Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-27

dispatches from Mexico tell us that
the Yaquis will play part In any war
we may have with Mexico. Only few
months ago two American warships,
one Of them first class cruiser. were,
sent to the west coast Of Mexico to de-
| fend American interests against Yaqui
depredations.
(, The story of the YaQuis is one of the
most remarkable narratives in history.
1t has never been told in English ex-
cept In more or less fragmentary fash
ion and the English speaking world
has missed thereby a romance worth
reading. The tale is literally blotted
with blood and stained with incidents
, OF savage torture and treachery, for
| the Yaquis are a savage people, but
running through 1t from beginning to
end Is a fanatic love of country, an
indomitable courage and hardihood
! that have never been excelled.
In certain parts Of Mexico the name
! of Yaqui has acquired terrors almost
legendary among the ignorant classes.
| 1t has become term with which to
; brighten children. Even on the Amer
| lean side Of the border the Yaqui often
gets credit for being a, more terrible
! person than he really Is. In point OF
! fact, the Yaquis are the Apaches OF
Mexico, with rather more than the
! Apaches' abilities for organization and
j stubborn resistance. Aided by the fact
that the government opposed to them
has always been considerably weaker
] than that of the United States, and by
the inaccessible nature Of the country
that they love so devotedly, they have
the distinction OF being the only In
dian tribe that has never been thor
oughly and completely conquered by
i the whites. There have always been
few defiant Yaqui outlaws in the
hills. @..
The story of the Yaquis Is the story
| Of their wars. Almost a century before
the landing of the Pilgrims in New
England, an army of Spaniards with
their Indian allies moved northward
from Mexico City, conquering every
thing in their path. When they reach
ed the bank of the Yaqui river they
we're met by large band Of Indians
whose leader drew q line In the soft
earth That line he forbade the Span
iards to cross The white men opened
fire with their cannon, but after brief
engagement the Yaquis routed them.
The old Spanish chronicler states that
he had fought with most Of the Mex
lean Indian tribes, but, he says, II
have never seen Indians fight like
these" .sa.,. ..
That was almost four hundred years
/ ago and since then the YaQuis have
| fought almost without cessation. In
! 1900 there were 100 engagements In
the YaQui war. The Mexicans estimate
| that there have been almost three hun
dred years of actual fighting between
Mexicans and Yaquis. The present
state of disturbance In Mexico has OF
course been favorable to the Indians.
Their fighting abilities are In strong
demand among tho various factions,
and one OF the most formidable troops
in the field is band Of Yaquis estimat-
ed at two thousand in number, led by
Yaqui general. ~
The revolutionary disturbances were
probably the salvation of the Yaqut
race. OF late years the Mexican gov
eminent had been adopting the only
policy against the tribe which gave
promise OF eventual success in Quelling
their fighting spirit. This was the
plan OF deportation, by which the In
dams were sent from Sonora to far
| away / uCdldu nS A~bOiOio wa lAS f'S~H
tations. This Is said to be the only
| fate that frightens the Yaquis. In the
first place they have been accustomed
by untold centuries Of life in their
hills, to an environment Of mountain
ana desert and they seem to have died
rapidly in the moist tropical climate OF
| Yucatan. Moreover, the Yaqui Is pas
sionately attached to his own country.
He has fought through all these years
to keep his territory absolutely free
from the encroachment of the white
men, and to govern himself by his own
| laws and customs.
| It was in connection with the depor-
! tation OF the Yaduis that many Of the
charges of slavery on the plantations
we're brought up in recent years. The
old government undertook to furnish
| Yauui laborers to the planters on the
payment Of their railroad fare. stipul-
ating that such laborers should receive
fair wages and treatment but apparent
ly not troubling itself greatly to see
that such stipulations were always
carried out. Moreover, there were IN.