Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-10-11
HIGHER OFFICIALS BLOCKED.
ENFORCEMENT Of LAW
"Pussyfo0t' Johnson Reveals His
Reason for Resigning as Chief
Special Officer.

receipt OF signed statement from
William f. ("Pussyfoot'') Johnson in
which that gentleman goes into de-
tails relative to the cause which fore
ed him to resign from the Indian SER
vice as Chief Officer in suppressing
the illegal traffic in Intoxicating IL
quors between the white men and the
Indians. The statement covers three
pages of closely typewriter manu-
script and is couched in Mr.. John
sons characteristic vein and phras-
eology. 1t is too verbose to publish
verbatim but the opening paragraphs
are herewith reproduced and they
give the keynote in an inte|ligable
manner:
"After five years Of service, I am
laying down my commission as Chief
Special Officer in the United States
Indian Service.
"A political ring has been formed
in the Interior Department which re-
sents anything like aggressive effort
in suppressing the liquor traffic
among Indians. This cabal is led by
Assistant Indian Commissioner F. Fl.
Abbott professional politician from
Nebraska, and Assistant Secretly
Of the Interior Samuel Adams, a
corporation lawyer from Chicago.
During the past few months, those
two men have done everything in
their power to hamper, undermine
and prevent the success of our eff
forts in catching reservation bootleg
gers. I refused to be chloroformed,
but these men finally got me so bot
tied up that / could do but little ex-
cept to mark time and draw my sal
airy. l saw no other way to MAIN
tain myself except to resign.
"The immediate cause of my re-
signation was the New Mexican COM
plications. During the past ten
years, the Pueblo Indians Of north
ern New Mexico have been system
atically plundered Of their pasturage
and robbed Of their lands, in a way
that would put Boss Tweed to shame.
This system of robbery is now being
carried on with the knowledge and
under the protection Of the Indian
administration in New Mexico. The
Indian Office is fully Informed Of the
rascality, but the dead hand Of pol
tiles palsies any move to protect
the Indians" ..
Mr.. Johnson details conditions at
length which led up to the fight at
Chamita, N. NJ, when one of his de-
puties, Juan Cruz, was attacked by
a party of four drunken Indians and
one Of the latter was killed. Cruz
was arrested, charged with murder
in the first degree. johnson says he
was ordered by Indian Superintend-
ent c. J. Crandall to do nothing in
the defense Of his deputy. This he
ultimately declined to do, and, after
Il hard fight the deputy secured his
freedom.
"And now, after I have secured the
liberty of the boy" the statement
continues, E'this same Assistant Com
missioner Abbott and Assistant Sec
rotary Adams are trying to find
|way to disallow my accounts for ex-
penses in the trial and compel me
to pay the bills for witnesses ex-
penses and travelling items, amount
ling to about 81, 200.
'But the vengeance Of this booze
cabal has not even stopped there.
Some time ago, Superintendent Gram
dali proposed officially scheme to
plumber them of their executive or
der reservation. The plan was to
take this land away from the Santa
Clara Indians, amounting to about
10000 acres, add a few barren and
worthless hills to it and distribute
the entire area among all the Tehuas
Indians, of which the Santa Clara
Pueblo was a small part. Assistant
Commissioner Abbott is now working
through the department this gigan-
tic steal. It is a scheme tantamount
to robbing the Irish Of their domain
and giving it to the Scotch of the
United Kingdom by giving them more
land"