In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

[First Page [258], (1) Lines: 0 to ——— 0.0pt Pg ——— Normal Pa PgEnds: TE [258], (1) 兵 其 9 Jones Male Academy The position of superintendent of Jones Male Academy, a school located about eighty miles southeast of Oklahoma City and four miles northeast of the town of Hartshorne, was not one sought by Chalcraft but one accepted under duress in order for him to remain in the Indian Service. He arrived in mid-July 1912, in the midst of a sweltering summer, and remained until April 1914, a total of twenty-one months. While in Oklahoma, Chalcraft learned of a movement underfoot to have him named again as supervisor of Indian schools, but that opportunity fell through. In early 1914, Chalcraft met with newly appointed Indian commissioner Cato Sells, making it known that he wanted out of Oklahoma at the earliest moment. Sells responded in April, offering him a position as superintendent of Siletz Indian Agency in western Oregon, which Chalcraft accepted. I arrived at Jones Male Academy on July 22nd, 1912, and on the 23rd, took charge of the school, relieving Superintendent W. F. Aven who was leaving to take charge of a girls’ school. The school plant consisted of a large brick building that housed one hundred pupils and all the employees,and there was an engine room and three smaller buildings. It was one of eight schools, four for the boys and four for the girls, established and maintained by the Indians themselves, under law enacted by the Five Civilized Tribes’ legislature.1 Shortly before my appointment, the Tribal Government had been discontinued and their affairs put in the hands of the Federal Gov258 [259], (2) Lines: 47 to 55 ——— 0.0pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [259], (2) ernment, with them retaining only the office of Governor, which was filled by an Indian who acted in an advisory capacity. The Indians had selected all the preceding Superintendents and I was the first appointed by the Indian Office. The pupils were all of the Choctaw tribe and a fine lot of civilized young men, sons of the second and third generations of parents living when the first Missionaries went among them many years before. Their parents were mostly farmers and businessmen in Hartshorne, McAlister, and other towns in the vicinity. It was vacation time when I arrived and the only employees at the school were Fred Cleckler, Clerk, and Fred F. Reed, the Cook. The heat, ranging from around 100 degrees day and night, was almost unbearable and we three slept out under the trees until school opened again on September 9th,with one hundred pupils and all employees in attendance. There were several applicants that had to await vacancies before they could enter the school. This was one place where it was never necessary to go out and solicit pupils. The school post office was “Dwight,” and the mail was handled in a room adjoining the school office. Samuel L. Morley, a former Superintendent, but at this time a banker in Hartshorne, was the postmaster. Because of this, I was sworn in on September 5th to be Mr. Morley’s deputy. The post office was somewhat a nuisance, but the revenue about paid my board and satisfied me for the extra work. The next day after school opened we received word that Valentine was “out,” and Assistant Commissioner Abbott was in charge of the Indian Office. Not very long after this, Mr. Abbott called me to Washington for consultation when I could conveniently leave the school. I left the school on October 16th, and after spending a day in Memphis, Tennessee, arrived in Washington the evening of Saturday the 19th, and stopped at the National Hotel, where many Indian Service people go, and I found there Major Scott from Colville Agency, Supervisor O. H. Lipps, Inspector Norris, and Hon. S. M. Brosius of the Indian Rights Association, all of whom I had previously known. On Sunday,I attended the Christian Church at Ninth and D. Streets and heard a good sermon by Rev. Dr. Miller. Monday morning, I went up to the Indian Office to pay my respects to Commissioner Abbott Jones Male Academy 兵 259 [260], (3) Lines: 55 t ——— 0.0pt Pg ——— Normal Pa PgEnds: TE [260], (3) and other officials that I knew. While there, Mr. Abbott said he and his wife were going to the Indian Conference at Mohonk Lake, N.Y., and invited Major...

Share