PTJR-SEAL SERVICE. 79 



Mr. M. C. Marsh, naturalist on the seal islands during the year 

 1911-12, had general direction of all educational work, and has made 

 a very interesting report on that subject, which is here printed in 

 full: 



On the voyage to the islands in August, 1911, I was enabled to discuss school matters 

 with both the teachers, Mr. Ned B. Campbell and Mr. Philip R. E. Hatton. At the 

 request of Mr. Campbell I gave him a letter of instructions. On St. Paul Island I 

 have had frequent conferences with Mr. Hatton, the teacher, but beyond visiting 

 the school several times and becoming responsible for the offer of a series of prizes to 

 the pupils of each island for progress in the English language, I have left the manage- 

 ment of the school to Mr. Hatton, who has already had a year's experience in teaching 

 before coming to St. Paul. 



By discussion with the teacher on St. George Island, who had already taught one 

 year there, with the teacher and agents on St. Paul, by a perusal of Dr. Hahn's report 

 on education of the natives, and by contact with the school and children here, I have 

 come to appreciate that these teachers have a diflicult task to bring about real progress 

 on the part of their pupils. Elementary teaching being itself a difficult task, requiring 

 skill and special qualification, the instructor of the Pribilof natives has other obstacles 

 added, perhaps the chief of which is that teacher and pupil have command of no 

 common language. The pupils think and speak among themselves the native tongue. 

 The teacher has no practical use of this language, while the pupils do know a little 

 English, and on this little, and its slow growth, the school makes such progress as it 

 can. This reason for lack of advancement is well understood on the islands, and the 

 whole subject of education of the natives has been discussed at length by Dr. Hahn, a 

 teacher of wide experience. Without anticipating whether or how soon the radical 

 recommendations made by him are to be carried out, it is apparent that the school 

 year of 1912-13 wUl demand as the most pressing need an additional teacher for the 

 younger children. 



It is obvious that the use of the Russian language and the native tongue in all the 

 church services to the entire exclusion of English, save a few sentences on certain 

 holidays, is a serious obstacle to the use of English among the natives, especially 

 among a people who give so much time to church services and religious forms and 

 observances as the Aleuts of these islands. The ritual is in Russian. The present 

 priest on St. Paul Island speaks Russian and English, understands Aleut, but does 

 not attempt to use it directly in the church service. The reader, a novitiate in the 

 church priesthood, translates his words, sentence by sentence, from Russian to Aleut. 

 Thus in the church the people hear no English spoken or sung, nor see it printed. 



The remedy for this state of things seems not to be difficult. The church authori- 

 ties do not require the use of Russian in the church. Any language is permissible. 

 The present priest on St. Paul Island has never been in Russia, ostensibly regards 

 himself as an American, and will confess to no prejudice in favor of the Russian 

 language. He speaks English well enough and would use it before his congregation, 

 but has not considered the reader able to translate with sufficient facility from Eng- 

 lish. This is probably not the case, and I think both will agree upon a trial of 

 English. The priest has promised to request, by the next mail, of his church superiors 

 the English forms for his church ritual. It is probably feasible to make the change 

 indicated after some delay. 



The attendance at the school on St. Paul Island averaged 40 pupils 



per day, out of a maximum enrollment of 43. Of these 43 the infant 



class included more than 20. The number of boys enrolled is slightly 



greater than the number of girls. There are 173 school days in the 



6711°— 13 6 



