The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1892-10-05
INDIAN SIhAIAG EN-.
HOW GERONIMO FOOLED n soUAD or
UNCLE SANS cAVhLRYMeN.

the Soldiers Came up riicy Arc the
Only Indians That eau DO n.
! saw Geronimo and dozen of his
Apnchcs do something in Arizona In
1887 which never would have believed
possible had not witnessed II with my
own eyes.
Tho Apnchcs aro unqucstionably the
most dreaded tribe OF Indians ON the
continent. They nro tougher, moro on.
during and moro unconquerablc than
any other OF their race An Apachecan
lopo up the side Of n mountain with the
thermometer marking 100 dcgs.. and
when he reaches the top he won't show
n drop Of extra perspiration. nor will he
breathe n whit faster than when he
started.
He will go for days without morsel
Of food or II drop Of water; hc will live
ON snakes, mice and refuse, or. II the
worst comes 10 the worst will shoot his
horse aud eat what he wants Of him raw
Set out to pursue n band Of Apache raid.
ers, aud If they aro hard pressed they
will separate, each for himself, so that
tho only way to keep up tho pursuit is
to follow them individually. in which
case tho Apache is suro 90 have the best
end Of the contract. When the hunt Is
over the dusisy miscreants will come TO-
gelhcr Mt some point twenty or thirty or
more miles away.
There were twenty-five of u8 cavalry
men returning from one of our fruitless
pursuits { tho terrible Geronimo. Our
a
IL was one OF tho hottest days have
ever known in that throbbing furnace
of u country. We had several miles Of
baked nlkali plain still 10 traverse before
reaching tho fort, where wo could secure
shade aud water, aud what we needed
most Of all-rest.
Whowl but IL wns hotl Had not tho
air been perfectly dry neither man nor
beast could havo stood it. Tho metal
work on our guns was so heated that no
ono could bear to touch it with tho
naked hand. Tho air shinmcrcd and
throbbod az IL does over n nowly plowed
field ut noontido Of u summer day.
North, east, south and west was ono
level stretch of plain, on which not
treo, shrub or oven blade Of grass grow
Far 10 the westward could he seen the
outlines of the fort, oddly distorted
| through the quivering atmosphere. but
in every other direction was the naked.
| burning desert.
We were strung along for II distance Of
several hundred yards. In fact there was
a squad Of five horscmon much farther
than that in tho rear. All the animals
were plodding slowly through the sand,
which il seemed TO mo was hot enough
to roast eggs, their heads dropping.
| while we were simply enduring it, grim
| ly closing our teeth. holding out TO reach
tho post.
Was there anything 10 be approhended
from Geronimo? Could $40 old cam
paignors be entrapped? Low, level sands
ON every hand. Well, right there ia the
midst Of that flaming plain, with its
horrible sandy waste, in which no spear
of grass could find root, that frightful
chieftain and his Apaches ambuscadcd
". IL sounds incredible. but il is a fact.
Suddenly | heard rifle firing at the
rear. H. had IA dull, odd sound, but it
was close at hand, aud MS ! turned in
the saddle / saw that the squad farthest
away were engaged ia u desperate fight
with n party of Indians. who were on
foot, shooting, striking and darting
hither and thither like so many demons.
We instantly wheeled and hurried
back as fast AZ we could TO the help OF
our comrades, but before we could reach
| them three saddles were emptied, and
Geronimo and his warriors were scurry-
ing across the plain alta greater speed
than any TO which we could force our
exhausted ponies, who sank to their fet-
locks ut every step. We gave them a
parting yolley which wounded several,
but they managed TO limp off with the
help Of others, and all were soon beyond
danger. I don't know how far they
Travelled off over that burning desola-
tion, but it may have been many D .es,
for they were capable Of doing iti. they
chose.
These Apaches must have discovered
our approach while we were good way
of. Knowing we were on our return to
the post they could easily calculate
where we would pass. Then they bur-
rowed in the sand, covering themselves
entirely with the blistering particles, 80
that only their snakelike eyes peered
forth. Thus we passed within few
rods Of them without suspecting their
presence.
In conversation with General Crook
about the extraordinary incident, that
old campaigner smiled and replied:
~ am not surprised. have seen them
do the same thing myself, but the
Apache is the only Indian that can do
it."-Chicago Mail.
Tho Third FOUNDER"