Year: 1871

Lieutenant Royal E Whitman, Just re-
ceived here by the Board of Indian Com


missioners. 1t is dated Camp Grant, May


II, and addressed to Colonel j. G. C. Lee,


Tucson. Lieutenant Whitman, after de-
scribing the settlement of the Indians near


the camp and praising them for their peace
| ableness and good behavior, proceeds as
follows:


"On the morning of April 80 | was at


breakfast at 7:30 A. NJ, when dispatch


was brought to me by sergeant of COM


pany ID, Twenty first Infantry, from Captain


Plum, commanding Camp Lowell, inform
ing me that large party had left Tucson
on the twenty eighth, with the avowed pur-
pose of killing all the Indians at this post
| Immediately sent the two interpreters.


mounted, to the Indian camp, with orders
to tell the chiefs the exact state of things
and for them to bring the entire party in
side the post As l had no cavalry and but
about fifty infantry, nearly all recruits, and
no other officer, | could not leave the post
to 90 to their defense Ny messengers re-
turned in about an hour with the intelli-
gence that they could find no living Indian
their camp was burning, and the ground
strewn with mutilated women and children.


II Immediately mounted party of about
twenty soldiers and citizens, and sent them


with the post surgeon, with wagon, to


bring in the wounded if any could be
y
ming, having found no wounded, and with
out being able to communicate with any of
the survivors. Early next morning l took
a similar party, with spades and shovels.
and went out and buried all the dead in and
Immediately around the camp. had the
day before offered the interpreter, or any
one who could do so, one hundred dollars to
90 to the mountains and communicate with
them, and convince them that no officer or
soldier of the United States government
had been concerned i'll the vile transaction,
and, failing in this, / thought an act of
caring for their dead would be an evidence
to them of our sympathy at least and the
conjecture proved correct; for while at the
work many OF them came TO the spot
and indulged in their expressions of
grief, too wild and terrible to be de-
scribed. That evening they came in from
all directions, singly and in small parties,
SO changed in forty-eight hours as to be
hardly recognizable, during which time
they had neither eaten nor slept. Many of
| the men whose families had been killed
| when l spoke to them and expressed sym
pathy for them were obliged to turn away


unable to speak, and too proud to show
| their grief The women, whose children
had been killed or stolen, were cOnyulsed


with grief, and looked to me appealingly,
as though | was their last hope ON earth.
Children, who but a few days before had


been full of fun and frolic, kept at a dis
tance, expressing wonderful horror. did


what l could 1 fed them and talked to
them, and listened patiently to their ac-
counts. | sent horses into the mountains to
bring in two badly wounded women-one


shot through the left lung, and one with an
arm shattered. These we're attended to,
and are doing well, and will recover.


Their camp was surrounded and attacked
at day break So sudden and unexpected
was it, that no one was awake to give the
alarm, and / found quite number of
women SHOT while asleep beside their
bundle of hay they had collected to bring
in on that morning. The wounded who
were unable to get away had their brains
beaten out with clubs or stones, while some
were shot full of arrows after having been
mortally wounded by gunshot OF the
whole number buried, one was an old man
and one well grown boy. All the rest
were women and children. OF the whole
number killed and missing-about one hun
dred and tweuty-ive-eight only were
men. 1t has been said that the men were
not there. They were all there. On the
twenty-eighth we counted one hundred and
twenty-eight men, small number being
absent for mescal. all of whom have since
been in. have spent good deal of time
with them since the affair, and have been
astOnished at their continued unshaken
faith iD me, and their perfectly clear under
standing of their misfortune.


They say: We know there are a great
many white men and Mexicans who do not
want us to live at peace. We know that
the Papagoes would not have come out
after us at this time if they had not
been persuaded to do so.' What they do
not understand is, while they are at peace
and conscious of no wrong intent, that they
should be murdered by government arms in
the hands of PapagOes and Mexicans. One
of the chiefs said: Il no longer want to live:
my women and children have been killed
before my face, and | have been unable to
defend them. Most Indians in my place
would take knife and cut his throat; but
will live to show these people that all they
have done and all they can do shall not
make me break my faith with you, so long
as you will stand by us, and defend us in
language we know nothing of to a great
governor, we never have nor never shall
see.'


About their captives they say: Get them
back for us. Our little boys will grow up
slaves, and our girls as soon as they are
large enough, will be diseased prostitutes
to get money for whoever owns them. Our
women work hard and are good women,
and they and our children have no diseases.
Our dead you can not bring to life, but
those that are living we gave to you, and





have soldiers, to get them back | will as
sure you it is no easy task to convince them
of my zeal, when they see SO little being
done. | have pledged my word to them
that | never would rest easily, night or day,
until they should have justice, and just now
/ would as soon leave the army as to be Or
dered away from them, or to be obliged to
order them away from here. But you will
know the difficulties in the way. You
Iyr,nr hat rhn -,
murders like this, could and would land
already have) make statements and multi
ply affidavits without end in their .justifica-
tiOn. l know you will use your in
huence on the right side. | be-
lieve, with them, this may be made
either the means of making good
citizens of them, and their children, or
drive them into helpless war Of exter-
mination. They ask to be allowed to live
here, IN their old homes, where nature sup
plies nearly all their wants. They ask for
fair and impartial trial of their faith; and |
they ask that all their captive children |
living may be returned to them. Is their |
demand unreasonable Unless some action |
is taken to convince them that our govern |
ment means kindness and justice, and they |
are driven away, desperate and dlsap--
pointed, blinded by ignorance, rage and
superstition, l assure you | could hardly |
command men to fire upon them; and if |
fail to do for them now everything in my |
power, should expect it to be remembered
against me when | am called to account as |
my gravest otfense and my grayest life re-
sponsibility.


This letter has been hastily written, but |
not inconsiderately. You may consider |
yourself at liberty to use it as you like best. |
am willing for a copy of it to go to the In
dian Department. Captain Stanwood will, |
by this mail, send full account of the mat