Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-05-28
The Indian Ouestion.

dS Wltliu the AIlLOiB uOuuCdIFs III
 vapid efrusions would carry little weight
 The Indian Question.
 [Commhnics0sd.l
 Responding to the cry of distres,
 which went out from Arizona during the
 recent Indian raid, the general govern.
 ment has reinforced the inadequate gar.
 isons Of this department by the addition
 of regiment of cavalry and one of in-
 fantry, while two ether regiments of in-
 fantry are held in readiness to move at
 a moments notice should their presence be necessary.
 To locker on in Vienna it would ap- pear that the present IS most propi- tious time to carry out the pG'icy of Mir. Teller, the new Secretary of tne Interior Department, as enunciated in late dis patches from Washington, viz: To dis mount and disarm every Indian on San Carlos reservation, and convert the proceeds of the sale of the same into cattle and farming implements. Why should this pol- cy not be carried out? What use have the Indians for arms, especially of arms Of the most improved modern construc- ton? They do not need them to pro- cure food, because they are supplied with adequate subsistence by the gov ernment, and besides they do not reside in country where game is sufficiently abundant to make hunlng an object. The principal use the rifles are to them is to enable the discontented, unruly spirits to go on the war path, whenever 1t suits their fancy to do so.
 There was no good reason why Loco's band should have left the reservation. They had been kindly treated and al lowed many privileges, which they availed themselves of by purchasing arms and horses, gradually preparing for the day of rapine and murder.
 Three different attempts were made to get the Warm Spring Indians of the San Carlos Reservation. In 1879 Victoria the terror of New Mexico, came himself to the vicinity of the sub-agency with a party of his men, but timely information was conveyed to the commanding officer at Fort Thomas, who dispatched at once a sufficient force to drive the intruders of. They were followed far over into New Mexico, when the trail was taken by the New Mexican troops, and a num- Der of Indians killed. The next year, 1880, Washington, the son of Victoria, made another attempt but timely warn ing having been received by the military authorities in Arizona, the troops under Captain Kramer were dispatches tointer- cept him in the vicinity of Rocky canyon, north of Fort Thomas. Kramer met l Washington and had a sharp fight and | being reinforced by Major Tupper's l company, together they chased the h. dlans two hundred and fifty miles, and | the pursuit was only abandoned when | command met General Hatch, uItn IaIgs COIsInanu, ID Purs.... n -uts band from New Mexico.
 In 1881 the White Mountain Indians | had their fight with General Carr on the Cibicu, and a month later the Chiri- cahuas broke out, killing and robbing | all the way from the San Carlos reserva- tion to the Mexican line, across which | they found an asylum and haven of | rest. During this short period not less than seventy. five American citizens were murdered.
 Every succeeding year will witness these periodical butcheries unless radical measures are taken to prevent them. The first thing to do then, is to disarm and dismount every Apache. The second, to break up these large communities of Indians. Here in San Carlos not over seventy-fve miles from Tucson, they have collected four or five thousand Indians. How are these peO- pie to improve, to become civilized, self supporting, when operated upon by in- fiuences that necessarily tend to retard their progress? One Indian agent, be he ever, so pious, ever so inspired by the importance of his mission, ever so intent on doing his whole duty, cannot pcs sibly have very much effect in improving a race SO steeped in ignorance ard superstition. The people of Arizona have a right to demand that these h. dians shall be restrained from robbing and numbering them ad hbitum, while in the pursuit of livelihood in their own way; and they, the people, have a right to demand, through their executive, that these fiends incarnate shall be deprived of the means of harming them.
 The first step is to disarm, the second to dismount, and with the large number of troops in the department both can and should be immediately done. It IS hardly within the power of belief that this government will wait until forty two more men, women and children lie dead upon the arid plains of Arizona, mute witnesses of Apache atrocity, be- fore taking decided action in this all im- portant matter. The cry now is 'there is not hostile Indian in Arizona today" but to-morrow-ah,to- tomorrow what may that not bring! It Is worse than folly to be lulled into fanc1ed secu- rity by this present tranquility. The people of Arizona have suffered enough from the murderous proclivities of the Apache race. Give us some assurances nf safefr in fhe fntnra