Letters/Correspondence

Thomas J. Jordan, U.S. Indian Agent at the Ponca Agency inquires about enrolling James Porter at the Carlisle Indian School.

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute telegraphs Richard Henry Pratt pleading with him to speak at two events in New York the two following days.

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute telegraphs Richard Henry Pratt asking him to attend public talks in New York and Philadelphia.

Richard Henry Pratt seeks the authority to return home Horace, Rufus, Morgan, and Austin due to poor health from consumption and scrofula. Although the handwritten letter indicates that the students were from Pine Ridge, they were actually from the Rosebud Agency.

Richard Henry Pratt replies to an Department of Indian Affairs letter concerning the failure to return sick students back to their homes before their deaths. Pratt details two cases where students were too ill to be sent back to their homes. He further states that the initial students from the Osage Agency be returned at the end of the school…

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute telegraphs Richard Henry Pratt asking if he can speak at a church in Boston in a few days.

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute writes to Richard Henry Pratt encouraging him to speak at the Park Street Church in Boston, giving him information about the talk and providing tips about public engagement.

Richard Henry Pratt inquires about a request from Chief Kihega through U.S. Indian Agent Brosius about sending two Carlisle students, Charles Kihega and Ellwood Dorian, to Washington to serve as counsel for Chief Kihega.

Richard Henry Pratt requests action on an earlier letter requesting permission to return four students home to the Pine Ridge Agency due to ill health.

Richard Henry Pratt requests permission to return Mary, a member of the Sioux Nation, home to the Pine Ridge Agency due to ill health along with the party previously mentioned.

J. M. Haworth documents the visit of the Iowa Chiefs to Carlisle. He notes that he brought many of the students to Carlisle a few years earlier and comments on the many differences in the students over the course of their time at Carlisle.

Two Strike requests permission to visit his son at the Carlisle Indian School.

Richard Henry Pratt requests a reduction in various rations in order to purchase additional cows for providing a greater milk supply to students. Pratt cites a visit from Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew and his recommendation that for a healthy student body students be allowed to drink as much milk as they want in the morning and evening. To follow…

Richard Henry Pratt requests permission to send Irvine, a member of the Comanche Nation, home due to poor health. Pratt notes that Na as toe and Big Man are leaving for their agency soon and can accompany Irvine home.

Richard Henry Pratt forwards a request from Wichita Chief Na has toe and Big Man for a set of spring wagon and harness. Pratt documents his history working with Na has toe during his Army experience and recommends fulfilling the request.

Special Agent E. B. Townsend recommends that Indian Agent L. J. Miles direct the group of Osage and Kaw children to be sent to Carlisle be sent to a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in order to allow them to leave from Muskogee rather than Arkansas City in order to save costs.

Richard Henry Pratt recommends Indian Agent John D. Miles for the new position of Inspector of Schools in the Indian Service.

The father of Moses Nonway requests that his son be returned to his home in order to help him on his farm due to his poor health. Richard Henry Pratt believes that the request should be approved and sent home along with Charles Somains with U.S. Indian Agent E. Stephens.

Chris Burns inquires about sending his three children to Carlisle to be educated. Richard Henry Pratt forwarded the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with instructions on establishing precedent in such cases. Pratt proposes that white fathers pay some expenses towards the education of their children.

Lieutenant General P. H. Sheridan writes that 21 Navajo women and children have been taken prisoner and are being held at Fort Wingate. He notes that General Pope proposes sending the children to the Carlisle Indian School.

Richard Henry Pratt writes that the initial delegation of students from the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Agencies terms of enrollment are set to expire and requests authorization for funds to return them. Pratt notes that many of the students wish to remain but that their parents desire them to return home. He writes that many of the older students…

Richard Henry Pratt refers to his previous letter informing the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that only 25 students will stay on at Carlisle. As a result Pratt seeks approval for the expense of returning the remaining students to their homes in the current fiscal year.

Richard Henry Pratt forwards a letter from Standing Bear after his arrival at the Carlisle Indian School. In the letter Pratt notes that Standing Bear believes that the school should return the children for the summer but that many of the younger ones are likely to be back in the fall. He also notes that Standing Bear wishes for the government…

Richard Henry Pratt writes that the terms of enrollment are up for students from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency,  the Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita Agency, the Sisseton Agency, the Pawnee Agency, the Ponca Agency, and the Green Bay Agency. 

Pratt notes that half of the students whose terms are set to expire desire to remain at…

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute writes to Richard Henry Pratt, forwarding a letter and asking for advice on how to respond. The forwarded letter is not included in this file. Armstrong also invites Pratt to Hampton's commencement exercises.