Douglas Island news., 1903-10-14
ChiIkat Simon.

ence, WHO udS NOlhSN III hi9 S'4SA period of journeymanship on number of well-known American periodicals, is a full blood Chilcat Indian, who was picked up by Mrs. George Gould and sent to Garlic to be educated, and from where he graduated with an education and the trade of printer some eight or ten years ago. Simon is not altogether an enthusiastic advocate of the educa- tion given himself. lie learned quick ly from his books, and graduated in all his studies, yet thinks the result is far from being what it is designed to be, He said:
 "Iknow no other civilized calling than printing. and, though pronounced eN- pert by my school, have never been able to secure a position of more than au apprentice anywhere. I am called an educated Indian, and declared to be equal with the white men, but am ]? As a matter of fact, with an education better than many ot the printers 1 meet, and with an uackuoledged mastery of the art preservative,' 1 am shelved about, the last man hired and the first man discharged, frequently out of work. and never earning but the pay of au apprentice. The menial work of kicking the jobber and cleaning out the office is more often my work than the setting of the types 1 labored so hard to learn. Do you know the req son? I'll tell you. There is more to the white man than mere knowledge of reading, writing, history, geography languages and science, and the mastery of a craft. There is the ability to take care of himself anywhere and any time. There is the ability and inclina- ton to shoulder a way for himself among his fellows. Occasionally have met poor devil of white man print CT as badly off as myself-and for the same reason. He wasn't able to cope with the struggle around him. So in educating an Indian like myself, what have you done? have been back and lived with my folks opposite hadi- ak island for two years. 1 went to trading with the Indians, but found had lost their confidence while l was away learning the white mans ways. I talked to them for hours of the bet ! ter things 1 had learned at Carlisle, and then found myself sitting listen ing to the traditions of my tribe, as related by my father, for days and . weeks. Instead of getting them to throw away their blankets, in two years l was wearing blankets myself. Then I broke away and have been in Dawson working on the newspapers there in an inferior capacity. Now am neither a good Indian nor a white man. The first time I, was eyer drunk in my life was in Dawson, and 1 served two i months in the Dawson jail for it. Is there a single young white man who suffered for first offenSe- like that? They called me the savage in most of the printshops where have been em- ployed. Then at an election | have seen them fighting and chewing each other, bowling along the streets drunk by the hundreds, disturbing the pop ulation for whole night, and not 9 single arrest. thought to myself as l set heads quietly in the office, Who's the savage, they or myself?'
 Chilkat Simon is, however, of high Iy religious nature and finds much con- solation in the contemplation of the scripturaI rewards of the lowly and the meek. He declares, too, that the an- cient faith of the Chilkats is but bar barrie form of Christianity, only the names and the chronology being differ ent. Being conversant with many AL aska tongues, his services have oc- casionly been in demand for the trans lation of English into Indian, and the Chilcat new testament is all his work.
 William F. Brown, for several years a ! C,s.4LIz l,,,, -,o