Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-06-27

AMONG THE APACHES.
STUDIES OF SAVAGE LIFE MADE
AMONG CAPTIVE HOSTlLEs.

| AMVNu 1AG al dO11IOs
STUDIES OF SAVAGE LIFE MADE
AMONG CAPTIVE HosTILEs.
characteristics of the Chiricahuas-Fsr.
sonal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Of the
squaws-The Apache Head-Dress and
Gewgaws-Game of Na-Joose.
We have been enjoying a considerable
Apachefcation Of the post For several
months a lot Of woman and children, cap
tured by CaptS Crawford and Davis, havs
partaken Of the hospitality Of log-cabin
adjoining the guard-house, diluted with
sufficient freedom The youngsters romped
outside at will. and the squaws adorned the
porch Of the round-house daily. They were
rather industrious set, and turned many
| q proper peso by weaving handsome bask-
cts of bear-grass in the Moqui style, making
moccasins for tho soldiers, and constructing
toy models Of their unique cradles They
were also given some light work TO do
around the post, which helped to keep them
healthy and happy. When Lieut. Faison
arrived with his ffty-eight prisoners from
the Sonora surrender the guard-house cap
tives were let out to Join them. The whols
band went down TO a little arroyo, three
fourths of q mile from the post, and camped
amid the sand and rocks Fire-wood and
| rations were hauled out to them, and they
| quickly made themselves comfortable For
the first day the improvements comprised
| only grubbing of cacti, and the building
Of semi-circular wind-breaks with bushes,
etc But soon the patient s4uaws had
achieved village The tall stalks Of the
century plant were peaked over the spaces
inclosed by wind breaks, and around these
rude tentpoes were stretched blankets or
numerous rods Of unbleached muslin. These
roofs were, on an average, about three and
one-half feet from the ground The general
effect Of each tent reminded one Of such an
umbrella as our friend lends US on . rainy
day. They were effective, however, in
keeping off tho wind and sun-which il
where they overmatched the umbrella.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHIRICAHUAS
While the squaws trudged about in these
pursuits of domesticity the bucks were
equally industrious-in gambling They
squatted around blankets spread in the
sand, and deity dealt poonkan the Mexi-
can monte, s.apping down their plays with
the peculiar vehemence which you may see
as well in a Chicago saloon as in N Apache
camp They gambled for money, for car
tridges, for blankets, and for ponies Their
chips were sometimes coffee beans, some
times cartridges, and often neat sivers Of
bear grass cleverly bundled A fair share
Of the day, however, they rested from gam
bling to personal abandonment Down IN
der some Withdrawing bush you would |
stumble upon an athletic warrior carefully
painting his face in crimson rings and
stripes, or mayhap Modifying his great
crop of hair with O fist-sized chunk of NUT |
ton tallow-base barbarian, who has not yet |
learned the delicacy of civilized refinement |
in rouge and perfumed lardl
The Cbiricahuas are q straight, athletic, |
wellsized tribe, with intelligent features, l
supple bodies, and noticably small hand,
and feet The females, big and little, weas /
simple print dresses, which reach their i
ankles The Mother Hubbard style Of archi- /
lecture seems not unpopular among the old /
women, though eschewed by the young.
The rest of the wardrobe comprises high
shanked buckskin moccasins, a bright head
herchief, and bracelets of silver, brass, tin
can. and beads, with similarly constituted
necklaces and earrings The bucks. when
in full dress, wear print shirt, linen draw
ers, moccasins, and a yoluminous Gstring.
The latter in a sine qua non The drawers
may be omitted at wish, but without the
Gstring no one can have the entree Of the
Apache best circles
The Apache's realm is essentially king
dom Of cactus, and Ee cuts his moccasins
according to his thorns Instead of ending
at the ankle his foot gear climbs to within
three inches of the knee pan, whence its sur
plus is turned out and down SO as to form
double armor for the shin-bone. The
most curious adaptation, however, is at the
toe. Instead of the fiat point in vogue with
northern and eastern tribes, the PROV turns
up a couple of inches, and ends in . little
rawhide disk of the diameter Of q two-bit
piece. 1t is wonderful protection from
the assassinative stabs Of countless desert
daggers The humble moccasin is Of the
soft buckskin gray; but that Of the more
aspiring is dyed an attractive yellow by
rubbing it with dry paint
APACHE HEAD-DREsS AND ORNAMENTS
For head dress the Apache rolls big
bandana to three-inch band, and binds it
around his bullying Uranium from stem to
stern. In prosperity no decks this band
with big disks of silver. Around his waist
he weaIs one, two or three webbing belts,
full Of Uncle Sans copper cartridges Of As
20 denomination Dependent from the sides
arc his buckskin tobacco pouch, an encased
awl for moccasin mending, and Sheffield
butcher knife in a sheath which swallows all
but the very tip of the handle. He further
sports earrings-old Nanay had two heavy
watchchains fastened to his-from two to a
dozen necklaces of big beads, a small circu.
lar mirror, and rings and bracelets till you
can't rest. One young buck, of whom l
took the census, had thirteen rings on his
left hand eleven ON his right, and a dozen
bracelets beads, brass, and silver on either
wrist He was the king dude of the whole
outfit, and very little force in war.
Besides their pasteboard beguilers, the
Apaches have an almost equally popular
recreation-the game Of ma joose 1t doesn't
look to have any more sense in it than
shaving the soles Of your feet, but the bucks
will play it all day without break. They
have two tiny piles of straw about thirty.
five feet apart, each having little U-shap-
ed depression on either side The imple-
ments consist OF two poles fifteen feet long
and looking like cane fish pole, but really
made of three straight willow sticks most
spliced; and a hoop six or seven
inches across, its diameter traversed by q
stout cord. The two players stand side by
side about twenty feet from the straw piles
toward which they are facing They drop
their poles till the taper ends rest upon the
ground, the. butts being he'd six or eight inches
higher One OF them takes the hoop holds
it down between the two poles, and deity
trundes it forward As it nears the straw
piles both players pitch their poles forward
and if it chances that the hoop falls across
the poles near the butts, you will hear an
approbative shout Upon closer inspection,
tia poles prove to have no;ches along near
the butt while the hoop is also notched,
and its cross string has tiny thongs drawn
at intervals through its strands The point
Of the game lies in which notch falls upon
which Arizona Cor Inter Ocean.
Wouldn't Even lie Dead with Him.
Slirnkins and his young wife had just
completed their first quarrel