The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

for this war than any French or German
officer. though as to many points he would
no doubt have been glad enough to have
their assistance / have not at this mo-
ment the army list at hand, and l may
be mistaken. but am nearly sure that
Lieut.. Col Henderson has never served
under Lord Roberts before, though he
has under Lord Wolseley. who much ap-
preciates his knowledge and capacity.
When. then. find Lord Roberts appcint-
ing to one of the most important posi-
tons on his headquarter staff an officer
personally little known to him, whose
special qualification lies in his general
knowledge Of the experience Of the past
of war and his special knowledge of the
American Civil war, with an even more
intimate knowledge of the particular CT
reer of Stonewall Jackson. 1 cannot help
regarding 1t as a very significant circum-
stance. I even think 1t q decisive pro-
| nunciamento on the thesis put forward
some time ago that what is wanted in
this campaign. even more than in the
American campaigns. is strict applica-
ton of the principles Of Stonewall jack
son."
The foregoing is a shrewd guess, but
not exactly the truth. as 1t has since de-
veloped.
Several months before his graduation
the White Mountain Apaches had showed
signs Of desiring to take the warpath, and
Blake, who was sure of making the cav
airy, prayed that he would be ordered to
join the "Galioping Sixth then in Arizo-
ma, under command of Col. Eugene A.
Carr In May the Apaches, under the
leadership of the medicine man and pro-
phet, Nockaydatklinne took the wa path,
and there began a series of Indian a roci-
ties, extending over a period of nine
years, which have never been approached
in the history of the Southwest.
To his intense delight Blake was or
dered to join the Sixth and, without a
thought Of the three months leave which
was his, he flew across the continent as
fast as steam could carry him. On reach
ing Chicago he learned that Troop M,
to which he had been assigned, had takea
the field, but he was to report at Fort
Lowell. long since abandoned, and ascer-
tain, If possible, its wherea bouts. Two
weeks later the "fledeling from the
Point reported to his captain, William
A. Rafferty,, in the heart of the White
mountain district The fact that a ten
derfoot had ridden through hostile coun-
try alone and found his troop was sur
prise to Rafferty,. And that was not the
last that Blake caused his captain.
1t was early in this campaign that Blake
first met man who became famous at
San Juan hill, Gen. Adna r. Chaffee at
that time captain Of Troop L, in tie gal
ioping" Sixth. Two years later the imam
without a hurdle on his straps carried
a message to that beau ideal Indian fight
er, the Gray Fox, which resulted in the
killing of Nockaydatkinne at Cibicu creek
and saved q squadron of the Sixth from
being massacred.
In those days the troops In the Depart
ment Of Arizona spent most of the time
chasing Indians-Apaches, Comanches,
Cheyennes, Kiowas, Navaioes and Zunis
from the upper part Of the Indian ter
ritory far into ED Mexico. 1t was rare
ly they saw garrison unless sent home
wounded or sick with fever. And this
was the sort Of existence led by Blake
for nine years. When his regiment did
reach Goods country" all Of the fight had
ben knocked and licked out of the Indians
in the Southwest and helpless settlers,
ranchers and prospectors could travel the
land without fear of massacre
Possibly in no other country could
Blake have learned those tactics and that
strategy which Is such a feature of
guerrilla warfare, for in no other land
did similar conditions exist He learned
to fight and whip willy foe, to guard
against surprise and the demoralizing
night attack to meet cunning with it's
| fellow and win, to endure the pangs Of
munger anu lie awful tOIluEc VI lIllISl,
| to assimilate the craftiness of the saw
age and applying it to the trained brain,
beat the Indian at his own game. These
were some Of the lessons which Blake
has not forgotten, and, 1t Is apparent,
it Is being used with telling effect in
South Africa.
A man who knew we'll the. ex-cavalry
! officer said this about him the other day:
''Paramountly Blake was and is fighter.
At the same time he is the oldest mass
of contradictions that I've ever seen. He
was the life of the mess, loved joke
/ and could tell a capital story. At night
about the camp fire he used to sing
Benny Ravens and talk Of his life at
the academy. Then there would be long
stretches of moroseness, when it was i'm
possible to get a word from him. Faults
he had and they were glazing, but 1t
seems to me that his heart was in the
right place, despite the things he did
to make enemies in the -service-and he
possessed them in abundance. I heard
several years ago that he was in South
| Africa. and later 1 saw in the papers
| that he was with the Beers"
Early in 1887 Blake was ordered to Fort
| Leavenworth to take his examination for
promotion, and there met Miss Kath-
ryn Aldrich, the youngest daughter of