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diff --git a/old/65040-0.txt b/old/65040-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 520d948..0000000 --- a/old/65040-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2673 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre, by -John Gregory Bourke - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre - An Account of the Expedition in Pursuit of the Hostile Chiricahua Apaches in the Spring of 1883 - - -Author: John Gregory Bourke - - - -Release Date: April 9, 2021 [eBook #65040] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN APACHE CAMPAIGN IN THE SIERRA -MADRE*** - - -E-text prepared by John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 65040-h.htm or 65040-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/65040/65040-h/65040-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/65040/65040-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/anapachecampaign00bourrich - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. - - - - - -[Illustration: CRAWFORD’S COLUMN MOVING TO THE FRONT.] - - -AN APACHE CAMPAIGN IN THE SIERRA MADRE. - -An Account of the Expedition in Pursuit of the -Hostile Chiricahua Apaches in the -Spring of 1883. - -by - -JOHN G. BOURKE, - -Captain Third Cavalry, U. S. Army, -Author of “The Snake Dance of the Moquis.” - -Illustrated - - - - - - -New York -Charles Scribner’S Sons. -1886. - -Copyright 1886, -By Charles Scribner’S Sons. - -Press of J. J. Little & Co., -Nos. 10 to 20 Astor Place, New York. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The recent outbreak of a fraction of the Chiricahua Apaches, and the -frightful atrocities which have marked their trail through Arizona, -Sonora, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, has attracted renewed attention to -these brave but bloodthirsty aborigines and to the country exposed to -their ravages. - -The contents of this book, which originally appeared in a serial -form in the _Outing Magazine_ of Boston, represent the details of -the expedition led by General Crook to the Sierra Madre, Mexico, in -1883; but, as the present military operations are conducted by the -same commander, against the same enemy, and upon the same field of -action, a perusal of these pages will, it is confidently believed, -place before the reader a better knowledge of the general situation -than any article which is likely soon to appear. - -There is this difference to be noted, however; of the one hundred -and twenty-five (125) fighting men brought back from the Sierra -Madre, less than one-third have engaged in the present hostilities, -from which fact an additional inference may be drawn both of the -difficulties to be overcome in the repression of these disturbances -and of the horrors which would surely have accumulated upon the heads -of our citizens had the _whole_ fighting force of this fierce band -taken to the mountains. - -One small party of eleven (11) hostile Chiricahuas, during the period -from November 15th, 1885, to the present date, has killed twenty-one -(21) friendly Apaches living in peace upon the reservation, and no -less than twenty-five (25) white men, women, and children. This -bloody raid has been conducted through a country filled with regular -troops, militia, and “rangers,”--and at a loss to the enemy, so far -as can be shown, of only one man, whose head is now at Fort Apache. - - JOHN G. BOURKE. - - APACHE INDIAN AGENCY, - SAN CARLOS, ARIZONA, - _December 15th, 1885_. - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - CRAWFORD’S COLUMN MOVING TO THE FRONT _Frontispiece._ - - APACHE VILLAGE SCENE to face 7 - - APACHE WAR-DANCE 17 - - APACHE INDIAN SCOUTS EXAMINING TRAILS BY NIGHT 23 - - APACHE AWL-CASES, TOBACCO BAGS, ETC. 26 - - APACHE AMBUSCADE 34 - - APACHE HEAD-DRESSES, SHOES, TOYS, ETC. 49 - - APACHE WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENTS 64 - - APACHE GIRL, WITH TYPICAL DRESS 79 - - APACHE WARFARE 88 - - APACHE BASKET-WORK 100 - - FIGHTING THE PRAIRIE FIRE 107 - - - - -AN APACHE CAMPAIGN. - - - - -I. - - -Within the compass of this volume it is impossible to furnish a -complete dissertation upon the Apache Indians or the causes which led -up to the expedition about to be described. The object is simply to -outline some of the difficulties attending the solution of the Indian -question in the South-west and to make known the methods employed -in conducting campaigns against savages in hostility. It is thought -that the object desired can best be accomplished by submitting an -unmutilated extract from the journal carefully kept during the whole -period involved. - -Much has necessarily been excluded, but without exception it has -been to avoid repetition, or else to escape the introduction of -information bearing upon the language, the religion, marriages, -funeral ceremonies, etc., of this interesting race, which would -increase the bulk of the manuscript, and, perhaps, detract from its -value in the eyes of the general reader. - -Ethnologically the Apache is classed with the Tinneh tribes, living -close to the Yukon and Mackenzie rivers, within the Arctic circle. -For centuries he has been preëminent over the more peaceful nations -about him for courage, skill, and daring in war; cunning in deceiving -and evading his enemies; ferocity in attack when skilfully-planned -ambuscades have led an unwary foe into his clutches; cruelty and -brutality to captives; patient endurance and fortitude under the -greatest privations. - -In peace he has commanded respect for keen-sighted intelligence, good -fellowship, warmth of feeling for his friends, and impatience of -wrong. - -No Indian has more virtues and none has been more truly ferocious -when aroused. He was the first of the native Americans to defeat in -battle or outwit in diplomacy the all-conquering, smooth-tongued -Spaniard, with whom and his Mexican-mongrel descendants he has waged -cold-blooded, heart-sickening war since the days of Cortés. When the -Spaniard had fire-arms and corselet of steel he was unable to push -back this fierce, astute aborigine, provided simply with lance and -bow. The past fifty years have seen the Apache provided with arms -of precision, and, especially since the introduction of magazine -breech-loaders, the Mexican has not only ceased to be an intruder -upon the Apache, but has trembled for the security of life and -property in the squalid hamlets of the States of Chihuahua and Sonora. - -In 1871 the War Department confided to General George Crook the task -of whipping into submission all the bands of the Apache nation living -in Arizona. How thoroughly that duty was accomplished is now a matter -of history. But at the last moment one band--the Chiricahuas--was -especially exempted from Crook’s jurisdiction. They were not attacked -by troops, and for years led a Jack-in-the-box sort of an existence, -now popping into an agency and now popping out, anxious, if their -own story is to be credited, to live at peace with the whites, but -unable to do so from lack of nourishment. - -When they went upon the reservation, rations in abundance were -promised for themselves and families. A difference of opinion soon -arose with the agent as to what constituted a ration, the wicked -Indians laboring under the delusion that it was enough food to -keep the recipient from starving to death, and objecting to an -issue of supplies based upon the principle according to which -grumbling Jack-tars used to say that prize-money was formerly -apportioned,--that is, by being thrown through the rungs of a -ladder--what stuck being the share of the Indian, and what fell -to the ground being the share of the agent. To the credit of the -agent it must be said that he made a praiseworthy but ineffectual -effort to alleviate the pangs of hunger by a liberal distribution -of hymn-books among his wards. The perverse Chiricahuas, not being -able to digest works of that nature, and unwilling to acknowledge -the correctness of the agent’s arithmetic, made up their minds to -sally out from San Carlos and take refuge in the more hospitable -wilderness of the Sierra Madre. Their discontent was not allayed by -rumors whispered about of the intention of the agent to have the -whole tribe removed bodily to the Indian Territory. Coal had been -discovered on the reservation, and speculators clamored that the land -involved be thrown open for development, regardless of the rights -of the Indians. But, so the story goes, matters suddenly reached a -focus when the agent one day sent his chief of police to arrest a -Chiricahua charged with some offense deemed worthy of punishment in -the guard-house. The offender started to run through the Indian camp, -and the chief of police fired at him, but missed his aim and killed a -luckless old squaw, who happened in range. This wretched marksmanship -was resented by the Chiricahuas, who refused to be comforted by -the profuse apologies tendered for the accident. They silently -made their preparations, waiting long enough to catch the chief of -police, kill him, cut off his head, and play a game of foot-ball with -it; and then, like a flock of quail, the whole band, men, women, -and children--710 in all--started on the dead run for the Mexican -boundary, one hundred and fifty miles to the south. - -Hotly pursued by the troops, they fought their way across Southern -Arizona and New Mexico, their route marked by blood and devastation. -The valleys of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro witnessed a repetition -of the once familiar scenes of farmers tilling their fields with -rifles and shot-guns strapped to the plow-handle. While engaged in -fighting off the American forces, which pressed too closely upon -their rear, the Apaches were attacked in front by the Mexican column -under Colonel Garcia, who, in a savagely contested fight, achieved -a “substantial victory,” killing eighty-five and capturing thirty, -eleven of which total of one hundred and fifteen were men, and the -rest women and children. The Chiricahuas claim that when the main -body of their warriors reached the scene of the engagement the -Mexicans evinced no anxiety to come out from the rifle-pits they -hastily dug. To this fact no allusion can be found in the Mexican -commander’s published dispatches. - -[Illustration: APACHE VILLAGE SCENE.] - -The Chiricahuas, now reduced to an aggregate of less than 600--150 -of whom were warriors and big boys, withdrew to the recesses of the -adjacent Sierra Madre--their objective point. Not long after this the -Chiricahuas made overtures for an armistice with the Mexicans, who -invited them to a little town near Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, for a -conference. They were courteously received, plied with liquor until -drunk, and then attacked tooth and nail, ten or twelve warriors being -killed and some twenty-live or thirty women hurried off to captivity. - -This is a one-sided description of the affair, given by a Chiricahua -who participated. The newspapers of that date contained telegraph -accounts of a fierce battle and another “victory” from Mexican -sources; so that no doubt there is some basis for the story. - -Meantime General Crook had been reassigned by the President to the -command of the Department of Arizona, which he had left nearly -ten years previously in a condition of peace and prosperity, with -the Apaches hard at work upon the reservation, striving to gain a -living by cultivating the soil. Incompetency and rascality, in the -interval, had done their worst, and when Crook returned not only -were the Chiricahuas on the war-path, but all the other bands of -the Apache nation were in a state of scarcely concealed defection -and hostility. Crook lost not a moment in visiting his old friends -among the chiefs and warriors, and by the exercise of a strong -personal influence, coupled with assurances that the wrongs of which -the Apaches complained should be promptly redressed, succeeded in -averting an outbreak which would have made blood flow from the -Pecos to the Colorado, and for the suppression of which the gentle -and genial tax-payer would have been compelled to contribute most -liberally of his affluence. Attended by an aid-de-camp, a surgeon, -and a dozen Apache scouts, General Crook next proceeded to the -south-east corner of Arizona, from which point he made an attempt -to open up communication with the Chiricahuas. In this he was -unsuccessful, but learned from a couple of squaws, intercepted -while attempting to return to the San Carlos, that the Chiricahuas -had sworn vengeance upon Mexicans and Americans alike; that -their stronghold was an impregnable position in the Sierra Madre, -a “great way” below the International Boundary; and that they -supplied themselves with an abundance of food by raiding upon the -cattle-ranches and “haciendas” in the valleys and plains below. - -Crook now found himself face to face with the following intricate -problem: The Chiricahuas occupied a confessedly impregnable position -in the precipitous range known as the Sierra Madre. This position was -within the territory of another nation so jealous of its privileges -as not always to be able to see clearly in what direction its best -interests lay. The territory harassed by the Chiricahuas not only -stretched across the boundary separating Mexico from the United -States, but was divided into four military departments--two in -each country; hence an interminable amount of jealousy, suspicion, -fault-finding, and antagonism would surely dog the steps of him who -should endeavor to bring the problem to a solution. - -To complicate matters further, the Chiricahuas, and all the other -Apaches as well, were filled with the notion that the Mexicans were -a horde of cowards and treacherous liars, afraid to meet them in war -but valiant enough to destroy their women and children, for whose -blood, by the savage’s law of retaliation, blood must in turn be -shed. Affairs went on in this unsatisfactory course from October, -1882, until March, 1883, everybody in Arizona expecting a return of -the dreaded Chiricahuas, but no one knowing where the first attack -should be made. The meagre military force allotted to the department -was distributed so as to cover as many exposed points as possible, -one body of 150 Apache scouts, under Captain Emmet Crawford, Third -Cavalry, being assigned to the arduous duty of patrolling the -Mexican boundary for a distance of two hundred miles, through a -rugged country pierced with ravines and cañons. No one was surprised -to learn that toward the end of March this skeleton line had been -stealthily penetrated by a bold band of twenty-six Chiricahuas, under -a very crafty and daring young chief named _Chato_ (Spanish for Flat -Nose). - -By stealing fresh horses from every ranch they were successful in -traversing from seventy-five to one hundred miles a day, killing and -destroying all in their path, the culminating point in their bloody -career being the butchery of Judge McComas and wife, prominent and -refined people of Silver City, N. M., and the abduction of their -bright boy, Charlie, whom the Indians carried back with them on their -retreat through New Mexico and Chihuahua. - -It may serve to give some idea of the courage, boldness, and subtlety -of these raiders to state that in their dash through Sonora, Arizona, -New Mexico, and Chihuahua, a distance of not less than eight hundred -miles, they passed at times through localities fairly well settled -and close to an aggregate of at least 5,000 troops--4,500 Mexican and -500 American. They killed twenty-five persons, Mexican and American, -and lost but two--one killed near the Total Wreck mine, Arizona, and -one who fell into the hands of the American troops, of which last -much