Show CONROY TELLS lallo HABITS camlo W OF M NAVAJO TRIBE murderer of trader at arizona post ca caught aught after lo 10 long ng chase lasting years before tho the days of the spanish inquisition the navajo indiana no lians were a small email agricultural tribe As time passed their numbers increased through a process of as at hatton 0 of other tribes new blood brought to them a roving spirit As the number grew they became more aggressive spanish conquests made them more resentful they made war and wrought havoc upon the spanish colonists colonl sta they became so troublesome that the spanish settlers finally invaded their strongholds strong holds in 1705 this however apparently had no effect on their depredations in 1744 franciscan monks mingled with them in an attempt to civilize them after a taw few years how ever it was given up as a hopeless hofele ho pele task these cavajos navajos were a roving and predatory people and continuously mado made war with the ute and plains indians As the frontiers began to fade in the united states these cavajos navajoa were a constant ice to colonists finally in ISA a number of the principal chiefs of the navajo tribe made their first treaty with the united states unfortunately this treaty was broken when the principal signer was killed some three years later warfare dragod anew the navajo tribe became very hostile to all white men in 1863 the united states was successful in rounding up and deporting a large number of the navajos cavajos to the basque arendondo Ren dondo reservation on the pecos river near fort sumner in eastern now new mexico shortly after this the redoubtable KU hit carson of indian tame fame invaded the navajo country a and i nd forced their canyon stronghold some more navajos cavajos wore deported to bosqui arendondo Ilen Ren dondo many of the indians died in III this comparative confinement the government s attempt to civilize them was a costly costay fl failure then come carn a treaty in juno june 1868 the indians were permitted to return to their old haunts it la Is interesting to know that during their wartime war time tillie days th the cavajos navajos rubbed elbows with the pueblo puebla tribe of colorado as wel wei bg as with the mexicans to the south 8 prom from tile the former they learned the art ot of tine fine weaving while from the latter thoy they became skilled in the art ot of sliver silver fabricating while on their raids they accumulated vast rast herds of goats horses cattle and shoop which form the nou cleus of their extensive holdings nt at the present time th the 3 na vujos are noted for the tine fine blankets which the women make on handmade hand made looms they are also noted tor for the ornate silva jewelry by both men and women the cavajos navajoa are what la Is known as a matrilineal race in III other words descent Is traced through the mother upon marrying the husband ceases to be a member of 0 ills parents clan and becomes become s a member of his mother in laws tribe each family shifts for itself more or less the majority malor ltv of the cavajos navajoa are komada nomads vt at ea ench ch halting place however they ther build con bonfele fele houses made of logs log and covered with mud those these houses have small smoke holes at the apex in the summer they do not use these houses but sleep in rude shelters with opert open front it la Is their belief that it if a person dies in a house it becomes harned hau ned and therefore undesirable they are deeply imbued with religion and mythology they use various fetishes and paintings made of dry sand and pigments in their rituals tho the far flung navajo indian reservation spreads itself over some ten tell million acres in northeastern arizona anti and extends into new mexico and utah the territory Is almost entirely grid arid desert with rock and sand unfit tor for anything but grazing hers here these indians continue nue their nomadic existence llo however some are ara engaged in agriculture ri especially in the valley ot of the rio san juan yet the principal occupation continues q to be the raising ot of cattle and other stock the weaving of blankets anti and the fabricating of silver the average average elevation above sea level of the reservation la is something like feet some of the many mountains are tree clad generally speaking it Is wilderness and a rugged country high broad table like mesas abound their pr 13 cliffs descend abruptly t to the surrounding painted desert varl colored canyons wend their way through this land of enchantment tho the scene acene of my story Is laid on the navajo indian reservation in northeastern arizona in the vicinity of fort De defiance flance arizona many miles removed from gallup new mexico the nearest railroad point there we find frank do dit gan a one armed trader operating a trading post poat at cross canyon arizona on tho the navajo reservation on january 17 1022 1922 shortly after dusk dugan was brutally murdered mui dered flames from the trading post flared into the night the murderer disappeared into the darkness s word of the tragedy did not reach civilization until three days later A white trader at gallup N at and a former partner of the one armed trader frank dugan received information by the moccasin telegraph that the trading post at cross canyon had been burned alie moccasin telegraph la is a unique method used by american indians by which they tran messages with amazing rapidity by signal tires by night the smoke by day and the use ot of tile the far reaching torn torn at all times after proceeding on horseback to the trading post the traders partner found the building had been burned p to the ground its entire contents content had been destroy ed lie ile fund however that a hay bay barn bain located about thirty yards from the trading post had aad not been consumed by the flames the door on tho the hay barn was locked on the ground nearby he to found und a bloody wooden club not far from tills this club the road was stained with what appeared to be blood lie ile forced an entrance to the hay lay barn and between tile alie of baled litty hay he found the body of hla his partner prank frank dugan hla his load head crushed and battered and his pockets rifled the crime was committed on a government reservation special agents of t the he united S tates states bureau bureal ot of investigation at el paso to texas as were requested to handle tile the in matter ter T they lay proc proceeded ceded on the case they were compelled to ride on horseback camp overnight at springs anti and wells and carry their own provisions and were cut off for or many days away from all corn com with headquarters by telephone telegraph or mall mail upon