Читать книгу The Calendar History of Kiowa Indians (Illustrated Edition) - James Mooney - Страница 66

Table of Contents

Early in 1873 also, another Quaker, Thomas C. Battey, attempted the first school work among the Kiowa, as already noted. Although a conscientious worker, the force of their wandering habits and Indian beliefs was still too strong, and the effort in its direct purpose was a failure. He remained with them some months, however, and the good impression he made had much to do with keeping the larger portion of the tribe from the warpath in the subsequent outbreak. He thus sums up his school experiment:

Having erected a tent and fitted it up, I commenced a school with twenty-two children in attendance, which continued for something over a week, during which time the children manifested their aptitude to learn by the progress they made. The elder people also manifested much interest in it by their frequent visits, their attention to the exercises, and their encouraging words to the children. About this time, much sickness prevailing among the children in the camp, some superstitious Caddoes who happened there attributed the sickness among them to me, telling them I was a bad medicine man and had made some of their children sick when I was with them, two of whom died. This had the effect to entirely break up the school, though I continued my efforts to renew it for nearly two months. Sometimes when I would get a few children collected, they would be driven out by their old men. Sometimes young men would come in, laugh at them, and abuse them until they would leave. After about two months they became more unsettled, moving from place to place almost continually, searching for better grass for their stock, better water, more wood, to get buffalo, etc. As we were seldom but a day or two in a place, I gave up all effort to sustain a school (Battey, 3).