Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-06-23

ing, and working on dress goods. Each | one Ot the eX-captlves arose, and shook | hands as they were introduced by Mir. | Lomeh, who thereupOn acted as inter ! pTeter on the numerous questions by the | reporter to draw forth the story of their captivity. Upon the floor Tn another | room quietly sleeping lay the lttle two ! year child Of Mrs. AntOula Hernandez, [ which she had carried in her arms dur | ing the fourteen days of their captivity. | Jnst AS the interview was finished | Lieutenant FOrsythe, who had accom- ! panied General Crook during :le cam | paIgu, and was present at the recovery | Cf the women, entered, and gracefully ! .aluted them with Q "buenas iias, seuoras." They seemed tO recognize | him as great friend. He appeared | very much satisfied to see them so well | cared for by Consul LCmeli. Major Bid de, who was also present, took a receipt from Mir. Lomeli for the five women and
 the boy for General Crook, and informed
 him that the general would call person.
 ally within week, probably, to give his
 respects to the consul. Nr. Lomeli re-
 piled that he Vcnld be pleased to re-
 ceive the call, and that he had already
 
 recovery of tae captives, and asking for instruction as tu what disposition to make of them
 From the women, through Mir. LOmell, the reporter drew forth the following: The command to winch their hus- bands were attached had been stationed some three hundred miles northwest of the city Cf Chihuahua a. place on the ! \ .N ~ l The troops had been ordered home, and the women followed their husbands at a | distance of about two days journey be-
 hind, travelling on foot. On the 10th of | May they were surprised by a band of Apachas under the personal command uf Geronimo. The Indians suddenly rose up from behind the rocks and | bushes. The women were greatly ! frightened and began to scream. 4 | Mexican captive named Jose, who had 1 long been with the Indians, came for l ward. and addressing them Tn Spanish. assured them no harm would come if ! they would surrender, and follow the 1 Apacnes. There was nothing else left l for them to do. The Indians then came 1 forward and asked great many questions through Jose. They were very anxious Co know the number l of Mexican soldiers, their whereabouts | and their intentions, rp all of which the women answered a- best they could. | There was another woman with them at
 thIs time whom tEe Indians subse- | quently sent to Chihuahua for peace as | they said. The woman's name IS Maria | Caballero. The capture was on or about | the 10th of May. The Indians with the l captIye> traveled incessantly the re-
 mainder of that day and all the night The place where they were captured IS l known as CerritOs Cuates, and Is about hallway between Fl Carmen and Plan de el Alamo. They calculated that the next mornin after their capture they were at least a hundred miles distant, though they cannot tell in winch direc- ton. For three days they were without water, but after tEat there it was tO be found in abundance. The country through which they passed was wild be-
 yOHd description. At times they We're compelled to crawl upon all fours. Their -hirsJ for the first three days nearly drove them crazy, and
 the Indians would whis and
 lash them up,and compel them to travel.
 Towards the last of their captivity the
 food commenced giving out, and they
 were put upon ratIuns, small piece of
 raw beef being all there was given them
 and this had tO he divided among the
 six Mrs. AntOnia Hernandez all this
 time carried her little child Tn her arms.
 The Indian children took great pleasure
 in tormenting him, pinching him. iab-
 bing sharpened sticks into his sides
 and giving him great pain. When they
 remoustaatei, Geronimo or his men
 would only laugh at her misery. Tho
 last two days of their captivity they had
 DO food at all. There was DO snow on
 the mountains. The cold of the noun
 tains was intense, and the women sui.
 fered almost to freezing. The Indians
 never remained quiet in one spot day,
 but were continually moving. They
 travelled nearly a hundred miles q day,
 going in every direction, but
 treuding generally nearly westward
 The captives were aDused and maltreat-
 ed iu every possible maDner. They were
 made tu work heavily whenever camp
 was made. and were the general object
 of abuSe and ridIcule They would take
 up Mrs. Hernandez little boy, and
 threaten to kill him, and would throw
 stones at him, to the great mental
 anguish of his mother. One of the wo-
 men -as sent as a hostage of some sort
 to Chihuahua to make peace. The ex-
 posture to cold. thirst, famine, exhaustion
 from travel and fear of torture was hay ing its effect upon the poor women. The first thing they knew they were hustled off one day further into the mountains. The next day a brother of the Chief Chato took and delivered them up tO General Crook. As one of them eX- pressed herself, when she "saw General Crook and the soldiers 1t seemed as fl the sky opened and heaven ap- peared." Their pitiable condition drew deeply on the sympathies of the brave bows in blue. and they did everything in their power to alleviate the sufferings of the women. A mule was given each woman to ride, and this was one reason of the slow return of General Crook commaId. The women ! cannot find words to express themselves l for the gratitude they feel towards the ! American soldiers.
 As the mother sat upuu the floor fam l ming her chubhy-saced little boy. who | was calmly sleeping on blanket, for l getful of bis tormertOrs, and gratitude |
 
 pressions of every face, 1t was "a scene | sufficient to melt a heart of stone and 1 cause righteous prayer to ascend heav- enward, that every Apache might iiud | grave due east and west.
 When the women started on their tOilsome journey on foot Of three hun dred miles from Fl Carmen to Chihua- EIa, to follow their husbands home, they had no idea there were any Indians on the road, thinking they were all in the noun tains to the north. They have not seen their husbands now for over six weeks, and f the Mexican government should decide Co send them home, one can imagine the receptions they will have from husbands relatives and friends, who will greet them as risen from the dead. And as the father clasps his lit- tie boy m his arms again, Genersl Crook and his brave men will be the heroes of the hour and of the hearts of the soldiers of Chihuahua
 The Apschesmust go.