A LETTER FROM
LESTER B. HENDERSON
Mrs. R. G. Gilman,
Kasaan, Alaska.
My Dear Mrs. Gilman:
It has been very difficult for this
office to work with the Kasaan
School Board, due to the fact that
they display very little interest in
the school. Apparently the majority
of them are out of town during the
greater part of the year.
I believe that you do not under
stand the status of the Kasaan
School. It is strictly a Territorial
School, and is not in any way under
the jurisdiction of the Federal Gov
ernment. Its affairs are managed
by a local school board through this
office, and a Territorial Board of
Education of which Governor Bone
is chairman. The school was for
merly a U. S. Bureau of Education
school, and was in charge of the L\
S. Bureau of Education.
In view of the fact that the Kasaan
School Board has in the past taken
so little interest in the affairs of
the school, the Territorial Board of
Education and this office have con
sidered the advisability of abandon
ing the school, and letting it revert
to the care of the U. S. Bureau of
Education. This likely is the best
solution of the problem unless some
way can be found to elect school
board members who are competent
to handle the affairs of the school,
and who will take the necessary time
to co-operate with the office in see
ing that the funds appropriated are
expended properly.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signed) LESTER D. HENDERSON
Commissioner of Education.
Mr. Lester D. Henderson,
Commissioner of Education,
Juneau, Alaska.
Dear Sir.
Re: Kasaan School
Your letter of September 30th to
Mrs. R. G. Gilman is before me. As
a citizen desirous of the education of
all children in Alaska I take excep
tion to next to the last paragraph of
your letter. It has always been my
experience that office men, particu
larly head-office men, after a short
time come to the conclusion that the
important thing in life is the gather
ing of statistics, keeping of reports
and things of that character. They
place all the importance of the world
upon the answering of letters and
the balancing of books to the last
five-cent piece. Your office is not
any different in that respect. I would
remind you that the important thing
in the conduct of your office is not
the answering of letters or the bal
ancing of accounts, but the education
of children. I fully realize that when
letters are not answered or books
are not balanced the condition be
comes very annoying, but the remedy
is not the closing of the public
school, and as long as the Territory
is paying you a salary for which
you are willing to work, and main
taining your office with help of your
own choosing, and paying your ex
penses to travel about the Territory
with a suitable per diem for susten
ance, it is your duty to apply your
self to the solution of the problem
at Kasaan.
It is well known that you have
steadily opposed the education of
children of Indian blood in our public
schools. But in this case the children
are all of the Indian race, and still
your announced purpose is to close
this Territorial School for which the
Indian inhabitants of Kasaan togeth
er with other Indians throughout the
Territory are taxed. I think a policy
of this kind on the part of your of
fice is outrageous.
Very truly yours,
WILLIAM L. PAUL.
THE REFUGE OF LIES
Isaiah 28 ;17
(SAM DAVIS)
This article was written by an il
literate. He tells a story and a mor
al, but it is interesting.
“Some were in Alaska there is
two big spruce Trees Standing near
the water edge. The Two Big Trees
Sheltered many a native Traveling
in the Old Times. It was in the
month of Oct. a native and his wife
and two children, made their camp
in this little Bay, where these two
big tree are standing he had pull
his canoe on shore and Tied every
thing down, for he Saw a Black
Storm Coming from South West and
allready he heard the wind howling
over their heads. He had roasted a
salmon on a stick which his wife,
and two children were eating their
supper—It began to Thunder and
flash of Lightning above their heads.
“From boyhood he had camped
under the very Same trees, and he
had worse storms than this one. So
he and family sheltered themself un
der the Trees. But the Thunder be
came louder and the lightning more
and more, and the big spruce trees
began to shake more. Before morn
ing a lightning struged one of these
trees, under which he had took shel
ter. The lightning glanced from the
tree and he fell a blackened corpse.
“And the hail swept away the re
fuge of lies.”
“About 1865 the Hydah tribes
Alone in southEastern Alaska was
over 5000 people living in the fol
lowing villages Kasaan, Howkan,
Ivlinquan, Suckan, Quahintlas, it is
true that these people went to war
with other tribes, but still they were
on increasing them day. Yes they
went to war and shot down one an
other, with the Hudson bay flint
lock musket, that they payed over
100 skins of fur for. These flint
lock muskets did not kill off 1-4 as
many as the White Sons of Adam
killed. When they came they brought
with them bad sickness amongest.
our woman. It wasnt long before the
best looking Hydah woman was kill
ed off.
Some of these poor woman did
have children by these white men—
But they have to go by Native
names. Yes The white mans bad
sickness did Kill and Kills fast until
now the same Hydah tribe are about
400 in number.
And the hail shall swept away the
refuge of lies.
I dont know what it means. As
a boy in Seattle I saw a man who
the people of Seattle said was an
English Duke. I can rember he
dressed very funny—he had a very
tite Breetches on red top Boots short
Plug hat. I was told that Duke
was next to King of England and I
was also told that he had right to
so much ground. That Reservation
where the Duke could fish and Hunt
foxes.
I just wonder if the U. S. People
are going to make Dukes of the
Alaska packers, Hoover and McNeil
& Libby so that all of Alaska may
be made fish reservations for them
to save fish, do you as people of
Alaska Think these big fish trust
Build their canners in Alaska to
save fish? Do you belive after save
iiig all the Salmon that it will
be given back to you ?
Take eat and be merry. Myself
1 belive the whole scheme of fish
reservation is framed by men who
are makeing soft pillow on which
the Trap owners are sleeping out
their golden hours of hope to get
rich quick and starve the remaining
400 Hydahs.
Excuse me, but I am an illiterate,
they don’t want me to vote, but I
know what is wrong with my own
country, and I got the spirit to fight.
Have you?
WHAT LA FOLLETTE SAID
Suit for $100,000 has been filed
against the Seattle Times Publishing
Company by Edgar C. Snyder, state
secretary of the Progressive party,
in behalf of Robert M. La Follette.
The suit grew out of publication
in The Times of an article alleged
to misquote La Follette’s St. Paul
address which was made the basis
of an attempt to oust him from the
senate. The Associated Press, re
j ponsible for the original misquota
tion, later made an official apology,
and the senate, finding that La Fol
lette, had not made the statements
credited to him, gave him $5,000 as
reimbursement for his expenses in
defending himself against the ouster
proceedings.