"Report" having a short time before fallen into the hands of the member of the constitutional convention who introduced and advocated the clause creating the office. Rev. John D. Pierce, a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Brown University, and a resident of Michigan since 1831, was immediately appointed to the office, and among his first duties was that of reporting a plan for the organization of the common school system and a university and its branches. Mr. Pierce was familiar with the history of the territorial university organization and he too had studied Cousin's "Report." As a result, in 1837 he presented a report to the Legislature containing elaborate arguments in favor of the establishment of a university upon a broad basis. He advocated one central university and the establishment of branches in each county and an intimate relation between the university and the educational department of the State. In substance, the Legislature adopted his plans, and the university which for twenty years had existed mainly on paper soon began its actual educational career. While considerable modification has been made in its organization the State has never once wavered from the position that the university was rightly the crown of the public educational system of Michigan. Though the original idea of giving the university control over secondary education was abandoned in 1837, it was in 1870 virtually re-established, when the university announced that thereafter it would admit without examination to its Freshman classes graduates from such public high schools in the State as would adjust their courses to fit the university requirements for admission. As a result the high schools of the State have as a rule met the standard set by the university and respond as quickly to a modification of the university's entrance requirements as if the university government had direct authority to authorize a change in the high school courses.

It has seemed fitting to enter into such details in order to show that the idea of a great State university, controlled and managed by public officials, endowed by the National Government and assisted by State taxation, was a growth in Michigan from causes not common to the three older States, and that by the time Michigan was ready to open her university for students, the theory of State control, and so far as necessary State support, of a university, was accepted as a natural function by her people.

At the same time the general collegiate experience of Michigan has been noteworthy. Comparatively few sectarian colleges have been founded, and their character and scope have placed them in a good rank as compared with similar institutions in the West. It is believed that this has not been the mere result of chance or accident. Superintendent Pierce, at the beginning of the State's career, in his report for 1838, raised the question whether any charters for private colleges should be granted by the State, and himself took a radical position against the issuance of such charters. In discussing the subject he expresses himself forcibly, and as many then thought and will now think intemper ately, saying that by the decision of this question by the Legislature it would be determined "whether the State shall eventually assume the first rank in the republic of letters by founding and rearing up an institution of noble stature and just proportions, worthy alike of the State and of learning, and equally worthy the name of university, or whether the State shall ultimately sink to a low level in the world of knowledge, having institutions under the imposing name of colleges scattered throughout the length and breadth of the [land] State, without funds, without cabinets, without apparatus, without libraries, without talents, without character, and without the ability of ever maintain ing them. If one is granted others must be, and there is no limit. If one village ob tains a charter for a college all others must have the same favor. In proportion as they increase in number, just in that proportion will be their decrease of power to be useful." The Legislature, in a long and able report of one of its committees, took issue with the superintendent, and refused to adopt his views. Provision was soon made by which colleges might be organized and chartered. The general law of the State for nearly forty years has provided in substance that while any five men may receive a charter as a college corporation, they must first show that stock or legacies to the amount of $30,000 have been provided, and that fifty per cent. has actually been paid in. The college is then given usual collegiate powers with the right to confer the customary degrees, "provided that the course of study shall be in all respects as thorough and comprehensive as is usually pursued in similar institutions in the United States." The college must make annual reports to the superintendent of public instruction on certain specified matters that will give him a knowledge of their condition and work. Further, the su perintendent annually appoints a board of visitors for each of these private colleges, and this board must submit to him an official report of their examination, which report is published by the State.

From the foregoing it is to be noted that while the establishment of colleges has been provided for and in no way discouraged, all such institutions have been made in a reasonable degree subject to State regulations and to public and official visitation. That these provisions have had a wholesome influence upon the character, scope, and development of the colleges in Michigan can hardly be questioned.