arrival at the scene of the crime po fio clues cities could be found which would indicate the identity of the murderer the trading post poat had been burned to the ground and it was impossible to doi determine ermine through an inventory what it any articles of value had been stolen As I 1 have just said sald it is a belief of tile cavajos navajoa that it a person dies in a house it becomes haunted at 1 and undesirable had some navajo deeply imbued with superstition set fire to the building in order to dispel the spirit of the dead man the special agents handling the investigation were trained for work in the arid wastes of the southwest and had particular knowledge of the habits and customs cu of the navajo people they know knew that the navajo indians runny many times pawn at trading posts on reservations personal belongings such as handsome jewelry strings of turquoise beads silver hammered turquoise rings hand hammered silver belts and belt buckles with this in mind arrangements were made with the superintendent of the indian reser for the chiefs of the tribe to be called together through interpreters arrangements made to procure information regarding any articles which may have been pawned at frank du galls gaits trading post inquiries were made among the various scattered camps and hogang began of the not na throughout the th wIlder nem country of northeastern arizona agents with navajo interpreters and headmen of the navajo tribe traveled weary hours on horse back across the desert wastes in visiting these isolated spots bit by bit evidence as to articles of value which had been in the store at the time of the mur der and fire was collected hos hog teen clio degay begay navajo indian had 11 pawned a silver belt contain con tan ing twelve silver discs of diamond des design t agn with a silver buckle cin aln ne jenale hez had bad pawned a string of shell and turquoise beads bios Os teen de ba te kane legay otherwise known as ag billy john had placed in pawn one large tanned buckskin with a sewed ollace lace in the middle of the th a little hide faltys son had pawned a silver bracelet with three turquoise stone settings and red lied dog had pawned one large tanned buckskin tills informs tion was important the navajo has a retentive memory ile he never forests an article which once belonged to him and can positively identity identify such article many years after it has left his possession ile he Is a skilled craftsman and ran can remember his handiwork it Is also interesting to note noto that it lg Is a custom of the navajo indian to call on a medicine man to attend any member of the tribe who ihas bas become sick it Is their beliet belief that it some member of the tribe commits a murder he will be worked on or troubled by the spirit of the murdered man and in case he has eaten food after the commission of tile the murder without first having washed his hands the blood from his hands will find a way into his stomach resulting in his becoming III and vomiting blood the medicine man mail attending the murderer in order to dispel the spirit of the murdered man burns a certain kind of weed greases the body of the patient with mutton suet and paints him with the ashes of the burned weed investigation by bureau agents brought j clou upon dal gal gai otherwise known as aa shot boy the illegitimate son of a full blooded indian squaw and a halfbreed half halt breed mexican Mex lean sometime after the crime valuable information was secured it was fount found that dal gal had been given treatment by an indian medicine man shortly after the murder of frank dugan because dal gal had been taken violently III and had vomited blood the agents made a search toi for the medicine man who had given dal gat gal this I 1 treatment it was found that his lips wore were sealed ile he had died the agents were unable to learn what dal gal had told him during the time of his illness years passed many people bala that tile tho murder of frank dagah had been a perfect crime but the agents worked on finally more than three years after tho the in murder had been committed the case case began to unravel there was found a stiver silver belt twelve silver discs of diamond design with a silver buckle these bad been pawned at the store of an indian trader at saint michaels found that a string of shell and turquoise beads with two email strings of turquoise beads had been traded by dalgai dal gai gal with a pendleton robe to faltys son tor for an indian pony later the silver bracelet bia celet with the three turquoise stone atone settings was located at the wide ruins trading post whereat where it had been pawned by dal gal quietly these exhibits were 0 collected by the agents constantly on the alert tor for articles of pawn taken from dugans place over three years before now dalgai alias shot doy boy had bad indian blood lie ile could not behave during march 1925 he bobbled the store ot of claude romero R 0 indian trader tr a der on the th 0 navajo na vajo indian reservation A short time later lie he was arrested for this crime he was ivas convicted and sentenced to six men months t imprisonment in ark an arizona jall after lie he was in custody special gents agents a of the bureau closely questioned him regarding his movements during the three years previous they brought before him the indian jewelry and other articles which lie ho had bad pawned and which had boon been recovered lie was as identified dy by traders to whom he had pawned the artic articles JOS he then the admitted that he had had posses possession n of the trinkets trin keta and made statements as to where he had secured them agents then checked his stories and nol foun found d them to be untrue they again interrogated him and proved to him that th at his statements had been false finally on october 14 1925 he realized that he was wag trapped and that he would be convicted lie ile knew kne W that further dentals denials would be of no avail then this navajo indian beat a death tattoo on the walls of the room in which he was being held lie he chanted the indian death song thus making peace with the great spirit then he confessed and placed himself in the hands bands of the high court of the white men the following day he was indicted by the united states tates grand jury in session at phoenix arizona about one week later a merciful court allowed him to enter a plea of guilty to murder in the second degree the federal judge then sentenced him to serve the rest of hla his natural life within the confines of a federal penitentiary there this nomadic navajo indian will remain until he Is called by the great spirit to the happy hunting grounds gunelson Gunn lson valley news newa |