St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-21
APACHE FIGHTERS.
The Soldiers of Little Use in Chasing
Up the Savages.
Men Butchered and not Half of the
Atrocities Told.

PINos ALTOS, n. NJ, June 12.-The first
American settlement in the lower part OF
New Mexico was made here. The discov-
the foot of the Pinos Altos mountains, when
the country was the hunting ground of the
Apaches, brought in few hardy miners;
but it was not until the discovery of the
rich quartz mines in the vicinity of Silver
City that am emigration boom began. The
Apaches fought with bitter and relentless
persistency against the encroachments of the
settlers. Several of the tribal families of the
Apache nation have been nearly eXtermin-
ated, many have been driven into Mexico,
where they have taken shelter in the wild
and gloomy passes of the Sierra Madre, and
owing to the mistaken policy of the govern
ment others have been comfortably quar-
tered at the st. Carlos or White Mountain
agency, from which they have from time to
time deserted, to murder and rob the de-
fenseleSs
RANCHAIEN AND MINERS.
About 135 Indians have been absent from
the reservation for the last three weeks,
under the lead of one of the shrewdest and
ablest of King Victories old ieutenants,
the merciless and bloodthirsty Geronimo.
The telegraph has kept you Informed daily
of the atrocities of these renegades. A deal
too much innocent blood has already been
split A recapitulation of Geronimo's raw
ages would take more newspaper space than
can possibly be given this letter. Men have
been butchered, women outraged. horribly
mutilated and left to die lingering death,
children have been torn from the arms of
their fearful mothers and cruelty murdered,
stock has been stolen and killed, ranches
destroyed by fire and many valuable horses
driven away. The renegades are heading
toward the plateau of the Sierra Madre, and
unless the territorial troops and citizens
succeed in heading them off will ultimately
escape into Mexico with their plumber.
THE HALF NOT TOLD.
It is not the purpose of this letter, how
ever, to give history of Geronimo's raid.
The telegraphic reports you have received
only in part tell the sad story. When it's
true history is written it will be found that
the damage done and the lives lost are much
in excess of what has already been reported.
Information has been suppressed. and the
military authorities, to shield their bungling
management of the campaign, have so
''doctored the returns" that you in the
states can form from the published reports
no adequate idea of the magnitude of the
raid and the terrible amount of damage that
has been done by the savages. Affairs at
st. Carlos are very badly managed and it is
notorious fact. Gen. Crook, who COM
mands the department., is known to be
deficient in ability to cope with the enemy,
and the citizens and territorial press boldly
charge him with disregard of his duty and
the appeals of the citizens. The only real
hunting that has been done since Geronimo
left the reservation was by the citizens, and
the only
REAL FIGHTERS
have been the Territorial Rangers. The In
dams attacked some Of Capt. Smiths COM
mand while the men were bathing in Devil
Creek and wounded two-a trooper and an
Indian scout. They killed several horses
and retreated finally, after capturing every
thing that the soldiers had except a little
jerked beef. The soldiers, as rule, know
very little about Indian fighting. The Of
ficers are incapable, and many of them are
too cowardly to follow the Indians into
their strongholds. If you would fight In
dams successfully you must adopt Indian
tactics. Gen. Crook has several times at
tempted a campaign against the hostiles
with command composed almost eXclus-
lively of s'friendly" Indians. These friendly
Indians are very little better for the purpose
than the regular troops They failed signally
when Crook pursued JUS band into Sonora
two years ago, although the ''Gray Wolf, :"
as Crook arrogantly calls himself, was
lauded to the skies and feted and lioniZed as
the great Apache pacificatOr.
A r1Tr, rITrr rzIC
The citizens cowboys, ranchmen, miners
prospectors and gamblers-in New Mexico
and Arizona have 'spacified' more Indians
since 1867 than the whole regular army in
all parts of the West. For years the from
tiersmen in Texas importuned the national
government to protect them and their
families from the bloody incursicns of the
Lipan, Tonkawa, Comanche and Apache
Indians, who roamed at will over the then
territory of Texas The government built
forts and sent large quantities of troops to
garrison them. The Indians still raided,
still murdered, still stole. Finally in 1874,
when it was nothing unusual to hear of an
Indian murder being committed within fifty
miles of the state capital, Gov. Coke Or
ganized the Frontier Battalion of State
Rangers. Under the command of that gal
liant fighter, Maj. John B. Jones, the Ran
gers in six years did what the national gov
eminent had been attempting for twenty
they drove out the Indians, exterminated
whole tribes and made possible for white
man to live in peace and security ON its
most distant frontier. Not since 1880, when
Chief Victoria raided along the frontier,
has any considerable party of Indians en-
tered Texas. The state rangers, under
Captains Baylor and Nevill, drove them out
then, and in October, 1880, in the Sierra
Diablo, wiped out the fleeing remnant of
Victories superb band. We want all Or
ganiZation similar to
THE RANGER SERVICE
in Arizona and New Mexico, composed OF
men of practical experience on the plains,
who can meet the Indians on their own
ground, fight them in their own fashion and
opacity" them so effectually that they will
murder no more. If the government will
organize and arm battalion of rangers in
each territory and give them license to set
tie the Indian question in the only way that
has been found satisfactory we will have no
need for regular troops. The cost will be
trifiing compared with the enormous yearly
expenditure now necessary to keep UP that
portion of the army quartered here. In
two years time they will either drive out
the bloodthirsty wretches or totally eXter-
inmate them. This may seem harsh pro-
cedure to those sentimental philanthropists
who think that the Apaches can be civilized
and humanized, but if they will come out
here and live for few months and study
the question carefully they will unhesitat-
ingly decide that it is he only correct solu-
ii on Of the matter.