The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-03
INDIANS
SHOW THRIFT IN j.
5. DESERT HOME
Commissioner Cato Sells, Who
Made the Tribe an Official
Visit, Commends Their Har-
dihood and Content.

Washington. d. c.. Dec. Down
I'm Southern Arizona, near the Mexicah
border. lives a tribe Of native alb
Iorigines about whom the average
American citizen knows practically
nothing
! Commissioner Of Indian Affairs
Cato Sells, who recently made an ex
tended inspecting tour of Indian
schools and reservations N the South
west, Is the first indian comm ssion-
ter to have visited the Fapago In
dams He spent more thar a week
with them. travelling several hundrea
miles through the sands that he
might acquire hrst-hand infor nation,
and he brings back "A fascinating
story of primitive but progressive
Indian tribe, battling manfully and
successfully against unusually adj
verse conditions under which any
branch OF the Caucasian race doubt
less would have given up N despair.
Commissioner Sells made the fol-
lowing statement OF facts concerning
these people and their nseds:
i Locally the territory occupied by
these Indians is knowh as Papa
guerra" the Papago country. 1t en-
braces that part Of Arizona lying le-
on the north, the Mexican boundary
on the south, and 10th meridian on
the east, and the 1l3th meridian on
the west This Is perhaps the dryest
and most treeIess de,ert. in the United
States the habitat OF The cacd and
THE Papago Indians almost exclusive
~.
These Indians are a happy tribe,
numbering between : 900 aud 1000,
Ia. rsd
over an area about 1870 miles long
least and west) by about 30 miles
| broad Their villages vary In size
from a few to as high as 80 nouses.
Imany OF the larger settlements ncus-
ling over 500 inha bitants% Their
houses are usually built II adobe
lplastered over framework of
ochatillo stalks or ribs OF the sohuaro
cactus. the roof being OF the same
material but quite thick.
| Some OF the more progressive lndi-
ans are beginning to use modern home
! esufpfncYat-L Limited 4Heans.- however
have denied such "luxuries' to most
of these people, who today stu cut
their grain with a hand sickle. thres II
1t by trAmping. winnow by tossing in
the air on a windy day and grind 1t
by hand. rubbing one stone upon
another--primitive methods in vogue
i.
ands of years ago.
When asked how long these Indians
, had lived In that country, Commissioner
Sells stated in effect that he did not
know. and probably no man living does
= know. Certainly they have lived there
more than 300 years. The first anthem
tic record Of them appears In the diary
= OF Father Eusebio Kino. who made sew
. erai trips through their country in
TYa hal RI he a
{ docile. industrious, peaceful tribe OF
: Indians. which manly attributes they
: retain to this day. 1t IL a boast of the
: Papago Indian that be has never In
a jured a white man.
The Papagoes have battied with ad-
) verse conditions and won. They have
q forced q rspelling desert to yield {
= fsustenance. and they have thrfved. One
cannot help but feel inthued with deer
r respect for a people who can progress
i under conditions as they are found ir
: the Papago country. Mile after mile
OF virgin desert can be traversed with
out 4 sign Of An animal
Each band or village has practically
two homes. one in the valley and one
in the hills. The Indians occupy theii
valley home as long as water la avail
. able for domestic use Unc1uding stock
J watering) but as soon as this becomes
\ exhausted, which occurs every year
they are compelled to retreat to theiI
mountain home, where wells have beer
dug by hand. frequently several hun
. dred feet deep. The necessity of shift
ing in search Of water from the vale.
to their mountain village has giver
70 these people the name Of ''Nomadit
Papaso." but this is misnomer. a,
wherever an assured water supply foi
= dom este use in the valleys can be oh,
' tanned, there one nnds permanent
a ., abode.
The genius Of necessity has devei
..'tpped tribe OF Industrious indepen-
dent, law-ahiding. self-respect!ng PEG
Pile. In the past they have received
practically no aid from the govern.
ment--in fact they have never asked
for any. for In no sense are they beg,
gars. yet they are grateful for kind
ness shown aid are quick to per
ceiye and adopt improved methods
The two chief things needed by the
!. Papayos are to be protected, and tt
= be let alone. Seven thousand people
are extracting living from an ares
which, owing to its aridity. would MOI
support any other race. But the Pa.
pago needs protection from the more
agKr eseive whites. and especiall,
from the MexicAns who come across
: the border, and needs II greatly. Al
y ready Mexicans cattlemen and a few
white men are beginning to cast long
: ing eyes on this. To them, unap-
propriatej domain of the United
! States,
The Papago Indians have occupied
this inhospitable country from time
immemorial. have wrested a living
from a barren soil, and every right OF
justice and equity demands that the
indiana he protected In the con
tinueI use and occupancy Of their
ancestral home. If thus protected
they are capable Of working out their
own destiny. Past experience has
{ shown that they are industrially able
TO take care of themselves. Too much
supervision and inJudicious Interior.
ence may result in irreparable harm
You cannot teach the papagos any
i thing about farming or irrigation ir
their own country. IL their peculiar
+ system OF collecting storm waters car
be called Irrigation Rather should
\ we 90 to them to be taught and truly
: can we learn from these primitive
Z people many valuable lessons In thrift
7 and. aye. even manhood for the
D Papago II a manly fellow. every inch
a OF him, and they are all six footers
A little well-directed instruction, a