Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-11-04
THE MESGALERO APACHES
Interesting and Instructive Interview
with Lieutenant StOttler Touching
His Method of Tanning Indians.
VERY REMARKABLE SUCCESS ACHIEVED
How 500 Renegade Savages Have
Been Forced to Yield to Discipline
and Become Self-Supporting-
Description of Reservation.

The NEW MEXICAN yesterday noted the
fact that Lieutenant V. E. Stottler of the
Tenth U. s. infantry, who has for several
years been on detached service as agent
for the Mescalero Apache Indians in
southeastern New Mexico, was enjoying
we'll earned vacation with his numerous
Santa Fe friends. Realizing that the
success attending the gentleman's man
agement of the Mescaleros, probably the
most refractory tribe of renegade In
dians in the west, has been source of
surprise to persons familiar with the
conditions that confronted him and has
achieved him enduring distinction in the
Indian service, the New MEXICAN prompt
ly detailed reporter to have talk with
the gentleman touching his past methods
and plans for the future. An exceptional
ly pleasant and instructive interview was
the result.
"When 1 was assigned to duty as agent
for the Mescaleros, in 1894, l quickly
recognized that had undertaken task
of more than ordinary seriousness and
Importance, and made up my mind that /
would avail myself of the peculiarly
favorable opportunity to make record
for myself as disciplinaran of Indians.
I found about 500 wild, defiant and un-
couth Apaches, chiefly renegades from
San Carlos and other agencies, scattered
over reservation containing 700 square
miles of mountain and plain, and all ap-
psrently resolved not to submit to any of
the restraints of civilization or change
their savage manner of living in any res
pect to please any white man on earth. |
concluded that l would employ all the
means at my command to correct this er-
ror.
81 am pleased to say that some degree
of success has attended my efforts. |
early discovered that sentimentalism and
soft words would not answer; that only
the most rigorous measures would achieve
the desired ends; that it was mistake to
shake hands with Mescalero or give him
any ground to infer that he had any option
about obeying an order. l also made up
my mind that efforts to make these In
dians work and thus become self-support-
ing would prove fruitless 80 long as the
government pursued the policy of pro-
viding them with food and blankets.
"Guided by these ideas vigorously be-
gan the work of disciplining the savages
under my charge. have compelled them
all to have their hair cut; exaoted meas
urable degree of cleanliness; forced them to
discard their blankets and breech. clouts,
and put on the clothes of civilization; have
strictly prohibited dancing, feathers and
paints; and have made it compulsory for
every child of years and upwards to
attend the agency school. These results
have been attained in spite of the stub
born resistance of most of the Indians,
but l feel that the hardest part of the
work is now over"
"The Mescaleros now most of them live
in comfortable log houses, provided with
cooking stoves instead of tireplaces, the
use of the latter being forbidden, and
each house is occupied by one family.
Seventy -eight of these houses have just
been completed on the reservation" con-
tinued Lieutenant S.ottler. "The In
dians having gotten out the logs and
hauled them to the building sites and the
agency carpenters having put in the doors,
doors and windows and supervised the