The Chemawa American, February 01, 1916, Page 10, Image 10

8
THE
CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
NAVA JOS SHOW GAINS
S I I I I ’ ROCK G O V E R N M E N T A G E N C Y IN
B E C O M E S M O D E L M O D E R N V IL L A G E
COLORADO
U R A N G O , C O L .— One cannot rem ain long in this p art
of the co u n try w ithout h earing of the rem arkable
achievem ents of W illiam T . Shelton, an Indian agent,
who seems to have lifted the N avajos a long way on
the trail to civilization. A visit to the agency at
Shiprock, N . M., bears out ev ery th in g that has been
said about this In d ian a g e n t’s w ork and Shiprock has
become one of th e show places of the Southw est, m any people from
Colorado m aking it a point to attend the annual fairs w hich are given bv
th e In d ian s u n d er Mr. S h elto n ’s direction, these fairs show ing in co n ­
crete form ju st w hat has been accom plished in the way of assisting the
Indian along the paths of in d u stry .
Mr. Shelton is a man of pronounced activity and enthusiasm . An
industrio u s w orker him self, he m anages to inspire all the In d ian s with
a desire to accom plish som ething w orth while, says the D enver Tim es.
H e has built the Shiprock agency from the sagebrush, and now he
rules from a model village, w ith substantial brick buildings, cem ent
sidew alks, electric lights, a sewage system , shops, stores, and one of
th e finest In d ian schools in th e Southw est, w ith an enrollm ent of 175
pupils. T h e farm of more than 250 acres will produce at least $20,000
w orth of crops this season.
In terestin g and valuable experim ental work is carried out by Mr.
Shelton and his Indian assistants on the farm . R ecently through a
long course of experim ents, the agent proved th a t a certain kind of corn
was best adapted to the San Ju an region. T h is seed corn is now being
sold to farm ers in northw estern New M exico, and it is expected th a t
th e total corn production of th at region will be greatly increased ow ing
to the experim ents carried on by M r. S helton. T h e agency seed house
is a model of its kind. T w enty-one bushels of w aterm elon seeds were
distrib u ted am ong th e N avajos th is year. All sorts of seeds are classi-
fie 1 by the a g e n t’s In d ian assistants, th e N avajo boys ta k in g n aturally
to ag ricu ltu re.
A greenhouse, w here rare plants are raised, is ru n entirely by Indian
boys and girls. P lants are secured from the d ep artm en t of ag ricu ltu re
at W ash in g to n . One of the Indian boys, w ho also acts as in terp reter,
has proved exceptionally gifted as a h o rticu ltu rist.
R ecently a lake, big enough for boating, was m ade near th e agency,
close to the ath letic field w here the Indian boys and girls enjoy base-