has to be narrated. - -To attempt to catch such a band of Apaches by _direct_ pursuit would -be about as hopeless a piece of business as that of catching so many -fleas. All that could be done was done; the country was alarmed -by telegraph; people at exposed points put upon their guard, while -detachments of troops scoured in every direction, hoping, by good -luck, to intercept, retard, mayhap destroy, the daring marauders. -The trail they had made coming up from Mexico could, however, be -followed, _back_ to the stronghold; and this, in a military sense, -would be the most _direct_, as it would be the most practical pursuit. - -Crook’s plans soon began to outline themselves. He first -concentrated at the most eligible position on the Southern Pacific -Railroad--Willcox--all the skeletons of companies which were -available, for the protection of Arizona. - -Forage, ammunition, and subsistence were brought in on every -train; the whole organization was carefully inspected, to secure -the rejection of every unserviceable soldier, animal, or weapon; -telegrams and letters were sent to the officers commanding the -troops of Mexico, but no replies were received, the addresses of the -respective generals not being accurately known. As their co-operation -was desirable, General Crook, as a last resort, went by railroad to -Guaymas, Hermosillo, and Chihuahua, there to see personally and -confer with the Mexican civil and military authorities. The cordial -reception extended him by all classes was the best evidence of the -high regard in which he was held by the inhabitants of the two -afflicted States of Sonora and Chihuahua, and of their readiness -to welcome any force he would lead to effect the destruction or -removal of the common enemy. Generals Topete and Carbó--soldiers of -distinction--the governors of the two States, and Mayor Zubiran, -of Chihuahua, were most earnest in their desire for a removal of -savages whose presence was a cloud upon the prosperity of their -fellow-citizens. General Crook made no delay in these conferences, -but hurried back to Willcox and marched his command thence to the -San Bernardino springs, in the south-east corner of the Territory -(Arizona). - -But serious delays and serious complications were threatened by the -intemperate behavior of an organization calling itself the “Tombstone -Rangers,” which marched in the direction of the San Carlos Agency -with the avowed purpose of “cleaning out” all the Indians there -congregated. The chiefs and head men of the Apaches had just caused -word to be telegraphed to General Crook that they intended sending -him another hundred of their picked warriors as an assurance and -pledge that they were not in sympathy with the Chiricahuas on the -war-path. Upon learning of the approach of the “Rangers” the chiefs -prudently deferred the departure of the new levy of scouts until the -horizon should clear, and enable them to see what was to be expected -from their white neighbors. - -The whiskey taken along by the “Rangers” was exhausted in less -than ten days, when the organization expired of thirst, to the -gratification of the respectable inhabitants of the frontier, who -repudiated an interference with the plans of the military commander, -respected and esteemed by them for former distinguished services. - -At this point it may be well to insert an outline of the story told -by the Chiricahua captive who had been brought down from the San -Carlos Agency to Willcox. He said that his name was Pa-nayo-tishn -(the Coyote saw him); that he was not a Chiricahua, but a White -Mountain Apache of the Dest-chin (or Red Clay) clan, married to two -Chiricahua women, by whom he had had children, and with whose people -he had lived for years. He had left the Chiricahua stronghold in the -mountain called Pa-gotzin-kay some five days’ journey below Casas -Grandes in Chihuahua. From that stronghold the Chiricahuas had been -raiding with impunity upon the Mexicans. When pursued they would draw -the Mexicans into the depths of the mountains, ambuscade them, and -kill them by rolling down rocks from the heights. - -The Chiricahuas had plenty of horses and cattle, but little food of a -vegetable character. They were finely provided with sixteen-shooting -breech-loading rifles, but were getting short of ammunition, and -had made their recent raid into Arizona, hoping to replenish their -supply of cartridges. Dissensions had broken out among the chiefs, -some of whom, he thought, would be glad to return to the reservation. -In making raids they counted upon riding from sixty to seventy-five -miles a day as they stole fresh horses all the time and killed -those abandoned. It would be useless to pursue them, but he would -lead General Crook back along the trail they had made coming up -from Mexico, and he had no doubt the Chiricahuas could be taken by -surprise. - -He had not gone with them of his own free will, but had been -compelled to leave the reservation, and had been badly treated while -with them. The Chiricahuas left the San Carlos because the agent had -stolen their rations, beaten their women, and killed an old squaw. -He asserted emphatically that no communication of any kind had been -held with the Apaches at San Carlos, every attempt in that direction -having been frustrated. - -[Illustration: APACHE WAR-DANCE.] - -The Chiricahuas, according to Pa-nayo-tishn, numbered seventy -full-grown warriors and fifty big boys able to fight, with an unknown -number of women and children. In their fights with the Mexicans about -one hundred and fifty had been killed and captured, principally women -and children. The stronghold in the Sierra Madre was described as a -dangerous, rocky, almost inaccessible place, having plenty of wood, -water, and grass, but no food except what was stolen from the -Mexicans. Consequently the Chiricahuas might be starved out. - -General Crook ordered the irons to be struck from the prisoner; to -which he demurred, saying he would prefer to wear shackles for the -present, until his conduct should prove his sincerity. A half-dozen -prominent scouts promised to guard him and watch him; so the fetters -were removed, and Pa-nayo-tishn or “Peaches,” as the soldiers -called him, was installed in the responsible office of guide of the -contemplated expedition. - -By the 22d of April many of the preliminary arrangements had -been completed and some of the difficulties anticipated had been -smoothed over. Nearly 100 Apache scouts joined the command from the -San Carlos Reservation, and in the first hours of night began a -war-dance, which continued without a break until the first flush of -dawn the next day. They were all in high feather, and entered into -the spirit of the occasion with full zest. Not much time need be -wasted upon a description of their dresses; they didn’t wear any, -except breech-clout and moccasins. To the music of an improvised -drum and the accompaniment of marrow-freezing yells and shrieks -they pirouetted and charged in all directions, swaying their bodies -violently, dropping on one knee, then suddenly springing high in air, -discharging their pieces, and all the time chanting a rude refrain, -in which their own prowess was exalted and that of their enemies -alluded to with contempt. Their enthusiasm was not abated by the -announcement, quietly diffused, that the “medicine men” had been hard -at work, and had succeeded in making a “medicine” which would surely -bring the Chiricahuas to grief. - -In accordance with the agreement entered into with the Mexican -authorities, the American troops were to reach the boundary line _not -sooner than May 1_, the object being to let the restless Chiricahuas -quiet down as much as possible, and relax their vigilance, while at -the same time it enabled the Mexican troops to get into position for -effective co-operation. - -The convention between our government and that of Mexico, by which -a reciprocal crossing of the International Boundary was conceded -to the troops of the two republics, stipulated that such crossing -should be authorized when the troops were “in close pursuit of a band -of savage Indians,” and the crossing was made “in the unpopulated -or desert parts of said boundary line,” which unpopulated or desert -parts “had to be two leagues from any encampment or town of either -country.” The commander of the troops crossing was to give notice -at time of crossing, or before if possible, to the nearest military -commander or civil authority of the country entered. The pursuing -force was to retire to its own territory as soon as it should have -fought the band of which it was in pursuit, or lost the trail; and in -no case could it “establish itself or remain in the foreign territory -for a longer time than necessary to make the pursuit of the band -whose trail it had followed.” - -The weak points of this convention were the imperative stipulation -that the troops should return at once after a fight and the ambiguity -of the terms “close pursuit,” and “unpopulated country.” A friendly -expedition from the United States might follow close on the heels of -a party of depredating Apaches, but, under a rigid construction of -the term “unpopulated,” have to turn back when it had reached some -miserable hamlet exposed to the full ferocity of savage attack, and -most in need of assistance, as afterwards proved to be the case. - -The complication was not diminished by the orders dispatched by -General Sherman on March 31 to General Crook to continue the pursuit -of the Chiricahuas “without regard to departmental or national -boundaries.” Both General Crook and General Topete, anxious to -have every difficulty removed which lay in the way of a thorough -adjustment of this vexed question, telegraphed to their respective -governments asking that a more elastic interpretation be given to the -terms of the convention. - -To this telegram General Crook received reply that he must abide -strictly by the terms of the convention, which could only be changed -with the concurrence of the Mexican Senate. But what these terms -meant exactly was left just as much in the dark as before. On the 23d -of April General Crook moved out from Willcox, accompanied by the -Indian scouts and a force of seven skeleton companies of the Third -and Sixth Cavalry, under Colonel James Biddle, guarding a train of -wagons, with supplies of ammunition and food for two months. This -force, under Colonel Biddle, was to remain in reserve at or near San -Bernardino Springs on the Mexican boundary, while its right and left -flanks respectively were to be covered by detachments commanded by -Rafferty, Vroom, Overton, and Anderson; this disposition affording -the best possible protection to the settlements in case any of the -Chiricahuas should make their way to the rear of the detachment -penetrating Mexico. - -A disagreeable sand-storm enveloped the column as it left the line of -the Southern Pacific Railroad, preceded by the detachment of Apache -scouts. A few words in regard to the peculiar methods of the Apaches -in marching and conducting themselves while on a campaign may not be -out of place. To veterans of the campaigns of the Civil War familiar -with the compact formations of the cavalry and infantry of the Army -of the Potomac, the loose, straggling methods of the Apache scouts -would appear startling, and yet no soldier would fail to apprehend -at a glance that the Apache was the perfect, the ideal, scout of -the whole world. When Lieutenant Gatewood, the officer in command, -gave the short, jerky order, Ugashé--Go!--the Apaches started as if -shot from a gun, and in a minute or less had covered a space of one -hundred yards front, which distance rapidly widened as they advanced, -at a rough, shambling walk, in the direction of Dos Cabezas (Two -Heads), the mining camp near which the first halt was to be made. - -[Illustration: APACHE INDIAN SCOUTS EXAMINING TRAILS BY NIGHT.] - -They moved with no semblance of regularity; individual fancy alone -governed. Here was a clump of three; not far off two more, and -scattered in every point of the compass, singly or in clusters, were -these indefatigable scouts, with vision as keen as a hawk’s, tread -as untiring and as stealthy as the panther’s, and ears so sensitive -that nothing escapes them. An artist, possibly, would object to -many of them as undersized, but in all other respects they would -satisfy every requirement of anatomical criticism. Their chests -were broad, deep, and full; shoulders perfectly straight; limbs -well-proportioned, strong, and muscular, without a suggestion -of undue heaviness; hands and feet small and taper but wiry; -heads well-shaped, and countenances often lit up with a pleasant, -good-natured expression, which would be more constant, perhaps, -were it not for the savage, untamed cast imparted by the loose, -disheveled, gypsy locks of raven black, held away from the face -by a broad, flat band of scarlet cloth. Their eyes were bright, -clear, and bold, frequently expressive of the greatest good-humor -and satisfaction. Uniforms had been issued, but were donned upon -ceremonial occasions only. On the present march each wore a loosely -fitting shirt of red, white, or gray stuff, generally of calico, in -some gaudy figure, but not infrequently the sombre article of woollen -raiment issued to white soldiers. This came down outside a pair of -loose cotton drawers, reaching to the moccasins. The moccasins are -the most important articles of Apache apparel. In a fight or on -a long march they will discard all else, but under any and every -circumstance will retain the moccasins. These had been freshly made -before leaving Willcox. The Indian to be fitted stands erect upon -the ground while a companion traces with a sharp knife the outlines -of the sole of his foot upon a piece of rawhide. The leggin is made -of soft buckskin, attached to the foot and reaching to mid-thigh. For -convenience in marching, it is allowed to hang in folds below the -knee. The raw-hide sole is prolonged beyond the great toe, and turned -upward in a shield, which protects from cactus and sharp stones. A -leather belt encircling the waist holds forty rounds of metallic -cartridges, and also keeps in place the regulation blue blouse and -pantaloons, which are worn upon the person only when the Indian scout -is anxious to “paralyze” the frontier towns or military posts by a -display of all his finery. - -The other trappings of these savage auxiliaries are a Springfield -breech-loading rifle, army pattern, a canteen full of water, a -butcher knife, an awl in leather case, a pair of tweezers, and a -tag. The awl is used for sewing moccasins or work of that kind. With -the tweezers the Apache young man carefully picks out each and every -hair appearing upon his face. The tag marks his place in the tribe, -and is in reality nothing more or less than a revival of a plan -adopted during the war of the rebellion for the identification of -soldiers belonging to the different corps and divisions. Each male -Indian at the San Carlos is tagged and numbered, and a descriptive -list, corresponding to the tag kept, with a full recital of all his -physical peculiarities. - -This is the equipment of each and every scout; but there are many, -especially the more pious and influential, who carry besides, -strapped at the waist, little buckskin bags of Hoddentin, or sacred -meal, with which to offer morning and evening sacrifice to the -sun or other deity. Others, again, are provided with amulets of -lightning-riven twigs, pieces of quartz crystal, petrified wood, -concretionary sandstone, galena, or chalchihuitls, or fetiches -representing some of their countless planetary gods or Kân, which -are regarded as the “dead medicine” for frustrating the designs of -the enemy or