The Florence tribune., 1899-08-05

His only field is agriculture. He can not compete with the white man even in that, but be may be taught what will be of use to him on the reserva- tion, the only place where he can find refuge from the fierce competition of the white man. We forget that the Indian is just entering upon civiliza- tion. He must become the match of the white man by slow processes. Our ancestors once lived in tepees, but we have been centuries developing and ascending. It will take the Indian as long,"
 The system of governing the In- dian on the reservation is as faulty as the method of educating him atscheol, Mr. Mcconnell believes. The agents usually have no special qualifications for their posts. They may be army officers whose lives have been spent at school and at West Point with no opportunity to acquire a business training. The management of 2 great Indian reservation is big business in itself. That they are mismanaged sometimes and that the schools are generally worse than useless is not the fault of congress or the fault of the administration. Money is appropriat- ed honestly and liberally for the care of the Indian and it is presumed that it is spent honestly and wisely. In- spectors are sent out, but it IS difficult for them to gather useful information. They see the best side of the schools and the posts and they seldom have time to pry beneath the surface. Teachers are afraid to talk and em p,oyes on reservations are fearful of their positions.
 Said Mr. McConnell: "We know aI- most nothing about the Indian. We visit the schools, hear the boys and girls speak their pieces ard marvel Ut their sudden transition from savagery to civilization. We do not follow the girls back to the tepee and see their degradation much lower than that from which they came. We do not see the boys returned to the reservation with knowledge which they have uo opportunity to apply and become as their fathers were. It is the duty of the people, especially the Christian people, to take greater interest than curious interest in the Indian"
 Mir. Mcconnell has just returned from g visit of two months on the San Carlos reservation, during which he saw avery past of it. Speaking of the proposed reservoir near Saa Car los. he says it is one of the best sites in the territory, but if Q reservoir is constructed there it will drive great many families away from their homes. They have settled along the banks of the river in the basin which would be submerged and the lands there are the most fertile in that part of the reservation. Mir. Mcconnell believes that they might be removed with advantage to themselves to an exceedingly rich region whose only drawback iB it's distance from the post. It was formerly cultivated, but is now only used as a range. Irriga- tion is not necessary to its cultiva- tion. Water is found at a depth of six feet and it is possible to raise two crops . year. It's area is considerably greater than that of the lands that would be submerged by the reservoir. Its remoteness from the post after all, and from the demoralizing influence of the soldiers, Mir. Mcconnell believes, would be an advantage rather than a drawback.
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