Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-06-23
DON'T THINK MUCH OF CROOKS cAMpAIaE.

DON'T THINK MUCH OF CROOKS oAMPAIGS , The Chicago Times is disposed to be little the results of General Crook campaign m Sonora. Ii says:
 The outcome of Crooks campaign i
 the old story. Burned one log house
 killed one Iniine, and routed one olC
 squawrer. The ''demnition total" ai
 Mantilini would say. differs from this
 but, substantially, the result was n,
 more effective. The fighting Apaches
 are still on the war-path, ready for raid.
 Ill any direction, but III their absence
 Crook entered their lair Tn the tastnesses
 of the Sierra Madre and carried of
 their papOoses, their superanuated war.
 riors, and their none mbatant squaws
 and he didn't lose a man! The United States will rejoice that he Is back sefe,
 for if he had run across Juh and his fol
 lowers he might have lost his scalp. [ Encountering debilitated bucks and pull ing papooses, be had famous victory.
 The dispatches are eloquent in de- l scrIptions of the modesty notable in the i bearing of the American commander as | he marched back from Mexican soil with his train of moribund bncks and cap ! tured women. He had not heralded his ! con ing nor filled the ar with boasts of his prowess. When he reached civiliza- 1 tion he made directly for a wash-tasin, and while removing the stains of travel refrained from glorifying his conquest. ! This modest stiffness and humility be- comes a caInpaigner, whose only prison 1 e' of wal are women and children. Had Crook coupftd Juh among his captives, or had he been able to tell of the rout i and dispersal Of the actual war party of the Apaches, he might have mingled congratulations with his ablutions.
 It IS difficult to cope with the lndiau method of warfare. but if the United States means to hunt Apaches 1t had bet ter go abont it in dead earnest, and with sufficient force to reach more important results than the ritiing of undefended lodges.
 Crook meant well enough, no doubt. and would have fought actual warriors had he been given the chance. but with the force at his command It was impos- sible that be should surround or prop crly pursue the savages. It Is clear that the government must remain wholly on the defensive against Apache ineursIons e must employ larger means.
 Now U Is very easy matter for the Times to discuss General Crooks cam paign and find fault with its results, but 1t has entirely overlooked the difficulties that surrounded General Crook in mak- ing his campaign. In the first place the country could not have been penetrated by the army at ali, owing to its rugged mountains and Cmpassable canyons. The Times may ask the question, then hos did General Crook penetrate it ?'' General Crook had with him but hand ful of soldiers, and they were picked men and especially equipped for that cam paign. The work of hunting out and capturing the renegades was performed by the scouts, and could not have been done by soldiers alone. The Times IS of the opinion that "the seiZ- ure and shipment of lot of squaws, papooses, and decrepid old Paupers Is an extremely unsatisfactory outcome of the expedition" and that "the campaign of the Sierra Madre is not ended. Indeed, so long as the strate- getic Juh and the frey Geronimo, SUD- ported by the strong band of braves. shall be able to elude the hunters, it can hardly be said to have begun. It Is true that the results would have been much more satisfactory if the warriors had been captured instead of the old men, squaws and papooses, bat the warriors were not encountered. After the cap- tnce of the prisoners, General Crock was, owing to the limited amount of supplies ou hand, compelled to return to Arizona. But we do not agree with the Times as to tle unsatisfactory outcome of the expedition" The captIves can be used to good effect in bringing in or induc- ing the surrender of the warriors: how ever savage and heartless they may be, they have a love for their squaws and payooses, and they will make conces- sions to secure them, or be with them. We agree with the Times that the war is not ended, but it is nearer sn end than 1t has been since the day General Howard gave to the Chiricahuas the freedom If Sonora, and for whose in- competence our people, as well as those Of Sonora. have suffered from that day to this. If the Secretary of War will now allow General Crook to finish up the job, we have no doubt he will do so, in such a way as to thoroughly satisfy all sections of the country. As the peo- pie of Arizona, who are more interested than any other portion of the country. are satisfied with the work of General Crook, 1t seems to us that other sections of the country should be content to await developments.