warding off arrows and bullets in the heat of action. -And a few are happy in the possession of priceless sashes and shirts -of buckskin, upon which are emblazoned the signs of the sun, moon, -lightning, rainbow, hail, fire, the water-beetle, butterfly, snake, -centipede, and other powers to which they may appeal for aid in the -hour of distress. - -The Apache is an eminently religious person, and the more deviltry he -plans the more pronounced does his piety become. - -[Illustration: APACHE AWL-CASES, TOBACCO BAGS, AND HEAD-DRESSES WORN -BY YOUNG GIRLS.] - -The rate of speed attained by the Apaches in marching is about an -even four miles an hour on foot, or not quite fast enough to make a -horse trot. They keep this up for about fifteen miles, at the end -of which distance, if water be encountered and no enemy be sighted, -they congregate in bands of from ten to fifteen each, hide in some -convenient ravine, sit down, smoke cigarettes, chat and joke, and -stretch out in the sunlight, basking like the negroes of the South. -If they want to make a little fire, they kindle one with matches, if -they happen to have any with them; if not, a rapid twirl, between the -palms, of a hard round stick fitting into a circular hole in another -stick of softer fiber, will bring fire in from eight to forty-five -seconds. The scouts by this time have painted their faces, daubing -them with red ochre, deer’s blood, or the juice of roasted “mescal.” -The object of this is protection from wind and sun, as well as -distinctive ornamentation. - -The first morning’s rest of the Apaches was broken by the shrill -cry of Choddi! Choddi! (Antelope! Antelope!) and far away on the -left the dull slump! slump! of rifles told that the Apaches on that -flank were getting fresh meat for the evening meal. Twenty carcasses -demonstrated that they were not the worst of shots; neither were -they, by any means, bad cooks. - -When the command reached camp these restless, untiring nomads built -in a trice all kinds of rude shelters. Those that had the army “dog -tents” put them up on frame-works of willow or cotton-wood saplings; -others, less fortunate, improvised domiciles of branches covered -with grass, or of stones and boards covered with gunny sacks. Before -these were finished smoke curled gracefully toward the sky from -crackling embers, in front of which, transfixed on wooden spits, -were the heads, hearts, and livers of several of the victims of -the afternoon’s chase. Another addition to the _spolia opima_ was a -cotton-tailed rabbit, run down by these fleet-footed Bedouins of the -South-west. Turkeys and quail are caught in the same manner. - -Meanwhile a couple of scouts were making bread,--the light, thin -“tortillas” of the Mexicans, baked quickly in a pan, and not bad -eating. Two others were fraternally occupied in preparing their bed -for the night. Grass was pulled by handfuls, laid upon the ground, -and covered with one blanket, another serving as cover. These -Indians, with scarcely an exception, sleep with their feet pointed -toward little fires, which, they claim, are warm, while the big ones -built by the American soldiers, are so hot that they drive people -away from them, and, besides, attract the attention of a lurking -enemy. At the foot of this bed an Apache was playing on a home-made -fiddle, fabricated from the stalk of the “mescal,” or American aloe. -This fiddle has four strings, and emits a sound like the wail of a -cat with its tail caught in a fence. But the noble red man likes the -music, which perhaps is, after all, not so very much inferior to that -of Wagner. - -Enchanted and stimulated by the concord of sweet sounds, a party of -six was playing fiercely at the Mexican game of “monte,” the cards -employed being of native manufacture, of horse-hide, covered with -barbarous figures, and well worthy of a place in any museum. - -The cooking was by this time ended, and the savages, with genuine -hospitality, invited the Americans near them to join in the feast. It -was not conducive to appetite to glance at dirty paws tearing bread -and meat into fragments; yet the meat thus cooked was tender and -juicy, the bread not bad, and the coffee strong and fairly well made. -The Apaches squatted nearest to the American guests felt it incumbent -upon them to explain everything as the meal progressed. They said -this (pointing to the coffee) is Tu-dishishn (black water), and that -Zigosti (bread). - -All this time scouts had been posted commanding every possible line -of approach. The Apache dreads surprise. It is his own favorite -mode of destroying an enemy, and knowing what he himself can do, -he ascribes to his foe--no matter how insignificant may be his -numbers--the same daring, recklessness, agility, and subtlety -possessed by himself. These Indian scouts will march thirty-five or -forty miles in a day on foot, crossing wide stretches of waterless -plains upon which a tropical sun beats down with fierceness, or -climbing up the faces of precipitous mountains which stretch across -this region in every direction. - -The two great points of superiority of the native or savage soldier -over the representative of civilized discipline are his absolute -knowledge of the country and his perfect ability to take care of -himself at all times and under all circumstances. Though the rays -of the sun pour down from the zenith, or the scorching sirocco -blow from the south, the Apache scout trudges along as unconcerned -as he was when the cold rain or snow of winter chilled his white -comrade to the marrow. He finds food, and pretty good food too, -where the Caucasian would starve. Knowing the habits of wild animals -from his earliest youth, he can catch turkeys, quail, rabbits, -doves, or field-mice, and, perhaps, a prairie-dog or two, which -will supply him with meat. For some reason he cannot be induced to -touch fish, and bacon or any other product of the hog is eaten only -under duress; but the flesh of a horse, mule, or jackass, which has -dropped exhausted on the march and been left to die on the trail, -is a delicious morsel which the Apache epicure seizes upon wherever -possible. The stunted oak, growing on the mountain flanks, furnishes -acorns; the Spanish bayonet, a fruit that, when roasted in the ashes -of a camp-fire, looks and tastes something like the banana. The -whole region of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico is matted with -varieties of the cactus, nearly every one of which is called upon -for its tribute of fruit or seed. The broad leaves and stalks of the -century-plant--called mescal--are roasted between hot stones, and -the product is rich in saccharine matter and extremely pleasant to -the taste. The wild potato and the bulb of the “tule” are found in -the damp mountain meadows; and the nest of the ground-bee is raided -remorselessly for its little store of honey. Sunflower-seeds, when -ground fine, are rich and nutritious. Walnuts grow in the deep -ravines, and strawberries in favorable locations; in the proper -season these, with the seeds of wild grasses and wild pumpkins, the -gum of the “mesquite,” or the sweet, soft inner bark of the pine, -play their part in staving off the pangs of hunger. - -The above are merely a few of the resources of the Apache scout when -separated from the main command. When his moccasins give out on a -long march over the sharp rocks of the mountains or the cutting -sands of the plains, a few hours’ rest sees him equipped with a new -pair,--his own handiwork,--and so with other portions of his raiment. -He is never without awl, needle, thread, or sinew. Brought up from -infancy to the knowledge and use of arms of some kind,--at first the -bow and arrow, and later on the rifle,--he is perfectly at home with -his weapons, and knowing from past experience how important they are -for his preservation, takes much better care of them than does the -white soldier out of garrison. - -He does not read the newspapers, but the great book of nature is -open to his perusal, and has been drained of much knowledge which -his pale-faced brother would be glad to acquire. Every track in the -trail, mark in the grass, scratch on the bark of a tree, explains -itself to the “untutored” Apache. He can tell to an hour, almost, -when the man or animal making them passed by, and, like a hound, will -keep on the scent until he catches up with the object of his pursuit. - -In the presence of strangers the Apache soldier is sedate and -taciturn. Seated around his little apology for a camp-fire, in the -communion of his fellows, he becomes vivacious and conversational. He -is obedient to authority, but will not brook the restraints which, -under our notions of discipline, change men into machines. He makes -an excellent sentinel, and not a single instance can be adduced of -property having been stolen from or by an Apache on guard. - -He has the peculiarity, noticed among so many savage tribes in -various parts of the world, of not caring to give his true name to a -stranger; if asked for it, he will either give a wrong one or remain -mute and let a comrade answer for him. This rule does not apply -where he has been dubbed with a sobriquet by the white soldiers. In -such case he will respond promptly, and tell the inquirer that he is -“Stumpy,” “Tom Thumb,” “Bill,” “Humpy Sam,” or “One-Eyed Reilly,” -as the case may be. But there is no such exception in regard to the -dead. Their names are never mentioned, even by the wailing friends -who loudly chant their virtues. - -[Illustration: APACHE AMBUSCADE.] - -Approaching the enemy his vigilance is a curious thing to witness. He -avoids appearing suddenly upon the crest of a hill, knowing that his -figure projected against the sky can at such time be discerned from -a great distance. He will carefully bind around his brow a sheaf of -grass, or some other foliage, and thus disguised crawl like a snake -to the summit and carefully peer about, taking in with his keen black -eyes the details of the country to the front with a rapidity, and -thoroughness the American or European can never acquire. In battle -he is again the antithesis of the Caucasian. The Apache has no false -ideas about courage; he would prefer to skulk like the coyote for -hours, and then kill his enemy, or capture his herd, rather than, -by injudicious exposure, receive a wound, fatal or otherwise. But -he is no coward; on the contrary, he is entitled to rank among the -bravest. The precautions taken for his safety prove that he is an -exceptionally skillful soldier. His first duty under fire is to jump -for a rock, bush, or hole, from which no enemy can drive him except -with loss of life or blood. - -The policy of Great Britain has always been to enlist a force of -auxiliaries from among the natives of the countries falling under -her sway. The Government of the United States, on the contrary, has -persistently ignored the really excellent material, ready at hand, -which could, with scarcely an effort and at no expense, be mobilized, -and made to serve as a frontier police. General Crook is the only -officer of our army who has fully recognized the incalculable -value of a native contingent, and in all his campaigns of the past -thirty-five years has drawn about him as soon as possible a force of -Indians, which has been serviceable as guides and trailers, and also -of consequence in reducing the strength of the opposition. - -The white army of the United States is a much better body of -officers and men than a critical and censorious public gives it -credit for being. It represents intelligence of a high order, and -a spirit of devotion to duty worthy of unbounded praise; but it -does not represent the acuteness of the savage races. It cannot -follow the trail like a dog on the scent. It may be brave and -well-disciplined, but its members cannot tramp or ride, as the case -may be, from forty to seventy-five miles in a day, without water, -under a burning sun. No civilized army can do that. It is one of the -defects of civilized training that man develops new wants, awakens -new necessities,--becomes, in a word, more and more a creature of -luxury. - -Take the Apache Indian under the glaring sun of Mexico. He quietly -peels off all his clothing and enjoys the fervor of the day more than -otherwise. He may not be a great military genius, but he is inured -to all sorts of fatigue, and will be hilarious and jovial when the -civilized man is about to die of thirst. - -Prominent among these scouts was of course first of all “Peaches,” -the captive guide. He was one of the handsomest men, physically, -to be found in the world. He never knew what it was to be tired, -cross, or out of humor. His knowledge of the topography of Northern -Sonora was remarkable, and his absolute veracity and fidelity in all -his dealings a notable feature in his character. With him might be -mentioned “Alchise,” “Mickey Free,” “Severiano,” “Nockié-cholli,” -“Nott,” and dozens of others, all tried and true men, experienced in -warfare and devoted to the general whose standard they followed. - - - - -II. - - -From Willcox to San Bernardino Springs, by the road the wagons -followed, is an even 100 miles. The march thither, through a most -excellent grazing country, was made in five days, by which time -the command was joined by Captain Emmet Crawford, Third Cavalry, -with more than 100 additional Apache scouts and several trains of -pack-mules. - -San Bernardino Springs break out from the ground upon the Boundary -Line and flow south into the Yaqui River, of which the San Bernardino -River is the extreme head. These springs yielded an abundance of -water for all our needs, and at one time had refreshed thousands of -head of cattle, which have since disappeared under the attrition of -constant warfare with the Apaches. - -The few days spent at San Bernardino were days of constant toil and -labor; from the first streak of dawn until far into the night the -task of organizing and arranging went on. Telegrams were dispatched -to the Mexican generals notifying them that the American troops would -leave promptly by the date agreed upon, and at last the Indian scouts -began their war-dances, and continued them without respite from each -sunset until the next sunrise. In a conference with General Crook -they informed him of their anxiety to put an end to the war and bring -peace to Arizona, so that the white men and Apaches could live and -work side by side. - -By the 29th of April all preparations were complete. Baggage had been -cut down to a minimum. Every officer and man was allowed to carry -the clothes on his back, one blanket and forty rounds of ammunition. -Officers were ordered to mess with the packers and on the same food -issued to soldiers and Indian scouts. One hundred and sixty rounds -of extra ammunition and rations of hard-bread, coffee and bacon, for -sixty days, were carried on pack-mules. - -At this moment General Sherman telegraphed to General Crook that he -must not cross the Mexican boundary in pursuit of Indians, except in -strict accord with the terms of the treaty, without defining exactly -what those terms meant. Crook replied, acknowledging receipt of these -instructions and saying that he would respect treaty stipulations. - -On Tuesday, May 1st, 1883, the expedition crossed the boundary -into Mexico. Its exact composition was as follows: General George -Crook, in command. Captain John G. Bourke, Third Cavalry, acting -adjutant-general; Lieutenant G. S. Febiger, engineer officer, -aid-de-camp; Captain Chaffee, Sixth Cavalry, with Lieutenants West -and Forsyth, and forty-two enlisted men of “I” company of that -regiment; Doctor Andrews, Private A. F. Harmer of the General -Service, and 193 Indian scouts, under Captain Emmet Crawford, -Third Cavalry, Lieutenant