Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-06-07
APACHES.
HOW THEY APPEAR IN WAR AND
 PEACE.
Their Habits and Pecuiinrities, Craft and Cunning, Cruelty and Cowardice--- A Race of Some Virtue but Many Nices---The Here
 ditary Enemies
 ofPeace and
 Industry
By John A. Spring.

MT. Bancroft in his volume treating of "The wild Indian tribes of America" includes the Navajoes. Comanches and almost all tho other tribes that have been conquered and more or less civilized during the last thirty years in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, in the nation of the Apaches. l would therefore remark beforehand, that my sketches refer only the tribe of the real Apaches, in whose immediate surroundings I have lived during the last 24 years. This tribe consist of the Chiricahuas, Coyoteros, Mescal- eros, Tontos and Mohaves. Insignii- cant differences in dialect excepted, all these subdivisions or sub-tribes speak nearly the same language and do no longer acknowledge an heredi- tary chief. Even when they roamed at large and committed their san guina1y depredations, they would elect from their midst for a war chief man who was known to the tribe for his bravery and sagacity to lead them for the time being; him they would implicitly obey while he was in power, but as soon as he was outdone in warlike actions by another, he would have to cede his authority to the more worthy rival. It Is thus seen that the political condition of the Apache tribes was and is entirely of a democratic nature. When, however, chieftain excelled in warlike quali- tications and led his warriors again and again in their bloody work of murder and robbery with successful results, he would remain for years the acknowledged and undisputed ruler of his tribe. This was the case with one Cacheese who remained in undisturbed dictatorship of the Chiricahua tribe, the widest and most bloodthirsty of them all, from 1854 until 1874, in which latter year all the conquered Indians of Southern Arizona were gathered upon the Indian reservation at San Carlos in the Territory of Ari- zona, the tribe of Cacheese alone ex- cepted Here his crafty diplomacy came into play, for he knew how to concOct and advance so many plaus- ible reasons to demonstrate why his tribe should have reservation apart and why this reservation should be situated in or near the rocky businesses of the Chiricahua range of mountains, and made so many prom isss of future good behavior, that he was accorded the privilege he sought. These mountains are ofsuch a nature as to afford almost everywhere natural and in some places impregnable fortifcation in such places Cacheese would establish his rancherias (tempor- ary camps or dwelling places where the squaws, children and old men find a safe retreat), when he desired to rest for a while from his nomadic life and dep redatory excursions. From these mountain fastnesses he undertook his innumerabls deathrdealing and plun- dering expeditions till death called him away in 1878. His son, and later on Geronimo and other chiefs, followed the dead mans footsteps and led the tribe with equal daring in all atrocious deviltries until in 1883 the govern ment lost it's i'll applied patience and forbearance, and sent General Crook to either subjugate or annihilate the Chiricahua tribe. In view of the fact that the Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora, which adjoin the territory of the United States on the latter southern froptieF, had suffered at leas equally as much from tbe frRquen | Iar,oIo4,ooo of thaSa IDJiopS q traa{ ' was enter into between the two repub lies granting each the right to eros the boundary line with armed force in pursuit of the hostile Indians. B. virtue of this treaty General Crool crossed with his troops the Mexican frontier and penetrated into the yer, heart of the Sierra Madre range il the Mexican State of Sonora where h' cane 4p with the Indians, took som prisonefs and receiyed fFQM the chief the solemn promise that they woul
 surrender themselves within givel time at the reservation of San Carlo, After considerable lapse of tim
 they did 60, marking however, thei route hither with numerous blood deeds and acts of robbery.
 R4t let hs FetYyH tG the time whe the Apaches were yet in tHeif vii |, state following almost uptramnlele and unchecked their murderor career.
 Arizona is a country where ever highway, every path every hamlet coul :, tell Chad they tongue) of devilis deeds, of crafty ambuscade, murdere settiess sn4 tE2yelleEs, unfoFtqna
 captives tortursd to death. | h4y
 statistic proof that in the then vel sparsely settled Territory (abol 10000 souls Tn 1866, exclusive of II dians) between the years 1854 an 1875 more than nine hundred persor
 met their death at the hands of u = Apaches; my oWp memoranda for u
 years 1887 apd te7Q during Whic
 period 1 took paFt ip sesefaf sxRed
 tons against the Indians, shQW th
 within circle of about one hundr'
 miles diameter, cue hundred aT
 eight people fell victims to these 1
 dians. for the most part Chiricahi who, ct that time, had comparative
 few firearms. Especially severe "
 the less of life of settlers and tFaYele
 in tie S&nta Cruz valley from Tub
 AtAwaid ;'C&labasas, TiciEity Qt N
 Kitchens FAHGho ts the present sl
 of Nogaies and the SoRQita pass fFo
 Huebabe to Fort CgittendeR.
 That the powerful government
 the United States allowed such Iz. state of affairs to exist had sever . reasons; one was, l believe, of pure .~ ] political nalqge and that VIZ sh & here igaors Sao5heF'Ras qndcubYet
 the mIstakeni pfiiiaR tbFQBy bf s9l
 Eastern enthusiasts Wha never Ina U understood and probably never will ,
 derstand the character of the Apac
 Indian and who, moreover, have
 all times completely ignored the g
 ferings of our white people at
 hands of their proteges; the mi
 Obstacle EeWeyeF 10 the spPpressi
 cttA6l wild iaaftp4eys 'e9bsistSf
 duestioaahly in ttsb" great difficult I which opposed themselves In t VI Territory to a successful expcdit
 against the fleet and crafty vol