Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-10-09

| even in this recital much of interest
| ing detail must be omitted for the
sake of brevity.
The doctors Apache name is Was
sajah, which is one of the few words
of his mother tongue that he remem-
bers. When he converses now with his
people, it is necessarily through an in
terpreterr for English is his vehicle OF
speech and he uses it with the perfec-
ton of the average university gradu-
ate and without a semblance of foreign
accent. 1t seems strange to thus con-
verse with him in this land of the
Apache. for he is so typical a represen-
tative of his race in all physical char
acteristics The incidents of how he
became a white man." occurred when
he was between four and five years
old, yet he recalls them wildly. When
this wonderful memory was commented
upon. he said that by mortal fears,such
as he dwelt under for the time being, i'm
pressiOns were made that could not
be forgotten.
In 1872 his subdivision of the Apache
tribe ranged between the Four Peaks
country or even north of there in the
summertime, to the San Pedro river in
the winter time. The government then
had a sub station at San Pedro where
the Indians were supposed to receive
some measure of protection, especially
from their arch enemies the Pimas.
And this is a good place to remark that
the doctor says the Indians at Nc
Dowell are incorrectly called the
Mohave- Apaches. They are pure
Apaches, the Mohaves to the west also
being old time enemies.
At the time in question, in 1872, his
people lived in a village in the Su-
perstition mountains at a place called
Iron Mountain and somewhere near the
present summer resort in the Fish
Creek country in Pinal county. The
braves of the village had most of them
gone to San Pedro to see the govern
ment officials and during their alb
sense the Pimas attacked and killed
most of the Apaches, some sixteen wo-
men and children escaping, among
them being his mother. himself and two
sisters. The mother and whoever else
escaped among the women were al
San Pedro as soon as possible but the
children were taken captive.
The Pimas fled during the same
night with great speed and by daylight
Montezuma says their party had
reached the plain between the noun
tains and the ella river. The Indians
hurried to Blackwater, now a well
known point on the Sacaton reserva-
ton, and soon after the one who held
him captive went up the river n few
miles to Adamsville The latter was
then a pioneer town a few miles west
Of Florence. though nothing now re-
mains of il but a few adobe walls. At
Adamsville his CaptOr sold him to an
Italian by the name of Gentle, (pro-
nounced Gentilly). Gentle was a pho
tographer and explorer who Travelled
all over the western country and who
acquired young Wassajah through a
curious interest in him. for thirty
pieces of silver, or at least for $50. He
has an old daguerreotype of himself,
taken soon after by Gentle, who did
not stay long in one place. Before
they left Adamsville however Wassa-
jah was taken one day in n wagon by
Gentle up the river a mile or So to a
ranch where he found his two sisters.
who had been bought by some one else.
They said they were treated nicely and
had plenty to eat, but he did not know
them at first in their civilized clothes.
But though contented with their sur
roundings of creature comfort. mutual
recognition was followed by a mutual
crying spell in realization of the loss
of their father and mother and the
thoughts Of ensuing captivity. He saw
them once few days later. and there
after. never, but learned that both had
died. One was older and one younger
than he.
Soon after Gentle and the boy jour
neyed through this valley and thence to
Wickenburg taking pictures as they
went, the next important stop being at
Date Creek where the government then
had a large military post or station.
While there he recalls that one day an
Apache approached him secretly and
him in his native language
which he could then speak but has
since forgotten by having no one to talk
to, told him to get him some cart
ridges and he would kill the men who
had him and take him back to his
mother. He did not furnish the bull
lets however and the Indian fled at
once. From what Wassajah learned la
ter he knows this Indian went back tn
San Pedro or San Carlos and reported
having seen him, for it has been told
to him that his mother after trying
and without success to get
a party to accompany her, set out alone
to try and reach Date creek. She was
found not long after on the road some
where i'm the country north of Salt
river, with a bullet through her head.
This was between three and six months
after the boy had been sold to Cen
tile
The next move of Gentle was to-
Camp Verde and then Fort Apache
and then by trail to Albuquerque and
Colorado. At Trinidad they
met the railroad and went to Wash
ington. then back to Urbana, Ill. where
Gentle lived for some years, the Apa-
che boy living with him until he was
10 years old and going to school. From
that time on his life was checkered as
he had TO support himself chiefly. The
doctor did not go into details subse-
-