Arizona sentinel., 1917-04-12

i in ditch cleaning, and he is showing
 such interest and care about his duties getting results-that the irrigation
 manager is on the lookout for others of his race who will take up this line,
 and the result predicted is machine
 cleaning outfit largely in the hands of | the Red Man.
 In river work, and, in fact, almost
 any work about water in repairs and
 protection for levees, the Indians are ] superior to any other labor in this dis trict They will jump in and stay with the job to the end in hot weather or cold Many of the Yumas got their start in the field of real work on the
 river boats that operated on the Col
 orado long before irrigation of any
 scope was undertaken, and their tradi- tions seem to lead them to great famil- iarity and liking when it comes to
 boats, either large or small. Work on the river steamers, whether loading
 or chopping fire wood, clearing the
 rudder, or tying up at the end of run,
 was always put through with the en-
 thusiasm and snap worthy of any sail
 or. In levee work, especially at high
 water times, where there is a spirit of
 contest with the water, the Indians
 nave proven worthy of praise.
 They generally work under pressure
 and in competition with each other
 and whenever the element of time can be impressed upon them. When this
 method is tactifully applied by tore
 man the gang is always in fine work
 ing order. Where the cleaning by
 hand with shovels was carried on in
 canals, they were usually divided, and
 each squad took a side of the ditch and tried to work ahead of the other.
 Under such conditions neither side would tolerate any shirking, and the work forged ahead on it's own impetus
 The Indians have shown that they are stayers as we'll as enthusiasts. In clearing and grubbing a canal right of way they have proven to be the stead fest men. The nature of this work, where the trees are fairly heavy, makes it hard grind and progress is slow and not of a sort to lend inspira- tion. But here they are even humor. ous to the extent of livening things up if team is slow enough to get caught under falling tree so that they have to jump from under with the consequent meriment of their ri- | vals close at hand who have succeed ed in putting one over" on them.
 Careful supervision is essential in handling the Indians in numbers. They | are very sensitive of any injustice and | will slow up immediately if they are not getting a square deal Where a | foreman has not had experience with | them they are not as easily understood | as other people who are newly encour- aged, but once a superintendent learns | to handle them he will generally want | to continue with them.
 There is, of course, rather we'll de- fined limit beyond which the Indian cannot go when left to his own re- sources. The headquarters shop at Yuma has employed Indian helpers in different capacities, but their ability to repair work does not go far beyond the stage where they are hand in hand with a skilled mechanic. However, the position of blacksmith helper was once filled very criditably by Yuma Indian boy, and Indians have been very handy about the heavy work of repairing and moving steam shovels. Generally they are sober and steady, and the instances where a liking for drink has developed have undoubtedly been due to having it forced upon them by outside influences. Their average in this regard, would if ap- piled to the other classes of labor, greatly raise the general standard.- Record. II