The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-04-23
DICK HUYL
--s-As--
The Story Of an Apache
Boy.

uEuIy DeueNe LII lie OcN4As Il VAAAJ ASA
Apaches- dropped down the neck Of
my frock coat live toad. It was the
cause of my first fit of Mysteries, and
determined if ever grew old enough l
would tell the whole world how bad a
young Apache could be.
In 1872, If remember rightly, Cen
eral Crook had succeeded, after years
of bloody war and the loss Of hundreds
of good men, in subduing most Of the
bands composing the Apache nation of
New Mexico and Arizona. They had
dwelt in the strongholds of mountain
and desert, from which they frequent
" emerged to rob and murder all min
ers or emigrants that they could am
bush, leaving nothing for the human
mind to conceive of in the way Of cru
city whenever a white man fell into
their power.
At the reservation, although they
were well fed and quite decently treat
ed. 1t was necessary to watch them
constantly, and large bodies Of troops
were detailed for that purpose. Never
theless, scarcely a week passed but
q small squad of Apaches, usually led
by some attractive squaw, would slip
quietly past the guards and escape
through the darkness into their beloved
cactus plains and mountain barrens.
Roll call nearly every morning devel-
oped these absentees, and next day
would come news of murder, rapine
and horrors generally. A favorite
Apache mode of disposing Of the I'M
suspecting freighter, miner or emil
grant whose camp they had succeeded
In raiding was to tie the victim by the
four limbs to stakes and then to build
q fire on that portion Of his body desig-
mated in the old fashioned almanacs
as virgo"
There seemed to be something par
ticularly fascinating to the Apache
temperament in this form Of torture.
Death being long in coming, it gave
the squaws and papooses plenty of
chance to invent small torments on
the side, as it were. The women and
children emigrants- But enough. Suf-
fee 1t to say that the absolute hatred
entertained by these Indians for the
whites was fully reciprocated, especial
" by the soldiers. 1t was no easy
matter to track and successfully fol-
low the runaways through the cactus
and mesquite thickets, over the barren
deserts and desolate mountains that
make up the topography Of Arizona.
But in that parched country water is
only to be found at certain springs and
water holes, between which days of
travel often intervene, but which are
equally well known to soldiers and to
Indians.
So when the morning report showed
to General Crook that so many war
riors, squaws and papooses were
missing the grim old warrior would
make no sign Of pursuit, but on the
night following or perhaps the next
one a squadron of mounted men would
file silently out of the reservation bear
ing orders to move as rapidly as pos
sible to the water hole of Palo Pinto
or to Agna Grande spring or to some
other place where the presence Of the
precious fluid favored camping place
for the renegades. The troops were
always positively instructed to bring
back no prisoners, all matters of de-
tail being left to the officers In COM
mand. One June morning there were
reported missing s Indians and IL
squaws and papooses, including Wah-
memo, than whom more depraved and
cruel Indian never existed, even in Ari-
iona.
Two nights afterward squad of the
Twentythird infantry, Crooks own
regiment, under Lieutenant Huyl, a
splendid young fellow, who has since
left the service, was sent out on a
scout with the usual orders No trace
of the renegades was found, but
burned ranch and stage station and
cremated cowboy gave sufficient evil
dence of Indians at large. The next
night, or rather just at dawn, after
long and fatiguing march, the scouts
reached a natural rock basin at the
foot of one of the steepest and most
inaccessible knobs to be found in des-
olate Arizona. This basin had often
collected a supply of acrid water,
which, however, was drinkable enough
in that country. A thin vapor of smoke
from a nearly spent fire convinced the
troopers that their nights march had
not been in vain, and on creeping up
as close as possible the hostiles were
outlined against the rocks fast asleep.
The little squadron silently deployed
out SO as to avoid missing single shot
and at the word of command fred, kill
ing nearly every one Of the Indians
The others jumped up, only to be cut
down by the reserve fire. The only two
unhurt were Wahnemo and his Agar
old papoose. Grasping the child, he
sprang for the mountain side, scaling
the rocks like channels amid show
er of bullets, soon distancing his pur-
suers and getting out of range of their
rifles Hating on shelf of rock, he set
the child down and proceeded to in
dulge in every exhibition Of contempt
and derision that his imagination could
invent to aggravate the discounted
troopers, who CRASHED their several
sets of teeth in rage at the insults OF
the old heather. They were relieved
at last by the arrival of Lieutenant
Huyl, who bore in his hand new tar
get rife, received only the day before
the scouts started.
This wonderful gun was guaranteed
to carry-I forget, 100 yards with ac-
curacy, and the lieutenant who was
one of the best fellows in the world In
garrison, but quite cold hearted and
bloodthirsty where Apaches were con-
cerned, announced that while he was
doubtful of his gun carrying near the
Indian, yet he was going to try. The
Apache, feeling secure against their
carbines, continued his taunts until
Huyl, taking deliberate aim, with
sights raised for 1900 yards, fired. His
aim was true and the gun all that 1t
was boosted. The old savage plunged
! face forward over the ledge and crash
ed down the rocky mountain side at
the very feet of his slayer.
The attention Of the soldiers was
now directed to the papoose, the sub
ject of this sketch. That interesting
infant still calmly occupied the ledge
and was evidently turning the situa-
ton over in his mind. The troopers,
with Lieutenant Huyl at their head,
slowly and painfully clambered up the
rocks and finally approached the or
phan, who, instead of squalling as
civilized Christian child would have
done, commenced throwing stones at
his pursuers, hitting Lieutenant Huyl
squarely on the nose with a half pound
rock and drawing blood copiously. He
followed this success by other good