Imperial Valley press., 1932-10-20
CHILD is
VICTIM IN
TRAGEDY
indian Kills Daughter
And Attempts Suicide
At Yuma Reservation.
WORRIED OVER LOSS
Tribal Difficulties Enter
Into Background Of
Horrible Deed.

An Indians love for his 4-year-
old daughter, famed to flames OF
brooding fear by cross currents of
tribal strife, last night caused the
Indian, Ambrose Brown, As, to
hack the child'S throat with an
axe until there was no chance that
she might live, and then torn the
axe on himself, inflicting possibly
fatal injuries.
Annabelle Brown, the mother
less girl, died at the reservation
hospital at Ft. Yuma two hours
after she was attacked by her ia
ther. The man was still alive this
morning, but attendants said he
seemed to be weakening, and prob
ably would die before the day ends.
Fear that the Indian agent at
the reservation would take his
child away, prompted by the jeal-
ously of his dead wife's tribesmen,
drove Brown to his murderouS act,
investigators said.
Their faces expressionless masks,
quiet groups of reservations In
dians were gathered about the Ft.
Yuma hospital in the early hours
OF the morning. They waited for
the latest word from the bedside
OF their fellow tribesman.
H. B. Jolley, superintendent of
the reservation, hinted at disquiet
among the Indians when he told
Tom Sharp, district attorneys in
vestigator, that the murder and at
tempted suicide had brought to a
head recent agitation between fac
tions, represented on one side by
members of tn Montezuma Indian
Federation and on the other by
non-federation Indians.
A tragic story of father love, fed
Grafton troubles and tribal differ
ences was unfo1ded to Sharp and
Undersheriff Rodney Clarke, both
of whom investigated the affair.
The investigators learned how
Brown returned to his home about
7:30 last night, told his brother
that this was his last night here"
solemnly shook hands with his
brother, then went outside and kill
ed his daughter before turning the
keen edged axe on himself.
Browns trouble grew out of his
marriage to a Cocopah squaw when
he himself was a Yuma Indian.
The marriage was quite happy un-
til his wife became seriously ill
several months ago. She was taken
to the Ft. Yuma hospital, but left
there after improving somewhat.
Her husband took her to the Coco
pah reservation in Arizona, where
she died about a month ago.
Marriage Resented
Members of the Cocopah tribe
resented the fact that the daugh-
ter of one of their squaws was in
the hands of a Yuma Indian. 9th
er reservation indians told Brown
that the Cocopahs and the Indian
agent were coming this morning to
take the child away from him and
send her to the Cocopah reserva-
tion in Arizona. Jolley, the agent,
denied this morning that he had
heard of any move to take the
child from the father.
Agitation came to a head Mon
day and Tuesday when Brown at
tended meeting of the 'Montezu-
ma Federation at the house of Mike
Escalante and Joe Mancheado,
north of Winterhaven. There he
was informed of the supposed plans
to separate himself and his daugh-
ter.
Last night Brown drove, back to
his home with his daughter in a
horse-drawn wagon. When he en-
tered the house his brother, Fran
els Aria, and his brother-in-la
Wilbur Curtis, were in bed. He
told his brother of what Escalante
and Mancheado had told him,
shook hands, and took his daugh-
ter into the yard
The Indians sleeping in the
house head a thud and a slight
moan. They rushed into the yard.
The girl was lying on the ground,
blood streaming from her throat.
Brown was sitting on the ground
with the axe in his hands. His
throat already was cut, but he
made another attempt as Curtis
snatched the axe from him.
Should Brown live, investigators
said, he will be prosecuted for mur-
der. If he dies the case will be
closed with the inquest,