File No. 283/79–86.
The Secretary of
State to the Mexican
Ambassador.
Department of State,
Washington, May 7,
1907.
No. 35.]Excellency: Referring to the department’s
note, No. 26, of the 6th ultimo, I have the honor to inclose
herewith, for your information, a copy of a report dated the 23d
ultimo, made by the governor of Arizona to the Secretary of the
Interior, showing the measures taken by the former to prevent the
smuggling of firearms and ammunition from that Territory into Mexico
for the use of the Yaqui Indians.
Accept, etc.,
[Page 849]
[Inclosure.]
The Governor of
Arizona to the Secretary of the
Interior.
Office of the Governor,
Phoenix Ariz.,, April 23, 1907.
Sir: I duly received your favor of the
4th instant advising me of the receipt of my letter of the 30th
ultimo relative to the smuggling of firearms across the Mexican
border for the use of the Yaqui Indians, and requesting me to
advise you of the reports received from the rangers and
sheriffs.
I have the honor to inclose herewith copies of letters received
by me from the sheriffs of the southern counties of the
Territory and from the captain of the rangers.
In addition to these reports I have further information gathered
by my secretary during a recent trip through the border
counties, and I am satisfied that the Yaquis are now obtaining
few, if any, arms from this Territory. Early last summer, as you
are aware, I had occasion to give full instructions to the
sheriffs and rangers, and the diligence of these officers led to
a practical suppression of the traffic, according to the advices
given me some months ago by Gen. Luis Terres, commander of the
military zone of Sonora and Sinaloa. And it appears that there
has been no resumption of the traffic of consequence. It is
difficult, of course, to prevent altogether the sales of arms
for the benefit of the Yaquis, as pointed out in my annual
report for last year (pp. 21–22).
I shall continue to give this matter my careful attention, and am
confident that our friends, the Mexican authorities, will have
no ground for complaint against this Territory.
Very respectfully,
[Subinclosure.]
Tombstone, Ariz., April 1, 1907.
[From Captain Wheeler’s reports of movements of the
Rangers.]
Hon. Joseph H.
Kibbey,
Governor of Arizona,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Sir: I respectfully acknowledge receipt
to-day of your letter containing directions for suppressing the
smuggling of arms to Yaqui Indians. We will do all in our power
to stop the practice.
——— ——
[Untitled]
Headquarters Arizona Rangers,
Naco, Ariz., April 5, 1907.
Hon. Joseph H.
Kibbey,
Governor of Arizona,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Sir: We have been investigating the
sale of arms at the stores of the different towns. All stores
report very low sales since the trouble of last June. I am
convinced, and my men concur, that if any arms are being
smuggled to Yaqui Indians, it is being done by the Papagoes
(Indians). They are great friends; the Papagoes can easily
secure arms from Tucson parties and in turn deliver them to the
Yaquis. We know that Yaquis have made visits to Papago country.
I will send a squad to watch that section, and will also keep
close guard along the border between Douglas and Nogales.
——— ——
[Untitled]
Florence, Ariz., March 31, 1907.
Hon. Joseph H.
Kibbey,
Governor, Phoenix,
Ariz.
Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your
letter of March 30, and will say in reply that I will do all in
my power to detect and prevent the sale of firearms to the
Indians in this county, and further that I will assist in any
way possible in preventing arms from being sent from this county
to the Yaquis.
Very truly, yours,
(Signed)
James E. McGee,
Sheriff.
By
T. C. Wells, Deputy.
[Untitled]
Office of the Sheriff of Cochise
County,
Tombstone,
Ariz., April 3,
1907.
Hon. Joseph H.
Kibbey,
Governor of Arizona,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Dear Sir: I have the honor to
acknowledge receipt of your letter of March 30, relative to the
alleged smuggling of firearms and ammunition to the Yaqui
Indians of Mexico. I will notify all dealers of the law, and
will also direct my deputies to cooperate with the Arizona
Rangers to detect and prevent this business.
Yours, very respectfully,
(Signed)
John F. White,
Sheriff.
By
A. H. Hopkins, Undersheriff.
[Untitled]
Office of the Sheriff of Pima County,
Tucson, Ariz., April 2, 1907.
Hon. Joseph H.
Kibbey,
Governor of Arizona,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt
of yours of the 30th of March. Replying to same will say that I
will notify all dealers in this county, as per your
instructions, and my deputies and self will do all in our power
to detect and prevent the sale and passage of firearms into
Mexico.
Respectfully,
(Signed)
Nabor
Pacheco,
Sheriff of Pima
County.
[Untitled]
Sheriff of Santa Cruz County,
Nogales, Ariz., April 1, 1907.
To the Governor, Phoenix, Ariz.
Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of
the 30th ultimo, regarding the sale of firearms in this
Territory to Yaqui Indians, and in reply to same I assure you
that every precaution will be taken to prevent the above
practice in the future.
Yours, very truly,
(Signed)
Harry J. Saxon,
Sheriff.
[Untitled]
Office of the Sheriff of Yuma County,
Ariz.,
Yuma,
Ariz., April 9,
1907.
Hon. Jos. H. Kibby,
Governor,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your favor
of March 30 in regard to Indians buying firearms. Myself and
deputies have and do all the time keep a close watch on all
Indians trying to buy firearms and ammunition, and we have had
only one case of Indians buying firearms since our first
notification from your office (June, 1906), and these were
Indians that live on this side of the line and have no relations
with the Yaqui Indians whatever. Nevertheless, we will keep a
close watch and see that no arms are bought here for the purpose
of smuggling them across the line to the Yaqui Indians.
Yours, very truly,
(Signed)
Gus
Livingston,
Sheriff of Yuma
County, Ariz
.
