|
<br />
<br />-
<br />
<br />00205:-
<br />
<br />J
<br />
<br />l'
<br />
<br />~_I'~
<br />,..
<br />
<br />'J'.
<br />./
<br />-/
<br />-"
<br />~.
<br />
<br />'.
<br />
<br />.
<br />""'>: ;",
<br />'~,\'
<br />......w_.,';....'.
<br />-'~.......~;."~.~
<br />
<br /> . ',\';::.
<br />'. '.
<br />. .
<br />~.. - ~-
<br />
<br />~urface salt had IIcCII washed 3wa)'. But the)' weren't lulling
<br />thclllscln's intI>;) fal'>C" SCn';C of security. There was still
<br />llluch of the land which remained useless and they knew
<br />they couldn't hope for clear ground water iflr 100;g. The
<br />11I)().1 was 3 [;Ire one and 1'011 can't build :l home and rai<oe
<br />a family on :l schedule 0 crops two ycan; nut "f [en, Of
<br />tiire-en, or [wenl\".
<br />"That's wlw'," S;IP R. H. .\lcElhancv. "we WCfe so
<br />happ)' on~r what Hugo FannCf had dOlle' and was doing:.
<br />IllS work gaH' ItS Ihl." SUr(' knowlcdl{c Ih.lI ~"llIc[hing c"uld
<br />be llonc. S~) we dccidcd [0 rcJoubl"t om eltons in helping
<br />him do il."
<br />Of \:OUI'jC there weren't as Iluny to lend;) helping
<br />hand 3' there once were. Three nur of four nf the \Velllon.
<br />.\\nhawk families Iud surrendered ltl the dement';, "You
<br />iu~t can't ~[;J.n.1 rhert' and watch your land ~hrink a.....ay to
<br />nothing. You lIlo"e in and ~take e,'ef\,thing Y'lll ha\.e
<br />becaus~ ynu km.w the land's good. Fin:llh: ,.ou !rei [() where
<br />)'ou SUfi: making cnough so [hat your ,,'j{e can- drc'~ as shc
<br />should, dIe kids can lonk forward to an e.luc:ltion ,md yoU
<br />can see a lit de \"ac.lrion next ye3r maybe. Then nne !non;ing-
<br />YOU wake up. look out the 'windtl\~. and !.eC the salt ".ing
<br />;111 the ground like spilled white paint. Then e,.cr~. morning
<br />after thar the nrsl thine ,-uu .-In is gll 10 that winduw and
<br />\,011 see more and mure and more ,~.hite,
<br />. "Thar's when YOII pack up Jnd 1C<l"c it H, the dust,
<br />rhe he-at :md rhe salt."
<br />
<br />"Yes," 53'.5 ,\ldJhane,,, hl~ I'Yes I'old wilh relllel1lherin~,
<br />";md I didn'''t bbmc thc;u when thn' SJi.! lhat. I cn:.n
<br />helped sume of them m'n-c. BUl rhere were snme of lb
<br />who decided tu dig in nur heels and hnld, Lot'> of folks
<br />said we were foolish. Some used en:n slronl!er bnl!l1al!e
<br />dun [hat. An.1 lIChen me. there were rill1~ during rhe
<br />last {ew ycars when I was e10"C tel admitnn~ HI e\'ernhin~
<br />rhCT said I was." ~. -
<br />. BUI rhe "some of liS" di,l dig in their heels and the"
<br />did hold. And when they .-\SD Hug" Fannet assaulte~t
<br />\\'a\hinglOn something- had (fl go. It \,.:;1., \\'a\hing:wn [h;l[
<br />"went."
<br />There \\ erc p"werful {lIrcc~ 1I1 "pposition tn the giving'
<br />oj precIous water to the \\-c11ron-,\lohawk. The\' had court-
<br />room mcn, skillcII in the u'ot'Cs oj l"Fal language: wi<>e in the
<br />ways o{ lololoymg allll the twisred phrase. .-\nd they had :&
<br />~elllingly lilmrlclo..s sllppl~. oi money.
