1880-1889

Report made by Richard Henry Pratt of the death of Jose Kowseah while returning from an outing in Rupert, Pennsylvania.

Richard Henry Pratt recommends that De Bett Cheyenne Chief, who the school planned to send home due to illness, be send home sooner in response to a request from the agency. Due to Cheyenne Chief's health Pratt recommends sending Kise Williams, whose time at the school has expired, with him while also noting that Williams is the best harness…

Richard Henry Pratt supplies the information requested by the Office of Indian Affairs including the fact the Carlisle Indian School can enroll 550 students for the next fiscal year including 425 students at the school and 125 on outing. Also included is the list of industries taught to the schools, the number of acres at the school and a list…

Captain Richard H. Pratt provides the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with a list of irregular labor required for May 1886. Pratt also includes details on compensation, position title, and the number of workdays required for the month.

T. S. Childs makes a report to the Office of Indian Affairs on Carlisle Indian School and the Indian Training School at the Hampton Institute. Childs report was prompted by complaints made against the Hampton Institute related to the health and discipline of students. Childs report focuses mostly on Hampton while examining Carlisle in order to…

Acting Secretary of the Interior H. L. Muldrew returns a letter from Richard Henry Pratt regarding exceptions of the Second Auditor taken regarding settlement of accounts for various contractors. The contracts were modified to reflect that payment was made by Pratt and not the Office of Indian Affairs.

Rev. Lyman Abbott requests that Richard Henry Pratt send an article about Carlisle for the Christian Union.

Charles Potter, U.S. Indian Agent for the Omaha and Winnebago Agency, requests on behalf of Sin-de-ha-ha or William Hamilton that his son Joseph Hamilton be returned from the Carlisle Indian School. Potter cites Sin-de-ha-ha's poor health as a reason for requesting the return of his son.

Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt writes to Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew suggesting that Agnew stops in Carlisle to say goodbye before traveling.  Pratt also mentions discussions between teacher Mary Hyde and Charles Pratt of the Astral Oil Works, Brooklyn, New York, regarding her employment at a new industrial school in that city. Transcript…

Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt writes to Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew saying that he received Congressional funding for the purchase of a farm adjacent to the school, as well as for the construction of a chapel, stable, and two new school wings. 

Captain Richard H. Pratt provides the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with a list of irregular labor required for June 1886. Pratt also includes details on compensation, position title, and the number of workdays required for the month.

David Butcher requests the return of his son, William Butcher, from the Carlisle Indian School due to ill health.

John G. Bourke writes to Richard Henry Pratt thanking him for hospitality while visiting Carlisle, and sends a copy of his essay "The Urine Dance of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico."

Henry Martin requests the return of his son Charles Martin from the Carlisle Indian School due to the health of other Chippewa students at Carlisle. The interpreter writing the letter, J. A. Gilfillian, adds that he believes that because half of the students he brought to Carlisle have died that it has caused lots of consternation among parents…

Richard Henry Pratt provides the Office of Indian Affairs with a list of students whose terms of enrollment are set to expire or for other reasons and requests authority to return them to their homes.

Richard Henry Pratt reports on a proposed plan to bring the children currently being held in St. Augustine, Florida to be educated at the Carlisle Indian School. In addition, at the suggestion of Lieutenant Richards that he send Bonito, a student at Carlisle, to promote the school as an ambassador for the school among the Apaches in addition to…

Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt writes to Doctor Cornelius Rea Agnew regarding plans for new and renovated buildings at Carlisle.  Pratt states that he does not intend to take on more students, but rather to create a more individualized training environment.  He compares Carlisle's Congressional funding to Congressional funding for…

Obadiah G. Given, the school physician of the Carlisle Indian School, reports on the health and treatment of William Butcher. Given states that Butcher has a localized scrofula infection that is best treated at the school. Richard Henry Pratt further states that Butcher is still active in both his duties in the Printing Office as well as…

Reply to Office of Indian Affairs letter regarding the ages of outgoing pupils.

Stailey Norcross writes to his former outing patron William Balderston regarding his current work on the Carlisle Indian School farm.

Se he du ba requests the return of his son Thomas Mitchell due to his age and the fact that he has been at the Carlisle Indian School for a year longer than his term of enrollment. Se he du ba also encloses a letter from Mitchell detailing his son's request to be returned home and his experience on outing.

Request to return Bennie Thomas and Annie Thomas to their homes by Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt notes that the students returned after the expiration of their first term of three years with a party of students who had five year terms. However, their parents were told they were sent for two years. Pratt notes that while he has no proof that this…

Samuel Chapman Armstrong of the Hampton Institute writes to Richard Henry Pratt about the potential enrollment of Chiricahua Apache prisoners of war at Hampton. Armstrong also includes a copy of the correspondence he received from the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, A. B. Upshaw, about the possible enrollment.

Richard Henry Pratt forwards a letter from D. F. Small requesting to have enrolled at the Carlisle Indian School a sister of a former Carlisle student, Rosa White Bear, from the Rosebud Agency. Small provides the history of the proposed student and his desire to see her enrolled at Carlisle. Pratt endorses the application and requests…

Richard Henry Pratt responds to the Office of Indian Affairs letter which enclosed a letter from Charles H. Potter requesting the return of Joseph Hamilton, the son of Sin du ha ha. Pratt answers that Hamilton is small for his age and unable to run a farm on his own. In addition, approving the request might cause other parents in Hamilton's…