THE INDIAN SCIK
In November, 1885, school was opened
at Chemawa, with the new superinten
dent, Col. John Lee, in charge. The
grounds were a wilderness of forest and
brush, but the boys went bravely to
work upon them, clearing a site for the
buildings and for a campus, as well as a
field for cultivation. By the expendi
ture of more labor than one not familiar
with such work can appreciate, they
have succeeded in clearing about forty
of the one hundred and seventy-one
acres constituting the plat More than
this they have accomplished. By labor
for others, chiefly in the hop fields, they
have earned considerable money, which
has been placed to the credit of the
school as. a whole. Out of this fund
they have purchased an adjoining tract
of eighty-five acres, at a cost of $1,500,
and presented it to the government in
trust for the school.
The new buildings were completed in
April, 1880, at a cost of $17,500.00, and
consist of a two-story school room and
chapel, a two-story dormitory, dining
room and kitchen, occupied by the girls,
a two-story dormitory and sitting room
for the boys, an office and a store room,
all heated by steam. There were also
constructed a well and elevated reser
voir, into which water is pumped for
gravity distribution throughout the va
rious buildings and the grounds. As
soon as these were ready for occupancy,
the school, which had been maintained,
partly in the crude structures at Cbe
mawa and partly in some old buildings
at Forest Grove, was consolidated in the
new structures, and for the first time in
its history was equipped for satisfactory
work. In the Indian Citizen, a small,
four-page paper, published monthly at
fifty centa a year, edited and printed sole
ly by pupils, the contrast between the
old and the new surroundings is thus
described:
Then we wen? living in old " haiitiV built
K)L AT CHEMAWA. U
by the boy, lanolin at the? building now,
we are ahaned to du ller Mm k In them, ami
want a new Urn. A year biw ih hotd ih tain
taught in the building now omiied aa a utahle
frr hrv TV? re H! ro be! rx:r.r, !:ut
were huddled toother In dark, cold Mta, with
the unow drifting in a iw. Now we haw
nice, clean led room, w iUi new furniture. A
year ago we hal him than fW.OO Wlotiging to
the children. Now we have over ft.tW.OQ in
cah in the Iwink, earned by our own hand.
Our land i very hard to rlear. We want aoine
field, wo can rui wheat, oat, com, hay
and hnjw. We hoie the government ;
un more land, hut if it in too or we w ill try to
buy it ournelvcn, an we can m make an Im
proved farm out of thin wilderneiMt fur the next
nix or eight yearn. If we had the land we could
earn plenty of money and tveome lndcicudi'Ut,
jtiMt on w hite teoile are ; and w e njvak fur every
Indian ly and girl at Chemawa when we aay
we will not alway di-nd tijn the govern
ment for our breud ami butter. We will earn
it ournclvca, by our own hand, a noon aa our
education in coiuolcte.
TLo above extract from tho Citisai is
given, less for tho purpose of showing
tho contrast alluded to, than with a view
of drawing attention to tho spirit of self,
reliance and manly ambition which is
observable in every lino. It is a pity
such principles once instilled into the
minds of theso youths should bo sub.
jected to tho extinguishing influences of
reservation life.
Plans have been drawn for a number
of necessary buildings, chiefly for indus
trial instruction, which will bo erected
early in the spring These will consist
of a carpenter shop, shoo shop, black
smith and wagon shop, laundry, hos
pital, bath house and stable, and will
cofct about $11,000.00. At present tho
laundry occupies an old structure an.
provided with conveniences; the sewing
room and tailor shop aro in contracted
quarters needed for other purpo, and
the other shops occupy some of the mis
erable shake buildings formerly tued fur
the school, located some diaUnce from
the new buildings, and now deignUl
as "Old Chemawa," When til1 ucw