Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-06-20
CROOKS QUEER CONDUCT.

THE ARIZONA CITIZEN comes to us
 filled with whitening denuncia;ions of
 General Crooks Indian policy, and tie incompetency of the military in dealing
 with the raiiing red skins now devas- tating Arizona and New Mexico. In its
 war on the folly Of giving freedom to so
 bloodthirsty band of Indians as the Chirioahuas, and neglecting 10 provide for the suppression of an outbreak long looked for by every intelligent man in Arizona. familiar with the former histo- " of Apache treachery, the CITIZEN should be sustained by the entire pres of the United States. The responsibii- ty for the murder of three score and ten American citizens should be brought home to the party whose criminal incoIn- competency this wholesale slaughter was made possible.
 The facts in regard to the return of the Chiricahuas to the White Mountain Indian reservation ID ArIzona, and their management b. the military, have been clearly sta ed in the News, and leave no doubt as to who was responsible for their safe keeping. It is known that General Crook assured tine Secretary Of the Interior that if permitted to carry out his policy of holding the Indians on the reservation under military sur yellsnce, ,he would answer for their good conduct. From the time of their return until this last outbreak, none but mill tary authority has been eIerted over them. Now that the llt has been re- alized as predicted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by Agent Wilcox, and hundreds of citizens of Arzona, an at tempt is made by Crook, through his strikers, to shift the blame 10 other quar- ters than where il properly belongs.
 In letter from Fort Thomas to the CITIZEN, it is claImed that some two months ago the military department de- cilned any longer to be responsible for their action, as 1t was only matter of time when they would break out" The writer of that letter claims that this state of affairs was brought about by the h. dIan bureau doing all theIr trading with the Indians, furnishing supplies, etc.
 Among other falsehcods he charges that Blankets which were furnished were never issued, that d majority of the Indians at Apache, last winter, did not have even one blanket or half a dozen yards Of the cheapest drilling to the family
 Annuity goods, including blankets and drilling, were set apart for the Chiricahuas by the agent at San Car los in December last, and transportation was provided for them to Apache, but Captain Crawford, acting under orders from Gen. Crook, refused to permit them to be issued because of the necessity of the presence of an emplOye of the h. terror Department. So jealous of his authority over his pets has Gen. Crook been since the time they escorted him from the Sierra Madres to San Carlos until thelr departure on the war path, that he could not tolerate the presence of civilian in their camps, not even for the purpose of supplying them with the necessarles of life, and now he, through the henchmen would have it appear hat This Indian war is directly at tributa5le to the miserable policy of the government in managing the h. dians"
 But by no plea of outside interference can General Crook rid himself of the fearful responsibility for the recent mur- ders in Arizona and New Mexico. The | blood of the slain is on his hands and | the damned spot will not out. He de- vised a plan for caring for the Chiri- cahuss. They have been solely under his authority from first to last. Their determination to leave the reservation has long been known, yet with all the troops under his command that can be used he Is powerless to prevent their flight or their bloody prOgress.-Denver Daily News.