THE INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7191, 4 March 1885, Page 3

THE INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES.

In an interesting paper read at a recent meeting of the Acade'mie dea Sciences, M Paul Pasay, who has recently returned from a visit to the North-western States of America, endeavoured to show that the generallyaccepted theory of the eventual disappearance of the "Red Man" is erroneous, and that though certain tribes have been exterminated in war and others decimated by disease and "fire-water," tho contact of civilisation is not necessarily fatal to the Indians. M, Passy states that there are at present 376,000 Indians in the country, of whom 67,000 have become United States citizens. Tbelndianß in the reserve territories are in part maintained by the Government, many of them, however, earning their Hying by fishing and shooting, and also by agriculture. The progress which they have made in farming is shown by the fact that they had under cultivation in 1882 more than 295,000 acres of land, aB against 157,000 in 1872. Moreover, the total Indian population, exclusive of the Indians who are citizens of the United States and of thoße in Alaska, had increased during the same interval by more than 5000. M. Paßsy Bayß that the federal Gwurnment, though not doing nearly bo much an it ohovild do tor too fiducation.of Incline children, devoted a mm of 365,515d0l tn this purpose in 1882, and in tho State of New York the six Iroquois " nations " settled there have excellent schools, which threefnuiths of their children regularly attend. Ihe five "nations" in Indian territory are

•Uo.-W6.il esred for in this respect, having 11 Behools for bnnrdert and 199 day achpolß nttsnded by 8188 children. In 1827 a Cherokee invented a ayllabio alphabet of 85 letters, and j this alphabet ia now used for tha publication of a newspaper in the Cherokee language. In addition to the tribes in cantonments, a great many children (about 8000) are disseminated among1 the schools in lha different States. There aro also threo normal and industrial schools in which, apart from elementary subjects, the boyß are taught agriculture and different trades, and the girls sewing, cooking, and housekeeping. A journal in the Dakota tongue, called the Yapi Oaye, is published at Chicago for the benefit of the pupils m that region, and it is B aid that the Indians of the territories show themselves very anxious to learn, so much so that the Ometras of Nebraska have sold part of their territory so as to be able to keep up their schoola. M. Passy adds that the Amenoans differ very much in their estimate of the sum required for providing all the young Indians with a sound education, some of them putting it as high as 10.000.000d01, while the lowest estimate ia 3,000,000d01, or 10 times as muoh as is now being spent. His conclusion is that if the Indians! are destined to disappear it will be because they become fused with the otner citizens of the United States.

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