Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-08-17
THE PAPAGOS.
The Condition of These Indians as Set Forth in Farmer Berger's Re- pert to Indian Agent Young.
 At Sacaton Agency.


 The following report of Farmer Berg CT give pretty fair insight into the con- dition of the Pspago Indians on the San Xavier reservation. The report is nearly @ year old but as Indians change but little for betIeF or worse in so short @ time their condition in 1894 nay be fair ly we'll accepted as existing conditions today. We publish this report for the reason that attempts have recently been made to stir up an Ill feeling against them on the charges of lawlessness and theft.
 Pima Agency, Arizona, San Xavier res-
 ervatIon, August 2o, 1851.
 Sr:-I respectfully beg to submit the | following annual report of the status of this reservation for the fiscal year end ing June 30th, 1891.
 | The San XavIer Papage Indian reser- vation is situated about nine miles south of the city of Tucson, in the county of { Pima, of this territory. 1t was set apart as a reservation by an executive order in 1874, and approved by an act of con | | tion is Tucson on the Southern Pacific railway.
 In 1890 I1,600 acres of this reserva- ton were allotted to 29l Papsgo Indians. | Including T wives who did not receive | any land, making total of 368). Each head of a family was spportioned 20 ! acres of good farming land and from 5O | to So acres of timber land. The oaly | hnr nn Ia the so-called mesquite, (Bot. PrOsopis julitiOral. The balance of the allotted land, us well as the residue of the reser- l vatiOn, (27 GOO acres), consists of so-csll- ed mesa or table laod of very little or no value, and unfit for allotment. Neither wh tes nor Indians would be able to make living upon such land. There- fore the general opinion which seems to prevail. that there Is still enough unal- iOtted lard upon this reservation on which 8 large number of Indians could be settled, ia Incorrect.
 All the farm land and also the greater part of the timber lEnd is enclosed bY 8 very substantial wire fence of from four to five wires Many of the Indians have fenced In their own parcels of farming land separately, some with brush, others
 
 The last census shows the following population:
 Males Females Tot. PaDaEo allottees. ..l76 lS2 359 None allOttes ....... 69 65 134
 Grand total. 245 2i7 492 Thereof are children
 Of school age from 6
 to l6 years @ 6S 130
 This census which l have taken very accurately shows an increase of the al lottees of three ID number over last year (355), but stlll decrease of five as com pared with tue census of 1890, when the allotment was made, which then showed 363.
 About three fourths of the Indians are christianized and belong without exception to the Catholic church. Mass IS held every two weeks in the old ms sion church by a Catholic priest and is attended regularly by the Papsgos. Six teen children have been baptized and nine couples married in accordance with Catholic rites during the past year. The day school conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph has continued to be great benefit for these Indians. The number of children attending school has ln- creased during the past year; 2O boys and B girls are enrolled now with an average attendance of l7 boys and 26 girls. The larger girls receive instruc- tion from the Sisters in sewing and dress making. On last Christmas day the lat ter arranged q very nice school exhibi- ton which l have reason to believe tended greatly to encourage parents and children alike. These sisters have ac- comphshed a great deal of good in many ways. With the assistance of my new policeman, who is an educated h. dian from the Albuquerque school, hope to bring q greater number of chil- drrn to school. There are two classes of Indians on this reservation, different each from the other in habits and customs, each hay ing its own chief. One class consists of those who, as we'll as their ancestors, have always lived upon thIs reservation; they are better class of Indians, more advanced n civilization, live in better houses, are more honest and generally more amensble to good advice than the others. They send their children to school. The other class consists of those who have immigrated gradually from Indian villages in southern Ariz- ona; they are of more rowing habit and nomadic disposition, living for the most part in huts or wigwams. They are as a rule opposed to civilization in any manner and will not send theIr children to school. The disturbing element and the few malconteDts belong always to this class. They desire to ignore the word 'obey" and appeal to the agent only when through their perverslty they fiud themselves in trouble. All this does not tend to improve the habits of the better class, but fortunately there are comparatively few of these malcon tents.
 All the Indians oa this reservation dress in the manner of civilized persons, and about 8ll the women's and child ren's clothing is made by the wives and larger girls. These good results have been brought about by the continuous efforts of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Mrs. Berger. A distribution of a few sewing machines among the young wives and intelligent girls would be great benefit to these Indians.
 Mrs. Berger may be said to be the physician of the Indians, The agency physician is about 90 miles distant and far beyond the reach of our sick h. dians. Mrs. Berger having s very fair knowledge of the herbs and plants from long experience, administers to the ills of the sick people with great Success, making also use of the medicines fur nished by the agency, and the state of tbe IndIans' health may therefore be called quite satisfactory.
 h regard to farmining I must say that the mast Vaar Uaa not prosperous; the want Cf tools and seeds made itself very much felt. The Indians could not plant as large an area as they usually did and many of them planted very late, a circumstance which pre- cludes good results. In this connection I would refer you to part of my quarter ! l.