Mohave County miner., 1882-12-17
inf. r ouestiaF

two sides to this question, for and against, and we shall present both of them. Various attempts have been made by certain of our citizens, and more of them than most of us have
 been aware of, to have the Wallapais placed on reservation away from
 any mining camp or town, and taken
 care of and fed at the expense of the government. Every such attempt
 has met with opposition, and sufficient
 of It to defeat the object in view.
 Those advocating the removal of the
 Indians claim that they are Iuis-
 ance around the towns, that they are
 lazy, dirty, noisy, and filthy general
 ly, and for many other reasons not
 fit to be around where white people
 live; that they get drunk, lie and
 steal, that their women are nearly
 all prostitutes, and that the whole
 tribe are eaten up with various loath-
 some diseases and are generally al source of evil to the community; all of which we believe to be strictly
 true and can vouch for. But on the other hand. there are numbers of our citizens who claim that these Indians are almost a necessity to us and that
 as long as they are peaceable and give no trouble they should be let alone. This claim Is entitled to d good deal of consideration from the fact that, under the existing state ot affairs these Indians are self-support- ing, and that in some respects 1t seems that they are almost a necessi-
 ty, as for instance, what should we do if we had no Indians to send let ters by to different parts of the coun- ty in these days of no mail communi-
 cation, and what should we do if we had to hunt our own horses and stock through these mountains, 1t would go pretty hard with some of us we know, while every Indian in the tribe knows every horse in the county and who it belongs to and where 1t ranges and c an find it and bring it ill in a few hours. Again the squaws pack in hay and grass by the ton, for which they are paid at the rate of two cents per pound, they also pack in wood for six and seven dollars a cord, and make money in various ways, such as washing and scrubbing,
 and some of the men even work in the mines, wloe.:a. dirt and at the windlass. There Is n2 use denying the fact that at tie present time they are supporting themselves and doing it well, for they all have money and
 some of them plenty of it Tho diff ferent railroad contractors in this county have paid out alone dnring the present year the sum of S2500.00 for hay alone. Considering both sides of this question, we are in favor of leaving the Indians alone, but under certain conditions. We believe and shall advocate, that they should be naGe to leave town at sundown and stay away tllll morning, for most of the drunkenness a. prostitution as rule takes place during the night; we believe that they should in every instance be held strictly amena- ble to our laws, that every Indian, male or female, found drunk should be locked up and fined or imprisoned and that. on the other hand, they should be protected from abuse and made to understand that as long as they behave themselves they will be well treated. They have very good l Idea of our laws and a very whole some dread of the county jail, and | will pay a fine sooner than stay in it,
 and if they have no money them
 selves their friends in the tribe will | raise it for them. as they have done
 on some occasions; and, again, on
 other occasions, when abused by 1 white men, they have sought and ob-
 tained the protection of our laws.
 We think that if these suggestions
 are followed out, especially the one
 making them leave town at sunset,
 that we shall hear no more complaints l about the Indians, that drunkenness
 and debauchery among them will de 1 crease and that the whole communi- 1 ty will gain by it in every way.
 ITES OF THE nAV