Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-09-16
FREQUENTLY SLIP A COG
Something About the Lurid and SEN
satiOnal Rubbish Wired from San
ia Fe to Eastern Papers.
FACTS CONTRASTED WITH FANCIES
Cold Facts Concerning the Mincing OF
Venerable Squaws at Zuni Pueblo
Back Number News-Late
Indiana Happening.

ne ho"ShiohHSi ~ D'''N
Fe frequently slips cog and wires stuff
to the greedy metropolitan press that ls
much more readable than reliable, and
the interests of Santa Fee and New Mex
leo are not thereby particularly pro-
NOTED.
For example, vast and almost hys'
terical ado has been made over the fact
that four troops of United States cavalry
have been ordered from Fort Wingate and
some post in Arizona to the Zuni Indian
pueblo, about 1874 miles southwest of
Santa Fe and about As miles west of Fort
Wipgate, in Valencia county. In connec-
ton with this announcement lurld and
blood curdling statements were wired to
the eager and yawnlng eastern papers
that the Zuni Indians were roasting and
eating old squaws, seasoned with pagan
| ish religious nominations, for dinner,
supper and breakfast, the famous yellow
legged chicken, 50 much cultivated and
sought after by the travelling Methodist
divine, being entirely left off from the
Zuni menu.
| The cold facts are that, in 1886, an old
squaw was minced up by Zuni medicine
men because she was charged with hav-
| ing bewitched and couuteracted the
medicines prescribed by the Bow priest
hood, Uncle Sam sent three troops OF
cavalry and two pieces of artillery to the
Zuni pueblo with imperative orders to
apprehend and bring to trial the male
factors. After this display of force,
1 IL I, l. of tba 1aaf
i've force of artillery when brought to
bear on adobe buildings, the Indian
charged with chopping up the venerable
squaw was surrendered, taken to Albu-
q uer ne, tried for murder and acquitted
because it was not clearly proved that the
squaw was dead.
Again, about six months ago, an old
so nav was brutally tortured by this same
Bow priesthood at Zuni because 1t was
alleged that she had interrupted their
cures. This squaw, after being subjected
to the most cruel treatment and being
hanged up in the plaza of the pueblo to
die, was rescued by Miss De Settle, teacher
of the Presbyterian mission school at
Zuni, and at last accounts she was still
living in spite of the fact that she Is sup
posed to be IS years old and wears the
name of "Maurorita."
But this is not news and the NEW MEX
loan hereby abjectly and humbly apollo
pizes for recurring to back number stuff
of this sort. Last year almanac revela
tions may be good enough to wire u
eastern papers, but they rarely find
place in these strictly uptodate columns
The facts concerning this alleged out
rage at the Zunl pueblo were snccinctl'
stated in these columns last February
and the authorities at Washington wer
earnestly urged to make an investigation
and adequately punish the culprlts
Captain j. L. Bulls, at that time Puebl
Indian agent, with headquarters in SAINT
Fe, pressed the matter before the India
bureau so long as he was in office, an
Captain G. e. Nordstrom immediatel
took the matter up as soon he assume
. the duties of agent as the successor c
Captain Bulls.
Finally the case has been reached b
the authorities in Washington, troop
have been ordered to theZuni pueblo t
assist the officers of Valencia county i
making arrests of the torturers of oil
''Maurorlts," and the rubbish is revampe
as news. Rats!
Since the subjec has again been thrus
before the public, the New MEx1oA
will repeat that the Luni pueblo Indian
probably number about 1,400, they al
not good Indians because they are nj
dead, they are pronounced scrub" Ii
/ diaus by the very best authorities, the
have unquestionably committed man
: murders and other outrages, and the go
eminent is certainly censurable for ha'
ing failed to visit severe punishment upo
them for their many misdeeds long befol
this. If few examples of the bad me
of the tribe had been held up on poles Sc
eral years ago and the festive an
pestiferous Zuni had been taught tn
there WAS power on earth superior
his wooden and stone gods, he would
better man today.
These happenings all relate to the will
and woody vest While the virtuous PEI
pie of the effete east are wondering,
they sip their Mocha and Java, with q
admixture of burnt brandy floating c
the surface, how it is possible that {
aged Zuni squaw could have been thu
cruelty tortured in New Mexico, perm
the New MEXICAN quietly to attract a
tention to the fact that five men we
= brutally lynched in Indiana yesterda
merely because they were presumed
have committed the crime of burglar
fsuch dreadful thing as this had ha
pened in New Mexico, the Santa Fe &C
respondent of eastern newspapers won
Y have torn his hair out by the roots wi
Joy and burnt up the wires with wei
and wrlthing words touching the awfu
ness of the event. But the five men we
lynched in virtuous Indiana and hen
even the late and not m uch lamented Or
n yer Cleveland will probably not menti
the affair in his next annual address b
fore the Presbyterians at Five Poin
Greater New York.
Captain g. E. Nordstrom, agent for t
Pueblos, left for the Zuni pueblo Ii