In condescending, racially tinged language typical of the times, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 1897 how the federal agent in charge of the Klamath Indian Reservation, Maj. C.E. Worden, was encouraging Indians to establish homes, raise cattle and grow crops.
The newspaper said Worden had reported on the 鈥渞emarkable improvement鈥� in the heart of the Klamath Basin in the condition of the Klamath, Modoc and 鈥淧a-Ute鈥� [Paiute] Indians, which he credited to his efforts and land allotments.
The newspaper article of June 27, 1897, headlined 鈥淚ndians becoming good farmers,鈥� went on to say:
鈥淭he Major expects to have all the Indians located upon their allotments this season.
鈥淭he Indians this season sowed 1,200 acres of grain. They have thousands of cattle, and they attend to their ranches like white men, branding their stock and keeping up fences and corrals.
鈥淭hey are rapidly forsaking their old wild life and its customs, for they are quick to see the advantages of civilization, especially for their children.
鈥淭he Government supports two schools - one at the main agency, where 125 Klamath children are in regular attendance, and the other at (Camp) Yainax, which has 120 Modoc pupils.鈥�
Source: 鈥淚ndians becoming good farmers.鈥� The Midge: Cultural Newsletter for the Klamath Basin. June 21, 2017. Reprinted from San Francisco Chronicle: Evening Herald [Klamath Falls, Ore.): June 27, 1897.
