Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-03-26
A FRONTIER POST
The Intense Heat-soldiers Called
Upon to Deal with the Most Treach-
erous and Cowardly Of savages.

The average fort Of Arizona is clus
ter OF adobe houses, planted in desert
and surrounding square called the
parade ground. At warm posts, such al
Fort Mcdowell, on tho Verde River, tho
quarters are constructed so as to be a
cool as possible. One side of the parade
is occupied by the hospital, another side
by line of officers quarters, and the
two others by soldiers barracks and
Commissary and Quartcrmastcr store
houses. Further east toward the river
are the cavalry stables and the corral fol-
the pack train and the tents OF the com
pany of Indian scouts. Probably for 0
quarter Of mile around the post the
timber has been cleared away, but there ID
no other disposition than this for defense
against hostiles. Indian attacks in that
Territory are more on the plan of stage
robbing, as they lie in wait at the mouth
of ravine or at the entrance to woody
section, where, in the first CONSERVATION
produced by the surprise and ambuscade,
they have every advantage.
The officers quarters are only one
room deep, and running down the rear
is covered corridor, resting on the roofs
of the quarters and those of the back
kitchens, in which the "ollas" or earth
ern water-jars are hung. The soil in the
vicinity is alluyial, and the post garden
abundantly supplies the troops with
every vegetable except potatoes, which,
when cultivated, go TO "tops" and have
no roots. A few years ago ditch was
cut, leading from the Verde down
through the garden and around the pa
rade ground, along which were planted
many cottonwood trees, and the post
became an oasis in the desert. After a
thirty -fve-mile ride from Phoenix across
sun-burned desert with no tree in sight,
under scorching sun, in which moth
ing grows but sage brush and nothing
lives but the jackrabbit, the rattlesnake,
the tarantula, and the centipede, the
green trees of Mcdowell and the moist
freshness of the air we'll repay the trav-
eler for the discomforts of the trip.
The interior walls of the houses are
plastered, but the ceilings are canvas
lined, because the heat of the region
seems to injure the cohesive properties
OF mortar, and the sleeper is apt to be
awakened at night by heavy shower OF
plaster from above. During August the
neat is so intense that scarcely any
outdoor work is done. The mornings,
say from a. m. to 10, are not cool
and refreshing as in Cuba, where the
sea breezes play along the
shore, but sometimes even at midnight
the mercury hangs around 100 degrees.
Indoors it is impossible TO sleep. and one
losses around ali night in the feverish
heat. The troops are supplied with y
beds, across the tops of which canvas is
stretched, and on hot nights a man
spreads wet sheet over his bed and
sleeps, with no covering, under the trees
in the rear of the barracks. From sun
rise until 3 p. M. the thermometer
steadily rises and fingers around between
112 degrees and 116 degrees, falling of
slightly between and p. NJ. Were
there as much moisture in the air a:
along the Atlantic coast, the heat would
be unbcarable, bat there is such a drynes'
in the atmosphere and the evaporation is
so rapid that one scarcely ever feels tho
skin moist.
In the warm months the valley of the
Verde is often swept by high winds
which feel like blasts from furnace and
are intentionally warm on the face, and,
as they increase in force, gather up sand
and even small stones, heavy enough to
break windows, making what is called O
sandstoim. 1t seldom rains more thau
once year and then only a few drops
fall, but person standing at the fort car
watch the clouds gather in the peaks oil
the Superstition Mountains and see tho
storm pass north along the ridge, see the
lightning and hear the thunder, and fol
low it up to where the ranges meet
where it turns southwark, travelling dowr
the range and disappearing at the edge
of the desert in a mist. after giving every
mountain stream fresh supply of watel
for distribution among the ranches along
their banks.
When General Crook, then Lieutenan
Colonel, was sent 10 Arizona about fif
teen years ago the valley of the Verde
and Tonic Basin were the hunting
grounds of the Tonic Apachcs, and tn
mountains bordering east and ives
abounded in large game, such as tn
black tail deer and smaller varieties ant
even bear. When Crook had put tn
| lOHIOS Ou InC Gan AuIlOo lhCSCi NdbAOi
cattle ranchers spread up into the coun
try and the deer retired from this al
vance into the Sierra Ancha range, be
tween Tonic Creek and the Cibicu coun
try For some years the Government
had been looking for man who coul'
collect the Apache tribes, and Crook
success in Washington Territory ant
Oregon induced the War Department L
intrust him with the command O
| Arizona.
On reaching the Territory he found al
the Indian tribes united against tn
whites by common cause, that of oppres
sion by the Indian agents. His polio.
was first to favor one tribe to make tn
others jealous, and by following up thi
plan to make each tribe the enemy of al
the Others. He succeeded so well tina
he was promoted to brigadiership fror
Lieutenant Colonelcy without having t
pass through the grade of Colonel. III
was thorough student of Indian charac
ter and master of their mode of warfare
and brought with him to tie new fell
those officers and pack-train crews VIII
had contributed to his success in tn
North. Among the latter were two men
Hewitt and Bartlett, who owned tn
finest pack mules in the country; VIII
made contracts with the Government
furnishing at times 800 mules at $1.2
per day per head, the Governm ont to fec
them aud to pay 800 for each mu
killed.
These two men were known as Han
and Yank respectively, and many person
who knew them by their nicknames coul