Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-19
MANY LITTLE INDIANS
How They Are All Mixed Together
at the Carlisle School.
STUDYING AND WORKING
Commissioner Morgan's Visit to the School
How the Work Of School and Shop 10 Ar
ranged-Boys and Girls Who Find Employ
ment ON Farms.

THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AT
l. fairs paid an official visit TO the great
school for Indians at Carlisle Q week
ago on his way to the west, and o
STAR reporter was given an opportunity to
accompany him. Carlisle is situated in the
midst Of the beautiful Cumberland valley Of
Pennsylvania, about thirty miles south Of Har-
risburg. or within five hours Of Washington.
1t has about 5000 inhabitants and is growing,
being situated on the line Of the Cumberland
Valley railroad. The Indian school is on the
site formerly occupied by . cavalry barracks
dating from the early part Of the century. A
military post was placed there before the revo-
luton and formed the last base of supplies in
the campaign Of the British against the Indians.
The only building remaining of the old plant
Is stone structure that was built by Hessian
prisoners for a magazine, but is now used for o
guard house. 1t bears the stamp of old con-
struction, for its walls are flly six feet thick.
The school is about half mile from the town
and is frequently visited by the citizens, who
have ceased to regard it as a danger to the
community and take great pride in its pros
perity and success 1t has been added to at
intervals until now it is capable of accommo-
dating at least 600 pupils. and with very few
~ u
/ Twelve years ago Capt. r. H. Pratt, tenth
cavairy,2 was detailed to take about eighty In
DIAN children from the west 10 the old post at
Carlisle and organize O school, That was the
the start. The institution has grown steadily
and is still under the care of Capt. Pratt as
superintendent who is under the direction of
| the commissioner of Indian affairs. He is the
only army officer duty there and is aided
by large staff of teachers and matrons.
There is disciplinarian, Mr.. Campbell, who
nf fhn hpr
plinarian, Mr. Wolf, young Carlisle man, who
| recently graduated from a military institute in
New York. Mr.. Standing is assistant superin-
tendent. There is an Office force. physician,
matron in charge of the little boys, another,
with two assistants, in charge of the girls
| quarters, and n corps Of teachers headed by
Miss Fisher, the principal Nearly all Of them
live on the grounds, forming pleasant COM
munity
large campus is inclosed BY the girls
quarters on the north, the houses Of the super
lntendent and his assistant and the Office on
the east, the school building and the teachers
| quarters on the south and the school dining
| hall on the west Trees OF great age grow in
the western half and at the edge of the grove
stands neat band pavilion for summer even
| ing concerts. Between that and the east walk
| Is a fine stretch of green sward for drilling
| purposes.
The $40 boys arc organized into battalion
| OF five companies. with Indians for officers
major. -Four Of the companies are composed of
the large boys and the other one of 100 little
IeHows, who are quartered together, under the
care OF matrcn. They have no arms. but they
| drill very well i'll the foot movements
| All the pupils of the school are uniformed,
| the boys in light grayish blue. with red trim
mings. and Feat caps, and the girls in navy
blue dresses, fiat blue felt hats at this season
| and long blue cloaks.
SCHOOL AND DISCIPLINE.
The main work OF the institution, of course,
is done in the school rooms. which are effect
lively located in a new building that forms the
southern END OF the rectang!e. 1t stands on the
site OF the old cavalry barracks that formed
part OF the original military post Of years ago.
1t is well-designed structure with stairways
both inside and outside of the walls. There are
| twelve large class rooms. furnished as we'll as
any scnooi room In Washington; an Office for
the principal, Miss Fisher; n music room and
large chapel or assembly room in the center Of
the second floor that will seat fully six hundred
people.
There are twelve classes going all the time.
! change
The varying qualifications of the pupils when
they report. caused by the variety Of school
conditions In the west. render it impract:cable
to grade the pupils according to their ages, and
1t often occurs that little tot of ten sits
next TO great. strapping lad of sixteen and
makes the same progress. This is especially
true In the case OF instruction in English in
which the younger pupils are apt to be far
moro ready than the elder ones There is an
instance OF o lad in ono of the lower grades and
MS father In room only two years more ad-
vanced. The father, after he had been at
Carlisle year, sent for the boy.
Commissioner Morgan is endeayorine to
establish a uniform system Of education that
WV, wiil ossin on the reservation and end at Car
Isle, the former to start the pupil and the lat
ter to finish him and turn him out with a
training that will be very close to that given by
the lower grades Of high school. Capt. Pratt
dlsagrees in his theories with the commits
sioner, and would abandon the reservation
schools and concentrate all pupils at schools
similar to that at Carlisle, separated from the
Indian colonies aud located in various parts of
the east.
1t is estimated that If q boy could enter the
senooi al Carlisle without any previous educa-
tion-many Of them fulfill this coudition-and
remain at the institution until graduated-none
OF them are able to do this uninterruptedly-
the process would take ten years. No pupil
has ever stayed at Carlisle more than seven
years at a time, though many, after their first
five years have elapsed, have gone back to their
families for period and then returned to finish
their education.
INDIAN TALK AND TOBACCO.
The English language is taught by means of
objects and lip motions Two years are usually
allowed a pupil to get hold of the English that
is supposed to be required of a citizen, and in
the meantime every effort il made to break mn
the habit OF the aboriginal tongue. The means
employed is q regulation that forms half of
Carllsle's dialogue. There are but two COM
mandments that are insisted upon. One is
Thou shalt not speak Indian and the other
Thou shalt not use tobacco. These offenses are
regarded as equally enormous. The very new
pupils who have had little instruction in En-
glish are granted a special dispensation from
the nrst rule, that il, gradually withdrawn as
the ability to comply becomes greater. Satur-
day night at dinner the first sergeant Of each
company collects from the boys their con-
science reports for the week. They are in the
form OF printed slip of paper in which the
pupils insert their names and their replies to
the two searching queries: Have YOU talked
Indian this week." and ''Have you used tobacco
this week?''
1t Is found that there is comparatively little
cheating In these reports, as the BOYS are forced
to De honest by the vigilance Of their COM
panions and officers There are no punish
ments prescribed for violations of these rules.
except where boys are warned for first offenses
and then persist In the act The tobacco cues
ton causes more anxiety on the part of the
boys than that which asks about talking Indian.
for there Il q surprising tendency to the use of
the weed, even greater than in the average
white boy. Repeated yeses given TO either
question bring boy into disgrace.
Thus good habits are urged upon the bova
They are required to be clean, to dress prop-
erly, TO talk clearly and to abstain from sll
hos r.