Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-09
TIE HOSTILE APACHEs.
wha, Lieutepsst-eesera sheridan Knows
and SAYS Abous Them.
fBy telegraph TO the Dispatch.I

VIVA, Lieutepaut-Gessrai sheridan Knows
snd ssss Abous Them.
IBy telegraph to the Dispatch.l
WASHINGTON, D. e.; january g.
Lieutenant General Sheridan, In a con.
versation with q representative of the
Associated Press to-day, remarked
with reference to his recent official visit
to Arizona and the latest news concern
ing the Apaches ~ have reason to
believe that General Crooks operations
will result in the destruction Of Gero-
nimo's band and the restoration Of quiet
IN the region Of the Apache depredations,
but the work cannot be accomplished
in day. "You must remember" he
added, THAT all Of our frontier settle
ments in the vicinity Of the wild In
dams have been compelled to pass
through similar ordeals. There has
been some little embarrassment in the
operations from the fact that the in
fected area comprised portions Of two
military departments, but the rene
dy has been found by the tenn
porary transfer of the District Of
New Mexico to the Department
ofArizona, and now General Crook has
full sway. His tact and fearless en-
ergy will, l doubt not, bring about
good results. He has all the troops he
wants, and they are placed in the most
advantageous positions. Detachments
guard all the watering-places, and pat
rolls and scouting parties cover the
entire area of 10000 square miles
over which the savages have been
operating. Every route which is
practicable to white men is thus
guarded. Though the results have
apparently been so meagre, yet much
has been accomplished, and failure to
exsrpate the band long ago is due to
the willy instincts Of an enemy so small
in numbers that methods Of actual war
fare cannot be employed with effect,
and to the nature Of the country. The
hostile band originally numbered AZ
warriors and "a women and children.
Their roamings have covered an area of
$4,000 square miles, of which $4,000
lie south Of the border line. That
lying in Arizona and New Mex
leo is a region Of rough, broken
mountain ranges, whose spurs enclose
occasional plains, sparsely watered and
bearing little vegetation. The noun
tain-tops furnish excellent points of
lockout, from which the kcen-eyed
savage can see long distances through
the rare atmosphere Of the high arid
regions, counting the number Of his
pursuers and detecting their slightest
movements long before they can be-
come aware Of his neighborhood, or APP
proach near enough for offensive opera
tons. The Apache is mountain Indian
bred from childhood to peak-climbing,
and to making long desert journeys
afoot with little water, little or no cloth
ing. and no other food than roots or ber-
ries. When on the war-path he carries
no rations. Encountered only with his
gun and ammunition he proceeds by
trails which are impossible to mounted
men or to those who are only habitu.
ated to conditions Of ordinary military
experience, and in such paths he often
travels a distance Of sixty miles day.
1t is only in recent years that the horse
has become his auxiliary, and even
new. when pressed, he kills the animal
ard seeks his own safety in his familiar
Businesses"
The Apache outbreaks, continued the
General, are rarely to be anticipated
or fOretold. When the band becomes
b,stile it manages to get away six or
hit hours before any knowledge Of
/. purposes can become known to
Z oops. 1t murders isolated settlers
. ord prospectOrs. and attacks and plum
) Dars ranches to obtain ponies and
cd. Its course is almost always to-
wards the Mexican border, across
which an asylum has so often
been found. If such a band is
headed off or overtaken by troops it
does not give battle, but its members
scatter to the hills, each for himself,
and reilnite at some designated spot
hundreds of miles away. The troops
and Indian-trailers who pursue them
are rarely able to do more in such
cases than to pick up a few wo-
men and children. Up to three years
ago the scene Of the present disturb
ances was sparsely settled, and the loss
Of life and property was small COM
pared with the record of the last eight
months. There were then but few
horses or cattle in the region, while
now large herds are found at nearly all
the springs and water-holes, and raiders
are able to secure fresh mounts every
day. Many of the settlers, continued
the Lieutenant General. fail to real
ize the dangers Of their situation. They
are often unarmed, and they travel from
ranch to ranch. aud from town to
town-twenty, fifty, sometimes hun
bred miles, carelessly and alone. AL
most all the murders by the Chirica-
huas since the last outbreak have been
of persons found in such situa-
isolated, unarmed, unsuspecting
When visited General Crook five or
six weeks ago eleven warriors had been
killed and thirty-one women and chill
dren captured. Twenty warriors and
ali the remaining women and children
were in Mexico, and only ten warriors
were north Of the border. These ten
have committed all the recent muir
ders.
| tanadian-Bound Rank. Doodle ReeOy.
| cred.
tBy telegraph to the Dispatch.l
BOsTON, January 8.-State-Detec-