USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. VIII > Part 17
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
near the garrison when I could prevent it. I consider it unfortunate that the Pimas are al- lowed by their agent to come to McDowell at present. This party brought in some eighty or more Indians of the Tonto Band. Major Curtis was much engaged at the time they came in and did not have the opportunity to give them the attention they expected.
" 'The Indian ration was reduced to one pound of beef and one pound of flour, or rather corn, upon which an Indian cannot subsist, and of course will not be content with it, as they have neither roots, game, nor fruit here to eke out the ration. I do not believe it requisite to keep them near McDowell. All that I have talked with express a desire to be allowed a reservation near Reno or Sunflower Valley ; these points are away from the Pimas, from settlements, and need have only one company of soldiers near them with their agent. There is not a particle of doubt in my mind, all the stories to the con- trary, that they, at this moment, are anxious for a peace, and a lasting one. No man can talk with them an hour without being convinced of this fact.
" "Captain McNetterville, who has been out by direction of Major Curtis, and had a talk with Da-chay-ya, on his return seemed to have been most favorably impressed with their sincerity; before, I believe, he never had any confidence in them, and was in favor of exterminating them if possible. Dr. Howard, the medical officer who accompanied Captain McNetterville, expressed
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THE PEACE COMMISSION.
great surprise at the intelligence and earnestness shown by their talk and manner.
" 'It must not be expected that a peace made with these various bands, scattered all over a great, wild territory like Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora, will be perfect for a long time. Many bad Indians will refuse to come in. These will have to be hunted down; and if the good ones are now cared for, properly fed, reasonably clothed, and kindly treated, they can easily be induced, in my opinion, to help catch this class of renegades and bring them to proper punish- ment. It is going to take a good deal of patience, careful judgment, forbearance and humane treat- ment; but I have the strongest belief it can be accomplished. If we fight them one or two years, it has to be done in the end ; for it is not to be sup- posed the Government is going to keep up a per- petual war on them.
" 'If I remain in the Territory, I only ask that I may be stationed at a post overlooking a reser- vation; for I know a race of beings possessing the intelligence so prominently exhibited by the Apaches can be taught to appreciate the advan- tages of living at peace with the whites, whom they frankly recognize as every way superior to themselves. But this desirable result can never be brought about by following two directly oppo- site policies at the same time-one war, the other peace.
" 'With best wishes, &c.
"'N. A. M. DUDLEY,
" 'Brevet Colonel, United States Army.
" 'Hon. VINCENT COLYER.'
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"CAPTAIN CURTIS'S REPORT OF AR- RIVAL OF EIGHTY TONTO APACHES AT McDOWELL.
" 'Headquarters Camp McDowell, Arizona Territory.
" 'November 3, 1871.
" 'Sir: Since your departure I have been stead- ily engaged in trying to open communication with the Tontos and Apache-Mohaves. They sent in a messenger about October 14, and by the 20th I had in over eighty of them, from the two different bands above stated. Es-cal-la-tay, the head of the Four Peak Indians, came with his band, and the Apache-Mohaves with their own chief. I had only a short talk with them at the time, they being willing to wait until others would get in, so as to have a grand council and settle the whole matter. Da-chay-ya, with his Indians, had not yet arrived. At this juncture of affairs, and after they had been camped near me for three days, they suddenly disappeared about midnight, and went back to their mountain homes.
"I found upon inquiry that some rascally Mex- icans had been talking to them, and, as near as I could learn, frightened them out by telling them that the Pimas were coming after them. I cannot prove this, but I believe it. That these Indians have a great dread of the Pimas is well known. I have written the Indian agent at Sac- aton, Mr. J. H. Stout, telling him that he must keep his Pimas and Maricopas away from this post. These Mexicans are many of them guides, &c., and are well aware of the fact that if we make peace their occupation will be gone.
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THE PEACE COMMISSION.
" 'Two days after these Indians left I sent Captain Netterville, Twenty-first Infantry, to Sunflower Valley, thirty miles from here, to re- new communications and find out what was the matter. Inclosed please see his order, private instructions, and copy of report.
