New-York tribune., 1896-05-24
INDTiN RUNNERS.
woXprRF11. FEATs or THE Ep-sKINNED MAIL.
CARRIERS

From The San Francisco Cal
Dr. Marc Leslnsston. Of this city, has had some
curious rxperl~nce- on the Western border. This
IS NOT generally known. for the Doctor during the
people. first as Coroner and afterwari IN politics.
and again in connection with one of the famous
Fair Wills. that i; has not been known that he
ever had anything to DO with the frontier.
However. he has been interested in mining both
in the northern and southern portions OF the STATE.
He owns the old Campbell mine. now better known
as the san Felipe mine. up the Colorado River
some distance from Yuma. IIe has been in
tcrested In the mine six or seven years. and at
different periods has spent two or three months
Il think the most remarkable thing in my ex-
pcricnce down there" said tho Doctor Yesterday,
was the extraordinary endurance which | wit
messed OF those Indians along the river. refer TO
the lumas. We used To employ them IN the mine.
"Nhy. have seen those great strapplng bar
barans take their shovels and press them down
into the rock with Just their hanis never using
their fect at all ana they would keep II up. 20
right along that way. The stransest thing about II
was the rock was 50 hari too Ihey might have
done it in the sand easy enough Anybody could
do that lily, but to work that way right in
and In the nature OF a revelation.
There is another thing that those Indians used
70 do that never saw equallcd. or heard Of its
being clualled. They used 10, when We wanted 10
send any Of them down the river for the mail to
times there would be twenty to thirty of them. and
they Just iunped in and no1ted down. Didn't seem
to bother 'nrm At all. Th-y didnt swim eemed
70 stay right in the current and foat. while It
They made the whole trip down. distance OF
twenty mile. In about three-quartes Of an hour.
1n"n tncN u start win the letters ana come bdCk
up and make the round trip inside OF two hours
tn" whole forty niles
THE Colorado River at the San Felipe Mine Is
about wide as the Sacramento Is at Sacramento
II Is a big sweeping stream with swift-rushing
CIrrent. How the Indians kept themselves up I
don't know. but they did II. That Is their way Of
going down to Yuma. or "A Saturday when they
would quit work every Indian We had would jump
into the river and float to Yuma.
The trip back Is no easy trip. either. good
deal OF it is up very rugged heights. They not
so high. though they difficult Of access The
Indians extremely useful in carrying ore. They
thought nothing OF putting upon their shoulders
without any help. 200-pound sack Of They
did the work OF horses and mules and could pack
like mules
But those Cocopah Indians down on the south
near the Cuff. far speed Is concerned don't
take second place with anything there is on the
Upper Colorado. In 1894 Senator Fair down
there. He was Interested in lot OF and-about
10000 acres-and he went down to see 1t and get
braccd up his health not being good. That Is a very
hot, dry climate. which makes 1t one OF the best
places for the cure Of consumption that know OF
Well. he used 10 utilize the Indians TO bring up
our mall from Yuma and such other things as he
stood in need OF from time TO time. The Cocopahs
are all giants. There are none OF them that
not six feet high, and there lots OF them that
are more than that-great big fellows The first
time Senator Fair saw these Indians running he was
Did you ever see anything like them? They went
with swinging run and kept 1t up all day In the
terribly dry heat.
The distance down to Yuma from our place
was called a hundred miles, in round figures but IL
vas about ninety-fve. The Indians would 20 down
one day and come back the next, and come back in
good sAape. too. and running right along. Didn't