After these conditions were agreed upon and a committee appointed, that I had confidence in, to see to the dividing of the water, I signed the report with the rest.
This I thought best to do at the timer reserving the right, however, that if the whites ever broke faith with the Indians I would seek to protect them at all hazards.
This contract has been measurably kept with more or less grumbling from some of the shareholders. The lands the Indians occupied I had secured to them the best I could by having my sons claim some of it in their names. One quarter-section was secured by purchase from a Mexican, who settled on a forty, allowing the Indians the balance. I bought the Mexican out and sold the forty to a supposed friend, with the understanding that he was to use the forty and let the Indians have the balance, as formerly agreed upon.
This agreement was broken. The party told the Indians that I had sold the whole quarter-section to him and agreed to drive them off. The poor Indians believed him and gave up the land, when the good friend (?) sold the whole to a third party, who knew nothing of the facts. The Indians felt very badly towards me about this. I knew nothing of the transaction until too late to remedy the wrong. This same man gave testimony against me afterwards, stating that I had sold the whole quarter-section, and I had to pay the Indians for dispossessing them.
It now became the popular idea to try to jump the Indians lands. The Indians on the north side were threatened with land jumpers from Phoenix and Tempe.
One party moved on their lands taking tools, surveying outfit, provisions, etc., and went to work just as though no Indians were around. There were quite a number of them.
They had sent their teams back home. The Indians gathered around them, and in a good-natured manner loaded all their stuff into their wagons, then by main force of numbers picked up the whites, loaded them on top of the loading, then seized the wagons by hand and hauled the whole outfit off from their lands laughing and joking all the time. The whites dared not make any resistance. This raised a big excitement, and armed companies commenced to gather both at Tempe and Phoenix.
It looked now as though blood would be shed. I went to McDowell and reported to Major Chaffee, he said he would be ready at five minutes' notice to come to the protection of the Indians; for me to go back and keep watch of the moves and let him know the minute any violence was offered. This whole business was broken up by the cunning of an Indian who lived at Tempe.
The Tempe company was headed by a captain who said the Indians had broken into his house and robbed him. He had raised a great excitement and quite a company, and was getting ready to join the company from Phoenix to make war on the Indians who had ran them off from their lands.
This Tempe Indian was standing looking at Captain J——'s company, when someone asked him if the Indians had really broken into Captain J——'s house.