Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-03-01
Arizona Enterprise.
FLORENCE, MARCH l, 1890
APACAES.
THEIR CONDITION GIVES LITTLE
 HOPE OF CIVILIZATION.

HVE E OE 6gN NAE@ANA AACENf The Mormons of Arizona as a Thrifty and
 Industrious PeopIe-What a Cor
 respondent Saw in his Travels.
 A correspondent of the St. Louis Globe Democrat, who recently went from Holbrook, Apache county, to the White Mountain Indian reservation, in this Territory, writes the following account of the Mormons and the In dians:
 From Holbrook to Fort Apache the distance is about one hundred miles, the road passing through series of little Mormon settlements, each one of which seems a veritable oasis Tn the midst of vast and barren waste. It IS astonishing how these Mormon peo- pie, fleeing from contact with the Gentiles, erect comfortable homes for themselves and turn Western deserts into garden spots. found in every settlement through which I passed fine reservoirs and complete systems of irrigatng ditches. Orchards and shade trees had been planted, hun dreds of acres of land brought under cultivation, and fine vegetable gar dens laid out. The dwellings and out houses were neat looking and com fortable and supplied with all the re- quisites of well-regulated farms. ] could not help noticing the marked difference in the appearance of the cattle and horses of the Mormons from those which had been accustomed to see elsewhere in the Southwest. They were fat and sleek looking, showing that they had received good care. At every farmhouse there was an abun- dance of milk, butter, chickens and eggs, things almost unknown to the average Arizona rancher.
 In stopping one night at a settle ment some forty miles from Holbrook was surprised to find pianos and or gans in most of the houses, and was equally surprised at the hospitable manner in which I was treated. The people talk unreservedly of their re- ligion and the history of the Mormon church. They assert that polygamy is no longer practiced, and that it only exists at present among the older peO- ple. They claim that the strength of the Mormon church lies in the doc trines of temperance, patience and in- dustry which it teaches, and the per feet system of cooperation among it's | followers, which enables them to pros per in any part of the West. No liquor is sold in any of the Mormon towns 1 and there has never been q murder ! committed in any of the settlements along the road. All of the freighting to and from Fort Apache is carried on by Mormons; the superiority of their { teams and their own steady habits having enabled them to fill Govern ment contracts SO satisfactorily that they have completely supplauted Mex. ican and Gentle freighters.
 Leaving the Mormon settlements behind l reached the foothills of the White mountains on the afternoon oi the second day of my journey, anC from there on to the post my route lay through one of the most pictur seque and fertile portions of Arizona The mountains are on the Apache reservation, consequently the country is not open to settlement, but enougl farming and gardening has been donC by Indians and people at the post tC show what the country can produce 4 The mountains are covered with for ests of giant pine and oak, and in tht valleys crops of grain, fruits and veg { otables can be raised without irriga tion. Your correspondent was showr some Irish potatoes grown near tho post, which would average severa pounds in weight
 The mountains are also full of min eIal, and while prospecting Is not per mitted, fine specimens have beer picked up from time. An Indian recently carried into the post piec, of native silver as large as an egg, bu he could not be induced to tell wher, he had found it, as the Apachcs vii not, under any circumstances, poin out to white man the location of mine. On the road close to the pos is peculiar mound of rocks anC sticks, which the ireighters designat as "the Apache Postoiiice." The pill is some fifteen feet in height, and is
 monument of Apache superstition. 1 is the custom of every Indian wh, passes the spot to pick up a smal stone and twig of some kind and cas- them upon the heap, muttering as h does 20 an invocation to some of thei numerous gods Co guard him from tn wiles of Chidn, the devil who travel during the night.
 Fort Apache is prettily situated il a valley shut in by mountain range and is one of the largest posts in tn
 Southwest. It is necessary to mair : tain large garrison here at all times , for the Apaches are by long odds tn hardest Indians to keep in subjectiol with whom the Government has eve had to contend. There are at preser
 several companies of the Tenth Ca' $ airy and one company of India
 scouts stationed at the fort, all con . manded by officers who have see
 years of hard service in the Apacl country. At the post is that striC
 hAntl lilllilt anu hilAllai OAuVl NOiiiHiO ' to all frontier forts. Every strange ? passing through the reservation subjected strict surveillance and
 required to give a satisfactory accour N of himself. This is to prevent as fi ]. as possible any intrusions upon th H Indian lands which might bring abol
 q conflict.
 The Indians, who number son
 1000 or 1000, are scattered over tl
 reservation and are under the dire
 supervision of Lieutenant Johnson, I man whose personal courage and Ion i experience on the frontier enables hi J to fill the dangerous and trying pos
 ton which he holds. The Apaches (
 reservation are in constant state turmoil. They find fault with ever
 thing which is done in their beha
 and when anything displeases the
 they assume a threatening attitud
 They are constantly fighting and qua ,r reling among themselves. and, in spi
 of the vigilance of the officers at u post, they succeed from time to tin
 i'll obtaining supplies of whisky.
 Just here may say that the rece so order of the deDartment at Washin