The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-12-25
Apache Life.


In 1857 little boy of nine years, 60
ING to school near San Xavier, in Mex
leo, was captured by the Apaches in
open day, with two of his schoolmates,
and taken into Arizona a thousand
miles northward One of the boys was
murdered on the way, having got too
sick to travel another was subsequently
sold to New Mexicans The little boy
with whom we are concerned, Jose
Marie Mendivil, remained, a captive
with the Apaches in the Sierra Mogol-
Ion for seven years One day i'll May,
1864, he found himself in the vicinity
of detachment Of American troops un-
der Captain Thayer, in Arizona, and
surrendered himself to the detachment.
The soldiers were about to shoot him
for an Apache, as he was painted and
naked, and had bow and culver Of ar
rows. But he stopped down and wrote
his name in the sand, whereupon all
doubts of his being captive vanished,
and he was cared for as an unfortunate
boy. Soon after he came with Captain
Quailey to the city, still unable to speak
a word of English. Captain Quailey
died, but before dying he requested DIR.
Wooster (who had been surgeon of the
regiment to detachment of which Jose
the captive surrendered) to take care Of
the orphan, friendless boy until he
could find his father DR.. Wooster in
duced him to learn the trade Of ironing
carriages, at which he worked faithfully
for five years, at the end of which time
his father arrived at Los Angeles
where Jose had been working a few
months-and father and son met, after
a separation of nearly thirteen years
Soon after the father died at Anaheim,
and on his deathbed communicated to
his son the state of his affairs, and
placed him in possession of certain doc
uments which gave to him an equitable
claim to considerable estates in Sonora
and Lower California. The annexed in
teresting description OF the manners and
customs of the Apaches is copied from
manuscript notes of Dr. Wooster, who
gathered his information from
THE BOYS NARRATIVE
Nearly all the family and personal,
and even tribal, quarrels among the
Apaches originate in some way about
awoman. All other disputes are settled
by present, or payment for damages
imaginary or zeal; but if the question is
concerning a wife who is young and
good looking, it is never decided except
by bloodsbed and then perhaps not for
years. The punishment of an unfaith
full wife is to have her nose cut of, but
this can be done only by her husband. If
he happens to have no other wife, and to
like her very much, he will not allow
her to be mutilated, but will try to take
revenge ON her paramour. This leads to
endless assassinations, for each family is
bound to avenge the death of one of
its members by killing some one, and
this in turn must be avenged by the
new sufferers, and so on, until the quar-
rel is sometimes settled by talk and
presents, but generally by the extinction
of one of the families
PoLYGAhY
Is source Of constant trouble among
the women, and of many violent quar-
rels, in which the husband takes no part
A woman will sit and cry and pout all
day with jealousy, eat nothing herself,
nor get anything for her husband. In
such cases the husbands chief depen-
dence is on his mother, if he has one
il not, on his nearest female relations
AS to his preparing his own food, it is
entirely out of the question if there is a
woman in sight. If he should have no
female relations he quarters himself on
his best friend who has a wife, and brings
his spoils of the chase and plumber taken
from the enemy to the common stock of
the family.
Among the Apaches the son never
refuses obedience TO the mother, and the
mother on her part is never done toiling
for her son. II he should have many
wives she always gives him something TO
ct every day, which she has prepared for
him expressly. She u always doing him
some little service - constant memen-
80 - - H. Oh Smakna