Arizona weekly citizen., 1896-03-14
STORY AND LEGEND
Of the Pima Indians.-The Com
ing Among Them of the Jes-
nit Fathers.
The Destruction OF Casa Grande and
the Wars With tho Apsches
Graphically Told.
Continued from yesterday.

At this point of the tale, the old blind
hi torian hesitsted, aud, after regaling
himself with a cigarette, commenced
and said:
My people. the Pimas, whom you see
around you, had great weakness Of
mind, and placed their fate with their
familiar spirit TAs, the Sun God, be who
gave light and life to everything. But
at the time and after the coming Of the
stranger ctei', the Jesuit fathers, their
minds did change, as you will see by
paying attention to what am about to
relate.
On the fourth day after the arrival of
the strangers at Wake Chiefs house),
now the Casa Grsnde ruin, never in the
memory of the oldest Indian at that
time living, had there been seen 80 great
multitude of people. They came from
ali the dIffere t:villaRes On the Oo-N1c-
ACK-KA-MAL. (Sal: river) and from the
villages called JUvE-oUA-A-TAM-KaE e, 1.-THE
rabbit eater now known as Santa Rosa.
The fourth day had been appointed as
the great feast day.
90 the day preceding the chief of the
strangers, had all the Pimas called to-
gether, and aid to them: "When the
sun goes down this evening, 60 ye all,
both young and old, make haste to your
bitches or river, enter and wash your
oooIes clean from the head to their feet,
for on the morrow you all shall see and
know tue chief of cbefe, tho one who
made the earth and sky, and every liv-
ing thing"
Night came on, but no eye was closed
in sleep, but nevertheless everyone felt
happy and delighted. At last day COM
menced to dawn and all at once there ap-
peared great commotion in and around
the camp of the strangers, fer during
the night the strange chief, 81 esult
father who had been a signed to room
n the third story Of Wake, was gone
and his disappearance was known only
to the chief men of the Pima tribe. The
poor Indian had his doubts aroused and
the different villages accused each other
Of contiscating the strange chief. The
friction increased and tee results might
nave been serious, but for the timely ar
rival OF the interpreter, who stated that
no injury whatever had happened to the
strange chief and that in few moments
be would appear. They did not have
lOLg to wait for just then there sppe ar
I'd an object coming out of the opening
on the second story Of the building tn at
-hone so brightly In the sun light that
the eye OF the IndiBn became dim. Fol-
lowing the bright object were others
robed In white. Not a word was utter
ed, not sound could be heard till the
golden, shining, living object had reach
ed the ground. at that moment all the
people Frustrated themselves wi a
loud and long sounding groan, before
the strange chief whom they all recog-
multitude still lay Frustrated, the
strange chief vent among them and
sprinkled water over their bodies out of
a small shining vessel.
The r"be of the strange chief u8s
made Of swsM-vINUM. yellow iron, cop
per or gnld) his shors were also made of
vic bntbC hiIcE tu6 cpTiDhIIDR
or baptism, be told them to arise up, but
to stand perfectly stll and hear what he
lad To tell them. The strange chief
(the j suit fatt er; it could have been no
other person) told them Of the great
sp'rit-the God above Gods-tbe one
whom they should hereafter worship
He told them about life and death and
how after death good people would be
united in another world, world more
beautiful than this, with their families
an friends. In 1871 VIM. Bichard, John
ID. Walker and myself saw at the old
Casa Grande ruin the very same per-
form nee as the old blind Indiau relat
I'd. When | saw it the strange chief
Was represented by an old Indian named
SIAM MAsS-KURLEY, dirty old man) tie
lnd hLs did not PROSTATE themselves,
but be sprinkled them with water from
a small gourd, decorated Nth paint and
feathers. He him elf was robed in cheap
white cotton stuff, covered with tinsel,
ribbon, etc.
The old blind Indian said the strange
white chief stayed with them thirty
days and while with them taught them,
the people, to call him OAK Gather He
told them that another great father and
a numerous people, just like him, would
come from the east and to be always
kind to them, for they would do the In
dams no harm.
At this point the great father depart |
ed on bis journey 10 the west and never
returned. A great number of the Pimas
accompanied him as far as YUMA, (where |
the rivers meet
Later other Jseuit fathers came and |
these were followed by two white men |
who came and lived with the indians |
for over a year. Each carried q vINUM |
MA-KA TIA (gup). The first the Indians |
had ever seen, and put great fear IN |
their heart. Then for a great many |
years the Apaches kept on harrasing |
the Pima till about the year 1850 or
1870, when the ADaches came down /
upon them in great force. The Pima
fought them, around the Wake, casa |
Grande) for five days till at length the
Plmss were forced to retreat, being out |
numbered. The building was nearly
full of mesquite beans, which bad been
stored there by the PImas. just as
soon as the Apaches got possession of
the build nR they set il on FIRE. This
made the P,mas very angry and they
called for help from villages at other
points some distance away and finally
they effected a victory over the Apaches
and they drove them back to the noun
tains.
My reason for stating the probable
destruction of Wake is that the old,
blind Indisn remem bered, that when a
boy, he accompanied his father TO what
is now known as the Casa Grande woods
b pick mesquite beans and that he was
often in the building. that the building
was three story and a half IN height,
with good cement roof, which the
Pimas used to renew each year, or when
necessary. / also knew an Indian
woman, who lived at Sacaton "a late ss
1874, whom all the Pimas called VEKoL,
grand mOther). She was known to be
over ITO years old. She saw the roof on
he old building when she was about
II ears OF age.
r