Arizona citizen., 1876-12-23
Gen. Kautz's Annual Report.

!
 Der 15:
 The Territory is rapidly filling uI
 with settlers and all interests, mining
 especially, are growing and improving
 The posts have all materially i'm prov
 cd and it will not be many years be fore this once reputed dreary and bar
 ren country will be as desirable to serve
 in as any of our frontier Territories.
 The Indians have given compara
 lively little trouble An alarm occurred
 in the southeastern portion of the Terri
 tory that caused much apprehension al
 the time, and a general outbreak on
 the part of the Chiricahua Indians was
 anticipated On the Eth of Aprll last
 two men. Rogers and Spence, were
 killed at Sulphur Springs, and on the
 same or following day another man
 named Lewis, near the San Pedro riv-
 CT, was killed by Indians belonging to
 the Chiricahua Reservation. These
 acts were probably perpetrated with a view to involve the entire tribe by a | few turbulent members. 4 scouting
 party commanded by Lieutenant Hene- | ly, Sixth Cavalry, accompanied by
 Agent Jeffords and Tahza, the young
 Indian chlef, pursued the trail of the murderers and overlook them in the San Jose mountains, but was unable to dislodge them. From Lieut.. Henely's
 report it Is believed that the principal portion of the tribe were at this time
 with the renegades and they must have returned at once to the reservation
 again, for Agent JeffOrds soon after re- ported that all the Indians had return ed. The killing Ot these men created much excitement, and the result was the passage of an appropriation by Congress for the removal of these h. dians to the San Carlos Reservation, and an order was received directing me to assist Agent Cum in making the removal.
 It was believed that any attempt to move these Indians would lead to war, and accordingly all the cavalry that could be made available were used to make a.display of force to induce them to move without resistance. Tahza, the young chIefand son of Cachlse, was in favor of peace, although reluctant to move, preferred to do so rather than fight, whilst Eskina headed a party that was for war, and in the afternoon of the day that the troops went into position at Sulphur Springs, a fight ensued among the Indians and Eskina and six others were reported killed and quite a number were wounded. TahZa immediately asked for assistance from Camp Bowie, which was furnished and he brought his people into the post, and in a few days over three hundred Indians were collected who were will ing to go to San Carlos.
 It then became matter of inquiry what Indians had failed to come in. On the Eth of June, Who, Geronimo and Nolgee, who belonged to Eskina's party, came in and agreed to bring in their people They failed however to do so, and it was subsequently ascer- tained that they left the same afternoon in the direction of Sonora, leaving a trail that indicated about thirty horses. have not been able to learn the names or ascertain satisfactorily that any other Indians have escaped the removal Gordo headed a small party that left at the time of the killing of Rogers and Spence, and have been reported to have gone to the Warm Spring Reservation, on the Rlo Grande, where he belonged and from whence he came when peace was declared with Cachise. He was peaccably disposed and fled in appre- . hension of trouble. Tahza confirmed the belief that but a small party had left, and stated to Agent Cum, who was charged with the removal, that no others were missing Agent Jeffords, however, maintained in general terms that the larger portion of the Chirica- hu.. Indians had left, but as he did not state their names or fix their identity, . I am inclined to the belief that he mere ly wished to account for the nine hun dred Indians that he had been feeding and reporting. The reservation was thoroughly secuted after the removal of Tahza and his party, and only the trail of the above mentioned Indians could be found that showed that any had left the reservation recently.
 think the refusal of these Indians to be counted and theIr objections to- have troops stationed near them, arose from their desire to conceal their small numbers. Had it been known that there were but forty or fifty men capable of arms amongst them, they would not have been such a terror 10 the peo- pie of this Territory as they have been.
 Nothing has occurred since to con firm Jeffords' version of the number of Indians. The removal took place ear Iy in June, and Agent Cum stated to me that he had removed three hundred md twenty. men, women and children; scouting parties have been out in the