At his request a petition was prepared to…

chunk 4437 · paragraph 0

At his request a petition was prepared to the secretary of the interior praying that he might be given a small piece of land with a de- cently furnished cabin upon it and a wagon and team. He said if this were done, he would work and earn his own living and cease to be a burden upon the government. His petition, favorably endorsed by his many friends, includ- ing such men as the late Judge Bristol, was granted by the secretary and the then agent of the Mescaleros was directed to carry Ro- man’s wishes into effect. It was never done, the agent interposed every obstacle, and when Roman, through his white friends, remonstrated the agent gave as an excuse that “Roman Chi- quito was a promising young man and that his spiritual welfare demanded that he should not be removed from the christianizing influences surrounding him on the reservation” ( !)