The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1896-10-04
COS ANGELES SUNDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 1880.

ing 10 her plan, maintained his usual
stolid countenance. He lacked the posi-
tive, force Of his mother and his view of
the matter seemed rather the reflection
of hers than an indication Of any per-
sonal interest Of his own. Only the I'M
measured fury Of Cemika's mood could
have reused him to action; without that
spur he would have considered the mat
ter too trivial to notice.
Upon arriving at the hut Jose leaned
his shovel against the outside wall and
lay down to await Cemika's instruc-
TONS The old squaw stole silently into
the hut.
Vera was lying in her corner, notion
less as before; Sortillon curled up in his
saddle blanket with his mail bag for a
pillow. slept heavily. The dim hight
from the Goals family outlined their fig
The old bag went straight to Wera's
side. and without arousing her took the
sleeping child from her. The infant
which had been folded within the gar
ments of its mother was now wholly
without covering. The warmth of its
small body seemed to carry an appeal
for protection, even to Cemikas harden
ed sensibilities. With a hurried glRnce
for something with which to cover it, she
spied red bandana handkerchief which
was knotted aronud the neck Of the
sleeping mail carrier. Her hand, prac-
ticed In much small thievery, deftly I'M
loosened it and hastily slipped it from
under his head, then Weighing the CEN
ter OF the handkerchief with the child,
she tied the four corners over 1t and
swinging it along as though it were
some common bundle, she noiselessly
left the hut.
Bringing Jose to his feet with kick
she preceded him into the brush. When
they had gone far enough from the hut
IN nc eI4 tn,
dicated by gesture small depression
in the ground. Jose understood and i'm
mediately fell to his task. In short time
his shovel had deepened it to depth of
foot or. more. The clearing was too
small to hold them both, and Jose SHOW
ing aside the brush stepped back to make
way for his mother. But an instant suf
feed for the old squaw to drop the bum
die into the hole. Contact with the cold
ground brought forth but one complain
ing wall from the child, for Jose's ready
shovel stifled all further sound. In few
moments only the freshness Of the soil
marked the grave of the victim of Ce-
mika's latest act OF cruelty.
The putting away of undesired half
breed children had not been uncommon
among the Mohaves in the past, and
in this instance excited no comment
among them. 1t was but q short time
after this, however, that Sort.llon ceased
his visits to Vera. The consequent de-
pletion Of the family supplies had two
results. 1t moved Jose to take unto
himeslf squaw skilled in the manu-
facture Of cheap Indian curios. On the
part of Cemika it rekindled her wrath
against Sortillon, and her complaints
to members of the tribe occasioned
powwow, echoes of which soon reached
the ears of the storekeeper at the reser-
walton.
The old squaw, upon being questioned,
freely admitted that she had committed
the act, but claimed that she had but
obeyed, through fear, the orders of Sor-
tillon. Thus she sought to satisfy her
desire for revenge upon the mail-car-
rier by saddling him with what she now
learned was crime among the whites.
The tale was carried to Yuma by the
store keeper, and visit of the sheriff
to the scene of the incident soon fol-
lowed. Guided by the intimidated Jose,
the officer visited the little grave and
brought away, tightly sealed in q lard
can, few bones-all that was left of
the murdered child.
The finding of Sortiilon's handker-
chief in the grave seemed to give color
to Cemika's story, and resulted in his
immediate arrest. The free confessions
OF Jose and Cemika naturally led to
their arrest as we'll, and the three pris-
oners, together with Vera as a witness,
were taken back to Yuma by the sher-
iff. Cemika, the arch fiend, failed to re-
ceive any punishment as gallant
grand jury of Yuma county declined to
slnddct sher, partly on account of her
sex and partly, as some of the jury
claimed, because her lack of culture.
the result of her long life without the
pale of civilization, prevented her from
being able to recognize the enormity OF
her crime.
This lattersconsideration failed to Sc
cure immunity for Jose, though the
trial jury that judged him, ''fitting one
| farce of justice to another" found him
guilty Of simple "manslaughter," C)
and his punichment vas two years i'm
| prisonment.
AS for sortillon, after two trials in
| the United States court at Phoenix, he
was discharged as the result of royal
battle over legal technicalities.
| Truly, the life of an Indian baby
seemed not to have much place in the
| economy of our frontier civilization.