Tombstone epitaph., 1890-02-15
GERONINO'S BAND.
Protest Against Their Removal by ArizOnans
 and New MeXicanS.

is taken from the St. Louis Globe Democrat of the 3d instant:
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 3.-W. H. H. Llewellyn and W. L. Rynerson, of New Mexico, and Brewster Cameron and George Christ, of Arizona, who called on President Harrison last Fri day to protest against the proposed re- moval of Geronimo's band of Apaches from Vernon Barracks, Ala, to Fort Sill, I. T., appeared before the Indian Affairs Committee of the Senate to- day OF the same subject. Chairman Dawes asked them to submit their statement in writing, which they did. A bill to authorize the proposed trans fer of the Indians is now before the committee, and the protest, drawn and signed and submitted to-day by the Arizona and New Mexico delegation, will doubtless have an important in fuence upon the committee. It is as follows:
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 3, 1890- Hon. H. L. Dawes, Chairman Com mittee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate: Sir-The President, on Jan uary 20 last, transmitted to your com mittee certain letters and reports, to- gether with 8 recommendation that the Chiricahua Apache Indians, now held as prisoners at the Mount Vernon Barracks, Ala, be removed to the h. dian Territory and located near Fort Sill, on the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache Reservation. The undersigned, being for many years past residents of the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, and being thoroughly familiar with the situation, and with full knowledge of the past atrocities com mitted by this said band of Indians in the past, would most earnestly and solemnly, in the name of the people of Arizona and New Mexico, protest against said band of Chiricahua Apa- ches being removed to Fort Sill, or to any portion of the Indian Territory. We called personally upon the Presi- dent to-day to explain to him the danger of removing said Indians to the Indian Territory. His message having already been sent to Congress, he requested us to present our protest to your committee. Gen. Crook, un- der date of January last, in report to the Secretary of War, stated, among other things, the following with refer ence to these Indians:
 "It would not be wise, in my opin- ion, to send them back to their own country. Trouble might, perhaps, en- sue if this were done, and did they again take the war path in that coun- try it would be utterly impossible ever to get them to surrender again, and to exterminate them in war would cost thousands of lives, to say nothing of the loss of property which such war would entail"
 In view of the above opinion we would represent that the distance from Fort Sill, in an air line, to their old re- servation in Arizona, is less than 800 miles, and that it is sparsely settled frontier country, which these Indians are thoroughly acquainted with, and that, should they so desire, they could not be prevented from escaping from the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache Reservations, and easily make their way into Southern New Mexico and into Arizona, so that their location now at Fort Sill is, in effect. attended with as much peril as if they were re- moved direct to Arizona.
 The Comanches frequently visit with the Mescalero Apaches, who are located on reservation near Fort Stanton, New Mexico, and the Mesca- leros frequently visit the Comanches. Tho vary foot that thpra ara ico1o tod cattle ranches between the Mescalero Agency in New Mexico and the Co., manche, Kiowa and Apache reserva- ton in the Territory, will only facilit- ate the movement of these Indians should they leave for their old haunts in Arizona. Their location at Fort Sill simply means that they are only four or five days journey on horse back from their old haunts in Arizona, they having been known to travel II3 miles in Arizona between sunset and sunrise, the isolated cattle ranches re- ferred to above, enabling them to ob- tain three or four fresh mounts of horses each day. In view of the fact that in 1886 they escaped from the San Carlos reservation in Arizona from under the closest military sur veillance which Gen. Crook could himself devise, and succeeded in get