Bisbee daily review., 1908-11-07

men who had to battle for their lives
that the only good Indian was dead
Indian" seemed to threaten to become
automatic, and yet with the years
there has come a change. 1t has come
about so subtly. and perhaps SO nat
urally. that 1t has hardly been no
ticed. but it is here Just the same.
and 10. the poor Indian. has gone TO
work. says an exchange.
The change in the manner and hab-
its of the Indian has been investigat-
ed by the Rev. William ]. Harsha.
who sets forth some interesting facts
on the matter in the current issue
of the Southern workman. Much
progress has been made in the indus
trial education of the Indian, so that
he is able TO indulge In profitable
work, and the government gives him
the employment.
According to the government re-
ports which DR.. Harsha has verified
by personal investigation. the Indian
Is now being prcftably employed on
the farms. ranches. and irrigation pro
iects OF the country. and during the
summer over 5000 indians have been
engaged in various lines of work in
the west and southwest. In the Col
orado beet fields 500 of them have
found employment. In New Mexico
the Santa Fe railroad is using 400
Indians in railroad construction work.
To protect the railroad from flood
OF the Colorado river, 100 Indians
were employed, who drew In wages
over 100000 In few months. In
Colorado and Arizona, in the canta-
loupe fields. most Of the work is be-
ing performed by Indians. and the
ranchmen of the west prefer the In
dian herders to all others. Then, in
various sections Of the country, the
Indian is taking up and working sue
cessfully farming land, and in the
White Barth reservation In Minneso-
ia over 5000 allotments have been
taken up by the IpSians.
Irrigation work IN the west seems
TO be particularly inviting to the In
dian. and this is, perhaps. because
bit by bit they have been forced farth-
er backward, until now many of them
are located in those arid regions that
without water are quite hopeless. IT.
rigstion is making these lands of the
Indian bloom as they have never
blooned before, and the government
is taking especial care that in a coun-
try where water is so valuable, the
Indian is protected in his water
rights. The result of the justice with
which they have been treated is
shown in the enthusiasm with which
the Indian has adapted himself to the
new order of things and is becoming
finely Industrious. DR.. Harsha says
that the power Of water and justice
is doing what all the attempts of the
lawmakers, law executors, soldiers
and educators have failed TO do, AMI
with the care that the government is
taking over irrigation he looks for
the suppression of the blatant and
thieving white man and the encour-
agement of the Indian to lift his head
in something more than rebellious
pride. Irrigation, in short, is the real
wonder worker that has changed the
temper and the hopes of the Indian.
All Of the man being affected for
the better-the Blackfeet and the
Crows Of Montana, the Pimas of Ari-
IONA, the Fort Hall Indians of Idaho,
the Shoshones of Wyoming, and the
Mission Indians OF California-the
change is stealing ever all of them.
Nor can this change be attributed
to the paternal care of the govern
ment; on the contrary. it results from
precisely the opposite cause 1t was
when the government decided to cease
issuing radons to Indians except in
extreme GASES, when. IT gave them
their allotments aud threw them on
their own responsibility that the
change began. Thus Il was the Indian
learned responsibility. the value of la
Dor. and the memorable law that
man must work out his own salvation,
be his skin white. black or red. This
lesson the Indian is now learning rap
idly, and the country at large will
benefit by the change.
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