Bisbee daily review., 1907-05-14
MUCH MARRIED THINK IN A
 JOKE
Jury Decides That EdmondS' Act Is Not intended for the Benefit of Apache Indians. Practical Polygamy.

A jury in the United States court at Phoenix decided this week that Quill am Talma. a Mohaye-Apache Indian, had not violated the Edmunds law. Quillam Talma and Dora Dorchester, an Indian of the same tribe, had been arrested to make 9 test case Of the ap- plicability of the law to Indians un- der the care of an Indian agent. Both
 of them had been indicted at the request of W. H. Gill, farmer and gen. eral overseer of the Indians at Camp
 Mcdowell and those of the smaller
 reservations in this vicinity. s
 The facts were that Quillam Talma had another wife, Cochita, a Yuma
 Apache, whom he had married accord
 ing to the tribal custom, but who had
 later at the request of the authoritiee
 been married to the same woman un- der a regulation of the Indian office,
 which has issued a simple form of l- cense consisting of nothing more than a declaration to be made in the pres ence of witnesses, setting forth that the parties to it will live together, pre-
 sumably forever. This license was
 JO anu HIS Wile.
 Latter they separated and she is
 now living at Mayer. Soon after, or
 immediately after, Quillam and Dora
 Dorchester began living together af-
 ter the informal manner of their tribe.
 A demurrer was offered to the in-
 dictment against the woman on the
 ground that not having been charged
 with fOrnication the indictment did not
 aver that she was an unmarried wo-
 man. The demurrer was opposed by
 United States Attorney Alexander on the theory that every person is sup posed to be unmarried unless there is proof of marriage. Singleness is the natural state he said, while marriage is an artificial state. The demurrer was sustained as to the woman and the trial of Quillam was taken up.
 It was plain from the outset that mo- thing serious was going to happen to Quillam. A considerable part of the jury seemed to regard the matter as a joke in sympathy with Dora Dorches- ter, who thought it was one of the funniest experiences of her career.
 The first witness was MT Gill, who said that after Quillam had separted from his wife and had taken up with Dora Dorchester, he remonstrated with | him and nally Quillam came and acted 1 as if he had repented. He said, Adam l like, that the woman had tempted him. | When Mir. Gill made this statement | Dora Dorchester turned on Quillam a | scOrnful look. Her anger soon passed 1 away and she resumed her light and | airy manner.
 Mir. Gill said that QuilIam asked him l what would be done with him for this 1 violation of the new conventionalities which had been established by the MT. Gill replied that he would have to be punished. MT. Hayes, for the defense, inquired I what punishment was usually inflicted in such cases. Mir. Gill replied that it was his practice to compel the cul- | brit to work hard for a time without 1 pay.
 MT. Goodman testified as to the gov ernment's efforts to instiIl new ideas | of morality among the Indians. Dora N0rchoster made good witness for l the defense. Dora Dorchester, she said l was her school name. She had been l at school in Colorado and had learned | to speak English fiuently and even | pleasingly. She said that she had been | according to the tribal GUS tom, but that she had separated from | her husband. It was the custom she 1 said for an Apache married couple ' who could not live happily, to agree to !, live apart. Quillam had so separated | from his wife and then she and Quil- | lam, who had learned to love each oth- ! er. also married after the manner of 1 their fathers.
 Quillam himself took the stand and . talked through an interpreter. He de- scribed the first maTriage of himself [ and his first wife, and then the second by means of the piece of pap CT Then they separated and together they went to MT. Gill and told him that they could not agree. They were told that they could not separate that way at will, and Quillam learned for the first time that the white mans In- | dian marriage plan made no arrange ment for a divorce. They separated 4 anyhow and here were the conse- Quences.
 In the arguments before the jury, Mir. Hayes made considerable of the ! that Mir Gill had stated that 1t was the practice to punish the [ Indians for the thing that the govern ! ment was now proposing to punish ! Quillam- He also said that if this case should be allowed to stand, all i the Indian children on the reservation 1 would be bastardized
 In his instructions, Judge Kent had stated that the marriage of Quillam and his first wife would be considered as valid The thing to- be discussed by the attorneys and to be considered, bv the jury wee whether. tho d'vorce had been regular and according to custom. The jury evidently believed Y wee. since Qnillam was promptly ac- quilted. as as4.a@.l.4.aaa-aIxaAnAHA HA