Wisconsin modelled her university and her entire educational system upon that of Michi

gan, and if the development of her State university has not been so marked as in the case of Michigan, it is mainly due to the fact that it is younger. Indiana has for some years been working along the same line of development, and Ohio and Illinois have so far modified their earlier policy as to take advantage of the land grant of 1862 for agricultural colleges, and by a somewhat broad interpretation of the provisions of the grant have founded each a university upon a broad and liberal basis.

To conclude in a few words, the history of the higher educational movement in the North-West shows the foundation, especially in the older States, of many private colleges, each of which in its own field is doing higher educational work. Along with the establishment of these colleges has come the development and spread of the State university idea, not as antagonistic to the private colleges, but as co-operative with or supplementary to them, and as rounding out the public school system, which obtains in all the States in the territory. The value of a strong central university, with numerous departments, ample libraries, laboratories, and scientific apparatus, and facilities for post graduate and professional study has been steadily gaining appreciation, not only for the immediate educational opportunities afforded, but for its regulative influence upon the character and scope of the secondary education, and its indirect influence upon the life and culture of the people under a democratic form of government, where public safety demands the education of its citizens.

TRIBAL AND FAMILY RELATIONS AMONG THE INDIANS OF METLA

KAHTLA.

In the Report of this Office for 1886-87 a brief account was given of a trip made by the Commissioner to Alaska and of the tour of inspection made in July, 1887, in obedience to the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, to see that the orders of June 15 in relation to the schools in that Territory were being complied with.

Upon that visit it was the good fortune of the Commissioner to meet with the English missionary, William Duncan, and to be present on the occasion when the Indians with whom his life has been spent, having removed from the British possessions to American soil, made a formal opening under the American flag of the settlement, named Metlakahtla, after their former home. The following letter from Mr. Duncan, recently received in response to enquiries respecting the meaning of certain carvings upon silver spoons made by a native Metlakahtlan silversmith, contains matters of such general interest in relation to the tribal and family customs and relationships of these Indians, who have now become dwellers on American soil and whose children are to be taught in American schools, that it has been deemed advisable to insert it here:

ON BOARD THE "GEO. W. ELDER,"

July 15, 1889.

Hon. N. H. R. DAWSON, Washington, D. C.: DEAR SIR: I am glad to learn from your letter of the 28th March that the silver spoons made by our native artist are appreciated.

In answer to your enquiries respecting the maker and his craft, I beg to inform you that he belongs to the Tsim-she-an nation, and his name was Tsah-am-sheg-ish, or the Powerthat-draws-shoreward. On becoming a Christian some years ago he was named Abel

Faber.

In making the tea-spoons Abel tells me he beats each one out of a silver dollar, but for dessert-spoons, which require a dollar and a half, he has to melt the silver in a crucible. After hammering the piece of silver to the required length and thickness he then forms the bowl of the spoon by beating the plate into a wooden mould of the size and shape he wishes the spoon to be. This done, he files and sand-papers his work (in olden times the dried skin of the dog-fish answered for sand-paper), after which he uses a smoothing-stone, and finally polishes with a handful of soft fibre-the dried and teased inner rind of cedar bark. His last operation is to carve the handle.

The designs he cut on the spoons sent you are peculiar to the carving and painting of the Indians all over the country, and are symbolical of the various crests, or totems as they are sometimes called, which seem to have been adopted in remote ages to distinguish the four social clans into which each band is subdivided.

The names of these four clans in the Tsim-she-an language are Kish-poot-wadda, Canadda, Lache-boo, and Lachsh-keak. The Kish-poot-wadda, which are by far the most numerous clan hereabouts, are represented symbolically by the fin-back whale (in the sea), the grizzly bear (on land), the grouse (in the air), and the sun and stars (in the heavens).

The Canadda symbols are the frog, the raven, the star-fish, and the bull-head.

The Lache-boo take the wolf, the heron, and the grizzly bear for their totems; and the Lachsh-keak the eagle, the beaver, and the halibut. The creatures I have just named are, however, only regarded as the visible representatives of the powerful and mystical beings or genii of Indian mythology; and as all of one group are said to be of the same kindred so all the members of the same clan whose heraldic symbols are the same are counted as blood relations. Strange to say this relationship holds good should the persons belong to different or even hostile tribes, speak a totally different language, or be located thousands of miles apart.

