The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-04-27
THE HOSTILE APACHEs.
A Determination to Subdue the Indians
Why General Crook Has Been
Successful.


You may as well try to catch a mosquito
with a six-mule team as to try to capture In
dams with regular soldiers, said General
Crook to-day. They know every inch of the
country, The by-paths and the ravines. They
can run farther in day on foot than cav
airy man can travel on horse They have
system of signals, and the little flashes of
fire you see on the mountains at night are
their signal fires; they build q quick blaze
and then, by throwing blanket over it and
withdrawing it quickly, indicate to their
friends perhaps for many miles of, their
future movements. My experience teaches
me that the only way to catch Indians is to
hunt them with Indians; to enlist bands hos
tile to the aggressors you desire to punish,
and pursue them with them, making the
army auxiliary to these scouting move
ments." -.N -...-- ..e..
The Mexican, as W ell as The United States
officers have; after year of effort, concluded
that they cannot successfully operate against
the Indians with their regular troops. The
Mexicans have, therefore, enlisted two COM
panies of the Yaqui Indians for the pending
campaign, and they will use them to drive
the Indians out of the mountains and their
regular soldiers as auxiliaries General Crook
will, as quickly. as possible, concentrate all
his Indian scouts, and add to their number
with fresh enlIstments of friendly Indians
until he has good-siZed force As soon as
his preparations are completed the Mexican
ARMY will move upon the Indians from the
East and South and his regular troops will
move down to protect the settlements and
isolated mining camps along the border of
Arizona, and i'll conjunction with the Next
can forces, will push his Indian scouts into
Mexican territory to operate in the noun
tain region The Apache force may be any,
where between 800 and 900, including men,
women and children. But they can make
considerable trouble from the Businesses in
which they have settled themselves.
If in the hostilites that are about to be in
augurated, it should be necessary for the
Mexican forces to cross into our country, we
will have the singular spectacle of the mill
tary forces of two governments, practically
under the direction of United States Off
GER, for L understand from Mexican sources
that it is the desire of the Mexican generals
that General Crook should assume command
OF all the active rorces in both republics.
"Our people feel" said prominent Mexi-
can to me- that very much depends on the
success OF this movement. Our mining and
railroad operations are somewhat in danger,
ana this constant turmoil with the Indians
will stop investment and travel coming into
Mexico, unless we put an end to it," This
is the feeling of both military commanders
and the warike operations that are to follow
should be watched with interest for they
will be important as forecasting the future
friendly relations, both military and civil,
between Mexico and the United States and
will settle troubles that have long veXed the
people of both countries.
The Apaches are the hereditary foe of
white men, especially of the Mexcans They
have been the foe of every civilization, In
dian as we'll as Caucasian. The records all
show that they were in ruthless hostility to
the Aztec up to the conquest of Mexico All
the village Indians in Northern Mexico Ari-
IONA and New Mexico have had to fight for
their existence against these marauders.
They were the destroyers of the village and
town life, the character and extent of which
are evidenced by the numerous ruins of
towns. pueblos and cliff dwellings found
from the Rio Grande to the Colorado All
the peaceable Indian communities within
the Southwest, upon the territory now or
formerly belonging to Mexico, are of neces-
sity the unrelentng foes of the Apaches.
General Crooks old policy and the new one
of the Mexican officers will find plenty of re-
cruits among them.
There never has been time within our
historic knowledge until General Howard,
and General Crook more lately, succeeded in
putting the greater body of them peaceably
upon reservation, when the Apache has
not been at war with everybody within the
range of his raiding capacity, Those now to
be subjugated are the last remnants of these
merciless warriors and murderers They
never gave quarter to men; they never took
scaps, and but seldom, till within later
years, mutilated their victims. 1t has been
their constant practice to enslave all cap
tured women and children. During the last
IF hoir
leaders have been of mixed Indian and Mex
lean blood children of their female captives.
Magnus Colorado, slain by General Crooks
forces in 1876, was of this mixed blood
General George Crook, who commands the
department of Arizona, has taken such pre-
cautions to prevent an outbreak that he has
no fears that the Indians on San Carlos will
give him any trouble whatever Crook has
had great success in dealing with the Indians
for two reasons. First, because he has Sc
cured their confidence, aud second because
he has controlled them with their own peo-
pie. He was recently sent back to this de-
partment because of these two facts. His.
method of keeping them at peace and per-
fectly orderly is rather unique When he
began to deal with the Apaches he had
complete census made of every Indian squaw
and papoose on San Carlos reservation. and
had perfect description of each one record
ed in book. He then had a brass tag made
in the shape of a medal, with the name and
condensed description of the Indian
upon it. These every Indian is
required to wear. and he can get
nothing to eat at the agency without pre-
senting himself with his tag. This system
makes it next to impossible for any of the
braves to leave the reservation without de-
tection He did not stop here. The braves
he organized into squads or little companies,
and taking the most influential men he could
get in the tribe, said to them.
J'It is my desire that you people should
control yourselves. want you to be your
own police and keep everything orderly and
peaceahle without disturbing the govern
ment"
He then gave them some homely illustra-
tons. and assigned each one to the control
of one of these squads or small companies
into which he hao the tribe divided In