The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-06-19
GEN. CROOKS VICTORY.

General Crooks latest victory over
the hostile Apacbes is one of the
most complete and brilliant achieve
ments in his brilliant career as an
Indian fighter. When he started on
this expedition there we're loud calls
in Arizona for a general Indian mas
sacre of the whole Apache tribe, inuo-
cent as well as guilty, in punishment
for recent depredations by a handful
of hostiles. General Crook does not
fight in this way. He has always
maintained that wholesale slaughter
is not the best remedy for Indian
troubles /; hut that the way to secure
and maintain peace is to single out
guilty Indians and settle the account
with them. Instead of following the
demands of public sentiment in Tue
son and Tombstone, he organized a
attacking party of 1879 Apache scouts
and AZ United States cavalrymen and
set out on May l to hRpt the hostiles
in their own stronghold in the heart
of the Sierra Madre mountains. The
band he was in search of has long
been q terror on the Mexican frontier.
They are called Chiricahua Apaches,
from the name of the mountain country
in which they operate. Their total
number has not exceeded 400, vet
General Crook estimates the number
of persons they have killed during the
past ten years al more than one thous
and. They have lived in what was
considered an impregnable fortress in
the mountains, whence, mounted up
on feet horses, they raided the sur
country on both sides of the
Mexican line.
To attack such band as this in
their own stronghold was no holiday
expedition. General Crook had two
especial perils to encounter. One
was the treachery of his own Apache
scouts, who comprised more than four
fifths of his entire force; and the
other was the falling into an ambush
set by the enemy he was seeking.
Neither one daunted him. He
pushed two hundred miles into a
region which was so impossible that
eight mules fell over precipices and
were killed; but he led his expedi-
ton so skilfully that he completely
the hostiles in their fortress
and captured 3SS of them, which
must be nearly the whole band. He
did this with small loss of life to the
Indians and without the loss of a SIM
ole man of his own force. The chief
of the band, Juh, the worst 6end in
the lot, was unluckily absent on a
raid at the time of the attack, and
was not taken, but his principal as
sociate leader, Loco, was captured,
together with five other chiefs. All
the prisoners have been brought
back over the 200 miles of distance
md are now in custody at Silver creek |
within the American borders. Juh
e still at large, but the capture Of
his band leaves him incapable of fu-
;ure harm and makes his own capture
,nly question of time.
It is unnecessary to waste adjec.
lives on an achievement 80 brilliant |
rs this. The simple narrative is sui
icient. There has been some talk
lbout General Crook violating treaty |
by pursuing the enemy so
Tar into Mexican territory. but he
Gems to have kept entirely within
treaty stipulations by returning i'm
mediately after his encounter. Even
# he had been less careful we doubt
if the Mexican government would
He has rid the country of
/ gang of murderers and marauders
whom the Mexicans were powerless
10 suppress, and he has restored to
heir friends six Mexicans captives who
we're found in the Indian camp. The