Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1901-06-19
HELPING THE NAVAJ0ES.
Mrs. Peabody Tells Of Her Work
Among the Indians.
SCHOOLS BEING ESTABLISHED.

The Denver Republican says that
a woman who Is devoting her life to
helping the Navajo Indians to a bet
ter understanding OF civilization has
been In Denver the past few days. She
Is Mrs. II, NJ. Peabody. She Is tall
and slender and her hair Is white and
she has a gentle mannE that wins
friends. She also has the faculty of
inspiring confidence and 1t Is perhaps
this quality. together with her many
~kindncsscs to them that has induced
hundreds OF Navajo Indians to admit
her to their homes. For months at
a time she has lived in the villages of
the reservation and to them she IL
known as the white Mother Mrs.
Peabody left last night for the reser
walton and will remain there until
next autumn. Her home will be a tent
and there will be no other white wo
man nearer than ten miles. Mrs.
Peabody is the founder of the Pea.
body home in Boston for crippled
children and her work among the In.
dams was the result Of a sightseeing
visit she made about four years ago.
Those Indians interested me first.
Then | began to feel sorry for them
and finally | saw | could do something
for them"
That Is her explanation how she
happened to become such a friend to
the Navajos that the government IL
recognizing her services and not long
ago, through the educational bureau
agreed to help her in her effort to put
schools on the reservation.
II find the Navajos intelligent, in.
dustrious and in need OF help said
Aro IA not Nanr thATn Wng n
drought and as they are practically
self-supporting, they suffered a great
deal. Their crops failed, their sheep
died and they really were In need.
Their best industry Is the making OF
blankets and In these ! saw a means
of helping them. | have as much as
/ could interested people in the east
in these blankets and my idea Is tC
get people to bay directly Of the In
dian himself and not of agents. Their
also | am endeayoTing to do away Will
the modern dyes. The native color
ing. red, black. blue and white were
what they used when they made theil
own coloring and is really all tina
should ever appear In n Navajo blan
ket, though they also have a good col
or of green
Mrs. Peabody says she feels not the
slightest fear, though many times SHE
Will be the only white woman at {
gathering of hundreds OF Indians. Th'
first season she spent with then SHE
travelled with a large party OF then
to some distant part of the reservation
and during the trip slept on the grounc
wrapped in blankets, without even {
tent for shelter. II was during tina
trip that she became convinced of thu
w%orthiness OF her new friends. Nov
she is trying to gradually teach then
better ways OF living, and to this enc
wants little schools established amonl
them instead of sending the children
away to the government schools u
be taught.
Last year she held a falr-what sh'
termed an old fashioned New Eng
land fair-wherein she got a larg
number to exhibit their blankets, tn
vegetables they raised and some o
their woven work and beading. Fo
miles around came the Indians I
the ten having the best exhibit wa
given a prize,
With her on this trip Mrs. Peabod,
Is taking some sheets of silver of tn
quality of which silver money Is made
This she will give them in an effor
10 teach them not to melt up Unite
States currency for the purpose Q
making belts and other ornaments
She says they have no idea OF the va
ne of money as such, only by tn
weight of the silver. Their creates
evil is their utter faith in their met