Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-06-28
RESERVATION INDIANS.

There IS put ore metnOQ or SUCCESS
 fully keeping Indians on their ressrva- fion, and that is to treat them as hos
 tiles when found of. They should not
 be allowed to roam at will. Wkile
 depredations are being committed, as at
 present, and reservation Indians are
 armed and given passes to roam when
 ever and wherever they please, the citi-
 zens should hold them responsible for
 their criminal acts, and treat them as
 outlaws when found outside their own
 reservation boundaries. It is well
 known fact that reservation Apaches
 have repeatedly gone out and committed
 both theft and murder, and then been
 allowed to return to their reserves to
 enjoy government food. clothing, and
 protection at the hands of our own
 troops. We do not assert that the troops
 are affording protection to Indian crimi- J nals to-day, but there was time when
 the reservation was nothing more than an aid to Indian depredations- screen,
 as it were, under which they could crawl
 when danger menaced them at the hands
 of infuriated and outraged civilians. It
 is because of these we'll authenticated
 facts that Arizona cannot approve of the
 prevailing reservation system. What
 IS the use of reservation at all unless the Indians are kept upon it? If they are allowed to roam at will, msnacing the lives of settlers, s,-using the reservation as sallying point from whence they can draw supplies, ammunition and arms would it not be better to turn them all loose at once, and let the settlers of this territory be informed of that past, in- stead of having the red devils sneaking around isolated homes and shooting down unarmed settlers. Our people care little fer the size of the reservations, or for the undese we'd good treatment shown the Indian compared to that ex- hibited to thems ,lVes, but they do care and 1t IS not m the human composition not to care, for that generous and lax system of management which makes every reserve a secure and well-provi- stoned home for those who rob and mur- der them. This IS what prevents har- mony between the citizens and those in charge of the reservations nothing else. The whole matter of difference rests upon the Indians liberty to roam when and where they please. This it would seem they can do now. Let the proposition be made known to the citi- zens and Indians that all of tbe latter found of the reservation shall be treat ed as hostile at the hands of the former and we will guarantee roaming Indians will be curse of the past Can any fair man object to the foregoing conditions to secure the harmony of the citizans which affords every possible facility for civilizing the Indians by government or philanthropic men? Can any man not an enemy to law abiding, self-sustaining citizens object to these conditions. Will any just man insist that all rights of person and property be guaranteed the Indian and public money be expended to supply all his bodily wants, and at the same tims deny to the toiling, self sustaining, law abiding citizens security ln their parsons and property? If not, then harmony of action on the yexed Indian question, can soon be secured be- tween the frontiersman and professional and practical philanthropists We are not Indian alsrmists and mover were, but there are thirty renegade Indians off the reservation. They make headquar- ters in the Sierra Madres and then foray into Arizona. Those coming this way occasionally kill stock, but SO far as | known there has bean no killing since | the shooting of Hcrdie in the Hauchu- l cas. A week since a small squad was | seen at the head of Temporal Gulci, | above Crittenden, whers they killed two beeves, but did no further damage They | were followed by troops under Lieut.. | Brainard, but as the trall led directly in- to Mexico, they were obliged to return | without anything. From different sec- tions of the country word comes in of | small parties having been seen, but az they travel lightly it is impossible to capture them.