Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-02-13
To. the Poor Indian.
Los ANGELES, February 9.

lzlDS AN6EsLE-If
 EDITOR CITIZEN: l am reader oI your valuable paper, as l ma It ln our library. I have been much pleas ed at your vigilant care oi the "hi'e men of Arizona and New Mexico, as thev are now exposed to the murder ous rifle of the Indians that have been ana now are on the war path Tn those Terr,tories. Can you not arouse pup lic sentiment in favor of placing bel for men in command of our army GIT if deserves the Lame of army) m New Meyico and Arizona; Can you not rnake if olaln that there ought to be much larger number of soldiers sta +in,,ed and ready 10 be used in mo- 1nent in lbe sections above referred to? | send you a paper containing think. one good suggestion on thls very important subject. Will you write A few articles on this subject and publish them in your paper with Q view to correct the evil in question? The citizens of Arizona and New Mexico are the ones of all others to arouse a correct pubic sentiment touching the speedy and permanent stopping the murders and robberies bv perhaps the most. uDprincipled Of aIl the indians the North American Continent has produced. have three sons now prospecting ID your Territory, and the great and unneces- sary dangers to which their lives are exposed, es we'll as a humane spirit, has induced me to write you these brief lines. Respectfully yours,
 T. c. GALE.
 So long as the humane policy of the Interior Department towards the h. dians is pursued, without adequate military force 10 supplement it, just SC long will Indian outrages continue, unless the people themselves take the field. The Indians are now fed and clothed by the Government until they grow insolent and aggressive. They are furnished with arms and ammu- hilton from the same source in order to supply themselves with game food, yet they turn their guns upon the whites whenever they find them in sufficiently isolated places to render the sport q safe one. They thorough ly hate the white man, and despise the source whence their ratiOns issue. They do not like work and will bear no restraint. In fact, the only good quality ever discovered in the Ute and Apache Indians is that they die when sufficiently and properly shot. A clown cannot be legislGted into a gen. tleman, nor can a wild savage be taught the softenIng influence of civ ilizauon. The murderous instinct is m them and it will assert itself sooner or later.
 Much has been said and written rel ative to the inefficiencY of General Hatch as an Indian fighter. He is no doubt brave and able soldier, and in a legitimate warfare would prove himself such. But West Point tactics are not available in fighting Indians. It is only the hardy mountaineer who understands the habits and character istics of the willy savage, and Is will ing to undergo great hardships and sacrifice all personal comfort, that is able to cope with them. General Crook well understood this, and his brilliant successes here were attribut- :. able tC such knowledge. He carefully selected his men for the work they were called upon to perform, and the result fully verified his good judg- ment. In the absence of such mili- tary ability, the citizens of New Mex ico, to which Territory their depre- dations are now chiefly confined, have felt called upon to act concerted ly in their own behalf. It will be but brief campaign when they once take the field. and a complete exter- imitation of the marauding bands of murderous redskins will spe ;dily fol- low.