The Washington times., 1895-04-07
THE PIMA INDIANS.
They Are Farmers and Have Never Shed a
White Mans Blood.

Mention which I have seen somewhere
lately OF my friend Antonito, the Pima
chief. who was educated at Hampton :nsti-
tute in Virginia. reminds me or my long &C
quaintance with his grandfather, An
tonic AZuI. whom met first at the Pima
villages in Arizona in 1884, says a writer
IN Kate Fields Washington He wasa very
good man. AntonitO's father, Antonio
was always a good friend ofmine. too. We
were together in San Francisco in 1se4.
when l was superintendent OF Indian at
fairs under President Lincoln We made
the journey together from san Francisco
10 the Pima villages. Ross Brown was
with US and wrote an account OF the trip.
Archbishop Allemany. in California. asked
me TO take couple or priests alo1g-
ather BoScO and Father Messia one an
Italian and the other a Frenchmau- They
preached at Pima and told the In,sians
all about God
Then we went on TO Tucson and esfab-
lished the Jesuit priests in the old mission
OF San Xavier del Bac. which they Tad
founded 100 years before.
II was strange scene when the caval-
cade entered the Old courtyard OfthemissiOR
Jose YictOTianO SolOrse, the chief of tie
PapagOs, had had the old church edifice
cleaned and ornsmented and as soon as
we came in sight the Papagos began firing
rockets and ringing bells in rejoicing They
were branch OF the Pima tribe and We Ie
called PapagOS from PapCOnia meaning
baptized" or Christ ianizst -
The PHlaS are a very remarkable tribe
or Indians. and / have never known OF
their shedding white mans blood Trey
were earning their own living by ag-iouI-
tuTe when the Spaniards first came among
them in 1912
The C.OVerpTuauf of ha T-nffaJ
feeds, clothes and arms the Apache scoun-
drels 10 murder ami rob its citizens, Tut
leaves the Pimas To shift for themselves
This is not right The Apaches have
robbed the SpaniaTCis, Mexieans and Amer
leans for 500 years, but the PlmaS have
never robbed anybody
can remember when the emigranss To
California would have starved on the
journey but for the grain and vegetables
the PImas had raised, and I have MANY
times known the Pimas To give food 20
emigrants who had no money OF anything
else 10 pay wiih. / myself have slept
as safely in the Pima villages as CO lid in
Washington, and when We went out against
the Apaches the Pimas never ran awG "
That recalls TO mind a curious custom
when we returned from a camDaicu II
the Pimas had killed any Apaches they
painted themselves black ard absfain-d
from going to their homes, but il they
white and entered into the Joys Of matri-
muny.
The Pimas have many Jewish customs
especially ia dealing with women Where
they obtained them puzzles me to guess
Their worship OF the sun IS an equally IL
soluble mystery. Where did they learn
tbat2
Then their practice OF swapping wives
in place OF getting a divorce is an oddlty
To the unintiated. / had Pima sergeant
named Louis He was a fine fellow, nd
dressed him In uniform and gave him
big sword and put him on guard as a
sentinel.
One day, after Siesta, I went out and
found Louis walking about with his am
around another Indian, Pima fashion. I
asked him:
who is tbat2"
That is my brother In-Iaw," he re-
piled.
did you marry his sister,"
"No."
Did he marry Your sister,"
''NO."
Then how in the name OF common
sense is he your brotherin-law?''
He married my wife,
1t turned out that they had amicabIy
exchanged partners
What a commentary on the wastefui
process OF divorce as we know IL!