The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-24
THE APACHE IS
A GOOD INDIAN.
Captain R. II. Pratt of the
Famous Carlisle School
Says So.
WHAT HIS SCHOOL DOES.
Teaches the Indians to Work
and They Earn $4,000
a Year.
Spends Millions Per Annum Reck.
lessly-Going to Alaska With
Sheldon Jackson.
WHAT HIS SCHOOL DOES.

Captain R. 81. Pratt of the United States
army, who for sixteen years has had charge
of the famous Indian school at Carlisle,
Pa, is at the Palace.
He says he has been working very hard
and wanted to get away for rest. He
stopped at several points in Arizona, and
at Pasadena, and is now going to Alaska.
En- route he will visit the Indian school
near Salem, which is the finest on this
coast. In Alaska he will meet the Rev.
DR.. Sheldon Jackson, the superintendent
of the education of the Indians there.
Captain Pratt is a big, smooth faced
man, about so years old, with broad Shout
ders and massive face, and he wears a
broad-rimmed, blacE hat, giving him the
appearance of a Quaker. He is man to
be looked at twice.
"Ihave been in charge of the school at
Carlisle from the beginning" said Captain
Pratt, land that has been for the last six
teen years. We have between $50 and 800
Indian girls and young men there all the
time. About two-hfths are girls and three
fifths young men.
1.-THE Indians represent fifty-six different
tribss, taking in the Cherokees, Conan
ches Sioux, Apaches and other nations.
Our school is industrial and teaches the
DOyS lIlG lTdutS IIe RlTlS now
to cook, sew and do all kinds of housework.
1--WE also print TWO papers. One is the
Red Man, monthly, and the other is the
Indian Helper, weekly. The latter has
circulation of between 10000 and Il, 900
and goes all over the world, to England,
China, Siam and everywhere. The In
dian scholars do all the work of issuing
the papers, being in charge of Miss NJ.
Burgess, daughter of William Burgess of
San Francisco.
"The Indians are sent to the school by
selections from the different tribes. We
started out by trying to get the young In
dams among the whites as much as pos
sible, and we have found that II was a good
idea.
"Our Indian scholars work through the
summer months in the families of farmers
mainly. We have got more than 450 of
both sexes who go out among them. The
boys pillow and reap and the girls work
with the women.
"And the result has been amazing. For
four years past the earnings of our boy s
and girls has been over $4,000 a summer
ct they say the Indian won't work. All
this money have been earned, too, when
white students are taking a rest.
The young Indians are so much in
demand during the working season that
there are three or four times as many
applications as can be filed.
" es, have been among the Indians for
a long time. In 1867, when l Joined the
regular army, was sent to Fort Gibson,
l. T., and was with the scouts for eight
years. After that / had charge of the
Indian prisoners at Fort Augustine, Fla,
for three years. There were some of the
worst Indians in the country there. but
they became very docile.
81 have always taken the position that
the Indian was entitled to good treatment,
with chance to make something of him
soil q va eynf L
and they were brought over here from
Africa. This is the home of the Indian.
My regiment, by the way, was the Tenth,
one of the only two colored regiments we
have.
1--WE have Apaches and Sioux in our
school. As for the Apache he is really a
good Indian. We had one who was with
us for several years who had become a
skilled physician and who was gentle
mana man OF education and refinement
He was stolen from his tribe when a child
by the Pimas and sold for $50 to gentle
man of Chicago, who brought him up. He
graduated in medicine, was West with diff
ferent agencies for several years and fin
ally when We needed physician 1 chose
him. We were paying him 1920 year
but physician of Chicago wanted him to
return there, and he went. He could do
better. He was DR.. Carlos Montezuma, a
full-blooded Apache.
Another one was Antonio Apache. q
nephew of old Chief Cochlse. He is in
charge of the permanent exhibit of the
Worlds Fair, and he also is full-blooded
Apache. There is one also with the Penn
sylvania Steel Company at Steelton
who is a great ironworker. There is also
a Navajo in the Baldwin Locomotive
Works at Philadelphia. In all there are
about thirty young Apaches who are out
making records for themselves in Penn
sylvania.
''There are $50 900 Indians and seventy
i've tribes in the United States. Congress
every year for their support. This policy
degrades them. They ought to be separ-
ated, brought up with the whites, and
with them the old aphorism of the Bible,
BY the lat of thy iace shall thou eat
bread should be carried out The In
dams will then ha hanpvr yaopIa