The San Francisco call., 1897-12-12

I to make fight. In 1893, Robinson, Logan,
Clark, Charles CoweIl and an unknown
man went from Yuma 10 Tiburon in a
boat. The two first named gentlemen
were much impressed by the gentle dis
positions of the Indians and went off on
a hunting trip with them. The Indians
borrowed the rifles of the hunters and shot
l. gan and Robinson to death.
| In 1894 Professor Magee of the Smith
sonlan Institution went out with Mitchell,
Johnson Millard, Manuel Encinas and
! five Papagos. They built a small boat
and five of the party were landed and
| when the boat was returning for the re-
mainder of the party it was swept out TO
sea and not brought back for four days.
! When the boat was got back Professor
! Magee was taken over, but by that time
! grub had run short, so the Professor cap
! tured a boat and some utensils of the In
dians and went his way. He did not see
! an Indian. Some years ago General An
J drade, with twenty men, went to the
island ana surveyed it. He failed to
catch sight of the Seris, but the Govern
ment rewarded his services by giving him
a patent TO 159, 900 acres of the island, out
of total of 237. .000 and he holds that
patent to-day, together with a concession
to all the mineral he can find on any part
of the island.
There has existed an opinion that i'm
mense gold deposits were to be found on
Tiburon Island. This has been proved to
be erroneous.
Some years ago a Mexican named
Amago, who owned an interest in the San
Juan mine in Lower California, deter
Z a.
He disguised himself as a priest and was
duly escorted to the Tiburon and properly
introduced il his holy capacity by Seri
{ Indian who was working al The Encinas
ranch. The Indians received him with
all respect and veneration, for the Seris
have all pretended to EN- brace the Cath
ohc religion. Amago remained on the
island for thirty days, during which time
he married the Indians baptized their
children and industriously prospected
their island. He found copper and traces
of silver but not a particle of gold, and he
is pre- pared to swear that Tburon Island
is q good place for prospectors TO keep
away from.
In 1880, when Luis E. Torres was Gov
ernor of Sonora, he rounded UP all Of the
Seri Indians and establi,Ee them on
lands near the city of Hermosillo, with
the idea of civilizing them. They were
| lazy and stupid and lnsuffera bly, degraded,
and did not make much headway as
farmers
One morning Governor Torres awoKe to
find that every Indian h ad decamped dur
ing the night and fed to their beloved
island and the mainland ed jacent thereto.
During the time the Indians were at
Hermos lilo Tiburon was overrun by prac-
ticed prospectors and no FL Dorado was
discovered. O'her parties of experienced
prospectors have visited the island at dit
ferent times and il may be stated as fact
that il has been examined from one end to
the other without a trace of gold being
found.
The Indians have never been seen in
possession OF any gold or silver. Bands of
the Seris formerly came to Hermosillo to
sell alcatraz skins but a party of ten who
came 10 the city after the Robinson and
Logan affair were never heard OF after
ward. The Mexican Government captured
them and sent them into the interior of
Colima and since then the Serls have
given the cities OF Sonora wide berth.
Some TWO years ago Colonel John Brad
bury and others seriously contemplate ted
organizing an expedition Tor the conquest
of Tiburon, but the true Dature OF both
the Seri Indians and the island being re-