On being asked to explain how this relationship originated, or why it is perpetuated in the face of so many obliterating circumstances, the natives point back to a remote age when their ancesters lived in a beautiful land, and where, in a mysterious manner, the mythical creatures whose symbols they retain revealed themselves to the heads of the families of that day. Then they relate the traditional story of an overwhelming flood. which came and submerged the good land and spread death and destruction all around. Those of the ancients who escaped in canoes were drifted about and scattered in every direction on the face of the waters, and where they found themselves after the flood had subsided there they located and formed new tribal associations. Thus it was that persons related by blood became widely severed from each other, nevertheless they retained and clung to the symbols which had distinguished them and their respective families before the flood, and all succeeding generations have in this particular sacredly followed suit. Hence it is the crests continue to mark the offspring of the original founders of each family.

As it may interest you to know to what practical uses the natives apply their crests, I will enumerate those which have come under my own notice.

1st. As I have previously mentioned, crests subdivide tribes into social clans, and a union of crests is a closer bond than a tribal union.

2d. It is the ambition of all leading members of each clan in the several tribes to represent by carving or painting their heraldic symbols on all their belongings, not even omitting their ordinary household utensils, as spoons and dishes, etc.; and on the death of the head of a family a totem pole is erected in the front of his house by his successor on which is carved more or less elaborately the symbolic creatures of his clan as they appear in one of their mythological tales or legends.

3d. The crests define the boundaries of consanguinity, and persons of the same crests are forbidden to intermarry; that is, a frog may not marry a frog, nor a whale marry a whale, but a frog may marry a wolf, and a whale may marry an eagle.

Among some of the Alaskan tribes I am told the marriage restrictions are still further narrowed, and persons of different crests may not intermarry if the creatures of their respective clans have the same instincts; thus a Canadda may not marry a Lachsh-keak, because the raven of the one crest and the eagle of the other seek and devour the same kind of food. Again, the Kish-poot-wadda may not marry a Lache-boo, because the grizzly bear and the wolf representing these crests are both carnivorous.

4th. All the children take the mother's crest, and are incorporated as members of the mother's family, nor do they designate or regard their father's family as their relations. A man's heir and successor, therefore, is not his own son, but his sister's son. And in the case of a woman being married into a distant tribe away from her relations her children when grown up will leave her and their father and go to the mother's tribe and take their respective positions in the mother's family.

This case accounts for the great interest which natives take in their nephews and neices, and which seems to be quite equal to the interest they take in their own children. 5th. The clan relationship also regulates all feasting. A native never invites the members of his own crest to a feast. They being regarded his relations are always welcome as his guests, but at feasts, which are given only for display, so far from being partakers of the bounty all the clausmen within a reasonable distance are expected to contribute of their means and render their services gratuitously to make the feast a grand success. In the fame of the feast hangs the honor of the clan.

6th. What I have just written reminds me to add that this social brotherhood has a great deal to do with promoting hospitality among the Indians, a matter of immense importance in a country where there are no hotels or restaurants.

All a stranger with or without his family in visiting an Indian village has to do to find shelter and protection is to make for the house belonging to one of his crest, and which he can easily distinguish by the totem-pole in front of it. There he is sure of a welcome and of the best the host can afford, and there he is accosted as a brother and treated and trusted as such.

7th. I may mention, too, that the subdivision of the band into these social clans accounts in a measure for the number of petty chiefs existing in each tribe, as each clan can boast of its head, and the more property a clan can accumulate and give away to rival clans the greater number of head men it may have.

8th. Another prominent use made by the natives of their heraldic symbols is that they

can take names from them for their children. For instance, the name Weenayach means big fin back (whale), Leetamlachtoro, sitting on the ice (eagle); Ikshksumalyal, the first speaker (raven); Ahtl-ka-kout, the howler abroad (wolf).