Mackey, Third Cavalry, and Gatewood, -Sixth Cavalry, with whom were Al. Zeiber, McIntosh, “Mickey Free,” -Severiano, and Sam Bowman, as interpreters. - -The pack-mules, for purposes of efficient management, were divided -into five trains, each with its complement of skilled packers. These -trains were under charge of Monach, Hopkins, Stanfield, “Long Jim -Cook,” and “Short Jim Cook.” - -Each packer was armed with carbine and revolver, for self-protection, -but nothing could be expected of them, in the event of an attack, -beyond looking out for the animals. Consequently the effective -fighting strength of the command was a little over fifty white -men--officers and soldiers--and not quite 200 Apache scouts, -representing the various bands, Chiricahua, White Mountain, Yuma, -Mojave, and Tonto. - -The first rays of the sun were beaming upon the Eastern hills as -we swung into our saddles, and, amid a chorus of good-byes and -God-bless-yous from those left behind, pushed down the hot and sandy -valley of the San Bernardino, past the mouth of Guadalupe cañon, to -near the confluence of Elias Creek, some twenty miles. Here camp was -made on the banks of a pellucid stream, under the shadow of graceful -walnut and ash trees. The Apache scouts had scoured the country to -the front and on both flanks, and returned loaded with deer and wild -turkeys, the latter being run down and caught in the bushes. One -escaped from its captors and started through camp on a full jump, -pursued by the Apaches, who, upon re-catching it, promptly twisted -its head off. - -The Apaches were in excellent spirits, the “medicine-men” having -repeated with emphasis the prediction that the expedition was to be -a grand success. One of the most influential of them--a mere boy, -who carried the most sacred medicine--was especially positive in his -views, and, unlike most prophets, backed them up with a bet of $40. - -On May 2, 1883, breakfasted at 4 A.M. The train--Monach’s--with -which we took meals was composed equally of Americans and Mexicans. -So, when the cook spread his canvas on the ground, one heard -such expressions as _Tantito’ zucarito quiero_; _Sirve pasar el -járabe_; _Pase rebanada de pan_; _Otra gotita mas de café_, quite -as frequently as their English equivalents, “I’d like a little more -sugar,” “Please pass the sirup,” “Hand me a slice of bread,” “A -little drop of coffee.” Close by, the scouts consumed their meals, -and with more silence, yet not so silently but that their calls for -_inchi_ (salt), _ikôn_ (flour), _pezá-a_ (frying-pan), and other -articles, could be plainly heard. - -Martin, the cook, deserves some notice. He was not, as he himself -admitted, a French cook by profession. His early life had been passed -in the more romantic occupation of driving an ore-wagon between -Willcox and Globe, and, to quote his own proud boast, he could “hold -down a sixteen-mule team with any outfit this side the Rio Grande.” - -But what he lacked in culinary knowledge he more than made up in -strength and agility. He was not less than six feet two in his socks, -and built like a young Hercules. He was gentle-natured, too, and -averse to fighting. Such, at least, was the opinion I gathered from -a remark he made the first evening I was thrown into his society. - -His eyes somehow were fixed on mine, while he said quietly, “If -there’s anybody here don’t like the grub, I’ll kick a lung out of -him!” I was just about suggesting that a couple of pounds less -saleratus in the bread and a couple of gallons less water in the -coffee would be grateful to my Sybarite palate; but, after this -conversation, I reflected that the fewer remarks I made the better -would be the chances of my enjoying the rest of the trip; so I said -nothing. Martin, I believe, is now in Chihuahua, and I assert from -the depths of an outraged stomach, that a better man or a worse cook -never thumped a mule or turned a flapjack. - -The march was continued down the San Bernardino until we reached its -important affluent, the Bávispe, up which we made our way until the -first signs of habitancy were encountered in the squalid villages of -Bávispe, Basaraca, and Huachinera. - -The whole country was a desert. On each hand were the ruins of -depopulated and abandoned hamlets, destroyed by the Apaches. The -bottom-lands of the San Bernardino, once smiling with crops of -wheat and barley, were now covered with a thickly-matted jungle -of semi-tropical vegetation. The river banks were choked by dense -brakes of cane of great size and thickness. The narrow valley was -hemmed in by rugged and forbidding mountains, gashed and slashed -with a thousand ravines, to cross which exhausted both strength -and patience. The foot-hills were covered with _chevaux de frise_ -of Spanish bayonet, mescal, and cactus. The lignum-vitæ flaunted -its plumage of crimson flowers, much like the fuchsia, but growing -in clusters. The grease-wood, ordinarily so homely, here assumed a -garniture of creamy blossoms, rivaling the gaudy dahlia-like cups -upon the nopal, and putting to shame the modest tendrils pendent from -the branches of the mesquite. - -The sun glared down pitilessly, wearing out the poor mules, which -had as much as they could do to scramble over the steep hills, -composed of a nondescript accumulation of lava, sandstone, porphyry, -and limestone, half-rounded by the action of water, and so loosely -held together as to slip apart and roll away the instant the feet of -animals or men touched them. - -When they were not slipping over loose stones or climbing rugged -hills, they were breaking their way through jungles of thorny -vegetation, which tore their quivering flesh. One of the mules, -falling from the rocks, impaled itself upon a mesquite branch, and -had to be killed. - -Through all this the Apache scouts trudged without a complaint, -and with many a laugh and jest. Each time camp was reached they -showed themselves masters of the situation. They would gather the -saponaceous roots of the yucca and Spanish bayonet, to make use of -them in cleaning their long, black hair, or cut sections of the -bamboo-like cane and make pipes for smoking, or four-holed flutes, -which emitted a weird, Chinese sort of music, responded to with -melodious chatter by countless birds perched in the shady seclusion -of ash and cotton-wood. - -Those scouts who were not on watch gave themselves up to the luxury -of the tá-a-chi, or sweat-bath. To construct these baths, a dozen -willow or cotton-wood branches are stuck in the ground and the upper -extremities, united to form a dome-shaped frame-work, upon which are -laid blankets to prevent the escape of heat. Three or four large -rocks are heated and placed in the centre, the Indians arranging -themselves around these rocks and bending over them. Silicious -bowlders are invariably selected, and not calcareous--the Apaches -being sufficiently familiar with rudimentary mineralogy to know that -the latter will frequently crack and explode under intense heat. - -When it came to my time to enter the sweat-lodge I could see nothing -but a network of arms and legs, packed like sardines. An extended -experience with Broadway omnibuses assured me that there must always -be room for one more. The smile of the “medicine-man”--the master of -ceremonies--encouraged me to push in first an arm, then a leg, and, -finally, my whole body. - -Thump! sounded the damp blanket as it fell against the frame-work and -shut out all light and air. The conductor of affairs inside threw a -handful of water on the hot rocks, and steam, on the instant, filled -every crevice of the den. The heat was that of a bake-oven; breathing -was well-nigh impossible. - -“Sing,” said in English the Apache boy, “Keet,” whose legs and arms -were sinuously intertwined with mine; “sing heap; sleep moocho -to-night; eat plenny dinna to-mollo.” The other bathers said that -everybody must sing. I had to yield. My _repertoire_ consists of -but one song--the lovely ditty--“Our captain’s name is Murphy.” I -gave them this with all the lung-power I had left, and was heartily -encored; but I was too much exhausted to respond, and rushed out, -dripping with perspiration, to plunge with my dusky comrades into the -refreshing waters of the Bávispe, which had worn out for themselves -tanks three to twenty feet deep. The effects of the bath were all -that the Apaches had predicted--a sound, refreshing sleep and -increased appetite. - -[Illustration: APACHE HEAD-DRESSES, SHOES, TOYS, ETC.] - -The farther we got into Mexico the greater the desolation. The valley -of the Bávispe, like that of the San Bernardino, had once been -thickly populated; now all was wild and gloomy. Foot-prints indeed -were plenty, but they were the fresh moccasin-tracks of Chiricahuas, -who apparently roamed with immunity over all this solitude. There -were signs, too, of Mexican “travel;” but in every case these were -“_conductas_” of pack-mules, guarded by companies of soldiers. -Rattlesnakes were encountered with greater frequency both in camp -and on the march. When found in camp the Apaches, from superstitious -reasons, refrained from killing them, but let the white men do it. - -The vegetation remained much the same as that of Southern Arizona, -only denser and larger. The cactus began to bear odorous flowers--a -species of night-blooming cereus--and parrots of gaudy plumage -flitted about camp, to the great joy of the scouts, who, catching -two or three, tore the feathers from their bodies and tied them in -their inky locks. Queenly humming-birds of sapphire hue darted from -bush to bush and tree to tree. Every one felt that we were advancing -into more torrid regions. However, by this time faces and hands -were finely tanned and blistered, and the fervor of the sun was -disregarded. The nights remained cool and refreshing throughout the -trip, and, after the daily march or climb, soothed to the calmest -rest. - -On the 5th of May the column reached the feeble, broken-down towns -of Bávispe and Basaraca. The condition of the inhabitants was -deplorable. Superstition, illiteracy, and bad government had done -their worst, and, even had not the Chiricahuas kept them in mortal -terror, it is doubtful whether they would have had energy enough to -profit by the natural advantages, mineral and agricultural, of their -immediate vicinity. The land appeared to be fertile and was well -watered. Horses, cattle, and chickens throve; the cereals yielded -an abundant return; and scarlet blossoms blushed in the waxy-green -foliage of the pomegranate. - -Every man, woman, and child had gathered in the streets or squatted -on the flat roofs of the adobe houses to welcome our approach with -cordial acclamations. They looked like a grand national convention -of scarecrows and rag-pickers, their garments old and dingy, but no -man so poor that he didn’t own a gorgeous sombrero, with a snake-band -of silver, or display a flaming sash of cheap red silk and wool. -Those who had them displayed rainbow-hued _serapes_ flung over the -shoulders; those who had none went in their shirt-sleeves. - -The children were bright, dirty, and pretty; the women so closely -enveloped in their _rebozos_ that only one eye could be seen. They -greeted our people with warmth, and offered to go with us to the -mountains. With the volubility of parrots they began to describe -a most blood-thirsty fight recently had with the Chiricahuas, in -which, of course, the Apaches had been completely and ignominiously -routed, each Mexican having performed prodigies of valor on a par -with those of Ajax. But at the same time they wouldn’t go alone -into their fields,--only a quarter of a mile off,--which were -constantly patrolled by a detachment of twenty-five or thirty men of -what was grandiloquently styled the National Guard. “Peaches,” the -guide, smiled quietly, but said nothing, when told of this latest -annihilation of the Chiricahuas. General Crook, without a moment’s -hesitancy, determined to keep on the trail farther into the Sierra -Madre. - -The food of these wretched Mexicans was mainly _atole_,--a weak -flour-gruel resembling the paste used by our paper-hangers. Books -they had none, and newspapers had not yet been heard of. Their only -recreation was in religious festivals, occurring with commendable -frequency. The churches themselves were in the last stages of -dilapidation; the adobe exteriors showed dangerous indications of -approaching dissolution, while the tawdry ornaments of the inside -were foul and black with age, smoke, dust, and rain. - -I asked a small, open-mouthed boy to hold my horse for a moment until -I had examined one of these edifices, which bore the elaborate title -of the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre and our Lady of the Trance. This -action evoked a eulogy from one of the bystanders: “This man can’t be -an American, he must be a Christian,” he sagely remarked; “he speaks -Castilian, and goes to church the first thing.” - -It goes without saying that they have no mails in that country. -What they call the post-office of Basaraca is in the store of the -town. The store had no goods for sale, and the post-office had no -stamps. The postmaster didn’t know when the mail would go; it used -to go every eight days, but now--_quien sabe?_ Yes, he would send -our letters the first opportunity. The price? Oh! the price?--did -the _caballeros_ want to know how much? Well, for Mexican people, he -charged five cents, but the Americans would have to pay _dos reales_ -(twenty-five cents) for each letter. - -The only supplies for sale in Basaraca were fiery mescal, chile, and -a few eggs, eagerly snapped up by the advance-guard. In making these -purchases we had to enter different houses, which vied with each -other in penury and destitution. There were no chairs, no tables, -none of the comforts which the humblest laborers in our favored land -demand as right and essential. The inmates in every instance received -us urbanely and kindly. The women, who were uncovered inside their -domiciles, were greatly superior in good looks and good breeding to -their husbands and brothers; but the latter never neglected to employ -all the punctilious expressions of Spanish politeness. - -That evening the round-stomached old man, whom, in ignorance of -the correct title, we all agreed to call the Alcalde, paid a -complimentary visit to General Crook, and with polite flourishes bade -him welcome to the soil of Mexico informed him that he had received -orders to render the expedition every assistance in his power, and -offered to accompany it at the head of every man and boy in the -vicinity. General Crook felt compelled to decline the assistance of -these valiant auxiliaries, but asked permission to buy four beeves -to feed to the Apache scouts, who did not relish bacon or other salt -meat. - -Bivouac was made that night on the banks of the Bávispe, under -the bluff upon which perched the town of Basaraca. Numbers of -visitors--men and boys--flocked in to see us, bringing bread and -tobacco for barter and sale. In their turn a large body of our people -went up to the town and indulged in the unexpected luxury of a ball. -This was so entirely original in all its features that a mention of -it is admissible. - -Bells were ringing a loud peal, announcing that the morrow would be -Sunday, when a prolonged thumping of drums signaled that the _Baile_ -was about to begin. - -Wending our way to the corner whence the noise proceeded, we found -that a half-dozen of the packers had bought out the whole stock of -the _tienda_, which dealt only in _mescal_, paying therefor the -princely sum of $12.50. - -Invitations had been extended to all the adult inhabitants to -take part in the festivities. For some reason all the ladies sent -regrets by the