30 THE PIMA INDIANS [eth. axn. L'6 



Relations with Americans 

 CIVIL and military expeditions 



Earlj^ in the nineteenth century American beaver trappers began 

 to penetrate through the Apache-infested mountains that bordered 

 Pimeria on the north and east. Beaver were then fairl}- alnindant in 

 the moimtain streams and down the t'olorado Grande to the very end 

 in the burning lowlands. The amials of the Pimas make no mention 

 of these earliest visitors from the United States, but it is known that 

 several parties reached the "Pimos Gilenos," who were found uni- 

 formly friendly. The Patties, father and son, journeyed from the 

 Rio Grande to trap beaver in the Gila coimtry between 1825 and 1828, 

 and in the latter year pushetl on to California." Kjt Carson, with a 

 party of trappers, returned from his first trip to California by this 

 route during the winter of 1829-30. The famous trapper, Paul 

 Weaver, inscribed his name on the walls of Casa Grande in 1833.'' 



Besides the self-reliant and well-armed trappers, a few parties of 

 settlers made their way to California tlu-ough the Gila valley while it 

 was yet in the possession of the Mexicans, though the best-known 

 route was then north of the Colorado canyon. With the opening of 

 the new era of American ownersliip began the journeys of surveyors 

 and explorers. The first military invasion was by General Kearney, 

 with a party of 200 troopers, in 1846. Emory's excellent Notes of a 

 Military Recomioi.ssance and Johnston's Journal give details of this 

 journey with the first reliable information concerning the Pimas. 

 Kearney was followed Ijj- Lieutenant-Colonel Cooke in command of 

 the Mormon battalion, which opened a practicable wagon road to 

 California by way of Tucson and the Pima villages. In Ids ollicial 

 report Colonel Cooke states : 



I halted one day near the villages. of this friendly, guileless, and singularly inno- 

 cent and cheerful people, the Pimos. They were indeed friendly, for they refused 

 to surrender supplies that had been left at the villages to be held for the Moi-nion 

 battalion, and they thi-eatened armed resistance to the Mexicans who demanded the 

 mules and goods. 



banks of the river Gila near the towii of the Incarnation of Sutaquison, having journeyed more than 

 four leagues towards the west and a quarter northwest. The Indians of the town came out to receive 

 us and saluted us with tokens of great joy. Their number I estimated to be five hundred souls. On our 

 way we passed through two other small towns. In this limited territory liesalmost all the land occupied 

 by the tribe of the Pimas (iilenos. The soil here is very poor and raises a very sticky dust , on account of 

 which and their wretched food the Indians are very ugly, dirty, and repulsive. The river Gila was dry 

 in this region, so they obtained their water by digging wells in the sand. It is only during the season of 

 freshets that the river is of any service for the seed lands and fields of the Indians. The banks of the 

 river are covered with a grove of undersized Cottonwood trees. In the evening tobacco was distrib- 

 uted among the Indians and glass beads were promised the women for the following day. We asked 

 the Indians why they lived so far from the river, for formerly they had their town on its banks. They 

 replied that they had changed its site because on account of the groves and woods on its banks they 

 could defend themselves but ill against the Apaches, but that by living apart from the river they were 

 able to have a clear field for pursuing and killing the Apaches when they came against their town." 



<■ Pattie's Personal Narrative. 



» J. R. Browne, .\dventures in the Apache Country. New York, 18C9, 118. 



