El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-01-27

frame or logs, and are equipped with
school desks. olackbOards and other
educational machinery. They are most
~ heated by wood. and are lighted
during the dark days Of the arctic win
Ter with coal oil or gasoline distributed
through a hollow wire-tubing-
Whale Catching Starts Vacation.
In most of the villages the schools
are held for five days OF each week.
and the school sessions last for five
hours The terms vary in length &C
cordlng TO the seasons and the occu-
pations Of the locality The school IS
cut short when the big hunts are on;
and the killing of a whale on the ice
may give the children a vacation for
weeks. The several tribes go off fish
ing al various times during the sum-
mer to lay in their winter supply or
dried fish for themselves and their
dogs: and they have times for the
hunting OF walrus and seal.
Every Teacher Is n Social Worker.
Each Of the schools has one or more
white teachers. and every teacher Is
social worker who strives TO promote
the physical. moral ana industrial WEI
fare of the natives. This is so OF adults
as well as children. and the school Is
the civilizing center of the comm unity
The little Eskimos are taught to hOnor
Old Glory The school represents the
United States government and over Il
floats the American flag. II IS the
chief meeting place of the people. ana
III many cases Iney come 70 the tsdCleE
to settle their troubles
Children are taught that they must
not swear, nor use vulgar language
They are shown the bad effects OF
drink and are not allowed to use to-
bacco in school. This is a great re-
form Tobacco has always been COM
mon among the Eskimos- The custom
was brought in by the whalers. and
the people are so addicted TO the use
81 the weed that il was formerly a
rarity 10 find a child over ten years OF
age who did not smoke, chew OF snuff
Along KOtzebue sound the Eskimos
n,ix their smoking tobacco with Shred
ded willow pith TO make il go further,
and they char the fungus Of the spruce
tree and mix the powder with finely
cut black Kentucky tobacco for snuff.
In chewing tobacco il is said that
many Of these people swallow their
saliva
War Made on Liquors.
The use of alcoholic liquor Is also
diminishing. This has been one of the
curses of these natives The poorest
of whisky and alcohol is brought in by
the whalers and traded for furs and
whalebone. The EskimOS Of the far
north learned how to distill alcohol
from molasses. sugar and flour They
mixed these together with water and
boiled them in an old can into which
was inserted a gun barrel fitted with
dough or clay to render the joints air
light This gun barrel was then passed
through a block of ice. which con-
aflSeu the steam from the lllA -
that II came out drop by drop as
crude spirit, which was caught in a
receptacle 4 drunken Eskimo acts
like a crazy man: and every attempt
Is made to keep liquor out Of the VII
lagos.
Sanitary methods are being taught
by the school teachers and doctors The
bureau of education has a number Of
medical directors who visit the schools
and instruct the teachers how TO care
for the people There are also trained
nurses who work among the sick. and
war IS being waged against tubercu-
icsis and other prevalent diseases
There are now I doctors and il nurses
who are continually working among
these people. but the number is not
congress is needed to establish an eff
Gent medical service
Bath Tubs In School Houses
The teachers do all they can TO IN
struct the people how TO take care OF
themselves. They have established
many of the children now get baths
once a week. and the grown ups oc-
casionaly come in and have a wash
off The teacher AT kivalina, one Of
the Eskimo villages north of Boring
strait. says that the bath tub is one
Of the chief features Of his school.
r. his was put in and connected with the
stove before the school opened. Later,
Friday afternoons. after school hours,
we're set aside as a bathing time for
the girls. and Saturdays for the boys.
The children could not get enough OF
warm water, and four boys would often
take bath in the tub at one time. The
adults took advantage of the tub, and
during that term 49, school baths were
recorded
Old Fashioned sweat Baths.
In some of the villages the old fash
ioned sweat baths still prevail. These