The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-29

pleasures. II Is the second leave OF alb
sence he has had since he first entered
upon work at Carlisle some seventeen
years ago. On former leave OF four
months duration he visited Iapan
Capt Pratt's life work IN the direction
OF educating and civilizing the Indians Of
this continent is well known among all
readers or magazines and newspapers.
HOW his success IN teaching some young
Indian prisoners who were sxiled 10 PEN
sacola. Fla. at which place the captain
Was stationed. led him to the belief that the
Indian was as capable OF assimalsting and
using an education as men of any other
race Also his subsequent experience at
Hampton, waere the experiment OF educat-
Ing the Indians side b. side with the Ne
groes was tried and abandoned. And how.
finally. he secured a government appropfia-
ton for the work. the selection Of Carlisle
barracks. in Pennsylvania. for a site for a
school. and his own detail to that position
by the secretary of war. on September 6.
Ast1- W ta4ie Satse. 1t.stt -. 4~.a.sA.s.S &e
officer in the regular army, the school it.
self is under the control OF the secretary
of the interior.
The pride which the captain takes In his
school and his scholars was plainly visible
in q conversation which he had with a
representative OF the Post-Intel!igencer
last evening.
He described his efforts in getting the
first indian children to attend the school.
The agents al the various reservations hal
tried In vain to induce parents to send
their children, and the efforts of some
OF the missionaries in that direction had
met no more success. He finally visited
Red Cloud and Spotted Tail. and after a
long talk with the two chiefs and others
succeeded in getting his first pupils, eigh-
ty-two Sioux OF the Ogalla and Brule
tribes. He subsequently got more from
tho Southwest from the Comanches,
kiowas and Apaches.
At present the school has between $50
and 500 inmates. and among their number
are representatives OF nearly every In
dian tribe in the country. including Puy-
ailup Chehaiis and Lummi Indians from
Puget sound The class which graduated
on February q last included three Wash
ington Indians, Edward Spott of Puya,llp,
who has since died. John Leslie, OF Puy-
aliuy. and Robert Jackson. OF Chehalis.
The latter has since received an appoint
meni from the government as teacher OF
an indian school on a reservation in
North Dakota. John Leslie has learned
photography. In a recent souvenir pamph-
let issued from the school are some forty
or fifty fine photo-engravings of the school,
different scenes around the grounds. the
workshops. printing Office, etc. over half
of these photographs were taken by
Leslie.
The captain is particularly proud of his
football team. He says they can give the
best of them a tussle. They have had
games against both Harvard and Pennsyl-
vania, and have succeeded in scoring
against each OF these strong teams. This
year the boys have raised a purse and en-
gagged a first-ciass trainer and expect to
m IKE record. They have already ar
ranged to play against Harvard in Bos-
ton. Yale In New York, Princeton at
Princeton. ana u. of p. at Philadelphia
this fall.
During the summer vacations the var
ious pupils are scattered around among
the different farms throughout Eastern
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware
not only with a view TO bringing them N
as close contact as possible with civiliz-
ing influences. but to enable them to earn
pocket money. Their other expenses are
met by the government appropriation. The
captain is particularly proud of the fact
that his boys and girls have in this kind
Of work earned in the last four years
81 900
ed twenty-five. the largest yet recorded
II brings the total number OF graduates up
10 I2S. or these. with two or three excep-
tons. nore have relapsed into Indian
ways. Nearly all have government posi-
tionS on different reservations, although
some have gone into business and accli-
nIuisted money. one in particular being a
cattle king.