" 'They do not wish to come here and stay, for two or three very strong reasons: 1. They are afraid of the Pimas and Maricopas, and the lat- ter can readily reach this place. 2. They are too far from their mountains to gather fruit or mescal or to hunt, and without some such aid they cannot subsist on a pound of beef and one of flour. 3. They have a natural indisposition to leave a country where they have always been accustomed to live. 4. They say that they can plant and get plenty of water on Tonto Creek (near Reno). It is, however, difficult to supply Camp Reno, as the road is very bad. Troops were stationed there at one time, but the post was broken up on this account.
" 'It seems to me that there ought to be a trusty agent constantly on the spot here to attend to all these things. I have but $400 that I can expend for them, which is but a drop in the bucket, when they all need blankets and clothing. All that I can do is to give them a little manta, calico, and tobacco. Then, again, I am peculiarly situated. If I take the responsibility of declar- ing a temporary reservation, my action may be disapproved by the department commander, or I may not be able to get the means of supply- ing it. Troops should be with them wherever they may be, and I have not the power to put them there. One thing seems to me certain, that
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they will never be contented near this post. I believe that it is better to so shape things as not to crowd them. The whole country around Reno, Tonto Creek, and Greenback Creek is un- settled by the whites, and they never go there. It seems to me that Tonto Valley is the place for them. It can be supplied with flour by pack trains, and beef can be driven there.
" 'Tonto and Greenback Valleys (the latter about twenty miles southeast of Reno) are said by those who have been there to be the best adapted places for this purpose in this whole Territory. Greenback Valley is small, but very pretty, and has plenty of timber and grass and fine bottom land for cultivation with but little irrigation. The road from here to Reno, as I said before, is very bad, but Reno can be sup- plied, as stated, by pack trains for the present.
" 'I hope that you will take some action in this matter without delay. In the meantime I shall try and collect these Indians here or at Sun- flower, and let them, if there, send for their rations. It is impossible for me to send out there, for I have not the means of so doing. You can see that I am so situated that I cannot prom- ise them anything, and the whole thing may fall through for this reason. I think they mean to make a lasting treaty of peace if they can be made to feel that they are not being deceived.
" 'I will advise you further when the grand council is held.
"'I am, sir, very respectfully, "'JAMES CURTIS,
" 'Captain Third Cavalry, Commanding Post, and ex-officio Indian Agent.
"""Hon. VINCENT COLYER.'
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"TALK WITH DA-CHAY-YA AND SHEL- TER PAU, HEAD CHIEFS OF THE TONTO APACHES, AT MCDOWELL.
" 'Camp McDowell, Arizona, Territory, " 'November 2, 1871.
" 'Sir: I have the honor to report that, in compliance with Special Orders No. 170, dated Headquarters Camp McDowell, Arizona Terri- tory, October 25, 1871, I left this post and pro- ceeded to Sunflower Valley, and complied as near as possible with special instructions given me by the post commander. I arrived at Sunflower Valley at 5:30 P. M. on the 27th of October, and went into camp at Stockade. On the morning of the 28th I commenced building fires and kept them burning during the day as signals. On the morning of the 29th my signals were an- swered from a hill near camp. At 10 o'clock four Indians came into camp. I gave them some- thing to eat and sent them out at once to tell their chief, Da-chay-ya, to come in; that I wanted to have a talk with him. In the evening two more Indians came in from another direction, who said they belonged to Shelter Pau's band. I also sent them out with the same instructions. 'On the 30th four Indians and two squaws came into camp with a message to me from Da-chay-ya and Shelter Pau that they would come and see me the next day. I gave these Indians some- thing to eat, and sent them out of camp to come in again when their chiefs came. On the 31st, about twelve o'clock, Shelter Pau and forty war- riors arrived. In the afternoon of the same day Da-chay-va, with twenty of his warriors, and four or five squaws, with children, arrived. I
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had a talk with both chiefs that afternoon, and told them my mission; they appeared to be well pleased with what I said to them, and would reply to me the next morning. They were in a very destitute condition, being nearly naked and apparently suffering very much from the cold. They both appeared to be anxious for peace, and expressed a desire to live happily with all man- kind. I gave each band a sack of flour and issued them some beef. The next morning, November 1, both chiefs came into camp, and desired to have a big talk. The following is what Da- chay-ya said: 'I don't want to run over the mountains any more ; I want to make a big treaty ; I will live with the soldiers if they will come to Sunflower Valley or Camp Carroll, if Govern- ment will establish a camp there; I will make a peace that will last; I will keep my word until the stones melt; I cannot go to Camp McDowell because I have no horses and wagons to move my women and children, but at Camp Carroll I can live near the mountains and gather the fruit and get the game that is there. If the big cap- tain at Camp McDowell does not put a post where I say, I can do nothing more, for God made the white man and God made the Apache, and the Apache has just as much right to the country as the white man. I want to make a treaty that will last, so that both can travel over the country and have no trouble; as soon as a treaty is made I want a piece of paper so that I can travel over the country as a white man. I will put a rock down to show that when it melts the treaty is to be broken. I am not afraid of the white man or the Mexican, but I am afraid of the Pimas
