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SUPERINTENDENT OF NORTHWESTERN DISTRICT AND DRIVERS.

B. FIRST GRADUATES, METLAKATLA SCHOOL. One is nurse in training at Juneau; the other is a student in the Seattle High School.

BUREAU OF EDUCATION

BULLETIN, 1919, NO. 40

PLATE 7

A. THE CAPE PRINCE OF WALES DELEGATION AT THE IGLOO REINDEER FAIR.

Shop work. No carpenter work was done in school, owing to the lack of materials to work with. Of course, some repairing was done in the shop and school building before school began. The shop was a great help to the people, as well as to the school. When the people came back from summer fishing and trading many stoves and stove pipes were made out of sheet iron. The sheet iron was brought from Nome and Teller and made into stoves here, which saved a little money. Sleds and boats were made and repaired, also many things which they could not make in their homes were made in shop. A new forge is needed in order to be of more help in making stoves, and many other things which they could make themselves instead of buying them.

Health. The general health of the village has been especially good. There were 7 deaths and 15 births; 3 children died and 3 women. One man was smothered to death under a bank of snow by a mountain slide on March 14, and his body was found on July 16. Our baby died in December, just before Christmas.

All the houses and inns in the village were measured in cubic feet, to find the number of cubic feet for each person to breathe. The number of persons in each house or inn, the windows, the skylights, and the ventilators were counted. Only two inns were found without ventilators. Persons who have tuberculosis of the lungs were examined, and the persons who are liable to have it, by the request of Supt. Shields. There were about 40 or more consumptives, and many of them have been affected once and have been cured. After the report was made out the town council called a special meeting for all the people in the village and ordered all who are affected with tuberculosis of the lungs not to take any active part in native dances of any kind, or visit the dances if they are affected seriously. Also they were ordered to go and see the teacher for instructions how they would take care of themselves. The instructions in "How to Keep Well" were explained to them, and sputum cups were furnished, with full instructions how they should dispose of them. They were further instructed to be very careful about their children who were in school; towels and soap were furnished to school children who have homes affected with such disease, so that they could keep their hands, faces, and their clothes clean.

Town council.-The council has held its monthly meetings regularly throughout the year and they were well attended; many special meetings were called. The council work has proved to be a great help to the people as well as to the Government. The local petty troubles and differences were settled with fairness and satisfaction. The early marriage of the young people was discontinued by order of the council, and it has started marriage according to the Territorial law. Several marriage licenses in proper form were secured from the United States commissioner at Teller for young people of proper age and older people. According to the old custom of Eskimos, often girls, even young men, were forced to marry the one they did not love, which caused much family trouble. The council has ordered that no such thing will be allowed in the village any more, and that any couple who wish to get married should obtain a proper marriage license first.

Another thing taken up by the council was that when a man died his brothers and relatives usually took nearly all his property and left almost nothing for his wife and children. This was a very old custom, which has not been practiced that I know of for the last 10 years, but it may happen sometime; so council ordered that no such thing will be allowed. Everything that a man owns should be given to his wife and children.