The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-05-13

~" HhHHtUNNH EENMHN H
My a Re1nnan Left OF the Once
Fiourishing xEesa Grandc Tribe.
che Mesa Grande Indians OF Califor-
Ia have dwindied from a fairly nu-
ferrous tribe OF the old mission days
) about 200 souls, says a writer, and
heir present state, religious, social
nd moral, is such as would certainly
shock the soul Of good Father Junipero
Sierra were he able to pay them a per-
sonal visit to-day.
They are found settled In small
groups and families all over the mesa
and along the canons, dwelling In mean
little huts, or shacks, and breathing a
general atmosphere Of squalor and
degradation, along with CALIFORNIA;
bracing mountain air. They w and
cl.tIvate little plot Of ground around
their dwellings, while some own cattle
and horses. Others engage in fruit
raising, while many 60 out as day
laborers on the ranches back In the
mountains. Some older Indians earn a
~precarlous living az wood g~atherers.
They are not all permanently settled,
for many are wanderers, camping here
and there as Of old. Many of the In
dian girls leave home to work as serv-
ants in neighboring towns and villages,
and quite a number OF the children are
sent away to boarding schools gus-
tained by the Roman Catholic Church,
such as those at San Diego and Ban
ming. Most Of these mission Indians
are processing Christians Of the Roman
Catholic type, and were 1t not for this
religious heritage handed down from
the days Of Sierra, their state to-day
W uld doubtless be d~eplorable. Some
are, indeed, both pious and intelligent
In the faith, and these exert a whole
some influence over the others.
When the priest 10 absent some Of
them meet together In the little chapel
to say the rosary together. led by one
of their number. These sad relics Of
the padres days are the victims Of bad
usage OF the part of their white broth
ers. Their doom was sealed when the
Mexican republic ~secularized the mis-.
stons in the first half Of the nineteenth
century. since when they have been on
the descending scale In every way. The
practical things taught them by the
mission fathers have been long forgot
ten, but In these latter days the Fed
eraI government is trying to undo some
Of the mischief and injustice of the past
along industrial and other educational
res.
he management Of the government
school at Mesa Grande is one Of the
most excellent in the United States
The present superintendent was for
merly at the Carlisle Indian School,
and fully understands the Indian char
acter and It's needs. Beyond the class
room education, the Indian children are
taught to care for the surrounding
grounds and buildings, while the prac
tical use of all kinds of tools, and close
attention to g~ardenings, are among the
educational requirements at Mesa
Grande. Along culinary lines, the
young people are taught to cook whole
some meals. and are compelled to pre-
pare the midday dinner as a regular.
everyday, practical duty.
Yet wiS;> all this government and pri-
vate missionary help, much remains to
be done to develop the Indian charac
te Physically al morally 1t needs
uplifting, not to speak Of his higher
religious requirements. Like other In.
dams, the Mesa Grandes are but unde-
veloped children, with many character
istics that SAVIOR of paganism quite as
wuch as Of Christianity and civiliza
ton. b