The Coconino sun., 1927-11-25
NAVAJOS SEVERAL TIMES
ON RAMPAGE; KEPT KIT
CARSON PERC RCHED ON ROCK

There were many decidedly warm
times in the early days-not SO many
years ago-in Arizona between the
Indians and the whites. Not all the
Indians were hostile, not by long
shot. The Apaches were the worst.
Much blood was shed before they de-
cided to be good.
The Apaches were too lazy to work
except to undergo great hardships
hunting or fighting. They hunted
white men much as white men hunt.
game animals. They got lots Of fun
and no little profit stalking whites,
and the many tales handed down by
men yet living in this state are not
fables. Instead, told with the restraint
that characterizes the western pio-
neer, lack in color and picturesque
and gruesome detail many of the
things fall short in many of the grue-
some and picturesque details of the
real facts.
The coming Of the whites was
welcome relief from monotony to the
murderous Apaehes. No longer would
they have to go down into old Mexico
to steal cattle and horses. The ven
tures,ome Caucasians came right to
the Indians, and all the latter had to
do was to step out and annex them.
What the other Indians-the Nava-
10, Hopi, Mohave and other tribes
lacked in hostile intentions toward the
whites was amply made up for by the
Apaches. But with the Apaches,
hatred was not the motive in their
depredations, but covetousness cou-
pied with adventurcsome and cruel
natures.
In a few instances the Navajos and
whites had trouble. But there never
was any general massacre. The Nav
ajos fought mostly with the Apaches,
the latter the aggressors. In 1888
the Navajos refused to go under Span
ish rule and there was battle be-
tween a company Of Spaniards and
Chelly. The Spaniards won, and
thereafter there were only few
small instances of trouble.
Then in 1884, in trouble the out
growth of the slavery of about 1900
Navajos in New Mexico, there was a
battle in Canon de Chiefly between the
latter and New Me1:ca.s, and aoout
SO Of the New Mexicans were killed.
In 1916 company of u. S. regulars
marched into the Canon de Chelly
country to put a stop to Navajo dep
relations among the New Mexico In
dian pueblos. There was no fight. A
treaty was signed But the Navajos
didn't pay much attention to the
treaty, and in 18 months thereafter
had stolen nearly $4,000 sheep from
New Mexico pueblo Indians.
These continued depredations led to
the establishment of Fort Defiance in
1849 The idea was to cultivate ac-
quaintance with the Navajos, make
them gifts, and subdue them by exces-
sive kindness.
1t worked nicely as we'll as the
whites were concerned. But the Nav
ajo never liked the Mexicans, and
didn't propose to begin to. In 1854
after a Navajo had committed a muir
der and the commandant at Fort
Grant had ordered his execution, the
Navajo chiefs surreptitiously substi-
tuted a New Mexico captive for the
Navajo right under the noses of the
military authorities and the poor guy
became the fall guy when the morning
for the execution rolled around, for
the substitution wasn't discovered un-
til it was all off for the poor New
Mexican.
Followed a couple years later the
murder Of negro servant at Fort
Defiance. The Indians refused to give
up the murderer and resisted several
military sorties.
In 1860 the Navajos decided to wipe
out Fort Defiance. They tried it,
then retreated. talking to themselves.
Soon after that General Carleton
arrived with the California volunteers.
They closed in on the Navajos, de-
stroyed their sheep and horses, cap
tured $500 of the $4,000 Navajos and
isolated them in the upper Pecos VAL
ley. Finally Uncle Sam realized he
couldn't settle the Navajos on farms
and make them like it or stay there,
as he had supposed he could, and in
1863 they were brought back to their
homes and 3,328,O00 acres Of land
was set aside for them,