Los Angeles herald., 1891-08-01
THE MOUQUI SCARE.
KEAM OF KEAM'S CANYON TALKS
.fff ABOUT THE TROUBLE.
The Indians Said to Be Very Cowardly
Tribe-Elated by Little Success, the
Navajos Egged Them On.

The Albuquerque Morning Journal of
Wednesday gives the following account
of an interview with Mr.. Keam, who
lives at the place where the last reported
disturbance occurred with the Mouqui
Indians. which, under General McCook's s
orders, was SO promptly subdued:
"Thos. V. Keam of Keam's canon,
Arizona, is in the city on business.
Keam's caf1on is the scene of the recent
very much exaggerated trouble between
the Mouqui and Navajo Indians. 1t is
situated seventy-fve miles north of Hol-
brook. in very out OF the wav
region, in which Mr. Keam and his
little merchandising establishment are
the only marks of civilization to be
found within wide area. In this re-
mote corner of the universe withdrawn
so entirely from the rest of the civilized
world, Captain Keam has resided for
the past fourteen years doing general
trading business with the Indians and
the infrequent prospector, and enjoying
primitive life amid the loveliest OF
natural surroundings. Long residence,
near proximity and close observation
are all in Mr.. Keam's favor as an
authority on the subject of the recent
alleged outbreak, and it was therefore
natural that a Democrat reporter,
learning that the gentleman was in the
city, should hunt him up and draw him
into conversation on that subject. Mr..
Keam talked freely, giving an account
of the difficulty which, from it's authen-
ticity no less than the freshness of the
facts cited, is deserving of space in print.
''The Moquis," said Mr.. Keam, ''are
very timid, not to say cowardly tribe,
but like all such, under fanatical or
superslitious excitement they are some
times capable of a momentary exhibition
of bravado, which gives them quite a
bloodthirsty appearance, especially to
those who don't exactly know them.
This was their condition in the recent
alleged trouble.
'In the village of Araib there were
two contending factions stirred up and
urged on by an old fraud of medicine
man and few cunning Navajos, anxious
to get the Mouquis into trouble, and
these factions getting puffed up with i'm.
portance, proceeded to destroy lot OF
stakes of the government surveyors.
The governor OF the town and the gov
ernment school teacher went down to
demonstrate with the refractory natives,
but were confronted with a band OF
Mouquis armed with guns, bows and
arrows, boomerangs and clubs, and be-
ing threatened with speedy and vio-
lent death, judiciously beat retreat.
For the Mouquis this was quite signal
victory, and they proceeded to celebrate
it by general public demonstration.
They were still quarreling among
themselves as to who was respon-
sible for the victory (the braves lay
ing it to their intrepid valor and the
medicine man declaring that it was the
result OF his incantations) when the ar
rival of four companies of cavalry, with
a couple Of Hotckiss guns, put sudden
tdamper upon the warlike spirit and
caused braves, medicine man and bellig-
:erents generally, to metaphoricallyIcrawl
into their hole and endeavor to pull the
hole in after them. The region is very
'out-of-the- world one, and it is doubtful
if the natives ever saw two dozen white
people at one time before in their lives.
The presence of the soldiers has had
very salutaiy effect upon the Indians
OF both the Navajo and Mouqui tribes,
both having been pretty thoroughly
scared up.
''It would be to the interests OF the
Navajos to get the Mouquis into trouble,
and think their object was to lead
them to perpetrate some excess that
would bring down upon them the ven-
geauce OF the military, and then creep
out of the tangle and leave them to
their fate.v