Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1909-03-05
NAVAJO5
ARE THRIFTY
Splendid Govern
ment School Plant
at Shiprock
AGENT ". 7. SHELTON HERE
Tells of the Marvellous Pro.
xress Made the Past
Five Years

"The finest school in the Indian
service is the way that w. I. Shell
ton, Indian agent at Shiprock, thirty
miles west of Pennington in San Juan
county, and on the Navajo reservation,
characterizes the splendid government
school that has been created the past
five years under his supervision. Su-
perintendent Shelton has made that
part of the reservation, which is lhe
center of population of that part of
the Navajo domain, garden spot, al
though before his coming it was a
waste. Mr.. Shelton is here on court
business with four Navajoes, but ex-
poets to return to his post Of duty
tomorrow forenoon. He was former
principal at the U. s. Indian Indus
trial School in this city and he and his
wife have many friends here.
The Shiprock Agency is beautifully
and ideally located Scenery, climate,
water supply, fertility, leave. nothing
to be desired. Mr.. Shelton has super
vision of the northern part of the res
ervation six thousand square miles in
New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and
upon which live $4,000 Indians. These
are self-. Importing says Mr.. Shelton;
they are industrious and they are
eager to educate their children. Last
year we turned away $50 applicants at
the school for whom there was no
room. The sale of intoxicating Ii.
quors on the reservation has been
stamped out and Special Agent A. G..
Pollock is doing efficient work in
stamping it along the borders. There
is an air of thrift that has manifested
itself in the doubling of the number
of sheep owned by the Indians, their
building of con Portable homes out of
logs, adobe and sawed lumber.
AT the school we have our own saw
will, we supply our owr lumber, make
our own brick, manufacture our own
ice, have our own irrigation system,
our own domestic water supply, in
fact, are a self-supporting community.
THE farm of 800 acres has been so
successful in raising every product of
the temperate zone that the Depart
ment OF Agriculture has decided to CO.
operate with us in maintaining an ex-
perimental demonstration farm for the
Indians and 100 acres have been set
aside for that purpose. On this, for
instance, we will this year plant 115
varieties OF alfalfa, practically every
known variety of peaches. The In.
dlans are setting out orchards on their
own lands and are becoming intelli-
gent tillers OF the soil. The Depart.
ment OF Agriculture gives us an ex.
pert and we supply a propagator and
the Indian labor for the experimental
station
There are now at the school and
agency some thirty odd buildings. all
erected the past five years. substan.
tlal and modern. There are fiftv.four
employees and almost 200 pupils. EN-
p.oyment is afforded the Navajoes xf
the Immediate vicinity so that they
may earn for themselves wagons agri.
cultural implements and supplies"
Most OF this work is in road build.
ing and construction. Mr.. Shelton car.
fles with him hundred or more pho.
tographs which bring graphically to
the eye the progress that is being
made, the beauty of buildings, lawns.
hrlveways. flower gardens, orchards
and fields and the scenic splendor OF
the surrounding country of which
sniprock' an isolated peak, is a
shrinking feature.