" My objections to the bill are embodied in the
following statement:
This tribe has a population of about 20,500 souls, of whom 1,000 dress
in the manner of white men, 250 can read, and 500 use enough English
for ordinary conversation. Last year they cultivated 8,000 acres, and
possessed approximately 1,000,000 sheep, 250,000 goats, 100,500 cattle,
1,200 swine, and very considerable herds of horses and ponies.
Prior to January last the reservation, which is in the extreme
northeastern portion of the Territory of Arizona, consisted of lands
set apart for the use of these Indians under the treaty of June 1, 1863
(15 Stat., 667), and subsequent executive orders. On account of the
conditions naturally prevailing in that section, the reservation, as
then constituted, was altogether inadequate for the purpose for which
it was set apart. There was not a sufficient supply of grass or water
within its borders for the flocks and herds of the tribe, and in
consequence more than one-third of the Indians were habitually off the
reservation with their flocks and herds, and were in frequent contention
and strife with whites over pasturage and water.
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