, 1885-06-12

OUR esteemed contemporaries in Colo
RADIO and Arizona have recently made Sc.
we're attacks upon Gen. Crook and his
officers and soldiers for failing to capture
the hostile Apaches. Gen. Crook prob
able deserves censure for permitting the
hostiles' escape, as they were under his
charge in accordance with his own request.
lie was responsible to the government for
their good behavior, he had full authority
over them and sufficient military force to
sustain his authority. But since the
Apaches left the reservation and scattered
over the country in numerous small bands
and committed d~epredations at widely
separate points, it has been simply i'm
possible to recapturc the hostiles with the
military forces at Crooks command.
1t is clear from the localities of the re-
ported skirmishes and outrages that the
Indians are still near the boundary be-
tween Arizona and New Mexico. There
they find protection and shelter in the
Black Mountains, with opportunity to
raid upon the settlements of the Upper
ella II pressed too closely, they could
probably make good their escape south
ward to Sonora. In the Indian wars Of
that region marauding parties have often
been intercepted and harassed, but rarely
surrounded and forced to surrender.
Aided by the roughness of the country,
bands smaller than Geronimo's have safe
ly run abe gauntlet of forces as numerous
as those now put in the field.
Probably no fighting man in the world
is better fitted than the Apache for the
kind of campaigning tn which he resorts.
Fierce. cunning, Of great physical endur-
ance. ~tireless riders. and almost uni
versally good shots, the red men Of that
tribe have long been formidable enemies Of
the whites The friendliness, hospitality
and fidelity to promises that have charac
terrified some tribes Of the North. find no
counterpart among them. No Indians,
probably, are more treacherous. or have a
more marked propensity for robbery and
murder. Beng without largo tribal Or
CARNATIONS, and indeed mostly broken up
into small bands each acting independ.
emily, agreements made with the Apaches
rarely control more than those who per-
soually consent to them; and possibly this
fact may have given the race a reputation
for bad faith even beyond its deserts. The
nature of the country in the Southwest
aids their predatory warfare. Mountain
ranges never thoroughly explored and
Astounding IN secret and almost inaccessi-
Businesses, are near at hand to shelter
them when put to fight Across some
stretches Of lava country il is impossible
to track them. When driven to straits
they can go for days together with as
~tonishingly little food or water, and they
find plants in the hills on which to subsist
in lack of other supplies. The Ionies are
us tough MS their riders, and have often
worn out the horses of our cavalry sent
in pursuit. Apache ambushcs and
devices for surprise are of
extraordinary skill, and If a flying band
halts to accept battle, il is sure to be in n
position Of great strength. These facts
have been stated by Gen. Crook in ex-
PLANTATION of the frequent inability Of our
forces to cope with these Indians in a rum
ming warfare.
On the other hand, there arc some ele-
ments Of nromise IN the present situa-
ton. Experience has gradually made
the troops better acquainted, not only
with Apache methods, but also with the
routes these Indians take to and from
Mexico. One Of the braycst Of %oficer
and the best Of Indian fighters. Capt
Crawford, Of the Sd cavalry, well known
in Cheyenne. is in pursuit Of the main
band, and reported to be close on the
trail Of the savagcs, He has n troop of
cavalry and a company Of Apache scouts
from the White mountain reservation I'M
der his command. He will meet the hos
tiles with his usual skill, as adr)it and
untiring as their own. He will pursue
them, ii neeessary, through Mexico to
the Cult, but he will not give up the
fight if he has his way, until the sayages
are captured or killed. The officers in
command Of the other pursuing parties
are all doing their utmost to free the
country OF these ~marauding indians, and
we believe that il found by these officers.
Geronimo and his band will have their
reservation cut down TO the low est possible
limits aud they will need no military
guard in the future.