The Opelousas courier., 1894-01-20
APACHES In THE ARMY,
TIE NEW Sy3TEM TRIED IN ARR
IONA TERRITORY.
The Indian Has Not Proved a Very
Good SoIdier-Lured Into Service
by the Charm of Brass Buttons.

unique and picturesque ap-
pearance. The straight-cut regular
army Jacket, trousers that are q COM
promise between the native garment
and the garments of the line" met at
the knee by buckskin leggings; on the
head O. cloth of red muslin or calico in
a band and tied tightly behind, leav-
ing the crown of raven hair completely
exposed. This is the Apache soldier
of the United States regular army on
duty, says an Arizona correspondent
of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Indian troops of the Depart
ment of Arizona are recruited solely
from the various tribes of the Apache
Nation, and are in nowise eimilar to
the Indian police force of the Sioux or
other Indian tribes. They are regu-
larly enlisted for the full period of
service, receive full pay, and are held
strictly amenable to military dlsci-
pline. Their uniforms vary slightly
from those of the Other troops, re-
! sembling a sort of Zouave equipment,
a concession which the department
found it necessary to make in order to
satisfy some whims of the aboriginal
mind. The Indian is essentially mar
row-minded and superstitious. Matters
of dress which may be exceedingly triv-
ial in Importance have to him some
times an immense significance.
The Apache problem has been @
thorn in the side to the commanders
of the Department of Arizona. There
are ten large tribes in the Territory,
making an aggregate of some 10000
persons. OF all these, the Apaches
alone have given-the Government any
trouble within the past quarter of q
century. They occupy a reservation
in the heart Of the Territory larger
than the combinedS States Of Massschu-
sets, Rhode Island, Connecticut and
Delaware; and their, whole tribal pop
ulation numbers less than 5000. There
has not been a year since the whitesoc-
cupation that some Apache renegade
was not off the reservation, making
life interesting for some one, and a
very few years have passed in which
the Government has not been called
upon to quel1 a general outbreak.
With the end of the Geronimo cam
paign the authorities adopted a new
policy toward these oimplacables and
the formation of the Indian au2ilaries
is q part Of the new programme.
Gradually the more lawless chiefs have
been vanquished until 10y there is
hardly a corporal's guard Of the old
~, - b. Io eo1-I ~ oil tho %~Ih1s
which comprise the Apache Nation.
Then supplementary proceedings were
began by enlisting all the able-bodied
young bucks between the ages of six
teen and thirty into regular companies.
Under these conditions-with all the
old men deported and all the young
sters under the eyes of the regular
soldiers--it is hoped that the solution
of the Apache trouble is not far dis
tant.
While the question seems in a fair
way TO be settled with regard to the
Indian, the new deal does not give
universal satisfaction in army circles.
The soldiers do not take kindly to the
change. At Fort Huachuca an in
cipient mutiny was raised on the
arrival OF, the red-skinned troopers.
Regulars who have beenfor years fight
ing the willy Apache from behind
rocks cannot readily accustom them
selves to the idea of messing and
sharing quarters with their hereditary
foe. The officers, as a rule, are not
very enthusiastic over the innovation
either. Their general opinion is that
the novelty will soon wear off with the
recruits, and that eventually they will
either desert, singly Or en- masse, or
else at best, when their term of SER
vice expires they will refuse re-enlist-
ment and return home with their
newly acquired knowledge and dis
cipline to become more troublesome
than ever.
As to the merits of the Apache as O
soldier he doesn't seem to have many.
He can withstand an incredible amount
of fatigue. A body of Apache infantry
will make a forced march in better
time and can arrive in better fighting
trim than the average regular cavalry.
When the line of battle is drawn up
MI. Apache is not there. From time
immemorial the Apache warrior has
fought only from ambush, and no
amount of military discipline can COM
pei him to face a fire in which he has
no better chance than his enemy.
The one thing which lures the In
dian from the reservation into the
army is his love of the uniform. He
cares more for bright colors and gilt
trappings than for his wife-even more
than he does for eating. The glitter
ing epaulettes and shining buttons r.
resistibly charm the savage eye. An
Apache sergeant in full regimentaluni-
form is an object of the profoundest
reverence to every male ID his tribe
and to the squaws he is a thing to be
adored. Then they like the evolutions
and military manoeuvres. They enjoy
the music, especially lively and spir-
tied martial airs.
The number of Indians now serving
in this department is III the nelghbor-
hood Of five hundred. They are organ
lied into companies of fifty each, with
white officers, though there have been
some few promotions to junior grades.
The companies r not all full, however,
by reason of occasional assertions and
natural causes. A well-known officer,
in speaking of the situation, says that
while the experiment has not proved
SO successful as its originators
prophesied, the new companies will
not be mustered out, but enlistments
viii be constantly encouraged.