Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-04-26

most industrious individual and a hard
taskmaster. 1t is no uncommon thing
to see Indian farmers with Americans
and natives working under them. The
laborers are expected to work from day
light until dark.
IL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.
In the Indian school, the system of
education is attended with such practi-
cal work that the possibility of lapsing
into the old state of savagery is wholly
eliminated. Here is exemplified the
state which socialists have long agi-
tated, and the system is prolific of much
good. Each class is allotted a certain
time for study and the remainder of the
day is devoted to hard labor in the field,
garden, or solae place where the practi-
cal side of life is taught. The forenoon
class of boys devotes the afternoon to
the manufacture of garden tools, dig
ging irrigation bitches, saving and cut
ting wood, sowing grain or alfalfa,
planting corn, making hot beds, etc.
The forenoon class of girls devote the
afternoon to cooking, scrubbing, sew
ing, darning and general house work.
In turn, the afternoon classes relieve
the others of those functions. These
children, who but a short time ago were
rescued from benightment and illitera-
cy, speak English fluently and are fast
proving a credit to civilization. 1t is
true that they have but little reasoning
powers. and teaching arithmetic is the
hardest task of the tutors. But the
minds are rapidly grasping the rudi-
ments OF such knowledge and another
generation will show marked improve
ment. The pupils seem to have a nat
ural aptitude for drawing and acting
and the Friday night assemblies afford
them ample opportunity to display their
talents in the latter. On those occa-
sions the older ones prepare essays on
such topics as ''The Pilgrims, " George
Washington and other subjects which
tend to draw their minds from savage
instincts and teach them to revere
things that are good, noble and grand.
The little ones give their songs and
~recitations with delightful gestures, in
dicative of the respective limitations.
They have ears for music and are easily
trained, executing with remarkable ia
cility and absolute perfection the modu-
lations and changes from major to
minor keys.
The system of education adopted here
is far su perior to that in existence else
where in the United States, for the
whole tribe is advancing step by step
and there is no occasion for the many
to absorb the few and cause them to
cast aside the knowledge gained and
revert to Incidence and savagery as is
the case where SON are sent to Carlisle
or other places to be educated and then
returned to their tribes.
l once heard of an Indian girl who
had been educated in the east and re-
turned to her people as finished" She
was a good musician, superb dancer
and fluent conyersationalist in English.
In a little while she married a greasy
and worthless buck and again sank
into the old state of squalor, wretched-
ness and dirt. She adopted the buck
skin leggins and blankets and ''packed"
water, gathered wood, ETC., as of yore.
Some acquaintance saw her and ex-
pressed CONSERVATION and surprise that
she had refrigerated from a scholar to
such a state of shiftlessness. She re-
piled: II tried to do the best l could,
but my education was of no use to me.
The white people would not admit me
to their society and my people have 10
exalted positions for persons of superior
education" Truly, she was right.
what could the poor girl DOE"
But here the system is entirely differ
ent. The Mescalero Apaches are slow
ly building a social condition Of their
own, and it is founded in the good old
way that our forefathers adopted: that
of giving adulation and credit to the
ones who gain their own livelihood and
accumulate a competency through thrift
and enterprise.
The government supplies which were
formerly furnished so lavishly by the
agents, have dwindled to one issue of
fresh meat for a week, and this sort of
dependence will soon be cut off and the
Indians relieved of any, except moral
obligations, from Uncle Sam. Each
Indian is self-supporting and more pro-
vident than a majority of whites. Many
whose fortunes were at one time linked
with those of Geronimo and Victoria
are now models of industry and can
secure credit at the country stores.
They never hang around saloons when
they are in town and they always have
some ready cash in addition to their
stores of grain laid by for the proverbial
rainy day.
The agency work is divided into three
departments, viz: Industrial, domestic
and literary. Following is the roster OF
employees and teachers.
DR.. Walter Mem. Luttrell, agent.