Arizona citizen., 1873-05-10
THE CITIZEN.
TUCSON, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA.
Saturday,. May 10. 1873.

erous Modocs gives a rude blow to the In
 dian peace policy of the President, anC
 makes it doubtful whether it can be carried
 out with the tribes which every now anC
 then break away from their reservation;
 and go on the war-path. The fact tha
 these Indians may have been wrOnged by dishonest agents and the promises made by
 the Government unfulfilled, will be forgot. ten in the excitement occasioned by the un-
 provoked murder of three men who sought
 to save the lives of the worthless savages
 concealed in the lava beds, and get them
 upon reservation and beyond the reach
 of the whites who demanded blood for
 blood. When the country shall have re-
 covered from the shock of this frightful
 massacre. there will go up to Washington a
 demand that in future dealing with hostile
 savages the treatment shall be short, sharp
 and decisive. The army itself will avenge
 the death of beloved General whenever
 opportunity offers, and we shall have TO
 more parleying and dawdling, month after
 month, to satisfy the scruples of a few hu-
 manitarians who have a fantastic notion
 that the savages can be Christianized and
 civilized without first being subdued.
 The more southern tribes are uneasy
 now, and in Arizona there is an actual war
 in progress. We are much mistaken if the
 Modoc massacre be not a signal all along
 the line for rising of the Indians against
 their white neighbor. The efforts of Peace
 Commissioners may delay..the crisis, but it
 is sure to come. Indians must be sOundly
 thrashed by the military before they will
 become receptive of the peaceful teachings of the missionary and while we may insist that the Government shall deal fairly and justly by the Indians, the demand that they be dealt with vigorously and rigor- ously will be heard from one end of the land to the other. The Peace Commission business may now as well be wound up, and the thorough subjection of the savages must precede attempts to bring them under the influence of civilized government.
 We take the above article from the Cincinnati Commercial and we are pleased to see that the press very gen. erally has been aroused by this recent unfortunate tragedy to g. more sensible view of our Indian affairs. The past cannot be undone and 1t Is useless to refer to it except as @ guide for the future. We of Arizona have been daily subjected to equal acts of treach- cry on the part of the Indians, for twelve years. As 8 consequence, about one thousand of our people fill un- timely graves. Week after week and month after month, we reported these crimes and begged for relief, only to be insulted by bad Indian agents and fanatics, who knew nothing of the situation and charged that our con- plaints were unfounded and that we desired a continuance of the war for speculative purposes. It has taken time to prove how false these charges were. At the very time that this Modoc treachery was being enacted, Gen. Crook was engaged ii making peace with large band of Apaches, who have sprinkled their trails with the blood of white people wherever they have gone. He offered them life, 8 home, food, clothing and protection upon the condition that they cease murder and robbery. And the people of Arizona with one accord rejoice that this peace was made, because they believe that there is a reasona ble hope that it may be permanent. These Apaches have for the first time come in and acknowledged that they were conquered, and have expressed a desire to accept the terms offered them. Now while they keep their agreement, the government cannot use them too kindly, to please the people of this Territory. The frontier-men are tco to desire the persecu- tion of a fallen foe. Some of the eastern papers have expressed fears that this Modoc trouble would lead the people of the frontier to clamor for determination. This shows how
 little they understand us. Our opin- ons upon this question have been formed by practical experience and lailv contact with the real savage. We have said from the commencement that the only course that would lead 70 permanent peace was vigorous war waged until the Indians acknowledged hey were conquered, and sued for peace: that then they should be cared for and fed until they were able to raise their own food, and that this 5hey should be compelled to do as soon as possible; and that if they proved treacherous while being thus fed and protected they should be punished for their crimes. Upon this