White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-05-20

white persons likewise do, and
when he feels that he has packed it
around from camp to camp until he
has gotten it about worn out he viii
throw it away with the same lack of
regret that he would a cigarette
snipe. But because he throws away
one today is nj reason why he will
not steal another just like it tomor-
row or yet this evening and pack it
around for a few months and throw
it away in the same endless chain of
getting action on property which, ac-
cording to his creed, IS the heritage
of all.
Thus it was that when started
trapping in the Navajo reservation.
on the Little Colorado river, in
northern Arizona, | had some new
slants on human nature in its semi
civilized stage of development. Ev-
erything in any reservation, iaelud-
ing coyotes, rattlesnakes, sidewind-
ers, lizards and horned toads. be-
longs to the Indians and white per-
sons have no right whatever TO in
terfere with them except on specia,
permission. According 10 the con-
struetion placed upon it by most In
dian agents. the Indians have the fur
Their and sole right within their res
ervation to carry on the essential
industry of theft, and any white nan
entering therein under such special
permission has no right to OBJ
ject 10 such thef,s or to make
claim to or force the return Ut his
property. Agents tell trappots yir-
tually that when their permission for
trapping in the reservation is given.
they being especially warned that
there must be no rows over stealing
or interference with traps or their
contents In the form of predatory
animals trapped. AT that, promise
to the contrary Us he will. the trap
per with corpuscles of Americanism
will find his instinct compelling him
to demand his own and sooner or
later the inevitable row comes, and
when its issue reaches the agent or.
his appeal or that of the wronged'
redskin. he is told to get Off the res
ervation and be quick about II.
Yet trapping among the Nayajos
especially is a new and strange thing
Thousands of them never saw or
heard of a trap, and one OF the ele-
ments impellinr them to steal is
curiosity. While their actual steal
ing of traps is worse than that of any
equal number of white men. that is
not the worst harm they do. As
many times told IN the course Of
these articles. the worst liability of
the trapper is visiting his traps too
often. thus LEAVING traces of human
trapper's automobile, horse, dog or
footsteps for hours and days at a
tine. never letting up, except when
one quits another takes his place, for
the purpose of locating the settings
and stealing the traps. Ii Is this con-
slant human presence that makes the
coyotes leary and keeps them from
coming up to the settings in Response
to the call of the bait and prevents
them from getting caught. Herein
is the greater harm. amounting to
many times more than the loss of the
traps that are found and stolen. Az
that the trap loss in three months in
the Navajo reservation was around
80 per cent of all the traps | had,
whereas elsewhere a trapper must
hgure an average loss of : t. i per
cent.
In the short time | was trapping
there and the following summer.
| spent at a Navajo trading
post, | learned several Navajo words.
acquiring a sort OF working knowl-
most of them. For trap their word
is 'beotlee' or 'beutly. the spelling
being immaterial, and fer gene
their word is 'uten.' They have
three words. she don't need but
they have quite a different meaning
than flashes to the brain OF the tu-
tored white person in reading them
hearing them spoken. She don't
need in Navajo means I have been
told So Got fooled, didn't you?
Cad Wilson would have said. Any
way, II you get tired OF living on the
and are looking for an
excuse for n quick move just ride
your horse around the Navajo ho-
gans a few times, fire your pistol re-
peatedly and shout, 'Beotlee uten,'
The Indians will understand You.
knowing that you are accusing them
of stealing your traps, and the pistol
shots will denote that II they DO not
return them TO you instantly You
will shoot them, and forthwith thew
will repair to the agency and COM