New Britain herald., 1915-07-03
.Y'| VA INDIANS NOW
FORMIDABLE FOES.
Have Secured Arms and Ammuni-
ton Through Trickery

/ been despatched to cope with the sit
uation--information as to the process
+ by which this declaration of war was
| that the tribe retains political or
ganization What appears to be an
almost mythical supreme chief reigns
| in the hills above their valley and is
said to direct the actions Of the minor
chiefs who have taken groups of the
tribe into the Mexican warfare.
The Associated Press correspond ent
during a recent trip to the west coast
I with Carranza, learned this and
number Of other interesting things
concerning the Yaquis, about whom
!. little true material has hitherto been
published.
I Although they have been in almost
constant warfare since the organize
ton of the Mexican nation, the Yaquis
never have been fully conquered or
won over to European civilization
But their struggle against the ad
vance of civilization did not assume
threatening proportions until the re-
cent revolutionary activities gave
them modern war munitions and mil
ltary training Previously this most
fwarlike Mexican Indian had confined
himself to guerilla fighting. The
arming of the Yaquis to take part in
Mexico's domestic quarrel made pos
sible their more extensive military
movements, threatening not only the
American colonists in the sYaqui val
lev about Guaymas, but the sovereign
~ OF the Mexican race along that 4
rich portion of the west coast.
Stronghold In Hill Country.
The Yaqui region lies a few miles
irland from the imp ortant California /
gulf port city Of Guaymas. The lii
dams years ago lost most of their
rich agricultural lands in the valley T
Their strongholds are in the hill coun- I
try, from which strong positions they
make frequent raids on the Mexican
settlers in the valley below. It has
been only recently that their assaults
were directed against the american !
settlers in the valley, who had given T
the Indians profitable Employment as
laborers @ ii 35 III
Y The Yaqui was not considered an
especially dangerous neighbor until /
the advent of the Constitutiona1ist
revolution With the separation OF
the Carranza and Villa factions a
struggle began between those two &
parties in Sonora state. The Indians
already had been armed and enlisted
as troops in the Constitutionalisr
army, doing the bulk Of the desperate
fighting in the contests for the towns
along the Arizona Sonora border.
These Indians we're considered pa
cif1co,,' or peaceful Yaquis But on
opportune occasions they demanded
the return of their tribal lands, and
only would remain in the revolution
service after securing promises from
the factionaI leaders. For more
than year, however, it has become
evident that the supposedly friendly I
Yaqui was working in conjunction
with his wilder brother who had re-
manned in the hills. Arms and am /
,munition in large quantities given to
the Indians enlisted in the Constitu-
tionalist army we're smuggled on the +
backs Of Y aqui runners into the noun
tain passes and there were hidden.
The enlisted Indians would return
after an insignificant skirmish and
demanded more ammunition Their
Mexican officers did not dare to re-
fuse it,
situation More Serious.
The situation became more serious
when Jose Maria Maytorena, the
Villa governor of the state, brought
the Yaqui troops into northern SON
ora. Previously they had been used
only against Huerta's federal troops
about 5Guaymas. Maytorena,s Yaquis
took part in the attacks on the Car
rama garrisons at Nogales, Naco and
Cananea. In former years under the
Diaz administration these Indians had
been driven into southern Sonora by
continued lighting along the Arizona
border in which they met the federal
rurales, Mexicos rural police which
was considered the most efficient
fighting arm of the former dictator.
The forceful exiting into southern
Mexico of large numbers of Yaaui :
men had failed to break the warlike I
spirit Of the, race.
Rumors asserted that the Yauui
leaders We're controlling the Maytor-
ena government These were denied
officially until the more recent de-
velopments showed that the so-calIed
.tpacifco" Yaquis were working in
conjunction with their .broncho'' or
wild brothers in their lifelong at
tempt to regain the valley farming
lands now developed to high de-
gree by the American farmers The
American colonists had bought the
land from the Mexican owners, who in
turn had secured ut through govern t
ment or private concessions in about
the same manner as the American
Indians territory in the United States
was colonized and developed The
state government found itself power
less to prevent the raids by the
"broncho' Indians on the American
settlements since the large proper
ton Of Indian troops would not per-
NIT warfare against their hill tribes
/ men. This led to the sending down
the west coast of American marines
10 To-, r,nn ols.yy frt