messenger; but of men there was no lack, the packers -having taken the precaution to send out a patrol to scour the -streets, “collar” and “run in” every male biped found outside his -own threshold. These captives were first made to drink a tumbler -of _mescal_ to the health of the two great nations, Mexico and the -United States,--and then were formed into quadrille sets, moving in -unison with the orchestra of five pieces,--two drums, two squeaky -fiddles, and an accordion. - -None of the performers understood a note of music. When a new -piece was demanded, the tune had to be whistled in the ears of -the bass-drummer, who thumped it off on his instrument, followed -energetically by his enthusiastic assistants. - -This orchestra was augmented in a few moments by the addition of a -young boy with a sax-horn. He couldn’t play, and the horn had lost -its several keys, but he added to the noise and was welcomed with -screams of applause. It was essentially a _stag_ party, but a very -funny one. The new player was doing some good work when a couple of -dancers whirled into him, knocking him clear off his pins and astride -of the bass-drum and drummer. - -Confusion reigned only a moment; good order was soon restored, and -the dance would have been resumed with increased jollity had not the -head of the bass-drum been helplessly battered. - -Midnight had long since been passed, and there was nothing to be done -but break up the party and return to camp. - -From Basaraca to Tesorababi--over twenty miles--the line of march -followed a country almost exactly like that before described. The -little hamlets of Estancia and Huachinera were perhaps a trifle -more squalid than Bávispe or Basaraca, and their churches more -dilapidated; but in that of Huachinera were two or three unusually -good oil-paintings, brought from Spain a long time ago. Age, dust, -weather, and candle-grease had almost ruined, but had not fully -obliterated, the touch of the master-hand which had made them. - -Tesorababi must have been, a couple of generations since, a very -noble ranch. It has plenty of water, great groves of oak and -mesquite, with sycamore and cotton-wood growing near the water, and -very nutritious grass upon the neighboring hills. The buildings have -fallen into ruin, nothing being now visible but the stout walls of -stone and adobe. Mesquite trees of noble size choke up the corral, -and everything proclaims with mute eloquence the supremacy of the -Apache. - -Alongside of this ranch are the ruins of an ancient pueblo, with -quantities of broken pottery, stone mortars, Obsidian flakes and -kindred _reliquiæ_. - -To Tesorababi the column was accompanied by a small party of guides -sent out by the Alcalde of Basaraca. General Crook ordered them back, -as they were not of the slightest use so long as we had such a force -of Apache scouts. - -We kept in camp at Tesorababi until the night of May 7, and then -marched straight for the Sierra Madre. The foot-hills were thickly -covered with rich _grama_ and darkened by groves of scrub-oak. Soon -the oak gave way to cedar in great abundance, and the hills and -ridges became steeper as we struck the trail lately made by the -Chiricahuas driving off cattle from Sahuaripa and Oposura. We were -fairly within the range, and had made good progress, when the scouts -halted and began to explain to General Crook that nothing but bad -luck could be expected if he didn’t set free an owl which one of our -party had caught, and tied to the pommel of his saddle. - -They said the owl (Bû) was a bird of ill-omen, and that we could -not hope to whip the Chiricahuas so long as we retained it. These -solicitations bore good fruit. The moon-eyed bird of night was set -free and the advance resumed. Shortly before midnight camp was made -in a very deep cañon, thickly wooded, and having a small stream a -thousand feet below our position. No fires were allowed, and some -confusion prevailed among the pack-mules, which could not find their -places. - -Very early the next morning (May 8, 1883) the command moved in -easterly direction up the cañon. This was extremely rocky and steep. -Water stood in pools everywhere, and animals and men slaked their -fierce thirst. Indications of Chiricahua depredations multiplied. The -trail was fresh and well-beaten, as if by scores--yes, hundreds--of -stolen ponies and cattle. - -The carcasses of five freshly slaughtered beeves lay in one spot; -close to them a couple more, and so on. - -The path wound up the face of the mountain, and became so precipitous -that were a horse to slip his footing he would roll and fall hundreds -of feet to the bottom. At one of the abrupt turns could be seen, deep -down in the cañon, the mangled fragments of a steer which had fallen -from the trail, and been dashed to pieces on the rocks below. It will -save much repetition to say, at this point, that from now on we were -never out of sight of ponies and cattle, butchered, in every stage of -mutilation, or alive, and roaming by twos and threes in the ravines -and on the mountain flanks. - -Climb! Climb! Climb! Gaining the summit of one ridge only to -learn that above it towered another, the face of nature fearfully -corrugated into a perplexing alternation of ridges and chasms. Not -far out from the last bivouac was passed the spot where a large -body of Mexican troops had camped, the farthest point of their -penetration into the range, although their scouts had been pushed in -some distance farther, only to be badly whipped by the Chiricahuas, -who sent them flying back, utterly demoralized. - -These particulars may now be remarked of that country: It seemed -to consist of a series of parallel and very high, knife-edged -hills,--extremely rocky and bold; the cañons all contained water, -either flowing rapidly, or else in tanks of great depth. Dense -pine forests covered the ridges near the crests, the lower skirts -being matted with scrub-oak. Grass was generally plentiful, but not -invariably to be depended upon. Trails ran in every direction, and -upon them were picked up all sorts of odds and ends plundered from -the Mexicans,--dresses, made and unmade, saddles, bridles, letters, -flour, onions, and other stuff. In every sheltered spot could be -discerned the ruins,--buildings, walls, and dams, erected by an -extinct race, once possessing this region. - -The pack-trains had much difficulty in getting along. Six mules -slipped from the trail, and rolled over and over until they -struck the bottom of the cañon. Fortunately they had selected a -comparatively easy grade, and none was badly hurt. - -The scouts became more and more vigilant and the “medicine-men” -more and more devotional. When camp was made the high peaks were -immediately picketed, and all the approaches carefully examined. -Fires were allowed only in rare cases, and in positions affording -absolute concealment. Before going to bed the scouts were careful -to fortify themselves in such a manner that surprise was simply -impossible. - -Late at night (May 8th) the “medicine-men” gathered together for the -never-to-be-neglected duty of singing and “seeing” the Chiricahuas. -After some palaver I succeeded in obtaining the privilege of sitting -in the circle with them. All but one chanted in a low, melancholy -tone, half song and half grunt. The solitary exception lay as if in a -trance for a few moments, and then, half opening his lips, began to -thump himself violently in the breast, and to point to the east and -north, while he muttered: “Me can’t see the Chilicahuas yet. Bimeby -me see ’um. Me catch ’um, me kill ’um. Me no catch ’um, me no kill -’um. Mebbe so six day me catch ’um; mebbe so two day. Tomollow me -send twenty-pibe (25) men to hunt ’um tlail. Mebbe so tomollow catch -’um squaw. Chilicahua see me, me no get ’um. No see me, me catch him. -Me see him little bit now. Mebbe so me see ’um more tomollow. Me -catch ’um, me kill ’um. Me catch ’um hoss, me catch ’um mool (mule), -me catch ’um cow. Me catch Chilicahua pooty soon, bimeby. Me kill -’um heap, and catch ’um squaw.” These prophecies, translated for me -by an old friend in the circle who spoke some English, were listened -to with rapt attention and reverence by the awe-struck scouts on the -exterior. - -The succeeding day brought increased trouble and danger. The -mountains became, if anything, steeper; the trails, if anything, more -perilous. Carcasses of mules, ponies, and cows lined the path along -which we toiled, dragging after us worn-out horses. - -It was not yet noon when the final ridge of the day was crossed and -the trail turned down a narrow, gloomy, and rocky gorge, which -gradually widened into a small amphitheatre. - -This, the guide said, was the stronghold occupied by the Chiricahuas -while he was with them; but no one was there now. For all purposes -of defense, it was admirably situated. Water flowed in a cool, -sparkling stream through the middle of the amphitheatre. Pine, oak, -and cedar in abundance and of good size clung to the steep flanks -of the ridges, in whose crevices grew much grass. The country, for -a considerable distance, could be watched from the pinnacles upon -which the savage pickets had been posted, while their huts had been -so scattered and concealed in the different brakes that the capture -or destruction of the entire band could never have been effected. - -The Chiricahuas had evidently lived in this place a considerable -time. The heads and bones of cows and ponies were scattered about -on all sides. Meat must have been their principal food, since we -discovered scarcely any mescal or other vegetables. At one point the -scouts indicated where a mother had been cutting a child’s hair; at -another, where a band of youngsters had been enjoying themselves -sliding down rocks. - -Here were picked up the implements used by a young Chiricahua -assuming the duties of manhood. Like all other Indians they make vows -and pilgrimages to secluded spots, during which periods they will not -put their lips to water, but suck up all they need through a quill or -cane. Hair-brushes of grass, bows and arrows, and a Winchester rifle -had likewise been left behind by the late occupants. - -The pack-trains experienced much difficulty in keeping the trail -this morning (May 9). Five mules fell over the precipice and killed -themselves, three breaking their necks and two having to be shot. - -[Illustration: APACHE WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENTS.] - -Being now in the very centre of the hostile country, May 10, 1883, -unusual precautions were taken to guard against discovery or -ambuscade, and to hurry along the pack-mules. Parties of Apache -scouts were thrown out to the front, flanks, and rear to note -carefully every track in the ground. A few were detailed to stay -with the pack-mules and guide them over the best line of country. -Ax-men were sent ahead on the trail to chop out trees and remove -rocks or other obstructions. Then began a climb which reflected the -experience of the previous two days; if at all different, it was -much worse. Upon the crest of the first high ridge were seen forty -abandoned _jacales_ or lodges of branches; after that, another -dismantled village of thirty more, and then, in every protected -nook, one, two, or three, as might be. Fearful as this trail was the -Chiricahuas had forced over it a band of cattle and ponies, whose -footprints had been fully outlined in the mud, just hardened into -clay. - -After two miles of a very hard climb we slid down the almost -perpendicular face of a high bluff of slippery clay and loose shale -into an open space dotted with Chiricahua huts, where, on a grassy -space, the young savages had been playing their favorite game of -mushka, or lance-billiards. - -Two white-tailed deer ran straight into the long file of scouts -streaming down hill; a shower of rocks and stones greeted them, and -there was much suppressed merriment, but not the least bit of noisy -laughter, the orders being to avoid any cause of alarm to the enemy. - -A fearful chute led from this point down into the gloomy chasm along -which trickled the head-waters of the Bávispe, gathering in basins -and pools clear as mirrors of crystal. A tiny cascade babbled over a -ledge of limestone and filled at the bottom a dark-green reservoir of -unknown depth. There was no longer any excitement about Chiricahua -signs; rather, wonder when none were to be seen. - -The ashes of extinct fires, the straw of unused beds, the skeleton -frame-work of dismantled huts, the play-grounds and dance-grounds, -mescal-pits and acorn-meal mills were visible at every turn. The -Chiricahuas must have felt perfectly secure amid these towering -pinnacles of rock in these profound chasms, by these bottomless -pools of water, and in the depths of this forest primeval. Here no -human foe could hope to conquer them. Notwithstanding this security -of position, “Peaches” asserted that the Chiricahuas never relaxed -vigilance. No fires were allowed at night, and all cooking was done -at midday. Sentinels lurked in every crag, and bands of bold raiders -kept the foot-hills thoroughly explored. Crossing Bávispe, the trail -zigzagged up the vertical slope of a promontory nearly a thousand -feet above the level of the water. Perspiration streamed from every -brow, and mules and horses panted, sweated, and coughed; but Up! Up! -Up! was the watchword. - -Look out! came the warning cry from those in the lead, and then -those in the rear and bottom dodged nervously from the trajectory -of rocks dislodged from the parent mass, and, gathering momentum as -each bound hurled them closer to the bottom of the cañon. To look -upon the country was a grand sensation; to travel in it, infernal. -Away down at the foot of the mountains the pack-mules could be -discerned--apparently not much bigger than jack-rabbits,--struggling -and panting up the long, tortuous grade. And yet, up and down these -ridges the Apache scouts, when the idea seized them, ran like deer. - -One of them gave a low cry, half whisper, half whistle. Instantly all -were on the alert, and by some indefinable means, the news flashed -through the column that two Chiricahuas had been sighted a short -distance ahead in a side cañon. Before I could write this down the -scouts had stripped to the buff, placed their clothing in the rocks, -and dispatched ten or twelve of their number in swift pursuit. - -This proved to be a false alarm, for in an hour they returned, having -caught up with the supposed Chiricahuas, who were a couple of our own -packers, off the trail, looking for stray mules. - -When camp was made that afternoon the Apache scouts had a long -conference with General Crook. They called attention to the fact that -the pack-trains could not keep up with them, that five mules had been -killed on the trail yesterday, and five others had rolled off this -morning, but been rescued with slight injuries. They proposed that -the pack-trains and white troops remain in camp at this point, and -in future move so as to be a day’s march or less behind the Apache -scouts, 150 of whom, under Crawford, Gatewood, and Mackey, with Al. -Zeiber and the other white guides, would move out well in advance to -examine the country thoroughly in front. - -If they came upon scattered parties of the hostiles they would -attack boldly, kill as many as they could, and take the rest back, -prisoners, to San Carlos. Should the Chiricahuas be intrenched in a -strong position, they would engage them, but do nothing rash, until -reinforced by the rest of the command. General Crook told them they -must be careful not to kill women or children, and that all who -surrendered should be taken back to the reservation and made to work -for their own living like white people. - -Animation and bustle