Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-01-10
THE COAL FIELDS.
A Ringing Letter to the Secretary of the Interior by Surveyor General
 Royal A. Johnson.

that portion of my annual report, which recommends the early segregation Of the coal fields from the San Carlos ln- dlan reservation.
 To my mind the most important factor in the future prosperity of Ari- zona is cheap fuel. For the people Of th.s Territory, I can say without fear o. contradiction, that no question-unless t be the proposed demonetizatiOn of silver, so thoroughly occuples the mind of our entire people, as the question of an accessible, economical and suitable fuel. The stagnation in the mining Industry in this Territory Is attributable 10 the great cost of reluchop of ores, and this state Of affairs must exist to very great extent, until a coking coal can be obtained at a price within tLe bounds of reason. When We consider that these coal beds are lying idle, unused, and Ill adapted to the customs, or wants of the Indians, while the cItl- zeus of the Territory, a people who work. and live under the many dis advantages attendant upon newly settled country, are actually suffering m property. for want of this fOel, It seems a great hardship. its present status ls not unsImllar 10 the old "desd line of war times. The coal fields seem to be left a. an aggravated temptation to our people, ingsmuch ls they are absolutely Useless to tLe Indians, and from my understanding of the matter, l canCot see tbat the Indians have the slightest property right in this coal, further than tne fact. that they are allowed to live within the bounds of this reservation by t.e government Of the United States, and that the coal land Is within these boundaries.
 4 his White Mountain, San Carlos h. dian reservation has history that can briefly be defined as follows: The Camp Apache or White Mountain re- s-rvation was first selected and its boundaries fixed by MajOr-Cisneral Tlomas, with the view of placing al the rowing Apache Indians of Arizona and western New Mexico upon 1t, at that time it was not considered practIc- able to carry out the project as intended. and this vast tract of land was left ln au absolutely unsettled condition, but II was deemed wise to reserve this ex- ns!ve acreage in the hopes that tne ITacIcabIlty of the scheme wOuli develop itself ID tte near future. and Ihe land would be ln readiness for the IudIaus, then the government finally became convinced of the feasibility oi tue under taking. and concluded to try tls experiment.. l. Will be observed that even though the original scheme was at the time abandoned as i'm practicable, the reserve was not thrown open to the white man.
 Later oD, to-wIt: September 9th, 1871. Vincent Colyer, peace commissioner, selected for the Indians the same land enclosed within the boundaries, origin liz selected by Mgior-General Thomas. Mir. COlycr was acting upon power con ferred upon him by t. e President of the United States, through the Honorable Secretary os the Interior, under date Of July 2lst, lS7l.
 The recommendation made by Mir. Colyer in the matter of this reservation, at the suggestion of the Honorable Secretary of the Interior. was approved by President Grant. November 9th, 1872. This reserve formed the White Mountain Indian reservation. Later, to-w.t: December l4th, 1872, by ex- ecutiEe order the Camp Grant Indian reservation Tn the Territory of Arizona was abolished, and the White Mountain Indian reserve was extended on the south and west to embrace portion oi .Le ab lished Camp Grant reservation. IhIs new addition was designated III lle said order as the San Carlos Diyisi n of the White Mountain Indian reservation" It being found that the land of the white settlers had been in cludei in the reservation for the h. dians, together with their improve meuts, the Acting Secretary of the Interior recommended that ''all that portion of the valley of the Gila river. ln the Territory of Arizona, hitherto included III the San Carlos Division Oi tie White Mountain Indian reservation as established by executive order, dated December lI-h, 1872, lying east of, ana above the site of old Camp Goodwin, be stored to the public domain, as re commended by the Acting CommIsioneT of India affairs"
 tSizned,l H. B. COwKN,
 Acting Secretary.
 Again the power of the Executive over this class of Indian reservations was brought into play to subssrve the in terests of the white people, and ou August 5,h, 1873, President Grant restored to the public domain, the land iEclGdei Tn the recommendation of tbe Acting Secretary of the Interior. The welfare or the public neeess tsting again Executive interference, President Grant on July 2lst, 1874, issued the following order: "It Is hereby ordered that all that portion of the White Mountain In dian reservation in Arizona Territory lying east of l09 degrees 30 mInuts $ west longitude be restored to the public domain" It being again neces- sary to such Executive interference ID behalf Of the inter sts of the white people. the following order was issued ly President Grant: "It IS hereby or dered that all that portion of the White Mountain Indian reservation ID Arl- zona Territory lying west of the follow ing described, VIZ: Commencing at the northwest corner of the present reserve, point at the southern edge of the black mesas, due north of Sombrero, CT Plumoso Butte; thence due south to said Sombrero, or Plumoso Butte; hence southeastwardly to Chromo Peak: thence in a southerly direction ,o the mouth of the San Pedro river; thence due south to the southern bound ary of the reservation, be, and the same hereby is. restored tO the public do- main.
 Again, on January 26, lST7, the Presi- dent reduced the land occupied by the indians aud added to the publ domain by executive order.
 Aud on March3 3l, President Hayes cut off by executive order very valua- bic portion of the reservation, restoring the same to the settlement of the white people.
 have dwelt thus long on the various executive orders issued to illustrate as forcibly as possible the fact that 10 uroperty interest vested in the Indian, and that no consideration was gwen them for the land cut of by executive orders. and that the Indians occupied thls land by courtesy only; and l wish s, cau vonr attention to the fact that no