The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1899-02-09

patient, bIave and
S5N enduring, and they
have no trouble in
disposing of Indians under any fair
odds once they they can bring them
TO battle; but just here is the trouble,
to catch them. The Indians, born
and bred in the country, knowing
every foot of il, accustomed to war
fare and TO moving swiftly over wide
spaces, and hampered by no baggage
train or other impediments, can keep
away from greatly superior pursuing
force Of civilized soldiers for long
time. II they decide TO fight they
are able usually to choose their own
place aud time for giving battle This
is especially true of the Apaches, who
have been the most inveterately hostile
and the hardest to deal with OF all the
Western tribes. 1t is in the blood Of
an Apache to live by rapine and
plumber, and he is physically organ
lied and trained TO that end. He can
run sixty miles day over country,
open or rough, taking il as he finds
it, for q week ON a stretch, finding his
subsistence as he goes; can hide him.
self anywhere Almos; that ground
lizard can, aud knows every trick Of
lodging or following or getting away
FROM an enemy.
"Ot all our Indians the Apaches
have been employed the most as scouts
for the regular army, and without
their services in this way the Govern
ment might have failed to this day in
making the Southwest Territories,
New Mexico and Arizona, safely
habitable for white settlers. In first
organizing this service men from one
Apache tribe were enlisted to fight
those OF another tribe. Later, when
all the Apache tribes had been put on
reservations, the Indian scouts and
police were found quite as ready TO
perform their duty with their own
trlbesmen as with offenders OF another
tribe. When called on to take the
field against hostile indians they fully
match them in cunning and endur-
anee. They know every move Of the
enemy, can trail him night and day
and light him in his own fashion when
they come up with him. Almost with.
out exception the Apache scouts have
been loyal to the Government and have
done their duty brsvely and faithfully.
But their usefulness depends greatly
upon the qualities Of the officer who
leads them. They must first and fore
most r Spect him, and any suspicion
OF timit.ty or lack Of prompt decision
in his behavior forteits his efficient
control over them, and NAV even be
dangerous to has safety. Nowhere is
force Of character, pure and simple,
more appreciated and bowed to than
among Indians, and in dealing with
them in friendship or war the lack az
il is fatal.
1T was about the time that General
Crook wound up his famous cam
paigns against the ApAehes that / came
with my new Lientenant's commission
to Camp Bowie, Arizona. Crook hss
whipped the Apaehes out and ont. had
killed great many, and had corrallei
all the tribes IN reservations exeep. a
few warriors, remnant OF Cochis4,s
old band. who had refused 10 sarran.
der and had gone into the Sierra Ma.
dres across the Mexican border, where
he could notreach them. The Apsehes
for the time being. had enough az
fighting, and 50 things were Quiet tor
while. This gave me time 10 pi,k
mp some Spanish and ArssAe words
for use with the Indian sauts before
was called on to lead them any.
where l had the chance 10 so a.
junior officer on = scouting expedition
or two, and so got little the hang Of
the thing before was assisned 70 the
command Of scouts myself.
IA WAS in early autama that got
my first orders to so out With detail
ApAches to scout the Chiricahua
Mountains southwark as far As the
Mexican line and return BY wAy of the
San Simon Plain. II was SifSenh
country, wholly new to me. a. il was
TO most men then, and, to make thu
thing worse, there had Just been !
shifting OF scouts At the post. and
there was not a man in nv command
that knew except CAsimiro GrlislhA-
. Mexican, who acted as interpreter.
But OF course took nv assignment
thankfully, made my acquisitions for
. ten days trip, and rode out az The
post the next morning into the south
west opening Of Apache Pass, sitting
very straight on nv horse. with GrS.
laioA riding by ny ssie and twenty
apache scouts stringing along on foot
behind.
We canped tina, niSsat On the San
Pedro, and the next morning took IN.
&c the mountains. The country after
passing the foothills wAs horribly
rough. and there was enly one man in
my command who owned TO havinO
been IN the mountains before. He wss
. hat>Nexiean Apache called Duran.
60 the least to be trusted Of sny.
Halt my men might have fought ~
hunted through and through the whola
range, and known every pass spa
spring and valley in it; bat thai Sor,
OF knowledge an Indian keeps - him
self, and until he knows sn6 t-ps.s
his commander he simply follow his
orders and leaves him, without 50
much As hint OF assistance, TO ind
ms way. | knew too much by this
time TO show sign of hesitancv. and
helped BY GrIl2lba, an admirable and
trustworthy man, l picked out NV
route, good or bad, riding ahead into
All sorts Of places, scanning the ground
ana sky for Indian signs, aud generally
making . grand bluff Of knowing
everything about everything for effect |
mon my men Perhaps overdid the /
.nang. Tor on the third day 1 began to /
notice change in the behavior 81 the /
scouts They had started hrisklv