Sketches From Oldest America 



supplied with a pen for the first time. Eagerly 

 taking the pen and copy, the scholar would lie flat 

 on the floor, in the most secluded part of the room, 

 then call loudly to all the others to stand out of the 

 light. If a blot accidentally occurred, an attempt 

 would be made to erase it with the finger-nail. So 

 the young Inupash gradually advanced until he 

 became proficient enough to begin writing compo- 

 sitions. 



The young tribal prince, for his first composition, 

 chose to write upon the seal, and supposed he had 

 exhausted the subject when he wrote, " Man 'he go 

 on ice, shoot him seal. By and by woman she 

 come dog sled, take him seal home. By and by 

 man he go home tell woman. You cook him seal 

 very big quick, me big plenty hungry." 



Those earlier days have passed by and the mys- 

 tery of the scrawls has been solved. The young 

 Inupash are learning to read quite nicely and can 

 now write their own letters. They still have the 

 English grammar to master; it is very different 

 from their own, but at length they will accomplish 

 that task, and at no very distant time. The days 

 when they used to borrow each other's fingers to do 

 their counting with have gone by. They are 

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