Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-10-02
INDIANS AND THE ARMY.
sAVA8E wARFARE AND Irs iSFLU-
HNUE, UP0E OUR sOLDIsRs
Tho Fisrcs Apache Pronounced "ths Most Dan
gsrous Foo within Human Knowiedgs"--A
war win the Odds Fifty 10 ono Modern
warfare and tho Training Of our
Largo standing Army FOR H.

the Apache, and In view OF the prominence
/ of the most motor ous leader oi those savages
| 1t In timely and interesting document from
the hand OF the ono man best able W Judge
OF their true character, fitted by long dealing
| with them M foe and friend, TO determine
| how far the bad outweighs the good In the
l makeup of those mountsineera
! The Chiricai,ua Apaches are mountaineers
| OF the most enduring typo that desolate and
| barren, wild and rough, mountain region
over produced. Deep gorges and high peaks
Hanked by hard dry sandy plains, where the
] genius of evil eternally presides and every
thing that should be clothed In green Is burnt
TO a hard dry crust by the fierce heat of the
sun, the sand whirls and eddies when the
hot wind blows like the breath OF hell, the
few strange forms OF vegetable life are dry
and strong, as stern In their way az the stern
nature about them. Nultures and wolves are
the Qhouls that Turk and sulk through this
land "haunted by dim horrors only" and, an
though to furnish men with fair sample on
earth of the hades beyond, we find that even
the demons have been provided, the A Apaches
General Crook says of this terrible land ''it Ii
the toughest part Of the continent, and 1t is
impossible for persons not acquainted with 1t
from personal inspection, to form any correct
idea OF its rugged mountains and plains.
The character of these indians is such az
might be expected under such surroundings.
The constant struggl, with adverse condi-
TONS with hunger, with exposure Occurrences
of heat and cold, and TO danger Of every kind,
kills in infancy the weak and sick y children,
and only the strong and perfectly developed
child survives. Consequently the adult
Apache is tho embodiment OF physical endur-
ance-lean, well proportioned, medium-sized
with sInews like STEEL insensible to hunger,
fatigue or physical pains, the Apache warrior
resem bles as little well fed Indian OF the
Eastern reservations as does the hungry wolf
the sleek house dog"
ISCARSATE WAR.
"Each individual represents, in his own
personality, the effect OF generations OF war
and boodshed. His own nature differ little
from the wolf, and from infancy he has been
accustomed TO defend himself against enemies
as cruel and Tevengeful a. his own nature.
They have no property that they cannot carry
on theJ backs in their most rapid marches.
and when on the warpath they choose their
temporary resting places with the instinct
resulting from generations OF experience.
Wild roots, rats and rabbits, they have the
skill to find, and they need but little of such
food to support them In marches that no
white men would dare TO rival; for these
wonderful men can exist with less water than
any white man, and do not hesitate when
pressed to kill horses TO quench their thirst,
for they usually travel with drove OF stolen
animals when on retreat from raid. They
ride one horse until Ii drops exhausted, then
abandon Ii for another. The cavalry in pur-
suit of these bandits, who have left murdered
women aud children by the score behind
them, and have the scalps OF men swinging
at their belts, have only one horse to each
man and must travel with train of pack
mules Geronimo's band secured many a
remount at ranches on their route, and at the
end of a hundred miles may have had
lNx.Nt AMIR han haVN tIlNy
started.
RAPID MARCHES.
''They push over the valleys by night and
remain hidden by day in rocky places and
high points on the mountains, they form an
ambush, or they plot at leisure for the evasion
and discontinue OF their slowly advancing
foe. The country contains many places
where dozen men, armed as the Chircahuas
are with the best OF breach-loadiDg guns,
could mold brigade in check. In approach
ing these the commander has to choose be-
tv cen taking the precautions necessary to
guard against surprise and probable destruc-
ton, which will so delay him as to give the
hostiles time to outstrip him, or he must
assume the risk with ali Its consequences
As the pursuers follow a trail made as faint
as possible, and only to be traced by the
Indian scouts enlis ed in our cavalry, they
must travel by daylight
On Geronimo's last raid he avoided the
numerous bodies OF troops ambushed to
watch for him, and in spite of the telegraphed
news of his coming, his band swept across
the settled country with marvellous rapidity
numbering Indians and whites, carrying no
booty with them but horses, and passing back
across the border with the loss OF but one
man, who was killed by the friendly Apaches
The general takes occasion to commend the
faithfulness and efficiency OF the friendly
Apaches who were employed as scouts, and
says that in his extended experience with
81 ax1x
energetic, reliable, truthful and honest
"The Apaches fight or not, as they please
but when they fight IT Is always on ground OF
their own choosing. A dozen Ind rzta the
rockscan Withstand the onset of battalion OF
soldiers, and though they can be driven from
their position at the cost OF many lives In the
attacking party, 1t only results in their at
tanning another equally as strong, or in their
scattering like quail In the rocks to all points
OF the compass, to reassemble at some point
that may be miles in the rear or advance OF
their pursuers.
"Man is all times the creature OF his sur
roundings" and General Crook thinks that
the surroundings OF the Apache are the most
stern and forbidding that will permit OF hu-
man existence, and adds, 'We have before us
the tiger of the human species.
''To see them as they first appeared TO white
men half clad, half fed, covered with vermin,
with no semolance OF property beyond the
rude arms with which they doggedly waged
war against Implying nature, 1t was easy to
believe that nothing could be easier than
their determination or subjection. 1t has
taken the expenditure of countless treas ure
and blood to demonstrate that these naked
Indians were the most thoroughly individu-
allied soldiers on the globe; that each was an
army in himself, waiting for orders from no
superiOrs, thoroughly confident, and never
at a loss to know when 10 attack or when 10
retreat"
ANOTHER INDIAN FIGHTERS OPINION.
Lieutenant James s. Petit who has written
on the same subject, confirms all that the
more famous writer and fighter has said OF
these men, and asserts, that in addition to the
natural disad vantages under which our sol
diers labored, they were constantly harrassed
and mislead by unscrupulous frontiersmen,
who frequently reported Apache raids where
none had taken place, in order that they
might profit by the sale of supplies to the
soldiers.
lie says that the hostiles are not very good
marksman, and that to this fact alone the
troops owe their escape from massacre. At
the conference held in March, Geronimo and
his band of followers could give no reason
tor taking the warpatb, and their only motive
appears to have been a love OF bloodshed.
-Four thousand men, or nearly one-sixth OF
the army OF the United States, have been in
the field since the summer OF 'S5, engaged
in the pursuit OF fifty or one hundred desper-
ADDE'S, and yet all military men who know
the facts concede that the final capture OF the
Chiricahua Apaches reflects credit upon the
officers and men who achieved it. So far this
| sketch has dealt only with the hostile