The Springfield herald., 1912-04-26

ONE drops In at the once OF w
T. Shelton. agent OF the Navajo In
dians at Shiprock. N. NJ. at any
time of the day or evening the
chances are he will find one or
two blue-clad Indian policemen on
hand. They represent the central
detail" of the reservation police force
There are eight or ten others scat
tered among the hills and mesas and
this little band has driven the outlaws
and whisky sellers out OF territory
OF 5000 square miles in extent.
The Navajo Indian police are hard
riders. game fighters and above all
things else. faithful to their agent.
whom they regard as sort of walking
edition Of Uncle Sam himself. says a
writer in the Los Angeles Times. They
care little about the muniicent salary
of $50 month the government pays
them for their services. 1t Is for
"Non-ton-ni-neZ" tthe tall captain), as
they term Mr.. Shelton. that they face
more dangers than fall to the lot of
the average city policeman. to say
nothing of hardships to which the com
fortably housed metropolitan officer is
total stranger.
There is a certain element OF pride
in wearing the government uniforms
also and in the authority 1t gives the
wearer among his tribesmen-to say
nothing of the delights of life in the
saddle which appeal to any OF these
horsemen of the desert.
1t would seem impossible for less
than dozen men to keep order and
enforce the laws In range of terri
tory as extensive as a New England
state, but the police under Agent Shell
ton have done 1t for eight years. Only
once was 1t necessary to call upon the
soldiers for assistance and that was in
subduing an Indian outlaw. By-a-lil-le
who had gathered a number of sup
porters and was bent on leading
Robin Hood existence In the most In
accessible part of the reservation
When By-a-lil-le was finally captured
the Indian police were in the van and
bore the brunt OF the fire which the
outlaw and his retainers directed at
the representatives OF law and order
Choosing Candidates for the Police.
In choosing candidates for the In
dian police influential men among the
Indians are picked. Following the ex-
ample of those who selected frontier
marshals from among the "gunmen"
in early days, Mr.. Shelton has in sew
eral instances picked as policemen In.
dians who have been known as bad. ="
Some of the most valuable members
of the force have been engaged in
ugly outbreaks in the past, but the
choice. for the donning of the official
blue has in every case served to elm.
mate the "broncho" In the redsktp' a
disposition.
One of the most Jealous members of
the force today was leader in an out.
break in what is known as the -Four
Corners Country" where the states OF
Colorado. Utah. Arizona and New
Mexico meet. Some 'broncho" Indians
got into difficulty with a trader, who
quickly rallied a dozen or more COW.
boys TO his support Shots were ex-
changed and the cowboys were com
PEELED to stand at bay In the hills.
where 1t seemed probable that they
would be massacred unless they Sc
cured aid The trader volunteered to
attempt to get through the encircling
lines OF Indians and said he would
hoist n white handkerchief on a near
by hill If he got through
When the handkerchief nuttered on
the hill the Indians saw 1t and real
lied what 1t meant Two OF them
struck the trail of the trader and start.
ed in hot pursuit. One of the Indians
ts now a policeman. He tells today
how he pursued the trader with muir
der in his heart and felt strong enough
to kill all the white men In the world
But the trader halted Just after round
ing the brow of the hill and when the
Indians came upon him he had them
covered with rife and ordered them
to throw up their hands.
when | looked into the barrel of
that gum" said the policeman laugh
ingly. 81 didn't feel strong any more
! felt Just as weak as little child"
The Indians both threw down their
guns at the traders direction. and aft
er he conflscated the weapons he rode
on to the nearest fort. and the cow
boys were relieved. Since that day
old Ya-be-nee has been strong" for
the government, and most Of the time
has been Jealous and efficient men,
Der of the Navajo police force. Others
on the force have records" which
they have atoned for by faithful serv-
ice In behalf of the law.
The chief OF the Navajo Indian po-
lice is Doctor John. one of the best
orators and most influential men gen
orally in the tribe. The Indian has
weakness for oratory, and Doctor John