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United States. Office of Indian Affairs / Annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the year 1905, Part I
([1905])
Reports concerning Indians in Montana, pp. 236-248
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Page 247
REPORTS CONCERNING INDIANS IN MONTANA. 247 The following amounts have been paid to the Indians during the past year for the following purposes: Labor for Government, repairing agency buildings, build- ing roads, fences, bridges, etc---------------------$20, 969. 66 Labor off the reservation- 327.00 Sale of ponies ----------------------------------- 1,077.00 Transportation of Indian supplies---------------------3,843.22 Sale of hay to Government---------------------------3,000.00 Sale of wood to Government --------------------------240.00 Sale of coal to Government,--------------------------1 197. 25 Total---------------------------------------30,654. 13 Health.-The health of the Indians has been generally good. No contagious disease has appeared among them this year. Some little improvement has been made in the sanitary condition of the homes of some of them, while at other homes the same carelessness is observed that always has been there; they - do not seem to be susceptible of improvement. Police.-The force consists of 2 officers and 19 men, who are distributed about the reservation in the different districts as evenly as possible. They ride over the reservation frequently while not on duty at the agency. Population.- Males over 18 years ----------- 369 Males between 6 and 16 years- 169 Males of other ages---------------------------------139 677 Females over 14------------------------------------455 Females between 6 and 14--------------------------141 Females of other ages- 139 735 Total-------------------------------------------1, 412 A small increase over last year's census. J. C. CLIFFORD, Superintendent and Special Disbursing Agent. REPORT OF TEACHER IN CHARGE OF TONGUE RIVER SCHOOL. When I arrived at this school the last of August, I found there had been no sewing done, consequently it was impossible to receive pupils until sheets, pillowcases, and towels were made. All the available force was put in the sewing room, and in a short time we were able to receive pupils. The girls were obliged to wear camp dresses until others could be provided for them. Nearly all the children were raw from camp life, and but few could understand or speak a word of English. That, together with many of the employees being entirely inexperienced in Indian school work, made the difficulties 'of organizing doubly hard. When school first opened there was no matron to take charge of the girls and the dormi- tories. The second teacher was detailed to act as matron, in which capacity she did very good work. By October 3 we were able to take up the literary part of the work. We found the children bright, affectionate, and responsive, but really wild. It did not take long, however, to bring them under fair control, and their behavior in the schoolrooms and dining room was as good as that of children ,who had been under training much longer. Attendance.-The average attendance for the first month of school was 69.61; for the quarter ending December 31, 1904, 81.73; for the quarter ending March 31, 1905, 86.73, which is a very good showing for the school. School.-In schoolroom work the pupils have made wonderful progress. They have not only made rapid strides in reading, writing, and speaking English, but have shown great eagerness to learn the language. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Washington's Birthday, and Decoration Day have been observed with appropriate exercises. Religion.-Religious exercises have been twice a day on Sundays; Sunday school in the morning and song service, with preaching by the Mennonite missionary in the evening. Industrial.-Some excellent work has been done in the industrial departments. The boys and girls have been regularly detailed to each department and show marked progress, especially the girls, who have had better facilities than the boys, as we have no shops. The girls have been taught to sew, mend, darn, cook, wash, iron, and clean. The boys have been taught to work in the barn, on the farm, cut and saw wood, clean the school grounds, and to do their dormitory work and to clean their side of the building. Stewing room.-There were 1,797 articles of clothing and household linen manufac-
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