Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1907-11-09
HOW INDIAN GIRL
WAS ADOPTED
BY BROOKS
interesting Story in Connection
With Trial That Will Come.
Up in Yayapai District Court.
ibis Fall.

Probably no case to come up at the
fall term of the Yayapai county dis
trict court will contain the human
interest, or smack of the romantic
and uncertain life of the early days
~ that mart 81 tho te,.rits,,.y- utha,1 hts.
tory was warm in the making, as will
the case OF Mrs. Bessie Brooks Edgar
adopted Indian daughter of the late
Hezekiah Brooks, who is suing for a
portion of the pioneers estate, says
the Journal-Miner.
In his effort to discover witnesses
who can testify to the standing OF the
Indian girl in the Brooks family, her
attorney. Leroy Anderson has found
the man who fired the shot which
Killed the squaw mother of Mrs. Ed
gar, and made possible her adoption
by the late MIR. Brooks.
This man is Ed d. Peck, well known
in Yayapat county, and in letter to
the attorney, he says:
Il first knew Hezekiah Brooks in
the latter part of 1868, or early in
1864. The first time / ever saw Bes-
sic Brooks (Mrs. EDGAR was on the
End of July, either in 1869, or 1870,
Just at sunset was guide and scout
for the government, then, and was
stationed at Fort Whipple. / was out
on a scout, after Indians, with Com
pany b, Eighth cavalry, Lieutenant
Curtis commanding. On that day we
found large band of Apache Mohaye
Indians camped in He'll canyon, and
attacked them Immediately. During
the engagement / got dismounted, and
when the cavalry made its charge OF
course / could not keep up on foot,
so remained in the camp the Indians
had just vacated.
After the troops had passed / saw
an Indian, as / supposed, in the brush
a short distance from me. 1t was
then getting dusk, but took good aim
and fired, and the Indian dropped.
1T was Bessie's mother, and Bes-
sic, then a little tot, got upon rock,
so / could see her above the brush,
and | went over and got her. 1t was
not until then that ! knew the Indian
had killed was a woman.
81 took the little papoose back with
me and took good care of it until |
turned if over to Mr.. and Mrs. HeZe-
kiah Brooks, which occurred on the
9Th of July, at their home, just south
of Prescott 1 had kept the child at
Fort Whipple from the 4th TO the 9th
of July for the purpose of coming TO
an understanding with the Brooks
concerning the little girl. The under
standing ] had with them was that
they should adopt the child as their
own. give her an education and make
her their heir-at-law | had always
supposed they had adopted her by law
until the death of Mrs. Brooks, and
after the marriage OF Bessie, when she
told me that Brooks had failed to
adopt her law.
Mr.. Pecks letter also throws some
interesting sidelights upon the early
life of other prominent Prescottites.
Speaking OF the exact date upon
which Mrs. Edgar's mother was killed
he says:
II believe you can ascertain the eX'
act date by applying to Judge p. W.
Wells of Prescott. Both himself and
wife were at a picnic at Point OF
Rocks on that Fourth of July, when
our scouting party returned. Lieuten'
ant Curtis and myself stopped to get
some refreshments, and it was there
that Mrs. Brooks first asked me Ia
give her the child