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Show Carlos At this time the Indians claim that General Crook said that when they became civilized and were willing to live like white men the Government would return them to their old home and help them to become citizens. Most of their older men had rendered very important service to the Government as scouts for the Army in the hard campaign against the Chiricahua-Apache, under Geronimo, and many of them were disappointed at not being permitted to go and fight in the late war with Spain. These Indians were receiving no Government help of any kind, were destitute of everything, and for four years had merely existed in the arid hills, among the cactus brush, overlooking the river and their former lands. They lived in open shelters built of twigs and branches, and subsisted mainly on wild mesquite beans and cactus fruit. They were manly, honest, upright, would walk 50 and 60 miles to find work,. were obedient and law-abiding, and even in their desti-tute condition would not kill quail ar deer against the laws of Arizona. They were very peaceful, and careful not to annoy Mexicans or whites or to give them excuse for complaints, and would even stand ill treatment without resenting it. They suffered during the winter from exposure and lack of food and clothing, and consumption was increasing among them. Many of the young men spoke English and had learned trades at Indian schools, but there was no work for them, while the younger children were growing up without schools or civi-lizing influences, and their enforced idleness and life in the cactus brush was demoralizing. The majority of the men wore their hair short, and all wore hats, shoes, overalls, and cotton shirts, their one idea being to live and be like white men, as promised General Crook. Their greatest evil was their lax marriage relation. Mr. Mead attended five councils at the different camps, and at each council was met with the same request: " Give us land and a little help that we may be farmers and live and work like white men." They did not want rations, as they understood clearly that only through their own efforts would they attain real standing and man-hood, and therefore they asked for land and guidance on industrial lines in order that they might go to work and become men and citizens in earnest. The unsettled land questions at Fort McDowell were demoralizing to both the Indians and the whites there, who alike recognized their greatest need to be "decision on the part of Wash-ington." The whole Fort McDowell Reservation contained about 2,000 acres of irrigable land, two-thirds of it under ditch, which could well sup-port 100 Indian families on the basis of 20 acres to the family. This would take care of all the Indians in the Verde Valley, and under competent industrial direction they could be made self-supporting and of no further trouble to the Government. It would cost approxi- |
