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Show FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. 335 dividing of the water, I signed the report with the rest. This I thought best to do at the time, reserving the right, however, that if the whites ever broke faith with the Indians I would seek to protect them at all hazards. This contract has been measurably kept with more or less grumbling from some of the shareholders. The lands the Indians occupied I had secured to them the best I could by having my sons claim some of it in their names. One quarter- section was secured by purchase from a Mexican, who settled on a forty, allowing the Indians the balance. I bought the Mexican out and sold the forty to a supposed friend, with the understanding that he was to use the forty and let the Indians have the balance, as formerly agreed upon. This agreement was broken. The party told the Indians that I had sold the whole quarter- section to him and agreed to drive them off. The poor Indians believed him and gave up the land, when the good friend (?) sold the whole to a third party, who knew nothing of the facts. The Indians felt very badly towards me about this. I knew nothing of the transaction until too late to remedy the wrong. This same man gave testimony against me afterwards, stating that I had sold the whole quarter- section, and I had to pay the Indians for dispos-sessing them. It now became the popular idea to try to jump the Indians lands. The Indians on the north side were threatened with land jumpers from Phoenix and Tempe. One party moved on their lands taking tools, sur-veying outfit, provisions, etc., and went to work just as though no Indians' were around. There were quite a number of them. They had sent their teams back home. The |