The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-09-22

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the tree top and make 1t feed from their
lips and come at their voice. We are
like the deer and the wild bird. We
listen for your voice, and wefollow your
steps"
This was said at Mount Vernon bar
racks, Alabama, where the Chiricahua
captives have been for the last six years
living in Incidence and with abundance
Of good things, but never ceasing TO
pine for their native mountains. Mount
Vernon barracks are, according to lowers
Of the picturesque. the most beautiful
army post I'm the country, situated about
six miles north of Mobile and In o para
disc Of OAK, magnolia and other Bubtrop-
ical trees and shrubs. The climate In In
every way unlike that Of Arizona, and
the Indians suffered accordingly, 80 it
was once decided to remove them to the
Fort Sill reservation, in Indian Terri
tory, but that was promptly vetoed
when the border men pointed ont the
obvious fact that they could easily es-
cape. thence and make their way back
to Arizona
It is hard to believe that the Apaches,
bloodthirsty and untamable, are first
cousins to the progressive and rather
pleasant Navajoes, but both are from
the same great offshoot Of the Athabas-
can race. The Navajoes combined with
d remnant Of the old and semicivilized
Mexican Indians and have maintained
an art and civilization of their own,
while the Apaches took TO the noun.
tains and grew more savage every year.
Fifty years ago the department estimat-
ed that in Mexico and the United States
they could muster 80, 900 warriors.
This was an ~exaggeration, but still they
were very powerful. When General
Crook went Mt them 90 years ago, they
did not have to exceed 1, 500 warriors,
yet that small number had pretty near
ly depopulated Arizona.
lin 1879 the hostiles of that territory
were i'm three great bands, the greatest
under the famous Cochise. General
Howard, with q single aid, penetrated 70
his mountain fastness and made q treaty
which Cochise kept honorably till his
death. Geronimo broke away, and d long
and rather romantic war followed. In
1883 General Crook captured the whole
band, numbering 600. and located them
ON q reservation, but Geronimo and
Neches broke away again, murdered
| 1874 whites and escaped into Mexico. In
1885 General Miles captured the last OF
the hostiles, their surrender being on
the agreement that their lives were ia
be spared. In two years they had killed
| 176 Americans.
They claim that Of the terms oi
the surrender was that they were not tc
be taken out of Arizona, but they were
sent to Fort Pickens, Florida, and later Il
Fort Marion, near st. Augustine. Their
native land is very high and very dry.
with cool nights; their land of captivity
is low, moist and hot. In the forme1
they had q range W some 40, 900 t<
90, 600 square miles, and i'm the lattel
they were confined to q few acres. YET
they did not all die, as might have beer
expected. Many of their young people
have been fairly well educated. The lad.
are employed in Pennsylvania % cattle
herders and farmhands and the girls 81
the domestic occupations. Day schools
and Sunday schools have been success
fully maintained among them, and thos.
enlisted In the army have made gooi
soldiers Meantime another large branch
of the Apaches has been located in th.
Indian Territory, and civilization Ia
made great progress among them. So j
has been decided to allow the old pris
onersf TO die at home and the youths &
start anew there.