prevailed everywhere; small fires were burning -in secluded nooks, and upon the bright embers the scouts baked -quantities of bread to be carried with them. Some ground coffee on -flat stones; others examined their weapons critically and cleaned -their cartridges. Those whose moccasins needed repair sewed and -patched them, while the more cleanly and more religious indulged in -the sweat-bath, which has a semi-sacred character on such occasions. - -A strong detachment of packers, soldiers, and Apaches climbed the -mountains to the south, and reached the locality in the foot-hills -where the Mexicans and Chiricahuas had recently had an engagement. -Judging by signs it would appear conclusive that the Indians had -enticed the Mexicans into an ambuscade, killed a number with bullets -and rocks, and put the rest to ignominious flight. The “medicine-men” -had another song and pow-wow after dark. Before they adjourned it -was announced that in two days, counting from the morrow, the scouts -would find the Chiricahuas, and in three days kill a “heap.” - -On May 11, 1883 (Friday), one hundred and fifty Apache scouts, under -the officers above named, with Zeiber, “Mickey Free,” Severiano, -Archie McIntosh, and Sam Bowman, started from camp, on foot, at -daybreak. Each carried on his person four days’ rations, a canteen, -100 rounds of ammunition, and a blanket. Those who were to remain in -camp picketed the three high peaks overlooking it, and from which -half a dozen Chiricahuas could offer serious annoyance. Most of those -not on guard went down to the water, bathed, and washed clothes. The -severe climbing up and down rough mountains, slipping, falling, and -rolling in dust and clay, had blackened most of us like negroes. - -Chiricahua ponies had been picked up in numbers, four coming down the -mountains of their own accord, to join our herds; and altogether, -twenty were by this date in camp. The suggestions of the locality -were rather peaceful in type; lovely blue humming-birds flitted from -bush to bush, and two Apache doll-babies lay upon the ground. - -Just as the sun was sinking behind the hills in the west, a runner -came back with a note from Crawford, saying there was a fine camping -place twelve or fifteen miles across the mountains to the south-east, -with plenty of wood, water, and grass. - -For the ensuing three days the white soldiers and pack-trains -cautiously followed in the footsteps of Crawford and the scouts, -keeping a sufficient interval between the two bodies to insure -thorough investigation of the rough country in front. The trail -did not improve very much, although after the summit of a high, -grassy plateau had been gained, there was easy traveling for -several leagues. Pine-trees of majestic proportions covered the -mountain-tops, and there was the usual thickness of scrub-oak on -the lower elevations. By the side of the trail, either thrown away -or else _cachéd_ in the trees, were quantities of goods left by the -Chiricahuas--calico, clothing, buckskin, horse-hides, beef-hides, -dried meat, and things of that nature. The nights were very cool, -the days bright and warm. The Bávispe and its tributaries were -a succession of deep tanks of glassy, pure water, in which all -our people bathed on every opportunity. The scouts escorting the -pack-trains gathered in another score of stray ponies and mules, -and were encouraged by another note sent back by Crawford, saying -that he had passed the site of a Chiricahua village of ninety-eight -_wickyups_ (huts), that the enemy had a great drove of horses and -cattle, and that the presence of Americans or Apache scouts in the -country was yet undreamed of. - -Additional rations were pushed ahead to Crawford and his command, -the pack-trains in rear taking their own time to march. There was -an abundance of wood in the forest, grass grew in sufficiency, -and the Bávispe yielded water enough for a great army. The stream -was so clear that it was a pleasure to count the pebbles at the -bottom and to watch the graceful fishes swimming within the shadow -of moss-grown rocks. The current was so deep that, sinking slowly, -with uplifted arms, one was not always able to touch bottom with the -toes, and so wide that twenty good, nervous strokes barely sufficed -to propel the swimmer from shore to shore. The water was soft, cool, -and refreshing, and a plunge beneath its ripples smoothed away the -wrinkles of care. - -On May 15, 1883, we climbed and marched ten or twelve miles to -the south-east, crossing a piece of country recently burned over, -the air, filled with soot and hot dust, blackening and blistering -our faces. Many more old ruins were passed and scores of walls of -masonry. The trail was slightly improved, but still bad enough; -the soil, a half-disintegrated, reddish feldspar, with thin seams -of quartz crystals. There were also granite, sandstone, shale, -quartzite, and round masses of basalt. In the bottoms of the cañons -were all kinds of “float”--granite, basalt, sandstone, porphyry, -schist, limestone, etc.; but no matter what the kind of rock was, -when struck upon the hill-sides it was almost invariably split and -broken, and grievously retarded the advance. - - - - -III. - - -About noon of the 15th we had descended into a small box cañon, where -we were met by two white men (packers) and nine Apache scouts. - -They had come back from Crawford with news for which all were -prepared. The enemy was close in our front, and fighting might -begin at any moment. The scouts in advance had picked up numbers of -ponies, mules, burros, and cattle. This conversation was broken by -the sudden arrival of an Apache runner, who had come six miles over -the mountains in less than an hour. He reached us at 1.05, and handed -General Crook a note, dated 12.15, stating that the advance-guard had -run across the Chiricahuas this morning in a cañon, and had become -much excited. Two Chiricahuas were fired at, two bucks and a squaw, -by scouts, which action had alarmed the hostiles, and their camp was -on the move. Crawford would pursue with all possible rapidity. At -the same moment reports of distant musketry-firing were borne across -the hills. Crawford was fighting the Chiricahuas! There could be no -doubt about that; but exactly how many he had found, and what luck -he was having, no one could tell. General Crook ordered Chaffee to -mount his men, and everybody to be in readiness to move forward to -Crawford’s support, if necessary. The firing continued for a time, -and then grew feeble and died away. - -All were anxious for a fight which should bring this Chiricahua -trouble to an end; we had an abundance of ammunition and a -sufficiency of rations for a pursuit of several days and nights, the -moon being at its full. - -Shortly after dark Crawford and his command came into camp. They -had “jumped” “Bonito’s” and “Chato’s” _rancherías_, killing nine -and capturing five--two boys, two girls, and one young woman, the -daughter of “Bonito,” without loss to our side. From the dead -Chiricahuas had been taken four nickel-plated, breech-loading -Winchester repeating rifles, and one Colt’s revolver, new model. -The Chiricahuas had been pursued across a fearfully broken country, -gashed with countless ravines, and shrouded with a heavy growth of -pine and scrub-oak. How many had been killed and wounded could never -be definitely known, the meagre official report, submitted by Captain -Crawford, being of necessity confined to figures known to be exact. -Although the impetuosity of the younger scouts had precipitated the -engagement and somewhat impaired its effect, yet this little skirmish -demonstrated two things to the hostile Chiricahuas; their old friends -and relatives from the San Carlos had invaded their strongholds as -the allies of the white men, and could be depended upon to fight, -whether backed up by white soldiers or not. The scouts next destroyed -the village, consisting of thirty _wickyups_, disposed in two -clusters, and carried off all the animals, loading down forty-seven -of them with plunder. This included the traditional riffraff of -an Indian village: saddles, bridles, meat, mescal, blankets, and -clothing, with occasional prizes of much greater value, originally -stolen by the Chiricahuas in raids upon Mexicans or Americans. There -were several gold and silver watches, a couple of albums, and a -considerable sum of money--Mexican and American coin and paper. The -captives behaved with great coolness and self-possession, considering -their tender years. The eldest said that her people had been -astounded and dismayed when they saw the long line of Apache scouts -rushing in upon them; they would be still more disconcerted when -they learned that our guide was “Peaches,” as familiar as themselves -with every nook in strongholds so long regarded as inaccessible. -Nearly all the Chiricahua warriors were absent raiding in Sonora and -Chihuahua. This young squaw was positive that the Chiricahuas would -give up without further fighting, since the Americans had secured all -the advantages of position. “Loco” and “Chihuahua,” she knew, would -be glad to live peaceably upon the reservation, if justly treated; -“Hieronymo” and “Chato” she wasn’t sure about. “Ju” was defiant, but -none of his bands were left alive. Most important information of all, -she said that in the _ranchería_ just destroyed was a little white -boy about six years old, called “Charlie,” captured by “Chato” -in his recent raid in Arizona. This boy had run away with the old -squaws when the advance of the Apache scouts had been first detected. -She said that if allowed to go out she would in less than two days -bring in the whole band, and Charlie (McComas) with them. All that -night the lofty peak, the scene of the action, blazed with fire from -the burning _ranchería_. Rain-clouds gathered in the sky, and, after -hours of threatening, broke into a severe but brief shower about -sunrise next morning (May 15). - -[Illustration: APACHE GIRL WITH TYPICAL DRESS.] - -The young woman was given a little hard bread and meat, enough to -last two days, and allowed to go off, taking with her the elder of -the boy captives. The others stayed with us and were kindly treated. -They were given all the baked mescal they could eat and a sufficiency -of bread and meat. The eldest busied herself with basting a skirt, -but, like another Penelope, as fast as her work was done she ripped -it up and began anew--apparently afraid that idleness would entail -punishment. The younger girl sobbed convulsively, but her little -brother, a handsome brat, gazed stolidly at the world through eyes -as big as oysters and as black as jet. - -Later in the morning, after the fitful showers had turned into a -blinding, soaking rain, the Apache scouts made for these young -captives a little shelter of branches and a bed of boughs and dry -grass. Pickets were thrown out to watch the country on all sides -and seize upon any stray Chiricahua coming unsuspectingly within -their reach. The rain continued with exasperating persistency all -day. The night cleared off bitter cold and water froze in pails and -kettles. The command moved out from this place, going to another and -better location a few miles south-east. The first lofty ridge had -been scaled, when we descried on the summit of a prominent knoll -directly in our front a thin curl of smoke wreathing upwards. This -was immediately answered by the scouts, who heaped up pine-cones -and cedar branches, which, in a second after ignition, shot a bold, -black, resinous signal above the tops of the loftiest pines. - -Five miles up and down mountains of no great height but of great -asperity led to a fine camping-place, at the junction of two -well-watered cañons, near which grew pine, oak, and cedar in plenty, -and an abundance of rich, juicy grasses. The Apache scouts sent up -a second smoke signal, promptly responded to from a neighboring -butte. A couple of minutes after two squaws were seen threading -their way down through the timber and rocks and yelling with full -voice. They were the sisters of Tô-klani (Plenty Water), one of the -scouts. They said that they had lost heavily in the fight, and that -while endeavoring to escape over the rocks and ravines and through -the timber the fire of the scouts had played havoc among them. -They fully confirmed all that the captives had said about Charlie -McComas. Two hours had scarcely passed when six other women had come -in, approaching the pickets two and two, and waving white rags. -One of these, the sister of “Chihuahua”--a prominent man among the -Chiricahuas--said that her brother wanted to come in, and was trying -to gather up his band, which had scattered like sheep after the -fight; he might be looked for in our camp at any moment. - -On the 18th (May, 1883), before 8.30 A.M., six new arrivals were -reported--four squaws, one buck and a boy. Close upon their heels -followed sixteen others--men, women, and young children. In this -band was “Chihuahua” himself, a fine-looking man, whose countenance -betokened great decision and courage. - -This chief expressed to General Crook his earnest desire for peace, -and acknowledged that all the Chiricahuas could hope to do in the -future would be to prolong the contest a few weeks and defer their -destruction. He was tired of fighting. His village had been destroyed -and all his property was in our hands. He wished to surrender his -band just as soon as he could gather it together. “Hieronymo,” -“Chato,” and nearly all the warriors were absent, fighting the -Mexicans, but he (“Chihuahua”) had sent runners out to gather up his -band and tell his people they must surrender, without reference to -what the others did. - -Before night forty-five Chiricahuas had come in--men, women, and -children. “Chihuahua” asked permission to go out with two young men -and hurry his people in. This was granted. He promised to return -without any delay. The women of the Chiricahuas showed the wear and -tear of a rugged mountain life, and the anxieties and disquietudes -of a rugged Ishmaelitish war. The children were models of grace and -beauty, which revealed themselves through dirt and rags. - -On May 19, 1883, camp was moved five of six miles to a position -giving the usual abundance of water and rather better grass. It -was a small park in the centre of a thick growth of young pines. -Upon unsaddling, the Chiricahuas were counted, and found to number -seventy, which total before noon had swollen to an even hundred, not -including “Chihuahua” and those gone back with him. - -The Chiricahuas were reserved, but good-humored. Several of them -spoke Spanish fluently. Rations were issued in small quantity, -ponies being killed for meat. Two or three of the Indians bore fresh -bullet-wounds from the late fight. On the succeeding evening, May -20, 1883, the Chiricahuas were again numbered at breakfast. They had -increased to 121--sixty being women and girls, the remainder, old -men, young men, and boys. - -All said that “Chihuahua” and his comrades were hard at work -gathering the tribe together and sending them in. - -Toward eight o’clock a fearful hubbub was heard in the tall cliffs -overlooking camp; Indians fully armed could be descried running about -from crag to crag, evidently much perplexed and uncertain what to do. -They began to interchange cries with those in our midst, and, after -a brief interval, a couple of old squaws ventured down the face of -the precipice, followed at irregular distances by warriors, who hid -themselves in the rocks half-way down. - -They asked whether they were to be hurt if they came in. - -One of the scouts and one of the Chiricahuas went out to them to -say that it made no difference whether they came in or not; that -“Chihuahua” and all his people had