Introduction: The Cushman Indian school used the books from the following list in 1915. It is an interesting list, one may recognize some books that have held up over time. In contrast to what a list might look like today, this list seems to have been short on books dealing with Native Americans. Two books would have done this. One of them was Boots and Saddles, written by George Armstrong Custer’s widow, Libby Custer, the other was The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman. When your find the Francis Parkman listing click on it for some of the passages describing Native Americans found in the book.
Document
Cushman Indian School,
Tacoma, Wash., May 20, 1915.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Washington. D. C.
Sir:
Referring further to office letter of February 4, 1915, relative to the report of Supervisor R. E. Penirs on academic training at the Cushman School, wherein I am directed to give the attention of obtaining a suitable supply of books, magazines, etc., for the school library, I have the honor to request the following list of books, selected from the “Books for Indian School Libraries” be furnish this school:
Books For Children By Grades.
Kindergarten
5 copies, Bird A. B. C. (Tuck).
5 copies, Giant Land (Belson).
5 copies, Jack and Jill and Other Nursery Rhymes (Linen) (Dutton)
5 copies, Floyd. Little Soldier Boy’s (McLaughlin).
Grade 1
5 copies, Bennett – Little Peoples Natural History Box (Dutton)
5 copies, Cox – Brownies at Home (Century)
5 copies, Cinderella’s Picture Book (Lane)
5 copies, Red Riding Hood’s Picture Book (Lane)
5 copies, Greenway – Marigold garden (Warne)
5 copies, Praeger – Story of the Gray Goose (Nelson)
Grade 2
5 copies, Cox – Another Brownie Book (Century)
5 copies, Crane – Blue Beard’s Picture Book (Lane)
5 copies, Potter – The Tale of Benjamin bunny (Warne)
5 copies, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy Winkle (Warne)
5 copies, Five Mice in a Mousetrap (?????)
5 copies, Shaw – Big People and Little People of Other Lands (Am. Bk. Co.)
5 copies, Trimmer – History of Robins (Heath)
5 copies, Valentine – Aunt Louisa’s Book of Common Things (Warne)
Grade 3
3 copies, Banta – The Pied Piper and Other Stories.(Flanagan)
3 copies, Hopkins – Sand Man; His Ship Stories (Page)
3 copies, Sand Man; More Farm Stories (Page)
5 copies, Reiter – Puss in Boots and Cinderella (Flanagan)
5 copies, Thumbelina and Dream Stories (Flanagan)
5 copies, Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories (Flanagan)
3 copies, Smith – Seventeen Little Bears (Flanagan)
5 copies, The Little Brown Baby and Other Babies (Flanagan)
Grade 4
2 copies, Alcott – My Girls (Little)
2 copies, My Boys
3 copies, Anderson – Christmas Tree and Other Stories (?????)
2 copies, Carter – About Animals (Century)
2 copies, Stories of Brave Dogs (Century)
2 copies, Collodi – Adventures of Pinocchio (Cinn)
2 copies, Cutter – Conundrums, Riddles, Puzzles, and Games (Faul, Buffalo)
5 copies, Reiter – Story of Lincoln
2 copies, Ruskin, King of the Golden River (Page)
Grade 5
3 copies, Alcott – Aunt Jo’s Scrap Bag (Little)
3 copies, Baldwin – American Book of Golden Deeds (Am. Bk. Co.)
3 copies, Hero Tales Told in School (Scribner)
5 copies, Bass – Quotations and Select Stories (Flanagan)
3 copies, Baylor – A Little Prospector (Lothrop)
2 copies, Beard – American Boys’ Handy Book (Scribner)
3 copies, Cilman – Making of the American Nation (Lothrop)
3 copies, ????? – Story of the thirteen colonies (Am. Bk. Co.)
3 copies, Brown – The Story of Silk
3 copies, What We Drink
3 copies, McCabe – The Story of Steam
5 copies, Explorations of the Northwest
3 copies, Reuter – The Story of Sugar
5 copies, Kingsley – Madams How and Lady Why (Macmillan)
5 copies, Water babies (Macmillan)
3 copies, Lane – Industries of To-day (Cinn)
Grade 6
3 copies, Butterworth – Over the Andes (Wilde)
5 copies, Clark – Story of Lafayette
5 copies, Herndon – Story of Lewis and Clark
5 copies, ?????? – Heroes of the Revolution
5 copies, Lives of Webster and Clay
Grade 7
5 copies, Frazer – Perseverance Island (Lothrop)
5 copies, Hellock – The Story of King Arthur
5 copies, Hawthorne – The Great Stone Face
5 copies, Parkman – The Oregon Trail
5 copies, Peck. – Seven Wonders of the World (New Methodist Bk.)
Grade 8
5 copies, The Wooing of Tokala (revel)
5 copies, How to Get Strong and Stay So (Herper)
Girls
5 copies, Johnston – The Little Colonel (Page)
5 copies, The Little Colonel’s House Party (Page)
5 copies, The Little Colonel’s Holidays (Page)
5 copies, The Little Colonel’s Hero (Page)
5 copies, Porter – Girl of the Limber Lost (Doubleday)
5 copies, At the Foot of the Rainbow (Ginn)
5 copies, Custer – Boots and Saddles (Harper)
5 copies, Barbour – the Crimson Sweater (Little)
5 copies, The Hoosier School Boy (Grosset)
5 copies, Lyman – Pamphlets on Debating (3) (Wilson)
Very respectfully,
Superintendent