Bisbee daily review., 1922-05-17

time, Mrs Oatman testified, her hus-
band had taken delight in removing
his false teeth taking out his glass
eye and "scalping himself by remov-
ing his wig IN order to brighten both
his own children and the boys and
girls of the tribe.
Moreover, Mrs. Oatman continued,
her husband spent most of his money
buying eyes from a Los Angeles
optical goods house. When ques-
toned as to what disposition her
husband made of the many glass
eyes he purchased, Mrs. Oatman
stated that he lost most of them at
poker and that for some weeks be-
fore his appearance in court Oat-
man had had no artificial eye at>alL-'
owing to the refusal of the Los An
geles optical goods house to extend
him further credit.
1t also was brought out that fol-
lowing a recent division of communal
property, Oatman, in order to get
his half Of the household furniture,
had sawed one table, three chairs and
chest of drawers in two and had
then removed his half os the furni-
ture from the Oatman home. Mrs.
Oatman complained particularly and
bitterly that Oatman, in order to get
what he claimed was his half of
everything, had sawed in two a
pastel picture of Mary Dois de Vache.
her mother, which crayon likeness
she said she had purchased in the
town OF Oatman some years ago
from travelling Swedish artist.
Later in the hearing Mrs. Oatman
admitted, however, that some time
afterward, when she and her hus-
band had become reeonciled tenn
porarily, he had CALAMITY attempted
to nail the picture of her mother
and the other household goods to-
gether again.
During the testimony, a strange
Mohave custom was revealed. In
years past when Mohave wife
wished to divorce her husband. she
merely put his saddle outside the
door and no further hint was needed
The husband did not return. But
now, Mrs. Oatman complained. mo
morse no more, no mule no more. no
saddle no more My husband got a
flivver in the kitchen with no rubber
on the wheels. But Mohave woman
can't stick a flivver outside door like
old time saddle"
In his own defense, through Law
yer H. c. Topp, Mr.. Oatman stated
that he was tired of married life.
that his wife put mud on her hair
and fed him nothing but prunes and
chile con calne, prunes and tortillas.
prunes and enchiladas, prunes and
frijOles,and prunes and tamales.
He further alleged that she had
broken the terms os an old tribal
treaty with the Yavapai Indians by
feeding him underdone jackrabbit,
when, by the terms, of the ancient
agreement, religiously enforced even
today, the Mohaves consume only
Colorado river fish and the Yavapais
stick to jackrabbits, neither eating
the food allotted the other. Oatman
denied that he had ever
tasted intoxicating liquors or that he
had made home-brew from cactus.
The defendant also asserted that
his wife's brother, George Bots de
Vache, had defrauded him. Particu-
larizing, Oatman stated that prior to
a battle royal between tarantulas
and vinagrones, staged in sugar
bowl during his wife's absence, his
had sprinl1led ant pow
der on his (Oatman's) tarantulas.
thereby causing his entries to curl up
and die duriug a critical moment in
the battle Oatman declared that
as a result of this underhand work
he had lost to his father-in-law in
wagers all tho money he had made
in one summer. pauning gold in the
Oatman district
Judge Zadock Sheffield OF Dat
man has taken the Oatman divorce
ease under advisement and viii hand
down a decision next Monday The
entire mining camp eagerly awaits
the verdict