AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES-IT IS NOT CLEAR THAT THEY HAVE JUSTIFIED THEIR

EXISTENCE.

It is no part of the purpose of this report to question the wisdom displayed by the State in the establishment of any of its educational institutions. The agencies that qualify men to bring to their several occupations and callings the power of sober and accurate thought can never be too efficient, and there is little danger that they will become too numerous. The function of government that imposes on the State the duty of giving to its citizens their professional or technical training has never been clearly stated. Indeed, the line that separates public function from private duty is evidently growing obscure. The motives that impel the State to teach the farmer rather than the shoemaker or the carpenter his trade are certainly far to seek. The duty of the State to train its boys and girls for intelligent citizenship rests on unassailable grounds. When it goes beyond this and assumes to teach them professions and handicrafts it seems to be entering upon a policy whose sequence is the absorption of individual rights and responsibilities. But toward this kind of socialism the pendulum of opinion seems to be swinging. They who believe that a sturdier manhood comes from self-reliance and self-direction must wait for the refluent wave. It is not easy to overestimate the importance of our farming interests, and any agency that tends to impart to those who are engaged in this pursuit that quickness of apprehension and alertness of thought that characterize those engaged in commercial and manufacturing enterprises is to be welcomed. But agriculture is not a science. It has no body of established doctrines that may be formulated and taught as law or medicine is taught. Mathematics, science, history, language, literature, and allied topics are the same for the farmer's boy as for others. Neither for him nor for others is there a short cut or a royal road to learning. The power of clear and consecutive thinking is the result of severe and protracted mental training. Farmers need it as much as men in other nonprofessional pursuits. Agricultural colleges can offer no superior facilities for the acquisition of mental power. In so far as these schools resort to the same methods that literary colleges adopt to train men and women, it is simply a multiplication of agencies to secure the same results.

The instructional force in our own agricultural college involves an annual outlay of nearly $20,000, and it has graduated 9 students in ten years. The last catalogue showed an attendance of two, one of whom graduated in June. It seems absurd to call such a faculty with so many students a "college." An attendance at the dairy school of boys from the farm for twelve weeks in the winter gives them scant title to enrollment as university students and affords little occupation to the professors. The value of this instruction to the dairy interests of the State is not underestimated, but the cost of maintenance of the college seems disproportionate to the benefits conferred upon those who seek its aid. There has seemed to me to be a serious lack of adjustment to the needs of students that the college has not attracted more to itself. The duplication of the work of the high schools and colleges in the independent agricultural schools of other States indicates that there is no body of organized knowledge to be imparted. The chemistry and botany of the farm are but applications of the general principles of these subjects which must first be mastered. The university proper affords the best facilities for this purpose. The student then needs little assistance in making the application. The school, therefore, seems embarrassed by lack of knowledge upon which to base an extended course of study. It is not clear that these schools have yet justified their existence.

CHAPTER XII.

REPORT ON EDUCATION IN ALASKA.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF EDUCATION, ALASKA DIVISION, Washington, D. C., June 30, 1894.

SIR: I have the honor to submit my tenth annual report on education in Alaska. The year closing June 30, 1894, has been one of gratifying progress and success, when we consider the small sum of $30,000 which was appropriated for this purpose by Congress.

Each succeeding year emphasizes the need for increased appropriations for education in Alaska. From 1889 to June, 1892, Congress voted each year $50,000 for this purpose. In 1892-93 this amount was reduced to $40,000; in 1893-94 it was again reduced to $30,000, at which figure it has been left this year. It was only by strict economy that the expense of the school system had been kept within the limits of the appropriation of $50,000, but when the appropriation was reduced $10,000 and $20,000 there was no help but to close some of the schools. Consequently the three schools at Klawack, Kake, and Karluk were suspended. The salaries of some of the teachers were reduced, and also the amounts paid to the contract schools. The organic act creating a government for the District of Alaska declares that the Secretary of the Interior shall make all needful provision for the education of the children of Alaska, without distinction of race; but the small sums placed at his disposal by Congress for this purpose practically prevent the fulfillment of the law.

It is very desirable that the pressing needs of the schools should be brought more forcibly to the attention of Congress.

NUMBER AND GENERAL CONDITION OF THE SCHOOLS OF ALASKA.

There is in Alaska a school population of from 8,000 to 10,000; of these, 1,438 were enrolled in the 24 schools in operation during the year. Fifteen day schools, with an enrollment of 846 pupils, were supported entirely by the Government, at an expenso of$18,453.20. Nine contract schools, with an enrollment of 592 pupils, were supported jointly by the Government and the missionary societies of the Presbyterian, Moravian, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches. Toward the support of these contract schools the Government contributed $8,000 and the missionary societies $77,968.01.

UNALASKA DISTRICT.

Point Barrow Contract School. -Presbyterian; population, Eskimo; T. E. Beaupre, M. D., teacher. The attendance was larger than that of any previous year since the opening of the school, and entirely too large for the accommodations of the school

room.

