Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-05-12
A COLOSSAL. MISTAKE

Much of the land bordering the Gila
 river in Arizona Is cultivated, being lrrl-
 gated by ditch from the rIver winch
 cost twenty thousand dollars. The Set
 tiers also have valuable improvements,
 besides the value of irngsble land ID
 that dry country. Now comes tue gov
 ernment speaking through the. C minis
 sioner of the general land office, aud ln-
 structs the Register at lucsOn to with
 draw this valuable property, already
 pre-empted, for sale, Tn order tO provide
 a new reservation for the Papapo Indi-
 ans. Could imbecillty gO further? This
 action is similar to the Boston Idea that
 an Indian of any kind IS better than a
 white man, who is supposed 10 lnyarla-
 bly, persecute them. It would be rather
 difficult to prosecute an Apache. The
 proposed new reservation takes in nearly eighteen square miles of this rich farm
 ing country, developed at great expense by the settlers, the source Of the canal
 which supplies them water being on the proposed reservation. The Interior De partment has been notified of the status of the case, and It Is to be hoped, will rescind thls infamous order. If not. 1t is very likely that there wlll be trouble Americans who redeemed the desert at vast labor expense, and made 1t literally blossom as rose, are not likely to have thelr rights taken from them and given to a pack of filthy Papogos with. out a struggle.
 We clipped the above from the Los Angeles Herald of recent date. But the Herald has been misinformed as to the facts in the case. The iand has been withdrawn. but no considerable num- Der of settlers have been affected by such withdrawal, as will appear from the rec ords of the land office at this place. It ap- pears from the record tha. one desert land entry was made by relative of Dr. Palmer, physician for the Papagos, who resides in Illinois, and was never on the land.
 There were two pre-emptons filing upon the land which were cancelled by order of the General Land Office at the time of the withdrawal of the land on the 12th day of last December.
 There was another desert land entry made upon the land which the party de- sired to rehnquish even before the land was withdrawn on account of his ina bIlity to get water upon the land. He has since filed bis relinquishmeut. and an order has been signed to refund his money. So it will be seen that no great hardship has been perpetrated upon the settlers. The sum invested ID the ditch, l instead of being ''S2Q00O," as stated by 1 the Herald, We are informed amounted | to little or nothing.
 But the Papago Indians have ditch, | and have been irrigatIng a small portion | Df the land for several years. We can not agree with what the Herald has to say of the Papagos. IL is true they are Indians, but they are among the few good Indians, who have always been the friends ai the white settlers, and have ought for them ol many occasions. They have been shabbily treated by he Government because they have not ought the whites, and because they nave been no trouble to the Government. Lt Is true they are not desirable peo- 3le to have among us; but they are here, md should not bs allowed to starve, but It least should be given some land to york and raise crops for theIr support, nasmuch as they receive nothing from he Government, and but little encour- .gement from any source. We do not believe the people of Ariz na will find ault with the Interior Department for ths tract of land.