surrendered, and that if these -new arrivals came in during the day they should not be harmed; that -until “Chihuahua” and the last of his band had had a chance to come -in and bring Charlie McComas hostilities should be suspended. The -Chiricahuas were still fearful of treachery and hung like hawks or -vultures to the protecting shadows of inaccessible pinnacles one -thousand feet above our position. Gradually their fears wore off, and -in parties of two and three, by various trails, they made their way -to General Crook’s fire. They were a band of thirty-six warriors, -led by “Hieronymo,” who had just returned from a bloody foray in -Chihuahua. “Hieronymo” expressed a desire to have a talk; but General -Crook declined to have anything to do with him or his party beyond -saying that they had now an opportunity to see for themselves that -their own people were against them; that we had penetrated to places -vaunted as impregnable; that the Mexicans were coming in from all -sides; and that “Hieronymo” could make up his mind for peace or war -just as he chose. - -This reply disconcerted “Hieronymo;” he waited for an hour, to resume -the conversation, but received no encouragement. He and his warriors -were certainly as fine-looking a lot of pirates as ever cut a throat -or scuttled a ship; not one among them who was not able to travel -forty to fifty miles a day over these gloomy precipices and along -these gloomy cañons. In muscular development, lung and heart power, -they were, without exception, the finest body of human beings I had -ever looked upon. Each was armed with a breech-loading Winchester; -most had nickel-plated revolvers of the latest pattern, and a few had -also bows and lances. They soon began to talk with the Apache scouts, -who improved the occasion to inform them that not only had they come -down with General Crook, but that from both Sonora and Chihuahua -Mexican soldiers might be looked for in swarms. - -“Hieronymo” was much humbled by this, and went a second time to -General Crook to have a talk. He assured him that he had always -wanted to be at peace, but that he had been as much sinned against as -sinning; that he had been ill-treated at the San Carlos and driven -away; that the Mexicans had been most treacherous in their dealings -with his people, and that he couldn’t believe a word they said. They -had made war upon his women and children, but had run like coyotes -from his soldiers. He had been trying to open communications with -the Mexican generals in Chihuahua to arrange for an exchange of -prisoners. If General Crook would let him go back to San Carlos, -and guarantee him just treatment, he would gladly work for his own -living, and follow the path of peace. He simply asked for a trial; if -he could not make peace, he and his men would die in these mountains, -fighting to the last. He was not a bit afraid of Mexicans alone; but -he could not hope to prolong a contest with Mexicans and Americans -united, in these ranges, and with so many Apache allies assisting -them. General Crook said but little; it amounted to this: that -“Hieronymo” could make up his mind as to what he wanted, peace or war. - -May 21st was one of the busiest days of the expedition. “Hieronymo,” -at early dawn, came to see General Crook, and told him he wished for -peace. He earnestly promised amendment, and begged to be taken back -to San Carlos. He asked permission to get all his people together, -and said he had sent some of his young men off to hurry them in -from all points. He could not get them to answer his signals, as -they imagined them to be made by Apache scouts trying to ensnare -them. Chiricahuas were coming in all the morning,--all ages, and -both sexes,--sent in by “Chihuahua” and his party; most of these -were mounted on good ponies, and all drove pack and loose animals -before them. Early in the day there was seen winding through the -pine timber a curious procession,--mostly young warriors, of an -aggregate of thirty-eight souls,--driving steers and work cattle, and -riding ponies and burros. All these were armed with Winchester and -Springfield breech-loaders, with revolvers and lances whose blades -were old cavalry sabres. The little boys carried revolvers, lances, -and bows and arrows. This was the band of Kaw-tenné (Looking-Glass), -a young chief, who claimed to be a Mexican Apache and to belong to -the Sierra Madre, in whose recesses he had been born and raised. - -[Illustration: APACHE WARFARE.] - -The question of feeding all these mouths was getting to be a very -serious one. We had started out with sixty days’ supplies, one-third -of which had been consumed by our own command, and a considerable -percentage lost or damaged when mules rolled over the precipices. -The great heat of the sun had melted much bacon, and there was the -usual wastage incident to movements in campaign. Stringent orders -were given to limit issues to the lowest possible amount; while the -Chiricahuas were told that they must cut and roast all the mescal -to be found, and kill such cattle and ponies as could be spared. -The Chiricahua young men assumed the duty of butchering the meat. -Standing within five or six feet of a steer, a young buck would prod -the doomed beast one lightning lance-thrust immediately behind the -left fore-shoulder, and, with no noise other than a single bellow of -fear and agony, the beef would fall forward upon its knees, dead. - -Camp at this period presented a medley of noises not often found -united under a military standard. Horses were neighing, mules -braying, and bells jingling, as the herds were brought in to be -groomed. The ring of axes against the trunks of stout pines and oaks, -the hum of voices, the squalling of babies, the silvery laughter -of children at play, and the occasional music of an Apache fiddle -or flute, combined in a pleasant discord which left the listener -uncertain whether he was in the bivouac of grim-visaged war or -among a band of school-children. Our Apache scouts--the Tontos -especially--treated the Chiricahuas with dignified reserve: the -Sierra Blancas (White Mountain) had intermarried with them, and were -naturally more familiar, but all watched their rifles and cartridges -very carefully to guard against treachery. The squaws kept at work, -jerking and cooking meat and mescal for consumption on the way back -to San Carlos. The entrails were the coveted portions, for the -possession of which the more greedy or more muscular fought with -frequency. - -Two of these copper-skinned “ladies” engaged in a pitched battle; -they rushed for each other like a couple of infuriated Texas steers; -hair flew, blood dripped from battered noses, and two “human forms -divine” were scratched and torn by sharp nails accustomed to this -mode of warfare. The old squaws chattered and gabbled, little -children screamed and ran, warriors stood in a ring, and from a -respectful distance gazed stolidly upon the affray. No one dared -to interfere. There is no tiger more dangerous than an infuriated -squaw; she’s a fiend incarnate. The packers and soldiers looked on, -discussing the “points” of the belligerents. “The little one’s built -like a hired man,” remarks one critic. “Ya-as; but the old un’s a -_He_, and doan’ you forgit it.” Two rounds settled the battle in -favor of the older contestant, although the younger remained on the -ground, her bleeding nostrils snorting defiance, her eyes blazing -fire, and her tongue volleying forth Apache imprecations. - -But all interest was withdrawn from this spectacle and converged upon -a file of five wretched, broken-down Mexican women, one of whom bore -a nursing baby, who had come within the boundaries of our camp and -stood in mute terror, wonder, joy, and hope, unable to realize that -they were free. They were a party of captives seized by “Hieronymo” -in his last raid into Chihuahua. When washed, rested, and fed a -small amount of food, they told a long, rambling story, which is -here condensed: They were the wives of Mexican soldiers captured -near one of the stations of the Mexican Central Railway just two -weeks previously. Originally there had been six in the party, but -“Hieronymo” had sent back the oldest and feeblest with a letter to -the Mexican general, saying that he wanted to make peace with the -whites, and would do so, provided the Mexicans returned the Apache -women and children held prisoners by them; if they refused, he would -steal all the Mexican women and children he could lay hands on, and -keep them as hostages, and would continue the war until he had made -Sonora and Chihuahua a desert. The women went on to say that the -greatest terror prevailed in Chihuahua at the mere mention of the -name of “Hieronymo,” whom the peasantry believed to be the devil, -sent to punish them for their sins. - -“Hieronymo” had killed the Mexican soldiers with rocks, telling his -warriors he had no ammunition to waste upon Mexicans. The women -had suffered incredible torture climbing the rough skirts of lofty -ranges, fording deep streams of icy-cold water, and breaking through -morasses, jungles and forests. Their garments had been rent into rags -by briars and brambles, feet and ankles scratched, torn, and swollen -by contusions from sharp rocks. They said that when “Hieronymo” -had returned to the heart of the mountains, and had come upon one -of our lately abandoned camps, his dismay was curious to witness. -The Chiricahuas with him made a hurried but searching examination -of the neighborhood, satisfied themselves that their enemies--the -Americans--had gained access to their strongholds, and that they had -with them a multitude of Apache scouts, and then started away in -the direction of our present bivouac, paying no further heed to the -captured women or to the hundreds of stolen stock they were driving -away from Chihuahua. It may be well to anticipate a little, and say -that the cattle in question drifted out on the back trail, getting -into the foot-hills and falling into the hands of the Mexicans in -pursuit, who claimed their usual wonderful “victory.” The women did -not dare to turn back, and, uncertain what course to pursue, stayed -quietly by the half-dead embers of our old camp-fires, gathering up -a few odds and ends of rags with which to cover their nakedness; and -of castaway food, which they devoured with the voracity of famished -wolves. When morning dawned they arose, half frozen, from the -couches they had made, and staggered along in the direction taken by -the fleeing Chiricahuas, whom, as already narrated, they followed to -where they now were. - -And now they were free! Great God! Could it be possible? - -The gratitude of these poor, ignorant, broken-down creatures -welled forth in praise and glorification to God. “Praise be to the -All-Powerful God!” ejaculated one. “And to the most Holy Sacrament!” -echoed her companions. “Thanks to our Blessed Lady of Guadalupe!” -“And to the most Holy Mary, Virgin of Soledad, who has taken pity -upon us!” It brought tears to the eyes of the stoutest veterans to -witness this line of unfortunates, reminding us of our mothers, -wives, sisters, and daughters. All possible kindness and attention -were shown them. - -The reaction came very near upsetting two, who became hysterical -from over-excitement, and could not be assured that the Chiricahuas -were not going to take them away. They did not recover their natural -composure until the expedition had crossed the boundary line. - -“Hieronymo” had another interview with General Crook, whom he assured -he wanted to make a peace to last forever. General Crook replied -that “Hieronymo” had waged such bloody war upon our people and the -Mexicans that he did not care to let him go back to San Carlos; a -howl would be raised against any man who dared to grant terms to -an outlaw for whose head two nations clamored. If “Hieronymo” were -willing to lay down his arms and go to work at farming, General Crook -would allow him to go back; otherwise the best thing he could do -would be to remain just where he was and fight it out. - -“I am not taking your arms from you,” said the General, “because I -am not afraid of you with them. You have been allowed to go about -camp freely, merely to let you see that we have strength enough to -exterminate you if we want to; and you have seen with your own eyes -how many Apaches are fighting on our side and against you. In making -peace with the Americans, you must also be understood as making peace -with the Mexicans, and also that you are not to be fed in idleness, -but set to work at farming or herding, and make your own living.” - -“Hieronymo,” in his reply, made known his contempt for the Mexicans, -asserted that he had whipped them every time, and in the last fight -with them hadn’t lost a man. He would go to the San Carlos with -General Crook and work at farming or anything else. All he asked for -was fair play. He contended that it was unfair to start back to the -San Carlos at that time, when his people were scattered like quail, -and when the women and children now in our hands were without food or -means of transportation. The old and the little ones could not walk. -The Chiricahuas had many ponies and donkeys grazing in the different -cañons. Why not remain one week longer? “Loco” and all the other -Chiricahuas would then have arrived; all the ponies would be gathered -up; a plenty of mescal and pony-meat on hand, and the march could be -made securely and safely. But if General Crook left the Sierra Madre, -the Mexicans would come in to catch and kill the remnant of the band, -with whom “Hieronymo,” would cast his fortunes. - -General Crook acknowledged the justice of much which “Hieronymo” had -said, but declined to take any action not in strict accord with the -terms of the convention. He would now move back slowly, so as not -to crowd the young and feeble too much; they should have time to -finish roasting mescal, and most of those now out could catch up with -the column; but those who did not would have to take the chances of -reaching San Carlos in safety. - -“Hieronymo” reiterated his desire for peace; said that he himself -would start out to gather and bring in the remnants of his people, -and he would cause the most diligent search to be made for Charlie -McComas. If possible, he would join the Americans before they got out -of the Sierra Madre. If not, he would make his way to the San Carlos -as soon as this could be done without danger; “but,” concluded he, “I -will remain here until I have gathered up the last man, woman, and -child of the Chiricahuas.” - -All night long the Chiricahuas and the Apache scouts danced together -in sign of peace and good-will. The drums were camp-kettles partly -filled with water and covered tightly with a well-soaked piece of -calico. The drumsticks were willow saplings curved into a hoop at one -extremity. The beats recorded one hundred to the minute, and were -the same dull, solemn thump which scared Cortés and his beleaguered -followers during _la Noche triste_. No Caucasian would refer to it -as music; nevertheless, it had a fascination all its own comparable -to the whirr-r-r of a rattlesnake. And so the song, chanted to -the measure of the drumming, had about it a weird harmony which -held listeners spell-bound. When the dance began, two old hags, -white-haired and stiff with age, pranced in the centre of the ring, -warming up under the stimulus of the chorus until they became lively -as crickets. With them were two or three naked boys of very tender -years. The ring itself included as many as two hundred Indians of -both sexes, whose varied costumes of glittering hues made a strange -setting to the scene as the dancers shuffled and sang in the silvery -rays of the moon and the flickering light of the camp-fires. - -On