THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
9
tions, be accom plished for the tribe. May th is account of the p athetic
and sim ple faith of these people carry a message to all who are in d if
ferent to th e m issionary cause,
W hen the sum m er w ork was over I w anted to go back to Carlisle,
but my people w ould not allow me to do so. T h ey th o u g h t five years
schooling was enough for me. But I could not be content w ith so lit
tle. One day I found a “ C hem aw a A m erican ” at my u n cle’s house
and read it. Since I could not retu rn to Carlisle, I w anted to go to
Cliemawa. My parents refused to let me leave hom e. I talked
with them
earnestly
and tried to show them how co n d i
tions were changing. I told them th a t in the fu tu re w hite men
w ould come more and m ore into our co u n try . W e would not alw ays
be able to m ake a living by h u n tin g and fishing as we had in th e past.
In our industries we would have to en ter into com petition w ith the
w hite m en. T h e com ing generation w ould need education to enable
them to cope w ith th eir rivals. A t last mv father gave his consent and
I came to Chem aw a. Last sum m er w hen I was home th ere was a
strike and hard tim es am ong the fisherm en. T h e num ber of canneries
is increasing, the fish are g ettin g scarce, and the fisherm en are not
m aking half the profit th a t they made ten years ago. I told my father
th a t these were some of the changes th a t I had predicted, and he saw
th a t I had been rig h t.
I cam e to Chem aw a in O ctober, 1910, and have been atten d in g school
here ever since and visiting hom e every sum m er. D uring my first
year here I did not take an in terest in a n y th in g except my books and
the engineering d ep artm en t w here I w orked. But last year I took an
active part in the Y oung M en’s C hristian A ssociation and this year I
have th e honor of being its president. U nder the direction and w ith
the help of the you n g men and women of \\ illam ette U niversity, we
have studied th e Bible d u rin g the past w inter. T o them and to my
teachers at Chem aw a I wish to express my g ratitu d e. T h e only way I
can show my appreciation for w hat I have received is by try in g to teach
others w hat they have ta u g h t me.
I intend to tak e up m y literary studies and to co n tinue the stu d y of
the Bible at W illam ette P reparatory School n ex t fall. In order to get
money to cover my expenses for the year in school I will go hom e th is
sum m er and w ork th ree m onths w ith the fisherm en.
T o those who are not fam iliar w ith ocean fishing a brief description
of the work m ight be of in terest. T h e fisherm en leave for th eir cam p
about the m iddle of Ju ly . Some old m an, who, from long experience
in th at p art of th e deep, know s the habits of the fish, ischosen foreman
of the expedition. T h e cannery w hich fits out th e expedition w ith
boat, seine, ropes, provisions, etc., sends each day for th e catch. T he