Arizona republican., 1912-08-24
End of a Fight in Behalf of Mohave-Apaches Be gun by Dr. Carlos Monte zuma Two Years Ago Is Announced
SECRETARY FISHER
 REACHES DECISION
History of the Litigation Before the Department and Story of Circum- stances Under Which the Lands Were Set Aside

CHICAGO. Aug 23. After two years of the hardest fighting the Mo- have and Apache Indians of Camp McDoWell reservation in Arizona have won their battle against being busted 1 from their present quarters and trans l ferred by the Indian bureau to a bar ren waste in the Salt River district. l Chief Yuma Frank of the Mohave Apaches will receive the decision made 1 by Secretary Walter L. Fisher of the | department of the interior tomorrow {, provided he calls at the postoffice in Phoenix, Arizona.
 l The decision involves some of the richest irrigated irrigable land in the southwest. It also involves a rumored l plan by certain capitalists of the southwest to remove the Indians from their present garden spot to another 1 reservation and to turn back their present quarters to the public do- main. Ulterior influence at work on minor officials of the Indian bureau almost accomplished the object and only the absolute fairness of Secretary l Fisher and his refusal to be swayed | by anything except the facts in the case, prevented the seizure of the In- dians' reservation.
 1 Helpless to prevent their removal
 from their homes. the Mohave Apaches literally have been in the
 hands of their relative. pr. Carlos Montezuma, a member of the tribe. and who was stolen from his parents at the age of four and who is now one of the most prominent physicians in Chicago.
 | -arlra tod thl Indians in their battle with the of- ficials of the Indian bureau Joseph | w. Latimer, a we'll known Chicago att
 torney. handled the entire matter as Doctor Montezuma's personal attorney,
 even going so far as to take the bat
 tie before a congressional committee
 and involve the minor officials who
 were implicated in the affair.
 The fight has lasted since May z. 1910, and Latimer is just in receipt of Secretary Fishers decision, closing the case for all time. copy of the de- cision has been transmitted to the h.
 dians in Camp McDowell
 There is a pretty Indian story att | tached to the allotting of the Camp
 Mcdowell reservation to the Mohave
 Apaches It was this tribe of Apaches ! liIdl tLc ldHfouS OQtidW 0ck onimo and Chief Yuma Frank, pres-
 ent head of the tribe was one of the
 chiefs who assisted in the capture. l In recognition of this service and 1 acting on the promise of the old In dian fighter, General Crook, congress apportioned this land to the Mohave Apaches. It is composed of about 25.-
 900 acres situated on the Verde river about thirty miles north of Phoenix. Irrigation ditches and a dam on the Verde kept them supplied with water. and 1900 acres of land was titled by the Indians, who are self supporting. It is possible with a new dam to irri- gate about $500 acres. The old dam
 swept away by the floods of 1905, was rebuilt by the Indians themselves. 1 The move to send them to Salt river with all the mysterious force behind it, started two years ago short ly after the Indians had asked the l government for a new dam. Accord ing to the report of the United States lengineer, it would cost about $100.000
 to erect this dam. This great cost,
 coupled with the fact that the Roose- yelt dam would irrigate certain sec tions of the Salt river district, was used as the argument to transfer the Indians.
 Going through the files of the In- dian bureau, Latimer succeeded in un- earthing a letter which to his mind
 and later to the mind of Secretary Fisher, showed that somebody was
 making a big mistake and that the
 welfare of the Indians was not the
 real motive behind the proposed re-
 moval In June, 1911, Attorney Lati-
 mer took the matter before the inves- 1 tigating committee on expenditures of the Indian bureau and showed con-
 clusively that d conspiracy existed to obtain the Indian lands. Even with
 the overwhelming evidence submitted,
 the ulterior forces kept working and 1t was not till the attorney succeeded in
 bringing the matter to Secretary
 Fishers personal attention that satis faction was obtained. Fisher called for all the papers and reports in the case and sent a consulting engineer.
 w H. Rosecrans, of Chicago. to the reservation to estimate the cost of
 new irrigation dam. He then awaited l the engineers report.
 | When the report was filed, Secre- tary Fisher took the bull by the horns f and ordered all work of the removal of the Indians stopped, Quoting his letter to Attorney Latimer under date of August 10. 1912:
 Tt may clear the ground somewhat
 (Continued on Page 1o).-