The Yaquis and the Yaqui War

THE YAQUIS AND THE YAQUI WAR. BY ANTHONY W. IVINS, PRESIDENT OP THE JUAREZ STAKE OF ZION.

"One hundred and fifty Yaqui women and children, captured during the present campaign, have just arrived over the Mexican Central. "They were met at the station by order of the Secretary of War, and will be distributed among the charitable institutions of this and other cities." "A party of Yaquis, made prisoners in the present campaign, have just arrived in the capital. It was the intention that they should be sent on to Yucatan at once over the Mexican Railway, but the Central train being several hours late, this could not be done, so they were lodged in jail." "It has been announced by the Secretary of War and Marine that the Yaqui campaign, which had been suspended because of the rainy season, has been reopened with renewed vigor." The above dispatches, which are quoted from the Patria, of Mexico, remind us that the long contest which has been waged by the Yaqui Indians, against the Mexican government, has not yet been decided. A state of war has existed, with but short intervals of peace, since 1885, a fact which inspires the admiration of all who understand the great odds against which the Yaquis have contended, and the valor with which they have fought and died in what they believe to be a just cause. While we admire their courage, we cannot but regret the delusion which leads them on, for unless history shall reverse itself, there can be but one result; the scenes of Fin-

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land in Russia, and the Transvaal in South Africa, will be re-enacted on the Yaqui River. It is the struggle of a few brave men, poorly armed, poorly disciplined, and without leadership, against a modern army with Mausers, Gatling and Colts rapid-fire guns; the logical termination is subjugation.

Looking on a map of Mexico, you will find the town of Guerrero in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua. A little south of this point, a river rises, which is here known as the Guerrero River. Flowing in a northwesterly direction, it finds its way

through the Sierra Madre range, and forms a junction with the Rio Bavispe, which rises in the northeastern part of the State of Sonora. The two streams form the Yaqui River which flows west till it empties into the Gulf of California. Just south of the Yaqui, in the State of Sinaloa, the Mayo River empties into the same gulf. When the early Spanish explorers landed on the Pacific coast, at the mouth of these rivers, they found the valleys along their banks occupied by a very interesting people. Father Ribas, the first Catholic priest to go among them, remonstrated because of the loud and boistrous manner in which they talked; they replied: "Do you not know that we are Yaquis." The name signifies, in the native dialect, one who talks in a loud voice. The Yaqui and the Mayo Indians belong to the same tribe or family, and were originally known as "Cahitas" or "Sinaloas," the names Yaqui and Mayo being derived from the names of the rivers on which they live. At the time of the conquest, they were classified among the wild tribes of Northern Mexico, but they readily assimilated the civilization of the Spaniards, acquired large herds of cattle, flocks of sheep and bands of horses, built permanent towns, and may now be classed among the civilized tribes of this republic. The lands on the Yaqui River, which they have inherited from their ancestors from prehistoric times, and which they are now so bravely defending, are among the richest and most fertile in the state of Sonora; the mountains are rich ingold and silver, and on the banks of the river which bears their name, they have built many towns, the principal being Cocorit, Bacum, Torin, Bicam, Potam, Rahun and Belem. Physically, the Yaquis are superior to the average Indians who occupy the southwestern part

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of the United States and northwestern part of Mexico. Strong, dark, industrious, they have for years been the miners, herdsmen, agriculturists and fishermen of the state. They are intelligent,

honest and social, much addicted to feasting and dancing, and inclined to intemperance. In war, they are intrepid and tenacious of purpose, and when once their minds are made up, danger seems to strengthen their stubbornness the more. They count their time by the moon, are excellent musicians, but not artistic. Their women are modest and virtuous, with pleasing features, but in early maternity incline too much to obesity to be pleasing in person. The Yaquis are not an aggressive people, not nomadic, and have never raided and killed as the Apaches and other tribes have done. Not sufficiently civilized to understand fully the obligations due from the citizen to modern government, they have chafed under the system of taxation which has been imposed upon them, and have protested as they have seen their lands, the lands which they claim through inheritance, but which under the law belong to the state, lands rich in agricultural and mineral wealth, gradually taken from them under legal provisions which they neither understand nor have the facilities to comply with, until in desperation, they have taken up arms against the government which inflicts these conditions upon them, determined to prevent further encroachments, or die in defense of what they believe to be their rights. The following, copied from the Patria, represents the present condition, at the seat of war: "On Thursday, it was reported from reliable sources that the Federal troops, under command of General Don Lorenzo Torres, had engaged the Yaqui rebels in one of the roughest parts of the mountains, and that a furious battle had been fought which lasted for five hours. The Indians, who numbered about seven hundred, were finally dislodged with serious loss caused by the combined fire of the Mausers with which the infantry are armed, and the rapid-fire Colts and Bange guns of the artillery. There are not more than fivehundred Indians with rifles, and many of these are not serviceable, and they are short of

ammunition. Against this force is arrayed five thousand government troops perfectly armed, disciplined and equipped." This probably is about the status of the contending forces. While the

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present war has been in progress, only few men have been killed or taken prisoners. The towns, where the women and children had been left, have been attacked, and many of the latter have been killed or captured and sent to Yucatan, the Siberia of Mexico, where tropical heat and deadly miasma do their work as surely as the ice and snow of Russia's penal colony. The writer asked a prominent Mexican, one fully acquainted with existing conditions, to give his opinion of the war, and some information in regard to the causes which had led up to it. His reply which follows illustrates the sentiment of many people in regard to the subject. *lt would indeed afford me pleasure to give you the information which you desire, but this is impossible. You know me, and that I would give you only the truth. The fact of the matter is, this so-called Yaqui war is an outrage, a thieving, murderous outrage. It started in 1885, and no one knows when it will end. I could get you the official history of it as published by the State, but there would be no truth in it, for all the blame is

placed on the Indians, while the —fools who started the rumpus get a white-washing." How long the war will continue, no one can tell. As hereto- fore stated, it has now been in progress for more than ten years, and still there are enough Yaquis left to hold in check the army which the government has sent against them. If it can be avoided, they never fight unless the advantage is on their side, and if hard pressed, separate in small bands only tp come together again and attack the enemy at an unexpected time and place. The fact that their women and children are being sent to Yucatan and other remote parts of the republic from which they cannot hope to return, renders the men desperate, and there is little doubt that the war will be continued for an indefinite period of time, unless a pacific policy is pursued and they are left in undisputed possession of the Yaqui Valley. It is hoped that the present policy of extermination be modified, and that this race of people may be will

spared for the development of those inherent qualities which they possess, and which, if properly directed, will make them useful citizens, and one of the bulwarks of the government which is now engaged in their destruction.