Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1895-05-08
STRAY INDIANS.
A Dis llanoherla Loentea N.,, p,....

A Bis 1ianoheria Located Near Pre.co,,
 \ reminder of old time davs when the. unwilling news almost hourly faced the average PrescottIte m some Indian deed of deyiltrv- ;s renewed. to a certain extent by tba appearance of band of Apache Mohave Indians in Kirkland valley but thirty miles distant. They number in bucks, squaws and pa PooSes over fifty souls, and are camped in the foothills near that place. While no interest usually Is 10 be attached to these red-faced and ''hsnd painted" disciples of the abonginee race appearing nowadays among us, there Is nevertheless in this one instance, a recollection of the old days brought back to us. which has associated to it the loss of many human life, and that too. at the hands of some of the Indians who are again camped among the scenes they once bushwhacked and marauded in so successfully from an unciyilIzed standpoint.
 Some of the Mohaves who today may be seen in the above valley, show that their three score years have been passed, and in conversa- tion of the past, display in their tales of "reminiscences, an accuracy aud cunning that only the Indian knows, relating the importance of big fights, but shrugging their shoulders doubtfully when in dividual affairs are mentioned or questioned which might possibly duplicate some one of them.
 The Indians which make up this contingent are from the San Carlos reservation, and may be termed renegades,in military sense. Some bear the usual pass signed by a military officer years ago, while others have evidences of some old timer that they are good" Indians, or were such in befriending Crook in campaigns along Date Creek and the Santa Maria. At any rate the old bucks years ago were among those removed from the section they are to-day in, first to the Verde res ervation and later to San Carlos. Aside from their old time instincts to assail the unwary traveller, they bear the characteristic traits Of their race in begging at all times and pill ferlng when permitted.
 One of the aged warriors whose name sounds something like Chon- a-Hay, who claims to have been the head man of the war tribe that ope- rated in western Yavapai and east ern MOhaye counties over thirty years ago, when questioned about varlOus white men who subdued them, answered readily when such familiar names as General Crook, Captain Byrnes, and Scouts Sieber, O'Leary, McCloud, Willard Rice and others were referred to. For Sieber he had disgust and laugh ingly limped in imitation of this fearless Indian fighter whose leg was shattered fewyears ago at San Carlos when he was fired upon. For Captain Byrnes, also, no regard was shown, which was not surprising, for this officer during his military career was terror to them and they know it. When Crooks name was heard he pointed far away, as much as to say he had gone to the happy hunting grounds"
 About the camp of these Indians everything that is filthy and in- decent is to be seen. Everything that creeps is devoured, while if an occasional deer or coyote is killed, there is corresponding rejoicing. They are evidently tired of reservs- tion life and as summer comes on them they move with the heated spell closer to where they can be in touch with active life, and reap the gains of communities that are more closely settled.
 One of the squaws of the party is very old, and as young buck said is too old to have many moons more. She is the third wife of one of the men, and lives in a wickiup by her self, ostracised and never permitted to enjoy any luxury that may come to the camp, except that which oc- casionally is given her by her so- called husband. The whole outfit are persistent beggars, and insist on sugar or anything that is sweet first last and all the time"
 They teem to view with much interest the cars on the s. F., P. & P. as they pass into and through Bells Canyon, former old time hotbed of Indian doings, and when the train passes out of sight, they seemed amused, pointing iD jeering manner at the steam horse as 1t enters the scenes clouded with the dark deeds of the days gone by.
 Nothing could be learned from these Indians where they were go- ing or how long they expected to remain. They are an interesting outfit, to say the least, and are made so from the fact that several of them again tread the ground that was never known to the pale face previous to them, and on the other hand they are among the scenes where many a sad and frightful death still carries the curse that time can never wipe from memory. -e- -
 @ WINDING AROUND.