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Show THE NAVAJO AS A NATION 171 Shelton and Special Agent R. S. Connell made the trip in April. They reported that Ba'ililii and his group were well-armed and had raided the herds of the whites living near the reservation. Shelton asked that soldiers be placed near Aneth to control the Navajos. He also asked that the Navajos be disarmed and the leaders sent away. The Navajos, for their part, were angry at stupid government attempts at irrigation. The government had cut new ditches across Navajo farms and spoiled the ditches that the Navajos had already made. Since then, no water had flowed through new or old ditches. The gates at the head of the new ditches were poorly built. When they were opened, the river poured in with such force that it cut deep gullies through the fields. The old conflicts over grazing lands and the old complaints about off-reservation Navajos also kept things tense. When a sheep-dip was held at Aneth, Ba'ililii refused to let his sheep be dipped. White ranchers heard reports that the Navajos had armed themselves for a fight. Then a rival headman died. In his last words, he supposedly said Ba'ililii had killed him with witchcraft. Shelton asked for troops again. He pointed out that, even if there was no fighting, the troops would restore confidence in his power. Then he could regroup his police force and restore order. The secretary of the interior agreed. He felt that if the Navajos saw a show of force, they would not think of starting a fight. Without troops, the conflict could become "a difficult problem, and one that may involve bloodshed." Two troops of Fort Win-gate's Fifth Cavalry left for Aneth in late October. The plan was, "after arriving at Aneth and marching by his place the next morning, early, to return and seize him [Ba'ililii]." He and other "ring-leaders" would be taken away as prisoners. Shelton took no chances. He arrived at the Four Corners Trading Post in advance of the troops. There he surprised and arrested Cisco, a member of Ba'ililii's group. Then he held "all Indians entering Four Corners after our arrival, for fear of them carrying information to Bai-a-lil-le of the arrival of troups. . . ." Shelton learned that Ba'ililii and some of his men were performing a ceremony on the south side of the San Juan River, four miles east of Aneth. He made his final plans. Only then did he inform his troops of their mission. After telling the friendly Indians of his plan, he "put them all under guard until we were ready to move." He was afraid some of them might get word to Ba'ililii. |