Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-13
DEALING WITH INDIANS.
The Mexican Method Applied to the
8


Apaches.
chihuahua Cor. san francisco Chronicle.
"There they come" said little fellow,
as he raised a yell that fairly made my
throat ache to hear.
s'And what are they?" l asked, still
ignorant of the cause of all the uproar.
.'Whv. the rancheros and the Indians"
he said. "Come to. the tower, Senior, and
see the grand sight, he continued, dart
ing away toward the Cathedral. But,
Needless of the invitation, though still ex-
cited, pushed my way along to the wall
i'm front Of the church, and, crawling to a
place made for me, looked AS directed,
and caught sight of a slow moving BODY
of men. horses, flags and women coming
procession was performing some sort
Of a wild, sOul-stirring march, but the
music was hardly audible above the inces-
SAM cheering by the people lining the
streets. Marching steadily toward me, |
soon saw the composition Of the strange
army. Directly behind the band came
some thirty hOrsemen, each man carving
the gun he had used, while his pistols
hung from his wellwOrn saddle. Of all
the swarthy, heayy-beafded and tan
Drowned faces which looked upon the
cheering masses, not one wore an eX-
preston other than stolid Indifference.
The furious welcome, manifested
in a hundred different ways, never
drew even a smile from the set lips of
the brave-hearted fellows who had risked
their lives for the peoples safety. Calmly
looking upon the upturned faces, they
rode slowly along, as immOyable and I'M
disturbed as the white walls of the houses
they passed. Behind the rancbmen, who
rode two abreast, came eight men on foot,
who held long poles, which they con
tinually moved up and down, and fastened
to them were eight lOng-haired, dark
blOOd-St3ined scalps, the proofs among
the people Of the death of so many hated
Apaches. When these hideous trophies
were seen the people grew frantic with
JOY. Braves reSOunded on all sides: men
shouted until hOarse; women waved
their shaWls, and the excited gaZers ap-
plauded.
But the scalp bearers had hardly passed
before there came the squaws who had
been taken. The minute these bare
headed, dirty, hOmely, hard-faced women
were seen the cheering and excitement
increased, While the boys in the streets
pressed hard against the guards
and tried to strike at the
wives of those who had killed and
tortured their parents, brothers and Sis
tiers. Some of the prisoners held their
nursing babies in their arms, and needed
only them. The big-eyed Rurslings, held
as lovingly by their wild mothers as ever
the women Of civilization hold their
young in time of danger, crieI with
fear, and even the food their mothers
offered them so piteously did not
serve to comfort them. 1t was
enough to make the heart ache.tO see
these ignorant mothers, hated and struck
at because born in a wilderness and the
wives of savages. caress their children to
their breasts and hold them away from
the cruel hands Outstretched to strike.
And yet so hated is an Apache that every
wal! was hailed with joy by the friends
OF the YIct0rs. ! saw not one face among
all the mothers there that had pir,.- ---.''
ten upon It. Women held their nhirs 80
zoe the ra0o"A ...uren
7~u squaws and laughed
at the unhappy wives and cursed them.
Chihuahua forgot its sunday and the peO-
pie forgot their religion. The Cathedral
stood near by, the air was soft and beau
tiful, and still not one mothers heart APP
parently pitied or prayed for the Untortu-
mates who marched to a living death with
the scalps Of their husbands swinging
before them.
An hour later, when the city was enjoy
ing its Sunday evening quiet, / met the
Consul of the United States and asked
him what became of the captured wo-
men.
"They are to be confined in the fort at
Vera Cruz for life"
"And the children"
''They are given to whoever wants them,
and are brought up as servants
"Slaves, then, you mean?' I said.
Hardly that. They will be paid wages
when they earn them, and such lives will
be better for them than ii they had been
captured"
what is done with the scalps?" 1
asked.
"The scalps? Why, the government
buys them. Every one brings 5000. The
Apaches have long been the scourge Of
Northern MexIco.''