Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-09-11
Home of the Apaches.

The San Carlos Indian Reservation
 contains an area of about 3600 square
 miles, or 2,3O4,0O0 acres. It laps over on
 the White mountains on the northeast,
 and cuts across their lower plateau on
 the east, and extends well over the Gila
 range on the south. II is watered prin-
 cipally by Black river, beautiful noun
 tain stream, and it's tributaries. TlGs
 stream enters the reservation o1 tle
 east and extends entirely through is.
 passing out north of Globe City, some
 twenty miles, where 1t changes it's name
 and becomes Salt river. Al of this rs-
 zion of country is well timbered with
 pine and live oak, and perennial sra.s
 grows in great luxuriance, which relt
 ders it the faest grazing couI-
 try in all ol tle Territory of Ar
 zona, and equal 70 any Tn the Mes-
 IL abounds in wild game-elk, deer,
 bear and wild turkey and the mountain
 riyulets are full Of speckled trout-whlch,
 owing to q superstitious aversion to fish, the Apaches will not even handle, much less use for food. They have also the same superstitious aversion to all kinds of fowls, which they do not eat, conse- quently vast drOves Of wild turkey abound al over the reservation, and in some places they are so plentiful that they may be shot in great numbers with an drdinary pistol. That portion of the reservation from Cibicu creek east is cut mp by inGumerable deep gorges and canyons, many of which are hun dreds of feet deep, and so narrow that stars overhead may be seen in midday, but the shining faces Of the sun and moon seldom reach the " lower depths of the tangled breaks" Stand upon the elevated hills of this re- zion of country and cast your eye over the plateau-if 1t may be so oalled-and you will think tlat the country is almost level, only rising little as you look to the east. But start out ln any direction and you will go but a short distance be- fore you come upon one of those yaWn- ing chasms, down into or across which 1t IS impossible to go. It is a hard mat ter for the traveller to go in any given direction, and if he undertakes 1t he will soon find that he must shape his course in accordance with the topography of the country, and that in a very little while he will be lost or forced to retrace his steps the way he went in, if, indeed, he c6n find his way out at all. Many of the little valleys along the water courses are very rich, and as 1t rains nearly every day from the lst of June to the lst of Sep tember, they are capable of producing the finest crops of wheat, corn and vege- tables. There IS perhaps no similar tract of ground in the whole of the United States which would please tine average Indian SD well for home as the San Carlos Reservation, and vet these filthy, dirty, treacherous, useless vaCa- bond cutthrOats, with such a country set aside for their sole use and purposes and after being fed and clothed at the expense Of the United States, and that, ] too, in much better shape than Une-half ! of our own people, they have rebelled, 1 and perhaps at this very moment are 1 GUT Gj:jzens in many Of ti,n- ! pOrca .-- 2 . --' ''.e-s l'ins- v, 'sa-E4lc iInie Nmote settlements ..l' l6.,n.
 Now that this thinl been begun, re are in favor of removing the Apaches Q the Indian Territory is if any re left after General Wilcox gets lroGgn with tlem and once for all put beyond their power to cause future r0uble. Such a course may not meet he wishes of a few army contractors nd others who are making money out f the Indian business, but we believe it .ould meet the wishes Of niGe out of Fery ten oi the people or Arizona.