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and Maricopas, who steal into my camps at night and kill my women and children with clubs. If I make a treaty I expect corn and wheat, pump- kin and melon seed, and I will plant near old Camp Reno. I want the big captain to come and see me ; see how I get along ; and will do whatever he wants me to do. If I make a treaty I expect the commanding officer will come and see me whenever I send for him, and I will do the same whenever he sends for me. If a treaty is made and the commanding officer does not keep his promises with me I will put his word in a hole and cover it up with dirt. I promise that when a treaty is made the white man or soldiers can turn out all their horses and mules without anyone to look after them, and if any of them are stolen by the Apaches I will cut my throat. I want to make a big treaty, and if the Americans break the treaty, I do not want any more trouble; the white man can take one road and I can take the other. I will send some men with you to the big captain at Camp McDowell, and when they return I want him to put on a piece of paper what he promises, so that I can keep it. Tell him that I am sick now, but will go to see him in twelve days if I have to crawl on my hands and knees to get to him. Tell him that I will bring in all the wild Apaches that I can, and if any will not come I will tell the captain who they are and where they live. I have got nothing more to say.'
"'I then asked Shelter Pau what he desired to say. He said he had nothing more to say than Da-chay-ya; he wanted the same as Da- chay-ya did, and that he would come into the post the same time as he did. I then gave each chief
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one beef and left the camp at Sunflower Valley at 10 o'clock, accompanied by sixteen Indians be- longing to the two bands, and arrived at this post this a. m. at seven o'clock, having marched a dis- tance of sixty miles.
" 'I have reported the loss of one mule, which was kicked by a horse and so badly disabled that he had to be shot, after which the Indians ate him.
"'I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
" 'W. McC. NETTERVILLE, " 'Captain Twenty-first Infantry.
"'First Lieutenant A. D. King, U. S. A. " 'Post Adjutant, McDowell.'
"'CAMP MCDOWELL, ARIZONA TERRI- TORY, " 'November 17, 1871.
" 'Dear Sir: I thought you would be glad to hear how your policy was working at this point. Major Curtis has done all in his power, and consulted my views in nearly all his actions. It has been slow work, however, the responsibility having to be taken for everything done.
" 'Captain McGregor's command has never sent out the white flag you arranged for; I be- lieve he intended to, but for some reason un- known to me he did not do it. The company of Mexicans enlisted as soldiers are still here, as worthless a set and as idle as I want to see.
" 'Major Curtis and myself compared notes night before last, and we counted up about two hundred Indians in all, who have come into camp since you left, representing the Apache-
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Mohaves, Four Peak, Da-chay-ya and Tonto Apaches. Da-chay-ya, with fully eighty males, a few boys included, but no women, came into gar- rison and was warmly received by Major Curtis. He fed them the scanty allowance prescribed, clothed up Da-chay-ya and three other principal men, and gave the four good blankets. The first two days they appeared quite happy and pleased. On the afternoon of the 14th the major had a talk with them. All expressed a desire for peace. Da-chay-ya said he was sick; his breast, where he was shot by an infamous surgeon, most foully, gave him great pain. He appeared earnest for peace; said they were poor, starving, but that his people could not come into McDowell and live on the half ration allowed by the Govern- ment; that there was no mescal, no game, no chance to obtain anything beyond the pound of corn and pound of beef. His people would not be satisfied; the soldiers had no right to expect an Indian to live on less than a white man. Some of the points put by Da-chay-ya were discussed at length. He seemed to comprehend the situa- tion. It was explained to him that no officer here was authorized to locate them on a reserva- tion in their own country; that there was no authority to increase his ration or give blankets to his people. (Your order for blankets had not come to hand approved, at the meeting of this council.) He appeared somewhat dissatis- fied, but did not express it in words. Up to the breaking up of the talk he asserted his wishes for peace, and a good long one.
