Mt Idaho, June 1891
Rev. F.F. Ellinwood D.D.

Dear Sir
Mrs Thompson of Santa Barbara Cal has written me of Miss Goulds legacy of $1000.00 the interest of which is for my School. She also sent me thru Miss Axtell, a copy of her letter to Mr Dulles in regard to the Monticelo Church Scholarship. I hope the bequest will not be troublesome to the kind New York friends in any way. Miss Gould wrote me of her purpose years ago. She understood that the Scholarship (as all the Scholarships in the School in Mt Idaho) was not for the ‘support’ of any one particular pupil, but a ‘fund’ for the absolute needs and the advancement of all. In her letter of May 30^th 1890 (which I will send the friends if they wish) she writes in regard to its use "I appreciate the situation, and see how unwise it would be under your peculiar circumstances to give individual scholarships as is done at Hampton Va."

Miss McB would not help her first Nez Perce pupils (to whom manual labor was almost a disgrace opposed to all their old traditions and habits) until they learned to help themselves by their own labor. She would not let a pupil be supported in Mt Idaho without the necessity of self exertion; or teach a pupil; who would be willing to recieve a ‘support’ doled out to him without any effort of his own. Her aims, from the beginning was to train up with Gods help & guidance, active, self reliant men, the leaders in a Christian civilization, and a coming citizenship (D.V.) as well as pastor for the people. (This class for the rising generations of the schools - God willing) If only for the sake of development of character for usefulness – work on their farms is necessary, and they must and do make every possible effort to provide for the support of self and family while studying.

But they cannot do without some help. They have now almost no market for the surplus produce of their little 20 acre farms (Of course their new farms are yet unfenced, unbroken.) The country all around is now so settled up with white farmers & stock raisers & Chinese gardeners who glut the markets near us, and now, too, greatly lessen the market for and price of produce in the distant mining camps where they (the Nez Perce) used to find a good market for their surplus produce. White and Chinese ‘packers’ now almost entirely monopolize the ‘packing’ by which they used to raise a little money for winter supplies. And while the lack of market greatly decreases the price of produce the high price of groceries, clothing, and everything save what is raised here remains the same because of distant markets and our distance from transportation lines back among the mountains over which everything must be freighted by freight team. Our one store here too, being a monopoly increases the cost. The lowest price of board here, even in a private family is $1.00 per day. When the Rail Road opens up this country it will give a sorely needed market to both whites & Indians. But that will probably not be for years yet. The Scholarship Fund helps our pupils over hard places which I see no effort of theirs

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