James Meade's entry, which included Mary Taylor's interest, is as follows: No. 987, March 29th, 1882. N. 1/2 of N. W. 1/4 and N. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4, Sec. 22, T. 14 S., R. 2 E., S. B. M. Captain Knowles's lines we did not ascertain. He claims and in one way or another occupies several tracts in the cañon.
Exhibit J.
THE SEQUAN INDIANS.
The Sequan Indians are a small band of Dieguino Indians living in a rift of the hills on one side of the Sweetwater Cañon, about twenty miles from San Diego. There are less than fifty of them all told. They are badly off, having for the last ten years been more and more encroached on by white settlers, until now they can keep no cattle, and have little cultivable land left. There is a small reservation of one section set off for them, but the lines were never pointed out to them, and they said to us they did not know whether it were true that they had a reservation or not. They had heard also that there was an agent for the Indians, but they did not know whether that were true or not. As nearly as we could determine, this village is within the reservation lines; and if it is, some of the fields which have been recently taken away from the Indians by the whites must be also. They had the usual bundle of tattered "papers" to show, some of which were so old they were hardly legible. One of them was a certificate from a justice of the peace in San Diego, setting forth that this justice, by virtue of power in him vested by the California State law, did—
"permit hereby all these Indians to occupy peaceably and without disturbance all the certain land and premises heretofore occupied and held by these Indians aforesaid, including all their right and title to all other necessary privileges thereto belonging, mainly the water necessary for the irrigation of their lands."
These Indians are much dispirited and demoralized, and wretchedly poor. Probably the best thing for them would be, in case the Capitan Grande Cañon is cleared of whites and assured to the Indians, to remove there and join the Capitan Grande band.
THE CONEJOS.
The Conejos are of the Dieguino tribe. Their village is said to be partly on the Capitan Grande Reservation. One man familiar with the region told us that the reservation line ran through the centre of the Conejos village. The village is reached only by a nine-miles horseback trail, and we did not visit it. The captain came to San Diego to see us, and we also learned many particulars of the village from an intelligent ranchwoman who has spent eleven summers in its vicinity. There are thirty-two men, twenty-six women, and twenty-two children in the band. They have good fields of wheat, and raise corn, squashes, and beans; yet there is not a plough in the village. The captain is very strenuous in his efforts to make all his Indians work. When strange Indians come to the village to visit, they also are set to work. No one is allowed to remain longer than three days without lending a hand at the village labor. They are a strong and robust band. They say they have always lived in their present place. The captain asked for ploughs, harnesses, and "all things to work with," also for some clothes for his very old men and women. He also begged to be "told all the things he ought to know;" said no agent had ever visited them, and "no one ever told them anything."
In many of their perplexities they are in the habit of consulting Mrs. Gregory, and she often mounts her horse and rides nine miles to be present at one of their councils. Not long ago one of their number, a very young Indian, having stabbed a white man living near Julian, was arrested, put in jail, and in imminent danger of being lynched by the Julian mob. They were finally persuaded, however, to give him up to his tribe to be tried and punished by them. Mrs. Gregory was sent for to be present at the trial. The facts in the case were, that the Irishman had attempted to take the young Indian's wife by force. The husband interfering, the Irishman, who was drunk, fired at him, upon which the Indian drew his knife and stabbed the Irishman. Mrs. Gregory found the young Indian tied up in the snow, a circle of Indians sitting around him. Recounting the facts, the captain said to Mrs. Gregory, "Now, what do you think I ought to do?" "Would you think he deserved punishment if it were an Indian he had stabbed under the same circumstances?" asked Mrs. Gregory. "Certainly not," was the reply, "we should say he did just right." "I think so too," said Mrs. Gregory; "the Irishman deserved to be killed." But the captain said the white people would be angry with him if no punishment were inflicted on the young man; so they whipped him and banished him from the rancheria for one year. Mrs. Gregory said that during the eleven years that they had kept their cattle ranch in the neighborhood of this village, but one cow had ever been stolen by the Indians; and in that instance the Indians themselves assisted in tracking the thief, and punished him severely.