Arizona silver belt., 1890-03-08

Governor Lewls WelHey, Tn Wash
 ington, on February 18th, appeared
 before the Committee on Indian Af fairs and addressed them as follows:
 Mr. Chairman and gentlesaen of tn,
 Committee:
 If the Apache Indians now at Mt Vernon Barracks, Alabama. are sen to Fort Sill, and aliowe3 to farm, ol have herds of stock, = posed by the Secretary of Wa es-wel return them to tl e6ts d San Carlos. There N0lHches now at, Fort Sill, Plato's band, having re lations at the Nescalero Agency 1T Southern New Mexlco, and between them there IS a constant interchange of visits, though the distance IS three hundred miles.
 From the Mescaiero Agency to the Sierra Madre Mountain in old Mexico or the San Carlos Agency, is region of country well known to these Apa. ches and their friends. It would therefore, only be a question, as tc when they concluded to go, for the country is thinly settled and just in the condition to suit their purposes that Is enough stock for them to steal enough settlers for them to murder and yet not so many as to make I; dangerous for them;
 If they are taken to Fort Sill, and detained as prisoners, what advantage is to be gained? Fort Sill is by far a more slckly place than Mt. Vernon Barracks. General Crook, in hls of fcial report to the Secretary of War of January 9th, 1890, says:
 "With regard to the present condi- tion of these Indians, they appeared, with few exceptions, to be healthy and strong. There has. however, been a great number of deaths among them. This mortality has been much more normal, and would seem due to home sickness, change of climate, and the dreary monotony of empty lives. They need something to do, something to occupy their heads and hands
 It would, therefore, seem entirely unnecessary to move them for reasons of health; Qn the coatn~ would ao much worse for the Indians, as they would certainly be ''homesick" and the change of climate would again serious ly affect them, especially so, as Fort Sill, is more sickiy place, as shown by the army records of health at beth places.
 Does it occur to any of you gentle men, that bomesickness is singular reason to apply to criminals. Would you, gentlemen, think that 1, as gov ernOr, would be justified for any such reason in extending executive elem ency 10 prisoners ill the penitentiary :? Certainly you do not think it a justi- fable reason. Yet Tn this case, it seems to stand as the foremost reason for the change. The only ether reason l can think of, is the fact that in March, 1886, General Crook accepted the terms of Geronimo, that they should take a trip east for not exceed ing two years, but this was promptly refused by the President. Yet might not this be the reason why General Crook now comes forward with the proposition that they should go back, because he did make this agreement that two years should be the term of the exile and tAat he now finds 1t con- venient to forget that the President disapproved hls ahject terms.
 Governor WoIaey read the follow ing extracts from the report of the Secretary ef War, of 1886:
 l. That they should be sent East for not exceeding two years, talk ag with them such of their families as they desired.
 9 That they shopjd all return to the reservation on the old status.
 3. "To the war-path with all it's at- tending horrors
 He was obliged to decide quickly, and accepted their surrender on the first proposal, and the whole party started, escorted by the Apache scents under Lieut.. Maus. for Fort Bowie.
 The terms cf the surrender were re- ceived here March 30th. The response of the President was, that their i'm priSonment in the East for two years and their return to the reservation could not bs approved. Certain in- struchons were given, but before Gen. eral Crook received the dispatch, Geronimo and Matches with twenty men and thirteen women left Lieut.. Mans camp on the night of the 29th, and escaped to the monntains. The remainder Of tue band, Numbering sixty, under Chihuahua, were sent to Fort Marion, Florida, where they are