Letter Authorizing Recruitment of (Apache) Mescalero Students

Instructions from Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ezra A. Hayt sent to Indian Agent S. A. Russell at the Mescalaro Agency to pursue gathering "six to ten boys" from the (Apache) Mescalero Tribe to send to the Carlisle Indian School or Hampton, "provided you can obtain the consent of the parents." Hayt instructed Russell to focus on selecting children from "the leading families in the tribe, especially the chiefs" so as to guarantee "their loyalty and goodwill to the Govt and white people."