In a front page letter dated July 27, 1887 and addressed to the Man-on-the-Band-Stand from the Pine Ridge Agency, Marianna Burgess, who was recruiting new students to the Carlisle Indian School, complained of her uncomfortable accommodations and surroundings. The second page featured "A Story of the Peach Tree" analogous to the planting of children in good soil away from their own people.
Page three featured news about the Carlisle Indian School boys and school staff who were on vacation near Mountain Creek. The small boys' building had been torn down, while the new gym and other buildings were being improved. Groups of new Omaha and Winnebago recruits were arriving. Page four included the poem, "Words of Wisdom" and "Seven Reasons Against Swearing."