" 'He wanted to go out for a few days; said he would come in again in four or five days.
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Major Curtis told him that he would send off a written treaty for the approval of the great chief at Washington, the President. In it he would recommend that a large tract of country near Reno, including Tonto Bottom and Sunflower Valley, be reserved for their sole occupation; that he would try and get an agent sent among them for the purpose of instructing them how to cultivate the soil and use the implements which the Government would undoubtedly furnish them; that the Government would in all proba- bility locate a company of soldiers near them to protect them from the Pimas and whites who might attempt to hunt or locate on their grounds. These points they seemed to be pleased with; but they could not live upon what they were getting now.
"'The council for the day was ended. They sent their parties up to the wood yard at dark, as they had been doing two nights previous, for their night's supply of fuel, built their fires and commenced cooking their beef. About seven p. m. they suddenly left in a body, Da-chay-ya, the Mohaves and all. That they were frightened off by some parties or person no doubt can exist, inasmuch as they left their meat cooking on the fire; besides, they left several of their bows and quivers filled with arrows hanging on the trees where they were encamped.
" 'At the council in the afternoon Da-chay-ya stated that he would leave some of his men back in garrison till he returned. What should have so suddenly changed his mind none of us is at all able to tell; the Mexican soldiers and citizen packers had free access to their camp, as well as
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soldiers. No insult was offered or injury done them that we know of.
" 'I feel very much disappointed at this result ; everything promised so fair. I heard Da- chay-ya say two or three times that all his people would come in soon ; that the Four Peak Apache- Mohaves were all in Sunflower Valley talking about coming in; that he thought they would come to the post with all their families in the course of ten days, when they heard what the soldiers had to say.
" 'They have more warriors than I gave them credit for; nearly all that came in with Da- chay-ya were able-bodied men, only one or two very old men in the party.
" 'I believe an influence was brought to bear upon him by outsiders which frightened him off. His former treatment made him suspicious and fearful of some treachery, notwithstanding he was assured that if no understanding was come to, he should be allowed to go unmolested back to his family, providing no depredations were committed by his band. Not a thing was taken by one of them that I have heard of, and there were hundreds of soldiers' shirts hanging on the clothes lines of the laundresses near their camp. There is a singular mystery regarding their sud- den departure that I cannot understand.
" 'The robbery of the mail stage and the killing of five citizens, a week ago, by an unknown party, near Wickenburg, of course is laid to the Indians. At first even the Prescott papers partially ad- mitted that it was a party of Mexican bandits from Sonora. Indians, when they attack a stage, are not apt to leave the horses, blankets, and VIII-18
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curtains of the coach behind; in this case they did. I do not believe there was an Apache near the scene of the murder. All honest men have the same opinion, if they dared to express it.
" 'Yours truly, &c., " 'N. A. M. DUDLEY,
" 'Brevet Colonel United States Army. " 'Hon. VINCENT COLYER, " 'Commissioner.'"
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CHAPTER XIV.
THE PEACE COMMISSION (Continued).
CAMP VERDE RESERVATION-THE APACHE-MO- HAVES-REPORT OF REV. DAVID WHITE, POST CHAPLAIN - ARRIVAL AT CAMP WHIPPLE, GENERAL CROOK'S HEADQUARTERS-REFUSAL TO ADDRESS MEETING OF CITIZENS-DEPAR- TURE FROM TERRITORY-FINAL STATEMENT AS TO APACHES COMING IN.
"Camp Verde, Arizona Territory, "October 3, 1871.