9th. And last but not least, the kinship claimed and maintained in each tribe through these crests has much to do in preventing bloodshed, and also in restoring peace where quarreling and fighting have arisen. Tribes and sections of tribes may and do fight, but members of the same crest may not fight; hence in hostilities arising between two or more tribes there are always some families who are non-combatant, and these will watch for the opportunity to interpose their good offices in the interests of peace.

In writing of these matters it must be understood I have kept in view the natives in their primitive state. The Metlakahtlans, who are civilized, while retaining their crest distinctions and upholding the good and salutary regulations and customs connected therewith, have dropped all the banetul and heathenish rivalry with which their clannish system was intimately associated.

Though I cannot say that the foregoing by any means exhausts all that can be said or written on this subject, yet I trust that what I have written will in some degree answer the enquiries you made of me.

I have the honor to be, dear sir, yours, very obediently,

W. DUNCAN.

CHAPTER XXI.

STATE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES.

CONTENTS-Necessity of discriminating between Books-Negative action in the Council of Education as to the better professional books-The course of the reading circle not confined to professional topics-Lack of enthusiasm in California-Improvements effected in Illinois-Form of certificate and diploma used there-Two-book system also adopted in Indiana-“Outlines" prepared for the works of the Indiana course-The Young People's Reading Circle of Indiana-Backward condition of the Iowa Circle-Beorganization of the Kansas Circle-The recently founded Maryland Circle, and "outline" of one of the works adopted-The recently organized Mississippi Circle-College graduates and poor teachers hare no use for the reading circle-Necessity of State recognition-Business forms used in Ohio-The course in Rhode Island, and the reasons for adopting each of the works of which it consists-No State organization in West Virginia-Elections and overwork preventing good results in Wisconsin.

One of the most desirable associations for the teacher to form, said a schoolmaster at a recent teachers' meeting, is the association of the teacher with one good book and then with another good book; the object of the reading circle is to promote this association and to conduct it in an intelligent way. When the unsuccessful warfare, maintained by the Latin civilization against Teutonic and other invading barbarians, had culled for posterity the more important works of antiquity from the vast literature of the Roman empire, vast notwithstanding the slave or serf did the work of the printing press, science might well be contained in Aristotle and "methods" of education in Quintilian, and there was little demand for a "best hundred books." But literature has again assumed immense proportions, and the question what to read is as important as how to read, and together they form a very important question indeed.

A report on "Books on Pedagogy" was presented by the committee on educational literature of the National Council of Education, at its last meeting. The subject, however, is treated in a negative rather than a positive manner, and the difficulties of making a selection signalled rather than solved. The remark of the late president of the normal school section of the National Association is more hopeful, when he inquires if it is not desirable that teachers, inasmuch as they follow some kind of authority, should know a little more definitely what the more intelligent and more experienced part of the profession recognize as wisest and best."

Professional reading, however, is not the only intellectual diet of these circles. The domain of belles lettres is also entered. Yet it is apparent that whatever may be the character of the reading course pursued, the unique object is to improve the teacher as a teacher. To this must be added the influence, powerful. though indirect, in stimulating the formation of public libraries; as is instanced by recent action in a western State.

The inception and administration of these circles is referred to in a general way in the preceding Report of this Bureau. Desirous of obtaining the latest possible information as to the status of these societies, special inquiries have been made in the matter, of each State superintendent of public instruction, or equivalent official. The responses to these inquiries have been used in compiling the following information.

ALABAMA.

"I do not think much is being done," says Superintendent Palmer. The gentlemen to whom he kindly referred us have as yet failed to respond.

CALIFORNIA.

Not more encouraging, but fuller, our information for this State covers the whole of 1888.

Purpose.—“An aid and stimulus to the teachers of California in their efforts for professional improvement and self-culture. The latter must necessarily lead to the former, while the former will continually call for a widening of the mental horizon. It is be

This chapter would have followed the chapter upon the Training of Teachers, had its preparation not been delayed by unavoidable circumstances.

See training of teachers, p. 395.