ACROSS THE NAVAJO DESERT 53 



Mr. Leupp in his book &quot;The Indian and His 

 Problem.&quot; Agents and other government of 

 ficials, when of the best type, have done most 

 good, and when not of the right type have done 

 most evil; and they have never done any good 

 at all when they have been afraid of the Indians 

 or have hesitated relentlessly to punish Indian 

 wrong-doers, even if these wrong-doers were 

 supported by some unwise missionaries or ill- 

 advised Eastern benevolent societies. The trad 

 ers of the right type have rendered genuine, 

 and ill-appreciated, service, and their stores and 

 houses are centres of civilizing influence. 



Good work can be done, and has been done, at 

 the schools. Wherever the effort is to jump the 

 ordinary Indian too far ahead and yet send 

 him back to the reservation, the result is usually 

 failure. To be useful the steps for the ordinary 

 boy or girl, in any save the most advanced 

 tribes, must normally be gradual. Enough 

 English should be taught to enable such a boy 

 or girl to read, write, and cipher so as not to 

 be cheated in ordinary commercial transactions. 

 Outside of this the training should be indus 

 trial, and, among the Navajos, it should be 

 the kind of industrial training which shall avail 

 in the home cabins and in tending flocks and herds 

 and irrigated fields. The Indian should be en- 



