Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-05-26
WHY CROOK LIFT THE SOLDIERS szzED.

AAr DllktE ltEp pHNIlcll says. DeI
 e-al Crook has with him in his campaign against the Apaches two hundred reg
 ular troops. Is ,nis all that coa;d bs
 spared him on; ol thirty thousaud?' ] General Crook is iIka a good many othsr
 people in tais section of country; he
 has but little faith in ,he use of the reg.
 Uilar army Co fight Apaches. Apaches
 must be huuted out, and fought after
 their own manner os fighting. IT they ! are to be conquered, punished or ez-
 terniHated; and in order to light them
 after their own fashion, General Crook
 has taken Apac Indians from the San 1 Carlos reservation with him Go do the fighting, and he has not even 2J0 soldiers
 with him. lie has only % soldiers, and l 200 Indian scouts. Tt is evident that General Crook expects the Indians to
 do the fighting, and that the handful of l soldiers are 60 be used more as @ body guard than anything else. General ! Crook could have largely increased his
 cavalry force, from Fort Huachuca, ! Camps Grant, Apache and Bowie, had he desired to do sc sut he did not want them, and could not uze them with any effect in tEe country where he has gone.
 4 adical change must be eiHaugurated il the army before We can ezp-ot any good results in campaigns against the Apsche7. The present system Of parad- ing cavalry forces in the low lands, and following cold trails, might as well be dispensed with altogether The Apaches never come out in open field to be shot at; they seek hiding place among the highest aad most inaccessible peaks in the mountains, and place their sharpest eagie-eyed warriors on guard, who from the mountain tops can sec the approach of the enemy miles away. which enables tlem Co warn their associates of ap- p-oacuinE danger from six to ten hours before the army could reach them, even i' thcw hiding piac.s were known. Most mountains iu Arizona aouta o5 fine San Carlos reservation to the line oI Mexico gre dstsaleG; peak w.ll riEe mp out of tle p'-,l to 8 night ci from three to Ven thousand feet, with base oi foot hills, aud tae entire collection or ''ciump oI mountains as ,hey are often called may uur cover an area of more than six ta t-r square miles of ter r.Jory, surrounded by smooth. level country. These little collection of mountains viewed from tine plain appear low and insignificant, out i5 x often al- most impossible to penetrate them oE horseback. 4 three mile climb IS a good days work, and long before tine Indians can be reached the main body are miles away, and few active scouts only are left behind to watch the move meuts of tine troops, and occasionally fire upon them when they know they age in no danger os being ove5laEeu or even seen by troops from the canyons below. The Indians climb the mountains on foot and lend their poor but sure-footed ponies oyer The rocks and c5ags, without ;le ;acumbrance Of baggage or a pack tram, trustil. to their own p5owess to bring them food when their supply is ex- hausteG, and as she plains are usually covered with cattle, they run no nsk of going hungry. Oa the other hand the arm. a.l-a- -t least have a pack train tleiTAeavy Ansricau horses are united for climbing over rocks and crags, nor caa the white soldiers begin to keep up with t1e Indians in climbing up over tAe steep rough moul5a;u-; with an even start, an Apache clu more tn4u dogble discount him. while the we'll l,-p, and not over wu7ke. army officer ls utterly unfit for such service. Na have ao 5a1it Go find with officers or private soldiers for their unEtness to cope vi-h the Apache, for it is uo iau.t 0s theirs. Their education and training does mot fs them for iuii- an warrar5 such as exists in Arizona, and sooner OF later the War Department will admit i- us Genera. Crook has al- ready done.
 What is needed is aaout 5Jj volun- teers made up of hardy, tuugh young men from the Territories, organized and strictly disciplined under sach men as General Crook, fully armed and equipped, trained and iuured to hard ships. who would Doe willing to mount mustangs at moments notice and go after the say ages, and trust to luck as they do for 7a ter aud su5sisteace. These are the kind of men General Crook wants, and they are the only kind who can te used
 against the hpachos with any effect.