San Carlos Apaches only allowed to ride on top of railroad cars

Wednesday, July 13, 2011  

In 1912, members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe were allowed to ride the railroad but only on top of boxcars or flatcars, The Eastern Arizona Courier reports

The tribe negotiated a right-of-way with the Gila Valley Globe & Northern Railway. The tribe was paid $8,000 in silver and tribal members were allowed free rides for 30 years.

But they couldn't travel inside the cars with non-Indian passengers. "Although these rides were limited to boxcars and flatcars, the tribal members made good use of the new way to travel in both directions to and from towns near the reservation," David F. Myrick wrote in "Railroads of Arizona, Vol. 2."

Get the Story:
Apaches rode atop train cars in 1912 (The Eastern Arizona Courier 7/13)

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