El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-02

Here they were naue uuCOuioi s0oiO
and filled with dread of something
that they could not understand. The
flashes from our heliograph signals
were almost always in view, as mes
sages were being sent back and forth
over the peaks. This was something
that they could not understand and
was attributed by them to spirit
agency. They would never attempt to
scale any of the peaks from which they
had seen these flashes aud their terri
tory became more and more limited.
The men would never work. Their
hands showed that such had been th cir
habit for generations, for the wrists
we're actually larger than the hand,
as we found sfterwRrd when we tried
to handcutf them.
The women, overcome and exhausted
by the superhumau tasks OF attempt
ing to provide fuel and water for the
camps of the mountain peaks, were un-
able to nurse or feed their starving
children and rather than leave them
to be eaten by coyotes or pAnthers,
threw them to their death in the
gloomy canyons.
Thesouaws we're dressed in trousers,
with shirts worn loose as blouses over
them, and rode ssraddle, so We had no
way of distinguishing them from the
men and often found that we had by
mistake killed a mother or young
girl when shooting at what appeared
TO be'one of the warriors.
Toward the last the Indians had lost
all of their horses, we too were on
foot, our supply trains far below, and
the whole chase was nothing but
succession off climbs up one cliff and
down another.
NV scouts never once made a mis-
take as to the position of Geronimo,
and while he was ever planning am
bushes for US we usually turned the
tables on him by getting around on the
point behind him and so driving him
nurriedly down the very cliff over
which he had intended to roll rocks
down upon US, as he had usually been
able to do with the Mexicans.
These latter now became holder as
they found that we had about con-
quered the Apaches, and on one occa-
sion became insOlent and fired upon
our Chiricahua scouts, pretending that
they did not know that we were in
their territory by authority.
The final surrender took place in
what was known as Skeleton Canyon "a
deep gorge eleven miles from the
Mexican boundary.
1t took its name from a massacre
which occurred there long before, |
when the guards and mules OF q pack |
train loaded with Mexican dollars were |
killed by bandits. In the mix-up |
many of the rawhide sacks of dollars |
were burst open and scattered about, |
and even to the present time it is still
possible to fipd those melancholy |
scattered here and there |
about the desolate rocks.
AT last the time came when Geroni- |
mo sent a squaw into camp to say that
he wanted to see LawtOn, who Was |
then rounding up the last of the scat
tered outsiders. Lieutenant Gate
wood took a few men and went to see
but returned discouraged
and said that he Thought that
,he Indians were only attempt
ng to gain time and that any
communication was dangerous. 1t
vas impossible from their location and
rom the worn out condition of our
roops to attempt to kill or capture
hem by force.
Our scouts, the main body of our
orce, were themselves Chiricahuas,
Hood relations to those whom we were
lighting. They had slept in the same
vigwame, hunted and raided together.
20 attempt to get our men to kill their
wn chums and kin would surely have
esulted in their numbering US ALL join
ng forces with the outlaws, and then
With a new supply of ammunition from
ur stores they would have started an
Their series OF raids and massacres
nth the certainty of q clear field of
ctiOn for some time, as il could not
ave then been possible to get another
and of scouts to work under American
OntrOl. and without them there could :
g no success.
Lawton said that Geronimo had not
lade his offer in bad faith and went
ut the next morning to meet him. He
1cceeded in obtaining promise OF
lrrender.
Geronimo and the remnants of his
and skunk into Skeleton Canyon,
and ashamed. Their
aildren were gone, come OF their =
ives were dead and come lost. In
iaps are not demonstrative, but their | {
ceilings are none the less keen because e
1ncealed.
The Apaches felt themselves but wo- t
imself was gaunt, ragged and lean c
aving lost forty pounds in weight, but
is face was sparkling with Joy at the
lccessful end of as hard fight as ever
hannibal saw. Not killed by sudden '
dvantage, but outtraveled, outgener- 4
led and beaten in a fair test of endur-
nee. The chase had covered 1000 f
lilies OF travel and had been life and b
cath struggle for every man in it, the S
unters as well3as the game.
The early part of the day was spent 6
j gathering in the Indians, telling
hem what was expected OF them and
repairing for an early start next day.
3 the afternoon wore away the in e
snse heat was followed by threatening s
ouds, shutting in the canyon, and
hen caN e tempest With continuous
EXPLOSIONS of electricity with which q
he air was charged and a smashing I
Qll-nffinnrG
nd prisoners-into the covered wa p
Ons for shelter. n
A wild, dramatic ending to the play, a
ith murderers in the skeletGn-co1er. b