Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-05
CIVILIzING THE YUMAS.
NOBLE WORK OF CATHOLIC MIS-
sIoNARIEs AMONG THE INDIANS.

A Quiet and Indolent Tribe That Has
Been Almost Overlooked-Being Lifted
Up Through the Efforts of a Band Of
Good women-The Boarding School.
There is little in this small city of 800 in.
habitants to attract attention except the
extreme heat which varies with the sea-
SONS, but is always oppressive. Fort Yuma
is conspicuous for it's industrial boarding
school, maintained by the Indian depart.
ment. The Indians here belong principally
to the Yuma tribe, though there are few
remnants of ether tribes to be found The
total number on the reservation is /, 1876 by
actual count. Their reservation consists
Of 5000 acres of arid land, almost wholly
worthless without irrigation. The only
crops they raise are grown upon the over
flow lands next to the Colorado river, where
a very little very primitive farming is at
tempted
The river usually overfows in June. The
mesquite bean and river fish are the steady
diet of the Indians, varied only as they are
successful or unsuccessful in growing a
few vegetables and cereals. They are with.
out implements and without the knowl.
CuE6 VI w llAlEtlOC Uu6lT TESGENdDlOU.
ABoDEs OF THE YUMAs
The abode of well to do Indian brave is
parallelogram, about ten by twelve feet,
Enclosed by four poles, with willow brush
tied or nailed to the sides and across the
top Arrowwood thatching closes up the
interstices and dirt roof shelters the in
mates from the occasional winter showers
and the beating southern sun. In the
summer domicile the thatching on the sides
is omitted A blanket, yard or two of
cotton cloth or a cowskin answers for a
door, Several inches of sand is piled into
the apartment, which answers for beds
tables and chairs for the household, and
when this becomes intolerably filthy, and
not before, the women carry it out in their
skirts and replace it with fresh sand. A
few of the tribe have mud or adobe huts, a
trifle less primitive, but no less dirty.
The government, the philanthropst and
all concerned have neglected these Indians
Being neither quarrelsome nor peevish,
they have given their white neighbors no
trouble ard therefore have attracted to
themselves no attention. Although a mil
itary post was established at this point in
1865, and the Southern Pacific road was
complated to Yuma fully ten years ago,
little was attempted on behalf of these PEG
pie until the government abandoned the
military post and turned over the building
and grounds to the interior department.
Desultory and ineffective efforts were made
to establish some form of instruction and
very little missionary effort was put forth
by the Catholics. The Professionals have
never attempted to do anything here, The
facilitating climate, its extreme, continu-
GUS and empowering heat and the want
of resources to build up a settlement have
kept Yuma for thirty-ive years mere
outpost of civilization, with more Mexican
than American citizens and no material in
terests except a railroad eating house. a
steamboat landing from which Colorado
river steamer cmbarks once in three months
for the north and the territorial peniten
tiary The Indian agent lives at Cotton,
Colo, and his visits are as infrequent as
those of the river steamer There has
therefore been very little sympathy and
great deal less money expended for the
benefit of these Indians