Toward spring, when the whaling season commenced (through which industry the population secure almost their entire living for the year), it was very difficult to keep up the interest of the pupils in the school.

Through the inability of the Presbyterian Mission Board to secure lumber, the school has been kept, through the courtesy of the Treasury Department, in the Government refuge station. At the close of this year lumber has at length been secured, and we may now expect to increase the efficiency of the school through the better facilities afforded the teacher for his work.

Cape Prince of Wales. This school was closed during the year on account of the inability to secure a teacher to take the place of Mr. H. R. Thornton, who was murdered on the night of Augu August 19, 1893. The murder was committed by a native desperado, rado, Titall Titalk, assisted by two other young men who had previously committed

depredations. Mrs. Thornton gives the following account of the occurrence: "On Saturday night, the 19th of August, about midnight, we were both of us

awakened by a very loud rap. It was very, very dark. We thought that perhaps someone was sick and needed medicine, for the people were all very friendly and were in the habit of coming to us. Mr. Thornton felt sure that no one was going to harm us, and when he went out he said he might be gone a few minutes. Everything was quiet, and oh! the first thing I heard was this awful report. I think he must have opened the door a very little. The hole in the door was the size of a doorknob, and the bullet had gone straight through. This was done with a whaling gun, but there was also a rifle shot in the door. The whaling gun was so close to the outside door that the door was burned. The shot came through and cut through his body. How he ever did it I do not know, but Mr. Thornton shut both doors as he came toward me. He said in quite a strong voice, 'I am shot.' Then I lighted a lamp, for it was dark. He was just inside the sitting-room door, unconscious, and covered with blood. I got the brandy right away and put it to his lips; he did not move; I do not think he suffered; he was not conscious; he could not speak. I do not know what I did until daylight, and then I did not know what to do. I just stayed in the room and walked to and fro until daylight; then I looked through the hole in the door and saw the whaling gun, and lying down beside it a shoulder gun. I could not tell whether anyone was there; I thought perhaps they were still there. I did not know whether to go out or not; I opened the window, and looking out saw a boy halfway between our house and the next. I did not dare to go out, and I took the field glass and looked out, and thought it was surely Titalk. When he was gone I went to one of the windows and shouted to an Eskimo who lived two or three hundred yards from our house to come out. He is a friendly man, and attends to his own business. His wife came out, and they came over to the house and saw everything that was there, and took up the guns and threw them down the hill; she helped me to lift Mr. Thornton to the couch, and stayed with me. He went out and said there was going to be some shooting. Pretty soon I heard a shot, and there was a man killed on the beach. I did not know what was going to happen. I did not see them kill the second man. They dragged the two men up the hill, and insisted on my going to the door to see that they had really killed them. This was about noon.

"Then my next step was to go to Port Clarence, as I did not know what the natives were going to do to me. This man Ipsenook said his daughter should go with me, but we could not go that day, and I stayed in their house with them. Then I heard that the Bear was coming, and thought it was so fortunate; perhaps it might stop. I saw it coming and had the sign of distress put up on our house, but they did not see it. That was the same day, Saturday. When I found the Bear had gone past I wrote a letter and gave it to a trusty native, addressing it to Captain Healy, and saying, 'Mrs. Thornton in peril,' and asking him to stop at Port Clarence and take me to San Francisco. The next day I got off. The Indians were going down to get salmon at Port Clarence. There were 19 in the canoe, and a great many bags of oil and all the natives' provisions. Ipsenook put me in charge of another man, and sent his daughter with me. We were four days on the way, and arrived a little after midnight. My first question was, 'Is the Bear coming back, and will it stop at the cape?' The sea was very heavy when Captain Healy was going up, but coming down he did stop and whistle, but no natives came to the bank, but the young native with my note went out to the Bear. This was on Monday of the following week. When Captain Healy found out what was the matter, he sent a lieutenant on shore and up to the house with one of our natives, and they buried Mr. Thornton. Then they came right down to Port Clarence and took me back to Cape Prince of Wales. Mr. Lopp went with us. I tried to take everything that I thought the association 'would like to have. Captain Healy sent the lieutenant on shore to pack the books for me. do not know if it was Captain Healy's suggestion, but the carpenter on board the Bear had made a cross of wood. Of course it would not last very long, but it was some kind of good wood, well oiled, with Mr. Thornton's name and the date of his birth, etc. I am glad it was a cross; it will remind them of what we told them about Jesus, and of the sacrifice of Mr. Thornton's life while seeking their good. We stayed at the cape until afternoon. Of course I did not like to stay in the house. Mr. Lopp was with me all the time, and he got some children to bring some flowers and put them on the grave. Mr. Thornton was buried on the hill in the ground. The natives do not do that, but we, of course, wished it so, and large stones were heaped over the grave."

With the close of the year Mr. W. T. Lopp, who was formerly associated with Mr. Thornton at the cape, will return with his family and resume the mission.

