Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1891-09-02
THE INDIAN QUESTION.

The Indian problem seems to be
 growing nearer a satisfactory solu-
 ton year by year. The Mohave
 Miner states that the Wallapai ln-
 dians, which have heretofore been
 considered the most indolent and
 triiling tribe in the southwest, are
 now being employed around the
 mines and are giving good satisfac-
 ton. old Sheerum. their chief. has
 lost his influence with his tribe as he
 promised them that all white men
 would disappear from the earth
 some months since and all the dead
 Indians would return from the hap
 py hunting grounds, and the noble
 red man would again have full sway
 and control of the entire continent.
 On the failure of the prediction to
 come true, the Indians concluded
 that the white man had come to
 stay" and that the best thing they
 could do was to accept the situation.
 This tribe has, accordingly, of late
 made innovations on the old habits
 and customs of their ancestors, not | the least of which is the inclina-
 ton and willingness of many of
 them to work. A very few of them
 for yeors have, at times, engaged to
 do light work around ranches, but
 their going to work around mines, l sorting ore, etc, is an entirely new
 departure with them, and the pros
 pect now is that within few years this heretofore worthless tribe may
 become self supporting.
 The Mohsyes have for several
 years been an industrious (for ln-
 dians) tribe. In addition to the
 patches of melons, corn and other
 vegetables which they have cultivat-
 ed annually along the Colorado river,
 many of them have been employed
 by the railroad company and they
 have given good satisfaction. Phys
 ieally the Mohaves are far superior
 to their neighborS, the Wallapals,
 the men being large, well propor-
 toned and muscular, and capable of
 great endurance.
 As for the Apaches, the govern
 ment has undertaken the task of
 making soldiers of them. This prop
 osition, it is true, is a new one and
 has not yet reached beyond the ex-
 perimental. So far, however, the experiment is proving satisfactory.
 The Apache soldiers at Whipple are
 proud of their blue coats and brass buttons. They are treated in every respect the same as the white soldier, receiving the same pay, the same rations and allowances, and subject to the same military discipline. They have proven themselves apt military pupils, despite the disad- vantage under which they labor of very few of them understanding the English language. Their appear once on the parade ground, while, of 1 course. is not to be compared with l the white soldiers. is very creditable. 1 and particularly so when it is taken into consideration that it has only | been two months since they were enlisted and brought from the mountain wilds of their native home. The future of this experiment re- mains to be seen. Whether it will result in permanently subduing this heretofore untamed and savage nat ure of these Indians, or whether they will serve their terms of enlist ment and then retnrn and again en- gage in bloody warfare against the whites, is an open question as yet. This is the most savage of all the tribes which once held dominion over the entire southwest and should the governments experiment prove successful it will be a great triumph and will be great advance in the direction of solving permanently the Indian question.
 The Maricopas, Papagoes and Pi- mas have long been reasonably in- self supporting aud pros porous. The Yumas are also tribe of workers. Heretofore the occupa- tion of the latter tribe has been to the cultivation of small tracts along the Colorado river, in the vicinity of Yuma and working at times for the railroad company, some of them getting as far away as Los Angeles in the lattes occupa- ton. The recent action of Fresno and hop growers to dis pense with Chinese labor, has in- duced citizen of Yuma to visit the above section with a view of secur- ing employment for large number of these Indians. The argument advanced to employers was that the Indians would work for less money and do more work. At least one half of his wages would be left in the vicinity, while the Chinese hoard and save all their earnings. The Indian idea of money is that it is useful only as it is applied to pro viding for his present personal com forts and needs and for the gratif- cation of his fancies. He has not yet learned, apparently, to lay away a { portion of his earnings for rainy I lay" something his Oriental cousin seldom fails to do.
 Whether this latter proposition of Q getting employment for the Yuma V Indians away from home will sue s