( V * K " V
'Cbe Conservative *
state , of which 1,800 hold nine months
of school , 3,600 less than nine mouths ,
950 less than six mouths , and 850 less
than three mouths. The school census
shows 878,000 children in the state be
tween five and twenty-one years of age ,
of which number 288,000 are enrolled iu
the public schools , aud 182,000 are in
average or regular atteudauoe for a
period of 27 weeks. Less than 50 per
cent , of the school children are in regu
lar attendance 185 days in the year ,
which is equivalent to all being in regu
lar attendance about 67 days in the
year.
In several of the counties of Ne
braska , perhaps in a dozen * or more ,
there are no high schools , and their
common schools are taught by their own
pupils of the year before who
have only an elementary text-book
knowledge of the subjects they are to
teach , nothing higher or beyond , and no
knowledge of the order or manner of
presentation of the various subjects in
their several parts , or of the natural de
velopment of the mind of the child.
One of our western county superin
tendents thus expresses it in his latest
report : "Our greatest drawback this
year is the loss of very nearly all our
male teachers , and a large percentage
of the experienced female teachers. The
men have found stock raising more
profitable than teaching , and an un
usually large number of our lady teach
ers have passed on via matrimony ; so
that just about one-third of our teach
ers this year are beginners , who have
had no experience whatever in the work.
Only two of all these beginners have
ever seen a normal school , and while the
blind flounderings of some of them
would make fools laugh and angels
weep ; their intense application and he
roic efforts , uncomplainingly rendered ,
constitute a silent but most pathetic cry
of give us a chance. "
Better schools demand more highly
trained teachers , who cannot be pro
cured at the present salaries , more regu
lar attendance on the part of the pu
pils , more hearty co5peration on the part
of parents , and better accommodations ;
some of the school buildings in Ne
braska are apparently designed to en
courage truancy. '
WILLIAM K. FOWLER ,
State Superintendent.
Lincoln , Neb. , Sept. 2 , 1901.
THE ORPHAN A PAWNEE LEGEND.
Once , when the Pawnees were a
powerful people and had villages along
the banks of the brood , shallow river , eras
as they called it , the Nebraska , every
warrior , and almost every brave , had
many horses and other property , for
they were a thrifty people , successful in
both war and traffic , and when they
played gomes with friendly tribers for
horses , robes or arrows , they invariably
carried off the prizes aid so became
rich. The squaws were industrious and
knew how to raise corn in abundance
and the soil was very fertile , and the
long , slim ears hung in plenty and pro
fusion on the withering stalk after frost
came. These long ears were in all
colors , white , yellow , red , blue , and al
most black. The Pawnees alone knew
how to raise this fine corn , as the Great
Spirit , when ho gave them the corn ,
taught them how to raise it , aud so the
Pawnees became rich by selling corn to
other tribes who knew not how to raise
it.
But there was an Orphan in the tribe
who lived with his grandmother , and
they were not rich. The grandmother
was too old to raise corn ; all she could
do was to hunt wood enough to keep
them warm and cook a morsel of meat
and corn that was thrown away by the
braves or that was given them by the
kind chief , or some successful warrior.
Their tepee was old and torn and let in
the water on a rainy day and the biting
wind in winter. She always pitched
her tepee in the rear of the tribe end a lit
tle opart from the rest when they moved
as the young braves made sport of her
tattered garments and poor food , oud
the old warriors and chief looked with a
frown on the patched tepee as though
they were ashamed lest an enemy should
see it , and think they were not a thrifty
people. This was the best she could af
ford , however , and no one gave them
new skins out of which to make a more
presentable tepee ; the Orphan was too
young to join in the hunt , and , be
sides , he had no horse , and so she
camped at the rear and a little apart
from the rest.
As time went on , the Orphan grew to
be an awkward , overgrown boy ; he
began to feel the jeers and sneers of his
richer companions , and longed to do
something to relieve the distress of his
household. He did not like the looks
of his very scanty costume only a
square of buffalo hide no bigger than
your two hands ; he began to envy his
richer companions who could paint their
whole body in bright vermilion with
paint they bought with corn , and he be
came cross and very restless. The
Orphan had often seen the chief's
daughter , a beautiful maiden just bud
ding into womanhood , and he thought
her the most lovely creature in all the
world. She often noticed him , end
sometimes her beautiful eyes lighted up
with a half smile , and her rich , red lips
parted , showing her ivory teeth , when
they met.
Now the Orphon began to feel his
poverty more than ever , and he some
times told his grandmother that he
wished to become a great chief. The
old woman only frowned at his desires ,
knowing how impossible it was that he
could ever attain the height of his am
bition , but he thought of it night and
day as he listened to the old warriors
tolling of exploits in battle , and the
tepee became more ragged , the food
more scanty , and they pitched their
camp farther end farther in the rear.
One summer evening , as it neared the
time to camp , when the Orphan and his
grandmother were toiling along after
the long train of horses and warriors
who led the company along the wind
ing valley , the Orphan began to com
plain of the heavy load he was obliged
to carry 011 his own bock , while his rich
companions had horses in plenty , not
only to carry their tepees but some nice
sleek ones to ride.
The rest of the company were for in
advance , the Orphan and his grand
mother began to quicken their pace ,
when not far from the trail and quite
near the creek bank , the Orphan espied
an old dun horse feeding. The animal
was little more than skin and bones , a
poor , decrepit creature , with large
pieces of skin off his back , showing that
he had probably been abandoned by
some hunting party who could not await
his slow motion. He was such a hard
looking specimen that his companions
who had gone before did not think him
worth taking. The Orphan concluded
that this poor horse oould still carry the
tepee for him ; at least it was worth
trying , and so he carefully adjusted the
head so as to protect the large sore
places from the swarms of flies , and
this gave the poor creature relief ; the
load become a pleasure rather than a
burden , and he cheerfully followed his
new master so rapidly that they soon
came up with his rich companions.
Many were the jibes and insulting re
marks which were cast at the Orphan's
dun horse. He was , in truth , o sorry
sight but still a relief and a benefit to
the Orphan and his old grandmother , so
the poor creatures made no reply to
these remarks , but camped apart as
usual.
The preparations for the evening meal
were in progress when the crier , or
herald , come riding through the camp
and announced that a large herd of buf
falo were quietly feeding just over the
hill iu on adjoining valley , and , what
was more important , there was a white
buffalo calf in the herd. Now , a white
calf was a great prize and the tribe that
secured o white calf would hove suc
cess in every hunt end gain every battle
for twenty moons , so the chief was veiy
anxious that this prize be secured. Soon
the herald came again through the
camp and announced that the hunt
would be on at twilight , and that the
brave who secured the white calf should
have the chief's daughter for his wife.
Every brave in all the village had
looked with longing eyes on the beauti
ful princess ; some of the richest and
most daring had tiied to court her but
she hod treoted them all with quiet in
difference , end you may well believe
that this announcement was received
