Durango semi-weekly herald., 1903-01-01
$3.50 PER ANNuM.

cation fund for the relief of the Nav.
ajo Indians In Arizona, who want to
work. but have been rendered almost
destitute by several successive crop
failures.
Several hundred of these Nayaios
live on a tract of land embracing
some twenty townships in southwest
Arizona that was Withdrawn from
settlement for their benefit several
years ago. They are sheep raisers
aud manufacture their wool into ia
nous Navajo blankets The white
men 5 tiled on the valleys west of the
Indians and refused to allow their
| herds to run to the river As a result
hundreds of fine sheep belonging to
the tribe died of thirst.
| The Indians. who have delegation
| in Washington, state that they do not
want rations issued to them. They
ouly ask that they be given water for
| their herds and thci. farms They
| have presented plans which show that
an expenditure of about $1,000 for the
construction of an irrigation ditch
from the Little Colorado river will
herds and for irrigating several thous-
and acres Of farm lands Commls-
sioner Jones has recommended the ap-
preparation and viii also recommend
the work of building the bitches shall
be performed by the Indians. the gov
ernment furnishing them with plows,
scrapers and tools for the work. It
is expected that the secretary of the
interior will approve the recommenda.
tlons of the commissioner
WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec. 30
one of the serious questions now dis
turbing the officers Of the army is the
color OF the strip on the trousers Of
the infantry officers, under the plans
and specifications for the new army
uniform. The trouble all arose over
the premature publication last July of
the details for the new uniforms
agresd upon by an army board. The
first board that had the matter under
discussion decided upon robin's-egg
blue for the stripe, Influential army
officers protested, insisting that the
traditional white stripe should be
maintained, and the second board. ap-
pointed to revise the uniform. has
been unable to agree.
The board gave the arguments ju-
dicial and almost prayerful considera-
ticn. but could not come to decision.
The strong argument used against the
adoption of robin's-egg blue for the
stripes was that the color could not
form pleasing contrast to the regu-
lar army blue. The reply to this that
IA considerable proportion of the peo-
| pie are color blind, anyway. and the
| rest OF them are deficient In artistic
| sense. did not have convincing weight
with the board, and the Question was
passed on to higher author es for de.
cision. 1t has been referTd to the
secretary of war and mayxanally he
taken up to the president Army off,
GERS are troubled over the question.
but the real terror reigns in the camp
of the army tailors, who have I'm.
| ported thousands Of dollars worth of
| robin's-egg blue. which could not be
| obtained in this country and may now
be useless for decorating the trouser
legs OF the nations fighters.
| In addition to the dissatisfaction OF
the infantry officers over the blue
stripe proposition, the army chaplains
are Indignant because they have not
| been given a more military looking
uniform. Some of the chaplains
wanted specially designed caps and
asked that gold lace be placed upon
their sleeves. and that their saddle
cloths contain an insignia of their
calling, but these suggestions have
been largely ignored and the chap
Iains are to remain chaplains in ap-
pearance as well as in fact and will
retain their black clerical garb.
OURAY, Colo. Dec. 30.-The body
of Hopkins, who cimmitted suicide,
was taken in charge by the Ouray
Miners union and shipped to the Sill
verton Miners union yesterday after
noon.