Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-07-12

real udIu tlLue. but we are going on
tomorrow to encounter another propo
sition. We do not know whether the
ice is yet out of Behring sea, we are
going to find out at any rate. The
trip from here to Nome will take only
three days, so you see we are nearly
at our journeys end"
"Onelaska is more interesting than
Dutch HarbOr, because of the Jessa
Lee home, the United States school
and the Greek church being located
there. From Dutch Harbor one must
either go a long way around by boat
or follow the trail over the mountains
and cross the bay in the ferry in order
| to reach Onelaska. The latter mode
of travel is more generally preferred.
The first point Of interest to US was
the Jesse Lee home, which was found
ed by Jesse Lee some u years ago IN
der the auspices and supported by the
| Woman's Home Missionary society of
| the Methodist Episcopal church of the
United States. 1t is now under the
! guardianship Of Rev. Sheldon Jackson.
Dr.. and Mrs. Newhall, together with
an assistant, have direct charge of the
| home. The building, which the So
! clety owns and in which the home is
! located, is large roomy 3-stOry frame
structure, containing, beside the living
| rooms, bright, sunny chapel hall in
which services are held, a reception
room and a large. pleasant parlor.
| Everything about the home is modest
| but as comfortable as possible in this
| country. Mrs. A. F. Beiler, secretary
Of the Alaskan bureau, is responsible
| for the financial condition of the
| school. to my knowledge. That is free
from debt. They have always several
hundred dollars on hand with which
to meet contingent expenses. This
fact augers we'll for Mrs. Boilers man
| agement.
'The school, or home, is open to
orphan children of both sexes. Child
rem are not usually admitted under
five years of age, but at the present
time there is a little tot of two years
in the home. These children are ma
called Aleuts. They are a mixed race
"a cross between the native Indian
and the Japanese. They resemble the
Japanese in the shape of their eyes,
and in their size, and the Indian in
color and features. The girls in the
home are taught to cook, sew, mend,
knit theirs and the boys hosiery and
mittens and to be good housewives
generally. The children receive re-
igious training in the home but at
tend the United States day school for
their lessons in the English branches
of study. Formerly the missionaries
| held a day school in connection with
the home and admitted all native
children, but owing to the strong in
tluence eXerted over them by the Greek
church, it was abandoned. We asked
DR.. NeWhall if the children attended
and he said off and on, mostly off, as
| there were PIP religious holidays OBJ
served in the Greek church. A good
church member will not work on
religious holiday nor allow his child
rem to attend school. This state of af-
fairs accounts largely for the poverty
and dense ignorance Of the natives
| Take 212 days out of a school year and
| there isn't much time left. This
makes the problem of education a hard
| one to solve, as they are slow to learn
any way They are good imitators
but have no reasoning powers. They
can add and subtract but when it
| comes to reasoning out problem, to
use Dr.. Newhall's language, They are
! not there
The Indian school at Carlisle &C
cepts each year a certain number Of
pupils from different tribes Last year
| - pupils were sent out from this
home. Their future is a problem yet
| 20 be solved. Another and more diff
| ifiCult problem is the future of the
! girls in the home. Some of them are
| children Of white fathers and native
mothers, and, while they are as fair
as white, they have native blood
and cannot be classed with the whites.
Marriage with white men is not desir-
able, although it has resulted in some
cases at least peaceabIy, but it is to
be avoided when possible In talking
with DR.. Newhal on this subject he
said: Some white men make as good
husbands as respectable natives and
better than a bad native The most
big t comes upon the children of such
parents. They have a dark featura
being above the native and beneath
| the whites.
The natives do not and never will
realize what this home has done ana
is doing for them. When the child
rem enter they are bound in for a GER
tain length of time. Thus the in
fluence of the home is not so easily
outgrown, and the religious training
they receive becomes a part of them
selves. Every contributor t. the fund
for home missions in the NJ. e. church
has an interest in this Jesse Lee home
and the good work that is being done
there.
After an hour of interesting CONVEX
sation with DR.. Newha1l we babe him
God speed in the work with our
hearts full of admiration for him and
his brave wife and their assistant. fol-
while the short summer here is very
delightful it takes an unlimited amount
OF love for the Masters work and a
stlf-sacrifcing spirit that few possess
to brave the long, dreary cherries