St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-06-15
LOgan's Proposed Robbery.
a CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE CASE OF
THE ZUNIS AND THE SENATOR.


| Letter of W. f. Curtis in the Chicago Tribune
The Iunis are little community liv-
ing in the midst of desert, 5000 feet
above the sea, near 1.-THE grand divide. D"
which forms the backbone of the con
tinent and stretches from Alaska to the
iSthmus of Panama. When Coronado
led his army of conquest from the city
of Mexico northward in 1910. searching
for the seven cities of Cibola, whose
walls were said to he of silver and
gold, he found Zuni, and conquered its
people. Since that day they have new
cr killed IL white man. They have
herded Il few sheep and few cattle :
they have cultivated Il few acres of
ground, and lived peacefully and con-
tentedly, spinning wool, making blan-
llets, and performing their curious re
ligiOus rites, which were inherited from
their ancestors, the AztecS. The GOV
rrnment has given them no assistance,
and they have asked none. Not Il dol
lar have they cost the taxpayers of the
nation, either for war or for supplies.
No treaty has ever been made with
them because none was required. They
were satisfied with their condition and
are as proud of their antiquity and ira
ditions as are the descendants of the
pilgrims the May yhower brought. When
the land-grant of the Atlantic and Pa
citic railroad was being surveyed. Pres
ident Hayes directed the Indian agent
at Santa Fe to describe the lands occu-
pied and used by the Zuni Indians in
order that they might he withdrawn
f.,,,, 81 4 l.
in this description, two of the four
springs upon which the Indians depend
for their water supply, and the NutriaS
valley, which is the most fertile and in
fact the only fertile tract of their pos
sessions, not being included. The er-
ror was discovered last fall. five or six
years after it was made. Mai. Tucker
and associates Immediately located
''hOmeStcad" and "deSert land claims
upon the Nutrias valley, and their pa
pers were sent to Washington. The
commissioner of the general land office
postponed action upon the case until
the disputed boundary lines should be
determined, and, the matter being
brought to the attention of the presi-
dent, a proclamation was issued cor
recting the mistake and restoring to
the Iunis their farms and pastures and
springs. No one denies that there was
il mistake no one doubts that it was
| the intention of President Hayes to in
clude the Nutrias valley in the Zuni
reservation. The question Gen. Logan
has raised is, whether the Indians
should suffer and his sOn-in law profit
by the error of the Indian agent.
in l.
letter to you is, that the Zunis already
have more land than they need, al
though he admits that nearly all they
have is desert, and not even capable
of sustaining animal life. He shows
that they have 100 acres to each fam
lily, and ought to be able to get along
with less. That is true. A dozen acres
of good land will do as well for them
as 100 acres of such land as they have.
and | do not think the Zunis would OBJ
iect to Maj. fuckers locating upon
almost any part of their reservation ex-
cept the Nutrias valley. He has ap-
| piled for SEQ acres and his associates
for 1000 acres more, and the 2400 acres
embrace nearly all the fertile land they
have. This is, in brief, the situation,
and the question which Gen. Logan
asks the government to decide is,
which has the higher right to the Nu-
trias valley, his sOn-in-law or the Zuni
lndiansG If the case were reversed, if
Mr.. Tucker had herded his flOcks upon
these lands for three or ten centuries,
whether he had a written and recorded
title to them or not, | do not believe
the secretary of the interior would for
Il moment listen to the application of
an Indian or white citizen for their
possession. The color of a fellow-crea-
lures skin makes all the difference in
| the world.