Year: 1876

course sometimes brings strange THINGS
to the surface. Notwithstanding l know
you to be soicitous for local items, | have
hitherto from apathy or some other cause
invariably permitted things current here
TO pass without comment or notice. One
occurrence however, has lately taken
place which has caused some little COM
motion in our midst, and which cannot
Let pass without the request that you will
make room for q few remarks relative
thereto in your valued columns. l refer
to an election which has been held here
for the purpose of testing the desire of the
voters OF the locality to establish a school
or not. This believe is the first election
OF the kind ever held III this county. and
let me hereby proclaim the result.


l wish it distinctly understood that in
any Of the following remarks no reference
whatever is made to Messrs. Gray, Nc


Whortor or Henesy. They, it is true.
live in the district, but so far away from
any locality in which a school can be
beneiicially placed, that it would be quite
impossible for them to receive any benefit
theretrom, besides the brunt of the tax
would devoVe upon them.


The total number of votes cast was %.
Nine for tax yes, II for tax no majority
for no tax, five. OF the total voters, IL
are men having Indian families, the bal
ance have not. With what pride and
exultation must the former of these who
voted no have returned home to their lit.
tie ones ; fourished their fists in their lit
tie faces proclaimed to them that to-
day we have had an election and you have
been beaten by a majority of five.


A hog pen is good enough for you, to-
day we have been at your school house,
which is no better than hog pen (being
an old deserted miners cabin) we have
seen it; it is good enough for you. We
think so, for to-day we have ratified it by
our action, having beaten you by ma
jority of five.


Your education has been being neglect
ed for want of proper school accommoda-
tions. We know you have no desks
we are glad of it, we don't want you i'm
proved, we have to-day confirmed that
by a majority of five.


During the assembage of the last Leg
islature your worthy Senator Hon. w.
j. Tinnin, had such proceedings enacted
on your behalf as to confirm your right
of citizenship Notwithstanding which, we
your fathers, by our action to day wish
to nullify everything that would tend 10
your improvement, for to promote your
education we voted notification to-day
by majority of five.


Let it be proclaimed North, East, South
and West, that we, your fathers, knowing
well the prejudices entertained against
you on account of caste, knowing the
slurs, Sights, rebutfs and stigmas to which
you are subject from the whites, have
this Gay by our acts consolidated, verified
and approved Of all such treatment to
you for we belong to the majority of five.
And in after years when you pass the
years of puberty when you become men
and women you can reflect back and say
my father voted against my progress for
he was one who helped to make that ma
jority of five.


There is another class of men who have
no Indian women whose whole assessable
does not amount to but u few
hundred dollars, who view themselves as
men, whose knowledge and
love OF knowledge is 'par excellence"
who are such paragons Of
such competent judges of right
and wrong, they too, as they move along
can wave their patronizing hand they,
too, can extend their index finger Gf they
know it, and say, we too aided your faith
ers in their magnanimous efforts to keep
from you the source of obtaining knoWl-
edge, for we belong to the majority of
five.


The title of gentlemen | will not sully
in connection with this act, but l say,
men if you can reap a solace from such
action | wish you joy of your qualification.
You have done your utmost. You have
by your actions as one of the sovereigns
of the country; by that power which to
every American should be held sacred
next to life; by the power of the ballot
you have done your utmost to deprive
the youth of this district of that alone
which can exalt them, viz, knowledge.
Thank Heaven, however all your wiles
and Vaccinations have failed. There is yet
left Il few who have some spark Of prog
ress who do not consider hovel all that
is necessary or desirable for their child
rem, for by the united efforts of the trust
ees the stalwart arm and indomitabe
pluck of Frank Bussell and Lorenza
Franks n school house has been almost
which is no discredit to the
section. l can imagine when these men
and | are superseded by those yet to
come, when the rising generation shall
look across to where the school house
now stands, they can say it was built by
five, and they, Bussell, Franks and Trust
ees shall be known as the opposition FIVE.


In rendering thanks to Mr.. Barber,
the carpenter from Willow Creek, for
his kind, gratuitous, two weeks work,
am but iterating the thanks of all those
who are interested in the building.


j. G. PURDY, Teacher.


Lower Trinity, Oct. oath, 1876.


nv Al, IAN inIiN