Arizona republican., 1905-01-31
PHOENIX. ARIz.. JANUARY, S1, 1905
The Civil War i'm Sonora.

the Yaqui Indians in Sonora has reach
 ed a stage which conpels attention.
 Until recently Americans have taken
 little interest in the troubles between
 the Mexican government and the Va
 quis. for the reason that the Indians
 have refrained from molesting Ameri-
 cans Prospectors and mine operators
 from Arizona and from various parts
 of the United States have gone to and
 fro, singly or in parties, without dan
 ger or fear of danger. In a general
 way they have known that a snip
 ping war was being carried on against
 the Mexicans by the Yaquis, but they
 knew there was no truth in the ire
 Quently reported battles" The hostile
 Yaquis went about in small parties,
 murdering Mexican ranchmen and
 cowboys, here and there, occasionally
 having a brush with a small detach-
 ment of Mexican soldiers, but for long
 intervals there would be quiet. For
 several years the Yaquis have been in
 the habit of assuring Americans that
 they entertained no hostile feeling to- ward people from the United States.
 But for several months there have been evidences of a change in the tra-
 ditiOnal attitude of the Yaquis toward
 Americans The murder last week of four American mining men makes 1t plain that hereafter our people will be no safer than Mexicans in the south ern half of Sonora.
 In the last issue of the Weekly Oasis of NOgales Colonel Allen T. Bird, the editor, gives an intelligent review of the situation in Sonora. Colonel Bird travels extensively through the state on mining business, and is better quail flied than any other citizen of the United States to describe present con ditions. He knows the country, It's in habitants and it's officials thoroughly, and is on intimate terms with the state authorities. More than anybody else. perhaps, he has influenced the in vestment of American capital in So- nora. He has always deprecated the efforts of yellow newspapers to create | ''Yaqui war scares, but he has to ad- init, at last, that the situation is ex- tremely grave.
 He states, in fact, that through much | of the state there is civil war. Busi- l ness is paralyzed. Traffic between the | outlying towns and mining camps has | been suspended, and prOsPectOrs do not ! dare to venture forth. Although the | number of Yaquis openly on the war | path is comparatively small. they have | the sympathy of the entire tribe, which | comprises 2OOOO men. While a few l hundred are carrying on war, the re- mafnder furnish them with arms and | provisions. The Yaquis are the best | laborers in Sonora, and they find em- plOyment in the mines and on the large | ranches. Many of them are employed | in Arizona. There is a constant inter change between the "bronCos' Chostile) | and the "mancitos'' Cpeaceable). Af- ter fighting a while a"bronco" will go to work, and a 'mancito" will take his place in the field. Rifles and cartridges are smuggIed across the line from Arl- zUna. and command fancy prices. The Mexican authorities encounter great difficulty in dinerentiating between the really peaceabIe Yaquis and those who are taking an active part in the war It is a frequent occurrence Colonel Bird says, for a group of Yaqui labor CTS to be rounded up and marched into Hermosillo the capital, for interroga- ton by the governor After they are questioned some of them are executed and the others are liberated.
 It appears. indeed, that the activities Of the government are directed chiefly to this ferreting process. There ap- pears to be no well organized campaign against the Yaquis who are openly un- der arms. Detachments of troops SCOUT the country and bring in the laborers for execution, but they fail to meet the war parties. It seems fair to infer that the Mexican soldiers are not anxious to find the fighting Yaquis. It is obvious that these methods will never suppress the rebellion. l
 The ancestral home of the Yaquis is ( the valley of the Yaqui river, one of ( the richest agricultural regions in 1 Mexico. They never submitted to eith- CT the Spaniards or the Mexicans. They , are not wild savages, like the Apaches { or other Indians with which Americans have been familiar, but are an inteli- { gent, naturally peaceful people. In T integrity and industry they { are far superior to the Mexican peon. t If permitted to retain control of the ! valley. they would readily make peace } with the Mexican government. But the government refuses to concedeI s