Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-12-26
INDIAN LANDS Of
NEW MEXICO ARE
! WELL INF R0VED
General H. F. Robinson, Super
intendent of Irrigation, Gives
Some Novel and Interesting
Details.

~ ~ SN'AS1
Details.
The following paper was read be-
fore the Kiwanis club at its MONDAY
luncheon Wednesday, December "a
by Gen. II. f. Robinson;
When the government of the United
States was first organized it was rec
ognized that something must be done
for and with the Indian in fact, even
then we had an Indian problem
and it was natural in the days when
most of the problem was one of war
fare that Indian affairs was placed
under the war department. This co 4
tinued until 1884 when there v Is
passed an act to form the depart
ment of Indian affairs" which vas
independent, although military in It's
personnel, until the department of the
interior was created March 8. 4e49,
when the Indian department fecame
bureau of it, passing ther from
military to civil control.
In the early years of the govern
ment there was plenty of game Tor
the Indians. but of later years with
the game gone and most ~ their lahd
in other hands, it became necessary TO
Systematically benefit tue lndian IN
industrial conditions to ,daKe MN SELL
supporting. Thus waT porn the new
Indian problem,
y This great southv est region winch
Asme to this couplry from Mexico,
becarht in some q the most progress
inlivin dams and also some of the
moral mage. With these progressive
ing expio. irrie Alton which was better
every OPP nv Che Indians than by the
order. y Indian knew what was
To-day FIAT he must bring water
has invad6treams TO his crops, and he
TO rebeljow to do it, too-and the
shame quickly learned and improved
the III methods. importing ideas from
thegation countries all over the world,
wsd with the white mans ingenious
Frain improved on plans and meth
DDS until today irrigation projects and
irrigation methods in the United
States outranks all others in the
world.
Old AS Civilization.
Irrigation is usually looked upon as
something new in the way of agricul-
ture, but strange as it may seem, the
cradle of the human race, and the
earliest civilization has been on the
arid parts of the earth. and l do not
think it out of the way to state posi-
lively that irrigation and civilization
has gone hand in hand, or to go fur
ther and say that it was the necessity
of irrigation and its development that
was the foster mother of all other
civilization.
All of the great civilizations, and in
fact all civilization we have any ac-
count of, prior to the Greek and Ro-
man, was in the desert country and
the peoples inhabiting the humid por-
tons of the globe were still savages
when the great civilizations of Baby
Ion, Egypt and India were at their
height.
When the Spanish Conquistadores
first visited what Is now New Mexico
and Arizona they found that the peo-
pie inhabiting that section had reach
ed higher stage of civilization and
development than in the rest of the
country, and what is significant, they
practiced irrigation
Ruins of large buildings and re-
mains of immense canals, particularly
such as are found in the Salt river
valley, would indicate that even a
greater degree of advancement had
existed at one time. and that in all
probability the people had been killed
off by some great catastrophe.
The Indians inhabiting this section,
who may have been the remnants of
those who were gone, or it may be
that they were only their successors
in possession, were skilled in irriga-
ton, raising grain, vegetables and
even cotton. They were not warriors,
and only incidentally were they hunt |
ers, but depended upon their agricul- |
tural pursuits for their living.
On all sides of them were the more |
savage Indian, warriors by profession, |
who lived upon the fruits of the chase. |
AS the most remunerative field of |
was the lands of their agri- |
cultural neighbors, we might truly |
say that they not only lived upon the
fruits of the chase" but also upon
the grain and vegetables of the
chased.
Hunting Tribes Nomads.
From year to year and generation
to generation the hunting tribes have
been driven from place to place. seek
ing the game that gradually disap-
peared, but the agricultural tribes
have remained stationary as to habi-
tat and are living today where they
lived centuries ago and in many cases
the same dwellings and
using the same bitches that were oc-
cupied and used by their forefathers
before Columbus started on his men,
orable voyage.
In the early days it was a struggle
gainst the man who wanted the food
hey raised, and in the later days 1t
mas been struggle against the man
who wanted their lands and their
struggle against more CIV
lized, but not less rapaeious, and
without aid from the government the
indian would undoubtedly have sue
A people must progress or die;