<br />But fhe \\'cllwn-:\Ioh;lwk IlIen h:ld thcir fairh and the
<br />failh of their rwight..,..... .\Ion: than on.. pIe;! WCIlt {wm the
<br />\\'dlt(,rh\lohJwl.: men ro rheir fril'nds in Yuma {or pLme
<br />fare Illoney to semi .\IcFlh:ln..y and mhel'> hack to It'stif\'
<br />!>clure n';lgrc-ssinnal commin~es, ..\nd [he power of tile
<br />\\'dllOn-,\lohawk C;l1l hI" Sl"en in JlISt "nt' of rhe answers ru
<br />rhose pleas- Yuma's senior and junior chamhers of COlll-
<br />merce raise,l S~,"on in {ollr llllnutes one afternoon to .....nd
<br />m,"n hack to testi{l/. And it was th:&t testimon\' which
<br />turned rhe ti,le. Sc~[eJ on one side Il{ the rable at Ihe
<br />n>llgre~ional hC;lrings \l..ere the n.lttily-JresseJ, cnnfer-
<br />cnce-polish !aw\.ers and lobhyists o{ the opposilion plead-
<br />ill~ f>lr their reel, On the \\'ellrnn-.\Iohawk side were
<br />si";lply-dre~'<CII. nlloll\nl-hande.l farmers, pleading {or
<br />Their !in:s.
<br />..\sk :Ill\,one whn W:lS there. ,\sk hilll rhe ctfeet Oil thuS<.'
<br />dl'('red reprl~enr:ltin:~ o{ rhe people when the eflllllllinee
<br />("[uirman sp..ke into his micwphnne and was answered,
<br />""ame~" , . . "R. II. \kElhanev" .. ";\dtlrl""s~",
<br />"Post Otfil'e B,,~ Twn, Six, Se\'en'. \\'ellton, Ari/.on'l" .
<br />"Oreup'Hioll:" , , . "F:lnncr."
<br />On Jul\' 10, 1()~7. Presidenl l!arr... S. Truman o;et his
<br />naTlle HI a a"C\HIlc-nt which a~~ured the \"ictHf\', The Gib
<br />Bill wa~ law, \\'e1ltun-.\!ollJwk would live! .
<br />The {eeling hack home when [he news reached YUIll'1
<br />C:ln be expres."l"'J in the fact t1ut The Yuma Daih- Sun du~
<br />.)Tnund in its ~h"p and Cll1le l~p with rhe Iar!!est type th~
<br />foreman ""lIld hno.l tll headlllle rhe stone; it efluld he
<br />exprCSSt'11 in th,' har r"~sing juhilatinn in the Chamber o{
<br />C"nUJlerc(' "Iliee. it could he expresseJ in rhe fact lhat there
<br />w:lsn"t a frown in town {or twenlv-{our houf';.
<br />Bur ('l'rhaps il wlluld he hest ~xprC"'>sed hy a tclephnne
<br />eonveNllon when S<>l1leone e:llled a ,\lohawk V;tllC\' \\"om.
<br />an who had secll her ,OIl acres ~hrink to 73 and rnld her
<br />the new~. She all'" ered with a sob. "Thank God. Il"w won-
<br />der{ul {or our children."
<br />nUl nuw to fhe S(.'iClIl~C<;. The rurHyilll.!, the tcsting.
<br />the planning. Reams fI{ paper, gallnns Il{ illk~ Phomgraph.s.
<br />hlueprinTS. Sl"he!nali," drawings, Piek and shovel, hulldo/ers,
<br />exe3\':ltiollS. PCr>piration on the hrows of men with IUfI'l'Il\"d
<br />tics; s\\-e:lt on the 'oreheads oi men without ties.
<br />These are the men "oi rhe Bureau:' a mueh lIuli"l1cd,
<br />IIllleh appropriated, much eilTSI'd, much pr:li<;('d br.lll~h o{
<br />ollr Fedeul 1.!H\'emlllenr which takes orders {rolll the
<br />Dep'lrUllent ,,; fhe Interior anJ !!c-1S .),hil'e fr"lll cyerynne
<br />who polyS t;)Xes.
<br />\\'itholll ir rhe \\'elll"n-.\I'lhawk c"\lld Ilc,'er he. could
<br />
|