The Chemawa American, May 01, 1916, Page 31, Image 31

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THE C H E M A W A
A M E R IC A N
date. Of course, he th in k s the In d ian s should have a p art in th is d e ­
velopm ent— his logical, n atu ral p art.
Really, it involves the intro d u ctio n of th e M ontessori idea, if not
th e M ontessori system , am ong the In d ian s. T h e reasoning runs: " I f
they prefer the open, let them have it. If they w ould ra th e r w ork
w ith a lariat than pick and shovel, give them th e lariat. If th ey w ant
broad, unfenced expanses, rath er th an one little plot of g ro u n d , do not
circum scribe them . If th e appeal of prairie, m ountain and stream is
m ore com pelling th an th e attractio n s of double-entry bookkeeping or
th e past participle, why press them w ith the latter? R em em bering, h o w ­
ever, th a t th eir use of th eir wide acres, of th e ir m ountains and stream s
m ust be made practical— m ust re tu rn a quid quo pro both, to them ­
selves and th e U nited States, at la rg e .”
L et the In d ian at once follow7 his bent and co n trib u te to the food
supply of the N ation; this is both the th eo ry and th e w orking rule at
th e Indian Office today.
T o finance the plan of developing the In d ian reservations producing
acres was not difficult. M any of the Indian tribes have large tribal sav­
ings w hich are under the control of the Indian Com m issioner. O thers,
lacking cash, have lands and tim ber th a t are first-rate security for loans.
It was w ithin th e In d ian com m issioner’s discretion w hether or not to
invest In d ian funds th u s. A t th e outset an invoice of In d ian live stock
w’as made by direction of Mr. Sells. T h is show ed that the m ale anim als
in the herds had been alm ost universally low grades and th a t often the
male stock w7as insufficient in num ber for the size of the herd. M any of
the herds needed a com plete regeneration of "lie-stu ff” and "she-stuff. ”
Tiie In d ian pony, so picturesque in In d ian " lite r a tu r e ,” is n o th ­
ing less th an a public charge in these days of tense economic pressure.
Y et th is same pony, crossed w ith a P ercheron, m akes a good anim al.
So, too, does a sciu b heifer crossed w ith a H ereford bull.
T o start th e upb u ild in g of Indian herds, M r. Sells issued the fol­
low ing orders three years ago:
P ro h ib itin g the sale of any heifers w hatever.
R eq u irin g the elim ination of all the old or low -bred bulls, ram s and
stallions, the bulls to be fattened and sold.
P ro v id in g th a t all subsequent leases to w hite cattlem en be made for a
sh o rt tim e and revocable, w7lth a view7 of placing Indian herds u n d er
G overnm ent supervision on the lands as soon as possible.
W ith th is sta rt, the purchase of new7 anim als began at once. Some
$3,000,000 has been spent. D uring th e fiscal year ended Ju n e 30, 1915,
3,682 horses and m ules, 72 stallions and jacks, 15,084 cows and heifers
and 1,194 bulls were b o u g h t. D uring the preceding year the purchases
num bered 2,678 stallions, 1,048 bulls, 12,272 heifers, 2,510 steers, 3,