"We arrived at Camp Verde on the evening of September 30; General Grover and the officers under his command at the post received us kindly. Early in the morning after our arrival, at my request, the General sent out an Indian interpreter to inform the Apache-Mohaves of our arrival, and to request them to meet us at the Springs, twenty-five miles up the valley of the Verde, on the following noon. Arrange- ments were made to have one thousand pounds of corn, three beef cattle, and a good supply of cloth- ing forwarded to the Springs, and at daybreak October 2, we were up and ready for the journey. General Grover, a lieutenant (former command- ant of the post), Mr. Beal, a citizen, Mr. Ward, the interpreter, and an escort of five cavalry, ac- companied us. The beef cattle were driven ahead, and the corn and clothing carried on twelve pack mules. We arrived at the Springs about noon. General Grover selected for our camp a clear hilltop a short distance above the Springs, over-
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looking the valley. There were no Indians to be seen, though there was smoke burning up a near ravine. The Indian interpreter informed us that he had been to several of their villages, and found many were sick from want of food, but that all who were able had promised to come. General Grover, thinking that the presence of several white men who, returning from a deer hunt, had followed us, might be one of the causes of the absence of the Indians, suggested that they leave us. I agreed with him, and the five Apache-Mohaves arrived. Soulay was so ema- ciated from sickness and hunger that the Gen-
eral hardly
recognized him.
He was so weak
he lay down on the ground, his head resting under the shade of a sagebrush. There were no trees near. The General thinking that he was suffer- ing from an attack of intermittent fever, I pre- pared a mixture of quinine and whisky and gave it to him, but he soon asked for food, which we gave him. After an hour or so he recovered his strength and we had a talk. He pointed to the valley of the Verde below, where a white man had erected a cabin the year before, and said, 'Where that house stands I have always planted corn; I went there this spring to plant corn, and the white man told me to go away or he would shoot me; so I could not plant corn there any more. Many white men hunted for deer over his mountains, like the three men who had just gone down the valley; that if they met any In- dians they shot them, and that they killed all the game or frightened them so much the Indians could not get near them with their bows and ar- rows, and as the white people would not let them
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have any ammunition, they could not kill the deer. There were some mesquite beans, mescal, and cactus figs on the mountains, but they could not live on that in the winter, and they did not see what was left for them but to die. If they went to the post to get some food they could not get any, and the general scolded them about their young men stealing and drove them off. The chiefs could not get anything for their people to eat; they were gradually losing their influence over their young men, who, finding themselves starving, would occasionally go on the roads and farms and steal stock to eat; they knew it was wrong, but how could he stop it, or blame them, when they were all dying for food ?' At my re- quest the Indians kindled more fires, and sent out three more runners to bring the Indians in. During the afternoon four parties of three or four each arrived; they were hungry and nearly naked, and confirmed the interpreter's story that numbers of the Indians in the villages from which they came were too sick to come in. We gave them food and clothing. During the night sev- eral fires answering our signals were seen on the mountains across the valley, and early the next morning, October 3, a party of thirty men, women and children arrived. After giving them some food and clothing we had a talk. The chiefs repeated nearly all that Soulay said the day be- fore, and together earnestly desired that the val- ley of the Verde from Camp Verde up to the old Mexican wagon road, about forty-five miles, and for a distance of ten miles on each side of the river, might be set apart for them as an Indian reservation, and they agreed that if the Apache-
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Mohaves, who were scattered over the middle and western portion of Arizona, who rendezvous about Date Creek, would come in and live with them, they would make room for and welcome them cheerfully upon their reservations. I asked them if they would not be willing to go over to Date Creek and have their home located there. They said there were too many white people around there, and the country did not suit them as well as the valley of the Verde. General Gro- ver and the officers and the citizens I met at the post, all agreed that the valley of the Verde was the best location for a reservation for them. Ac- cordingly, on my return to the post this after- noon, I addressed a letter to General Grover setting apart the valley of the Verde as a reser- vation for the Apache-Mohave Indians.
"Since my return to Washington I have re- ceived the following letter from Rev. David White, post chaplain, reporting the full success in the coming in of over five hundred Apache- Mohaves at Camp Verde Reservation :
" 'Camp Verde, Arizona Territory, "'November 22, 1871.
" 'Dear Sir : I write congratulating you on the success of your mission to the Indians of this Ter- ritory. Since you left, five hundred and eighty Apache-Mohaves have been in and drawn rations. It affords me pleasure to say that the food given out by Captain Hawley (now in command) is given in good faith. The Indians appear well pleased. There is but little danger in travelling anywhere on account of Indians. I have made
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