May 23, 1883, rations were issued to 220 Chiricahuas, and, soon -after, Nané, one of the most noted and influential of the Chiricahua -chiefs, rode into camp with seventeen of his people. He has a strong -face, marked with intelligence, courage, and good nature, but with -an under stratum of cruelty and vindictiveness. He has received -many wounds in his countless fights with the whites, and limps very -perceptibly in one leg. He reported that Chiricahuas were coming in -by every trail, and that all would go to the San Carlos as soon as -they collected their families. - -On the 24th of May the march back to the San Carlos began. All the -old Chiricahuas were piled on mules, donkeys, and ponies; so were the -weak little children and feeble women. The great majority streamed -along on foot, nearly all wearing garlands of cotton-wood foliage to -screen them from the sun. The distance travelled was not great, and -camp was made by noon. - -The scene at the Bávispe River was wonderfully picturesque. Sit -down on this flat rock and feast your eyes upon the silver waves -flashing in the sun. Don’t scare that little girl who is about to -give her baby brother a much-needed bath. The little dusky brat--all -eyes--is looking furtively at you and ready to bawl if you draw -nearer. Opposite are two old crones filling _ollas_ (jugs or jars) -of basket-work, rendered fully water-proof by a coating of either -mesquite or piñon pitch. Alongside of them are two others, who are -utilizing the entrails of a cow for the same purpose. The splash and -yell on your right, as you correctly divine, come from an Apache “Tom -Sawyer,” who will one day mount the gallows. The friendly greeting -and request for “tobacco shmoke” are proffered by one of the boys, -who has kindly been eating a big portion of your meals for several -days past, and feels so friendly toward you that he announces himself -in a pleasant, off-hand sort of way as your “_Sikisn_” (brother). -Behind you are grouped Apache scouts, whose heads are encircled with -red flannel bandages, and whose rifles and cartridges are never laid -aside. Horses and mules plunge belly-deep into the sparkling current; -soldiers come and go, some to drink, some to get buckets filled with -water, and some to soak neck, face, and hands, before going back -to dinner. - -[Illustration: APACHE BASKET-WORK.] - -In this camp we remained several days. The old and young squaws had -cut and dried large packages of “jerked” beef, and had brought down -from the hill-sides donkey-loads of mescal heads, which were piled -in ovens of hot stones covered with wet grass and clay. The process -of roasting, or rather steaming, mescal takes from three to four -days, and resembles somewhat the mode of baking clams in New England. -The Apache scouts passed the time agreeably enough in gambling with -the Chiricahuas, whom they fleeced unmercifully, winning hundreds -of dollars in gold, silver, and paper at the games of _monte_, -_conquien_, _tzi-chis_, and _mushka_. - -The attractive pools of the Bávispe wooed groups of white soldiers -and packers, and nearly the whole strength of the Chiricahua women -and children, who disported in the refreshing waters with the agility -and grace of nereids and tritons. The modesty of the Apaches of both -sexes, under all circumstances, is praiseworthy. - -“Chato” and “Loco” told General Crook this morning that “Hieronymo” -had sent them back to say that the Chiricahuas were very much -scattered since the fight, and that he had not been as successful as -he anticipated in getting them united and in corraling their herds -of ponies. They did not want to leave a single one of their people -behind, and urged General Crook to stay in his present camp for a -week longer, if possible. “Loco,” for his part, expressed himself -as anxious for peace. He had never wished to leave San Carlos. He -wanted to go back there and obtain a little farm, and own cattle and -horses, as he once did. Here it may be proper to say that all the -chiefs of the Chiricahuas--“Hieronymo,” “Loco,” “Chato,” “Nané,” -“Bonito,” “Chihuahua,” “Maugas,” “Zelé,” and “Kan-tenné”--are men of -noticeable brain power, physically perfect and mentally acute--just -the individuals to lead a forlorn hope in the face of every obstacle. - -The Chiricahua children, who had become tired of swimming, played -at a new sport to-day, a mimic game of war, a school of practice -analogous to that established by old Fagan for the instruction of -young London pickpockets. Three boys took the lead, and represented -Mexicans, who endeavored to outrun, hide from, or elude their -pursuers, who trailed them to their covert, surrounded it, and poured -in a flight of arrows. One was left for dead, stretched upon the -ground, and the other two were seized and carried into captivity. The -fun became very exciting, so much so that the corpse, ignoring the -proprieties, raised itself up to see how the battle sped. - -In such sports, in such constant exercise, swimming, riding, running -up and down the steepest and most slippery mountains, the Apache -passes his boyish years. No wonder his bones are of iron, his sinews -of wire, his muscles of India-rubber. - -On May 27, 1883, the Chiricahuas had finished roasting enough mescal -to last them to the San Carlos. One of the Apache scouts came running -in very much excited. He told his story to the effect that, while -hunting some distance to the north, he had discovered a large body -of Mexican soldiers; they were driving back the band of cattle run -off by “Hieronymo,” and previously referred to. The scout tried -to communicate with the Mexicans, who imagined him to be a hostile -Indian, and fired three shots at him. Lieutenant Forsyth, Al. Zeiber, -and a small detachment of white and Indian soldiers started out to -overtake the Mexicans. This they were unable to do, although they -went some fifteen miles. - -On the 28th, 29th, and 30th of May the march was continued back -toward the San Carlos. The rate of progress was very slow, the -Mexican captives not being able to ride any great distance along the -rough trails, and several of our men being sick. Two of the scouts -were so far gone with pneumonia that their death was predicted -every hour, in spite of the assurances of the “medicine-men” that -their incantations would bring them through all right. “Hieronymo,” -“Chato,” “Kan-tenné,” and “Chihuahua” came back late on the night -of the 28th, leading a large body of 116 of their people, making an -aggregate of 384 in camp on the 29th. - -On the 30th, after a march, quite long under the -circumstances,--fifteen to eighteen miles,--we crossed the main -“divide” of the Sierra Madre at an altitude of something over 8,000 -feet. The pine timber was large and dense, and much of it on fire, -the smoke and heat parching our throats, and blackening our faces. - -With this pine grew a little mescal and a respectable amount of -the _madroña_, or mountain mahogany. Two or three deer were killed -by the Apache scouts, and as many turkeys; trout were visible -in all the streams. The line of march was prolific in mineral -formations,--basalt, lava, sandstone, granite, and limestone. The day -the command descended the Chihuahua side of the range it struck the -trail of a large body of Mexican troops, and saw an inscription cut -into the bark of a mahogany stating that the Eleventh Battalion had -been here on the 21st of May. - -The itinerary of the remainder of the homeward march may be greatly -condensed. The line of travel lay on the Chihuahua side and close -to the summit of the range. The country was extremely rough, cut -up with rocky cañons beyond number and ravines of great depth, all -flowing with water. Pine forests covered all the elevated ridges, -but the cañons and lower foot-hills had vegetation of a different -character: oak, juniper, maple, willow, rose, and blackberry bushes, -and strawberry vines. The weather continued almost as previously -described,--the days clear and serene, the nights bitter cold, with -ice forming in pails and kettles on the 2d and 3d of June. No storms -worthy of mention assailed the command, the sharp showers that fell -two or three times being welcomed as laying the soot and dust. - -Game was found in abundance,--deer and turkey. This the Apache scouts -were permitted to shoot and catch, to eke out the rations which had -completely failed, the last issue being made June 4th. From that date -till June 11th, inclusive, all hands lived upon the country. The -Apaches improved the excellent opportunity to show their skill as -hunters and their accuracy with fire-arms. - -[Illustration: FIGHTING THE PRAIRIE FIRE.] - -The command was threatened by a great prairie fire on coming down -into the broad grassy valley of the Janos. Under the impetus of a -fierce wind the flames were rushing upon camp. There was not a moment -to be lost. All hands turned out,--soldiers, scouts, squaws, -Chiricahua warriors, and even children. Each bore a branch of willow -or cotton-wood, a blanket, or scrap of canvas. The conflagration -had already seized the hill-crest nearest our position; brownish -and gray clouds poured skyward in compact masses; at their feet a -long line of scarlet flame flashed and leaped high in air. It was a -grand, a terrible sight: in front was smiling nature, behind, ruin -and desolation. The heat created a vacuum, and the air, pouring in, -made whirlwinds, which sent the black funnels of soot winding and -twisting with the symmetry of hour-glasses almost to the zenith. For -one moment the line of fire paused, as if to rest after gaining the -hill-top; it was only a moment. “Here she comes!” yelled the men on -the left; and like a wild beast flinging high its tawny mane of cloud -and flashing its fangs of flame, the fire was upon, around, and about -us. - -Our people stood bravely up to their work, and the swish! swish! -swish! of willow brooms proved that camp was not to be surrendered -without a struggle. - -We won the day; that is, we saved camp, herds, and a small area of -pasturage; but over a vast surface of territory the ruthless flames -swept, mantling the land with soot and an opaque pall of mist and -smoke through which the sun’s rays could not penetrate. Several -horses and mules were badly burned, but none to death. - -For two or three nights afterwards the horizon was gloriously lighted -with lines of fire creeping over the higher ridges. As we debouched -into the broad plain, through which trickled the shriveled current of -the Janos, no one would have suspected that we were not a column of -Bedouins. A long caravan, stretched out for a mile upon the trail, -resolved itself upon closer approach into a confused assemblage of -ponies, horses, and mules, with bundles or without, but in every case -freighted with humanity. Children were packed by twos and threes, -while old women and feeble men got along as best they could, now -riding, now walking. The scouts had decked themselves with paint and -the Chiricahua women had donned all their finery of rough silver -bracelets, wooden crosses, and saints’ pictures captured from -Mexicans. This undulating plain, in which we now found ourselves, -spread far to the north and east, and was covered with bunch and -grama grasses, and dotted with cedar.--The march brought us to Alisos -Creek (an affluent of the Janos), a thousand yards or more above the -spot where the Mexican commander García, had slaughtered so many -Chiricahua women and children. Human bones, picked white and clean by -coyotes, glistened in the sandy bed of the stream. Apache baskets and -other furniture were strewn about. A clump of graves headed by rude -crosses betrayed the severity of the loss inflicted upon the Mexicans. - -Between the 5th and 8th of June we crossed back (west) into Sonora, -going over the asperous peak known as the Cocospera. - -In this vicinity were many varieties of mineral--granite gneiss, -porphyry, conglomerate, shale, sandstone, and quartz,--and travel -was as difficult almost as it had been in the earlier days of the -march. We struck the head waters of Pitisco Creek, in a very rugged -cañon, then Elias Creek, going through another fine game region, and -lastly, after crossing a broad tableland mantled with grama grass, -mesquite, Spanish bayonet, and Palo Verde, mescal, and palmilla, -bivouacked on the San Bernardino river, close to a tule swamp of -blue, slimy mud. - -The scouts plastered their heads with this mud, and dug up the bulbs -of the tule, which, when roasted, are quite palatable. - -On the 15th of June the command recrossed the national boundary, -and reached Silver Springs, Arizona, the camp of the reserve under -Colonel Biddle, from whom and from all of whose officers and men we -received the warmest conceivable welcome. Every disaster had been -predicted and asserted regarding the column, from which no word had -come, directly or indirectly since May 5th. The Mexican captives were -returned to their own country and the Chiricahuas marched, under -Crawford, to the San Carlos Agency. - -Unfortunately the papers received at Silver Springs were full of -inflammatory telegrams, stating that the intention of the government -was to hang all the Chiricahua men, without distinction, and to -parcel out the women and children among tribes in the Indian -Territory. This news, getting among the Chiricahuas, produced its -legitimate result. Several of the chiefs and many of the head men -hid back in the mountains until they could learn exactly what was to -be their fate. The Mexican troops went in after them, and had two or -three severe engagements, and were, of course, whipped each time. -When the road was clear the Chiricahuas kept their promises to the -letter, and brought to the San Carlos the last man, woman, and child -of their people. - -They have been quietly scattered in small groups around the -reservation, the object being to effect tribal disintegration, to -bring individuals and families face to face with the progress made by -more peaceable Apaches, and at same time to enable trusted members of -the latter bands to maintain a more perfect surveillance over every -action of the Chiricahuas. - -Charlie McComas was never found; the Chiricahuas insist, and I think -truthfully, that he was in the _ranchería_ destroyed by Crawford; -that he escaped, terror-stricken, to the depths of the mountains; -that the country was so rough, the timber and brush-wood so thick -that his tracks could not be followed, even had there not been such a -violent fall of rain during the succeeding nights. All accounts agree -in this. - -Altogether the Chiricahuas delivered up thirteen captives,--women and -children,--held by them as hostages. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, - and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. - - Pg 10: ‘one was suprised’ replaced by ‘one was surprised’. - - Pg 11: ‘boldness, and sublety’ replaced by ‘boldness, and subtlety’. - - Pg 14: ‘the Cayote saw’ replaced by ‘the Coyote saw’. - - Pg 18: ‘the Amercan troops’ replaced by ‘the American troops’. - - Pg 23: ‘not infreqently the’ replaced by ‘not infrequently the’. - - Pg 24: ‘or millitary posts’ replaced by ‘or military posts’. - - Pg 34: ‘like the cayote’ replaced by ‘like the coyote’. - - Pg 51: ‘constantly patroled’ replaced by ‘constantly patrolled’. - - Pg 76: ‘dead Chiracahuas’ replaced by ‘dead Chiricahuas’. - - Pg 98: ‘and his beleagured’ replaced by ‘and his beleaguered’. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN APACHE CAMPAIGN IN THE SIERRA -MADRE*** - - -******* This file should be named 65040-0.txt or 65040-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/5/0/4/65040 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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