Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-07-25
THE INDIANS.
The Massacre at Camp Grant
125 Killed and Missing.
Official Report of the Affair.

| WASHINGTON, July 23.-The followin,
is an extract from the official report O.
Inc massacre at Camp Grant, Arizona. b,
Lieutenant Royal E. Whitman, lust re
ceived here by the Board of Indian Com.
mlssioners. 1t is dated Camp Grant, NAV
II, and addressed to Colonel j. G. C.
Lee, Tucson. Lieutenant Whitman, after
describing the settlement of the Indians
near the camp, and praising them for
Their peaceableness and good behavior.
proceeds as follows:
| On the morning of April 80 was at
breakfast at "a A NJ, when q dispatch
was brought to me by Sergeant of Com
pany ID, Twenty-first Infantry, from
Captain Plum, commanding Camp Lowell,
informing me that large party had left
Tucson on the 2Sth, with the ayowed
purpose of killing all the Indians at this
post. immediately sent the two inter
prefers, mounted, to the Indian camp,
with orders to tell the chiefs the exact
state of things, and for them TO bring
their entire party inside the post. As /
had no cavalry, and but about fifty in
tantry, nearly ali recruits, and no other
officer, | could not leave the post to 90 to
their defense. My messengers returned
In about an hour with intelligence that
they could find no living Indian-their
camp was burning, and tho ground strewn
with mutilsted women and children.
Immediately mounted party of about
twenty soldiers and citizens, and sent
them with the post surgeon, with q wagon,
to bring in the wounded, if any could be
found. The party returned late in the
evening, having found no wounded, and
without having been able to communicate
with any of the survivors. Early the
next morning | took similar party, with
| spades and shovels, and went out and
buried all the dead in and Immediately
around the camp. had the day before
offered the interpreters, or any one who
could do SO, 800 to go to the mountains
and communicate with them, and convince
them that no officer or soldier of the Uni.
ted States Government had been concern
ed IN the vile transaction, and failing in
this, l thought an act of caring for their
dead would be an evidence to them of
our sympathy, at least snd the conjecture
proved correct; for while at work many
Oh them csme to the spot, and INDUCED
IN their expressions of grief, too wild and
terrible to be described. That evening
they came in from all directions, sinely
and in small parties, so changed in forty
eight hours as to be hardly recognizable,
during which time they had neither eaten
nor slept. Many of the men whose families
had been killed, when l spoke to them
and expressed sympathy for them, were
obliged to turn away, unable to speak,
and too proud to show their grief. The
women whose children had been killed or
stolen were conVul5ed with grief, and
looked to me sppealingiy, as though l
was their last hope on earth. Children,
who two days before had been full OF fun
and frolic, kept at distance, expressing
wondering horror. l did what l could.
fed them and talked to them, and list
ened patiently to their accounts. l sent
horses into the mountains to bring in two
badly wounded women, one shot through
the left Jung, and one with an arm chat
tered. These were attended to and are
doing well, and will recover. Their camp
was surrounded and attacked at dsybreak.
So sudden and unexpected was it that no
one was awake to give the alarm, and
found quite q number Of women who
were shot while asleep beside their bun
dies of hay they had collected to bring in
on that morning. The wounded, who
were unable to get away, had their brains
beaten out with clubs or stones, while
some were shot full of arrows after hsv-
ing been MORALLY wounded by gunshot.
The bodies were all stripped. OF the
whole number buried, one was an old man
and one well-grown boy. All the rest
were women and children. Of the whole
number killed and missing, about one
hundred and twenty five, eight only were
men. 1t has been said the men were not
there. They were all there. On the 2Sth
we counted one hundred and twenty eight
men, a small number being absent for
Mescal, all of whom have since been in.
have spent good deal Of time with
them since the affair, and have been as
tOnished at their continued unshsken faith
in me, and their perfectly clear under
standing of their misfortune.
They say: "We know there are great
many white men and Mexicans who do
not want us to live at peace. We know
that the Papagoes would not have come
out after US at this time if they had not
been persuaded to do So" What they
90 not understand is, while they are at
peace and conscious of no wrong intent,
that they should be murdered by govern
ment arms in the hands of Papag0es and
Mexicans. Ole of the Chiefs said: 81
no longer want TO live; my women and
children have been killed before my face,
and have been unable to defend them.
Most Indians in my place would take a
knife and cut their throat; but l will live
to show these people that all they hsye
done and all they can do shall not make
me break faith with you, so long as you
will stand by Us, and defend us in Ian
guage we know nothing of to a great
Governor we never have nor never shall
see." About their captives they say:
''Get them back for US. Our little boys
will grow up slaves, and our girls, as
soon as they are large enough, will be
diseased prostitutes to get money
for whoever own them. Our
women work hard and are good women,
and they and our children have no dis
eases. Our dead you cannot bring to
life; but those that are living we give 10
you, and we look to you who can write
and talk, and have soldiers, to get them
back" will assure you it is no easy
task to convince them of my zeal when
they see 30 little being done. l have
pledged my word to them that l never
would rest easily, night or day, until they
should have justice, and just now Iwould |
as soon leave the army as to be ordered
away from them, or to be obliged to Or
der them away from here. But you well |
know the difficulties in the way. You
know that parties who would engage in |
murders like this, could and would (aud |
already have) make statements and null |
tiply sf1idavits without end in their justi- |
cation. know you will use your
influence on the right side. / believe,
with them, this may be made either the |
means of making good citizens of them |
and their children, or drive them into q
hopeless war of determination. They |
ask to be allowed to live here, in their old |
homes, where nature supplies nearly all |
their wants. They ask for fair and |
impartial trial of their faith; and they
ask that all their captive children living |
NAV be returned to them. Is