The Van Buren press., 1897-01-09
THE RED MEN AT WORK.
How Much They Earn from the Govern
ment-yariety of Their Industries.

| How Much They Earn from the Govern
/ ment-yariety of Their Industries.
The capabilities of 10" for playing
football, as illustrated in the case OF the
Carlisle pupils, have perhaps excited
wider attention of late than any signs
he has given of disposition to work
Yet these latter are apparent rot only
in the records of that school, as to the
| pupils on farms and in households, bu'
in those of the Indian bureau.
Under the system now in vogue, az
explained by Commissioner Browning,
if an Indian is willing to go to WORK
upon the tract allotted to him, the gov
eminent helps him to build house,
gives him team and farming tools
with wire for fencing and grain for
seeding. besides the advice and super
vision of a farmer to help him in get
ting out his crops.
Then it aids the red men also by en-
plovment of various sorts. Apparent
Iv it gives for labor and for supplies
bought each year well along toward
81 1000. 900. For example, in the various
SCHOOLS, out Vi SsOiO 81 I'Ni IL -
teachers and other employees, last year
more than one-third, for 705 were In
dams, and their salaries aggregated
S14S,766. Then, among the persons EN-
ployed at agencies other than those at
the schools. are found no fewer than
1,434 Indians, with wages aggregatlng
se5s. $40. or nearly half the amount paid
TO white employees at agencies. These
two amounts together make over $780,
900 for Indians, and since 1t is said that
80 still larger amount is paid them for
miscellaneous work and for supplies
raised by themselves" we have a very
good aggregate.
The variety of the employments which
the Indians, or, rather, which few OF
them, are taking up is also a good
sign. 1t would hardly do to have them
depend on agriculture alone, and, in
deed, they have no inherited aptitude
for it, But they earn money by hauling
goods for the government. They are be-
ginning to compete for supplying farm
produce, and one Indian not long ago
obtained the contract for supplying
corn to the government schools. Com
missioner Browning adds to these in
dustries cutting hay, working on irri-
eating bitches, raising and selling beef
cattle, logging, cutting cordwood, dig
cling ginseng root, sheep shearing, Ia
boring as ranehmen, carrying the hod
and working on railroads. To these
may be added the selling of fish, berries,
wild rice, maple sugar, and in Wiseon-
sin, frogs legs.
On several reservations Indian wom-
ca have been taught to make pillow
lace, through Miss Sibyl Carriers efforts,
and some of them are said to be
careful designers as well as deXtrous III
work. The Indians also earn money
by making moceasins, gloves, pottery
pipes, blankets and bead work, although
it is thought that this source of rev
snue may be decreasing. On the other
hand, large amounts of land are leased
by the tribes, and large sums are derived
from that source. This cannot be reek-
oned properly an industry" but it is
valuable employment of capital.
There are some Indian traders, there
are some self-supporting Indian me.
ehanics and there are Indian clerks in
stores. There are few Indian ply
| sicians, clergymen, engineers and
trained nurses. The outing system OF
Carlisle school has been referred to, and
| the Flandreau school in South Dakota
which recently introduced it, reports
that the boys who went out during the
vacation to farms earned from SIS pei
month to $3.50 per day each.
In the governments extension of tbs
civil service rules over the Indian bureau
employees it recognized that the indians
would be practically barred out by put
ting them through course of eXami
nations on book learning in compari
son with whites. Hence it spared then
this necessity, and even where they were
candidates for the offices of superin
tendent, teacher of industries, kinder
garten, or physician, a competitive eX
animation was not required, the test o
fitness being such as was approved b,
the civil service commission.
1t is said that in the large majority o
cases Indians employed at the agencie
are faithful and Jealous. Many are pc
licemen and judges of the courts of In
dian offenses on the reservations. On
agency has 1917 Indians employed, on
has 76, another 70, two have 81, % hav
over 90 and 10 have from II to 20 In
dams on their employee rolls,-N. Y
| Sim