Amador ledger., 1900-07-13
PIMA indians Starving
It Is Because Of the Lack Of
Water.
THOUSANDS PERISHIAG ON GIlA RESERVATION
Great Famine at Home That Needs
the Attention of the Ameri.
can People,

lnolans starving TO DEATH" le the
heading of Phoenix special" to the
Chicago Tribune, the text of which is
as follows: ''Six thousand Indians are
starving to death on the Gila Reserva-
tion, according to S. NJ. MCGOWAN, su-
perintendent of the Indian Industrial
School of Phoenix. His statement
paints most.deplorable picture of con-
dittons existing among tribes that have
never been contaminated by white
blood. -
Superintendent McGowan said that
he found twenty helpless adults in one
miserable shack, that would, under
ordinary circumstances, accommodate
three persons. Congress has appropri-
ated $50, 900, but no method of distrib.
uting the money was stipulated, hence
it is tied up, while the wards OF the
Government are starving to death"
This statement Of the friendly and in
dustrious Pimas is old news to the west
ern readers, aud the case is one of the
most shameful and outrageous instances
OF neglect and betrayal On the part of
the United States OF an ally, worthy
and true.
That 6, 900 Pima Indians, always the
consistent and active friends of the
white man, should be reduced from a
condition Of wealth and great prosper
ity to actual starvation through the
neglect OF the federal government
while the adjacent Apaches, always the
white mans foes and causing more
trouble, pillage and loss OF life than any
western tribe, should be today sleek
aid well-fed at the hands of the same
government, seems a rewarding Of
enemies and killing Of friends.
For hundreds of years the Pimas
lived in plenty, irrigating their fields
from the waters of the Gila until the
white man came and diverted its waters
onto other areas. AT the time OF the
Gadsden Purchase, Lieutenant Michler
of the Boundary Commission said of
these Indians in his official report,
dated way back in 1856:
Besides being great warriors they
are good husbandmen and farmers and
work laboriously in the field. They are
owners of fine horses and mules, fat
oxen and mich COWS, pigs and poultry
and are wealthy class of Indians. The
Pimas consider themselves regular de-
scendants Of the Aztecs. AS we journ-
eyed along the valley we found lands
fenced and irrigated and rich fields of
wheat ripening for the harvest view
differing from anything we had seen
since leaving the Atlantic States. They
grow cotton, sugar, peas wheat and
corn. AS l sat upon rock" contin-
ues Lieutenant Michler, ''admiring the
scene, an old gray-headed Pimas took
pleasure in pointing out the extent of
their domain. They were anxious to
know if their rights and titles to their
lands would be respected by our gov
ertment, upon learning that their
country had become part of the United
States. !"
The old mans anxiety was but too
we'll founded, and could he contrast
now the wealth and prosperity of his
tribe before the westward sweep OF
civilization with its present destitution
and decay, he would have cause to rise
in vengeance and demand that this
great government adopt course OF
common decency.
There are many people in the East
ern States who have cried out against
the injustice meted out to the poor In
dian. Their sympathy has usually
been misplaced and wasted upon saw
age, treacherous and relentless foe OF
the white man. But here now is q
worthy cause mono wOrthier ever
lived; to right wrong; to give to q
good people that of which they have
been wrongfully despoiled through the
criminal carelessness of the govern
ment. And the solution of the prob.
lem is SO easy, so simple. The waters
of the Gila are ample to supply the
needs of the starving Pimas and many
Others, only they largely run to waste
during food times. The government
reports and surveys show that the
HD.S:ading DSsid Of great dam on the Gila
would store up enoS,sS water 70 lrri'
gate thousands of acres of as fertl,.
land as the sun shines upon.
Cannot some of our friends who have
anon professed such interest in the
poor red man come to his assistance
now and see that he may be accorded
simple justice? The cause is worthy;
the means are at hand; the interest
alone is lacking.
POLITICS IN IRRIGATION.
The question of the reclamation OF
the arid lands by the government has
become so vital that many of the State
political platforms in the arid region
have declared in favor of such policy
while at Philadelphia the national plat.
form OF the Republicans contained the
following plank. eve recommend ad-
equate national legislation to reclaim
the arid lands of the United States,
reseryiuO control NJ tho dict rtr;h,,+;o, 80