El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-12-02

reau of education. II has taken charge
OF the natives OF Alaska. 1t began with
the establishment of the schools in all
OF the villages. and IL has added many
kinds OF uplifting activities The teach
I erS are now lnstructing the adult In
dians in sanitation and civil govern
ment- They are inducing them TO eS-
I tablish stores. and TO engage in all pos
sible self-sustaiuinE industries
So far the most remarkable progress
has been among the Haidas. a tribe Of
five OF six hundred Indians on Prince
OF Wales Island. The government has
given them reservation. and they
have a town there called Hydaburg.
" hlch Is perhaps the most advanced
Indian town ,f the world The natives
have organized a cooperative trading
company and are paying big dividends
I 10 their stockholders. With only Sill
900 invested within the past three years
they have paid dividends Of $4,000 Last
! year the directors declared dividend
Of 80 percent. and the company has 50
increased its stock that il viii under
take fish-canning and saw-milling
business
Nearly Everyone Owns stock.
As il is now. nearly every family in
Hydsburg has stock in this trading
company, and the people are rapidly
growing well-tO-do. Nearly every one
has his gasoline launch and all have
comfortable homes The town elects
its own officers. II has a mayor and
cOuncilmeu and the business of the'
place Is transacted in English. One of
the. first cooperative works was the
building OF sidewalk. There was no
money in the village treasury. but the
young men brought in the proceeds of
their seasons fishing. and the Indian
girls had a basket social. at which the
FOOD was charged for the proceeds TO
20 to the sidewalk. At that social $3.50
was realized. This bought the lumber
and the men gave their labor without
charge. That sidewalk is the best IN
southeastern Alaska II is ten feet
wide and more than half a mile long.
Since then the citizens have erected
a municipal dock, which is $40 feet
long. with a front OF 81 feet The co
operative store has created hunger
for business training. and business
methods are taught in the school The
village has town meetings. at which
all matters OF public interest are dis
cussed. and the popular vote determines
what shall be done.
The Haidas are not Thlingits. They
belong TO a different Indian family and
for a long time their only home seems
10 have been on Queen Charlotte Is
land. in British Columbia Later some
of them moved To the west coast and
about 200 years ago, according to their
traditions. they drove the Thlingits
out OF part of Prince OF Wales Is
land and settled there. The Pumber
in the United States territory has never
been more than six or eight hundred.
ThlinEits Are Scattered.
The Thlingits are scattered every
where throughout the Alexander arChi-
pelagO and there are tribes that live
ON the mainland klukwan is vii
lage Of the Chilkats. on the Chilkat
river not far from Skagway- The town
is said to be 500 years old and TO have
once had a population of a thousand
souls. Its people were traders. eX-
changing dried fish and oil for furs
with the Athapsscans of the interior.
Tie Chilkats arc great trsppers.
They have divided their hunting
grounds among the various families and
these rights extend from generation TO
generation. They have been noted for
their skill in the various industries.
They woVe blankets a century ago.
They also forged copper and did beau
tiful carving Much OF this skill has
departed with the advent of civiliZa-
ton, but they now make mOccasins and
cut out totem poles and other things
for the tourists.
ChIIkats Have Cooperative store.
The Chilkats are not as advanced as
the Haidas. but the settlement of Kluk
wan has a cooperative store. which
has Just paid a dividend of IS percent.
The store is so good that it gets much
trade from the whites. and it is said