The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-28
GENERAL MILES TRIBUTE
TO THE LAMENTED LA JYTON.-HIS
 CAPTURE or GERONIMO.
Why Captoin Lawten Was DicIsed Ont by Miles to Lead the Campaign Against the Apaches in 1885.

General Nelson A. Niles there will be
 found an exposition of the character of
 the late General H. w. Lawton. Gene
 ral Miles had great confidence in him,
 as will appear in the following eX-
 tracts from the Miles book. They re-
 late to the campaign against the
 Apaches in 1885, and the final subjuga-
 tion of them by the capture of Geroni-
 mo and his band by LaWton. General
 Miles description of LaWton follows:
 For some time I was undecided as to
 the personnel of this pursuing com-
 mand. I visited several military posts Fort Bowie, Fort Grant Fort Hua-
 chuca and other stationS,- l
 fully made up my mind as to the off,
 cers and men I should choose to con-
 stitute such a force. At length I se-
 lected from Fort Huachuca an officer
 by the name of Captain H. w. LaWton,
 Fourth United States cavalry, who, l thought, would fulfill all the require
 ments as commander. First of all, be-
 cause he believed that these Indians
 could be subiugated. Officers who do
 not believe in success and are always
 ready to show how a thing cannot be
 done and give 1abored and logical req
 sons and arguments why it would be
 useless to attempt to accomplish pur-
 pose, as a rule are not the kind of men
 to be selected for any hazardous en-
 terprise. While some men may be overZealous and unduly confident, yet
 where you find man of sterling abi- ity and clear, strong will power who
 believes that a thing can be accom-
 plished the chances are that, given an
 opportunity he will be more likely to succeed than one who has no faith in what he may be called upon to do, or required to undertake,
 Captain Lawton was of that class
 who believed that the Indians could be overcome. Although he recognized their great skill. cunning and physical
 strength, he believed they could be met and defeated by studying and improv-
 ing upon their own methods. He had
 made himself a splendid record during the war of the rebellion, had also a fine record on the frontier, had been one of General Mackenzie's most zeal
 ous supporters and possessed all the experience necessary to the command of such force. He was physically, per haps, as fine a specimen of a man as 
 time two hundred and thirty pounds, was well proportoned straight, active, agile, full of energy, stood six feet five inches in height and was without a su- perfiuous pound of flesh. His bone, muscle and nerve power was of the finest texture. It was said that he could at that time take up an ordinary man and throw him rod A giant in 1.a l., l,,tru !, face, and was in the prime of life. I informed him of what I desired and he was delighted at the opportunity for making the effort and undertaking the enterprise, although it involved hard ship and labor and required reckless courage to meet the dangers to be en- countered
 I also found at Fort Huachuca an other splendid type of American man. hood, Captain Leonard Wood, assistant surgeon United States army. He was a young officer, aged twentyfour, a na- tive of Massachusetts, a graduate of Harvard, @ fair-haired, bue-eyed young man of great intelligence. sterling, manly qualities and resolute spirit. He was .also perhaps as fine a specimen of physical strength and endurance as could easily be found. He had a per feet knowledge of anatomy, and had utilized this knowledge of physiology in training himself and bringing every part of his physique to it's highest per lection, and seemed to have the will power and energy to keep his own physical mechanism in perfect condi- tion and activity.
 Captain Lawton was convinced, from the fact that the Indians had entirely disappeared from the border, and from the direction in which their trail led. | that at last they were going toward l their stronghold the Sierra Madres, | and pursuit was at once inaugurated | for a campaign in those excessively | rugged mountains. The infantry com | mand was at this time replaced by an | other detachment of equal strength, | and with these new troops Captain ! Lawton pursued the savages from one i range of mountains to another for three | sometimes scaling peaks nine or ten thousand feet above the level of | the sea, and then again descending into the depths of the canyons, where the heat was almost intolerable. During | this time the troops marched 1896 miles Most of the country had been | burned over, leaving no grass, and wa ter was so scarce that the troops ire quently suffered intensely. One DOT tiOn of the command was without food with the exception of such game as they could kill, for five days. At one time, when the pack train had been de- layed by the roughness of the trail the troops were obliged to subsiSt on two or three deer killed by the scouts, and on mule meat without salt
 When we reached the Yaqui river it was found impossible to make use of the cavalry-the moun- tains volcanic in their character, be- ing almost impossible. The heat was Intense, and the command was reduced to deer meat for food. There were ab- no vegetables, and, in fact very little even of the meat mentioned. ] Dur supply of bacon had hair on both sides of it. So thin had it become that nothing was left but the hide. One day Captain Lawton was made violently ill ; )y eating some canned corned beef | which had fermented soon after being opened, and for few hours his life lung in the balance. At one time l | vas in command of the scouts on a rip across the main divide of the Ser a Madre to "cut sign" of the hostiles
 tt f,,.c