Apache

General Thomas C. Devin Assumed Command in Arizona

Early in 1868 General Thomas C. Devin assumed command in Arizona. He was an able and active officer and carried on vigorous and most difficult scouts into the very heart of the Apache territory south of the Mogollons, north of the Gila, and throughout the Salt River regions; but, in spite of his best efforts, he rarely found any Indians, though the troops came upon numerous deserted rancherías. He also broke new trails into hitherto almost inaccessible Apache haunts and made maps for the guidance of future expeditions. Sometime in 1868 General Devin broke up the temporary reservation at Fort … Read more

Five Thousand Men against Thirty-Eight Chiricahua

During the march toward the border Miles himself was on the anxious seat. Much was expected of him. He had promised much. Yet for four months his army of five thousand men had been employed against these thirty-eight Chiricahuas. His troops had suffered serious fatalities and casualties, yet not a single renegade had been killed or captured. Now they were coming to surrender to him. Would they hold fast to their intention? And would they yield on terms that matched his promises to the public and that fulfilled the requirements laid upon him by the President and the commanding General … Read more

Fifty Years of Apache Peace

By November 7, 1886, four hundred and ninety-eight Chiricahua Indians from Arizona had arrived in Florida as prisoners of war. Ninety-nine were men; three hundred and ninety-nine, women and children. Seventeen of the hostile warriors were confined at Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida, away from their families. Up to April, 1887, all the rest of the adults were kept in camp under guard at Fort Marion (the ancient Spanish fortress, San Marco), St. Augustine, Florida. The families of the prisoners at Fort Pickens were then sent to them there. All the rest were taken to Mount Vernon Barracks, near Mobile. In … Read more

Dandy Jim, The Indian Who Shot Captain Hentig

The medicine man was now brought up and Cruse turned to lead him and his guards to the place he was to camp. Then, in the words of Cruse, “Hell broke loose.” A mounted Indian among those who were crossing the creek waved his Winchester and told the Indians to fire. Three or four nearest him raised their guns and shot; then there was a volley from a hundred rifles. “Dandy Jim,” one of the scouts, shot Captain Hentig in the back and killed him instantly. At the sound of the first rifle, McDonald shot the medicine man and almost … Read more

Crook – The Terrible and the Just

The Camp Grant Massacre forced the Apache situation in Arizona upon the attention of the nation. No sane and sensitive mind could longer ignore or look with complacency upon such a state of affairs as was blazoned to the world by this shocking incident. For a long time the cruel treatment of the Apaches in Arizona had caused stirrings of conscience in the souls of good and informed citizens throughout the nation; and now there was a widespread belief that the Apaches were not having a square deal. It was becoming more and more apparent that the Government itself was … Read more

Crook – Again in the Saddle

Early in the summer of 1882 Crook was reassigned to the command of the Department of Arizona. He took up his duties at Whipple Barracks, Prescott, September 4. During the years of his absence all the good work he had accomplished in Arizona at the cost of so much blood and toil had been torn down. Conditions could scarcely be worse than he found them. The Chiricahuas were all in the Sierra Madre on the warpath; many of the Indians on the reservation were hostile–ready to break out in case of the slightest exciting disturbance; all were miserable, sullen, distrustful. … Read more

Cochise, War Chief of the Chiricahua

On the Sonoita River, about twelve miles west of Fort Buchanan, in the early sixties, lived an Irishman named John Ward with Jesus Martinez, a Mexican woman, and her son-later known as Mickey Free, whom Ward had adopted. The boy was in the meadow watching Ward’s cattle one day in October, 1860, when a band of Apaches raided the ranch and stole both the boy and the stock. Following the trail of the Indians as far as the San Pedro River, Ward became convinced that the raiders were Chiricahuas belonging to Cochise’s band; so he rode to Fort Buchanan and … Read more

Chiricahuas – Feared and Hated by other Indians

When the five hundred and twelve hostile Chiricahuas were all back on the reservation, it was a problem how and what to do with them. They were feared and hated by the other Indians on the reservation– Geronimo in particular was dreaded and cordially disliked. It became a matter of controversy between the Interior and the War Departments what disposition should be made of them. Crook was called to Washington for consultation with the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Interior. Careful consideration was given to the problem, and, July 7, 1883, the result was made public over … Read more

The Apache in Spanish Times

THE first mention made of the Apaches is by Castañeda in his report, The Journey of Coronado. The Spaniards encountered them near Chichilticalli, the famous “red house,” believed by Bandelier to have been in the neighborhood of modern Fort Thomas, Arizona. Castañeda says this house must “have been destroyed by the people of the district, who are the most barbarous people that have yet been seen. They live by hunting.” The next reference to the Apaches occurs in 1541 and is found in Castañeda Report. Coronado’s army, after spending some time at Pecos in northeastern New Mexico, set out to … Read more

The Apache Confronts the American

The first Americans who encountered the Apaches were soldiers and trappers. These first contacts were casual or accidental and happened in Mexican territory. The earliest report concerning this tribe from an American pen is that of Zebulon M. Pike, written in 1807, during his extended explorations in the unknown Southwest. Either purposely or “through an unintentional aberration from his prescribed route” he found himself (and was found by the Government of New Mexico) in Spanish territory. From Santa Fe he was sent under military escort to Chihuahua, Mexico, there to give an account of himself to the Commandant-General. It was … Read more

The Apache in Mexican Times

November 6, 1813, a Congress that had been called together by José Maria Morelos y Pavon declared the Independence of Mexico from Spain; but it was not until February 19, 1823, that the patriots were able to make good their freedom. During these ten years there was trouble and confusion throughout Mexico. Nothing could have been more pleasing to the amiable Apache. It was his gentle task to compound trouble and make “confusion worse confounded.” During this turbulent transition period from Spanish Royal Dominion to Mexican Independence, the frontier military defenses were sadly weakened. The garrisons were neglected and the … Read more

Apache Activities During the Civil War

The Civil War began April 12, 1861, with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, and ended April 9, 1865, with Lee’s surrender to Grant. As has been set forth in the preceding chapter, the Apache War broke out in dead earnest a few weeks previous to the fall of Fort Sumter, as a result of the dash between Lieutenant Bascom and Cochise. A fiery whirlwind, leaving death and destruction in its wake, tore through the white settlements of Arizona. There were only two military posts in the Gadsden Purchase at this time–Fort Buchanan on the Sonoita. River, and Fort Breckenridge … Read more

The Ramona School

By Dist. Sec. J.E. Roy. I had the pleasure, in Santa Fé, January 13th, of attending an entertainment given by the Ramona pupils in honor of Miss Platt, one of their teachers. Gov. Prince and his wife, and several of the citizens, were present as invited guests. After the singing of several songs, and a statement made by Prof. Elmore Chase, the Principal, fourteen of the scholars rendered, in the action of nature and the speaking of English, Mrs. Bentley’s dialogue, “The Old Year’s Vision and the New Year’s Message,” as found in the January number of The Youth’s Temperance … Read more

Apache Girl’s Right of Passage

Beneath White Mountain in New Mexico, the Mescalero Apache Reservation prepares for a coming of age ritual. Over the span of four days, thirteen year old Ashina (sp?) Cochise will pass through an ancient test of strength, endurance and character that will make her a woman.