I

Teller Reindeer Training School, Port Clarence.-Population, Eskimo; teacher, Mrs. W. T. Lopp. A school was kept mainly for the benefit of the herders connected with the station, a few children from the outside availing themselves of its opportunities. In addition to teaching Eskimo young men the management and care of domestic reindeer, it has also been considered desirable to give them a sufficient knowledge of English to enable them to become an English-speaking people as they grow up. Upon the arrival of Mr. W. Thomas Lopp, July, 1893, to take the superintendency of the Teller Reindeer Station, Capt. M. A. Healy, of the United States revenue cutter Bear, very considerately sent ashore his carpenter and two sailors to repair the bouse and make it habitable for a family. During the erection of the house in 1892 the supply of lumber had given out, and the completion of the building had to be postponed. Now the barn-like structure was finished up and divided into six comfortable rooms. At the rear of the building, across its entire length, a "lean-to" 12 by 60 feet was erected, furnishing comfortable quarters for the apprentices.

During the fall the Eskimo apprentices, under the direction of Mr. Lopp, erected a small frame storehouse for the supplies, and two comfortable log houses 12 by 15 feet for the use of the married herders. These houses were plastered with cement and clay, sheathed with the odds and ends of boxes broken up for the purpose, and stuffed with moss between the sheaths and logs. As these are the first log houses north of Norton Sound, they have attracted much attention from the Eskimos. A scow for carrying wood and a small boat for fishing were also made.

In the fall of 1894, to accommodate the party at the station, increased by the arrival of the Lapps, a log residence 16 by 35 feet was put up. A log building was also erected at the east end of Grantly Harbor for the use of the herders in the winter, that section having been selected for the next pasturage of the herd. These log buildings are built from the driftwood found strewn along the ocean beach in the neighborhood.

Personnel.-Mr. W. T. Lopp, of Indiana, was in charge as superintendent from July, 1893, to August, 1894. Desiring to reopen at Cape Prince of Wales the Congregational mission which had been closed by the murder of the missionary, Mr. Harry R. Thornton, August 19, 1893. Mr. Lopp asked to be relieved from the charge of the station at the end of the fiscal year. His request was granted, and Mr. William A. Kjellmann, of Madison, Wis., was appointed in his place. Mr. Kjellmann arrived on the brig W. H. Myers, July 29, 1894, and at once took possession. In July, 1893, upon the removal of Mr. Bruce Gibson as assistant superintendent, there being no opportunity of securing a suitable successor, Captain Healy, of the cutter Bear, discharged Mr. John Grubin, quartermaster, in order that he might be appointed assistant superintendent. In August, 1894, Mr. Grubin was suceeeded by Rev. T. L. Brevig, a Norwegian pastor from Stoughton, Wis. Mr. Brevig was born in Norway in 1857, but accompanied his parents to America when he was 10 years old, and settled in Iowa. His training as a teacher was secured in a four years' course at Decorah, Iowa, and he received a State certificate as teacher of public schools in both the English and Norwegian languages. In 1888, feeling impelled to enter the ministry, he took a three years' course at the Lutheran Theological School at Minneapolis, Minn., at the close of which he was ordained a minister of the Norwegian synod.

Mr. Brevig is expected not only to assist in the administration of the station, but also to have charge of the school at the station. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, the school was taught by Mrs. Eleanor Kittredge Lopp, with an attendance of 69 pupils.

Herders. During the winter of 1893-94 Mr. Lopp had the assistance of three Siberian herders-Anker and Dantin, from the South Cape of St. Lawrence Bay, and Nootadlgoot, from near Cape Serdze Kamen. While their help was essential, and could not have been safely dispensed with, they were far from satisfactory. They proved so passionate, obstinate, jealous, and conceited at times that Mr. Lopp wished them back in Siberia. Anker, especially, became so insubordinate that in February he was discharged. Upon one occasion, becoming angry because a tired deer lay down in his harness and refused to rise, Anker jumped upon his head and stamped him to death. During the season several of the sled deer were killed by the cruel treatment of the Siberian drivers. It has also since been ascertained that they were accustomed to kill and eat deer from the herd on the sly when out herding.

The Siberian herders were employed at the beginning of the enterprise, not because they were considered the best, but because they were near by and were the only ones that could be had at the time. It was realized from the first that if the Alaskan Eskimos were to be taught the management and care of the reindeer, it was important that they should have the benefit of the most intelligent instructors and of the most improved methods that were in use. By universal consent it is admitted that the Lapps of northern Europe, because of their superior intelligence (nearly all of them being able to read and write, and some of them being acquainted with several languages), are much superior to the Samyoed deer men of northern Europe and Asia and the barbarous deer men of northeastern Siberia.1 Intelligence applied to the raising of reindeer, just as to any other industry, produces the best results.

Those who have read, in the appendix of the reindeer report of 1894, the letters of the various Scandinavians in the United States who are acquainted with the management of the reindeer in Europe can not fail to have been impressed with the unanimity with which they testify that the employment of expert Lapp herders is essential to the most successful introduction of domestic reindeer into Alaska.