Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-10
THAT GERONIMO SURRENDER
What Gen. Miles Told the Committed
ON Indian Affairs.


On Indian Affairs.
APACHE CHARACTERISTICS - WIT He DID NoI
TRUST THE scours-rHH PRoxIsxs MADE II
eERoNMo-AFrEB TIE suRRExpxR-aKNERAl
NILES AReuMESrs
The following extracts from the statement
made before the House committee on Indian
affairs by General Nelson 8. Miles, in regard to
the Indian troubles, will be found Of general
interest.
Gen. Miles statement was made in answer to
| question from the chairman of the commit
tee, who said the committee had under consid.
GRAFTON proposition that these Apaches be re-
moved from their present place of confinement
at Mount Vernon, Ala, to the Fort Sill mill
tary reservation in the Indian territory.
Gen. Miles said: Il was in command OF the
department. of the Missouri when received a
telegram from the War depar tment directing
me to proceed to Arizona and relieve Gen
Crook. This was in April, 1856. / received a
letter Of instruction from Gen. Drum stating
that the lieutenant general directs that the
greatest care be taken to prevent the spread OF
6ostilities among the friendly Indians in your
command and that the most vigorous opera
tions looking to the destruction or capture of
| the hostiles be ceaseiessly carried on; that he
does not wish to embsrrass you by ertaking
/
| relation to operations against the hostiles, but
1t is deemed advisable to suggest the necessity
| Of making active and prominent use OF the reg
| ular troops Of the command.
| 1t will be noticed that the letter OF instruc-
| tions has double bearing. First, to destroy
| or capture the hostiles; second, to prevent q
| spread of the hostlities among other Indians
and prevent their going on the war path.
| endeavored to carry out the instructions, and
| made prominent use of the regular troops
| used the great bulk Of the command to pro-
| tect the settlements and restrain other Indians
| from joining the hostiles; or in preventing
| them from giving aid and comfort, communi-
eating with or furnishing ammunition to those
IN hostility. dc. 1t was not known where the
| hostiles were at that time They soon devel-
oped their whereabouts by committing mur-
ders In old Mexico and the southern part Of
| Arizona. That was in the last of April l as
| sumed command on the Sd of April On the
23d Of April they commenced killing people in
Sonora, Mexico. The troop. commenced the
pursuit and pursued them necessarily, from
that time until the final close of the hostilities
was satisfied that the system adopted would
wear out any body of men on earth. With our
attachments OF troops they were pursued over
1000 miles of the toughest country on this
continent, and they were fought in five differ
emit ARRAYS.
While this was being done, which lasted
| about four months, / became satisfied that
there could be no permanent peace in that
country until that Indian camp at Apache
which was the recruiting station and camp of
supplies from which all these raids have been
| made and to which they have often times
finally returned was broken up and cleared out
| of that country.
WHAT THE APAcHEs ARE LIKE.
The Chiricahua Apaches are the lowest,
most brutal and cruel of all the Indian savages
on this continent. They kill for the pleasure
of killing and they take fiendish delight in the
II rrnQl MAJ oil
| their heads over great ant hills to have the
flesh slowly eaten off until death relieves their
victims of the most excruciating agonies,
hanging little girl up by the under jaw upon
| a meat hook to suffer slow death or men with
| their feet up and their faces over q slow fire,
| are some Of their methods. Not only do they
| delight in human torture but they torture and
| mutllate animals and birds.
In morals they are the most degraded of
| savages.
| WHY HE DID NOT TRUST THE SCOUTS.
had no confidence in the Apache scouts for
the reason that if they were true to the mill
tary they were traitors to their own blood rela-
| tives. Any man who can be hired for sls a
month to trail his brothers. uncles and cousins
| that they may be killed, / have no use for If
they were true to their friends they must be
traitors to our forces My first effort was to
/ get these Chiricahuas scouts out Of the field,
and very few were employed after that, and
| when 1t was done it was more to keep them out
| OF mischief and to give them occupation than
| anything else. had no confidence in using
| them with the troops. took measures. how
| ever. to get them under my control They had
| never to my knowledge been disarmed nor dis
mounted. Some of them had a little land un-
der cultivation and used it for raising barley,
| and use the barley for making ''tizween." and
the more barley they had the more tizween
DRINKS occurred. When visited their camp
they we're having their drunken orgies nearly
every night, firing pistols and guns.
TRYING TO GET THEM OUT OF THE COUNTRY.
My first intention was, il possible, to move
the Indians out of that country in way which
would be satisfactory to them and for their
future benefit. know that they were COM
municating with the hostiles and it was re-
ported to me that they were plotting an out
break. From information I have since re-
| celved am satisfied of it. number OF their
\ young men were insolent and vicious, riding
| around with rifles and side arms, defiant and
| restless. They were we'll prepared to become
the Fictorias, ChattOes and Geronimos OF the
/ future. / requested authority to send por-
| ton Of them to Washington to question of
| removal, but before proceeding in that matter
| l asked to have representative of the Interior
department 60 out there in order that there
| might be no conflict of authority. Mr.. Lamar,
son Of the Secretary, WAS sent there. had a
double object in that. One was to let them
| know that / had authority to make a salts
factory and peaceable arrangement by which
they would be removed from Arizona and the
other reason was to get certain men away from
the camp, SO that there would be less danger
OF an outbreak. / sent o delegation of the
| Chiricahuas and Warm Springs to Washington.
My object was to get their camp move ed away
as far as possible from that very mountainous
country.
| STOPPED AT LEAvENwoRrH.
Nothing was done in Washington; they
simply came here. They were treated more
like heroes than criminals, and knew If they
we're allowed to 60 back and nothing accom-.
plished there would be additional trouble.
telegraphed: IF those Indians come back
against the appeals of the people who have
petitioned to have them removed, and in de.
| hance OF the wishes Of the military, outbreak
may be expected in this country for the mex
twenty years" On that they were stopped q,
Fort Leavenworth. In Kansas they became
defiant and insulting and indicated that they
would do as they pleased, and that they would
| consent TO no arrangement which would take
| them from the mountains OF Arizona. Still
hoped to get them out Of that country The
question arose of sending them direct tC
| Florida. They were . mountainous race &C.
customed TO high attitudes. and il sent down e
Florida into q moist, damp, atmosphere il
| would be in furious to them, excite the sympathy
Of their good friends in the east and would in I
short time result in Their being cent back e
| Arizona.
After making Eve or six urgent recommeu
| datiODs that those Indians ha nIacad in N health