Wyandotte. The mixture has not
apparently shortened the life of the family,
for my father and mother are living, and
my children and grandchildren-four gen.
erations in ALL
Your Washington Indians are probably
doing as we'll as any in the country, though
many down in Indian territory are thriv-
ing, and it is not rash to say that the In
dams all over the country are steadily adj
vancing, and that the Indian question is
solving itself.
The APaches down in Aris0na come
nearest to representing the current idea of
the wild Indian. They are brave, indeed.
utterly reckless of their lives. stoical and
treacherous. And by the way, the Nayaios,
q thoroughly nomadic tribe, which has
always gone on the principle that it is
easier to move than to pay rent. have ira
dition that they came from this country
and the land north toward Alaska. They
still tell stories of the fishing and seal hunt
ing they used to do up on the northwest
coast. The time of their living up here was
fifteen generations ago, reckoning seventy
years to generation, SO that makes the
period of their residence 1000 years back,
and yet they still retain traditions of the
old life"
Dr. Otis f. Presbrey, of Washington
nf ha g.
pony, has been spending some weeks at
the Diller. In talk which began with
educational matters, he said. in substance:
Il firmly believe the time will come before
long when current history will be studied
in every good school. One great trouble
with our present scheme of education is
that it takes boys and girls out
of touch with the world. A
young man who spends three years at a
fitting school. four more at college. and
three more at professional school, is Sc
questered for ten years of his life. He
loses track of things, and so is placed 1t a
disadvantage when compared with the
man who has spent the same length of
time among men, keeping the run of af-
fairs. The study CT current events would
do much to broaden our young men. to
make them less prejudiced in their views,
and to strengthen them in every way"
The conversation then turned and DR..
Presbrey spoke with great enthusiasm of
the future of Washington. Last veal. -
said ne. II was here shortly after your fire.
and it is really wonderful to see how you
have recovered. From city of tents YOU
have become a city of brick, stone and
iron. know of no state which has brighter
prospects, have just returned from Alaska.
and am sure large trade will grow up
with that region. San Francisco has had
much of the Alaskan trade hitherto. but
there is every reason to believe that it
will be turned into Puget sound. Here
will be the shipping point for all the great
Northwestern pi oducts.
"You have just begun the development
of your state. You have, to begin with,
wonderfully rich land, which produces
crops almost incredibly large few days
ago / was out on hop ranch near here,
and saw place on which the owner ex-
pected to make from $l2,0 to $15. 900 clear
profit this year. When you begin to
pile up money in this way there is no tell
ing how rich You will get. 1t is the same
with your vegetables and fruits. You have
the lumber, the fertile soil when the trees
are cut away, and then great mineral treas
ure under the surface. Washington has
vast quantities Of the same minerals, coal
and iron, that have made Pennsylvania q
great state. Besides ali this, you have
the Sound and its rivers swarming
with fish. A state with these
resources is capable of producing an enor-
nous quantity of wealth. which will be
transported to other parts of the world.
For this reason / believe that Washington
will in time be gridironed with railroads,