| OCR Text |
Show 1906, about the time we were preparing to open the Oraibi day school, the two factions came actually to a physical struggle. I have had the matter investigated as well as practicable, and from all the testi-mony thus far elicited I deduce this general outline of the incident-- subject, of course, to modification after a more elaborate inquiry shall have been made. It appears that the chief of the Friendly faction, whose following was numerically only about one-half of the other faction, had received private information of a plot to assassinate him. A good while ago a group of Hopis of the village of Shimopovi, in active sympathy with the Hostile party at Oraibi, had removed to Oraibi and taken up their residence there. This was done in utter disregard of the fact, perfectly well known to them, that there were not land and water enough in the agricultural area cultivated by the Oraibi Indians to support well any larger population than was already there. The Hostiles of Oraibi naturally welcomed the immi-grant contingent, as it promised to swell the Hostile multitude there and increase its power in its conflict with the Friendlies; whereas the Friendlies were correspondingly irritated by it, for reasons easily understood. The Shimopovis not only took possession of a share of the Friendly property to which they had no claim, but appear to have become a doubly disturbing element in the local factional quarrel. Indeed, the Friendly chief seems to have understood the plot against his life to be a Shimopovi rather than an Oraibi scheme. He resolved therefore to put the Shimopovis out of the Oraibi village. On the morning of September 7 he gathered his followers at his house, armed and pre-pared for fight. In some way the news leaked out, the Hostiles got ready, and the employees of the school received a hint of trouble im-pending. They at once repaired, in company with the field matron and one or two other interested whites, to the mesa top, where they visited the Friendly gathering and insisted that, whatever the Friend-lies might do, no weapons should beused. They volunteered also to visit the Hostiles, and serve the same notice upon them. The Friend-lies consented after some consideration, but admonished the whites that time was flying and that whatever business they transacted with the Hostiles must be made as brief as possible. The whites repaired to the house where the Hostiles were gathered, and warned them also against the use of weapons. .While they were still addressing the meeting, the Friendly chief and his followers ar-rived- unarmed, as good faith demanded-and requested the whites to withdraw. When the Indians were left to themselves, as nearly as can be ascertained the Friendly chief gave the Shimopovi immigrants notice that they were no longer wanted in Oraibi and must quit the rillage at once. The Hostile chief responded that he had instructed his Oraibi followers to stand by their friends the Shimopovi Hostiles |
