The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-04-12
DICK HUYL
-
The Story Of an Apache
Boy.

600 oC0o oGCo oG0o o0Co oC0o oCX
| The writer owes to Dick Huyl a debt
not exactly of gratitude, as the story
will demonstrate, which she, by writ
ing his biography, seeks to discharge
Dick Huyps history will never be writ
ten by me nor by any one else who
knew him to adorn Sunday school Ii
brary. He was not that kind Of boy
Dick was an Apache Indian, with all
the characteristics of total depravity
that the word Apache conveys or sug-
gests. We were children together,
Dick and l. We lived, fought and play
ed together for two years in the same
army post. On one memorable occa-
sion Dick, instigated by the devil-for
firmly believe in the devil, If only for
Apaches-dropped down the neck Of
my frock coat q live toad. 1t was the
cause of my first fit of Mysteries, and |
determined if ever grew old enough |
would tell the whole world how bad a
young Apache could be.
In 1872, if l remember rightly, Cen
eral Crook had succeeded, after years
of bloody war and the loss of hundreds
of good men, in subdung 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
ly 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 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
a 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 emf
grant whose camp they had succeeded
in raiding was to tie the victim by the
four limbs to stakes and then to build
a 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 it to say that the absolute hatred
entertained by these Indians for the
whites was fully reciprocated, especial
| ly 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
| pip
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
or to Agna Grande spring or to some
other place where the presence of the
| precious fluid favored a 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 Indians and II
| squaws and papooses, including Wah-
memo, than whom a more depraved and
cruel Indian never existed, even in Ari-
IONA.
Two nights afterward squad of the
Twenty-third 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 a
burned ranch and stage station and Il
| cremated cowboy gave sufficient evil
dence of Indians at large. The next
night, or rather just at dawn, after a
long and fatiguing march, the scouts
| reached 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