Year: 1872

1ZaClOn or the troops TOT dCIlVe mOVe- ments against the savages. In few weeks he had three commands at work, himself personally in the field with one or the other. When fairly at work with some trusty Indian al- lies, along came that public blk Col yer, and the troops were retired to their several quarters. After Colyer did all the mischief @ bad man could, aided as he was by men as bad as him. self, and flooded the country with off ,cial and sworn falsehoods, General Crook again took the field in person, and when he was just about making killing of hostiles in their mountain homes that would have long since given peace to much of Yavapai and Mohave counties, telegraphic order directing him to prevent collision be- tween the troops and Indians, found its way to him in the mountains, and again all aggressive movements had to cease. After a couple of months, 8 letter was published pur- porting to relieve him from the opera tions of that telegraphic order, but to this day we have seen no revocation of it by the authority which issued it. We remember we'll how saddened and discouraged General Crook was upon receipt of this order to prevent collis- ion of troops and Indians.

 Now we are advised that he is un- restrained again, and that the work of organizing troops into commands with trusty Indian allies. will go on with vigor, and the full strength of troops in Arizona be soon put forth to punish the savages and we feel assured that no further interference will be allowed It is hard to tell how much the two stoppages of war measures cost the Government and damaged life and property in Arizona, nor to what ex- tent they benefited the Apaches, but largely in both cases; and the injury to the army in this Department has been considerable from the same causes.

 Right here it Is proper to make re- mark or two in behalf of THE CITIZEN. Some of our patrons have thought our silence on military affairs of late con- trasts strangely with our course 0 year or more ago. Probably they never understood why we criticised the military as we did, and may be we should now tell them that the reason was not so much for what the army here failed to do as for what 1t did do.

 First we tried to be friendly with headquarters and those in authority at the several posts and at the same time discharge our duty to the people, but could not for the reason that the more kindness we showed headquarters, the more violently said quarters slandered the Territory and people; and like headquarters, those in command and some that were not, at Date Creek, Apache, Grant, and to some extent at Lowell, seemed to be merely organs of slander instead of warfare; and that too at time when warfare against the Indians was not forbidden but actually expected by those high in authority. Our harsh criticisms were because of the military activity in vil- ification of @ people who had right to their defense, and their untruthful representations of the character and acts of the Apaches on and off reSer- vations. We knew then, as now, that newspaper warfare would not kill h. dians, but it might rid the people of officers whose activity was falsely directed against citizens of the United States and in behalf of thieving, mur- dering Indians. And we were right,