Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-03-22
THE APACHES
In Alabama Rapidly Dying Crook
and Miles on their Removal to
Indian Territory.

in Alabama, telegram from Washing
ton recently published in the Examiner
says: On sand ridge in the midst of ;
pine forest near Mobile, Alabama, is 10
Gated Mt. Vernon Barracks, the prison
home of the Apache Indians who were
removed from the White Mountain Re
servation, Arizona, after commit 'ng the
most awful depredatiols ever known in
the Southwest. Among the bind are
NatcheZ, chihuahua, Ku-Nay, and other
demons hailing from chihuahua, where
| their names are written in blood in the
history of the Rio Grande country.
They are no longer the wild and say
age men they We're of yore. The bucks
are depressed and apparently heart-bro-
| ken. Disease has depleted their ranks
and their women and children are pass
ing away with fearful rapidity. Con
sumption is the medium Of death. 1t is
of course superinduced by the change
of climate from the dry air of the noun
tains of New Mexico to the damp bree-
zes of the Atlantic Coast. The captive
Indians were first confined at Fort Pick
ems, near Pensacola, Florida, and Fort
Marion, near st. Augustine, Florida.
They remained at these points from the
spring and summer of 1856, until May
1888 when all were brought together at
Mount Vernon Barracks. From time to
time 10 youths have been sent to the
Indian school at Carlysle, Penn. OF
these 80 died, II have been retained in
the prison home of their parents because
of their failing health, leaving 60 for the
government to display its abilities as an
educator and civilizer upon. Of the In
dians remaining in the South, Is died
at st. Augustine in 1886, 81 at st. Augu-
slime, Fort Pickens and Mount Vernon
Barracks in 1888, and up to November
30th Of last year, 26. Thus it will be
seen that in three and one-half years 1l9
of the Apaches have answered the last
summons. In all 49S redskins, of whom
80 were men and 800 women and chill
dren, were received as prisoners of war
from Arizona. According to the report
of Lieutenant Guy Howard, made to
the Secretary of War at the beginning
of the year, there are now at Mt. Vernon
Barracks 20 men, 167 women and 40
children, total of 3S8. Two more are
undergoing punishment at GOVERNOR
Island, New York. Including the band
of youths at Carlysle, there are AGO Apa-
ches now under restraint in the East.
Births have been numerous among the
band. OF the men this officer believes
that there are probably 80 able bodied
bucks who are fit for military service
and could do much harm on the war
path. About 70 others are able to do a
fair days's work. but are not In good con-
dition. The remainder of the grown-up
L. Il IL ord ori-,lae
According TO the reports Of the mill
tary officials who have lately visited the
Alabama prison, including Gen. Crook,
the Indians are practically doing moth
ing. The employment OF the scattered
population thereabouts is In the manu-
facture of cypress shingles and pine
lumber, for which the savages of the
West are not fitted. Those who do laber
only work about the camp, keeping it in
order and sometimes roofing up trees,
repairing houses and sweeping up yards.
Their odd hours are spent in the manu-
facture of trinkets. 1t is claimed by
Gen. Crook that there is a general and
earnest desire to work manifested, but
nothing being given them their lives are
dreary, monotonous and empty. The
extraordinary mortality he believes is
attributable in part to this fact.
In an interview on the subject Gener-
al Miles said. 1.-The Chiricahua Apaches
are the lowest, most brutal and cruel of
all the Indian savages on the continent.
They kill for the pleasure Of killing and
they take fendish delight in the most
cruel tortures, burying men, all except
their heads, over great ant hills to have
the flesh slowly eaten off until death re
lieves their eXcruclating agonies. Hang
ing little girls by the under jaw on a
great meat hook to suffer slow death,
and men by their feet with faces over a
slow fire is congenial pastime to them.
In morals they are degraded. They are
in awful physical condition and this
more than anything else is the cause o.
so many deaths at Mount Vernon bar
racks and the Carlisle school. They
will not work. The commanding officer
at Fort Apache, where they were located
wired me in response to a query that
the Chiricahua and Warm Spring In
dams had under cultivation in 1856 only
100 acres of land and that one Mexican
did most Of the blowing, for the squaws
lid nearly all the work. When a certain
number of them came here to Washing
ton they were treated more like her es
than criminals. / knew if they were al
lowed to go back nothing would be &C
complished, and l wired the department
that there would be outbreaks for TWEEN
ty years if they returned. On that the,
we're stopped at Fort Leavenworth
Kansas, and finally sent to Florida. II
is now urged that they should be return
ed west of the Missouri river because o;
their continued ill-health. Why, the
report to the Surgeon-General of the
army shows that Fort Sill IS one of the
worst places in the country.
WHY FORT SILL WILL NOT DO.
At one time it was my purpose to
have them sent to the Indian Territory
but since then the hostiles have been
with those not really on the warpath.
and they feel that al injustice has been
done them. There would be nothing to
prevent their breaking out; in fact,
believe there would be the greatest dan
ger of it. / have no more confidence in
them than in any other Indians that
have broken their promises and been
good only for a little while. If they are
sent to Fort Sill there is nothing to pre-
vent them from getting into the noun
tains of New Mexico.
There are some other Apaches there.
renegades from the Mescalero agency.
They go back and forth every season.
They can ride across in five days. The
Apaches, Comanches, and Kiowas now
there have perfect knowledge of the |
country. IL these fellows are sent there |
they will be together, mounted, and pos
sibly armed In six weeks. Once started
it would be difficult to Intercept them,
and think there would be great danger |
Of exciting the Kiowas and Comanches |
[ think it would be exceedingly danger
Gus to place these Apachss at Fort Sill. |
| think the people Of Arizona would |
have just cause for apprehension. |
have no confidence whatever in those |
Indians and it would be a terrible mis-
take to move them. believe that they |
should be placed somewhere In the |
of North Carolina. 1t is the
pest place for them"